An illustrated history of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas counties; with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 63

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 63
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 63
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 63

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).

Great as was the excitement over the discoveries in the Klondyke, it was almost lost sight of in the stirring events which took place the following year. As soon as the news had reached Kittitas valley that the United States had taken up the cause of the struggling Cuban people and was resolved to pun- islı Spain for her inhumanity, the whole county was aroused to a sudden burst of patriotic enthusiasm. The Capital of April 23. 1898, says : "The effect was like a fire alarmı and the throng was soon surging around the Capital bulletin window. In less time than it takes to tell it, flags and bunting were fluttering in the air; patriotic excitement ran high, and for the rest of the afternoon little besides the war pros- pect was discussed."

At the outbreak of hostilities Kittitas county had but one military organization, Company A, officered as follows: Captain, A. C. Steinman; first lieuten- ant, S. C. Davidson ; second lieutenant, E. E. South- ern ; sergeants, J. J. Charlton, L. L. Seely, Robert Murray, Ralph Brown, W. O. McDowell, Holly V. Hill; musician, Whit Church; corporals, C. A. Swift, Willis Gott, Jantes Shaw, G. M. Hunter, John Hoskins, J. J. Putman ; wagoner, Edwin Bar- ker ; artificer, Charles P. Morgan.

The company offered its services to the governor, who promptly accepted them, and early in the morn- ing of the 30th of April, Captain Steinman received orders to have his company ready to take the train for the west at ten-twenty-five that evening. From Ellensburg the company proceeded to Camp Rogers where it was mustered in May IIth as Company H, First Washington Volunteers. Seventy-five of the

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company, including the officers, were taken from Kittitas county ; the remainder were recruited at Ta- coma and Seattle from all parts of the state. The personnel of this company was as follows :

Colonel, John H. Wholley, commanding ; major, John J. Wesienburger ; major, W. J. Canton; cap- tain, Alfred C. Steinman; first lieutenant, Edward E. Southern, promoted December 9, 1898; wounded in action April 11, 1899; second lieutenant, John J. Charlton, promoted September 3, 1899; wounded in action April 13, 1899 ; sergeants, first, Robert Mur- ray ; quartermaster, Luke L. Seely; Ralph Brown, William O. McDowell, James Shaw, John R. Hos- kins; corporals, Caddy Morrison, Carstens H. Junge, George M. Burlingham, wounded April 20, 1899; John Brustad, William M. Pearson, William George, George S. Smith, James A. Harris, Burrel B. Wright, Charles H. Eiselstein, William Cham- bers, Charles Hagenson, Bert Gordanier (cook) ; artificer, Arthur E. Snyder; wagoner, William Craig ; privates, John A. Alm, Fred L. Ballou, wounded July 25, 1899; Edwin Barker, George A. Clark, wounded by gun explosion July 27, 1899; John R. Clark, James Cross, Clark E. Davis, Sidney O. Dickinson, wounded March 7th and April 27, 1899; Arthur H. Ells, wounded April 27, 1899; Alexander Fraser, Steven A. Griffin, Robert Hovey, wounded April 27, 1899; Philip W. Harner, William T. Hill, Ralph Hepler, Edward T. Johnson, Francis B. Jones, Thomas P. Kerwin, John Lundy, Arno H. Moeckel, wounded February 5, 1899; Vanran- celar Martin, George C. McCarthy, Lee M. Putman, Albert J. Paulist, Byars E. Romane, William F. Ritchey, Solomon Russell, wounded March 6. 1899; Arthur F. Ridge, William Ridley, Joseph Vomacka, Thomas Williams, Robert C. Wenzel: transferred, privates, George W. Fitzhenry, to company B; Mar- tin Forrest, to hospital corps; Paul Roberts, to 10th Pennsylvania ; died, Corporal George W. Hovey, wounded April 27, 1899, died April 28, 1899; Pri- vates, Albert J. Ruppert, killed February 22, 1899; Joseph Eno, killed April 27, 1899; Clyde Z. Woods, wounded April 27, died April 28, 1899: Sherman T. Shepard, wounded April 27, 1899, died June 18, 1899; discharged, First Lieutenant, Samuel C. Dav- idson, October 29, 1898; Second Lieutenant Joseph Smith, wounded February 5, 1899, resigned Sep- tember 2, 1899; Sergeant Holly V. Hill, resigned to accept commission in IIth U. S. Cavalry ; Sergeant Willis L. Gott, re-enlisted; Corporals, George M. Hunter, Robert Bruce, James J. Putman, Charles A. Swift, William B. Tucker, wounded February 22, 1899; Corporal Israel F. Costello, re-enlisted : Mu- sicians John L. Grandin and Louis G. Frenette, re- enlisted, Musician Joseph R. Whitchurch : Artifi- cers Charles A. Morgan and Stephen S. Blanken- ship; Privates William H. Adkins, wounded June 5, 1899; William S. Bullock, Frederick Bollman, re- enlisted; Henry H. Cassriel, Clinton H. Campbell, John S. Ellis, Edward Friel, re-enlisted : Otto N. Gustavson, re-enlisted; Byron E. Hersey, William

