USA > Washington > Douglas County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 69
USA > Washington > Adams County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 69
USA > Washington > Franklin County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 69
USA > Washington > Lincoln County > An illustrated history of the Big Bend country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams, and Franklin counties, state of Washington, pt 2 > Part 69
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you will accomplish something. The follow- ing is the agreement :
To WHOMSOEVER IT MAY CONCERN GREET- ING:
"Be it known-That we, the undersigned, property owners of Pasco, Franklin county, Washington, and vicinity, for the purpose of taking the initiatory steps toward inducing cap- italists to aid us in establishing a system of irri- gation for our lands, and to give them a start- ing basis upon which to figure the per cent. they might realize upon the investment neces- sary to render us such aid, do hereby mutually agree, to and with each other, that we will give the one-half part of all our lands and lots (ex- clusive of buildings), that can be watered by the system to be established, and that we will execute contracts binding ourselves to convey by good and sufficient deeds such one-half part, to any responsible business man, firm or com- pany, as soon as water is ready to be delivered in sufficient quantity for proper irrigation of the lands.
"Witness our hands this 3d day of July, 1899. R. Olney, F. Kurtzman, J. E. Van Gor- don, James McIntyre, D. D. Sylvester, John Toles, G. M. Coleman."
The foregoing is but illustrative of the earnestness of the people of Franklin county in pushing the matter of irrigation. The re- sults of this move were not all that could be desired. Capital remained shy. The question of reclaiming arid lands was then pending in congress, and this fact, also tended to keep the question in abeyance. That the county of Franklin will be made to "blossom as the rose" through the medium of government aid is a matter which at present admits of no con- tradiction.
Friday night, July 21, 1899, an attempt was made by a burly tramp to murder Mrs. Schuneman and her son, Louis. The Schune- man farm is situated on the Columbia river, two miles west of Pasco. Mr. Schuneman, the
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owner, was away at the time looking after some mining interests in another portion of the state. The would-be assassin, who met his death at the hands of Louis, in defense of his mother, made his appearance at the ranch early in the evening, and asked for something to eat. Mrs. Schuneman, a kind-hearted, benev- olent lady, gave the tramp his supper, after which he went away. The family, with the exception of a boy named Henry Sylvester, 15 years of age, retired for the night. The latter returned later and left his horse tied near the house.
About one o'clock the next morning Mrs. Schuneman was awakened by some one enter- ing the house. She arose and demanded an explanation. Instead of answering the tramp seized her by the throat with one hand, while with the other he attempted to disembowel her with a mowing blade which he had picked up outside the house. The lady freed herself from the villain's grasp and shouted for help. Louis, awakened by her cries, seized his rifle and at once ran to her aid. Then began a fight for life in the dark. It was some time before Louis dared fire at the intruder through fear of shooting his mother. The sudden appear- ance of the son caused the fellow to loosen his hold on Mrs. Schuneman, and as she broke away from him the rifle cracked sharply. The tramp fell, but was instantly on his feet again and, making a wild plunge at young Schune- man, met his death at the second shot from the rifle.
When the trouble occurred Henry Sylves- ter ran for his horse with the intention of rid- ing for the sheriff. But he discovered that the tramp had cut the halter and freed the horse ' Then the plucky boy ran all the way to Pasco, notified the sheriff and fainted from exhaus- tion. Sheriff Davis left for the scene of the tragedy immediately. On his arrival he found the tramp on the floor, dead, with a 44 bullet through his body and one through his head. The coroner was notified and an inquest held
the same morning. The jury completely ex- onerated young Schuneman, and complimented him on his bravery and presence of mind. Louis Schuneman was a young man of about twenty years of age, very industrious, and who had cultivated a magnificent garden, sold the produce in Pasco and accumulated some money. Whether the man, an unknown hobo, was aware of this is unknown, but it was plain- ly evident that he intended to kill mother and son and rob the house. He was a big fellow, measuring six feet six inches, red haired and about 35 years of age. Nothing was found in his clothes aside from two cucumbers and some peas which he had stolen from the garden.
During the month of January, 1900, the city council of Pasco passed an ordinance granting to the Inland Telephone & Telegraph Company the right to erect, maintain and op- erate within the limits of the city, with the usual restrictions. This measure was passed during the incumbency of Mayor Hathaway.
