An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 34

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172

USA > Washington > Skagit County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 34
USA > Washington > Snohomish County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 34

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 immense growth of the county during 1891 and the two previous years may be indicated by the assessment rolls. The amount of land assessed was 212,465 acres, and the amount of improved land, 22.044 acres. The assessed valuation of the land as equalized by the board of county commissioners was $5.229,861 : the equalized valuation of improve- ments on land, $341,186; of town lots, $3,572,936; of improvements thereon, $401,515; railroad track. $995.085 ; personal property. $1,063,630. The entire equalized valuation of all property was, therefore. $11.610.873. This was a tremendous increase since 1888, at which time the assessed valuation, was $1.460,601. This increase was largely the result of the widespread and unprecedented booms with which the county was filled during this period and when these booms broke, there was an immediate

decline of two or three million dollars in the aggre- gate valuation of property.

In 1892 the county commissioners undertook two important improvements, namely, the building of bridges across the Swinomish slough and the Skagit river at Mount Vernon. The contract for the first was let to John Wilson, of Burlington, for four thousand six hundred dollars, and a contract for piling the slough from the bridge to the high- lands heyond was also let, the successful bidder being Fred Ross, of Mount Vernon. This work was expected to cost about three thousand dollars. The most important bridge was that on the Skagit. for which there had long been a demand, as there was no way to get across the river except by the ferry or the railroad. The question of building a wagon bridge had come up three years before, at which time the commissioners had submitted a prop- osition to levy a special tax of one mill for that purpose. The matter had dragged on, however, until August, 1892, when the contract for the bridge was finally let to Westerman & Yeaton of Seattle. for twenty-nine thousand dollars. It was expected that it would be completed by the beginning of the following year.

The year 189? was an exciting one throughout the county. The old question of county-seat removal, which has been a burning one in so many counties, was the absorbing topic of the year. For some time a number of cities had been casting en- vious eyes at Mount Vernon and wondering how they could gain the coveted honor. one of these being Sedro, which by virtue of its central position, considered itself the most suitable. Another was Burlington, but the most ambitious and the most dangerous aspirant was the famous Anacortes. It is true that the fortunes of Anacortes were begin- ning to wane, that the boom which had built it had passed its height : nevertheless it was a dangerous rival and was accordingly feared by Mount Vernon.

The fight put up by Anacortes was a desperate one, for the citizens of that place felt that its pres- tige was at stake. They endeavored to prevail upon Sedro to withdraw from the race, but gener- osity is a trait not generally present in county-seat struggles, and it was not in this case. In May a number of circular letters were sent out from Anacortes to prominent citizens throughout the county, worded as follows :

Anacortes, April 29, 1892. Dear Sir :- The Anacortes Business Men's Association has been formed for the express purpose of removing the county seat of Skagit county from Mount Vernon to Anacortes.

This we will undertake to do if you will give us your aid. The executive committee have deemed it advisable to request lot owners to submit to an assessment of $10 a lot in order to create a campaign fund to carry on this work and we hope that you will see it to your advantage cheerfully to respond.

The fight will be a "hot one," but we can assure you

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of its successful termination, provided the necessary en- couragement is given us. It is not necessary to go into detail as to the advantages to he gained by making Ana- cortes the permanent county seat of Skagit county; it is apparent to all, and it is conceded that it will be of inesti- mable benefit to the county at large.

Several months ago a few gentlemen met informally and discussed this subject and concluded our chances were good. They increased in number from day to day, get- ting the ideas of our best business men, until they gained in strength and confidence sufficient to warrant a perma- nent organization, which was effected in March, after the consultation with the managers of the landed interest, who endorsed our plans and guaranteed their financial aid. Our membership now comprises all the business men of the town. Polities are not "in it." We are a unit, with only one purpose. The executive committee have control of affairs. They worked quietly and systematically, accom- plishing all desired ends. A vast amount of preliminary work bas to be done. The committee has no further desire for secrecy, and after a careful canvass of the county, are prepared to say without hesitation that we will win the fight with your help.

It is the duty of the executive committee to receive and disburse all moneys. The well known character of these gentlemen is a guarantee to you that the business in hand will receive most careful attention.

