Full text of "Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties"

NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES

INI II III mill I INI III II III I

3 3433 08178403 9

mur.-...

LYMAN'S HISTORY

Old Walla Walla County

Emhracing

Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield
and Asotin Counties

By W^D.TYMAN, M. A., Lit. D.

ILLUSTRATED

VOLUME I

CHICAGO

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1918

CONTENTS

PART I

THE COUNTY AND ITS EARLIEST STAGES

CHAPTER I

PHYSICAL AND GEOLOGICAL FEATURES, SOIL. CLIMATE, WATER-COURSES, AND
MOUNTAINS

CHAPTER n

THE NATIVE RACES OF OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY lO

CHAPTER HI

THE FIRST EXPLORERS AND THEIR ROUTES THROUGH THE REGION 32

CHAPTER I\'

THE FUR-TRADE AND FUR-TRADERS 4^

CHAPTER V

THE MISSIONARY PERIOD 57

CHAPTER VI

INDIAN WARS AND OPENING OF COUNTRY TO SETTLEMENT 83

PART II

SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I

THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY AND FOUNDING

OF THE CITY 'OQ

CHAPTER IT

TIMES OF COWBOYS, MINERS AND VIGILANTES 1 24

iii

•V CONTENTS

< UAPTF.R III

■ ■•I. HUM iiiMiitci III IIMK"! iiJl'NTV |i|\'l!>IUN'. . . I ^(j

iHAI'TER IV

IHk KARLY TRANSI-URTATIUN A' 1^:;

cnAKiKk \

IHKOfe,VELol-MhNT OK INUUSTKY IN OU> WALLA WALLA lOUNIV TO TIIK I-KRIUU

OF COUNTV DIVISION AMD APTKJtWAKDS IN THE PRKSHNT W\I.I.A WAIXA.. 175

CHAPTER \ !

INIELLECnUAI. AND KELtUIOUS FORCKS OF WAJ.l a woi » <X)UNTV ; KI»UCA-

TIONAL INSTITUTIONS OP WALLA WALLA. . 210

CHAPTER \li

rut I'Rh-SS UK WAI.I.A W'M-I.A COUNTY . . ... 257

CHAPTER VIII

WITH THK LAWYKRS, JUDGES AND IXJCTOR-S _«(i5

PART III

PERIOD OF COUNTY DIVISIONS

CHAPTER I

IXILITICAI. HISTORY t)F WAl.l^ WALLA COUNTY SINCK COUNTY DI\ I.MON .■S^

CM A ITER IF

DISTINCriVF. KK.\TUHF^ IN HISTORY OK COLUMBIA COUNTY.. ^19

CHAPTER III

i:ARKIK1J> I OUNTV J58

iIlAI'lI-.R IV

ASOTIN COUNTY

BIOORAPHICAL

V)5

CHAI'TI-.k \

I*IONF.FJt RKMINISCENCES 426

481

PART I '

THE COUNTY AND ITS EARLIEST STAGES

Old Walla Walla County

(Embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and
Asotin Counties.)

CHAPTER I

PHYSICAL AND GEOLOGICAL FEATURES, SOIL, CLIMATE,
WATER-COURSES, AND MOUNTAINS

A land of scenic charm, of physical interest, of fertile soil and ample resources,
of climate in which living is a delight, of two great rivers and many impetuous
tributaries, of mountain chains with rich and varied hues and contours of stately
majesty, — such is the imperial domain included in that portion of the State of
Washington lying east of the Columbia River and south of the Snake. While
this region has distinctive physical features, it yet has a sufficient family resem-
blance to the other parts of Eastern Oregon and Eastern Washington to indicate
a common origin. We may therefore properly take first a general view of this
larger area. The greater part of the vast Inland Empire of Northeastern Oregon
and Eastern Washington consists of rolling prairies, sometimes fairly hilly, with
extensive "flats" in various parts, and low-lying, level valleys bordering the
numerous streams. These valleys are usually quite narrow, the three marked
exceptions being the broad valleys of the Walla Walla, Umatilla, and Yakima, the
two latter being outside of the scope of our story. The Inland Empire varies in
elevation above sea-level from about three hundred and fifty feet on the Columbia
River to about nine thousand at the highest summits of the Blue Mountains. The
larger part of the cultivated portions ranges from eight hundred to two thousand
feet. The variations in elevation have a remarkable effect on temperature and
rainfall, the former decreasing and the latter increasing very rapidly from the
lower to the higher levels. The atmosphere throughout this region is ordinarily
very clear, and the majestic sweep of the Blue Mountains and the wide expanses
of hills and dales and flats lie revealed in all their imposing grandeur with vivid
distinctness.

As there is a general physical similarity in the different parts of this entire
Columbia Basin, so has there been a common geological history. Broadly speak-
ing, the upper Columbia Basin from near Spokane on the north to Wallowa on
the south is volcanic in origin. The scope of this work does not permit any
detailed discussion of the geology of the region, but it is of interest to refer to the
fascinating little book of Prof. Thomas Condon, formerly of the Oregon State
University, on the "Two Islands." Professor Condon was the first systematic
student of the geology of the Northwest, and during his active career, extending

Vol. I— 1

2 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

from ahoul 1855 to i8<)0,he accumulated a large and valuable collection of fossil
remains as data from which to infer the stages in the geological history of the
.Northwest. One of his working hypotheses was that there were two islands as
the first lands in what is now the Northwest. These were the Blue Mountain
Island and the Siskiyou Mountain Island. Later geologists have not entirely
accepted all the details of Professor Condon's hypothesis, though they regard his
general reasoning as sound. It is generally believed now that there was a very
early uplift, possibly a third island, in what is now the Okanogan, Methow, and
Chelan highlands and mountains. At any rate, there is a general concurrence in
the opinion that the oldest land in this part of the continent was those very regions
where the two or perhaps three islands are supposed to have risen. The Chelan
region and thence a vast sweep northeast and then southeast toward Spokane
is of granite, andesite, and prophyry, the primeval crust of the earth. Again on
the south, the core of the Blue -Mountains, especially in the vicinity of Wallowa,
is limestone and granite. All these formations are very ancient. On the other
hand, the volcanic regions are comparatively recent, and those compose prac-
tically all the central parts. This area between those two ancient formations, the
part covering the four counties of our present story being in the very heart of
it, seems to have undergone almost every possible dynamic influence, fire, frost,
and flood. Apparently it W'as a deep basin between the earlier elevations and
was the scene of stupendous volcanic and seismic energy. Then it was covered
with water and for ages a great lake extended over much of what is now the Walla
Walla Valley and the valleys of its tributaries and the lower courses of the other
streams, as the Touchet and Tucanon. When the water had drained off, there
succeeded an age of ice and frost, with disintegration by cold and even some
glaciation. Probably there were several alternating eras of fire and frost and
flood. The Yakima Indians have a fantastic tale of the formation of these lakes
and from them the Columbia River, which may have some basis of scientific
fact. They say that in the times of the Watetash (animal people, before the
Indians) a monstrous beaver, Wishpoosh, inhabited Lake Kachees, now one of
the sources of the Yakima. Wishpoosh had the evil habit of chewing up and cut-
ting to pieces all the trees as well as other animals in his reach. Speelyi, the
chief God of the Mid-Columbia Indians, endeavored to make way with this
destructive monster, but succeeded only in wounding him severely and making
him so angry that he laid around him with furious energy and soon bur.st _the
rocky barriers of the lake. The water flowing out streamed over the country
and formed the Upper Yakima. The deluge was checked by the mountain ram-
parts of the Kittitas Valley, as we know it, and thus was formed a great lake
over all that valley. But the raging beaver finally tore out that barrier also and
the flood passed on into the Yakima \'alley, making another lake over the whole
region where Yakima now is, but it was stayed for a time by the ridge just below
the Atahnimi of the present. In like manner that barrier was torn out and the
accumulation of waters swept on to the vast level region w-here the Snake and
Columbia, with the lesser streams of the Yakima and Walla W'alla. unite. Thus,
a large part of the region which we shall describe in this history was a lake. But
the infuriated Wishpoosh was not yet content, and by successive burstings of
barriers the Walla \\'alla lake was emptied through the I'matilla highlands, then
the Cascade Mountains themselves were parted, and the chain of lakes was opened

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 3

to the ocean, the Columbia River itself being the connecting stream. Wishpoosh
having reached the ocean was making havoc among the whales and all other
objects of creation, when Speelyi at last pierced him to the heart and his monstrous
carcass was cast up on Clatsop Beach. There Speelyi cut him into fragments and
of him made the various Indian tribes.

Whatever may be the facts in regard to Wishpoosh, it is quite obvious that
considerable areas of the lower level parts of the Columbia basin and the tributary
valleys are lake beds. While the soil has all the indications of having been washed
from the hills and mountains and then settled in the lakes, it is plain also that it
was originally the product of fire. For the soil of this region is essentially vol-
canic. In the parts which have the larger rainfall, the decaying vegetation of
ages upon ages has covered the volcanic ash with a deep, rich loam. In other
places the action of glaciers grinding and dumping the triturated marls and clays
of the mountains has resulted in the deposit of heavy white and blue clays. In
yet other parts erosion of the volcanic rocks by wind and rain and frost, together
with the wash of the streams at flood stage, has left great beds of gravel. Through
successive strata of these varying materials there have burst at intervals new
volcanic eruptions. These in turn, worn away by sun and wind and frost and
stream, have been blown and washed over the earlier strata and have formed a new
blanket of the richest soil. This process of successive stages of volcanic outflow,
disintegration, wash deposit, glacial dumping, dust drift, growth and decay of
vegetation, has gone on through the ages. The result has been that tlie greater
part of the Inland Empire has a soil of extraordinary depth and fertility. Analysis
has shown that it possesses the ingredients for plant food to an unusual degree.
It is said to have an almost identical composition with the soil of Sicily. That fair
and fertile island was made by the volcanic matter blown out of Mount Etna,
covered by decayed vegetation and worked over by frost and sun and rain until
it l)ecame almost an ideal region for grain production. Two thousand years ago
Sicilian wheat-fields fed the hungry multitudes of Rome, and the same fields still

roduce a generous quota of food products. Soil experts expect a similar histo
in this country.

In no part of the Columbia basin have the processes of soil creation been more
active than in the parts of the Old Walla Walla County of this history. Begin-
ning with the Columbia River on the west we find as soon as we have passed the
margin of river sand, which in a few places has encroached upon the customary
volcanic covering, that the soil, though dry, is susceptible of the highest cultiva-
tion and with water is capable of producing the finest products in the greatest
profusion. Almost every mile from the river eastward towards the mountains
seems to increase the blanket of loam upon the underlying volcanic dust, until
upon the foothills of the Blue Mountains there is a soil hard to match anywhere
in the world, a mingling of volcanic dust, loam, and clay, a strong and heavy soil,
not difficult to work, and retaining and utilizing moisture with remarkable natural
economy. Throughout this region the soil is of extraordinary depth and there
seems to be no limit to its productiveness. There is a cut forty feet deep through
a hill near Walla Walla, in which the same fertile soil goes down to the very bot-
tom. It is of lighter color when first opened to the light, but with exposure turns
darker and after a year or two of cultivation possesses the same friability and
productiveness as the top soil. Wells have been bored in the Eureka Flat region

4 uLD \\.\Li..\ WALLA COL'XTV

wlicrc over a liundrcd ieci of soil luvc bwn pierced without the drilU even
iuiichin{; ruck. In such soils the process of suh-soiliit); can go on almost in-
Ucliiiilcly with cun(inuou> preservation aiul rriirwal of iiroductivrness.

The cliniatc of the region covered in this work has the general cliaractcr of
that of the Inland Knipire as a whole. .\s conijwred with the |>ortions of Urcgon
and Washington west of the Cascade Mountains, the climate of our section is
drier and has the seasons more distinctly marked, holler in summer and colder in
winter. The average yearly tem|>craturc is, however, higher than that of the sea-
coast, and much higher than that of the Atlantic states of the same latitude, 'llic
average of Walla Walla is about that of Virginia, though in the latitude of
Wisconsin and Maine. On account of lower altitude the climate of the greater
I>art of this section, esi<ecially the |>ortions on the large ri\ers, all the way from
Asotin to Walhila, is wanner than that of the yarts of the state north of Snake
River. The weather reports of Walla Walla ordinarily run from four to eight
dignes higlur than those of S|X)kane. The spring season ojK'ns from two to four
weeks earlier than at SjKjkanc or Colfax and the difference is even greater com-
pared with Pullman.

Perhaps no part of the Inland Empire, unless it be the Horse Heaven and
Rattlesnake Mountain section of Henton County, is so peculiarly the native home
of that most dramatic atnuis])lKTic phenomenon, the Chinook wind. Scarcely can
anything more interesting he imagined than that warm winter wind. No wonder
that the native red man, with his sujx-rstitious awe of Nature's tokens of love
or wrath, idealized this heavenly visitant, oiK?ning the gates of summer in mid-
winter chill and gloom and wooing the flowers from their dark aljodes even
while the heavy snows still crown the mountain peaks and pile the timlx;red flanks
(>{ the hills with their frozen burdens. A long wintry period, two or three or
four weeks in January or I'ebruary, may have sent the great blocks of ice down
the big rivers, there may be a foot of snow ujwn the plains and much more in the
mountains and the breath of the north may wrap all Nature in chill and gloom,
when suddenly some afterntKin the frozen fog will lift, a blue-black band will \>c
visible along the southern horizon, the white tops of the mountains will Inrgin to
be streaked with dark lines, there seems to thrill through the atmosphere a certain
rustic of ex|>ectancy, night droi>s with a rising tem|Rrature, during the night the
snow begins to slip from the trees and slide off the roofs, and with the morning,
rushing and roaring, here comes the blessed Cliinook, fragrant with the bloom of
the south, turning the snow and ice into singing streams, calling the robins from
their winter retreats, and bidding the buttercups push from their heads the crust
of winter and oin-n their golden jK-tals to greet the sun. The Klickitat myth is to
the effect that there were originally two sets of brothers, one of the Walla Wallas
from the north, the other the C"hinooks from the south. The fathers of the two
lived with their resptvtive sons ujion the shore of the Columbia near the present
I'matilla. The Walla Wallas were the cfild wind brothers, coming down the river
from the north, freezing the streams and whirling the dust in vast clouds. /\t
one time thev challenge<l the Chinook brothers to a wrestling match and threw
them all and killed them. The chilly brothers had it all their own way for a
long time after that, and they made the lives of the poor old father and mother of
the vancjuished Chinooks a burden. No sooner would the old man go otii in his
canoe to fish than the implaciM.- Willi Wall.i brnthrrs would blow with their

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 5

icy breath, crusting the water with ice and compelling the old man to hurry
half frozen to the shore. But a deliverer was at hand, for one of the fallen
Chinooks had left a son. His mother had taken him to the lower river, and there
he had grown up with only the one thought of avenging his father and uncles.
When he had become grown and so strong that he could pull up huge fir trees and
toss them around like straws, he felt that his time had come. Going up the river
he slept one night near the stream now called the Satus, and a curious depression
in the hills can be seen there now which the Indians say was his sleeping place.
After his night's rest he went on to the home of his grandparents. He found
them in a most deplorable state, half-starved and half-frozen. Young Chinook
washed the grime and filth from the old folks and from it came all the trout
now found in this region. Then transforming himself into a little creature he
crawled into the stern of his grandfather's boat and bade the old man put forth
for fish. At once the hateful Walla Wallas swept down from the north to blow
on the old man, but for some mysterious reason could never reach him. Striving
desperately in vain they saw the explanation when suddenly Chinook rose to
giant size and challenged them to wrestle. The God Speelyi now appeared to
judge the combat. One after another the cold wind brothers were thrown.
Chinook, more merciful than they had been, did not kill them. But Speelyei
declared that they should henceforth lose their power and could blow only at very
rare intervals and that Chinook should be the lord of the land. However, Speelyi
decreed that he should blow on the mountain peaks first as a token that he was
coming.

The meteorologists tell us that the Chinook wind is not, properly speaking, an
ocean wind, though when there is a Chinook in the interior there is a warm wind
with rain on the coast. They say that the Chinook is due to dynamic heating or
atmospheric friction. When there is a low barometer on the coast and a high over
Nevada and Utah, as is very common in winter, the high pressure will descend
upon the low and raise the temperature at a regular rate of about seven degrees
to a thousand feet of descent. This accounts for the fact that the Chinook
strikes the mountains sooner than the valleys. During the prevalence of a
Chinook, as shown by the weather reports, the thermometer will usually be higher
at Walla Walla than at Portland or Astoria. It has been as high as seventy
degrees in January during a big Chinook. As can be imagined, snow will vanish
like a dream under a wind of such temperature, or even one at fifty degrees or
fifty-five degrees, which is more common.

A few general statistics as to the average records at Walla Walla may be of
interest. The average annual temperature as shown by official records during
thirty-one years is fifty-three degrees. The average for January is thirty-three
degrees ; for July and August, seventy-four degrees. The lowest ever recorded
was seventeen degrees below zero, and the highest was 113 degrees. The average
rainfall is 17.4 inches. The average date of the last killing frost of spring is
March 30th, and the first of autumn is Novemljer 7th. The average number of
clear or mainly clear days is 262, of cloudy is 103. The prevailing wind is always
from the south, and the highest velocity ever recorded was sixty-five miles per
hour. There is an average of eight thunder showers in a year. The other parts
of the four counties included in this history have essentially the same climate as
Walla Walla. There is. however, a regular decrease of temperature and an in-

6 OLD \\'ALT..\ WALLA COUNTY

crease of rainfall from the west to east. Recent records of the Weather Observer
at Walla Walla, giving a comparison of \arious stations, show extraordinary dif-
ferences in rainfall according to elevation and proximity to the mountains. Thus,
the average precipitation, including melted snow, for some years past, has been
at Kennewick, 6.46 inches; at Lowden, 11. 18; at Eureka, 14.35; at Walla Walla,
^7-37 '• at Milton, 19.50; at Dayton, 22.14; ^"d at the "intake," only fourteen
miles from Walla Walla, but at an elevation of twenty-five hundred feet (Walla
Walla being nine hundred and twenty), and at the entrance to the mountains, it
was, in 1916, 47.93. The natural rainfall is sufficient for all the staple grains
and fruits in all parts except the areas in the west and north bordering the
Columbia and Snake rivers. In those semi-arid tracts irrigation is necessary, and
the same means of artificial moisture is practiced for a succession of vegetables
and small fruits and alfalfa in considerable parts of the other valley lands. One
of the interesting and important features of Walla Walla is the fine system of
spouting artesian wells. There are now over thirty of these wells in the Walla
Walla ^'alley, the largest having a flow of twenty-five hundred gallons per minute,
sufficient to irrigate a half section of land. Owing to the immense snowfall on
the Blue Mountains, ranging from ten to fifty or sixty feet during the season,
a large part of the slopes and valleys below seems to be sub-irrigated and also to
be underlaid by a great sheet of water. Hence it seems reasonable to expect
that artesian w-ater will be found in other places. In general it may be said that
the climate of the sections considered in this work is eminently conducive to
health, wealth, and comfort. It is a happy medium between the extreme dryness
of the Great Plateau and the extreme humidity of Western Washington ; as also
between the rather mugg)- and enervating climate of the South and the biting cold
of winter and prostrating heat of summer of the belt of northern states east of
the Rocky Mountains. If we may judge by a comparison of the native races, as
well as by the "bunch-grass" horses and cattle, the "bunch-grass" boys and girls
will be on the road to becoming superior specimens of humanity. Thus far there
is too much of a mixture of the human stock to make scientific comparisons.

Old Walla Walla County shares with other parts of Washington, Oregon,
Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia, the distinction of joint ownership of one
of the sublimest systems of waterways on the globe. This system consists of the
Columbia and its tributaries. The Columbia itself washes the western verge of
Walla Walla County for a distance of only about sixteen miles. Yet, in this short
distance the great stream sustains its reputation as belonging in the front rank of
scenic rivers. Although the region around the junction of the blue, majestic
Columbia and the turbid and impetuous Snake is regarded as a desert in its native
condition, yet on one of the bright, still days of spring or autumn views of such
grandeur looking either up or down can be obtained that no appreciative observer
would ever say "desert." The azure and gold and russet and purple that play
upon the mountains and islands looking up river, or upon the Wallula Gateway
looking down, with the mile-wide majesty of the river in the midst, must be seen
to be understood. Xo words of description can do justice to those scenes.

An inspection of the map will show that Snake River touches a much larger
rim than the greater stream. For it borders each one of the four counties, for a
total distance of about a hundred and fifty miles. For this entire space Snake
River is swift and turbid, having an average fall of about three feet to the mile.

•y,

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 7

Nevertheless, it is navigable the whole distance during six or eight months in the
year. The immense volume of these two big rivers is not generally understood by
strangers. The Columbia is less than half as long as the Mississippi, yet it is but
slightly inferior in volume to the "Farther of Waters," and far surpasses any
other river in the United States. Its maximum flood stage at Celilo in the flood
of 1894, the greatest on record, was estimated at one million six hundred thousand
second feet, while the maximum of the Snake, just above its mouth, was about'
four hundred thousand. We shall have occasion later to speak of the steamer
traffic upon these rivers and the improvements, past and prospective, by the
Federal Government. Suffice it to say here that as that phase of early history was
among the most important, so it is plain that the future will bring on a new era
of water-borne traffic, and that with it will come a new era of production. Nearly
all the tributaries of the two big rivers flow from the snow banks and the canons
of the Blue Mountains. Though conveying in the aggregate during the flood
season an immense volume, the tributaries are too swift for navigation. They
supply abundant water for irrigation where needed, and each is a superb trout
stream. The largest, the Grande Ronde, is in truth an Oregon river, for its main
supplies come from the Grande Ronde and Wallowa valleys, but it crosses the
corner of Asotin County and enters Snake River within that scenic country. The
Grande Ronde is a powerful stream and for varied scenes of wild grandeur and
gentle beauty, it is not easily matched. The Wallowa Basin (the "Far Wayleway"
of Longfellow's Evangeline) is sometimes called the Switzerland of the Inland
Empire. Of the historic interest of that region which thus finds its exit through
one of the counties of Old Walla Walla-, ■we^'SlTaTTsTpeaic again. The next affluent
of the Snake River below the Grande: Rcmd$.^.Asotip.^Cii¥ek, a small stream and
yet one of the busiest and most usefii!,' -fof it'is the source of the water supply
of that fair and productive region afounji.C-la:rkft"t)K;-and extending thence to
Asotin City. Some distance below Clackst9n'i$JJi«^rAlpo\v'a;also a historic stream.
Yet another stage and about half way between the Grande Ronde and the mouth
of Snake River we find one of the most charming in appearance as well as most
attractive to the fishermen of all the Blue Mountain streams, the Tucanon. This
also is invested with historic interest, as we shall see later.- Below the mouth of
the Tucanon the previously lofty, almost mountainous, shores of Snake River
rapidly drop away and the vast expanse of arid plain stretches away toward the
crests of the Blue Mountains. No more tributaries of the Snake River enter,
and with another stage that most interesting point in the history of this turbulent
and historic river is reached — its mouth, and its individuality is lost in the mighty
sweep of the Columbia. A few miles below the junction the most historic and in
some respects most beautiful of the small tributaries of the Columbia streams
in through the verdant meadow and overhanging willows, the Walla Walla.
The events which have made the place of entrance, as well as many other places
on the course of this stream famous in the history of the Northwest, will become
manifest as our story proceeds.

In the great semicircle of one hundred and fifty miles in which Snake River
borders our four counties, there are frequent profound canons through which the
snow-crested mountains from which the streams issue can be seen. The observer
who has made that long journey and reaches the open prairie at the mouth oi
the Snake will behold with wonder and delight the distant chain, all in one

8 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

splendid picture, of which he had before seen broken ghmpses through the rifted
canon walls or u]) the sources of the foaming creeks. But whether in broken
glimpses or in their grand unity, the Blue Mountains possess a unique charm and
individuality. While not so bold and aiguillated as the Cascades, and while there
are no peaks standing in lonely sublimity to compel the vision of the traveller,
like Mount "Takhoma" or Mount Adams or Mount Hood, the Blue Mountains
are not inferior in many of the features of mountain charm to their greater
brothers. The marvelous coloring is perhaps the most distinctive of these features.
While most mountains are blue, these are blue blue. They are all shades of
blue, according to the hour and the month and the season — blue, indigo, ultra-
marine, violet, purple, amethyst, lapis lazuli, everything that one can think of to
denote variations of blueness. "Blue Mountain" is a real name. The French
voyageurs of the fur-traders were the first to note the characteristic blue, and
according to Ross Cox, began at once to say, "Les Montagues Bleiics." Another
characteristic feature of these mountains is the fact that they do not so much con-
stitute a range or chain, like the long, narrow, regular Cascade Range, as a huge
mass with prongs radiating from something like a central axis which might be
considered the great granite and limestone knot of peaks about Wallowa Lake, of
which Eagle Cap is the loftiest, over nine thousand feet in elevation. On account
of this ganglionic structure there are many radiating canons from the long ridges
and plateaus to the lower levels. The views from the open ridges and rounded
summits down these canons constitute a scenic gallery of contours and colorings
which may challenge comparison with even the views of the loftier and bolder
Cascades.

The value of the Blue Mountains in condensing the moisture of the atmosphere
and dropping it upon the plains below in rain and snow can hardly be conceived
unless we reflect that without this vast reservoir of salvation to all growing things
the Inland Empire would be a desert. Nor could it even be irrigated, for in the
absence of the Blue Mountains there would be no available streams for distribu-
tion. Wonderful indeed is it to consider how the ardent sun of the Pacific lifts
the inconceivable masses of invisible vapor from the ocean and the west wind
carries them inland. -The coast mountains constitute the first condenser of that
vapor, and almost constant rain during half the year with a predominance of
clouds and fogs at all times prevails along the ocean margin of Oregon and Wash-
ington. The Cascade Range lifts its stupendous domes and sentinel-like cliffs
to catch the vapor that still sweeps inland and to feed the greedy rootlets of their
interminable forests and to clothe the heights with perpetual snow and ice. But
those vast demands fail to exhaust the limitless resources of the sky, and there
are yet remaining infinite treasures of moisture floating eastward. And so the
next great suppliant for the vital nourishment of all life stands with uplifted,
appealing hands, our wide-extended and clustered uplift of the Blues. Nor do
they appeal in vain, as the fertile prairies and benches with their millions of
bushels of grain and their far-reaching cattle ranges and their orchard valleys and
their countless springs can testify.

Whether from the standpoint of the forester or the farmer or the stockman
or the gardener or the orchardist or the fisherman or the artist or the poet, the
Blue Mountains constitute one of the great vital working facts, the very frame-
work of the life of Old Walla Walla County. We shall discover that they are not

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 9

simply a picture gallery, but that the history of this region is fairly set within this
stately frame.

' With these necessarily hurried and fragmentary glances at the physical scene
of the story, we shall be prepared to bring the human characters upon the stage.

CHAPTER II
THE NATIVE RACES OF OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Any history of any part of America would be incomplete without some view
of the aborigines. Such a view is due to them, as well as to the accuracy of state-
ment and the philosophical perspectives of history. Such a view is required also by
justice to the natives themselves. The ever westward movement of American
settlement has been marked by trails of blood and fire. Warfare has set its red
stains upon nearly every region wrested from barbarism to civilization. This has
been in many cases due to flagrant wrong, greed, and lust by the civilized man.
It has been due also to savage cruelty by the barbarian. Perhaps more than to
wrong by either party, it has been due to that great, unexplained and unexplain-
able tragedy of human history, the inability of either party to comprehend the
viewpoint of the other. And yet, most of all, it has been due to that inevitable
and remorseless evolution of all life by which one race of plants, animals, and
human beings progresses by the extermination of others. Perhaps the phil-
osophical mind, while viewing with pity the sufferings and with reprobation the
crimes and irrational treatment forced upon the natives by the civilized race,
and while viewing with equal horror the atrocities by which the losers in the
inevitable struggle sought to maintain themselves — if to such a philosophical mind
comes the question who was to blame for all this seemingly needless woe — must
answer that the universe is mainly to blame, and we have not yet reached the
point to explain the universe.

We have found in the preceding chapter and shall find in succeeding chapters
frequent occasion to refer to events in connection with Indians. Our aim in this
chapter is rather to give an outline of locations of dififerent tribes, to sketch briefly
some of their traits as illustrated in their myths and customs, and to state the
chief published sources of our knowledge in regard to these myths and customs.
The history of Indian wars, which also includes other incidental matter about
them, will be found in the last chapter of Part One of this volume.

The literature of Indian life is \-oluminous. Practically all the early explorers
from Lewis and Clark down devoted large space to the natives. The pioneer
settlers knew them individually and some of them derived much matter of gen-
eral value which has been preserved in brief newspaper articles or handed down
in story and tradition. Out of this vast mass a few writers have formed groups
of topics which serve well for those generalizations which a bird's-eye view like
this must be content to take. Foremost among the writers dealing with the subject
in a large way is Hubert Howe Bancroft. Although his great work on the history
of the Pacific Coast has been severely and sometimes justly censured, yet it must
be granted that, as a vast compendium of matter dealing with the subject, it is
monumental and can be turned to with confidence in the authenticity of its sources

HUMISHUMA. OR MORNING UO\E, A WOilAN OF THE OKANOGAN TRIBE

Her deerskin robe, decorated with beads, elk teetli and grizzly-bear claws, is worth over one

thousaiul dollars

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 11

and in the general accuracy of its statements of fact, even if not always in the
breadth of its opinions or the reliability of its judgments.

In \^olume One, Chapter Three, of Bancroft's "Native Races," there is a
generalized grouping of the Columbian native tribes which may well be accepted
as a study of ethnology, derived from many observations and records by those
early explorers most worthy of credence. These general outlines by the author
are supported by numerous citations from those authorities. The Columbians
occupied, according to Bancroft, all the vast region west of the Rocky Mountains
lying between the Hyperboreans on the north and the Californians on the south.
They are divided into certain families and these families into nations, and the
nations into tribes. There is naturally much inter-tribal mingling, and yet the
national and even tribal peculiarities are preserved with remarkable distinctness.
Beginning on the northern coast region around Queen Charlotte Island are the
Haidahs. South of them on the coast comes the family of the Nootkas, centered
on \'ancouver Island. Then comes the family of the Sound Indians, and still
farther south that of the Chinooks. Turning to the east side of the Cascades,
which more especially interests us, we find on the north the Shushwap family,
embracing all the inland tribes of British Columbia south of lat. 52°, 30'. This
group includes the Okanogans, Kootenais, and others of the border between
British Columbia and Northeastern Washington and Northern Idaho and North-
western Montana. Then comes the Salish family, in which we find the Spokanes,
Flatheads, Pend Oreilles, Kalispels, and others as far south as the Palouse region.
There we begin with the family of Sahaptins, the one which particularly concerns
us in Old Walla \\'alla County. Numerous citations in Bancroft's volume indicate
that the early explorers and ethnologists did^jiQt.. altogether agree on the sub-
divisions of this family. It would jSeeMOf-thaS^'fl'tt 'Ijvoups have been somewhat
arbitrarily made, yet there was evid^n-flj^ .<;«»$tderaWe effort to employ scientific
methods by study of affiliations in language, custoi]^ ^treaty relations, range, and
other peculiarities. In general terms it fnay be said '-that- the different writers
pretty nearly agree in finding some six or eight nations, each divided into several
tribes. These are the Nez Perces or Chopunriish, the Yakimas, the Palouses, the
Walla Wallas, the Cayuses, the L'matillas, the Wascos. and the Klickitats. The
tribes are variously grouped. The modern spelling appears in the above list, but
there is a bewildering variety in the early books. This is especially true of Palouse
and Walla Walla. The former appears under the following forms : Palouse,
Paloose, Palus, Peloose, Pelouse, Pavilion, Pavion and Peluse. The word means
"Gooseberry," according to Thomas Beall of Lewiston. Our familiar Walla Walla,
meaning, according to "Old Bones," the Cayuse chief, the place where the four
creeV-^ meet, the Walla Walla, Touchet, Mill Creek, and Dry Creek, appears as
Ott'llla-Oualla (French), Walla Wallapum, Wollow Wollah, Wollaolla, Wolla-
walla, Wallawaltz, Walla Walle, Wallah Wallah. Wallahwallah, Wala-
Wala, and Wollahwollah. For Umatilla we find Umatallow, Utalla, Utilla, and
Emmatilly. Cayuse has as variants, Cailloux, Kayuse, Kayouse, Skyuse, Cajouse.
Caagua, Kyoose, and Kyoots. Doctor Whitman's station, now known as Waiilatpu,
appears in sundrj' forms, as Wyeilat, Willetpu, Wailatpui, and Wieletpoo. Some
odd names are found in Hunt, "Nouvelles Annales des Voyages," where it is
stated that the Sciatogas and Toustchipas live on Canoe River (apparently the
Tucanon), and the Euotalla (perhaps the Touchet), and the Akaitchis "sur le

12 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Big-River," i. e., the Columbia. The tribe at the junction of the Columbia and
Snake was the Sokulks, apparently a branch of the Walla Wallas. It would
seem that the Cayuses occupied mainly the middle Walla Walla region including
Mill Creek, the Umatilla, the upper Walla Walla, and across the high lands to the
Umatilla River, while the Walla \\'allas were from the vicinity of the junction
of Dry Creek, the Touchet, and the Walla Walla River to its mouth. It appears
that the most of the region now composing Columbia, Garfield, and -Asotin
counties was occupied by Nez Perces. All the tribes were more or less on the
move all the time, to mountains, plains, and rivers, according to the season and
variations in the food supply. The Sahaptin family seem to have been in general
of the best grade of Indians. Lewis and Clark found the Nez Perces a
noble, dignified and honest race, though they say that they were close and reserved
in bargaining. Generally speaking, the inland Indians were far superior in
physique and in mental cajiacity to those of the .Sound or the lower Columbia.
Townsend in his "Narrative" goes so far as to say that the Nez Perces and Cayuses
were almost universally fine-looking, robust men. He compares one of the latter
with the Apollo Belvedere. Gairdner says that the Walla Wallas were generally
powerful men, at least six feet high, and the Cayuses were still stouter and more
athletic. Others remarked that very handsome young girls were often seen among
the Walla Wallas. With them doubtless, as with other Indians, the drudgery of
their lives and their early child-bearing made them prematurely old and they soon
lost their beauty.

There seems to have been much variation among these natives as to personal
habits and morality. The Nez Perces and Cayuses are almost always described as
clean, both of body and character. Palmer in his "Journal," says that the Nez
Perces were better clad than any others, the Cayuses well clothed, Walla Wallas
naked and half-star\'ed. The last statement seems not to corresp)ond with the
observations of Lewis and Clark. Wilkes says that "at the Dalles women go
nearly naked, for they wear little else than what may be termed a breech-cloth, of
buckskin, which is black and filthy with dirt." About the same seems to have
been true of the Sokulks. But among the Tushepaws and Nez Perces and Cayuses
the men and women often wore long robes of buffalo or elk-skin decorated with
beads and sea-shells. Famham speaks of the Cayuses as the "Imperial tribe of
Oregon, claiming jurisdiction over the whole Columbia region."

The chief wealth of the tribes of Old Walla Walla County was in horses.
Doctor Tolmie expressed the supposition that horses had come from the south-
ward at no very long time prior to white discovery. It is w-ell known that a pre-
historic horse, the hipparion, not larger than a deer, existed in Oregon. Remains
of that creature have been found in the John Day Basin. But there is no evidence
that there was a native horse among the Indians of Oregon. Their "Cayuse
horses," to all indications, came from the horses of California, and they in turn
were the ofTspring of the horses brought to Mexico and Southern California by
the Spanish conquerors. At the time of the advent of the whites, horses existed
in immense numbers all through the Columbia Valley. It was not uncommon for
a Walla Walla, Umatilla, Cayuse, or Nez Perce chief to have bands of hundreds,
even thousands. Canoes were a highly esteemed possession of the Indians on the
navigable rivers, and they had acquirefl marvelous skill in handling them. The

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 13

lower Columbia Indians spent so much time curled up in canoes that they were
distorted and inferior in physique to the "bunch-grass Indians."

Like all barbarian people the Indians of the Columbia Valley were next door
to starvation a good part of the time. They gorged themselves when food was
plentiful, and thus were in distress when the bounty of Nature failed, for there
was no accumulated store as under civilized conditions. Their food consisted of
deer, elk, and other game, in which the whole Blue Mountain country with the
adjoining plains abounded, and of salmon and sturgeon which they obtained in
the Columbia and Snake rivers by spearing and by ingenious weirs. They also
obtained an abundance of vegetable food from the camas and couse which were
common, and in fact still are in this region. Rather curiously, considering the
fertility of this Walla Walla County, there are very few wild berries, nuts, or
fruits. The huckleberry is practically the only berr)' in large quantities and wild
cherries the only kind of wild fruit.

Such were the physical conditions, hastily sketched, of the natives of Old
Walla Walla County. Their mental and moral characteristics may be derived in a
degree from the events narrated in the pages which follow. In their best estate
they were faithful, patient, hospitable, and generous. In their worst estate, in
which the whites more usually found them, they seemed vindictive, suspicious,
cruel, and remorseless. Too many cases of the former type occurred to justify
any sweeping condemnation. One of the finest examples of Indian character in
its better light is shown by an event in this region narrated by Ross Cox in his
"Adventures on the Columbia River." The party of trappers of the North-
western Fur Company, of which Cox was one, was on its way from Astoria to
"Oakinagan," as he calls it — a company of sixty-four in eight canoes. When
at a point in the Columbia about equidistant between the mouth of the "Wallah
Wallah" and that of the Lewis (Snake), a number of canoes filled with natives
bore down upon their squadron, apparently without hostile design. But within
a few minutes the Indians evinced the purpose of seizing the canoes of the whites
and plundering them by violence. It was soon give and take, and arrows began
to fly. Pretty soon one of the company, McDonald, seeing an Indian just at
the point of letting fly an arrow at him, fired and killed the Indian. A struggle
ensued, but the whites broke loose and defended themselves sufficiently to reach
an island, which must have been the one nearly opposite the present Two Rivers.
It was a gloomy prospect. Cox says that they had pretty nearly given up hope
of escaping, and had written farewell notes which they hoped might reach their
friends. It was a dark, gloomy night in November, with a drizzling rain. Dur-
ing the night the party saw signal fires on the shore to the northwest, followed
by others to east and west. Soon after a large band of ravens passed over, the
fluttering of whose wings they could hear. This had a most depressing efifect on
the superstitious Canadians, and one of them declared that the appearance of
ravens at night was an infallible sign of approaching death. Mr. Keith, one of
the Scotchmen, seeing the gloomy state of their minds and wishing to forestall
the efifect, instantly joined the conversation, declaring that while there was such
a general fear of a night flight of ravens, yet it never worked disaster unless
the flight was accompanied by croaking. But when ravens passed over without
croaking, they were a harbinger of good news. Much relieved, the Canadians
regained their nerve and shouted out, "you are right, you are right ! Courage !

14 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

There is no danger !'' The beleaguered band on their dismal retreat waited for
the dawn, making all preparations for resistance to the death. Early in the morn-
ing the party crossed to the north bank of the river, and there waited develop-
ments. A large force of Indians soon appeared, well armed, and yet ready for
a parley. The whites sent forward their interpreter, Michel, to indicate their
willingness to parley. A group of thirty or forty of the relatives of the dead
Indians advanced chanting a death song, which, as tiicy afterwards learned, was
about as follows: "Rest, brothers, rest! You will be avenged. The tears of
your widows shall cease to flow, when they behold the blood of your murderers;
and your young children shall leap and sing with joy, on seeing their scalps. Rest,
brothers, in peace; we shall have blood."

The events which followed this lugubrious song cannot be better told than by
following the vivid narrative of Cox:

. "They took up their position in the center; and the whole party then formed
themselves into an extended crescent. Among them were natives of the Chim-
napum, Yackaman, Sokulk, and ^^'allah Wallah tribes. Their language is nearly
the same ; but they are under separate chiefs, and in time of war always ttnite
against the Shoshone or Snake Indians, a powerful nation, who inhabit the plains
to the southward.

"From Chili to Athabasca, and from Nootka to the Labrador, there is an
indescribable coldness about an American savage that checks familiarity. He is
a stranger to our hopes, our fears, our joys, or our sorrows ; his eyes are seldom
moistened by a tear, or his features relaxed by a smile ; and whether he basks
beneath a vertical sun on the burning plains of the Amazonia, or freezes in eternal
winter on the ice-bound shores of the Arctic Ocean, the same piercing black
eyes, and stern immobility of countenance, equally set at naught the skill of the
physiognomist.

"On the present occasion, their painted skin, cut hair, and naked bodies,
imparted to their appearance a degree of ferocity from which we boded no good
result. They remained stationary for some time and preserved a profound
silence.

"Messrs. Keith, Stewart, LaRocque. and the interpreter, at length advanced
about midway between both parties unarmed, and demanded to speak with them;
upon which two chiefs, accompanied by six of the mourners, proceeded to join
them. Mr. Keith offered them the calumet of peace, which they refused to
accept, in a manner at once cold and rejnilsive.

"Michel was thereupon ordered to tell them that, as we had always been on
good terms with them, we regretted much that the late unfortunate circumstance
had occurred to disturb our friendly intercourse; but that as we were anxious
to restore harmony, and to forget what had passed, we were now willing to
compensate the relations of the deceased for the loss they had sustained.

"They inquired what kind of compensation was intended; and on being in-
formed that it consisted of two suits of chief's clothes, with blankets, tobacco,
and ornaments for the women, etc., it was indignantly refused ; and their spokes-
man stated that no discussion cotild be entered into until two white men (one
of whom should be the big red-headed chief) were delivered to them to be
sacrificed, according to their law, to the spirits of the departed warriors.

"Every eye turned on McDonald, who on hearing the demand, 'grinned hor-

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 15

ribly a ghastly smile' ; and who, but for our interposition, would on the spot have
chastised the insolence of the speaker. The men were horrified, and 'fear and
trembling' became visible in their countenances, until Mr. Keith, who had observed
these symptoms of terror, promptly restored their confidence, by telling them that
such an ignominious demand should never be complied with.

"He then addressed the Indians in a calm, firm voice, and told them that
no consideration whatever should induce him to deliver a white man to their
vengeance; that they had Ijeen the original aggressors, and in their unjustifiable
attempt to seize by force our property, the deceased had lost their lives; that
he was willing to believe the attack was unpremeditated, and under that impres-
sion he had made the ofifer of compensation. He assured them that he preferred
their friendship to their enmity ; but that, if unfortunately they were not actuated
by the same feelings, the white men would not, however deeply they might lament
it, shrink from the contest. At the same time he reminded them of our superiority
in arms and ammunition; and that for every man belonging to our party who
might fall, ten of their friends at least would suffer; and concluded by request-
ing them calmly to weigh and consider all these matters, and tO' bear in recollec-
tion that upon the result of their deliberation would in a great measure depend
whether white men would remain in their country or quit it forever.

"The interpreter having repeated the above, a violent debate took place among
the principal natives. One party advised the demand for the two white men to
be withdrawn, and to ask in their place a greater quantity of goods and ammu-
nition; while the other, which was by far the most numerous, and to which all
the relatives of the deceased belonged, opposed all compromise, unaccompanied
by the delivery of the victims.

"The arguments and threats of the latter gradually thinned the ranks of the
more moderate ; and Michel told Mr. Keith that he was afraid an accommodation
was impossible. Orders were thereupon issued to prepare for action, and the
men were told, when they received from Mr. Keith the signal, to be certain that
each shot should tell.

"In the meantime a number of the natives had withdrawn some distance from
the scene of deliberation, and from their fierce and threatening looks, joined to
occasional whispers, we momentarily expected they would commence an attack.

"A few of their speakers still lingered, anxious for peace; but their feeble
efforts were unavailing when opposed to the more powerful influence of the
hostile party, who repeatedly called on them to retire, and allow the white men
to proceed on their journey as well as they could. All but two chiefs and an
elderly man, who had taken an active part in the debate, obeyed the call, and
they remained for some time apparently undecided what course to adopt.

"From this group our eyes glanced to an extended line of the enemy who
were forming behind them ; and from their motions it became evident that their
intention was to outflank us. We therefore changed our position, and formed our
men into single files, each man about three feet from his comrade. The friendly
natives began to fall back slowly towards their companions, most of whom had
already concealed themselves behind large stones, tufts of wormwood, and furze
bushes, from which they could have taken a more deadly aim ; and Messrs. Keith
and Stewart, who had now abandoned all hopes of an amicable termination,
called for their arms.

H» OLD WAU.A W ALLA COUNTY

"An awful pause cnsurd, when our attrntiun was arrested by the loud tramp-
ing of horses, and i: twelve ni..untc,i warriors, dashed into the
space between the tv. they lialtcd ;iiid dismounted. 1 hey were
headed by a young chief, of fine hgurc, who instantly ran up to Mr. Keith, to
whom he prrsciUcd ' 1 in the most fricixlly nunncr, which example was
fulloMcd by his con lie then commanded our enemies to quit their
places of concealment, and to appear before him. His orders were promptly
ol>cyed; and having nude himself acquainted with the circumstances that led to
the deaths of the two Indians, and our efforts towards effecting a reconciliation,
he addressed them in a si)eech of considerable length, of which the following is
a brief sketch :

'■ i-"ricnds and relations! Three snows only have passed over our heads since
we were a i>oor miserable people. Our enemies, the Shoshones. during the
summer stole uur horses, by which we were i)rc\ented from hunting, and drove
us from the banks of the river, so that we could not get lish. In winter they
burned our lodges by night ; they killed our relations ; they treated our wives and
daughters like dogs, and left us either to die from cold or starvation, or become
their slaves.

" 'They were numerous and powerful ; we were few, and weak. Our hearts
were as the hearts of little children ; we could not fight like warriors, and were
driven like deer about the plains. When the thunders rolled and the rains jxjured,
we had no spot in which we could seek a shelter ; no place, save the rocks, whereon
we could lay our heads. Is such the case today? No, my relations! it is not.
We have driven the Shoshones from our hunting-grounds, on which they dare
not now appear, and have regained possession of the bnds of our fathers, in
which they and their fathers' fathers lie buried. We have horses and provisions
in abundance, and can sleep unmolested w ith our wives and our children, witliout
dreading the midnight attacks of our enemies. Our hearts are great within us,
and we are now a nation !'

"'Who then, my friends, have produced this change? The white men. In
exchange for our horses and for our furs, they gave us guns and ammunition ;
then we became strong; we killed many of our enemies, and forced them to
fly from our lands. And are we to treat those who have been the cause of this
happy change with ingratitude? Never! Never! The white people have
never roblxrd us; and, I ask, why should we attempt to rob them? It was bad,
very bad! — and they were right in killing the robbers.' Here symptoms of
ini|>afience and dissatisfaction became manifest among a group consisting chiefly
of the relations of the deceased ; on observing which, he continued in a louder
tone: 'Yes! I say they acted right in killing the roblnrrs ; and who among you
will dare to contradict me?'

" 'You all know well my father was killed by the enemy, when you all
deserted him like cowards ; and. while the Great Master of I.ife spares me. no
hostile foot shall again l>e set on our lands. I know you all; and I know that
those who are afraid of their Ixxiies in battle arc thieves when they are out of
it : but the warrior of the strong arm and the great heart will never rob a friend.'
.•\fter a short pause, he resumed: 'My friends, the white men are brave and
lielone to a great nation. They are many moons crossing the great lake in coming
from their own conntrv to ser\e us. If vou were foolish enough to attack them.

ttt*lli>i.«. 1

Hit"'''

I Pv*^ ■i^fel.

wsamUmi^^

t * •

..--*>

- ^-

Hotel Diicres

Grand Hotel
LEADING HOTELS OF ■\\ALLA WALLA

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 17

they would kill a great many of you ; but suppose you should succeed in destroy-
ing all that are now present, what would be the consequence ? A greater number
would come next year to revenge the death of their relations, and they would
annihilate our tribe; or should not that happen, their friends at home, on hearing
of their deaths, would say we were a bad and wicked people, and white men
would never more come among us. We should then be reduced to our former
state of misery and persecution; our ammunition would be quickly expended; our
guns would become useless, and we should again be driven from our lands, and
the lands of our fathers, to wander like deer and wolves in the midst of the woods
and plains. I therefore say the white men must not be injured ! They have
offered you compensation for the loss of your friends: take it; but, if you should
refuse, I tell you to your faces that I will join them with my own band of
warriors; and should one white man fall by the arrow of an Indian, that Indian,
if he were my brother, with all his family, shall become victims to my vengeance.'
Then, raising his voice, he called out, 'Let the Wallah Wallahs, and all who love
me, and are fond of the white men, come forth and smoke the pipe of peace !'
Upwards of one hundred of our late adversaries obeyed the call, and separated
themselves from their allies. The harangue of the youthful chieftain silenced
all opposition. The above is but a faint outline of the arguments he made use
of, for he spoke upwards of two hours; and Michel confessed himself unable to
translate a great portion of his language, particularly when he soared into the
wild flights of metaphor, so common among Indians. His delivery was generally
bold, graceful, and energetic. Our admiration at the time knew no bounds; and
the orators of Greece or Rome when compared-with him, dwindled in our estima-
tion into insignificance. .; . _ " "^ '

"Through this chief's mediation, tlie viHolii .'claimants were in a short time
fully satisfied, without the flaming scalp jsf. our Higntand hero ; after which a
circle was formed by our people and the Indians iri^i^riminately : the white and
red chiefs occupied the center, and our return to friendship was ratified by each
individual in rotation taking an amicable whiiT from the peace-cementing calumet.

"The chieftain whose timely arrival had rescued us from impending destruc-
tion was called 'Morning Star.' His age did not exceed twenty-five years. His
father had been a chief of great bravery and influence, and had been killed in
battle by the Shoshones a few years before. He was succeeded by Morning
Star, who, notwithstanding his youth, had performed prodigies of valor. Nineteen
scalps decorated the neck of his war horse, the owners of which had been all
killed in battle by himself to appease the spirit of his deceased father. He
wished to increase the number of his victims to twenty ; but the terror inspired
by his name, joined to the superiority which his tribe derived by the use of fire-
arms, prevented him from making up the desired complement by banishing the
enemy from the banks of the Columbia.*

"His handsome features, eagle glance, noble bearing, and majestic person,
stamped him one of Nature's own aristocracy; while his bravery in the field,
joined to his wisdom in their councils, commanded alike the involuntary homage
of the young, and the respect of the old.

"We gave the man who had been wounded in the shoulder a chief's coat ; and

* The Indians consider the attainment of twenty scalps as the summit of a warrior's glory.

Vol. I— !l

18 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

to the relations of the men who were kiUed we gave two coats, two blankets, two
fathoms of cloth, two spears, forty bullets and powder, with a quantity of
trinkets, and two small kettles for their widows. We also distributed nearly half
a bale of tobacco among all present, and our youthful deliverer was presented
by Mr. Keith with a handsome fowling-piece, and some other valuable articles.

"Four men were then ordered to each canoe, and they proceeded on with
the poles; while the remainder, with the passengers, followed by land. We were
mixed pell-mell with the natives for several miles : the ground was covered with
large stones, small willows, and prickly-pears; and had they been inclined to
break the solemn compact into which they had entered, they could have destroyed
us with the utmost facility.

"At dusk we bade farewell to the friendly chieftain and his companions, and
crossed to the south side, where we encamped, a few miles above Lewis River,
and spent the night in tranquillity.

"It may be imagined by some that the part we acted in the foregoing trans-
action betrayed too great an anxiety for self-preservation ; but when it is recol-
lected that we were several hundred miles from any assistance, with a deep and
rapid river to ascend by the tedious and laborious process of poling, and that
the desultory Cossack mode of fighting in use among the Indians, particularly
the horsemen, would have cut us off in piecemeal ere we had advanced three
days, it will be seen that, under the circumstances, we could not have acted

otherwise."

And now we must turn to another phase of Indian life and character which
is most worthy of record, and one in which more than anywhere else they show
some of those "touches of nature which make the whole world kin." This is that
phase exhibited in myths and superstitions. Here we shall f^nd, as almost
nowhere else, that Indians are, after all, very much like other people. In this
portion of this chapter the author is incorporating portions of articles written by
himself for the American Antiquarian.

Like all primitive men, the Oregon Indians have an extensive mythology.
With childlike interest in the stars and moon and sun and fire and water and
forests as well as plants and animal life and their own natures, they have sought
out and passed on a wealth of legend and fancy which in its best features ,s
worthy of a place with the exquisite creations of Norse and Hellenic fancy,
even with much of the crude and grotesque. Yet it is not easy to secure these
legends just as the Indians tell them. In the first place few of the early explorers
knew how or cared to draw out the ideas of the first uncontaminated Indians.
The early settlers generally had a stupid intolerance in dealing with Indians
that made them shut right up like clams and withhold their stock of ideas. Later
the missionaries generally inclined to give them the impression that their "heathen"
legends and ideas were obstacles to their "salvation," and should be extirpated
from their minds. Still further the few that did really get upon a sympathetic
footing with them and draw out some of their myths, were likely to get them
in fragments and piece them out with Bible stories or other civilized concep-
tions, and thus the native stories have become adulterated. It is difficult to get
the Indians to talk freely, even with those whom they like and trust. Educated
Indians seem to be ashamed of their native lore, and will generally avoid talking
about it with whites at all, unless under exceptional conditions. Christianized

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 19

Indians seem to consider the repetition of their old myths a relapse into heathenism,
and hence will parry etiorts to draw them out. Li general, even when civilized,
Lidians are proud, reserved, suspicious, and on their guard. And with the primal
Indians few can make much headway. The investigator must start in indirectly,
not manifesting any eagerness, and simply suggest as if by accident some peculiar
appearance or incident in sky or trees or water, and let the Indian move on in
his own way to empty his own mind, never suspecting any effort by his listener
to gather up and tell again his story. And even under the most favoring con-
ditions, one may think he is getting along famously, when suddenly the Indian
will pause, glance furtively at the listener, give a moody chuckle, relapse into
stony and apathetic silence — that is the end of the tale.

Our stories have been derived mainly from the reports of those who have
lived much among the Indians, and who have been able to embrace the rare
occasions when, without self-consciousness or even much thought of outsiders,
the natives could speak out freely. There is usually no very close way of judg-
ing of the accuracy of observation or correctness of report of these investigators,
except as their statements are corroborated by others. These stories sometimes
conflict, different tribes having quite different versions of certain stories. Then
again the Indians have a peculiar habit of "continued stories," by which at the
teepee fire one will take up some well known tale and add to it and so make a
new story of it, or at least a new conclusion. As with the minstrels and minne-
singers of feudal Europe at the tournaments, the best fellow is the one who tells
the most thrilling tale.

One confusing condition that often arises with Indian names and stories is
that some Indians use a word generically and others use the same word spe-
cifically. For instance the native name for Mount Adams, commonly given as
"Pahtou," and Mount Rainier or Tacoma, better spelled "Takhoma," as sounded
by the Indians, really means any high mountain. A Wasco Indian once told the
author that his tribe called Mount Hood, "Pahtou," meaning the big mountain,
but that the Indians on the other side of the Columbia River applied the same
name to Adams. A very intelligent Puyallup Indian says that the name of the
"Great White Mountain" was "Takhoma," with accent and prolonged sound on
the second .syllable, but that any snow peak was the same, with the second syllable
not so prolonged according to height or distance of the peak. Mount St. Helens
was also "Takhoma," but with the "ho" not so prolonged. But among some
other Indians we find Mount St. Helens known as "Lawailaclough," and with
some Mount Hood is known as "Yetsl." Still other names are "Loowit" for
St. Helens and "Wiyeast" for Hood. Adams seems to be known to some as
"Klickitat." "Koolshan" for Baker, meaning the "Great White Watcher," is
one of the most attractive of Indian names and should be preserved. There is
"Shuksan" or "The place of the Storm Wind," the only one of the northwestern
peaks which has preserved its Indian name. In reference to "Takhoma," a
Puyallup woman told the writer that among her people the name meant the
"Breast that Feeds," or "The Breast of the Milk White Waters," referring to
the glaciers or the white streams that issue from them. On the other hand,
Winthrop in "Canoe and Saddle," states that the Indians applied the name "Tak-
homa" to any high snow peak. Mr. Edwin Eells of Tacoma has written that he
derived from Rev. Father Hylebos of the same city the statement that the name

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

"Takhonia" was compounded of '-Tah" and "Konia," and that among certain
Indians the word "Koma" meant any snow peak, while "Tah" is a superlative.
Hence, "Tahkoma" means simply the great peak.

We tind something of the .same inconsistencies in regard to the Indian names
of rivers. Our maps abound with supposed Indian names of rivers and yet an
educated Nez Perce Indian named Luke, living at Kamiah, Idaho, says that the
Indians, at least of that region, had no names of rivers, but only of localities.
He told the author that "Kooskooskie," which Lewis and Clark understood to be
the name of what we now call the Clearwater, was in reality a repetition of
"Koos," their word for water, and they meant merely to say that it was a strong
water. On the other hand we find many students of Indian languages who have
understood that there were names for the large rivers, even for the Columbia.
In the beautiful little book by B. H. Barrows, published and distributed by the
Union Pacific Railroad Company, we find the name "Shocatilicum" or "Friendly
Water" given as the Chinook name for the Columbia. It is interesting to notice
that this same word for "friendly water" appears in Vol. II, of the Lewis and
Clark Journal, but with different spelling, in one place being "Shocatilcum" and
in another place "Chockalilum." Reverend Father Blanchet is authority for
the statement in "Historical Magazine," II, 335, that the Chinook Indians used
the name "Yakaitl Wimakl" for the Lower Columbia. A Yakima Indian called
William Charley gives "Chewanna" as still another Indian name for the Columbia.

We have many supposed Indian names for God, as "Nekahni," or "Sahale,"
but Miss Kate McBeth, long a missionary among the Nez Perces, records in her
book about them that those Indians had no native name for the deity. Of these
Indian myths many deal with the chief God, as "Nekahni," "Sahale," "Dokidatl,"
"Snoqualm," or "Skomalt," while others have to do with the lesser grade of the
supernatural beings, as the Coyote god, variously named "Tallapus," "Speelyi,"
or "Sinchaleep." Others may treat of "Skallalatoots" (Fairies), "Toomuck,"
(Devils), or the various forms of "Tomanowas" (magic). A large number of
these myths describe the supposed origin of strange features of the natural world,
rocks, lakes, whirlpools, winds and waterfalls. Some describe the "animal
people," "Watetash," as the Klickitats call them. Some of the best are fire-
myths. These myths seem to have been common among all Indians of the
Columbia Valley.

In the preceding chapter we have given two of the best Indian myths, that of
Wishpoosh and that of the Chinook Wind. We insert here two stories of a
very different nature, derived from the same investigator as the two preceding,
Dr. G. B. Kuykendall of Pomeroy, Washington.

There is a legend among the Yakima Indians which seems to have the same
root in human nature as the beautiful Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice,
showing the instinctive desire of people on earth to bring back the spirits of the
dead, and the impossibility of doing so. This myth sets forth how Speelyi and
Whyama the eagle became at one time so grieved at the loss of their loved ones
that they determined to go to the land of the spirits and bring them back. The
two adventurers journeyed for a long distance over an unbroken plain, and came
at last to a great lake, on the farther side of which they saw many houses. They
called long and vainly for someone to come with a boat and ferry them over.
But there was no sign of life and at last Whyama said that there could be no one

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 21

there. Speelyi insisted, liowever, that the people were simply sleeping the sleep
of the day and would come forth at night. Accordingly, when the sun went down
and darkness began to come on, Speelyi started to sing. In a few minutes they
saw four spirit men come to the bank, enter a boat and cross the lake to meet
them. It seemed not necessary for them to row the boat, for apparently it
skimmed over the water of its own accord. The spirit men, having landed, took
Whyama and Speelyi with them in the boat and began their return to the island
of the dead. The island seemed to be a very sacred place. There was a house
of mats upon the shore, where music and dancing were in progress. Speelyi
and Whyama begged leave to enter, and feeling hungry, they asked for food.
The spirit land was so much less gross than the earth that they were satisfied
by what was dipped with a feather out of a bottle. The spirit people now came
to meet them dressed in most beautiful costumes, and so filled with joy that
Speelyi and Whyama felt a great desire to share their happiness. By the time
of the morning light, however, the festivities ceased and all the spirit people
became wrapped in slumber for the day. Speelyi, observing that the moon was
hung up inside the great banquet hall and seemed to be essential to the ongoings
of the evening, stationed himself in such a place that he could seize it during the
next night's meeting. As soon as night came on the spirits gathered again for
the music and dance. While their festivities were in progress as usual, Speelyi
suddenly swallowed the moon, leaving the entire place in darkness. Then he and
Whyama brought in a box, which they had previously provided, and Whyama,
flying swiftly about the room caught a number of the spirits and enclosed them
in the box. Then the two proceeded to start for the earth, Speelyi carrying the
box upon his back.

As the two adventurers went upon their long journey toward the earth with
the precious box, the spirits, which at first were entirely imponderable, began
to be transformed into men and to have weight. Soon they began to cry out
on account of their crowded and uncomfortable position. Then they became
so heavy that Speelyi could no longer carry them. In spite of the remonstrances
of Whyama, he opened the box. They were astonished and overwhelmed with
grief to see the partiallv transformed spirits flit away like autumn leaves and dis-
appear in the direction from which they had come. Whyama thought that per-
haps even as the buds grow in the spring, so the dead would come back with
the blooming of the next flowers. But Speelyi deemed it best after this that
the dead should remain in the land of the dead. Had it not been for this, as the
Indians think, the dead would indeed return every spring with the openmg of

tllP lc3.VCS

The Klickitat Indians, living along the Dalles of the Columbia, have another
legend of the land of spirits. There was a young chief and a girl who were
devoted to each other and seemed to be the happiest people in the tribe, but sud-
denly be sickened and died. The girl mourned for him almost to the point of
death, and he, having reached the land of spirits, could find no happiness there

on account of thinking of her. , ,u ■ ^ u ■ ut +»ii

And so it came to pass that a vision began to appear to the girl by night, tell-
ing her that she must herself go into the land of the spirits in order to console
her lover. Now there is near that place one of the most weird and funereal of
all the various "memaloose" islands, or death islands, of the Columbia. The

22 OLD WALLA WALLA COLXTY

writer himself has been upun this island and its spectral and volcanic desolation
makes it a fitting location for ghostly tales. It lies just below the "great chute,"
and even yet has many skeletons upon it. In accordance with the directions of
the vision, the girl's father made ready a canoe, placed her in it, and rowed out
into the great river by night to the menialoose island. As the father and his
child rowed across the dark and forbidding waters, they began to hear the sound
of singing and dancing and great joy. Upon the shore of the island they were
met by four spirit people, who took the girl but bade the father return, as it was
not for him to see into the spirit country. Accordingly the girl was conducted
to the great dance house of the spirits, and there she met her lover, far stronger
and more beautiful than when upon earth. That night they spent in unspeakable
bliss, but when the light began to break in the east and the song of the robins
began to be heard from the willows on the shore, the singers and the dancers
began to fall asleep.

The girl, too, had gone to sleep, but not soundly like the spirits. When the
sun had reached the meridian, she woke, and now, to her horror, she saw that
instead of being in the midst of beautiful spirits, she was surrounded by hideous
skeletons and loathsome, decaying bodies. Around her waist were the bony arms
and skeleton fingers of her lover, and his grinning teeth and gaping eye-sockets
seemed to be turned in mockery upon her. Screaming with horror she leaped
up and ran to the edge of the island, where, after hunting a long time, she found
a boat, in which she paddled across to the Indian village. Having presented her-
self to her astonished parents, they became fearful that some great calamity
would visit the tribe on account of her return, and accordingly her father took
her the next night back to the memaloose island as before. There she met again
the happy spirits of the blessed and there again her lover and she spent another
night in ecstatic bliss.

In the course of time a child was born to the girl, -beautiful beyond descrip-
tion, being half spirit and half human. The spirit bridegroom, being anxious
that his mother should see the child, sent a spirit messenger to the village, desir-
ing his mother to come by night to the memaloose island to visit them. She was
told, however, that she must not look at the child until ten days had passed.
But after the old woman had reached the island her desire to see the wonderful
child was so intense that she took advantage of a moment's inattention on the
part of the guard, and, lifting the cloth from the baby board, she stole a look at
the sleeping infant. And then, dreadful to relate, the baby died in consequence
of this premature human look. Grieved and displeased by this foolish act, the
spirit people decreed that the dead should never again return nor hold any com-
munication witli the living.

As showing still another phase of Indian imagination, the stories of the
"Tomanowas Bridge" of the Cascades may well find a place here.

This myth not only treats of fire, but it also endeavors to account for the
peculiar formation of the river and for the great snow peaks in the near vicinity.
This myth has various forms, and in order that it may be the better understood,
Ave shall say a word with respect to the peculiar physical features in that part
of the Columbia. This mighty river, after having traversed over a thousand
miles from its source in the heart of the Rocky Mountains of Canada, has cleft
the Cascade range asunder with the cafion 3,000 feet in depth. While generally

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 23

very swift, that portion of the river between The Dalles and the Cascades, of
about fifty miles, is very deep and sluggish. There are moreover sunken forests
on both sides of the river, visible at low water, which seem plainly to indicate
that at that point the river was dammed up by some great rock slide or volcanic
convulsion. Some of the Lidians affirm that their grandfathers have told them
there was a time when the river at that point passed under an immense natural
bridge and that there were no obstructions to the passage of boats under the bridge.
At the present time there is a cascade of forty feet at that point. This is now over-
come by Government locks. Among other evidences of some such actual occur-
rence as the Indians relate is the fact that the banks of the river at that point
are gradually sliding into the river. The prodigious volume of the Columbia
which here rises from fifty to seventy-five feet during the summer flood and
which, as shown by Government engineers, carries as much water as the Missis-
sippi at New Orleans, is here continually eating into the banks. The railroad
has slid several inches a year at this point toward the river and requires frequent
readjustment. It is obvious at a slight inspection that this weird and sublime
point in the course of this majestic river has been the scene of terrific volcanic
and probably seismic action. One Indian legend, probably the best known of all
their stories, is to the effect that the downfall of the great bridge and consequent
damming of the river was due to a great battle between Mount Hood and Mount
Adams, in which Mount Hood hurled a great rock at his antagonist, but falling
short of the mark the rock demolished the bridge instead. This event has been
made use of by Frederick Balch in his beautiful story, "The Bridge of the Gods,"
the finest story yet produced in Oregon.

But the finer, though less known legend, which unites both the physical con-
formation of the Cascades and the three great snow mountains of Hood, Adams,
and St. Helens, with the origin of fire, is to this efi^ect. This story was secured
by Mr. Fred Saylor of Portland.

According to the Klickitats there was once a father and two sons who came
from the east down the Columbia to the vicinity of where Dalles City is now
located, and there the two sons quarreled as to who should possess the land.
The father, to settle the dispute, shot two arrows, one to the north and one to
the west. ?Ie told one son to find the arrow to the north and the other the one at
the west and there to settle and bring up their families. The first son, going
northward, over what was then a beautiful plain, became the progenitor of the
Klickitat tribe, while the other son was the founder of the great Multnomah
nation of the Willamette Valley. To separate the two tribes more effectively
Sahale reared the chain of the Cascades, though without any great peaks, and
for a long time all things went in harmony. But for convenience' sake Sahale
had created the great tomanowas bridge under which the waters of the Columbia
flowed, and on this bridge he had stationed a witch woman called Loowit. who
was to take charge of the fire. This was the only fire in the world. As time
passed on Loowit observed the deplorable condition of the Indians, destitute
of fire and the conveniences which it might bring. She therefore besought Sahale
to allow her to bestow fire upon the Indians. Sahale, having been greatly pleased
by the faitli fulness and benevolence of Loowit, finally granted her request. The
lot of the Indians was wonderfully improved by the acquisition of fire. Thev

24 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

now began to make better lodges and clothes and had a variety of food and
implements and, in short, were marvellously benefited by the bounteous gift.
lUit Sahale, in order to show his aj)preciation of the care with which Loowit
had guarded the sacred tire, now determined to offer her any gift she might desire
as a reward. Accordingly, in response to his offer, Loowit asked that she be
transformed into a young and beautiful girl. This was effected and now, as
might have been expected, all the Indian chiefs fell deeply in love with the
beautiful guardian of the tomanowas bridge. Loowit paid little heed to any
of them, until finally there came two magnificent chiefs, one from the north
called Klickitat, and one from the south called Wiyeast. Loowit was uncertain
which of these two she most desired, and as a result a bitter strife arose between
the two, and this waxed hotter and hotter, until finally, with their respective
warriors, they entered upon a desperate war. The land was ravaged, all the
beautiful things which they had made were marred, and misery and wretched-
ness ensued. Sahale repented that he had allowed Loowit to bestow fire upon the
Indians, and determined to undo all his work in so far as he could. Accordingly
he broke down the tomanowas bridge, which dammed up the river with an
impassable reef and put to death Loowit, Klickitat and Wiyeast. But, he said,
inasmuch as they had been so grand and beautiful in life, he would give them
a fitting commemoration after death. Therefore he reared over them as monu-
ments the great snow peaks ; over Loowit what we now call Mount St. Helens,
over Wiyeast the modern Mount Hood, and above Klickitat the stupendous dome
of what we now call Mount Adams.

And now it is a matter of much interest to learn something of the chief
original sources and the most reliable investigators of these myths. This survey
is necessarily incomplete. The endeavor is to name the students and writers
of myths as far as possible. This search goes beyond Old Walla Walla and
covers Old Oregon.

First in the natural order of the investigators, and records of Indian myths
come the early explorers and writers of Old Oregon. Most of these give us
little on the special subject of myths, though they give much on the habits,
customs, occupations, and implements of the natives. The earliest explorer in
Oregon, so far as known to the author, to give any native legend, is Gabriel
Franchere, who came to Astoria with the Astor Fur Company in 1811. In his
narrative, upon which Irving's "Astoria" is largely based, we find a fine story
of the creation of men by Etalapass, and their subsequent improvement by
Ecannum. Franchere says that this legend was related to him by Ellewa, one
of the sons of Concomly, the one-eyed Chinook chief, who figures conspicuously
in Franchere's narrative. Of valuable books of the same period of Franchere,
are Ross Cox's "Adventures on the Columbia River," and Alexander Ross'
"Adventures on the Columbia," both of which contain valuable references to the
customs and superstitious ideas of the natives, though not much in the way of
myths. Ross gives an interesting myth of the Oakinackens (Okanogans as we
now say) about the origin of the Indians or Skyloo on the white man's island,
Samahtumawhoolah. The Indians were then very white and ruled by a female
spirit, or Great Mother, named Skomalt, but their island got loose and drifted
on the ocean for many suns, and as a result they became darkened to their
present hue. Ross gives also an account of the belief of the Oakinackens in a

POSTOFFICE, WALLA WALLA

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 25

good spirit, one of whose names is Skyappe, and a bad spirit, one of whose names
was Chacha. The chief deity of those Indians seems to have been the great
mother of Hfe, Skomalt, whose name also has the addition of "Squisses." Ross
says that those Indians change their names constantly and doubtless their deities
did the same.

Of valuable books a few years later than those just named, one especially
deserving of mention is Dr. Samuel Parker's "Exploring Tour Beyond the
Rocky Mountains," the result of observations made in 1835 and 1836. This,
however, contains little in the way of mythology. Capt. Charles Wilkes, the
American explorer of the early '40s, gives a very interesting account of a Palouse
myth of a beaver which was cut up to make the tribes. This is evidently another
version of the Klickitat story of the great beaver, Wishpoosh, of Lake Cleelum.
One of the most important of the early histories of Oregon is Dunn's, the
materials for which were gathered in the decade of the '40s. With other valuable
matter it contains accounts of the religious conceptions of the Indians, and here
we find the legend of the Thunder Bird of the Tinneh, a northern tribe. In this
same general period, though a little later, we find the most brilliant of all writers
dealing with Oregon ; that is, the gifted scholar, poet and soldier, Theodore
Winthrop. His book, "Canoe and Saddle," has no rival for literary excellence
and graphic power, among all the books which have dealt with the Northwest. The
book was first published in 1862, and republished fifty years later in beautiful
form by John H. Williams of Tacoma. "Canoe and Saddle" commemorates a
journey from Puget Sound across the; niouiifaijis^and through the Yakima and
Klickitat countries in 1854. It cdntein^-seyera-l. fine Indian stories, notably that
of the Miser of Mount Tacoma, and that of the Devil of the Dalles. Winthrop
does not state from whom directly he. secured the second of these myths, but
no doubt from the Indians themselves",' thougJi the' peculiar rich imagination and
picturesque language of Winthrop are in evidence throughout the narration. The
tale of the Miser of Mount Tacoma is attributed by Winthrop to Hamitchou,
an Indian of the Squallygamish tribe.

At about the same time as Winthrop's, occurred the visit and investigations
of James G. Swan, whose book, "The Northwest Coast," was published in 1857.
Tn this is found the cre.ition myth of the Ogress of Saddle Mountain, relating
the issuing forth of Indians from eggs cast down the mountain-side by the
Ogress. Many years ago Rev. Myron Eells told the writer a variation of that
story, which has appeared in sundry forms and publications, being the story of
Toulux, the South Wind, Quootshoi the witch, and Skamson the Thunder Bird.
In addition to the legend of the Thunder Bird, Swan gives many items of peculiar
interest. Among these we find his idea that certain customs of the Indians ally
them with the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. His final impression seems to be,
however, that they are autocthonous in America. He refers to the observation
of General George Gibbs of the similarity of Klickitat myths to those in Long-
fellow's Hiawatha. He also refers to the beeswax ship of the Nehalem. In
connection with the thought of Indian resemblance to the Ten Lost Tribes, it is
worth noticing that this has come forth from various directions. Miss Kate
McBeth has expressed the same in connection with the Nez Perces. It was also
a favorite idea with B. B. Bishop, one of the earliest builders of steamboats
on the Columbia, who lived many years at Pendleton, Oregon. He told the

26 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

writer that the Indians at the Cascades had a spring festival with the lirst run
of salmon. They would boil whole the first large salmon caught', and have a
ceremony in which the whole tribe would pass in procession around the fish,
each taking a bit. They exercised the utmost care to leave the skeleton intact,
so that at the end it had been picked clean but with not a bone broken. Mr.
Bishop thought that this was a sunival of the Jewish idea of the Paschal Lamb.

Among the great collectors of all kinds of historical data in what might be
called the middle period of Northwest history and not exactly belonging to any
one of the specific groups, is H. H. Bancroft, already referred to in the first
part of this chapter. In his "Native Races," are found many myths, with refer-
ences given, but these mainly deal with Mexican, Central American, and Cali-
fornian Indians. He refers to Holmburg's ethnological studies in German as
containing valuable matter in regard to our Northwestern Indians. Harmon's
Journal, with its reference to the TacuUies of British Columbia and their legend
of the Musk Rat, is also named. In the same connection we find reference to
Yehl the Raven, an especial favorite of the Indians of British Columbia and the
upper part of Puget Sound.

From what may be termed the first group of narrators of native tales, we
may turn to those that may be called the scientific ethnologists. We are indebted
to Dr. Franz Boas, himself the foremost of the group, for the list of these pro-
fessional students of the subject. These men took up the matter in a more
scientific and methodical way than the travellers and pioneers and have presented
the results of their work in form that appeals to the scholar, the work of trained
investigators, seeking the facts and giving them as exactly as possible, not affected
by the distortions and exaggerations common to unscientific observers. They
were all connected with the Smithsonian Institute, and their work was mainly
tmder the Government.

The Bibliography as given by Doctor Boas, is as follov/s:

Edward Sapir, Wishram Texts (publications of the American Ethnological
Society, Vol. 11).

Leo J. Frachtenberg, Coos Texts (Columbia University contributions to
Anthropology, \'ol. I).

Leo J. Frachtenberg, Lower Unipqua Texts (Ibid., Vol. IV).

James Teit, Traditions of the Thompson Indians (Memoirs of the Amer-
ican Folk-Lore Society, Vol. VI). (This is not Washington, but
practically identical with material from the interior of Washington.)

James Teit, Mythology of the Thompson Indians (Jesup North Pacific
Expedition Publications, Vol. VIII).

James Teit, The Shuswap (Ibid., Vol. II).

Franz Boas, Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Kiiste Amerikas.

Franz Boas, Mythology of the Indians of Washington and Oregon
(Globus, Yo]. LXIII, pp. 154-157, 172-175, igo-193).

H. J. Spinden, Myths of the Nez Perce (Journal of American Folk Lore,
Vol. XXI).

Louisa McDermott, Myths of the Flathead Indians (Ibid., Vol. XIV).

Franz Boas, Sagen der Kootenay (Berlin Society for Anthropology,
Ethnology, etc., \'ol. XXIII, pp. 161-172).

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 27

Livingston Farrand, Traditions of the Quinault Indians (Publications
of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. II).

Franz Boas, Chinook Texts (Bureau of Ethnology, Government Print-
ing Office, 1894).

Franz Boas, Cathlamet Texts (Ibid.).

James Teit, Traditions of the Lilloost Indians (Journal of American
Folk-Lore, \'ol. XXV).

Jeremiah Curtin, Myths of the Modocs (Little, Brown & Co.).
To these may be added, as of special value, the studies of Prof. Albert S.
Gatchett among the Modocs, found under the title, "Oregonian Folk-Lore" in the
Journal of American Folk-Lore, Vol. IV, 1891, Houghton, Mifflin & Co. The
other volumes of the Journal of .luierican Folk-Lore from 1888 to 1913 contain
valuable matter.

Doctor Boas found a treasury of information in an old Indian named Charlie
Cultee, at Bay Center in Willapa Harbor, Wash., and from that source derived
the material for the most scientific and uncolored study of Indian lore yet given
to the public. These appear in the Chinook Texts of Doctor Boas. In this is a
fine story of the first ship seen by the Clatsops. This is found also in H. S.
Lyman's History of Oregon. In Professor Gatchett's book are found some of
the finest fire myths and fish myths of the Northwest.

Following the groups of the explorers and the professional ethnologists, may
come the larger body of miscellaneous collectors and writers, who, through local
papers and magazines and published books, as well as personal narration, have
rescued many quaint and curious gems of Indian mythology from oblivion and
through various channels have imparted them to the slowly accumulating stock.
Those no longer living may properly appear first. Of comparatively recent
students no longer living, Silas Smith of Astoria was one of the best. His
father was Solomon Smith of the Wyeth Expedition, while his mother was
Celiast, daughter of the Clatsop chief Cobaiway. Through his Indian mother
Mr. Smith obtained much interesting matter, much of which was preserved
by H. S. Lyman in his history of Oregon, and in articles in the Oregonian, His-
torical Oiwrtcrly. and other publications. H. S. Lyman was also an original
investigator, deriving his data mainly from Silas Smith and from a group of
Indians who formerly lived at the mouth of the Nekanicum. These stories ap-
pear in his history of Oregon and in a group contained in the "Tallapus Stories,"
published in the Oregonian. Another intelligent and patient investigator was
Rev. Mvron Fells, who lived for many years on Hood's Canal. Many years ago
the author heard from him legends from the Indians which he derived directly
from the natives, such as the Thunder Bird, the Flood around Mount Tacoma
C which he thought colored by the story of Noah in the Bible), and others. In the
book by Mr. Hells, entitled "Ten Years' Missionary Work in Skokomish," he gives
a valuable description of the "Tomanowas." In various numbers of the American
Antiquarian Mr. Eells has valuable articles as follows: "The Religion of the
Twana Indians," July, 1879; "Dokidatl, or the God of the Puget Sound Indians,"
November, 1884; "The Indians of Puget Sound," May, 1888, and March, 1890.
Prominent among the scholars and lecturers of Oregon is the great name of
Thomas Condon, for a long time in the State University, and the earliest student
in a large way of the geology of the Northwest. He was interested in Indiaii

28 OLD WAI.I.A WALLA COUNTY

myths as in almost everything that had to do with man and nature. The legend
of the "Bridge of the Clods," already given in this chapter, particularly appealed
to him. One of the notable students of both the geology and anthropology of the
Northwest was George Gibbs, who came to Oregon as a Government geologist
in 1853. In his rejiort on the Pacific Railroad in House of Representatives Docu-
ments of 1853-4, he gives the first published version, so far as we can discover, of
the "Bridge of the Gods." He tells the story thus: "The Indians tell a char-
acteristic tale of Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens to the effect that they were
man and wife; that they finally quarreled and threw fire at one another, and that
St. Helens was victor; since when Mount Hood has been afraid, while St. Helens,
having a stout heart, still burned. In some versions this story is connected with
the slide which formed the Cascades of the Columbia." Mr. Gibbs also gives some
\'akima legends.

One of the most distinguished of all the literary pioneers of Old Oregon was
Samuel A. Clark. In his "Pioneer Days in Oregon" are several interesting
legends well told. In this we find the legend of the Nahalem, with Ona and Sandy
and all their tribulations. We find here told also the story of the Bridge of the
Gods, in which Hood and Adams are represented as the contending forces, having
been originally the abutments of the Bridge of the Gods. But the most noted con-
tribution of Mr. Clark to this legend -was his poem called, "The Legend of the
Mountains," referring to the fabled bridge, which appeared in Harper's Maga::ine
of February, 1874. This represents Mount St. Helens as a goddess for whom
Hood and Adams contended, hurling huge stones at each other and finally break-
ing down the bridge. The story of the bridge became the most noted of all
native myths, being related to practically every traveller that made the steamboat
trip down the Columbia.

Let us now turn to those discoverers and writers of Indian myths who are still
living. The majority of these are from the nature of the case adaptors and tran-
scribers, rather than original students. But some among them are entitled to the
place of genuine investigators. Among these a foremost place must be accorded
to Fred A. Saylor of Portland. He was for several years editor of the Oregon
Native Son, and for it he wrote a number of stories which he derived directly
from the Indians. A student of these stories from boyhood, he has accumulated
the largest collection of matter both published and unpublished of anyone in the
Northwest. This collection is preserved by him in fourteen large scrap books,
and constitutes a treasury of valuable data which it is to be hoped may soon ap-
pear in a published form for the delight and profit of many readers. Among the
legends of which Mr. Saylor is entitled to be regarded as the discoverer are these :
"The Legend of Tahoma" ; "Why the Indian Fears Golden Hair," or, "The Origin
of Castle Rock;" "Speelyi, or the Origin of Latourelle Falls, and the Pillars of
Hercules;" "Thorns on Rosebushes;" "The Noah of the Indians;" "The Strange
Story of a Double Shadow ;" "The Legend of Snake River Valley ;" "A Wa])pato
Account of the Flood ;" "The Last Signal Fire of the Multnomah ;" "The Legend
of the Willamette;" "The Love of an Indian Maid;" "Enumpthla;" "Coyote's
Tomb ;" "Multnomah." The last named has been presented by students on the
campus of the State University and also at the Agricultural College of Oregon.

Of investigators known to the author, none seems more worthy of extended
and favorable mention than Dr. G. B. Kuykendall of Pomeroy, Wash. He was

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 29

for a number of years the physician for the Yakima Reservation at Fort Simcoe.
He began his work of collecting in 1875, deriving his knowledge directly from
the Indians. His authorities were almost entirely old Indians, for from such only
could he secure narrations of unadulterated character. His first published writ-
ings were in the "West Shore," of Portland, in 18S7. His most mature contribu-
tion, which may indeed be considered the best yet given to the public, is found in
Vol. II, of the "History of the Pacific Northwest," published by the North
Pacific History Co., of Portland, in 1889. This is an admirable piece of work,
and students of the subject will find here a treasure of native lore. The following
is the list of stories given by Dr. Kuykendall in that work: "Wishpoosh, the
Beaver God, and the Origin of the Tribes;" "Speelyi Fights Enumtla;" "Speelyi
Outwits the Beaver Women;" "Rock Myths ;" "Legend of the Tick;" "Mountain
Lake Myths;" "The Origin of Fire;" "Water Nymphs;" "Wawa, the Mosquito
God;" "Origin of the Loon;" "Castiltah, the Crayfish;" "Wakapoosh, the Rattle
Snake ;" "The Tumwater Luminous Stone God ;" "The Wooden Fireman of the
Cascades ;" "Contest Between the Chinooks and Cold Wind Brothers ;" "Speelyi's
Ascent to Heaven ;" "Coyote and Eagle Attempt to Bring the Dead Back from
Spirit Land ;" "The Isle of the Dead."

Another original investigator and the author of an unique and picturesque
book devoted exclusively to Indian myths, is W. S. Phillips of Seattle, well known
by his non-de-plume of "EI Comancho." The book by Mr. Phillips is "Totem
Tales." Mr. Phillips says that he gathered the matter for "Totem Tales" from
the Puget Sound Indians and from Haida Indians who had come south. This
work was mainly done about twenty-five years ago. He verified much of his
matter by comparing with Judge Swan, and by the stories acquired by Doctor Shaw,
who was at one time Indian agent at Port Madison, and whose wife was one of
the daughters of old Chief Sealth (Seattle). He derived matter for comparison
also from Rev. Myron Eells. The chief Indian authority of Mr. Phillips was old
Chisiahka (Indian John to the Whites), and it was a big tree on the shore of
Lake Union that suggested the idea of the "Talking Pine," which the author wove
so picturesquely into the narrative. Mr. Phillips has also published the "Chinook
Book," the most extensive study of the jargon language yet made. To the others
he has added a most attractive book entitled, "Indian Tales for Little Folks."

Another present day investigator, whose work is especially worthy of mention
is Rev. J. Neilson Barry, an enthusiastic and intelligent student of every phase
of the history of the Northwest. In Chapter III of Volume I of Gaston's "Cen-
tennial History of Oregon," Mr. Barry gives a valuable contribution to Indian
legends.

Yet another original student is Miss Kate McBeth of Lapwai, Idaho, who with
her sister lived for years among the Nez Perces, performing a most beneficent
missionary work for them. In her book, "The Nez Perces Since Lewis and
Clark," may be found the Kamiah myth, and a few others derived directly from
those Indians. Mention may well be made here also of a Nez Perce Indian named
Luke, previously referred to, living at Kamiah, who has a very intelligent knowl-
edge of all kinds of Indian matters. Miss McBeth says that the Nez Perces do
not like to discuss generally their "heathen" stories and customs. In connection
with the Nez Perces it may be stated that Yellow Wolf of Nespilem is an authority
on the myth of the Kamiah Monster.

30 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Still aiiolher enthusiastic student of Indian legends is Lucullus V. Mc-
Whorter of North Yakima. He is an adopted member of the Yakima tribe, and
has been of incalculable benefit to the Indians in instructing them as to their
rights, in presenting their cause to the Government, and in making known their
needs as well as some of their wrongs to the general public through voice and
pen. He has made a specialty in recent years of organizing the Indians and taking
them to "Round-Ups" and "Frontier Days." A recent pamphlet by him on the
treatment of the Yakimas in connection with their water rights is an "eye-opener,"
on some phases of Indian service and Indian problems. Mr. McWhorter has
gathered a large amount of matter from the Indians, in which is material for
three books : "Traditions of the Yakimas ;" "Hero Stories of the Yakimas ;" "Nez
Perce Warriors in the War of 1877." Among the proteges of Mr. McWhorter
from whom he tells me much of interest could be derived, are Chief Yellow
WoU of the Joseph Band of Nez Perces, and Mrs. Crystal ^McLeod, known to her
people as Humishuma, or ]\Iorning Dove, an Okanogan woman of unusual beauty
and intelligence and well instructed in the English language. Her picture appears
in this work from photographs taken by Mr. John Langdon of Walla Walla.

Any reference to any phase of Oregon would be incomplete without mention
of John Minto, one of the most honored of pioneers, one of the noblest of men,
and one of the best examples of those ambitious, industrious, and high minded
state builders who gave the Northwest its loftiest ideals. Mr. Minto was a
student of the Indians and discovered and gave to the world various Clatsop and
Nehalem legends. Hon. E. L. Smith of Hood River, Ore., well known as an
official and legislator of both Oregon and Washington, and a man of such char-
acter that all who ever knew him have the highest honor for him in every
relation of life, has made a life-long study of the natives and has a great collection
of myths both in mind and on paper. He is one of the most sympathetic, tolerant,
and appreciative of investigators, one whom the Indians of the Mid-Columbia
trust implicitly. He has written little for publication in comparison with what
he knows, and it is to be hoped that his stores of material may be brought within
reach before long. Worthy of mention as a general student of the geography and
language of the Indians is Mr. John Gill of Portland. While he has not made a
specialty of myths, he has studied the habits and language with special attention,
and his dictionary of the Chinook jargon is one of the most valuable collections
of the kind.

It is proper to mention here several who are well versed in native lore, yet
who have not given their knowledge of legends or myths to the public in book or
magazine form. The most conspicuous, indeed, of this group is no longer living.
This was Dr. William C. McKay, a grandson of the McKay of the Astor Fur
Company, who lost his life on the Tonquin. The mother of Doctor McKay was
a Chinook "princess." He was a man of great ability and acquired a fine edu-
cation. He lived for years in Pendleton, Ore., where he died some time ago. In
the possession of his children and grandchildren there is undoubtedly valuable
material and if it could be reduced to written form it would furnish matter of
great interest. Certain others of Indian blood may be properly added here who
could give material for interesting narrations. Among these are Henry Sicade
and William Wilton, living on the Puyallup Reservation near Tacoma, Samuel

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 31

McCaw of Yakima, \\'ash., and Charlie Pitt of the Warm Springs Agency in
Oregon.

This summary of Indian stories and their investigators is necessarily incom-
plete. One of the hopes in including it in this work is that it may lead to added
contributions. As we contemplate the beauty and grandeur of Old Oregon, which
includes Washington and Idaho and a part of Montana, and the pathos, heroism
and nobility of its history, and as we see the pitiful remnant of the Indians, we
cannot fail to be touched with the quaint, the pathetic, and the suggestive myths
and legends that are passing with them into the twilight. In our proud days of
possession and of progress we do well to pause and drop the tear of sympathy and
place the chaplet of commemoration upon the resting place of the former lords
of the land, and to recognize their contributions to the common stock of human
thought.

CHAITER 111

THE FIRST EXPLORERS AND THEIR ROUTES THROUGH THE

REGION

Of all events in early American history influential in their bearing upon the
territorial development of the United States, the Louisiana I'urchase in 1803 must
Iw accorded the foremost place. Until that event the United States, in spite of the
fact that it had gained indi|K-ndence, was essentially EurojK-an in its habit of
thou(;ht and colonial in its aspirations and outlook. A few seers indeed recognized
the possibilities of continental exjKinsion. The doctrine of "manifest destiny"
had held the glowing vision of the place in history which might be wrought by
a continent, or at least the dominating parts of it, under the control of the same
race of men who had redeemed the Atlantic seaboard from the wilderness and
successfully maintained against the greatest empire of the world the proposition
that "Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed."
The author of those words had seen more clearly jK-rhaps than any other the world
vision of a great American denuKracy, indeiK-mlent of I'"uroi>e and yet by reason
of geographical position as well as political ideals and social aspirations, the
natural mediator among |)eoples and the ultimate teacher and enlightcner of
mankind.

When, therefore, as a result of the political revolution of 1800 and the pcr-
HKiticnt establishment of the democratic conception in tlic leadership of .American
l>olitics. Thomas JefTer-ion found himself invested with the enormous responsibil-
ity of framing policies and measures for the new era, one of his foremost aims
was to turn the face of the nation westward. Having long entertained the idea
that the tnic policy was to secure such posts of vantage beyond the .Mlcghenies
as would lead by natural stages to the acquisition of the country beyond the
Mi>.sissippi, even to the Pacific, he was alert to seize any opening for pursuing that
truly .American jwlicy. He did not have long to wait. At the time of his inaugu-
ration the stupendous energies of the French Revolution had liecomc concentrated
in that overjiowering iH-rsonality. Napoleon Bonaparte. Holding then the position
of first consul, but as tnily the imperial master as when he placed the iron crown
of the Lombards upon his own head, "the man on horsel)ack" perceived that a
renewal of the great war was inevitable and that .Austria on land and England
at sea were going to put metes to his empire if human power could do if. Nothing
was more hateful to Napoleon than to let French America, or Ixtuisiana, slip from
his grasp. Rut he had not the maritime equipment to defend it. England was
sure to take it and that soon. Monroe, the .American envoy, was in Paris fidly
instructed by President Jefferson what to do. ,AII things were ready. The man
and the occasion met. The Louisiana Purchase was consummated. For less than
three rents .in acre, a region now comprising thirteen states or parts of states,

■\'2

HKiH SCHOOL, WAITSBURG

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 33

estimated at over five hundred and sixty-five million acres, equal in extent to
all Europe outside of Russia and Scandinavia, became part of the United States.

When that great event was consummated and one of the milestones in the
world's progress upon the highway of universal democracy had been set for good,
the next step in the mind of Jefferson was to provide for the exploration of the
vast new land. The westward limits of Louisiana were not indeed defined by the
treaty of purchase otherwise than as the boundaries by which the territory had
been ceded by Spain to France, and those boundaries in turn were defined only
as those by which France had in 1763 ceded to Spain. Hence the western bound-
ary of Louisiana was uncertain. Although subsequent agreements and usages
determined the boundary to be the crest of the Rocky Mountains as far south as
Texas, Tefl'erson seems to have thought that the entire continent to the Pacific
ought to he included in the exploration, for he saw also that the destiny of his
country required the ultimate union of Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as the
great central valley. From these conceptions and aims of Jeflferson sprang that
most interesting and influential of all exploring expeditions in our history, the
Lewis and Clark exploration from St. Louis up the Missouri, across the Rocky
Mountains, and down the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean. Jef-
ferson had contemplated such an expedition a long time. Even as far back as
December 4, 1783, in a letter to George Rogers Clark, he raised the question of
an exploration from the Mississippi to California. In 1792 he took it up with
the American Philosophical Society, and even then Meriwether Lewis was eager
to head such an expedition. In a message to Congress of January 18, 1803, before
the Louisiana Purchase, Jefferson developed the importance of a thorough ex-
ploration of the continent even to the Western Ocean. With his characteristic
secrecy, Jefi'erson was disposed to mask the great design of ultimate acquisition
of the continent under the appearance of scientific research. In a letter to Lewis
of April 27, 1803, he says : "The idea that you are going to explore the Mississippi
has been generally given out ; it satisfies public curiosity and masks sufficiently the
real destination." That real destination was. of course, the Pacific Ocean, and
the fundamental aim was the continental expansion of the then crude and
"straggling Republic of the West. Considering the momentous nature of the
undertaking and the possibilities of the unknown wilderness which it was to
cover, it is curious and suggestive that Lewis had estimated the expenses at $2,500,
and Jefi"erson called upon Congress for that amount of appropriation. An ex-
plorer of the present would hardly expect to go out doors on that scale of ex-
pense. Jeffersonian simplicity with a vengeance !

The scope of our book does not permit any detailed account of the preparations
or of the personnel of the party. Suffice it to say that the leader. Meriwether
Lewis, and his lieutenant, William Clark, were men of energy, discretion, courage,
and the other necessary qualities for such an undertaking. While not men of
education or general culture (Clark could not even spell or compose English cor-
rectly) they both had an abundance of common sense and in preparation for their
mission gained a hurried preparation in the essentials of botany, zoology, and
astronomy such as might enable them to observe and report intelligently upon the
various objects of discovery and the distances and directions traversed.

Jefferson's instructions to Captain Lewis give one an added respect for the
intelligence and broad humanity of the great democrat. Particularly did he enjoin

34 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

upon the leader of the party the wisdom of amicable relations with the natives.
The benevolent spirit of the President appears in his direction that kine-pox mat-
ter be taken and that its use for preventing small-pox be explained to the Indians.
All readers of American history should read these instructions, both for an
estimate of Jefferson personally, and for light they throw on the conditions and
viewpoints of the times.

The number in the party leaving St. Louis was forty-five. But one death
occurred upon the whole journey, which lasted from May 14, 1804, to September
23, 1806. Never perhaps did so extended and difficult an expedition suffer so
little. And this was the more remarkable from the fact that there was no physician
nor scientific man with the party and that whatever was needed in the way of
treating the occasional sicknesses or accidents must be done by the captains.
While to their natural force and intelligence the party owed a large share of its
immunity from disaster, good fortune surely attended them. This seems the
more noticeable when we reflect that this was the first journey across a wilderness
afterwards accentuated with every species of suft'ering and calamity.

The members of the party were encouraged to preserve journals and records
to the fullest degree, and from this resulted a fullness of detail by a number of
the men as well as the leaders which has delighted generations of readers ever
since. .\nd in spite of the fact that none of the writers had any literary genius,
these journals are fascinating on account of the nature of the undertaking and a
certain glow of enthusiasm which invested with a charm even the plain and homely
details of the long journey.

The first stage of the expedition was from St. Louis, May 14. 1804, to a point
1,600 miles up the Missouri, reached November 2. There the party wintered in a
structure which they called Fort Mandan. The location was on the west bank of
the Missouri, op]30site the present City of Pierre. The journey had been made by
boats at an average advance of ten miles a day. The river, though swift and with
frequent shoals, offered no serious impediments, even for a long distance above
Fort Mandan.

After a long, cold winter in the country of the Mandans. the expedition re-
sumed their journey up the ]Missouri on April 7, 1805. Of the interesting details
of this part of their course we cannot speak. Reaching the head-waters of the
Missouri on August 12, they crossed that most significant spot, the Great Divide.
A quotation from the journal of Captain Lewis indicates the lively sentiments
with which they passed from the Missouri waters to those of the Columbia: "As
they proceeded, their hope of seeing the waters of the Columbia rose to almost
painful anxiety; when at the distance of four miles from the la.st abrui)t turn of
the stream, they reached a small gap formed by the high mountains which recede
on either side, leaving room for the Indian road. From the foot of one of the
lowest of these mountains, which rises with a gentle ascent for about half a mile,
issued the remotest water of the Missouri. They had now reached the hidden
sources of that river which had never before been seen by civilized man ; and as
they quenched their thirst at the chaste and icy fountain — as they sat down by
the brink of the little rivulet which yielded its distant and modest tribute to the
parent ocean — thev felt themselves rewarded for all their labors and difficulties.
* * * They found the descent much steeper than on the eastern side, and at
the distance of three-quarters of a mile, reached a handsome, bold creek of cold.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 35

clear water running to the westward. They stopped to taste for the first time the
waters of the Columbia."

After some very harassing and toilsome movements in that vast cordon of
peaks in which lie the cradles of the Alissouri, Yellowstone, Snake, Clearwater,
and Bitterroot rivers — more nearly reaching starvation point than at any time
on the trip — the party emerged upon a lofty height from which their vision swept
over a vast expanse of open prairie, in which it became evident that there were
many natives and, as they judged, the near vicinity of the great river, which, as
they thought, would carry them in short order to the Western Ocean of their
quest. They little realized that they were yet more than six hundred miles from
the edge of the continent. Descending upon the plain, they made their way to the
Kooskooskie, now known as the Clearwater River. As judged by Olin D.
Wheeler in his invaluable book. "On The Trail of Lewis and Clark," the explorers
crossed from what is now Montana into the present Idaho at the Lolo Pass, and
proceeded thence down the broken country between the north and middle forks
of the Kooskooskie, reaching the junction on September 26. The camp at that
spot was called Canoe Camp. There they remained nearly two weeks, most of
them sick through overeating after they had sustained so severe a fast in the
savage defiles of the Bitter Roots, and from the effects of the very great change
in temperature from the snowy heights to the hot valley below. At Canoe Camp
they constructed boats for the further prosecution of their journey. They left
their thirty-eight horses with three Indians of the Chopunnish or Pierced-Nose
tribe, or Nez Perce as we now know them.

With their canoes they entered upon a new stage of their journey, one easy
and pleasant after the hardships of the mountains. Down the beautiful Koos-
kooskie, then low in its autumn stage, they swept gaily, finding frequent rapids,
though none serious. The pleasant-sounding name Kooskooskie, which ought to
be preserved (though Clearwater is appropriate and sonorous), was supposed by
the explorers to be the name of the river. This it appears was a misapprehension.
The author has been told by a very intelligent Indian named Luke, living at
Kamiah, that the Indians doubtless meant to tell the white men that the stream
was Koos, koos, or zvater, zvatcr. Koos was and still is the Nez Perce word for
water. Luke stated that the Indians did not regularly have names for streams,
but only for localities, and referred to rivers as the water or koos belonging to
some certain locality.

After a prosperous descent of the beautiful and impetuous stream for a dis-
tance estimated by them at fifty-nine miles (considerably overestimated) the
party entered a much larger stream coming from the south. This they under-
stood the Indians to call the Kimooenim. They named it the Lewis in honor of
Captain Lewis. It was the great Snake River of our present maps. The writer
has been told by Mr. Thomas Beall of Lewiston that the true Indian name is
Twelka. Still another native name is Shahaptin. The party was now at the
present location of Lewiston and Clarkston, one of the most notable regions in
the Northwest for beauty, fertility, and all the essentials of capacity for sustain-
ing a high type of civilized existence. The land adjoining Snake River on the
west is Asotin County, one of the components of our history. The party camped
on the right bank just below the junction, and that first camp of white men was
nearly opposite both Lewiston and Clarkston of today. They say that the Indians

36 OLD WAIJ.A WALLA COUNTY

flocked frciin all directions to see them. The scantiness of their fare had brought
them to the stage of eating dog-iiieal, which they say excited the ridicule of the
natives. The Indians gave them to understand that the soutliern ))ranch was
na\igable up about sixty miles ; that not far from its mouth it received a branch
from the south, and at two days' march up a larger branch called Pawnashte, on
which a chief resided who had more horses than he could count.

The first of these must be the Asotin Creek, unless indeed they referred to the
Grande Ronde, which is the first large stream, but is considerable distance from
the junction. The Pawnashte must have been the Salmon, the largest tributary of
the Snake. The Snake at the point of the camp of the explorers was discovered
to be about three hundred yards wide. The party noticed the greenish blue color
of the Snake, while the Kooskooskie was as clear as crystal. The Indians at this
point are described as of the Chopunnish or Pierced-Nose nations, the latter of
those names translated by the French voyageurs into the present Xez Perce. Ac-
cording to the obser\ations of the party, the men were in person stout, fwrtly,
well-looking men; the women small, with good features and generally handsome.
The chief article of dress of the men w^as a "buffalo or elk-skin robe decorated
with beads, sea-shells, chiefly mother-of-pearl, attached to an otter-skin collar
and hung in the hair, which falls in front in two queues; feathers, paints of dif-
ferent kinds, principally white, green, and light blue, all of which they find in
their own country. The dress of the women is more simple, consisting of a long
skirt of arg-alia or ibex-skin, reaching down to the ankles without a girdle; to this
are tied little pieces of brass and shells and other small articles." Further on the
journal states again: "The Chopunnish have few amusements, for their life is
painful and laborious; and all their exertions are necessary to earn even their
precarious subsistence. During the summer and autumn they are busily occupied
in fishing for salmon and collecting their winter store of roots. In the winter they
hunt the deer on snow-shoes over the plains, and towards spring cross the moun-
tains to the Missouri for the purpose of trafficking for buffalo robes." It may be
remarked here parenthetically that there is every indication that buflfalo formerly
inhabited the Snake and Columbia plains. In fact, buffalo bones ha\e been found
in recent years in street excavations at Spokane. What cataclysm may have led
to their extermination is hidden in obscurity. But at the first coming of the
whites it was discovered that one of the regular occupations of the natives was
crossing the Rocky Mountains to hunt or trade for buffalo.

Soon after resuming the journey on October ii, the explorers noted with
curiosity one of the vajwr baths common among those Indians, which they say
differed from those on the frontiers of the United States or in the Rocky Moun-
tains. The bath-house was a hollow square six or eight feet deep, formed in the
river bank by damming up with mud the other three sides and covering the whole
completely except an aperture about two feet wide at the top. The bathers
descended through that hole, taking with them a jug of water and a number of
hot rocks. They would throw the water on the rocks until it steamed and in that
steam they would sit until they had perspired sufficiently, and then they would
plunge into cold water. This species of entertainment seems to have been very
sociable, for one seldom bathed alone. It was considered a great affront to decline
an invitation to join a bathing party.

The explorers .seem to have had a very calm and uneventful descent of Snake

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 37

River. They describe the general lay of the country accurately, noting that
beyond the steep ascent of 200 feet (it is in reality a great deal more in all the
upper part of this portion of Snake River) the cotuitry becomes an open, level,
and fertile plain, entirely destitute of timber. They note all the rapids with suf-
ficient particularity to enable anyone thoroughly familiar with the river to identify
most of them. They make special observation of the long series of rapids com-
monly known now as the Riparia and Texas Rapids, and below these observe a
large creek on the left which they denominate as Kimooenim Creek. This is
rather odd, for that had already been noted as the native name of the main river.
A few miles further down they pass through a bad rapid but twenty-five yards
wide. Of course, it must be remembered that the time was October and the river
was about at its lowest. This was the narrow crack of the Palouse Rapids,
which, however, is not so narrow as they estimated, even at low water. At the
end of this rapid they discovered a large river on the right, to which they gave
the name of Drewyer, one of their party, their mighty hunter in fact. This was
a many-named stream, for it was later the Pavion, the Pavillion, and at the last
the present Palouse, the equivalent, we are told again by Thomas Beall, for goose-
berry. The principal rapids below the entrance of the Palouse are known at pres-
ent as Fishhook, Long's Crossing, Pine Tree, the Potato Patch, and Five Mile.
Five Mile looked so bad to them that they unloaded the canoes and made a port-
age of three-quarters of a mile. At a distance below this, which they estimated
as seven miles, they reached that interesting place wliere the great northern and
southern branches of the Big River unite. They were then at the location of the
present Village of Burbank. Many interesting events and observations are
chronicled of their stay at that point. Soon after their arrival a regular procession
of 200 Indians from a camp a short distance up the Columbia came to visit them,
timing their approach with the music of drums, accompanied with the voice.
There seems to have followed a regular love-feast, both parties taking whiffs of
the friendly pipe and expressing as best they could their common joy at the
meeting. Then came a distribution of presents and a mutual pledging of good will.
The captains measured the rivers, finding the Columbia 960 yards wide and
the Snake .575. From their point of observation across the continued plain they
noted how it rose into the heights on the farther side of the river. They had
already taken into account the far distant mountains to the south, our own Blue
Mountains, which they thought about sixty miles distant, just about the right
estimate. It is to be hoped that it was one of the perfect days not infrequent in
October and that the azure hues of those mountains which we love today were
before them in all their rich, soft splendor. They noted in the clear water of the
river the incredible number of salmon. The Indians gave them to understand
that frequently in the absence of other fuel they burned the fish that, having been
thrown upon the bank, became so dry as to make excellent fuel. These Indians
were of a tribe known as Sokulks. According to the description they were hardly
so good-looking a people as the Chopunnish, but were of mild and peaceable dis-
position and seemed to live in a state of comparative happiness. The men, like
those on the Kimooenim, were said to content themselves with a single wife.
The explorers noted that the men shared with their mates the labor of procuring
subsistence more than is usual among savages. They were also very kind to the
ao-ed and infirm. Nor were they inclined to beggary. All things considered, these

38 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Sokulks at the junction of the big rivers were wortliy of much esteem. Captain
Clark made a journey up the Cohimbia, in the course of which he made sundry
interesting observations on the Indian manner of preparing sahnon for pre-
servation, as well as for present use. At one point he entered one of the mat
houses. He was immediately pro\ided with a mat on which to sit and his hosts
proceeded at once to cook a salmon for his repast. This they did by heating
stones, and then, bringing in the fi.sh in a bucket of water, they dropped in the
hot stones in succession till the water boiled. After sufficiently boiling the
salmon, they placed it before the captain. He found it excellent. He noticed that
many of these Indians were blind in one or both e)'es and had lost part of their
teeth. The first of these unfortunate conditions he attributed to the glare of the
water on their unshaded eyes, and the second to their habit of eating roots without
cleansing them from the sandy soil in which they grew. It would appear from
the topography of the journal that Captain Clark went a short distance above
the present site of Kennewick, for he was near the mouth of a large stream flow-
ing from the west, which the Indians called the Tapteal, but which later became
known as the Yakima, also a native name. While on land during this trip, the
party got grouse (or what we now call prairie chickens) and ducks, and also a
"prairie cock, about the size of a small turkey." This was evidently a sage hen.
It is recorded that they saw none of that bird except on the Columbia. While
camped at the jimction of the rivers, the men were busily engaged in mending
their clothes and travelling outfits and anns, and otherwise preparing for the next
stage of the journey. One very interesting feature of the stay here was the fact
that one of the chiefs with one of the Chimnapum, a tribe further west, provided
the party with a map of the Columbia and the nations on its banks. This was
drawn on a robe with a piece of coal and afterwards transferred by some one of
the explorers to a piece of paper. They preserved it as a valuable specimen of
Indian delineation.

