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 79
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 79
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 79
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 79
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M
the lost treasure. His plan was to cut the overhanging rock loose from the wall and al- low it to drop into the river, thereby forming a solid dam. This dam would hold the water back long enough to allow them to recover the nugget.
Work was immediately begun and thou- sands of men worked long and hard. Great ropes( and levers were prepared and by the time the rock was ready to drop every detail had been completed. The fall of the year when the river was low was selected for the time, and one day the awful crash came. The ground trembled as if an earthquake had come, and the sudden splash caused such a wave of water to run down stream that the work of recovering the nugget was immediately begun. There lay the sacred treasure in plain sight and almost the whole tribe ran into the bed of the stream to examine it. Considerable time was lost by this move, however, and the water above rose higher and higher. In falling the rock was broken in several places and the immense weight of water pressing against it from above forced one of the pieces out of place and the water rushed through with such awful force that nearly the entire tribe perished. The break was not large enough, however, to carry the great sea which had been formed by the dam, and in a few days the cement and sand on the south side of the river began to give way, and when the sea had entirely run out it was found that it had carried with it other por- tions of the dam and the entire south wall of the river, leaving it in about the same shape it is to-day. The white chief was among the number lost and the Indians of this day hold to the belief that he was the devil and only came among them for the purpose of destroy- ing them.
An Indian would as soon start through a forest of fire as to attempt to go through Hell Gate channel, although white men go through every few days. The Indians claim the devil
is still in there and that he reaches up and upsets the canoe of every Indian who tries to pass a certain point in the Gate. It is a fact known to people living near Hell Gate that any number of Indians have been drowned at this point, but this is probably due to fear and mis- management of their boats more than to the cause assigned by the Indians .- Wilbur Register.
ORIGIN OF SPOKANE RIVER.
The legend of the origin of the Spokane river, which has been current among the In- dians for generations, and which is still a nursery classic among them, is told by Mr. E. B. Chase. It relates to an amphibious dragon of colossal proportions which devastated the Spokane country and swallowed indiscrimi- nately all beasts, birds, reptiles and fishes that fell in his way, being particularly addicted to carrying off beautiful maids and plump pa- pooses. He was, apparently, invulnerable to all weapons and all attempts to capture him were futile. At length one day after a most successful raid and a consequent engorgement, . he lay sleeping helplessly down near the pre- sent mouth of the Spokane. Here he was dis- covered by an Indian girl who alarmed her tribe, and they, thinking to take a mean ad- vantage of the besotted condition of the mon- ster, bound him with all the strings, cords, cables and hawsers available, to every root. tree and rock in the neighborhood. They then made a combined assault upon him with fel- onious intent, but only succeeded in giving his dragonship an uneasy sensation, so that he roused himself and walked off dragging trees. rocks, cables, etc., plowing the canyon of the Spokane river and turning lose the present volume of water from its bed as he walked, and finally vanished into the mountains beyond its source, where he has been seen by "reliable" witnesses, but from which he never issued since.
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HISTORY OF A CRIME.
The following history of one of the most sensational shootings in the records of the northwest, which occurred in Douglas county in 1886, was published in the Waterville In- land Empire in June, 1889:
"It may not be generally known that al- most in sight of the grand, new court house that is to serve as a temple of justice in Doug- las county, is a man pursuing his way unmo- lested, who has been indicted by a grand jury of this county and warrants are now in the pro- per officer's hands for his arrest. As this case is only familiar to the older settlers, a brief recital of the circumstances will be of interest at this time. Three years ago this summer it was learned by Officer Jack Hubbard, of Spokane county, that one Campbell Engel, for whom a reward was said to be offered by the authorities in Missouri, for murder, was living on a ranch near the present town of Water- ville. Officer Hubbard obtained a requisition from the Governor of Missouri and with all the necessary papers started for Spokane Falls on, or about, the first of September, ac- companied by one Frank Aiken, to arrest Campbell Engel, or Thomas Payne, as he was known here.
