USA > Washington > Chelan County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 83
USA > Washington > Ferry County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 83
USA > Washington > Okanogan County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 83
USA > Washington > Stevens County > Illustrated history of Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan and Chelan counties, state of Washington > Part 83
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In 1893, during the Feast of Corpus Christi, Right Reverend Bishop Younger came to the St. Mary's Mission, he being the first bishop to visit the Okanogan country. Bishop Younger encouraged the Indians to build a school house which they eventually did at their own expense. Soon this edifice was found to be too small to accommodate the increasing number of pupils, and another and larger building replaced the structure. At present the school has two de- partments, one for Indians and one for white children. Aside from the elementary English branches they are taught Latin and Greek, the higher mathematics, bookkeeping. typewriting. drawing and music. The literary and musical exercises of these students during the Christ- mas holidays are said to equal many of the more pretentionus schools and colleges of the country. A brass band of eleven pieces is one of the latest acquisitions. Altogether it is a most favorable place for chidren to secure an excellent educa- tion, and there are many white children who re- side in localities remote from school houses who avail themselves of the privileges offered by St. Mary's Mission. For the present four teachers are in attendance upon the boys of the school, and several new buildings are projected.
No reasonable doubt can be entertained but that the influence of St. Mary's Mission over the Indians has been beneficial. A circumstance illustrating this point is given. Several years ago an Indian was killed by a white man. Father de Rouge was one hundred and fifty
miles away. On his arrival home an old Indian came to the mission at full speed and said to him :
"You are just in time; last night the In- dians had a big meeting and determined to go and kill some white men. But some one came in and said 'the father is home!' "
It was sufficient; the Indians dispersed and plans for summary vengeance were abandoned. At one period a few years ago it was decided to remove Father de Rouge to another missionary field. To this the Indians vigorously objected ; circulated a number of petitions and so seri- ously did they protest against such a course that he was permitted to remain.
In the spring of 1903 there was living in Aeneas Valley, which adjoins Bonaparte Valley on the east, an ex-chief of the Okanogans, at the age of eighty-eight years. He has since died. Forty years ago (1863) Chief Aeneas was located with his tribe west of the Okanogan river. It is a matter of historical record that this Indian patriarch invariably sustained friendly relations with the white settlers from the earliest days of the county's history. That he made for them many personal sacrifices is undoubted. It was in 1863 that the initial movement of whites into the Okanogan country began. Chief Aeneas found it impossible to restrain the impetuosity of his numerous young warriors ; they appeared at all times anxious to engage in altercations with the early settlers. regarding them as intruders. In consequence of this attitude on the part of the Indian "braves," Aeneas severed tribal relations and with his family removed to the location above mentioned. At that period his household con- sisted of a wife, two sons and two daughters.
Here Chief Aeneas resided twenty-five years before neighbors began to flock around him. At one period he laid claim to the entire valley as his individual ranch, a property fifteen miles long by eight in width. During a portion of this time Aeneas owned thousands of horses and several large bands of cattle which he con-
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tinned to pasture on the ranges of his immense "claim." Aeneas survived his wife and chil- dren, the last of the latter having been buried twenty-one years ago. His wife had died some time before. Single, childless and solitary, the old man was left in the beautiful valley so long his home, patiently awaiting the call of the Great Father to join those who had gone be- fore. At present the Aeneas ranch consists of one hundred and sixty acres of land upon which are many improvements and considerable per- sonal property, for Aeneas was always indus- trious, a characteristic rather unusual among Indians, and each year he harvested several thousands of bushels of oats.