On October i8, the party packed up and pushing oiif into the majestic river,
proceeded downward toward the highlands, evidently what we call the Wallula
Gateway. In the general journal, called the Edition of 1814, in which the con-
tributions of all the party are merged, there seems to be some confusion as to the
mouth of the \\'alla Walla River. The record mentions an island near the right
shore fourteen and one-half miles from the mouth of Lewis' River and a mile and
a half beyond that of small brook under a high hill on the left, "seeming to run its
whole course through the high country." This evidently must be the Walla Walla
River, though''it can hardly be called a "small brook," even in the low season, and
it flows quite distinctly in a valley, though the highlands begin immediately below.
They also say: "At this place, too, we observed a mountain to the southwest,
the form of which is conical, and its top covered with snow." This is obviously
incorrect, for Mount Hood, which is the only snow mountain to the southwest
\isible anywhere near that place, cannot be seen from near the mouth of the
Walla Walla, except by climbing the highlands. On the next day, October 19,
the partv was visited by a chief of whom they saw more and tell more on their
return. This was Yelleppit. They describe him as a "handsome, well-propor-
tioned man. about five feet, eight inches high and about thirty-five years old, with
a bold and dignified countenance." His name is preserved in a station on the

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 39

S. P. & S. Railroad, located just about at the place where the party met the
chieftain.

After the meeting with Yelleppit, the party once more committed themselves
to the downward rushing current of the Columbia, and passed beyond the range
of our story. Of the interesting details of their continued journey down the
river and the final vision of the ocean, "that ocean, the object of all our labors,
the reward of all our anxieties," we cannot speak.

Having spent the winter at Fort Clatsop, about ten miles from the present
Astoria and nearly the same distance from the present Seaside, they left Fort
Clatsop for their long return journey, on ALarch 23, 1806. They saw many inter-
esting and important features of the country on the return, which they failed to
note in going down. Among these, strange to say, was the entrance of the Wil-
lamette, the largest river below the Snake. The return was made as far as the^
"Long Narrows" (The Dalles) with the canoes, but at that point they procured
horses and proceeded thence by land. They passed the "Youmalolam" (Umatilla)
and then entering the highlands, were again within the area of "Old Walla Walla
County." Reaching the country of the "Wallawollahs," they again came in con-
tact with their old friend, whose name appears in that portion of the journal as
Yellept. They found him more of a gentleman than ever. He insisted on his
people making generous provision for the needs of the party, and gave them the
valuable information that by going up the Wallawollah River and directly east
to the junction of the Snake and Kooskooskie they might have a route full of
grass and water and game, and much shorter than to follow the banks of Snake
River. Accordingly crossing from the north bank of the Columbia, which they
had been following, they found themselves on the \^'allawollah. They do not now
describe it as before as a "small brook," but as a "handsome stream, about fifty
yards wide and four and a half feet in depth." They got one curious misappre-
hension here which was held later by explorers in general in regard to the Mult-
nomah or Willamette. They understood from the Indians that the Willamette ran
south of the Blue Mountains and was as large as the Columbia at the mouth of
the Wallawollah, which they say was about a mile wide. They infer from the
whole appearance, as the Indians seem to explain it, that the sources of the Wil-
lamette must approach those of the Missouri and Del Norte. One quaint and
curious circumstance is mentioned at this stage of the story, as it has been, in
fact, at various times. And that is the extravagant delight which the Indians
derived from the violin. They were so fascinated with the sound of the instru-
ment and the dancing which accompanied it that they would come in throngs
and sometimes remain up all night. In this particular instance, however, they
were so considerate of the white men's need of sleep that they retired at ten
o'clock.

On the last day of April, 1806, the party turned their horses' heads eastward
up the Wallawollah River across sandy expanses, which, however, they soon dis-
covered to improve in verdure and in groves of trees. Having followed the main
stream fourteen miles, they reached "a bold, deep stream, about ten yards wide,
which seems navigable for canoes." They found a profusion of trees along the
course of this creek and were delighted to see all the evidences of increasing tim-
ber. This stream, which they now followed for a number of miles, was evidently
the Touchet, and the point where they turned to follow it was at the present Town

40 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

of Touchet. Their course was up the creek for about twelve miles to a point
where the creek bottom widened into a pleasant country two or three miles in
width. This presumably was the fertile region beginning a mile or so east of the
present Lamar, and extending thence onward to Prescott and beyond. The party
made a day's march of twenty-six miles and camped at a point, which according
to the figures of the next day, would have been near the present Bolles Junction.
One rather quaint incident appears at this point in the narration, to the effect
that when encamped for the night, three young men of the Wollawollahs came up
with a steel trap which had inadvertently been left behind. The Indians had come
a whole day's journey to restore this. This exhibition of honesty was so gratify-
ing that the narration affirms that : "Of all the Indians whom we have met since
leaving the United States, the Wollawollahs were the most hospitable, honest, and
sincere."

Resuming the march the ne.xt day the explorers noted at a distance of three
miles a branch entering the creek from the "southeast mountains, which, though
covered with snow, are about twenty-five miles distant, and do not appear high.''
That branch must have been our Coppei, which joins the main creek at our pleasant
little City of Waitsburg. Having proceeded a total distance of fourteen miles
from the previous night's camp, the travellers found themselves at a point where
the main creek bore to the south toward the mountains from which it came, and
where a branch entered it from the northeast. This spot was evidently the site of
Dayton, and the branch from the northeast which they now followed was the
Patit. The next day they crossed the Kimooenim, which is the same that they
had designated the Kimooenim Creek on their descent of Snake River in the
fall, being, curiously enough, as already noted, the same name that they had
already understood to be the Indian name of Snake River. The stream was evi-
dently the Tucannon. From the Tucannon the course led our adventurers over
the high, fertile plains near to the "southwest mountains" to a ravine "where was
the source of a small creek, down the hilly and rocky sides of which we proceeded
for eight miles to its entrance into Lewis' River, about seven miles and a haH
alx)ve the mouth of the Kooskooskie." This creek was the Asotin and therefore
the point where they again reached Snake River was that grand and picturesque
place where the attractive town of Asotin is now located.

The explorers having crossed the ri\^er were beyond the jurisdiction of this
volume, and even of the State of Washington, being within that of Idaho, and
hence we cannot follow them further on their return journey. We must content
ourselves, in this farewell glance at this first, and in many respects, the most
interesting and important of all the early transcontinental expeditions, with saying
that the effects were of momentous, even transcendent value to the development
of our country. Without the incorporation of Old Oregon into the United States,
we would in all probability not have got California, and without our Pacific Coast
frontage, think what a crippled and curtailed Union this would be! We would
surely have missed our destiny without the Pacific Coast. The Lewis and Clark
expedition was one of the essential links in the chain of acquisition. The sum-
mary of distances by the party is a total of 3,555 miles on the most direct route
from the Mississippi at the mouth of the Missouri, to the Pacific Ocean, and the
total distance descending the Columbia waters is placed at 640 miles.

President Jefferson did not exaggerate the character of this expedition in the

' niiii

Y. M. C. A BUILDING, WALLA WALLA

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 41

tribute which he paid to Captain Lewis in 1813, when he expressed himself thus:
"Never did a similar event excite more joy throughout the United States; the
humblesi of its citizens have taken a lively interest in this journey, and looked
with impatience for the information which it would furnish. Nothing short of
tile official journals of this extraordinary and interesting journey will exhibit the
importance of the service, the courage, the devotion, zeal, and perseverance,
under circumstances calculated to discourage, which animated this little band
of heroes, throughout the long, dangerous, and tedious travel."

Though many additional valuable discoveries of this land where we live were
made by later explorers, Lewis and Clark and their assistants may justly be re-
garded as the true first explorers. They were, moreover, the only party that came
purely for exploration. Later parties, though making valuable explorations, did
such work as incidental to fur trade. With the completion of this great expedi-
tion, therefore, we may regard the era of the explorers completed and that of the
fur-hunters begun.

CHAPTER IV
THE FUR-TRADE AND FUR-TRADERS

With the great new land between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean opened
to the world by the Lewis and Clark expedition, the question came at once to the
active, pushing, ambitious spirits of America and England, what shall we do with
it, and what can we make of it ? The rights of the natives have usually had little
concern to civilized man. His thought has been to secure as rajjidly and easily
as possible the available resources, to skim the cream from the wilderness ahead
of all rivals. Two great quests have commonly followed discovery of a new
land ; that for the precious metals, and that for furs. Gold and silver and precious
stones have always had a strange fascination, and the search for them and the
wars of conflicting nations for possession of their sources of supply have con-
stituted the avenues of approach to some of the greatest changes of history. The
search for furs, while not making so brilliant and showy a chapter in history as
that for gold and jewels, has had even profounder effects upon the march of
exploration and conquest and the formation of states.

Xow, it must be remembered that though the Lewis and Clark expedition was
the first to cross our part of the continent and to give the world any conception
of the interior and its resources within the area composing the western half of the
L^nited States, yet the coast line had been known for many years, and the region
around Hudson Bay and thence northward to the Arctic Ocean and westward to the
Pacific had also been traversed some years earlier. Oregon had long been a lure
to the explorers and fur-hunters of all nations. There had taken shape before the
discoverers of the age of Columbus the conception of a Northwest passage
through the new continent to Asia. Strange to say, they did not realize at first
the surpassing importance of a new world, but thought of it mainly as an im-
pediment to the journey to the land of the "Great Cham" and other supposed
magnates of the Orient. Hence the vital thing was to find a way through the
intercepting land. Only eight years after Columbus landed on San Salvador, the
Portuguese, Caspar Cortereal, had announced that sailing westward from Labra-
dor he had discovered the connecting strait between the Atlantic and the waters
that bordered eastern Asia. Out of that supposed discovery the idea of the Strait
of Anian grew and for two centuries persisted in the minds of mariners. It was
while searching for .\nian that Juan de Fuca, just a century after the first landing
of Columbus, entered that strait which now bears his name. Along the western
edge of California and Oregon during that same century, the English flag was
borne by the Golden Hind of Francis Drake. Later Spanish explorers, Cabrillo
and Ferrelo, and \'izcaino and Aguilar. had made their way up the Oregon coast
and there is some reason to believe that the last-named had looked upon the
mouth of the Columbia. Following that earlier era of discovery, there was a long

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 43

interval. Spain, England, France, Holland, Austria, Germany, and Italy were
absorbed in the gigantic wars growing out of the Reformation, and their ships
almost entirely disappeared from the Pacific. But during the latter part of the
seventeenth century there was initiated that vast movement in eastern Europe and
northern Asia which shaped and will yet more shape the policies and destinies
of the world. Peter the Great, one of the world figures, started to lead Russia
out of barbarism. Then was began that glacier-like movement of the "Colossus
of the Xorth" toward the open waters of two continents which will no doubt never
end until the political world comes to a condition of stable equilibrium. The
successors of Peter pursued the same march for warm water and open ports.
A series of explorers made their way across Siberia. In 1728 and 1741 Vitus
Bering, one of the true "\'ikings of the Pacific," made his daring and significant
voyages with the aim of realizing Peter's great conception of the Russian
acquisition of the shores of the Pacific by sailing eastward from Asia to America.
In his last voyage, after having gone as far south as Oregon, and then turned
north along the Alaskan coast, the heroic Bering was cast upon the desolate island
which bears his name, and there in the cold and darkness of the Arctic winter he
died. His men found during that winter that the sea-otters of the island had most
beautiful furs, and they clothed themselves with the skins of those animals. Re-
turning in the spring in rude boats constructed from the fragments of their
wrecked ship to Avatscha Bay, these survivors of Bering's voyage made known
to the world the possibilities of the use of these treasures of the animal world.
That was the beginning of the Russian fur-trade. A new era in history was inau-
gurated. Within a few years an enterprising Pole, Maurice de Benyowski, con-
veyed a cargo of furs from Kamchatka to China. That country was then the
great market for furs, and the success of Benyowski's venture suggested to others
the enormous possibilities of the business. The great girdle of volcanic islands
beginning a little east of Kamtschatka and extending northeast and then south-
east, known now as the Aleutian Islands, and the Alaskan coast and thence south-
ward to Oregon and California, were found by Russians, Spaniards, and English
to abound in fur-bearing animals, of which the sea-otter was most available
immediately upon the coast, though it was soon known that the beaver, the fox,
and many others existed in great numbers further inland.

In connection with the eager search along the coast some of the most famous
of all explorers steered their course. Among them was James Cook, one of the
most manly and interepid of all that long line of navigators who bore the Union
Jack around the "Seven Seas." Cook's great series of voyages, beginning in
1776 and lasting several years, and extending through all parts of the Pacific,
were designed primarily as voyages of discovery. But while in Alaskan waters his
men secured many sea-otter furs. They did not fully realize their value until they
reached China some time later and saw the huge profit on furs in that market.
Now there was in Cook's service a certain very interesting American sailor, John
Ledyard. Ledyard was a genuine Yankee, keen, inquisitive, and observing. He
noted the possibilities of the fur-trade in Oregon and Aleutian waters, and deter-
mined that as soon as he could reach his own home country he would interest
his countrymen in sending their own ships upon the quest. That was just when the
Revolutionary war was in progress and several years elapsed before Ledyard was
in America. When there he lost no time in getting into communication with lead-

U OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

ing Americans. Among others he greatly interested Thomas Jefferson. Here
then we have a most important chain of sequences. Cook, Ledyard, Jefferson,
Knglish and American rivalries and counter aims and claims on the Pacific coast
of America. — a whole nexus of related events out of which tlic fabric of great
history became woven. Within a few years the race for jwssession of Oretjon by
sea was on. l-^nrlier than Cook, Ileceta. the Spaniard, had sailed along thr ( )ret'on
coast and looked into the mouth of the Columbia. ISut after Cook came a long line
of S|>anish explorers whose names ap|)ear u]>on our present day maps, Bodega,
Camano, Fidalgo, Galiano, N'aldez, and many more. Then came another group of
Knglishmcn, I'ortlock, Dixon, Meares. IJarday. Douglas. Colnelt, and, most
prominent of all, X'ancouver. Hut to us, more important than any other of the
nations whose banners were carried along the western coast, was the new republic,
the L'nited States of .\nierica. The .'^tars and StrijK-s were (lying on the I'acilic.
Uolnrrt Gr.iy in the l.ady Wasbinglon. and John Kendrick in the Columbia Kedi-
viva had been jilaced in command of an ex|M-dition by certain enterprising mer-
chants of IJoston in the very same year of the construction of the American
constitution. In 17S8 they reached the coast of Oregon. Tliat was the initiation
of the American fur-trade. Those were the great days of that business. A sbij)
would be fitted out with a cargo of trinkets and tobacco and tixjls and blankets,
and sail from Boston or New Bedford or .Marblehead or New York for its three
years' round-up of the seas. The Indians had not yet learned the value of furs.
On one occasion Gray secured for a chisel a quantity of furs worth $S,ooo. The
cargo of trinkets and tools and blankets out and the cargo of furs in, the next
stage of the voyage was from Oregon to Canton, in China, where the cargo of
furs was displaced by one of tea and nankeen and silk, and then the shij) would
square away for her home |)ort, a three-years' round-up. The glory, the fascina-
tion, and also the danger of the sea was in it. Fortunes were sometimes made in
a single voyage. — and also sometimes lost. For ships and crews were sometimes
lost by wreck or savages or scurvy. Yet in spite of disasters the game was so
fascinating that during the period from 17CX) to 1818 there were 108 .American ves-
sels. tw«nty-two Knglish and several French and Portuguese vessels regularly
engaged in the business on the Oregon coast. Profits were s<imetimes immense.
Dixon, an Fnglish trader, says that during the years 178^1 and 1787 5.800 sea-otter
skins were sold for $1^0.700. Sturgis states that he knew a capital of $50,000
to yield a return of $j.'<4,ajo.

The fur-trade on the coast was naturally first in the order of growth. But
exploration of the interior would naturally follow wlu-n the great results of the
sea-trade were known. Moreover, it must be reiiunilK.Te(l that the fur trade
had lieen jnirsued with great assiduity and success in Canada .ind even I-ouisiana
long years Itefore Gray and X'ancouver were contesting for the discovery of
the "River of the West." or the solution of the mystery of Juan de Fuca. .\s
the S|)aniards were the first to try to grasp the treasure of precious stones
and metals in the New World, xo the I'rench were the pioneers in the attempted
exj>loitation of the treasure of the furs. MonojM.ly by kingly favor was the chief
method of driving out rivals and monopolizing advantages in those days, .\t^
.\merican railway or iron master has a feeble grip on the l)ounty of a state or
nation comjiared with the grip of a Seventeenth Century royal favorite. Way
l»ack in the early part of that century, l^uis XIII and his minister. Richelieu,

(n,D WALLA WALLA COUNTY 45

granted concessions to De Monts, Pontgrave, Champlain, Radisson, Crozat, and
others. Later, La Salle, Joliet, Hennepin, DTberville, and still later the Veren-
dryes and many more had similar monopolies from Louis XIV and Louis X\^
The regions of the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi were the
fields of these great concessionaires. But England was not inactive all that time.
In the desperate rivalry of Gaul and Briton for supremacy in America, the Fleur-
de-lis was lowered before the Cross of St. George and North America became
British instead of French. The fur-trade, one of the chief prizes of contest, fell
to English monopolists. Long before the final decision on the Plains of Abraham
when Montcalm fell before Wolf, Charles II had granted to Prince Rupert a
charter to the Hudson's Bay Company. That gigantic organization, which later
had so intimate a relation to Oregon, was established in 1670 with a capital of
10,500 pounds. Besides the vast enterprises connected directly with the fur-
trade, this company carried on many great geographical expeditions. But this
great monopoly could not, even with all its privileges, entirely prevent rivalry.
In 1783, the French and Indian wars and the American Revolution now being
past, a new organization arose, destined to bear a vital part in northwest history.
This was the Northwestern Fur Company. One of its leading partners, Alexander
Mackenzie, discovered in 1789 the river which flows to the Polar Sea and which
fittingly bears his name. Four years later he made even a more notable journey
from the upper Athabasca waters across the mountains and down the Pacific
slope to a point on what was later known as Cascade Inlet. There he pro-
claimed his journey by painting upon a rock the inscription : "Alexander Mac-
kenzie, from Canada by land, the twenty second of July, one thousand seven
hundred and ninety-three." That was only a year after Gray discovered the
Columbia River and \^ancouver circumnavigated the island which bears his name.

Thus we see that from both sea and land the fur-traders were converging upon
Oregon. It was emerging from the mists of myth and romance into the light
of modern conditions. The rivalry between the Hudson's Bay Company and
the audacious Northwesters who had ventured to break into their monopoly
became keen and indeed sanguinary. Pitched battles were fought and lives lost.
The bold and aggressive Northwesters pushed to the western side of the Rockies
and in 1807 David Thompson, one of the most admirable of all the early explorers
of any of the rival nations or companies, began to establish posts at various
strategic points upon Columbia waters. During several years beginning with
1807 he located trading stations on Lake Windermere near the head of the
river, on the Spokane at the Junction with it of the Little Spokane, and on the
Pend d' Oreille and Coeur d'Alene lakes.

While the Northwesters were thus posting themselves at some of the vantage
points of Oregon, the Americans were not idle. The reader who desires an
extended view of the fascinating theme of the American fur-trade should con-
sult that foremost book on the subject by Gen. H. M. Chittenden of Seattle, to
which we here make our acknowledgments. What was to become the American
trade began indeed with Frenchmen and Spaniards before the independence of
the United States. In 1764 Pierre Liguest and Auguste Chouteau founded St.
Louis, which became the center of all trading operations for many years. The
Treaty of Paris of 1763 had as a matter of fact already delivered all the country
west of the Mississippi to Spain, but the Frenchmen did not yet know it. In 1800

4t; OLD WAI.I.A WAl.l.A couNr:/

the Louisiana 'riTritory attain Ix'canic l-rcnch, and three years later, by a happy
juxtaposition of statcsnianslii]) and good fortune, it passed from French to
American control. Then immediately followed, as already narrated, the Lewis
and Clark expedition with its momentous results. After St. Louis became an
American town the fur-trade was still largel)' in the hands of h'rench and .Spanish
traders established there during the possession by their respective governments.
Of these the most ])rominent were Pierre Chouteau, Jr., a L'renchnian, and Manuel
Lisa, a S])aniar{l. The lirst expedition to the bar \\'est was that of Lisa in
jiartnership with William Morrison, an American of Illinois, and Pierre Menard.
a Frenchman, also living in Illinois. One interesting feature of this expedition
is that it occurred in the same year with the tirst of David Thom])son. Another
is that on the way the party met John Colter who had been one of the Lewis and
Clark party, but on the return had decided to stop in the wilderness to trap and
explore. He w-as on his way to the settlements, but was induced to return to
the Rocky Mountains with the party. In connection with Colter we may very
properly digress a little, for he was one of the typical adventurers of that period
and some of the events of his career in the wilderness cast a vivid light upon
the conditions of those times. Lisa proceeded with his party to the mouth of
the I'lighorn River and there established a fort. Desiring to notify the Indians
of the arrival of the party, Lisa sent Colter all alone on a journey of several
hundred miles to the Crows on Wind River and to the Blackfeet at the Three
Forks of the Missouri. On this journey Colter became an unwilling participant
in a battle between those two contending tribes. lie was on the side of the Crows,
and after rendering efficient aid to his side in winnitig a victory, w-as severely
wounded in the leg. Nevertheless, nothing daunted, he set forth across the
ranges of towering, snowy peaks to reach Lisa's fort. He succeeded in the soli-
tary and desperate undertaking, and in the course of it discovered Yellowstone
Lake and the geyser region which now makes the Yellowstone Park one of the
wonders of the world. Returning to the mountains. Colter was captured by the
savage and cruel Blackfeet. ^^'ishing to have a little sport wath their hapless
victim, the Indians stripped him and asked him if he was a fast runner. From
his knowledge of their customs he understood that he was to be put up in a race
for life against several hundred Indians. He gave them to understand that he
was a poor runner, though as a matter of fact he was very fast. Accordingly
they gave him several hundred yards start on the open prairie with the Jefferson
fork of the Missouri six miles distant. Away he sped with the whole pack
behind him like a band of wolves, with the war-whoop ringing over the plain.
With his naked feet torn and bleeding from the cactus Colter soon outdistanced
most of tiie pursuers, but half way across the plain, glancing over his shoulder,
he saw that one swift Indian armed with a spear was gaining on hiin. With the
violence of Colter's exertions the t>lood was streaming from his nostrils down the
front of his body, and just as the Indian was almost within striking distance
Colter suddenly stopped and turned, a ghastly spectacle, wath extended arms.
The Indian was so disconcerted with the unexpected move that in endeavoring
to wield his spear he lost his footing and fell. Instantly picking up the spear
Colter pinned his assailant to the ground and on he went again toward the river.
The foremost of the pursuing Indians, finding their expiring comrade, paused
long enough to set up a hideous howl and then rushed on. But Colter, though

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 47

almost al tlic limit of his strength, drove himself on to the river ahead of the
band, and breaking through the copse of cottonwoods which skirted the stream
he plunged in. Just below was a small island against which drift had lodged.
Diving beneath the drift Colter managed to find a crack between the trees where
he might get his head in the air. There he remained undiscovered all night while
the savages were shrieking around like so many devils. In the early morning he
let loose from the drift and floated and swam a long ways down the stream,
and when day fairly broke had got beyond the immediate vicinity of his enemies.
But in what a horrid plight! Stark naked, with no food and no weapons for
game, the soles of his feet pierced thick with the cruel spikes of the cactus ! Yet
such is the endurance of some men that in seven days during which his only
subsistence was roots dug with his fingers, Colter made his way to Lisa's fort.
"Such was life in the Far-West." The story was told by Colter to Bradbury,
who narrated it in his book, "Travels in North America." Irving used it in his
"Astoria," and it also appears in Chittenden's "American Fur-trade."

One of the partners of Lisa in the Missouri Fur Company, Andrew Henry,
in 1810 built a fort on the west side of the Great Divide on a stream afterwards
known as Henry's Fork, a branch of Snake River. It was near the present Egin,
Idaho, and was the first structure built by white men upon Snake River or any
of its tributaries.

We have given the extended narration thus far of fur-traders prior to any
actual entrance by any of them into the region treated in this work, in order that
the nature of the business and the manner in which all parts of Oregon were
involved might become clear. We now bring upon the scene still another enter-
prise which came yet closer to our own region. This was the Pacific Fur Com-
pany of John Jacob Astor. This first of the great business promoters of our
country was born in Germany, and coming to New York in 1784 began his great
career as a fur merchant. Having made a fortune in the business almost entirely
by operations in Canada, Astor conceived the project of a vast emporium upon
the Columbia to which should converge the trade in furs from all the region
west of the Rocky Moimtains and south of the region definitely occupied by the
Northwestern Fur Company. He contemplated also a lucrative business with
the Russians centered around Sitka and Kodiak on the north, and the Spaniards
on the south. It was a noble enterprise and worthy of all success. It would
have had a most important bearing upon the progress of American enterprise
and settlement in Oregon and might have materially changed certain chapters
in history. That it failed of full accomplishment was due to various untoward
circumstances, of which the chief were: first, Astor's own error of judgment in
selecting the majority of his partners and employees from Canadians and also
selecting captains for his first two ships who were not qualified for their im-
portant task; and second, the War of 1812. It will be remembered that the
Northwesters of Canada were thoroughly located upon the Athabasca and had
crossed the Divide and as early as 1807 had built posts on the upper Columbia
and Spokane and on the lakes in what is now Northern Idaho. Astor no doubt
anticipated a strenuous contest with those bold, ambitious Canadians, but his own
highly successful enterprises thus far had been with Canadians and he knew them
well qualified. He reasoned that he could make it well worth their while to
be loyal to him and to the company to which he admitted them. It is probable

48 - OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

thai all would have worked as he calculated had nut the war with Great Britain
defeated all his well-laid plans.

The part of the great Astoria enterprise which more especially comes within
the scope of our story is that of the journey of the land party across the Rocky
Mountains and down the Snake and Columbia rivers, and the subsequent estab-
lishment of forts and trading jxjsts. The land division was under Wilson Price
Hunt of New Jersey, the partner second in command to Astor himself. He
was one of the comparatively few Americans in the company and seems to have
been a man of the highest type, brave, humane, enterprising, and whole-souled,
worthy of a place at the head of those Jasons of the Nineteenth Century who
sought the golden fleeces of the Far-West. Both divisions got under way in 1810,
the land division from Montreal in July, and the sea division in September. The
latter, however, reached the promised land of the Columbia first, for after a
tragic entrance of the mouth of the river, the Tonquin with the party on board
brought to in Baker's Bay on the north side of the river on March 25th. Astoria
was founded on April 12, 181 1. A few months later, owing to the criminal
obstinacy and bad judgment of Captain Thorn, the Tonquin with all her crew
but one (from whom the story is derived) was captured by Indians and then
blown up at a place presumably Nootka Sound or near there on the west side
of Vancouver Island.

Hunt, with three other partners, McKenzie, Crooks, and Miller, after having
collected and fitted out a party of such miscellaneous material as they could find
at various places between Montreal and St. Louis, left the latter place on October
21, 1810, and reaching a stream called the Nadowa, near the present site of
St. Joseph, Mo., stopped for the winter. Resuming the long journey on
April 2ist of the next year, the party reached the abandoned Fort Henry on
October 8th. They were now on the headwaters of Snake River. Down that
wild stream they ran a losing race with oncoming winter. For before they
reached the present vicinity of Huntington, Ore., the December snows fell
thick upon them. McKenzie and McLellan with seven of the strongest men
went ahead of the main party, and reaching the vicinity of the present Seven
Devils country made their way after twenty-one days of struggle and peril
through the great canyon of Snake River to its junction with the Clearwater,
the site of the present Lewiston and Clarkston. They had a clear idea then
of their location by a knowledge of the experiences of Lewis and Clark. They
were then within the area of our four counties of this history and had no trouble
in making their way, though in mid- winter, down the Snake, then at its lowest
stage and not difificult to navigate, to that most interesting spot, the junction of
the Snake and Columbia. Thus the advance party on this historic journey, the
first of the fur-traders, though later than the Lewis and Clark expedition, reached
the Columbia. With their canoes floating U])on its broad waters they had an easy
and pleasant journey, after their former desperate straits, to the rude stockade
of Astoria, which they reached on January 18, 1812. The main party had a more
distressing time. After nearly starving and freezing they turned toward the
mountains from the ])resent Huntington and must have very nearly followed the
course of the present railroad from that point to the Grande Ronde. They
were at just about the limit of endurance when on December 30th, looking down
from their snowy elevation they saw far below them a sunny valley, looking to the

PUBLIC SCHOOL BLILDING. DlXiE

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 49

winter-wasted refugees like a vision of paradise. Thither hastening they found
several lodges of Indians who took pity on their forlorn and destitute state and
provided them with food and fuel. Irving gives with his graphic pen a brilliant-
narration of the celebration of New Year's day in this valley of salvation for
this party. Rested and recuperated by these few days in the Grande Ronde, they
essayed their last tussle with the mountains by scaling the snowy heights between
their resting place and the Umatilla. Reaching that warm and beautiful valley
they found that their deliverance was at hand, for there they took a two-weeks'
rest. On January 2ist, having started again, they beheld before them a blue flood
nearly a mile wide hastening toward the sunset, evidently the "Great River."
Their journey afoot down the river to the Cascades and thence in canoes to
Astoria was a soft and gentle exercise after the arduous struggles through the
mountains.

Such was the inauguration of the Pacific Fur Company in this country.
While amid such suffering the Americans were endeavoring to launch their great
enterprise, the Northwesters were employing great energy and skill in planting
themselves upon the upper river. They, too, looked for new fields to conquer.
In July, 1811, the redoubtable David Thompson appeared at Astoria expecting
to file a claim on the lower river for his company. He was too late by three
months, for Astoria had been founded in April. The Scotchmen of the Astoria
Company fraternized with their countryman, but to David Stuart, one of the
American partners, this was not pleasing. Hastening his preparations he hurried
on his journey up the river. At the mouth of Snake River he found a British
flag upon a pole and on it a paper claiming the country in the name of Great
Britain. It was obvious to Stuart that there would be a contest between his
company and the Northwesters. He wished to secure certain strategic points as
far inland as possible and accordingly he pressed on up the Columbia to the
mouth of the Okanogan, estimated to be five hundred and forty miles above
Astoria. There on September 2nd, Stuart planted the American flag and started
the construction of a post, the first American structure within the present State
of Washington.

Of the interesting and varied events in the Okanogan and Spokane countries
Alexander Ross and Ross Cox, clerks in the Astor Company, have given the
most complete data. These events, important as they were, are outside the scope
of our story. We will simply say that the rivalry' between the Astorians and the
Northwesters came to a sudden climax by the War of 1812. Misfortune dogged
the course of the Astor Company. Hunt had gone from Astoria to Sitka in the
second ship from New York, the Beaver, and had started a profitable business
with the Russians, but on the return to the Columbia, the captain of the Beaver,
finding his ship damaged by a storm, insisted on going to Honolulu, though
Hunt's presence was sorely needed at Astoria. At Honolulu Hunt received the
evil tidings of the wreck of the third ship, the Lark. With the cargo of the
Beaver conveyed to Canton, while Hunt was wasting his vitally important time
at Honolulu, the same timid captain. Sowles, lost all the best chances of the
market, both for selling his furs and buying Canton goods. Thus the whole
voyage was a failure. After an intolerable delay. Hunt chartered a vessel with
which he left the Sandwich Islands and reached Astoria August 20, 1813,

50 OLD WALLA \\\-\LLA COUNTY

more than a year from the time of liis departure. But his return was too hite.
The Scotch partners had sold the company out to the Northwesters.

Such was the untoward end of the vast undertaking of John Jacob Astor.
The Americans were down and out. The Britishers were in possession of the
fur territory of Oregon. By the Joint Occupation Treaty of 1818, both English
and Americans were privileged to carry on business in Oregon, but the effect
of the downfall of the Astor Company was to place the countrj' in the hands
of the Northwesters. That company had two great aims: first, to get rid of
American rivalry ; second, to prevent the entrance of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany. Having accomplished the first purpose, they set about the second. The
upshot of that was the final coalescence of the two companies in 182 1 with the
name of the Hudson's Bay Company, but with the members of the younger
company on equal terms, and as far as Oregon was concerned, with the advantage
of profit in the hands of the partners of that company. And now for twenty-
five years the Hudson's Bay' Comjiany, thus reorganized, lorded it over Oregon.

During all the years from the time of the entrance of the Pacific Fur Com-
pany through the struggle between it and the Northwesters and then the united
fortunes of the Northwesters and the Hudson's Bay Company down to American
ownership in 1846, Walla Walla and the rest of the region which now composes
the scene of our history were prominent in the affairs of the fur-traders. Per-
haps the most valuable narrative by any of the Astor Company of entrance into
the Walla Walla County, is that by Alexander Ross, one of the clerks, in a book
of which the full title is, "Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or
Columbia River." In this narrative Ross tells of their first journey into the
interior, beginning July 22, 181 1. Describing the passage of the Cascades and
the "Long Narrows" (The Dalles) and the Falls (Celilo) he mentions a river
which he calls the Lowhum (Des Chutes), then the Day (John Day), then the
Umatallow (LTmatilla). He describes here a "large mound or hill of considerable
height," which from its peculiar form they called Dumbarton Castle. This was
doubtless the curious rock just east of LTmatilla, noticeable to all tra\ellers by
steamer. Passing through the "colonnade rocks," the party soon found them-
selves at a bluff where there "issues the meandering Walla Walla, a beautiful
little river, lined with weeping willows." Here they found a great concourse
of Indians, "Walla- Wallas, Shaw Haptens, and Cajouses, altogether 1.500 souls."
Some were armed with guns and some with bows and arrows. Their chiefs
rejoiced in the names of Tummatapam, Ouill-Ouills-Tuck-a-Pesten, and .A.II0W-
catt. The plains were literally covered with horses, of which there could not
have been less than four thousand in sight of the camp. Passing beyond the
Walla Walla, the party reached the junction of the two big rivers, noting the
difference in color of the two. Noting also the fine salmon fishing, where, how-
ever, Ross observed that not so many salmon can be captured in a day as on the
Copper Mine River or in Kamtschatka. They soon reach the Eyakema (Yakima),
and here they note that the landscape at the mouth of that river surpassed in pic-
turesque beauty anything that they had yet seen. They are surprised at being
overtaken at that point by three Walla Walla Indians on horseback who brought
to them a bag of shot which they had accidentally left at the preceding camp, —
an evidence of honesty similar to that experienced by Lewis and Clark among
the Walla W'allas. From the "Eyakema" this party proceeded up the river to

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 51

Okanogan, where, as already related, they built the first structure erected by
white men in the present State of Washington.

It gives some conception of the hardihood of the traders of that time to note
that Ross remained entirely alone at "Oakanacken," while the rest of the party
went northward 350 miles to find a new fur region. During their absence of 188
days Ross secured from the Indians 1,550 beaver skins for 35 pounds, worth in
Canton (China) market 2,250 pounds !

One of the most characteristic incidents of the life of that time is found in an
account given in the narratives of Cox, Ross, and Franchere, about the Indian
wife of Pierre Dorion, a hunter in one of the parties which had been located in
the Blue Mountains south of Walla Walla. Following Franchere's account of
this, it appears that while a party of Northwesters of which he was one were on
their way in 1814 up the Columbia to cross the mountains into Canada, while
they were in the river near the mouth of the Walla Walla, they heard a child's
voice from a canoe call out: "Arretez done, Arretez done!" (Stop! Stop!)
The woman with her two boys were in a canoe trying to overtake the party.
Halting, they discovered that this pitiful little group were all that remained of
the trappers that had been located among the Snake Indians. According to
Madame Dorion's story, while they were engaged in trapping in January, the
trappers had been attacked one by one by the Indians and all murdered. Secur-
ing two horses the brave woman mounted her boys upon them and started for the
Walla Walla. In the bitter cold they could not proceed and having no other food,
the woman killed the horses and after spending the rest of the winter in the
mountains made her way with the children to the Walla Walla, where the
Indians treated them with kindness and placed them w^here they might find the
boats of the white men. Think of the endurance and faithfulness of the woman
who could win such a fight for life for her children.

Ross Cox gives an interesting account of his journey from Astoria to Spokane
in 1812. He too commends the "Wallah Wallah" Indians for their honesty and
humanity. He describes the immense numbers of rattlesnakes around the mouth
of the Wallah Wallah, and — a more pleasing theme — the appearance of the
mountains which he says the Canadians called from their color, "Les Montagnes
Bleues." From what Cox says in this same connection, it appears that the name
Nez Perces was a translation into French from the name Pierced-Nose, which
had already been applied to the Indians up Snake River by Lewis and Clark.

The most important event in this stage of the history was the founding of
Fort Walla Walla, at first called Fort Nez Perces. This was founded in 1818
by Donald McKenzie. This efficient and ambitious man will be remembered as
one of Astor's partners, one who accompanied Hunt on his great journey and
had been one of the most active and influential in the sale of Astoria to the North-
western Company. Having been for ten years prior to his connection with
Astor a member of the Northwestern Company, he felt more at home with it,
and upon its establishment in practical possession of the fur trade of Oregon,
McKenzie became one of its most faithful and useful managers. McKenzie
seems to have been opposed by his associates in his desire to establish a post on
the Walla Walla. But with a keen eye for strategic places and with a sagacity
and pertinacity unequalled by any of them, he forced all to his views. Orders
came from headquarters that he be allowed the needful men and equipment,

52 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

and in July, 1818, with ninety-five men and our old friend Ross as his second
in command, he set to work in the construction of the fort at the point half a
mile above the mouth of the Walla Walla, long known in the annals of the
Columbia during both British and American possession. At that spot the
foundation of the fort may still be seen, and just abreast of it is the present
landing of the Wallula ferry. The structure consisted of a palisade of timbers
30 inches wide, 6 inches thick, and 20 feet high. At the top were loop-holes
and slip-doors. Two bastions and water tanks holding 200 gallons still further
guarded against both attack from Indians and danger of fire. The enclosure was
100 feet square, and within it were houses built of drift logs, though there
was one of stone. Subsequently adobe buildings were added, and some of those
remained in some degree of preservation till the great flood of 1894.

From Fort Walla Walla, as it came to be known within a few years, McKenzie
carried on a great and profitable trade to the Snake country and the Blue Moun-
tains. At one of his encampments while having a force of only three men. and
with a very valuable stock of furs and goods, a crowd of piratical Indians tried
to rush the camp and plunder the whole establishment. McKenzie with his
usual nerve seized a match and holding it over a keg of powder declared that
if they did not immediately clear out, he would blow them all up. They cleared
out and left him in pwssession. It is said that Archibald McKinley performed
a similar exploit at Walla Walla.

Many interesting things could be told of this historic fort. Gardens were
started, cattle brought to feed on the meadow land of the Walla Walla, and by
the time that the missionaries and immigrants began to come in the '30s and
'40s the lower Walla Walla bore a homelike and civilized appearance. Other
pasture and garden regions were added, one of the most extensive being that
now known as Hudson's Bay, the location of the "Goodman Ranch," about fifteen
miles southwest of the present City of Walla Walla.

Our limits forbid space for all the other fur enterprises and companies aside
from the two important companies already described. There were, however,
three Americans who come within the range of our story whose careers were
so interesting and important that we cannot omit mention of them. These were
Jedadiah Smith, Nathaniel Wyeth and B. L. E. Bonneville. The first named was
a member of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, of which W. H. Ashley was
founder. The main operations of the company were on the Upper Missouri,
Green River, and around Great Salt Lake. Smith, however, made several remark-
able journeys far beyond the earlier range. He was a very unique character, a
devout Christian and yet one of the boldest of traders and discoverers. He
might be said to have carried the Bible in one hand and his rifle in the other.
He usually began the day with devotions and expected his men to be present.
Yet he pushed his business and discoveries to the limit. His first great trip was
in 1826. He proceeded from Great Salt Lake to the Colorado, thence across
Arizona and Southern California, to San Diego, a route unknown to whites
before. After going up and down California hundreds of miles he crossed the
mountains and deserts eastward the next summer, following a more northern
route abounding in perils and hardships. In 1827 the journey to California was
repeated almost immediately upon his return from the first. In the spring and
summer of 1828, he struck out on an entirely new course. This was up the

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 53

Sacramento and northwesterly across the lofty ranges of Southern Oregon to the
Umpqua on the Oregon Coast. There, with his nineteen men he did successful
trapping, but a difficulty with the Indians resulted in the massacre of the whole
party except himself and three others. Those three being separated from the
leader, he made his way in utter destitution and with great suffering to the
Hudson's Bay Fort at Vancouver. Dr. John McLoughlin, the chief factor, with
his usual generosity supplied the survivors of this disaster with their vital neces-
sities and sent a well-armed party to secure the valuable furs of which the
Umpquas had robbed them. Most of the furs were brought to Vancouver and
McLoughlin paid Smith $20,000 for them. Remaining in Vancouver till March,
1829, Smith made his way up the Columbia to the Flathead country and thence
along the Rocky Mountains to the Teton range on the Upper Snake River. This
vast series of routes by Jedadiah Smith through Utah, New Mexico, Nevada,
Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado, was
the most extensive that had yet been taken and did more than any other to give
a comprehensive view of what became the west third of the United States. In
1 83 1, lamentable to relate, this truly heroic and enterprising master trapper was
killed by Comanche Indians on the Cimarron desert.

Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth and Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville were
practically contemporary, and in their adventurous careers crossed each other's
trails. Wyeth was born at Cambridge, Mass., and from the traditions of the
family should have been a graduate of Harvard College. He was, however,
so eager to enter some active career that he did not complete a college course.
He became quite fascinated with the Utopian ideas about Oregon given to the
world by Hall J. Kelley, and in 1832 he started upon a grand enterprise toward
the setting sun. He had conceived a general plan of a vast emporium of Ameri-
can business in furs and salmon, similar to that of Astor. With an ardent
imagination and yet great practical good sense, Wyeth had the material for an
empire builder. That he failed to fulfil his grand design was due partly to
sheer bad luck, but mainly to the invincible monopoly of the Hudson's Bay
Company. The work of Wyeth was, however, an essential link in the great chain
which finally led to American ownership of Oregon. The first trip of Wyeth
was in 1832. He crossed the mountains in company with Sublette, a noted
trapper of the Rocky Mountain Company, and after some disasters with the
Indians, he traversed the Blue Mountains and reached Fort Walla Walla (the
present Wallula) in October. Pierre Pambrun was the Hudson's Bay Company's
ao-ent at Walla Walla and he received the destitute and nearly famished Ameri-
cans with lavish hospitality. After recuperating a few days at Walla Walla,
Wyeth descended the Columbia, with unabated enthusiasm, expecting to find the
ship which had left Boston in the spring, well laden with stores already waiting
his arrival. But alas for human hopes ! When he reached Fort Vancouver he
learned that his vessel had been wrecked. His men had already suffered much
and lost faith in the lucky star of their employer and asked to be relieved from
further service. He was compelled perforce to grant their request, for he had
no money. Spending the winter in and around Vancouver, treated by McLough-
lin with utmost kindness, and acquiring much knowledge and experience, but
no money, the indomitable Yankee determined to return and raise another fund
and challenge fate and his rivals again. February, 1833, found him again at

54 OLD WAT.T.A WALT. A COLXTV

Walla Walla. Thence he piiisued a devious course to Spokane and Colville,
across the Divide, down the luouiilaius to the Tetons on the Upper Snake, where
he fell in with i!onne\ille. hirst jikmning to go with lionneville to California,
Wyeth suddenly decided to return to Boston and make ready for an immediate
new expedition to Oregon. He made an extraordinary voyage down the Uighorn
and hnally down the Missouri to St. Louis in a "bull-boat.'" Safely reaching
Boston in November, he brought all his contagious enthusiasm to bear on certain
moneyed men with the result that he organized a new company known as the
Columbia River Fishing and Trading Company. A new vessel, the May Dacre,
was outlittcd for the voyage around Cape Horn to Oregon.

Again with new men and equipment and with such experience from his former
journey as made success seem sure, Wyeth started on his new expedition from
St. Louis on April 3, 1834. One interesting feature of this journey was that
tw'O conspicuous scientists, Thomas Nuttall and J. K. Townsend, and the advance
guard of the missionaries, Jason Lee and party of the Methodist Church, accom-
panied the party. But even though better equipped than before and though
seemingly having the sanction of both Science and the Church to bless his aims,
the same old ill-fortune seemed to travel with him. He had brought, under a
contract made on his return the \ear before, a valuable slock of goods for the
Sublettes of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, and now when on reaching
their rendezvous he made ready to deliver the goods brought with so much
toil and expense, the Sublettes refused to receive them. Their company was,
in fact, at the point of dissolution. Though Wyeth had the forfeit money that
they had put up with the contract, that was small recompense for his labor of
transportation. But nothing daunted, the stout-hearted promoter declared to
the Sublettes, 'T will roll a stone into your garden which you will never be able
to get out." In fulfillment of his threat he prepared to invade their territory
by building a fort in which to store the rejected goods and from which to send
his trappers to all parts of the upper Snake. The fort thus established was the
famous Fort Hall, the most notable fort on the whole route, in the near vicinity
of the present Pocatello. In spite of delays, the party seems to have travelled
with unparalleled celerity, for leaving Fort Hall they reached the Grande Ronde
on August 31st, a date at which previous parties had hardly reached the head
of Snake River. In the Grande Ronde the party again encountered Bonneville.
Three days more saw them at Walla Walla, and on September 2d, Wyeth was
once more at \'ancouver. Here came misfortune number two. He had expected
to find the May Dacre already in the river with a good haul of salmon which
they planned to salt and take east on the return trip. But the vessel reached
Vancouver the next day after Wyeth's own arrival, too late for any effective
fishing that year. She had been struck by lightning and had lost three months'
time in repairs. With indefatigalile energy, Wyeth inaugurated his plans. He
sent a detail of men to Fort Hall with supplies. lie conducted an extensive
trapping expedition to Central Oregon up the Des Chutes River. He built Fort
William on Sauvie's Island. If anyone ever deserved success, Wyeth did. But
Doctor McLoughlin, though the kindest of men and though personally wishing
every success to Wyeth, could not forget that he was responsible to the Hud-
.son's Bay Company. He underbid Wyeth for the Indian trade and headed him
ofif at every turn in opening new regions. Nothing but a purse as long as that

O
1=]

O
H

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 55

of the Hudson's Bay Company's could have stood the pressure. Worst of all,
a pestilence broke out among the Indians from which they died like flies and from
which some of Wyeth's own men perished. The Indians attributed the scourge
to the evil "Tomanowas" of the "Bostons" and absolutely boycotted them. The
brave fight was lost. Bad luck and the Hudson's Bay Company were too much
for this all-deserving Yankee. Wyeth threw up his hands, sold out to the Hud-
son's Bay Company for what they would give, yielding to them possession of
his cherished Fort Hall, which became one of their most advantageous posts,
and made his way, baffled but by no means disheartened, to his New England
home. With his downfall it became clear that no ordinary force could dis-
possess the great British Company from its vantage ground in Oregon.

But meanwhile Bonneville was upholding the Stars and Stripes as valorously,
but not more successfully than Wyeth. Bonneville was a Frenchman who came
to New York in his youth, and who had most influential friends, and had also
the extreme good fortune of attracting the favorable notice of Washington
Irving and becoming the hero of one of the most fascinating books of that lead-
ing American writer, "Bonneville's Adventures." Through this introduction to
the reading public, greedy in those days for tales of the romance and adventure
of the Far-West, Bonneville acquired a fame and vogue and became invested
with a certain glamour beyond .fhat't)f-a«y-»f-.tii£ iur-traders of Old Oregon.
By the favor and influence of TJiomas Pairie, -Bdnn^ville became a West Point
appointee and graduated in 1819.' ' Wh'e'n La'-F-aj'istt^ came to America in 1825
Bonneville was detailed to accompany- felie' "HfEQ, of Two Continents" on his tour
of the States. Greatly pleased- Xvith.iiii'.yr)itnJ;_^e«n'tpktriot, La Fayette took him
back to France on his return, and for several years the young French-American
was a member of the household of that great man. Returning to the land of
his adoption and resuming his army connections, Bonneville 'oecame absorbed
with the idea that he might gratify both his love of adventure and of money by
entering the fur trade in the Far-West. Securing from the War Department
an appointment as a special explorer of new lands, and investigator of the
Indian tribes, he was also allowed to make a personal venture in the fur trade.

H. H. Bancroft in his "Pacific Coast History" viciously attacks Bonneville
as well as Irving who immortalized him. General Chittenden in his "History of
the American Fur Trade in the Far-West" defends both in a very spirited and
successful manner.

The series of expeditions undertaken by Bonneville extended over the years
1832-5. Those years were replete with adventure, hardship, romance of a sort,
but very little success in the quest of furs. In the course of those years the
adventurous army officer traversed and retraversed the country covered by the
water-sheds of the Snake River and its tributaries. Green River and the Colo-
rado, the Great Salt Lake Basin, and down the Columbia. One of the most
valuable journeys of his party was through the Humboldt Basin, across the
Sierras and into California, a new route somewhat similar to the earlier one of
Tedadiah Smith. That, however, was commanded not by Bonneville himself,
but by I. R. Walker, Bonneville's most valued assistant. The most interesting
part of Bonneville's expedition to the inhabitants of Old Walla Walla County
was his winter trip from the Grande Ronde to the "Wayleway" (Wallowa),
down the Snake to the present vicinity of Asotin, thence across the prairies

56 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

of what is now Garfield and Columbia counties, to Walla Walla. He describes
that region as one of rare beauty and apparent fertility and predicts that it will
sometime be the scene of high cultivation and settlement. Reaching Fort Walla
Walla, he was received by Pierre Pambrun with the same courtesy which that
commandant had bestowed on Wyeth, but when he tried to secure supplies for
his depleted equipment, Pambrun assured him that he would have to draw the
line at anything which would foster the American fur-trade. Like Wyeth, Bon-
neville discovered to his sorrow and cost that he was "up against" an immovable
wall of monopoly of the hugest and most inflexible aggregation of capital in the
western hemisphere. He could not compete at Walla Walla. Descending the
Columbia River he found the same iron barrier of monopoly. He too threw up
his hands. The American fur-traders were at the end of their string. They
retired and left the great monopoly in undisputed possession.

Thus ends, in American defeat, this first combat for possession of Oregon.
Another combat and another champion for the Americans was due. Exit the
trapper. Enter the missionary. Another chapter — and we shall see what the
new actor could do and did do on the grand stage of Oregon history.

CHAPTER V
■ THE MISSIONARY PERIOD

In the preceding chapter we learned that the various attempts of American
trappers and fur companies to control the fur trade of Oregon failed. The
Hudson's Bay Company was too tirnily entrenched in its vast domain to be
loosened by any business of its own kind. Nor would there have been any special
advantage to the United States or the world in dislodging the great British
company and substituting an American enterprise of the same sort. The aims
and policy of all fur companies were the same : i. e., to keep the country a wilder-
ness, to trade with the natives and derive a fortune from the lavish bounty of
wild animal life. The Hudson's Bay Company was as good as any enterprise of
its type could be. The unfortunate fact was not so much that it was the British
who were skimming the cream of the wilderness, as that the regime of any fur
company was necessarily antagonistic to that incoming tide of settlers who
would bring with them the home, the shop, the road, the church, the school, in
short, civilization. Hence the necessary policy of the great fur company was
to discourage immigration, or, in fact, any form of enterprise which would
utilize the latent agricultural, pastoral, and manufacturing resources of Oregon.
This policy existed, in spite of the fact (of which we shall see many illustrations
later) that individual managers and officers of the company were often of broad
and benevolent character and predisposed to extending a cordial welcome to
the advance guard of American immigration. A few stray Americans had
drifted to Oregon and California with the hope of inaugurating enterprises that
would lead to American occupation. In general, however, the land beyond
the Rockies was as dark a continent as Africa.

But in 1832 a strange and interesting event occurred which unlocked the
gates of the western wilderness and led in a train of conditions which made
American settlement and ownership a logical result. In 1832 a party of four
Indians from the Far- West appeared at St. Louis on a strange quest — seeking
the "White R-Ian's Book of Life." EfTorts have been made by certain recent
writers to belittle or discredit this event, for no very apparent reason unless it
be that general disposition of some of the so-called critical school of investigators
to spoil anything that appeals to the gentler or nobler emotions, and especially
to oppose the idea that men are susceptible to any motives of religion or human
sympathy or any other spirit than the mercenary and materialistic. But there can
be no question about the journey of these four Indians, nor can there be any
reasonable doubt that their aim was to secure religious instruction for their
people. The details of the journey and the nature of the expectations of the
tribe and of the envoys might of course be variously understood and stated, but
the general statements given by reliable contemporary authorities are not open to
doubt.

58 OLD WALL A WALLA COUXTV

To what tribe ihc Indians belonged seems uncertain. It has been stated by
some that they were Flatheads and that tribe, though quite widely dispersed, had
their principal habitat in what is now Northern Idaho and Northwestern Mon-
tana, ^liss Kate McBeth, for many years a missionary to the Nez Perce
Indians, and located at Kamiah and then at Lapwai, near Lewiston, thought that
three of the Indians were Nez Perces and one a Flathead. Nor is it known how
those Indians got the notion 6i a "Book of Life." Bonneville states in his
journal that Pierre Pambrun, the agent at Fort Walla Walla, taught the Indians
the rudiments of Catholic worship. Some have conjectured that the American
trapper, Jedadiah Smith, a devout Christian, may have imparted religious instruc-
tion. Miss McBeth formed the impression that their chief hope was that they
might find Lewis and Clark, whose journey in 1805-6 had produced a profound
effect on the Nez Perces. It is interesting to note that Clark was at the very time
of this visit of the Indians the superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis.
He has left no statement as to the location of these Indians, though he referred
to the fact of their visit to several passers who have recorded his statements.
The first published account of this visit appeared in the New York Christian
Advocate, of March i, 1833. This was in the form of a letter from G. P. Dis-
oway, who had charge of the removal of certain Indians to a reservation west
of St. Louis. In his letter Disoway enclosed one from William Walker, an
interpreter for the \^'yandotte Indians. Walker had met the four Indians in
General Clark's office in St. Louis. He was impressed with their appearance, and
learned that General Clark had given them some account of the origin and history
of man, of the coming of the Savior, and of his work for the salvation of men.
-According to Walker, two of the Indians died in St. Louis. As to whether the
others reached their home he did not know.

Walker's account was confirmed in a most valuable way by George Catlin,
the noted painter and student of Indian life. He was making a journey up the
Missouri River on one of the first steamers to ascend that stream to Fort
Benton. In the Smithsonian Report for 1885 can be found Catlin's account, as
follows: "These two men, when I painted them, were in beautiful Sioux dresses
which had been presented to them in a talk with the Sioux, who treated them
very kindly, while passing through the Sioux country. These two men were
part of a delegation that came across the mountains to St. Louis a few years
since, to inquire for the truth of the representations which they said some white
men liad made among them, that our religion was better than theirs, and that
they would all be lost if they did not embrace it. Two old and venerable men
of this party died in St. Louis, and I travelled 2,000 miles, companion with
these two fellows, toward their own country, and became much pleased with their
manners and dispositions. W'hen I first heard the objects of their extraordi-
nary mission across the mountains, I could scarcely believe it; but on conversing
with General Clark on a future occasion, I was fully convinced of the fact."
Rather curiously Catlin speaks of these Indians as being Flatheads or Nez Perces,
as though the two tribes were identical.

The letter of Disoway in the Christian Adt'ocate was discussed in the Illinois
Patriot of October, 1833, together with the statement that the subject had
excited so much interest that a committee of the Illinois Synod had been appointed
to report on the duty of the churches. The committee went to St. Louis and

DR. aiARCUS WHIT.MAX
From a statute on the Witherspooii Buildings Philadelphia

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 59

conferred with General Clark, receiving from him a confirmation of the report.
When this pathetic story, together with the stirring appeal of the committee,
had reached the Christian people of the country, it produced a profound impres-
sion, although, quite curiously, the little book by Lee and Frost of the first
Methodist Mission, which passed through St. Louis in 1834, and whose members
conferred with Gen. Clark, refers rather slightingly to the event. The decades
of the '20s and '30s were a time of deep religious sentiment. It was the begin-
ning of the Alissionary movements of the century. To the sensitive souls of
the time this unheralded call from the Far-West seemed a veritable Macedonian
cry. From it sprang the Christian Missions of Oregon. And the missionaries
were the advance guard of immigration. And the immigration decided that
the American home-builder and farmer should own Oregon, rather than that
the British fur-trader and the Indians should keep it as a game preserve and
fur depot. It would indeed be too much to say that American ownership of
Oregon would not have resulted, if it had not been for the missionaries. But
it may safely be said that the acquisition would have been delayed and that
there would have been many more chances of failure, if the missionaries had
not fitted into the evolution of the drama just as and just when they did. The
missionary period was an essential one, coming between that of the fur-traders
and that of the immigrants.

While the scope of our undertaking requires us to confine our narration
mainly to the area covered in this history, yet in order to preserve the historical
continuity and to exhibit the forces which \kS to' subsequent developments, we
must enlarge the picture enough to include glimpses of the mission iocntions
outside of Walla Walla.

The first of the Christian Crusaders to respond to the Macedonian call from
Oregon was a party under Jason Lee of the Methodist Church. This party came
to Oregon in 1834 in company with Nathaniel Wyeth, the American trader, of
whose bold and worthy, and yet unsuccessful undertakings we have spoken in
Chapter Four. Reaching \^ancouver, the missionaries presented themselves to
Doctor McLoughlin, the chief factor. He met them with every expression of
generous good-will and advised them to locate in the Willamette Valley rather
than among the tribes from whom had proceeded the Macedonian call. As a
result, Lee with his assistants, located at Chemawa, near the present Salem,
Ore. From that mission sprang the first permanent American settlement, the
native name of which was Chemeketa, place of Council, or peace-ground. The
missionaries gave it the Bible equivalent, Salem, a proceeding of more piety than
good judgment. The Willamette University of the present is the offspring of
the school started by the missionaries for the Indian children, and within a few
years modified so as to meet the needs of the white children. For that earliest
mission, like the later, discovered that this great work, after all, must be for the
white race, not for the Indians.

The next year after the coming of the Lee party, another movement was
initiated which was destined to have a most intimate connection with Walla
VValla. For in 1835, the man who became the first white man, aside from the
fur trappers and traders, in the Walla Walla Valley, left his home in New York
for Oregon. This was Dr. Marcus Whitman, who, more than any other one
man, put Walla Walla on the map of the world. In 1835. Doctor Whitman, in

tiU OLD W ALI.A WALLA COUNTY

company with Dr. Samuel I'arker, set forth on a reconnaissance to determine
the advisabiHty of locating a mission among the Indians from whom had gone
the Macedonian call. Reaching Green River, the outlook seemed so encouraging
that it was decided to part company; Doctor Parker continuing westward with
Indians who had met them at Green River, while Doctor Whitman, the younger
and more active of the two, returned to his Iiome in Kushville, N. Y., and there
organized a missionary band.

As a result of Doctor Whitman's return, a party consisting of himself and
his bride, Narcissa Prentiss, and Rev. IT. H. Spalding and his newly wedded
bride, Eliza Hart, set forth in 1836 for Oregon. With them was William H.
Gray as secular agent and general manager. With the party also were two
Indian boys who had accompanied Doctor Whitman the year before on his return
from Green River. Of this bridal journey of 4,ocX) miles, most of it on horse-
back, our space permits only a few hurried views. Aside from the momentous
results in the history of Oregon and the United States, the story is one of
heroism and devotion w'hich has few parallels, and the record closes with a
martyr's crown for Marcus and Narcissa Whitman.

Among the precious relics in Whitman College, is Mrs. Whitman's diary of
the journey, and also that of Mrs. Spalding. That of Mrs. Whitman was made
by herself from notes on the way and was sent from Vancouver to her parents
upon the completion of the journey. Its heading is as follows :

"Narcissa Whitman's Diary of a Missionary Tour West of the Rocky Moun-
tains p>erformed 1836. Being the first white female ever beyond the mountains
on the continent. ' The journey was performed on horseback — a distance of 4,000
miles. She, in company with her husband, Marcus Whitman, M. D., and H. H.
Spalding and wife, left the state of New York for this tour in February of 1836
— travelled through a part of Pennsylvania, Ohio — and finally arrived at St. Louis
in Missouri. Here they joined the Fur Company that crosses the mountains
every year — and were also joined by Messrs. Suturly [Saturlee in Mrs. Spald-
ing's diary] and Gray — missionaries to the West. Matters thus arranged they all
left St. Louis in March — for the 'far West.' The further particulars of the
journey may be learned from the following extracts from her journal taken on
the way."

Following this heading is a letter addressed to her parents, dated Vancouver,
October 20, 1836, in which she says that the journal covers the journey from
the "Rendezvous," and that while at Vancouver she had been so situated that
she could copy her notes taken on the way. The party had crossed the Great
Divide on July 4th, and on that day celebrated the natal day of the country, and
as they looked down the long vista westward, seem to have felt that they would
clpim possession of that western land in the name of the American Union and
the Church of Jesus Christ. They had reached the "Rendezvous" on Green
River July 6th. After several days there, refitting and resting and conferring
with Indians, they resumed the next great stage of the march with a detach-
ment of the Hudson's Bay Company, under Mr. McLeod, bound for Walla
Walla.

It was July 18, 1836, when they set forth under these new auspices. A com-
pany of Flathead and Nez Perce Indians also travelled with them. It appears
from the diary of Mrs. Spalding that the Nez Perces were very anxious that

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 61

the party accompany them, but as they apparently wished to hunt on the way
it was manifestly necessary- that the party go with the traders. One chieftain,
Mrs. Spalding says, concluded to go with them, though it would deprive him
of the privilege of securing a supply of meat for the winter. Mrs. Whitman
tells of the tedious time which Doctor Whitman had with his wagon. This was
one of the notable features of his journey. Some have asserted that he was
the first to drive a wagon from the Missouri to the Columbia. This is only
partly true. Ashley, Smith, Sublette, Bonneville, and other trappers, had driven
wagons to the Black Hills, and to other points, but none of them had gone so far
west as Whitman, with a wagon. But when he reached "Snake Fort," near
Boise, generally known as Fort Boise, he left his wagon. Li 1840 Robert Newell
went clear through the Blue Mountains and reached Walla Walla. However,
Doctor Whitman deserves all praise for his energy and persistence in pushing
his "Chick-chick-shaile-kikash," as the Indians called his wagon, even to Fort
Boise, and he may be very justly called one of the first wheel-track-makers. It is
interesting and pathetic to see how Mrs. Whitman craved some of her mother's
bread. During part of their journey they had an exclusive diet of bufTalo meat.
Occasionally they would have berries and fish. They had several cows with theiu
and from them had some milk, which was a great help. They had to shoe their
cattle (presumably with hide, though it is not so stated) on account of sore
feet. With the cows were two sucking calves, which, Mrs. Whitman says, seemed
to be in excellent spirits, and made the journey with no sufifering, except sore
feet. Soon after passing a point on Snake River, where the Indians were taking
salmon, Mrs. Whitman bade good-by to her little trunk which they had been able
to carry thus far, but were now compelled to leave. It is truly pathetic to read
the words in her journal.

"Dear H. (This was her sister Harriet, to whom she is especially addressing
the words) : The little trunk you gave me has come thus with me so far and now
I must leave it here alone. Poor little trunk! I am sorry to leave thee. Thou
must abide here alone and no more by thy presence remind me of my dear
Harriet. Twenty miles below the falls on Snake River, this shall be thy place
of rest. Farewell, little trunk. I thank thee for thy faithful services, and that
I have been cheered by thy presence so long. Thus we scatter as we go along."
A little later it appears that Mr. McKay rescued the trunk. Mrs. Whitman
shows that she had quite a sense of humor by recording that when she found
what Mr. McKay had done her "soliloquizing about it last night was for naught."
The journal contains quite a glowing account of the beauties of Grande
Ronde Valley, then of the toilsome, zigzag trail out of it into the Blue Mountains
westward. On August 29th, the party stood upon the open summit, from which
they saw the Valley of the Columbia. "It was beautiful. Jtist as we gained
the highest elevation and began to descend the sun was dipping his disk behind
the western horizon. Beyond the valley we could see two distant mountains.
Mount Hood, and Mount St. Helens." The latter of those mountains was
Adams, not St. Helens. Our missionary band were now in sight of their goal.
It was not, however, till September ist, that they actually rode into Walla Walla.
In fact, part of the company, including the Spaldings, did not reach the fort till
September 3d. It was a thrilling moment to that devoted little band. It seemed
to them almost equal to what it would to one of us moderns to enter Washinj^ton

62 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

or Paris or London. Tliink of the journey of those two women, those brides,
three thousand miles from St. Louis to Walla Walla, five months and mainly on
horseback. As they drew near the fort, both horses and riders became so eager
to reach the end of the journey that they broke into a gallop. They saw the first
appearance of civilization in a garden about two miles from the fort. That
garden must have been nearly upon the present location of Wallula. As they
rode up to the fort, Mr. McLeod (who had gone ahead to prepare for their
coming), Mr. Pambrun, the commandant, and others, came forth to meet so new
and remarkable an addition to the population of Walla Walla. Mrs. Whitman
has the enthusiasm of a child in describing the chickens, turkeys, pigeons, hogs,
goats, and cattle, which latter were the fattest that she ever saw, and then she
goes into ecstasies over the breakfast of salmon, potatoes, tea, bread and butter,
and then the room in the fort with its comfort after all their hardships. The
officers of the fur company treated them with the utmost courtesy and consider-
ation. Such was that momentous entrance of the missionaries and of the first
white women into Fort Walla Walla, September i, 1836.

The next chapter in the story of the Whitman party was their journey to Van-
couver, the emporium of the Hudson's Bay Company. Leaving Walla Walla by
boat on the 7th of September, they reached the "New York of the Pacific," as
Mrs. Whitman says they had been told to consider it, on the 14th. Mrs. Whit-
man expresses in her journal the admiration of the party for the beauty of the
river, more beautiful, she says, than the Ohio, though the rugged clifi:'s and shores
of drifting sand below Walla Walla looked dismal and forbidding. They found
much to delight them at \''ancouver, — the courtesy and hospitality of Doctor
McLoughlin and his assistants, the bounteous table, with feasts of salmon, roast
duck, venison, grouse and quail, rich cream and delicious butter, a picture of
toothsomeness which it makes one hungrj' to read; the ships from England
moored to the river brink, and the well-kept farm with grain and vegetables,
fruits of every sort, grapes and berries, a thousand head of cattle, and many
sheep, hogs, and horses — a perfect oasis of civilized delights to the little com-
pany of missionaries, worn and homesick during their months on horseback
across the barren plains and through wild mountains.

Doctor Whitman and Mr. Spalding, leaving their wives in the excellent keep-
ing of the LIudson's Bay people at \'ancouver, returned, in company with Mr.
Gray, to the Walla Walla country to decide upon locations. They had expected,
so Mrs. Whitman says, to locate in the Grande Ronde, the beauty and fertility
of which had been portrayed in glowing colors by returning adventurers and fur-
traders. But discovering as they passed through that it was so buried in the moun-
tains and so difficult of access from the rivers and the regular routes of travel,
they fixed upon Waiilatpu ( Wielitpoo, Mrs. \\hitman spells it ) for one post and
Lapwai for another. The Whitmans became established at Waiilatpu, "the place
of rye grass." six miles west of the present W'alla A\^alla : and the Spaldings at
Lapwai, two miles up the I^apwai Creek, and about twelve from the mouth of the
Clearwater, the present site of Lewiston. A few months after the location at
Waiilatpu. on March 4, 1837. a beam of sunshine lighted in the home of the
Whitmans, in the form of a daughter. Alice Clarissa, the first white child bom
west of the Rockies and north of California. The Indians were extraordinarily
pleased with the "little white papoose," or "Cayuse temi" (Cayuse girl"), and if

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 63

she had hved, the tragedy of a httle later might not have occurred. In a letter
preserved at Whitman College, from Mrs. Whitman to her sister and husband,
Rev. Lyman P. Judson of ^Angelica, N. Y., dated March 15, 1838, the mother
says : "Our little daughter comes to her mother every now and then to be cheered
with a smile and a kiss and to be taken up to rest for a few moments and then
away she goes running about the room or out of doors, diverting herself with
objects that attract her attention. A refreshing comfort she is to her parents in
their solitary situation." With her parents so needing that child, fairly idolizing
her and their very lives wrought up with hers, it is too sad to relate that on June
23, 1839, the bright, active little creature wandered out of the house while the
mother was engaged in some household task, and took her way to the fatal river
that then ran close to the mission house, though it now has a new channel a quarter
mile away. Missing little Alice Clarissa, Mrs. Whitman hastened to the river,
with a sinking dread, and there she saw the little cup where the child had dropped
it. This mutely told the heart-breaking tale. An Indian, diving in the stream,
found the body, but the gentle and lovable life, the life of the whole mission, was
gone. The faithful and devoted father and mother had one less tie to life. The
patient resignation with which the anguished parents endured this infinite sorrow
shows vividly what strength may be imparted by the real Christian spirit.

Both Doctor Whitman and Mr. Spalding were indefatigable workers and
quickly created civilized conditions upon the beautiful places where they had
planted their missions. That of Mr. Spalding was outside of the territory cov-
ered by this history, and we therefore devote our larger attention to the mission
at Waiilatpu. It should, however, be said that from the standpoint of results
among the Indians, Mr. Spalding accomplished more than any of the mission-
aries. This may be accounted for in some part by the superior characters and
minds of the Nez Perces, among whom he was so fortunate as to have cast his
lot. They seem to have been of the best Indian type, while the Cayuses in the
vicinity of Waiilatpu were turbulent, treacherous, and unreliable.

Doctor Whitman was a man of powerful physique and familiar from boy-
hood with the practical duties of farm and mill. He could turn his hand to
almost anything in the way of construction. The same was true of Mr. Gray,
who spent part of his tim.e at Waiilatpu and part at Lapwai, though he returned
in 1837 to the east in search of new helpers. But within a few months the Whit-
mans were comfortably housed, and every year saw some improvement about the
buildings and land. Seed for grain, and fruit trees were secured at \^ancouver,
and stock was provided also. The Waiilatpu farm consisted of a fertile belt of
bottom land of about three hundred acres between the Walla Walla River and
Mill Creek, with an unlimited range of low hill and bench land covered with
bunch-grass, which furnished the finest of stock feed almost the whole year
round. Doctor Whitman was himself a practical millwright and soon had a small
sawmill equipped about twenty miles up Mill Creek, while adjoining the mission
house he laid out a mill dam, the lines of which can still be seen. The water for
the mill pond was supplied from Mill Creek by a ditch which followed nearly
the course of the ditch of the present time. The mill was a grist mill and located
at the western side of the pond, and within a few steps of the mission house and
the "mansion," as they called the large log building erected a few years after
their arrival for the accommodation of the frequent visitors, especially after

64 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

American immigrants began to come. Toiling incessantly, the missionary doctor
and hero was rewarded by seeing his mission Drought in a surprisingly brief time
to a condition of profitable cultivation. T. J. Farnham, who came with the so-
called "Peoria parly" in 1839, says of Whitman's place: "I found 250 acres
enclosed and 200 acres in good cultivation. I found forty or fifty Indian children
between the ages of seven and eighteen years in school, and Mrs. Whitman an
indefatigable instructor. It appeared to me quite remarkable that the doctor
could have made so many improvements since the year 1836; but the industry
which crowded every hour of the day, his untiring energy of character, and the
very efficient aid of his wife in relieving him in a great degree from the labors
of the school, enabled him, without funds for such purposes, and without other
aid than that of a fellow-missionary for short intervals, to fence, plow, build,
plant an orchard, and do all the other laborious acts of opening a plantation on
the face of that distant wilderness, learn an Indian language, and do the duties,
meanwhile, of a physician to the associate stations on the Clearwater and Spo-
kane." Joseph Drayton of the Wilkes Exploring Expedition of the United States
Navy, visited Waiilatpu in 1841. He says of the mission: "All the premises
looked comfortable, the garden especially fine, vegetables and melons in great
\ariety. The wheat in the fields was seven feet high and nearly ripe, and the
corn nine feet in the tassel." Had not Doctor Whitman possessed great physical
strength, as well as determination and energ}', he could not have endured the
excessive toil which was the price of his rapid progress. Senator Nesmith, who
came to Oregon in the immigration of 1843, said in the hearing of the author of
this work: "Whitman had a constitution like a sawmill." Another old timer
said of him that he had the energy of a Napoleon. Some old timer has said that
Whitman used to ride in a day to the present site of Lewiston, from Waiilatpu,
about ninety miles. He would do it by changing horses several times. He was
hard on horses, and when someone remonstrated on the ground of cruelty, the
doctor replied : "My time is worth more than the horse's comfort."

As has been stated, Mr. W. H. Gray went east in 1857 for reinforcements.
The next year he came again to Oregon with a valuable addition. Besides the
addition to his own life of a bride, Mary Dix (who was one of the choice spirits
of Old Oregon, and during many years a center of life and light in the new
country) there were three missionaries, each also with a newly-wed wife. These
were Revs. Elkanah Walker, Gushing Eells, and A. B. Smith. Mr. Cornelius
Rogers accompanied the party. Reaching Walla Walla, the new arrivals were
assigned to new stations, Messrs. Eells and Walker to Tschimakain, near the
present City of Spokane, while Mr. Smith went to Kamiah, about sixty miles
east of the present site of Lewiston. Mr. Rogers and the Grays went to Lapwai.
There seem never to have been more faithful and devoted missionaries than
were these of the four missions of Waiilatpu, Lapwai, Tschimakain, and Kamiah.
Yet, it could not be said that they were successful in turning any considerable
number of natives to Christianity. The Nez Perces at Lapwai and other stations
established by Mr. Spalding, notably the one at Alpowa, were most amenable to
Christian influences, while the Cayuses in the Walla Walla Valley were least so.
In contemplation of the apparently scanty progress, the Missionary Board at
Boston decided to discontinue the missions at Waiilatpu and Lapwai, to dis-

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 65

charge Messrs. Spalding, Gray, Smith, and Rogers, and to send Doctor Whitman
to the Spokane country.

While these difficulties were harassing the missionaries, very important events
were taking place in national life. The slavery and the tariff questions had be-
come firebrands in domestic fKjlitics. The questions of annexation of Texas, of
the occupation of Oregon, of possible trouble with Mexico over the former, and
with England over the latter, were threatening corresponding chaos in foreign
affairs. Doctor Whitman, reticent and sagacious, saw clearly that his chosen aim
of leading the natives to civilization and Christianity was rapidly sinking in im-
portance in comparison with the question of the white race in the new land, and of
the ownership of this great region. In 1842 the Ashburton treaty with England
settled the Northeastern boundary and the supposition was that it would also
settle the Oregon question. But when the treaty was signed on August 9th, it
appeared that the question of Oregon was left unsettled. In a message of August
nth. President Tyler explained to the Senate that so little probability of agree-
ment existed that it was thought not expedient to make that subject a matter of
negotiation.

W'hile the Ashburton treaty was pending, the first real immigration, though a
small one of 112 persons, came to Oregon. In it, among several of the most
notable of the old Oregonians, was A. L. Lovejoy, a young New England lawyer,
a man of energy and ambition, destined to play a conspicuous part in Oregon
history. When the party reached Whitman's Station on the Walla Walla, they
delivered to him letters from the United States' and discussed with him the pend-
ing treaty and the danger that it might dra\y' me fine so. as to leave Oregon to
Great Britain, or at least to make the Columbia River- the boundary, placing the
entire Puget Sound Basin and the mountains and plains eastward to the river in
possession of Great Britain. Seeing the imminence of the danger. Whitman
determined upon a supreme effort. He decided to make a mid-winter journey
East with three aims in view : to present to the Government the situation and the
vital need of preserving Oregon for the United States ; to try to aid in forming and
guiding an immigration to Oregon; and to settle affairs of the mission with the
Board at Boston. He asked Lovejoy to go with him. It looked like a desperate
undertaking, but Lovejoy, an athletic, ambitious young man, agreed to go.

At this point comes in the bitterly disputed "Whitman Controversy." It is
not within the scope of this work to undertake an argumentative treatment of this
question. The question at issue, if rationally considered, is rather the extent of
the services of Doctor Whitman in "saving Oregon to the United States." Mrs.
F. V. Victor, Elwood Evans, Prof. E. G. Bourne, and Principal W. I. Marshall
have, more than others, presented arguments in favor of the contention that
Doctor Whitman had no important part to play in the great political drama of
Oregon, while the claim that he had large political aims and bore a conspicuous
part in influencing the final result has been supported in books written by Dr. O.
W. Nixon, Rev. William Barrows, Prof. William Mowry, and Rev. Myron Eells.
The final book by the last named, the "Life of Marcus Whitman," is, in the judg-
ment of the writer, the final and unanswered and indeed unanswerable word on
the subject. The author of this history has given in the Washhigton Historical
Ouarferly of April, 1917, his reasons for thinking the statements of Professors
Bourne and Marshall inaccurate and their arguments inconclusive. The fact

66 OLD WALLA WALL.V COLXTY

acknowledged tiy all is that Whitman made a ride during the fall and winter of
1842 and succeeding months of 1843, which for daring, heroism, and fortitude
has few parallels in history. The question of controversy is, what did he make
such a journey for? His critics say that it was in consequence of the decision
of the Missionary Board to discontinue his mission on the Walla Walla. Mrs.
Victor and Principal Marshall are the only ones among these critics who have
achieved the distinction of attributing base or selfish motives to Whitman. They
have held forth the idea that he, foreseeing the incoming of immigrants, wanted
to maintain the station at Waiilatpu in order to raise vegetables and other supplies
to sell at a high price. Whether a motive of that .sort would lead a man of
Whitman's type to take that desperate ride in mid-winter through the Rocky
Mountains, at peril of life a dozen times over from Indians, freezing, and starva-
tion, is a question which different people would view differently, according to
their way of estimating the motives which determine men's actions. Perhaps
people whose estimate of human nature, based possibly on their own inner con-
sciousness of motives, is that selfish gain is the leading motive, would agree that
the hope of cornering the vegetable market at Waiilatpu was an adequate cause
of Whitman's ride. To some people it would seem likely that the mainspring
of his action was some great national and patriotic aim and that while he wished
to maintain the mission, his great aim was to convince the Government of the
value of Oregon and to help organize an immigration which would settle the
ownership of Oregon in favor of his country. At any rate, he went. That much
is undisputed.

Practically the only account of that memorable mid-winter ride from Waiilatpu
to St. Louis is from A. L. Lovejoy, the sole white companion of Whitman.
Whitman himself was, like most heroes, a man of few words. He told various
friends something of his experiences in Washington and Boston, and told to asso-
ciates and wrote a few letters to friends about the immigration of 1843, but he
seems to have been very reticent about the "Ride." Mr. Lovejoy wrote two let-
ters about that journey, one dated November 6, 1869, which is found in W. H.
Gray's History of Oregon, and one addressed to Dr. G. H. Atkinson and used by
him in an address on February 22, 1876. This letter so vividly portrays the char-
acter of this undertaking as it comes from the only witness besides Whitman
himself, that we deem it suitable to incorporate it here.

"We left Waiilatpu October 3, 1842, traveled rapidly, reached Fort Hall in
eleven days, remained two days to recruit and make a few purchases. The doctor
engaged a guide, and we left the Fort Uinte. We changed from a direct route to
one more southern, through the Spani.sh country, via Salt Lake, Taos and Santa
Fe. On our way from Fort Hall to Fort Uinte we had terribly severe weather.
The snows retarded our progress and blinded the trail, so we lost much time.
After arriving at Fort Uintfe, and making some purchases for our trip, we took
a new guide and started for Fort Uncumpagra, situated on the waters of Grand
River, in the Spanish country. Here our stay was very short. We took a new
guide and started for Taos. After being out some four or five days we encoun-
tered a terrific snowstorm, which forced us to seek shelter in a deep ravine, where
we remained snowed in for four days, at which time the storm had somewhat
abated, and we attempted to make our way out upon the highlands, but the .snow
was so deep and the winds so piercing and cold, we were compelled to return to

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 67

camp and wait a few days for a change of weather. Our next effort to reach the
highlands was more successful; but, after spending several days wandering
around in the snow without making much headway, our guide told us that the
deep snow had so changed the face of the country that he was completely lost
and could take us no further. This was a terrible blow to the doctor, but he was
determined not to give it up without another effort.

"We at once agreed that the doctor should take the guide and return to Fort
Uncumpagra and get a new guide, and I remain in camp with the animals until
he could return, which he did in seven days with our new guide, and we were
now on our route again. Nothing of much import occurred but hard and slow
travehng through deep snow until we reached Grand River, which was frozen on
either side about one-third across. Although so intensely cold, the current was
so very rapid that about one-third of the river in the center was not frozen. Our
guide thought it would be dangerous to attempt to cross the river in its present
condition, but the doctor, nothing daunted, was the first to take the water. He
mounted his horse; the guide and myself shoved the doctor and his horse off
the ice into the foaming stream. Away he went, completely under water, horse
and all, but directly came up, and after buffeting the rapid foaming current, he
reached the ice on the opposite shore a long way down the stream. He leaped
from his horse upon the ice and soon had his noble animal by his side. The guide
and myself forced in the pack animals, and followed the doctor's example, and
were soon on the opposite shore, drying our frozen clothes by a comfortable fire.
We reached Taos in about thirty days, having suffered greatly from cold and
scarcity of provisions. We were compelled to use mule meat, dogs and such
other animals as came in our reach. We remained at Taos a few days only, and
started for Bent's and Savery's Fort, on the head waters of the Arkansas River.
When we had been out some fifteen or twenty days we met George Bent, a
brother of Governor Bent, on his way to Taos. He told us that a party of moun-
tain men would leave Bent's Fort in a few days for St. Louis, but said we would
not reach the fort with our pack animals in time to join the party. The doctor,
being very anxious to join the party so he could push on as rapidly as possible to
Washington, concluded to leave myself and guide with the animals, and he him-
self, taking the best animal, with some bedding and a small allowance of pro-
vision, started alone, hoping by rapid travel to reach the fort in time to join the
St. Louis party, but to do so he would have to travel on the Sabbath, something
we had not done before. Myself and guide traveled on slowly and reached the
fort in four days, but imagine our astonishment when on making inquiry about
the doctor we were told that he had not arrived nor had he been heard of. I
learned that the party for St. Louis was camped at the Big Cottonwood, forty
miles from the fort, and at my request Mr. Savery sent an express, telling the
party not to proceed any farther until we learned something of Doctor Whitman's
whereabouts, as he wished to accompany them to St. Louis. Being furnished
by the gentleman of the fort with a suitable guide, I started in search of the
doctor, and traveled up the river about one hundred miles. I learned from the
Indians that a man had been there who was lost and was trying to find Bent's
Fort. They said they had directed him to go down the river and how to find
the fort. I knew from their description it was the doctor. I returned to the fort

68 ULU WALLA WALLA COUNTY

as rapidly as possible, bul the doctor had not arrived. We had all become very
anxious about him.

"Late in the afternoon he came in very much fatigued and desponding; said
that lie knew that (iod had bewildered him to punish him for traveling on the
Sabbath. During the whole trip he was very regular in his morning and evenmg
devotions, and that was the only time I ever knew him to travel on the Sabbath.

"The doctor remained all night at the fort, starting only on the following
morning to join the St. Louis party. Here we parted. The doctor proceeded to
Washington. I remained at Bent's Fort until spring, and joined the doctor the
following July near Fort Laramie, on his way to Oregon, in company with a train
of emigrants."

In the life of Whitman by Myron Hells, there is a summary of the events
which immediately followed, so well adapted to our purpose that we quote it here
as resting upon the authority of Mr. Eells, whom we regard as a writer of un-
doubted candor and accuracy.

"When Doctor Whitman arrived at St. Louis he made his home at the house
of Doctor Edward Hale, a dentist. In the same house was William Barrows, then
a young school teacher, afterward a clergyman and author of Barrows' 'Oregon.'

"Reaching Cincinnati, he went to the house of Doctor Weed. Here, accord-
ing to Professor Weed, he obtained a new suit of clothes, but whether he wore
them all the time until he left the East or not is a question. Some writers speak
of him as appearing in buckskins, or something akin to them, afterwards both at
Washington and Boston. Some, as Dr. S. J. Parker, say he was not so dressed.
It is just barely possible that both may be true — that he kept his buckskins and
buffalo coat and occasionally wore them. It is quite certain that he did not throw
them away, as according to accounts he wore his buckskins in returning to Oregon
the next summer.

"The next visit on record was at Ithaca, New York, at the home of his old
missionary friend and fellow traveler, Rev. Samuel Parker. Here, after the sur-
prise of his arrival was over, he said to Mr. Parker : 'I have come on a very
important errand. We must both go at once to Washington, or Oregon is lost,
ceded to the English.' Mr. Parker, however, did not think the danger to be so
great, and not for lack of interest in the subject, but because of other reasons, did
not go. Doctor Whitman went alone, and reached Washington.

"The doctor, or his brother, had been a classmate of the Secretary of War,
James M. Porter. Through him the doctor obtained an introduction to Daniel
Webster, then Secretary of State, with whom he talked about Oregon and the
saving of it to the United States, but Mr. Webster received him very coolly, and
told him it was too late, as far as he was concerned, for he had considered it,
decided it, and turned it over to the President, who could sign Oregon away or
refuse to do so. Accordingly Doctor Whitman went to President Tyler, and
for some time they talked about Oregon. Even the Cabinet were called together,
it is said, and an evening was spent on the subject. The objection was made that
wagons could never be taken to Oregon and that consequently the country could
never be peopled overland by emigrants, while the distance around Cape Horn
was altogether too great to think of taking settlers to the country that way. In
reply to this. Doctor Whitman told of the great value of the country and of his
plans to lead an emigration through with their wagons the next summer. He

DR. WHITMAN LOST IN A SNOW STORM, 1842

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 69

stated that he had taken a wagon into Oregon six years before to Fort Boise, that
others had taken one from Fort Hall to Walla Walla, and that with his present
knowledge, having been over the route twice, he was sure he could take the
emigrant wagons through to the Columbia. The President then said that he
would wait, before carrying the negotiations any further, luitil he could hear
whether Doctor Whitman should succeed, and if he should there would be no
more thought of trading off Oregon. This satisfied the doctor.

"He then went to New York to see Mr. Horace Greeley, who was known to
be a friend of Oregon. He went there dressed in his rough clothes, much the
same that he wore across the continent. When he knocked at the door a lady
came, Mrs. Greeley or a daughter, who, on seeing such a rough-looking person,
said to his inquiries for Mr. Greeley, 'Not at home.' Doctor Whitman started
away. She went and told Mr. Greeley about him and Mr. Greeley, who was of
much the same style and cared but little for appearances, looked out of the win-
dow, and seeing him going away, said to call him in. It was done, and they had
a long talk about this Northwest Coast and its political relations.

"From New York Doctor Whitman went to Boston, where the officers of the
American Board at first received him coldly, because he had left his station for
the East without permission from them, on business so foreign to that which he
had been sent to Oregon to accomplish. Afterwards, however, they treated him
more cordially.

"From Boston he went to New York State and_visite.dj:elatives. Then taking
with him his nephew, Perrin B. Whitman, %; bade -them, good-by and left for
Missouri. While there he did all he could teinduc-ei people to join the emigration
for Oregon, then went with the emigration, assisting the guide. Captain Gantt,
until they reached Fort Hall, and aiding the emigrants -very materially. Fort
Hall was as far as Captain Gantt had agreed- to ^rde' them, and from that place
Doctor Whitman guided them or furnished an Indian guide, so that the emigrants
reached the Columbia River safely with their wagons."

The incoming of the immigration of 1843 was a determining factor in the set-
tlement of the Oregon question. There can be no question that Doctor Whitman
performed a conspicuous service in organizing and leading that immigration.
It is true, however, that many influences combined to draw that company of
frontiersmen to the border of civilization and to give them the common purpose
of the great march across the wilderness. The leading motives perhaps were
the desire first to acquire land in what they thought would prove a paradise and
second to carry the American flag across the continent and secure ownership of
the Pacific Coast for their country. Perhaps no one ever so well expressed the
mingled motives of that advance guard of American possession as did James W.
Nesmith, father of Mrs. Levi Ankeny of Walla Walla, who was himself a mem-
ber of the immigration and later became one of the conspicuous builders of
Oregon and of the nation. Senator Nesmith's account is as follows, given in an
address at a meeting of the Oregon Pioneer Association :

"Without orders from any quarter, and without preconcert, promptly as the
grass began to start, the emigrants began to assemble near Independence, at a
place called Fitzhugh's Mill. On the 17th day of May, 1843, notices were circu-
lated through the different encampments that on the succeeding day, those who
contemplated emigrating to Oregon would meet at a designated point to organize.

70 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Promptly at the appointed hour the motley groups assembled. They consisted of
people from all the States and Territories, and nearly all nationalities; the most,
however, from Arkansas, Illinois, ^Missouri and Iowa, and all strangers to one
another, but impressed with some crude idea that there existed an imperative
necessity for some kind of an organization for mutual protection against the
hostile Indians inhabiting the great unknown wilderness stretching away to the
shores of the Pacihc, and which they were about to traverse with their wives and
children, household goods, and all their earthly possessions.

"Many of the emigrants were from the western tier of counties of Missouri,
known as the Platte Purchase, and among them was Peter H. Burnett, a former
merchant, who had abandoned the yardstick and become a lawyer of some
celebrity for his ability as a smooth-tongued advocate. He subsequently emi-
grated to California, and was elected the first Governor of the Golden State, was
afterward Chief Justice, and still an honored resident of that state. Mr. Burnett,
or. as he was familiarly designated, 'Pete,' was called upon for a speech. Mount-
ing a log, the glib-tongued orator delivered a glowing, florid address. He com-
menced by showing his audience that the then western tier of states and terri-
tories was overcrowded with a redundant population, who had not sufficient
elbow room for the expansion of their enterprise and genius, and it was a duty
they ow-ed to themselves and posterity to strike out in search of a more expanded
field and more genial climate, where the soil yielded the richest returns for the
slightest amount of cultivation, where the trees were loaded with perennial fruit,
and where a good substitute for bread, called 'La Camash,' grew in the ground,
salmon and other fish crowded the streams, and where the principal labor of the
settler would be confined to keeping their gardens free from the inroads of buf-
falo, elk, deer and wild turkeys. He appealed to our patriotism by picturing forth
the glorious empire we would establish on the shores of the Pacific. How, with
our trusty rifles, we would drive out the British usurpers who claimed the soil,
and defend the country from the avarice and pretensions of the British lion, and
how posterity would honor us for placing the fairest portion of our land under the
dominion of the Stars and Stripes. He concluded with a slight allusion to the
trials and hardships incident to the trip, and dangers to be encountered from
hostile Indians on the route, and tliose inhabiting the country whither we w-ere
bound. He furthermore intimated a desire to look upon the tribe of noble 'red
men' that the valiant and well-armed crowd around him could not vanquish in a
single encounter.

"Other speeches were made, full of glowing descriptions of the fair land of
jjromise, the far-away Oregon, which no one in the assemblage had ever seen,
and of which not more than half a dozen had ever read any account. After the
election of Mr. Burnett as captain, and other necessary officers, the meeting, as
motley and primitive a one as ever assembled, adjourned, w-ith 'three cheers' for
Captain Burnett and Oregon. On the 20th of Alay, 1843, after a pretty thorough
military organization, we took up our line of march, with Captain John Gantt, an
old army officer, who combined the character of trapper and mountaineer, as our
guide. Gantt had in his wanderings been as far as Green River, and assured us
of the practicability of a wagon road thus far. Green River, the extent of our
guide's knowledge in that direction, was not half-way to the Willamette Valley,
then the only inhabited portion of Oregon. Beyond that we had not the slightest

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 71

conjecture of the condition of the country. We went forth trusting to the future,
and would doubtless have encountered more difficulties than we experienced had
not Doctor Whitman overtaken tis before we reached the terminus of our guide's
knowledge. He was familiar with the whole route and was confident that wagons
could pass through the caiions and gorges of Snake River and over the Blue
Mountains, which the movmtaineers in the vicinity of Fort Hall declared to be a
physical impossibility.

"Captain Grant, then in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Hall,
endeavored to dissuade us from proceeding farther with our wagons, and showed
us the wagons that the emigrants of the preceding year had abandoned, as an
evidence of the impracticability of our determination. Doctor Whitman was per-
sistent in his assertions that wagons could proceed as far as the Grand Dalles of
the Columbia River, from which point he asserted they could be taken down by
rafts or batteaux to the Willamette Valley, while our stock could be driven by an
Indian trail over the Cascade Mountains, near Mount Hood. Happily Whitman's
advice prevailed, and a large number of the wagons with a portion of the stock
did reach Walla Walla and The Dalles, from which points they were taken to
the Willamette the following year. Had we followed Grant's advice and aban-
doned the cattle and wagons at Fort Hall, much suffering must have ensued, as
a sufficient number of horses to carry the women and children of the party could
not have been obtained, besides wagons and cattle were indispensable to men
expecting to live by farming in a country destitute of such articles.

"At Fort Hall we fell in with some Cayuse and Nez Perce Indians returning
from the buffalo country, and as it was necessary for Doctor Whitman to precede
us to Walla Walla, he recommended to us a guide in the person of an old Cayuse
Indian called 'Sticcus.' He was a faithful old fellow, perfectly familiar with all
the trails and topography of the country from Fort Hall to The Dalles, and,
although not speaking a word of English, and no one in our party a word of
Cayuse, he succeeded by pantomime in taking us over the roughest wagon route I
ever saw."

In that immigration were nearly a thousand persons, among them several
families whose members and descendants have borne honorable parts in building
the region of Old Walla Walla County and the part of Umatilla County adjoin-
ing, in Oregon. In the belief that among the readers of this work may be many
now living in the counties covered by this story, who can trace their ancestry
to the blood royal of that great immigration and that a list of its names would
have a permanent value in such a record as this, we incorporate here a list of
the names of all the male members of the train over sixteen years of age, as
secured by J. W. Nesmith at the time of the organization of the train. His list
included some who turned back or went to California, or died on the way. We
quote from the "History of the Willamette Valley," by H. B. Lang:

"The following list contains the names of every male member of that great
train over the age of sixteen years. It was prepared by J. W. Nesmith when the
train was organized, and was preserved among his papers for a third of a century
before given for publication. All reached the Willamette Valley, except a few,
the exceptions being designated by marks and foot-notes :

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Applegate, Jesse
Applegate, Charles
Applegate, Lindsay
Athey, James
Athey, William
Atkinson, John *
Arthur, Wm.
Arthur, Robert
Arthur, David
Butler, Amon
Brooke, George
Burnett, Peter H.
Bird, David
Brown, Thomas A.
Blevins, Alexander
Brooks, John P.
Brown, Martin
Brown, Oris
Black, J. P.
Bane, Layton
Baker, Andrew
Baker, John G.
Beagle, William
Boyd, Levy
Baker, William
Biddle, Nicholas J
Beale, George
Braidy, James
Beadle, George
Boardman, — *
Baldridge, Wm.
Cason, F. C.
Cason, James
Chapman, Wm.
Cox, John
Champ, Jacob
Cooper, L. C.
Cone, James
Childers, Moses
Carey, Miles
Cochran, Thomas
Clymour, L.
Copenhaver, John
Caton, J. H.
Chappel, Alfred

Cronin, Daniel
Cozine, Samuel
Costable, Benedict
Childs, Joseph *
Clark, Ransom
Campbell, John G.

Chapman,

Chase, James
Dodd, Solomon
Dement, Wm. C.
Dougherty, W. P.
Day, William f
Duncan, James
Dorin, Jacob
Davis, Thomas
Delany, Daniel
Delany, Daniel, Jr.
Delany, William
Doke, William
Davis, J. H.
Davis, Burrell
Dailey, George
Doherty, John

Dawson, *

Eaton, Charles
Eaton, Nathan
Etchell, James
Emerick, Solomon
Eaker, John W.
Edson, E. G.
Eyres, Miles f
East, John W.
Everman, Niniwon
Ford, Nineveh
Ford, Ephriam
Ford, Nimrod
Ford, John
Francis, Alexander
Frazier, Abner
Frazier, Wm.
Fowler, Wm.
Fowler, Wm. J.
Fowler, Henry
Fairly. Stephen
Fendall, Charles

Gantt, John *
Gray, Chiley B.
Garrison, Enoch
Garrison, J. W.
Garrison, W. J.
Gardner, Samuel
Gardner, Wm.
Gilmore, Mat
Goodman, Richard
Gilpin, Major

Gray,

Haggard, B.
Hide, H. H.
Holmes, Wm.
Holmes, Riley A.
Hobson, John
Hobson, Wm.
Hembree, Andrew
Hembree, J. J.
Hembree, James
Hembree, A. J.
Hall, Samuel B.
Houk, James
Hughes, Wm. P.
Hendrick, Abijah
Hays, James
Hensley, Thomas J. *
Holley, B.
Hunt, Henry
Holderness, S. M.
Hutchins, Isaac
Husted. A.
Hess, Joseph
Haun, Jacob
Howell, John
Howell, Wm.
Howell, Wesley
Howell, G. W.
Howell, Thomas E.
Hill, Henry
Hill, William
Hill, Almoran
Hewett, Henry
Hargrove, Wm.
Hoyt, A.

* Turned off at Fort Hall and went to California.

t Died on the route.

t Turned back at the Platte.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Holman, John
Holman, Daniel
Harrigas, B.
James, Calvin
Jackson, John B.
Jones, John
Johnson, Overton
Keyser, Thomas
Keyser, J. B.
Keyser, Plasant

Kelley,

Kelsey,

Lovejoy, A. L.
Lenox, Edward
Lenox, E.
Layson, Aaron
Looney, Jesse
Long, John E.
Lee, H. A. G.
Lugur, F. i
Linebarger, Lew
Linebarger, John
Laswell, Isaac
Loughborough, J. i.
Little, Milton *

Luther.

Lauderdale, John

McGee, *

Martin, Wm. J.*
Martin, James
Martin, Julius f
McClelland. *

McClelland, F.*
Mills, John B.
Mills, Isaac
Mills, Wm. A.
Mills, Owen
McGarey, G. W.
Mondon, Gilbert
Matheny, Daniel
Matheny, Adam
Matheny, Josiah
Matheny, Henry
Matheny, J. N.

McHaley, John
Myers, Jacob
Manning, John
Manning, James
McCarver, M. M.
McCorcle, George
Mays, William
Millican, Elijah
McDaniel, William
McKissic, D.
Malone, Madison
McClane, John B.
Mauzee, William
Mclntire, John *
Moore, Jackson f
Matney, W. J.
Nesmith, J. W.
Newby, W. T.
Newman, Noah
Naylor, Thomas
Osborn, Neil
O'Brien, Hugh D.
O'Brien, Humphrey
Owen, Thomas A.
Owen, Thomas
Otie, E. W.
Otie, M. B.
O'Neil, Bennett
OHnger, A.
Parker, Jesse
Parker, William
Pennington, J. B.
Poe, R. H.
Paynter, Samuel
Patterson, J. R.
Pickett, Charles E.
Prigg, Frederick
Paine, Clayborn f
Reading, P. B.*
Rodgers, S. P.
Rodgers, G. W.
Russell, William
Roberts, James
Rice. G. W.
Richardson. John

Richardson, Daniel f
Ruby, Philip
Ricord, John
Reid, Jacob
Roe, John
Roberts, Solomon
Roberts, Emseley
Rossin, Joseph
Rivers, Thomas
Smith, Thomas H.
Smith, Thomas
Smith, Isaac W.
Smith, Anderson
Smith, Ahi
Smith, Robert
Smith, Eli
Sheldon, William
Stewart, P. G.
Sutton, Dr. Nathan'l
Stimmerman, C.
Sharp, C.
Summers, W. C.
Sewell, Henry
Stout, Henry
Sterling, George

Stout,

Stevenson,

Mastire, A. J.

♦Turned off at Fort Hall and went to California.
t Died on the route.
{Turned back at the Platte.

Story. James

Swift,

Shively, John M.
Shirly, Samuel
Stoughton, Alex
Spencer, Chancey
Strait, Hiram
Summers, George
Stringer, Cornelius
Stringer, C. W.f
Tharp, Lindsey
Thompson, John
Trainor, D.
Teller, Jeremiah
Tarbox, Stephen
Umnicker, John
Vance, Samuel
Vaughn, William

OLD W ALLA WALLA COUNTY

\ enion, George
\\ iliiiont, James
Wilson, Win. LL
Wair, J. W.
Winkle, Archibald
Williams, Edward
Wheeler, H.
W'asjoner, John

Williams, Benjamin
W illiams, David
Wilson, Wm.
Williams, John *
Williams, James *
Williams, Squire *
Williams, Isaac *
Ward, T. B.

White, James
Watson, John ( Betty)
Waters, James
Winter, William
Waldo, Daniel
W^aldo, David
Zachary, Alexander
Zachary, John

"There were in Oregon at the time the train arrived the following in-
dividuals, a few names, possibly, having been omitted from the list, and the list
not including the various missionaries named elsewhere :

Armstrong, Pleasant
lUirns, Hugh

Brown,

Brown, William

Brown,

Black, J. M.
Baldro,

Balis, James
Bailey, Dr.
Brainard, —

Crawford, Medorem
Carter, David
Campbell, Samuel
Campbell, Jack
Craig, Wm.
Cook, Amos
Cook, Aaron

Connor,

Cannon, William
Davy, Allen
Doty, William
Eakin, Richard
Ebbetts, Squire
Edwards, John
Foster, Philip
Force, John
Force, James
Fletcher, Francis
Gay, George
Gale, Joseph

Girtmann,

Hathaway, Felix
Hatch, Peter H.
Hubbard, Thomas J
Hewitt, Adam
Horegon. Jeremiah
Holman, Joseph
Hall, David
Hoxhurst, Weberly

Hutchinson,

Johnson, William

Kelsey,

King,

Lewis, Reuben
Le Breton, G. W.
Larrison, Jack
Meek, Joseph L.
Matthieu, F. X.
McClure, John
Moss, S. W.
Moore, Robert

McFadden,

McCarty, William
McKay, Charles
McKay, Thomas
McKay, William C.

Morrison,

Alack, J. W.
Newbanks,

Newell, Robert

O'Neil, James A.
Pettygrove, F. W.
Pomeroy, Dwight
Pomeroy, Walter

Perry,

Rimmick, ■

Russell, Osborn
Robb, J. R.
Shortess, Robert
Smith, Sidney

Smith, •

Smith, Andrew
Smith, Andrew, Jr.
Smith, Darling

Spence,

Sailor, Jack
Turnham, Joel
Turner, John
Taylor, Hiram
Tibbetts, Calvin

Trask,

Walker, C. M.
Warner, Jack
Wilson, A. E.
Winslow, David
Wilkins, Caleb
Wood, Henry
Williams, B.

The men in these lists, with their families, constituted the population of
Oregon in 1S43, aside from the Hudson's Bay Company people.

Doctor Whitman himself wrote several valuable letters referring to the

* Turned off at Fort Hall and went to California.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 75

immigration of 1843. The most important of these was one to the Secretary of
War, inclosing a proposed bill for a line of forts across the plains to defend
immigrations. This letter has such an important bearing on the whole story of
Whitman and his connection with the immigration and the acquisition of Oregon
that it is incorporated here. And we would submit to the reader the difficulty
which any candid critic would experience in examining this letter and then deny-
ing Whitman's part in "saving Oregon to the United States." Whitman's letter
was found among the files of the War Department, with the following endorse-
ment:

"Marcus Whitman inclosing synopsis of a bill, with his views in reference to
importance of the Oregon Territory, War. 383 — rec. June 22, 1844."

Portions of the letter follow:
"To the Hon. James M. Porter,
Secretary of War.

"Sir: In compliance with the request you did me the honor to make last
winter, while in Washington, I herewith transmit to you the synopsis of a bill
which, if it could be adopted, would, according to my experience and observation,
prove highly conducive to the best interests of the United States generally, to
Oregon, where I have resided for more than seven years as a missionary, and
to the Indian tribes that inhabit the immediate country. The Government will
now, doubtless for the first time, be apprised through you, or by means of this
communication, of the immense immigration of families to Oregon which has
taken place this year. I have, since our interview, been instrumental in piloting
across the route described in the accompanying bill, and which is the only eligible
wagon road, no less than three hundred families, consisting of one thousand per-
sons of both sexes, with their wagons, amounting to 120, 694 oxen, and ']']2i loose
cattle.