E. Howard, wounded April 27, 1899; William W. McCabe, Emmett C. Mitchell, Roland D. McCombs, re-enlisted; Fred Nelson, Abel Nilsson, wounded April 27, 1899; Frank E. O'Harrow, Frank Roth- lisberger, Thomas Richardson, Arthur J. Stoddart, Victor E. Sigler, re-enlisted; Winford E. Thorp, Harvey R. Van Alstine, William Ward, re-enlisted; James W. Walsh.

The company was organized as Company A at Ellensburg, October, 1890. They were mustered into the United States service as Company H, at Camp Rogers, Washington, May II, 1898; did garrison duty from that time until October 28, 1898, when the company embarked on the United States transport Ohio, arriving at Manila November 26th. The company went ashore November 30th, and did outpost duty until the outbreak of hostilities with the Filipino insurgents. While in the Philippines they took part in the following engagements: En- gagements with the insurgents, 1899, around Ma- nila; at Santa Ana, February 4-5; Pateros, Febru- ary 15th ; San Pedro Macati, February 17th; Guad- aloupe, February 19-22 and March 13th ; in trenches at San Pedro Macati, February 15th to March 13th ; Taguig, March 18th; Bay Lake, March 19th; Ta- guig, April 9th, 16th, 20th, and 27th, May 19th and June 12th ; Calamba, June 26th, 27th and 30th (ex- pedition) ; a detachment of scouts took part in an expedition to Santa Cruz, April 8th and in engage- ments at Santa Cruz, April 9th and Ioth ; at Pag- sanyan, April IIth; at Lamba, April 12th, and at Paete, April 13th. Detachments also took part in engagements at Cainti, Tayti and Morong.

They embarked for San Francisco on the United States transport Pennsylvania, September 4, 1899. They sailed September 5th by way of Nagasaki, the Inland Sea and Yokohama, arriving in San Francisco bay October 9th. They were mustered out at the Presidio, California, November 1, 1899, after almost a year and a half of service. On being mustered out, Colonel Wholley presented the com- pany with the sights of the Krupp gun captured in the big battle of February 5th.

Meanwhile, all necessary preparations were be- ing made for receiving the returning soldiers at home with a formal welcome. The Capital, Septem- ber 23, 1899, says :

"At a special mass meeting held Monday night, September 18th, the following committee was ap- pointed to act in conjunction with the Red Cross so- cie ty in welcoming our soldier boys : J. B.Davidson, W. H. Talbott, Austin Mires, E. H. Snowden and H. S. Elwood. The soldiers left Nagasaki, Japan, September 16:h and should arrive at San Francisco about October 8th. The following sub-committees were appointed : Finance, G. E. Dickson, chairman ; programı, J. B. Davidson, chairman ; decoration, S. P. Fogarty, chairman ; speaking, Ralph Kauffman, chairman : music, C. V. Warner, chairman ; recep- tion. Dr. J. W. Bean, chairman : print and press, A. H. Stulfauth, chairman ; house and hall, E. T. Bar-

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den, chairman ; banquet, Mrs. P. P. Gray, chairman ; hospital and memorial, Rev. J P. Smith, chairman ; ma. shal of the day, J. E. Frost."

A later issue of the Capital, November 11th, gives this further information about the arrival and reception of the returning soldiers :

"On a train of fourteen coaches, Company H, and other eastern Washington soldiers rolled into the depot at 5:50 Tuesday evening, the 7th. The time of arrival had been spread broadcast and the result was that such a crowd as gathered to wel- come them has never been seen in Ellensburg. It is safe to say that between the depot and armory from 4,000 to 5,000 people were lined up and scat- tered, each trying to outdo the other in noisy dem- onstration. It was unfortunate that the train did not arrive in daylight as the demonstration could have been seen and better appreciated by the soldiers; nevertheless it was a magnificent affair and the re- ception was a success from every point of view.

