Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington, Part 13

Author:
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Spokane, Wash. : Western History
Number of Pages: 992

USA > Washington > Chelan County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 13
USA > Washington > Ferry County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 13
USA > Washington > Okanogan County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 13
USA > Washington > Stevens County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 13

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Sec. 9. The persons appointed county commission-

HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

ers may any time after the passage of this act, and be- fore the day appointed for the next general election, upon posting up suitable notices signed by a majority of them, hold a meeting of the board of county commis- ioners, at which they may transact any business which could be done at a regular meeting of the board.

Sec. 10. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

Passed the house of representatives January II, 1860. (Signed) John D. Biles, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Passed the Council January 17, 1860. (Signed) H. J. G. Macon, President of the Council.

In pursuance of this act the commissioners named were sworn into office at "Pinkney City," three miles northeast of the present coun- ty seat of Stevens county, Colville, on May 7, 1860, and individually executed the bonds re- quired by law. To these proceedings the new county auditor attested as follows : "In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and pri- vate seal, ( there being no official seal provided), this 7th day of May, A. D., 1860. R. H., Rogers, auditor in and for Spokane county, W. T."

January 20, 1863, the legislative assembly passed an act subdividing this vast territory and organizing the county of Stevens "for civil and military purposes, to be attached to the county of Spokane for judicial purposes." But one year thereafter, January 19, 1864, an act was passed re-annnexing the county of Spokane to Stevens, practically obliterating the former, and providing that the county officers of Spo- kane should remain the county officers of Ste- vens until the expiration of their terms ; Stevens county to be entitled to representatives and councilmen of the two counties formerly exist- ing. This was in the nature of a political com- promise, and thus the original Spokane county was absorbed in Stevens county, which fell heir to all the territory and, also, that of Ferry, Okanogan and a part of Chelan counties. No- vember 21, 1871, Whitman county was estab- lished by setting off the southern portion of Ste- vens county, and in 1879 a new Spokane county was set off from the remaining portion of Ste- vens. The former then had a population of

4,262. It is not within the province of this his- tory of Stevens, to trace the gradual subdi- visions of Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan coun- ties, which subjects will be treated in their proper places. We must now revent to the ear- lier years of settlement, and lead up from the original trade in peltries to political recognition and the privilege of the elective franchise under purely American government.

The county whose history we are now to consider was named in honor of Isaac Ingalls Stevens, first territorial governor of Washing- ton, appointed by President Franklin Pierce in 1853. Yet the dawn of its historical interest opens thirty-one years before that period, even before Marcus Whitman, the Lees, John Day or Wyeth had fought their way across the conti- nent and made their most sanguine promises to the United States government a certainty. Only seventeen years after Lewis and Clarke had turned their faces eastward on their return trip from the mouth of the Columbia, John Mc- Leod was in charge of what was known as the "Thompson River district," superintending the distribution of supplies for the region between the Rocky mountains and the Pacific; from the mouth of the Columbia river to the Russian boundary line. April 26, 1826, McLeod found himself at Spokane Falls whither he had ar- rived from the coast, and he started for Fort Edmonton, arriving two months later, May 17th. During his progress he encountered snow so deep that he was compelled to cut his leath- ern trousers into strips to make snowshoes. At that period the Hudson's Bay Company had thirty posts, "factories" or forts, within the ter- ritory then jointly occupied by Americans and Englishmen, and called "Oregon." One of these was named Fort Colville, near Kettle Falls on the Columbia river. This was not the Fort Colville subsequently established by the United States government at "Pinkney City," three miles northeast from Colville, the present capital of Stevens county. Yet considerable confusion has arisen, even among otherwise

HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

well-informed people concerning the identity of these two "forts." The older one was a Hud- son's Bay Company's trading post; the other was established by the United States in May. 1859. Pinkney City was named after Major Pinkney Lugebeel. With him McLeod had a band of calves which he was transporting from Fort Vancouver to Fort Colville, on the Colum- bia. Some of these adolescent bovines were killed by the Indians who regarded them only in the light of so much "fresh meat," and Mc- Leod and his force experienced no small diffi- culty in protecting them. The quickness of James Douglas saved McLeod's life, when the former struck up a gun with which a savage was about to shoot McLeod in the back. Ac- cording to Bancroft, "Through all these dan- gers the precious calves nevertheless passed in safety to Fort Colville, (at Kettle Falls), where they fulfilled their mission, multiplying rapid- ly." This was the initial introduction of "live stock" into Stevens county.