"The emigrants are from different states, but principally from Missouri,
Arkansas, Illinois and New York. The majority of them are farmers, lured by
the prospect of bounty in lands, by the reported fertility of the soil, and by the
desire to be first among those who are planting our institutions on the Pacific
Coast. Among them are artisans of every trade, comprising, with farmers, the
very best material for a new colony. As pioneers, these people have undergone
incredible hardships, and having now safely passed the Blue Mountain Range
with their wagons and efifects, have established a durable road from Missouri to
Oregon, which will serve to mark permanently the route of larger numbers each
succeeding year, while they have practically demonstrated that wagons drawn by
horses or oxen can cross the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River, contrary
to all the sinister assertions of all those who pretended it to be impossible.

"In their slow progress, these persons have encountered, as in all former in-
stances, and as all succeeding emigrants must, if this or some similar bill be not
passed by Congress, the continual fear of Indian aggression, the actual loss
through them of horses, cattle and other property, and the great labor of trans-
porting an adequate amount of provisions for so long a journey. The bill here-
with proposed would, in a great measure, lessen these inconveniences by the
establishment of posts, which, while having the possessed power to keep the
Indians in check, thus doing away with the necessity of military vigilance on the

76 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

part of the traveler by day and night, would be able to furnish them in transit
with fresh supplies of provisions, diminishing the original burdens of the emi-
grants, and finding thus a ready and profitable market for their produce — a market
that would, in my opinion, more than suffice to defray all the current expenses of
such pKDsts. The present party is supposed to have expended no less than $2,000
at Laramie's and Bridger's Forts, and as much more at Fort Hall and Fort Boise,
two of the Hudson's Bay Company's stations. These are at present the only stop-
ping places in a journey of 2,200 miles, and the only place where additional su\>-
plies can be obtained, even at the enormous rate of charge, called mountain
prices, i. e., $50 the hundred for flour and $50 the hundred for coffee ; the same
for sugar, powder, etc.

"Many cases of sickness and some deaths took place among those who accom-
plished the journey this season, owing, in a great measure, to the uninterrupted use'
of meat, salt and fresh, with flour, which constitute the chief articles of food
they are able to convey on their wagons, and this could be obviated by the
vegetable productions which the posts in contemplation could very profitably
afford them. Those who rely on hunting as an auxiliary support, are at present
unable to have their arms repaired when out of order; horses and oxen become
tender-footed and require to be shod on this long journey, sometimes repeatedly,
and the wagons repaired in a variety of ways. I mention these as valuable in-
cidents to the proposed measure, as it will also be found to tend in many other
incidental ways to benefit the migratory population of the United States choosing
to take this direction, and on these accounts, as well as for the immediate use of
the posts themselves, they ought to be provided with the necessary shops and
mechanics, which would at the same time exhibit the several branches of civilized
art to the Indians.

"The outlay in the first instance would be but trifling. Forts like those of the
Hudson's Bay Company, surrounded by walls enclosing all the buildings, and
constructed almost entirely of adobe, or sun-dried bricks, with stone foundations
only, can be easily and cheaply erected. * * *

"Your familiarity with the Government policy, duties and interest render it
unnecessary for me to more than hint at the several objects intended by the en-
closed bill, and any enlargement upon the topics here suggested as inducements
to its adoption would be quite superfluous, if not impertinent. The very exist-
ence of such a system as the one above recommended suggests the utility of post-
offices 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 days, with fresh horses at each
of the contemplated posts. The ruling policy proposed regards the Indians as the
police of the country, 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 superintendents of the several posts, aided by a well-directed
system 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 conspirators against
the peace, or punished accordingly by force of arms.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 77

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

"Your obedient servant,

"Marcus Whitman."

It may be added that Whitman was so thoroughly interested in the idea of the
line of forts across the continent that he wrote another communication to the
Secretary of War from Waiilatpu in 1847, October i6th, only about six weeks
before his murder, setting forth with similar force and clearness the wisdom of
such a system.

During the four years that followed the coming of the "Great Immigration,"
the mission at Waiilatpu was a center of light and help to the incoming immigra-
tions. Many incidents have been preserved showing the industry, fortitude, and
open-handed philanthropy of the Whitmans. The earlier immigration usually
stopped at Waiilatpu, coming across the country in the vicinity of the present
location of Athena and Weston and down Pine Creek to the Walla Walla. The
immigrants were always short of provisions and generally had no money. To
have a stock of provisions at all equal to emergencies put a tremendous strain on
Doctor Whitman, and nobly did he meet the needs. Among many instances of
the helping hand of the missionaries are two given in Eells' life of Whitman
which we give as illustrative of many that might be given.

"Among the immigrants of 1844 was a man named Sager, who had a family
consisting of his wife and seven children, between the ages of infancy and thir-
teen. The father died of typhoid fever on Green River, and the mother sank
under her burdens when she reached Snake River and there died. The immigrants
cared for the children until they reached Doctor Whitman's, but would take
them no farther. The doctor and his wife took the strangers in at first for the
winter, but afterward adopted them and cared for them as long as they lived.

"Mrs. C. S. Pringle, one of these children, afterwards gave the following
account of this event. It was written in answer to a charge made by Mrs. F. F.
Victor that the doctor was mercenary, making money out of the immigrants:
'In April, 1844, my parents started for Oregon. Soon after starting we were all
camped for the night, and the conversation after awhile turned upon the probability
of death before the end of the journey should be reached. All told what they
would wish their families to do in case they should fall by the way. My father
said: 'Well, if I should die, I would want my family to stop at the station of
Doctor Whitman.' Ere long he was taken sick and died, but with his dying breath
he committed his family to the care of Captain Shaw, with the request that they
should be left at the station of Doctor Whitman. Twenty-six days after his death
his wife died. She, too, requested the same. When we were in the Blue Moun-
tains, Captain Shaw went ahead to see about leaving us there. The doctor ob-
jected, as he was afraid the board would not recognize that as a part of his labor.
After a good deal of talk he consented to have the children brought, and he would
see what could be done. On the 17th day of October we drove up to the station,
as forlorn a looking lot of children as ever was. I was a cripple, hardly able to
walk, and the babe of six months was dangerously ill. Mrs. Whitman agreed to
take the five girls, but the boys must go on (they were the oldest of the family).
But the 'mercenary' doctor said, 'All or none.' He made arrangements to keep

7S OLD WAl.l.A WAI.l.A COUNTY

the seven until spring, and then if we did not like to stay, and he did not want
to keep us. he would send us below. An article of agreement was drawn up in
writing between him and Captain Shaw, but not one word of money or pay was
in it. 1 had it in my possession for years after I came to the (Willamette) Val-
ley, having received it from Captain Shaw. Before Captain Shaw reached The
Dalles he was overtaken by Doctor Whitman, who announced his intention of
adopting the seven, on his own responsibility, asking nothing of the Board for
maintenance. The next summer he went to Oregon City and legally became our
guardian, and the action is on the records of Clackamas County. Having done
this, he further showed his mercenary nature by disposing of our father's estate
in such a way that he could not realize a cent froni it. He exchanged the oxen
and old cows for young cows, and turned them over to the two boys to manage
until they should grow to manhood ; besides this, he gave them each a horse and
saddle, which, of course, came out of his salary, as we were not mission children,
as the three half-breeds were that were in the family. After doing all this he
allowed the boys opportunities to accumulate stock by work or trade. Often he
has said to us, 'You must all learn to work, for father is poor and can give you
nothing but an education. This I intend to do to the best of my ability.'

"Another incident with an immigrant is here related, given almost in the
w^ords of the narrator, Joseph Smith, who came to the country in 1846. He says :
I was mighty sick crossing the Blues, and was so weak from eating blue mass
that they had to haul me in the wagon till we got to Doctor Whitman's place on
the Walla Walla River. Then Mother Whitman came and raised the wagon cover
and says, 'What is the matter with you, my brother?' 'I am sick, and I don't
want to be pestered much, either.' 'But, but, my young friend, my husband is
a doctor, and can probably cure your ailment; I'll go and call him.' So off she
clattered, and purty soon Doc. came, and they packed me in the cabin, and soon
he had me on my feet again. I eat up a whole band of cattle for him, as I had
to winter with him. I told him I'd like to work for him, to kinder pay part of my
bill, ^\'all, Doc. set me to making rails, but I only made two hundred before
spring, and I got to worryin' 'cause I hadn't only fifty dollars and a saddle horse,
and I reckoned I owed the doctor four or five hundred dollars for my life. Now,
maybe I wasn't knocked out when I went and told the doctor I wanted to go on to
Webfoot and asked him how we stood ; and doctor p'inted to a Cayuse pony, and
says, 'Money I have not, but you can take that horse and call it even, if you
will.' "

It is worth noticing that though Mr. Smith says "Alother" W'hitman, she was
only thirty-eight at the time.

But at that time, the very year of the final consummation of the great work
of Whitman, the treaty of 1846, giving Oregon up to latitude 49° to the United
States, a consummation which must have made the brave hearts of the heroic
pair thrill with joy and gratitude, the shadow was approaching, the end was near.
The crown of heroism and service must be still further crowned with martyrdom.
Even since the death of little Alice, the Indians at Waiilatpu had seemed to lose
in growing measure the personal interest which they had manifested. With the
coming of constantly growing immigrations and the apparent eagerness of the
whites to secure land, the natives felt increasing suspicion. The more thoughtful
of them, especially those who had been in the "States" and had seen the countless

OLD \\'ALLA WALLA COUNTY 79

numbers of the "'Pale-faces," began to see that it was only a question of time when
they would be entirely dispossessed. Again, the unavoidable policies of the Hud-
son's Bay Company were hostile to the American settler. While as kind and
courteous to the missionaries as men well could be and helpful to them in their
religious labors, it was a different matter when it came to settlers swarming into
the country with the Stars and Stripes at the head of wagon trains and with the
implements of husbandry in their hands. The Indians were predisposed for many
reasons to side with the company. With it they did their trading. It preserved
the wild conditions of the country. The French-Canadian voyageurs and cour-
eurs des bois were much kinder and more considerate of the Indians than the
Americans and intermarried with them. Besides those general causes of hostility
to the Americans, there were certain specific events during that period of doubt
and suspicion which brought affairs to a focus and precipitated the tragedy of the
Whitman Massacre. Some have believed that the murder of "Elijah" (as the
whites called him), the son of Peupeumoxmox, the chief of the Walla Wallas,
apparently a fine, manly young Indian, was a strong contributory cause. The
young brave had gone to California in 1844 and while near Sutter's Fort had
become involved in a dispute with some white settlers and had been brutally mur-
dered. The old chief Peupeumoxmox had brooded over this dastardly deed, and
though there is no evidence that he had any part in the massacre, there was deep
resentment among the Indians of the Walla Walla Valley and no doubt many of
them were in the mood to apply the usual Indian rule that a life lost demanded
a life in payment. Apparently the most immediate influence leading to Ihe mas-
sacre was due to an epidemic of measles which swept the valley in 1847. Doctor
Whitman was indefatigable in ministering to the sick, but many died. The im-
pression became prevalent among the Indians that they were the victims of poison.
This idea was nurtured in their minds by several renegade Indians and half-
breeds, of whom Lehai, Tom Hill, and Jo Lewis were most prominent.

Seeing the gathering of clouds about the mission and the many warning indi-
cations, Doctor Whitman had taken up the project of leaving Walla Walla and
going to The Dalles, a point where he had in fact at first wished to locate, but had
been dissuaded by the Hudson's Bay Company officials. The story of the mas-
sacre has been many times told and may be found in many forms. We can but
briefly sketch its leading events. Mr. Spalding of Lapwai was temporarily at
Waiilatpu, and on November 27, 1847, he and Doctor Whitman went to the
Umatilla in response to a request for medical attention. Feeling uneasy about
affairs at home. Doctor Whitman returned on the next day, reaching Waiilatpu
late at night. On the following day, the 29th, while engaged with his medicine
chest, two Indians, who seem to have been leaders in the plot, approached him,
and while one, Tilaukait, drew his attention by talking, the other, Tamahas, struck
him with a tomahawk. He fell senseless, though not yet dead. Jo Lewis seems
to have directed the further execution of the cruel conspiracy and soon Mrs.
Whitman, shot in the breast, fell to the floor, though not dying for some time.
She was the only woman slain. There were in all fourteen victims of this dread-
ful attack. Several escaped, Mr. Spalding, who was on his way back from the
Umatilla, being one of them. After several days and nights of harrowing suffer-
ing, he reached Lapwai. There were forty-six survivors of the massacre, nearly
all women and children. Many of these are said to have been subjected to cruelty

80 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

and outrage worse than death, though it may he noted that some of the few Hving
survivors of the present date deny the common opinion. They were ransomed
by Peter Skeen Ogden of the Hudson's Bay Company, and transjxirted to the
Willamette X'alley. The full story of the war which follows belongs in the suc-
ceeding chapter.

So ended in darkness, but not in shame, the mission at Waiilatpu. The
peaceful spot six miles west of Walla Walla, in the midst of the fair and fruit-
ful valley, is marked with a granite monument on the summit of the hill, "and a
grave at the foot. There the dust of the martyrs rests in a plain marble crypt
upon the surface of which appear their names. It is indeed one of the most
sacred spots in the Northwest, suggestive of patriotism, devotion, self-sacrifice,
suffering, sorrow, tragedy, and final triumph. In November, 1916, the remains
of W. H. Gray and Mary Dix Gray, his wife, were removed from Astoria and
placed in the grave at Waiilatpu. As associates from the first of the Whitmans,
and engaged in the same arduous struggle for the establishment of civilized and
Christian institutions in this beautiful wilderness, they are fittingly joined with
them in their final resting place.

By reason of priority in time as well as its connection with immigration and
public affairs, and also its tragic end, and perhaps, too, the controversies that
have arisen in connection with it, the Whitman Mission has secured a place in
history far more prominent than that of any other, either east or west of the
Cascade Mountains. But it should not be forgotten that within a short time after
the incoming of white settlers, all the leading churches sent missionaries into the
Northwest, both for the Indians and whites. Next in point of time after the
Methodist missions of the Willamette Valley and the Presbyterian and Congre-
gational missions of the Upper Columbia and Snake rivers, came the Catholic.
It should be understood that in speaking of that church as third in time, we speak
of the era of the beginnings of settlement. For it should be remembered that
there had been visiting Catholic priests among the Hudson's Bay posts long prior
to the coming of Jason Lee, the first of the Protestants. The French-Canadians
were almost universally of Catholic rearing, and the officers of the company en-
couraged the maintenance of religious worship and instruction according to the
customary methods. There were not, however, any regiilar permanent Catholic
missions until a little after the Protestant missions already described. The inau-
guration of regular mission work by the Catholic Church grew out of the planting
of a settlement at Champoeg on the Willamette by Doctor McLoughlin during
the years from 1829 on. Quite a little group of retired Hudson's Bay Company
men, French-Canadians with Indian wives and half-breed children, became located
on the fertile tract still known as French Prairie. So well had the settlement
thrived that in 1834, the year of the arrival of Jason Lee in the same neighbor-
hood, an application was made to Doctor Provencher, Vicar Apostolic of Hudson
Bay, to send a clergyman to that point. Not till 1837 could the request be ful-
filled. In that year Rev. Modeste Demers went to the Red River, and the follow-
ing year, in company with Rev. Francis N. Blanchet, resumed the journey to
Oregon. In the progress of their journey they stopped at Walla Walla for a day.
Reaching Vancouver on November 24, 1838. they entered with zeal and devotion
upon their task of ministering both to the whites and Indians. Remaining at Van-
couver till January, 1839. Father Blanchet started on a regular course of visita-

WHITMAN ilOXr.MICXT

AT WAIILATI'U,
WALLA WALLA

SL\ MILJ:S WEST OF

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 81

tions, going first to the settlement on the Willamette where there were twenty-six
Catholic families and where the people had already constructed a chapel. Next
he visited Cowlitz Prairie, where there were four families. These stations were, of
course, outside of the scope of the present work, but reference to them indi-
cates the time and place and manner of starting the great series of Catholic mis-
sions which soon became extended all over Oregon. While Father Blanchet was
at Cowlitz, his fellow worker, Demers, started on an extended tour of the upper
Columbia region. In the course of this he visited Walla Walla, Okanogan, and
Colville, starting work among the Indians by baptizing their children. From that
time on Father Demers or some one of the Jesuit priests made annual visits to
Walla Walla, adding children by baptism each year. In the meantime another of
the most important of the Catholic missionaries, and the one to whom the world
is indebted for one of the best histories of Oregon missions, was on his way.
This was Rev. Father Pierre J. De Smet. In March, 1840, he set out for Oregon
from the St. Joseph Mission at Council Bluffs, journeying by the Platte River
route. On June 25th he reached Green River, long known as a rendezvous of
the fur-traders. There he held mass for the trappers and Indians. Referring
to this in a subsequent letter he writes thus : "On Sunday, the 5th of July, I had
the consolation of celebrating the Holy Sacrifice sub dio. The altar was placed
on an elevation, and surrounded with boughs and garlands of flowers; I ad-
dressed the congregation in French and inv English and spoke also by an inter-
preter to the Flatheads and Snake Indiatis. It was a spectacle truly moving for
the heart of a missionary to behold an assembly composed of so many different
nations who all assisted at our holy jmysteries with great satisfaction. The
Canadians sang hymns in French and Latfrt.'ahU'the Indians in their native tongue.
It was truly a Catholic worship. The place has been called since that time by the
French-Canadians, la prairie de la Messe."

After a week at the Green River rendezvous, Father De Smet with his
Indian guides resumed the journey westward by way of the Three Tetons to the
upper waters of Snake River. While at Henry Lake he climbed a lofty peak
from which he could see in both directions and while there he carved on a stone
the words: "Sanctus Ignatius, Patronus Montium, Die Julii 23, 1840." That was
as far west as Father De Smet went at that time. After two months among
the Flatheads about the head of Snake River, he returned to St. Louis in the last
part of the year. One point of interest in connection with this return, as showing
the disposition of the Indians to seek religious instruction, is that a certain Flat-
head chief named Insula who accompanied Father De Smet to St. Louis, had
gone to Green River in 1835 to meet missionaries. It is stated by Rev. Father E.
V. O'Hara in his valuable "Catholic History of Oregon" that Insula was much
disappointed to find, not the "black-gowns" as he had expected, but Doctor
Whitman and Doctor Parker on their reconnaissance. It is probably impossible
to determine just what distinction between different denominations of Christians
may have existed in the Indian mind, but it may be recalled that Whitman and
Parker while at Green River deemed the outlook so encouraging that they decided
that Whitman should return to the "States" for reinforcements, while Parker
went on with the Indians and made an extensive exploration of the entire Oregon
country. Father De Smet returned to the Flathead mission in 1841 and in 1842
proceeded to Vancouver by way of the Spokane. In the course of the journey

82 OLD WALLA W ALLA COL'XTY

he visited all the principal Indian tribes in the Kootenai, Pend Oreille, Coeur d'
Alene, and Spokane countries. In the progress of this journey he made a brief
visit at Walla Walla. Returning to the East after twenty-five months of mis-
sionary ser\ice in Oregon and then spending some time in Europe, he returned
with quite a reinforcement in the ship "L'Infatigable" in 1844. The ship was
nearly wrecked on the Columbia River bar, and of the experience De Smet gives
a peculiarly vivid description. He deemed the final safe entrance due to special
interposition of Divine Providence on account of the day, July 31st, being sacred
to St. Ignatius. Father De Smet was a vivid and interesting writer and a zealous
missionan,'. He greatly overestimated the number of Indians in Oregon, placing
them at a hundred and ten thousand and in equal ratio estimated the converts at
numbers hardly possible except by the most sweeping estimates.

The Catholic missions were gradually extended until they covered points in
the entire Xorthwest. The bishop of Oregon was Rev. Francis N. Blanchet who
was located near Salem. In 1845 ^"d 1846 he made an extensive tour in Canada
and Europe for the purpose of securing reinforcements. As a result of his
journey and the action of the Holy See the Vicariate was erected into an eccle-
siastical province with the three Sees of Oregon City, Walla Walla, and Van-
couver Island. Rev. A. M. A. Blanchet was appointed bishop of Walla Walla,
and Father Demers bishop of Vancouver Island, while Bishop F. N. Blanchet was
promoted to the position of archbishop of Oregon City. Bishop A. M. A.
Blanchet reached Fort Walla Walla on September 4, 1847, having come with a
wagon train by the usual emigrant road from St. Louis. This might be regarded
as the regular establishment of Catholic missions in Walla Walla. The bishop
was accompanied to Walla Walla by four oblate fathers of Marseilles and
Father J. B. A. Brouillet as vicar general, and also by Father Rousseau and
Wm. Leclaire, deacon. Bishop Blanchet located among the Umatilla Indians
at the home of Five Crows. The mission was fairly established only a few days
prior to the Whitman Massacre. Bishop Blanchet went to Oregon City after
the massacre and by reason of the Indian war he found it impossible to return
to Walla Walla. He established St. Peter's Mission at The Dalles, and there he
remained till September, 1850. During that year there came instructions from
Rome to transfer the bishop of Walla Walla to the newly established diocese
of Nesqually. The diocese of Walla Walla was suppressed and its administra-
tion merged with that of Colville and Fort Hall in the control of the archbishop
of Oregon City.

That event might be considered as closing the missionary stage of Catholic
missions in Walla Walla, though Father Brouillet remained into the period of
settlement and in conjunction with Father Arvidius junger, founded the Catholic
Church at Walla Walla of what may be called the modern period. There was
during the period of the Hudson's Bay Company and of the Indian wars, a
location at Frenchtown, known as St. Rose Mission. There was a little church
building there until a few years ago.

With the period of Indian wars it may be said that the missionar)' era ended
and after that sanguinary interim the modern period began in Walla Walla.

Archbishop Francis N. Blanchet, 1838

Rev. J. B. A. Brouillet. 1847 Bishop Morleste Deniers, 1838

Bisli(i|) A. M. A. Blaneliet. 1847

EARLY fATHoLIC MISSIOXARIES

CHAPTER VI
INDIAN WARS AND OPENING OF COUNTRY TO SETTLEMENT

In the preceding chapter we have narrated the Whitman Massacre. It was
followed by the first of the succession of wars which desolated Old Oregon for
about eleven years. During that time Walla Walla, as well as the other parts
east of the mountains, was swept clean of white settlers. Not till the public
proclamation of opening Eastern Oregon by General Clarke in 1858 and the
beginnings of immigration in the next year can the epoch of Indian wars be said
to have ended.

The war following the Whitman Massacre may be taken as the starting point
of this chapter. Great praise must be accorded to the Hudson's Bay Company's
people for promptness and efficiency in meeting the immediate emergency. Dr.
John McLoughlin, with whom we have become acquainted in earlier chapters, had
retired from the company and made his hom€ at Oregon City. This truly great
man, a man for whom no conimendatian, seems too' strong in the minds of the
old-timers, had been deciding during the year's following the advent of the mis-
sionaries that American possession of-Oregor; was infeVrtable and that in order to
ally himself with the future he should' -become 'an' American. His humane and
liberal policy toward the American immigrants w-as. disapproved by the company
in London, and in 1844 James Douglas was appointed to succeed him. The good
doctor thereby not only lost what was then and in those conditions a princely
salary, $12,000 per year, but was charged by the company for the large supplies
which he had advanced to the Americans, who in many cases were unable to pay.
Moving to the Falls of the Willamette where he had taken up a valuable claim,
he started the process of naturalization. But after the Treaty of 1846, his claim
was contested by the representative of the Methodist ^Mission, Rev. A. F. Waller,
and the first territorial delegate to Congress, Samuel R. Thurston, was chosen
largely on the platform of hostility to the Hudson's Bay Company and the British
in general, and he secured a provision in the Congressional land law debarring
anyone who had not acquired his final naturalization from holding a donation
claim. This law deprived Doctor McLoughlin of the main part of his property.
It was a cruel blow. He said with grief and bitterness that he had intended in
good faith to become an American citizen, but found that he was rejected by
the British and not received by the Americans and was practically a man without
a country. It may truthfully be said that he died of a broken heart. It is
gratifying to remember that the Oregon Legislature, recognizing the injustice,
made amends by restoring his land claim. But this action came too late to do
the "Old King of Oregon" any good. We have digressed to make this reference
to Doctor McLoughlin, inasmuch as his change of location and condition occurred
just prior to the Oregon Treaty and the \\'hitman Alassacre. James Douglas,

84 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

the new Chief Factor, while not at all equal in breadth and philanthropy to Doctor
McLoughlin, was an energetic and efficient manager. Upon learning of the
tragedy at Waiilatpu he immediately dispatched Peter Skeen Ogden to rescue the
survivors. As narrated in Chapter Five, Ogden performed his duty with prompt-
ness and success, and as a result the pitiful little company, almost entirely women
and children, were conveyed to the Willamette Valley, where nearly all of
them made their homes. A number of them are still living in different parts of
the Northwest.

When the tidings of the massacre reached the Willamette Valley, then the
chief settlement in Oregon, there was an immediate response by the brave men
who were carrying in that trying time the responsibility of the government of the
scattered little community. And yet the situation was a peculiar and difficult
one. The formal treaty placing Oregon within possession of the United States
had legally set aside the Provisional Government. But Congress was absorbed,
as it frequently has been, in furthering the little schemes of individual members,
or in promoting the progress of slaverj- or some other tyrannical and corrupt
interest, and hence had done nothing to establish a territorial government. In
the emergency the Provisional Government assembled on December 9th and
provided for a force of fourteen companies of Oregon volunteers to move imme-
diately to the hostile country. Every feature of equipment had to be secured
by personal contribution, and the services of the men were purely voluntary. It
was a characteristic American frontiersmen's army and movement. Several men
well known in Walla Walla and vicinity took part in this campaign. The com-
mander of the force was Cornelius Gilliam, an immigrant of 1845 from Missouri.
His son, W. S. Gilliam, was one of the best known and noblest of the pioneers
of Walla Walla County. He was truly one of the builders of this region. Daniel
Stewart, Ninevah Ford, W^illiam Martin, and W. W. Walter were among the
citizens of the Walla Walla country and adjoining region who were in that historic
army of the Cayuse war. While we shall not usually load this work with lists of
names or other purely statistical matter, yet in the belief that the list of volunteers
in the Cayuse war may have a permanent reference value to possessors of this
volume, we are including here such a list derived from the "History of the
Pacific Northwest," publised by the North Pacific Publishing Co. of Portland
in 1889:

First Company, Oregon Rifles : Captain, Henry A. G. Lee ; first lieutenant,
Joseph Magone ; second lieutenant, John E. Ross ; surgeon, W. W. Carpenter ;
orderly sergeant, J. S. Rinearson ; first duty sergeant, J. H. McMillan ; second
duty sergeant, C. \\'. Savage; third duty sergeant, S. Cummings; fourth duty
sergeant, William Berry ; privates, John Little, Joel McKee, J. W. Morgan, Joseph
B. Proctor, Samuel K. Barlow, John Richardson, Ed Marsh, George Moore, Isaac

Walgamot, Jacob Johnson, John Lassater, Edward Robeson, B. B. Rodgers,

Shannon, A. J. Thomas, R. S. Tupper, O. Tupper, Joel Witchey, G. W. Weston,
George Wesley, John Flemming, John G. Gibson, Henry Leralley, Nathan Olney,

Barnes, J. H. Bosworth, Wm. Beekman, Benjamin Bratton, John Balton,

Henry W. Coe, John C. Danford, C. H. Derendorf, David Everst, John Finner,

James Kester, Pugh (killed by Indians near the Dalles in a skirmish),

Jackson (killed in a skirmish near the Dalles). John Callahan, Alex McDonald

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 85

(killed by a sentry, who mistook him for an Indian at the camp on the east side of
the Des Chutes). Forty-eight men.

Second Company: Captain, Lawrence Hall; first lieutenant, H. D. O'Bryant;
second lieutenant, John Engart; orderly sergeant, William Sheldon; duty ser-
geants, William Stokes, Peter S. Engart, Thos. R. Cornelius, Sherry Ross ; Color-
bearer, Gilbert Mondon ; privates, A. Engart, Thos. Fleming, D. C. Smith, W. R.
Noland, Jos. W. Scott, G. W. Smith, A. Kinsey, John N. Donnie, A. C. Brown,
F. H. Ramsey, S. A. Holcomb, A. Stewart, Wm. Milbern, A. Kennedy, Oliver
Lowden, H. N. Stephens, P. G. Northrup, W. W. Walter, J. Z. Zachary, Sam Y.
Cook, J. J. Garrish, Thos. Kinsey, J. S. Scoggin, Noah Jobe, D. Shumake, J. N.
Green, J. Elliot, W. Williams, John Holgate, R. Yarborough, Robert Walker,
J. Butler, I. W. Smith, J. W. Lingenfelter, J. H. Lienberger, A. Lienberger, Sam
Gethard, John Lousingnot, A. Williams, D. Harper, S. C. Cummings, S. Fergu-
son, Marshall Martin.

Third Company: Captain, John W. Owen; first lieutenant, Nathaniel Bow-
man; second lieutenant, Thomas Shaw; orderly sergeant, J. C. Robison; duty
sergeants, Benj. J. Burch; J. H. Blankenship, James M. Morris, Robert Smith;
privates, George W. Adams, William Athey, John Baptiste, Manly Curry, Jesse
Clayton, John Dinsmore, Nathan English, John Fiester, Jesse Gay, Lester Hulan,
Stephen Jenkins, J. Larkin, Joshua McDonald, Thomas Pollock, J. H. Smith, S.

P. Thornton, William Wilson, Benjamin Allen, Ira Bowman, Currier, George

Chapel, William Doke, Linnet, T. Dufield, Squire Elembough, Henry Fuller,

D. H. Hartley, Fleming R. Hill, James Keller, D. M. McCumber, E. AIcDonald,
Edward Robinson, Chris. Stemermon, Joseph Wilbert, T. R. Zumwalt, Charles
Zummond.

Fourth Company: Captain, H. J. G. Maxon; first lieutenant, G. N. Gilbert;
second lieutenant, Wm. P. Hughes; orderly sergeant, Wm. R. Johnson; duty
sergeants, O. S. Thomas, T. M. Buckner, Daniel Stewart, Joseph R. Ralston ;
]3rivates, Andrew J. Adams, John Beattie, Charles Blair, John R. Coatney, Reuben
Crowder, John W. Crowel, Manly Danforth, Harvey Graus, Albert H. Fish,
John Feat, Andrew Gribble, Wm. Hawkins, Rufus Johnson, John W. Jackson,
y. H. Loughlin, Davis Lator, John Miller, John Patterson, Richard Pollard, Wm.
Robison, Asa Stone, Thos. Allphin, Wm. Bunton, Henry Blacker, Wm. Chapman.
Samuel Chase, Sam Cornelius, James Dickson, S. D. Earl, Joseph Earl, D. O.
Garland, Richmond Hays, Coalman Hubbard, Isaiah M. Johns, S. B. Knox,
Tames H. Lewis, Horace Martin, John McCoy, James Officer, Henry Pellet, Wm.
Russell, John Striethofif, A. M. Baxster, D. D. Burroughs, Samuel Clark, John
M. Cantrel, Asi Cantrel, Albert G. Davis, S. D. Durbin, Samuel Fields, Rezin
D. Foster, Isaac M. Foster, Horace Hart, Wm. Hock, Wm. A. Jack, Elias
Kearney, James KiUingsworth, Isaac Morgan, N. G. McDonnell, Madison McCully,
Frederick Paul, Wm. M. Smith, H. M. Smith, Jason Wheeler, John Vaughn,
Reuben Striethofif, Wm. \'aughn, Wm. Shirley.

Fifth Company: Captain, Philip F. Thompson; first lieutenant, James A.
Brown; second lieutenant, Joseph M. Garrison; orderly sergeant, George E.
Frazer; duty sergeants, A. Garrison, A. S. Welton, Jacob Greer, D. D. Dostins;
privates, Martin P. Brown, William A. Culberson, Harrison Davis, James Elec-
trels, William Fads, Alvin K. Fox, William J. Garrison, William Hailey, John
A. Johnson, J. D. Richardson, Martin Wright, William Smith, E. T. Stone,

86 OLD W ALl.A W ALLA COUXTY

John 'J"lioiiii)son, H. C. Johnson, Joseph Kenny, Henry Kearney, Jacob Leabo,
Daniel Malheny, Wilhani McKay, John Orchard, John B. Rowland, John Copen-
hagen, Bird Davis. John Eldridge, John Faron, C. B. Gray, Robert Harmon,
James O. Henderson. Green Rowland, William Rogers, Thomas Wilson, William
D. Stillwell, William Shepard, Alfred Jobe, T. J. Jackson, Jesse Cadwallader,
Andrew Layson, J. C. Matheny, Adam Matheny, Charles P. Matt, James Pack-
wood, Clark Rogers.

McKay's Company: Captain, Thomas McKay; first lieutenant, Charles
McKay; second lieutenant, Alexander McKay; orderly sergeant, Edward Dupuis;
duty sergeants, George Montour, Baptiste Dorio, David Crawford, Gideon Pion;
privates, John Spence, Louis Laplante, Augustine Russie, Isaac Gervais, Louis
Montour, Alexis Vatrais, Joseph Paino, Jno. Cunningham, Jno. Gros, Louis Joe
Lenegratly, Antoine Poisier, Antoine Plante, Pierre Lacourse, Ashby Pearce,
Antoine Lafaste, Nathan English, Charles Edwards, Gideon Gravelle, Chas.
Corveniat, Antoine Bonanpaus, Nicholas Bird, Francis Dupres, William Torrie,
Thomas Purvis, A. J. Thomas, J. H. Bigler, Mongo Antoine Ansure, Narcisse
Montiznie, Edward Crete.

English's Company : Captain, Levin N. English ; first lieutenant, William
Shaw; second lieutenant, F. ^L Munkers; orderly sergeant, William Martin;
duty sergeants, Hiram English, George Shaw, Thomas Boggs, L. J. Rector ;
privates, Jackson Adams, L. N. Aljel, William Burton, Joseph Crauk, John Down-
ing, Thos. T. Eyre. R. D. Foster, Alexander Gage, Thomas Gregory, G. W.
Howell, Fales Howard, J. H. Lewis, N. G. McDonald, James Officer, Joseph
Pearson, Jackson Rowell, William Simmons, Lewis Stewart, Charles Roth, Daniel
Waldo, George Wesley, William \'aughn, L. N. English, Jr., Nineveh Ford,
Albert Fish, A. Gribble, Samuel Senters, Thomas Wigger, Richard Hays, Wesley
Howell, Richard Jenkins, G. H. March, William Medway, J. R. Payne, Benjamin
Simpson, Alexander York.

Martin's Company: Captain, William Martin; first lieutenant, A. E. Gar-
rison; second lieutenant, David Waldo; orderly sergeant, Ludwell J. Rector;
duty sergeants, William Cosper, Fales Howard, Joseph Sylvester, Benjamin
Wright ; privates, J. Albright, H. Burdon, T. J. Blair, Joseph Borst, George Crab-
tree, Joseph Crauk, Wesley Cook, Samuel Center, John Cox, John Eads, Parnel
Fowler, S. M. Crover, John Kaiser, Clark S. Pringle, Israel Wood, Lewis Stewart.
Pleasant C. Kaiser, Thomas Canby, Sidney S. Ford, William Melawers, A. N.
Rainwater, B. F. Shaw, Wm. Waldo, Silas G. Pugh, G. H. Vernon, Isaiah
Matheny, Thomas T. Eyre, John C. Holgate.

Shaw's Company : Captain, William Shaw ; first lieutenant, David Crawford ;
second lieutenant, Baptiste C. Dorio; orderly sergeant, Absalom M. Smith; duty
sergeants, George Laroque, Vatall Bergeren. George W. Shaw, Charles McKay ;
privates, John H. Bigler, O. Crum, Joseph Despont, William Felix, Xavier Plante,
Eli Viliell, F. M. Mankis, Antonio Plante, Charles Edwards, Andrew Heeber,
Xavier Gervais, David Jones. John Pecares, Samuel Kinsey, Joseph Pearson,
William Towie, Peter Jackson. .Alexander Laborain. William McMillen. B. F.
Nichols, Hiram Smead. William Marill, Francis Poiecor. George Westley.

Garrison's Company: Captain. J. M. Garrison: first lieutenant, A. E. Gar-
rison; second lieutenant, John C. Herren ; orderly sergeant. J. B. Kaiser: duty
sergeants, George Crabtree, George Laroque, Joseph Colester; privates, E. Bier-

»— 1 1^ :!.

-Ji — —

S^2H

(-'

-. ^- -;

^ So cr

=7- 3 - -.
o oq B S

iiig
era
wa

desi

a o C = .

tip vj o

2 £-N,2

2-2 ml

2 '1! > 2

^ S

rjj

§3

o o

03 c; ._: ^

§=■

rj: = ' -I

2 ^ <_-::;

C-SS2 -

te-

-^ J ^ iX

3 ^-^ ^

H" ^ ^

- ^0 1^

^'iq P

-- ^ ^

!2i

-o'S
<£,o

:5' ^

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 87

naisse, Thomas R. Blair, John C. Cox, Joseph Despart, Caleb M. Grover, Isaiah
Matheny, John Picard, William Philips, Henry Barden, Silas P. Pugh, Isaac
Wood, Penel Fowler, Andrew Hubert, Daniel Herren, Xavier Plante, Vitelle
Bergeron.

Colonel Gilliam, though having had no military education, had the American
pioneer's capacity and fertility of resources, and conducted his midwinter cam-
paign with courage and energy. As already noted, Peter Skeen Ogden of the
Hudson's Bay Company, had ransomed the captives of Waiilatpu long before
even the scantily equipped regiment of Oregon volunteers could take the field.
But even though the first necessity, that of rescuing the captives, had been filled,
the command felt that the situation compelled a definite campaign and the cap-
ture and bringing to justice of the murderers. Hence Colonel Gilliam pressed
on his march as rapidly as possible. On the last day of February, 1848, he
crossed the Des Chutes River to a ]3oint where hostile Indians had already taken
a stand. A battle ensued the next day, resulting in the defeat of the Indians
and a treaty of peace with the Des Chutes tribe. Pressing on toward Walla
Walla, the command was checked at Sand Hollows in the Lower Umatilla River
Valley, by a strong force of Indians in command of Five Crows, a Cayuse chief.
This chieftain claimed the powers of a wizard and declared that he could swallow
all the bullets fired at him by the whites. Another brave called War Eagle, or
Swallow Ball, made equal claims to invulnerability. The two chiefs undertook
to demonstrate their wizard powers by dashing out in front of the volunteers.
Tom McKay, who was the stepson of Doctox .McLoughlin and was then the
captain of a company composed mainly of ,E;i"enGh-C&Baclians, could not withstand
the challenge and sent a bullet from his tnisfy fifl.e through the head of Swallow
Ball. At the same time Charles McKay sent a companion ball into the supposedly
invulnerable anatomy of Five Crows;' vijounding him 'so severely that he was
out of the war henceforth. After a desultory series" o"f-engagements, the Indians
retreated and Colonel Gilliam's command pushed on to Waiilatpu, which point
they reached on March 2d. At the desolate spot they discovered that the
remains of the martyrs of the Whitman Mission had been hastily interred by
the Ogden party, but that in the interval of time coyotes had partially exhumed
them. They reverently replaced the sacred remains in one large grave, cover-
ing them with a wagon box found on the ground. There in that abandoned place
the bones of the martyred band remained unmarked for many years. As now
known to all residents of Walla Walla, a monument was reared upon the hill
overlooking the scene of the tragedy, and the remains were reinterred and covered
with a marble slab inscribed with the names of the victims of the massacre. A
lock of long fair hair was found near the ruined mission which there is every
reason to think was from the head of Mrs. Whitman. It is now preserved
among the precious relics in the museum of Whitman College.

With the volunteers was Joseph L. Meek, one of the Rocky Mountain trappers
who had settled in the Willamette Valley and had become prominent in estab-
lishing the Provisional Government of Oregon in 1843. He now with a few
companions was on his way across the continent to carry dispatches to Washing-
ton announcing the Whitman Massacre and urging the Government to make
immediate provision for a proper territorial government. Meek had come thus
far with the troops, but now passed beyond them on his difficult and dangerous

88 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

journey. Jt may be added lliat with nnich hardship from cold and near starva-
tion he reached St. Louis in the extraordinarily short time of seventy-two days.

I'he dilatory and scheming Congress and administration was roused by the
Whitman Massacre to some sense of the needs of far-away Oregon. A great
struggle ensued over the slavery question in which Calhoun, Davis, Foote, and
other southern senators made determined efforts to defeat the prohibition of
slavery in Oregon. They were overpowered by the eloquence of Corwin, the
determination of Benton and the statesmanship of Webster, and on August 13,
1848, the bill to establish a territorial government for Oregon with slavery pro-
hibited passed Congress. President Polk appointed Joseph Lane governor, Joseph
Meek marshal, and William B. Bryant judge in the new territory. Not till ALirch
3, 1849, did they reach their stations and take up their duties. Of all the history
of the great congressional discussion with the momentous national questions
involved, there is a graphic account by Judge Thornton, while Benton in his
"Thirty Years in Congress" gives a vivid and illuminating view.

Meanwhile the little army of Oregon volunteers were engaged in a long-drawn
and harassing series of marches and counter marches in search of the guilty
murderers. An adobe fort, called Fort W^aters, from Lieut. Col. James Waters,
was built at Waiilatpu. The Cayuses had counted upon the help of the other
tribes, but the Nez Perces and Spokanes repudiated their murderous kmdred, and
the Yakimas took an attitude of indifference. Peupeumoxmox of the Walla
Wallas, though having more of a real grievance against the whites than any
other Indian on account of the brutal murder of his son, as related in the pre-
ceding chapter, did not actively aid the hostiles. He played a wily game, and
was justly regarded with suspicion by the command.

In the midst of the tangle and uncertainty, and the scattering of the guilty
parties in all directions, Colonel Gilliam decided to make an expedition north-
easterly to the Tucanon and Snake rivers in the hope of encountering and
destroying the main force of the hostiles and bringing the war to a conclusion
at one blow. Reaching the mouth of the Tucanon, a few miles below the present
Starbuck, the colonel was outgeneraled by the wily Indians who gave him to
understand that the Indian camp was that of Peupeumoxmox. Taking advantage
of the delay the Cayuses drove their large bands of stock into the Snake River
and made them swim to the north bank. The main body of Indians succeeded
in getting away with their valuable stock. The Palouses were doubtless aiding
and abetting them. Disappointed in his aims Colonel Gilliam gave the order to
return to Walla Walla. Upon reaching the Touchet in the near vicinity of the
present Bolles Junction, the Indians made a rush for the Touchet River in the
evident hope of entangling the troops at the crossing. A desperate encounter
took place, the hardest, and in fact the only real battle of the year, in which the
whites fought their way through the stream and made their way to the Walla-
Walla. Reaching Fort Waters at Waiilatpu on March i6th, it was determined
by a council of war that Colonel Gilliam should go to The Dalles with 160 men
in order to meet and escort a supply train to the Walla Walla, while Lieutenant-
Colonel Waters should take command at the fort. On the way, just having
crossed the Umatilla, Colonel Gilliam while in the act of drawing a rope from
a wagon accidentally caught it in the trigger of a loaded gun. The weapon was
discharged and the commander was instantly killed. This was a most lamentable

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 89

loss, for Colonel Gilliam was not only an efficient commander, but was one of the
best of the Oregon pioneers, with the capacity for a most useful career in the
new land. Lieutenant-Colonel Waters became colonel in command upon the
announcement of the death of Colonel Gilliam. He undertook at once a march
to Lapwai under the belief that the murderers were harbored among the Nez
Perces. Nothing definite was accomplished by this expedition. According to the
assertions of the Nez Perces Telaukaikt, one of the supposed leaders of the
Whitman Massacre, had fled. The Nez Perces delivered a number of cattle and
horses which they said belonged to the Cayuses. The attempt to seize the mur-
derers themselves being seemingly futile, Colonel Waters returned again to the
fort at Waiilatpu. It had now become evident that the condition did not justify
the retention of a regiment in the Cayuse country. Goveror Abernethy, still
acting as head of the Provisional Government of Oregon, decided to recall the
main body of troops. A small force under Major Magone was sent to Chima-
kain, the mission near Spokane where Eells and Walker were located, in order to
bring that missionary band to a place of safety. It was found by Major Magone
that the Spokane Indians had been faithful to their teachers and had guarded
them from danger. Few things more thrilling have been narrated in the hearing
of the author than the accounts given by Mr. Eells and Mr. Walker, and above all
by Edwin Eells, oldest son of Father Eells, of the conditions under which that
devoted group existed for some days when it was thought that the hostile
Indians were on the way to Spokane to destroy them. On one evening hearing
an awful powwow and hullaballoo from a crowd of mounted Indians and seeing
them rapidly approaching in the dim light, Father Eells went out bravely to
meet them, thinking it likely was the dreaded marauders, to discover in a moment
that it was their own Spokanes, armed for their defence.

Escorted by the company of volunteers, the missionaries of Chimakain went
to the Willamette Valley where the Walker family made their permanent home,
while Father Eells with his family remained twelve years and then returned to
the Walla Walla country to found Whitman College and to make his home for
a number of years at Waiilatpu.

While Major Magone was thus engaged in caring for the last of the mis-
sionaries, Capt. William Martin was left at Fort Waters (Waiilatpu) with fifty-
five men to look out for the interests of immigrants who might enter the country
and to keep a vigilant eye upon the movements of the savages. This Captain
Martin, it may be remembered by some readers, took up his residence at Pendle-
ton in 1880 and was long a leading citizen of that city. One of his sons now lives
at Touchet in Walla Walla County and one of his grandsons, of the same name
as himself, became one of the most noted athletes at Whitman College and now
occupies a place as physical director in a large eastern university. Another small
force in command of Lieutenant Rogers was stationed at Fort Lee at The Dalles.
But as to further operations in the field they seemed to be at an end. The Cayuses
scattered in various directions, and other Indians, while making no resistance to
the whites, gave them little or no assistance. Finally in 1850 a band of friendly
Uraatillas pursued a bunch of Cayuses under Tamsaky or Tamsucky to the
headwaters of the John Day River and after a severe struggle killed Tamsaky
and captured the most of his followers.

The last act in the tragedy was the execution of several Indian chiefs who had

90 OLD W.MJ.A WALJ.A COUNTY

voluntarily gone to Oregon City and had been seized and subjected to trial as
being the murderers of the \\ hitman party. There is a very unsatisfactory con-
dition of testimony about the real guilt of this group of Indians. The Cayuse
Indians claimed, and many of the whites believed that one only of the five who
were hung on June 3, 1850, was guilty. As a concluding glance at this grewsome
event, the reader may be interested in the following official declaration of inno-
cence of those Indians.

"Tilokite — I am innocent of the crime of which 1 am charged. Those who
committed it are dead, some killed, some died ; there were ten, two were my sons ;
they were killed by the Cayuses. Tumsucky, before the massacre, came to my
lodge ; he told me that they were going to hold a council to kill Doctor Whitman.
I told him not to do so, that it was bad. One night seven Indians died near the
house of Doctor Whitman, to whom he had given medicines. Tumsucky's family
were sick; he gave them roots and leaves; they got well. Other Indians died.
Tumsucky came often. I talked to him, but his ears were shut; he would not
hear; he and others went away. After a while some children came into my
lodge and told me what was going on. I had told Tumsucky over and over to let
them alone; my talk was nothing; I shut my mouth. When I left my people,
the young chief told me to come down and talk with the big white chief, and tell
him who it was, that did kill Doctor Whitman and others. My heart was big;
'tis small now. The priest tells me I must die tomorrow. I know not for what.
They tell me that I have made a confession to the marshal that I struck Doctor
Whitman. 'Tis false! You ask me if the priests did not encourage us to kill
Doctor Whitman? I answer no, no."

"Monday, 1 1 :30 o'clock — I am innocent, but my heart is weak since I have
been in chains, but since I must die, I forgive them all. Those who brought me
here and take care of me, I take them all in my arms, my heart is opened."

"Quiahmarsum (skin or panther's coat) — I was up the river at the time of
the massacre, and did not arrive until the next day. I was riding on horseback ;
a white woman came running from the house. She held out her hand and told
me not to kill her. I put my hand upon her head and told her not to be afraid.
There were plenty of Indians all alx)ut. She, with the other women and chil-
dren, went to Walla Walla, to Air. Ogden's. I was not present at the murder, nor
was I any way concerned in it. I am innocent. It hurts me to talk about dying
for nothing. Our chief told us to come down and tell all about it. Those who
committed the murder are killed and dead. The priest says I must die tomorrow.
If they kill me, I am innocent."

"Monday, 1 1 : 30 A. M. — I was sent here by my chief to declare who the guilty
persons were; the white chief would then shake hands with me; the young chief
would come after me ; we would have a good heart. My young chief told me I
was to come here to tell what I know concerning the murderers. I did not come
as one of the murderers, for I am innocent. I never made any declarations to
any one that I was guilty. This is the last time that I may speak."

"Kloakamus— I was there at the time ; I lived there, but I had no hand in the
murder. I saw them when they were killed, but did not touch or strike any one.
T looked on. There were plenty of Indians. My heart was sorry. Our chief
told us to come down and tell who the murderers were. There were ten ; they
are killed. They say I am guilty, but it is not so ; I am innocent. The people do

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 91

not understand me. I can't talk to them. They tell me I must die by being
hung by the neck. If they do kill me, I am innocent, and God will give me a big
heart.''

"jMonday, ii : 30 A. j\L — I have no reason to die for things that I did not do.
My time is short. I tell the truth. I know that I am close to the grave ; but my
heart is open and I tell the truth. I love every one in this world. I know that
God will give me a big heart. I never confessed to the marshal that I was guilty,
or to any other person ; I am innocent. The priests did not tell us to do what
the Indians have done. This is my last talk.''

"Siahsaluchus (or Wet Wolf) — I say the same as the others; the murderers
are killed; some by the whites, some by the Cayuses, and some by others. They
were ten in number."

"Monday, 11 : 30 A. M. — I have nothing more to say; I think of God. I for-
give all men ; I love them. The priests did not tell us to do this."

"Thomahas — I did not know that I came here to die. Our chief told us to
come and see the white chief and tell him all about it. The white chief would
then tell us all what was right and what was wrong. Learn us (how) to live
when we returned home. Why should I have a bad heart — after I am showed
and taught how to live ? My eyes were shut when I came here. I did not see, but
now they are opened. I have been taught ; I have been showed what was good
and what was bad. I do not want to die; I know now that we are all brothers.
They tell me the same Spirit made us all."

"Monday, 11 : 30 A. M. — Thomahas joined with Tilokite. My heart cries my
brother was guilty, but he is dead. I am innocent. I know I am going to die for
things I am not guilty of, but I forgive them. I love all men now. My hope, the
priest tells me, is in Christ. My heart shall be 'big with good."

"(Signed) .".

Henry H. Crawford,

Sergeant, Co. D, R. M. R.
Robert D. M.vhon,

Corporal, Co. A, R. M. R."

Following the close of the Cayuse war there was a lull in hostilities during
which several white men came to the Walla Walla country or near it, with a view
to locating. In Col. F. T. Gilbert's valuable history of Walla Walla and adjoin-
ing counties, pubhshed in 1882, we find the data for a summary of the earliest
settlers as follows:

The first settlers of all were ivilliam C. ^McKay, son of Thomas McKay (who
himself was the step-son of Dr. John McLoughlin) and Henry M. Chase. These
men were located on the Umatilla River in 1851 at a point near the present Town
of Echo. Doctor McKay later became a resident of Pendleton where he was
well known for many years. In 1852 Mr. Chase went with Wm. Craig to the
Nez Perce country near Lewiston where he entered the cattle business. In
1855 he went to the region of the present Dayton and a short time later to Walla
Walla. He lived in Walla Walla a number of years and was well known to all
old-timers. He lived upon the property now the site of St. Paul's School. Louis
Raboin, a Frenchman, though an American citizen, was in the Walla Walla
country a number of years beginning in 1851. In 1855 he located at what is now

92 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

the Town of Marengo on the Titcanon. V. M. Lafontain came to the region in
1852 and located a claim adjoining that of Mr. Chase, near the present Dayton,
in 1855. Lloyd Brooke, George C. Bumford, and John F. Noble came to Waiilatpu
in 1852, and in the following year established themselves there in the cattle
business. There they remained till driven out by the War of 1855. A. P. Wood-
ward was a resident of the Walla Walla country during the same period. It is
proper to name here Wm. Craig who had been a mountain man a number of
years and became located among the Nez Perce Indians at Lapwai in 1845.
From him Craig Mountains took their name. He was an important personage
as interpreter and peace-maker among the Nez Perces during the great war later.
There were several men drifting through the country employed as laborers by
Mr. Chase and by the cattle-men at Waiilatpu.

There was at that time quite a settlement on the Walla Walla around what
is now known as Frenchtown, about ten miles from the present city. These were
Hudson's Bay Company men. We find in the list of names several whose
descendants lived subsequently in that region, though they mainly left during
the Indian Wars and did not return. There were two priests among them.
Fathers Chirouse and Pondosa, and they were assisted by two brothers. James
Sinclair had at that time charge of Fort Walla Walla on the Columbia. Though
the region was then in possession of the United States, the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany had not yet delivered up its locations.

During this lull a very important event occurred. On March 3, 1853, the
Territory of Washington was created and Isaac I. Stevens was appointed governor.
The first Territorial Legislature laid out sixteen counties. Among them was
Walla Walla County. That was the first "Old Walla Walla County." That it
was much more extensive than the area especially covered by this work will
apf>ear when the boundaries are given, thus : "Beginning its line on the north
bank of the Columbia at a point opposite the mouth of Des Chutes River, it ran
thence north to the forty-ninth parallel." It therefore embraced all of what
was then Washington Territory east of that line, which included all of present
Idaho, about a fourth of present Montana, and about half of what is now Wash-
ington. That was the first attempt at organized government in Eastern Wash-
ington. The county seat was located "on the land of Lloyd Brooke," which was
at Waiilatpu. The Legislature further decreed : "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 Remond
be, and hereby is appointed sherifif ; 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." These appointees with the exception of
Mr. Owens (who lived near the present Missoula), were residents of the region
of Waiilatpu and Frenchtown. That county organization was never inaugurated,
and it remains as simply an interesting historical reminiscence.

In March, 1855, another most notable event occurred, the first in a series
that made much history in the Northwest. This was the discovery of gold at
the junction of the Pend Oreille River with the Columbia. The discoverer was
a French half-breed who had previously lived at French Prairie, Ore. The
announcement of the discovery caused a stampede to the east of the mountains
and inaugurated a series of momentous changes.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 93

Governor Stevens had entered upon his great task of organizing the newly
created territory by undertaking the establishment of a number of Indian reserva-
tions. The necessities of the case — both justice to the Indians and the whites,
as well as the proper development of the country whose vast possibilities were
beginning to be seen by the far-sighted ones — seemed to compel the segregation
of the natives into comparatively small reservations. The history of the laying
out of these reservations is an entire history by itself. There has been contro-
versy as to the rights and wrongs of the case which has been best treated by
Hazard Stevens in his "Life of Governor Stevens" (his father) in defence, and
by Ezra Meeker in his "Tragedy of Leschi" in condemnation. Suffice it to say
that the reservation policy was but faintly understood by the Indians and occur-
ring in connection with the gold discoveries and the entrance of whites, eager for
wealth and opportunity, it furnished all the conditions requisite for a first-class
Indian war. Doubtless the great underlying cause was, as usual in Indian wars,
the perception by Indians that their lands were steadily and surely passing out of
their hands.

In 1854 and 1855 a general flame of war burst forth in widely separated
regions. There can be no question that there was an attempt at co-operation by
the tribes over the whole of Oregon and Washington. But so wide and so scat-
tered was the field and so incapable were the Indians of intelligent unity of action
that the white settlements were spared a war of extermination. The centers of
warfare were the Rogue River in Southern Oregon, a number of points on Puget
Sound, especially Seattle and vicinity, and White River Valley.

In May, 1855, Governor Stevens with a force of about fifty men reached Walla
Walla for a conference with the tribes. The best authorities on the conference are
Hazard Stevens, then a boy of fourteen, who accompanied his father, and I-ieu-
tenant Kip of the United States Army. This meeting at Walla Walla was one
of the most interesting and important in the annals of Indian relationships with
the United States Government. There seems some difference of opinion as to the
exact location of the conference. It has generally been thought that Stevens' camp
was at what is now known as "Council Grove Addition," near the residence of
ex-Senator Ankeny. When General Hazard Stevens was in Walla Walla some
years ago he gave his opinion that it was in the near vicinity of the residence of
Mrs. Clara Ouinn. William McBean, a son of the Hudson's Bay Company
agent at Fort Walla Walla during the Cayuse war, who was himself in Stevens'
force, as a young boy, told the author nearly thirty years ago that he believed the
chief point of the conference was almost exactly on the present site of Whitman
College. It appears from the testimony of old-timers that Mill Creek has changed
its course at intervals in these years, and that as a result the exact identification
is difficult. It seems plain, however, that the Indians were camped at various
places along the two spring branches, "College Creek" and "Tannery Creek."

With his little force, Governor Stevens might well have been startled, if he
had been a man sensible of fear, when there came tearing across the plain to the
northeast of the council ground an army of twenty-five hundred Nez Perces,
headed by Halhaltlossot, known to the whites as Lawryer. After the Indian cus-
tom they were whooping and firing their guns and making their horses prance and
cavort in the clouds of dust stirred by hundreds of hoofs. But as it proved, these
spectacular performers were the real friends of the Governor and his party and

9i OLD WAI.l.A WALLA COUNTY

later on their salvation. Two days after, three hundred Cayuses, those worst of
the Columbia River Indians, surly and scowling, made their appearance, led by
Five Crows and Young Chief. Within two days again there arrived a force of
two thousand Yakimas, Umatillas, and Walla Wallas. The 'A'alley of Waters"
must have been at that time a genuine Indian paradise. The broad flats of Mill
Creek and the Walla \\'alla were covered with grass and spangled with flowers.
Numerous clear cold steains, gushing in springs from the ground and overhung
by birches and cottonwoods, with the wild roses drooping over them, made their
gurgling w-ay to a junction with the creek. Countless horses grazed on the l)unch-
grass hills and farther back in the foothills there was an abundance of game. No
wonder that the Indians, accustomed to gather for councils and horse-races, and
all the other delights of savage life, should have scanned with jealous eyes the
manifest desire of the whites for locations in a spot "where every prospect pleases
and man alone is vile."

It became e\ident to Governor Stevens that a conspiracy was burrowing be-
neath his feet. Peupeumoxmox of the Walla Wallas and Kahmiakin of the
Yakimas were the leaders. The former was now an old man, embittered by the
murder of his son Elijah, and regarded by many as having been the real fomenter
of the Whitman Massacre. Kahmiakin was a remarkable Indian. Winthrop. in
his "Canoe and Saddle," gives a vivid description of him as being a man of
extraordinary force and dignity. Governor Stevens said of him : "He is a pe-
culiar man, reminding me of the panther and the grizzly bear. His countenance
has an extraordinary play, one moment in frowns, the next in smiles, flashing with
light and black as Erebus the same instant. His pantomime is great, and his ges-
ticulations many and characteristic. He talks mostly in his face and with his
hands and arms." He was a man of lofty stature and splendid physique, a typical
Indian of the best type. This great Yakima chief saw that his race was doomed
unless they could check White occupancy at its very beginning. Restrained by no
scruples (as indeed his civilized opponents seldom were) he seems to have con-
spired with the Walla Wallas and Cayuses to wipe out Stevens and his band, then
rush to The Dalles and exterminate the garrison there ; then with united forces
of all the Eastern Oregon Indians sweep on into the principal settlements of the
whites, those of the Willamette \'alley, and wipe them out. Meanwhile their
allies on the Sound were to seize the pivotal points there. Thus Indian victory
would be comprehensive and final. Preposterous as such an expectation appears
now to us, it was not, after all, so remote as we might think. Six or seven thou-
sand of these powerful warriors, splendidly mounted and well armed, if well
directed, crossing the mountains into the scattered settlements of Western Oregon
and Washington might well have cleaned up the country, with the exception of
Portland, which v^'as then quite a little city and in a position which would have
made any successful attack by Indians hopeless.

But the Nez Perces saved the day. Halhaltlossot perceived that the only hope
for his people was in peace and as favorable reservation assignments as could be
secured. lie nipped the conspiracy in the bud. Hazard Stevens gives a thrilling
account of how the Nez Perce chief went by night to the Governor's camp and
revealed the conspiracy. He moved his own camp to a point adjoining the whites
and made it clear that the hostiles could accomplish their aims only in the face of
Nez Perce opposition. This situation made the conspiracy impotent.

Lewis MeMorris

,1. J. Kuliii

Dr. .Tdliii Tcin[]aiiy

Michael Kenny jDsi-pli ilcKvuy

COMRADES AT FORT WALLA WALLA IX ISST

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 95

Not all, however, of the Nez Perces approved the tactics of Lawyer. There
was a powerful faction that favored the Yakimas, Cayuses, and Walla Wallas.
While Governor Stevens had been gradually bringing the main body of the Nez
Perces to consent to a treaty assigning certain reservations to them, and was
flattering' himself that with the aid of Lawyer he was just about to clinch the
deal, there was a sudden commotion in the council, and into the midst there burst
the old chief Apashwayhayikt (Looking Glass). He had just been on a raid
against the Blackfeet, and hearing of the probable outcome of the Walla Walla
Council, had made a ride of 300 miles in seven days. With his little band of at-
tendants he came racing over the "bench" on which "Garden City Heights" is now
located, and with scalps of several slaughtered Blackfeet dangling from his belt
he rushed to the front, and fixing his angry and reproachful eyes upon his tribes-
men he broke forth into a harangue which Hazard Stevens was told by some
Indians began about thus: "My people, what have you done? While I was gone
you sold my country. I have come home and there is not left me a place on which
to pitch my lodge. Go home to your lodges. I will talk with you." Lieutenant
Kip declares that though he could not understand the words, the effect was
tremendous and the speech was equal to the greatest bursts of oratory that he had
ever heard. The council broke up and the nearly accepted treaty went to naught.

With great patience and skill Stevens and Lawyer rallied their defeated forces
and, in spite of the opposition of Looking Glass; they secured the acquiescence of
the main body of the Indians to three .i-egervations. These were essentially the
same as now known: the Yakima, theUmatilfe, 'ah^- die Nez Perce. In case of
the last, however, there was a lamentabk- and distressing miscarriage of agree-
ment and perhaps of justice. William. McBean;, -already mentioned as a half-
breed boy employed by Governor Stevens, stated to the author many years ago
that he discovered that the general impression among the Nez Perce Indians
was that by accepting the treaty and surrendering their lands in the Touchet,
Tucanon, and Alpowa countries, they would be assured of the permanent posses-
sion of the Wallowa. Now, if there was any region more suitable to Indians and
more loved by them than another, it was that same Wallowa, with its snowy
peaks, its lakes and streams filled with fish, its grassy upland with deer and elk,
its thickets and groves with grouse and pheasants. The understanding of the
"Joseph band" of Nez Perces was, according to McBean, that the loved Wallowa
was to be their special range. Upon that supposition they voted with Lawyer
for the treaty and that was the determining influence that secured its passage.
But twenty years later, white men began to perceive that the Wallowa was also
suitable to them. With that lack of continuity in dealing with natives in face of
a demand for land by whites which has made most of our Indian treaties mere
"scraps of paper," the administration (that of Grant) forgot the understanding,
the Indians were dispossessed, and the Nez Perce war with the very people who
had saved Stevens in 1855 was precipitated in 1877. Young Joseph (Hallakalla-
keen) led his warriors in the most spectacular Indian war in the history of this
country, as a result of which his band was finally overpowered and located on the
Nespilem, a part of the Colville reservation. Kamiakin had seemed to agree to
the treaty at Walla Walla. But he was only biding his time. Governor Stevens,
having, as he thought, pacified the tribes by that group of treaties, proceeded on a
similar mission to the Flatheads in Northern Idaho. There, after long discussion,

1>G OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

a treaty was negotiated by which a milUon and a quarter acres was set aside for
a reservation. The next move of the Governor was across the Rocky Mountains
to Fort Benton.

But what was happening on the Walla Walla? No sooner was the Governor
fairly out of sight across the flower-bespangled plains, which extended 200 miles
northeast from \\'alla Walla, than the wily Kamiakin began to resume his plots.
So successful was he, with the valuable assistance of Peupeumoxmox, Young
Chief, and Five Crows, that the treaties, just ratified, were torn to shreds and
the flame of savage warfare burst forth across the entire Columbia Valley.

Hazard Stevens, in his invaluable history of his father, gives a vivid picture of
how the news reached them in their camp, thirty-five miles up the Missouri from
Fort Benton. Summer had now passed into autumn. A favorable treaty had
been made with the Blackfeet. On October 29th the little party were gathered
around their campfire in the frosty air of fall in that high altitude when they
discerned a solitary rider making his way slowly toward them. As he drew near
they soon saw that it was Pearson, the express rider. Pearson was one of the
best examples of those scouts whose lives were spent in conveying messages from
forts to parties in the field. He usually traveled alone, and his life was always
in his hand. He seemed to be made of steel springs, and it had been thought that
he could endure anything. "He could ride anything that wore hair." He rode
1,750 miles in twenty-eight days at one time, one stage of 260 miles having been
made in three days. But as he slowly drew up to the party in the cold evening
light, it was seen that even Pearson was "done." His horse staggered and fell,
and he himself could not stand or speak for some time. After he had been revived
he told his story, and a story of disaster and foreboding it was, sure enough.

All the great tribes of the Columbia plains west of the Nez Perces had broken
out, the Cayuses, Yakimas, Palouses, Walla Wallas, Umatillas, and Klickitats.
They had swept the country clean of whites. The ride of Pearson from The Dalles
to the point where he reached Governor Stevens is one of the most thrilling in
our annals. By riding all day and night, he reached a horse ranch on the Umatilla
belonging to William McKay, but he found the place deserted. Seeing a splendid
horse in the bunch near by, he lassoed and saddled him. Though the horse was
as wild as air, Pearson managed to mount and start on. Just then there swept
into view a force of Indians who, instantly divining what Pearson was trying to
do, gave chase. Up and down hill, through vale, and across the rim-rock, they
followed, sending frequent bullets after him, and yelling like demons. "Whupsiah
si-ah-poo, Whup-si-ah!" ("Kill the white man!") But the wild horse which the
intrepid rider bestrode proved his salvation, for he gradually outran all his pur-
suers. Traveling through the Walla Walla at night Pearson reached the camp of
friendly Nez Perce Red Wolf on the Alpowa the next day, having ridden 200
miles from The Dalles without stopping except the brief time changing horses.
Snow and hunger now impeded his course. Part of the way he had to go on
snowshoes without a horse. But with unflinching resolution he passed on, and so
now here he was with his dismal tidings.

The dispatches warned Governor Stevens that Kamiakin with a thousand war-
riors was in the Walla Walla \^alley and that it would be impossible for him to
get through by that route, and that he must therefore return to the East by the
Missouri and come back to his territory by the steamer route of Panama. That

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 97

meant six months' delay. With characteristic boldness, Governor Stevens at
once rejected the more cautious course and went right back to Spokane by Coeur
d'Alene Pass, deep already with vi'inter snows, suffering intensely with cold and
hunger, but avoiding by that route the Indians sent out to intercept him. With
extraordinary address, he succeeding in turning the Spokane Indians to his side.
The Nez Perces, thanks to Lawyer's fidelity, were still friendly, and with these
two powerful tribes arrayed against the Yakimas, there was still hope of holding
the Columbia Valley.

After many adventures, Governor Stevens reached Olympia in safety. Gov-
orner Curry of Oregon had already called a force of volunteers into the field.
The Oregon volunteers were divided into two divisions, one under Col. T. W.
Nesmith, which went into the Yakima country, and the other under Lieut.-Col.
J. K. Kelly, which went to Walla Walla. The latter force fought the decisive
battle of the campaign on the 7th, 8th, 9th and lOth of December, 1855. It was
a series of engagements occurring in the heart of the Walla Walla Valley, a
"running fight" culminating at what is now called Frenchtown, ten miles west of
the present City of Walla Walla.

The famous battle of the Walla Walla, being so conspicuous and so near the
present city, is worthy of some detail. The report of Col. J. K. Kelley is as
follows :

"On the evening of the 8th inst., I gave you a hasty report of our battle with
Indians up to the close of the second day's fight, and then stated that at a future
time I would give a more detailed account of all transactions that occurred since
the march from the Umatilla River. Owing to active engagements in the field,
and in pursuit of the Indians, I have not hitherto had leisure to make that reportf

"As soon as it was dark on the evening of the second, I proceeded with my
command from Fort Henrietta to Walla Walla, having left a detachment of
twenty-five men, under command of Lieutenant Sword, to protect the former
post. On the morning of the third we encamped on the bank of the Walla Walla
River about four miles from the fort; and, proceeding to the latter place, I found
it had been pillaged by the Indians, the buildings much defaced and the furniture
destroyed.

"On the morning of the fourth, a body of Indians was observed on the opposite
side of the Columbia, apparently making preparations to cross the river with a
large amount of baggage. Seeing us in possession of the fort, they were deterred
from making the attempt, when I sent a small detachment down to a bar making
into the Columbia immediately below the mouth of the Walla Walla, and opposite
to where the Indians were, with directions to fire upon them and prevent the
removal of their packs of provisions. The width of the river at this place is
about 250 yards ; and a brisk fire was at once opened upon the Indians, which
was returned by them from behind the rocks on the opposite shore. No boats
could be procured to cross the river in order to secure the provisions or to attack
the body of Indians, numbering about fifty, who had made their appearance on
the hill north of Walla Walla, who, after surveying our encampment, started off
in a northeasterly direction. I at once determined to follow in pursuit of them on
the following day.

"Early on the morning of the fifth I dispatched Second Major Chinn, with
150 men, to escort the baggage and packtrains to the mouth of the Touchet, there

98 OLD WALLA W ALLA COUNTY

to await ni)- icliiin with thu ix-niainder uf the forces under my command. On
the same morning 1 marched with about two hundred men to a point on the
Tuuchet l\i\er about twelve miles from its mouth, with the view of attacking
the Walla Walla Indians, who were supposed to be encamped there. When I was
near to and making towards the village, Peupeumoxmox, the chief of the tribe,
with six other Indians, made their appearance under a flag of truce. He stated
that he did not wish to fight ; that his people did not wish to fight ; and that on the
follow-ing day he would come and have a talk and make a treaty of peace. On
consultation w'ith Hon. Nathan Olney, Indian 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 unless
he and his five followers would consent to accompany and remain wdth us until
all difficulties were settled. I told him that he might go away under his flag of
truce if he chose; but, if he did so, we would forthwith attack his village. The
alternative was distinctly made known to him ; and, to save his people, he chose
to remain with us as a hostage for the fulfillment of his promise, 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 he would then assemble his people and
make them deliver up all 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 my command,
and cattle to supply them with provisions, to enable us to wage war against other
hostile tribes who were leagued with him. Having made these promises, we re-
frained from making the attack, thinking we had him in our power, and that on
the next dav his promises w^ould be fulfilled. I also permitted him to send one
of the men who accompanied him to his village to apprise the tribes of the terms
of the expected treaty, so that they might be perpared to fufill it.

"On the sixth, we marched to the village and found it entirely deserted, but
saw the Indians in considerable force on the distant hills, and watching our move-
ments. I sent out a messenger to induce them to come in, but could not do so.
And I will here observe that I have since learned from a Nez Perce boy who was
taken at the same time w'ith Peupeumoxmox, that instead of sending word to his
people to make a treaty of peace, he sent an order for them to remove their
women and children and prepare for battle. From all I have since learned. I am
well persuaded that he was acting with du])licity, 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 remained at the deserted village until about one o'clock in
the afternoon ; and seeing no hope of coming to any terms we proceeded to the
mouth of the Touchet with a view of going from thence to some spot near Whit-
man's Station, where I had intended to form a permanent camp for the winter.

"On the morning of the seventh. Companies H and K crossed the Touchet,
leading the column on the route to Whitman's A'alley, and when formed on the
plain, were joined by Company P.. A few persons in front were driving our cattle :
and a few were on the flanks of the companies and near the foot of the hills that
extended along the river. These persons, as well as I can ascertain, were fired on
by the Indians. Immediately all the companies except A and F fwho were or-
dered to remain with the baggage) commenced an eager chase of the Indians in

FORT WALLA WALLA

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 99

sight. A running fight was the consequence, the force of the Indians increasing
with every mile. Several of the enemy were killed in the chase before reaching
the farm of La Rocque, which is about twelve miles from the mouth of the
Touchet. At this point they made a stand, their left resting on the river covered
with trees and underbrush, their center occupying the fiat, as this place was cov-
ered with clumps of sagebrush and small sand knolls, their right on the high ridge
of hills which skirt the river bottom.

"When the volunteers reached this point, they were not more than forty or
fifty men, being those mounted on the fleetest horses. Upon these the Indians
poured a murderous fire from the brushwood and willows along the river, and
from the sage bushes along the plain, wounding a number of the volunteers. The
men fell back. The moment was critical. They were commanded to cross the
fence which surrounds La Rocque's field, and charge upon the Indians in the
brush. In executing this order. Lieutenant Burrows of Company H was killed;
and Captain Munson of Company I, Isaac Miller, sergeant-major, and G. W.
Smith of Company B, were wounded. A dispatch having been sent to Captain
Wilson of Company A to come forward, he and his company came up on the
gallop, dismounted at a slough, and with fixed bayonets pushed on through the
brush. In the course of half an hour Captain Bennett was on the ground with
Company F ; and, with this accession, the enemy was steadily driven forward for
two miles, when they took possession of a farm house and close fence, in attempt-
ing to carry which Captain Bennett of Company F and Private Kelso of Company
A were killed. .-/I.'.'V w ;.• •;••"

"A howitzer found at Fort; ^^R^ilAjallasjunciftr ?harge of Captain Wilson, by
this time was brought to bear lipon the enemy. Fouf rounds were fired, when the
piece bursted, wounding Captain %V:if/on.'':The Indians then gave way at all
points; and the house and fence" NVFrE-seized-artd held by the volunteers and the
bodies of our men recovered. These positions were held by us until nightfall,
when the volunteers fell slowly back and returned unmolested to camp.

"Early on the morning of the 8th the Indians appeared with increased forces,
amounting to fully six hundred warriors. They were posted as usual in the
thick brush by the river, among the sage bushes and sand knolls, and on the sur-
rounding hills. This day Lieutenant Pillow with Company A and Lieutenant
Hannah 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 Cornoyer 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, although they
fought with skill and braven,'.

"On the ninth, they did not make their appearance until 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 tenth, I thought
it best to act on the defensive and hold our positions, which were the same as on
the eighth, until we could get an accession to our forces sufficient to enable us
to assail their rear and cut ofT 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

100 OLD \\ ALLA \\ALLA COUNTY

were repulsed with great gallantry by those companies, and with considerable loss
to the enemy. Companies F, I, and K also did honor to themselves in repelling
all approaches to their positions, although in doing 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 inclemency of
the night, the companies on the hill were withdrawn from their several positions,
Company Li abandoning the rifle pits which were made by the men for its pro-
tection. At early dawn on 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 McAuliffe of Company B gallantly observed that his
company had dug those holes, and that after breakfast they would have them
again. And well was his declaration fulfilled; for in less than half an hour the
enemy were driven from the rifle pits, and had fled to an adjoining hill which
they had occupied the day before. This position was at once assailed. Captain
Cornoyer with Company K and a portion of Company I, being mounted, gallantly
charged the enemy on his right flank, while Lieutenant McAuliffe with Company
B, dismounted, rushed up the hill in face of a heavy fire, and scattered them in all
directions. They at once fled in all directions to return to this battlefield no more;
and thus ended our long-contested fight.

"I have already given you a list of the killed and wounded on the first two
days of the battle. On the last two days, we had only three wounded, whose
names you will find subjoined to this report. J. Fleming of Company A, before
reported as mortally wounded, has since died. I am happy to state, however, that
Private Jasper Snook of Company H, reported by me as mortally wounded, is in
a fair way to recover. The surgeon informs me that all the wounded in the hos-
pital are now doing well. The loss of the enemy in killed, during the four days,
I estimate at about seventy-five. Thirty-nine dead bodies have already been found
by the volunteers; and many were carried oiT the field by their friends and com-
rades. So that I think that my estimate is about correct. The number of their
wounded must, of course, be great. In making my report, I cannot say too much
in the praise of the conduct of the officers of the several companies and most of
the soldiers under my 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 bush by the river, credit is due for his bravery and skill,
also to Assistant Adjutant Monroe Atkinson for his efficiency and zeal as well in
the field as in the camp. And here, while giving to the officers and men of the
regiment the praise that is justly due, I cannot omit the name of Hon. Nathan
Olney, although he is not one of the volunteers. Having accompanied me in the
capacity of Indian agent, I requested him to act as my aid, on account of his
admitted skill in Indian warfare ; and, to his wisdom in council and daring courage
on the field of l)attle. I am much indebted and shall never cease to appreciate his
worth.

"Companies D and E having arrived from Fort Henrietta on the evening of
the tenth, 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 196 fires, which had been
deserted the night before. Much of their provisions were scattered along 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

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 101

on Coppei Creek. On the twelfth we continued the pursuit until we passed some
distance beyond the station of Brooke, Noble and Bumford on the Touchet, when
we found the chase was in vain, as many of our horses were completely broken
down and the men on foot. We therefore returned and arrived in camp on yes-
terday evening with about one hundred head of cattle which the Indians left scat-
tered along the trail in their flight.

"On the eleventh, while in pursuit of the enemy, I received a letter from
Narcisse Raymond by the hands of Tintinmetzy, a friendly chief (which I en-
close), asking our protection of the French and friendly Indians under his charge.

"On the morning of the twelfth, I dispatched Captain Cornoyer with his com-
pany to their relief. Mr. Olney, who accompanied them, returned to camp this
evening, and reports that Captain Cornoyer will return tomorrow with Mr. Ray-
mond and his people, who nbw feel greatly relieved from their critical situation.
Mr. Olney learned from these friendly Indians what we before strongly believed,
that the Palouses, Walla Wallas, Umatillas, Cayuses, 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 had gone partly to-the Grande Ronde and partly to the country of
the Nez Perces, and that Stock Whitley, disgusted with the manner in which the
Cayuses fought in the battle, has abandoned them and gone to the Yakima coun-
try to join his forces with those of Kamiakin. We have now the undisputed pos-
session of the country south of the Snake River; and I would suggest the pro-
priety of retaining this possession until such time as it can be occupied by the
regular troops. The Indians have left much of their stock behind, which will
doubtless be lost to us if we go away. The troops here will not be in a situation
for some time to go to the Palouse country, as our horses at present are too much
jaded to endure the journey ; and we have no boats to cross Snake River and 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 be done, they will perhaps rally
again.

"Today I received a letter from Governor Stevens, dated yesterday, which I
enclose. 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
Henrietta, have had any flour. There is none 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. Tomorrow 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's Station,
on the same (north) side of the Walla Walla; consequently I will abandon this
fort, named in honor of Captain Bennett of Company F, who now sleeps beneath
its stockade, and whose career of usefulness and bravery was here so sadly but
nobly closed.

"Very respectfully, your ob't serv't,

"James K. Kelly,
"Lieut.-Col., Com'g Left Col."

102 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

A most bitterly disputed feature of this battle was the killing of Peupeuiiiox-
niox. It has been esteemed by many as nothing short of murder. The author
of this work found difference of opinion among the old-timers formerly resident
in Walla Walla, as Lewis McMorris and James McAuliffe, as to the rights and
wrongs of the case. The former narrated a ghastly story as follows : The Indian
chief having been taken prisoner with several followers was under guard. In
the hottest of the fight they undertook to escape. The guards shot them down.
The body of the old chieftain was mutilated. His ears were cut ofif and put in a
jar of whiskey in order to preserve them, and subsequently they were nailed to
the State House at Salem. But, according to McMorris, the whiskey in the jar
disappeared. It was believed by the soldiers that a certain lieutenant had taken
it for beverage purposes, and it was common for someone in camp to bawl out at
night when he could not be identified, "Who drank* the whiskey off of Peupeu-
moxmox's ears ?" This event, while so repulsive, casts a certain light on the con-
ditions. Perhaps a fuller view can be obtained by quoting the official superin-
tendent, Joel Palmer, as follows:

"We arrived near the camp (Walla Wallas) just before night (the 5th of
December), and were met by Peupeumoxmox and about fifty of his men with a
white flag. They asked for a talk. We halted (Colonel Kelly's command) and
demanded what he wanted. He said peace. We told him to come with us and
we would talk. He said no. We then told him to take back his flag and we
would fight. He said no. We then told him to take his choice — go back and fight
or come and stop with us. He chose the latter. We retained him until the next
day. We tried to come to an understanding, but could not. We still retained
him as a prisoner, with four of his men who came along with him. The next
morning, the seventh, a large force attacked us as we left camp. In tr)'ing to
escape from their guard during the seventh, they w'ere killed."

As presenting the other view of the subject, we quote from Colonel. Gilbert as
follows :

"An important event transpired that day which it would be more proper to
designate as a disgraceful tragedy enacted, that is omitted from this oflicial
report. The following is an account of it, as given to the writer by Lewis Mc-
Morris, who was present at the time and saw what he narrated. * * * The
combatants had passed on up the valley, and the distant detonation of their guns
could be heard. The flag of truce prisoners were there under guard, and every-
one seemed electrified with suppressed excitement. A wounded man came in with
his shattered arm dangling at his side, and reported Captain Bennett killed at the
front. This added to the excitement, and the attention of all was more or less
attracted to the wounded man, when some one said, 'Look out, or the Indians will
get away !' At this, seemingly, every one yelled, 'Shoot 'em ! Shoot 'em !' and on
the instant there was a rattle of musketry on all sides.

"What followed was so quick, and there were so many acting that McMorris
could not see it in detail, though all was transpiring within a few yards of, and
around him. It was over in a minute, and three of the five prisoners were dead;
another was wounded, knocked senseless and supposed to be dead, who after-
wards recovered consciousness, and was shot to put him out of misery, while the
fifth was spared because he was a Nez Perce. * * * .A.11 were scalped in a few
minutes, and later the body of Yellow Bird, the great Walla Walla chief, was

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 103

mutilated in a way that should entitle those who did it to a prominent niche in
the ghoulish temple erected to commemorate the infamous acts of soulless men.
Let us draw a screen upon this affair that has cast a shadow over the otherwise
bright record of Oregon volunteers in that \TOr, remembering, when we do so,
that but few of them were responsible for its occurrence."

Following this decisive victory of Colonel Kelly and his command, in Decem-
ber, 185s, on the Walla Walla, a second regiment of Washington volunteers was
despatched for Walla Walla in the smnmer of 1856 in command of Col. B. F.
Shaw. On July 17, 1856, Colonel Shaw gained a brilliant victory over the allied
forces of the savages in the Grande Ronde. While this important campaign was
in progress, Governor Stevens had his hands full in Western Washington. The
little settlement at Seattle had been nearly destroyed. Many of the settlers in the
scattered settlements on the sound had lost their lives, their homes were destroyed
and their stock driven off. In the spring the Klickitat Indians had made a sudden
dash upon the settlements on the Columbia River between the White Salmon and
the Cascades. A certain young lieutenant, afterwards somewhat distinguished,
fought his first battle at the latter point. It was Phil Sheridan. In spite of these
absorbing events in Western Washington and at the Cascades, Governor Stevens,
realizing the vital importance of holding the allegiance of the Nez Perces, pro-
ceeded to Walla Walla for another council. His location was about two miles
above the camp of 1855. Shortly after his arrival, Col. E. J. Steptoe of the
regular army made camp at the location of the present fort.

And now came on the second great Walla Walla council. The tribes were
fathered as before, and were aligned as before. The division of Nez Perces under
Lawyer stood firmly by Stevens and the treaty. The others did not. The most
unfortunate feature of the entire matter Was that Colonel Steptoe, acting under
General Wool's instructions, thus far kept secret, refused to grant Stevens ade-
quate support and subjected him to humiliations which galled the fiery Governor
to the limit. In fact, had it not been for the vigilance of the faithful Nez Perces
of Lawyer's band, Stevens and his force would surely have met the doom pre-
pared for them at the first council. The debt of gratitude due Lawyer is incal-
culable. Spotted Eagle ought to be recorded, too, as of similar devotion and
watchfulness. Governor Stevens afterward declared that a speech by him in
favor of the whites was equal in feeling, truth, and courage to any speech that he
ever heard from any orator whatever.

Rut in spite of oratory, zeal, and argument, nothing could overcome the influ-
ence of Kamiakin, Owhi, Ouelchen, Five Crows and others of the Yakimas and
Cayuses. Nothing was gained. They stood just where they were a year before.
The fatal results of divided counsels between regulars and volunteers were ap-
parent.

The baffled Governor now started on his way down the river, but not without
another battle. For, as he was marching a short distance south of what is now
Walla Walla City, the Indians burst upon his small force with the evident inten-
tion of ending all scores then and there. But Colonel Steptoe established a rude
stockade fort on Mill Creek in what is now the heart of the present Walla Walla
City, and went into winter quarters there in 1856-57. Governor Stevens returned
to Olympia and launched forth a bitter arraignment against Wool. The latter,
however, was in a position of vantage and issued a proclamation commanding all

KU OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

whites in the upper country to go down the river and leave the Cascade Moun-
tains as the eastern hmit of the white settlement. Thus ended for a time this
unsatisfactory and distressing war. 'Jo all appearances Kamiakin and his adher-
ents had accomplished all they wanted.

But this was not the end. Gold had been discovered in Eastern Washington.
Vast j)ossihilities of cattle raising were evident on those endless bunch-grass hills.
Although there was as yet little conception of the future developments of the
Inland Empire in agriculture and gardening, yet the keen-eyed immigrants and
volunteers had scanned the pleasant vales and abounding streams of the Walla
Walla and Umatilla and Palouse, and had decided in their own minds that,
Wool or no Wool, this land must be opened. In 1857 the Government, as already
noted, decided on a change of policy and sent Gen. N. S. Clarke to take Wool's
place. General Clarke opened the gates, and the impatient army of land hunters
and gold hunters began to move in. Meanwhile, Colonel Wright and Colonel
Steptoe, though formerly they had closely followed Wool's policy, now began
to experience a change of heart. Out of these conditions the third Indian war,
in 1858, quickly succeeded the second, being indeed its inevitable sequence.

Three campaigns marked this third war. The first was conducted by Colonel
Steptoe against the Spokanes and Coeur d'Alenes, and ended in his humiliating
and disastrous defeat. The second was directed by Major Garnett against the
Yakimas, resulting in their permanent overthrow. The third was conducted by
Colonel Wright against the Spokanes and other northern tribes who had defeated
Steptoe. This was the Waterloo of the Indians, and it ushered in the occupation
and settlement of the upper Columbia country.

The Steptoe expedition, the first of that series of campaigns, was one of the
most disastrous in the history of Indian warfare. When the command had reached
a point near Four Lakes, probably the group of which Silver Lake is largest, a
formidable array of Indians met them, all the hosts of the Spokanes, Pend
Oreilles. and allied tribes. Seeing the dangerous situation into which they were
running, Steptoe gave the word to retreat.

The force turned back and that night all seemed well. But at 9 o'clock the
next morning, while the soldiers were descending a canon to Pine Creek, near the
present site of Rosalia, a large force of Indians burst upon them like a cyclone.
As the battle began to wax hot the terrible consequences of the error of lack of
ammunition began to become manifest. Man after man had to cease firing.
Capt. O. H. P. Taylor and Lieutenant Gaston commanded the rear-guard. With
extraordinar}' skill and devotion they held the line intact and foiled the efforts of
the savages to burst through. Meanwhile the whole force was moving as rapidly
as consistent with formation on their way southward. Taylor and Gaston sent a
messenger forward, begging Steptoe to halt the line and give them a chance to
load. But the commander felt that the safety of the whole force depended on
pressing on. Soon a fierce rush of Indians followed, and, when the surge had
passed, the gallant rear-guard was buried under it. One notable figure in the
death-grapple was De May, a Frenchman, trained in the Crimea and Algeria, and
an expert fencer. For some time he used his gun barrel as a sword and swept
the Indians down by dozens with his terrific sweeps. But at last he fell before
numbers and one of his surviving comrades relates that he heard him shouting
his last words, "O my God, my God, for a sabre !"

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 105

Ikit the lost rear-guard saved the rest. For they managed to hold back the
swarm of foes until nightfall, when they reached a somewhat defensible position
a few miles from the towering cone of what is now known as Steptoe Butte.
There they spent part of a dark, rainy, and dismal night, anticipating a savage
attack. But the Indians, sure of their prey, waited till morning. Surely the first
light would have revealed a massacre equal to the Custer massacre of later date,
had not the unexpected happened. And the unexpected was that old Timothy,
the Nez Perce guide, knew a trail through a rough canon, the only possible exit
without discovery. In the darkness of midnight the shattered command mounted
and followed at a gallop the faithful Timothy, on whose keen eyes and mind their
salvation rested. The wounded and a few footmen were dropped at intervals
along the trail. After an eighty-mile gallop during the day and night following,
the yellow flood of Snake River suddenly broke before them between its desolate
banks. Saved ! The unwearied Timothy threw out his own warriors as a screen
against the pursuing foe, and set his women to ferrying the soldiers across the
turbulent stream.

Thus the larger part of the command reached Fort Walla Walla alive.

With the defeat of Steptoe, the Indians may well have felt that they were in-
vincible. But their exultation was short-lived. As already noted, Garnett crushed
the Yakimas at one blow, and Wright a little later repeated Steptoe's march to
Spokane, but did not repeat his retreat. For in the battle of Four Lakes, on
September ist, and that of Spokane Plains on September 5th, Wright broke
forever the power and spirits of the northern Indians.

The treaties were thus established at last by war. The reservations, embracing
the finest parts of the Umatilla, Yakima, Clearwater, and Coeur d'Alene regions,
were set apart, and to them after considerable delay and difficulty the tribes were
gathered.

With the end of this third great Indian war and the public announcement by
General Clarke that the country might now be considered open to settlement,
immigration began to pour in, and on ranch and river, in mine and forest, the
well-known labors of the American state-builders and home-builders were dis-
played. The ever-new West was repeating itself. Almost immediately upon the
tidings of General Clarke's proclamation, a motley throng of prospective miners,
cowboys, pioneer merchants, promoters and adventurers of all kinds began to
pour into the "Upper Country." The fur-traders, foreign missionaries, scouts,
and advance guard of pioneers were passing off the stage and the modern build-
ers were coming. The varied activities and enterprises of these builders of the
foundations during the decades of the '60s and '70s, which may be styled the first
division of the era of modern times will compose Part Two of this volume.

PART II

SETTLEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER I

THE PERMANENT ORGANIZATION OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY
AND FOUNDING OF THE CITY

In an earlier chapter we have narrated the first attempts by the first Legis-
lature of Washington Territory, in 1854, to establish Walla Walla County. It
consisted of the entire territory east of a line running north from a point on the
Columbia River opposite the mouth of the Des Chutes River, practically at the
present Fallbridge. Thus the county included all of the present Eastern Wash-
ington, with the entire present State of Idaho and about a fourth of Montana.
The only settlement in that vast area was around Waiilatpu and Frenchtown.
Though officers for the proposed county w'ere appointed, they did not qualify
and the proposed county never completed its organization. Then came on the
Indian wars, lasting till Colonel Wright's decisive victory at Spokane in August
and September, 1858, closed that era. Following that event General Clarke's
proclamation opened the "Upper Country" to settlement. Not till the spring of
1859, however, did Congress ratify the treaties for the three reservations, Nez
Perce, Umatilla, and Yakima. But almost immediately upon General Clarke's
proclamation the impatient immigration began to enter the Walla Walla Valley.
We may consider the immigrants of 1858 and 1859 as the vanguard of permanent
settlement. Yet, it should not be forgotten that several names of permanent im-
portance are found in the annals of 1851-55. during the period between the
Cayuse war and the Great War of 1855-58. Those names appeared in the chap-
ter on the Indian Wars.

A number of the pioneers of 1858-59 had been connected with those wars,
either as members of the United States army or as volunteers. Others came from
Oregon and California, full of the restless spirit of the country and time, eager
for the possibilities of a new land. Those first locations were mainly in the near
vicinity of the present City of Walla Walla, with a few on the Touchet. While
it is hardly possible to avoid some omissions, we will endeavor to present a list
of those who, most of them with families, settled in the years named, a few com-
ing even prior to 1858. Some of them, it may be stated, came and "looked" and
then returned for family or equipment and came back in a year for a permanence.
A few here given left the country after a few years, and others were simply
transients. But in general they with their families became essential factors in
the upbuilding life of the region. Among them were business men and profes-
sional men, but the majority were stockmen. It was not realized that the gen-
eral body of upland was adapted to grain production. The first settlers generally
sought locations convenient to water, with bottom land where they thought grain
and vegetables might flourish, but with the range of luxuriant bunch-grass as
the essential consideration. Apparently the first to become actually established

109

HO OLD W Al.I.A WALLA COUNTY

in periiiaiiciit locations weru Thomas Tage, James Foster, Charles Russell, J. C.
Smith. Christian Maier, John Singleton, and Joseph McEvoy, all in the near
vicinity of Fort Walla Walla. That fort, it should be understood, was the one
of the present location, laid out in 1857, following the fust American fort of
the name in the city limits of W'alla W'alla on Mill Creek near the American
Theater of today. Among the pioneer business men of the same time were three
worthy of special note whose coming inaugurated the business history of Walla
Walla. These were Dorsey S. Baker, Almos H. Reynolds, and William Stephens.
Worthy of special mention in this connection is Mrs. Almos H. Reynolds, the
first white woman to reside in the Walla \\alla Valley, after the period of the
Whitman Mission. Mrs. Reynolds, nee Lettice Millican, was a member of the
immigration of 1843, lived during childhood and youth in Oregon, was married to
Ransom Clark and came with him in 1855 to a donation land claim on Yellow-
hawk Creek. Driven from their home by the Indian War of 1855, Mr. and Mrs.
Clark returned to Oregon, and there Mr. Clark died in 1859. With remarkable
fortitude and courage, Mrs. Clark returned at once to complete residence and
make proof on the valuable claim, the Government having cancelled the lapse of
time covered by the wars. In 1861 Mrs. Clark was married to Mr. Reynolds and
the remainder of the lives of both was spent in the city which they did so much
to advance.

In connection with the reference to the Ransom Clark donation land claim, it
is of interest to record the fact that there were five such claims established in
the Walla Walla Valley. To those not familiar with the early history of Oregon
it may be well to explain that the Provisional Government in 1843 provided that
each American citizen in Oregon might locate 320 acres of land, or each married
couple might have double that amount. That offer was one of the great in-
centives to immigration, though it would, of course, have been nugatory if the
United States had not got the country. When Oregon was acquired by the United
States that law was confirmed by Congress. The law lasted but ten years after the
acquisition of Oregon, and almost all the locations under it were in the Willamette
and Umpqua valleys. There were a few, however, in the Cowlitz Valley and on
the north side of the Columbia and on streams entering Puget Sound. Mr. and
Mrs. Clark were the only locators who came here from the Willamette Valley
jiurposely to locate a donation claim. There were, however, three former mem-
bers of the Hudson's Bay Company who located donation claims in the vicinity of
Frenchtown. These Were Louis Dauney, Narcisse Remond (or Raymond it ap-
pears on the Land Office map), and William McBean. In addition to those four
donation claims, the United States Government allowed the American Foreign
Missionary Society a square mile of land at the Whitman Mission, and in 1859
Gushing Fells purchased their right and established himself upon the claim. The
St. Rose Mission also had a filing at Frenchtown, but did not complete proof.

A number of names of the "advance guard" will be found in this chapter
under the heads of county and city officials. In order, however, to present all in
one view, we are giving here as complete a list as possible of the settlers of 1857-
58-59. It is derived in part from the record in "Historic Sketches" by Col. F. F.
Gilbert, and in part from the records of the Inland Empire Pioneer Association,
supplemented by personal inquiry by the author. It is inevitable that a name here

•FT

ft>

-T-

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

111

and there should be omitted and the author and publishers will appreciate any
further information from pioneer sources.

PIONEERS PRIOR TO 1860

John F. Abbott
H. C. Actor
Charles Albright
Milton Aldrich
Newton Aldrich

C. R. Allen
F. M. Archer
Wm. H. Babcock
Chester N. Babcock

D. S. Baker

S. D. Baldwin
W. A. Ball
Joseph Bauer
Charles Bellman
Wm. Bingham
A. A. Blanchard
Mrs. Elizabeth J. Blanch-
ard
P. J. Boltrie

E. Bonner

D. D. Brannan

E. H. Brown
H. N. Bruning
James Buckley-
John Bush
John Cain

J. M. Canaday

C. H. Case

J. Clark

Ransom Clark and sons

Charles and William
Mrs. Ransom Clark
George E. Cole
J. M. Craigie
Louis Dauney
George Delaney
W. S. Davis
N. B. Denny
J. M. Dewar
James Dobson
Jesse Drumheller
N. B. Dutro
N. Eastman

R. A. Eddy
Gushing Eells
!W. L. Elroy
S. H. Erwin
'Edward Evarts
Ij. H. Fairchild
jWm. Fink
tj. Foresythe
Ijames W. Foster
J. Freedman
Ijames Fudge
I James Galbreath
S. S. Gilbreath
Thomas Gilkerson
W. S. Gilliam
Braziel Grounds
Ralph Guichard
|W. R. Hammond
Joseph W. Harbert
Solomon Hardman
Martin H. Hauber
Daniel Hayes
Samuel E. Heam
Joseph Hellmuth
H. H. Hill
Henry Howard
Thomas Hughes
Lycurgus Jackson
Samuel Johnson
James Johnston
Wm. B. Kelly
Robert Kennedy
]\Iichael Kenny
James Kibler
L. L. Kinney
Wm. Kohlhauff
J. M. Lamb
Samuel Legart
A. G. Lloyd
J. C. Lloyd
Francis F. Loehr
James McAuliffe
Wm. McBean

M. C. McBride
Robert McCool
Thomas McCoy
Joseph McEvoy
j. W. McGhee
Neil McGlinchy
Wm. McKinney
Lewis McMorris
Wm. McWhirk
Christian Maier
John Mahan
John Makin
John Manion
Pat Markey
S. R. Maxson
John May
Wm. Millican
R. G. Moffit
Louis A. Mullan
Lewis Neace
James O'Donnell
John O'Donnell
Robert Oldham
Frank Orselli
Thomas P. Page
A. D. Pambrun
Edward D. Pearce
Jonathan Pettyjohn
John Picard
Francis Pierrie
George T. Pollard
P. Powel
I. T. Reese
Mrs. C. Regan
R. H. Reighart
A. H. Reynolds
R. A. Rice
Thomas Riley
A. B. Roberts
A. H. Robie
J. J. Rohn
Charles Russell
Mrs. Louisa Saunders

112 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Louis Scholl S. D. Smith W. W. Walter

-Mrs. Elizabeth Fulton II. IT. Spalding A. G. P. Wardle

Scholl Wm. Stephens R. Warmack

Marshall Seeke B. F. Stone John Welch

J. M. Sickler Frank Stone E. I!. Whitman

John M. Silcott Christian Sturm Jonas Whitney

J. A. Sims T. J. Sweazea Mrs. M. A. Wightnian

Charles Silverman W. J. Terry W. W. Wiseman

John Singleton John Tempany Thomas Wolf

J. C. Smith Augustus Von Hinkle F. L. Worden

As it was becoming e\ ident that Walla Walla possessed the resources and
attractions for drawing and sustaining a large population of the best American
citizenship, the Legislature of the territory passed an act on January 19, 1859, to
provide a government for A\'alla Walla County. Meanwhile, however, the limits
of the county had been greatly reduced, for in 1858 Spokane County had been laid
out and this embraced the larger part of the vast area covered by the first Walla
Walla County. In 1859, Klickitat County (spelled Clikatat in the Act), embracing
the area between the Columbia River and the Cascades, was erected. By these
two acts Walla Walla County was reduced to the area south of Snake River and
east of the Columbia. Or it would have been so reduced, if the organization of
Spokane County had been practically accomplished. But it was not, and in
T863, the new Territorj' of Idaho was established by act of Congress, and at
about the same time Stevens County in Washington was laid out, covering
Eastern Washington east of the Columbia and north of Snake River, and includ-
ing the abortive County of Spokane. Not till 1879 did Spokane become a sep-
arate county. It is interesting to note also that with Stevens the County of
Ferguson was created, including what now composes the counties of Kittitas,
Yakima, and Benton. In the general shuffle of time and fate the name of Fergu-
son has disappeared, but Stevens still remains to perpetuate geographically (there
is little need historically) the name of the doughty and invincible first Governor
of Washington Territory, though the land area covered by the name has been
greatly reduced by the successive subtractions of Whitman, Spokane, Adams,
Franklin, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Chelan, and Ferry counties.

By the act of 1859 referred to, the necessary officers of Old Walla Walla
County were' established as follows: County Commissioners, John Mahan, Walter
R. Davis, and John C. Smith (better known as Sergeant Smith) ; Sherifif, Edward

D. Pearce; Auditor, R. H. Reighart ; Probate Judge, Samuel D. Smith; Justice
of the Peace, J. A. Sims. Commissioners Mahan and Davis met at Walla Walla
on March 15, 1859, and to fill vacancies left by the non-acceptance of the auditor
and sheriff, appointed James Galbreath for the former and Lycurgus Jackson
for the latter position. At a meeting of the commissioners on March 26, 1859,
they found it necessary to make changes again in the personnel of county
officers. As a result the following assumed office in their respective places:

E. H. Brown, probate judge; Lycurgus Jackson, assessor; Neil McGlinchy
county treasurer; and William B. Kelly, superintendent of schools.

The next stage in the political evolution of the county was the appointment
of a date for general election. This was set for the following July. The county

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 113

was divided into two voting precincts, Steptoeville, and Dry Creelc. The former
seems to have included the region centering around the United States Fort Walla
Walla, and thence down Mill Creek to the Walla Walla. There was a general
habit of designating the region around the fort as Steptoeville, a clumsy and
illogical name, for it is not euphonious nor would it seem that it would have
been popular, for certainly the officer who met such disastrous defeat at the hands
of the Spokane Indians did not bring great glory to the Stars and Stripes nor
great security to possible settlement. Fortunately the name was not preserved.
The election place in "Steptoeville" was appointed at the house of W. J. Terry
but that was subsequently changed to "The Church at Steptoeville." The only
church here at that time seems to have been a Catholic church built at some time
in 1859 on the location of the subsec^uent McGillivray house, afterward occupied
by Jacob Betz, near the present home of George Welch. The "church," we may
say in passing, consisted of poles stuck in the ground and covered with shakes.
It had no floor and its only seating facilities consisted of one bench. J. A. Sims,
Wm. B. Kelly, and Wm. McWhirk were the judges and Thomas Hughes the
clerk for the election in "Steptoeville" precinct. In Dry Creek precinct, which
seems to have included all the rest of the county to the east and north, the elec-
tion board consisted of E. Bonner, J. M. Craigie, and Wm. Fink. The clerk was
W. W. Wiseman. The polling place was at the residence of J. C. Smith. That
was the first real election in Walla Walla County or anywhere in Eastern Wash-
ington, though there had been "kind of" an election in 1855 among the few
settlers around Waiilatpu and Frenchtown. It is worth noting that the retiring
board of commissioners had two meetings prior to the election. One of these was
on June 6th, and at that meeting it was voted to pay $20.00 per month for the
rent of a building for a courthouse and to impose a tax of seven mills. At a
meeting on July 2d the resignation of James Galbreath was presented and Augustus
Von Hinkle was appointed for the vacancy. At the same meeting the name of
Waiilatpu was substituted for Steptoeville.

The election of July seems to have duly occurred, but apparently the records
have been lost. That officers were duly chosen appears from the fact that
on September 5th the new board of commissioners met and determined their
terms of service: Charles Russell, one year; John Mahan two years and Wm.
McWhirk three years. The following incumbents of county offices were elected :
I. T. Reese, auditor; Lycurgus Jackson, sheriff; Neil McGlinchy, treasurer;
Thomas P. Page, assessor; C. H. Case, surveyor; J. M. Canaday, justice of the
peace. I. T. Reese was granted $40.00 per month for the building used as the
courthouse, and that building was nearly opposite the present courthouse. The
county hired the upper story, the lower being a saloon. On November 17, 1859,
the board of commissioners voted to locate the county seat at the point first
named "Steptoeville," then Waiilatpu, but now by their vote duly christened
Walla Walla. Thus, on November 17, 1859, the "Garden City" officially entered
the world under the name by which the Indians at the junction of the Big Rivers
introduced themselves to Lewis and Clark, the first white explorers, and pre-
served, though with many changes of spelling, through the era of the Hudson's
Bay Company, and by that company applied to the fort on the Columbia. Now
by the action of the first elected board of county commissioners the musical
name was attached to the newly established town of 1859. I*^ '^ worthy of notice

Vol. 1—8

114 OLD WALLA WALLA COLXTY

that the name is commonly supposed to mean tlic 'A'alley of Waters,"' referring
to the numerous sjirings in the vicinity of the city. The author has been told
by "Old Bones," an Indian of the Cayuse tribe who lived for many years near
Lyons' Ferry on Snake River and was known to all old-timers, that the name was
understood by the natives to signify that section of country below Waiilatpu,
"where the four creeks meet;" viz., the Walla Walla, Touchet, Mill Creek, and
Dry Creek. The Walla Walla above that point was commonly known to the
Indians as "Tum-a-lum." The sound "Wall" is common in Indian words all over
the Northwest as \\'illamette, Wallula, Wallowa, Waiilatpu, or, as some got it,
vV'allatpu. Many poetical and some prosaic accounts have been given of the origin
of the name. Among others, Joaquin Miller, "Poet of the Sierras," insisted that
when the French voyageurs first looked down from the Blue Mountains ("Les
Montagnes Bleues" in their Gallic speech) upon the fair fertile valley, they ex-
claimed : "Voila, Voila !" (Behold, behold !) and thus the name became fixed. This
fantastic idea is, however, easily disproved by the fact that Lewis and Clark, who
entered the countr}' by Snake River, got the name from the Indians on the
Columbia near the mouth of the Walla Walla. In the same connection, while
speaking of the local names used by the aborigines, it is of interest to observe that
the commonplace appellation of Mill Creek for the beautiful stream which flows
through Walla W'alla City has supplanted a far more fit and attractive native
name. It is somewhat variously pronounced and hence spelled. Rev. Henry
Spalding gives it as Pasha. Thomas Beall of Lewiston gives it as Pashki. Others
have gotten the sound as Paskau, or Pashkee. It seems to signify "sunflower."
Mr. Beall regards the name as applying rather to the tract of land extending
a mile or two above Walla Walla where the sunflower is very frequent than to the
creek itself. Another mellifluous name said to be used by some of the natives is
"Imchaha." It is truly regrettable that so common a name as Mill Creek should
have become fastened upon so attractive a feature of the city.

