Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington, Part 82

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 82
USA > Washington > Ferry County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 82
USA > Washington > Okanogan County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 82
USA > Washington > Stevens County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 82

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Politically, he is an active Republican, while in fraternal relations, he is allied with the A. F. & A. M., the I. O. O. F., the Eastern Star and the Rebekahs.

SAMUEL GRAY is the genial and popular proprietor of the hotel in Keller, Ferry county. In addition to operating this, he gives his at- tention to mining. He was born in Lafayette,

Indiana, on July 17, 1840, being the son of David R. and Sarah (Tadford) Gray, natives of Ohio. They were early settlers of Indiana and there remained the balance of their lives. The mother died in 1847 and in 1851 the fa- ther married Elizabeth Mires. To the first mar- riage, four children were born, William, Sam- uel, John L. and Ellen, deceased. By the last marriage one son was born. In'very early days our subject crossed the plains with his grand- parents, who located in the Mohawk valley, Oregon, in 1853. There Samuel was educated in the common schools and at the age of four- teen assumed the responsibilities of life for himself. Two years after we find him in Cor- vallis with an uncle, J. B. Congle, operating a saddler's store. For three years he conducted that business, then went to California and be- came a cook on a steamer in 1859, and returned to Portland. The next year he went to Oro- fino, Idaho, and mined for a short time. After that he returned to Walla Walla and wintered, and in 1861 and 1863 went to the Boise Basin and there in 1863, was the first locator of valu- able mining property. He took a claim on Granite creek from which he took twenty thou- sand dollars in three months. After this he went to Portland, but shortly went to the Grande Ronde valley of Eastern Oregon, where he opened a saddlery store. but was unsuccessful in the venture. He then went to the Willamette valley and started in the same business with the same result. Then he came to Lewiston and operated in the same business again. Here he made a brilliant success. He continued there until 1884, then sold and came to Couer d'Alene and opened a hotel. For two years he was oc- cupied at this; then he took land there on the reservation, where he made his home for eight years. Selling the property, he removed to Marcus, in Stevens county, and later to Keller, where we now find him. He opened a hotel in Keller and there also became interested in a grocery store. In addition to each, as stated before, he gives his attention to mining.

In 1864 Mr. Gray married Mary A., daugh- ter of Joseph and Elizabeth Howe, natives of Missouri. Mr. Howe was there killed by a tree falling on him, after which, in 1863, the mother moved to Oregon. She died in 1893, having been the mother of four children. To Mr. and Mrs. Gray three children have been born, William P., at Wilbur, Washington ;

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Clare : and D. R., associated with his father in business. Mr. Gray is one of the stanchest of substantial Republicans and since he cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln, he has voted for every Republican candidate for president since. He remembers well when James K. Polk was elected and is a well-informed and influential man in political lines. Mr. Gray has never seen fit to hold office although he labors faithfully for the good of men. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church and are well and favorably known in this community. Mr. Gray has amassed two or three fortunes and has lost them, but is again a very prosper- ous citizen.

HARRY W. THOMPSON is well known in northern Washington, and also to the news- paper fraternity throughout the state of Wash- ington. At the present time he is conducting a hotel in Republic and a farm near by. He was born in Hennepin county, Minnesota, on June 1, 1862, being the son of Augustus and Sarah ( Bazley) Thompson, natives of Pennsyl- vania and England, respectively. The parents settled in Minnesota after their marriage, where the father died in 1892, and the mother still lives. They were the parents of fifteen chil- dren, named as follows, Mary, Fannie, Augus- tin, William, Sarah, Harry W., Charles, Fred, Lora, Lillie, Ellen, George, Vernie, and two others who died in infancy. The father of our subject was a veteran of the Mexican war, and after that he followed farming for the remainder of his life.

Harry W. received his education in Henne- pin county and later took a course in a Minn- eapolis business college. At the age of twenty- one he began business for himself, and the first year operated his mother's farm. After that he came to Washington and located in Day- ton, where he was engaged in a printing office for two years. He then went to Okanogan county, being one of the first settlers there, and was employed as compositor on the first paper published in the county. In 1890 Mr. Thomp- son bought out the Okanogan Outlook and operated it for eight years. In 1892, he lost everything by fire, but rebuilt and went forward with the business until 1896, when his entire property was washed away in the flood. Again he rebuilt and continued the business for two

years more, when he discontinued and went into the hotel business for one year.

