USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > An illustrated history of Walla Walla County, state of Washington > Part 6
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lot of naked redskins. The night passed in quiet. Early the next morning a number of Indians, demure and peaceable as can be imag- ined, paddled alongside. Bundles of furs held aloft signified their wish to trade. In great triumph Captain Thorn pointed out to McKay the successful issue of his discipline. "That is the way to treat them," he said: "just show them that you are not afraid and they will behave themselves." The Indians were very respectful and exchanged their furs for what- ever was offered.
Pretty soon another large boat load, well supplied with the choicest peltries, asked per- mission to go aboard. The now good natured and self-satisfied skipper gladly complied. Then another canoe, and a fourth, and a fifth disgorged a perfect horde on board. But some of the more watchful sailors noticed with alarm that contrary to custom, no women left the canoes, and that certain of the fur bundles the savages would not sell at any price, while as to others they were perfectly indifferent. Pret- ty soon it was noticed that, moving as if by ac- cident, the Indians had somehow become massed at all the assailable points of the vessel. Even Captain Thorn was startled when this fact became unmistakable. But putting a bold front upon his sudden fear, he gave the order to up anchor and man the top-mast, preparatory to sailing. He then ordered the Indians to re- turn to their boats. With a scarce perceptible flush darkening their listless faces, they picked up their remaining bundles and started for the ladder. As they went. their cat-like tread scarce audible even in the oppressive stillness their knotted fingers stole into their bundles. Out again like a flash and in them long knives and cruel bludgeons !
In an instant the wild war-yell broke the aw ful silence. And then the peaceful Ton-
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quin's deck saw a slaughter grim and pitiless. Lewis, the clerk, and Mckay were almost instantly dispatched. Then a crowd with fiendish triumph set upon the captain, bent on evening up at once the old score. The brawny frame and iron will of the brave, though foolhardy old salt, made him a dangerous object of attack. And not until a half dozen of his assailants had measured their bleeding lengths on the slippery deck did he succumb. Then he was hacked to pieces with savage glee. Meanwhile four sailors, the only survivors, besides the interpreter, Lamanse, from whom the whole story is told, having gained access to the hold, began firing on the triumphant Indians. And with such effect did they work that the whole throng left the ship in haste and sought the shore. Lamanse, mean- while, was spared, but held in captivity for two years. The next day the four surviving sailors attempted to put to sea in a small boat, but were pursued and probably murdered by the Indians. And then, like a band of buzzards circling around a carcass, the Indian canoes began to cluster around the deserted ship.
The night had been spent in savage mirth, and now in prospect of the rifling of an en- tire ship their joy knew no bounds. All was silent. The hideous tumult of the day before was succeeded by an equally hideous calın. Cautiously at first, then emboldened by the utter lifelessness, in throngs the Indians clamb- ered to the deck. Their instinctive fears of strategem were soon lost in gloating over the disfigured forms of their vanquished foes, and in rifling the store-houses of the ship. Arrayed in gaudy blankets and adorned with multiplied strands of beads, they strutted proudly over the deck. Five hundred men, women and chil- dren now swarmed the ship.
boom, the luckless Tonquin with all its load of living and dead is flung in fragments around the sea. Her powder magazine had imitated Samson among the Phillistines, and she had made one common ruin of herself and her ene- mies in the very scene of their triumph. Dis- membered bodies, fragments of legs and arms, and spattered brains, stained and darkened the peaceful water far and wide. According to Lamanse, as quoted by Franchere, two hundred Indians were thus destroyed. Franchere also says that no one knows who blew up the ship though he thinks it most likely that the four sailors left a slow train on board when they abandoned her. Irving most thrillingly de- scribes Lewis as having been wounded, and remaining on board after the four survivors had gone, for the purpose of enticing the sar- ages on board and then letting off the train so as to destroy himself and them in one final and awful retribution. Bancroft, however, find- ing no warrant for this in the narrative of Franchere, the only known authority, does not hesitate to accuse Irving of fabricating it.
