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 88

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 88
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 88

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In February, 1886, D. S. Baker, then living on White River, saw a letter in the P .- I., writ- ten by James McCullough, in which he extolled the Stillaguamish valley as the home-hunters' haven, but suggested that "picnic settlers were not wanted.' The next day he met Mr. Parks, bought his claim and moved from Tacoma to Florence in a sailboat. Thence he came up the river in a canoe, landing on the 1st day of March. He was elected county commissioner in 1888, and four years later, like one of Old Mother Goose's thrifty heroes, having stored his larder shelves with a surplus of bread and cheese, he went to London, or rather, to Litchfield, Minnesota, and got him a wife.

The year ISS6 brought the McEwans, but recently from Scotland; Thomas Jefferson, Hiram Monty, the Fox brothers. Christ Christer- son, who took the abandoned Grant place; Mr. Richards, George Morrison, who took

the Aldridge claim ; Fabian Sorrial (the Old French- man) took the place where Joe Hollongsworth now lives and carried fruit trees on his back from Stan- wood to his claim, thirty-five miles away. He was a soldier in the Army of the Potomac, and is now in the Washington Soldiers' Home at Orting. The same year, J. H. Armstrong took the claim that is now the town site of Oso, and John D. Wilson, another bachelor located his present place. Three years later, Mrs. Jessie Wilson and her three girls came, and like prudent and practical people, they each proved up a homestead and then married.

In January, 1557, Captain Oliver and Mr. and Mrs. Dixon, having bought the Tim Ryan claim, landed in the snow from a Siwash canoe, and in April the Iles were canoed to the mouth of the Pilchuck, having bought the Armstrong claim. The same month William Aldridge, the pioneer of the Kansas colony, arrived and took the abandoned Morrison claim, and was speedily followed by Robert Wheeler, Ed. Holloway, John Renfro and L. C. Prather, John Grant, Henry Frailey, who bought the Hancock place; John Burch, J. W. Kern, I. B. Vancil and Thomas Bond. The advance guard of the Michi- gan settlers came the same year, including the Damons and the Lillies, the Ciceros, the Stevens, Martin Everett and C. A. Hudson, who came in 1859.

On April 21st of that year, Leroy Fry and his family reached his present homestead in a canoe and had to stand in it and cut the brush before he could find room to land and pitch his

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tent. After he had paid the Indians he had sixty cents left and was four hundred dollars in debt. Now he has a fine farm and a big house, comes to town with his big team, has a railroad station just across the river and "money to burn." So much for Stillaguamish thrift.

In 1SSS, Daniel and Hector MeKilligan and Joe Ferguson established a logging camp on the South Fork, and the next year the MeKilligans took claims adjoining John D. Wilson's. It was while the same firm was logging these lands in 1896, that Mr. Daniel MeKilligan lost his life by being struck by a flying cable.

The summer of 1897 brought two canoe loads of real "picnic settlers" from Kansas City. The women were gowned in silk and were beribboned and befeathered. The men wore silk hats, Prince Albert coats and kid gloves. They camped on the Emerson place, built half of a house, and one day they hailed a fleet of Siwash canoes and floated down to tide-water, with mildewed hopes and fallen feathers.

With this year a series of fatal accidents began. John Sandberg, John Nordwell and Charles Johnson were in a canoe near the Baker place, when it split on a snag and Mr. Sandberg was carried under a drift and drowned. His body was found some months later in a slough on Jim Dorsey's place. In April, ISSS, Mr. Vancil, Miss Aldridge, Miss Wheeler and Miss Thompson were drowned at the mouth of the Pilchuck by the overturning of a canoe. The bodies were all recovered, the last, that of Mr. Vancil, having been found at the Grant place, four miles from the place of the accident. The fall of 1859, T. D. Lillie was killed at the Hamil- ton place by a falling tree.

Charles Sandberg came and took his dead brother's claim and the next year went to Seattle and brought his bride. Mr. and Mrs. Setzer having bought the Henry Monty claim, arrived there on May 14, 1SSS, having walked from Stanwood, Mr. Setzer carrying a two-year-old girl in a gunny sack on his back, and another, six months old, in his arms. The burning tim- ber drove them out of the trail at the Fox place and they got lost in the woods. Mr. Barr came this year, and also Mr. George Esterbrook, who bought the Mccullough claim; and Mr. Sipprell who located adjoining it on the east. The Trafton schoolhouse was built in the fall of 1887, Mrs. Jefferson, nee Dennis, being the first teacher, and the Oso schoolhouse the next spring. Mrs. Emerson, nee Johnson, taught the first term. She was brought from Stanwood in a canoe by W. H. Connors and a Siwash.

