USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington > Part 35
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it on to Washington, D.C. Thinking that it was genuine the officials there accepted the resigna- tion and President Grant appointed another man in Judge Lewis's place. When later it was discovered that a forgery had been com- mitted and that Judge Lewis had not resigned at all, the president did not know what to do. It was at last straightened out by allowing the new man to take Lewis's place in Idaho and transferring him to the First Judicial district of Washington Territory. W. H. Andrews was chosen clerk and N. T. Caton, prosecuting attorney. S. C. Wingard was appointed on May 10, 1875, and held the office for ten years. During his term of office he sentenced twelve men to be hanged, and all of them were exe- cuted, either legally or by the mob. Two of these legal executions took place in Walla Wal- la, the remainder being divided up among the other towns where Judge Wingard held ses- sions of his court. T. J. Anders was prosecut- ing attorney under Judge Wingard and A. Reeves Ayres clerk of the court. T. J. Anders has since distinguished himself as a jurist, hav- ing been on the Supreme bench of the state of Washington for nearly twelve years, and be- ing at the present time chief justice. A. Reeves Ayres hield the position of clerk for ten years, the longest of any incumbent since the organi- zation of the county, and his handwriting as it appears on the records is superb. George T. Thompson, who is still living in Walla Walla, was also prosecuting attorney for several years under Judge Wingard. W. G. Langford was appointed judge and took up his work on De- cember 11, 1885. Judge Langford was the last of the district judges and held his office until November 18, 1889, when Washington became a state and the superior court took the place of the district court. Under Langford
E. K. Hanna was prosecuting attorney and A. N. Marion clerk of the court.
Turning from judges to lawyers, we find among the attorneys of the county many of brilliant minds, distinguished throughout the state and in some instances of national repute. WV. A. George, E. L. Bridges, O. L. Bridges, J G. Sparks, and J. D. Mix, the most noted. The first named, Colonel George, was one of the greatest characters in his way in the states.
Among the attorneys practicing in a little later time before the old territorial court who have since attained distinction the name of Honorable John B. Allen is most conspicuous. For a long time he was district attorney for the territory and upon the admission of the ter- ritory to statehood he was elected as one of the first United States senators. In 1893 he came up for re-election, but the Turner forces caused a dead-lock and no senator was elected at that session. Since that time Mr. Allen has been connected with the firm of Struve, Allen and McMicken in Seattle.
D. J. Crowley, now of the firm of Crowley, Sullivan & Grosscup of Tacoma, began his legal career before the district court in Walla Walla. Mr. Crowley now holds a leading position among the members of the bar of the state of Washington and enjoys a wide prac- tice.
Supreme Judge T. J. Anders has already been mentioned as having made his start in Walla Walla. Judges Kennedy and Wingard are both living in Walla Walla at the present time, enjoying a well earned retirement from active life. Judge Lewis moved to California and has since become quite wealthy.
The first Judge of the Superior court of Walla Walla county was William H. Upton, who held the position from November 18th,
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1889. until January 14th. 1897. The clerks of the court under Judge Upton were E. B. Whitman, H. W. Eagan ( four years ), and Le F. A. Shaw. The prosecuting attorneys under Upton were Wellington Clark, H. S. Blanford. Miles Poindexter, and R. H. Ormsbee. On January 14th, 1897. Judge Thomas H. Brents assumed the duties of judge of the Superior court, and in November last was re-elected to a second term of four years. The clerks of the court under Brents have been J. E. Mullinix and Schuyler AArnold, and the prosecuting at- torneys, F. B. Sharpstein and Oscar Cain.
It will be found of interest to briefly outline here some
IMPORTANT CRIMINAL CASES.
A case that attracted wide spread attention at the time of its trial was the Thomas murder case, which was tried at the April term of the district court in 1880 during Judge Wingard's term of office.
