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 37

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 37
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 37

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The court convened for the trial of Hamilton at Mount Vernon November 6th, and after nearly a week a jury was secured. The prosecution was conducted by County Attorney Hurd. assisted by Judge MeBride, and the defense by Colonel Lindsay of Seattle and J. B. Wright. The defense made a hard fight to convince the jury that Hamilton had been doped and committed the crime while not in the full possession of his senses, but the jury would not be convinced, and on November 14th returned a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. On November 21th Judge Houser sentenced the prisoner to be hanged on Friday, February 9, 1900. Before the execution took place, however, Colonel Lindsay succeeded in securing a stay of proceed-

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ings, pending an appeal to the supreme court, which to the great surprise and disgust of every one, re- versed the decision of the superior court, the grounds being that there was an error in the in- structions of the trial judge concerning insanity. This decision necessitated a new trial, going over the whole ground once more. A change of venue to Whatcom county was secured by Lindsay and Wright, and at that place the trial was held in May, 1901. It was conducted on the same lines as the first and was very hotly contested. The jury were retired only thirty-five minutes before they rendered a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. For the second time the death sentence was passed upon Al. Hamilton, this time by Judge Neterer on July 17th. He was sentenced to be hanged on Friday, August 16th, but the case was again carried to the supreme court. This time the decision of the lower court was sustained, and the sentence of death was carried out at Whatcom on May 23, 1902, more than two years and six months after the crime for which he paid the penalty had been committed. Hamilton died in a manner befitting him-without fear or remorse. He mounted the scaffold steadily and his last word was a curse.

In 1900 the branch railroad from Sedro-Wool- ley to Belfast, known as the Fairhaven & Southern. was torn up and discontinued. The branch from Sedro-Woolley was leased and run in conjunction with the Great Northern.

The Great Northern at this time was beginning to employ Japanese laborers in its gangs, and the citizens who were prejudiced against the Japs, tried to prevent their working. On June 25th a large number of Mount Vernon citizens waited upon the Japanese who were employed on the railroad and requested them to take their departure, which the latter did without delay. A few days later, however, another crew was sent up from Seattle, with the request that they be given protection. It was re- ported that a plan was formed to treat this crew the same as the first, but it did not mature and they were not molested.

In July the farmers of the county were greatly alarmed by an invasion of large multitudes of strange worms, later determined to be the army worms, which traveled in columns by night all over the western part of the state, destroying every green thing in their path. They lasted several weeks and the farmers began to think they would have no crops left, but fortunately the damage was confined to small patches and consequently was not very great in Skagit county.

A horrible accident occurred on September 11th on the railroad trestle south of Sedro-Woolley. One of the workmen, who had been drinking heavily. fell asleep on the track and when the train came along he was run over and crushed and mangled in a frightful manner. He could not be identified.

but it was believed that he had no relatives in this country.

One of the most sensational murders in the his- tory of the county was that of William Gorsage by his wife, Jennie Gorsage, on December 14th. Gorsage, a heavy drinker, was in the habit of cruelly abusing and maltreating his wife, even threatening several times to kill her, and she had been in constant fear of him during their married life. On the evening of December 14th he re- turned home drunk and after mistreating her started to go to bed. Mrs. Gorsage got a pistol and shot Gorsage while he was lying in bed, wound- ing him so that he died a short time afterward, then immediately gave herself up. When speaking of the crime, she said, as quoted by the News of December 14th : "He came home early in the even- ing and commenced to abuse me, being in an intox- icated condition. He struck me in the face three times, knocking me down and then proceeded to kick me. I told him that I would leave him and he said, 'If you do. I will follow you and kill you; I would rather have you take my life'-which I did about ten o'clock, after he went to bed. After having a quarrel with him, I went to the next room and after sitting there for half an hour, a sudden thought struck me to kill him. I got his pistol and going to the door of the room in which he was lying I fired the shot. I am not sorry that I killed him, as he is better off than to live the way he did." The sympathy of the community seemed to be on the side of the woman.

The trial of Mrs. Gorsage occurred in February, 1901. The state was represented in the case by Prosecuting Attorney Hurd, and the defense by Attorneys John F. Dore of Seattle and Henry McLean of Mount Vernon. A number of wit- nesses, including a son and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gorsage, testified to the ill treatment of Mrs. Gorsage by her husband. The defense argued that the deed was committed under an impulse of insan- ity, while the prosecution maintained that the wom- an was in no danger when she did the deed, but had had time to deliberate and therefore her action was not the result of a sudden impulse or passion. The jury was out fourteen hours and finally decided on a verdict of manslaughter, with a recommenda- tion for leniency. Mrs. Gorsage was sentenced on March 10th to one year and six months in the state penitentiary and to pay a fine of five dollars. Her attorneys asked for a new trial but it was denied, whereupon the case was carried to the supreme court.