During the summer of 1859, a wagon trail was opened from Stanwood to "The Forks, " as this locality was then called, and Bert Crawford ran a tri-weekly wagon line to Gifford's camp, near Mr. Sill's house and Tvete & Johnson's store in the log building that is still standing near Mr.

Sill's barn. At this time, Mr. Likens built a blacksmith shop across the river from Ford's mill, and in the fall Lee Rogers built the White House Hotel, on Indian Gardner's land, on the point between the two branches of the river, the railroad preliminary survey having been made and there being other symptoms of a town.

At the election in October of this year that adopted the state constitution, the people of the county voted to issue eighty thousand dollars in bonds for the purpose of building bridges, including one over the South Fork and another over the North Fork at Hildebrand's, but owing to a legal doubt the bonds were not issued until the case was passed upon by the superior court, four years later, and the bridges were built in 1894.

During all this time the settlers were holding their claims by "squatters' rights" solely, the land never having been surveyed by the govern- ment. Numerous petitions asking for a survey had been sent to Washington city, and as many indefinite promises had been received, but it was not until the fall of 1890 that George James, of Snohomish, came into the woods with a contract to plat Townships 6 and 7 on the North Fork. Then a long year went by before the survey was inspected and then another tedions wait until it was accepted and the Seattle Land Office author- ized to accept filings on claims.

In 1888 a special postoffice was established at Mccullough's-special in the sense that the department did not furnish a carrier. The set- tlers took turns in bringing the mail from Still- aguamish (now Silvana) postoffice, kept by Iver Johnson. The mail came once a week. The name of the new office was Glendale, but the mail for it, Glendale, Oregon, and Glendive, Montana, got mixed so often that the name was changed to Trafton after Mr. Esterbrook took the office. The next year, Allen postoffice was established at Mr. Bond's house at Pilchuck, named in honor of John B. Allen, who had been elected delegate to congress. About that time a boom town near Tacoma was named Allyn, and Oso was substi- tuted in place of Allen for the name of the office.

In the spring of 1892 a representative of the proposed Monte Cristo railroad secured contracts for right-of-way as far as the Pilchuck, paying twenty-five cents as the first payment for each contract, and although a viewing engineer went over the route, it was never surveyed. Soon afterward a preliminary surveying party of the Great Northern came through Indian pass and down the river, but all that it left to prop up our fallen hopes were some mysteriously marked stakes.

NOTES

Mr. Baker brought the first organ on the North Fork -in a canoc.

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Mr. Brazelton brought up the first farm wagon-in a canoc.

Mr. Collingwood brought up the first cow and calf, fording and swimming them from bar to bar in the river, there being no trail that they could travel.

Mr. Setzer preached the first funeral sermon, over the body of John Sandberg, and instituted the Sunday school. Captain Oliver was the first justice of the peace and officiated at the first wedding, the second marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Brazelton, after they had been married for thirty years. The court-house and the record of their marriage had been burned and they wanted a record to exist.

A man named Ketchem laid the foundation for a store at Pilchuck, in 1889, and then went down the river and was never heard of again.

The Baker Brothers opened the first store at (so in the spring of 1891. It was sold to Carroll & Moore in 1893, and they added a hotel and feed stable.

The Wana postoffice (named in honor of Postmaster General Wanamaker)was established at Mr. Frailey's in 1892, and lasted until the roads were improved and bridges built. I-liram Monty was the first high constable on the North Fork.

The Harmony School District was established in 1892, the first term was held in John Fox's house (since burned). The teacher was Miss Amelia Bond.

Mr. Baker was the first county officer elected on the North Fork. The second was Mr. Dixon, who was elected county superintendent of schools in 1890, and the third was John McEwan, county assessor from 1895 to 1897.

The first wagon that went in on its own wheels was taken up by Mr. Thurston in the fall of 1889. He held the claim above the Hildebrand bridge on the south side of the river. The river at present occupies most of the ground.

Henry Hayden took the first buggy up the river as far as Oso on Memorial Day, 1891. He drove from Fir on the Skagit river with Miss Jennie Grant. The South Fork was so deep that the horse swam, and the buggy was carried across in a canoe.

