USA > Washington > History of Washington the evergreen state : from early dawn to daylight with portraits and biographies Vol. II > Part 21
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" The preacher announced the text of his sermon from Genesis 1 : 28, ' Replenish the earth and subdue it,' and occupied about fifteen minutes in an eloquent discourse, when he closed abrupt- ly and announced to the large audience that a gentleman from the Pacific coast was present, who would address them on the subject which he had introduced.
" It is needless to say that I was about paralyzed. I gath- ered myself together as well as I could, my knees shaking, and the audience assuming an indefinite haze before my eyes. I was angry, too. Probably that fact saved me, and I talked over an hour ; but I knew from the crowd that gathered around me at . the close of the meeting that I had awakened enthusiasm in cul- tivated, classic Boston in favor of my undertaking. At this point I considered the enterprise successfully launched.
" Leaving Boston, I took a letter from Governor Andrew to President Johnson, spending many weeks in Washington for the purpose of procuring Government aid in transportation. Presi- dent Johnson was involved in bitter quarrels with Congress and his Cabinet, and I had little success in gaining his attention.
" I visited and talked with all the Cabinet officers, and im- pressed the majority of them favorably. I found, however, my
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best friend in the person of General Grant. He had been sta- tioned in the Puget Sound country in early days, and was thor- oughly familiar with the conditions that existed there. He promised to aid me in every way possible, personally and offi- cially. I stopped around his headquarters a good deal, and one day the General said to me : 'I have been invited to a Cabinet meeting, and I will bring up your matter for action. You wait here till I come back.'
" In less than an hour Grant came back and said in his brief way : ' I have fixed it.' Then he ordered Captain Bowers, his secretary, to draw up an order on the Quartermaster-General for a steamship, coaled and manned, having sufficient accommoda- tions for the transportation of five hundred women from New York to Seattle, to be in my charge. I waited there till the order was drawn up and signed, and then started for New Eng- land.
" My real work now began. I travelled through Massachu- setts to make my mission known and recruit my shipload of five hundred girls.
" After two months I was assured of my cargo, and went to Washington to get the promised transportation. I took Grant's order to the Quartermaster-General. Here I encountered a set- back. Meigs was very busy settling up war business, and was involved in the pending quarrel between the President and Sec- retary of War. He scrutinized my requisition and refused to honor it.
"I then went to Secretary Stanton, accompanied by Senator Williams, of Oregon. The great War Secretary was in a bel- ligerent humor. His quarters were crowded, and, as we entered, he was storming at a fearful rate about a swindling contractor who was there with a dead-horse claim. He ordered the fellow from his office and immediately took up our matter. He favored the scheme, but decided that he could not overrule the Quarter- master-General. He proposed, however, to aid me by having one of the war steamers appraised and condemned for sale, that it might be purchased for a reasonable sum. The steamer Con- tinental was selected, and a valuation of $120,000 placed upon her. This price was considered a 'snap,' and many were eager to make the purchase, among them Ben Holliday, who at that time controlled the steamship lines to the Pacific coast.
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"' Let me purchase the steamer,' said Ben to me, 'and I will give your five hundred women free passage to the coast.'
" This was finally agreed upon, and the contract signed. On the strength of this contract I issued tickets of transportation to my passengers and arranged for them to arrive in New York to take passage in the latter part of October, 1865.
" The newspapers were at this time full of the enterprise. It was a surprise to me, however, when three of the leading city papers came out one morning with long articles denouncing the whole business. These articles were based upon stories which came from San Francisco. They slandered the character of the settlers of Puget Sound, claimed that the women were to be en- trapped for immoral purposes, and in every way possible endeav- ored to excite people against the expedition. The effect of these influential utterances may be imagined. The next morning I received forty or fifty letters from women who had agreed to join my party, withdrawing from it. In dismay I went to Holli- day to plead for more time. It was evident he had inspired the antagonistic articles. In fact, he refused to take my party at all unless the full number of five hundred took passage. He pointed to the agreement to this effect, which had been so drawn by his attorney.