As indicated above, the location of the United States Fort Walla Walla was
largely determinative of the location of the city. The first business of the region
arose for the purpose of providing supplies for the fort. Several of those whom
we have named in the "Advance Guard" were directly connected with that busi-
ness. .An example is found in Charles Russell who was connected with the
quartermaster's department of the fort, and seeing the heavy burden of trans-
porting supplies from the Willamette \'alley determined to test the valley
land. Accordingly he sowed eighty acres to barley at a point north of the fort
on what later became the Drumheller place. It yielded fifty bushels to the acre.
In the same season Mr. Russell raised a hundred acres of oats on the place which
he soon after took up on the creek which bears his name. That might be regarded
as the inauguration of agriculture in this vicinity though it should be remembered
that Dr. Whitman twenty years before had raised prolific crops of all kinds at
Waiilatpu. Wm. McWhirk was the first merchant in Walla Walla. He erected
a tent for a store in the spring of 1857 at a point near what is now the comer
of Main and Second streets. During the fall of the same year, Charles Bellman
set up another tent store at the point occupied by the Jack Daniels saloon for
many years at the site of the present "Togs." Apparently the old-timers are at
variance as to the builder and location of the first actual building. Some have as-
serted that Wm. McWhirk erected, in the summer of 1857, a cabin on the north

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 115

side of ^lain Street, nearly where the Farmers' Savings Bank now stands, and
that in the fall of the same year Charles Bellman put up a structure a little east
of that at about the point of the Young and Lester florist location. In April,
1858, Lewis McMorris erected a slab and shakes structure for Neil McGlinchy
on about the present southwest corner of Main and Third. \'arious rude buildings
appeared in 1858, some for residences, some for saloons (which we regret to
record seems to "have been a very active line of business at that time). These
were constructed by James Galbreath, W. A. Ball, Harry Howard, Michael
Kenny, William Terry, John Mahan, James Buckley, and Thomas Riley. The
first building with floor, doors, and glass windows was erected by Ralph Guichard
and Wm. Kohlhauff at the point now occupied by the White House Clothing
Store at the northwest corner of Main and Third.

.\t that time there were two rival locations : one at the point started by Mc-
Whirk, McGlinchy, and Bellman, and the other at a cabin built by Henry Howard,
known as the "half-way house ;" i. e., half-way to the fort. Spirituous refreshment
seems to have been much appreciated by the gallant defenders of their country at
the Fort Walla Walla of that time, and a half-way house was quite a desirable
accessory of a trip to "town." As we have already noted, there was a difference
of opinion as to the name of the town, but that of Walla Walla finally prevailed
over all rivals. On November 17, 1859, the commissioners laid out the town with
the following boundaries : Commencing in the center of Main Street at Mill
Creek, thence running north 440 yards, thence running west one-half mile to a
stake, thence running south one-half mile to a stake, thence running east one-half
mile to a stake, thence running north to the place of commencement; 160 acres
in all.

The town government was organized by the appointment of a recorder, L T.
Reese, and three trustees, F. C. Worden, Samuel Baldwin, and Neil McGlinchy.
The town was surveyed by C. H. Case, providing streets eighty feet wide running
north and south, and one hundred feet wide running east and west. The lots were
laid out with a sixty-foot front and a depth of 120 feet. They were to be sold for
S5.00 each, with the addition of $1.00 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 reduced to one acre.

The first lots sold were those taken by L T. Reese and Edward Evarts, both in
block 13, the sale being recorded November 30, 1859. On December 22d, of the
same vear, 150 acres of land was surveyed into town property for Thomas Wolf
and L. C. Kinney, the former soon selling his interest to the latter.

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 official, 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 \'ancouver 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.

116 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

The Lit}' of Walla Walla was originally incorporated by an act of the Terri-
torial Legislature, ])asscd on January ii, 1862. By the provisions of said act the
city embraced within its limits the south half of the southwest 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 attor-
ney. No salary was to attach to the offices of mayor or councilman until the popu-
lation of the city had reached one thousand 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 regular election under said
charter : Mayor, B. P. Standef er ; recorder, James Galbreath ; councilmen, H. C.
Coulson, B. F. Stone, E. B. Whitman, D. S. Baker, and M. Schwabacher ; marshal,
George H. Porter. The council assembled on the ist of March to perfect its organ-
ization, 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 McAuliflf and
George E. Cole thus became members of the council, S. F. Ledyard being appointed
clerk. The council again met, pursuant to adjournment, on the 4th of the same
month, when Mr. Cole was chosen chairman; Edward Nugent, city attorney;
and Messrs. McAuliff, Whitman and Stone were appointed to prepare a code of
rules for the government of the council.

Four hundred and twenty-two votes were cast at the first election, held April i,
1862, the following being the result: Mayor, E. B. Whitman; councilmen, J. F.
Abbott, R. Jacobs, 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 ; surveyor, A. L Chapman ; clerk, S. F. Ledyard.
On the nth of April, W. Phillips was appointed councilman in place of J. F.
Abbott, while in the succeeding year it appears that H. Hellmuth had been ap-
pointed in the place of B. F. Stone. The recorder resigned in January, 1863, his
successor, J. W. Barry, being chosen at a special election held on the last day of
that month. H. B. Lane succeeded Mr. Greenwell as assessor; on April 11, 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, of which sum liquor and gaming licenses con-
tributed $1,875. When it is remembered that this was at the height of the gold
excitement, this last item may be well understood.

During the last quarter of the year the revenue of the new city was $2,714.19,
but so large were the expenditures that the opening of the year 1863 found in the
treasury a balance of less than five dollars. The value of property in the city
was assessed in 1862 at $300,000, the succeeding year witnessing the increase of
the same to $500,000.

Such may be regarded as the establishment of Walla Walla City up to the time
of incorporation. During the period from January 19, 1859, the appointment by
the Legislature of the Territory of officers for the county, down to the date of the
incorporation of the city, the county organization had been launched after the
typical .American fashion. The two only absolutely sure things in this world —

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 117

death and taxes- — were established. It is certain that there were deaths in that
time, and at the meeting of the county commissioners on May 7, i860, a tax levy
of seven mills was voted. At the same meeting the county was redivided into
voting precincts for the coming election in July. It gives some conception of the
points of the beginnings of settlements to note that the precincts were as follows:
Walla Walla, Dry Creek, .Snake River, East Touchet, and West Touchet. Coppei
Creek was the dividing line between the two last-named precincts. The following
extract from Colonel Gilbert's "Historic Sketches" will give a view of conditions :
"At this election the question of whether a tax for building a courthouse
and jail should be levied, was submitted to the people, and though, as before
stated, no returns are on file, a negative vote is indicated from the fact that neither
were built at that time, prisoners being sent to Fort Vancouver for incarceration.
From their official bonds it appears that the following named were the successful
aspirants for office at the election of July, i860:

Auditor and Recorder — James Galbreath.

Sheriff — James A. Buckley.

Surveyor — M. J. Noyse.

Assessor — C. Langley.

Coroner — Almiron Dagget.

Justice of Peace, Walla Walla — William J. Horton.

Justice of Peace, Dry Creek — John Sheets.

Justice of Peace, East Touchet — Horace Strong.

Justice of Peace, West Touchet — Elisha Everetts.

Justice of Peace, William B. Kelly.

"No footprint of transactions coming under supervision of the board while
this set of officers were acting, prior to October 12, 1861, remains, and we are
forced to skip the intervening time, and commence again with the latter date. A
county election had occurred in July, 1861, and W. H. Patton, S. Maxson and
John Sheets appear at this time as the board of commissioners. November 5th,
Sheriff James Buckley, who was ex officio tax collector, w'as appointed county
assessor in place of S. Owens, who, having been elected in 1861, failed to qualify.
On the 8th of the same month a contract was given Charles Russell to build a
county jail at a cost of $3,350. He finished the work in 1862, was paid $6,700 in
script for it, and in 1881 re-purchased the same building from the county for
$120, and, tearing it down, moved it out to his ranch.

CONDITION OF THE COUNTY IN 1860

"Up to 1 86 1, there had been nothing of special moment, calculated for inducing
emigration to settle in the vicinity of the Blue Mountains. There was unoccupied
land enough in various parts of the United States to prevent its soil from being
much of an inducement, and, at that time the agricultural portion of Eastern
Washington was supposed to exist in limited quantities. There was, practically,
no market for farm products, as they would not pay the expense of shipment,
and, outside of the garrison, its employes and dependents, there was no one to
purchase them; still a few people had found their way into the country from

118 OLD WALLA WALLA COUXTY

( )rcgoii. ill 1859 and i860, with stock, and had taken up ranches along the various
streams. \'ery few came to locate with a view of establishing a home here, their
l)urpose being to graze stock for a few years and then abandon the country, rais-
ing some grain in the meantime for their own use, and possibly a little to sell, if
anybody should wish to buy. 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 any one to remain there."

Perhaps in no other way can we give so perfect a view of the Walla Walla of
1861 as by extracts from the first issue of the IVasliiiigton Statesman. The be-
ginning of the paper was itself one of the most notable events of the time. It
was not only the first newspaper in Walla Walla, but the first in the whole vast
region between the Missouri and the Cascade Mountains. We are indebted to
Dr. Frank Rees for the opportunity to use the priceless treasure of a complete
file of the paper for the period from the first number. November 29, 1861,
through the remainder of that year and those following. We find at the heading
of this paper that it was issued every Friday morning and that N. Northrop,
R. D. Smith and R. R. Rees were the editors and proprietors, and that the office
was on Main Street, Walla Walla, W. T. The rates of subscription were $5.00
per year, $2.50 for six months, and 25 cents for a single copy.

We quote here several paragraphs from the opening editorial :

"We send forth this morning, with our congratulations, the first number of the
Washington Statesman, and respectfully solicit the attention of the people of
Walla Walla and county to its pages. From a careful consideration of the de-
mands of the people to whom we shall look for support in sustaining a weekly
newspaper at this point, we feel warranted in the conviction that we are inau-
gurating an enterprise which will be a means of vastly enhancing the develop-
ment, prosperity, and permanent interests of this most favorable section of the
upper country, and which, conducted with prudence and economy, will be reason-
ably remunerative to its projectors. * * *

"That a weekly publication, devoted to the various interests of the country,
containing all the news v\'hich may be gathered from different quarters, is essen-
tially needed in the Walla Walla \'alley, we premise no permanent resident will
deny ; this admitted, we have no misgivings as to the disposition of the people to
come forward and promptly sustain an enterprise so materially calculated to
further their own interests as a community. Hence, we expect at least that every
man who is fortunate enough to possess a home in this beautiful valley will at
once subscribe for the Statesman, and pay for it in advance. Flome pride will
])rompt every man to do thus much for the benefit of the vicinity in which he has
chosen his residence, even if he already has more papers than he finds time to
read."

Following this introduction the editorial jjoints out the special need of the
farmer, the stockraiser, the merchant, and the mechanic in the existence and sup-
port of such a jjaper.

The editorial then proceeds to indicate its policy as follows :

"As indicated in our prospectus, the Statesman will be independent on all sub-
jects. By independent we do not mean neutral: Ijut, when occasion requires, we
shall express our views fearlessly upon all subjects legitimate for newspaper dis-
cussion ; and in doing this, we shall be our own advisers and regulate our own

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 119

business in our own way. The Stutcsinan will not be devoted to the interests or
claims of any political party ; but ignoring partisan measures, will adhere to
and support those measures which in our judgment are best calculated to preserve
and perpetuate the bonds of our national union, under whose yet waving and
revered flag alone we hope for success. * * * Arrangements will soon be com-
pleted for obtaining all the items of news from the different leading points in
the mines, and from various places within this territory and Oregon bearing rela-
tions to us commercially or otherwise. * * *

"The coming season with us at home will be an auspicious one. Adding to the
importance of the developments which must immediately follow in the train of'
an immigration to the upper country in extent unparalleled, the course and prog-
ress of which our people should all be made aware of — adding to this the mighty
results developing in the East, it can readily be seen that material is afforded for
making up a paper which will be indispensable to the people of this section, as
well as those of the territory at large.

"We shall liberally distribute copies of this number in the different sections
where we desire the paper to circulate ; and we take the present occasion to request
the people generally of this valley and the upper country to call and furnish
themselves with copies for distribution in their several neighborhoods, thereby
lending us a hand in obtaining a subscription list as early as possible."

We find most of the news items in this first number of the Statesman to per-
tain to the mines in Idaho. There is a correspondence between Henry M. Chase
and Capt. E. D. Pearce in regard to certain captive children in the hands of the
Indians. The tone of this correspondence shows something of the strenuous con-
ditions of those days of war and pioneer settlement.

The most notable local event apparently was the Firemen's ball, given by the
members of the Union Hook and Ladder Company at the Walla Walla Hotel.
This news item declares that the ball was a successful and brilliant affair and
that the smiling faces and social congratulations of the large number of ladies and
gentlemen present well attested how eminently successful had been the efforts of
the firemen to render the occasion in every respect a pleasant one. The mottoes
displayed in the room were quite interesting as showing what the ambitious fire-
men of that first period wanted to set forth as guiding them. The motto of the
Union Hook and Ladder Company was "We Destroy to Save." There were
several mottoes from Portland and The Dalles fire companies, as follows : "Wil-
lamette No. I, Conquer We Must;" "Multnomah No. 2, On Hand;" "Columbian
No. 3, Always Willing;" "Young America No. 4, Small, but Around;" "Vigilance
Hook and Ladder Company, We Climb;" "Dalles Hook and Ladder Company,
We Raze to Save."

Another local item of some interest is to the effect that the Robinson The-
atrical Troupe had been performing in the city for several weeks, almost every
night having crowded houses and appreciative audiences. A little description is
given of the new theater, which it states is situated in the lower part of town, but
a short walk from the business part of the city. The city editor exhorts all the
people in town to patronize this theater for the sake of spending a pleasant

evening.

Another item of historic interest is the statement that orders have been for-
warded to Lieutenant Mullan instructing him to send back his escort of one

12U OLD WAl.l.A WALl.A COUNTY

Inindred United States soldiers, who had been laying out the great road known
as the "Alullan Road." The party at that time was in the Hitter Root Mountains,
and it was considered impracticable for them to cross those mountains in the
winter season.

Although, as will be seen from the date of this paper, the time was the
opening of the Civil war, yet it is noticeable that there was a great scarcity of
information in regard to that great event. The latest news of any kind from the
East is dated November 15th, just two weeks before the date of publication of the
paper.

Another news item is to the effect that on account of an unpardonable delay
in the arrival of material, press, and fixtures, from The Dalles, the publication of
the first issue was delayed beyond expectation. The proprietors seem to feel very
bad over this delay.

The advertisements in this first number of the Statesman are of great interest.
Among a number beyond our space to quote here we find an entire column devoted
to the wholesale and retail business of Kyger & Reese. They seem to have been
prepared to deal in almost every conceivable object of need in the way of clothing,
groceries, hardware, crockery, drugs, medicines, books and stationery, as well
as some supply of the spirituous refreshments which were so much desired at that
time. We find several advertisements of stage companies ; among others the
Walla Walla and Dalles Stage Company, which advertises to make the run be-
tween the two places in two days. Miller and Blackmore were the proprietors.
We find also the advertisement of Abbott's Livery, Sale and Exchange Stables on
Main Street. The Oregon Steam Navigation Company advertises the steamers
Julia, Idaho, and Tenino, running between Portland and the Nez Perce mines
with portages at the Cascades and The Dalles. The fare from Portland to The
Dalles was $8.00, with an extra charge for portage at the Cascades. Animals from
Portland to The Dalles were $5.00. The fare from Des Chutes to Wallula was
$15.00. A number of names prominent later on in the legal and medical history
of Walla Walla, appear in the advertising columns. Among the physicians
we find I^. C. Kinney, L. Terry, R. Bernhard, J. A. Mullan, L. Danforth, and I. H.
Harris. Among the lawyers we find W. A. George and I. N. Smith. We find a
very small advertisement by D. S. Baker, in which the strong point is of a fire-
proof, brick building. That was the only fire-proof, brick building in Walla
Walla at that time.

By way of comparison with the present cost of living, it is of some interest
to give the Walla Walla prices current as appearing in that issue of the Statesman.
The following are the items:

Bacon — Per lb., 25c.
Flour — Per hundred, $5 to $6.
Beans — Per lb., 12c to 15c.

Sugar — China, 18c to 20c; New Orleans, 23c to 25c; Island 20c to 22c;
crushed, 26c.

Rice — Per lb., i8c to 20c.
Dried Apples — Per lb., 20c to 25c.
Yeast Powders— Per doz., $4 to $6.
Candles — Per lb., 60c.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 121

Soap — Hill's, per lb. i7^c; Fay's, i6c.

Tobacco — Per lb., 6oc to $i.

Nails — Per lb., i6 2/2c.

Butter — Fresh Rolls, per lb., jsc ; Oregon, 50c.

Eggs — Per doz., $1.

Oats — Per lb., 2yic to 3c.

Wheat — Per bushel, $1.25 to $1.50.

The reader of that tirst issue of the Statesman would readily arrive at the
conclusion that business was booming in Walla Walla and that there was a
demand for almost all of the commodities common in any new and active com-
munity. The philanthropist is somewhat pained indeed to observe the large
amount of attention paid to the liquor business in its various forms. The Nez
Perce mines and the various stage lines seemed to demand a large share of at-
tention, both in advertising and in news items. After all, people are very much
the same from generation to generation and we can readily infer that what the
people of Walla Walla were in the '60s, their children and grandchildren are
largely the same in this year of grace, 1917.

In the early history of the territory before government was organized to
protect life and punish criminals, the miners organized courts of their own to try
those who committed any crime within the camp, but there were no courts to try
the criminals whose work was outside of the miner's camp. As a result crime
flourished in the towns that supplied the camps and on the road between the
town and the camp.

There were organized bands of criminals who plundered the merchant in
the town, the packer and the stage on the road, and the miners to and from the
different camps. The members of these organizations had pass words by which
they could make themselves known to each other, routes along which they
operated, stations where members on the gang were located. They also had
members in every camp and town engaged in various occupations, trades and
callings. Stage stand tenders and sometimes the drivers themselves were mem-
bers of the gang, and when organized government was established they succeeded
in getting themselves elected to the office of sheriff, marshal, etc. These men
knew when every pack train started, what it had, where it went and how much
gold dust it brought back on its return ; watched every stranger and learned his
business; took notice of every good horse; knew of the departure of every stage,
the number of passengers and the probable treasure carried. The lone traveler
was robbed of his horse by a false bill of sale. The returning packers were held
up, robbed and sometimes murdered. The stage was stopped, the passengers
ordered out and relieved of all their money and other valuables. Frequently the
Wells Fargo box containing thousands of dollars would be among the prizes
taken from the stage.

One of the most noted of these road agents was Henry Plummer. He came
of a good family, was gentlemanly in bearing, dignified in deportment, of strong
executive ability and a fine judge of human nature. While a young man he
drifted west, became a successful gambler and acquainted with various phases
of a criminal's life. In the spring of 1861 he came to Lewiston, Idaho. This
town was then the head of navigation on the Snake River, had a population of

122 OLD WAIJ.A WALLA COUNTY

several hundred, among whom were thieves, gamblers, escaped convicts and
criminals of all kinds. 'J'hese he organized into a band of highwaymen, to
operate on the road between Walla Walla, Washington, and Orofino, Idaho,
directing the operations from Lewiston which was a midway ground. Two sub-
stations were located, one at the foot of Craig Mountain, east of Lewiston, and
the other w-est, at the junction of Alpowai and Pataha creeks. These were called
"shebangs" and were the rendezvous of a band of robbers. Soon robberies and
murders on this road were common, but the respectable, law abiding citizens
were in the majority and they soon organized themselves into a law^ and order
body, which made the operations of the robber gang dangerous and unprofitable.

The mines at Orofino were soon worked out. This, together with the
citizen's organizations and the fear on the part of Plummer of being exposed for
crimes committed by him while in California, caused him to flee from Idaho
and go to Alontana. Upon his arrival there he apparently desired to reform and
live the life of a law- abiding citizen. He married a nice young woman and
entered upon an honorable means of earning a living. But he was a criminal by
nature, environment and practice and not strong enough, had he desired it, to
break with his old associates and habits and like all criminals was haunted by
fear of detection.

When he left Idaho a companion by the name of Cleveland went with him.
They were together when Plummer was married near Fort Benton and they both
a little later went to Bannack. He and Cleveland had a bitter c]uarrel over the
young lady who married Plummer. This, together with his fear of his associates
in crime, made him suspicious and in a saloon brawl a short time later he shot
Cleveland. This started him again on a carnival of crime that has no parallel
in the history of the Northwest, and just as he had organized the criminals when
in Idaho, he again organized them in Montana on a much larger scale. These
men were bound by an oath to be true to each other and were required to per-
form such service as came within the defitied meaning of their separate positions
in the band. The penalty of disobedience was death. If any one of them, under
any circumstances, divulged any of the secrets or gxiilty purposes of the band,
he was to be followed and shot down at sight. The same doom w'as prescribed
foranv outsider who attempted an exposure of their criminal designs, or arrested
any of them. Their great object was declared to be plunder in all cases, without
taking life if possible, but if murder was necessary, it was to be committed.
Their password was "'innocent.'' Their neckties were fastened with a sailor's
knot, and they wore mustaches and chin whiskers. Plummer himself was a
member of the band.

The duties of these men may be gained from the work assigned them as
revealed by one of their number. Henry Plummer was chief of the band ; Bill
liurton, stool pigeon and second in command; George Brown, secretary; Sam
Burton, roadster; Cyrus Skinner, fence, spy and roadster; George Shears, horse-
thief and roadster; Frank Parrish, horse-thief and roadster; Hayes Lyons, tele-
graph man and roadster; Bill Hunter, telegraph man and roadster; Ned Ray,
council-room keeper at Bannock City; George Ives, Stephen Marshland, Dutch
John (Wagner), Alex Carter, Johnny Cooper, Buck Stinson, Mexican Frank,
Bob Zachary, Boone Helm, Oubfoot George (Lane), Billy Terwiliger, Gad
Moore, roadsters.

OLD WALLA \\\\LLA COUNTY 123

But Plunimer soon ran his course. He was captured and had to pay the
penalty for his crimes. "Red" Yager, a member of Plummer's gang, was hanged
by a vigilance committee. Before his execution he made a confession, giving
the names of all the members of the band and stating that Plummer was the
leader. Plummer, with two others of the organization, were at Bannock. No
trouble was experienced in arresting the other two, one being captured in a
cabin, the other stretched out on a gambling table in a saloon. But great care
had to be exercised in the arrest of the leader of the band, who was cool-headed
and a quick shot. Those detailed to capture him went to his cabin and found him
in the act of washing his face. When informed that he was wanted he mani-
fested no concern but quietly wiped his face and hands. He announced that he
would be ready to go within a short time, threw down the towel and smoothed
out his shirt sleeves, then advanced toward a chair to get his coat, but one of
the party, by great good fortune, saw a pistol in the pocket and replied, "I will
hand you your coat," at the same time taking posession of the pistol. Otherwise
Plummer would likely have killed one or all of those attempting to capture him.
He, with the other two criminals arrested were escorted in the bright moonlight
night to the gallows which Plummer himself had erected the year before and
used in the hanging of a man, he being at that time sheriff. As they appeared
in sight of the gallows the other criminals cursed and swore, but Plummer was
begging for his life. "It is useless," said one of the vigilantes, "for you to
request us to spare your life, for it has already been settled that you are to be
hung." Plummer then replied, "Cut off my ears, cut out my tongue, strip me
naked, let me go. I beg you to spare my life. I want to live for my wife, my
poor absent wife. I want to settle my business affairs. Oh, God." Then falling
upon his knees, the tears streaming from his eyes, and with his utterance choked
with sobs, he continued: "I am too wicked to die. I cannot go bloodstained and
unforgiven into the presence of the Eternal. Only spare me and I will leave
the country." But all this was to no purpose. His time had come and the
leader's stern order, "Bring him up," was obeyed. Plummer, standing under
the gallows, took off his necktie, threw it to a young man who had boarded with
him, saying, "Keep that to remember me by," and then turning to the vigilantes,
he said, "Now, men, as a last favor, let me beg that you will give me a good
drop." The favor was granted and Plummer, one of the most noted outlaws
ever known to the Northwest, was no more.

CHAPTER II
TIMES OF COWBOYS, MINERS, AND VIGILANTES

The two essentials of a city seem to be : first, a location in a region of such
resources as to attract and provide industries for the maintenance of an in-
coming and ever increasing population; and, second, such a location as will be
a natural point of exchange of commodities with more or less distant centers of
production, and as a corollary of this, feasible facilities of transportation.
Four towns were started in the "Upper Country" in the early sixties, which
were to stand these tests of a city location. They were : Walla Walla, Umatilla,
Wallula, and Lewiston. The obvious disadvantage of the first was that it was
not on navigable water, and water carriage was then the cheap and convenient
way of conveying any large amounts of freight or passengers. Its countervailing
advantage, and the reason why by common consent settlers sought it in preference
to the river towns was that it was right in the center of resources. While the
first settlers had no conception of the future of agriculture and horticulture,
it was clear that a region near enough the mountains to be easily accessible
to timber, and abounding in streams of the purest water, with infinite grazing
resources, was a paradise to the stockman. And while with the first influx of
settlers in 1858, 1859, and i860, there was not yet any knowledge of the event
which within a few months was to transform the entire history of the Inland
Empire, i. e., the discovery of gold in Idaho, yet the minds of the people of the
time were quivering with the feverish anticipations of fortune engendered by
the California mining history. Hence the settlers in Walla Walla in i860 were
right on the qui vive for "big things." Such reasons, together with the very
important fact that the United States Fort Walla Walla was located there (for
the same reasons of grass, water, and timber) were potent in detennining the
growth of the largest town. Umatilla and Wallula had the very marked ad-
vantage of water transportation to a limitless degree, but on the other hand,
the arid climate and the barren soil (barren without irrigation, of which nothing
was conceived at that time), and distance from the timber counter-balanced the
advantage. If it had then been fully realized, what we now know, that Lewis-
ton combined nearly all advantages, with no disadvantages, the site at the junc-
tion of the Snake and Clearwater would have seemed to possess unequalled at-
tractions. But Lewiston was at that time so far up Snake River and so remote
from general apprehension as a center of production that Walla Walla had an
easy lead in attracting incoming settlers.

In 1850 and i860 the chief lines of business, as already indicated, were cattle-
raising and supplying the Fort. The suitability of this country to stock-raising
was obvious to the fur-traders of the Hudson's Bay Company regime, and they
had quite a number of cattle at Fort Walla Walla (Wallula), at "Hudson's Bay,"

124

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 125

near the present Umapine, and at the near vicinity of what is now Touchet.
Doctor Whitman brought with him several head of cattle and even two calves
across the plains in 1836 and afterwards secured more from Doctor McLoughlin at
Vancouver. In the early '50s, Messrs. Brooke, Bumford, and Noble located at
Waiilatpu for the same business, while H. M. Chase and W. C. McKay on the
Umatilla in 1851 started in tlie same kind of enterprise. From these various
sources the idea had become disseminated that Walla Walla was the place for
the cowboy. Thus was inaugurated the first movement which, interrupted for
a period by gold excitement, was resumed with even greater energy as the
demands of the mines for provisions became known, and for a number of years
was the dominating interest of Old Walla Walla Coimty.

The stock business was, however, interwoven in a curious and interesting
way with all the other lines of enterprise. Especially was this true of the mining
and transportation interests. The three were dovetailed together by reason of
the fact that food and pack trains were vital necessities of the mines.

The mining history of the "Upper Country" began in the spectacular way
usual with discoveries of the precious metals. Colonel Gilbert tells a fantastic
tale of the train of circumstances which led to the first prospecting tour into what
became the great gold field of Central Idaho. This tale involves E. D. Pearce,
who, as we have seen, was one of the early office-holders of Walla Walla County.
He is described as a man of somewhat imaginative and enthusiastic character,
quick to respond to the calls of opportunity. He had been in the gold mines
of California before coming to Walla Walla, and while there had become ac-
quainted with a Nez Perce Indian who in some way had drifted into that region.
This Indian impressed Mr. Pearce with his dignity and intelligence and excited
his interest in a romantic story of his home in the mountan fastnesses of Idaho.
He declared that he, with two companions, while encamped in the mountains had
seen in the night a light of surpassing brilliance, like a refulgent star. The
Indians regarded the distant glow with awe, deeming it the eye of the Great
Spirit. In the morning, however, plucking up sufficient courage to investigate,
they discovered a glittering ball like glass embedded in the rock. They could
not dislodge it from its setting and left it, thinking it a "great tomanowas."
Pearce became impressed with the thought that the Indians had found an enor-
mous diamond of incalculable value, and he determined that, if ever the oppor-
tunity was afiforded, he would seek its hiding place. Accordingly, having reached
Walla Walla after many wanderings, he bethought himself of the diamond and
organized a company of seven men, whose names with the exception of that of
W. F. Bassett, do not seem to be recorded in the account. They made their way
in i860 into the wild tangle of mountains on the sources of the Clearwater. The
party were looking for gold, but Pearce had the diamond in mind. Indians com-
ing in contact with the party became suspicious and ordered them out. Pearce,
however, pretending to obey orders, induced a Nez Perce squaw to guide the
party into the heart of the mountains of the north fork of the Clearwater.
There, Bassett, while prodding around in the soil of a small creek, discovered
shining particles. Gold! It was only a few cents worth, but it was enough.
That was the first discovery of gold in Idaho. The place was the site of the
Oro Fino mines. Extracts from a former account written by the author, in
which are incorporated items from the Washington Statesman will indicate the

126 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

progress of the discovery and the effects on the newly-started town of Walla
Walla.

"After washing out about eighty dollars in gold, the party returned to Walla
Walla, making Iheir headquarters at the home of J. C. Smith on Dry Creek, and
finally so thoroughly enlisting his interest and cooperation 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 Novem-
ber, i860, arousing the antipathy and distrust of the Indians, who appealed to
the Government officers for the protection of their reserve from such encroach-
ments. A body of soldiers 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 mo-
lested. During the winter the isolated miners devoted their time to building five
log cabins, the first habitations erected in Oro Fino, sawing the lumber by hand.
They also continued to work for gold under the snow, and about the first of
January, 186 1, two of the men made a successful trip to the settlements,
by the utilizing of snow-shoes, while in ]\Iarch .Sergeant Smith made a
similar trip, taking with him $800 in gold dust. From this reserve he was
able to pay Kyger & Reese of Walla Walla the balance due them on the prospect-
ing outfit which had been supplied to the adventurous little party in the snowy
mountains. The gold dust was sent to Portland. Ore., 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, and within a few months
the rush to the new diggings was on in earnest, thousands starting forth for the
favored region.

The budding City of Walla Walla profited materially by the influx of gold-
seekers, who made their way up the Columbia River and thence moved forward
to Walla Walla, which became the great outfitting headquarters for those en
route to the gold country. .\t this point were purchased provisions, tools, camp
accoutrements and the horses or mules required to pack the outfits to the mines.
Through this unforeseen circumstance there was now a distinctive local market
afforded for the products of the Walla Walla country, and the farmer who had
produce of any sort to sell might esteem himself fortunate, for good prices were
freely oft'ered. Nearly all the grain that had been produced in the country was
held, in the spring of 1861, in the mill owned and operated by Simms, Reynolds
& Dent, the total amount being less than twenty thousand bushels. This surplus
commanded a high price, the farmers receiving $2.50 per bushel for their wheat,
while at the mines the operators were compelled to pay Si a pound for flour
manufactured therefrom. The inadequacy of the local supply of food products
was such that, had not additional pro\ender been transported from Oregon, starva-
tion would have stared the miners in the face. This fact gave rise to the almost
unprecedented prices demanded for the products essential to the maintenance of
life. New mining districts were discovered by the eager prospectors and all was
hustle and activity in the mining region until the fall of 1861. In November
of that year many of the miners came to W'alla \\'alla 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

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 127

of the operators feared the ravages of a severe winter and fully reahzed the
animus of the merchants at Oro Fino, who refused to sell their goods, believing
that starvation would ultimately face the miners and that they could then secure
any price they might see fit to demand. In November of the year noted, the
prices at Oro Fino were quoted as follows on certain of the necessaries of life :
flour, $25 per 100 pounds ; beef, 30 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 natural under the circumstances.

During the rush to the mining districts, both in 1861 and 1862, Walla Walla
was the scene of the greatest activity; streets were crowded; the merchants
were doing a thriving business, and pack trains moved in a seemingly endless
procession toward the gold fields. The excitement was fed by the glowing reports
that came from the mining districts, 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 alluring reports circulated in the
latter part of 1861, we may appropriately quote from the IVashington Statesman
of that period. 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 hundred 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. Weiser.
of Oregon, from where $2,680 were taken on the 20th, with two rockers. On
the 2 1 St. $3,360 were taken out with the same machines. Other claims were
paying from two to five pounds per day. Flour has fallen to 50 cents per pound,
and beef, at from 15 to 25 cents, is to be had in abundance. Most of the mines
supplied until first of June. Mr. L. met between Slate Creek and \\'alla Walla,
en route for the mines, 394 packs and 250 head of beef cattle."

In the issue of the Statesman for December 13, 1861, appears the following
interesting 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 provisions, have left this city for the mines. If the mines are one-half so
rich as they are said to be, we may safely calculate 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 extrava-
gant 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
onuces ; the second day he took out 157 ounces: third day, 214 ounces, and the
fourth day, 200 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 Salmon River,

128 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

c''g&''''oS have been fouml where "ounces" won't describe them, and where they
say the gulches arc full of gold. The discoverer of Baboon giilch 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 circumstance w-hich of itself was
enough to create a wide-spread and infectious gold-fever. Anticipating the rush
for the mines in the year 1862, a great deal of livestock had been brought to the
Walla 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 demands of the coming season.

The winter of 1861-2 was one of utmost severity, and its rigors entailed a
gigantic loss to residents throughout the eastern portion of Washington Territory
— a section practically isolated from all other portions of the world for many
weeks. It has been said that this "was the severest winter known to the whites
on the Pacific Coast." The stock in the Walla Walla country perished by the
thousands, the animals being unable to secure feed and thus absolutely starving
to death. From December to March the entire country here was effectually
hedged in by the vast quantities of snow and the severely cold weather. Not until
March 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 $125 per ton, while flour commanded $25 per barrel in
Walla Walla. It may not be malapropos 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 100 weight; beans, twenty-five
to thirty cents per pound; rice, forty to fifty cents per pound; butter, seventy-
five cents to one dollar; 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, 50 cents.

In view of subsequent gold excitements in Alaska, how familiarly will read
the following statements from the IVasliington Statesman of March 22, 1862:
"From persons who have arrived 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 the upper country. Hundreds were arriv-
ing by every steamer, and the town was literally filled to overflowing." Under
date of April 5th, the same paper gives the following pertinent information:
"From one hundred and thirty to one hundred and forty passengers, on their
way to the mines, come up to Wallula on every steamer, and the majority of
them foot it through to this place (Walla Walla)." By the last of May it was
estimated by some that between twenty-five and thirty thousand persons had
reached or were en route to the mining regions east of the Cascades, but con-
servative men now in Walla Walla regard that a great overestimate. The mer-
chants of Walla Walla profited largely through the patronage of the ever advanc-
ing column of prospectors and miners, but the farmers did not fare so well, owing
to the extreme devastations of the severe winter just passed. Enough has been

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 129

said to indicate the causes which led to the rapid settlement and development of
Eastern Washington and Oregon — an advancement that might have taken many
years to accomplish had it not been for the discovery of gold in so romantic a
manner. The yield of gold reported through regular channels 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, 1S62, food products and merchandise commanded the following
prices at Florence: flour, $1 per pound; bacon, $1.25; butter, $3; cheese, $1.50;
lard, $1.25; sugar, $1.25; coffee, $2.00; tea, $2.50; gum boots per pair, $30;
shovels, from twelve to sixteen dollars.

That year of 1861 was a great year in the annals of Walla Walla County.
Cattle drives, gold discovery, hard winter. Civil war ! The last named stupendous
event was shared by the pioneer communities on the Walla Walla and its tribu-
tary streams, but it afi^ected them in a unique manner. This was nothing less
than the period of the Vigilantes. While this organization was due to a variety
of conditions, the state of affairs which led to its existence grew out of the con-
flict of opinions about the war. Yet it must be said that the character of popula-
tion that flowed into Walla Walla after the gold discoveries and the establishment
of the town as the leading outfitting place for the mines was a suitable seed-bed
for the growth of conditions which at sundry times and places in the West have
produced vigilance committees. This peaceful and law-abiding "Garden City"
of 1917, a center of homes and educational institutions, conspicuous for morality,
intelligence, and comfort, was in the 'Goa about as "tough" a collection of human
beings as could be found. It was indeed. a- -motley 4h.r.ong that poured in as the
mining excitement grew and spread. The/^l^t ati^ Worst jostled each other on
the dusty and unsightly streets with their shackV aft'A 'tents and saloons and dance
halls. Philanthropists and missionaries anH';eHti(Hrtors were represented by Revs.
Eells, Spalding, Chamberlain, Berry and Flinn_,' Father Wilbur, Bishop Scott,
Father Yunger, and Bishop Brouillet. Some of the noblest and most liberal-
minded and honest of business men, some of whom continue to this day, gave
character and standing to the commnuity and laid foundations upon which the
goodly superstructure of the present has been reared. We have but to call up the
names of Baker, Rees. Moore, Paine, O'Donnell, Whitman, Guichard, Reynolds,
Stone, Jacobs, Johnson, Isaacs, Sharpstein, Abbott, Reese, Boyer, McMorris,
Stine, Thomas, Drumheller, Painter, Ritz, Kyger, Cole, and others too numerous
to mention, among the business men of that time, to know that the best was then
in existence. Old timers delight to tell how John F. Boyer was intrusted by
miners with sacks of gold-dust while they were gathering supplies and packing
for new ventures, with never a receipt or stroke of pen to bind him, yet never a
dream that he would fail to restore every ounce just as he received it. But the
men of this type, some with wives of the same high type (though most of them
were young men without families), were daily and nightly jostled by the mis-
cellaneous throng of gamblers, pickpockets, highway robbers, hold-ups, and pros-
titutes who ordinarily fatten on the gold-dust bags and belts of the miners
assembled at their yearly supply stations. Strange stories are told about the
number and variety and unique names and characters of the various "joints" in
the Walla Walla of the decade of the '60s. In some newspaper a few years ago
appeared an alleged reminiscence of a visitor to Walla Walla, in which he tells

130 OLD W ALLA W ALLA COUNTY

of going to a saloon, in which the floor was covered with sawdust. That was
usual enough, but the odd thing was that each patron received with his drink a
whiskbroom. Puzzled as to the jjurpose of the latter, the visitor waited for
developments. He soon discovered that the whiskey was so strenuous as to be
pretty sure to induce a fit, and the use of the broom was to sweep off a place
on the dirty floor to ha\e a lit on, after which the refreshed and enlightened
( ?) patron of the place would return the broom and proceed on his way.

Such were the mongrel conditions of life during the first years of the Civil
war. It is not surprising therefore, that such a ju.xtaposition of forces should
have caused a perfect carnival of crime, and that out of it as a defence by the
decent elements of the community should have arisen the organization of the
\'igilance Committee.

Two incidents prior to the formation of the \'igilantes indicate the uneasy
condition induced by the presence of the soldiers at the fort and the considerable
number of southern sympathizers in the community. In the JVashington States-
man of April 19, 1862, we find an account of a riot at the theater out of which
a correspondence arose between Mayor E. D. Whitman of Walla \Valla and
Col. Henry Lee, commander of the post. This is also made the subject of
editorial comment and from this comment we glean the following paragraphs
as showing the state of mind at that time.

"We publish today an interesting correspondence between Mayor Whitman
and Lieut. Colonel Lee, growing out of the recent unfortunate afifray at the
theater and the conduct of some of the soldiery since that event * * * On the
part of the citizens who were engaged in the afifray, notwithstanding the fact that
officers of the law had been sufl'ered to be stricken down and their authority con-
temned and boldly set at defiance, we are satisfied they cherished no disposition
to aggravate the difficulty either by word or deed. Remaining within the limits
of the city, they have peaceably and quietly pursued their accustomed business.
Not so the soldiers. Cherishing unjustifiably an excited and hostile disposition,
they imitated the unwarrantable conduct of their fellows on the night in ques-
tion, by parading our .streets with an armed force, thus exhibiting a total and
wanton disregard for law and civil authorities. The mildest terms that can
be applied to this procedure must characterize it as a high-handed outrage upon
the rights of the people of this city, and a gross insult to the dignity and
authority of their laws."

The editorial proceeds to score Colonel Lee severely for his answer to the
protestations of Mayor Whitman. It appears in brief that a group of soldiers
had gone to the theater and made so much disturbance as to nearly break up the
program and in an attempt to put them out one of the soldiers was killed. The
next morning a band of from seventy-five to one hundred soldiers came armed
into the town and seized the .sheriff and took possession of the street. Colonel
Lee, in his statement of the case, disclaimed all responsibility and declared that
the man who killed the soldier was a notorious criminal named "Cherokee Bob."
The colonel sarcastically expresses surprise that the citizens of Walla Walla did
not take interest enough in the matter to have Cherokee Bob arrested, and he
states that he himself would heartily co-operate in any attempt to enforce law
and order. He says that he will answer for the good conduct of the men under
his command if the mayor will do the same for the citizens of the town. He

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 131

declares that his men will not disturb the citizens if they are let alone. Alayor
Whitman, in responding to this, declares that the soldiers initiated all the trouble
by their incivility at the theater and that when an attempt was made by the
proper peace officers to enforce order the fracas ensued in which three citizens,
including two peace officers, were wounded, one mortally, and one soldier was
killed and one wounded. This seems to have been the most serious afifray in that
part of the history of the old town. It, like other events of the kind, seems to
have been mixed up somewhat with the war conditions of the country, a good
many of the people of the town being southern sympathizers and regarding the
soldiers as representatives of the National Government.

About a month later, another afifray took place which is described as follows
in the columns of the Statesman:

"On last Saturday afternoon, while the convention for the nomination for
county officers was in session in this city, an afifray occurred between a soldier
belonging to the garrison and a citizen named Anderson residing some miles from
this place in Oregon. Ofifensive words were passed between them, when Ander-
son seized a stone and threw it violently at the soldier, striking him on the head
and felling him prostrate to the ground. Citizens who witnessed the act denounce
it as unjustifiable and cowardly. The city marshal was present but for reasons
best known to himself did not arrest the offender. Anderson was intoxicated
and quarrelsome and should have been arrested. Another officer of the law
immediately issued a warrant, but in the meantime Anderson had escaped. There
was quite a gathering of soldiers present who were aware of the above facts,
some of whom even saw and read the warrant. On the same evening an armed
company of soldiers marched through our streets, took possession of our city,
and surrounded the jail building in which the marshal was at the time attending
to his duties. They demanded his arrest and threatened to effect it before they
left the city. Shouts of "hang him," "He's a damn secessionist" and other mob-
like expressions were used. It was to all intents and purposes a mob and the
crowd were becoming excited and boisterous, when Captain Curry approached
the spot and succeeded, after a short controversy, in getting them into line and
marched them back to their quarters. We understand Anderson has left for
Salmon River. On Monday morning the marshal tendered his resignation to the
council, a meeting of which body was immediately held and another officer
appointed."

The editor proceeds to comment upon the fact that while the marshal seems
to have been grossly derelict in his duty, there was no reason to charge the
officers or the citizens of the town with being secessionists and that the idea of
conspiring against the garrison was "all bosh." He charges that the soldiers
were frequently drunk and objects of danger to the people of the town.

It is interesting to notice that in the same issue of the Statesman, June 28th.
the regular Union ticket for the election to take place on July 14th appears and
has for its motto, "The Union Must and Shall be Preserved."

It is evident from the Statesman as well as from the recollections of old-
timers that there was a very strong secessionist influence in Walla Walla at that
time. The general attitude of the Statesman is interesting to the historian because
it represents so large a class of the citizens of the LInited States at that time.
While the paper is uncompromisingly for the Union, it is mortally afraid of the

132 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

question of emancipation and of anything like "nigger equality." Its tone toward
President Lincoln is rather critical and in several cases it charges him with being
swayed by abolitionists. As time went on the Union sentiment became more
and more pronounced. Mr. F. W. Paine gives us an anecdote which shows the
tension in the year 1863, as follows :

In 1863 Delazon Smith and Dave Logan were candidates respectively on the
democratic and republican tickets in Oregon for representative to Congress.
They met to speak in the vicinity of Milton, a commnuity which at that time
was intensely democratic. A number of Walla Walla republicans, among whom
were Mr. J'aine and Charles Painter (and all who knew Mr. Painter will recall
that although one of the kindest of men and best of neighbors, he was an intense
republican and not at all averse to fighting for his opinions) went to Milton to
lend their encouragement to the republican side. Reaching a sort of public house
in the vicinity, 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 discovering
it, inquired of Mr. Paine if it were 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 it was the intention to let it remain where they had
put it until they were ready to take it down themselves. The proprietor then
demanded that it should be taken down. The republicans replied that that flag
would not go down as long as there was a man left who had put it there. A
fracas seemed imminent and in fact began when the proprietor of the house,
whose valor seems to have been considerably of a spirituous nature, backed out
and the flag remained.

Besides the influence of divided politics, and the friction between the soldiers
and the citizens, besides all the general lawlessness of that period of miners,
cowboys, and Indians, there was a special feature of the times which aided
in leading to the formation of the Vigilance Committee. This was the existence
of organized bands of thieves and cattle-rustlers all over the Northwest. The
ramifications of these groups of law-breakers extended from California to
Montana and Idaho. The recently published book by Ex-Governor W. J. McCon-
nell of Idaho, in regard to early times in the mines of Northern Idaho and the
Boise Basin, the Magruder murder, and the operations of the Vigilantes in those
sections, with many other similar incidents, gives a vivid picture of the times
of horse-thieves, cattle-thieves, and gold-dust thieves. In fact, as it was an era
of thieves and highwaymen of all sorts, so it was also an era of vigilance com-
mittees over the same era as a necessary defense against desperadoes. Judge
Thomas H. Brents, as his friends well knew, had a fund of hair-raising stories
of his own experiences as an express rider during that period. Another man
well known around Walla Walla and throughout Eastern Oregon as an express
rider during the same time was no less a person than Joaquin Miller, "The Poet
of the Sierras."

A number of incidents scattered through the columns of the Statesman in
1863, 1864, 1865, indicate the kind of events which led directly to the formation
of the Vigilantes. For instance, in the issue of May 2, 1863, is an account of the
discover}' of about a hundred horses which were cached away in a mountain
\alley at the head of the Grande Ronde River. It was believed by those who
discovered them that they had been driven there by a bunch of "road agents"

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 133

who had been hung at Lewiston a few months before. Li the issue of the States-
man of June 20th of the same year, there is an item about the recovery of seven-
teen stolen horses on Coppei Creek near Waitsburg by a vigilance committee.
In the next number is an item to the effect that the same men that had stolen
the seventeen horses came back and ran away six more, and sent word back that
they had the horses on the north side of Snake River and they dared the owners
to come over for them. They said that there were seven of them and they had
three revolvers each and they would be glad to see company. The farmers of
Coppei organized a well armed force and crossed the river. They discovered the
horses and took possession of them, but the vainglorious road agents were
nowhere in sight.

In the Statesman of April 14, 1865, we find the first definite account of the
operations of the Vigilantes. It appears that a certain individual called "Dutch
Louie" had been taken, according to his account, from his bed by Vigilantes
at the hour of midnight, and hanged until he was nearly dead, in order to make
him testify against someone whom he did not want to name. It appears at
the- same time that there was an anti-Vigilantes organization which took posses-
sion of another man who was in the habit of coming to town and getting "d. d.,"
and tried to compel him to give evidence against the Vigilantes. In the next issue
of the Statesman there is an account of the pursuit of cattle thieves who had
run away sixty cattle from the Wild Horse Creek, and had come to a halt on
Mill Creek three miles above Walla Walla. Mr. Jeffries followed them with
a posse of citizens and fomid some of the cattle, and according to the story one
of the thieves was hung by the Vigilantes, although the paper intimates that the
story of the hanging was without foundation. In the same issue there is an
account of Mr. Samuel Johnson (and he was well known for many years as
one of the prominent citizens of the Walla Walla country) having lost sixty head
of cattle out of his band and following them by a trail from the Touchet to a
point on the Columbia River sixty miles above Priest Rapids. The same paper
also has an item about the "skeedaddling" of thieves, and it gives a suggestion
that there is a point beyond which endurance ceases to be a virtue, and that
the farther these worthies "skeedaddle" the less chance there will be of their
being found some morning dangling at a rope's end.

The Statesman of April 21, 1865, contains an account of some regular "hang-
ings" by the vigilance committee. It seems that on the Sunday morning previous,
a man named McKenzie was found hanging to a limb near the racetrack, which
at that time was a short distance below town. It appeared from reliable tes-
timony that he was implicated in the theft of the cattle stolen from Mr. Jeffries.
During the same week, two men named Isaac Reed and William Wills, were
caught at Wallula, charged with stealing horses, and they traveled the same road
as McKenzie. Before taking their final jump-off, they acknowledged that they
were members of a regular band who had a large number of stolen horses on
the Columbia somewhere above Wallula, and that there had just been a fight
among the members of the band, in which one had been killed. During the same
week the famous hanging of "Slim Jim" was consummated from a tree which
still stands in the southern part of town. He was charged with having assisted
"Six-toed Pete" and Waddingham to escape from the county jail. The author
of this work derived much of his information in regard to the period of the

134 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

\'igilantes from Richard IJogle and Marshall Seeke, both well known for many
years in \\'alla Walla, now deceased, but all who were residents of the town
during 1864 and 1865 are sufficiently familiar with the events of the time. They
do not, however, seem to be inclined to talk very much about it. The general
supjx)sition is that the most prominent citizens of Walla ^^'alla were either
actively or by their support concerned in the organization. They had secret
meetings and passed upon cases brought before them with great promptness, but
with e\ery attempt to get at the essential facts. In case they decided that the
community would be better without some given individual, that individual would
receive an intimation to that effect. In case he failed to act upon the suggestion
within a few hours, he was likely to be found adorning some tree in the vicinity
of the town the next morning. Although to modern ideas the Vigilantes seem
rather frightful members of the judiciary, yet it is doubtless true that that swift
and summary method of disposing of criminals was necessary at that time and
that as a result of it there was a new reign of law and order.

The most famous of all the cases during that period, was that of Ferd Patter-
son. This famous "bad man'" had begun his career in Portland by killing a
captain in the Union army, as a result of an encounter which took place in one
of the principal saloons of that city. This man, Captain Staple, lifted his glass
and cried out, "I drink to the success of the Union and the flag!" Patterson
was a southerner and when all the men about him lifted their glasses he threw
his down exclaiming, "The Union and the flag be damned !" The other men
cried out to Captain Staple, "Bring him back and make him drink !" The cap-
tain turned to follow Patterson, who Was upon the stairs, and at the instant a
revolver shot rang out and the captain fell with a bullet in his heart. Patterson,
however, was acquitted on the ground of self-defense. _ In fact, like other pro-
fessional "bad men," he was skilled in getting his opponent to draw first and
then with his great quickness he would send a deadly shot before the opponent
could pull his trigger. After several similar instances, Patterson came to \\'alla
Walla and was located for a time at what is now called Bingham Springs. It was
a station at that time on the main stage line between The Dalles and Boise,
and had a good hotel, bath-house, and other conveniences for travelers. On a
certain day there app)eared at Bingham Springs the sheriff of Boise, whose name
was Pinkham. Pinkham was a strong Union man and Patterson, as we have
seen, just the reverse; and the two parties at that time were so well balanced
that it was just a turn of the hand which would hold supremacy. Meeting
Patterson one day, as he was just emerging from the bathing pool, Pinkham
slapped him in the face. Patterson said, "I am alone today without my gun, but
one of these days I will be fixed for you and settle this matter." Pinkham replied,
"The sooner the better." A few days after this, Patterson walked up and
slapped Pinkham. Both men drew their revolvers, but Patterson's shot took
effect first, and another man was added to his long score. The brief item in
respect to this Pinkham affray appears in the Walla Walla Statesman of July
28, 1865.

Some weeks passed by and Patterson came to Walla Walla where he was
supported mainly by various light-fingered arts and gambling games in which
he was an adept. It was considered by many that he was too dangerous a man
to have in the community, but it was a very difficult matter to get any evidence

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 135

against him. \'ery few dared to incur his enmity. Finally, a man named Don-
nehue, who w'as a night watchman in the town, took upon himself to try, convict,
and execute the famous gambler all in one set of operations. It appears from
the account given by Richard Bogle that between eight and nine o'clock on Febru-
ary 15, 1866, Patterson had entered his barber shop, which was then situated
on Main Street, between Third and Fourth, as it would be at the present time.
While the barber was engaged upon the countenance of the gambler, Dohnehue
entered and stood for some little time watching the operation, and just at the
moment of completion of the combing of his hair, about which the gambler was
very particular, Donnehue suddenly stepped up and shouted, "You kill me or I'll
kill you." And at the same moment he let fly a bullet from his revolver. Patter-
son, who was a man of magnificent physique, although mortally wounded, did not
fall but endeavored to reach his own gun ; and while doing so, and in fact having
gotten out upon the street, Donnehue emptied the revolver into the staggering
form of his antagonist. Patterson died within a few minutes and Donnehue
was arrested at once without resistance upon his part, and taken to jail. He was
never tried, but soon after left town, with his pockets lined with gold dust, accord-
ing to reports. It was generally supposed for many years that the Vigilantes had
passed upon Patterson's case and had appointed Donnehue to execute their sen-
tence in the only way that could be done without loss of somebody else's life.
We are informed, however, by one of the most reliable old-timers in Walla Walla,
a man still living, that the Vigilantes did not pass upon Patterson's case and that
his death was pure murder on the part of Donnehue. However that may be,
there is no question but that the community drew a long sigh of relief when it
was known that Ferd Patterson had been retired from active participation in its
affairs. With the death of Patterson, and the close of the Civil war, and still
more as a result of the beginnings of farming, it may be said that the era of the
Vigilantes came to an end. They gradually disbanded without anyone knowing
exactly how or why, and by degrees there came to be established an ever-growing
reign of law and order in Old Walla Walla.

As constituting a vivid narrative in the history of the Vigilantes, we include
here a historic sketch by Prof. Henry L. Tolkington of the State Normal School of
Idaho. It appeared in the Lezmston Tribune of August 19, 1917. It will consti-
tute a part of a book now in preparation by Professor Tolkington entitled "Heroes
and Heroic Deeds of the Pacific Northwest."

While the conclusion does not occur within the limits of Old Walla Walla
County, it is a part of the same story and is intensely characteristic of those times.

CHAPTER III
POLITICAL HISTORY TO TIME OF COUNTY DIVISION

In previous chapters we have presented the facts in relation to the first attempt
at organization of Walla Walla County in 1854, prior to the period of great
Indian wars. We took up again the reorganization and development in 1859 with
the incoming of permanent population. We also mentioned the first charter and
the inauguration of permanent city government. In the chapter dealing with the
beginnings of industries we showed the first locations at the different points which
have become the centers of population in the four counties.

It remains in this chapter to take up the thread with the growing communities
and the government over them which composed the old county down to 1875, when
Columbia County was created, embracing what are now the three counties of
Columbia, Garfield and Asotin, and thus reducing Walla Walla County to its
present limits. After that we shall trace the story of the successive subtractions
of Garfield from Columbia and then Asotin from Garfield.

The authorities to which we have had recourse are first the county records,
so far as available ; second, the files of the newspapers covering the periods ;
third, Col. F. F. Gilbert's Historic Sketches, published in 1882, to which frequent
reference has been made and which seems in general to be very reliable; and
fourth, the memory of pioneers still living or from whom data were secured prior
to their death. In respect to the public records it may be said that a destructive
fire on August 3, 1865, of which an account is given in the Statesman of the 4th,
destroyed the records, though the more important ordinances and other acts of
city and county government had appeared in the Statesman and from that source
were replaced.

The most important events in the political history were connected with, first,
the county, its legislative and local officers, and the chain of circumstances going
on to county divisions ; second, the city government and the movement of laws
and policies through various reorganizations to the present; and third, the place
occupied by the old county in relation to state and national affairs.

In the way of a general view of political conditions in the period from the
creation of county offices by the Legislature of the Territory on January 19,
1859, through the period of war, it may be said that the prevailing sentiment was
at first strongly democratic. The majority of the settlers in Old Oregon, from
which had come a large proportion of the earlier comers to Walla Walla, were
from Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, with quite a sprinkling from Tennessee and Ken-
tucky and democratic views preponderated in the sections from which the majority
came. With that strange inconsistency which has made American political his-
tory a chaos for the philosopher and historian, that early democratic element here
and elsewhere was in general bitterly opposed to "abolitionists and black repub-

136

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 137

licans." While a great majority of them did not favor slavery and to a consider-
able extent had left slave states to get rid of it, yet they were mortally afraid of
"nigger equality." When the war broke out there was a considerable element
that were carried so far by their hatred of abolitionists that they even became
rank "Secesh." That, however, was a temporary sentiment. The feeling of
union and the preservation of an undivided nation gradually asserted itself, and
by the time the war was half through democrats as well as republicans stood
firmly on the platform of the maintenance of the Union. One of the best ex-
pressions of that sentiment is found in the resolutions of the democratic conven-
tion on May 23, 1863, reported in the Statesman of the 30th. We find these ex-
pressions : "That the democracy are unalterably attached to the union of these
states." "That the right of secession is not reserved to the States." "That the
Federal Government has a right to maintain the constitution and enforce the laws,
if need be, by force of arms, and so far as the acts of the present administration
tend to these desirable ends, it has our cordial support and no further."
Then as an olifset, the fourth resolution declares : "That the democracy of Wash-
ington Territory view the declared intention of such men as Horace Greeley and
Charles Sumner — who desire the prosecution of the present civil war for the
abolition of slavery, and who utterly scout the idea of any peace which is not
founded on the condition that the social fabric of the insurgent states is to be
totally uprooted — with abhorrence."

A good evidence of this is the inability of men brought up with certain views
and prejudices to grasp the logic of events. Then as since, "there are none so
blind as those that won't see." That sentiment was also well shown in the con-
tinuance of the campaign of 1863, in which Geo. E. Cole of Walla Walla was
democratic candidate for Territorial Delegate. An editorial in the Statesman of
June 5, 1863, commends Mr. Cole as a Union man and a democrat. In the same
issue appears the resolutions of the Clarke County Democratic Convention which
had been adopted in substance by the territorial convention which nominated Mr.
Cole, and to which the democrats of Walla Walla pledged themselves at a rati-
fication meeting on July nth. As showing the stamp "of thought prevailing at
that time in the party, it is of interest to read these resolutions :

"Resolved, That the democracy (of Clarke County) are for the Union, and
the whole Union, and in favor of the vigorous prosecution of the efforts of the
Government in crushing the present unholy and wicked rebellion, when such
efforts are not actuated by any other motives than a single desire to maintain the
honor and dignity of the nation and enforcement of the laws. That we are op-
posed to the conclusion of any peace involving in its terms the acknowledgment
of the so-called Southern Confederacy, and that we hereby pledge ourselves,
come weal or woe, in life and death, now and forever, to stand by and defend
the flag of our country in its hour of peril."

It is indeed one of the most significant evolutions in American history ; that
of the gradual passing over from a support of slavery by the larger part of the
democratic party to a stage where they no longer supported that "sum of all
villainies" and yet had a profound hatred of "abolitionists," to the point where
they perceived that the maintenance of the Union was the great essential, whether
slavery was lost or saved, and yet further to the point, which many reached, of
an unflinching support of Abraham Lincoln in his abolition as well as Union

138 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

policies. It is all an exhibition of the c\olution of nationalism, to which free
labor is essential. And in tliat evolution, the West has borne the larger part.
The sentiment of state pride, the local prejudices and narrow vision conmion in
the older states and which in the South became intertwined with slavery and pro-
duced economic and political deformity and arrested development, was shuffled
of^" when people of East and North and South and Europe all joined to lay the
foundations of genuine American states in new regions unhampered and undis-
torted by caste and prejudice. This state of affairs in the West prepared the way
for a new democracy, a national democracy, a genuine democracy for all men.
The transformation of Walla A\'alla politics was simply a sample of a movement
taking place all over the country. As a result, during the decades of the sixties
and seventies, many former democrats, notably some who had been brought up
in Missouri and other slave states, finding the democratic party, as they thought,
still a laggard on progressive issues developed by the war and reconstruction, left
the party and joined the republicans. Doubtless the Statesman may be taken as
a good exponent of the pre\ailing democratic views in Walla Walla. It was
strong for the L'nion, but was horribly afraid of "abolitionists." When W. H.
Newell acquired the paper in November, 1865, he adopted the policy of support-
ing President Johnson against Congress. The republican party steadily gained,
and in subsequent decades Walla Walla County, as all other parts of the states
of Washington and Oregon, became overwhelmingly republican. By the progress
of the same evolution, progressive politics have had a powerful hold upon the
people of these states, as well as of the entire Pacific Coast, and the support given
to democratic candidates, state and national, in 1916, is a thoroughly logical de-
velopment. The people have been consistent, though party names have not.

One of the interesting facts not generally realized is that Walla Walla
County in the sixties contained so large a part of the population of the territory.
In the Statesman of December 30, 1864, we find a report from Edwin Eells,
enrolling officer of the county, in which it appears that the draft enrollment in
\\'alla Walla County was 1,133, while in the entire territory it was 4,143.

A few figures at various times in the sixties will be found of interest.

The vote for Territorial Delegate in 1863 by counties was as follows, as
given in the Statesman of August 22:

George E. Cole, J. O. R.wnor,
Democrat Republican

Chehalis 22 21

Clallam 45 27

Clarke 173 100

Clickitat 25 37

Cowlitz 39 57

Island 72 31

Jefferson 148 120

King 68 93

Kitsap 130 99

Lewis 63 77

Pacific II 90

Pierce 95 106

Sawamish 36 19

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 139

George E. Cole, J. O. Ravnor,

Democrat Republican

Skamania 48 35

Snohomish 35 30

Spokane 56 12

Thurston 132 171

Wakiakum 12

Walla Walla 398 140

Whatcom 32 56

Total 1,628 1,333

A few figures at various times in the sixties will be found of interest. In the
county election of June, 1864, we find the following vote by precincts:

Precinct Democratic Republican

Walla Walla 287 149

Lower Touchet 1 1 33

LTpper Touchet 41 49

Snake River 2 7

Wallula I 12

Palaha 2 10

Total 344 260

The Statesman of September 9, 1864, says that nine-tenths of the immigrants
coming in at that time were Democrats.

That claim was not quite realized, however, in the election of June 5, 1865, for
the republican candidate for Territorial Delegate, Arthur A. Denny, received 336.
while the democrat, James Tilton, had 406.

Though the population was small and scattered there were many intricacies
involving county and city politics. Into those details we cannot go. Doubtless
some of them would best rest in oblivion.

We incorporate here, as valuable for reference, the list of legislative choices
and of the chief county officers beginning with 1863 and extending through all
elections prior to county division in 1875.

1863

Daniel Stewart, joint councilman ; S. W. Babcock, F. P. Dugan, L. S. Rogers,
representatives; W. S. Gilliam, sheriff; L. J. Rector, auditor; C. Leyde, assessor.

1864

J. H. Lasater, attorney; Alvin Flanders, joint representative; A. L. Brown,
F. P. Dugan, E. L. Bridges, representatives ; W. G. Langf ord, councilman ; J. H.
Blewett. probate judge ; James McAuliff, treasurer ; W. H. Patton, assessor ;
Charles White, surveyor; H. D. O'Bryant, commissioner; A. J. Theboda, coroner.

140 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

1866

B. L. Sharpstein, councilman ; D. M. Jessee, R. Jacobs, R. R. Rees, H. D.
O'Bryant, T. P. Page, representatives; James McAuliff, treasurer; H. M. Hodgis,
assessor; W. G. Langford, superintendent of schools; T. G. Lee and H. A. Liv-
ingston, commissioners.

1868

W. H. Newell, councilman; J. M. Vansycle, joint councilman; W. P. Horton,
E. Ping, J. M. Lamb, P. B. Johnson, B. F. Regan, representatives; H. M. Chase,
probate judge; A. Seitel, sheriff; J. H. Blewett, auditor; J. D. Cook, treasurer;
C. Ireland, assessor; C. Eells, superintendent of schools; S. 'M. Wait, W. T.
Barnes, and A. H. Reynolds, commissioners.

1870

Daniel Stewart, councilman; N. T. Bryant, joint councilman; D. Ashpaugh,
J. H. Lasater, John Scott, A. G. Lloyd, E. Ping, T. W. Whetstone, representa-
tives; N. T. Caton, attorney; R. Guichard, probate judge; James McAuliff,
sheriff; H. M. Chase, auditor; A. Kyger, treasurer; A. C. Wellman, assessor;
J. L. Reser, superintendent of schools; C. C. Cram, Francis Lowden, 1. T. Reese,
commissioners.

1872

Fred Stine, councilman; C. H. Montgomery, joint councilman; N. T. Caton,
O. P. Lacy, E. Ping, C. L. Bush, John Bryant, and H. M. Hodgis, representatives;
L Hargrove, probate judge; B. W. Griffin, sheriff; R. Jacobs, auditor; R. R.
Rees, treasurer; W. F. Gwynn, assessor; A. W. Sweeney, superintendent of
schools; D. M. Jessee, W. P. Bruce, and S. L. King, commissioners.

1874

E. Ping, councilman; W. W. Boon, joint councilman; R. G. Newland, J. B.
Shrum, P. M. Lynch, John Scott, A. G. Lloyd, and H. M. Hodgis, representa-
tives; T. J. Anders, attorney; R. Guichard, probate judge; G. F. Thomas, sheriff;
R. Jacobs, auditor; R. R. Rees, treasurer; S. Jacobs, assessor; A. W. Sweeney,
superintendent of schools ; Charles White, C. S. Bush, C. C. Cram, commissioners.

This was the last election prior to county division. The elections after that
event will appear in chapter one of part three.

In the early times they seem to have had a frank and outspoken and energetic
manner of writing about each other, and the inference is plain that they talked in
a similar way. Each man had ready access to his hip pocket, and was commonly
qualified to support his views by force of arms when necessary. We find as a
sample a discussion between Sheriff E. B. Whitman and certain critics in the
Statesman of May 30 and June 13. 1863. It pertains to the arrest of one Bunton.
An address signed by sixty-nine residents of the Coppei appears in the earlier
issue. In it is charged that a flagrant and wilful murder had been committed by

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 141

William Bunton on the person of Daniel S. Cogsdill and that Sheriff Whitman
made no effort to arrest Bunton, and when, at the instance of citizens, Deputy
Hodgis arrested Bunton, and delivered him to Whitman that the latter was too
merciful to the prisoner to put him in jail; "but at the request of Bunton put him
in charge of a lame or a crippled man, with, as we believe, the intention of his
escape." Tliey therefore declare that they have no protection when the high and
responsible office of sheriff is filled by the friends of murderers and thieves. They
therefore recommend that the commissioners should remove said Whitman and
appoint ''Deputy Hodgis or some other good man."

Sheriff Whitman makes in reply a lengthy and moderate explanation, the main
point of which was that the county jail was so insecure that by the advice of
Judge Wyche he put Bunton in the hands of J. O. Putman, one of the signers of
the above statement, and that after some trouble Bunton got away. In the issue
of June 13, the citizens returned to the attack with renewed energy, and this
brought from Mr. Whitman a vitriolic response. He begins: "Editor Statesman:
As your columns seem to be at the disposal of parties who may wish to belch
forth personal slander, persecution, malignity, and falsehood, it is but just that
the party vilified should have the opportunity of replying through the same me-
dium. Upon reading the article, dated at Coppei, I thought I would let the matter
rest upon its own merits, as the style and manner in which it is written shows
that it originated from a vindictive, mischievous, and depraved appetite for
notoriety, which at times controls men of depraved tastes." Among the sixty-
nine signers of the document were some who were, as also Sheriff Whitman him-
self was, among the most worthy of the foundation builders, and who now all
rest in honored graves. We are giving the incidents here as a historical curiosity,
and as showing how men's minds were keyed up in those days of war and vigi-
lantes to a high pitch.

EFFORT TO ANNEX WALL.\ WALLA COUNTY TO OREGON

One of the most exciting political questions of the sixties was that of an-
nexation of Walla Walla County to Oregon. We find in the Statesman of Octo-
ber 20, 1865, a report of a mass meeting of October 18, at which resolutions were
passed advocating the annexation and inviting the people of Oregon, through
their Legislature, to unite in the movement, and also calling on the representatives
and senators from Oregon and the Territorial Delegate, A. A. Denny, to use all
honorable means to induce Congress to take that action. They mention, which is
historically interesting, that the people of Oregon in accepting their Constitution
had done so with the understanding that the line should follow the natural boun-
dary of the Columbia and Snake rivers. The convention also censured Judge
J. E. Wyche, judge of the First Judicial District of Washington Territory, located
at Walla Walla. The committee composing the resolutions consisted of J. H.
Lasater, A. Kyger, and Drury Davis. J. H. Blewett introduced a resolution call-
ing on President Johnson to remove Judge Wyche. The resolution was lost. A
committee consisting of A. J. Cain, A. L. Brown, and H. P. Isaacs was appointed
to draft petitions, one to Congress and the other to the Oregon Legislature, look-
ing to the execution of the plan.

In the same issue of the Statesman a call appears for a meeting to "take such

142 OLD W.M.I.A WALLA COUNTY

steps as they may deem proper to frustrate the designs of those who would saddle
upon the people of this county a proportion of the debt of the bankrupt State of
Oregon, with her j)eculiar institutions."

It is asserted that Anderson Cox was the prime nio\er in the annexation
project, though his name does not appear in the rejjort in the Statesman. The
Oregon Legislature was nothing loth to add this desirable section to the limits
of the inothcr state and duly memorialized Congress to that effect. Years passed
by, and in 1875, just after county division had been effected. Senator J. K. Kelly
of Oregon introduced a bill providing for the submission of the question to the
people of Walla Walla and Columbia counties. This bill failed, as did also one
to the same effect in the House by Representative LaFayette Lane of Oregon.
The failure of the annexation plan produced additional activity in projects look-
ing to statehood. There was during that period (and it has not entirely ceased
to this day) a good deal of friction between the Walla Walla section and the
Puget Sound section. The former had early commercial and political relations
with Portland of a far more intimate nature than with the Sound. The ma-
jority of the leading business men were from Oregon. The common feeling was
that the Sound was very selfish and narrow in its dealings with the eastern section,
desiring its connection mainly for taxation purposes. It was largely from that
feeling that annexation projects arose. The Sound, on the other hand, had accused
the Walla Walla section of being disloyal to the state and seeking local advantage.
Opposition in the territory therefore delayed action. According to statements
made by Hollon Parker to the author a number of years ago, he himself made
a special trip to Washington to head oft' the movement. At any rate, it was never
carried. Walla Walla County had at the time of the presidential election of
1876 a sufficient majority of Democrats to have toppled the slight scale by which
Hayes held the presidency over Tilden, and if the county had been in Oregon
Tilden would have had a majority and the Electoral Commission would never
have been created, and quite a section of national history would have had another
version.

In 1865 the Territorial Delegate was Arthur Denny of Seattle. The States-
man refers to him as the "Abolition Candidate." Passing on to 1867 we find
national, state, and local affairs of a very strenuous nature. Perhaps the inser-
tion here of extracts from a book written by the author sometime ago will con-
vey a clear view of the course of events in the elections of 1867 and 1869.

POLITICAL REVIEW

A review of the political situation in 1867 shows that there was an extraordi-
nary interest and activity in the ranks of both the democrats and the republicans.
The principal point of contest and interest was in the selection of a delegate to
Congress, each party having a number 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-
ritorv were five democrats and two republicans whose names were prominently
mentioned in this connection, and while the republican convention for \\'alla Walla
Countv sent an uninstructed delegate to the territorial convention, a vigorous

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 143

effort had been made in favor of I he 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 annexing Walla Walla County to Oregon. In the territorial
convention Frank Clark of Pierce County received the nomination of the de-
mocracy for the office of congressional delegate, the balloting in the convention
having been close and spirited. The republican territorial convention succeeded
in running in the proverbial "dark horse," in the person of Alvin Flanders, a
Walla Walla merchant, who was made the nominee, defeating three very strong
candidates.

Owing to the agitation of the Vigilance question, referring to diverging
opinions of the citizens as to the proper method of administering justice, the
politics of the county were in a peculiarly disrupted and disorganized condition,
and the Vigilance issue had an unmistakable influence on the election, as was
shown by the many peculiarities which were brought to light when the returns
were fully in. The democrats of the county were particularly desirous of elect-
ing certain of their county candidates, and it is stated that the republicans were
able to divert many democratic votes to their candidate for delegate to Congress
by trading 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 majority of about two hundred and fifty in Walla Walla
County for all other officers, the delegate received a majority of only 124. This
action on the part of the Walla Walla democrats secured the election of the repub-
lican candidate, whose majority in the territory was only ninety-six.

Tlie result of the election in the county, held on the 3d of June, was as fol-
lows : Frank Clark, the democratic candidate for delegate, received 606 votes,
and Alvin Flanders, republican, 482 votes. The other officers elected were as
follows : Prosecuting attorney, F. P. Dugan ; councilman, W. H. Newell ; joint
councilman (Walla Walla and Stevens counties), J. M. Vansycle; representatives,
W. P. Horton, E. Ping, J. M. Lamb, P. B Johnson and B. F. Regan; probate
judge, H. M. Chase; sherifl", A. Seitel ; auditor, J. H. Blewett; treasurer, J. D.
Cook; assessor, C. Ireland; surveyor, W. L. Gaston; superintendent of schools,
C. Eells; coroner, L. H. Goodwin; county commissioners, S. M. Wait, D. M.
Jessee (evidently an error in returns, as W. T. Barnes, a democrat, was elected),
and A. H. Reynolds.

The sheriff resigned on November 7, 1868, and on the same day James Mc-
Auliff was appointed to fill the vacancy. A. H. Reynolds resigned as commis-
sioner, 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. Eells, S. M. Wait and A. FI. Reynolds.

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 Cas-
cade Range — the same desideratum that had been sought at the last preceding
election. In the convention F. P. Dugan, J. D. Mix, B. L. Sharsptein and W. H.
Newell, of Walla Walla, were balloted for, but the nomination went to Marshall
F. Moore, ex-governor of the territory.

144 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Tlie republican iioniinalion was secured by Selucius Garfielde, surveyor-gen-
eral of the territory. The names of two of Walla Walla County's citizens were
presented before the convention, Dr. D. S. Baker and Anderson Cox. The nomi-
nation of Garfielde proved unsatisfactory to many of the party adherents and dis-
sention was rampant. The disaffection became so intense in nature that a number
of the most prominent men in the party ranks did not hesitate to append their
signatures to a circular addressed to the "downfallen republican party," said docu-
ment bearing fifty signatures in all. On the list appeared the name of the dele-
gate 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 disaffected contingent did not nominate a ticket of their own, and Mr. Gar-
fielde was elected by a majority of 132. He received in Walla Walla County 384
votes, while his opponent, Mr. Moore, received 740.

According to all data available, the political pot boiled furiously throughout
the territory 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 dele-
gate to represent the territory in the Federal Congress. Those office-holders who
were most vigorously protestant and visibly disaffected were summarily removed
from office in January of this year by the President of the United States, this
action having been recommended by the congressional delegate, Mr. Garfielde,
who thus drew upon himself still greater dislike and opposition. A change in the
existing laws made it necessary to elect a delegate again this year, and a strong
attempt was made to defeat Mr. Garfielde, who was confident of being returned
to office. There could be no reconciliation of the warring elements in the repub-
lican party. The republican territorial convention of 1869 had appointed an ex-
ecutive committee, whose personnel was as follows : Edward Eldridge, M. S.
Drew, L. Famsworth, P. D. Moore, B. F. Stone, Henry Cook and J. D. Cook.
In February a circular was issued by Messrs. S. D. Howe, A. A. Manning, Ezra
Meeker, G. A. Meigs, A. A. Denny and John E. Bums, who claimed to have con-
stituted the executive committee. The convention as called by the regular com-
mittee met in April and renominated Mr. Garfielde. The recalcitrant faction
presented the name of Marshall Blinn in the convention, the bolters not being
strong enough to hold a separate convention, but hoping to gain sufficient votes
to prevent the nomination of Garfielde.

The democratic convention was far more harmonious, the nomination going
to Judge J. D. Mix, one of the most honored citizens of Walla Walla, and one
enjoying a wide acquaintance throughout the territory. The campaign developed
considerable acrimony between the factions of the republican party, but the re-
sults of the election showed that the disaffected wing gained but slight popular
endorsement. Six thousand three hundred and fifty-seven votes were cast in this
election, representing a gain of 1,300 over the preceding year. Garfielde was
elected, securing a majority of 736 over Mix, the total vote for Blinn being only
155. Upon the question of holding a constitutional convention there were 1,109
votes cast in opposition, and 974 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 was victorious in
the county, electing their entire ticket with the exception of superintendent of

RESIDEKCE OF FATHER \AX DE ^'EX, WAI.LA \\ALLA

ST. JNIARY'S HOSPITAL. \\'Arj.A WAI.LA

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 145

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 follows:
Prosecuting attorney, N. T. Caton; councilman, Daniel Stewart; joint council-
man (Walla Walla, Stevens and Yakima counties), N. T. Bryant; representatives,
David Aspaugh, James H. Lasater, John Scott, A. G. Lloyd, Elisha Ping and
T. W. Whetstone; probate judge. R. Guichard ; sheriff, James McAuliff; auditor,
H. M. Chase ; treasurer, A. Kyger ; assessor, A. C. Wellman ; surveyor, A. H.
Simmons (he was succeeded by Charles A. White, who was appointed to the
office May i, 1871) ; school superintendent, J. L. Reser ; coroner, L. H. Goodwin;
county commissioners, C. C. Cram, F. Louden and L T. Rees.

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 1871, did not invalidate their right to hold office until the expiration of
their regular term. The matter was brought into the courts for adjudication, in
a test case, the prosecuting attorney-elect against the incumbent of the office at
the time of the last election. In July James W. Kennedy, judge of the first dis-
trict, rendered a decision in favor of the defendant, holding that officers elected
in 1S69 retained their positions until 1871, thus reducing the term of the officials
last elected to one year.

COUNTY COURTHOUSE

One of the burning questions at all times in political life has been the County
Courthouse. As the county dedicated its first courthouse 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 : "We, the grand jury, find that it is
the duty of the county commissioners to furnish offices for the different county
officers. This we find they have not done. Today the offices of the officers are
in one place, tomorrow 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." Notwith-
standing this merited reproof, no action of a definite character was taken by the
board of commissioners until a 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 be paid for in thirty monthly installments of $100 each. A further ex-
penditure of $500 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 courthouse. That the structure was altogether unpretentious
and devoid of all architectural beauty it is perhaps needless to say. The executives
of the county were at least provided with a local habitation.

Though the housing of the county was a lame affair a number of years
passed before there w'as any permanent action. During nearly all elections from
1869 on we find a vote on two general questions : a constitutional convention and
a courthouse. In 1869 there was a vote of 24 for, and 286 against a constitutional
convention.

Vol. I— 10

14(i OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Tlie interval of elections was changed following the election of 1869, so that
the next occurred on June 6, 1870. That of 1872 took place on November 5th.

In August, 1870, the City Council deeded to the county the block of land on
■Main Street on which the permanent courthouse was built. In the election of
1872 the vote in favor of building a courthouse was 815 to 603. A vote, as usual,
was taken on constitutional convention, with the result of 57 aiifirmative and 809
negative.

Since the majority had expressed their desire for a courthouse the commis-
sioners in February, 1873, set on foot the arrangements for plans, and those pre-
sented by T. P. Allen were accepted. These called for a brick structure with
stone foundation, two stories, dome, main part with an ell. Meanwhile various
schemes for inducing the commissioners to locate farther from the center of
town by offering land, with a view to enhancing the values of land adjoining, were
under consideration. After having turned down several such plans and pro-
nounced in favor of the block donated by the city, the commissioners rather
suddenly changed their decision and accepted four blocks between Second and
Fourth streets, a quarter mile north of Main Street. A first-class ruction arose
over this decision. Changes were made in the plans also, by which the building
was reduced in size and dignity. Finally, as Gilbert says, with some degree of
keenness, '"the last act, and under the circumstances, the most judicious one, was
not to erect the building at all."

After this the courthouse plans rested awhile, and no action was taken until
after county division. The question of constitutional convention, however, kept
pegging away, and in the election of 1874, the result was similar to that of previous
elections, 24 for, and 236 against.

It will be found of value to incorporate here the list of Territorial Delegates
and Governors. Walla Walla was well represented in the list, both before and
after county division, as also both before and after statehood.

TERRITORIAL DELEG.ATES

1857 — I. I. Stevens, democrat.

1859 — I. I. Stevens, democrat.

1861 — W. H. Wallace, republican.

1863 — George E. Cole, democrat — from Walla Walla.

1865 — A. A. Denny, union.

1867- — Alvin Flanders, union — from Walla Walla.

1869 — Selucius Garfielde, republican; J. D. Mix, of Walla Walla, democratic
candidate.

1870 — -Selucius Garfielde, republican.

1872 — O. B. McFadden, democrat.

1874 — Orange Jacobs, republican; B. L. Sharpstein, democratic candidate,
Walla Walla.

The next election came in 1876 and there was a considerable falling off in
the vote on account of county division in the previous year. It may be worth
noting that the total vote of Walla Walla County in each election was as follows :
1857, 39; 1859, 164; 1861, 361; 1863, 590; 1865, 742; 1867, 1,088; 1869, 1,124;
1870, 1,201; 1872, 1,555; 1874, 1,549.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 147

In the election of 1876, the total vote was 938. It is also interesting to note
that in every single election up to the time of county division and in fact to 1878,
when T. H. Brents of Walla Walla was the candidate, the county went demo-
cratic, and that, as we shall see later, the republicans carried most elections
after that date to the present time.

TERRITORIAL GOVERNORS

1853-6 — I. I. Stevens.

1857-8 — Fayette McMullan.

1859-60— W. H. Wallace.

1862-5 — William Pickering.

1866-7 — George E. Cole.

1867-8 — Marshall F. Moore.

1869-70 — Alvin Flanders.

1870-2 — E. S. Salamon.

1873-9 — E. P. Ferry.

Three of the above incumbents of the gubernatorial chair were Walla Walla
men : Cole, Flanders, and Salamon.

In 1869 Philip Ritz of Walla Walla was United States Marshal. S. C. Win-
gard, for many years one of the most honored of the citizens of Walla Walla, was
United States attorney in 1873, and associate justice in 1875-82. After his long
service under the Federal Government he made his home in Walla Walla until
his death at an advanced age.

W.ALLA WALLA CITY

Turning now from the county and its relations to the territorial and national
Government, to Walla Walla City, we may for the sake of topical clearness repeat
a little of what was given in earlier chapters.

By act of the Legislature of January 11, 1862, Walla Walla became an in-
corporated city, with the limits of the south half of the southwest quarter of
section 20, township 7 north, range 36 east. The charter provided for the elec-
tion, on the first Tuesday of each April, of a mayor, recorder, five councilmen,
marshal, assessor, treasurer and surveyor. All vacancies were to be filled by ap-
pointment of councilmen, except mayor and recorder. The council also had the
power to appoint a clerk and attorney.

The first election vmder the charter occurred on the first day of April, 1862,
at which election the total vote was 422. In the Sfatcsnian of April 5 there is a
criticism in rather mild and apologetic terms for the loose and careless manner in
which the judges allov/ed voting. The assertion is made that men who were well
known to reside miles out of the city were allowed to vote. Not over three hun-
dred voters, according to the paper, were bona fide residents. A well considered
warning is made that such a beginning of city elections will result in a general
illegal voting and ballot-box stuffing. In the Statesman of April 12 is a report
of the first council meeting on April 4. At this first meeting the votes of the
election of the first were canvassed, .showing that out of the 422 votes, E. B.
Whitman had received 416. The recorder chosen was W. P. Horton, whose vote

148 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

was 239 against 173 for W. W. Lacy. The councilniun chosen, whose votes ran
from 400 to 415, were L T. Rees, J. F. Abbott, R. Jacobs, B. F. Stone and B.
Sheidenian.

(jeorge II. Porter was chosen marshal by a vote of 269, with 136 for A. Seitel
and 17 for A. J. Miner. E. E. Kelly was the choice for treasurer by the small
margin of 219 to 200 for D. S. Baker. The assessor was L. W. Greenwell by 413
votes. A. L. Chapman was chosen surveyor by 305 against 119 for W. W. John-
son. S. F. Ledyard was appointed clerk by the council, B. F. Stone was chosen
president of the coimcil at the meeting of April 10.

One of the tirst questions which the council had to wrestle with, as it has been
most of the time since, was revenue and the sources thereof. The saloon busi-
ness being apparently the most active of any at that time became very naturally
the foundation of the revenue system. People supposed then, as many have
since, that they could lift themselves by their boot straps and that a traffic which
cost a dollar for every dime that it brought into the treasury was essential to the
life of the town. However, a "drj' town" at that day and age and in a place whose
chief business was outfitting for the mines and serving as a home for miners oft'
duty, would have been so amazing that the very thought would have been suf-
ficient to warrant an immediate commitment for lunacy. If the spirits of the
city authorities and citizens of that date could return and see the Walla Walla of
1917, with not a legal drop of intoxicating fluid, it is safe to say that "amaze-
ment" would but feebly express their mental state. According to the revenue
ordinance of that first council, a tax was to produce about a third, and licenses
and fines the remainder of the city income. During the first six months the total
revenue was $4,283.25, and the licensing of liquor sales and gambling tables
amounted to $1,875. Taxes amounted to about $1,430. The rest of the revenue
was from fines. We may note here by way of comparison that in 1866 the city
revenue was $15,358.97, of which $9,135.13 was from licenses.

The year of 1862 was one of great activity. A. J. Cain laid out his addition,
though the plat was not recorded till the next year. The Statesman of October
i8th gives a glowing account of the improvements, stating that fifty buildings had
been completed during the summer and that thirty more were in progress of con-
struction. Most of these were no doubt flimsy wooden structures, but it is men-
tioned that the buildings of Schwabacher Brothers and Brown Brothers & Co.
had been nearly completed. At the head of Second Street A. J. Miner was erect-
ing a planing mill, and a sash and door factory. Beyond the city limits Mr.
Meyer had put up a brewerj- (this afterwards developed into the Stahl brewery
on Second Street). In Cain's addition, where there had been only eight houses,
the numl>er was more than doubled. As a matter of fact, though there was
much improvement at that time, our fair City of Walla Walla of the present,
with its elegant homes and trees and flowers and broad verdant lawns, with
paved streets and bountiful water supply, would not recognize the ragged, dusty,
dirty, little shack of a town of which the Statesman was so proud in 1862.
The ease with which the people of that time have adjusted themselves to all the
conveniences and elegancies of the present day, shows something of the infinite
adaptability of human nature, and still more it shows that the foundation build-
ers of the pioneer days had it in them to create all the improvements of later days
Raw as Walla Walla must have looked in the '60s, the essential conditions were

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 149

there which have made our later age; rich soil, water, good surrounding country,
industry, taste, brains, home spirit, good citizenship — and a certain reasonable
amount of time. There we have all the elements that wrought between the Walla
Walla of 1862 and that of 1917.

Early Walla Walla had the usual experience with tires, such occurrnig on
June II, 1862 ; May 8, 1864; August 3, 1865 ; and July 4, 1866. As a result of the
first, Joseph Hellmuth undertook to organize a fire department. His public
spirit was not very cordially supported, but subscriptions to the amount of $1,600
were received, and by advancing $500 himself, he secured an old Hunneman ''tub"
engine.

The most destructive of these early fires was that of August 3, 1865. The
Statesman of August 4th gives a full account of it, estimating the loss so far as
obtained at that time at $164,500. The paper adds $20,000 for loss not then re-
ported. The heaviest losses were sustained by the Dry Goods Company of S.
Elias & Brother, by the store and warehouse of C. Jacobs & Co., and by the
Bank Exchange Saloon and dwelling house of W. J. Ferry. The building used
for courthouse, with the county and city records, was destroyed. In 1863, a fire
company was organized, Fred Stine being the leader in the enterprise.

Perhaps the most vital feature of a growing city is pure and abundant water
supply. Walla Walla was fortunate in early days in the presence of a number
of springs of pure cold water. But though that supply was abundant for a small
place, increasing demands made some system of distribution imperative. There
was also need for sufficient pressure for fire defense.

While the water system was at first a private enterprise, it became public
property in due course of time, andhence it is siiitable to begin the story in this
chapter.

In 1S66 and 1867 four of the most energetic citizens of the town took the
initial steps in providing a system of water distribution. H. P. Isaacs, J. C. Isaacs,
A. Kyger and T- D. Cook obtained a charter in 1866 and the next year established
at a point near the present Armory Hall a plant consisting of a pump, a large
tank, and a supply of wooden pipe. It almost makes one's bones ache in these
eiifete days to think of the amount of labor which the pipes for that pioneer
water system demanded. The pipe consisted of logs bored lengthwise with
augurs by hand. It would not comport with the dignity of a historical work to
stiggest that the whole proceeding was a "great bore," but it was duly accomplished
and the pipes laid. Water was derived from Mill Creek, but the system seems
to have been somewhat unsatisfactory to the projectors, and Mr. Isaacs entered
upon a much larger undertaking, that of establishing reservoirs in the upper part
of town. It was not until after the date of county division that the reservoir
system was fully installed. In 1877 the reservoirs were built on both sides
of Mill Creek, one on what is now the property of the Odd Fellows Home and
the other in the City Park. These reservoirs were filled from the large springs
and for some years supplied the needs of the town. Mr. Isaacs is deserving of
great praise for his unflagging energy in endeavoring to meet that primary need
of the town. The corporate name of Mr. Isaacs' enterprise was the Walla Walla
Water Company. The controlling ownership was ultimately acquired by the inter-
ests represented by the Baker-Boyer Bank, and Mr. H. H. Turner became secre-

150 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

laiy and manager. That, however, was long subsequent to county division and
the further history of the water system belongs to another chapter.

We perhaps should interject at this point the explanation that although
chapters preceding this have been carried to the present date, we are bringing the
political history of the city to the stage of county division only in order to har-
monize with that of the county, and tliat point in case of the county constitutes
a natural stage by reason of the marked change in all political connections occa-
sioned by the division.

Among miscellaneous events having political connections may be mentioned
that omnipresent and usually disturbing question of the fort. We have earlier
spoken of its first location at the point nowr occupied by the American Theater,
right in the heart of the city, and its removal in 1857 to the present location.
It was maintained at full strength until the close of the Indian wars and then
during the period of the Civil war there was a full supply of men and equip-
ment. At times, as already narrated in an earlier chapter, there was much fric-
tion between civilians and the military. The merchants and saloon-keepers,
however, considered the presence of the Fort very desirable from a pecimiary
standpoint. There were in those early days, as there have been more recently,
an element in the city that attached an exaggerated importance to the presence
of the soldiers as a business matter, while there was also another sentiment which
became the most persistent and inherited one in the history of the town ; that is,
the sentiment that while the officers and their families composed the social elite,
the common soldiers were taboo. This was perhaps the nearest to a caste system
ever known in the free and unconventional society of Old Walla Walla. Between
those tW'O viewpoints, the business and the social, there was the larger body of
citizens who shrugged their shoulders over the whole question, deeming it un-
important either way. But when by order of Colonel Curry the Fort was
abandoned, save for a small detachment, in the winter of 1865-6, there went
up a great protest, and all the machinery, congressional and otherwise, was set in
motion, as has been so familiar since down to the present date, to secure orders
for the maintenance of the post.

No results were attained, however, and the Fort remained abandoned, until

1873-

Congress had, in fact, passed a law in 1872, for the sale of the military res-
ervation, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to cut it up into blocks and
lots and dispose of it as his judgment warranted. The tract was surveyed and
laid out by instructions from Washington. But as a result of the famous Modoc
war in Southern Oregon, the view prevailed at headquarters that the rehabilita-
tion and reoccupation of Fort Walla Walla would be wise. Accordingly, in
-August, 1873, six companies w^ere established at the Fort, and from that date
for nearly forty years the military was a constant factor in the life of this
section.

The expenditures were very considerable. It is estimated in Gilbert's His-
toric Sketches of 1882 that the Fort was then purchasing annually about 10,000
bushels of oats, 5.000 bushels of barley. 500 tons of hay, 200 tons of straw,
500 barrels of flour, besides large quantities of meat, wood, and other supplies.
Perhaps the most excited and acrimonious discussions, public and private, in
newspapers and otherwise, have dealt with the retention of the Fort, or with

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 151

some phase of its life. Most of the features of the story came at a date long
after county division.

Another event of that period, not strictly political, yet belonging to the public
life of the community, was the completion on June i, 1870, of the telegraph line
between Portland and Walla Walla, via Wallula. This line was built by the
O. S. N. Company. The office was at the southwest corner of Third and Main
streets, and James Henderson was first operator. Mayor Stone sent this message
to Mayor Goldsmith : "To the Mayor of Portland : — Greeting. Allow me to
congratulate you upon the completion of the telegraph that places the first city
of Washington Territory in direct communication with the first city of Oregon,
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 affection."

A prompt response in like spirit came from Mayor Goldsmith of Portland.

Another event of importance, which also prepared the way for infinite
political maneuvers and back-room deals was the establishment in 1871 of the
Walla Walla Land District. As first constituted, the district embraced all of the
territory east of the Cascade Mountains. Some appointees came from the East
to fill the various positions, though the majority of them were local men, usually
of the highest character. In this, as in other departments of government depend-
ing to some degree on the favor or otherwise of members of Congress, there has
been a certain proportion of pie-counter politicians who have kept up a regular
procession toward the land office.

William Stephens, registrar, and Anderson Cox, receiver, were the first in the
office, opening the doors on July 17, 1871. P. B. Johnson followed Mr. Stephens
in 1875 and J. F. Boyer became receiver in 1872. Better men could not have been
found in the Inland Empire.

Such may be regarded as the essential events to the limits of our space in
the history of Walla Walla County and City to the time of county division. We
have already given the tabulation of county officials, as well as that of those of
the Territorial Delegates and Governors, together with such others as especially
belonged to this region. We incorporate here a list of city officials to the same
date.

CITY OFFICERS AND COUNCIL OF WALI.A WALLA
1865

Mayor — George Thomas.

Council— W. A. Ball. I. T. Rees, Fred Stine, B. Sheideman, Wm. Kohl-
hauff, O. P. Lacy.

City Clerk — A. L. Brown.

1866

Mayor — C. B. Whiteman.
Recorder — W. P. Horton.
Marshal — W. J. Tompkins.
Treasurer — H. E. Johnson.
Assessor — O. P. Lacy.

Council— Fred Stine. I. W. McKee, Cal P. Winesett, Geo. Baggs, John J.
Ryan.

152 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

1867

Mayor — James McAuliff.

Recorder — O. P. Lacy.

Marshal— E. Delaney.

Assessor — M. Leider.

Treasurer — H. E. Johnson.

Surveyor — W. L. Gaston.

Council— C. P. Winesett, 1 T. Rees, Wm. Kohlhauff, J. F. Abbott, W. Brown.

1868

Mayor — James McAuliff.

Recorder — Lewis Day.

Treasurer — H. M. Chase.

Council — J. F. Abbott, Fred Stine, H. Howard, Wm. Kohlhauff, A. Kyger.

1869

Mayor — Frank Stone.
Recorder — O. P. Lacy.
Marshal — E. Delaney.
Treasurer — H. E. Johnson.
Assessor — J. E. Brown.
Surveyor — A. H. Simmons.

Council — James Jones, W. S. Miner, Thos. Tierney, P. M. Lynch, Thos.
Quinn.

1870

Mayor — Dr. E. Shiel.

Recorder — W. P. Horton.

Marshal — E. Delaney.

Treasurer — H. E. Johnson.

Assessor — J. M. Rittenhouse.

Surveyor — A. H. Simmons.

Council— J. F. Abbott, H. M. Chase, G. P. Poor, Wm. Kohlhauff, N. T. Caton.

187 1

Mayor — E. B. Whitman.

Recorder — W. P. Horton.

Marshal — E. Delaney.

Treasurer — H. E. Johnson.

Assessor — M. W. Davis.

Surveyor — A. L. Knowlton.

Council— R. Jacobs, P. M. Lynch, N. T. Caton, G. P. Poor, Frank Orselli.

1872

Mayor — E. B. Whitman.
Recorder — O. P. Lacy.

^Sj^|,\^^; ~; ,/i;^^*'v vrj-J'' ,' ',',1

ilN-

Cl>'i.i-%|f III (.;;;-.

(JLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 153

Marshal — John P. Justice.
Treasurer — H. E. Johnson.
Assessor — M. W. Davis.
Surveyor — A. L. Knowlton.

Council — Sig. Schwabacher, N. T. Caton, AL C. Moore, L H. Foster, John
Stahl.

1873
Mayor — E. B. Whitman.
Recorder — L D. Sarman.
Marshal — John P. Justice.
Treasurer — H. E. Johnson.
Assessor — M. W. Davis.
Surveyor — A. L. Knowlton.
Council— M. C. Moore, N. T. Caton, L H. Foster, Wm. Neal, John Fall.

1874
Mayor — James McAuliff.
Marshal — John P. Justice.
Recorder — O. P. Lacy.
Treasurer — C. T. Thompson.
Assessor — J. B. Thompson.
Council— F. G. Allen, Z. K. Straight, Wm. Kohlhauff, Ed C. Ross.

• 1875
Mayor — James McAuliff.
Marshal — John P. Justice.
Recorder — J. D. Laman.
Treasurer — F. Kennedy.
Assessor — S. Jacobs.
Council— O. P. Lacy, Ed C. Ross, M. Belcher, J. D. Laman, Wm. Kohlhauff.

1876

Mayor — Jas. McAuliff'.

Marshal — John P. Justice.

Treasurer — H. E. Holmes.

Assessor — S. Jacobs.

Council— G. P. Poor, Wm. Kohlhauff, A. H. Reynolds, O. P. Lacy, M.
Belcher.

It remains in this chapter to speak of the events leading to the division of
Old Walla Walla County. The first movement in that direction originated at
Waitsburg. That active place, in the center of one of the fairest and most
fertile tracts in all this fertile region, had come into existence in 1865. We
find an item in the Statesman of June 30, 1865, to this effect: "Waitsburg is the
name of a town just beginning to grow up at Wait's Mill on the Touchet.
The people of that vicinity have resolved to celebrate the coming 4th, and are
making arrangements accordingly. W. S. Langford of this city has accepted an

15-4 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

invitation to deliver the oration."' In 1869 a senlinient developed that the large
area south of Snake River, 3,^20 square miles, was too large for a single county,
and that it was only a question of time when there must be another county.
Not seeming to realize that if such event occurred the natural center must be
farther east than W'aitsburg, the citizens of the "Mill Town" pushed vigorously
for tlieir project of division, with their own town as the seat of a new county.
A petition signed by 150 citizens was conveyed to Olympia by a delegation who
presented it to the Legislature. Though their effort failed it served to keep
the plan of division alive, and with a rapid flow of immigration into the high
region of the Upper Touchet, the movement for a new county constantly grew.
We have already spoken of the early locations on the Touchet and Patit. In
1871 and 1872, there became a concentration of interests which made it clear
that a town would develop. It became known as Dayton from Jesse N. Day.
1 lere was a location more suitable geographically than W'aitsburg, and sentiment
rapidly gathered around Dayton as the natural vantage point for a new county.
Elisha Ping was chosen to the Territorial Council in 1874 to represent Walla
W'alla County, and as a citizen and prominent land owner of Dayton he became
the center of the movement.

The first boundary proposed called for a line running directly south from the
Palouse ferry on Snake River to the state line, thus putting W'aitsburg just
within the new county. This was not acceptable to that place. If it could not
be the county seat, it preferred to play second fiddle to Walla Walla rather
than to Dayton. Mr. Preston went to Walla \Valla to represent the Waitsburg
sentiment. As a result a remonstrance against county division was prepared and
forwarded to the Legislature. Representatives Hodgis, Lloyd, Lynch and Scott
took positions in opposition to division. A. J. Cain and Elisha Ping condticted
the campaign from the standpoint of Dayton. It became a three cornered com-
bat in the Legislature. The Walla Walla people, as almost always is the case in
a growing county, though it is very poor and selfish policy, opposed any divi-
sion. The Waitsburg influence was for division provided it could ha\e the
county seat but otherwise opposed, and the Dayton influence was entirely for
division with the expectation that Dayton would become the county seat. Like
most county division and county seat fights, this was based mainly on motives
of transient local gain and personal advantage, rather than on broad public policy
for the future. Piut so long as human nature is at such a rudimentary stage
of evolution it would be too idealistic to expect otherwise. But whether with
large motives or small, the final outcome, as well as the subsequent divisions by
which Garfield and Asotin were laid out, was for progress and eflSciency. Walla
Walla interests were overpowered in the Legislature and a bill creating Ping
County was duly passed. This, however, encountered a snag, for Governor
Ferry vetoed it. Another bill, avoiding his objections, naming the new county
Columbia, was finally pas.sed and on Nov. 11. 1875. Columbia County duly came
into existence, embracing about two-thirds of Old Walla Walla County, being
bounded by Snake River and the state line on the north, east and south, and
by Walla Walla County on the west.

The hi.story of the erection of Garfield and Asotin counties will belong prop-
erly to a later chapter, and with this final view of old Walla Walla County as
it had existed from 1859 to 1875, we pass on.

CHAPTER IV
THE EARLY TRANSPORTATION AGE

It is but trite and commonplace to say (yet these commonplace sayings
embody the accumulated experience of tlie human race) that transportation is
the very A. B. C. of economic science. There can be no wealth without exchange.
There is no assignable value either to commodities or labor without markets.

New communities have always had to struggle with these fundamental prob-
lems of transportation. Until there can be at least some exchange of products
there can be no real commercial life and men's labor is spent simply on pro-
ducing the articles needful for daily bread, clothing and shelter. Most of the
successive "Wests" of America have gone through that stage of simple existence.
Some have gotten out of it very rapidly, usually by the discovery of the precious
metals or the production of some great staple like furs so much in demand and
so scarce in distant countries as to justify expensive and even dangerous expedi-
tions and costly transportation systems. During nearly all the first half of the
nineteenth century the fur trade was that agency which created exchange and
compelled transportation.

After the acquisition of Oregon and California by the United States there
was a lull, during which there was scarcely any commercial life because there
was nothing exchangeable or transportable.

Then suddenly came the dramatic discovery of gold in California which
inaugurated there a new era of commercial life and hence demanded extensive
transportation, and that was for many years necessarily by the ocean. The
similar discovery in Oregon came ten years later. As we saw in Chapter Twd
of this part there came on suddenly in the early '60s a rushing together in old
Walla Walla of a confused mass of eager seekers for gold, cattle ranges, and
every species of the opportunities which were thought to exist in the '"upper
country." As men began to get the measure of the country and each other
and to see something of what this land was going to become, the demand for
some regular system of transportation became imperative.

The first resource was naturally by the water. It was obvious that teaming
from the Willamette Valley (the only productive region in the '50s and the
first vear or two of the '60s) was too limited a means to amount to anything.
Bateaux after the fashion of the Hudson's Bay Company would not do for the
new era. Men could indeed drive stock over the mountains and across the plains
and did so to considerable degree. But as the full measure of the problem was
taken it became clear to the active ambitious men who flocked into the Walla
Walla country in 1858, 1859, and i860, and particularly when the discovery of
gold became known in 1861. that nothing but the establishment of steamboats

155

156 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

on the Columbia and Snake rivers would answer the demand for a real system
of transi)ortation commensurate with the situation.

I'o fully appreciate the era of steamboating and to revive the memories of
the pioneers of this region in those halcyon days of river traffic, it is fitting that
we trace briefly the essential stages from the first api)earance of steamers on
the Columbia River and its tributaries. To accomplish this section of the story
we are incorporating here several paragraphs from "The Columbia River," by
the author: The first river steamer of any size to ply upon the Willamette
and Columbia was the Lot Whitcomb. This steamer was built by W'hitcomb
and Jennings. J. C. Ainsworth was the first captain, and Jacob Kamm was the
lirst engineer. Both of these men became leaders in every species of steam-
boating enterprise. In 1851 Dan Bradford and B. B. Bishop inaugurated a
movement to connect the up-river region with the lower river by getting a small
iron propeller called the Jason P. Flint from the East and putting her together
at the Cascades, whence she made the run to Portland. The Flint has been
named as first to run above the Cascades, but the author has the authority of
Mr. Bishop for stating that the first steamer to run above the Cascades was
the Eagle. That steamer was brought in sections by Allen McKinley to the
Upper Cascades in 1853, there put together, and set to plying on the part of
the river between the Cascades and The Dalles. In 1854 the Mary was built
and launched above the Cascades, the next year the Wasco followed, and in 1856
the Hassalo began to toot her jubilant horn at the precipices of the mid-Columbia.
In 1859 R. R. Thompson and Lawrence Coe built the Colonel Wright, the first
steamer on the upper section of the river. In the same year the same men
built at the Upper Cascades a steamer called the Venture. This craft met with
a curious catastrophe. For on her very first trip she swung too far into the
channel and was carried over the Upper Cascades, at the point where the Cas-
cade Locks are now located. She was subsequently raised and rebuilt, and
rechristened the Umatilla.

This part of the period of steamboat building was contemporary with the
Indian wars of 1855 and 1856. The steamers Wasco, Mary, and Eagle were of
much service in rescuing \ictims of the murderous assault on the Cascades by
the Klickitats.

While the enterprising steamboat builders were thus making their way up-
river in the very teeth of Indian warfare steamboats were in course of con-
struction on the Willamette. The Jennie Clark in 1854 and the Carrie Ladd
in 1858 were built for the firm of Abernethy, Clark and Company. These
both, the latter especially, were really elegant steamers for the time.

