Class. 
 Book 
 
 liH 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
/ 
 
 IN THE BEGINNING 
 
 A SKETCH OF SOME EARLY EVENTS IN 
 
 WESTERN WASHINGTON WHILE IT 
 
 WAS STILL A PART OF 
 
 "OLD OREGON." 
 
 By CLAKENCE B. BAGIiEY 
 
 SEATTLE 
 
 LOWMAN & HANFORD 
 
 STATIONERY AND PRINTING CO. 
 
 1905 
 
f^9^'<:-^ 
 
 y 
 
 §hO 
 
 Gift 
 Author 
 
 !2?" '05 
 
IN THE BEGINNING 
 
 Bt clahence b. bagley 
 
 During the past two years it has been my good fortune to 
 delve at will among the old records and correspondence of 
 the early days at old Fort Nisqually, the earliest white man's 
 home in what is now Western Washington. This has given 
 me a clearer insight into the manners and customs of its 
 people than any course of mere book reading. 
 
 To the citizens of the United States, to-day, it seems 
 hardly possible that the English people could have honestly 
 believed they had a just claim to any part of our present 
 territory. In fact most of our people think we were cheated 
 out of a large slice of territory when, by the treaty of 1846, 
 our northern boundary was brought down from 54 deg., 40 
 min., to 49 deg. 
 
 On the other hand, no doubt of the ultimate settlement of 
 this long-standing dispute between the two English speak- 
 ing nations, by adopting the Columbia river as the natural 
 boundary, appears in the old documents mentioned above, 
 or in the published works of the Englishmen who wrote of 
 this north-west prior to 1845. 
 
 This international dispute became a personal one between 
 the American citizens of Old Oregon on one side, and the 
 officers and adherents of the Hudson's Bay Company on the 
 other. Since the wars of the revolution and of 1812 down to 
 recent years it was a favorite pastime of the individual and 
 collective Yankee to "twist the tail of the British lion," and 
 the early immigrants from the valley of the Mississippi to 
 the valley of the Willamette and the shores of Puget Sound 
 kept alive the national custom. It is matter for wonder- 
 
4 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 ment that, in the face of so much brag-gadocio and bluster, 
 the officers of that mightiest corporation of the i8th and 
 19th centuries maintained, as they did, so much of dignified 
 forbearance, of kindly courtesy and of generous hospitality. 
 To this every unbiased writer has given testimony from the 
 beginning of American settlement in the early 'thirties. 
 
 A classic among the literature of life and travel in sub- 
 artic regions, is "The Wild Northland," by General Sir 
 William Francis Butler, K. C. B., it being a story of a winter 
 journey with dogs, across northern North America, in the 
 winter of 1872. 
 
 It is one of his notable characteristics to suddenly break 
 away from the main narrative, with an interlude of gorgeous 
 word-painting of some object of natural scenery or to dis- 
 cuss, more or less briefly, some public question, past or 
 present. In one of these aberrations he remarked : 
 
 "From the base of the great range of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, the continent of British x^merica slopes toward the 
 north and east, until unbroken by one mountain summit, 
 but in a profound and lasting dissolution, it dips its shaggy 
 arms and icebound capes into a sea as drear and desolate. 
 
 "Long before a citizen of the United States had crossed 
 the Missouri, Canadian explorers had reached the Rocky 
 Mountains and penetrated through their fastnesses to the 
 Pacific ; and British and Canadian fur traders had grown old 
 in their forts across the continent before Lewis and Clark, 
 the pioneers of American exploration, had passed the Mis- 
 souri. Discovered by a British sailor, explored by British 
 subjects, it might well have been supposed that the great 
 region along the Pacific slope, known to us as Oregon, be- 
 longed indisputably to England ; but at some new treaty 
 "rectification" the old story was once more repeated, and the 
 unlucky 49th parallel again selected to carry across the 
 mountains to the Pacific Ocean the same record of British 
 bungling and American astuteness, which the Atlantic had 
 witnessed sixty years earlier on the rugged estuary of the 
 St. Croix. 
 
