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

See other formats

:i|iiliiliiii!:fi

GENEALOGY

COUUECmON

4ii «^

^ %•.

AN ILLUSTRATED

HISTORY

Walla Walla Countn

STATE or WASHINGTON

Pl?()ri:S5()I^ \V. I). LVMAM

W. II. LEVER, Piiu.isiiKu
lUUl

11G9838

DEDICATED

PIONEERS OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Tin: P.KAVH Mi;X AND DEVOTHD WOMEN

THOSE WHO HAVE GONE AND

THOSE WHO REMAIN

"?"(•/ never a doubt, nay. never a fear
Of old, or noxc, i/icxv the fioneer.''''

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.

I-EWIS McMoRRis, \

W. S. Gilliam, \

T- iTr Ti \ of Citizens.

F. W. Paine, ) ■'

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.
Discoveries on the North Pacific Coast.

Strait of Anian— Sir Francis Drake— 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 = f the Present 1

CHAPTER I.
The Oregon Question.

Great Britain's Claims — Hudson's Bay Company— Opinions of American Statesmen — Joint Occupation —
Treaty of 1S46 :«

CHAPTER H.
The Inception of American History in Washington.

Michael T. Simmons — Founding of Seattle — Division of Territory — Appointment of Isaac I. Stevens as
Governor — Boundaries of Washington Territory 37

CHAPTER HI.
Missions of W.\ll.\ Walla anli Wmit.man 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.mi'ts to Organize Wali.a Walla Coi'ntv.

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 '"'

CHAPTER VI.

Indian Wars kf the 'Fifties— Continued.

Campaign of '56— Battle of Grande Ronde— Colonel Shaw's Report— Second Walla Walla Council — Battle
near Walla Walla — Trouble Between Stevens and the Re^julars — Steptoe's Defeat — Its Avenging —
Wool's Policy Reversed T7

viii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VII.
Definite Organization of Walla Walla and Political History, 1859-63.

Early Settlers — First Appointments of Officers — Walla Walla Christened — Election of 1860-i-E£fects 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 86

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 X.
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 -XL
Walla Walla County Elections, 1882-1900.

Thomas H. Brents—" Bassism " — Election Statistics to 1900 — The Voting Precincts — Statehood— Walla

Walla Men in Congress — 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 Walla Walla " — Selection from Hawthorne'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 138

CHAPTER XIV.

The Industries of Walla Walla County.

View 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 Lines 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 O. R. & N. System 105

CHAPTER -WI.
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 — Waitsburg
Academy 174

CHAPTER XVII.
Earlier History of Walla Walla County, 1862-83.

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 187

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 I!i4

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 1H8

CHAPTER XX.

Fraternal and Other Organizations of the City of Walla Walla.

Freemasonry— Odd Fellowrs— 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 XXI.

Journalism in Walla Wall* 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 Times.

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 Bottle — His Bet with the Priest — Floods in
Walla Walla — Fires — Ancient Barrenness and Present Verdure 241

CHAPTER XXIV.
Walla Walla City in 190L

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 , 252

GENERAL ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

County Court House and Hall of Records 56

Combined Harvester 144

Main Street, Walla Walla, in 1877 '264

Main Street, Walla Walla, in 1901 264

Odd Fellows' Home, Walla Vk'alla 216

Walla Walla City Hall, Pohce 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, Ncwum 480

Kaker, Dorsey S 288

Berryman, J. E 4W

Blalock, N.G 472

Bowers, C. J o(J2

Bowers. Mrs. C. J .502

Boyer, John Franklin 29H

Bradbury, George \V i'-W

Brents, Thomas Hurley 304

Castleman, Nelson 432

Dncres, George 4.V2

IJelany, George 424

Denney, Nathaniel B 488

Denney, Mrs. Nathaniel B 4i*>'

Dewar, James .M 476

Dinges, Solomon 496

Ellingsworth, William 392

Harbert, Joseph W 448

Hardman, Sol 492

Hardman, .Mrs. S 492

Harmen, Charles T 472

Harmen. Mrs. Charles T 472

Hoffmann, John :ki)

Hoffmann, Mrs. John 360

Hood, John K 408

Isaacs, Henry Ferry 312

J-

Johnson, Alexander 496

Johnson, Samuel 502

Johnson, William C 496

Kershaw, James S 480

Kirkman, William 376

Painter, William C 328

Parker, Hollon Frontispiece

Pettyjohn, Jonathan 464

Picard, John 496

Preston,' Piatt A 46K

Preston, Mrs. Piatt A 468

Preston, William G 468

Preston, Mrs. William G 468

Quinn, Thomas 368

Loney, Samuel K.
Lyman, W. 1)

Reynolds, Rasselas P 416

Ritz, Philip 496

496 Rohn, J. 1 476

344 Russel, Thomas A 496

Manion, John .
Masterson. Andrew C.

Seeke, Marshall C.

502

McEvoy. Joseph 472 bmgleton John 4hO

McMorns Lewis 320 1"^' ^ J' ^ " ' j ■, I^f,

Miller, Joseph L .502 |""«h, >,-.muel J 440

Miller. Mrs. loseph L .i02 S''^"'^'- ■ P='"'«' ^

Mix, James U. . 4.58 Swan, John M 488

Mix, .Mrs. Annie McC 458

Nelson, Cyrus T 480

Nelson, Hiram 480

Norman, Nelson R 492

Taylor, John .A 476

Taylor, .Mrs. John A 476

Osborn, Obadiah.

Ward, Michael B :m

Wellman, Alfred C 444

4.^6 Williams, Edward J 4M8

BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.

Abbey, Henry J 384

Abbott, John F 478

Achermann, Charles 366

Aldrich, Mihon 49U

Aldrich, Newton 481

Ash, Samuel A 441

Babcock, E. F gS'i

Babcock, Geor^'e W 2^9

Bachtold, Alfred 362

Bachtold, John '. 368

Baker, Dorsey S 288

Baldwin, J. M g80

Barnett, Carrick H 475

Barnett, George E 308

Barrett, James S 348

Bauer, Robert E 4!<'2

Baumeister, Max 34I

Beard, John A 466

Becker, Oswald 347

Becker, Philip A 308

Berney, Ulysses H 4II

Berryman, J. E 5OO

Berryman, Richard J 5O6

Bingham, John E 9il6

Blalock, N. G 474

Blalock, Y. C 856

Blanchard, Mrs. Elizabeth J 399

Blandford, Henry S 326

Bogle, Richard A 345

Boston, Alvin 369

Bourgeois, Eugene 493

Bowers, C. J 5O5

Boyer, Eugene H 304

Boyer, John E 369

Boyer, John F 996

Bradbury, George \V 486

Bratton, Walter A 4O8

Brents, Thomas Hurley 3O4

Brewer, B. F 4O6

Brewer, John F 374

Brewer, John W 398

Brewer, Alerton E 4O2

Brown, Alvah 281

Bruce, James W 37g

Bryan, Milton E 403

Brzezowsky, Frank 342

Burns, Robert 372

Buroker, J 45O

Buroker, William H 487

Burr, Daniel 3O7

Burrows, Charles E 303

Bush, John 428

Cain, Oscar 300

Callahan, William 439

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 366

Cochran. John G 403

Coffin, Delos H 338

Copeland, Thomas 471

Copeland, Wallace R 466

Corkrum, Francis M 421

Cox, Anderson 509

Cox, Fred O 382

Crocker, Benjamin D 341

Croup, Eli W 444

Crowe, George R 431

Crowell, Heriry A 298

Cummmgs, Amos 447

Cummings, Charles F 433

Cummins, James 361

Cummins, Jesse 363

Cummins, Woodson 457

Dacres, George 452

Daniels, John H 800

Daulton, John W S25

Davin, Hippolvte 842

Davis, John A.' 479

Davis, Lorenzo A 308

Debus, Harry 8.57

Delanv, George 424

Dement, Frank S 290

Denney, Nathaniel B 488

Dewer, James M 477

Dewitt, Oliver 461

Dickinson, A. S 422

Dinges, Solomon 497

Dooley, lohn 818

Dorris, Edgai- A 463

Drumheller, Jesse 333

Dunlap. John K 8e6

Edgerley, Elron 412

Eichler, Charles H 346

PAGE

Eldridge, Harlan D 422

Ellingsworth, William 392

Ennis, Christopher 803

Estes, Hugh P 885

Evans, Andrew J 349

Evans, Emmett 493

Evans, Alark A 507

Evans, Milton 482

Faucette, John ' 327 ■

Ferguson, Walter S 443

Ferrel, Brewster 465

Ferrel, Joseph W 434

Ferrel, Seth A 442

Ferrel, Thomas J 432

Fix, A. J 459

Flohr, Michael 822

Foster, Frank 332

Foster, John H 851

Fuller, John H 413

Gaston, John 441

Genevay, Lucien 292

Gholson, Charles E 867

Gilkerson, Charles 429

Gilkerson, Harry 427

Gilkerson, Thomas 429

Gillham, Alonzo 356

Gilliam, Washmgton Smith 283

Ginn, Richard 438

Glasford, Wm 289

Goodhue, James P 280

Goodman, William S 349

Griffith, Robert i\I 428

Guichard, Ralph E 321

Guthridge, Benjamin G 334

Haggist, Fred 391

Hall, Jay H 314

Harbert, Joseph W 448

Hardman, Sol 492

Harer, John H 371

Harman, Urias S 448

Harmen, Charles T 472

Harper, Joseph L 361

Hart, Francis G 374

Hart, Thomas D. S 377

Hartness, Orlander W 825

Hastings, Henry W 897

Hauber, Martin H 881

Haynes, Oscar 3.55

INDEX.

PAGE

Hays, William H 419

HiRhlc-y, D. K 389

Hifl, J. M 340

Hodgis, John H 367

Hoffmann, John 3(50

Hood. Charles Edward 508

Hood. John A 608

Hood, John R 408

Howard, Joshua A 495

Ingalis, Henry 494

Ingle, Elijah 376

Isaacs, Henry Perry 312

J-

Jackson. Otis C 386

Jacobs, Charles A 450

jaussaud, Leon F. C 290

Jennings. Jefferson 335

iessup, Theadore H 308
ohnson Rrotht-rs 498
ohnson, Robert H 383
ohnson. Samuel 504
ones, \Villiam K 385

Kauffman. John Jacob 316

Keefe, Dion 317

Kellough, George E 388

Kelly, .Martin I' 507

Kennedy. Robert 323

Kershaw. J. Frederick 403

Kershaw. James S 482

Kek-shaw. John H 411

Kirkman, William 376

Koger. Marion 409

Koontz. William A 327

Kralman. William 355

Kuhl, Henry 4*5

Kydd, John 285

Kyger, Daniel T 294

Lafortune, Joseph 449

LaGrave, Dennis 379

Lamb, James M 416

Lamb, John D 475

Lasater, Harry 4'i<)

Lasater, James H 4<J4

Lee, Henry 495

Lewis, George F 429

Linn, Eathan A 437

Logan Edward .31*8

Loney, Samuel K 497

Loundagin, George W 387

Lovewcll, Samuel Harrison 362

Lowden, Francis .M 324

Lowden, Francis M., Jr 318

Lowden, Marshall J 318

Lyman, William D ;<44

Lynch, P. M ifl

Lynrh, Robert E 418

Lyons, Thomas 494

Mabry. Mrs. Enu-line J 309

Magallon, Adrien 3.58

PAGE

.Malloy, William S 486

Mangan. Edward H 417

.Mangan. Joseph | 415

Manion. John .503

Mann, William H 405

Marcy, Benjamin W ■ .365

Martin, Michael 390

Martin, Patrick 491

Xfasterson. Andrew C 400

Mathew, William L 432

Maxson. Samuel R 485

McAuliff, James :jl.i

McCann, Etlwin 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 W., Jr 292

Mclnroe, Charles 483

McKinney, Thompson M 370

McKinney, William 393

McKinney, William E., Jr 390

McLean, Clark N 299

Mc.Morris, Lewis 320

Meiners. Martin 426

.Michel. Justus 399

Middleton. George H 449

Miller, Joseph L .502

Mills, Edward D 396

Mix. .Mrs. Annie McC 4.58

Molkin-, Iwa S 373

Moore, Miles C 282

.Moore. Thomas .346

Morrow, J. H 420

Morse, Franklin B 339

Murphy, Horace J 364

Nelson, Cyrus T 480

Nelson. Hiram 481

•Nicholas. Amander M 451

Noble. William A 396

Norman, Nelson R 493

O'Donn.-ll. William

. 284

Offner, Winfield S

. 311

Osborn. ( Jbadiah ...

. 4.5(i

Osborn. Robert H

. ,394

Owens, S. A

. 391

Painter, William C 328

Parker, HoILm 273

Peek. Fbeni-.zer M 387

Perkins, Perry C 379

Perry. Alfred F 423

Peterson, William 35(i

Pettvjohn. Jonathan 464

Phillips, Charles VV 4.55

Picar<l. John . . . .' 499

I'rest^in, Charles B 375

Preston. Dale 485

Preston. Plait A 470

Preston, William G 468

Quinn, Thomas 368

Rchorn, John 413

Reid, Albert E 439

Reser, John L 463

Reser, William P 4.57

Reynolds, Allen H ;i07

Reynolds. Almos H 310

Reynolds. Rasselas P 416

Roedel, Charles Ottmar :M)2

Rohn. J. Fred 451

Rohn. J. J 477

Richardson. Charles B 4.54

Ritile. Elihu G 3.54

Ritz, Philip 496

Rudd, Irby H 389

Rulaford, George A :d80

Russel, Thomas A 499

Russell, Chai les 293

Russell, E. Shepard '.ibO

Russell, Patrick 484

Russell, Waller E 412

Sanderson, Henry 285

Scholl. Louis 319

Schumacher, Carl 317

Seeke, Marshall C .503

Sell, Nicholas 419

Seitz, John P 4.54

Sellaiid, Severt O 487

Sharpstein, Benjamin L .364

Shaw, Ellsworth E 314

Shaw, Le F. A 'Ml

Shelton, William M 446

.Simpson, Francis 1 410

Singleton, John 460

Smails, George 311

Smith, Ezekiel 343

Smith, John C 464

Smith, Samuel J 440

Smith, William S *«

Smith, Wintield D..... 359

Stetson, Clinton 393

Stewart, Charles B 286

Stewart, Daniel IV>'2

Stewart, Meredith E Xil

Storev, John C 420

Strah'. , John U 4<J2

Strahm, Peter ... 394

."straight, Zebulon K .'526

Stringer, Robert J 322

Sirulhers, William A 397

Sturgis, Willi.im P .♦484

Swaiin, Moses 4;J0

Swan, John M 489

Sweeney, Samuel B 414

Sweetser, Charles T 445

Swezea, Thomas J 601

Tash, An.Irew J 426

Tavlor, Charles M 371

Taylor. John A 476

Taylor. Thomas 306

Thompson, James B 609

INDEX.

PAGE PAGE PAGE

Thompson, Robert 463 Wallace, Herbert F 348 Wilson, Valentine 369

Townsend, William C 347 Ward, Michael B 336 Wiseman, fonathan T 409

Truax, Henry C 343 Weaver, Jacob F 3»5 Wiseman, William N 407

444 Woods, Joel
373

Tyson, Charles A 446 Wellman, Alfred C

Wheeler, Emerson L

V Whitehouse, Cieorije W 295

Whitman, E. B. . ." 287

Whitman, E. S 287

Whitman, Stephen G 291

Wickersham, James 365 Yenney, L O....

Wickersham, John. ... 440 Yenney, Philip. . .

Wild, Hhihp A 383 Yenney, W. H . . .

Walker, Robert F 392 Williams, Edward J 488 Young, Samuel P.

Villa, Frank 417

Yeend, James A.
Yeend, William .

396

491
486
501
506
495
340

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA mm.

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
fatinis of successive generations of explorers,
luring them on with that indescribable 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 mystery 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 be 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 the 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 doubling 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, probaljly somewhere in the vicinity
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 by
which he plundered the treasures of the Span-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

ish 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
globe.

But in 1592, just one hundred years after
'Coluinbus. comes the most picturesque of all
those misty stories which enwrap the early
liistory 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
who were preying on their commerce. Ac-
<:ording to the account given by Michael Lock,
"he followed his course in that voyage, west
.and northwest in the South Sea. all along the
<:oast of Nova Spania, and California and the
Indies, now called North America (all which
Toyage 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 very much
broader sea than was at the said entrance, and
that he passed by divers islands 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 rock, like a pillar, 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 everywhere, and to be about thirty or
forty leagues wide in the mouth of the straits
where he entered, 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 Mceroy for this service done
in the said voyage."

This curious bit of past record has been
interpreted by some as pure myth, and by
others as veritable history. It is at any rate
a generally accurate outline description of the
Straits of Fuca, the Gulf of Georgia and the
shores of Vancouver Island and the mainland
adjoining. And whether or not the eld Greek
pilot did actually exist and first look on our
'■^Mediterranean of the Pacific," it is pleasant
to 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
journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific and
return, through a system of rivers and straits,
entering the coast at about 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.
Ascending this for a Ions: distance northeast-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

>erly, he reached an immense lake, on whose
shores he found a weahhy and civihzed nation,
who 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-
ing 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. Many years passed after the age
of myth before there were authentic voyages.
During the seventeenth centurj' 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 precious woods, for which
they had been striving so desperately upon the
eastern coast. English, French, Spanish,
Portuguese, Dutch, Russian and American,
er^tered their bold and hardy sailors into the
race for the possession of the land of the Oc-
cident. The Russians were the first in the
field. That gigantic power, which the genius
of Peter the Great had suddenl}- 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 be executed. 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 offset 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 the progress made by
Spain and Russia, sent out the Columbus
of the eighteenth century, in the person of
Captain James Cook, and he sailed up and
down the coast of Alaska and of \\'ashington,
but failed to discover either the Columbia river
or the Straits of Fuca.

HISTORY OF \\'ALLA \\'ALLA COUNTY.

Nevertheless his 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 luster of her name.
The great captain, while temporarily on shore,
■was killed by Indians in 1778, and the com-
mand devolved upon Captain Clerke, who
sailed northward, passing through Behring
Strait to the Arctic ocean. The new com-
mander died before the expedition had pro-
ceeded far on its return journey. Lieutenant
Gore, a Virginian, assumed control and sailed
to Canton, China, arriving late in the year.
The main purpose of this expedition had
been the discovery of a northern waterway be-
tween the two oceans aiid the extending of
British territory, but, 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 outcome of
an accident. It so happened that the two vessels
of the expedition, the Resolution and the Dis-
covery, took with 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
Avillingness to barter commodities of much
value for them and endea\'oring to secure them
at almost any sacritice. 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 inaugurated in Chi-
nese and East India commerce. The north-
west coast of America assumed a new import-
ance in the eyes of Em-opeans 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 Nootka, 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 friendly relations
existing between the two governments repre-
sented. In 1779, the viceroy of ^lexico sent
two ships, the Princesa and San Carlos, to
convey ^lartinez and De Haro to the vicinity
for the purpose of anticipating and preventing
the occupancy of Nootka sound by fur-traders
of other nations and that the Spanish title to
the territory might be maintained and con-
firmed. r^Iartinez was to base his claim upon
the discovery by Perez in 1774. Courtesy
was to be extended to foreign vessels, but the
establishment of any claim prejudicial to the
rights of the Spanish crown was to be vigor-
ously resisted.

Upon 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 demanded the papers
of both vessels and an explanation of their
presence, vigorously asserting the claim of
Spain that the port and contiguous territory
were hers. The captain of the Iphigenia
pleaded stress of weather. On finding that the
•/essers papers commanded the capture, under
certain conditions, of Russian, Spanish or
English vessels, JMartinez seized the ship, but
on being advised that the orders relating to
captures were intended only to apply to the
defense of the vessel, the Spaniard released the
Iphigenia and her cargo. The Northwest
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 enterprise

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

divested themselves of their true national 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 Lidia Company, to whom had been
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
their Portuguese nationality, they had placed
the expedition nominally 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-
niand of Captain Colnutt, arri\-ed, it was
thought best by 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-
ish governor of his intention to take pos-
session of the country 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 flag. 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 any 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
A'oyages of Meares, who entered and described
the above mentioned strait, and who, in 1788,
explored the coast at the point where the great

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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
ot the West." Howbeit, nothing can be surer
than that the existence of such a river was ut-
terly unknown to him at the time. Indeed his
conviction of its non-existence was thus started
in his own account of the voyage : "We can
now with safety assert that there is no such
river as St. Roc (of the Spaniard, Heceta)
exists, as laid down in the Spanish charts,"
and he gave a further unequivocal expression
of his opinion by naming the bay in that
vicinity Deception Bay and the promontory
north of it Cape Disappointment. "Disap-
pointed and deceived," remarks Evans face-
tiously, "he continued his cruise southward 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 played a prominent part. The
northern mystery, which had been partially
resolved by the Spanish, English, French and
Portuguese explorations, was new to be com-
pletely robbed of its mystic charm, speculation
and myth must now give place to exact knowl-
edge, the game of discovery must hereafter be
played principally between the two branches
of the Anglo-Saxon race, and Anglo-Saxon
energy, thoroughness and zeal are henceforth
to characterize operations on ths 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 vessels were instructed
t'l make what explorations and discoveries
they might.

After remaining a time on the coast. Cap'
tain Kendrick transferred his ship's property to
the Washington, with the intention of taking
a cruise in that vessel. He placed Captain 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 carried out. The vessel ar-
rived in Boston in September, 1790. was re-
ceived with great eclat, refitted by her owners
and again dispatched to the shores of the
Pacific, with Captain Gray in command. In
July, 1 79 1, the Columbia from Boston and the
Washington from China met not far from the
spot wliere 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,
1792, Gray met A^ancouver just below Cape
Flattery and an interesting colloquy took place.
Vancouver communicated to the American
skipper the fact that he had not yet made any
important discoveries, and Gray, with equal

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

frankness, gave the eminent British explorer
an account of his past discoveries, "inchiding,"
says Bancroft, "the fact that he had not sailed
through Fuca Strait in the Lady Washington,
as had been supposed from Meares' narrative
and map." He also informed Captain Van-
couver that he had been "off the mouth of a
river in latitude forty-six degrees, ten minutes,
where the outset, or reflux, was so strong as
to prevent his entering for nine days."

The important information conveyed by
Gray seems to have greatly disturbed the ec|ui-
poise of Vancouver's mind. The entries in
his log show that he did not entirely credit
the statement of the American, but that he
was considerably perturbed is evidenced by
the fact that he tried to convince himself by
argument that Gray's statement could not have
been correct. The latitude assigned by the
American was that of Cape Disappointment,
and the existence of a river mouth there,
though affirmed by Heceta, had been deniecl
by Meares ; Captain Cook also had failed to
find it, besides had he not himself passed that
point two days before and had he not observed
that "if any inlet or river should be found it
must be a very intricate one, and inaccessible
to vessels of our burden, owing to the reefs
and broken water which then appeared in its
neighborhood." With such reasoning, he dis-
missed the matter from his mind for the time
being. He continued his journey northward,
passed through the strait of Fuca, and engaged
in a tliorough and minute exploration of that
mighty inland sea, to a portion of which he
gave the name of Puget Sound.

Meanwhile Gray was proceeding south-
ward "in the track of destiny and glory." On
May /th he entered the harbor which now
bears his name and four days later he passed
through the breakers over the bar, and his ves-

sel's prow plowed the waters of that famous
"River of the West." whose existence had been
so long suspected. The storied "Oregon" for
the first time heard other sound than "its own
dashing."

Shortly afterward Vancouver came to
Cape Disappointment to explore the Colum-
bia, of which he had heard indirectly from
Captain Gray. Lieutenant Broughton of Van-
couver's expedition sailed over the bar, as-
cended the river a distance of more than one
hundred miles to the site of the present Van-
couver, and with a modesty truly remarkable,
"takes possession of the river and the country
in its vicinity in his Britannic Majesty's name,
having every reason to believe that the sub-
jects of no other civilized nation or state had
ever entered it before." This, too, though he
had received a salute of one gun from an
American vessel, the Jennie, on his entrance to
the bay. The lieutenant's claim was not to
remain fore\-er unchallenged, as will appear
presently.

With the exploration of Puget sound and
the discovery of the Columbia, history-making
maritime adventure practically ceased. But as
the fabled Strait of Anian had drawn explorers
to the Pacific shores in cjuest of the mythical
passage to the treasures of the Ind, so likewise
did the faii'y tales of La Hontan and others
stimulate inland exploration. Furthermore the
mystic charm always possessed by a terra in-
cognita was becoming irresistible to aih'cntur-
ous spirits, and the possibilities of discovering
untold wealth in the vaults of its "Shining
mountains" and in the sands of its crystal rivers
were exceedingly fascinating to the lover of
gain.

The honor of pioneership in o\-erland ex-
ploration belongs to Verendrye, who under
authority of the governor-general of New

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 made many important
explorations, but as they failed to find a pass
th.rough the Rocky mountains by which they
could come to the Pacific side, their adventures
do not fall within the purview of our volume.
They are said to have reached the present vicin-
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
Montcachabe by name. But "the first traveler
to lead a party of cl\'ilized men through the
territorv 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 sufificient to bring to a success-
ful issue almost any undertaking worth the
eft'ort. ^^'hile 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 vessel to Nootka sound, from which,
as a starting point, he should make an explor-
ir.g 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 consequent fail-
ure of his enterprise.

The next eft'ort of Jefiferson 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 favorably 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 given the preference. Michaux
proceeded as far as Kentucky, but there re-
ceived an order from the French minister, to
whom, it seems, he also owed obedience, that
he should relinquish 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 advisabil-
ity of fitting out an expedition the object of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

wliich sliould be "to explore the ^Missouri river
and such principal streams of it as, by its course
of communication with the waters of the Pacific
ocean, whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colo-
rado, or an}- other river, 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
charge 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
thnse 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 Missouri and United
States more beneficially than b)- the circum-
navigation now practiced." Li addition to the
instructions already cjuoted, these explorers
were directed to ascertain if possible on arriv-
ing at the seaboard if there were any ports
within their reach frecjuented 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
deemed a return by 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 July.
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-
quired 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 VI. A constant warfare had been
waged between France and Great Britain for
supremacy in America. The 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 boundary. 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
subsec[u'ently made between Spain and other
states."

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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

had not been established at that time, but some
king on October 15, 1802, and, as above stated,
the United States succeeded to the title by
treaty of April 30, 1803. Exact boundaries
idea of the extent of this purchase may be had
when we remember that it extended from the
present British line to the Gulf of Mexico and
included what are now 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 tlie commerical
interests of the United States acquired a new
purpose, namely, the extending of the geo-
graphical and scientific knowledge concerning
our ozi'ii domain. Upon Lewis and Clark a
further duty devolved, that of informing the
natives that obedience 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
it into the wilderness. That same impulse led
them which drew the camel-drivers 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 fire 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 should have had the
fascination of a novel.

This historic expedition 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 rivers between there and
the Pacific. Their plan was to ascend the Mis-
souri to its source, cross the divide, strike the
headwaters of the Columljia, 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 Jefferson'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 vipon the festive coon ani 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
L^nited States officer, and seems to have been
equally 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.

ernment offered the munificent reward of retire-
ment upon full pay with a recommendation 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.

After an interesting and easy journey of
five months they reached the country of the
Mandans, 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 six 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 party was
almost in danger of being overrun by the enor-
mous herds of buffalo.

The long, bright days, the tingling air of
the mountains, the pleasant swish of the water
as their canoes 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 en their own with various
permutatory combinations, they were reduced
to the extremity of loading innocent creeks with
tlie ponderous names of Wisdom, Philosophy,
and Philanthropy. Succeeding generations
have relieved the unjust pressure in two of
these 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, the 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 journey 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 quickly responded by bringing plenty of
horses and all the information in their poor
power.

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 abundant bur-
dens they bade farewell to the friendly Sho-
shones on the last day of August, and com-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

mitted themselves to tlie dreaiy and desolate
solitudes to the westward. They soon became
entangled in the savage ridges and defiles, al-
read}^ spotted with snow, of the Bitter Root
mountains.

Having crossed several branches of the
great river named in honor of Captain Clark,
and becoming distressed at the increasing
dangers and delays, they turned to the left, and,
having punished a brawling creek for its in-
hospitalit}^ 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 the\' received the answer, "Kooskons-
kie." This in reality meant simply that this
was not the stream for which they were search-
ing. But not understanding, they named the
river Kooskooskie. This Avas 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, and the shaggy precipices were marked
with almost daily accidents to men and beasts.
Their only meat was the 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
W'hich 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 found no game except a
stray horse, which they speedily dispatched.

Here the ad\-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
\-ery amicably disposed, the cheering news that
the great river was not very 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
sweeping current with which all the tributaries
of the Columbia hasten to their destined place.
They left their horses with the Nez 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
explorers of this country almost uniformly met
with the kindest reception. The cruelty and
deceit afterward characteristic of the Indians
were learned partly of the whites.

On the loth of October, having 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 fovu' miles in
length, at the lower part of which the whole
river was compressed into a channel only twen-
five yards wide. Immediately below the}^
passed a large stream on the right, which they
called Drew\'er's river, from one of their men.
This must have been the Palouse river and
rapid, and certainly it is very rare that the

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

mighty Snake becomes attenuated at that point
to a width of twenty-five yards. The next
day, descending the w'orst rapids they had yet
seen (probably the Monumental rapid) it re-
pelled their affrontery by upsetting" one of the
boats. No lives were lost, but the cargo of
the boat was badly wetted. For the purpose
of drying it they stopped a day, and finding
no other timber, they were compelled to use
a very appropriate pile which some Indians
had very carefully stored away and cov-
ered with stone. This trifling circumstance is
noticed because of the explorers speaking in
connection with it of their customary scrupu-
lousness in never taking any property of the
Indians, and of their determination to repay
the owner if they could find him, on their re-
turn. If all explorers had been as particular,
m.uch is the distress and loss that would have
been avoided.

They found almost continuous rapids from
this point to the mouth of the Snake, which
they reached on October i6th. Here they were
met by a regular procession of nearly two
hundred Indians. They had a grand pow-
wow and both parties displayed great affec-
tion for each other, the whites bestowing
medals, shirts, trinkets, etc., in accordance with
the rank of the recipient, and the Indians re-
paying the kindness with abundant and pro-
longed visits and accompanying gifts of wood
and fish. On the next day they measured the
rivers, finding the Columbia to be 960 yards
wide, and the Snake 575. They indulge in no
poetic reveries as they stand by the river which
had been one principal object of their search,
but they seem to have seen pretty much every-
thing of practical value. In the glimmering
haze of the pleasant October morning they no-
tice tlie \-ast bare prairie stretching southward

until broken by the rounded summits of the
Blue mountains. They find the Sohulks, who
lived at the junction of the rivers, a mild and
happy people, the men being content with one
wife, whom they actually assist in the family
work.

Captain Clark ascended the Columbia to the
mouth of a large river coming from the west,
which the Indians called the Tapteal. This
was, of course, the Yakima. The people living
at its mouth rejoiced in the liquid name of
Chimnapum. Here Captain Clark shot what
he called a prairie cock, the first he had seen,
li: was the sage hen, no doubt, a handsome bird
nearly as large as a turkey and very common
along the river at the present time.

After two days' rest, being well supplied
with fish, dog, roots, etc., and at peace with
their own consciences and all the world, with
satisfaction at the prospect of soon completing
their journey, they re-embarked. Sixteen
miles below the mouth of the Kimooenim,
which they now began to call the Lewis river,
they described, cut clear against the dim hor-
izon line of the southwest, a pyramidal moun-
tain, covered with snow — their first view of
Mount Hood.

The next day, being in the vicinity of
Umatilla, they saw another snowy peak at a
conjectured distance of one hundred and fifty
miles. This they supposed to be Mount St.
Helens, but it was, in reality. Mount Adams.
Near here Captain Clark, having landed, shot
a crane and a duck. Some Indians near were
almost paralyzed with terror. At last they re-
covered enough to make the best possible use
of their legs. Following them Captain Clark
found a little cluster of huts. Pushing aside
the mat door of one of them, he entered, and
in the brioht light of the unroofed hut discov-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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

Having by 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 w'ho 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 principal 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 w^as now
almost constantly in view, 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 equally turbulent Co-
lumbia. 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
they had talked with since crossing 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
tb.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 above, but rather a dismal
sough, as though the rocks below were rub-
bing their black sides together in the \-ain
eft"ort to close over the escaping river. The
river is here "turned on edge." In fact, its
depth has not been found to this day. Some
suppose that there was once a natural tunnel
here through which the river flowed, and that
in consequence of a volcanic convulsion the
top of the tunnel fell in. If there be 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
throu2-h this Witches' Cauldron, Though no

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

doubt whirled along with frightful rapidity
and flung like foam flakes on the crests of the
boiling surges, they reached the end of the
"chute" without accident, to the amazement
of the Indians who had collected on the bluff
to witness the daring experiment. After two
more portages the party safely entered the
broad, still flood beginning where the town
of The Dalles now stands. Here they paused
for two days to hunt and caulk their boats.
They here began to see evidences of the white
traders below, in blankets, axes, brass kettles,
and other articles of civilized manufacture.
The Indians, too, were more inclined to be
saucy and suspicious.

The dalles seemed to be a dividing line be-
tween the Indian tribes. Those living at the
falls, where Celilo now is, called the Enee-
shurs, understood and "fellowshipped" with all
the up-river tribes. But at the narrows and
thence to the dalles was a tribe called the Es-
cheloots. These were entirely alien to the
Indians above, but on intimate terms with those
below to the cascades. Among the Esche-
loots the explorers first noticed the peculiar
"cluck" in speech common to all down-river
tribes. The flattening of the head, which above
belonged to the females only, was now the
common thing.

The place where Lewis and Clark camped
while at the dalles was just below Mill creek
(called by the natives Ouenett), on a point of
rocks near the present location of the car
shops.

The next Indian tril^e, extending appar-
ently from the \-icinity of Crate's point to the
cascades, capped the climax of tongue-twist-
ing names b}^ calling themselves Chilluckitte-
quaws.

Xothing of an extraordinary character
seems to have been encountered between the

dalles and the cascades. But the explorers had
their eyes wide open, and the calm majesty of
the river and the savage grandeur of its shores
received due notice. They observed and named
most of the streams on the route, the first of
importance being the Cataract river (now the
Klickitat), then Labieshe's river (Hood river),
Canoe creek (White Salmon) and Crusatte's
river. This last must have been the Little
\Vhite Salmon, though they were greatly de-
ceived as to its size, stating it to be sixty yards
wide. In this vicinity they were much struck
with the sunken forest, which at that low stage
of the water was very conspicuous. They
correctly inferred that this indicated a dam-
ming up of the river at a very recent time. In
deed they judged that it must have occurred
within twenty years. It is well known, how-
ever, that submerged trees or piles, as indicated
by remains of the old Roman wharfs in Britain,
may remain intact for hundreds of years. It
is, nevertheless, evident that the closing of the
ri\-er at the cascades was a \-ery recent event.
It is also evident from the sliding, sinking, and
grinding constantly seen there now that a sim-
ilar event is liable to happen at any time.

The cascades having been reached more
portages were required. Slow and tedious
though the}- were, the explorers seem to have
endured them with unfailing patience. They
were cheered by the prospect of soon putting
all the rapids behind and launching their ca-
noes on the unobstructed vastness of the lower
river.

This was successfully accomplished on the
2d of Xovember. They were greatly delight-
ed with the verdure which now robed the gaunt
nakedness of the rocks. The island formed at
the lower cascades by Columbia slough also
pleased them great]}- by its fertility and its
dense growth of grass and strawberrv vines.

HISTORY OF WALLA W^-VLLA 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 ex-
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 \\'ashougal creek, which
from the great number 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 7th 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 ]\Iarch, 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
of this last is. that, through the medium of
some ci\-ilized 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.

are hereunto annexed and who were sent out
by the go\-ernment of the United States to ex-
plore the interior of the continent of North
America, did penetrate the same by way of the
Missouri and Columbia rivers, to the discharge
of the latter into the Pacific ocean, at which
they arrived on the 14th day of November,
1805, and departed on their return to the
United States by the same route by which they
had come."

Of this notice several copies were left
among the Lidians, 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 Columbia river. They dis-
covered on their return a large tributary of
tb.at river (the Willamette) which had escaped
their notice on their downward journey, and
made careful inquiries of the Indians concern-
ing it, the results of which were embodied in
their map of the expedition.

At the mouth of the John Day river their
canoes were abandoned, their baggage was
packed on the backs of a few horses they had
purchased from the Indians, and traveling in
tliis manner, they continued their homeward
march, arriving at the mouth of the Walla
\\'alla river on April 27th. The great chief
\ellept was then the leader of the Walla Walla
nation, and by him the explorers were received
with such generous hospitality that they yield-
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 apprecia-
. tive notation concerning them : "We may in-
deed justly affirm 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-
dred and fifty miles, that venerable pioneer
missionary. Dr. H. K. Hines, writes as fol-
lows :

"Leaving these hospitable people on the
29tli of April, the party 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 buffalo ranges,
to which they annually resorted for game sup-
plies. It passed up the \-alley of the Touchet,
called by Lewis and Clark the AVlfite Stal-
lion,' thence over the high prairie ridges and
down the Alpowa to the crossing of the Snake
ri\-er, then up the north bank of Clearwater
to the village of Twisted Hair, where the ex-
ploring party had left their horses on the way
down the previous autumn. It was worn deep
and broad, and On many stretches on the open
plains and over the smooth hills twenty horse-
men could ride abreast in parallel paths worn
by 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 \vith the
heel of civilization. But 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 ]\Iay days

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY.

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 extent of the voyage we
quote the brief summary made by Captain
Lewis himself :

"The road by which we went out by the
^^■ay of the I^Iissouri to its head is 3,096 miles;
thence by land by wa)- 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
jjart of the Rocky mountains to the navigable
Avaters of the Columbia 398 miles, thence
down the ri\'er 640 miles to the Pacific ocean —
making a total distance of 4,134 miles. On
our return in 1806 we came from Traveler's
Rest directly to the falls of the [Missouri river,
v.hich shortens the distance about 579 miles,
antl is a much better route, reducing the dis-
tance from the INIississippi to the Pacific ocean
to 3.555 miles. Of this distance 2.575 miles
is up the ]\Iissouri to the falls of that river;
thence passing through the plains 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-
lumbia Avaters 640 miles — making a total of
3,55s 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 United States naturally created
a sensation throughout this country and the
world. Leaders and men were suitably re-
warded, and the fame of the former will live
while the rivers 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: "Xever 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 journe}-,
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, tlie 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 by
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-
pany 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 L'nited
States. The sea division set sail from X^ew
York in 18 10 in the ship Tonquin. In the
meantime ^^'ilson Price Hunt, the second part-

HISTORY OF \\'ALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Tier in the concern, was at St. Louis organizing
a land party, which was to cross the plains and
co-operate with the division by sea. Hunt had
"been merchandising for some j'cars at St. Louis.
His principal trade being with trappers and
Indians, he had become very familiar with the
recjuirements 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 by his associates and suc-
cessors. Brave, 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 physique 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
was obliged to fill his ranks.

There were at this time two great classes
ol trappers. The first and most numerous were
the Canadian voyageurs. These men were
mainly of French descent. IMany of them were
half-breeds. They were the legacj- of the old
French domination over Canada. Cradled in
the canoe or batteau, their earliest remem-
brance being the cold blue lake or foaming
river, almost amphibious by nature and train-

ing, 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
sa\-ages, 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
bufi^alo steak and wild birds' flesh wrought into
their iron sinews ; with nerves of steel, on
which it seemed might harmlessly play even
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, 3'et
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 company;
harsh and cruel to the Indians wlien 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
th.eir eyes, thunder in their voices, and pistols
in. their hands, yet underneath it all many of
thicm having hearts as big as buffaloes, could
they but be reached, — this now vanished race of
Eooshaways has gone to a place in histor}- be-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

side the old Spartans, whose greatest boast u
was that the city had no walls, their army
being the wall and every man therein a brick,
or beside the Spanish conquerors 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 acquiescence and
let him pass in safety.

This old streak of brutality and tyranny,
originally cast into the Anglo-Saxon nature and
manifested 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
tlirough the thin crust of modern culture, has
shown itself in no way more notably than in
the whole Lidian management of the American
Government. These free trappers executed
with a vengeance the unspoken, but not less
real, policy of our government. Humanity,
and even shrewd policy, had little place in the
thoughts and actions of most of them. The
Indians 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 vicinity of a
beaver trap, was sufficient warrant to send a
rifle ball ploughing its way through his heart.
The Gallic gentleness and sociabilitv which
enabled the Canadian voyageurs to go almost
anywhere imharmed among the Indians, found
no counterpart in the sterner composition of the
great majority of American trappers and
traders.

Such were the men from whom Hunt had to
make up his little army, and a vexatious job it
was, too. The rivalries of opposing 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 loosened by the golden lever of wages
in advance. Worst of all, Hunt found at
nearly every station where he tried to engage
men that the agents of the Missouri Fur Com-
pany, chief of whom was a Spaniard named
flannel 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 April, 1811, 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 voyageurs.
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 plan 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 Vir-
ginian named John Day. \\'e shall meet him
frequently. The party was in all respects
most bountifully ec]uipped. 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 WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the nth of June they reached a large village
of the Arickaras, fourteen hundred and thirty-
miles above the mouth of the JMissouri. 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 every 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 map at their feet. Gazing attentively
westward their guide finally pointed out three
shining peaks ridging the western sky, whose
bases he assured them were washed by a trib-

utary of the Columbia. These peaks are now
known as the Tetons from their peculiar
shape. A Inmdred miles evidently lay between
the weary travelers and that goal. When
there, they felt that the}- 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 tributar}' of the Colorado, they laid in a
large stock of the plentiful buffalo, gave their
horses five days' rest and grazing on the
abundant grass, and on the 24th of September,
crossing a narrow ridge, found themselves on
the banks of a turbulent stream, recognized
by their guide as one of the 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 receive the name of
Mad ri\'er. 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 C|uestion now arose, should they
abandon the horses and make canoes with
which to descend the river. It was evident
that, though containing abundant water for
large boats, it was so impetuous as to render
navigating a dangerous business. But the
Canadians insisted on making the attempt.
^Veary 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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

would be ready to shoot another Niagara, if
it came in their way. The partners finally
gave their consent to make canoes. Forthwith
the voyageurs repaired with joyful hearts to
the adjacent woods, which soon began to yield
up its best timber for the projected boats.
JNIeanwhile 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 party possibly go.
Disappointed in this plan they now took
the advice of Hoback to go to a trapping post
Avhich had been established the year before
by Mr. Henry, of the Missouri Fur Company.
This post Hoback knew to be on one of the
tipper waters of the Snake and he thought
that it cuuld 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 Lidians
who had come to their camp before tlie storm
and had professed to know the location of
Henry's post, now agreed to guide them
thither. Accordingly on the 4th of October,
the hills all around being spotted with snow,
they resumed their horse'jack march. Four
days of cold and difficult journeying took
them to a cluster of deserted log huts. This
had been Henry's trading station, but was
now entirely abandoned. Beside the huts
flowed a beautiful river a hundred yards wide.
It was to all appearance a fine navigable
stream. Two weeks of industrious work pro-
Added fifteen canoes, and in these, hastily em-
barking, they pushed out into the stream.
Their horses were left in charge of the two
Snake Lidians. Nine men also, including
Miller, one of the partners, had been detached
irom the party at points between Mad river

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

\Mth the rapid current aiding the skillful
paddles of the voyageurs, Avhose 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.
They soon came to the mouth of a stream
which they took to be their old friend, the ]\Iad
river. They now considered themselves fairly
embarked on the main body of the Snake, and
already, in imagination, they began to toss on
the \-ast current of the Columbia, and even to
smell the salt breeze of the mild Pacific. Oc-
casional rocky points abutting on the river
made rapids which alternated with calm
stretches of water, whose banks, shallow and
grassy, 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 hundred miles-
from the place where they had first embarked.

Then they met with a most lamentable dis-
aster. Li the second canoe of the squadron
were Air. Crooks as bowman and Antoine
Clappine as steersman. The first canoe hav-
ing safely passed a dangerous rapid, the sec-
'ond essayed to follow. \\'ith a sudden lurch
she missed her course and the next instant
split upon a rock. Crooks and three of his
companions succeeded, after a hard struggle,
in reaching the land, but Clappine, one of the
most popular and useful men in the company,
was lost amid the boiling surges. Thev had

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

2 J,

now arrived at an unboatable chain of rapids
and frightful bhiffs, among which neither
boats nor horses, nothing, in sliort, but 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 squeezed into a place
thirty feet wide. This miniature maelstrom
received from the disheartened voyagers the
name of "The Caldron Linn."

The whole squadron 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 obstructions 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 one 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 the 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 Columbia.

Air. 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 for 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 j\Ic-
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 it3
desert bank, so that, tlKJUgh 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. 1 he 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. Lentil December they
urged on their course, cold, hungry, often
near starvation. At occasional wretched In-
dian camps they managed to secure dogs for
food, and once they got a few horseg. These
were loaded down with their baggage, but,
through scarcity of food, began soon to be too
v.'eak to be of much service, and so their attenu-
ated carcasses, one by one, were devoted to ap-
pease the hunger of the famished explorers.

1 he country through which they were pass-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

ing presented an almost unvarying aspect of
volcanic and snowy desolation. The few
frightened and half-starved Snake Lidians that
they encountered 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,
they first began to despair of forcing their
way. 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 cjuantity 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
much milder. Devouring one of their skin-
and-bone 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-
ing 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
before Mr. Hunt at once constructed a canoe.
Li 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
t(; make a more determined effort to obtain
guides and horses. \\'ith 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-
lutely 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.

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, overwhelmed as they were with ghostly
fancies, to cross, one of the 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 tack
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 before the heavy snows, and hav-
ing found each other there, had stuck to that
route until they had concjuered 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
river was so great as to recjuire 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

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
that 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 five 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 sk}^ 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 Montezumas. They swiftly descended
the slopes of the mountains and emerged upon
that diamond of the Pacific coast, the Uma-
tilla plains.

Here a tribe 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 ^Ir. Hunt to see in the
lodges axes, kettles, etc., indicating that these
Indians were in communication with the whites
below. In answer to his eager questionings
the Indians said that the great river was only

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

two days distant and that a party of white
men had just descended it. ConckuUng that
these were McKenzie and party, Hunt felt re-
heved of one great anxiety.

After a thorough rest the now joyful way-
farers set forth across the fertile plains and
after a pleasant ride of two days on the horses
obtained of the Tushepaws, lifting their eyes
they beheld a mighty stream, a mile wide, deep,
blue, majestic, sweeping through the treeless
plain, the Columbia. The hard and dangerous
part of the journey was now at an end. In
the absence of timber, however, and because
of the unwillingness of any Indians that they
met to sell canoes, they were obliged to wait
till reaching the dalles before launching upon
the stream. In the vicinity of the present
Rockland (they had come from Umatilla on
the north bank of the river) they had a "hyas
wa wa" with the redoubtable Wishram In-
dians. Sharpened by their location at the coni
lluence of all the ways down stream, these In>
dians had clearly grasped the fundamental
doctrine of civilized trade, to-wit : Get the
greatest possible return with the least possible
outlay. To this end they levied a heavy toll
on all unwary passers. These levies were usu-
ally collected while the eyes of the taxed were
otherwise engaged. In short, these Wishram
Indians were professional thieves.

Endeavoring at first to frighten Mr. Hunt
into a liberal "potlatch," then to beg of him
by representing their great services in pro-
tecting him from the rapacity of other Indians,
but finding no recognition of their claims ex-
cept abundant whiffs at the pipe of peace, they
gave up in disgust and contented themselves
with picking up whatever little articles might
be lying around handy. After considerable
haggling several finely made canoes were pro-
cured of these people and in these the last stage

of the journey was begun. Nothing extraor-
dinary marked the two hundred mile boat ride
down the river.

On the 15th of February, rounding the
bluffs of Tongue Point, they beheld with full
hearts the stars and stripes floating over the
first civilized abode this side of St. Louis.
Right beyond the parted headlands and the
water bordering horizon, they recognized the
gateway to the illimitable ocean. As they
drew near the shore the whole population of
Astoria came pouring down to the cove (near
the modern site of "Dad's" saw-mill, now
wharved over) to meet them. First in the
crowd came the party of McKenzie and Mc-
Lellan. Having no hope that Hunt and his
men could escape from the winter and the fam-
ine they were the more rejoiced to see them.
Their joy in reuniting was proportioned to
the darkness of the shadow of death which
had so long enshrouded them. The Cana-
dians, with French abandon, rushed into each
other's arms, crying and hugging like so many
school girls. And even the hard-visaged
Scotchmen and nonchalant Americans gave
themselves up to the unstinted gladness of the
occasion. The next day was devoted to feast-
ing and story telling. No doubt, like the feast-
ing mariners of the .Eneid, they discussed
with prolonged speech the "aiiiissos socios."
These, as the reader will remember, were
Crooks and John Day, with four Canadians,
who had been left sick on the banks of the
Snake. Little hope was entertained of ever
seeing them again. But as their story is a
natural sec|uel to that just ended, it shall be
given now. The next summer a party under
Stuart and McLellan, on their way from
Okanagan to Astoria, saw wandering on the
river bank near Umatilla two wretclietl beings,
naked and haggard. Stopping their canoes to

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

investigate, they discovered to their glad sur-
prise that these beings were Day and Crooks.

Tlieir forlorn plight was quickly relieved
with abundant food and clothes, and 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 Ilidians, who,
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 \\'ishrams. as Irving calls them,
first disarming suspicion by a friendly exterior,
perfidiously robbed them of the faithful rifles
which thus far in all their distress they had
never yet lost sight oi. and, stripping them,
drove them out. More wretched than ever
they now turned toward friendlv \\'alla \\'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 this
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
found 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
Tonquin.

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
Xew 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.

his own territory. This last he could accom-
plish through that semi-partnership with the
Russians in furnishing" them supplies.

There were at that time three especially
valuable fur-producing animals found in vast
numbers in this country. The 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
blackness rendered it first in the markets of
the world of all furs from the temperate zones
of North 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
might well entice daring and avarice to run
the gauntlet of icebergs, starvation, ferocious
savages and stormy seas. The profits of a
single voyage might lic^uidate 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
five 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-i
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, sometimes bloody, com-
petition of the fur traders.

With this outline of the business awaiting
the Toncpiin, 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 the
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 friendly, and only the in-
dignities and violence 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 not 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

HISTORY OF ^\"ALLA 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-
lience 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 vanished from the
captain's mind. Seizing him by the hair he
jpropelled him rapidly toward the ship-ladder.
Then, with a convenient bundle of furs,
snatched up furiously, he emphasized the
chieftain's exit. Nor is it likely that he spared
a liberal application of boot leather to the 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. ]\Ic-
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 McKay'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
quiet. 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 AIcKa}'
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-
ever 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 b)^ 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 ordered 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.

■quin'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, bent
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
th.eir bleeding lengths on the slippery deck did
he succumb. Then he was hacked to pieces
Avith savage glee. Meanwhile four sailors, the
onl)' survivors, besides the interpreter, Lamanse,
from whom the whole story 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 pursued and probably murdered 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 ecjually 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 vanciuished foes, and
in rifling the store-houses of the ship. Arrayed
in gaudy blankets and adorned with multiplied
strands of beads, they strutted proudly over
tlie 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 load
of li\'ing and dead is flung in fragments around
the sea. Her powder magazine had imitated
Samson among 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 they
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.

^^'hatever 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 story finally as-
sumed an accepted form, though not until the
reappearance of Lamanse, two years after the
event, was it fully understood.

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

HISTORY OF WALLA ^^'ALLA COUNTY.

present a picture of our heroic age suiiiciently
full to make plain the steps of our subsequent
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 eix)ch
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 iwpulation, 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
lier 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 Ameu'ican 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
than any 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 industry and production
to be 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 Walla county
we find much of the pathos and tragedy which
have marked the settlement of most pioneer
American 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.

A\'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.

scene, now upon another, he will comprehend before, 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 QUESTION.

AMiile 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 he 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 epoch.
Fortunate, indeed, was it that the independence
of the republic, the genius of the true Amer-
ican spirit, were eventually brought into high
relief, saving to our national commonwealth
the great and valuable territory which was at
that time practically a terra incognita.

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 AVashington,
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 H, 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-^
nients 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 ownership of the
country. Our great statesmen of the day
naturally had very inadecjuate conceptions of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY.

the value and importance of the territory in-
volved in the discussion, and this fact was un-
mistakablv indicated in their expressions.

In the early '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 almost impossible
that official and popular judgment could even
at that time have been so flagrantly in error.
Further. Senator Dayton, of New Jersey, from
the depths of his conviction and high order of
intelligence, did not hesitate to speak as fol-
lows: "God forbid that the time should ever
come when a state on the shores of the Pa-
cific, with its interests and tendencies of trade
all looking toward the Asiatic nations of the
east, shall add its jarring claims to our already
distracted and overburdened confederacy." It
is bevond peradventure that the continental
idea had not as yet pervaded the judicial body
of the national government.

As farther indicating the attitude main-
tained by the leaders of American thought and
action at the time, we can not do better 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 of savages
and wild beasts, of deserts, of shifting sands
and whirlwinds of dust, of cactus and prairie
dogs ? To what use could we ever hope to put
these great deserts or these great mountain
ranges, impenetrable and covered to their base
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-
inviting, and not a harbor on it? What use
have we for such a country? ]Mr. President,
I will never vote one cent from the public treas-
ury to place the Pacific 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 difiicult to conjecture
at this end of the century period : "The ridge
of the Rocky mountains may be named as a
convenient, natural and everlasting boundary.
Along this ridge the western limit of the Re-
public should be drav.'n, and the statue of
the fabled god. Terminus, should be 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 the Hudson's Ba}- Company or
through persons influenced by them, either
voluntarily or otherwise. The emissaries of
the Hudson's Bay Company had advisedly, and
for selfish purposes, looking to the aggrandize-
ment of the corporation, represented the region
as a "Miasmatic wilderness, uninhabitable ex-
cept by savage beasts and more savage men."
This action was taken in order to discourage
the settlement of white people in the country,
which accomplished thev realized would ulti-
mately interfere seriously with their lucrative
fur traffic with the aborigines of the land.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

1169838

JOINT OCCUPANCY TREATY A PRACTICAL FI-
ASCO.

Both Great Britain and the United States
being apparently unprepared for definite action,
in i8iS a treaty of joint occupation was en-
tered into, by the terms and provisions of
which "The northwest coast of America west-
ward of the Stony mountains shaU l)e open
to the subjects of the two contracting powers,
not to be construed to the prejudice of any
claim which either of the high contracting
parties may have to any part of said country."
This treaty was extended indefinitely in 1827,
with the provision that after 1838 either party
could abrogate it by giving to the other one
year's notice. Under this somewhat equivocal
treaty the shrewd representatives of the Hud-
son's Bay Company resorted to every conceiv-
able strategy to prevent immigration from the
United States, and they succeeded in effecting
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 Company to arrest wagons, break
plowshares, freeze out settlers, and by a
system of overland forts and seaport surveil-
lance prevent every movement that tended to-
ward the actual occupancy of the country, a
sufficient number of Americans had effected
settlement prior to 1844 to force upon the
Lmited States the c[uestion of title. Li the
3'ear mentioned Mr. Calhoun, then secretary of
state, demanded of the British government a
specific statement of its claims to the Oregon
territory. This overture elicited from Great
Britain a reiteration of a claim already made
in 1824, namely: "That the boundary line be-

tween the possessions of the two countries
should be the fortj^-ninth parallel of north
latitude to where it intersects the northeast-
ern branch of the Columbia river, then down
the middle channel of that river to the sea."
This claim, if allowed, would have 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 by Vancouver after Gray
had discovered it, and upon the occupancy of
the country by the Hudson's Baj^ Company for
traffic in furs.

The United States rested its claim on Cap-
tain Gray's discovery of the Columbia river,
on the Louisiana purchase, on the explorations
of Lewis and Clark, tracing the Columbia
from its source to its mouth, on the settlement
of Astoria, on the treaty with Spain in 1819
and on the treat}^ 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 1844 declared for the annexation of Texas
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 1827, and it
seemed for a time that war between Great
Britain and the United States was inevitable.
The proposal of the British minister, Mr. Pack-
enham, to submit the question 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 proposed by Mr. Calhoun was ac-
cepted by Great Britain as the boundary

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

between the two countries. By the terms of
the treaty provision was made that when the
boundary hue 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 southerly 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 very
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 L'nited States contended that it
was in the Canal de Haro. Each party ad-
hered to its position through a protracted and
vehement correspondence upon the subject.
Between these channels was an area of about
four hundred square miles, including several
j)rominent 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 \\'illiam of Germany, as
arbitrator, should decide which of the two
claims was most in accord with the treaty 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 Washing-
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 lie the number of free states to be admit-
ted to the Union. If he had not committed our
government 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 U.

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 the 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 Columbia river and Puget
sound was made by him and a few of his com-
panions during the winter. In the summer of
1845 ^I''- 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 southern
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 \\'ashington by Ameri-
cans. It was an heroic attempt, and they were
brave men who made it.

They 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 year. 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 being
its isolation, the discovery of gold in California,
and the brutal massacre of Dr. Whitman and
others at Waiilatpu. The scattered families
spent several years amid great perils, which
could not have been endured by people of less
bravery. They found the Indians, as a rule,
hostile and even threatening their extermina-
tion, but they met the insolence of the red men
with heroic defiance. This, with the timely
and decisive measures of Governor Lane, and
the building of Fort Steilacoom, with the aid
of some friendly Indians, sa\-ed them during
these critical years and made American occu-
pation permanent.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

About the year 1850 many who had left
for CaHfornia at the outset of the gold ex-
citement returned. ]\Ir. Simmons had been in
San Francisco and had brought with him a
cargo of merchandise, ^^'ith this basis he
opened a store at Olympia, which was the be-
ginning of the first town in \\'ashington. Set-
tlements began to extend, and Steilacoom came
into existence, and soon Port Townsend. In
1 85 1 a company of resolute pioneers, after
much 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 York. Some of them
soon removed to the east side of the Ijay, 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 people of extraor-
dinary intelligence and enterprise and of ster-
ling character came into the countrv.

\\'e soon find milhng 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 Cliehahs vallev. and
the Cowlitz valley down as far as the Colum-
bia river. Attempts were made to establish
great cities. So, at the close of 1852. we find
in what was then known as northern Oreoon,

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

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

DIVISION 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, 185 1.
Independence day was celebrated at Olympia
l5y those who had settled around the head of
Puget sound. ^Ir. J. B. Chapman, who was
the orator of the day, took for his theme "The
Future State of Columbia," and treated it in
an eloquent and stirring manner. The orator
struck a sympathetic chord in the hearts of his
hearers, and the appeal for prompt action found
a ready response. During the day a committee
on resolutions was appointed, and in rendering
tlieir report they recommended that representa-
tives of all the districts north of the Colum-
l)ia river meet in convention at Cowlitz Land-
ing, for the purpose, as expressed, "of taking-
mto careful consideration the peculiar position
of the northern portion of the territory of Ore-
gon, its wants, the best method of supplying
tliese wants, and the propriety of an earlv ap-
peal to congress for a division of the terri-
tory."

The recommendation being in accordance
with the will of the people, the various districts

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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 to construct
certain roads necessary for the public 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.

L'nder the lead of this paper, called the
Columbian, another convention was planned,
the same being held at Monticello, on the 25th
of October, 1852. There were present forty-
four representative citizens, and the action was
in harmony with that of the previous conven-
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, exhibited 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 ^Massachusetts, as governor. He was
a man eminently fitted for the position. Other

ofiicial appointments were as follows : C. H.
Mason, of Rhode Island, secretary ; Edward
Lander, of Indiana, chief justice; John R.
Miller, of Ohio, and Victor ]\Ionroe, 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 ri\-er, from its mouth to where the
forty-sixth degree of north latitude crosses
said river near Fort Walla \\'alla, thence with
said forty-sixth degree of latitude to the sum-
mit of the 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 cong-ress and of members of the ter-
ritorial legislature, and February for the con-
vening of said legislature.. Good material for
the offices was not wanting, nor a sufficient
number ambitious to fill them. Columl)us Lan-
caster, of Clarke county, was elected tielegate
to congress. Although a worthy man in many
respects, he did not prove to be qualified 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 progress of the territory was slow for
several years. The Cascade mountains were a
great barrier to the extension of settlements
eastward.

CHAPTER III.

THE MISSIONS OF WALLA WALLA AND THE WHITMAN MASSACRE.

Few of the pioneer lands of the 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 industry
and commerce. Others yet again have had the
grim destiu)' of meeting, fighting, killing, or
being killed by the unfortunate nati\'es. Still
others, very few ill 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. Most important of all, on yet others has
been laid the weightiest task, that of forming
national political policies and managing the in-
ternational questions arising out of the struggle
for possession.

Any one of the various lines of duty would
ha\-e been thought hard enough. We find the
strange spectacle in the annals of \\'alla Walla
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
\Miitman mission and the massacre, and the
events growing out of these in their bearing on
the history of Walla Walla 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 ^\'hite ]Man'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 cpest, 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 vmder 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 W'illamette 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
and make ready to come back and locate some-
where in Oregon Territory. Accordingly in

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the early spring of 1836, in company with 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 ri\'er to Green river the
missionary 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 who had come
to meet them. The letters and journals of Mrs.
Whitman and Mrs. Spalding- give us some
conception of the heroic fortitude with which
they met the hardships and dangers of that
unprecedented bridal journey of three thousand
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 labor, 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 boat to Vancouver,
Avhere Dr. McLoughlin, a true-born king of
men, received them with the kindly courtesy
which always characterized his treatment of
those who came to him. By his advice Whit-
man was established at Waiilatpu, six miles
west of the present Walla ^^'alla.

We must pass rapidly over the events of the
next few years. Suffice it to say that they
Avere years of great activity on the part of the
missionaries. Travelers who visited the sta-
tion expressed their wonder at the amount ac-
complished by Dr. \Miitman.

He had brought o\-er two hundred acres
of land under cultivation, had built se\'eral
large buildings, had put into running order a
small grist mill run by a water power 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 Avas 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 which 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 whose evident and in fact
necessary purpose was to keep the countrj' 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 w^as 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 Whitman thought of it the more
he became possessed of the idea that it was his
patriotic 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 Oregon. That was the primary
idea of that great winter ride in 1S42-3, made
by \\'hitman, 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 manv times narrated, have been discussed,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

hotly disputed, exaggerated and belittled, and
3-et out of the general turmoil certain historical
facts may be regarded as definitely established.
First, it is now conceded by all that \Miitman's
idea was "to save Oregon to the L'nited
States."

^lan}" 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 ha\-ing attributed low and sordid
motives to the hero, believing that his object
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 ^\'ash-
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 efforts to depreciate him had produced
a good deal of effect in the public mind. It
was therefore a matter of profound interest
when in i8gi there was made in the archives
of the \\'ar department an extraordinary dis-
covery. This was a letter from Dr. Whitman
himself to the department, proposing a bill 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 Union-Journal of August 15, 1891. A
perusal of it will convince any one that Whit-
man's aim in his tremendous exertions was
political, as well as that he had all the essential
elements of statesmanship. His aspersers have
scarcely "peeped" since the discovery of this
letter. The question of "Why Whitman went
east" has ceased to be debatable. \\'e incor-
porate here the beginning and closing of this
letter, adding only that reference to the L'nion-
Journal referred to, or to Dr. O. W. Xixon's
book, "How Alarcus Whitman Saved Oregon,"

will give to historical students this final word
on the controversy.

To the Hon. James ]\I. Porter, Secretary of
\\'ar.

Sir : — In compliance with the request you
did me the honor to make last winter while at
Washington, I herewith transmit to you the
sj-nopsis 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, six hundred and ninety-four oxen,
and seven hundred and seventy-three loose
cattle. * * * *

Your familiarit}^ with the government pol-
icy, duties and interest, renders it unnecessary
for me to more than hint at the several objects
intended by the inclosed bill, and any enlarge-
ment upon the topics here suggested as in-
ducements to its adoption would be quite su-
perfluous, if not impertinent. The verv ex-
istence of such a system as the one above
recommended suggests the utility of postoffices
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 reasonable
rates for transporting the mail across from
^Missouri to the mouth of the Columbia in forty
daj-s, with fresh horses at each of the con-
templated posts. The ruling policy proposed,
regards the Indians as the police of the coun-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

try, who are to be relied upon to keep the
peace, not only for themselves, but to repel
lawless white men and prevent banditti, under
the solitary guidance of the superintendent 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 delivery or punishment of violent,
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,

AIarcus Whitmax.

The second fact established in regard to
Whitman's work is that he did produce a pro-
found influence on the minds of President
Tyler and Secretary Webster and others in
authority, and as a result, other influences,
perhaps, 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, his 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
Oregon. The immigration of '43 was the
deciding contest in the struggle for pos-
session between England and the L^nited
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 JMoun-
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 actuall}- farther east,
they had no bearing on the political question 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 Alyth." this is not
the place to speak. Suffice it to say that by
the uniform testimony of his contemporaries,
as well as of the students of history, \Miitman
was one of the heroes of America and the chief
factor in giving this "Valley of I\Iany ^^'ater5"
its high rank among the sacred places of our
land.

But AMiitman's destiny was not vet ful-
filled. The missionary had become the patriot,
the patriot had become the hero, the hero had
become the statesman. Now the statesman
must become the martyr.

THE WHlTM.JiN MASSACRE.

After \\' hitman's return in 1843 the In-
dians had become restive and ugly. 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 implied farming,
cattle-raising, houses, fixed 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

HISTORY OF \\'ALLA ^^'ALLA COUXTY.

sympathize with them. Dr. Whitman per-
ceived the danger and during the summer cif
1847 he had in contemplation a removal to
The Dalles. He had arranged to purchase the
Methodist mission there and was planning to
remove thither in the spring. In the meantime
sinister influences were gathering around his
devoted head, all unknown to him. His two
principal enemies were Tamsuk}', a Cayuse
chief, and Joe Lewis, a renegade half-breed
who had wandered to the mission, had been
befriended by \A'hitman. 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 1S47, measles, in-
troduced bv immigrants, became epidemic
among the Cayuses. Their native method of
treating anj-thing of a feverous nature was to
enter into a sweat house, stripped of clothing,
and remain there until thoroughly steamed,
and then plunge naked and perspiring into a
cold stream. Death was the almost ine\"itable
result. \Miitman was faithful and unremitting
in his ministrations, l]ut 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
\Miitman as to what they would do when they
had got possession of the country.

The Indians determined to make a test case
of a sick woman, giving her some of \\'hit-
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 alwavs been
a warm friend of Whitman, had felt some ink-
ling of the plot, and suggested to him his
danger. He had never realized it before, but

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

But the next day, the fatal 29th of No-
veml^er, 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 black with Indians look-
ing down upon the scene. Their presence and
their unfriendly looks added to the alarm felt
by j\lrs. \Miitman.

At about I o'clock on the 29th, as Dr. AMiit-
man was sitting reading, a number of Indians
entered and having attracted his attention by
the accustomed request 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 AMiitman. then came up and pro-
ceeded to beat and hack the noble face that had
never expressed any sentiment but kindness
toward those children of darkness. The work
of murder, thus begun, was followed with
fiendish energy. None of the white men, scat-
tered and unsuspecting, could offer any ef-
fective resistance. They were quickly shot
down, with the exception of such as were in
places sufficiently remote to elude observation
and glide away at night. Five men in that
manner escaped and after incredible suft'ering
reached places of safety. 3ilrs. \M:itman was
the onh" woman who suffered death. The
other women were shamefullv outrasjed, and

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the children, both boys and girls, were held
in captivity several days. William McBean,
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, jNIr. 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 McBean to Vancouver, 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. ]\IcLoughlin,
heard of the massacre, he dispatched Peter
Skeen Ogden with a force to rescue the sur-
vivors. Ogden showed a commendable zeal
and efficienc}', and by the expenditure of sev-
eral hundred dollars, ransomed forty-seven
women and children. The names of the mur-
dered were Marcus 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 precious relics in Whitman College.

Such was this dreadful event which at the
now peaceful site of the Waiil.atpu 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-
very bend of the Walla Walla, the dark green
belts of birch and Cottonwood, the bright fields
of alfalfa, the continuous wdieat-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 Walla 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 doubtless the most reliable, 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, Whitman College. Her re-
membrances of the horrors of the massacre,
and the ecjually dreadful details of the escape
of the Osborne family, of which she was a
member, have the intensity of fire even after
the lapse of these fifty-three 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 yells
commenced I leaned my head upon the bed anil
committed myself and family to my ilaker.
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 fi\-e minutes the room
was full of Indians, but they did not discover
us. The roar of guns, the yell of the savages

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

.and the crash of clubs and knives and the
.groans of the dying continued till dark, ^^'e
distinctly heard the dying groans of ^^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 quickly.' Soon
after this I removed the floor and we went out.
We 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 mj^ two youngest chil-
dren, who were sick, and mjr wife held on to
my clothes in her great weakness, \^'e 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 hope for us and we
knew not which way to go, but bent our steps
toward Fort ^^'aUa Walla. A dense cold fog
shut out every star and the darkness was com-
plete. We 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 high with late rains and came
up to the waist. My wife in her great weakness
came nigh washing dovfu, but held to ni}-
-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 icy 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 Walla river, not far below Tam-
sukey's (a chief) lodges, who was very active
at the commencement of the butcher}-. ^Ye
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 sheet
down on the frozen ground ; wife and children
crouched upon it. I covered the other over
them. I thought they must soon perish as they
were shaking and their teeth rattling with
cold. I kneeled down and commended us to
my JNIaker. The day finally dawned and we
could see the Indians riding furiousl)- up and
down the trail. Sometimes they 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 suft'er on from j
hunger and cold, and without sleep. The chil- I
dren, too, wet and cold, called incessantly for
food, but the shock of groans and yells at first
so frightened them that the}- did not speak loud.
Wednesday night my wife was too weak to
stand. I took our second child and started for
Walla Walla ; had to wade the Touchet ;
stopped frequently 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 I\Ir. 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. JMr. McBean told me I could
not bring my family to his fort.

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

HISTORY OF ^A'ALLA WALLA COUXTY.

lie had put him over the Cokunbia river ; that he
could not let me have horses or anything for
my wife and children, and I must go to Uma-
tilla. I insisted on bringing my family to the
fort, but he refused ; said he would not let us
in. I next begged the priests to show pity, as
my wife and children must perish and the Li-
dians undoubtedly would kill me, but with no
success. I then begged to leave my child who
was not safe in the fort, but they refused.

"There were many priests in the fort. Mr.
McBean ga\'e me breakfast, but I saved most
of it for my family. Pro\ndentially Mr. Stan-
le}', an artist, came in from Colville, narrowly
escaped the Cayuse Indians by telling them he
was 'Alain' H. B. He let me have his two
horses, some food he had left from Rev. Eells
and Walker's mission; also a cap. a pair of
seeks, a shirt and handkerchief, and Mr. AIc-
Bean furnished an Indian who proved most
faithful, and Thursday night we started back,
taking my 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 continued to
search till I was about to give up in despair
when the Indian discovered one of the twigs
I 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. ^I}^
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
live to get to the Willamette I would pay. He
consented. But the hip-bones of mv 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 ^^'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 Mrs. Whitman.

The story of a Christmas dinner which fol-
lows was given by Mrs. Pringle to the Com-
moner of Colfax in 1893:

"The Christmas of 1847," said ]\Irs. Prin-
gle, "was celebrated in the midst of an Indian
village, where the American families who kept
the day were hostages, whose lives were in
constant danger. There is something tragic-
ally humorous about that Christmas, and I
laugh when I think of some of the things
tliat 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. Many times
we thought our final hour had come. They

HISTORY OF WALLA \\"ALLA COUNTY,

ordered us around 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
w-e knew as 'Beardy.' The latter had been
friendly to Dr. ^Vhitman; 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.

■■]\Irs. Sanders had brought across the
plains with her some white Hour and some
dried peaches, and these had been brought to
our abode in \\'illiam Gray's mission. White
flour was a luxury, and so were dried peaches
then. Airs. 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 so many pies, it seemed, and
Beardy thought he had tasted nothing so good
in all his 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 away, 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 started
to attack the Gray residence, and we saw them
from the windows. Our time had come and
some of us began to pray. The day that
opened with fair promises was about to close
in despair.

"To our amazement and horror, the Indian
band was led by Beardy himself, the Indian
we counted on to protect us in just such emer-
gencies. He was clamoring for the death of
all the white women.

"Fortune favored us at this critical junc-
ture, for just as the Indians were entering
the house messengers arrived from Fort
Walla Walla. The messengers knew Beardy
well, and they advanced on him and inc^uired
the reason of his wild language.

" '^ile poisoned,' cried Beardy; 'me killed.
White squaw poison me. Me always white
man's friend; now me enemy. White squaw
must die.'

"That would be a liberal translation of the
Indian words. Then followed a colloquy be-
tween Beardy and the messengers, and from
the language used we gleaned that Beardy had
suft'ered from an overdose of American pie,
and not knowing about the pains that lie in
wait after intemperate indulgence even in pie,
he rushed to the conclusion that the pie had
been poisoned.

"It required a long time for the messen-
gers to convince Beardy that the women were
innocent of any intention to cause him pain,
but that he was simply suflrering from the
effects of inordinate indulgence in an indiges-<
tible luxury.

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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

horde of savages, and peace once more spread
her wings over the WilHam Gray mission.

"We were all happy that night — happy
that j\Irs. 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 2gth we were moved to the fort,
and started down the river to The Dalles,
January 3, 1848. The Christmas of the year
1847, 'IS it 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 sequence.

THE CAYUSE WAR.

The ransomed missionaries from Waiil-
atpu, Lapwai and Tchimakain reached the
Willamette 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 Cavuse emissaries, the

Spokanes announced their conclusion : "Go
and tell the- Cayuses that the missionaries are
our friends and we will defend them with our
lives." The 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
Willamette the provincial government at once
entered upon the work of equipping 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. But 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 Vvas clear.
Gilliam's command reached it on March 4th.
They paused several days to recuperate and

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY.

give a reverent burial to the remains of the
martyrs, which had been hastily 'covered with
earth when Ogden ransomed the captives, but
were afterwards partially exhumed by coyotes.
The Indians 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 pointing 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. And 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
o\t\- 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
John Day. There they remained for two
years. In 1S50 a band of Umatillas under-
took to capture them, and after a fierce fight
killed Tamsuky and captured a number. Of
the capti\-es fi^'e were hanged at Oregon City
on June 3d, 1S50. The Cayuse Indians assert,
however, that only one of those condemned
was really guilty. That was Tamahas, who
struck Dr. ^^l^itman 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-
ishment or mercv accurately, which has char-

acterized all Indian wars on both sides. The
innocent have borne the sins of the guilty in
more ways than one.

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

In taking our leave of this great epoch in
the varied history of \\'alla Walla, we can
only say in the way of reflection, that, griev-
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 tha
world than if he had survived to enjoy a well-
merited rest. For the subsecjuent development
of this section, the founding of ^\'hitman 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 Waiilatpu. Here, as elsewhere,
martyrdom seems a necessary accompaniment
of the profoundest progress, ^^'hile the ofifenses
of the Indians cannot be condoned, 3'et charity
compels the admission that the poor creatures
were hardly 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 savages to a
higher standard of responsibility than we

HISTORY OF W^-VLLA WALLA COUNTY.

Avould allow even for 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 \Vhitman epoch, that we preserve it
here entire.

INTERVIEW WITH L. T. BOYD.

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

"The way I came to get started was some-
what peculiar. My 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 Irjdependence, 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-
gether.

'T was a lad of about nineteen years of age

■ at that time and was assigned to drive Dr.

^Vhitman's cart. The Doctor himself rode

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 white 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 buffalo boats. So we struck out and
killed a lot of bufi^alo 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 l.nit was the best we could do.
There were some cattle lost by getting mired
in the sand and two women came near getting

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

drowned. They had passed one island in safe-
ty and were just being swung to another when
their 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 Applegate and Mr. 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 first wagon
would fall back to the rear. W't had to break
the sage brush and it would ha\-e been too
hard for one team to break the road all the
time. All along the Platte there was heavy
sand.

"\\'e 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.
We 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 down 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 raised a
war whoop, got on their horses and away they
went. This was the only party of Indians
that we saw except the Indians at the forts.
"We had hunting parties out nearly all
the time. We laid over at Sweetwater gap
for about a week and all the men went out
and killed buffalo and antelope and laid in a
stock of dried meat. There was plenty of
game and we had no trouble in getting a big
supply. One day when we were about forty
miles this side of Sweetwater gap we saw a
big cloud of dust rising away out to the south.
Pretty soon we saw that it was a great herd
of buffalo heading our way. We hurried up
and drove as fast as we could, but the herd
struck us about mid-way of the train. Dr.
Whitnian gave us orders to make a gap for
them, for if we didn't they would make one
for themselves and mash cattle, men and
wagons into the dust. We made a gap about
two hundred yards wide for them and killed a
lot of them as they went through. The cattle
of the front wagons got scared and ran for
about a mile before they could be stopped.
They turned one wagon right over on top of a
family of three little children, but fortunately
no one was hurt. Another time some buft'alo
came near camp and scared a team so that it
ran away and ran over a woman and broke a
little child's arm.

"Not long after starting -we held an elec-
tion and elected Dr. Whitman guide, or pilot,
as you might say, because he knew the route so
well, and especially from Fort Hall down he
knew it perfectly. Jesse Applegate was
elected captain until we got to Fort Hall.
There some of the wagons got to lagging be-
hind and we broke up into two trains. Lind-
say Applegate took charge of the head train
and Charley Applegate took charge of the hind

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

train. The trains arrived abont a week
apart. After we got this side of the Black
Hills the wagons took their own gait, staying
in companies of four or five wagons, and were
scattered from that time until we reached the
valley. Whitman stayed in the first train all
the time. When his team fagged the com-
pany would furnish cattle and he would go on.

"Dr. Whitman would give us family
prayer every night and morning and preach
once in a while, probably two sermons a week;
nearly every Sunday evening he would have a
sermon. He would give out word every morn^
ing that he would have family prayers, and
as regular as the night came he would come
out to the guard tent and have prayer out
there. Everyone thought a great deal of hmi.
They thought that what he said was about
right. Of course there were some that didn't
like him, but that was only natural because
there were so many of them.

'T have heard him say that he went back
to Washington on business, but he never talked
much about it, or told what particular busi-
ness he went back on.

"He was sandy complexioned, a man that
would stand about five feet seven or eight, and
when he talked he talked fast. His eyes, I
think, were blue, his mouth tolerably small and
his teeth very white and even. As well as I
can recollect, his forehead was rather square
and his temples came out full and his brows
were shaggy. He had a heavy beard. He
was raw-boned, broad shouldered and stood as
straight as an Indian. He was a good horse-
man and had splendid powers of endurance.
He could stand almost anything and was al-
ways ready to take the lead in danger or work.
If any one was out longer than usual, he was
the first one to say : 'Come, boys, let's go and
hunt for him.' Sometimes thev would find

the lost one and sometimes he would get back
to the train before they did. He did most of
the doctoring. There was not much sickness
in the immigration, only two deaths ; a little
child died on the way and a man named Rich-
ardson died at Fort Hall.

"They looked to Whitman for everything;
for orders and for directions to travel. When
we came to the Black Hills he told us he would
have to stop and make roads across the swamp.
He superintended the making of the corduroy
roads in person. It took us two weeks to cut
poles and carr)- them in. We laid down three
long poles or strings of poles for stringers and
then laid other poles across them. There was
about a mile of road in one place and a quarter
of a mile in another that we had to Ijuild, but
there were so many of us that it did not take
long. Dr. Whitman did the managing of it
and stayed right with the company till they got
it done, working right along with the rest of
the men. I do not think a more willmg man
to do work ever drew breath, and if there was
anything that needed attention anywhere in
the camp, he would get up at any time of
night to attend to it. He was always in the
place where there was tlie greatest need of
some one to take hold and do things.

"At Fort Hall the Hudson's Bay officials
and trappers tried to get us to turn and go to
California. They were going in that waj^
trapping and they did not want us in their
hunting grounds : but we had our heads set on
Oregon and we made up our minds to go
through. Then they tried their best to get us
to leave our wagons and pack our stuff the
rest of the way on horses. They said that we
couldn't cross the rivers, that the Indians
would scalp us and drive our stock off, and
that even with pack-horses the trail was
difficult, but with wagons it was impossible.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Dr. Whitman got up and told the men that
they 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, ^^'e told the Hudson's Bay
l^eople that we had made up our minds to fol-
low Dr. A\'hitman 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 L'nited 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 south 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 April, 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
dri\-e a cow across, as she would nut lead.
When the cow got to swimming water, he
took hold of her tail to help himself along.

The cow did not like this performance, and
turning 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
liad 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 ]\Irs. Spalding, so he left us and we
went 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 many 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 A\liit-
man mission. We found an adobe house
aljout 30x40, some out-buildings and a corral
maile of willow brush. The flour mill had
been burned by tlie 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. \\'hen the cattle got rested up they
came to The Dalles and came down in boats
from there.

'■\A'e settled in Yamhill county, Oregon,
and I stayed there until a month or two be-
fore the massacre.

"\\'e 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. A\'e roved around
until the news came that the Indians had killed
Whitman and all the family. We gathered
together and came back again and staved for

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

about eighteen months, ransacking the coun-
try all over. The Indians got word that we
were hunting them and they brought the girls
that they had captured to Wallula, then Fort
Walla \A'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 how many we had 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
liefore 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 them, and, as the saying is, 'the river ran
red.' A\'e didn't show any mercy on them
and when the fight was over 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. A\'hen we got
back to Wallula they tried to get us to go
back with the regulars to the valley, but we
said we hadn't followed the regulars up here
and weren't o'oins: to follow them back."

CHAPTER IV.

INITI.\L ATTEMPT TO ORGANIZE WALLA WALLA COUNTY — ORIGINAL BOUNDARIES — OFFICIAL
APPOINTMENTS PROGRESS IMPEDED BY INDIAN OUTBREAK.

Reference has already been incidentally
made to the organization of Walla Walla coun-
tv. 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
si.xteen counties were created, among the num-
ber being Walla Walla, whose boundaries were
described as follows : "Commencing its line on
the north bank of the Columbia river, opposite
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 IMontana, 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 Walla Walla. Of the counties of
our great state \\'alla \\'alla may be most
consistently designated as the "mother of coun-
ties."

The population 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 which Judge Obadiah
B. iMcFadden presided. The counties of Walla

HISTORY OF ^^'ALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Walla. Skamania and Clarke were jointly al-
lowedone member in the legislative assembly,
and the county-seat was 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 ^Ir. Pambrun, in 1882.
insisted to the writer that hitherto he had been
ignorant of this early application to himself of
Shakespeare's fancy, when he wrote that, 'Some
are born great, some acliieve 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-
ment, 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 tliere was but little to attract settlers to
this section at that time, for land could be easily

secured nearer the centers of civilization,
where the hardships to be endured were far less
and where the menace from the Indians was
eliminated. Indeed, it is a matter of fact that
the federal government as yet had no right to
give title to any claim for lands in the region
iying between the Rocky and Cascade mount-
ains. Yet such were the opulent resources but
waiting proper development, that the settle-
ment of the country 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 none 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 positions, thus leav-
ing the count)' organization one of merely nom-
inal character, as before. Thus it may be seen
that Walla Walla county was born of sore
tra\'ail and that her infant days were regarded
with most apathetic interest. But the day of
better things was even now dawning, for soon
indisputable inducements were ofifered 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-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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

A few brief statements, however, as to the
first attempts at settlement may be fittingly
connected with this chapter, though in chro-
nology they carry us somewhat beyond the
Lidian wars of the succeeding chapters.

BEGINNING 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
larger portion of the territory 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 "605 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 Walla
Walla valley in 185 1. He was soon followed
by Lloyd Brooke, George C. Bumford and
John F. Noble, the three for a time occupying
the Whitman mission. They had to leave be-
tween 1855 ^n*^^ 1858. After the Indians had
been thoroughly subjugated through the vigor-
ous campaign of Colonel George Wright, the
interdictof Major-General Wool against the oc-
cupancy of eastern Washington b}'- 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 A\'alla Walla val-
ley, and also along and adjacent to the streams
flowino- 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 AA^alla 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 W^alla 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 inmiigration and
settlement north of the Snake river, 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 veritable and typical rush for
the precious metal, and, as usual in such cases,
misfortunes were more in evidence than suc-
cesses. The winter of 186 1-2 was an excep-
tionally severe one, and the gold-seekers on their
way 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.

\\'ith all the misfortunes concomitant with
this almost unparalleled gold excitement, it
served as the means of ushering in a new civili-
zation, , for it initiated the marvelous develop-
ment which has taken place in the upper 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 Spokane county, lying north of Snake

HISTORY OF WALLA ^^-ALLA COUNTY.

river to the British line. ^larch 3, 1863. con-
gress passed an act organizing the territory of
Idaho out of the eastern part of Washington,
incUiding nearly all the mining region. There
were at that time in eastern Washington the
counties of Walla Walla, 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 United States soldiers.
The limits of this work preclude the addition
of details with respect to settlements other than
those of ^^'alla \\'alla. It may be sufficient to
say here, that ^^'alla \\'alla contained the only
settlement Avorth mention in what is now
^^'ashington for some years after the opening
of the country in 1859.

CHAPTER V.

THE INDI.'VN 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. The so-called Christian nations ha\'e
never stopped to consider much the rights of
the native claimants of the land. This, too,
though accompanied bv needless cruelty, de-
ceit and treachery, is one of the necessary
though seemingly hard and bitter laws of life.
The thing greatly to be deplored in all Indian
wars, Iiowever, 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
the brave, manly, yet harsh and intolerant
frontiersman, who have made our early history,
v.'ould rush forth impetuously and kill some

poor Indian wretches who had never 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
weapons from the same source, would go on
the war path and torture, mutilate and murder
some innocent, helpless women and children,
who had never had a thought of injur'ng a liv-
ing thing. Xo one who has ever lived on the
frontier can wonder at the bitter and intolerant
hatred of whites for Indians. But if we, the
civilized and the victors, could put ourselves
in the place of the natives and view life with
their eyes, none of us would wonder that they
had hated us with the fury and frenzy of wild
beasts. For it is safe to say that for every pang
suffered bv whites, a score have been suffered

HISTORY OF \\'ALLA WALLA COUNTY.

59-

by Indians. And we, the higher race, must
admit that we know better than they, and have
less excuse for inhumanity and intolerance.

Yet in the final summary there can be no
other conclusion than that the extermination of
the majority of the Indians and the total 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. ^loreover by reason of the necessities of
existence the early settlers could not wait to
argue abstract questions of rights. They had
obeyed the fundamental Jaw 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 principles 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,"
ii 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 supposed
facts. One has a bias in favor 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 gives the reverse impression.
Nor are pioneers generally much disposed to
Cjualify 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 not flourish

in pioneer conditions. AI.l are angels on one
side and all devils 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, but believing that at this
distance from the time, though not far from
the scenes of the struggle, we can calmly \-iew
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 banks of the Col-
lumbia and Snake rivers, and a few adventur-
ous explorers and ranchers began to seek lo-
cations on the streams hallowed b}^ martyr-
doms. The most considerable settlement was
at Frenchtown, ten miles below Walla Walla.
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-breed children, living there
and in the vicinity. There were a few men at
what is now Wallula. There were some fifteen
men living at various separated points. Among
them were Henrv M. Chase, well kiiown for
many years in \\^alla ^^'alla, and Dr. W. C.
McKay, the most famous man of mixed white
and Indian blood that ever lived in Oregon.
There were three men, Brooke, Bumford and
Noble, at A\'hitman station.

On the 3d of March 1853, W^ashington
became a separate territory. Major Isaac I.
Stevens was appointed governor, and in the
following summer he set out for his domain.
Gold had been discovered in the Colville coun-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY.

try and there were many adventurers moving
across the plains in that direction. The In-
dians were very restive. Tliese explorations
thev regarded with well grounded suspicion
as the entering wedge of the establishment of
white sovereignt}-.

There were at that time two remarkable In-
dian chiefs, chiefs who belong to that line of
remarkable 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-
ley chiefs were Kamiakin of the Yakimas and
Peupeumoxmox of the \\'alla ^^'allas. 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 vet a chance of success.

There was a general outburst of all the
tribes of Oregon and Washington in i8"3 and
1854, 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
\'alley, 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 offered no
provocation whatever, were butchered in the
most brutal manner. Norman ^^'ard, of Pen-
dleton, then a boy of thirteen, was the only slu--
vivor. That massacre occurred on the Boise, a
few miles above Fort Boise. Great excitement
ensued in the \\'illamette valley when this
atrocity was known, and INIajor Haller was
sent by General ^^'ool, tlien commanding the
Department of the Pacific, to the scene. Ha\-ing

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 GRE.\T WAR OF 1855.

This war had three fields of operation.
One was southern Oregon, another Puget
sound, a third the Yakima and Walla Walla
\alley5. 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
\virious petty feuds and conflicting purposes,
always characteristic of barbaric wars, pre-
vented such co-operation. Indian fought
against Indian, and whites profited thereby.

In May, 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
Walla ^^'alla 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 COUXCIL OF WALLA WALLA.

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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

great numbers. Old Chief Lawyer led an army
of Xez Perces, twenty-five hundred strong,
and, as the sequel proved, it was well for the
whites he did so.

Two days later three hundred Cayuses,
those worst and most dangerous Lidians, the
"Spartans of the Columbia," reached the
ground, surly and scowling as usual, led by
several chiefs, of whom none was friendly ex-
cept Stechus. Two days later came over two
thousand Yakimas, Umatillas 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 homes ,
of Walla Walla, were stretched the camps of
the flower of the warriors of the Inland Empire.
The "Valley of many Waters" must have
seemed blessed indeed to the tribes of the plains,
after they had ridden across the arid wastes be-
tween Yakima and Walla Walla and emerged
fioni the Touchet hills upon the fresh and
grassy dales now consecrated to the memory of
that very missionary whom the Cayuses slew.
It seems poetic 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 shambles 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 Xez 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. ]\Iany of the Xez Perces followed
Lawyer, but Joseph swung a large faction in
the other direction. All the eloquent portray-
al of Stevens and Palmer of the blessings 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
son had been educated at Whitman's mission.
He had been friendly to Whitman. Then his
son was taken by Sutter, 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 WAIA.A \^'ALLA COUXTY.

G!ass, the great Xez Perce war chief, who had
ai rived late to the 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 for the Xez Perces. and one for the Cay-
iises, \\'alla ^^'allas 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 applauding 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 wxirk. 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 nth of June, and his work was complete.
Lieutenant Kip asserts that the}- 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 discussing
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 Xez Perces was the only
thing that prevented its consutnmation. An un-
told debt of gratitude is due the Xez Perces.
Xo white man with a spark of humanitv 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 \\'alla Walla,
June 12, 1S55 (though dated June 9th). pro-

vided for the surrender by the Yakimas of the
vast area of twenty-nine thousand square miles,
being substantially Chelan, Yakima, Kittitass,
Franklin, Adams, and the most of Douglas
and Klickitat counties. From that cession
was to be excepted the princely domain, one
of the finest bodies of land in the world, now
known as the Yakima reservation. The Yaki-
mas, it may be said, constituted a "nation"
composed of fourteen tribes, extending from
the Cascade summits to the Palouse river.
The Xez Perces agreed to relincpiish almost
as large an area, embracing what is now a good
part of Whitman, Garfield, Columbia and Aso-
tin counties in Washington; L'nion and Wal-
lowa counties in Oregon ; and \\'ashington,
Idaho and X'ez Perces counties in Idaho. A
very large reservation was provided by the
treaty for the Xez Perces ; being, in addition to
that now embraced in the Xez Perce reserva-
tion, large tracts between the , Alpowa and
Snake ri\-ers and the AVallowa valle}^ The
retention of the ^^'allowa was insisted on by
Chief Joseph, and seems to have been the key
to the ratification of the entire plan; and it
is the more to be deplored that the modification
of the treaty in 1863 afterward precipitated
the Xez Perce war of 1877. That change in
1863 involved the surrender of the ^^'allowa
and the reduction of the Xez Perce reservation
to what it was prior to its recent opening. But
few Indians seem to have been consulted, and
3-oung Joseph, son of the Joseph who took part
in the treaty of 1855. insisted on their claim
to the country, and the difficulty led to the
memorable war of 1877. This is not the place
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.

served unless abrogated by the clear and gen-
eral agreement of both parties. And there
was the 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 remem-
bering this, the land-grabbers goaded those
steadfast friends of the whites into a cruel and
causeless war. In connection 'with this ^^'al-
lowa matter, an interesting reminiscence was
given the writer by John McBean, son of the
Hudson's Bay employe of that name. Young
JNIcBean was at that time a boy of twelve, and
being a half-breed and knowing the Indian
language perfectly, could pass at an}^ 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 wdiether the Xez 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 never nave
been accepted. Yet eight years after, without
general agreement by the trilje, 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
blame. That is a sample of one kind of reason
for Indian wars. So much for the Nez Perce
part of the agreement.

The Umatillas, Cayuses and Walla Wallas,
under the terms of this treaty, relinquished
their right to another magnificent territory,
embraced substantially in the present limits of
A\'alla \\^alla countv in Washington, and Uma-

tilla, Morrow, and part of Union and Gilliam
counties in Oregon. Their reservation was es-
sentially that now known as the Umatilla reser-
vation. ^Vhich of these three superb domains
v.^as the best would puzzle a good judge to de-
cide. Any one of them is larger than most
of the Atlantic states, and in point of opu-
lence of natural resources surpasses equal 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 relinquished 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, nearljf a quarter 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 twent}^ years, also some
special agreement in regard to houses, tools,
etc. The compensation of the Nez Perces was
the same. The Umatillas, Caj'uses 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
for houses, tools, etc. Peupeunioxmo.x, whose
favor was especially courted, was granted the
unique privilege of beginning to draw his salary
ac 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, tweh'e hoes,
twelve axes, two shovels, a saddle and bridle, a

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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

Having completed this great work, Governor
Stevens passed on to the north and east to con-
tinue the same line of negotiations with the
Indians there. \\'e may say in brief, that he
succeeded in making a treaty with the Black-
feet, but was unsuccessful with the Spokanes.
:Meanwhile. during his absence, the great Walla
Walla and Yakima war had burst with the sud-
denness of a cyclone upon the Columbia plains.
Aaid not only here but throughout the Sound
country the storm of war had burst on all
sides.

W.AR BEGINS.

That the outbreak of hostilities should have
occurred almost simultaneously at places so re-
mote from each other as ^^'alla Walla, Puget
sound and Rogue river has led many to sup-
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
to tribe, it is likely that the second is the true
solution.

Kamiakin, the Yakima chief, and Peupeu-
moxmox, 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.
Llardly 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-
ing the only possible policy. As some of the
Xez Perces told Governor Stevens, they were
not afraid of explorers, or trappers or soldiers,
Init 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 Willamette. 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
Ufe and live on terms of amity with him.
Though Looking Glass and Eagle-from-the-
light had dissented very strongly from the first,
they had finally yielded to Lawyer's powerful
influence and the treaty had resulted. Now in
the midst of the fury of war they remained true
tu their agreement.

Kamiakin had gathered together a great
council of tlie disaffected at a point north of
Snake river. The fierce. and intractable Cay-
uses were the most active in the movement of
any except Kamiakin himself and his imme-
diate friends. Young Chief and Five Crows
w ere 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 valley. 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 WALLA COUNTY.

Ouelchen, son of Owhi and nephew of Kamia-
kin, committed this crime.

Tidings of the outbreak of hostilities hav-
ing reached The Dalles, Major Haller with a
hundred men started north at once and Lieu-
tenant Slaughter went from Steilacoom across
the Natches 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
though 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 Walla.
5

BATTLE OF WALLA W.A.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, who 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 canjron. Colonel Kelly became suspi-
cious that the Indians were 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 travel light, and they were so
very light that they had no supplies.

Much difference of opinion developed as to

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

\%^'-

the wisdom of pausing and camping on the
trail. Captain Connoyer held the opinion,
which he afterwards stated to Colonel Gilbert,
that Penpemnoxmox 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 on 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 Honorable 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 five followers would consent
to accompany and remain with us until all
difficulties were settled. I told him that he
might go away under his flag of truce if he
chose, but 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 fulfillment 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 people and make them deliver
up their arms and ammunition, restore the
property 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 mv 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 accompanied 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.

"T ha\-e 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 remo\-e their women and
children and prepare for battle. From all I
have 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."

We 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" was
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. ]\Ioreover, it is
not easy to see how he could have expected
to gain anything by leading the whites to his
^"illage, so long as his own life was sure to be
the instant forfeit of any treachery. 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.

the attack on the next day. However it may
have been, it was plain that things were not
going just according to program, for during
the night Indians had gathered in great num-
bers about on tlie hills, and were evidently
watching in great anxiety to see what might
be the fate of Peupeumoxmox.

The subsequent events made 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
captive chief alone.

When 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 be
the son of Peupeumo.xmox. 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. Who
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. AI. 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, severe!}' wounding Captain \\'ilson.
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
spot 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 AIcAulifT, 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

HISTORY OF ^^^\LLA WALLA COUNTY.

his four companions in captivity liecame des-
perately excited and seemed to be attempting
to escape. Tlieir guards, by a sort of common
consent, without agreement or orders, began
firing incHscriminately upon tliem. 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 \\'illamette Indian called ■■\\'olf
Skin," who fought desperately with a knife,
crtting 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 jVIcMorris, who is the only one living
here 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. Mr. McMorris
is confident that no one would have touched
tl'.em if they had not tried to escape. Nobody
n(jw, however, justifies the mutilation of the
body of the old Walla \\'alla chief, if it was

really mutilated as asserted. Even Elwood
Evans, in the "History of the Pacific North-
west," written for the express purpose of white-
Avashing 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 whateA-er 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 two days, and inasmuch as his oiificial 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 si.\
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 point at
the foot of the hill. Lieutenant Jeffries, with Company
B, Lieutenant Hand, with Company I, 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 D 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, land

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

K also did great honor to themselves in repelling all ap-
proaches to their positions, although in domg so one man
in Company F and one in Company I were severely
wounded. 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 McAuliff, 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 regmient 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 D and E having 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 m 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 to camp this evening
and reports that Captain Cornoyer will return to-morrow
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 Palouses, Walla Wallas, Umatillas, 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 logo to the Palouse country, as our horses at present
are too much jaded to endure the journey, and 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, 1865| 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 and but little at
that post. We are now living on beef and potatoes,
which are found en cache., 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-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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

"Very respectfully your obedient servant,
"JAMES K. KELLY,
" Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding Left Column.
" W. H. FARRAR,
" Adjutant of Regiment, O. M. V'."

The winter following the battle of the
Walla Walla 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 Lidian 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.

jMeantime, 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 Walla 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 by a detachment O'f Nez 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 of War gives so
clear and vivid an account of what followed
that we reproduce it here.

"The result of our conference was most
satisfactory. The wlnile party, numbering
fourteen men, among whom were Spotted
Eagle, Looking Glass and Three Feathers,
principal chiefs among the Nez Perces, ex-
pressed their determination to accompany me
and share any danger to ha encountered. They
expressed a desire that after crossing the moun-
tains I should go to their countrv where a lara:e

force of their young men would accompany
me to The Dalles and protect us witli 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 twii and a half to three
feet deep, and reached the Cceur clWlene mis-
sion the twenty-fifth, taking the Cceur d'Alenes
entirely by surprise. They had not thought it
possible that we could cross the mountains so
late in the season.

"With the Cceur 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 dri\-en them across the Colum-
l)ia 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 accounts were of so con-
tradictory a nature that nothing certain could
be ascertained from them, excepting that the
several tribes below w^ere in arms, blocking up
our road, and had threatened to cut off my
part)- in any event. However, I determined to
push to the Spokane.

"The Spokanes were even more surprised
th,r.n the Cceur d'Alenes 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 point. They
arrived. A 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 evinced

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

extreme hostility of feeling; spoke of the war
below ; wanted it stopped ; said the whites were
\\rong. The belief was current that Peupeu-
nioxmox 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 driven 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,
Coeur dAlenes 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
Nez Perce country. Mr. Craig had received
letters which informed me that the whole Walla
Walla \-alley was blocked up with hostile In-
dians, and the Nez 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
\-olunteers, four hundred strong, had met the
Indians in the Walla Walla valley and after
four days hard fighting, having a number 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 da}^ I pushed forward, accompanied
by sixty-nine Nez 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 condition of my party had not
the Oregon troops vigorously 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 twelve 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
ri\-er, and thus endanger our movement from
the Spokane to the Xez Perce country. Thus
we had been hemmed in by a body of hostile
Indians through whom we could have only
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 with 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
L'nited States Indian Department. * * *

"At W'alla Walla I found some twenty-five
settlers — the remainder having fled to The
Dalles for protection. With these were one
hundred friendly Indians. Special Indian
i\gent B. F. Shaw, colonel in the Washington
Territory militia, was on the ground, and I at
once organized the district, placed him in com-
mand and directed him. if necessary, to fortify,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

at all events, to maintain his ground should the
Oregon troops be 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-
aided, excepting by the fortunate movements
of the Oregon troops. Not a single man had
been pushed forward to meet us, although it
was well known we should cross the mountains
about a certain time, and arrive at \\'alla
^^"alla about the time we did. Why was this?
Arrangements had been made with Major
Raines by Acting Governor Mason, 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, wdtich
Major Raines had promised both Governor
Mason and Colonel Shaw should be promptly
frrnished them. Some little delay ensued, and
in the meantime Major General Wool arrived
who immediately declined equipping the com-
pany, as promised by Major Raines, and stated
that he could not in any manner recognize vol-
unteers or furnish them equipments or trans-
portation, and declined to supply their place
with regular troops, of whom, at Vancouver
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
A\'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
his 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 \\'ar :

"When remonstrated with by Captain Will-
iam McKay, 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 probably 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-
nient of one hundred United States regulars.
}ilajor Raines had placed on record his opinion
that an insufiicient 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 General 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. Secretar}' — ^lajor General Wool,
commanding the Pacific Division, neglected
and refused to send a force to the relief of my-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

sel'f and pai"ty, when known to be in imminent
danger, and believed by those 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 and Major Raines for troops
to be sent to my assistance, and ordered them
to disband. 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 removal from command."

And now that we have allowed the gov-
ernor to tell his own story of the final struggle
in the Walla W^alla, every reader asks, "And
how did it 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 amicable meeting
with the hostile chiefs and assured them that
"The bloody cloth shall be washed, past dif-
ferences thrown behind us, and perpetual peace
must exist between us." He even went so far
as to recommend that the Walla Walla treaties
should never be confirmed. Steptoe, by 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
tJ 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 do-
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 w^on, 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 pretty 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 military order, remanded to bar-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

barism. In 1857 the present Fort Walla Walla
\\'as established, and a force in charge of Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Steptoe lay inactive at the fort.

One thing interesting to note in connection
with mustering out of the volunteers is that
the horses which they had captured on the
Grande Rontle 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.diich depreciated but little. The total amount
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 part of all the volunteer forces, and that
this was due very largely to the character, abil-
ity, and magnetic influence of Washington's
first governor, certainly the greatest man in the
official history of those times. And so there
was "quiet in the land by the space of a year."
L'i 1858 the Yakimas became so troublesome
that \\'right 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 number of their chiefs and braves, killed seven
hundred of their ponies, and secured quiet at
last in the land of the sage-brush.

And now, though no battle was to be fought
again on \\'alla \\'alla soil, it was the outfitting
point for the most remarkable disaster in the
history of the territory, one which, if it had
not been for the ever faithful Nez Perces, would
piobably have anticipated the Custer massacre
in completeness and horror. This was the

STEPTOE DEFEAT OF 1 858.

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

tl:ev were neutral and would not allow either
\akimas or whites in their country. Steptoe,
or more strictly speaking his subordinates, com-
mitted a most egregious and incomprehensible
blunder in starting from Walla Walla. On
account of the great weight of provisions and
baggage, a brilliant quartermaster (said to have
been Lieutenant Fleming ) conceived the idea
of omitting the greater part of the amimuii-
tion, by way of lightening the load. As Joseph
INIcEvoy expresses it, the force was beaten be-
fore it left \\3.\\3. Walla.

The expedition was made in May. 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 li\'ing 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 brave old Nez Perce
accompanying them.

On ^lay i6th the force reached a point near
four lakes, probably the group of which jNIedical
Lake is one, though there seems to be a rather
curious difference among the survivors as to
where all this happened. But wherever it was,
here the Indians gathered in strong force and
evitlently 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 friendl}- Nez Perces struck Salteese,
telling him that he was speaking ''two tongues."

On the next day at nine o'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 consequences of the blunder about the
ammunition began to stare them in the face as

HISTORY OF WALLA \\^\LLA COUNTY.

man after man had to cease firing. Captain
O. H. 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
'their bodies. The Indians secured that of
Gaston, but 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 Algeria, and who made
havoc 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
Eutte, 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' soldiere at their mercy, made no effort
a: a night attack. There was but one chance
of salvation, and this was by means of a dif-
ficult trail through a canyon, which the Indians
supposed to he entirely unknown to the whites.
But by the good favor of fortune or Providence
the Nez Perce chief Timothy knew this pass.
Without him that next day would doubtless
have seen a grim and ghastly massacre. Dur-

ing the dark and cloudy night the soldiers
mounted and in silence followed Timothy over
the unwatched trail. Michael Kinney, well
known in Walla \Valla, 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
sufferings were intense, and two of them, Mc-
C rossen and Williams, suffered 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 themselves. But the poor
\vretches were left lying there in the darkness.
During that night they followed, generally at
a gallop, the faithful Timothy, on whose keen
eyes and mind their lives depended. The
wounded and a few whose horses gave out
were scattered at intervals along the trail.
Some of these finally reappeared, but most
were lost. After twenty-four hours they found
that they had ridden sex'enty miles, for the yel-
low flood of Snake ri\-er suddenly broke lie-
fore them between its desolate banks. Here
the unwearied Timothy threw cut his own peo-
ple as guards against the pursuing enemy and
set the women of his tribe to ferrying the force
across the turbulent ri\-er. This was safely ac-
complished, and thus the greater portion of
th.e command reached Walla Walla in satety
from that ill-starred expedition.

Individual narratives of experiences on that
expedition have Iieen 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

HISTORY OF WALLA \\'ALLA COUNTY.

of two days, running at night, until he at last
reached Snake river and was put across the
stream by the Nez Perces. His knees and hands
were worn to the bone. 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 they might escape. Plunging
into the river with 'their horse, they soon found
the Indian bullets boiling around them. \\'ill-
iams and the horse were almost immediately
killed and Snickster. v.ith an arm already
broken, swam the rest of the way across Snake
river. This story is told in several ways, and
]\Iichael Kinney considers it a fabrication. ^Ir.
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.

WRIGHTS EXPEDITION.

The sequel to the Steptoe defeat furnishes
a more creditable chapter in the history of our
Indian warfare. General Clark at once ordered
Colonel Wright to ec|uip 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 fore\-er. On
August 15th Colonel \\'right left Walla Walla
on his northern campaign. In the battle of
Four Lakes on September ist, and in the bat-
tle of Spokane Plains on September 5th, Col-
oi:el Wright broke forever the power and spirits
of the northern Indians. The severest blow
which he struck them was the killing of nearlv

a thousand 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-
bined 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 service of the L'nited States ;

3. JMany barns filled with wheat or oats, also
several fields of grain with numerous caches of
vegetables, dried berries and camas, were de-
stroyed or used by the troops ; 4. The Yakima
chief, Owhi, is in irons ; and the notorious
war chief, Oualchen, was hanged ; the mur-
derers 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 above named nations.
They have restored all property which was in
tlieir 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 Uni-
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
ill command of the L'nited States troops, to be
taken to fort Walla ^^'alla and held as hostages
for the future good conduct of their respective
nations ; 9. The two mounted howitzers aban-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

cloned by the troops under Lieutenant-Colonel
Steptoe have 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 Indian affairs for
Washington Territory, with the Indian tribes
east of the Cascade range, should not be con-
firmed. Since then circumstances have chansfed

and with them my views. The Indians made
war and were subdued. By the former act
they 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.

INDIAN 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 grea^ter 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 the government with their plight
and needs. In the very midst of his appeal
the Indians by a sudden attack seized Seattle
and destroyed the most of it. Nevertheless
the brave words an^ acts of the governor
roused the faint-hearted and the territory speed-
ily got itself into a better posture of defense
and finally of attack. The Washington volun-

teers were equipped and the Second Regiment,
under command of Colonel B. F. Shaw, started
m 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,
one 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 Mill 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
Indian forces of both the Walla Walla and
\akima countries.

While tliev were doing this one of the most

HISTORY OF A\'ALLA WALLA COUNTY.

daring blows struck by any of the Lidians 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-
sociated with it also is the memory of the fact
that Phil 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 United 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 Walla Walla, Yakima
and the Cascades. The officers more especially
concerned with the campaign on the east side
of 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, ^-iz. — L'nited States
regulars. Oregon volunteers and Washington
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 United States
forces were entirely aloof from them in svm-
pathy of aim and action.

^Ve have already outlined the achie\-ements
of the Oregon volunteers. In May Colonel
Wright moved 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 Washing-
ton volunteers, under Colonel B. F. Shaw,
miived up the river and on July Sth camped on
tlie place now owned bv tlie heirs of Alfred

Thomas, about two miles above ^^'alla Walla.
Learning that the hostiles were in force in the
Grande Ronde valley. Colonel Shaw determined
to move thither and strike. Pushing rapidly
over the mountains he encountered the savages
on July 17th, and in the most decisive battle
tlms 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
\ivid that we belie\'e our readers will enjoy its
perusal. ]More clearly than any present de-
scription could, this account preserves the flavor
of the time in which it happened ; that time,
which, only forty-fi\-e years ago, seems so re-
mote from our own.

BATTLE OF GRANDE ROXDE, JULY 1 7, 1856.

"We arri\ed in the Grande Ronde valley on
the evening of the sixteenth, and camped on
n branch of the Grande 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 JNIiller, 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
JNIajor Maxon, Michael Marchmean, Captain
John and Dr. Burns. After proceeding about
five miles we ascended a knoll in the valley from
which we discovered dust rising along the tim-
ber of the river. I immediately sent Major
jNIaxon and Captain John forward to recon-
noitre and returned to hurry up the command
w hich was not far distant. The command was

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

ii'Stantly formed in order; Captain Miller's
company in advance, supported by Maxon,
Henness and Powell's companies ; leaving the
pack train in charge of the guard under Lieu-
tenant Goodwin, with a detachment of Goff's
company under Lieutenant Wait, and Lieuten-
ant Williams' company in reserve with orders
tu follow on after the command.

"The whole command moved on quietly to
this order until within half a mile of th? Indian
village, when we discovered that the pack train
had moved to the left, down the Grande Ronde
river. At this moment a large body of war-
riors came forward, singing and whooping, and
one of them waxing a white man's scalp on a
pole. One of them signified a desire to speak,
whereupon I sent Captain John to meet him
and formed the command in line of battle.
AVhen Captain John came up to the Indians
they cried out to one another to shoot him,
when he retreated to the command and I or-
dered the four companies to charge.

"The design of the enemy evidently was to
draw us into the brush along the river, where
from our exposed position the}- would have the
advantage — the)- no doubt having placed an
ambush there. To avoid this, I charged down
the river towards the pack train. The war-
riors then split, part going across the river
and part down toward the pack train. These'
were soon overtaken and engaged. The charge
was vigorous and so well sustained that they
were broken, dispersed and slain before us.
After a short time I sent Captain Aliller to
the left and ]\Iajor Ma.xon to the right, the
latter to cross the stream and cut them off from
a. point near which a large body of warriors
had collected, apparently to fight, while I moved
forward with the commands of Captain Hen-
ness and Lieutenant Powell to attack them in
front. The Major could not cross the river.

and on our moving forward the enemy fled after
firing a few guns, part taking to the left and
part continuing forward.

"Those who took to the left fell in with
Capitain Miller's company, who killed five on
the spot and the rest were not less successful
in the pursuit, which was continued to the
crossing of the river, where the enemy had
ti'ken a stand to defend the ford. Being here
rejoined by Captain Miller and by Lieutenant
Curtis with part of Maxon's company, we fired
a volley and I ordered a charge across the river,
\x'hich was gallantly executed. In doing this
Private Shirley, ensign of Henness' company,
Avho was in front, was wounded in the face.
Several of the enemy were killed at this point.
We continued the pursuit until the enemy had
reached the rocky canyons leading towards
Powder river, and commenced scattering in
every direction, when finding that I had but fi\-e
men with me, and the rest of the command
scattered in the rear, most of the horses being
completely exhausted — I called a halt and fell
back, calculating to remount the men on the
captured horses and continue the pursuit after
night.

"I found the pack train, guard and re-
serve encamped on a small creek not far from
the crossing, as I had previously ordered them
to do, and learned that a body of the enemy
had followed them up all day and annoyed
them, but had inflicted no damage beyond cap-
turing many of the animals which we had taken
in charge and left behind.

"I learned also that INIajor Maxon had
crossed the river with a small party and w-as
engaged with the enemy and wanted assist-
ance. I immediately dispatched a detachment
under Lieutenants Williams and W'ait, sending
the man who brought the information back
with them as a guide. Thev returned after

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

dark without finding the major, but brought in
one of his men whom they found in the brush,
and who stated that 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 Miller 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-
wards destroyed about one hundred and fifty
liorse loads lacamas, dried beef, tents, some
flour, coffee, sugar, and about 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 being 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, Wicecai, Watah-
stuartih, Winimiswoot, Cayuses, Tahkin, Cay-
use, the son of Peupeumoxmox, Walla Walla
and other chiefs of less note.

"The whole command, officers and men, be-
lia\ed well. The enemy was run on the gallop
fifteen miles, and most of those who fell were
sh.ot 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
about that it was impossible to get count of
them, ^^'hen to these we added those killed by
]\iajor Alaxon's command on the other side of
tl-.e 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 by 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 iNIajor 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
sliaping 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 'Sir. Fites, a pack
master who had been left in camp, who in-
formed me, to my extreme satisfaction, that
Major IVIaxon 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.

"I learned that Major Maxon 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
squaws, 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 thought that it was a band of Indians
hunting his trail. Conceiving himself cut off
from the command, he thought it best to re-
turn to this camp, thinking that we would be
on our way back to Grande Ronde with pro-
visions and ammunition."

While Shaw was winning this very import-
ant victory. Governor Stevens was making
every effort to sustain the friendly faction of
the Nez Perces under Lawyer, aided by Will-
iam Craig, a white man who had been adopted
b)' the Nez 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 \Valla 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
to have had the double aim of giving the hos-
tiles every reasonable chance to make peace and
also of refuting the slanderous charges of
Wool to the efl: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
volunteers 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 Walla ^^'alla in season for the
meeting.

Ascending the river to The Dalles in com-
pany with Colonel Wright, 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-operation with him in his plans.
In reality, however, they 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
anywhere in the upper country, and to allow
the Hudson's Bay people 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-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

doned such a decrepit pleasantry, ^^"right and
Steptoe were almost 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 abo\-e ^^'alla Walla, on the
23d. On September 5th. Steptoe reached
Walla \\'alla and established himself at a point
four miles below Shaw's camp, said by Lewis
Mc]\Iorris to have lieen 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, many of whom had drawn the con-
clusion that the regulars and volunteers were
entirely different sets of people. He therefore
rccjuested Steptoe to move camp to a point near
his own. On the next morning Steptoe got un-
der way and paused at the governor's tent,
v.'ho supposed of course that he was going to
make camp there. He was dumfounded, 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 view 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
the island on the present Gilkerson place.
And now opens

THE SECOND GREAT W ALhA WALLA COUXCIL.

Space does not permit us to give the de-
tails of this remarkable meeting, fully as re-
markable as the one of the year before. The
Nez 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, even of the Xez Perces, led by Looking I

Glass, Speaking Owl, Joseph, Red \\'olf and
Eagle-from-the-Light, were plainly at the verge
of outbreak. Kamiakain, the redoubtable chief
of the Yakimas, was coming out with a strong
force. The scrowling Cayuses and the brawny
L'matillas came whooping, yelling and firing
the prairie grass. Murder was in the air. Gov-
ernor Stevens sent an urgent request 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 really 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 governor
was almost broken at this humiliation, but 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 looks 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.

Avith the evident design of murdering him and
then attacking the force, but the nerve and
vigilance of the governor and those around him
prevented. The faithful Nez Perces kept their
drums beating all night 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 daj-s 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
liad 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 guns 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
diad 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 Wright and Steptoe dis-
covered their errors soon and modified their
policy. Wool never did and in the early part
of 1857 he was relieved of his command and
was succeeded b}' General N. G. Clarke, who
gave, as we shall learn later, a "new deal" to
the impatient pioneers of Walla \\'alla and
■either parts of the Inland Empire.

And now the governor and his retinue must

move 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
carry into effect their determination avowed 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
ot 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
\\as 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 drove 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 hold 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,
\\itli the women and children, was on a stream
about a mile distant and I directed them to re-
tire as I did not require their assistance and
was fearful that mv men might not be able to

HISTORY OF WALLA \\'ALL.\ COUNTY.

distinguish them from hostiles, and thus friend-
ly Indians be killed.

"Towards night I notified Lieutenant-Col-
onel Steptoe that I was fighting the Indians;
that I shouU move the next morning and ex-
pressed the opinion that a company of his troops
would be of service. In his reply he stated that
the Indians had burned up his grass and sug-
gested that I should return to his camp, and
place at his disposal my wagons, in order that
he might move his whole command and his
supplies to the Umatilla 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 hdl
south of the corral, but the enemy was im-
mediately dislodged and ground pits being dug,
all the points were held. The howitzer hax'ing
been fired on the way out, it was believed noth-
ing would be gained by waiting till morning
and the whole force immediately returned to
Lieutenant-Colonel Steptoe's camp.

■'Soon after sunrise the enemy attacked the
camp, but was soon dislodged by the howitzer
and a charge by detachment from Steptoe's
command. On my arri\-al at the camp I urged
Lieutenant-Colonel Steptoe to build a block
house immediately; to lea\e 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 and Indian employes. The block house
and stockade were built in a little more than
ten days. ^ly 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 Goff's company of sixty-
nine, rank and file, the teamsters, herders and
Indian employes, numbering about fifty men.
Our train consisted of about five hundred ani-
mals, not one of which was captured by the
enemy, ^^'e fought four hundred and fifty
Indians and had one man mortally, one dan-
gerously and two slightly wounded. We
killed and wounded thirteen Indians. One-
half the Nez Perces, one hundred and twenty
warriors, all of the Yakimas and Palouses,
two hundred warriors ; the great bulk of the
Cayuses and Umatillas and an unknown num-
ber of the Walla 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 whole plan of operations of the troops
since Colonel Wright assumed command.

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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

fected in consequence of the then chief of the
Cayuses, UmehowHsh, 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 Percer.
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 disai¥ection will spread among a portion
of the Nez Perces.' Umehowlish, my pris-
oner, was sent into the Nez 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 favorable
moment to join bands with Kamaiakun in a
war 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 consecpence 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 tribe
for making common cause with them and
driving Major Haller out of the country. It
is greatly to be deplored that Colonel Wright
had not first severely chastised the Indians,
and insisted not only upon the rendition of
the nuu-derers, but upon the absolute and un-
conditional 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 by 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,
Colvilles and Okanogans to join them.

"I 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 feeljle,
so procrastinating, so entirely unecjual 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
this remote section of the country, but the
impression has been made upon the Indians
that the people and the soldiers were a dif-
ferent peopljc. 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? If.
it the duty of General Wool and his officers
to refuse to co-operate with me in my appro-
priate duties as superintendent of Indian af-

HISTORY OF ^^■ALI,A 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 \\"alla— make himself dictator of

to trample down the laws of Congress; to the country .-'"

CHAPTER VII.

DEFINITE ORGANIZATION OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY AND POLITICAL HISTORY,

1859 TO 1863.

It was not until the autumn of the year
1858 that the Walla Walla country was for-
mally opened to permanent settlement or oc-
cupation by white men, and even yet it was
not until the following spring that Congress
ratified the Indian treaties made through the
efforts of Governor Stevens in 1855. The
Indians were, however, in a state of subjec-
tion and fear, owing to the successful work
of Colonel George Wright in his recent ex-
pedition directed against the hostile savages
in this section of the territory. This circum-
stance made it practicable for the white set-
tlers to come in and occupy the lands. A
number of ranchers and cattle men soon es-
tablished themselves along the streams run-
ning forth from the western base of the Blue
mountains. Among those who thus located
in this section during the closing months of
1858 may be mentioned Thomas P. Page,
James Foster, Charles Russell, J. C. Smith,
Christopher Alaier, John Singleton, John A.
Simms and Joseph McAvoy, all of whom
long continued their residence there, being
well-known pioneers. ]\Ir. Simms subse-
quently became Indian agent at the Col\-ille
reservation, where he served acceptably. The
year 1859 showed a material influx of per-
manent settlers, ranchers filing claims to

lands along the various streams as far north-
east as the present site of Dayton, located
on the Touchet river, in Columbia county.
Walla \\'alla county was as yet hobbling
along with essentially no political organiza-
tion, as has been noted in a preceding chap-
ter. The legislature, however, made another
effort to look after the destinies of this ter-
ritorial offspring, and in 1859, under an act
bearing date of January 19th of that year,
once more appointed officers to serve the
county, the incumbents to retain their posi-
tions until the election and qualification of
their successors. The officers thus appointed
were as follows : County commissioners,
John INIahan, Walter R. Davis, John C. Smith ;
sheriff, Edward D. Pearce ; auditor, R. H.
Reighart ; probate judge, Samuel D. Smith;
justice of the peace, J. A. Simms. Commis-
sioners Alahan and Davis met at Walla W'alla
on the 15th of ^March, 1859, and. as author-
ized by the general law of the territory, ap-
pointed James Galbreath auditor and Lycur-
gus Jackson sheriff', after which they ad-
journed. I. T. Reese was elected recorder
in the following July, and upon him devolved
the duty of properly entering upon the rec-
ords the minutes of the proceedings of this
first, as well as subsequent meetings, of the

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

commissioners. The second meeting of the
board was held on the 26th of March, when
E. H. Brown was appointed probate judge;
Lycurgus Jackson, assessor; Neil ^IcGlin-
chey, county treasurer; and William B. Kelly,
superintendent of public schools. At this
session of the board was also made provision
for a general election, to be held in July, for
which purpose the county was divided into
two voting precincts. — known respectively as
Dry 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. M. 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 prior 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 of a court-house, for whic!'(
accommodations the stupendous sum of
twenty dollars per month was to be paid,
while a tax levy 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 Galbreath, 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 the election held in July, 1859, "° ^^^'

ords are extant, but that it occurred in due
order is evident, for on the 5th of September
following the new board of commissioners
assembled and b}- ballot determined their re-
spective terms of service, — Charles Russell,
one year; John Mahan, two years; and Will-
liam McWhirk, three years. The records
of this meeting give the essential data in re-
gard to the election, which, as above noted,
had occurred, though no definite record of
the same can now be found. The county offi-
cers, therefore, whose bonds were approved
at this session of the board were as follows:
.\uditor, I. T. Reese; sheriff, Lycurgus Jack-
son; treasurer, Ne 1 ^IcGlinchey; assessor,
Thomas P. Page; surveyor, H. H. Case; jus-i
tice of the peace, J. ^l. Canaday. To Mr.
Reese was voted the sum of fcrty dollars per
month for the rent of court-house.