Whatever may have been the details, the general fact, with its horrible results to both whites and natives, rapidly spread abroad. Ere long it began to be whispered with bated breath among the Chinooks around Astoria. Then it reached the ears of the traders there. At first entirely disbelieved. it began to be painfully sure, after the lapse of months, and no Ton- quin in sight, that there must be something in it. The floating fragments of story finally as- sumed an accepted form, though not until the reappearance of Lamanse, two years after the event, was it fully understood.
A more extended narration of that absorb- ingly interesting era of discovery, exploration, and beginning's of trade, would lead us beyond
Suddenly, with an awful crack, crash and . the purpose of this work. We desire rather to
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present a picture of our heroic age sufficiently full to make plain the steps of our subsequent evolution. The glimpses into our earliest his- tory already given indicate to us something of the stages of our progress as a civilized Ameri- can state. Exploration followed discovery ; trade, exploration : settlement, trade. Develop- ment is now treading on the pathway of settle- ment. We have seen before our very eyes in the close of the nineteenth century. this devel- opment assume a new form. The genius of our railroad age has realized the dream of the old navigators, and has created from rails of steel the Strait of Anian. The northwest passage has been found, but it is dry land instead of water. And not alone have we put a north- west passage through our own land, but we have extended our hands into the Pacific ocean for more land. Great already, our territory, by the events of the past few years, has become larger, and our international influence vastly wider. Our nation is entering now, with this new century, upon an epoch of international power which will transcend the previous epoch as much as that transcends the era of our old colonialismn.
In this new age of world development, our good state of Washington seems surely des- tined to bear a conspicuous part. The treasures of the Orient and of tropic islands, the golden sands of Alaska, and the industries of the great states of our own Union, find their ex- change point on Puget sound. Our queen city, Seattle, holds the keys to the golden caskets of Asia and of the north.
In variety and quality of resources, in the thrift and energy of her population, and in the excellence of her system of education and social life, the state of Washington gives promise that she will prove adequate to the vast oppor-
tunities which her situation has placed within hier grasp.
Standing thus on the threshold of a ma- terial development whose possibilities dazzle the imagination, we are in some danger of for- getting the small and feeble advances of the first era of American settlement in this land, we are apt to forget the heroic striving which planted homes here and there in the wilder- ness.
In that epoch of the making of a state the county of Walla Walla bore no inconspicuous part. Containing the first settlement between the Cascades and the Rocky mountains, being the scene of more tragic and stirring events than any other community in this portion of Old Oregon, having for many years the largest population anywhere within the state, and in its later development possessing, in some respects, the highest results of industry and production to be found within the inland empire, Walla Walla county may justly be regarded as one of the foremost counties of the state, both from a historical and a present point of view.
In the early history of Walla Walla county we find much of the pathos and tragedy which have marked the settlement of most pioneer American communities. In its present, with its unfolding industrial activity, we see a part of that great movement which we have already pointed out as marking the present epoch of our state. In its future we plainly read the fulfillment of the promise of growth which will outrun even the most eager imaginations of the present.
We invite therefore to the perusal of this history both the old-timer and the new-timer. The old-timer will traverse again some of the difficult or dangerous or amusing experiences of the past, and by opening his eyes now upon one
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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
scene, now upon another, he will comprehend again something of the distance that he has traversed. The new-timer will learn by the perusal of these pages things unknown to him
before, and by contrasting what he reads with what he sees about' him will more clearly un- derstand what it has taken to make Walla Walla county.
CHAPTER I.
THE OREGON QUESTION.
While it is not within the distinct province of this compilation to enter into a detailed consideration of the early history of the Pa- cific northwest, nor even of that section now in- cluded within the boundaries of the present state of Washington, it is still but consistent that brief resume be given of the more salient points which marked the opening of this now fruitful and opulent section of our national domain to the march of civilization .- an ad- vancement made under conditions and circum- stances which bespeak the restless energy, the fortitude and the inflexible determination of those who constituted the forerunners of the star of empire.
