USA > Washington > Asotin County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume I > Part 56
USA > Washington > Columbia County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume I > Part 56
USA > Washington > Garfield County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume I > Part 56
USA > Washington > Walla Walla County > Lyman's history of old Walla Walla County, embracing Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties, Volume I > Part 56
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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the line of provisions, but I can assure you we did not enjoy any delicacies. We had plenty of bread, meat and potatoes, but as to the bread I remember that at times I had to work for it. When the flour was low I had to take corn to a neighbor's who had a steel hand mill, and grind it into meal. I think any person who has ever had the experience of grinding on a hand mill, in the matter of recollection will be like myself, that is, he will remember it.
"When spring came, the first } did was to gather up the cattle that had got considerably scattered. When that was attended to we went to seeding and planting garden. The season being very favorable everything planted grew luxuriantly. I have never since seen such a crop of potatoes as we raised that year. We estimated the crop at 600 bushels per acre, and I am inclined to be- lieve that it was over rather than under the estimate. I often hear people remark that it rains more now than when the country was first settled. I can confidently say that there has never been a season in which more rain fell in summer season, with possibly the exception of 1862, than fell this season of 1860. I heard re- marked that had it not been for the peculiar nature of our soil that readily absorbed it the crops would have been generally drowned out. I look back upon this season as being one of the most enjoyable of my life. The summer was all that we could want it to be. I heartily enjoyed looking over the beautiful coun- try, fresh from the hands of nature and unmarred by the hands of man ; every- thing seemed to smile. The country became endeared to me and I have never seriously thought of making any other place my home.
"To give an idea of how little people then in the country knew of its value, when it was being surveyed it was talked among the people that it was a waste of Government money to survey it, for the reason that there was so little of it fit for settlement ; and today you could not get an acre of that land for less than forty dollars. [At present date about a hundred and forty.] It was universally believed that all the country was worth anything for was its grazing qualities, excepting the low bottoms, which were known to be very productive. Every- body who came to the country then came with the intention of raising stock on the fine pasturage that the country afforded. Nobody came with the intention of farming, for the reason that it was thought that a very small part of the country would produce grain.
"In 1861 I was elected a member of the Territorial Legislature, which I have always thought was unfortunate for me, for the reason that the following winter was the hard winter and my presence at home would have been very desirable and beneficial to my interests. As soon as the legislature adjourned, although the severe weather was still in evidence, I started at once for home. We traveled in public conveyance as far as Monticello. We found the Columbia thoroughly frozen up and waited a few days, hoping that there might be a breakup, but as the bad weather continued and showed no signs of a change, Mr. Moore, a member of the Legislature, and I concluded to start on foot for The Dalles. It was one of the hardest trips I ever had. We traveled mostly on the ice, but at times would take to the land, where trails were beaten between neighbors in the snow who lived along the shore. We were fortunate enough to find lodging every night and to procure meals when we wanted them.
"After about a week of weary traveling we reached The Dalles, where we got saddle horses. A Wells, Fargo & Co. messenger fell in with us here, which
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swelled our company to three. We had traveled a couple of days when my two comrades became badly afflicted with snow blindness. The trail had been broken through the snow, but had later filled up with fresh snow. It took the practiced eye to follow it. My comrades being snowblinded it devolved on me to lead and break the way. The weather at times was intensely cold, but we found lodging every night except one; luckily for us, it happened to be one of the mildest nights we had, and with some blankets we passed the night fairly comfortably.
"We reached Walla Walla about the last of February. The war was raging then to such an extent and travel impeded that we brought news that was six weeks old.
"I found my folks all well and hearty, but the destruction of our stock was something frightful. When I looked them up later I found about ten per cent of them alive; but being in the prime of life and enjoying perfect health I was not discouraged.