 "Unincumbered by the trappings of diplomatic tradition, 
 Jefferson saw, vaguely perhaps, but still with prescient 
 knowledge, the empire which it was possible to build in 
 
INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY DISPUTE. 5 
 
 that western wild ; and as every shifting scene in the out- 
 side world's politics, called up some new occasion for boun- 
 dary rearrangement, or treaty rectification, he grasped 
 eagerly at a fresh foothold, an additional scrap of territory, 
 in that land which was to him an unborn empire, to us a 
 half-forgotten wilderness." 
 
 The titled author of the foregoing is guilty of several 
 perversions of historical accuracy. Mackenzie was the first 
 British subject to reach the Pacific Ocean by an overland 
 trip, which he did on the 23d day of July, 1793, at the mouth 
 of an inlet called the Cascade Canal, into which the Salmon 
 river empties, and where was located one of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company's posts. Fort McLaughlin ; but an American, 
 Kendrick, in the American ship, Washington, had sailed 
 around what was later called Vancouver's Island in 1789. 
 My edition of Meares' voyage, printed in 1791, has a large 
 map that gives the sailing route of Kendrick's ship clearly 
 marked on it. 
 
 In 179* Gray discovered the Columbia river, and in 1805, 
 one hundred years ago, the American explorers followed the 
 course of one of the branches of that river from the Rocky 
 Mountains down to the Columbia and thence to the sea. 
 This expedition aroused the jealousy of the British govern- 
 ment and trading companies. Its progress was watched 
 by agents of the British Association, and preparations were 
 made to anticipate the Americans in the settlement of this 
 part of the continent. A party of the North-west Company's 
 men was despatched in 1805 for this purpose, but failed to 
 cross the Rocky Mountains. In 1806, another party, led by 
 Simon Fraser, crossed the Rocky Mountains near the pass- 
 age of the Peace river, and formed a trading establishment 
 on Fraser's Lake, in latitude 54 deg. This was the first 
 settlement or post of any kind made by British subjects west 
 of the Rocky Mountains. Other posts were formed, later, 
 in New Caledonia, as this country was called by the British 
 traders, but no evidence was ever brought out that any of 
 the waters of the Columbia, or the country through which 
 
6 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 they flow, was ever seen by persons in the service of the 
 North-west Company until i8ii, when a party of said Com- 
 pany's men attempted to forestall Astor in occupying the 
 mouth of the Columbia river. They arrived there July 
 15th of that year, but Capt. Thorne had sailed Astor's ship, 
 Tonquin, over that river's bar the 24th of March, previous, 
 and the large party it carried at once began a settlement 
 which they called Astoria. They also founded another post 
 at Fort Okanogan. 
 
 Because of the war of 1812 with England, these posts were 
 abandoned and their goods sold to the North-west Company. 
 In 1818, these posts were restored to the United States by 
 the terms of the treaty of peace following said war. 
 
 In 1818, the North-west Company established a post near 
 where the Walla Walla empties into the Columbia, and 
 for perhaps fifty years it was called Fort Walla Walla, but, 
 later, the place became known as Wallula, and Walla Walla 
 was founded about thirty miles inland. 
 
 For many years there had been bitter rivalry between the 
 North-west Company and the Hudson's Bay Company, but 
 in 1821 they entered into partnership. Prior to this time the 
 latter Company had no foothold on the Pacific Coast, but 
 the new company took the name of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany. In 1823, John McLaughlin was appointed to take 
 charge of the Columbia district, and for a time he made 
 his headquarters at Fort George, as Astoria was then called. 
 
 In 1825, attracted by the natural beauty of the place, sur- 
 rounded by rich bottom lands and good grazing, nearby, 
 Fort Vancouver was established on the present site of the 
 City of that name on the north bank of the Columbia river 
 about six miles above where the Willamette empties its 
 waters. In 1827, Fort Langley was founded on the south 
 bank of the Fraser river, about thirty miles from its mouth, 
 and very soon a large amount of business was done between 
 that post and Fort Vancouver, by way of the ocean and 
 Columbia river, and up the Sound to Nisqually, and thence 
 
OLD FORT NISQUALLY. 7 
 
 overland to the Columbia river and up that stream to Van- 
 couver. 
 