THE COUNTY SEAT VILLAGE OF WALLA W.\LLA

RECEIVES ITS NAME.

The village of Walla \\'alla was so desig-
nated by the county commissioners at their
meeting on November 7, 1859, and there was
simultaneously granted to it a town govern-
ment. Here also was formally established the
county-seat, — a due quota of glory and honor
for one day. The great fire which occurred
in 1865 destroyed many valuable records touch-
ing the early political aft'airs of the county,
such as election returns, assessment rolls, etc.

THE ELECTION OF 1860.

At a meeting held on the 7th of May,
i860, the county commissioners placed the tax
le\y for the year at seven mills on the dollar,
and preparatory for the election in July fol-
lowing divided the county into five voting

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

districts. — Walla Walla, Dry Creek. Snake
River. East Touchet and West Touchet. At
this election there was submitted to the peo-
jdIc the question 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 adecjuate evidence as to the negative
character of the vote of the ciualified electors
of the county. Prisoners of the county still
continued to be sent to Fort Vancouver to
languish in durance vile. The officers elected
in July, i860, were as follows: Auditor and
recorder, James Galbreath; sheriff, James A.
Buckley; surve3'or, 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. Ivelly. Of the transactions of
this official corps no trace of record can be
found, but at the county election held in July,
1 86 1, the board of county commissioners con-
sisted of ^^'. 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
county jail, at a cost of three thousand three
hundred and fifty dollars. The building was
duly completed in the year 1862, the con-
tractor receiving in payment for his services

six thousand se\-en hundred dollars in scrip.
It is worthy of note in the connection that,
in 1 88 1, JNIr. 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
IN i860.

In a preceding chapter we have had occa-
sion to incidentally mention the gold e.xcite-
ment of i860, which eventually had so pro-
nounced an effect upon the growth and de-
\-elopment 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-
ble 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
were 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.

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 Ithrough 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 accjuaintance 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 Nez 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. A 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 discovery of gold in
what was eastern W'ashington, in i860.
Pearce eventually made his way to the dalles
of the Columbia and thence came to \Valla
Walla, 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 eventual!}- ordered out
of the Nez Perce country by the Indians, who
were suspicious of their plans. Pearce finally
induced a Nez Perce sc[uaw 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 compan}-, 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 the site of the famous Ora Fino
mines, in the present state of Idaho.

After washing out about eighty dollars in
gold the party returned to Walla W^alla, mak-
ing their headquarters at the home of J. C.
Smith, on Dry creek, and finally so thor-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

oughly 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 the mines in November,
i860, arousing the antipathy and distrust of
the Lidians, 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 alaout 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 hundred dollars in gold dust. From
this reserve he was able to pay Kyger & Reese,
of Walla Walla, the balance due them on the
prospecting outfit which had been supplied to
the adventurous little party 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 1849, si'^d within a
few months the rush to the new diggings was
on in earnest, thousands starting forth for the
favored region.

WALL.\ WALL.\ BENEFITED BY THE RUSH
FOR GOLD.

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

made their way up the Columbia river and
tlience moved forward to Walla \\'alla, 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 \\'alla \^'alla 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 been produced in the cinm-
try was held, in the 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 for their
wheat, while at the mines the operators were
compelled to pay one d9llar a pound for the
flour manufactured therefrom. The inade-
quacy of the local supply of food products
was such that, had not additional provender
been transported from Oregon, starvation
would have stared the miners in the face.
This fact gave rise to the almost unprece-
dented prices demanded for the products essen-
tial to the maintenance of life. New mining
districts were discovered by the eager pros-
pectors and all was bustle and activity in the
mining region until the fall of 1861. In No-
vember of that year many of the miners came
to \\'alla Walla for the winter, bringing their
hard-earned treasure with them and often
spending it with the prodigality so typical of
the mining fraternity in the early days.

Although many of 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.

ter and fully realized the animus of the mer-
chants at Oro Fino, who refused to sell their
goods, believing that starvation would ulti-
mately face the miners and that they could
then secure any price they might see fit to
demand. Li November of the year noted the
prices at Oro Fino were quoted as follows
on certain of the necessaries of life: Flour,
twenty-live 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 1 86 1 and 1862, Walla Walla was the
scene of the greatest activity : streets were
crowded ; the merchants were doing 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 frum the 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 ^Valla 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.

Li the issue of the Statesman for Decem-
ber 13, 1 86 1, appears the following interest-
ing information concerning the mines and the
inducements there offered :

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.

Within the year more than one and one-
half millions of dollars in gold dust had been
shipped 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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

1862. a great deal of live-stock had been
brought to the \\"alla Walla country in the
latter part of 1861, while the demands for
food products 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 186 1-2 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 se\-erest winter known to
the whites on the Pacific coast." The stock
in the Walla \\'alla country perished by the
thousands, the animals being unable to secure
feed and thus absolutely starving to death.
From December to March the entire country
here was effectually hedged in by the v^st
quantities of snow and the se\-erely cold
weather. Xot until ^Nlarch 22d do we find
the statement in the local newspaper that
warm 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 \\'alla \\'alla. It may not be malapro-
pos to quote a list of prices which obtained
in the Oro Fino mining region in December-,
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; coffee,
fifty cents.

RUSH OF GOLD-SEEKERS IX 1862.

In view of the recent gold excitement in
Alaska, how familiarly will read the follow-
ing statements from the \\'ashington States-^
man of i\Iarch 22, 1862: "From persons who
have arri\-ed here from The Dalles during
the week, we learn that there were some four
thousand miners in Portland 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." L'nder date of April 5th,
the same paper gives the following pertinent
information : "From one hundred and thirty
to one hundred and fort)^ 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 (^^'alla Walla)." By
the last of ilNIay 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 \\'alla Walla regard
that a great overestimate. The merchants of
\A'alla 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.

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

In 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.

POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE YEAR.

The status of affairs in Walla Walla
county at the opening of the year 1862 was
radically different 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 aft'airs 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,
W. 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. Ingersoll, W.
W. Johnson, R. Jacobs, Kohlhauff & Guich-
ard, E. E. Kelly, A. Kyger, S. Linkton, M.
Lazarus, N. Northrop, E. Nugent, J. 'SL
Norton, W. Phillips, W. H. Patton, R. R.
Rees, I. 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 Jul}-, the re-
sult being as follows : For representative in
the territorial legislature N. Northrop received
355 votes; S. D. Smith 317, H. M. Chase
302, and F. A. Chenoweth 132; other officers
elected being: Edward Nugent, district at-
torney; James McAuliff, treasurer; H. M.
Hodgis, assessor; \\'. W. Johnson, surveyor;
J. F. Wood, superintendent of schools ; L. C.
Kinney, coroner; and James Van Dyke, John
Sheets and S. S. Galbreath, county commis-
sioners. James Buckley was appointed sheriff,
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-i

HISTORY OF \\'ALLA ^^'ALLA COUNTY.

missioner in August, 1863, and on the 5th
of September of that year H. D. 0"Bryan
was appointed to the office. S. S. Galbreath
failed to quahfy as commissioner at the time
of his election, but held the office by appoint-
ment, the same having been made on the 5th
of August, 1862.

1I.\TERI.\L PROGRESS OF WALLA WALLA
COUNTY 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
Walla Walla 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 pro-
duced little to sell, and prices continued to be
high. Sufficient grain had, however, been
raised to warrant the erection of another
flouring mill, the same having been built by
A. H. Reynolds, on Yellow Hawk creek.
This was originally known as the Frontier
mill, later as the Star. Captain INIedoreni
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
available, 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

basic 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 Xovember, 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, being located on the Columbia river.
At the close of the year 1862 \\'alla Walla,
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
^•illage settlements established between the
Rocky and Cascade ranges. Besides these
there were, of course, the primitive mining
towns in the mountains, the same being, how-
ever, little more than camps.

It was e.xceedingly 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. Up to the beginning of February,
1863, there had been practicall)^ 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, 1863-1866.

The legislature of 1858, by the erection
of Spokane county, made the Snake river con-
stitute the north and east boundary line of
Walla Walla county, which still included all
the territory between the Cascade range and
the Columbia river, 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 AValla
Walla count)^ 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 direct 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 Walla Walla sufl^ered
somewhat from the deflection of travel and
traffic, yet the energy and progressiveness of
her merchants and citizens proved adequate
to maintain to a large extent her trade
prestige, which attracted many over from the
slightly more direct route to the mines. Two
stage lines gave a daily service between W'alla
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 eft'ected by the
pa}-ment of twenty dollars per ton. After July
I a tri-weekly mail was received from and
dispatched to The Dalles, this service proving
of 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
freight.

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 progress, party alle-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

giance came to the front in the territory to a
much greater extent than at an}^ 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-
ptiblican 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 territory. 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-seven vottes were cast, of which Mr.
Fargo secured all but two. The other officers
elected were 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 been rendered on the 22d of that
month. The total in the treasury at the date
noted 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 $2^,-
580.42. The jury caustically remarked in its
report that '"The county officers' books, pre-
vious to the present incumbents, have been so
imperfectly kept that it is impossible to derive
a correct conclusion from them."

THE RECORD OF THE YEAR 1864.

The early spring of 1864, ushered in after
aii 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 den}^ 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
tliree different companies had been operating
express business over the route in question.
\\'a]la Walla became, or continued, a central
point for outfitting between the Columbia and
the mining districts, notwithstanding the op-
position offered by Umatilla, as already men-
tioned. Near the headwaters of the Columbia
river, in the British possessions, the Kootenai
mines had been discovered, and this soon di-
verted much of the emigration from Boise to

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the new mines. All this tended to beget a
greater confidence in the future of the Walla
Walla \-alIey, which was growing to be re-
garded as a most favorable 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 men in the county eligible for and
subject to military duty, but the Democrats
n.ade the claim at the time that fully three
hundred of this number had been improperly
er.umerated, being simply transient residents,
ei'. route to the mines. This enumeration, how-
ex er, taken in connection with the ballot list
of the last election, offers the only available
data relative to the population of the county
in 1864.

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 which 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 year give 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.

^Vhat was, perhaps, the most important
e\-ent of the year, as bearing upon the develop-
ment and substantial growth of this section of
the country, was the fortunate discovery to
which another writer refers as follows: "It
was also found in 1864 that the uplands of the
V\'alla Walla country would produce grain, one
of the farmers having gathered thirty-three
bushels to the acre from a field c/f fifty acres,
sowed the previous fall, on the hills that here-

tofore had been considered useless for agri-
cultural purposes. This was a more itnportant
discovery than that of the mountain gold-fields,
for it was a bread mine, opened for millions
that are yet to come. The drouth of 1864 did
not prevent a bounteous wheat harvest, and a
larger surplus of grain than ever before in the
valley, much of which 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
aoopted 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 which 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 legislative 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 city of Walla Walla, of
which 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 WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Office. Name. Politics. \'ote.

Prosecuting Attorney.]. H. Lasater Dem 357

Prosecuting Attorney. S. B. Fargo Rep 219

Councilman W. G. Langford. . . . Dem .... 344

Representative A. L. Brown Dem 373

Representative F. P. Dugan Dem 324

Representative E. L. Bridges Dem 337

Representative O. P. Lacy Dem 325

Representative B. N. Sexton Rep 280

Jomt Representative.. Alvin Flanders Rep 269

Probate Judge J. H. Blewett .....Dem 346

Treasurer James McAuliff Dem 581

Assessor William H. Patton..Dem 323

Surveyor Charles White Dem 352

Coroner .A. J. Thibodo Dem 341

County Commissioner. H. D. O'Bryan Dem 345

For special ta.\, 230; against special ta.x, 365.

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

had hitherto been evidenced. 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. Denny,
who had been for four years register of the
land ofiice at Olympia.

\Miile the Democratic convention of W^alla
^^'al!a county conceded that political expe-
diency authorized the selection of a congres-
sional delegate resident west of the Cascades,
thev 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 \\'alla Walla county
was as follo'ws, the election taking place on the
5th of June :

Office.

Name.

Politics. \'ote.

Delegate Arthur A. Denny. Rep 386

Delegate James Tilton Dem 4U6

Prosecuting Attorney. .S. B. Fargo Rep .... ..345

Joint Councilman Anderson Cox Rep 364

Representative J. D. Mi.x Dem 396

Representative James ]\IcAuh'ff. ...Dem 392

Representative A. G. Lloyd Dem 368

Representative T. G. Lee Dem 362

Representative B. N. Sexton Kep 354

Joint Representative. .J. M. A'ansyckle. . .Dem , 367

Sheriff A. Seitel Rep 407

Auditor J. H. Blevveu Dem 399

Assessor H. M. Hodgis Dem 393

Surveyor T. F. Berry 359

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

Coroner A. J. Miner Dem 384

County Commissioner. .D. M. Jessee Dem 396

POLITICS IN 1865. A,t tijis 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.

ii,g year. The se\-eral precincts in the county
were respectively represented in this total as
follows : Walla Walla, 539 ; Wallula, 54 : L'pper
Touchet, 96 ; Lower Touchet, 39 ; Pataha,
16; Snake River, 5. The average Democratic
vote of Walla Walla city was 291 and the
Republican 238. It is to be noted that in all
the other precincts majorities were given to the
Republican candidates, Init the Democratic
ticket was victorious, with the exception of

two candidates, as is shown by the returns en-
tered above. The Republican candidate for
ccngressional delegate was elected by a ma-
jority of over one thousand. Anderson Cox
was elected joint councilman to fill a vacancy
caused by the removal of Daniel Stewart from
the territory, but the latter returned and claimed
the seat when he was advised that a Republican
had been elected. Singularly enough, he did
not occupy the seat.

CHAPTER IX.

GENER.AL AND POLITICAL HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY, 1S66-1874.

In the winter of 1865-6 much snow fell 'a\
the Walja Walla country, the same having
reached a depth of eighteen inches in December,
1865. This unusual precipitation worked
great hardships to the stock-raisers and to
teamsters on their way from the mountains.
On January 16, 1866, began another snow
storm, which continued three days, leaving to
its credit fully eighteen inches of snow in the
valley. This was practically obliterated by a
Chinook wind which swept the valley in the
•opening days of February. Navigation on the
Columbia was opened on the 22d of the same
month, and the spring opened early and fav-
orably, though cloudy weather of unusual per-
sistency cast its gloom over a portion of the
month of March. The rush of gold-seekers to
Montana mines was inaugurated in the early
spring, this having been pronounced "the cul-
mination of the prosperous mining epoch that
placed Walla W^alla upon a basis of perma-
nence." Apropos of this, the A\'ashington
Statesman of April 13, 1866, speaks as follows :

In the history of mining excitements, we doubt
whether there ever has been a rush equal to that now
going on to Montana. From every point of the compass,
they drift by hundreds and thousands, and the cry is, " still
they come." The excitement promises to depopulate
portions of California, and from our own territory, as well
as Oregon, the rush is unprecedented. The stages that
leave here go out loaded down with passengers, all bound
for Blackfoot. In addition to the usual conveyances, men
of enterprise have placed passenger trains on the route
between Walla Walla and Blackfoot, and those trains go
out daily, with full passenger lists. Fare, with provisions
furnished, eighty dollars.

^Vith the ever increasing population in the
mining districts the problem of supplying the
camps became one of great importance, and the
cjuestion of transportation was one of utmost
significance, since supplies would natural!}- be
secured through the medium affording the
minimum rates. Goods could be drawn from
two sources of supply, San Francisco or Chi-
cago, and the rate war was on. The price per
ton for the transportation of supplies from San
Francisco to Helena, Montana, by way of
Owyhee and Snake rivers, in 1865, was three
hundred and forty-five dollars ; by way of Port-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

land and the Snake river to Lewiston, thence
by land to Helena, three hundred and twenty
dollars : by way of Portland to Wallula, thence
by land to Helena, two hundred and seventy-
five dollars ; and by way of Portland to White
Biufifs, thence by land to same destination,
two hundred and seventy dollars. This data
if 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-
irig seven hundred and fifty tons, were sent
forth from different 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 which was transported
through the Walla Walla valley in 1865, and
at the opening of the succeeding year the White
Bluffs route was enabled to oft'er 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
\\'alla, 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 \\'allula as the point from which
to transport freight to Montana. This protest
had due influence, and thus Walla Walla was
enabled to hold her own.

\\'ithin the year 1866 an unsuccessful at-
tempt was made to annex \\'alla Walla county
to Oregon, a memorial being presented to the
Oregon legislature advocating such assimila-

tion. This mo\-ement 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
^\•as 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 the region south
of Snake ri\'er had been annexed to Oregon
its vote in presidential elections would have
been sufficient to turn the scale in favor of the
Democratic candidates, and the election of 1876
would ha\e gone to Tilden instead of Hayes.
The Democratic party elected every candi-
date at the annual county election held June 4,
1866, the result being as follows: Joint coun-
cihnan (for \\'alla \\'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 Mc-
Auliff: assessor, H. M. Hodgis; school super-
intendent, W. G. Langford ; county com-
missioners, T. G. Lee and H. A. Livingston.
\\'. L. Gaston was appointed county surveyor
in the following December. Commissioner
Livingston met an accidental death, on the 24th
oi 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 shifted from place to place, with no
provisions for propert}^ filing records and docu-
ments. The countv jail, used jointly by the
city, was a disgrace to the county and afforded
so little surety against the escape of prisoners,
who were occasionally placed in irons on this
account. — a thing that should have not been

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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
tc^ occupy.

INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY IN 1 867.

The productive energies of the Walla Walla
valley, along the lines which have 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 Walla 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
W'ithin the year was approximately 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 tlie coast markets at a profit. It will be
readily understcod that tiiese two experiments,

a so the}' may be designated, were, with their
legitimate and normal results, of transcendent
importance to the rapidly developing Walla
Walla valley. .\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."

POLITICAL.

A review of the political situation in 1867
shows that there was an extraordinary interest
and activity 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
country. From the eastern section of the ter-
ritory were five Democrats and two Republic-
ans whose names were prominently mentioned
in this connection, and while the Republican
convention for Walla Walla crjunty sent an
un instructed delegate to the territorial conven-
tion, a vigorous 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 support to any candidate who
endorsed in any degree the project of annex-
ing Walla Walla countv to Oregon. In the

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

territorial convention Frank Clark, of Pierce
connt)', received the nomination of the Democ-
racy for the office of congressional delegate,
the balloting in the convention having been close
and spirited. The Republican 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 metliod of administer-
ing justice, the politics of the county were in
a peculiarly disrupted and disorganized condi-
tion, and the Vigilance 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 fullv 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
"vvere able to di\-ert manv 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 un the part of the
Walla Walla Democrats secured the election of
the Republican candidate, whose majority in
the territory was only ninetv-six.

The result of the election in the county,
held on tlie 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, W. H. Newell ; joint council-
man (Walla Walla and Stevens counties), J.
M. Vansyckle : representatives, W. P. Horton,

E. Ping, J. yi. Lamb, P. B. Johnson and B.

F. Regan; probate judge, H. M. Chase; sher-
ifi", A. 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. ]\I. 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 AIc-
Auliff was appointed to fill the vacancy. A.
H. Reynolds resigned as commissioner, in May,
1869, 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. Fells, S. AL
\\'ait and A. H. Reynolds.

THE FIRST COURT HOUSE.

As the county dedicated its first Court house
in the year 1867, it is incumbent that we make
a brief reference to the same at this juncture.
As early as 1864, the grand jury had made a
report on this matter, and from said document
we make the following pertinent extracts :
■■\\'e, the grand jury, find that it is the duty of
the county commissioners to furnish offices for
the dift'erent count}- 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-
proof, no action of a definite character was

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

103

taken by tiie board of commissioners until the
meeting of March 11, 1867, when it was voted
to purchase, of S. Linkton, a building on the
corner of Alder and Third streets, the same to
bt paid for in thirty monthly installments of
one hundred dollars each. A further expendi-
ture of five hundred dollars was made in fitting
up the building 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.

RFA'IEW OF THE YE.^R 1 868.

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
eftort was made to provide for railroad facili-
ties for shipping the products of the country to
the markets of consumption. Philip Ritz, ap-
preciative of the results of the experiments of
the previous year, consigned fifty barrels of
flour to New 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 barrel. This flour was the product of the old
Phoenix mill. At the time, the cost of flour in
^^'alla Walla was three dollars and seventy-
five cents per barrel, and the transportation
charges to New 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 prod-
uct commanded only forty cents per bushel,

and the same must be sold for one dollar and
twenty cents per bushel in San Francisco in
order to cover the expenses of shipment, made
at the rate of t\\'enty-eight dollars per ton, of
w hich amount six dollars per ton represented
the transportation charges between Walla
\\'alla 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
from that body the right of way for the pro-
posed line and also permission fiir the county
to subscribe three hundred thousand dollars
for the support of the enterprise, with the pro-
vision that this should be done only upon sub-
mitting the cjuestion to the electors of the coun-
ty and securing a fa\-orable result at tlie elec-
tion. N(T 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 YE.\R 1 869.

Again in this year was there to be chosen
a delegate to congress, and the Democracy of
Walla Walla county instructed their delegates
to the territorial convention 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 convention F. P. Dugan, J. D. Mix, B. L.
Sharpstein and W. H. Newell, of Walla Walla,

I04

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

were balloted for, but the nomination went to
JNIarsliall F. Moore, ex-governor of the terri-
tory.

The Republican nomination was secured by
Selucius Garfielde, surveyor-general of the ter-
ritorv. The names of two of Walla Walla
countv's citizens were presented 'before the
convention. Dr. D. S. Baker and Anderson
Cox. The nomination of Gariielde 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-
aiTected contingent did not nominate a ticket
of their own, and ^Ir. Garfielde was elected by
a majority of one hundred and thirty-two.
He received in Walla Walla county three
hundred and eighty-four votes, while his op-
ponent, Mr. Moore, received seven hundred
and forty.

La 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.
0"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.
]\k-Bride: surveyor, J. Arrison; superin-
tendent of schols, William McMicken; cor-
oner, L. H. Goodwin; county commission-
ers, ^\'. T. Barnes, Daniel Stewart, C. C.
Cram. The county ga\-e two hundred and
eighty-six votes in favor of a constitutional
con\'ention and only twenty-four in opposition,

CONDITIONS -AND EVENTS OF THE YE.\R.

The year 1869 found the ^^'aIla Walla .

valley in about the same status as the preced- I

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 five to twenty thousand 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
county must be exacted a more careful and
efficient discharge of their respective duties,
while the)^ also set vigorously to the task of
placing the treasury department of the county
upon a better basis — insisting that its business

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

los

should be handled according to true business
principles. The board were fortunately ena-
bled to effect a radical improvement along the
lines mentioned, the evidence of this being-
conclusive when we revert to the fact that on
the 1st of May. 1869, the obligations of the
county amounted to $9,569.13, while in the
treasury the cash deposit was represented by
$9,209.18. Li view of the fact that the
sheriff' who resigned in November, 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 tune
was all the more creditable to the board and
to the various count}- officials.

waitsburg's ambition.

The now thriving town of Waitsburg be-'
gan to cast about for new dignities and hqnors,
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 thickly 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 Walla AValla. Gilljert'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 Walla 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 187O AND ITS RECORD.

This year in Walla Walla county was
marked by no events or conditions of special
importance. Favorable climatic conditions
having prevailed, the harvests 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. The transportation
charges were so heavy, however, that the
prices 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 city council of
Walla Walla deeded to the county commis-
sioners the present courthouse square, on
Main 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.

tares of county funds or credit in this line un-
til the county had 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
quo, the matter having been indefinitely post-
poned ty 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 placed at 1,149; number of families,
1,150; white male inhabitants, 2,999: white
female inhabitants, 2,111 ; colored male inhab-
itants, hi; colored 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 wages 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, 114,813; bushels of barley.
21,654; pounds of butter, 99.780; pounds of
cheese, 1,000; 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 wdiich fact the people of the lo-
cality had ample reason to congratulate them-
selves on the showing made.

POLITIC.-VL AFF.\IRS IN 187O.

According to all data available, the polit-
ical pot boiled furiously throughout the terri*
tory as the hour of election approached. 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 office-holders
who were most vigorously protestent and vis-
ibly disaffected, were summarily removed from
office in January of this year, by the president
(if the United States, this action having been
recommended by the congressional delegate,
^Ir. Garfielde, who thus drew upon himself
still greater opposition and dislike. A change
in the existing laws made it necessary to. elect
a delegate again this year, and a strong at-
tempt was made to defeat Mr. Garfielde, who
was confident of being returned to the office,
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 pen
soiiihi 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.
Flowe, A. A. Manning, Ezra Meeker, G. A.
Aleigs, A. A. Denny and John E. Burns,
who claimed to have been constituted the ex-
ecuti\-e committee. The convention as called
by the regular committee met in April and re-
nominated Mr.. 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
liarmonious, the nomination going to Judge
J. D. Mix, one of the most honored citizens
of Waha W^alla, and one enjoying a wide ac-
quaintance throughout the territory. 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 majority of seven hundred and thirty-six
over Mix, the total vote for Blinn being only
one hundred and fifty-five. Upon 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 had 527.
The officers elected in the county were as fol-
lows : Prosecuting attorney, N. 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 by Charles A.
^A'hite, who was appointed to the office May
I, 1871); school superintendent, J. L. Reser;.
coroner, L. H. Goodwin; county commission-
ers, C. C. Cram, I". Louden and L 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 tlie office at
the time of the last election. In July James
W. Kennedy, judge of the first district, reu
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 co\'etous eyes upon the
Walla Walla \'alley region, and in 1870 its
legislature forv^-arded to congress another
memorial, asking that there be annexed to
Oregon such portion of Washington Terri-
tory as lay south of the Snake river. The res-
idents of the section indicated were not in-
formed of the action until after the memorial
had been presented to congress, and the prop-
osition met with determined opposition here.

R.\ILR0AD PROJECT.S TOWN OF D.WTON

FOUNDED 1 87 I -2.

The problem of transportation facilitie.'f
still continued the one which had most potent
significance as determining the further growth

io8

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

and permanent 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 been taken.
but httle having been accompHshed in a prac-
tical way. At this time the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company made a proposition to sur-
vev a route from \\'allula to \\'alla \\'alla.
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 Northern Pacific decided
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
raised, the survey was made, and a report
and estimate of cost was given to the latter
company in ]May, 1871. the Northern Pacific
having deemed it expedient not to run its line
to \\'alla Walla. A call for a special 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
■would 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, 1 87 1, the former having been
called under the act of 1869, but the proposi-
tion to bond the county was adversely met at
the polls. In March, 1872, the railroad com-
pany began work at ^^'allula, grading several
miles of the road within that year. A rail-
road from Walla Walla to La Grande was
surveyed as far as Umatilla, when the proj-
ect was abandoned.

In the fall of 1871 S. AI. Wait and Will-
iam [Nlatzger had begun the erection of a
large flouring mill on the Touchet river, near
the mouth of the Patit, and this served as the

nucleus of a town, which began 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 Columbia county.

The Republican territorial convention of
1872 again nominated ^Ir. Garfielde for dele-
gate to congress, the Democrats and Liberals
placing 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-
l:>ack" campaign in national politics. ^^Ir.
AIcFadden was elected by a majority nearly
as great as Mr. Garfielde had received two
years before. The holding of a constitutional
convention was again voted on and defeated,
Walla \\'alla county giving an adverse ma-
jority of seven hundred and fifty-two on the
proposition. 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-
ple of the county voted in favor of the erec-
tion of a county court-house and jail, the ma-
jority in favor being two hundred and twelve.
The officers elected in the county were as
follows : Prosecuting attorney, T. J. Anders ;
councilman, Fred Stine ; joint councilman
( W'alla \\'alla, Stevens, Yakima and Whitman
counties), C. H. Montgomery; representa-
tives, N. T. Caton, O. P. Lacy, E. Ping, C.
L. Bush, John Bryant and H. M. Hodgis;
probate judge, I. Hargrove: sheriff, B. \\'.
Griffin ; auditor, R. Jacobs ; treasurer, R. R.
Rees; assessor, William F. Gwynn; surveyor,
A. L. Knowlton ; school superintendent, A.
\\'. Sweeney: coroner, A. J. Thibodo; county
commissioners, D. M. Jessee, W. P. Bruce

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

109

and S. L. King. The last named commis-
sioner resigned his position on the 4th of May,
1874, W. T. Barnes being appointed to fill
the vacancy.

THE YEARS 1873 AND 1874 IX 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-
tive 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 Alain street, there were sev-
eral parties who desired to enhance the value
of their property in the outskirts of the city,
and therefore offered 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 Second 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 building, 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 building at all."

POLITICAL.

\\'ithiu the year 1874 there was much dis-
cussion in regard to the annexation of a por-
tion of Idaho to ^^'ashington 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 ^^'alla \\'alla county the total num-
ber of votes cast on this proposition was only
two hundred and sixty, and of these only
twentv-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 Jacol)s, 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 sixtv. This was the era of the independ-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

ent or "Grange" movement, which liad an
unmistakable effect upon national poHtics, its
influence 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 offices
purely local in character, w'hile the Republi-
cans elected their candidate for prosecuting
attorney and a few members of the legisla-
ture. The officers elected were as follows :
Prosecuting attorney, T. J. Anders; council-
man, E. Ping; joint councilman, W. \\'.
Boon; representatives, R. G. Newland, J. B.
Shrum, P. ^1. Lvnch, John Scott, H. M.

Hodgis and A. G. 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 \\'hite, 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
\Miite resigned in November, 1875, his suc-
cessor being Frank Louden.

CHAPTER X.

ANNALS OF THE YEARS 1 875 TO 1 88 1.

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
fron: ^^■aIlula 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 \'\'alla ^\'alla, 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 and Waitsburg
having held mass meetings to consider the
matter of securing railway connection with
the county-seat, while other and mofe preten-
tious projects were agitated. In the fall of
the year 1875 Walla Walla was connected
with Baker City, Oregon, by telegraph line.

DIVISION OF THE COUNTY.

Reference has already been made to the
attempt of ^\'aitsburg to eft'ect 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 \\'ALLA WALLA COUXTY.

trial lines, made the proposition to form a
new county not an unreasonable one in 1875.
From a previousl}' published history of Co-
lumbia county we make the following 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 gamed. 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. Apetition was circulated and largely signed, in
187.5, 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 38 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 Walla county, as well as a 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, 1875. The line was a compromise
between the two proposed, and struck the Touchet two
miles above Waitsburg, then went south six miles, east
six miles, 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, still 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 by 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 count}- were
reported 239 mules, 5,281 horses, 11. 147 cat-
tle, iTi,222 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 j\Iay the treasury had a balance on hand
of $5,271.61, and the amount due on out-

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 ^^'alla \\"alla took a definite action also,
holding a mass meeting and also sending, in

turn, a memorial to congress, favoring the
l)ill in question. The bill failed to pass, as
did also the house bill, of similar character,
introduced by Representative Lane, of Ore-
gon, and providing that the question should
be voted on at the Xovember 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 18/6.

The Republican nominee for delegate to
congress was Judge Orange Jacobs, who was
the incumbent of the ofiice at the time. The
Democrats nominated John P. Judson, who
was defeated by a small majority, Walla
Walla county having given him a majority.
of one hundred and fifty-two votes. The
county election, held November "th, gave a
distinct \-ictory 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-
ney. T. J. Anders; councilman, Daniel Stew-
art; representatives, W. T. Barnes, William
JNIartin, A. J. Gregory and H. A. Vansyckle;
probate judge, R. Guichard; sheriff, George
F. Thomas; auditor, Thomas P. Page; treas-
urer, \\'illiani O'Donnell ; assessor, Samuel
Jacobs ; surveyor, P. Zahner ; school superin-
tendent, A. ^^^ Sweeney (who resigned in the

HISTORY OF WALLA Wx-VLLA COUNTY.

113

following ^lay, being succeeded by L. K.
Grim); coroner, L. H. Goodwin; commis-
sioners, D. J. Storms, James Braden and Dion
Keefe. Li the county eighty-tive 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 $-^3,-
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 by 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

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. H. 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; A. S. Abernethy, Cowlitz;
G. H. Steward, Clark; O. P. Lacy, Walla
Walla; G. V. O'Dell, Whitman; and Alonzo
Lei and, of Nez Perce county, Idaho.

On June 11, 1878, these delegates assem-
bled at Science Hall, in the city of Walla
Walla, and were called to order b}' 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. Abernethy, 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 \A'ALLA 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. INIany were apa-
thetic in the matter 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
^^'alla 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. Judge Brents received a majority of
1,301, and in his home county his majority
w-as 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 offices 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 follows : Prose-
cuting attorney, R. F. Sturdevant; council-

man, J. H. Day; representatives, John A.
Taylor, D. J. Storms, J. jSI. 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. M. Boyd; com-
missioners, M. B. A\'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 \\'alla
Walla an improvement in shipp'ing 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 \\'alla
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 Washington into the Union, and
though the matter was pushed forward with
as much insistency as possible, 3"et 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 majorit}' in \\^alla 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 Repiiblicans gaining a majority of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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,
W. C. Painter ; treasurer, J. F. Boyer ; assessor,
Samuel Jacobs; surveyor, Francis F. Loehr;
school superintendent, C. W. Wheeler; coro-
ner. Dr. H. G. Mauzey; commissioners, M. B.

Ward, 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

W.\LL.\ 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. Ward and S. H. Erwin;
sheep commissioner, A. S. LeGrow ; coroner,
W. 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) o-f 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
government 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.
The 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. \\'ill-
iam Fudge and J. M, Dewar; attorney, E. 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. ^^'. Mor-
gan; judge of probate, R. Guichard; commis-
sioners, Amos Cummings, W. P. Reser and
\\'. 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
AV. ]\L Clark; auditor, L. R. Hawley; sheriff,
A. S. Bowles; treasurer, J- F. Boyer; assessor,
M. H. Paxton; surveyor, J. iL Allen; super-
intendent of public schools, Ellen Gilliam;
judge of probate, R. Guicliard ; commission-
ers, T. C. Taylor, Joseph Paul and Edwin
Weary; sheep commissioner, Timothy Barry;
coroner, H. R. Keylor.

Li 1888 the following officers were elected
in the county : Representatives, E. L. Powell
and L. T. Parker; auditor, L. R. Hawley;
sheriff, J- ^L jNIcFarland ; 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 ^IcAu-
liff, Frank McGown 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.
W. Eagan; auditor, W. B. Hawley; sheriff, J.
M. McFarland ; treasurer, R. Guichard ; assess-
or, AL H. Paxton ; superintendent of public
schools, J. B. Gehr; surveyor, L. W. Loehr;
justice of the peace, J. \\'. Cole; commission-

ers, J. ^L Hill, :\Iilton Aldrich and Frank
Lowden.

The results of the election of .1892 were
as follows : Representatives, A. Cameron and
Joseph ^lerchant; senators, David Aliller and
John L. Roberts; superior judge, W. H. Up-
ton; clerk, H. \\\ Eagan; attorney. Miles
Poindexter; auditor, \\'. B. Hawley; sheriff,
C. C. Gose; treasurer, H. H. Hungate; super-
intendent of public schools, E. L. Brunton;
assessor, T. H. Jessup: surveyor, J. B. Wil-
son; coroner. C. B. Stewart; justice of the
peace, \\'. T. Arberry; constable, ^l. C. Gus-
tin ; commissioners, Edward McDonnell. J. B.
Caldwell and Frank ^L Lowden.

Li 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, William Ellingsworth ;
treasurer. ]\[. H. Paxton; superintendent of
public schools, E. L. Brunton ; assessor. J. B.
^^'ilson : surveyor, E. S. Clark ; coroner, S. ]\L
\\'hite; justice of the peace, E. H. Nixon;
constables, M. C. Gustin and Ben T. \\'olf.

The election of 1896 resulted as follows:
Representatives, J. H. ^Marshall and A. Ma-
thoit : senators, David INIiller and John I.
Yeend; superior judge, Thomas H. Brents;
attorney, F. B. Sharpstein; auditor. A. H.
Crocker: clerk, J. E. IMullinix; sheriff, Will-
iam Ellingsworth; treasurer, M. H. Paxton;
surveyor. E. S. Clark; assessor, J. B. Wilson:
superintendent of the public schools. Grant S.
Bond; coroner, W. D. Smith; justice of the
peace, \Y. 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 COUNTY,

117

and Grant Copeland ; sheriff, A. Frank Kees ;
clerk, Schuyler Arnold; 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, W. P. Reser and O. T.
Cornwell; superior judge, Thomas H. Brents;
prosecuting attorney, Oscar Cain ; auditor, C.
N. IMcLean; 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. Oavcus; 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 i" 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 found
interesting for comparison.

1896.

Baker 93

Clarke 160

Clyde 103

Coppei 78

Dixie 167

Eureka 97

Fremont 28^

1900.

lOI

192

152

79
162

251

Frenchtown 64 97

Hadley 59 47

Hill 59 80

Lewis 244 287

Lower Dry Creek 54 55

Lower Touchet 20 26

Mill Creek -j-j 66

Mullan 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 within the county is $911,685;
and of personal property, $2,126,945; that the
total value of all taxable property as assessed
is $8,245,852. These figures were so modi-
fied by state and county boards of eciualization

ii8

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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
was $12,437.60, leaving a net indebtedness of
$78,023.04.

STATEHOOD.

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
have already been noted in these pages. The
government in general did not realize the rapid
growth of this region. After 1883. with the
completion of the Xorihern Pacific Railroad,
jDOpulation increased very rapidly. 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, 'Slon-
tana and Dakota had been unceasing. The
government became satisfied that- these three
great territories fulfilled all the requisites nec-
essary for statehood. Accordingly a bill was
pEssed in 1889 providing for the creation of
Washington, Montana, North Dakota and
South Dakota. This great change in the his-
tory of the territory stimulated all manner of
enterprises, and turned the attention of home-
seekers throughout the L'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 B. Allen, and the last territorial
governor, [Miles C. ]\Ioore, were citizens of this
place. 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. N. G. Blalock and

D. T- Crowley represented Walla ^^'alla.

In glancing back over the political history
of this state and territory it may be observed
that Walla Walla county has been largely rep-
resented in state affairs. Of the congressional
delegates from 1857 to 1888 four were citizens
(if Walla Walla county. These were George

E. Cole, elected in 1863, Alvin Flanders, in
1867, Thomas H. Brents, in 1878, i82o and
1S82. and John B. Allen, in 1888. Three other
citizens of Walla Walla. J. D. Alix, B. L.
Sharpstein and N. 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 to the governorship of \\'ash-
ington in 1889. Upon him, therefore, devoh'ed
the bowing out of the territory and the usher-
ing in of the state. Men of all parlies united
in testifying that both 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 have been distracted with factional
struggle--. Tlie first state legislature was
strongly Republican and chose as the first sena-
tors \y. G. Squire, of Seattle, and John B.
Allen, of Walla Walla. The first Republican
state convention met in Walla Walla, and nomi-
nated E. P. Ferry for governor and John L.
\\'ilson for representative to congress. The Re-
publican candidates were elected by a large
majority. Of the subsequent bitter strife
between the Allen and the Turner factions
we will not here speak. Nor 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 the 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 dominated 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 Go\'ernor McGraw of J- H. Cob-
kntz to the wardenship of the penitentiary, th.e
slashing manner in which the latter undertook
ti run the politics of the county, as well as
the meekness with which the majority of the
cmmtv statesmen suliiuitted 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 \\'alla
Walla ?

During the past five year's the most intimate
c< nnection between the politics of Walla Walla
cnunty and the state has been through the
candidacy of Levi Ankeny for the senatorship.
Although the \\'ilson ring and allied influences
have thus far been able to prevent the election
of Mr. Ankeny, yet be has the hearty support

of almost all the different parties in his own
county.

In the presidential election of 1896 the
usual Republican majority was overcome by the
fusion of the DeuKjcratic and Populist parties
ir.to the organization known as the Peoples'
party. The vote was 1,596 Republican, 1,652
Peoples' party, 37 Prohibition, 64 Gold Demo-
crat. The presidential election of 1900 saw the
tide turned the other way.

In spite of the agr'cultural 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.y large accessions from the ranks of orthodox
\'0ters. 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 capable
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. ne\-er-
theless 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
sn many influences tending to the creation of
an intelligent, patriotic and liberty-loving pop-
ulation, will in due season create a high stand-
ard of patriotism and political rectitude.

CHAPTER XII

THE LAND WE LIVE IN.

The preceding chapters have been mainly
historical. Those remaining will be mainly de-
scriptive.

In this chapter we propose to view some of
the general physical aspects of this great state
in which \\'alla Walla 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
peculiarities 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
to the smiling vales of \\'alla 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 \\'ashington has no
characteristics, for it is both dry and wet, both
clear and cloudy, both timbered and prairie,
lioth mountainous and level, both barren and
luxuriant, both beautiful and dismal. Equally
contrasted are its products. All characters,
then, may be said to belong to it.

This grand and varied character of our
great state has received its tribute of admira-

tion from both visitors and citizens. We 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 Washington
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 sounci forms a harbor unrivaled
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.

to a Kentucky member of congress named
Stanton. The petition to be set off as a separate
territory from Oregon "vvas before congress as
early as 1852, and the territory was created
March 2, 1853. The name proposed was Co-
kimbia, 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
Avord 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 Washington was approved
on Washington's birthday.

"The state lies l>etween the 46th and 49th
parallels of north latitude and the ri/th 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
si-x New England states combined. In i860 it
had a population of 11,594; in 1870, 23.955;
in 1880, 75,116; in 1885, 130,465; in 1890
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 Walla 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
Tum water. In 1880 the largest body of urban
population in the state of W^ashington 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
than possession of this part of the country.
E.xpeditions by Juan de Fuca, Captain George
A'ancouver, Captain Robert Gray, by sea, and
by Captain \\^illiam Clark and Captain Meri-
wether Lewis, by land, have left their marks
ir 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. A\'yeth, of ilassachu-
setts, also in 1832, got as far west as Fort
X^ancouver. 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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

named King, appointed Major Isaac I. Stevens
the first go\'ernor, and all of these are remem-
bered in the names of counties. A subdivision
of Stevens county was, in 1899, created a sep-
arate county under the name of the first gov-
ernor of the state, Elisha P. Ferry. By proc-
lamation, September 29, 1853, from the sum-
mit 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
its development very slow. The construction
of the Xorthern Pacific Railroad, which it was
intended 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
Portland would be the real terminus, but work
was pushed on, and on September 7, 1883, the
last spike was driven. On Monday, the 5th dav
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 the Great
Northern has placed the state on the line of
another great transcontinental road, and many
branches have since been added.

"The surface of the state is separated into
two great natural di\-isions 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 dift'erence in climate,
and the t^vo portions differ very much also in
soil and resources. The western side is much
more thickly populated, and its climate is moist
and far less var"able than that on the east,
where winter and 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
only from fifteen to sixteen inches, although
there is an irregular ring within which the
rainfall varys from fifteen to twenty-five inches
annuall)', and these diversities affect the 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, Ijut 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 W'ashington 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 ^^'ashing-
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 Alount Rainier. With an altitude
officially given as 14,444 feet, althougli it is
actually nearer 15,000, it is the third highest
peak on the continent, but it stands first in
grandeur and sublimity. The higher altitudes
0+ these mountains give fir, hemlock and
spruce ; the tablelands fir and spruce : the val-
leys fir, cedar, spruce, cottonwood, maple and

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

123

alder. ]\Iuch of this timber is surpassed in size
only by the redwood forests of California.

"i\t 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 wolf, and coyote. The
cougar — tlie mountain lion — the lynx and wild-
cat are almost entirel)^ extinct. The grand
game of the 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, ^^'hite-
tailed deer, black-tailed deer, wild goat and
many fur-bearing animals are to be found, and
occasionally the mountain sheep, or big horn,
h 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
to 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.

"A^ariety 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 produc-
tion of wheat, timothy hay, alfalfa and hops,
to the acre, is greater than in any other state
ia 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 warmth 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 of temperature is due
to the fact that the prevalent winds are from
the Pacific ocean. Very rarely, during two
months of the year, the wind blows from the
north, for two or three days at a time, but the
winters are made mild and warm and the sum-
mers cool and 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 ever}" in-
dustry can be followed with comfort through-
out the entire year.

"A state possessing this great natural temp-
tation to those who have suffered 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 WALLA COUNTY.

the wealthiest in the L'niun. To the settler the
state offers great virgin 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 equal to one of
eighty or one hundred and sixty in the middle
or western states ; orchards bearing fruit of tlie
value of two dollars and three dollars to the
tree; homesteads each of which will 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 abundance ; a ready response
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
developments in the vast area known as the
"Inland Empire."

THE INLAND EMPIRE.

. The city of \\'alla \\'alla 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, Walla Walla, lays just claim to as mani-
fold attractions and as distinct a plethora of
productive 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 A\'ashington, northern Idaho,
western JNIontana. 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
ar.d 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 prairies stretching in all direc-
tions, verdure-clad plateaus, bordered by hills
Clowned 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 W"M. — the}' "hurl oppression back;
they keep the boon of liberty." Here one may
witness with wondering awe the results of the
awful upheavals of primeval 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-
ei'al 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
Inland Empire, — they are almost too numerous
to mention, and to adecjuately 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 WALLA WALLA VALLEY.

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, — incomparable 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
itd 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 ^•igilance relaxed, 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, ])ut 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 valley 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
Walla Walla valley, about whose wealth and
resources so much has already been written ;
about whose mar\'elous development so much

126

HISTORY OF WALLA ^^'ALLA COUNTY.

more will be written as the coming years un-
told the tale.

"There are many wonderful valleys in the
■world, — valleys so famous for one thing and
another, the name of then: is known the world
over. It is not the purpose of this article to
invite comparisons with the Old \Vorld, but
i: is not too much to assert, that no where in
these L'liited 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 empire in itself. Its pos-
sibilities are practically illimitable. Every aid
which nature could give 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 valley 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 ardor of even the most enthused tra\-eler.
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.

"The 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 unparalleled anywhere in the L'nited
States. Even the great wheat-growing state
of Dakota must take second place in a com-
parison of the yield per acre. Millions of bush-
els of grain are raised here yearly of as fine 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

be put twenty bushels higher and still be within
the limits of truth.

"The other cereals grow equally well. Bar-
lev, 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 abund-
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. ]\Iany of the farmers do
raise it, and some of the finest varieties of
sweet corn are grown successfully, but among
the great products of this valley corn really has
no place.

"Grasses 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 year. Clover grows abundantly and
timothy yields anywhere from one to three tons
per acre. The native grasses run riot. The
farmer who raises stock as well as wheat has
nc need to worry about feed.

"It is a great country for stock of all kinds,
cows, sheep, horses, hogs, and the market is
sure. Portland, Tacoma. Seattle, Vancouver
and all the cities of western Washington must
get their supplies in large measure from the
valleys across the mountains. The difficulty
thus far has been, not in finding a market for
stock or their products, but in filling the orders
which flood the market. Thousands of dol-
lars go out of the state annually for butter,
eggs, cheese, etc., which ought to remain at
home. The valley of Walla Walla 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 \\'alla Walla valley is a great fruit
country. It would be a matter of difficulty 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

ing, flavor and general all-round perfection of
development there is no question but the Walla
\\'alla fruits rank among the first. The east-
ern farmer, especially 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 Walla 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 quality 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 Walla valley.

"All of the smaller fruits grow in the great-
est profusion. Strawberries are an immense
crop; certainly none of finer flavor 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. Western Wash-
ington has no grapes practically, the climate

is too cool to ripen them. But in the Walla
\\'alla valley the vines groan with their weight
ot 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.

"Vegetables Of all kinds may be said to
run riot. The}' 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 mai-ketable 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 WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

a climate AAitliout even one defect? This one
i-> but slight at the most, for the rest of the
year the weather is without reproach.

"Historically the valley is interestmg. It
was once the home of powerful tribes 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 white man came, as he always
does, bringing with him energy and ambition
and civilization, attributes which the Indian
holds in supreme disdain. For years the few
trading companies tried to gain a permanent
fcothold among the tribes, but the Indians •
were wary until the Hudson's Bay Company's
men came on. then for the first time a treaty
v\-as effected and a permanent trading post es-
tablished. This was in 1828. A year or two
later the old Fort Walla ^^^alla, 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
liere home and health and wealth.

"So the fame of Walla Walla grew. As the

years haxx 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. With the hands of commerce 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 ^^^ash-
ir.gton fufills its manifest destiny, and takes
its rightful place among the most important of
these Lnited States, certainly ranking fore-
most in the Pacific group, a prediction like the
alx)ve 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
miles, 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, every foot of the
millicMis of acres is productive. So generous
lias 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.

"Flere 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 WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

129

with the rigors of succeeding winters, whose
bitter, biting cold seems to numl) his very
vitals, the climate of this valley is the next
thing to paradise. It gives him a raritied at-
n:osphere, which keeps him young. It gives
him an equable temperature, which permits
hnn 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
and fire-wood are much in demand. From the
other he may have release by the light of his
own fireside, from whose warmth and comfort
he may view with indifference the snows which
briefly fly about its w-alls, and may listen with
complacency to the winds which beat against
them.

"It is a significant fact that those who come
to the Walla Walla valley to build a home re-
main here, and more, they grow rich. This
valley is noted for its prosperous farms, its
v,'ell-to-do people. The whole valley 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 ^^'alla \\'alla country
offers opix3rtunities unequalled. 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 ; the valley will
do the rest."

The following tribute to the "beautiful
Walla Walla valley" is reproduced from the
edition of the Inland Empire 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

\\'alla valley, and the All-Seeing eye looked
upon them and said they were good, nothing
short of infinite wisdom could have made an
attempt at telling any thing of the greatness
and value to the world which future genera-
tions would bring to the seemingly insignificant
part of creation. And, even to-day when we
look out upon a well developed country, when
we see thousands of happy homes 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 of expansion in commerce and new avenues
of industry, we have as little real idea of how
future years will develop it as had our an-
cestors of hundreds of years ago. The past we
have seen and heard of, the future is all hidden
in myster}' 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 earlv pioneer 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 pure
and wholesome water, the balmy climate and
beautiful natural surroundings, he changed his
mind and remained for a season. Imbued 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-

130

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 httle \-alley that it was not found
as readily as some other places, and when
found was more isolated and difficult of ap-
proach. Surrounded by high mountain ranges,
tra\-ersed by rivers 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, they saw, they conquered.

"Fifty years ago a band of sturdy soldiers
pitched their tents where to-day is the city
of Walla \^'alla. 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
they stopped and waited. The go\-ernment or-
dered erected a garrison, and soon the busy
mechanic was placing together the rough tim-
bers which. were to constitute the first Fort
\\'alla \\'alla. The signs of life brought to the
place by the new order of things induced men
of enterprise and foresight to come and es-
tablish themselves in the trade thev 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 conditii ns and
in business. The little band of pioneers
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 ^^'alla 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 days past. Then a new era of progress and
development came, and of that we of to-day
know about all there is to be told. Xew life
was infused into the city and growth took the
place of dormant energies. Xew people came
and made new homes, new industries took the
places then vacant. After a few years of this
energetic development we ha\e the Walla
Walla 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 by nature a
wonderful cataract, yet W^alla Walla was not
neglected. The gifts were not parcelled out
parsimoniously, yet in the distribution Walla
Walla was given her share. No spot in all
the broad land, no city within the borders of
our country has received from a kind nature
more smiles than has our citv. Surrounded
by a most fertile section of country, stretch-
ing scores of miles in everv direction, at the

HISTORY OF \\^\LLA WALLA COUNTY.

131

•ccnfluence of. sparkling mountain streams af-
fording a bountiful supply of water for do-
mestic, irrigation and industrial purposes, the
location is ideal. The Blue mountains frown
down upon the city in grim sturdiness, remind-
ing one of the great sturdy men and women
who have taken such an active pare in the
progress and development of the valley. With
mountain and stream, the rugged hills and
pleasant valleys present a landscape which for
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 th; 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 more 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-
erallv large. When transportation 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 many fortunes
v.diich are to be found now were laid in the
early days of wheat raising in the valley of
many waters.

"As the years went by the lack of fruit was
noted and men were led to consider the neces-
sity of planting orchards- for the production 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-dav. The little tract of fruit trees has given

way to the large orchards where hundreds of
acres of land and scores of men and boys are
employed in the production and packing of
fruits for the markets which have now widened
and broadened until the supply is not equal to
the demand. Hundreds of carloads of fruits
and berries are shipped from the city every
years to points in Montana, Idaho, British Co-
lumbia and Sound cities, where Walla Walla
fruits are in demand over the article sent in
from California.

"The Walla \Valla \-alley proper is a large
belt 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 footh.ill lands
near the mountains and all of the lower bottom
lands, used mostly for gardening. A great
rich belt of land producing millions of bushels
of wheat and barley and hundreds of carloads
of fruit and vegetables annual))-, ca];able of
maintaining a population of a million souls, is
a Ijrief description of the valley as it is to-day.

"Fortunate is that community so favored
b\- the gifts of nature that its descriptive story
plainly told attracts and interests the wanderer
in less favored climes. Strained efforts by
fleft penmen to show conditions which do not
exist ; elaborate effusions and exaggerations to
draw attention to cities and districts possessing
no particular advantages or charms, have long
since ceased to attract the home-seeker or in-
vestor. A 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 \\'alla \Valla -s-alley ad-
jacent to W^alla Walla is indeed a favored sec-

132

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

tion. It is a vast expanse of fertile tiekls. bur-
dened orchards and prolific nature. To one
even partially acquainted with its natural wealth
there is an inspiration in the subject. Imagina-
tion does not have to be called into play, as
the \-aried topics which the subject suggests
give the writer a sufficient range upon which
to dwell indefinitely.

"Think! Orchards of luscious fruit and
fields of waving grain ; hills of precious metals
and 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 Walla is mentioned. It is easy to begin
but hard to end.

"This growing city is yet in its infanc}', —
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 every hand he cannot but observe the evi-
dence of thrift and commercialism. He Avill
find that nearly every person he meets is busy
or intent on doing something. When the
stranger shall have pursued his investigations
further he will discover that this bustling little
city is built for all time and is the natural trad-
ing center for a \-ery rich and extensive country.

"A mistaken idea prevails that societv in the
northwest is difi'erent from what it is in the
older commonwealths of the country. This
was 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 countrv: con-
sequently, the general spirit of the new west

is more active 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 suggesti\'e, as we turn the pages
of Washington's blood-stained history, of the
war-whoop ajid the scalping-knife, comes next
under our review. Its Astoria, Walla Walla
and \'anc(iu\-er are household words in the
story of territorial strife and struggle and in-
delibly associated with the darkest of her early
ciavs. They are to the nati\-e of Washington
'to the manor burn' 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 days than in those
\aunted 'good old times.' As we breathe the
name, the syllables of Walla Walla trip glid-
ingh- o\'er the tongue with the musical step of
n'.any another Indian appellation, as, for in-
stance, ^Minnehaha; it is appropriate, withal, for
a.- the latter means 'laughing water,' so Walla
Walla signifies 'valley of waters,' which is even
better, for we have seen ]\Iinnehaha 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 Nez Perce, the \\'alla Walla
or Wallula meaning tlie same thing, being taken
from the language of the tribe whose name it
bears. — the \\'alla ^^'allas. This region is, in-
deed, well named the 'valley of waters.' From
whence, we wonder, does the 'Siwash' get his
poetical inspiration, for it would ofttimes puzzle
the paleface to better either the beauty or ap-
propriateness of his nomenclature. It can not
I)c inherent, still less inherited. It is, we fancv.

]IISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

133

■unconsciously absorbed from the 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
Walla county was admitted in 1854, the only
one of the southeastern Washington counties
created with the establishment of the terruory.
It then embraced all the valley of the Columbia
east of the Cascades, an area of nearl)' 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
hundred square miles. 'What 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, throusfh the foolish or vin-

dictive actions of General Wool, who endorsed
the equally short-sighted policy of his sub-
ordinate. Colonel \\'right, — a policy that pro-
tected the Indian, neglected the white, and prac-
tically relegated to its pi-imitive savagery this
mighty and most productive domain. The
original empire of Walla Walla, we are told,
was recognized as a garden spot even long
before some other regions, where the soil was
eciually 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 \\'alla derives its wealth from the
ground. So enriched is this county by nature
that it is not improl^iable that her recorded pop-
ulation of the last census (1890) — 12,224 —
will be doubled within the next decade. It is
v/ell watered, being bounded on the north and
east b}- the Snake and Columbia rivers, while
its southern boundary is irrigated by the \\'alla
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 likely to prosper."

CHAPTER XIII.

A JOURXEY THROUGH WALLA WALLA COUNTY,

In this chapter Ave 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
tln^ough which we pass. We shall omit the
city of \\'alla Walla from 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
tl'iis is Waitsburg. In order to see Waitsburg
first of all we must enter the county from the
northeast, and we will therefore suppose, if
you please, that we have come from Spokane by
the O. R. c^' X. Railroad.

134

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

WAITSBURG.

Leaving the main line at Bolles Junction, we
proceed by the ^^'aitsburg and Dayton branch,
and after riding about two miles find ourselves
approaching a beautiful little city occupying 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 remember that our quest is not
only descriptive but historical, and that we
shall therefore desire to turn our glass back-
ward for a few moments upon the period of
earliest settlement in this part of Walla Walla
county. Claims were made substantially as
early in the present vicinity of \\'aitsburg as of
AA'alla \\'alla. In 1859 Robert Kennedy set-
tied at the junction of the Touchet and the
Coppei. .\bove him on the creek were Abner
T. Lloyd, George Pollard, Joseph Star and
Samuel Galbreath. A string of claims were
laid out up the Coppei by [Messrs. Patten, Mor-
gan, J'aine, Doolittle, Bateman and Cox. On
the Touchet below the mouth of the Coppei
were James Woodrufif, Edward Kenton, Jona-
than Kenny, Martin Hober, Luke Henshaw,
Andrew \\'arren and John Foster.

The universal imjjression throughout the
ccamtry at that time was that none but the bot-
tom lands were worth cultivating, and inas-
much as the area of b;nt::im land i i that por-
tion of the county is very small the popula-
tion remained scanty. A faint attempt at a
town was started on the Coppei about five miles
from the present site of Waitsburg. In Jan-
uar}-, 1863, this became a postoffice by the
name of Coppei. Luke Henshaw lieing the first
postmaster. Coppei apparently was in a fair
v;ay to become a town, when in 1S6; the start-

ing of \\'aitsburg undermined it, and the pros-
pective city of Coppei died a natural death.

The founder of Waitsburg was Sylvester
jNI. \\'ait. Air. Wait was a pioneer of the pio-
neers in this countr}-, ha\'ing lived for some
years in southern Oregon and then at Lewis-
ton. Having learned in 1864 that a quantity
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 evidently be good business, as flour was
worth fourteen dollars per barrel. The farm-
ers \'ery enthusiastically accepted ]Mr. ^^'ait's
plans, yir. Bruce and Mr. \\'illard, who then
owned most of what became the town site of
Waitsburg, ga\-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 bushel. \\'ith 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 about fourteen thousand
dollars, which was a heavy debt to carry in that
cf'ndition of the country. But it proved an ex-
cellent investment, as 'Sir. \\'ait rapidly dis-
charged the debt and laid the foundation of
quite a fortune.

William X. Smith, a teacher by profes-
sion, came to the new town in the spring of
1S65 and decided' to open a school on the
Touchet. This was the first school ever held in
that portion of ^^■alla Walla county, being
opened on the first Monday in April, 1865.
School district Number 3 was organized in the
fall of that year.

In the fall of 1866 a postofirce was estab-
lished, with 'Sh. Smith as postmaster. Up to

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

135

this time the place had l^een variously known
as Wait's Mill, Waitsburg and Horsehead
City, but when it became 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.

L'p to th.is 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 become 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 109. In that same year
a notable event occurred in the arrival in
Waitsburg of P. A. and W. G. Preston. They,
in 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 ^Nlarch, 1878.

The year 1881 was a notable one in the
history of Waitsburg. For in that year a
city government was organized, the railroad
was constructed, and the greater portion of the
business part of the town was destroyed by
fire. The first town government was organ-
ized in Feljruary of that year. The first elec-
tion resulted in the choice of George ^^^ Kel-
licut, William Fudge, Alfred Brouillet, M. J.
Harkness and E. L. Powell for trustees ; W.
PL George for marshal ; J. W. Morgan for
treasurer; and J. C. Swash for clerk. Accord-
ing to the census of 1880, Waitsburg 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 \-ariety store, one brewery, one harness
and saddlery shop, two livery 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 ]Ma-
sonic hall, postoffice, telegraph office, express
oflice, 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, but an
excellent church edifice was built in 1871. A
Presljyterian church was established by Rev.
T. M. Boyd in 1877. The Christian church
established itself in Spring Valley, four miles
from Waitsburg, in 1876. The first pastor
was Rev. Xeil Cheatham, who has since be-
come c|uite noted in connection with Populist
politics. In 1880 a Christian church was es-
tablished in Waitsburg itself. Still later a
United Presbyterian church was founded, so
that there are now four churches.

Waitsburg, like most of our pioneer towns,
has been well ec^uipped with fraternal organi-
zations. The pioneer fraternities were Waits-
burg Lodge, Xo. 16, A. F. «S: A. ]\I., organ-
ized March 2^, 1870; Touchet Lodge, Xo. 5,
I. O. O. F., organized September 12, 1871;
Pioneer Lodge, No. 16, I. O. G. T., organized
July 20, 1867; and Occidental Lodge, X"o. 46,
A. O. U. W.

The pioneer newspaper of Waitsburg was
the Times, established in 1878. The very im- .
portant educational institution, Waitsburg

136

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Academy, was esta'blished in 1886, though the
name was first emplo3'ed in 1869. Of many
of these features of Waitsburg thus briefly
referred 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-e(]uipped place of (accord-
ing to United States census of 1900) 1,059
inhabitants. 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.

We visit Waitsburg Academy and find it
equipped with an elegant new building, erect-
ed in 1899 at a cost of $20,000. The acad-
emy is provided with an efiicient and devoted
faculty. We discover also four commodious
and well-furnished churches, and these organi-
zations are usually influential in ^^'aitsburg
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 two-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.

\\'aitsburg, for its population, is a very
hea\y railroad shipper. During a period of

six months in 1895 there were shipped from
the town 10,168 tons of freight, and there
were shipped in 637 tons. This shows a far
more remarkable disparity between exports
and imports even than in the case of Walla
Walla itself.

We find in ^^'aitsburg the following list
of stores and other business establishments :
Three general merchandise stores, two gro-
cer}' 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 government 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. Morrow ; council-
men, J. L. Harper, B. M. Kent, J. B. Caldwell,
\\'. J. Honeycutt, C. M. Taylor; attorney and
city clerk, R. H. Ormsbee ; treasurer, L. E.
Johnson.

One especially attracti\-e feature of Waits-
burg is the profusion 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.

We may leave Waitsburg by either one
of two railroads, the Oregon & Columbia
River Railroad by way of Dixie or the O. R.
& N. 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 heavier than
in any other part of the county. Among the
notable farms in this section may be men-
tioned those of Messrs. Cornwell, Phillips,
Minnick and Connick. The Royce farm,
which in 1900 had an undesirable 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 be obtained looking down the winding
valley of the Coppei to the north, and the
hazy plains of the Walla Walla to the west.
At our feet we see a pleasant little village
situated in the narrow and fertile \'alley of
Dry creek.

DIXIE.

The first settler in Dixie was Herman C.
Act(.ir, who located a hdmestead 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 boys 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 Dixie 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 school, 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 was John
Ross. Mr. Storey, now one of the substan-
tial farmers of Dixie, was one of the stand-
bys in the Dixie school-room. At the time of
this publication the corps of teachers consists
of J. E. Myers, Elmer Chase and Mrs. F. B.
Faris. 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 by 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 manj^ 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
count}', among which ma}- be named the Corn-

138

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

well, the Gillian, the Aldrich, the Yeend, and
the Xelson places. As stated in another chap-
ter, the place of Milton Aldrich has the distinc-
tion of producing 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 farming lands
of the county or indeed of the state. In this
belt may be found the places of the following
well known farmers : Messrs. Thomas, P.
Lyons, Kennedy. Kigler. Gilkerson, Patterson,
Fields, Harbert, Riffle. 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 seventy or eighty
miles square.

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 \'ery large body of
farming land coming into profitable cultiva-
tion between Walla Walla and Eureka flat.
Though at first sight not so attractive in ap-
pearance as the region east and south of \\'alla
Walla, it has surpassed all expectation within
the past few years by the wheat yield of its fat
acres.

EUREK.A. JUNCTION.

^Ve reach Eureka Junction, thirty miles
from Walla 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, though there are a number
of stations, which are the home of consider-
able communities, and from which immense
quantities of grain are shipped. The most im-
portant stations are Eureka Junction, Clyde,
and Pleasant \'iew. E\-en 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 tlie climate and the frequent winds,
together with the excessi\-e dust, it bears
a poor comparison as a home land to the \'er-
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-thousand-
acre ranch of W. H. Babcock, 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 be mentioned, the Puffer,
the Blanchard, the Struthers. the Atkins, the
L'pton, 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.

139

merly 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 level lands of the flat to the
adjoining hills. If the present amount of
moisture 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
fields.

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. Mr. 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 stay upon Eureka flat, to
turn our faces toward the Columbia 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 mile 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 Walla
Walla ; that is, "abundance of water." \\'allula
was founded by the Northwest Fur Company.
It was one of nine forts established or accjuired
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, Umpcjua, and Nisqually.

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 membA" of the
Northwest Fur Company, but after the union
of that company with the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany he became, and lor many years continued
to be, the chief factor of the company in this
part of their territory. From the first this
location seems to have 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 Walla. 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 consequence 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 encompassing about an acre, with a
platform inside, from which all the approaches
could be commanded. At the northeast and
southwest corners bastions were built, ^\'ithin

140

HISTORY OF \\'ALLA WALLA COUXTY.

the enclosure there were four buildings, built
of logs and adobe brick, one stor_v high. As
a means of subsistence for this fort there was
established about twenty miles up the \\'alla
\A"alla river a dairy farm of about twenty
acres. This was in the region now known.
from that farm, as Hudson's Bay.

Soon after the establishment of Fort Walla
"\\'alla, ^Ir. Ogden and his men were attacked
by the Indians of the Walla \\'alla 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, howe\-er,
was subseciuently the scene of many thrilling
Indian encounters. Among others, Arcliibakl
McKinley had an experience which shows
something of the nerve necessarv for maintain-
ing a post in Indian times. ^NIcKinley 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 uf making a rush upon
him and looting the store. Mr. IMcKinley,
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 four winds. The Indians
knew enough about powder to understand what
would happen. They quailed before the de-
termined eye of the fur trader and rapidly slunk
from the room.

L'nder the joint occupation treaty of 1818
between England and the L'nited States, many
Americans as well as Englishmen had occa-
sion to visit Fort Walla Walla. Among these
were Captain Bonneville and Nathaniel J.
\\'veth. It was in 1834 that Bonneville, after
a midwinter journey of excessi\-e hardships,

rode into Fort Walla Walla. Here he was
kindly recei\-ed by ]\Ir. P. C. Pambrun. who
at that time was in charge of the post. As il-
lustrative of the Hudson's Bay Company's
methods, it may be said that, although the
agent received Bonneville with the utmost
courtesy, he flatly refused to sell him provis-
ions b}- 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 rival traders.
Later in that same year of 1834 came the ad-
vance guard of American missionaries, in the
persons of the Methodist 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 were received also at the Fort Dr.
\"\hitman and :\Ir. Spalding with their wives.
In general it may be said that the Americans
were treated by the authorities at Fort Walla
\\ alia with great courtesy and consideration.
\ et 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 Whitman massacre by Will-
iam ^McBean, then in charge of Fort Walla
^\ alia, we have already spoken in the chapter
on the \\'hitman massacre.

The treaty between England and the United
States by which Oregon became the territory of
the latter, was ratified June 15, 1846. 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 conclude 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-
tically a desert until the beginning of settle-
ment of the country in 1860-61. It then be-
gan to be known as Wallula and became the
landing place of the Columbia river steamers.
The Oregon Steam Navigation Company's
steamboats ran regularly to Wallula in 1861,
and in the spring of 1862 lines of stages
began to run from that place to Walla Walla.
During the same year a town site covering
thirty-eight blocks was laid out by \\\ W.
Johnson. Alany believed at that time that
Wallula would be a great city, but it never be-
came more than a transfer point. \\'ith its
burning heat and drifting sand, Wallula was
not the most attractive place in the world, and
at times during its early history its inhabi-
tants had the reputation of being about as hard
as the natural features of the locality. A de-
scription by Bill Nye of his experiences in
Wallula, and especially his attempt to sleep in
the hotel provided for the delectation of
strangers, gave Wallula a wide though perhaps
not enviable notoriety throughout the United
States.

In 1872 the \\'alla Walla & Columbia
River Railroad was begun and in 1875 great
quantities of freight began to pass by this road
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
e\-ent in the history of Wallula. It has, how-
ever, never developed into anything more than
a transfer and railway station, and has at the
present time a population of probably not more
than one hundred and fifty people. The chief
business men are S. Ashe, A. E. Reed, and C.

F. Cummings. There are a number of most
excellent, intelligent people in ^^'allula.

The principal event in AA'allula in recent
years has been the building of the cut-off line of
the O. R. & N. R. R., up the Snake river to
Riparia. and it is over this line that the main
business of the railroad from Spokane to Port-
land now passes, leaving Walla ^^'alla out in
the cold.

Although the country around Walhila has
the appearance of a barren desert, it is, when
irrigated, of a fertile character and susceptible
of high cultivation. Perhaps the earliest and
finest peaches raised in the entire state come
from the ranch of ]\Ir. Thrasher, at the mouth
of the Walla Walla river. If any one desires
to see what this desert can do in the way of
production, let him visit the orchard of B. S.
Simmons, about twenty miles above Wallula,
on the south bank of the Snake river. From this
place were taken grapes which won the first
award at the Chicago Exposition.

We will not follow the Hunt line from
Hunt's Junction westward to its terminus at
Pendleton, inasmuch as the greater part of
this distance is within Umatilla county, Ore-
gon. We will therefore transfer ourselves
at Wallula to the cars of the Oregon Railway
& Na\-igation Company, and turn our faces
again toward Walla Walla.

There is but one tuwn to speak of between
Wallula and Walla Walla, and this is

This place occupies a very fertile section of
land at the junction of the Touchet and Walla
Walla rivers. Its development has been en-
tirely the result of the irrigation system estab-
lished upon the Touchet during the past four
or five years. The soil is of fine quality and

142

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

needs only water to make it highly productive.
Fruits and \egetables mature at least two weeks
earlier than at Walla ^^■alla and this gives
the region a very important advantage. There
is a population of about two hundred people,
equipped with school house, church, store and
shops. Among the industrious and energetic
men who have made Touchet what it is may be
mentioned Mr. A. Zaring, John Zaring, Wood-
son Cummings, James Cummings, Will Cum-
mings. and Messrs. Gardener, Burnap and Cun-
ningham.

The portion of Walla \\'alla county from
Touchet to \\'alla \\'alla and extending south-
ward from the line of railroad up the Walla
\\"alla river to the town of Milton in Oregon,
is entirely different from anything we have
seen in our journey through the county
hitherto. A level valley of from half a mile
to two miles in width, covered more or less
with timber and luxuriant grass, though 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 of the great Indian battle of 1856, else-
where described at length. Two miles east
of Frenchtown, we pass 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 L'matilla 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 black, 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 of the Blue
mountains.

If we should still further extend our side
journey to the extent of taking a buggy drive
from Whitman Mission up the valley of the
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 known old-
timers, among whom we might name Messrs.
Willis Reser, Cuskar, Newcomb, Harrer, Ben-
son, while just over the Oregon line is found
the jewel of all the places, that belonging to
'Slv. O. R. Ballou, one of the foremost fruit
men and promoters of all public enterprises to
be found in this country. The country be-
tween Whitman station and Walla Walla, and
for a number of 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. N. G. Blalock. There

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY,

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 \Valla the Oregon Railway & Naviga-
tion Compan\' 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
Valley Grove on Dry creek. Up and down this
valley stretches a beautiful scene of verdure,
in contrast with the bare hills on either side.
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, was 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 suq^assed 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
in 1859. There he lived until 1862, when he
went as Lidian agent to Lapwai. The most
important e\-ent in the history of Prescott was
the erection in the year 1883, by H. P. Isaacs,
(jf the great North Pacific Elouring Mills, at
that time the most extensive flouring null 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
disproportionate to the size of the town, for
the surrounding country is prctsperous and
fairly well settled, and its trade is very hea\'y.

There are two churches in Prescott, a
Methodist and a Presbyterian. The schools of
Prescott have deservedly 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, liverj' stable

144

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

and the various shops necessary to the ongoing
of such a town. "The village blacksmith" is
also notable as one of the leading politicians.
This is Air. James Haviland. 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. He is distinguished as being not only
one of the genuine, whole-souled pioneers of
the epoch, but as being the father of more
human avoirdupois than any other man in
Walla Walla county. The average weight of
the male members of the Pettyjohn 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 extensive belt of land lying north-
west of Prescott and including the somewhat
broken hill country as far as Eureka flat, was
large!)-, until within two or three years, gov-
ernment land. The impression 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 settled, thousands of acres have been
broken up, and thousands of bushels of wheat
have been produced. Farther to the east, upon
the road extending from Prescott to Lyons
ferry on Snake ri\-er, 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 :\Ialloy ranch. Both
up and down the Touchet river from Pres-

cott are man}- well known and progressive
places. Among these may be named the fol-
lowing : Those of [Messrs. Brown, Hanson,
Hayes, Flathers, Bowe, Romines, Sharp, Bar-
nett. Pettyjohn, Utter and Hart.

After this examination of Prescott and its
vicinity, we will resume our places in the cars
and bv a journey of a few miles find ourselves
at Bolles Junction. From this point a branch
road of the Oregon Railway & Navigation
Company extends to Waitsburg and Dayton.

Continuing on upon the main line we find
ourseh'es ascending the Alto hill. This tract
uf country, although c^uite elevated and some-
what broken, is of the most fertile soil, and
produces 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
nnle. 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 \\"allula. Having reached Star-
buck, we find ourselves within the confines of
Garfield county, and hence our journey
through Walla W'alla county is ended.

If we should examine our journey with a
map, 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. Many 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 harvester and thresher.
This was formerly used largely in California,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

145

but the general impression was t'hat the rolHng
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 ofif and picked up by
the wagons which follow. 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
separate 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
amono- the counties of this sfreat state.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE INDUSTRIES OF WALLA WALLA 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 view the fair pros-
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 peaks 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 catth range, stock raising being the first
industry in time of this region. This same
region is now rapidly becoming the great wheat
belt, though for a long time thought to be so

arid as to be unsafe for wheat culture. And in
10

wheat raising we have our second great inr
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 have clusters of tree-embowered
houses, and wdiich 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 belt of stock
and wheat, and the middle zone of fruits and
vegetables, 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 other parts of the country. This foot-hill
zone was the earliest settled part of Walla Wal-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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 which 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 streams, in the obvious
plenty and cheapness of all the essentials of
Hie.

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. \\'alla 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
Walla countr}- 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 Lidian legends indicate
the traditional condition of this country.
Among these is the flood legend of the Yaki-
mas. 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. Wishpoosh 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 rest of creation. So
he harpooned 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 Walla Walla country. But Wishpoosh 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 down 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 Walla county, like the famous
^IcGinty 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
yield of fifty or sixty bushels of wheat to the

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

147

acre is not unknown. The volcanic dust is as
fine as flour and b}' the action of wind and
water it has been deposited to depths almost
unheard of in other parts of the world. There
.are places in Walla Walla county where over
two hundred feet of soil have been found.
From this enormous depth of soil it can readily
be seen that vegetation in this region has al-
most inexhaustible nutrition. Moreover it is
well known that this volcanic dust, overlaid
with vegetable loam, furnishes the ingredients
for wheat formation in greater fullness than
does any other known soil.

In 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 Walla 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.

IMany believe the experience of the last few
j'ears 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 appear-
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. INIore-
■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 de\'elopment in
tune.

First in order comes the

STOCK BUSINESS.

The first cattle in the \\'alla \\'alla valley
were brought in by Hudson's Bay employees
in the vicinity of Fort Walla \\^alla, now Wal-
lula, and in the region now known as Hudson's
Bay. Dr. Whitman brought several cows with
him in 1836. Messrs. Brooke, Bumford, and
Noble, who occupied the Whitman mission
property in 185 1, and thence onward until ex-
I'clled by the Indian war of 1855, had a large
number of cattle. After the whites began to
settle in the country in 1859, and especially
alter the discovery of the mines in i860 and
1 86 1, the stock business received a great im-
petus and many cattle were driven in from the
\Villamette country. Most of them perished
in the famous hard winter of '61 -'62, but the
luisiness was at once resumed with such energy
tliat by the summer of 1863 it was repor*:ed
tliat there were 1,455 horses, 438 mules, 1,864
slieep, 3,957 cattle, and 712 hogs. The States-
man reported that 15,000 pounds of wool had
been shipped out that year. It is said that
there were 200,000 sheep in the \-alley in the
winter of '65-'66. Sheep were worth at that
time only a dollar per head. Stock of every
sort increased rapidly from 1866 to 1875, when
the country had become so well filled up that
shipping to California and the east began on a
lars'e scale.

148

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

There seem no separate statistics available
for the amount of stock driven out of what is
now \\'alla \\'alla county. We find, however,
in Gilbert's history a very valuable table pre-
senting statistics of the amount of cattle driven
from the "Liland 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
formed 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
winter 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 liy 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
I'lsually so little need for feeding stock in the
winter, manv make no calculation for doing

so, consecjuently the heavy loss when such neces-
sity arises."

The following paragraph gives the statis-
tics of increase in both human and stock popu-
lation for the decade 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 per cent.; working oxen, 3.821,
increase 75 per cent.; other cattle, 103,111, in-
crease 266 per cent. ; swine, 46,828, increase
168 per cent.

Tlie following table derived from the as-
sessor's rolls for the years 1863 to 1879 gives
a complete view of the stock in Walla Walla
county during that period. The years 1869,
1872, and 1873, are lacking.

1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1870 1871 1874 1875

Horses .... 1455 222:i 2459 2748 3788 4763 6787 6674 8807 8863

Mules tW 826 »25 1098 1726 1058 1727 1013 690 401

Cattle 3957 4374 4807 7089 751; 1.3439 14114 15730 22960 17756

Sheep 1864 697 3601 7819 .... 4421 8767 126.39 21368 32986

Hogs 712 1486 2650 4377 7068 1983 6067 7769 8150 6920

In 1875 Columbia county with 2,160 scjuare
miles having been set off^, the statistics of Walla
Walla county shows quite a diminution.

1876

Horses . - .5376

Mules 239

Cattle. ..11227
Sheep... 1313.*
Hogs 4000

12117 :126C
26066 20256
4964 4264

Since 1879 the demand for agricultural
land has steadily increased until the stock range
has been so lessened that few range cattle or
horses 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 number 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 number 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 order of develop-
ment is that of

AGRICULTURE.

To one contemplating the many beautiful
farms of Walla 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-
giui 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 believed to be the
only lands capable of agriculture. These lands
had been tested at various points by Hudson's
Bay people, and Dr. Whitman at Waiilatpu had
already raised considerable quantities of prod-

uce more than sixty years ago. Dr. Whitman
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 84 1 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,
he 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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

■which he afterwards took up as the Russell
place. The Lidians were so threatening that
he left it, and the cattle ranging in the country
grazed it so closely that there was apparently
no hope of a crop. But in June, the Lidians
having withdrawn, INIr. Russell went out and
fenced in the field with the result that he se-
cured a Adeld of fifty bushels of oats to the acre.
During that same season one hundred and fifty
acres of oats was sowed on Dry creek by a
man named A\'alter Davis. He, too, was
■warned away by the Lidians. but a detail of
soldiers from the fort went out and cut the
oats for hay. In i860 Stephen Maxon raised
a fine crop of wheat on Russell creek, farther
from the bottom than any one else then thought
Avorth trying.

There were few people in the country at
that time, and the few there had thought little
as yet of agriculture. There was no market,
except at the fort. But 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
them 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 iS to 26 cents per pound; soap, from 16
to 20 cents per pound; butter, from 50 cents
to $1 per pound; eggs, $1 per dozen; flour,
$5 to S6 per hundred; wheat, $1.25 to Si. 50
per bushel.

In 1864 the very important discovery was
made that grain could be produced on the hill
land. ]\Iessrs. 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 by John INIontague on the "bench," north-
east of Walla Walla, not far from the Delaney
place, which yielded over fifty bushels to the
acre. Even this seems to have been little heeded
at first. As some of the old settlers now ex-
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 ver}' best quality of wheat
lands, the majority of the settlers believed that
tlie great body of up-lands north of Mill creek
was adapted only to a stock range. In the
meantime, however, there w-as a steady inflow
i.f immigration, and the wheat acreage was
rapidly increasing. In November, of 1864,
the Statesman noted the fact that the -wheat
and flour of this region was superior to
much of that grown in the Willamette
valley. In 1866 there were already five flour-
ings mills in the valley. These had improved
n:achinery and turned out a really excellent
quality of flour. In 1865 seven thousand bar-
rels of flour w^ere exported from the \\'alla
A\'alla valley.

The wheat yield of 1866. for the entire
'upper country," was estimated at half a million
bushels, about half from the Walla Walla val-
ley. It is recorded that in that year threshing
rates were : wheat, eight cents, oats, six cents,
and barley, ten cents per bushel.

AA'e find in Gilbert's history the following

data with regard to shipments and prices which

are of permanent value, and hence we incor-

lX)rate them at this point.

An agricultural society 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. P. 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, 5th and 6th of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

151

the ensuing October, the last three gentlemen became
managers, and the following the executive committee:
H. P. Isaacs, J. D. Cook, J. H. Blewett and W. 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, S15; to the Dalles, f6; to Port-
land, $6, and the following amounts were shipped:

To Portland between May 27 and June lo, 4,156 bar-
rels; to The Dalles, between April 19 and June '2, 578 bar-
rels; to Lewiston, between April 18 and May 14, 577 bar-
rels; total to June 13 by O. S. N. 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 Phoenix mills in Walla Walla to New York, with the
following results: (It was the first of Washington Terri-
tory products seen in the east).

First cost of flour, S187.50; sacks for same, 827.00;
transportation to San Francisco, SI 00.00; 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
S1.50, commission 82.00, 83.50; primage and leakage 81.00,
bagging S4.50, 55.50; 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 37^ 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 in 1868 and 1869, let us glance at the causes
leading to a revival of inducements for tilling the soil in
the Walla VValla 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 shipment, 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 81.50 per
ton. In 1875, it was completed to Frenchtown and
charged 82.50. Walla Walla rates ave'-aged 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, 1.5,266;
back freight, 4,034; 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 railroads in the "eighties was especially
marked in the v/heat business. Wheat became
recognized as the staple product of this valley.
\\'alla Walla wheat began to seek the markets
of the world, and every year marked a vast
increase 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 records
from 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 46557

2136 3640

5086 4786 2995

985 3896 11271

15:

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY,

There are some interesting facts to be
gleaned from the foregoing figures. It should
be remembered that between 1874 and 1879
the erection of Columbia county had diminished
Walla Walla 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 trifling amount. The
climate was thought to be too dry and the
summer nights too cool for the best results.
Within 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 appears, too. that oats were at
first a much greater crop than barley, but by
1879 barley was largely in the lead, and 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
V\'illamette valley, being peculiarly adapted to
that climate. Experience finally showed that
barley was a better crop in this dry climate than
oats, and moreover the establishment of brewer-
ies created a growing demand for barley.

In 1883 the Northern Pacific Railroad was
completed to Wallula and there joined the O.
R. & N., making a continuous line to Portland.
In 1888 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 the
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 by George Delaney, six miles south of
Walla Walla. Dr. Blalock has been a pioneer
in a number of the most important enterprises
in \\'alla 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 Walla W^alla in 1872 and soon Iseing
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
water 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 yield
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 Milton Aldrich,
on his Dry creek ranch. The yield on four
hundred acres was an average of sixty-six bush-
el? per acre. IMore remarkable yet, there was
a vohmteer crop the next year on the same land
of forty bushels per acre. One hundred and
si.x 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
yields both on small selected tracts and through

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

153

the country at large. It may be said that from
twenty to forty bushels is the ordinary yield
of Avheat in W^alla Walla county.

The "Great Depression" of 1893 ^i^*^ on-
ward temporarily paralyzed agriculture in
Walla Walla as elsewhere, but this section was
in better condition to stand a "scjueeze" 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 that
farming in the Walla Walla 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 these expenditures by
the farmers of Walla Walla valley are practic-
ally paid for in wheat money. The millions
of dollars' worth of assessable property in our
city and county are simply the manifestation of
so much natural wealth, sucked out of the fer-
tile soil of these hills and vales by the millions
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 Harbert, one of
the most successful farmers of Walla Walla
county, made for the special number of the
^^'alla 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 be seen to rep-
resent a profit of about 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

18
16

$ 60 00

7 33

54 00

5 87

8 420 00

Harrowing, lie per

51 33

Plowing, 2nd time,
June, 1894

Harrowing before
sowing, lie

500 bushels seed
wheat, highest
market priee. . . .

C leaning seed

414 00

49 87

250 00

1 12

1 00

7 00

5 14

13 33

7 18

15 00

3 66

10 12

125 lbs. vitriol at
6e

8 44

Using vitriol on

9 00

Sowing Oct., 1894,
15c per acre

Harrowing after
sowing, llf

Cutting, Sl.OO per

67 00
49 14
413 33

4,400 sacks, 849.00

per M

Thirty pounds of

twine, 33>^c

Threshing 10,000

bushels, 4'<^c

Hauling to R. R.,

2j^c per sack. . .
Warehouse charg's

to Jan, 1, 1896....

222 78
10 33
465 00
113 66
120 00

Total cost

S 2,492 10

S 181 90

^2.674 00

154

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

We have presented in previous pages of
this chapter figures sliowing the wheat yield
in j-ears past. The reader will appreciate the
vast gain in production when he is told that
the jaeld 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-RAISIXG.

Li fruit culture, as in other respects. ]\Iar-
cus \Mnitman was the pioneer of \\'ara 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. Some of
the citizens of Walla Walla will remember that
in 1S96, a beautiful cane, made from a limb
of one of those ancient apple trees, was pre-
sented by the city of ^^'alla \\'alla to Dr. D. K.
Pearsons, by whose philanthropy \\'hitman
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. Air.
Spalding assisted Red Wolf, a Nez Perce chief,
to plant apple trees at the mouth of the Alpowa,
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 ^^'alla Walla county was
made by Mr. Ransom 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 place. The orchard on
what is now the Ward place, in the city limits,
was set out in i860 by A. B. Roberts. In

1 86 1 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. iMany 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 ta
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
disappointed in controlling the markets. Walla
A\'alla 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 affected the trees. It was found
that 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. Gilham, on
Dry creek. He had about twenty-five acres of
assorted varieties of trees.

Those early orchards succeeded excellently
until that famous "cold drfy" of 1883, when 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 farmers 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
that 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, when 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 by 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
a? at present developing, may be especially
named : Dr. N. G. Blalock, O. R. Ballou, W.
A. Ritz, Charles Whitney, W. S. Oft'ner, H.
C Chew, John Thoney, and U. H. Berney.

Dr. Blalock began the development of his
magnificent fruit ranch in 1885. The place
originally contained an entire section of land.
A donation of forty acres on the east end was
made 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 imder-
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 his 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
ii: February, and yet on account of the prox-
imity of the river 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
lucrative fruit ranches of Walla Walla county,
time fails to speak in detail. No enterprises,
perhaps, in the entire valley are so much ob-
jects of pride to residents and of curiosity to
visitors. Nearly every one who visits Walla
Walla is taken on a "little ride" in such a way
as to pass the Ballou, \\'hitney, Ritz. Blalock,
and Offner ranches. The position of J\Ir. O.
R. Ballou in 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. Ballou has been intimately con-

156

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

nected with all the fruit fairs of \\'alla ^^'alla,
and to his unselfish 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 Philip Ritz is connected
with almost every important event in the his-
tory of this region, farming, fruit-raising, rail-
roading and general improvement. The active
and useful life of INIr. 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
v-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 i\Ir. Offner's connection
Avith the fruit industry, however, has been 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.
I\Jr. Thoney and ]\Ir. Berney have for several
years devoted their main energies to the busi-
ness of the \\''alla Walla Produce Company.
jMr. Chew has for the past two years been
conducting the \\'alla 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
\\ hich are equally worthy of notice, though not
lia\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 were 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 Walla Walla.
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 quantity of all the common
vegetables, both for supplying the town 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 ^^'alla Walla Produce
Company for 1900, about $150,000; of W. S.
Ofifner, $150,000; of other dealers and ship-
pers, about $150,000; total, $450,000.

The total number of car-loads shipped from
Walla Walla in 1900 was about six hundred,
and of this eighty-five per cent, was fruit.

There are consumed at home probably the
ecuivalent of about two hundred and fiftv car-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

157

loads. Some have estimated the total yield of
the county at nearly one thousand car-loads.

The Walla Walla Produce Company
shipped in 1900 about fifty thousand hoxes of
apples. The Blalock Company, which handle
only their own fruit, shipped in 1903 about
five hundred tons of prunes, two hundred tons
of apples, and one hundred tons of mixed
fruits.

The most notable recent event in tlie fruit
industry is the consolidation of the Walla
Walla 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 \\'alla would be incomplete with-
out reference to the fruit fairs which have 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-growers 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 tliat
larger quarters must be provided. Accordingly
for 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
display 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 to 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 \-irtues 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 the fair continued six days, Ijut
this year a full week was given, and the at-
tendance exceeded that of previous years by
over three thousand paid admissions. The vis-
itors were not restricted to Walla Walla and
the immediate \-icinity : fully one thousand came
from \Vaitsburg, Dayton and other neighlior-
ing towns, and five hundred from Pendleton,
Milton, Athena, and various points in our
sister state. The scope of the 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 be con-
gratulated. .The gross proceeds of the fair
were sometiiing over seven thousand dollars,
and about eleven hundred dollars of this is
profit, and is deposited as a nestegg for the

158

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

fair of 1 90 1. This is the first year in the his-
tory of the fairs that any material profit has
resulted in dollars and cents. Last year eighty
dollars was taken in over and above expenses,
and the year before nothing. Better manage-
ment is responsible for this result, and a more
thorough appreciation of the rec[uirements of
the fair.

'"T. H. AA'agner's military band, of Seattle,
furnished music for the fair, giving concerts
every afternoon and evening.

"INIrs. 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 Umatilla reservation were the performers,
and their presence recalled to many of the vis-
itors the days when the proximity of redskins
Avas 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 Aloorehouse, 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.

'■^lore 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-
nity 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 which are invaluable in their work.
Tiiey learn in what direction the efforts of
their neighbors are being exerted, and keep in
touch with the development of the various ag-
ricultural pursuits.

"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
\alual)Ie imported specimens of Belgian hare.s
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 who wished to know more
of these animals which are monopolizing so
much attention among breeders of pet stock.

"Tlie railroads doing business in Walla
\\'alla took a most active interest in the fair.
Two pretty and uniciue 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-
\ilion 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 froni' Taconia 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
& Columlaia 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 ofifered 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; iNIrs. J. B. Catron, superintendent
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 the market
for fruit. JNIr. W. S. OiTner, who is probably
better qualified than any one else here to report,
prepared a statement for the Walla Walla
Lhiion some time ago, which we insert here :

"The markets for Walla Walla valley 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
have increased, so have our transportation fa-
cilities, and to-day we practicalh' 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-
kets. 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-
ft:re they are in market elsewhere in the state.
AVe 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
foregoing assertion that 'our market is the
world,' having demonstrated the fact by ship-
ping a number of cars of prunes and pears to
Si. Paul, Minnesota, Chicago, Kansas City,
liidianapolis, Philadelphia and New York. We
ha\'e 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
the last season is British Columbia. They
ha\-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, which only made
the purchasers give us orders which we were
unable to fill. Right here 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. With 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 Avith 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. While California and Mexico may send
us their gold, oranges and lemons, we will send
them in return the famous winter apples of the
Walla Walla valley.

"Last, 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 thev were eagerlv sought for in our eastern

markets. Our Italian prune (which is mostly
raised here) commands a higher price than
the famous California French or Petit prune,
as it grows much larger and is of superior
(juality. An interview with any of the com-
mission men of this city will undoubtedly verify
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 l^ecome
evolved from the necessities and opportunities
of the country. It may be said that though 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,
tlie Gilbert Hunt separator manufactory, the
\\'eber tannery, the various creameries, the
sash and door factory, and 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
l)uilt in 1859 by A. H. Reynolds, in partner-
ship with Dent and Simms, on the place owned
now bv Charles AA'hitnev. 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, coming
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 wherever 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 by 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 SchoU 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 chop, 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
brands, 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.

I62

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Next in magnitude of the manufacturing
industries of Walla Walla county is the

"pride of Washington"

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
1888. 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, when the business was
leorganized under the firm name of Gilbert
Hunt & Company, with ]\Ir. 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,
v\'hich 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. Undismayed by the
hea\'y 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. While 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
foundry, 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, and 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 MANUFACTURING 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 1 880 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
^Valla Walla, 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

irom Gray's Harbor, that of the latter in part
from Bridal Veil Mills in Oregon. It is esti-
mated, however, that ninety per cent, of the
lumber used in Walla Walla comes from Puget
Sound, although these last named lumber com-
panies of the count}'. 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
■of bvisiness 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, fifty 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 Manufacturing
Company. This company has been established
by the purchase of the building and plant of
the Walla Walla Fanning Mill 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 Walla
W^alla 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, cowbo3's,
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 equally 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 Niles & \^in-
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.
In 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, which may be
summarized as follows : Three banks, of which
two are national banks and one a savings bank ;
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 agricultural
implement houses, and these, it may be added,

do extensive business not only in this but also
in adjoining counties; two saddlery stores;
tliree 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 bi'eweries; 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, laimdries, 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
appeared in a paper of that city, while this work
was in preparation :

"The Evans Harvester Alanufacturing
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 McCown, A. Storie,
Arthur Roberts, J. W. Morgan, G. M. Lloyd
and J. L. Harper.

"The board of trustees for the first six
months will be G. ]\I. Lloyd, J. L. Harper,
Arthur Roberts and Andrew Storie. ]\Ir.
Frank McCown 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.

"Mr. \\'. E. Singer will have charge of the
mechanical department, assisted by ^Ir. J. G.
Evans.

"The object is to perfect one machine this

1-IISTORY OF ^^^\LLA WALLA COUNTY.

165

season and get a perfect pattern from which 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 TRANSPORTATION LINES OF WALLA 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
throughout 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 frecjuent
portages on cayuse back or Indian back. That
was the true age of romance in the history
of traffic. No 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 mighty stream, through its
succession of cataracts, lakes, and broad ex-
panses, until they whiffed the salt spray of the
Pacific.

When American immia:ration beean to en-

ter Oregon, the bateaus were still a frec[uent
means of transportation from The Dalles to
the Willamette valley. Far-seeing men, like
Whitman and others, even it) 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.

STEAMBOAT 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 sound. 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 Whitcomb. It is interest-
ing for Walla Walla people to remember that
tlie purser of this boat was Dr. O. \\". Nixon,
who has been such a steadfast friend of Whit-
man College. In 1851 a movement to estab-

1 66

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

lish traffic with the "Inland Empire"' was in-
augurated by 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 \\'alla 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
year 1854 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 above The Dalles. This was the
Colonel \\'right, 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
Avere yet raging, toward Walla Walla.

In 1859 the famous old Oregon Steam
Kavigation Company was organized. B)- 1861
its steamboats were running as far as Lewis-
ton. The first steam railway lines in the north-
Avest 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, '6r, '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. Alemory easily conjures
up the polite and yet determined Ainsworth,
the brusc|ue and rotund Reed, 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" \Yo\i. 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 even then, though boys, con-
sidered the best pilots on the river. Will Gray
and Jim Troup.

After the inauguration of the steamboat
lines to Wallula and Lewiston, in 1861, traffic
liy prairie schooners began between W'alla
Walla and Wallula. In 1862 and '63 there
bia and Snake rivers, while the opposition line
the river. 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 Willamette.
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, $18.00; fare from Portland to Lewiston,
$28.00.

Freight from Wallula to Walla Walla was
$10, or $12, per ton, by wagon.

In i860 there came to AValla \\'alla 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. Baker. Almost from his first landing in
Walla ^^'alla Dr. Baker, more fully than any

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

1671

one else, formed a conception of the 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 him.self 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 Walla gathered at the court house to
discuss this question. As a result of the in-
vestigations which followed the Walla Walla
and Columb'a River Railroad Company was
incorporated. Its incorporators were D. S.
Baker, A. H. Reynolds, I. T. Reese, A. Kyger,
J. H. 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
would be defeated, the order for the election
was revoked. The company 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 bonds, to build a strap iron railroad

within a year; to place in the hands of the
county 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
from the road ; to give a first mortgage on the
road, 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, 187 1. As a result of
the election, out of a total vote of nine hundred
and thirty-five, 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 Avere 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. baker's railroad.

This project being thus defeated so far as
Walla Walla county was concerned. Dr. Baker
with a number of men prominent in Walla
Walla then determined to build and ecjuip the
road themselves. A new company was organ-
ized, with the following directors : D. S.
Baker, W. Stephens, I. T. Reese, L. McMorris,
PL M. Chase, H. P. Isaacs, B. L. Sharpstein,
O. Hull and J. F. Boyer. In IVlarch, 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 ^\^^lla Walla and

i68

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Grande Ronde countries. In 1873 the Seattle
and \\'alla Walla Railroad Company was or-
ganized. In 1874 the Portland. Dalles and
Salt Lake Railroad Company, which had been
organized some years before, was revi\-ed amid
great enthusiasm on the part of the people
of ^^'alla Walla and other points in eastern
Oregon and Washington. In the same year
the Dayton and Columbia River Transporta-
tion Company was incorporated. This com-
pany proposed to build a narrow gauge road
from Dayton to Wallula by 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 ]\Iarch 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 country 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 cjuietly 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 Wallula over four
thousand tons of wheat and brought back in
return over eleven hundred tons of merchandise.
After much pulling 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 completion came. On Oc-
tober 23, 1875, \Ya\\a \\'alla 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 \A"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 \\'allula.

In 1876 contention broke out between Dr.
Baker's railroad and the people of Walla Walla.
Dr. Baker, apparently feeling — whether cor-
rectly or not we will not undertake to decide —
that the people of Walla Walla had done very
little to advance the interest of his road, had
fixed the freight 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 people, 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 \Miitman 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 WALLA COUNTY.

ton and vicinity to "Grange City" at the mouth
of the Tukannon, Avhence 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 & jMoore.

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
were hauled from Walla 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 heavy
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 Walla & 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
twenty years before the great canal and locks
were finished.

In 1877 there were 28.806 tons* of freight
shipped from Walla 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
farmine.

In 1877 Dr. Baker had preliminary sur-
veys 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 by the Oregon Railway
& Navigation Company, and that in succession
became a part of the great Union Pacific sys-
tem. Dr. Baker's road, though thus temporary,
performed an incalculable part in the trans-
portation developments of Walla Walla county.

STAGE LINES.

While considering the pioneer steamboat
and railroad lines, our survey would be incom-
plete if we did not notice the great pioneer
stage lines, which for many years 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 eft'ected a part-
nership with Rickey and Thatcher on the same

I/O

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

line. Stage lines, carrying the mails, were es-
tablished by ]\Iiller and Blackmore between
The Dalles and \A'alla Walla in 1861. In the
following year Rickey & Thatcher established
a line from Walla Walla 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 Walla 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
ccme 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 Washington
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 number
of passengers from fifty to six hundred weekly.

In 1 871 an extensive stage line began to
operate throughout this region. This Avas the
Northwestern Stage Company. It connected
the Central Pacific Railroad at Kelton, Utah,
with The Dalles, Pendleton, Walla Walla, Col-
fax, Dayton, Lewiston, Pomeroy, "and all
points north and w'est." 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 sixty-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 \Valla country. We now
turn to those of a maturer growth, the great
transcontinental lines, which now connect us
with all parts of the world.

TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROADS.

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 Union
Pacific and the Great Northern, connect this
state with all parts of the w'of Id. 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-
ment here in the near future. Freight rates
and 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, the 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, which had in view the establishment of
some practicable railroad line to Puget sound.
It is interesting to note that Captain George
B. jMcClellan 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 the Missouri 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 there during the summer months.
The third party, under your command, will be
organized in the Puget sound region, you and
your scientific corps going over the isthmus,
and will operate in the Cascade range and
meet the part)^ 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
that 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 Avas the foundation
of the subsequent immense land grant subsidies
given to 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 that agitation which resulted in this first

172

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

definite step toward building the northern road,
a well known citizen of Walla Walla was one
of the most influential factors. This was
Philip Ritz. Messrs. Cass and Ogden, two of
the most important of the early directors of the
road, afterwards stated that it was a letter of
Mr. Ritz that first called their attention to the
enterprise.

Work was actually begun 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 \'illard 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 vi\'id in the minds of all persons who
were living in the country at that time. Not
tnitil the summer of 1888 was the gigantic
task of crossing the Cascade mountains by way
■of the Yakima valley and the Stampede pass
fully accomplished. A year prior to that time,
however, trains ascended and descended the
Cascades by 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 with
branches in all directions. The most import-
ant of these to us of Walla Walla is the Wash-
ington & 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 Helix 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 year the road
was extended to Dayton and in 1890 to Pen-
dleton. Then Mr. Hunt, having shown such
conspicuous energy and ability, and Jiaving
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. Wright, 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 162.73 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; ^'^7-7^
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 Walla 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
Air. 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, Wyoming, on the main line
of the LTnion 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 W'allula, and from Wallula by river to Ri-
paria. 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
Walla 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 Walla Walla county would be incomplete
without reference to the Great Northern line.
Although this line does not touch Walla Walla
county, yet by means of its traffic arrangements

with the Oregon Railway & Navigation Com-
pany it gives 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 service.

CHAPTER XVI.

THE EDUCATIOXAL IXSTITUTIOXS OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

The larger portion of this work is occu-
pied 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 aftorded 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. While we
thus claim a verj^ high standard for our state
and for the west in general, we should not
arrogate to ourselves an equality with some of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

175

the picked communities of the eastern states
in the organization and equipment of our
schools. It takes time to accomphsh 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 have 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 public a brief recital of the
present condition of the educational facilities of \Yalla
Walla county, rather than attempt 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 1886.

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 5.3. 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 with 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 patent desks, and
fairly well supplied with apparatus. Six new school
hoases 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, which 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 m
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 sanip 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 this

1/6

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA 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 9,521 43 S 9,297 24 S 25,838 81
Amount apportioned

to districts by coun-
ty superintendent.. 32,104 54 56,210 81 58,574 66
Amount received from

special tax 11,76162 26,346 81 26,503 99

Amount from sale of

school bonds. 500 00 1,410 00 500 00

Amount transferred

from othT districts -

Amounts from other

sources 13154 82 69 2,212 15

Total $54,019 13 $93,847 05 gll3,629 61

EXPENDITURES. 1897. 1898. 1900.

Amount paid for

teachers' wages S S 47,278 95 § 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 4,30100

Amount paid for in-.

terest on warrants. 4,113 75 5,649 78 1,650 94

Amount reverting to

general school fund 2 75

For redemption of

bonds 500 00

Amount for other dis-
tricts 12 86

Total 844,721 89 $69,173 94 190,962 18

Balance on hand.. 9,297 24 24,178 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
$56.57; for female teachers, 839.54. For 1900, male
teachers, 862.50; female teachers, S52.40. 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 S50. Salaries in the graded
schools are from f55 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, 545,300; warrants outstanding, $41,274. The last
enumeration of children of school age shows 4,275 resided
in the county June 1; of these 8,621 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, 816,350; apparatus, 84,000; libraries, $2,450; insur-
ance, 3100,650; 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 should be made of the in-
stitution which is the crowning feature of the
public school system, that is, the high school.

THE W.\LL.\ WALLA HIGH SCHOOL

\\'as 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 required 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 enrolled 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 c|uantity 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 improvement
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 system, 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 Maggie, afterward Mrs. James
Monaghan, mother of the gallant Lieutenant
Monaghan, who perished recently in the Sa-
moan islands. Robert Smith, Mrs. Mike
Kenny, John Kell)^ 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. \^'. 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

schools. A school clerk had, however, been
appointed, together with other officers, on
March 26, 1859, "^ 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 building upon the block occupied
by the first public school building. 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, the College Place public
school house was added in 1897, and the Sharp-
stein school building was erected in 1899.

Among 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
.Sharpstein, 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 tive directors
are at present N. G. Blalock, Frank Dement,
W. R. Criftreld, 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 \\"alla are in a highly
satisfactory condition.

WHITMAN COLLEGE.

AVe 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
the exception of an occasional daring adven-

turer, disappeared from the \\'alla 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 adventurers 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, hs, with the rest of the missionary band,
had fled from the murderous natives, he had
cherished the purpose to return. When 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
his 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 .sufficient 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, Miss Clara Bergold, Mrs. M. A. Gustin,
Mrs. Beach and W. 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 effective 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 Walla 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

r8o

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

of 1894 it was seriously anticipated by many
that it would 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 stor}^ of \\'hitman, and 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 \\'alla 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,
Mrs. 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 .■i._,.-.^'-:: ■ ...nes. The number of stu-
dents increased from about fifty in 1S94 to
about t\\-o hundred and sixty in 1900. The

faculty increased during the same period from
eight 'to sixteen. 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 Fells 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
duly performed. The monument consists of
a beautiful, though plain and stately, granite
shaft, erected on the hill overlooking the grave
and all the surrounding countrv. The grave

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

itself is marked by a marble crypt in which
are enclosed such human remains as the exca-
vation of the grave 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-
m.an 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. Erode,
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 northAvest 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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

magnificent edifice, he used to greatest advan-
tage the old buildings, which were soon crowd-
ed with boarders from the surrounding coun-
try. At that time I\Irs. 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 tliis 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
the highest advantages of culture. Among the
members of its faculty are graduates of Smith
College, Berkeley and Stanford Universities,
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 \\'alla 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, have, for the last
thirty-five years, been enabled to procure for
their children the advantages of a Christian
education. In 1S64 was opened, where St.
Alary'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
j\Ir. H. L. Lamarche. This excellent precep-
tor presided over the destinies of the academy
for fifteen years. Among the other teachers
were Air. J. J. Donovan, Air. A. M. Sommers,
Aliss Tina Johnson and Miss Eliza Sexton.
Air. 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.

185

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 May, 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. Many 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 Duffy,

Father Flohr and kind friends, struggled on.
With years the work grew, and now many of
the representative women of the northwest
prove their gratitude to their alma mater by
lives of highest Christian purpose ; they found
that St. Vincent's had 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 witli
all modern 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
anxious 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 communitv, the college itself owning one

HISTORY OF WALI.A 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
surrounded by a beautiful campus, and the
whole by orchards and gardens which appear
on every side. Spring water of the best quality
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.

^^'alla ^^'alla College is so located that it is
the most conspicuous building in the Walla
"Walla valley, and in it a thriving 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 Walla \\'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. Without 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. W. Reaser, H. W.
Decker, T. H. Starbuck, Greenville Holbrook,
T. L. Ragsdale, S. A. Tvliller and G. A. Nichols.
Officers — President, G. W. 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 Alathematics, 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. IMiller, 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

.>*•

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

i8s

manager; Verah McPherson, Accountant"; Rose
Ginther, Secretary; Church School Depart-
ment, Mrs. J. L. Kay. There are two hundred
students in attendance at the present time.

BUSINESS COLLEGE.

Walla 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 Waitsburg Academy
is a simple story, inseparably connected with
the establishing of the United Presbyterian
church of North America in eastern Washing-
ton.

Early in the 'eighties there was an active
movement among all the religious bodies of
the eastern states for the evangelization of
Washington territory. 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 vast, pros-
pective state must be saved for Christ and the
church — a work too heavy for the colonists
alone, hence needing the support of friends
every where, in order that necessary church and
school buildings might be erected and pastors
and teachers adecjuately supplied.

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, W^aitsburg.
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
conviction 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 the 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
head doubtfully, others of a more sanguine
temperament said that they would like to see
it 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

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 Washington. The incorporators were,
the Revs. Hugh F. Wallace, W. G. Irvine, W.
A. Spalding, W. 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 1889 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, Miss Ina F. Robertson, then principal of

the 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. McKinney,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 with hope into
the future. It now has an offer of ten thousand

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

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 ab^ve 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 : Mr. James Law, of Shushan,

New York, and his sister. Miss Mary 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-
fil] its mission.

CHAPTER XVII.

EARLIER HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA CITY 1862-1883.

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 Walla 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 '-,"/ Charles Bellman put up a structure

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. Li the fall of 1850
also various rude structures, some for residence
and some for saloons, were put up by James
Galbreath, W. A. Ball, Harry Howard, Mich-
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 ]\IcWhirk, 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 bj' the name of Waiilatpu. This peti-
tion was signed by 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. Thos. Wolf, Dr.
D. S. Baker, N. B. Dutro, N. Eastman, A. G.
P. ^^'ardle, Neil McGlinchey, James Buckley,
Frank Stone, Robert Oldham, Chas. Albright,
William Stephens, R. G. JNloffit, D. D. Bran-
nan, Pat Markey, R. \\'armack, John M. Can-

nady, William M. Elray, J. Clark. John May,
James JMcAuliff, 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 \\'alla 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 north to the
place of commencement ; eighty acres in all.

The town government was organized, by
the appointment of a recorder, I. T. Reese, and
three trustees, F. C. Worden, Samuel Baldwin,
and Xeil 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 si.xty-foot front and a depth of
one hundred and twent}' feet. They were to
be sold for five dollars each with the addition
of one dollar for recording, and no one person
could buy 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 were 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 surveyed into town prop-
erty for Thomas \\'olf and L. C. Kinney, the

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

189

former 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 1865. 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 by W. W. Johnson to be offi-
cial, and W. A. George was employed' as an
attorney to secure for the county a pre-emption
title to the land on which Walla Walla was
built. W. W. 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 on 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 : Mayor, 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-
shal, 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 ^Ir.
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 : ]\Iayor, E. B.
W'hitman ; councilmen, J. F. Abbott, R. Jacobs,
L 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. ^V. 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 nth 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 revenue
for the first six months aggregated $4,283.25,

igo

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

of which sum Hquor and gaming licenses con-
tributed Si. 875. Whtn 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 3'ear 1863 found in the treasury a balance
•of less than five dollars. The value of property
in 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 officers 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, \\'. 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. Johnson. 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.
]\L Lynch; recorder, W. P. Horton; marshal,
A. Seitel; assessor, A. L. Brown; treasurer,
J. AV. 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. Massam, 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. AV.
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 :
jMayor, E. B. Whitman; councilmen, Colonel
P. \Mnsett, J. J. Ryan, J. W. McKee, George
Baggs and Fred Stine; recorder, AV. P. Hor-
ton; marshal, AV. J. Tompkins; assessor, O.
P. Lacy; treasurer, H. E. Johnson; clerk (by
appointment), I. L. Roberts. The personnel
of 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 AA'illiam Phillips ; B. F. Stone
\yas 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, 1868, 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, which also made the re-
corder ex-officio clerk and provided other
minor 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 H.
Howard; recorder and clerk, L. Day; marshal,
E. Delaney; assessor, C. Leidy; treasurer, H.
M. Chase; surveyor, Charles Frush.

The debt of the citv 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: ]\Iayor, 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, Ji. 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. ]\Ioore, 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 ; treasurer, 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 officers incumbent the pre-
ceding year, the result being noted as follows :
JNIayor, E. B. \\'hitman; 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. Justiqf ; 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
vacancy. 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 empowered 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
AIcAulift': councilmen. first ward. F. P. Allen:

second ward, Z. K. Straight : third ward, Will-
iam Kohlhauft'; 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. ^Vhitney.

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 Kohlhauff; fourth
ward, A. 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 the election of 1877 : Mayor, ^I.
C. j\Ioore; councilmen, first ward, W. P.
Winans : second ward, W. P. Adams ; third
ward, J. A. Taylor: fourth ward, A. H. Rey-
nolds; marshal. J. G. Justice; attorney (ap-
pointed), \\'. A. George; assessor, Samuel
Jacobs: treasurer, H. E. Holmes; surveyor, P.
Zahner: clerk (appointed). C. E. Whitney.

The city council called a special election
for June 7. 1878, to decide upon the cjuestion
of rejecting the old city charter and reorganiz-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

193

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
ofBcers except marshal. One hundred and six-
ty-three votes were cast in favor of the measure
and one hundred and twenty-one against. The
regular city election of July 8, 1878, gave the
following results, vmder 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 Kohlhauff; 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; treasiu'er, H. E.
Holmes; surveyor, P. Zahner; clerk, C. E.
Whitney; street commissioner, J. E. Berry-
m.an ; 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 been 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. Another
change in this regard was made by ordinance
in 1884, 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

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 McAuliff; councilmen, first ward, A. S.
Legrow and H. M. Chase; second ward, J. M.
Welsh and A. Jacobs; third ward, William
Kohlhauff, 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, 1881, Le F. A. Shaw being appointed
to the vacancy) ; street commissioner, J. B.
Brooks; health officer, J. E. Bingham.

At the election 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;
third ward, A. H. Reynolds; marshal, J. G.
Justice; justice of the peace, O. P. Lacy; at-

194

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

torney, \\'. 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.
N. 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: x^Iayor, James J^IcAulift'; councilmen,
first ward, W. P. Winans; second ward,
Thomas J. Fletcher; third ward, N. 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 WALLA WALLA, 1883-I9OO.

The city of W^alla ^^'alla 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 ^^^alla \\^alla, 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 Walla February 22, 1884,
receiving the approval of the mayor on the
same day, and being entitled as follows : "An
ordinance to divide the city of ^^'alla Walla

into wards, and apportionment of councilmen."
The text of the ordinance is as follows :

Section i. The city of ^^'alla 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
an 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 Mill
creek; thence down Mill 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
^Nlain and Third streets: thence southwesterlv

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.

Sf.c. 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) ; thence 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 Main streets to the place of begin-
ning.

Sec. 5. The fourth 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-
line 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-I9OO.

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: third ward. A. S. Bowles; marshal,
T. J. Robinson; attorney, W. G. Langford;
treasurer, F. \\'. Paine; health officer. Dr. A.
M. Marion ; surveyor, J. B. Wilson ; street com-
missioner, J. B. Brooks; assessor, William
Harkness; clerk, Le F. A. Shaw.

1884. — Mayor, T. R. Tannatt; councilmen,
first ward, A. M. Porter; second ward, Will-
iam O'Donnell ; third ward, Thomas Ouinn ;
fourth ward, \^^ H. Kent ; marshal, T. J. Rob-
inson : clerk, Le F. A. Shaw ; attorney, W. G.
Langford ; treasurer, O. P. Lacy ; justice of
the peace, E. B. Whitman ; health officer, W. G.
Alban ; surveyor, J. B. \\'ilson ; street commis-
sioner. J. B. Brooks; sexton, J. S. McXeil.

1885. — ;Mayor. J. 'SI. Boyd; councilmen.
first ward. J. ^^^ 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.

1886. — Mayor. J. ^L Boyd; councilmen,
first ward, AMlliam Stine ; second ward, John
jManion ; third ward, J. ^l. Hill ; fourth ward,
H. G. Tobin; marshal. T. J. Robinson; clerk,
Henry Kelling; treasurer, R. G. Parks; at-
torney, J. L. Sharpstein; surveyor, L. A. \\'il-
son; justice of the peace, J. D. Laman; street
commissioner, Charles Berg; assessor, \\'ill-
iam Harkness; health officer, H. R. Keylor;
sexton, J. A. McNeil.

1887. — Mayor, James ^IcAuliff; council-
men, first ward. D. \\'. Small ; second ward,
John Picard ; third 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, 'SI. H. Paxton ; surveyor, J. B. ^^■il-

son ; street commissioner, Charles Berg ; health
officer, H. R. Keylor ; sexton. Henry Sander-
son.

1888. — Mayor, G. T. Thompson; council-
men, first ward, \\'. H. L'pton ; second ward,
John IManion; third ward, J. ]\L Hill; fourth
v/ard, R. 'M. iMcCalley; 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. H. Pax-
ton ; surveyor, A. J. Anderson ; health officer,
Dr. Y. C. Blalock; sexton, Henry Sanderson.
1889. — ^layor. Dr. N. G. Blalock; council-
men, first ward. D. W. Small and J. H. Stock-
well (unexpired term) ; second ward. Z. K.
Straight: third 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. — Mayor, N. G. Blalock; councilmen,
first ward. J. H. Stockwell ; second ward, John
Picard; third ward, H. A. Reynolds; fourth
ward, R. M. 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, M. 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. A. 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, 'SI. H.
Paxton ; surveyor. L. W. Loehr ; health officer.
Dr. Y. C. Blalock; street commissioner, D. A.
AIcLeod; sexton. P. D. Bentley.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

197

1892. — Mayor, John L. Roberts; council-
men, first ward, B. D. Crocker; second ward,
J. G. Muntinga ; tliird ward, E. H. Massman ;
fourth ward, J. L. Jones ; marshal, T. J. Rob-
inson; clerl:, 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. — Mayor, 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 ofiicer,
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. Martin ; 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 officer, W. G.
Alban ; street commissioner, W. H. Brown ;
sexton, P. D. Bentley.

1895. — Mayor, John L. Roberts; council-
inen, 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, J\L Ames; clerk, J.

E. \\'illiams ; attorney, C. M. Rader ; treasurer,
John W. McGhee, Jr.; surve3fOr, 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. Alban; 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. Kauft'man;
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
M. Pauly; third ward, E. S. Isaacs; marshal,
J. J. Kauffman ; 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 Martin ; 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.
E. Russell ; sexton, P. D. Bentlev.

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 McGillivary place, where Jacob Betz
now lives. The church was built of poles,
stuck in the ground, and covered with shakes.
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 INIethodist church and was built by
Father Berry. It subsecjuently 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 bv 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. PATRICK CATHOLIC.

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
may 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 A\'alla Walla country
a considerable part of the time from 1847. I"
1S64 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.
!\Iary'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 Duflfy became his successor. The
congregation had in the meantime expand-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

199

ed beyond the limits of the existing church,
and a larger one had become a necessity.
Therefore in the summer of 1881 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 distinguished
for its fine organ and superb musical services.
Its programs for Christmas and Easter are
events which always attract great throngs, both
of music lovers 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
WALLA 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 Walla
Walla February 7, 1900; by J. M. Hill and E.
Smith, Committee."

On page seventy-four of Rev. H. K. Hine's Mission-
ary History of the Pacific Northwest, we iind that the
first sermon preached west of the Rocky mountains was
dehvered by Rev. Jason Lee at Fort Hall, on Sunday,
July 27, 1834. 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 Hines, on May 21, 1843, 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, 1843.

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 1859, 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
which 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;iimissioners of Walla Walla county.

The building committee — the pastor. Rev. G. M
Berry, as its chairman — with the few members, at once

HISTORY OF WALLA 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 8131.02.
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-
M. 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 §250.00, 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
"Walla 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 was 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 1883 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 S596.47 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 6, 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.

the north line 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, $11,500.00; one
parsonage and fraction of lot, value, $2,000.00 ; total,
$13,500.00.

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 Flinn; 1863 to 1865,
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. D. Flenner; 1885 to 1886, Rev. D. G. Strong; 1886
to 1889, Rev. Henry Brown; 18S9 to 1892, Rev. W. W.
VanDusen; 1892 to 1896, Rev. V. C. Evers; 1896 to
1899, Rev. W. C. Renter; 1899 to 1900, Rev. Lee A.
Johnson.

The following are the names of the presiding elders
of Walla Walla district, and time of service: l859 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. Johnson is
pastor and Rev. M. H. Marvin is presiding
elder. The membership of the church is now
over three hundred.

ST. PAUL 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, and 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
building; 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 most 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 Sunday-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 ha\'e succeeded since then are

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Revs. McEwan, Tichnor, Dr. Nevins White,
Goss, Dr. Law, Palmer, and Bard, the present
rector.

The church has never enjoyed greater pros-
perity than at the present time. Its financial
condition is good, the vestry is composed of
enterprising men, whose management of the
church affairs is most satisfactory. The rector,
Rev. Andreas Bard, is young and enthusiastic,
earnest in his work, of pleasing personality 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 CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

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 Congregational
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. Cashing Eells, 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 18G0, 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, 1864, Rev. P. B. Chamberlain settled 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 11, 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 16, 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 ISiTO its cause
waned and weakened, and in 1880 its doors were closed,
to remain so until the arrival of Rev. N. F. 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 inspiration 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 from $40.0; 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

lion of pastor and people ceased at the end of the second
year.

On September 8, 1886, Rev. H. R. Foster, one of
God's most giited 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 1894, 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 expressed have been quite fuhy reahzed
in the subsequent work of the church. Rev.
E. L. Smith continued to minister 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
present 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-
intendency 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 Cornmittee, Daniel Burr, A. H.
Reynolds, John Baker, Mrs. Isabel Kirkman,
Mrs. Eva Williams and Miss Anna Hill;
Trustees, W. D. Lyman, H. A. Reynolds, F.
J. McGougan; Clerk, W. S. Clark; Treasurer,
Jay Williams. The present total meinbership
of the church is two hundred and twenty-three.

THE CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAiSr 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
whose afi^airs 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. 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. F. 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, removing to California. The
present pastor of the church is Rev. G. A.
Blair. The present membership of the church

204

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

is about two hundred. From the time of its
organization the church 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, W. P. ^^'inans, N. F.
Butler, J. \\^ Armstrong, W. S. Offner, Dr.
N. G. Blalock, G. H. Sutherland and A. YL
Cation: deacons, H. E. Johnson, George Star-
rett, J. F. McLean, A. J. Evans, A. J. Beard,
P. ]\I. ^^'inans, Sam ]\IcBride, Marvin Evans
and ^I. E. Brewer.

Recapitulating the history of this prosperous
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
of worship, the society purchased a lot on the
southwest corner of Third and Poplar streets
and erected thereon, in 1876, 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 Walla Walla, that the
sum demanded for the erection of the church
building was secured by general subscriptions
in the city and tha-t these contributions were
made without reference to religious affiliations,
no aid from the missionary fund of the de-
nomination being called for.