"The public and private decorations were beau- tiful and the soldiers passed many compliments on the display. The evergreen arch on Fourth and Pearl was a beautiful structure, both by day and night, and was a handsome tribute to the good taste and industry of the decoration committee. The business men vied with each other in beautifying their windows and the result was creditable to all.

"All the efforts above referred to were good- above criticism, but to the women of Ellensburg and Kittitas valley, working under the direction of the Red Cross society, must the greatest credit be given. When the troops left the train Marshal Frost quickly formed the parade and the march to the armory, with the volunteers in the place of honor, began. Be- sides the returning soldiers there were several com- panies of militia and cadets, making in all about 300 men who were to partake of the ladies' hospitality. On reaching the armory, the volunteers, amid the playing of bands and a gorgeous display of fire- works, were admitted to the banquet hall ; after them the militia and cadets went in.

"The sight that met their gaze as they entered the vast hall was a beautiful one. The long tables beautifully decorated and loaded with the choicest delicacies, presented an inviting appearance, under the brilliant electric lights and without a moment's confusion the soldiers were seated by companies and were soon enjoying the good things prepared for them. After they had been seated, the crowd was admitted and soon filled every inch of standing room. Large delegations were in town from Cle- Elum and Roslyn and the band from the latter place contributed no small amount to the enjoyment of the occasion."

While the country had been vigorously conduct- ing the war abroad, the pursuits of peace had not been neglected at home. It has always been char- acteristic of the American Republic that it emerges from a foreign war stronger, more vigorous, more wealthy, more prosperous than at the beginning of

hostilities. This was especially true of the Spanish- American conflict. The condition of prosperity which had its inception in 1897 continued unabated throughout the following year and the local pros- perity was great. By April, 1898, wheat had reached the eighty cent mark, a price not before recorded in five years. In May of the same year it went up to eighty-four cents. All through the winter of '97-98 the Klondyke country had continued to make levies upon the young men of Kittitas county. Roslyn especially lost many. But at the same time the min- ing interests of the county at home were continuing to attract a proportionately large measure of at- tention. The Capital of May 28, 1898, informs us that : "The largest sale in the mining history of the county has been consummated by L. H. Jansen, who sold to T. P. Carson, who in turn transferred the property to the Cascade Mining Company of which he is manager. The syndicate is made up of Wis- consin parties. The following named properties were conveyed to the syndicate: The Becker, Ritz, Eureka, Pat Hurley, Tenderfoot, Swauk and Wil- liams Creek High Bar placers, Black, Halvor Nel- son, Gustaf Nilson, Mascotte, High Stump, Lillie, Klondyke, Sunnyside, Bloomer, Why Not, Gold Channel, Fremont, Discovery and Theresa. Water rights, also a reservoir site, are sold with these. Some of the claims, notably the Black, Meagher and Nilson properties, have been among the greatest producers in the camp." .

Although the numbers withdrawn to the gold fields and the war left a larger measure of labor to be performed by those remaining at home, never at any time did the people of the valley become so absorbed in business affairs that they could not pause for a few hours to celebrate the successes of our arms on land and sea. As the news of the victories came, each more overwhelming than the last, if such a thing were possible, it was met by spontaneous outbursts of enthusiasm throughout the whole county. A current newspaper gives the fol- lowing account of the manner in which the news of Dewey's victory was received :

"Never have our people witnessed such a demon- stration in the town (Ellensburg) as took place last Monday night. May 2d, after the news of Dewey's victory in the Philippines had been received. It was a spontaneous affair, there being no fixed program arranged. The ball opened with a parade of the drum corps, composed of boys, including Austin Mires, the standard bearer. Soon fire crackers be- gan to pop, followed by the roar of bombs and an- vils, and from all parts of the city came the people. The crowd entered on Pearl street between Ford's cigar store and Weed & Parker's market, and there they turned themselves loose. Fire crackers were' burned by the armful, rockets were sent up, bombs roared, whistles were blown, and the ladies formed themselves into a large choir, singing patriotic songs in which the crowd joined. For three hours the racket lasted and the patriotic smoke curled high

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above the celebrators; indeed the revelry continued all night long, though with diminishing fervor. A feature of the demonstration was the active parti- cipation of the ladies."

In similar manner was the news of Admiral Schley's victory at Santiago received. A telegram dated July 3d from the Seattle Times, conveying the misinformation that the Santiago fight was another "Bull Run" caused a general depression among all the people, but when in the evening the true result was reported, the news was electrical in its effect. Few slept that night. The din was too great to per- mit of sleep, even had anyone thought of such a thing.