 Lying in the northern angle formed by the Nisqually river 
 and the Sound is one of the world's beauty spots. No grand 
 park of human creation rivals its charm of undulating plain ; 
 its silvery lakes with pebbly beaches, nestling among de- 
 tached or winding groves whose vivid green of oak, maple, 
 alder and dogwood brightens the somber hues of the prevail- 
 ing evergreens. The old gray oaks, with silver-threaded 
 mosses pendant from every gnarled limb, are almost coeval 
 with the snow-capped mountains off toward sunrise. Here 
 and there big pines and firs, parents of the younger brood 
 that crowd each other for breath of air and ray of sunshine, 
 stand sentinel guard over all this loveliness. Evergreen 
 cones are all about, whose lower branches caress buttercup, 
 larkspur, violet, strawberry blossom and other sweet flow- 
 ers amid the grasses at their feet and whose tops are already 
 reaching to the shoulders of their progenitors. 
 
 On the crest of a hill overlooking the waters of the bay 
 and the dozen islands that off toward the west seem to 
 mingle with the foothills of the Olympics, one of the many 
 little prairies boldly thrust itself over the almost precipitous 
 hillside seventy years ago. To-day, it has been driven back- 
 ward a full mile by a growth of firs that rise in the air a hun- 
 dred feet, or more, and have a girth of that many inches at 
 their bases. 
 
 Here, within a stone throw of the down sweep of the hill- 
 side, shrewd, hardy, brave and venturesome Archibald Mc- 
 Donald, one of the chief traders of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany, erected the first white man's habitation on all this in- 
 land sea. There were the fort buildings, barns, blacksmith 
 shop, cabins and other outbuildings, all inclosed within a 
 strong and high stockade, with its bastioned corners. A 
 little creek brought the waters of the lakes a few miles away 
 down to the sea. The prairies extending north and east for 
 miles were then covered with rich and luxuriant grasses, 
 
S PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 which in the next few years fattened many thousands of 
 sheep and cattle. 
 
 Here is the first entry in the "Journal of Occurrences at 
 Nisqually House" : 
 
 "May 30th, 1833, Thursday. Arrived here this afternoon 
 from the Columbia with four men, four oxen and four horses, 
 after a journey of fourteen days, expecting to have found 
 the schooner Vancouver lying here. She sailed the after- 
 noon of the same day we started, with trading goods, pro- 
 visions, potatoes, seeds, etc., bound for Nisqually Bay, where 
 we have now determined, should everything come up to 
 expectation, to locate an establishment. While on a trading 
 expedition down Sound, last Spring, with eight or nine men, 
 I applied about twelve days of our time to the erecting 
 of a store-house 15x20 feet, and left Wm. Ouvrie and two 
 other hands under him, in charge of a few blankets, a couple 
 kegs of potatoes, and some small garden seeds, when I re- 
 turned to the Columbia on the 20th of April. This is all 
 the semblance of settlement there is this moment, but, little 
 as it is, it possesses an advantage over all the other settle- 
 ments we have made on the Coast. IMr. Yale, in conse- 
 quence of a note to that effect, sent him from home by 
 Indians, six weeks ago, forwarded, the other day, four men 
 out of thirteen left with him at Fort Langley, middle of 
 February, which now makes our total number at Nisqually 
 House elc'/en hands. I have with me, at this moment. Dr. 
 Tolmie, a young gentlemen lately arrived from England as 
 surgeon for the Company, and bound for the Northern 
 Estate in the Vancouver, but did me the pleasure of his 
 company across land this far." 
 
 It is not often that we find in the early records such exact 
 statements of fact and dates as the above. 
 
 The summer of 1833 "^^as mostly consumed in the erection 
 of buildings and stockade and making a wagon road down 
 the steep bank from near the fort to the landing. 
 
 The main building was 55 feet long, 20 feet wide, with 
 walls 12 feet high. The sills, posts, studding, and floor 
 beams and flooring were hewed out of logs ; and, as all the 
 men were inexperienced, at this kind of labor, the task 
 was severe and long continued. The buildings were all 
 
DR. TOLMIE AS MISSIONARY. 9 
 
 covered with large pieces of cedar bark held in place by 
 timbers. The outer enclosure was about 250 feet long and 
 200 wide, and at the corners four bastions, constructed of 
 squared oak logs, were erected. 
 