" I went to William Cullen Bryant, of the New York Even- ing Post, and showed him my letters and credentials and ex- plained the situation. Mr. Bryant nobly came to my rescue, printed these letters in his paper, and added his own earnest commendation of my plans. This was a good lift. One day about this time also old Peter Cooper quietly strolled into my office. The old gentleman looked around and said :
"' My young friend, I want to see you succeed, and I have come down to tell you so. If I can help you, you may com- mand me.'
" He added many other expressions of friendly interest, and before the steamer left sent me a fine collection of books to be added to the ship's library for our long voyage.
" Finally three hundred of the girls were gathered in New York ready to make the trip. The Continental was coaled and manned and in waiting, yet Holliday refused to take my party except at the rate of $100 each. This amount I guaranteed and paid.
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" On the morning of January 4th, 1866, the girls embarked, and amid the cheers of a large crowd assembled on the wharf the steamer started on its long journey. The voyage lasted nearly six months, and was marked by no misfortunes or excit- ing incidents. Except the crew of thirty or forty, there were only two men passengers. The girls took to the life agreeably as a vacation time, and occupied the hours by sewing, writing, reading, singing, etc. We had Sunday services, in which I read Beecher's sermons, and the girls sang the hymns. There was a good library on the ship, which was in constant use. Dances were frequent, and various games served to vary the monotony of those long days upon the ocean. No sickness occurred ex- cept sea-sickness.
" At last the supreme moment arrived when we were to reach San Francisco. On May 23d, 1866, we steamed through the Golden Gate. Our arrival had been expected for several days. Excitement was at fever heat. It was one of those times when San Francisco gets a move on herself. As we sailed up along the wharves a black, surging mass crowded every avenue of ap- proach for three or four miles. Even at a distance we could hear the mighty cheers that swept across the water. We came to anchorage, but the anchor had not touched the bottom before the sea was alive with hundreds of boats pushing out to us. The air was lively with songs, shouts, and merry interchange of talk. There was quite a rivalry among the boats to get along- side for a glimpse of my precious cargo. None, however, were allowed to get aboard. One man attempted to make it by climb- ing up the ship's side on a rope, but I stood by the railing and knocked him off into the water. This action, noted by thou -. sands of spectators, was greeted with cheers. After a brief struggle the fellow was rescued, but the incident was made the subject of a sketch by Jump, a well-known artist of that day. The scene, as depicted by his pencil, was displayed at the Lick House the next day, attracting immense crowds.
" When I went ashore that night things were looking pretty dark for me. Holliday had refused to take the women any fur- ther. All my available means were exhausted, and I had noth- ing left but youth and grit to carry on the expedition. I wan- dered around awhile thinking over the situation, and finally went to a hotel on Jackson Street, and said to the proprietor,
ce
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Mr. Wygant : 'I have three hundred women on my hands, with nothing for them to eat and no place for them to sleep, and I have no money to pay for it. What shall I do ?'
"'Bring them right up to my house,' said Mr. Wygant, without a moment's hesitation, 'and I will take care of them.' His heart was built on the California plan, and he supplemented his generous offer by sending omnibuses to convey the girls to the hotel.
" But besides the financial difficulties which now confronted me a new trouble arose. Evil-minded gossips were at work spread- ing scandalous reports of the character of the women and the object of my mission. Some of these reports appeared in the morning papers, which were circulated on the steamer, and caused much distress among the young women. On going back to the boat I found most of them in tears, and others were ready to abandon the trip. I called them together, and said :
"' Although I have brought you here at a large pecuniary loss to myself, I claim no further control over your actions. You are in a free country. You are intelligent and moral young women. You will find good friends and honorable employment anywhere on this coast. Those who choose to leave me here can do so ; but I promised to take you to Puget Sound, and I pro- pose to carry out my contract to the letter if I am permitted to. I have made arrangements for you at a hotel, and will soon pro- vide you with transportation to Seattle. If any of you wish to leave now, all you have to do is to say so.'
" This cleared the atmosphere, and the girls all resolved to go on. I found acquaintances, raised what funds were needed, and arranged for the transportation of my party by sailing ves- sels from San Francisco to the Sound.