A short time previous to this a Hudson's Bay Company's post, or "fort," had been re- moved from its location on Spokane river to Kettle Falls, and named Fort Colville in honor of the then governor of the company. Work's Journal says that "the exact time of removal is obscure, but in July, 1826, we find a party em- barking at Fort Vancouver with '72 pieces for Fort Colville,' which shows that the establish- ment was then in operation." The "History of Oregon," by Evans, gives the founding of the Kettle Falls Fort Colville as in 1825, while Anderson's "Northwest Coast" places it in 1826. But Wilkes' "Narrative of U. S. Ex- plorations" agrees with Evans, claiming 1825 as the date. It was at the Kettle Falls Fort Col- ville, a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, that the accounts of the other posts in eastern Oregon centered, thereby saving a trip to Vancouver. Other tading posts were at this period located at Walla Walla, Fort Okanogan, a stockade above the mouth of the Okanogan river ; one on the Kootenais, one on Lake Pend

d'Oreille and one on the Flathead river. Of these, however, Fort Colville was considered the most important, situated one hundred miles northeast of Fort Okanogan, in the midst of a good agricultural country. and with a fine cli- mate, good fishing and other advantages. Es- tablished shortly after the location of Fort Va.1- couver, with the customary allotment of two cows and a bull, it had, in 1834, like Vancouver, its lowing herds furnishing beef, butter and milk. It had, also, other stock, including fairly bred horses, and a small grist mill. Many varie- ties of garden produce matured in the climate in abundance.

The zealous fur hunters in the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company were the pio- neers of Stevens county. In no sense of the word were they settlers. In habits, character- istics and pursuits they were but few removes from the swarthy savage who shared with them the spoils of the chase and the trap. As the bus- iness of the monopolistic British syndicate in- creased these voyageurs, English, French or. half-breeds, multiplied, as a natural sequence, yet for all their efforts the country would have remained as wild and virginal as it was the first day they encroached upon the soil. Actual set- tlement of the once extensive domain of Ste- vens county was given its initial impetus by Catholic missionaries.

Of these spiritual pioneers Father De Smet was not the first. In the fall of 1838 F. N. Blan- chet and Rev. Modest Demers came into the country in response to reiterated requests from the French Canadians, a large majority of whom were Catholics. Many of them had in- termarried with the Indians, and their rude "settlements" assumed much of the barbaric effect of actual Indian camps. Fathers Blan- chet and Demers were sent out to these people by the ecclesiastical authorities of eastern Can- ada. They first came to Fort Colville, and thence down the Columbia river on one of the boats belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company. Subsequently Father Blanchet became the first

HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

archbishop of Oregon. Fort Colville was revis- ited by Father Demers in 1839. He was then on his way to New Caledonia. At this period Father De Smet was pursuing his spiritual avo- cations in the Flathead country of Montana, near what is now the town of Kalispell. From this point, by the aid of Indian couriers, he opened communication with Fathers Blanchet and Demers, and in 1841, he, too, came to Fort Colville, having first laid the foundation of St. Mary's Mission, Montana. It does not appear that Father De Smet went so far south as Spo- kane Falls. The primary object of his visit was to procure seed, and at that time the vicin- ity of Colville was the only country agricultur- ally developed. From Colville (Kettle Falls), Father,, De Smet returned to Montana with a few bushels of wheat, oats and potatoes with which, it is said, he began the first farming ever prosecuted in that territory. To Father Demers Stevens county owes much for his untiring zeal and industry, not only in spiritual, but in the practical affairs of life. He is more closely identified with the early history of this section, as Father Blanchet's field was farther south, in Oregon. In the "History of Spokane County" the Very Reverend Leopold Van Gorp, General Superior of Indian Missions, Gongaza College, says :