 In the early part of winter a saw pit was fitted up where 
 boards were sawed out by hand — a laborious process well 
 known to frontiersmen as "whip-sawing.' These boards 
 were used for doors, shelving, gates and rough furniture. 
 An immense chimney, constructed of sticks plastered with 
 clay, served to warm the chief officer's living room. 
 
 Their first vehicles were home made, and almost wholly 
 of wood. Wheels, round disks sawed from oak logs, axles 
 large and of oak, with wooden linch pins. Whoever has 
 heard the frightful noise emitted by these primitive carts 
 or wagons when in motion has never forgotten it. A mod- 
 ern electric car, driven around an ungreased curve, for a 
 second or two wails and screams somewhat after the fashion 
 of these old-time "go-carts," but every motion of the latter 
 served to announce its sufferings. These carts were hauled 
 by oxen and served to transport the company goods up and 
 down the beach road, to bring in the grain from the fields 
 and to bring in the immense quantities of fuel consumed 
 within the precincts of the station. 
 
 An entry of July 21, 1833, Sunday, shows somewhat of the 
 attitude of the officers at the station in their dealings with 
 the Indians, and of the wish to set a good example before 
 them. It is, "No skins traded today, the Indians having 
 been informed, last night, that we intended in future not to 
 trade on Sunday." 
 
 Dr. Tolmie records in his diary the following: "Today, 
 the Indians assembled in front of house to the number of 
 seventy or eighty, male and female. With Brown as inter- 
 preter, who spoke in Chinook, Heron and I explained the 
 Creation of the world, the reason why Christians and Jews 
 abstained from work on Sunday ; and had got as far as the 
 Deluge in sacred history, when we were requested to stop, 
 as the Indians could not comprehend things clearly." 
 
10 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 Miss Jennie W. Tolmie wrote a few days ago, giving me 
 the foregoing. She adds : "My father was much interested 
 in missionary work ; in fact, at one time, he thought of 
 leaving the H. B. Co., and becoming a missionary. I re- 
 member driving to Nisqually from Tacoma, many years 
 ago, and stopping at a farm house where an old, white- 
 haired man was leaning over the gate. When my aunt, Mrs. 
 Edward Huggins, told him who we were, he said 'your 
 father taught my wife the Lord's Prayer.' " 
 
 The foregoing is the first mention I have found of relig- 
 ious instruction being given to the Indians in this North- 
 west. The missionaries did not arrive until later — the 
 Methodists in September of 1834, nearly a year later, the 
 Presbyterians and Congregationalists and Episcopalians in 
 1836, and the Catholics in 1838, so these lone gentlemen on 
 the shores of Puget Sound were the pioneer preachers in 
 "Old Oregon." 
 
 Thereafter, for a long time, the Sunday record shows that 
 the Indians assembled regularly to listen to religious in- 
 struction. 
 
 "Sunday, Dec. 22d, 1833. Cold, frosty weather. Several 
 Indian families came in as usual to get some religious in- 
 struction. I began to give them some instruction soon 
 after my arrival, which they treated with much indifference ; 
 but, have at last succeeded in altering their savage nature 
 so far that they not only listen with attention to what I 
 tell them, but actually practice it." 
 
 "Sunday, August 10, 1834. The natives assembled and re- 
 quested me to point out to them what was proper for them 
 to act in regard to our Divine Being. I told them that they 
 should endeavor to keep their hands from killing and steal- 
 ing, to love one another, and to pray only to the Great 
 Master of Life, or, as they say, the Great Chief who resides 
 on high. In fact I did my best to make them understand 
 Good from Evil. They, on their part, promised fair, and 
 had their devotional dance, for without it they would think 
 very little of what we say to them." 
 