Sunday morning, January 21st, Mrs. Hath- away, while searching for Indian arrow heads along the banks of the Snake river, found an archaic alluminum medal, about the size of a silver twenty-five cent piece. On the face of the medal was, in relief, an image of the Virgin Mary, standing erect, with a halo surrounding her head. Two circles of words encompassed the image, the first being near the edge of the piece; the second immediately inside the first circle. The sentence forming the outer circle read: "Oh, Mary, Conceived Without Sin." The inner circle read: "Pray for Us Who Have Recourse to You." The obverse of this peculiar antique bore twelve five-pointed stars completing a circle near the edge of the medal. In the center was a capital M, crossed by a bar, and connected to the bar was a cross. Sus- pended to the arms of the letter M were two hearts, one pierced by a dagger; the other bound with a chain consisting of three links. The date of this medal was, comparatively re- cent, being 1830. It was supposed to have
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been lost by some one of the many Catholic missionaries to the Indians.
But a more gruesome find was that made by several young people on Sunday, February 4th. The party were exploring an island in the Columbia, above the mouth of the Snake river. Here they discovered an ancient In- dian burial place that had been washed out, ex- posing a large number of bones, skeletons skulls and decaying bodies of a past genera- tion of Indians. Some of the bodies had been buried in canoes which were still in a compara- tively sound condition. In one of them was the body of an Indian almost entirely mummi- fied. It was evident that this one had been killed. The skull was crushed in and partly disjointed from the body. From the base of the skull, extending nearly to the knees, the flesh was dried, plainly showing the cords and tendrons of the neck and body. Aside from beaded moccasins and leggins this body, that of a man, was entirely nude. It is sufficient to say that this appalling spectacle chilled the ardor of the most enthusiastic curio hunters. It is the supposition that in this vicinity, many years ago, a fierce battle was fought between two antagonistic tribes.
"The Pasco Athletic Club" was organized in the office of the News-Recorder Wednesday afternoon, February 7, 1900. The chair was occupied by Mayor Hathaway, and the follow- ing officers elected; C. S. O'Brien, president ; Alfred Buchanan, vice-president ; A. S. Hamer, secretary and treasurer ; R. Gerry, A. J. Tut- tle. W. E. Quinlan, J. Heffron and A. J. Jones, directors. There was a list of twenty-five charter members, and the club came into exist- ence under the most favorable auspices. Citi- zens outside of the club contributed $60 to the new organization.
The spring of 1900 was notable in the number of improvements in the line of river navigation. It was a revival of an old indus- try. The Central Navigation & Construction Company purchased the steamer Billings aside
from building another, the Umatilla, in length 165 feet ; 30 foot beam, and with a capacity of 350 tons. The ship carpenters, under Fore- man H. E. Ulen, of Portland, Oregon, utilized 16,000 feet of lumber in the construction of this beautiful packet. The craft was equipped with new machinery directly from the east, and was in every way an A I river boat. There was great transformation on the Billings, also. This was a boat 200 feet in length and of 550 tons capacity. Previous to the construction of the Northern Pacific Company's bridge across the Columbia it was owned by that corpora- tion. The new owners thoroughly overhauled the craft and repainted it inside and out. A new boiler was put in and the old one rele- gated to a river barge. Freight, alone, on the new boiler amounted to $1,100.
Reconstruction of the Northern Pacific Railway Company's bridge across the Colum- bia, was begun in the summer of 1900. At that time new concrete piers were substituted for the old ones, and over 100 men were em- ployed the greater portion of the year follow- ing. Vacant houses in Pasco were rapidly filled and new ones run up as fast as possible.
As the delayed freight train No. 5, was pull- ing out of Connell, Thursday evening, Novem- ber 22d, the forward stake on a flat car broke. This car was loaded with telegraph poles, some of which rolled off and pierced the ground while the train was traveling at a rate of 15 miles an hour. The other ends of the poles shot through a refrigerator car, derailing it. In each end of a refrigerator car there is a space of four or five feet, partitioned off as a re- ceptacle for ice. In one of these narrow spaces eight men were riding. When Engineer Mc- Gilvery and Conductor Bronell gained the wrecked car, they encountered an appalling sight. Two men were pinioned to the inner partition, one dead ; the other dying. Another, severely injured, was wildly raving in his de- lirium. The dying man was pierced through by one of the poles. Twenty minutes before
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death claimed its victim he suffered untold agonies. During this time he besought his com- rades to lead a Christian life. His last words were: "I am dying, and I want to meet you in heaven."
