An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 41

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 41
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 41
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 41

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Before they arrived at Yakima City, however, the Indian murderers had already been appre- hended and brought to that place. The services of the Klickitat men were nevertheless called into requisition in guarding the jail, for it was feared that some of the enraged white population might take the Indian murderers from the authorities and hang them without waiting for due process of law. All night long the Klickitat Rangers, as they came to be called, stood guard around the jail. At the request of Rev. J. H. Wilbur, they also escorted Chief Moses from Yakima City to the reservation. The feeling against the murder- ous Indians was strong, but the vigilance of the Klickitat company and the precautions of its cap- tain, who lacked neither the experience nor the soldierly qualities necessary to a successful mili- tary commander, prevented an attack from with- out, if any such was indeed designed. To gnard against possible shots from ambush, Captain Pike formed his company into a hollow square about the chief, wherever the natural features of the country were favorable to such an attack. In- deed, one member of the Klickitat Rangers proved that he was not above treachery by making an attempt on the life of the old chieftain, but the attention of the commander was attracted by the click of the gun as he cocked it to shoot Moses. Captain Pike was upon him in an instant, and he was easily overpowered and rendered harm- less.

There has been much discussion over Moses' actions in this whole affair, some contending that the white men must bear the blame for his un-

friendly demonstrations at the first meeting on the Columbia. These critics aver that the un- warranted suspicion of the whites and their failure to meet Moses at the place appointed were suffi- cient provocation to justify his manifestations of hostile feeling. Those members of the expedition who have been interviewed are nearly unanimous in declaring their belief that Moses was in league with the murderers and did his best to shield them; that his actions at the first meeting were dictated by a policy of hostility to the enforcement of the law, and that his appearance on upper Crab creek when he was supposed to be at its mouth was due to his efforts to warn the murderers of their peril. His failure to so warn them, they claim, was owing to his inability to find them in the dark. Mr. Schnebly thinks he was searching for the Kittitas valley party to murder them. Whether or not the chieftain acted in good faith is a question upon which there will always be two opinions.

Moses remained on the Yakima reservation until called to Washington, February 12, 1879, when he was permitted to return to the Columbia, that he might make necessary preparations for the trip. F. Dorsey Schnebly, who was then sheriff of Yakima county, states that he and his deputy, Conrad, arrested Moses on the Yakima river on a warrant charging him with being acces- sory to the Perkins murder, that he was given a preliminary hearing at Yakima City, was finally released on bonds furnished by Agent Wilbur, conditioned on his appearance at the next term of court, and allowed to proceed to Washington. There he succeeded in securing a reservation, adjoining the Colville reservation on the west.

"As a matter of fact, "says Mr. Schnebly, "sev- eral of the murderers were still at large when the Yakima expedition returned from its labors. A little later I was infornied by Willis Thorp that he was certain that some of them were in the Okanogan region. I learned that Thorp was ready to return to his works in those parts, so deputized him to arrest any of the murderers he might find."

Upon reaching the Okanogan country, Thorp and two companions, Martin Rozelle and Pleasant Bounds, entered an Indian camp for the purpose of arresting some of the red men, Bounds says for cattle stealing. They succeeded in taking a num- ber into custody, but a rescue was attempted by friends of the prisoners and a fierce fight ensued, in the course of which shots were fired. Two or three Indians were killed, and one white man, Rozelle, had an arm shattered. The Indian pris- oners escaped. Mr. Schnebly thinks it might have gone hard with the whites in this fight, were it not for the timely arrival upon the scene of Wil- liam Condon, a squaw man, who joined forces with the other whites and helped them to put the redskins to rout. Whether or not any of the arrested Indians were members of the gang that murdered the Perkins family may not be certainly

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known. Mr. Bounds thinks that some of them were probably of the gang that chased the Bur- banks boys.

One of the Perkins murderers cominitted sui- cide, one was captured through the efforts of the Yakima expedition, one surrendered, two were captured by agency police, and two were captured at Colville and brought thence, one at a time, by Sheriff Schnebly, whomade the two trips for them without incident, though in doing so he had to pass through a country occupied by Indians, well known to be disaffected and ugly.