Kindly make your remittances to Mr. T. B. Childs, treasurer, or to Bank of Anacortes.

Trusting you will give us a prompt and favorable reply, we are, Yours truly,

JOHN M. PLATT,

H. D. ALLISON, Secretary Ex. Com. President.

Besides this letter, petitions were circulated throughout the county, asking that the question of the removal be submitted at the next election, which petitions were presented to the county commission- ers in August. The town of Sedro also circulated a petition of similar import.

The people of Mount Vernon organized to meet and resist the opposing forces. They brought for- ward every possible objection to removal, the cost of doing so, which they claimed would be at least fifteen thousand dollars, though cach of the rival towns proposed to pay that expense in case of suc- cess; the loss of the lands and buildings already owned in Mount Vernon by the county, the cost of new ones in a new county seat, the central location and easy accessibility of Mount Vernon and the distance and inaccessibility of Anacortes. Further- more, Mount Vernon claimed that Anacortes was a boom town run by a few corporations, and that it was in their interest alone that the county seat should be removed thither.

The election at which this momentous question was decided was held on November 7th, and resulted as follows: Mount Vernon, 867 votes; Anacortes, 823; Sedro, 636; Burlington, 164. Anacortes thus received a plurality but in order to secure the re- moval, three-fifths of all the votes cast were neces- sary, and these none of the cities succeeded in obtaining. therefore to the great joy and triumph of Mount Vernon and the grief and tribulation of the other towns, the county seat remained at the former place.

The population of Skagit county in 1892 was 8,960, being an increase over 1890 of only 230. There were almost twice as many men in the county as women, showing the comparative newness of the country. In spite of the small increase agriculture had evidently prospered, for the number of acres in cultivation had increased from about 16,000 in 1890 to about 44,000 in 1892. The agricultural sections had been unaffected to any great extent by the booms, but had gone on developing steadily and naturally. It was in the towns that the full force of the booms was felt-in the towns like Anacortes, where real estate prices rose to several times the nor- mal value and then as suddenly dropped. In 1890 the boom had been at its height ; now it was begin- ning to collapse and premonitions of the hard times which followed so close on its heels were beginning to be felt. Not only in Skagit county but in the whole Northwest many an enterprise, which had begun during the years of plenty with many fair promises of success, proved unable to sustain itself and went down in faihire.

The assessment returns for 1892 show a valua- tion of $2,069,177, of which the valuation on lands with their improvements was $3,606,001, and on town and city lots with their improvements, $2,332,- 305. The following year the assessed valuation of the county was still less, being only $6,476,066. The principal decrease was in town and city lots, of which the valuation was $1,544,990. The reason for this was that much land which had been assessed the year before as town lots was now assessed as acreage property, also, that owing to the hard times the price of land was lower.

The winter of 1892-3 was noted all over the sound country for very disastrous floods. A great amount of damage was done to property and rail- road traffic was stopped for a week at a time. The first flood occurred in November. About the middle of that month there was a very heavy rain-storm, and on the night of the 18th a warm Chinook wind blew, which melted an immense amount of snow in the mountains. By the morning of the next day the Skagit river was bank full and still rapidly rising. Millions of feet of logs and a great amount of drift were brought down so thickly that it was impossible for the steamers to run. A huge mass of this drift lodged against the pier which was just being built for the new bridge at Mount Vernon and an enormous jam formed, which in a short time stretched clear to the east bank, a distance of two hundred feet. Men worked all night trying to loosen it, but it grew larger every moment, and early in the morning of the 20th the pier could stand the strain no longer and with a sudden snap gave way. By midnight of the 19th the river was half way up the dikes, and men turned out and worked for the rest of the night strengthening them and filling up the low places. But their efforts were in vain. By four o'clock the water was running over

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the top of the dike and compelling the people hastily to seek saier places.