Thomas and his wife, together with S. W. Brumfield and his wife. passed through Walla Walla early in the year 1880. on their way to the upper country. They went up by way of Texas Ferry and had not been gone very long when Thomas and his wife returned alone. saying that they had decided to go back to Kansas, and that Brumfield and his wife had gone on up to the upper country. Nothing was thought of it at the time although Brumfield was known to have had considerable money when he left Walla Walla. Early in April the bodies of Brumfield and his wife were found near Texas Ferry, and suspicion at once rested on Thomas and his wife as the murderers. They were arrested in Kansas and brought to Walla Walla for trial. N. T. Caton and D. J. Crowley defended them and R. F. Stur-
devant and T. J. Anders conducted the case for the prosecution. The case was hotly contested on both sides and the de- fense produced a witness who swore point blank that he had seen Brumfield alive and back in Kansas since the time when he was alleged to have been murdered. The evidence was so overwhelmingly against Thomas and his wife that Judge Wingard called the prosecuting at- torney to him before the witness had finished his testimony and told him to make out a charge of perjury against him, and not to let him get out of the court house. The witness seemed very nervous while testifying and was in con- siderable of a hurry to get out of the court room when he had finished, but the sheriff met him at the door of the court room with a warrant and he was subsequently tried and sen- tenced to five years in the penitentiary for per- jury. Thomas and his wife had demanded · separate trials. In Thomas's case the jury brought in a verdict of murder in the first de- gree and he was sentenced to be hanged on January 4th. 1881. The scaffold was erected in the present court house yard and the public schools were given a holiday to witness the execution. Before the fatal drop Thomas con- fessed the crime and took all the blame of the murder upon himself, exonerating his wife. In view of his confession and assumption of the blame the case against Mrs. Thomas was dismissed. Sheriff James B. Thompson per- formed the execution.
THIE ELFERS MURDER CASE.
The next criminal case resulting in an ex- ecution was that of John Elfers for the murder of Dan Haggarty. Haggarty owned a saloon near Waitsburg. John Elfers, on October 27th, 1883. created a disturbance and got into an al-
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tercation with Haggarty's bar keeper. As he would not be quiet they put him out. He came back a second time in an ugly mood and was again ejected. Nothing more was heard of him for half an hour when without any warning a shot was fired from without and Haggarty fell forward dead. Although no one saw Elfers at the time of the shooting, yet he had been seen looking in at one of the windows just before the shot was fired. He was found in Walla Walla and put under arrest. He was defended by Ormsbee and Hanson, and the prosecution was conducted by George T. Thompson. He was convicted of murder in the first degree and hanged by Sheriff James B. Thompson on January 15th, 1884. Judge Win- gard was the presiding judge. There is some- thing gruesome about these old death warrants with their black border and sable seal when we think of the chill which they caused to pass over the condemned man's soul as he listened to the sheriff read the fatal words: "hanged by the neck until dead," and realized that his last hope was gone. As we look through the court records now we see these gloomy evidences of man's effort to mete our punishment to his fel- low man for wicked deeds, and they stand out as dark birds of ill omen to warn the would be criminal from his dangerous path. The ex- ecntion of Elfers was the last legal execution to take place in Walla Walla county.
THE TRIAL OF MRS. MARY PYLE AND JOHN HURN.
Another case that resulted in a conviction and death sentence was that of Mrs. Mary J. Pyle and J. T. Hurn, her son, for murder and arson1.
Mrs. Pyle and a man named Clink, who was paying court to her at the time, owned two
lodging houses, one the Aurora hotel, on thie corner of Rose and Fourth streets, and the other over near the Sisters' hospital. On the night of March 13th, 1888, both of these lodging houses were burned down under very suspicious circumstances. A number of fires had happened about the same time that were believed to be of incendiary origin, and an in- vestigation was instituted to discover the cause of the burning of the Aurora hotel, since the life of a young man named Harrold had been lost in consequence. It developed that the fire had been purposely set and Mrs. Pyle and her son, John Hurn, were arrested on the charge of murder and arson. Mrs. Pyle stoutly main- tained her innocence but the evidence was too strong and both she and her son were found guilty of murder in the first degree and sen- tenced to be hanged. A strong effort was made to save them by some parties who believed them innocent, but without avail, until Mrs. Pyle got the endorsement of the prosecuting officers by making a confession in which she owned up to entering into a conspiracy to burn the build- ing for the insurance. A stay of execution was subsequently granted and later Governor Sem- ple commuted the sentence of both prisoners to life imprisonment. J. L. Sharpstein and George T. Thompson conducted the case for the de- fense and T. J. Anders for the prosecution. In January of this year ( 1901) Governor Rogers granted Mrs. Pyle a full pardon and she was set at liberty, but died soon after her release.