All the Indians accused of actually killing Mr. and Mrs. Perkins, except Moosetonic, who turned state's evidence and thereby saved his worthless neck, were held to appear before the district court, which met in October, 1879. Samuel G. Wingard, federal judge for the eastern district of Washington territory, presided at the trial. T. J. Anders prosecuted the case, while J. W. Hamilton and Edward Whitson appeared for the defense. Wyanticat, Salusakin, Tewowney, Tommy Hop- Towne and Kipe were convicted and sentenced to the death penalty.

But a series of stirring events were to trans- pire before the last of the condemned murderers should render up his life in expiation of his awful crime. A very few days after the close of the trial all of the Indians escaped from the jail yard and got as far as Union gap before being recap- tured. A little later a second escape was effected. This time they were gone several days before their whereabouts could be learned by the authorities, but at length a message came to Yakima City from Deputy Sheriff York saying that the fugi- tives had been discovered in the river bottom near the Toppenish, and asking assistance.

The request brought an immediate response from John and William Splawn and Deputy Sheriff James H. Conrad, who were joined on the road by William Nash. As the four men were alight- ing from their rig at an Indian house in the neighborhood in which the fugitives were sup- posed to be hiding, two dripping and mud-be- daubed Indians were brought there by the reserva- tion police and turned over to Conrad. A little sweating drew from these Indians the information that they had visited and taken food to the refugees and had jumped into the river to escape the officers.

A consultation as to the best mode of procedure was now had, in the course of which Deputy Sheriff Conrad turned the management of the proposed night expedition to the haunts of the fugitives over to William Splawn, believing that the former experience of that gentleman across the Columbia had made him the fittest man for this undertaking. When darkness came on the party set out. With the white men went the younger of the two captured Indians, who was compelled by his captors to act as a guide and decoy, and was instructed to stop just before

reaching the spot where the refugees were con- cealed. Cautiously and with as little noise as possible, the little squad followed their guide through the tall grass and brush, their indistinct trail lighted only by the silver rays of the moon. At length the Indian gave the signal agreed upon, and the party came to a halt to arrange the details of the final coup. When all was in readiness, the leader and the decoy led on to the edge of an opening, where the Indian built a small fire, John Splawn and Conrad meanwhile taking convenient positions in the company. Then the young Indian (any hesitancy he may have had about betraying his friends being over- come by the three ugly-looking rifles that were pointed in his direction, and all thoughts of warn- ing the fugitives being banished by the same dire instruments of death) halloed several times in a subdued voice. The reply was long in coming, but it came at last. A request by the decoy to come out by the fire was followed by another long silence, but eventually Tommy Hop-Towne emerged from the dense shadows and cautiously approached the fire.

Wyanticat joined him presently; then two others arose from behind a nearby knoll, with intent to join their companions, but at this junc- ture came a turn in events which interfered with the success of the expedition. Voices of an ap- proaching party of white men broke in upon the stillness of the evening air and soon the tones of Deputy Sheriff York were recognized by Splawn. Though the Indians were slow to take alarm, Splawn well knew that his birds would escape him unless immediate action were taken, so he shouted a summons to the Indians to surrender, at the same time rising from his hiding-place in the grass. With a cry like that of a fell beast startled by the huntsman Wyanticat made a break for liberty, but his flight was cut short by a bullet from the rifle of Captain Splawn, and a second shot brought to a close his earthly career. Tommy Hop-Towne and the other refugees gained the denser brush and tules, the former escaping the rifles of the whites by shaping his course so as to keep Captain Splawn between himself and them.