The names of the two dead men were Fred- erick Hanson and Albert Newson. The in- jured man survived, but he was terribly bruised about the head, shoulders and arms. His name was Oliver Armstrong, and he had scarcely emerged from boyhood. It was his first trip away from his home, St. Paul, Minnesota. He was conveyed to the Walla Walla hospital. One of the dead men was a member of the A. O. U. W., and was insured for $2,000. They were both buried in the Pasco cemetery.
In common with many other towns throughout the state of Washington, Pasco, in December, 1900, experienced an epidemic of smallpox, and, as was the case in other towns, it was of an exceedingly mild type. All necessary precautions were taken, however, by the health officers, and several residences were quarantined. This epidemic was the oc- casion of stopping a number of holiday enter- tainments for which elaborate programs had been prepared.
Descriptive of Franklin county, its condi- tion and resources during the year 1900, the following resume, published by the Northern Pacific Railway Company, is concise, candid, and fairly drawn :
"Franklin, lying between Adams county and the Snake river, contains 1,244 square miles, and forms the southern limit of the Big Bend country. The climate is mild and the soil ex- ceedingly fertile, but water is hard to find in some parts of the county. The rainfall and heavy dews afford sufficient moisture for the successful growing of wheat and other grains without irrigation, but in some districts water for domestic and stock purposes is scarce. There are 82 farms in the county in which there are 2,700 acres, which yield on an average from 22 to 27 bushels of wheat to the acre. Land
in this county can be bought at very reasonable figures, and government land can also be taken up under the homestead act. There are 414 cattle with an assessed valuation of $3,540; 44,900 sheep, worth $56,125; 5.784 horses worth $12,003. During the year of 1889 there were 8 birth, 2 deaths, 5 marriages. There are four schools with five teachers and 114 pupils. The Northern Pacific Railway traverses the county from north to south, while a branch of the O. R. & N. runs through a part of the northern portion. The only town of any size in the county is Pasco, the county seat, a divi- sion point of the Northern Pacific railroad.
"During the year 1900, just passed, there have been five marriages, 6 births and 4 deaths. Three of the deaths were caused by railway ac- cidents. When the census was taken last spring the population was 486, but since that time immigration has been pouring in and the popu- lation has steadily increased until it is a third more, and by the time the year is up it will have nearly doubled."
Friday, February 15, 1901, Pasco was vis- ited by Mr. Perrin Whitman, a grand nephew of Dr. Marcus Whitman, who was massacred by the Indians at his mission near Walla Walla, in 1847. Mr. Perrin Whitman was engaged in the hardware business at Traverse, Michigan. He left Pasco to visit the grave of his grand uncle, and, also, Whitman College. Here he joined his wife and child, and together they continued their journey to the Sound. Mr. Whitman, then a young man of thirty, had never visited Washington before. While in Pasco he exhibited the original diary written by Mrs. Narcissa Whitman while on her famous journey west with her, newly wedded husband, Dr. Marcus Whitman. She was the first white woman to cross the Rocky mountains, and wrote this diary 64 years ago. Young Perrin Whitman fell heir to the valuable historical record, and he loaned- it to Whitman College for a term of years.
March 25th, Lee Albert Fisch, a boy nine
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years of age, was struck on the head by a passenger train engine, and instantly killed. This occurred one-half mile from the town of Connell, at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. In company with his 13-year-old sister he was riding down the railway track on a bicycle. The delayed train rounded a curve in their rear and was almost upon them when the chil- dren discovered its approach and jumped for their lives. They got safely into the clear, but in getting the wheels off the track the pedal of the girl's bicycle caught in the rail. Young Fisch attempted to clear it, but the cylinder of the engine struck his head, and the unfortunate lad was thrown about forty feet .. When picked up by the train crew the top of his skull and the entire brain were missing.
The death of Louis Erickson, a pioneer of Franklin county, occurred Friday, August 23d. While engaged in hauling wheat to Page sta- tion the rope and brake pole broke, and he was thrown in front of the wheel which, passing over his body, crushed out his life. Mr. Erick- son was one of the first settlers on Fish Hook Flat, and was highly esteemed by the commun- ity in which he had for many years resided, a respected and influential citizen. The remains were interred in the K. of P. cemetery, Pasco.