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

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 number of members was increased
tc thirty-two persons. For some years the
church had no regular minister, but was vis-
ited occasionally by the Waitsburg pastor and
bv other ministers who by chance came this
way. Brother Neal 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
liuiklings, which were very kindly tendered by
their congregations. Then the old opera house
was used for a short period. Later Baumeis-
ter's hall was secured and used until the church
m.oved into its own building, situated on Third
street between 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, Calvert, F. N. Bowinan and William Pres-
ton as the first trustees. Previous to the build-
ing of the new church Neal Cheetem, J. H.
Hollis, 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 OF 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 church 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 and liberal 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 pulpit 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
building 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 B.VPTIST 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 L'nion
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
tc write the biography of a great and good
mian while he is still alive and in the prime of
his usefulness. The history of the First Bap-
tist church of \\^alla 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. Jilany 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 11, 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. After 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 on the coast, having served

206

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the First Baptist church of Portland, Oregon,
previous to this. It was during the two years
of Mr. Pierce's pastorate that the present
church edifice was erected, at a cost of four
thousand five hundred dollars, not including
the lot, which cost about two thousand dollars.
With but twenty-seven members, Mr. Pierce
commenced the work of building, and carried
it throug'h 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 JMr. 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 half 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. ^^^ Xe}-man, 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 189S, 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 w^ork in a
spiritual way and in the 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, with a
small class, chief among whom were the old
pioneers, D. M. Jesse and J. M. Gose and their
wives. F. W. 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 JNIr. Mays made arrangements to pur-
chase the same. Money was appropriated by
his general Board of Missions in Nashville to
m.ake 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. IMays was returned, by ap-
pointment of conference, to the charge for the
second year. In September, 1877, the Annual
Conference met in \A^alla 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. In 1878 F. W. D. Mays was
again appointed pastor of the charge, and in
the sinnmer of 1879 ^^^ 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 several 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
twenty years a number of pastors served 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. In September,
1900, J. W. Compton was again appointed
pastor of the charge. The board 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
Walla 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
was 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 possibilit}' of erecting a church edifice of
their own, so that services were held in the
First Methodist Episcopal church. During
the two years following 1884, however, the
German population increased rapidly, and the
necessity of a building for worship began to
be 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
children, 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
Walla Walla, Washington Territory, on June
24, 1877. Rsv- M^J"- Condit immediately com-
menced work, with the view of organizing a
church, but after preaching six weeks with
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, synodical
missionary for the Synod of the Columbia, with
the assistance of the Rev. Robert Boyd, effected
an organization in Walla AValla 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-
uarjr, 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

208

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

March, 1886, Rev. Robert Boyd acted as pastor.
He was succeeded by Rev. T. M. Gunn,
March, 1886, to June, 1888, Rev. E. U. Sharp
from June, 1888, until March, 1891, Rev. L.
M. Belden from March, 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 dififerent ministers
as the session could arrange.

CHAPTER XX.

FRATERNAL AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS IN THE CIT OF WALLA WALLA.

\\'alla Walla 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 ;
y. ]\I. Kennedv, 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 the 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 aft'airs
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 Murphy, tyler. The regular meetings of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

209

the Walla Walla Lodge are held at the ALi-
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 Walla
Lodge for this purpose. The first ofificers 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 ofificers 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 McLean, senior deacon; C. N. McLean,
junior deacon; William Van Patten, senior
steward; R. A. Horn, junior steward; James
Dorr, tyler. The regular meetings of the lodge
are held at the Masonic Hall on the first and
third Mondays of each month.

Walla 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.

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 Commandery, No. i, K. T. —
By a dispensation granted April 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.
Sneil, warder; Maurice Murphy, sentinel. The
commandery meets on the first and third
Wednesdays of each month at Knights Tem-
plar hall.

Alki Chapter, No. 23, 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, OIlie Roberts. G.
H. Snell, Clara J. Snell, D. T. Kyger, Addie

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Kyger, F. U. Paiily, Alary Pauly, E. R.
Parkes, Laura B. Parkes, Mary Masterson,
Sadie R. McLean, J. C. Lewis, Mary E. Lewis,
and H. E. Yannatta. At the 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: Nettie M. Gibson, W. M. ;
F. M. Pauly, \\\ P.; Ida M. :\IcLean, A. M.;
Stella ]\I. Hawley, conductor; Nora S. Rus-
sell, A. S.; D. T. Kyger,. treasurer; W. 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. Stockwell, or-
ganist.

THE IXDEPENDEXT 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 Washington 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 Walla really merits the distinction of
being designated as No. i, instead of No. 2,

inasmuch 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 McAulift'. \\'illiani B. Kelly, L.
A. Burthey and Meyer Lazarus to organize a
lodge of Odd Fellows in the city of Walla
Walla, the same to be hailed and known as
Enterprise Lodge, No. 2. The lodge was duly
instituted on the 23d of February, 1863, with
the gentlemen abo\'e named as charter mem-
bers. The officers who first presided over the
destinies of the new lodge were as follows :
James McAuliff, 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 Washing-
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 Alain street near Fourth. Here we were
burned out in 1864. without serious loss. \\'e

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

then removed to what was then known as
Roberts' Grove, where we rented a building
jointly with the Masons, but this being 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.
In 1865 the Masons built a fine 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, procured 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 Main and Fifth streets, at a cost
of about twenty thousand dollars, .which is at
present worth at least twenty-six thousand
dollars. But it is not for sale, for it is a
monument which Enterprise Lodge has raised
with its own hands and everv Odd Fellow lias
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
Avas completed in December, 1880, 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 Reborn, 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
Reborn, H. Wintler, Charles Cooper, James
jMcInroe, Thomas Taylor, John H. Stahl and
James Bryan.

"At present the lodge has a number of
young members 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

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

for the organization of this lodge in Waha
Walla, and on the 19th of the same month
the lodge was formally instituted, the follow-
ing being the charter members: Le F. A.
Shaw, James McAuliff, Christian Sturm, Jo-
seph Cherry, W. G. Alban, A. AIcAllister 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
nth of May, 1882. Its present membership
numbers 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, noble grand; C. W. Scott, vice grand:
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 band 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 Vice,

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 glad.
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 ihey 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 Lodge, A^o. 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 Washing-
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, W. H. Flagg, F. W.
Kaser, F. D. Kimmerly, M. H. Gilliam, P. B.
Hawley, C. W. Fredericks and J. Carter
Smith. After the new officers had taken their
stations fifty-one propositions for membership
by initiation and two by card were received

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

213

and 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; W. 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 they show an enthusiastic interest
in its work.

Walla Walla Eucaiiipuicnt, 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. O. Osborn. Since
the organization of this encampment it has
grown rapidly, and is now in a flourishing-
condition, having one hundred and thirty bona
fide members. The regular meetings are held
on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each
month, at the Odd Fellows' Temple. The
present officers of the encampment are : O. T.
Cornwell, C. P. ; J. A. Riffley, H. P. ; T. N.
Bryan, S. W. ; Alvin Boston, J. W. ; Le F. A.
Shaw, scribe; and W. A. Koontz, treasurer.

Canton Walla 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. Beyer, accountant; N. Cas-
tleman, sentinel ; and C. H. Kaseberg, picket.
The principal officers in charge at present are :
W. H. Meyer, (acting) captain; Charles L.
Whitney, clerk; Le F. A. Shaw, accountant.

Narcissa Rcbckah Lodge, No. 2, was in-
stituted October 31, 1885, by H. E. Holmes,
then deputy grand master, the charter mem-
bership numbering thirty-five. The present
membership is about one hundred and five, and
the officers now in change 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 Rcbckah Lodge, No. Jo, 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 present are:
Mrs. Alma L. Krack, noble grand; Mrs. Mar-
guerite MuUinix, vice grand; Mrs. Mary G.
Vinson, recording secretarj?; Mrs. May Bos-
ton, treasurer.

WELCOME LODGE, I. O. 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,
\\'ashington, on March 26, 1892, were as fol-
lows : Officers — W. J. Cantonwine, N. G. ;
R. G. Clancy, V. G. ; Marion Koger, R. Sec. ;
Charles Cochran, Per. Sec. ; Adelbert Coch-
ran, treasurer ; R. A. Stockdale, warden ; J. E.
Mj-ers, 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 WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

B. C. Roff, inside guard; G. W. Sanders, O.
G. ; L. Lanning, R. S. S.; Isadore Cochran,
L. S. S. ^Members— P. Demaris, J. \Y. Davis,
Samuel Brooks, ^^^ H. Johnson, Orin De-
maris and Orlando Demaris.

The order of L O. O. F. at this place has
prospered, 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 dollars
complete, 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 within her corporate
limits. At a session of the grand lodge of the
state, held in 1S93, 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 ef the
home as their means and benevolence might
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
plans for the securing of necessary funds for
carrying 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 there 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 in 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 membt 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 order, and his lodge shall be exerfipt 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 herebj
is levied a special semi-annual tax of ten cents per capita
on each subordinate lodge in this jurisdiction, ihe first
payment being due and payable December 31, 1894, on
its membership for the preceding term ending June 30,
1894.

The members of the board of directors
were as follows : J. AL Swan, F. A. Twichell,
Z. M. Beebe, W. P. Harris and E. L. Powell,
and upon their organization Mr. Swan was
chosen president and Mr. TAvichell 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 five 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 189S:

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-hal6
acres with three thousand dollars in cash. The land m
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 (4B5 feet) north on Buyer 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 hundrird gal-
lons of water free, provided the buildings were located on
the Isaacs tract of land. '1 his 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 to
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 suminer 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 of ground. Mill
creek crosses the property about two-thirds distance
from front to rear. The grading 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
gates suitable for carriage entrances, one at each end of
the 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 S5,609. 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 rooin.

■ 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. j\L Swan,
and during his regime Mrs. Dora Busbridge
officiated as matron. The present superintend-
ent is E. J. Colvin and Mrs. 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
the 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 cjualifications 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 afilictions 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

Odd-Fellows' Home, Walla Walla.

imm^amtm

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 tn 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 tu
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 infirmitv 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 Wagner, 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 ARTISANS.

The branch of United Artisans known as
Crescent Assembly, No. 66, was organized in
Walla Walla July 20, 1896, by Dr. Farnham,
with twenty charter members. The assembly
at the present time has a membership 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 month.

THE NATIONAL UNION.

This fraternal insurance organization es-
tablished itself in the city of Walla Walla in
March, 1897, the organizer being Mr. A. H.
Fowle, and the name by which 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 Walla, the
local organization being known as Valley En-
campment, No. 22. While membership is not
con-fined to the first settlers of the Pacific
coast, its degree work is commemorative of
life on the 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 J\L Cox, commander;
Edwin G. Cox, captain; Candace C. Bishop,
chaplain; A. A. King, treasurer; Herbert Os-
good, scribe; Emiline J. Mabry, north scout;

A. M. Pence, south scout; Nelson D. Cox,
ancient guide; Addie Rasmus, messenger;
Wesley Bailey, sentinel; Mary F. Tett, picket;
Nelson I. 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, M. W. ; H. D. Chapman,
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. Herifif, 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. W. 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, 1900) 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 Maxon, Fore. ;
P. P. Pearson, Rec.

DEGREE OF HONOR.

Ida Lodge, No. p, D. of H., derives its
right to exist and perform its functions from
a cliarter 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.
Wertheimer, 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
m.eeting of this sorority is Knights Templar
Hall, and the time the second and fourth
Tuesdays of the month.

WOMEN OF WOODCRAFT.

The local circle of this sorority, known as
Woody Glen Circle, No. 176, had its incep-
tion on the 4th of February, 1898, Mrs. 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.
EHza 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; Mrs.
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 W^alla 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 the
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 AMERICA.

Court Evening Star, No. j?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 quite 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. Oso-ood, R. S. The lodge is honored

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

by the position of one of its members, J. \Y.
Cookerly, who is at present grand chief ranger
of the order for the state. Regular convoca-
tions of the members are held on Friday of
each week at Odd Fellows' Temple.

THE KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS.

Walla Walla 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 \-oIume. Certain it is that it
grew and flourished for many years and did
not go out of existence until another 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, No. 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 Weitz, of Friendship Lodge, No. 9, of
The Dalles, who was assisted in the work by
members of the old Ivanhoe Lodge, No. i.
On the charter are forty- four names. The
lodge has continued to prosper ever since its
incipiency, and now 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 exchequer, Robert G.
Parks; keeper of records and seal, E. P. Ed-
sen; master at arms, William Leslie. The
present officers are: C. C, Robert G. Parks,

P. S. R. ; V. 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 A., W. R. Beattie ; inner'
guard, N. P. Miller; Outer guard, F. M. Up-
dike ; trustees, Hans Romer, P. P. Pearson
and T. J. Rose.

RATHBONE SISTERS.

Mistletoe Temple, A^o. 2^, Rathhone Sis-
ters, was organized and instituted April 6,
1900, by Mrs. Mary Baker, of Colfax, M. 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.

LADIES OF THE MACCABEES.

Garden City Hive, No. 48, was organized
Fe]:)ruary 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
fort3'-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; ]\Irs. 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.

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; j\Iay 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 sixty-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,
Owen% 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
Walla on May 18, 1898, when Walla Walla
Tribe, No. 23, was instituted and initiated 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 numbering 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.

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 26th day of the same
month, granting to John N. McGhee, Jr.,
Allen H. Reynolds, Joseph C. Scott, Albert
L. ^^' illis, William R. Criffield, Edwin S. Clark,
Oliver T. Cornwell, William H. Kirkman,
Ernest R. Stending, Walter ]\L Ely, John A.
Beard, Osias P. Jaycox, ^Villiam C. Diljblee,
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 V. 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. McGhee, 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. 236, 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
\\'allace, J. C. Cornwell, Burt Owens, Mrs. A.
M. Hannaman, W. J. White, F. Warren Jes-
sup, J. L. Bauldwin, Mrs. A. C. Guinn, Victor
Wilson, Hattie Chew, Maude Brewer, J. W.
Brewer, Jennie M. Brewer, Fannie Gholson,
Josephine Parker, George Hausman, Allen L.
Winans, E. L. Waldron, Corwin Waldron,
J. Kissler, Joseph Wallace and Emma May
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.
^Varren 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 Walla Walla on the 8th of Febru-
ary, 1 88 1, by J. H. Smith, to whom a special
dispensation had been granted. The following
names appear on the charter : John H. Smith,
John F. INIcLean, Parish B. Johnson, James
M. 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

it
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. W^ilson, quartermaster; H.

HISTORY OF WALLx\ WALLA COUNTY.

223

O. Simonds, officer of the day ; Isaac Chilberg,
officer of the guiird; R. P. Reynolds, adjutant.
The post has been in a flourishing condition
throughout the entire nineteen years of its his-
tory, and is at present well supplied with regalia
and equipment. Though the rules for determin-
ing eligibility are such as to practically preclude
an increase of membership, A. Lincoln Post,
No. 4, has held 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. H. 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,
presddent; Mrs. Mary Baker, senior vice pres-
ident; Mrs. Susan Clark, junior vice president;
Mrs. Frank Bedell, treasurer; Mrs. Lizzie

Crowe, secretary; Miss Cora France, chaplain;
Mrs. Edith Birdsill, conductor; and Mrs. Lida
Brock, guard.

THE SONS OF HERMAN.

Schiller Lodge, No. is, O. 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. 19, 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; Jaihes 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 about fifty.

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR VETERANS.

On Thursday evening, May 24, 1900, the
resident members of Company I, N. G. W., met
at Armory Hall and organized General Law-
ton Post, S. A. W. v., with the following as
officers: Commander, W. B. Buffum; senior
vice commander, T. D. S. Hart; junior vice
commander, D. H. Roche; adjutant, L. P. Con-

!24

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

way; quartermaster, Benjamin Goldman; chap-
lain, Kennith McDowell; officer of the day,
G. \y. 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 \\'alla Walla
has sixty-two members.

FR.\TERN.\L ORDER OF EAGLES.

The Walla Walla Acric, No. 26, was or-
ganized June 18, 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 the
present time has three hundred and fort}- mem-
bers. The officers are : Oscar Cain, W. P.
P. ; John Smails, W. P. ; Adolph Swartz, W.
T.; W. G. Campbell, W. S. ; H. S. Blandford,
W. C. '

BUILDING .\SS0CIATI0N.

The Inter-State Building, Loan and Trust
Association was formed in \\'alla \\"alla, 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 W^■\LLA WALLA GUN CLUB.

The Walla Walla Gun Club was organized
in March, 1900, with a large membership. Im-
mediately after the organization of the club
grounds were procured at Fort ^^'alla Walla
and a gun house and targets were erected. The
site is a typical one for the work of thee lub and
is often frequented by visiting gun teams. The
club holds shoots regularly on each Friday
afternoon. On February 20, 1901, the annual

election was held and other business done, as
indicated in the appended newspaper excerpt.

The Walla Walla Gun Club held its annual election
of officers last evening. 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; Fred 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. Balder-
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 rifle 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, 1890, 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. Air. F. W. Paine was chosen
chairman of the meeting and Mr. Henry Kel-
ling, secretary. A carefully prepared consti-
tution was offered for the consideration of the
proposed club, and after due deliberation the
same was adopted. In accordance with its
provisions the following officers 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. Bahou, J. L. Sharp-
stein, T. R. Eastman, R. G. Parks, Frank
Foster and Henry Kelling, governing commit-
tee. Club rooms were opened on the third floor
of the Rees-Winans building, and fitted up with
billiard, pool and card tables, reading room.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

225

etc. These have been maintained continuously
since. The 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 numbers
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 WALL.\ 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 scjuandered 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 largely to the Ladies'
Reading Club, through whose exertions the
major part of the initial thousand dollars'

worth of property was secured. The library
15

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 not 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 equipments 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 intehectual 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.

The Ladies' Relief Society was organized
in July, 1 88 1, 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. Li
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 themseh'es 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 pres-
ent are: ]\Irs. Thomas H. Brents, president;
Mrs. E. H. Smith, vice-president; i\Irs. George
Thompson, treasurer; Mrs. Levi Ankeny, Mrs.
Thomas Moore, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. W. P.
Winans and ^Irs. H. Kershaw, trustees.

WALLA walla's PART IN THE PHILIPPINE
WAR.

\Mien 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, N. G. A^^. was
mustered into service but as many as fifty

young men enlisted in companies of other
towns.

Compan}' C, which 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, May 7, 1898. The com-
pany was officered as follows : Captain, \M11-
iam B. Buffum; first lieutenant, M. 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 \\'alla Walla
L'nion in its issue of J^Iay i, 1898, said:

'"The boys are ofif 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 River Railway depot
the regulars from Fort Walla Walla came to
a present arms and the volunteers 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 Union said: "Five
thousand people assembled at the W. & C. R.
depot to greet the volunteers and welcome them

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

227

to the home which eighteen months ago they
left at their country's call, during which time
they had served so nobly and gallantly. In
recognition of their herioc services the citizens
of Walla Walla prepared for them a reception
on a gigantic scale never before 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 volunteers 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 squad. 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 but 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 where 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 ^^'alla
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
the 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, No.
14. This press was sent from Boston by the
American board of commissioners for foreign
missions, to their missionaries at Honolulu in
1819. After 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. Li
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 Liland Empire. No others
were introduced into the country until after
the beginning of settlements in i860.

The pioneer newspaper of \\'alla Walla
and eastern Washington was

THE WALLA WALLA PRESS.

This was inaugurated by W'illiam 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 \\'alla 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. Li 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 \\'illiani H. Newell became
editor and proprietor of the paper. The name
was changed at that time to

wall.\ walla statesman.

yir. 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 November following.

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
<letermined to attempt a daily. At that time he
obtained the first steam-power printing press
«ver used in Walla Walla.

Colonel Parker was in control of the daily
and weekly Statesman, with short intervals of
absence, until June, 1900. At 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 by 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.
Various attempts have been made hitherto to
reach this desirable end, but, by 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 Tribune, 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.

Judson was editor, though the paper was un-
der the control of a general committee com-
posed of P. B. Johnson, E. C. Ross and J. D.
Cook. R. M. Smith and E. L. Herriff be-
came the owners soon after the inauguration of
the paper and retained their ownership for ten
years. E. C. Ross succeeded ]Mr. Judson as
editor, which position he held for some six or
seven years, when, in 1876, Captain Johnson
became editor. A few later Captain Johnson
purchased ^Ir. Smith's interest, and a few
years later still became sole owner and pro-
prietor.

As a journalist Captain Johnson became
noted for his vigor and energy and uncom-
promising position on most questions of pub-
lic concern. He was a Republican of the
stalwart order. Under his energetic leader-
ship, Republicanism in the county became ag-
gressive and well organized, and the heavy
Democratic majorities which had marked the
earlier history were succeeded by equally em-
phatic Republican majorities during the last
two decades. In iSgo Captain Johnson disposed
of his interest in the Union to Charles Besserer,
Avho was then conducting the Walla \\'alla
Journal, and for some time it was published
under the name of the Union-Journal. \\'alla
Walla has had the satisfaction of possessing
newspaper 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, and never created another such. A Ger-
man by birth, of Spanish descent, well educated
in his native country, a soldier in the Crimean
Avar, as also in the American Civil war and in
Indian warfare afterwards, acting as manager
at 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 preserved his own unique personality
throughout all his changes in circumstances.
He was a writer of marked ability, and under-
stood well the requirements of the newspaper
business. No one could ever tell, however,
what he might produce, especially if it was a
notice of a death. It used to be said that death
had a double terror in Walla \\'alla, lest Mr.
Besserer should write an obituary of the de-
parted.

^Ir. Besserer retained control of the Union
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 yet amenable
to reason when party necessity seemed to ren-
der it judicious. In 1899 Messrs. J. G. Frank-
land, Loyd Armstrong and Bert La Due pur-
chased the Union and conducted it successfully
for a year. In 1900 it again changed hands,
Le\i 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 during the political
campaign of 1900, and he is still acting in that
capacity. Mr. W'atson is an editorial writer of
exceptional vigor 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 past year or two have caused a marked
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 natured rivalry and occasional editorial

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

231

"scorchers" on each other, have afforded en-
tertainment to their readers, and have increased
business for themselves.

Although the Statesman and the Union
have been emphatically the papers of Walla
\\'alla, there have been a number of others of
shorter life, but which, in their own field are
deserving of notice and commendation.
Among these was the

SPIRIT 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 changed 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 Union-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-
lished 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
the Watchman, 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 April, 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 paper until the early fall of 1900, w'hen
Bert Eugene La Due and J. G. Frankland, late
owners of the Union, came into possession o£
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 c^uarters in the
Bingham building, Alder street, and the old
Watchman merged into an eight-page 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
upbuilding, 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
C. H. Goddard. The active and aggressive
policy of the Argus, its fearlessness in
attacking anybody and everybody whom it
believes to be abusing 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.
2\Iulhnix acquired the interest of Air. Goddard,
and he in turn sold out to ^^'alter 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 3"ear, 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 \\'ashington east of the
Cascade mountains, together with the great
state of Idaho.

The 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 WAITSBURG 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 purpose of "booming" that part of the
county. The first publisher was B. K. Land,

and the first issue appeared in jMarch, 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 propert}' of C. W. Wheeler. Mr.
\Vheeler 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
^^'aIIa 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 amusing 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 ^^'alla 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 his spacious head.
Then. too. as we Hsten to the orderly carrying
forward of a trial in the presence of Judge
Brents we are reminded of the contrast pre-
sented by a tumult 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." Xor 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
3'ears ago.

The good old times when everyone wore
red-flannel shirts and long six-shooters have
passed away, and with them have gone the days
when all legal documents were written with
pen and ink on foolscap paper, 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, untrammeled by prece-
dents 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 technically correct, I think I am giving you
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 Galbreath 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. TilcGilvra 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 \\'yche came back to the
First Judicial district. In May, 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. Lender him R. P. Reynolds was clerk
of the court and A. J. Cain held 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 expectation of making a change. Some
of his political 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.

23S

it on to Washington, D.C. Thinking that it was
genuine the officials 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 been 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 by 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, and held 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 executions 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 juJges and held his office
until November 18, 1889, when Washington
became a state and the superior court took the
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 already
been mentioned as having made his start in
Walla Walla. Judges Kennedy and Wingard
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 quite wealthy.

The first Judge of the Superior court of
Walla Walla county was William H. Upton,
who held the position from November i8th.

^36

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

1889, until January 14th, 1897. The clerks
of the court under Judge Upton were E. B.
Whitman, H. W. Eagan (four years), and Le
F. A. Shaw. The prosecuting attorneys under
Upton were WelHngton Clark, H. S. Blanford,
Miles Poindexter, and R. H. Ormsbee. On
January 14th. 1897, Judge Thomas H. Brents
assumed the duties 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. MuUinix
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

IMPORTANT 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 early in the year 1880. 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
o\-erwhelmingly 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, 188 1. The scaffold was erected
in the present 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 disturbance 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 Sheriff 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
sheriff 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 TRIAL 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 her son were found
guilty of murder in the first degree and sen-
tenced to be 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 slie owned up
to entering into a conspiracy to burn the build-
ing for the insurance. A stay of execution 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.

THE ROYSE MURDER TRIAL.

The trial of Frank Royse for the murder
of his grandfather is still fresh in the minds of

Mrs. Pyle and a man named Clink, who Walla Walla people. The farm of Benjamin
was paying court to her at the time, owned two F. Royse, deceased, is about ten miles from

238

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Walla Walla and situated near Dixie. On the
Stli 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 flames,
but the coroner's inquest developed the fact
that the charred remains bore evidence of
having 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 McKinney, 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
had burned 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 afihcted with the homicidal
mania hereditary in the family. The jury
brought in a verdict of murder in the second
degree, stating that the crime was committed
while Royse was in a sufficiently 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 CASES.

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 ]\Iill 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 diverted and plaintiff'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 continuous 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 the Supreme Court of the state,
where it was tried in the No\'ember term
in 1894.

The Supreme court held that 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
grant 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 involving 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 submitting 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 property 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 Natlhaniel 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
eft'ect of the compromise is to pass title to real
estc.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

240

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 WALLA WALLA VS.
THE WALLA WALLA WATER COMPANY.

This was a bitterly contested case and at-
tracted wide-spread attention on account of its
public character and the large interests in-
volved.

On March 15, 1887, the City Council of
Walla AValla passed an ordinance to secure a
supply of water, and granted, under certain re-
strictions, to the Water 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, ^" 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
the circuit court of the United States for the
district of Washington 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, Avhich 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-
^'ided 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 that 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

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 com© and drive the whites from the
Oregon territory. He said that he would go
and bring the Mormons 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 by ]\Ir. Seek from one ^IcDofa,
who had come to this country in 1834, in the
employ of the Hudson's Bay Company.

No period in the early history of Walla
Walla 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, ^Valla Walla had its
quota of gamblers, th'ieves 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-
most impossible to run down the thieves, and
when caught, there were so many of their own
number to witness in their favor that it was
next 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 having been mysteriously
hanged. The common expression as men met
on the streets on a morning was, "\\'ell, whom
have we for bixakfast 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 was 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
fly."

Probably no one knows and remembers
more concerning those tragic days than Mr.
Richard Bogle, who is to-day living in Walla
\Yalla. 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 African 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
tirst taking off his hat and showing due rev-
erence to the august vendor of the booze.
Consequently it was customary for 2\Ir. 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 "Six-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

243

toed Pete" and a pal. After being robbed
the victim gave the alarm and officers were
50on 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, sail ! Yo can 'pend 'pon 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 yer 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. "I'm 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, I'll tell ye just one way to save yer
neck," replied the sheriff. "Tell me who put
ye up to this."

"I's 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 your

244

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

stories have made me kind of nervous. You
had better lock both front and back doors
to-night."

"Ah. go on, you joker," was the laughing
reply he heard as he stepped out into the
darkness.

No one during the day time ever heard or
saw a Vigilante. 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 was c^uiet 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 went 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 his 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.

"What's your name?"

"Slim Jim," was the ciuick response.

"We want 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. Li-
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?"

No 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. Where's Jim?" the
barber asked.

HISTORY OF ^^^\LLA WALLA COUNTY.

245

Without saying a word they took liim out
and led him just outside the vihage 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 every move-
ment, look and word. His name was Pat-
terson.

'T drink to the success of the Union 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 only 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 effort 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 hesitated. His friend?
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 be touched the floor.

Patterson was arrested, tried and acquit-
ted. He made his way to Hot Si^rings, 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 four davs after this

246

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

that Patterson, meeting the sheriff, calmly
walked up and slapped him in the face. Both
men drew their guns. Patterson dropped his
man, himself unscathed.

Such was the history of the man when
he came to Walla ^^■alla.

It was between eight and nine o'clock on
the 15th of February, 1865, that Patterson
entered the barber shop of Dick Bogle, which
was then situated on Main street, two doors
below the "Bank Exchange," between Third
and Fourth streets.

"Dick, I want a shave," said he, as he re-
moved his coat and hung it up. He wore no
vest. He rolled his shirt collar back so that
his huge chest was partly bared as he lay
back in the chair.

The barber had been at work only a few
minutes when he heard a man enter the rear
of the shop. The man proceeded with the
barrel of his gun to poke open the four doors
of the bath rooms in the rear of the shop.
He did the same with the door that led to a
small bed room. Entering he carefully ex-
amined his revolver, clicking the cylinder as
he revolved it to see that everything was right.
After these overtures the man entered the room.
It was Donnehue, the night watchman. He
took his position behind the chair next to that
in which Patterson lay with his eyes closed.
There were four chairs in the room, and Pat-
terson occupied the last from the door.

The barber, seeing that it was the night
watchman, thought nothing about the matter
and continued his work. Donnehue stood
quietly behind his chair, looking quite uncon-
cerned and saying nothing. Patterson con-
tinued that exquisite half doze, which is an
accompaniment of the barber's chair.

Finally the last touch (Patterson was very
particular) had been given and the barber be-

gan combing his hair. He had just completed
the operation and had his hands over his cus-
tomer's ears, giving the last touches to the
peculiar method of wearing the hair men-
tioned above. This of course acted like a pair
of blinds over Patterson's eyes. At this point
Donnehue stepped quickly over behind the
barber and just at the right of his victim, say-
ing, "You kill me or I'll kill you," and with
that he sent a ball crashing through Patter-
son's head. It entered just at the right cheek
bone and passed through into his left arm.

Patterson uttered an exclamation of pain
and jumped from his chair. His gun was in ■
his coat pocket, hanging upon the wall. There
were two doors in the front of the store. Pat-
terson ran to the one on the right. It was
locked. He dashed to the left one, but just
as he was opening it another ball struck him
in the back. He did not fall, but staggered
up the street toward John Lucas's saloon.
Donnehue followed, shooting. Several balls
took effect and Patterson fell. Donnehue fired
the remaining shots into the prostrate form,
reserving one cartridge with which he kept
back the crowd.

He was soon in the hands of the officers
and lodged in jail.

A few days later he mysteriously disap-
peared, with his pockets lined with gold, it is
said. As to whether he had been hired by
Vigilantes or by friends of Captain Staple no
one will ever know.

Although the organization of the Vigi-
lantes was in no sense political, yet, as indi-
cated in the Furth Patterson case, there was.
involved more or less of the hot feeling en-
gendered by the great contest between north
and south. The blood of men in those times
was chronically hot and their hands were al-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

247

ways near their hip pockets. Southern senti-
ment was entirely in the ascendancy at the
beginning of the war. It was about all a
man's life was worth to speak out in favor of
the Union. As an instance of the sentiment
of that time the following incident may be
related :

In 1863 Delazon Smith and Dave Logan
were candidates respectively on the Demo-
cratic and Republican sides in Oregon for
representative to congress. They were billed
to speak at a certain time in the community
which is now Milton. Milton and vicinity
were intensely Democratic. A number of
Walla Walla Republicans; among whom were
Frank Paine and Charles Painter, determined
to go over to Milton to lend a little encour-
agement to the Republican side of the house.
Reaching a sort of a public house in the vicin-
ity, they waved a flag which they had taken
along and finally put it up on a corner of the
building. The proprietor coming out and dis-
covering it, inquired of Mr. Paine if it was his,
to which Mr. Paine made answer that, although
the flag was not his, it had come with the
company of which he was a member, and he
presumed the intention was to let it remain
where they had put it until they were ready
to take it down. The proprietor then demand-
ed that it should be taken down, and to this
Mr. Paine replied that that flag would not go
down so long as there was a man left of those
who put it there. Perceiving that the "black
Republicans" were in dead earnest, the proprie-
tor of the hotel, whose courage had, in fact,
been of a somewhat spirituous nature, dropped
his vaporings and let it stay.

One of the striking facts in regard to that
period in the history of Walla Walla was the
degree to which politics were determined by

the business men of the place. Coming in daily
contact with the people of the town and vi-
cinity in the way of trade, and being familiar
with the business interests of their customers
as well as of the community, these men Ijecame
the general framers of political ideas and poli-
cies. As a matter of fact the majority of the
business men of the town were of northern
origin and sympathies, and although at first
greatly outnumbered, yet as time went on they
became more and more influential in affairs
and the tide swung in the direction of a
belief in the policy of the Union administra-
tion. Among the men prominent in the man-
agement of both business and politics, may
be mentioned Dr. D. S. Baker, J. F. Boyer,

A. Kyger, I. T. Reese, William Stephens, the
Schwabacher brothers, Abe, Sig and Louis

B. Scheideman, Judge Guichard, the Adams
brothers (Fred and ^Vill), B. F. Stone, Hollon
Parker, Frank and John Paine, M. C. Moore,
H. P. Isaacs and the Jacobs brothers, Richard
and Sam. These business men were ordinarily
stronger than the newspapers or the lawyers
of the place in managing politics. Two of
the early delegates to congress from the ter-
ritory, George E. Cole and Alvin Flanders,
were business men of Walla Walla. The
Statesman, under the management of Mr.
Newell, was generally the headquarters for
the Democrats of the place. The Republicans,
until the establishment of the Union, had no
newspaper representation. They didn't seem
to need a newspaper. As B. F. Stone was in
the habit of remarking, he would rather have
liis mouth than any ordinary newspaper, and
those who heard him talking when he felt in an
especially emphatic mood fully shared his opin-
ion. The Baker & Boyer store, on the ground
now occupied by the Baker-Boyer bank, was
then headquarters for most Republican com

248

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

binations. INIany were the deep-laid schemes,
of both business and pohtics, which had their
incubation on that corner.

A\''hole 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
lie 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
head, he walked ])oldly down Main 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
they 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
Union enthusiast alone. Yet old-timers say
that scarcely another man had dared do the
same thing.

No 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
\\'alla 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 unicpie
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. \\'ith 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 he built and managed between Walla
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
ends and threaten to wreck the train ; the
dog which some say was kept 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 \^^alla Walla valley than
any one thing that has happened since that
time.

Another character who could almost hold

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

249

liis own with anybody, 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
Fino mines in Idaho. He was then a short,
heavy-set man, of very dark complexion, black
beard and hair just turning grav. 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 he 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 trying 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 cjuestions
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 excitement
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 relieved and the audience
was convulsed when Crowley drjdy 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,
polish and gallantry. He was tall, slender, and
erect even in his old age. He was alwa3's
dressed in black 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 thing which once
saved his life.

Li company with ]\Ir. Ankeny, he was trav-
ehng 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 w-oman 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
aftectionately 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 thovigh his head
was a mass of shaking jelly. We must not
treasure up this incident against the good colo-
nel, for his intentions were really good. He
aftei'ward 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 ^^'alla 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.

"I'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.

\\'alla 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 jMill 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.

251

in November, 1861, immediately preceding the
famous hard winter. Tliat 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
IMain 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 Walla 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 to 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
universal 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 even 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 chrysanthemums, and the yard

252

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

after yard of peaches, apricots, cherries, pears
and apples, whose flowery treasures in spring
attract the buzzing bees by myriads, and whose
branches bow in summer with the nectareous
distillations of the matchless soil and sunshine
of the Valley of Many Waters. In short, it

was possible thirty years ago for one of not
even a very prophetic soul to foresee some-
thing of the \'erdure and brightness and lux-
ury which these years of industry and growth
have created upon the old-time desert.

CHAPTER XXIV

WALLA WALLA CITY IN I9OI.

We have presented in the preceding pages
of this history 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 Lidian 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. ^Ve
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 \\'alla 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, but 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 Walla 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, and 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
lea\-es for Walla Walla on the following day.
It is said that some have walked rather than
pass through that, ordeal. But though Pasco
lias 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-
vate enterprise, but when the United States
government 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 Walla Walla,
and he may then find a day or more spent at

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

253

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 party 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 : John Justice,

F. L. Edmiston, John McClees, J. H. Coblentz,
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 the
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 output 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 population of the prison
on February 21, 1901, to be four hundred and

254

HISTORY OF \\-ALLA WALLA COUXTY.

fifty. About three-fourths of the entire num-
ber are white males. During the past two
3-ears there have been but five females con-
signed to the penitentiary. Nearly half of the
convicts are between 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 four hundred and five two hundred
and five were temperate, one hundred and
ninety-six intemperate, and four were moder-
ate drinkers. Li 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 five 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 comfort's and conveniences
in the penitentiary. The most important 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. ^^'e 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 emplo3-ed
as a prison chapel. On January 7, 1900, it
was dedicated to this purpose, with appro-
priate religious and musical services. \Y& 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 offer
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 tnis 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, wdio observed
the evil eft'ects 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 fifty-five 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.

2SS

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 \vas 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 bterally up town
in this case, for, although ^^'alla 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 Walla 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 W^alla 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 S3'stem. The question
of this great step in the history of the city
was for several years 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 works 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 Walla Walla was designed'
by Mr. Isaacs and has remained essentially
unchanged, except for enlargement, to this
day.

In 1S87 Mr. Isaacs sold out his interes*:
in the waterworks to the \\'alla Walla 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 water. Plans were at
once inaugurated by 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 sevi'er-
age system did not tiag. 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 sal.e 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, 1901. This will be
considerably ahead of the contract time, which
is October 15th. The sewer system is being-
constructed of first class material, and the work

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

257

is being done in a manner to command the con-
fidence of the city. One of the 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 i8, 1900,
presents, in a better way than can otlierwise
be done, the condition of the system at that
time. It may be added that there has been a
steady gain since that time.

"H. H. Turner, registrar of the Walla
Walla ^vaterworks, 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 sources
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 expenses

$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 5,701 >^ 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 about 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 been proceeding in a very leisure-
ly manner to our hotel, while taking notes
upon the water and sewerage systems of the
city. But at last we reach the business part

258

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

■of town and between the three 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 possibility 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 ^^'alla 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, w'hich 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
5ome of the surplus dust which is sure to
_gather upon the traveler from Wallula to Walla
^^'alla, we sally forth in search of further ex-
perience.

The streets of \\^alla \\"alla 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, Walla W'alla 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
\\'alla Walla a very wealthy cit}'. It is said
to be surpassed in per capita wealth by only
three cities in the United states. These are
Hartford, Connecticut, Helena, IMontana, 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 tlie present time
ex-Governor Miles C. Moore is president,
\^^ ^^^ Baker, vice-president, H. E. Johnson,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

259

cashier, and John M. Hill, assistant cashier.
The deposits of the Baker-Boyer bank on Sep-
tember 5, 1900, were $670,090.83. The First
National bank was estabhshed 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 W. 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
size 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 their 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 likewise
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 ecjuipped 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 May, 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 Ex-
Governor Moore, W. A. Ritz, Dr. Fall, W.
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 it
i:. also fairly embowered in shrubbery and

26o

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

flowers of all sorts. Of these, roses predom-
inate, though there are at proper seasons per-
fect banks of crysanthemums. To the old-
timer who recalls the dismal and sun-parched
desert which from i860 to 1875 constituted
the site of the town, and then views the pres-
ent verdure and glow of color, flowers, 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 portion of the town to the public
institutions, -we shall find the schools worthy
of an extended visit. The historic facts of
these institutions ha\e been presented else-
■where, but we desire to observe here the hous-
ing and equipment provided 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
jDtimarv 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, ]\Iiss L. L.
'\\'est, the principal of the Baker school.
Prof. F. ]\L Burke, the principal of the
Paine school. Prof. G. S. Bond, the prin-
cipal of the Sharpstein school, and Prof. J.
A\\ Shepherd and j\Iiss Rose Dovell, of the
high-school, to be teachers of thorough 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
wajr to the largest of these institutions, Whit-
man College. He Avill find this college es-
tablished in five buildings. The oldest of these
and one of the historical landmarks of the
town is the rear portion of the Ladies" Hall.
This building, subsequently 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. Upon 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 school 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 Mrs. 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 contribution, 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 both buildings,
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 \YALU\ COUNTY.

261

jubilee in the college and among its friends
everywhere, when it was known 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 sixty 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. Inasmuch
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 Boyer and her assistants. We
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 W^alla Walla pulpit.

It would not do for the visitor to Walla
Walla interested in educational matters to fail
of a visit to W'alla Walla College, whose line
brick building towers conspicuously upon
the plain, two miles west of the city. This
also has been elsewhere described, and it may
suffice to say here that a considerable village
of honest and industrious people of the Sev-
enth Day Adventist 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. And
^vhatever may be thought of the peculiar doc-

trinal views of this sect, no one around Walla
W^alla doubts their sincerity of. purpose and
all heartily endorse their ideas of hygiene,
cleanliness, and wholesome food.

In our peregrinations throughout the ir-
regular and picturesque 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
^^^ashington in 1886. There were at that time
a mere handful of subscribers in ^^'alla Walla,
Colfax and Spokane. Upon the organization
of the Inland Telegraph and Telephone Com-
pany in May, 1890, three long distance lines
were established. One extended from Spokane
to Davenport, another to the Cceur d'Alene,
and one to Walla Walla by 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 Walla Walla. 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 Bell Telephone Company,
which comprises Idaho, Utah and Montana.
There are also seventeen hundred public sta-
tions in the territory of the first named com-
pany which can be reached by telephone.

262

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Every city, town, and even village in the west
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 Walla Walla
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. Wadsworth and
Bromwell, of San Francisco, and ]\Ir. 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 Walla 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, which will greatly increase
the capacity of the plant. The number of arc
lights now provided in the city is "jj.

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 recjuirements
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 Walla river
has been framed b}^ several of the moneyed men
of Umatilla county and of Walla \\^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 machinery 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 hundred
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 reaUzed 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 water at
the dry season will be fifteen thousand gallons
per minute and during the other portions of
the year much greater. The electricity gen-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

263,

erated will be conveyed to this city by 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 in the
field where his separator has been established
and connected with his motor. It does away
not only with the necessity of having 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
will probably 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 communication, but as a
historical item of interest we are reminded by
an old-timer with whom 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 built
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 iirst 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 completiort
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 but 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 ancE
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 WALLA 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
tmder 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. Visitors
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 Walla hack fare anywhere within 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
AValla 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 fifty. These

tags were issued in pursuance of an ordinance
by the city council, imposing a tax of a dollar
upon each bicycle. The announced purpose
of this tax 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 which 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 the 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
frec|uent entertainments arid 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 benefit.

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. This very im-
poTtant feature of a town was erected by D.
W. Small in the year 1884. In the next year,
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 \Vater 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
Aveak 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; number of persons
reported, 6,042 ; number of church 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 reveals

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
this we find a very complete summary in a spe-
cial number 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 complete 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. W. 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, ^nd 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 render 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 clays. As it appears that Walla
Walla has now surpassed the population of ten
thousand people, and become a city of the sec-
ond 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-
f owing 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 question 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
n:ust be an election held at which the following
officers are to be chosen by the people : Mayor,
twelve councilmen, collector and street com-
n:issioner (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
members 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 city shall be ap-
pointed by the mayor with the consent of the
council and shall be : Chief of police, treas-
urer, clerk, surveyor, poundmaster, and, if so
desired, superintendent of irrigation. For
these officers the salaries of only the chief of
police, clerk and treasurer are stipulated. The
chief of police cannot receive more than one

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

thousand dollars per year, the treasurer fifteen
himdred dollars, and the city clerk the sum of
one hundred and fifty dollars per month.

The salaries of the city attorney and the
city justice are not stipulated and may be fixed
at 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. No other salaries are
stipulated. The chief of the fire department
Avill be elected by the council and not by the
volunteer firemen as at the present time. There
m.ay also be, if the council sees fit, a city jailor,
to be appointed by the mayor.

The city election is fixed for the first Alon-
daj' 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 be decided by lot.
The council must choose one of its number to
act as president during the absence of the mayor
and there 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
bave been preferred. The mayor shall have a
vote in case of a tie in the council.

Any officer 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 popular election for
every officer and a consequent distribution 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
permanent interest :

From Walla Walla Union of February i6,
igoi :

Spokane is discussing the propriety of giving the
mayor more authority on appointments. It is believed
that in this way the expenditures can be kept 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 commissioners, a board of public
works and a board of fire 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 proper 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, and 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? As has been pointed out
before, if the mayor is to be the bead of the city govern-
ment and is to be held responsible for the success of his

HISTORY OF \Vx\LLA WALLA COUNTY.

269

administration, he should have the police force under,
not equal 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 ques-
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
second 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 be 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 important and historic in-
stitutions in or around the city is Fort Walla

Walla. 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. In 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 with 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 permanent military post at some point
in 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 ]\IcEvoy. In the spring of 1857 per-
manent buildings were erected and Lieutenant-
Colonel Steptoe took charge of the fort. By
i860 the buildings were substantial!}^ 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 proininent financial
and social, as well as military, feature of the
place. There have been usually about two him-
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-
prehend such a step in the near future. Thou-
sands of dollars are spent yearly in the county
for the purchase of provisions and equipment

270

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

for the 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 but 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
niust see the Whitman 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 thi?
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 be 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 181 2, after which he de-
voted his attention to the clearing and cultiva-
tion of his farmstead, which was as yet prac-
tically a primitive forest. With his own hands
he felled the heavy timber, laboring assiduously
to establish a home for his family. He was

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
m.eagre 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.
His 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 owrt
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 WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

rived in San Francisco on May 22, 1852, fol-
lowing the rush into the mines in the northern
part of the 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 flour 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 partner, under the firm name
of Parker & Roman, in Yreka, Siskiyou coun-
ty, California, handling a line of books, sta-
tioneiy and notions. He continued in this line
for over seven years, within which time 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 expedition,
made the ascent of Mount Shasta, a feat that

had been declared impossible by Fremont. In
the party were three physicians, two of whom
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 Mr. Parker returned to his home
in New York state, and while there was an
active member of the Wayne county convention
which 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
man}' were left injured for life, Mr. Parker
hmiself not recovering from the effects for
many 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 \\'alla Walla about
the middle of July, 1862, and here he has 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,
where 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 that place, for he had become
an expert in this profession. However, after
looking about in Wall \\'alla, he decided to
again enter the mercantile business, handling
his old line of books, stationery, etc.

In 1863, having procured the requisite

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

275

papers, Mr. Parker effected in Walla Walla
the organization of the Union League, whose
object was the promotion of a spirit of patriot-
ism among the citizens of the community, and
he was an active and zealous 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. McCoy and Anderson Cox,
worked incessantly to secure for the people hon-
est and just government and a more favorable
condition of judicial affairs.

Li the summer of 1863 Mr. Parker was
elected a delegate to the Republican territorial
convention, held at Vancouver. W'hile 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
they might come to Walla Walla and give set-
tlers an opportunity 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. In this praise-
worthy undertaking he was successful and
thereby saved for the community over fifteen
thousand dollars which would have been lost
had 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 offices. Simultaneously he engaged in the
practice of law. Although his business had now
assumed such proportions as to require almost
his entire time, he practiced one year in the
United States district court, and became in-
terested very successfully in politics, so con-
tinuing until 1869.

During this time there was vigorous agita-
tion of the question of annexing southeast-
ern Washington to Oregon, the territory in
question 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 Mr.
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
ir' 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 be said
that through such influence 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, 'Mr. 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 being forty dollars. The pas-
sengers selected Mr. 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 dayd
after the inauguration.

Mr. Parker was introduced 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 published 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, World, 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
efiforts 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 Mr. Parker, gratis. In the same
year, in the month of May, Mr. Parker was an
active member of the first national woman's
suffrage convention, the same being held in
New York city.

It was through Mr. Parker's efforts while
in W^ashington, 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.

277

the personal appearance of witnesses, thus sav-
ing the cost of their journey to the land office,
which was over one hundred dohars for each,
witness. Mr. Parker also succeeded, by the
aid of Senator Wilson of Massachusetts, after-
wards 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 City, 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 have ap-
pointed for the territory registrars in bank-
ruptcy, under the United States bankrupt law.
All these efforts had resulted in failure, but
Mr. Parker, through 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 Walla 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
efiforts 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, whicHi
incumbency he has since retained.

After nearly a quarter of a century of close
application to sedentary business Mr. Parker
fovmd 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 various counties. His
diligence rewarded him by a return of from
thirty to forty 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 efforts. After his arrival in the
beautiful Walla Walla valley, although he had
traveled extensively throughout the L^nited
States, in almost every latitude, the various
and wonderful attractions of the valley, the
mild, healthful, invigorating climate, the
\'arious prolific resources, implying- the produc-
tion of almost every kind of vegetable, fruit
and grain, — have kept him so charmed since
first he found the Eureka of his travels that

278

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

no place on Paget sound, or in Oregon or Cali-
fornia, or in any part of the United States,
has induced him to change his home.

Among the tourist experiences of ^Ir. Par-
ker's life that which he recalls with the keenest
pleasure is his tour to Alaska 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. ]\Iuir glacier, only fifteen of the
number dared to scale its icy cliffs 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 'Slmv
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 has been his to render in the cause of
humanity, the successes which have been worth-
ily gained and the manifold blessings which
have been his portion, feeling in the meanwhile
the satisfaction which ever comes to one who
has striven to do his duty to his fellow men.
To him has come the tranquil leisure which is
the crown of a well spent life, and in the com-
munity where he has lived and labored he is
held in high esteem by all who have apprecia-
tion of honest, sterling worth and character.
His life has been exemplary, — his charity broad
but discriminating, his benefactions to the pub-
lic of wide scope and importance and his in-
fluence ever arrayed in support of the right.
He has lived a strictly temperate life, even
through the years of early settlement, while in-
temperance has hurried many of his acquaint-

ances and companions into untimely graves.
He has ever kept in touch with the questions
and topics of the hour, bringing to bear a ma-
ture judgment and rare discrimination in con-
sidering all matters of public polity, and his
opinions as expressed through the press or by
personal dictum, carry weight under all cir-
cumstances.

Thoroughly convinced of the justice and
value of the single tax principles as advocated
by Henry George, ]\Ir. Parker has given to
the same the strongest indorsement, having
given the matter careful and discriminating
study and having become confirmed in the be-
lief that through the operation of these prin-
ciples, as practically applied, will result the
greatest good to the greatest number. Never
lacking the courage of his convictions, be made
a very vigorous eft'ort, in 1899, to secure a
popular indorsement of this measure by the
people of the state, and to provide for a better
comprehension of it. His princely offers of
financial contributions to the cause are a mat-
ter of history, and he is still hopeful that his
own state may be enabled to introduce the meas-
ure in which he so earnestly believes. Mr.
Parker, after forty years of actual litigation
in the courts of the land, from the lowest ta
the highest, gives as his admonition to all the
statement that it is far better if possible for
all disputes to be settled by arbitration rather
than in the courts. He has, however, been com-
pelled in his extensive practice, to secure two
mandamuses from the supreme court of the
United States.

While residing in the east Mr. Parker
identified himself, with the time-honored fra-
ternity of Free and Accepted Masons. He rose
to the degree of INIaster Mason in Palmyra
Lodge, No. 248, in Wayne county. New York.
He also took three degrees in Lodge No. 463,.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

27S>

I, O. O. F., in East Palmyra. Some years
afterward he secured a dimit and traveling card
from each of these lodges, but so pressing have
been the demands upon his time and attention
that he has not maintained an active affiliation
with these bodies during his residence in the
west.

On the 13th of January, 1872, was solem-
nized the marriage of Mr. Parker and Miss
Laura Glenn, of New Lisbon, Columbiana
county, Ohio, she being a sister of the late
Dr. J. G. Glenn, of Portland, Oregon. Of the
three children of this union only one is living,
Orrin Glenn Parker, who was born June 2,
1S76, and who is now assisting his father in
the management of their large interests. The
beautiful twin daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Par-
ker died of diphtheria in the winter of 1878-9,
aged six years.

Among the mental characteristics of the
subject of this review may be mentioned keen
discernment of the meaning and measure of
things about him, determination to accomplish
whatever he undertakes, self-reliance, and in-
dependence of thought and action, and an
imagination fervid and yet signally tempered
by good judgment. In religion he has a deep
and abiding reverence for those fundamental
principles which are the conservators of the
welfare of men and the favor of the Deity.
His faith in the Divine Master is fixed and un-
wavering and in the declining years of his long
and useful life he will have the solace and con-
solation of the "faith that makes faithful."

GEORGE W. BABCOCK.— It is with
marked gratification that we accord representa-
tion in this work to one who has been so prom-
inently identified with the afi^airs of the Pa-

cific coast region and who has so materially
aided in its development as has the gentle-
man whose name introduces this paragTaph.
A native of the far east, he is yet a pioneer of
the far west, and his life has been one of cease-
less endeavor in varied fields of activity, w^hile
his sterling worth has retained to him an un-
wavering respect and confidence. As one of
the leading citizens' of Waha Waha, where
he holds high prestige as an architect and
builder, it is clearly consistent that a review of
his life should be entered in this compilation.

Mr. Babcock, whose pleasant home is lo-
cated at 109 Alder street, was born in the his-
toric old city of Providence, Rhode Island,
in the year 1832, and that place continued to
be his home until he was a lad of six years,
when he accompanied his parents on their re-
moval to the Empire state, where he receivect
his preliminary educational discipline in the
public schools, attending the same until the
age of fourteen. His parents then made a
second removal, this time locating in the state
of Illinois, where the young man again took
up his school work, completing the same by
one year's attendance at Hillsboro College.

In that town also he gave inception to his
business career, early proving his distinctive
capacity for successful individual effort. For
about five years he engaged in selling clocks,
pumps, lightning rods, etc., at the expiration
of which period he yielded to the western fever
which animated him and in 1S50 emigrated
to California, making the long and weary
journey across the plains with a team and
wagon, the trip being of six months and nine
days duration. ,

Arriving in the Golden state, he was there
engaged in mining pursuits for a decade, his
headcjuarters being at Hangtown, now known
as Placerville. From this point he proceeded

28o

HISTORY OF \\' AllLA WALLA COUNTY.

to San Francisco, where he devoted his atten-
tion to Avork as an architect and builder for
some time, meeting with success and eventual-
ly curtaihng his operations to the functions of
an architect only.

From "Frisco" JMr. Backcock came for-
Avard to identify his interests with those of
the famed "Liland Empire," remaining in Spo-
Icane for six months and coming thence, in
1885, to Walla Walla for the purpose of lo-
■cating the Washington state penitentiary, for
the buildings of which he furnished the plans
and specifications and personally superintend-
•ed the erection thereof. He has ever since been
a resident of this city, where he has erected
Tnany of the most important public and pri-
vate buildings and where he has been contin-
uously engaged as an architect.

Mr. Babcock has ever maintained a lively
and discriminating interest in public affairs of
a local nature, having been a member of the
city council in Oakland, California, prior to
his removal to Washington, while in 1899 he
was chosen to a similar incumbency in Walla
Walla, being chairman of the finance commit-
tee of the council at the time of this writing.
Fraternally he is very prominently identified
Avith the Masonic order, in which he has at-
tained the Knights Templar degrees in the York
rite and has advanced to the thirty-second de-
gree, as a sublime prince of the royal secret
in the Scottish rite. He is also a noble of the
Mystic Shrine, the social adjunct of Free-
masonry. In connection with other business
associations he is vice-president of the Farmers'
•Savings bank, of Walla Walla.

In Eldorado county, California, in the
year 1856, Mr. Babcock married Miss Annie
-Shirley, whose demise occurred in 1864. In
1867, in San Francisco, he consummated a
-second marriage, being then united to Mrs.

Anna J. Crosby. By the first marriage there
was one child, Camilla, who is now at home
with her father.

JAMES P. GOODHUE.— The man whose
life history it is now our task to briefly out-
line is one whose connection with the Pacific
coast dates back to the earliest times, so he'
has naturally witnessed a great deal of the pio-
neer development of this section, and has had
an opportunity such as falls to the lot of com-
paratively few men of assisting in the work of
expelling the darkness of barbarism and usher-
ing in the light of civilization.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, on March
II, 1834, he was early taken thence to New
York, from which city, at the age of eighteen
years he came to California, making the trip
b} the Cape Horn route, on the clipper ship
Siren, Capt. Ed. Silsbee. After a short stay
in the Golden state and a residence of a year
in the Sandwich islands, he returned to his
native city to visit his parents. In 1855, he
crossed the Columbia river bar as mate of the
brig Kingsbury, soon after going to Corval-
lis, Oregon, where he remained until the out-
break of the Rogue river war, during the con-
tinuance of which he served as an employe
of the quartermaster's department, of the Ore-
gon Volunteers. During a portion of the year
1856 he served as purser of the steamer Belle,
and he subsequently spent some time with
Captain Ingalls in the quartermaster's depart-
ment of the regular army at Vancouver bar-
racks. In 1857 he was sent by the govern-
ment to the Cascades as transfer agent, and
in i860 he came to Walla Walla to become
wagon master at the fort.

After his discharge from connection with
the LTnited States army he spent some years in

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the mining districts of Idaho and Montana,
but between the years 1868 and 1874, he served
at different times as purser on the steamers
Active, California, Idaho, George S. W^^ight
and Gussie Telfair, plying between Oregon and
British Columbia points and Sitka, Alaska.
For the ensuing seven years he was agent at
Victoria, British Columbia, for the Oregon
Steamship Company, and between the years
1 88 1 and 1891 he held the position of ma-
terial and transfer agent for the N. P. R. R.
Company.

In the latter year he came to Walla Walla,
where his home had been since i860, though-
his work was such as to keep him absent most
of the time. His purpose was to establish an
express office in this city for the Northern Pa-
cific Express Company, which he did and he
has remained in charge of the same ever since.

Mr. Goodhue has been twice married. On
April 29, i860, he became the husband of Miss
Anna Turnbull, a niece of Captain James
Turnbull, the pioneer captain of the Columbia
river. This lady died in Walla Walla in July,
1868, leaving three children, Frank, chief
clerk in the quartermaster's department at
Seattle, Washington ; James ; and Edith, widoAv
of Lieutenant William Moffat, Second United
States Infantry. His second marriage was
solemnized in Victoria, British Columbia, when
Miss Fannie Cooper became his wife. To this
union three children were born, namely :
Charlotte H., Ada Putnam and Claude How-
ard, the last-named of whom is ticket agent
for the N. P. R. R. Company in Walla Walla.

Mr. Goodhue has the proud distinction of
being a lineal descendant of the noted Israel
Putnam, he being a grandson of Colonel Pur-
ley Putnam of the war of 181 2. who was a
near relative of the man whose name is so well
known in historv.

ALVAH BROWN.— The esteemed and
courteous gentleman whose name forms the
caption of this article has been a resident of
the Walla Walla valley for nearly twenty years,
and during that time has held various positions
both public and private which have brought
him into personal relations with a great num-
ber of men, and it is safe to say that he is one
of the most widely acquainted of all the citi-
zens of the county. His unfailing faithfulness
in the discharge of every duty entrusted to him
has won the respect of those who know of his
record, while his uniform kindliness and af-
fability have made him a universal favorite.

Mr. Brown, popularly known as "Jerry"
Brown, is a native of Silverton, Marion coun-
ty, Oregon, born October 20, 1855. His
mental discipline was acquired in the public
schools established in the vicinity of his home,
while his physical man was developed to the
fullest by vigorous early and late exercise on
his father's farm. When his majority was
attained, he received an appointment, signed
by President U. S. Grant, to the office of post-
master at Silverton, and the duties of that in-
cumbency were discharged by him faithfully
and well for a period of four years. When
his successor, Mr. T. R. Hibbard, took charge,
OUT subject was appointed assistant postmater,
continuing in the same position for three years
thereafter.

In May, 1883, he retired from the postal
service and came to Walla Walla, where he en-
tered the employ of J. Jones, whose place of
business was on the corner of Third and ]Main
streets, serving him in the capacity of a clerk
for about eighteen months. He then took
service as secretary of the Walla Walla Water
Company, from which position he retired two
3'ears later to accept an appointment on the
city police force under Chief T. J. Robinson.

282

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

During the five years of his service as a police
officer he made a record of which he has just
cause to feel proud. When Chief Robinson
died he resigned his appointment and became
clerk and bookkeeper in the employ of H. !Mc-
Arthur, a cigar and tobacco merchant, and
with him has remained uninterruptedly since,
his personal magnetism and affability of man-
ner making him an especially successful man in
that business.

]\Ir. Brown's marriage was solemnized in
Silverton, Oregon, on ]\Iarch 14. 1878, when
Lliss Viola Davis, a schoolmate and childhood
friend of his, became his wife. They have
two children living, Gertrude and Gladys, both
in the public school, also had one, Stanley D.,
who was accidentally killed while hunting, his
demise occurrin'g August i, 1899. Air.
Brown's father, James M., came to Oregon in
1846, and died at Woodburn in that state,
January 8, 1SS6. His mother passed awav in
Silverton, on September 20, 1876. Mrs.
Brown's father. Dr. P. A. Davis, arrived in
Oregon in 1852, and still resides in Silverton.
Her mother also died in Silverton, in April,
1866.

EX-GOVERXOR MILES C. MOORE,
president of the Baker-Boyer National bank,
the oldest institution of its kind in the state
of \\'ashington, is a native of Muskingum
county, Ohio, born April 17, 1845. When
twelve years old he accompanied the rest of the
family to Point Bluff, Wisconsin, and he was
educated in the Alethodist Episcopal Institute,
there located. In 1863 he came to \\'alla
Walla, \\'ashington. He was first emploj-ed
as a clerk in the store of Kyger and Rees.
Thereafter, at the age of nineteen, he embarked

in business on his own account in Blackfoot
City, a mining town in ^Montana. He returned
to Walla Walla in the fall of 1866 and became
postmaster and a partner in the book store of
H. E. Johnson & Company. In 1869 he
opened a general store in company with Paine
Bros., the firm name being Paine Bros. &
Moore. This establishment was later convert-
ed into an agricultural implement house, the
first in eastern W'ashington.

yir. Moore subsequently became associat-
ed with his father-in-law. Dr. D. S. Baker, in
the grain business and in various other enter-
prises, and this connection was maintained
until 1888, when Doctor Baker died. Mr.
Moore then became one of the administrators
of the estate. For many years he was an acti\-2
participant and a leading spirit in the politics
of Washington, but of late years he has given
less attention to public and more to his own
private affairs. He was elected mayor of the
city in 1877, and in 1889 he was appointed
to fill the gubernatorial chair, during that
period of our history when the territory was
donning the dignity of statehood. Comment-
ing upon his administration the Tacoma
Ledger said, "Of all the able governors the
territory has had, beginning with Isaac I.
Stevens, who was a distinguished soldier, en-
gineer and political leader, no one has brought
to the office more intelligence, dignity and
grace than Governor Miles C. Moore."

In 1889, when the Baker-Boyer X^ational
bank was organized. Governor !Moore became
a stockholder and vice-president, and on the
death of Mr. Boyer, in 1898, he was promoted
to the presidency. He is also a stockholder in
the First Xational bank of Walla Walla, and
senior member of the firm known as M. C.
]Moore & Sons, loans and investments. He is,
moreover, extensivelv interested in real estate

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

285

in various parts of Washington, Oregon and
Idaho.

Mr. Moore was married in Walla Walla,
in March, 1873, to Mary E. Baker, a native
of East Portland, Oregon, and to them have
been born three sons, Frank A. and Walter
B., assistants in the bank, and Robert L., a
student at Whitman College. The family live
in a beautiful home on the southeast edge of
the city, surrounded by beautiful grounds, and
adorned with everything which good taste
could suggest.

Governor Moore's father, Amos L., was
a native of Delaware, of English extraction,
and his mother, nee Monroe, was a scion of
the famous Virginia family to which President
Monroe belonged.

WASHINGTON SAIITH GILLIAM, a
retired farmer and well known citizen of Walla
M^alla, residing in a pleasant home at 315
Newell street, is a native of Clay county, jNIis-
souri, Avhere he was born on the 24th of Feb-
ruary, 1829. He continued to reside in his na-
tive state until he attained the age of fifteen
years. His parents were General Cornelius and
Mary (Crawford) Gilliam, his father having
attained distinction in connection with the
militia and through effective service in the In-
dian wars. The subject of this sketch ac-
companied his parents on their journey over-
land from Missouri to Oregon, the transporta-
tion facilities being those afforded by an ox-
team and the trip being protracted over a
period of six months. They settled where
Dalles, Polk county, Oregon, is now located,
the family being the first to settle south of
Rickreall creek. Our subject attended school
for a brief interval prior to the removal of the

family from Missouri and completed his edu-
cational discipline in the schools of Oregon,
which Avere of somewhat primitive character,
owing to the exigencies of place and period.

Upon beginning a life of personal responsi-
bility Mr. Gilliam directed his attention to the
basic industry of agriculture in varied phases,
continuing to retain his abode in Oregon un-
til 1859, W'hen he cast in his lot with the pio-
neer settlers of Walla Walla county, where
he has ever since resided, being now recognized
as one of the venerable and honored pioneers
of this section. Upon coming to this county
he secured land by both pre-emption and pur-
chase, and much of this land has since contin-
ued in his possession, — a period of more than
forty years. Careful and discriminating in
his methods, success attended his efforts and
he became one of the extensive agriculturists
of the county. In this connection it is grati-
fying to recall the fact that he has never
swerved in his allegiance to husbandry, having
been a farmer all his life and being at the
present time identified with this line of in-
dustry through the leasing of his land to good
tenants.

Mr. Gilliam has been a man of marked pub-
lic spirit and has never failed to discharge the
duties devolving upon him as a citizen, hav-
ing been called upon to serve in positions of
distinctive trust and responsibility. He was
sheriff of Polk county, Oregon, in 185 1-2, was
a member of its territorial legislature in 1853-4;
held a similar incumbency in the Washington
legislature in 1861, while in 1863 he served with
marked efficiency as sheriff of Walla Walla
county. Mr. Gilliam is a man of marked in-
tellectual and executive force and has left an
unmistakable impress upon the annals of this
county, where he has lived and labored to such
goodly ends.

284

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

On the 23d of February. 1854. in Polk
county, Oregon, was solemnized the marriage
of ]\Ir. Gilliam and ]\Iiss Esther A. Taylor,
who came to the Pacific coast region in 1852.
To them have been born six children, of whom
we make brief record, as follows : Ellen, widow
of Jesse N. Day, is a resident of Walla \\'alla ;
Lane C, a mining expert, resides in the city
of Spokane; JMitchell is a resident of Seattle;
J. Benjamin is one of the successful farmers
of Walla Walla county; Mary remains at the
parental home; and Marcus H. is a miner in
British Columbia. Of the children three were
born in Oregon and three in Washington.

In conclusion we are pleased to record an
interesting historical fact recalled by Mr.
Gilliam, to the effect that the first settlers in
this section came hither to secure pasture for
their cattle, little imagining the great agri-
cultural wealth and productiveness which were
eventually to give the locality its greatest
precedence.

^\TLLIA.M O'DOXXELL, retired hard-
ware merchant of Walla Walla, a pioneer of
1862, is a native of Ireland, born January 16,
1836. ^^"hen a boy of eight he came with his
father to America, landing in Xew Orleans.
He thence proceeded to St. Louis, Missouri,
where in 1845 he was left an orphan by the
death of his father, his mother having passed
away in 1837. For the ensuing se\-en years he
remained in St. Louis, solving the difficult
jDroblem of existence as best he could. In 1852,
however, he went to Jacksonville, Illinois,
where he learned the trade of a tinner, and
where he lived until 1857. He then removed
to Atchison, Kansas, and thence, two years
later, to Georgetown, ]\Iissouri. which was his
place of abode until 1861.

In that year he set out with an ox-team
for Salt Lake City, but upon arrival he and
his party purchased a new outfit and proceeded
to Carson City, Nevada. Here Mr. O'Donnell
followed his trade for a short time, but soon
came on to Placerville, California. He did not
remain, however, but soon went to San Fran-
cisco, then by steamer to Portland, Oregon,
where he and three other persons built a small
boat. In this they proceeded to Lewiston,
Idaho.

After a residence of onl)^ fourteen days,
"Slv. O'Donnell returned to Portland, and en-
tered the employ of Messrs. A. M. and L. ]\I.
Starr, working for them as a tinner until Au-
gust, 1863, when he came to W^alla W^alla.
In this city he has resided continuously since,
except for a brief period during vi-hich he was
on a mining expedition in British Columbia.
He was employed by Mr. Phillips almost con-
stantly until 1872, in which year he engaged
in business for himself, eventually becoming
the owner of the old stand where his former
emplo3'er started. He disposed of his hard-
ware establishment October i, 1900, and re-
tired from active business.

Mr. O'Donnell has been known as one of
the most successful business men of Walla
Walla, and he also ranks among its most high-
ly esteemed citizens. He has long taken a
leading part in the municipal affairs of his
home city, having served as county treasurer
as early as 1880, and having since been a mem-
ber of the city council. Fraternally, he affil-
iates with the F. & A. M., the B. P. O. E.. and
the Catholic Knights.

On May 7, 1869, ]Mr. O'Donnell married
]\Iiss Margaret Flaherty, a native of Ireland,
who died in Walla Walla September 25, 1889.
They became parents of one daughter. Grace,
born February 4, 1871, now deceased.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

285

JOHN KYDD. — Perhaps no other coun-
try on the face of the earth of equal size and
population produces so many men who dis-
tinguish themselves for thrift, progressiveness
and sterling character as does old Scotland.
Her sons have won renown the world over for
all those traits which go to make up true
manliness and to win esteem and respect. Not
the least worthy of those who claim for their
fatherland fair Caledonia is the man whose
name forms the caption of this brief article.
He was born in Kincardine county, Parish of
Fordoun, on February 9, i860, and there he
resided until twelve years of age, attending
the public schools. His father having died, he
then removed with the rest of the family to
Arbroath, where he received a high school
training. Upon retiring from school he fol-
lowed farming with his brother until twenty-
two years old, but the desire to try his fortunes
in America had taken hold of him and in 1882
he set sail for the new world, coming alone.
He took up a temporary residence in the Red
river valley in Minnesota, but not being satis-
fied with the rigorous climate, he soon came on
to Walla Walla.

He purchased a quarter section of land on
the Touchet river, from Dr. Dorsey Baker,
also homesteaded another quarter adjoining,
and he has been increasing his realty hold-
ings from time to time since until he is now
the owner of a magnificent farm of nine thou-
sand acres. He raises about one hundred and
sixty acres of wheat annually and about sixty
acres of alfalfa, retaining the remainder for
pasture. He keeps four thousand head of
sheep, forty head of cattle and horses enough
for his own work. His annual wool clip aver-
ages about fifty thousand pounds.

Mr. Kydd is essentially a self-made man,
having arrived in America without much cap-

ital, and having acquired by dint of energy and
good management, a rank among the moderate-
ly wealthy. The same qualities of mind which
have enabled him to accomplish his industrial
success have secured for him the esteem and
respect of the community in which he lives,
while his many good and neighborly charac-
teristics have won all hearts. Fraternally, he
i? identified with Washington Lodge, Xo. 19,
L O. O. F., of Walla Walla, also with Walla
Walla Tribe, Xo. 2t,, Improved Order of Red
Men.

On July 12, 1900, Mr. Kydd left his place
in charge of a foreman and visited the Paris
Exposition, visiting also his old home in Scot-
land where his mother and one of his brothers
reside. He found his mother in excellent
health though past seventy-five years of age.
His other brother, William, is a farmer near
the town of Harris Smith, Orange Free State,
Africa. From him he recently received a let-
ter saying that the Boers had just recently
made a raid on his farm and taken all his crops
and stock, depriving him of the accumulations
resulting from the assiduous efforts of twenty-
one years and compelling a new start in life.

HENRY SANDERSON, deceased, a pio-
neer of i860, was a native of Paris, France,
where his early years were passed, and where
he was married. He came to America about
1845, and located in San Francisco. He was
engaged in the hotel business there and in
Napa City for a number of years, but at length
removed to Corvallis, Oregon, whence, in i860,
he came to Walla Walla. He opened here
what was known as the Walla Walla hotel,
the first in the city. In 1870, he went to
Alaska, opened a bakery and restaurant there.

286

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

and operated the business for many years
afterwards. He returned to Walla Walla in
1897, but died the following year. He was an
industrious, energetic man, successful in busi-
ness, and highly respected by all his neighbors.
His wife died in 1887. Emil Sanderson, their
son, was born in Napa City, California,
July 4, 1857. He was reared in Walla Walla,
having been brought here by his parents when
he was about three years old. He has lived
in the city almost continuously since, engaged
in the restaurant business and in various other
enterprises. He has always taken a lively
interest in the city's welfare, manifesting his
desire to promote the pulslic good in many
ways, but especially by his activity in the fire
department, in which he was for two years
first assistant chief. In politics he is a Demo-
crat. He was elected a constable in 1896, and
the duties of that office are still being dis-
charged by him. In Denver, Colorado, he
married Miss Mabel O. Crawford, a native of
California, and they have become parents of
one daughter, Grace. Mr. Sanderson is quite
prominent in fraternal circles, being identified
with the Odd Fellows, Elks, Eagles and Red
Men.

CHARLES B. STEWART, M. D.— The
vocation of the physician and surgeon is one
of the most exacting and responsible in the
entire category of human undertakings, de-
manding of its votaries a most discriminating
preliminary discipline and an alert human
sympathy and unflinching nerve, since it
touches most closely the ultimate issues of life
and death. Walla Walla has been signally
favored in the character and ability of her med-
ical practitioners, and among those who have
Avon precedence through sterling professional

and personal worth must certainly be men-
tioned the subject of this brief review, whose
otifices are located in rooms i and 2, post-
office block.

Dr. Stewart is a native of the Pacific north-
west, having been born in Jackson county, Ore-
gon, in 1858, a representative of one of the
early pioneer families of this now opulent sec-
tion of the Union. He has passed practically
his entire life in Walla Walla, having been
brought hither when but four years of age,
and here he received his preliminary educa-
tional discipline, attending the public schools
and later Whitman College. Having deter-
mined to prepare himself for the profession
of medicine, he matriculated in the time-hon-
ored Jefferson Medical College, at Philadel-
phia, Pennsylvania, where he completed the
required curriculum of studies, with the in-
cidental clinical and surgical work; but so
earnest was his desire to thoroughly reinforce
himself for his life work that immediately after
his graduation he took two post-graduate
courses, fortifying himself by the most care-
ful study and investigation.

Thus well equipped for his work, the Doc-
tor returned to Walla Walla, where he forth-
with opened an office, in 1888, and prepared
to enter upon the active practice of his pro-
fession. No dreary novitiate awaited him, and
he soon gained a position as one of the suc-
cessful and able physicians of the city, devot-
ing himelf to a general practice of medicine
and surgery and securing a representative sup-
port. The Doctor is a member of the alumni
association of Jefferson Medical College and
also of the Walla Walla Valley Medical So-
ciety. He keeps well abreast of the advances
made in the science to which he devotes him-
self, being a constant and discriminating reader
of the best medical periodicals and standard

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

287

publications. He served for a number of
years as coroner. Fraternally he is identified
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In the year 1870 was celebrated the mar-
riage of Dr. Stewart to Miss Etta B. Wol-
fard, the union being solemnized in Whitman
county, of which Mrs. Stewart's parents are
pioneers, as are they also of Spokane county.
The Doctor and his wife are the parents of
two children, — Charles P. and Maggie M.

JUDGE E. B. WHITMAN, deceased, a
pioneer of 1858, was a native of Boston, Massa-
chusetts, born January 20, 1824. In that his-
toric city, his early youth was passed, but on
attaining his majority his adventurous spirit
led him to cross the plains to Stockton, Cali-
fornia, where for some years afterwards he
was engaged in the stock business. Failing
health, however, at length compelled him to
seek a more salubrious climate, and he moved
to Walla Walla, arriving July 10, 1858. Short-
ly afterwards he engaged in the general mer-
chandise business with the Baldwin Bros.

Subsequently Judge Whitman spent eight
years in the employ of the Wells Fargo Ex-
press Company, as agent, then resigned to en-
gage in the insurance business, a line to which
his best efforts were given until August 6,
1899, when he died.

During the many years of his residence in
Walla Walla, Judge Whitman took a very
active part in promoting the development and
prosperity of the cit}^ presiding in its council
chambers, and ever exerting a very sensible
influence in its material and municipal ad-
vancement. His name was on the petition
presented to the first board of county com-
missioners, praying that the town of Walla

Walla be laid out and established, and to him
belongs the distinction of having been the first
mayor of the city. He was again elected to
that responsible post in 1866, and for the third
time in 1871. In 1872, the electors of Walla
Walla again testified their faith in him by plac-
ing him in the mayor's seat, and the following
year he was for a fifth time their choice.
Judge Whitman also served as sheriff of the
county for a time in 1863, and from 1889 to
1 89 1 he was county clerk. For many years he
held the office of justice of the peace and for
fourteen he was a director in school district
No. I. He was always prominent in the pro-
motion and encouragement of railroad build-
ing. Indeed no enterprise for the benefit of
the city was without his generous support, and
few men have a better right to the grateful
■remembrance of posterity.

For more than fifty years Judge Whitman
was a prominent Odd Fellow, and he also be-
longed to the Blue Lodge, the Chapter and
Commandery in the F. & A. M. Religiously,
he was an Episcopalian. He was married in
Brooklyn, New York, to Maria I. Greenwood,
a native of Portland, Maine, who died in
\^'alla Walla, December 25, 1898, leaving two
sons, Edward S. and Stephen G.

Edward S., a pioneer of 1862, was born
in Ware, Massachusetts, September 10, 1846,
and there he passed his youth, and received his
education. At the age of sixteen, he came
with his mother and brother to Walla Walla,
and for ten years thereafter he was engaged in
packing to the various mining camps. During
the Nez Perce war he had charge of a pack-
train for General Howard, but as soon as the
trouble was over he engaged in stock raising
in Garfield county, Washington. He still
owns a stock farm there, but owing to ill health
was compelled to give up that occupation in

288

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

1897, and since that date he has been employed
as secretary for Dr. Shaw of Walla Walla.
He is one of the most highly esteemed and re-
spected citizens of the city. On April 14,
1887, Mr. Whitman was united in marriage
to Miss Delphine A. Walker, a native of Mon-
treal, and they have one son, Mason G., born
October 11, 1889.

DR. DORSEY S. BAKER was born in
Wabash county, Illinois, on the i8th of Oc-
tober, 1823. He came of Puritan stock, num-
bering among his ancestors General Ethan
Allen, of Ticonderoga fame. While he was a
boy in his 'teens his father was engaged in mill-
ing and merchandising, and in the manage-
ment of these enterprises Dorsey S. assisted,
thus acquiring business experience and train-
ing that was useful to him in after life. In
1845 he graduated from the Jefferson ]\Iedical
College, of Philadelphia.

After practicing his profession for a short
time at Des Moines, Iowa, he determined to
try his fortune in the west, and accordingly, in
1848, set out for Oregon, where he arrived in
the fall of the same year, without friends or
fortune. He began the practice of his pro-
fession immediately upon arriving at Port-
land, then a very small town. Gold was dis-
covered in California the following year, and
the Doctor joined the rush for the famous El-
dorado. He remained in California until the
spring of 1850, then returned to Portland and
entered into partnership with L. B. Hastings
in the general merchandise business. He again
went to the mines the following spring, his
objective point being Yreka, then a new mining
camp. Returning to Oregon in May of the

same year, he located in the Umpqua valley,
where, for several years, he was variously en-
gaged in stock-raising, milling and the general
merchandise business. The first flour mill built
in southern Oregon was erected by him at the
old town of Oakland, Douglas county. In
1858 we find him again in Portland, engaged
in the hardware business. In 1869 he estab-
lished a store in Walla Walla and placed Will-
iam Stephens in charge of the business, but
the following year he assumed personal man-
agement of it. In 1862 he entered into part-
nership with his brother-in-law, John F. Boyer,
establishing the firm of Baker & Boyer, so well
and so favorably known in eastern Washington.
In that year he also became associated with
Captain Ankeny, H. W. Corbett and Captain
Baughman for the purpose of organizing a
steamboat company to run a line of boats on
the Columbia and Snake rivers. They built
the steamer "Spray," for the upper river, and
the "E. D. Baker" for the lower Columbia
trade. These lines were sold the following
year to the O. S. N. Company.

Some nine years later we find the Doctor
engaged in the construction of a line of rail-
way from Walla Walla to the Columbia. This
he built almost entirely with his own personal
resources. Despite many prophecies of friend
and foe alike that this undertaking would end
in disaster, the genius of Dr. Baker was equal
to the task of carrying it to a successful termi-
nation. It not only greatly enhanced the private
fortune of its promoter, but brought prosperity
and wealth to the entire \\'alla Walla valley
and adjacent country. It was a source of no
little gratification to the Doctor that during
his ownership and management the Walla
Walla & Columbia River Railroad was never
encumbered with a mortgage and never had a
floating debt. This road was finallv sold, in

z^^:^^^^

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

289

1878, to the Villard syndicate, and became a
part of the O. R. & N. system.

During the remaining years of his life Dr.
Baker devoted his energies to banking and
to the inauguration of various enterprises in
and about Walla Walla. The Baker-Boyer
bank, organized in 1869, is the oldest institu-
tion of its kind in Washington. The Doctor
died at his home in Walla Walla July 5, 1888,
and was universally lamented in the commu-
nity in which he had lived so many years, and
which had come to regard him as its ablest and
most enterprising citizen. A fine monument of
granite, emblematic of his rugged strength of
character, marks the spot in Walla Walla cem-
etery where his remains repose, but, as is the
case with most of earth's great and good men,
his most lasting monument is in the grateful
memory of his appreciative fellow citizens. His
life is an illustration of what can be accom-
plished by energy, courage and perseverance,
coupled with integrity and force of character.
Dr. Baker was married in Portland, Ore-
gon, in June, 1850, to Miss Caroline Tibbetts,
a native of Indiana, by whom he has iouv liv-
ing children : Edwin Franklin, residing in
Ventura county, California ; also Mary E., wife
of E.x-Governor Miles C. Moore, Henry C.
and ^V. W., all residents of Walla Walla,
Washington.

He was married, a second time, to Mary
Legier, of Tuscola, Illinois, but his second
wife died shortly after her wedding.

In August, 1867, he married Elizabeth H.
McCullough, who has four living children,
Ida M., wife of Prof. L. F. Anderson, of Whit-
man College; Anna A., now Mrs. T. C. Elliott,
of ^^"alla Walla; Rosalia I., wife of Rev. Ed-
ward L. Smith, of Seattle, Washington; and
Ada L.

WM. GLASFORD, justice of the peace,
Walla Walla, was born near Ottawa, Canada,
January 14, 1834. When seventeen he went
to Gouverneur, New York, where he served
an apprenticeship to the trade of carpenter and
joiner. Returning to Canada he followed his
trade until 1862, then started on a prospecting
trip to the Eraser river. However, he only
got as far as Walla Walla, where he started the
first planing mill east of the Cascade mountains.
He afterwards erected a mill north of Spokane,
and had two others in the mountains, all of
which .were required to supply his extensive
trade. He constructed many large buildings
in Walla Walla and elsewhere, employing about
one hundredand fifty men continuously during
the season of 1883. In 1889 he took the con-
tract for cutting all the timber for the bridges
on the S. F. & N. R. R., and for erecting the
bridges between Spokane and Colville. In 1890
he sold out, and turned his attention to other
matters.

Mr. Glasford has long taken a very active
interest in the development of Walla Walla
and in its local government. He was a member
of the city council from 1881 to 1885. In pol-
itics he is an ardent Republican, and during all
the years of his residence here he has been
prominent in the campaigns of that party. In
1898 he was elected justice of the peace, and
appointed to fill an unexpired term as city police
justice. He has held both offices ever since,
having been twice elected to the latter.

Fraternally Mr. Glasford is identified with
the Masons. He was married in Canada, Oc-
tober 17, 1857, to Agnes Montgomery, and
they have had five children : William H., clerk
in Walla Walla; Edward P., a stock dealer, as
is also Walter H. ; Bertha J. ; and Mamie, de-
ceased.

290

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

LEON F. C. JAUSSAUD.— \\"e are now
permitted to touch briefly upon the hfe record
of one who has accomplished a worthy success
through his own efforts and who has the dis-
tinction of being a native son of la belle France,
having been born in the canton of Orchiere,
Sen Jen, Sen Nicola, on the 19th of iSIay, i860.
Our subject reinained in France until he had
attained the age of twenty years, receiving
his educational discipline in the public schools.
Having determined to seek his fortunes in the
New World, he bade adieu to home and friends
and set sail for America, arriving in Los
Angeles, California, on the 29th of November,
1880. There he was employed on a sheep ranch
for a period of seven years, becoming thorough-
ly familiar with all details of the industry, to
which he has since devoted his attention with
so marked success.

Mr. Jaussaud came to Walla Walla in
March, 1887, remaining only a few days, after
which he went to Pendleton, Oregon, where he
was again employed on a sheep ranch for one
and one-half years. He then drove sheep into
Idaho, where he remained six months, when he
again <^ame to Walla Walla, whence he drove
another band of sheep to Idaho in 1889. On
his return he purchased a restaurant of Lucien
Gene^-ay, who subsequently repurchased an in-
terest in the enterprise, becoming associated
with ]\Ir. Jaussaud in the conducting of the
same for a period of about a year, when our
subject sold out and again became identified
with the sheep business, this time in the state
of \\'ashington. He followed work in this
line for about twenty-one months, after which
he purchased six hundred and fifty head of
sheep for himself and entered vigorously into
the wool-growing business upon his own re-
sponsibility, his previous experience having
strongly fortified him for the work in hand.

To this important branch of industry he has
since given his attention, and it is gratifj-ing
to note that success has attended his efforts in
a pronounced degree. He now has over three
thousand head of sheep, and his wool crop
reaches an average annual aggregate of about
thirty-five thousand pounds.

Mr. Jaussaud owns about four hundred
acres of excellent land near Washtucna, Frank-
hn county, and in addition to this he leases six-
teen sections of grazing land ftom the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company. He is the owner of
an attractive home in the city of ^^'alla Walla,
the same being located at the southwest cor-
ner of Tenth and Alder streets, while he also
owns two lots and twenty feet additional front-
age adjoining. Religiously the family are all
m.embers of the Roman Catholic church, while
fraternally Mr. Jaussaud is identified with the
Young Men's Institute; Tribe No. 23, I. O.
R. M. ; and Aerie No. 26, Order of Eagles. Our
subject is a man of pleasing address, charitable
in thought and action, and he enjoys an unmis-
takable popularity in the city of his home.

The marriage of Mr. Jaussaud to Mrs.
Demerise Berrard was solemnized in Walla
Walla, on the 28th of February, 1896, and they
are the parents of three children, — Leon J.,
\'ictor P. and Louis F. Mrs. Jaussaud had
two children by her former marriage, — Fran-
cois and Leon, the latter being deceased.

FRANK S. DE:\IENT.— He whose name
initiates this paragraph stands at the head of
one of the most important industrial enter-
prises in the city of \\'alla Walla, being presi-
dent of the Dement Brothers Company, pro-
prietors of the Eureka Flouring Mills. ]Mr.
Dement is one of the sons of the Pacific north-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

291

west, having been born in Oregon City, Ore-
gon, on November 3, 1853, the son of Will-
iam C. Dement, who crossed the plains in 1843,
becoming one of the earliest pioneers of Ore-
gon and continuing to reside in Oregon City
until his death, which occurred in 1864.

The immediate subject of this review re-
ceived his educational training in the public
schools of his native city, where he remamed
up to the time of his removal to Walla Walla.
There he also published the Oregon City En-
terprise, a weekly journal of distinct merit and
vitality, disposing of the property at the time
he determined to identify himself with the busi-
ness interests of \\^alla Walla, whither he came
in 1879. Here he was engaged in the grocery
trade for nearly two years, after which he as-
sociated himself with his brother, Fred G. De-
ment, and W. D. Church, in the purchase of the
finely equipped milling property of the firm
of Welch & Schwabacher, in the conduct of
which enterprise they have since continued un-
der the title of Dement Brothers Company. The
mills are supplied with full roller process equip-
ment of the most improved order and the out-
put capacity is two hundred and thirty-five bar-
rels per day. The trade of the company tran-
scends local limitations, shipments being made
not only in contiguous states but also to the
oriental trade. The enterprise is conducted
with much discrimination and due conservatism
and is established on the firmest commercial
basis.

The public-spirited attitude of Mr. Dement
is shown when we revert to the fact that prior
to his removal to Walla Walla he was the
county treasurer of Clackamas county, Oregon,
an office which he resigned at the time of his
removal. He is at the present time chairman
of the board of school directors of Walla
Walla, having been a member of said board for

the past eight years and having taken a deep
interest in the promotion of educational fa-
cilities.

The year 1877 niarks the date of the mar-
riage of Mr. Dement to Miss Frances Miller,
the ceremony being solemnized in Oregon City,
where Mrs. Dement was a member of one of
the honored pioneer families. Our subject and
his wife are the parents of three children, —
Charles F., Olive M. and Frank B.

STEPHEN G. WHITMAN, a native of
Massachusetts, was born ]\Iarch 15, 1849.
When thirteen years old he came with his
mother and brother to AValla Walla, where his
father had resided since 1858. The next year
he returned to Boston, Massachusetts, to en-
joy the superior educational advantages of that
city, and upon graduating entered a wholesale
woolen and dry goods store, where he remained
until 1868, in which year he went to California.

In 1870 he returned to Walla Walla, re-
maining until 1880, when his business called
him to Spokane, in which city he was for some
time in the employ of the Wells Fargo Ex-
press Company. Subsequently, however, he re-
turned to Walla Walla. He is at present en-
gaged in the real estate business in Room 3,
Paine Block.

Like his father, Mr. Whitman has borne an
important part in the development of the In-
land Empire, and has long occupied a place of
leadership among his fellow men. To him be-
longs the honor of having been elected the first
clerk and police judge of Spokane. He is
prominently identified with the F. & A. 'SI.
and the B. P. O. E. In Walla Walla, on April
14, 1879, was solemnized his marriage to iliss
Jennie J. Andrews, daughter of one of the pio-

292

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

neer captains of the Sacramento river. To
their union was born one daughter, now de-
ceased.

LUCIEX GENEVAY.— The successful
business man and sheep raiser whose name be-
gins this article was born in Switzerland Feb-
ruary 15, 1859. He passed the initial twenty-
four years of his life there, receiving a good
public-school education, and afterward engag-
ing in farming. Thinking that the new world
presented better opportunities for an ambitious
young man, he, in 1883, emigrated to Amer-
ica, locating first in Cresco, Iowa, where he
tried his hand at farming. In 1886 he removed
to St. Louis to accept a position as a sawyer
in the St. Louis Car shops, but after remain-
ing in that work for nine months he returned
to Iowa, whence he shortly came to Dayton,
Washington, arriving in March, 1887. He
tried market gardening in that vicinity for a
year, afterward coming to AA'alla Walla, where
he opened a restaurant. This he operated con-
tinuously for a period of two years, but in 1890
the building burned down and he purchased
an interest in the business of Frederick Lehn
on Third street. The partnership then formed
only lasted eight months, our subject then sell-
ing his interest to another man.

Investing a portion of the proceeds in the
business established by Charles Rose, also on
Main street, he remained in that for two years,
after which he again sold out. In February,
1893, he formed a partnership with ^Ir. La
Fortune for the purpose of establishing a place
of business at 222 West Main street, and this
has been the scene of his activities and endeav-
ors continuously since.

In June, 1898, Mr. Genevay bought the
wool growing business of Joseph Summerville,

near Dayton, which comprised the right of the
latter to some ten sections of land in Garfield
county held under lease issued by the Northern
Pacific Company, and twenty-seven hundred
head of sheep. Mr. Genevay now owns be-
tween four and five thousand head of sheep,
from which he sells an annual wool crop of
about thirty-one thousand pounds.

Mr. Genevay conducts all his business af-
fairs on correct principles, bestowing on them
the recjuisite amount of attention and exercis-
ing a sufficient degree of good judgment to in-
sure the greatest success attainable under the
circumstances, so that his material prosperity
since he came to America has naturally been
great. Landing in this country without means
or influential friends, he has steadily pro-
gressed, working his own way to fortune, until
he is now among the moderately wealthy men
of the county.

In his fraternal affiliations he is identified
with the Walla Walla Maennerchor and with
Tribe No. 23, Improved Order of Red jNIen.
In ]\Iarch, 1880, in Bassins, canton Vaud,
Switzerland, the marriage of our subject was
solemnized, Miss Mary Kach, a native of
Berne, then becoming his wife. They have
one son, Robert, born in their home in Switzer-
land April 21, 1 88 1, now in his father's em-
ploy. Mrs. Genevay is a member of the Ger-
man Methodist church of this city. The fam-
ily reside in a comfortable and elegantly fur-
nished home at 828 AA'est Main street.

JOHN W. :McGHEE, Jr.— a son of
\\'alla \\'alla county, and one whose career has
l)een such as to reflect credit upon the valley
in which he was born, the subject of this brief
biographical review is especially deserving of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

293

representation in a work of this character. His
parents, John W. and Rachel (Whiteaker) Mc-
Ghee, were old pioneers of the valley, residing
on the Coppei three miles south of Waitsburg,
and on the parental farm our subject was born,
the date being February 11, 1867. He ac-
quired his education in the local public schools,
in Waitsburg Academy, in Whitman College
and in the Empire Business College of Walla
Walla.

Lipon retiring from the last named institu-
tion he entered the office of the Fidelity Ab-
stract Company, by which he was engaged for
a short time, after which he entered the em-
ploy of the Washington Loan and Trust Com-
pany, of whose bookkeeping he had charge for
about three years thereafter. He resigned in
1 892 to accept a position as deputy county treas-
urer, under H. H. Hungate.

In the Democratic convention of 1894
Mr. McGhee was one of the candidates for
nomination for the office of county treas-
urer, and he proved to be the choice of his
party, but was defeated in the Republican land-
slide which followed, his opponent, however,
receiving a majority of only ninety-seven votes.
The ensuing year he was appointed receiver
of the Walla Walla Savings bank, and he con-
tinued to discharge his duties as such until the
affairs of the bank were settled. In the cam-
paign of 1898 he was again the nominee of
his party for the county treasurership, and this
time his candidacy was successful. The Re-
publicans were almost universally victorious in
that election, but the fact that Mr. McGhee ran
two hundred votes ahead of his ticket speaks
volumes for the esteem and confidence in which
he is held among the people of his native val-
ley. He has given his entire energies to the
faithful discharge of the duties of his office ever
since the county's books were first placed in

his hands, proving true to this, as he had to
every other trust reposed in him by the peo-
ple. Mr. McGhee was also treasurer of the city
of Walla Walla from 1896 to 1898.

Our subject is a prominent Odd Fellow,
his membership being in Washington Lodge,
No. 19, of which he is recording secretary, and
in Walla Walla Encampment, No. 3. He also
belongs to the Royal Arcanum.

CHARLES RUSSELL, deceased, a pio-
neer of September, 1856, was born in New
York September 13, 1813. Upon attaining
his fifteenth 5^ear he set out for San Fran-
cisco, by water, and for several years thereafter
he followed the life of a sailor. He was on the
vessel Yale during the entire Mexican war,
rendering excellent service to his country. As
soon as hostilities ceased he returned to San
Francisco, where for a number of years he took
contracts for street-grading from the United
States government. He served throughout the
entire Modoc Indian war and was master of
transportation at the time of the celebrated Cus-
ter massacre, being on that fatal day only a
mile and a half distant from the scene of bat-
tle. In 1856 he came to Walla Walla as gov-
ernment wagon master, and in that city he re-
sided until his death. August 7, 1891. Few
men have spent more time in the service of
their country than has Mr. Russell, he having
been in the employ of the United States con-
tinuously from his fifteenth year, and few in-
deed are they \vhose record is so worthy of the
highest commendation.

Mr. Russell was married in Walla Walla,
October 22, i860, to Miss Anna Sheets, a
daughter of John and Marguerite Sheets, and
a native of Ohio. The}- became the parents

294

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

of five children : Charles H., William L.,
Harry, Lavenia, widow of Mr. William True,
and Nellie. Mrs. Russell's father, who crossed
the plains in 1859, died in Walla Walla in
1878, and her mother passed away in 1880.

DANIEL T. KYGER.— One of the most
highly respected of Walla Walla's citizens, an
esteemed pioneer of this valley and a leading
husiness man, the subject of this brief review
is deserving of a place of eminence among the
men who have been instrumental in building up
and shaping the destiny of the county.

He was born on the 17th of November,
1852, in the town of Kokomo, Indiana, and
there he received his education. In 1864 he
accompanied his parents to Nemaha county,
Kansas, and thence to Missouri, where, in 1868,
he joined a surveying party, with which he re-
mained nearly a year. The next spring he
came west, intending to try his fortunes in
Arizona, but, on account of the Indian hostil-
ities in that region, he changed his plan, com-
ing north to the Walla Walla valley, with
which he became identified July 3, 1869. He
was a member of the first party sent out by
Dr. Baker to raft logs down the Yakima river
for the doctor's railway from Walla Walla to
Wallula, and in 1873 he became a clerk in the
employ of Paine Brothers & INIoore, with
whom he remained until tliey retired from busi-
ness. In 1876 he opened a tobacco store on
his own account, conducting the same for two
years thereafter, but, at the end of that time,
entering the employ of Johnson, Rees &
Winans.

Air. Kyger was industrious and frugal, so
that by 1889 he had accumulated enough to
enable him to purchase the business of his em-

ployers, which he did. Shortly afterward he
disposed of a half interest in the establishment
to Mr. Frank Foster, and the present firm of
Kyger & Foster was formed. Their business
has always been conducted on correct prin-
ciples, with the natural result that it has come
to be one of the best paying in the city, the
patronage of the establishment coming from
a large section of the surrounding county, and
goods from their shelves finding their way
irjto the remotest parts of the valley. They
keep always on hand a large stock of dry goods,
clothing, ladies' furnishing goods, etc., and are
ever read to cater to the wants of their cus-
tomers.

'Mv. Kyger has long been a prominent and
leading man in politics, supporting the issues
of the Republican party, and he is also an en-
thusiastic leader in the Masonic fraternity, be-
ing a past eminent commander of Washington
Commandery, No. i. Knights Templar.

In August, 1875, the marriage of our sub-
ject and Miss Addie Sickler was solemnized,
and their union has been blest by the advent
of six children, four daughters and two sons.

The sons, Miles E. and Daniel T., Jr.,
earned the right to rank among the world's
heroes by sacrificing their noble young lives on
the altar of their country, they having passed
away while fighting the battles of the Republic
in the Philippines. While they did not die on
the field of battle, they are deserving of the
same credit as though they had done so, for in
enlisting for service in a pest-laden climate they
encountered not only the danger from the bul-
lets of the enemy but also that from the in-
sidious encroachments of disease, and it is no
disparagement of their right to the title of
hero that they fell victims to the latter rather
than to the former foe.

Allies E. Kyger was born in Walla Walla

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

295

on May 21, 1876, and in the common and
high schools of this city he received his gen-
eral education. He graduated in the high
school class of 1895, then engaged in the mer-
cantile business in his father's store, rendering
himself almost indispensible by his faithfulness
and devotion to the duties in hand. When the
call to arms was sounded, however, he thought
tlie claims of patriotism paramount to those of
business, so generously offered his services to
his country. They were accepted and he was
sent to Manila, where, on the 3d of February,
1899, he succuml^ed to that dread disease,
typhoid.

Five days afterward his younger brother,
Daniel T., who had also felt it incumbent upon
him to enlist, suffered a similar fate, and so
the bereaved parents, and in fact the entire city
of Walla Walla, were called to mourn a double
loss. The younger brother had completed his
public-school education at the time war was
declared, and was diligently pursuing a course
in the business college with the intention of
thoroughly preparing himself for commercial
success. Both the boys were energetic, prom-
ising young men, intensely popular with their
associates, and respected by all who admire
thrift, industry and sobriety, coupled with fine
intellectual powers.

.When they passed away the entire state
realized its loss, and many were the expres-
sions of condolence received by the bereaved
family, even the state senate taking cognizance
of the matter and adopting the following reso-
lution : "In grateful remembrance of our fallen
heroes. Sergeant Miles E. Kyger and Daniel
T. Kyger, Jr., comrades of Company I, First
Washington Volunteers, who died in our coun-
try's service at Manila, to the bereaved par-
ents, who sacrificed their only sons on the altar

of our country, we, the members of the senate
of the state of Washington, do tender our
deepest sympathy in your hour of afiliction."

GEORGE W. WHITEHOUSE, a mem-
ber of the well known firm of Whitehouse,
Crimmins & Company, dealers in and manu-
facturers of lumber, sash, doors, moldings,
etc., in the city of Walla Walla, is one of the
representative business men of the city and no
compendium of this nature would be consistent
with its defined province were there failure to
accord him consideration within its pages.

Mr. Whitehouse is a native of the state of
Illinois, having been born in Decatur, in the
year 1856. He continued his residence in that
commonwealth until he had reached the age of
twenty years, having received excellent educa-
tional advantages in the public schools. At
the age noted he journeyed westward to Cali-
fornia, where he remained one year, at the ex-
piration of which interval he identified himself
with the business interests of Walla Walla, of
which city he has been a resident practically
e\'er since.

Upon his arrival here, in 1877, he engaged
iu business as a contractor and builder, hav-
ing had careful training and ample experience
ip this line, and to this branch of industrial
activity he devoted his attention, with marked
success, until the year 1881, when he accepted
the position as foreman of the building de-
partment of the Oregon Railway & Naviga-
tion Company, later identifying himself also
with the Northern Pacific Railroad, and serv-
ing eventually as superintendent of construc-
tion of buildings for both roads during a period
of two and one-half years. At the expira-

296

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

tion of this time he again became a resident
of Walla Walla, where he engaged in contract-
ing and building until 1S88, when he became
identified with his present important enterprise,
which stands as one of the most potent factors
in conserving the industrial pre-eminence of
our city. His business associates are Dennis
J. Crimmins and Charles Cooper, the mills and
yards of the concern being eligibly located at
the corner of North Third and Cherry streets,
where employment is given to a corps of about
twenty competent workmen.

Li Union county, Oregon, in 1884, was
solemnized the marriage of Mr. Whitehouse
and ]\Iiss Emma Paul, and they are the parents
of one son, George Paul, who was born in
1887. INIr. \Miitehouse has but recently com-
pleted a residence, at the corner of Birch and
First streets, which is one of the most attractive
in the city, and this is the family home. The
dwelling is of modern and effective architect-
ural design and is equipped throughout with
the best of improvements. Thus is added one
more to the many beautiful homes for which
Walla ^^'alla is so justly celebrated throughout
the Pacific northwest.

JOHN E. BINGHA]\I, :M. D., physician
and surgeon, a pioneer of 1874, is a native of
Pennsylvania, born in 1846. When nineteen
he came out to California, via the isthmus, and
for about two years thereafter he was in the
service of the United States government. Re-
turning then to Pennsylvania, he enrolled as a
student in the Jefferson Medical Cohege, from
which institution he received his degree in
1873. Immediately after graduation he came
to Port Townsend, Washington, to assume
charge of the Marine hospital, located there.

and he retained that position until 1874, when
he resigned to come to Walla Walla. Here he
engaged in the general practice of medicine,
but he was soon called into the service of the
government again, being appointed acting as-
sistant surgeon of the United States army and
assigned to duty at Fort Walla Walla. That
position he now holds.

Dr. Bingham served as surgeon of the state
penitentiary for seven years. He has also
served as health officer of the city, and in dif-
ferent public capacities, and at present is local
surgeon for the N. P. R. R. and for the O. R.
& N. The Doctor served during the Nez Perce
and Bannock Indian wars. Dr. Bingham has
been in active practice here for twenty-five
years. He has the confidence and esteem of
the general public, and enjo3fs a large and de-
sirable patronage. Fraternally he is identified
with the F. & A. M. and the B. P. O. E.

The Doctor was married in Portland, Ore-
gon, in 1896, to Miss Ernma Lewis, a native
of that citv. Thev have one son, IMason L.

JOHN F. BOYER.— In the death of Mr.
Boyer, on the 8th of February, 1897, there
passed away a man of exalted character and one
whose history was conspicuously and indis-
solubly identified with that of the city of Walla
Walla, where for a long term of years he had
lived and labored to goodly ends, ever main-
taining a high sense of his stewardship and
ordering his life upon a lofty plane. No citi-
zen of the county was more highly honored and
none contributed in greater measure to the ma-
terial progress and substantial upbuilding of
this section of the state. His was a noble and
useful life, and no compilation purporting to
touch the historv of ^^^alla Walla countv would

JOHN F. BOYER

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

297

be complete were there failure to revert to the
salient points in the career of this honored
pioneer.

Mr. Boyer was a native of Kentucky, hav-
ing been born in Castle Rock county on the
28th of March, 1824. While he was still an
infant his parents removed to a point on the
Ohio river, whence, some twelve years later,
they proceeded to Jefferson county, Indiana,
which thereafter continued to be their home.
The subject of this review received his edu-
cational discipline in the common schools, and
he began his individual business career at the
age of twenty years, when he severed home
ties and proceeded to Van Buren, Arkansas,
where he secured a clerkship in a mercantile
establishment, this being in the year 1844. Mr.
Boyer was distinctly the architect of his own
fortunes, and the marked success he attained
ia temporal affairs was won by fair and hon-
orable methods, his entire business career be-
ing without blot or stain, even as was his per-
sonal character. In 1849 ^^- Boyer joined the
throng of gold-seekers who looked to the new
Eldorado of California as a source of wealth
and advancement. Having successfully made
the long and perilous journey across the plains
and over the mountain heights, he eventually
engaged in mining in the Golden state, later
abandoning the search for gold and engaging
in the mercantile business at Sonora, California.
In 1852 he left his business in charge of his
partner and returned to Arkansas. In the
meanwhile he learned that the greater portion
of his California property had been destroyed
by fire and accordingly he decided to remain
i;i the east.

On the 29th of August, 1853, at Mount
Carmel, Illinois, Mr. Boyer was united in mar-
riage to Miss Sarah E. Baker, a sister of Dr.

D. S. Baker, with whom he was subsequently
so long and intimately associated in business
in Waha Walla. In 1859 Mr. Boyer returned,
with his family, to the Pacific coast, making
the journey by the isthmus route. He again
established himself in the mercantile business
at Sonora, where he remained until 1862, when
he entered into a copartnership with Dr. D. S.
Baker in the mercantile branch of his busi-
ness in Walla Walla. Concerning this enter-
prise we quote from a sketch of the life of Mr.
Boyer puljlished in Gilbert's history of the
county : "At the time Mr. Boyer first took
charge of the store, and for years after, the
miners were in the habit of depositing their
gold dust with the firm for safe keeping. They
would come with little and big sacks of it with
the owner's name attached, leave their moun-
tain accumulations for days, and sometimes
months, without a scratch of a pen or witness
in the world, except Mr. Boyer, to prove that
they had ever left anything on deposit. No
receipts were given or asked for, and although
this practice was continued for years, and the
deposits often reached from thirty to forty
thousand dollars at a time, no trouble, misun-
derstandings or loss ever occurred."

In 1870 the firm decided to close out the
mercantile business and establish a bank. The
Baker & Boyer bank became one of the most
solid financial institutions of this section of the
Union and so continued until it was merged
into the Baker-Boyer National bank, whose
prestige is to-day unexcelled. Upon the or-
ganization of the national bank Mr. Boyer be-
came its president, retaining this incumbency
until his death and guiding its course with that
rare executive ability and far-sighted policy
which had conserved the upbuilding and relia-
bility of the original institution. Of the bank-

298

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

ing houses with which he was so conspicuously
identified specific mention is made on other
pages of this work.

From a memorial brochure published at the
time of his death we make several extracts
touching the character and career of our hon-
ored subject : "He served Walla Walla county
with great acceptability for six terms (twelve
years) as treasurer. Always concerned with
iratters pertaining to the public good, Mr.
Eoyer was of necessity interested in educa-
tion. He early became a devoted friend of
Whitman College, and gave generously of his
means and time to its support. He was for
thirty years a member of the board of trustees
of the seminary and college. During that time
he was treasurer of the institution, which po-
sition he held until a few months before his
death, when he was chosen president of the
board of trustees. For years he was a vigorous
supporter and mainstay of St. Paul's school.
Mr. Boyer was for many years a leading sup-
porter, vestryman and warden of the Episcopal
church. It was a pleasing sight during the
l?st few years to see him, with his snowy hair,
ill the church choir, seemingly as full of life
and vigor as the younger members. In fact,
until the last year, his vitality was proverbial,
and he bid fair to outlive many younger men
than he. One of the most warm-hearted,
charitable and sympathetic of men, Mr. Boyer
was ever ready to assist the needy and to ex-
tend a hand to the unfortunate." The death
of Mr. Boyer was mourned by the entire com-
munity in which he had lived for so many years
and in which he had ever been a power for
good. The funeral was attended by "all sorts
and conditions of men," each of whom felt that
he had suffered almost a personal bereavement.
The services were conducted by the rector of
St. Paul's church, of which the deceased had

been so loyal a supporter, and a special me-
morial service was held at the church on the
Sunday following his death. In his address
the rector spoke feelingly of the honored dead,
of whom he said : "^Ir. Boyer was a man of
remarkable modesty and would not have de-
sired a eulogy. He needs none other than
the memory of his noble and generous life."
Resolutions of respect and regret were passed
by the vestry of St. Paul's church, by the ex-
ecutive committee of the board of trustees of
Whitman College, by the directors of the First
National bank and by Blue Mountain Lodge
of Free and Accepted Masons, of which he
was a charter member and a zealous adherent.
His was the faith that makes faithful, and he
passed to his reward in the fullness of years
and well earned honors. As long as there re-
mains memory to those who knew the man
or of him, so long will he be recalled as a noble
example of true manhood and as one whose
entire life was consecrated to lofty ends.

Mr. Boyer was survived by his wife and
seven children. The surviving children are as
follows : Charles S., a resident of New York
city; Franklin D., of Dawson City; Arthur A.,
of East Orange, New Jersey; Eugene H., of
Walla Walla; John E., of Seattle; Mrs. Annie
I. Norton, of Bennington, Vermont; and Miss
Imogen, of A\'alla \\'alla.

HENRY A. CRO\\'ELL.— To the man
whose life history it is now our task to briefly
outline belongs a share of the honor we in-
stinctively bestow upon men who rise superior
to an inauspicious early environment and
achieve success in the face of great disadvant-
ages.

Our subject was born Alarch 27, 1837, at

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

299

Blooming Grove, Franklin county, Indiana.
His father died while he was very young and
naturally he early had to assume such respon-
sibilities and duties as he was able, in this man-
ner acquiring in boyhood habits of industry and
self-reliance of inestimable value. When four
years of age he was taken by his mother to
Knox county, Illinois, where he remained until
1865. After acquiring a log-cabin education
he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits,
continuing in the same as long as he remained
in the state. When about twenty-eight years
of age he removed to Boone county, Iowa, and
opened a grocery store, conducting that busi-
ness in conjunction with a farming industry
near by. Subsequently closing the grocery
establishment he went into the grist mill busi-
ness, and being in connection with his duties
about the mill, much of his time in the engine
room, he in due time became a skilled engin-
eer. Eventually the engine was placed in his
charge.

In the performance of his duties in this
connection he met w'ith a very serious acci-
dent, falling from a tank which he was en-
gaged in cleaning, striking on the fly wheel of
the engine and breaking his leg and several
ribs. He was unconscious for several hours
and confined to his bed for about sixty days,
but ultimately recovered almost entirely and
resumed the discharge of his duties as engineer.

In 1874 Mr. Crowell came to Walla Walla,
via San Francisco, Portland and the old Baker
road. For a short time after his arrival he
worked for wages on a farm, but his abilities
as an engineer were soon discovered and a po-
sition was given him as engineer in the old
Dovel Sash and Door, Molding and Furniture
factory. After continuing in this for some
time his services were called into requisition
as a molding-maker for the same firm, and he

continued in their service until they went out
of business.

Mr. Crowell then worked for varying
periods of time for other mills, also ran en-
gines for threshermen during the harvest sea-
sons until 1896, when he entered the service
of Whitehouse & Crimmins, of whose engine
he had charge for about a year, afterwards
withdrawing to accept an appointment as pound
master, tendered him by the city council, and
this office he still retains, discharging his duties
with faithfulness and fairness.

In fraternal affiliations our subject is identi-
fied with the time-honored Masonic fraternity,
his immediate connection being with Blue
Mountain Lodge, No. 13. While he was a
resident of Knox county, Illinois, Mr. Crowell's
niarriage to Miss Jane Stevens was duly sol-
emnized, but they were not permitted to live
long together, she passing away on July 4,
1865. On August 24, 1867, our subject was
again married, in Knox county, Illinois, the
lady being Miss Mary A. Thurmen, a native
of Kentucky. They have two living children :
Ella, now Mrs. O. T. Cornwell, of Walla
Walla; and Sibley A., a bookkeeper for Sam-
uel Loney, of this city. They also became the
parents of two other children now deceased.
Mr. Crowell is the owner of a very pleasant
and comfortable home on the corner of Rose
and Tukanon streets.

CLARK N. McLEAN, auditor of Walla
Walla county, was born in College Springs,
Iowa, November II, 1862. He was reared on
a farm in the vicinity of his native town and
received an unusually good education, gradu-
ating from the scientific course of Amity Col-
lege. After receiving his degree he engaged

300

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

ill the mercantile business with his brother,
James L., at College Springs, carrying a course
in the Gem City Business College, at Ouincy,
Illinois, at the same time.

In 1887 he retired from his business to be-
come a bookkeeper in Kilpatrick Koch's whole-
sale dry goods company in Omaha, which po-
sition he retained until, in 1889, he came to
Walla Walla. Shortly after his arrival here
he opened an abstract office in company with
Mr. S. E. Dean, and this establishment has
been maintained ever since, being now known
as the Dean-]\IcLean Abstract Company.

He has long been one of the representa-
tive men of this city, and has always taken a
prominent part in local politics. From 1895 *^°
1897 he was deputy county auditor, and from
that date until 1899 he served as city clerk.
In the fall of 1898 he was elected on the Re-
publican ticket to the office of county auditor,
a position which he still retains, being re-
elected in 1900.

In fraternal affiliations Mr. McLean is
identified with the F. & A. M. and the B. P.
O. E. He was married in A\'hite Cloud, Kan-
sas, June 8, 1887, to Miss Annie Pugsley, a
native of that town and state. They have two
children. Rachael and Gilbert.

OSC.\R C.\IN, prosecuting attorney of
Walla Walla county, is a native of Ringgold
county, Iowa, born ]\Iay 25, 1868. A\'hen he
was nine years old the family moved to lola,
Kansas, and here he grew to manhood and re-
ceived his education. Upon attaining the a£r°
of twenty-two he entered the law office of
Henry A. Ewing, under whose direction he
studied law for two years. He successfully
passed the e.xamination for admission to the

bar of that state, then came to Oregon, where
for a few months at first he engaged in school
teaching. In 1893 he removed to Dayton,
Washington, and opened an office for the prac-
tice of his profession, the firm being Hamm &
Cain. The next year, however, he came to
Walla A\'alla and in 1895 began the practice
of law here. The firm to which he belongs
at present is known as Pedigo & Cain. He
was elected in 1898 to the office of prosecut-
ing attorney of the county, and he has been
discharging the duties of that office with faith-
fulness, courage and ability ever since. For
many years he has been an active worker and
a leading spirit in all local affairs and conven-
tions, and he holds rank among the representa-
tive men of the county. He affiliates with the
Knights of Pvthias and the Eagles.

JOHN H. DANIELS, \\^alla Walla, is a
native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, born July
3, 1836. When about eleven years of age he
accompanied his parents around Cape Horn to
California. In 1859 he came to Walla Walla
and engaged in mining in various places trib-
utary to that city and in Idaho. He was one
of the earliest immigrants into the Florence
region, having walked there from Oro Fino at
a very early date, braving the severities of a
very rigorous winter. He followed the various
mining excitements until about 1870, then
opened a soda business at Walla Walla, the
first of its kind in the country. In 1889 he
sold out and made another trip into the Flor-
ence and Warrens mining regions, returning
in 1890. He then opened his present business.

Mr. Daniels is a typical pioneer, possessed
of the courage and resourcefulness which char-
acterizes that class of men. He is also very pro-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

301

gressive and public spirited, always taking an
active part in the promotion of every under-
taking for the public benefit, and donating lib-
erally of his means to all public institutions.
In social affiliations he is a member of the A.
O. U. W. He was married in Walla Walla,
in 1876, to Mrs. M. Seitel, nee Gholson, a na-
tive of Iowa. Mrs. Daniels was born in 1845,
and came to this county in i860, crossing the
plains with her father, Mr. Granville Gholson,
who settled at Frenchtown, below Walla
AValla, but some years later moved to a large
farm at Hudson. After remaining there
several years Mr. Gholson moved to Ritz Creek,
Washington, where he died in April, 1870.
Mrs. Daniels is quite an old resident of Walla
Walla, having lived there constantly since 1861.
Like JNIr. Daniels, she has a large circle of
friends.

Le F. A. SHAW.— It is beyond perad-
venture that practically all of the older com-
monwealths of the Union have representation
in the composite makeup of the population of
the great state of Washington, and among those
whom the historical old Bay state has granted
to the city of Walla Walla is the gentleman
whose name ii.troduces this paragraph and who
is one of our representative citizens, being a
pioneer of 1877. ^^- Shaw was born at Fall
River, Massachusetts, on the 7th of February,
1842, coming of staunch old New England
stock. At the age of fourteen he accompanied
his parents on their removal to St. Paul, Min-
nesota, where they remained four years, at the
expiration of which period they returned to
Fall River. Our subject received his educa-
tional discipline in the public schools, and upon
assuming the personal responsibilities of life
determined to seek his fortunes in the west.

Accordingly in the winter of 1864-5 '""^ set sail
for California, making the voyage by the
isthmus route and arriving in San Francisco
in the month of March, 1865. He continued
his residence in the California metropolis for
a period of four years, devoting his attention
primarily to work at his trade, that of sign
painter. In the fall of 1869 he removed to
Portland, Oregon, where he was for a time
engaged in the insurance business and where he
also held a clerkship in the United States cus-
tom house for a term of five years.

The summer of 1877 marks the date of Mr.
Shaw's arrival in the city of Walla Walla,
which has ever since been his home and the
scene of his successful endeavors. He had
resigned his position in Portland for the pur-
pose of accepting the office of deputy collector
of internal revenue for the eastern district of
Washington, which was as yet a territory.
This office he held for the term of four years,
with headcjuarters in Walla Walla, and in the
meantime he had determined to make the city
his permanent home. He had established him-
self in the fire-insurance business here, and in
this line of enterprise he has conducted a very
successful agency, representing a number of
the most reliable companies and controlling a
representative patronage as an underwriter.

Mr. Shaw has maintained a lively interest
in affairs of a public and political nature, hav-
ing ever given a stanch and unwavering al-
legiance' to the principles and policies of the
Republican party, in the local ranks of which
he has been an active worker. In 1881 he
was elected city clerk, in which capacity he
served consecutively for six years. He was the
incumbent as coroner of the county for a term
of two years, early in the '80s, and for the
term of 1895-6 held the responsible and exact-
ing office of countv clerk and clerk of the su-

302

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

perior court. In 1899 he was elected to the
office of city treasurer, of which office he is
the incumbent at the time of this writing, hav-
ing entered upon his second term.

In fraternal associations JNIr. Shaw holds
marked prestige, having manifested a lively
interest in the work of the various social or-
ganizations with which he is identified. He
has been a member of the Masonic order for
three decades, having advanced in the same
to the thirty-second degree of the Scottish
rite. His connection with the Independent Or-
der of Odd Fellows dates from 1866, and in
this fraternity he has attained positions of ut-
most distinction. He was grand secretary of
the grand lodge of the state for the long term
of twelve years, — from 1884 until 1896. He
was also for a long period the grand scribe
of the grand encampment of the order, and has
on several occasions been a representative to
the sovereign grand lodge. Other fraternal
organizations with which Mv. Shaw is identi-
fied are the Improved Order of Red Men, of
which he became a member in 1867; the
Knights of Pj-thias, the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks, the Ancient Order of
L^nited Workmen and the Fraternal Order of
Eagles. He is a past officer in most of these
organizations, being past great sachem of the
Red Men, and representative to the great coun-
cil of the United States. His genial personal-
ity and unflagging interest has given him an
unmistakable popularity in each of these fra-
ternities, and he is held in the highest esteem
in both business and social circles in tlie city.

Turning, in conclusion, to the domestic
chapter in the life of ^Ir. Shaw, we record
that in 1870, at Portland, Oregon, he was
united in marriage to Miss Florence A. Myers,
who died in 1874. In 1878 he consummated
a second marriage, being then united to Mrs.

Emma E. Kellogg, who presides with gracious
dignity over the attractive home, which is a
center of refined hospitality. Mr. Shaw has
two daughters, — Pearl F. and Ruby E.

CHARLES OTTMAR ROEDEL, cab-
inet-maker at 209 E. Alder street, a pioneer of
18S2, was born in Bavaria December 26, 1856.
He resided in his fatherland continuously un-
til about twenty-six years of age, receiving a
common and high-school education, also learn-
ir.g the trade of a cabinet-maker. In 1880 he
emigrated to the United States. Locating at
Louisville, Kentucky, he followed his trade
there for a year, but he afterwards went to
Denver, Colorado, and embarked in the fur-
niture business. He sold out nine months later,
and began an extensive tour in the search for
a location, visiting Las Vegas, New ]\Iexico,
El Paso, Texas, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Tuc-
son, Arizona, Fort Yuma and Los Angeles,
California, and other points. In 1882 he ended
his journeyings in \\'alla W^alla, where for the
ensuing three years he worked as a journe}--
man.

Mr. Roedel next tried the dairj- business in
Colville, \\'ashington, for six months, then
worked in a chair factory at Dayton for a year,
then worked about seven months in San Fran-
cisco, finally returning to Walla Walla, where
his home has since been. He has followed
cabinet-making constantly, and has the skill
which we would naturally expect to find in one
who has devoted the assiduous eft'orts of many
years to the pursuit of one calling. He is
doing business at present in company with Mr.
Keller, he being the senior partner of the firm.

Fraternally Mr. Roedel is identified with
the Knights of Pythias, the Royal Highlanders

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

303

and the German Maennerchor. Li religious
persuasion he is a Lutheran. He was married
in Spokane, on November 4, 1890, to Miss
Christina Leupold, a native of Bavaria, and
they have five children, Elfrieda, Roselinda,
Ottmar, Carl and Louis. Mr. Roedel is the
owner of some valuable city property, and of a
fine farm of one hundred and sixty acres,
which he took as a homestead.

CHARLES E. BURROWS, who retains
the responsible position of secretary and man-
ager of the Walla Walla Gas & Electric Com-
pany, whose offices are at 11 South Third
street, is a citizen contributed to Walla Walla
by the old Empire state, since the place of his
nativity was the city of Troy, New York,
where he was born on the 12th of January,
1828. He continued to reside in the state of
his birth until he had attained the age of twen-
ty-four years, receiving his elementary educa-
tion in the public schools, after which he pur-
sued a thorough academic course, laj^ing aside
his studies at the age of seventeen. He was
thereafter engaged for some time in the mer-
cantile business, after which he was employed
as deputy in the commissary department of the
Panama Railroad.