To the "Oregon question" Dr. Barrows re- fers as the "struggle for possession," and cer- tain it is that diplomacy never met a severer test without recourse to arms than was repre- sented in the long drawn out disputations, the ambiguous concessions and the alert watchful- ness which marked the history of that epoch. Fortunate, indeed, was it that the independence of the republic, the genius of the true Amer- ican spirit, were eventually brought into high relief, saving to our national commonwealth the great and valuable territory which was at that time practically a terra incognita.
.As has already been intimated, there has, 3
perhaps, no question ever arisen that so nearly precipitated a war between the United States and Great Britain without the actual conflict of arms. The Oregon question was one that included all points of international diplomacy and negotiations between the United States and Great Britain regarding title to the northwest country, and pertaining particularly to the ter- ritory now included in the state of Washington, for the country north of the Columbia river was what the English crown particularly coveted.
Prior to 1818 the Hudson's Bay Company, a powerful corporation holding charter front the British crown, the same having been granted by Charles Il, in 1670, invaded the Oregon territory, including what are now the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and western Montana. The personnel of the invading force included hunters, traders and trappers, who proceeded to fortify their possessions with commercial and military establishments. While these aggressive move- ments were under way a few persons from the United States found their way into the territory, and their interposition eventually led to the discussion as to the ownership of the country. Our great statesmen of the day naturally had very inadequate conceptions of
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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
the value and importance of the territory in- to do with the western coast, a coast of three volved in the discussion, and this fact was in- mistakably indicated in their expressions.
In the early Hos the National Intelligencer gave utterance to the following statements. which will strike the reader of the present day as ludicrous in the extreme : "Of all the coun- tries upon the face of the earth Oregon is one of the least favored by heaven. It is almost as barren as Sahara, and quite as unhealthy as the Campagna of Italy " Contemplating even the productive wealth of Walla Walla county al me at the present time, it seems ahnost impossible that official and popular judgment could even at that time have been so flagrantly in error. Further, Senator Dayton, of New Jersey, from the depths of his conviction and high order of intelligence, did not hesitate to speak as fol- lows: "God forbid that the time should ever come when a state on the shores of the l'a- eric, with its interests and tendencies of trade il locking toward the Asiatic nations of the cast, shall add its jarring claims to our already distracted and overburdened confederacy." It is beyond peradventure that the continental idea and not as vet pervaded the judicial holly of the national government.
As farther indicating the attitude main- tabel , the leaders of American thought and action at the time, we can not do better than to offer an excerpt from statements made by that gifted and venerated statesman. Daniel Ichver, who said: "What do we want of this 1.St. Worthless area. this region of silvages ah, wild beasts of deserts, of shifting sands Und wind winds of dust, of cactus and prairie dogs: To what we could we ever hope to put these great deserts of thèse great mountain range, impenetrable and covered to their base with eternal sim ? What can we ever h pe
thousand miles, rock-bound, cheerless and un- inviting, and not a harbor on it? What use have we for such a country? Mr. President. I will never vote one cent from the public treas- ury to place the Pacific coast one inch nearer Boston than it is now."
One other opinion, voiced by Senator Ben- ton, in 1825. may be, with undoubted propriety. incorporated at this juncture. What the re- sult of the advice of this asinte man might have been if followed is difficult to conjecture at this end of the century period: "The ridge of the Rocky mountains may be named as a convenient, natural and everlasting boundary. Mong this ridge the western limit of the Re- public should be drawn, and the statute of the tabled god. Terminus, should be erected on its highest peak. never too le thrown down."
The significance of these expressions is un- mistakable, and still we can scarcely wonder that they were uttered and promulgated, when we take into consideration the fact that nearly all information in regard to the country-and that of a most fragmentary and unreliable character-had been received through repre- sentatives of the Hudson's Bay Company or through persons influenced by them, either voluntarily or otherwise. The emissaries of the Hudson's Bay Company had advised'y, and for selfish purposes, locking to the aggrandize- ment of the corporation, represente I the region as a "Miasmatic wilderness. uninhabitable cx- cept by savage beasts and more savage men." This action was taken in order to discourage the settlement of white people in the country. which accomplished they realne! would ulti- mately interfere serious'y with their Inerative fur traffic with the aborigines of the land.