THE ROYSE MURDER TRIAL.
The trial of Frank Royse for the murder of his grandfather is still fresh in the minds of Walla Walla people. The farm of Benjamin F. Royse, deceased, is about ten miles from
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Walla Walla and situated near Dixie. On the 8th of February, 1900, the house was burned and the old gentleman's body was burned with it. At first it was thought to be an accident that the old man had been caught in the flames, but the coroner's inquest developed the fact that the charred remains bore evidence of having sustained a gun-shot wound. Frank Royse and his grandfather had had some trou- ble about financial matters and Frank had been seen around the house before it was burned. He was arrested on the charge of murder in the first degree. Royse was defended by Grif- fits. Dovell, Ormsbee and Mckinney, and the prosecution was conducted by Oscar Cain. The evidence that Royse had murdered his grand- father when drunk and then to hide the crime had burned down the house was too strong to be successfully opposed, so the defense con- fined themselves to proving insanity, and en- deavoring to at least secure a verdict in a less degree. Evidence was produced to show that James Saylor, a great uncle of the defend- ant, was then in an asylum for the insane in lowa, and that his mania was of a homicidal nature. Expert testimony was also produced as to Royse's mental condition at the time of the killing and subsequent thereto, tending to show that he was afflicted with the homicidal mania hereditary in the family. The jury brought in a verdict of murder in the second degrec, stating that the crime was committed while Royse was in a sufficiently sane condi- tion to know what he was doing, but was with- out premeditation or deliberation. Judge Brents sentenced him to twenty years in the penitentiary. An appeal was taken to the su- preme court of the state, and pending a final decision granted the defendant the privilege of bail, which was set at the sum of ten thousand dollars. Royse was able to secure the required
amount and is now at liberty. His case was argued before the court in February. 1901, but a decision has not yet been handed down.
IMPORTANT CIVIL CASES.
Isaacs vs. Barber. This was a case involy- ing the rights of the prior appropriator of water upon public lands. The action was brought by H. P. Isaacs to restrain George H. Barber from interfering with a dam which had been erected for the purpose of diverting water from Mill creek into a race, or flume, which led to the Isaacs flouring mill. The defendant justified his action under the claim of the right to have the waters flow past his place situated on said creek between the point where the water was diverted and plaintiff's mill. Isaacs in the year 1862 had diverted the waters of Mill creek into his race and used it for the propelling power of his mill. At the time of the diversion the point at which his flume be- gan was on the public domain. Later when a man named Dodge purchased the land over which his flume ran he secured a ninety-nine year lease of the privilege of so conducting the water across the premises. He contended that he had the right to make the diversion by reason of his prior appropriation, and also from having secured the permission of the owners of the land to construct his flume and finally that there had been such open and noto- rious and continuous use as to give title by pre- scription. Barber claimed that the right of prior appropriation did not exist as a part of the law or custom of the locality, and next that the grantor, Dodge, acquired the title prior to the act of congress of July. 1866, under which Isaacs claimed his right by priority of appro- priation.
Isaacs won in the Superior court and it was
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appealed to the Supreme Court of the state, where it was tried in the November term in 1894.
The Supreme court held that the right of · prior appropriation existed prior to the act of 1866, and that congress in that act simply rec- ognized it. It was a part of the laws and cus- toms of the locality when the diversion was inade. To the second proposition of the appel- lant (that the land having passed by absolute grant before the passage of the act of 1866, the title held for such riparian rights as were recognized by the common law of England), the court held that since the tract of land owned by appellant had come to him through a con- veyance from Dodge, who had for more than twenty years acquiesced in the appropriation made by Isaacs at a point upon his land, the appellant could not interfere with the appro- priation. The lower court was upheld in its decision.
THE CASE OF DENNEY VS. PARKER.