Diligent search failed to discover the fugitives that night, but the next morning Kipe and Salus- akin were apprehended, and later Tewowney was captured on the reservation. Again they were placed in custody and again they attempted to regain their freedom, this time just a few days before the date set for their execution. This final struggle against fate was made by means of a inoccasin containing a stone handed them by con- federates on the outside. At the time chosen for the desperate undertaking, Jailer York, as soon as he got within the prisoners' cell, was struck over the head with the weapon. The blow knocked him down; indeed, inflicted such injury as to almost cost him his life at a later date, but

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he quickly rallied from its first effects and began shooting at his assailants. Captain Brooks, the probate judge, who was at the time in the sheriff's office reading a paper, heard the commotion, divined its cause, snatched up a loaded Winches- ter, hastened to the scene and began taking a hand in the fight. The Indians secured guns from the sheriff's office, into which the jail door opened, but were overpowered before they could do any damage with them, a considerable force of white men having quickly gathered. In the fracas Tewowney was wounded, so that he died before the day set for the execution, and Salusa- kin's arm was shattered. No later attempts were made to escape, and the two remaining prisoners, Kipe and Salusakin, died the murderer's shame- ful death.

All the seven except Hop-Towne had now been disposed of; one having been allowed his liberty on account of having turned state's wit- ness; one having committed suicide; one having been killed in an effort to escape arrest, and one in an attempt to break jail, two having been hanged. The seventh miscreant was still at lib- erty, but the avenger of blood was on his track.

In July, 1880, James Taggart and Robert Bunt- ing, the latter a brother of Mrs. Perkins, suc- ceeded in getting Tommy Hop-Towne into cus. tody, though in order to do so they found it necessary to disable the Indian and his squaw. The following November the death sentence pro- nounced upon him so long before was carried into execution and the curtain dropped on the last act of this sanguinary tragedy.

The foregoing narrative is the result of not a little interviewing and research. Captain Wil- liam Splawn, John Edwards, Mrs. Cheney, A. J. Chambers, J. H. Conrad, F. Dorsey Schnebly, Mrs. J. P. Beck, Edward Whitson, Mrs. Louisa H. Cary and others have been seen for informa- tion, and have very kindly related to us the de- tails, as nearly as they could recall them, of the unfortunate Perkins murder and the trial grow- ing out of it. It is believed that the statements

hereinbefore made are substantially correct, though the dearth of printed contemporaneous ac- counts and official records has made it impossible to be as accurate in statement, as certain of the cor- rect sequence of events, as definite in fixing dates and as full in other minutiæ as could be wished.

CHAPTER III.

CURRENT HISTORY-1878-1889.

While the stirring events narrated in the last chapter naturally awakened deep interest among the people of the county, they cannot be said to have given pause to the progress of internal development, though they could not fail to check the speed of such development in at least a limited degree. It is possible that the Indian troubles of 1877 and 1878, coming as the cnlmi- nation of a long series of disturbances and annoy- ances from disaffected Indians, may have fright- ened away from our territory some who might otherwise have sought homes within it. The same cause, combined with the fact that much damage was done to fruit trees, growing wheat and other crops by heavy frosts in May, 1878, induced a few to remove from the county who had intended to make permanent settlement therein, but forces were at work to more than neutralize these disadvantages and to cause the settlement of the valley at a more rapid rate than ever before. The effect of the Indian war upon some of the oldest residents was rather to con- firm thein in their determination to commit their

fortunes unreservedly and for all time to the section in which they had cast their lot. They perceived that the failure of the Bannock con- federacy meant the overthrow of the last Indian hope that the Northwest could be reduced to its primitive condition of barbarism, and they reasoned that the vigorous pursuit and final punishment of the Perkins murderers would tend to put a quietus upon attempts at such depredations in future. Indeed, it was an earnest desire to teach the savages a lesson never to be forgotten that lent energy to their efforts to bring the miscreants to justice. The correctness of their reasoning has been abundantly mani- fested by their subsequent peaceful and friendly relations with the Indian tribes in their midst.

As we learn from the Spokane Times of November 27, 1879, the hay crop that season was unusually large and the cattlemen were happy in the certainty that, whether the coming winter should be long or short, severe or mild, their herds were secure. The same paper states on the authority of the Yakima paper that there

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were abundant data upon which to base the state- ment that the wheat crop of the county would aggregate two hundred and twenty-five thousand bushels. This estimate, if accurate, gives a very fair idea of the progress agriculture had made at the close of the seventies.