"This season the Orofino and Florence mines poured wealth into the country to such an extent that money was very plentiful and produce very high. I suc- ceeded in putting in a large lot of potatoes and vegetables and some grain. The season being highly favorable everything grew splendidly and produced abun- dantly and brought a very high price, potatoes selling at four and one-half cents per pound and other things in proportion; so at the end of the year I had to a large extent retrieved the losses that I had sustained by the severity of the winter.
"Ever since I had heard so much about Doctor Whitman from the immi- grants who wintered with him in 1844, and especially after his tragic death, I had become interested in him and in the site of his mission, but had never visited it. In June this year I took a day for it and got on my horse and rode to the old site. Father Eells was occupying it then. I told him the object of my visit. He was very kind indeed and took a great deal of pains in showing me about the place and explaining things the best he could. He took me to the ruins of the old adobe building and explained the plan of it and showed me the spot where Doctor Whitman, according to reports, must have fallen. He then took me to where the victims of the massacre were buried, and while standing there one of us kicked the loose dirt and turned up the lower jaw bone of one of the victims. One of the teeth in the bone was filled with gold. We buried it as well as we could without tools and inferred from the circumstance that they had been buried in shallow graves or been dug up by badgers. I went home feeling that I had been well rewarded for my ride.
"The next year, 1863, I was elected sheriff. I have nothing to report that was unusual during my term, the usual routine of business incident to the office and no executions for murder or anything else worth speaking about. At the same time I was appointed deputy collector of internal revenue under Philip D. Moore. The duties of this position were simply collecting revenue that fell to the Government. The most unpleasant part of my duties was my responsibility for the considerable sums of money that I had in my possession.
"After the expiration of my term I returned to the farm and entered into the usual humdrum routine pertaining to farm life.
"In 1869, for the first time since leaving, I took a trip to Oregon. The elec- tion occurred the day before I started. The telegraph line had reached Umatilla.
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When the boat landed there the messenger went immediately to the telegraph office with the election news. This was my first contact with the telegraph, and it was hard for me to realize that while the operator was sending the dispatch at that very moment it was being received in Portland.
"At The Dalles we met the first tourist who had come on the newly com- pleted transcontinental railroad to San Francisco and from thence by steamer to Portland and from Portland by river steamers to The Dalles.
"I went to Dallas, where most of my people lived. I had a very enjoyable visit, having been away ten years. In due time I returned home and found the folks all well.
"My reminiscences having come down to and partly including the year 1869. the year that the transcontinental railroad was completed, I think about this time they should lose their character as pioneer reminiscences and thus far their in- terest to the public; for I think the future historian will draw the line between those who came in an ox-team and those who came on the railroads. So I feel that my task is done, and when a person's work is finished it is a good time to quit."
From the reminiscences of Mr. Gilliam we turn to those of one of the hon- ored builders, still living in Walla Walla, F. W. Paine. As one of the earliest business men of the region, Mr. Paine is peculiarly qualified to give a picture of the business men and conditions in Walla Walla in the early '60s. We feel our- selves fortunate to be able to present this article from his pen :
BUSINESS MEN OF TITE '60S
"In approaching the subject I realize my utter inability to fitly handle even so small a quota of so large a class, which comprises men of the most eminent minds from among whom are found the financial geniuses to solve the most intricate problems of the world's commerce, from among whose ranks have been chosen by their fellow countrymen men to occupy and administer the highest offices of the nation, and the contingent which I am about to consider. the business men of Walla Walla, has afforded men of more than local fame, not only in their own calling, but men as well who have been chosen from their own sphere to fill places of honor from city councilman to United States senator ; the achievements of this class impel the conclusion that the calling of general merchandising affords a training which adapts the mind to the handling of large affairs. To come to my subject, as I now recall the appearance of Main Street, the home of the business man in the spring of 1862, as I first beheld it, it might be described as a development of the old Indian trail along the natural elevation of the south bank of Mill Creek, forming a dry ridge much used by the Indians in horse racing before the whites appropriated it for the more advanced purposes of a business street, which, by the way, established its own azimuth which still main- tains and which incidentally misses all the cardinal points of compass. Archi- tecturally viewed it would seem that the earliest occupants of this street differed in their opinions as to the established width, for at that time there was gross irregularity in the building line, as well as ups and downs in the sidewalks, each owner apparently deeming it his own affair, that of fixing the line. When build- ing his house, sidewalk, and frequently a board awning on scantling supports, to
