An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 27

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate publishing company
Number of Pages: 1146

USA > Washington > Kittitas County > An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 27
USA > Washington > Yakima County > An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 27
USA > Washington > Klickitat County > An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 27

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The year 1882 was a year of drought, and it witnessed the nearest approach to a crop failure that has ever been known in the valley. The west winds are always laden with moisture from the wet district beyond the Cascades and act like a rain to the growing crops, but when the winds continue long from the east, all vegetation be- comes scorched and shriveled as if struck by a blast from a heated furnace. When these east winds strike the crops before they have matured the result is disastrous. As a general rule the west wind prevails in the growing season, but the year under consideration was an exceptional one and the crops suffered much damage from drought.

This year of short crops was especially dis- couraging as agriculture had only recently taken hold in the county and many of the farmers were not yet well established. Some were still in debt for necessary improvements, and consequently were left in straitened circumstances. That they were not disheartened, however, is shown by the energetic manner in which they set about repairing their fortunes the succeeding year. A much increased acreage was sown and substantial improvements were made everywhere. Another indication that the people had not lost confidence was the fact that the records of the proceedings of the spring term of court showed comparatively

few suits brought for the collection of debt in the county and not a single one against a farmer. Another creditable feature indicated by the court docket was the remarkably few crimes committed in the county. The records show for the term before mentioned that only two persons were indicted for crime by the grand jury and that there was but one trial by the petit jury and that that one resulted in acquittal. Nor was this peculiar to that particular term of court; a sim- ilar condition has obtained throughout the whole history of the county. The pages of its past are blotted with few records of crime. The people who came as settlers were industrious and pro- gressive, and the country being remote from the regular routes of travel, there was little to attract any other class within its borders.

It was the intention of the Agricultural Soci- ety when first organized to hold a fair annually and for a number of years it followed this plan. The second of the series was held in October, 1882, a very creditable one, considering the un- favorableness of the year. The following season was much more favorable for the farmer, and the Sentinel of October 1Ith informs us that the dis- play that year was far the best that had yet been made. The population of the county was still small and their means limited, so that it was not possible to accomplish as much as might be de- sired, but these exhibitions had the beneficial effect of keeping before the people the natural resources of the county and the great elements of wealth and prosperity which it contained.

Klickitat had now become essentially an agri- cultural county. Wheat-raising was no longer an experiment, it having been satisfactorily demonstrated that cereals yielded a sure and profitable crop. In 1884 most of the valley land was planted to grain and as the year proved a favorable one, with sufficient rains to mature properly the crop, the result was a harvest un- equaled in quantity and quality by any previous yield in the history of the county. The farmers were agreeably surprised by crops far in advance of their most sanguine expectations. The home flouring mills were crowded to their full capacity and a large margin was left for shipment abroad.

While the harvest of the season was all that could be desired, the price of grain was excep- tionally low. Wheat ranged throughout the year at from forty to fifty cents a bushel, and as it is generally estimated that the cost per bushel of raising wheat is close to thirty-two cents, the margin of profit was small. It was a time of financial depression throughout the entire coun- try. These times of business stagnation have occurred at intervals in our history so regular as almost to indicate that their recurrence is periodic. They can be accounted for on no general hy- pothesis unless it be excessive speculation and lack of business confidence. The agricultural sections, however, seem to suffer less at such

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times than any other part of the country. The farmers are more independent than any other class because they raise more of the actual neces- sities of life and in consequence are able to cur- tail expenses with less inconvenience. For this reason, Klickitat, being essentially an agricul- tural district, felt the season of hard times less than most of the surrounding counties. The lack of money in circulation, however, always seriously retards the progress of a section, de- laying improvement, and in this respect Klickitat was no better off than the rest of the country. The Sentinel makes the rather extravagant state- ment that there was not "money enough in the county that fall to set a hen."