One of the earliest settlers in the upper Okanogan country was Alexander McCauley, who located on the ranch he now occupies, one mile from the town of Oroville, at the junction of the Okanogan and Similkameen rivers. Mr. McCauley was a personal friend of Chief Moses, and on a number of occasions it chanced that the friendly chief extended his good offices in favor of the white men who were beginning to filter in to the then wilderness from the haunts of civilization far to the eastward. Moses was at the head of what were called the "non-treaty" Indians, and he had laid claim to some 600,000 acres of land to be set apart as a reservation in consideration of services ren- dered the United States government in prevent- ing an Indian outbreak. To Mr. McCauley Chief Moses furnished guards during the Nez Perce war when it became necessary for him to make extended trips away from home. Many of the white men then in the Okanogan country were compelled to pay tribute to Chief Moses, but Mr. McCauley was invariably exempt. In 1875 "Billy" Granger, James Palmer and Phelps & Wadleigh came to the country with bands of cattle to pasture them on the extensive and decidedly nutritious ranges.
In order that the reader may obtain a con- prehensive view of the attitude of Chief Moses in relation to these reservation lands, it is ne-
cessary to trace the various acts of congress concerning them. During the period immedi- ately following the Yakima war, the agency of this tribe included a reservation of 900,000 acres of land, peopled by 3,600, which, aggre- gated, gave to every man, woman and child under jurisdiction of the agency 250 acres apiece. Yet of all this vast quantity of land, good, bad and indifferent, not over 5,000 acres all told was under any sort of cultivation. Over the remainder of this extensive territory ranged large herds of horses and cattle. Nominal con- trol of eight different tribes of Indians was held by the Colville agency. These included the so- called Colville, the Okanogan, Spokane, Kalis- pell, Sans Poil. Methow, Nespelim and Lake Chelan hands, and these together numbered about 3,000 persons. In the main they were recognized as "non-treaty" Indians; many of them, although peacefully disposed, refusing to acknowledge any authority of the United States government. It was considered necessary, however, to regulate their intercourse with white settlers by a local agent.
The first reservation set apart for the "non- treaty" Indians was on April 9, 1872. This was by executive order and included the Col- ville valley. To this movement in their behalf by the government the Indians exhibited a friendly disposition. But there was another element yet to be reckoned with; about sixty white settlers in the valley from whom came an immediate and emphatic protest. Nor was this protest without influence. July 2. President Grant issued an order confining the limits of the reservation to the country bounded on the east and south by the Columbia river ; on the west by the Okanogan, and on the north by the International Boundary between the United States and British Columbia. This left the western portion of the territory now within the present limits of Okanogan county outside the Colville reservation.
Still there were conflicting interests, and this new order was received by a counter pro-
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test from Indians and Indian agents. President Grant adhered to the order, and theoretically it was "enforced;" practically it was a nullity, for what were termed the "Colville" Indians main- tained a joint occupancy with the white settlers, a condition which brought them in close touch with the order of Jesuits who continued in charge of their spiritual welfare as they had done since 1842.
In April, 1879, another grant of reserva- tion land was made on the west side of the Oka- nogan river, extending to the Cascade range. Practically this threw into an Indian reserva- tion all lands in eastern Washington west of the Columbia river and north of about 43 de- grees, 30 minutes, an area of about 4,000 square miles ; between two and three million acres.
At this juncture the "non-treaty" Indians came in for another share of governmental mu- nificence, to which reference has previously been made. A tract bounded on the east by a line running south from where the last reserva- tion crossed the Okanogan to the mouth of that river; thence down the Columbia to the junc- tion of the stream which is an outlet for Lake Chelan ; following the meandering of that lake on the west shore to the source of the stream feeding it; thence west to the 44th degree of longitude ; thence north to the southern boun- dary of the reserve of 1879, was allowed these "non-treaty" Indians The executive order authorizing this grant was issued March 6, 1880. This tract included 600,000 acres. This gave 323 acres to each individual included in the various tribes, there being about 14,300 men, women and children. While considerable of this land was of poor quality, a portion of it comprised much of the best agricultural and grazing lands in the Okanogan country.