February 10, 1899, the county was aroused to a high pitch of excitement by a daring and ingen- ious jail break. The three men responsible for the successful attempt were Arthur Harris, Charles Kay and Frank Thomas. The men were held for Inghway robbery, and were recognized as desperate characters, being allowed only a few hours' freedom a day during which time they were always closely guarded. The Capital of February 18th gives the following account of their escape :

"About 8:30 the janitor, W. J. Boyd, who sleeps in a room off the sheriff's office, heard the men in the cells call for more fire. He responded at once. As he stepped inside of the jail proper two of the men jumped upon him and quickly had him tied and gag- ged, using a towel with a stick as a gag. He was taken completely by surprise.

"As they were binding him, Charles Ray, the 'b'g one', appeared on the scene. The two others wanted to kill Boyd and one of them had an open knife in his hand, but Ray forbade it. After inspect- ing the helpless man, he thrust a piece of paper into Boyd's pocket ; then the three walked out of doors. They took nothing from him.

"Boyd soon managed to get free and to give an alarm. The note left in his pocket was to Attorney C. V. Warner, who was appointed by the court to defend them during the trial last month, when the jury disagreed. Charles Ray, in it, informs Warner that he shall be paid for his good services.

"On investigation it was found that the criminals had sawed off eight plates two and a half by one and a half inches in size, leaving an opening about twelve inches square, through which they all crawled, al- though Ray weighs 190 pounds. These plates are fastened with heavy rivets, so that the section came out in one solid piece. The steel is guaranteed to be hardened so it is tool proof, yet the bars were sawed off as smooth as wood. So neatly was it done that when put back in place five men were over five minutes locating the section. How they did the work is a mystery as they left no tools behind. The section sawed out was at the bottom of the cage be- hind the bunk." The men were never caught de- spite a most thorough search.

In compliance with the prayer of a large body of petitioners from the inhabitants of the locality di-

rectly affected, an act was passed February 27, 1899, by the state house of representatives, creating the new county of Chelan. The same bill passed the senate March 8th, and it having met with the ap- proval of the chief executive, Kittitas county's ter- ritory was curtailed by the cutting off of the Wen- atche valley. The portion of the act establishing the boundaries is as follows :

"Section 1. All these portions of the counties of Kittitas and Okanogan described as follows, to- wit: Beginning at the point of intersection of the middle of the main channel of the Columbia river with the fifth standard parallel north, thence running west along said fifth standard parallel north to the point where said fifth standard parallel north intersects the summit of the main divide between the waters flowing northerly and easterly into the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers, and the waters flowing southerly and westerly into the Yakima river, thence in a general northwesterly direction along the summit of said main divide between the waters flowing northerly and easterly into the We- natchee and Columbia rivers and the waters flowing southerly and westerly into the Yakima river, fol- lowing the course of the center of the summit of the watersheds dividing the said respective waters, to the center of the summit of the Cascade mountains at the eastern boundary of King county; thence north along the eastern boundary of King, Snohom- ish and Skagit counties to the point on the said east- ern boundary of Skagit county where said boundary is intersected by the watershed between the waters flowing northerly and easterly into the Methow river and the waters flowing southerly and westerly into Lake Chelan ; thence in a general southeasterly direc- tion along the summit of the main divide between the waters flowing northerly and easterly into the Me- thow river and the waters flowing westerly and southerly into Lake Chelan and its tributaries; fol- lowing the course of the center of the summit of the shed dividing said respective waters to the point where the seventh standard parallel north intersects said center of the summit of said watershed ; thencc cast along the said seventh standard parallel north to the point of intersection of the middle of the main channel of the Columbia river with said ser- enth standard parallel north; thence down the mid- dle of the main channel of the Columbia to the be- ginning."

Some events that took place during the year go . far to show the degree of importance to which the coal mining industry had developed in the county. In April the Cle-Elum coal mines passed under the control of the Northern Pacific Coal Company, that corporation obtaining the forty-year lease granted by Thomas L. Gamble in 1894 to Oscar James, James Smith, Isaac Davis and Charles Hamer. These men, it is understood, had transferred their rights to the Spokane Gas Company and from this corporation the coal company in its turn obtained them. The Northern Pacific Coal Company already

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owned the Roslyn mines; therefore, by this transfer, the coal mining industry of the county was united under one management. In 1898 about thirty men were employed in the mine and the output was be- tween 10,000 and 15,000 tons a month. Again, in September, by a double transfer, the property of the Northern Pacific Coal Company was conveyed to the Northwestern Improvement Company, a corporation organized under the laws of New Jersey. The con- sideration named was $109,532.26. The object of this reorganization was to enlarge the field of opera- tions and deal in other industries connected with the production of fuel. This new company had a capi- tal of $4,000,000, and was prepared to operate on a new and more extensive basis.