"Arriving in the neighborhood, Officer Hubbard made a halt to examine the situation before attempting the arrest. Being assured the senior Engel was alone, Officer Hubbard and Sheriff Robbins arrested the old gentleman and, securing him in a buggy between them. Hubbard and Aiken started to return to Spo- kane Falls about noon. When some thirty miles from here, and darkness was coming on, Officer Hubbard noticed some one pursuing them on horseback. Suspicious that it was some one who was coming to rescue their prisoner, he asked the old gentleman if he knew who their pursuer was, and was answered in the negative. The pursuer came nearer till it was observed that he was armed. Just
where the 'twenty-seven mile post' stands be- tween the two coulees, Officer Hubbard stop- ped his team to learn who their armed pursuer was. Here was where the awful tragedy occurred.
"The rider on horseback dismounted and opened a deadly fire on the party in the buggy, apparently regardless of who was killed. The first to fall was the aged prisoner, shot through the body, his lifeless body falling across the dashboard. Officer Hubbard began returning the fire, but soon fell mortally wounded. Aiken mounted one of the horses and fled for his life to the nearest settlement and gave an account of the tragedy. A party immediately repaired to the battlefield and found the bodies of Thomas Engel and Officer Hubbard. The usual formalities of a coroner's inquest were held, but to this day no one has been arrested for the terrible crime. Manfred Engel, alias Payne, has been regularly indicted by a grand jury for the killing of his father and Officer Hubbard on or about September 7. 1886. For more than one year warrants have been in the hands of the Sheriff of Douglas county for the arrest of Manfred Engel, alias Payne, and for some reason the arrest has never been attempted.
"Two years ago the daily papers of Spo- kane Falls contained sensational articles re- garding the tragedy and Manfred Engel, the alleged perpetrator. He was described as a dangerous outlaw, equal to the noted Jesse James in bravery and reckless disregard of law. His rendezvous was described as among inaccessible caverns of Grand Coulee, where a single man could protect himself from 300 captors. There was no truth in such stories. The Engel ranch is about eight miles south of Waterville, and is a pleasantly situated farm home. The house is situated on a running branch that comes from the mountains, and is in all respects similar to other pioneer cabins. The family have the reputation of being in- offensive since their residence here, good
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neighbors and industrious. The evidence against Manfred is most entirely circumstantial, the only eye witness being Frank Aiken, Officer Hubbard's assistant. The family now consists of old Mrs. Engel, Manfred and a married sister."
The last act of this, probably the most sen- sational tragedy that had previously occurred in eastern Washington, was enacted at Water- ville in the spring of 1890, when Judge Mount dismissed the case of the State vs. Manfred Payne. There were no witnesses to appear against the prisoner and young Payne was made a free man.
OVER THE COULEE WALL.
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During the hard snow storm of January. 1890, Mr. J. L. Stubblefield, who then resided on a farm west of Wilbur, Lincoln county, had a very exciting experience and accomplished something which has probably never been done before or since, namely, falling over the coulee wall and down a distance of 150 feet. The account of the adventure is thus told in the Wilbur Register shortly after the occurrence :
"Mr. J. L. Stubblefield, of Lincoln, who was reported lost, has turned up; but in a some- what battered condition. He paid us a visit on Sunday and was somewhat amused to read an account of his disappearance in the paper. He states that he was traveling around for four days, the greater part of the time with only one snowshoe, the other having been lost through an accident. It seems that he was walking along the wall of the coulee when, coming to a place where the snow drift overhung the wall, it broke off and fell into the coulee, a dis- tance of 150 feet, carrying him with it. Although considerably bruised he made an ef- fort to extricate himself from the mass of snow, and after several hours' hard work had the satisfaction of once more seeing the blue sky of heaven, but minus one snow shoe, still six miles from home and surrounded by snow
from four to seven feet deep. Such a situation was sufficient to appeal to the stoutest heart, but Stubblefield seems to be endowed with an indomitable will and he at once made an at- tempt to reach home. What he suffered may be conjectured better than described. For four days and three nights he struggled on, never sleeping, eating or seeing any one, but all the time aware of his position and distance from home. To the latter fact his safety is most probably due, for had he been at all uncertain as to his whereabouts he would, in all prob- ability, have despaired of his escape and laid down exhausted, never, probably, to have made another attempt to reach a place of safety."