The close of the Indian wars in 1859 saw a quite well-organized steamer
service between Portland and The Dalles, and the great rush into the upper
country was just beginning. The Senorita, the Belle, and the Multnomah, under
the management of Benjamin Stark, were on the run from Portland to the Cas-
cades. A rival steamer, the Mountain Buck, owned by Ruckle and Olmstead,
was on the same route. These steamers connected with boats on the Cascades-
Dalles section by means of portages five miles long around the rapids. There
was a portage on each side of the river. That on the north side was operated
by Bradford & Company, and their steamers were the Hassalo and the Mary.
Ruckle and Olmstead owned the portage on the south side of the river, and

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 157

their steamer was the Wasco. Sharp competition arose between the Bradford
and Stark interests on one side and Ruckle and Olmstead on the other. The
Stark Company was known as the Columbia River Navigation Company, and the
rival was the Oregon Transportation Company. J. C. Ainsworth now joined
the Stark party with the Carrie Ladd. So efficient did this reinforcement prove
to be that the transportation company proposed to them a combination. This
was effected in April, 1859, and the new organization became known as the Union
Transportation Company. This was soon found to be too loose a consolidation
to accomplish the desired ends, and the parties interested set about a new com-
bination to embrace all the steam boat men from Celilo to Astoria. The result
was the formation of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, which came into
legal existence on December 20, i860. Its stock in steamboats, sailboats, wharf-
boats, and miscellaneous property was stated at $172,500.

Such was the genesis of the "O. S. N. Co." In a valuable article by
Irene Lincoln Poppleton in the Oregon Historical Quarterly for September,
1908, to which we here make acknowledgments, it is said that no assessment
was ever levied on the stock of this company, but that from the proceeds of the
business the management expended in gold nearly three million dollars in
developing their property, besides paying to the stockholders in dividends over
two million and a half dollars. Never perhaps was there such a record of
money-making on such capitalization.

The source of the enormous business of the Oregon Steam Navigation Com-
pany was the rush into Idaho, Montana, and Eastern Oregon and Washington by
the miners, cowboys, speculators, and adventurers of the early '60s. The up-river
country, as described more at length in another chapter, wakened suddenly
from the lethargy of centuries, and the wildness teemed with life. That was the
great .steamboat age. Money flowed in streams. Fortunes were made and lost
in a day.

When first organized in i860, the Oregon Steam Navigation Company had
a nondescript lot of steamers, mainly small and weak. The two portages, one of
five miles around the Cascades and the other of fourteen miles from The Dalles
to Celilo Falls, were unequal to their task. The portages at the Cascades on
both sides of the river were made by very inadequate wooden tramways. That
at The Dalles was made by teams. Such quantities of freight were discharged
from the steamers that sometimes the whole portage was lined with freight from
end to end. The portages were not acquired by the company with the steam-
boat property, and as a result the portage owners reaped the larger share of the
profits. During high water the portage on the Oregon side at the Cascades
had a monopoly of the business and it took one-half the freight income
from Portland to The Dalles. This was holding the whip-hand with a vengeance,
and the vigorous directors of the steamboat company could not endure it. Accord-
ingly, they absorbed the rights of the portage owners, built a railroad from Celilo
to The Dalles on the Oregon side, and one around the Cascades on the Washington
side. The company was reorganized under the laws of Oregon in October, 1863,
with a declared capitalization of $2,000,000.

Business on the river in 1863 was something enormous. Hardly ever did a
steamer make a trip with less than two hundred passengers. Freight was offered
in such quantities at Portland that trucks had to stand in line for blocks, waiting

158 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

tu deliver and receive their loads. New boats were built of a much better class.
Two rival companies, the Independent Line and the People's Transportation Line,
made a vigorous struggle to secure a share of the business, but they were eventually
overpowered. Some conception of the amount of business may be gained from
the fact that the steamers transported passengers to an amount of fares run-
ning from $i,ooo to $6,000 a trip. On April 29, 1862, the Tenino, leaving Celilo
for the Lewiston trip, had a load amounting to $10,945 for freight, passengers,
meals, and berths. The steamships sailing from Portland to San Francisco
showed equally remarkable records. On June 25, 1861, the Sierra Nevada con-
veyed a treasure shipment of $228,000; July 14th, $110,000; August 24th,
$195,558; December 5th, $750,000. The number of passengers carried on The
Dalles-Lewiston route in 1864 was 36,000 and the tons of freight were 21,834.

It was a magnificent steamboat ride in those days from Portland to Lewiston
The fare was $60; meals and berths, $1 each. A traveler would lea\e Portland
at 5 A. M. on, perhaps, the Wilson G. Hunt, reach the Cascades sixty-five miles
distant at 11 A. M., proceed by rail five miles to the Upper Cascades, there
transfer to the Oneonta or Idaho for The Dalles, passing in that run from the
humid, low-lying, heavily timbered West-of-the-mountains, to the dry, breezy,
hilly East-of-the-mountains. Reaching The Dalles, fifty miles farther east, he
would be conveyed by another portage railroad, fourteen miles more, to Celilo
There the Tenino, Yakima, Nez Perce Chief, or Owyhee was waiting. With the
earliest light of the morning the steamer would head right into the impetuous
current of the river, bound for Lewiston, 280 miles farther yet, taking two days,
sometimes three, though only one to return. Those steamers were mainly of
light-draught, stern-wheel structure, which still characterizes the Columbia River
boats. They were swift and roomy and well adapted to the turbulent waters of
the upper river.

The captains, pilots, and pursers of that period were as fine a set of men as
ever turned a wheel. Bold, blufi^, genial, hearty, and obliging they were, even
though given to occasional outbursts of expletives and possessing voluminous
repertoires of "cusswords" such as would startle the efifete East. Any old
Oregonian who may chance to cast his eyes upon these pages will recall, as with
the pangs of childhood homesickness, the forms and features of steamboat men
of that day ; the polite yet determined Ainsworth, the brusque and rotund Reed,
the bluff and hearty Knaggs, the frolicsome and never disconcerted Ingalls, the
dark, powerful, and nonchalant Coe, the partriarchal beard of Stump, the loqua-
cious "Commodore" Wolf, who used to point out to astonished tourists the "dia-
bolical strata" on the banks of the river, the massive and good-natured Strang,
the genial and elegant O'Neil, the suave and witty Snow, the tall and handsome
Sampson, the rich Scotch brogue of McNulty, and dozens of others, whose com-
bined adventures would fill a volume. One of the most experienced pilots of
the upper river was Captain "Eph" Baughman, who ran steamers on the Snake
and Columbia rivers over fifty years, and is yet living at the date of this
publication. W. H. Gray, who came to Waiilatpu with Whitman as secular
agent of the mission, became a river man of much skill. He .gave four sons,
John, William. Alfred, and James, to the service of the river, all four of them
being skilled captains. A story narrated to the author by Capt. William Gray,
now of Pasco, Wash., well illustrates the character of the old Columbia River

STEAMERS ASOTIN, SPOKAKE AND LEWISTON IN PORT AT LEWISTON

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 159

navigators. W. H. Gray was the first man to run a sailboat of much size
with regular freight up Snake River. That was in i860 before any steamers
were running on that stream. Mr. Gray built his boat, a fifty ton sloop, on
Oosooyoos Lake on the Okanogan River. In it he descended that river to its
entrance into the Columbia. Thence he descended the Columbia, running down
the Entiat, Rock Island, Cabinet, and Priest Rapids, no mean undertaking of
itself. Reaching the mouth of the Snake he took on a load of freight and
started up the swift stream. At Five-mile Rapids he found that his sail was
insufficient to carry the sloop up. Men had said that it was impossible. The
crew all prophesied disaster. The stubborn captain merely declared, "There is
no such word as fail in my dictionary." He directed his son and another of the
crew to take the small boat, load her with a long coil of rope, make their way
up the stream until they got above the rapid, there to land on an islet of rock,
fasten the rope to that rock, then pay it out till it was swept down the rapid.
They were then to descend the rapid in the small boat. "Very likely you may be
upset," added the skipper encouragingly, "but if you are, you know how to
swim." They were upset, sure enough, but they did know how to swim. They
righted their boat, picked up the end of the floating rope, and reached the sloop
with it. The rope was attached to the capstan, and the sloop was wound up
by it above the swiftest part of the rapid to a point where the sail was suffi-
cient to carry, and on they went rejoicing. Any account of steamboating on
the Columbia would be incomplete without reference to Capt. James Troup, who
was born on the Columbia, and almost, froipjearly boyhood ran steamers upon it
and its tributaries. He made a ^pecialj^?^ pf running. Steamers down The Dalles
and the Cascades, an undertaking sometimes rendered necessary by the fact that
more boats were built in proportion tcJ demand' on the upper than the lower river.
These were taken down The DaHes;-and sometiiTies: down the Cascades. Once
down, they could not return. The first steamer to run down the Tumwater
Falls was the Okanogan, on May 22, 1866, piloted by Capt. T. J. Stump.

The author enjoyed the great privilege of descending The Dalles in the D. S.
Baker in the year 1888, Captain Troup being in command. At that strange point
in the river, the whole vast volume is compressed into a channel but 160 feet
wide at low water and much deeper than wide. Like a huge mill-race this
channel continues nearly straight for two miles, when it is hurled with frightful
force against a massive bluff. Deflected from the blufif, it turns at a sharp angle
to be split in sunder by a low reef of rock. When the Baker was drawn into
the current at the head of the "chute" she swept down the channel, which was
almost black, with streaks of foam, to the blufif, two miles in four minutes.
There feeling the tremendous refluent wave, she went careening over and over
toward the sunken reef. The skilled captain had her perfectly in hand, and
precisely at the right moment, rang the signal bell, "Ahead, full speed," and ahead
she went, just barely scratching her side on the rock. Thus close was it neces-
sary to calculate distance. If the steamer had struck the tooth-like point of
the reef broadside on, she would have been broken in two and carried in frag-
ments on either side. Having passed this danger point, she glided into the
beautiful calm bay below and the feat was accomplished. Capt. J. C. Ainsworth
and Capt. James Troup were the two captains above all others to whom the
company entrusted the critical task of running steamers over the rapids.

160 Ol.l) WALI.A WALLA COUNTY

In the Overland Monthly of June, 1886, there is a valuable account by Capt.
Lawrence Coe of the maiden journey of the Colonel Wright from Celilo up what
they then termed the up])er Columbia.

Tliis tirst journey on tliat section of the river was made in April, 1859. The
pilot was Capt. Lew White. The highest point reached was Wallula, the site
of the old Hudson's Bay Fort. The current was a powerful one to withstand,
no soundings had ever been made, and no boats except canoes, bateaus, flatboats,
and a few small sailboats, had ever made the trip. No one had any conception
of the location of a channel adapted to a steamboat. No difficulty was expe-
rienced, however, except at the Umatilla Rapids. This is a most singular obstruc-
tion. Three separate reefs, at intervals of half a mile, extend right across the
river. There are narrow breaks in these reefs, but not in line with each other.
Through them the water pours with tremendous velocity, and on account of their
irregular locations a steamer must zigzag across the river at imminent risk of
being borne broadside on to the reef. The passage of the Umatilla Rapids is
not difficult at high water, for then the steamer glides over the rocks in a straight
course.

In the August Overland of the same year, Captain Coe narrates the first steam-
boat trip up Snake River. This was in June, i860, just at the time of the begin-
ning of the gold excitement. The Colonel Wright was loaded with picks, rockers,
and other mining implements, as well as provisions and passengers. Most of the
freight and passengers were put off at Wallula, to go thence overland. Part
continued on to test the experiment of making way against the wicked-looking
current of Snake River. After three days and a half from the starting point a
few miles above Celilo, the Colonel Wright halted at a place which was called
Slaterville, thirty-seven miles up the Clearwater from its junction with the Snake.
There the remainder of the cargo was discharged, to be hauled in wagons to the
Oro Fino mines. The steamer Okanogan followed the Colonel Wright within
a few weeks, and navigation on the Snake may be said to have fairly begun.
During that same time the City of Lewiston, named in honor of Meriwether
Lewis, the explorer, was founded at the junction of the .Snake and Clearwater
rivers.

THE PIONEER ST.AGE LINES

While the river traffic under the ordinary control of the O. S. N. Company,
though with frequent periods of opposition boats, was thus promoting the move-
ments of commercial life along the great central artery, the need of reaching
interior points was vital. The only way of doing this and providing feeders for
the boats was by stage lines and prairie schooners. As a result of this need there
developed along with the steamboats a system of roads from certain points on the
Columbia and Snake rivers. Umatilla, Wallula, and Lewiston became the chief
of these. And in the stage lines we have another era of utmost interest and
importance in the old time days.

J. F. Abbott was the pioneer stage manager of old Walla \\^alla. It is very
interesting to note his advertisements as they appear in the earliest issues of the
IVashington Slatesman. But he began before there was any Statesman or paper
of any kind between the Cascade Mountains and the Missouri River. For in 1859

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 161

he started the first stages between Wallula and Walla Walla. In i860 he entered
a partnership with Rickey and Thatcher on the same route. In 1861 a new line
was laid out by Aliller and Blackmore from The Dalles to Walla Walla. The
stage business went right on by leaps and bounds. In 1862 two companies started
new lines, Rickey and Thatcher from Walla Walla to Lewiston through the present
Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, and Blackmore and Chase
between Wallula and Walla Walla. During the next two decades the stage busi-
ness became one of the great factors in the growth of the whole vast region from
Umatilla eastward into the mining regions of Oro Fino, Florence, Boise Basin,
and ultimately into Wyoming and Utah.

The most prominent manager on the longer routes and one of the most promi-
nent and useful of all the business men of early Walla Walla, was George F.
Thomas. He laid out a route from Wallula to Boise by way of Walla Walla and
the Woodward Toll Gate Road over the Blue Mountains.

In 1864 there came into operation the first of the great stage systems having
transcontinental aims and policies. This was the Holladay system. That period
was the palmy time for hold-ups, Indians, prairie-schooners, and all the other
interesting and extravagant features of life, ordinarily supposed to be typical of
the Far- West and so dominating in their effect on the imagination as to furnish
the seed-bed for a genuine literature of the Pacific Coast, most prominent in
California with the illustrious names of Bret Harte and Mark Twain in the
van, and with Jack London, Rex Beach, and many more in later times pursuing
the same general tenor of delineation. The Northwest has not yet had a litera-
ture comparable with California's, but the material is here and there will yet be
in due sequence a line of story writers, poets and artists of the incomparable
scenery and the tragic, humorous and pathetic human associations of the Columbia
and its tributaries, which will place this northern region of the Pacific in the
same rank as the more forward southern sister. Indeed we may remark inci-
dentally that the two most prominent California poets, Joaquin Miller and Edwin
Markham, belonged to Oregon, the latter being a native of the "Web-foot State."

The amount of business done by those pioneer stage lines was surprising. In
the issue of the Statesman of December 20, 1862, it is estimated that the amount
of freight landed by the steamers at Wallula to be distributed thence by wheel
averaged about a hundred and fifty tons weekly, and that the number of pas-
sengers, very variable, ran from fifty to six hundred weekly. As time went on
rival lines became more and more active and rates were lowered as competition
grew more keen. The author recalls vividly his first trip from Wallula to Walla
Walla in his boyhood in the summer of 1870.

The steamer was jammed with passengers who disembarked and made a rush
for something to eat in the old adobe hotel on the river bank at the site of the
old Fort Walla Walla. There were a dozen or so stages, the driver of each
vociferating that on that day passengers were carried free to Walla Walla. It is
asserted that on some occasions competition became so hot that the rival stage
managers ofifered not only free transportation, but free meals as a bonus. When-
ever one line succeeded in running off competitors the rates were plumped right
back to the ordinary figure. In view of the wagon traffic of that period it is
not surprising that sections of the road are yet worn several feet deep and that
for years there were four or five tracks. They never worked the roads, but

Vol. I— 11

I(i2 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

depended purely on naluie, rrovidence, and the movement of teams to effect any
changes. With the somewhat strenuous west winds which even yet are sometimes
noticed to prevail on the lower Walla Walla it is not wonderful that a good
part of the top dressing of that country has been distributed at various points
around Walla Walla, Waitsburg, Dayton, "and all points east." How regular
teamsters got enough air to maintain life out of the clouds of dust w^hich enveloped
most of their active moments is one of the unexplained mysteries of human
existence.

The closing scene of the stage line drama may be said to have been the
establishment in 1871 of the Northwestern Stage Company. It connected the
Central Pacific Railroad at Kelton, Utah, with The Dalles, Pendleton, Walla
Walla, Colfax, Dayton, Lewiston, Pomeroy, and "all points north and west."
During the decade of the '70s that ftage line was a connecting link not only
between the railroads and the regions as yet without them, but was also a link
between two epochs, that of the stage and that of the railroad.

Tt did an extensive passenger business, employing regularly twenty-two stages
and 300 horses, which used annually 365 tons of grain and 412 tons of hay. There
were 150 drivers and hostlers regularly employed for that branch of the business.

THE R.MLROAD AGE

• But a new- order was coming rapidly- As the decades of the '60s and '70s
belonged especially to the steamboat and the stage, so the decade of the '80s
belonged to the railroad. It is one of the most curious and interesting facts in
American history that during the period between about 1835, the coming of the
missionaries and the period of the discoveries of gold in Idaho in 1861 and onward,
there was an obstinate insistence in Congress, especially the Senate — a great body
indeed, but at times the very apotheosis of conservative imbecility — that Oregon
could never be practically connected with the older parts of the country, but
must remain a wilderness. But there were some Progressives. When Isaac I.
Stevens was appointed governor of Washington Territory in 1853 he had charge
of a survey with a view of determining a practical route for a northern railroad.
It is very interesting to read his instructions to George B. McClellan, then
one of his assistants. "The route is from St. Paul, Minn., to Puget Sound by the
great bend of the ]\lississippi River, through a pass in the mountains near the
forty-ninth parallel. A .strong party will operate westward from St. Paul : a
second but smaller party will go up the Missouri to the Yellowstone, and there
make arrangements, reconnoiter 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 party coming from the Rocky Mountains. The amount of work
in the Cascade range and eastward, say to the probable junction of the parties at
the great bend of the north fork of the Columbia River, will be immense. Recol-
lect, the main object is a railroad survey from the headwaters of the Mississippi
River to Puget Sound. We must not be frightened by long tunnels or enormous
snows, but must set ourselves to work to overcome them."

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 163

Growing out of the abundant agitation going on for twenty years after the
start given it by Governor Stevens, the movement for a Northern Pacific Railroad
focahzed in 1870 by a contract made between the promoters and Jay Cooke &
Company to sell bonds. It is interesting to recall that Philip Ritz of Walla Walla,
one of the noblest of men and most useful of pioneers, was one of the strong
forces in conveying information about the field and inducing the promoters to
turn their attention to it. In fact Messrs. Ogden and Cass, two of the strongest
men connected with the enterprise, afterwards stated that it was a letter from Mr.
Ritz that drew their favorable attention to the possibilities of this country. Work
was begun on the section of the Northern Pacific Railroad between Kalama on
the Columbia and Puget Sound in 1870, but the financial panic of 1873 crippled
and even ruined many great business houses, among others Jay Cooke & Co., and
for several years construction was at a stand still. In 1879 the Northern Pacific
Railroad Co. was reorganized, work was resumed and never ceased till the iron
horse had drunk both out of Lake Superior and the Columbia River.

One of the most spectacular chapters in the history of railroading in the
Northwest was that of the "blind pool" by which Henry Villard, president of the
Oregon Railway and Navigation Co., obtained in 1881 the control of a majority
of the stock of the N. P. and became its president. The essential aim of this
series of occult finances was to divert the northern road from its proposed
terminus on Puget Sound and annex it to the interests centering in Portland.

In 1883 the road was pushed on from Duluth to Wallula and thence by union
with the O. R. & N. was carried on down the Columbia. The feverish haste,
reckless outlay, and in places dangerous construction of that section along the
crags and through shaded glens and in front of the waterfalls on the banks of
the great river, constitute one of the dramas of building. Even more spectacularly
came the gorgeous pageantry of the Villard excursion in October, 1883, in which
Grant, Evarts, and others of the most distinguished of Americans participated,
and in which Oregon and the Northwest in general were entertained in Portland
with lavish hospitality, and in which Villard rode upon the crest of the greatest
wave of power and popularity that had been seen in the history of the North-
west. But in the very moment of his tritunph he fell with a "dull, sickening
thud." In fact even while being lauded and feted as the great railroad builder
he must have known of the impending crash. For skillful manipulations of the
stock market by the Wright interests had dispossessed Villard of his majority
control, a general collapse in Portland followed, and the Puget Sound terminal
was established at the "City of Destiny," Tacoma. Not till 1888, however, was
the o-reat tunnel at Stampede pass completed and the Northern Pacific fairly
established upon its great route.

Since the completion of the main line of the N. P. R. R. it has sprouted out
feeders in manv directions. The most interesting and important of these to the
Walla Walla Valley is the Washington and Columbia River Railroad, commonly
known in earlier times as the Hunt Road. That road was started as the Oregon
and Washington Territory R. R. by Pendleton interests in 1887. Mr. G. W.
Hunt, a man of great energy and ability, and possessed of many peculiar and
orio'inal views on religion and social conditions as well as railroads, came to the
Inland Empire at that time and perceiving the great possibilities in this region,
made a contract to construct the line. Finding within a year that the projectors

164 OLD VVALl.A WALLA COUNTY

were not succeeding in raising funds Mr. Hunt took over the enterprise. In
i888-yo he carried out a series of Hues from Hunt's Junction, a short distance
from Wallula, to Ilehx and Athena and finally to Pendleton in Umatilla County,
Ore., and to Walla Walla, Waitsburg and Dayton, with a separate branch up
Eureka Flat, that great wheat belt of Northern Walla Walla County. The hard
times of the next year so affected Mr. Hunt's resources that he felt obliged to
place his fine enterprise in the hands of N. P. R. R. interests. But it still retained
the name of Washington and Columbia River Railroad and was operated as a
distinct road. The first president following Mr. Hunt was W. D. Tyler, a man of
so genial nature and brilliant mind as to be one of the conspicuous figures in
Walla Walla circles during his residence in this region and to be remembered
with warm friendship by people in all sorts of connections, afterward living in
Taconia until his lamented death. He was followed by Joseph McCabe who was
a railroad builder and manager of conspicuous ability and who continued at the
head of the line until he was drawn to important railroad work in New England.
The third president of the road was J. G. Cutler who ably continued the work
so well begun. In 1907 the line was absorbed by the Northern Pacific and has
since that date been managed as a section of that line. Mr. Cutler continued
for a time as the general manager until failing health compelled his retirement
and to the deep regret of a large circle of friends and business associates he died
within a few months of his retirement. S. B. Calderhead, who had been during
the presidencies of Mr. McCabe and Mr. Cutler the traffic manager of the original
road, became the general freight and passenger agent of the division in 1907 and
continues to hold the position at this time. The road has been extended to Turner
in the heart of the barley belt of Columbia County. It does an extraordinary
business for the amount of mileage and population. Within the year of the com-
pletion of the lines to Dayton, Pendleton, and the Eureka Flat branch, a total
mileage of 162.73 miles and with a scanty population at that date of 1890, the road
conveyed about forty thousand tons of freight into the regions covered and
carried out about a hundred and thirty thousand tons of grain and 20,000 tons
of other freight.

The other transcontinental line in which the Walla Walla country is especially
interested is the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company's line. This acquired
the Walla Walla and Columbia River line in 1878 and the property of the O. S.
N. Co. in 1879. Henry Villard was the great organizer of the O. R. and N.
line, which was a portion of the Union Pacific system, covering the territory
between Huntington and Portland. Of Villard's operations in this connection
with the N. P. R. R. we have already spoken. Although the attempt to divert
that system down the Columbia proved a failure, the O. R. and N. R. R. has
become one of the great systems of the United States, and as a part of the present
Oregon and Washington system it performs a vast commercial service in the
regions covered by its lines. By the acquisition of the Walla Walla and Columbia
River R. R. (Dr. Baker's road) and the O. S. N. Co. lines and steamboats (for
that was mainly a river system) the O. R. and N. R. R. succeeded practically
to the whole pioneer system of steamboats and stage lines of the previous era.
It has become a vast factor in the commercial life of the Columbia River region
and by its branches north and west has become a competitor with the Northern
Pacific and Great Northern systems throughout the state. Its chief lines in the

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 165

counties covered by this work are that from Pendleton to Spokane, going right
through the heart of the region, with branches from Bolles Junction to Dayton
and Starbuck to Pomeroy. It joins with the N. P. R. R. in a hne from Riparia
on the north side of the Snake River to Lewiston, by which the splendid country
centering around that city is reached and by which the equally beautiful and
productive region of Asotin and Garfield counties on the west and south of
Snake River are indirectly touched. To reach that highly productive region
the company maintains several steamers which ply during the proper stage of
water and convey millions of bushels of grain from Asotin and other points down
the river to railroad connections. One of the important developments of the line
is the Yakima branch, extending from Walla Walla to that city and projected,
as is supposed, to ultimate connections on Puget Sound and possibly through
the Klickitat country about the base of Mount Adams to Portland, tapping an
entirely new country of great and varied resources. In 1914 the main line
between Portland and Spokane was constructed down the Snake from Riparia
to Wallula.

The Northern Pacific and Oregon-Washington railroads have not far from
the same mileage in these counties, the latter somewhat larger, and do approxi-
mately the same amount of local business. A general estimate by one of the
best informed railroad men of Walla Walla is that the combined receipts for
freight in Walla Walla County alone — the present county — for the last year was
about one million dollars for outgoing and about six hundred thousand dollars for
incoming freight.

W.\LL.\ WALL.\ AND COLUMBIA KIVER RAILROAD

We have reserved for special consideration the most interesting and from
the historical standpoint the most important of all the railroads of Walla Walla,
the Walla Walla and Columbia River, Doctor Baker's road. The history of this
enterprise is most intimately connected with the development of this region. It
is not only a rare example of the growth of a local demand and need, but con-
stitutes a tribute to the genius of its builder, one of the most unique and power-
ful of all the capable and original builders of the "Upper Country."

To trace the movements leading to the creation of this vital step in the com-
mercial evolution of Walla Walla, we must turn to the files of the Washington
Statesman. In the issue of May 3, 1862, we find the leading editorial devoted to
urging the need of a railroad. It notes the fact that Lewiston and Wallula are
endeavoring to divert the trade from Walla Walla and that with $500,000
invested in the city, as much more in the country, and with crops yielding
$250,000, besides stock, the people of Walla Walla cannot rest content with the
exorbitant expense of freighting by teams to and from the river. It says
bitterly that those engaged in freighting have thought it a fine thing to get
from twenty dollars to one hundred dollars per ton for carrying freight in from
Wallula. It urges people to bestir themselves and provide a railroad, which, it
declares, if it cost $750,000 or even $1,000,000 to build, will save that amount in
the next ten years.

The issue of June 7 returns to the charge, dealing in more specific figures,
estimating the probable expense of the thirty miles of road not to e.-cceed

lt)6 OLD WAIJ.A W.WA.A COUNTY

$600,000. It appeared from this article that the Legislature of the previous year
had granted a charter for the purpose, and as the editor urges, the people have but
to take advantage of the opportunity open to them to secure the results.

The Statesinan of August 23, 1862, gives the provisions of that charter with
the list of those named in it. The names of these men are worthy of preserva-
tion, as .showing the personnel of the most active business forces of that date.
They are as follows : A. J. Cain, E. B. Whitman, L. A. Mullan, W. J. Terry, C.
H. Armstrong, J. F. Abbott, L T. Reese, S. M. Baldwin, E. L. Bonner, W. A. Mix,
Charles Russell, J. A. Sims, Jesse Drumheller, James Reynolds, D. S. Baker, G.
E. Cole, S. D. Smith, J. J." Goodwin, Neil McGlinchy, J. S. Sparks, W. A.
George, J. AL \ansycle, W. W. DeLacy, A. Seitel, W. A. Ball, B. F. Stone. J.
Schwabacher, B. P. Standifer, S. W. Tatem, W. W. Johnson and "such others as
they shall associate with them in the project."

It is worth noting that in the issue of September 6th, an item is made of the
fact that fares to The Dalles have been lowered, being $10 to The Dalles and
only 50 cents from there to Portland. It is declared in the item that that is a
scheme of the Navigation Company to crush out opposition. The opposition line
of that year was in control of Doctor Baker, who was associated in the enter-
prise with Captain Ankeny, H. W. Corbett, and Captain Baughman. Their
steamer on the lower river was the E. D. Baker and on the upper river the
Spray. Doctor Baker had previously undertaken a portage railroad at the
Cascades, but had been compelled to retire before the O. S. N. Co. So for the
new undertaking they were obliged to use stages over the five miles of portage
between the lower and the upper Cascades. The Spray and the Baker, it may
be said, carried on a lively opposition but in the Statcsiiian of March 21, 1863.
we find that the O. S. N. Co. had bought out the line and once more monopolized
the traffic. Affairs and time were both moving on and we find valuable data
in three successive issues of the Statesman, December 20 and 27, 1862, and
January 3, 1863. That of December 20th repeats the names given in the charter
and some further provisions of that document. Among other requirements was
that forbidding the railroad to charge passengers over 10 cents per mile or
over 40 cents per ton per mile for freight. Comparison shows how the world
has changed. Railroads in this state at present cannot charge more than three
cents a mile for passengers, and as for freight, when we remember how we
"kick" now at exorbitant freight rates, and yet remind ourselves that the rate
on wheat from Walla W'alla to Portland is $2.85 per ton, or less than twelve mills
per ton mile, we realize the change. But it must be remembered that building a
railroad in 1863 in the Walla Walla country was a very different proposition
from the present. The Statesman figures that even if traffic did not increase
there would be a weekly income for the road of $2,400 or about one hundred and
thirty thousand dollars a year. Allowing the cost to be $700,000, with interest
:it 10 per cent or $70,000 a year, there would be a margin of $65,000 per annum
for operating and contingencies. "Who is there," demands the Statesman,
"amongst our settled residents that cannot afford to subscribe for from one to
ten shares of stock at $100 per share?"

In the paper of December 27th. another editorial urges citizens to attend a
meeting the next week to consider the vital subject.

The meeting duly occurred on the last day of December, 1862, and is reported

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 167

in the Statesman of January 3, 1863. The meeting was called to order by E. B.
Whitman and W. W. Johnson acted as secretary. Mention is made of a letter
from Capt. John Mullan stating that there was a prospect of securing from two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars to three hundred thousand dollars worth of
stock in New York. A group of men at money centers was appointed to act as
commissioners for receiving subscriptions for stock. A committee consisting of
W. W. Johnson, W. A. Mix, and R. R. Rees was appointed to draw up articles
of association and by-laws for the company. On March 14th a meeting was
held to listen to the report of the committee.

It appears from the issue of April 11, 1863, that a new opposition steamer,
the Kius, had made her first trip from Celilo to Wallula, beating the Spray by an
hour. Fares had been cut again, being only $3.50 from Celilo to Wallula. The
following number of the Statesman notes the interesting item that the Kius had
made a trip the previous week to the mouth of the Salmon River on the Snake,
and proposed to continue investigations with a view to determining the prac-
ticability of a regular route. In the paper of April 25th is an editorial deprecat-
ing the "cut-throat competition" on the river, pointing out the fact that heavy
stocks of goods had been imported under previous rates and that tiie carrying
in of freight at ruinous rates will embarrass the regular merchants under the old
rates. In the same issue announcement is made of the important fact that the
railroad portages of the O. S. N. Co. at both the Cascades and The Dalles had
just come into operation. By Alay 9th, it appeared that another rapid change
in freight rates had taken place, both lines receipting freight from Portland
to Lewiston at $25 per ton. For some time the rate from The Dalles to Wallula
had been $3 per ton. But a little time passed and the omnipresent O. S. N. Co.
bought out the opposition boats Iris and Kius, and up the rates went with
another jump. The figures were:

Freight — Portland to The Dalles $15.00 per ton

Portland to Wallula 50.00 per ton

Portland to Lewiston 90.00 per ton

Passage — Portland to The Dalles 6.00

Portland to Wallula 18.00

Portland to Lewiston 28.00

Meanwhile development in the mines and on the stock ranges and farms and
even in horticulture was going on apace. But the railroad enterprise hung fire
and several years passed by without results. The community seems to have been
waiting for the man with the brains, nerve, resolution, and resources to lead and
take the risk. The man was there and he had all the requisites from his first
entrance to Walla Walla in 1839 except the resources. This was no less a man
than Dr. D. S. Baker. During the years of agitation he had been prospering in
business and by 1868 was coming into a position where he could see his way to
take the initiative in what he had recognized all the time as the great next step in
the growth of the Walla Walla country, as well as one in the advancement of his
own personal fortunes. The thought of a sort of community ownership had
never left the minds of the original promoters although they had failed to come
to a focus. On March 23, 1868, there was a meeting which was the outcome of

168 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

a second era of popular discussion. That meeting eventuated in the actual incor-
poration of the Walla W'alla and Columbia River Railroad. The incorporators
were D. S. Baker, A. H. Reynolds, L 'i\ Reese, A. Kyger, J. H. Lasater, J. D.
Mix, B. Scheideman, and W. H. Newell. They planned to place $50,000 of stock
in the city, .$200,000 in the county, and $100,000 with the O. S. N. Co. An act of
Congress of March 3, 1869, granted a right of way and authorized the county
commissioners to grant $300,000 in aid of the road, subject to approval of the
people by .special election. The election was set for June 21, 1871. Expressions
of public opinion made it so clear that the proposal would be defeated at the
polls that the order for election was revoked. The incorporators of the road
now made a proposition that in case the people of the county would authorize
an issue of $300,000 in bonds, they would build a strap-iron road within a
year, would place the money from down freights in the hands of the county com-
missioners as a sinking fund, allow the commissioners to fix freight rates, pro-
vided they were not less than $2 per ton nor so high as to discourage shipping,
and secure the county by first mortgage on the road. An election was held
on September 18, 1871. A two-thirds majority was required out of a total
vote of 935, and the proposition was lost by eighteen. Thus the second attempt
at a publicly promoted railroad for Walla Walla went glimmering.

Doctor Baker now felt that the time had arrived for pushing the enterprise to
a conclusion by private capital. A new organization with the same name was
effected, of which the directors were D. S. Baker, Wm. Stephens, L T. Reese,
Lewis McMorris, H. M. Chase, H. P. Isaacs, B. L. Sharpstein, Orley Hull, and
J. F. Boyer. Grading was begun at Wallula in March, 1872.

Meanwhile many rumors and proposals as to railroad building were in the
air. In 1872 the Grande Ronde and Walla Walla R. R. Co. was incorporated, and
a survey made thirty-six miles to the Umatilla River. But there the movement
ceased. A very interesting project came into existence in 1873 for the Seattle
and Walla Walla R. R., and in the prosecution of plans for this, A. A. Denny
and T- J- McGilvra visited this region and held public meetings in Walla Walla,
Waitsburg, and Dayton. Five directors, S. Schwabacher, W. F. Kimball, Jesse
N. Day, W. P. Bruce, and W. M. Shelton were appointed to represent this sec-
tion. Great enthusiasm was created, but the project, feasible though it seemed
and backed though it was by reliable men, never got beyond the stage of agita-
tion. Another enterprise which occasioned great public interest was the Port-
land, Dalles, and Salt Lake R. R. designed as a rival to the O. R. & N. system.
That never got beyond the promotion era. The most interesting locally of these
incipient railroads was the Dayton and Columbia River R. R. incorporated in
August. 1874. Its proposal was to build a narrow gauge from Dayton to Wallula
via Waitsburg and Walla Walla. The plans contemplated a boat line to Astoria
with railroad ]X)rtages at Celilo and the Cascades. That would have been a great
enterprise, but it was beyond the resources of its promoters, and it died
"a-bornin'."

While these gauzy visions were flitting before the minds of the people of
old Walla Walla County, Doctor Baker was going right on with his own road,
in the peculiarly taciturn, quiet and unremitting manner characteristic of him.
In March, 1874, the road was completed from Wallula to the Touchet, the first
eight miles with wooden rails, capped with strap-iron. Maj. Sewall Truax was

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 169

the engineer in charge. Strap-iron rails were laid on the ''straightaway" sec-
tions as far as Touchet, with T-iron on the curves and heavier grades. The
expense of getting ties and iron was very great and the execution of the work
was costly and harassing. Nothing but Doctor Baker's pertinacity in the face
of many obstacles carried the work to a successful conclusion. An attempt to
run tie timber down the Grande Ronde River to the Snake and thence to Wallula
proving unsuccessful, the doctor turned to the Yakima. That effort proved the
winning card, but the cost was great. The ties cost over a dollar apiece at
Wallula.

But from the first the road justified its cost and demonstrated its utility.
In the year that it was completed to Touchet over four thousand tons of wheat
was carried out and 1,126 tons of merchandise was brought in. In January,
1875, Doctor Baker proposed to the people of the county that he would com.-
plete the road to the city if $75,000 were subscribed to the capital stock. A
meeting was held at which it was decided impossible to raise that sum. The
company returned with another proposition; i. e., that they would complete the
road if the people would secure a tract of three acres for depot grounds and
right of way for nine miles west of town, and subscribe $25,000 as a subsidy.
After much wrestling and striving this proposal was accepted. On October 23,
1875, the rails were laid into Walla Walla and during the remainder of that
year 9,155 tons of wheat were hauled over them to the river.

Thus that monumental work (monumental considering the times and resources
available, though of course of small extent compared with the railways of the
present) was brought to a triumphant conclusion.

A peculiar condition arose in the next year after completion which has his-
torical bearings of much interest. According to the account as given by Col. F.
T. Gilbert the advance of rates from $5 per ton to Wallula to $5.50 caused a
revolt on the part of shippers, although the haul by team before was more than
twice as much. Shippers urged the county commissioners to put the wagon
road in good condition as a weapon to curb railway monopoly. As the directors
of the road did not reduce rates, a movement ensued in the Grange Council
looking to boycotting the railroad. The feasibility of a canal from Waiilatpu to
Wallula was considered. Some wheat and some merchandise were transported
by teams at $5 per ton. A movement was started at Dayton to haul freight to
the mouth of the Tucanon, where the O. S. N. steamers might pick it up and
carry to Portland for $8 per ton. It cost $4.50 to reach the boats. That was
the state of affair? which produced Grange City at the point v.diere the Walla
Walla-Pendleton branch of the O. W. R. R. now leaves the main line betweeen
Spokane and Portland. It was thought at one time that Grange City might
become quite a place. One interesting feature of that period was the con-
struction of a steamer named the Northwest at Columbus by the firm of Paine
Brothers and Moore and its operation on the Snake River for about two years.
The Northwest did a fine business, but like its predecessors was absorbed by
the O. S. N. Co.

It was discovered after sufficient experience that teams could not compete
with the railroad and the attempts at that method of transportation were aban-
doned.

In the year 1876, the O. S. N. Co. received at Wallula 16,766 tons of freight.

170 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

of wliich 15,266 came by rail and 1,500 by teams. It delivered for conveyance
to Walla Walla 4,054 tons, of which all but 513 was conveyed by rail. Doctor
Baker's ownership and management of the Walla Walla and Columbia River
R. R. was brief but profitable, for in 1878 he sold out a six-seventh interest to
the O. R. & N. Co. The remaining seventh was sold to Villard when he bought
the O. R. and N. properties.

The pioneer chapter of railroading in Walla Walla was ended. Whatever the
personal idiosyncracies of Doctor Baker and whatever may have been thought
;>s to his aggressiveness in business, it becomes evident with the retrospect of
history that he was a far seeing, sagacious, energetic, and successful business
man and that his career in Walla Walla was one of its greatest constructive
forces.

NEW ERA OF WATER TRAXSPORT.XTIGN

It remains in this chapter only to take a glance at the next great stage in trans-
portation. We have spoken of the old steamer lines as composing the first of
those .stages, the stage lines the second, and the railroads the third. The fourth
may be called the new era of water transportation. This era is as yet only dawn-
ing, but it is obvious that the opening of the Columbia and Snake rivers to traffic
by means of canals and locks and improvement of channels will create a new
development of production and commerce. As far back as 1872 Senator Mitchell
of Oregon brought before Congress the subject of canal and locks at the Cas-
cades. The matter was urged in Congress and in the press, and as a result of
ceaseless efforts the people of the Northwest were rewarded in 1896 with the
completion of the canal at the Cascades. While that was indeed a great work,
it did not, after all, affect the greater part of the Inland Empire.

Its benefits were felt only as far as The Dalles. The much greater obstruc-
tions between that city and the upper river forbade continuous traffic above The
Dalles. Hence the next great endeavor was to secure a canal between navigable
water at Big Eddy, four miles above The Dalles, and Celilo, eight and a half miles
above Big Eddy. It is of great historic interest to call up in this connection
the unceasing efforts of Dr. N. G. Blalock of Walla Walla to promote public
interest in this vast undertaking and to so focalize that interest backed by insist-
ent demands of the people upon Congress as to secure appropriations and to
direct the speedy accomplishment of the engineering work necessary to the result.
Like all such important public matters, this had its alternating advances and re-
treats, its encouragements and its reverses, but patience and perseverance and
the strong force of genuine public benefit triumphed at last over all obstacles. It
is indeed melancholy to remember that Doctor Blalock, of whose good deeds and
public benefactions this was but one, passed on before the improvements were
completed. But it is a satisfaction to remember, too, that before his death, in
April, 1913, he knew that the appropriations and instructions necessary to insure
the work had been made. In fact, the work continued from that time with no
pause or loss.

The Celilo Canal was completed and thrown open to navigation in April,
191 5. In the early part of May the entire river region joined m a week's
demonstration which began at Lewiston, Idaho, and ended at Astoria, Oregon.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 171

Nearly all the senators, representatives and governors in the northwest attended.
Schools and colleges had a holiday, business was largely suspended, and the entire
river region joined a great jubilee. A fleet of steamers traversed the entire
course from Lewiston down, 500 miles. Lewiston, Asotin, and Clarkston were
hostesses on May 3; Pasco, Kenewick, Wallula and Umatilla on May 4; Celilo,
where the formal ceremonies of dedication occurred, and The Dalles, May 5 ;
Vancouver and Portland May 6 ; Kalama and Kelso May 7 ; and Astoria May 8,
and there the pageant ended with a great excursion to the Ocean Beach.

As expressing better in the judgment of the author than he could otherwise
do, the profound significance of that great step in the history of the commercial
development of this section and as giving a view of the historic sequences of old
Walla Walla County, he is venturing to incorporate here an address delivered
by himself on Alay 4 at Wallula in connection with that celebration:

Officials and Representatives of the National and State Governments, and Fellow

Citizens of the Northwest:

It is my honor to welcome you to this historic spot in the name of the people
of the Walla Walla \^alley; the valley of many waters, the location of the first
American home west of the Rocky Mountains and the mother of all the com-
munities of the Inland Empire. On the spot where we stand the past, the present
and the future join hands. Here passed unknown generations of aborigines on
the way from the Walla W'alla Valley to ascend or descend the Great River, to
pass in to the Yakima country, or to move in either direction to the berry patches
or hunting grounds of the great mountains ; here the exploring expedition of
Lewis and Clark paused to view the vast expanse of prairie before committing
themselves to what they supposed to be the lower river; here flotillas of trappers
made their rendezvous for scattering into their trapping fields and for making
up their bateau loads of furs for sending down the river. On this very spot
was built the old Hudson's Bay fort, first known as Nez Perce, then as Walla
Walla ; here immigrants of '43 gathered to build their rude boats on which a
part of them cast themselves loose upon the impetuous current of the Columbia,
while others re-equipped their wagon trains to drive along the banks to The
Dalles. Each age that followed, the mining period, the cowboy period, the farm-
ing period, entered or left the Walla Walla Valley at this very point. Here the
first steamboats blew their jubilant blasts to echo from these basaltic ramparts,
and here the toot of the first railway in the Inland Empire started the coyotes and
jackrabbits from their coverts of sagebrush, \\heresoever we turn history sits
enthroned. Every piece of rock from yonder cliflis to the pebbles on the beach,
fairly quivers with the breath of the past, and even the sagebrush moved by the
gentle Wallula zephyr, exhales the fragrance of the dead leaves of history.

But if the past is in evidence here, much more the present stalks triumphant.
Look at the cities by which this series of celebrations will be marshalled and the
welcome that will be given to the flotilla of steamers all the way from Lewiston
to Astoria. Consider the population of the lands upon the river and its affluents,
nearly a million people, where during the days of old Fort Walla Walla the only
white people were the officers and trappers of the Hudson's Bay Company.

But if the present reigns here proudly triumphant over the past, what must
we say of the future? How does that future tower! Where now are the hun-

172 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

dreds, there will be thousands. Where now are the villages, will be stately cities.
We would not for a moment speak disrespectfully of the splendid steamers that
will compose this fleet by the time it reaches Portland ; but we may expect that
after all they will be a mere bunch of scows in comparison with the floating
palaces that will move in the future up and down the majestic stream.

Therefore, fellow citizens of the Northwest and representatives of the Na-
tional Government, I bid you a threefold welcome in the name of the past, present
and future. And I welcome you also in the name of the commingling of waters
now passing by us. While this is indeed Washington land on either side of the
river, this is not Washington's river. This shore on which we stand is washed
by the turbid water of Snake River, rising in Wyoming and flowing hundreds
of miles through Idaho and then forming the boundary between Idaho and
Oregon before it surrenders itself to the State of Washington. And, as many of
you have seen, half way across this flood of waters we pass from the turbid
coloring of the Snake to the clear blue of the great northern branch, issuing from
the glaciers of the Selkirks and the Canadian Rockies nearly a thousand miles
away, augmented by the torrents of the Kootenai, the Pend Oreille, the Coeur
d'Alene and Spokane, draining the lakes, the snow banks, the valleys and the
mountains of Montana and Idaho. And two or three miles below us this edge of
river touches the soil of Oregon, to follow it henceforth to the Pacific. This is
surely a joint ownership proposition. And, moreover, this very occasion which
draws us together, this great event of the opening of the Celilo Canal, is made
possible because Uncle Sam devoted five millions of dollars to blasting a channel
through those rocky barriers down there on the river bank. It is a national, not
simply a Northwest aflfair.

But while we are thus welcoming and celebrating and felicitating and an-
ticipating we may well ask ourselves what is, after all, the large and permanent
significance of this event. I find two special meanings in it: one commercial and
industrial, the other patriotic and political. First, it is the establishment of
water transportation and water power in the Columbia Basin on a scale never
before known. Do we yet comprehend what this may mean to us and our descend-
ants in this vast and productive land? It has been proved over and over again
in both Europe and the United States that the cost of freightage by water is but
a fraction, a fifth, a tenth, or sometimes even a fifteenth of that by land — but,
note this is under certain conditions. What are those conditions? They are that
the waterways be deep enough for a large boat and long enough for continuous
long runs. The average freight rate by rail in the United States is 7.32 mills per
ton mile. By the Great Lakes or the Mississippi River it is but one-tenth as
much. Freight has in fact been transported from Pittsburgh to New Orleans for
half a mill a ton a mile, or only a fifteenth. Hitherto, on account of the break in
continuity in the Columbia at Celilo, we have not been able to realize the benefits
of waterway transportation. The great event which we are now celebrating con-
fers upon us at one stroke those benefits. Not only are the possibilities of trans-
portation tremendous upon our river, but parallel with them run the possibilities
of water power. It has been estimated that a fourth of all the water power of
the United States is found upon the Columbia and its tributaries. By one stroke
the canalization of rivers creates the potentialities of navigation, irrigation and
mechanical power to a degree beyond computation. Our next great step must be

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 173

the canalization of Snake River, and that process at another great stroke will
open the river to continuous navigation from a point a hundred miles above
Lewiston to the ocean, over five hundred miles away. Then in logical sequence
will follow the opening of the Columbia to the British line, and the Canadian
Government stands ready to complete that work above the boundary until we may
anticipate a thousand miles of unbroken navigation down our "Achilles of rivers"
to the Pacific. Until this great work at Celilo was accomplished we could not feel
confidence that the ultimate end of continuous navigation was in sight. Now
we feel that it is assured, the most necessary stage is accomplished. It is only
a question of time now till the river will be completely opened from Windemere
to the ocean. We welcome you, therefore, again on this occasion in the name of an
assured accomplishment.

The second phase of this great accomplishment which especially appeals to me
now is the character of nationality which belongs to it. While this is a work that
peculiarly interests us of the Northwestern States, yet it has been performed by
the National Government. Uncle Sam is the owner of the Celilo Canal. It
belongs to the American people. Each of us owns about a ninety millionth of it
and has the same right to use it that every other has. This suggests the unity,
the interstate sympathy and interdependence, which is one of the great growing
facts of our American system. In this time of crime and insanity in Europe, due
primarily to the mutual petty jealousies of races and boundaries, it is con-
solation to see vision and rationality enough in our own country to disregard
petty lines and join in enterprises which encourage us in the hope of a rational
future for humanity. It is a lesson in the get-together spirit. Every farm, every
community, every town, every city from the top of the Rocky Mountains and from
the northern boundary to Astoria shakes hands with every other this day. And
not only so but every state in the Union joins in the glad tribute to something
of common national interest. But while we recognize the significance of this
event in connection with interstate unity we must note also that the Columbia is an
international river. It is, in fact, the only river of large size which we possess in
common with our sister country, Canada. About half of it is in each country.
Its navigability through the Canadian section has already been taken up energet-
ically by the Canadian Government. Think of the unique and splendid scenic
route that will sometime be offered when great steamboats go from Revelstoke
to Astoria, a thousand miles. Scenically and commercially our river will be in a
class by itself.

Such are some of the glowing visions which rise before our eyes in the wel-
come with which we of the Walla Walla Valley greet you. I began by a three-
fold welcome in the name of the past, present and future. I venture to close in
the name of the native sons and daughters of Old Oregon. There are many of
these within the sound of my voice. Perhaps to such sons and daughters a few
lines of "Our Mother Oregon" may come with the touch of sacred memory.
Let me explain that Old Oregon includes Washington and Idaho, and in com-
posing these lines I used the name "Our Mother Oregon" to include our entire
Northwest :

Where is the land of rivers and fountains,
Of deep-shadowed valleys and sky-scaling mountains?
'Tis Oregon, our Oregon.

174 OLD WALI.A WAl.l.A COUNTY

Where is the home of ihe aijple and rose,

Where the wild currant blooms and the hazel-nut grows?

'Tis Oregon, bright Oregon.
Where are the crags whence the glaciers flow.
And the forests of hr where the south winds blow ?

In Oregon, grand Oregon.
Where sleep the old heroes who liberty sought.
And where live their free sons whom they liberty taught?

In Oregon, free Oregon.
What is the lure of this far western land.
When she beckons to all with her welcoming hand?

It is the hand of Oregon.
Oh, Oregon, blest Oregon,
Dear Mother of the heart ;
At touch of thee all troubles flee
And tears of gladness start.
Take thou thy children to thy breast.
True keeper of our ways.
And let thy starry eyes still shine
On all our coming days.

Our Mother Oregon.

ERA OF GOOD RO.VDS

In closing this chapter we may express the conviction that while this fourth
era of transportation — a new period of steamboat traffic — is surely coming, though
yet but in its dawn, there is now taking shape still a fifth era of transportation.
This is to be nothing less than an era of good roads and transportation by auto
trucks as feeders to steamboat lines. The most conspicuous fact at the time of
publication of this work in this section as in the covmtry at large is the movement
in the direction of good roads as the logical sequence of the development of auto-
mobiles. This movement will inevitably become coupled with that of impro\ement
of rivers as a means of cheap water transportation. With this improvement of
rivers will be another sequence, that is, the creation of cheap electric power.

We are at the dawn of a day in which the two most vital needs of mankind,
after production, that is, transportation and power, are to be provided at a low
degree of cost not hitherto conceived of. As a backward glance in our own section
it is well nigh incredible to call up that the cost of transporting a ton of freight
by steamer with portages at certain points from Portland to Wallula has run from
$10.00 to $60.00, and from Wallula to Walla Walla, by wagon, from $8.00 to
$20.00 or $30.00, and by the first railroad from $4.00 to $5.50, while at the present
time the railroad rate (which we think is high) on wheat from Walla Walla to
Portland is $2.85 per ton, and only $1.65 by steamer from ^^^allula to Portland.
Our imaginations are strained almost to the breaking point when we recall that
experience on improved rivers in Europe and the older America shows that by
continuous improved rivers, supplemented by good roads, it may cost not to exceed
a dollar, possibly not more than half a dollar from Walla W'alla to Portland. That
new era is near at hand.

CHAPTER V

THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY IN OLD WALLA WALLA

COUNTY TO THE PERIOD OF COUNTY DIVISION AND

AFTERWARDS IN THE PRESENT WALLA WALLA

We have given in the first chapter of this volume a view of the physical
features, geological formation, and climate of this region. It was obvious from
that description that the Walla Walla country, like most of Eastern Washing-
ton, Northeastern Oregon, and even Northwestern Idaho, would be thought of
at first inspection as a stock country. The army of early immigrants that
passed through on their way to the Willamette Valley saw the upper country
only at the end of the long, hot, dry summers, when everything was parched
and wilted. It did not seem to them that any part would be adapted to agricul-
ture except the small creek bottoms. They could, however, see in the oceans
of bunch grass, withered though it was by drought, ample indications that stock
to almost limitless extent could find subsistence.

Hence with the opening of the country in 1859 the first thought of incoming
settlers was to find locations along the creeks where a few acres for garden and
home purposes might be found, and thea a wide expanse of grazing land adjoin-
ing where the real business migiit be conducted. The first locations from 1859
and until about 1870 denote, tire ^.(^ftijiance of that idea. We have already noted
the beginnings of stock raising during the Hudson's Bay Company regime and
the period of the Whitman mission. We- have .seen that Messrs. Brooke, Bum-
ford and Noble started the same industry at Waiilatpu in 1851 and later on the
Touchet and maintained it until expelled by Indians in 1855. H. M. Chase laid
the foundations of the same on the Umatilla in 185 1 in conjunction with W. C.
McKay, and later upon the Touchet near where Dayton is now located. J. C.
Smith on Dry Creek in 1857 had the same plans.

The incoming of settlers in 1859 and i860 and the location of the Fort in-
duced a mercantile class to gather in the vicinity of that market. When gold
discoveries set every one agog with excitement, the first effect was to create
a line of business almost entirely adapted to supply miners' needs. The
second eiTect speedily following was to lead thoughtful men to consider the
region as a suitable location for producing first hand the objects of demand.
Stock was foremost among those demands. The Indians already had immense
droves of "cayuse" horses, and considerable herds of cattle. Many cattle
were driven in in 1861. The hard winter of 1861-2 caused severe loss to cattle
raisers, but so well were the losses repaired that it was reported in 1863 that
there were in the valley, including the Touchet region, 1,455 horses, 438 mules,
'1,864 sheep, 3,957 cattle, and 712 hogs. According to the Statesman 15,000
pounds of wool were shipped out in that year. Sheep increased with extraordi-

175

176 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

nary rapidity. 'J"hc valley became a winter feeding ground and the sheep were
driven in from the entire Inland Empire. The Statesman asserts that in the
winter of 1855-6 there were 2oo,ocK) head in the valley. They were worth at
that time only a dollar a head. From that time on the stock business in its
various branches became more definitely organized and shipments to the East
and to California went on apace. It was not, however, for some years that the
importation of blooded stock for scientific betterment was carried on to any
considerable degree. It would be impossible within our limits to give any com-
plete view of the leading promoters in the different lines. Practically every
settler in the country had some stock. Those who may be said to have been
leaders during the decade of the '60s in introducing stock into the various
pivotal points of the old county may be grouped under some half dozen ter-
ritories, which have later become the centers of farming sections and in several
instances the sites of the existing towns.

This list cannot in the nature of the case be exhaustive, for, as already noted,
every settler had more or less stock. In naming some rather than others, we
would not wish to be making any invidious comparisons, but rather selecting a
few in each pivotal place, who came in earliest and had the greatest continuity
of residence and the most constructive connection with the business. Naturally
first in order may be named the vicinity of Walla Walla City as it has become,
and the region adjoining it on the south into Oregon.

Perhaps typical of the larger stockmen of the earliest period were Jesse
Drumheller and Daniel M. Drumheller. The former of the brothers came first
to Walla Walla from The Dalles with the United States troops in the War of
1855-6, as manager of transportation. When the wars were ended he settled
on the place now owned by Charles Whitney. Subsequently he made his home
for many years on the place west of town known to all inhabitants of the region.
The younger brother came to the region in 1861 and located at what is still
known as Hudson's Bay, and from that time on the two were among the fore-
most in driving stock in from the Willamette Valley and in extending their
ranges in all directions. Like so many others they were wiped out in the hard
winter of 1861-2, but nothing daunted, recognizing the superior adaptability
of the region they renewed their drives and within a few years had stock, at
first horses and cattle and then sheep, ranging from Couse Creek in Umatilla
County to the Snake River. One of their greatest ranges was just north of
the present Freewater and westward to the present Umapine and Hudson's Bay.
Resides the Drumhellers some of the most prominent stockmen in that region
ranging along the state line were John Bigham, W. S. Goodman, the Fruits,
Girards, Shumways, Ingalls, and Fords. Ninevah Ford was one of the most
noted of early Oregon pioneers and coming in that early day into the upper
country became one of the permanent builders of Umatilla County. The Berry
and Cummings families were a little farther north. Among the leaders in intro-
ducing a high grade of horses and cattle and later on in farming on a large scale,
as well as connected with every public interest of importance, were the Resers,
of whom the second and third generations are present-day leaders in all phases
of the life of their communities. Their places were in the fertile foothill belt
southeast of Walla Walla. In the same general section were many others whose
main dependence at first was cattle, but who entered into the raising of grain

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 177

earlier than those in other sections, by reason of the manifest advantages in
soil and rainfall. Among such may be named Daniel Stewart, Christian Meier,
Stephen Maxson, Thomas McCoy, S. W. Swezea, Orley Hull, Philip Yenney,
Brewster Ferrel, James M. Dewar, the McGuires, Sheltons, Copelands, Barnetts,
and Fergusons. Two of the prominent business men living in town might be
mentioned as interested in stock raising and doing much to promote it, Dr. D. S.
Baker and John Green. Among the most prominent pioneers in the section on
Mill Creek, who afterwards were leaders in grain raising, but like all others
turned their first attention to stock, were Robert Kennedy, W. S. Gilliam, James
Cornwell, J. M. Lamb, Joseph Harbert, E. G. Riffle, W. J. Cantonwine, David
Wooten, Thomas Gilkerson, J. Kibler and a little later several leading families,
those of Evans, Thomas, Kershaw, Lyons, and Aldrich.

Another great section of the cattle ranges was on Dry Creek and northward
over the hills to and beyond the Touchet. Among the earliest settlers in that
region whose first business was stock raising, but who afterward became pioneers
a second time by entering into grain raising were Jonathan Pettyjohn, W. W.
Walter, John Marion, J. C. Smith, S. H. Erwin, A. A. Blanchard and the Lamars.
At a somewhat later date, but among the most important of all the cattle men
of the valley, now known and honored by all in his advanced age, is Francis
Lowden, whose ranges were in the middle and lower valley, and whose son,
Francis, Jr., has become one of the leading meat market men in the Inland
Empire. Mr. Lowden imported the first high-grade cattle, Shorthorns, and that
was in 1864. Another growing center, at first for stock, then for farming, then
for fruit, and finally for towns, was the upper Touchet, of which Waitsburg,
Dayton, and Huntsville have become centers. As we have stated earlier, some of
the first locations were made on the Touchet. The first settler at the junction of
the Touchet and Coppei was Robert Kennedy in 1859, but the next year he moved
to his permanent place near Walla Walla. During 1859 and the few years
following there were located, at first engaged in cattle raising, but soon to branch
out into farming, A. T. Lloyd, J. C. Lloyd, A. G. Lloyd, G. W. Loundagin,
George Pollard, James Woodruff, Isaac Levens, Joseph Starr, Luke Henshaw,
Martin Hober, Jefferson Paine, Philip Cox, W. P. Bruce and Dennis Willard.

Farther up the Touchet, going on to the Patit and beyond in the vicinity of
the present Dayton, Henri M. Chase and P. M. La Fontain had located before
the great Indian wars, as already related. In the second stage of settlement,
beginning in 1859, F. D. Schneble and Richard Learn upon the present location
of Dayton, and near by Elisha Ping, J. C. Wells, Thomas and Israel Davis, S. L.
Gilbreath (Mrs. Gilbreath was the first white woman to live in Columbia County),
Jesse N. Day, Joseph Ruark, Joseph Boise, G. W. Miller, John and James Fudge,
and John and Garrett Long, may be regarded as most distinctively the pioneers
in the stock business, proceeding on within a few years to the usual evolution into
farming and other branches of growing communities.

The region of what is now Garfield and Asotin counties had an early history

similar to that of the Walla Walla, Mill Creek, Touchet, Coppei, and Patit

regions, though not so complete. Settlers entered during that same stage of the

'60s and sought stations on the creeks from which desirable cattle ranges extended.

One of the earliest of all settlers of the old Walla Walla County was Louis

Raboin at the point on the Tucanon now known as Marengo. Raboin might justly
Vol. r— 12

178 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

be called a pioneer of the pioneers, not only in stock raising, but in everything.
Governor L L Stevens, in his report of railroad explorations, mentions him as
located with his Indian wife and six children on the Tucanon, and the possessor
of fifty horses and many cattle, and as having four acres of land in which
potatoes and wheat were growing. The governor calls him Louis "Moragne'."
According to Gilbert that name, from which Marengo was derived, had a curious
origin. It seems that Raboin had been, like almost all the early French settlers
of the Inland Empire, engaged in the trapping business. He was of a lively,
active disposition and known by his comrades as "Maringouin" (mosquito).
This cognomen became corrupted by the English-speaking people and finally
became "Marengo."

Incoming settlers, seeking water courses for homes and bunch-grass hills and
prairies for stock ranges after the usual fashion, were not long in discovering the
best locations on the Pataha, Tucanon, Alpowa, and Asotin, and small spring
branches, and cabins and cattle began to diversify that broad expanse through
which Lewis and Clark had wandered in 1806, and with which Bonneville and
other fur hunters of the '30s were delighted.

It was fully equal to the Touchet, Walla Walla, and Umatilla, with their
tributaries toward the west. The advance guard upon the Pataha and the vicinity
where Pomeroy now stands were Thomas Riley, James Rafiferty, James Bowers,
Parson Quinn, J. M. Pomeroy, from whom the town was named, Daniel Mc-
Greevy, and the brothers James and Walter Rigsby, Joseph S. Milan, Henry
Owsley, Charles Ward, and Newton Estes.

Among the streams on which early settlements were made was the Alpowa,
the pleasant sounding name of which signified in Nez Perce "Spring Creek."
H. M. Spalding, the missionary, made a station there among the natives of the
band of Red Wolf and in 1837 or 1838 planted apple seeds from which some
trees still exist. Timothy, famous in the Steptoe campaign, in which he saved-
the command from destruction and was afterwards rewarded after the usual
fashion of the white race in dealing with Indians by being deprived of a country,
was located on the Alpowa. His daughter was the wife of John Silcott of Lewis-
ton, one of the most noted of early settlers.

Asotin Creek, with its tributaries, at the eastern limit of the region of
which this history treats, is another section with a distinctive life of its own. It
is one of the most beautiful and productive sections of this entire area, but being
a little to one side of the sweep of travel and settlement, having no railroads to
this day, was later of settlement than the other sections. Jerry McGuire is named
as the first permanent settler on the Asotin, though there were several transients
whom we will name later.

We will emphasize again that we are not trying here to name all the settlers
of the.se sections, but rather those who from continuity of residence and subse-
quent connections become most illustrative of that first stage of settlement.

A great impetus was given to the systematic development of the various
branches of the stock business by the entrance of certain firms of dealers during
the decade of the '70s. In Colonel Gilbert's history of Walla Walla and other
counties he presents valuable data secured from the foremost of these dealers,
as also one of the foremost of all the citizens of Walla Walla, William K. Kirk-
man. After having been engaged in Idaho and California in the cattle business.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 179

in the course of which time he operated more or less in and out of Walla Walla,
Mr. Kirkman took up his permanent residence here in 1871. He formed a part-
nership with John Dooley and from that time until the lamented death of the
two members of the firm they were one of the great forces in the organization
of the industry of marketing both livestock and dressed meat. From the valuable
data secured by Colonel Gilbert from Mr. Kirkman and from Mr. M. Ryan, Jr.,
another prominent dealer, we gather the estimate of 259,500 cattle driven out of
the Inland Empire during the period from 1875 to 1880. Prices were variable,
ranging from $9 to $25 per head, usually $10. W. H. Kirkman, son of W. K.,
relates this interesting incident. He was, as a boy, riding with his father on the
range, when they encountered a number of extra fine fat cattle, and the father,
looking over them with delight said, "Look there, my boy, every one of them is a
$20 gold piece !" It might be added that those same cattle now would be wortli
$100 apiece. It is surprising to see from the exhibit given in the figures the large
number of dealers operating in the country at that time. There were no less than
forty-five firms or individuals engaged in shipping, mainly to Eastern markets,
though a considerable amount went to California, Portland, or Puget Sound.

It is of interest to see the enumeration by the assessor of the quantity of stock
given at two different dates following 1863, for which the figures have already
been given. In 1870 the assessment rolls show the following: Horses, 5.787;
mules, 1,727; cattle, 14,114; sheep, 8,767; hogs, 5,067. In 1875 a great change
occurred of which we shall speak at length, that is the division of the county, by
which Walla Walla County was reduced to its present limits. We may, therefore,
take that year as the proper one f 91;. fi_riaL figures on the old county. The year
1875, according to the assesson;\haid iVe'f allowing livestock population: Horses,
8,862; mules, 401 ; cattle, 17,756 (there were' 22.960 the previous year) ; sheep,
32,986; hogs, 8,150. ■ " ■• ••

We find various local items strewn, through the files of the Statesman dealing
with stock which are worthy of preservation. In issue of January 10, 1862, men-
tion is made of a steer handled by Lazarus and brother, which weighed, dressed,
1,700 pounds.

A few weeks later it is stated that a cow and calf were sold for $100. That
will be remembered as the winter of the extreme cold weather. There are numer-
ous items speaking of a.ififering and loss of stock. It was well nigh exterminated
in some quarters. But it did not take long to change appearances, at least in the
cattle that lived through the winter, for an item in the number of June 14 speaks
of the fattest cattle and best beef that the editor had ever seen, and of the fact
that large herds of cattle were going to the mining regions of Salmon River and
South Fork. It is estimated in the issue of October 25, 1862, that 40,000 head of
cattle had been brought into the East-of-the-mountain country during the year.

PIONEER R.\CE TRACK

It appears that during the summer of 1862 a race track was laid out by Mr.
Porter at a point on the Wallula Road three miles west of town, known as the
Pioneer Race Course. A race is reported in the Statesman of September 27, in
which a roan mare won a purse of $100 from a cream horse. That perhaps
may be considered the beginning of the Walla Walla Fair.

180 . OLD W.M.l.A W ALLA COUNTY

The sheep bu>ines!> serins to have moved on apace during those early years,
for in the |>a|jcr o( May 23, i8<»3. we learn that A. I'rank & Co. Iiad just shipped
lu.ooo |KJUiids of wool to I'ortland, and expected to ship 7,000 more in a short
time. Anjonjj the most prominent sheep men wliose o[>eratioiis have covered a
field in numy directions from Walla Walla is Nathaniel Webb, one of the honored
pioneers. In recent times, o|)cratin({ cs|>ccially in the Snake River region, leading
sheep raisers have been Davin Brothers, Adrian \fagallon. and Leon Jaussaud.
all Frenchmen.

THE FARMING INDISTBY

I'ron) stock we turn to farming as the next great fundamental industry to take
sha{)c. We have already noted the fact that there was little comprehension of
the threat upland region, rolling prairies and swelling hills, as adapted to raising
grain, ^■et we know that Doctor W liitman had demonstrated the practicability
of producing all standard crops during the ten years of his residence at Waiilatpu.
loscjih Drayton of the Wilkes KxjH-dition sjK-aks with surprise of his observations
there in 1S41, seeing "wiieat in the lield seven feet high and nearly ri|»e, and corn
nine feet in the tassel." He also saw vegetables and melons in great variety.
The Iluilson's I5ay i>eo])!e had line gar<lens near Wallula, at the time of the
arrival of the Whitmans in 1^3(1, and later on at the Touchet and on Hudson's
Bay, as it is now known, southeast of Walla Walla. They had abundant pro-
vision also for dairy and poultry purpo.ses.

Hence farming and gardening and fruit raising had been abundantly tested
in the more favorably situated locations long prior to the founding of Walla
Walla. With the establishment of the Fort at its present location. Capt. W. R.
Kirkwood laid out a garden, the success of which showed the utility of that
location. The next year Charles Russell, then the wagon master at the fort,
tested the land north of the post, afterwards owned by Mr. Drumhellcr, with
eighty acres of barley, securing a yield of fifty bushels to the acre. He raised
100 acres of oats on the place which he afterwards took up on Russell Creek.
The location must have been on the land now owned by O. M. Richmond, and
there is remarkable evidence of the productiveness of that land in that it has
produce<l nearly every year to the present. It is worth relating that after Mr.
Russell had sowed the oats the Indians were so threatening that he abandoned
the place, and cattle ate the growing grain so closely that there seemed no hope
of a crop. But in June, the Indians having withdrawn. Mr. Russell went out
ind fenced the field, the oats sprung up anew and yielded fifty bushels to the acre.
In the same year of 1858. Walter Davis seeded 150 acres to oats at a place on
Dry Creek. The Indians warned him to leave, but a scjuad of soldiers went out
and cut the oats for hay. In i860 Stephen Maxson raised a fine crop of wheat
on the place on Russell Creek still owned by his descendants.

Perhaps the oi)erations of Messrs. Russell, Davis, and Maxson may be con-
sidered the initiation of the grain production in the Inland Fmpire. Probably
there would have l>een but a slow development had not the discovery of gold
stimulated the demand for all sorts of agricultural products.

In 1863 a few experiments on the higher land began. Milton Evans has told
the author that in that year he tried a small piece of wheat a few miles northeast

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 181

of Walla Walla, but that it was a complete failure, and hence the impression
already common was confirmed that the upland was useless, except for grazing.
In 1867, however, John Montague raised a crop of oats, over fifty bushels to the
acre, on land apparently afterwards part of the Delaney place northeast of town.
Even that was not generally accepted as any proof of the use of the uplands.
Some of the old-timers have said to the author that they seemed determined that
grain should not grow on those lands.

But with the rapid influx of settlers and the flattering returns from the
trade in provisions with the mines, the more desirable places in the foothill belt,
and then on the benches and plains and then on the hills, were taken up, and by
1875 it was generally understood that a great wheat belt extended along the
flanks of the Blue Mountains all the way from Pendleton to Lewiston, with a
somewhat variable width upon the plains. Not imtil another decade was it
understood that the grain belt covered the major part of what now composes the
four counties of our story.

We find in the valuable history of Colonel Gilbert, to which we have made
frequent reference, so good a summary of certain essential data in respect to the
development to date of publication in 1882 of that great fundamental business of
wheat raising, in which are included also certain alHed data of importance, that
we insert it at this point in our narrative.

"An agricultural society was organized in July of this year, 1866, by an
assemblage of citizens at the courthouse, 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. E. Rees, secretary; and Charles Russell, T. G. Lee, A. A. Blanchard, executive
committee. For the fair to be held on the 4th , 5th and 6th of the ensuing October,
the last three gentlemen became managers, and the following executive committee :
H. P. Isaacs, J. D. Cook, J. H. Blewett and W. H. Newell.

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 seaboard. Freights on flour at that time were :
From Wallula per ton to Lewiston, $15; to The Dalles, $6; to Portland, $6; and
the following amounts were shipped :

To Portland, between May 27 and June 13, 4,156 barrels; to The Dalles, be-
tween April 19 and June 2, 578 barrels ; to Lewiston, between April 18 and May
14, 577 barrels; 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 result; (It was the first of Wash-
ington Territory products seen in the East.)

First cost of flour, $187.50; sacks for same, $27.00; transportation to San
Francisco, $100.00; freight thence to New York, $107.80; total cost in gold,
$422.30; profit realized on the transaction, $77.46, or $1.55 per barrel.

Wheat had fallen to 40 cents per bushel in Walla Walla because of the follow-
ino- scale of expenses of shipping to San Francisco :

1S2 OLD WAI.I.A WALLA COUNTY

Freight per ton to Wallula, $6.00 ; thence to I'ortland, $6.00; thence to San
Francisco, $7.00; drayage, ?i.50; commission, $2.00, $3.50; primage and leak-
age, $1.00; bagging, $4.50, $5.50; total expense to San Francisco, $28.00.

In 1869 there was a short crop, due to the drought and want of encouragement
for farmers to raise grain. June 14, a storm occurred of tropical fierceness, dur-
ing which a waterspout burst in the mountains, and sent a flood down Cottonwood
Canon 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 $5.50 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 exceeding the home demand had rendered it a
profitless industry in 1868 and 1869, let us glance at the causes leading to a re-
vival of inducements for tilling the soil in the Walla Walla country. It should
be borne in mind that the farmers in the valley and along creeks nearer the mines
than this locality, were supplying the principal mountain demand, and the only
hope left was to send produce 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 experimental enterprise, and there was not suf-
ficient 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 encourage 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 tarifl^s all along the
line and made it possible for a farmer to cultivate the soil at a profit. Something
of an idea of the result 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 com-
pleted to the Touchet, and carried freight from that point to Wallula at $1.50 per
ton. In 1875 it was completed to Frenchtown and charged $2.50. Walla Walla
rates averaged $4.50.

Freight tonnage from Touchet in 1874 to Wallula aggregated 4,021 tons;
in back freight, 1,126 tons; from Frenchtown in 1875 to Wallula, 9,155 tons;
back freight, 2,192 tons; from Walla Walla in 1876 to Wallula, 15,266; back
freight, 4,043 ; 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,
10,454." Such are Colonel Gilbert's statements.

The estimated wheat production in the entire upper country in 1866 was half
a million bushels, of which half was credited to the Walla Walla Valley. From
that time on to the present there has been a steady development of wheat raising
throughout the region south of Snake River, as well as north and throughout the
Inland Fmpire.

In the decade of the '70s there came to Walla Walla a man destined to leave

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 183

upon the entire region the impress of one of the most remarkable characters in
far vision, noble aims, and philanthropic disposition that ever lived within the
State of Washington. We refer to Dr. N. G. Blalock. Eminent in his profession,
his ceaseless industry and progressive aims did more perhaps than any other
single life to broaden and advance all phases of the section in which he lived and
wrought. He was the pioneer in wheat raising on a large scale, as well as in
many other lines of activity and experiment. Making, though not retaining, sev-
eral fortunes, his life work was to mark out the way for others less venturesome,
to follow to success not alone in the acquirement of wealth, but in the nobler and
more enduring products of education, philanthropy, patriotism, public service,
and genuine piety. Coming to Walla Walla in 1872 and entering at once upon an
extensive medical practice, Doctor Blalock had a vision of the future as well as
the capacity to utilize at once the varied opportunities offered by the soil, the
climate, and the location. He saw the splendid wild acres of land by the thousands
lying in all directions and determined to make a thorough test of its adaptability
to raise wheat on a large scale. He made a bargain for a tract of 2,2CX) acres six
miles south of Walla Walla for a price of ten bushels of wheat per acre, to be
paid from the first crop. The expense of breaking so large a body of land was
great, but the first crop yielded thirty-one bushels per acre, a sufficient demon-
stration of the capacity of the land.

In 1 88 1 the crop on the tract averaged thirty-five and one-fourth bushels,
while 1,000 acres of it yielded 51,000 bushels. The acreage and the yield, very
carefully ascertained, was reported to the Government and stood then, and prob-
ably does yet, as the largest yield from that amount of land ever reported. Even
more remarkable yields, but on smaller areas, have been known. Milton Aldrich
produced on his Dry Creek ranch, on 400 acres, an average of sixty-six bushels
of wheat and the next year there was a volunteer crop of forty bushels. Re-
cently in the same vicinity Arthur Cornwell obtained an average of seventy-three
bushels per acre. A hundred and ten bushels of barley per acre have been grown
on the Gilkerson ranch on Mill Creek.

An item of historic interest may be found in an estimate of cost made for a
special number of the Union during the first years of the industry by Joseph
Harbert, one of the most prominent pioneers and successful farmers in the valley.
The crop was on 400 acres, which yielded 10,000 bushels of blue-stem wheat. At
fifty cents per bushel for the crop, this will be seen to represent a profit of about
two thousand three hundred dollars from land worth $12,000, or nearly twenty
per cent, from which, however, should come wages of management.

The land was summer fallowed in 1894 and valued at thirty dollars per acre.
The estimate is in a locality where water and material to work with are reason-
ably convenient. The land is not very hilly and comparatively easy to work The
report is as follows :

Mos.
Itemized Expenses Crop In. Pd. Inst. Total

Planting, 90c per acre $ 360.00 20 $60.00 $ 420.00

Harrowing, lie per acre 44.00 .. 7.83 5^-^3

Plowing, second time, June, 1894 360.00 18 54.00 414.00

Harrowing before sowing 44.00 16 5.87 49-87

500 bu. seed wheat, highest market price 250.00 . . 250.00

Cro|)

In IM

Inst.

Total

<>oo

1.13

10.12

750

8.44

8.00

1.00

9.00

6oxK>

7.00

67 .00

44.00

S'4

49" 4

400.00

iiii

41333

215.(0

7.18

222.78

10.00

"0.33

450.00

1500

465.00

110.00

3.66

113.6^,

120.00

184 OUi U .\Ll-.\ \S'.\LLA COUNTY

Mos
Itemized Ivx|iensc!»
Graniiig seed wheat
125 lbs. vitriol at (k

Using vitriol on \vhe;it

Sowing, October, 1894, 15c per acre. .
Harrowing after sowing, iic.

Cutting, $1.00 [>er acre 400.00

4,400 sacks, $49.00 per M 215.(0

Thirty |>ounds of twine, ^3 1-3C. .

Throliing 10.000 bushels, 4' ..c

Hauling to railro^id, 2).ic per sack. ,

Warehouse charges to Jan. I, 1896 I20.00

Total cost $2492.10 $182.40 $2,074.50

It may be added that estimates of cost by a number of prominent farmers
in the jn-riod of iiStjo and thercalKiuts, indicated that the e.\|<cnse of sowing, seed-
ing, harvesting, and putting into the warehouse, ran from twenty-one to forty
cents a bushel, varying according to locality, yield, and other conditions.

M a usual [)rice of fifty or sixty cents a bushel, there was not a large margin
above the interest on investment, maintenance of stock, machinery, imi)rovements,
and ta.xes. Nevertheless the farmers of this section felt every encouragement
to continue, unless it were in the evil harvest year of ifkjy^, when the |)rice ran
about twenty-five to thirty-five cents a bushel, and when rains, floods, strikes, and
general calamity llircatined to engulf, and did actually engulf some of the best
farms. It is a historical fact that had it not been for the liberality of the
banks in the four counties south of Snake River, which held obligations from a
large numln-r of the best-known farmers, there Wf>uld have Ix-en widespread dis-
aster. Thanks to the Iwnks, as well as to the j)ersistence an»l fortitude of the
farmers and the solid resources of the country, these counties emerged from
those years of dqiression with less injury and rejxiired their losses more quickly
than any other section of the entire Northwest, or |)erha|>s of the whole country

It may be added in connection with cost of wheat raising, that within the years
since the o[»ening of the j)rescnt century there has been an enormous outlay by
farmers in all kinds of farm machinery, the itjmbines having l)ecoine the usual
means of har\csting, and traction engines for the combines and to some degree
for plowing having superseded horse i>ower. Ilut cost of labor and general rise of
prices have pushed up ex|K'nses, until now the most of farmers would estimate
the cost of a bushel of wheat at fifty cents or more, some say even a dollar. .Xs an
ofTset to this there has come a great advance in price, insonnich that the farmers
of Walla Walla and its sister counties have Ijccome the lords of the land. One of
the most pleasing results of this new order of things is that the farmers, being
almost entirely free from debt, have In-gtin to build comfortable and even elegant
homes. With on the farms and in the cities and to surround themselves with the
conveniences of life, as automobiles, and to spend money in travel and luxuries
which make some of the old-timers, accustomed to the deprivations of pioneer
days, ojx-n their eyes with wonder, and possibly even disapprov.il Ii i*. not ob

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 185

servable, however, that the young folks on the farms have any backwardness in
utilizing the good things of life which are the logical consummation of the fore-
sight and industry of parents and grandparents. It is probable that no people in
the United States have more reliable and steady incomes and greater sources for
all the needs and enjoyments of life than do the farmers of old Walla Walla
County.

The experience of other sections was similar to that of the region immediately
around Walla Walla. The first thought was of stock ranges, with such small
patches of farming land adjacent to the creeks as might supply the family needs.
It is stated that Elisha Ping and G. W. Miller raised crops of wheat and oats
on the present site of Dayton in i860. For the oats they received seven cents a
pound and for the wheat two dollars a bushel. The location of the subsequent
Dayton became a regular station on the stage line from Walla Walla to Lewiston,
and that fact led J. M. Pomeroy, a little later the founder of the town named
for him, to raise a crop of barley for horse feed. That was in 1863. As time
passed on, and especially after the founding of flouring mills by S. M. Wait, there
came a general movement to raise grain crops on the hills and plains and it was
discovered, as a little earlier around Walla Walla, that the entire region was the
very home land for grain. Within a few years it was found that barley of espe-
cially fine quality and heavy yield was one of the best crops, and Columbia
County has become the center of barley production. Almost the entire county,
with the exception of the timbered mountain belt, has become a grain field.
Within recent years the region around and particularly east of Dayton has become
the leading center of corn production.

Garfield and Asotin counties repeated the experience of Walla Walla and
Columbia ; first stock ranges, then a few acres along the creeks as an experiment,
soon the breaking up of the rich sod on the high plains and flats; and within a
few years, a perfect ocean of waving grain over the greater part of the area.
The first settlers already named in the section of this chapter on stock raising
were the pioneers also in the wheat business, as the Rigsby brothers, J. M. Pom-
eroy, James Bowers, Parson Quinn, and others. Garfield and Asotin counties
are in general more elevated than Walla Walla and Columbia, and their frontage
on Snake River is more abrupt. This has given rise, first to a margin of ideal
fruit and garden land between the river and the bluff's, which in case of Asotin
is of considerable breadth, and in case of both of them has raised the question
of conveying grain from the high plateaus to the river. In some places this has
given rise to contrivances which are a great curiosity to strangers, the "grain-
chutes" and "bucket lines," as devices to lower the grain from warehouses on
the precipitous bank, sometimes eighteen hundred feet above the steamer land-
ing. There is not yet a railroad on the south bank of Snake River, and water
transportation is the only available means of getting the vast quantities of grain
from those high prairies near the river to market.

Items appear in the various issues of the Statesman during the first years
of its existence in regard to grain raising which possess great historical interest.
An editorial appears in the issue of February i, 1862, urging farmers to go into
grain raising extensively and declaring that all the indications point to a demand
from the mines for all kinds of farm products.

An advertisement for supplies at the Fort on July 19 calls for 375 tons of

18U OLD WALLA W ALLA COUNTY

oats, lOO tons of oat straw, and 1,200 cords of wood. Alention is also made
in the paper of the farm of J. W. Shoemaker a short distance below the garrison,
where grain to the value of S3,0oo, and garden produce to the value of $1,500,
was raised.

FLOUR MILLING

One of the most important features of industry allied to grain production
was flour milling. The first flour mill was erected in 1859 by A. H. Reynolds in
jiartnership with J. A. Sims and Capt. F. T. Dent, the latter being a brother
of Mrs. U. S. Grant. It was located on the land then owned by Jesse Drum-
heller, now part of the Whitney place. In the issue of March 29, 1862, is an
advertisement of the Pasca 2\Iills by Sims and Mix, which must have been the
same mill built by Mr. Reynolds. In 1862 Mr. Reynolds built another mill,
known as the Star Mill, on the Yellowhawk, near the present residence of his
son, H. A. Reynolds. This was subsequently acquired by W. H. Gilbert. Mention
is made in the Statesman of August 2, 1862, of the flour mill of J. C. Isaacs.
Apparently this is a confusion in name of the brothers, as the author is credibly
informed that the mill opened at that time was the Excelsior mill built by H. P.
Isaacs, subsequently the leading mill man of the Walla Walla country and one
of the leaders in all forms of enterprise. The name Excelsior was later replaced
by North Pacific. It was located on the mill race, whose remains still cross
Division Street and was actively employed until about 1895. There is an adver-
tisement in the Statesman of March 21, 1863, to the efifect that Graham flour and
corn meal were being turned out at Mr. Reynolds' mill. In the number of March
31, 1865, is the announcement that Kyger and Reese, who were among the most
extensive general merchants in Walla Walla, had leased the water power and
site of E. H. Barron just below town on Mill Creek and were making ready to
install a first-class mill, having three run of four-foot burrs and a capacity of
150 barrels a day. The firm were also establishing a distillery. It would seem
that the latter manufactory was in larger demand than the former, for it was
completed sooner. The mill, however, began grinding in October of that year,
^hat mill became the property of Andrew McCalley in 1873, and after his death
in 1891 was maintained by his sons until the property was lost by fire in 1897.
One of the most important mills of the valley was that built by Messrs. Ritz and
Schnebly about a quarter of a mile below the McCalley mill, known first as the
Agate and then as the Eureka, conducted for some time by W. C. Painter, then
sold to Welch and Schwabacher, and in turn disposed of by them in 1880 to
Dement Brothers, and managed up to the present time by F. S. Dement. The
mill is now known as Dement Brothers' mill and is one of the most extensive in
the Inland Empire, making a specialty of choice breakfast cereals and through
them as well as its high-grade flour carrying the name of Walla Walla, Wash.,
around the globe.

The mills on the Touchet speedily followed those on Mill Creek. S. M. Wait,
from whom the beautiful little city at the junction of the Touchet and the Coppei
took its name, was the pioneer mill man as well as the founder of the town. The
Statesninn of June 2, 1865, mentions the fact that Mr. Wait's mill was just open
and that it was one of the best equipped in the country and produced a grade

2 d

a- 1.
- o

C
pi

S-3'
CI

>
n

i=2 >

03 t>

2 ^

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 187

of flour equal to the best from Oregon. A town soon began to grow at the location
of the mill. Mr. Wait sold the mill to Preston Brothers and the stock to Paine
Brothers and ^loore of Walla Walla. The latter firm acquired an interest in the
mill, but .subsequently disposed of all their holdings to Preston Brothers, under
whom the mill became one of the largest mill properties in the Northwest, being
connected with large mills at Athena, Ore., and elsewhere, and under the more
recent management of ^lessrs. Shaffer, Harper, and Leonard, conducting one of
the most extensive milling lines in the country.

Mr. Wait inaugurated also the milling business in what is now Columbia
County. Going to that region in 1871 where Jesse N. Day, from whom Dayton
was named, had been endeavoring since 1864 to launch a town with but scanty
success, Mr. Wait proposed to build a mill, provided inducements were oflfered.
Mr. Day accordingly agreed to give five acres of land as a site, with a block of
land for residences, and upon that Mr. Wait and William Metzger proceeded to
launch the milling business at Dayton. In building that mill, with a brick building
for a store and a planing mill, Messrs. Wait and Metzger laid out about $25,000,
a large amomit for those days. At the same time the Dayton Woolen Mill was
undertaken, A. H. Reynolds being chief owner, F. S. Frary the secretary and
manager and Mr. Wait the president of the company. The woolen mill had a
land site of seven acres donated by John Mustard and a building was erected at a
cost of $40,000. The new town of Dayton was booming in consequence of these
investments. The flour mill proved a great success and with various changes of
ownership is now one of the great mill prcjpertics of- tli€-G»tHit*y, but the woolen
mill, from which so much was expected, di(i.,n^t'"^ypvV'^'fiTiartciali success and was
closed in 1880. It is rather a curious fact? mat iTo'^drie xk'ihe '■vvpolen enterprises
in the Inland Empire has met with large ^ucces6ive!XiC8pt!tbat ati Pendleton, Ore.,
the success of which has been so great thal4tis_a_puzzle;^M26tliers have mainly
failed.

The great development of wheat raising in what is now Garfield County led,
as elsewhere in the region, to flouring mills. The pioneer mill at Pomeroy was
started in 1877 by W. C. Potter and completed the following year by Mr. Pom-
eroy. ,

Three miles above Pomeroy and for some years a rival to the lower town was
Pataha City. It was on land taken up at first by James Bowers in 1861 and
acquired in 1868 by A. J. Favor, who undertook a few years later to start a town.
In pursuance of his plans he oft'ered land for mill sites, and as a result J. N.
Bowman and George Snyder constructed a mill in 1878. Subsequently John
Houser became the great mill man of that entire section and his mill became
one of the most widely known in the Inland Empire. He made a specialty of
shipping flour to San Francisco for the manufacture of macaroni, the large per-
centage of gluten in the wheat of that region fitting it especially for that use.
The son of Mr. Houser, Max Houser, going to Portland in about 1908, has become
known the world over as the most daring and extensive wheat buyer on the Pacific
Coast and has acquired a fortune estimated at six millions. The pioneer flouring
mill of Asotin was built in 1881 at the town of that name by Frank Curtis and
L. A. Stimson. The town itself upon one of the most beautiful of locations on
Snake River, with the magnificent wheat fields of the Anatone flats on the high

188 OLD W ALLA WALLA COUNTY

lands to the south and west, and a superb bek of fruit land extending down the
river and broadening out at Clarkston, was laid out in 1878.

Other mills were established at later dates, of which the most extensive were
the mill at Prescott, erected by H. P. Isaacs in 1883, the City mill on Palouse
Street in W'alla Walla, built in 1898 by Scholl Brothers; Long's mill, a few miles
below Dayton; the Corbett mill at Huntsville.

In summarizing grain raising as the leading industry of old Walla Walla
County it may be said that for several years past the total production for the
four counties has been about 12,000,000 bushels per year. The value has, of
course, varied much according to price. It is conservatively estimated that the
value of the grain crops, including flour and feed in various manufactured forms
for 1916, was approximately $15,000,000.

GARDENS AND ORCHARDS

As grain raising put a 'finer point upon industry than its predecessor, stock
raising, so in turn the gardens and orchards have yet more refined and differ-
entiated the forms of industry and the developments of life in the growing com-
munities of our story. As already related these lines of production had been
tested by the Hudson's Bay Company and by the missionaries. Whitman and
Spalding. It was, therefore, to be expected that even in the first years of settle-
ment some attempts would be made to start orchards and gardens. The first
nursery in Walla Walla seems to have been laid out in 1859 on the Ransom Clark
donation claim on the Yellowhawk. In 1859 trees were set out on the J. W. Foster
place. It is said that Mr. Foster brought his trees here on muleback over the
Cascade Mountains. We are informed by Charles Clark of \\'alla Walla that
most of Mr. Foster's trees were secured from Ransom Clark. In i860 A. B.
Roberts set out an orchard within the present city limits of Walla Walla on what
later became the Ward place. In 1861 a notable step in fruit raising was taken
by the coming of one of the most important of all the great pioneers of the Inland
Empire. This was Philip Ritz. We find in the Statcsiuan of December 5, 1861,
announcement that Mr. Ritz had arrived with a supply of trees from his nursery
at Glen Dale near Corvallis, Ore., and that the trees were for sale at the store
of John Wright. Subsequent items in the Statcsiuan furnish an interesting ex-
position of the progress of both gardens and orchards. The Statcsmairwas wide
awake as usual to the needs of the country and did not fail to exhort the citizens
of Walla Walla to prepare for the demand which it was sure would come. On
March 29, 1862, mention was made of the fact that green fruit, presumably apples,
from the Willamette Valley, was selling for from twenty to fifty cents per pound.
The paper expresses surprise that farmers are so slow about setting out trees.
On June 21, 1862, it was announced with much satisfaction that scarcely had the
snow from that extremely cold winter melted before there were radishes, lettuce,
onions, and rutabagas brought in from foot hill gardens, and that there were new-
potatoes in the market by June 14th. The issue of July 26th notes the fact of
green corn in abundance and that of August 2d declares that the corn was equal
to that of the Middle Western States, and that fine watermelons were in the mar-
ket. August 1 6th is marked by thanks to G. W. Shoemaker for a fine watermelon
and the statement that there were others to come that would weigh forty pounds.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 189

In the number of August 30th it appears that Mr. Shoemaker brought to the
office a muskmelon weighing eighteen pounds, and in the same issue is an item
about a 103-pound squash raised by S. D. Smith. John Hancock is credited on
September 6th with a watermelon of thirty-three pounds. Complaint is made,
however, in the same number, of the fact that there is a meager supply of apples,
plums and pears from the Willamette, and that the apples sell for twenty-five
cents apiece, or fifty cents a pound. The Statesman of September 27th has the
story of Walter Davis of Dry Creek sending a squash of a weight of 134}^
pounds and twelve potatoes of a weight of twenty-nine pounds to the Oregon State
Fair at Salem. Lamentable to narrate it appears later that these specimens of
Walla Walla gardening disappeared. The Statesman indulges in some bitter
scorn over the kind of people on the other side who would steal such objects.
In an October number mention is made that James Fudge of Touchet had brought
in three potatoes weighing eight pounds. In the Statesman of December 20th is
an item to the effect that Philip Ritz has a large assortment of trees and shrubs
at the late residence of J. S. Sparks. It is also stated that Mr. Ritz is going to
try sweet potatoes. In the issue of January 17, 1863, is the statement that Mr.
Ritz had purchased land of Mr. Roberts for a nursery. In successive numbers,
beginning February 28th, is Mr. Ritz's advertisement of the Columbia Valley
nursery, the value of the stock of which is stated at $10,000. It seems to have
been an extraordinary stock for the times, and the enterprise and industry of Mr.
Ritz became a great factor in the development of the fruit business as well as
many other things. There are several interesting items later on in 1863, showing
that gardening, particularly the raising of onions, was advancing rapidly. In the
spring of 1865 A. Frank & Co. shipped 40,000 pounds of onions to Portland. In
the Statesman of July 4, 1863, it is stated that John Hancock had corn fifteen
feet high. During 1863 and 1864 there was much experimenting with sorghum.
T. P. Denny is mentioned as having brought a bottle of fine sorghum syrup, and it
is stated that Mr. Ritz was experimenting with Chinese and Imphee sugar cane.
Mr. Ritz was succeeding well with sweet potatoes, and a fine quality of tobacco
was being produced. The biggest potato story was of a Mechannock potato from
Mr. Kimball's garden on Dry Creek, which weighed four and one-half pounds.
In several numbers in September, 1863, mention is made of delicious peaches
brought in by A. H. Reynolds.

In short, it was well demonstrated that conditions were such that it might be
expected that Walla Walla would become, and it has for some years been known
as, the "Garden City."

In the '60s and '70s a considerable amount of land south and west of Walla
Walla was brought into use for gardening, and in various directions orchards
were set out. One of the finest was that of W. S. Gilliam on Dry Creek.
Everything looked encouraging for fruit raising at that early day, but in 1883
there came a bitter cold day, twenty-nine degrees below zero, far colder than ever
known at any other time in Walla Walla, a most disastrous dispensation of nature,
for many orchards, especially peaches and apricots, perished.

FIVE REGIONS

Broadly speaking, it may be said that there are five regions in Old Walla
Walla County which have become important centers of fruit raising and intensive

190 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

farming in general, since fruit raising, gardening, dairying, and poultry raising
have to varying degrees gone right along together. The first in age and extent
is the region immediately around Walla Walla ; the second that of Clarkston and
down the Snake River to Burbank ; the third that on the Touchet from Dayton to
I'rescott; the fourth the long narrow valley of the Tucanon; and the lifth that
on the lower Walla Walla from Touchet and Gardena to the Columbia and thence
through Attalia and Two Rivers to P.urbank at the mouth of Snake River.
There are, of course, some excellent orchards and gardens in portions not covered
in this enumeration, and it is also proper to say that the most productive and
compact single body of country is that j5ortion of the Walla Walla \'alley south
of the state line extending to Milton, Ore.

It is impossible within our limits to describe these different areas in detail.
Each has some distinctive features. The youngest and least developed is that
of the lower Walla Walla and the Columbia River. By reason of great heat
and aridity and long growing season, that region is peculiarly adapted to grape
culture and melon raising. Alfalfa produces four and five cuttings and the
prospect for successful dairying is flattering. The expense of reclaiming the land
and maintaining irrigating systems is high, but when fairly established it may be
expected to be one of the most attractive and productive sections.

The Walla Walla section has had the advantage of time and population and
in the nature of the case has become most highly developed. In garden products
Walla Walla asparagus, onions, and rhubarb may be said to be champions in the
markets of the country. One of the important features of Walla Walla garden-
ing is the Walla Walla hothouse vegetable enterprise on the river, five miles
west of the city, conducted by F. E. Mojonnier. This is the largest hothouse in
the Inland Empire and, with one exception, in the entire Northwest. It has two
and a half acres under glass and does a business of thousands of dollars with the
chief markets north and east.

In orchards Walla \\'alla, while not in general in the same class for quantity
with Yakima and Wenatchee, has the distinction of possessing two of the largest
and perhaps most scientifically planted and cultivated orchards in the entire state;
the Blalock and the Baker-Langdon orchards. The latter contains 6So acres of
a])]>les, is on sub-irrigated land of the best quality, and may be considered the
last word in orchard culture. The manager, John Langdon, reports for 1917,
200,000 boxes, or about three hundred car loads, worth on cars at Walla Walla,
at present prices, about three hundred thousand dollars. It is anticipated that
when in full bearing at the age of twelve to fourteen years, the yield will be
1.000,000 boxes. Doctor Blalock was the great pioneer in fruit raising, as in
grain-raising, on a large scale. The story of his carrying on the gigantic enter-
prise with inadequate resources to a triumphant conclusion, though not himself
being able to retain possession, is one of the greatest stories in the Inland
Empire.

The Touchet belt may be said to be distinguished by its special adaptability
to high grade apples of the Rome Beauty and Spitzenljerg varieties as well as
by the extraordinary and profitable production. In that belt are two orchards
which while not remarkable for size have had about the most remarkable history
of any in the state. These are the Pomona orchard of J- L. Dumas and that
of J. D. Taggard between Waitsburg and Dayton. There are a number of other

\li:\\ 111- A WAIJ.A WALLA ((ll'XTV ORCHARD

PICIiINC4 FRUIT IN OLD WALLA WALLA COUXTY

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 191

orchards of high grade in the Touchet \'alley, and it may be anticipated that
within a few years that rich and beautiful expanse will be a continuous orchard.
Conditions of soil and climate make it ideal for apple-raising.

The valley of the Tucanon, a ribbon of fertile soil deep down in the tim-
bered heights of the Blue Mountains and lower down its course surrounded by
the wide flats and benches of Garfield and Columbia counties, is the natural home
for berries and "truck" of all sorts. The strawberries and melons are of the
finest. The sparkling stream — one of the finest fishing streams by the way —
affords limitless opportunity for easy and economical irrigating and the soil is
of the best, even in a region where good soil is no curiosity.

The Snake River section, extending down the western and southern bank of
the river from Asotin, with frequent breaks on account of the bluft'y shores,
its largest expansion being at Clarkston, with considerable areas at Alpowa,
Kelly's Bar, Ilia and other points, is a unique region. We shall speak at
greater length of the Clarkston and Asotin regions, but it may be said in general
terms that the long narrow belt of land bordering the river, having its counter-
part on the opposite side in Whitman County, has long been recognized as the
very homeland of the peach, apricot, nectarine, grape, berries of all sorts, and
melons. It is of low elevation, from seven hundred and fifty feet at Asotin
to about four hundred at Page. It is almost semitropical in climate, its products
getting into market nearly as early as those from Central California. Injurious
frosts in blossom time are almost unknown. The soil is a soft warm friable
volcanic ash with loam surface. Though there is no railroad and not even
continuous wagon roads on the river hai&, t^^Vie.a^^SQB'ierotiSj points of approach
down the valleys and coulees enteringf tbe' xi^^er^ .aiid ,tile(.3tream itself affords
water navigation for large steamers ali>ut half the year! aric{ for small boats at
all times. With the system of canalization ri'tiw'ih ct)n-templa|ion by the Govern-
ment the river will become continuously •navigable.-tliEOi^giio^t the year and will
possess infinite possibilities both for power and navigation. It should also be
stated here that Asotin County has a larger acreage in fruit trees than any
other of the four counties.

SUMM.ARV OF RECENT PRODUCTION

While we shall speak of certain special features of each section in our
descriptive chapter covering the present time, we may properly give here a sum-
mary of recent production for the four counties.

The reader is asked to recall the earlier figures in order that he may form
a proper conception of the change wrought. We present here the figures pre-
served in the office of the Commercial Club of Walla Walla for the year 1916.
They are given in roimd numbers, but may be considered reliable and con-
servative.

Production, 1916 Value to Growers

Wheat — 1 1,000,000 bushels $12,100,000

Barley — 1,300,000 bushels 910,000

Corn — 250,000 bushels 200,000

Alfalfa — 140,000 tons 1,800,000

Apples — 1 ,000,000 boxes 1,000,000

1<.»-J CJI.IJ WAl.l.A WALLA COL'NTY

Production. iyl6 \aluc to Growers

Pruri. ■ • m rons :»o,ooo

thci ; - '< Ions . to,ooo

Onions— 2tx>.ooo sacks . . 32-2.500

- • 50.000

iig hay other than alfalfa, vege-
tables other than onions and as|>aragus 600.000

Livestock, dairy prcxiucts. |>oultry, wool, flour and chop 8,000000

Total agricultural, horticultural, and stock products. . 25.262,500

The L'nited States census re|K>rt for 1910 gives a population for the four
counties of 4i).oo.V If we allow for lo jH-r cent increase in I'>i6. we shall have
approximately lifty-four thous;ind |)copli- in Old Walla Walla County. The year
1916 represents, therefore, a gross income of nearly $4^>S for each man. woman,
and child in the area. Tliis, it must of course he observed, is the income from
tht soil, and takes no account of the earnings of the manufacturing, mercantile,
professional, and laboring classes. It is safe to say that few regions in the United
States or the worhl can match such an income reprtstnting the absolute increase
in wealth taken right from the earth. It is no wonder that the farmers of our
four counties have automobiles and household luxuries galore, and when harvest
time is over take trips to California. Honolulu, or "back East." or. before the war.
to Kurope. It is of interest to add here the approximate areas in cultivation
in the four counties. It was reported in 1016 as follows :

(irain lands, in bearing and in summer-fallow —

Walla Willa County 500,000 acres

The other counties 500,000 acres

Fruit lands —

Asotin County . .^Soo acres

(Note: An underestimate of Asotin County.)

Walla Walla County ^.f^rp acres

Columbia County '.045 acres

Garfield County ... 525 acres

MANt'FACTURINC

We have contmed our attention thus far to what might l>e regarded as the
natural fundamental industries of stock raising, farming, and horticulture.

But along with those essential industries to which the country was naturally
a<lapte<l. there went of necessity some mcrvantile and manuf.icturing enterprises.
I-ater on the professional classes liecame interrelated to all the others. While
the region covered by our four counties is not naturally a manufacturing
country, yet from the first there have l»een those whose tastes and interests have
lead them to mechanical pursuits. In a growing community where the founda-
tion prrKJucls are those of the soil and yet where the building arts arc in constant
demand there must necessarily U- some manufacturing. Most of the enter-
prises of that nature in this section have liccn connected either with buildmg
tnaterials or with agricultural implements. Saw-mills came in almost with the

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 193

dawn of civilized life. Hence we are not surprised to find that the first pioneer
in Walla Walla, Dr. Marcus Whitman, built a saw-mill. That mill was on Mill
Creek, apparently nearly where the present Shemwell place is located. As is not
known to many there was a small saw-mill on the grounds of the United States
Fort. The flume ran nearly along the present course of Main Street and the
mill was on the northern edge of the military reservation opposite Jesse Drum-
heller's residence. Doubtless it was those mills which gave our beautiful
creek its unfortunate name, in place of the more attractive native name of Pasca
or Pashki, "sunflower."

The Statesman of December 13, 1861, notices the building of a -saw-mill on
the Coppei by Anderson Cox, one of the foremost of the early citizens of Walla
Walla, who also had large interests in and around Waitsburg. Another promi-
nent old-timer, W. H. Babcock, is reported in the issue of June 2, 1865, as
having purchased a saw-mill on the Walla Walla. One of the earliest saw-
mills, built at the close of 1862, was on Mill Creek in Asotin. There were
various little mills in the timber land of the Blue Mountains. In the '80s Dr.
N. G. Blalock and a little later Dr. D. S. Baker inaugurated the business of
fluming from the mountains to Walla Walla. In the case of the former this was
a calamitous business venture, but the latter with his usual sound judgment
made a great success of the enterprise.

The most extensive lumbering business of Walla Walla in the earlier days
was that still known by the corporate name of the Whitehouse-Crawford Co.
This company was founded in 1880 by Messrs. Cooper and Smuck. In 1888 G.
W. Whitehouse and D. J. Crimmins became chief owners, though Mr. Cooper
retained his connection with the business. In 1905 J. M. Crawford acquired
the business, being joined by his brother J. T. Crawford, in 1909. The business
has become very extensive, having numerous branches, with the general name
Tum-a-Lum Lumbering Co. There have been established in more recent years
the Walla Walla Lumber Co., the Oregon Lumber Co., and the Bridal Veil
Lumber Co., all doing large lines of business.

A large amount of capital has been invested in the manufacturing of agricul-
tural machinery. The most extensive establishment in these lines in Walla Walla
was the Hunt Threshing Factory founded in 1888 by Gilbert Hunt and Chris-
topher Ennis, who purchased the machine shop of Byron Jackson, which became
the property of Mr. Hunt in 1891. The special output of the factory was the
"Pride of Washington Separator," but subsequently iron work and belting and
wind mills and other lines were added. Owing to financial difficulties precipitated
by the hard times beginning in 1907 this great establishment, which employed
from seventy-five to a hundred men, was obliged to close its doors.

For a number of years the northwestern branch of the Holt Harvester
Works, of which Benjamin Holt was manager, was located in Walla Walla.
It conducted an immense business, particularly in the "side-hill" harvester and
in tractors. The main northern house is now located in Spokane, while the
Walla Walla branch is managed by E. L. Smith and Co.

Among the other manufacturing enterprises worthy of larger notice than our
space permits may be named the Brown-Lewis Corporation, the RinghofTer
Brothers Saddle-tree Factory, the Webber Tannery, the Washington Weeder
Works, the Walla Walla Iron Works, and the Cox-Bailey Manufacturing Co.,

194 OLD WALLA \\AL1,A COUNTY

now succeeded by separate enterprises of the two partners. From a historical
point of view the iron foundry conducted by J. L. Roberts during the decade
of the '90s was one of the most conspicuous industries. The foundry business
was later conducted by the Hunt Company.

It will give a view of the distribution of business houses and industries to
insert here the tabulation of these on file in the Commercial Club office.