Mr. Burrows came to California in 1852
and was employed as bookkeeper in a jobbing
house at Sacramento until 1859, when he en-
gaged in the gas business in Yreka, in the same
state, continuing to reside there until 1864.
Having become thoroughly familiar with the
manufacturing of gas, he extended his scope
of operations in this line, building gas works
in Santa Cruz county, California, Seattle,
Washington, and Salem, Oregon.

Mr. Burrows' advent in Walla Walla dates

back to 1885, when he came hither and effected
the purchase of the gas works and also gave
the city one of its most valuable public im-
provements by building the electric works, sup-
plying both light and power. To this feature
of the city's equipment due reference will be
made in connection with the specific descrip-
tion of its status.

Li his religious adherency our subject is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and fraternally he is identified with the Lide-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, of which he
became a member in 1851 while residing in
New York.

At Yreka, California, in the year 1S61,
Mr. Burrows was united in marriage to Miss
Frances S. Wadsworth, who is a descendant
of the historic Wadsworth of Charter Oak
fame in New England. Our subject and his
wife have four living children, namely : Mary
E. ; Ella F. ; Charles E., who is a clerk in the
gas office; and Albert J., who went to Manila
as a member of Company I, and who is now
holding a clerkship in the office of the gas
company.

CHRISTOPHER ENNIS, president of
the Walla Walla Dressed Meat Company, is a
pioneer of •1870. Ireland is the land of his
nativity, and he is about fifty-five years of age.
When eighteen he emigrated to America, lo-
cating in Pennsylvania, where he resided for
about seven years. From that state he came
direct to Walla Walla. He secured employment
from Dooley & Kirkman in their meat mar-
ket business, and remained with them for the
ensuing five years, finally quitting their service
to enter a like business for himself, ^^^len the
present firm was formed he became identified
with it, and in 1895 he was elected to the presi-

304

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

dency. Mr. Ennis is a man of unusual ex-
ecutive and business ability, as is evinced by the
success which has attended his efforts in the
management of everything he has undertaken
since coming to Walla Walla. He is now in
very comfortable circumstances, being the
owner of between four thousand and five thou-
sand acres of land, as well as other valuable
property.

Mr. Ennis' fraternal affiliations are with
the A. O. U. W. He was married in Walla
Walla, in 1877, to Miss Annie McManamon,
a native of Iowa, and their union has been
blessed by the advent of ten children, namely :
Frank, Mary, Thomas, Adelia, Matthew,
Christopher, Katie. Alice and ^Margaret, living ;
and John, deceased.

HON. THOMAS HURLEY BRENTS,
one of the most distinguished lawyers and
legislators of the Pacific northwest, is a native
of Florence, Pike county, Illinois, born De-
cember 24, 1840. He came of sturdy pioneer
stock, his parents having been among the first
settlers of Sangamon county, Illinois, and hav-
ing borne an important part in its early develop-
ment and history. In 1852 the family crossed
the plains Avith ox-teams to Clackamas county,
Oregon, where for the second time in life they
engaged in the arduous occupation of sub-
duing the soil of an untamed wilderness. In
1865 Judge Brents' last surviving relative on
the coast, his mother, died, and he was left to
work out his destiny alone. He worked on a
farm in summer, battling with the difficulties
of a general educational course during the win-
ter months and thus, in spite of many obstacles,
laying the foundation for success and useful-
ness in after life. He availed himself of the

advantages afforded by the common schools of
his neighborhood, and by the Baptist College,
a I Oregon City, by Portland Academy and by
McMinnville College. For a while during his
student days at Oregon City he earned his board
by packing flour for the noted Dr. John Mc-
Laughlin, the celebrated Hudson's Bay Com-
pany agent, who had a flour mill in that town.

In i860 failing health compelled him to
leave school, so he came to the Klickitat val-
ley, Washington Territory. In the fall he
went to the Yakima valley, where he herded
cattle all winter, reading law by camp-fire at
night. The next winter he came to Walla
Walla valley with a herd of cattle, but in the
spring of 1862 he made a trip through snow
and over well nigh impassable roads to the
Powder river mines. Coming for supplies to
the site of the present Pendleton, Oregon, in
June, he there cast his first ballot, voting for
Addison C. Gibbs for governor, John R. Mc-
Bride for congress and other Union-Republican
candidates. He then went to the John Day
mines, and with Napoleon F. Nelson established
a pony express between Canyon City and The
Dalles, and he rode fearlessly over this route
for about a year, despite the fact that it was
beset by hostile Indians and highwaymen.

Judge Brents and his five partners built the
first log cabin in Canyon City at this time. He
was appointed justice of the peace and first
postmaster of the town, and also has the honor
of having served as captain of the loyalists
during the Canyon City rebellion. At the or-
ganization of Grant county he was appointed
county clerk, and from that time forth he be-
came an efficient factor in the political history
of the west. He was a member of the Oregon
State Republican convention of 1866, and in
June of the same year was elected to the state
legislature, where he supported the fourteenth

THOMAS H. BRENTS.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

305

amendment to the national constitution. In
September, 1866, he was admitted to practice
in the supreme court of Oregon, being a mem-
ber of the same class with Binger Hermann,
Cyrus A. Dolph and others who have since
won renown. He began practice in San Fran-
cisco, where, on August 10, 1868, he was mar-
ried to Miss Isabel McCown, whose father
and brothers are so well and favorably known
in Oregon and Washington.

In September, 1870, Judge Brents located
in Walla Walla, and since that date the city
and county have had the benefit of his presence
and leadership. In 1872 he was one of the
Republican candidates for the legislature, but,
though running away ahead of his ticket, he
was defeated, the county at that time being
Democratic. In 1878 he was elected delegate
to congress'. He was renominated and re-
elected in 1880, and again in 1882, each time
by largely increased, majorities. He served
as a member of the committee on postoffices
end post roads, and on public lands, obtaining
appropriations for improvement of the Cowlitz,
Chehalis, Skagit, Nooksack, Stillaguamish,
Snohomish and Snoqualmie rivers, for the es-
tablishment of light houses at Sandy Point,
Robinson Point, and at Gray's Harbor and on
Destruction Island, and for the construction of
the Port Townsend custom house, and he also
secured the opening of over three million acres
of Indian reservation lands for settlement, the
making of Seattle and Tacoma sub-ports of
entry, and the passage of much other valuable
legislation. His abilities as a constructive
statesman, and his commendable superior-
ity to mere localism, were Avell appreciated
by the voting public, and secured him sev-
eral ofYers of renomination to the highest
office in the gift of the territory, but for
different reasons he has declined them ail.

He was, however, a delegate to the Chica-
go national convention in 1880, and took a
prominent part in the deliberations of that
noted body, helping to secure the Chinese re-
striction plank in the Republican platform of
that year. He is a very convincing and influ-
ential campaign speaker, and has taken the
slump in every important campaign for many
years with telling effect.

In 1885 the law firm of Anders, Brents &
Clark was formed. They practiced together
until 1889, when Judge Anders was elected to
the supreme bench. The firm then became
Brents & Clark, and so continued until, in 1896,
the senior partner was elected to the superior
judgeship of the county. He was re-elected in
1900, receiving the largest majority ever given
any candidate in the county. Judge Brents is
displaying the same breadth of mind and
power of discrimination on the bench which
characterized him as a legislator, and is dis-
charging his duties with great ability and fair-
ness. He and Mrs. Brents became the parents-
of nine children, namely: Herman M., How-
ard M., Mildred, Norman M., Seldon M. and
Thomas H., deceased, and Myrtle I., Mabelle
and Helen D., living.

JOHN A. CAMERON, agent at Spofford
for the Pacific Coast Elevator Company, is a
native of Walla Walla county, born on the
paternal homestead, three miles south of Walla
Walla, January 31, 1864. He received such
education as the public schools of that period
afforded, then turned his attention to farming.
In 1885 he bought a farm of three hundred
and twenty acres in Umatilla county, Oregon,
in the vicinity of Pendleton, and for five years
thereafter he was a tiller of the soil there. In

3o6

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

1890, however, he sold out and returned to
Walla Walla, where the following year he was
given a position as guard in the state peniten-
tiary. He soon was promoted to the post of
■deputy warden.

In 1896 Mr. Cameron severed his connec-
tion with the official management of that insti-
tution, and in 1897, in company with Dr. C.
B. Stewart, he went to Alaska to try his for-
tunes in the Eldorado of the north. He en-
gaged in freighting from Skagway and Lake
Bennet, employing in his business eight horses
and a dog team. He also gave a portion of his
time and attention to prospecting in the Atlin
mining region, where he still has a good claim.
Returning to' Walla Walla in November, 1899,
he, a few months later, accepted a position as
agent for the Pacific Coast Elevator Company
at Spofford, and he has been in their employ
ever since. ^Ir. Cameron is one of the sub-
stantial and thoroughly reliable men of the
county, and enjoys the esteem and good will
of his neighbors generally. He is an active
worker in the Republican party, and cjuite a
leader in its campaigns. He was married in
Walla Walla to Ella, a daughter . of Daniel
and Margaret Stewart, and like her husband
a native of Walla Walla.

THOMAS TAYLOR, electrical engineer,
a pioneer of 18S7, was born in England, on
April 9, 1849. When ten years old, he eni-
barked as cabin boy in the merchant marine
service, and he continued to follow the sea
for sixteen years thereafter, advancing through
the various grades until he became captain. He
spent nine )'ears in the Chinese and Japanese
trade, then served as a joiner aboard the Great

Eastern, the largest vessel ever built, in the lay-
ing of the French Atlantic cable. During his
long experience as a sailor he visited France,
Spain, Italy, Egypt, Turkey, Russia, Norway,
Sweden, Germany, St. Vincent island, the Cape
of Good Hope, Madagascar, Bombay. Aden,
China, Japan, the Philippine islands, Sumatra,
Borneo, Australia and numerous other places.
He was wrecked three times : first off Dunge-
ness, caused by a collision with a steamer;
next off the north coast of England, where he
was rescued by a life saving crew, and lastly
on a reef near Fern Island, where the father
of the noted heroine, Grace Darling, served as
lighthouse keeper.

After leaving the sea Mr. Taylor sailed for
two years as second mate on the Great Lakes,
then went into contracting in the' business of
loading and unloading vessels at Racine, Wis-
consin. Four years were spent thus, then for
five years he was employed by the J. I. Case
machine shops as superintendent. He was
sent by them to take charge of their business
in Spokane, but shortly afterward was moved
to Walla Walla to assume the management of
their branch house here. When, some
eighteen months later, the ^^'alla \\'alla Gas
and Electric Company was formed he accepted
a position with them, and except for about
twelve months he was in their service contin-
uously for the ensuing twelve years. When he
first entered their employ, they had a thirty
horse-power engine, but before he left they
used in their business, 1165 horse-power, con-
sisting o"f water, electricity and steam. All the
machinery for this large plant he, as chief en-
gineer, had to put in place and get ready for
operation. For about eighteen month from
October. 1898. he was engaged as general
electrician in Walla Walla, but, in April, 1899,
he assumed the managership of the Milton,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

307

Oregon, electric plant, which position he still
holds.

Mr. Taylor has been a very successful man
both on the sea and as a contractor and en-
gineer. He possesses remarkable mechanical
ability and skill, so that his services are in de-
mand wherever, in this section of the country,
intricate electrical plants are to be established.
In fraternal affiliations he is a Forrester and
Red Man. He was married in Clinton, On-
tario, in April, 1878, to Miss Enuna J.
Rundle, a Cornish lady, who, when a girl,
worked five years in a copper mine in England.
They have six children, Richard T., Ethel,
Edward J., Mattie E., Alice M. and Alfred O.

DANIEL BURR, a farmer whose resi-
dence in this county dates back to 1886, was
born in Mercer, Maine, on May 6, 1839. He
acquired his education in the public schools and
in a private high school, then went to work on
his father's farm, remaining until he was nine-
teen years of age. He then went to Worcester,
Massachusetts, and worked on a farm for a
season, but later returned to New Sharon,
Maine, bought a farm, and, with his mother,
followed farming for about ten years. But in
1868 he sold this place and moved onto an-
other which he had purchased in the same lo-
cality.

After farming this for about seven years
Mr. Burr removed to Franklin county, same
state, where he continued in agricultural pur-
suits until, in 1886, he came to this county.
Purchasing a farm on Dry creek, seven miles
northwest of Walla Walla, he resumed his
former occupation, adding to his real estate
holdings a half-section of railroad land pur-
-chased later. In 1 899 he sold all this property.

however, and the following 3-ear purchased
thiree hundred and twenty acres near Rulo
Station, where he now resides, and on which
he is raising wheat.

Mr. Burr has the distinction of having
served as a soldier in the Civil Avar, having
enlisted in Company K, Twenty-eighth Maine
Volunteer Infantry, in September, 1862. He
participated in the Mississippi campaign, en-
countering many dangers, especially in one ex-
pedition after wounded men. His principal
duty, however, was to serve as escort guard
and provost guard, also to prevent the carry-
ing of contraband articles by a bayou to the
Confederates. His father and grandfather also
served in the war of the Rebellion and his
great-grandfather was a captain in the Revo-
lutionary war. Mr. Burr was married in New
Sharon, Maine, on June 13, 1867, to Miss Han-
nah G. Paine, one of his schoolmates. They
have four children, Mary E., Sarah P., John
F. and Nettie.

ALLEN H. REYNOLDS.— As a promi-
nent member of the bar of Walla ^^'alla coun-
ty, as a representative of one of the honored
pioneer families of the city of Walla Walla,
of which he is a native son, it is peculiar!}^
compatible that in this compilation be given
a resume of the genealogical and personal his-
tory of him whose name initiates this para-
graph.

Mr. Reynolds, who is the senior member
of the firm of Reynolds & Gillis, attorneys
at law, with offices in the Reynolds building,
^Valla \A^alla, was born in this city on the
24th of January, 1869, the son of Almos H.
and Lettice J. Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds has
passed his entire life in his native city, his pre-
liminary educational discipline being received

3o8

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

in a private sciiool conducted by Rev. P. B.
Chamberlain. He later matriculated in Whit-
man College, in this city, completing a course
of study and then entering the law department
of Boston University, where he graduated as
a member of the class of 1893. Returning to
Walla Walla he entered upon the active prac-
tice of his profession, being associated at this
time with W. H. Kirkman. Later he was for
a time in partnership with his brother, Harry
A., but in the spring of 1900 he entered into
a professional alliance with his present asso-
ciate, Andrew J. Gillis. The firm are building
up a large and representative practice.

Mr. Reynolds has charge of the affairs of
tlie family estate, is treasurer of Whitman
College and a member of its board of trustees.
He is vice-president of the First National
bank and is a member of the executive com-
mittee of the Farmers' Savings bank, while
he holds much valuable realty in the city and
county. On the 7th of November, 1894, Mr.
Reynolds was united in marriage to Miss
Fannv Kirkman, daughter of William H. and
Isabella Kirkman, well known residents of
Walla ^^'alla, where ]\Irs. Reynolds was born.
Our subject and his wife are the parents of
two children, William Allen, and Almos, the
former of whom was born November 19, 1895,
and the latter Alay 19, 1898.

LORENZO A. DAVIS, one of the ener-
getic and progressive farmers and business
men of the vicinity of Walla Walla, is a na-
tive of Indiana, born February 26, 1853. His
education was received in the state of Wiscon-
sin, whither his parents moved when he was
about four years old. At the age of eighteen
he set out for the west, and finally located in

the vicinity of \\'alla Walla, where he has re-
sided almost continuously since. He has al-
wa3-s been a true friend of his neighborhood,
and has ever manifested a willingness to do his
full share for the general welfare. He is iden-
tified with Columbia Lodge, No. 26, F. & A.
M., and with the F. O. E. He was married in
Walla Walla, in 1878, to Miss Ida Pettibone,
a native of that city, and they are parents of
one son, Cyrus A.

Mr. Davis' father, Cyrus, a native of Ver-
mont, was born May 3, 1827, is both a glass-
blower and a stone cutter, having learned those
handicrafts in early youth. He followed
stone-work in Ohio and Wisconsin until 1871,
when he came out to \\'alla Walla, and pur-
chased what is now known as the Davis ranch.
He later purchased land on Whisky creek, and
engaged quite extensively in stock-raising and
general farming. In 1883, however, he moved
to Pataha City and in 1888 to Dayton, where
he now resides. He is one of the best known
and most highly esteemed of the early pio-
neers, and deserves an honored place among
those who have laid the foundations of our
western civilization.

THEADORE H. JESSUP, of the real es-
tate firm of Worth & Jessup, has long been
prominent in the civil administration of Walla
Walla county. He was born in Indiana July
29, 1848, but received his education in Polk
county, Iowa, his father 'having moved there
when he was four years old. For a number
of years after leaving school he followed farm-
ing as an occupation. In 1878, however, he
came out to this county, located at Waitsburg,
and engaged in the butcher business. In 1883
he accepted a position as clerk for E. L. Powell,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

309

by whom he was employed for the ensuing
three years. He was appointed postmaster un-
der Cleveland's first administration, and filled
that ofHce with credit to himself for a period
of four years, after which he then accepted an-
other clerical position.

In 1894 Mr. Jessup was elected county as-
sessor, but on the expiration of his term he
again became a clerk, and so remained until
1896, when he was asked to accept a deputy-
ship under County Assessor William Gholson.
In 1898 he moved to Walla Walla and opened
a real estate office in the quarters now occupied
by the firm of which he is a member.

Mr. Jessup is one of the most highly es-
teemed of the citizens of Walla Walla county,
and enjoys the entire confidence and hearty
good will of all who know him. He is a very
active man in fraternal circles, being identified
with the A. O. U. W., the I. O. O. F. and the
F. & A. M. On April 18, 1867, he married
Miss Sophronia M. Olds, a native of Ohio,
and they now have three children living, name-
ly: Anna B., wife of W. C. Roach, of Seattle;
Mary L., wife of J. W. McLean, of Waits-
burg; and Lethia Burrel Clare. The names
of the deceased children are Frank, Edward and
Lizzie.

MRS. EMELINE J. MABRY, of Walla
Walla, widow of Thomas Mabry, was born in
Ontario, Canada, April 11, 1839. Her father,
Stephen M. Herrett, was a courier for the Brit-
ish government in the war of 18 12. She ac-
quired her education in the public schools of
her native land, remaining there until twenty-
eight years old, when she moved to Detroit,
Michigan. Here she met and married Mr.
John Clement, with whom she came to Rich-
mond, Illinois. Thev followed the shoe busi-

ness there and in Osage, Iowa, for about six
years, then tried the same line in Carthage,
Missouri, but soon returned to Bedford, Iowa,
where, for a number of years afterwards, they
combined their former occupation with farm-
ing, Mrs. Clement superintending operations
on the place, while Mr. Clement followed his
trade in town.

They afterwards pursued the same dual oc-
cupation in Beloit, Kansas, but losing heavily
in the grasshopper scourge, they at length de-
cided to come west. They were in business
in Oregon about two years, after which they
came to this valley, via the old portage route.
Mr. Clement died here in 1880, and for a few
years afterwards Mrs. Clement had some very
trying experiences, but her stamina and energy
enabled her to triumph over all adverse cir-
cumstances. In 1 88 1, she rented the place in
which she now lives for the purpose of keeping
boarders, also pre-empted one hundred and'
sixty acres twelve miles north of the city. By
paying some cash and trading this land in as
part payment, she obtained title to her present
home in 1885, but it was quite heavily en-
cumbered, and after only one payment had been
made, her second husband, Mr. Mabry, whom
she had married in 1884, died, and she was left
to struggle with heavy debts alone. Despite
the prophesies of her friends, however, she suc-
ceeded in meeting her payments ; indeed she has
also added wing after wing to the original
house, until it has become one of the most com-
fortable and best equipped residences in the
city. She might well retire now, but is too
ambitious and active to care for a life of idle-
ness.

]\Irs. Mabry is un enthusiastic Christian
Scientist, and she has good reason to be. having
been restored to health through the agency of
that faith after being gi\'en up by the physi-

3IO

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY,

cians. Slie had a cancerous growth on her left
cheek, which defied all treatment until she put
her case in the hands of the Christian Science
healers, after which it, and all attendant ail-
ments, quickly disappeared.

Mr. Alaliry, her last husband, was one of
the well known and highly esteemed business
men of Walla Walla, and when he died in 1886,
his loss was mourned by all who knew him.
He was a prominent member of the local lodge,
I. O. O. F.

ALMOS H. REYNOLDS was born in Ma-
drid. St. Lawrence county, New York, on the
2 1st of October, 1808, being the son of Nicho-
las Re}'nolds, who was a native of the state of
Vermont, and who was a millwright by trade.
i\fter a temporary residence in several locali-
ties the family removed to Aurora, Erie coun-
ty, New York, where Almos was reared and
educated, becoming a millwright by occupation,
having" learned the trade under the direction of
his father. In the year 1838, he removed to
the west, residing for a time in Illinois, whence
he moved to Iowa. He was a resident of
Davenport, the latter state for the greater por-
tion of the time up to the year 1850, when he
made his way across the plains to California.
In the succeeding year he crossed the mountains
to Oregon, and here he devoted his attention to
mill building.

In ]\Iay, 1859, Mr. Reynolds became a resi-
dent of ^A'al]a AA'alla and with the upbuilding
and progress of the Garden City his name was
most conspicuously identified, and here he con-
tinued to make his home until his death, which
occurred on the 21st of April, 1889. He was
a man of strictest integrity in all the relations
of life, was endowed with market business and
executive ability, and was signally successful

in temporal affairs, being known and recog-
nized as one of the leading citizens of the
county, wdiere he was held in the highest esteem
as one of the valued and honored pioneers of
this state. He erected many mills throughout
the territory of Washington, two of thenn in
the immediate vicinity of Walla Walla. He
also built, and for se\'eral years owned, the
woolen mills at Dayton, now the county seat
of Columbia county. He was associated with
Dr. J. H. Day in the establishing of the first
banking business in Walla Walla, the same be-
ing a private institution, conducted under the
firm name of Reynolds & Day. He later be-
came one of the principal stockholders of the
First National bank, in whose organization he
was largely instrumental. He was public-
spirited and ever maintained a lively interest in
all that conserved the progress and substantial
upbuilding of the city and county where he
passed many years of a useful and honorable
life.

The marriage of Mr. Reynolds was solem-
nized on the 23d of May, 1861, when he was
united to Miss Lettice J. Clark, nee Millican,
the widow of Ransom Clark, who first crossed
the plains to Oregon with Fremont, in 1S43.
Mrs. Clark was a resident of Walla Walla at
the time of her marriage to ]\Ir. Reynolds, and
this city still continues to be her home. She
is held in the highest esteem as one of the ven-
erable pioneers of the county. By her mar-
riage to Mr. Clark she became the mother of
three cliildren, — Charles, born August 29,
1846; William, April 9, 1857; and Lizzie, Au-
gust 19, 1859. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds became
the parents of two sons, — Harry A., who was
born October 14, 1863, and who is now one of
tlie prosperous agriculturists of the county : and
Allen H., of wdiom more extended mention is
elsewhere made.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

3ir

GEORGE S]^L\ILS, a pioneer of 1862,
was born in W^est Virginia, April 27, 1838.
His education, however, was acquired in Illi-
nois, to which state his parents moved when he
was six years old. He accompanied the fam-
ily to Iowa in 1854, and followed farming in
that state for a few years, but in 1862 he set
out across the plains with ox-teams. Reaching
Walla Walla in due time, he purchased one hun-
dred and sixty acres six miles south of the town,
and again engaged in farming, buying more
land at a later date. In 1883, he disposed of
his holdings, moved into Walla Walla, and en-
gaged in a hotel and livery business. He it
was who built the Exchange hotel, of which he
was proprietor until 1888. Shortly afterward
he received an appointment as a member of the
city police force. For the ensuing ten years,
he served as such officer, invariably performing
his duties conscientiously, and with skill and
dispatch. He has been living in comparative
retirement for the past few years.

Mr. Smails is a very public-spirited man,
and has alwa3's donated liberally to every de-
serving public enterprise of both his money and
his time.' His fraternal affiliations are with
the F. O. E. He was married in Iowa, in
1858, to ]\Iiss Mary E. Harvey, a native of that
state, and to them have been born six children,
Nancy, now Mrs. Felix Warren, Sarah, now
Mrs. John Knifong, of Colfax, John F., in busi-
ness in Walla Walla, Harvey, also in business
in Walla Walla, Robert E., in business at
Lewiston, Idaho, and Bettie, wife of Frank
Strong, of Spokane.

WTNFIELD S. OFFNER, who is at the
head of one of the leading commercial enter-
prises of the city of Walla ^\'alla, where he

conducts an extensive business as a wholesale
dealer in fruit and produce, is a native of St.
Joseph, Missouri, where he was born in the
year 1847. He grew up under the sturdy and
invigorating discipline of the farm, under the
guidance of his grandparents, his father and
mother having both died in his infancy. His
educational advantages were those afforded by
the public schools, which he was enabled to at-
tend somewhat irregularly.

In 1864, when but seventeen years of age,
he started across the plains with a party, the
transportation equipment being that afforded
by ox-teams. They had reached a point near
Fort Kearney, Nebraska, when the Indians
captured the train, killing several of the party
and burning the wagons. Those who escaped
were compelled to return to their starting place.
In 1866 our subject made a second attempt,
being on this occasion successful in reaching
Denver with an ox train, transporting freight.
In the succeeding year Mr. Offner again start-
ed out with an ox train from St. Joseph and
in due course of time arrived safely in Sac-
ramento, California. He remained in the
Golden state for a period of four years, after
which he returned to Missouri for a sojourn
of two years, was then again in California
four years, finally returning through the Chero-
kee strip to his native state, thence again to
California in 1877, where he remained until
the following year, in November of the same
being united in marriage to Miss Frances E.
Abbott, who accompanied him on his trip to
Walla Walla in the following month.

The young couple took up land in the
Ritzville country, where our subject put in one
crop, which failed, whereupon he abandoned
his claim and returned to Walla Walla, which
has ever been the field of his well directed and
successful operations. Here he engaged in

312

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

fruit growing and shipping, an enterprise
which he has developed from modest propor-
tions until it is now one of wide scope and un-
mistakable importance. He has one hundred
acres of fine fruit orchard, the principal prod-
ucts of which are apples, prunes and pears, of
•which he raises the finest varieties, shipping to
the leading markets of the Union. His farm,
which is located one-half mile west of the city
limits, is one of the best in a section noted
for its unexcelled productiveness as a fruit-
growing country. Here he employs in the sea-
son from fifty to sixty persons, and his business
is one that has unmistakable influence on the
commercial precedence of the city of Walla
W^alla. Mr. Offner's prominence in his line of
industry may be understood more clearly when
it is stated that he has held for the past six
years, or since the inception of the organiza-
tion, the office of treasurer of the Northwest
Fruit Growers' Association, whose province
includes Oregon. A\"ashington, Idaho, Mon-
tana and British Columbia.

In his religious proclivities Mr. Offner ad-
heres to the faith of the Cumberland Presby-
terian church, of which he is a consistent mem-
ber, while fraternally he is identified with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the
Ancient Order of United Workmen.

Mr. and Mrs. Offner became the parents of
five children : Chester R. ; Myrtle, deceased ;
Lelah ; Winnie, and the baby, as yet unnamed.

HON. HENRY PERRY ISAACS.—
Every age and section has its beacon lights, men
who rise above the general level of their kind as
the mountain peak exceeds in loftiness the ex-
tensive plateau at its base. The forms in which
this transcendent abilitv manifests itself are

man}' and \-arious, but in a new country great
and unusual native power generally finds its
field of activity in material lines, enabling its
possessor to project and promote enterprises
of broad design and far-reaching import. In
the qualities which characterize these geniuses
of action, these giants of industrial achieve-
ment, few men can stand beside the Hon. H.
P. Isaacs, whose activity and success in pro-
moting the material development of the section
in which he had chosen his home was such as
to justify the statement that "to some extent
the history of Henry Perry Isaacs is the history
of southeastern ^^'ashington and northeastern
Oregon." He certainly stands pre-eminent
among the men who have made the states of
\\'ashington, Oregon and Idaho what they are
to-day.

Our subject was born in Philadelphia INIarch
17, 1822. In his veins mingled together in
equal proportions were the blood of the hard-
headed English race and of the sturdy and
indomitable Scot. After receiving a common-
school education he entered the employ of a
.large mercantile house in Philadelphia, there
securing an insight into business methods which
proved of inestimable value in later years.
WHien twenty-one years old he remo\-ed to In-
diana with the double end in view of seeing
something of the outside country and of trying
his hand in a general merchandise business of
his own, thus testing his qualifications for in-
dependent enterprise in the commercial world.
What the outcome of this first venture was we
are not informed, but of this we are certain
that the trip to Indiana and a later journey to
New Orleans enabled him to realize the real
magnitude of the west and south and perhaps
had an important influence on his later career.

\^'e find him a few 3'ears later en route to
the Pacific coast, the immediate lure which in-

HENRY PERRY ISAACS.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

313

duced him westward being the California gold
excitement. He was not especially successful
in his mining ventures, but he saw a land of
promise and his broad, clear vision enabled him
to perceive clearly the true situation.

In 1858 Mr. Isaacs gave substantial testi-
mony to his faith in the agricultural possibil-
ities of the country by erecting at Fort Col-
ville, Washington, his first flouring mill. He
demonstrated to the farmers that wheat could
be produced profitably on the hills and uplands
which in those early days had been given over
to stock-raising, the supposition being that
bunch grass was all that would grow in any
abundance on them.

In 1862 he built the North Pacific mills at
Walla Walla, Washington; in 1864 he erected
the War Eagle mills at Boise City, Idaho; in
1865 the Middleton mills at Middleton, Idaho;
in 1883 the North Pacific mills "B" at Pres-
cott, Washington, and in 1898 the North Pa-
cific mills "C" at Wasco, Oregon. His large
experience in milling made him the foremost
miller on the Pacific coast ; his knowledge of
the manufacture and handling of flour became
proverbial and he was recognized as an author-
ity on all matters pertaining thereto. The
enormous output of his splendid milling system
found a market in the Orient, much of it going
to China. Mr. Isaacs was the first miller on
the Pacific coast to adopt the roller system,
the modern process of milling, his first rolls
(of porcelain) being imported from Switzer-
land in 1877.

"Outside of milling circles, however, ]Mr.
Isaacs was best known for his public spirit.
After demonstrating the possibilities of wheat
raising he proceeded to blaze the way for the
fruit-grower by setting out one of the first or-
chards in the vicinity of Walla Walla, in 1864,

and later a vineyard. From this beginning he
proceeded to successful experiments with al-
most every variety of fruit and vegetable grown
in the north temperate zone. He was an espe-
cial devotee to progress in agriculture and horti-
culture, and gave liberally of his time and
m.oney to this cause."

Neither did Mr. Isaacs neglect to take a
place of leadership in political matters. He
represented Walla Walla county in the terri-
torial council of 1885-6, at which session he
introduced the bill establishing the state peni-
tentiary at Walla Walla.

"Mr. Isaacs was the first to attempt to in-
duce G. W. Hunt to try the construction of
the Washington & Columbia river line from
Dayton to Wallula, and thence to Pendleton,
and the line Avas successfully built and op-
erated. He was the president of the Commer-
cial Club at the time, and used every effort to
secure the early construction of the road. He
lived to see it in a prosperous condition, op-
erating with good stock and making money for
the stockholders, as well as serving the farmers
of a large stretch of country."

"But few other men in all Washington
have become so thoroughly conversant with the
state, with all its varied interests, or were so
much enthused with the success of its enter-
prises as Mr. Isaacs ; and but few men have
been permitted to take so active a part in the
development of the section of country in which
he had chosen his home."

In the passing of Mr. Isaacs, which oc-
curred July 14, 1900, the state of Wash-
ington, and in fact the entire Pacific north-
west, lost a citizen of inestimable value, a true
and sincere friend of progress and a man
v.'hose cherished aspirations were to promote
their highest and best welfare.

ii4

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

JAY H. HALL, deceased, a pioneer of
1886, was born in Smith county, Virginia, on
September 5, 1832. He received his education
in a pubHc school of that state, then worked
on his father's farm until nineteen years of
age, when he went to Tennessee and engaged
in farming on his own account. When the
war broke out he removed to Irving, Kentucky,
and he was engaged in running a ferry across
the river at that point as long as hostilities
lasted. He did an excellent business notwith-
standing the fact that he conveyed many sol-
diers across the river, from whom he received
no recompense.

After the war Mr. Hall went back to Clay-
burn county, Tennessee, where he had a farm.
He remained there until 1884, then removed to
Brown county, Texas, where for some time he
was engaged in raising oats, cotton and corn.
Subsequently, however, he removed fo Port-
land, Oregon, whence, the next spring, he came
to the \A'alla Walla valley. After prospecting
for land for almost the entire summer, he
finally purchased three hundred acres of land
on the Touchet river, two miles north of
Touchet station, and he was engaged in farm-
ing this until his death, which occurred June 10,
1899.

Air. Hall was one of the good, substantial
citizens of the county, and while he never
seemed to care for any office and displayed
no ambition to be a leader among his fellow
men, he was universally respected as a man of
integrity and worth. He was married in Clay-
burn county, Tennessee, on November 15,
1847, to Miss Eliza Nunn, a native of that
county and state, and to their union were born
thirteen children, eight of whom are living,
namely : Thomas and John, with their mother ;
William, on a farm on the Touchet river; J.
H., Jr., a cotton planter in Arkansas; Amanda

B., wife of Albert Burns; Lucinda, now Mrs.
Herbert Hanson; Mollie, wife of Allen Burns,
of Echo, Oregon ; and Sally, wife of William
Rand, of Wallula, Washington.

ELLSWORTH E. SHAW, M. D.— Num-
bered among the representative and success-
ful physicians of Walla Walla is Dr. Shaw,
who has been a resident of this city since
1888. Dr. Shaw is a native of the old Pine
Tree state, having been born in Palmyra,
Maine, in the year 1859. His initial educa-
tional discipline was secured in the public
schools, after which he matriculated in Bow-
doin College and subsequently in Dartmouth,
where he completed a course in the medical
department, graduating with the degree of
Doctor of Medicine, in the year 1884. He has
still farther reinforced his professional train-
ing by a post-graduate course in the Bellevue
Hospital Medical College, in New York city.

Dr. Shaw began the practice of his profes-
sion in Fort Fairfield, Maine, where he con-
tinued to reside for a period of five years,
when he determined to avail himself of the
superior opportunities afforded in the west.
Accordingly, in 1888, he came to Walla Walla,
as has been before mentioned. The Doctor
is a member of the State Medical Society, the
Inland Empire Medical Society and the Ore-
gon Medical Society, while in his fraternal re-
lations he is identified with the Independent
Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks. He has maintained
a constant interest in the public affairs of a
local nature and is at the present time a di-
rector of the public library, being chairman of
the board.

The marriage of the Doctor was solem-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

315

nized in Lawrence, ^Massachusetts, in 1885,
when he was united to Miss Mary Felker.
Their home is at 222 Jones street.

HON. JAMES :McAULIFF, a pioneer of
1859, was born on the island of Malta, May
25, 1828. In 1842 he came with his parents to
the United States, locating with them in
Youngstown, New York. When Mr. McAuliff
became seventeen, he enlisted in the United
States army, as a musician, and before long he
found himself in active service in the Mexi-
can war. He participated in the battles of Vera
Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Churubusco, and
in numerous skirmishes, and was active at the
storming of Chepultepec and the taking of the
City of Mexico, serving in the Second United
States Infantry. At the close of hostilities he
was sent to Fort Hamilton, New York harbor,
whence, shortly afterward, his regiment was
ordered to Benicia, California, but he with
others was transferred and sent to Governor's
Island, for assignment. He was assigned to
Company K, Fourth Infantry, and sent to Fort
Gratiot, Michigan, remaining there from that
time until 1852, when his regiment was or-
dered to the Pacific coast. He remained in Van-
couver Barracks for a time, eventually going
tl:ence to The Dalles, Oregon, where in 1855
Mr. McAuliff was honorably discharged, with
the rank of first duty sergeant. During the
Mexican war he was twice wounded. The first
was a saber cut on the left shoulder received
in a hand to hand contest with four Mexicans,
while he was carrying dispatches, and the sec-
ond was a gun-shot wound received in a street
fight at the taking of the City of Mexico.

After retiring from the army our subject
opened a general merchandise store in The

Dalles, which was maintained until 1861. In
1859 he opened a branch store in Walla Walla,
near which city he had some time before par-
ticipated in the famous four-days' fight at
Whitman Station, in which three hundred and
fifty volunteers under Lieutenant-Colonel
James K. Kelly were surrounded by thousands
of Indians. They suffered great hardships
during this memorable campaign, at one time
being compelled to live on horse-flesh alone for
three weeks.

Mr. McAuliff maintained the store in Walla
Walla until 1862, though twice burned out
prior to that time without insurance. The next
year he opened a general merchandise store
ir Idaho City, but this also was burned out in
1865, proving a total loss. Misfortunes of
one kind and another followed him for years
after. In 1883 he opened a lumber yard in
Walla Walla which was supplied by a large mill
owned by him in the Blue mountains, twen-
ty-three miles south of town. The mill was
burned and four hundred and fifty thousand
feet of lumber, the loss being about six thou-
sand five hundred dollars, none of which was
covered by insurance. He sent a pack train to
the Kootenai mines in 1875, loaded with five
thousand dollars worth of merchandise, all of
which, except a case of gum boots, was lost in
the Snake river by the overturning of a ferry.
His great energy and business ability were,
however, such as to enable him to, in large
measure, defy misfortune, and he has done well
financialljr in spite of disaster.

For years Mr. iNIcAuliff has been a very
prominent man in political affairs of cit}', coun-
ty and state. From 1862 to 1867 he held the
office of county treasurer, and on retiring from^
that position was at once called upon to fill an
unexpired term as sheriff. He held this office
by appointment and election for four years.

3i6

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

During the session of 1864-5, he represented
the county in the territorial legislature, hav-
ing been elected to do so on the Democratic
ticket. He was a member of Walla Walla's
first city council, and 'for ten years he sat in
the seat of its chief executive, so that he has
seen his share of public service.

Our subject is a charter member of Walla
Walla Lodge No. 7, F. & A. ^L, of Washing-
ton Lodge, No. 2, L O. O. F., and of the K.
of P., and he also affiliates with the Eagles.
He was married in Port Huron, Michigan,
]\Iay 24, 1850, to Miss Isabella Kincaid, who
died in Walla Walla November 19, 1889, leav-
ing four children : Annie P., wife of Dr. W.
B. Clowe; Thomas, a resident of Spokane;
William, a farmer in Toppenish, Washington;
and Frank, a farmer in the same locality.

JOHN JACOB KAUFFMAN.— Though
a young man yet, the date of his birth being
May 25, 1869, the man whose name forms the
caption of this article has for several years been
regarded as one of the leading spirits of Walla
Walla. He has proved himself a man of ability,
good judgment and faithfulness in the various
positions of trust which he has held, and his
broad-minded public spirit and unselfish inter-
est in the welfare of the city have been mani-
fested by his long and faithful service as a
member of the volunteer fire department.

He is a native of Wayland, Henry county,
Iowa, and there he took his first steps in the ac-
quisition of knowledge, but in January, 1883,
he accompanied the remainder of the family to
Walla \\'alla. He attended the local public
schools here for some time, then entered the
Empire Business College in which he took a
complete course, though forced to do all his

studying and reciting at nights, his time during
the day being devoted to clerking.

His first employers were the firm of M. C.
Wheelan & Company, for whom he worked six"
months. He then entered the service of John
Albeit, remaining with him for one year. In
1886, he accepted a position with W. G. CuUen,
the hardware merchant, who profited by his
efiicient service for many 3-ears. At the same
time Mr. Kaufifman was devoting his leisure
moments to the volunteer fire department,
with which he became identified first in 1887,
when he joined Tiger Engine Company, No. i.
His enthusiam and devotion to duty soon be-
gan to be recognized and he was asked to accept
several different offices, among them that of as-
sistant foreman, a position which he held for
several terms. In 1892, he was transferred to
Rescue Engine company. No. 2; in 1895, he
was elected chief engineer of the entire depart-
ment, and so efficient was his service that in
i8g6 he was re-elected. In September of the
same year, he was appointed by the city council
to fill the unexpired term of M. Ames, chief of
police, and in 1897 he was chosen by a majority
of the electors for the same responsible office.
In his discharge of the duties of this post he
has displayed unusual ability, and it may be
doubted whether any city in the state can boast
of a more efficient police officer than he has
proven. As a direct result of his labors during
the years of his incumbency of the position
(for the citizens, recognizing- his efficiency,
have three times re-elected him) eighty-one
law breakers guilty of penitentiary offenses
have been apprehended and compelled to un-
dergo the penalty of the law. Space forbids
specific notice of all his noteworthy arrests,
but they include that of J. E. Stephens, who
many times committed the crime of arson in
^^'alla \\'alla, and that of Hamilton and Ken-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

317

nedy, notorious burglars, the interception of
whom was compassed in May, 1897.

jNIr. Kauffman's well developed social tem-
perament inclines him to take great interest in
fraternal organizations and he belongs to the
Masons, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the
Forresters, the Maennerchor and the Eagles.

Our subject's marriage was solemnized in
Walla Walla on October 21, 1891, when he
became the husband of Miss Stella M. Butler,
a native of the vahey, and a daughter of an
old pioneer of the Coast, "a forty-niner," and a
respected contractor of AYalla Walla.

DIOX KEEFE, contractor and farmer, a
pioneer of 1872, was born in New York state,
in 1S38. He passed the first twelve years of
his life there, attending the public schools, then
went to Ontario, Canada, where he attended
school for four years more. When twenty-one,
he removed to Chicago. He lived in that city
for the ensuing thirteen years, serving either as
foreman or superintendent in the construction
of various bridges, both for general traffic and
for the railroads. He subsequently built
bridges in Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Mis-
souri, Kansas, Alabama and Florida. He was
in the last-named state at Pensacola when the
war broke out, but he then came home at once,
and entered the employ of the Fox &: Howard
Company. Later he went to work on govern-
ment contracts, mostly in Missouri, for Chapin
& Wells.

Subsec|uently Mr. Keefe moved to Sioux
City, Iowa, to accept a position from John I.
Blair & Company, as bridge constructor on their
railway. When that was completed he, with a
Mr. Wattles, took a contract to build the
bridges on the railroad between Sioux Citv and

Fort Dodge. That completed, our subject
worked for some time in grading and bridging
on the Sioux and Yankton Railroad, and on the
Elk Horn and Missouri Valley road, but in
1872 he came out to Walla Walla, bought a
farm three miles south of town, and engaged in
agricultural pursuits. Six years later, how-
ever, he sold this and moved into the town.
Since that time he has owned several farms,
and has done much contracting, getting out
timber for the Great Northern Railroad Com-
pany, putting in the electric light plant, etc.
He has also done some mining and has been in-
terested in the flour mill business both here and
in Grande Ronde valley, Oregon.

Mr. Keefe is a remarkably versatile man,
possessing the ability to do a great many things,
and to carry on a great variety of businesses
successfully. In spite of the many calls upon
his time he has found leisure to perform his
duties as a citizen, always taking a lively inter-
est in local politics, and at one time serving as
county commissioner. He was married in
Sioux City, Iowa, in 1870, to Elizabeth Kinzie,
a native of Michigan, who accompanied him
to Walla Walla in 1S72. They became parents
of one child, Ida A. Mrs. Keefe died at Walla
Walla in November, 1898.

CARL SCHUMACHER, deceased, a pio-
neer of 1865, was born in Germany in 1831.
He resided in his fatherland until nineteen
years of age, receiving such education as is
customarily given to German youth, and after-
wards learning the trade of a gunsmith. He
then emigrated to San Francisco, where for a
number of years he followed his handicraft.
In i860, he was married in Humboldt Bay to
Mathilde Kruger, who. in 1865. accompanied

3i8

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

him to \A'alla A\'alla. Here he opened a gun
shop and store. For many j-ears afterwards he
continued in business as a gunsmith, meeting
with great prosperity, and accumulating much
valuable property. He built the Hotel State,
which still belongs to the family, and he also
left them several houses and much real estate.
Mr. Schumacher was a thoroughly reliable,
conscientious man, commanding universal es-
teem. He always endeavored to do his part
part for the advancement of the common weal,
and contributed his full share toward the
growth and prosperity of the city. For a num-
ber of years he served as a member of the
volunteer fire department. He died September
lo. 1898, leaving one son, Walter, who now
resides in Portand, Oregon, but intends soon to
return to Walla Walla and make his permanent
home here in order to be more conveniently lo-
cated as manager of his own and his mother's
interests.

FRAXCIS U. LOWDEX. Jr., a farmer
and stock raiser, member of the Lowden Com-
pany, was born in W'alla Walla county, on
January 21, 1876. He acquired his education
in the public schools of the neighborhood and
in Pullman College, in which institution he took
a three-years' course in civil engineering. After
leaving school he returned to the farm, and
when the present firm was formed he was given
charge of the stock raising department. He
has been discharging his duties as such ever
since 1898, and is still doing so. Mr. Lowden
is a young man of ability and good judgment,
thoroughh' conversant with the business in
which he is engaged, and destined, as it would
seem, to bear an imix)rtant part in the future
material and industrial development of the
county.

]\L\RSHALL J. LOWDEX, president
and business manager of the Lowden Co., was
born in this county on February 25, 1870. He
received his education in the public schools and
in Whitman College, also took a course in the
Empire Business College. He then returned
to his father's farm and was engaged with him
in the business of raising thoroughbred Clyde
horses and Shorthorn cattle, until the Lowden
Co. was formed. He then became president
and business manager of the firm, a position
which he still retains and the duties of which
he has discharged successfully from the first.
He is a young man of energy, good judgment
and unusual business ability, qualified by nature
and educational training for the arduous and
difficult tasks imposed upon him by his present
situation. The firm have three thousand, eight
hundred acres and while their principal busi- I
ness is raising cattle and horses, they also keep
about two thousand sheep and raise wheat and
barley for feed and for sale. They are owners
of "Bonhard," a fine Clyde stallion, imported
from Scotland into Canada, and brought thence
to the United States. His weight is one thou-
sand, six hundred pounds. Mr. Lowden was
married in Walla Walla on March 3, 1898, to
Miss Emma Thompson, a native of this city,
whose father, Robert Thompson, was an early
pioneer of Washington. His life history is
briefly recorded in another part of this volume.

JOHN DOOLEY, hay and grain farmer on
the Walla Walla river, one-half mile east of
Touchet Station, was born in county Cork,
Ireland, in 1850. He acquired his education
there, but when only twenty years old emi-
grated to Boston, Massachusetts, where he
worked for wages a while, his first job being to

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

319

help clear away the debris after the big fire.
For fi\-e j'ears he made his home in that city,
but he then removed to San Francisco, via the
Panama route, and for the two years follow-
ing his arrival he was engaged in the meat
business. He then worked in various parts of
the state, mostly as a farm hand, for a number
of years, but at length came to The Dalles,
Oregon, where he entered the employ of the
Oregon Railway & Navigation Company. He
helped to build the Wallula branch through
\\'alla Walla to the Snake river, also partici-
pated in the construction of the road to Hunt-
ington.

]\Ir. Dooley then entered the employ of the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and
worked for them at the Cascade tunnel for a
year and nine months, at the end of which time
he came back to Walla Walla. He worked here
for wages a while, but afterwards took a home-
stead near Toucliet Station, where he has re-
sided for about sixteen years, engaged in farm-
ing. He is a thrifty, industrious man and a
successful agriculturist. In this county, in
1884, our subject married Miss Kate Martin,
who was born in Ireland but reared and edu-
cated in Glasgow, Scotland. They have three
children, Mary C, John T. and Annie, all stu-
dents in the Catholic School in Walla Walla.
The entire family are of the Catholic persua-
sion.

LOUIS SCHOLL, architect at Walla
Walla, was born in Germany in 1829, and there
the first seventeen years of his life were passed.
He received his education in the Lyceum Poly-
technic school, and in other institutions, study-
ing engineering and architecture. In 1848,
he emigrated to the United States. He kept
store two years in New York, then tried farm-

ing in St. Charles, Missouri, for a like period.
In 1852 he crossed the plains to California,
and the following spring he set out alone over
the Sierra Nevada mountains to purchase cat-
tle from immigrants. He followed that plan
for two summers, meeting with some exciting
adventures, and at one time being robbed of his
pack animals.

During the winter of 1854-55, Mr. SchoU
served as cjuartermaster's clerk under Captain
Rufus Ingalls. The next spring, he went as
guide, with Colonel Steptoe to Benecia, Cali-
fornia, where he passed the ensuing winter,
making sketches of the overland road for the
Sacramento Union. He subsequently went to
The Dalles, Oregon, as a government architect,
experiencing on the way up a perilous advent-
ure with a mutinous crew on board a burning
vessel. For two seasons he served under Gen-
eral Harney, as leader and guide of forces sent
out to discover shorter and better routes for
overland immigrants into Pacific coast states.
In the spring of 1861, he came to Fort WaUa
Walla, whence, in October, he was sent to Fort
Worth, Texas, via California and Mexico, with
fifty army wagons and three hundred mules.
This trip, however, was abandoned, Mr. SchoU
was summoned to Washington, and from that
time until 1864 served as quartermaster's clerk,
as harbor master, and in different other capaci-
ties in connection with the Union army, wit-
nessing several great battles and being more
than once called upon to perform difficult and
exacting duties.

Upon retiring from the army, our subject
returned to the coast. In 1866, he accepted a
position as bookkeeper for Mr. H. P. Isaacs, at
Boise, Idaho, and he afterwards served for a
number of years in the same capacity under
George McBride. At the outbreak of the Chief
Joseph war, he again became quartermaster's

320

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

clerk, serving a while at Fort Boise and later
under Colonel Sumner, with whom he went
to Presidio, near San Francisco, where he
made General Howard's official map. Return-
ing to Walla ^^"alla in 1879, he became book-
keeper for the Northern Pacific Flour Mills
Company, and in 1882 he surveyed the canal
and made the plans for their plant at Prescott.
He then acted as superintendent for the com-
pany there until 1894, w'hen he retired to enjoy
a well earned repose. His has been a life of
intense activity, among adventures and dangers
such as few ever experience. His indomitable
energy, together with great natural ability, de-
veloped by early educational advantages, has
made him successful in every undertaking, and
a real master among men.

]Mr. Scholl married, at The Dalles, Oregon,
in 1864, ]\Iiss Elizabeth Fulton, a very early
pioneer of that state, and they have three liv-
ing children ; Carl, a millwright of ability, and
Louis. Jr., and Bismark, in the City Mills; also
one, ]\Iarv Priszelli, deceased.

LEAMS :\IcAIORRIS.— Among those who
merit consideration as distinctive pioneers of
the northwest is he whose name initiates this
review. Air. AIc^NIorris is a native of the Buck-
eye state, having been born in Ohio on the 12th
of August, 1 83 1. His practical experiences in
the battle of life have, however, been met far
from the classic old state of his birth. When he
was a lad of eight years he accompanied his
parents on their removal to Shelby county,
Illinois, where he received his educational dis-
cipline and grew to man's estate.

In the month of Alarch. 1852, our subject
started on the long and perilous journey across
the plains and mountains, making the trip by

means of the primitive ox-team equipment and
arriving in the Willamette valley, Oregon, in
the fall of the same year. There he was for a
time engaged in mining, finally going from
southern Oregon to Yreka, California, whence
he returned to Oregon, in the year 1855, and
engaged in packing for the troops during the
Indian wars, as an employe of the quarter-
master's department of the Oregon volunteers.
In the fall of the year mentioned he accom-
panied the soldiers on an expedition to Yakima
and thence to Walla Walla, where they had an
engagement with the hostile Indians. Of this
and other conflicts with the red men a detailed
report may be found on other pages of this
work. Eventually Mr. McMorris returned to
The Dalles, Oregon, where he was employed
in the quartermaster's department with the
United States regulars, with whom, in 1856,
he made another expedition to Yakima, under
Colonel Wright of the Ninth Infantry, return-
ing with him to The Dalles, from which point
he accompanied Colonel Steptoe to Walla
Walla, tlieir purpose being to establish an army
post here. •

He continued in the government employ
until the following year, when he again went
to The Dalles, purchased an ox-team and en-
gaged in freighting, in company with Mr.
McGlinchey and Captain Freedman, for whom
he built the first house on the south side of
Main street in Walla Walla, the same being
then the third house in the town. It was located
at the corner of Third. He continued to be
associated with the gentlemen mentioned until
this section of the country was thrown open to
settlement, whereupon he availed himself of the
privileges accorded, by securing a pre-emption
claim two miles south of the town, where he
was engaged in stock raising for several years,
simultaneously operating a pack train to Boise,

LEWIS McMORRIS.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

321

Idaho. His" next venture was at Weston,
Oregon, where he was engaged in the mercan-
tile business with his brother. Subsequently
he was for four years a contractor on the stage
hne operating between Dayton, Washington, '
and Lewiston, Idaho.

Now venerable in years, crowned with the
honors of a busy and useful life and secure in
the esteem of all who know him as one of the
pioneers of the Inland Empire, Mr. McMorris
is practically retired from active business pur-
suits, though he gives his personal supervision
to his real estate interests, a considerable
amount of which he owns in various parts of
the country. He has always maintained a pub-
lic-spirited attitude and has contributed his
quota to the advancement and substantial up-
building of this favored section of our national
domain. It should be mentioned in this con-
nection that Mr. McMorris laid out the town of
Wallula and also donated to the railroad com-
pany the land which they use for depot pur-
poses there. He is a member of the Indian
War Veterans of the Pacific Northwest, and his
reminiscences of the early days are very inter-
estinsf.

RALPH E. GUICHARD, proprietor of the
\\'hitehouse Clothing Company, is prominent
among the rising young business men of eastern
\\'ashington. Born in Walla Walla on Jan-
uary 6, 1869, he has been a resident of that
city almost continuously since. He received
his preliminary education at the Catholic acad-
emy, then at the age of fifteen entered the
drug store of Charles A. Hungate, as clerk.
He remained there seven years, studying phar-
niacy and in due time becoming a competent
and registered druggist. He subsequently

spent three vears in the same store under J. W.
21

Esteb and one with James McAulifif, then be-
came a partner in the business, the firm name
being Guichard & McAuliff. A few months
later, however, this partnership was dissolved,
and Mr. Guichard entered the employ of the
Whitehouse Clothing Company, in which cor-
poration he subsequently became part owner.
In 1900, the entire business passed into his
hands. His shrewdness, industry, cautiousness
of management, and untiring devotion to busi-
ness have won for him an honored place among
the commercial leaders of this section, and his
ic the leading clothing house in Walla Walla.
In fraternal affiliations, Mr. Guichard is identi-
fied with the B. P. O. E.

The father of our subject, Judge Rudolph
Guichard, a ir.an of fine intellectual attainments
and unswerving integrity, as was proven by his
uniform faithfulness and honesty in all the re-
lations of his life, public and private, was a
native of Zeitz, Prussia, born December 8,
1830. He landed in New York in 1854, and
for a year thereafter resided in Rhode Island
and Massachusetts, going thence to West Vir-
ginia, and thence to Newport, Kentucky, where
he enlisted in the United States army. On
August 10, 1857, he was sent to Fort Walla
Walla.

On retiring from the army he established a
mercantile business in this city, which he main-
tained with success until 1871. In 1884 he was
admitted to the bar, and held many important
offices, among them being those of probate
judge, register of the land office, county treas-
urer and penitentiary commissioner. He was
a leader in the Democratic party, and was es-
teemed by all. Fraternally he was a very prom-
inent Mason.

For over thirty years the Judge was a great
sufferer from a rheumatic ailment, but notwith-
standing severe bodily torture he always

32 2

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUxNTY.

greeted those with whom he came in contact
with a smihng countenance and a cheering
word, and ver}^ naturally his friends were num-
bered by the hundreds. He was married in
Walla Walla, October 14, 1866, to Miss Mary
!Morrison, and of their union three children
were born, Ralph E., Albert and Mar}^ He
died April 3, 1898.

ROBERT J. STRINGER, a pioneer of
1867, was born in Ireland, January 6, 1827,
and in that country he grew to man's estate and
Avas educated. In 1848 he emigrated to Amer-
ica, and in 1850 he engaged in the meat market
business in Cincinnati, Ohio. He followed that
line of work in Ohio, Missouri, Minnesota, and
Iowa until 1858, then went to Fort Leaven-
worth and secured a contract to furnish beef
for the troops. This contract kept him em-
ployed until 1859, when he went to Fort Albu-
querque, New Mexico, with Colonel Critten-
den, in charge of the government cattle.

Returning to Kansas City, Missouri, he se-
cured another contract from the United States
government, for furnishing beef. During the
first year of the war, he supplied meat to the
troops of the Department of Missouri, but in
1862 he was appointed sutler for the Fifth
Division, ^Missouri Regulars. He performed
his duty as such until after the battle of Island
i\o. 10, but was then forced to resign on ac-
count of failing health. He returned to St.
Louis, whence, in 1864, pursuant to the advice
of his physicians, he set out for California via
the isthmus. He again engaged in the meat busi-
ness upon his arrival. A year later he was
sent by General Steele to The Dalles, Oregon,
as storekeeper of the Fort, and in 1866 he was
removed to Fort Lapwai, and given the posi-

tion of chief quartermaster's agent. Before
long, however, he again received a government
contract, and this brought him to Walla Walla,
where he has since resided. He has been in the
meat business continuously, building up an ex-
tensi\'e general trade, and also, at times, supply-
ing the forts in his home town and Colville.
He is the owner of a fine farm twenty-eight
miles north of Walla Walla.

Mr. Stringer has always taken an active in-
terest in the general up-building of his locality,
donating liberally to institutions of public bene-
fit, and ever exerting a sensible influence in the
direction of progress. He was married in
Iowa, in 1857, to Miss Susan M. Murphy, a
scion of a noted Irish family, and to them have
been born ten children : John, deputy United
States marshal at Seattle; William; Andrew;
Charles; Anna, wife of Mr. Doyle; Mary, now
Mrs. P. Green; also four deceased. Mr. and
i\Irs. Stringer and their entire family are mem-
bers of the Catholic church.

REV. MICHAEL FLOHR, priest of St.
Patrick's parish, a pioneer of 1883, was born in
Germany on October 29, 1857. He took a
complete and thorough classical course of study
at Cologne, then pursued the study of theology
at Louvain, Belgium, graduating in 1880. In
1 88 1 he emigrated to Vancouver, Washington,
to assume charge of the missions there located,
and two years later he came to Walla Walla,
where he has ever since resided. During the
seventeen years of his pastorate here Father
Flohr has labored untiringly for the spiritual
and educational welfare of his parishioners,
winning their affections, and exerting a power-
ful influence for their upbuilding in all that is
highest and best. His task is bv no means a

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

323

light one, he having full charge of all the
Catholic schools, hospitals and churches in the
county.

ROBERT KEXXEDY.— It is a matter of
■gratification that we are enabled to incorporate
in this compilation a review of the salient points
in the career of Mr. Kennedy, who stands forth
as one of the leading agriculturists and repre-
sentative citizens of Walla Walla county, his
fine farm being located two and one-half miles
east of the city of Walla Walla. In tracing
the lineage of Mr. Kennedy we find that he is
a native of Indiana, having been born in Rush
county, that state, in the 5'ear 1830. He was,
however, but three years of age when his par-
ents removed to the state of Illinois, where he
grew to maturity under the invigorating dis-
cipline of the farm, receiving such educational
advantages as were afforded by the common
schools. He continued to be there identified
with agricultural pursuits until 1852, when, at
the age of twenty-two years, he determined ro
assume the responsibilities of life and to carve
out an individual career, being fortified by due
confidence in his powers and by an earnest de-
sire to win a success worthy the name. In the
year mentioned Mr. Kennedy secured an ox-
team equipment and started on the long and
weary journey across the plains and mountains
to the Pacific coast, his destination being the
Willamette valley of Oregon, where he arrived
after a tedious journey of six months' dura-
tion. In this famed and beautiful valley he
was engaged in farming pursuits until 1859,
when he decided to locate in the even more at-
tractive valley of Walla Walla, east of the Cas-
cades. After arriving in Walla Walla he dis-
posed of his property in Oregon. After look-
ing about for a time he finally secured by pre-

emption a claim of one hundred and sixty acres,
upon which a part of the present city of Waits-
burg is now located. This claim, however,
Mr. Kennedy disposed of before he had per-
fected his title to the same, the land at the time
having- been unsurveyed. In the meanwhile
he had taken a claim of one hundred and sixty
acres on Dry creek, and after the surrounding
land had been put on the market he purchased
additional tracts contiguous to his original
property and eventually became the owner of
five hundred and forty acres, all in one body.
He continued to engage in the cultivation and
improvement of this place until 1881, when he
sold the farm.

As early as the centennial year, 1876, how-
ever, he had bought a section of land two and
one-half miles east of Walla Walla, and upon
this place he located after disposing of his Dry
creek ranch, and here he has since maintained
his home, the ranch being recognized as one
of the best in this favored section of the great
state of Washington. The place is principally
given up to the raising of the gxeat staple
product of this section, — wheat, — and boun-
teous harvests reward the well directed and
indefatigable efforts of this representative hus-
bandman. In addition to the homestead Mr.
Kennedy owns a section of land near Lacrosse,
Whitman county, and also one hundred and
sixty acres of timber land in the mountains. In
the year 1881 Mr. Kennedy built two store
buildings in the city of Walla Walla, eventually
disposing of these properties. He still owns
two dwelling houses in the city. He is known
as one of the substantial men of the county,
enjoying the respect and confidence of the com-
munity by reason -of his integrity and sterling
worth of character. In the early days, when
Indian depredations were frequent and lawless-
ness prevailed to a greater or less extent, ^Ir.

324

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Kennedy bore his part in the maintenance of
law and order, being notably a participant in
the Rogue river war.

In the year 1868, in the Willamette valley,
Oregon, was celebrated the marriage of 'Sir.
Kennedy to Miss Annie Smith, and they be-
came the parents of three children, — Edward
A., who died May 31, 1900; Kate; and Lewis
L. The death of Mrs. Kennedy occurred on
the nth of October, 1877, and on the loth
of December, 1879, in Windsor, Illinois, our
subject consummated a second union, being
then married to Mrs. Margaret W. Dennison,
a native of the Old Dominion state of Vir-
ginia. Of this union seven children have been
born: Rebecca A., the wife of Richard E.
Stafford: ^^lartha B.. Robert P., Edna E.,
William B., Benjamin H. and Edith 11.

FRANCIS M. LOWDEN, a farmer and
stock raiser, a pioneer of 1862, was born in
Boone county, Kentucky, February 7, 1832.
He resided there and in Brown county, Illinois,
until 1849, then crossed the plains on horse-
back in a party of four, the travelers conveying
their effects in a light wagon drawn by four
horses. He went to Sacramento, thence to
Downieville, \\here he followed placer mining
for a season, thence to Nevada City. In the
fall of 185 1 he returned to Sacramento, in-
vested the proceeds of his successful mining
ventures in mules, and engaged in packing, a
business to which his energies were given for
the ensuing twenty-one years. His train con-
veyed freight into various parts of California,
Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Mon-
tana. He was frequently in grave danger of
losing his mules on account of the hostile bands
of Indians, who were on marauding expedi-

tions throughout the country, but by dint of
continual watchfulness he managed to avoid
loss, standing guard himself, never trusting
hired help for this duty and never allowing
hres to be built near the herd.

In 1878 ]\Ir. Lowden sold his packing out-
fit, settled between Walla Walla and Wallula,
and engaged in the business of raising and
dealing in cattle. In 1880 he lost about ninety
per cent, of his herds, but he, nevertheless,
came to this valley, where he already had some
property, and bought up about five thousand
acres, with a view to engaging in the business
again on a large scale. By means of ditches
he brought water into every field of this vast
tract, and before long he had an excellent stock
ranch. This land is still in the family, being
owned by the Lowden Company, a firm in-
corporated for the purpose of rearing cattle,
horses, sheep and hogs. They have imported
many costly thoroughbreds, sparing no expense
in the effort to secure the best stock.

Mr. Lowden has been a very active, enter-
prising man, possessed of the courage, fortitude
and resourcefulness characteristic of the true
pioneer, and of a degree of business ability
seldom given to men. Notwithstanding his
large private interests he has always found
time to perform well his duties as a citizen
and member of society. He served as county
commissioner for seven years, was a member
of the State Penitentiary Board, which built
the third wing and the outbuildings, stables,
etc., of the penitentiary, and in spite of oppo-
sition succeeded, with the help of others, in
building a jute mill here and making it a suc-
cess. He has also discharged his duty to the
cause of education by serving as director for
ten years. His fraternal affiliations are with
Walla Walla Lodge, No. 7, F. & A. M. He
was married in Hay, 1868, to Miss Mary E.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

32s

Noon, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana,
reared in California. They have three chil-
dren : Marshall J., president and business man-
ager of the firm; Francis M., Jr., stock man-
ager; and Hettie Irene, with her parents.

JOHN W. DAULTON, a farmer on the
Walla Walla river, eleven miles west of Walla
Walla, was born in Pulaski county, Kentucky,
January 10, 1866. He, however, spent the
greater portion of his early youth in Clinton
county, Missouri, whither he had been taken
by his parents when four years old. He at-
tended school until sixteen years old, then went
with the remainder of his family to Cherokee
county, Kansas, where he farmed with his fa-
ther for three years. For the next half decade
he worked for wages throughout the various
surrounding counties, but in 1890 he removed
to Umatilla county, Oregon, where for about
two years he continued to work as a farm hand.

In 1892, however, Mr. Daulton filed on a
homestead and started to improve a place for
himself, but in 1894 he commuted this into a
pre-emption, sold out and came to the Walla
Walla valley. He purchased sixty-seven acres
of hay land, upon which he has ever since re-
sided, and in 1900 he bought a quarter-section
of wheat land also. He is an enterprising and
successful farmer, and his standing in the com-
m.unity as a man and a citizen is of the highest.
In fraternal affiliations he is identified with the
Modern Woodmen of America, Mountain View
Camp, No. 5096, of this city. In the city of
Walla Walla on February 17, 1895, he mar-
ried Mrs. Amy E. Vanderburgh, a native of
Oregon, whose parents, Harris and Mary Dent,
Avere pioneers of that state.

ORLANDER W. HARTNESS.— This re-
spected pioneer of the county was born in Mon-
roe county, Indiana, May 15, 1835. When a
boy of seven years he went with his parents to
Washington county, Iowa, whence, shortly aft-
erwards, he removed to Monroe county, same
state, where the greater portion of his educa-
tional discipline was obtained and where he
met and married Miss Mary Wilson, their
union being solemnized on inauguration day,
1858. Leaving Iowa in 1864, the subject of
this review, accompanied by his wife, set out
to find a home in the new and wild west. He
arrived in the Walla Walla valley the same
year and took a homestead of one hundred and
sixty acres, to which he added several hun-
dred acres procured by purchase later on.

On the original homestead he continued to
reside uninterruptedly until about fourteen
years ago, his occupation being farming and
stock raising, combined with the more dan-
gerous business of freighting. In those days
he met with many adventures with Indians and
several times narrowly escaped being robbed or
killed by road agents, as they were called, the
term having the same significance as highway-
men.

In 1886 Mr. Hartness sold his entire hold-
ings in the valley and moved into the city of
Walla Walla, where he engaged in the grocery
business, stock dealing and also to some extent
in mining. His energies were devoted to these
varied industries until the beginning of 1900,
when he again sold out his possessions, this
time investing a part of the proceeds in a
small tract of land just outside the city, upon
which he is at present erecting a commodious
and comfortable dwelling, in which he and his
life partner hope to enjoy many years of life.
Though five children have been born in the
Hartness household, onlv one, Franke E., still

326

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

survives, the other four having passed away in
infancy. Their Hving daughter is now the wife
ot Samuel lams. It may be of interest to men-
tion in this connection that jMr. and Mrs. Hart-
ness have journeyed together through hfe for
almost forty-three years. Both are members
of the Cumberland Presbyterian church of
Walla \^'alla.

Though our subject is a very public-spirited
man, ever ready to assist with his means any
commendable enterprise of general utility, he
is not ambitious for leadership in politics, local
or national, and has steadfastly refused to take
an active part in any of the campaigns, even
though urgently solicited by his friends so to
do. It is a pleasure, however, to be- able to
add with truth that in all his relations with his
fellow men. whether in business or in society,
his life has been so ordered as to win and re-
tain the confidence and esteem of all.

ZEBULON K. STRAIGHT, jeweler, a
pioneer of 1870. was lx)rn in Wayne county,
New York, in 1840. In 1846 the family moved
to Wisconsin, and there Mr. Straight lived un-
til twenty years of age, acquiring such educa-
tion as a frontier log schoolhouse afforded.
He then went to Minnesota, learned the jewelry
business, and for eight years followed it as an
occupation. On June 4, 1870, our subject
landed in \\'alla Walla, where he opened the
only jewelry store in the then territory of
Washington, which has continued in business
constantlv ever since, ^^'ith remarkable per-
tinacity he has devoted himself to his handi-
craft in the same city for over thirty years,
and his hand has the skill and cunning, and
his judgment the splendid development which
we would naturally expect from such concen-
tration.

Mr. Straight is not, however, a narrow or
one-sided man, but has always taken a lively and
intelligent interest in the welfare of the city,
and ever proved himself an efficient force in
the promotion of its best interests. He was
one of tlie original organizers of the Farmers'
Savings bank, has served as a director in that
institution, and still retains an interest in it.
For two terms, also, he was a member of the
Walla Walla city council. But his influence in
politics is not circumscribed by the limits of his
city or county. He was elected a member of
the first state legislature, so that upon his
shoulders fell the responsibility of participating
in laying the foundation of our state govern-
ment. In politics, in business, and in private
life alike, he has proved himself a trustworthy
and reliable man, and he has the confidence and
esteem of all.

E\'er since 186S Mr. Straight has been
identified with the Masonic fraternity, in which
he is quite a leader. In Walla Walla, during
the month of April, 1871, he married Airs.
Alexander, who crossed the plains as a child
in 1853, accompanying her parents, JNIr. and
Mrs. B. Robinson. Her father became a prom-
inent man in the early days of Oregon, serv-
ing one term in its state legislature. Mr. and
]Mrs. Straight have two children : Maud,
widow of Frank Foster ; and Zeno K., clerk in
the store of Kyger & Foster, and business man-
ager for his sister, I^Irs. Foster. Mrs. Straight
also has one daughter, Adella, by her marriage
with ]Mr. Alexander.

HENRY S. BLANDFORD. city attorney,
Walla \\'alla. whose connection with the city
dates back to 1885. was born in Maryland, in
1862, and in that state he was reared and edu-
cated. He came west in the United States

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

327

Signal Service, about 1881, to take charge of
a station on a military telegraph line. In 18S5
he was sent to AValla Walla for the purpose
of establishing a weather bureau there, and
the care of that bureau occupied his attention
until 1890. He was, however, ambitious to
become a lawyer, and accordingly devoted all
his spare time assiduously to the study of that
profession, with the result that in 1890 he was
admitted to the bar. He then began what has
proved to be a very successful career, for he
is now and for some years has been considered
one of the leading attorneys of Walla Walla
county.

In political matters also Mr. Blandford is
a leader. He was one of the delegates sent
from the state of Washington in 1892 to the
first National Democratic convention held after
the territory was admitted to statehood, and he
was the candidate of his party for the joint
senatorship of the senatorial district including
Adams, Franklin and part of Walla Walla
counties, but was defeated by John L. Roberts.
He has always been awake to the best inter-
ests of his home city, and was especially active
in securing the water works and sewer system,
which are now being successfully operated. In
1897 he was elected city attorney of the city
of Walla Walla, which incumbency he still
holds, and the duties of which he is very
creditably discharging. Mr. Blandford mar-
ried, in 1895, Marguerite Welch, a native of
Walla Walla, and they are the parents of two
sons, Joseph Harold and John S.

where he learned the trade of a wagon-maker.
As early as 1849 ^^^ crossed the plains to San
Francisco, and in that city he pursued his trade
for a number of years. He at length went
back to his home in St. Louis and engaged in
the manufacture of trunks, etc. Subsequently
returning west he went into the mining regions
of Montana, Idaho anl British Columbia,
where a number of years of his life were passed.

Coming to Walla Walla in 1868 he there
resumed his trade, also devoting a portion of
his time to the erection of some of the first fine-
buildings of the city. He afterward engaged,
in wagon-making on his own account, con-
tmuing in the same until 1 89 1 , when he erected
the Star bakery. That completed he went into-
a well-earned retirement, which lasted until the
date of his death, February 19, 1896. Relig-
iously he was identified with the Roman Cath-
olic church. On November 6, 1872, he mar-
ried Sarah A. Mosier, a native of Missouri,
and they became the parents of two children,
Annie J. and Geoffrey J.

Mrs. Faucette is a daughter of John H.
Mosier, one of the early pioneers of Oregon,
and one who was quite prominent in the po-
litical history of that state, having once served
as representative from his district. The Jour
de Mosier was built on his farm and named'
in his honor. He died in The Dalles, Oregon,
in 1894.

JOHN FAUCETTE, deceased, a pioneer
of 1868, was a native of Galena, Illinois, born
October 6, 1831. When about fourteen he
moved with his parents to St. Louis, Missouri,

WILLIAM A. KOONTZ.— Prominently
identified with a line of enterprise of great im-
portance to the traveling public, the subject
of this article merits specific recognition in a
compilation which has to do with the repre-
sentative citizens of Walla Walla county. He
is a native of the state of Ohio, born on the 3d
day of January, 1857. He received a part of

328

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

his early educational training in the public
school there, but at the early age of twelve years
left his father's home and started out to make
his wav in life, turning his steps toward the
west.

He soon arrived in San Francisco, Cali-
fornia, where he only remained about one
month, afterward locating in W^aitsburg, this
county, of which he was a resident for eight-
een months. He then went to Weston, Ore-
gon, and passed the next year, going thence to
Baker City, where he spent two years. Dur-
ing this time he worked at whatever he could
best succeed in, spending all of his spare time
in study, and finally taking a course in the Will-
amette L^niversity. His headquarters thereafter
were at L^matilla. Oregon, until the year of
1878, but in July of that year he was appointed
by the government to carry dispatches under
General Miles during the Snake and Bannock
Indian wars.

At the close of hostilities he went to Golden-
dale. Washington, where he was again em-
ployed by the government as one of a survey-
ing party. He afterward acted as superintend-
ent of a lumber mill, but finally was appointed
as deputy sheriff, and served in that capacity for
one term. He then took up his abode in Ta-
coma, where he engaged in the grocery busi-
ness, carrying on the same successfully until
1884, when he sold out and returned to Walla
W^alla. to accept a position as foreman of track
building on the O. R. & N. R. R. Later he
became superintendent of its buildings and
bridges.

In 1897 he went to British Columbia, where
for fourteen months he gave his attention to
carpentering and mining, after which he re-
turned to Walla Walla, where we now find him
in charge of the Palace hotel. To those whose
names appear on the register of that hostelry

he extends such hospitality as makes every
guest his friend. His popularity as a first-class
hotel man has secured for the house such an
abundant patronage that he has been forced to
annex several of the near-by rooming blocks in
order to accommodate his increasing trade. He
now controls no less than five large buildings,
in which he maintains between one and two
hundred guest chambers.

Endowed with intellectuality and discrim-
irating judgment. Mr. Koontz has shown a
constant interest in affairs of public nature,
several times serving as delegate to state con-
ventions while in Oregon, and again in this state
in 1900. His standing in business and social
circles, indicative of his personal popularity,
is also shown in fraternal organizations, he
being at the present time acting noble grand in
Trinity Lodge, I. O. O. F., and treasurer of
Walla Walla Encampment, which office he has
held for several terms. He is also one of the
managers in the Woodmen, and is supreme
outer guard in the Order of Washington. He
was married, on April 13, 1885, to Miss Emma
Symons, a native of Minnesota, and they are
the parents of one child, Edith Mary.

WILLIAM C. PAINTER.— Walla Walla
county may well be proud of the number of
men of spotless integrity and sterling character
who have been attracted to its territory, and of
the part these have borne in the affairs of coun-
ty, state and nation. Dr. Marcus Whitman is
of course the brightest star in the constellation
of Walla Walla valley heroes, but around him
cluster a great number of stars of but little less
m.agnitude, who in their own spheres and en-
vironment were equally entitled to a rank
among heroic men. The man whose name

WM. C. PAINTER.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

329

initiates this brief and necessarily incomplete
review was one in whose life and career the
county and state may find reasonable cause for
exultation. Mr. Painter's title to be long re-
membered by the people of the state of Wash-
ington in general and of Walla Walla and
vicinity in particular rests not so much upon his
achievements in advancing the material inter-
ests of his community, though they were very
considerable, nor upon his political record,
though that was a clean one and of no little
importance, but rather upon the pure and lofty
patriotism which formed the dominating trait
of his character, and upon the work which that
ennobling sentiment led him to accomplish.

Mr. Painter was born in the old French
settlement of St. Genevieve, St. Genevieve
county, Missouri, April 18, 1830, and there the
earliest years of his life were passed. His fa-
ther was a member of the Painter family of
Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and his mother
was Jean (Moore) Painter, daughter of Major
Robert Moore, a veteran of the war of 181 2,
and well known in the early history of Oregon.
In 1850 his father and the family started for
Oregon, but when the Little Blue river was
reached the head of the family and two of the
sons succumbed to cholera, and the mother and
surviving children continued their journey
westward with sore hearts. They finally came
to a halt in Washington county, Oregon, where
donation land claims were secured, and where
William C. lived until 1863. When the Indian
war of 1855 broke out, Mr. Painter was one of
the first to enlist, becoming a member of Com-
pany D, First Oregon Mounted Volunteers,
Avhich, it will be remembered, fought the In-
dians for four days near Walla Walla city,
finally routing the redskins, who retreated to
the Palouse country. In this and many other
fights of that war, Mr. Painter distinguished

himself for coolness and bravery. He con-
tinued to follow the fortunes of his company
and to share its hardships and dangers until the
close of hostilities. In 1855 certain young
ladies of Forest Grove Academy (now Tualatin
Academy and Pacific University) presented the
company with a flag; comrades in arms voted
that Mr. Painter should become its bearer; it
finally came into his exclusive possession and
is still carefully preserved in the Painter house-
hold as a family relic and heirloom. The flag
was designed by Dr. S. H. Marsh, first presi-
dent of Pacific University, and "Grandma"
Tabitha Brown, one of the founders of that
institution, and was executed by Misses Jane
Kinney, Sarah A. Ross, Caroline Brown, Mary
J Stott, Mary McGhee, Jane Robinson, Mary
Ellen Reed, Georgia Reed, Ellen Robinson,
Gus. Mulkey (now wife of LT. S. Senator J.
N. Dolph) and Mrs. Kitchen. It has only
twenty-one stars, and upon its field in large let-
ters are inscribed the words, "Co. D, First
Oregon Volls. 1855-6." In the war against
the Bannock and Pah Ute Indians in 1878, Mf.
Painter again assumed the role of the Indian
fighter. Governor Ferry appointed him captain
of a company of forty-two men, and he was
assigned to duty on the gunboat Spokane, un-
der command of Major Cress of the regular
army. The first engagement in which he partic-
ipated was at Long Island in the Columbia
river below Umatilla, in which the whites were
successful. Major Cress, in a letter written to
Mr. Painter from Jefferson Barracks, Mis-
souri, dated April 15, 1897, speaks very flat-
teringly of the assistance rendered him by Colo-
nel Painter. After this engagement, in recog-
nition of his very valuable services, our sub-
ject was made aid-de-camp on the staff of Gov-
ernor Ferry with the rank of lieutenant-colonel
and placed in command of fifty-two men. He

330

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

was sent to eastern Oregon to assist in defend-
ing the people of that region against the on-
slaughts of the Indians recently defeated
by General O. O. Howard, and passed
south of the retreating bands to Camas
Prairie with a view to intercepting their
retreat. The hostiles, being advised of his
position, got around him by a circuitous
route and escaped, but the colonel brought
back with him to Walla Walla captured
horses enough to pay the entire expense of his
command. Although no battle was fought in
this campaign, it was considered so hazardous
that an offer of ten dollars per day for guides
was not sufficient to induce any to run the risk.
In his official report. General O. O. Howard,
quoting Captain John A. Cress, says : "Captain
Charles Painter and the forty-two volunteers
from Walla \\'alla deserve praise for good con-
duct and bravery, not excepting my Vancouver
regulars and Captain Gray with officers and
crew of the steamer Spokane, who stood firmly
at their posts under fire."

But to return to the more ordinary pursuits
of life, picking up the thread of the narrative
with Air. Painter's advent into Walla \A'alla
county in 1863, we have to record that for four
years from that date he was a clerk in the
employ of Flanders & Felton, of Wallula.
When the senior member of that firm was elect-
ed to congress in 1867, Mr. Painter took
charge of the business, becoming also post-
master at that point and the agent of the Wells
Fargo Express Company. Eventually he re-
moved to AA'alla Walla, that he might the better
discharge the duties of an important position,
that of deputy collector of internal revenue for
eastern A\'ashington, to which he had been ap-
pointed. He resigned this deputyship in No-
vember, 1870, but his resignation was not ac-

cepted until the following May. After retir-
ing from the position, he made some unfor-
tunate investments in mill property, the result
of which was that he found himself at the foot
of the financial ladder, but his courage and force
made him master of the situation. He went
cheerfully to work and continued a wage-earner
until 1876, when fortune again favored him and
he was appointed receiver of the United States
land office. This position he retained until
September, 1878, and in November of that
year he was elected to the office of county audi-
tor. So faithful and efficient were his services
that the electors retained him as their choice
for that office for four consecutive terms.
Speaking of his final retirement, the Waits-
burg Times of March 11, 1887, says: "After
filling the office of county auditor for four con-
secutive terms and giving better satisfaction
than any of his predecessors — in fact making
the best- auditor Walla Walla county ever had
— W. C. Painter steps out with clean hands and
a good record to make room for L. B. Hawley,
a W^alla Walla bred young man fully capable
of the duties of his office." The Walla Walla
Statesman of the same date has this to say con-
cerning him : "Auditor Painter has given up
the office of auditor of Walla Walla county,
that he has held so many years. As a Repub-
lican he has proved capable, efficient and hon-
est, and has been very instrumental in saving
the country from being imposed upon on nu-
merous occasions. We do not candidly believe
that a dishonest dollar has stuck to his fingers
in all the years of his administration. He has
been particular to a fault, but goes out of office
with the reputation of being an honest man.
'Well done, thou good and faithful servant;
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I
will make thee ruler over manv things,' "

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

331

Upon retiring from the county service, Mr.
Painter devoted his attention to farming his
fifteen-hundred-acre ranch on Eureka flat,
though he continued to reside in the old home
on South Third street, where the family still
live. Farming was his occupation until about
two years before his death.

It is recorded that every public demonstra-
tion of a patriotic nature saw Mr. Painter
somewhere in the lead with his battle-scarred
Indian war flag. When the volunteers went to
the Philippines, when they returned, on Mem-
orial day and other similar occasions, he and
his flag were in evidence, and should he be de-
tained by any cause from participation in any
such celebration, it was a sore disappointment
tc all. His patriotic sentiments led him to
take a prominent part in the Pioneer Associa-
tion of Oregon and he always made a special
eft'ort to be present at every meeting of the
organization. He was also active in the
Indian War Veterans, of which he was first
grand commander, and he belonged for years
to the A. O. U. W. In politics, he was a stanch
Republican, prominent in the councils of that
party and an important factor in the political
afl^airs of eastern Washington.

On January 7, 1864, Mr. Painter was mar-
ried to Miss Caroline Mitchell, the only daugh-
ter of Judge I. ^litchell, of ]\Iultnomah county,
Oregon, and their children are Philip M., de-
ceased, Joseph E., Charles S., Maude M., Har-
rie M., Bonnie Jean, Marguerite M., Roy R.,
Re.x M., Caroline M., and Bruce I.

]\Ir. Painter died of paralysis December 4,
1900. He was a pioneer, a soldier, a western
nobleman — above all he was a true friend.
During all that time when the crude model na-
ture made was being remoulded and recast as
the demands of progress and civilization dic-
tated that it must, he was known throughout

all the great northwest as the personification
of loyalty and honor. In the memory of his
friends, and he had manv, he will live forever.

^lEREDITH E. STEWART, a farmer on
Mill creek, four and a half miles west of Walla
Walla, a pioneer of 1881, Avas born in Win-
chester, Virginia, on October 25, 1862. He
was early taken by his parents to Greenton,
Missouri, where his father followed the trade
of a stonemason for a few years. Later, how-
ever, the family removed to Topeka, Kansas,
and in that city Mr. Stewart completed his
education. He came west with the remainder
of his family in i88r, traveling overland, and
upon arrival in this valley rented a farm and
started raising hay on Dry creek.

But after a brief residence here ^Ir. Stewart
removed to Umatilla county, Oregon, pur-
chased land and again engaged in farming.
He was there three and a half years, then re-
turned to Walla Walla, rented another farm
and remained upon it continuously until 1897,
when he purchased the place upon wdiich he
now resides. He also has a homestead eleven-
miles west of Walla Walla, taken by him in
1898. and he is raising wheat upon this claim,
while the fifty-five acres on INIill creek, his place
of residence at present, are farmed to hay and
fruit.

Mr. Stewart is an industrious, enterprising
man, an obliging neighbor and a good citizen,
and he enjoys the respect and good will of all.
Fraternally he affiliates with the IModern
Woodmen of America, Mountain View Lodge,
No. 5096, of Walla Walla. He was married
in this county, on February 26, 1890, to Miss
Emma Ewing, a native of \\'alla Walla, daugh-
ter of pioneer parents. They have two chil-

332

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

dren, Harry E. and Pearl E. Mr. Stewart's
father, \\'illiam Stewart, who crossed the plains
Avith him in the Topeka "\\'ashington Colony."
went on with the rest of the party to Puget
Sound, but he has not been heard from since
the first year after his arrival there, despite the
fact that his son Meredith has tried several
times to locate him.

Mrs. Stewart's father, ^^'ashington M.
Ewing, who arrived in this valley in 1862,
died at Waitsburg on February 10, 1883. Her
mother contracted a second marriage, in Walla
Walla, on June i, 1884, becoming the wife of
Frederick Thiel, of Drv creek.

FRAXK FOSTER, deceased.— Among
those whom industry, force of character and
unswerving faithfulness to the duties in hand
have placed in the forefront among successful
business men, the subject of this brief bio-
graphical outline has merited a rank of great
prominence, for his life is an exemplification
of what can be accomplished by one who pos-
sesses these qualities combined with natural
aptitude for commercial pursuits. Mr. Foster
was a son of the Pacific coast, his eyes having
first opened to the light of day in The Dalles,
Oregon, on November 15, i860. He was, how-
ever, early taken by his parents to Fort Simcoe,
ir Yakima county, where he resided until nine
}'ears old, and where he took the initial steps
in the pursuit of a liberal education. He then
accompanied his parents to Walla A\'alla, in
the public schools of which city he spent sev-
eral years more.

When he became sixteen years old he en-
tered the dry goods store of Johnson, Rees &
Winans, and so faithful was he to every trust,
and so frugal of the wages he received, that

before he was thirt}' years of age he was the
owner of a half interest in the business. A
short time after he first became connected with
the establishment his father bought the interest
of Mr. Johnson, and the firm name was changed
to Rees, Winans & Company. In 1889 D. T.
Kyger bought out the entire business, but be-
fore the year was passed Mr. Foster became
the owner of a half interest, and the firm was
styled Kyger & Foster. The industry and
faithfulness which had enabled him to achieve
this success, together with the mastery of de-
tails and knowledge of the minutise of the busi-
ness acquired concomitantly, made him master
of the situation when the proprietor's respon-
sibility was placed upon his shoulders, and the
establishment continued to prosper and to yield
gratifying returns.

Mr. Foster was also ambitious to acquire
farm lands, and at the time of his death his
real estate holdings consisted of four hundred
acres about eight miles north of Walla Walla.
a quarter-section of land in Umatilla county,
Oregon, and forty acres of timber land in the
mountains. He also had a fine home on Cath-
erine street, Walla Walla.

In all the relations of life, and in all his
dealings and associations with his fellow men,
Mr. Foster's conduct was such as to win for
him the respect and esteem of those with whom
he came in contact, and his untimely death,
which occurred February 23, 1900, was re-
garded by hundreds of our citizens as a distinct
personal loss, as well as a great loss to the
communitv in general.

'Sir. Foster's marriage was solemnized in
Walla Walla, January 10, 1894, the lady of his
choice being ]\Iiss Maud Straight, a native of
the county, and a daughter of Z. K. Straight,
a respected pioneer and a man who has followed
the jewelry business continuously for a longer

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

333

period of time in the state of Washington than
has any other man. Of this marriage one
child, Arthur Straight, was born.

Mrs. Foster still owns the business inter-
ests which her husband had at the time of his
demise, and employs her brother, Zeno Straight,
tC' assist her in the management of these in-
terests.

JESSE DRUMHELLER, a pioneer of
1852, was born in Tennessee, in 1835, and
there the first eight years of his life were
passed. He then went with his parents to Mis-
souri, locating near Springfield, where he lived
until 1 85 1. For about a year afterwards he
resided in Savannah, Missouri, but in 1852 he
set out across the plains to Washington with
Ox-teams. He located in Cowlitz county, and
turned his attention to the lumber industry, but
soon moved to California, where for several
years he followed mining. Li 1855 he came
to Oregon, joined the Oregon volunteers and
was sent to Walla Walla. During his eleven
months' service he participated in several severe
engagements with the Indians.

After the cessation of hostilities Mr. Drum-
heller entered the service of the United States
government, and assisted in building the gov-
ernment posts at The Dalles, Walla Walla, Col-
ville and Simcoe. In 1859 he located on land
two miles south of the city of Walla Walla,
and embarked in stock raising and general
farming, a business which has engaged his en-
ergies ever since until quite recently. Being
an active, enterprising and progressive man,
of the wealthiest and most influential farmers
of the wealthiest and most influential farmers
of the county. He is the owner of nearly six
thousand acres of land, and in 1899 his crop
of wheat amounted to about sixty-five thou-

sand bushels. Mr. Drumheller's fraternal con-
nection is with the Masonic order. Blue Moun-
tain Lodge, No. 13, and the Royal Arch. He
was married in Walla Walla, October 8, 1863,
to Martha A. Maxson, a pioneer of 1859. They
have six living children: Samuel, a farmer;
Oscar and Thomas J., hardware merchants;
George, a farmer and stockman; Althea and
Roscoe M.

Mr. Drumheller has taken up his residence
it Walla Walla city, where we now find him
living a retired life and enjoying the fruits of
his well-deserved success.

WILLIAM S. SMITH, deceased.— Al-
though but thirty-one years of age when sum-
moned to depart this life, the subject of this
brief memoir had already achieved a degree of
success in the commercial world not often at-
tained by men twice his years, and had won for
himself a place in the confidence of those with
whom he had business connections and in the
esteem and respect of the community in which
he lived that might well be the envy of much
older men. Born in Clinton, Prince Edward
Island, Canada, on January 7, 1866, he received
the benefit of the excellent public-school system
there established, and passed his youth under
most advantageous surroundings.

Upon leaving school he engaged with his
father in the flour mill industry, following that
until he had attained his majority, but he
thereupon removed to New Westminster, Brit-
ish Columbia, where for about two years he
worked as a sawyer in a sawmill.

At the end of that time Mr. Smith removed
to the Walla Walla valley, arriving in 1889,
and before long his mechanical abilities were
discovered by H. P. Isaacs, who was in need

334

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

o^ just such a man and who gave him a place
in his flour mill in Walla Walla. j\Ir. Isaacs
afterwards sent him to take charge of another
plant located at Prescott, but he had become
desirous of trying his hand at farming, so, in
1890, disposed of a place on Eureka flat which
he already had bought, and purchased a farm
at the junction of Mill creek with the Walla
Walla river. From that time until the date of
bis death his energies were for the most part
given to the cultivation and improvement of
this land, though he also held the position of
agent for the Pacific Coast Elevator Company
at Whitman station. He was active, indus-
trious, assiduous and possessed a force of char-
acter which, combined with his splendid in-
herent abilities, made him a success in anj' line
of enterprise in which he might engage.

The manner of our subject's demise was
rather peculiar and merits a brief narration.
He had returned home to Prince Edward Island
on a visit to his relatives, and appeared to be
enjoying his usual good health. He retired
on the 6th of May, 1897, without making any
complaint or giving any sign that anything was
the matter, but on the morning of the 7th he
failed to rise at the usual hour and examina-
tion proved that be had died in his bed some
time during the night. Upon learning the sad
news Mrs. Smith with her little daughter at
once set out on the long journey and arrived
in time to see his remains interred in the Mar-
gate cemetery, which was the old family bury-
ing ground.

In 1887 Mr. Smith married, in Charlotte-
town, Prince Edward Island, Miss Margaret
J. Gunn, a native of the island and one of his
boyhood friends. They became the parents of
one daughter, Emma i\I.

Mrs. Smith Avas left with a fine farm of
ifiur hundred and seventy-four acres, also with

a tract of eleven hundred acres in Adams coun-
ty. She sold the latter tract, but still retains
the old home place at the confluence of Mill
creek and the Walla ^^'alla river. With the
help of her brother, who acts as foreman, she
farms this land together with about six hundred
acres which she rents from other parties. She
is an ambitious, enterprising lady, successful in
whatever she undertakes, and possessed of the
respect and esteem of a large circle of friends
and acquaintances.

BENJAMIN G. GUTHRIDGE.— Though
now retired, the man whose life it is our task
to here briefly review has been one of the prom-
inent business men of the county for many
years, and during the long period of his resi-
dence here (for he has the honor of being a
member of that respected class whom we call
pioneers) he has so ordered his life and rela-
tions with those with whom he has had deal-
ings or connections, as to win and retain the
confidence and regard of all.

He was born in London, England, on June
27, 1832, and in that land he remained until
about fifteen years old, acquiring an elementary
education. He then yielded to the adventurous
spirit which was prompting him to seek ad-
venture in other lands and embarked aboard a
sailing vessel. His seafaring experience lasted
about thirteen years, and finally terminated in
a shipwreck on a bar in the Columbia river.
From the scene of this disaster he went to
Portland, arriving in 1861, and before the year
was over he came thence to the Walfa Walla
valley. After a brief residence he removed to
the Oro Fino mining region, where for two
years he was engaged in the search for hidden
treasure. Returning then to \\^alla Walla

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

335

county, he utilized the trade he had learned in
earlier life and engaged in the butcher busi-
ness, but two years later he retired from this
to try his hand in the restaurant business, tak-
ing charge of what was known as the Donoval.
He was thus engaged for about two and a half
years, then returned to his meat market indus-
try, which continued to engage his energies un-
til April I, 1886, in which year he accepted a
position as steward in the penitentiary, retain-
ing the same for about two and a half years.
On retiring from this he withdrew from active
participation in the business activities of life.
On November 26, 1866, in the city of
Walla Walla, he married Helen Goss, a native
of county Carlo w, Ireland, born December 25,
1832. She grew to womanhood before leav-
ing her native land, but in 1857 came to Cali-
fornia, whence she afterward removed to Walla
AValla, where, on July 22, 1885, she died. Mr.
and Mrs. Guthridge became the parents of two
children : George W., now connected with the
fire department of Walla Walla; and Ellen J.,
who, on April 22, igoo, became the wife of
Albert E. Guichard, of that city.

JEFFERSON JENNINGS, a pioneer of
1865, is a native of Iowa, born in 1856. When
■only eight years old he accompanied the re-
mainder of the family on the long journey
across the plains, traveling with ox-teams.
They located in Walla Walla valley, and en-
gaged in farming. Mr. Jennings received his
education in the public schools and in Whitman
College, then followed farming for about twelve
years.

Coming to the city of Walla Walla at the
end of that period, he embarked in the grocery
"business, a line which engaged his energies for

the ensuing six years. He then followed the
insurance business a while, then went into the
business of handling second hand furniture.
He is now engaged with Mr. U. G. Bean, pro-
prietor of one of the leading house furnishing
stores in the city. Mr. Jennings also served
a term on the police force and as constable,
and has since been deputized for special service
on several occasions.

As a man and a citizen Mr. Jennings stands
high in the community, enjoying the esteem
and good will of all. His fraternal affiliations
are with the I. O. O. F. and the Modern Wood-
men of America, of the latter of which orders
he is venerable consul. He has been twice
married. In 1877 he wedded Sarah E. Cork-
rum, and they became the parents of three chil-
dren : Olive Belle and Mary Minerva, living,
and Rose Frances, deceased. This Mrs. Jen-
nings died in 1884, and in 1886 Mr. Jennings
married Miss Clara Buckner, who now has
one child. Hazel.

HUGH P. ESTES, dealer in cigars and
tobacco, No. 103^ South Third street, is a na-
tive of Arkansas, born December 11, 1854.
When six years old he accompanied his father
on the long journey across the plains. They
located on Dry creek, six miles north of Walla
Walla, and there Mr. Estes grew to manhood,
receiving such education as the primitive
schools afforded. On reaching the age of eight-
een he went to Oregon and, subsequently, en-
gaged in stock raising. Returning to Walla
Walla after three years' absence, he engaged in
farming on Eureka flat, where his home was
until 1898. In that year he sold his eight-
hundred-acre farm and moved into town, in
order to secure for his children the advantages
of the city schools. He has since given his

336

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

attention to the line of business in wliich we
now find him.

jMr. Estes is considerably interested in
Walla Walla real estate and is one of the
stockholders in the Statesman; also still owns
a farm and stock in Benton county, Oregon.
He has long taken a very active interest in the
political affairs of the county, and may well
be ranked among its political leaders. As a
man and a citizen he stands well wherever he
has lived, enjoying the confidence and good
will of all. In fraternal affiliations he is an
Odd Fellow. He was married in Walla Walla,
December 25, 1882, to Miss Mary Woods, a
native of Missouri, and they have four chil-
dren, Mertie, Hazel, Mabel and Lloyd.

His .father, Thomas Estes, deceased, a pio-
neer of i860, was born in North Carolina,
and in that state grew to manhood and was
educated. On attaining his majority he re-
moved to Tennessee, and while there he met
and married his first wife. He subsequently
went to Arkansas, Avhere for a number of
years he was engaged in tilling the soil. In
i860 he set out across the plains to Washing-
ton, and finally settled at Dry creek, where he
lived about eighteen years, afterward moving
to Walla Walla. After living a retired life
there for several years he took up his abode on
a farm on Eureka flat, and this continued to
be his place of residence until August 20, 1886,
when he died.

While in Arkansas he was married the sec-
ond time, the lady being Miss Irene Malone,
a native of that state. Their union was blessed
by the advent of thirteen children, ten of whom
are still living, namely : Thomas, at Baker
City; Hugh, whose name heads this article; L.
\\'.. a farmer; C. T., a carpenter; Sydney, a
miner: Nancy, wife of J. T. Wiseman; Han-
nah, wife of William Cope, of Arkansas ; Eliz-

abeth ; Sarah ; and Irene, wife of Frank Gif-
fons, of Ritzville. Mrs. Estes died about two
years after the decease of her husband.

:\IICHAEL B. WARD.— In this compila-
tion it is signally consistent that we incorpo- ■
rate a brief review of the career of the honored ^
pioneer whose name initiates this paragraph,
and such a memoir can not but prove of inter-
est to the readers of this volume. Mr. Ward was
a native of the old Buckeye state, born near
Zanesville, Licking county, Ohio, on the nth of
June, 1 818. He remained in his native county
until he was about nineteen years of age, when
he accompanied his parents on their removal
to Squaw Grove, DeKalb county, Illinois, where
he continued his educational discipline and
grew to maturity. He had grown up under the
sturdy and invigorating discipline of the farm,
and to the basic art of agriculture he contin-
ued to devote his attention after attaining his
majority, continuing on the paternal home-
stead in Illinois until 1842, when he engaged
in farming on his own responsibility, in the
same county, his father having deeded him a
quarter section, to which he added, by individ-
ual purchase, another tract.

He continued his operations in this line
until 185 1, when he crossed the plains to Cali-
fornia, making the trip with horses. He re-
mained until December of the following year,
when he returned to Illinois and purchased an-
other farm, of which he disposed at the end
of a year and again essayed the long overland
journey to the Pacific coast, ox-teams being-
utilized at this time. He located in Linn
county, Oregon, where he arrived in Novem-
ber, 1853, settling on a tract of three hundred
and twenty acres, one-half of which he had pur-

MICHAEL B. WARD.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

337

chased, while the remaining quarter section
had been taken up in the name of his wife, the
privilege of thus holding having been at that
time accorded by the land laws. Mr. Ward
here engaged principally in the raising of live
stock, cultivating sufficient land to provide fod-
der for the stock.

Li the fall of 1861 Mr. Ward came with his
family to Walla Walla county, arriving in No-
vember, with a drove of cattle. The winter
proved to be one of exceptional severity, and
Mr. \\'ard lost the greater portion of his stock
by reason of this condition. The winter in
question was passed on the farm of Lewis Mc-
Llorris, and the following spring Mr. Ward
returned to Oregon, disposing of his interests
there and bringing the remainder of his stock
to Walla Walla county, where he bought a half
interest in the farm of Mr. McMorris, purchas-
ing the remainder of the place two years later.
To this tract he added by subsequent purchase
until he was the owner of a valuable place of
seven hundred acres. The family rema'ned on
the farm until the centennial year, 1876, when
they took up their abode in the city of Walla
Walla, locating in a beautiful home, at the head
of Poplar street, where our honored subject
continued to reside until the hour of his death,
which occurred on the 12th of April, 1893, at
which time he had attained the venerable age of
seventy-four years. He was a man of strong
iiitellectual and physical powers, and it is
worthy of note that his final illness was of but
two hours duration, He passed away in the
fullness of years, secure in the esteem and af-
fection of the community where he had lived
and labored so long.

The home place in Walla Walla comprised
originally a tract of ten acres, but of this sev-
eral lots have been since either sold or deeded
tc the children of the family. Mr. Ward never

aspired to political preferment, though suchi
vv-as his popularity and such the confidence re-
posed in him by the public, that he was called
upon to serve in the important office of county
commissioner, of which he was the incumbent
for a period of six consecutive years. He was
a man of inffexible integrity in all the relations
of life, and as one of the worthy pioneers of the
northwest his name will be held in lasting
honor.

In DeKalb county, Illinois, on the 20th of
October, 1842, was solemnized the marriage of
Mr. Ward to Miss Amelia E. Harmon, a na-
tive of Wilkes county, North Carolina. In
early childhood she accompanied her parents to
Illinois, where she was reared and educated.
Her father was by trade and occupation a gun-
smith and blacksmith, and it was in his shop
that she made the acquaintance of Mr. Ward.
She accompanied her husband on his second
trip across the plains, and during all the years
of their married life she proved his devoted
helpmeet and companion. Mr. and Mrs. Ward
became the parents of one child, Agusta M.,
who is the widow of Major R. R. Rees, the
pioneer newspaper publisher of Walla Walla,
in which city she still maintains her residence.
Mr. Ward was a devoted member of the United
Brethren church, as is also his widow, both
having contributed liberally to the support of
religious work and all other worthy causes.

Mrs. Ward is a woman of refinement and
gracious personality, and has been prominent in
the social life of her home city for many years.
She is a member of the Ladies' Relief Asso-
ciation of Walla Walla and was one of the
lady commissioners to the world's fair at New
Orleans, in 1885, she and her husband remain-
ing in the Crescent city for a month, in the
interests of the Walla Walla valley. Mrs.
Ward contributed five hundred dollars to the

338

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

building fund for the boys' dormitory of Whit-
man College. She has at all times had a lively
interest in the welfare of the city and county.

DELOS H. COFFIN, farmer, a pioneer
of the ^^'alla Walla valley of 1877, was born
in Boston, Massachusetts, August i, 1854. In
1855 he was brought by his parents across the
plains to the Willamette valley, where his fa-
ther, George D., bought a squatter's right and
engaged in farming. The family resided there
seven years, then after proving up on their
place as a donation land claim, went to Marion
county and again engaged in farming and stock
raising.

In this part of Oregon Mr. Coffin com-
pleted his public school education. He worked
on his father's farm until twenty-one years
old, but thereupon started to do for himself,
choosing as his occupation the one which he
had previously followed at home, namely, farm-
ing and stock raising. For the first three or
four years he was compelled to rent land, but
in 1879 he purchased eighty acres in the Walla
AValla A-alley, where he now resides. This
formed a nucleus for further acquisition until
he is now the owner of four hundred and forty
acres of fine land, upon which he raises stock,
cereals and, in fact, almost all kinds of farm
products which thrive in this climate.

Mr. Coffin is a very active man in local
affairs, holding many offices of trust in the
county. For four years he was school director,
for six, he served as road supervisor, and he is
now representing his district in the board of
county commissioners. He is one of the lead-
ing and representative men of his neighbor-
hood, enjoying the respect and confidence of
his fellow citizens.

In fraternal affiliations, Mr. Coffin is identi-
fied with the F. O. E. and the I. O. O. F. He
was married at College Place, December 16,
1881, to Miss Stella E. Sickler, a native of
Minnesota, but a resident of this county since
she was three years old.

Mr. Coffin's father died in this valley in
February, 1885, after a residence of eight years
here, and his remains lie buried in the Walla
Walla cemetery.

PHILIP A. BECKER, a farmer residing
on the Little Walla Walla river, one-half mile
southwest of the Whitman monument, a pio-
neer of 1878, is a native of Dundass county,
Ontario, born January 28, 1858. He received
his education in the excellent public schools of
his native land, also took a course in a busi-
ness college there. When twenty-one years old
he came via San Francisco and Portland to
the Walla Walla valley, where he accepted a
position as agent at Bhie ^Mountain station,
on the Blue Mountain division of the old Dr.
Baker road, now a part of the Oregon Railway
& Navigation system. He was thus employed
for six months, after which he worked a year
for the same road as brakeman, then for the
Oregon Railway & Navigation Company.

Mr. Becker remained with the latter com-
pany employed as a brakeman until 1882, then
was promoted, becoming a conductor. In the
fall of 1883 he decided to quit railroading, so
he took a homestead where he now resides, also
a timber culture. He afterwards purchased
another quarter-section, so that he is now the
owner of four hundred and eighty acres in all,
on which he raises cattle, cereals and other
farm products of almost every variety suited to
the climate. He is an industrious, thrifty and
energetic man, possessed of the traits of char-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

339

-acter necessary to insure success in any calling.
He manifests his interest in the cause of edu-
cation by serving as school clerk, tiiough he
might well claim that he had done his share of
such work, having previously held that office
for six consecutive years.

Mr. Becker was married in this county, in
February, 1887, to Mrs. Martha E. Coffin, a
pioneer of the valley of 1877. They have three
children, Philip Ai, Dora May and George A.,
students in the ^^'hitman district school.

FRANKLIN B. MORSE.— A veteran of
"the Civil war as well as of the Indian struggles
of later years, and a respected and esteemed
pioneer of the county, the subject of this brief
"biographical review certainly merits representa-
tion in a volume of this character, and it affords
us pleasure to accord the same to one who has
made so highly honorable a record both in
peace and in war.

Mr. Morse was born in New York on July
II, 1845, came thence to Ohio in 1853, and
from that state to Iowa in 1856. He had no
more than completed his public-school educa-
tion until the necessities of his war-scourged
country began to appeal to him, and in 1862
he enlisted in Company C, Eighteenth Iowa
Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until
the goddess of peace again visited our land.
Not long after his discharge he came from his
old home in Iowa to Walla Walla county, ar-
riving September 3, 1868, it being his fortune
to become one of the pioneer agriculturists of
this valley. He followed farming and stock
raising for the first seven years, and during
that time took a prominent part in securing
the formation of Columbia county, which was
formerly a part of Walla Walla county. He

subsequently removed to this city, where for
the first three years he followed the dairy
business.

During the Bannock uprising of 1878 he
served as second officer in command of the
\\'alla \\'alla volunteers, and to him belongs
a large share of the credit for the fortunate
outcome of the engagement on the Columbia
river, the result of which was to prevent the
redskins from crossing the river and doing un-
told damage on this side. The Indian sup-
plies were captured and their canoes destro3'ed.

In 1879 Mr. Morse sold his farm and ac-
cepted a position with the firm of Paine Broth-
ers & Moore as their shipping clerk, and on
the completion of the O. R. & N. he entered
the employ of the company, serving for two
and a half years thereafter as their night police
officer. In May, 1884, he was appointed by
the county commissioners to the office of con-
stable, and he retained that post until the state
penitentiary building in this city was com-
pleted, when his services were called into requi-
sition in connection with the removal of the
prisoners from Seatico, now known as Bucoda,
to this city.

In 1889 he was appointed a police officer,
and in the discharge of his duties as such found
their field of operation. Mr. j\Iorse has proven
signally faithful to every trust, public or pri-
vate, in peace or in war, which has ever been
reposed in him, and he is maintaining his good
record in the work in which he is now en-
gaged.

Mr. Morse has been twice married. On
November 14, 1869, in the city of Walla Walla,
his first wedding was solemnized, and to this
union two children were born: Charles F., now
in DeLamar, Idaho; and Cora D., now Mrs.
Edward Stanfield, of Walla Walla. On March
15, 1900, he was again married, the lady being

340

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Mrs. Emma J. Weathermon, a native of Bel-
mont county, Ohio, who came to Oregon in
1883. She lived near ^vlilton, in that state,
until 1897, then moved to \\'alla \\'alla, where
she has ever since lived.

SAAIUEL P. YOUNG.— This energetic
confectioner and cigar merchant was born in
Tennessee on the twenty-fifth of December,
1862. He grew to manhood in the state of
his nativity, completing his education in the
community in which he was born, and in 1887
came to \\'alla Walla. He engaged in farm-
ing, an industry to which his best endeavors
were given for the first seven years of his res-
idence in this valley, but he thereupon moved
into the city and engaged in the business in
which we now find him.

He conducts his business on sound prin-
ciples, ever watching alertly to conserve the
best interests of his patrons, and always keep-
ing on hand a full stock of everything in his
line. His life and all his relations with his
fellow man have been so ordered as to win
the respect and esteem of all those with whom
he comes in contact. Fraternally he is iden-
tified with Court Evening Star, No. 35, For-
esters of America, located in Walla Walla, also
Trinity Lodge, L O. O. F., of Walla Walla
of which he is inside guard. He owns a com-
fortable home in this city and other property
of value, including a farm of one hundred and
sixty acres on Eureka flat.

J. M. HILL. — Prominently identified with
two of the most important industries of the
county, banking and railroading, the subject

of this review has earned an honored place
among the benefactors and builders of this
section. He is a son of the west, having been
born in Yamhill county, Oregon, in 1849. He
was educated in the public schools of his na-
tive state and in Portland academy, and when
he completed his academic training, he en-
tered a commission house in Portland, where
he worked for the ensuing five years.

In the spring of 1872 Mr. Hill came to
Walla Walla and went onto a cattle ranch for
Baker, Green & Company. A few months
later, however, he and Dr. Baker's son engaged
in a mercantile business in Weston, Oregon,
but through the fault and failure of another
firm and without any dereliction on their own
part, they were forced to retire.

^Ir. Hill then turned his attention to rail-
way construction as an employe of Dr. D. S.
Baker, taking charge of a supply store at Wal-
lula. When the road was completed he became
the first conductor, and he afterward served
as agent at Wallula and still later became su-
perintendent of the entire Walla Walla and
Columbia River Railroad. This last position
he retained until the road was sold to the Ore-
gon Railway & Navigation Company. He
then built a railroad to Dudley and Dixie for
Dr. Baker, afterward operating the same until
it also became a part of the Oregon Railway
& Navigation system.

His great energy and constructive abili-
ties were next utilized in the organization of
the Blue jMountain Flume Company, the pur-
pose of which was to transport lumber and
wood for the supply of the market and fort
at Walla ^^'alla. He assisted in the organiza-
tion of the Walla Walla Street Railway Com-
pany, which had the benefit of his supervision
until it went out of business. In 1892 he en-
tered the Baker-Boyer National bank '(of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

34i

■which he was ah-eady a director), as book-
keeper, and shortly afterward he was given his
present position, that of assistant cashier. Mr.
HiU has also been^ for a long time connected
with and is now treasurer of the Literstate
Building and Loan Association. He is more-
over, extensively interested in farming, being
the owner of four hundred acres south of
town, besides considerable real estate in other
places. His holdings also include much city
property of value.

For two terms our subject served as a
member of the board of county commissioners,
and for a like period he was one of the city
councilman of Walla Walla, discharging the
duties of both offices with characteristic skill
and good judgment. He is one of the many
men in the Inland Empire who have worked
incessantly for the development and upbuilding
of the country, and very few anywhere have
displayed greater capacity than he for manag-
ing large and intricate undertakings.

Mr. Hill was married in Walla Walla coun-
ty, in 1876, to Lucinda H. Berry, and their
union has been blessed b}^ the advent of five
children: Dorsey M., now with Blackman
Brothers & Company; Harry B., who looks
after his father's farm; and Bertha, living, and
Harvey and Florence, deceased.

BENJAMIX D. CROCKER, a pioneer of
1879, is a native of ^^'ashington county, New
York, born September 8, 1854. He received
kis education in that state; graduating at Union
College, at Schenectady, in 1876. He then
furned his attention to civil engineering, and in
1879 came out to Walla Walla to engage in
land surveying for the United States govern-
irent. L'ntil 1884 he was in its employ, as-

sisting in the subdivision of all lands in eastern
Washington, and for about a year thereafter
he worked for the N. P. R. R., selecting their
lieu lands. He then accepted a position as gen-
eral agent for the Oregon Improvement Com-
pany, by whom he was engaged until 1899.
Since that date he has devoted his attention to
the occupation in which he is now engaged,
namely, acting as financial agent for corpora-
tions residing outside the state. ' He was one
of the organizers of the Farmers' Savings bank,
and served as a member of its executive com-
mittee.

Mr. Crocker is one of the public-spirited
and progressive men of Walla Walla, wide
awake to all the best interests of the city, and
ready always to contribute his full share to its
m.aterial advancement. In politics he is now
and always has been active, and during the
recent campaign was a member of .the State
central committee. He is a prominent Knight
Templar and thirty-second-degree Mason. On
July 25, 1880, he married, at Lewiston, Idaho,
Miss Mary P. Truax, a native of Oregon City,
Oregon. They have two sons, Porter and
Sewall.

Mrs. Crocker's father. Major Sewall Truax,
a pioneer of the coast of 1850, was very promi-
nent as a soldier, as a surveyor, and as an ex-
tensive farmer, and his life history forms a
part of the military and civil annals of the In-
land Empire. He died in 1893. leaving a wife
and family of six children, all of whom are
filling honorable stations in life.

MAX BAUMEISTER, real estate and in-
surance agent, was born in Germany, in 1840.
He attended the public schools there until four-
teen years old, then came to America. He lo-

342

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

cated on Long Island, following the barber
trade there until 1859, when he came via Pan-
ama to California. He spent some time in the
mining region, but soon returned to San Fran-
cisco, and to the pursuit of his handicraft
After maintaining a shop for two years he re-
turned to New York, going thence to Europe.
He traveled extensively over the old world,
returning at length to San Francisco. In 1862
he removed to Portland, Oregon, and a month
later to Walla Walla, where he again engaged
in the practice of the tonsorial art. at first as
an employe and later in a shop of his own.
Since 1882, however, he has devoted his en-
ergies to real estate, loans and insurance,
though he was formerly also a very extensive
farmer, and he still gives considerable atten-
tion to that business. A man of unusual energy'
and executive ability, he has attained a high
degree of success in the various enterprises in
which he has been engaged, and he commands
the respect always paid to those who have the
courage and sagacity to take advantage of every
opportunity which may offer. He is thor-
oughly public-spirited, and ever ready to do
what he can for the general good. In fra-
ternal affiliations he is a Mason. He was mar-
ried in Walla Walla, in 1866, to Anna Hauer,
since deceased. In 1880 he was again married,
in Long Island, New York, to Albine
Schwieker, and to them have been born five
children, Charlotte, Alvin, Garfield, Max E.,
Olga S. and Werner W.

acquiring a public school education, and after-
wards following farming as an occupation.
In 1853 he came to the United States, land-
ing in New York, and from that city went
to Wisconsin, making the trip by team and
sleigh in the winter season. He located in the
vicinity of La Crosse, where for many years
he was engaged in farming.

Subsequently, however, our subject came to
Walla \\'alla, rented land on Dry creek and
resumed, under new conditions, the business
in which he had so long been engaged. After a
year had passed he moved onto the place oa
which we now find him. He has one hundred
and sixty acres of land, a school-quarter sec-
tion, and is engaged in raising wheat, barley
and fruit. He was married in Bohemia, Aus-
tria, in 1850, to i\Iiss Mary Frana, a native
of that country, who died August 16, 1899,
after having attained the ripe age of eighty-
four years. Of their marriage three children
were born : Theresa, wife of Loren Kroll, of
La Crosse, \\'isconsin; Frances, wife of
Charles J. Heflfner, a farmer on the OregoiT
side of the state line; and Alary, now Airs.
Charles H. Eichler.

FRANK BRZEZOWSKY, a farmer on
Spring creek, two miles west of College Place,
a pioneer of 1875, was born in Bohemia, Aus-
tria, August 17, 1825. He resided in the land
of his nativity until twenty-six years of age.

HIPPOLYTE DAVIN. — France, like
many other countries of Europe, has furnished
us numerous energetic and progressive citi-
zens, not the least important among whom is
the man whose name forms the caption of this
sketch. Air. Davin was born on the 23d of
September, 1857, and remained in the land of
his nativity until he became about sixteen years
of age, receiving a good common school educa-
tion. Landing in New York in 1874 he came
thence directly to California, in which state
he had his first experience in the sheep rais-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

343

ing industry, which he has followed so suc-
cessfully and with so much profit to himself
ever since. Li 1883 he sold his stock in Cal-
ifornia, came with the proceeds to Walla
Walla county and invested the same in sheep
here, and he has found the business under the
conditions existing in this valley a very profit-
able one to a man who understands as thor-
oughly as he does, the art of handling this
species of stock in the most economical man-
ner. He owns four hundred acres and leases
over eleven thousand acres of grazing land for
pasturing his flocks.

Mr. Davin has manifested a deep interest
in the welfare of Walla Walla since he first
established his residence here, and has contrib-
uted materially to the development and growth
of the city, especially by investing a portion of
the profits arising from his business in erect-
ing substantial buildings here. He is the
owner of the Pearson building, a brick block,
and other valuable property in the city.

Our subject was married in Walla Walla
on August 14, 1893, to Miss Sidonie Gondre,
also a native of France, born in 1871. They
have three children, namely: Phinix H. M.,
Blanche M. R., and Lionel V. N. Mr. Davin
and his entire family are members of the Cath-
olic church.

study at Whitman College. In 1888 he went
onto his' father's farm twenty-five miles from
Lewiston, Idaho, on Snake river, and there
he remained until in 1892 he was called to a
position as clerk in the Spokane postoffice.
He retained that situation until 1896, per-
forming his duties faithfully and skillfully.

A desire to try his fortunes in the mines
had seized Mr. Truax, however, and accord-
ingly he now turned his attention to that in-
dustry. In 1899 he opened a bookstore in
Walla Walla, and began to build up his present
flourishing business, but he still retains his
interest in mining, and is helping to develop
some very promising properties. He is one of
the rising young business men of the Inland
Empire, active, industrious and progressive,
and it needs no prophetic eye to discern a very
successful future before him. He was married
in Seattle, January 10, 1900, to Miss Louise
A. Fuller, a native of St. Cloud, Minnesota.

HENRY C. TRUAX, son of Major Truax,
is one of the prominent young business men
of Walla Walla. He is a true son of the
west, having been born at Fort Lapwai, Idaho,
April 28, 1870, and having spent his entire life
thus far in the Occident. When two years old
he was taken by his parents to Walla Walla,
and in that city he received his education,
which consisted of a complete public school
course, supplemented by four years of hard

EZEKIEL SMITH, carriage maker, Wal-
la Walla, was born in Canada in 1835, ^"d in
that country he was reared and educated. Hq
learned the trade of a carriage maker at Brock-
ville, Ontario, and worked at it there for some
time, but at length removed to St. Lawrence
county. New York, where for two years more
he devoted himself exclusively and assiduously
to his handicraft. The ensuing three years were
passed in the same occupation in western Can-
ada, and the next three in Berlin, Wisconsin.
From that date until 1864, his place of business
was Ripon, in the same state, but he then re-
moved to Minnesota, arriving in time to par-
ticipate in the closing operations of the Sioux
war.

In 1873 Mr. Smith came to California,

344

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

whence, four years later, he removed to Walla
Walla. He entered the employ of the govern-
ment here, but finding that all his time Avas
not occupied, soon opened in business for him-
self. For more than twenty years he has di-
vided his time between the government, fur
which he works as a wheelwright, and his own
carriage-making establishment on Alder
street. JNIr. Smith is one of the most highly
esteemed and respected of Walla Walla's citi-
zens, and though not ambitious for personal
preferment, stands high in the community
where he is known. He is an active member
of the First IMethodist Episcopal church, hav-
ing joined that denomination in 1862, and
upon arriving in Walla Walla he deposited his
letter with the local society, of which he has
been a trustee. He also held the responsible
office of Sunday-school superintendent for
twelve years.

Mr. Smith has been thrice married. On
July 4. 1S56, in Ogdensburg, New York, he
married Miss Juliette E. Hall, who died in De-
cember, 1867. On Christmas, 1S72, he was
married in Mankato, Minn., to Mrs. Fannie
Shourds, who passed away at Walla Walla
on May 3, 1892, and his third marriage took
place in \\'alla ^Valla, the lady being Mrs.
Sarah E. Ping.

- PROFESSOR WILLL\M D. LYMAN.—
The prominent educator, whose life history it
is the purpose of this article to briefly outline,
is a son of the west, and he has long been con-
sidered among the intellectual leaders of the
Pacific coast. His father and mother were
among the earliest settlers of Portland, Oregon,
having come thither in 1849 from an eastern
state, making the journey by vessel, via Cape
Horn. Li the metropolis of Oregon, then a

small village. Professor Lyman was born, the
date of his advent upon the stage of action be-
ing December i, 1852. His parents removed
to Forest Grove when he was quite young and
in the Public schools of that town he took
his initial steps in the pursuit of a liberal educa-
tion. Li due time, he matriculated at Pacific
L^niversity, from which institution he received
the B. S. degree in 1873. ' He was not, how-
ever, satisfied with his scholastic attainments,
so engaged in public school teaching with a
view to securing funds necessary to enable him
to further prosecute his studies. La the fall
of 1875, lis enrolled as a student in Williams
College, where for the next two years he stud-
ied with assiduity and zeal, graduating in 1877,
with the degree of bachelor of arts.