This was a case involving the right of at- torneys to compromise a suit without the con- sent of the parties thereto, provided their action is afterward ratified; and also the right of an administrator to compromise a lawsuit involv- ing title to realty, without submitting the mat- ter to the probate court for approval.
Nathaniel B. Denney, administrator of the estate of Timothy P. Denney, deceased, was plaintiff and Hollon Parker, defendant. In the life time of Timothy P. Denney he conveyed the property in question, together with several other tracts to the defendant. Later on an ac- tion was brought by Denney to have it declared that the defendant Parker held these tracts of land in trust for him. The district court of the territory decrecd as the plaintiff had asked
and directed the defendant to make a deed of the property to plaintiff within a certain time. An appeal to the supreme court of the terri- tory was taken and the judgment of the dis- trict court affirmed. An appeal was then taken by Parker to the Supreme court of the United States.
While the cause was still pending in the supreme court of the territory, Timothy P. Denney died, and his wife, Elizabeth Denney, the executrix of his will, was substituted as plaintiff. Before the matter came to a decision in the Supreme court of the United States a compromise was agreed upon whereby one tract of land was to be deeded to Parker and the rest was to be deeded to Denney. The terms of the agreement were complied with and an order made by the Supreme court of the United States dismissing the appeal.
In 1894 Nathaniel B. Denney, as adminis- trator of the estate of Timothy P. Denney, deceased, brought suit to recover title to the property that had been deeded to Parker under the terms of the stipulation above referred to. He claimed, First, That the attorneys who signed the stipulation were not authorized by their clients to do so. Second, that under the statutes an administrator or executor has no right to compromise a suit without authority from the probate court ; and Third, that even if such a compromise could be made in a suit not involving realty, it could not be done when the effect of the compromise is to pass title to real estate.
The superior court of Walla Walla decided in favor of Parker in this instance and an appeal was taken to the supreme court of the state. The supreme court held that attorneys did have a right to make compromises affecting title to realty, provided their clients subsequently rati- fied their actions; and in the case in
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question the clients had so ratified the ac- tions of the attorneys. As to the second proposition the court made a distinction be- tween the compromise of claims by an ad- ministrator which had not yet come into court for settlement, and those which prior to the compromise had become involved in a case in court, holding that in the latter event a com- promise could be effected without reference to the probate court for ratification. The third contention of appellant was met by the court's holding that such power of compromising mat- ters already in litigation was not necessarily limited to cases which did not involve the pass- ing of title to realty.
The decision of the superior court was af- firmed and Parker retained possession of the tract that had been deeded to him in conse- quence of the compromise.
THE CASE OF THE CITY OF WALLA WALLA VS. THE WALLA WALLA WATER COMPANY.
This was a bitterly contested case and at- tracted wide-spread attention on account of its public character and the large interests in- volved.
On March 15, 1887, the City Council of Walla Walla passed an ordinance to secure a supply of water, and granted, under certain re- strictions, to the Water Company, for a period of twenty-five years, "the right to lay, place, and maintain all necessary water mains, pipes, connections and fittings in all the high- ways, streets and alleys of said city, for the pur- pose of furnishing the inhabitants thereof with water." The city also agreed not to erect water works of its own during that period of twenty- five years.
nance was passed "to provide for the construc- tion of a system of water works" for the pur- pose of supplying water to the city and its in- habitants; to authorize the purchase and con- demnation of land for that purpose, and to au- thorize the issuance of bonds to the amount of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars to pro- vide the necessary funds. This proposition was submitted to the freeholders and carried by a sufficient number of votes.
The Water Company made application to the circuit court of the United States for the district of Washington for an injunction against the city to keep it from expending money or selling bonds to erect such a system of water works. The company won its case in the circuit court and the city appealed to the supreme court of the United States.
The supreme court of the United States held that the case depended largely upon the power of the city under its charter. The ordi- nance authorizing the contract, which was passed in pursuance of the charter, stated that the contract could only be declared void by a court of competent jurisdiction, and that until it should be so voided the city could not erect. maintain or become interested in any water works except the one established by the com- pany, while the ordinance of June 20, 1893. pro- vided for the immediate construction of a sys- tem of water works by the city. Upon the face of the two ordinances there was a plain conflict, -the latter clearly impaired the obligation of the former. The court therefore held that the original contract of the city should hold and that the city had no right to construct water works of its own until the twenty-five years were up. The decision of the circuit court was upheld.