Wire foot-bridges were strung across the Pilchuck river at Oso in 1891, and another at Hildebrand's in 1893. When the wagon bridge was built it was moved to the site of Cooper's mill.

In June, 1887, the writer landed from off the steamer City of Quincy at Stanwood, lodged at Mrs. McLaugh- land's hotel, where he met Mrs. Collingwood who had been brought from the claim in a canoe intending to go to a Seattle hospital. She was put under treatment and advised to remain under the care of Mrs. McLaughland. The next day Mr. Collingwood and the writer walked to the McEwan place over a trail that was lost a half dozen times. Two weeks later the writer went down the river in a canoe with Malachi Ryan and Hugh McGavet (110W deceased) and picked up Neal Brown on the way. His second advent on the river was in September, 1889, when he came up on Crawford's so-called stage, was put down at "The Forks" at dark, supped on canned goods and crackers from Tvete & Johnson's store and slept in his hammock that was hung on Liken's blacksmith shop, and then went over the trail and took a pre-emption claim about half a mile above the site of the Hildebrand bridge.

Time does not permit this sketch to cover events later than 1890 when the railroad was built, for the people came so numerously after that that it is impossible to mention all. We have vet to mention two unusual instances of the inherent fortitude of women. Mrs. Shaffer moved on a homestead claim twenty-five miles from "The Forks," and never came out of the woods until final proof was made five years after. Mrs. McEwan went up the river in 1886 and did not come down again until 1897. During that eleven years the railroad came and a town grew up within three miles of her home.

During the eighteen years that have gone since the first family began to make a home on the North Fork, fate has brought many misfortunes and time has brought many blessings ; and, yet, it may be questioned if the fine flour and the porterhouse is quite as palatable to the old

Settler as were sour dough and salt bacon to the pioneer because it was seasoned with hope. W. F. OLIVER.

Arlington, Washington. July 4, 1903.

SCRAPS FROM A PIONEER'S DIARY

BY O. B. IVERSON

Editor Tidings :- To fulfill a rash promise made during my Christmas visit to Stanwood I send you an account of the discovery of the Stillaguamish by the Norsemen in 1876. I state it this way because I, Columbus-like, lay claim to being a discoverer, being the first of that tribe to navigate the waters of the now so famous Stillaguamish. True there were a few individ- uals from Maine and other places who had some- how stumbled into the country, and some natives who had "growed" there. This, however, does not affect the validity of my claim to discovery any more than the fact of previous discovery affects the validity of the discovery of Christo- pher Columbus, Esq.

August 3, 1876, an expedition under com- mand of Ross P. Shoecraft, United States deputy surveyor, left the capital of Washington in the sloop Albatross, Captain Budlong. A rumor had reached the ear of the government that up north somewhere a large river with the euphonius name of Stolucwahmish discharged its turbid waters into Puget sound, Port Susan bay or Behring sea.

Commander Shoecraft carried instructions from the government to find this river, determine latitude and longitude, note topographic, climatic and hydrographic conditions, and incidentally to survey and mark the boundaries of seventy-two square miles of land. This being a United States scientific expedition it was of course equipped with the usual instruments for such work and with much more than usual talent.

In order to make this history fully intelligible to the reader I take the liberty in the beginning to introduce the personnel of the expedition and sketch in outline their characteristics and special qualifications. Ross P. Shoecraft, C. E., from Boston, United States, America, a scientist of eminent executive ability, held the general com- mand. Professor Washington P. Frazier, of South Bay, Washington, second in command, was a sci- entist of wonderful attainments. He was not only an A. C. but an L. L. D., M. D., D. D., Ph. D. or any other combination you might fancy to put up. I think he could speak any language spoken by men and some others. He said he could under- stand the crows, and I have good evidence to believe that he did. He did understand the natives and I could detect no difference between their speech and that of the crows. In short our professor knew and could do about everything- anything he did not know was something which had long been forgotten-he was the most trans-

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cendent universal genius that could safely be allowed to run at large. James McFadden, a good engineer and a good fellow. The writer was selected because of his innocence, having lately arrived from Dakota and being therefore entirely innocent of knowledge of Pacific coast conditions, hence qualified to give unbiased judgments.