An event of the year 1880 of considerable importance was the establishment of the United States land district of Yakima by order of President Hayes. It embraced the counties of Yakima, Klickitat, Okanogan and Douglas, extending from the Columbia river on the south to the British line on the north. It was set off from the Walla Walla district. R. B. Kinne was the first register and J. M. Adams the first receiver. The office opened its doors for busi- ness October 18, 1880, in Yakima City, and the first homestead filing recorded is that of John Blomquist, on the north half of the northeast quarter and the southeast quarter of the north- east quarter, section eight, township eighteen north, range nineteen east. Next day Isaac M. Thomas filed a homestead claim, and during the month of October sixteen entries were made, ten of which were later annulled. May 1, 1885, the office was removed from Yakima City to North Yakima, and in that year also Captain J. H. Thomas became register and Luther S. Howlett succeeded to the receivership. The district was later cut down in area by the formation of the Waterville land district, and at present it includes only portions of Yakima, Kittitas and Douglas counties.

The winter of 1880-81 was, next to that of 1861-62, the most severe ever witnessed by white people in Yakima county, and, for the percentage of stock loss, it enjoys a bad eminence over all seasons since settlement began. It is stated that fully eighty per cent. of the cattle perished, while the death rate of horses was between ten and twenty per cent. The severe cold was not confined to the Yakima country, but extended widely over the entire Northwest. William Splawn, who was that year wintering twelve hundred head on the Crab creek range in Doug- las county, found himself with only two hundred and fifty extremely weak and thin animals in the spring. The cattle of Snipes & Allen died by thousands, and Wesley C. Jones states that his own loss aggregated twenty thousand dollars. Many stockmen were compelled to go out of busi- ness entirely, and of these a large percentage turned their attention to other industries and never again ventured into cattle raising. The official report of Father Wilbur gives us an idea of the effect of the severe cold upon the reserva- tion. Referring to the climatic conditions and their results, he says:

"The unusual severity of the past winter proved a severe blow to our Indians. In obedi- ence to my instructions they have been in the habit of providing forage for the stock during the

winter, which has usually proved more than sufficient, But last winter was one of unusual severity. From December Ist till nearly the 3Ist of March the earth was covered with a depth of from eight to thirty-six inches of snow, with a heavy crust most of the time, so that animals were unable to move outside the beaten paths; consequently, when the supply of forage was exhausted, cattle and horses were unable to reach the creek bottoms, where they might browse on bushes, but for the most part perished where they were. Nor did much success attend the efforts of many of the Indians who tried to save a portion of their stock by breaking roads to the creek bottoms, though some were saved in that way. Probably ninety per cent. of the Indian horses perished and eighty per cent. of their cattle. Many families formerly in com- paratively good circumstances were reduced to poverty and the means of all seriously impaired. The effect has been that some have been stimu- lated to greater effort and now look to the culti- vation of the soil for a support instead of depend- ing, as formerly, on the sale of ponies."

"In the Yakima valley," says Wesley C. Jones, "snow commenced falling just before Christmas, and it continued to fall until the entire country had a blanket eighteen inches thick. Then came a chinook. After it had melted part of the snow and caused the rest to pack closely, it ceased and the temperature fell rapidly, result- ing in the formation of a hard crust. About Christmas there came another snow storm, which increased the depth of the hoary covering to three feet. Another chinook succeeded, then another freeze; then came another large snow fall, another chinook and more cold weather. The result was that the succulent bunch grass was placed beyond reach of cattle by three hard crusts, the top one being in many places strong enough to bear up the weight of a horse.

"By pawing through the successive crusts wherever they were soft enough, many horses succeeded in getting sufficient grass to preserve their lives, but the cattle, not being gifted with as much intelligence and energy, lay down on the frozen snow and perished in large numbers. The cold was intense at times, the mercury fall- ing to thirty-two degrees below zero."