TR.ADES, PROFESSIONS AND MISCELL.\NEOUS C.\LLINGS

Accountants (public) 4

Apartment houses 8

Architects 3

Banks 5

Bakeries 6

Barber shops 20

Bowling alleys 2

Blacksmith shops 10

Bottling works 2

Coal and wood yards 7

Contractors and builders (all kinds) 33

Dentists 20

Doctors — a — physicians and surgeons 27

b — Osteopaths 6

c — Chiropractors 3

Dressmakers and fitters 24

Electricians 5

Electric light plants i

Garages 14

Gas plants i

Hospitals and sanatoriums 3

Hotels 4

Lawyers 24

Liveries — a — -horse 3

b — Auto 3

Machine shops 5

Moving picture theaters 4

Newspapers 4

Painter and paper hangers 4

Plumbing shops , 4

Pool and billiard halls 6

Photograph galleries 4

Printing offices 4

Real estate dealers 31

Restaurants 22

Rooming houses

Shoe repair shops 6

Tailor shops 12

KING DA\IU TREES. THREE YEARS OLD, TRAVIS

196 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

l)t'])artniciit t

Drug 8

Dry goods 8

Electrical supply o

Flour and feed ^

Furniture 4

General 2

Grocery 35

Hardware 6

Harness and saddlery 6

Implement 5

Jewelry 5

Meat 5

Millinery 8

Shoe 8

Variety — 5 and 10 cent 2

Ladies' suits and cloaks 2

Perhaps no one business fact is so good a commentary on the financial con-
dition of a community as the bank deposits.

The banks of Walla Walla have had during the year 191 7 an average of
seven million dollars deposits. On January i, 1918, deposits exceeded eight
millions.

As we shall see, the banks of the other cities of the district have similar or
even greater amounts in proportion to population. It would doubtless be safe
to estimate the bank deposits of the four counties at eleven million dollars, or
over two hundred dollars per capita.

As a means of indicating the financial status of Walla Walla, with Garfield
and Columbia counties, the following clipping from a local paper of October
16, 1917, will be of permanent value:

"Announcement of the official allotment of Liberty loan bonds to each bank
in the Walla Walla district comprising Garfield, Columbia and Walla Walla
counties, was made for the first time last evening by P. M. Winans, chairman of
the executive committee, following receipt of a telegram from the Federal Reserve
P>ank at San Francisco, giving the total minimum and maximum allotments for
this district. As soon as these figures were learned the allotments for each of
the fourteen banks in the district were figured on a basis of deposits at the last'
federal call.

"The minimum allotment for the district was placed by the Federal Reserve
Bank at $1,483,000 and the maximum allotment at $2,457,842. From the way
the campaign has been going it will require every energy to raise the minimum,
which is 50 per cent more than the allotment for the district for the first Liberty
bond issue.

"This time Walla Walla County alone must subscribe $1,044,000 or as much
as the entire district subscribed for the first loan. The City of Walla Walla
must subscribe $874,000 to report the minimum desired. Columbia County
must subscribe $240,000 and Garfield County $199,000."

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 197

BANK ALLOTMENTS

The official allotment which each of the fourteen banks of the district was
expected to subscribe among its customers, follows :
Walla Walla-
First National Bank $235,000

Baker-Boyer National Bank 243,000

Third National Bank 109,000

Peoples State Bank 135,000

Farmers Savings Bank 152,000

Touchet State Bank, Touchet 7,000

First State Bank, Prescott 12,000

First National Bank, Waitsburg 121,000

Exchange Bank, Waitsburg 30,000

Columbia National Bank, Dayton 146,000

Broughton National Bank, Dayton 85,000

Bank of Starbuck, Starbuck 9,000

Pomeroy State Bank, Pomeroy 132,000

Knettle State Bank, Pomeroy 67,000

$1,483,000

It may be added that the amount actually subscribed exceeded the maximum,
being $2,647,000.

ANNUAL COUNTY FAIR

One feature of constant interest in any growing American community is the
annual county fair. As a yearly jubilee, a display of products, and a general
"get-together" agency, this characteristic feature of American rural life is
entitled to a large place. It co-ordinates industries, creates enterprise, kindles
ambition, and promotes the spirit of mutual helpfulness in pre-eminent degree.
The Walla Walla fairs have had essentially the familiar features of all such
institutions ; i. e., the exposition of agricultural, horticultural, and other products.
Since the fairs have been held at the present grounds south of the city, the
exhibition of live-stock and the horse racing features, and in the three prior
years to the date of this work, the "Pioneer Days," have become leading events
and have drawn thousands of visitors from all parts of the country.

The first fairs were somewhat broken and irregular.

Apparently the germ of our county fairs was the establishment of a race
course on the flat west of town running around the hill adjoining what is now the
Coyle place, by George H. Porter. In the Statesman of October 18, 1862, is
quite a flaming advertisement of the races'. They were to last four days, October
30th to November 2d. There were to be purses of $100. $50 and $150 for win-
ners, with 20 per cent for entries. Buckley's Saloon was to be headquarters for
making entries. Admission was to be 50 cents. The proprietor seems to have
been somewhat on the order of a "bad man," as he later became involved in a
murder case.

198 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

On July 9, 1866, an agricultural society was organized, of which the officers
were: President, H. P. Isaacs; vice presidents, Anderson Cox, and W. H.
Newell; treasurer, J. D. Cook; secretary, R. R. Rees; executive committee,
Charles Russell, T. S. Lee and A. A. Blanchard. Under the management of this
society the first county fair was held on October 4, 5 and 6, 1866.

Another organization, known as the Washington Territory AgricuUural, Min-
ing, and Art Fostering Society, undertook the maintenance of fairs in 1870.
In September of that year the first of a series was held until 1873. Finding that
the grounds were loo far from the city they were sold and the fairs discon-
tinued.

In 1875 C. S. Cush laid out a race-track at the place where Watertown now
exists, and there a fair was held in October of that year. That place was for
many years the location of races and fairs and public gatherings of all sorts.

During that same year of 1875 the first definite organization looking to pro-
moting immigration was organized, and a thirty-page pamphlet was published
setting forth the attractions of the Walla Walla Valley for business and residence.

As years passed increasing interest in the annual meets led to an attempt
to give them a permanent character, and in 1897 the Fruit Growers Association,
of which Dr. N. G. Blalock was president, undertook to finance and manage the
fairs with a degree of system which had not hitherto prevailed. The first fair
under the auspices of the Fruit Growers was held in the courthouse. The two
succeeding were held in Armory hall. In 1900 a pavilion was erected on Second
Street and for several years the annual fairs were held at that place. As an
illustration of the character of the fairs of that stage of history we are- incor-
porating here an account of the fair of 1900, taken from the October number of
the Inland Empire magazine:

"The Fourth Annual Fniit 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 satisfactory exposition ever attempted in Southeastern Washing-
ton. 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 responsible for much that goes to make up the category of the virtues
of the Walla Walla Valley. Give our agriculturists and horticulturists a year
with a well regulated rainfall, and frost which considerately stays away when
not wanted, and they will with diligence and careful culture produce grapes,
pears, apples and 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, but this year a full week was given,
and the attendance exceeded that of previous years by over three thousand paid
admissions. The visitors were not restricted to Walla Walla and the imme-
diate vicinity ; fully one thousand came from Waitsburg, Dayton and other
neighboring towns, and 500 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 congratulated. The gross proceeds of the fair were something
over seven thousand dollars, and about eleven hundred dollars of this is profit.

HEAVILY LOADED LIMB OF JONATHAX APPLES, CLARKSTON

Al'PLE TREE ON THE PROPERTY OF WHITE BROTHERS AM) LKL M,
WAWAWAI, SNAKE RIVER

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 199

and is deposited as a nestegg for the fair of 1901. This is the first year in the
history of the fairs that any material profit has resulted in dollars and cents.
Last year $80 was taken in over and above expenses, and the year before nothing.
Better management is responsible for this result, and a more thorough appre-
ciation of the requirements of the fair.

"T. H. Wagner's military band, of Seattle, furnished music for the fair, giv-
ing concerts every afternoon and evening.

"Mrs. Jennie Houghton Edmunds was the vocal soloist, and Herr Roden-
kirchen, who is known to fame in the East and West, was their cornet soloist.

"One of the special features of the programme of the fair was an Indian
war dance. A score of bucks and half dozen squaws from the Umatilla Reserva-
tion were the performers, and their presence recalled to many of the visitors
the days when the proximity of redskins was a consummation devoutly to be
dreaded.

"The woman's department was this year under the direction of Mrs. John
B. Catron, and formed the most interesting and tasteful display at the fair. A
part was devoted to collections of Indian curios and relics, and this department
was always crowded with visitors. Lee Moorehouse of Pendleton has on exhibi-
tion many of his photographs of Indians and scenes on the Umatilla Reserva-
tion, pictures which even now are of interest, and which fifty years hence, when
the development of the country has crowded the redskins further to the wall,
will be of great historical value.

"More than ever before have the people Bf.thi^" valley appreciated the value
of fruit fairs and industrial expositions. ; Her£ tfae farJJiejs.i^nH those interested
in the various lines of agriculture and j^orticulture have an' (Opportunity to see
the results of each others' labors and profit by their '^xpehence. They are
encouraged by the success of others, and obtlin- suggestions. vvhich are invaluable
in their work. They learn in what direction the efforts of theif neighbors are
being exerted, and keep in touch with the development of the various agricul-
tural pursuits.

"The Belgian hare exhibit, prepared by S. C. Wingard and E. A. Coull, was a
feature not before seen at these fairs. This exhibition, with its hundreds of
dollars' worth of valuable imported specimens of Belgian hares and fancy stock,
was perhaps the most valuable at the fair, and of the greatest interest because
of its novelty. Belgian hare culture is yet in its infancy, and the gentle long-
eared creature was the center of attraction for those who wished to know more
of these animals which are monopolizing so much attention among breeders of pet
stock.

"The railroads doing business in Walla Walla took a most active interest in
the fair. Two pretty and unique booths were erected and they proved among
the attractive features of the event.

"The Northern Pacific and Washington & Columbia River railways took
the cue of the Boxers and a pretty pagoda was designed. The structure was
erected near the band pavilion and was provided with seats and accommoda-
tions for the ladies and children. The pagoda was built of native woods and
finished with moss brought from Tacoma for the purpose. The work was artis-
tically done. At night a number of colored electric lights gave a finishing touch

•M) OLD W ALLA WALLA COUNTY

to the scene. The design was largely the idea of Niaiuger McCabe and Pas-
senger Agent L'alderhcad, of the W'asliinglon & Columbia River Railway

"The booth of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company was IcKatcd near
the nuin entrance and it was neatly planned. A commodious square l>oo(h was
finished and trimmed with grains and fruits taken from the company's cxperi-
111' tiial farm near the city. The ceiling wa-; niadc of a variety of handsomely
Lulnrcd wools in the unwoven state, blended together with artistic effect. The
walls of the booth were hung with pictures, and chairs and reading offered rest
and entertainment to all. The booth was in charge of General Agent Hums and
C. K. \'an Ue Water."

The officers of the association for 1900 were as follows: W. A. Kitz. presi-
dent; C. F. \'an De Water, secretary; O. R. Hallou, superintendent; Mrs. J. B.
I'atron, superintendent of the woman's department.

VARIED ASPECTS OF THE FAIR

The I*"air assumed different aspects in different years, sometimes taking on
as the predominant interest the exhibition of fruit and vegetables, and at other
times stock and machinery. At still other times the "horse race" was the domi-
nant feature.

In 1903 a new organization was effected known as the Walla Walla Race
Track Association. At a meeting of a number of the leading men of the city
.and county, of which Judge T. H. Brents was chairman, the following were
elected trustees of the association : W. S. Offner, Joseph McCabe, R. B. Caswell,
James Kidwell, Wm. Hopotoom, John McFceley, Chris Ennis, W. G. Preston
and Frank Singleton. Under the auspices of the association the first of a new
series of fairs was held in the autumn of 1903 at the present location upon the
land known as the "Henderson" tract, purchased by the association. The name
of the association became changed to the Walla Walla County F'air Associa-
tion. In 1906 the fnvilion still used was erected. In 1907 the dominant interest
was the "Harvest Festival," the chief features of which were carried out within
the city. This will Ik: rememl)crcd as quite a gorgeous pageant. J. J. Kauffman
was duly crowned as King Rex, and Hattie Stine became queen of the carnival
as Queen Harriet. Both coronations were signalized by s[)ectacular f)ara<lcs and
general hilarity which made that celebration the most memorable of the scries
In 1908, August 8th. a great disaster occurred at the Race Track, the destruc-
tion by fire of the barns, together with several valuable horses, entailing severe
loss both to the association and to several individuals, especially Wm. Hogoboom.
In the same year the street railway line was extended from the city to the
grotmds. As indicating the [>ersonnel of the association of that period, it will be
valuable to present here the names of the officers and trustees: T. 11. Brents,
president; Grant Copeland, vice president; R. E. Guichard, secretary; trustees,
F. Tausick, M. Toner. W. A. Ritz. Sam Drumhcller, Mordo McDonald. J. H.
Morrow, J. G. Kidwell, Frank Singleton, Wm. Hogolxxim. C. I.. Whitney, B. F.
Simpson, Ben C. Holt. J. P. Kent, J. Smith, .and Wm. Kirkman. Throughout
the period to the present the association has l)een an incorporated organization,
with the stock distributed widely among the farmers and business men of the
community. Judge Brents continued as president until 1914, when bodily in-

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 201

firmity forbade further continuance, and his lamented death soon followed.
Robert Johnson became secretary in 1907 and in 1909 W. A. Ritz became man-
ager, being chosen president in 19 14 upon retirement of Judge Brents. Messrs.
Ritz and Johnson became so closely identified from that time on as to be asso-
ciated with every feature of the history of the Fair. The woman's department
was conducted with equal efficiency during the same period by Mesdames J. B.
Catron, W. A. Ritz, and W. D. Lyman.

FRONTIER DAYS

In 1913, feeling that the common routine had rather palled, the managers
decided to inaugurate a new order of things, and as a result the "Frontier Days"
came into existence, with its spectacular displays of "bull-dogging," relay races,
stage-coach races, cow-boys, cow-girls, Indians, etc., one of the last stands of the
Wild West. In spite of the great success of these exhibitions as a means of
drawing crowds and creating interest, the frontier days were not a financial suc-
cess. After the meeting of 1915, the Fair Association decided not to continue,
and hence there was no fair of any kind upon the grounds in 1916. There was
conducted, however, a Merchants' Carnival upon the streets which while per-
haps tame in comparison with its predecessors served to signalize the autumn
season and to create a period of good fellowship and community enjoyment.
During 191 5 and 1916 the question of purchase of the Fair Grounds by the
county became one of the especial subjects of local politics. A general spirit
of caution and economy prevailed, and the proposition failed of a sufficient vote
in the election of 1916. The grounds remain, therefore, in possession of the
County Fair Association, and it is just to the members of the association to say
that the thanks of the entire community are due them for their patriotism and
genuine life in maintaining at a financial loss this important feature of com-
munity progress.

With the cessation of the regular Fair there was a lively demand in every
direction for something that would keep the Queen Mother of the Inland Empire
upon the map as an autumn amusement center. In response to this public call,
George Drumheller, the greatest wheat farmer of the Inland Empire (and for
that matter doubtless the greatest individual wheat farmer in the world, having
about twenty thousand acres of wheat land), rose to the occasion and prepared
a program for a new exhibition, "The Pioneer Pow-wow." The personnel
of the management was as follows : George Drumheller, managing director ; O.
C. Soots, secretary ; Tom Drumheller, arena director ; Bill Switzler, assistant
arena director; John Neace, Jim McManamon, and George Marckum, judges:
A. G. Busbee, chief announcer; Ben Corbett, assistant announcer.

As a permanent record of the Pow-wow we are incorporating here the sum-
mary of it as given in the Walla Walla Bulletin at the close of the events :

"After three days of some of the finest riding, roping and feature cowboy work
ever seen in the West, the first annual Pioneer Pow-wow came to a close last
night. The Pow-wow was a success from every standpoint; so successful, in
fact, that plans will be made for a second and greater Pow-wow next year, prob-
ably to be put on under management of a new county fair association, for which
the event this year was a benefit.

202 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

"Yesterday's great sliow in the arena and uii the track at the fair grounds
eclipsed, if possible the performances of the two preceding days, and the large
crowd which lilled the grand stand until there was not a reserved seat left and
overflowed the north bleachers was brought to its feet time and again with
excitement.

"All in all the I'ow-wow program for the three days was voted by nearly all
who saw it the finest Wild West show ever staged here, and the success of the
enterprise reflects great credit upon George Drumheller, well known farmer and
stock-raiser of the valley, who managed the show, and upon Sec. O. C. Soots, '
secretary of the Commercial Club, who acted as secretary for the enterprise, as
well as upon each one of the other officials.

"A feature of the program yesterday afternoon was the cowboys' relay race,
in which the crowd was probably more interested than in any other event. Nep
Lynch was the winner and by defeating Drumheller can lay claim to the cham-
pionship of the world in this event.

"When Drumheller's horse got away from him for an instant on the second
change yesterday the race was changed from a neck and neck contest between
Drumheller and Lynch to an easy victory for the latter. On Friday Lynch was
also victor, while on Thursday Drumheller came in ahead by a length.

"The cowboys' bucking contest for the Pow-wow. went to Yakima Canute, and
the choice of the judges after the finals yesterday proved popular with the crowd
who gave the clever rider a big hand. The prize $250 saddle and $2.50 cash goes
to the winner of this event.

"The three riders who were chosen for the finals yesterday were Leonard
Stroud, Yakima Canute and Dave White, and they drew as mounts for the final
bucking events Sundance, Culdesac and Speedball, respectively. The three ani-
mals are probably the toughest buckers in the world. Sundance tossed a rider
over his head Thursday, while Culdesac had a record of two down for the Pow-
wow. Speedball also had proved one of the hardest to ride. All three riders
showed great skill, although White was forced to pull leather when the halter
rope was jerked out of his hand.

"Another relay feature that was popular with the crowd during the entire
Pow-wow was the cow-girls' relay race. Mabel De Long was the winner, with
Donna Card and Josephine Sherry second and third. Miss De Long proved
unusually skillful on the change and frequently jumped from one horse to another
without touching the ground.

"Both the steer-roping and bulldogging was the greatest ever seen here.
Tommy Grimes was the first with a total time of 63^ seconds for two throws,
while Jim Lynch took the bulldogging contest with a total time of 63^ seconds
for two throws. Lynch's time yesterday afternoon, twenty-one seconds, is one of
the fastest records ever made for this event.

"One pleasing feature of the Pow-wow this year was that not a single cow-
boy or animal was seriously hurt during the entire three days. This was not
because the show was more tame than before, because such was not the case,
but was due partly to good fortune and more to the skillful management
throughout.

"A feature of yesterday's program was the drill given by Maj. Paul H. Wey-
rauch's battalion of field artillery. The battalion, about three hundred strong.

-f.

'Jl

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 203

executed a review in tlie arena, passing in front of Major Weyraucli, reviewing
ofificer. The boys made a great showing for the short time that they have been
in training, going through their maneuvers hke clock work. Major Weyrauch
and his men were given a great hand by the audience and the most impressive
moment of the day came during the drill, when the band played "The Star
Spangled Banner," the soldiers stood at attention, and the great crowd rose to
its feet as one man, with the men standing bare-headed until the last strains of
the national anthem had died away.

"A. G. Busbee, who had been the efficient chief announcer at the Pow-wow
for the three days, gave the spectators yesterday a thrilling exhibition of bull-
dogging at the close of yesterday afternoon's bulldogging contest. Busbee, clad
in his full Indian regalia, downed one of the steers in front of the grandstand.
He declared afterwards that he could have won the event if he had been allowed
to enter. Officials of the Pow-wow needed Busbee as announcer and refused
to run any risks of his being laid out.

"George Drumheller, managing director of the Pow-wow, said last night that
he was not yet in a position to say how successful the Pow-wow had been finan-
cially, but that he hoped to at least break even, and possibly clear a little for
the benefit of the fair association.

" 'It's play with us,' he said. 'The boys like it and it gives them something
to talk about during the winter. The people supportad.^the show well, and I hope
something of the kind can be arranged again ne^cfeyfe^r. ";'•■; ;•■ :

One of the most pleasing features of the Pioneer Pow-wow, is well as of the
Frontier Days preceding was the prominence gfven to the pioneers. In 1915 a
log-cabin was erected on the fair grounds as a typtcal pioneer rest home durmg
the period of the fairs. This was the rallying place of the gray haired sires and
mothers of the valley, and significant and beautiful were the reunions of the
"Builders" of old Walla Walla at that point. At the Pioneer Pow-wow the
address to the pioneers was given by Governor M. C. Moore, last territorial
governor and one of the most honored of the pioneers. His address at the
gathering of 1917 was so fitting and constitutes so complete a retrospect of the
history of the region that we believe it will be seen with deep regard by the
pioneers in this history.

We therefore take from the columns of the Jl^alla ]]'alla Union the report,
as follows :

"These pioneer meetings are significant events ; they aftord opportunity for
meeting old friends. They are occasions for retrospection and reminiscence.
We live over again in memory, 'the brave days of old.' We recount the courage,
the lofty purpose, the sacrifices of the early settlers, not only of those still living,
but of those who have crossed the Great Divide."

These words, taken from the speech of ex-Governor Miles C. Moore, delivered
at the Pioneers' barbecue meeting at the fair grounds yesterday noon, explain
the significance of the Pioneer Pow-wow to the early settlers of this country,
to whose memory the big fall celebration is dedicated. That the sturdy old
plainsmen appreciated the honor was evident by their numbers and the hearty
manner in which they participated in this event. Hundreds of them were present
and all pronounced the juicy beefsteaks served by the Royal Chef Harry Kidwell,
to be near-perfect.

204 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

The pioneers' program was short but filled with interest and the social time
that followed was hugely enjoyed. Judge E. C. Mills made a short address
and vocal solos were rendered by Mrs. F. B. Thompson and A. R. Slimmons and
a reading by Mrs. Thomas Duff. Mrs. A. G. Baumeister was chairman of the
committees in charge.

Ex-Governor Moore's address, coming from one of the most prominent north-
west pioneers, was the feature of the program, and was most interesting to the
early settlers. It is given in full as follows :

"Walla Walla is proud to act as host today to the pioneers and feels she is
entertaining old friends.

"Many of you came here long years ago and saw the city in its earliest begin-
nings; saw it when it was only a frontier trading post — an outfiting point for
miners bound to the mines of Pierce City, Orofino and Florence in Northern
Idaho and to Boise in Southern Idaho — all new camps. A little later Kootenai
in British Columbia, and the mining camps of Western Montana became the
Mecca of the gold seeker.

"Many of them outfitted here and were followed by pack trains laden with
supplies. Many of you will remember the tinkle of the mule bell which the
pack mules followed in blind obedience.

"All day long these pack trains filed in constant procession through the streets
of the busy little city, bound on long journeys through the mountains to the
various mining camps.

"Indians, gaudy with paint and feathers, rode their spotted, picturesque cayuse
in gay cavalcades along the trails leading to town to trade for fire water and
other less important articles of barter.

"Covered ox wagons laden with dust begrimed children and household goods
'all the way from old Missouri,' ranchmen, and cow-boys in all their pristine
swagger and splendor helped to make up the motley throng that filled the streets
The cow-girl who rides a horse astride had not then materialized.

"The packers and many of the miners came here to 'winter' as they expressed
it in those days. They spent their money prodigally and unstintingly in the
saloons, in the gambling and hurdy-gurdy houses, and in the spring would return
to the source for fresh supplies of gold.

"Some of the more successful would return to the States and all expected
to when they had 'made their pile.' None of us had any idea of making this
a permanent place of residence or of being found here fifty years later. As
youngsters we sang with lusty voices:

'We'll all go home in the spring, boys,
W't'W all go home in the spring.'

Later as the years went by and we did not go, there was added by the unsenti-
mental, this refrain:

'Yes, in a horn;

Yes, in a horn.'

"This describes conditions existing in old Walla Walla fifty years ago, or in
the decade between i860 and 1870, and are some of the moving pictures painted
on the film of my brain when in the fall of 1863 I wandered, a forlorn and

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 205

homesick lad, into this beautiful valley. Friends and acquaintances I had none,
except the two young men who came with me from Montana.

"My resources were exceedingly slender, and the question of how meal tickets
were to be obtained was much on my mind. That was fifty-four years ago —
and like many of you present here today I watched the years go by with
gradually increasing faith in the country's resources ; a faith that ripened into
love for the beautiful valley, its people and its magnificent surroundings. Walla
Walla all these years has been my home, her people became my people, her
interests were my interests. It is hoped you will pardon these personal allusions
but after all history is defined as 'the essence of innumerable biographies.'

"It is a goodly land — a fit abode for a superior race of people, a race to
match its mountains, worthy of its magnificent surroundings.

"Along in the early '60s, stockmen from the Willamette Valley, attracted
by the bunch grass that grew in wild luxuriance over all the hills and valleys
of this inter-mountain region, brought horses and cattle and established stock
ranches along the streams. Later it was discovered that grain would grow on
the foothills, and that the yield was surprisingly large. The wheat area was
gradually widened and land supposed worthless grew enormous crops. Now
wheat has everywhere supplanted the bunch grass and the Inland Empire sends
annually about sixty-five million bushels to feed a hungry world.

"Walla Walla in the early '60s was a town of about two thousand inhabitants
and the only town between The Dalles and Lewiston. Now this region is filled
with cities and towns and villages, dotted all over with the happy homes of a
brave, enterprising, peace-loving, law-abiding people.

"Many of us have seen the country in its making, have helped to lay the
foundations of the commonwealth, have seen the territory 'put on the robes of
state sovereignty,' have seen it become an important unit in the great federation
of states, have recently seen its young men pour forth by thousands to engage in
a war not of our making but in the language of President Wilson, 'that the world
may be made safe for democracy.'

"These pioneer meetings are significant events ; they afford opportunity for
meeting old friends. They are occasions for retrospection and reminiscence. We
live over again in memory 'the brave days of old.' We recount the courage, the
lofty purpose, the sacrifices of the early settlers not only of those still living, but
of those who have crossed the Great Divide.

"They were a sturdy race; they braved the perils of pioneer life, and 'pushed
back the frontiers in the teeth of savage foes.' We are old enough now to begin
to have a history. In fact, this Walla Walla country is rich in historic interest,
and inspiring history it is. Lewis and Clark passed through it on their way to
and from the coast. Whitman established his mission here in 1836 and eleven
years later gave up his life as the last full measure of his devotion to the cause
he loved so well. Other missionaries and explorers saw it and were impressed
with its fertility and the mildness of its climate. Indian wars raged here, and
it was here, almost on this spot, that Governor Stevens held the council and made
treaties with 5,500 Indians.

"No other part of the northwest has such a historic background. All this
will continue to be an inspiration to the people who are to reside here.

"Wherever the early settler built his cabin, or took his claim, he left the

206 OLD W Al.l.A WALLA COUNTY

impress of his jxisonality. Tliese personal exjx;riences should be woven into
history and it is hoped that Professor Lyman in his forthcoming history of old
\\ alia Walla County will include many of these personal memorials.

"The restless impulse, the wanderlust implanted in the race, the impulse
that carried the first wave of emigration over ~ Cumberland Gap in the Alle-
ghenies and down the Ohio to Kentucky, 'the dark and bloody ground,' swept
over the prairies of Illinois and Iowa, across the Mississippi and Missouri. Here
it halted on the edge of the Great American Desert, until the gold discovery in
California in '49 gave it new impetus and it swept on again. These indefatigable
Americans crossed the Great Plains, they climbed the Rocky Mountains, they
opened mines, they felled forests, tilled the land, developed water powers, built
mills and manufactories, filling all the wide domain with 'the shining towers of
civilization.'

"The liberal land laws of the Government — giving a homestead to each
man brave enough and enterprising enough to go out and occupy it, the mines it
ofi'ered to the prospectors were the powerful factors that gave us population and
led to the development of the country.

"All honor to the pioneers —
"They have made this beautiful land of ours
To blossom in grain and fruit and flowers.'

Many of them have passed to a well earned rest. May the living long remain
to enjoy the fruit of their labors.

"Walla Walla has been pleased to have you here today and hopes to see you
all again at future Pow-wows. Her good wishes go with you wherever you
may be."

There have been various interesting and valuable exhibitions in Walla Walla
in recent years which are entitled to extended mention, but the limits of our
space compel us to forego details. One of the most conspicuous of these has
been the "corn-show," maintained by the O.-W. R. R. management. "Farmer"
Smith has been conspicuous in these shows, other experts in corn production, as
well as in the allied arts of the use of corn in cookery and otherwise, have been
in attendance, banquets have been held attended by some of the chief officials
of the railroad company, and a public interest has been created already bearing
fruit, and sure to be a great factor in agriculture in the future. A hearty
tribute is due the O.-W. R. R. for the broad and intelligent policy which has
led to this contribution to the productive energies of this region.

W.\LLA WALL.\ P.\GE.ANT

To those who were in Walla Walla at the "Pageant of May" in 1914, that
spectacle must ever remain as incomparably the most beautiful and poetical
exhibition ever given in Walla Walla. Indeed it may well claim precedence over
any spectable ever presented in the Inland Empire. It was in all respects in a
class by itself. It was conducted under the auspices of the Woman's Park Club.
The Pageant consisted of two movements, diverse in their origin and nature and
yet interwoven with such artistic skill as to demonstrate rare poetical ability and"
inventive genius on the part of the author, Mr. Porter Garnett of Berkeley, Cal.

GATHERING TOKAY GRAPES, CLARKSTON

PICKING PEACHES, ADAMS' PLACE, CLARKSTON

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 207

This event was of such entirely exceptional character and so well set a
pattern for po5;3ible future occasions and created such interest in the minds of
all who witnessed its beautiful scenes in the park, that the author feels con-
fident that the readers of this volume will be glad to read the Foreword and the
Introduction as given in the book prepared by Mr. Garnett and inscribed by him
with this graceful dedication :

TO THE WOMEN OF

THE WOMAN'S PARK CLUB

WHOSE

CIVIC PRIDE

AND

CONSTRUCTIVE IDEALISM

HAVE ENABLED THEM
TO DARE AND TO ACHIEVE

The foreword is as follows :

FOREWORD

The history of "A Pageant of May" is briefly told.

In November, 1913, the Woman's Parle Club, which, in 191 1. inaugurated an annual
May Festival, conceived the idea of holding a pageant in our city.

Correspondence with the American Pageant Assocjiation ij^j^to Ih'e .ihViting of Mr. Porter
Garnett of Berkeley, California (one of the directS'ns ef.the assqciation),. to come to Walla
Walla for a conference. Mr. Garnett arrived on ^lar'ch 26th. '-On' the 30th, having in the
meantime selected City Park as the most suitable -site, he suJbmittejl. the outline of "A Pageant
of May." It was officially approved on March 3lsf, and the work ol prpparation was begun.
Since the construction of a pageant is usually a matTeifb'f'rtiany-months it seems proper,
in this case, to call attention to the fact that within a period of seven weeks Mr. Garnett
has written the text of "A Pageant of May," designed the costumes and properties, invented
the dances, selected the music and rehearsed a cast of over three hundred.

Grateful acknowledgment is made of the assistance of the Commercial Club and of the
many citizens of Walla Walla who have given so generously of their time and talent, insuring
the success of the "introduction of pageantry in the Northwest."

Grace G. Isaacs,
Mabel Baker Anderson,
Lydia P. Sutherland,
Mary Shipman Penrose,
Marie A. Catron,
Executive Committee for the Pageant,
Woman's Park Club.

Mr. Garnett's Introduction, interpreting the Pageant, is presented in these
words :

INTRODUCTION

Although May festivals are held in almost every community, it is in the agricultural
community, such as this of Walla Walla with its vicinage of fertile acres, that the celebration
of spring — the season of renewal — is most appropriate.

A Pageant of May is a May festival and something more. In it, instead of restricting
the ceremonies of the more or less hackneyed forms, an eflfort has been made to utilize
the traditional material and to import into it certain elements of freshness and fancy.

208 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Tlie inti'iition lias been not so much to give an cxliibition as to afford the community
an opportunity for self-expression. The real purpose of the pageant is to remind the
people of Walla Walla that since they owe their existence to the soil, spring should be
for them a season of sincere and spontaneous rejoicing. It should not be necessary to
cajole them into celebrating this season which brings in bud and blossom an earnest of
tlic harvest to come. They should not only be willing but eager to make merry on the
Green and to dance around the May-poles. They should remember tlial the earth which
gives them sustenance is not their servant but their mistress and that without her gen-
erous gifts they would be poor indeed. A pageant of May offers them an opportunity
to pay their homage to Earth the Giver whom the Greeks personified and worshipped
as the goddess Demeter (Ceres).

In the Masque of Proserpine, which forms the first part of the pageant, the return
of spring is treated symbolically. The myth upon which the masque is built has, on account
of its peculiar appropriateness, been used at various times and in various ways to cele-
brate the season of rebirth, but the present adaptation with its free use of comedy is
entirely original. It has been necessary, of course, to take many liberties with the accepted
versions, notably the e.xcision of that part of the myth which deals with Ceres' wanderings
in search of Proserpine. Those who may be desirous of reading the myth in its most
charming form are referred to the translation of an Homeric hymn which Walter Pater
incorporated in his essay, Demeter and Persephone, contained in his volume "The Greek
Spirit."

The second part of the pageant is based upon the traditional English May Day cele-
brations. The traditions, however, are by no means strictly followed for there seems
to be no justification for a rigid adherence in America to customs which are essentially
English. I have used Robin Hood and his Merrie Men because, through literature, they
have been made the heritage of all English-speaking people; I have, however, omitted the
Morris-dance because, in America, it has no significance whatever.

Since it is hoped that the pageant will be interpreted throughout in a spirit of gaiety;
since the participants will be expected to forget (as far as possible) that there are any
spectators, the spontaniety which is difficult to attain rather than the expertness which is
comparatively easy, will be looked for in the May-pole and other dances. To Mrs. E. R.
Ormsbee's able direction is due whatever measure of success may be achieved in this
regard. The Dance of the Seeds and the Dance of the Fruits and Flowers owe the charm
of their form and detail to the inventive fancy and skill of Miss Rachel Drum.

In both the Masque and the Revels realism has been scrupulously avoided because
in the author's opinion realism on the stage is inartistic and futile. There is no reason
why a pageant — whether of the historical or festival type — should not be consistently
expressed in terms of beauty.

To this end the masque feature has been employed as affording the best possible means
by which the note of beauty may be introduced. I believe that the introduction of the
masque feature in all pageants, by increasing the gap which already exists between formal
and creative pageantry and the familiar tawdriness of the street-fair and carnival, would
do more to raise the standard of pageantry than any other single thing.

The text of A Pageant of May has been reduced to the simplest possible terms. It
contains no more lines than were necessary to unfold the plot and deliver the message.
The lines, moreover, have been uniformly written with the fact in view that they were
to be delivered and delivered in the open air. Syllables that open the mouth have been
more important therefore than poetic embellishments. As far as possible pantomime has
been used to reveal the story. A Pageant of May is not intended for closet reading, and
if the reader who did not see its realizement in action on the four-acre stage in Walla
W'alla's city park finds it somewhat jejune he is asked to bear that fact in mind.

I cannot leave unexpressed mj' grateful acknowledgments to the members of the
Costume Committee who have worked most efficiently under the direction of Mrs. A. J.
Gillis, the designing of the children's costumes being admirably done by Miss Helen Burr
and Mrs. W. E. Most. To the chairman and members of the other committees, and to
the organizers and chaperones of the various groups I am indebted for the invaluable
assistance which they have rendered. Finally, I would take this opportunity to express

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 209

my gratitude to the women of the Executive Committee who, putting aside every con-
sideration of personal convenience, have labored indefatigably for the success of the
pageant and the benefit of the community.

P. G.
Walla Walla, Washington.
May 14, 1914.

CHAPTER VI

IN'Tin.I.KCTL'AL AX!) RKLIGIOUS FORCKS OF WALLA WALLA
COUNTY; FDUCATIONAL LNSTITUTIONS OF WALLA WALLA

While the eastern jKirts of tlic United States and pre-eminently New F-ng-
laml. alK>vc all the State of Massachusetts, have assumed, and to considerable
<if{;rff justly, that tliey hohl priority in education, yet the pcoj)le of the Far-
West may rifjht fully claim that within the past dozen or twenty years they have
tiLidf such pains in educational ]•■ ;in<l results as to place them in the

irniit rank. The ri|)ort of the Ku- ■ F^oundation a few years ago that for

all 'round efficiency the schools of Washington State were entitled to first place
in the I'nited States, was not surj>risinjj, ihouph pratifyinp to those familiar with
the extraordinary growth in equijHnent and teaching force during the last decade.
As is well known, several western and Pacific Coast states outrun all others in
freedom from illiteracy, having practically no jK-rmanent residents of proper
age and normal faculties unahle to read and write. It is one of the glories of
American democracy, and in fact the logical consequence of self-government in
this or in any country, that the craving for knowledge and power and advance-
ment exists in the masses. Thus and thus only can democracy justify its
existence. In the West, and perhaps even most intensely in the Pacific Coast
states, the ambition to succeed, the spirit of personal initiative, the feelings of
indeiK-ndence and equality, were the legitimate product of the pioneer era.

The state builder.', the offspring of the immigrant train, the homesteaders
of the Walla Walh country, were, like other westerners, anxious to In-queath to
their children In-tter opportunities for education than they in their primitive sur-
roundings could command. Hence they had hardly more than satisfied the
fundamental necessities of location, shelter, and some means of income than
ibey K-gan to raise the (|ucstion of schcKils. In the earliest numlnrrs of the
H'ashitKjIon Slalcsmati the pioneer newspaper of tlu- Inland Empire. Ix-ginning
in 1861, we fmd the question of suitable school buildings raised. liut that was
not the iK-ginning. It is interesting to recall that IV>ctor and Mrs. Whitman were
constantly active in maintaining a sch<Kil .-it Waiilatjni. not only as a missionary
enterprise for the Indians, but, as time went on, for the children of the immi-
grants, who gradually formed a little group arouncl tlie mission. Then after the
long period of Indian wars and the establishment of the United States garrisfin
in its present location, there was provision made in 1857 for teaching the children
of the garrison together with a few stray children in the community. The
teacher of that little group was Harry Freeman of the first dragoons, Troup E.
Tlie building used was on the garrison grounds. Among the children were
several well known later in Walla Walla and the state, as James and Hugh

210

Green Park Scliool
Washington School

Jefferson School

Lincoln School
Sharpstein School

SCHOOLS OF WALLA WALLA

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 211

McCool and their sister Maggie, afterwards Mrs. James Monaghan, mother of
the gallant Lieutenant Monaghan, who lost his life heriocally in the Samoan
Islands and for whom a commemorative monument stands at the southern end of
the AJonroe Street bridge in Spokane. In that first little company of school
children were Robert Smith, Mrs. Michael Kenny, and the Sickler girls, one
of whom is now Mrs. Kyger. The first school within the limits of Walla Walla
was conducted in 1861-2 by Mrs. A. J. Miner in a private house at about what
would now be Alder and Palouse streets. Another pioneer teacher was J. H.
Blewett.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Prior to 1862 there had been no public school organization. The scholastic
needs of the children had been recognized, however, in the first permanent
organization of the county on March 26, 1859, by the appointment of Wm. B.
Kelly as superintendent of schools. At the election of July 14, 1862, J. F. Wood
was chosen superintendent, and District Number i was organized, a room rented,
and a teacher appointed. Progress seems to have lagged, however, until the fall
of 1864, in which year the census showed a school population of 203, though
of that number only ninety-three were enrolled. A meeting on December 12th of
that year voted to levy a tax of 23^^ mills for the erection of a building. Dr. D. S.
Baker donated the land now occupied by the ^Bilker. ..Sxiaol and a building was
erected at a cost of $2,000, the first public scfobbl bti3dirig:rn the Inland Empire.
In 1868 a second district numbered 34 was orgfefzfed'lri'^e' Southwestern part
of town at the corner of Willow and Eighth .stents, ,.,T|iat building with some
additions served its purpose till 1879, and Sn that year the Park Street building, in
use for a number of years, was put up at a cost of $2,000. Districts number
I and 34 were consolidated by the Legislature in 1881 and the board of directors
consisted of the directors of the two districts. As a matter of record it is worth
while to preserve the names of that board: H. E. Johnson, D. M. Jessee, B. L.
Sharpstein, N. T. Caton, Wm. O'Donnell, and F. W. Paine. E. B. Whitman was
clerk.

By vote of the district on April 29, 1882, a much more ambitious plan of
building was adopted, one commensurate with the progress of the intervening
years, and a tax of $17,000 was levied for the purpose of erecting a brick
building. That building accordingly was realized on the Baker School ground,
in which many of the present "grave and reverend seigniors" of Walla Walla had
their first schooling. Not until 1889 was there any high school work in Walla
Walla. In that year Prof. R. C. Kerr, who was city superintendent, met the
few pupils of high school grade in the Baker School building. In the following
year those pupils were transferred to the Paine School, now known as the Lincoln
School, which had been erected in 1888.

FIR.ST HIGH SCHOOL CLASS

The first high school class was graduated in 1893. Up to 1900 there was a
total number of high school graduates of eighty. New buildings have been

_•!.' OLD WALLA W'Al-LA COUNTY

added from tinic to time and new courses esublished, with suitable equii^mcnt
and tcaihinK force. Perhaps we can in no way bcttrr indicate the growth of tlic
scliools of Walb Walla County and city, than by incorporating here a rcj»ort
prepared by County Supt. G. S. Bond in 1900 for a history of Walla U'alla by
the author of this work, and contrast with it the last report of City SujH. W. M.
Kern. While Walla Walla and adjoining communities have not been considered
as of rapid growth, compared with some other parts of the state, a perusal of
th< sc reiiorts, seventeen years a|>art, will give the present citizen some conce|Mion
of the changes in that short period.

Professor Bond's rejwrt follows: "It is the primary object of the writer, in
pre|>aring this statement, to present to the public a brief recital of the present
condition of the educational facilities of Walla 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 undertak-
ing. The records compiled by the earlier school officers are quite incomplete, if
compared with present requirements, and the subdivision of the original county
into the present counties of Columbia, Garfield, Asotin and Walla Walla, occa-
sioned many changes in the various school districts, and led to a complete rc-dis-
tricting and re-numbering. This, the records in the county superintendent's office
show, was done between the years 1879 and 1886.

"In i8<^i. the county suix-rintendent. by order of the county commissioners,
brought together in one bcjok the i)lats and boundaries of the \arious districts,
numbered consecutively from one to fifty-three. Since that date, to meet the
requirements of the constant increase in i»o|)ulation, many changes in boundaries
have been made and thirteen new districts have l)een formed, making a total
of sixty-six. Six of these are joint with Columbia County.

"The subdivision of the county into sixty-six school districts brings nearly
every section within easy range of school facilities. 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 schoolhouses. fur-
nished with modern jatent desks, and fairly well supplied with apparatus. Six
new schoolhouses were built, and a considerable amount of furniture was pur-
chased last year.

"A movement which is receiving considerable attention and which is proving
of great service to the county is the establishment by private enterprise, enter-
tainment or subscription of district libraries. About twenty have received their
l>ooks which arc eagerly read by l)oth pupils and parents. Others arc preparing
entirtaiiunents to raise a library fund. It is greatly to be hoped that our Legis-
lature may pass some law at this session to encourage the district library. It is
one of the measures most needed to improve our rural schools.

"Another feature that is proving of l>enefit to the country schools is common
school graduation. An opportunity to take an examination for graduation is
given at various times, to eighth grade pupils in any of the schools. The diplomas
admit to high school without further examination. Many take pride in having
finished the common school course, and are induced to remain in school much
longer than they otherwise would.

"Eight <listrirt<: are at present maintaining graded schools. There seems to

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 213

be a growing sentiment in some of the more densely populated sections to gather
together their pupils for the superior advantages of the graded schools. Walla
Walla (No. i) provides an excellent four-year high school course. No. 3 (Waits-
burg), also has a high school department.

"Were all the schools in session at the same time there would be required
a force of 116 teachers. The districts employing more than one teacher are:
Walla Walla — 30, Waitsburg — 7, Prescott — 3, Seeber — 3 and Dixie, Wallula,
Harrer and Touchet — 2 each. Of those employed at this time, 7 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 fifty teachers have
purchased one or more of the books and enrolled as members. All teachers have
free access to a library of about seventy-five volumes, treating principally on
theory and practice, or the history and philosophy of education.

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 hands of county treasurer $ 9,521.43 $ 9.279.24 $ 25,838.81

Amount apportioned to districts by county

supt 32,104.54 56,210.31 58.574-66

Amount received from special tax 11,761.62 26,346.81 26,503.99

Amount from sale of school bonds 500.00 1,410.00 500.00

Amount transferred from other districts

Amounts from other sources I3I-54 82.69 2,212.15

Total $54,019.13 $93>34705 $113,629.61

Expenditures 1897 1898 1900

Amount paid for teachers' wages $47,278.95 $38,691.71

Amount paid for rents, fuel, etc $38,027.39 10,697.78 13,65306

Amount paid for interest on bonds 2,578.00 2,645.55 4.301. 00

Amount paid for sites, buildings, etc 2,902.68 32,152-61

Amount paid for interest on warrants 4,i 13-75 5.649-78 1.650.94

Amount reverting to general school fund 2.75

Amount for other districts 12.86

Total $44,721.89 $69,173.94 $90,962.18

Balance on hand 9-297-24 24,173.11 22,667.43

214 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

"The hard times experienced two or three years ago materially affected
teachers' wages in this county. The average amount paid male teachers, accord-
ing to the annual report of the county superintendent in 1898, was $56.57; for
female teachers, $39.54. For 1900, male teachers, $62.50; female teachers,
$52.40. There seems however, to be dawning a brighter future for the con-
scientious teacher. Rigid examinations for two years have lessened the competi-
tion from those who entered the work only because they had no other employ-
ment; the districts are able to hold longer terms and pay larger salaries now.
The minimum salary this year is $40, other rural districts pay $45 and $50.
Salaries in the graded schools are from fifty-five to one hundred dollars per
month. The average length of term in 1898 was 6j^ months; the average from
1900 is /J4 months.

"The estimate in the county superintendent's annual report for 1898 places
the total value of schoolhouses and grounds at $162,080; of school furniture,
$15,317; of apparatus, etc., $3,871; of libraries, $1,690. Amount of insurance
on school property, $79,605; of bonds outstanding, $45,300; warrants outstand-
ing, $41,274. The last enumeration of children of school age shows 4,275 resided
in the county on Jime 1st; of these 3,621 were enrolled in the public schools, and
made an average daily attendance of 2,076.

"For 1900, schoolhouses and grounds, $194,060; furniture, $16,350; apparatus,
$4,000; libraries, $2,450; insurance, $100,650; bonds outstanding, $75,300; war-
rants outstanding, $82,721.16; children of school age, 4,767; children enrolled,
4,102; average daily attendance, 2,322. Such was the report of the county
superintendent in 1900. Now we present the report of city superintendent, W.
M. Kern, for year ending in 1917:

Enrollment Boys Girls Total

Elementary schools 1,280 1,234 2,514

High school 428 393 821

Night school 46 81 127

Total 1,754 1,708 3.462

Transfers to high school 17 26 43

Total actual enrollment i,737 1,682 3,419

Deduct night school 46 81 127

Actual enrollment, grade and high school 1,691 i,6or 3,292

Teachers in city schools, loi ; valuation of property of city schools, grounds
and buildings, $790,000; equipment, $72,000.

"Over seven thousand children of school age reside in Walla Walla County,
according to the 1917 school census, completed yesterday. The census shows a
total population of school children of 7,331. Of this number 3,928 live in the
city school districts and the rest in the other districts of the county.

"The number of children in the county this year is almost identical with
that of last year, 191 7 showing a decline of two. Last year's figures showed

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 215

7,333, as against 7,331 this year. In the city there was a dedine in the number of
children, the census this year being 3,982 as against 4,000 last year. The county
districts, however, showed a gain of sixteen.

"The city school census of 1917 shows the following:

Number of pupils receiving diplomas —

Boys Girls Total

Green Park 21 12 33

Baker 12 11 23

Sharpstein 17 40 57

JeiTerson 17 17 34

Washington 8 6 14

Total, grades 75 86 161

High school 44 55 99

Per cent of attendance —

Grades 98.17

High school 98.10"

As will have been seen, Professor Kern's report fives a view of the buildings
and other successive additions to the facilitieig>''^6f!' the "public schools of Walla
Walla City. Similar development has takert 'pfece: In Wai'tsburg;, Prescott and
Touchet, as will be seen from the following. It may be. added jhat the smaller
places, and the country districts also, have eixperienced a like- irapf ovement.

WAITSBURG

Waitsburg has maintained excellent schools for many years. We have pre-
sented some facts in regard to the earlier schools of the place, and are giving here
a view of present organization and equipment.

At this date the board of education consists of Messrs. N. B. Atkinson, J. A.
Danielson, and W. J. Taylor. Miss Mary Dixon is clerk. The faculty consists
of the following : Superintendent, James H. Adams ; high school, principal and
instructor in science and athletics, B. B. Brown ; instructor in English, Edna
McCroskey ; instructor in Latin and German, Freda Paulson-; instructor in mathe-
matics, lone Fenton; instructor in history, Elizabeth Nelson; instructor in
domestic science and art, Gladys Persels ; instructor in manual training and
mechanical drawing, Earl Frazier.

The Central School contains the grades, eight in number, Anna GofF being
principal.

Waitsburg is provided with three excellent buildings valued as follows : high
school, $20,000; Central School, $25,000; Preston Hall, $35,000. The last named
is the pride of the Waitsburg School system. It is, in fact, a structure and an
instrumentality of unique interest. It was the gift of W. G. Preston, one of the
most conspicuous of the pioneers of Walla Walla County. It was the result
of the philanthropic impulse as well as the practical good judgment of its donor,
for Mr. Preston had formed the impression during his busy and successful career

210 OLD \\'ALL.\ WALLA COUNTY

that a ktiowlcd^ uf the nuiuutl arts was viul to the average boy and girl. The
building was completed in 11^13 and was provided with the must perfect equip-
ment for manual in!.truciic)n which the space would allow. During the jiast
)ear there were enrolled in the manual training course, thirty-four boys, in the
sewing course thirty-live girls, and in the cooking course, thirteen girls, llicre
is also a wcll-e(iuip|)cd gymnasium in the building. The campus on which the
IukIi school and I'reston Hall stand contains live acres of bnd, about half of
which is covered with a grove, while the athletic field occupies the remainder of
the 0(>cn space.

Some other valuable data we derive from the information kindly supplied
by Su|)crintendent Adanjs. Wc find, as an interesting point worthy of preserva-
tion for future comparison, that the average salary during the past year paid the
male teachers was ^i.^oS.j^, and that of the female teachers was $74<».J5. In-
cluded in these averages arc the superintendent and principals. The total enroll-
ment during 1916-17 was: boys, 216. girls, 208. rerccntage of daily attendance
was 95.1 for the boys and 95.3 for the girls. The number in the high school was:
First year, 48; second year, 30; third year, 28; fourth year, 18; a total of 124.
The school library contains the following number of volumes: high school, 700;
grades. 400.

PRESCOTT

Prcscott, while not a large town, is an ideal home town in the midst of a
inagnilicent and extensive farming country, and conducts an amount of business
quite beyond the ordinary volume for its population. The county tributary to
I'rescott produces about seven hundred thousand bushels of grain annually, and
here is grown the famous blue-stem wheat, the higlicst grade milling wheat pro-
duced in the Northwest. The land here yields from twenty-five to forty bushels
of wheat per acre. Crop failures arc quite unknown. The laudable pride
and ambition of the people has led them to the construction of so fine a
school building as to be a source of wonder and admiration to all visitors. In
this elegant building there is sustained a high school department of four years
curriculum, with four teachers and, during the past year, forty pupils. Part of
the building is occupied by the grades. The value of the school jiroix-rty is esti-
mated at fifty- ffiur thousand dollars, the most of which is included in the high
school building. Situated upon a slight eminence overlooking the fertile and
beautiful Touclut \allcy. with the vast sweep «if the wheat covered hills closing
it in. this I'rescott school building presents an ap|)earance which many large towns
might envy. Dtiring a numlxrr of years past a succession of peculiarly well quali-
fie<l teachers have devoted iheniM-lves to the |)rogress of the Prcscott schools, and
as a rcstilt have lifted them to a status which has l)een indicated in the high
grades which the pupils have attained in higher institutions and the efficiency
whiih thev have shown in business engagements up<in which they may have
entered. Prcscott obtains its water supply from the snow-capped Blue Moun-
tains, lying twenty miles to the east. Tlius Ix-ing assured of a perpetual su|)ply of
pure water. Prcscott is nofe<l for its health ftilncss.

Descending the Touchet about twenty miles we reach its junction with the

MAIN STREET, PRES(X)TT

■vs»^

KNIGHTS OF rYTIIIAS BUILDING. PRESCOTT

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 217

Walla Walla, and there we find another of the tine little towns which border
that beautiful and historic stream.

TOUCHET

The Town of Touchet is at a lower level, only 450 feet above sea level, and
by reason of that and of its more westerly situation it has higher temperature and
less rainfall than any other of the Touchet towns. It is consequently an irrigated
fruit and alfalfa section. The splendid Gardena District on the south and the
productive lands in the Touchet and Walla Walla bottoms north and east and at
their junction, give the town a commanding location. It is accordingly an active
business center, with several well stocked stores, a bank, an attractive church of
the Congregational order, and a number of pleasant homes.

The pride of the place, however, like that of Prescott is the school building.
This is a singtilarly attractive building, built for the future, though well utilized
in the present. The valuation of school property in the Touchet District is
$27,500, practically all represented in the high school building with its equipment.
There is a total enrollment of 203 pupils with eight teachers. There are forty
pupils in the high school, and a four year course is provided.

GENERAL SCHOOL STATISTICS- •-'- -

;-i-^;;" Wii; ,:(;;t ;

The following statistics from the report Of the' itate' stlpeintlfeildent for 1917
will indicate the general condition of the schools o-f: Walla Walla County. These
figures are for the school year 1915-16.

Male

Number of census children, June i, 1916 3.646

Number of pupils enrolled in public schools 3,122

Average daily attendance 2,466

Total number of teachers employed 218

Average salary paid high school teachers $ 990.10

Average salary paid grade teachers 788.45

Average salary of superintendents, principals, and supervisors 1,328.00

Number of children over six years of age not attending school 600

Number of children between the ages of five and fifteen years not attend-
ing school 32

From every point of view it may be said that the schools of Walla Walla
County (as will be seen in later chapters the same is true of Columbia, Garfield,
and Asotin counties) have kept pace with the general progress of the regions in
which they are located.

PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS

From the public schools we turn to the various private institutions. Fore-
most of these, and indeed in many respects the most unique and distinctive

V ■

Female

Total

3.706
2,838

7.352
5.960

2,237

4.703

218 OLD W ALi.A WALI.A COUNTY

feature of Southeastern Washington, hoth from a historical and existing view-
IX)int, is Whitman College. This institution grew out of the mission at Waiilatpu,
with its brave and patriotic life and tragic end. After the period of Indian
wars, beginning with the Whitman Massacre in 1847 and continuing, with some
interruptions, till 1858, there occurred a return to Waiilatpu, one of the con-
structive events in our history. In 1859 Father Cushing Eells came from Forest
Grove, Ore., where he had spent some years as a teacher, to the Walla Walla
country, with a view to a new enterprise of a very different sort from that which
had led Whitman, Spalding, and Gray in 1836, and Eells, Walker, Smith, and
Rogers in 1838 to come to Oregon. The first aim was purely missionary. The
twenty and more following years had demonstrated the fact that this country
was to be a home missionary field, instead of foreign. It was clear to Father
Fells that the educational needs of the boys and girls of the new era must
be regarded as of first importance. Standing on the little hill at Waiilatpu and
viewing the seemingly forsaken grave where Whitman and his associates had been
hurriedly interred twelve years before. Father Eells made a vow to himself and
his God, feeling as he afterwards said, "The spirit of the Lord upon him," to
found a school of higher learning for both 'sexes, a memorial which he was
sure the martyrs of Waiilatpu, if they could speak, would prefer to any other.
That vow was the germination of Whitman Seminary, which grew into Whitman
College.

In pursuance of his plans, Father Eells acquired from the foreign missionary
board the square mile of land at Waiilatpu allowed them as a donation claim and
there he made his home for several years. It was his first intention to locate the
seminary at the mission ground, but as it became obvious that the "city" would
grow up near the fort six miles east, he decided that there was the proper place
for his cherished enterprise. The years that followed were years of heroic self-
denial and unflagging labor by Father and Mrs. Eells and their two sons, Edwin
and Myron. They cut wood, raised chickens, made butter, sold vegetables, exer-
cised the most rigid economy, and by thus raking and scraping and turning every
energy and resource to the one aim, they slowly accumulated about four thousand
dollars for their unselfish purpose. On October 13, 1866, the first building was
dedicated. It was on the location of the present Whitman Conservatory of
Music. The building was removed to make way for the conservatory and now
composes part of Prentiss Hall, a dormitory for young men. The land on which
Whitman Seminary and subsequently the college was located was the gift of
Dr. D. S. Baker.

Space does not allow us to enter into the history of the seminary, but the
names of those longest and most efficient in its service should be recorded here.
Aside from Father Eells and his family, Rev. P. B. Chamberlain, first pastor of
the Congregational Church, with Mrs. Chamberlain and Miss Mary A. Hodgden,
were the chief teachers during the time of beginning. Later Prof. Wm. Marriner
and Capt. W. K. Grim were the chief principals. Associated with the latter was
Mr. Samuel Sweeney, still well known as a business man and farmer, and the
only one of the seminary teachers still living in Walla Walla, aside from the
author of this work, who was for a short time in charge of it in 1878-g. In
1883 the second great step was taken by the coming of Dr. A. J. Anderson, who

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 219

had been for several years president of the State University at Seattle. The
history of Doctor Anderson's connection with Whitman College and the general
educational interests of Walla Walla and surrounding country constitutes a
history by itself worthy of extended notice. He was ably assisted by his wife,
one of the finest spirits of early days in Walla Walla, and by his sons Louis and
George, the former of whom became later one of the foremost teachers in the
expanded college and is now its vice president. With the coming of Doctor
Anderson the seminary was raised to college rank with new courses and added
teaching force. In the same year of 1883 a new building was erected which
served as the main building for nearly twenty years. For the purpose of raising
money for furtlier development Father Eells made a journey to the East at
that time. Although he was becoming advanced in years and the work was
trying and laborious, he succeeded nobly in his aims, securing $16,000 and lay-
ing the foundations of friendships which resulted later in largely added amounts.
During the eight years of Doctor Anderson's presidency Whitman College,
though cramped for funds and inadequately provided with needed equipment,
performed a noble service for the region, laying broad and deep the foundations
upon which the enlarged structure of later years was reared. Some of the men
and women now holding foremost places in every branch of life in the North-
west, as well as in distant regions, were students at the Whitman College of
that period.

After the resignation of Doctor Anderson in 1891 there was a period of loss
and uncertainty which was happily ended in 1894 by what might be considered
the third great step in the history of the college. This was the election to the
presidency of Rev. S. B. L. Penrose, a member of the "Yale Band" of 1890 and
during the three years after his arrival the pastor of the Congregational Church
at Dayton. Of the monumental work accomplished by Doctor Penrose during
the twenty-three years of his presidency, we cannot here speak adequately. Suf-
fice it to say that while Whitman is still a small college in comparison with the
state institutions of the Northwest, the increase in buildings, endowment, equip-
ment, courses and instructors has been stich as to constitute a chapter of achieve-
ments hard to match among the privately endowed colleges of the United States.
We have spoken of three great events in the history of the college, the founding
of the seminary by Father Eells, the establishment of the college by Doctor
Anderson, and the assumption of the presidency by Doctor Penrose. It remains
to add a fourth of the great events. This was the raising by Walla Walla and
vicinity of the accumulated debts of a series of years caused by the heroic
eflforts to keep pace with necessary improvements while resources were still
scanty. Due to those conditions the college was heavily encumbered and much
handicapped as a result. In 191 1 an oflFer of large additions to the endowment
was made by the General Education Society of New York, on condition that all
debts be raised. This led to a campaign in 1912 for the funds needed for that
purpose. This may truly be called a monumental event, both for the permanent
establishment of the college upon a secure foundation, as well as a remarkable
achievement for Walla Walla. For though the city and county are wealthy and
productive, yet to lay right down on the counter the sum of $213,140.30 was
notable and the gift was rendered more remarkable in view of the fact that about

220 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

eighty thousand dollars had just been raised for the Young Men's Christian
Association, that churches were raising contributions for expensive buildings,
that costly school buildings had just been erected, and that the need of a new
high school and a new courthouse building was becoming agitated. It may be
added that within a year the burning of St. Mary's Hospital precipitated a call
for large contributions to replace it. This was duly accomplished in the erection
of one of the best hospitals in the Northwest. It is probably safe to say that
the amount put into public buildings, together with contributions to the Young
Men's Christian Association, the college, and the hospital, during a period of
about three years, exceeded a million dollars — a noteworthy achievement even
for a wealthy community, and one demonstrating both the liberality and resources
of Walla Walla. From the standpoint of Whitman College it may be said that
aside from the indispensable aid which this large contribution afforded, there was
another result of the campaign equally valuable. This was the commensurate
interest felt by the community in the college and all its works. Up to that debt-
raising campaign there had been an indifference and in some quarters even a
certain prejudice which crippled the efforts of the college management. With
the raising of the debt there was a new sense of harmony and community interest
which will bring immeasurable advantage to the future both of the college and
the community.

As a matter of permanent historic interest it is well to incorporate here the
names of trustees and faculty, as given in the catalog for 1917.

THE BO.\RD OF TRUSTEES

The president of the college, ex-officio, William Hutchinson Cowles, A. B.,
Spokane, 1919; Allen Holbrook Reynolds, A. M., Walla Walla, 1919; Louis
Francis Anderson, A. M., Walla Walla, 1918; Park Weed Willis, M. D., Seattle,
1920; John Warren Langdon, Walla Walla, 191 7; Miles Conway Moore, LL. D.,
Walla Walla, 1918; Oscar Drumheller, B. S., Walla Walla, 1917; Edwin Alonzo
Reser, Walla Walla, 1920.

Numbers indicate the years in which terms of trustees expire. The election
takes place at the annual meeting in June.

OFFICERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

President, Miles Conway Moore, LL. D. ; treasurer, Allen Holbrook Reynolds,
A. M. ; secretary, Dorsey Marion Hill, Ph. B.

FACULTY

Stephen Beasley Linnard Penrose, D. D., president and Cushing Eells pro-
fessor of philosophy; Louis Francis Anderson, A. M., vice president and profes-
sor of Greek; William Denison Lyman, A. M., Nelson Gales Blalock professor of
histoPi': Helen Abby Pepoon, A. B., professor of Latin; Benjamin Harrison
Brown. A. M., Nathaniel Shipman professor of physics; Walter Andrew Brat-
ton, A. B., dean of the science group and Alexander Jay Anderson professor of

Billinijs Hall, Dei)aitment of Science Tlie Gymnasium

Whitman Memorial Building
Reynold's Hall. Young Ladies Dormitory McDowell Hall, Conservatory of Music

GROUP OF WHITMAN COLLE(iE BllLDlNGS. WALLA WALLA

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 221

mathematics ; James Walton Cooper, A. M., professor of Romance languages ;
Howard Stidham Erode, Ph. D., Spencer F. Baird professor of biology; Edward
Ernest Ruby, A. M., dean of the language group and Clement Biddle Penrose pro-
fessor of Latin; Helen Louise Burr, A. B., dean of women; Elias Blum, professor
of the theory of music; William Hudson Bleakney, Ph. D., professor of Greek;
William Rees Davis, A. M., Mary A. Denny professor of English ; Walter
Crosby Eells, A. M., professor of applied mathematics and drawing; Raymond
Vincent Borleske, A. B., director of physical education ; Charles Gourlay Good-
rich, M. S., professor of German; Frank Loyal Haigh, Ph. D., professor of
chemistry; Arthur Chester Millspaugh, Ph. D., professor of political science;
Thomas Franklin Day, Ph. D., acting dean of the philosophy group and acting
professor of philosophy; Frances Rebecca Gardner, A. B., acting dean of women;
William Ezekiel Leonard, A. M., acting professor of economics and business ;
Walter Cooke Lee, A. B., associate librarian; Milton Simpson, A. M., acting
associate professor of English ; Harriet Lulu Carstensen, A. M., assistant librarian ;
Alice Popper, instructor in French and German; Margaret Lucille Leyda, A. B.,
instructor in English and physical training for women.

The catalog shows also that at the present date the college owns equipment,
buildings, and grounds to the value of $466,091.40 and endowment funds to the
amount of $684,247. The expenses for the session of 191 5-16 were $88,892.92.
The enrollment of students in the literary departments for 1916-17 was 312,
and in the conservatory of music 289. ; >.'-;-: ' v.~5 ;■•-•;..•••"

The graduates of the college who have .rec.eised. bachelor's degrees during
the years 1886-1917 aggregate about four hiindred and twenty-five. The large
majority of these have received their degrees during the seven years ending
with the latter date. Classes were very small u^'t'o abouf igror -'Since that time
the number of seniors has been from twenty-five to forty. Besides those who
have graduated with the regular college literary and scientific degrees, a large
number have graduated from academic, normal and conservatory courses.

We are indebted to Mr. W. L. Stirling of the board of trustees of St. Paul's
.School for Girls for the sketch here subjoined.

HISTORY OF SAINT PAUL's SCHOOL, WALLA WALLA

Saint Paul's School was opened in September, 1872, as a day school for girls
by the Rev. Lemuel H. Wells, a missionary of the Protestant Episcopal Church,
who had come to Walla Walla the previous year and organized Saint Paul's
Church.

Seeing the need of a girls' school, a board of trustees was selected consisting
of the Rev. Lemuel H. Wells, John S. Boyer, Philip Ritz, B. L. Sharpstein, A. B.
Elmer, Judge J. D. Mix and John Abbott. Funds were obtained in the East and
a frame building was erected near the corner of Third and Poplar streets.

The school prospered, and it was decided to make it a boarding school. More
money was raised in the East and in Walla Walla, more land was purchased and
a dormitory was built.

In September, 1873, it was opened as Saint Paul's Boarding and Day School
for Girls, with Mrs. George Browne as principal. Mrs; Browne was succeeded

222 OLD WALLA WALLA ^w, ^IV

llciirictla B. Garrction (who laler became Mrs. Lemuel IL Wells) and

J. D. Lathrop, U. D.

In the earlier days of the school, pupils {rom Idaho, Montana and Eastern
L>re);on frequently ]>aid their tuitions in gold du>t, and there were a few cases
where |>ayment was even made in produce, such as flour, and jwtatoes. One
parent jiaid in cattle, which remained on the ranch and miiltij>licd until tliey iwid
for an addition to one of the school buildings.

The school was successfully maintained until lin m.h 1885, when it u.i-
closed. It was reojKrncd in 1S97 under Miss Imogen lioycr, as principal, it was
incorporated September 14, 1897, by E. B. Whitman, Kev. Francis L. Palmer,
B. L. Sharpstcin, W. 11. I'pton, and J. II. Marshall, Rev. V. L. Palmer being
chosen its first president.

In 1899 a new site was purchased on Catherine Street, and a new tliree story
building erected named ".\ppleton Hall." The trustees at that time were Bishop
Wells, The Kev. Andreas Bard, IS. L. Sliari>stein, Levi .\nkeny, K. 1*. Smitten
and W. II. Upton. Miss Imogen Boycr was princi|xil, and so continued until her
resignation in KjO^. L'nder Miss I'.oyer's administration the school increased
substantially in prestige and in the nmnbcr of pupils in attendance.

In 1903 Miss Caroline !■'. Buck was elected principal, and by formal agree-
ment Ix-tween Bishop Wells and the board of trustees the school was thence-
forth to be conducted as a diocesan school of the Protestant Episcc)|>al Cimrch.
In it/xj Miss Buck was succeeded by Kev. Andreas Bard, as principal.
In HjOi) funds were .secured by Bishop Wells for the erection of a new three
story brick dormitory named "Ewing Hall" which greatly increased the accom-
modations for bojirders and njaterially assisted in the growth of the school.

In 1907 Rev. Andreas Bard resigned and was succeeded by Miss Anna E.
Plympton, who remained until 1910. Miss Nettie M. (jalbraith was then elected
princi|>;il. and under her able administration, assisted by Miss Mary E. Atkinson,
as vice principal, the school has grown rapidly year by year until it is now the
largest, as well as the oldest school for girls in the .^tatc of Washington, and
prol>ably in the entire Northwest.

In n>i I Bishoj) Wells secured additional fun<ls for the jnirchasc of the Sharp-
stein j)n»|KTty adjoining the school grounds to allow for ex|)ansion in the near
future. The acquisition of this line |)ro]Kriy Joo feel by 2C» feet gave the scIhkiI
a frontage of 543 feet on Catherine Street, one of the linest pieces of \m)\>cTiy in
the city.

In 1910 Bishop Herman Page, of Spokane, succeeded Bishop Wells as presi-
dent of the board of trustees; the other memliers of the l)oard at that time being
Rev. C. E. Tuke. George .\. Evans. W. .\. Kilz. Dr. K. W Rees. H. (i. Thompson,
Dr. H. K. Keylor. }. W. l-ingdon and W. L. Stirling.

The need of increased accommodation for boarders Inring imi)erativc. Bishop
Page un<lertook to raise the -^um of $10,000 to Sij.fKW for a new building pro-
vided $5,000 .-idditional should \tc subscriljcd by the jjcople of Walla Walla. This
was done and a new fire proof brick building was erected in 1917. containing
assembly hall, g^•mnasium and dormitories. an<l named "Wells Hall" in honor of
Bishop Wells, who had foundeil the school in 1R72 and had ever since l>ccn its
most constant and devoted supporter. Even with its new equipment the school

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 223

at once became crowded to its capacity, there being tifty boarders, as well as a
large number of day scholars, and plans are being considered for another new
building.

Although the school now has an annual budget of nearly twenty thousand dol-
lars, it has never been -entirely self-supporting, being without endowment, and
always having given the greatest possible service at a very moderate charge. The
raising of an adequate endowment fund is contemplated as soon as circumstances
will permit.

The school offers a systematic and liberal course of study, maintaining kinder-
garten, primary, intermediate, grammar, grade, academic and music departments,
also special post graduate, business, and finishing courses. The course includes
eight years in the elementary school, completed in six or seven years when possible,
and four years in the academic department. There is also an advanced course
offered for irregular students and for those graduated from the high schools and
academies.

The instructors are Christian women, and it is the aim of the school to
administer to the individual needs of girls ; to aid in their moral, intellectual and
physical development by offering them the advantages of a well ordered school
and the wholesome influence of a refined home. The scholarship of Saint Paul's
is attested by the fact that Eastern and Western examiners of leading educa-
tional institutions have expressed their willingness to accept its graduates without
examination. Saint Paul's covers a wide field, having had among its boarders in
recent years scholars from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming,
Panama and Alaska.

The location of the school is exceptionally fine, the grounds extensive, well
laid out and shaded, and the buildings, four in number, are spacious, well con-
structed and conveniently arranged and equipped.

THE CATHOLIC ACADEMIES

The Catholic Church has maintained two academies, one for boys and one
for girls, for a number of years. These were founded early in the history of
Walla Walla. In 1864 the Sisters of Providence opened the doors of a school
for girls on the location where St. Mary's Hospital now stands. Rev. J. B. A.
Brouillet was at that time at the head of the local church and the school was
officially under his oversight. In 1865 St. Patrick's Academy for boys was
opened. This was on the site of the present Catholic Church, and the first teacher
was H. H. Lamarche. He acted as principal for fifteen years. In 1899 notable
changes occurred in the academy. In that year fine and noteworthy exercises
in its dedication occurred under charge of Rev. Father M. Flohr. The presence
of Bishop E. J. O'Dea added to the interest of the occasion. In August follow-
ing three brothers from San Francisco arrived to take charge of the academy.
In honor of St. J- B. De La Salle, founder of the congregation to which those
brothers belonged, the name of the academy was changed to De La Salle Insti-
tute. It opened in September, 1899, with 100 pupils. The numbers and influence
of this institute have steadily increased. The teachers at the present are : Brother

2-->4 OLD W ALLA WALLA COUNTY

Luke, director; Brothers Daniien and Daniel, teachers. The number o( boys
cnrulird is eighty.

llie sciioul for girls, founded in 1K64, as slated, developed into St. Vincent
Academy, and as such it has occupied a position of great influence and usefulness
ever since its fuuiularion. K\ery facility for academic study, with sj«ecial atten-
tion to the varied accuni|)li>hiiirnts of music, drawing, painting, and decorative
work, as well as the practical branches in needle work, in stenography, and in
lypev^riting, is afl^ordcd by St. \'incent's Academy. Kxtracts from the current
re|)orts indicate the present conditions.

The Sister Sujierior in charge of the academy is Sister Mary Mount Carmel.
There are six teachers eni|)loyed at the present time. The enrollment consists of
1(14 girls and fourteen small boys.

WALLA WALLA COLLEGE

Walla Walla has become known as an educational center, and in addition to
the public schools, and private institutions within the city, there is still another
outside the city limits entitled to interest. This is Walla W^•^lla College at
College Place, a flourishing suburb of the city. The college is under the direc-
tion of the Seventh Day Adventists. It was founded by that denomination in
iS«v upon land donated by Dr. X. G. lUalfK-k and has iK-en maintained by con-
tributions from the membership of the church and tuitions from the students.
In connection with it there is a well conducted hospital. There is a beautiful
and commodious main buildinp, l)esi<les the other buildings needful to provide
for the large number of students who come from elsewhere and make their home
at the college. From the current catalog we derive the following exhibit of the
managers and faculty.

PRESIDENTS OF WALLA WALI^ COU.EGE

William W. Prescott. 1892-04: Edward A. Sutherland. 1894-97; Emmett J.
Hil)l>ard. iH<;7-98; Walter H. Sutherland, 1898-1900; E. L. Stewart, n/X>-02:
Charles C. Lewis, 1902-04; Joseph L. Kay. 1904-05; M. E. Cady, 1905-11 ; Emest
(■ Kellogg. 1011-17; Walter I. Smith, 1017-.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

C. W. Flaiz, College Place, Wash.; 11. W. Decker. College Place, Wash.; F.
S Bunch. College Place, Wash.; H. W. Cottrell. Portland. Ore.; J. J. Ncthcry,
College Place, Wash ; J. F. Piper. Seattle. Wash.; G. F. Watson, Bozeman.
Mont.; F. W. Peterson. Collree Place. Wash : E. C. KcIIocir. College Place.
Wash.

OKHCKm OF TIIF l!f)\Bn

C. W. Flaiz. chairman: E C Kellogg, .secretary; I" W Peterson, treasurer.

PRESTOX HALL. WAITSBIKC

PUBLIC SCHOOL. WAITSBURG

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 225

FACULTY

Walter Irvine Smith, president, mathematics and astronomy 5 Elder O. A.
Johnson, Bible and ecclesiastical history; Elder F. S. Bunch, Bible and pastoral
training; George W. Rine, history and public speaking; Winifred Lucile Holmden,
ancient and modern languages ; J. Alvin Renninger, English and Biblical literature ;
Clara Edna Rogers, rhetoric ; Bert Bryan Davis, normal director, psychology
and education ; William Miller Heidenreich, German ; Arthur C. Christensen,
chemistry and biology ; George Kretschmar, physics and mathematics ; A. Wilmar
Oakes, director of music, violin, orchestra and chorus; Grace Wood-Reith, piano-
forte and voice ; Estella Winona Kiehnhoff, pianoforte, voice and harmony ;

, stenography and typewriting; William Carey Raley, bookkeeping and

accountancy; Win S. Osborne, art.

NORiMAL CRITIC TEACHERS

Charles Oscar Smith, grades seven and eight; Grace Robison-Rine, grades
five and six, intermediate methods ; Rosella A. Snyder-Davis, grades three and
four, manual arts; Anna Aurelia Pierce, grades one and two, primary methods.

INDUSTRIAL DEPARTMENTS^,, ^^^.. ■•

.'[■'"f '■'•'.•^'^ '&''• ■

Frank W. Peterson, superintendent; Gl6n-.R,:. 'J^lderty printing ; Wm. B.
Ammundsen, carpentry; Philip A. Bothwell, baking; Mrs.^. R, D- Bolter, dress-
making; Mrs. F. W. Vesey, cooking. ■ " ''li'.-t'

The catalog shows an enrollment of 293 pupils. '

From a historical and educational standpoint there is no more interesting
institution under private control than the

FORMER WAITSBURG ACADEMY

That community of beautiful homes and intelligent citizens, of which much
more will be said in other parts of this work, has always recognized the value
of education, and it is not surprising to find a demand in the early days for
a more advanced type of education than that afforded by the common schools.
During the first part of the decade of the '80s that demand eventuated in the
appointment by the United Presbyterian Church of Rev. Joseph Alter in 1884 to
go to Eastern Washington as a general organizer of home missionary and educa-
tional work. The church founded by Mr. Alter secured Rev. W. G. M. Hays
as its pastor in 1886. Being filled with the spirit of the need of higher education
and encouraged by ample evidence of probable support of a first-class academy.
Doctor Hays became a steadfast advocate of such an undertaking and on Septem-
ber 14. 1886, the church building was opened for the meeting of the first classes.
Prof. T- G. Thompson being placed in charge of the work. At that time the
academy had no corporate existence and no board of trustees. But in 1887
the infant institution was adopted by the synod of Columbia of the United

2-Jt, ui.lJ WALi.A WALi-A COUNTY

I'resbylcrian Church of North America and became regularly incoriMrated with
its first board of trustco lOiisistinj. of ihc Kiv>. llujjh I". Wallace, W. G. Irvine,
W. A. S|«ilding, W . t.. M. Hays, and J. 11 Nililock, and Messrs. A. \V. llulips,
David Roberts. E. F. Cox. T. J. Hollowell, and J. E. Vans. In May, 18K7, in
imrsnance of llic plans of the board, a joint stock conijiany was ori^anizcd to
conducl (lie academy. Six thousand dollars was raised, of which $4,000 was
devoted to a building and the remainder to sup|ilementing tuition as a means of
maintenance. Uurin{; the ten years following the founding, Doctor Mays, Rev.
\\ . R. Stevenson, and Miss Ina I'. Robertson made journeys cast for the puqwsc
of securing funds for building and endowment. As a result of the last aimjiaigii
of Miss Robertson, funds were secured for an excellent building which was
erected in i8y6. During the entire term of its existence Waitsburg .\cadcmy
received the resjjcct and supixirt of the community, and its teachers were men
and women of the highest tyjK-.

The princii)als with their terms of service wen ilu^e: |. C. Thon]j)sciii,
1886^; T. M. McKinney. iK,S<hX>; W. G. M. Hays. i8.x)-i; Ina F. RolK-rtson.
|S<^I.4 ; and Rev. J. A. Keener. iftj4. to the termination of the life of the institu-
tion. I'or rather sad to relate Waitsburg .\cademy. in spite of all its excellent
work and a growing Imdy of alunuii enthusiastic in its supiHjrt, foun<l itself in
the situation which has confronted practically all such educational institutions in
the West. When high school instruction was undertaken at Waitsburg it was
found that the inlrrest and desire to sui)|)tirt that public systenj was so general
that the support of the academy fell off. and though the jx-oplc of the community
Ii.k! no sentiment other than of connn<-ndatioii, yet their first interest was in the
public siliool system. As an inevitable secpience the academy found it wise to
disband. Its building was sold to the district and there the public school work of
part of the city is conducted. The aca<lcmy. though disbanded, had jjerformed
a great mission, and the present excellent high school, as well as the general
culture and intelligence a|)parent in the l)eautiful little City of Waitsburg. ma\
lie attributed in large degree to the noble work of the academy.

We have elsewhere given a general view of the public school systems of the
county, and in that the schools of W'aitsburg apfx-ar. But there is one feature
of the schools of Waitsburg already named so unique and interesting as to call
for further s|H:cial mention. This is I'reston Hall, connected with the high
school. This beautiful and well-e(|uip|Kd building was the gift of one of the
noblest and most philanthropic citizens of the Inland iMnpire. a man of whom
old Walla Walla County, and [wrticularly Waitsburg. may well be jiroud. This
was W. (1. Preston. This big-souled and big-brained buibler of the large affairs
of his community, had a deep sense of the value of practical industrial training
for the growing youth of the lan<l. Carrying out his favorite idea he gave alKiut
twentv-'.ix thousand <lollars for the creation of a building, with suitable equip-
ment for the liest type of industrial education, as well as gymnastic training.
While this was but one of the many contributions to the advancement of the
rommunitv in which the Preston family lived so long ancl so well, it is perhaps
the one which will be most wide-reaching in influence and the one which will
perTK'tuate most effectively the influence of its donor.

n. fnrr Ic.nvint: the subject of the schools it may Ik? suitable to note the

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 227

fact that the schools in what was old Walla Walla County, as well as the
narrower limits which now retain the name, have during the past ten or
fifteen years shown a great tendency to build more beautiful and better equipped
houses. This has been due partly to the increase in wealth and culture and
to the general recognition that the old bare unlovely and forsaken-looking school-
houses of the earlier times are an affront to the progressive spirit of a time
which is demanding the best for the boys and girls, but much of the motive power
of this great improvement must be attributed, in Walla Walla County, to the last
two superintendents of schools, Mrs. Josephine Preston and Paul Johnson. Dur-
ing the eight years of service of these two efficient public officials the idea of
the rural school as a community center and a focus of social life has gained
a hold on public interest and support truly wonderful. A debt of gratitude is
due these and other incumbents of the same office in the other counties covered
by this work in inaugurating a new era in school architecture and beautification
of grounds. The influence of this on coming generations for character, patriotism,
and efficiency, as well as artistic taste and general culture, will be incalculable.
It is fitting that special note be made here of the fact that in the smaller towns
of Walla Walla County, Prescott, Touchet, Dixie and Attalia, the school build-
ings represent large outlay and contain the best modern features. If there is one
thing more than another in which the people of this section may take satisfac-
tion, it is the school system, both town and rural.

There is another institution in Walla Walla of rare interest, which while not
educational is allied with that branch of social progress. We refer to the
Stubblefield Home. From Mr. C. M. Rader, one of the trustees, we derive the
following account of this noble institution.

STUBBLEFIELD HOME

To Joseph Loney Stubblefield and his good wife Anna, are indebted the chil-
dren and widows who in the past have been, or in the future may become members
of this home. In early life Mr. and Mrs. Stubblefield experienced the hardships
incident to poverty. They emigrated from Missouri in the early '60s and settled
about seven miles southeast of Walla Walla, where by most frugal habits and
great industry they accumulated, for the early days, a considerable fortune.
The wife died in 1874 without issue. She and her husband often talked of the
great need of a home for caring for aged widows and orphan children and the
wife said she wanted her money to be used for such purpose. She left no will,
except as it was impressed in the heart of her husband.

On November 16, 1902, six months after making his will, Joseph L. Stubble-
field died at the age of seventy-eight years. By the thirty-first clause of this will
he left about one hundred and thirty thousand dollars, the bulk of his accumula-
tions, for the purpose of establishing and maintaining a home for "fatherless or
motherless and indigent children, and worthy elderly indigent widows, residents
of Washington and Oregon." This fund was willed to R. M. Dorothy, E. A.
Reser and Cary M. Rader, who were named as trustees to manage the fund and
the home to be established. These trustees were appointed to serve for life,
unless any should resign or be removed. The successors of these trustees under

228 OLD WALL A W ALLA COUNTY

jhc icnii> of ilic will arc to be a|>|wintc<l by tlie cuunty conmiissioncrs of Walla
NS'alla ami L'liiatilla cuiintics, acting juiiilly but by and with the consent u( the
two 'ruslccs remaining on the bo;ird. A second wife, wliom Mr. Stubblctield liad
amply jirovidid for, attempted to break tlic will by proceedings in court, but the
will was fully sustained both in the Su|>erior and Supreme courts of Wash-
ington.

Numerous citizens interested themselves in an attempt to secure the location
of the home mar Walla Walla and raised a donation of something more than ten
thousand dollars to assist in |)urchasing a suitable site. The trustees purchased
the present grounds consisting of forty acres al>out one mile southeast of the City
of Walla Walla and there on November i6, 1904, exactly two years after the
death of Mr. Stubblcheld, with appropriate ceremonies, the home was formally
opened with .Mphonso K. Olds as sii|(tTiiilen(lem and his wife Mtta I". Olds
as matron.

The home remained under the very cfTicitiii iii.iii;igemcnt of these good people
for eight years. On tlu-ir resignation, occasioned by ill lu-alth, Luther J. Campbell
and wife Maggie were appointed respectively as superintendent and nutron,
and have since been in charge of the institution. R. M. Dorothy, in 1912. resigned
as trustee and was succeeded on the l>oard by Francis M. Stubblefield, a nephew
of Joseph L. Stubblefield. These are the only changes of officials connected with
the institution.

The home rapidly tilled after the opening and there has since rarely Inren a
vacancy for any considerable time. The number of memlx-rs in the home is
usually cIom- to twenty-live and of these most are children. There have never
lieen more than three widows in the home at one time. The children are taught
to work and soon become quite expert for children — the boys as gardeners and
the girls at hr)useht)ld duties. In 11)15 •'' team of three girls from the home won
a i)rize at the Walla Walla County I'air and also at the State I-air as exiK-rts in
canning fruits and vegetables. The children attend school at the Bcrney Graded
."school.

The fund left by Mr. Stubblefield, by judicious handling, has about doubled
and is at present mostly invested in wheat lands, which furnish sufficient income
to defray all exjKnscs.

THK rlll'KC'iil-:S OK WAI.I..\ WAIX.\ COfNTV

.\s elsewhere in this work we speak first of the institutions lix-ated in Walla
Walla City itself. By reason of priority of settlement the institutions of all sorts
grr)wing around that jxiint were representative of the entire region and hence
iK-long as truly to the jKirls which subse<|»iently were set aside for other counties.
We shall elsewhere endeavor to give similar brief views of the churches of the
other parts of the region covered by our story. .\s will Ik- obvious to the reader,
the liniitatifins of space com|K-l us to consider the churches as a whole, iin|)ortant
as they arc in the life of the community, without dwelling u|)on details, significant
and inspiring as they often are. Practically all the learliiig ("hrislian denomina-
tions have In-en represented in Old Walla Walla. The Methodist seems to have
l>ecn the |)ioneer among the Protestant denominations, though the Catholic was
first to provide a place of worship. It was in 1X50 that a structure of piles

White Ti'inplr Baptist Church

Presbjterian Chinch
CHURCHES OF WALLA WALLA

Central Christian ( luinli

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 229

driven into the ground and covered with shakes was prepared for worship by the
Catholics of the Httle community on Mill Creek. The location was near the
present lumber yard on Third Street and Poplar. In i860 the Methodists built
the first regular building on the corner of the present Fifth and Alder. That
church had various vicissitudes, for it subsequently moved to Second and
Alder and was used for a time as a house for the hosecart of the fire department.
Later on it received a second story and became the "Blue Front," still later burned.

We give here a sketch of the early history of the Methodist Church, not with
the desire to overemphasize that denomination at the expense of others, but that
by reason of its pioneer nature it was peculiarly typical of the first days. We
take this from a historical report prepared by J. M. Hill and E. Smith and pre-
sented at the conference at Walla Walla on February 7, 1900. This report con-
tains so much interlocking matter of different kinds as to give it a permanent
value :

"On page seventy-four of Rev. H. K. Hines' Missionary History of the
Pacific Northwest, we find that the first sermon preached west of the Rocky Moun-
tains was delivered by Rev. Jason Lee at Fort Hall, on Sunday, July 27, 1834. And
in a book entitled Wild Life in Oregon, on pages 176-7, we will find that the first
A'lethodist sennon preached at or near Walla Walla was by the Rev. Gustavus
Hines, on May 21, 1843, at Doctor 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 Chjifc^ tjf^ahlzafibh that was per-
fected in Walla Walla, or in that part of the; country^ {cn&wn as Eastern Oregon
or Eastern 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 impoxtant pointy 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
gospel, 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 ap-
pointed 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
dififerent places, at the homes of some of the people and at times in the old log
courthouse 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 organized 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. I\L Berry, was appointed secretary of the meet-
ing. The following named brothers were elected as the first board of stewards :

230 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

S. M. Tiujs. W illiam U. Kelly. John Moar, A. B. Roberts and T. P. Dcnney. A B.
Rolnrrts was riccicd as the rrcdrding steward.

In January, iK<jO. tlic ila>s dnidcd to build a churclj in the Town of Walla
Walla, and np|>ointcd a building; connnitlee to undertake the work, consisting
of the |xistor. Rev. ti. M. Merry, iSrotlicr Thomas Martin and Brother John Moar.
At a nteeting held in A|)ril, iWio. the committee reported that they luid selected
for a church site lots (> and 7, block 10. at the corner of .Mder and Fifth streets,
and that Rev. tl. M. Berry had nia<le application to the Board of County Commis-
sioners asking; them to donate the lots to the church. .\t a meeting held on May
.ii, 18/10, the (irst iKKird of trustees of the church of Walla Walla was ap|>ointed,
l)einf; Brothers T. P. Dcnncy, S. M. Titus. John Moar. Thomas Martin an<l Wil-
liam B. Kelly, and on May 22, iWo, lots 6 and 7 of block 10 of the original Town
tif Walla Walla were transferred to the alwvc named trustees for the church by
the Board of County Commissioners of Walla Walla County.

The building committee — the pastor. Rev. G. M. Berry, as its chairman — with
the few nu-mbcrs. at once took up the work of building the church, which was
complete*! in the fall f)f iSTo. It was the first church of any denomination built
in Walla Walla, and was built at a cost of $1,046.52, with un|).-iid bills to the
amount of $131.02. These items are taken from the re|»ort of the auditor of
accounts of the building committee as reported at the third quarterly conference,
held at Walla Walla on June 24. iS^)i, by Andrew Keys, auditor. The jwstor.
Rev. G. M. Berry, bad jjractically been Sunday-school suin-rintendent as well as
pastor ever since the organization of the class until the church was completed We
fail to find any record of the <ledication of this church.

The ( >regiin annual conference of \f^>i created the Walla Walla district and
appointed Rev. John IHinn as presiding elder and jjastor of Walla Walla. .\t the
Dregon annual conference, held in iSr>7, the Walla Walla district was divided into
one station and four circuits, viz.: Walla Walla Station. Walla Walla. Waits-
burg, Grande Rondc and Umatilla circuits.

In ifViS. the class having become strong, and desiring a new l(K-ation for their
church building, the board of trustees prmured lots on the corner of Poplar and
Second streets, bought on May 30, iW)8, from W. J. and .Mh-II Arncr for $250.00,
and deeded to the following named trustees: H. Parker, T. P. Deiiney, J. L.
Rcser. Joseph Paul and John W. McGhee. The old church was moved to the
new location, repaired and enlarged, and a parsonage was fitted up just cast of the
church, facing on Popular Street.

.\t the Oregon annual conference, held at luigrne. .XugU'^t 5 to 0. \F/'»). all
of the meml>ership and apfwintments formally denotninaled Walla Walla Station,
Walla Walla Circuit and Dry Creek were formed a>. one charge and called Walla
Walla Circuit, to whidi Rev. John T. W..lf,- wn- appointed .1- i>..sinr .tikI Rev
Cliarles 11. Iloxic as assistant pastor.

Rev. Tames P.. Calloway was presiding iMi-r of the district. ,iml on .S»-|)iiniUT
18, 1869. called together at Walla Walla all of the official mcmliers of the new
circuit and organized the first quarterly conference, electing the following board
of trustees: diaries Moore. T. P. PKnney, !>. M. Jessee. M. Emerick. Benjamin
Wayward, .\. II. Simmons, M. McKverly, William llolbrook and Oliver Gal-
lahcr. .At the Oregon annual conference, held at \"ancouvcr. on .August 25, 1870.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 231

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 $250.00 and moved ofi' the lots, and through
the efforts of the pastor and his board of trustees, consisting of B. F. Burch, J. E.
Berryman, M. Middaugh, John Berry and O. P. Lacy, together with the faithful
members and friends, the new church was completed at a cost of about $10,000,
receiving from the church extension society of the church a donation of $1,000
and a loan of $500. 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 of 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 con-
ference directed 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 following officers : J. M. Hill, president ; Donald Ross,
secretary; 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, undertook the building of a new parsonage, and
with the bequest of $500 from the estate of our departed brother, E. Sherman,
designated by him to be used for a new parsonage, and $596.47 raised principally
by. the efforts of the ladies' parsonage committee, a two-story, seven-room par-
sonage 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 fur-
nished.

During 1887, through the efforts of Rev. J. H. Wilber, a small church was
built in the eastern part of the city and called Wilber Chapel. Brother W. J.
White donated a lot for that purpose, $300 being received from the Church Exten-
sion Society, part of the balance being subscriptions from friends, but the greater
part being given by Rev. J. H. Wilber himself. The church cost $1,500 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 $1,600 on September 5, 1892. returning to the board of
the church extension about $400 due them in principal and interest. The dedica-
tion of Wilber Chapel was by Rev. N. E. Parsons, presiding elder, 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

il2 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

church by extending il to the north line of tlic property, increasing tlic seating
capacity of the church with lecture room to 5^5 persons.

(Jur church property at this time is free from debt and consists of :

One church building :ii)d lot, value $11,50000; one jxirsonage and fraction of
lot, value $j,000j00; total $13,500.00.

The following are the names of the ^J.l^llll> uf Walla Walla and time of serv-
ice: 1859 to 1861. Rev. (ieorgc M. Berry; iWm to 1W.3. Rev. John l-'linn ; 1863
to !W)5. Rev. William Franklin; 1865 to i8^/j. Rev. James Deardoff ; 1866 to 1867,
Rev. John I- Reser ; 18^.; to 1869, Rev. John T. Wolfe ; liVx) to 1870, Rev. C. H.
Uo.xie; 1870 to 187,'. Rev. 11. C. Jenkins; 1872 to 1873, Rev. J. W. Miller; 1873
to 1874, Rev. S. G. Havemiale; 1874 to 1875, Rev. G. W. Grannis; 1875 to 1876,
Riv. S. H. Uurrtll; 1876 to 1878. Rev. D. (]. Strong: 1878 to 1880, Rev. W. G.
.Simi>son; 1880 to 1882, Rev. G. M. Irwin; 1882 to 18S3, Rev. A. J. Joslyn; 1883
to 1884, Rev. W. C. Gray; 1884 to 1885, Rev. J. D. Henner; 1885 to 1886, Rev.
P. (;. Strong: i88r. to 1889. Rev. Henry Hrowti; 1880 to 1892, Rev. W. W. Van
fhisen; i8.,j to i8</>. Rev. V. C. Kvers ; i8<>6 to i8f^>. Rev. W. C. Reuter : i8o<<
to 1900, Rev. I^e A. Johnson.

The following are the names of the presiding ciders of Walia Walla district
and time of service: 1859 to iSfn, Rev. J. 11. Willier; i8<^>i to i8<>4. Rev. John
Flinn; l8r^ to 1866, Rev. Isaac Dillon; 1866 to 1869. Rev. J. B. Calloway; i86fi
to 1870, Rev. W. H. Lewis; 1870 to 1874. Rev. IL K. Mines; 1874 to 1878, Rev.
S. G. llavcrmalc; 1878 to 1882. Rev. D. G. Strong; 1882 to 1885, Rev. W. S.
Turner; 1885 to 1886, Rev. I^vi L. Tart; 1886 to 1888, Rev. N. E. Parsons;
1888 to i8<,2. Rev. D. G. Strong; 1892 to 1898. Rev. T. A. Towner; 1898 to 1900.
Rev. M. II Marvin."*

CATHOLIC CHURCH

In 1861 the Catholics built their first permanent house near the present site of
St. \incent's Academy. Bishop Blanche! was pre.sent during that period and
Father Yunger became pastor. He was succeeded by Rev. J. B. Brouillet, who
lirst came to the \\ alia Walla country as a missionary to the Indians in 1847.

Connected with the Catholic Church are St. \incent's Academy and De La
Salle Institute, descrilK-d elsewhere, lKsi<les St. Mary's Hospital, founded in 1870
and now e>tablished in one of the most |>erfect buildings in the Northwest.

While our limits do not in-rmit details in regard to each of the churches of
Walla Walla, we wish to incorporate a sketch of the early Episcopal Oiurch,
for the rea'ion that it casts such a vivid light upon the early days as to give it a
sjK-cial historic value. This sketch was pre|Kjred by F-dgar Johnson, one of the
Whitman College class of 1917, as a research study in his history course and in
the judgment of the author is worthy of a place in this volume.

TIIK K.NKI.Y HI.STORV OF ST. PAfl.'S KPLS* OPAI, ( III KCII

.\ccording to the old adage, "Well l>egun is half done," this thurch conii)leted
half its work in its earliest jicriod. The history of all churches when tinally
established in a civili/xd community is much the same. But what was the history
of this church before Walla Walla became civilized'

• In aniclf quoted the name Will)cr appears a numl)cr of time* hut it should Ix- noted
that the correct spelling is Wilbur.

pa
I K
^^

S ^
K >

f
p*

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 233

This is the atmosphere I have to picture ; the condition of the times as it
reflected on the growth of the church, and the condition of the church as it re-
flected on the growth of civihzation in this city.

From the historical data accompanying this review, it will seem that St. Paul's
Church was first begun by services held by a traveling missionary, Bishop Morris.
The church did not take on definite unity, however, until 1871, when it was placed
under the care of Rev. L. H. Wells, a comparatively young missionary from the
East. In September, 1871, the first services were held in the building (now gone)
on Third Street, between Poplar and Alder streets. This building served as a
combined courthouse, hall, church ; and the basement housed Stahl's Brewery.

At the time of Bishop Wells' arrival in Walla Walla, this city boasted of
one thousand inhabitants, while Eastern Washington had seven thousand settlers.
At this date, it would strike us that the little city of one thousand would band
itself together to protect themselves from the Indians. But fifteen years or more
had passed since the last of the Indian wars, and the wealth of the mines of Idaho
and Washington found its way into the city and aided in the carousals of its
"short-time" owners. For the uninitiated, the center of the street, or open door-
ways were the safest stops in the city. The Vigilantes ruled as a secret power
behind the throne. Suspicion was fixed upon every law-abiding citizen by those
who lived to break the law, as a member of this band.

The wives of several saloon-keepers were members of the church ; and one
wife succeeded in converting her husband. But inability or lack of desire to
learn a new trade, always drove the new convert back itlto his old business.
After efficiently illustrating back-sliding methods thrice over, this particular saloon
man never appeared upon the church rolls iagain.' He furnished, however, the
material for a story which emphasizes the uhcouthne&s of the times. He main-
tained a flourishing saloon on the corner of Third and Main streets, and one
evening a miner from the Florence District showed up with his nuggets and gold
dust. After treating the house several times, he began searching for more amuse-
ment. Finally, thinking that the mirror behind the bar might prove a worthy
object at which to pelt gold nuggets, he began firing. Needless to say, he smashed
it into bits and then careening up to the bar, he simply asked : "How much do I
owe?" The saloon-keeper recovered several hundred dollars' worth of nuggets
from the floor and after removing the board floor from the saloon succeeded in
washing out $200 more from the gold dust which had been lost throughout the
previous period. This became an annual event and never failed in bringing
a hundred dollars or so.

In 1S72 the bishop started his day school, following this in 1873 with a
boarding school for girls. In this year a fire burned them out entirely and a
larger building was constructed. The life of the bishop was not an easy one. He
lived in his little cabin next to the church and whenever a new girl came to the
boarding school, he would be forced to give up some of his furniture for the new
girl. He was finally reduced to sleeping on a cot, with his overcoat for a cover-
let. It was very difficult to keep the coat from falling away during the night ;
and when another girl came and the couch was needed for her room, the bishop
having received no new furniture, built himself a box and filled it with straw, in
which he slept and in which he had no difficulty in retaining his overcoat as a com-
forter.

Zli OLU WALLA W ALLA COUNTY

Liold dust and iuit;f;c-ts were llic incdiuin uf exchange and the chunrh and
>cl)ool both had gold-wcigliing scales. Many pco|>lc carried httle scales with them
in niorix-co case>. (itild dusi was generally carried in buckskin sack> alMiut a foot
in de|>(h and alnjut three indies wide, and many |>eu]ile left iliem lyin^; aUait the
front porch in disguised covering, as the safest pbcc to keep them from thieves
and rcneg:ide Indians. Three grades of gold found its way into Walla Walla.
riu'SC Were the LIdorado, l-loreiice and I'liigle Creek, so named fron> the district
in which they were mined. Merchants kept on hand small round stones with
streaks of all three KT'''<'fs in them, hy which to measure the dust, as the three
f;railcs were worth dilUrciit amounts of nioney.

It was in this atmosphere that the church began, truly, in a missionary dis-
trict. Net it grew, and mainly through the spirit of co-o|K-ration of the other
churches in the territory. At this time there were also the Mithodist, Congrega-
tiotud, I'resbyterian and the United Brethren churches. Hishop W'clls recently
told me of the kindness of the L'nited Hrethren minister. One ■' ' K- walk-

ing down the street, he was hailed hy this minister who was on i iv. The

old minister ojK-ned the conversation: "Young man. \'\v iK-en watching you, and
so have my congregation. It strikes us that you've seen city life ami I'm only a
country preacher. If you will take care of my congregation, you may have the
church and I'll go into the country, where I can do some good." Naturally, the
ofTer was accepted.

In 1R77 the new church was erected, and it still stands. This was built on
the corner of Third and Pojjlar streets. The lumber for it was hauled from
Touchet. where then- was a mill. One difficulty presented itself, however, and
that was that the lumber obtainable from there was very short. IJut the long
haul from W'allula made In-tter lumlK-r altnost prohibitive, and the church was
built from lumlier cut in this vicinity and planed at Touchet.

Even at this date, forty years ago, Walla Walla was little more than a frontier
town. The Joseph wars broke out as a result of the white man's raid on their
land. .\ few years previous to this the ricivernmcnt had sent out men to see what
could be done for the Indians. The white men were o[xrn in their statements
that they intended to get the Indians' lands. The Joseph war was followed by
the llann(Kk war. In the latter. Walla Walla was seriously threatened, the Indians
coming up through Pendleton and striking near the foothills of this city. A
very pretty tale is told regarding a Pendleton sheep man and his dog Hob. Tlic
Indians murdered the herders, killed many of the shc-ep and went on their way.
The owner stayed in Pendleton fearing to go to his flocks, and did not go near
them until a week or two had elapsed. When he did find them, he discovered that
the <log Hob had not onlv gathered all his own sheep into the flock, but had
collected more stray sheep froni other fl<Kks that had l>ccome lost, than the Indians
themselves had killed I'lirthermore. he had only killed two small lambs for his
own sustenance.

Recitation of early events, and incidents, couUI g<i on forever. And also it is
hard to shape a series of stories, and a few simple historical facts, into an inter-
esting history. I'ut the foregoing gives the reader an idea of the times into
which the missionary was forced to introduce the Giristian teachings. A glance
at Walla Walla today, called often the City of Churches, and then the retrospective
glance into the '705. shows the results of the influence which liegan work at that

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 235

early date and by its everwidening influence succeeded in civilizing this North-
west.

WORTHY AND POWERFUL PREACHERS

Of the many worthy and powerful preachers of early Walla Walla it may be
said that four seem to stand out beyond all others in the minds of pioneers.
These are Gushing Eells, missionary, educator, school builder, and all-round
saint ; John Flinn, a man of somewhat similar type, patient, tireless in good deeds,
saintly and unselfish ; J. H. Wilbur, one of the big figures of early days ; and P. B.
Chamberlain, first pastor of the Congregational Church and first principal of
Whitman Seminary. Each of these men had his peculiarities, some amusing,
some pathetic, all interesting and inspiring. Old-timers, even those not at all
given to walking the straight and narrow way, had profound regard for those
militant exponents of the gospel. Father Wilbur had worked at the blacksmith's
trade before entering the ministry and had muscles of iron around a heart as
tender and gentle as ever beat. He was of giant strength and not at all times a
non-resistent. It is related that once in Oregon before he came to Walla Walla,
some rowdies persisted in disturbing a camp meeting which he was conducting.
After warning them a time or two in vain he suddenly descended from the plat-
form, keeping right on with the hymn in stentorian voice, swooped down on the
two rowdies, seized them in his brawny hands, knocked their heads together a few
times and almost shook the breath out of them, singing all the time, until it was
plain that they would interrupt no more services, then returned to the pulpit,
going right on as though nothing had happened.

Mr. Chamberlain was a man of very different appearance, small, delicate,
refined in tone and speech. At first meeting one had little conception of his
tremendous energy and iron will. He was a man of electric oratory and swayed
pioneer audiences in his little church or in the groves at public gatherings as few
men in Walla Walla ever have. He was, however, a genuine Calvinist in his
theology, an intense Sabbatarian, and felt called on to attack secret societies and
supposedly unorthodox churches with conscientious severity. Thus, though he
was admired and respected by all, he could not maintain a working church. As
showing something of the character of the man, we include brief extracts from
entries made by him in the records of his church, pertaining to his first church
building. The building was completed in 1866 at a cost of $3,500, most of which
was Air. Chamberlain's own money. Of it he says: "So it now stands consecrated
to God, as all property should be. I leave it with Him, to be refunded or not as
He may, at some future time, move the hearts of the children of men to desire
to do." On July 13, 1868, two days after the fire, he writes: "God has put His
own final construction upon the last part of the foregoing record. Last Saturday,
between twelve and two, our pleasant church was entirely destroyed by fire, the
fire originating in a neighbor's barn, situated within a few feet of the church.
Thy will, not mine, be done." It is gratifying to record that the Methodists at
once offered to share their house with their stricken neighbors and that within a
few months the generous contributions of the people of Walla Walla enabled Mr.
Chamberlain to gather his congregation again on the same place, corner of Second
and Rose, and there the Congreg^tionalists continued to worship under several

•£H6 OLU WALLA WALLA COUNTY

)>a»(uratcs until during that of Kcv. Au!>tin Rice in k/X) the present builciin); on
I'alouiie and Alder streets was erected.

Uurnig the past '■ : -• a nuinltci ui iiiii' (.miuii bu)lJin(;s li.isc t>crn

erected, of whicli the i . the I'rcbbytcrian, the l5ai>ti»t, tlic Marvin Method-

ist, and the First Methodist, may be e$|)ccially named.