In November, 1901, Mrs. C. B. Walton or- ganized in Pasco a Woman of Woodcraft lodge, which was christened Columbia Circle. The officers chosen were : Past Guardian Neighbor, May Rosencrance; Guardian Neighbor, Hen- rietta Lefler; Advisor, Amanda Bradshaw, Banker, Emma Bromley; Clerk, Aurelia M. Pratt; Magician, Hattie M. Cole; Attendant, Ella Fisher ; Inner Sentinel, Wannona Leffler ; Outer Sentinel, John Fisher; Musician, Althea Rosencrance.
Thursday evening, February 20, 1902, Ind- ian Charlie was struck by a train on the Snake river bridge was killed. In company with Poca- hontas, another Indian, and a "tellicum," or friend, he was trying to pull an old buggy across the bridge. Other Indians were below
the bridge swimming their horses across the stream. The moon was shining brightly and the shadows cast by the heavy bridge timbers prevented the engineer of the extra freight train from observing the obstruction in front of him in time to prevent the disaster. Poco- hontas escaped with the loss of his hat and a gallon of whiskey. Charlie was an honest old man, having won the respect of white people as well as the Indians of his tribe, who all quit work for three days to attend the funeral.
In March, 1902, the Fish Hook Flat Sunday School, Presbyterian, was organized with 36 members. Rev. W. O. Forbes presided. Mrs. William Gleason was elected superintendent; Mrs. Shepherd secretary and treasurer. A peti- tion was drawn asking the Presbytery at Walla Walla to organize a church at the Flat, and 15 persons promised to unite should the desired result be obtained.
The suicide of John Campbell, March 17th, occurred on his farm, two miles from Pasco. He fired a pistol bullet into his mouth which passed through and lodged in the back of his head. The remains were interred in the K. of P. cemetery. The cause assigned for this act was despondency produced by long-contin- ued illness. Mr. Campbell had resided in Franklin county for a number of years.
In May, 1902, County School Superin- tendent McBride announced that he was through organizing school districts for the pres- ent fiscal year. The last one was No. 16. In 1900 Franklin county had only four districts. Three were added in 1901 and nine in 1902. It was the advice of Mr. McBride that all the new districts should hold at least one month's term of school previous to the termination of the school year for the purpose of obtaining their proportion of the school funds. This ad- vice was acted upon so far as possible.
May 31, 1902, the Franklin News-Recorder said :
"The pastime of jumping homesteads around Connell is still in vogue. A young man
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last week went to a neighbor's house, in com- pany with two witnesses, and while the family were out in the field, in plain sight, broke open the house, put up his notice and later, filed a contest. The owner of the property immed- iately had him arrested for house-breaking, and now he is awaiting the time when his case can be heard in the superior court, bound over in the sum of two hundred dollars. If the east enders will give the jumpers the Pasco of it, that nuisance will soon be checked. Last year the young teacher of the Pasco school, who by the way, is a one-armed man, took up a home- stead near Lind, joining one taken by a brother- in-law. During the spring term of school the young wife and babe held down the claim, while the teacher 'bached' in a house about a mile from Pasco. Being there, crippled and alone, he looked easy.
"One day while the wife and brother were away from home a rubberneck from Walla Walla jumped one of the claims and hiked out for home. When he arrived in Pasco the thought struck him that it would be a good scheme to go down and offer the teacher $15 or $20 for a relinquishment, and thus save time and expense. He went down and struck the cripple, but the cripple struck back so heartily that the jumper did not come to for several minutes. When he did he was ordered to get out of there, which he immediately proceeded to do. On the day following this episode the jumper's lawyer notified the teacher that the contest was off. The plucky teacher broke his fist, but he saved his home and a $1,500 farm."
Thursday, August 28, 1902, the first car of wheat was shipped from Pasco. It marked a new era in the progress of the town and estab- lished a precedent for future emulation. The Northern Pacific Company, at the solicitation of John Norling and other prominent farmers, put in a large wheat platform. The year prev- ious all the wheat on Fish Hook Flat was shipped from Page station, on the O. R. & N. line.