Although the people of Klickitat depended as yet largely on agriculture and stock-raising for their main sources of wealth, they were not the only industries that had gained a foothold in the county. We have already noted that as early as 1860 a saw-mill was brought into the county. From this single small mill of limited capacity, the number had increased to five in 1884, each with a daily capacity of from twelve thousand to fifteen thousand feet. Besides, three shingle mills were in operation with an average daily output of from eight thousand to ten thousand shingles. These mills furnished labor to a small army of woodmen and lumbermen, though the industry was only in its infancy. The outside world had yet to learn that the pine of Klickitat county was of superior excellence for box and all kinds of finishing lumber.

The year closed with unusual snowstorms. By the 15th of December it was estimated that at least six feet of snow had fallen at Goldendale, while in the hills and along the Columbia river the snow was considerably deeper. Because of the excessive amount of moisture it contained, it had settled down to about four feet on the level. All the trains were blockaded in the drifts and Goldendale was shut off from communication with the outside world for almost three weeks. Finally, on January 4th, the letter mail was hauled around the blockades on sleighs and a short time afterwards the road was again opened for regular trains. The soft, wet snow for some time made travel very inconvenient, and when finally the snow went away the roads were left in a very muddy condition, so that considerable time elapsed before they were again passable for freight teams.

During the year 1885 Company B, Washing- ton National Guards, was organized at Golden- dale with the following officers: Captain, Enoch W. Pike; first-lieutenant, A. L. Miller; second- lieutenant, G. W. Stapleton. However, this was not the first militia company organized in the county, that honor belonging to Captain Pike's Rangers, heretofore mentioned, who also have the distinction of having been the territory's pioneer militia company. Company B was disbanded by

order of the governor in 1895, it having been decided to reduce the militia strength of the state.

The annals of a happy and prosperous people are naturally short, for the story of progress and improvement is quickly told while records of disaster are prolonged through many pages. An examination of the year 1885 shows little worthy of notice except a steady progress in spite of low prices for products and little money in circulation. That the people of Klickitat were suffering less than their neighbors from the existing financial distress, is plainly evident from a comparison of the delinquent tax lists published by the differ- ent counties throughout the territory for the year. The lists of Klickitat county show only a very few delinquencies while in many of the other counties of no greater population the lists are several times as long.

Although Klickitat has been settled for more than two score years, few deeds of violence stain the pages of its history. The people of the county were shocked, however, during the year 1886 by a crime of a most foul and revolting nature which occurred in the eastern end or what is know as the Horse Heaven region. The crime, for which the perpetrator finally paid the penalty which his deed merited, was committed on October 4, 1886. The facts in the case were as follows: William Sterling and Jochin Henry Timmerman, alias Beamer, left Ellensburg, where Sterling had been freighting during the summer, and started to drive with their teams and wagons across country to Oregon. They were seen together and recognized at different points on the road by a number of people who knew both parties. Up to the evening of October 3d they were known to be traveling in each other's company, but in the afternoon of the fol- lowing day Timmerman came to the Arlington ferry alone. He was driving four horses hitched to a wagon with another trailing behind. One span of the horses was afterward recognized as belonging to Sterling. About fifteen days later the body of a man was found, lacerated beyond recognition, but everything seemed to indicate that it was the body of the missing William Sterling. There was evidence that it had been pierced by two bullets, one in the breast and one in the head. The body was buried by the dis- coverers and the facts reported to the authorities. After some time had elapsed Timmerman was arrested and given a preliminary hearing, which resulted in his being bound over for trial at the October term of court for the year 1887. The case was called on the 25th of October, Hon. George Turner presiding at the trial. The prose- cution was conducted by County Attorney Hiram Dustin, assisted by Messrs. Smith and Dunbar, while Hon. D. P. Ballard, of Vancouver, ap- peared for the defense.

Wallace Hughes, the first witness called by the

Copyrighted hy Carratt, Photographer.

THE BALANCING HEAD ROCK. On the Columbia River. Estimated weight 140 tons

Copyrighted by Carratt, Photographer.

MOUNT ADAMS. Known in Indian legend as "The Fire God," with the "Big Muddy" in the foreground.

GOLDENDALE ACADEMY. COURT HOUSE AND JAIL AT GOLDENDALE

[ NEW PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING"AT GOLDENDALE.