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afford a show place for his merchandise, while in the matter of the building line 'the crooked have been made straight, the rough places have not all been made plain,' a few still remain perhaps to attest the tenacity of error. With this much for outside appearances let us now step inside where we are met by the subject of this sketch, a business man of Walla Walla, a man approaching middle life, of good presence, well informed on the country in general, its business prospects and opportunities, his stock of merchandise, and his patrons, who, if stockmen, ranged from the Cascades to the Rocky Mountains; if a packer his range was nearly as wide, or if a miner his field covered much the same vast territory, the magnitude of which seemed to be measurably reflected in the men who partook of its largess, for the merchants of early Walla Walla were of the stalwart type who rose to the occasion and occupied the field in a creditable manner, for few of the class known in California as 'Cheap Johns,' ever tarried long in Walla Walla. They came but soon recognized their betters and left for more con- genial surroundings. As time sped on and the country settled up business grew to be more complex in its administering. Gold dust and gold and silver bars as important factors in the circulating medium, gave place to gold and silver coin. and greenbacks brought in by the immigrants of the middle '60s were tolerated at fifty to seventy-five cents on the dollar, but no lesser coin than a twenty-five cent piece was accepted in exchange for merchandise and even the saloons treated anything smaller with disdain; but the country was filling up with settlers, and as they became fixed and permanent citizens, credits were extended, some of the leading houses even in the early years, carrying heavy accounts with farm- ers and stockmen. This necessitated the merchants' assistance in marketing their products, thus these business houses became dealers in wool, wheat, barley, etc., which continued for many years and proved a substantial source of revenue which went far toward helping out the year's profits and also encouraged invest- ments in other lines, such as transportation facilities, flouring mills and various manufactures, in which the business man frequently took the lead, as he did in most of the important doings of the day; for instance, in the matter of public spirit a record may be found in his generous subscriptions to induce the con- struction of railroads, for the building of hospitals, churches and educational institutions, and for their maintenance, and again in the voting of taxes for public schools and public buildings, both of the city and county. This matter of voting taxes brings to mind that even this early, politics was an institution to be reckoned with, but the business man seldom sought its honors. His political creed was, business before pleasure or politics. When election day came around he voted his party ticket and enjoyed the diversion, so it did not interfere with business. He seldom accepted office, and then only as a matter of duty, but when such responsibilities were undertaken they were discharged with fidelity to the trust imposed.
"Of his religion he took a less serious view, but his hand was ever open to the deserving in a good cause, it mattered not from whence the call. To illus- trate, in the early days there came to this city a man most devout, a reserved and gentle mannered man, who, finding no church of his denomination, proceeded to build one near to the business district. He contributed largely of his own rather limited means and completed the building. Among the many brilliant sermons delivered from its pulpit were some very caustic and pointed, directly
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aimed at the shortcomings of the business world. He became noted for his good work, both in and out of the pulpit, but one day his church was accidentally burned, a total loss and no insurance. Whereupon a prominent business man (who for himself had little use for churches) seemingly prompted by his sense of justice, and as he said, 'a desire to see a good man get a square deal,' took prompt action and with a subscription list headed by a liberal sum, set against his own name, he proceeded to interview the business places, omitting none. Everything that was operated for money was in business to him, at least for that day, and was assessed and collection made at the same time. When he had made the round of Main Street, even before the ashes were cold, he had enough to build a new church. No one asked was the money tainted, but the church was built and much good resulted therefrom. One other instance ] recall, when a preacher who had gathered many souls into his fold, somewhat on his merits as a good 'mixer' (this word belongs to politics, but if the good man could say even now he would approve its use here). After he had scheduled members enough to justify building a church he went among the brethren for subscriptions. Meeting two of his business acquaintances he made known his plans to which they readily subscribed a generous sum, only conditioned upon his steeple rising higher than that of the church across the street. To this he readily assented, and the spire stands today to attest his good works.