On the Cowiche, the severe winter caused the loss of one human life. The snow on the north and south fork bottom lands lay four feet deep and was crusted from the six-inch level upward, the top crust being more like ice than snow. The result was that even the horses perished in large numbers. John Polly had about two hun- dred head on the north and south forks of the Cowiche, half of which were imprisoned among the hills of the north fork and could not get to the camp. In February, Mr. Polly offered to Philander Kelly, a bachelor about thirty-five years old, a reward of five dollars for each animal he

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would bring in in safety. After a short search Kelly found a band of forty confined to a small sheltered spot by the deep snow of the surround- ing hills. As appeared from subsequent observa- tion, he tried many times to drive them out, but was unable to overcome the obstacles to their escape or force the horses to do so.

Perceiving at length that he could accomplish nothing, he started back to the settlements, presumably for assistance. At a point four miles above Mr. Polly's horse camp he abandoned his snow shoes, no one can guess why, and started on. Days and weeks passed and no word of Kelly reached the settlements. At last a search party was organized consisting of William Oneal and three or four others. These set out about the last of February. They patiently trailed Kelly by his camping places to the place on the divide between the north and south forks where the horses were; then back to the abandoned snow shoes and beyond until eventually they discovered his frozen body half buried in the snow. They interred him near the scene of his unhappy fate.

The horses were found in an exceedingly pitiable condition. They had eaten off each others' tails and manes and were in the last extremities of starvation when help reached them, but strange to say, were all alive. They were driven to the camp, where food and shelter could be provided for them.

John Oneal, who is our informant regarding the melancholy fate of the unfortunate Philander Kelly, tells also of a sorrowful sight witnessed in the spring of 1881 by some stockmen who were riding over the range. They found five dead horses near a small stand of scrub brush on the opposite side of the creek from the place where the ill-starred Kelly had discovered the forty. The tails and manes were all eaten off; the bark was gnawed from the rank sage brush and all the surroundings told a plain story of how the animals had suffered from the pangs of hunger and how they had succumbed one by one until the last of the little band had fallen a victim to starvation.

It has been estimated that the loss in cattle and horses in this dread winter aggregated one million five hundred thousand dollars. Snipes & Allen are said to have owned between twenty thousand and thirty thousand head and G. B. Huntington ten thousand, a very large per cent. of which perished. It is interesting to note how the genius of Ben Snipes enabled him to rise superior to misfortune and by taking advantage of the conditions resulting from the general collapse of the cattle business to lay the foundation for a speedy recovery. When spring at last came, the cattlemen were all depressed and anxious to dis- pose of their herds. There were many venders and few purchasers, so the price dropped until a steer of large size could be bought for sixteen

dollars and a cow and calf for six. Realizing the opportunity, Mr. Snipes hurried to Portland, laid the situation before W. S. Ladd and negotiated with him for an ample credit. He then returned and bought up all the stock on the market. Now, a hard winter with plenty of snow is sure to be followed by an abundant growth of nutri- tious grass, so Snipes soon had large herds of fat and thrifty cattle and in a comparatively short time he was again the richest man in central Washington.

At about this period in Yakima county's his- tory an agitation arose for the relief of persons resident in the Kittitas valley. The settlement and development of this region have been reserved for treatment in later chapters. It is sufficient for our present purpose that the country had been settled and its resources pre-empted by a progressive population and that these, in the year 1883, succeeded in getting their terri- tory segregated from the mother county and formed into a new political organization.

March 31, 1882, while the agitation was still in progress, fire destroyed the county buildings and records at Yakima City. Friends of the new county movement charged that the county commissioners acted with undue haste in the matter of erecting a new courthouse and jail and that they did so for the direct purpose of defeating any attempt to move the county seat to Ellensburg, as some advocated, or to delay the erection of the new county. At any rate, the board consisting of David Longmire, J. P. Sharp and A. McDaniel, in special session assembled, passed on the 4th day of April following the fire, the ensuing order:

"In the matter of building a court house for Yakima county.

"Whereas, by reason of the fire of the 3Ist of March, 1882, the auditor's office of Yakima county and the county records were destroyed ; and whereas, the best interests of the county require a safe and commodious place for the safe keeping of all records and for court and other purposes:

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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 41

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