USA > Washington > Lincoln County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 1 > Part 15
USA > Washington > Adams County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 1 > Part 15
USA > Washington > Douglas County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 1 > Part 15
USA > Washington > Franklin County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 1 > Part 15
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since that time some effort has been made to divide the county, buit as yet success has not crowned these efforts.
The birth of Lincoln county dates from De- cember 18, 1883. On that day John Bartol, E. D. Willis and John McGourin, who had been named as commissioners in the act authorizing the organization of Lincoln county, convened at Davenport, the temporary county seat. ' There was present with these gentlemen Attorney S. C. Hyde. Having taken the oath of office the board at once proceeded to business. Commis- sioner Bartol was elected chairman. Arrange- ments were made with Barney Fitzpatrick for the rent of a building, 24x36 feet in size, at $10 per month for the use of the county officers who were named by the commissioners.
The creation of this new county was the signal for the influx of hundreds of settlers. People living at a distance learned of these rich, broad acres awaiting the advent of the husband- man and commenced floating in. Farms were soon under cultivation, villages sprang into existence and the region soon became known as the great wheat belt of the state of Wash- ington.
The month of November, 1884. was accen- tuated by the most exciting event in the his- tory of Lincoln county; the struggle between the towns of Sprague and Davenport for. pos- session of the county records and the county seat. October 10, 1890, six years subsequently, the Lincoln County Times explained the condi- tions of 1884 as follows :
"At the time Lincoln county was formed and Davenport was made the temporary county seat, the upper portion of the county was sparcely populated. A considerable number of people were collected around Davenport, better. known as 'Cottonwood Springs,' Harrington, Mondovi and other points, while Sprague was a growing town of 600 or 700 population. At the general election of 1884 the people were called upon to vote upon the location of the county seat. There were three candidates for
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
the honor, Davenport, Harrington and Sprague. The campaign preceding the election was hot and furious. At that time women were entitled to the ballot. As a matter of course few voters entitled to a vote failed to exercise that privil- ege, while considering the extent of the popula- tion, the figures would indicate that the purity of the ballot was not a feature of the election. The total vote polled was 2,277. Of this num- ber Sprague received 1,256; Davenport, 819; and Harrington, 202. Sprague cast 1,023 votes."
This contest was, indeed, spirited. Preced- ing election day Davenport was hopeful; even jubilant. But the majority vote declared that Sprague was to be the permanent county seat of Lincoln county. Charges of fraud were at once preferred. Sprague on that day cast over one thousand votes. This, it was alleged, were as many, if not more, than the entire roster of the inhabitants of the town. It is a matter of record that this number is nearly twice as many as the town polled before or since that eventful day. Many stories are told of how Sprague "got out" its vote in this election. In the heat of another county seat fight six years later, the editor of the Lincoln County Times tells his version of how the town of Sprague won the contest of 1884:
"By invading the holy sanctity of God's acre, where hallowed ground is bedewed with the tears of broken-hearted mourners and vot- ing the names inscribed upon the marble shafts sacred to the memory of some beloved one. By forcing little innocent children to vote, whose very natures, guided in the paths of probity through the influence of the orisons whispered at the mother's knee, rebelled against the crime. By voting passengers on through trains who had no more interest in Lincoln county than the natives of Alaska, and who, without con- sidering the responsibility of defrauding a peo- ple, looked upon the transaction as a joke."
Concerning the fraudulent voting at the con- test of 1884 the Wilbur Register presents as
dispassionate a view as can be secured. No- vember 20, 1896, it said :
"Had the election laws at that time been as strict as they are now in the state, which was then the Territory of Washington, the perman- ent location would have been made to the satis- faction of all concerned. Then a simple ma- jority was all that was required to locate or re- locate a county seat. Besides all persons of either sex who had arrived at the age of twen- ty-one years could vote for, Territorial officers anywhere in the Territory, and for county offi- cers or county issues anywhere in the county. There was no secret ballot and interested par- ties could prepare the ballot and conduct the elector to the polling place-never leaving him until his ticket was deposited. There was much talk of fraudulent voting, both by residents and non-residents of. the county; and the charge that men who then resided in Sprague inveigled boys and girls scarcely in their 'teens to vote at that election has never been disproven.