In a short time the entire south part of town below Kincaid street was flooded to a depth of nearly three feet and the furnaces of all the shingle mills in town were submerged, as well as that of the electric works, which were obliged to shut down. Below town the dikes were destroyed in several places and the country for miles around was flooded. The towns of Fir and Skagit City had several feet of water in them. In the opposite direction Sedro and Hamilton were both flooded and considerable damage was sustained. Railroads were washed out in every direction. No trains ran on the Great Northern for five days, and other roads fared equally as bad. On the Seattle & Northern an engine ran into a washout and was overturned, killing the fireman, whose name was Ed Cole. The flood was not confined to the Skagit river but extended to all the rivers of western Washington. Considerable loss of stock was sustained throughout the county and Dennis Storrs lost several hundred dollars' worth of hops, but the most serious single loss was the bridge pier, upon which nearly two thousand dollars' worth of work had been done.

In the latter part of January and the first of February another spell of unusual weather, in the form of a cold snap was experienced. The ther- mometer reached the lowest point in the history of the county, though the cold weather did not last so long as in the severe winter of 1875. It began on January 30th, when the temperature fell twenty degrees within two hours and the following morn- ing the thermometer registered ten degrees below zero, which was the lowest point reached. During the 30th and 31st the river was full of floating ice, which was backed up at the mouth by the tide and formed a solid blockade which soon extended far above Mount Vernon. For two or three days the thermometer continued about zero, after which the cold slowly moderated.

A project that attracted considerable attention among the people of Skagit county during the first few months of 1893 was a proposed motor line, known as the Mount Vernon, Bayview & Northern railroad. The president of the company was Har- rison Clothier, the general superintendent J. B. Moody, and the route as laid out extended from Mount Vernon to Bayview through Avon and through a tract of valuable timber land, which it was proposed to open up. also through some fine agricultural land. Contracts for right of way for this road were secured and quite a large amount of subscriptions and subsidies pledged by the people living along the route, which subscriptions and promises of subsidies became void, however, as the road was never built.

There were a number of important court pro- ceedings during 1893. One of them was the trial of David C. Moody for the murder of J. L. Warner,

a crime which had been committed in Hamilton in the fall of the previous year. The facts in the case, as brought out in the trial and published in the cur- rent newspapers, were as follows: J. L. Warner was the owner of the electric light plant of Hamil- ton and the power for running this plant was furn- ished by the shingle mill of Campbell & Edwards. David C. Moody was the night watchman at this mill and was also supposed to keep up steam for running the electric light plant, but one night he failed to do this and Mr. Warner came over to see what was the matter. Moody said that there was no wood and when Warner pointed out some that was lying across the street he replied that it was not his business to carry wood. After a few more words Warner went after Edwards, one of the owners of the mill, who came with him in a short time and the altercation with Moody was renewed. Finally Warner, losing patience, seized his adversary by the neck, whereupon Moody instantly drew a revol- ver and shot Warner dead.

At the trial, which began on the 23d of Feb- ruary, the lawyers for the defense, Million & Hou- ser, tried to show that the fatal shot was fired in self-defense and while in fear of bodily injury. The prosecution was conducted by Prosecuting Attorney Joiner in an able manner. The impression created by Moody was an unfavorable one as he seemed constantly afraid of committing himself. The trial which lasted only three days, resulted in a verdict of manslaughter, and the prisoner was sentenced by Judge Henry McBride to nineteen years in the penitentiary.

Another case of great interest and considerable intricacy was the famous one of the Wilbur Indian heirs for the possession of their heritage. It ap- peared that Wilbur had married an Indian woman and later an American and now both claimed to be his heirs. The superior court decided in favor of the Indian, as appears from the following findings of fact by Judge McBride, which form a highly interesting, romantic and humorous narrative.

Having been engaged for, lo, these many days in the pleasant task of instructing juries as to the proper measure of damages in horse trades and listening to the plaintive appeals of those who rashly enter into contracts at a time when the ownership of a town lot in the impenetrable forest brought to the happy possessor visions of untold wealth, it is a relief to the heart to turn aside from con- templation of these engrossing subjects and dwell upon the tale of innocence and love unparalleled by the evidence in this case.

It appears that away back in 1867, when many of the towns, now ambitious for county seat honors, were as yet unknown to fame, and the swelling bosom of the Skagit was still unvexed by the rude touch of floating leviathans of commerce, the deceased, John T. Wilbur, hailing from the effete East, first made his appearance upon the scene.