Within a month or so it concluded a contract with the Union Pacific Railroad Company to fur- nish that road with 110,000 tons of coal from the Roslyn mines. The demands upon these mines had never before been so great and it is said that the company was compelled to refuse a 50,000 ton order from Honolulu. The output was 4,000 tons per day and the whole Northern Pacific system from Liv- ingston, Montana, to Portland, was using Roslyn coal.

In concluding the annals of the year 1899, it is safe to state that the whole year was a period of continuous prosperity for the valley. Good crops and good prices were together responsible for this condition. "To the people of Kittitas valley," says the Capital of January 6, 1900, "the year just passed will be a pleasant memory. Under its benign rule prosperity came to the homes, bringing a cheer that dispelled the gloom which came with the panic. Good times are now with us ; our people are all em- ployed and the jingle of the dollar makes music on all sides; good prices are realized for the products of the farm, and all have some to sell; nature has invited an abundant crop ; the seasons have been con- genial and success has crowned our efforts."

When Austin Mires, supervisor of the census for 1900 in the district of eastern Washington, made out his list of appointments of enumerators, the following were named for Kittitas county: John Lindley, M. Hull, Agnes M. Hinman, Alonzo E. Emerson, Louis L. Sharp, James A. Piland, Hoyt F. Blair, Joseph L. Chisholm, William Adam, John Donivan, Byars E. Romane, and James S. Dickson. The official census enumeration for Kittitas showed the population as 9,708 as compared with 8,761 în 1890, an increase of ten per cent. in the decade. The creation of Chelan county accounts for the small gain.

The crop of hay in the valley for the season of 1900 was estimated by R. P. Tjossem to be 50,000 tons. Timothy was worth eleven dollars and alfalfa five dollars in the stack. He further estimated that 15,000 tons would be required for home consump- tion. This estimate would allow 35,000 tons for ex- port, which at an average price of eight dollars a ton would bring the substantial sum of $280,000 to the

valley for hay alone. Certainly no other county in the state could make as good a showing.

The first event that occurred in this county in 1901 of sufficient general importance to be noted in our review was of a criminal nature. As nearly as can be ascertained, the remote cause of the trou- ble which led to the shooting and fatally wounding of G. Huhn by. W. R. Crawford was an old feud over a line fence, but the immediate cause, it is claimed, was an effort on the part of Huhn to drive over Crawford with a load of hay. Crawford, it is said, warned Huhn, who was continually abusing him, to cease. The latter paid no attention, and after enduring insult and contumely as long as he could, Crawford fired. Huhn was shot on the IIth of Jan- uary and died three days later. All contempora- neous reports of the affair seem to indicate that pub- lic sympathy was very generally with Crawford, who had been a resident of the valley for about twenty years. He was tried, however, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to a year in the peni- tentiary. Upon appeal he secured a new trial in Feb- ruary, 1903, but it had exactly the same outcome as the first one and the defendant was compelled to go to the penitentiary for a twelvemonth.

A pleasant event of the year 1901 was a pio- neers' picnic, held at Sliger's grove, about four miles east of Ellensburg, August 22d. About one thous- and people, it is estimated, were present. Edward Whitson, a resident of North Yakima, but a pio- neer of Kittitas county, addressed the assembly on events of early days, after which a register of those coming to the county previous to 1886 was prepared. A pioneer association was organized by the election of the following officers: President, J. F. LeClerc; vice-president, Tillnian Houser; secretary, Robert A. Turner; directors, A. J. Sliger, Matthew Bar- tholet, M. M. Dammon, W. L. German, J. W. Mc- Donald, John Packwood, Frank Bossong, and J. G. Olding. The membership roll is here reproduced from the secretary's record book that as many as possible of the names of those who fought the first battles in the subjugation of the county and the de- velopment of its resources may be preserved. Some of these people did not become permanent settlers during their respective years :

1860-Louis Queitsch.

1867-Mrs. Eliza Schnebly, Milford A. Thorp, and Mode Cooke.

1868-Tillman Houser, Mrs. Louisa Houser, Harrison Houser and C. J. Houser.

1870-William Lewis, Harry M. Bryant, Elias Messerly, George Wheeler. William Taylor, Mrs. Carrie Erickson, Edward H. Whitson.

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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 63

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