That the population of Skagit county had been growing constantly was evinced by the census of 1900, which showed 14,272 people, divided among the different precincts as follows: AAvon, 718; Bay- view, 421; Belfast, 206; Birdsview, 331; Burling- ton, 525 ; Cascade, 138; Cavanaugh, 2: Clear Lake, 500; Cokedale, 131; Cullum, 204; Cypress, 30; Ferry, 30 : Fidalgo, 99 : Fidalgo City, 152; Fir, 699;

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Fredonia, 126; Guemes, 97; Hamilton, 563; La Conner, 1,082; Lake, 191; Lookout, 143; Lyman, 353; McMurray, 413 ; Mansford, 20; Mount Baker, 213; Mount Vernon, 1,120; Perley, 8; Point Wil- liams, 83; Prairie, 267; Samish, 444; Sauk, 251; Sedro, 310; Sedro-Woolley, 885; Ship Harbor, in- cluding Anacortes, 1,483 ; Sinclair, 21; Skagit, 521 ; Tingley, 6: ; Woolley, 235 ; Swinomish Indian reser- vation, 215.

The year 1901 was one of the most prosperous in the history of the county. The crop of oats was immense, one of the best ever known, and the price twenty-two dollars per ton. The fishing industry also was blessed with a season such as it had never before known, the run of salmon being so large that in some cases fish were offered for one cent apiece with no buyers. The canneries were obliged to take the fish they had contracted for at the begin- ning of the season at fifteen cents each. In connec- tion with the fishing industry the following from the Argus of August 2d is of interest: "Children from ten to twelve years old are making better wages in the canneries now than the ordinary lab- orer in the harvest fields of the eastern part of the state. The run of salmon this year is the largest known in the history of the fishing industry on the Pacific coast. The output of the canneries at Anacortes amounts to fifteen thousand cases daily, which at the low estimate of four dollars per case would be valued at sixty thousand dollars per day, and the actual value of the daily output of the Ana- cortes canneries will probably be considerable more."

A good deal of the attention of the people of Skagit county was occupied in 1901 by the county fair for that year, which was held on October 3d. 4th and 5th. Early in September a new fair asso- ciation had been formed for the purpose of purchas- ing ground and erecting buildings in which annual exhibitions and sports would be held. The capital stock of this association was fifteen thousand dol- lars. The board of trustees selected to conduct the business, consisted of fifteen members, who, for the first year, were W. A. Lowman of Anacortes ; C. P. Dickey of Bayview ; H. A. March of Fidalgo; J. O. Rudene and Charles Nelson of La Conner; N. J. Moldstad, E. C. Million, 1. E. Shrauger. G. W. Reed. C. A. Risbell. H. R. Hutchinson, Charles Clary and William Dale of Mount Vernon ; E. Hammer of Sedro-Woolley. and T. P. Hastie of Skagit City. These trustees elected as president, N. J. Moldstad ; secretary, J. L. Anable, and treasurer, I. E. Shrau- ger. The management of the 1901 fair was placed in the hands of an executive committee, consisting of N. J. Moldstad, I. E. Shrauger. C. A. Risbell, William Dale and H. R. Hutchinson, with the last mentioned as general superintendent. The time for arranging and preparing for the fair was brief, but the managers did themselves great credit. While the displays were not of mammoth size they were

very excellent and the large number of people who attended, nearly two thousand on the last day, were well pleased.

It was on September 6th that the world was shocked by the news of the cowardly assassination of President MeKinley, who breathed his last on the 11th. Memorial services at Mount Vernon were held in the opera-house at eleven a. m., September 19th, under the direction of the mayor and city council. The school children attended in a body, also the Grand Army of the Republic and the Woman's Relief Corps. Addresses were delivered by Rev. Arthur Hale and Rev. Fernando C. Eldred. All public offices were closed during the day. A similar service was held at Anacortes.

On Christmas night an extremely heavy wind storm passed over Skagit county and the rest of the sound country. Fences were torn down, trees blown over, so that trains were delayed for some time, and telegraphic and telephone communication destroyed, but fortunately, few houses were injured and little other damage was done.