Few are the living pioneers of the state of Washington who will not readily recall the familliar name of "Okanogan" Smith. It may be said that he attained to national celebrity, for his fame and the record of his exploits are not confined to the limits of Washington, Territory
or State. Hiram F. Smith was born in Kenne- bec county, Maine, June 11, 1829. Like Lin- coln, Garfield and many other eminent men, young Smith was educated by the wayside and the blaze of a pitch pine knot in the wilderness. And in the wilderness he passed the greater portion of his eventful life. Versatile, indeed, was "Okanogan" Smith, who passed through all the vicissitudes incident to pioneer life. At the time of his death he had been printer, pub- lisher, politician, butcher, expressman, mer- chant, legislator, farmer and miner. In 1837 Smith emigrated to Iowa; to Illinois in 1841 ; to Michigan in 1845; to New York City in 1848; to California in 1849; to the Territory of Washington in 1858. Thereafter throughout his life he resided at Osoyoos Lake, through which runs the International Boundary line, in northern Okanogan county. But the county was not organized at the time he deposited his lares and penates in his future home. Here established a famous ranch which in time be- came noted for its magnificent fruit.
Thirty-seven years ago "Okanogan" Smith discovered mineral in what is now the Palmer Mountain district, and made a number of lo- cations in the mountains along the Similkameen river. When these mines were included in Chief Moses' reservation Smith claimed heavy compensation from the United States govern- ment. As he refused the sum offered, $250,000, the government drew the lines excluding a strip extending fifteen miles southward from the boundary and running across the whole breadth of the reservation. The fact that this strip was open to mineral entry did not become known to the then thinly settled territory, and prospectors did not enter it until the reservation was thrown open in 1886. Then it was that mineral discov- eries followed each other in rapid succession. and this remote tract, saved by the genius and pertenacity of "Okanogan" Smith, was found to be among the richest in the United States, not so much in the value of its ores as in the size of its ore bodies, though some of the richest
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discoveries in the state have been made there. Since the death of Smith all his claims along Similkameen have passed into new hands.
"Okanogan" Smith was identified with the county for thirty years, indeed, since long be- fore there was such a county, for its judicial existence can be directly traced to his influence and energetic efforts. As a member of the Territorial legislature of 1865-6 Mr. Smith in- troduced a memorial to congress praying for the protection and extension of our fishermen's interests in Alaskan waters. Investigation into the matter by Secretary of State William H. Seward led to the purchase of the territory from Russia, which result Mr. Seward credited publicly to "Okanogan" Smith. In the same legislature Smith introduced and caused to pass the Chinese act whereby they were taxed a cer- tain amount quarterly, one-half of which went to Okonogan county and was used in building roads, bridges and other public improvements.
The second state legislature of Washington convened at Olympia in the winter of 1891-2. To this assembly "Okanogan" Smith was elected and served with distinction throughout the term. He was re-elected a member of the third state legislature, but died at Olympia in 1894.
To Alvin R. Thorp belongs the distinction of being one of the earliest settlers of northern Okanogan county. During the 70's Mr. Thorp frequented the upper country engaged in va- rious pusuits, including a two years' clerkship in a general merchandise store at Rock Creek. Part of the time he was packing freight from Marcus to "Okanogan" Smith's place, Osoyoos Lake. In 1878 Mr. Thorp located on his ranch two miles north of the present town of Loomis, in company with a partner named Johnson, who shortly afterward sold out to John Beall. At this time there were no other settlers in this part of of Okanogan county, and Mr. Thorp has distinctively the honor of being the first settler of Loomis and its extensive suburbs. Shortly after his advent Willis Thorp located
on the Loomis ranch on the edge of the present town. The first few years following the period at which Mr. Thorp settled at his permanent home, he, in company with his neigbors, made semi-annual trips to Walla Walla for supplies. going via Crab Creek and the old Mullan road, employing pack trains, the round trip consum- ing the greater part of a month.
On one of his trips to Walla Walla Mr. Thorp conceived the idea of bringing home some peanuts and experimenting with their growth in Okanogan soil. After taking great care with the planting, and having watched for their appearance for a few months, he discov- ered that he had planted roasted peanuts. Fol- lowing that, however, he became more thor- oughly initiated into the mysteries of peanut culture, and for many years cultivated a small field of this popular bulb. Following the com- pletion of the Northern Pacific railroad the set- tlers in the neighborhood of Loomis made jour- neys to Sprague for their supplies, crossing the Columbia river at "Wild Goose Bill's" ferry, in canoes. They were compelled to remove the wheels from their wagons, and swim their horses. In the course of one trip there were no canoes at hand, and the party built an immense raft of cedar driftwood, at Dancing Bill Bar, below Foster Creek, with which they safely made the crossing.