 This simple narrative of the beginning of a great work, 
 that of the teaching the natives Good from Evil, and that is 
 the whole law, that too by laymen spending long years of 
 
FIRST ASCENT OF MT. RAINIER. 11 
 
 exile in a savage land, is an eloquent testimony to the manly 
 virtues of Doctor William F. Tolmie and Francis Herron. 
 It was penned before Lee, Whitman, Spalding, Hines or 
 Eells had taken up the same work in the valleys of the 
 Columbia and the Willamette, and it has remained hidden 
 in old, worm-eaten diaries and record books for more than 
 seventy )'ears. The writers and all their associates and the 
 simple-minded people they sought to elevate in moral life 
 have been dead for many, many years. 
 
 Little is known of Mr. Herron. He was transferred to 
 another post and died early in 1841. 
 
 Dr. Tolmie had much freedom of action, not being con- 
 fined to the daily routine of life at the station ; so, late in 
 the summer, he made a trip to ]\It. Rainier, the first by a 
 white man, and it will be seen that to him belongs the credit 
 of discovering its glaciers. His daughter, mentioned else- 
 where, copied for me from her -father's diary the part re- 
 lating to this "botanizing expedition" as follows : 
 
 August 27, 1833. Obtained Mr. Herron's consent to mak- 
 ing a botanizing excursion to Mt. Rainier, for which he has 
 allowed 10 days. Have engaged two horses from a chief 
 living in that quarter, who came here tonight, and Lachalet 
 is to be my guide. Told the Indians I am going to Mt. Rain- 
 ier to gather herbs of which to make medicine, part of which 
 is to be sent to Britain and part retained in case intermittent 
 fever should visit us when I will prescribe for the Indians. 
 
 Aug. 28. A tremendous thunder storm occurred last 
 night, succeeded by torrents of rain. The thunder was very 
 hard, and the lightning flashing completely enlightened my 
 apartment. Have been chatting with Mr. Herron about 
 colonizing Whidby's Island, a project of which he is at 
 present quite full — more anon. No horses have appeared. 
 Understand that the mountain is four days' journey dis- 
 tant — the first of which can only be performed on horse- 
 back. If they do not appear tomorrow I shall start with 
 Lachalet on foot. 
 
 Aug. 29. Prairie 8 miles N. of home. Sunset. Busy 
 making arrangements for journey, and while thus occupied, 
 the guide arrived with 3 horses. Started about 3, mounted 
 on a strong iron grey, mv companions disposing of them- 
 selves on the other two horses, except one, who walked. 
 
12 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 We were 6 in number. I have engaged Lachalet for a 
 blanket, and his nephew, Lashima, for ammunition to ac- 
 company me and IMuckalkut and Poyalip (whom I took for 
 a native of Mt. Rainier) with 2 horses to be guide on the 
 mountain and after leaving the horse track, and Quilliliaish, 
 his relative, a very active, strong fellow, has volunteered to 
 accompany me. The Indians are all in great hopes of kill- 
 ing elk and chevriel (deer), and Lachalet has already been 
 selling and promising the grease he is to get. It is in a 
 great measure the expectation of finding game that urges 
 them to undertake the journey. Cantered slowly along the 
 prairie and are now at the residence of Nuckalkut's father's, 
 under the shade of a lofty pine, in a grassy amphitheatre, 
 beautifully interspersed and surrounded with oaks, and 
 through the gaps in the circle we see the broad plain ex- 
 tending southwards to Nisqually. In a hollow immediately 
 behind is a small lake whose surface is almost one sheet 
 of water lillies about to flower. Have supped on sallals ; 
 at dusk shall turn in. 
 