A distniuuishinj; feature- of jireseiit cliureli hfe may \k said to be the dejjrce
to which it has taken li<>I<l <>l niunitijial and jHjhlical que>lions, reforms, and jirob-
Icms of practical life. In that respect the present churches of Walla Walla arc
essentially modern. I'.esidcs the churches named altove, the United Hrethren,
Lutheran, Gcmun Methodist, German Congregational and Giristian Science
Churches, maintain influential organizations, and the Salvation Army is active
and useful.

FK.\TEKNAL URDKRj

Somewhat similar to the churches in philanthro|)ic aims and to considerable
degree composed of the same type of members are the fraternal orders.

If Walla Walla and its kindred communities may be regarded as the homes
of schools and churches, they may in equal degree be regarded as the hon»ts of
lodges. Almost all the fraternal orders usual in American cities are found here.
As in case of the churches \vc find ourselves compelled by the limitations of s|iace
to accord too brief attention to these imjx)rtant and ixjjmlar organizations.

The Masonic order has been for many years represented by an active mem-
l)ership, having two lodges, one chapter, a comman<lery, and a chapter of the
(Vdcr of the I'astcm Star. The first lodge was Walla Walb No. 7, which came
into iK'ing October IQ, 1R59. At that date a disjiensation was granted to C. R.
Allen. Hraziel Grounds, A. B. Rol)crts, H. N. Hruning. T. V. Page. Jonas Whit-
ney, diaries Silverman, J. Frecdman, and R. H. Reigert. Not till Septemlx-r 3.
iSfjo, was the lodge organized. A. B. Roberts was the first Worshipful Master;
I. M, Kennedy, senior warden; B. .Schcideman, junior warden; T. P. Page,
treasurer; W. B. Kelly, secretary; C. A. Brooks, senior deacon; J. Caughran,
junior deacon; W. H. Babcock, tylcr. In the summer of 1864 the lodge built
a home at the comer of Third and .Mder streets. But this building was destroyed
by fire in ifW>. and for many years following the lodge held its .sessions in the
Knights Templar hall in the Doolcy Block. For several years past the u|)j)er
story of the Motett Building on .Mder Street has been used as a Mastmic lodge
room.

The Odd Fellows have l>een represented in Walla W'alla since iJV)^. and it is
a matter of historic interest to record that the first dispensation to organize a
loflge of Odd Fellows in Walla W^alla was granted in that year to A. U. Purdy,
lames McAulifT, W. B. Kelly, L. A. Burthy. and Meyer l^izanis. With addi-
tions from time to time there have come into existence three Uxlges, one encamp-
ment, one canton, and two lodges of the Daughters of Rcl)ekah. One of the
notable institutions of the Odd F-VIIows is the Home on Boyer Avenue. This is
an institution covering the state and now is housed in two commodious and at-
tractive buildings with accommodations for a large numl>er of old people and
orphan children. The home is located upon five acres of fertile and wholesome
land secured from H. P Isaacs. The first building of wood was constructed in

REV. GUSHING EELLS

The "St. Paul of the jSTorthwest." Missionary to the Indians, 1838-47.
Afterward teacher and preacher, and founder of Whitman College.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 237

1897 and opened for use in December of that year. The second building of brick
was constructed in 1914. There are many shade and fruit trees upon the grounds
of the home, and it is truly an attractive and beneficent place. The order has also
a fine hall on Alder Street.

Perhaps most rapid in growth of all the orders in Walla Walla has been the
Elks. The Walla Walla lodge of Elks No. 287 was organized August 10, 1894,
with fifteen members. The first member to fill the place of Exalted Ruler was
Judge W. H. Upton, known for many years as one of the most scholarly, intel-
lectual and capable of the lawyers and jurists of the Inland Empire. His death
in 1906 was a great loss, deeply deplored by many circles, not alone in fraternity
organizations, in which he was conspicuous, but in all lines of social and profes-
sional life. After a slow growth of a number of years the fraternity took on
a swift development and at the date of this publication the membership exceeds
six hundred. The lodge possesses one of the most beautiful buildings in the city,
dedicated with a series of appropriate ceremonies and entertainments on May 23,
24, and 25, 1913. The Elks have led many movements for public betterment, as
the municipal Christmas trees, park benefits and other benefits, Red Cross cam-
paigns, and other endeavors of philanthropic and patriotic service. One of the
recent enterprises of the lodge was the establishment in 1916 of Kooskooskie Park
on Mill Creek, fourteen miles above Walla Walla. There in the beautiful shade
along the flashing crystal waters of our creek (Pashki the stream ought to be
called), the Elks and their friends are wont to disport, themselyes, at intervals in
the hot season, as their four-footed prototypesj thelf'totejii," ■of 'prehistoric times,
were accustomed to do. The present Exalted :Ruier isC. S,! Walter's. There is a
regular publication called The Lariat, issued; everj new moon by ithe secretary,
Fred S. Hull. '-■ ■ :,"' -:-;.

Of what may be called the great standard fraternities the next to be noted is
the Knights of Pythias. It is an interesting historical fact that Walla Walla
was the first location of a lodge of that order on the Pacific Coast north of San
Francisco. That pioneer lodge was known as Ivanhoe Lodge No. i. Its early
records are not available, but it continued in existence till 1882, in which year it
surrendered its charter and went out of existence, to be succeeded by Columbia
Lodge No. 8, instituted on October 23d of that year. Of the new lodge the first
Past Chancellor was S. A. Deckard, and Chancellor Commander W. N. Gedders.
The lodge has been maintained with vigor and success to the present date.

Of what may be considered the more specialized and limited organizations
there have been and are a number: The Young Men's Institute and Knights of
Columbus, Catholic organizations ; Woodmen of the World, Modern Woodmen of
America, Royal Arcanum, Women of Woodcraft, and National Union, insurance
fraternities ; and of more miscellaneous character the United Artisans, the
Pioneers of the Pacific, the Degree of Honor, Ancient Order of Hibernians,
American Yeomen, the Foresters of America, the Rathbone Sisters, Ladies of the
Maccabees, Ancient Order United Workmen, Loyal Order of Moose, Improved
Order of Red Men, Degree of Pocahontas, Good Templars, Sons of Hermann,
Fraternal Order of Eagles, and Order of Washington.

Here as elsewhere throughout our country, and worthy here as everywhere
of profound respect, is a post of the Grand Army of the Republic, This was
chartered March T2, t88i, and the names appearing upon the charter are these:

238 OLD W ALl.A WALLA COUNTY

John 11. Smith, J. F. .McLean, 1'. B. Johnson, J. M. Coolidge, R. P. Reynolds,
Abram Ellis, James Howe, J. A. Neill, O. 1'". Wilson, IL (J. Simonds, Samuel
Xulph, Charles llcim, Isaac Chilberg, A. D. Rockafellow, William Leislie, F. F.
Adams, I'". B. Morse, R. M. Comstock, and Ambrose Oldaker. The first com-
mander of the post, known as Abraham Lincoln Post, No. 4, G. A. R., was John H.
Smith. In April, 1886, the A. Lincoln Relief Corps, No. 5, was established,
with twenty-hve charter membt-rs, ^Irs. Jane Erickson being president. Filtmgly
included with the two previously named posts are the United Spanish War
Veterans and the Sons of Veterans.

There are found in Walla Walla also, of more recent date, the Park Associa-
tion, one of the most important and influential of all in the beautirication and
sanitation of the city, the Gun Club, Isaac Walton Club, Golf Club, Anti-Tuber-
culosis League, and several Reading and Art clubs which have played important
parts in ministering to the recreation, the health, the intellectual life, and the
artistic taste of the people of \\'a]]a Walla and the region adjoining. It is to be
regretted that the limitations of space forbid including here the many interesting
details of these various organizations.

The Walla Walla Commercial Club occupies so commanding a place in the
business life of this entire region and has such connections with similar organ-
izations throughout the entire Northwest and even in the nation at large as to be
worthy of a history of its own.

COMMERCIAL CLU13

The Commercial Club came into existence in 1885. It was represented in that
year by delegates to an Open River meeting in The Dalles. For a number of
years it was suggestive and mutually stimulating to its small membership, rather
than possessing any regular organization. It met irregularly both in time and
place. In 1904 John H. McDonald became secretary, but the organization was
not such -as to provide for a secretary who could devote his entire time to it, and
hence there was not then a real commercial club in the modern sense. But a new
era began with the appointment in 1906 of A. C. Moore as the first regular and
exclusive secretary. Mr. Moore had come to Walla Walla in 1888 and had been
up to 1906 engaged in the O. R. & N. R. R. office. With his entrance into the
secretaryship of the club new and broader plans for publicity and expansion
by new member.ships were begun. In 1908 the first of a series of regular pub-
licity campaigns was begun. That was a time signalized by the seaboard cities of
California, Oregon, and Washington — Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco,
Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, Astoria, Everett and Bellingham — with special efforts
to attract immigration and new enterprise. It was the publicity era par excellence.

Tom Richardson and C. C. Chapman of Portland accomplished wonderful
things in that city and in Oregon. Both became well known in Walla Walla,
where they were greatly admired and where their enthusiasm imparted such an
impulse to the Commercial Club as to lead to a new organization with the special
aim of advertisement and general pviblicity. It may be said that the real history
of the club as a definite organization begins at that time, 1908.

The articles of incorporation are as follows:

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 239

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

ARTICLE I

The name of this corporation, and by which it shall be known, is "Walla Walla Com-
mercial Club."

ARTICLE II

The time of existence of this corporation shall be fifty years from the date hereof.

ARTICLE III

The purposes for which this corporation is formed shall be to establish, equip, acquire,
keep and maintain club rooms with the usual and convenient appliances of a social club ;
to engage in literary, educational and social pursuits and to provide ways and means
therefor, and for the development of the physical and mental capacities of its members,
and others, and for their social advantage, improvement and enjoyment in connection
therewith; to advance the prosperity and growth of the City of Walla Walla and of the
State of Washington ; to ejicourage the establishment of manufactories and other indus-
tries ; to seek remunerative markets for home products, and to foster capital and protect
labor mutually interested in each others welfare; to collect and disseminate valuable agri-
cultural, manufacturing and commercial information; to extend and develop trade agricul-
ture, merchandise, banking and other lawful business pursuits, and to do any and all
things necessary for the accomplishment of these purposes.

ARTICLE IV

The principal place of business of said corporation shall be at Walla Walla, Walla Walla
County, State of Washington.

ARTICLE V

The members of this corporation may be individuals, co-partnerships or corporations.
It shall have no capital stock, and shares therein shall not be issued. The interest of
each ijiember shall be equal to that of any other, and no member can acquire any interest
which will entitle him to any greater voice, vote, authority or interest in the corporation
than any other member. The corporation may issue membership certificates, which cer-
tificates shall be assignable under such provisions, rules and regulations as may be prescribed
by the by-laws of the corporation. Memberships in the corporation may be terminated
by voluntary withdrawal, by expulsion and by death, and the loss of membership through
any such causes and the incidents thereto shall be governed by the by-laws of the cor-
poration.

ARTICLE VI

The number of trustees of this corporation shall be nine, and the names of tlie trustees
who shall manage the affairs of the corporation until the second Thursday in April, 1909,
are F. W. Kaser, H. H. Turner, F. S. Dement, W. H. Kirkman, J. M. Crawford, B. C.
Holt, J. C. Scott. C. F. Nosier and J. P. Kent, all of whom reside at Walla Walla,
Washington.

The first election provided for in the foregoing articles occurred on the second
Thursday of April, 1909, and resulted in the election of the following officers and
trustees.; J- C. Scott, president; J. H. Morrow, vice president; George E. Kel-
lough. treasurer; A. C. Moore, secretary; L. M. Brown, assistant secretary (pub-
licity). Trustees: J. C. Scott, J- H. Morrow, George E. Kellough; O. Druin-
heller, J. M. Crawford, F. S. Dement, R. H. Johnson. F. W. Kaser and E. C.
Burlingame.

-MO OLD WALLA \\ .\IA..\ LL>L.\l\

Staiidiiic Luiiiiiiittccs: Frciglit and 'IraiisjKirtation — B. C. Uoli, H. B. Strong,
Oscar Drumlirllrr, I-'rcd (ilafkc ami Julin Sniitli.

House Committee; T. M. MiKiiinty. ( ir<> Stniihcrs, H. A. Gardner, F. S.
Dement and J. 1*. Kent.

Membership: W. H. Meyer, A. C. \ .m l><w.it.r, J. M. Crawford, \\ . H.
Paxton and U. M. Beatty.

Kece|>tion and Kntcrtainment : T. M. Manger, 1*. M. W'inans, H II Turner,
R. !•:. Allen and W. A. Kit/..

.Auditing: C. S. ISulTum, J. G. Anderson, R. 11. Johnson, K. C. Mills.

Library and IVopcrty : J. W. Langdon, J. J. KaulTman, J. H. Morrow, J. G.
l-'ninkland ami (". M. Rader.

Manufactories and New Industries: F. \V. Kascr, 11. II I urntr, J. M. Craw-
ford, W. H. l-"oshay and L. M. Brown.

The memlx-rship given in the handbook of 1910-11 includes ^jj individuals
and firms. The club had been, up to iyo8. housed in the Ransom Building, now
the (irand Hotel, but in that year of reorganization, madi- arrangements with the
city for the present (juarters in the City Hall. I-argc sums of money were raised
during the "I'ublicity Fra," alxiut $JO,ooo each year. Mr. A. C. Moore continued
to act as secretary until 1912, but in 1908 L. F. Meacham In-came publicity man-
ager, which i>ost he retained until IQIO, when he was succeeded by L. M. Brown.
Mr. I'rown became secretary in 1912, u|)on the resignation of Mr. Moore, and he
in turn was succeeded in 1Q14 by Mr. O. C. Soots, the present secretary.

The next epoch of the history of the Commercial Club may be said to have
Inrgun with the adoption of the bureau system at a special election in .-Xpril 8.
H)I5. The essential provisions of the new system may be found in excerpts which
follow from the amended by-laws of the club:

BURI'-AU ORGANIZATION

Section I The membership of this organization shall be also formed into three main
ilivi'ions. accordinR to the cxi>rr<;<o(I preference of each mcml>rr, for the purpose of
dividing the work of the orf^nizatinn into departments or hurcaiK. the<c bureau* to he
dcsiiniated as follows :

1. Civic and Publicity.

2. Commercial and Industrial.

J. Horticultural and .Ai;rirultural.

All mrmlvr* who fail or nrRlcci, within a reasonable time, to express their preference
as to bureau afhliation, shall he assiimed to the several bureaus by the President in such
proportion as may most nearly njuatize the total member»hip of the several bureaus.

Section 2. After a member of the Club shall have expressed his preference as to
I'ureau affili.-ition. or shall have been astiftned to bureau alTiIiation by the President, hit
afTdiation shall be conditional tipon his election to such bureau by an aflfirmative vote
of a maiorily of those present at any meeting of the Bureau Committee.

Section 3. Subject to these Ry-Ijiw(. each bureau shall have ireneraJ charge of all
matters relating to the general lines of work included in such bureau.

.Section 4 The work of each bureau »ha!l t>e under the immediate direction of a
Itureau Committee of not less Mian five. rnnsistinK of the Chairman, who shall have
l>een desiimated Vice-President in rharfre of the Board of Trustees, and not less than four
others selected from the membership represented in that bureau by him in conjunction
with the President and from nominees of double the refjiiired number made by the
membership of ttie bureau.

Section ' ''■'" -'T^dinK and special committees of the Club shall l>e classified under

WAITSBURG'S FIFTH AKN^UL HORSE SHOW, MAY 1, 1901)

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 241

the several bureaus according to the nature of their duties by the Board of Trustees
upon the advice of the President and Secretary. Until other assignments are made by
the Board of Trustees, the cotnmittees shall be classified under the several bureaus as
follows :

Civic and Publicity Bureau — Municipal and County Affairs ; Publicity ; Conventions ;
Expositions.

Commercial and Industrial Bureau — Entertainment; Good Roads; Investigation and
Endorsement ; Manufacturers ; Frontier Days ; Freight and Transportation.

Horticultural and Agricultural Bureau — Horticulture ; Agriculture ; Live Stock ; By-
products ; General Farming; Fruit Growers.

Section 6. The President, with the advice of the Vice-Presidents of the respective
bureaus, shall appoint annually the standing committees of the Club included within the
several bureaus. He shall appoint standing committees on Membership, Finance, House,
and such special committees as may be found necessary. Each bureau shall have at
least one member on the Finance Committee.

ARTICLE VI
BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Section i. The authority of tliis organization shall be vested in a Board of Trustees
numbering nine (9).

Section 2. There shall be elected in every year of even numbers four Trustees, one
from each bureau and one from the Membership Council. There shall be elected in
every year of odd numbers five Trustees, one from each Bureaa and two from the Mem-
bership Council, these Trustees to serve for two years- each. Provided, that at the first
election there shall be elected nine Trustees, two from each Bureau and three from the
Membership Council, of whom five, three from the Bureaus and two from the Mem-
bership Council receiving the highest votes shall serve, until the election in 1917 and
four, one from each bureau and one from the Membership Council receiving the next
highest vote shall serve until the annual meeting of 1916. All of the provisions of Article
VI shall apply to the special election held on the 8th day of April, 1915, to be known
as the first annual meeting under these By-Laws.

The first president under the bureau system was a man whom all people of
the city delight to honor and whose appointment as commander, with rank of
Major of the First Battalion of Field Artillery, N. G. W., is recognized by hosts
of friends throughout the state as an eminently fit employment of ability, patriot-
ism and energy. This first president was Maj. Paul H. Weyrauch. Mr. O. C.
Soots has continued to fulfill his functions as secretary with conspicuous ability.

The present personnel of officers and trustees is thus : E. L. Smalley, presi-
dent ; K. Falkenberg, vice president, Civic and Publicity Bureau ; O. M. Beatty,
vice president. Commercial and Industrial Bureau ; John W. Langdon, vice presi-
dent, Agricultural and Horticultural Bureau ; F. S. Dement, treasurer ; O. C.
Soots, managing secretary. Directors : E. L. Smalley, F. S. Dement, J. A. Mc-
Lean, J. W. Langdon, O. M. Beatty, K. Falkenberg, Fred Glafke, Louis Suther-
land, O. T. Cornwell.

WALL.\ W.^LLA LABOR UNION

This is one of the largest and most influential organizations in the city. As
compared with its brother organizations in the seaboard cities or in Spokane, it
was late in formation. A community like Walla Walla, a rich agricultural region,

IMJ OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

docs iiut sccni tu Ijc (lie natural home for lalior unions. The conuiicrcial and
niaiiufacturini; and mining cities arc the natural locations for these orf^anizations.
Uui in process of time the skilled laborers of Walla \\'alla were drawn \>y luitural
evolulion into the great circle of or^janized labor.

The t'i(;ar-niakers', the Carpenters' and the Painters' unions were the first in
the field. They came into existence in ifxx>.

Other Kfoi'I"* rajjidly followed and at the present time there arc seventeen
unions. The mceiinfj places and times and the officers of each union are indicated
by their |>ublished directory :

L.MIOU UNION IJIRF.CTORV

Trades and I.jbor Council — Meets every Friday evening in I^bor Temple.
S. S. Stovall, president ; L. F. Garkc. secretary.

CarjK-nters & Joiners. Local 1214 — Meets in Labor Temple every Wednesday
night. .\. \'. Mur|)hy, i)residcnt ; O. D. Keen, financial secretary; C. R. Nelson,

rrconlinc secretary: C, .\. I'ompkins, treasurer.

rrintiiij; I'res.siiien, Local J17 — Meets second \\ ediiesday of each month m
I-alx)r Temple. William I'otgetlu-r. president: A. 1.. .\ngcr. secretary.

loiirneymeii I'liimbers — Meets in l-al)or Temple every second and fourth
Thursday of each month. Marry Hartcr, president; W. G. Collins, recording
secretary ; Fred Bowman, financial secretary.

Painters, Paperhangers and Decorators — Meet first and third Monday evening
of each month at Labor Temple. H. R. McCoy, president; O. K. Sweeney,
recording secretary; H. J. Hurke, fmancial secretary; Charles Hazlewood, treas-
urer.

Bricklayers* I'nion — Meets in I^bor Temple first and third Tuesdays of each
month. Louis Hcrmish, president; Wm. V. Taylor, fmancial secretary; Russell
Taylor, corr«-«;]K>nding secret.iry : George Root, treasurer.

Meat < niier-- l.iHai .Meet-, iir^t Monday of month in I-abor Temple H. N.
Kettleson, vice president; .\. Mcl-eod. financial secretary; Theodore Maskcyleny,
treasurer.

Musicians' Protective L'nion — Meets in Germania Hall second Sunday of each
month. M. A. Power, president; H. S. BufTum, secretary

Teamsters — Meets at I^lior Temple second and fourth Mondays. Walter
Klliott. president; Frank Dunnigan, financial secretary; Frank Lansing, corre-
sjKjnding secretary.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 243

Building Trades Council — Meets every Friday night at Labor Temple. F. J.
Myers, president; James Grindle, secretary.

Allied Printing Trades Council — Meets in Labor Temple second Wednesday
of each month. R. C. McCracken, president ; Charles Francke, secretary.

Typographical Union No. 388 — Meets last Sunday of each month in Labor
Temple. H. F. Heimenz, president ; J. M. Baldwin, financial secretary ; Al Berg,
recording secretary.

Electrical Workers — Meets first and third Wednesdays at Labor Temple. E.
M. Cruzen, president; Mitchell Anderson, secretary-treasurer.

Journeymen Barbers — Meets first Thursday of every month in Labor Temple.
N. J. Nicholson, president; H. S. Graves, secretary.

Woman's Union Card and Label League — Meets in Labor Temple the first
Tuesday of each month, at 2.30 P. M. Mrs. L. F. Clarke, president ; Mrs. J. A.
Lyons, secretary; Mrs. O. K. Sweeney, treasurer.

^ulinary Alliance, Local 626 — Meet first and third Wednesdays in Labor
Temple. Will Williams, president; Charles Miller, financial secretary; Fred Ken-
worthy, recording secretary; William Bowden, treasurer.

Theatrical Stage Employes and Moving Picture Operators — Meets at Labor
Temple first and third Sundays. J. A. Duggar, president ; Frank Wright, vice
president ; Carl Crews, secretary ; Blain Geer, treasurer.

Sheet Metal Workers — Meets at Labor Temple second and fourth Mondays
each month. O. L. Demory, president; C. C. Shafer, secretary.

Hod Carriers, Building Laborers — Meets at Labor Temple every Thursday.
Conrad Knopp, president; Fred Breit, financial secretary.

Cigarmakers' Union — C. M. Golden, president; George Surbeck, secretary.

The general management of these unions is delegated to the Trades and
Labor council, in which each union is entitled to three representatives. The com-
paratively quiet and comfortable conditions in Walla Walla have not induced
radical action by the unions and they have been a regularizing and balancing force
of efficacy in their own lines and usually an influence for harmony in industrial
Hfe.

The organ of the unions is the Garden City Monitor, published by L. F. Clarke
and Jesse Ferney. A special number of the Monitor appears annually on each
Labor Day. It is worthy of all praise, both from the editorial and the typo-
graphical standpoints.

The membership of the Walla Walla unions now is about five hundred.

244 OLD WALl.A WALLA COUNTY

KAHMCk.s' I'MoX

llic l;ir{;c>t and in in.my rt>|><rci!. iiuot iin|Mjriant nrKanizaiioii in the four
counties is tlic Karniirs' Union. This great organization is national in its aims
and nienibcrshi|). Washington and Northern Idaho constitute one unit of the
N'.itidnal. and in turn it is divided into county units, either single counties, as
ilic large ones of the stale like \'akinia or U hitman, or by grouping, as in the
smaller. Our counties belong in the latter category, and we lind the Tri-County
Union of Wall;i Walla, Cijlumbia, and (iarticld. ( )f this union G. M. Thompson
of Dayton is at this date president, and A. L'. .Moore of Walla Walla is secretary.
In the Tri-Uounty Union there arc eight local unions. They ap|>ear, with the
secretary of each in this enumeration: Waitslnirg No. t, W. D. Wallace; I'res-
cott, .\'o. 2. O. V. Crow; Dayton, .\o. 3, Roy Ream; Mayview, No. 4, C. W. Cot-
ton; Pomcroy. No. 10, W. J. Schmidt; Walla Walla. No. 27, W. J. .McUan ; .Star-
Inick, .No. 119, E. W. Powers; Central, No. 145, J. E. Tuclh. .As will be seen,
Waitsburg has the distinction of being the premier union in point of time. It
was organized in May, ujOJ, the first president being N. H. .Atkinson, and the
lirst secretary, J. A. i!nochs.

The total membership of the Tri-State Union is about six hundred. That of
the Walla Walla Local is about one hundred and lifty.

intinuitily related to the Farmers' Union is the Farmers' .Agency. While
the officers are entirely distinct, the membership is practically identical, since the
provisions of membership require any who own stock in the agency to belong to
the anion. .Any farmer, however, may market his grain with the agency. At the
present day Hon. Oliver Comwcll is president of the .Agency, and the secretary
is Eugene Kelly. As first organized and conducted for several years under the
presidency of Hector McLean, the Agency was an information bureau only. Hut
when Mr. Comwcll became president he entered upon the large task of creating
out of it a genuine co-operative grain buying organization. After some years of
experiment and adjusting, at times with very strenuous conditions, the effort was
wholly successful and the .Agency iK'came a coherent organization, backed by the
united force of the l-"arniers' I'nion and by the inain weight of the farming com-
munity of Walla Walla. The primary object of the .Agency is to co-opieratc to
advantage in the marketing of crops. The local Walla Walla .Agency has come to
Ik? a tremendous factor in the wheat market. Its existence has In-en abiiiulantly
justified by its success during these recent years in maintaining steady markets
.ind in securing to its memlxTS all |>o<;sible advantages.

Aside from the immediate business aim of marketing crops through the Agency,
the I'armers' Unions. l)oth in their local capacity and in the Tri-County organ-
ization, have come to Ik- one of the great forces in the j»olitical and social life of
the region. Questions of roads and bridges, taxes, public buildings, state educa-
tional and penal institutions, problems aflTccting transjiortation and the labor mar
ket anfl lalK>r union questions,^ have In-en subjects of discussion and recommen-
dation at the regular weekly meetings. Lectures from time to time by recognized
ex|)crts in the various problems involved have l)ccn presented and public men in
state and county jKisitions have been glad to consider with the unions the subjects
relating to their functions.

It is safe to say that any measures agreed upon by the Farmers' Unions are

PUBLIC SCHOOL. PRE8COTT

FRONTIER DAY IX WALLA WALLA- 8CEXE OX MAIX STREET

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 245

pretty certain to become the action of the body politic in the different counties.
Once each quarter, and sometimes oftener, there axe meetings of the Tri-County
Union, at which the larger problems of farm life are considered, and in connec-
tion with which appetizing banquets prepared by the skillful hands and fine artistic
taste of the wives and daughters bring joy and gayety and good fellowship to all
concerned.

To many of the readers of this volume, and in years to come to their chil-
dren and grandchildren, the most significant of all the organized associations of
their home country is the

INLAND EMPIRE PIONEER ASSOCIATION

This association was formed in 1900, largely under the initiative of Dr. N. G.
Blalock. While there has been little machinery or formality about it, its yearly
meetings for renewing the old ties have been among the most anticipated and
cherished of all in the minds of many of the builders, the fathers and mothers
of the Inland Empire. While the main membership has been in Walla Walla
County or her daughter counties, it is not confined to that county, and a number
of members live in Umatilla County, Oregon, and in Whitman, Adams and
Franklin counties on the north side of Snake River.

The ofificers of the association chosen at the fitstmeeting were: Dr. N. G.
Blalock, president ; W. P. Winans, A. G. Lloyd and Ben Burgunder, vice presi-
dents ; Marvin Evans, secretary ; Levi Ankeny, treasurer ; W. D. Lyman, his-
torian. These officers were almost constantly i-e-elected. Until the lamented deaths
of Doctor Blalock, Mr. Winans, and Mr. Lloyd. Ben Burgunder was chosen
president to succeed Doctor Blalock, and at the present time F. M. Lowden,
Joseph Harbert and W. D. Wallace are vice presidents.

With the feeling that the members of the association and many others will be
glad to read some of the proceedings and to see the list of members as a matter of
permanent reference, we close this chapter with the excellent accounts given in the
IValla IValla Union of October 15, 1904, and June 2, 1911, of the annual meet-
ings of those years.

ANNUAL PIONEER MEETING OF I9O4

About one hundred and fifty of the pioneers of Southeastern Washington
and Northeastern Oregon, sturdy men and women, who have seen the country
grow from a desolate looking waste of sagebrush and sand to one of the beauty
spots of the Northwest — men and women who had not only seen this take place,
but had helped, and are still, many of them, helping in this wonderful evolution —
people who thirty or forty years ago were neighbors, though living many miles
apart, met yesterday and sat down to the festive board loaded with the good cheer
provided by the devoted pioneer women of this city in honor of the occasion.

OLD NEIGHBORS MEET

The crowd assembled in the Goodman Building and there registered and re-
ceived their badges, after which they marched to the banqueting rooms. There

•-'4G OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

were many licarty handshakes as these old nciylibors met, and the scene was one
uf i'\.n\ rt-tmiun. Tlirrc were tlu- more elderly wlio had come here in the prime
iif life and whose gray hairs and wrinkled cheeks recalled the energy and vitality
that had l>een spent in building up a new country. There were the younger men,
those whose memories of older lands are hut indistinct visions, and who have
Ijrowii up with the country. Hut all had the common bond of acquaintance dating
far back, a friendship tried and found worthy in the strife of many years.

v Kl. si \i i:ri.\KD

Mowers in profusion in the iiaiuiuti hall told of th* interest and devoted
preparation of the pioneer ladies for this great annual event. The long tables in
the room were ladcned with an ai)undance of every delicacy of the season. Be-
fore beginning the feast all stood with bowed heads while Rev. J. W. .\lcGhcc
returned thanks, after which the edibles were enjoyed by the hapi>y throng,
reminiscences adding much pleasure to the occasion.

I)r. X. G. I'.Ialock. as toastmastcr, at the close of the banquet, made a short
address of welcome to the pioneers and spoke with much feeling in commemora-
tion of |x'oplc who had blazed the way to the present civilization and ofTered a
tribute to their noble heroism and the deeds of courage and self-sacrifice.

' ■ It.MlDSHIPS OF INDIAN WARS

The toastmaster introduced as the "Pioneer Indian War X'etcran" oi lin-
association, Hon. A. C. Lloyd of Waitsburg. Mr. Lloyd gave a brief account of
campaigning in 1855 in the Yakima Indian war. In one instance the volunteers
were caught in a snowstorm •and were cut off from supplies at The Dalles and
were rc<luced to a small amount of flour and some tobacco. They furnished their
own clothes and horses and could not draw on the Government supplies as there
were none to draw on. Mr. Lloyd closed with the patriotic remark, "I*ut we
only did our duty and no more."

1 IRST NKWSr.M'KR

Capt. P. B. Johnson responded to "The Pioneer Newspaper Business." He
relntcfl the anecdote of the adopted child which replied to the iKtasts of other
children that it had no (>,-i|>a and mamma, that "^'our papa and mamma are
yours because they have to l>e, mine are mine because they want to Ik." He
referred to the younger pioneers iK-ing pioneers l)ecause they had to l)e.

Captain Johnson said that when he had an opjiortunity to come here from
.\rizona he looked up the location on the map and expected to find fruits and
fields similar to those in the same latitude east, but when in ifVi4 he arrived at
\\ allula, by steamer, he saw a vast extent of sagebrush ancl nothing more. He
then reacl from Bancroft's history some interesting items showing the contrast of
forty vears. .\ weekly mail had l>cen est.nblished In-tween Walla Walla and
P<»rtland. The town contained 800 inhabitants. The only reference to the agri-
cultural possibilities of this valley was the fact that some man had succeeded
in raising a fine quality of sorghum which produced an excellent quality of syrup.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 247

Of the county officers that year the following are still alive and citizens of
this city: Councilman, Daniel Stewart; sheriff, W. S. Gilliam; treasurer, James
McAuliffe.

A COMPARISON WITH THE PRESENT

Captain Johnson compared the advanced conditions of the present civil-
ization, with the start of the country newspaper and the paper of today. "The
news item at the early stage was the local news, births, marriages, deaths and the
few other happenings; the editorials were devoted to national and territorial
affairs and to my contemporary, the Statesman, across the street. I am out of
the business, but I believe that the little four-page paper of those days had more
influence than the large papers of today. My happiest days were when I was
running a little country newspaper."

PIONEERS IN BUSINESS

"The Pioneer Business Man," was responded to by Benjamin Burgunder, a
retired merchant of Colfax. "The work of the pioneer merchant was not all
glory. Our patrons all claimed that we sold our goods too high. In the early
days we had to go to San Francisco to buy our goods, then they came by water
to Portland, by steamer from Portland to the lower Cascades, thence to the
upper Cascades by rail, then again by steamer to The Dalles, from The Dalles to
Celilo by rail and again by steamer to Wallula. From there they were brought
by ox teams and pack horses to the interior. In some instances in the mines
goods were carried on the backs of men. In one case it cost me just 60 cents
per pound to deliver my goods at their destination. But those were times when
we got dollar prices. I lost $25,000 once in developing the interests of the
Northwest by trusting mining men."

Mr. Burgunder paid a high tribute to Rev. H. H. Spalding, pioneer mission-
ary, as one who had done more than any other for the development of the North-
west.

PIONEER FARMING

J. F. Brewer responded to "Pioneer Farming." "Farming in the Willamette
Valley was first done by the crudest methods. I remember raking the grain that
my father cradled. Later the mowers and reapers came and the header evolved
from these. I came to Walla Walla in 1862. All south of the place was a barren
sagebrush plain, and only one house, a stage station, in this region as far as I
knew. In other parts of the valley there were a few farmers, all on the creeks.
I remember the remark of Mr. Swezea, a prominent pioneer farmer, 'Your sons
and mine may see railroads here but we never shall.' "

Miss Nettie Galbreath recited "The Pioneers," a poem, which was received
with hearty applause.

PIONEER RELIGION

Rev. Henry Brown responded to the "Pioneer Minister." "I came to Walla
Walla in 1886, by way of Pasco. There had been a fire and about all there was

248 ULD WAl.l.A WALLA CCJUNTY

left was a safe which I was told belonged to the county, Pasco being a county
seat. Several men with loaded guns were guarding the safe. At night I rented
a wood shed, put my family in it and loaded two guns that I had and prepared
to guard my family, thinking 1 had reached a land of ruffians and toughs. Father
Wilbur, the pioneer missionary of the Methodist Episcopal Church, happened
to be there; he asked what I was doing with my guns."

IN THE COLVILLE V.^LLEY

"Colville Reminiscences," was responded to by W. P. Winans. "One of the
interesting features of that time was the social courtesies. A dance was given
at the cantonment, to which every person in the valley, at least 400, was in-
vited. The large hall was decorated with flags, banners and sabers. Immense
chandeliers were formed of sabers, a candle being placed on the point of each
saber. The effect was very unique. The guests were refreshed with all they
could eat and drink. On New Year's Day we Americans drove to Angus Mc-
Donald's to make a call. He insisted on us staying to dinner. He entertained
at that time in all 130 persons. We had no salads, but we had a good dinner.

"In 1870 I heard the first Protestant sermon; it was preached by Rev.
Gushing Eells. I took up the first collection in the Colville Valley, with which
Father Eells bought a Bible, which is now in the Congregational Church at
Chewelah."

WOMEN OF EARLY DAYS

Harry Reynolds responded to the "Pioneer Women." "The sublime sacrifice
on the part of woman made by the pioneer women is unique in history. Those
women were not fleeing from persecution or punishment, but were sacrificing
the comforts of civilization for their devotion to duty and home. They rep-
resent the purest home life of America; the best womanhood. The pioneer
women are the builders of the Inland Empire."

PIONEERS BECAUSE THEY HAD TO BE

"If we are not pioneers because we wanted to be and wear different colored
ribbons, we have one advantage, we came at a tender age," said W. H. Kirk-
man, responding to "Pioneer Sons." "I came when I was two years old and
brought my father and mother along with me. This valley was a barren waste
of land then ; now it is the finest valley the sun shines on ; all honor to the
pioneers.

"I remember when the \'illage of Seattle boasted of being as large as Walla
Walla ; now, Seattle is the third city of the coast. Again all honor to the pioneers
who have wrought such changes."

EARLY SCHOOL WORK

"Pioneer Education" was responded to by Professor Lyman. "I could draw
contrasting pictures of the privations, rude homes and dangers on one side and

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF WALLA WALLA

THE CITY HALL, WALLA WALLA

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 249

the triumph of civilization on the other side of the line of pioneers, the log
schoolhouse with the puncheon floor of the early days, with the well-equipped
buildings of today. But is there more heart, soul and energy now than then?"

TWENTY-SEVEN OFFICERS RE-ELECTED

The old officers were re-elected to serve for 1904-05 : President, Dr. N. G.
Blalock; first vice president, James McAulifife; second vice president, Milton
Evans ; third vice president, A. G. Lloyd ; secretary, Marvin Evans ; treasurer.
Senator Levi Ankeny; historian, Prof. W. D. Lyman.

A committee on necrology was appointed, consisting of Professor Lyman
and Marvin Evans.

The third Thursday of September was appointed as the permanent day for
holding the annual meeting of the Inland Empire Pioneer Association. The
limit of eligibility was extended from 1875 to 1880.

The following were among those present:

Pioneers of 1843 — Daniel Stewart.

1845— Mrs. N. A. Jacobs, George Delaney, A. C. Lloyd, W. W. Walker.

1846 — Charles Clark.

1847— Mrs. W. C. Painter, Elizabeth J. Scholl.

1849 — J. Pettyjohn, F. M. Lowden, J. M. Gose.

1850 — Samuel Kees, Lizzie Kees, Mark ?i. Eivans, Jolin.-McGhee.

1851— E. T. McNall. , •'-; ■; ■ .; :

1852 — Eva Coston, Charles Lampman, Mrs. Jackson Nelson, C- C. Cram,
Solomon Gumming^, Hollon Parker, Peter Meads, Rebecca J. Meads, Nat Webb,
John F. Kirby, Jennie Lasater, A. Wooton, Mrs. A. J. Colvin; Mrs. S. M. Cram.

1853 — J. N. McCaw, Angehne Merchant, W. D. Lyman, Mrs. Catherine
Ritz, J. F. Brewer, A. McAlister, Catherine McAlister, Evaly Fleetch, Jacob
Kibler, Mrs. M. H. Kirby, C. R. Frazier and wife.

1854— Nellie Gilliam Day, James McEvoy, Mrs. Nat Webb, D. Wooton.

1855 — Alice E. Chamberlain, L. L. Hunt, John Rohn.

1857 — William Clark, Clare E. Cantonwine.

1858 George W. Brown, E. H. Massam, William Coston.

1859— W. P. Winans.

j86o — Philip Yenney, H. C. Chew, Thomas Gilkerson, C. F. Buck.

1861 Charles H. Gregory, Mrs. N. E. Rice, A. J. Evans, Mrs. Araminta

J. Evans, M. Evans, J. L. Hawley, Mrs. Mary Ernest.

1862 Mrs. E. E. Kellogg, Christine Winans, William Glasford, Ben Bur-

gunder.

1863 — H. A. Reynolds, Isabella Kirkman, W. J. Cantonwine.

1864 Anna Stanfield, P. B. Johnson, William Stanfield, Sallie Stanfield,

Hettie Malone, W. D. Paul, M. A. Caris and wife, George Dehaven, Caroline

Ferrel.

1865— Daniel Garrecht, James Mclnroe, S. F. Bucholz, J. A. Beard, Mrs.

George Dehaven, John Sanders.
1867 — Louis Scholl.

1868— Maggie Clark, W. H. Kirkman, J. W. Frazier, Marvin Evans.
i86g — Charles Painter, Mrs. W. C. Prather, D. C. Ingraham, Mina Evans.

250 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

1870 — Joseph MeiThant, F. A. Garrecht, Z. K. Straight and wife.

1871— Alice McEvans, George H. Starrett, Mrs. S. J. Pettyjohn, B. A. Her-
rold.

1872— N. G. nialock.

1873 — F- -^- Gowan, Mrs. F. S. Gowan.

1874 — Julia Brown, Mrs. N. W. Dunnington.

1875 — D. D. Earp, Chris Seibert, Victor Schaffer.

1876 — J. F. Bucholz, George Whitehouse.

1880— M. G. Parr.

Unknown date — Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Nuttall, G. W. Loundagin and wife,
Theodore Wolf and wife, Joseph Braden.

riONEER MEETING OF I9II

(From Walla Walla Union of June 2, 1911).

Though Father Time's blade has cut with remorseless sweep, and though
the pioneers of the Walla Walla Valley have fallen before its swing, the
attendance at the annual reunion of the pioneers yesterday was greater than has
ever been known.

More than two hundred people who came to the Northwest before railroads
were built attended the annual meeting of the Inland Empire Pioneer Associa-
tion at Whitman College yesterday.

Honoring for the twelfth time Dr. N. G. Blalock, the Pioneer Association
yesterday re-elected him its president. Marvin Evans was also chosen to fill
the office of secretary for the twelfth successive time. Doctor Blalock and Mr.
Evans both sought to refuse, but the overwhelming sentiment forced them to
accept the positions.

"I feel that I shall not be with you again," said Doctor Blalock, "but if I
can do any good w'hile I am living, I am willing to do so. My health is such
that I can do but little; but while life lasts I am ready to serve you, if you
desire it. I had hoped to retire, but being an American, I must sacrifice my per-
sonal desires to the will of the majority."

Hotly scoring the features of the meeting a year ago, Solomon Rader made
the first address of the day.

"Political whitewash, the seeking of coal mines and the passing of two-
gallon demijohns are out of place at a pioneers' reunion. Last year we had all
three, this year I trust we will have none. I believed last year, when I made
my farewell address, that I would not live to be present at this meeting, but I
am here, and I feel twenty years younger than a year ago."

Mr. Rader carried his remarks into a prohibition talk, and reviewed the local
situation, stating he believed that the votes of women might change affairs,
r^octor Blalock then stated that he believed it the duty of all women to vote
and that the pioneer woman should be first of all to cast her ballot. He intro-
duced Mrs. Lulu Crandall of The Dalles, who spoke on "How We Preserve
History at The Dalles."

She told of the acquisition of the old surgeons' quarters of the old Fort
Dalles, how they had been furnished, and how the relics of pioneer days were
preserved there. An historical society has been organized, w^hich is supported

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY . 251

by three classes of members: Active, who are members of the state historical
society; associate, who are not members of the state organization; and honorary,
those who made history in early days. The first two classes of members pay
annual dues of $2. The plan, stated Mrs. Crandall, is working nicely.

C. R. Frazier of Dixie was called upon, and his address, read by the secre-
tary, follows :

"Fellow members and friends of the Walla Walla County Pioneer Asso-
ciation :

"As a member of the Walla Walla Pioneer Association I appreciate very
much the fact that I again have the privilege to attend another one of this
society's annual meetings and to meet with fellow members and friends of our
association. To meet old pioneer friends and to talk over old times with them
is something that affords me genuine pleasure. Certainly as long as I am able
to get about you'll always find me in attendance at the annual meetings of this
association.

"The few brief things I wish to say at this gathering I have had written
out for when I attempt to talk at such gatherings as this one I find that my
memory is not as good as it used to be and it is hard for me to say anything in
a connected way.

"For forty-seven years I have been a resident of the Walla Walla Valley.
As 1 have expressed myself many times before I think our valley, its climate
and resources considered, is one of the greatest countries in the world. For years
on my farm at Dixie I have been a producer of a varied line of farm products,
not the least of which was much choice fruit and also several varieties of nuts.
My orchards were not purchased ready made and I might say that I was the
original planter of every tree on my place. During late years a picture of one
of my apple trees has appeared in many newspapers and magazines throughout
the world because it is a tree that holds a record for producing in one season
as much as 126 boxes of fine apples. I will admit that I am proud of that
old apple tree.

"While I have always been a hard worker I feel that the Walla Walla
Valley has been kind to me and mine. I first made the trip across the plains
from the east in 1853. This time, as a boy driving cattle, I made California.
After spending a short time in California I returned east to my old home in
Sullivan County, Mo. In 1863, with my earthly possessions consisting of my
young wife and two children, a team of oxen and a somewhat delapidated vehicle
that might be called a wagon I left Nebraska for the old Oregon country.
Travelling over the old well known trails it was a long' journey before we
reached the Walla Walla Valley. On the trip across one of my children was
born ; other mishaps, more or less the result of fording streams and hitting the
rough spots on the trail, also fell to our lot, but with us all such accidents were
accepted as a matter of course and we didn't waste much time grieving about
them. Our little caravan on its journey west was headed for Vancouver, but
when it hit Meacham Mountains one fine fall day in the year 1864 and we had
an opportunity to see the beautiful Walla Walla Valley I decided right there and
then that I would travel no farther and that the Walla Walla Valley would be
quite good enough for me.

"Reaching Walla Walla we found a town of some eight hundred people ;

252 OIJ) W AI.I.A WALl.A COUNTY

I ninvtd on up to the Dayton country and soon had located a chum near Dixie.
I'll never forget such famiHes as Longs, Lambs and Locks whom we came up
with in our new home. Right from the start they were kind to us and helped
us to get started in a country that was new to us. After we once got a start
with a cow and some chickens the rest was comparatively easy. In the old
])ioncer days in this valley neighbors were very kind to one another.

"liut perhaps I have said enough. I do not wish to tire you. In concluding
I will say that this gathering is one that I esteem a great occasion ; as it affords
me an opportunity to meet many of my old friends and a chance to- talk over
old times with them it is a gathering I would not miss for anything. Thanking
you very kindly for listening to my few brief remarks, I remain,

"Yours truly,

"C. R. Frazier."

• LYMAN MAKES TALK

In an interesting and instructive talk. Prof. W. D. Lyman told of the intro-
duction of apples and cattle into the Northwest. He stated that the first apple
trees known to have been planted in the Northwest were grown from the seeds
planted by Doctor Whitman and Reverend Spalding at Waiilatpu and .Alpovva.
"The first trees of any consequence, however, were planted in the Willamette
Valley in 1847 ''y Henderson Llewellan, who brought 700 small trees from Ohio
in a crude wagon that had been fitted out to carry the trees. The wagon in
which the trees were packed, in boxes, was heavy and time and again Llewellan
was urged by his comrades to abandon the wagon, but he had an idea that
fruit would grow well in the new Northwest country and he would not give
up his travelling nursery. The trees, which were apple, pear, peach and cherry,
were planted and it is recorded that most of them grew, and from this first
small orchard grew the great fruit industry of the Northwest.

"The introduction of cattle into the Inland Empire, while as important in the
results created, is more picturesque historically. The Hudson's Bay Company
had a few cattle here as early as 1830, but they were very scarce, so scarce
that Doctor McLoughlin made a rule against killing them. Marcus Whitman
brought sixteen head of cattle with him when he first came to this country,
while in 1838 Doctor Eells brought in fourteen head. These were only the small
beginnings and were confined mostly to this immediate vicinity.

"The general cattle business of the Northwest was developed largely by
the efforts of W. A. Slacum, who was sent to this country in 1836 by the
United States Government to ascertain some of its resources and size it up
generally. While in this country Mr. Slacum talked with the different American
settlers and came to the conclusion that the introduction of cattle would do more
toward securing a foothold for the United States than anything else. The hard
part of it was to secure cattle. The Hudson's Bay Company would not sell
their stock, even to their own people, but rented it out. In 1843 Ewing Young
came to the Northwest from California, where he was known as a cattle rustler,
and finding that his reputation had come along with him, settled in the Chehalem
Valley, where it was his intention to make liquor and sell it to the Indians and
wandering white men. He was, however, persuaded by Slacum and Doctor

THE BAKER-BOYER NATIONAL BANK IN llilO

THE BAKER-BOYER NATIONAL BANK, WALLA WALLA, IN ISUO

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 253

McLoughlin, who also saw the importance of securing cattle for this country,
to go to CaUfornia and bring a drove of cattle to Oregon. This drive took
place in the years of 1S37 and 1838. Young started from California with joo
head of cattle and arrived in the Willamette Valley with Bcxd head.

"The second great cattle drive started in 1839 with a group of Americans,
eager to develop their own interests and the interests of the United States in
this section of the country. Under the leadership of John Gale they built a
small schooner called "The Star of Oregon," in which after many difficulties,
they arrived where San Francisco is now located and after trading their
schooner for 300 cows, took what money they had and purchased i,2CX) cattle,
3,000 sheep and 600 horses. The sheep were purchased by the dozen, while the
horses brought from three to six dollars a head. Consider the hardship these
few men went through, bringing these animals that long distance under those
conditions.

"The introduction of fruit and cattle into the Inland Empire meant much
to the early settlers and meant vastly much more to the present generation."

liURGUNDER SPEAKS

Following this address. Vice President Ben Btirgundei;; c^T^S- attention to the
fact that Kettle Falls, on June 23d, would celqbrate'"'tiie.ahniver5a*yj of its dis-
covery by David Thompson. Delegates from the association were ksked ; and
Pres. N. G. Blalock was authorized to appoint whoever he'skSj^-.fit..! Ben Bur-
gunder volunteered to act as a delegate, and any .otliiers. .who ean'go, will be
made delegates.

Election of officers was then taken up, and despite his protests, Doctor
Blalock was re-elected. The other officers elected are : first vice president, Ben
Burgunder of Colfax; second vice president, A. G. Lloyd of Waitsburg; third
vice president, Natt Webb ; secretary, Marvin Evans ; treasurer, Levi Ankeny ;
historian, W. D. Lyman.

The association then adjourned to Reynolds Hall, where a dinner was served
by Miss Burr, and the tables were presided over by young ladies of the dormi-
tory. The banquet was most successful, about two hundred sitting down to the
repast.

' A number of short talks then followed. President Blalock calling upon the
members of the association for brief addresses.

"I came here thirty-two years ago," said Rev. John LeCornu, "and at that
time I knew nearly evervone. Now I know hardly anyone. I used to go where
I pleased across corners, but it's all fenced now. Where there were formerly
stables on Main and Alder streets, are now big buildings ; and where we then
drove through dust or mud, we now have pavements. Schoolhouses, everything,
have grown in numbers. We have grown, and we will continue to grow."

A. G. Lloyd of Waitsburg, second vice president of the association, expressed
his pleasure of being present. He had been in the valley for more than fifty
years.

W. P. Winans, who has been in the northwest for fifty-two years, made a
brief talk, stating that fifty-two years ago yesterday he was on the Arkansas
River, headed for this country.

254 OLD \\-ALLA \\ALLA COUNTY

"These reunions are the pleasantest times in Hfe. Not only for the present,
but the future reminiscences of them, bring us pleasure, and I trust they will
continue as long as we have pioneers."

ACCEPT INVITATION

Pres. S. B. L. Penrose of Whitman College, was then called upon for an
address, and extended an invitation for the association to make its permanent
meeting place at Whitman College. By rising vote, this was accepted.

"The college is a pioneer, it was founded by pioneers, and its existence will
be fresh a thousand years hence, when we are all forgotten. The association can-
not, I think, do better than to link its existence with this institution, whose life
will be endless; and I extend to you an invitation to hold your future meetings
at the college."

Cal Lloyd was the next speaker, and he expressed his pleasure at being
present, and his hope that he would see every member at the next meeting.

H. A. Reynolds expressed a desire to have the word pioneer defined, and
to have an organization, separate from the present one, for the sons and the
daughters of pioneers.

"You cannot make a man a pioneer by legislation, any more than you can
make a Grand Army of the Republic man. I was born here, but do not claim
to be a true pioneer."

"I am not that kind of a pioneer," stated W- H. Kirkman, "for when I was
two years old, without a quaver or misgiving, I took my father by one hand
and my mother by the other, and faced boldly to the west, leading them to Walla
Walla.

"The pioneers have laid here the foundation for the greatest civilization the
world has ever known; and it is for them to enjoy, as fully as possible, the fruits
of their labors."

"I too, used to know the country and every man in it," said William Rine-
hart, formerly of Union, Oregon, but now of Walla Walla. "At Union I was
secretary of the Pioneers' Association : and we had enjoyable reunions, much
like this one. I enjoy them, and trust I will be able to attend many yet.'.'

Following the reading of the resolutions, which were unanimously adopted,
members of the association were given an hour's ride about the city in auto-
mobiles.

The attendance was more than two hundred, the largest in the history of
the organization, according to old timers who have been in constant attendance.

RESOLUTIONS

Following is the report of the resolutions committee, composed of Prof. W.
D. Lyman, A. G. Lloyd and W. S. Clarke:

"Resolutions of the Inland Empire Pioneer Association, June I, 191 1.

"Resolved : That we recognize with deep gratitude to Providence this oppor-
tunity which our gathering gives us for renewing the old friendships and making
new ones.

"Resolved : That the heartv thanks of the association be extended to Presi-

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 255

dent Penrose and to the officers of Whitman College for the use of Memorial
Hall; and to Miss Burr, manager of Reynolds Hall, for the delicious banquet
provided; and to the young ladies for their service upon the tables.

"Resolved: That we heartily thank the members of the Whitman College
Glee Club for the beautiful vocal selections which added so pleasant a feature
to the occasion.

"We also thank the staff of the local newspapers for their presence and
interest in this meeting; and we recognize in their reports an indispensable
means of bringing the aims and work of the society before the public.

"We thank the president, other officers and committee of arrangements for
the preparations and completion of this meeting, which will occupy so attractive
a place in our memories.

"Resolved, in conclusion : That we would urge upon the members of this
association the desirability of preparing and giving to the historian biographical
data to the end of fulfilling one of the great aims of the association, the preserva-
tion of matter otherwise liable to be lost.

"We incorporate herewith our heartfelt recognition of those of our members
who have passed on since our last meeting."

Death has been active in the list of pioneers during this brief period.

The association recognizes the loss of these valued friends and members of
the ranks the inevitable movement of time and the fulfillment of lives nobly
.spent and of influences which have done much to make this country what it is.

The association extends its condolence to the members of the families
bereaved through these deaths, and joins with them in the sentiments of joy
and pride which their good deeds must impart to all whom their lives have
reached.

The following is a list of those included in the number : Mrs. Kate L. Butz,
Amos Cummings, William Coston, Mrs. M. E. Ernst, Mrs. Chas. Lampman, Mrs.
E. H. Massam, L. P. Mulkey, Mrs. Lydia Olds, Mrs. Martha A. Payne, Dale
Preston, William Stanfield, James J. Gallaher, Mrs. Hollon Parker, Joseph
McCoy, Mrs. Martha Lovell, Jesse Cummings.

Members of the Inland Empire Pioneer Association are: Mr. and Mrs. A.
L. Ring, Dollie Auker, Harry Gilbert, John A. Taylor, William Glasford, G.
A. Evans, C. H. Kaseberg, A. G. Murphy, Thomas Gilkerson, Henry Chew,
America DeWitt. Oliver DeWitt, J. J. Rohn. Mrs. Chris Sturm, Henry Ingalls,
D. Wertheimer, D. H. Irvin, Mrs. Mary Irwin, John McCausland, Mr. and Mrs.
H. H. Hungate, Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Dunlap, Ben Burgunder, John Tempany,
G. W. Bowers, Mrs. Isabella Kirkman, Levi Malone, Robert Kennedy, Mrs. J.
C. Smith, Mrs. C. W. Reser, Miss Reser, Mrs. R. R. Rees, Fannie Hall, Mrs. J.
W. Foster, N. G. Blalock, Mrs. E. A. Edwards, T. J. Hickman, Mr. and Mrs.
Joe Harbert, Mrs. Alexander Johnson, Mrs. E. Lewis, Mrs. Mary Jett, S. W.
Smith, Mrs. Esther Smith, Mr. and Mrs. W. Thomas, Mrs. J. L. Robinson, Mrs.
J. J. Morrison, George Dehaven, Mrs. Mehala Dehaven, Joseph McEvoy, Mrs.
J. W. Cookerly, Mrs. Kate Henderson, John Braden, Joe Braden, Mrs. J. F.
Brewer, Mrs. S. A. Stanfield, Mrs. Lucy Buff, Mrs. Dora Walker, Mrs. D. H.
Coffin, Mrs. Mary McCoy. Natt Webb, Eliza Jane Webb, Mr. and Mrs. Frank
Harbert, Mrs. A. T. Bedell, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Cornwell, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest
Cantonwine, C. R. Frazier, P. Lightle. Mr. and Mrs. R. J. Weidick, Mrs. Jessie

25(5 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Jones, Mrs. B. L. Sharpstein, Mrs. Frank Sharpstein, Mrs. .\ddic Upton, Mrs.
Charles Painter, J. C. Painter, Mr. and Mrs. L. L. Hunt, L. F. Anderson, Mrs.
D. S. ]5aker, Charles McEvoy, Mr. and Mrs. H. S. Hart, Mr. and Mrs. A. J.
Evans, Mrs. Margaret Dovell, Mr. and Mrs. Woodson Cummings, Agnes L.
LeVine, Mrs. Kominsky, Peter Meads, John Hodges, Mr. and Mrs. James Cum-
mins, Hampton Huff, Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Malloy, Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Cauvel,
Robert Cummings, J. A. Ross, F. A. Ross, Mrs. Rose Winans, Lulu Crandall,
Mr. and Mrs. William Hardese, Mr. and Mrs. R. C. McCaw, Doctor and Mrs.
Probst, Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Clark, William Preston, D. G. Ingraham, Mr. and
Mrs. A. G. Lloyd, \\'. Manning, S. E. Manning, J. A. Beard, Agnes Beard, Mrs.
J. P. Denn, J. C. Lloyd, J. H. Pettyjohn, Mrs. Kate Pettyjohn, Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Rinehart, Caroline Ferrel, W. D. Lyman, A. M. McAllister, Dorsey Hill,
Marvin Evans, Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Halter, W. P. Winans, Mr. and Mrs. C. L.
Whitney, Thomas Mosgrove, Perry J. Lyons, W. S. Offner, Sidney Coyle, Mrs.
Sarah Coyle, C. B. Lane, Frances E. Lane, Mr. and Mrs. John LeCornu, Mr.
and Mrs. A. M. McLellan, H. V. Grubb, Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Reynolds, W. H.
Kirkman.

CHAPTER VII
THE PRESS OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY

The newspapers of any region must always be given prominence in any
history of it as being one of the great constructive forces as well as con-
stituting the indispensable record of events. Besides these fundamental func-
tions, there is usually found in connection with the press of a new region
a group of men alive to the needs and opportunities and hence concerned
in those varied interests which always take shape in new places. Add to this
the fact that generally there are found among newspaper men odd, unique, and
entertaining characters, and we evidently have all the material for one of the
most interesting sections of any history. Walla Walla has had, even more than
most places, several unique and marked personalities among her "knights of the
quill." In dealing with them, as with other parts of this work, we feel regret-
fully the pressure of the inexorable limits of space and are compelled thereby
to omit the portrayal of some of those amusing, odd, and racy characters and
events which might enliven the sober pages of history.

We have had occasion to refer many times to the Statesman as authority for
early events and have also said something of its first appearance and early man-
agement. Appearing under the names of Washington Statesman and Walla
Walla Statesman, it continued for many years to fulfill its mission in the Walla
Walla country and more than any other may be considered as the historic paper
of this section. The Statesman had a kind of a double origin. For in Septem-
ber, 1861, two brothers, W. N. and R. B. Smith, set on foot an enterprise through
the acquisition of an old press from the Oregon Statesman and sent it to Walla
Walla. Rather curiously, apparently without knowledge of the other design, N.
Northrop and R. R. Rees started a similar enterprise only two days later. They
had obtained a press of the Oregonian, and it was doubtless the first press in
the Inland Empire, after that used by Rev. H. M. Spalding at Lapwai. Dis-
covering each other's plans the two parties speedily coalesced and began the
publication of the Washington Statesman. The first issue appeared on November
29, 1861. The editors and proprietors are announced as N. Northrop, R. B.
Smith and R. R. Rees. We have given in an earlier chapter copious extracts
from the first number. Several numbers in April, 1862, were on brown and
yellow paper, for which profuse apologies are oflfered. On May 10, the editor
has the following quaint "kick" : "Our patrons, in sending us gold dust on sub-
scriptions, or otherwise, will confer an especial favor by making a proper allow-
ance for the weight of the sand. We can't make those who buy the dust of us
believe that the sand is as valuable as the gold ; nor do we believe it, either.
^Besides, in disposing of the dust, we are compelled to see it 'blowed' and

Vol. I 17

257

258 ULD WALl.A WALLA COUNTY

'magnetized' until it is pioixMlv cleaned, and the result is that that which we
receive for $5 sometimes dwindles down to $2.50."

i'.y the retirement of .Mr. Smith in January, 1862, and l)y the death of Mr.
Northrop in I'"cbruary, 18O3, the Statesman became the property of R. R. Rees,
but in association with his brother, S. G. Rees, whose name appeared for the
first time in the issue of October 11, 1862. Jn the number of May 9, 1863, the
lirm name appears as R. R. and S. G. Rees. In the luunber of September 2, 1864,
the name ll'alla IValla Statesman was substituted for Washinytun Statesman,
but without comment.

The tirm name of R. R. and S. G. Rees was continued till November 10, 1865,
when a notable change occurred. Wm. H. Newell became proprietor. In the
paper of that date he makes his debut in an editorial which indicates his strong
personality and his fine command of good English. It is a just tribute to Major
Rees to say that his management of the Statesman, like that of the many other
enterprises which made him one of the conspicuous figures in early Walla Walla,
was broad, intelligent, and patriotic.

Mr. Newell was a character, bold, energetic, caustic, and as a writer, incisive
mid forceful. It is related that once having a joint debate with Judge Caton,
he began by saying: "Fellow citizens, it is a disagreeable task to skin a skunk,
but sometimes it has to be done. I am going to skin N. J. Caton." Judge Caton
reached for his hip-pocket and the meeting broke up in a general row, though
it does not appear that any one was seriously hurt. The Statesman under Mr.
Newell was democratic in politics and during the enibroglio between President
Johnson and Congress it was an active supporter of the former. It is said by
some that its attainment of the place of United States official paper in the terri-
tory was due to that support. In 1878, the Statesman became a daily, the first in
the Inland Empire. But on November 13th, the active, scheming mind of the
editor was stilled by death. After a month's interval, Frank J. Parker, a son-
in-law of Newell, and himself as unique a character as the former editor, began
his long career as a journalist. The daily was somewhat in advance of the
times and was discontinued within a short period, but in February, 1880, was
again undertaken, not to be discontinued so long as the Statesman was a separate
paper. Colonel Parker owned the Statesman till June, 1900, in which year it
went into the hands of the Statesman Publishing Co., Dr. E. E. Fall being the
leading member of the company.

During a large part of that portion of the career of the Statesman Waller
Lingenfelder was editor in chief. He was a man of much journalistic ability, and
later entered upon a brilliant literary career in New York.

The IValla IValla llnioii was the next newspaper to attain a permanent stand-
ing in Walla Walla. This was the uncompromising radical republican organ and
was the natural counterpart of the Statesman. It was founded in 186S by a
grouj) of strong supporters of Congress in the great reconstruction struggle then
in progress.

The first number appeared on April 17, 1869. H. M. Judson was the editor,
but the policy of the paper was under the control of a committee consisting of
P. B. Johnson, E. C. Ross, and J. D. Cook. Within a short time R. M. Smith
and E. L. Meriff became the owners of the paper and E. C. Ross became editor.
In 1878 Capt. P. B. Johnson succeeded Mr. Ross as editor, and with his entrance

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 259

into the field of journalism there began one of the most forceful and influential
careers in the journalism of Walla Walla. Captain Johnson was a man of
intense and dominating personality and possessed much ability with the pen. His
politics were those of the stalwart republicans. He had been a soldier and
officer of the Civil war, and the great conflict had so burned its traces upon his
mind that it was difficult for him to think in terms of patience of any other
policies than those which had saved the Union and freed the slave. He acquired
the property control of the Union and until 1890 was sole owner and proprietor.
In that year he disposed of his interest to Charles Besserer, who had for some
time been publishing the Walla Walla Journal. And as soon as we name Charles
Besserer old-timers will at once recognize the fact that we have arrived at the
uniquest of the uniques. Nature broke her mold at that point and never made
another of the same kind. German by birth, though as he once told the author,
of Spanish origin, well educated in his home land, a soldier in the Crimea, in the
Civil war in this country, and in various Indian wars, fulfilling at various times
the functions of manager of a bakery, a distillery, and a hotel, a postmaster, a
justice of the peace, a sheep man, a farmer, and finally an editor, Mr. Besserer
maintained under all circumstances his characteristic self. He wielded a trenchant
pen and though his obituaries were sometimes of a type to add pangs to the
thought of approaching death on the part of citizens of old Walla Walla, he had
a high conception of the responsibilities of journalism and of the requisites of
a well managed newspaper. In 1896 the ownership of the Union passed from
Mr. Besserer to Herbert Gregg and Harry Kelso. It was conducted by them
as a bed-rock republican paper and disposed of three years later to J. G. Frank-
land, Lloyd Armstrong and Bert La Due. After conducting the paper with
success for a year the firm disposed of it to a group of leading republicans,
among whom was D. B. Crocker. J. Howard Watson, well known over the state
<iS a brilliant writer, for some time a correspondent of the Seattle Posf-Iiitclli-
gencer, was installed as editor in 1900 and held his place with conspicuous edi-
torial ability until failing health compelled him to retire. He made his home
for a time on a beautiful place on Lake Chelan, but finally succumbed to an
untimely death from tuberculosis. Mr. Watson was succeeded in 1902 by A. F.
Statter, a man of many accomplishments, who conducted the Union with great
ability for several years and then became private secretary to Sen. Levi Ankeny,
from which post he attained a national position, becoming assistant secretary of
the treasur}' in 1907. Eugene Lorton followed Mr. Statter as managing editor in
September, 1903. In 1907 a marked change occurred in the status of Walla
Walla newspapers, for in that year the Union and Statesman were brought under
the one control and ownership of the Washington Printing and Book Publishing
Co., with Percy C. Holland, who had been for some time connected with the
Union, as manager. For sometime after the merger, Carl Roe acted as editor of
the Union, which continued as a morning paper, while the Statesman, still an
evening paper, was edited by Seth Maxwell. During several years following
Dr. E. E. Fall became one of the chief owners and the manager of the Union,
and there were a number of editorial writers and city editors of variable and
some of them of transient careers. Among them was Walter Lingenfelder
already mentioned in connection with the Statesman, who has become prominent
in the East ; Scott Henderson, who subsequently became assistant attorney-general

260 OLD WALL A WALLA COUNTY

of the state ; Wni. Guion, who was known as a capable editor and brilUant writer,
and Harold Ellis, now city editor of the Bulletin. While those changes were in
progress, a new afternoon daily, destined to be a great factor in subsequent
journalistic history, had been launched by Eugene Lorton. This was the Walla
IValla Bulletin, and its first number appeared on February u, 1906. Another
stage of importance occurred in 1910. In that year the publication of the
Statesman was discontinued. That pioneer paper, a monument to the enterprise
and capacity of Major Rees, and later of W. H. Newell and Colonel Parker,
having had many ups and downs, but entitled to the leading place among the
journals of the Inland Empire, thus closed its career after forty-nine years of
active participation in the foundation period of Walla Walla.

Dr. E. E. Fall still continued as manager of the Union, but in December,
1912. he disposed of his interests to Berton La Due and D. W. Ift, while John
H. McDonald acquired the ownership of Mr. Ankeny's share of the pa{>er. In
1916 Mr. McDonald disposed of his share in the company to E. G. Robb. At
the date of this publication the Union is therefore the property of Messrs. La
Due, Ift, and Robb. Of the many who have been connected with the Union it
may be said that Mr. La Due is the dean in service, having been connected with
it for eighteen years. Most of the others have had brief tenures. The Wash-
ington Printing and Book Publishing Company are not only providing a first-
class newspaper in the Union, but do an immense printing business of the best
grade.

The Walla Walla Bulletin, founded, as we have seen, by Eugene Lorton in
1906, was acquired by John G. Kelly, formerly of Omaha, Neb., on February i,
1910. Under his management the Bulletin has become one of the successful and
influential daily newspapers of the Northwest. It is an independent newspaper.
It has always stood for definite purposes and for the advancement of the general
good as against special interests. It has been the leader in many movements
for public betterment, notably the commission form of city government for
Walla Walla, adopted in 1911, and for state-wide prohibition, which attained
a sweeping triumph in both 1914 and 1916. The Bulletin appears every after-
noon except Sunday and has the full leased wire reports of the Associated Press.
The Sunday morning edition has the full leased wire report of the United Press
Association. The independent policy of the Bulletin backed up by its superior
news service, including telegraph, local news and correspondence from nearby
towns, together with a splendid distribution service, has brought to it the largest
circulation of any publication in Southeastern Washington and Northeastern
Oregon. The Bulletin has a strictly modern mechanical plant. A site for a
permanent home has been secured at the northwest corner of First and Poplar
streets and there a first class modern newspaper building will soon be erected.

The Statesman, the Union, and the Bulletin may be regarded as the leading
general newspapers of Walla Walla. But a number of others have been founded
with more specialized aims which have played important parts for comparatively
limited time, j'et are well worthy of a place in a historical record. A brief
item about each of these is due to history.

The Spirit of the West was founded by J. M. Ragsdale in 1872. Charles
Humphries assisted as editorial writer. He was succeeded in turn by L. K. Grimm
and Charles Besserer. Mr. Besserer becoming owner in 1877 changed the name

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 261

to Walla Walla ]Vatchuian, to be changed in turn to Walla Walla Journal. The
Journal in time, as already noted, became merged with the Union, and for a time
the paper, known as the Union-Journal, was under the ownership of Mr. Besserer.

Mr. M. C. Harris was for a time concerned in newspaper ventures, pubHshing
the Morning Journal in 1881 and the Daily Events in 1882. In the latter year
also appeared the Washingtonian, published by W. L. Black, an accomplished
writer, who also conducted Totvn Talk.

Li April, 1894, W. F. Brock started the Garden City Gazette and in the next
year J. J. Schick brought out the Watchman. In the Garden City Gazette Mr.
Brock undertook the establishment of a distinctively local and social department,
which Mr. Schick carried on into the Watchman. In 1900 the owners of the
Union, Messrs. La Due, Frankland, and Armstrong, acquired the plant of the
Gazette and the Watchman and continued the publication under the name of the
Saturday Record.

In 1898 Walter Lingenfelder and C. H. Goddard started the Argus. This
paper had the avowed aim of exposing abuses and humbugs and grafts, and ful-
filled its mission by causing cold chills on the part of many who were conscious
of belonging in those categories. It became ultimately the sole property of Mr.
Lingenfelder, but he left it to become associated with Doctor Fall in the Union.

In 1900 A. H. Harris brought out an excellent monthly,- maintained for sev-
eral years, known as the Inland Empire.

In 1916 there was founded at Walla Walla, as a democratic campaign advo-
cate for the. re-election of President Wilson and Governor Lister, the Walla
Walla Democrat. The managers were Charles Hill and Ernest W. Lanier. Rus-
sell Blankenship and W. D. Lyman were regular editorial contributors during
the campaign. The triumph of the cause in the election of both the democratic
President and democratic governor was a sufficient encouragement to Mr. Lanier
to maintain the pubhcation, and it is accordingly continued with vigor and suc-
cess. At the present date Mr. Fred H. Butcher is associated with Mr. Lanier
in the ownership and management of the Democrat. They maintain a well
equipped printing establishment, in which they make a specialty of embossed
printing.

The first issue of the Garden City Monitor (weekly) was dated October 10,
1908. This paper was established by Jesse Ferney to represent the interests
of union labor in Walla Walla and Southeastern Washington. It has been the
official organ of the Walla Walla Trades and Labor Council since its inception.
In 1910 L. F. Clarke purchased a half interest in the paper. Ferney & Clarke,
the publishers, have endeavored to make the paper progressive yet represent
the conservative rather than the radical forces of union labor. A feature of the
publication is an illustrated annual edition appearing on Friday before Labor
Day each year.

One of the notable publications of Walla Walla, filling a field not occupied
by any other, is the monthly Up-To-The Times Magazine. This valuable pub-
lication was founded in November, 1906, by R. C. MacLeod, and he has been
editor and manager to the present date. Mr. MacLeod is entitled to great credit
for his faith in the appreciation of a community which ordinarily would hardly
be regarded as possessing sufficient population to justify a monthly magazine.

The aim of the magazine is to secure greater efficiency in education, agricul-

262 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

ture, commercial, and industrial life. It also maintains a department devoted
to historical and pioneer subjects. Today, the magazine, independent of any sub-
sidy from any source, is the only publication of its kind in the interior Northwest.
Its success has been due to the steady maintainance of high literary as well as
business ideals.

The importance of U p-To-Thc-Tinies as a publication may be inferred from
the fact that it has paid for printing to one firm of Walla Walla ])rinters the
sum of $40,000, and that its half tone cuts of local scenes and industrial and
agricultural life have called for an expenditure with a Spokane engraving house
of $5,000. The cuts accumulated during the years of its existence constitute
by far the most extensive and valuable collection of pictorial matter in this sec-
tion of the state.

The field of Up-To-Thc Times is some eight counties of Washington and
Oregon, but it may be noted that it has subscribers and readers in many other
parts of the United States and Europe. The staff of the magazine at the present
date consists of Mr. MacLeod as editor and manager, and A. F. Alexander, as
secretary and circulation manager. There are a number of regular correspondents
and contributors in Walla Walla and elsewhere.

In addition to the publications in Walla Walla City, this is the proper place
to name the pioneer papers of the other towns of the old county. We turn first
of all to Waitsburg in respect to its leading paper.

WAITSBUEG TIMES

This has been the leading paper and most of the time the only paper of
Waitsburg for a period of thirty-nine years. This paper originated in a joint-
stock company formed in 1878, a number of 'local business men feeling that the
little community should have a weekly spokesman. The first editor was B. L.
Land and the first issue appeared in March, 1878. A few months later the plant
was leased to D. G. Edwards, and later to J. C. Swash. The following year
C. W. Wheeler was induced to lease the plant and he liked the work so well
that the next year — 1880 — he purchased the property from the stockholders.
Under the influence of C. W. Wheeler the Times became an influence in the com-
munity and in Walla Walla and Columbia counties. The paper continued under
the management of Mr. Wheeler until 1900 when he leased the plant to two
of his sons — E. L. and Guy Wheeler — so that he might enjoy a well-earned
rest from the grind of newspaper work and take up the work of traveling lec-
turer for the Woodmen of the World fraternity, that he might be able to fulfill
his desire to travel in the West extensively. These two sons having been
practically raised in a printing office, were able to take entire charge of the paper.
A couple of years later E. L. Wheeler, the older son, purchased the paper and
plant from his father, and has been sole editor and proprietor since.

The Times boasts of one of the finest country plants in the state at the present
time, owning its brick building and being equipped with modern presses, two
magazine intertype type-casting machines, electric and water power and all other
conveniences of present day journalism.

Not since the day that C. W. Wheeler took charge of the paper has the Times
missed an issue.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 263

In politics the Times is republican.

There was published for a short time in Waitsburg a democratic weekly, the
Gazette. Its first issue appeared on June 29, 1899. R. V. Hutchins was pro-
prietor and editor. In the next year C. W. McCoy acquired the Gazette, but in
less than a year he in turn sold out to J. E. Houtchins, by whom the paper was
conducted for some years, to be discontinued in 1905.

The pioneer newspaper of Dayton, while it was still in Walla Walla County,
was the Dayton Nezvs, founded in September, 1874, by A. J. Cain. In April,
1878, county division having come in the meantime, E. R. Burk began publica-
tion of the Chronicle, still one of the leading papers of Columbia County. H. H.
Gale was first editor. In 1879 O. C. White became owner of the Chronicle. In
1882 T. O. Abbott started the publication of the Democratic State Journal. It
was designed to maintain the banner of democracy in Columbia County which
had been lost when the Dayton Nezfs plant was destroyed by fire in 1882.

The first newspaper in what is now Garfield County was established at Pome-
roy on April 12, 1880, by F. W. D. Mays, and named the Washington Independent.
The Pomeroy Republican came into existence March 4, 1882, founded by Eugene
T. Wilson, who admitted F. M. McCully to an equal partnership two months
later. The ambitious little Town of Pataha became also the home of a news-
paper, the Pataha Spirit. Its founder was G. C. W. Flammond and its first
issue was in January, 1881. The next year it came into the hands of Dr. J. S.
Denison and Charles Wilkins. Both the Pomeroy Republican and the Pataha
Spirit were republican in politics, the Independent being generally true to its
name, though inclining to democratic and populistic views.

The publications named may be regarded as the pioneers in the parts of the
old county now comprising the three counties outside of Walla Walla. During
the years following county division a number of others came into existence and
now represent the press of their respective towns, and of them we shall make
mention under the different counties.

The quest for journalistic history in the present Walla Walla County outside
of Walla Walla City and Waitsburg leads us to the editorial sanctum of the
Walla Walla Spectator of Prescott, presided over by Charles H. O'Neil, a native
son of the "Valley of Waters," and a leading spirit among the pioneers and
"Boosters" as well as the newspapermen of this section. The Spectator was
established November 22, 1902. Mr. O'Neil has followed the occupation of
printer during almost his entire business life, having spent a number of years in
the printing establishments of Walla Walla before entering upon his independent
venture. The Spectator has performed a service of conspicuous importance for
the rich farming region in which it is located by helping organize public senti-
ment in the direction of community enterprise and civic advancement. As a result
of these enlarged ideals through the schools, church, business men, and homes of
the town, as well as the part borne in the same direction by the Spectator, Pres-
cott has become somewhat remarkable, for a town of its population, for its high
community spirit.

The veteran journalist of the west end of Walla Walla County is R. C.
Julian of Attalia. Mr. Julian has been connected with several newspaper enter-
prises and at the present time is the owner and manager of the Walltda GatenHiy,
the Attalia News-Tribune, and the Helix Advocate, at Helix, Ore. The Wallula

264 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Gateway was launched on December 25, 1905, by Harter and Julian. After a few
months Mr. Julian bought out his partner and has since conducted the paper
alone. On May 11, 1907, he started the Touchet Pioneer, selling it after a year
to A. M. Cummins. After sundry ownerships, the Pioneer became the Touchet-
Gardnia Empire, and is at the present time pubhshed by Ferney and Clarke of
Walla Walla. The Attalia News-Tribune was the successor of the short-lived
Two Rivers Tribune, which was started in 1908 by A. B. Frame to "boom" the
land project at Two Rivers. The plant of the latter paper was secured by D.
D. Swanson, formerly of Minneapolis, apd in May, 1909, he entered upon, the
publication of the News-Tribune at Attalia. After three months Mr. Swanson
retired, disposing of his establishment to Messrs. Cummins and Julian. Within
another short period Mr. Julian became the sole owner and has so continued to
this day. Looking still further, Mr. Julian started yet another weekly journal at
Helix. Ore., the Helix Advocate. Having disposed of it in 191 5 to J. J. Lewis,
Mr. Julian reacquired possession in August, 191 7, and thus is now the sole pro-
prietor of the three weeklies.

CHAPTER VIII
WITH THE LAWYERS, JUDGES AND DOCTORS

A special interest always attaches to the legal, judicial and medical repre-
sentatives of any country, and especially a new country. The lawyers and
judges necessarily play so large a part in the creation of laws and the founding
of institutions that their history is well nigh co-extensive with the development
of their country. The physicians are so vital an element in the home life and the
general conditions of their communities, that their history also comes near being
a history of these communities.

We are presenting here several special contributions from representatives of
these classes of citizens. We have had occasion at many points in the progress
of this history to name prominent representatives of the bench and bar, and of
the medical profession.

We present first a sketch of the early Walla Walla bench and bar by one of
the foremost lawyers of the city, who is himself also a member of a family
which has, perhaps, been more closely identified with the bench and bar of this
section of the state than any other. We refer to the Sharpstein family, and we
have the privilege of here presenting this article by John L. Sharpstein :

The intention is not to make this matter relating to the first judicial district
of the Territory of Washington such a complete history as would be demanded
if it were written more exclusively for the use and information of attorneys.
The judicial system which existed in the Territory of Washington prior to its
admission as a state possessed some characteristics which in the present time
would be regarded as peculiar. There were originally three district courts estab-
lished under the acts of the Congress of the United States, and which were
known as territorial district courts. These courts had jurisdiction of all matters,
both civil and criminal, other than probate causes and each county in the terri-
tory had its own probate judge who was not necessarily a lawyer. The peculiarity
referred to above was the fact that the Supreme Court was composed of the
judges who were the district judges, so that the same judge who presided in the
trial of a case in the lower court also participated in its final decision in the ter-
ritorial Supreme Court.

As originally constituted there were three judicial districts in the Territory
of Washington. The first judicial district consisted of all of Eastern Washington.
Subsequently Eastern Washington was divided and a new district was created
which was known as the Fourth Judicial District, with its presiding judge resi-
dent at the City of Spokane. The District Court in the First Judicial District
was organized at Walla Walla on June 4, i860. Judge William Strong, who
afterwards became a practicing attorney at Portland, Ore., was the presiding
judge. The first attorneys admitted to practice in this court were Edward S.

265

266 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Bridges and Otis S. Bridges. They were admitted on June 4, i860. John G.
Sparks was the next attorney admitted to practice, and the date of his admission
was June 5, i860. W. A. George was admitted on April 15, 1861, and his prac-
tice at the bar in Eastern Washington probably covered more years than that of
any other attorney who has ever practiced in this jurisdiction.

At the organization of the court a grand jury was inij)anellcd and included
in the members of that grand jury were W. S. Gilliam and Milton Aldrich, both
of whom afterwards became prominent in both business and political affairs in
Walla Walla County, and were among the most useful and respected citizens of
that community.

As originally constituted the territorial District Court comprised all of
Eastern Washington, but by division the territorial jurisdiction was gradually
reduced so that the southern half of Eastern Washington practically constituted
the first district at the time of the admission of the territory as a state. After
the first organization of he court and the appointment of Judge Strong, among
the presiding judges were E. P. Oliphant, James A. Wyche, James K. Kennedy,
J. R. Lewis, S. C. Wingard and William G. Langford. William G. Langford was
the last judge prior to the admission of the state. Judge Wyche, Judge Kennedy
and Judge Wingard after their retirement from the bench made their homes
in Walla Walla Cit}', and were useful and respected members of that community
until the dates of their respective deaths.

While the systems prevailing prior to the admission of the state in the terri-
torial courts permitting the judge who tried the case to be a member of the
Supreme Court on the hearing of the case on appeal would seem to be peculiar,
it was not so unsatisfacotry in its results as one would be inclined to think it
might have been.

J. L. Sharpstein.

We next present a contribution from Judge Chester F. Miller, of Dayton, long
and intimately identified with the legal practice and with the court decisions of
this section. We have had occasion to refer to Judge Miller many times in the
course of this history, and we have had the privilege of enrolling him among the
advisory board for the work. Anything from his pen is of exceptional value.
His contribution follows here:

L.\WYERS AND JUDGES OF COLUMBIA AND GARFIELD COUNTIES

The district court of \\'alla Walla County, with jurisdiction over all of the
eastern part of the territory, was created by the Legislature in i860, and made a
part of the First Judicial District of the territory. Judge William Strong of
Vancouver then presided over this court, and held his first term at Walla Walla
on Tune 4, i860. In 1861, James E. Wyche was appointed judge of the district,
took up his residence in W'alla Walla and thereafter held regular terms in that
])lace. The territorial judges succeeding him were James K. Kennedy in 1870,
J. R. Lewis in 1873, Samuel C. Wingard in 1875, and William G. Langford in
"1886.

The only resident attorneys appearing of record at the first term of court
held in Walla Walla were Andrew J. Cain and Col. Wyatt A. George. There
may have been other mining camp lawyers in Walla Walla at that time, but they

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 267

did not remain long enough to become identified with the courts or the early
history of this section. William G. Langford, James H. Lasater and James D.
Mix came in 1863, Benjamin L. Sharpstein in 1865, Nathan T. Caton in 1867,
Thomas H. Brents in 1870, Thomas J. Anders in 1871, John B. Allen and Charles
B. Upton in 1878 and Daniel J. Crowley in 1880. Although these lawyers resided
in Walla Walla, and were more closely identified with the history of that county,
yet they should be mentioned here, for the reason that they followed the judge
around the circuit of the old first judicial district, and practiced in the district
courts of Eastern Washington, as fast as they were created by the Legislature.
The court practice in those days was very different from what it is now. When
Judge Wingard was appointed in 1875, he held court in Walla Walla, Yakima and
Colville. Afterwards Dayton, Colfax and Pomeroy were added to the court
towns. Court was held two or three times each year in each town, and usually
lasted for two or three weeks. The judge was followed around the circuit by the
members of the bar above mentioned. They took their chances of picking up
some business at each term, and on account of their experience and ability were
usually associated with local counsel on one side or the other of each case.
There was no preliminary law day, and the attorneys had to be ready on a
moment's notice to argue the motions and demurrers, and get their cases ready
for immediate trial. Stenographers and typewriters were unknown, and the
lawyer prepared his amended pleadings at night with' pen and ink, and in the
morning proceeded with the trial of his case. .Law books were few and far
between ; a good working library consisted of the session laws, ''Bancroft's Forms,"
"Estee's Pleadings," and a few good text books. -.Supreme Court reports were
unknown in this section of the country, and the case lawyer had" not yet come
into existence. In the arginnent of legal questions, decisions of the courts were
seldom mentioned, but the lawyers depended upon their knowledge of the prin-
ciples of the law, and their ability to apply those principles to the facts of the
case on trial. There were no specialists in different branches of the law in those
days and the successful lawyer was able to take up in rapid succession, with
only one night for preparation, first an important criminal case, then a com-
plicated civil jury case, and then an intricate equity case. There may be at this
time abler lawyers in some one branch of their profession, than were this pioneer
bar, but for a general knowledge of all the branches of the law, and readiness
in applying the fundamental principles of the law to their particular case, with-
out having reference to the court reports, the pioneer lawyer was far in the
lead of the modern practitioner. This method of practice made big, broad and
ready men; the little lawyer drifted in and soon drifted out; only the big ones
remained, and they made their mark both in law and in politics. In those days,
when there were no railroads, no daily newspapers, no moving picture shows,
or other places of amusement, the people from far and near came to tovra during
court week and regularly attended its session, enjoying the funny incidents com-
ing up during the trials, and listening attentively to the eloquent speeches of the
able lawyers.

The District Court for Columbia County was created in 1878, and in June
of that year. Judge Wingard held his first term in Dayton. In addition to the
Walla Walla lawyers above mentioned, the following members of the local bar
were in attendance at that time: Andrew J. Cain, Robert F. Sturdevant, Wyatt

268 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

A. George, Morgan A. Baker, Mathew W. Mitchell, Thomas H. Crawford, John
T. Ford, William Ewing and John D. McCabe, of Dayton and William C. Potter
and Joseph H. Lister of I'omeroy.

Judge Wingard was red headed, a little dyspeptic, somewhat irritable at times
and usually wore a shawl around his shoulders, while occupying the bench. He
was much given to imposing lines on lawyers, jurors and witnesses who came in
late, but generally remitted them after he had cooled off. He was always kind
to the young, inexperienced lawyer, giving him good advice, and extending a
helping hand when the young fellow was lost in his case and grasping for a
straw. He was more exacting with the older lawyer and quickly became impatient
when one of them tried to mislead him as to the law. However, he was a good
judge, honored and respected by all, and administered the law as it appeared to
him, without fear of being recalled.

Andrew J. Cain was probably the pioneer lawyer of Southeastern Wash-
ington, and made his first appearance as a clerk in the quartermaster's depart-
ment, at the time the treaty was concluded by General Wright with the Indians,
at Walla Walla in 1858, and assisted in preparing the terms of this treaty. He
practiced in Walla Walla from i860 until 1873, when he came to Dayton and
soon afterwards founded the Dayton News, Dayton's pioneer newspaper. He
had full charge in the Legislature of the bills creating the present County of
Columbia, is frequently mentioned as the father of that county, and was its first
county auditor. He was always considered an able and well equipped lawyer,
not particularly eloquent, but very forcible in his speech, and was quite suc-
cessful while engaged in the practice. He died in 1879.

Col. Wyatt A. George was born in Indiana in 1819, and after serving in the
Mexican war, came to the coast during the gold excitement of 1849. ^^ ^o^'
lowed the mining camps until i860, when he settled in Walla Walla, practicing
there until the District Court was established in Dayton in 1878, when he
removed to that town. He practiced in Dayton for ten years and then went to
Pomeroy for a short time, then to Colfax, and afterwards returned to Walla
Walla, where he died without means, his last wants being administered by the
members of the bar, with whom he had practiced for so many years. His knowl-
edge of the law was wonderful, and he was often referred to as a walking law
library, and by many as "Old Equity." He seldom referred to a law book, yet his
knowledge of the principles and reasons of the law, and his familiarity with the
technical system of pleadings then in vogue, was such that he seldom entered a
case, without interposing a demurrer or motion against the pleading of his
adversary, and always demanded and collected terms before allowing them to
plead over. He was perhaps the ablest common lawyer in the territory, and was
very successful in his practice. The old colonel with his tall, slender form, his
white beard, his stove pipe hat and cane, was noticeable in any gathering, and he
always believed in maintaining the dignity of his profession in the manner of his
dress and his bearing on the street. The colonel wasn't much of a joker, but
had a sense of dry humor about him, which sometimes cropped out, and was
much appreciated by his associates. There was a drayman in Dayton in those
days, known as "Old Jake," who drove a pair of mules to his dray. His mules
were attached and he employed Colonel George to claim them as exempt. The
previous Legislature in describing the property exempt to a teamster, had unin-

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 269

tentionally omitted the word "mules," and Judge Wingard held against the
colonel. After studying the statute for a moment, the colonel remarked to the
judge that the members of the late lamented Legislature had evidently overlooked
mules, but that it was the first time in the history of the world that a mule
had been overlooked by a set of jackasses.

Judge Sturdevant came to Dayton in 1874, and was soon elected prosecuting
attorney of the first judicial district. He was the first probate judge of Columbia
County and its prosecuting attorney for many years. He was a member of the
constitutional convention, and the first judge of this judicial district after we
became a state. He practiced law in Columbia County until a few years ago,
when he removed to Olympia, but occasionally comes back for the trial of some
case and recalls old memories. The judge was of a very genial disposition,
always ready to lay aside his work and tell a good story, yet withal he was a
splendid lawyer, trying his cases closely and generally with success, and even
yet in his old age, he retains his knowledge of the law, his cunning and his
ready wit, and bids fair to practice law for many years to come.

Morgan A. Baker was a young man when he came to Dayton from Albany,
Ore., in 1877. He was a good office lawyer and a safe adviser. He was some-
what diffident in court, but usually tried his cases well. As a politician and
manager of the old democratic party in this county, he was in a class by himself.
He practiced here for thirteen years and was very successful in his profession
and in a financial way. He removed from here to Seattle and afterwards returned
to his first home at McMinville, Ore., where he died a few years ago.

The other local lawyers who were present at the first term of court, did not
remain here long. M. W. Mitchell is still living at Weiser, Idaho. Tom Crawford
located at Union, Ore., and attained considerable political prominence in that
state.

In 1879, David Higgins and James Knox Rutherford came to Dayton. Hig-
gins was an elderly man, and somewhat hard of hearing; he never had to amend
his pleadings, because no one could read his writing ; he had a very good knowl-
edge of the law, and is principally remembered as the man who broke the first
city charter. He afterwards located at Sprague where he died many years ago.

Rutherford was prosecuting attorney for several years and assisted John B.
Allen in the prosecution of Owenby, McPherson and Snodderly, the most cele-
brated murder trials of this part of the state. Rutherford went from here to
Whatcom, and when last heard from was working at his old trade as a paper
maker at Lowell, Wash.

In 1880, Melvin M. Godman and John Y. Ostrander located in Dayton.
Judge Godman was then a young lawyer, from Santa Clara, Cal., but was
very successful from the start, and soon attained prominence in his profession.
He was acknowledged by all, as one of the greatest trial lawyers in Eastern
Washington. He was an eloquent advocate, with a good knowledge of the law,
forcibly presenting the strong points of his own case, and quick to discover
the weak points in his opponent's case, and turn them to his own advantage.
He was twice a member of the Legislature, a member of the constitutional con-
vention, the second superior judge of this district, an unsuccessful candidate
for supreme judge, congressman and governor of the state, and at the time of
his death was chairman of the Public Service Commission. He was one of the

-'70 OLD WALl.A WALLA COUNTY

great men of the state. John Y. Ostrander was the son of Dr. Ostrander, and
born in Cowlitz County, but came to Dayton from Olympia. He was a good
lawyer for a young man; was red headed and a natural lighter, and even when
he lost his case, he gave his op])oncnt good reason to remember that he had been
in a lawsuit.

In 1881, Elmon Scott was admitted to practice in the courts of this district,
at Dayton, and located at Pomeroy, where he became i)rominent in his profes-
sion, and when we became a state, he was elected to the Sujjreme Court, doing
honorable service for twelve years. He then retired from practice and is now
living quietly at Bellingham, enjoying a well earned competency. In 1883, Mack
F. Gose took his examination at Dayton and also located at Pomeroy, where he
developed into one of the most successful lawyers in Eastern Washington. He
served for six years on our supreme bench, where he justly earned the reputation
of being one of the greatest judges our state has yet produced. Judge Gose
delved deeply into the law and his thorough knowledge of its fundamental prin-
ciples was responsible for his great success upon the bench. The judge is
admired by his acquaintances and worshiped by his friends in Garfield County,
where he spends his summers on his ranch at Mayview.

In 1884, Samuel G. Cosgrove located at Dayton and was admitted to practice
in the courts of the territory, but soon removed to Pomeroy. He was a veteran
of the Civil war, an orator and an excellent trial lawyer. His predominant
characteristics were amljition and perseverance, never losing sight of his goal
until by persistent efforts he had reached it. He was a member of the constitu-
tional convention and finally achieved his life long ambition to be governor of
Washington. It is to be regretted that he did not live to enjoy the fruits of
his life long work.

Much might be said of these three men, but their history is a part of the
history of the state ; they put Pomeroy on the map, and gave it the reputation
of having produced more prominent men than any small town in our state.

During the year 1886, Charles R. Dorr and James Ewen Edmiston, both of
whom had read law in Dayton, took the examination and were admitted to prac-
tice. Charlie Dorr w^as an orator and a student and quickly took his place among
the leading lawyers, and it was often said that he was the most brilliant young
lawyer in this part of the state. With him ambition reigned supreme, and this
coupled with natural industry and backed by that drive power which causes
men to do things worth while, would have made him a power in this state, had
he lived a few years longer. He was prosecuting attorney for two years, and took
his place among the campaign orators of the state. His death in 1892, after six
years of practice, was the cause of much regret.

James E. Edmiston in private life was a quiet unassuming gentleman, loved
and respected by everyone. As a lawyer he was successful from the start, and
soon built up a large practice. His knowledge of men and his ability to judge
them as they are. gained from his experience as a teacher, a minister and a
business man, prior to his taking up the law, made him a dangerous opponent
in the trial of cases in court. He was well founded in the principles of the law,
was a convincing speaker and had great weight with a jury. He filled the office
of prosecuting attorney for two years, with credit to himself. His death in
iqoo, while yet in the prime of life and the midst of his usefulness, was a great

WINTER NELLIS PEARS, CLARKSTOX

APPLES GROWN IN CLARKSTON

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 271

loss to the community. It can be truly said, that a better, kinderhearted man than
J. E. Edmiston, never Hved.

The history of this state cannot be written without referring many times to
the lawyers mentioned in this paper. A senator, a congressman, a governor, many
judges of the Supreme and Superior courts, and all have made good in the
positions to which they were called. Southeastern Washington has been the
training ground for many great men.

The present bar of Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties are mostly home
products, but they are good lawyers, upholding the honor of their profession, and
full of promise, and will undoubtedly follow in the footsteps of their predecessors,
and help write the future history of our great state.

The representative of bench and bar in old Walla Walla County who has
attained the most distinguished rank in office, having been a member of the
State Supreme Court of Washington, as well as possessing high rank in the
regard of multitudes of his fellow-citizens, is Judge Mack F. Gose of Pomeroy.
He also, like the other contributors, belongs to a prominent pioneer family, and
also a family of lawyers. He too is on our advisory board.

We have the pleasure of presenting here a special sketch by Judge Gose,
including a narration by him of a case of peculiar interest and importance, the
case of old Timothy, the Nez Perce hero of the Alpowa :

TIMOTHY OF ALPOWA AND HIS LAND CASE

On a broad fertile plain on the Snake Hiver>near.tlJe ihouth of the Alpowa
Creek, about 1800, there were born two Ntez P.fer-ce 'ichildreH. of the full blood,
a boy and a girl, named Timothy and Tima, who, upon attaining the age of
manhood and womanhood, became husband and wife arid 'remained such until
the death of the wife which occurred in 1889; '"TlTnothy,-tlie subject of this
sketch, passed on about a year later. He was a chief of the Nez Perce tribe and.
from the time of his birth until his decease, dwelt at the place where he was
born.

He was converted to Christianity by the Reverend Spalding, and became a
licensed preacher. There was born to Timothy and Tima as issue of their
marriage four children, three sons and a daughter : He-yune-ilp-ilp, or Edward
Timothy, Jane Ti-moochin, Estip-ee-nim-tse-lot, or Young Timothy, and Amos
Timothy who died during childhood. Edward was twice married. There was
born to his first wife a daughter Pah-pah-tin, who married Wat-tse-tse-kowwen.
To them was bom a daughter Pitts-teen. The issue of his second marriage was
a daughter Nancy Tse-wit-too-e, who was married to Rev. George Waters, an
Indian of the Yakima tribe. The issue of this marriage was two daughters,
Ellen and Nora. Jane Timoochin was twice married. To her was born a son,
William, the issue of her first marriage. To William was born a daughter
named Cora. To Young Timothy was born a daughter Amelia, who had a son
named Abraham. The living issue of Timothy and Tima at the time of the death
of the latter was Jane Timoochin, Pitts-teen, Ellen, Nora, Cora and Abraham.
The second husband of Jane Timoochin was John Silcott, a prominent and much
respected citizen of the State of Idaho, with whom she lived until her death in
1895. In 1877 Timothy filed his declaration of intention to become a citizen of

272 OLD NNAl.LA WALI.A COUNTY

ihc L'nitcd States. A yrar later he tiled a humcstead entry on the tract of land
U|K>n which he was bom. and had continued to reside. In 1K83 he made final
proof as a naturalized citizen of the L'nited States, and a year later received liis
letters |>atent. No record evidence of his naturalization lus been found, but
there is abundant evidence that he voted at least once and that he was a ta.xpayer.

A reference to the dates given will show that Tinioihy was a lad four or
live, |>erha|>s six, years of age when the Lewis and Clark party niade its memor-
able voyage down the Snake Kivcr in 1805 and stop|)ed at the Indian village
where he resided. The writer has heard it stated by a friend of I iinothy that
he claimed to remember seeing these white men. There can be but little doubt
that he was old enough to have an txcurrcnce so strange to him indelibly stani|>ed
u|>on his memory. I'mm early manluKul until his death Tinuiiliy was a good ni.iii,
whether measured by the white skin or the red skin standard. He early adopted
the habits of civilized life, and was a friend of the white race. Histor)- rri. :■!
that he was instrumental in .saving the lives of tieneral Steptoe and his > ::
tnand. Gen. Hazard Stevens in the life of his father, the eminent Gen. Isaac
I. .*>itvens. relates that Timothy attended the great Indian council held at Walla
Walla between (iovcrnor Stevens and many Indian trilK*s in 1H53, at which time
and place a treaty was concluded, and that "the morning after the council, being
Sun<Iay, he (Timothy) preached a sermon for the times and held uj) to indigna-
tion of the triln.' and the retribution of the Almighty those who would coalesce
with the Cayuses and break the faith of the Nez Perces." Like I-awyer, the head
chief of the N'cz Perce tribe at the time this council was held and the treaty
was made, Timothy loved to dwell in j)cace. They alone amoni; all the chiefs
there assembled saw the folly of fighting the white man.

The remains of Timothy rest in an unmarked grave on the banks of .^nakc
River — the spot of his birth, his life and his death. lifTorts have been made to
secure Congressional recognition of his worth to the white man when he was
struggling to make a settlement in the Northwest in the heart of a country
|)copled by thousands of Indians, many of whom were hostile to our race. So
far the effort has been unavailing. It is said that there were but two pictures in
Timothy's simple cabin home — one of George Washington, the other of himself.
This may excite the derision of those who know nothing of the simple, honest,
Cliristian. loyal character of Timothy ; but to those who know his history it seems
not an improjK-r linking of two names : one great and loyal to all that was right
and just ; the other, obscure as measured by white .skin standar-'^ '"' .dso loyal
to right and justice as he understood the Christian teaching.

With this sketch of Timothy and a projKr understanding of the prominent
l>art that he jilayed in several of the njomentous events of history in this section,
the reader will sec the interest which gathers around a noted law case connected
with the land upon which he filed near the junction of AIjHjwa Creek with Snake
Kiver.

A summary of the case is as follows :

Tlie patent through which Timothy accjuired the legal title to his homestead
recites that the land shall not be sold or incuml)cred for a period of twenty years.
Despite this limitation. Timothy and Tima. in Jure. 1RR4. about two months after
the patent had l>een issued, executed an tmacknowledgcd lease of the land to
John M Silcolt for a term of ninety-nine years The expressed consideration

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 273

for the lease was a nominal sum, payable yearly. In April, 1890, Silcott assigned
an undivided one-half interest in the lease to L. A. Porter. In March, 1892, he
assigned the remainder of the lease to Richard Ireland. In March, 1902, Silcott
conveyed his interest in the land to Ireland by a deed of quitclaim. In October,
1903, Ireland and wife conveyed their interest in both the land and lease to
William A. White and Edward A. White. In March, 1904, Porter assigned his
interest in the lease to W. J. Houser and Ross R. Brattain, and at the same time
conveyed to them certain fee interests in the land which he had purchased from
certain of the heirs of Timothy and Tima.

In May, 1904, Houser and Brattain entered into a contract with White
Brothers, above mentioned, whereby they agreed to convey to them the Porter
interests, both fee and leasehold.

About 1903 or 1904 Charles L. McDonald, a lawyer residing and practicing
his profession at Lewiston, in the State of Idaho, purchased the inheritances of
Cora, the granddaughter of Jane, and Abraham, the grandson of young Timothy,
and of Noah, the father of Abraham. The other interests were claimed by
White Brothers. They also claimed the one-sixth interest inherited by Cora.

As an outgrowth of the facts stated, intricate and prolonged litigation fol-
lowed. Mr. McDonald commenced a suit against White Brothers, alleging that
the lease was invalid on two grounds: First, because the lease was unacknowl-
edged, and second, because the patent to Timothy should have contained a five-
year non-alienation clause in accordance with the act of Congress of March 3,
1875. He also asserted title to the entire fee in the land acquired as he claimed
through conveyances from all the heirs of Timothy and Tima. He did not claim to
have acquired the inheritances of Silcott or of the heirs of Edward, but his con-
tention was that Silcott and Jane had not been legally married and that Edward
had not married.

At the trial it was established that in early times living together in the manner
usual between husband and wife constituted a legal marriage, according to the
Nez Perce tribal custom. It was also established that, according to the same
custom, either spouse was at liberty to separate from the other and at once take
a new mate ; thus giving legality to both the divorce and second marriage. From
the evidence offered the court found that Edward was twice married; that there
was living issue of both marriages, and that Silcott and Jane were legally mar-
ried. It was shown that Rev. James Hines, an Indian preacher, licensed but not
ordained, performed the marriage ceremony between Silcott and Jane about the
year 1882, at some place on the Alpowai Creek, in the then Territory of Wash-
ington. Mr. McDonald's contention that only ordained ministers could perform
the marriage ceremony and that a ceremonial marriage without proof that a mar-
riage license had been procured was invalid, was held to be without merit.

The evidence showed that the actual consideration for the lease was that
Silcott should support Timothy and Tima during their natural lives ; that he did
so, and that he gave them a decent burial was amply proven. Under the laws of
Washington an unacknowledged lease of real property for more than a year is
not valid. The Whites relied upon permanent and valuable improvements and
the long continued possession of their predecessors under the lease as constituting
both laches and estoppel against the right to assert the invalidity of the lease.
Touching this aspect of the case it was shown that the land was unfenced and

27-4 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

covered with sage brush, except about one acre which had been used as an Indian
garden when the lease was made; that the land then had a value of five dollars
per acre ; that in the fall of 1890 Silcott and Porter plowed, cleared and leveled
about sixty acres and planted it to fruit trees ; that the next spring they planted
about twenty acres to alfalfa; that in the fall of 1903 White Brothers planted
about twenty acres additional to orchard; that water had been carried to the
land for irrigation by those claiming under the lease, and that at the time of the
trial (about 1906) the orchard was in good condition and the land of the value
of $20,000.

Both the trial court and the supreme court took the view that the heirs were
guilty of laches, w^hich precluded setting aside the lease, they having permitted
those claiming under it to have the undisturbed possession of the land for more
than twenty years. It was also held that, in view of the valuable improvements
placed on the land by those who in good faith believed the lease to be valid, it
would be doing violence to the plainest rules of equity to permit those who have
remained passive when it was their duty to speak, to be rewarded for their inat-
tention to their legal rights. Upon these principles the lease was sustained. Mr.
McDonald was adjudged to be the owner of the one-sixth interest inherited by
Cora and the one-third interest inherited by Abraham and his father, Noah, mak-
ing an undivided one-half of the fee simple title. White Brothers were adjudged
to be the owners of the remaining fee interest composed of the inheritances
through Edward and of John Silcott, all, however, subject to the ninety-nine-year
lease. The marriages and heirships were proven by the testimony of Indian wit-
nesses.

The case was tried at Asotin. One old Indian testified that he was born
there and that he owned the town and adjoining land. In testifying to the first
marriage of Edward, he caused some merriment by saying that he was busy as
usual when it happened and gave little attention to an incident so trivial in his
busy life. Edward Reboin, whose father was a Frenchman and whose mother
was a Nez Perce Indian, was used as an interpreter. He testified to the customs
of marriage and divorce among the Nez Perce Indians. He said in early times
two marriage customs were recognized and followed. The simplest one has been
stated. The other was to have a wedding feast, attended by the relatives and
friends of the young couple ; following which the happy pair betook themselves
to the tepee of the husband and they twain became husband and wife.