"Some historian has said, 'History is not written with a microscope,' nor should it be written with one's eye blinded to events that it were better had never occurred, but so long as man continues to indulge erroneous thoughts, those thoughts will be expressed in actions which, with their effects, will be recorded. So, notwithstanding the enviable record of the average business man of his day, there was the inevitable exception when someone went wrong, or, so to say, was swept off his feet by the lure of the open games of chance, presided over by the man with the starched shirt and polished nails. Such heaps of gold and silver, bags of dust even all so temptingly lay, just waiting the turn of a card, the jingling of coins, the hustle and murmur of the crowds, the glint and dazzle of the lights, the music and the song, the tinkle of the glasses, the odor of cock- tails and champagne, a perfect riot of sensations, and over all that transport of abandon so free of all restraint, 'society' looked on complacently, law lacked an introduction, but 'twas all so sociable he took a hand or perchance bought a few chips and the better to celebrate his first winning, ordered a cocktail and cigar, and then was soon on the road that men of all callings frequented in the very early days. Little wonder that an occasional business man was found among the discard.
"Elsewhere I note that occasion was had to mention so many of the names of firms and men in business in the early days, that I will not attempt to repeat them, suffice to say that rare and potent conditions must have worked together to produce a force of men so fitting to the time and place as were these, to prosecute their chosen calling as a means to success; some, to be sure, looking only to a temporary stay which as time wore on, grew to be permanent, others, casting their lot with the county from the beginning, remained to amass fortunes of no mean proportions. Several having reached business limitations here, naturally gravitated to larger cities, to enjoy a wider field of operations, where they continued to court the Goddess of Fortune successfully. Of those who
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remained many have attained to places of honor, and of few indeed could it be said that the world was no better for their having lived in it, and taken as a whole, the history of the county would be sadly abbreviated were it to be de- prived of a record of their doings."
One of the best known of the pioneer families of Walla Walla is that of the Ferrels. As a charming narrative of the typical events of a journey across the plains and settlement in Walla Walla in the early days, we incorporate here a paper by Mrs. Brewster Ferrel.
A WOMAN'S EXPERIENCE CROSSING THE PLAINS
May 1, 1864.
We started from Corydon, Wayne County, Iowa, to travel the wild and desolate plains and seek a home in Walla Walla, Wash. This is a true story, but before you get through reading it you will not wonder at the people out west call- ing us green immigrants.
My husband and I and our little boy, who was two years old, and my hus- band's brother, were all that came in our wagon. We had a good little mule team, I have had a kind regard for mules ever since I took that trip. Did not know a mule could learn so much.
The first day was a sad one going past our relatives and old neighbors' homes and stopping to say good-bye. Our people gave us little presents, tokens of love, and lots of good advice, such as, "be careful and don't let the Indians get you," or, "be a good girl and come back some day." Well, we did come back twenty-four years after, but not with a mule team.
The first night we stayed at a house. Next morning the good woman said, "I will give you some pickled meat." So she went out in the meat house to get it, and there was a skunk drowned in the brine. We thanked her and got our meat at another place.
The next night we camped out, the first I ever slept out of a house, and when bedtime came our little boy cried, oh, so hard to go home, but we got him quiet and slept well; that was one thing we could do on that trip.
Woman-like, I was very much afraid of the bad roads. We had all of our belongings piled in that wagon, and among other things were our firearms. We came to a very bad place in the road. I took our little boy out of the wagon and we were walking behind when a shotgun that was lying in the wagon went off and the shot came very near us. Then I concluded in the wagon was the safest place and soon got so I was not afraid to ride over any kind of road.