One day in the early summer of the year aforesaid the said Wilbur, while presumably in search of clams- although the evidence is strangely silent upon the point- espied sporting upon the sand spit near Utsalady a dusky

First Skagit County Surveying Corps.

1877-

Indian -Me Croin Narcisse John Cornelius Samt MeNull Jus Snow

portion of

BEN JOHNSON'S FARM ET

IN SKAGIT COUNTY

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOS TYOX TILOP: : : , TIONS

15%

SKAGIT COUNTY, 1889-97

maiden of the forest, whose supple limbs had been marred by the heat of thirteen summers, and whose cheeks were uncaressed by aught save the gentle zephyrs. Deeply im- pressed by her visible charms of person, and being of a hold and venturesome spirit, he then and there resolved to have her for his own. He made a liberal offer, but she, modest maiden, not considering it a good plan to yield too readily, rejected with seeming disdain his amorous intention. He returned to his lonely ranch on the Skagit, there to devise strategems new to encompass his end. He heard sweetly guttural accents in the sighing of the wind, and in the floating mist he even beheld her voluptuous form. Later on, with a retinne consisting of two noble red men from Snehosh-ah, the music of these Indian names-he set out to visit his sable enchantress at her home upon the fir-clad hillside of the Swinomish reser- vation near the banks of the murmuring slough of the same name. Arriving there without incident worthy of relating, he raised his former offer, now tendering her parents the princely sum of fifty dollars. But they looked coldly upon his suit, and the dutiful Kitty would not sur- render herself to his ardent embrace unaccompanied by the paternal blessing. The date can not be determined from the evidence, but Kitty, who ought to know, says it was just when the salmon were beginning to run. Desiring to be exact in all things, it occurred to the court that it might be well to continue the hearing of this case for a few years while studying the habits of the salmon, but the litigants, anxious for the spoils, objected. An attorney, when a fee is in sight, seems to care but little for scientific observations.

Once again he returned to his lonely ranch. There in the solitude of his cabin, with no one to spread his blankets, no one to weave his mats, he brooded over his state of single unblessedness, until at length he determined to make one last despairing effort. This time he would go in state, so he consulted "Chip" Brown, who had taken unto himself as a wife a child of the stream and the forest, and it was arranged.

One day as Kitty lay upon the bank viewing her own charms as reflected in the water of the Swinomish she was startled by the approach of a canoe, containing one amorous swain, "Chip" Brown, Mrs. Brown, and a large number of Indians from a neighboring tribe, hired for the occasion. On one side were arranged Kitty, her father, mother. relations and friends, and Joseph, tribal chief ; on the other, Wilbur, "Chip" Brown, Mrs. "Chip," and his mercenary train; and the prize contended for was none other than Kitty herself. Mrs. "Chip" being detailed to act as interpreter, advanced to the center, and the battle of words, which was to decide the fate of the dusky maiden, began. The interpreter, the court is grieved to say-peace be to her ashes !- abused her position of trust to descant upon the charms and graces of Wilbur, and, inso- much as she herself had tasted the delights of wedded life with a paleface, her words had great weight. 'Twas long doubtful to which side victory would incline, but at an opportune moment, Wilbur himself advancing with sixty dollars in his outstretched palm, the battle was won. Chief Joseph thought the sale a good one and her father was satisfied with the price; so the money was divided between her male relations and Kitty, according to the laws of her tribe, was a wife.

Counsel insists that the evidence is insufficient to war- rant the conclusion that the marriage was according to the custom then in vogue upon the Swinomish reservation, contending that Indian testimony is unreliable. In their zeal they seem to forget that the testimony is corroborated by that of one of our most esteemed citizens, one who has served the people in various capacities of trust. He came here in 1863, and his detailed statement while on the wit- ness stand ought to convince the most skeptical that in early days he made a most careful study of Indian customs relative to marriage and divorce. Whether his investiga- tions were carried on for the purpose of satisfying the

promptings of a natural curiosity, or took an experimental turn, the court is not advised.