This completes the official part of the expe- dition. There were, however, Tom, Sam, Jim, Bud (they may have had additional names to me unknown), who will be duly noted as the account progresses.

Anchor lifted at nine A. M. and before a very light breeze drifted out of the picturesque harbor of Olympia, About nine P. M. left Olympia harbor and entered Danas passage twelve miles from Olympia having sailed at the comfortable speed of about a mile an hour. We compli- mented the captain on the speed of the vessel. Through Danas passage the tide currents ran about six miles an hour and the light breeze gave barely steerage way, without ruffing the water in the least. It was smooth as glass and the minutest details of the wooded shores were reflected on the glassy surface, To my inexperi- ence it seemed like sailing through space between two worlds, one of them bottom side up. As it grew darker a phenomenon to me altogether new appeared. The phosphorescence in the water curling at the bow and the wake of the boat was luminous, and looking into the depths I could see fish large and small darting in every direction leaving luminous zig- zag streaks like pale streaks of lightning. I pointed out to the company this wonderful phenomenon, and remarked that it seemed to me that we were riding a comet with a fiery head and tail through a thunderstorm. I was told that if I did not get better before we passed Steilacoom (where there is an insane asylum) they would have to land me.

We landed at Johnson's point for supper. This promontory with a sand-spit at its foot was inhabited by Dogfish Johnson, an American by birth, and Kanaka John from sunny Hawaii. Their major and minor responsibilities were enjoying themselves digging and cooking clams, and rolling in the sand. Verily life on Puget sound is idyllic. Here I first made the important discovery that the clam is a sort of sca potato and had to be dug. I asked the professor if the elam was classed as a vegetable, whereupon he remarked that he didn't think it advisable to take me past Steilacoom.

The professor had a tin of alcohol aboard, for scientific purposes of course. Jim, I think, had found it in landing and tapped it and of course divided it among the other unofficials, and before supper there were none but the officers sober enough to cook. The professor understood at once whence this hilarity. He said he didn't care for the alcohol, as he could replenish at Seattle, but he feared it might not agree with

the boys, as he had just poured it off of some tarantulas and centipedes and a gilamonster he had collected in Arizona, explaining that it had not been sufficiently diluted and had dissolved his specimens, for which he was sorry. Well, it did not agree with the boys, nor stay with them, and it took along when it left them about all the boys contained. Afterward the professor told me in confidence that he had bought the alcohol at Manns' drug store just before we left Olympia and that the gilamonster and other reptiles were a myth. He said it was a fine demonstration of the power of imagination,

August 1th, 7 A. M .- Fair and delightfully cool. The cooked provisions used up, we made the discovery that we had no trained cook. Jin, who was relieved of his portion of the gilamon- ster first, seemed the most fit, and was duly installed with ceremony. Jim meant well but he had no experience or cook book. The professor, however, knew everything and gave Jim a lec- ture on slapjacks. He explained that cream tartar, an acid, and soda, an alkali, mixed in flour and water would combine and form carbonic acid gases and puff up the flour like a sponge. After the stuff was sufficiently puffed he was to spoon it into a frypan, heat one side, flap it and heat the other side until donc. With these instructions Jim waded in.

Among the provisions we had some very unique bacon. We could never know by the sense of taste whether it was fish or flesh. It was neither or both. The swine whose remains had furnished the raw material had led a sort of vagabond existence on the sea shore, living chiefly on sea food, hence the fish quality. The flesh quality was probably due to heredity. But there could be no mistaking the fat fried from this bacon. It was fish oil pure and simple. To distinguish it from other fish oils we named it hog-fish oil, thus adding item No. I to the vocabulary.

We were pretty hungry and Jim's first flap- jack looked pretty good. It was more, it was beautiful. A shining golden yellow disk turned out of the pan. But, alas, it was not edible. The professor tried and he said it tasted like whale-oil soap. It was not a slapjack, so we named it soapjack. (Item No. 2.) Poor hungry Bud dolefully remarked that all is not gold that glitters. The originality of this remark was highly applauded. The professor and McFadden made some edible slapjacks and we filled our persons and proceeded on the voyage.