OLD BLOCKHOUSE. Seven miles west of Goldendale. Constructed in the early '50s Relic of pioneer days

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KLICKITAT COUNTY.

prosecution, testified that he had accompanied Timmerman and Sterling from Ellensburg to North Yakima. He described Sterling as a tall man with dark hair and dark complexion; he further stated that Sterling wore a dark felt hat while Timmerman wore a white one, decorated with tobacco tags. He said they arrived at North Yakima on the last day of September, 1886, and spent the night at S. V. Hughes' place.

S. V. Hughes was next called and testified that Sterling and defendant had spent the night at his home in North Yakima and that they left together on the following morning. Both wit- nesses claimed that Timmerman was then going under the name of Beamer. W. B. Crow, a resident of Milton, Oregon, testified that he had accompanied Sterling and the accused for some distance and camped with them one night on the Yakima river. From that point he took the Wallula road while they proceeded through the Horse Heaven country. He also had noticed that Sterling wore a black hat and Timmerman a white one. H. F. Williams and A. C. Ketcham both testified that they had seen the men together on the 3d of October and had noticed the team each drove.

The 4th of October, Timmerman was seen by W. H. Boyd, Archie Miller and George B. Kintz- ley, driving four horses and trailing one wagon. The horses, as described by them, corresponded to the animals driven by the accused and Ster- ling on the preceding day. Kintzley had been watching for horse thieves and he attached the property of Timmerman on suspicion. Many of the articles found in the wagon were identified as belonging to Sterling, among them a dark felt hat, and the bottom of one wagon was found to be stained with blood. Kintzley further testified of the manner in which he and Forwood had dis- covered the body of the murdered man. They were looking for stolen horses about October 20th and as they followed up the road over which Timmerman had traveled, they noticed where the track of two wagons led out to one side of the road and again where they had returned, about one hundred and fifty yards beyond. They were moved through curiosity to follow the wagon tracks back through the sand. After they had gone about sixty yards from the road they found a body all lacerated and torn by wild animals until unrecognizable, though an examina- tion resulted in the discovery of indications that the body had been pierced by two bullets.

Two shots were heard by a sheep herder named Martin Peck in the direction in which the body was found, and Peck afterward saw a man with a four-horse team coming from the direction in which the sound of the shots had come. Many of the articles found on the wagon were identi- fied by Mrs. Sterling as belonging to her hus- band. Her description of the latter's height and general appearance conformed closely to the

dimensions of the body found, while a pistol and pocketbook discovered in the pockets of the mur- dered man were identified as belonging to Ster- ling.

The strange story told by Timmerman to account for the strong circumstantial evidence against him was that while he and Sterling were . traveling together, they had been attacked by armed men who fired upon them. In the shoot- ing which ensued, he had killed in self-defense one of the party that attacked them. He con- tended that the body discovered by Kintzley and Forwood was that of the man so killed and that William Sterling was still living. Sterling. he said, had run away to escape arrest when he dis- covered that they had killed a man. This story failed to account for the fact that the body found had neither boots nor hat, while Sterling's boots and hat were in the possession of the defendant.

Timmerman was convicted and sentenced to be hanged on the 15th day of December, 1887. The case was carried to the supreme court on a writ of error, but the decision of the lower court was sustained, and the day of execution was set this time for April 6, 1888. To the end Timmer- man persisted in the truth of his very improba- ble story. He told Sheriff Blakely, of Gilliam county, that the body identified as Sterling's was really that of a man named George Lester, whom he had shot in self-defense in a quarrel over a horse.

Timmerman went through the ordeal of the trial and execution with fortitude, never showing a tremor of emotion. When offered a cigar by the sheriff, he took it, declaring that he would smoke it with the rope around his neck. The hanging took place in the open, just north of Goldendale, across the road from the graveyard. The victim rode to his execution on his own coffin and literally fulfilled his statement by smoking the cigar as he ascended the scaffold. Sheriff William Van Vactor was in charge of the execution.