Later we see him in Toroda in the merchan- dise business, and in 1898 he settled in Republic and he opened the Thompson hotel which he operated nearly two years. Then he took a home- stead adjoining the town, which he still owns. About one third of the place is under cultiva- tion, and is supplied with good fences, buildings and other improvements. Later Mr. Thompson opened the Eureka House, and then took charge of the Delaware Hotel, which he runs now as a first-class house.

In 1883, Mr. Thompson married Miss Jo- sephine Sly, and to them five children have been born, named as follows, Pearl, Lulu, Per- ry, Raymond, and Richard.

Politically, Mr. Thompson is a Republican, and recently took the field for county assessor, but as the county was Democratic, he did not win. He has been school director at various times and has held other offices. Fraternally, he is affiliated with I. O. O. F., the Rebekahs. and the Fraternal Army. His wife and daugh- ters belong to the Rebekahs, and his wife to the Eastern Star.

JOHN W. SEIBERT is one of the vener- able residents of Ferry county, and is now mak- ing his home on the Sans Poil river about fif- teen miles south of Republic. His sons located the town of Westfork which bids fair to become one of the prosperous villages of the county. Mr. Seibert devotes his attention to mining and farming and has shown himself industrious and reliable. He was born in Berkeley county, Ver- mont on June 12, 1825, being the son of Samuel and Mary ( Mong) Seibert, natives of Pennsyl- vania and Vermont, respectively. They later settled in the state of Ohio, and lived there the rest of their lives. Our subject was one of nine children, named as follows: Aaron, Moses, J. W., who is the subject of this article, Mary, Samuel, Michael, Cyrus, Benjamin, and Joseph. In Wayne county, Ohio, our subject was edu- cated, receiving a good common school train- ing, and at the age of twenty-six, began life for himself. He worked on a farm for some time, and then learned the miller's trade which he fol- lowed for twenty years. In 1849, Mr. Seibert crossed the plains to California and mined for

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HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

a while, then returned home, having been gone just two years and thirteen days. After this, he farmed in Ohio until 1873, then went to Mis- souri. Later, we find him in Huntsville, Wash- ington. A short time after settlement there, he came on to Okanogan county, which was his home for fifteen years. During that time, Mr. Seibert gave his attention to mining almost ex- clusively, then moved to Ferry county, locating where we find him at the present time. He owns the Planton mine, which has one hun- dred and thirty feet of tunnelling, and for a half interest of which he was recently offered four thousand dollars. In connection with his sons he also owns valuable placer mines, and is also interested in the townsite of Westfork with them.

In 1853, Mr. Seibert married Miss Delia, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Crofford) Ritchey, natives of Ohio. The parents lived in Ohio until their death and to them were born seven children, Katherine, Delia, Charles, Jane, Ellen, Thomas and Matilda. To Mr. and Mrs. Seibert seven children have been born : Samuel, deceased; Joseph; Otho, a physician in Ohio; Jessie, wife of J. Inman in Whitman county ; Washington; C. H .; J. B .; and R. D. The last three named are still at home with their parents.

Mr. Seibert is a good, active Republican, and has always labored for the upbuilding of the communities where he has dwelt. He has held various offices and has always shown him- self a patriotic and substantial citizen.

GEORGE W. RUNNELS, who resides at Keller, Washington is one of the heavy stock owners of this part of the county. In addition to owning stock, he pays considerable attention to mining. He was born in Edmundstown, Washington county, Maine, on October 9, 1835, being the son of Thomas and Eliza (Morong) Runnels, natives of Maine. The parents moved to Washington in 1878, locating in Seattle, where the father did lumber business. He died in 1894 and his widow died in 1901. Our sub- ject was educated in the common schools of his native place until ten years of age; then he com- menced a seafaring life. He learned the art of cooking and working in that capacity and went to all the leading ports of the world. For

eleven years he continued in that business, and in 1858 came to Puget sound by way of Cape Horn, sailing in the bark Oak Hill. In 1860 he came to what is now Okanogan county and since that time has lived in the central part of Washington continuously. He has been oc- cupied as stock raiser, store keeper and pros- pector for all these long years. He located the Mountain Lion in Republic, the Last Chance and the Flatiron, besides many others. In 1897 Mr. Runnels located at Keller, where he now lives, and since that time has opened up several fine prospects. Among them is the Copper King and the Iconoclast. The latter is being developed and Mr. Runnels owns about one- third of it. In addition to these properties, he has about two hundred and fifty head of horses in Okanogan and Ferry counties.