"Many indictments were brought for illegal voting, but by some hocus-pocus none of them ever reached trial. The recollection is that they were quashed on the ground that the grand jury was itself illegally convened."
The people of Sprague replied to the resi- dents of Davenport with counter charges. The Sprague Herald thus speaks of the 1884 elec- tion :
"In that election Davenport polled 192 votes on the county seat question, while in 1886, two years later, her entire vote was 79. And yet in the face of these figures she has the audicity to charge fraud upon the people of Sprague."
Mr. David Vinyard states :
"A number of Sprague people were arrested on charges of illegal voting at the 1884 election, and were tried at Cheney, then the county seat of Spokane county, but no convictions resulted. Feeling between the citizens of the two towns was strong during these trials and the shedding of blood was narrowly averted in one or two instances."
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE WHO USED TO DWELL IN THE BIG BEND AND WHO OFTEN VISIT IT AT THIS TIME.
..
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
Following the election the board of can- vassers reported their findings to the board of county commissioners, and at 2:30 o'clock, on the morning of November 13th, the board hay- ing been in continuous session since two o'clock of the day before, the commissioners passed the following order : "Whereas it appearing to the satisfaction of the board that the city of Sprague has received a majority of the votes cast for county seat, it was moved, seconded and carric 1 that this board adjourn to meet at Sprague No- vember 13th, at 2 o'clock p. m., and advise the county auditor to notify the other county offi- cers to remove their offices to that place as soon as convenient."
In accordance with this order the commis- sioners met at Sprague at 2 o'clock on the after- noon of the 14th. There were present in ad- dition to all the commissioners the sheriff, pro- bate judge and treasurer. Attorneys were called in to consult the board relative to procur- ing the records from Davenport. In the mean- time the auditor was instructed to purchase the necessary books and papers to transact the busi- ness of his office and the other county offices. A few days later a building was leased from H. W. Fairweather for court house purposes, at a rental of $35 per month. At this meeting of the 14th the board passed the following order :
"Whereas, It appears from the official count of the votes cast at the late general election made by the board of canvassers, that the city of Sprague has received a majority of all the votes cast at said election for county seat, and there- fore, by virtue of section 9. page 20, laws of Washington, 1883, is the lawful county seat of Lincoln county: therefore the county andi- tor, the county treasurer, sheriff and judge of probate court are hereby ordered to remove their records and offices to the city of Sprague in Lincoln county."
It was not within the power of the commis- sioners to legislate the records to Sprague, how- ever. On the 15th the board took official notice
that the records were forcibly detamed in Dav- enport by passing the following order.
"It is hereby ordered by the board that; Whereas, It has come to the knowledge of the board that the public records of the county have been forcibly taken from the possession of the different officers, who are the legal custodians thereof, and are in danger of being injured or destroyed, and the public business is greatly retarded; There- fore the prosecuting attorney is hereby ordered to take such legal measures as may be necessary to recover to the proper officers the possession of the records of Lincoln county."
Meetings were held every day by the board, at which the best methods of securing the rec- ords were discussed. On the 18th the board decided to call on the Territorial government for aid in securing the records. Accordingly the following telegram was dispatched to the governor :
"W. C. Squires, Governor Washington Territory, Olympia, Washington Territory :
"An armed mob has forcibly taken posses- sion of our county records and refuse to de- liver them to the proper county officers. The sheriff is unable to disperse the mob or re- cover the records. Can you assist our sheriff ? Please answer.
"John Bartol, "W. . 1. Busey, "John McGourin.
"County Commissioners Lincoln county. Washington Territory."
Sheriff John Cody also telegraphed as fol- lows to the governor :
"W. C. Squires, Governor Washington Territory, Olympia, W. T.
"An armed force has seized the records of the county and refuse to deliver the same to the proper county officers. I am unable to get sufficient aid to recover the records or disperse the mob. Can you assist me? Please answer. "John Cody. Sheriff Lincoln county. "W. T. Sprague. November 18, 1884."