THE BIG BEND.
BY LOUIE D. TODD.
'Tis a treasure vault of nature,
And the world its riches crave,
For the milk sucked from its bosom Would a nation's famine save.
All the wealth of field and forest, All the wealth of mount and plain
Wait the stroke of blade and hammer To yield up their golden gain.
'Tis a land that's doubly favored By the smiling of the sun,
And the frowning of the heavens
When the cooling rain drops come.
It nestles close beside a river That is plunging to the sea, And dashing 'gainst its mountain barriers, As if striving to be free.
Roll on, oh, river, to the ocean; Tell the world what thou hast seen,
Of the sweep of waving forests. Of the rolling plains of green.
Tell it how you changed your journal, Swerved your course a thousand miles
To spare for men a fertile country Where the God of nature smiles.
No other river to the ocean Will a tale like thine unfold,
Of the wealthi seen in thy travels ; Of the wealth thy borders hold;
For thy thoughts the grandeur bear, And thy breath the sweetness breathes,
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Of the boundless fields and forests, Of the richly laden trees ; While the lowing of the cattle, As they suckle from thy breast, In the falling shades of evening Echoes on from crest to crest.
And there grows within thy roaring All the fairest of the vine;
Luscious fruits in clusters hanging From the north and southern clime. Great fields of wheat in golden splendor, Waving like a mighty sea, Holding safe their precious treasure 'Till the grain shall ripened be. Herds of cattle o'er the prairies Yet unturned by plowman's toil, Feed and fatten for the market Fed from nature's seeded soil.
Where nature works with freest hand, Builds her greatest work of art, Will the feeble life of man There most smoothly play its part. Man is but a part of Nature . .
Straying from her chosen way, Seeking for the barren deserts Where his truant soul can stay. Oh, leave the dreary course you travel, Spurn the rocky path you go, Join again your life with Nature, Where the fragrant flowers grow.
A HISTORIC TREE.
In the yard surrounding the residence of Judge C. H. Neal, at Davenport, grows a tree. Botanists know this tree under the name of "Salix Babylonica." To the unscientific it is known as the weeping willow. This tree which graces a Lincoln county yard has a history and its pedigree is traced back a century.
General J. B. Metcalf, at one time attorney general of Washington, has written an inter- esting story of this tree and its forefathers, which is here reproduced. The story is told by a tree now growing in General Metcalfe's yard at Seattle, the parent of the one at Davenport.
"On the 15th of August, 1769, in the city of Ajaccio, on the island of Corsica, a babe was born whose wondrous career startled and electrified the world, for in after years that
same little being grown to its full ma- turity, changed the map of Europe with his sword as if it were a magician's wand. İt was told to my parents from whom I had it, that when the child, Napoleon Bonaparte, was summoned into this world, his family lived in painful poverty from the time of his birth until his marvelous successes; that he had excelled in mathematics at the school of Brienne, but that his career as a penniless lieutenant with Jacobinical tendencies was often without credit to himself, his family or his country. In 1795 his 'defeat of the section' in their at- tack upon the convention with a 'whiff of grapeshot' first gave him real prominence, but the beginning of his military triumphs was at the siege of Toulon. From this time his star was in the ascent, and when the brilliant and decisive battle of Marengo laid the Ausrtians at his feet, he became necessary to his country.
His dazzling victories made playthings of crowns, footballs of thrones, leveled the barriers of the Alps and modeled the boundaries of Continental Europe at the behest of an im- perious will. But the splendid halo of his military triumphs faded into the gloom of the gigantic drama at Waterloo, and soon the war- ship Northumberland brings this matchless conqueror to our island home, on October 15, 1815. Here the proud heart of the great cap- tive fretted away into death, on the 5th day of May, 1821, and Europe breathed a sigh of relief. Borne to the grave on the shoulders of the men who wore the uniform of the nation he had tried in vain to subdue, he at last rested 'neath the overshadowing branches of the trees, who were my progenitors, and who, I may be permitted to say, stood in the relation of grandparents to the tree which tells this tale.