In 1861, by the Indian ceremony, Mr. Run- nels married Skocum Analix. In 1872 this marriage was confirmed by the United States laws and to this couple, fifteen children have been born, ten of whom are living, named as follows: Elizabeth, Mary, Fred, Clara, Hiram, Louis, Thomas, Josephine Katherine and Nellie. Louis and Thomas are being educated at Carl- isle, Pennsylvania, while Mary is attending one of the well-known educational institutions of the east. Mr. Runnels is a Democrat, and takes an active interest in the affairs of his county.

He is more familiarly known as "Tenas George" and the full account of his life would make a very interesting book. It is of import- ance to note that over thirty years ago Mr. Runnels discovered the lead of the Iconoclast. He took samples of the ore to Dr. Day in Walla Walla, who pronounced it first class ore. From that time until the reservation opened, he kept watch of the property and for some months prior to the proclamation of opening this por- tion of the reservation, Mr. Runnels was ob- liged to personally stand guard over the prop- erty with a Winchester. While the temptation was great, "Tenas George" was too well known for any man to attempt to jump that claim in the face of his Winchester. He is respected both among the Indians and his own people, having shown himself governed by a true sense of honor. It is said of him that when the test came as to whether he should have the Icono- clast or not, he shouldered his Winchester and said to his wife: "If I lose my life in defending

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that claim, bury me there." He is a careful reader and the author of several poems and ballads of considerable merit.

HON. LEW P. WILMOT resides about two miles east from Keller and is engaged in mining. He has been closely identified with the various leading mining excitements through the west since the days of Elk City's boom, and is well known as an adventurous and active man in these villages.

Lew P. Wilmot was born in Freeport, Illi- nois, on January 30, 1839, being the son of B. R. and Virginia ( Hawkins) Wilmot, natives of Kentucky and Virginia, respectively. The father was one of the first settlers in Freeport, being the first postmaster and the first county commissioner of the county. He moved to Wisconsin in 1841 and located in Platteville. There he followed his trade of cabinetmaker, when in company with two others, they built a schooner, intending to go down the Mississippi and then by water to California. Upon arriv- ing in New Orleans, they found their craft was not fit for the rougher voyage and so abandoned the trip. They returned to Wisconsin and later

Mr. Wilmot went to Kansas. In 1860 we find him at Pike's Peak, after which he returned to Missouri, and in 1865 he came on to Washing- ton. From this state he went to Idaho, where he died in 1887.

Our subject was raised on the frontier and had almost no opportunity to gain an education ; still by his industry and careful habits of in- quiry, he became well informed. He remained with his father until 1862, then attended the Elk City excitement, and mined there for a good many years. In 1885 he came to Wash- ington, located on the Columbia and put in a ditch to convey water for mining purposes. The ditch was fourteen miles long and on one flume he used over eighty-two thousand feet of lum- ber. After this, Mr. Wilmot went to work for the government in Okanogan county and was thus engaged eight years. Then he moved to his present place just east of Keller and has given his attention to mining since.

In political matters, he is a strong Repub- lican and is one of the commissioners of Ferry county. In 1878 he represented his section of Idaho in the legislature and in 1882 held that responsible position the second time. He is one of the worthy pioneers of the northwest and stands well in this community.

GROUP OF OKANOGAN INDIANS.

Trans

Loomis Mos

TRAMWAY FROM PINNACLE MINE, OKANOGAN CO.

MEDICINE WOMAN OF THE OKANOGAN TRIBE

SALMON OR CONCONULLY LAKE.

PART IV.

HISTORY

OKANOGAN COUNTY

CHAPTER I.

FIRST EXPLORATION AND EARLY HISTORY.