He was thereupon appointed to the chair
of history and literature in his alma mater.
Pacific University. He taught there nine years,
but failing health forbade his longer remain-
ing in the class room, so he sought recuperation
in the mountain regions of California and New
Mexico. He traveled for two years, his facile
pen contributing the while to numerous maga-
zines and newspapers. In December, 1888, he
accepted a position in Whitman College, and
that institution has profited by his scholarship
and ability almost continuously since, not a
little of the credit for its phenoinenal progress
being due to him. The retrenchment necessi-
tated by the hard times, however, left him free
for one year, and this he passed in Finney
College. At present he has charge of the his-
tory and civics in \Miitman College, and to his
work there the major portion of his time is
given, though he is also quite a prolific writer
for the various leading periodicals.

Lideed, Professor Lyman's reputation as
a literary man is quite as extensive as is that
which he has acquired as a result of his labors

W. D. LYMAN.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

345

as an educator, and articles written by him fre-
cjuently appear in tlie Overland Monthly, the
Inter-Ocean, the Spokesman-Review, the Seat-
tle Times, the Oregonian and other publica-
tions both- east and west. He was one of the
contributors to the History of the Pacific
Northwest, and some of the most interesting
chapters of this volume were written by him.
The professor is also widely known throughout
this state and Oregon as a lecturer and public
speaker.

In 1882, in Forest Grove, Oregon, the mar-
riage of Professor Lyman to Miss Martha
•Clark was solemnized, and they have become
parents of four children, namely : Hubert, Mar-
jorie,- Willena and Harold.

Mrs. Lyman, who also belongs to one of
the oldest and most widely known and respected
of Oregon's pioneer families, takes an active
interest in many of the ladies' organizations
of Walla Walla, contributing not a little to the
social and intellectual life of the city.

THOMAS MOORE, one of the leading
farmers of the county, was born in Franklin
county, New York, near Fort Covington, in
1848. He resided there until sixteen years old,
receiving most of his education in the academy
a' Fort Covington. In 1864, he came to Cali-
fornia, via th; isthmus, and after spending a
year in the employ of his brother, went into
the mining region of Nevada, where he realized
excellent results out of transactions in mining
stock. He later went to Virginia City, Ne-
vada, and entered the employ of the Pacific
■(quartz) Mill.

Mr. Moore worked there nearly four years,
having charge of the engine during the last
two, then returned to the east, making the

trip on the first through passenger train, and
taking six days to go to Omaha, Nebraska,
where the passengers received a royal welcome.
Three months were passed in his old home,
then he started on an extensive tour, on which
he paid out over one thousand, six hundred
dollars in railroad fare, and traversed all but
three of the states of the Union. He finally
ended his journeyings in 1869, in the city of
Walla Walla, and turned his attention to farm-
ing and stock raising, a business which he has
followed continuously since with great success.
He is the owner of four hundred acres in
Spring Valley, and two hundred more across
the Touchet river, upon all of which he is now
raising wheat.

Mr. Moore has always taken an active in-
terest in politics, and ever proved himself a true
f-riend of progress. He has been especially
earnest in his efforts to secure good roads
throughout his county, thus giving his enthusi-
astic support to one of the most needed of re-
forms. In fraternal connections, he is an Elk,
and a Catholic Knight. He was married in
Bridgeport, California, to Nellie Bannon, who
died in 1897, leaving four children, Corleen,
■Walter, Camille, and Clarence. In 1900 he
was again married, the lady being Miss Maggie
Bannon, a sister of his former wife.

RICHARD A. BOGLE, proprietor of the
tonsorial parlors at No. 3 Second street, was
born in the West India Islands, September 7,
1835. When about twelve years old, he emi-
grated to New York, and a year later, in com-
pany with one John Cogswell, he removed to
Michigan, whence, after but a brief residence,
he and Mr. Cogswell crossed the plains to
Oregon, arriving in the "land of promise," Oc-

346

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

tober 15, 185 1. He stayed three years, then
moved to Yreka, California, where he learned
the trade of a barber, under a man named Na-
than Ferber, for whom he worked for the en-
suing three years. During the next three he
w^as proprietor of a restaurant and barber shop
in Deadwood, California, but he subsequently
engaged in mining. Returning at length to
Roseburg, Oregon, he resumed his trade, and
until 1862 he maintained a shop there. In
that year, however, he emigrated to Walla
Walla, whence he made an extensive mining
tour, visiting Florence, Elk City, and Oro Fino.
Upon his return, he bought an interest in a
barber shop, and he has been engaged in that
business unceasingly since, except for a brief
period, during which he was in Oregon.

Mr. Bogle has been quite successful finan-
cially and is interested in the Walla Walla
Building and Loan Association, and other busi-
ness enterprises. He resides in a very pleasant
and comfortable home at 122 E. Poplar street.
In Salem, Oregon, in January, 1863, he mar-
ried Miss A. Waldo, and they have become
parents of eight children, five of whom are now
living, namely : Arthur Belle Warren, now in
the Sandwich Islands; Kate, w-ife of C. M.
Duffy, Pullman, Washington; Porter, at St.
Paul ; and Waldo, with his father.

CHARLES H. EICHLER, a farmer, a pi-
oneer of 1870, was born in Bavaria, Germany,
June II, 1849. When eleven years of age he
embarked as a cabin boy and visited Australia,
Africa, Japan and the East Indies. In 1861 he
disembarked at Norfolk, Virginia, and, though
only twelve years old, began the struggle for
existence alone. He worked as a butcher until

1869, then came west to the Walla Walla val-
ley, arriving early the following year. He
enlisted in the United States army in the First
Calvary, Troop H, under command of Cap-
tain J. G. Trimble, and served in the Modoc
war of 1872, also participated in several scout-
ing expeditions among the Piutes.

In 1875 Mr. Eichler was discharged at
Fort Walla Walla, and he thereupon entered
the employ of Adams Brothers, as a clerk in
their general merchandise store. He was with
them continuously until 1882, then embarked
in the grocery business for himself. In March,
1884, he closed out and again became a clerk,
following that work uninterruptedly until 1889,.
when he was appointed steward of the peni-
tentiary, a position which he retained for a
year and a half. From that until 1898 he was
clerking again, but at the outbreak of the Span-
ish-American war, he offered his services, and
was placed in charge of a government pack
train of mules and sent to Jefferson barracks.
From that point he was ordered to Tampa,
Florida, thence to Cuba, arriving at Guanta-
namo, below Santiago, June 28, 1898. He
carried ammunition to the firing line at Qua-
simo and San Juan Hill, encountering as many
dangers in both these battles as the soldiers en-
gaged. He became well acquainted with The-
odore Roosevelt, for whom he has an ardent
admiration.

After his return to Walla Walla he served
one year as driver of the chemical engine on
the city fire department, then, in 1899, took
charge of his father-in-law's farm, on which
he has since resided continuously. Mr. Eich-
ler is widely known in this county, and enjoys
the confidence, esteem and good will of a very
large circle. In religious persuasion he is an
Episcopalian, and fraternally he is identified
with the I. O. O. F., and the A. O. U. W,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

347

He was married in Walla Walla, July 23,
1877, to Miss Mary Brzezowsky, a native of
Austria.

OSWALD BECKER, a farmer on Pine
creek, fourteen miles southwest of Walla Walla,
was born in Baden, Germany, February 25,
1854. He remained there until eleven years
old, attending the public schools, but in 1865
he accompanied the remainder of the family
to the United States. The parents engaged in
farming in Calhoun county, Illinois, where
they lived until 1877, when they removed to
Greene county, in which they continued to re-
side until their death. The mother died in
January, 1898, and the father in June of the
following year.

Mr. Becker remained with them until
twenty-one years old, completing his education
in the district school, then went to work for
wages in Greene coimty, of which he was a res-
ident for the ensuing four years. In 1879, he
went to Logan county, Arkansas, purchased
eighty acres of land and engaged in farming.
Three years later, he sold this and returned to
Illinois. He farmed there on rented land for
another period of three years, then disposed of
his stock and set out for Walla Walla valley,
arriving in May, 1885. He rented a farm near
the city of Walla Walla for one season, but
the following fall took a pre-emption of one
hundred and twenty acres in the foot hills near
Waitsburg, where he resided continuously un-
til 1898. In that year, he sold his holdings,
came over to Pine creek and homesteaded the
quarter-section on which he now lives. He
also purchased a tract of two hundred and
thirty acres near by, and upon the entire place
he is raising grain, hay and stock. He has a
fine herd of twenty-five Shorthorn dairy cows,

and possesses a plant for separating his owni
cream.

By dint of industry, perseverance and thrift,
Mr. Becker has made for himself and family
a very comfortable home, and has gained rank
among the enterprising and successful farmers
of his neighborhood. The fact that he is inter-
ested in the educational well-being of the county
is: manifested by his having served faithfully
in the capacity of school director for eight con-
secutive years on Coppei creek.

In Illinois, on August 26, 1879, our sub-
ject married Miss Annie M. Pranger, a native
of St. Louis, Missouri, and they became parents
of eight children, Agnes, wife of Charles
Strahm; Lucy E., Rosa A., Frederick, Gerty,
Susan, Winnifrede, and Veronica S., at home
with their parents. The entire family are
members of the Catholic church of Walla
Walla. Mrs. Becker's mother died July 28,
1897, while visiting at her daughter's residence
on Coppei creek, and her remains lie buried in
the family lot in the Catholic cemetery.

WILLIAM C. TOWNSEND, a farmer re-
siding about thirteen miles southwest of Walk-
Walla, was born in Caledonia county, Vermont,
October 20, 1865, and there the first five years
of his life were spent. He was taken by his
m.other to Woodford county, Illinois, where,
thirteen months later, he was left an orphan by
the death of his mother, his father having
passed away shortly before they left Vermont.

Mr. Townsend was reared and cared for by
an uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Kohl,
with whom he lived until twenty-three years of
age. They gave him a good public school edu-
cation, and he rewarded them by working on
their farm in Illinois and again in Iowa until

348

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

twenty-two years of age. The last year he
was with them, he rented his uncle's place and
■farmed on his own account.

In the fall of 1888, he came to Washington,
took a homestead on Mud creek near Hudson
Bay and began farming. To this he later
added another c^uarter-section procured by pur-
chase, and is now raising wheat as his principal
crop, though he also gives some attention to
other farm products. He is enterprising and
industrious and ranks among the thrifty and
successful farmers of his neighborhood. He
does not seem to be ambitious for leadership
among his fellows, and never has held any
offices, except that of school director for one
term, but his standing in the community is of
the highest..

In Pendleton, Oregon, on November 30,
1896, our subject married Miss Flora Cummins,
a native of Appanoose county, Iowa, and they
are the parents of one child, Luther C. Mrs.
Townsend's parents came to this county in
1890, and her father now makes his home with
her, but her mother died twenty-three days
after their arrival.

HERBERT F. WALLACE.— One of the
energetic and progressive mechanics of this city
and one of her intelligent and respected citizens
is he who bears the name which initiates this
brief review. He was born in the state of
Vermont on the 2d of July, i860, but was
reared in the sunny South, ha\'ing gone to
El Paso, Texas, when seven years old. He
accjuired a high education, not only completing
the public school course, but also matriculat-
ing in and in due time graduating from El
Paso College.

After receiving his degree he learned the

trade of a painter and paperhanger, following
that in Texas for a number of years. But the
climatic conditions obtaining there seem to
have undermined liis heatlli, for in 1898 he re-
moved to California for the purpose of better-
ing, if possible, his physical condition. After
remaining a short time in San Francisco under
medical treatment, he came north to Seattle,
removing thence to Spokane, where for five
months he again gave himself vigorously to the
pursuit of his handicraft. Finally, however,
he disposed of his business interests there and
removed to ^^'alla '^Willa, in which city his
home has since been and where he has again es-
tablished himself in business. He is still the
owner of property interests in El Paso, Texas.
Mr. Wallace's marriage was solemnized in
New York, on May 30, 1891, when Miss Issa-
bella Tennev became his wife.

JAMES S. BARRETT, shoe merchant,
Walla Walla, was born in Sumner, Oxford
county, Maine, in 1838. He was reared on a
farm in that state, receiving .such education as
the public schools afforded. On attaining his
majority, he went to ^Massachusetts to learn
the art of manufacturing shoes, and two years
later (in 1861) he set out by steamer to the
Pacific coast. Locating in the minmg regions
of California, he followed mining exclusively
for about five years. In April, 1867, however,
he purchased the Stetson & Buck boot manu-
facturing establishment, which business he con-
ducted, together with mining, for several
years, at one time being absent for a brief
period on a trip east. Finally selling out in
1875 he moved to .San Francisco, California,
where he purchased an interest in a boot and
shoe manufactory at 1208 IMarket street.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

349

Shortly afterward he bought the remaining in-
terest and the entire business was conducted
by him until July, 1878.

Mr. Barrett then moved to Walla Walla
where he purchased property and opened a
store for the manufacture and sale of boots
and shoes. He has devoted himself assid-
uously ever since to. the building up and ex-
tending of this business, employing at times
several men in his manufacturing industry,
though he also handles custom-made goods.
He is a thorough business man, possessed of
the foresight and good judgment characteris-
tic of the successful in commercial pursuits.
As a man and a citizen, his standing in the
community is of the highest. He is a very
prominent Odd Fellow, having been connected
with that order for forty years, and having
passed through all the offices and received all
the honors in the gift of the fraternity. Mr.
Barrett was married in Walla Walla in Jan-
uary, 1879, to Cora M. Parker, a native of
Jay, Maine, and they now have two children,
Annie M. and Parker.

ANDREW J. EVANS, one of the leading'
farmers of the county, residing now at 427
E. Main street, Walla Walla, is a son of Ohio,
born September 2, 1842. In 1858 the family
moved to Iowa, whence three years later they
started across the plains to the west, driving
ox-teams. On August 29, 1861, they arrived in
Walla Walla, where Mr. Evans' home has been
ever since. For several years he was engaged in
teaming, but he subsequently turned his atten-
tion to the more profitalDle business of stock-
raising. In 1 87 1 he located a homestead on
Mill creek, three miles east of town, and this
forms the nucleus of his present iine farm
of eight hundred and twenty acres.

Mr. Evans is an active, industrious, pro-
gressive man, and one whose influence in the
moulding and development of the county has
been very sensibly felt. His uprightness and
integrity have never been questioned. For
some years he served as a member of the Walla
Walla city council, performing his duties with
courage, faithfulness and good judgment. He
has long been an active and consistent mem-
ber of the Cumberland Presbyterian church.
In 1867 he was united in marriage to Miss
Amata Williams, a native of Iowa, and they
became the parents of three children, namely :
Marvin, an attorney in Walla Walla; Emmet,
a farmer; and Wesley, deceased.

WILLIAM S. GOODMAN, a farmer and
sheep and cattle raiser, proprietor of the "Hud-
son Bay farm," was born in Coles county, Illi-
nois, on June 2, 1844. When ten years old,
he accompanied the family to Monroe county,
Iowa, where he lived for two years on a farm,
after which he went with his parents to Putnam
county, Missouri. Here his father engaged in
the dual occupation of farming and wagon-
making, he working in the shop most of the
time, while his sons worked the farm under his
directions.

In May, 1862, the entire family set out
across the plains to this state. They experi-
enced no real trouble with Indians, though they
were at one time quite badly frightened, and
corraled their wagons, but the braves, after
riding around the extemporized fortification a
few times, galloped away without opening fire.
Arriving in the Walla Walla valley in Septem-
ber, they settled on what is known as the Hud-
son Bay farm. The father took a squatter's
claim in this vicinity, but after two years dis-

3S0

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

posed of it to go to the Willamette valley, where
lie spent two years. Returning then, he resided
here until the time of his death, August 6, 1875.

Upon his arrival at the Hudson Bay farm,
Mr. Goodman, who had completed his educa-
tion in the east, spent a year in a store in Walla
Walla, then engaged in teaming for a brief
period of time, but in 1864, embarked in the
livery business in Walla Walla. During the
year 1865, he was quite extensively engaged in
freighting to and from the Boise, Auburn,
Lewiston and Colville mining regions, and in
1866 he began importing cattle from the Willa-
mette valley, a business which he followed con-
tinuously until 1873. For the ensuing two
vears, he was in the grocery business in Los
Angeles, but in 1875 he returned to the "Bay,"
purchased four hundred acres of land and di-
rected his attention to the business in which
he is now engaged. Besides the farm men-
tioned above, he is the owner of a one-thou-
sand-seven-hundred-and-fifty-acre tract near
by, which he uses for pasture. He is one of the
most successful stock and sheep raisers in the
valley, and is especially interested in the pro-
duction of tine Shorthorn cattle. His indus-
try and ability have found fitting reward, so
tliat he is quite wealthy, being the owner of
property in Walla Walla and Seattle and a
ten-acre tract near the city limits of Los An-
geles, California. He has long been prominent
in the Democratic party, though he is too broad-
minded to be excessively partisan, and is very
frank in bestowing credit wherever credit is
due. At one time he was elected without effort
■on his own part, to represent Umatilla county,
Oregon, in the state legislature.

jNIr. Goodman was married in Whitman
county, Washington, in October, 1879, to Miss
Irene Stewart, a native of Walla Walla, and a
■daughter of pioneer parents. They have two

children : ^Myrtle, now a student in \\'hitman
College, and W. Dean, in the public school of
his home district.

\\TLLIA]M PETERSOX, a farmer two
miles southwest of Waitsburg, was born in
Chicago, Illinois, November 14, 1870. While
yet a boy, he removed to Nebraska, where he
completed the public-school education he had al-
ready begim to acquire in Chicago, and w^here,
for a short time, he was engaged in farming.
Coming to Walla Walla county, in 1889, he
procured a fine little farm of one hundred and
twenty acres in the vicinity of Waitsburg, and
upon this his home has been ever since. He
is, however, too ambitious to confine his ener-
gies to such narrow limits, so he leases and
farms four hundred and eighty acres more,
raising principally wheat. He is very indus-
trious, enterprising young man and enjoys the
good will and esteem of his neighbors gener-
ally.

E. SHEPARD RUSSELL, a farmer resid-
ing on Mud creek, eight miles southwest of
Walla Walla, was born in Belmont county,
Ohio, on April 14, 1850. While still in his
infancy, he was taken by his parents to Bureau
county, Illinois, where his mother soon after-
ward died. He was adopted by a man named
Rude, with whom he lived continuously until
eighteen years old. He acquired a part of his
education in the public schools, but received
m.ost of his instruction from Mr. and Mrs.
Rude.

In 1867 Mr. Russell removed to Miami
county, Kansas, where he had a married sister,
but. after a visit of only three months, he

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

351

started o\-erIand through JNIissouri to his old
home in IlHnois, making the entire trip on
foot. For two years after his arrival he worked
a^ a farm hand, but he then returned to Kan-
sas, where he met with an accident which laid
him up all winter. Early the next fall he
homesteaded a quarter-section and began farm-
ing on his own account, but, a year later, he
relinquished his claim, sold his improvements,
and returned to ]Miami county. He purchased
a forty-acre tract and farmed for two years,
then, his health having failed, he returned to
his old home. Shortly afterward, however,
he removed to Oxford, Iowa, to become fore-
man for the gentleman who raised him, in the
business of improving and selling farms. Dur-
ing the two years of his stay here he encoun-
tered two cyclones, both of which blew his
houses to pieces, and one of which carried him
and the building in which he then was over a
considerable distance, but without injuring him
in the least.

Mr. Russell spent the winter of 1876 in
Washington county, Kansas, and in the spring
outfitted and started across the plains with
mule-teams to the west. On Camass Prairie,
Idaho, the party met the chiefs of the Bannock
Indians, who were then holding a council of
war and planning the outbreak which occurred
the following year. Chief Eagan, on whose
head a price was afterward set, took dinner
with the party several times, and when that
brave was finally killed he was identified by
Mrs. Russell's brother, Jacob Frizzell, who
was a member of the train.

Mr. Russell finally settled on Mud creek,
this county, where the following year he took
as a timber culture one hundred and sixty acres
of land. This he unfortunately lost in 1897
by going security for a friend. In that year
he bought his present place, which consists of

forty acres in this county, upon which he raises
alfalfa hay, and forty acres just over the Ore-
gon line which he is farming to wheat. He
ic an industrious, thrifty man, deeply inter-
ested in the welfare of his community, and one
of its representative citizens. He has held the
offices of school director and road supervisor
at different times.

Fraternally our subject is affiliated with the
M. W. A. and the K. of P. He married, in
Washington county, Kansas, on January 8,
1 87 1, Miss Frances L. Frizzell, a native of
Indiana, and they have five living children,
Clara H., Elsie V., Frank, Harry and iMarvin
M. ; also one, E. Shepard, deceased.

JOHN H. FOSTER.— There are few men
still living whose connection with the Pacific
coast dates back to an earlier period than does
that of the man whose name initiates this sketch.
Born in the state of Maine in 1828, he had no
sooner completed his education and attained his
majority than his adventurous spirit led him
to Boston, and thence by water to San Fran-
cisco. He completed his trip around the Horn
in December, 1849, ^nd with the opening of
the new year set out for the mines. He was
in the Sacramento region during the exciting
Squatter war, but soon after returned to San
Francisco and began working at the trade he
had learned in his boyhood, carpentering.

In the fall of 1850 Mr. Foster came to Port-
land, Oregon, whence, in 1852, he removed to
the site of the present Chehalis, Washington,
where he took a donation land claim. He was
one of the signers of the historic petition sent
to Washington, D. C, asking that the territory
of Washington be set apart from Oregon. In
i860 he went to The Dalles, Oregon, where

352

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

two years later he entered the employ of the
United States go^•ernment as a carpenter and
wagon-maker. He continued to work in its
employ until 1869, then came to Walla Walla
and since that date his life has been linked with
the history of this city. For a number of years
he followed his trade, erecting some of the
finest early buildings, but he subsequently be-
"came identified with Rees, Winans &. Com-
pany. Later he - sold out and retired from
active participation in business, though he is
still a stockholder in the First National bank
and in the Farmers' Savings bank.

Mr. Foster possessed an unusual degree of
the resourcefulness, energy and force of char-
acter of the early pioneers, and he has been a
leader in the persistent warfare with opposing
forces which has resulted in transforming a
wilderness into a civilized commonwealth. Lie
was married first in Portland, Oregon, in 1852,
to Margaret J. Johnson, who died in Walla
Walla in 1879, leaving eight children: Lewis;
Henry ; Albert, who was a member of Company
I, First Washington Volunteers, serving in the
Spanish-American and Philippine wars ; Mary,
widow of A. E. Isham; William; Frederick
J., still living; and John and Frank, who died
in 1893 and 1900, respectively. She also had
one daughter, Margaret, who preceded her
to the tomb. In 1881 Mr. Foster married Mrs.
Sarah White, who has one son, Amos, by her
first marriage.

Mr. Foster is the owner of several tracts
of good farm and grazing land, besides a beau-
tiful home in Walla Walla.

DANIEL STEWART.— Residing in an
attractive home at the corner of Park and Whit-
man streets, Walla Walla, is a venerable citizen

to whom must be given precedence as a pioneer
of the Pacific coast country, as a veteran of
the Indian wars and as one who has led an
active and eventful life, filled with interesting
episodes concerning the early days. This hon-
ored pioneer is Daniel Stewart, the subject of
this review, who is now practically retired from
active business pursuits. He is a native of
the old Buckeye state, where he was born April
26, 1825, the son of William H. and Patience
(Denton) Stewart. At the time of his birth
the parents were residents of Marion county,
whence they removed to Warren county, in
1830.

Ten years later Mr. Stewart returned to his
native county, where he remained for a brief
interval, going thence, in 1841, to Illinois,
where he was associated with his brother in
farming pursuits until the year 1845, on April
2d of which year he started on the long and
perilous journey across the plains, this being,
of course considerably antecedent to the dis-
covery of gold in California. He proceeded
with his ox team to Independence, Missouri,
where he joined an emigrant train of about
two hundred and fifty wagons, subsequently
subdivided into trains of about forty wagons
each. They arrived at Oregon City on Octo-
ber 2d of the same year, the trip having been
made under the direction of Captain Joel Pal-
mer. Our subject recalls that the company
were permitted to listen to a discourse by Mar-
cus Whitman, who admonished them as to the
line of conduct which they should pursue. He
well remembers this revered historical char-
acter, who fell a victim to the crafty red men.
After his arrival in the coast region, Mr. Stew- ■
art was engaged in diversified pursuits, having
for some time engaged in boating on the Co-
lumbia and Willamette rivers, under Captain
Gray and others.

DANIEL STEWART.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

353

At Portland, in January, 1848, Mr. Stewart
enlisted for service in the Cayuse Indian war,
being- chosen corporal of his company. He
continued in the service for eight months, par-
ticipating in all the battles that were fought.
He was on horse guard at the time Packwood
and Jackson met death at the hands of the red-
skins; the first regular engagement with the
Indians, however, having been at Sand Hollow,
six miles beyond Wells Springs. He also took
part in the Tuckannon battle. During the war
he, with Captain Maxon's company, acted as
escort for General Gilliam and while he was
thus serving, the General was accidentally shot,
at Wells Springs.

In July, 1848,. our subject went down to
California on the vessel which had brought the
first news of the discovery of gold in that state.
He proceeded to Dry Diggings, subsequently
known, in turn, as Hangtown and Placerville.
There he mined for a time, then went to the
middle fork and later the north fork of the
American river, being fairly successful in his
mining operations. He next proceeded to San
Francisco, where he piirchased a half-interest
in the launch "Rainbow" and also engaged in
the draying business for a short time. Dispos-
ing of his interests, he went to Sacramento,
where he purchased of Colonel Sutter a feed
stable, which he conducted for a time and then
returned to Oregon, where he secured a claim
of three hundred and twenty acres, on Parrot
creek, four miles south of Oregon City.

His next venture was the opening of a bill-
iard hall in Portland. In December. 1S52,
j\lr. Stewart sold out his business and went to
Missouri and Iowa to buy cattle, being asso-
ciated in this enterprise with James H. Fruit.
They had about two hundred and forty head
of cattle at the start and were engaged in cattle-
raising until 1858, when :\Ir. Stewart came to

Umatilla river, Washington, where he was en-
gaged in farming and stock-raising until about
eighteen years ago. In 1861 he came to Walla
W'alla county, purchasing a farm of one hun-
dred and sixty acres, situated south of the city.
About the year 1863 he was located for some
months at Boise, Idaho, where he was engaged
in gardening and fruit-raising, in Stewart's
Gulch, which was named for him. In 1866 he
bought about one thousand acres on Dry creek,
for a stock ranch. As before stated, he has
been practically retired from active business for
the past eighteen years.

Mr. Stewart was a member of the territor-
ial legislature of Washington for four terms,
was postmaster of Walla Walla, under Cleve-
land's administration, for four years and four
m.onths, has been a member of the city council
and board of county commissioners, and has in
every way shown a deep and abiding interest in
the public welfare. In his fraternal relations
he is an old and honored member of the Ma-
sonic order, into which he was initiated as an
entered apprentice in 1850, at Oregon City, the
lodge, known as Multnomah No. 84, having
been the first organized on the Pacific coast
and working under dispensation of the grand
lodge of Missouri.

In the town of Santa Fe, Monroe county,
^lissouri, in March, 1853, Mr. Stewart was
united in marriage to Miss Margaret Fruit,
who was born in Callaway county, Missouri,
on the 19th of September, 1830. His wife
accompanied him across the plains when he
drove his herd of cattle through, and she was
his devoted helpmeet and companion until her
death, August 13, 1896. They became the par-
ents of eight children, namely: Kate, wife of
E. H. Nixon ; Crassus, a farmer and trader ;
Dr. Charles B., a practicing physician and
surgeon; Thales D., who is now engaged in

354

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

mining in Alaska; Irene B., wife of ^Villiam
S. Goodman, of L^matilla county, Oregon;
Ella S., wife of John A. Cameron; Ida S., wife
of Elmer Winans; and Robert L., a trader.

EUGENE H. BOYER, a pioneer of 1862,
is a native of Hillsboro, Arkansas. He was,
however, reared on the Pacific coast, his father
having come to California, via the isthmus,
^^'hen he was but a few weeks old. At the age
of three years he was brought by his parents
to Walla Walla, in which city he has resided
almost ever since, receiving a thorough educa-
tion in Whitman Seminary.

When seventeen years old he entered the
bank of Baker & Boyer as office boy, and early
showing an unusual ability as an accountant
Avas steadily advanced in position until the
second year, when he became chief clerk or
cashier. This position he retained three years,
after which ill health compelled him to resign.
He paid a visit to the east in search of health
and a broader education, and upon his return
turned his attention to farming and land spec-
ulations. In 1885 he was appointed receiver
of the bank of Baker & Clark, of Moscow,
Idaho, and a year later, after successfully wind-
ing up the business of the bank, became one
of the directors of its successor, the First Na-
tional bank of that city.

Sedentary life being his bane, he next en-
deavored to lure health and wealth from the
mountains in and about Wardner, Idaho, and
later in eastern Oregon. One year devoted to
grain buying in Garfield county, Washington,
and several years to his duties as deputy treas-
urer under his father, together with many other
positions of trust, having fitted him in a marked
<lee:ree for a life of usefulness in the vears to

come. The most of his time during the past
four years has been devoted to attending to the
business of his late father's large estate, first
as executor and latterly as agent.

I\Ir. Boyer takes considerable interest in
politics, though not an ardent partisan and not
ambitious for political preferment. He was
married, December 31, 1SS8, to ]\Iiss Frances
A. Newcomb, of Waterburv Centre, \'ermont.

ELIHU G. RIFFLE, a pioneer of 1862,
was born in \\'est Virginia, ]\Iarch 6, 1838.
\\lien eighteen years of age he started in life
for himself, going to Iowa and engaging in
the lumber industry there. In 1859 he went
to the site of the present Leadville, Colorado,
mined for a season, and finally bought a claim
ir California gulch, near by. He did not re-
main long, however, but soon went to St. Louis,
Missouri, thence back to Iowa, whence, in 1862,
he crossed the plains to Idaho. From the time
of his arrival until 1867 he was engaged in
mining and freighting, and he traveled quite
extensively, visiting Elk City, Lewiston, Placer-
\'ille and numerous other points. In 1867,
however, he returned to \Valla Walla, where
for ten years he was an extensive stock raiser
and dealer. About 1877 he purchased land
four miles east of \\'alla Walla, and combined
general farming with stock raising.

For many years Mr. Riffle was one of the
leading farmers of the county, but lately he
has retired from active participation in that in-
dustry, though he still retains his fine eight-
hundred-acre farm. He now resides in a
beautiful home at 404 E. Sumach street, Walla
Walla. By his industry, thrift and good man-
agement he has secured a fair share of this
world's wealth, and besides his farm is the

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

355

■owner of some valuable city property. He was
married, in Walla Walla, January 14, 1869,
■to Rebecca Morrison, who crossed the plains
with her father in 1861 from Iowa. They
have two children, Harry, a farmer, and Elsie ;
and Mrs. Riffle has one daughter by a former
marriage, Alice, now Mrs. J. D. Lamb.

WILLIAM KRAL:MAN, a farmer eight
and one-half miles southwest of Walla Walla,
a pioneer of 1878, was born in Prussia April
19, 1839. When fifteen years old he came to
America with his uncle and step-mother, his
parents having both passed away when he was
cjuite young. He came via New Orleans to
St. Louis, Missouri, and went thence to Ouincy,
Illinois, where for four years he worked as a
farm hand. Going then to Burlington, Iowa,
he continued to follow farming there until
1858, when he removed to Kansas. He located
a pre-emption near Osawatomie, the home of
the noted John Brown, with whom he was on
terms of intimacy. Here he farmed until, in
1878, he came to the Walla Walla valley. He
purchased an eighty-acre tract, to which he
afterwards added twenty-five acres more, and
on this farm he has ever since lived.

To Mr. Kralman belongs the honor of hav-
ing served as a soldier in defense of his coun-
try, he having enlisted in Company C, Twelfth
Kansas Volunteer Infantry, in August, 1862.
From that date until the close of hostilities
his best service was given to the cause of na-
tional union, and he fought many a hard battle
and performed many an unpleasant military
duty, making for himself a record of which he
may well be proud. He received a sunstroke
in 1864, while on a foraging expedition, which
permanently impaired his health and constitu-

tional vitality, but despite this fact he has been
a very active man in the industrial development
and social amelioration of the neighborhood
in which he lives.

In Osawatomie, Kansas, February 17,
1 86 1, our subject married Miss Arminda Doty,
a native of Ohio, whose father and mother
were pioneers of the state of Kansas. They
have become the parents of seven children :
John, a farmer; Nellie, wdfe of Luther Van
Winkle ; Frederick, with his father on the farm ;
Lizzie, wife of William Maher, of Waha
Walla; Edward L., Amy D. and Albert L.,
also at home with their parents. The family
belong to the United Brethren church.

OSCAR HAYNES, confectioner at Waits-
burg, was born in Johnson county, Missouri,
July 5, 1872. He passed the first twelve years
of his life in his native state, then accompanied
his parents to Waitsburg, where, for several
years, he was engaged in farm work. Later,
however, he came into the town and embarked
in the livery business on his own account. He
followed that continuously and successfully
until the outbreak of the Spanish-American
war, then enlisted, becoming a member of the
First Washington Volunteer Infantry, May i,
1898. He was in the army for eighteen
months, participating in all the principal bat-
tles of- the Philippine insurrection. On No-
vember I, 1899, he was mustered out in San
Francisco, California, and returned forthwith
to Waitsburg, where he resumed the business
which he had left at the call of patriotism. He
sold this business January 16, 1901, and en-
gaged in the confectionery business on Main
street. He is an enterprising, progressi\-e
3'oung man, possessed of excellent business

356

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

abilities, and the force of character necessary
to carry whatever he undertakes to a success-
ful conclusion, if that is within the range of
possibility. His standing in the town as a
man and citizen is of the highest.' His fra-
ternal affiliations are with the Knights of
Fythias, in which he is very active and pop-
ular. He was married, in Waitsburg, August
21, 1900, to Miss Bertha Foster, a native of
this county.

DR. Y. C. BLALOCK, physician and sur-
geon in the Rees-Winans building, was born
in Mitchell county. North Carolina, August 3,
1859. He was early taken by his parents to
central Illinois, where he resided until 1873,
attending the public schools. He then started
across the plains to Walla Walla, driving a
four-mule team all the way from Macon coun-
ty, Illinois. For a number of years after his
arrival he worked on his father's farm during
the summer months, attending school in win-
ter, and at last, by dint of hard, patient effort
in the face of difficulties which would have
overwhelmed a less resolute man, he prepared
himself for entrance to Jefferson Medical Col-
lege.

Immediately after graduation Dr. Blalock
began practice in Walla Walla, opening an
office on April i, 1884. Since that date he has
devoted his energies assiduously to his profes-
sion, building up a large practice, and attain-
ing a high standing among his fellow practi-
tioners. At present he holds the office of county
coroner, and for four terms he was health of-
ficer of the city. His interest in the welfare
of Walla Walla is manifested in many ways, but
finds more particular expression in his activity
in connection with the Volunteer fire depart-
ment, of which he has served as chief for six

years. The Doctor is very active in politics.
In 189S he was elected chairman of the Re-
publican County Central Committee, and in
the present year he was again chosen to fill
that office.

In fraternal circles the Doctor is intensely
active. He has held many high offices in the
Masonic order, both in the grand and sub-
ordinate lodges, and is also very prominent
in the K. of P., and a member of the I. O. O.
F. He was married, in April, 1883, in Walla
Walla, to Julia Sanderson, a native of that
city, who died in October, 1885, leaving one
son, Jesse N. In 1890 he again married, the
lady being Lillian Ballou, who resided just
across the Oregon line from Walla Walla, and
to this marriage was born one daughter,
Phcebe I.

ALONZO GILLHAAI. a farmer on the
state line, southwest of Walla Walla, a pio-
neer of the northwest of i860, was born in
Devonshire, England, ]\Iarch 30, 1834. He
passed his first sixteen years in his fatherland,
then was a sailor on the St. Lawrence river
for two years, after which he settled in Lon-
don, Ontario, where for some time he was
manager of a hotel.

\Mien ]\Ir. Gillham first came to the United
States he engaged in the lumbering industry,
but he afterwards accepted a commission from
the American Fur Company as "wagon boss."
He brought, at the instance of this company,
the first wagon train which ever crossed the
plains by the northern route. The winter of
i860 was passed by Mr. Gillham at the com-
pany's trading post, at the mouth of the Poplar
river, and in the spring it was his good for-
tune to witness the famous fight between the
Crow and Gros Ventre Indians, in which each

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

357

side lost forty-five warriors killed, and which
ended in a treaty of perpetual peace between the
two tribes, a treaty never broken. Early in
1 86 1 he made a trip with dispatches down the
Missouri river in flat-boats to St. Joe, where
he arrived the day Fort Sumter was fired
upon, thence by rail to St. Louis, Missouri.
From that city he went back to St. Paul, Min-
nesota.

The next spring our subject entered the
employ of the government, which sent him to
Fort Benton, Montana, to lay out a military
road to Fort Abercrombie. He did not re-
main with the party until this was completed,
however, but joined a prospecting company for
the purpose of searching for hidden treasure in
the Prickly Pear and Bannock creek districts.

Selling out his interests in this company
in 1863, 'he removed to Virginia City, Montana,
Avhere he was quite successful during the three
years of his stay. He was employed from 1866
to 1870 as a contractor in quartz mining, but
in the latter year he took a squatter's claim
in Montana and turned his attention to farm-
ing, stock raising and freighting. In the fall
of 1873 he drove his stock through to Boise
City, Idaho, from which town, shortly after-
wards, he came to the Walla Walla valley. He
followed freighting as a business until 1888,
then took a homestead of one hundred and
sixty acres on Basket mountain and again en-
gaged in farming. He has ever since made his
home on this tract, on which he is at present
'raising wheat and hay.

Few men have seen more of pioneer life and
hardships than has Mr. Gillham, and few have
done more than he to develop new regions and
blaze the way for the advent of civilization.
He has been active in several Indian wars,
serving as a teamster to haul government sup-
plies in both the Xez Perce and Bannock wars.

and as a guide to a train sent from Lewiston
through the Palouse country under Colonel
Whitten, for the purpose of heading off Chief
Joseph. i\Ir. Gillham was married, in Walla
Walla, April 30, 1876, to Miss Mary C. Frice,
a native of Iowa, and an old pioneer of the
Walla Walla valley. They have four children :
Elizabeth E., wife of Charles Stribe; Harry
J., a farmer; Alonzo C, a farmer; and Lidia,
who resides with her father.

HARRY DEBUS, whose connection with
Walla Walla county dates back to 1875, was
born in Baden, Germany, December 3, 1825.
He grew to manhood and was educated in his
fatherland, remaining there until 1849. I^i that
year he emigrated to Philadelphia, where he
secured employment as a tailor (that being
his handicraft) from Wannamaker & Brown.
He worked for this firm about twelve years.
In 1875 he came out to Walla ^^'alla and re-
sumed work at his trade, giving some attention
also to farming. At present he is engaged in.
business on Fourth street, that city. Mr.
Debus was married, while in Philadelphia, to
Miss Elizabeth Besserer, a native of Baden,
Germany, and to them have been born three
children : Harry; Freno, wife of J. W. Wahn;
and Lena, wife of William Ruddock.

Harry Debus, Jr., was born in Philadelphia
November 7, 1869. He came with his parents
to Walla Walla, where he received a good ed-
ucation in the public schools and in St. Pat-
rick's Academy. He early learned the trade of
a blacksmith, and for ten years worked at that
craft in \\''alla Walla, but for the past five years
he has been engaged in the liquor business.
In 1879 he became connected with the fire de-
partment, a connection that has ne\-er been per-

358

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

manently severed, and he is at present acting
secretary of tlie department. He is very active
in politics, having served as delegate to every
Democratic county convention since he be-
came of age. He also has the honor of having
served in the Spanish-American war, and is
now a leader in Lawton Post, Spanish-Amer-
ican Veterans. He was married, in Walla
Walla, August 27, 1891, to Miss Dora Picard,
a daughter of one of the old pioneers of this
county, and they now have a family of three
children, ^^'illiam R., Henry L. and Erma.

Lodge, No. 19, in which he is quite active. In
1890, in the city of Walla Walla, our subject
married Miss Maude Kirkman, a scion of an
old pioneer family, and to them has been born
one son, John Edward.

GEORGE E. BARNETT, dentist, 3 and
4 Post Office block, Walla Walla, was born in
Oakland, Oregon, in 1866. He attended both
public and private schools there until eleven
years old, then came with the remainder of
the family to Walla Walla. Here he completed
his public-school education and took a course
in \M-iitman College. He then entered the
University of Pennsylvania as a student of
dental surgery, graduating with distinction in
the class of 1889. Returning home, he prac-
ticed in \\'alla Walla one winter, then spent
two years as a practitioner of his profession in
Seattle. Subsequently, however, he located in
Walla Walla, where his home and his business
have ever since been.

Dr. Barnett is a thorough student of his
profession, and has attained the skill and pro-
ficiency in it which concentration and assiduity,
coupled with good natural ability, are sure to
bring. He is justly regarded as one of the
leading dentists in the city, and enjoys a large
patronage. The Doctor gives some attention
to mining, being quite extensively interested in
Lake Chelan properties. His fraternal connec-
tions are with the I. O. O. F., Washington

ADRIEN MAGALLON, .a pioneer ot
1882, was born in France August 10, i860.
When fourteen years old he emigrated to San
Francisco, California, whence he moved to
Los Angeles to secure a job as a shepherd. He
was thus employed there and at Santiago for
about nine years, during which time he ac-
cumulated considerable money, his ambition
being to start in the sheep business for him-
self. He then came to Walla Walla and herded
for Mr. Sturgis a year and a half, at the end
of which time he was master of sufficient funds
tc' warrant him in embarking in the industry
on his own account. So he purchased a num-
ber of sheep, and started in the business in
which we now find him. He has been re-
markably successful, and is at present the owner
of about thirteen thousand sheep. He also has
about eight thousand acres of land on the
Snake river, besides some very valuable Walla
Walla real estate. He resides in a magnificent
home at 313 N. Sixth street, surrounded by
all the comforts and conveniences of life.

But above all Mr. Magallon is so fortunate
as to enjoy the unwavering confidence and
hearty good will of all who know him, and to*
command the respect always bestowed upon
those who work their way by industry and
thrift from obscure beginnings to competency
and comfort. In fraternal affiliations Mr. Ma-
gallon is identified with the I. O. R. M. He
married, in Walla Walla, November 26, 1889,
Mary Charrier, a native of Quebec, Canada,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

359

and they have four living children, namely:
Adrien, Marie, Lucy and Armand; also one,
Bertha J., deceased.

]\Irs. Jilagallon has been a resident of Walla
Walla for twenty-two years, coming via San
Francisco with her parents, who made this
county their home.

WTNFIELD D. SMITH, undertaker and
embalmer, 130 E. Alder street, was born in
Morgan county, Ohio, December 22, 1850,
and there the first fourteen years of his life
were passed. From that time until 1880 he
was a resident of McLean county, Illinois. He
received a thorough public-school education,
supplemented by a course in the Wesleyan Uni-
versity, located at Bloomington, Illinois, then
engaged in teaching, which profession he fol-
lowed for the ensuing five years. He then
came west with a car-load of horses. These he
disposed of at The Dalles, Oregon, where for
the next three years he was engaged in stock
raising.

Coming to Walla Walla in 1883, Mr. Smith
turned his attention to the manufacture of
woven wire matresses, and in 1885 he became a
shipper of fruit and produce. In 1890 he
built the first fruit evaporator in the county,
and this he still owns and operates. He has
recently begim the manufacture of cider vin-
egar, and in November of this year he began
the erection of a factory for that purpose, which
will have a capacity of thirty-five hundred bar-
rels per annum, and which, he says, will be
the first and only pure cider vinegar factory
in the state.

In addition to his extensive fruit business
our subject has, since 1889, been the owner and
operator of a suite of undertaking parlors on

Alder street. He is also interested in mining
in the Rocky Bar district in Idaho. Mr. Smith
is one of the most enterprising and progressive
business men in the county, and a man who
stands high in the esteem of his fellow towns-
people generally. In fraternal affiliation he is
connected with the Masons, the Odd Fellows
and the Knights of Pythias. He was married
in Portland, Oregon, in 1893, to Miss Nathalie
Grenier, a native of Ohio, and they have two
children, Madeline and Laura.

CAPTAIN JOHN E. BOYER is a native
of the city of Walla Walla, born December 29,
1866. He received unusual educational ad-
vantages. In 1887 he took the degree of
bachelor of arts from ^^^^itman College, grad-
uating in the second class ever sent out by that
institution. He then went to the University of
Michigan and spent two years in the study of
political science, history and law, taking the
first year's work in the law department and
receiving the degree of bachelor of arts from
their liberal arts department. He next went
to Columbia University, where, in 1891, he
finished the law course. He was admitted to
the bar in New York city, but began practice
in Seattle in partnership with the Hon. E.
Heister Guie, with whom he was associated
until the death of his father called him to Walla
Walla in 1897. He then gave up the practice
temporarily to act as one of the executors of
his father's estate, the affairs of which engaged
his attention until, in April, 1898, the outbreak
of the Spanish-American war called him into
the military service of his country. For this
service Captain Boyer had fitted himself by
close study and application to military duties
in the national guard of Washington. \Vhile

36o

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

in Seattle he was identified with Company E,
N. G.. W.. of which he was first Heutenant
at the time his removal from the city led him
to resign his commission.

At the first call of the president on the na-
tional guard for volunteers, however, he ap-
plied to Governor Rogers for reinstatement as
an officer in the N. G. W., but was refused,
there being no vacancy. He thereupon enlisted
as a private in the Walla Walla company and
proceeded to the state rendezvous. Here, how-
e\'er, while the First Washington Regiment
was in process of formation from the N. G.
^^^, the governor found one of the companies
so disorganized as to necessitate its disband-
ing, and Captain Boyer was called on to or-
ganize a new company from the material on
the grounds. This company was mustered into
the service of- the United States as Company
M, First Washington Infantry, United States
Volunteers, on May 13, 1898, with Captain
Boyer as commanding officer. It made a
splendid record for itself both in garrison duty
on the Pacific coast and campaigning in the
Philippines until mustered out in San Francisco
November i, 1899.

Captain Boyer was on duty constantly with
his compan}' except from September 29, 1898,
to February 8, 1899, during which period he
was disabled by an operation for acute ap-
pendicitis. His military service was of the
most worthy character throughout. He re-
ceived special mention in orders from the head-
quarters of the army for "especially meritorious
conduct in service," in saving, at the risk of
his own life, a soldier from drowning in the
Pasig river.

On being mustered out he returned to
\A'alla A\'alla and to his duties as executor of
the Boyer estate, on the settling of which, in
the latter part of 1900, he expects to resume

his practice of law in Seattle. He has recently
been appointed judge advocate for the depart-
ment of Washington of the Spanish- American
War \'eterans.

JOHN HOFFMANN, a farmer residing at
621 South First street, a pioneer of 1878, was
born in Weinheim, Germany, March 18, 1852.
He was reared on a farm and educated in the
public schools until sixteen years old, then
came alone to the United States. He spent
five years in the city of New York, employed
in a piano factory, afterwards going to San
Francisco, where he followed the same occupa-
tion for five years longer.

At the end of that time ]Mr. Hoffmann came
to Walla Walla, arriving in August, 1878. He
was engaged in freighting here for several
years, but in 1883 took a pre-emption of one
hundred and twenty acres on Eureka flat with
a view to becoming an agriculturist. He
proved to be an unusually successful farmer,
and his real estate holdings have kept increas-
ing until he is now the owner of 2,560 acres,
all except one quarter in one tract and adjacent
to the original pre-emption. He also has an ele-
gant home in Walla Walla, and two fine ware-
houses of his own on Eureka flat. On his place
is a well 945 feet deep, drilled, but the water
rises only 245 feet, so that it has to be elevated
full seven hundred feet by artificial means.

Mr. Hoffmann has achieved that for which
all are striving and which comparatively few
attain, namely, success in life, and he has done
so, too, under the most unfavorable circum-
stances. Coming to this country when a mere
boy, without means, without influence, without
even a knowledge of our language, and with-
out experienced relatives to advise and direct,
he has worked his way to a high standing in

JOHN HOFFMANN

MRS. THERESA HOFFMANN

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

361

the social and financial world. He is a promi-
nent fraternalist, being identified with Walla
Walla Lodge, No. 13, F. & A. M., all the chairs
of which have been occupied by him ; with Tribe
No. 23, L O. R. M. ; with Litegrity Lodge, No.
4. A. O. U. W., and with the Sons of Her-
man. He also belongs to the Royal Arch and
Commandery, branches of Masonry. Mr. Hoff-
mann married in Walla Walla, on April 25,
1 88 1, Miss Theresa Kirchner, a native of Min-
nesota, who was brought by her parents to the
valley when four years old. Her father, Mel-
chior Kirchner,. died in Florida, to which state
he had gone for his health, m 1891, and her
mother now lives at Uniontown, Washington.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoffmann are the parents of nine
children : Edward, Bessie D., Annie, Valline,
Philip and John, all at home and pupils in the
public schools; Joseph, Henry and Lena, all
■deceased. The family affiliate with the Cum-
berland Presbvterian church of Walla Walla.

JAMES CUMMINS, of Cummins Bros.
Livery Comp'any, Walla Walla, was born in
Henry county, Indiana. January 6. 1859.
When three years of age he was brought by
his parents to this county. He acquired a pub-
lic-school education, then engaged in raising,
buying and selling horses and cattle near
Touchet Station, on Touchet river, where he
still owns seven hundred acres of land, fifty
head of dairy cattle and five hundred range
horses. Of this ranch his son, John R., is now
foreman, Mr. Cummins giving his time to the
management of the livery business owned by
himself and brother in Walla Walla.

Mr. Cummins is a man of ability and good
judgment, possessed of the energy and de-
termination requisite to carry whatever he may

undertake to a successful issue, and his stand-
ing in Walla Walla and wherever he has lived
is an enviable one. His interest in the cause
of education is manifested by the fact that for
fourteen years he was school director in his
district at Touchet Station.

In Walla Walla county, on September 14,
1879, Mr. Cummins married Miss Addie E.
Bj'rnes, a native of Minnesota, who died Au-
gust 16, 1900. Their children are John R.,
foreman of the ranch at Touchet; Lizzie, a
student in Whitman College; Evelina, Albert,
Lillie and Mary L., all in the public school;
James H., the baby, now with his grandpar-
ents ; and Floyd, deceased.

In fraternal circles Mr. Cummins is a mem-
ber of the F. O. E., of A¥alla Walla.

JOSEPH L. HARPER, secretary of the
Preston-Parton Milling Company, of Waits-
burg, was born in Iowa May 3, i860. After
completing his education he followed'the trade
of a carpenter and the profession of teaching
in his native state until 1882, then came to
Waitsburg and turned his attention to farm-
ing. He was in that occupation until, 1886,
when he accepted a position in the mill, by
which he is now and ever since has been em-
ployed. He is one of the silent partners in the
business. Mr. Harper has always manifested
a deep interest in the general de\'elopment of
Waitsburg, and ever shown himself willing to
do his share for the promotion of the general
welfare. For the past three years he has repre-
sented his ward in the city council. He was
m.arried in Waitsburg, November 21. 1888. to
Miss Anna Cox, who was born on the Cox
homestead, six miles south of the town, March
30, 1867. They have one son, ^^'ayne. Mr.

362

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

and Mrs. Harper and their little boy live in a
comfortable home of their own in Waitsburg,
supplied with all the conveniences of life, and
very pleasantl}' situated.

Mrs. Harper's father, j\Ir. Lewis Cox, is
one of the oldest and most prominent settlers
of this section. He was born in Illinois in
1840, but has been identified with the Pacific
coast ever since he was about twelve years old,
having crossed the plains to Oregon in 1853.
He farmed for a number of years in Linn
county, Oregon, near Albany, but later moved
thence to Waitsburg, where he farmed until
failure of health compelled him to retire. In
1897 he sold his farm and moved into the
town of Waitsburg. He was married August
29, 1858. His children are Albert, deceased;
Grant U. ; Bertie E. ; Annie AI. : Frank L.,
deceased ; Fred O. ; Nathan B. ; Anderson B. ;
Elmer E. ; Lulu V. ; Jennie E. ; Tina J. and
Grace.

ALFRED BACHTOLD is a native of
Switzerland, born in 1870. When only twelve
years old, however, he came to America, locat-
ing first in South Dakota, where for about six
years he was engaged in farming. He then
Avent to ^^lsconsin and directed his attention
to the plumbing business, a line which he fol-
lowed until 1 89 1. The ensuing twelvemonth
was spent in Dakota. Coming then to Port-
land, Oregon, he remained a few months in
.that city, but before the end of the year 1892
he became identified with Walla Walla. For
the following five years he was engaged in
manufacturing wire fencing and in various
other enterprises, but in 1897, in company with
Charles Ackerman, he opened a wholesale wine
and liquor establishment. His trade extends
over a large section of countrv, includinsr Port-

land, Seattle, The Dalles, Astoria and many
other cities and towns. Mr. Bachtold is an
enthusiastic man in fraternal circles, and is
connected with the Red Men, of which he is
past sachem ; the Eagles, and the Sons of Her-
man. He is also an active member of the fire
department. Our subject was married, in
Walla Walla, in 1897, to Mary Ganswig, and
to them were born two children, the oldest now
deceased.

PROFESSOR SAMUEL HARRISON
LOVEWELL, director of the Conservatory
of Music, of Whitman College, was born in
Wellesley, Massachusetts, ^larch 9, 1865. He
took a thorough public-school course, then en-
tered the New England Conservatory of
Music, from which he graduated in 189 1. A
great part of his instruction was, however, re-
ceived from George E. Whiting, Otto Bendix
and other private teachers of note. His first
experience in the practice of the musical profes-
sion was acquired in Easton, Pennsylvania,
where he was engaged as organist and choir
master of St. John's Lutheran church, and in
private teaching. Two of his pupils wdiile
there were members of the family of Francis
A. ]\Iarch, the great scholar and philologist.

Subsequently Professor Lovewell went to
Georgetown, Kentucky, to become organist
and choir master in the Christian church there
located, and to further prosecute his work as
a private instructor in music. In 1896 he re-
m.oved to Columbia, South Carolina, and took
charge of the Trinity Episcopal church choir,
also became director of music in the Presby-
terian College for Women, located in that city.
He retained these positions until, in 1898, he
v.-as called to \^'alla ^^'alla to take charge of
the music teachiner in Whitman College.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

365

The Professor is a thorough musician, fa-
mihar with all the great composers, and in-
spired with a great love for that which is
highest and best in this most sublime of all
arts. He is doing much to elevate and improve
the musical tastes of his pupils and of all who
come under the influence of the college. Pro-
fessor Lovewell was married, in 1893, in
Easton, Pennsylvania, to Anna A. Sandt, and
they have four children, Elizabeth, John S.,
Dorothy and Ruth.

JESSE CUALAHNS, of Cummins Bros.
Livery Company, at 318 Main street, a pioneer
of 1862, was born in INIahaska county, Iowa,
January 17, 1853. The first nine years of his
life were passed there but he then started with
his parents over the long trail to the west. He
came in the Canada train, consisting of two
hundred and seventeen wagons, and experi-
enced no difficulty with the Indians. The
family settled in this county, taking a home-
stead six miles southeast of Walla Walla. They
resided here for about seven years, then sold
out and moved over onto the Walla Walla
river, where they might have better pasture for
their herds.

Mr. Cummins received such educational
privileges as the public schools of those early
days afforded, and when nineteen years old
began to work for wages. Two years later he
homesteaded land near Dayton, where for the
ensuing thirteen years he was engaged in farm-
ing. He then traded off his place and went to
raising horses at Pine Tree Rapids, of Snake
river, in Franklin county, at which he was em-
ployed for four years. Thereafter he traded
a tract of two hundred and twenty-eight acres
on the Snake river, which he had bought from

the railroad company, for a farm of two hun-
dred acres in the Grande Ronde valley, Oregon.
Upon this land he resided until July, 1900,
when he sold out and returned to Walla Walla
to become a partner of his brother in the livery
business here.

Mr. Cummins has always been a friend of
progress and a promoter of the general welfare
wdierever he has lived. He is a great friend
of education, and has served as school director
ir different places for a number of years. He
was married, in Walla Walla, on November

I, 1876, to Miss Louisa C. Davidson, a native
of Tennessee, who crossed the plains from Ar-
kansas in the 'seventies, and who died October

II, 1900, at Walla Walla, leaving five children,
James R., Bert, Daisy I., Charles E. and
[Maude.

EDWARD McDonnell, chief night
turnkey at the state penitentiary, a pioneer of
1872, was born in Ireland May 6, 1844. He
received his education in Iowa, to which state
his parents emigrated when he was five years
old. For several years he attended college in
Milwaukee, and thereafter was engaged in
farming and teaching until 1872, when he
came out to Walla Walla. He took land here
and at once embarked in the sheep business, an
industry which continued to engage his energies
until 1878. When Columbia county was or-
ganized he became one of its first county com-
missioners, and in 1876 he was elected to rep-
resent it in the legislature. In 1879 he moved
into Walla Walla, from which city he directed
operations on his farm two miles out. For
the two years following 1883 he was a farmer
ii^ Spokane county, but he then returned to
Walla Walla.

Air. AIcDonnell has been very active in the

364

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

political history of state and county, serving
a term in the legislature as above mentioned,
presiding" over the board of county commis-
sioners for four years, and leading the delibera-
tions of the Democratic party in many of its
most important conventions. He u-as the nom-
inee of his party in the first election held under
the state constitution for the state senate, and
was appointed by Governor Rogers to the
stewardship of the penitentiary in 1897, but
was afterwards given the post of chief night
turnkey, which he still holds.

]\Ir. jNIcDonnell married, in Dubuque, Iowa,
January 29. 1878, Miss Sarah A. Curran, a
native of that city. They have a family of
three children, Curran, Blanche and Shirlej^.
Mr. McDonnell is the owner of a comfortable
home at 109 Second street and of considerable
other valuable city property.

BENJAMIN L. SHARPSTEIN, of the
law firm of Sharpstein & Sharpstein, a pioneer
of 1865, was born in Bath, New York, October
22, 1827. ■ In 1834 he accompanied his par-
ents to Michigan, and when nineteen years of
age he moved to Wisconsin, where he studied
law, gaining admission to the bar in 1852. For
the ensuing thirteen years he practiced his pro-
fession there, but in 1865 he set out across the
plains to ^^'ashington, traveling in the prim-
ative fashion of those days, namely, with teams
and wagons.

Arriving in Walla Walla in due time, Mr.
Sharpstein opened an office and again engaged
in law practice. He seems to have come into
prominence in his new home almost immediate-
ly, for in 1866 he was elected to the territorial
legislature. As his subsequent career proved,
the choice was a wise one. and the people, ap-

preciating the faithfulness and ability of his
public service, twice returned him. In 1889
he was elected a member of the state constitu-
tional convention. Afterward, for three suc-
cessive terms, he was chairman of the Tide
Lands Commission, a most important post, for
upon this board fell the burden and responsi-
bility of superintending the sale of tide lands.

Mr. Sharpstein has labored in many ways
for the development and upbuilding of Walla
Walla, but it is in the educational work of the
city that his beneficent influence has been most
sensibly felt. For many years he was a faith-
ful and judicious member of the board of edu-
cation. He takes rank among the leading at-
torneys of the Inland Empire, and the firm of
which he is the senior partner is doing an ex-
tensi\-e business. They ai'e the owners of large
tracts of land in Walla Walla and other coun-
ties, besides considerable valuable city property.

In fraternal affiliations Mr. Sharpstein is a
prominent thirty-second-degree Mason. In
Wisconsin, on December 27, 1855, he married
Miss Sarah J. Park, and to them have been
born five children: John L., a partner in the
firm; Addie. now Mrs. C. B. Upton; Frank B.,
of the law firm of Sharpstein & Rader ; Charles
M., in Chicago; and Arthur P., deceased.

HORACE J. J^IURPHY, a retired farmer,
residing in W^aitsburg, is a son of the west,
having been born in Oregon June 22, 1854.
He lived in that state until fifteen years old,
acquiring most of his education there, then
came to Spring Valley, Washington, and en-
gaged in stock raising. He continued in that
business until 1877, then took up land seven
miles west of Waitsburg and commenced gen-
eral farming. For fifteen vears thereafter he

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

365

was one of the most enterprising and success-
ful farmers in the vahey, increasing his real
estate holdings until they amounted in all to
a full section, but in 1892 he rented his land
and retired from active participation in any
of the callings of life. He now resides in
Waitsburg, where he has some valuable prop-
erty.

native of Pennsylvania, and they have become
the parents of nine children : Alcestes, de-
ceased; James T., Florence M., Eliza J., Alta,
Isaac E., Anna G., Hiram L. and Arrabella
Gertrude.

JAMES WICKERSHAM, a stone and
brick mason at Waitsburg, is a native of Ohio,
born November 16, 1832. He accjuired a com-
mon-school education and learned his trade
there, then went to Iowa, where he worked as
a journeyman until the fall of 1865. He then
went to east central Kansas, bought a farm of
one hundred acres one and one-half miles east
of Ottawa, the county seat of Franklin county,
and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits
and contracting. While there he was quite
prominent locally, holding the positions of
township trustee and assessor for a period of
five years. After farming there steadily for
more than a score of years he, in the spring of
1888, came to Waitsburg, where for half a dec-
ade he was engaged in the dual occupation of
farming and merchandising.

In 1892 Mr. Wickersham sold both his farm
and his store, and purchased a half interest in
the Waitsburg planing mill, but he afterwards
sold this also and returned to the pursuit of
his trade. He took a trip east in the fall of
1899, vishing the old home place and eating-
apples from the trees he had himself planted
in 1849.

Though quite well advanced in life, Mr.
Wickersham is so well preserved that he is
able to hold his own with the average man on
a brick or stone wall. He was married in Iowa,
on October 18, 1855, to Miss Mary Smith, a

BENJAMIN W. MARCY, fi fruit grower,
one-half mile west of McMinn's drier, a pio-
neer of 1 86 1, was born in Worcester, Massa-
chusetts, January 27, 1834. When he was but
two years old the family moved to the vicinity
of Beardstown, Illinois, then a very new coun-
try, and there Mr. Marcy grew to maturity and
was educated. His mother died when he was
seven years old and his father when he was
seventeen. He then stayed with his sister about
a year, after which he set out across the plains
to California, traveling with ox-teams. The
emigration from the eastern states was heavy
that year, so that his train never was out of
sight of wagons ahead or behind.

Arriving in California August 20, 1852,
Mr. j\Iarcy at once proceeded to the placer
mines, where for a short time he worked for
wages, getting six dollars per day. Soon, how-
ever, he engaged in mining on his own ac-
count, following this as his occupation con-
tinuously for nine years. In August, 1861, he
came to the Walla Walla valley. For the first
three months of his residence here he busied
himself in shooting prairie chickens for the
market, and when winter came on he engaged
in hunting deer for the same purpose. Next
spring he went to Florence, Idaho, on a pros-
pecting trip, but that summer he and his part-
ner went to Camass Prairie, Idaho, and engaged
in making hay, for which they got one hun-
dred dollars per ton.

Returning to Walla Walla in the fall, Mr.
Marcy scpatted on a claim of one hundred and

366

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

sixty acres on Cottonwood creek, where for
the next nineteen years he was engaged in ag-
ricultural pursuits. Li addition to his home-
stead he also became the owner of a half-section
of railroad land on the Oregon side of the line,
and a quarter-section of school land. He sold
the last of this real estate in 1890, and in 1892
purchased seventeen acres, upon which he is
now raising fruits, berries, etc. Mr. Marcy
possesses the true pioneer spirit. He has the
resourcefulness, courage and ability to make
the best of circumstances, for which the first
settlers of any country are usually noted, and
he has contributed his full share towards the
subduing and civilizing of this section.

In 1864 he married I\Iiss Ellen Artheion,
a native of Iowa, who died in 1873. Of this
marriage five children were born, three of
whom are still living : Carrie, wife of John
Savage ; Charles, a farmer ; and Dwight, also
a farmer. Mr. ]Marcy was again married, in
1875, the lady being Mrs. Emma Lilly, nee
Campbell, a native of New Jersey, and they
are the parents of six living children : Char-
lotte, now ]Mrs. Herman Flaherty: ^Martin,
May ]\I., Nellie C, Pearlie P. and George W. ;
also of one named Claude, deceased.

CHARLES ACHERMANN is a native of
Switzerland, born in 1870. \\'hen twelve years
old he went to France, where he remained for
the ensuing eleven years, coming then to Amer-
ica, the date of his arrival being 1893. He
located first in Coolman, Alabama, remaining,
however, only a brief period. From that lo-
cality he went to St. Helena, California, where
for three and a half years he was engaged in
the manufacture of wines, thereafter coming
to Walla ^^'alla. Shortly subsequent to his ar-
rival here he engaged in the wholesale wine

and liquor business with Alfred Bachtold, like
whom he is, in being energetic and progressive
He affiliates with the Red ]\Ien, the Sons of
Herman and the Maennerchor. He manifests
his local patriotism by taking an active interest
ii' the volunteer fire department.

WILLIAM A. CLARK, a dairy farmer,
seven miles southwest of Walla Walla, was
born in Missouri August 10, 1850. His father
died when he was eight years old, and when
he reached the age of fifteen he and his mother
started across the plains with ox-teams to the
west. Mr. Clark, though so young, made the
entire trip on foot, driving the oxen all the
way. In their train were one hundred wagons,
so that, though they were compelled to sustain
a running fight with the Indians all through
the journey, they were too strong to be closed
in by their enemies. They settled first on Dry
creek, this county, in the fall of 1865, rented
land and began farming, but later they moved
to Pine creek, where they had bought a small
place.

Having disposed of this shortly afterwards,
they returned to Dry creek and purchased two
hundred and sixty-five acres, which was their
home until ^Ir. Clark bought his present forty-
seven-and-one-half-acre tract. He is also the
owner of a quarter-section of land on Blue
mountain, which he took as a homestead that
he might have a pasture for his cattle, of which
he has a fine band, all shorthorn Durham stock.
He gives the major part of his attention to the
dairy business. ]\Ir. Clark has never been
troubled in the least by Indians since settling
in the valley, though during the war of 1878
he thought best to send his family to Walla
Walla. He himself remained on his farm.

Our subject has long been one of the repre-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

367

sentative men of his neighborhood, taking a
very deep interest in everything which promised
to promote the general welfare. His interest
in the cause of education is evinced by the fact
that for nine years he was director in the Couse
creek district. He was married, in this coun-
ty, July 3, 1873, to Miss Eliza P. Kinney, a
native of IMinnesota, whose parents were pio-
neers of 1859. They have seven children liv-
ing: Eva, wife of J. L. Rogers; Myrtle, Willie,
Louis, Elizabeth, Josephine, and one born Jan-
uary 16, 1 90 1, not yet named; also four de-
ceased,— Edwin, Dora, Millie and Bessie.

Mr. Clark's mother, Mrs. Cyntha Clark,
was born in Madison county, Kentucky, Jan-
uary 7, 181 1, and is still living and in good
health, though over ninety years old. At pres-
ent she is residing with her daughter, Mrs.
Mildred Swaggart, at Heppner, Oregon. She
is one of the earliest and most highly and uni-
formly respected pioneers of this section and is
affectionately called "Grandma" by all her ac-
quaintances far and near. When the Methodist
Episcopal church was divided by the forma-
tion of the Methodist Episcopal church. South,
she, though she had been reared in that de-
nomination, withdrew her membership and
joined the Baptist church, of which she has
ever since been a faithful and consistent
member.

JOHN H. HODGIS, a native of Walla
Walla, was born March 2, 1863. He received
such education as the primitive schools of the
pioneer town afforded, then turned his atten-
tion to stSamboating. For a number of years
he was captain of steam vessels on the Colum-
bia river, and he also spent much time as an
engineer on steamboats on Puget Sound. For
the past two years, however, he was engaged

in farming in the vicinity of Walla Walla, but
at present is living a retired life. He is identi-
fied with the A. O. U. W. of that city. On
October 2, 1890, he was married, in King
county, this state, to Mary Christman, a na-
tive of Oregon.

Mr. Hodgis' father, Hemen M., a native
of Michigan, born in 1S31, crossed the plains
in 1857 ^^ captain of a wagon team, becom-
ing identified with the town of Walla Walla the
following year. He was quite prominent and
active in the early political history of the city,
filling several county and local offices. In 1857
he was married, in Linn county, Oregon, to
Miss Irene Havird, who died in 1869, and lies
buried in the Whitman Mission. Mr. Hodgis
passed away in 1881, leaving four children, —
Mary E., wife of W. H. Johnson, of Wallula;
John H., whose name heads this article; Ida
S., wife of William Huff; and Emma I., wife
of E. D. Sharp, a farmer near Prescott.

CHARLES E. GHOLSON, a farmer and
fruit dryer, residing seven miles southwest of
Walla Walla, was born in this city March 20,
1875. He has passed his entire life thus far
in this county, receiving his education in the
public schools and in Empire Business College,
of Walla Walla. As soon as he had finished
his course of business training he assumed
charge of his father's farm, of which he is now
the owner, having purchased it in 1896. He
is also interested in a fruit drier, which he and
his father erected together in that year, and
which has a capacity of three tons daily. The
drier is constantly rushed in the effort to handle
the large quantities of fruit which are brought
to it.

Mr. Gholson, as might be supposed from

368

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

what has been already recorded, gives the
major part of his attention to fruit raising and
drying, and to finding markets for the products
in eastern cities, but he is also interested in rais-
ing hay and dairy cattle. He is the owner of
a beautiful herd of Jerseys, consisting of forty
head, principally thoroughbreds. For a young
man, Mr. Gholson is displaying remarkable en-
ergy, good judgment and business ability, and
he has already given earnest of becoming one
of the leading fruit raisers and handlers in the
Liland Empire. He is quite interested in pol-
itics, too, and in the recent campaign was active
in the counsels of the Democratic party, to
whose county convention he was a delegate.
He married, in Walla Walla, in 1895, ^'liss
Mary JNIcEvoy, a pioneer of the valley, and a
graduate of the Catholic college established in
this city. They have two children, Ralph W.
and Marion.

Note. — On October 2, 1900, since the above
was written, our subject's fruit drier and the
entire year's product were destroyed by fire,
but with his characteristic energy he at once
began planning for the erection of a new drier
in the early spring. He also recently purchased
the livery business of the Cummins Bros., at
318 West Jklain street, and is conducting this
new business on plans that insure success.

JOHN BACHTOLD, 124 W. Main street,
A\'alla Walla, was born in Switzerland in
1865, but emigrated to America when only
fourteen years old. For nine years after his
arrival in the new world he followed farming
ir South Dakota. He then removed to Gray's
Harbor, Washington, where for the ensuing
two years he was clerk in a hotel. The next
year he was proprietor of a hotel at Oswego,

Oregon, but in 1890 he came to Walla Walla
and opened a restaurant. The following year
he opened his present establishment, and his
energies have been given to it continuously
since. His interest in the city's welfare is man-
ifested by the intense activity he displays in
maintaining the efficiency of the volunteer fire
department, of which he is president. He is
active in fraternal circles also, being identified
with the Red Men, the A. O. U. W., the For-
esters, the Eagles, the Sons of Herman and
the Maennerchor. He was married in Gray's
Harljor, in 1892, to Miss Annie Schwich, and
to their union have been born three children,
Ida, Annie and George.

THO?\IAS OUINN, deceased, was a native
of Toronto, Canada, born March 7, 1837. He
lived in his fatherland until twenty-five, re-
ce'ving the advantage of the excellent public
schools for wdiich that province is noted and
also learning the trade of a harness-maker.
He tlien removed to California, going by way
of the isthmus, and followed his handicraft
there for some time. Subsequently, however,
he "came to \\'alla Walla. He Avorked here two
years as a journeyman, then started in business
for himself and continued to devote his energies
tc the development and extending of his trade
until the time of his death. ,

Air. Ouinn was a true friend of the city,
and took a lively interest in all local affairs.
For two terms he was a member of the city
council and discharged his duties as such faith-
fully, conscientiously and with an eye single to
the city's welfare. He further demonstrated
his interest in Walla \\'alla by serving as a
volunteer fireman in the early days. For many
years he was affiliated with the I. O. O. F.,

THOMAS QUINN

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

369

but at the time of his death he belonged only
to the CathoHc Knights of America. He was
married in Waha Walla, in 1868, to Clara
Paris, and to them were born nine children,
namely ; Joseph, deceased ; Teresa, deceased ;
Thomas, now in charge of his father's store;
Catherine, deceased; John, also in the store;
William, Albert, Edward and Clara. Mrs.
Quinn has been a resident of Walla Walla for
thirty-four years.

At Mr. Ouinn's death the entire estate came
to Mrs. Quinn and she has ever since conducted
the business left her by her husband in a most
successful manner. She has always, however,
retained her eldest living son, Thomas, in her
employ as manager of the store.

ALVIN BOSTON, dentist, 27 West Main
street, was born in Hartland, Maine, in 1857.
He acquired his early education in that city
and in Boston, but in 1879 came out to The
Dalles, Oregon, where for about two years he
was engaged in a general stock raising and
handling industry. He subsequently began
the study of dentistry, and in the spring of
1 88 1 opened offices for the practice of that
profession at Lone Rock, Fossil and Heppner,
Oregon. He afterwards came to Colfax,
where for nine years he maintained dental
parlors. Seized with a desire to try his hand
at mining, he then went to the Coeur d'Alene
country, and during the next six years he was
engaged there in the search for hidden treas-
ures. At the end of that time he came to
Walla Walla, and again took up the practice
of his profession. He enjoys quite an exten-
sive patronage, being looked upon as one of
the leading dental surgeons of the city. He
is a stockholder in the Building: and Loan

Association of Butte, Montana, Portland,
Oregon, and Walla Walla. In fraternal affili-
ations he is an Odd Fellow, a Forester and
a member of the Woodmen of the World.
He was married in Idaho, in 1894, to Miss
May Anger, a native of Hancock, Michigan.

VALENTINE WILSON, a farmer at
Waitsburg, is a native of Virginia, born
October 10, 1829. He was, however, reared
and educated in Hancock county, Illinois,
whither his parents took him when seven
years old. After leaving school he clerked
a while, then farmed two years, but in 1852
he started across the plains with ox-teams,
determined to try his fortune in California.
For two years he tried mining, then, in 1854,
went to Suisun valley and resumed his for-
mer occupation of farming. Three years were
given to that industry and three to the livery;
business, then he sold out and took a trip east
in a steamer, via Panama, visiting Havana^
also New Orleans, and all Mississippi river
points as far north as Quincy, Illinois.

Returning to Suisun City, California, after
fourteen months absence, he secured stock in
the City Water Works Company, and con-
tinued in that business for nine years. He
was also quite active, during this period, in
political and semi-political matters, and held
different positions, such as road master, con-
stable, deputy sheriff and tax collector. In
1 87 1 he removed to Two Rocks, California,
where for the third time in his life he en-
gaged in farming, an occupation to which his
energies were thereafter given uninterrupted-
ly for about seven years. The needs of a
growing family then compelled him to seek
better school advantages, so he spent a few

370

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

years in Bloomfield and Santa Rosa, that his
children might become thoroughly educated.

In September. 1881, he came to Waits-
burg, \\'ashington, took up land and again
engaged in farming and stock raising. He
was for many years one of the most enter-
prising and progressive agriculturists of his
neighborhood, though he did not farm quite
as extensively as some. Of late years, how-
ever, he has been living a retired life.

Mr. Wilson was married in Illinois March
28, i860, to Miss Eliza A. Tracy, a native
of Ohio, and their union has been blest by
the advent of nine children : Dr. George B.,
at Pullman, Washington ; Albert C. ; Isaac E. ;
Luella, deceased; Valentine L. ; Gaston; Stella
M. ; Walter, deceased ; and Harmon.

THOMPSON M. McKINNEY.— Prom-
inent among the rising young attorneys of
the county, and high in the esteem and regard
of all of his fellow townspeople, stands the
man whose name initiates this sketch. His
naturally fine intellectual endowments have
been fully developed by years of faithful and
patient study, and he needs but the added ex-
perience and prestige which come only with
greater age to place him among the leading
barristers of the Inland Empire.

Born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, on
July 8, 1865, he was reared and educated in
his native state, receiving the advantages of
West Sunbury Academy, from which he grad-
uated in 1885, and of Westminster College,
at New Wilmington, which conferred upon
him the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1889,

Immediately after graduation he set out
for the west, believing that it offered greater
advantages for a young man of education

and ability than were to be had in the older
civilization of his native state. He settled in
Waitsburg, where his services were soon called
into requisition by the Waitsburg Academy,
but his inclination led him to seek entrance to
a profession opening a wider sphere of activ-
ity to an ambitious person than is to be found
in the school room or the professor's chair.
Accordingly he went to Spokane, entered the
office of Henley & Scott, one of the leading
firms of that city, and began vigorously the
study of law. In 1892 he was admitted to
the bar of the state, and he at once opened
an office in the city in which he had received
his legal education. He practiced there until
December, 1894, then decided to try his for-
tune in the town to which he had first come
after arriving in the state. He opened a law
office there and began building up the desira-
ble and lucrative practice he now enjoys. He
is a leading man in politics, and is active in
promoting in every way possible the best in-
terests of his town and county. Between the
years 1895 and 1898 he served as city attor-
ney and city clerk of Waitsburg, and in 1900
he was the nominee of his party, the Demo-
cratic, for the office of prosecuting attorney,
but, with most other Democratic nominees,
was defeated. The majority received by his
opponent was, however, very small.

Though deeply devoted to his business,
Mr. McKinney recognizes the fact that in
times of need or danger his first duty is to
the flag that protects him, and accordingly,
when the war with Spain broke out. he quickly
responded to the call of patriotism, and en-
listed as sergeant of Company K, First ^^'ash-
ington Volunteers. He accompanied his regi-
ment on all marches, and was found at his
post of duty in every battle in which the First
Washington participated. When the regiment

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

37'

was finally mustered out he returned to Waits-
TDurg, and to his practice of law.

Mr. McKinney is quite a leader in frater-
nal circles, being a member of Touchet Lodge,
No. 5, I. O. O. F., of which he is noble grand;
of Delta Lodge, No. 70, K. of P., of which
he is chancellor commander ; and of Occidental
Lodge, No. 8, A. O. U. W. He also be-
longs to all the societies auxiliary to the or-
ders above mentioned.

CHARLES M. TAYLOR.— Among those
who have attained marked success in agricult-
ural pursuits, and who have by their industry
and toil forced the rich Walla Walla valley to
bring forth the Isountiful harvests of which it
is capable, the subject of this brief sketch de-
serves an honored place. His early educational
advantages were not such as to develop the
jxjwers of his mind to their fullest extent, but
were sufficient to prepare him for success in
the line of activity in which he has engaged.
Furthermore, he always possessed a degree of
hard common sense and inherent force of char-
acter which, for all practical purposes, are often
better than scholastic training.

Born in Johnson county, Missouri, January
10, 1859, he grew to man's estate on a farm in
that locality, and busied himself in assisting
with the farm work when not attending the
district school. On attaining his majority he
came direct to Waitsburg, where for about two
years he followed railroading, but he soon de-
cided to go back to the business he had fol-
lowed in his boyhood, so, renting a tract of
land, he began farming-, and so successful was
he that before long he had saved enough to
purchase land for himself. He has been adding
to his original home from time to time since

until he is now the owner of a very large farm
in the vicinity of Waitsburg. He and his
brothers cultivate about twenty-eight hundred
acres, raising wheat mostly, though they also
have considerable stock.

Mr. Taylor is considered one of the repre-
sentative men of his community, and is quite
active in promoting every enterprise which
tends toward the general progress and the
amelioration of conditions. At present he is
serving as a member of the city council. He
is a member of and noble grand in Touchet
Lodge, No. 5, L O. O. F., also belongs to Oc-
cidental Lodge, No. II, A. O. U. W., and to
the ladies' auxiliaries of both these fraternities.
He was married in Missouri, February 5, 1880,
to Miss Nannie E. White, a native of that state,
and their union has been blest by the ad\'ent
of one daughter, Estella M.

Mr. Taylor's father, Simon, who was born
ir West Virginia in 1825, died in Walla Walla
county in July, 1899, but his mother, Harriet,
is still living and resides at Waitsburg. She
also is a daughter of West Virginia, born in
1839. She has five sons living, all of whom
are residents of Waitsburg, namely : Charles
M., William M., John F., Garland B. and
James W. She also had one daughter, Hen-
rietta, afterwards Mrs. Francis M. Wooldridge,
who died in Missouri in June, 1900.

JOHN H. HARER, a farmer residing
near Whitman Chapel, six miles southwest of
Walla Walla, a pioneer of 1865, was born in
Lane county, Oregon, February 25, 1859.
He was, however, reared and educated in this
valley, having been brought here by his parents
when six years old. After leaving school he
was engaged in farming and sheep and cattle

372

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

raising with his father until the latter's death,
■which occurred in June, 1883, but he then re-
moved to Umatilla county, Oregon, where he
followed the same occupation until 1887.

Returning in that year to his father's
place near Valley Chapel, ISIr. Harer farmed
the entire estate until, in 1890, it was divided
among the heirs, then he moved onto his own
portion, consisting of one hundred and thirty
acres, upon which he is now raising timothy
and alfalfa hay. His home is within sight of
the place on which the Whitman massacre oc-
curred, and is less than a mile distant from
that historic spot. His own family have seen
their share of the unromantic side of pioneer
life, being compelled to move into Walla
Walla for safety during the war of 1878.
Nor was danger from Lidians the only draw-
back to life in an uncivilized region. Trans-
portation facilities were wholly lacking, and
as late as 1882 Mr. Harer had to drive his
stock from Oregon and Washington all the
way to \\'yoming and Colorado before they
could be loaded on board the cars for trans-
portation to the eastern markets. But the
pioneers were a dauntless, hardy, persevering
race, and ifinally conquered in spite of every
difficulty.

Mr. Harer was married in Walla Walla
county February 15, 1892, to JMiss Eva \Vat-
erman, a native of the valley, and they are the
parents of two children, Inez U. and Bertha.
The family belong to the Christian church of
Walla Walla.

Mr. Harer's father, David, was born in
Arkansas in 1820, and resided in that state
imtil 1852, when he crossed the plains by ox-
teams to the vicinity of Eugene, Lane coun-
ty, Oregon. In 1861 he drove his salable
stock of sheep and cattle into Walla Walla,
and thence to the mining regions of Oregon

and Idaho, and in 1864 he returned to Walla
\\'alla, that he might open a meat market
there. He maintained this until 1872, then
sold out to Kirkham & Dooley, and gave his
entire attention to stock buying, going to
Kansas and Texas for that purpose and driv-
ing his herds when purchased into Wyoming.'
As before stated, he died in 1883, but his
widow still lives and resides with her son
John H. Though in her eighty-third year,
she is hale and hearty, and as happy as any of
her little grandchildren, whom she strives to
amuse.

Mrs. John H. Harer's parents were also
among the earliest pioneers of the west, hav-
ing crossed the plains from Iowa in 1859.
They lived a short time in California at first,
then for many years were identified with the
development of \\'alla Walla valley.

ROBERT BURNS, general agent of the
freight and passenger departments of the
Oregon Railway & Navigation Company, is
a native of Hamilton, Ontario, born in i860.
He lived in his fatherland until fifteen years
old, receiving his education in the public
schools and in a collegiate institute, gradu-
ating from the latter. He learned telegraphy
in St. Thomas, Ontario, and when competent
accepted an agency on the Canada Southern,
with which company he remained five years,
eventually leaving that he might accept a like
position with the Detroit, Grand Haven &
Milwaukee Railway Company, by which he
was employed a year.

Since that time Mr. Burns has been identi-
fied with railway development and operation
in the west. He has served the Union Pa-
cific Railroad Company in one capacity or an-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

373

other for the past eighteen years, and at pres-
ent is in the employ of the Oregon Railway
& Navigation Company, an affiliated line, as
general agent in their freight and passenger
department.

Mr. Burns has devoted his entire life, since
he became old enough for any kind of business,
to railroad work, and has that mastery of the
details of that intricate and complex occupa-
tion which can be attained in no other way
than by assiduous effort for many years. He
is one of the most valued and trusted em-
ployes in the service of the company. As a
man among men, also, Mr. Burns' standing
is of the highest. He is affiliated with the
Masonic order, in which he is quite promi-
nent, being a Knight Templar, and he also be-
longs to the Elks fraternity. In Glendale,
Montana, on December lo, 1885, our subject
married Louise Whitney, a native of Utah,
and they have one child, Lewis A.

EMERSON L. WHEELER.— No hne of
enterprise in which a young man may engage
offers better opportunities for exerting a pow-
erful influence for good in the community
than journalism. The orator holds his audi-
ence spell-bound by the beauty and force of
his diction and the magnetic influence of his
personality, but his words can reach only a
few hundreds or thousands, while the influ-
ence of the press goes wherever the mails go,
and reaches even to the humblest dwellers in
the humblest homes of our land. It must
follow, then, "as the night the day," that a
calling thus potential in moulding the opin-
ions and sentiments of a community is worthy
the best talent which can be found anywhere,
and it is pleasing to see young men of as fine

intellectual powers and as bright prospects as
is he whose name initiates this sketch engaged
in such an important profession.

Our subject is quite a young man, having
been born March 22, 1878, but he has already
been a leader of public thought and a moulder
of public opinion for nearly a decade. His
entire life thus far has been passed in Waits-
burg, and in the public schools of that town
and in Waitsburg Academy he received his
education. After retiring from school he
taught a year, then became editor of the Waits-
burg Times. His paper, like many other im-
portant enterprises, had an humble beginning,
but it has steadily advanced in power and in-
fluence, keeping pace with the development of
the town and county, nay, rather taking a po-
sition in the advance guard of the progressive
forces which have wrought that development,
and contributing a lion's share toward the
general progress.

Mr. Wheeler is a member of Delta Lodge,
No. 70, K. of P. He is pos.sessed of excel-
lent musical talents, and for several years has
been president and manager of the \\'aitsburg
Military band. He was married in his home
town, June 5, 1900, to Miss Myrtle Duncan,
a native of California.

IWA S. MOLKINS, a farmer on Whit-
man road, five miles west of Walla Walla, a
pioneer of 1871. was born in Des Moines
county, Iowa, on September 4, 1855. He lived
there until the spring of 1864, then accom-
panied his parents on the long journey across
the plains with ox-teams to Yamhill county,
Oregon, where he lived about six years, work-
ing on his father's farm and attending public
school. In 1 87 1 the family moved to what

374

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

is now known as College Place, on the old
Daniel Stewart farm, and the father took a
homestead near Dayton, onto which he moved
his wife and children in 1872. They were en-
gaged in raising grain there for the next ten
years, but in 1882 they sold out and removed
to the vicinity of Rathdrum, Idahc, whither
our subject had gone the year before. Both
father and son were engaged in farming for
about four years, but on April 12,. 1886, the
old gentleman died.

Mr. Molkins had taken a homestead beside
the father's place in 1882, and after the death
of the latter, having been appointed adminis-
trator of the estate, he farmed both places.
In 1895 he sold out and returned to the val-
ley, where he has ever since resided. He is
a thrifty, progressive farmer, and one of the
most highly esteemed and respected citizens
of his part of the county. Mr. Molkins was
married in Rathdrum, Idaho, October 12,
1890, to Mijs ]\Iary E. Adkins, a native of
Missouri and a pioneer of Idaho. They have
four children, Arthur \\'., \\*&yne E., Henry
Clay and Lester.

Air. ]\Iolkins was traveling alone on the
road to Lewiston the day the great battle was
fought between the volunteers and the Indians
on Camas Prairie, but got through without
molestation, and helped to guard the town that
night.

FRA-XCIS G. HART, a miner, is a na-
tive of Xew York, born October 19, 1832.
He lived in the state of his nativity until about
twenty years old, receiving a public-school
education, then came by steamer to San Fran-
cisco, whence he went into the mining region.
He was there for six vears, engaged in a

search for hidden treasure, but later came tO'
Oregon and took charge of a stage line from
Jacksonville to Roseburg.

In 1866 he came to Lewiston, Idaho,
where for two years he devoted his energies
to carrying express packages on horseback
from Lewiston to Warren's for the Wells-
Fargo Express Company.

In 1869 he embarked in a livery business
in Waitsburg, and his time was thus occupied
until 1895, when he accepted a position as
superintendent for a mining company operat-
ing in the Okanogan mining region, in whose
employ he has continued ever since. Mr. Hart
is a man of unusual ability, as is evinced by
the fact that he has been uniformly successful
both in business and as a mining expert.

He was married in 1863 to Miss Isabella
AI. iThorm, a native of Iowa, born in March,
1844. When nine years old she made the
long trip across the plains to Oregon, and in
Douglas county, that state, she grew to wo-
manhood and was educated. She and Mr.
Hart are parents of five living children, Adel-
bert, Edward, Fred G., Charles A, and Harry
H. The family reside in their own comforta-
ble home in Waitsbure:.

HON. JOHN F. BREWER, member of
the Walla Walla city council, was born in
Scotland county, Alissouri, November 9,
1842. ^^'hen ten years old he crossed the
plains with ox-teams, arriving in Salem, Ore-
gon, in 1853, after a six months' journey.
He had attended the public schools for sev-
eral years in his native state, and he continued
his education in his new home, completing the
common-school course and taking a term in
Sublimity College. For the first five years

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

37S

after leaving the college he was engaged in
teaching. In 1871 he came to Walla Walla
county, but before long he received employ-
ment as a teacher in Umatilla county, Ore-
gon, just across the line. The following
spring he went to Whitman county and lo-
cated as a homestead the site of the present
town of Garfield, but the next fall he was
called back to the school he had taught the
preceding winter. He had been elected as-
sessor of Whitman county, but thought best
not to qualify.

For the ensuing three years Air. Brewer
followed the teaching profession in the vicin-
ity of Walla Walla, but in 1876 he purchased
land and turned his attention to farming, a
business which has engaged the greater por-
tion of his energies ever since. He was, how-
ever, a resident of Seattle most of the time
during the seven years prior to 1897, and
while there gave much attention to the real
estate business, though without neglecting his
farming interests. He is now the owner of
a section of fine land in this county, and takes
rank among the most successful and enter-
prising farmers of this section.

In political matters our subject has long
been a leader. He served in the city council
as early as 1889, and in 1898 he was again
called upon to assume the duties of that office.
His popularity as a councilman may be judged
from the fact that in the present year he was
re-elected. Indeed, he has had experience
enough in municipal government to render
him very expert in that difficult branch of
civil administration, having also served as
councilman in Seattle for four years. He was
also a memljer of the board of education in the
same city for two years, resigning the latter
ofifice when he returned to Walla Walla in
1897. In 1884 he was elected to the terri-

torial legislature from Walla Walla county,
and he served as its representative during
the session of 1885-1886, displaying much
political acumen and legislative ability. His
reputation as a man and a citizen is most flat-
tering wherever he is known. In fraternal
affiliations he is prominently connected with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the
Knights of Pythias, the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, and the Royal Arcanum.
In Marion county, Oregon, March 31,^
1872, Mr. Brewer married Adora B. Stan-
ton, a native of that state, and to their union
have been born eight children: John \\'., mail
carrier; Merton E., bookkeeper; B. Frank,
clerk in the City drug store; M. Maude, Ber-
tha A., Adora B., Rob Roy and Lula May,

CHARLES B. PRESTON.— Among tlie
young men who have been born, reared and
educated in the thriving town of Waitsburg,
and who, by their industry and business abil-
ity, have reflected credit upon the place of
their nativity and the home of their child-
hood, Mr. Preston is deserving of special men-
tion. He was born on the nth of September,
1877, and, as soon as he became old enough,
entered the public schools of his native town.
He was, however, too ambitious to be content
with a common-school education, and did not
allow the attractions of commercial life to lure
him from school until he had completed a
thorough course in Waitsburg Academy. He
then engaged with his father in the latter's
flouring mill, and has ever since contributed
largely to the success and prestige of the busi-
ness. Being a young man of excellent intel-
lectual development and good executive abil-
ity, he promises in due time to become one
of the leading business men of the town.

376

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

In his fraternal affiliations Mr. Preston is
a member of Enterprise Camp, No. 5209, M.
\V. A. In Walla Walla. October 12,1898, he
married Miss Virgie Nelson, daughter of
James E. Nelson, who is one of the early and
respected pioneers of the coast. Mr. Pres-
ton's father is also a pioneer, and has long been
a leader in the industrial development of
Waitsbursf.

\\"ILLIA-M KIRKMAN, deceased, was a
nati\-e of England, born December 7, 1831.
In 1851 he emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts,
and the next year he removed to San Francisco,
via the isthmus. For a time he followed min-
ing, but he soon took to the sea and made a
trip on a sailing vessel to Australia and the
Sandwich Islands. On his return he joined an
expedition to the Fraser river country. For
four years he remained under the British flag,
meeting with varied fortunes and some thrilling
adx-entures. In i860 high water carried away
a bridge belonging to him and left him finan-
cially at the foot of the ladder to start life
again, shadowed by heavy indebtedness. In
1862 he returned to San Francisco and the
following year purchased cattle on the Umpqua
river for the Boise (Idaho) market. He re-
mained in Idaho until 1865, engaged in the
stock business, with a meat market at Pioneer
City. In 1866 he took an eighty-mule pack
train of goods from Walla Walla to Montana,
where he disposed of all and became interested
in a milk ranch. He prosecuted the dairy busi-
ness for six months there, then returned to
San Francisco, California, whence a year later
he came to Walla W'alla.

Here, in company with Mr. John Dooley,
he engaged extensively in stock-raising, and
the meat market business, a line which he fol-

lowed successfully for many years afterwards.
About 1890 he purchased the interest of Mr.
Dooley and formed a corporation known as
the Walla Walla Dressed Meat Company, of
which he was president. He also gave a por-
tion of his attention to the real estate business.
Soon, however, failing health compelled him to
seek a change of environment, so he went back
tc Europe. He died near St. Paul while re-
turning home, April 25, 1893.

A natural leader, Mr. Kirkman exerted a
powerful influence in the development of ^^'alla
Walla, and few of her public enterprises have
not benefited by his encouragement and support.
He was president and one of the founders of
the Walla Walla Club and one of the directors
of Whitman College, to which latter institu-
tion he bequeathed five thousand dollars. His
interest in education was further testified by
the faithfulness with which for several years
he discharged the duties of school director in
his district. He was also a leader in the Re-
publican part^^ serving as a delegate to the
Minneapolis convention, and on the Notifica-
tion committee of 1892.

Mr. Kirkman was married in San Fran-
cisco. February 4, 1867, to Miss Isabella Potts,
a native of Ireland, and they have four living
children: \MIliam H., an attorney at Walla
Walla; Fannie, now wife of Allen H. Rey-
nolds; Myrtle B. and Leslie Gilmore. Their
deceased children are George D., Agnes A.,
Robert J., Grace F., Mabel and Dasie.

ELIJAH INGLE, a fruit grower and
farmer on the state >oad, five miles southwest
of Walla Walla, a pioneer of September, 1862,
was born in Henry county, Kentucky, April
23, 1824. He was left an orphan in early in-

WILLIAM KIRKMAN.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

377

fancy, and was reared by an uncle, who took
him to IlHnois when he was seven years old.
He received a public-school education in Ed-
gar county, that state, then worked on a farm
until twenty-one, after which he started farm-
ing for himself. He followed that industry
renting land for the purpose, for a number
of years, then removed to Iowa, where he
was engaged in the same occupation ten years
longer.

In 1862 Mr. Ingle started to California,
but so many of the train to which he belonged
were coming to this valley that by the time
they reached Green river he had decided to
come along, too. Arriving here in Septem-
ber, he rented land one year, then purchased
a squatter's right to the place on which we
now find him, and which he took as a home-
stead as soon as the survey had been made.
He kept increasing his holdings until he be-
came the owner of five hundred acres, but in
later years he sold off all but seventy acres.
Half of this is in orchard and the remainder
is producing alfalfa hay. Our subject is also
the owner of some real estate in Milton, Ore-
gon, and seven acres of highly improved land
within the city limits of Walla Walla.

Mr. Ingle has always shown himself a
public-spirited man, ever ready to do all in his
power for the promotion of the general wel-
fare, and considerably interested in local,
state and national politics. He has served as
constable two terms and commissioner of his
own county, Umatilla, one term, but his in-
terests center rather in W'alla Walla than in
any town in his own county.

While crossing the plains the train to
Avhich Mr. Ingle belonged was at one time
hard pressed by Indians, but their safety lay
in their strength, the train consisting of two
hundred and ninetv-two wagons. ]\Ir. Ingle

has not, however, experienced any difficulties
with the aborigines since settling in the val-
ley, having always treated them kindly and
received like treatment at their hands. He
was married in Vermilion county, Illinois,
on May 5, 1865, to Miss Mary Ann Hanson,
a native of Virginia, who died in Milton, Ore-
gon, on July 24, 1879, leaving nine children,
all of whom' are doing well in life. The
couple also became parents of two children
now deceased, namely, J. Lemuel and Mel-
vina.

Air. Ingle was married again at Pendle-
ton, Oregon, on August 5, 1880, the lady be-
ing Mrs. Amanda McElrath, a native of Ten-
nessee and a pioneer of this valley of 1878.

LIEUTENANT THOMAS D. S. HART,
deputy county auditor, was born in Louisville,
Kentucky, July 6, 1865. He has, however,
been a resident of the west nearly all his life,
having accompanied his parents to Albany,
Oregon, when only six years old. He ac-
quired his education in the public schools and
in Albany College, also learned the printer's
trade in that city. In 1879 he moved to
Goldendale, Washington, in which town and
in North Yakima he passed the ensuing five
years, his business being printing and news-
paper work in general. In 1884, however,
he became a citizen of Walla Walla, and in
that city he pursued his calling until 1889,
when he removed to Seattle. Returning in
1 89 1, he again entered the journalistic pro-
fession here. In 1900, however, he retired
temporarily from the pursuit of his vocation
to accept a position as deputy county auditor,
a post which he still retains.

Lieutenant Hart is a very successful news-

3/8

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

paper man, and his work in connection with
different periodicals has made him quite well
known in many parts of the state. He is,
however, fully as well known as one who had
a prominent part in the Philippine war. Leav-
ing Walla Walla as second lieutenant of Com-
pany I, he went with them to Camp Rogers,
thence to San Francisco and thence to the
scene of hostilities. His company formed a
part of the first division of General King's
brigade, commanded by General Anderson.
Lieutenant Hart was in command of the com-
pany in every engagement, distinguishing
himself in the very first encounter with the
foe, at the battle of Santa Anna, and win-
ning special mention for meritorious service.
That his good record was maintained through-
out succeeding conflicts is evinced by the fact
that on August 25, 1899, he was promoted
to the first lieutenancy. He returned with his
company in November, 1899, and the follow-
ing January received the appointment to his
present situation. He is a prominent and en-
thusiastic member of the Knights of Pythias,
being a major in the second regiment, L'ni-
form Rank. He is also, at present, com-
mander of Henry W. Lawton Camp, Spanish-
-Aiierican W^ar Veterans.

In Alay, 1896, Lieutenant Hart married,
in Walla Walla, Miss Bertha ^^lalone, and to
their union has been born one child, Arline.

JA^^IES W. BRUCE.— Among the enter-
prising and respected agriculturists and stock
raisers of the vicinity oiWaitsburg Mr. Bruce
holds a prominent and leading place. He is
a son of the west, having first opened his eyes
to the light of day in Oregon, the date of his
birth being April 17, 1856. He is one of the

earliest pioneers of Waitsburg, in fact, he was
on the site of the town as early as 1861, long
before the establishment of an organized and
incorporated town had been thought of.

He grew to manhood in this locality, re-
ceiving his education in the Waitsburg schools,
and when he engaged in business for himself
he naturally drifted into the enterprise which
his father had followed before him and in
which he had been reared. He is a man of
energy and good judgment, thoroughly inter-
ested in everything pertaining to his business
and ready to profit by any new method or
improvement which his own experience or that
of others may bring to light. At the present
time he is the owner of a fine farm of about
a thousand acres, also an elegant brick resi-
dence in Waitsburg. He is quite prominent
in fraternal circles, being an active member •

of the United Artisans and the Independent I
Order of Odd Fellows.

On November 17, 1885, was solemnized,
in Columbia county, Washington, the mar-
riage of our subject and Miss Addie L. Har-
mon, the latter being a native of Iowa, born
October 23, 1864. Three children were born
of this marriage: William E., on September
18, 1886; Zula E., on Janujy 31, 1888; and
Hobart O., on November 4, 1895. Mr. Bruce
had been previously married to Miss Lottie
M. Seward, the date of their union being in
August, 1874, and the issue one daughter,
Carrie B., now wife of Ralph Lloyd.

Our subject's father, William P. Bruce,
was a very old pioneer of the west, having
crossed the plains to Oregon in 1850. In
1 86 1 he became identified with Waitsburg, of
which he continued to be a respected and rep-
resentative citizen until his death, which oc-
curred November 17, 1888. He was long an
active worker in the political campaigns of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

179

the county, and for some years served on its
board of county commissioners. His widow,
Caroline Bruce, nee O'Neal, survived him un-
til January, 1891, residing on the old home.
Tlie couple became parents of five children,
namely: Mary E., widow of the late H. J.
Abbe}^, of Waitsburg; J. W. ; Dora E., wife
of E. L. Powell, of Spokane; also Edward,
who was drowned when two years old, and
John H., who died near Vancouver, Wash-
ington, in 1898.

To ]\Ir. William P. Bruce belongs the
honor of pioneership in Waitsburg, he having
been the man who secured from the govern-
ment by homestead the place where that city
now stands, the date of his homestead entry
being 1863.

]\Ir. Perkins was married in Waitsburg
June 15, 1896, to Miss Iny Mitchel, a native
of Washington, and a member of a pioneer
family. They have three children, Voyle L.,
Eldon M. and Ethel i\L

PERRY C. PERKINS, a drayman in
AVaitsburg, was born in Iowa December 13,
1868. He attended the local public school,
and worked betimes on his father's farm until
about nineteen, then- decided to try his fortune
in the west. Accordingly he came to this
county, located at Waitsburg, rented land, and
began farming. For the ensuing five years
he was a successful tiller of the soil here, then
he tried the same occupation in Idaho for a
year. In 1893, however, he went to Cali-
fornia, where for about four years he worked
on the John Bidwell farm, near Chico. Re-
turning then to Waitsburg, he engaged in the
transfer business, and to that he has devoted
his energies ever since. By his careful atten-
tion to the interests of his customers and strict
application to business he is building up a
very good trade. He is one of the solid and
substantial men of Waitsburg, and enjoys an
enviable standing among the people of that
citv.

DENNIS LA GRAVE, a retired farmer
residing at College Place, a pioneer of the val-
ley of 1873, was born in Massena, New York,
on May 29, 1844. He resided there, attending
school after he became old enough, until sev-
enteen years old, then enlisted in Company
A, Ninety-second New York Infantry. He
remained in the service until 1864, as a mem-
ber of that company, then re-enlisted in Com-
pany F, One Hundred and Ninety-third New
York Infantry, serving with them till the close
of the war. He was in the thickest of the
fight from the first year of the war till the
last disloyal gun was silenced, and naturally
participated in some very stubbornly contest-
ed and sanguinary engagements, among which
may be mentioned the battles of ]\Iud creek,
Fair Oaks, Kingston, Whitehall, Goldsboro,
Richmond, Petersburg, Cold Harbor, the cap-
ture of Fort Harrison, and the seven days'
fight at Malvern Hill under General ilcClel-
lan. He was wounded in the terrible battle
of Cold Harbor, where the Union forces lost
ten thousand men in twenty-two minutes, and
he was again injured in the blowing up of
the mines after the capture of Petersburg.
His eyes also were permanently injured in
the service, and have never been strong since.

Upon being mustered out, in January,
1866, Mr. La Grave returned to New York
state and engaged in farming. He followed
that industry there four years and in Wiscon-
sin four vears more, afterwards coming to

38o

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the Walla W'alla valley. He took a home-
stead and pre-emption in what is now Columbia
count}^ and farmed there for twenty consecu-
tive years, but in 1893 sold out, moved to
College Place, bought a lot containing an acre
and a quarter, built a comfortable home and
retired. He is, however, indulging to some
extent his fanc}' for mining and has some
very promising gold and silver claims in the
Okanogan country.

Mr. La Grave has long been one of the
solid and substantial men of the west. He is
a good citizen in every respect, thoroughly
loyal to the flag for which he fought so long
and so well, and ever ready to do what he can
for the promotion of the general welfare of
his locality. He is a member of Excelsior
Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of Day-
ton. He was married in Eau Claire, A\'iscon-
sin, in April, 1873, to ^liss Hilary E. Palmer,
a. native of Pennsylvania, and to them have
been born five children: F. Leslie; Cora E.,
wife of Edward Miley, a mining man in the
Okanogan; Verna E. ; Verta E., wife of James
Granger, of Sumpter, Oregon; and Alyrtle.
Verna and INIyrtle are still at home with their
parents.

J. AI. BALD\\TX, formerly superintend-
ent of the L^nion Publishing Company's job
office, at present a partner in the Inland Em-
pire Printing Company, is a native of the
west, having" been born in Walla Walla in
1870. He is the son of David S. Baldwin,
a pioneer of 1858. He attended the public
schools until about sixteen years old, then
went to The Dalles, Oregon, and engaged in
the printing business. He worked at his trade
continuously there until 1S92, in which year
he returned to \\'alla \^^alla to accept the po-

sition on the Union above referred to. This
he retained until the beginning of 1901, when
he severed his connection with that paper and,
in partnership with Messrs. Harris and Arm-
strong, established an extensive job printing
concern on the corner of Alder and East
streets, the firm name being the Inland Em-
pire Printing Company. They have every
facility for- turning out first-class work with
quickness and accuracy. In fact, the combina-
tion of energetic, progressive young men is
looked upon as one of the strongest in its
line in the state.

Mr. Baldwin is a very skilled tradesman
and a thoroughly reliable young man, one
whose influence in the future will be very
sensibly felt. In fraternal affiliations he is
identified with the Woodmen of the \\'orld.

GEORGE A. RULAFORD, a carpenter
and builder at College Place, a pioneer of the
valley of 1875, was born in Clark county,
Ohio, on December 7, 1848. He remained
in his native town until about eighteen years
old, acquiring his education in the public
schools, then learned the trade of a carpenter,
serving his apprenticeship at Columbus, Ohio.
He afterwards followed his trade in different
parts of the state until 1868, in which year
he removed to Colorado City, Colorado, where
he clerked and worked at his handicraft for
a couple of years. Returning to Ohio in
1870, he followed his trade jthere for five
years longer, then enlisted in Company L,
First United States Cavalry. He was sent to
Fort Walla \\''alla and remained there three
years, going thence to Fort Klamath. Oregon,
where he remained during the rest of his en-
listment. During the war of 187S the com-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

381

pany to which he belonged fought many bat-
tles and sustained heavy losses in killed and
wounded, but he was not permitted to partici-
pate, having been selected to remain in charge
of the company's property at the fort.

Upon being discharged ^Nlr. Rulaford set-
tled in Walla Walla. He worked at his trade
there until 1884, then removed to Medical
Lake to reap the benefit of the boom. He
continued in the pursuit of his handicraft there
for seven years, coming thence to College
Place, where he has since resided. When he
came there were only two houses in the vil-
lage, and he has witnessed its growth from
that time to the present day. Nor has he
been in any sense a passive spectator of this
development, for by far the greater part of
the houses in the town were built by him.
He is one of the progressive forces of the
place and is esteemed as one of its representa-
tive citizens.

In Walla Walla, on June 18, 1880, Mr.
Rulaford married Miss Martha Ford, a na-
tive of Walla Walla valley and the first white
girl born in it. They are parents of three
children, Cecil C, Burnham S. and Ernest E.,
all students in Walla Walla College. The
family own and occupy a comfortable home
in the town.

^lARTIN H. HAUBER.— This respected
pioneer and successful ranchman of the vicin-
ity of Waitsburg is a native of Indiana, born
Alay 7, 1837. He, however, spent most of
his life before coming west in Missouri, to
which state his parents moved when he was
about three years old and in which his educa-
tion was obtained. In 1854 he crossed the
plains with ox-teams to Benton county, Ore-

gon, and before he was there a year his serv-
ices were required in the Rogue river Indian
war. He continued with the army in volun-
teer service for about eight months, then re-
turned to Benton county, whence in 1857 he
came to Walla Walla. Finding the valley
an excellent place for cattle raising, he re-
turned the following year to Oregon, bought
a number of cattle, brought them here and en-
gaged quite extensively in the stock business.
He met with excellent success for several
years, but the severe winter of 1861-62 caught
him unprepared for its rigors and he lost prac-
tically all his herds. He then boughf a bunch
of sheep and turned his attention to that in-
dustry, continuing in the same for a period of
fifteen years.

In 1858 he took a homestead on the
Touchet river about three miles west of Waits-
burg, and this afforded him a home and a base
of operations during the many years in which
he followed cattle and sheep raising. After
disposing of his sheep he again engaged in
the business from which he had been compelled
to retire on account of his bad fortune in
1862, and he continued for many years to
raise and handle large numbers of cattle and
horses annually, gradually retrenching in this
direction and giving more and more attention
to agriculture as the country began to settle
up, and the range became correspondingly di-
minished.

He now has a fine farm of about six hun-
dred acres, well improved and cultivated, its
natural fertility fully developed by his skillful
husbandry. Evidences of his thrift and care-
ful management are everywhere visible on his
premises, and he justly ranks among the lead-
ing farmers in that communFty. As a man
and a citizen his standing in the neighborhood
is of the highest, his life being in all things

382

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

so ordered as to compel respect and win es-
teem.

The marriage of our subject was solem-
nized in \\'alla Walla county in 1865, when
JMiss Phebe A. Sajdor, a native of Indiana,
became his wife. The issue of their union was
seven children : Charles, a phj^sician in Cali-
fornia; Kate, wife of E. Allen, in Idaho;
Dora and Henry, living; also three deceased.

E. F. BABCOCK. — Prominent in the de-
velopment of an industry, the importance of
which to the future of the county is as yet
scarcely realized, is the man whose name gives
caption to this review. A nurseryman and
fruit grower from the time he left the parental
roof to inaugurate independent action, he thor-
oughly understands everything pertaining to
the business, and the county of Walla Walla is
especially fortunate in having within its borders
a man so eminently qualified to give an impetus
to the fruit raising industry.

Born in Xew York on the 8th of January,
1 83 1, he passed his early youth in that state,
but upon the advent of young manhood he
removed to Washington, D. C, but it was in
Rochester, New York, that he took his initial
lessons in the nursery business. In 1857, he
inigrated to St. Louis, Missouri, and thence to
Illinois, where he established what is known as
the St. Clair nursery. He busied himself in
connection with this until the outbreak of the
Civil war, when, obedient to the voice of pa-
triotism, he rallied to the support of the flag.

Enlisting in Company E, Second Illinois
Cavalry, he served a year at the front as first
lieutenant, but he was thereupon sent home on
recruiting service. He was connected with the
federal army until the close of hostilities, but

when peace again visited our land, he returned
to his former home and to his former business.
He subsequently established nurseries at Mem-
phis, Tennessee, and in Arkansas.

\\'hile serving as pomologist in the A\'orld's
Fair, in 1893, he became so impressed with the
excellent fruit on exhibition in the Washington
state building and from other Pacific states that
he decided to try his fortune in the rising
young commonwealth. Accordingly, he came
out to Walla Walla county. In due time he
located near Waitsburg and began to employ
his herculean energies in the establishment and
upbuilding of the Columbian orchard and nur-
sery. He has abcut ten thousand trees, bearing
all the leading varieties of fruits, especially
high-grade apples, and his nursery stock covers
fifteen acres of land. A\'e are pleased to record
that experience has only served to strengthen
the good opinion he had formed of Washing-
ton as a fruit country, until he has come to re-
gard it as without a peer in the world for the
production of apples.

Mr. Babcock has for twenty years been re-
garded as an expert in the art of preparing
fruit e.xhibits for expositions. He selected the
fruit from this state which won second and
third premiums at the Paris Exposition, also
made a shipment from his own orchard to Paris
in September last. Thus he is performing a
great work for the future of this valley not
only in assisting to build up the fruit industry
directly, but in advertising the possibilities of
the country to the outside world. He also
won two gold medals for fruit produced in the
year 1900.

FRED O. COX, a dairyman and fruit
grower, residing in Waitsburg, is a native of
the state of Washington, born May 22, 1870.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

383

He was educated in the schools of this county,
then accepted a position with the Preston-
Partou Milling Company, for whom he worked
for six consecutive years. He then engaged
in the business in which we now find him.'
He gives most attention to small fruits, his
crop of blackberries in the current year, 1900,
exceeding five thousand pounds, and of straw-
berries twenty-five hundred pounds. He has,
however, a choice lot of pears, apples, plums
and prunes. His dairy stock consists of fif-
teen head of Jersey and Durham milch cows.
Mr. Cox is an energetic man and a suc-
cessful farmer. He is quite comfortably cir-
cumstanced for a young man, being the owner
of ten acres of fruit land within the city limits
of Waitsburg, a fine residence, and other city
l^roperty, in addition to his farm and stock.
He was married in Waitsburg February 28,
1893, to Miss Ada Harmon, a native of Ore-
gon, born April 28, 1874, and they are the
parents of one son, Merrill, now five years
old. Mr. Cox is a member of the A. O. U.
W., Occidental Lodge, No. 11, and Mrs. Cox
belongs to the Degree of Honor.

ROBERT H. JOHNSON, hay and grain
dealer, 105 North Third street, was born in
Liverpool, England, in 1861. He received his
education in that country, but early emigrated
to America, being only fourteen years old at
the time of his arrival in the United States.
He came via Cape Horn in a sailing vessel to
Portland, Oregon, where for the ensuing
five years he followed steamboating. He then
came to Walla Walla, entered the employ of
Marshall, Jones & Roberts as a hand in their
machine shops, and established a connection
with that firm which lasted fourteen years.

Since retiring from their service he has been
engaged continuously in the business in which
we now find him. He handles large quanti-
ties of grain annually, and keeps constantly
in operation the electric feed mill, in which all
kinds of cereal products are ground for fodder.
Mr. Johnson is an active, enterprising and
successful business man and the leader in his
line in Walla Walla. As a citizen his stand-
ing is of the highest, and though not ambi-
tious for political honors, or personal prefer-
ment of any kind, he is one of the great body
of men who work unostentatiously, but none
the less efTectively, for their own and the com-
munity's welfare. Fraternally he affiliates
with the Elks. He was married in Walla
Walla in January, 1892, to Kate McGeary,
daughter of Mrs. Margaret McGeary, one of
the early settlers of Walla Walla. Their
union has been blest by the advent of three
children. Marguerite, Robert and Helen.

PHILIP A. WILD, farmer, a pioneer of
the Pacific coast of 1880, is a native of Ray
county, Missouri, born January 13, 1834.
When two years old, he was taken to Grundy
county, Missouri, where his father followed
farming and stock raising as a business, and
where he learned his first lessons in that in-
dustry. He was educated in the public schools
and in Grand River College. In 1861, he en-
listed in Company C, Thirty-fifth Cavalry Mili-
tia of Missouri for six months' service. At
the end of his term of enlistment, he returned
home and raised one crop, then, on September
10, 1862, again enlisted, becoming a member
of Company C, Thirty-fifth Missouri Infantry,
which was in the regular United States service.
From that time until the close of hostilities he

384

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

was engaged constantly in active campaigning.
He participated in numerous skirmishes and
battles, among which was the fierce conflict at
Helena, Arkansas, July 4, 1864, in which four
thousand Federals were pitted against twelve
thousand Confederates. The battle lasted nine
hours and resulted in a glorious victory for
the "Boys in Blue."

After being mustered out at Little Rock,
Arkansas, on June 10, 1865, Air. Wild returned
to his old home and to his former occupation,
farming, continuing in that until 1880, when
he came to Umatilla county, Oregon. He filed
on a homestead there and busied himself in rais-
ing stock until 1895, when he sold out and
moved to the vicinity of Starbuck, Columbia
county, where he farmed until 1897. In that
year, however, he moved to College Place, pur-
chased a home, and became a resident of the
town, and is now one of the reliable and sub-
stantial men of that neighborhood, highly es-
teemed and respected by all.

Our subject was married in Grundy county,
Missouri, on August 20, 1857, to Miss Mary
E. Sandlin, a native of Boone county, Indiana,
who was taken by her parents to Iowa, while
still a young child. They have seven children
living: Elsie, now Mrs. James Power, of Pen-
dleton, Oregon; John, a farmer in Mercer
county, Missouri; William H., at Pendleton;
Sallie, now Mrs. John Montgomery, of Pendle-
ton; Eddie, Rebecca and Charlie M., at home
with their parents ; also two deceased.

HEXRY J. ABBEY, deceased, was one of
those sturdy pioneers who have changed the
primeval Walla \\'alla valley into well-culti-
vated fields, and caused its naturally fertile soil
to "blossom and the rose." He was born in the

state of New York June 8, 1835. In 1843 his
parents moved to Michigan, where they both
died, leaving him an orphan at ten years of
age. He was therefore compelled to support
himself as best he could without the aid of
anyone upon whom he had a natural claim, and
to acquire unassisted what education he might.

Of those early struggles but little specific
information can be given, but certain it is that
they developed in him a strong, self-reliant
character, and a resourcefulness which made
him the equal of every emergency.

In 1 86 1 he crossed the plains, traveling in
the usual primitive fashion of those days,
namely, with ox-teams. Locating in the Walla
Walla valley, he engaged in freighting as a
business, and it fell to his lot to haul the lum-
ber used in the construction of the first store
ever erected in Walla Walla, which was built
by the noted Dr. Baker.

Subsequently he spent three years in the
Warrens mining region, then ran a ferry at
Lewiston for two years, after which he re-
turned to the valley and settled on a homestead
three and a half miles northwest of Waitsburg.
Being a thrifty, enterprising man, he naturally
extended his realty holdings as time passed,
eventually becoming the owner of six hundred
acres, all of which is excellent wheat land. In
1897 he moved into Waitsburg, where he had
a fine home, but he was not permitted to long
enjoy the luxury of retirement, for on Au-
gust 19 of that year he died, and his remains
lie buried in the city cemetery.

Air. Abbey was married in Waitsburg, No-
vember 25, 1871, to Aliss Alary E. Bruce, an
early pioneer of the county, and to their union
eight children have been born, namely : Perry
H., a merchant in Waitsburg, Oscar W., Caro-
line AI. and Bruce, living: and Jennie, F.red-
eric, Lillian and Henry, deceased.

HENRY J. ABBEY.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

385

]\Ir. Abbey was a communicant in the Meth-
odist Episcopal church, and INIrs. Abbey also
belona;s to that denomination.

WILLL\:\I R. JONES, a retired school
teacher and merchant, a pioneer of the coast
of 1864, was born in Green county, Kentucky,
on November 25, 1840. He was taken by his
parents to Gentry county, Missouri, in 1846,
and there acquired his public school education.
Upon completing his course he engaged in
farming, which industry he followed contin-
uously until 1864, when he crossed the plains
with ox-teams to Eugene, Oregon. He
taught in the public schools a year, then
went to Linn county, and engaged in the
pursuit of the same profession. He taught
there twenty-one terms, afterward removing
to Whitman county, Washington, where he
was engaged in public school teaching until
1885. He then homesteaded one hundred and
sixty acres of land, and resumed the business
he had followed in early manhood, namely
farming.

Li 1 89 1 Mr. Jones sold out and the fol-
lowing year came to College Place that his
children might enjoy the advantage of the
school which was just being established there.
He was one of the first settlers in the town
and helped to survey it and build it up from the
very foundation. In 1892, the first year the
college was in operation, he had seven children
in attendance. In the spring of 1901 the fam-
ily removed to their farm of one hundred and
sixty acres eight miles southeast of Dixie,
where their home now is and where they are
again engaged in tilling the soil.

Air. Jones was married in Scio, Oregon,
September 9, 1873, to Aliss Alary R. Ethel,

a native of St. Louis, Missouri, who died in
September, 1880, leaving two children. On
November 25, 1885, he was again married, the
lady being Mrs. Sarah A. Thornton, and to
this union have been born two children. Mrs.
Jones also had seven children by her former
marriage. Her daughter. Miss Minnie Thorn-
ton, is a medical missionary nurse, having
completed the course in the Medical Mission-
ary Training School of Chicago. Mr. Jones
is a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist
church, to which he has belonged since 1881,
and he was clerk of the Farmington church for
seven years. For the past two years he has
served as deputy county assessor.

JACOB F. WEAVER, secretary and treas-
urer of the L^pper Columbia Tract society, re-
siding at College Place, was born in Illinois,
March 21, 1865. He attended school. there
from the time he reached school age until he
was fifteen, then moved with his mother and,
brothers and sisters to Caldwell county, Mis-
souri, first, however, selling the old homestead
which his grandfather, Louis Weaver, had
taken up six years before Springfield, Illinois,
was founded, and upon which his father, Sam-
uel, had raised fruit and nursery stock until
his death, which occurred October 10, 1879.
Upon arriving in Missouri, Mr. Weaver en-
gaged in farming and stock raising, remain-
ing in that industry until 1885, when he re-
moved to southwestern Kansas. He followed
the same occupation in the latter state, except
that in winter he also taught school. Event-
ually coming west, he located at Portland,
Oregon, where he accepted a position as super-
intendent of the large stone quarry. He spent
a year in that, then in 1892 came as a student

386

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

to College Place. He studied in Walla Walla
College for a number of years, and in 1S97
was appointed secretary and treasurer of the
Upper Columbia Tract society, which position
he has ever since retained.

Mr. Weaver is a very active worker in the
Seventh-Day Adventist church of College
Place, of which he has been a deacon and elder,
and to which his entire family belong. He
was married in Rollins county, Kansas, on De-
cember 24, 1887, to Miss Myrtle Berry, a
native of Iowa, and they have a family of two
children, Freddie E. and Eber, both students in
Walla Walla College.

Mr. Dunlap is affiliated, with the Ancient Or-
der United Workmen Lodge, No. 79, of Pres-
cott, and his wife is a member of the Degree
of Honor, its auxiliary society.

JOHN K. DUNLAP, a blacksmith at
Prescott, is a native of Oregon, born Novem-
ber 19, 1853. After completing his educa-
tion he engag'ed in milling, and that was his
business for the ensuing three years. He then
went into farming, following that occupation
uninterruptedly in his native state until 1877,
then farmed for a year near Prescott as an em-
ployee, but he afterwards moved to Willow
valley, where he took a homestead and engaged
in stock raising. He continued in that in-
dustrj- five years, then sold his land and let
his stock out to other parties on shares. Re-
turning then to Prescott he worked awhile as a
farm hand, but in 1897 he engaged in black-
smithing in the town, and has given his ener-
gies to that handicraft ever since.