6
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
On the other hand the people of Daven- port and the settlers in the upper portion of the county, believing that the election had been car- ried by fraudulent means, dispatched a mes- senger post haste to procure an injunction re- straining the county officials from removing the records from Davenport until an investiga- tion could be made. Meantime the roads lead- ing into Davenport from all directions were lined with men carrying muskets, revolvers, Winchesters and other weapons of warfare. all determined to hold the fort at Davenport. For three long weeks night and day did they guard and garrison the city. A ditch on the hillside in the town, and a ridge marks the place where breastworks were thrown up. They are pointed out to the visitor to this day-memorials of that perilous period. During these weeks of "mili- tary law" the men at their posts were anxiously looking for the promised injunction which, for the time being, would make the records secure. But in vain. The injunction was not secured. Becoming weary of waiting one by one the members of the "army" returned to their homes. Meanwhile Sprague was awaiting her opportunity. Suddenly a force swept down upon Davenport from sixty to one hundred strong and armed to the teeth. No resistance was made. Davenport surrendered the county records. Yet it was not a complete surrender as is shown in a later event in the history of this county. Martin J. Maloney was at the head of the army of deputies who came up from Sprague and removed the county records from Davenport. In describing this memorable event in the history of the county the Lincoln County Times in after years said :
"It was a serious matter at the time, but many is the laugh the old timers have had over it since. Mr. Maloney marshaled his hosts on the brow of the ridge at the head of Harker street. The defenders of the court house had .rifle pits along the slope of the opposite ridge where the court house now stands. The creek was a dead-line, and the blood-curdling an-
nouncement was made that the man with the hardihood to attempt to cross this stream would have his anatomy full of button-holes. Every- body was in deadly earnest. But the Sprague contigent was after the records and they got them without the burning of powder or the spilling of gore. It is only due to the defenders to say that the force came down at an unex- pected moment when none of them were on duty. It is fortunate that the affair ended as it did. Still there was some excitement at- tendant on this raid. When Maloney drove across the creek and his errand became known the inflammable Dick Hutchinson stepped for- ward with a pistol as long as his arm and dared Maloney to shoot it out with him at twenty paces. But Maloney had business to attend to and refused to accommodate the warlike Dick with an exchange of shots. Those were great old days, and while a tinge of feeling may yet linger among a few of the participants, it is too slight to affect the friendships of longer standing."
Among the members of the sheriff's posse which went to Davenport and returned in tri- umph to the county seat were H. A. Langley, C. W. Scabron, Joseph Wormald, J. M. Hen- derson, George Monk, George Rhein, A. Rick- ert, William Calaran, W. O. Montgomery, A. J. Jessup, C. E. Jones, A. Riggs, P. Dencer, C. F. Martin, J. Dunlap, E. D. Coffee, John Kelly, Rosengren, A. Turnbull, L. Patterson, T. Murphy, S. W. George, L. Matthews, Thomas O'Brien, W. Murry, Charles Shields, J. F. Murray, O. Lavin, H. E. Bedford. John O. Griffin, H. S. Hughes, Frank Wall. E. G. Pendleton. Others who took part in this his- tory-making period of the county as deputy sheriffs and guards of county property were Martin J. Maloney, J. C. Burns, J. H. Fried- lander, Lee A. Wilson, James Nelson and C. E. Carrington.
The dramatic story of Sprague's capture of the county records from Davenport is one which the few now living who participated
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
in the historical event never tire of relating. It must be admitted that feeling ran high at this crucial period, and one of the most remarkable features connected with the affair is that it was unaccompanied by bloodshed. To David Vinyard, who since 1880 has been a resident of Sprague, and who was an active participant in the removal of the Lincoln county records, we are indebted for the following account of the complication :
"We left Sprague about 180 strong armed to the teeth with rifles, and revolvers and each one with a commission as deputy sheriff. John Cody was sheriff of the county and, naturally, the leader of the party. The majority of us were horseback, although a number made the trip in carriages. I was, at the time, in the draying business, and drove over my dray wagon for the purpose of carrying back the county records-and you may believe that we were determined to bring them back. It was no summer picnic that we were on. Of course we knew that the people of Davenport and the country in that vicinity had for some time been under arms and were not likely to surrender the records without a fight, but we were out to get them and were prepared for any emer- gency. On our way over we threw up en- trenchments at different places where we could stop and defend ourselves if attacked on our way back. The trip to Davenport was with- out particular incident. Arriving there we dis- covered that entrenchments had been thrown up in various places, but the majority of the defenders we found had retired to their ranches. They had been on guard for three weeks, and many had returned home to look after their places.