After this contract had been in force for This decision made it necessary for the about six years and on June 20, 1893, an ordi- city to adopt other tactics in regard to the
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Water Company. The only thing left for the city to do was to buy out the interests of the Water Company under a provision of the con- tract, and in 1899 a proposition was presented to the voters to bond the city for a sufficient amount to buy out the Water Company and put the control of the water system in the hands of the city. The proposition was carried and the
city now owns its own system of water works.
There have been many cases involving greater amounts than those we have mentioned, but we believe that we have given a summary of the most important cases from a legal point of view; cases which involved far-reaching legal principles.
CHAPTER XXIII.
WALLA WALLA IN THE OLDEN TIMES.
Early history in Walla Walla county is rich in materials for the story teller. It abounds in incidents, striking, humorous, tragic, and in characters ranging from the religious fa- natic to the missionary hero, from the wander- ing vagabond and highwayman to the upholder of honor and law who might well fill the hero's place in any romantic novel. Many eyewit- nesses of those stirring times are still living, and it is from the lips of such men that the material for this chapter has been collected.
The earliest history of Walla Walla coun- ty, as of the whole northwest, centers about the names of the old explorers, fur traders and mis- sionaries. Of their lives and achievements we have already spoken at length in previous pages. But of one notorious character in our early tragic annals, we find an interesting rem- iniscence, worthy of preservation here, given us by the kindness of Mr. John Seck, of Walla Walla. This pertains to the infamous Delaware half-breed, Joe Lewis, who was the chief in- stigator in the Whitman massacre. It appears
that this wretch had a place at one time on board a man-of-war, and for some reason had been put in irons. Having managed to escape, he landed, after many wanderings, in Califor- nia, whence he came and made his home among the Indians of Walla Walla. Ile acquired an extraordinary influence over these Indians, and was the direct agent in the Whitman mas- sacre, apparently impelled thereto by no other motive than pure villainy. After the massacre, Lewis told the Indians that he had been at Salt Lake City, and that the Mormons had promised to come and drive the whites from the Oregon territory. He said that he would go and bring the Mormons on this mission, if he were provided with the necessary number of horses. Accordingly the Indians gave him three hundred ponies. With three of four men to aid, he set ont for Utalı. While camping at Ameri- can falls, on Snake river, in Idaho, he shot every one of his companions and alone made his way to Salt Lake City, where he sold the ponies. Such is the story of the doings of Joe Lewis,
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as gathered by Mr. Seek from one McDofa, had started for you, and that was to literally who had come to this country in 1834. in the fly." employ of the Hudson's Bay Company.
No period in the early history of Walla Walla is more thrilling in character and inci- dent than the time when the Vigilantes were in their glory. Like every other city of the northwest in those days, Walla Walla had its quota of gamblers, thieves and general toughs. The courts soon became powerless to cope with the evil doers. There were regular gangs of cattle thieves organized, who would operate much in this manner: Some one of the gang would start a bunch of cattle away to a certain point, where another lay in wait, who would drive them on to still another relay, and so they would keep them in motion until they were clear out of the country. It became al- most impossible to run down the thieves, and when caught, there were so many of their own number to witness in their favor that it was next to impossible to secure conviction. In 1864 and 1865 the Vigilantes organized, and then came a reign of terror to the evil doer. It suddenly seemed as though nature had granted trees a new and startling fruit, for it became a very common thing to see dead men's bodies dangling from limbs. In one month during the busy season thirty-two men were reported as having been mysteriously hanged. The common expression as men met on the streets on a morning was, "Well, whom have we for breakfast this morning?" And it was a very rare thing when some unfortu- nate's name was not served up for discussion as having suffered the vengeance of the dread society. There was no escaping its clutches when once it set its seal upon a man. As one old-timer expresses it, "There was only one way to get out of their hands, when once they
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