^Ir. Dunlap is an industrious, thrift}', sub-
stantial man, and his standing in Prescott is
of the highest. He was married in Dayton,
Washington, March 14, 1888, to Miss Ida F.
^^'ilmot, a native of Idaho, reared and educated
in that state. They have four children, Cora
L.. Edith J., Rea E. and Ida L. Fraternallv

OTIS C. JACKSON, druggist at 19 West
Main street, Walla Walla, was born in Albany,
Oregon, July 16, 1867. His father had crossed
the plains with ox-teams in 1862, experiencing
six or seven battles with Indians, one of which
took place within sight of Shoshone Falls, Ida-
ho. In 1868 the family moved to southern
Oregon, but in 1871 they came north as far as
Eugene, where Mr. Jackson received a good
public school education, supplemented by a
course in the University of Oregon.

\Vhen sixteen, however, our subject started
with the remainder of the family for this side
of the Cascades, traveling by wagon to Port-
land and thence by steamboat to The Dalles,
and from that town by wagon to Farm-
ington. Here his father purchased a farm, and
for the three years following the time of his
arrival Air. Jackson was occupied in taking
care of it. He then went to Tacoma, where
for several years he was employed by the Stew-
art & Holmes Drug Company. In 1899 he
came thence to Walla Walla, purchased from
his former employers the store which he now
occupies and started in business for himself.
The business is, at present, conducted under the
firm name of the Green & Jackson Drug Com-
pany. They have a magnificent assortment of
drugs and photographic supplies, in fact their
stock is the largest carried by any firm in the
state outside of Seattle, Tacoma and Spokane.

Mr. Jackson is a thoroughly progressive
and up-to-date business man, and seems likely
to long remain in the lead in his particular

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

387

line. He bears an excellent reputation in his
community as a reliable and upright gentle-
man. Li Tacoma, Washington, in October,
1899, he married Miss Agnes F. Manion.

EBENEEZER M. PECK, a farmer resid-
ing three miles southwest of Walla Walla on
Ritz creek, a pioneer of 1878, was born in Os-
wego county. New York, December 29, 18 17.
His father, Russell Peck, had been a gunsmith
in the Revolutionary war. The old gentleman
had volunteered as a soldier, but the govern-
ment, discovering his ability, transferred him
to one of its gun factories, and there he labored
for a period of five years.

When Ebeneezer M. Peck was six months
old, the family removed to Ohio, where the
father followed blacksmithing and gunsmith-
ing five years. They next moved to Michigan,
and in that state eleven years were spent in
farming and blacksmithing, after which they
removed to Van Buren county, Iowa. It was
here that Mr. Peck, then eighteen years old,
received his education, though the facilities
were not very good, that being the first year
that whites were allowed in the territory. The
next move of the family was to Oskaloosa
county, and here Mr. Peck lost both father and
mother by death. He remained in Iowa con-
tinuously, engaged in farming, until 1878, then
came to Walla Walla for the benefit of his
wife's health. He did not remain at first, how-
ever, but went to the vicinity of Pendleton,
where he resided three years, afterward moving
to his present place of abode. He has one
hundred and thirty acres in the home place and
one hundred acres on the Oregon side of the
state line and is engaged in diversified farming.

Mr. Peck was for many years one of the

leading and representative men of Oskaloosa
county, Iowa, and while there held several
local offices. While acting as constable, it fell
to his lot to arrest the first man ever placed
under custody in that county for wife-beating.
The man remained in jail six months, after
which Mr. Peck himself paid his fine and had
him released.

Since coming to the coast, the desire of our
subject to benefit those with whom he comes
in contact has found expression in his activity
in church and Sunday-school work. When he
settled near Pendleton, there was no Sabbath
school in his neighborhood, and he immediately
set to work to organize one. He found on his
return to Walla Walla county, that his neigh-
borhood here was also without such an institu-
tion, and again he assumed the role of an or-
ganizer. He was superintendent of this school
until eventually forced, by the failure of his
hearing, to give up the work. Mr. Peck was
married at Oskaloosa, Iowa, on December
23, 1862, to Miss Polly DeWitt, a native
of Ohio, but a pioneer of Iowa. They have
five children living: Emma P., Ai J., Ella E.,
Nellie M., and Myrtle S., also two, Frankhn
C. and Elmer C, deceased. The family affili-
ate with the Old United Brethren church, of
W^alla Walla.

GEORGE W. LOUNDAGIN.— This re-
spected pioneer and leading agriculturist of
Walla Walla county is a son of Tennessee,
having first opened his eyes to the light in that
state on the 20th of September, 1832. He
attained to years of maturity in the locality
wherein he was born, but when the time came
for him to inaugurate independent action, he
removed to the state of Arkansas, where for
a number of years he lived the life of an agri-

388

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

culturist, also working betimes at carpentering,
a trade which he had learned in early youth.

A desire to try his fortunes in the west
had, however, taken possession of him, and
accordingly, in 1861, he started across the
plains to the Walla Walla valley, braving the
dangers and vicissitudes incident to the long
journe}-, a journey which had to be made with
ox-teams. Arriving in due time he settled on
a farm in the vicinity of Walla Walla, but be-
fore many months had passed he secured by
the exercise of his homestead privileges the
place upon which we now iind him. He set
vigorously to work improving and cultivating
his land, also took the initial steps to secure a
start in the business of cattle raising, and be-
fore long he began to feel the necessity for a
larger sphere of activity. To meet the exi-
gencies of the case he purchased other lands,
and to these in due course still others were
added until he became the owner of a gener-
ous tract of seven hundred and forty acres
in the home farm and land in other localities
aggregating four hundred and forty acres. He
continues to raise large quantities of wheat
annually, and still handles a great many head
of cattle in the course of a year, but he has also
become one of the successful fruit growers in
his section of the county.

An assiduous worker, a careful manager, a
good citizen and an obliging neighbor, Air.
Loundagin naturally stands high in the esteem
of all with whom he is associated, enjoying
a standing in the community which can be se-
cured and retained only by a man of integrity
and intrinsic worth.

On January 31, 1856, in the state of Ar-
kansas, his marriage to Aliss Rhoda J. Stew-
art, a native of Indiana, was solemnized, and
to them have been born fourteen children,
twelve of whom are still living, namely : Will-

iam J., residing in Dayton; Robert W., a farm-
er; Eva I., wife of H. M. Hoover; John B.,
a photographer at ^^'aitsburg; Alary E., wife
of John Meimburg, of Waitsburg; Minnie M., J
wife of S. W. Hester, of Dayton; James O. ; (
Alvin G. ; Rebecca J., wife of Ralph P. Riggs,
a resident of Oregon; Cora B., a teacher; Los-
sen A. ; and Alyrtle AI. The deceased children
were named Ollie A. and Isaac H.

Referring more particularly to Alvin G.
Loundagin, we may say that though only a
young man, the date of his birth being April
24, 1872, he is one of the leading and suc-
cessful farmers of \\'aitsburg. He is a son of
Walla Walla county, and in the local schools
and in Waitsburg Academy he acquired his
education, after which he engaged at once
in farming, the industry in which he has been
so signally successful since. Air. Loundagin
was married at Dayton, ^^'ashington, No-
vember 14, 1897, the lady of his choice being
Aliss Addie Rae, a native of Illinois, and a
daughter of one of the old and respected set-
tlers of the vicinity of Dayton. The couple
are parents of one child, Laretta.

GEORGE E. KELLOUGH, 206 West
Alain street, was born in Ontario, Canada, in
1872. When six years old, he moved with the
family to Winnipeg, Alanitoba, Avhere he re-
ceived the major part of his education, and
where he lived until 1891. He then came to
Walla \\'alla, where for the first three years
he worked on a farm. During the ensuing five
years he was engaged in agricultural pursuits
for himself, homesteading part of his land and
acquiring part by purchase.

Although very successful as a farmer.
Air. Kellough's ambitions prompted him rather

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

389

to mercantile pursuits, and accordingly in No-
vember, 1899, he bought out the interest of
Mr. John A. Taylor in the Taylor-Merrill
Company, an establishment handling a general
stock of gents' furnishing goods, boots and
shoes, etc. He is, however, still interested in
farming, not having sold any of his land. Mr.
Kellough is a young man of excellent business
ability, and his partners, recognizing this fact,
have elected him president and treasurer of
the firm. He gives promise of becoming one
of the leading business men of the Inland Em-
pire. In his fraternal affiliations he is an Odd
Fellow and an Eagle. He was married in Wal-
la Walla, November 28, 1893, to Miss Viola
Purdy, a native of Michigan, and they have a
family of two children, Lance E. and Erma G.

IRBY H. RUDD, retired merchant, is a
native of East Tennessee, born October 10,
1822. He acquired a common-school educa-
tion, then became a contractor on the East
Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, and after
spending several years in that occupation he
was tendered a position as conductor on the
road. From 1856 to 1863, he served in this
capacity, and from the latter date until 1868,
he gave his attention to agricultural pursuits.
His health having failed, he then started west
with teams. He stopped for short spaces of
time in Nebraska, Colorado and Soda Springs,
Idaho, but made no permanent halt until he
reached Asotin county, Washington. He was
in the milling business there continuously un-
til 1880, when he came to Walla Walla county.

In 1882, Mr. Rudd located in Prescott, and
became a wheat merchant in connection with
Mr. H. P. Isaacs. This was his business un-
til 1897, when, his health having again failed,

he was forced to retire. He has always been
an intensely active man, despite his rather deli-
cate health, and has been in the front rank of
the progressive forces wherever he has lived.
He owns one hundred and sixty acres north of
Prescott, and some town property. Frater-
nally, Mr. Rudd is identified with the Masonic
order. He was married in East Tennessee,
January i, 1862, to Miss Angle Temple, daugh-
ter of Major S. and Marguerite Temple, of
Greenville, Tennessee. They became parents
of one child, Leona, deceased.

D. K. HIGHLEY.— Among the indus-
trious and well-to-do farmers of this section —
the men whose brain and brawn have contrib-
uted so materially to the industrial develop-
ment of the valley — the subject of this article
has earned an honored place. An old pio-
neer, he has always shown himself possessed of
the energy, resourcefulness and courage for
which that stalwart class is noted, and has ever
proven a not inconsiderable factor in the build-
ing of the valley.

Born in Indiana on August 25, 1846, he
grew to maturity in that state, receiving
such education as its pul^lic schools afford-
ed. In 1875, he came thence to Walla
Walla valley, and established his residence on
the Coppei river. In 1882, he removed to Lin-
coln countv, wherein the scene of his activities
for the next four years was located. Return-
ing at length to Walla Walla county, he bought
■ what is known as the Spencer ranch, containing
two hundred and forty acres, and in 1891 he
purchased a place three miles south of ^^^aits-
burg, upon which he now resides. He is the
owner of a fine farm of three hundred and
fiftv-four acres, furnished with machinery.

390

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

buildings and eqnipment, and is engaged in
producing wheat and stock principally, though
not exclusively.

As a farmer, he is industrious and progres-
sive, the results of his thrift and good man-
agement being everywhere in evidence upon
his premises, while as a man and a citizen, his
life has been so ordered as to win the esteem
and regard of his fellowmen.

Mr. Highley was married in Walla Walla
county, on March 21, 1883, to Miss Martha J.
Spencer, daughter of W. W. Spencer, a pioneer
of i860, and a respected citizen of the valley.
Their union has been blest by the advent of
six children, Liona, William C, and Thelma,
living, and Anslem, Helen and Inez, deceased.

WILLIAM E. ^IcKINNEY, Jr., a farmer
near \\'aitsburg, is a native of Washington,
born April 6. 1868. After completing his edu-
cation, he went to Lincoln county, and engaged
ii: stock raising, handling both cattle and
horses. Nine years were passed in that in-
dustry, then he sold out both his land and his
stock and came to Waitsburg, where he en-
gaged in farming on his father's place, a mile
west of the town. He is an industrious, thrifty
young man, a good citizen, and an agreeable
and obliging neighbor.

Mr. ilcKinney was married in Lincoln
county. April 30, 1 891, to ]\Iiss Lelia V. Brown,
a native of California, born April 28, 1875.
Her parents. Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Brown, na-
tives, respectively, of Maine and IMissouri, were
old pioneers of California. Her father had
followed the sea for many years, but on set-
tling in the Golden state had turned his atten-
tion to farming. In 1884 they moved to
Washington, bringing a large band of cattle

and horses with them, and locating, eventually,
ir. Lincoln county, near Harrington. Mr.
Brown was engaged in farming and stock-
raising there until his death, which occurred in
1885, and his widow still pursues the same
occupation on the old place.

Mr. and IMrs. ]McKinney are parents of
three living children: William E., Jr., born
April 6, 1892; Loenra, born November 16.
1893, snd Imogen, born June 19, 1900.

MICHAEL MARTIN, a farmer and stock
raiser, residing on Ritz creek, three and a half
miles west of Walla Walla, a pioneer of 1879,
was born in county Galway, Ireland, in 1835.
He resided there until thirty-two years of age,
working on his father's farm after he completed
his education, but he then set sail for America.
After a short stay in New York, he went to
South Glastonbury, Connecticut, where he ob-
tained employment as a furnace fireman in an
anchor factory. He was thus employed for
about eight months, after which he went to
San Francisco, via the Panama route. He fol-
lowed grade work there a year, then went over-
land to Helena. INIontana, where, in company
with his brother, Patrick, he worked at placer
mining for three years, doing quite well. From
the mines, he came direct to Walla Walla val-
ley. He and his brother Patrick purchased
one hundred and sixty acres on Dry creek to
which they subsequently added a full section
more of railroad land, making their entire farm
include eight hundred acres. They lived upon,
and worked this large tract until 1891, when
our subject sold his share to his brother John,
and purchased his present farm of one hundred
and sixty acres on Ritz creek.

yir. IMartin is a verv energetic man and

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

391

one of the successful diversified farmers and
stock raisers of the county. He was married
in Ireland, in 1890, while back on a visit to
his old home, to Miss Julia Kellehar, a native
of county Galway, who died August 28, 1900,
leaving three children living: Emmett M., at
the Brothers' school in Walla Walla engaged in
study; Mary E. and Stella S., at home with
their father. The entire family are members
of the Catholic church.

DR. S. A. OWENS, physician and sur-
geon, Ouinn Building. Walla Walla, was born
in North Salem, Indiana, in 1866. When
eleven years old, he accompanied the rest of the
family to Fort Worth, Texas, where he com-
pleted his public school training. He also
graduated from the Texas Western College.
His first employment, after finishing his educa-
tion, was in the capacity of freight clerk for
the Texas Pacific Railroad Company. After
three months he was appointed to the position
of way bill clerk, and at the end of his first
year of service he was made cashier. Two years
were given to the duties of that situation, then
he became assistant ticket agent at Union de-
pot, Fort Worth.

However, it had always been his ambition
to become a physician, and as soon as he had
money enough to pay the expenses of a pro-
fessional course, he quit the employ of the rail-
road and matriculated in Fort Worth Univer-
sity, in which institution he wis a student for
the ensuing four years, graduating in 1895.
He then spent a year as surgeon in St. Joseph's
hospital, an infirmary belonging to the Texas
Pacific Railroad Company. During the fol-
lowing summer he spent three months in New
York and three in Chicago, studving, as a

specialty, diseases of women and children.
Desiring then to find a suitable location, he
traveled cjuite extensively throughout the south
and west, even going to the City of Mexico.
On his way back from the sound to Texas, he
stopped in Walla Walla, and being impressed
with the richness of the surrounding country,
the beauty of the city, and the general appear-
ance of prosperity, he decided to locate here,
/accordingly, he opened an office. His abili-
ties as a physician soon became appreciated,
and he now enjo3fs a large and desirable pat-
ronage. In the recent election he was the
nominee of his political party for the office of
county coroner.

Fraternally, Dr. Owens is affiliated with the
I. O. O. F., the Rebekahs, the Foresters and
the M. W. A.

FRED HAGGIST, whose office is at 27
Main street, Walla Walla, was born in Switzer-
land in 1872. He was, however, reared in
America, having been brought by his parents
to this country, when only six years old. His
first home in the new world was in Ouincy,
Illinois, where he resided continuously for fif-
teen years. He was educated in the public
schools and in a German private school, receiv-
ing very thorough instruction. Upon attain-
ing his majority, he came out to Walla Walla,
and entered the employ of Mr. Al Lowe, for
whom he worked as a drayman for about three
and a half years. During the next two and a
half years he served as supervising agent for
a sewing machine company, but he then retired
from that position to become the partner of his
former employer in the draying business, in
which industry he is still engaged. They have
five large teams, and do all kinds of heavy
hauling. Mr. Haggist is a very industrious,

392

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

enterprising and reliable young man, and one
whose standing in the community is of the
highest.

ROBERT F. WALKER, deceased. —
Among the respected pioneers and builders of
the northwest, those to whose industry, energy
and perseverance its greatness is largely due,
the warmhearted son of Kentucky whose name
forms the caption of this article, is entitled to a
rank of no little prominence. Born on the 6th
of February, 1830, he was early taken by h:s
parents to Illinois, in wdiich state he passed his
early youth, receiving a thorough common-
school education supplemented by a term in
college.

In 185 1 our subject crossed the plains with
ox-teams to the Willamette valley, Oregon,
where he at once distinguished himself as a
pioneer teacher. He afterward gave some at-
tention to mining and for a number of years
was a successful farmer and stock raiser in the
^■alIey. Once he was called upon to serve a
term as sheriff of Lane county. Coming to the
A\'alla Walla valley in 1865, he located on the
Touchet river, below Prescott, where for ten
3'ears he continued to prosper in the business of
cattle raising and farming. At the end of that
time, he sold out his realty and purchased a
place east of Waitsburg, which remained the
scene of his activities for two years. His next
home was located six miles south of Waitsburg
on the Coppei river, where he farmed uninter-
ruptedly until the 5th of March, 1890, on which
date he was summoned to depart this life.

Mr. Walker was a man of integrity and
sterling worth, faithful to every trust reposed
in him by the public, true always to the highest
and best impulses of his nature. His life and
relations with his fellowmen were always so

ordered as to retain the confidence of those
with whom he became associated in pioneer
days and to win the respect and esteem^ of those
who came to the valley at a later period. He
was married in Oregon in 1855, to Miss
Arimethy Scott, a native of Indiana and an
estimable pioneer woman, who had crossed the
plains in 1853. 'j^l's couple became parents
of nine children, namely: Alice B., wife of
A. Bishop, of Columbia county; Harriet H.,
wife of P. Bishop, also of Columbia county;
Joseph \\\, a farmer six miles south of Waits-
burg; Laura, wife of Frank.McCown, of Walla
Walla county; James W., a miner in Republic;
Steward F., deceased; Marion C, a farmer in
this county; Lillie M., deceased, and Adelaide.

\MLLIAAI ELLIXGSWORTH, a farmer
and stock-raiser two miles east of Wallula, a
pioneer of 1882, was born in Missouri July 21,
1847. Upon completing the elements of a com-
mon-school education he engaged in farming
there. In 1878 he removed to Brown county,
Kansas, whence, in 1882, he came to ^^'alla
Walla county. His first home in the valley was
located ten miles west of Wallula, in Yakima
county, but, after a residence of only a twelve-
month there, he came into the town and en-
gaged in hotel keeping. He still owns the
hotel, but of late years has given his own time
and energy mostly to farming and stock-rais-
ing on his farm of one hundred and si.xty acres
on the Walla Walla river, also to the duties
of the county offices he has been appointed or
elected to fill. He served .as deputy sheriff for
a number of years prior to 1894, in which year
he was elected sheriff, and he was so fortunate
as to please the electors of the county in such
a degree that they called upon him to accept
the office again in i8q6.

WILLIAM ELLINGSWORTH.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

393

Mr. Ellingsworth has the honor of having
s-erved in defence of his country in the Civil
war, having- enlisted in Company B, Twelfth
Missouri Cavalry, September 9, 1863. He par-
ticipated in the battles of Franklin, Nashville
and many others, also was present in several
fights with the Powder river Indians in Wy-
oming in later years. He is a member of Lin-
coln Post, G. A. R., of Walla Walla, which
sent him as its delegate to the national en-
campment at Louisville, Kentucky, in 1894;
also affiliates with the B. P. O. E. and the I.
O. O. F. He married in Missouri, on Sep-
tember 9, 1869, Miss Maria Graham, a native
of that state.

WILLIAM McKINNEY, a farmer in the
vicinity of Waitsburg, is a native of Warren
county, Indiana, born May 5, 1836. He was
taken to Iowa when three years old, and five
years later to Missouri, whence, the next spring,
he crossed the plains to Hillsboro, Oregon,
where for a number of years he was engaged
in farming. He also did some mining in the
Yreka region in California, in 1851- He spent
six months in and around the Walla Walla
valley in the winter of 1855 and '56, performing
his duties as a volunteer in the Indian war of
that date, but as soon as discharged returned
to Oregon.

In 1858, however. Mr. McKinney again
■came to this state, and after spending one year
in the service of the government as a packer,
located in Walla Walla county. He was en-
gaged in stock raising, packing and mining
for about two years, then took a homestead,
and gave his whole attention to farming and
cattle. A thrifty, industrious man, he has
prospered from the start, and has continued
to increase his real estate holdings, until he is

now the owner of five hundred and fifty-three
acres, with all buildings, implements, and stock
necessary for farming it in a first-class manner.
On December 14, 1865, Mr. McKinney
married Miss Sarah Poulson, a native of Illi-
nois, and a pioneer of the west of 1864. They
have four children, Frank, a bookkeeper; \\'ill-
iam E., a farmer; Thomas V., a clerk; and
Emma, a dressmaker.

CLINTON STETSON, deceased, a pio-
neer of Walla Walla valley of a verj^ early date,
was born in the vicinity of Racine, Wisconsin,
ir 1828. He received his education in the
public schools of his native state and in Racine
College, then taught school for several years.
Finally, he came via the isthmus of Panama to
California, but after a brief residence there, re-
moved to the Walla Walla valley, homesteaded
one hundred and sixt)^ acres on the Tumalum
river, and engaged in farming. He had been
a leading man in Wisconsin, and the same
qualities which gained him prominence there
soon began to be realized in his new home.
He was one of the representative men of the
Republican party, and in 1868 was its candi-
date for the legislature, but was defeated by a
very narrow majority, though the county was
at that time strongly Democratic. He served
as school director and clerk in his district for
several terms, and always did everything in
his power to advance the cause of education
in which he was a thorough believer.

Mr. Stetson was married on January 10,
1863, to Mary A. Button, a native of Fulton
county, Illinois, who came to the valley in
1862. They became parents of four children.
Amy O., wife of Henry Sexton, of Enterprise,
Oregon; Augusta H., wife of Harve Hodgen,

394

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

of Adams county, Washington ; Susan ^L, wife
of A. Frank Keys, sheriff of Walla Walla
county; and Orlando C, now working his
mother's place. At the time of the Cayuse
war, ]\Ir. Stetson furnished horses for the use
of the state , government. He died March
26, 1873, and his remains are at rest in Ford
cemetery. The family are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church.

ROBERT H. OSBORN, proprietor of the
Bazaar at 223 W. Main street, Walla W'alla,
was born in Illinois in 1837. He resided there
until, in 1852, the family started across the
plains to Oregon, then he, of course, came with
them. After six months of continuous travel
they finally came to a halt in the beautiful
Yamhill county, Oregon. Mr. Osborn com-
pleted his education in Salem Academy, where
he studied for two years, then engaged in
farming. Later he turned his attention to
stock raising. For many years that was his
business, and he followed it successfully both
in Yamhill and in W'asco counties, Oregon;
indeed, for the first two years after coming to
Walla Walla county, Washington, he devoted
his energies to the same industry. But in 1891
he embarked in the mercantile business, start-
ing with a stock of candy and afterwards add-
ing notions. He is a good business man, and
carries a large stock of merchandise.

Being a very old pioneer of the west Mr.
Osborn has seen his share of Indian warfare.
In 1864 he enlisted in Company B. First Ore-
gon Volunteer Infantry, for service in Idaho
against the Snake river Indians and their al-
lies. He participated in several severe engage-
ments, but the principal duty assigned to his
company was to guard the passes for the pur-

pose of preventing the Cayuses from entering
the Willamette valley.

Mr. Osborn has always been a progressive,
enterprising man, and has contributed not a
little to the material and industrial develop-
ment of the coast, in the nearly half a century
of his residence in Oregon and Washington.
He was married in Yamhill county, Oregon,
in 1858, to Miss Martha Lady, who died in
1870. By this wife he had four children:
Frank, now a farmer; Ada, now Mrs. Griffith,
a resident of California; Emrel, deceased; and
Lincoln, an undertaker in San Francisco. In
1870 Mr. Osborn was again married, the lady
being Mrs. Orton, and in 1887 she also died.

PETER STRAHM.— Among those prom-
inently identified with the agricultural develop-
ment of the section of the country contiguous-
to Dixie, Mr. Strahm is deserving of especial
mention. He was born on the 7th of July,
1836, in the vicinity of that Ohio town, which
has since become so well known as the home
of William McKinley. As soon as his public
school education was completed he began work
with his father, a millwright of ability, con-
tinuing in the employ of the latter until the in-
tricacies of that difficult handicraft were thor-
oughly mastered.

In 1864 Mr. Strahm came out to Oregon,,
working his way on the railroad as far as that
extended and making the remainder of the
journey overland. During the three years
•subsequent to the date of his arrival he fol-
lowed his trade in Salem, Oregon, but he
thereupon removed to Walla Walla county,,
took up land, and engaged in farming. Pros-
perity attended his efforts from the very be-
ginning; he soon became a leader among the

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

395

agriculturists of his section, and he has con-
tinued to occupy a position of prominence
among them ever since. At the present time
he is the owner of six hundred acres of land,
situated about two miles northeast of Dixie.
The air of thrift which everywhere pervades
his premises bears eloquent testimony to his
industry and good management, and confirms
his title to a rank among the eminently suc-
cessful in his particular branch of industry.
As a man and citizen his standing in the com-
munity is of the highest.

Mr. Strahm was married in Walla Walla
county on the /th of April, 1873, to Miss
Sarah Arthion, a native of Iowa, and a mem-
ber of an old and respected pioneer family.
They have six children, namely: Lydia A.,
now Mrs. John Bane; Charles E., a farmer;
Ella, wife of Augustus Augustavo, of Walla
Walla; William, Emma and Jennie. Mrs.
Strahm's father died in the valley some years
ago, but her mother still resides on the Touchet.

JOHN D. McCOY, son of Thomas K.
and Alargaret A., was born in Umatilla county,
Oregon, on October 9, i860, on his father's
homestead on the Tumalum river. He grew
to man's estate in the valley, receiving the
advantage of a thorough education in Mrs.
Chamberlain's private school and in Whitman
Seminary. After leaving school he engaged
in stock raising in Wasco county, Oregon,
near The Dalles, and he followed that indus-
try there for six or eight years, afterwards
moving his stock to the Snake river, where
opportunity was afforded for taking homestead
land, and where there was abundance of range
for cattle.

Mr. McCoy took a Cjuarter-section of gov-

ernment land, and remained on it continuously
until May 24, 1 900, when he sold his place and
stock and moved permanently to his presfent
residence on the Telephone road, where is the
portion of his father's estate that fell to him.
He also has one hundred and sixty acres of
land on the Tumalum river, a part of the pa-
ternal homestead, and upon these two places he
is raising hay principally. It is his intention
to work into the dairy business, and he already
has quite a herd of milch cows, all fine Jersey
stock.

Mr. McCoy is uniformly esteemed and re-
spected wherever known, his standing in this
community being an enviable one. For three
years he has been school director of his dis-
trict. In Umatilla county, on July 18, 1882,
he married Miss Rose D. Olmstead, a native
of Oregon, and they have four children living,
namely : Rowena A., G. Pauline, J. Leon and
Marcus R., all at home. Mrs. McCoy's par-
ents were early settlers on the Tamalura river,
and were well known and respected in Walla
Walla, where her mother still lives and owns
property, though her father died on the old
home place in March, 1877.

WILLIAM A. NOBLE, 112 W. Main
street, Walla Walla, was born in Illinois in
1865, and in that state he was reared and edu-
cated. For several years after leaving school
he was engaged in farming with his father,
but in 1887 he came out to Walla Walla. For
the four years following the date of his arrival
here, he spent most of his time in warehouse
work, but when not engaged in that line he
busied himself in other directions. In 1890,
however, he opened a place of business in the
city, and he has been in commercial pursuits

396

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

ever since, only once changing locations in that
time. In fraternal affiliations Mr. Noble is
identified with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, and the Eagles. He was married in
Walla Walla in 1889 to Miss Sarah J. Rags-
dill, a native of Tennessee, and to their union
have been born five children, namely: Grace,
Orva, Ethel, William A., Jr., and Charles Ed-
ward.

JOEL WOODS, one of the enterprising
farmers and extensive real estate owners of
Walla Walla county, is a native of New York,
born August 3, 1844. While in early infancy
he was taken by his parents to Michigan. The
family, however, soon returned to New York,
and in 1850 they made quite an extensive tour
via Canada to Detroit, thence by steamer to
Chicago, from that city direct to Janesville,
Wisconsin, and back to New York. They
farmed in the last mentioned state four years,
then went to Michigan and were engaged in
the dual occupation of farming and lumbering
for three years more. Their next move was to
Iowa, but after spending a few months there
and a few in Michigan they again returned
to New York; only on a business trip, how-
ever. \Mien the object of the trip had been
accomplished they came back to Michigan and
again engaged in farming and teaming.

After a continuous residence of four years
in that state Mr. Woods rejoined his father,
who had gone to Indiana two years before, and
after another two years had passed father and
son both went to Wisconsin, the father to lo-
cate a homestead, the son to assist in clearing
and improving it.

In 1868 the young Mr. Woods moved to
Minnesota and made use of his own homestead
right. He farmed there until 1877, then set

out across the plains to Grande Ronde val-
ley, where for two and a half years he followed
farming and stockraising. He next came to
the vicinity of Waitsburg, bought land, and
continued his former occupation m his new
home. A thrifty, industrious man, he took
advantage of every opportunity offered by the
newness of the country, and the natural fertil-
ity of the soil, with the result that he is now
one of the leading farmers in Walla Walla
county, his farm consisting of four thousand
acres of excellent wheat land.

Mr. Woods was married in Wisconsin, in
March, 1871, to Miss Viola M. Hull, a native
of that state, and of their marriage eleven chil-
dren have been born: Morris A., Walter J.,
Harriet E., Mary M., Ethel V., Chester J.,
Charles A., Elmer L., Ruth S., Emerson E.
and Harry L.

. EDWARD D. MILLS, a farmer at Waits-
burg, is a native of Iowa, born January 29,
1842. When two years old, he was taken by
his parents to Kentucky, and there the next
decade of his life was passed. He then spent
five years on a- farm in Missouri, after which
he crossed the plains to Shasta county, Cali-
fornia, arriving in 1859. He was engaged in
mining and teaming there until 1865, then
came to the vicinity of Dixie, Washington,
took a homestead and engaged in farming and
stock raising. He lived in that locality several
years, but finally sold his farm, bought an-
other near Waitsburg, and resumed his accus-
tomed occupation. lie has a fine farm, join-
ing the city on the west, and valuable not
only for its natural productiveness, but es-
pecially so on account of its favorable location.
Mr. Mills is one of the solid and substantial
citizens of that section, and enjoys the confi-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

397

dence and good will of his neighbors generally.
He was married in this county, November 30,
1870, to Miss Mary M. Dickinson, a native of
Ii;diana, who crossed the plains with her par-
ents in 1863. The family located four miles
south of Waitsburg, and in the district school
of that neighborhood she completed her educa-
tion. She is an active member of the Women
of Woodcraft, Circle No. 157, of Waitsburg.
Mr. and Mrs. Mills are parents of six chil-
dren, living, Abbie B., Frank P., Charlie A.,
Florence L., Harlan F., and Harvey D.

HENRY W. HASTLNGS, deceased.—
Though the man whose name initiates this re-
view was not permitted to live to a great age,
he assisted in the early development of two
western states, stamping upon the communities
in which he lived the impress of his vigorous
personality. He was born in Arkansas in 1842,
and in that state the first nineteen years of his
life were passed and his education was ac-
quired. . In 1861, however, he crossed the
plains with ox-teams to Benton county, Ore-
gon, bringing with him the courageous young
woman who had recently become his bride.

The couple arrived in due season and be-
gan tilling the soil of the new country, Mr.
Hastings also giving some attention to the
more exciting occupation of mining. They
met with excellent success in their initial ef-
forts to secure a competency, but thought they
could do better in the rich Walla Walla val-
ley, so in 1865 moved over to this section. Se-
curing land three miles east of Dixie, they be-
gan to develop a home for themselves, and there
they lived and toiled' together until, in 1884,
death overtook the head of the family. Mrs.
Hastings lived on the original home for sev-

eral years longer, but at present she is a resi-
dent of Whitman county.

Recapitulating briefly the history of this
respected family we may say that the marriage
of our subject and Miss Sarah E. Hubbard,
to whom we have hitherto referred as Mrs.
Hastings, was solemnized in 1861, in Arkan-
sas, the birthplace of both the contracting
parties, and that the issue of their union was
nine children, namely: William T., a farmer;
Minnie, wife of Frank McGhee, of Walla
Walla; Thomas J., a farmer in Whitman coun-
ty; Alice M., wife of George McCrosky, of
Whitman county; Ethel, wife of Frank Van
Winkle, of Walla Walla; also Henry C, Al-
bert L., Richard W. and Elmer F., residents'
of Whitman county.

William T., who now has charge of the
parental farm, was born in Oregon on the 6th
of January, 1863. He was, however, reared
and educated in this valley, his parents hav-
ing, as before intimated, brought him here
in 1865. He early engaged in farming and
stock raising, and to these industries his ener-
gies have been devoted continuously since. He
is a successful farmer, a good citizen and an
esteemed and respected member of society.
He was married in Walla Walla county, De-
cember 18, 1885, to Martha J. Smith, a native
of the valley, who died July 26, 1897, leaving
five children, namely: Thomas O.. Josepli E.,
William H., Albert W. and Frank A.

WILLIAM A. STRUTHERS, a farmer
near Eureka Junction, was born and reared in
the state of Minnesota. He received a public
school education. When the time came for
him to start in life for himself, he naturally
turned to farming, having bean brought up

398

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

from boyhood in that occupation, and he has
■clung closely to that calling ever since. Li
1889 he came to \\'alla Walla county and pur-
chased three hundred and twenty acres half
a mile south of Eureka Junction. This he has
been farming ever since continuously, but his
energy and amlntion are too great to be con-
fined even in the generous limits of a half-sec-
tion, so he rents and farms nine hundred acres
more. He is a man of integrity, and enjoys an
enviable standing in the community in which
he lives. JNIr. Strutliers was married in Walla
Walla county, on August 27, 1893, to Miss
JNIaggie ^McDonald, a native of Nevada, who
died May 8, 1900, leaving one daughter. Hazel
M., born September 6, 1894, and now living
with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. T. J.
McDonald.

JOHN W. BREWER, a mail carrier in
Walla Walla, was born in Wasco county, Ore-
gon, in 1873. When very young he was taken
by his parents to the Willamette valley, whence
two years later he was brought to Walla Walla
county. He lived on the farm with his parents
until ten years old, attending school during
term time, then moved with the remainder of
the famih' into \\'alla Walla, where he finished
the grammar grade.

Li 1889 the entire family moved to Seattle,
and here INIr. Brewer took a high-school course,
graduating in 1895. \\'hile pursuing his
studies he organized the High School Cadets,
a company which under his captaincy became
the banner cadet company of the state. After
graduation he took a course in bookkeeping
in \\'ilson"s ^Modern Business College, then
taught in the same institution for a year. Re-
turning to Walla Walla in 1897 he purchased
the Empire Business College, which was owned

and controlled by him until the close of the
term in 1889, when he sold out and accepted
a position as carrier in the postal service. He
is also bookkeeper for U. G. Bean, a furniture
dealer.

Li April, 1898, responding to the call of
patriotism, Mr. Brewer enlisted in Company I,
Washington Volunteers, for service in the
Philippines. He went as far as San Francisco,
but while awaiting orders to proceed he was
called home by the illness of his father, leav-
ing at first on a furlough, but eventually being
discharged.

Mr. Brewer is a young man of unusual
ability, and possesses a degree of energy and
force of character which enables him to make
good use of his other natural endowments.
Prophetic vision is not necessary to enable one
to discern before him a career of success and
-usefulness. He is quite a prominent member of
the L O. G. T., of which he is at present grand
treasurer for this state. On March 29, 1899,
he was married, in Walla Walla, to Miss Jen-
nie j\P Markham, a resident of this city, and
they are the parents of one child, John W., Jr.

ED\VARD LOGAN, a carpenter and
builder, was born in Guernsey county. Ohio,
July 4, 1847. He grew to manhood in his
native state, receiving a good education, and
subsec[uently learning the trade of a carpenter.
He worked at his handicraft there for a num-
ber of years, but in 1879 removed to Colorado,
located at Loveland, and again engaged in car-
penter work. After a residence of a year there
he came to Walla ^^'alIa county and home-
steaded one hundred and sixty acres of land
in the vicinity of Eureka Junction, pre-empting
another one hundred and sixty acres adjoining.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

399

This he farmed for about seven years contin-
uously, raising wheat.

Preferring to work at his trade, however,
he has rented his land most of the time since
1887, and given his attention to building. He
has devoted the assiduous efforts of many
years to acquiring a mastery of the intricate
handicraft which he chose for his own, and
has, as might be expected, a high degree of
skill, so that his services are constantly in de-
m.and.

^^'hiIe living in his old home in Ohio Mr.
Logan was a member of the Presbyterian
church established in his neighborhood, but
since coming west he has never connected him-
self with any church society.

JUSTUS MICHEL, deceased.— A very
early pioneer and an industrious, thrifty agri-
culturist, the man whose name gives caption to
this article is well deserving of representation
in a volume of this character for the liberal
contribution which he made to the industrial
development of the county, while his life and
relations with his fellow men were always so
ordered as to procure for him the esteem and
regard of those with whom he was associated.

Like many other respected citizens of the
west, he was born in Germany, the date of his
advent onto the stage of action being Decem-
ber 9, 1833. He received the customary public-
school education, and complied with the re-
quirements of his fatherland with regard to
service in the German army, but when this duty
was discharged he at once set sail for the new
world.

Locating in Baltimore, Maryland, he
worked as a cooper, also learned the trade of
a cigar-maker. He afterward followed these

lines of activity in Missouri and Iowa for a
number of years. In 1865 he crossed the plains
in the customary fashion of those days to
Walla Walla county, homesteaded a place four
miles southeast of Dixie, bought a quarter-sec-
tion of railroad land adjoining and directed
his energies to agricultural pursuits and stock
raising. In these industries he was successful
from the beginning, soon becoming one of the
leading ranchmen of the section. He continued
in the business of farming and stock raising
uninterruptedly until his death, the date of
which is September 7, 1894.

Mr. Michel was married in Missouri, Oc-
tober 24, 1858, to Miss Martha Dodge, a na-
tive of Illinois, and to them were born seven
children, namely : A. Anna, wife of John W.
Burkhart; Ella J., wife of Orville France, of
Whitman county; Justus I., residing at Sunset;
Charles H., Alice M. and Otto B., living; and
Thomas, deceased.

Mrs. Michel's father, Thomas E. Dodge,
■ was an early pioneer of Illinois, being the sec-
ond white man to settle in St. Charles, that
state. Her mother was a member of the old
and respected Upton family, the founders of
which in America came to the new world in
the sixteenth century.

MRS. ELIZABETH J. BLANCHARD, a
hotel keeper and farmer, residing at Eureka
Junction, was born in Arkansas July 7, 1844.
She crossed the plains with the remainder of
her family in 1859, and since that date her
life has been linked with the destinies of Walla
Walla valley. There were only eight white
women in the valley at this time, and not a
school or a church closer than The Dalles,
Oregon.

400

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Her father bought a squatter's right and
engaged in farming and stock raising, and she
hved with him until June 27, 1861, when she
married Air. A. A. Blanchard. The latter
also bought a claim and engaged in farming,
stock raising and teaming, while Mrs. Blan-
chard, wishing to contribute her share toward
the establishment of a home, attended to the
butter making. They lived on the original
homestead for thirteen years, then moved to
the town of Walla Walla, continuing, however,
in their former occupation, that of stock rais-
ing. Fourteen years were passed in this lo-
calit}', and during that time they witnessed the
gradual growth and development of the town,
there being only one store in the place when
they first moved into the valley.

About 1888 they sold their interests in the
vicinity of Walla Walla, moved to Eureka
Junction, bought more land and engaged in
the dual occupation of farming and hotel keep-
ing. In 1898 Mr. Blanchard died, but his
widow, having learned self-reliance in the hard
school of a pioneer country, has carried on
both the farming and the hotel keeping suc-
cessfull}' alone, personally managing her wheat
farm of six hundred and forty acres, the same
being the land upon which Eureka Junction is
located.

Airs. Blanchard is an active member of the
Free Baptist church. She is deeply interested
in the establishment of a first-class institution
of learning in the Junction, under the auspices
of that denomination, and has shown her in-
terest in a A'cry substantial way, donating ten
acres of her land for the use of the school.
She is a thoroughly sincere, good woman, de-
voted heart and soul to the advancement of
the cause of Christ and the uplifting of hu-
manity.

Air. and Airs. Blanchard had no children of

their own, but have reared and educated four,
taking them in childhood and training them
tc become respected members of society. The
first was the infant child of an esteemed friend.
She is now Airs. Fredelle Sharp, wife of a
farmer on the Touchet river; the second, a
daughter of Airs. Blanchard's brother, is now
the wife of \Mlliam Alann, of Eureka; the re-
maining two are Clara and Dora McElhaney,
who still reside with Mrs. Blanchard.

ANDREW C. AIASTERSON, deceased, a
pioneer of 1866, was a native of Kentucky, born
December 14, 1840. He was, however, reared
in Illinois and Iowa. In 1864 he crossed the
plains with mule teams to Oregon and located
in the vicinity of Albany, Linn county, where
for a couple of years he was engaged in farm-
ing. He then removed to this county, located
a homestead on Cottonwood creek, six miles
south of Walla Walla, and again embarked in
farming and stock raising. An industrious
thrifty man, he was very successful in this
i;idustry, and soon took rank among the lead-
ing farmers of Walla Walla county. In 1880
Air. Alasterson retired from the farm, moved
into the city of Walla Walla, and directed his
attention to the loan business, in which he was
afterwards engaged until Alay 6, 1883, when
he died. In fraternal affiliations he was a Ala-
son and a United Workman. On February
23, i860, he married, in Davis county, Iowa,
Aliss Sinah \\'orkman, a native of that state,
and to them were born eight children : Emma
J., wife of A. J. AIcManis; Sarah L, widow of
A\'allace Smith; Andrew C. and John, living;
and Willie, Hattie, Alay and Joseph, deceased.
Airs. Alasterson crossed the plains with her
husband in 1864, exemplifying the self-reliance

ANDREW C. MASTERS!

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

401

and resourcefulness of those early pioneer
rvomen by driving a four-mule team all the
way. She now resides in a comfortable home
in Walla Walla, and is supported by the rev-
enues from over one thousand acres of farm
land and some valuable city property.

JOSEPH H. McCOY, a farmer on the
Tumalum, eight and a half miles southwest
of Walla Walla, a pioneer of the valley of 1859,
was born in Linn county, Oregon, on January
15, 1856. AVhen a small child he was brought
by his parents to this valley, and he now re-
sides on the place which his father homesteaded
on coming here. He received his education in
Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain's private school,
and in the old Whitman Academy, which he
attended two years.

His first business after leaving school was
raising Norman Percheron horses in Umatilla
county and later in Wasco county, Oregon, in
company with his brothers, E. O. and John
D., a line of activity which he followed until
1884. He then sold out, returned to the pa-
ternal homestead and took charge of the farm.
While thus employed he received an appoint-
ment from Mr. Zoeth Houser as chief deputy
sheriff of Umatilla county, Oregon, and for
two years thereafter he was engaged in the
performance of his duties as such officer.

Returning then to his farming, he devoted
the summer and fall seasons to that industry,
but as soon as harvest time was passed he in-
dulged his passion for travel, visiting every
state and territory in the Union except those
along the Atlantic seaboard. Latterly he has
given his entire time and attention to his farm,
and is now one of the most successful diversi-
fied farmers in the valley. He enjoys an en-

viable standing in his community, the natural
consequence of his uniform fairness and in-
tegrity in his dealings with his neighbors. His
fraternal connections are with the Damon
Lodge, No. 4, Knights of Pythias, of Pendle-
ton, and with Lodge No. 23, F. O. E., of
Walla Walla.

Mr. McCoy was married, at Cowl's Cross-
ing, of the Walla Walla river, October 26,.
1882, to Miss Mary A. Cowl, a native of Illi-
nois, who was brought by her parents across-
the plains in 1866. They have a family of
four children, Joseph O., Kate M., and George
T. and Mattie A., twins. Mr. McCoy's father
was a prominent man in the early pioneer days
of this valley. He has the distinction of hav-
ing started and for a time operated the first
meat market ever established in this section,
and one surprising thing in this connection is
that the market has been maintained contin-
uously as such ever since, though started in
1858. It is now the property of Mr. Chris_
Ennis.

When the family first settled on the farirr
here they were neighbors to the Cayuse In-
dians, but by uniform fair treatment they kept
the good will of the red men and experienced
no trouble with them. On one occasion an In-
dian stole a horse from ]\Ir. McCoy, but the
other Indians followed the thief to Idaho, over-
took him, beat him unmercifully and compelled
him to bring back the stolen property.

Mr. McCoy tells many amusing anecdotes
of the false Indian scares of early days, one
of which is to the effect that a neighbor, while
on a mad drive to Fort Walla Walla to alarm
the soldiers, lost one of his children out of the
wagon, and when the others set up a cry of
alarm his imagination construed the turmoil
tc be the shouts of approaching red skins and
he drove all the harder. Mr. McCoy's father

402

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

died in IMenard county, Illinois, February 19,
1877, while back there on a visit, and his
mother passed away in October, 1896. and lies
buried in the Walla Walla cemetery. While
LIr. McCoy's farm is just over the Oregon
line, he considers ^^'alla Walla his home town
and always has his mail directed to that post-
office.

spects one of which he has just reason to be
proud. Fraternally he is connected with the
Foresters of America, the Artisans and the
Good Templars.

iMERTON E. BREWER, lately book^
keeper for William Jones, was born in Walla
Walla county in 1875. He lived in this vicin-
ity until 1891, then went to Seattle, where he
completed a high-school course and graduated.
He also took a complete course in bookkeep-
ing in one of the business colleges of that city,
after which he returned to Walla Walla. He
taught in his brother's business college during
the winter of 1898-9, but in the spring re-
turned to Seattle to accept a position in the
Board of Education building. At the outbreak
of the Philippine war he enlisted in Company
B, First \\'ashington Volunteer Infantry, with
vhichlie went as far as San Francisco. He
remained there until shortly before they left for
jManila, then, his father being ill, he was dis-
charged by courtesy and allowed to return to
Walla Walla.

For about three months after coming here
lie was employed in the county auditor's of-
fice, then he became city assessor by appoint-
ment. In the campaign of 1898 he was a
candidate for the office of city clerk, but failed
of election. On July 14, 1899, he accepted the
position in which he was until quite recently
engaged, taking charge of Mr. Jones' books
and accounts. Mr. Brewer is a young man of
ability, energy and force of character, and his
reliability and integrity have never been ques-
tioned. His standing in this citv is in all re-

JOHN U. STRAHM, deceased.— An early
and respected pioneer of the county and one
who has contributed his full share toward its
development, the subject of this article has
earned the right to be counted among the bene-
factors and builders of the county, and it is
clearly incumbent that he should be accorded
representation in a volume of this character.
He was born in Berne, Switzerland, on July
30, 1837, but was reared and educated in the
state of Ohio, whither his parents brought him
when he was six years old. In 1853 he crossed
the plains with ox-teams to California, where
for three years he was engaged in the endeavor
lo find a key to nature's vaults and to win
tlierefrom her hidden treasure.

Returning to the middle west in 1856 he
farmed in Iowa and ]\Iissouri for about eight
years, after which he again crossed the plains,
his objective point this time being Walla Walla
count}-. He located a homestead two miles
southeast of Dixie, upon which he resided con-
tmuously, engaged in farming and stock rais-
ing until February 11, 1895, when death over-
took him. He had a fine farm of two hun-
dred acres and upon this his widow and some
of the children are still living.

Mr. Strahm was married, in Princeton,
^Missouri, in 1864, to ]\Iiss Mary J. Farley, a
native of that state, and to their union four-
teen children were born, namely: Josephine,
widow of the late John Byrd ; ^^'illianl H. ;
Sarah E., wife of D. F. Strohm, of Pendleton,
Oregon; Rosa B., wife of Thomas B. Hast-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

403

ings, of Thornton; ]Mary E., wife of Eldon
Buroaker, of Waitsburg; Nora J., a resident
of Walla Walla; John U. ; Nannie, wife of A.
W. Brown, of Walla Walla; Lncretia R.,
Viola, Edna and Alma.

J. FREDERICK KERSHAW, railroad
agent at Dixie, is one of the comparatively few
who can claim Washington for the state of
their nativity. He was born in this county
April 8, 1878, and here he passed his early
youth and was educated. Reared o;i his fa-
ther's farm near Dixie, he acquired habits of
industry and thrift which are invaluable to any
ambitious young man, and his career thus far,
though so brief, gives promise of his becom-
ing a prominent railroad man and a powerful
factor in the carrying trade of the coast. As
soon as he had completed his education he set
vigorously to work to learn telegraphy, and
soon found employment with the Washington
& Columbia River Railroad, for which he is
now agent at Dixie. Mr. Kershaw is a son of
Mr. and Mrs. William G. Kershaw, well known
and highly esteemed pioneers of Walla Walla
county. His father died April 5, 1891, but
his mother still lives on the old home place
near Dixie. Her real estate interests in the
county are very extensive. Besides the sub-
ject of this sketch, she has two other children,
Emma Kershaw and Mrs. J. H. Fuller.

MILTON E. BRYAN, proprietor of a
livery barn, corner Second and Alder street?,,
was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, in 1859.
For the first twenty-five years of his life he
lived in the neighborhood in which he first

saw the light, receiving the advantages of a
public-school training, and later engaging in
agricultural pursuits. In 1884, however, he
moved to Walla Walla and turned his atten-
tion to the livery business, an industry to which
his energies have been given ever since.

For the past twelve years he and his part-
ner, Mr. T. N. Bryan, have been in business
together, and during the past two they have
occupied their present quarters. By their in-
dustry, judicious management and careful at-
tention to the wants of their customers, com-
bined with a degree of progressiveness, w^hich
has kept them always fully abreast of the times
in equipment and stock, they have secured an
excellent trade, and a reputation of which they
may well be proud. They have seventy-five
head of horses and run hack lines, baggage
and transfer wagons, etc., besides performing
all the other functions of a first-class livery.
In fraternal affiliations Mr. Bryan is identified
with the I. O. O. F. He married, in Iowa,
in 1890, Margaret E. Chalfant, a native of that
state.

JOHN G. COCHRAN.— This prominent
pioneer farmer of Dixie was born in iSIissouri
in September, 1839. He grew to manhood and
acquired his education in the state of his na-
tivity, and when the time came for him to
initiate independent action, and to begin the
struggle for existence on his own account, he
engaged in the business in which he had been
reared, namely, farming. He continued to
prosper in that industry for many years, but
thinking he could do better on the Pacific coast
came to Walla Walla in 1871. Locating at
Dixie, he resumed the occupation in which he
had been engaged while a resident of Missouri,
and he has been among the progressive and

404

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

respected agriculturists of tliat section ever
since.

Li 1 86 1, in the state of Missouri, he mar-
ried Miss Elizabeth Eagen, and the issue of
their union was eleven children, nine of whom
are still living, namely : James W., in Ore-
gon; Jasper, in Oregon; Charles L., postmas-
ter and merchant at Dixie ; Jesse D. ; Robert
L. ; Ida Pearl, wife of F. M. Marks, of Dixie ;
William, Mamie and Edison. The deceased
children were named Luvina and ]\Iinnie.

Their son, Charles L., a merchant at Dixie,
who also serves as postmaster there, is one of
the leading spirits of the place, and an effective
force in its upbuilding. He was born in Mis-
souri on September 13, 1868, but was reared
and educated in the Walla Walla valley,
whither his parents brought him when he was
about three years old. After completing a
course in the local public schools and in Em-
pire Business College, of Walla Walla, he en-
gaged in farming, but in 1892 he opened a
mercantile establishment in Dixie, and in 1893
he was appointed postmaster.

Mr. Cochran is a public-spirited man, ever
ready to contribute his share toward the gen-
eral progress, and always among the leaders
in every forward movement. He is quite prom-
inent in the I. O. O. F., being a charter mem-
ber of W^elcome Lodge, No. 117, all the chairs
of which have been occupied by him, also identi-
fied with Sunshine Rebekah Lodge, No. 56.

HON. JA:\IES H. LASATER, deceased.
— No work which purports to review the lives
of those who have taken a prominent part in
the upbuilding of the west or any section of it
could escape the imputation of incompleteness
should it omit to make due mention of such

men as the one whose name forms the caption
of this article. While Mr. Lasater's character
was too positive and aggressive to render all
men his friends, his sincerity, unimpeachable
integrity and uncompromising devotion to his
convictions of right won for him the respect
even of his opponents and gained him the sin-
cere regard of all who admire true force of
cliaracter.

Born in McMinn county, Tennessee, on
October 19, 1823, he spent the first twenty-
seven years of his life in that locality. His
early desire was to become a physician, and
with characteristic energy he applied himself to
the mastery of that profession. He graduated
with the degree of M. D., but after practicing
a short time and discovering that he had mis-
taken his tastes abandoned the profession and
set out for California. Returning to the east
the following year, 1851, he began the study
of law under Judge William Kellogg, his places
of residence during the years of his law read-
ing being Canton and Bloomington, Illinois.

In October, 1852, Mr. Lasater arrived in
Oregon City, Oregon, and on February 22,
1855, he was admitted to the bar of that state.
He continued in practice there until April,
1863, then came to Walla W^alla, of which city
he became a representative citizen, taking the
same unselfish interest in promoting the wel-
fare of this locality which had characterized
him in his relations with Oregon affairs. One
of his first public acts after arriving here was I
to assist in the organization of the Democratic
party, of which he was a prominent and influ-
ential member, and which, shortly afterward,
elected him to the office of prosecuting attorney.
He, however, refused to qualify.

In 1869 Mr. Lasater was elected to the ter-
ritorial legislature, and it was here that his
deep-seated sincerity and uncompromising

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

405

fidelity to what he conceived to be right was
brought into full relief. He had previously
served in the Oregon legislature, and the ex-
perience there gained enabled him to maintain
a place of leadership among his compeers and
to become an efficient force in shaping legisla-
tion. As indicating in some measure the ex-
tent of Mr. Lasater's achievement after com-
ing to the west, we may call attention to the
fact that when he landed in Oregon his worldly
wealth consisted of just one dollar. This he
expended for bread. He managed to secure a
job at manufacturing rails, then found employ-
ment as a teacher, afterward working into
the practice of law, in which he became very
successful. For a number of years before his
■demise he was compelled to devote his entire
time and attention to his real estate interests,
so extensive had they become, and when he
died he was possessed of some nineteen hun-
dred acres of land in this county and in Uma-
tilla county, Oregon, besides valuable realty in
Walla Walla, the whole being worth probably
forty thousand dollars.

As a man, as a lawyer and as a legislator
Mr. Lasater deserves the highest distinction,
and posterity will accord to him an honored
place among the builders and moulders of the
northwest.

On February 22, 1856, our subject became
the husband of Mrs. Emily Scudder, nee
Moore, a most estimable lady, possessed of the
C[ualities of heart and mind for which pioneer
women are famous. She crossed the plains
Avith ox-teams in early days, experiencing many
difficulties with Indians, and more than once
narrowly escaping the cruel vengeance of the
red men. The train discovered the remains of
a dwelling that had been burned by the savages,
after all the inmates had, as was supposed, been
cruelly massacred. Search showed, however,

that a baby and a girl about fourteen years
old. whose scalp had been removed, were still
alive, and these were brought west with the
emigrants. Mr. and Mrs. Lasater became the
parents of six children, of whom three are still ■
living: Julia A.; Alice M., now Mrs. Elron
Edgerley; and Harry, all residing near Walla
Walla.

Mrs. Lasater died in December, 1875; her
husband followed her to the tomb on August
20, 1896, and their remains lie side by side in
the \\'alla Walla cemetery.

WILLIAM H. MANN, one of the enter-
prising young farmers of the vicinity of Eureka
Junction, is a native of Indiana, born April 12,
1878. When only six years old he started
traveling with his invalid father, and was a
constant attendant upon the latter for four
years. On July 13, 1888, at Hot Springs,
Arkansas, the father died, and William H. thea
came direct to this county. Before long he lo-
cated at Eureka Junction, where for several
years he has been engaged in farming. He
is an industrious, thrifty, self-reliant young
man, and possesses those traits of character
which insure success in any calling. He is at
present farming six hundred and forty acres,
raising wheat principally.

His mother, now Mrs. George Struthers,
is at present residing in Walla Walla. She was
born and reared in Indiana, but came to Cali-
fornia as early as 1879, and has lived in this
state since 1882. She has six children living,
three, Maude, Bessie and William H., by her
m.arriage with Mr. Mann, and three by her
union with Mr. Struthers, namely, Harry, Guy
and George.

Mr. William H. Mann was married on De-

4o6

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

cember 24, 1899, to Miss Lanna jMcElhaney,
a native of Walla \\'alla county. Mrs. ^lann is
a eradiiate of the Walla Walla hia'h school.

B. F. BRE\\'ER, a clerk in Tallman's drug
store, was born in Walla Walla county in 1879.
He lived in the vicinity of this city until about
eleven years old, then accompanied the re-
mainder of the family to Seattle, where he con-
tinued his public school studies. He was in
the high school there a while, but before com-
pleting his course the family returned to Walla
AValla, and he continued his studies in the high
school of this city. He organized the High
School Cadets, a military company, and was
their captain as long as he remained in the in-
stitution. L'pon completing his education he
entered the drug store of Mr. Tallman, where
he has been clerking and studying pharmacy
ever since. It is his intention to take a course
in a pharmaceutical college, so as to make hhn-
self thoroughly master of his chosen profession.
He is a very bright and capable young man,
already possessed of an excellent education,
and he needs but a course of systematic pro-
fessional training to insure a successful career
as an apothecary.

HARRY LAS ATER.— Born on May 18,
1865, in the county with which this volume is
primarily concerned, the son of one of the old-
est and most prominent pioneers of the west,
the subject of this brief biographical outline
has grown up to be a credit to his illustrious
father and to the noble valley in which he was
nurtured and educated. Though his tastes and
disposition inclined him to adopt the independ-

ent life of an agriculturist, he realized that
whatever his calling it was advisable that he
should cultivate to the extent of his abilities
the powers of his mind, so continued in study
until he had completed a thorough course in
Whitman Academy and passed through the
freshman year in the college.

He thereupon engaged with his brother
^^'iley in managing his father's farm, contin-
uing in this employment until 1890, when the
farm was divided equally between him and his
sister, Julia, the brother, who had been his
co-worker for the first few years after he left
college, having died December i, 1885. Mr.
Lasater has been giving his undivided atten-
tion to agricultural pursuits on his own account
ever since, and has long been regarded as one .
of the eminently successful ranchmen of the
county. His place, which is known as the old
iNIullen farm, and which consists of three hun-
dred and fifty- four acres of excellent wheat
land within about three miles of the city of
Walla Walla, is one of the first farms that
were cultivated and improved in the valley, and
it is now well supplied with buildings, fences
and equipments, while its fertile soil has been
developed to the fullest by careful and intel-
ligent tilling.

\\'hile Mr. Lasater is a thrifty and assid-
uous farmer, he never neglects his duties as a
citizen, but takes an active interest in politics,
local and general, manifesting a willingness to
contribute his mite toward the general wel-
fare, and to bear his portion of the public
burdens. For three years he discharged the
duties of road supervisor, which duties were
imposed upon him by the suffrages of his neigh-
bors. Fraternally he is prominently identified
with the I. O. O. F., of which order he is a
past conductor.

On October 29, 1897, he married Miss

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

407

Jessie B. Crawford, also a native of Walla
Walla, and a member of a respected pioneer
family. They have ens daughter, Thelma May,
now about two years old.

WILLIAM N. WISEMAN, a farmer, is
a native of Washington, born February 5,
i860. He had the distinction of having been
the second child of white parents to be born
in Walla Walla county. He received his edu-
cation in the local schools, then engaged in
farming, renting his ' father's place. He also
embarked in the livery business in the city of
Walla Walla, following that for two years.
He was, however, ambitious to become a farm-
er on his own land, so, as soon as he con-
veniently could, located a homestead and turned
his attention to its development. He is thrifty,
energetic and ambitious, and is now one of
the successful and prosperous farmers of the
county.

Air. Wiseman's father and uncle were old
pioneers of the valley, and the first to home-
stead lands on Eureka flat. The former was for
many years one of the leading agriculturists of
his section of the state, but he has now retired
and is living in Walla Walla.

Mr. William N. Wiseman, whose life his-
tory we are endeavoring briefly to outline, has
long taken an active interest in the political
and industrial well-being of the county, ever
manifesting a willingness to do what he can
for the general progress. He was a delegate
to the last territorial Democratic convention
which was held in Spokane. So earnest was he
in his convictions and so skillfully did he rep-
resent the sentiment of those who sent him
that he was chosen for the next convention, and
he has been honored by being elected delegate

to every convention since. He once served in
the capacity of deputy county assessor.

Mr. Wiseman was married in Walla Walla,
November i, 1888, to Miss Lizzie A. Wight-
man, also a native of this state, born June 17,
1865. She was educated in the St. Paul school,
of Walla Walla. Mr. and Mrs. Wiseman are
the parents of two children living, namely:
Ada A., born August 12, 1890, and Grace L.,
born April 26, 1893. Mr. Wiseman is a mem-
ber of Clyde Lodge. No. 8896, M. W. of A.,
of which he is clerk.

R. G. CLANCY, a fruit grower at Dixie,
a pioneer of 1863, was born in Missouri Sep-
tember 23, 1850. When he about two years
c!d the family crossed the plains to Oregon,
located in the Willamette valley and remained
about a decade. When thirteen, however, he
accompanied them to Walla Walla, and here he
received the greater part of his education. His
first occupation after leaving school was
freighting to Lake Pend d' Oreille and various
other points, but he afterwards engaged in
farming. He gave his attention to agricult-
ural pursuits in general until 1884, then bought
his present place and confined his energies to
fruit raising. He has a magnificent orchard of
sixty-five acres, the second largest in the coun-
ty, and is producing excellent fruit of all va-
rieties.

Mr. Clancy is a very active, energetic man,.
deeply interested in the welfare of his commu-
nity, though apparently not ambitious for per-
sonal preferment of any kind, and not an as-
pirant for any public ofiice. His standing in
the neighborhood is of the highest. He is quite
prominent in the I. O. O. F., has passed through
all the chairs in the subordinate lodge, and is

4o8

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

now a member of the grand lodge. He also
affiliates with the K. O. T. M.

Mr. Clanc}' was married, in Walla Walla
count}', November 22, 1875, to Miss Sarah J.
Sanders, a native of Lidiana, and a daughter
of pioneer parents. They have five children,
Albert C, John Floyd, Alice A., Paul B. and
Elva D. Mr. Clancy's father, Cornelius, who
crossed the plains with ox-teams in 1853, and
who became identified with Walla Walla coun-
ty in 1863, died at Dixie in 1897. His wife
had preceded him to the grave by about five
3"ears.

PROFESSOR WALTER A. BRATTON,
A. B., teacher of mathematics in Whitman
College, was born in Stamford, Vermont, in
1874. He resided in his native state until
tweh-e years old, receiving the advantages of
the local public schools, then went to Drury
Academy, North Adams, Massachusetts, a
classical preparatory school, where he was a
student for four years. Subsequently he
matriculated at ^^"illiams College, completed
the course and graduated, receiving the degree
of A. B. in 1895. He then came to Whitman
College to accept the chair of mathematics, and
has been discharging the duties of that posi-
tion ever since.

Professor Bratton is a young man of un-
usual ability, scholarly in every respect, and
endowed with an excellent faculty of impart-
ing information. His zeal for the progress of
the institution in which he is employed is mani-
fested not alone by the faithfulness with which
he discharges his own particular duties, but
by the willingness he shows to be of service in
other ways. For two years he was librarian
of the college, making during that time the first
card catalogue of its library. He next served

as registrar for two years, and then as assist-
ant treasurer and purchasing agent. He ex-
pects to receive the degree of A. M. as soon
as he returns to Williams College. His Greek
letter fraternity is the Phi Beta Kappa, and he
also belongs to the ^^'ashington State Phil-
ological Association.

JOHN R. HOOD, deceased.— No country
of Europe has sent to our shores a larger num-
ber of men who have distinguished themselves
for their sterling integrity and sublime force
of character than has "the land o' a Burns and
the land o' a \A'att," and no part of that coun-
try has been more prolific of men who have won
distinction under our flag than that which is
known to the muses as "Caledonia." In one of
the most favored towns of this "fair and wild"
section the subject of this brief memoir was
born, the date of his advent into this world
being June 27, 1833, and the location of the
parental hearthstone being Inverness, that his-
toric city around which cluster events of past
ages which have become familiar to all who
have dipped even superficial!}' into Scottish his-
tory and Scottish lore.

Not less chivalrous than the heroes of his-
tory and romance, Mr. Hood early conceived a
passionate longing for adventure in distant
lands, and this propensity grew with approach-
ing manhood until at seventeen it forced him
from the city which witnessed his birth and
in which his education and early training had
been received. He passed a year and a half
in Glasgow as an academic professor, then, true
to his ruling passion, took service aboard a
sailing vessel bound for the East Indies. Two
years later he was second officer on an East
India merchant ship, and rising by dint of apti-
tude and faithfulness to the position of first of-

JOHN. R. HOOD.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

409

ficer he continued to follow the high seas for
ten years, experiencing adventures which
would, if recorded, fill a large volume.

Retiring from the sea in i860, our subject
settled at Vancouver, British Columbia, where
he met and married Miss Catherine Moar, the
date of their wedding being September 20 of
that year. In April, 1861, the couple moved
to the Walla Walla valley, where the home of
the family has ever since been. The same fear-
less daring which had characterized Mr. Hood
while plowing the seas with his East India
merchantman made him a typical pioneer, and
an efficient force in the work of bringing order
out of primeval chaos and civilization out of
barbarism. He became the owner of a fine
farm of three hundred and twenty acres, all of
which has been enclosed and brought to a high
state of cultivation. This tract of land was the
scene of his activities until January 14, 1892,
when he succumbed to the foe which no man
can conquer. On October 26, 1893, his wife
followed him to the tomb.

Mr. Hood's life had been so ordered in all
respects as to win for him the esteem and con-
fidence of those whose good fortune it was to
know him, and his memory is cherished by all
who were neighbors to him in the early days
of Walla Walla valley. In religion he was a
consistent and active member of the Methodist
Episcopal church.

Mr. and Mrs. Hood became the parents of
two sons, John A. and Charles Edward, both
of whom are represented more particularly in
this work.

was brought by his parents across the plains to
Linn county, Oregon. He lived there until
1864, then went to Union county, where he
grew to manhood. He acquired his educa-
tion in the Columbia Commercial College, of
Portland, Oregon, then engaged in farming, a
business which he followed uninterruptedly
until 1877, when he came to Walla Walla. Lo-
cating subsequently at Waitsburg, this county,
he again became a tiller of the soil, and that
continued to be his business until 1884, in
which year he moved to Dixie to engage in
merchandising. Shortly afterwards he retired
from that branch of trade and turned his at-
tention to the business of buying, selling and
storing wheat as the agent of the Pacific Coast
Elevator Company, by which he is still em-
ployed. Mr. Koger is an energetic, industrious
business man, a good citizen, and an esteemed
member of society. He is prominent in Odd
Fellowship, having passed through all the chairs
in Welcome Lodge, No. 117, and once served
as representative to the grand lodge of the state.
He is also financial secretary of the K. O. T.
M., of Dixie, and record keeper of Sunshine
Lodge, No. 56. He was married, in Walla
Walla, December 8, 1884, to Miss Sarah E.
Eurgess, a native of Indiana, and a pioneer of
1873. They have four living children, John
W., Cassie M., Ernest and Uva Irena; also one,
Marvin, deceased. Mrs. Koger is a member
of the Baptist church of Dixie.

MARION KOGER, agent for the Pacific
Coast Elevator Company at Dixie, a pioneer
of 1877, w^s born in Polk county, Iowa, Feb-
ruary 12, 1853. Before he was a year old he

JONATHAN T. WISEMAN, a farmer
residing in Walla Walla, a pioneer of 1853,
was born in Warren county, Tennessee, Sep-
tember 5, 1833. He was reared and educated
in Arkansas, whither his father had taken him
when he was five years old. His mother had
died in 1836, and his father, one of the earliest

4IO

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

settlers of Arkansas, also passed away in
1848.

^^'hen Mr. Wiseman reached the age of
twenty years he started in life for himself, and
knowing that the opportunities for a young
man were better in the west, he at once started
for California, making the trip with ox-teams.
When the party reached Fort Bridger. just east
o^^ Salt Lake, Utah, they decided to come to
Oregon, so directed their journey northward
a little. 3.1r. Wiseman stopped three months
at Whitman station, then proceeded to Port-
land, where he remained until April, 1855, en-
gaged as steward on the "Belle" and the "Lot
Whitcomb," steamboats plying on the Colum-
bia and Willamette rivers. After leaving their
service he went to California to engage in
placer mining in the Yreka district. In this
ht was fairly successful, but in June, 1857, he
started on a return trip overland to Arkansas,
the state in which his early youth had been
passed, where he farmed for two years, there-
after coming overland again, his objective point
being \\'alla Walla. This was the third time
he had crossed the plains.

L'pon arriving here ^Ir. \Mseman took a
homestead on Dry creek and engaged in the
business of stock raising, "an industry wdiich
he followed successfully for fifteen consecutive
years. He then resided in Walla Walla for
five years, thereafter purchasing a six-hundred-
and-forty-acre farm on Eureka flat, which he
still owns and farms, and on which he lived un-
til 1898, when he moved back to the city. Our
subject is the owner of an elegant home and
sijc lots on Second street, and is passing the
evening of his life in peace and abundance. He
has long been a leader in the industrial develop-
ment of the county, and has manifested an
active interest in the public institutions of his
vicinity and in the cause of education. He

served as school director in his district for
twelve years.

]\Ir. Wiseman married, on March 20, 1859,
!Miss Nancy E. Estes, a native of Arkansas,
and their union has been blest by the advent of
eleven children : W^illiam N. ; Jeff Davis ; Jo-
sephine, now Mrs. Harry Abbott, of Walla
Walla; Irene F., wife of Thomas Cope, of
Clyde, Washington; Mary E., wife of Joseph
Harvey, of this city; Charles H., deceased;
Dollie E., B. Ethel, Martha E., Thomas
Arthur, Elmer E., all at home with their par-
ents. The family are members of the First
Christian church of Walla Walla.

Mrs. Wiseman's father, Mr. Thomas Estes,
was born in North Carolina in March, 1799.
He came to this valley in 1861, and died here
in August, 1886. His good wife followed him
to the tomb on November 19, 1889, and the
two lie buried together in the cemetery on
Eureka flat. IMr. Estes was a strong southern
Democrat, but was always an opponent of
slavery and never owned a slave. Both he and
yirs. Estes were highly esteemed by all, and
possessed the sincere affection of not a few.

FR.\NCIS I. SIMPSON, farmer and
blacksmith, is a son of the west, having been
born in the state of Oregon on June 6, 1864.
He received such education as the public schools
afforded, then engaged in the stock business,
an industry which he followed until 1893. He
then came to Spokane and engaged in farm
work for a couple of years, but in 1895 he
moved to the vicinity of Clyde, purchased land
and engaged in farming. He now owns and
cultivates three hundred and eighty acres of
land in that neighborhood, on which he raises
wheat principally. He is one of the good, sub-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

411

stantial citizens of the county, public-spirited,
liberal and progressive, and highly esteemed
and respected by those who know him best. In
fraternal affiliations he is connected with the
A. O. U. W. at Prescott. He was married in
Oregon, December 24, 1886, to Miss Nellie
Perry, a native of California, and thsy have
become the parents of two children : Lela E.,
born June 29, 1887, and Oval, born December
22, 1889.

cease he remained a widower, but on April 2,
1899, he married Miss Gertrude E. Fuller, a
native of \\'isconsin.

RUFUS CLAPP, a farmer at Prescott,
was born in North Carolina April 19, 1846.
^^'hen six years old he accompanied his par-
ents to Tennessee, where for five years his fa-
ther was engaged in the grist mill industry.
In 1857 they came north to Iowa and turned
their attention to farming, and this was Mr.
Clapp's business until 1864, when he enlisted'
in the Union army. He served during the
final year of the war, then returned home for
a visit, but shortly afterwards started with ox-
teams across the country to Central City, Col-
orado, where he was engaged in mining until
1882. In that year he came to Washington,
via San Francisco and Portland, finally lo-
cating in what is known as Manion Hollow,
five and a half miles east of Clyde. He home-
steaded a quarter-section of land and engaged
in stock raising and general farming.

Being an ambitious, enterprising man, Mr.
Clapp has steadily extended his real estate hold-
ings until he is now the owner of about one
thousand acres, all good farm land. He is one
of the most extensive and prosperous tillers of
the soil in Walla Walla county. Mr. Clapp
was married first in June, 1872, and his wife
died July 5, 1882, leaving three children,
Francis M., Leroy D. and Dora M. For more
than sixteen years after his first wife's de-

JOHN H. KERSHAW, a farmer and
stock raiser at Dixie, a pioneer of 1861, was
born in England on December 29, 1838. In
1 84 1 his mother, who was a widow, brought
him and his two brothers and sister to Amer-
ica. They lived in New York, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island and Massachusetts for varying
periods of time until 1856, the boys working in
factories and wherever they could find employ-
ment to support themselves and help their
mother! In 1856 they removed to Illinois,
where for over four years they were engaged
in farming. In 1861 the mother and her three
sons (the sister had been accidentally drowned
in New York) came across the plains in the
primitive fashion in vogue in those days to
Walla Walla valley. They located at Dixie,
took up land and began farming and raising
stock. The mother died in 1875, and was the
first person buried in Dixie cemetery. One of
the brothers, Willam J. Kershaw, was accident-
ally killed in 1891, and the two surviving mem-
bers of the family are still farming and rais-
ing cattle in the locality in which they first
settled. They are among the oldest and best
known residents of their neighborhood, hav-
ing lived there before the town of Dixie came
itito existence.

ULYSSES H. BERNEY is a native of
Switzerland, born in 1862. He spent the first
eighteen years of his life in his fatherland, ac-
quiring a thorough public-school education
there. In 1881 he came to St. Paul, Minne-

412

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

sota, where for six months he worked in a
store during the day and attended school at
night. He then moved to Cahfornia and after
spending a year on a fruit farm came to \\'alla
Walla, whence, soon afterwards, he removed
to Klickitat county. He was in the stock rais-
ing industry there for six years, then sold out
and returned to \^'al!a \\'alla. Here he im-
mediately engaged in fruit raising, and a feu-
years later started the shipping-house in part-
nership with his brother-in-law, John Thonney.
The house has acquired an enviable reputa-
tion and their goods are in demand all over
the northwest, also in many eastern cities and
some of their fruit even goes to Europe. Thus
their industry, progressiveness, business abil-
ity and alertness to know what the demands
of the times are and to provide for them ha\-e
enabled them to build up a large and profitable
business.

Mr. Berney was married, in 1S87, to Miss
Anna Rochat, of St. Paul. Minnesota, and he
and ]Mrs. Berney are now the parents of eight
children. The entire family left their home in
the fall to see the Paris Exposition and visit
Mr. Bernev"s relatives in French Switzerland.

DR. WALTER E. RUSSELL, physician
and surgeon, 25 E. Alain street, was born in
Milledgeville, Illinois, in 1858. He was reared
in the town of his birth and educated in the
local public school. During the time inter-
vening between his twentieth and twenty-fifth
year he was engaged in the dual occupation of
farming and school teaching, but he then en-
tered the Hahnemann Medical College, of Chi-
cago, from which institution he received the
degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1889. He has
since spent two years in post-graduate work,

being ambitious to become very proficient in his
chosen profession. Immediately after grad-
uating he came out to Walla Walla county
and located at Waitsburg, but in Januar}^ of
the ensuing year he removed to W'alla Walla,
where he has maintained offices for the prac-
tice of medicine ever since.

Dr. Russell is a thorough and diligent
student of his profession, devoting his entire
time to it alone, and he has long been recog-
nized as one of the leading practitioners of
his system in the state. At present he is dis-
charging the duties of city health officer of
\\'alla Walla. The Doctor is a very active man
in the Masonic order, being identified with all
of its branches from the blue lodge to the com-
mandery, also district lecturer of the fraternity
and one of the five custodians of the work. He
is, moreover, quite prominent in the A. O.
L'. ^^^, being grand foreman for the state. Dr.
Russell was married, in this city, in 1898, to
Mrs. N. S. Garrahan, a native of California,
and a member of a pioneer family of that state.

ELROX EDGERLEY, a farmer residing
on the upper Milton road, three miles south of
\\'alla Walla, was born in Princeton, Wash-
ington county, Maine, and in that town he
grew to manhood and was educated. He re-
mained at home with his father on the farm
until 1883, when he came to California. For
eight years after his arrival in the Golden state
he followed logging as an occupation, but in
1 89 1 he came to Walla Walla, settled on the
farm on which we now find him and engaged in
raising wheat, hay and stock. He is a thrifty,
industrious man, successful in his business and
highly esteemed as a man and a citizen. He
manifests a livelv and intelligent interest in

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

413

all local affairs, but is not ambitious for po-
litical preferment, and has never held any of-
fice except that of road supervisor.

Li fraternal affiliations Mr. Edgerley is
identified with the Woodmen of the World.
Ke was married, in Walla Walla, on January
26, 1890, to Miss Alice M. Lasater, a native
of the valley, whose parents, J. H. and Emily
Lasater, were early pioneers of the county.
Her father died in 1896, and her mother in
1875. Mr. Edgerley's father is still living at
Princeton, Maine, and is enjoying good health,
though seventy-eight years old, but his mother
passed away in January, 1871. Both were
early pioneers of their section and highly re-
spected by all with whom they came in contact.

Mr. and Mrs. Edgerley have a family of
three children, Emily E., Elron E. and Harry
L., all at home with their parents. The family
have real estate interests near Princeton, Maine,
in, Oregon and in the town of Eureka, Hum-
boldt county, California.

JOHN H. FULLER, a farmer four miles
north of Dixie, a pioneer of 1883, was born in
Arkansas March 17, 187 1. He passed the first
twelve years of his life in that state, and be-
gan his education there, but his father and
mother then came overland to Walla Walla
county and of course he accompanied them.
He completed his education here, then pro-
cured a tract of land and engaged in farming,
an occupation which he has followed contin-
uously since. He is a young man of push and
energy and is rapidly coming to the front as
one of the well-to-do and comfortable farmers
of his neighborhood. He was married in Dixie,
in April, 1896, to Miss Mary Kershaw, a na-
tive of that town, and they have one son, Em-
erson H.

Mr. Fuller's father, John W., was a native
of Missouri, born in 1844. He was reared on
a farm and followed that business all his life
except during the Civil war, when, true to his
convictions of what patriotism and duty re-
quired, he took up arms in defense of the
Union and served four full years. Coming
to Walla Walla in 1883, he engaged in farm-
ing in the vicinity of this city, following the
same until his death, which occurred February
25, 1887. He was married, in Arkansas, to
Miss Elizabeth Underwood, a native of that
state, and to their union seven children were
born, two of whom are still living : John H. ;
and Anna, wife of Garland Taylor, of Waits-
burg. Mrs. Fuller followed her husband to
the tomb December 31, 1900.

JOHN REHORN, a carpenter residing at
416 W. Alder street, a pioneer of 1871, was
born at Niederkleen, near Wetzlar, Germany,
March i, 1846. He resided there until twenty
years old, receiving the customary public-school
education, and learning the carpenter trade.
Li 1866 he came with his mother and sisters to
the United States, landing in New York,
whence, after remaining only ten days, they
came via Panama to Canyon City, Oregon,
v.-here Mr. Reborn worked in the placer mines
until 1869, washing out the gold on his own
account. Returning then to San Francisco he
followed his trade in that city as a journey-
m.an for two years, after which he came direct
to Walla Walla, where he has worked at his
handicraft continuously since, except between
the years 1886 and 1892, when he was operat-
ing a brewery owned by him at Pomeroy,
Washington.

]\Ir. Reborn learned his trade thoroughly

414

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

in the first place, as all must who serve an ap-
prenticeship in Germany, and he has followed
the same line assiduously and almost uninter-
ruptedly for more than thirty years, so that,
as would naturally be expected, he has at-
tained a skill and thoroughness in his craft
seldom found in carpenters on the coast. As
a man and a citizen, also, his standing is of
the highest. He has given substantial evidence
of his interest in Walla Walla by serving for
nine full years as a member of Tiger Volunteer
Fire Department. He is prominently identi-
fied with Enterprise Lodge, No. 2, L O. O.
F., of which he is a past noble grand.

In Walla Walla, on September 25, 1877,
our subject married Amalia Anchutz, a native
of Waco, Texas, and to their union seven chil-
dren have been born: John H., a farmer;
Frederich C, a clerk; Walter R., a graduate
of the high school, at present learning the trade
of a machinist; Frank, a lumber handler; and
Henry, Louisa and Christina, in school. Mrs.
Rehorn's father was killed in Texas during
the Civil war on account of his L^nion prin-
ciples.

ROBERT McCOOL, a farmer and stock
raiser, a pioneer of 1859, was born in county
Donegal, Ireland, in 1818. He remained in
his fatherland until 1858, receiving a public
school education, and then engaging in farm-
ing. When he arrived in New York, he found
to his dismay that he had to return to Liver-
pool, his money having been retained there by
mistake, and the complications being such that
the matter could not be adjusted without his
presence.

Mr. McCool came right back to America,
however, and started via the Panama route for
Walla Walla, where he arrived, April 29. 1859.

He has ever since been engaged in farming and
stock raising, his home being not far from the
fort. He now has four hundred acres on
Stone creek which is still owned by the family
and farmed by his sons. Mr. McCool is a thrif-
ty, industrious man, and an esteemed member
of society. He was married in Bar Head,
Scotland, in 1847, to Miss Maggie O'Donnell,
a native of his home county in Ireland, whose
death occurred in Walla Walla, December 11,
1896. To their union were born six children,
Hugh, a miner and mine owner, at present
engaged in buying horses for the United States
government; James, a farmer at the head of
Birch creek, in Oregon; Mary Ann, who died
in Ireland ; Margaret, later Mrs. James Monna-
ghan, of Spokane, now deceased; Ellen, who
was the wife of Edward O'Shea, of Spokane,
deceased ; and one that died in infancy. The
family are members of Rev. Father Flohr's
church in \\'alla Walla.

SAMUEL B. S^^'EENEY, a grain buyer,
residence 444 Crescent street, Walla Walla,
was born in Marion county, Oregon, in 1858.
He passed the first six years of his life there,
then three years in Lewiston, Idaho, then a
short time in California, whence he removed
with his parents to Albany, Oregon. He had
been a pupil in the public schools of all these
places, also enjoyed the advantages of a college
in California, and the Albany Collegiate Insti-
tute.

Coming to Walla Walla county, at an early
date he, with L. K. Grim, took charge of
Whitman Acadeni}-, now in connection with
Whitman College, and he was thus employed
for two years. He afterwards entered the em-
ploy of the Oregon Railway & Navigation

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

415

Company, taking, in Mr. Hill's place, charge of
the transfer at Wallula. Three years later, he
moved the transfer to Umatilla, and assumed
charge of it in that town, his duties being to
oversee the removal of freight from the trains
to the steamboats and vice versa. Later, he
was given similar duties to perform at The
Dalles, and he distinguished himself there, as
he had done in other places, by accomplishing
more with the same number of men than could
be accomplished by the other overseers who
were given a trial. A year afterwards, he was
moved by the company to Sand Point, and
promoted to the assistant superintendency, and
after a year's service there he went to Port-
land to settle the construction report for the
Northern Pacific Railroad Company. That
task required three and a half months, and
when it had been carried to a successful termi-
nation he came back to the city of Walla
^Valla. For a number of years, he has been oc-
cupied as a grain buyer and shipper here, hand-
ling immense quantities of wheat and other
cereals every year. He recently returned from
a trip to Cape Nome, where he has some good
mining property.

Mr. Sweeney is one of the best and most
successful business men of this section, being
possessed of the foresight and good judg-
ment requisite for success in the difficult branch
of commerce in which he is engaged. He
was married in Walla Walla, March i, 1891,
to Miss Adna Fudge, a member of a pioneer
family. They have two children, Philips
Brooks, and Elynore Frances.

JOSEPH J. MANGAN, excavating and
street grading contractor, residing at 435 S.
Seventh street, was born in Fond du Lac, Wis-

consin, November i, 1858. He remained there
until twenty-two years old, acquiring a good
public school education, and afterwards work-
ing on his mother's farm. In the fall of
1880, the family started for Walla Walla, ar-
riving in November, and Mr. Mangan turned
his attention to teaming, an occupation which
he followed for two years. Removing then to
Garfield county, he purchased a homestead
right, and on the land thus secured he lived and
farmed continuously until 1896, when he sold
out, moved into Walla Walla, and engaged in
the business in which we now find him. \\niile
on the farm, he also had charge for three years
of the warehouse and tramway, near Wawawai
ferry, and he is still a stockholder in the com-
pany.

Mr. Mangan has been and is a very success-
ful man in whatever he has undertaken. He
is one of the reliable men and esteemed citi-
zens of the city in which he lives, enjoying
the confidence and respect of those who know
him. He is quite active in fraternal circles,
being identified with the Modern Woodmen of
America, guide of the A. O. U. W., and a mem-
ber of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He was
married in Walla Walla, January 10, 1884, to
Miss Mary Whooley, a native of Wisconsin,
and they have had eight children : Cornelius
D. ; Mary E. and Joseph L., twins; M. Louisa,
M. Agnes, and George M. Dewey, all at home
and attending De La Salle and St. Vincent's
Academy; also Daniel and John T. E., both
deceased.

Mr. Mangan's mother, Mrs. Mary Mangan,
was born in New Brunswick, August 19,
1 819. She became identified with Walla Walla
in 1880, after spending a great many years in
Wisconsin. When her family was quite young,
she was deprived of her husband by death,
but, by judicious management and great effoft,

4i6

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

she succeeded in rearing and educating the
young people and in bringing them up to be-
come useful and esteemed members of society.
Mrs. Mangan was a devout Catholic, and all
her children are also members of that church.
At the time of her death, which occurred on
]\Iarch 12, 1900, at the home of her son Joseph,
she being then eighty years and six months
old, she had twenty-three grandchildren and
twelve great grandchildren.

HON. JAMES M. LAMB, deceased, a
pioneer of 1859, was born in Logan county,
Kentucky, February 19, 1835. He was reared
and educated in his native state and in
Oregon, Missouri, but in 1854 came with
his parents over the long trail to Cali-
fornia, traveling with ox-teams. They lived
where the present Woodland is for five
years, then came to Walla Walla county,
and located on a farm on Dry creek, one mile
south of Dixie, where Mr. Lamb's home was
continuously thereafter until his death, which
occurred in Lodi, San Joaquin county, Califor-
nia, March 5, 1898. He was the owner of three
hundred and sixty acres of land in the vicinity
of Dixie and was engaged in farming and
stock raising, also in general blacksmithing
during all the years of his residence there.

Mr. Lamb was a prominent man in political
circles, and a leader of the Democratic party,
which elected him to the territorial legisla-
ture in 1867. He was active, energetic,
industrious and public-spirited, ever ready to do
what lay in his power for the advancement of
the general welfare and the cause of good local
government. Religiously, he was identified
with the Christian church.

^Ir. Lamb married, in Sonoma county, Cali-

fornia, December 17, 1856, Miss Jane Pearce,
a native of Kentucky, who came with her par-
ents to California by the overland route, shortly
before her wedding. To their union were born
eleven children, John D., in Walla Walla;
Georgia Ann, wife of G. W. Howard, of Oak-
land, California; Martha E., wife of A. H.
Johnson, of Potter valley, California; Cora,
widow of James Cation, Walla Walla; and
William T. and Daniel W., living; also five
deceased. The family still own and farm the
land near Dixie, and they also have title to
some valuable residence property in Walla
Walla.

RASSELAS P. REYNOLDS, city clerk
of \A'alla Walla, was born in Fort Wayne, In-
diana, January 23, 1843. He was reared there
and in Whiteside county, Illinois, whither his
family moved in 1854. He received his edu-
cation in the public schools, and in the State
Normal University of Bloomington, Illinois,
from which institution he would doubtless have
graduated had not the call of patriotism sum-
moned him to fight the stern battles of the re-
public. To that call he, with most of the teach-
ers and other students, responded promptly.
On August 21, 1 86 1, he enlisted in Company
A, Thirty-third Illinois Volunteer Infantry,
and from then until December 24, 1865, his
connection with the army of the Union was
never severed. He participated in the Vicks-
burg campaign, the siege of Mobile and other
great operations of the war, being present in
numerous engagements.

In the spring of 1866 Mr. Reynolds started
for Washington with a government surveying
party, and in the fall of that year he reached
AValla \\'alla. In 1869 he was appointed clerk
of the L'nited States district court, a position

RASSELAS P. REYNOLDS

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

417

which he retained for the ensuing three years.
He then became bookkeeper in Reynolds and
Day's bank, and was employed by them until
1879. The next year, 1880, he moved to Al-
powa, Washington, where for the following
six years he kept a general store and a ware-
house. Returning to Walla Walla he engaged
in the business of painting roofs with a special
material of his own manufacture. In January,
1899, he was appointed city clerk to complete
an unexpired term ; in July of the same year he
was elected to that office, and in July, 1900,
he was re-elected.

Mr. Reynolds is one of the leaders in the
local politics of the city and county. He is
public spirited and enterprising, and has earned
an honored place among the progressive men
of that section. Fraternally he is a charter
member of A. Lincoln Post, No. 4, G. A. R.,
of which he is past commander. He was mar-
ried in Walla Walla, on October 28, 1888, to
Miss Carrie M. Baker, a native of Maine.

FRANK VILLA, a gardener residing one
mile south of the city limits of Walla Walla,
was born near Genoa, Italy, in May, 1837.
He remained in his sunny fatherland until
eighteen years old attending the local public
schools, then decided to try the more rigorous
New York, so emigrated to that city. After
a residence of only fifteen days, however, he
embarked on a vessel bound for the south, and
came via Nicaragua to Calavera county, Cali-
fornia, where he worked in the placer mines
for seven years. He then followed market gar-
dening in East Portland, Oregon, about eight
years, after which he took a trip to his native
land.

In November, 1878, Mr. Villa came to
27

Walla Walla, and bought a place of thirty-five
acres, upon which he now resides, his business
being to raise fruits and vegetables for the
supply of the local markets. He is an indus-
trious, thrifty man, possessed of the skill in
gardening and fruit culture for which men of
his nationality are noted. He took his first
citizenship papers in California in October,
1858, and at the time of the Snake river Indian-
war, he testified his willingness to defend the
country to which he then swore allegiance by
offering his services to the government. He
participated in the battles at Camp Crook and
Camp Warner, also in the last fight near the
mouth of Malheur river, where the Indians
surrendered, but he escaped without a wound.
He endured a great deal of hardship in this
campaign, the winter being unusually severe,
but his excellent constitution prevented any
serious efifects upon his health.

Mr. Villa was married in Portland, Ore-
gon, April 2, 1872, to Miss Marie Reible, a
native of Switzerland, and they have five chil-
dren, Frank G. R., an attorney, now at Cape
Nome; Mamie, residing with her parents;
Amelia C, a trained nurse; Harriet, a school
teacher; and Eleanor, a student in St. Paul's
Academy. Mr. Villa and his children are
members of the Catholic church, but Mrs.
Villa belonsrs to the German Lutheran church.

EDWARD H. MANGAN, a contractor
residing at 115 North Fifth street, a pioneer
of 1880, was born in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,
May 13, 1854 He received a public school
education, then worked on his father's farm
until twenty-six years of age, after, which he
came direct to the Walla Walla valley, where
he homesteaded one hundred and sixty acres.

'.4i8

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

situated between Dry creek and the Touchet.
He resided on it three years, then proved up,
paying the government price. Shortly after-
^vards he sold out, and went to Montana to
"become an employe of the N. P. R. R., helping
to construct its track through that state and
Idaho.

After remaining with the company ten
months, Mr. Mangan took service with the
O. R. & N. Company, in Washington and
Oregon, as a carpenter. He assisted in building
numerous depots for that company, and put in
the first turn table at Pendleton, also the first
turn table at Blue Mountain station, after the
road was changed to a broad gauge and con-
tiued through to Pendleton.

After serving that company about twenty-
two months, he returned to Walla W^alla, and
went to work as a journeyman carpenter, which
-was his business for about four years, during
wdiich time he assisted in the construction of
the Catholic church and many other imposing
structures. But since 1887 he has been con-
tracting for himself. He has erected many of
the finest buildings in the valley, among them,
Mr. John Martin's elegant residence on Dry
■creek, Mr. Ryan's residence, Mr. Joseph Fal-
lon's residence, and Mrs. Fasset's brick biuld-
ing, in which is Prendergast Bakery, also ^Mr.
McCool's beautiful residence. During the
wheat season, Mr. Mangan busies himself in
"building elevators, using on an average four
:hundred thousand feet of lumber in that indus-
try per annum. He is a very enterprising, ener-
getic man, and one of the most skillful and
rsuccessful builders in this section of the North-
west. His time and attention for many years
have been devoted almost exclusively to his
'handicraft and to contracting, with the natural
result that he is now able to succeed where
others less experienced would fail.

Mr. Mangan is identified with the Y. M. I.
and the I. O. E., of Walla Walla. He mar-
ried in this city, on June 18, 1888, Mrs. Katie
Smith, a member of the Roman Catholic
church, to which he also belongs.

. ROBERT E. LYNCH.— An enterprising
young business man, a mechanic of no mean
ability, and a citizen who commands the res-
pect and confidence of the community in which
he was born and in which his home has always
been, the man whose name forms the caption
of this article is deserving of representation
among the forces which have made and which
will continue to develop the county with the
history of which our volume is concerned.

Mr. Lynch was born in this city in 1872,
and in the public schools here established he
accjuired his education. Shortly after gradua-
tion, he succeeded in passing the teachers' ex-
amination, receiving the highest grade certifi-
cate which could be lawfully awarded to one
without experience in teaching. He then learned
the plumbing trade, taking his initial lessons
under a firm now out of business and com-
pleting his apprenticeship in Portland, Oregon,
to which city he went for the purpose in 1889.
After an absence of eighteen months he re-
turned to this part of the country, whence he
shortly afterward moved to Moscow, Idaho.
He was in charge of a plumbing establishment
there one year, then returned to Walla \\'alla
to accept a position with G. H. Sutherland, by
whom he was employed for a period of three
years.

Desiring then to see more of the country,
he started on a trip east, going as far as Chica-
go, and working in different towns on the road.
A vear later, he returned to WMa Walla and

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

419

opened a shop, equipped with all things neces-
sary for an efifective business in plumbing,
steam and gas fitting, etc. He was alone in
this venture for three years, after which he
took Mr. O'Rourke into partnership and con-
solidated his business with that of W. J. Mc-
Graw. They have enjoyed an excellent patron-
age, and have been instrumental in bringing
about many valuable improvements in the sani-
tary condition of the city.

Fraternally, Mr. Lynch is identified with
the Catholic Knights, and the Young Men's
Listitute, and he also belongs to the volunteer
fire department.

NICHOLAS SEIL, proprietor of the shoe
store at No. 20 Main street, a pioneer of
1878, was born in the province of Luxemburg,
August 19, 1846. He was brought by his
parents to the United States when eight years
old, but had the misfortune to lose his father
by death shortly after their arrival in New
York state. He was kindly cared for by an
uncle, who took him to Massillon, Ohio, educat-
ed him in the parochial schools of the Catholic
church, and also taught him the trade of a
shoemaker. When he became about twenty-
three years old, he emigrated to Oregon. For
the two years following his arrival, he resided
in Portland, but in 1873 he returned to Mas-
sillon, Ohio, and purchased an interest in a
shoe establishment, his partner being Mr. Nich-
olas Hanson.

After being in business there for a year,
our subject sold out to Mr. Hanson, and
worked at his trade there about three years,
afterward returning to Scio, Oregon, where he
became foreman of a shoe shop. He later pur-
■^hased all the tools and equipments, and moved

to Walla Walla, where, in 1876, he opened a
custom-made shop. His business increased
until he was soon able to keep six men em-
ployed. He later added ready-made shoes,
and gradually built up and extended his trade
until his quarters became inadequate and he
moved to the quarters in which we now find
him, and which have been occupied by him for
the past sixteen years. In business, Mr. Seil
is careful and conservative, yet progressive,
and to these qualities, together with an untir-
devotion to the mastery of details, his success
is largely due. He is public-spirited and ever
ready to contribute his share toward the fur-
therance of worthy public enterprises or to
charity, but is especially active in the affairs of
the Catholic church, to which he has always
belonged.

In fraternal affiliations, he is identified with
the C. K. of A. and the German Maennerchor.
In May, 1886, he married Miss Susan
Schrantz, a native of Wisconsin, whose home
was in Portland, Oregon, at that time. To
their union have been born two children,
Emma C. and Edward F.

WILLIAM H. HAYS, a farmer at Pres-
cott, is a native of Missouri, born May 3,
1858. He grew to man's estate there, his busi-
ness after he became old enough being farm-
ing. In 1886, he went to Colorado, and after
a very brief residence there removed to Wash-
ington. He passed one winter in this state,
but in the spring returned to his old home in
the east. He seems to have been pleased with
the west, however, for in the spring of 1889
he sold the old Missouri home, and returne<l
to the Inland Empire.

Locatino' at Prescott, Mr. Havs was en-

420

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

gaged as a laborer there for a year, but he
subsequently went to the Big Bend country,
and took a homestead. The next year, how-
ever, he returned to Prescott, rented land and
engaged in farming, an occupation which he
has ever since followed. In 1898, he purchased
a fine tract of 494 acres, two and a half miles
northeast of Prescott, where his home now is.
He is one of the thrifty and substantial citi-
zens of that neighborhood, and bears an en-
viable reputation wherever he is known. He
has served for the past two years as road su-
pervisor of his district, and in numerous other
ways has at all times manifested his interest
in the general welfare. He is, in fraternal
connection, a member of the Ancient Order of
United Workmen, and the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows.

In August, 1877, Mr. Hays married Miss
Mary A. \\'heatly, a native of Missouri, and to
their union have been born two children,
Henry A., and Minnie M. ]\Irs. Hays is a
member of the Degree of Honor, the ladies'
auxiliarv to the United Workmen.

J. H. :\IORROW, of the firm of ^lorrow &
Son, proprietors of the Waitsburg Department
Store, was born in Randolph county, Mis-
souri, in 1853. He resided in the state of his
nativity until twenty years old, acquiring his
education in the public schools, and in ]\IcGee
College, where he took a complete classical
course. In 1874, he removed to California,
and for the ensuing three years he was en-
gaged as a teacher there. He then came to
Walla Walla and accepted the principalship of
what is now known as the Baker district, his
assistants being Miss IMartin and Miss John-
son. In July, 1878, he accepted a position
with Preston Powell & Company, of Waits-

burg, by whom he was employed for five or
six years. He then engaged in the notion
business, but in 1887 he embarked in his pres-
ent line, namely, general merchandise.

!Mr. ]\Iorrow has always met with good suc-
cess in his business ventures, being a man who
combines industry and strict attention to de-
tails with shrewdness and sagacity. He is,
moreover, a public-spirited citizen, ever ready
to do his share for the general welfare, and for
the progress and development of the town in
which he resides. For several years he was
a member of the city council. Six years ago
he served a term as mayor, and at present he
is again serving in that capacity. He belongs
to all branches of IMasonry up to and includ-
ing the Commandery, also affiliates with the
Knights of Pythias. ]\Ir. Alorrow married, in
California, in 1876, !Miss Emma C. Glotzbach,
a native of that state, and they had three
children, Piatt Preston, Calla and Clara.

JOHN C. STOREY, a farmer at Dixie, a
pioneer of 1870, was born in Pennsylvania,
December 24, 1841. He grew to man's estate
and was educated there, but no sooner was he
ready to start in life for himself than the
voice of patriotism summoned him to fight
the battles of the republic. Enlisting in August,
1861, as a member of Company H, 102nd
Pennsylvania Volunteers, he served from that
time until the close of hostilities, participating
in almost all the battles and campaigns of the
famous Army of the Potomac, including the
Wilderness and those preceding the downfall
of Richmond. He was in the firing line when
the Confederate capital hung out the white
flag. In all these battles, he escaped without
injury, except at Petersburg, where he received
a bullet wound in the right thigh.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

421

After being discharged on July 3, 1865,
]\Ir. Storey returned to Pennsylvania, where
for two years he worked in the oil regions.
He then went to Missouri and followed school
teaching for a couple of years, then to Mon-
tana, whence, in 1870, he came to Walla ^^'alla
county. He taught school here for fifteen
years, spending fifty-four months in one dis-
trict in Spring Valley. At length, however, he
decided to try farming, so took a homestead
on Pataha prairie, near Pomeroy, where he
resided for a number of years. He also farmed
for some time, iive miles east of Dixie, but
finally sold out.

Mr. Storey was a very active man in former
years, and has done an incalculable amount for
the cause of education in this part of the state ;
indeed, he ranked among the most successful
educators of the early days. He has been twice
married. Li 1877, in Dayton, Washington, he
wedded Miss lone White, a native of Oregon,
who died in 1879, leaving one son, Mark. He
was again married in 1881, the lady being
Georgie E. Look, a native of California. They
have five children, Flora, Carl, Clarence,
Ralph and Dewey.

FRANCIS M. CORKRUM, a farmer, a
pioneer of 1865, was born in Kentucky in
October, 1834. His father died when he was
an infant, and his mother moved with him to
Spring Garden, Illinois, where he grew to
manhood on a farm with his uncle. ^Vhen
twenty years old, he tried farming in Jeffer-
son county one year, after which he worked
for wages a while, but soon went onto a place
for himself again, and the next year bought a
farm.

Mr. Corkrum lived on this place for a num-

ber of years, but finally decided to come west,
so sold out and started across the plains with
a team consisting of oxen and cows. He at
first intended to locate in either Oregon or
California, but changed his plan and came to
Walla Walla valley. He purchased a squat-
ter's right to a claim on the Spring branch
for $20 in greenbacks, then worth about fifty
cents on the dollar. He afterwards added to
this three tracts of forty acres each, and the
entire farm sold fourteen years later for eleven
thousand and two hundred dollars. Of course
much of the increase in value was due to the
improvements which Mr. Corkrum made, and
it testifies to his industry and enterprise as
much as to the development of the country.

After selling his first home, our subject
purchased Mr. Kennedy's ranch of five hundred
and twenty acres, and this he still retains, to-
gether with one hundred and sixty acres on
Dry creek, and one hundred and sixty acres of
timber in the mountains, purchased later. Mr.
Corkrum also bought a farm for each of his
three boys. He now resides in a fine home in
Walla Walla, and owns the house and lot ad-
joining. Few of the early pioneers of the
county have had more to do with the develop-
ment of its industrial resources than has Mr.
Corkrum and few have shown greater acumen
in discerning how best to take advantage of
the opportunities ofiiered by the new and fer-
tile valley.

About twenty-three years ago, he and his
wife and two children were converted in the
school house he had helped to build, and since
that time he has had the pleasure of seeing
all of his children, except one, become members
of the same church to which he belongs, and
in which he has been an active worker for so
many years. He has also demonstrated his in-
terest in the cause of education in a verv sub-

423

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

stantial way, serving as director and helping to
organize the district in which he lived and to
build and equip the first rude school building.
In Spring Garden, Illinois, February ii,
1857, our subject married Miss Mary Killebrue,
a native of Jefferson county, Illinois, and to
their union have been born ten children :
William J. ; Rosalie, wife of William York,
of Walla Walla; Nora, wife of Thomas Wil-
son, a farmer near Dayton; L^riah, Eva and
Leo, at home with their parents ; Sarah, after-
wards Mrs. Jeff Jennings, deceased ; David,
deceased, and two that were taken away by
death before being named. Mr. and Mrs.
Corkrum are also the proud possessors of
twenty-four grandchildren. The couple are
enjoying e.xcellent health and are fine specimens
of well preserved old age.

A. S. DICKINSON, postmaster at ^^'aits-
burg, was born in Walla ^^'alla county, in
1868. He received a thorough education in the
public schools and in Waitsburg Academy,
then took a business course in the Empire
Business College at Walla \\'alla. In 1892,
he embarked in the hardware business at Waits-
burg, and for two years thereafter he followed
that branch of commerce, but in 1894 he
turned his attention to farming. One year was
spent in tilling the soil and one in a grain ware-
house. In 1897 '""E received an appointment
as postmaster of Waitsburg and he has been
serving in that capacity ever since. He is also
interested in mining, being the owner of stock
in Republic and Sumpter camps. For some
time he acted as local treasurer of the Equi-
table Loan & Savings Company, of Portland,
Oregon, and of the Aetna Loan and Trust Com-
pany, of Butte, ^Montana.

Air. Dickinson has always manifested a
lively interest in local affairs, and may be fairly
counted among the progressive forces of the
town. He served one term as a member of the
city council. In fraternal affiliations, Mr.
Dickinson is identified with the Knights
of Pythias, and the Ancient Order of United
Workmen. He was married in Waitsburg, in
1896, to Miss Addie E. Denny, a native of the
state of Washington, who received her early
education in the public schools here and later
graduated from the San Jose, California,
Normal school. She has been teaching in the
public schools of Waitsburg ever since com-
pleting her educational discipline.

HARLAN D. ELDRIDGE, a farmer one
and a half miles southeast of Dixie, a pioneer of
1880, is a native of Iowa, born April 6, 1858.
He grew to manhood and was educated there,
following teaching as his profession for some
time after attaining years of maturity. In
1880, he came out to \\'alla Walla county, took
a homestead near Starbuck, and engaged in
farming. He resided there for several years,
but in 1890 removed to the place upon which
we now find him. He owns at present over
fi\-e hundred acres of land and is one of the
most extensive and successful farmers in the
vicinity of Dixie.

]Mr. Eldridge is quite active in the affairs
of his community, and takes an intelligent in-
terest in politics, local, state and national, but
displays no ambition to become particularly
prominent in political circles and has never
been a candidate for any office. He is an ac-
tive member of and one of the elders in the
Christian church of Dixie. In fraternal affilia-
tions, he is identified with Welcome Lodge,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

425

No. 117, L O. O. F., and with the Rebekahs.
He is very prominent in the subordinate Odd
Fellows' lodge, having passed through all the
chairs. Mr. Eldridge was married in this coun-
tv, September 14, 1884, to Miss Etta Barnes,
a native of the county, and they have become
parents of five children: Whipple, Taylor B.,
Earl, Geneva AL, and Bonnie G. '

ALFRED F. PERRY, a retired farmer and
contractor, residing at 525 North Sixth street,
is a native of St. Benoit, province of Quebec.
Canada, born on June 7, 1853. He was early
taken to California, whither his father had
gone in 1849, becoming so enamoured of the
country that he could be content nowhere else.
They lived a short time in San Jose, then moved
to Oroville, in Butte county, where the father
engaged in mining.

When Mr. Perry arrived at the age of seven
years, he severed his connections with the re-
mainder of his family, and' accompanied a
number of miners ox'erland from Los Angeles.
He passed through the famous Death Valley,
and had the pleasure of seeing the wonderful
petrified ship, as it is called, which is a large
rock the exact shape of a ship, and is supposed
by some to have been an actual ship at one
time and to have been sunk in the days
when the valley was an inland sea. There
are also other curious remains such, as (ap-
parently) petrified cities and even the form of
a man with a pen behind his ear, and a bunch
of papers in his hand. The company of miners
to which ]\Ir. Perry belonged located in the
White mountains eighty miles from the present
Tucson, Arizona, and out young hero learned
to read and spell as best he could with the news-
paper and such other literature as might chance

to reach the camp for text-books and the rude-
miners for instructors.

Mr. Perry remained in this camp, far from,
the haunts of civilization, for thirteen and a
half years, locating five mines, one of which,
the Mariposa, is a well-known gold and silver
producer at this day. He then returned to his
old home, recrossing the Death Valley, and
confirming the observations of his childhood.
Three days after his arrival at home, he set
out for San Francisco, and took a contract to
supply the Pacific Coast Distilling Company
with potatoes. He was thus employed for five
years.

On March 2. 1877, our subject arrived in
\\'alla \\'alla. He purchased one hundred and
twent}- acres of land three miles below town,
where he engaged in diversified farming and
gardening. He has been adding to his original
home from time to time until he is now the
owner of seven hundred acres in two tracts,
on which he, at present, raises timothy and al-
falfa mostly, his annual crop averaging about
thirteen hundred tons. Mr. Perry has also been
a successful contractor for the past fifteen
years. He built the penitentiary, finishing the
walls in sixty-nine days, also graded many of
the Walla Walla streets, and did much con-
tract work on the various railroads running
into the city.

Mr. Perry is in every sense of the word a
self-made man, having started to work out his
own destiny when seven years old without capi-
tal or education, and having achieved, in spite
of obstacles which would have overwhelmed
a less resolute spirit, the high standing in the
social and financial world which he now enjoys.
He is a man of truly remarkable abilities and
giant force of character. He was married at
Lewiston, Idaho, on July 11, 1879, to Miss
Nettie V. Coffin, a native of Oregon, whose

424

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

parents came overland from Massachusetts to
that state in 1855. Mr. and Mrs. Perry have
had two children, Fred D., deceased, and Will-
iam C, a student in Whitman College. On
February 5, 1901, Mr. Perry had the misfor-
tune to lose his wife, who had been ill for over
sixteen months previous to her demise. Her
remains lie buried in the \\^alla Walla ceme-
tery beside those of her son.

EDWIN W. McCANN. lately dealer in
hardware and implements, at Waitsburg, is a
native of Dodge county, Wisconsin, born in
1847. When he was quite young, his family
moved to a different part of the state, to Omro,
and here Mr. McCann resided until fourteen
years old. In 1862, he moved to Filmore
county, Minnesota, where he completed his
public school education. He then engaged in
farming. In 1869, he moved to Chippewa
county, took a homestead, and' engaged in
farming there. In 1878, he entered the employ
of L. K. Stone as a wheat-buyer and elevator
man and this was his occupation until April,
1887, when he sold out his holdings and came
to W^aitsburg, Washington.

Shortly after his arrival here, he formed
a partnership witli Mr. Macomber, for the pur-
pose of starting a hardware and implement
store and to that business his energies have
been given ever since nutil quite recently, but
he lately sold out. He is an excellent business
man, being possessed of the shrewdness, fore-
sight and unerring judgment characteristic of
the truly successful in commercial life. He is
also a public-spirited man, ever ready to do
what lies in his power for the social and ma-
terial amelioration of the neighborhood in
"which he lives. In 1889, he was elected a

school director, and has served as such ever
since except for a period of two years. In
1897, he was elected to the mayoralty of Waits-
burg. His re-election followed in 1898, and
in 1899 he declined renomination.

In politics Mr. McCann was a Democrat
until 1896, wheu his gold standard principles
compelled him to support McKinley, and he
has since belonged to the Republican party.
In fraternal affiliations he is a Mason, a Knight
of Pythias and a Workman. He was married
at Montevideo, Minnesota, in 1879, to Mary
G. Anderson, a native of Minnesota, and to
their union have been born two children, Elma
L. and Josephine.

GEORGE DELANY, farmer, 422 Rose
street, Walla Walla, was born in East Tennes-
see in 1 83 1. When eight years old he removed
with his parents to southwestern Missouri,
whence seven years later he set out on the jour-
ney across the continent to Oregon, traveling
by team. He resided in the Willamette valley,
that state, engaged in farming until 1858, then
came to Walla Walla and turned his attention
to freighting and handling stock. His teams
conveyed supplies into Montana and Idaho,
and he drove cattle into British Columbia. In
1880 he again became a tiller of the soil, this
time on an extensive scale, for he rented five
thousand acres of land and purchased twenty-
three hundred, the latter tract being just over
the Oregon line from Walla Walla. He is
still farming and stock raising in Yakima and
Columbia counties.

Mr. Delany has made his way in the world
under difficulties, having been denied all the
school privileges ordinarily enjoyed by Amer-
ican boys, for he has never been within the

GEORGE DELANY

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

425

walls of a sclioolhouse in session time. He has,
however, by his own efforts largely overcome
these early disadvantages, and his industry,
good judgment and splendid business ability
have enabled him to attain a success in life
which may well be the envy of many who have
been much more unfortunate in their early en-
vironment. He was married in Marion coun-
ty, Oregon, in 1870, to Olive Day, a native
of Illinois, but an early pioneer of the west.
They have six children, namely, Sarah, Roxie,
Henry, Burton, George and Harvey H.

JOHN B. McDonald, deceased, a pio-
neer of 1882, was born in Green Lake county,
Wisconsin, January 2, 1845. He was the first
white child born in that county. His father
was an officer in the United States army, and
in 1830 had been sent into Wisconsin to keep
the Indians quiet. Mr. McDonald resided in
the neighborhood in which he was born until
nineteen 3'ears old, receiving a public school
education, then started to do for himself. He
visited New York state and Vermont, and
finally entered the service of the United States
government, his duty being to take horses to
the front for the use of the army. He was
present in Washington at the time of Lincoln's
assassination, and was detailed for a short time
to guard the city limits in order, if possible, to
prevent the escape of the assassin.

A little later Mr. McDonald went to Bal-
timore, where he was taken sick with fever and
ague, and practically laid up for two years, but
at intervals he was able to do a little at the
business he then followed, namely, putting in
lightning rods for the protection of buildings.
In 1867, he returned to his old home in Wis-
consin and farmed a vear, afterwards going to

Blue Earth county, Minnesota. He followed
farming there one summer and in the fall pur-
chased a threshing machine and engaged in that
industry. A serious accident befell him, how-
ever. His foot was caught in the cogs of the
power, laying him up for two years completely
and making him permanently lame. In 1871
he bought railroad land, and for a while fol-
lowed farming and teaming, but eventually
sold out and engaged in selling farm imple-
ments, wagons, etc., for an eastern firm. Two
years later, he was called home to take charge
of his father's farm, and he was engaged in
agricultural pursuits there and at Fond du
Lac for the next four years, but in 1878 he
removed to Petaluma, California.

After farming there also for a number of
months Mr. McDonald started via Portland,
for this valley, but, owing to the Indian out-
break, wintered on the Lewis river, where the
next spring he engaged in the dairy business.
Shortly afterwards, he moved to a place thirty
miles from The Dalles, and here Mr. McDonald
worked in a sawmill until 1882. He then
tried farming again, but lost ever3i;hing by
grasshoppers.

In the fall of 1882 he reached Walla \\'alla,
the point he had started for so many years
before, and the next spring he took a home-
stead on Eureka flat. He was a farmer in that
neighborhood until 1891, when he moved into
the city of Walla Walla for the benefit of his
children. He died on March 27, 1893.

Mr. McDonald was for many years one of
the leading men in his part of the county serv-
ing in almost all the local offices and once re-
fusing the nomination for county commis-
sioner. He was married in Fond du Lac, Wis-
consin, February 27, 1873, to Miss Eliza L.
Sharratt, a native of Wisconsin, who assisted
her husband by teaching and in everv way in

426

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

h-er power to acquire the competency they en-
joyed before his death. She is now the owner
of one thousand one hundred and twenty acres
of land in the county.

Mr. and Mrs. McDonald became parents of
five children : John H., an attorney in W'alla
Walla, who has the honor of having served in
the Philippine war as a member of the First
A\'ashingtons : Elsie M., now Mrs. Edward H.
Bradbury; Jessie E., a student in the \\'ashing-
ton Agricultural College, at Pullman ; and Lila
G., a student in the public schools, also Will-
iam F., who died at the age of eighteen. The
family affiliate with the First Presbyterian
church of \\"alla W'alla, and Mrs. ^IcDonald
also belongs to the Woody Glen Circle, Women
of Woodcraft, and to the Order of Wash-
ington.

^L\RTL\ :MEL\ERS, one of the prosper-
ous and well-to-do farmers of the county, re-
siding ten miles east of \\'alla Walla, was born
in Germany, March 6, 1847. Like most Ger-
man youth, he enjoyed the privileges of the
public school until fourteen vears old. In 1864,
he, with his father and the remainder of the
family, except his mother, who had died some
years before, came to xA^merica. They located in
Illinois, where Mr. Meiners lived until 1883. In
that year, however, he came out to Walla Walla
county, invested the savings of the nineteen
years he had passed in Illinois in a section of
land, and engaged in farming. He has followed
the same occupation on the same place contin-
uously since, and now has a pleasant home
and surroundings.

]\Ir. ISIeiners is a thrifty, industrious farm-
er, possessed of those neighborly qualities
which render a man esteemed and respected in
the community in which he lives. He is not

especially active in politics, though he takes a
lively and intelligent interest in local affairs.
He was married in Illinois in 1874, to Miss
Ettje Beenders, a native of Germanv, and
they have a family of four children, Cornelius
'M., John E., Grace W'., and Elsina M.

AXDREW J. TASH, a farmer residing
ten miles east of W^alla Walla, a pioneer of
1 86 1, was born in the state of Indiana, Jan-
uary, 15, 1839. He resided there until nine
years old, then accompanied his parents to Mis-
souri, in which state the ensuing five years
were passed. During the next six years, he
was a resident of Iowa and there h.e com-
pleted his education.

About that time the emigration to the west
was at its height, and the prospects of realiz-
ing a fortune in a day were becoming very at-
tractive to the adventurous mind of the youth-
ful ]\Ir. Tash, so, in 1859, he joined the rush for
California. He made the long journey with
ox-teams, and in due season reached the prom-
ised land. He remained in California two
years, but, failing to find conditions as he had
hoped, he came to Walla Walla county in 1861.
For the next half decade, he was operating in
the various mining regions of Idaho, among
them, Oro Fino, but in 1866 he took a home-
stead where we now find him and settled down
to the life of a farmer and stock raiser. He
is, at present, the owner of three hundred and
twenty acres of fine land, well improved, and
everywhere bearing eloquent testimony to the
thrift and industry of its owner.

]Mr. Tash was married in \\'alla \\'alla
county, on September 16, 1866, to Miss Mary
E. Brooks, a native of Missouri, who died April
30, 1874, leaving one child, Frank E. On

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

4:2 7n

September i6, 1876, he was again married,
the lady being Lucy M. Klemgaard, a native of
Utah. Of this union, seven children have
been born: Harry A., Hattie E., Elmer E.,
Neoma D., Gertrude, Raymond and Clifford
Watson.

HARRY GILKERSON, a farmer resid-
ing about seven miles east of Walla Walla,
was born in this county in 1866. He received
such education as was to be had in the public
schools of the neighborhood, then virent to the
Big Bend country, where for four years he
was engaged in farming. At the end of that
period, he came to the section in which we now
find him. and purchased one hundred and thirty
acres of land, twenty acres of which are now
under cultivation, the remainder being grazing
and timber land. He has a fine home nicely lo-
cated and supplied with all the improvements
necessary for comfort. For the last six years,
he has been agent at the Dudley warehouse
for the Pacific Coast Elevator Company, hand-
ling about seventy thousand sacks of grain per
annum. He is a young man, of energy, pro-
gressiveness and force, and possesses moral
good qualities which win for him the respect
and confidenge of the community in which he
lives. He belongs to the local camp, Modern
Woodmen of America. In February, 1890, in
^Valla Walla county, he married Malina J.
Rohn, and they have had three children, two of
whom are now living, Freddie and Jessie May.
The deceased child was named Harry Lewis.

MATTHIAS A. CARIS, contractor, a
pioneer of 1864, was born in Portage county,
Ohio, January 8, 1834. He resided with his

father on a farm there until seventeen years
of age, receiving a public school education,
then engaged in brick making with a brother,
and this was his business for the next five
years. In 1855 ^^ went to Illinois, and nine
months later he removed thence to Mount
Pleasant, Iowa, where for four years he fol-
lowed the lightning-rod business. He then
crossed the plains with ox-teams, his objective
point being Boise City, Idaho, but three weeks,
after his arrival he started north to the Walla
Walla valley.

The first season after coming hers Mr. Caris
farmed a rented place on the Touchet river, then
joining the rush, he went to the Coeur d'Alenes
and opened a provision store in the mount-
ains among the Indians, twenty-five miles
from any other white settler. For four years
thereafter he spent his summers in the Coeur
d'Alenes and his winters on the Touchet river,
where he collected his supplies. Visiting his
old home in the east in 1869, he passed the
winter there, and in the spring brought a car-
load of wagons to Boise City and disposed of
them there. He ordered another car shipped
to Walla Walla, and as soon as they arrived
opened an agricultural implement and wagon
establishment here, the first of its kind in the
city.

After remaining in this business twelve
years he sold out and began farming on a
ten-hundred-and-sixty-acre ranch, which he
had secured by using his pre-emption and tim-
ber-culture rights and by purchase. For ten
years he was one of the leading farmers of
the county, but in 1890 he moved back into
the city and engaged in his present business,
teaming and contracting.

Mr. Caris is a very energetic, progressive
man, possessed of a degree of executive ability
which has enabled him to achieve excellent

428

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

success in the various lines of activity in which
he lias been engaged. He was married first in
Mount Pleasant, Iowa, March ii, i860, to
Miss Rachael Johnson, who died in Walla
Walla July 30, 1869, leaving one son, Charles
F., in business with his father. He was again
married at Athena, Oregon, on May 16, 1880,
the lady being Miss Maria M. Blum, a native
of Pennsylvania, but reared and educated in
Wisconsin. She has been a resident of this
valley most of the time since 1876. Mr. and
Mrs. Caris are both members of the First
Congregational church of ^^'alla Walla, which
they joined in 1895.

ROBERT M. GRIFFITH, a farmer re-
siding twelve miles east of Walla Walla, a
pioneer of September, i860, was born on the
island of Barbadoes January 6, 1832. He came
to the United States in 1841, landing at Phila-
delphia, and before long embarked on a vessel
and went to sea. Young though he was, he
stuck to that rigorous occupation four 3'ears,
but, disembarking in Massachusetts in 1845,
he accepted a position as overseer of a cotton
mill. He was employed thus for thirteen
years, then as a napper of cotton flannels in
a mill in New York for four years. Influenced
by a desire for the wild, free life of the west,
he then came out to I^Iinnesota and Dakota,
and thence in course of time made his way
to the mining regions of Idaho.