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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
JOINT OCCUPANCY TREATY A PRACTICAL FI- ASCO.
Both Great Britain and the United States being apparently unprepared for definite action. in 1818 a treaty of joint occupation was en- tered into, by the terms and provisions of which "The northwest coast of America west- ward of the Stony mountains shall be open to the subjects of the two contracting powers, not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the high contracting parties may have to any part of said country." This treaty was extended indefinitely in 1827. with the provision that after 1838 either party couldl abrogate it by giving to the other one year's notice. Under this somewhat equivocal treaty the shrewd representatives of the IIud- son's Bay Company resorted to every conceiv- able strategy to prevent immigration from the United States, and they succeeded in effecting their designs to a large extent for a consider- able period of time. However, an increasing knowledge of the value of the country stim- ulated the indomitable frontiersmen to move westward, and, despite the despicable efforts and questionable methods of the Hudson's Bay Company to arrest wagons, break plowshares, freeze out settlers, and by a system of overland forts and seaport surveil- lance prevent every movement that tended to- ward the actual occupancy of the country, a sufficient number of Americans had effected settlement prior to 1844 to force upon the United States the question of title. In the year mentioned Mr. Calhoun, then secretary of state, demanded of the British government a specific statement of its claims to the Oregon territory. This overture elicited from Great Britain a reiteration of a claim already made in 1824, namely: "That the boundary line be-
tween the possessions of the two countries should be the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude to where it intersects the northeast- ern branch of the Columbia river, then down the middle channel of that river to the sea." This claim, if allowed, would have given Great Britain not only British Columbia but also the . greater portion of the state of Washington. Great Britain based its claim upon the explora- tion of the Columbia by Vancouver after Gray had discovered it, and upon the occupancy of the country by the Hudson's Bay Company for traffic in furs.
The United States rested its claim on Cap- tain Gray's discovery of the Columbia river, on the Louisiana purchase, on the explorations of Lewis and Clark, tracing the Columbia from its source to its mouth, on the settlement of Astoria, on the treaty with Spain in 1819 and on the treaty with Mexico in 1828. Mr. Calhoun rejected the claim of Great Britain and proposed the forty-ninth parallel from the Rockies to the sea as the division between the two countries. The Democratic convention of 1844 declared for the annexation of Texas and also "that our title to the Oregon territory was clear and unquestionable, and that no part of the same should be ceded to Great Britain." The shibboleth of the Democratic party during that campaign, relative to the Oregon question, was "fifty-four forty, or fight." An effort was made to abrogate the treaty of 1827, and it seemed for a time that war between Great Britain and the United States was inevitable. The proposal of the British minister, Mr. Pack- enham, to submit the question in dispute to arbitration was respectfully declined, and the ultimate result of the negotiations was the treaty of 1846, whereby the forty-ninth paral- lel originally proposed by Mr. Calhoun was ac- cepted by Great Britain as the boundary
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HISTORY OF WALLA WALLA COUNTY.
between the two countries. By the terms of the treaty provision was made that when the boundary line reached the waters of the Pa- cific coast it should run down the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver island, and thence southerly through the same channel and Fuca straits to the sea. No map or chart being attached to the treaty, according to which the line could be drawn, a vexations controversy arose which came very near involving the two countries in war. The contention related to the location of the middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver island. Great Britain insist- ed that it was in the Rosario straits or chan- nel, while the United States contended that it was in the Canal de Haro. Each party ad- hered to its position through a protracted and vehement correspondence upon the subject. Between these channels was an area of about four hundred square miles, including several prominent islands, comprising land area of about one hundred and seventy square miles. which was the bone of contention on the part of the two nations involved.