"I went ahead overland to Seattle to make ready for their accommodation when they should arrive. At Olympia I caught the first boat coming up with my passengers. I took this boat and went on with them, against the advice of some of my old friends, who said the people of Seattle had been prejudiced against me and my cargo by evil reports. They predicted not only trouble, but personal violence. As we neared Seattle an old minister advised me to hide on the boat instead of going ashore. I told him I would take my chances.
" As we entered the harbor I went on deck and saw an im-
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mense concourse of people on the wharf. A nearer view showed my brother and many personal friends in the crowd, and when the boat struck the wharf I swung my hat with something of a triumphant air. In response everybody swung their hats and broke into cheers. It was an ovation to be proud of. That afternoon another boat arrived with forty more of my girls. These arrivals were heralded abroad and sent a thrill of joy through the big manly hearts of the Puget Sounders.
" It was necessary that prompt action should be taken. I had handbills struck off calling a public meeting in the town's biggest hall. Everybody was invited, and everybody came. The girls occupied the platform, and looked their sweetest, and they were really attractive. The sea voyage had given them bloom and plumpness. The sturdy pioneers assembled that evening looked upon them with unconcealed admiration and perfect respect. In addressing the audience I said :
'' My contract has been fulfilled. I have bankrupted my- self, but I have brought you virtuous, refined, and practical young women. They will gladden your lives, make beautiful homes, and assist in the development of this great Northwest coast. They are ready and willing to take any honorable em- ployment as teachers, housekeepers, seamstresses, cooks, clerks. Meanwhile, arrangements must be made for them. What will you do ? '
" An old preacher started in by saying he would take six. Others followed with offers, which resulted in the cargo being divided up in squads and located in different quarters of the town. Soon they were all provided with permanent places, and good fortune smiled upon them. In a few weeks Cupid's arrows began to make havoc in their ranks. Men found out that it was not good for them to be alone. Many of the girls would come and ask me about certain persons who had begun to show them attentions. In six months nearly all had got married and were happily settled in life. In those days every industrious man made good wages. Money was plentiful. The earth yielded abundant harvests. Forests, rivers, and mountains contributed their splendid resources to the general prosperity. While shadows have fallen across the pathway of all human lives, the Mercer girls have had their share of sunshine. Their lines have been cast in pleasant places, and they have truly gained a
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goodly heritage with generations rising up to call them bless- ed."
The muse of history is seldom seen to smile ; her mission is far too serious for levity. Like some broad river moving on with deep and solemn flow to its appointed bourne, she marches with rounded periods bearing argosies of fact; yet there are times, infrequent, it is true, when mirth becomes a relief and seems admissible, just as some little tributary rill leaps laughing into its grander channel, giving a momentary sparkle to the gloomier waters into which it so suddenly subsides. We will, therefore, venture to add the following, where the advent just narrated of Mercer's fair freightage of marriageable females en- deavors to reproduce itself, but fails to materialize.
It is not yet five years since an incident occurred most amusing to the good citizens of Puget Sound, but dreadfully annoying to the Mayor of Tacoma, a gentleman named Wheel- wright. Some wicked wag amused himself by publishing in the Eastern papers an appeal, purporting to come from his honor, which set forth in moving terms the womanless condition of Washington, the lack of material for wives, and the consequent enforced celibacy of its numerous bachelors, ending with an ap- peal to the overstocked New England States, and Massachusetts in particular, to forthwith send their surplus of marriageable females to enable the Evergreen State to " multiply and replen- ish the earth" among the wilds of Western Washington, where, as it assured them, homes and husbands awaited the most un- prepossessing. The bait took. It was the theme of every tongue in the cities of the sound, and even assumed a poetical form, as will be seen by a few lines which we cull from some verses entitled " A General Invitation," published at the time in the Tacoma Ledger. It began :
" Come, all ye ancient spinsters, let the schoolmarms lead the van, And march with single purpose for unity to man.
Come from the Hampshire mountains, its hills of granite gray, From valleys of Connecticut and Massachusetts Bay,
Where little Rhody's verdant isle smiles through the summer mist, And Providence plantations boast of beauties never kist ;
From flashing founts, where streams of Maine sweep singing to the sea, And maiden hearts 'mid green Vermont go mateless, fancy free."