David Thompson was the first white man to descend the northern portion of the Colum- bia river. He was connected with the North- west Fur Company. Thompson arrived at The Dalles in July, 1811. An expedition for the exploration of the northern Columbia had been arranged which was to be commanded by David Stuart. The appearance of Thomp- son delayed this expedition eight days, but it was finally settled that Stuart should proceed on his journey northward, and July 23, 1811, he, with four clerks, Pellet, Ross, Montigny and McLennan, four boat men, Thompson and his crew and a couple of Indians set forth on their hazardous trip. They were provided with light canoes and these craft carried sails as well as paddles. Thus was organized the first com- mercial enterprise on this portion of the waters of the Columbia river. It had been decided that Thompson should continue on northeasterly to Montreal, and by him Mr. McDougall, in com- mand of the post at The Dalles, sent forward a letter to John Jacob Astor.

For some distance up the river Stuart and Thompson remained in company. But finally the latter cast loose from the convoy of canoes and passed on ahead, leaving Stuart and his

fellow voyagers to proceed more leisurely on the route. It was a part of Stuart's plan to spy out a location for a new fort in the wilder- ness for the Northwest Company. As the party continued the ascent of the magnificent river they reached a broad, treeless prairie sur- rounded by a number of elevations which, without gaining the distinction of mountains, could be termed with propriety exceedingly high hills. Tall, rich grass was in abundant growth. To the southeast the landscape was open and expansive, but closed in on the north by a dense forest of pine and fir. It was fra- grant with flowers and musical with the clear bell-notes of bird life. And down from the lakes far to the north coursed a cool stream which the natives called the O-kan-a-kan, or Okanogan in the modern acceptance of its or- thography. At this point it joined its waters with those of the Columbia, and near here is now located the town of Brewster. On the east bank of the Okanogan, five miles above its mouth, Stuart located his fort, post or fac- tory, as the place was subsequently recognized by all these names.

The significance and derivation of the word "Okanogan" has always been a subject of dis-

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HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

pute and uncertainty with Chinook authorities. Father E. de Rouge, who for more than twenty years has been among the Indians and has made a special study of their nomenclature, asserts that the proper word is not Okanogan at all, but Okanakan. He advances three good reasons for this position : First, the Indians invariably use the "kan" or "kain" sound; second, there is no letter "g" or sound answering to "g" in the Indian dialect; third, in the formation of new Indian words, and after the analogy of the Greek, two words or roots are used. The last two letters of the first and the first two letters of the last are dropped and the words are then amalgamated.

In Okanogan the first three syllables are the first part of the word meaning "nothing," and the last is the remnant of "zasekan," mean- ing "head;" from which the true significance of Okanogan or · Okanokan is found to be "head-of-nothing." Father de Rouge is unable to account for the application of the word to the river and says it is simply a custom of the Indians to attach words to things without refer- ence to the fitness thereof. It is probable that the river having its source in a lake, so far as the knowledge of these Indians goes, may ex- plain the origin of the name.

The Okanogan Outlook, published at Con- conully, has another explanation of the mean- ing of the word. It says :

"The English meaning of the word 'Okani- kane,'-Okanogan, as it is now spelled- is 'rendezvous,' and was given to the head of the Okanogan river, where it takes its source in the lake of the same name. It is here that the In- dians from all parts of the Territory, Britislı Columbia and even Alaska, meet for the annual 'potlatch,' even to this day (1888) and lay in their supply of fish and game. The word 'Soo- yos,' which has been corrupted to O Sooyos, means 'narrows,' and here are the grandest fishing grounds in the Pacific Northwest. 'Conconully,' also a corrupt Indian name, means 'cloudy,' but was applied to the lower

branch of the Salmon river. The proper In- dian name for the valley where Conconully lies is Sklow Outiman, which means 'money hole,' so named on account of the abundance of beaver to be caught there in the early days, and beaver skins were money to the Indians then."

Here, then, was the original interior fort of the company, a post antedating that of "Fort" Colville by some fifteen years. As Mr. Bancroft says: "It was the stopping place of the over- land brigade, and in due time became the chief station for the deposit of furs from the New Caledonian district." For a "factory" of this description there were few locations more favorable throughout the great northwest. The climate was unsurpassed ; Indians friendly ; horses in abundance; the rivers alive with fish; the adjacent forest abounding in many varieties of toothsome game. The trend of the Okanogan northward provided access to that valuable fur-producing country; to the westward a natural highway, the Columbia, lay open to the sea. The first structure erected by Stuart was a log house 16x20 feet in size, built from driftwood caught in the bend of the river. Then he reduced his force by sending Pellet and McLennan back to Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia, where they arrived safely October 15, 18II.