"Our party advanced upon the trenches and finding them unoccupied we stationed our- selves behind the breastworks which the Daven- port defenders had erected, and coming to the building which held the county records and which had served as a temporary court house we found two men on guard on the outside.
These we quickly captured. Then we ap- proached the court house. Sheriff Cody rapped on the door and a man of powerful build, with a rifle in his hand, opened the door just wide enough to look out. The next instant the door went down with a crash and the defender was looking into the muzzle of Sheriff Cody's six- shooter. He was quickly disarmed as were, also, three other men, who were on guard in- side the building. While the rest of the posse were on guard in the entrenchments around the court house, about twenty of our men set to work loading the records on to the wagon and in a very short time we were on the back trail for Sprague with the precious records in our charge. On our way back and before we had left Davenport very far behind we met two parties of armed men on their way to Daven- port. They had received word that we were after the records and were coming to the rescue. The parties were too small to show resistence, but with threats that we would never cross Crab creek with the books they hurried on to Davenport for the purpose of raising a force to intercept us before we could reach home. However, we were not molested and landed the documents safely in the new county seat."
According to Territorial Governor Sem- ple's report for 1887 the value of taxable prop- erty in Lincoln county in 1885 was $1.623 .- 495: in 1887, $2,069,085, an increase in two years of $445.590. November 29, 1886, the county commissioners accepted the court house erected at Sprague by Chris P. Nygard, the builder. The cost of this structure was in the neighborhood of $10,000. The Lincoln County Times, in a reminiscent mood, wrote as fol- lows concerning conditions from 1885 to 1800:
"The pioneer settlers enjoyed a few privi- leges, and no luxuries, but they were not har- rassed with debts. Government lands could not be mortgaged and settlers were compelled to pay as they went. They did not have money to pay with, but they traded around so as to balance accounts. So long as this time hon-
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
ored practice prevailed the people were com- paratively happy and contented, and did not much concern themselves about a gold standard or a silver standard, a high or low tariff. There were enthusiastic partisans then as later, but the notion had not yet taken possession of them that their individual prosperity depended upon directing the affairs of the national gov- ernment upon any new plan. This became the dream of later years. How well are the pros- perous years betwen 1885 and 1890 remem- bered! This was the era of money borrowing, when mortgaging farms became a mania. Fic- titious values were placed on property; the speculative spirit was at its height, and there was no limit to credit. This was believed to be a time of prosperity, and no one stopped to think that a day of reckoning must come. But it finally did come and without much warning. Many who had cansidered themselves well off -who had made partial payments on a lot of property, suddenly found their resources for raising money cut off, and their property grad- ually slipping away from them."
December. 29, 1899, the Times continued : "From 1889 to 1893 the state of Wash- ington passed through a feverish and unnatural boom. There was not a city, town or hamlet in the state that did not expect to become a
second Chicago, and in Lincoln county there were several places that had aspirations. Peo- ple were afflicted with a town lot mania. In- flation was the order of the day and the most unheard of values were placed on town prop- erty, with nothing in sight, or even prospective, to justify such figures. Several towns of the county were touched with the spell of this mad- ness, and people talked of $500 a front foot for lots, when butting up against the back doors of the few houses of the prospective city was a limitless expanse of almost unoccupied terri- tory, much of which was open to homestead or. pre-emption, with a government price affixed thereto of $2.50 per acre. But those were great days and the man who talked a few hundred a foot front made himself imagine that in a short time the same lots would reach the thou- sands.
According to the United States census of 1890 the population of Lincoln county was 9.312. In 1900 it had jumped to 11,969, and in 1903 to 18.571. This is an increase of 55.1 per cent. in three years, the eighth largest in- crease of any county in the state in point of numbers. The 1903 census is estimated from school statistics taken from the school reports of the several county superintendents.