Okanogan county was named after the lake in British Columbia, directly north of the county. Prior to the 60's this lake was known as Kanogan, an Indian word. According to a story related by the late "Okanogan" Smith, the change in the word was effected by one O'Sullivan, who visited the country in the early 60's in the capacity of a topographical surveyor in the employment of the British government. He made investigations in various parts of the northern country, and for several months stopped at the ranch of "Okanogan" Smith. O'Sullivan maintained that no name was com- plete without the Irishman's O, and he deliber- ately proceeded to affix the letter to Kanogan,
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and the name has been thus spelled ever since. Another name which O'Sullivan changed to meet his peculiar views was that of Osoyoos lake, headwaters of the Okanogan river, which previous to the time of the erudite O'Sullivan had been Soyoos lake.
By the Washington Territorial legislature of 1888, one year previous to admission of the Territory into the union. Okanogan county was created from a portion of Stevens county. Two years before this period mining excitement had risen to fever heat, a number of lively camps had sprung into existence, and the population was unanimous in its demand for the formation of a new county. The organic act. as passed by the legislature is as follows :
An Act to create and organize the County of Okanogan.
Be it enacted by this Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Washington :
Section 1. That all that part of Stevens county, beginning at the intersection of the 49th parallel with the range line between ranges 31 and 32 east, and from thence running in a sontherly direction on said range line to the intersection of the said range line with the Columbia river, and thence down said river to the con- fluence of Wenatchee river and thence up the said river and along the present western boundaries of Stevens county to the 49th parallel and thence on the said par- allel to the place of first beginning, shall be and consti- Inte the county of Okanogan.
Sec. 2. That William Granger, Guy Waring and George Hurley are hereby appointed a board of county commissioners with power to appoint all necessary county officers to perfect the organization of the said county ; said officers to serve until the first Monday in March, 1889. or until their successors are elected and qualified, and also with the power to locate the county seat of said county until the same is permanently located by an election as hereinafter provided. That said com- missioners shall, for the purpose of organizing said county, meet at the house of John Perkins, at the head of Johnson Creek, in said county, on the first Tuesday in March. 1888, and there organize the said county and elect the officers of the said county and locate the county seat temporarily as hereinbefore provided.
Sec. 3. That at the next general election the qual- ified voters of said county shall determine the location of the county seat for said county. That said county seat shall be located at a place receiving the highest number of votes at said elcction. That the said elec- tion shall be held in every way and under the same pro- visions of law as for the clection of county officers.
That the sheriff, auditor and probate judge shall con- stitute a board whose duty it shall be to canvass the votes upon said question of location. That for this pur- pose they shall meet upon the third Tuesday after the election at 10 o'clock a. m., at the office of the county auditor of said county, and proceed to canvass said votes. That they shall thereafter immediately certify the result of the said election to the county commis- sioners of said county, whose duty it shall be at the first regular meeting after such certificate shall be filed with the clerk of the said board, to cause the county seat to be removed to the place designated in the said certifi- cate, as the place receiving the highest number of votes at said election, and they shall. at said place, provide officers for the several county offices, and the said place receiving the highest number of votes shall thereafter be considered for all purposes as the county seat for said county.
Sec. 4. That the justices of the peace and con- stables who are elected as such, in the precincts in the county of Stevens included in the territory of the county of Okanogan, shall be, and are hereby declared justices of the peace and constables of the said county of Okan- ogan.
Sec. 5. That the county of Okanogan is hereby united to the county of Stevens for legislative pur- poses.
Sec. 6. All special laws applicable to the county of Stevens, shall be and remain equally applicable to the county of Okanogan.
Sec. 7. The county of Okanogan shall be attached to the county of Spokane for judicial purposes.