It then goes on to suggest, possibly by way of encourage- ment, that
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" Our bachelors are many, our spinsters fair but few ; Your wall-flower, quite too old to press, shall sweetness here renew ; Clean cooking and a tidy home, with good behavior, too, O'erbalance years and youthful charms when wedlock comes in view. Our rancher, when he seeks a claim, leaves scenery for soil, And much prefers the girl whose hands are not too white to toil."
And so on through various verses. The result was simply overwhelming. The supposed official request was copied not only throughout New England, but the Middle States, abun- dantly advertising the Northwest, but driving the unfortunate Mayor, who was besieged with epistles from would-be wives, setting forth their expectations and eligibility, almost to the verge of insanity. As he informed the writer, his letters during this miss-mating period from willing maidens, widows, and divorcees averaged, and not infrequently exceeded, two hun- dred a day.
Kowolf
CHAPTER XXXV.
"SPOKANE THE WONDERFUL," THE GEM OF "THE VALLEY OF WATERS."
" How few the years since first they saw, Close planted by thy wave,
The mill-wheel with its whirling saw, Whose echoes woke the glade.
The wild Cascades that rushed to greet Columbia's calmer stream,
Then swept along with freer feet, 'Neath endless bowers of green.
The Indian fished or made his camp Each babbling brook beside,
And when the bright stars lit their lamp Wooed there his willing bride.
Now all is changed, the engine flies Like lightning o'er the rail,
Tall marts of trade and steeples rise Where only sighed the gale.
' Spokane the Wonderful ' sits throned Beside the fettered stream ;
Where once the savage freely roamed Her lighted factories gleam.
A diamond fair 'mid emeralds set, She shines the valley's gem,
Turning the tide her mill-wheels wet, To use of brainy men."
-BREWERTON.
THERE is perhaps no portion of the world where rapidity of metropolitan growth is so wonderfully exemplified as in Ameri- ca. The fabled palace of Aladdin, the magical creation of a night, and many another dream of Oriental fancy seems almost paralleled by the phenomenal progress of some of our Western cities, and this is especially true of those planted upon Puget Sound and in the interior of the State of Washington. It is like a vision-to-day the primeval wilderness, to-morrow the settler's hut, a few months hence the town, a decade later and the new- born city claims recognition from all. " Spokane the Wonder-
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ful"' is no exception to this statement. Asserting herself as the metropolis of Eastern Washington, with none to gainsay her right to be so regarded, she can easily count the years since the Indian roamed at will or pitched his migratory tepee where now rise her temples of worship, her palaces of trade, and her resi- dential avenues lined with tasteful homes. We desire to do jus- tice to her greatness, but two difficulties stand, like twin dragons, on the threshold -difficulties which beggar description and ren- der our task, within the limits we must assign to it, almost a matter of discouragement ; the first arising from what the French term " the embarrassment of riches," a wealth of material almost unbounded in extent, and the second, from want of space to do justice to the evidences of progress, we are necessarily compelled to touch lightly or totally ignore.