In August, of the same year, the Northern Pacific yards at Pasco underwent a remodeling. A number of diamond switches and several miles of additional siding were constructed. The old stock yards were removed and replaced by new ones of ample capacity, and in a more convenient locality. August 30th the News- Recorder said :
"While in town this week Superintendent McCabe informed us that the large force of men now engaged in making improvements here will remain until the Pasco yards become of the best, if not the best, of any in the state; that the enormous amount of freight handled is absolutely demanding it, and that the work would be rapidly pushed. During their recent trip west Presidents Mellen and Hill stopped off here. They, too, intimated that it was going to be well with Pasco in the near future."
August 25th Peter Nelson was fatally shot by a gang of thugs in Pasco. The murder was committed with a 38 calibre revolver, the in- testines of the victim being pierced in fifteen places. Nelson was taken to the Walla Walla hospital where he shortly afterward expired. He left a wife and family. Of this foul deed the News-Recordor, of August 30th, 1902, said :
"The crime of murder has been committed in our town, for which two young lives are now in jeopardy with all the chances against them. Both of these young men who comes of respectable parents, and whose ages are 19 and 25 years, respectively, have taken the life of a husband ånd father in cold blood. They were asked for advice and assistance and they gave a death wound. A reward was offered for, the assistance asked, but the sight of money filled the breasts of the young men with a lust for adventure and plunder, and the double crime of murder and robbery was committed before the fog of intoxication had cleared from their clouded brain, and they could realize the enorm- ity of their, crime. One of the boys was raised here; the other in the east. The family of the
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one reared in Pasco moved away, and since that time the boys have frequented the gambling hells, have imbibed freely, and this crime has been the direct fruit of their environments. * This crime is not the only indis- cretion practiced by the young, as well as by some of the older ones in the town. We saw months ago what the drift was, and asked that the state law be enforced prohibiting gambling which was dragging the young people into the deadly net despite the protestations and tears of their mothers, and the law was enforced. This removed the worst evil, and people are begin- ning to think of better things. But the seed that has been sown, and the seed that is being sown will ripen, and the people will see other practical results before the evil tide of a wide- open town is permanently checked. But the people of Pasco are not all bad, and we expect much good to be accomplished in addition to what is already being done."
Oscar Bradshaw is the name of the man who shot Nelson. His companion was William Kellet. Bradshaw was sentenced to be hanged, but he is still in the penitentiary pending an appeal. Kellet was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment.
Following this awful crime it was decided by reputable citizens of Pasco that the "tough element had had their day." Superintendent Gilbert, of the Northern Pacific Railway Com- pany, took the matter up with the Franklin county commissioners. It was decided, as a result of their deliberations, that the railway company pay one-half ; the county one-half, of the salaries of two good men, both to be se- lected by the company, to be placed at Pasco as deputies for the express purpose of ridding the town of hoboes and other undesirable ele-
ments. Results have since proved the wisdom of their action. That Pasco was thoroughly alive to the enormity of the many crimes and misdemeanors with which the town had re- cently been afflicted, is accentuated by the fol- lowing from the News-Recorder of October 18, 1902 :
"The people of Pasco were greatly rejoiced this morning when the news spread that Sheriff Davis had made an important capture of a hold-up for which Mr. Davis deserves consider- able credit. Once before he arrested a thief who had stolen an overcoat and a grip from a coach, and he has him safely locked up. But in the arrest this morning he had to shoot his man before he could take him. It appears that he and two accomplices palmed themselves off as railroad men, and boarding a westbound train, with some box-car passengers, whom they had assisted to get aboard, and after the train had got under headway, proceeded to relieve of their valuables. They secured several dollars. They then returned to Pasco followed by the victims who informed the sheriff. In making the arrest one of them attempted to kill the sheriff, and got a good-sized bullet through his thigh from the sheriff's gun. The other two made their escape, and after disarming the wounded robber and turning him over to a deputy, Davis has gone on a hunt for the others."
Again, October 25th, the News-Record said: "Sheriff Davis arrested two more hold- up men this week and has them safely housed. They had been working here in the railroad yards as switchmen for about a month. He, also, arrested another thief who was caught try- ing to make way with an animal left by some stock men at E. F. Gantenbein's feed yard."
CHAPTER II.
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