In i860 he came to Walla Walla county,
whence for several years he freighted into the
various mining regions, Oro Fino, Florence,
the Nez Perce country and other places. He
took an active part in repressing the various
Indian uprisings of this period. Subsequently
he engaged in farming, an occupation to which

his best energies have been given ever since.
For the past nine years he has resided on his
present place, where he has established a com-
fortable home for himself and his family.
Mr. Griftith has always taken the interest that
every good citizen should in the affairs of
county, state and nation, and though he has
never held or coveted any office, he is recog-
nized as one of the representative men in
politics. He was married in Walla Walla
county in 1882, to Miss Annie Sorrenson, -a
native of San Pete county, Utah, and now
has a family of two children, Catherine A.
and Robert W.

While in Utah Mr. Griffith experienced
some trying adventures, being at one time
fired upon by Mormons, and once robbed by
Indians in the neighborhood of Burnt river,
losing thirteen hundred dollars' worth of
property. The family belong to the Method-
ist church.

JOHN BUSH, a retired farmer and stock
raiser of Eureka, is a native of Germany,
born January 29, 1832. He remained in the
land of his nativity until twenty years old,
receiving the customary education, but in
1852 he emigrated to New York. After a
residence of only a few months he removed
to Chicago, Illinois, and enlisted in the regu-
lar army. He was sent to Newport Barracks
in Kansas, thence to Fort Worth, Texas,
where he remained a year, being thereupon sent
• to the Rio Grande to protect a gang of sur-
veyors who were locating artesian wells in New
Mexico. Eighteen months were thus passed,
then he spent a brief period of time in San
Antonio, Texas, from which city he was sent
to Fort Meyers, Florida, to assist in settling
the Indian difficulties there. He was next or-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

429

dered to Salt Lake, where he resided until
1857, when he was honorably discharged.
However, he served during the next seven
months as a volunteer in the United States
army in the Mormon war, then hired to a
quartermaster as a teamster, coming with him
to Fort WaUa in 1859.

In 1 86 1 Mr. Bush retired from the army
entirely, took up land and engaged in farm-
ing and stock raising. For a number of years
thereafter he was one of the thrifty and sub-
stantial farmers of the county, but of late
years he has retired from active participation
in any business, and is enjoying a well-earned
rest. He was married in August, 1872, to
Miss Lena Myer, a native of Germany, who
came to this country after she had grown to
womanhood. They have one daughter, Anna,
born in August, 1873.

GEORGE F. LEWIS, one of the thrifty,
enterprising farmers of the vicinity of Dixie,
a pioneer of 1862, was born in Iowa Novem-
ber II, 1842. He grew to man's estate there,
receiving good educational advantages, and
when twenty years old started across the plains
with ox-teams, detennined to try his fortunes
in the west. He in due time came to a halt in
Walla Walla county, secured an outfit, and en-
gaged in the business of hauling freight to
the different mining regions in Idaho. In this
sturdy occupation ten full years were spent,
but in 1870 he located his present place and
settled down to the life of a ranchman. He
has one hundred acres of excellent land, well
improved and furnished with all buildings and
machinery necessary to a well-ec|uipped little
farm. He raises stock principally, but is a
diversified farmer, and does not entirely neg-

lect anything which can be produced at a.
profit in this section of the county.

Mr. Lewis married at Oakland, Oregon,
in 1872, Miss Etifie Williams, a native of that
state, who was taken from him by death a
few years ago. By this marriage he has had
two children, David W., deceased, and Dollie
F,, wife of Samuel Adwell, of Dixie, In 1898
Mr, Lewis again married, the lady being Mina
Jackson, a native of Iowa,

CHARLES GILKERSON, a farmer re-
siding seven miles east of Walla Walla, is a
native of this county, born in 1864. He re-
ceived a public-school education, and, having
been raised on a farm, naturally turned to
that occupation when he went into business
for himself. He spent about four and a half
years in Whitman county, engaged in tilling
the soil, then returned to his home county and
purchased a two-hundred-and-forty-acre farm,
all wheat land, on which he has ever since re-
sided. He is an enterprising man, and ranks
among the prosperous and well-to-do farmers
of his part of the county. He was married
in Walla Walla county in 1898, to Miss Cath-
erine Tracy, a member of one of the oldest
pioneer families of the Inland Empire. Her
father was an Indian war veteran of note.
Mr. and Mrs. Gilkerson are parents of one
son, Eddie.

THOMAS GILKERSON, a farmer re.
siding on Mill creek, six miles east of Walla
Walla, was born in England October 19, 1837.
When a boy of four he was brought by his
parents to New York state. His father located
in Homer, and in that town Mr. Gilkerson

430

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

passed his early youth and acquired his edu-
cation. Li 1859, influenced by a commenda-
ble desire for larger and better opportunities
than were to be had in his home town, he
started, via Panama, to the coast. Landing
in British Columbia, he spent a brief period
of time there, but, failing to find anything
to his liking, he soon came to Walla Walla
.county.

During the first two years of his stay here
Mr. Gilkerson worked as a fann hand for his
wife's first husband, and, by industry and fru-
gality, managed to accumulate enough to pur-
chase a cjuarter section, and to start, in a small
way, in farming on his own account. Indus-
trious and frugal, he was also, as his venture
in farming soon proved, a careful and con-
servative, yet progressive, man, and he con-
tinued to prosper and to increase in wealth
until he became one of the comfortable and
well-to-do farmers of the county. He now has
four hundred acres of land and is raising
grain and stock.

Unlike many farmers in this county, ^Ir.
Gilkerson is a believer in diversified farming,
so he keeps and raises cattle, hogs, horses, sheep
and other live stock, not, however, neglecting
wheat, barley, fruits and other farm products.
In this way he always has something for sale
in every season of the year. He has alwavs
taken an active, intelligent interest in the af-
fairs of county, state and nation, though he
has never manifested any ambition for per-
gonal preferment, and has never held an office.
His party affiliation is with the Democrats.

In this county, in 1863, our subject mar-
ried ]\Irs. Eliza McWhirk, nee Sickley, a na-
tive of Pennsylvania, and a pioneer of 1859.
Her first husband died in 1862. leaving one
son, George H. She and Air. Gilkerson have
four children living, Charles, Harrv, Thomas

and Lewis. By her marriage with Mr. Mc-
Whirk, in i860, ]\Irs. Gilkerson gained the
distinction of being the first white lady mar-
ried in Walla Walla county. The solemniza-
tion was by Judge Kennedy, who gave her
a black silk dress in recognition of her being
the first to take upon herself matrimonial
bonds within the limits of the county. It is
worthy of mention, as illustrating the condi-
tions obtaining at that time, that Judge Ken-
nedy had to send to The Dalles, Oregon, for
the dress, there being nothing of so expensive
a nature in \\'alla Walla or any town nearer
at that early period.

MOSES SWAIM. one of the leading
farmers of the county, is a native of Indiana,
born September 15, 1840. When nine years
old he accompanied his parents to Illinois,
and there he grew to manhood and received
his education. He enlisted for service in the
Civil war in the fall of 1861, and was a mem-
ber of Company I, Eleventh Illinois Cavalry,
until after the close of hostilities. He was
honorably discharged at Ouincy, Illinois, in
1866, after a military career of which he and
his family have just reason to be proud.

Our subject then located at Fort Scott,
Kansas, where, during the ensuing seven years,
he followed fanning as a business. In 1873,
however, he remo\'ed thence to Missouri,
where he farmed for seven years more, after
which he passed six years in the same business
in South Dakota. In 1886 he set out for the
west, but did not reach Washington till the
spring of 1887, having stopped for the win-
ter at Rollins, Wyoming. He finally located
in the vicinity of ^^'alla Walla, where he rent-
ed land and farmed until i8g^. In that vear.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

431

however, he, in company with the Bass Bros.,
purchased a tract of land on the Touchet river,
and they have ever since resided there, en-
gaged in stock raising and general farming.
They are thrifty, industrious, energetic men,
possessed of the good judgment and force
characteristic of those who are really success-
ful in any calling.

On July 25, 1875, Mr. Swaim was mar-
ried to Mrs. Sarah A. Bass, by whom he has
two children, Mary A., born August 2, 1876,
and Leona M., born January 22, 1884. Mrs.
Swaim also has two sons by her former mar-
riage, Frank L., born January 20, 1871, and
John L., born August 25, 1873. They are in
partnership with Mr. Swaim in the farming
and stock-raising business. Their father, Mr.
John F. Bass, died in Vernon county, Mis-
souri, February 11, 1873.

GEORGE R. CROWE, a retired house
painter residing at 433 North Fifth street,
Walla Walla, a pioneer of March, 1862, was
born in London, England, April 2^, 1836.
He attended the public schools of his father-
land until fourteen years old, then went to
sea as an apprentice aboard the sailing bark
"Harold," engaged in the East India trade.
For five years thereafter he sailed contmu-
ously, visiting South Africa, Australia and all
far eastern ports. He spent two years in South
Africa, engaged as a shore whaler, h:s busi-
ness being to take the whales when, at certain
seasons, they came to the mouths of the rivers
to calve. He also passed two years in Aus-
tralia in the gold diggings of Ballaratt and
Bendigo, and while there was often attacked
])v white bushrangers under the famous bush-

ranger chief "Black Pete." Fortunately, how-
ever, he escaped without a wound.

Mr. Crowe came thence to California, ar-
riving at San Francisco in March, 1859, and
went direct to Nevada City. He was engaged
there and at Grass Valley and Forest City in
the business of placer mining about two and a
half years, then returned to San Francisco,
and about three months later we find him en-
listing as a member of Company A, First
Washington Territorial Volunteers, for serv-
ice under Captain Taylor and Colonel Stein-
berger, in guarding the British frontier dur-
ing the Civil war. He continued to perform
this duty for three years, participating in sev-
eral skirmishes.

After being discharged at Walia Walla,
in 1865, Mr. Crowe opened a house painting
shop on the corner of First and Alder streets,
where he did business continuously until 1896,
in which year he sold out and retired. Mr.
Crowe has always proven a good neighbor
and citizen, an industrious, thrifty man and
a highly estimable member of society. He en-
joys an enviable standing in the community
in which he has lived so long. He is quite
prominent in the A. Lincoln Post, No. 4, G.
A. R., to which he has belonged for the past
fifteen years, and of which he has been senior
vice commander.

In Walla Walla, on April 19, 1875, Mr.
Crowe married Miss Elizabeth Calvert, a na-
tive of Illinois, and a pioneer of 1864. She
is a leading member of the W. R. C, which
has bestowed upon her all the honors in its
gift, and she also belongs to Lodge No. 48,
L. O. T. M., of which she is a charter mem-
ber and lady commander. Her lather is a
farmer on Mill creek, where she was educated
and where she lived until the time of her mar-
riage. iMr. and iNIrs. Crowe are parents of

43^

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

three children living: John E., a clerk; Harry
B. and Lizzie A.; also of one, George R., who
died at the age of three years and seven
months.

THOAL-\S J. FERREL. a farmer resid-
ing about nine miles east of Walla Walla, is
a native of Wayne county, Iowa, born in 1862.
When he was but two years old his family
started across the plains with mule-teams to
Walla Walla county, so that he has been prac-
tically reared in the west. The family located
on Russel creek, and there Mr. Ferrel grew
to man's estate and was educated. He early
engaged in farming for himself, and has fol-
lowed that industry continuously for many
years. At present he is the owner of a splen-
did little farm of ninety acres, and is raising-
wheat and horses. He is a progressive, enter-
prising man, and enjoys the confidence and
good will of all his neighbors. He was mar-
ried in this county, in 1884, to ]\Iiss Percilla
Edward, and they are parents of three chil-
dren, Xettie P., Carrie E. and Elphe B.

WILLIAAI L. :\IATHEW, a stock raiser
near Clyde, is a native of Indiana, born Janu-
ary 4, 1832. When thirteen years old he came
with his parents to Iowa, where for many
years afterwards his father, James D., fol-
lowed farming as an occupation. Upon at-
taining his majority IMr. Mathew set out
across the plains to Walla Walla. He pur-
chased a number of horses and engaged in
raising that species of stock, a business which
he has ever since followed. He takes great
pride in the production of high grade road-
sters and draft horses, and has a large num-

ber of fine animals, with which any connoisseur
of thoroughbred horses would be delighted.
To him belongs the honor of having been the
first to engage in fruit raising in the Snake
river country, thereby introducing an industry
which has proved a great blessing to the entire
Inland Empire. At present he is the owner
of two hundred and ten acres of fine land on
the Snake river.

During the early days of Walla Walla Mr.
Mathew, like other raisers and dealers in
horses, was greatly harrassed and suffered
frequent loss by a gang of horse-thieves which
scoured the country in the pursuit of their
nefarious vocation. At length, when patience
ceased to be a virtue, a committee was organ-
ized, of which Mr. Mathew was a leader, and
which soon proved successful in driving out
the obnoxious intruders.- At one time thirty
renegades were driven into Montana, where
they afterwards suffered death at the hands
of a vigilance committee.

XELSOX CASTLEMAN was born in
Canada December 21, 1849. Both of his par-
ents died within a few years after his birth,
and he was taken into the home of an uncle,
but the cruel treatment he received drove him
away when ten years old. He came to the
United States and located at Massena Springs,
in New York, where he made his home with
various families as he could find opportunity
to work for his board and schooling. He fol-
lowed this life for seven years, but in 1866
went to Lowell, Massachusetts. He Avorked in
the cotton mills there, also, by special effort,
learned the painter's trade. He remained in
the mills for several years and by close applica-
tion to business secured promotion after pro-

NELSOiN CASTLEMAN

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

433

motion until he held the second highest posi-
tion in the mill.

In 1870 Mr. Castleman mo^'ed to Denver,
Colorado, and a few days later found em-
ployment as a quarryman at Golden, twenty-
eight miles from Denver. Here he remained
a year and a half, after which he returned to
Lowell, passing through Chicago a short time
after the big fire. He again took employ-
ment in the mills, working in them during
winter and following painting and paperhang-
ing in summer. In April, 1877, he came west
again, landing in San Francisco. A few days
later he started north to Oregon and located in
Portland, where he worked at his trade until
August of the same year, when he came to
Walla Walla. He has been engaged ever since
in painting and paperhanging.

In March, 1898, Mr. Castleman was seized
with the Klondike fever and made the then
dangerous journey to Dawson City, where he
remained for eleven months. When he came
out in the spring of 1899 ^^ walked all the
way from Dawson to Skagway over the ice on
the Yukon river, a distance of six hundred
miles, making the journey in thirty-three days,
but actually traveling only thirty, as they
stopped three days to rest. One day when the
thermometer registered sixty-five degrees below
zero his party traveled thirty miles.

Mr. Castleman is an Odd Fellow of thirty
years standing. At present he is identified with
Enterprise Lodge, No. 2, of Walla Walla. He
belongs also to the city volunteer fire depart-
ment, and has done so constantly since its or-
ganization, being a charter member of Vigi-
lance Hook and Ladder Company. He has
some real estate interests in Seattle and three
houses and lots on West Chestnut street, Walla
Walla, in one of which he himself resides.

HENRY KUHL, a farmer nine miles east
of Walla Walla, was born in Germany in 1854.
He was, however, practically reared in this
country, having come to America with his par-
ents when seven years old. His first home
in the United States was in Indiana, thirty
miles east of Chicago, and there he resided
for twenty-eight years, engaged, after he be-
came old enough, in farming. He also ope-
rated for three years the first creamery ever
erected in Indiana, and for some time was
landlord of a hotel. Coming west in 1889,
he became a farmer on the Hudson Bay farm,
nine miles east of Spokane, where he resided
for three years. He then moved to Walla
Walla county, bought land near his present
home and engaged in wheat raising. At pres-
ent he is the owner of a very fine farm, on
which he produces wheat, barley, oats and
corn. He also handles considerable stock.

Mr. Kuhl is one of the best farmers in the
county, and the evidences of his industry and
thrift are everywhere to be seen on. his prem-
ises. His farm is highly cultivated and is
improved with good buildings, fences, etc.
He was married in this county in 1896, to
Nancy, daughter of Henry Smith, one of the
early pioneers of the state of Oregon. They
have three children, Mabel, Jessie and Ber-
ner T.

CHARLES F. CUMMINGS, postmaster
and merchant at Wallula, a pioneer of 1862,
was born in Kansas September 5, 1861. He
was, however, reared and educated in- this
county, his parents having brought him across
the plains when he was only one year old.
Upon attaining years of maturity, he engaged
in the livery business at Wallula. He was

434

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

in that line for a number of years, then tried
farming a while, but finally entered the era-
ploy of the W. & C. R. R. R. Company as
stationary engineer in their shops. Upon re-
tiring from that he embarked in the mercan-
tile business, and to this his energies have been
given ever since, his location being Wallula.
He is the proprietor of a fully equipped and
nicely arranged establishment, and commands
a good trade. He also has a fruit farm in the
vicinity.

In 1898 ^Ir. Cummings was appointed
postmaster, and he has since been performing
his duties as such to the entire satisfaction of
all the patrons of the office. He was married
in the Puget Sound country, March 13, 1887,
to Miss INIary J. Lindley, a native of Iowa.
They have a family of five children, Leon E.,
Walter F.. Flora E., Ula M. and Richard F.

^Ir. Cummings' father, Gideon, a farmer
three miles east of Wallula, a pioneer, of 1862,
was born in Indiana June 12, 1839. When
two years _^of age he was taken by his parents
to W^isconsin, and he resided in that state and
Iowa and Linn county, Kansas, successively,
for different periods of time until 1862, when
he crossed the plains to Walla Walla. Having
purchased an interest in the missionary farm
of Rev. H. H. Spalding, he resided thereon
until 1865, when he went to the \\'alla Walla
river and engaged in the business of keeping
stage station. For a while, also, he was him-
self the proprietor of a stage line to Lewis-
ton, but in the early days he opened a mer-
cantile establishment at ^^'allula, in company
with liis brother Amos. They conducted this
business successfully for a full decade. ^Ir.
Cummings was also engaged for a number
of years in the business of buying, selling and
storing wheat, one season handling four thou-
sand tons, all raised in Umatilla countv, Ore-

gon. He was the first to attempt to farm
the hills south of Wallula, and for many years
has followed that occupation there with good
success. He is the owner of about two hun-
dred and sixty acres of land, on which he
raises a little of everything, though hay is his
principal crop.

In the state of Kansas, on January i, 1861,
he married Miss Lucy A. Whetstone, a na-
tive of Illinois, and they have five children :
Charles F. ; M. Elizabeth, now wife of George
J. McAvoy, an engineer on the O. R. & N. ;
Amos G., a farmer; Rose E., wife of Mar-
shall R. Hill, engineer on the \\'. & C. R.
Railway; M. Catherine, wife of D. E. Smith,
a fireman on the N. P. R. R., residing at
Genesee, Idaho.

Air. Cummings has long been one of the
leading men of the county, and he is well
known and very highly esteemed by all the
older and many of the newer residents of
this section. His life has been successful finan-
cially, as well as in other ways, and in addi-
tion to his farm he has some ^-aluable prop-
erty in Wallula, Walla \\'alla and Seattle.

JOSEPH W. FERREL, a farmer resid-
ing about ten miles east of Walla Walla, was
born in this county in 1872. He acquired his
education in the public schools and in Whit-
man College, then went onto his father's farm,
where he remained until last year. He then
bought a farm of his own. Heretofore he has
given most of his attention to cattle raising,
but -he is now going into the production of
wheat more particularly. He is a thrifty, en-
terprising, industrious young man, and prom-
ises to become one of the leading farmers of
\\'alla Walla county. He was married in 1897

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

435

to Miss Belle De Baun, a native of Walla
Walla county, and a member of a family which
crossed the plains with ox-teams in 1851.
They have had one daughter, Bernice C, now
deceased.

AUSTIN LYNN CAUVEL, who resides
at 806 Alder street, Walla Walla, is one of
the early settlers of this city, having lived here
since January i, 1880. He was bom near
Oil City, Venango county, Pennsylvania, Sep-
tember I, 1852, and there received his educa-
tion and grew to manhood. In December,
1873, he removed to Belief onte, Pennsylvania,
where he served an apprenticeship of two
years, learning the trade of a carriage painter.
Returning then to his old home he main-
tained a shop on his father's farm, at the
same time giving some attention to agricul-
tural pursuits, but in 1879 he started for this
valley, coming west over the Union Pacific
and Central Pacific to San Francisco, thence
by steamer to Portland, and thence by water
and team to Walla Walla. Though the dis-
tance from The Dalles to this city is only one
hundred and ninety miles, it took them six
days to make the journey, owing to the almost
impassable condition of the roads and the
scarcity of water. At one place a man who
owned a well charged them twenty-five cents
per head for the privilege of watering their
horses.

On his arrival in Walla Walla Mr. Cauvel
went to work for his brother and Mr. Gardner
in the old Ritz nursery, where he remained
six months. He then went into the service
of William Kent, who owned a carriage shop
in ^^'alla Walla, remaining with him also six
months ; then, after working two months as
an eijiploye of Mr. Baxter, another carriage

painter, he purchased the latter's shop and
started in business on his own account. A
year later he sold out and removed to Pendle-
ton, where he, with Messrs. M. B. Johnson
and J. A. Ross, purchased eighty acres of
rich land and started a nursery. The business
did not, however, agree with his health, so he
sold out within eight months and returned to
Walla Walla, where he found employment as
a hack driver for Small & Miller, with whom
he remained about three years. He then vis-
ited his relatives in Pennsylvania, and upon his
return to Walla Walla bought a shop on East
Main street and resumed work at his trade.
He continued in this uninterruptedly for four-
teen years, afterward selling out. Our sub-
ject and Charles Kurdey afterwards bought
the property, but the former removed the shop
to 503 South Second street, where he still
maintains a carriage painting establishment.
Shortly after his arrival here Mr. Cauvel
took a timber culture of one hundred and sixty
acres about nine miles northwest of the pres-
ent Ritzville, retaining the same until Janu-
ary, 1900, when he sold it for two thousand
dollars. In 1888 he purchased a fifteen-acre
tract about seven miles south of Walla Walla,
on which he planted a choice selection of fruit
trees, and for which, in 1899, he received
ele\'en hundred dollars.

Mr. Cauvel is identified with the Ancient
Order of Foresters, Court Walla Walla, No.
81 14, and was elected to represent that body
in the subsidiary high court, which met at
Oakland, California, in 1898, and in the one
which met in San Francisco in May, 1900.
He is also prominent in Odd Fellowship, be-
ing a past grand of Enterprise Lodge, No.
2, and a past chief patriarch of ^^'alla Walla
Encampment, No. 3. He was married March
20, 1887, to Miss j\Iary E. Todd, a native of

436

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY,

Indiana, who came to Walla Walla in 1879.
They have two children, Grace Camille and
Stank)- M.. both in school in Walla Walla.

Mr. Canvel's parents reside near Oil City,
Pennsylvania, and are enjoying good health,
though aged, the father seventy-five and the
mother seventy years. His grandparents \vere
among the earliest pioneers of western Penn-
sylvania. Airs. Cauvel's parents are old and
respected pioneers of the Walla Walla valley.

Amorig the heirlooms of the Cauvel fam-
ily is the staple of the ox-yoke used by Mar-
cus \\'hitman when he drove into Walla Walla
county. It was found in the ruins after the
massacre and fire. Mr. Cauvel also has a
stuft'ed mountain lion presented to him by the
Walla Walla Volunteer Fire Department, in
recognition of the fact that he served that or-
ganization as president for a longer period
tlian any other man. The lion had been pre-
sented to the company as an appropriate mas-
cot, the name of the organization being the
"Tiger" engine company.

GEORGE W. BRADBURY, a farmer re-
siding near Clyde, a pioneer of 1872, was born
in Oldtown, Maine, October 8, 1^46. While yet
in infancy he was taken by his parents to St.
Anthony, Minnesota, a town which has since
been incorporated into Minneapolis, although
at that time jNIinneapolis consisted of a gov-
ernment grist mill, and a cabin with a blanket
for a door. At the time of the Minnesota mas-
sacre, perpetrated by the Sioux, Mr. Bradbury
was a member of the expedition which w^as
sent out from Fort Snelling against the In-
dians, proceeding up the Mississippi river to
Port Ridgely.

He remained at St. Anthony until seven-

teen years old, attending the local public school,
then went with General Sully on his campaign
against the Sioux Indians, and during this
campaign assisted in building Fort Rice, wdiich
stands on the Missouri river near the mouth
of the Cannon Ball. He participated in a
seven-days fight in which six thousand whites
were pitted against three times that many red-
skins. The loss of white men was, however,
very slight, not exceeding ten or fifteen. On
the Little Missouri river they also had a three-
days fight, but without serious loss. The most
distressing thing which happened here was the
accidental shooting of a man by his own
brother, the latter mistaking the former for an
Indian in the darkness of night. The Indian
guide was also wounded in this battle, and, as
might be guessed, he received careful nursing,
for he was the only man in the expedition who
knew where the command was. They con-
tinued their journey across the Bad Lands of
South Dakota to the Yellowstone river, forded
this where Glendive, Alontana, now stands,
losing many men and mules by drowning, fol-
lowed the Yellowstone to the Missouri, forded
that river, pushed on to the site of the present
Fort Buford, and thence to Sioux City, Iowa.
Here Air. Bradbury quit the service and
went on a trapping expedition. He had good
success, but on his return was overtaken by a
blizzard, which would have cost him his life
had he not taken refuge in a sheltered spot and
allowed himself to be covered over with snow.
Returning at length to Minneapolis he engaged
ir the lumbering industry with his father. He
followed that business in winter and rafting
in summer for three or four years, then en-
gaged in saw-milling at Deer Lodge, Montana,
but soon moved to Silver Bow, same state, and
started a meat market for the purpose of sup-
plying surrounding towns. He remained in

GEORGE W. BRADBURY

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

437

that business until 1872, then came, via the
Mullen road, to Walla Walla. Ke farmed a
rented place for one year, then began freight-
ing, but as soon as the Nez Perce war broke out
he again offered his services to the govern-
ment. He was in the Pendleton fight, and
though not present at the Cottonwood and Bird
Canyon battles was on the ground in time to
assist in burying the dead.

At the close of hostilities Mr. Bradl.iury en-
gaged in freighting into Oro Fino, but subse-
quently took a homestead and timber culture
on Eureka flat, where he resided until 1893.
He then sold out and purchased his present
twenty-five-hundred-acre farm. He is now ex-
tensively engaged in raising wheat, cultivating,
for that purpose, not only his own mammoth
farm but also twenty-nine Irandred acres of
rented land.

Mr. Bradbury is a typical pioneer, possessed
of the indomitable courage characteristic of
those who have occupied a place in civiliza-
tion's van, and of a resourcefulness which has
enabled him to conquer or find a way around
all difficulties. He is now one of the most
progressive and successful farmers in the coun-
ty, bringing to his agricultural pursuits the
same invincible spirit which he displayed in
the stern battles of former days.

Li Deer Lodge, Montana, in 1871, he mar-
ried Miss Milly Harrison, a native of Missouri,
who died in W'alla Walla in 1882, leaving two
children : Edward H., now a resident of Walla
W^alla, and Maude, wife of Thomas Lyons, of
^\'alla Walla.

EATHAN A. LIXX, deceased, a pioneer
of May, 1862, was born in Somerset, Ohio,
August 25, 1832. He resided in the town of
his birth until nine years old, then accompa-

nied his parents to New London, Iowa, where
he completed his education and grew to early
manhood. In 1852 his ambitious and venture-
some spirit led him to undertake the long
journey across the plains, though the route
was beset with dangers and had to be traveled
with ox-teams. He went to Salem, Oregon,
and thence south to California, where for ten
years he followed mining with varying for-
tunes. In 1862 he visited Walla W'alla on his
way to the mines of Florence, Idaho, and in
the fall he returned to this city. The next
spring he decided to try his fortune in Boise
basin, so went into that section and spent a
year or two there, mining and packing. He
returned to Walla Walla in 1864.

The next year Mr. Linn and his brother
Homer came to Old Wallula for the purpose
of 'Starting in the livery business and in dray-
ing. They met with excellent success in this
undertaking, and followed it continuously for
a fifth of a century. Mr. Linn then moved to
his present place of abode, built two steam
ferry boats on the Columbia river and estab-
lished himself in the transportation industry
at that point. He also followed stock raising
for a number of years, but some time before
his death he retired from active business and
enjoyed a cjuiet evening of life.

Mr. Linn always took a lively interest in
all matters of local concern, and was ever an
active worker in political campaigns, his party
affiliations being with the Republicans. He
was a member of Walla Walla Lodge, No.
7, F. & A. M. In Walla Walla valley, on
July 4, 1870, our subject married Caroline
James, a native of Kansas, and an old pioneer
of the coast. They became parents of six chil-
dren: John E., manager of the warehouse at
Wallula : Elizabeth, wife of W. F. Burger, of
Dayton; William H., deceased; and three that

45^

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

died in infancy. !Mrs. Linn passed away in
1882, and her remains lie buried in the Ma-
sonic cemeter}'. J\Ir. Linn's death occurred at
his residence in Wallula on December 4, 1900.
His demise was very sudden, his last illness
beino^ of but one hour's duration.

RICHARD GINN, deceased, of W^alla
Walla, was born in Fife, Scotland, January
4, 1820. His father died when he was quite
young, and in 1836 he came with his mother
to Cornwall, Ontario. He was reared on a
farm and received his education in the com-
mon schools. He followed the occupation of
a farmer in Canada for twenty years, then
removed to Fairpoint, Minnesota, purchased
a farm of one hundred and sixty acres and
for ten years was engaged in wheat raising
there.

JMr. Ginn then came to Umatilla county,
Oregon, and located one hundred and sixty
acres of land near the town of Weston. To
this from time to time he added by purchase
of school and railroad land and by taking a
timber culture claim until he had six hun-
dred and forty acres. He was the first farmer
to raise wheat in the hills near Weston, and
threshed his product by using horses to tramp
it out on the ground. He afterwards sold part
of his land and purchased four hundred and
eighty acres in Sherman county, Oregon.

After a residence of twenty-eight years
near Weston, Mr. Ginn was compelled, on
account of failing health, to abandon the hard
life of a farmer and remove to W'alla W^alla.
He purchased a beautiful home at No. 626
Whitm.an street, where he resided until the
date of his death, April 8, 1899. Two of his
sons continue to operate his large farm, which

he deeded to them before his death, also one
of two hundred acres seven miles south of
W^alla Walla, in Oregon.

While a resident of JMinnesota i\Ir. Ginn
was active in establishing the public-school
system of that state, serving as school director
and aiding in the building of school houses.
^Vhile a resident of Oregon he was for a time
road appraiser. In Scotland he was a mem-
ber of the Orangemen, and while living in
iMinnesota he joined the Grange, becoming a
charter member of Fairpoint Lodge some
thirty-six years ago.

iMr. Ginn married, on iNIarch 19, 1857,
i\Iiss Catherine Kinnear. a native of Cornwall,
Ontario. Her father, who landed in Canada
i\lay -S, 1 819, was born in Ireland of Scotch
extraction, and her mother in England. iMr.
and iMrs. Ginn were both members of the
Congregational church of Walla Walla, and
iNIrs. Ginn still continues to take an acti\-e in-
terest in the work of that society. In the
family are ten children: Robert J., at present
a merchant in Moro. Oregon; Eliza J. died
December 16, 1872; Ella iM., now Mrs. J. R.
iMorrison, of Fort Langley, B. C. ; Annie S.,
now wife of William Elliot, of Walla Walla;
Caroline A., now iMrs. Thomas Thompson,
of Pendleton, Oregon; John A., deceased;
Walter T., on his father's old farm; Maggie
J., wife of Alexander Brady; George A., also
on the farm; iMinnie A., with her mother.
Three of the children, Maggie, George and
iMinnie, are graduates of the Weston Normal
School. The entire family are benevolently
disposed people, and have assisted liberally in
the building of churches wherever they have
lived and in the 'support of all charitable in-
stitutions.

As illustrative of the conditions under
which many of the early pioneers began life

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

439

in the valley we may note that when Mr. and
Mrs. Ginn arrived in Weston their earthly be-
longings consisted of a wagon and two horses
and nineteen dollars in greenbacks, then worth
about ninety per cent, of their face value.
Their nearest trading point was Walla Walla,
twenty miles distant, and thither they had to
go for the provisions and household articles
necessary for their first rude home. But such
was the dauntless spirit which characterized
these early pioneers that they overcame every
obstacle and mastered every opposing force,
though the manner of achieving their victories
is often a mystery to' the rising generation.

ALBERT E. REID, a pioneer of 1882,
and now one of the leading business men of
Wallula, is a native of Ontario, Canada, born
November i, 1847. He acquired his educa-
tion in the excellent schools for which that
pro\-ince is noted, then engaged in railroading,
an occupation which he* followed until about
twenty-five years old. In 1872, he removed
to Washington, D. C, but failing to find con-
ditions as he expected, he soon went thence to
Virginia, where for about four years he fol-
lowed the dairy business. On retiring from
that, he revisited Canada, not to remain, how-
ever, for before long we find him in Dakota,
and again in railroad work. In 1882, he de-
cided to try his fortune further west, so came
out to Walla Walla county, took pre-emption
where Wallula now is, and performed such
duties in connection with it as the law recjuired
for perfecting his title, at the same time work-
ing in the employ of the N. P. R. R. Company.
He remained with that company until 1894,
and took a prominent part in the big railway
strike, serving as chairman of the striking
committee.

Since the date mentioned Mr. Reid has
given his attention to the mercantile business,
and now has a good establishment and an ex-
cellent trade in the town of Wallula. He held
the position of postmaster of the town for a
time under appointment by President Cleve-
land. Mr. Reid is quite extensively interested
in Wallula property, a considerable portion of
the site being his, so that he naturally takes
an active interest in promoting in every honor-
able way the welfare of his home town.
He is, however, too broad-minded and public-
spirited to confine his interests to merely local
matters, the larger affairs of state and nation
receiving a share of his attention. He is one of
tb.e representative men of the Democratic party
in his part of the state, and was appointed by
that party a delegate to the convention that
nominated Charles S. Vorhees for congress
in territorial times.

Mr. Reid was married in Wallula, Decem-
ber 25, 1888, to Miss Emma S. Kuechen, a
native of Burlington, Iowa, whom he met while
she was visiting her uncle, Mr. C. A. Linn,
in 1883. To their union have been born two
children, Martha and Albert.

WILLIAM CALLAHAN, one of the lead-
ing farmers in the vicinity of Pleasant View,
is a native of West Virginia, born in 1867.
His parents were natives of Ireland, but both
came to America while young, and they were
is a native of West Virginia, born in 1867.
quired his education in his native state, and
when nineteen set out for the west. He came
as far as Colorado, stopped there a year, then
came on to Bakersfield, California, where he
also passed a year. Subsequently he engaged
in railroad work for the Southern Pacific

440

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Railroad Company, by which he was employed
until 1890. In that year he entered the serv-
ice of the Northern Pacific Company at Cen-
tralia. where he resided until 1892. He then
took a trip to Montana. In 1893 he returned
to this state, going first to the sound country,
\\-hence the same year he came to Walla Walla
county. Locating at Pleasant View, he pur-
chased a quarter section of land, homesteaded
another adjoining, and began wheat raising.
By industry and good management he has
won for himself a comfortable home and a
rank among the best farmers of his neigh-
borhood.

SAMUEL J. SAIITH. a farmer at Clyde,
is a native of Tennessee, born August 2, 1871.
He lived in his native state until ten years old,
then came with his parents to the state of
^^'ashington, where he grew to manhood and
received his education. The family bought land
on Eureka flat in 1881 and engaged in farm-
ing, and Mr. Smith remained at home assist-
ing his father until the latter's death, then took
full charge of the farm. He now ranks among
the most extensive and successful tillers of the
soil in Walla W^alla county, being the owner
of about three thousand acres of land. He is
an industrious, enterprising and progressive
young man, enjoying the respect and esteem of
all his neighbors. He is, in fraternal connec-
tion, a member of the Knights of Pythias
Lodge, No. 8. of Walla Walla. On December
4, 1898, he was married in Walla Walla to
Miss Xora Eliert. a native of Illinois, who
came with her parents to Eureka flat in 1895.
They have one daughter, Florence E., born De-
cember 10, 1899. Airs. Smith is a member of
the M. E. church of Walla Walla.

Mr. Smith's mother, ]\Iarv E. Ebert, was

born in Tennessee November 26, 1828. She
resided in Knox county, that state, until 1881,
then came with her husband to Eureka flat,
where they took up land. On January 12,
1898, she was left a widow. Her land includes
a fine tract of eighty acres, adjoining the town
of Clyde. Mrs. Smith has eight living children,
William G., Oliver T., Robert ]\I.. Samuel J.,
Harvev L., Ichn W., Laura A. and Victoria.

JOHN WICKERSHAM. a farmer resi-
dent about ten miles east of W^alla Walla, is
a native of Belmont county, Ohio, born in
1 83 1. He lived in that state until twenty-five
years old, engaged in farming, then went to
Iowa, where his home was until, in 1862, he
came to Walla Walla. His first winter in the
new country was passed on Birch creek. In
the spring he moved into the city of W^alla
Walla, and from that time until 1866 he was
employed in teaming to the mines, but he then
purchased what was known as the old Bab-
cock place, and again became a farmer. Be-
fore long, however, he sold out and moved
to Touchet, where he spent a year.

Subsequently Mr. Wickersham came to the
neighborhood in which he now lives, and ac-
quired land by pre-emption and purchase until
he had a farm of over a thousand acres. For
a number of years afterwards he was one of
the most extensive wheat raisers in the coun-
ty, but latterly he has operated on a somewhat
smaller scale. He is a man of energy and in-
tegrity, and his standing in the community
in which he resides is of the highest. He has
been quite active in the campaigns and coun-
sels of the Populist party since its organiza-
tion, and has served as a delegate to its state
conventions. His fraternal connections are

SAMUEL J. SMITH

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

441

with the Pioneers of the Pacific, an insurance
order, of which he is an honorary member.
In Iowa, in the month of October, 1856,
our subject married Christina Albertson, and
of their marriage have been born ten children,
namely: Isaac Newton, George M., May E.,
Charles C. (deceased), Cora B., John S., Will-
iam T. (deceased), Alfred L., Mary (de-
ceased), and Rosetta (deceased).

county he served as deputy under that officer,
in Wallula precinct. He was married June 18,
1892, to Miss Mitta Doke, a native of Wallula,
daughter of one of the old pioneers of the
\-alley. They have one adopted child.

SAMUEL A. ASH, a pioneer of 1877, was
born in Vermont on July 17, 1856. He resided
in his native state continuously until twenty-
one years old, receiving a common school edu-
cation, but as soon as he had attained his ma-
jority he came direct to Walla \\''alla county,
located at Wallula, old town, and engaged in
the business of handling sheep, taking charge
at first of Mr. Charles Buck's herds. He after-
wards entered the employ of Legrow &
Adams, for whom he was manager for fifteen
consecutive years. He invested his earnings
in sheep, soon acquiring quite a large herd of
his own, and though he now gives his time to
other pursuits, he still owns three thousand
eight hundred head. He has been interested
in the saloon business in Wallula since 1891,
also in a mercantile establishment in the same
town since 1898.

Though without mone}' or influential
friends when he arrived in Walla Walla coun-
ty, he has by industry, frugality and careful
management succeeded in accumulating a mod-
erate fortune. Besides his Wallula property
and his stock, he is the owner of seven thousand
acres in the county, mostly hay and pasture
land.

Mr. Ash now is and for several years has
been deputy county sheep commissioner, and
while Mr. Ellingsworth was sheriff of the

JOHN GASTON. — The respected pioneer
whose name gives caption to this brief bio-
graphical review was born in county Antrim,
Ireland, on December 24, 1827, and in his
veins, mingled together in equal proportions,
are the blood of that energetic, impulsive race
and the no less energetic but more staid and
serene Scot. Mr. Gaston remained in his na-
tive land until eighteen years of age, receiving
the advantage of the excellent public schools
of Belle Mene. On July 11, 1845, however,
he, with his father and all his brothers and sis-
ters (his mother having died some eight years
before), set sail for the new world, and after
a stormy voyage lasting about two months,
they at length arrived in Castle Garden, New
York, whence they at once removed to Balti-
more. In that historic city the family made
their home for a number of years, and there,
on April 23, 1853, they were deprived of pa-
rental guidance entirely by the death of the
father.

Mr. Gaston had been employed prior to this
time as a porter in P. T. Barnum's hotel, at
that time supposed to be the largest in the
United States, but shortly after his father's
demise he resolved to try his fortunes in Cali-
fornia. Accordingly, he took passage on a
vessel bound for the south with a view to.
reaching his destination by the Nicaragua
route, and on October 31, 1853, he landed
in San Francisco. After a short stay, he went
to the Nevada City mines, where for several
years he was engaged in the effort to pene-

442

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

trate nature's vaults, and win therefrom the
hidden treasure. Later, he estabhshed a vege-
table garden in that region, a venture which
turned out well and continued to net him con-
siderable revenue until the mines closed down.

Mr. Gaston thereupon moved to Walla
Walla, with which city he has been identified
ever since the date of his arrival, June 6, 1862.
His first business in the new country was
packing and freighting into the mines of Ida-
ho, in which industry he used mule-teams.
He continued to devote his energies to this,
making several trips into Montana, also, for
about eight years, after which he engaged in
the lodging house business at No. 10 South
Fourth street, where he has ever since resided.
He is quite extensively interested in Walla
Walla realty, being the owner not only of the
house in which he lives and maintains his
business, but also of several lots on Knob Hill,
and of other property.

Mr. Gaston has seen a great deal of pioneer
life in the west, and in him are developed fully
all the best traits which characterize that hon-
ored class. During his long residence in
Walla Walla, his life has ever been so ordered
as to secure and retain the confidence, esteem
and good will of those with whom he has had
business or social relations, and he is the
fortunate possessor of an enviable reputation
and standing in the city. Fraternally he is
affiliated with the Masonic order, being a
member of Walla Walla Lodge No. 7, and also
of the Chapter.

On June 6, 1892, the marriage of our sub-
ject and Mrs. Mary J. Evans was solemnized
in this county. Mrs. Gaston is a native of
Ireland, but has been a resident of the United
States ever since her nineteenth year. Mr.
Gaston was reared and has ever remained an
old school Presbyterian.

SETH A. FERREL, a farmer residing
about eleven and a half miles east of Walla
Walla, was torn in this county in 1868. He
received such education as the local public
schools afforded, then gave his time to the
cultivation of the paternal farm until about
1888. He then purchased one hundred and
twenty acres, and started farming for himself.
At present he is farming and raising stock on
this land, and on one thousand acres which he
rents from his father for use as pasture. He
has a splendid orchard of ten acres, and many
other improvements, which bear testimony to
his industry and thrift. He is the owner of one
hundred and seventy head of cattle and horses,
and besides his real estate holdings in this
county has title to some very good residence
property in Seattle. In fraternal affiliations,
he is identified with the Modern Woodmen of
America. He was married in Walla ^Valla
county, in 1888, to Miss Elysia Wickersham,
daughter of one of the early pioneers of the
county, and their union has been blest by the
advent of three children, Clyde B., Edith Flor-
ence and Harrv.

WILLIAM H. CARNES, a saddle and
harness maker with C. E. Nye, is one of the
pioneers of Walla Walla, having lived in that
city since 1880. He was born in Louisville,
Kentucky, December 27, 1843. Ii"" 1853, his
parents removed to Indianapolis, Indiana,
where they remained for five years, then remov-
ing to Danville, Indiana.

At the age of eighteen years, Air. Carnes
responded to the first call of President Lincoln
for volunteers. He enlisted in Company A,
Seventh Indiana Infantry, under Colonel Du-
mont for the three months service, taking part

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

443-

in the first fight at Phillippi, West Virginia,
which occurred several days before the battle
of Bull Run. At the expiration of his three
months enlistment, he re-enlisted for three
years or during the war, in the Fifty-third
Indiana Infantry, under Colonel Walter O.
Gresham, late secretary of state in the cabinet
of President Cleveland. Mr. Carnes served
with his regiment through the entire war, being-
under General Grant until after the surrender
of Vickslmrg, then under General Sherman
through the Atlanta campaign and the famous
march to the sea.

At the close of his three years, Mr. Carnes
re-enlisted for three years more in the veteran
service. He was witli Sherman's triumphant
army in the campaign from Savannah through
South Carolina and North Carolina, terminat-
ing in the surrender of General Joe Johnston,
near Raleigh, in April, 1865. He also was with
the army in its march to Washington city and
took part in the grand review in the national
capital. His regiment was then returned to
Indianapolis, where they were mustered out.
Mr. Carnes was wounded at the battle of At-
lanta, being shot in the left foot during a
charge, and was incapacitated for active service
for about two months, but being a mounted
courier, did not take a discharge. He par-
ticipated in the battle of Shiloh, the siege of
Corinth, battle of Hatchie river, the Vicksburg
campaign and siege, the raid on Meridian,
Mississippi, in the winter of 1863 and '64, and
in the engagement at Jackson, Mississippi,
after the Vicksburg surrender.

Upon being mustered out, he removed to,
Fairbury, Illinois, where he served an appren-
ticeship of three years to a harness maker.
He then went to Princeton, Arkansas, and
opened a grocery store in connection with a
harness shop and saddlery. In the spring of

1873 hs removed to San Francisco, where he-
followed his trade until March, 1880, removing
then to Walla Walla. For two years he was
employed in the harness shop of Thomas
Ouinn, after which he opened a shop of his own
on East Main street. In 1891, his place was
destroyed by fire and he lost his shop with his
entire stock and tools, and he then accepted
his present position with C. E. Nye.

Mr. Carnes is a member of the Knights of
Pythias, Columbia Lodge, No. 8, of Walla
Walla, and of Lincoln Post, No. 4, G. A. R.,
in which he is a past commander. He has
represented his post as a delegate to the depart-
ment encampment and has served as aide-de-
camp on the staff of the commander in chief
of the G. A. R. He was married in Danville,
Indiana, November 10, 1869, to Miss Elizabeth
Kempton, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio.

WALTER S. FERGUSON, a farmer, re-
siding about seven miles east of Walla Walla^
is a son of the west, having been born in Doug-
las county, Oregon, in 1866. He came with the
remainder of the family to Walla Walla coun-
ty, in 1872, and his first home in this section
was about three miles east of the place where he
now resides. He received a good education,
enjoying the advantages both of the public
schools and of Whitman College, then engaged
in farming as an occupation. He is now the
owner of three hundred and twenty acres of
fine land, and is engaged in raising wheat
principally, though he also gives some atten-
tion to other farm products. He is one of the
solid and substantial citizens of the county, and
though not ambitious for leadersliip or personal
preferment, enjoys an abundant measure of the
esteem and good will of his neighbors. He-

444

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

married, in this county, in 1895, Miss Jessie
Ma}' Foster, a member of one of the earhest
pioneer families and they ha\-e two children,
Cecil ^^'. and Bessie L. The family are mem-
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church.

ELI W. CROUP. D. D. S.— Walla Walla,
like most other western cities, is supplied with
a large corps of able and efficient professional
men many of whom are among the choicest
products of the finest colleges, universities and
professional schools in the land. Prominent
among them is Eli \\'. Croup, one of the
leading dental surgeons in eastern Washington.
He was born in Butler, Pennsylvania, on April
18, 1852, and in the public schools of that
town he took his initial steps in the pursuit
of an education. He supplemented his thorough
common school training by a complete course
in Witherspoon Seminary, and immediately
after graduation began the study of dentistry
under Dr. S. R. Dififenbaucher. Five years
were given to the study and practice of dentist-
ry, and at the end of this protracted appren-
ticeship Dr. Croup became a partner of his
former preceptor. This partnership continued
until the death of Dr. Dififenbaucher, where-
upon Dr. Croup purchased his partner's inter-
ests and continued the business alone. His skill
and assiduity brought him a very large patron-
age, and the net annual earnings of his office
ran up into the thousands of dollars, but failing
health soon compelled him to seek a more
salubrious climate.

Accordingly, Dr. Croup placed his business
in charge of an assistant and came west, arriv-
ing in Walla Walla August 6, 1884. He
found the conditions and prospects very favor-
able, and, though he could not do so without
material sacrifice, he soon decided to make this

city his permanent home. He sold his business
in the east, brought his family to ^^'alla Walla
and prepared to engage in the practice of his
profession here, LIntil 1896, he maintained an
office in the Kirkman building, but the growth
of his practice rendered larger and more con-
venient offices necessary, so he then moved to
the Ouinn building, where we now find him.
The present firm. Croup Bros., was formed in
1895, when the Doctor took his younger
brother, who had also become a dentist of abili-
ty, into partnership.

Dr. Croup is thoroughly devoted to his
profession, and has given the assiduous efforts
of many years to the mastery of everything per-
taing to diseases of the mouth and teeth
and to their treatment. In furtherance of this
end he, in 1893, took an extended post-graduate
course in Haskell's Prosthetic School of Dent-
istry in Chicago.

In fraternal affiliations, the Doctor is iden-
tified with the Woodmen of the W^orld, Camp
Xo. 96, of ^^'alla \\'alla, while in religious
persuasion, he and his entire family are [Metho-
dists, their membership being in the First
Methodist Episcopal church of this city.

Dr. Croup was married on the 28th of
March, 1879, to Miss Susan D. Eshingbaugh,
a native of Butler, Pennsylvania, and to their
union two children have been born : Estella
May, who will graduate in vocal music from a
m.usical college in Chicago in June, 1901 ; and
[Myrtle Gail, a pupil in the public schools of
Walla Walla.

ALFRED C. WELLMAX. a farmer
near Clyde, is a native of .\labama, born Xo-
vember 3, 1835. \Mien a year old he was
tc'.ken by his parents to [Missouri, where his
father became an extensive farmer and mer-

ALFRED C. WELLMAN

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

445

chant. Mv. Wellman attended the pubhc
schools until he acquired a good general educa-
tion, then in 1855 took charge of his father's
eleven-hundred-acre farm. In 1862 the father
died. The next year the famil)' started across
the plains with ox-teams to Walla Walla coun-
ty, where, shortly after his arrival, Mr. Well-
man took a pre-emption on Dry creek. He
also engaged in mining in Idaho, and succeeded
in locating some very rich claims.

In 1871 Mr. Wellman was elected county
assessor of Walla Walla county, and at the ex-
piration of his term he became deputy sheriff,
serving for two )'ears. He then made a trip
east in the interest of a patent calculator, one
of his own invention. On his return he went
to Silver City, Idaho, where he mined until
1876. He then located a timber culture on
Eureka flat, and became one of the pioneer ag-
riculturists of that section. He now owns and
farms six hundred and forty acres on Eureka
flat, raising wheat.

He is an energetic and progressive man,
highly esteemed in his community, and re-
spected as one who may be relied upon to do
as he agrees at all times. He was married
in April, 1855, to Miss Helen M. Merritt, a
native of Missouri, and to them have been born
seven children, Charles V., Alice C, Richard
H., Percy L., Mary J., Mark A. and Al C. In
fraternal affiliations Mr. Wellman is identified
with the Elks. Mrs. Wellman is a member of
thic Christian church, having joined the so-
ciety of that faith in New London, Missouri,
in 1855.

was taken by parents, when a small boy. His
father followed lumbering and milling in Mich-
igan, but, in 1855, he and his son, Charles T.,
together came to Iowa, where they bought
land, and turned their attention to the business
of tilling the soil. In the fall of 1879, Mr.
Sweetser came, via San Francisco, to Looking
Glass valley, and embarked in the lumber in-
dustry, but, the following spring, he moved
to Prescott, took a homestead of one hundred
and sixty acres, and a timber culture of one
hundred and sixty more four miles north of
that town and started farming. He has been
engaged in that industry continuously since,
with excellent success, and has a fine, well
cultivated farm. His home and surround-
ings bear eloquent testimony to his thrift,
energy and progressiveness. He was mar-
ried in Iowa, in 1874, to Miss Ella M.
Haviland, a native of Illinois, but a resident
of Iowa from her twelfth year until the date
of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Sweetser are
parents of three children, living: Viola, born
September 8, 1875; Grace, born September 3,
1886; Pansy, born January 9, 1889; also one,
Archie, deceased. '

CHARLES T. SWEETSER, a farmer
near Prescott, is a native of Maine, born De-
cember 10, 1849. He was reared and educated
in Port Huron, Michigan, to which city he

GEORGE HARRIS CHAMBERLIN, one
of the most respected business men of Walla
Walla, is the present secretary and manager
of the Chamberlin Lumber Company, No. 213
East Rose street. He is the son of George H.
Chamberlin and was born at Rock Falls, Wis-
consin, July 5, 1865, where he grew to man-
hood-, receiving his education in Galesville
University of Wisconsin, from which he grad-
uated in 1886. He engaged in the lumber busi-
ness in Wisconsin as an employee of the Eau
Claire Lumber Company, with whom he re-

446

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

mained two years. After this, he spent about
a year in traveling, but finally decided to come
Avest and in December, 1888, settled at
Bucoda, Washington. There he was employed
by the Seatco Manufacturing Company for
about eighteen months.

On June 30, 1890, ]\Ir. Chamberlin came to
Walla W'alla to look after the interests of the
Bucoda company, and that he continued to do
until March, 1889. When, on that date, the
company Avas reorganized and the present firm
formed, he was elected secretary and manager.
He owns a large part of the stock of the com-
pany and to his efforts its success has been
largely due. Their business has been liberally
patronized and the growth of their trade is
very gratifying and satisfactor}-.

]Mr. Chamberlin was married ]March 10,
1887, in ^leridian, Wisconsin, to Harriet E.
"Garland, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. B.
Garland. Her father was manager of the Eau
Claire Lumber Company's interests at ]Merid-
ian, Wisconsin, and a highly respected citizen
of that community. Mr. Chamberlin is a mem-
ber of Blue ^lountain Lodge, No. 13, F. & A.
M., and belongs also to Walla Walla Chapter,
No. I, Royal Arch Masons, and to Washing-
ton Commandery, No. i, Knights Templar,
also to the Society of Colonial Wars, in the
state of Minnesota.

Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlin and their two
children, Louise and Helen, reside at 421
Lincoln street. They are members of St.
Paul's Episcopal church.

where he resided until 1862, engaged in farm-
ing. Li that year, however, he started across
the plains with ox-teams, taking six months
to make the journey. He, with his family,
lived on Cottonwood creek the first winter, but
the following spring they bought land seven
miles southeast of Walla Walla, where Mr.
Shelton passed the remainder of his days, and
where his wife still lives. He was for many
years engaged in the nursery business, and sup-
plied the stock for many a fine orchard.

]\Ir. Shelton was always looked upon, dur-
ing his lifetime, as one of the leading spirits of
his community, and was frequently elected to
local offices." For several seasons he served
as director of the school district in which he re-
sided, and he also held the offices of road
overseer, justice of the peace and constable
at different times. Mr. Shelton was married
in Davis' county, Iowa, in 1850, to Margaret
Earnst. who survives him and lives on the
home which they had at the time of his death.
Thev had one son, William Allen.

WILLIA^I M. SHELTON, deceased, was
"born in Indiana in 1827. He passed his early
youth and received his education in that state,
"but when nineteen years old moved to Iowa,

CHARLES A. TYSON, a pioneer of 1S77,
is a native of New York, born May 4, 1846.
He was taken by parents to Illinois while still
in his early youth, and in that state and the
state of Nebraska he grew to manhood and
was educated. He removed to Calfornia in
1873, and in 1877 came north to Oregon,
whence, three years later, he proceeded to the
Walla Walla valley. Locating in the vicinity
of Wallula, he secured some land and engaged
in farming and stock raising, and that occupa-
tion he has followed continuously since with
good success.

]Mrs. Tyson owns a half section near ^^'al-
lula, and a quarter section in Umatilla county.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

447

Oregon, upon which they keep, besides other
stock, a large bunch of horses. Our subject
is a prosperous ranchman, a good neighbor, and
an estimable member of society. Li the state
of Nebraska, in 1867, he married Loretta
Sapp, who died in 1872, leaving two children,
Belle, wife of Frank Martin, and James F.
He married again in January, 1880, the lady
being Mrs. Matilda A. Warner, a native of
Ohio, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas
Burdett, and of this union two children have
been born, Robert and Charles R.

Mrs. Tyson's first husband, George Warner,
was an early pioneer of the coast, having come
to California in 1852. In 1861, he settled in
Walla Walla county, a half mile east of Wallu-
la, where he resided until death overtook him,
March 22, 1877. He is survived by two chil-
dren, Jessie, iiow Mrs. Gustavais Kuhlenkomp,
and George ^V. Mr. Warner was quite promi-
nent in local affairs during the years he spent
in the neighborhood of Wallula, serving as jus-
tice of the peace, and at different times hold-
ing municipal offices.

AMOS CUMMINGS. a pioneer of 1867,
and a man who has long been very prominent
in the development of Walla ^VaHa county, is
a native of Indiana, born January 9, 1832.
When ten years old, he accompanied his parents
to Rock county, Wisconsin, where he resided
until man's estate had been reached and where
he completed his public school education. In
1850, he crossed the plains to California, ex-
periencing considerable trouble with the In-
dians, two of his party being killed and many
head of cattle stolen. On his arrival in the
Golden state, he engaged in mining on the

Feather river, where, by an unfortunate acci-
dent, he was crippled for life. He was caught
under a falling tree, and had an arm and a
leg broken.

In 1852, he returned, via the isthmus, to
Wisconsin, and in 1853 he engaged in the mer-
chandise business in Mitchell county, Iowa,
where he lived and prospered until 1857. In
that year he moved to Linn county, Kansas,
and for the next decade was a farmer there.
He also served as a member of the militia dur-
ing the final years of the war. In August,
1867, he again set out across the plains, and
early the next year he was established in a
hotel business in Old Wallula. He was, for
several years afterwards, one of the popular
hotel men of the town, but in 1870 he started
a mercantile establishment there. Subsecjuent-
ly, he removed to Wallula Junction, and entered
into partnership with his brother in a general
merchandise business in that town, but this
they long since sold out. For seventeen years
prior to 1892 he served as postmaster in Wal-
lula, but since withdrawing from that office he
has lived in practical retirement, at least from
business. Since 1896, he has been living on his
two-hundred-acre farm, engaged in raising
alfalfa hay and some stock.

Mr. Cummings has long held a place of
leadership in the county government, serving
in all about ten years on the board of county
commissioners, and being chairman of that
board which built the court hou^e. Recently
he has been again elected as a commissioner
to serve until 1903.

Mr. Cummings has been a ]\Iason for
thirty-five years, his membership at present be-
ing in the Walla Walla Lodge, No. 8. He was
married in Iowa, May 3, 1857, to Miss Susan
E. Babb. a native of Indiana, and they have
six children, three of whom are living, namely :

448

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Alice M., now wife of M. L. Johnson; Joseph
J., and Edgar, at present a soldier in the Philip-
pines.

URIAS S. HARMAN, one of the pioneers
of Walla Walla, was born near the Canadian
line in the state of New York, April i8, 1840.
When he was seven years of age, the family
removed to New Bremen, Cook county, Illi-
nois, whence they later moved to Joliet, going
thence twelve months afterward to Davenport,
Iowa, where for ten years they lived on a farm,
and where Mr. Harman completed his educa-
tion. From his sixteenth to his twenty-first year
he was employed as a farm laborer. In Sep-
tember, 1861, he enlisted in Company E, Sec-
ond Iowa Cavalry, under Captain Hendricks,
and served three years and one month. He
took part in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth,
White Station, West Point, Franklin, Nash-
ville and others and in numerous skirmishes.
At Pittsburg Landing, his regiment charged a
Confederate battery of si.x guns and lost twen-
ty men and about two hundred horses, but
silenced the battery.

After being mustered out in September,
1864, Mr. Harman located in Clinton coun-
ty, Iowa, and again engaged in farming. In
1869 he removed to Sioux City, Iowa,
and in the spring of 1877 emigrated to
California. He was employed about four
months there* as a farm hand, but then came
to Portland, Oregon, whence, shortlv after-
wards, he removed to Walla Walla valley. He
settled on a farm on Mill creek where he lived
until 1897, but in that year he removed to
Walla Walla, in which city he has since resided.
He is now employed as janitor of the Sharp-
stein school.

:\Ir. Harman was married at Grand Mound

Iowa, June 28, 1868, to Miss Sarah A. Great-
tra.x, a native of Alassachusetts, whose parents
were pioneers of Illinois and Iowa. Their chil-
dren are Francis E., an engineer in the mines
of the John Jay district; Charles W., a farmer
in this county; and Lester L., a printer on the
Walla W^alla Union. Mr. Harman is a member
of Abraham Lincoln Post, Grand Army of the
Republic, of Walla Walla.

The family are members of the Episcopal
church. The son, Charles W., was a member
of the First Washington Volunteers in the
Spanish-American war, belonging to Company
I, commanded by Captain Buffam, and he was
all through the Philippine campaign, taking
part in all the engagements in which his regi-
ment participated, prominent among which
were the battles at Pasig river and Paco church.

JOSEPH W. HARBERT, one of the old-
est pioneers of Walla \\'alla county, was born
in Alontgomery county, Indiana. September
-5- 1835. He passed the first nine years of
his life there, then moved with his father to
Dubucjue, Iowa, whence two years later he
went to Linn county, same state. Here he re-
mained until ^lay 10. 1S59, when he set out
across the plains to the west, making the trip
\\ith ox-teams. On the twenty-fourth anni-
versary of his birth he arrived in Walla Walla,
and from that time until the present day he
has been a very efficient factor in the upbuild-
ing and development of the county.

Mr. Harbert busied himself during the win-
ter of 1859-60 in. riving the first shingles ever
put upon a house in this city. His next em-
ployment was freighting with ox-teams from
The Dalles to ^^'alla ^Va!la for the Bagleys,
and after making two trips he entered the em-

J. W. HARBERT

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

449

ploy of Mr. Charles Russell, who had a contract
to deliver one hundred tons of freight to Pend
d'Oreille Lake. \\'hile on his third trip in this
delivery he and his partner were the only white
men between that lake and the Snake river.
Our subject worked for Mr. Russell for about
a year and a half, then was in partnership with
him in the freighting industry one summer,
but in the fall of 1862 they dissolved partner-
ship, dividing the teams, and from that time
until 1866 Mr. Harbert hauled freight on his
own sole account. In that year, however, he
bought land four miles east of Walla Walla,
where he has ever since resided. He now has
a fine farm of twelve hundred acres, well im-
proved and cultivated, and furnished with ex-
cellent buildings, and the magnitude of his in-
dustry may be imagined when it is remembered
that he keeps about seventy-five head of horses
for his own use. His principal crop is wheat,
though he is also more extensively interested
in the production of corn than any other man
in the county, having raised over one hundred
acres per year of this product for the last
twenty years. He has ten acres of prunes and
four acres planted to other varieties of fruit.
]\Ir. Harbert is a very industrious, enter-
prising man, possessed of a sturdy pioneer
spirit, and, as before intimated, has borne an
important part in the industrial development of
Walla Walla county. He deserves an honored
place among the builders of the west. On
July 13, 1866, in Lewiston, Idaho, he married
Miss Emma Evans, who died in January, 1878,
leaving six children, Henry F., Ida H., Alvin
L., Floy, Homer L. and Liberty. Mr. Har-
bert was again married, on April 8, 1884, in
Cheney, Washington, to Lizzie C. DeGroff, and
of this union three children have been born,
Cora, deceased, Clifford and Hazel.

JOSEPH LAFORTUNE, whose connec-
tion with the city and county of Walla Walla,
dates back to 1883, was born in Canada in
i860. He acquired his education in the public
schools of his native land, then removed to
Michigan, where he was employed in the iron
mines and in the lumber camps until he came to
the state of Washington. For a number of years
after his arrival here, he busied himself with
various kinds of work, but in 1889 he received
a permanent position from Mr. D. H. Henroid,
by whom he was employed until 1894. He
then engaged in business for himself in com-
pany with Mr. Genevay.

Our subject's interest in the town is mani-
fested in many ways, but finds more specific
expression in the fact that for years he has
belonged to the volunteer fire department. He
is quite a prominent man in fraternal circles,
being an active member in the Catholic Knights
of America, the Young Men's Institute, the
Eagles, and the Improved Order of Red Men.
On February 5, 1894, he was united in mar-
riage to Miss Elmira Bergevin, a native of
Walla Walla, daughter of early pioneer parents.
They have three children, Lucille, Joseph, and
Lester.

GEORGE H. MIDDLETON, a hotel-
keeper at Waitsburg, was born in Shefiield,
England, April 7, 1855. He attended the
schools of his fatherland for a time, but when
only sixteen, emigrated to America, accom-
panied by his mother, a widow, and by his
uncle and sister, all of whom have since
died. He located in Kansas, but was not
there many years before the call came for
volunteers for the Indian war, and he en-
listed. He served under General Canbv three

450

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

years. At the close of hostilities, he took a
homestead and timber culture in Lane county,
Kansas, where he farmed uninterruptedly until
1 88 1, when he came to Walla XValla.

For the first five years after his arrival here,
Mr. Middleton was engaged in the restaurant
business, but in 1886 removed to Rulo Sta-
tion on the Hunt railroad, fifteen miles north
of Walla Walla, and resumed farming. He
was there until 1893, then returned to Walla
Walla, renting a farm. He tried the dray busi-
ness in this city for three years, but at length
tiring of that, returned to his place at Rulo,
and again became a tiller of the soil, remaining
in that occupation until quite recently.

Since September 22, 1900, however, he has
been proprietor of the leading hotel in Waits-
burg. His farm of one hundred and sixty
acres he lets out to other parties. Mr. Middle-
ton is one of the respected men of the town in
which he lives, and stands well in every other
neighborhood in the county in which he has
resided. He was married in ]\Iilton, Oregon,
January i, 1893, to Miss Eleanor L. Owen, a
native of California, and they have one living-
child. Lorena G., born October 27, 1893.

J. BL'ROKER, a farmer, residing five and
a half miles east of Walla Walla, was born in
Ohio, January 18, 1845. He lived there until
twelve years old, then moved with the remain-
der of the family to Montgomery county, ]Mis-
souri, whence, three years later, he \\'ent to
Iowa. He was a resident of that state until
April, 1864, then set out across the plains with
teams to AA'alla AA'alla. He remained here from
the time of his arrival until September, 1885,
when he went to Linn county, Oregon, where
the ensuing three years were passed. Returning,

then, to this county, he took a homestead and
purchased a quarter section of land on Mill
creek, not far from his present place of abode.
In June, 1883, he bought the farm on which
he now lives. He is the owner of three hundred
and seventy-five acres of fine land, and is en-
gaged principally in producing wheat. An in-
dustrious, progressive, enterprising man, he
stands well in the community in which he re-
sides, though he does not seem to be specially
ambitious for personal preferment, or leader-
ship among his confreres. He was married in
\\'alla Walla county, December 9, 1877, to
INIiss Josephine Patterson, also a pioneer of the
west, and they have one child, Claudia.

CHARLES A. JACOBS, proprietor of the
Perfection creamery and dairj-, half a mile
west of Touchet, is a pioneer of 1862, having
been brought to this valley from Oregon by
his parents in that year. His father crossed the
plains to Oregon at a' very early date, and was
connected with the early development of
various parts of the northwest until his death,
which occurred in Walla Walla. His mother,
now Mrs. J. H. Lasater, still li\-es in this city.

Mr. Jacobs was born in Oregon in i860,
was brought to the county, as before stated,
when two years old, and after a brief stay
was taken to Boise, Idaho, where he lived until
1870, and where he took his first steps in the
pursuit of an education. He has, howe\-er. re-
sided in this count}' since that date, complet-
ing his public school training here. He began
his career as a merchant at Touchet, but was
also interested in farming, so took up, some
land in the vicinit}-, and bought more from time
to time until he is now the owner of eight
hundred acres. .

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

451

For about eight years past, Mr. Jacobs
has been quite extensively engaged in the dairy
business, and so important did his interests in
this industry become that in 1897 he sold out
his mercantile establishment that he might give
his whole time and attention to it. He estab-
lished a creamery in connection, and is now
making about two hundred and twenty-five
pounds of butter per week. He keeps a fine
herd of picked dairy cattle.

Mr. Jacobs is a bright, business-like man,
wide awake to every opportunity to better his
condition in life, and usually successful in
what he undertakes. He was married in Touch-
et in 1882, to Miss Rachael Cummins, a native
of Iowa, and they have a family of four chil-
dren, Arthur M., Mabel R., Alice R., and
Nellie M.

AMANDER M. NICHOLAS, a retired
farmer, came to Walla Walla November 10,
1877. He was born at La Porte, Indiana,
September i, 1854. In his infancy his parents
removed to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his
father engaged in general express work, and
Avhere he received his education. At the age
of seventeen years, his father having died, he
removed with his mother to Cerro Gordo,
Piatt count}^, Illinois, and he was engaged at
farm work for wages there until 1877, when he
went to Kansas, seeking a place for settlement,

Not finding the country satisfactory, Mr.
Nicholas came to Walla Walla, and shortl)-
after his arrival engaged to work for Dr. Bla-
lock, by w'hom he was employed in construct-
ing a flume and on the farm for a period of
eighteen months. He then rented land and be-
gan farming for himself, following that indus-
try successfully for several years. In March,
1888, he purchased two hundred and fifteen

acres of land six miles southwest of Walla
Walla, which he still owns, and in 1891 he
purchased a cosy home in Walla Walla, No.
353 West Maple street, where he now resides.
He also owns two houses and three lots on
Sprague and Chestnut streets, has a house and
two lots on Seventh street and a fine house and
lot on Seventh and Willow streets. He also
owns a ten-acre tract near the O. R. & N. depot,
on which he is constructing a small distillery
which will soon be in operation.

Our subject is a member of the I. O. F.,
of Walla Walla, and also of the Fraternal
Union of America. He was married in Walla
AValla November 9, 1887, to Susan Bashore, a
native of Ohio, whom he met in Illinois, and
who came in the same immigrant party with
him to Walla Walla. They have four children,
Addie C, Alice M., Lillie B., and David D.
Mr. Nicholas has been a school director of his
district for two years in Oregon and is an
active friend of education.

J. FRED ROHN, a farmer, residing ten
miles east of Walla Walla, was born in this
county in 1871, so he has the distinction of
being one of the comparatively few grown men
who are sons of the Evergreen state. He ac-
quired his education in the public schools of
this county, then worked on the farm for a
time, but is now the owner of land of his own,
and is engaged in business on his own account.
His place is already fairly well improved, and,
as a natural effect of his industry and toil, is
rapidly being reduced to submission. He is en-
gaged principally in raising wheat, but is also
starting a fine young orchard, and is giving at-
tention to other farm products. A young man
of energy and ambition, he is speedily becoming

452

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

one of the leading farmers of his section. He
was married in Dayton, Washington, in 1894,
to JMiss Lulu Beeson, and they have three chil-
dren, Elmer F., Gladys 'M.. and John J.

HON. ALEX CAMERON, a farmer re-
siding three miles southeast of Walla Walla,
is a native of Rosshire, Scotland, born in 1834.
He lived in his fatherland until eighteen years
old, receiving the advantage of the thorough
common schools for which Scotland is noted.
In 1852, however, he came to Quebec, Canada,
and after a residence of about six months in
that province he travelled quite extensively
through Michigan, also visiting Chicago, Cleve-
land and other cities in the neighboring states.
When the Chicago, Burlington «S: Quincy Rail-
way Company began the construction of its
road, he entered its employ, and remained with
them for several months, but he at length quit
their service, settled in Stark county, Illinois,
and turned his attention to farming. He was
thus employed for eight or nine years, at the
end of which time he went to Jefferson coun-
ty, Iowa, and secured a position in the coal
mines there located.

In April, 1863, Mr. Cameron set out across
the plains to this county. He experienced
some little trouble with the Indians, on ac-
count of their interfering with the stock, but
found them for the most part disposed to be
friendly. For a year after his arrival in Walla
Walla county he lived on a rented farm, but
he then homesteaded a quarter section where he
now resides. To this he has since added an-
other one-hundred-and-sixty-acre tract, ac-
quired by purchase, and he is now engaged in
raising wheat, barley, corn and other cereals.
He has long been a prominent man in the local

affairs of the county, ever manifesting a will-
ingness to bear his portion of the public bur-
dens, and to do what he can for the promotion
of the general welfare. For five years he was
road overseer and for about ten he had a
place on the board of trustees of his district.
In 1893, he was elected to represent his county
in the state legislature.

\\'hile on his way to the west, he was mar-
ried in Council Bluffs, to Miss Janet McRae.
the ceremony being performed on May 18,
1863. Mr. and Mrs. Cameron became parents
of nine children: John A.; Jane S., deceased;
Daniel, deceased ; Bessie, Belle, Maggie, Jessie,
George and Hattie. !Mr. Cameron is a member
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
the Alodern \\'oodmen of America.

GEORGE DACRES.— The respected pio-
neer whose name forms the caption of this
article is a son of the Emerald Isls, the land
from which came so many of the men whose
restless energy and resistless force have
wrought the development of the Inland Em-
pire. A man of great native ability, indomit-
able will power and above all of unswerving
integrity, IMr. Dacres ranks among the "true
and the tried" citizens of Walla Walla, and
his faithfulness to every trust, public or private,
which has been reposed in him has won him the
esteem and confidence of the entire community.

'Sir. Dacres was born in 1829. He grew to
man's estate and acquired his educational dis-
cipline in his Irish home parish, but with the
advent of manhood came the desire to try his
fortunes in the new world, so in 1849 '^^'^ ^'""^
him embarking aboard a vessel bound for
America. He landed in New York in due
course and in i8;2 came thence via the isthmus

GEORGE DACRES

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

453

route to California, where for five years lie
served as a clerk in a store, thereafter coming
to the state of Washington, whence in 1858 he
n'ade a trip into the Fraser river region. Im-
mediately upon his return he entered the em-
ploy of the United States government as an
assistant in making the survey between this
state and Brit'sh Columbia, a task which kept
him busy until i860.

From that date until about 1875 Mr. Dacres
was employed in packing with mules into the
various mining camps of this section, and since
that date he has given his attention almost ex-
clusively to farming. His methods in this in-
dustry have been conservative yet progressive,
the sphere of his control gradually widening
until at present he is the owner of one one-
thousand-acre tract, a portion of which is with-
in the city limits of Walla Walla, and of real
estate located elsewhere in the county suf-
ficient to bring his entire holdings up to a
grand aggregate of three thousand acres. In
1899 our subject erected in Walla Walla the
Hotel Dacres, the finest and best equipped hotel
in the city.

But it is not alone in material things that
Mr. Dacres' interest in the general well-being
has found expression. He has ever manifested
nmch concern for the social advancement of the
city and taken an active part in promoting the
cause of good local government, himself serv-
ing at one time for two years as a member of
its city council. Mr. Dacres has been twice
married. In Walla \\'alla, in September, 1864,
he wedded Margaret Russell, a native of Ire-
land, who died in this city in 1887, leaving two
children, James and Mary. In 1889 he was
again married, the lady being Margaret Don-
nelly, also a native of Ireland, and she, too,
passed away, after having borne him his third
child, Georoe.

ROBERT THOMPSON, a retired farmer,
was one of the early pioneers of the Walla
Walla valley. He was born in Ireland, July
17, 1827, but when he was but four years old
his parents brought him to the United States,
arriving in 1831. They located in Center coun-
ty, Pennsylvania, where his father engaged in
iron mining. Here Robert spent his boyhood
life and was educated.

In 1846, with his parents, he removed to
what was then the far west, settling on a claim
near Dubuc[ue, Iowa, which claim, when it was
surveyed and placed on the market, they pur-
chased from the government. In those early
days of pioneer life in that country, they en-
dured the privations common to early settlers.
Their first cabin was built of logs, with the
old fashioned, puncheoned floor and clapboard
roof, the entire structure being of oak, with-
out a single nail to hold it together and the roof
being held in place by ridgepoles.

The gold excitement in California lured
Robert in 1853 to the Pacific coast. He crossed
the plains with a four-horse team, making the
trip from Omaha, Nebraska, to Beckwith val-
ley, California, in a little less than three months,
going over the Truckee route. In the "76"
camp on Jamieson creek, he worked in the
mines for a month and nine days, for which he
was not paid. Later he located in Deadwood
camp, nine miles from Yreka, where for three
years he was engaged in placer mining, on his
own account, with good results. He then de-
cided to visit his parents in Iowa, so returned
via the Panama route.

After his arrival in Iowa, he followed lead
mining in that country, until 1864, when the
attractions of the Pacific Coast country again
induced him to cross the plains. This time he
came via Salt Lake and the "Oregon trail,"
and settling in the Walla Walla valley, pur-

454

HISTORY OF WALLA ^^'ALLA COUNTY.

chased a farm of one liundred and twenty acres
below the armv post and within a mile of the
city of Waha Waha. Mr. Thompson Hved on
this farm for seventeen years, then sold out and
removed into the town, building for himself
and family a cozy home at No. 630 South
Ninth street, where they have since resided. ^Nlr.
Thompson has always manifested a deep inter-
est in the public schools and was school clerk
of his district for several years, in that and
other ways aiding largely in the creation of
the present splendid school system of \\'alla
Walla.

]\Ir. Thompson was married in Dubuque,
Iowa, April 19, i860, to Miss Mary H. Mal-
low, who was born in New Madrid county,
Missouri, and has accompanied her husband
in all of his travels since their marriage, cross-
ing the plains with him in 1864. They have
four children living: Sarah E., wife of James
Johnson, of Caldwell, Idaho; Emma J., wife
of Marshall J. Lowden. a farmer on lower
Dry creek; Esther J.; George H., a resident
of Walla ^^'alla; also Mary C, deceased. ^Ir.
Thompson and wife are members of the Con-
gregational church of Walla Walla.

CHARLES B. RICHARDSON, a car-
penter and builder at Waitsburg, is a pioneer
of 1874. He was born in Maine in Decem-
ber, 1854, and remained in the Pine Tree
state until eighteen years old, accjuiring a
public-school education and also learning the
trade of carpenter. In 1872 he came to Cali-
fornia, and, settling in San Francisco, began
the pursuit of his handicraft there. After re-
maining two years he moved north to Tacoma
to become one of the builders for the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company, by which he was

employed steadily for several years. He after-
wards worked for the Oregon Railway &
Navigation Company, helping to build their
road from Wallula Junction to Dayton.

Quitting their service in 1881, Mr. Rich-
ardson came direct to Waitsburg, bought a
cjuarter section four miles west of the town
and began farming. But, though he was a
farmer for three years, he did not give up
his trade entirely, but worked at it betimes,
erecting the public school building and many
other of the finest structures in the town.
For several years he has followed his handi-
craft exclusively, having sold his farm in 1884.

]\Ir. Richardson enjoys an enviable stand-
ing in the city with which he has been identi-
fied so long and in which he has ever taken a
deep interest. He vas once called upon to
represent his district in the city council, and
while in that office he used all the power that
was vested in him for wdiat his judgment told
him was for the highest welfare of the town.
In the state of Michigan, on October 15, 1884,
Mr. Richardson married ]\Iiss Martha E.
Towsley, a native of Michigan, born April 6,
1 86 1. 2\Irs. Richardion is one of the leading
ladies in her neighborhood, and for fifteen
years was a successful milliner here. She is
affiliated with the Artisans, and the Women
of Woodcraft, and Mr. Richardson is identi-
fied with the Ancient Order of United Work-
men and the Woodmen of the World. The
family live in an elegant home of their own
in \\'aitsburg.

JOHN P. SEITZ, a farmer near Walla
Walla, is a native of Germany, born in 1826.
He spent his early youth in the land of his
nativity, receiving a common-school educa-
tion, but when nineteen vears old emigrated to

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

455

America. He locateil first in Xew Orleans,
where for a brief period he followed the trade
of a blacksmith. Snbsecj[uently, however, he
came north to Illinois, and worked at his han-
dicraft there for two years longer. Thence
he went to Gentry county, Missouri, where
the ensuing fourteen years of his life were
passed. He afterwards moved to Jackson
county, in the same state, and farmed there
uninterruptedly for twenty years.

Mr. Seitz then came out to Walla Walla,
arriving in 1887, and settled first on Birch
creek, but before long he negotiated the pur-
chase of a three-hundred-and-twenty-acre farm
three and a half miles southeast of Walla
Walla, and upon this he has ever since lived.
He is engaged principally in the production
of wheat and alfalfa. He is one of the most
highly esteemed men in his community, and
enjoys the confidence and good will of all his
neighbors. In 1867, while still in the state of
Missouri, he was married to Miss Lydia
Chambers, a native of that state, and they have
three children, namely: James P.; George G. ;
and ]\Iinnie, now Mrs. John C. Martin.

CHARLES W. PHILLIPS, a florist and
nurseryman of Walla Walla, is a son of Will-
iam and Pauline (Roland) Phillips. He was
born in Salem, Oregon, May 27, 1855, and
at the age of five years was brought by his
parents to Walla Walla, where he grew to
manhood and has since resided. He was edu-
cated in Whitman Seminary and later attended
the Bishop Scott Grammar School, of Port-
land, Oregon, where he took a preparatory
course with the intention of entering Yale
College, but was prevented from doing so by

his father's sickness and death. He finished
his education in 1873.

After his father's death Mr. Phillips as-
sisted his mother in managing the deceased's
estate until 1881, but he then engaged in the
hardware business in La Grande and Island
City, Union county, Oregon, in which he con-
tinued four years. Selling out then, he re-
turned to Walla Walla, where he entered into
the ■ business of landscape gardening and
floriculture, an industry which he has fol-
lowed ever since. He has splendid green
houses, a large garden and several acres
of ornamental nursery stock. He has re-
cently shipped very largely from Port-
land and has the largest florist establish-
ment in the county. He has done all of the
landscape gardening for the finest homes in
the city and adjoining towns, and will have
charge of laying ofif and ornamenting the city
park.

Mr. Phdlips was married at iMeachara
Toll Gate, in the Blue Mountains, to Miss
iN^ellie S. Rockfellow, a native of Oregon, and
they now ■ have eight children, William R.,
Charles F., Pauline, Harriet, Edgar IT., Es-
ther F., Richard B. and Rodney M. The six
older ones are in school in Walla Walla. Mr.
Phillips and his entire family are members of
St. Paul's Episcopal church, of Walla Walla.

In the Nez Perce Indian war of 1877 Mr.
Phillips and his brother Frank E. were scouts
and couriers under General O. O. Howard.
They never failed in a mission or received a
wound, which speaks well for their knowledge
of the country and of Indian character and
methods of warfare. Mr. Phillips was one
of the first to respond to Governor Ferry's
call for volunteers in 1878, after the beginning
of the Bannock war. He was a member of
the company of volunteers commanded by

456

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Captain Charles Painter, which, together with
a company of regulars under iNlajor Cress, pa-
trolled the Columbia river and repeatedly pre-
vented the Lidians from crossing the river
from the south, joining Chief Closes" band
and getting into British territory. They had
several severe engagements with the Indians,
capturing their horses and driving them back
south, where they were finally captured.

]Mr. Phillips decorated the Spokane Indus-
trial Exposition in 1899 with fruits, grains
and grasses. He gathered and arranged the
Walla Walla county exhibit for the Paris Ex-
position in 1900, and is to furnish the fruits,
grasses and grains for the Pan-American Ex-
position in Buffalo, New York, in 1901. He
also gathered the county exhibit wliich at-
tracted so much attention at the World's Fair
in Chicago in 1893, and is acknowledged to
be one of the most thorough and reliable men
in that line in this country.

j\Ir. Phillips will soon have published a
book of poems which he has compiled under
the nam dc pliniic of Jo Keon, and on which
he has the endorsement of Joaquin jNIiller,
who recently visited him in his home and read
his work.

The fatlier of our subject was one of
^^'alla \\'alla's most respected and progressive
citizens, arriving as early as i860, w'hen he
engaged in the hardware business. In 1865
he built the \\'alla Walla foundry and machine
shops, which he operated in connection with
his hardware business until the time of his
death. He also had branch hardware stores
in Bannock City and Placerville, Idaho, where
he did a lucrative business with the mines.
He was frecpiently urged to accept official po-
sition, but always refused. He was always
liberal in his gifts to all worthy enterprises,
both religious and charitable, and was noted

for his broad-minded public spirit. His death
occurred March 2, 1873, and \\"alla Walla
then lost one of her most enterprising, far-
seeing and worthy citizens, and one who had
friends among all, enemies among none ex-
cept the lawless element which he was always
acti\-e in suppressing.

REV. OBADIAH OSBORN, a preacher
and farmer, residing seven miles northwest of
Walla Walla, on Dpy creek, was born in Exe-
ter. Scott county, Illinois, in 1835. He ac-
quired his early education in the public schools
of his native town, where the first seventeen
years of his life were spent. In 1852 he crossed
the plains with ox-teams to the Willamette val-
ley, and there the ensviing thirteen years of his
life were passed. He spent two years in Will-
amette L^niversity as a student and two in the
ministry, but the remainder of the time was
devoted to farming.

When, in 1865. our subject came to Walla
Walla valley he did so for the purpose of taking
charge of a circuit as its pastor, and he has
preached a great deal of the time since. He
now has charge of the United Brethren work
in Walla Walla and at other places through-
out the county, but such is his capacity for
labor that he is also able to supervise his mam-
moth farm, and to take a lively interest and a
leading part in political campaigns. In 1869
he purchased four hundred acres between Mill
creek and Russell creek, also added one hun-
dred and twenty acres to a tract he had pre-
viously bought in Oregon, a short distance
southeast of Walla \\'alla. These interests he
sold in 1875, only to purchase a five-hundred-
and-twenty-acre tract where his place of resi-
dence now is. He has bought adjoining places

OBADIAH OSBORN

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

457

from time to time until he is now the owner of
one thousand six hundred and eighty acres.
For years he has handled a large number of
horses, and at present he has about two hun-
dred head, besides one hundred and fifty head
of cattle.

Few men in the county have manifested
their interest in the public weal in so many
ways. Mr. Osborn has been for years a leader
in politics, in religion and in the material de-
velopment of the county. For two terms he
served his denomination in the capacity of pre-
siding elder, and twice he stumped the county
in political campaigns. Once he was the can-
didate of his party for the legislature, but was
defeated. And with all these interests he has
yet found time for local duties such as serving
as road supervisor, etc.

Mr. Osborn has been twice married. In
-1857, in the state of Oregon, he wedded Sarah
Ann McCain, who died in 1859. Of this union
one child was born, but it died when only nine
m.onths old. In 1864 he was again married,
the lady being Mary C. Mayfield, a native of
Tennessee, who crossed the plains in 1862, and
they have one child, Dollie Frances, now Mrs.
Charles I. Dean.

WOODSON CUMMINS, a farmer and
stock raiser two miles west of Touchet, a pio-
neer of 1862, was born in Iowa July 6, 1855.
He was, however, practically reared in the
northwest, having been brought here by his
parents when only seven years old. His first
home in the new country was located seven
miles southeast of Walla Walla, where his
father was engaged in farming and stock rais-
ing until 1870. Mr. Cummins received the
advantages of the local public schools, then

engaged in farming, an occupation which he
has followed exclusively since, though he is
also the owner of a store in Touchet.

When he was about fifteen years old his
father and family left their original abiding
place and procured land in the vicinity of
Touchet, where Mr. Cummins now lives, and
has lived ever since except for a period of
three years spent in Oregon. He is now the
owner of the old home place of six hundred
and forty acres, besides considerable other
land in the county. He is unquestionably one
of the very best and most prosperous farmers
in the valley, and evidences of his thrift and
energy are everywhere to be seen about his
premises. He has a fine dwelling house and
commodious and capacious barns and outbuild-
ings, and a goodly supply of machinery and
implements essential to convenient and suc-
cessful farming. He keeps about sixty head
of cattle, but makes a specialty of producing
alfalfa hay, fourteen car-loads of which he
this year (1900) shipped to Idaho.

Mr. Cummins has always taken an active
interest in the affairs of the county, and is ever
ready to exert his infiuence for what he deems
the best interests of the general public. He
was married in Union county, Oregon, Sep-
tember 12, 1880, to Miss J. J. Weaver, a na-
tive of Missouri, whose father was one of the
earliest settlers on the Touchet river, near
Waitsburg. They have five children, Hettie
J., Clarence E., Walter R., Lela M. and El-
mer R.

WILLIAM P. RESER, a farmer four
miles southeast of Walla Walla, was born in
Ouincy, Illinois, in 1843. When two years old
he was taken by his parents to Missouri,
where he grew to man's estate and received

458

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

his education. Li 1863 he crossed the plains
to Walla Walla, making the six months' trip
in the customary primitive fashion of that
period, and for ten or twelve years after his
arrival he followed the dual occupation of
farming and freighting. He then devoted his
energies to farming and sheep raising, in which
two industries he has been employed ever
since. In 1867 he homesteaded one hundred
and sixty acres, where he now resides, and to
this he has been adding at different times since
until he now has a tract 9f sixteen hundred
and twenty acres, on which he is raising wheat
and barley principally, though he also keeps
about one hundred head of cattle and one hun-
dred and fifty head of horses. He also has
ten thousand sheep, which he pastures on the
Touchet and Snake rivers, on each of which
he has about seven thousand acres of land.
He is also the owner of about six thousand
acres of mountain land in Umatilla county,
Oregon, where he summers his flocks.

Mr. Reser is one of the most thrifty and
progressive farmers of the county, and one
who has contributed no small share to the in-
dustrial development of this portion of the In-
land Empire. He has also for many years
taken a leading part in the political cam-
paigns of the county and state, and ranks as
one of the representative men of his party.
He served one term as county commissioner,
and in the campaign of 1900 was the nomi-
nee of the Democrats for the state senator-
ship, to which he was elected with a plurality
of about five hundred votes, winning the dis-
tinction of being the only Democrat in the
county successful in the last campaign.

Mr. Reser married, in Missouri, in 1863,
]\Iiss Emma Gray, who died ]May 16, 1895,
leaving four children: Clara; Annie; Frank,
who died August 28, 1896; and Philip. He

was married again in Umatilla county, Ore-
gon, in 1897, to Miss Linda Davis, a mem-
ber of a pioneer family of this county, and
to them' has been born one child, Byron.

:\IRS. AXXIE :McC. :\IIX.— in the com-
pilation of the biographical department of this
history of Walla Walla county there is manifest
propriety in incorporating a review of the life
of Mrs. Mix, who is one of the honored pio-
neers of the city of Walla \\'alla and the widow
of one who was for many years one of the
representative citizens of this place, where his
demise occurred. Mrs. Mix, whose maiden
name was Anna Dwight, was born in the famed
old Crescent city, Xew Orleans, Louisiana,
in the year 183 1. At the age of six years she
entered the excellent school at Bethlehem,
Louisiana, where she continued her studies for
about six years, after which she returned to
her home, and there continued her educational
discipline under most favorable auspices.

There also, in the year 1849, was solem-
nized her marriage to James D. Mix, who was
born in Georgetown, Virginia, in 1818, being,
like his wife, a representative of sterling old
southern families. He accompanied his parents
to Xew Orleans in his early childhood, and
there he was reared and educated, preparing
himself for the legal profession and engaging
in the practice of law in X^ew Orleans until
he had attained the age of thirty years. Dur-
ing the Mexican war he was engaged in con-
tracting in that country, being successful in his
efforts along this line. At the close of hostil-
ities he returned to X"ew Orleans, where he was
married and where he remained four years,
after which, in company with his wife, he made
the long journey to San Francisco, California,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

4 59'

by the istlimus route, the vessel landing at the
Golden Gate in due course of time, the date
of arrival in the new Eldorado being about
May, 1854, this being at a time when the gold
excitement was still at its height.

Mr. Mix was engaged in the practice of his
profession in San Francisco for a period, of
two years, after which he removed to Shasta,
that state, where he was in practice for a num-
ber of years, being one of the leading attorneys
and representative citizens of the locality and
being accorded marked preferment in the gift
of the public, having served in the offices of dis-
trict attorney and probate judge.

In the year 1863 Mr. and Mrs. Mix be-
came residents of Walla Walla, with whose
history both were destined to be conspicuously
identified, aiding materially in its progress and
material upbuilding. Here Air. Mix remained
until the hour of his death, which occurred on
the 6th of June, 1881. He was a man of
marked ability and distinct individuality, im-
pressing himself upon the community and gain-
ing precedence in public affairs and in the work
of his profession. He was for many years one
of the leading members of the Democratic party
in the territory, being frequently the standard-
bearer of the same. He was twice a member
of the territorial legislature, and in 1870 was
the Democratic nominee for delegate to con-
gress, his defeat being primarily due to the
opposition of the citizens of the Puget Sound
district, who spared no effort to elect a candi-
date of their own section for many years,
as is previously noted. Mr. Mix also served
as city attorney and as a member of the city
council of Walla W^alla, and after his term had
expired in the latter office he became extensively
engaged in farming and stock-raising, having
become the owner of much valuable agricultural
land in the vicinity of his home. He left to

his family a very comfortable competency and
the heritage of a good name.

To Mr. and Mrs. Mix three children were
born, — Sallie, who is now the wife of Alajor
O. I. Converse; and William A. and Stonewall
W., who are largely interested in mining op-
erations. Mrs. Mix still retains her residence
ir. the attractive family home in Walla Walla,
where a gracious hospitality has ever been ex-
tended, and over which she has presided with
grace and dignity for a long term of years. She-
owns much valuable realty in Walla Walla,
including a business block at the corner of
Birch and Second streets, and the Palace Hotel
property, a substantial brick building of mod-
ern architectural design. She is well known
and highly esteemed in the city where so many
years of her life have been passed, and, while
a true daughter of the sunny south, her deepest
and most hallowed memories cluster about the
old home here. In an incidental way it is
interesting to recall the fact that Mrs. Mi.x:
had the distinction of being the owner of the
first family sewing machine brought into the
city of San Francisco.

A. J. FIX, a pioneer of the west of 1857,
at present a farmer living four and a half miles
southeast of Walla Walla, is a native of Ohio,
born in 1840. He was, however, reared and
educated in Claire county, Illinois, whither he
was taken by his parents when five years old.
In March, 1857, he started across the plains
to the west, traveling with ox-teams. He
stopped a brief period in Livingston county,
Missouri, but in May set out again, making
the journey without casualties, though a train
only six miles ahead of him was massacred,
only three persons escaping alive, and one of
these, a woman, had been scalped.

460

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

]Mr. Fix remained a while in California,
then came north to Hillsboro, Oregon, where
for the ensuing four years he was engaged in
farming. In 1862 he made a trip into the
Florence mining region, in Idaho, but returned
in time to pass the winter in Hillsboro. Dur-
ing the summer of 1863, however, he came
to Walla Walla county, whence, for the next
three or four years, he made freighting trips
to different outlying districts. In 1865 he
took a pre-emption near Dixie, and this was
his home till the spring of 1890, when he pur-
chased a four-hundred-and-eighty-acre farm
near Walla Walla, and began farming there.
He is a thrifty, progressive man, and one of
the most enterprising farmers in his section.
He is also a thresherman, and keeps a machine
at work on his own wheat and that of his
neighbors during the harvest season. Public-
spirited and ever ready to contribute his mite
to the general welfare, he has served for sev-
eral years as road supervisor and as a member
of the board of school trustees.

Mr. Fix was married in ^^'alla ^^'alla
county in the fall of 1866, to Nancy jM. San-
ders, a native of Indiana, and a pioneer of
1865. They have had eight children : Roder-
ick R., deceased; Wayne \\'. ; Arminda L. ;
Milam R., deceased; Weldon T. ; ^^laude; Ma-
bel, deceased; and Jake E.

. JOHN SINGLETON, now deceased, was
a pioneer of the Walla Walla valley, coming
here in 1857. He was born in county Cork,
Ireland, in 1824, and received a private-school
education. April 22, 1847, '" Queen's county,
Ireland, he married Miss Frances Jane Gowan,
and. in 1849 they came to America and settled

in New York. He at once enlisted in the
L'nited States army and was sent to Texas as
quartermaster's clerk under Major Belger.
The command was stationed in the Alamo, at
San Antonio, Texas, his office being in the very
room where Colonel Davie Crockett was killed.
He remained in Texas in the L'nited States
service six years, then was discharged and re-
turned to Washington, D. C, where he served
for six months as a clerk in the old arsenal.

Mr. Singleton then went to Baltimore, and
in 1856 again enlisted for service on the Pa-
cific coast, believing the change would benefit
hiis failing health. He came via Panama to
Vancouver, where he was stationed ten months.
His company afterwards took part in the war
against the Yakima Indians and had several
sharp engagements with them in the Cascade
mountains. The whites were led by Captain
Winder and the Indians by Chief Camiachan.
After subduing the Indians, Captain \\'inder's
command built a fort and remained in the Cas-
cades about a year, afterwards being trans-
ferred to The Dalles, Oregon, and thence in the
spring of 1857 to Fort Walla Walla. Here
Mr. Singleton remained in the service until
1 86 1, when he was honorably discharged.

While he was serving as a soldier here the
Indians of several tribes joined in their hostile
efTorts to prevent Captain Mullen opening an
emigrant and military road across the Rocky
and Coeur d'Alene mountains to the Columbia
nver. Mr. Singleton was in the command of
Colonel Steptoe which met the allied savages
in the memorable engagement of Steptoe Butte,
which lasted several days. The whites, being
largely outnumbered, sufifered a disastrous de-
feat and were driven back to the Snake river in
great disorder. In this engagement Mr. Single-
ton had a very narrow escape from death. He
became separated from his comrades, in the re-

JOHN SINGLETON

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

461

treat, and after wandering around nearl}^ all
night came upon a squad of friendly Nez Perce
Lidians, who conducted him to the Clearwater
river, ferried him across and directed him to
the camp of his company, who had reported
him to his wife as dead. Colonel Wright soon
came up from The Dalles with a thousand
m.en and, reinforced by the troops at Walla
Walla, began an active campaign against the
Lidians. In a short time he had scatteTed, cap-
tured or killed the entire force. Some were
hanged in the mountains, but the most noted
leaders were brought to Walla Walla, where
seven of them were hanged in public in the
rear of the garrison. During his service in
Fort Walla Walla Mr. Singleton did most of
the work of keeping the records of the post, in
the performance of which duty he was com-
pelled to use the old-fashioned quill pen.

Mrs. Singleton had purchased a squatter's
right of Captain Pierce, and to this, on being
discharged fromi the army, Mr. Singleton re-
paired. We may mention that the money re-
ceived for this right by Captain Pierce enabled
him to open the Oro Fino mining district, of
which he was the first prospector. Mr. Single-
ton died on the farm December 28, 1893, but
Mrs. Singleton still resides on the old home
place, which is now within the city limits of
Walla Walla. She is seventy-four years of
age, but has the clear mind and vivid memory
of a person many years younger. Six chil-
dren were born in the Singleton home : Cath-
erine, widow of Thomas Tierney, and a resi-
dent of San Francisco; Frank E. ; William H.,
deceased; Elizabeth; Eudora M., a compositor
on the La Grande Sentinel ; Esther Belle, wife
of J. W. Brooks, an attorney of Walla Walla.
Mr. and Mrs. Singleton always held to the
Catholic faith.

OLIVER DEWITT.— It is hardly possi-
ble to overestimate the magnanimity, force of
character and wealth of worth which have made
the pioneers of Walla Walla county, taken as
a class, the recipients of the esteem and honor
of all in whose bosoms a sincere love for the
heroic finds lodgment. Possessed of all the ,
characteristics which made the Puritan fa-
mous, except the deep-seated religious fervor,
and not wholly devoid of that, they were su-
perior to that honored race in the breadth of
their sympathies and charity.

To affirm, therefore, that our subject was
a pioneer and that a very early one, is in itself
almost equivalent to an assertion of his strength
of purpose, integrity and real grandeur of char-
acter, it being only necessary to add that the
gentleman in question is a worthy representa-
tive of the honored class to which he belongs.

Mr. Dewitt made his advent onto the stage
of this life in the good old state of Ohio, the
date of his birth being January 7, 1847, but
shortly after his fifth year had been completed
he was removed by his parents to Iowa, in
which commonwealth he received his educa-
tional discipline. When only seventeen years
old a desire to try his fortunes in the west
took* hold of his being, and on the anniver-
sary of the nation's birth, 1864, we find him
in Walla Walla valley, having traversed the
trail of many moons behind a pair of patient
oxen. His first home in the county was at a
point about six miles nearly due west of Walla
Walla, and the first industry which engaged
his energies was freighting, a business which
he followed uninterruptedly until 1878. He
then decided to try a line of enterprise which
would allow him to enjoy the comforts of
home life, so turned his attention to farming
and stock raising. He purchased a tract of

462

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

land about eight miles north of the county
seat, to which he has added betimes since
until he is now the possessor of a fane farm of
five hundred acres. His industry and energy
have worked out for him an abundant indus-
trial success, his property interests including
.not only his farm, but considerable city realty
and a share in more than one of our most
promising mines.

Mr. Dewitt has been several times called
upon to perform the duties of local and county
offices, and in 1887 the electors of the county
testified to the confidence and esteem in which
they held him by nominating him as their
representative to the territorial legislature.

In his fraternal afiiliations he is identified
with Washington Lodge, No. 19, I. O. O. F.,
on whose charter his name may be found.

On May 31, 1874, in the city of \\'alla
Walla, Mr. Dewitt was married, the lady who
became his wife being ^Sliss America A. Roff,
.a native of Alissouri. The issue of their union
is four children, namely : Ella, wife of G. E.
Hobbs; Harry E., in Umatilla county, Ore-
gon; Arthur C. ; and Essie R., wife of Clifford
Hughes, of \\'alla \\'alla. The family reside
in a comfortable and elegantly furnished home
at 601 East Sumach street. jNIr. and ?klrs.
Dewitt afiiliate with the Methodist Episcopal
-church of Walla Walla.

REV. P. B. CHAMBERLAIN, deceased,
one of the earliest pioneer missionaries of the
coast, was born in Earre, Vermont, October
16, 1824. He attended the public schools of
his native town and later the academic school
at Derby, ^*ermont, receiving his professional
training in the theological seminary of Ban-
gor, -Maine, from which institution he grad-.

uated in 1855. He began his ministerial labors
in Oregon as a home missionary of the Con- J
gregational churches, having come to the Pa- 1
cific coast via Panama in the fall of 1855.

Taking charge of the First Congregational
church of Portland, ]\Ir. Chamberlain contin-
ued to serve as its pastor for the ensuing eight
years, then, after traveling and teaching for
about a twehemonth, he came to \\'alla Walla,
where he set vigorously to work to establish
a church. He erected, entirely at his own ex-
pense, a building suitable in every respect for
a place of worship, but it was destroyed by
fire in 1866. The citizens of W^alla Walla
then built the present church and presented it
to him, but he afterwards deeded it over to
the Congregational Association.

For sixteen years our subject labored faith-
fully and zealously for the spiritual and moral
elevation of W'alla Walla, and the good that
he has done can never be fully known this side
the great beyond. On October 31, 1889, he
was called to his reward.

Mr. Ch.Nimberlain was married in Derby,
^'ermont, «n August 16, 1855, to Miss Alice
E. Abbott, a native of Hatley, Quebec. They
became parents of four children: Alice C,
wife of Ira Small, a farmer near Lewiston;
Felicia H., wife of Dr. A. L. Willis, of Walla
Walla; Mary E., a graduate of Whitman Col-
lege and a teacher; and Edward P., deceased.

Airs. Chamberlain was herself a very prom-
inent missionary lad}- in pioneer days. She
was brought from her native province to Der-
by, Vermont, while quite young, her parents
desiring to get away from the Canadian re-
bellion of 1837, and she became a schoolmate of
Air. Chamberlain's at Derby, Vermont. After
completing her course there she taught in
Vermont and New Hampshire about eight
vears. She and IMr. Chamberlain started for

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

463

Portland on their wedding day, and she shared
his journeys and his labors thenceforth to the
time of his death.

Finding no schools in Walla Walla at the
time of their arrival, Mrs. Chamberlain at
once prepared to educate her own children at
home, and the residents, learning of this, de-
;sired her to do what she could for some of
theirs also. Soon the attendance became so
large that a more commodious building was
recjuired, and they removed to the church,
which had been so constructed that it could be
used for school purposes also without incon-
venience. After the fire, above referred to,
the school was conducted in the building in
which ]\Irs. Chamberlain now resides, until
eventually removed to the building on Whit-
man College grounds, now known as "Ladies'
Hall."

After its removal the school was named
for the first time, its appellation being Whit-
man Seminary. The Rev. P. B. Chamber-
lain was its first superintendent, and I^Irs.
Chamberlain was one- of its first teachers.
They watched over the infant institution care-
fully, guarding it as a tender plant, until some
of its most trying times were passed, then
turned it over to Father Eells. This is in
brief the origin of the now far-famed Whit-
man College. Mrs. Chamberlain is certainly
to be congratulated on the grand results which
have followed from her humble efforts to "do
what she could."

JOHN L. RESER, deceased, a pioneer of
1863, was born in the state of New York in
1823. He was early taken to ^Michigan, in
which state and in Illinois he was reared and
educated. In 1845 he removed to Missouri,
and he was engaged in farming in that state

until, in 1863, he started across the plains to
Walla ^^'alla county, during which trip he
lost his daughter, Mary, on the North Platte
river. He took a homestead here and again
began farming, but did not, however, devote
his entire time to that pursuit, giving much
attention to other duties. An intensely philan-
thropic man, he labored with might and main
for the good of his fellows, taking a \-ery active
interest in church and educational work. Dur-
ing a part of his time he was a local preacher,
and part of the time he traveled in the same
calhng. For several years he was county su-
perintendent of schools, and discharged the
duties of that office with characteristic faith-
fulness and ability.

Mr. Reser was married in Illinois in 1841,
to Miss Clarisa Callaway, a native of Mary-
land, and they became parents of thirteen chil-
dren, namely: \\'illiam, Leah Ann, Elvira,
Susan, Henry, Louisa, Augusta, Edward L.,
James, Julia, Mary, John and Laura, Of these
Susan, James and Laura are buried in Walla
Walla, Elvira at Kingston, Missouri, and
Henry at Memphis, Missouri. Alary, as above
stated, died on the trip across the plains, and
the remainder of the children are still living.
Mr. and ]\Irs. Reser sleep in the Walla ^^'alla
cemetery.

EDGAR A. DORRIS, a pioneer of 187S,
was born in Illinois May 2, 1862. He lived
there seven years, then resided in Kansas and
Missouri until 1878, when he started across
the plains with teams to \\'ashington. His
party was surrounded by Indians on the Snake
ri\-er and besieged for a month. After relief
arrived Air. Dorr'is came to Walla ^^'alla,
where he worked on a farm for W. P. Sturgis,
Tom Evans and Air. Jones for two and a half

464

1-IISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

years. He afterwards engaged in farming
for himself, near by, following that occu-
pation uninterruptedly until 1891, when he
removed to the Palouse country. He
farmed there two years, then went to
Harrison. Idaho, to become engineer of a
saw-mill in that town. He was in the
lumbering industry until 1896, when he came
to \\'alla Walla again and turned his at-
tention to railroading. For a short time he
was one of the partners in the Fourth street
fish and poultry market.

Mr. Dorris is a man of enterprise and
ability, and possesses the faculty of succeed-
ing in whatever he undertakes. He is quite
a lodge man, being connected with both the
AL W. A. and the L O. R. AI. On Decem-
ber 25, 1887, he was married in Walla Walla
to ]\Iiss Leola Estoup, a native of Umatilla
county, Oregon, whose father, Mitchell Estoup,
came west in an early day as a member of the
American Fur Company. Mr. and Mrs. Dorris
are parents of five children, Ida L., Rena A.,
Elzata. Alice and Oscar L. [Mrs. Dorris'
father is a native of France, about sixty-seven
vears of age.

SERGEANT JOHN C. SMITH, farmer,
a very early pioneer of the west, was born in
New Jersey, in 1828, and in that state the first
eighteen years of his life were passed and his
education obtained. In 1846 he sailed with his
uncle, an employee of the American Fur Com-
pany, to the Pacific coast. He lived in Cali-
fornia for a time, but in 1848 he came north
to Oregon, whence he soon departed into the
mining region of California again. He was
there until 1850, reaping very rich harvests, and
making money at times with w^ell nigh in-
credibh rapidity.

Returning to Oregon Sergeant Smith en-
gaged in raising horses and cattle, but, in 1853,
he removed to Walla ^^^alla, where he con-
tinued his former business of rearing mules,
cattle and horses. He purchased land in this
\'icinity, and now owns six hundred or seven
hundred acres. Of late years he has given his
attention to raising wheat and hay mostly,
though he still raises some stock, especially
thoroughbreds. He has long been a prominent
n-.an in the county, working earnestly for its
welfare, and twice representing it in the legis-
lature. Indeed, he was one of the men to
whom Walla ^^'alla county owes its organiza-
tion.

Being so long a resident on the Pacific
coast he has, as we might expect, experienced
his share of Indian warfare. He participated
in the Rogue river and Kayouse wars, earn-
ing the title of sergeant in the latter struggle.
Prominent alike in peace and war, in the days
when the country was in a state of barbarism
and in the days since civilization has brought
its blessings to the wild west, Mr. Smith de-
serves and receives the applause and good will
of the country he has so efficiently helped to
redeem.

In fraternal affiliations our subject is identi-
fied with the Oregon Pioneer Association, and
with the Indian War Veterans. He married,
in Walla Walla, in 1865, Amanda Sheets, also
a pioneer of a very early date, and they have
eight children, — John A., Delia, Marguerite,
Edward, Mabel, Bessie, Hattie and Genie.

JONATHAN PETTYJOHN.— This ven-
erable pioneer and respected and influential
citizen of Walla Walla county was born in
Ohio in 1827. He lived there until ten years

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

46 s:-

old, then accompanied the remainder of the
family to Illinois, where he remained until
1849. In that 3'ear he moved further west,
and the following year he came on to Cali-
fornia, crossing the plains by ox-teams. After
residing in the Golden state for a twelvemonth,
he came north to Oregon, whence, in 1859, he
removed to Prescott, Washington, where his
home has ever since been. He homesteaded
a quarter section of land, also availed himself
of his pre-emption and timber culture rights,
securing by this means four hundred and
eighty acres from the government.

By making good and skillful use of the
land thus acquired, he so augmented his wealth
as to enable him to purchase more, and he kept
adding to his holdings from time to time un-
til he became the owner of a mammoth three-
thousand-acre farm. Unlike many Walla Walla
county ranchmen, he has given little or no
attention to wheat culture, confining his atten-
tion almost entirely to the more attractive and
urrder favorable circumstances more lucrative
business of rearing cattle and horses. In this
industry he has been unusually successful.

In the early days it was quite common for
Indian scares to spring up in different parts of
the valley, and the thoroughly terrified people
would leave their homes and farms and fly
for refuge to Walla Walla, remaining until
the real or imaginary war-clouds had cleared
away. At all such times, Mr. Pettyjohn and
his family were among the few who refused to
become refugees until they were sure that the
necessity for flight existed, and the fact that
they are alive and well to-day is pretty good
evidence that they were never seriously mis-
taken in their reading of Indian character and
their penetration of Indian intentions.

While Mr. Pettyjohn has not been as active
as some in political matters, he has sometimes

assumed the role of political leadership, and at
such times has exhibited rare sagacity, acumen
and skill. He was once the nominee of his
party for representative in the territorial legis-
lature, but was not on the victorious side. At
one time also he held the important local office
of justice of the peace. It may be of interest
to mention in this connection as indicating the
extent of our subject's connection with Pacific
Coast matters, that he three times voted on the
question of adopting or rejecting constitu-
tions for proposed new states, in each instance
voting in the affirmative, the constitutions of
California, Oregon and Washington all being
recipients of his support at the polls. Mr.
Pettyjohn gave evidence of his public-spirit
and interest in what he conceived to be for
the general welfare, by suing out an injunction
restraining the county commissioners from vot-
ing a bonus of three hundred thousand dollars
to a proposed new railroad, and he proved to
all who are cognizant of the facts in the case
that he is a man who "stands four square tO'
every wind" by refusing a large sum offered
as a species of bribe to induce him to raise the
injunction.

I" 1853 was solemnized the marriage of
our subject and Miss Hannah Warner, a na-
tive of Indiana. Mrs. Pettyjohn died in Janu-
ary, 1892, after having borne him eight chil-
dren, seven sons and one daughter.

BREWSTER FERREL, a pioneer of
1864, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio,
August 22, 1838. When quite young he was.
taken by his parents to Athens county, where
he took the initial step in his education. In
1853 the family removed to Wayne conuty^
Iowa, and here Mr. Ferrel completed his com-

466

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

mon-school course. On attaining his majority
he engaged in farming on his own account,
following that occupation there until twenty-
five years of age.

Coming then across the plains to Walla
Walla county, i\Ir. Ferrel homesteaded one
hundred and sixty acres of land eight miles
east of town on Russell creek, which he still
owns. It forms the nucleus of his fine twelve-
hundred-and-fifty-acre farm, on which he is
now raising crops of wheat and barley. He
is also the owner of a one-thousand-acre tract
of pasture land, and upon this he indulges
his fancy for raising thoroughbred Jersey cat-
tle. He also owns thirty acres just beyond
the Walla Walla race course, and one hundred
and twenty acres in Oregon, besides some real
■ estate in Seattle.

When it is remembered that Air. Ferrel
started without means, a mere mention of his
various properties conve3's some idea of his
thrift, energy and ability, for he has wrought
his own wa}" in the world entirely unaided.
The fact that he served as school director for
thirty years is conclusive evidence that he is
a firm believer in the utility of education.
We may mention in passing that ]\Ir. Ferrel
at one time harvested with a Haynes Hauser
combined harvester one thousand and eight
sacks of wheat in ten hours, thereby winning
the distinction of beating all other known
records.

Our subject was married in Iowa, on his
twenty-third birthday, to Aliss Caroline Bott,
a native of Zanesville, Ohio, and they have
seven children: Thomas J., a farmer; Rosalie
E., wife of W, S. Barnett; Seth A., on the
stock farm: David B., managing the wheat
farm: Joseph W., also on the farm; Fidelia
C. wife of Charles ]Maxson; and Minnie M.,
■\vith her parents.

WALLACE R. COPELAXD, a farmer
residing six miles southeast of ^^'alla ^^'alla,
is a son of the west, having been born in
Yam Hill county, Oregon, in i860. When
two years old he was brought b}- his parents
to Walla Walla, and here he was reared and
educated. He worked on his father's farm
from the time of his leaving school until he
became twenty-two years old, then rented a
farm and started to cultivate the soil on his
own account. Six years later he bought the
place he had previously rented — four hundred
and sixteen acres on Cottonwood creek — and
to this he has since added two hundred and
forty acres of pasture land purchased from the
government. He also owns a half interest in
another tract of one hundred and ninety acres.
At present he is engaged principally in raising
\\heat and barle}', but he also gives considera-
ble attention to thoroughbred Clyde horses
and thoroughbred Durham cattle. He is now
the owner of twent\''head of cattle and twen-
ty-five horses.

[Mr. Copeland is an energetic, thrift}- man,
and a prosperous, well-to-do farmer, while as
a man and a citizen his standing in the com-
munit}^ is of the highest. In \\'alla ^^'alla
county, in 1884, he married Aliss Augusta
• Kaseberg, a native of Ohio, and to their union
have been born five children, Henry, Laura,
Lizzie, Ella and Edwin, the last four of whom
are all attending the public school.

JOHX A. BEARD. — Prominent among
those whose industry and toil have wrought
the industrial and agricultural development of
this county is the man whose name forms the
caption of this brief and necessarily incom-
plete article. He possesses the sturdy man-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

467

liood and great native daring which form the
most striking characteristics of the true pio-
neer, and is not lacking in any quality of heart
or mind essential to the typical advance agent
of civilization.

Born. in lUinois on February 14, 1854, he
spent the first eleven years of his life there,
afterward coming with his parents over the
long trail to the Walla Walla valley. The re-
mainder of the family engaged in farming on
a place five miles southeast of the city of
Walla \\^alla, but our subject turned his mind
to freighting. From the year 1866 until the
advent of the year 1876 he drove a ten-mule
team almost constantly, but in the latter year
he took a pre-emption in Columbia county
and engaged in farming, to which, in 1879,
he added stock raising also. In 1889 he re-
tired from the farm temporarily, came to
Walla Walla, and later became a member of
the Walla Walla Dressed Meat Company, con-
tinuing in that until 189S, in which year he
sold out his interest and again engaged in
farming and handling stock. He is the owner
of a fine farm of three hundred and sixty acres
on Dry creek, and resides in a comfortable
and handsomely furnished home on East Su-
mach street, Walla Walla, the title to which
is in him.

Mr. Beard is a prominent man in frater-
nal circles, having passed through all the chairs
in Trinity Lodge, I. O. O. F., of which he is
a charter member, and being also actively
identified with the K. of P. and the United
Artisans.

Near the city of Walla Walla, on October
8, 1876, the marriage of our subject and INIiss
Clarinda A. Wood was solemnized. Mrs.
Beard is a native of Iowa, and a pioneer of
this county, having been brought here by her
parents in 1863. She is a very active lady in

social circles, and a prominent member of
Beehive Lodge, D. of R., all the chairs of
which have been occupied by her.

Outlining the life of Mrs. Beard's father
briefly, we may say that he was born in Ten-
nessee January 11, 1809, and grew to man's
estate and married there, afterward removing
to Iowa, in which state he lost his first wife.
He married again, and by his second wife,
Mrs. Beard's mother, who died Ma}' 31. 1900,
he had eleven children, six of whom are liv-
ing. He passed away in this county on August
3, 1877, and Mr. Beard's father died in Daj'-
ton March 17, 1891.

HON. P. M. LYNCH, deceased, a pio-
neer of 1861, was born in Gault, Canada, in
1S34. He came to the United States in 1858,
locating in Nevada City, California, where
for two years he followed mining. He then
removed to Portland, Oregon, and engaged
in blacksmithing and carriage making, a trade
which he had learned in his native town.
About a year later he removed to Walla Walla
and opened here the first carriage making shop
iri the city. However, he did not confine his
attention to that business alone, but also en-
gaged in pack freighting to the mines of Sil-
ver City, Florence and the Oro Fino districts,
also maintaining a hardwai'e store in Walla
A\^alla, on ]\Iain street, between Second and
I'hird streets. His freighting business grew
until he was encouraged to add three ten-mule
wagons to his train.

After about four years Mr. Lynch sold
his freighting outfit that he might confine his
energies to his blacksmithing, carriage making
and hardware business, and he continued to

468

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

do so from that date until the time of his
death, December 12, 1881.

]\Ir. Lynch was a broad-minded, pubHc-
spirited, benevolent man. He was three times
elected to a seat in the Walla Walla city comi-
cil, and in 1874 was elected on the Demo-
cratic ticket to represent the county in the
territorial legislature. He was one of the or-
ganizers of the Washington Volunteer Fire
Department, the first fire company in Walla
Walla. jNIr. Lynch was always a devout
Catholic, but was too broad a man to confine
his sympathy and benevolence to any one
organization. He subscribed liberally to
all religious sects, and no worthy cause
ever solicited his aid in vain. Li Port-
land, Oregon, June 18, 1861, he mar-
ried Miss Mary Byrne, a native of Ireland,
reared and educated in the county of Roscom-
mon. \Mien eighteen she came with neighbors
to Chicago, Illinois, and made her home with
her brother, a business man there. In 1859
the brother died, and she came via Panama to
Vancouver, W^ashington, where she lived with
another brother until her marriage, since which
she has been a resident of Walla Walla. She
and her husband became parents of eight chil-
dren : Edward M. and Elitia May, deceased ;
Sarah A., wife of Hon. D. J. Crowley, of Ta-
coma, counsel for the Northern Pacific Rail-
way; Gertrude M., now iMrs. A. C. Marcon-
nier; Eliza Margaret, now Mrs. \\'. A. Fergu-
son, of Walla Walla; Charles H., a bookkeeper
for his brother in this city; Martin M., a
clerk ill Walla Walla ; and Robert E., a plumber
in Walla Walla.

Since Mr. Lynch's death his widow has
done all in her power to carry out his charita-
ble desires, assisting every worthy cause to
the full extent of her abilit}^. She is a mem-
ber of the Ladies' Relief Society, a society

incorporated under the laws of the state of
\\'ashington in March, 1885, though organ-
ized in 1880. It is devoted to general charita-
ble purposes, recognizing no sect or creed in
the furtherance of its noble work. Mrs.
Lynch is one of the oldest members of the
organization, and has always been a hard
worker for the good of the cause.

HON. WILLIAM G. PRESTON.— It is
with great pleasure that we now essay the task
of outlining the life history of one whom an
adventurous spirit early led to the sea, and
afterwards kept on the forefront of civiliza-
tion's march during the decades of a long and
successful career. Our subject has always
been a giant in achievement and one before
whom difticulties that would overwhelm a less
resolute man vanished like the dew before the
rays of the morning sun.

Mr. Preston was born in Galway, Sara-
toga county, New York, on the 23d of Novem-
ber, 1832, and his education was acquired in
Galway academy, located in the town of his
birth. When eighteen years old, he went to
live with his uncle. Rev. A. W. Piatt, a Pres-
byterian minister, residing in Tompkins coun-
tv. New York, with whom he remained until
1852. He then went to sea, visiting New^
Brunswick, New Orleans, Liverpool and other
points in Great Britain and America, and re-
turning to Galway, via Boston, in 1854.

That year witnessed the opening for settle-
ment of the territory of Nebraska, and thither
our subject went in the fall, making the jour-
ney by way of Chicago and Rock Island, down
the ]\Iississippi to St. Louis, and up the Mis-
souri river, there being no direct railway con-
nection at that time. Locating at Bellevue,

WILLIAM G. PRESTON.

MRS. WILLIAM G. PRESTON.

PLAIT A. PRESTON.

MRS. PLATT A. PRESTON.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

■he became captain of Colonel Sarpee's large
ferry-boat in 1855, and when the territorial
capital was moved to Omaha, and the boat
sold to the Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry
Company, he went with it to Omaha. Li
1857, he removed to Steubenville, Ohio, and
built the Omaha Cit}', a double engine, side-
wheel boat, designed to carry freight on the
river. In 1858, leaving the ferry industry in
charge of his brother, he went to Pike's Peak,
Colorado, and was among the first on the site
of Denver, building one of the first houses.
He was engaged in mining in the Gregory
mines for a couple of years but, meeting with
only indifferent success, he resolved to try his
fortunes in northern Idaho, then a part of the
territory of Washington. He went in by the
upper Snake river, crossing the stream in a
wagon bed, and by old Fort Lemhi at the head
of the Salmon river.

Mr. Preston's connection with the town
of Waitsburg dates back to 1866. Shortly
after his arrival he purchased a half interest
in the Washington Flouring mills, adding also
a general merchandise business. He and his
brother, Piatt A., bought out Mr. Wait, the
original owner, and has continued in the busi-
ness ever since, at times having other asso-
ciates in both milling and merchandise. He
is a director in the Merchant's Bank of Waits-
burg, a stockholder and director in the Schwa-
bacher Company's general merchandise store at
Walla Walla, was prominently connected with
the Puget Sound Dressed ]\Ieat Company when
that was in existence, and is very largely in-
terested in farming lands and in stock. While
evidences of Mr. Preston's wonderful enter-
prise and great executive ability are every-
where manifest, they are especially to be
found in the W'ashington Mills, which have
long been the leading industry of Waitsburg,

and which have ever been so successfully man-
aged as to win for their products the first place
for excellence and a very enviable reputation
tlie state over. The plant is in all respects
equal to the best, and the people of the city
are justly proud of it.