"Years have marshalled themselves into the past and bring me to that part of my story where I bear closer personal relation to its incidents than heretofore. One day a great ship of war floating a starry ensign which had
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been recognized throughout the world as the emblem of liberty, came into harbor. The dark blue uniforms of her officers told that they were not of the nation which had been the jailor of the captive conqueror. They wan- dered to the spot where the trailing branches of my ancestors had now become famous sen- tinels, and where 'the willows weeping over the grave guarded the ashes of the man for whom Europe had been all too small.' By per- mission these gallant gentlemen carried away to their ship some twigs from the hanging boughs, whereat my ancestors felt much hon- ored. These scions of an already distinguished family protected by the floating folds of that starry flag, came to the great republic, and with patriotic pride they soon found them- selves imbedded in the historic soil of old Vir- ginia, at the home of him who, greater than Napoleon, could refuse a crown. They have heard that when the colonies had so bravely contended for liberty how Washington had written his name upon the very skies, where all the world could read of the renown he had won, not only in statecraft and war, but in the proud eminence of an unsurpassed example of the highest patriotism.
"Of him it had been said that 'he was first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.'
"They listened with intense interest to the thrilling story which began with Braddock's defeat and ended with the surrender of Lord Cornwallis. And now to myself. The honor and glory which had been conferred upon my ancestors I modestly claim is equal to the fame and prestige acquired by the historical trees of any country, and not only justifies the pride I feel in them, but also in bringing my own ex- istence into notice. During the years of sus- taining this honorable position many thousands passed us by as they visited the grave of the great patriot. On one of these occasions a lady and gentleman, separating themselves from the moving throng, came and stood beneath
the overhanging branches, attracted by the lit- tle sign-board at our feet, which bore the super- scription, 'From the Grave of Napoleon Bona- parte.' The kind old gentleman of this beauti- ful domain, passing at this moment, stopped to great them and heard their coloquy. The lady and gentleman told how they had come from the great western ocean. This visibly touched the old man, for he had been one who had gone with white-tented argosies which swept over the plains in forty-nine. He was carried back 'to those days of trial and danger when so many lives had been lost in searching for phantom fortunes. His heart warmed to the fair Cal- ifornia, and he chivalrously brought to her a gorgeous boquet from the conservatory, and turning to her companion asked if he could not also give him a souvenir of their visit. Her companion raised his arm, caught one of the boughs which hung above them and said, 'I would be pleased with this little slip.' Thus you see, by a singular but pleasing and not un- romantic incident I became severed from my parents.
"I was tenderly cared for and brought to California and began my separate existence in that land of flowers, but did not remain there much more than a year. The great beauties of Puget Sound were then attracting attention, and like my parents I made an ocean voyage before I found a permanent home. Great was my pleasure when I knew I was to grow in that commonwealth that bore the name of the Father of His Country, and so I came to reside in the metropolis of the northwest, the now famous city of Seattle. Here I have grown and flourished until my stalwart proportions measure fifteen inches in diameter, and here for twelve long years I have looked out upon the western skies, have watched the storms which have gathered upon the crest of the majestic Olympics, and kept note of the sun as it hid itself in the bosom of the great sea beyond. And yet another honor has come to my dis- tinguished family. A child of mine, and a
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great grandson of the tree that shared Na- poleon's solitude is growing in the county that bears the name of Abraham Lincoln. We are proud, indeed, of having grown upon the soil that Napoleon trod, but no honor is greater than being permitted to grow upon soil hal- lowed by its relation to these two illustrious American statesmen."
SEA SERPENT IN CRAB CREEK.
An old timer of the Crab Creek country in Lincoln county vouched for the following story to the editor of the Odessa Record :
"It was spring time in the early 80's. The snow and rain caused the creek to rise at a rate of twelve inches per hour, so I was compelled to leave my shack for the highlands. In a few days the water went down and I returned to my shack. The usual lot of brush and logs of all sizes after a freshet covered a portion of the place. A good-sized limb resembling a birch tree, laid with the heavy end toward the creek. Being in need of firewood I picked up my axe and sunk it into the tail end of what I thought was a tree. To my surprise and horror it started off like a whirlwind, shaking the earth as it plunged into the stream, causing its banks to overflow as it surged down the creek in its mad rush to escape further damage. About three feet of its tail lay at my feet, which I preserved in alcohol. Eight years afterward I visited the Zoo Garden in Philadelphia and to my surprise found this same snake with its tail cut off on exhibition. It was captured along the coast of Florida in the latter '80s. On my return home I shipped the missing tail, to which the management replied, 'just the fit.' "
LOST IN A BLIZZARD.