Naturally an Indian dearly loves a trading post. And it was through the mediums of trad- ing posts that the all-pervading Hudson's Bay and Northwest Companies retained their strong controlling hold on the North American red men. The natives in the vicinity of this fort were intelligent, friendly and pleased to assist in every way in their power the establishment of the post. Having erected the log structure, Stuart, having great confidence in the Indians, decided to leave the station in charge of Ross, without one white companion, while he and Montigny and the two boatmen pushed on northward. This daring expedition was suc- cessfully accomplished ; Ross continued his soli- tary vigil throughout the winter of 1811-12.

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HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

Of this experience Mr. Ross says in his "Ad- ventures :"

"During Mr. Stuart's absence of 188 days I had procured 1,550 beavers, besides other pel- tries worth in the Canton market two thousand two hundred and fifty pounds sterling, and which on an average stood the concern in but five and one-half pence apiece, valuing the mer- chandise at sterling cost, or in round numbers, thirty-five pounds sterling; a specimen of our trade among the Indians."

Thus, as concisely as possible is presented a historical record of the earliest exploration, by white men, of the 5,318 square miles now con- tained within the modern limits of Okanogan county. Of course in those early days no geo- graphical division lines were known, nor for many years thereafter was any attempt made to separate territory into county limitations. Even- tually what is now Okanogan became, together with other vast territory east of the Cascades, Spokane, and subsequently Stevens county.

In the religious field of Okanogan county the original pioneer was Reverend Father De Smet. In his celebrated letters he speaks of having gone up the Okanogan river, and even penetrating to Okanogan lake, in Britishı Co- lumbia, and returning. This was as early as 1839. The Colville Mission had previously been established by Father De Smet, and it was from this point, now in Stevens county, that he and other Catholic priests came west- ward. Gradually the Indians of the Okanogan country came under the beneficent influence of these religious people, and many of them joined the church. It is the testimony of Father de Rouge, now at the head of St. Mary's Mission, that as a rule these Indians were good, honest people, and that any old settler might leave his cabin for days at a time without the least dan- ger of loss of property.

It was in the fall of 1885 that Father de Rouge arrived at the Okanogan river where he built a home and a small chapel. The ruins of these primitive edifices may yet be seen. At

this period the father claims that the Indians were inveterate gamblers, but that within one year the greater majority of them had aban- doned the practice. Later, in 1889, a log chapel was built at Omak, at the head of the lake of that name, east of the Okanogan river, in the "South Half" of the Colville Indian reserva- tion. This was the inception of St. Mary's Mission, which, in charge of Father de Rouge, has become one of the educational institutions for the use of Indians in the state of Washing- ton. It was in 1889 that the father returned from France with some money collected abroad, and with this nucleus he placed the mission in the field.

It is the testimony of Father de Rouge that the site of St. Mary's Mission had already been selected by Father de Grassi, who is described as a true missionary who did much for the peo- ple then in the country, whites as well as In- dians. Having no house and no church Father de Grassi was accustomed to travel from Ya- kima to Colville with a pack horse, stopping for short periods at any points where Indians were gathered for the purpose of imparting instruc- tion to them. In this manner Father de Grassi claimed that he had lived on an outlay of not over $20 per annum. He was loved and re- spected by a large majority of the nomadic tribes of Indians then in the country. However, there are Indians and Indians ; good, bad and indifferent. One day it was was Father de Grassi's misfortune to fall into the hands of a band of bad ones; they were setting the father across the mouth of the Okanagan river by means of a canoe. It was here that a deliberate attempt was made to drown the missionary. The canoe was intentionally upset and only by a remarkable display of energy and presence of mind on his part was his life spared by the treacherous red men.

Father de Rouge speaks of a certain class of Indian fanatics near the mouth of the Okano- gan, whose peculiar religion was termed the "Dreams," and whose God was supposed to re-

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HISTORY OF NORTH WASHINGTON.

veal them everything. They said prayers and practiced a number of peculiar ceremonies. On the arrival of Father de Rouge among this sect he was immediately ordered away. Paying no attention to such intimidation he continued the construction of the mission, and was eventually rewarded by the southern wing of the Okano- gan Indians joining the church. It is said now by Father de Rouge that "were it not for the evil influence of bad white men and the horrible type of whisky they would still be a good class of citizens."

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Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington, Part 82

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