The trial of the case consumed several days. The court permitted wide lati-
tude in the presentation of the evidence. Several white men and many Indians
gave testimony on the various phases of the case. Among others, Mr. R. P.
Reynolds, now a resident of the City of Walla Walla, made oath that he was
well acquainted with Timothy; that he explained the lease to him before he
signed ; that the actual consideration for the lease was that Silcott should support
Timothy and Tima during the natural life of each thereof; that he did so and
that he gave each of them a decent burial. The examination of an Indian witness
through an interpreter is an interesting experience. The Indian carries his
traditional stoicism to the witness stand. There he is as impassive as a piece of
marble. Neither by sign nor act does he give any indication of the working of
his mind to the examiner. His answer to one question rarely suggests another
question. The examiner works his way in the dark as best he may. This expe-

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 275

rience is particularly true of cross-examination. It has been said that cross-
examination is an art. Some artist may have seen the light in cross-examining
an Indian, but to the writer the Indian has been a man of mystery.

THE PHYSICIANS

From the bench and bar we turn to the medical profession. It is hard to ex-
press the debt of gratitude which these pioneer communities owe to their phy-
sicians. Among those who have completed their work and passed on, the minds
of all people of old Walla Walla would turn with profound respect and veneration
to Dr. N. G. Blalock as justly entitled to be called the foremost citizen of this
section, and among the foremost of the State of Washington. Conspicuous
among the great physicians who have passed away, Dr. John E. Bingham would
be called up by all the old-timers as a man of extraordinary ability, great attain-
ments in general knowledge, and a skillful and successful practitioner. Many
others, gone and still living, have made noble contributions to the upbuilding of
the region covered by our story, but limits of space forbid special mention.

Among the living representatives of the medical profession undoubtedly the
man whose name would come at once to the minds of all in his section of our
field is Dr. G. B. Kuykendall of Pomeroy. We have had occasion frequently in
these pages to refer to this foremost of the physicians of his section of the state.
Prominent both by reason of his medical ability and his peculiarly genial and
attractive personality. Dr. Kuykendall has also been one of the leading historical
students, and one of the especially gifted writers in this section of our field. In
this chapter we give a contribution by this well-known and well-loved physician
of Garfield County :

REMINISCENCES OF MEDICAL PRACTICE IN G.ARFIELD COUNTY, W.ASHINGTON, IN

PIONEER TIMES

Forty years as a measure of the earth's geological changes, or of the history
of the world, are as but a moment — as the lightning's flash or the fall of a meteor.
The same lapse of time in the life of a physician, during the early settlement of
the Inland Empire, seems long when viewed in retrospection. A sketch of those
forty years would be a vitagraph of the most active period of his life and also
the panorama of the building of an empire.

Four decades ago, the larger part of all this country was a wilderness — a
typical western frontier.

In those days, when the physician started out in the country to visit his pa-
tients, he rode over a region covered with tall grass, swept into wavy undulations
by the western winds. As far as the eye could see there were but few human
habitations ; and seldom a fence to mar the landscape or obstruct the way.

The doctor's mode of travel then, on medical trips, was usually on the "hurri-
cane deck of a cayuse horse," and his armamentarium was carried in the old-time
saddle or pill bags. Often the jolting and jostling of the bottles therein caused
the effluvium of ether, valerian and other odoriferous medicaments to exude and
make the air redolent with their perfume. We had to carry our medicines with
us, and a pretty good supply of them, too ; for we never knew what we should
find or how many sick we might meet before our return.

In the pioneer days of this coimtry, the "settlers" had small houses and but

-'70 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

few convenience!! as we now know ilicni. Mostly ihcy lived in domiciles ol one
room, and there were few indeed that had more. \\ hen sickness came it always
found them un|)re]>ared.

Dust, flics and impure water were the curse of the sick, and made it un
|K)Ssible to give them prujjer sanitary environnirnts. Dust in those days was
nmch worse than now, as roads were then in the making by the easiest and quickest
route. They lasscd uj) and down the bunchgrass hills and across the sage |)lains,
the soft, ashy soil being ground into dust of prodigious depth by "single-track"
sununer travel, l-rcight wagons, incoming settlers and caravan trains kej)t the
roads so dusty that the traveler was greatly inconvenienced.

Homesteaders at first procured water from the little gulches near their homes
or from shallow wells of seepage water. In either case, it was nearly always im-
pregnated more or less with alkali and loaded with organic matter. The result
was that every year, after the country had a considerable ]X)pulation, ty|)hoid
(then called mountain fever) appeared, and every summer and fall there were
numerous cases. People, then, had not been educated to the necessity of projK-r
care of the body and knew scarcely anything of disease germs, antiseptics or
sanitation. Bath rooms, hot and cold water in the home, existed only in
memories of the past or dreams of the future.

Many times when 1 was called to a country home to see a patient, to dress a
wound or reduce and dress a fracture, I frequently went out to a hole in the ground
dignified by the name of well, to wash the dust from my face and hands. We
got along almost "any old way" those days, and did not soiin u> mind so very
much the inconveniences either.

In those days we did not have telephone lines running e\iTywhere over the
country and to nearly every home, as now. When a member of a pioneer family
suddenly became sick, or when someone had been "bucked" from a horse and got
a leg or arm broken, or the baby had a collection of wind crosswise in its stomach
and was howling "loud enough to raise the rafters," then there was a sudden
demand for someone to go, from three to twenty-five miles, for the doctor. They
could not step to a phone and call him up and ask advice, or request him to start
at once. The program was to rout out the hired man or one of the boys, or send
to a neighlxir. and have him saddle a horse and start to town for the physician.

It is remarkable how nnich worse green plums and cucimil>ers affect the in-
ternal apparatus of a "kid" in bad weather, and what a predilection colic has for
attacking the "in'ards" of a baby on dark, stormy nights. It always seemed to
me that the children of the early settlers passed by the "moonshiny" nights and
selected the very worst possible weather for their birthdays. This seems to be
one of the inscrutable arrangements of providence, and bears indisputable testi-
mony to the early age at which human perversity l)cgins.

In those days the time required to get word to the doctor and secure his at-
tendance was so great that the patient sometitnes died or recovered before the
physician rould possibly reach him. During all this time the patient and friends
were kept in an agony of uncertainty and suspense.

In retrospection, some of my long, hard night drives through darkness, freez-
ing cold, snowdrifts, rain, slush or mud. are still like memories of a horrible
nightmare.

There have l)een several epidemics that swept over the country since the be-

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 277

ginning of its settlement. The first was smallpox. It is a remarkable fact that
many physicians diagnosed the disease as chickenpox, until it began to slay many
of its victims. There was at that time quite a controversy among the physicians
and a part of the people in regard to the nature of the disease.

In the spring of 1888, epidemic cerebro-spinal meningitis appeared in Gar-
field County and the surrounding country. It came on so suddenly and the
symptoms were so violent, and the results in many cases were so rapidly fatal,
that it created consternation among the people. The physicians over the country
generally had not previously met the disease nor had any experience with it,
and were puzzled both as to diagnosis and treatment. The writer had, during the
epidemic, an experience that was enough for a lifetime. The disease prevailed
more or less for about two years. In Garfield County there were a large number
of cases on the upper and lower Deadman Creek, Meadow Gulch, Mayview,
Ping, along the Snake River and in Pomeroy and Pataha. It is probable that Gar-
field County, in proportion to its population, had more cases than any county in
the .state.

The attacks of the malady were of all shades of severity and the symptoms
of the greatest diversity. It attacked, for the most part, young persons from the
age of three to twenty years, but there were numerous cases older and younger.
In some instances the person was taken instantly, while apparently in ordinary
health, with agonizing pains in the head and spine, with or without vomiting, and
in a few minutes he became wildly delirious, with convulsions, muscular con-
tractions, rigidity of the neck, head drawn far back, and was soon unconscious ;
and in some cases, died within a few hours. In other cases, the patient lingered
on for many weeks or even months, halting between life and death, with ex-
cruciating agony, only at last to die, worn out and reduced to a skeleton. Others
slowly emerged from their desperate condition to regain complete health, while
others were left partially paralyzed, with distorted and shrivelled limbs or im-
paired mental powers.

I witnessed many harrowing scenes among my meningitis cases, and when the
epidemic was past, I fervently thanked God and wished I might never again
have to pass through a similar experience.

Following up the meningitis scourge, there came along soon afterwards a
notable epidemic of influenza or la grippe. The symptoms it produced were very
characteristic of and came near to answering the description of epidemic "Rus-
sian influenza," graphically pictured in old medical works. Whole communities
were prostrated in a few hours. It seemed to spread through the medium of the
atmosphere, and was also very contagious, passing from person to person. Many
were stricken and overpowered almost or quite as suddenly as the meningitis cases,
while some exhibited meningeal tendencies that made the diagnosis doubtful at

first.

I remember of going to Ilia to see a patient with the disease, and before get-
ting back home I had been called to prescribe for seventeen persons ; and a few
days later I took the disease myself.

The eflfects of this epidemic were manifest for years, there being left in its
wake a multitude of cases of enlarged and suppurating cervical glands, otitis
media (suppuration of the middle ear), weakened lungs, bronchitis, and a num-
ber of cases of tuberculosis.

278 OLD WAl.l.A WALLA COUNTY

Before the country was fenced up, when the roads were few and settlements
sparse, the doctor's trips were occasionally very lonely. When going out into
remote parts after nightfall, traveling an unfamiliar road and uncertain as to
where it led, without a house, fence or sign of human habitation in sight, I have
been startled by the weird, doleful bowlings of the coyote or the melancholy hoot-
ings of the prairie owl. At such times there came over me an undefined feeling
of loneliness, not real fear, but perhaps it was that instinctive dread of dark-
ness and danger at night that has come down to us from savage and superstitious
ancestors of past ages. Be that as it may, the sight of a candle or lamp gleaming
across the prairie, from some settler's window, had a most welcome and cheering
eftVct. Even the barking of a dog or the noise of domestic fowls, or any
sound indicating the proximity of human beings tended to enliven the gloom and
make home seem nearer.

Thirty or forty years ago we never dreamed that we should ever drive over
the country in an automobile. We considered ourselves pretty "well fixed" when
we had a good top buggy and a nimble team with which we could make eight or
nine miles an hour. In the fine weather of spring and early summer, if there
happened to be no need of special haste, it was often a real pleasure to drive
out through the country. When the air was redolent with the perfume of flowers
and growing vegetation, or sweet with the perfume of new mown hay, the blue
sky above, the distant pine-covered mountains, the rolling, grass-covered hills and
prairies, all formed a combination well calculated to exhilarate and give delight.

But night visits in the winter time, during cold, stormy weather, were alto-
gether different, when, with darkness there was snow and mud, or strong wind
and hard freezing, and the physician had to plod his way slowly along, sitting
chilled through and through, feet almost frozen, hands and fingers so benumbed
they could hardly clasp the lines — no play of the imagination could make it seem
a pleasure trip. It was far worse, however, when there were added to these con-
ditions the feelings and emotions caused by the consciousness that off in a little
pioneer cabin on the prairie, or in some gulch, or up in the mountains, there was a
patient that was lying at the point of death, with wild delirium or low muttering
and stupid mental wandering, or some woman shrieking in agony and praying to
God to send her relief from the suffering she was enduring to give life to another,
while friends distracted were waiting and wishing the doctor would come. Spurred
by these reflections I have often plied the whip and automatically pushed on the
lines, to help my horses, my mind running ahead to my destination. As disagree-
able as were the outward circumstances, often the state of mental torture and
suspense were worse than the physical discomfort.

In those days, the physician had ample time to think while on his long trips
in the country, particularly when patients presented no serious symptoms, or when
returning home. Often on such occasions, I have looked up at the starlit sky and
the myriads of scintillating worlds therein, and thought of the vastness of the
universe, and of the aeons of ages since all these blazing worlds were set float-
ing in space. Then came the thought of the immensity of the distance to even the
nearest fixed star, and of the vast stretches of the illimitable universe beyond:
and of the worlds in the outer confines of space beyond the Milky Way or the
Pleiades, whose light took thousands of years to reach the earth. Then would
come the thought, "Why all this stupendous, illimitable, incomprehensible aggre-

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 279

g-ation of worlds?" "Are any of the planets of these glowing orbs inhabited by
intelligent beings?" "If not, why do they exist at all?" Thus my thoughts have
run on and on, until cold, darkness, discomfort and almost everything else have
been forgotten and lost in my contemplations, and time passed almost unper-
ceived as I traversed the miles in solitude. At other times my thoughts would run
upon the problems of human existence, the connection between mind and matter,
the mystery of life and death.

Traveling on a moonlit night along the breaks of Snake River, Tucanon or
Alpowa, watching the silvery lights and dark shadow along the escarpments and
basaltic walls that border these streams and make such grand and beautiful
scenery, I pictured to my mind this country when fresh from the hands of the fire
gods, a seething, sizzling mass of molten basalt. Then I thought of the long years
of its cooling, the gradual crumbling of the rock and the formation of the soil, the
appearance of plant and animal life, and of the tropical and semi-tropical climate
that must have existed; and of the wonderful extinct animals that once inhabited
our hills and valleys; of the hairy mammoth, the three-toed horse and the other
strange beings that roamed through the forests that one time were here.

As I looked far down into the wonderful gorge through which Snake River
flows, and contemplated the many centuries it must have taken to cut the great
channel, it gave me a more comprehensive conception of how the author of the
universe operated in creation.

Back in the days when we drove buggies or rode horseback, we had time on
the road to do a lot of thinking, as well as of freezing and scorching, or plodding
through snow, mud or dust.

A physician trained in thought is sure to thresh out in his mind while on the
road, during the day or night, many knotty problems in the isms, ologies and
pathies of medical practice; and when serious sickness claims his attention, and is
pressing for his best endeavors, he will search all the treasure houses of his
memory for everything that he has ever read or heard of in relation to similar
cases. Often the time was wearisome, roads were long, and waiting for pay for
services was long, and all this longness tended to make a shortness of the pocket-
book.

When in the midst of weary night vigils, or when nearly worn out and ex-
hausted by loss of sleep, or when chilled to the bone by cold and exposure, I have
thought that if ever any one was justified in taking a stimulant to "brace up,"
it is the overworked physician. While I never took any kind of stimulant or nar-
cotic, I have felt like making some allowance for the hard driven doctor who
occasionally took something to brace him up and deaden his sensibility to cold and
fatigue.

One of the worst combinations a doctor had to meet was a deep snow, dense
fog and unbroken roads. If added to this there was intense cold, the trip was to
be dreaded. One would be about as well ofif in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,
without a compass, as in such a snow and fog. Whether one looked up, down or
any other direction, the appearance was all the same — it was one blank, im-
penetrable, misty- white. If a man turned around and once missed his bearings,
he was lost indeed. There were instances, those days, where persons were caught
out in the darkness and wandered around all night on a forty-acre tract, utterly

280 OLD WALLA WALLA COL'XTY

bewildered. One who has been lost in one of those foggy snows will never forget
his sensations and feelings.

Time has wrought many changes since the days of the early settlement of the
country. Places that were reached only with the greatest difficulty and sometimes
with peril, we now drive up to on smooth roads of easy grades. Where we could
scarcely get to a cabin on horseback, one now drives up with ease in an automobile
to a beautiful modern home.

Where it used to take many hours or a whole day to make a visit, the
same distance can now be made in an hour or even in minutes. The telephone,
good roads, automobiles and new discoveries and advances in medical science,
surgery and pharmacy, have revolutionized medical practice.

Riding out today, over on Snake River, out in the Deadman country, up on
the Pataha Prairie, up to Peola or the Blue Mountains, over on the Tucanon or
toward Lewiston or Dayton, one still sees here and there the reminders of "old
times" and "'old timers." Here are the relics of old cabins, where the pioneers
first had their homes.

Memory goes back to a desperate case of typhoid fever here, or of pneumonia
or other disease over there. There come up memory pictures of scenes of anxiety,
suffering and suspense and then of recovery, or possibly death.

Over yonder stood the home of an early pioneer. In that house was born a
son or daughter that today is leading in business and society ; the father and
mother are sleeping in one of the cemeteries of the county. A few are still linger-
ing, old and feeble, waiting for the final summons. Back in the mountains, where
today we go gliding along in automobiles on summer outings, there are still
seen the fading sites of the sawmills, pole and shingle mills that were operated
there in early days. These remind me of broken legs and arms, of wounds and
accidents, and of serious sickness that happened between thirty and forty years
ago. The places where the old mills stood are marked by little clearings now
overgrown with weeds and brush, with here and there a few slabs, dim in piles of
sawdust, and scattering stumps. The old mills are gone and the people who
owned and ran them have died or left the country.

As I write these hasty reminiscences, I wonder if thirty-five or forty years
from now will bring as many changes to this country as the same length of time
in the past.

What wonderful improvements the science of medicine the past forty years
have brought ! What additions to our knowledge of the cause of disease, of
disease germs and how to combat them, of serums, opsonins, vaccines and of
physiological chemistry! What advances have been made in the knowledge of
antiseptics and preventative medicine, and what great strides in surgery and the
treatment of wounds! What a vast field has been opened up in the study of
internal secretions of the ductless glands and their relation to the well-being of
the human physical system.

What will be the state of medical science forty or fifty years from now?
Will physicians make their country calls in airplanes, soaring over hills and plains
high in air? In pioneer days anxious ears strained for the sound of the gallop
of the doctor's horse ; later the patter of horses' feet and the rattle of the buggy
denoted the approach of medical aid ; now the gleam of the motor car lights an-
nounce that relief is near. A few years hence, mayhap, anxious ones awaiting

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 281

the doctor will be made aware of his coming by the whir of the airplane motor
and anxiously view his approach through powerful binoculars. Even now the
most rosy dreams of our trail-making fathers have been far surpassed. That
vast expanse of sage and sand that formed a large part of the Columbia River
Valley will have become the garden and granary of Northwestern America.

But the beautiful homes, fertile fields, green expanses of alfalfa, the fruit-
laden orchards, the cities and towns, schools, churches, factories, mills and marts
of industry, will, to those who never saw the country in its original wildness, have
little to tell of the toils, struggles, waiting and weariness that were the cost of this
marvelous transformation.

PART III

PERIOD OF COUNTY DIVISIONS

CHAPTER I

POLITICAL HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY SINCE COUNTY

DIVISION

Beginning in 1876 with reduced area, but with rapid growth and with encour-
aging outlook in all lines, Walla Walla County entered upon what might be de-
scribed as the third stage of her growth, that from county division to statehood
in 1889.

It is of interest to note a few statistics of the period of transition. In 1870
the population of the Old County was 5,102. In 1877, the reduced county showed
a population, according to the assessor, of 5,056, while Columbia County had, by
the assessor's report of the same year, 3,618. By the report of 1875, still the Old
County, the assessed valuation was $2,792,065. In 1876, the valuation of the
reduced county was $2,296,870. There were reported at the same time 5,281
horses, 239 mules, 11,147 cattle, 13.233 sheep, 4,000 hogs, 1,774 acres of timothy,
700 acres of corn, 2,600 acres of oats, 6,000 acres of barley, 21,000 acres of wheat
and 700 acres of fruit trees.

STATEHOOD AND CONSTITUTION

The political subject of greatest general interest was Statehood and a Con-
stitutional Convention leading thereto. The project of annexation to Oregon was
by no means dead. Senator Mitchell of Oregon continued the efforts made by
.Senator Kelly. A considerable local interest, supported by the Walla Walla
Union, and its able editor, P. B. Johnson, still urged annexation. One favorite
idea, which has taken shape from time to time since, was to join Eastern Oregon
with Northern Idaho into a new state. In the Congressional session of 1877-8.
Delegate Orange Jacobs requested a bill for introducing Washington to statehood
with the three counties of Northern Idaho added. But no action was taken by
Congress. In spite of that the Territorial Legislature in November, 1877, passed
a law providing for an election to be held April 9, 1878, to choose delegates to a
convention to meet at Walla Walla on June 11, 1878. Up to that time, as we
have seen, repeated attempts to secure a vote for a convention had failed in
Walla Walla. The act of the Legislature provided that the convention should
consist of fifteen members from Washington, with one, having no vote, from
Idaho.

In pursuance of the announcement the election was duly held, though with
the scanty vote of 4,223, not half the number of voters in the territory. The
convention duly met at Science Hall in Walla Walla, and W. A. George of that
city, one of the leading lawyers as well as one of the most unique characters of the
Inland Empire, acted as temporary chairman.

285

28ti OLD \NALL.\ WALl.A COUNTY

The {icriiiancnt organization consisted of A. S. Aberncthy of Cowlitz County
as president, \V. IJ. Daniels and William Clark as secretaries, and H. D. Cook as
''■:'"»s After a Ic-ii ion tlic convcntiim !>ubM:ittcd a constitu-

ii was voted uimn at i general election in November. Though

a considerable nujority was secured, exactly two-thirds, the total vote of 9.693
fell const. ' hurt of the vote cast for delegate, and it seems to have been

generally , ird in Congress as evidence that the i>eoj)lc of the territory

did not consider the time ripe for statehood. The whole matter was, therefore,
indetlniti ' nt-d

That ; ;. tion of 1878 was notable for Walla Walla in several resjiects.

Two citizens of the city were rival nominees for the i)osition of congrcs<ioiuil
delegate. Thomas H. Rrents for the republicans and Nathan T. Caton for ih<
democrats. It was the first election in which the republicans won in Walla
Walla County. Mr. Brents had a majority of 146 in the county and 1.301 in thu-
territory. The [Militical tide had turned and from that time to the present the
republicans have been, on any ordinary issue, overwhelmingly in the majority
In 1880 Mr. l?r<nts was again chosen delegate, this time against Thomas Hurke.
the democratic candidate, and by a majority of 1.707. During the first term Mr
Brents endeavored to induce Congress to confer statehood upon the territory but
unavailingly. Still again in 1882 Mr. Brents was honored, and with him also
Walla Walla, and in fact the territory honored itself in the re-election of one of
its most useful and |>()pular citizens, by anfither term as delegate. During the
six years of Mr. Brents' incumbency the territory was making trenmendous
strides. The projection of the Northern Pacific and Oregon Short Line Kail
roads, the sale of Doctor Baker's railroad in 1879 to the O. R. & N. R. R.. the
N'illanl coup d'etat in 188.V made the decade of the '.'<os the great buildinj; jK-rio*!
for the territory and for Walla Walla. It was evident that there was abundant
justification for the creation of a new state. Mr. Brents kept the subject alive
in Congress up to and through 1S85, when his term expired, and he was succeeded
by one of the most brilliant and popular politicians and lawyers ever in the ter-
ritory, C". S. X'oorhees. Mr. N'oorhces. son of the "Tall Sycamore of the Wabash."
was, of course, a <lemocrat, and though at that time cpiite young, exercise*! a large
influence both at home and at the capital. He was twice chosen Delegate, in 1884
and 188^). In 1888 the office returned to Walla Walla and to the republican |>arty.
In that year John B. Allen U'gan his distinguished career at the national c:i|>ital
He had held the jjosition of United States attorney, succeeding Judge Wingard.
from 1875 to i88/'(. In the latter year he removed to Walla Walla, and his
career from that time on was a jart of the history nf his home citv .nnd of the
territory and state.

As we have seen, F.. I', lerry was governor at the tunc of county fiuisiou in
1875. lie held the oflficc until 1880. W. A. Newell was the next governor hold-
ing the position for four years, when Watson C. Squire received the a|>pointment.
retaining the place till 1887. I"<i11owing came Fngene Semple for two years.
The |H'ri(Kl of statehoo<l was now near at hand, and it may well l)e a matter of
pride and interest to Walla Walla that by appointment of President Harrison
the last territorial governor was a citizen of this place. Miles C. Moore. Governor
Moore had left his home in Ohio in 18/0 hardly more than a l>oy, and after some
adventures in Montana, had reached Walla Walla in 1862. to become from that

HOJIES OX PALOUSE STREET, WALLA WALLA

VIEW OF WALLA WALLA HOMES OX BIRCH STREET

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 287

time onward one of the most eminent citizens as well as one of the foremost
business men of the community and of the Northwest. It was recognized through-
out the territory that the appointment was exceedingly fitting from the standpoint
of capacity to fulfill the duties of the office, and was also a suitable compliment
to the historic city and mother county of Walla Walla. Although Governor
Moore's term was short, it possessed the unique interest of covering the transition
from territoryhood to statehood of what in general judgment is destined to be-
come one of the most important commonwealths of the Union, and hence it cannot
in the nature of the case be duplicated by any other term.

ENABLING ACT

The Enabling Act of Congress, approved by President Harrison on Febru-
ary 22, 1889, had the unique distinction of being the only one providing for the
erection of four states at once. These were Washington, South Dakota, North
Dakota, and Montana. As indicating the fundamental basis on which the four
states rest, the reader will be interested in the following provisions of the Enabling
Act:

"And said conventions shall provide by ordinances irrevocable without the
consent of the United States and the people of said states :

First. That perfect toleration of religious sentiment shall be secured, and
that no inhabitant of said states shall ever be molested in person or property on
account of his or her mode of religious worship.. .

Second. That the people inhabiting said proposed states do agree and declare
that they forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands
lying within the boundaries thereof, and to all lands lying within said limits owned
or held by any Indian or Indian tribes ; and that until the title thereto shall have
been extinguished by the United States, the same shall be and remain subject
to the disposition of the United States, and said Indian lands shall remain under
the absolute jurisdiction and control of the congress of the United States; that
the lands belonging to citizens of the United States residing without the said state
shall never be taxed at a higher rate than the lands belonging to residents there-
of ; that no taxes shall be imposed by the states on lands or property therein
belonging to or which may hereafter be purchased by the United States or reserved
for its use. But nothing herein, or in the ordinances herein provided for, shall
preclude the said states from taxing as other lands are taxed, any lands owned or
held by any Indian who has severed his tribal relations, and has obtained from
the United States or from any person a title thereto by patent or other grant,
save and except such lands as have been or may be granted to any Indian or
Indians under any act of Congress containing a provision exempting the lands
thus granted from taxation ; but said ordinances shall provide that all such lands
shall be exempt from taxation by said states so long and to such extent as such
act of Congress may prescribe.

Third. That the debts and liabilities of said territories shall be assumed and
paid by said states respectively.

Fourth. That provision shall be made for the establishment and maintenance
of systems of public schools, which shall be open to all the children of said states
and free from sectarian control."

288 OLU UALLA WALLA COUNTY

In accordance with the Lnahling Act, the Conititutioiul Convention of Wash-
ington Territory n«ct at Ulyinpia, July 4, 18S9. The constitution prepared during
tlic liftyday session was ratilicd at the polls on Octohcr i, 1889. Of tlic seventy-
five members of the convention three represented Walla Walla, two were from
Dayton, and one from I'omeroy. It may be safely said that every one was a nun
it) whose knowk<lj;e and judgment his fellow citizens could rejxjse confidence,
while the |>ersonal character of each was such as to secure the hearty affection
of his community. The entire convention, in fact, was a body of whom the
state has always l>een proud, and l»eing to a peculiar degree the result of |K)puIar
choice the election of such men is a convincing evidence of the worth and capacity
of democratic institutions. Not the least of the counties to be congratulated on
their choices were those coni[>osing Old Walla Walla.

The members of the convention from Walla Walla included two of the fore-
njost lawyers of the territory, Judge B. L. Sharpstcin, whose long life left a legacy
of good dtids to his city and state and whose foremost {Msition at the bar has
Ikcu maintained by his sons, and U. J. Crowley, one of the most brilliant lawyers
ever known in the state, whose residence in Walla Walla was short, though his
influence was great. His early death was a great loss to the state. Dr. N. G.
Itlalock, the "Good Doctor," honored and loved perhaps beyond any other mar
in the history of Walla Walla, was the other representative of his county. It
was a source of just pride to Doctor I'.lalock that he was the author of the pro-
vision forbidding the sale of school land at less than ten dollars per acre. By
this and other allied jjrovisions the school lands have been handled in such a way
as to provide a great sum for the actual use of the children of the commonwealth
instead of l)cing shamefully squandered by cul|)able (jfficials, as has been the cxi>e-
ricnce in some states, notably our sister state of Oregon. Judge Sharpstein and
Doctor Blahxk were democrats in political faith, but neither was a {^artisan Mr
Crowley was a republican.

S. G. Cosgrove of Pomeroy was the representative of Garfield and /Vsotin
counties, one of the best of men and one of the ablest lawyers of his section, later
elected governor of the state, but dying almost immediately after his inauguration
tn the j)rofound regret of men of all [larties. He was an independent republican
in politics. lie had been a college classmate and intimate friend of \'ice Prcsi
dent I'airbanks. The delegates from Columbia County were M. M. (iodman, a
democrat, one of the leading lawyers and foremost politicians of the state, subse-
(|uently a member of the Public Service Commission of the State, and R. F. Stur-
devant. a republican, also a lawyer of high ability and well proven integrity,
afterwards the superior judge of this district.

By the twenty-second article of the Constitution the legislature was so appor-
tioned that Asotin and Garfield counties constituted the Sixth .^Nonatorial District
entitled to one senator and each was entitled to one representative in the House;
Columbia l)ecame the Seventh District, having one senator and two representa
lives; and Walla Walla comfKised the F.iglith District with two senators, and in
the House three representatives.

The first legislature of 1R80-OO had in its senate, from our four counties, C. G.
.\ustin of Pomeroy for Garfield and Asotin; H. H. Wolfe of Davton for
Columbia ; Piatt Preston of Waitsburg and George T. Thompvm of Walla Walla
for Walla Walla. The representatives were : William Farrish of .Asotin Gty for

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 289

Asotin and Garfield; H. B. Day of Dayton and A. H. Weatherford of Dayton for
Columbia; and J. M. Cornwell of Dixie, J. C. Painter of Estes, and Z. K. Straight
of Walla Walla for Walla Walla County.

That first legislature enacted that the senate should henceforth consist of
thirty-four members, and the house of seventy-eight; that the counties of Gar-
field, Asotin, and Columbia should constitute the Eighth Senatorial District,
entitled to one senator ; that the counties of Franklin and Adams, and the Third
and Fourth wards of the City of Walla Walla, and the precincts of Wallula,
Frenchtown, Lower Touchet, Prescott, Hadley, Eureka, Hill and Baker, of Wall;
Walla County, should constitute the Ninth Senatorial District, entitled to one
senator; that the First and Second wards of the City of Walla Walla, and the
precincts of Waitsburg, Coppei, Dry Creek, Russell Creek, Mill Creek, Washing-
ton, and Small, should compose the Tenth Senatorial District, entitled to ont
senator; that Asotin should constitute the Eighth Representative District with
one representative; Garfield, the Ninth with one representative; Columbia, the
Tenth with one; the First and Second wards of Walla Walla City, with the
precincts of Waitsburg, Coppei, Dry Creek, Russell Creek, Mill Creek, Wash-
ington, and Small, the Eleventh District with one representative ; and the Third
and Fourth wards of Walla Walla City, with the precincts of Wallula, French-
town, Lower Touchet, Prescott, Hadley, Eureka, Hill, and Baker, the Twelfth
District with one representative.

Such was the induction of the State of Washington into the Union, and the
representation of our four counties in the first Legislature. We shall give later
the delegations to subsequent legislatures, with the lists of county officers.

Politics in the new state bubbled vigorously at once and during the twenty-
seven years of statehood Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, and Asotin have
played their full parts in state aflairs. To enter into an extended account of state
politic? is beyond the scope of this work. We can speak of it only at its points
of contact with our county history.

In the first election of United States senators November, 1889, John B. Allen
of Walla Walla, and Watson C. Squire were chosen, the former drawing the
four-year term, which entitled him to the place until March 4, 1893. The sen-
atorial election of 1893 was one of the most extraordinary in the history of such
elections and involved a number of distinguished men in this section of the
state. The fundamental struggle was between the adherents of John B. Allen
of Walla Walla and George Turner of Spokane, both republicans. It became a
factional fight of the bitterest type. One hundred and one ballots were taken
unavailingly and then the Legislature adjourned sine die, with no choice. The
last ballot records the names of two citizens of Walla Walla, one of Dayton, and
one now, although not then, a citizen of Walla Walla. The Walla Walla candi-
dates were John B. Allen with fifty votes, lacking seven of a majority, and Judge
B. L. Sharpstein. The Dayton name was that of J. C. Van Patten, and the name of
the present citizen of Walla Walla was Henry Drum, now warden of the peni-
tentiary.

Upon the failure of the Legislature to elect, Governor McGraw appointed
John B. Allen to fill the vacancy. Proceeding to Washington Mr. Allen presented
his case to the Senate, but in that case, as in others, that body decided and very
properly, that the state must go unrepresented until the Legislature could perform

Vol. I Ifl

290 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

.its constitutional duties. It is safe to say that tliat experience, with similar ones
in other states, was one of the great influences in causing the amendment to the
Constitution providing for direct election by the people. The spectacle of tfie
Legislature neglecting its law-making functions to wrangle over the opposing
ambitions of senatorial aspirants, fatally impaired the confidence of the people in
the wisdom of the old method of choice. That amendment may be regarded also
as one of the striking manifestations of American political evolution, in which
there has come a recognition of the danger of legislative bodies, chosen by popular
suffrage, becoming the tools of personal or corporate interests instead of the
■servants of the people who chose them, and by which, in consequence, the evils
PI popular government are being remedied by being made more popular.

Two other citizens of Walla Walla have represented the state in the National
Congress, and several others have been willing to. These are Levi Ankeny and
iMiles Poindexter, the latter having begun his political career at Walla Walla, but
having removed to Spokane and become superior judge there before entering
upon his term as congressman in 1909 and senator in 191 1, to be re-elected in
1916. Senator Ankeny, one of the most prominent of the permanent citizens of
Walla Walla, and one of the greatest bankers in the Northwest, being president
of eleven banks in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, was elected senator in
1903 and served until 1909. He was deservedly popular throughout the section
in which he lived, for his broad and generous business methods as well as for his
general character. During the hard times of the '90s, in which many of the
farmers of Walla Walla and Columbia counties were next door to ruin, it is re-
membered that Mr. Ankeny could have acquired by foreclosure of his immense
loans lands whose value is now tenfold the amount of the mortgages of those
hard times. But by aiding and encouraging the struggling farmers of that time
and neglecting the advantage which he himself might have gained he kept them
upon their feet and thus conferred an immeasurable benefit not only upon in-
dividuals, but upon the country as a whole. During Mr. Ankeny's term in the
Senate extensive improvements were made in the buildings at Fort Walla Walla.

THE PENITENTI.\RY

Another of the leading political connections of Walla Walla County with the
state was the penitentiary. This institution was removed from Seatco to Walla
Walla in 1887. The county commissioners at that time were F. W. Paine, Fran-
cis Lowden, and Piatt Preston. These men, and particularly Mr. Paine, felt that
not only from the standpoint of the state, for desirability of location and economy
of subsistence, but from the fact that constructive works might be operated which
could be of benefit to the farmers of the region, this change of place would be
wise. The most distinctive features of labor have been the brick yards, which
did a very large and profitable work for many years and were discontinued in 190c
to allow the management to put the main force upon the jute mills, for the making
of grain bags and rugs and other fabrics. This system of constructive labor by
the inmates of the penitentiary is to be attributed largely to the intelligent busi-
ness conceptions as well as philanthropic interest in the men by Mr. F. W. Paine
and Mr. W. K. Kirkman. They had formed the impression that for the sake of
health of mind and body in the prisoners systematic labor was a necessity, and

Warden's Residence Wuik Sliups

Administration Building
The Hospital The Jute Mill

BUILDINGS OF THE WASHINGTON STATE PENITENTIARY

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 291

also that the products of that labor might go far to lighten the burdens of tax
payers. Their theory has been triumphantly vindicated by the history of the
penitentiary. Not at all times in the thirty years of its existence has the institu-
tion been conducted in the interest either of reclamation of criminals or of saving
expense to the state. As in all such cases there have been times when the main
aims were political rather than penal or economic, and there have been still more
times when the other party said they were, even when governors, boards, and
wardens were doing their best in the public interest.

The wardens in order of service, several of them being citizens of Walla
Walla, and about an equal number coming from other parts of the state, have
been John Justice, F. L. Edmiston, John McClees, J. H. Coblentz, Thomas Mos-
grove, J. B. Catron, Frank Kees, F. A. Dryden, Charles Reed and Henry Drum.

There have been a number of tragic events in the history of the penitentiary
of which perhaps the most thrilling was the attempted escape of a large number
of prisoners during the wardenship of Mr. McClees in 1891. At that time it was
the practice to run a train of flat cars to Dixie to get clay for the brick yards.
Two desperadoes conceived the idea of capturing a train as it went through the
gate, loading a number of prisoners on it, running to Dixie, there turning loose
on the farms, getting horses and provisions, and striking out for the mountains.
It was a bold, well-conceived project and carne near execution. A number of
prisoners were. "in" on the scheme, and at the givjCH signal,- several who were
experienced engineers and firemen performed tfioif part; of- the ;gl6t by seizing
the locomotive. At the same instant the two ringleaders by a bold dash seized
Warden McClees and walked him toward the, gate, commanding him on pain of
instant death to order the opening of the gates and" therteiring -of the track for
the passage of the train. The warden preserved most extraordinary nerve, even
while the two ruffians were holding over his head knives which they had snatched
up from the kitchen. In the instant he called out to Phil Berry, one of the guards
on the wall, whom he knew to be a dead shot, "Be cool, Phil, take your time!"
Even while the two knives were in the very act to strike, Berry's rifle cracked
twice in succession, and the leaders fell on either side of the warden, each with a
bullet in his heart. About the quickest work of the kind ever known here or
elsewhere. The fall of the leaders disconcerted the whole program, and after
a few moments of intense excitement the guards got control of the situation, and
the affair was all over.

Another of the desperate events was the case of Warden J. H. Coblentz. He
was an appointee of Governor McGraw and was the most conspicuous example of
a purely political appointment. After a slashing career in which he endeavored to
dictate the politics of the county purely in the interest of himself and his clique
he found himself on the verge of exposure for irregularities in his accounts.
Governor McGraw with other state officers came to Walla Walla to investigate.
and while they were in the penitentiary office conducting the investigation, Cob-
lentz, seeing that conviction was inevitable and knowing that if he himself became
an inmate of the penitentiary along with the prisoners whom he had abused, his
life was not worth a nickel, anticipated the verdict, and snatching up a pistol,
put it to his head and fell dead in the presence of the governor.

It is no disparagement to the earher wardens — for the conditions probably
did not make earlier action feasible — to say that Mr. Reed and Mr. Drum have

-'J-' OLD W AULA WALLA CUUNTV

represented a new order in the hisiiory of the penitentiary, liotli liavc l>ccn
>tudrnt!> of criniiiUil(>(;y, arc iliinkers and |<liilantliropist!>, and have inaugurated
advanced niethwls which liavc placed the U a!>liin){tun |K-nitcntiary in the front
rank of well conducted institutions of its cbss.

l.m.\L IVLlTlcAl- HISTOKV

lurniiif; now Ironi slate connections to matters local to Walla Walb County
it may l>c said that there was during; the period of 1875-89 a marked tendency tc
that |ioliiical conservatism which is apt to characterize a growing agricultural
comnuinity. \\ alia Walla, like rortland, has been since its first era more of the
lliisttrii tyjK- than of the characteristically Western. The general tendency has
liecn, ill iKjIitics as in business, to play safe and not make reckless cx|»crimcnts.
fhis attitude is denominated wisdom or moss-backism by different |jarties very
much according to their view|>oint, and csix-cially whether they arc "in" or "out."
Ihc great "isms" which swept the country in ihc "Sos and '90s, populistic move-
ments as represented by Bryan and other great leaders, in general received the cold
shoulder from Walla Walla. That statement should be qualilied to considerable
degree, however, by the fact that the combination of democrats, populists, and
silver republicans, carried several elections, and that even the republican leaders
vcrv' largely accepted the doctrine of "16 to i."

There were also, even in conservative Walla Walla, many enthusiastic fol-
lowers of Governor John R. Rogers, "Wheat Chart" Jones, Judge Ronald, and
ihat most brilliant and s[H'ctacular of all the |)oIiticiaiis of the jHjriod, the "ijink-
whiskered" James Hamilton Lewis, whose great abilities, even under the out-
ward guise of certain "airs" and "fopperies," have been conceded by his critics
.ind detractors down to the |)rcsent date of his distinguished service as senator
from Illinois. It is remembered, however, by men of both |>arties that at a cer-
tain historic joint debate in Walla Walla on October 22. 1898, even the brilliant
"Dude Lewis" was somewhat seriously "Ixaten up." metaphorically sjKaking, h\
WCiley L. Jones, and that the former somewhat lust prestige as a result, and
that the latter was launched by that event upon what has proved to be a con
tinuous service in Congress as representative and senator from 1899 to the present
date.

A few figures of elections during that period will be found of interest. In
1880. F'Vrrv. republican candidate for govenior, the first under statehood, received
in Walla Walla County 1.4.^3 votes to 1.1S6 for .^emple, the democratic candidate.
In i8<)2 McT.raw. rejuiblican. had 1.211 to I.322 for Snively, democrat. There
were a few votes for tlreene and Young in the latter election, so that the total
vote in 1892 was 2.81)7, as ag:iinst 2.f>i9 in 1881).

The presidential vote of 1892 shows that Walla Walla County cast for the
highp'it republican elector i.3''>2 ballots and for the highest democratic i.^i.V with
a few for the people's party and prohibitionists, a total of 2.889. In the presi-
dential election of iSf/i. the republican vote was 1.596, the people's party (fusion
of democrats. poi>"Iists and silver rrpublicans) had a vote of 1.652. while there
were a few prohibitionists and gold democrats, a total of 3.349- Comparing these
figures with those of 190R and 1016. the following interesting results appear
in 1908. Bryan, i.fifio; Taft. 2.843; a few for others, so that the total was 4.676;

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 293

for governor, Pattison, democrat, i,88i ; Cosgrove, republican, 2,670 — total vote,
4,551. In 1916, results were: Wilson, 4,421; Hughes, 4,403; total, 8,824; for
senator. Turner, democrat, 3,328; Poindexter, progressive republican, 5,454; for
governor. Lister, democrat, 4,991 ; McBride, republican, 4,040. The great in-
crease in the last election is due to woman suffrage.

Analysis of the above and of other election returns plainly signifies that vvhik
Walla Walla County may in general terms be considered conservative, there is a
healthy balance of parties, and that no particular group of politicians can count
with any certainty on "delivering the goods." The result of the last election in
these counties of Old Walla Walla, as well as the state at large and indeed the
West as a whole, may be considered as a demonstration of the progressive and
independent spirit of this new country, which resents "bossism" and "back-room"
politics and moves ever more steadily toward genuine democratic government.
While on general views of historic questions, particularly those concerned with
slavery and secession and those bearing upon nationalism as against state rights,
these sections are overwhelmingly republican, after the historic views of Clay,
Webster, Lincoln, Seward, Blaine, and other national leaders, yet upon the newer
issues of economics, government control of railroads and other public utilities,
and foreign relations, they may be counted on to do their own thinking and to
make decisions very disconcerting to the old-time bosses.

In connection with the figures which we gave it is interesting as a side light
on population and the shiftings of growth to give here certain figures of com-
parison between Old Walla Walla and other parts of the state in early days and
now. In 1880 the largest urban center was Walla Walla, with 3,588 people, Seattle
was next with 3,533. Spokane had 350. In 1890, Walla Walla had 4,709; Seattle
42,837; Spokane, 19,922. In 1910, Walla Walla, 19,364; Seattle, 237,194; Spo-
kane, 104,402. In 1917, estimated: Walla Walla, 25,000; Seattle, 330,843; Spo-
kane, 125,000. The enormous increase in population upon the Sound as a com-
mercial center, and at Spokane as a prospective manufacturing and an actual
railroad center, is simply an indication of the natural tendencies of trade and
industry characteristic of the world's growth. A purely agricultural region can-
not expect to keep pace with those marked out by nature for commerce and manu-
facturing.

It is, however, an interesting point in the history of Walla Walla whether,
if it had "taken the tide at the flood," it might not have maintained its leadership
as an inland city. It is a favorite idea with some of the best observers among
the old-timers that Walla Walla, instead of Spokane, might have been the manu-
facturing and transportation center for the Inland Empire, if certain conditions
had been fulfilled. The first of those was location. The true spot for the large
city in the Walla Walla Valley was where Touchet is now located. While Walla
Walla is an admirable location for a large town, the Touchet region is better.
The great point, however, is elevation. Walla Walla is 920 feet above sea
level, Touchet is 447. Walla Walla is thirty-two miles from the Columbia River,
Touchet is sixteen. It would have been quite feasible to make a canal from
Touchet to the Columbia. That question was agitated and if the town had been
there instead of on Mill Creek, it would no doubt have been made. If that had
been done, or even if not, the railroad and wagon haul to Touchet was so much
easier and shorter, as to represent a great saving in cost of transportation. If

34 OLD WAIXA W ALLA COUNTY

that condition of location had been realized, and if inducements had been
offered to tlic Niirllicrn racific Railroad Idiildt-rs, it is asserted by tlioie who
know that that railroad would have preferred Walla Walla (or Touchet) a& its
cliief jKjint in interior Washington. The difference between 930 and 447 feet
would have been determinative of grades. The Northern Pacific officials were
really desirous — so it is claimed — to take a more southern route, following ihc
Mullan Koad through the Hitler Roots, then down the Clearwater and the .*^iiake
to a jKjint on the l.owtr Walla Walla. Finding no local encouragement or in
ducemcnts, they linally undertook the more northern route, and S|Mikanc is the
result. However, all that is matter of conjecture, rather than demonstration.

WOM.^.N SL'FKRACE AKD PROHIBITION

One of the questions of Walla Walla jxjlitics, as of the rest of the stale an<
indeed of the country, was wmiian suffrage. .\s the logical evolution of dem(x-
racy that view of suffrage a])|Kalcd to the Western man, and the conveniional
objections had little weight with him. Pressure was brought from all sides u|>on
the legislative delegations to submit the projwsilion to a popular election — and
when that occurred in 1908, it carried in the county and the state by a heavv
vote. It has seemed to the voters of both sexes so natural a condition that they
can now hardly conceive of any other. The woman suffrage amendment came
with a remarkable quietude and almost as a matter of course.

Far more vigorously contested was the question of prohibition. For many
years Waitsburg and almost all the farming country had Ixen strongly in favor
of prohibition. Waitsburg had under the local option law e.xcluded s-Hl(K)ns.
Hut the saloon influences were strong in W'alla Walla City, and underground
agencies of sundry kinds had maintained a tight grip on municipal politics. Al
various times somewhat spasmodic waves of moral reform swept over the city,
as in the orgimization of the Municipal league in i8g6 and in other similar move
ments at later times. Hut in general both city and county politics, as in most
parts of the United States, were seemingly dominated by the liquor interests.
Yet all through those years there was in progress one of those elemental popular
movements going down to the very foundations of society which when finally
directed toward a defmite end become irresistible. Moral, economic, sanitary.
educational, religious, domestic innucnccs. were for a generation moulding the
opinions of an amiy of voters and the combined effect In-gan to \tc manifest from
about 1900 onward to a degree that even the blindest could not fail to sec. In
1908, 1910. and 1912, a determined and growing effort by the fanners who had
seen the economic loss through lal)orcrs and even their own sons going to town
and carousing and so losing a day or more every week, started a corresjwnding
njovement in town. At first not successful, the campaign kept gaining. Council-
men in the city and commissioners in the county were chosen more and more in
the direction of reform. The churches. Young Men's Giristian Association,
schools, women's organizations. Salvation .\nny. Good Templars, and especially
the .Anti-Saloon League, each contributed its push. .\ city election under the
local option law occurred in IQI2. The conservative business interests opixjsed
the proposition and even imported distinguished speakers from the East, par-
ticularly from the beer center, Milwaukee, and on election day the liquor traffic

HOME OF B. P. 0. ELKS NO, 287. WALLA WALL.'

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 295

(styled "Personal Liberty") was still in the saddle. But it was clear that the
vote of the city, combined with that of the county, would come back with greater
strength in another election, and some of the more far-seeing liquor dealers began
arrangements to enter other business. In the great historical election of 1914,
the State of Washington secured a definite prohibition law by referendum, though
with the "permit" system of personal importation of limited amounts of liquor.
Walla Walla County was one of the strong counties in support of the law, being
surpassed only by Yakima and Whitman in majority for the measure. It was to a
degree an "East Side" victory, for the East Side gave over 25,000 affirmative
while the West Side, due to the heavy negative vote of Seattle, gave 10,000
negative. None who was in Walla Walla during the strenuous campaign in
October of 1914 will forget the powerful addresses in favor of the law by H. S.
Blandford, one of the most eloquent speakers known in this section. His thrilling
appeals and incontrovertible arguments brought many voters to the standard of
prohibition. His lamented death in 191 5 robbed the Walla Walla bar of one
of its brightest ornaments.

Old John Barleycorn died hard, and in the election of 1916 the battle was
fought over again by a vote on several initiative and referendum measures, as a
result of which the "permit" system was replaced by a "bone-dry" law, and the
liquor propositions were buried so deep that no resurrection now seems possible.
In Walla Walla the gloomy predictions as to unused buildings and ruined business
and overwhelming taxation have failed of fulfillment to. .a dsgxee ;to make them
absurd. . ' ■

The most prominent questions of local improvement during recent years in
Walla Walla County have been the new courthouse and the paving and other im-
provement of roads. Several elections of commissioners turned upon the first
question. There were three propositions ardently advocated from 1910 to 1914.
One was to repair the old building, though it had been condemned by experts;
another was to make a costly structure at a maximum outlay of $300,000; the
third proposal was for a substantial, but plain and modest building, of approxi-
mately a cost of $150,000. The latter proposition commended itself to the gen-
eral judgment, and the commissioners of 1912 and 1914, H. A. Reynolds, E. D.
Eldridge, and J. L. Reavis, interpreted their election as a commission to proceed
with such a plan. The result has been realized in one of the most fitting and
dignified and altogether attractive, though not showy, courthouses in the state, a
just pride to the county and an object of admiration to visitors.

Of the road question it may only be said that it is in a formative state. Much
money has been wasted in both city and country by ill-constructed pavements, and
it can only be hoped that the next decade will see more definite progress than has
characterized the experimental stage of the last.

We have given in a preceding chapter the tabulation of county officials to the
time of county division in 1875. We now present the legislative delegations and
the chief county officials from that date to the present :

LEGISLATIVE DELEGATIONS AND THE CHIEF COUNTY OFFICIALS

In 1876, Walla Walla County was represented in the Legislature by Daniel
Stewart, councilman, and W. T. Barnes, William Martin, A. J, Gregory, and H.

2yC OLD U'ALI-A WALLA COUNTY

A. X'ansyclc. representatives. The county officers were : T. J. Anders, attorney ;
*-» !■■ " -licritT; T. P. I'agc, atiditur ; W. O'Donndl, trrasurrr; Samuel

Jacob>. : , 1'. Zaiuier, surveyor; A. \V. Sweeney, superintendent of schools;

L. H. Goodwin, coroner; D. J. Storms. James Ltradcn. and Dion Kcefe, commis-
sioners.

1 lir iliiiion in 1878 resulted thus: J. H. Day, councilman ; J. A. laylor, D. J.
Storms. J. M. Dewar. and M. F. Coh. representatives; K. F. Sturdevaiit, attorney;
R. (iuichnrd. prolate judj;c; J. H. Thompson, sheriflf; VV. C. Painter, auditor;
J. !•'. Hover, trra-surcr; S. Jacobs, assessor; P. Zahncr, surveyor; C. W. Wheeler,
superintendent of schools; J. .M. Boyd, coroner; M. 15. Ward, Amos Cumininifs
and S. 11. Krwin, comiiiis.>iioncrs

In l8^<o. election results were these: H. L. Sharpstein. councilman; J.icoh
Hoover, joint councilman; R. R. Recs and W. G. Preston. rej>rcscntatives ; J. M
Comwell. joint representative; R. Guichard. probate judge; G. T. Thompson, at
torney; W. C. Painter, auditor; J. B. Thompson, sheriff; J. F. Boycr. treasurer
S. Jacobs, assessor; F. H. Loehr, surveyor; C. W. Wheeler, suiK-rintendcnt of
schools; H. G. Mauzcy, coroner; M. B. Ward. Amos CumminRS. and S. H. Krwin.
commissioners; A. S. LeGrow, sheep commissioner. As may be seen from the
above, nearly all the incumbents of 1878 were re-elected for another term. That
jiolicy became common in subsequent elections.

In 1882 we tind the following choices: II. II. Ilungatc. A. G IJoyd. and
Milton Kvans, re(>rescntativcs; G. T. Thompson, attorney'; W. C. Painter, auditor;
J. B. Thom|JSon. sheriff; J. F'. Boyer, treasurer; William Ilarkness, assessor; F.
H. Loehr, surveyor; J. W. Brock, school superintendent; R. Guichard. probate
judge; M. B. Ward, Amos Cummings. and S. II. Erwin. commissioners; W. B.
Wells, coroner ; A. S. LeGrow, sheep commissioner.

The choices in 1884 were these: J. F. Brewer. William I-"udgc. and J. W.
Dewar, representatives; F. K. Manna, attorney; W. C. Painter, auditor; A. S.
Bowles, sheriff; J. F. Boycr, treasurer; L. H. Bowman, assessor; J. B. Wilson,
surveyor; J. W. Morgan, superintendent of schools; R. Guichard, probate judge;
II. R. Ktylor, coroner; Amos Cunimings, W. P. Reser, and W. G. Babcock,
commissioners; A. S. LeGrow, sheep commissioner.

In 188/). results were as follows: Piatt Preston and W. .\1. Clark, rep-
resentatives; L. R. Hawley, auditor; A. S. Bowles, sheriff; J. F. Boyer, treas-
urer; M. 11. Paxton, assessor; J. M. Allen, surveyor; Ellen Gilliam, sujxrrin-
tendrnt of schtwls ; T. C Taylor. Joseph Paul, and Fdwin Weary, commission-
ers; II. R. Keylor, coroner; Timothy Harry, sheep commissioner.

The election of 1888 brought these results: J. M. Dewar, councilman; E. L.
Powell. W. H. I'pton. an<l I.. T. Parker, representatives; T. J. ,\nders, attorney;
L. R. Ilawley. auditor; J. M. McFarland, sheriff; M. McM.inamon, Fdwin Weary,
and J. W. Morgan, commissioners ; IL W. Eagan, prolute judge ; J. F. Boycr,
trea'-urer; M. II. Paxton. assessor; J. B. Gehr. school sujierinfendent ; I.. W
Loehr. sur\'eyor; Y. C. Blalo^k. coroner.

In 1880 came entrance to statehood, and of that we have already spoken. The
election of Octolnrr 1st. of that year proviflcd for the choice of congressmen,
state officers, legislators, judge of Superi'"^ ri.urt .tiuI <fninty clerk. Of the first
two we have given the results earlier.

The following were chosen memlnrrs of that first State legislature: George

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY . 297

T. Thompson and Piatt Preston, senators; J. C. Painter, J. ]\L Cornwell and
Z. K. Straight, representatives.

All the above were republicans.

William H. Upton became superior judge for the district, including Walla
Walla and Franklin counties. E. B. Whitman was chosen county clerk. Both
were republicans. One strange thing was that Walla Walla, like the other coun-
ties of the group, voted against the Constitution.

The year i8go saw the following members of the Legislature and local officers
chosen: J. L. Sharpstein, dem., and J. C. Painter, rep., representatives; H. S.
Blandford, dem., attorney; H. W. Eagan, dem., clerk; W. B. Hawley, rep.,
auditor; J. M. McFarland, rep., sheriff; R. Guichard, dem., treasurer; J. M.
Hill, rep., Milton Aldrich, rep., and Francis Lowden, dem., commissioners ; J. B.
Gehr, rep., superintendent of schools; M. H. Paxton, rep., assessor; Y. C. Blalock,
rep., coroner; L. W. Loehr, rep., surveyor.

Of the interesting national and state choices of 1892, we have already given
the figures. The legislative and local results were these: A. Cameron, rep.,
Joseph Merchant, rep., and David Miller, dem., representatives ; J. L. Roberts,
rep., senator; W. H. Upton, rep., superior judge; H. W. Eagan, dem., clerk;
Miles Poindexter, dem., attorney ; W. B. Hawley, rep., and J. J. Huffman, dem.,
had a tie for auditor, and by mutual agreement the office was divided, each
serving as principal one year and as deputy one year; C. C. Gose. dem., sheriff;
H. H. Hungate, dem., treasurer; Edward McDonnell, J. B. Caldwell, and F. M.
Lowden, all democrats, conmiissioners ; E. L. Brunton, rep., superintendent of
Schools; T. H. Jessup, dem., assessor; J. B. Wilson, rep., surveyor; C. B. Stewart,
dem., coroner.

As will be seen, that was a democratic year, eleven to seven.

The election of 1894, the "calamity year," reversed conditions, two democrats,
Ellingsworth for sheriff and Nalder for commissioner, being the only successful
democratic candidates. The outcome was thus: Joseph Merchant and J. W.
Morgan, representatives ; Mr. Morgan having but two the lead of Francis Gar-
racht, his democratic competitor ; R. H. Ormsbee, attorney ; Le F. A. Shaw, clerk ;
A. H. Crocker, auditor; Wm. Ellingsworth, sheriff; M. H. Paxton, trea.surer;
E. L. Brunton, superintendent of schools ; J. B. Wilson, assessor ; E. S. Clark,
surveyor; S. M. White, coroner; Frank Nalder and Amos Cummings, com-
missioners.

The year 1896 brings us to the great "16 to i" campaign, Bryan and the "cross
of gold," populists, and general upset of all political programs. In local, as in
the national votes, the "Pp." appears with somewhat startling frequency.

Results appear as follows: John L Yeend, Pp., state senator, ninth district;
David Miller, Pp., state senator, tenth district; A. Matthoit, Pp., representative,
eleventh district; J. H. Marshall, rep., representative, twelfth district; T. H.
Brents, rep., judge Superior Court ; Frank Sharpstein, Pp., attorney ; A. H.
Crocker, rep., auditor; J. E. Mullinix, Pp.. clerk; Wm. Ellingsworth, Pp., sheriff;
M. H. Paxton, rep., treasurer; E. S. Clark, rep., surveyor; Wm. Gholson, Pp.,
assessor; G. S. Bond, rep., superintendent of schools; W. D. Smith, rep., coroner;
Milton Evans, Pp., and Oscar Drumheller, Pp., commissioners. Nine "Pps." and
seven "Repubs."

In 1898 the normal dominance of the republicans was re-established. The

290 OLD WALI.A WALLA CULLXTY

.its coiistitulional dulics. It is safe to say that that experience, with similar ones
.in other. states, was one of the great influences in causing the amendment to the
Constitution providing for direct election by the people. The spectacle of the
Legislature neglecting its law-making functions to wrangle over the opposing
ambitions of senatorial aspirants, fatally impaired the confidence of the people in
the wisdom of the old method of choice. That amendment may be regarded also
as one of the striking manifestations of American political evolution, in which
there has come a recognition of the danger of legislative bodies, chosen by popular
suffrage, becoming the tools of personal or corporate interests instead of the
servants of the people who chose them, and by which, in consequence, the evils
of popular government are being remedied by being made more popular.

Two other citizens of Walla Walla have represented the state in the National
Congress, and several others have been willing to. These are Levi Ankeny and
Miles Poindexter, the latter having begun his political career at Walla Walla, but
having removed to Spokane and become superior judge there before entering
upon his term as congressman in 1909 and senator in 191 1, to be re-elected in
1916. Senator Ankeny, one of the most prominent of the permanent citizens of
Walla Walla, and one of the greatest bankers in the Northwest, being president
of eleven banks in Oregon. Washington, and Idaho, was elected senator in
1903 and served until 1909. He was deservedly popular throughout the section
in which he lived, for his broad and generous business methods as well as for his
general character. During the hard times of the '90s, in which many cf the
farmers of Walla Walla and Columbia counties were next door to ruin, it is re-
membered that Mr. Ankeny could have acquired by foreclosure of his immense
loans lands whose value is now tenfold the amount of the mortgages of those
hard times. But by aiding and encouraging the struggling farmers of that time
and neglecting the advantage which he himself might have gained he kept them
upon their feet and thus conferred an immeasurable benefit not only upon in-
dividuals, but upon the country as a whole. During Mr. Ankeny's term in the
Senate extensive improvements were made in the buildings at Fort Walla Walla.

THE PENITENTI.\RY

Another of the leading political connections of Walla Walla County with the
state was the penitentiary. This institution was removed from Seatco to Walla
Walla in 1887. The county commissioners at that time were F. W. Paine, Fran-
cis Lowden, and Piatt Preston. These men, and particularly Mr. Paine, felt that
not only from the stand])oint of the state, for desirability of location and economy
of subsistence, but from the fact tha-t constructive works might be operated which
could be of benefit to the farmers of the region, this change of place would be
wise. The most distinctive features of labor have been the brick yards, which
did a very large and profitable work for many years and were discontinued in 190c
to allow the management to put the main force upon the jute mills, for the making
of grain bags and rugs and other fabrics. This system of constructive labor by
the inmates of the penitentiary is to be attributed largely to the intelligent busi-
ness conceptions as well as philanthropic interest in the men by Mr. F. W. Paine
and Mr. W. K. Kirkman. They had formed the impression that for the sake of
health of mind and body in the prisoners systematic labor was a necessity, and

Waidcn's Residence Work Shops

Administration Building
Tlie Hospital Tlie Jute Mill

BUILDINGS OF THE WASHINGTON STATE PE^^TENTIARY

30U OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

for a number of councilnien. As a matter of historical reference, we deem it
worth while to incorporate that ordinance here:

Ordinance No. 1S5 passed the council of the City of Walla Walla February
22, ii<84, receiving the approval of the mayor on the same day, and being entitled
as follows: "An ordinance to divide the City of Walla Walla into wards, and
apportionment of coimcilmen." The text of the ordinance is as follows:

Section i. The City of Walla Walla shall be and is hereby divided into four
wards, to be known as the first, second, third, and fourth wards.

Sec. 2. The first ward shall be bounded as 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 direction to the
place of beginning.

Sec. 3. The second ward shall be bounded as follows: Beginning at the
intersection of Main and Third streets; thence southwesterly 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 southwest corner of the city; thence easterly
along the south boundary of the city to the center of Second Street; ihence
northerly along the center of Second Street to the center of Birch Street ; thence
west along the center of Birch Street to the center of Third Street ; thence
northerly along Third Street to the place of beginning.

Sec. 4. The third ward shall be bounded as follows: Beginning at thi
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 line 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 corner 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 center
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 beginning.

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

ARTESIAN WELL, WALLA WALLA COUNTY

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 301

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 councilnien to which each ward is entitled shall be
as follows: First ward, two councilmen; second ward, two councilnien; 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 council-
man, 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 here-
with, are hereby repealed.

ELECTION PRECINCTS

. The city is divided into eight election precincts, designated as follows : Lewis,
Clarke, Whitman, Steptoe, Mullan, Fremont, Stevens and Sims.

COMMISSION GOVERNMENT '_

Yet another change of great importance occurred by which, in a special elec-
tion of July 10, 1911, the commission form of government was adopted, 1,943 for
and 1,049 again.st. This went into effect September il, 1911, with A. J. Gillis
as mayor. This step was one of the manifestations of that interesting evolutior
of political ideas common over the United States, perhaps especially in the West
consisting of two working propositions which seem antagonistic and yet are not
really so, but are rather parts of one movement under two different phases.
The first has been the initiative and referendum and recall, by which in legislative
matters a larger exercise of popular knowledge and oversight of laws is sought.
That idea has a permanent place in Washington and most western states. The
other idea is that of the commission form of city government, apparently just
the reverse, by which executive authority is centralized and responsibility is
localized in the hands of experts. If these two working forces may be harmonized
in practical action, we may justly claim to have solved the fundamental questions
of democracy and efficiency.

MUNICIP.^L OWNERSHIP OF WATER WORKS

Municipal ownership of water works and the creation of a system of sewerage
have been two of the most important of all questions in the city. We have
already described the water system inaugurated by J- D- Cook, J. P. Isaacs and
H. P. Isaacs and subsequently acquired by the Baker-Boyer Bank. On July n,
1 88 1, the first election on municipal ownership occurred, and the proposal was
defeated by an adverse majority of sixty-five. But the natural evolution of a
city calls for the public ownership of the water system, and the agitation con-
tinued. In 1887 the Walla Walla Water Company had made a contract with the
council by which, upon the fulfillment of certain improvements, they were to
have exclusive right to furnish water for twenty-five years. But in spite of

302 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

the contract, an ordinance providing for a public system was presented to the
voters in 1893 under tlie mayorahy of John L. Roberts. By an overwhchiiing
vote the ordinance carried. The water company brought suit to restrain the city
from instalhng its system, pleading its contract. After a tedious course of litiga-
tion the suit at last reached the Supreme Court of the United States. There it
was decided in favor of the Water Company. The city was thus left in a hole,
after much expense. But popular opinion had become thoroughly committed to
the policy of public ownership and by a special election on June 20, 1899, ai
ordinance was passed for the purchase of the entire property of the Water Com-
pany for the sum of $250,000. With the purchase of the water system went
also the adoption of a sewerage system. Many improvements and extensions
have been made of both. In April, 1907, the headworks and intake on Mill
Creek were installed. Extracts from the last report of Water Supt. R. F.
McLean are here inserted and from them can be derived a view of the present
condition of the water and sewerage systems :

The present mileage of the pipes in the water system is approximately seventy
miles, of which something more than twelve is in the conduits extending from
the intake to the city, and something more than fifty-seven is in the distribution
pipes. The number of fire hydrants is 300. There are 524 gate valves for
isolating different districts as desired. On December 31, 1916, the date of the
report, there were 3,961 water services, and of these about eighteen per cent, or
789 are on meters. The meter rate runs on a sliding scale from twenty cents
per 1. 000 gallons to eight cents per 1,000 aboVfe 100,000 gallons. The flat rate is
Si monthly for each kitchen, with 25 cents for each bath and toilet, and $1 for
each lot irrigated.

The financial exhibit is in the highest degree encouraging to believers in the
municipally owned system. The earnings of the system for the year 1916 were
$87,852.26.

The mileage in the sewerage system in the last report is thirty-eight miles
and 4,632 feet.

The report of the city clerk for the water department assets and liabilities
is as follows:

Assets :

Water system property and plant $635,762.85

Sewerage system 210,41 1. 91

Water system sinking fund 42,091.18

Total $888,265.94

Liabilities :

Bonds due November, 1919 $133,000.00

Warrants outstanding 1,257.72

Total $134,25772

During the past ten years street paving has been steadily continued, until at
the present time there are twenty-three miles of paved streets. While some of

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 303

this work wtis very poorly done and the city has been compelled to repair the work
of incompetent or dishonest contractors at a large expense, the paving system
in general has been satisfactory, and is one of the great improvements of recent
years.

One of the most important of all the features of municipal life is the parks.
This topic will find place in the last chapter in a special article by Miss Grace
Isaacs, who has been intimately connected with the establishment of a park
system from the beginning.

CITY LIBR.\RY

Another valuable instrumentality of municipal life, which while not political
in the common use of the term is under municipal control, is the city library.
The last report of the librarian, Miss Ellen Smith, will give a view of present
conditions.

Walla Walla Public Library, Walla Walla, Wash. : Annual report — January,
1917.

The Board of Trustees — Dr. E. E. Shaw, president; T. C. Elliott, secretary;
Rev. C. E. Tuke, Rowland Smith and H. W. Jones.

The Library Staf¥ — Ellen Garfield Smith, librarian; Dorothy Drum, first
assistant; Nell M. Thompson, assistant; Ethel Jamieson, assistant.

Library Hours — Week days, g A. M. to 9 P. M. ; Sundays and holidays,
2 to 6 P. M.

There are 4,962 active readers enrolled, or about one-fourth of the popula-
tion of Walla Walla. Of this number 1,082 adults and 498 children were added
the last year, making a total of 1,580 new registrations.

The readers took home 59,580 books, periodicals and pamphlets. Fiction read-
ing is not so important a part of the circulation as many people think, as 55
per cent of the books read were of an instructive and informing character, an
increase of 3 per cent over last year. The most popular classes of books of
non-fiction in order of circulation are literature, useful arts, travel and sociology.

We have added I, ,305 new books at a cost of $742.64.

Gifts have numbered 253.

There were 206 volumes worn oijt and withdrawn and fifty-six missing at
inventory so the number in the library is 12,060.

Whoever you are, you must need to ask questions sometimes. There must
be some things you do not know that you want to know. Librarians are paid
to find the answers to your questions. These are a few samples of the questions
that we have answered during the last year:

The number of grain bags used in the United States.

The design of the Christian flag for Sunday schools.

Directions for glazing of pottery.

Statistics of water-power plants.

Where is Matzos?

What is the high jump record of a horse?

How to pickle olives?

You have more than twelve hundred reference books, and hundreds of pam-
phlets which we are taking care of for you, waiting for you to come and ask

304 (JLl) WALLA WALLA lOLNTY

.lllli lUC IK-\\ >J>.1|<CI » III the

burrowed fur liuiiic reading,
i he current nuinb<rr» ut .lilanhc, Lenlury, Ufltneator, Good Housekfcpmy,

"■me Journal and Literary Digest may be borrowed
fur an extra iu|i).

lite story hour is conducted during the winter months on \\'ednc&day after-
no«': ■ ■ . • ■ • ' I- is twenty.

1 .iiriiig the year.

The children's ruuni contains more than two thousand books including the
best book* written fi : ' ' ' <\\. The jjreatcst care has been used in tlie selection.

Help i> (;i\en t<' in >elecling books for iiurchasc. The smallir the

sum to s|>end. the more ini|>ortant the selection.

f" 'I and nineteen teachers have s|)ecial teachers' cards for school

um. ;>rty county teachers. City teaclurs may ha\c ten Ixjoks at a

time; county teachers may have five.

The .Nrt Club, Women's Rcadinfj Club. luiiicatiidial I luli and .sketch Llub

meet rcgubrly in the club room at the ]>ublic library. In addition to this the

(lood Government League, debating teams and clubs of college and high school,

' -cs of the Woman's Park Club and Young Women's Gub have appre-

■lie use of the room.

The day of largest circulation was February uth, when 388 books and
periodicals were loaned for home reading.

Twelve hours every week day your public library is "at your service." Sun-
day afternoon the librai^ is open for reading only — often every chair is taken.

I'sefiil arts, next to literature, was the most jMjjiular class of non-fiction cir-
culated last year. Arc you one of those who has profiled liv ilie luijiful l«Kiks
on salesmanship, bees, advertising, poultry, etc.?

When you go on your vacation next summer take ten library l>uuk> with
you— loaned for three months. Three luiiulrc<! .inil ten volumes circulated on
vacation cards last year.

You own more than twelve thousand volumes. Tlie one you've been looking
for, the one that will tell you something new about \oiir Imsincss or a new way
of advertising it. is among them.

Six hiindrcfl .nntl seventy-four books were washed with ammonia and water
and then shellacked.

WU.NT WF. HAVE DONE WITH YOUR MONEY
MAINTENANCE FUND — RECEIPTS

Balance on hand January i. 1016.. $ 10207

City warrant* 4.<X»(X5

Refund- on lights and Inxik*; T).II $5,042.08

\t MVTFV s\( r ll'Vr>— nicni-psrMFVTc

Salaiie* $3,038.40

Books ^165.61

THE I. 0. O. F. IKiMK. WALLA WALLA

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 305

Binding 166.91

Periodicals 22&.00

Printing and stationery 21.00

Furniture and fixtures i75-i5

Freight and drayage 41.68

Light 185.95

Fuel 226.25

Repairs 98-59

Incidentals 37-45

Balance on hand December 31, 1916 I57-09 $5-042-o8

librarian's fund RECEIPTS

Balance from 191 5, fine collections $ 9.07

Balance from 191 5, 5c pay collections 7.80

Fines collected in 1916 47^-73

Circulation of pay books at 5c each 23.65

Donation from art club 14.80

Miscellaneous sources 3-O0 $53i-05

librarian's fund DISBURSEMENTS

Books purchased from fines $ 57-88

Books purchased from 5c pay collections 29.15

Periodicals 3^-12

Book binding 6.28

Extra help, librarians 141 .40

Extra janitor service 4-75

Supplies and incidentals 254.70

Balance on hand, fines $3-47

Balance on hand, 5c pay collections 2.30 5.77 $531.05

There are many other features of the life of the city under political authority
which would be worthy of mention, did space allow.

In one of the early chapters dealing with the founding of the city and its
first incorporation, 1862, we gave the officers chosen in the first election of April
1st of that year. We now incorporate here the list of city officers from 1877 to
the present. This is subdivided by the diflferent forms of government under
which the city has operated.

MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
1877

Mayor — M. C. Moore.

Marshal — John G. Justice.
Vol. I — 20

306 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Recorder — ^J. D. Laman.
Treasurer — H. E. Holmes.
Assessor — S. Jacobs.

Council — W. P. Winans, W. P. Adams, Wm. Kohlhauff, A. H. Reynolds and
J. G. Justice.

1878

Mayor — ^James McAuliffe.
Justice — J. D. Laman.
Marshal — J. G. Justice.
Treasurer — H. E. Holmes.
Health Officer— J. M. Boyd.
Assessor — S. Jacobs.

Council— W. P. Winans, Wm. Kohlhauff, Z. K. Straight, M. F. Colt, F. W.
Paine and J. A. Taylor.

1879

Mayor — James McAuliffe.
Marshal— J. A. McNeil.
Treasurer — H. E. Holmes.
Assessor — S. Jacobs.
Health Officer— J. M. Boyd.
Justice — J. D. Laman.

Council — A. S. Legrow, H. M. Chase, J. M. Welsh, R. Jacobs, Wm. Harkness,
Wm. Kohlhauff, Geo. F. Thomas.

1880

Mayor — James McAuliffe.
Mar.shal — J. G. Justice.
City Attorney — J. T. Anders.
Treasurer — H. E. Holmes.
Assessor —

Council— S. Jacobs, H. M. Chase, W. T. Dovell, Wm. Kohlhauff, Geo. F.
Thomas, J. M. Welsh.

1 881

Mayor — James McAuliffe.
City Attorney — J. T. Anders.
Marshal — J. G. Justice.
Treasurer — H. E. Holmes.
Assessor — S. Jacobs.
Health Officer— Dr. A. N. Marion.

Council — Wm. Glasford, Ed Baumeister, A. H. Reynolds, S. Jacobs, W. T.
Dovell, Levi Ankeny and Wm. Kohlhauff.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 307

1882

Mayor — ^James McAuliffe.
City Attorney— W. G. Glasford.
Clerk — Le F. A. Shaw.
Treasurer — Richard Jacobs.
Health Officer— Dr. T. W. Sloan.
City Surveyor— J. B. Wilson.
City Assessor — Samuel Jacobs.

Council— W. P. Winans, T. J. Fletcher, John Dovell, N. T. Caton, A. H.
Reynolds and Ed Baumeister.

1883

Mayor — T. R. Tannatt.
City Clerk — Le F. A. Shaw.
Treasurer — F. W. Paine.
Attorney — W. G. Langford.
Health Officer— Dr. A. N. Marion.
Surveyor — J. B. Wilson.

Council— W. P. Winans, Wm. Glasford, T. J. Fletcher, H. Wintler, John
Dovell, N. T. Caton, A. G. Bowles.

1884

Mayor — T. R. Tannatt, resigned and F. W. Paine elected.

Marshal — T. J. Robinson.

City Clerk— Le F. A. Shaw.

Attorney — W. G. Langford.

Treasurer — O. P. Lacy.

Health Officer— Dr. W. G. Alban.

Surveyor — J. B. Wilson.

Council— H. M. Porter, W. O'Donnell, John Dovell, J. P. Kent, Thos. Quinn.

1885

Mayor— J. M. Boyd.
Marshal — T. J. Robinson. '
Justice — J. D. Laman.
Treasurer — J. Chitwood.
Health Officer— Dr. W. G. Alban.
City Attorney— W. W. Newlin.
Clerk— Le F. A. Shaw.
Assessor — J. B. Wilson.

Council— J. W. Esteb, J. Picard, L. H. Bowman, H. M. Porter, W. O'Don-
nell, W. H. Kent and John Dovell.

1886

Mayor— J. M. Boyd.
Marshal— T. J. Robinson.

308 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

City Clerk — Henry Kelling.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Attorney — J. L. Sharpstein.
Surveyor — L. A. Wilson.
Justice — J. D. Laman.
Health Officer— Dr. H. R. Keylor.
Assessor — Wm. Harkness.

Council — Wm. Stine, John Marion, John M. Hill, W. G. Tobin, J. Picard,
L. H. Bowman. T W. Esteb.

Mayor — Jas. McAuliffe.
Marshal — T. J. Robinson.
Clerk — Henry Kelling.
Attorney — J. L. Sharpstein.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Justice — A. J. Gregory.
Health Officer— Dr. H. R. Keylor.
Assessor — M. H. Paxton.
Surveyor — J. B. Wilson.

Council— D. W. Small, John Picard, Geo. Dacres, John M. Hill, John Marion,
W. G. Tobin and Wm. Stine.

1888

Mayor— Geo. T. Thompson.
Marshal — T. J. Robinson.
Attorney — J. L. Sharpstein.
Clerk — Henry Kelling.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Justice — A. G. Gregory.
Health Officer— Dr. Y. C. Blalock.
Assessor — M. H. Paxton.
Surveyor — A. J. Anderson.

Council— W. H. Upton. John Marion, J. M. Hill, R. M. McCalley, D. W.
Small, John Picard and Geo. Dacres.

1889

Mayor— Dr. N. G. Blalock.
Marshal — T. J. Robinson.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Clerk — Henry Kelling.
Attorney — J. L. Sharpstein.
Health Officer— Dr. Y. C. Blalock.
Justice — John A. Taylor.
Sur\-eyor — W. G. Sayles.
Assessor — M. H. Paxton.

Council— D. W. Small, Z. K. Straight, J. L. Roberts. J. F. Brewer, John H.
Stockwell, John Marion and R. M. McCalley.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 309

1890

Mayor— N. G. Blalock.
Marshal — T. J. Robinson.
Attorney — J. L. Sharpstein.
Clerk — Henry Kelling.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Justice — V. D. Lambert.
Health Officer— Dr. Y. C. Blalock.
Assessor — M. H. Paxton.
Surveyor — L. A. Wilson.

Council— J. H. Stockwell, John Picard, H. A. Reynolds, R. M. McCalley, T.
J. Robinson, Z. K. Straight and D. W. Small.

1891

Mayor — J. L. Roberts.
Clerk — Henry Kelling.
Marshal — T. J. Robinson.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Attorney— W. T. Dovell.
Justice — ^John A. Taylor.
Health Officer— Dr. Y. C. Blalock.
Assessor — M. H. Paxton.
Surveyor — Lew W. Loehr.

Council— H. S. Young, Jacob Betz, A. J. Evans, J. H. Stockwell, John Picard,
H. A. Reynolds and J. L. Jones.

1892

Mayor — ^John L. Roberts.
Clerk — Henry Kelling.
Attorney— W. T. Dovell.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Marshal — T. J. Robinson.
Justice — Timothy T. Burgess.
Health Officer— W. G. Alban.
Assessor — M. H. Paxton.
Surveyor — Lew W. Loehr.

Council— B. D. Crocker, John G. Muntinga, E. H. Massam, J. L. Jones, H.
S. Young, Jacob Betz and A. J. Evans.

1893

Mayor — J. L. Roberts.
Clerk — Henry Kelling.
Attorney — W. T. Dovell.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.

310 OLD WALLA W ALl.A COUNTY

Mar>hal — F. J. Kobiiiwii.
Jusiiic — W. T. Arbcrry.
llrilth OHkcr— Win. G. Allwn
\ I >sor — J. U. Wilson.
Surveyor — Edwin S. Clark.

(.uiiniil Dnnirl Stewart. Jacob Hci/, .mm man K. Mutlcr, U. l>. Crocker. John
G. Muntinga, E. II. Mas&am and J. L. Jones.

181M

Mayor — John I. Rnln-rts.
Clerk — Henry Kelliiip.
Attorney — VV'ni. T. Dovcll.
Treasurer — K. G. Parks.
Marshal— Winlkld S. Hallcy.
Justice — W. T. Arberry.
Health Officer— W. G. Alban.
.Assessor — T. H. Jcssup.
Surveyor — Edward Clark.

Council — Milton Kvans. Marshall Martin, E. H. Massam, Stephen Ring-
hoffer. Daniel Stewart, Jacob lictz, and Norman I'. Butler.

1895

Mayor— John L. Roberts.
City Clerk — Alexander McKay.
Attorney— R. C. Parks.
Marshal — M. .Ames.
Justice — Harrison W. Eagan.
Health Officer- Wm. G. Alban.
Surveyor — E. S. Clark.

Council — .\. K. Dice, Jacob Betz, John D. Lamb. Milton Evans. .Marshall
Martin. V.. H. Massam. Daniel .Stewart and V. D. Lambert.

1896

Mayor — Jacob Hctz.

Clerk— John E Williams.

Attorney — C. M. Rader.

Treasurer— John W. McGh^e.

Marshal — M. Ames.

Justice — E. H. N'ixon.

Health Officer- Wm. G .Mhan.

Su^^'eyo^ — E. S. Clark

Council — M. Evans. J. 1'. Kent. K. H. Massam. John I.amb and \. K. Dice

1897

Maytir— Jacob Betz.
Clerk— Clark N. McLean.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 311

Attorney— H. S. Blandford.
Treasurer — John McGee.
Marshal— J. J. Kauffman.
Health Officer— W. G. Alban.
Surveyor — E. S. Clark.
Council — continued.

1898

Mayor — Jacob Betz.

Clerk— C. N. McLean.

Attorney— H. S. Blandford.

Treasurer — J. W. McGhee.

Justice of the Peace— J. J. Huffman.

Marshal — ^J. J. Kaufifman.

Assessor — Fred A. Colt.

Health Officer— W. G. Alban.

.Surveyor — E. S. Clark.

Street Commissioner — D. A. McLeod.

Council— E. H. Nixon, Marshall Martin, J. F. Brewer, Albert Niebergall.

1899

Mayor — Jacob Betz.

Clerk- R. P. Reynolds.

Marshal — J. J. Kauffman.

Attorney— H. S. Blandford.

Treasurer — Le F. A. Shaw.

Justice of the Peace— Wm. Glasford.

Assessor — W. L. Cadman.

Street Commissioner — W. H. Brown.

Surveyor — E. S. Clark.

Health Officer— W. G. Alban.

Council— G. W. Babcock, F. M. Pauly, E. S. Isaacs.

1900

Mayor — Jacob Betz.

Marshal — J. J. Kauffman.

Clerk— R. P. Reynolds.

Treasurer — Le F. A. Shaw.

Attorney— H. S. Blandford.

Justice of the Peace — Wm. Glasford.

Assessor — W. L. Cadman.

Surveyor — E. S. Clark.

Street Commissioner — H. H. Crampton.

Health Officer— W. E. Russell.

Council— J. F. McLean. Marshall Martin, J. F. Brewer, Albert Nieberg-all.

312 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

1 901

^L■lyor — G. W. Babcock.
Ckrk— R. P. Reynolds.
Attorney — H. S. lilandford.
Treasurer — Le F. A. Shaw.
Marshal— J. J. Kauft'nian.
Street Commissioner— H. H. Crampton.
Justice of the Peace — Wm. Glasford.
Health Officer— W. G. Alban.
Surveyor — E. S. Clark.

Council— J. F. McLean, W. A. Williams, Marshall Martin, J. Z. Smith, J. F.
Brewer, John Kirkman and Albert Niebergall.

1902

Mayor — Gilbert Hunt.
Clerk— R. P. Reynolds.
Attorney— H. S. Blandford.
Treasurer — Le F. A. Shaw.
Marshal — J. J. Kauffman.
Justice of the Peace — Wm. Glasford.
Street Commissioner- — H. H. Crampton.
Health Officer— W. G. Alban.
Surveyor — E. S. Clark.

Council— J. F. McLean, J. Z. Smith, W. P. McKean, J. F. Brewer, John
. Kirkman, F. W. Martin.

1903

Mayor — Gilbert Hunt.
Treasurer — Le F. A. Shaw.
Justice — J. J. Huffman.
Marshal — Alvah Brown.
Street Commissioner — H. H. Crampton.
City Attorney — H. S. Blandford.
Surveyor — E. S. Clark.
Assessor — W. F. Merchant.
Clerk— R. P. Reynolds.
Health Officer — C. P. Gammon.

Council — Henry Osterman, Wm. Glasford, J. Z. Smith, J. C. Scott, A. J.
Gillis, Eugene Boyer. W. P. McKean.

1904

Mayor — Gilbert Hunt.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Justice — J. J. Huffman.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 313

Marshal — Alvah Brown.
Street Commissioner — H. H. Crampton.
City Attorney — H. S. Blandford.
City Surveyor — W. G. Sayles.
Assessor — R. J. Berryman.
Health Officer — J. W. Ingram.

Council— J. G. Bridges, W. P. McKean, J. B. Brewer, Fred W. Martin, Wm.
Glasford.

1905

Mayor — Gilbert Hunt.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Justice — J. J. Huffman.
Marshal — Alvah Brown.
Street Commissioner — H. H. Crampton.
Surveyor — J. B. Wilson.
Clerk— R. P. Reynolds.
Assessor — R. J. Berryman.
Health Officer — J. W. Ingram.

Council— Wm. Glasford, W. P. McLean, W. H. Kirkman, J. Z. Smith, Fred
W. Martin, J. P. Bridges.

1906

Mayor — Geo. E. Kellough.
■ Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Marshal — Alvah Brown.
Street Commissioner — H. H. XTrampton.
Surveyor — J. B. Wilson.
Assessor — W. S. Cadman.
Clerk— T. D. S. Hart.
Health Officer— Dr. A. E. Braden.

Council — J. P. Kent, R. H. Johnson, Eugene Tausick, Wm. Glasford, John
Bachtold, W. P. McKean.

1907

Mayor — Geo. E. Kellough.
Clerk— T. D. S. Hart.
Marshal — Mike Davis.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Attorney — Oscar Cain.
Health Officer— A. E. Braden.
Street Commissioner — H. H. Crampton.

Council— J. P. Bridges, W. P. McKean, C. H. Whiteman, John Bachtold.
Eugene Tausick, J. F. Stack, J. A. Dunham.

314 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

1908

Mayor — Eugene Tausick.
Clerk— T. D. S. Hart.
Treasurer — R. G. Parks.
Attorney— Oscar Cain.
Marshal — M. Davis.
Surveyor — Lew Loehr.
Street Commissioner — H. H. Crampton.
Health Officer— A. E. Braden.
Assessor — M. Toner.

Council — Fred Hull, Fritz Lehn, C. H. Cummings, Albert Niebergall, J. B.
Stack, C. H. Whiteman, Afred Bachtold.

1909

Mayor — Eugene Tausick.
Clerk— T. D. S. Hart.
Attorney — Oscar Cain.
Marshal — Michael Davis.
Street Commissioner^H. H. Crampton.
Assessor — M. Toner.
Health Officer— E. E. Shaw.
Surveyor — Lew Loehr.

Council — C. H. Whiteman, Alfred Bachtold, Fred Hull, Albert Niebergall,
J. F. Stack, Fritz Lehn.

1910

Mayor — Eugene Tausick.
Clerk— T. D. S. Hart.
Attorney — J. W. Brooks.
Treasurer — Perry Lyons.
Marshal — Michael Davis.
Chief of Fire Department — Wm. Metz.
Street Commissioner — H. H. Crampton.
Assessor — A. R. Dorwin.
Surveyor — W. R. Rehorn.

Council— C. H. Whiteman, Harvey McDonald, Alfred Bachtold, J. F. Stack,
Robert Breeze, C. H. Cummings, Albert Niebergall.

COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERNMENT
I9II, I912, I913

Mayor — A. J. Gillis.

Commissioners — A. K. Dice, Geo. Struthers.

Attorney — J. F. Watson.

Building Inspector — Wm. Metz.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 315

Clerk — C. Arthur Jones.

Engineer — W. R. Rehorn.

Fire Chief— Wm. Metz.

Health Officer — C. E. Montgomery.

Justice — T. M. McKinney.

Librarian — Ellen Garfield Smith.

Marshal and Chief of Police — Michael Davis.

Registrar Water Works — R. C. Stack.

Street Commissioner — R. A. Stockdale.

Superintendent of Schools- — O. S. Jones.

Superintendent of Water Works — R. F. McLean.

Treasurer— John McGhee.

1914, 1915, 1916

Mayor — M. Toner.

Commissioners^ — A. K. Dice, H. H. Crampton.

Clerk — 1914, 1915, M. A. Powers — 1916, Fred G. Wills.

Treasurer — John McGhee.

Attorney— J. P. Neal.

Water Superintendent — R. F. McLean.

Police Judge — T. M. McKinney.

Water Registrar — E. T. Churchman.

Fire Chief — Geo. Guthridge.

Chief of Police — James Martin.

City Engineer — W. R. Rehorn.

Health Officer — C. E. Montgomery.

As the last glance at the political history of the City of Walla Walla we insert
here the report of the financial condition of the City of Walla Walla June 30,
191 7, as compiled by the Commissioner of Finance and Accounting, A. K. Dice:

Assessed valuation of the City of Walla Walla this year is $9,411,099, accord-
ing to the report of the county assessor's office, filed this morning with the city
commission. The assessment of the city this year shows an increase in valuation
of approximately $100,000, last year's assessment having been $9,310,655. The
report of the county assessor is as follows:

Assessed valuation of the City of Walla Walla, 1917:

Old city limits $8,738,839

First addition 254,366

Second addition .' 9446o

Third addition 3.890

Fourth addition 250,260

Fifth addition 19,200

Sixth addition 46,084

Total $9.41 1 ,099

The total includes valuation of public service corporation properties within the
city limits, taken from the 1916 tax rolls.

316 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

The semi-annual report of the city clerk was also tiled by Clerk Fred Wills
this morning, the report showing the city's financial condition on July i, 1917, and
showing the receipts and disbursements from January i, 1917, to June 30, 1917,
inclusive. A summary of the report is as follows:

Receipts, January i to June 30, 1917:

Licenses $ 3, 108.00

Fees, fines, etc 5.574-70

Water department receipts 38,985.85

Cemetery department 2,761.72

Cemetery perpetual care 4,343.69

Cemetery trust 8,42 1 .64

Interest on cemetery trust 21 1.40

General taxes 1 10,979.81

Road and bridge tax 2,578.48

Water works sinking fund 28,228.33

Interest on above 483.69

Firemen's relief and pension 201 .41

Transfers 549. 19

Local improvement district taxes 85,913.76

Total $292,341 .67

Disbursements, January i to June 30, 191 7, by the various city departments :

Administration $ 3,272.60

Streets 18,218.73

Water 29,180.86

Fire 15,316.26

rdice 6,722.74

Treasury 797-79

Clerical 836.87

Bridge and creek : i ,047.20

Engineering 1,578.18

Library 2,000.00

Park 5.901 .06

Mounted police 399-70

Cemetery i ,790. 1 1

Health 3,294.82

General expenses 970. 63

Public buildings 859.93

Legal department 76370

Firemen's relief and pension 278.75

Judicial 252.00

Electrical ., 302.80

General bond interest and redemption 3,403.40

Cemetery trust 12,067.46

Special assessments on city property 51505

Water sinking fund 38,491.03

Total $148,311.57

THE DENNY BLlLU]N(i. WALLA WALLA

THE DRUMHELLER BUILDING, WALLA WALLA

318 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

which the city officials chosen were these : G. W. Kellicut, mayor ; WiUiam
Fudge, A. L. Kinnear, P. A. Preston, D. W. Kaup and M. J. Harkness, council-
men.

The mayors of the city in order, beginning in 1883 and extending annually to
1905, were as follows: W. N. Smith, W. S. Mincer, E. L. Powell, P. A. Preston,
re-elected in 1887 and 1888, C. N. Babcock in 1889, S. W. Smith in 1890 and 1891,
Frank Parton in 1892, J. H. Morrow in 1893 (and during this year the important
step in municipal development was taken of a city water system), J. W. Morgan in
1894 and 1895, T. L. Flollowell in 1896, D. V. Wood in 1897, E. W. McCann in
1898 and 1899, J. H. Morrow in 1900, T. M. McKinney in 1901 and 1902, E. L.
Wheeler in 1903, C. W. Preston in 1904.

Beginning with 1905 and extending to 1917 the mayors and councilmen have
been these :

1905 — Mayor, D. V. Wood. Councilmen — E. M. Denton, W. J. Earnest, T. J.
Hollowell, M. H. Keiser, Frank McCown.

1906 — Mayor, J. B. Caldwell. Councilmen — E. M. Denton, H. D. Conover, W.
S. Guntle, J. B. Loundagin, P. C. Perkins.

1907 — Mayor, Geo. M. Lloyd. Councilmen — Dr. R. E. Butler, L. H. Ma-
comber, H. D. Conover, J. B. Loundagin, W. F. Pool.

1908 — Mayor, R. M. Breeze. Councilmen — L. H. Macomber, H. D. Con-
over, J. B. Loundagin, H. E. Boynton, George Kruchek.

1909 — Mayor, R. M. Breeze. Councilmen — J. W. Taylor, L. H. Macomber,
J. C. McAninch, H. E. Boynton, E. M. Denton.

1910 — Mayor, M. O. Pickett. Councilmen — H. P. Petersen, Dr. R. E. Butler,
W. J. Earnest, W. G. Shuham, Geo. M. Lloyd.

191 1 — Mayor, E. L. Wheeler. Councilmen — H. P. Petersen, W. G. .Shuham,
D. P. Hayes, R. G. Eichelberger, L. R. Perrine.

1912- — Mayor, E. L. Wheeler. Councilmen — L. R. Perrine, D. P. Hayes, R. G.
Eichelberger, Geo. M. Lloyd, A. G. Loundagin.

1913 — Mayor, E. L. Wheeler. Councilmen — W. D. Wallace, A. J. Woodworth,
Roland Allen, Forrest Carpenter, D. P. Bailey.

1914 — Mayor, W. D. Wallace. Councilmen — D. P. Bailey, A. J- Woodworth,
W. S. Guntle, D. B. Stimmel, J. W. Taylor.

191 5 — Mayor, E. L. Wheeler. Councilmen — W. D. Wallace, A. J. Woodworth,
J. W. Taylor, O. B. Smith, E. J. Call.

1916 — Mayor, E. L. Wheeler. Councilmen— E. J. Call, W. D. Wallace, A. C.
Macomber, A. C. Spafford, A. J. Woodworth.

191 7 — Mayor, E. L. Wheeler. Councilmen — W. D. Wallace, E. ]. Call, A. J.
Woodworth, A. C. Macomber, A. C. Spaflford.

CHAPTER II
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES IN HISTORY OF COLUMBIA COUNTY

We have already given a general view of the first settlement on the Touchet,
in what is now Columbia County. But a valuable paper by Judge Chester F.
Miller of Dayton, prepared for a club at that city and published in the Chronicle
of April 8, 1916, offers some material so fitting for an introduction that we avail
ourselves of it here. Judge Miller discusses the meaning of the names of the
local streams as follows :

"It is rather unfortunate that the original Indian name Kinnooenim was not
retained instead of the rather harsh sounding name of Tucanon. Many people
have the idea that Tucanon derived its name from the tradition that some early
expedition buried two cannon on its banks when pressed by the Indians, but the
early expeditions, both explorers and Indian fighters, did not carry cannon, they
did well if they got over the country with their muskets. The first cannon in
this section that we read about were at Fort Taylor, at the mouth of the Tucanon,
built by Colonel Wright in 1858, which was some time after the creek had re-
ceived its present name. I am inclined to adopt the theory that the name is derived
from 'tukanin,' the Nez Perce name for cowse or Indian bread root, which
was generally used by the Indians in making bread. I have some early recollec-
tions of trying to eat some Indian bread made from crushed cowse, flavored
with grasshopper legs.

"The name Patit, called by the Indians Pat-ti-ta, is somewhat in doubt, one
Indian having told me that it was a Nez Perce word meaning small creek. The
word Touchet has never been properly identified, but Ed Raboin thought it was
from the French, and came from the exclamation 'touche' used in fencing with
foils, when one of the fencers touched the other over a vital spot."

The second extract deals with the expulsion of the settlers in the Indian
war of 1855 :

"Nathan Olney, the Indian agent at The Dalles, made a trip to the Walla
Walla country seeking to pacify Peu-peu-mox-mox, but this chief refused the
presents offered and repudiated the treaty. Mr. Olney at once ordered all
settlers to leave the country. At this time Chase, LaFontain and Brooke left their
cabins on the Touchet in Columbia County on their way to The Dalles for sup-
plies; on arriving at the mouth of the Umatilla, they were informed of the
Indian uprising, and returned to Whitman mission, where a conference was had,
and all the whites agreed to convert the house of Mr. Brooke, just below the
present Huntsville, into a fort and stay with the country. Chase and LaFontain
returned to their ranches at Dayton and on the day agreed on for the meeting
at the Brooke cabin. LaFontain went down to confer with them, and learned that
all the others, who had agreed to stay and fight it out, had concluded to abandon

319

320 OLD WALLA WALLA CULXTV

their places and leave the country. Chase and Lal'"ontain concluded to stay, and
coninienced to fortify the Chase house, which was located in the vicinity of the
present Pietrzycki residence. They had three transient hired men, who at first
agreed to stay, but on the following day the hired men concluded that they had
nut lost any Indians, and took their departure. Chase and LaT'ontain completed
their stockade, ran a bucketful of bullets, stocked the cabin with provisions, and
dug a tunnel to the banks of the Touchet for water in case of siege, and waited
for the Indians.

"They remained for ten days longer, when the constant standing guard and
waiting for the Indians, who had not a])])eared, began to wear on their nerves,
and they started for the country of the friendly Nez Perces, picking up Louis
Raboin on the Tucanon, and at that time not a white man remained in Southeastern
W ashington. On the next day after tlicy had left the Indians came and burned
tlie Brooke and Chase houses."

Still another interesting extract tells of the controverted point as to the rights
and wrongs of the tragic death of Peu-peu-mox-mox, of which we have spoken
in the chapter on Indian wars :

"During this Indian war no fighting was done in Columbia County and I will
not mention it further than to say that on December 9, i?'55. tlie battle of tin- Walla
Walla was fought, in which Peu-peu-mox-mox was killed by the guards while
held as a hostage. Some 1,500 Indians were engaged in this battle against 350
volunteers. The results were twenty volunteers killed and wounded and 100 dead
Indians.

"Some writers, pa,rticularly Colonel Gilbert, claim that this chief was mur-
dered, and his body mutilated by the guards, but I don't believe it. My father
was one of the guards, and he has told me that when the battle commenced this
chief began waving his hands and shouting to his warriors, giving them directions
in regard to the battle, and that Colonel Kelley rode up and said, 'Tie them or kill
them, I don't give a damn which,' and that when the guards proceeded to tie
them the Indians began to struggle, and one by the name of Wolfskin broke away
and stabbed Sergt. Maj. Isaac Miller in the arm, and that the guards then
began to see red, and the whole thing was ofT."

In Judge Miller's paper there is also a most valuable view of the permanent
settlements on the Touchet following the close of the wars:

"In 1859 the Indian troubles having ended, the Touchet country was declared
safe for settlers. The first to arrive were Indian traders, usually squaw-men,
who settled at the different crossings of the old Indian trails and engaged in the
business of trading bad whiskey to the Indians for their cayuse ponies. Some
of these probably slipped in during the fall of '58, as they were here in the
spring of '59 when the first homesteaders arrived looking for locations. Bill
Bunton, George Ives and Clubfoot George were at the crossing of Whiskey
Creek ; Freelon Schnebley, known as 'Stubbs,' and Richard Learn, known as
'Big Red,' at the crossing of the Touchet, where Dayton is located; Bill Rexford
was at the crossing of the Patit. and John Turner at Pataha City ; these were all
bad citizens and all squaw-men except Rexford, and it was generally said among
the Indians that he was too mean for a squaw to live with. In addition to these,
the following squaw-men, who were much better citizens, were here at that
time: Louis Raboin, who lived where the trails crossed the Tucanon, having

THE COURTHOUSE, DAYTON

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 321

returned to his old place after the Indian troubles; William and Martin Bailey,
who lived with their squaws on what is known as the Rainwater place at the
upper end of town, and Joe Ruark, known as 'Kentuck,' who lived with his squaw
near the Star schoolhouse. The first real settlers to arrive came in the spring of
1859, most of them from the Willamette Valley, many of them having seen the
country while serving as volunteers in the Indian wars. They located claims along
the Touchet, laid a foundation of four logs, and posted notices that they had
taken the claims, and gone to the valley for their stock, and would return in
three months.

"As near as I can learn, the only one who remained at that time was Israel
Davis, usually known as 'Hogeye' Davis, who settled where the trails left the
Hogeye Creek, and raised a small crop that year. This is conceded to be the
first crop raised and harvested in the county. Davis was a bachelor, and two
years later was killed by the jealous husband of a woman who was cooking for
him. The next who came to stay were Sam Gilbreath and his young wife, and
John Wells and Tom Davis, both bachelors, who came in August, 1859. Gilbreath
took up a homestead and built his first cabin where the trails entered the valley.
This would be where the Smith orchard is now located. Tom Davis bought
a location from 'Stubbs' and built a cabin in the vicinity of the Railroad Primary;
Wells also bought a location from 'Stubbs' and built across the Touchet from
the mouth of the Patit. Lambert Hearn and wife came in October, first locating
where the Columbia schoolhouse now stands, but afterwards selling out to the
Paynes and moving to the Hearn homestead acrriss the Touchet from Dayton.

"Jesse N. Day was among those who located their clai^ris illd' returned to the
valley for their families; he did not return until the fall of i860. His claim was
where the Chandler slaughter house is now located: He looked over the present
site of Dayton, but was afraid Chase and LaFbntain might return and make him
trouble, and located farther down. Many of those who made their locations in
the spring came back in the fall and built cabins. The settlers of 1859, traveling
from the crossing down the Touchet were as follows : Wells, Davis, Hearn, Gil-
breath, John Forsythe at the Angell place, James Dill at Pomona, James Bennett
at the Bateman place, Joe Starr at the Starr bridge, Dave Fudge at the Blize
place, George Pollard at his present place, John Fudge at Huntsville, and the
Whittaker brothers just below, James Fudge on Whiskey Creek below Bunton's,
and Israel Davis on the Hogeye.

"They were all bachelors except Gilbreath and Hearn, so that we had two
white women in Columbia County at that time, although Dill was a widower
and had one boy with him. Those arriving in i860 were Elisha Ping and family.
G. W. Miller and family, my mother and I being the family, Jesse N. Day and
family, and three bachelors, Henry B. Day and Jack and Newt Forrest; the For-
rests were brothers of Mrs. Day. Miller and Ping settled on their previously
located homesteads on the Patit, and Jesse Day on the Touchet ; the Forrests had
located the Richardson place the year before and settled there, selling out to R. G.
Newland in 1861 ; Henry Day having 320 acres in the valley, was not eligible for
a homestead, but engaged in the cattle business.

"The immigration of 1861 was as follows: William Sherry settled on the
Patit above Miller; Alexander Montgomery, Albert Woodward and Cyrus Arm-
strong on the Patit above Rexford; Jonathan Buzzard on the old Cross place in
Vol. I — 21

322 OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY

Johnson Hollow, near Dayton ; Ambrose Johnson where the trails crossed John-
son Hollow; Tom Whetstone where the trails entered Whetstone Hollow; Amasa
West between Stubbs and the Haileys; Uncle Zeke Hobbs between the Baileys
and 'Kentuck;' John Winnett and Henry Owsley farther up the Touchet, and
Uncle Tom Winnett and his sons, Bill, Dock, Bob and Lew, on Whiskey Creek
and the Hogeye. There were three yoimg fellows with the Winnetts, who do not
seem to have taken up land at that time ; they were Simon Critchlield, Cy Mathew
and Fred Yenney. This year the Paynes bought out Hearn at Columbia school-
house, and the Forrests sold to R. G. Newland. Dining this year my father
rented the Stubbs place, broke out a portion of the land and fenced it with cotton-
wood rails made where the Main Street Bridge now crosses the stream.

"The settlers up to this time were stock men, settling along the stream and
grazing their stock on the hills in every direction; they raised a little hay and
some oats on the fertile bottom lands; the hills were considered of no value
except for grazing ; wheat was not raised because there was no available market ;
surplus oats were hauled to Fort Lapwai, but on account of the distance and crude
roads this was not very profitable. When the valleys were taken up the growth
of the country stopped and the increase in population was very slow."

ESTABLISHMENT OF COLUMBIA COUNTY

We have given in the last chapter of Part H the story of County division. By
act of the Territorial Legislature on November ii, 1875, a line was drawn from
Snake River south to a point on the Touchet two miles above Waitsburg ; thence
south six miles, then east six miles, then south to the state line. All west of that
line continued to be Walla Walla County, and that east to the Snake River was
included in the new County of Columbia.

By the act, Dayton was the county seat until the next general election, v»hen
the seat w-as to be permanently located by popular vote.

Eliel Oliver, Frank G. Frary, and George T. Pollard were named first com-
missioners to organize the county. In pursuance of their functions, they met on
November 25th and become duly qualified to act. Mr. Frary became chairman
of the board and D. C. Guernsey was appointed clerk. Precincts were estab-
lished as follows: Independent, with polls at Dayton; Patit with polls at school-
house near A. Walker's residence ; Tucanon, at Platter schoolhouse ; Calloway, at
Central schoolhouse; Pataha, J. M. Pomeroy's residence; Asotin, usual voting
place ; Touchet, Washington schoolhouse.

The election occurred on December 21, 1875, and as a result the first officers
in Columbia County w'ere duly elected as follows : County commissioners, E.
McDonnell, Joseph Harris. H. P>. Bateman ; Sherifif. S. L. Gilbreath ; auditor,
A. J. Cain ; treasurer. D. C. Guernsey ; assessor, R. F. Walker ; probate judge,
William Ayers and R. F. Sturdevant had a tie of 283 votes each ; school superin-
tendent, T. S. Leonard; surveyor. William Ewing; coroner, W. W. Day. The
Board of Commissioners met on January i, 1876, and organized by the election
of Mr. Harris as chairman.

Taking up the tie in the office of probate judge, the position was declared
vacant, and at the next meeting R. F. .Sturdevant was appointed.

OLD WALLA WALLA COUNTY 323

Mr. Ewing not qualifying for surveyor, the vacancy was filled by appointraent
of Charles Truax.

Thus Columbia County was launched upon its career. The chief settlements
at that time were on the Touchet, and Dayton was not far from the center of
that region. But the county included a great area to the north and east, and
though as yet sparsely settled, it was obvious that upon the Tucanon, Pataha,
Alpowa and Asotin, and upon the vast plateau between the Blue Mountains and
Snake River there would ere long be a large population which would be so remote
from Dayton as to make it an inconvenient seat of government.

In fact, hardly had the new officers become installed before there arose the
inevitable county-seat fight. It would seem as though the contest would have
assumed, even then, the form of a dema