"The Colville Indians, after meeting with the missionaries (in Montana), were accus- tomed to frequently visit them at their place among the Kalispells. But at the earnest solic- itation of their chief, Martin Ilemuxsolix, Father Anthony Ravalli went to visit them in 1845, and built the first chapel in their midst, on the hill between the fishery and the Hudson's Bay Company's fort, on the banks of the Col- umbia, near Kettle Falls. It may perhaps serve to relieve my dull narrative to insert here a little incident which happened to Father Ravalli while among the Colvilles. News was brought to him one day that an Indian woman had quar- reled with her husband. and, driven to despera- tion by jealousy, had just hanged herself with

a lariat to a tree. Father Ravalli hastened to the spot and cutting asunder the lariat, quickly freed the woman's neck, which, upon exami- nation, he found not broken. Although the body was still warm, pulsation at the wrists, as well as the heart, had already ceased, and to all appearances life was extinct. Father Ra- valli stretched, what everybody supposed her to be, the dead woman, upon the ground, and com- menced now to breathe into her mouth, now to move her arms up and down, so as to impart ar- tificially to her lungs the movement of natural respiration, and thus quicken into action the spark of vitality still there, perhaps, only latent and dormant. He kept working in this manner for about three-quarters of an hour, when all at once a slight change of color appeared on the lips and face of the woman. Encouraged by the sign he continued, and soon after clearer indications of returning life became noticable. A little while yet and the woman, to the aston- ishment of all, commenced to breathe, first faint- ly and at broken intervals, then more freely and more regularly. A while later she opened her eyes, and from a seeming corpse, she was soon after up and moving around, living to be on ald woman. This unusual and yet simple occur- rence won to Father Ravalli with all the In- dians the name of the 'Great Medicine Man.'

"But in 1845 Father Ravalli did no more than erect a little chapel, neither did he remain here for any length of time. Other mission- aries, however, frequently visited the chapel and held services for, the Indians. In 1847 Father Devos opened a mission here, retaining the name of St. Paul, already given to the chapel. He spent several years among these Indians, and while he had to labor hard and endure many hardships, still his work was lightened by the great success that attended it, as he con- verted not only the greater part of the Colville Indians, but many of the Sinatchsti tribe as well. However, in 1851, broken in health from his great exertions among the Colville Indians, he was obliged to go to the residence on the

HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

Willamette to recuperate. Another station, that of the Immaculate Conception, was estab- lished at Fort Colville, about two miles from the present town of Colville. It was estab- lished for the whites and half-breeds in and around the fort. At times this station, like that at the fishery, had a resident priest, while at other times, both places were attended by Fath- ers from the other missions. Some years later both these places were abandoned, as the fort was no longer used and the fishery had lost its importance, as the Indians no longer gathered here to fish, owing to the fact that large fisheries had been established by the whites at the mouth of the Columbia, preventing the salmon from making their way up the river. The mission- aries then established themselves in the Colville valley, about seven and one-half miles from the town of Colville. Here they opened the resi- dence of St. Francis Regis, which has since grown into the flourishing mission of the same name. To-day it has its school for boys, taught by the Jesuits, and a school for girls, taught by the sisters of Providence. It can boast of a splendid farm, of a mill and many modern im- provements. The mission is now outside the reservation, though it continues to be the center to which the adjoining Indian tribes come, espe- cially for the great feats. Besides there are quite a number of whites and half-breeds who come to the mission for their religious duties.".

Following the introduction of missions and chapels came actual settlement of the county. At one period, in March, 1903, there was among the residents of Colville, the county seat, considerable speculation concerning the number of citizens of eastern Washington who had resided within the state and territory fifty years. It will be remembered by all who have followed the preceding chapters that on March 2, 1853. the bill forming the territory of Wash- ington, as distinct from Oregon, passed the United States senate, having previously run the gauntlet of the house with but nominal opposi-

tion. Hence the interest among Colville resi- dents, regarding the matter, March 2, 1903, the fiftieth anniversary of the forming of the Territory. There was extended inquiry with the result that it was at last reluctantly conced- ed that there was none in Stevens county who has been a resident therein fifty years. This, however, was found to be an erroneous conclu- sion. As the Reveille (Colville) said :

"Stevens county comes to the front with at least three men who have weathered the stormy times ; who have made history for this part of the state for more than fifty years, and they promise to live out a score or more years yet. One of them is Andrew Hughson, who lives . on his farm just two miles south of town. (Colville.) Mr. Hughson crossed the Rocky mountains in the Crows Nest region in 1851, and in November of that year established his residence at what was known as the Hudson's Bay Company's fort, near Marcus. Shortly before his arrival Donald McDonald, now a gray-haired man of fifty-threee years, born in Montana, came to Marcus and still lives there. John Inkster, of Valley, is perhaps the oldest living settler of the state. His residence dates from 1848, fifty-five years ago, and he is still in good health. Mr. Hughson has lived forty- four years on his farm, which is his home, and his review of his past history is truly interest- ing. There are many here who date their resi- dence as far back as 1855 and 1860, but these three men mentioned are the first settlers."