The first important event in 1903 was a serious railroad accident, the railroad bridge between Mount Vernon and Burlington collapsing on January 17th, as a freight train was crossing. The engine was nearly across when the bridge went down, but the bank was so steep that the cab was entirely sub- merged. Four cars, loaded with shingles, also went into the river. The engineer, Thomas Heathering- ton, of Everett, and the fireman, Doren, of Everett, were killed, but the brakeman, McConnehanin, escaped with a few ribs broken. The bridge had been known to be weak and was being repaired at the time but was not considered at all dangerous.

The attention of the courts was occupied during part of February by the case of Charles Lindgrind, accused of the murder of George Leake, a very sickly old man. on the night of August 30, 1902. The state was represented by Prosecuting Attorney Waugh and M. P. Hurd, while Henry MeLean was appointed by the court to represent the defendant. The principal witness was Charles Thomas, who testified to having found Leake outside his house in a terribly ent and bruised condition. Leake had described the man who had assaulted him so that he was easily identified. The injured man was removed from his house near Whitney to Fidalgo island, where he died in a few days. The trial of Lind- grind resulted in a verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree.

There was considerable agitation during the year in regard to an exhibit from Skagit county at the St. Louis Exposition, and a number of meetings were held at different times by those interested. Patrick Halloran of Edison was elected president of the World's Fair club, Gus Hensler of Anacor- tes, secretary, and C. E. Bingham of Sedro-Woolley, treasurer. The women of the county also organ- ized with the following officers: President, Mrs.

Residence of. nathaniel MeCollough

The punctured Tree

On mt. Higgins Skagit Ca

Ewing Bran

A Field of Onte

SKAGIT COUNTY VIEWS

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

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Frederick Ornes; vice-president, Mrs. E. M. Hou- ser ; secretary, Mrs. W. B. Ropes; treasurer, Mrs. George D. McLean. The county commissioners appropriated one thousand dollars on condition that two thousand dollars additional be raised, but the question of the exhibit, unfortunately, did not re- ceive the support it deserved and would probably have received if it had been brought before the attention of the public at an earlier date. It had been hoped to prepare a joint exhibit with Whatcom county, but on the 23d of February, the officers of the Fair club having already resigned it was defi- nitely decided not to prepare the exhibit and What- com county was so informed.

There was some excitement in Skagit and What- com counties in the fall of 1903 about the large ex- tensions to the forest reserves made in those coun- ties. These extensions interfered seriously with business interests and with the rights of settlers, so naturally a large number of protests were circu- lated through the two counties and almost universally signed. These, when forwarded to Washington, resulted in most of the withdrawals being again thrown open.

There were a number of important events dur- ing 1904, which are so recent that they are still fresh in the memory of the inhabitants. One of the most important was a transaction carried out by the commissioners and the county treasurer, R. O. Welts, by which bonds to the amount of one hun- dred thousand dollars were refunded, fifty-eight thousand dollars of which were held by the state and forty-two thousand dollars by Eastern parties. They had been issued on the 1st of December, 1894, and bore interest at the rate of six per cent. The state offered to refund the bonds, and on June 1st a new issue was made bearing interest of 334 per cent. By this means a large amount of interest was saved. The new issue was for twenty years, with the priv- ilege of refunding after the first year.

On June 20th the most successful jail break in the history of the county occurred at Mount Ver- non, when three prisoners escaped from the county jail. They were A. H. Johnson, a horse thief, and L. H. Garbe and George Reilly, burglars. All three of the men were just about to be sent to the state penitentiary at Walla Walla, Johnson and Reilly for five years each and Garbe for about eleven months, having already served out a good share of a two-year term. They had been in an attempted break about two months before. They were evidently furnished by friends on the outside with tools for their escape, with which they drilled through the bars of their cage, then, making their way to the jail yard, dug a hole in the brick wall through which they effected their exit. A number of posses were immediately sent in pursuit. John- son and Garbe were captured in a short time at Rockport, and Reilly was traced to the British line but escaped capture.