CHAPTER II.
CURRENT EVENTS __ 1887 TO 1896.
Rather too sanguine hopes were awakened in the minds of Davenport residents in Jan- uary, 1887, by unfounded railroad enthusiasm. The moving spring of this unwarranted ex- citement was the survey of the "Sprague & Big Bend Railroad" from the town of Sprague to "Wild Goose Bill's," a distance of
forty-two miles. It was the claim of the engi- neer at that time that this road could be built for $7,000 a mile. It was, also, the recom- mendation of Major Sears that a branch road be built to tap the Mondovi, Fairview & Dav- enport countries, leaving the main line at Minnie Falls Mills, on Crab creek. This line
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
he estimated could be constructed for $4,000 per mile. But nothing eventuated from either of these schemes and gradually the well-ad- vertised details of the enterprise faded from memory.
October 3, 1887, a number of towns in Lincoln county were placed in telephonic com- munication with Spokane. W. S. Norman, a well-known telephone expert and manager, of the latter city, purchased from the United States government the telegraph line between Fort Spokane and the "Falls," which he at once transformed into a telephone line. Offices were established at Deep Creek, Mondovi.
Davenport, Egypt Postoffice, and at the Post, which was the terminus of the line. This was known as the Spokane, Big Bend & Fort Spo- kane Telephone Company. It was of incalcu- lable benefit to towns within the system, and the enterprise displayed by Mr. Norman was duly appreciated.
The year 1887 was one punctuated with railroad projects. In December Northern Pa- cific surveyors invaded Lincoln county and ran lines for a contemplated railroad. They were under the direction of H. S. Hudson, chief civil engineer of the Northern Pacific Rail- road Company, and Major J. I. Jamison.
April 27, 1888, word was received that the contract for grading the first sixty miles of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Rail- road from Spokane Falls westward into the Big Bend country, had been let to the firm of Burns & Chapman, the prominent contractors. The closing of this contract was the occasion of mutual congratulations among Davenport citizens. Spokane Falls had been asked to subscribe for $175,000 worth of stock. This had been done, the entire amount being raised within four days from the time of opening the stock books. One of the provisions of this subscription was that forty miles of the road should be equipped in time to transport the season's crop.
May 17, 1888, the following correspond-
ence from Cheney, Spokane county, appeared in the Portland Oregonian :
"The presence of Engineer Jamison, of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, in this place, and the fact that he has been quietly purchasing rights of way for the much talked of railroad from Cheney to Medical Lake and thence to the Big Bend country, has again ex- cited the hopes of the people to a high pitch, although they have been unable to learn any- thing official about the future. That which apparently gives point to the action of Mr. Jamison in the eyes of the people here is that he should appear promptly after work had been actually begun on the Spokane end of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern railway, and the definite location of its line, a distance of forty miles in the direction of the Big Bend country. Appearances indicate that either a big game of bluff is being played by some- body, or there is going to be some lively work done by these rival roads, and that, too, in the near future, while, as has been already stated, there are some circumstances which the peo- ple here think are full of suggestion."
About this time Paul F. Mohr, chief engi- neer of the Seattle. Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad, said in an interview :
"Work on the line is progressing fairly well. The contract has been let to Ryan & Mc- Donald, of New York, and Smith & Burns, of Baltimore, to build the entire uncompleted portion of the line from Squak, forty-two miles east of Seattle, to Davenport, in Lin- coln county, which is the terminus of the fifty- mile portion now under construction westward from Spokane Falls. The distance is 240 miles, and this part of the road must be fin- ished within two years. Chapman & Burns are building that portion of the line westward from Spokane Falls to Davenport, and will finish it about September Ist."
Mr. Mohr gave the following as the course of the road east of the Cascades :
"It will pass at. or near, Ellensburg, but,
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HISTORY OF THE BIG BEND COUNTRY.
possibly, not through it. From Snoqualmie Pass to Ellensburg, the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern will parallel the Northern Pacific. Thence it will run southeastwardly to near Priest Rapids. the head of navigation on the Columbia River, thence northeasterly to Dav- enport ; thence easterly to Spokane Falls."
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