The beginnings of the wonderful city of to-day were ex- ceedingly feeble and ofttimes threatened with actual dissolution. A mill site, with its inconsiderable improvements, changing hands, as its original owners grew discouraged and sold out ; a growth which barely held its own, and at one time was almost fatally discouraged by the failure of Jay Cooke, and the conse- quent temporary stoppage of work on the great interoceanic highway ; a gain in population which took grateful note of even a single family added to its strength ; a time when even far-see- ing General Sherman repaid a frontier welcome, while making a passing visit to the then feeble settlement of Spokane Falls, by a. speech in which he declared that its little band of pioneers could expect no protection from the general government, but, like Daniel Boone, amid the forests of Kentucky's " dark and bloody ground," must rely upon their trusty rifles to ward off the sav- ages, as Uncle Sam had no troops to spare, and added, more- over, by way of further encouragement, that the same paternal government would probably take the ground where they had located for an Indian reservation -- as indeed he had already recommended-such were some of the unpromising antecedents of a period little more than a decade of years ago, when Spokane put forth her real strength and began to assert herself. And now we will let Major E. A. Routhe, the eloquent and accom- plished champion of her beauties, both natural and acquired, sound the praises of Spokane in his own felicitous way, him- self a pioneer journalist, knowing whereof he writes. He is
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well fitted to perform the task he so charmingly essays. He says :
" A little cluster of houses, some fifty or more, upon the south side of the river near the falls, comprised all there was of the city of Spokane Falls ten years ago. A little rope ferry and a couple of canoes afforded the only means of passing over the swift stream as it rushed among the small islands and tumbled over a series of precipices in its adamantine bed in unrestrained freedom save at one point, where a noisy dam reached across a quiet arm of the river, to furnish power for a busy saw-mill. A missionary, a merchant, a miller, a district clerk, a sturdy smith, and a tavern-keeper comprised the representative element of the then ambitious hamlet. Travellers tarried to gaze upon the falls as a thing of moving beauty, and to consult the village oracles as to future possibilities of the place and of the surrounding country. Some wisely remained and prospered, some passed on to the shores of the sunset sea, and some are going still in quest of fortune ready to their hand, as did old Ponce de Leon in his quest for the fount of perpetual youth in the land of sun and flowers. Indian tepees dotted the hill-side and pleasant spots upon the river's brink, while blanketed braves lounged or stalked in the shade of the slumbrous pines as their ponies browsed at will over the site of the future city. The pack-horse and freighter's wagon afforded the only means for the trans- portation of goods. The merchant's wares and the iron for the smith were brought from Walla Walla, then the great supply centre for the inland Northwest. Indian outbreaks on the part of the neighboring tribes, the discovery of precious metal de- posits in the mountains near by, and the land laws furnished the chief topics of conversation. The occasional visits of army officers and soldiers passing from post to post, and the news from Forts Cœur d' Alene, Colville, Spokane, and Walla Walla served to break the quiet and give additional life to the in- telligence of the day. Like the burghers of the village of Fall- ing Waters, in Irving's 'Knickbocker,' the settlers of Spokane Falls bided their time, but with hearts high with hopes of the future, they foresaw with an indefinable prescience a place of great growth and importance, and they uttered prophecies. Why should they not ? Were not the rolling prairies, stretch- ing out upon the west and south, as full of promise for mighty
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harvests of grain as the far-famed deltas of the Mississippi ? Were not the foothills and valleys studded with the finest tim- ber in the world ? Where would they find stock ranges more vast and rich, and, above all, so inexhaustible a water-power ? And was there not a gigantic railroad-the longest in the world -pioneering its slow but steady progress to the sea, and did not the village of Spokane Falls lie directly in its course ? Why should they not prophesy ? Why not predict that 'some day here will be a mighty city ?'
" The career of Spokane Falls was not one of uninterrupted progress. When the mining world of the West was stirred to its utmost centre by the discoveries in the Cœur d' Alenes and the miners from the southern Territories rushed pell-mell into this new Eldorado in midwinter-it was one of the longest and severest winters ever experienced in the Northwest-and were snowed in and starved out before spring, their retreat was almost as precipitate as their oncoming had been, and they retired with dire maledictions upon the Cœur d'Alenes. Most of them came empty-handed and illy prepared to open and develop mines. Following this tentative endeavor and failure to unlock the great mineral deposits, which have since proved so profitable, the times were dull in Spokane Falls and its people greatly de- pressed. Business came to a standstill. This period of depres- sion was followed by a new influx of immigrants, and it was not long before the settlers were again possessed of their old-time spirit of enterprise and energy. The development of the mines marked a new epoch in the history of the city. Farmers, mer- chants, and men of capital began to flock to this inviting centre. A daily newspaper sprang into existence ; a fresh plot of the town was filed, the water-power developed at several places, and other lines of business sprang up. From a village of 500, within three years it became a place of 4000, with two daily papers, three flouring mills, a planing factory, several saw mills, three banks, and a large number of mercantile houses represent- ing various kinds of commerce. Additional lines of railroad were projected, branches built, the mines in the Cœur d' Alenes and other points adjacent to Spokane fairly developed, lime kilns established, quarries opened, and the success of the city assured. A careful census in June, 1887, gave the city a popu- lation of 7000. Two years later the directory showed 22,000 in-
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