After a prolonged debate of the question. each party determined to have its own way; by the treaty of Washington in 1871 it was agreed that Emperor William of Germany. as arbitrator, should decide which of the two claims was most in accord with the treaty of
1846. He decided in favor of our claim, thus giving to the United States an undisputed claim to the island of San Juan and the other islands around it. Although the Hudson's Bay Company took possession of all the coun- try west of the Rocky mountains and on both sides of the Columbia river. yet Great Britain did not assert possession of that part of the country now constituting the state of Oregon. It is evident, however, that if the title was good north, it was equally good south of the river. Furthermore, if the title of the United States was good as to what is now Washing- ton and Oregon, why not equally good for all the territory, including British Columbia. Careful and candid students of the situation have contended that the proposition of Calhoun in 1844 to surrender to Great Britain all the ter- ritory north of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude was made in the interest of slavery. The less there was of this territory. the less would be the number of free states to be admit- ted to the Union. If he had not committed our government to such an unfortunate, and what some have designated as "disgraceful." offer. it is quite probable that British Columbia woukl be to-day an integral part of the United States. a condition that many would consider desirable in view of the growing importance of that section.
CHAPTER II.
THE INCEPTION OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN WASHINGTON.
It is a well authenticated fact that. aside from missionaries, the first American to set- tle north of the Columbia river, or in any of the territory now comprising the state of Wash- ington, was Michael T. Simmons, who emi- grated to Oregon in 1844 and spent the first winter at Fort Vancouver. He is described as a stalwart Kentuckian, of splendid physique, great endurance and resolute mind, possessing all the qualifications of a successful pioneer. His stay at the fort enabled him to understand the disposition of the officials of the Hudson's Bay Company relative to American occupation of the northern country. He was doubtless convinced that it was their purpose to prevent. if possible, American settlement in that region. The desire to exclude American settlement was an evidence of the value of the country. This, with his patriotic spirit, prompted Mr. Simmons to make an investigation and dis- cover all he could about the region and its pros- pects. An attempt to explore the dense wilder- ness between the Columbia river and Puget sound was made by him and a few of his com- panions during the winter. In the summer of 1845 Mr. Simmons made an extensive explora- tion of Puget sound, and was deeply impressed with the commercial value of the country. lle selected a site for his future home at the head of Budd's Inlet, which is the most southern extension, at the falls of the Des Chutes river. In the fall, he and others, seven in all, located on that spot, beginning the history of the per-
manent settlement of Washington by Ameri- cans. It was an heroic attempt, and they were brave men who made it.
They were among savages who gave no special evidence of hospitality, and they were separated from the nearest white settlers by one hundred and fifty miles of dense forests. But few were added to their number during the first year. Within two years a sawmill was built at the falls of the Des Chutes. In 1848 a few immigrants settled along the Cowlitz river. Thomas W. Glasgow explored Puget sound as far north as Whidby island, where he took a claim, being soon joined by several families. But the unfriendly attitude of the Indians necessitated the abandonment of their claims.
Several things retarded the progress of the occupation of this region, among them being its isolation, the discovery of gold in California. and the brutal massacre of Dr. Whitman and others at Waiilatpu. The scattered families spent several years amid great perils, which could not have been endured by people of less bravery. They found the Indians, as a rule, hostile and even threatening their extermina- tion, but they met the insolence of the red men with heroic defiance. . This, with the timely and decisive measures of Governor Lane, and the building of Fort Steilacoom, with the aid of some friendly Indians, saved them during these critical years and made American occu- pation permanent.
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About the year 1850 many who had left for California at the outset of the gold ex- citement returned. Mr. Simmons had been in San Francisco and had brought with him a cargo of merchandise. With this basis he opened a store at Olympia, which was the be- ginning of the first town in Washington. Set- tlements began to extend, and Steilacoom came into existence, and soon Port Townsend. In 1851 a company of resolute pioneers, after much exploration, selected claims on Elliott bay. AAmong these hardy men were some who exerted a potent influence during the formative periods of territory and state, -- Terry, Denny and others.
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