Two years afterward some malicious persons, for an unknown reason, removed the remains of Timmerman from the place where they had been deposited in the graveyard, and placing them in a sack, emptied them into the Little Klickitat. Here they were afterward found, and at the direction of the coroner returned to their former resting-place in the cemetery. The people were very much incensed at this act of brutality, and had the perpetrators of the deed been found, they would have been severely punished.

A glance at some figures exhibited in the report of the sheep commissioner for the year 1888 shows some surprising facts regarding the proportions to which the sheep industry had grown at this time. According to this report, there were at that time 86,060 sheep in the county, without taking into account the 63,000 head brought in from Oregon for summer pas-

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ture. During the year 20,000 head of mutton sheep were disposed of at an average price of $2 per head, netting $40,000, and 688,480 pounds of wool were marketed at ten cents per pound. In all, the sheep men of the county had received $118,480 for their year's product. This was an excellent showing, considering the fact that because of a measure passed by congress reduc- ing the tariff on wool, that commodity had depreciated in price eight cents a pound as com- pared with the previous year.

During the year a destructive fire swept Gold- endale, wiping almost the entire business portion of the city out of existence, and leaving the. county without any courthouse. The one that had been constructed by private subscription was consumed in the fire. This laid upon the county the necessity of constructing a new building as soon as possible. The proposition to bond the county for the sum of twenty-five thousand dol- lars to build a new courthouse and jail was referred to a vote of the people at the November election, but failed to carry by ten votes. The commissioners, therefore, the following year, let a contract for the construction of the present building, and since that time a jail has been erected at a cost approximating five thousand dollars. The county now has a commodious brick structure with courtroom and offices for the county officials, while under a separate roof is a neat, substantial jail. The two buildings cost, with furnishings, approximately twenty-five thousand dollars.

One encouraging feature of the year 1888 was the voting by the national congress of a new appropriation for the Cascade locks. Work had been going slowly forward for close to twelve years, and the locks were still incomplete. The grain raised in Klickitat county had increased from year to year until the revenue gained from that source had now become a very important element in the wealth of the country, but for lack of transportation facilities they had been placed at a disadvantage. The people of the valley had hoped that the completion of the O. R. & N. railroad line would furnish them a measure of relief, but they soon found that when placed at the mercy of any single line of trans- portation, they need expect little benefit, as the line conld set its freight charges as high as its officials saw fit, and the people had no appeal from the exorbitant rates demanded, which were always a large measure of the crop value.

The settlers of the valley had been hopefully looking forward to the opening of the river as a means of relief from excessive freight rates, but the government work had progressed so slowly that they were growing impatient, as just stated. The friends of the enterprise succeeded in obtain- ing an appropriation during the year 1888 which it was hoped would prove sufficient for the completion of the work, and the Klickitat farmers were again rejoiced with the prospect of an open river to The Dalles for the follow- ing year. They naturally could not foresee that the locks were not to be finished for nearly a decade yet.

But the country was growing in population and wealth, notwithstanding the fact that it was placed at a great disadvantage for want of speedy and cheap transportation. From the assessment rolls for the year 1889, it is observa- ble that the following taxpayers of the county each paid taxes on the sum immediately succeed- ing his name: J. Scammon, $5,238; Sig. Sichel, $8,365; G. W. Smith, $12,991; B. E. Snipes, $8,000; Amos Stark, $5,000; Jehu Switz- ler, $8,986; Switzler Bros., $9,490; E. M. Thomas & Son, $8,700; O. D. and Rose Taylor, $5,498; G. W. Waldron, $6,250; W. B. Walker, $8,060; Northern Pacific Railroad Company, $268,812.

It is surprising when one comes to consider the vast elements of wealth and prosperity, the abundant natural resources which the state of Washington contains, that it was so long coming into public notice. Its magnificent harbors, extensive belts of the finest quality of timber, its rich mineral districts and fertile farm regions could not but proclaim a magnificent destiny for it. In 1889 an act was signed by the president which marked the beginning of a new era for the territory. The passage of the act admitting Washington to statehood gave inception to an epoch of rapid progress which has done much indeed in the development of the state's magnifi- cent resources. Klickitat county, for a number of years, did not enjoy quite as rapid a develop- ment as did some of its sister counties, not because of any lack of resources, for it had already proven its power in grain and fruit pro- duction, but because of its isolation and lack of railroads. The struggle of its citizens to over- come this obstacle and to find an outlet for their products will receive due notice in the next chapter.