There are few old timers of Eastern Wash- ington who have not a personal acquaintance with Frank M. Dallam, the veteran news- paper man, who has published papers in many
of the principal towns of the state east of the Cascade range, and who is at present the editor and publisher of the Palmer Mountain Prospec- tor, at Loomis, in Okanogan county. In the fall of 1882 Mr. Dallam was residing in Ala- meda county, one of the garden spots of Cali- fornia. His interest in eastern Washington was aroused by the descriptions of the country brought to him in his California home by a townsman who had returned from a trip to Cheney, to which point the Northern Pacific rail- road had then just been completed, and where the enthusiastic Californian had arranged to go into business. In company with this cham- pion of Cheney Mr. Dallam started north and arrived safely in Walla Walla. From this point the two gentleman started to drive over- land to Cheney, leaving the former place on New Year's Day, 1883. The experience of these two men in making the trip across Adams county is worth perusing, and is told in the words of Mr. Dallam as follows :
"We left the home of a stockman in the southeastern part of Adams county very early one morning, with the hopes of getting well on the way to Cheney during the day, as the roads were good and no snow on the ground. We had got fairly started when snow com- menced falling so heavily that we could only see a short distance ahead of the horses. Of course we lost the trail, as it was soon obliter- ated, and drove steadily until nearly nightfall without encountering a single sign of habitation. Fortunately just before dark we struck the railroad track. Further travel with the team was out of the question. The horses were tied to the vehicle, well blanketed and well provided with feed, while the belated travelers started out on foot, following the railroad track to discover, if possible, where they were. In a few minutes a train appeared. In response to signal the engineer stopped, and we were taken on board to learn that we were at a point be- tween Sprague and Ritzville, somewhat nearer the latter place."
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A WELL OF GOLD.
People who were living in Davenport in the spring of 1897 will remember the gold ex- citement which seized the citizens on Monday, May 24th, and held them in its grasp for something less than 24 hours. The fever spread rapidly and ran high while it lasted, but subsided with the sunlight of another day. The "find" and the subsequent excitement were reported by the Lincoln County Times:
"The gold was discovered in the form of coarse dust pumped up from the bottom of Dr. Whitney's well by Mrs. Whitney's son, Dot, who was engaged in washing some plates used in photograph work. The boy noticed that a mineral substance resembling gold ad- hered to the smooth surface of the facings used on pictures. The attention of others was called to this and the mineral subjected to a critical examination with the result that it was declared to be gold. This was sometime dur- ing the afternoon of Monday, but it was not until late in the evening that it was noised around that such a discovery had been made. Some people began to gather around the won- derful pump to examine the nuggets reported to stream forth from the spout with the water whenever it was set in motion. Pan after pan of the mineralized water and gravel were washed and examined by the light of a lamp, and each time the naked eye could detect a yel- low sediment which all agreed was the genu- ine article.
"This was something extraordinary and gradually a conviction began to dawn upon some of the more excitable spirits that if they were not actually treading upon gold-paved streets, gold at least formed a subsoil, and at once visions of the yellow metal with all the wealth and splendor that the possession of a store house of it implies began to flit across the minds of those who stood by. It was nearly midnight before Dr. and Mrs. Whitney were permitted to retire, but interest did not abate
with the shutting down of the gold works at the pump. Some of the enterprising specta- tors who had been entertaining dreams of sub- terranean caves walled up with golden treasure, under cover of darkness began to stake out and locate claims wherever fancy led them to think hidden wealth lurked, so that by morning loca- tion notices decorated fences, stumps and stakes for a distance of three miles down the creek. Property holders when they arose in the morning discovered that their premises had been staked off into mining claims while they slumbered.
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