Immediately after the division of the spoils the wed- ding feast, the memory of which is cherished as one of the most glorious events in the annals of the tribe, took place. What a feast that must have been! for little Bob, now thirty-six years old, but then only ten, retains a vivid recollection of it, and says with evident pride that upon that memorable occasion they had "bread and tea and sugar."

To prevent others from becoming discouraged, it might be well to add that Wilbur ran up the price, and that sixty dollars is the highest sum on record paid for a wife. Besides, Kitty belonged to a family of distinction. Neither should anyone who is desirous of imitating Wil- bur's example hesitate over long because his dusky enslaver said "No" twice. The court recalls some fairer daughters of Eve who said "No" more than twice, and-what is worse-stuck to it.

According to the customs of this tribe, good taste re- quires three proposals. The first time the sighing swain, if an Indian, offers a pair of blankets or a canoe; if a white man, cash. The second time he must raise the an -. I mean, he must increase the offer, and the third time he must sling in some additional inducement in the shape of worldly goods. The third time is the crucial test-if he is rejected then he knows it will be useless to apply. It will be observed that the 'intutored denizen of the forest has an advantage over his paleface brother in this-he understands when the word "No" is to be taken in its literal significance.

If the bargain turns out to be a bad one the husband can return his wife and receive back his canoe or blankets or whatever the purchase price consisted of. This should be called to the attention of our law-makers.

The fruit of this marriage was three children, one girl and two boys. . The girl is dead, but the boys are still alive and join with Kitty in the petition to have Bingham appointed administrator of the estate of the deceased, who departed this life-requiescat in pace-some ten years ago.

In 1874 Wilbur entered into correspondence with one Sarah J. Willcox, then in the wilds of central New York. Many a loving missive passed between them, until finally in 1876 she came out here and married Wilbur, and Kitty, turned adrift, found solace in the arms of another.

The bone of contention between Mrs. Wilbur No. 1 and Mrs. Wilbur No. 2, and their respective counsel, is the ranch, now worth $10,000, where Wilbur and "Chip" Brown first devised the scheme that resulted in the trans- lation of Kitty from the haunts of her childhood to the abode of the paleface.

There is much in this case worthy of comment, did not the stiff formulas and cast iron rules of law forbid an excursion into the realms of fancy and philosophy.

In conclusion, the court finds that Kitty is still alive and well, although somewhat tanned by exposure to the elements, and that all the parties to this action want the ranch.

These findings are necessarily brief, but, such as they are, it is hoped that, if this ease goes up, they may serve as a guidance to the supreme court in determining the intricate questions involved. HENRY MCBRIDE,

Enter. Judge.

Dated March 20, 1893.

While the cottrt indtilged in this vein of fanciftil humor, it turned out to be a different case for poor old Kitty, The case was carried to the supreme court where the decision of the lower court was reversed. The grounds for reversal and for deciding against Kitty were that while the marriage between her and Wilbur had been made according to the Indian ctistom, it was nevertheless void, since there was a

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territorial law in effect at that time prohibiting the marriage of white men with Indian women. It was true that the law was repealed a short time after, but the marriage was not repeated, and was consequently held to be illegal and void, and so Kitty went without the inheritance, though, by compromise, her children received each a portion of the estate.

There were a number of miscellaneous occur- rences during this period which may be briefly mentioned. In December, 1892, the Fidalgo Eleva- tor and Warchouse Company made the largest ship- ment of oats ever made from the county. Ten thousand sacks were taken from Fidalgo City and three thousand four hundred from Anacortes by the steamer U'matilla, and transported direct to San Francisco. this being the first season in which reshipments were not made at Seattle or Tacoma.

The Skagit County Shingle Association was organized on the 13th of January, 1893, at Burling- ton. and all of the twenty-two mills in the county were either represented or signified their intention of joining. It was the aim of the association to act in concert with the state association. The following officers were elected: P. A. Woolley, president ; E. A. Fladd, vice-president : C. E. Brand, secretary and treasurer. J. S. Munday. of Fairhaven, was appointed eastern agent for Skagit county shingles, with headquarters at Kansas City, Missouri. The output of shingles from the county at that time was about sixteen cars per day.

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An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 34

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1906 Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1172

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172