CHAPTER II.

GENERAL-1889-1904.

Anticipated and eventually realized statehood and all other public considerations were tran- scended in the interest they awakened in Klickitat county during the year 1889, by a determined movement among the people for railroad facili- ties. Though the O. R. & N. was separated from the county's southern territory only by the Columbia river, and the Northern Pacific approached it so closely on the north, both were too far away to be directly beneficial to the richest portions of this naturally favored region, and neither had seen fit to construct a branch road into it. Thins, an enlightened and progres- sive people had the mortification of finding the much-desired steel pathways of commerce and communication "so near and yet so far." Early in 1889 they evidently concluded that this condi- tion of affairs could be endured no longer. If help from without they could not have, they must depend upon themselves. Accordingly, the leading men of the community joined hands in a tremendous effort to construct unitedly a road from Goldendale to some point on the Northern Pacific. In issuing a call for the initial citizens' meeting with this end in view, the Sen- tinel used the following language, which is here quoted as showing the general sentiment of the people at this time:

"It has become evident that if the people of the county expect a railroad in the next few years, they must bestir themselves and do some- thing toward inducing outside capital to take hold of it, or what might be better, organize, survey a route to a connection with the Northern Pacific east of here, secure the right of way, and proceed to the construction of the road ourselves. When it becomes evident that we mean business and will contribute liberally for the purpose of a railroad, we will have little difficulty in securing assistance from the outside. The whole upper country is becoming a network of railroads, and it is not because of the extraordinary amount of traffic that is assured, but the citizens have gone down into their pockets and have contributed liberal subsidies for the purpose, and the result is that property everywhere is advancing; it is even affecting us here in Goldendale.

"There is probably not a locality in the terri- tory capable of producing a greater amount of traffic than would one through this country, and

it only remains for us to set the ball rolling. Every man who owns one hundred and sixty acres north of the brow of the Columbia hills could well afford to give two hundred dollars, and there are many who could afford to give one thousand dollars simply as a bonus or double that amount in labor.

"From conversation with different ones of onr citizens, we are satisfied now that all are ready for action in this direction, and to the end that we may put the most plausible scheme in motion that may be suggested, we recommend that a meeting of all hands be called at the armory hall in this city on Tuesday, March 1, 1889, at the hour of one P. M. We want every- body to come, and to come with some fixed plan of action to suggest and to come witlı a determi- nation to do his entire part."

On the day previous to that set for the meet- ing, viz., on February 28th, about twenty of the leading citizens of Goldendale met in the A. O. U. W. hall and adopted articles of incor- poration, their purpose being to construct and operate a railroad commencing at a point on the Columbia river between Kalama and Columbus and running in an easterly direction, crossing the Northern Pacific between North Yakima and Pasco; thence in a northeasterly direction to the vicinity of Colville. The capital stock was fixed at ten million dollars, divided into one hundred thousand shares, and most of those present sub- scribed according to the means at their com- mand. The directors elected were D. W. Pierce, E. B. Wise, Sol. Smith, H. D. Young, R. O. Dunbar, William Cummings, J. J. Golden, Joseph Nesbitt and C. S. Reinhart, and the offi- cers named by these were: R. O. Dunbar, presi- dent; E. B. Wise, vice-president; William Cum- mings, treasurer, and C. S. Reinhart, secretary.

At the popular meeting held next day an unusual amount of interest was manifested in the project, almost all subscribing to the capital stock of the new corporation, which was known as the Columbia Valley & Goldendale Railroad Company. A committee of directors addressed itself forthwith to securing the right of way and receiving subscriptions to the capital stock.

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An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 27

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1904 Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate publishing company Number of Pages: 1146

Author: Interstate publishing co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate publishing company
Number of Pages: 1146