One of the most interesting and pleasant events of the year was a pioneers' celebration and reunion at Sedro-Woolley on August 6th, brought about largely by the efforts of the Commercial club of that place, Mr. and Mrs. David Batey and several prominent residents. Mr. Batey, of Sedro-Woolley, acted as chairman, and Mayor Bingham made the welcoming address. In the morning a number of pleasing speeches were delivered and anecdotes of early times told. Those who spoke were Captain Fred Dwyer of Lyman, Commodore H. A. March, W. H. Burdon of Fidalgo and Senator Emerson Hammer. W. F. Robertson also recited a poem on "The Pioneer." At noon the meeting adjourned to a neighboring grove, where delightful refreshments were served, which the old pioneers enjoyed to the full, not the least enjoyed being a load of water- inelons donated by Mayor Bingham. But the best part of the occasion was the renewing of old friend- ships and old ties, as many of those present had not seen each other before for twenty or twenty-five years. In the afternoon a permanent pioneers' asso- ciation was organized, the officers elected for the year being : President, David Batey ; vice-president, Mrs. Georgiana Batey, M. D .; secretary, Charles Villeneuve : treasurer, Captain Fred Dwyer. The date set for the next meeting was August 5, 1905.

Although anticipating a little, it may be said that the meeting was held this year pursuant to adjourn- ment and that it proved an altogether agreeable and pleasant reunion. The officers elected were : Thomas P. Hastie, of Skagit City, president ; Mrs. Ira Brown, of Sedro-Woolley, vice-president ; E. A. Sisson, of Padilla, secretary ; and Patrick Halloran, of Mount Vernon, treasurer. The reports showed a membership of about one hundred and thirty.

On the 16th of August an unfortunate fire burned the steamer Elwood, which was unloading at Avon at the time, to the water's edge, the crew nar- rowly escaping with their lives. The Elwood was owned by Captain H. H. McDonald and was one of the most popular boats on the river. Her place was taken by the Skagit Queen, still in operation under Captain McDonald, running between Mount Vernon and Seattle.

The fourth annual county fair was held October 5th, 6th, 2th and 8th. The officers of the fair asso- ciation were : President, N. J. Moldstad : vice-presi- dent, William Dale; secretary, E. W. Ferris ; treasurer, I. E. Shrauger. Executive board : L. J. Ward, N. J. Moldstad, F. G. Pickering, H. R. Hutch- inson. William Dale. H. R. Hutchinson was super- intendent of exhibits and 1 .. J. Ward superintendent of races. The officers of the ladies' department were: President, Mrs. R. W. Williams : vice-presi- dent, Mrs. A. C. Lewis; secretary, Mrs. W. S. Packard ; treasurer. Mrs. George D. McLean. The exhibits were all excellent.

The year 1904 was a very prosperous one for the agriculturist, the oat crop being much better

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than that of the year before, and the price excep- tionally high, being twenty-five dollars and twenty- six dollars per ton. The hay crop also was good and sold for a fair price, while the hop crop was above the average and the price was very high. rising to thirty cents a pound. The yield was in some cases a ton an acre.

The winter of 1904-5 brought a very high tide on the sound, which occurred on the 29th of Decem- ber. While it fell a few inches short of the high tides of 1886 and 1895 it was high enough to overflow the dikes at the mouth of the river and at La Conner and cover that town and many farms with water. .At first it was feared that the damage was great,

but it turned out to be inconsiderable. The farms on the delta suffered the most, some of them being covered with debris. A few pigs also were lost. Occurring at the time of year that it did, it was believed that the salt would be washed from the ground by the winter rains, and this supposition seems to have been well founded for the crops of the current year were phenomenal. The industrious people of Skagit county are in the full enjoyment of an abundant prosperity. Their faith in the country which has caused them to stick to it through diffi- culties and disaster and hard times, has been abun- dantly rewarded, and vet greater victories are to be achieved in the rosy future.

CHAPTER VI

POLITICAL

Although Skagit county did not come into offi- cial existence until November 28, 1883. that being the date upon which Governor Newell approved the creating act. nevertheless for many years previous the lower half of Whatcom county was dominant politically. Nor was it less prominent in paying taxes, wherein lies the principal cause of its inhab- itants seeking complete political independence. As early as 1818 the residents of the Swinomish flats and the Skagit valley had attained sufficient power to secure the establishment of this newly created judicial district's headquarters at La Conner. Then came a more energetic movement for county divi- sion, which reached high tide in 1882, when Editor James Power, of the Mail at La Conner, was elected councilman for Whatcom, Snohomish and Island counties, and Orrin Kincaid of the upper Skagit valley was selected Whatcom and San Juan's joint representative. The rest of the county ticket elected that year were: Commissioners, B. H. Bruns, John T. Edens and Isaac Dunlap, Republicans : auditor. C. Donovan, Democrat ; sheriff. James O'Loughlin. Democrat : treasurer, William T. Coupe, Republi- can : probate judge. Harry J. White, Republican ; superintendent of schools. G. E. Hartson, Republi- can : surveyor. Alexander Charles, Republican. Both Power and Kincaid were also elected by strong Republican majorities.