Sec. 8. That all the taxes levied and assessed by the board of county commissioners of the county of Stevens for the year 1887 upon persons or property within the boundaries of the said county of Okanogan shall be collected and paid into the treasury of the county of Stevens, provided, however, that the said county of Stevens shall credit said county of Okanogan with the amount of money collected for the taxes for said year from the persons and from the property situ- ated within the boundaries of the county of Okanogan in the adjustment of the debt of the said county of Stevens between said county and the county (of) Okanogan, and the surplus, if, any, shall be paid to the county of Okanogan.
Sec. 9. That the county commissioners of said county immediately upon the organization thereof shall take steps to procure a transcript of all records of the said county of Stevens appertaining to the county of Okanogan, and the said county commissioners shall be authorized to hire said transcript to be made and the person so employed by the said commissioners shall have access to the records of Stevens county without cost, for the purpose of transcribing and indexing such portions of the records as belong to the county of Okanogan, and such records shall be certified as correct
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by the auditor of Stevens county, and thereafter shall be filed in the office of the auditor of Okanogan county and shall constitute and be records of said county as fully as if the same had been originally made therein, and the certificate of the auditor of the said county shall be ac- cepted in any court of law or in any legal proceeding whatever as if the said certificate was made to the orig- inal record.
Sec. 10. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.
Sec. II. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after passage and approved by the governor. Approved February 2, 1888.
In accordance with the provisions of this act the newly appointed commissioners of Oka- nogan county, William Granger, Guy Waring and George Hurley, convened at the ranch of John Perkins, on Johnson creek, where they proceeded to complete the organization of Oka- nogan county. This was on March 6, 1888. Perkins' ranch was about four miles north of the flourishing town of Ruby, between Conco- nully and the Okanogan river. Guy Waring called his compatriots together, and the official oath was administered to the trio by Notary Public C. H. Ballard. By unanimous vote Guy Waring was elected chairman of the first board of commissioners of Okanogan county. C. B. Bash was appointed county auditor.
Before proceeding to the appointment of other county officials the matter of the tempo- rary location of the county seat was called up. The only towns of any prominence at that pe- riod were Ruby and Salmon City (the latter being renamed Conconully a short time after- ward). Both Ruby and Salmon City were con- testants for county seat honors. Two liberally signed petitions were presented to the board, one favoring Salmon City, the other Ruby. The citizens of Ruby offered to provide offices for the county officials free of cost to the tax- payers should their town be named as the capi- tal of Okanogan county. On the other hand Salmon City offered, as an inducement to locate the county seat at that place, five acres of land. Then the question was discussed exhaustively, but the commissioners not being able to reach
an agreement, no two of them being particularly partial to either one of the proposed locations, an adjournment was had for the purpose of viewing the prospective sites, which was, on the whole, a most sagacious conclusion at which to arrive.
On the day following the matter was again taken up. An additional petition favoring Ruby was presented. Her citizens had not remained inactive throughout the night. A letter from D. W. Yeargin expatiating upon the advan- tages offered by Salmon City was also read. Quite a number of interested citizens from both of the competing towns were present. To these Chairman Waring gave every opportunity to present their respective views. Of this privi- lege Robert Emery and Samuel Lichtenstader availed themselves, the former speaking in favor of Salmon City ; the latter voicing senti- ments friendly to Ruby. The room was then cleared, and the commissioners, going into ex- ecutive session, proceeded to vote upon the question. Messrs. Hurley and Granger cast their ballots in favor of Ruby; Mr. Waring voted for Salmon City. Thus Ruby became the original capital of Okanogan county. On the following day a session of the board was held in that town; Perkin's ranch passed on to a his- torical niche in the annals of the county.
Having adjusted the county seat question, the commissioners directed their attention to the completion of the appointments of county offi- cials to serve until the general election. Upon these there was no division among the com- missioners ; their votes were unanimous. E. C. Sherman was appointed treasurer, Philip Per- kins, sheriff, Frank M. Baum, assessor, J. B. Price, coroner, A. Malott, county school super- intendent, and C. H. Ballard, probate judge. The office of surveyor was not filled at this time.
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