We passed the narrow strait between McNeal and Wallace islands just at sunrise, Across the bay, about five miles distant, extending from the shore up a gentle slope lay Steilacoom, a strug- gling village of white houses among the orchards, with background of a dark purplish green forest of young firs. Back of this fir helt to the Cascade mountains the country was shrouded in a fleecy,

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white mist, pierced by the great ice cone of Mount Rainier. The first rays of the rising sun began to tinge the deep blue into pale amber, illuminating the outlines of the cone, leaving its broad front in partial shadow. It seemed very near, details on its face being plainly visible. Presently the margins turned golden, the shad- ows purple, the golden flood of light rolling down the slope, dissipating the mist, down the sleepy slope of Steilacoom, over the bay, turning the light ripples on the water into all the colors of the prism and all the shades these colors can produce, giving a picture of such sublimity and beauty as few mortals have beheld, and when the professor spoke about getting out his colors he was at onee notified that if he did he would be landed at Steilacoom at once.

August 6th, 4 P. M .- From the middle of Port Susan bay we sighted the spruce covered lowlands near the mouth of the Stillaguamish. Light wind and unfavorable tide delayed us until it was quite dark when we entered, as we thought, the channel of the river. The weather was sultry with occasional flashes of lightning. We soon discovered that the current was against us and it being dead ealm we got out and manned the sweeps to propel the Albatross up the stream. It was so dark that we could not see the low shores, but we could see a large snag nearby and it soon became evident that we were practically stationary. We double-manned the sweeps, still the snag seemed to stay by us. It was now quite dark and losing sight of that speetrous snag, we worked the sweeps with renewed energy. About this time I think it was Sam who noticed a peculiar grating, crackling sound com- ing from the jib stay which was wire. The pro- fessor undertook to account for it from the fact that there was considerable electricity in the atmosphere and that it was playing hocus-pocus in the rigging. * * * * Presently the water left us, and finding our craft fast on a sand bar we took in the sweeps. The electrical disturb- ance also subsided and all being tired we went to sleep.

August 7th, 7 A. M .- On a sand bar in the middle of Davis slough with the mast against the telegraph wire which was strung across the slough. How much energy we used up on this wire in labor and scare will never be known, but the electric phenomenon was accounted for.

As the boat was safely moored for several hours until the return of the tide all the party except Captain Budlong started for Centerville (now Stanwood) across the flats. After jumping or otherwise crossing several channels we were about half way across the flats, when the profes- sor, who was in the rear, called lustily for help. He had disappeared, that is, most of him had. Only his intellectual head appeared in the grass.

He explained that he had fallen into a blind slough and was stuck. We pulled him out, together with a quantity of rich gray loam. Soon we came to the river channel where it forks (leque's point) and after considerable expendi- ture of voice and wind, Bob Freeman, represent- ing the authorities, came across in a boat and offered us the freedom of the city. We accepted and embarked with him and about 9 A. M., August 7, 1876, we took possession of the metropolis on the Stillaguamish. We were not entrusted with the keys of the city, I think because there were no locks.

The problem of transportation we solved ultimately by employing a native with the poetic name of Slit-lip Jim, who owned a number of shovel-nose eanoes and several squaws. We transferred our freight and passengers from the Albatross to a couple of large shovel noses. Pointing their problematical prows up stream, propelled by squaw power, we left the metropolis behind. I said up stream which was not true at that moment, although an hour before it had been. This seemed uncanny but from previous experience I had become wise enough to say nothing about what I thought of this strange river that chose to defy the law of gravity and flow up stream half of the time.

August 7, 1876-Abont dark we came to the big jam about six miles up the river. Here again was something to rivet the attention of the inno- cent from Dakota. The river at this point was about one hundred yards wide, but the water was out of sight. A mass of trees, logs, stumps and brush and all imaginable kinds of drift filled the river from bank to bank for more than half a mile. Immense forest giants three hundred feet long and ten to nineteen feet in diameter with all the limbs and with roots spreading forty feet or more, lying erosswise, lengthwise and at all angles locked and matted together, it seemed that nothing but an earthquake could disturb it. It seemed to be built on the plan of a crow's nest exactly and knowing that it would now be incon- venient to take me to Steilacoom I ventured to ask the professor if he was sure that it was not the work of pre-historic crows. He said he was, but it was unfair to ask such questions after we got beyond civilization. On shore alongside the jam was a narrow trail over which we hauled the canoes and carried the baggage. About dark it commenced to rain and before the portage was made we were thoroughly wet. However, we got up a shelter tent and after the exercise we had making the portage and a not especially rich supper, we went to sleep as tired men with good consciences and digestions only can.

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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 88

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