Of those elected, at least eight were residents of this end of the county. Thus fortified, the struggle for division went forward with renewed vigor, yet

so quietly that the actual passage of the creating act came with a swiftness and a strength that could not be overcome. Representative Kincaid intro- duced the successful measure after one brought in by Councilman Power had met defeat in the upper house and the bill's opponents had considered the project shelved. In this connection it is worthy of mention that Kincaid's Democratic opponent in the campaign of 1882, Harrison Clothier of Mount Ver- non, gave his whole support to Kincaid and his colleague in the legislative struggle over the bill.

When the creation of Skagit was at last effected pursuant to law. Special Commissioners H. P. Downs. F. E. Gilkey and H. A. March met Decem- ber 5, 1883, with Harrison Clothier as acting clerk. and called a special county election to be held the second Tuesday in January following for the pur- pose of selecting a full corps of officers. In view of the fact that this election was the first held in Skagit county, the records thereof are submitted in some detail. The conventions of both parties were held at La Conner and were unusually har- monious. In fact, a conference of Democrats and Republicans was held, as the result of which the Republicans made no nominations for sheriff and assessor, while the Democrats made no nomina- tions for auditor and the office of coroner and wreckmaster. The Republicans met Saturday, Dec- ember 22. 1883, with James Power as chairman and B. L. Martin as secretary. full delegations being present from every precinct, except Sterling. J. F.

PAN-AM

Exposition

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THE FALL OF THE FOREST MONARCHS

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

LATTE INOX tiin. . P TIONS

POLITICAL

Dwelley was elected chairman and W. W. Tinkham secretary of the Democratic convention, which met on the 18th of December, at the same place. The election passed off quietly Tuesday, January the Sth, a heavy rain falling all day long and a light vote being cast throughout the county. A list of the county precincts together with the total vote in each for the office of auditor is herewith given: La Conner, 143 ; Samish, 30 ; Fidalgo, 41 ; Ship Harbor. 23; Guemes, 10; Mount Baker, 13; Skagit, 45; Mount Vernon, 119; Sterling, 43; Upper Skagit, 29; Baker, 14; total, 515.

The official vote as returned by the board of can- vassers was as follows: Auditor, II. P. Downs, Republican, 515, no opposition ; sheriff, James O'Loughlin, Democrat, 490, no opposition ; asses- sor, James O'Loughlin, Democrat, 423, no opposi- tion : treasurer, John McGlinn, Republican, 239, F. D. Cleaves, Democrat, 341; probate judge, H. J. White, Republican, 360, W. W. Tinkham, Demo- crat, 212 ; superintendent of schools, G. E. Hartson, Republican, 262. Miss Josie Bradley, Democrat, 304; surveyor, A. M. White, Republican, 241, George Savage, Democrat, 333 ; coroner, J. A. Gilli- land, Republican, 330, no opposition : commission- ers, Isaac Dunlap. John J. Edens, T. S. Newlands, Republicans, 3:1, 259 and 257 votes respectively, Harrison Clothier. James Callahan, E. Hammond, Democrats, 328, 211 and 228 votes respectively.

AAs provided for in the act creating the county, the newly elected board of commissioners, Isaac Dunlap, John J. Edens and Harrison Clothier, held its first meeting February 4, 1884, at the temporary county seat at La Conner. Permanent organiza- tion of the board was effected the following day, John J. Edens being chosen chairman. The first business after the bonds of the various county officials had been accepted, was that of receiving a petition signed by J. M. Galliher and twenty-two others, praying for the establishment of a road from the end of Fourth street, in the town of La Conner. southerly to the hill opposite the town and thence southeast to the line between townships 33 and 34 north, range ? east. The board appointed Thomas F. Lindsey, A. Carlson and Lyle Wallace viewers to act with George Savage, county surveyor, in establishing this, the first county road. This same clay another road, leading from James Harrison's farm, via Dodge valley, to the Skagit river, was established by the board. It is interesting to note also that the sheriff was ordered to put all prisoners to work at hard labor. At the board's session on the 8th, one thousand dollars were appropriated as the county's share in payment of the construction of the Sullivan slough bridge in accordance with a promise made the preceding August by the old county board. This synopsis of the proceedings covers practically every transaction of importance made by the board before its adjournment February

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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 37

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