Notwithstanding the exacting nature of his
many duties in connection with his private busi-
ness, Mr. Preston has always found time to
take an interest in politics, and, when called
upon to perform the public duties for which
his fine intellectual endowments so well ciuali-
fied him, to attend to the same with faithful-
ness and care. ^Mien in the legislature in
1 88 1, he was appointed chairman of the very
important Ways and Means committee.

Preston was married, in 1S69, to Miss
Matilda Cox, a daughter of the noted Hon.
Anderson Cox, and perhaps the first white
child born in Idaho. Their union has been
blest by the advent of three children, Bert and
Dale, in the Preston Grocery Company cf
Walla ^^'alla, and Charles, in the mills at
\\'aitsburg.

As an interesting reminiscence, we may
record that in 1862, Mr. Preston and his
brother, while on their way to the Idaho min-
ing region, crossed the Snake river above Fort
Hall when the stream was swollen by melting
snows, using their wagon bed as a boat. The
experiment was a very dangerous one, but
they managed to thus safely ferr)- across the
camp equipments and wagons of a large train
of immigrants, swimming the stock. On reach-
ing Fort Lemhi, as wagons could be taken no
further, they traded their cattle and wagons
to some of those in the train who became dis-
couraged and turned back, receiving mules in
exchange. Pack saddles were made and their
first experience in the most primitive form of
transportation where beasts of burden are used

470

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

was had. One of the mules rolled down the
mountain and landed in the brush hundreds
of feet below, but further than that no great
tosses were sustained. After experiencing such
hardships as only a packer knows anything
about, they at length reached the Elk City
mines, where the search for the key to na-
ture's vaults besran.

HOX. PLATT A. PRESTON.— Among
the representatives of nature's nobility, who
in early days made their way to the Pacific
coast, is the man whose name forms the cap-
tion of this article, and fortunate it is for the
industrial and social life of the \\'alla Walla
valley that it was so long favored by the pres-
ence and influence of such a man. His great
executive ability and capacity for managing
a multiplicity of enterprises at the same time
enabled him to perform tasks which would
have been far beyond the power of ordinary
men, while his splendid intellectual develop-
ment and sterling integrity made him many
times the choice of the electors for high of-
fices of trust and emolument. Li the per-
formance of every duty, whether it would be
classed as important or otherwise, he was sig-
nally faithful, and his broad-minded charity
and unwavering disposition to treat everyone
with whom he came in contact with fairness
and courtesy made him friends by the hun-
dreds.

Our subject was born in Saratoga countv,
New York, in 1837. His father, Calvin, a
physician by profession, was also a son of the
Empire state, and his mother, nee McAlister,
Avas likewise born there. Mr. Preston received
his education in the public schools and in
Princeton Academy, and when the time ar-

rived for him to leave the parental roof and to-
initiate independent action, came out to Oma-
ha, Nebraska, where for four years he was
employed by the Council Bluft's and Omaha
Ferry Company. In i860, we find him mining
m Colorado and, in 1862, in that part of Wash-
ington territory now included in the state of
Idaho, his business still being to hunt assidu-
ously for the hidden treasure. In 1866 he-
became identified with the town of Waitsburg,
where he turned his attention to milling, pur-
chasing an interest in the plant of Mr. Wait,
the city's founder. Success attended his efforts
in the new , town from the first, his property in-
terests increased steadily and his wealth grew
unceasingly. He became the owner of one of
the finest residences in the city, besides much
other realty within the corporate limits, and, to-
gether with his brother, W'illiam G., held the
title to some five thousand acres of excellent
wheat land, all of which was fully utilized in
the production of cereals. He and his brother
owned most of their property in common and
always looked carefully after each other's in-
terests.

]\Ir. Preston was a member of the last terri-
torial legislature, and so satisfactorj- to the
constituency was his service that the electors
thereof honored him by keeping him in the
state senate for four years. One singular cir-
cumstance connected with his public life is that
though he was so prominent in many hotly
contested political campaigns, he seems to
have made no enemies, the charm of his per-
sonality being such as to disarm hostility. He
was appointed penitentiary commissioner by
Gov. Ferry, and at dift'erent times served as
city councilman and school director, and in
numerous other capacities.

In 1869, he became the husband of her who
had been Miss Laura Billups, a native of

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

47r

Iowa, and the issue of their union was four
children. Airs. Preston died in 1897.

About three or four years ago, Mr. Pres-
ton bought a home on Portland Heights, Port-
land, Oregon, and there his family were resid-
ing at the time of his sudden demise. He died
of heart decease on March 12, 1900, while
traveling in Texas for the benefit of his daugh-
ter's health, but though that melancholy event
took place in Galveston, at the home of his
youngest brother, Calvin W. Preston, his re-
mains lie buried in Waitsburg cemetery. He
had been a prominent Mason, having once
served as Grand Master, and at the time of
his funeral the members of that fraternity in
Walla Walla testified their esteem and regard
by chartering a special train and attending en
masse. All the papers of the state with one
accord bore testimony to his exalted character,
splendid abilities and great service, and the
memorial tribute of love, prepared by Waits-
burg Chapter, No. 9,0rder of the Eastern Star,
so admirably indites the regard and esteem in
which the deceased was held not alone by the
members of that order but by the entire com-
munity that we cannot refrain from reproduc-
ing it in full. It reads as follows : "Any at-
tempt to express the very high esteem in which
Brother Piatt A. Preston was held by the
members of this chapter or the consecjuent sor-
row because of his death can only prove futile.
The official position he has held among us,
while it is an intimation of our regard, fails
to voice our love for him as a brother, com-
panion and fellow-laborer in carrying forward
the benevolent and fraternal purposes of our
beloved order. He has been with us from the
beginning and has shared all our labors, has
borne with us our sorrows and participated in
our joys and pleasures. But yesterday he was
with us, and suddenly, before we can fully

realize it, he has taken his silent and final de-
parture. We can only hold him in our fond
remembrance, only recall the pleasant hours
of social intercourse enjoyed while he was with
us and hope for a happy reunion bye and bye
when partings never come to sadden the heart
and bedim the eye. Brother Preston was a
man of many excellent qualities. He was a
well poised man, one who was not spoiled by-
positions of honor, trust or emolument. He
never forgot that he himself was human and.
that others were entitled to the same rights as
he. This made him companionable, made him
friends, and it is with no little pride we say
with confidence that notwithstandmg his long-
residence in this community, though it was
one of activity in business of various kinds
and in political life, yet his friends were legion^
while no man called him "enemy." No stain
ever rested upon his character. We cannot
say more, for words are weak. Human speech
cannot be formed to adequately express the
heart's deep emotions at the loss of a trusted
and beloved friend such as Brother Preston,
to each and every one of us. His memory is
enshrined in our hearts and while we cherish
that memory, let us strive to em.ulate his many-
virtues and bow in humble submission to 'Hinx
who doeth all things well.' W'e can only tend
our heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved children
and relatives, commending them to God and
His promises in their great sorrow. Dear
Brother, farewell !"

THOMAS COPELAND, a farmer resid-
ing six miles southeast of Walla Walla, was
born in the state of Orfegon in i86r. He
was, however, reared in Walla Walla county,
whither his parents brought him in April,

-472

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

1863. He acquired a public-school education,
then \vent to work on the parental farm. On
attaining his majority he rented a portion of
his father's land and engaged in agricultural
•pursuits on his own account. In 1887 he
bought a two-hundred-and-forty-acre tract
which formed the nucleus for his present mag-
nificent I'anch of twelve hundred acres, the
remaining nine hundred and sixty being ac-
<phred by pre-emption and purchase. He has
fine, well-bred horses, cattle and hogs, and ex-
cellent improvements, in fact everything about
his premises bears eloquent testimony to his
•thrift and energy. On his place is a water
■plant costing upwards of one thousand dol-
lars, and one of the finest barns in the county.
His principal production, as is the case with
most of the other large farmers of that sec-
tion of the Inland Empire, is wheat.

In addition to his real estate holdings, j\Ir.
Copeland has some quite valuable mining in-
terests, and he is also the owner of stock in
the Warehouse & Elevator Company at Walla
'\\'alla. He has held a few local offices, among
them those of road overseer and school trus-
tee. Fraternally he is identified with the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, into which
order he was initiated about twelve years ago.
In this county, in 1889, he married Miss Min-
nie Harman, a member of an old and respected
pioneer family, and a native of New York
state. They have three children, namely,
Ralph, Clara and ^Martha.

at his handicraft as a journeyman for several
years. In 1862, however, he came to New
York, opened a shop of his own and started
to build up a business. He was there for sev-
eral years, but finally tiring of the line in which
he was engaged, he removed to Iowa and
turned his attention to farming.

After pursuing that industry there for
three years, Mr. Harmen came to Walla Walla,
arriving in October, 1873. He bought a place
south of the city, not far from the fort, and
on this he lived and farmed until, on July 17,
1892, he was called to depart this life. He
had been an industrious, thrifty and frugal
man, and left his family in good circumstances.
Mr. Harmen was married in Volgest, Ger-
many, in November, 1859, to J^Iiss Caroline
Moll, a native of that country, and their union
was blest by the advent of five children, Charles
and William, with their mother on the farm,
George and Frank, residents of the valley,
and Minnie, now Mrs. Thomas Copeland.
Mr. Harmen was a member of the German
Lutheran church, and his widow also belongs
to that denomination.

CHARLES T. HARMEN, deceased, a
pioneer of 1873, was born in Berlin, Germany,
April 19, 1828. He was educated in the pub-
lic schools of his native land, and learned the
j^rade of a wagon maker there, also worked

JOSEPH McEVOY, a farmer on the Old
Dalles road, four miles southwest of Walla
Walla, a pioneer of 1856, was born in county
Kilkenny, Ireland, on May 26, 1832. He
passed the first eighteen years of his life in
his native land, receiving his educational
training in a private school, but in 1850 he
sailed for New York. He remained in that
city five months, then enlisted in the Lnited
States army for general service. He was soon
transferred to Company E, First Regiment
Mounted Rifles, and sent west. He served
with that branch of the army for two and a

CHARLES T. HARMEN.

MRS. CAROLINE HARMEN.

JOSEPH McEVOY.

JOHN F. ABBOTT.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

473

half years on the plains of Kansas, Nebraska,
and Wyoming, but in 1854 was transferred to
Company E, First Regiment Dragoons. He
participated in the Rogue river war, in the
Yakima war, and in 1856, while on his way
to take station at Fort Walla Walla, had a
hard fight with Indians on the Umatilla river,
where his company was surrounded after res-
cuing Governor Stevens and escort, who had
been previously surrounded on Russell creek.

Some time before this, also, Mr. McEvoy
was with Captain Gunnison, of the engineer
■corps, on a surveying expedition in Utah. He,
with the remainder of the escort except eight
men, was ordered to proceed further up the
Survey 'river, where they were then working,
the captain instructing them to search out a
good camping place, and await his arrival a
few days later. The next morning one of the
men who had remained behind came into camp
bringing the melancholy news that the cap-
tain and the other seven men had been mas-
sacred by Indians.

At the expiration of his term of service,
Mr. McEvoy hired out to the cjuartermaster
of Fort Walla Walla to herd government cattle.
He was thus employed two years and for three
years thereafter he was in charge of the quar-
termaster's stables. He then took a homestead
of eighty acres and a pre-emption of the same
proportions adjoining, the land for which he
had expressed a desire when he first marched
into Walla Walla. He still owns and works
this land, raising a variety of farm products,
and exhibiting the same courage and forti-
tude in his battle with opposing forces which
characterized him while battling with the red
men on the plain. He affiliates with the In-
dian War A^eterans.

Mr. McEvoy was married in Portland,
Oregon, on March 10, 1859, to Miss Eliza

Benn, a native of county Limerick, Ireland,
and a pioneer of the coast of 1858. They had
nine children, one of whom is deceased. Of
the eight living children, two daughters are
residing with their husbands in this valley,
two sons, Patrick A. and Charles H. (the
former of whom was the first white child born
in this county, the date being March 13,
i860), are married and residing in Nevada
and Farmington, Washington, respectively,
and three sons and one daughter are at home
with their father. Mrs. McEvoy died in Walla
Walla on May 26, 1898, after a residence of
forty years in the valley. She lies buried in
the Valley Chapel cemetery, beside her son.

JOHN F. ABBOTT, deceased, a pioneer
of 1859, belonged to that class of men whom
adventurous spirit's and love of nature in its
wildness and variety have kept constantly in
the forefront of civilization's march. He was
born in New York, March 25, 1823, and there
he spent the first thirteen years of his life. He
then started to make his own way in the world,
and sought his fortunes in various states, final-
ly settling in Wisconsin, where he had his
initial experience in the stage-line business.

In 1849 Mr. Abbott crossed the plains to
California, where he at once engaged in min-
ing, following that occupation for two years.
He subsequently came to Lafayette, Oregon, and
established a stage-line between that town and
Portland, and also another between Jackson-
ville and Sterlingville. In 1859 he removed to
Walla Walla, only to resume staging on a
route extending from that town to Wallula.
He also became interested in a livery business,
and with Thomas & Ruckle in the hercu-
lean task of establishing a stage line from

474

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Walla ^^'alla over the Blue mountains to Boise,
Idaho. He busied himself in connection with
this route until 1873, when he sold out his in-
terests, purchased land and turned his attention
to farming.

In this new calling JNIr. Abbott seems to
have been very successful, for at the time of
his death he had large real estate holdings
in the county. He was a public-spirited, pro-
gressive man, ever ready to contribute liberally
of his means to any deserving enterprise, and
when he died on ^larch 14. 1896, the city and
county of Walla Walla sustained a great loss.
Fraternally, he was a prominent Odd Fellow.
^^'hiIe in Oregon he married Susan Creighton
(itcc Snyder), a native of Ohio, the widow of
N. AI. Creighton, and to them were born three
children, John H., a farmer; Belle, wife of Dr.
Alanzey. of Spokane; and Anna, wife of Major
\\'. H. INIiller, formerly chief quartermaster
in Cuba, now stationed at Boston, ]Massa-
chusetts.

John H. Abbott, the oldest son, whose con-
nection with Walla Walla dates back to i860,
was born in Lafayette, Oregon, March 5, 1854.
He received his education in the public schools
of \A'aIla \\'alla, in Whitman College and in
the Bishop Scott's grammar school of Port-
land. For many 3'ears he was his father's
manager, but he has since engaged in farm-
ing, becoming one of the extensive tillers of
the soil of the county. At present he is the
owner of about one thousand acres in this
vicinity, besides a stock ranch on Snake river
and some town property. Like his father, he
affiliates with the I. O. O. F. He was mar-
ried in ^^''alla Walla, ]\Iarch 16, 1884, to Miss
Josephine V. \\"iseman, a native of Idaho, and a
pioneer of 1858. They have four children liv-
ing, namely: Byra, Verna, Emily, and Susan,
also two deceased, Annabel and Lisle.

DR. N. G. BLALOCK, physician and sur-
geon, is a native of North Carolina, born in
1836. He received his primary education there
and studied in the Tusculum College for two
years. He also began the study of medicine
in that state, but completed his professional
training in Jeiiferson Medical College, from
which he graduated in March, 1861. The next
year he entered the army as assistant surgeon
of the One Hundred and Fifteenth Illinois
Volunteers, remaining with his regiment until
1863, when he was compelled to resign on
account of ill health. For the ensuing twelve
years he pract-ced medicine near Decatur, Illi-
nois, but at length he decided to try his fortunes
ir the west, and accordingly set out with teams
to Walla Walla.

Upon his arrival Dr. Blalock at once re-
sumed his practice, and he has given a share
of his attention to that ever since, though he
has also been quite extensively interested in
farming. He was the first to raise wheat in
the foot hills of the Blue mountains, produc-
ing crops which would seem almost fabulous
to those unfamiliar with the fertility of the
soil of that region. One thousand acres in
a square yielded, under his skillful husbandry,
fifty-one thousand bushels of wheat. At pres-
ent he is an extensive fruit-raiser, owning
what is now known as the Blalock fruit farm,
two miles west of \\'alla Walla, upon which
are sixty thousand fruit trees. He also has
the title to an island in the Columbia river,
containing four thousand acres, which he is
now developing into an immense fruit and al-
falfa farm.

Despite the demands of his medical practice
and the cares of his extensive real estate hold-
ings. Dr. Blalock has always found time to
perform well and faithfully his duties as a
citizen. He rendered efficient service in 1889

N. G. BLALOCK

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

475-

as a member of the Constitutional convention;
for several years he was mayor of Walla Walla,
and in many other ways he has taken his place
as a leader in the political affairs of city, county
and state. He stands high in his profession,
and belongs to the United States, county and
state medical associations. He was married in
North Carolina, in 1858, to Miss Panthea A.
Durham, who died in 1864, leaving two chil-
dren, one of whom, Dr. Y. C. Blalock, still
survives and is a practicing physician in Walla
^^'alla. Li 1865 the Doctor married again, the
lady being ]\Iarie E. Greenfield, and by this
union he has two daughters.

JOHN D. LA]\IB, a farmer residing at
304 East Sumach street, Walla Walla, is a
native of this county, born March 8, 1861.
He has passed his entire lifetime thus far in the
valley, receiving his education in the local
public schools. On arriving at years of ma-
turity he entered the hardware and furniture
business in this city, but in 1893 he sold out
and invested in a six-hundred-and-forty-acre
farm on Eureka Flat. He has farmed this
ever since, though his residence is in the city.
He also owns considerable garden land in the
vicinity of Walla Walla, and has, in addition
to his elegant home, considerable city real es-
tate of value.

Mr. Lamb is a man of unusual ability, as
is evinced by the fact that he has been re-
markably successful, both as a business man
and a farmer, while others with opportunities
as good or better have failed. He is quite
prominent in political circles, and may well
be ranked as one of the leaders of the local
Democracy. He served two years on the city
council, and in the current year, 1900, was

the nominee of his party for the responsible
office of police judge. Mr. Lamb was mar-
ried in Walla Walla, July 2, 1887, to Miss
Alice Morrison, also a native of this county,
born November i, 1864. Mrs. Lamb's father,
John Morrison, was a native of Michigan,
but came to Walla Walla in very early days.
He died in February, 1866, and his remains
lie buried in the city cemetery. Her mother
is now Mrs. E. G. Riffle.

CARRICK H. BARNETT, a pioneer of
Walla Walla of 1877, was born at Athens,
Tennessee, July 17, 1836. When quite young
he was taken by his parents to Wright county,
Missouri, where his mother died and where he
resided until twelve years old. The father,
who was for four years sheriff of the county,
died before completing his second term, and
our subject removed to Dallas county, to the
home of his uncle. Mr. Frederick Hale. He
remained with that gentleman until seventeen,
working on the farm and receiving such edu-
cation as was obtainable in a frontier public
school.

Mr. Barnett, in 1854, crossed the plains,
having been emploj-ed to drive a band of four
hundred head of cattle to Marysville, Cali-
fornia. He made the trip in four months.
That task accomplished, he went to Napa val-
ley, where he worked on a wheat farm for ten
months. He then rode on mule back to Oak-
land, Douglas county, Oregon, and secured
from the well-known Dr. Dorsey S. Baker a
job of freighting from that town to the south-
ern Oregon mines. He soon became a third
owner in the teams and equipments.

Mr. Barnett participated in the Rogue river
Indian war of this period, serving under Cap-

476

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

tain William Chapman, who organized a com-
pany of his own. In 1858, he, in company
with other parties, bought a flour mill from
Dr. Baker, and he was engaged in the dual oc-
cupation of milling and farming until about
1862, when he sold his interest and gave his
exclusive attention to agriculture and stock
raising. In 1877, he came to the Walla Walla
valley, bought two hundred and forty acres
of land on Russell creek, and again engaged
in farming. Being an ambitious man and
possessed of those qualities which insure suc-
cess in farming or almost any other business,
he naturally increased his realty holdings from
time to time, until he became the owner of
nearly one thousand acres. This mammoth
farm he and his sons are now cultivating for
wheat and barley, raising large crops an-
nually.

^h. Barnett made his home on the farm
until 1890, but since that year he has been
living on a fine tract of city land comprising
about four lots, upon which he erected a con-
venient and elegantly furni-shed modern home.
He and ^Irs. Barnett both belong to the IM.
E. church of Walla Walla. Mr. Barnett was
married first in Oakland. Oregon, in Octo-
ber, 1858, to Aliss Sarah E. Reed, who died
in that town March 13, 1870, leaving four
children: William H., Walter S., now on the
farm, Ida, deceased, and George E., a dentist
in Walla Walla. On ]\Iay 25, 1873, Air.
Barnett married Mrs.- Sarah E. Brown, a na-
tive of Illinois, who is also one of our early
settlers, having come to Walla Walla valley
in June, 1871.

JUDGE JOHN A. TAYLOR is a pioneer
of Walla Walla, of 1876, but he has taken an
important part in the development of the \\'est

for nearly half a century. He was born in Xew
York, September 12, 1825. \Mien thirteen
years old, he came with his father to Lancaster,
Wisconsin, and there he resided until 1852.
In that year he set out with ox-teams on the
long journey across the plains, landing in
Portland, Oregon, October 6, after a six
months' trip. His first undertaking in the new
country was the establishment of a ferry about
eleven miles south of Portland, on the Tualatin
river. This he operated until 1863, in which
}-ear a toll bridge was built by him at a cost
of four thousand dollars.

In 1874 Mr. Taylor became proprietor of
a hotel at Amity, Yam Hill county, but this
he disposed of in 1876, to come to Walla
Walla, where he has since resided. Upon his
arrival here, he engaged in selling farm ma-
chinery for the Hawley-Dodd Company. He
remained with them nearly three years, then
with Paine Bros, three years, and then with
W'illiam Jones for fourteen months. In 1882
he was elected justice of the peace and police
judge of the city, which offices he retained
for the ensuing twelve years. For the three
years prior to 1899, he maintained a gents'
furnishing store in \\'alla ^^■alla, but since that
date he has been enjoying a well earned re-
tirement.

Judge Taylor has long been active in the
councils and campaigns of the Republican
party, and to him belongs the honor of having
been the first Republican elected to the legis-
lature from Walla Walla county. He was also
elected a member of the citv council in 1878,
and, being reelected the next year, served two
terms. He is a man of probity, independence,
and force of character, and well fitted to oc-
cupy a position of prominence among his fel-
low men. For forty 3'ears he has been an
active and esteemed member of the Masonic

JOHN A. TAYLOR.

MRS. JOHN A. TAYLOR.

J. J. ROHN.

JAMES M. DEWAR.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

477

fraternity. He was married in Lancaster,
Wisconsin, October 25, 1846, to Miss Sarah
McKinzie, a native of Kentucky, and to their
union have been born six children, namely :
Lucetta, now Mrs. S. C. Kelley ; Frank ; Annie,
deceased; Ella, now Mrs. R. F. Mead, a
banker in Spokane; Jennie, wife of Daniel
Wann, and John E., a traveling salesman for
a Seattle firm. Mrs. Taylor was born June
II, 1825, in W'est Liberty, Morgan county,
Kentucky. While a small girl she left her
native state with her parents and removed to
Lancaster, W'isconsin, where she was educated
in the common schools (the only available
schools at the time). There she met and mar-
ried Mr. Taylor, with whom she removed to
this country. She has been his life partner fifty-
four years, sharing w'ith him all his trials and
hardships and enjoying with him his suc-
cesses.

J. J. ROHN, one of the thrifty farmers and
pioneers of the county, residing nine miles
east of Walla Walla, was born in Baden,
Germany, in 1835. He was left an orphan
when ten years old ; but was cared for and
educated by his uncle. When seventeen years
old, he emigrated to the United States, realiz-
ing that the opportunities for a young man of
energy and ability w'ere far superior here to
those ofi^ered in the old world. He worked
at his trade, wood gilding, in New York for a
while, and then spent ten months in Balti-
more, in the same occupation, subseciuently en-
listing in the United States army as a mem-
ber of the First Dragoons. He was sent to
California at once, and before long found him-
self engaged in Lidian warfare. During the
five years of his army life he was almost con-
stantly in conflict with the red men, not only

in California, but in Oregon and Washington,
as well.

Upon receiving his discharge at Vancouver
ir i860, Mr. Rohn proceeded direct to Walla
Walla county, took up a claim of one hundred
and sixty acres on Mill creek, invested five hun-
dred dollars, which frugal living had enabled
him to save out of his soldier's pay, in stock,
and engaged in the business of cattle raising.
He was unfortunate at first, and lost heavily,
but, with commendable perseverance, moved
further down the creek, purchased more land,
and started again. He has prospered ever
since, adding to his real estate holdings from
time to time until he is now the owner of four
hundred and seven acres, highly improved and
most of it in an excellent state of cultivation.

Our subject is entirely a self made man.
Starting in a new land, without even a knowl-
edge of our language, he has, by his own un-
aided efiforts, wrought his way to a competency,
and to a rank among the leading farmers of the
county. Few men enjoy a greater degree of
the esteem and good will of their neighbors,
than does Mr. Rohn. He married, in 1866,
Miss Sarah E. Sanders, a most estimable lady,
who unfortunately died in 1872. She left four
children: Katie, wife of Thomas Bryant; Ma-
line, now Mrs. Harry Gilkerson : Fred, now liv-
ing on his father's old homestead on Mill creek ;
and Sarah J., who died in 1874.

HON. JAMES M. DEWAR, deceased,
was a native of Scotland, born February 12,
1824, in the county of Perth, near the ancient
castle of Doune. His parents were farmers on
the northern slope of the Grampian hills, and
he was cradled among the scenes of Scottish
legend, and passed his early years by the banks

478

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

of the waters of the beautiful ri^■er Teith,
which is fed by the pure waters of Lakes Cath-
erine and \'ennacher, where Fitz James, the
Scottish king, first met his "Lady of the Lake."
Not less adventurous by nature than the storied
heroes of Scottish romance, I\Ir. Dewar early
conceived the desire to look beyond the scenes
of his native hills, and to have a part in the
struggles of the new country to emerge from
barbarism to civilization. This desire grew
in intensity with the advent of manhood until,
in 1S53, it forced him from the home roof
and across the ocean to America.

For the five years following the date of his
arrival, Mr. Dewar traveled over the northern
states of the American union, and in 1858 we
find him on the Pacific coast. \Miile sojourn-
ing at Champoeg. on the Willamette river, he
met a relative of his named Archibald AIc-
Kinlay. the man who is so well known to all
the pioneers of the northwest as a fearless
leader of trapping expeditions, and a valued
employe of the Hudson's Bay Company. Mr.
]\IcKinlay advised his young relative to seek
his fortunes in the Walla Walla valley, point-
ing out to him the many advantages and bright
prospects for a grand future which that region
possessed, but at the same time warning him
that he could not enter the valley without for
a time at least risking his scalp. But the man
who had in his veins the blood of Bruce and
Wallace, and whose ideas of manly courage
had been developed by reading of the stirring
deeds of his warlike ancestors, was not to be
deterred by any possible danger from Indians,
so on the 4th of January, 1859, he entered the
valley which was his home until ]\Iarch 27,
1892, when death called him, as we believe, to
a higher sphere of usefulness.

His first home in this county was a log
cabin on Cottonwood creek. The picturesque

surroundings of this primitive dwelling place
had taken his fancy, and he had purchased it
with the land claim on which it was built,
paying the original owner fifty dollars for the
whole. During the first years of his occupancy,
he did not intend to make it his permanent
home, but rather a temporar)- base of opera-
tions, his business being to raise large herds
of cattle and horses for the Pacific coast mar-
ket. As time went by, however, he grew to
like the locality, and as the country was set-
tled up and his range began to narrow, he sold
off his surplus stock, turning his attention to
agricultural pursuits. His farm originally
comprised three hundred and twentv acres, but
it was afterwards increased by the purchase of
one hundred and seventy-four acres more near
by. All of this land has been enclosed by
fence and brought to a high state of cultivation,
and, as may be supposed, the log cabin has long
since given place to a cosy and comfortable
modern home. The oldest orchard in the
county, with one exception, is upon this farm.
Although never an ardent partisan, Mr.
Dewar always took such interest in political
matters as becomes a good citizen, and he
was more than once called upon to perform
the duties of very important offices. In 1878
he was elected by the Republican party to a
seat in the territorial legislature, and while
there became the author of the celebrated rail-
way freight bill which bore his name. He was
again elected to represent the county in 1882,
and 3-et again in 1888, but did not serve the
last time as that legislature never met owing
to the fact that in 1889 the territory was ad-
mitted to statehood. He also served as a dele-
gate to the convention which nominated can-
didates for membership in the body to which
the drafting of our state constitution was en-
trusted. In all .his public services he proved

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

479

true to those who had reposed confidence in
liim, discharging his every duty honestly and
with an eye single to the general benefit, and
earning for himself an honored place among
the builders of the state.

Mr. Dewar was married in Walla Walla
[• January 27, 1864, the lady of his choice being-
Miss Margaret McRae, wdio still survives, and
who is fortunate in being the recipient of the
esteem and respect of all. Seven children were
born of this union, three of whom, Alexander,
Elida and Gorden M., are li\-ing, but the re-
maining four, John, James ]\I., Elizabeth and
David, have passed away, the last two having
died of diphtheria on the same day. In re-
ligious persuasion, the family are Presby-
terians.

JOHN A. DAVIS, a farmer residing
about eight miles southeast of Walla Walla,
a pioneer of 1863, is a native of Owen coun-
ty. Indiana, born in 1839. The first nine years
of his life were passed in the state of his na-
tivity, but in 1848 the family moved to south-
ern Iowa, and there Mr. Davis completed his
education. He worked on the paternal farm
until twenty years old, then engaged in that
occupation on his own behalf. In 1863, he
started with ox-teams on the long and danger-
ous trip across the plains, and on the 4th of
September of that year he arrived in \\''alla
Walla. He experienced several Indian scares,
but had no trouble with the red men.

J\lr. Davis w'orked for wages here for a
while at first, but in 1864 homesteaded a
place nine miles east of Walla Walla, and be-
gan farming. He resided on this quarter sec-
tion continuously until 1882, then sold out and
purchased a tract of six hundred acres eight
miles southeast of the citv, on Cottonwood

creek. This he farmed until about four years
ago, but of late years he has been letting it
out to renters. For many years he was an
extensive producer of wheat and barley, and
handled large numbers of stock every season,
but he is now retired to his magnificent rural
home to enjoy a well-earned rest. He has in
addition to his real estate an interest in the
Davis Kaser Furniture Company.

For many years Mr. Davis was a xevy
efficient force in the industrial development of
this country, and he has certainly done his
share towards redeeming the primeval, wild
and unsubdued Walla Walla valley, and mak-
ing it a fit dwelling place for civilized hu-
manit}^ He was married in Iowa, in January,
1862, to Caroline Snoday, and they have be-
come parents of twelve children, Margaret
A., James W., ]\Iary M., Laura E., Frank A.,
William M., Stella, Clara, Edna, Gertrude,
and Elmer, li\-ing, and Nellie, who died in
March, 1899.

JAMES CATION, deceased, whose con-
nection with Walla Walla dates back to 1886,
was born in Illinois, April 7, 1863. He re-
ceived a good general education and took a
very thorough course in the Gem City Business
College. When twenty-three years old, he
was tendered a position in the Walla \\'alla
Business College, and he taught in that insti-
tution a year, then, in connection with A. M.
Cation and Prof. James F. Stubblefield. found-
ed the Empire Business College, in which he
was instructor in bookkeeping until about
1889. He then became bookkeeper and after-
wards paying teller in the Baker-Boyer bank,
with which he was connected until, in 1S94,
he was compelled by failing health to resign.

48o

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

He afterwards audited the books of the city
as an expert, but his health continued poorly,
and on March 14, 1898, while trying the effect
of a more southerly climate, he died in Phoenix,
Arizona. His remains were sent back to
Walla Walla, and lie buried in the city cem-
etery.

Mr. Cation was a man of integrity and
worth, highly esteemed by those with whom
he came in contact, and his untimely demise
Avas a cause of deep regret to hosts of friends
and acquaintances. On April 22, 1891, in
the city of Walla Walla, he married Miss
Cora Lamb, a native of this city, daughter of
James M. and Jane Lamb, early pioneers of
the county. Mr. Cation was a member of the
Cumberland Presbyterian church, and his
widow is identified with that denomination.

CYRUS T. NELSON.— Among those who
are devoting their attention to the great basic
art of agriculture in Walla Walla county is
the gentleman whose name initiates this para-
graph, his fine farm being located six miles
north of the city of Walla Walla and the same'
being under excellent cultivation. As one of
the representative agriculturists of the county,
it is but consistent that we accord in this work
a review of the life of Mr. Nelson.

Born in the year 1839, our subject is a
native of Ohio, and he continued to make his
home in the old Buckeye state until he had at-
tained the age of twenty years, receiving his
educational training in the public schools and
early becoming familiar with the practical du-
ties of life, in which connection it may be said
tiiat he was engaged in work on the farm and
in a saw mill. Having determined to try his
fortunes in the New Eldorado, Mr. Nelson

left his old home, in the year 1859 and came to
California by way of the isthmus of Panama.
Upon arriving in the Golden state he made his
way into the mining districts, where he con-
tinued operations until November, 1861, when
he made his way to Walla Walla and thence
proceeded on a prospecting trip in Idaho, from
Florence City as headquarters. In June, 1862,
he went to the Oro Fino mining district, where
he was engaged until 1879, having in the
meantime passed the winters in Walla Walla,
which he looked upon as his home, he having
purchased land in the vicinity as early as 1870
and having rented the same until 1879, which
year stands as the date of his permanent loca-
tion in Walla Walla county. His ranch is lo-
cated on Dry creek, comprises eight hundred
acres and is well improved and under a high
state of cultivation, his entire attention hav-
ing practically been given to its improvement
since he located on the place in the year men-
tioned.

Mr. Nelson raises large crops of wheat and
alfalfa and also devotes considerable atten-
tion to the raising of live stock, — principally
cattle and hogs. Thoug-h his farming interests
are of distinct importance and value, our sub-
ject still maintains his association with the
mining industry and passes the summer months
in the Oro Fino mining districts, where he has
a valuable quartz mine. He has recently erect-
ed a five-stamp mill, which is now ready for
operation. In connection with his farming op-
erations Mr. Nelson owns a threshing machine,
which during the harvest season is in requisi-
tion throughout the farming districts con-
tiguous to his home place. On the ranch is a
fine orchard of about five acres from which an
excellent yield is obtained.

The marriage of Mr. Nelson was solem-
nized in Walla Walla county, in the year 1 873,

C. T. NELSON.

HIRAM NELSON.

NEWTON ALDRICH.

J S. KERSHAW.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

when he was united to Miss JuHa ]\IcInroe,
who became a resident of the county in 1871.
Of this union seven children were born and
only one of the number is deceased. The names
of the children, in order of birth, are as fol-
lows : Carrie L., George U., Lawrence F., Lora
A., Cyrus M., Edith Blanche (who died
March 18, 1900), and Ruth. The family en-
joy a distinct popularity in the community and
represent the sterling element which enters into
the makeup of the population of the favored
county of Walla Walla.

NEWTON ALDRICH, deceased, a pio-
neer of 1858, was born in New York state,
June 28, 1833. When quite young he was
taken by his parents to Michigan, where he
received his public school training and where
he lived until about nineteen years old. He
then came out to California, via the isthmus,
and engaged in teaming and mining. In 1858
he came to Walla \Valla county with a band
of stock, and before he disposed of the herd
he had decided to make his home in this sec-
tion. Accordingly he took a pre-emption about
two miles southwest of Dixie, and settled down
to the task of preparing a home for himself and
family. He bought more land from time to
time until he became the owner of five hun-
dred and twenty acres in the locality of his
home, and another farm two miles away. He
was engaged in raising wheat and horses until
the time of his death, January 26, 1888.

Mr. Aldrich was a good, substantial citi-
zen of the county, and though he seems to have
never been especially ambitious for leadership
among his fellows, and never accepted any
public office, he was, nevertheless, well thought
of and highly respected in the community in

which he lived. He was married in this coun-
ty, November 16, 1865, to Miss Annie Shoe-
maker, who still lives on the original home
place. They had three children, Minnie
Serepta, Ida Estella, who died June 30, 1869,
and Clara Etta.

HIRAM NELSON, a farmer, was born in
Stark county, Ohio, in 1836. He was reared
on a farm in his native state, accpiring his
education in the local public school. When nine-
teen he went to work on the railroad. The next
year, however, he went to California, via the
isthmus, and for the four years following the
date of his arrival he was engaged in mining.
In 1 86 1 he came to what is now known as
Pierce City, Idaho, where he and his brother
followed the business of putting in ditches until
1865.

Mr. Nelson then purchased a farm where
he now resides, about six miles north of the
city of Walla Walla, and settled down to>
the life of a farmer. As a result of his
labors, he is now the owner of a fine eight-
hundred-acre ranch, supplied with good build-
ings and all manner of farming implements.
He produces splendid crops of wheat, alfalfa,
timothy and fruit, also raises and handles a
great many hogs each season, and a number of
cattle and horses. He is a very industrious,
energetic, progressive man, and deserves a
place among the leading farmers of the county.
He is, moreover, a public-spirited man, ever
ready to do what he can for the promotion of
the general welfare, and he has at different
times served as road overseer and school di-
rector. In Walla Walla, on March 4, 1866,
our subject married Miss Sarah Ann Mclnroe,
a native of New York state, and to them have
been born five children : William T. ; Addie,.

482

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Avife of Frank Smith, of \\'alla Walla county;
Ellery J.; Clark S., deceased; and Hyram
G.. Jr.

^Ir. Xelson has been interested to a greater
or less extent in mining ever since his arrival
in California and at present is the owner of
some properties in the Oro Fino region.

JAMES S. KERSHAW, a pioneer of
1861, is a native of England, born July 5, 1836.
His father died when he was quite young,
and in 1841 his mother brought him to Amer-
ica. They lived a while in Pennsylvania, then
on the Hudson river and finally in Rhode
Island, where Mr. Kershaw completed his ed-
ucation and entered man's estate. In July,
1856, they went to Illinois, where, for the en-
suing five years, Mr. Kershaw w-orked as a
■carpenter and builder. But in the spring of
1 861 he crossed the plains with ox-teams to
Walla Walla valley and located on the site of
the present town of Dixie. A couple of years
later he took a homestead just east of the town
and upon this he has been farming and rais-
ing cattle ever since. He increased his real es-
tate holdings by purchase from time to time,
until he now ihas a farm of four hundred acres.
A thrifty, industrious man, he has made for
himself an excellent home, highly improved,
and supplied with almost everything which
has a tendency to render rural life pleasant and
comfortable. As a man and citizen his stand-
ing in the communit}- is of the highest, and he
enjoys an abundant measure of the good will
and esteem of his neighbors.

In Dixie, December 8, 1875, Mr. Kershaw
married Mary A. Cook, a native of England,
and to their union have been born two children ;
Bessie, now Mrs. Ernest Cantonwine ; and Ar-
thur C, recently married.

ROBERT E. BAUER.— This respected
pioneer was born and reared in La Belle
France, receiving a good common school edu-
cation. \\'ith the advent of manhood came
also the desire to trj' his fortune in the new
world, and in 1870 he emigrated to \\'alla
Walla, where he found employment with his
brother, who had come to this city as a soldier
in 1S56. He worked in the latter's wholesale
and retail tobacco house until 1890, except
for about three months of the year 1873, '^'•^r-
ing which time he maintained a barber shop
of his own at Baker City, Oregon, His brother
died in 1890. For the past few years our sub-
ject has been living in comparative retirement,
though he has been frequently called upon to
serve as court bailiff. He is a public-spirited
man, always solicitous for what he conceives
to be the best interests of the city and county
and quite active in politics.

MILTOX EVANS, of Walla Walla, a pio-
neer of August 31, 1 86 1, is a native of Pike
coimty, Ohio, born November 9, 1833, He
was reared on a farm in Scioto county, receiv-
ing only a "log cabin" education. On arriv-
ing at the age of twent3'-six, he went to Fre-
mont county, Iowa, where he farmed a year,
but in 1 85 1 he set out across the plains with
a mixed team, consisting of cows and oxen.
Arriving in the Walla Walla valley in the
fall of 1 86 1, he forthwith engaged in farm-
ing, renting land for the purpose at first, but
afterwards purchasing four hundred acres, to
which he later added another tract of two hun-
dred acres,

]\Ir. Evans was a farmer and stock raiser
on a quite extensive scale until 1883, but he
then sold the four-hundred-acre tract and

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

483

moved into Walla Walla, locating on a three-
acre garden spot within the city limits. Dur-
ing the past fifteen years Mr. Evans has de-
voted a considerable portion of his time to
introducing and experimenting with different
varieties of ornamental and forage grasses,
his purpose being to encourage the beautify-
ing of farms and to ■ render diversified farm-
ing pleasant and profitable, by finding a
species of grass which will do well on lands of
which little use can be made at present except
for wheat raising.

Mr. Evans remained on the garden spot
above mentioned until 1889, when he moved
to his present comfortable home at 216 S.
First street. He is the owner of two hundred
and fifty-five acres of land in this county, be-
sides real estate in Seattle and Ballard, and
stock in the Farmer's Savings bank of this
city.

Mr. Evans has been a valuable man to
this county in many ways, but his greatest
service consisted in what he has accomplished
for the reduction of freight rates. To effect
an ecpitable reduction in transportation
charges he has exerted herculean efforts, both
in the courts and in the legislature. As a re-
sult of a two-years legal battle with the O.
R. & N., he succeeded in reducing their charges
for transporting wheat six and one-half cents
per bushel, thereby putting millions into the
pockets of the farmers. He attended the leg-
islature during the session of 1896-97 and
personally interviewed each member of that
body on the freight rate question, thereby se-
curing material reductions on farm products
shipped from this section. Mr. Evans has
also filled many important local offices, among
them that of justice of the peace, school clerk,
county commissioner, and city councilman.
He is a prominent member of the Masonic

order, having joined Blue Mountain Lodge,
i\o. 13, as early as 1870. Religiously, he
was reared a Methodist, but for many years
past he has affiliated with the Cumberland
Presbyterian church. He is very liberal in his
theological views, as he is in politics and every-
thing else.

In this county, in June, 1871, Mr. Evans
married Miss Alice Braman, a native of Mas-
sachusetts, and a daughter of Palmer and
Julia Braman, pioneers of their section of this
state. To the gentle influence and ever kind-
ly sympathy of Mrs. Evans he attributes what-
ever success he has made of his life, and ad-
vises all young men to select a good and noble
woman and marry. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are
both passionately fond of music and dancing,
and in a social way are ever surrounded by a
coterie of congenial spirits, young and old,
and are thus passing the afternoon of their
li\'es in a manner delightful to themselves and
their friends.

CHARLES McINROE, a farmer resid-
ing six miles north of Walla ^Valla, was born
in Steuben county, New York, and there the
first nine years of his life were passed. In
1855, however, he went with the remainder
of the family to northern Wisconsin, where
he grew to manhood and completed his edu-
cation. His father was a farmer, but Mr.
Mclnroe early engaged in logging, lumbering,
river-driving, etc., an occupation which he
followed until, in 1879, he started for the west.
He came to Walla Walla, via San Francisco,
and for the first three years after his arrival
here he worked as a laboring man. At length,
he managed to accumulate enough to buy a
small farm. To this he has added from time
to time until he is now the owner of a full

484

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

section, all well improved and brought to a
high state of cultivation. He produces wheat
and barley principally, but also handles quite
a large number of cattle and horses. He
deserves an honored place among those who,
by industry and toil, have worked their way
to positions of comfort and respectability in
their communities, and who, in working out
their own destinies, have also contributed no
small amount to the general progress. For a
long time he has held the offices of road over-
seer and school director. In fraternal connec-
tions, he is identified with the I. O. O. F., the
K. P. and the Elks.

Mr. [Nlclnroe was married in A\'isconsin,
in February, 1887, to Miss ^laggie White,
and they have two children, Charles and
Blanchie.

Mrs. ^Iclnroe was postmistress of the
Valley Grove postoffice, which has since been
discontinued, for a period of seven years.

PATRICK RUSSELL, a farmer four
miles north of \\'alla Walla, was born in Ire-
land in 1849. He acquired his education in a
national school in his fatherland, receiving a
degree at the conclusion of his course. When
twenty-fone years of age he emigrated to \\"alla
Walla, coming via San Francisco. From the
date of his arrival until 1880 he was employed
as a teacher in the various public schools of
the county, but in that year he purchased land
and began farming. He kept increasing his
real estate holdings from time to time until in
1894 he had sixteen hundred acres. Since
then he has been disposing of his lands, until
his farm is now reduced to six hundred and
forty acres. He raises wheat as his principal
crop, but also produces the other cereals in

considerable quantities, and gives some atten-
tion to stock raising.

]Mr. Russell takes an active interest in po-
litical matters, and is quite a leader in his party.
He was chairman of the ^^'alIa Walla county
delegation to the state Democratic convention
of 1900. Fraternally he is identified with the
Catholic Knights of America. In May, 1883,
in the city of \\'alla ^^'alla, Ivlr. Russell was
united in marriage with ]Miss Mary Ann Poi-
riora, a native of Umatilla county, Oregon, and
their union has been blessed by the advent of
nine children : Mary E., Catherine, Annie,
Francis J., Gertrude, William P., Agnes and
James E., living; and ^^largaret, deceased.

WILLIA^I P. STURGIS, a pioneer of
1871, was born in Gorham, Maine, on Septem-
ber 4, 1 81 8, and in that town he grew up and
was educated. His father died in 1826, and he,
like the rest of the family, had to begin life's
battle young. When fifteen years old, he en-
gaged in general trading, and from that he later
went into the real estate business, which he fol-
lowed continuously for the ensuing thirty-
seven years. But in 1870 he set out for the
Walla Walla vallej^ and upon his arrival he
formed a partnership with A. S. Le Grow for
the purpose of engaging in the sheep business
on Wild Horse creek, about twenty miles south
of Walla Walla, where they purchased a quar-
ter-section of land. They afterwards moved
to the old Hudson's Bay trading post, about
twelve miles south of the city.

I\Ir. Sturgis was in this industry for twen-
ty-three years, but when the tariff was removed
during Cleveland's administration, the profits
of the business were so materially reduced that
he decided to try something else. Accordingly,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY,

485

he moved into ^^'alIa Walla with his family,
and engaged in the money loaning business.

Mv. Sturgis has always been a very efficient
force in the development and up-building of
the city and county, subscribing liberally to all
worthy charitable organizations and educa-
tional projects. But he is not ambitious politi-
cally, and never has accepted any office, though
frequently urged to do so. In January, 1842,
he married ]Miss Susan ]M. Creassy, a native
of IMaine, and a schoolmate of his. Thej^ had
two children : Helen, afterwards J\Irs. A. S.
Le Grow, deceased; and Samuel P., who died
in Pendleton, where he was serving as cashier
of the first bank ever opened in the city. He
was a very prominent Mason.

It may be of interest to record that Mr.
Sturgis' birthplace, Gorham, was named after
his grandmother's brother, Capt. John Gorham.
Mr. and Mrs. Sturgis adhere to the Congrega-
tional church of Walla Walla.

DALE PRESTON, of the Preston Grocery
Company, of Walla W'alla, is a native of this
county, born December 15, 1879. He has al-
ways resided in the valley, acquiring his educa-
tion in the public schools, Waitsburg Academy
and Whitman College. Shortly after complet-
ing his studies he entered into partnership
with his brother, Herbert, for the purpose of
opening a grocery store in Walla Walla, and
they have been in business together since April
6, 1900.

The brother, Mr. Herbert Preston, is also
a native of the county, born December 21, 1876.
His early life was much the same as was Dale's,
except that he completed his education in
Bishop Scott's Academy, of Portland, Oregon.
He was with the Schwabacher Company for a

few years after leaving the Academy, and went
from their employ directly into the grocery
business in which we now find him. The broth-
ers are sharp, cjuick and decisive young men,
thoroughly business like, and their success in
commercial life seems in no sense problemati-
cal. Herbert Preston was married in this
county in 1894 to Miss Josephine Corliss. In
fraternal affiliations, he is identified with the
A. O. U. W.

SAMUEL R. MAXSON, retired farmer,
a pioneer of 1859, was born in Rock county,
W^isconsin, January 7. 1843. He attended
school there until fifteen years old, then accom-
panied his parents to Omaha, Nebraska, where
he lived for two years, attending school and
farming. In the spring of 1859 he and the
rest of the family crossed the plains with ox-
teams intending to go to Pike's Peak, Colora-
do, but learning that the gold excitement was
groundless, they changed their course a little,
and came on over the old Platte river trail to
Walla Walla valley.

The family settled on a pre-emption, but,
though he made his home with his parents
for the first four years, Mr. Maxson engaged
in freighting from the Columbia river to all in-
land points, using ox-teams. He afterwards
purchased a quarter section of land and became
a tiller of the soil, continuing in that occupation
constantly until 1898. In that year, however,
he came into town, intending to retire, but he
still retains his farm which consists at present
of two hundred and thirty-five acres on Rus-
sell creek, six miles east of Walla Walla. It is
one of the best improved farms in the neighbor-
hood, and has on it a splendid orchard of choice
fruits.

Mr. Maxson was long regarded as one o£

486

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the most enterprising and industrious farmers
in the county, and the general air of thrift
which is perceptible about his premises goes far
to convince one that this is not a mistaken esti-
mate. He has borne his share of the public
burdens at all times, serving as road overseer
for three years and as school director four
terms. He married, in this county, in July,
1864, Aliss Mary Elizabeth Paul, a native of
Iowa, and their union has been blessed by the
advent of ten children : Luellen, now Mrs. D.
G. Ferguson ; Charles ; Alice ; JMay, now Mrs.
Glen Harris ; Stephen ; Myrtle ; Walter ; Ralph,
all living in the county; also Benjamin and
Samuel, deceased. Air. ]\Iaxson affiliates with
Lodge Xo. 4, A. O. U. W., of Walla Walla,
and the entire family are members of the INIeth-
odist Episcopal church. IMr. Maxson's father,
Stephen, died in Walla \\'alla in September,
1879, and his mother, Lois Maria, in Spokane
Falls in 1882, and both are interred in the Wal-
la Walla cemeterv.

WILLIAil S. MALLOY, one of the most
extensive and successful wheat raisers in the
county, a pioneer of 1870, was born in New
Brunswick, June 17, 1844. When nine years
old he accompanied his parents to Stillwater,
Minnesota, where he completed his education
and grew to maturity. In 1864 he crossed the
plains to Virginia City, ^Montana, and engaged
in mining in that locality, and at Deer Lodge,
becoming interested in several valuable proper-
ties. Coming west in 1870, he settled in Whit-
man county, and engaged in the business of
stock raising. In 1876, however, he moved
into Walla Walla, having sold his stock and
ranch in \\'hitman county, but, though his
home was in that city, he was, for a short time,
occupied chiefly in mining in Utah.

At length 'Mr. jMalloy again engaged in
farming and the stock business, securing land
for the purpose twenty-four miles northeast
of Walla Walla (in Columbia county),
where he now has a tract of about nineteen
hundred acres. His residence is No. 702
Whitman street, Walla Walla, but he spends
enough time on the farm each year to care-
fully supervise all operations.

]\Ir. ]\IaIloy does not seem to be especially
ambitious for preferment in politics, and in that
respect is not a leader, but he has been a power-
ful factor in the industrial development of the
county, and deservedly ranks among the pro-
gressive forces. In fraternal circles, he is also
quite prominent, being identified with the F. &
A. M., and the A. O. U. ^^^

In the city of Walla Walla in May, 1874,.
our subject married Miss Alary P. Lyons,
daughter of Daniel Lyons, a prominent pio-
neer, who came to California in 1854, and to
^^'alla \\'alla in 1865. He was proprietor of
the Lyons ferry on Snake river until his death,
which occurred in 1893. His remains lie bur-
ied beside those of his wife, who passed away
in 1879, and was interred in the Walla ^^'alla
cemetery. Both of Air. Alalloy's parents died
in Stillwater, Alinnesota. Air. and Airs. Alalloy
are parents of six children : William, a farmer ;
Ralph; Elizabeth; Alinnie; Thomas and Ange-
line.

WTLLIAAI YEEND, a farmer seven miles
north of Walla Walla, is a native of England,
born in 1830. He received his education in the
public schools of his fatherland and in a private
academy, then engaged in farming, an occupa-
tion which he followed continuously for the en-
suing eighteen years. In 1870 he emigrated to
America, and before the year was over he had

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

487

located on the place on which we now lind him.
He homesteaded eighty acres and purchased
another one hundred and sixty acres adjoining,
and to this nucleus he has kept adding lands
obtained by purchase from the railroad and
from private individuals, until he is now the
owner of over eight hundred acres. He raises
wheat as his principal crop, but devotes some
attention to other farm products, especially
fruit.

INIr. Yeend is a thrifty, enterprising, indus-
trious man, possessed of the courage and force
of character well suited for overcoming diffi-
culties and for winning success in any indus-
try to which he may turn his attention. He has
manifested his interest in the general welfare
in every way in his power, and always shown
a willingness to bear his full share of the pub-
lic burdens. He has been the choice of the elec-
tors in his district both for school director
and road overseer. Mr. Yeend was married
in England in 1853 to Miss Ellen Surman.
Their children are William S., James Augus-
tus, John Isaac, Surman N., Dessie M., Ellen
S. and Mary Florence, living, and Roland, Ar-
thur, Ernest, Anna Laura, Ocenia? Frank, and
two unnamed, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Yeend
and most of the family are members of the
Methodist Episcopal church.

SEVERT O. SELLAND, one of the enter-
prising business men of Walla Walla, was born
in Norway, June 10, 1852. He passed his
early youth in his native land, receiving a pub-
lic-school education, and learning the trade of
a house painter, then went to sea on vessels ply-
ing between the United States and England.
In 1877 he located at Waicca, ^Minnesota,
where he followed his trade and farming until

1 885. In that year he emigrated to Moscow,
Idaho, and went to work as a laboring man for
a while, but as soon as an opportunity offered
he opened a paint shop, carrying also a line of
wall paper. He soon succeeded in building up
a flourishing trade, but in 1897 sold out and
went back to Minnesota on a visit.

Returning shortly to the west JNIr. Selland
sought for a suitable location along the Pacific
coast, but failing to find a place to his liking, he
returned to Walla Walla, arriving in December,
1898, and entered the employ of Mr. Burt
Owen. He worked for that gentleman contin-
uously until quite recently, then bought the
business, and again started on his own account.
He in an energetic, decisive, business-like man,
ever alert to anticipate and supply the wants of
his customers, and he is making every effort to
increase his stock and build up his trade along
all lines. Besides his holdings here Mr. Stel-
land is the owner of some very desirable prop-
erty in Moscow, Idaho.

WILLIAM H. BUROKER, son of David
and Sarah (Jenkins) Buroker, a farmer, a
pioneer of 1864, Avas born in Champaign coun-
ty, Ohio, in 1856. When only a few months
old he was taken by his parents to Missouri,
where he lived for about three years. Five
years were then passed in Davis county, Iowa,
after which the family made the long trip
across the plains to Walla Walla county, ^^'ash-
ington.

Mr. Buroker finished his education in the
public schools here, then went to the Willa-
mette valley, wdiere he lived on a farm for three
years. Returning then to Walla A\'alla he took
charge of a farm for his father, and he was
thus employed for several years. Subsequently

488

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

he moved to Umatilla county, Oregon, took a
homestead and pre-emption, and began farm-
ing there. After a residence of seven years in
that county, he returned to Walla Walla, and
pmxhased a farm six miles northeast of that
citv, \vhere he has lived continuously since.
He is, at present, the owner of a fine tract,
containing- seven hundred and sixty acres, and
is engaged in raising wheat and barley prin-
cipally, though he also handles cattle and hogs.
His place is splendidly improved, and well
supplied with good buildings, fences, etc., in
fact the evidences of his thrift and energy are
€ver3-wheTe to be seen around his premises.

j\Ir. Buroker takes an active and intelligent
interest in the public affairs of his neighbor-
hood, ever displaying a willingness to do his
full share for the promotion of the general well
being. He is especially interested in the main-
tenance of a good public school in his district,
and for the past ten years has faithfully dis-
charged the duties of school director.

Our subject's marriage was solemnized at
a place three miles east of his present residence,
on JNIay 14, 1882, the lady being Miss May
Gallagher, who was born on the site of the
present Dayton, now in Columbia county, but
at that time a part of Walla Walla county.
They have four children in their family, name-
ly, Zenna ]M., Lia J., Forest L. and Mary E.

EDWARD J. WILLL\MS, deceased, a
pioneer of 1863, was born in Bridgeport, Con-
necticut, August 7, 1849. He was, when quite
young, taken by his parents to Xew York, and
some time later he moved with them to Chi-
cago, where he witnessed the great fire. He
received his education mostly in a private
school. When sixteen years old, he started

across the plains with ox-teams to the west,
and for a number of years after his arrival he
was engaged in mining, packing and freight-
ing, but he also kept a sutler's store in Walla
\\^alla, and was post tradfer there. He was
one of the substantial and respected citizens of
this section and enjoyed the confidence and
good will of all who knew him. In fraternal
affiliations, he was a Mason. He was married
in Walla Walla, in 1872, to Miss Mary Gavan,
a pioneer of W^alla Walla, and a daughter of
a Hudson's Bay Company employe. Mrs.
Williams has four children, Ida J., Kate H.,
Edward J., and Walter W. H.

NATHANIEL B. DENNEY, deceased, a
pioneer of 1859, was born in Delaware, Febru-
ary 20, 1840. He came to Illinois when thirteen
years old, and a year later moved thence to
Iowa, where he passed the ensuing five years
and completed his education. He then crossed
the plains direct to Walla Walla, traveling
with ox-teams. He was engaged in mining
at Oro Fino, Florence and other points until
1865, in which year he paid a visit to his native
state.

Coming thence to Iowa, he married and set-
tled down to the life of a farmer. He remained
there nearly four years, then sold out and re-
turned to Walla Walla county. Purchasing a
farm on what is known as Whisky creek, east
of \\'aitsburg, he started farming and stock
raising in that locality, and, except for two
years spent in Iowa, followed that industry
continuously imtil his death, which occurred
September 11, 1894. Mr. Denney was a man
of energy and push, and contributed his full
share to the material and social development
of the vicinity in which he lived.

MRS. N. B. DENNEY.

N. B. DENNEY.

E. J. WILLIAMS.

JOHN M. SWAN,

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

489

His widow, ncc Hawks, lives in a nice home
in Waitsburg, and directs operations on her
four-hundred-acre farm in Spring vahey. She
is a very active lady and quite a leader in the
social life of the town. She is prominent in
the Eastern Star, the Rebekahs, and the United
Artisans, also takes an active part in the work
of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which
she belongs. She and her husband were par-
ents of seven children, India A., Addie E.,
Annie M., Clarance L., deceased, Otis L., Rob-
ert T., and Mary E.

JOHN M. S\\^\N.— In the town of
Greenock, in Scotland, that little country whose
sons are noted for their aggressiveness and in-
tegrity the world over, the man whose name
initiates this paragraph was born, the date of
his advent upon the stage of this life being
April 17, 1823. When his school education
had been completed and his eighteenth year
attained he began serving an apprenticeship
to the trade of ship-building, continuing in
the same until twenty-three years of age and
learning all the details of his handicraft with
a thoroughness which is seldom found in those
who learn their trades on the American con-
tinent. In the year 1843 he emigrated to the
British provinces, and for two years after land-
ing he worked as a journeyman ship-builder in
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New
Brunswick. In the latter part of the year
1845, he embarked aboard the Athol, that he
might serve that ship in the capacity of car-
penter on a voyage from St. John, New Bruns-
wick, to Valparaiso, Chili. While in the latter
city, the ship was sold and his connection with
it terminated.

After a brief stay on shore, Mr. Swan

shipped as carpenter on one of the British royal
mail steamships plying along the west coast of
South America. (This was an extension of
the British mail line from England to the West
Indies and extending to Chagres on the isthmus
of Panama.) In this employ he remained un-
til the exciting news of the gold discovery in
Californijt became the general topic of conver-
sation along the coast, then, on January 13,
1849, took passage at the port of Callao on a
vessel bound for San Francisco. Upon his
arrival he set out at once for the mines, but he
was not very successful in his search for treas-
ure. He took sick and was compelled to re-
turn to San Francisco in September. Finding
that the brigantine Orbit, then in port, was go-
ing to the sound, he took passage aboard her,
sailing on November 2, 1849, and after a long,
tempestuous voyage, delayed by a two weeks'
stay in Neah Bay at Cape Flattery, a call at
Victoria, British Columbia, and a pause of a
few days under the lea of Protection Island,
whither they were driven by the storm, they
at length gained entrance to the inner waters
of Puget sound, and arrived at Fort Nisqually
on the 1st of January, 1850. On the 3d the
vessel reached the head of the sound, the site
of the present Olympia. There <\'as no town
then, but our subject, a la pioneer, at once set
to work to erect a house with a view to build-
ing one there. Thus to Mr. Swan belongs the
honor of having taken the initial steps toward
founding the first town ever laid out in the
state of Washington.

All right minded men are desirous of do-
ing something for the amelioration of condi-
tions and the good of humanity. For this rea-
son they band themselves into organizations
of various kinds in the hope that by intelligent
and well directed co-operation with others of
like disposition with themselves they may

490

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the better accomplish the end in view.
Many work through tlie churches of tlie
various denominations, others unite them-
selves with fraternal organizations or with
other benevolent societies. Our subject was
naturally disposed to do his share for the
betterment of humanity, and when, on Febru-
ary lo, 1857, he was initiated into Olympia
Lodge. No. I, L O. O. F., the first lodge ever
instituted in the territory, the date of its in-
ception being July 13, 1855, he found that the
teachings of the order Avere such as he could
heartily endorse, and saw in it an efficient force
for the promotion of humanity's well being. Its
fundamental principle, the fatherhood of God
and brotherhood of man, and its consequent
aim, a universal fraternity in the family of
mankind, as well as its motto, "Friendship,
Love and Truth,"' and its imperative mandate,
to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, edu-
cate the orphan, and imbue all men with a
proper conception of their capabilities for
good, — these made a profound impression on
the mind of Air. Swan, and he has been an
ardent and active participant in the work of
the fraternity ever since. That his labor has
been appreciated by his brethren and co-work-
ers is evinced by the fact that he has been
placed in all the positions of honor and trust
in the subordinate and grand bodies of the lodge
and encampment. He is a past member of the
Sovereign Grand Lodge, the highest body of
the order, and a past lieutenant-colonel of the
Patriarchs Alilitant.

The w^ork of our subject in connection with
the Odd Fellows' home, of which institution
he was the ardent and assiduous promoter, has
entitled him to the gratitude, not alone of his
fraternity and the distressed therein, but to the
people of Walla Walla in particular and the
entire state in general. To him as the prime

and moving spirit in the establishment of the
institution, the success of the same has been
largely due. Of his work in this connection
and of his highly valuable services as president
of the first board of trustees and as the first
superintendent thereof, it is unnecessary to
speak here at length, as these topics are quite
fully treated under the caption "Odd Fellows'
Home" on other pages of this volume.

BUTTON ALDRICH.— Few men in \\-al-
la Walla county are more widely known
throughout the entire valley than is he whose
name forms the caption of this brief review,
and still fewer are they whose good fortune
it is to enjoy such a high degree of the respect
and confidence of the people. One of the earli-
est settlers of the valley, having come here in
1858, he long ago secured a place of honor in
the opinions of the residents of this entire sec-
tion, and his subsequent life has ever been so
ordered as to retain the high standing he then
secured. This fact in itself would entitle him
to representation in a volume of this character,
but he also has the more substantial claim
of having been an efficient force in the indus-
trial development of the county, the history
of which we have attempted to chronicle.

Our subject was born in New York state
in 1830, but received his educational training
in the good old state of ^Michigan, which was
his home from the f'me he was six years old
until he attained his majority. As soon, how-
ever, as man's estate was reached his adventur-
ous spirit began to assert itself, and before
long we find him on his way across the contin-
ent, traveling the "trail of many moons to the
land of the setting sun" with horse-teams.

After arriving in California early in 1852,
he worked at mining and freighting there un-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

491

til the spring of 1S5S, wlieii he became identi-
fied with the famous Walla Walla valley. It
was not a particularly safe place to live in those
da3's, as the Indians were numerous and fre-
quently hostile, but fear seemed to find no
lodgment in the brain of the pioneer, and Mr.
Aldrich was a typical representative of that
honored class.

Shortly after, his arrival he pre-empted a
quarter-section of land about seven miles north-
east of Walla Walla, but his energies were not
to be long restrained within limits so narrow.

He kept adding tract after tract to his real
estate holdings, expanding always in a conser-
vative and safe way, but keeping pace with his
increasing facilities for handling the land prof-
itably, until he became the owner of a fine farm,
the generous proportions of which may be real-
ized when one is informed that it includes sev-
enteen hundred acres. Originally Mr. Aldrich
gave much attention to stock raising, but since
the range has been fenced up he has confined
himself pretty closely to wheat raising. Recent
issues of the papers inform us that he has just
sold some sixty thousand bushels of that cereal.

Notwithstanding his large business interests
Mr. Aldrich has always taken time to per-
form well his duties as a good citizen, serving
ten years in the thankless but important office
of school director, also as road overseer and
once as a member of the board of county com-
missioners ; but wheatever the trusts imposed in
him by the people, he has discharged the du-
ties of each, whether large or small, with an
eye single to the general good.

The marriage of our subject was solem-
nized in this county in 1863, when Miss Sarah
Stanfield, a member of a respected pioneer fam-
ily, became his wife. Their union has been
blessed by the advent of three children : Dora,
Frederick J., and Shelly P.

JAAIES A. YEEND, a farmer residing
seven miles north of Walla Walla, is a native
of England, born in INIarch, 1856. He ac-
quired his education in the common and gram-
mar schools of his fatherland, then, in 1870,
came to America. He located in Walla Walla
county, where he worked on his father's farm
until he became of age. As soon as he had
attained his majority he took a pre-emption
and bought railroad land until he was the
owner of two hundred and eighty acres, but he
later sold a portion of this to his father. In
1883 he moved over into Whitman crjunty, took
a homestead and timber culture, and began
farming there. He was a tiller of the soil in
that county until 1895, then he came back to
Walla Walla county, where he has since re-
sided continuously. He now farms about four
hundred acres of land, raising wheat as his
principal crop.

Mr. Yeend is a thrifty, enterprising man,
and a good citizen, ever ready to contribute
his part toward the general progress. His
standing in the community is of the highest.
In fraternal connections he is a United Work-
man. He was married in Idaho, in 1883, to
Miss Lydia Chandler, a native of England, and
they have eight children: Ernest E., Edith M.,
Fred J. and Frank S., twins. Flora E., Will-
iam A., Olive and Esther A.

PATRICK MARTIN, deceased, was a
native of county Gahvay, Ireland, born De-
cember 3, 1830. He received his education
from a private teacher at home. When about
nineteen he came to California, and for a
number of years he was engaged in mining"
there, but in 1870 he removed to Walla Walla
county. He had been quite successful in min-

492

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

ing ventures, both in California and in Mon-
tana, and he now decided to invest some of
the proceeds in farm land. Accordingly he
bought a quarter section six miles north of
^^'alla Walla, and to this he added more from
time to time until he became very extensively
interested in agricultural lands. He engaged
extensively in wheat raising, becoming one
of the largest producers of that cereal in the
Inland Empire, and so continuing for a great
many years.

Mr. Martin was a very thrifty, enterpris-
ing, energetic man, and a highly esteemed
and respected citizen, and when, on February
25, 1897, he departed this life, he was mourned
by a large circle of friends and neighbors. He
married, in Vancouver, Washington, in 1882.
Miss Anastasia S. Sinnott, a native of IMilwau-
kee, Wisconsin, who still lives on the place
where the family first settled after coming to
this county. She has the title to eighteen
hundred acres of land, about thirteen hundred
of which she rents to other parties, while she
and her sons farm about five hundred acres
themselves.

Mr. and ]\Irs. JNIartin became parents of
five children. Thomas E.. John J., Nellie, Annie
T. and Joseph F.

SOL. HARD^^IAN.— Among the early pio-
neers of W'alla Walla county those who came
here when the territory was an untamed wilder-
ness, the haunt of the savage red man, and who
by their persevering efforts and indomitable
energ}- have developed its great natural fer-
tility and ushered in the light of civilization,
the man whose name gives caption to this para-
graph is certainly deserving of an honored
place, and it is with pleasure that we accord

him representation in this volume as one of
the builders of the valley.

Mr. Hardman was born in Indiana in
1844, and in the Hoosier state a few of his
early years were passed. When only eight
years of age, however, he accompanied the re-
mainder of the family on the long, tiresome
and dangerous journey across the continent,
the transportation facilities being those afford-
ed by the ox-team and wagon. Arriving
eventually in Linn county, Oregon, he was
tliere permitted for a few brief years to enjoy
the advantages afforded by the primitive pub-
lic schools there established, but perhaps his
most valuable education consisted of the les-
sons of industry learned in cultivating the pa-
rental farm.

In May, 1859, our subject came to the site
of the present city of Waitsburg, and from
that date until 1880 he was actively engaged
in the basic industry of agriculture. He then
moved into the town of Waitsburg and en-
gaged in the business of handling stock, con-
tinuing in the same until 1887, when he em-
barked in the business in which we now find
him.

]Mr. Hardman has long been a factor in
the public affairs of the county, and once
served as deputy sheriff. He also has held the
office of city marshal of Waitsburg. A pub-
lic-spirited man and willing to do everything
in his power for the ad\'ancement and de-
velopment of the county, he has, iri the half
century of his residence here, frequently con-
tributed to public enterprises, and the com-
munity has many times experienced material
benefit from his being in it.

In November, 1882, ]\Ir. Hardman was
married in A\^aitsburg to ]\Iiss Caroline A.
Bruce, a member of a pioneer family of the
county. They became parents of three chil-

SOLOMON HARDMAN.

MRS. SOLOMON HARDMAN.

NELSON. R. NORMAN.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

493

dren, namely: ]\Iaggie ]\I., Nellie AL and
Aaron F. Mrs. Hardman died August 6,
1888.

NELSON R. NORMAN, whose residence
in Walla Walla dates back to 1884. is a native
of Denmark, born September 10, 1S50. He
was reared on a farm in his native land and
given the advantages of the superior public
schools for which that country is noted.
After becoming a man, he followed farming
as an occupation until 1879, when he emigrated
to the United States. His first home in the new
world was in Fillmore county, Minnesota, where
for three years he was engaged in tilling the
soil. The next two years were passed in the
same occupation near ]\Iapleton, North Dakota,
in the Red River valley.

Mr. Norman then came to Walla Walla,
and entered the employ of Dr. Baker, for whom
he worked until 1893. Li that year he opened
in business at 109 E. Main street, where he is
still to be found. His fraternal connections
are with the Eagles and the Red Men. In
1886, he was married in Walla Walla, to Miss
Kittie Nelson, a native of Germany, and they
have one son, Grover Cleveland, who is an un-
usually bright boy. His parents, with com-
mendable generosity and wisdom, are giving
him the advantage of a course of instruction in
languages and music vnider the best teachers
in Germany, and his progress thus far gives
promise that he will become extraordinarily
proficient in both these branches.

ty, in 1864. He was educated in the public
schools, then took a business course in Whit-
man College, extending over a period of six
full years. After leaving that institution he
engaged in the grocery business, a line which
he followed for four years. During the en-
suing three years be was a dealer in hay and
grain, but he afte^is^ards turned his attention
to farming. He is now one of the well-to-do,
thrifty tillers of the soil and is engaged in pro-
ducing wheat, alfalfa and barley, and in hand-
ling stock.

As a man and a citizen his standing in the
community is of the highest. He takes a lively
interest in all public affairs, ever manifesting
a willingness to contribute his share' toward
any enterprise which promises to advance the
general welfare, and at different times serving
as school director and as road overseer.

In 1894, in Walla Walla county, Mr.
Evans married Miss Anna Ingraham, a native
of Ripon, Wisconsin,, and they have two chil-
dren, Walter and Llovd Emmett.

EMMETT EV.^NS, a farmer residing six
miles northeast of Walla Walla, is a son of the
west, having been born in Walla Walla coun-

EUGENE BOURGEOIS, one of the
thrifty and enterprising farmers of \\"alla Wal-
la county, residing nine miles northeast of the
city of Walla Walla, is a native of Paris,
France, but was brought to the L'nited States
when quite young. The family located in Illi-
nois, and there Mr. Bourgeois grew to man's
estate and received his education. As soon as
he became old enough to do for himself he en-
gaged in farming, and that has been his occu-
pation all the time since. In 1877 he came to
this county and located a homestead where we
now find him. To this he has added from
time to time until his entire farm now consists
of four hundred and forty acres. He, like

494

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

most of the other farmers in his locaHty, gives
jnost of his attention to wheat raising, though
he is in some measure a diversified farmer.
His industry and thrift, together with his many
other good qualities as a man, have won for
him the esteem and regard of liis neighbors gen-
erally. He was married, in Walla Walla
county, in 1888, to Miss Isabel Lang, a na-
tive of Virginia, and they have in their family
three children, Charley. Frederick and Henry.

HEXRY IXGALLS, a farmer five miles
. south of Waitsburg, is a native of Ohio, born
in 1826. \\'hen he v.-as four years old he was
taken by his parents to St. Clair county, Illi-
nois, and thence, shortly afterwards, to Boone
county, same state, where he resided for five
or six years. His next move was to Pike coun-
ty, in which he grew to manhood and com-
pleted his education. In 1849 his ambition to
see the \\'est began to assert itself, and early
that year he started across the plains with ox-
teams. His first abiding place was Oregon
City, where he was for a time engaged in the
business of burning brick. Subsequently he
went to Clackamas county, Oregon, and took
a donation land claim of six hundred and forty
acres. He did not remain long, however, but
soon moved to Polk county, in which the en-
suing four years of his life were passed. In
1869 he came to Walla Walla county, and lo-
cated on a homestead in the vicinity of Waits-
burg, and began farming there. He has at
different times since purchased other tracts of
land, until his entire holdings have grown to
seven hundred and fourteen acres, all of it rich
and well adapted for producing wheat. That ce-
real is, naturally, his principal product, but he
also raises many hogs and cattle. Mr. Ingalls

had been an intensely active man in his younger
days, and possessed a wonderful power of
physical endurance, and, even now. though sev-
enty-four years old, he can perform athletic
feats or dance a jig with as much agility as a
boy of sixteen. He is fortunate in possessing a
happy, genial temperament, which makes him a
universal favorite. He takes an active interest
in the promotion of the general welfare, and his
solicitude for the rising generation is shown by
the fact that for twenty-four years he was
school director. Mr. Ingalls has been thrice
married. On January i, 1849, li^ wedded
Miss Sarah Jane Brents, who died in 1858,
lea\-ing four children: Mary X., deceased;
Ro.xie J., deceased; \\'illiam and Willis H.
His second was with Sarah J. Roupe, who
passed away in Oregon, after living with him
about tvro and a half years. He married jNIrs.
Margaret E. ]\Iurphy, by whom he has two
children, Otis D. and Ira L. ]\Irs. Ingalls also
has two children by her former marriage, H.
J. and Arthur C.

THOMAS LYOXS, a farmer residing two
miles west of \\'alla ^^'alla. is a native of Ire-
land, born in 1834. He acquired his education
in the public schools of his fatherland. \Mien
he became a man he emigrated to Australia,
where for the ensuing twelve years he followed
mining as an occupation. He then returned to
the land of his nativity, whence, after a short
visit, he came to \\'alla ^^'alla. He took a
homestead where his place of residence now is,
and being an energetic, industrious man, he
soon acquired more land, and he has continued
to increase his real estate holdings until he now
has twenty-eight hundred acres. Upon this
immense tract he raises wheat as his principal
crop, though he also keeps some stock.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

495

j\Ir. Lj'ons is a man of integrit}- and ability,
and his standing in the community in which he
is best known is very tlattering. In Austraha,
in 1858, he married Miss Annie Tuohy, and
to their union have been born nine children,
five sons and four daughters. Two of the sons
are now seeking their fortunes in Alaska.

JOSHUA A. HOWARD, a farmer six
miles northwest of Walla Walla, was born in
Iowa in 1854. He passed the first ten years
of his life there, but in 1864 accompanied his
father on the long journey across the plains to
A'X^alla \A'alla valley. The family located on
llussell creek, and there I\Ir. Howard complet-
ed his public school education. After leav-
ing the school room he worked on the parental
homestead until eighteen years old, then rented
a piece of land and started to work out the
problem gf existence for himself. He has been
farming continuously ever since, his home at
present being on Drj' creek. He is a man of
enterprise, and his qualities of heart and mind
are such as to win for him the respect and es-
teem of the community in which he resides.
In religious persuasion he is a Methodist, his
membership being placed in the Methodist
Episcopal church of Walla Walla circuit.

Mr. Howard married, in this county, in
1877, Sarah A. Zaring, a native of Iowa, who
crossed the plains in 1862, and to them were
born six children. May, Jessie, Horace, Will-
iam, Frank and Carroll.

the public schools and in \\'hitman College,
then worked for a number of years on his fa-
ther's farm, but he later purchased land and
became a tiller of the soil on his own account.
He owns one hundred and sixty acres of land
west of the place on which he lives, but he and
his brother, L. O. Yenney, farm not only their
own land, but much that is rented from other
parties. The brothers are in partnership, and
together farm about one thousand acres, rais-
ing wheat as their principal crop, but not neg-
lecting anything AVhich they can, under, their
circumstances, produce with profit. They are
thrifty, energetic young men, and will continue
to contribute a large share towards the material
development and progress of the county. They
enjoy the esteem and good will of their neigh-
bors generally. Mr. W. H. Yeniiey was mar-
ried in Columbia county, Washington, in 1893,
to Miss Cora Edgell, a native of Illinois. They
have two children, Frank E. and Philip A.

W. H. YENNEY, a farmer residing four
miles east of Walla Walla, was born in this
county in 1S69. He acquired his education in

HENRY LEE, a farmer residing seven
and a half miles northwest of Walla Walla,
is a native of Iowa, born in 1851. He resided
there until twelve years old, then crossed the
plains with ox-teams to this county, spending
six months on the journey. The family lo-
ca:ted on Dry creek. Mr. Lee spent the remain-
ing years of his minority in the public schools
of Walla Walla and on his father's farm,
but as soon as he became of age he pur-
chased land for himself and he has been
engaged in farming ever since. At pres-
ent he is the owner of a fine five-hundred-
acre tract, all good farming land, and he raises
about fi\-e hundred tons of alfalfa annually,
besides large crops of wheat, also handling con-
siderable stock.

496

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Mr. Lee is a thrifty- and industrious man,
up-to-date in all his methods, and ever on the
alert to take advantage of any opportunity that
may offer. His standing in the community as
a citizen and neighbor is of the highest. Our
subject has been twice married. In 1875 he
wedded ]\Iary Layrd, then a resident of \Miit-
man county, who died in 1884, leaving one
daughter, Mary. In 1885 :\Ir. Lee was again
married, the lady being Mary Loney, and of
this union seven children have been born : Rob-
ert E., Charlotte, Roy, Edith, Loney, ^laggie,
and Walter :M.

^[r. Lee's father was a resident of this
county, and one of its leading citizens from
i860 to 1886, but in the latter year he sold out
his large real estate interests and went to South
America. He was there a year, then went back
to his old home in Indiana, where he resided
until his death, which occurred in 1898.

PHILIP RITZ. deceased.— As has been
stated in other portions of this work, the man
whose name gives caption to this article was
prominent among those who in early days in-
troduced and developed the fruit industry of
the county, that industry which has since as-
sumed such gigantic proportions, and has
brought so many millions of dollars into the
pockets of our citizens, from so many parts
of the United States and the world. He held
some very important positions of trust, dis-
charging his duties in each instance in such a
manner as to win the confidence and esteem of
those with whom he came in contact and so
ordering his life in public and in private as to
retain the good will and regard of all.

In business our subject was a nurseryman
and orchardist from 1863 to the time of his

death, which unfortunate event occurred Feb-
ruary 6, 1889, at the old home place where the
family reside. I\Ir. Ritz was, however, inter-
ested in almost every line of business in vogue
in the county in which he lived, farming, fruit-
raising, railroad-building and general improve-
ment. He served as United States marshal
one term, but the service for which he will, per-
haps be longest remembered is that which he
performed in connection with the Northern
Pacific Railroad Company. He crossed the
continent three times for the purpose of in-
fluencing congress to make appropriations of
public lands in aid of the road, thus to hasten
its construction, making one of these trips on
horseback. In consideration of this great
service, the people in the vicinity of the present
town of Ritzville named the town after him.

W. A. Ritz, son-in-law of our subject, also
a very prominent orchardist, was born in
Woodbury county, Iowa, on January 29, 1865.
He received his education in the public schools
and in Cornell College of Mount Vernon, Iowa,
and after graduating taught school two years.
He then embarked in the general merchandise
business at Sargent's Bluff", Iowa, remaining in
the same between the years 1886 and 1889.
He then came to Walla \\'alla and engaged in
the nursery business, following that industry
for eight consecutive years, then turning his
attention to fruit culture on their place of one
hundred acres, eighty of which are in fruits
of many varieties, situated about a mile south
of town. As stated elsewhere in this volume,
he has one of the finest orchards in the county,
and has long been regarded as one of the best
and most expert fruit raisers and handlers
within its borders. He was president of the
Walla Walla Fruit Fair for two years and has
been elected to act in the same capacity next
year. ^Ir. Ritz was married in Lewiston,

SAMUEL K. LONEY.

PHILLIP RITZ.

SOLOMON DINGES.

ALEXANDER JOHNSON

WM. C. JOHNSON.

JOHN PICARD.

THOMAS A. RUSSELL.

J. E. BERRYMAN.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

497

Idaho, September 15, 1897, the lady being Miss
Hattie Ritz, a native of Walla Walla county.
Her mother, Mrs. Philip Ritz, a pioneer of
1863, lives on the home place and continues
to manage the estate. She was born in Jeffer-
son county, Tennessee, in 1835, crossed the
plains in 1852, was married to Philip Ritz in
1855, and moved with him to her present home
in 1863.

SOLOMON DINGES, a farmer and fruit
grower on Spring Branch creek, a pioneer of
1877, is a native of Center county, Pennsyl-
vania, born September 26, 1835. He remained
on his father's farm for the first nineteen years
of his life, assisting with the work and attend-
ing public schools, but in 1854 he removed
to Millbeim, Pennsylvania, to learn the trade
of a cabinetmaker. He served an apprentice-
ship of two years without pay, then traveled for
four years through Illinois and Iowa, building
barns and grist mills, dwelling houses, etc., do-
ing all kinds of carpenter work and millwright-
ing. He was working at West Union, when an
entire settlement was massacred by Indians
just over the line in Minnesota.

Returning at length to Pennsylvania, Mr.
Dinges assisted his father on the old home
place for three years, then resumed the pur-
suit of his trade, erecting saw and grist mills
in Mifflin county, for the ensuing four years.
His father removed to Stevenson county, Illi-
nois, and Mr. Dinges again took his abode with
him, but continued to work at his handicraft.
In the fall of 1876, he came to San Francisco,
tbence, after a residence of only a few days, to
Portland, Oregon, where he met his father's
cousin, Adam Brown, who had helped build the
first wagon road over the Rocky mountains.
The following spring he came to Walla Walla

valley, homesteaded land on the Snake river,
and combined farming with carpenter work
and millwrighting. He acquired quite a large
tract of land in that locality, but not liking the
place, he at length sold out, moved into Walla
Walla, and opened a hotel on Cherry street.

He followed this business in various parts-
of the city about four years, but, eventually tir-
ing of it, sold his interests, and purchased twO'
hundred acres of land on Spring Branch creek,
where we now find him. He has sold small
tracts from his original farm tmtil there are
now seven families living on the old home place^
and until his own holdings have been reduced
to twenty-four acres. On this he is raising
fruit principally and some alfalfa hay. Like
other pioneers, he has had his share of trouble
with the Indians. He has worked in the har-
vest field when it was necessary that he and his
men should be heavily armed at all times and
when the towns were constantly guarded for
months.

Mr. Dinges was married in ;Mifflin county,
Pennsylvania, January 17, 1865, to Miss Mary
E. Culbertson, a native of that state, but of
English descent. They had one child, Gracie,.
deceased when eight years old. Mr. Dinges''
first ancestor in America, Philip Dinges, came
from Strasberg over three hundred years ago,
ar.d Mrs. Dinges' grandfather came from Eng-
land in colonial days, and fought in the Revolu-
tionary war.

SAMUEL K. LONEY, coal and wood
dealer in Walla Walla, a resident of the valley
since 1879, was born in the vicinity of Guelph,
Ontario, on December 28, 1859. He resided
in his fatherland until about eighteen years old,
completing the course offered by the excellent
public schools for which that province is noted.

•498

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

and afterwards working on his father's farm.
In 1879, he came to the United States, .and
before the year was passed he had located in
Walla Walla. For a number of years after
-his arrival, he followed farming as a wage
worker, but in 1892 he started in the wood
and coal business, first as agent for the Roslyn
Mining Company, and afterward on his own
account. From; the very first he attended to
business so strictly and conscientiously as to
win many friends, and his trade has continued
to increase until it now requires the constant
use of three teams and necessitates the employ-
ment of an oiiice man for bookkeeping and
other clerical work.

J\lr. Loney took up a homestead and timber
■culture between Mill creek and Dry creek, in
1 88 1, and when he had made final proof on
•these, he filed on a pre-emption in Umatilla
■ county, Oregon. He afterwards sold all three
of these claims and bought five hundred and
thirty-seven acres on Mill creek, four miles west
of Walla \\'alla, which he still owns and farms,
raising wheat principally. Mr. Loney is a
.good business man, a successful farmer and an
Jionored and esteemed member of society. He
was married in Walla \\'alla in 1894 to IMiss
Sarah Hastings, a native of Kansas, and they
have had two children, Charlotte, living, and
Edward, deceased. The family are members
-of the First Baptist church of Walla Walla.

JOHNSON BROS., consisting of Ale.x-
-ander, William C. and Samuel D. Johnson,
all pioneers of the Walla Walla valley, farmers
rand sheep raisers, were born, the two older in
Ireland, the younger, Samuel D., in New York.
All were educated in the public schools of New
Y'ork state, and all learned the trade of carriage

making. For a number of years, Alexander
maintained a shop in New Hartford, New
York, and William C. worked with him, but in
March, 1877, the latter came out to California.
A year later, he removed to Walla Walla val-
ley, where he had his first experience in hand-
ling sheep. He entered the employ of Henry
Adams, and herded for him during the Ban-
nock war, defying all danger from Indians, al-
though the warriors passed so close to him that
the soldiers, following their trail, came within
sight of his camp. As soon as he had accumu-
lated sufficient capital and experience, he en-
gaged in the business on his own account, form-
ing, for the purpose, a partnership with Mr.
Samuel Ash.

In 1883, the other two brothers also came
out to the \-alle3'. Samuel went to work on
his brother's ranch, while Alexander continued
to follow his trade in Waitsburg and after-
wards in Walla Walla. In 1885, the present
partnership was formed, and since 1891 all the
brothers have given their attention to their
farming and herds, to the exclusion of all other
industries. They have ten thousand acres of
land, six thousand sheep, fifty head of cattle and
fifty horses, and they farm about one hundred
acres to alfalfa hay and two hundred acres to
wheat, retaining the rest for pasture. Their
average annual wool clip is between five thou-
sand and six thousand pounds. Thus by their
thrift and energy they have acquired a com-
petency, and attained a rank among the lead-
ing farmers and stock raisers of their section.
William C. is identified with the F. & A. M.
fraternity, and Alexander with the I. O. O. F.
Alexander Johnson, the only one of the brothers
who has ever been married, w-edded Miss Katie
M. Healey in New Hartford, New York, Oc-
tober 10. 1877. They have one son. William
K., who was in Company I, First Washington

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

499

"Volunteers, and. through the Phihppine war.
Mr. Johnson was again married in Walla
Walla, September 22. 1S91, to Miss Maggie
A. Lewis, a native of Kansas, and to this union
one son has been born, Terry A.

Miss Ella M., only sister of the brothers,
is with them on the ranch keeping house, hav-
ing joined them in October, 1891, after the
death of their mother at New Hartford, New
York, May 15, 1891. The latter had been a
resident of that city since coming to America
in 1852, and there her husband, the father of
our subjects, had died on January 24, 1854.

JOHN PICARD, deceased, a pioneer of
1857, was born in Germany, February 7, 1838.
Lie was, however, only twelve 3'ears of age
when he came to America, and a part of his
education was acquired here. When seven-
teen, he enlisted in the United States regular
army, was sent with the remainder of his com-
pany to the coast, and became a factor in quell-
ing the various Indian uprisings of the early
days. At the close of his term of enlistment,
he was discharged at Fort Lapwai, Idaho. He
then visited Walla Walla, but took a trip to
Europe before permanently settling here.

Upon his return, Mr. Picard went to work
as a carpenter, and for ten years thereafter he
was one of the builders of the city. In 1870,
however, he instituted an undertaking estab-
lishment here, the first in Walla Walla, and he
remained an undertaker until November 2,
1892, when he died.

Mr. Picard was for many years prominently
connected with the municipal government of
this city, serving as councilman for eight
terms, and for two as chief of the fire depart-
ment. A pu!:)lic-spirited man, he was always

active in promoting the interests of the city,
and ever ready to contribute his full share to-
ward the establishment of any worthy public
or semi-public enterprise.

In Walla Walla, on January 28, 1872, he
married Miss Clara J. Conover, a native of
California, whose father crossed the plains with
ox-teams in 1853. They became parents of
five children, Mary, wife of Frank Borst, of
Walla Walla; Dora, now Mrs. Harry Debus;
Annie, wife of L. Douglass, a railway brake-
man; Stella, wife of Adrien Buys, and Thomas.
Mrs. Picard still has charge of the undertaking
parlors, which are situated at the corner of First
and Alder streets. She is a member of the
Women of Woodcraft.

THOMAS A. RUSSEL, deceased, former-
ly a lawyer, later a farmer four miles southwest
of Walla Walla, a pioneer of the coast of 1849,
was born in Warren, Ohio, on September 26,
1 83 1. When quite young, he was taken to the
western part of the state, by his parents, who,
after living for brief periods in other parts,
finally settled in Williams county, where our
subject acquired his primary education.

In the spring of 1849, ^^i'- Russel crossed
the plains with a mixed team of horses and '
oxen, arri\-ing in California in the fall of the
same year. He engaged in mining for a time,
but in 1850 returned to Ohio, making the trip
in a sailing vessel via Cape Horn. Again, in
1852, he made the long and tedious journey
across the plains, returning shortly to Oiiio,
this time via the Panama route. After his
arrival he took a course of general study and
a year in law at Miami University, in Ohio, but
finished his legal studies under Ex-Go\-ernor
Hoadley, of Ohio, then a professor in a law

500

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUXTY.

school. He graduated with the degree of L. B.
in June, 1861.

In the spring of 1863, our subject again
started across the plains to California as the
leafder of a train of thirty-three wagons, all
drawn by horses. Five months after his ar-
rival, he returned by water to Ohio, accom-
panied by his father, who was also with him on
the first trip. The cholera broke out among
the people of the ship and many died on the
journey, but Air. Russel arrived safely, and,
nothing daunted by the hardships and dangers
he had undergone, the next spring crossed the
plains a fourth time. The privations, uncer-
tainties and dangers of this life on the plains
can never be fully appreciated by people of a
younger generation, but all can form some idea
of the courage and endurance required for
four extensive trips through an untamed wilder-
ness infested with blood thirsty savages.

On again arriving in California, Mr. Rus-
sel engaged in quartz mining in the Aleadow
Lake country, where he remained until 1868.
He was admitted to the bar of California, but
did not practice there. In 1868, however, he
removed to Alissouri, and began the pursuit
of his chosen profession, though he also
taught school some, and served as United States
deputy marshal for a time. He was notary
public in Bowling Green, ^Missouri, for a period
of eighteen years.

In 1889, Air. Russel came to ^^'alla Walla
county, purchased a farm and engaged in di-
versified agriculture, an industry which he
followed continuously and successfully until
his death. Though he never manifested any
ambition for a political career since coming to
this valley, he was recognized as one of the
leaxiing and representative men of the county,
and highly respected by all.

In April, 1864, in the vicinity of Edgerton,

Ohio, our subject married Aliss Alary C. Will-
man, a native of Liverpool, Ohio, who crossed
the plains with him on his last trip. Her
parents and his were neighbors during pioneer
days in Ohio, and he and Miss \\'illman were
school mates and childhood friends. To their
union were born ten children, but only five
are still living. The family affiliated with the
First Christian church of Walla Walla.

Air. Russel's death occurred on January 5,
1 901, after an illness of only four days. His
remains are buried in Walla Walla cemeterv.

J. E. BERRYAIAX, a farmer residing at
Berryman postoffice, was born in England, in
1836. The first twelve years of his life were
passed in his fatherland, but, at that early age,
he emigrated to Wisconsin, where he had his
first experience in mining. In 1854, he joined
the rush to the gold fields of California, and
for five years thereafter he followed mining in
the Golden state. His adventurous spirit then
led him to Australia, where for two years
more he continued the search for hidden
treasure.

Returning to California in 1859, Air. Berry-
man remained there until 1861, when he came
to XA'alla Walla county. He went that same
summer into the mountains in Idaho, and be-
fore the season was passed came to the Elk
City mines, whence late in the fall he went to
Florence, and to him belongs the honor of be-
ing one of the party which discovered the mine
there. He remained in that region during the
years 1861 and 1862, and thereupon went back
to Wisconsin on a visit. Before returning, he •
also took a trip to England. Coming back to
America in May, 1863, he went to work in

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

501

the lead mines of ^^^isconsi^, whence the fol-
lowing year he removed to Montana, in which
state he followed mining until 1869.

Mr. Berryman then brought his family to
Walla Walla, but he was not yet ready to give
np the search for nature's hidden treasure,
so made trips to the Powder river country ; to
Butte City and to Florence. While his home
was in Walla Walla, he also took contracts in
building and moving houses and in constructing
bridges for the county. He was the first street
commissioner Walla Walla ever had and his
duties in connection with that office were nat-
urally very onerous.

Li 1878, our subject took a homestead
where he now lives, subsec|uently purchasing a
half-section of railway land and to this he has
added betimes since until his realty hold-
ings now aggregate two and a half sections.
He is extensively engaged in the production of
wheat, but also raises cattle and horses. Being
the first to locate in his neighborhood, he had
to perform many acts which are ordinarily a
part of the public duties, such as constructing
roads around the hills, hunting up corner posts,
etc. He and two other men bought lumber at
Dayton, hauled the same to a suitable site and
constructed the first schoolhouse in the place.

Mr. Berryman has never lost interest in
mining, but has devoted a portion of his time
and attention to it during all the years of his
residence here. He is an energetic, progres-
sive man and carries a degree of determination
and zeal into whatever he undertakes sufficient
to carry it to a successful issue if there is any
possibility. He has long been considered one
of the leading wheat producers of the state.

In England, in the year 1863, he married
Mary Berryman, a native of that country, and
they became parents of twelve children.

L. O. YENNEY. — Among the young men
who claim this county as their birthplace and
who have so ordered their lives as to reflect
credit upon the community of their nativity
and the institutions which have developed their
powers and given direction to their energies,
is the man whose career it is now our purpose
to refer to briefly.

Mr. Yenney was born here in 1872, and his
education was such as the local public schools
afford, supplemented by a partial course in
\Vhitman College. LTpon retiring from the
latter institution, he embarked in the basic in-
dustry, agriculture, and to that he has devoted
his energies assiduously ever since. He is in
partnership with his brother, W. H. Yenney,
and, as related in our remarks concerning that
gentleman, is interested with him in the culti-
vation of about one thousand acres of land,
upon which they raise wheat principally.

Mr. Yenney is a thrifty, energetic young
man, possessed of all the traits of character
which go to insure success and to win the con-
fidence and esteem of those with whom he may
be in any way connected, whether socially cr in
business.

THOMAS J. SWEZEA, deceased, a pio-
neer of 1859, was born in Tennessee in 1809.
He spent his early youth there, then came to
southeastern JMissouri, where he lived until, in
1859, he started across the plains to the west.
He made the journey in the usual way for those
days, bringing cpiite a herd of cattle with him.
Locating in the city of Walla W^alla, he spent
two years there, after which he moved to the
Oregon line, eight miles southeast of the city,
purchased land and engaged in farming. He
was there for a number of years, running his

502

I-IISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

five-hundred-acre farm, and raising grain and
cattle, but he at length retired to Walla Walla,
where he passed the remainder of his days. He
died in that city in 1887. While in Missouri
he married Miss Lucinda Swezea, and to them
\vere born nine children, five of whom are still
living.

Charles L. Swezea, one of his sons, now a
farmer eight miles southeast of Walla Walla,
has the distinction of being the first white male
child born in Walla Walla, the date of his ad-
vent into this life being July 6, i860. He
passed his early years in the public schools of
the county and on his father's farm, but on
attaining his majority started in life for him-
self. For a while he rented land of his father,
but as soon as circumstances would permit he
purchased a place of his own, and to his orig-
inal holdings he has kept adding until he now
has three hundred and twenty acres in all. He
is engaged in raising wheat and barley prin-
cipally, though he also gives some attention to
the other farm products. He is one of the pro-
gressive and thrifty farmers of the neighbor-
hood, and is well thought of as a man and citi-
zen. Fraternally he is identified with the A.
O. U. ^^^ in this county, in 1883, he mar-
ried jNIiss Margaret A. Davis, and they became
parents of four children, Bessie A., Flinn A.,
deceased, Grace A., and one daughter who died
in infancv.

JOSEPH L. MILLER, proprietor of the
lodging house at 4.9 E. Main street, is a pioneer
of October 14, 1850. He was born in New
York August 10, 1823, and in that state he
grew to manhood and was educated. For a
number of years he followed farming, but in
1852 he removed, via the isthmus, to San Fran-

cisco and turned his attention to mining. He
subsecjuently settled in the present Oakland,
where for a time he was engaged in getting out
the timber for a wharf. Between 1854 and
1858, he devoted his entire energies to mining
in the Feather river and Rabbit creek countries,
realizing good results. He then went into busi-
ness in Victoria, British Columbia, but sold
out in 1862, to go into the Caribou mines, where
he followed the packing business for a couple
of years.

Returning then to Vancouver island, Mr.
Miller purchased beef cattle a while for the
Victoria markets, but in October, 1865. he re-
moved to Walla Walla, bought a farm five miles
west of the town, and engaged in agriculture
and stock raising. He took great pride in
the rearing of thoroughbred cattle, more than
once capturing prizes at the fairs. In 1884,
he sold out and went back East on a two years''
visit. Upon his return, he embarked in a car-
riage and wagon business, a line which en-
gaged his energies for about four years, after
which he retired from business for a while.

In 1893, after his return from a trip
to the World's Fair, ]\Ir. ]\Iiller bought a
glove factory, and engaged in that indus-
tr}'. Selling out in 1896, he turned his
attention to the lodging house business,
purchasing for the purpose the furniture
and good will of the place in which we
now find him. Mr. Miller was also a charter
member of the \\'alla ^^'alla Savings bank.
Indeed his versatility is truly wonderful, enab-
ling him to conduct successfully a great variety
of different enterprises. It is equaled only by
his great courage, and the Titanic energy dis-
played in his earlier years.

Mr. Miller was married in Jefferson coun-
ty. New York, April 19. 1883, to Emma
Cheeseman, a native of Richmond, Virginia.

JOSEPH L. MILLER.

MRS. JOSEPH L. MILLER.

MARSHALL C. SEEKE.

JOHN MANION.

SAMUEL JOHNSON.

C. J. BOWERS.

MRS. C. J. BOWERS.

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

50j

JOHN ?iLVNION, a general orcliardist at
the south end of Short street, Walla Walla,
a pioneer of August 14, 1859, was born in Ire-
land, ;\Iarch 14, 18,28. He began his educa-
tion there, but finished it in Saratoga county,
New York, whither he came when fifteen years
old. Removing subsequently to Livingston
county, he farmed there for various large land
owners during a period of five years. He then
moved to Morgan county, Illinois, where he
farmed until 1856, but in May of that year he
came to Lawrence, Kansas.

A few days after his arrival, Mr. Manion
met James Lane, and engaged with him and
his troops in keeping out southern sympa-
thizers, thus saving the state to the Union.
WHien the Second Dragoons, afterwards known
as the Second LTnited States Cavalry, arrived,
their entire company was captured, but Mr.
JNIanion was soon released and engaged as a
driver in the service of the quartermaster. In a
very short time he was promoted to train mas-
ter, a position which he held until 1861. He ac-
companied Lieutenant Livingstone to ]\Iount-
ain Meadows in 1858, to bury the bones of
those emigrants who had been massacred there
by the Mormons in the previous year, and he
had the pleasure of personally rescuing three
of the children who were captured in that hor-
rible affair.

In May, 1859, our subject arrived in Walla
Walla, after marching all the way from Utah,
He remained at Fort Walla Walla as wagon
train master until May, 1861, when he took a
homestead on the Touchet river. He was there
seventeen years, but in 1878 he sold his farm
and removed to his present residence. He is
now the owner of three acres and four lots
within the city limits, upon which he is rais-
ing a great many varieties of fruit trees and
vines. He takes great pride in cultivating and

producing fine fruits. During all the Indian
troubles, Mr. Manion remained on his place
on the Touchet river, but he had so won the
confidence and esteem of the red men by his
uniform fair treatment of them that he was
never molested.

Mr. Manion was a member of the city
council for the four years following 1886, and
during that time advocated and urged that the
city should buy the water system, which could
then have been secured for seventy-five thou-
sand dollars. He was outvoted, however, and
the city had to pay two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars for the same property at a
later date. Had his fellow councilman, or a.
majority of them, possessed the foresight with
which he was gifted they could have saved
to the tax-payers of Walla Walla the difference
between these two sums, besides the revenues
which would have accrued in all these years.

Mr. Manion was married in Walla Walla,
on December 24, 1859, to ilrs. ^lary Bishop,
who died without issue on September 13,
1888.

MARSHALL C. SEEKE, foreman in
Ouinn's Harness shop, \\'alla \\^alla, is a pio-
neer of November 13, 1858. He was born in
Jamestown, New York, July 8, 1834, but re-
ceived his education in New Castle, Pennsyl-
vania, where his parents moved when he was
five years old.

In 1852 he came out to Iowa, and there he
worked as a harness-maker for two years. In
1854, however, he set out across the plains to
California, traveling with ox-teams. After a
journey of nearly six months duration he
reached Sacramento, where he was engaged in
niining for nearly three years, going next to
The Dalles, Oregon. He worked at his handi-

504

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

craft there for several months, but at length
came on to Walla Walla, located a homestead
on Dry creek, seven miles northeast of that city,
and turned his attention to farming. His was
the first claim located under General Harney.
After two years experience in pioneer farming
Mr. Seeke engaged in mining and freighting,
and he was fortunate enough to discover sev-
eral good mining prospects in the Boise Basin.
He continued to follow mining and prospecting
there and in the vicinity of Walla Walla until
1869. then entered the service of Mr. Thomas
Ouinn, by whom he has been employed almost
constantly since. It is still his custom, how-
ever, to spend a portion of each summer travel-
ing with a team. ^Mr. Seeke is a typical pio-
neer, and possesses the sturdy manhood and
dauntless physical courage which life on the
forefront of civilization is so well calculated to
develop.

!\Ir. Seeke was married during the early
days to Charlotte, an Indian woman, who died
in Walla Walla in 1866, leaving two daugh-
ters: Alice, now wife of Robert Henderson,
and Louise, now Mrs. Albert Tabor. I\Ir.
Seeke was next married in 1877, to Rachael
Clough. a native of Ohio.

SA:MUEL JOHNSON.— The venerable
pioneer whose name gives caption to this para-
graph was born in Scioto county, Ohio, July
15, 1 82 1. When five years old he was taken
by his parents to Tippecanoe county, Indiana,
-where he lived on a farm until 1831, removing
then with the remainder of the family to
A^'hite count}- in the same state. His educa-
tional facilities were those afforded by the pio-
neer log schoolhouse, presided over by pioneer
teachers, and when school was not in session

he learned self-reliance and industrv in the
battle with primeval conditions.

In 1840 he removed to Caldwell county,
Missouri, where his home was for the next
decade, though he spent the winters of 1847
and 1848 at Ash Hollow on the Platte river
in Nebraska, as an employe of the St. Louis
Fur Company, for which he drove a team.
It will be remembered that Nebraska was then
the home and exclusive possession of the Chey-
enne Indians. Mr. Johnson recalls having met
Joe Meeks there in 1848, the latter being then
en route to Washington, bearing dispatches
telling of the Whitman massacre. It was fre-
quentl)- his good fortune, after coming to the
coast, to meet this same gentleman in Portland,
Oregon. Our subject also recalls that while
on his return from Nebraska to his home in
Missouri, he met at St. Joseph, Missouri, Gov-
ernor Lane, who was then on his way to Ore-
gon to assume gubernatorial charge of that
territory.

In the spring of 1849, ^It- Johnson came
to Grand Island on the Platte river as a drover
with the cattle of Colonel Loring, who was
then on his way to The Dalles, Oregon, with
the Ninth Infantry. Returning to his home
in Missouri, he then began projecting plans
for coming west, and the next summer he set
out across the plains with ox-teams toward the
Occident, arriving at The Dalles, Oregon,
about October 15, 1850. Going thence to
Portland, Oregon, he wintered there, busying
himself in making shingles for Colonel Lons-
dale. From Portland he went to Yreka, Cali-
fornia, but after spending one season in min-
ing he returned to Oregon, located at Salem,
and engaged in farming a donation land claim
of half a section. In 1855, he came north with
the intention of going into the Colville min-
ing region, but when he reached the junction

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

50s

of the Palouse and Snake rivers, he met so
many returning prospectors who pronounced
the country no good that he decided to return
to the Willamette valley.

When the Cayuse war of 1 85 5-6 broke
out he took service with the Oregon volun-
teers as wagon master, and he continued to act
as such until the close of hostilities, thereupon
entering the employ of the general government
as assistant wagon master in the Indian de-
partment. He was present at the signing of
the treaty between Governor Stevens on the
one hand and Chiefs Joseph and Kamiackan
on the other, the scene of this noteworthy
event being a point on Mill creek seven miles
above Walla Walla. Upon retiring from the
service, he returned to the Willamette vaUey
and worked as a laborer until the fall of 1858,
when he came to Walla Walla. He did not
permanently remain this time, however, for
in the spring of 1859 we find him again en
route for The Dalles. Entering the service
of Humison & Company he was employed as
wagon master at their portage until 1861,
when he came again to Walla Walla.

In 1862 our subject accompanied Dan
Drumheller to British Columbia with a drove
of cattle. For three years after his return he
gave his attention to freighting from Walla
Walla to the old Boise mines, using for the
purpose a train of pack mules, but about 1865
he settled on a farm on Dry creek, just over
the Oregon line, where he followed farming
and cattle and sheep raising continuously un-
til 1897, in which year he removed into Walla
Walla, which had been his home town all these
years.

On June 9, 1870, Mr. Johnson married
Mrs. Catherine Wright, a native of Tennessee
and a pioneer of this section of 1859. and they
became parents of two children : Ella J., wife

of J. H. Raymer, a farmer on Dry creek, in
Oregon; and Viola E., at home with her par-
ents. Mrs. Johnson also has three children by
her first marriage, Robert, William E. and
Josephine, the last-named being now wife of
Guy Fruit, of Loomis, Okanogan county.
Mrs. Johnson is an invalid, and has been unable
to walk for the past eight years. The fam-
ily live in a pleasant home of their own at the
corner of Whitman and Palouse streets.

C. J. BOWERS, a farmer residing six
miles northwest of Walla Walla, was born in
Maryland in 1867. He remained in his na-
tive state until eight years old. then accom-
panied his parents to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
where he spent a year. He then resided for
two years in Peoria, Illinois, attending the
public schools, after which he passed a year
and a half in the schools of Topeka, Kansas.
From that city, in 1882, he came to Waits-
burg, this county, where he completed his pub-
lic school training, though he afterwards
spent three years as a student in Huntsville
Seminary. When he started in life he chose
farming as his occupation, but he purchased a
threshing machine and also operated it dur-
ing the harvest seasons.

At first Mr. Bowers was compelled to rent
land, having none of his own, but he is now
the owner of a fine tract of sixteen hundred
acres, all good farming land. He is one of t!ie
most extensive wheat raisers in the county,
and one of its most industrious and successful
farmers. His energy and force of character
are evident from the fact that, starting prac-
ticall)^ without means, he has worked his way
to a position of prominence among the ex-
tensive wheat producers of a county noted for

5o6

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

its mammoth farms. He has also taken a
lively and intelligent interest in the political
welfare of the county, and has long been a
leader in the counsels of the Democratic party.
In 1900, he was a candidate of that organiza-
tion for the office of county commissioner.

]Mr. Bowers was married in Morrow coun-
ty, Oregon, in 1888, to Laura V. Coplen, a
member of an old pioneer family, and of their
marriage have been born three children, Harry
C, Violet B. and George W.

PHILIP YEXNEY, a retired farmer, is
a native of Germany, born in 1834. He lived
in his fatherland until fifteen years old, and
received a part of his education over there.
After arriving in America he traveled quite ex-
tensively, but finally settled in Virginia, where
he resided for four years. He moved thence
to Iowa, which was his home state until i860,
in which year he crossed the plains with ox-
teams to this state. The winter of 1861-62,
being the second he passed in the new country,
was a very trying one for him as he lost all of
his stock. The family lived for the most part
on wheat ground by hand in a coffee mill, but
with the spring came brighter days.

For several years ^Ir. Yenne}^ was engaged
in the freighting industry. For the three years
subsequent to 1865 he was in a trading post
at California ranch, Spokane county, and while
there he built, in 1864 and '65, what afterwards
became known as Cowley's bridge. He had a
store near the place, and was part-owner in the
bridge before it was purchased by Mr. Cowley.
Subsequently, however, Mr. Yenney bought
land in Walla Walla county, and settled down
to the life of a farmer. In course of time he
became the owner of a large tract of land, and

is now one of the most extensive wheat pro-
ducers in this section of the county. He also
raises a great many head of cattle every year.
In fact the phenomenal energy and ambi-
tion of our subject have led him into all lines
of industry, and made him a powerful force
in the industrial development of the county.
When his boys became old enough to know
the value of school privileges he moved into
town for their benefit, and he has been a resi-
dent of Walla Walla ever since. He married,
in Iowa, in 1857, Miss Rachael Winnett, and
they became parents of eight children : John
F. ; Sarah, deceased; Thomas, deceased; Ruth,
deceased ; Robert ; \\'illiam H. ; Louis O. ; and
Alargaret.

RICHARD J. BERRYMAX, a farmer
residing at Berryman postoffice during sum-
mer and in Walla Walla during winter, is
a son of Wisconsin, born in 1864. He only
passed a few months in his native state, as
his parents early moved to ^Montana, where he
resided until seven years old. In 1871 he
came to Walla Walla county, and his home
has been here ever since. He acquired a pub-
lic school education, then, though still under
age, started in life for himself. He bought
land near what is now known as Berryman
postoflice, also obtained more from the gov-
ernment by the use of his homestead privi-
leges. He now owns four hundred and eighty
acres, all of which he farms, together with
from one to two hundred acres of rented
land. He is engaged almost exclusively in
the production of wheat and barley.

[Mr. Berr3"man is one of the representative
men in his section of the country, and takes
a leading part in the promotion of the cause
of education and in the movement for better

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

507

roads. He is at present school director and
road supervisor. Fraternally he is affiliated
with the Luiited Workmen. He was mar-
ried in Lewiston, Idaho. September 25, 1883,
to Miss Gertrude Hilbourne, a native of
England, who came to the United States with
her mother in 1879. They have two children,
Chisel.ete and Gwendoline. The family are
members of the Episcopal church of Walla
Walla.

:\IARTIN F. KELLY.— Tho?e who be-
lieve that concentration is the secret of suc-
cess may find confirmation in the life and ex-
perience of the man whose career is here
briefly outlined. Mr. Kelly has been con-
nected with hotels in one capacity or another
ever since he withdrew from the parental
roof, and his success in this line of enterprise
has seldom been equaled or surpassed. He
is at present proprietor of the Hotel State
in Walla Walla, whidh institution, under his
shrewd and careful management, has, in the
four years during which it has been under
his charge, become one of the finest hotels
in the city, if indeed it does not surpass all
others in point of equipment and the excell-
ence of the accommodations offered to guests.
Though born in Rhode Island, the date being
1856, Mr. Kelly may almost be counted as a
son of the west, his parents having brought
him via the isthmus route to Roseburg, Ore-
gon, when he was but four years old. His
education was acquired in the public schools
of that town and there the greater portion of
his minority was passed. Since becoming of
age he has, as before intimated, devoted his
time and energies almost exclusively to the
hotel business, rendering himself master of
its every detail. He was connected with one

of the finest hotels in Astoria for four years,
then with another institution of the same kind
in The Dalles two years, after which he was
in the Hotel Spokane for a brief period.

For some time after coming to Walla Wal-
la, which was the next town in which he tried
his fortunes, he continued in the same line,
but he subsequently became proprietor of a res-
taurant, maintaining the same for a period of
three years. Since that time he has been pro-
prietor of the Hotel State as above recorded.
Mr. Kelly is also, like most of the enterprising
men of the west, interested in the mining in-
dustry. In fraternal affiliations he is identi-
fied with the United Artisans, the Woodmen of
the World, the Knights of Pythias, and the
Fraternal Order of Eagles. He was married in
Walla Walla in August, 1891, to ^liss Ocy
Fitzsimmons, a native of Kansas, and they
are parents of two children, Hattie Beatrice
and Martina.

'MARK A. EVANS, a farmer six miles
north of Walla Walla, on Dry creek, is a na-
tive of Cecil county, Maryland, born in 1826.
He acquired a public school education, then en-
gaged in farming, which occupation he fol-
lowed uninterruptedly until 1850, but in that
year he moved, via the isthmus, to California,
and changed his occupation to that of a miner.
For the next twelve years he lived in the mining
regions of the Golden state. In 1862, how-
ever, he came to Florence. Idaho, whence, a
short time afterward, he removed to his pres-
ent place of abode and again engaged in farm-
ing. He has one hundred and eig'hty acres
of fine land, on which he raises from fifty
to sixty bushels of barley per acre. He is
also a stock raiser, and in former times lias
kept as high as four hundred head of horses.

5o8

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

Mr. Evans has always taken a deep inter-
est in politics, local and national, and enjoys
the honor of having been at the national con-
vention which nominated James K. Polk.
His fraternal connections were formerly with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

JOHN A. HOOD.— Among the sons of
Walla \A''alla who have grown up to reflect
credit upon the city of their hirth and who, hy
their industry and thrift, have assisted largely
in the industrial development of this section
of the Inland Empire, the subject of this brief
biographical outline has earned an honored
place. He was born on the loth of March.
1862, and grew to man's estate on the parental
home on Cottonwood creek, whither his par-
ents moved w-hen he w^as about a year old.
He w^as educated in the public schools of the
county, then gave his time and energies to
assisting with the work on his father's exten-
sive farm. He continued to busy himself thus
until the death of his father, wdiereupon he
assumed charge of his share of the inheritance,
wdiich amounted to about three hundred and
fifteen acres.

Mr. Hood was, liowever, too ambitious to
confine his energies within such to him nar-
row- limits so he soon procured one hundred
and se^•enty-four acres more adjoining togeth-
er with four hundred and eighty acres of moun-
tain land. For years he was engaged in wheat
raising principally, though he also kept from
fifty to four hundred liead of cattle, but at
present he is renting his farm and giving his
attention to other matters. He is interested
in the Farmers' warehouse in A\'alla ^^'alla,
and has considerable other property in the city
and county.

Mr. Hood has always so Ii\-ed as to com-
mand the esteem and respect of his fellowmen,
though he has never manifested any particular
ambition to become a leader among them and
has ne\-er sought political preferment of any
kind. He is a good citizen and an honored
and useful member of society.

He was married in Sherman count)', Ore-
gon, on ]\Iarch 16, 1884, the lady of his choice
being iNIiss Fannie Medler. They have two
children, J. Frederick and Ida M.

CHARLES EDWARD HOOD.— Among

the most respected and successful farmers and
stock raisers of Walla Walla county is the man
whose name initiates this brief biographical
review. He is one of the sons of the valley,
having been born on the parental homestead
on Cottonw^ood creek, the date being June
16. 1868. He recei\'ed his education in the
local public schools and in the Empire Busi-
ness College, and upon completing the same
engaged in farming wnth 'his father, continu-
ing in that industry until the latter's death.
He then took charge of the portion of the in-
heritance which fell to- him, some three hun-
dred and seventeen acres, and began farming
on his own account. He afterward purchased
another hundred acres close by and a half sec-
tion of mountain land, all of which he utilizes
in the production of wheat and in the rearing-
of cattle.

Mr. Hood is especiall}^ interested in stock
raising, and brings a great deal of intelligence
and skill to bear in improving his cattle. His
success in this direction is very marked and
his herds would delight the eye of a connoisseur
in these matters. He is a man of energy, pro-
gressiveness and force of character, highly es-

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

509

teemed and respected in the community in
which lie lives, and in every regard a worthy
son of his native valley.

He was married in Walla Walla, January
8, 1895, to Miss Jessie Cameron, daughter of
the Hon. Alex Cameron, a respected pioneer
of the county, whose career is outlineci in an-
other part of this volume. Their union has
been blessed by the advent of one son, Edward
Ross.

JAMES B. THOMPSON.— Prominent
for many years in the politics and govern-
ment of Walla Walla county, the subject of this
memoir deserves the recognition and credit
always due to those who are faithful in the
discharge of public duties, rendering signal ser-
vice to those who have entrusted them with
power. Mr. Thompson was indeed true to
every trust reposed in him and his memory
is cherished reverently and with esteem by all
who knew him in life.

Our subject was born in Centre county,
Pennsylvania, in 1838. He began his educa-
tion there but completed his intellectual dis-
cipline in Dubuque, Iowa, whither he went
with his parents in 1846, first, however, spend-
ing a winter at another point in Iowa. He con-
tinued to reside in Dubuque until 1864, in
which year he removed to Walla Walla, mak-
ing the journey overland in the fashion of the
times. For a while after his arrival he was
engaged in farming with his brother, but he
eventually moved into the city of Walla Walla
to accept a position as deputy under Sher-
iff James McAuliff. He served in that,
capacity under Mr. McAuliff for two terms,
and during the terms commencing in Novem-
ber, 1874, and November, 1876, he served in
a like capacity under Sheriff George Thomas.

On November 2, 1880, he was himself elected
to the office of sheriff, and the satisfactory
character of his service is attested by the fact
that the electors kept him in office for three
or four terms. When he finally retired from
office his health was so poor that he was in-
capacitated for further participation in any
business or industry. He never completely re-
covered and on August 29, 1892, he passed
out of this life.

The marriage of our subject to Miss Agnes
W'alker was solemnized in Walla Walla coun-
ty, JNIay 22, 1878, and to their union two
children were born, Annie E., now Mrs.
Frank Hesser; and Edward James.

HON. ANDERSON CON.— One of the
brightest stars in the galaxy of the eminent
men of early days is he whose name initiates
this article. As a business man, as a legislator
and as one of the most active and potential
forces in the ushering in of civilization into the
Pacific northwest, he has left upon this section
the impress of his vigorous personality, and
his life record forms part of the history of
the north Pacific states. j\lany are the public
enterprises which his mind planned, but it is
as the founder of Whitman county that he is
best known locally.

Air. Cox was born in the vicinity of Day-
ton, Ohio, on March 22, 1812. His parents,
John and Johanna (Swallow) Cox were
Quakers and in his veins the blood of the impul-
sive Irish and the sturdy Scotch were mingled
together. He grew to manhood in Ohio, re-
ceiving only limited educational advantages.
In 1845 h^ removed from New London, Iowa,
to the west, where destiny had great things
in store for him. He served several terms in

5IO

HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.

the legislatures of both Oregon and \\'ashing-
ton territories, and was prominent in the affairs
of Walla ^Valla county, of which he became a
resident in 1862, also in the founding and or-
ganization of ^Vhitman county and the city of
Colfax. He was the first receiver of the land
office at Walla Walla, helped to survey the ter-
ritorial road from Walla Walla to Colfax, se-
cured the location of another territorial road
from Walla ^Valla to Coh-ille and in many
other ways contributed inestimably to the prog-
ress of the Inland Empire. At the time of his
death, which occurred suddenly on the road
between Colfax and Waitsburg, he was taking
the initial steps towards the construction of a
sawmill in the then youthful town of Colfax.

Mr. Cox was married in Indiana, on Aug-
ust 9, 1836, to Miss Julia A., daughter of Will-
iam and Sarah Walter, and they became par-
ents of ten children : Lewis, Johanna and Mrs.
S. Cannon, now residents of \Vaitsburg; Philip
W., a resident of Whitman county; Jane, after-
wards Mrs. John B. Looney, deceased; Matil-
da, now Mrs. William G. Preston, of Waits^
burg; Malissa, the first white girl born ir.
Lynn county, Oregon, now deceased ; Mary,
afterwards Mrs. C. B. King, deceased ; Mida,

wife of Thomas J. Smith, of Whitman county;
Butlar H. ; Ira, deceased.

Lewis Cox, the oldest, was born on the \\"a-
bash, near Attica, Indiana, on May g, 1837.
He crossed the plains to Salem, Oregon, with
his parents in 1845, came to Walla Walla in
1 86 1, bought in with his father in his sawmill
on the Coppei, near Waitsburg, and also took
a homestead near that city. He made the
lumber and erected the first sawmill ever built
in that vicinity. On August 29, ,1858, he mar-
ried Caroline Bond, and they became the par-
ents of fourteen children: Albert, deceased;
Looney S., living with his uncle Philip; Birdie
E., now wife of Dr. Gritman, of Moscow,
Idaho; Grant U., in British Columbia; Annie,
now Mrs. J. L. Harper, of Waitsburg; Frank
L., deceased; Frederick, in the dairy business
at \Vaitsburg; Anderson B. and Nathan D.,
twins, in the hardware business in Ontario,
Oregon; Lula, now Mrs. Samuel Ezra, resid-
ing in Seattle; Jennie and Tina, twins, the for-
mer deputy postmistress at Waitsburg, the lat-
ter at home ; Elmer Elworth, in the stock busi-
ness in Montana; and Grace, wife of Elmer
Connick, of Walla Walla county. JNIr. Cox
still owns an elegant home in \\^aitsburg.

#966

W' i

Ui^„-

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

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

See other formats