We traveled alone till we got to the Missouri River. Then we came to a string of wagons about a mile and a half long. They were waiting to be ferried over the river. We came there in the forenoon, and took our place in line and moved up as the wagons went over. We stayed there all that day and camped there that night. Next morning we got over.
Then we traveled with a train and the Indians came around our wagons; some of them begged for food. One day when we sat down on the ground to eat our dinner about a dozen big red-faced fellows came and stood around with toma- hawks in their hands. I did not want any dinner that day, but they went away peaceably, and we traveled on over good roads and through beautiful country up
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Platte River and on and on and soon got used to seeing Indians. Sometimes they would follow our wagons and some one would throw a piece of bread out to them and they would run after the wagon and pick it up; then throw another piece, till they would look like little chickens after an old hen.
Fuel was very scarce in that country. We had to burn sage brush, dead weeds, or anything we could get. Sometimes my husband would keep feeding the fire while I baked the flapjacks, as we called them.
The men folks were all the time looking out for good grass and water for the stock, which they would herd on the grass till late at night, and then tie them to the wagon wheels. In the morning they would take them out again and herd them until starting time, which was pretty early, as we wanted to hurry through to Walla Walla. We gave our mules all the scraps we had left from our meals and they relished it very much and would hunt in the wagon for the dinner box and look and wait for their lunch.
There were some mean people crossed the plains. There was a man and his wife and three grown daughters traveling in our train. One day when we lay over we heard a commotion, and looking toward a tent we saw a girl pitch out of it and a man's boot and foot up in the air. The girl said her papa kicked her out because she had forgotten to water the horses. One other time we had stopped to rest and I heard a woman cry and swear and pray, first one and then the other. I said to a friend, "Let us go and see if we can help her ;" but she said "No; it is a woman with a very loathsome disease and the man that drives the team was kind to bring her out west." The man would cook a little food and hand it to her and then go away.
Well, the people were not all bad; we found some very dear friends on our trip. I never will forget them. It was a trying trip on us all. We had some dangerous streams to cross. We would come to some that looked impossible to cross. We would stop and plan and try the depth in every way possible, and then block up the wagon bed to the top of the standard, then tie them fast to the wagon, then cautiously drive in almost holding our breath. We had four mules and the leaders were small. Sometimes we could not see much of them but their heads. Our little boy would laugh and enjoy the excitement, but I took many a cry when I thought of where we were taking him. We had started and must get through. I had about forgotten to mention the weather, which was very stormy. It rained and snowed and blew our wagon sheet off and everything we had got wet. Our flour got musty ; we had to eat it ; we could get no other.
By this time we were getting pretty well up Platte River, and did not see many Indians, but were.hearing a good deal about their committing depredations, and commenced to corral our wagons of nights. That was to drive in a circle, unhitch, then the men would pull them close together by hand, and after herding the stock would bring them in and tie to the outside wheels of the wagons for the night.
One day our train came up to a corral of this kind and the women were sitting around crying and the men were standing in groups talking very earnestly, and not a hoof in sight. We soon learned their troubles. They had left their stock out a little way from the wagons to feed without any guards and the Indians had seen their opportunity and run between them and their stock and
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run them off. What those poor people did we never learned. We had to travel on.
One morning a few days after this sad scene we passed a train which had not started out yet, and came upon another sad scene. Two men had left their train in the evening and drove about a mile ahead, in order to get better grass for their horses. Just at dusk they were sitting on a log near their wagons when eight Indians came behind them and commenced shooting them with arrows. The men jumped for their guns, but before they reached their wagons the Indians had then both down. They left them for dead and then took the four horses and guns and ammunition and $800 in money and everything else they wanted out of the wagon, and left. But one poor fellow was not quite dead. After the Indians left he crawled a little way off in the brush and lay there till next morning. When we came along he crawled out and told us all about it. We stayed with him till his train came up, then helped him to bury his partner, and then went on. I was pretty homesick for a few days.
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