In this connection the following interview with Mr. F. Wolff, residing at Colville, is apro- pos. To the writer he said :

"I came to Stevens county in 1856 from Montana, where I had been employed in Gov- ernor Stevens' party. The first attempt at orga- nization of the county was made in 1858, but was unsuccessful, and some of the officers who had received appointments did not, at the time, know of the honor that had been thrust upon them. But in 1860 a permanent organization

HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

was established by the Territorial legislature, and officers were appointed and served until the first election was held in that year.

"In June, 1859, George B. McClellan, then a captain of engineers of the regular army, but a few years afterward the commanding general of the Army of the Potomac, accompanied by two companies of infantry under Captains Fra- zer and Archer, left The Dalles, Oregon, on a trip through this northern country. They came up through the Okanogan country and were on duty at the boundary line between the United States and the British possessions, which was then in dispute. For some reason which I never learned they did not long remain here, but returned to the post at The Dalles. While in the north country they were engaged in marking the boundary line between the two countries. This was done by cutting a wide swath through the timber. Where there was no timber they built mounds and piled up em- bankments. While the swaths through the timber which they cut have partly grown up to timber again, the boundary line can be easily noticed to this day. A coincidence of this trip is found in the fact that all three of these offi- cers but a short time afterward became gen- erals in the War of the Rebellion-McClellan on the union side and Frazer and Archer in the Confederate Army.

"In the fall of 1862 the regular troops sta- tioned at Fort Colville (Pinkney City, not Ket- tle Falls), were called east to take part in the War of the Rebellion. To take their places two companies of volunteers were recruited at San Francisco and came to the post at Fort Colville. These companies were in command of Major Curtis. These companies were recruited mostly from convicts from California, who were thus offered pardon on condition that they enlist. Major Curtis did not remain long, his place be- ing taken by Major Rumelles. These troops were on duty here until after the war, when regular troops again took charge of the fort."

Fort Colville, at Pinkney City, three miles

northeast of Colville, in contradistinction to the Hudson's Bay Company's "Fort" Colville, near Kettle Falls, was established in June, 1859, by the government of the United States. It was built for the protection of widely separated groups of American settlers. There had been a large overflow of population on opening of the transmontane country, east of the Cascades, in 1858. Reputed gold discoveries on the Col- umbia, Malheur and other streams accounts for this sudden hegira. Gold was also discovered on the Wenatchee river, in the latitude of the Snoqualimich Pass, and near Colville. Some of the earliest settlers in Stevens county were ex-miners who found both soil and climate fa- vorable and concluded to establish homes in this locality. Again, the completion of a mili- tary road between Forts Benton, in Montana, and Walla Walla, in Washington, attracted quite a number from the valley of the Bitter Root, which at that period was a portion of the vast area known as Spokane county. Military officers, soldiers, freighters became gold seek- ers, and they flocked in from the Fraser River country, their stories adding materially to the stock of information in possession of mining prospectors. The writer has seen a letter 'writ- ten by Lieutenant John Mullan, who had charge of the construction of the military road, in which he says he discovered valuable ore showings along his route, but was afraid to divulge the same through fear of desertions among his rather small force of road builders. Few are the biographies of Washington pio- neers that do not contain episodes of mining exploitations, of greater or less range, in the careers of the subjects. Companies were orga- nized in Portland, and from that city capitalists sent out "grub-staked" prospectors by the hun- dreds. The quality of the gold in this vicinity was coarse, equal in coin to seventeen or eigh- teen dollars, and superior to the gold of the Similkameen. In February, 1859, a party led by J. N. Bell, of The Dalles, set out for Colville. ! This contingent, together with fifty others who

HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

had wintered at that point, were among the first in the new "diggings." In March the floating population of the Walla Walla valley swarmed up into this vicinity, while others came from far off Yreka, California. A wagon road was opened between the Similkameen and Priest Rapids. Parties came in from the Willamette in small boats, and the steamer Colonel Wright brought up sixty tons of freight. It was still early spring when these "stampeders" arrived, and much of the placer ground was under water. Those who could work could not pay expenses. Some returned westward; others pushed on to Quesnell river, and others, more fortunate, discovered gold on Rock Creek, one of the headwaters of the Kettle River, and on the Pend d'Oreille. Suddenly it was discov- ered that the most productive mines, those on Rock Creek and the Similkameen, were in Brit- ish territory, north of the 49th parallel. A tax of $100 was levied on American traders who wished to sell goods to the miners, and in 1861 there were 20,000 of them, mostly Americans, in British Columbia. Later discoveries of gold at Pierce City and Oro Fino attracted the atten- tion of the Colville miners, and their number, from that period, 1860, dwindled materially.

Of the Fraser River stampede the States- man-Index, (Colville), of October 8, 1897, says :

"This Fraser River excitement, while it ter- minated like most 'rushes' in disaster, or ill- luck to the many, had its influence on Stevens county. In the autumn of 1859 about forty prospectors, full of the strength of youth and a determination to get a share of the wealth that was free to men of pluck, were making their way through the Colville valley well equipped for an undertaking that might have made less experienced men falter. Arrived thus far on the trip they began to meet miners who told of their own folly and fruitless errand to Fraser river. As the days passed other men were spoken who had, practically, the same tale to tell. This settled it with our party of prospec-

tors; the meadow lands of the Colville valley seemed likely to yield greater returns in gold than would the gold fields of the north, and ac- cordingly they decided to go no farther, but returned and settled here. These men formed the nucleus of civilization in Stevens county. Some are still among our most honored citi- zens ; others have passed over the great divide into the vale beyond. But each had his part in the early history of Stevens county."

The honor of being the oldest settled por- tion of the state of Washington, east of the Cascades cannot justly be denied Stevens coun- ty. This distinction, however, cannot be ac- corded "Fort" Colville, of the Kettle Falls loca- tion, nor the later Fort Colville, of Pinkney City. At Meyers Falls, on the Colville river. the Hudson's Bay Company erected a grist mill in 1816, only eleven years after Lewis and Clarke had completed their memorable expedi- tion. The old burrs of this mill are yet on the ground. Agents of the company, however, were in this vicinity as early as 1809, but mere- ly for the purpose of purchasing furs of the Indians, and making no attempt at settlement. Whether this original mill was torn down or destroyed by fire is not definitely known, but another milll was erested on the same spot. which was standing in 1865-6. At this period L. W. Meyers, for whom the falls were named, a Canadian and the pioneer of Stevens county, took a lease upon the building pending a settle- ment of the old company with the United States government for relinquishment of their lands. Mr. Meyers afterward secured posses- sion of the water power, a fall of 135 feet in a distance of three-eigths of a mile, and one of the most valuable water powers in eastern Washington. The roof of this mill was cov- ered with cedar bark and although far from being supplied with modern milling appliances its product was eaten with keen relish for many years. New buildings were erected in in872. Mr. Meyers, being in a reminiscent mood in August, 1899, wrote as follows :

HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

"One would scarcely believe in passing through the Colville valley that its quiet soli- tude had once been rudely shaken by war's alarm. On the site of the town many, many moons ago there was a terrible fight between the Spokane and Colville Indians. The story goes that for three days the battle raged, first the victory seeming to perch upon the banners of the Spokanes, and then the terrific onslaught of the Colvilles, who were defending their homes, would turn the tide of battle, and finally the Spokanes were driven from the field. In this terrific battle the casualties were two In- dians wounded, who were artistically decorated with arrows in various parts of the anatomy. In this battle there were 2,000 warriors en- gaged. This skirmish is not recorded in any history of Stevens county, but it is well authen- ticated. So it would seem that the quiet of Col- ville valley has not escaped war."

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Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington, Part 13

Author: Publication date: 1904 Publisher: Spokane, Wash. : Western History Number of Pages: 992

Author:
Publication date: 1904
Publisher: Spokane, Wash. : Western History
Number of Pages: 992