 Aug. 30. Sandy beach of Poyallipa River. Slept ill last 
 night, and as I dozed in the morning was aroused by a stroke 
 across the thigh from a large decayed branch which fell 
 from the pine overshadowing us. A drizzling rain fell dur- 
 ing most of the night. Got up about dawn, and finding 
 thigh stifif and painful thought a stop put to the journey, 
 but after moving about it felt easier. Started about sunrise, 
 I mounted on a spirited brown mare, the rest on passable 
 animals, except Nuckalkut, who bestrode a foal. Made a 
 north-easterly course through prairie. Breakfasted on bread, 
 sallal, dried cockels and a small piece of chevreil saved from 
 the last night's repast of my companions (for I cannot call 
 them attendants). The points of wood now became broader, 
 and the intervening plain degenerated into prairions. Stop- 
 ped about I P. M. at the abode of 3 Lekatat families, who 
 met us rank and file at the door to shake hands. Their 
 sheds were made of bark resting on a horizontal pole, sup- 
 ported at each end by tripods, and showed an abundance of 
 elk's flesh dried within. Two kettles were filled with this, 
 and after smoking, my Indians made a savage repast on the 
 meat and boullion, Lachalet saying it was the Indian custom 
 to eat a great deal at once and afterwards abstain for a time ; 
 he, however, has twice eaten since 11. Traded some dried 
 meat for 4 balls and 3 rings, and mounting, rode off in the 
 midst of a heavy shower. Ascended and descended at diflF- 
 
FIRST ASCENT OF MT. RAINIER. 13 
 
 erent times several steep banks and passed through dense 
 and tangled thickets, occasionally coming on a prairion. 
 The soil was throughout was of the same nature as that 
 of Nusqually. After descending a very steep bank came to 
 the Poyallipa. Lashima carried the baggage across on his 
 head. Rode to the opposite side through a rich alluvial soil 
 plain, 3 or 4 miles in length and % to i in breadth. It is 
 covered with fern about 8 feet high in some parts. Passed 
 through Avoods and crossed river several times. About 7 
 P. M. dismounted and the horses and accoutrements were 
 left in a wood at the river's brink. Started now on foot for 
 a house Nuckalkut knew and after traversing woods and 
 twice crossing the torrents "on the unstedfast footing" of a 
 log, arrived at the house, which was a deserted one, and 
 encamped on the dry part of the river bed, along which 
 our course lies tomorrow. The Poyallipa flows rapidly and 
 is about 10 or 12 yards broad. Its banks are high and cov- 
 ered with lofty cedars and pines. The water is of a dirty 
 white colour, being impregnated with white clay. Lachalet 
 has tonight been trying to dissuade me from going to the 
 snow on the mountains. 
 
 Aug. 31. Slept well, and in the morning two salmon were 
 caught on which we are to breakfast before starting. After 
 breakfast Quilliliaish stuck the gills and sound of the fish 
 on a spit which stood before the fire, so that the next comer 
 might know that salmon could be obtained there. Have 
 travelled nearly the whole day through a wood of cedar 
 and pine, surface very uneven, and after ascending the bed 
 of river a couple of miles are now encamped about 10 yards 
 from its margin in the wood. Find myself very inferior to 
 my companions in the power of enduring fatigue. Their 
 pace is a smart trot which soon obliges me to rest. The 
 waters of the Poyallipa are still of the same colour. Can 
 see a short distance up two lofty hills covered with wood. 
 Evening cloudy and rainy. Showery all day. 
 
 Sunday, Sept. i. Bank of Poyallipa river. It has rained 
 all night and is now, 6 A. M., pouring down. Are a good 
 deal sheltered by the trees. My companions are all snooz- 
 ing. Shall presently arouse them and hold a council of war. 
 The prospect is very discouraging. Our provisions will 
 be expended and Lachalat said he thought the river would 
 be too high to be fordable in either direction. Had dried 
 meat boiled in a cedar bark kettle for breakfast. I got rig- 
 ged out in green blanket without trowsers, in Indian style, 
 
14 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 and trudged on through the wood. Afterward exchanged 
 blanket with Lachalat for Ouvrie's capot, which has been 
 on almost every Indian at Nusqually. However, I found it 
 more convenient than the blanket. Our course lay up the 
 river, which we crossed frequently. The bed is clayey in 
 most parts. Saw the sawbill duck once or twice and I fired 
 twice, unsuccessfully. Have been flanked on both sides with 
 high, pineclad hills for some miles. A short distance above 
 encampment snow can be seen. It having rained almost 
 incessantly have encamped under shelving bank which has 
 been undermined by the river. Immense stones only held 
 in place by dried roots, form the roof and the floor is very 
 rugged. Have supped on berries, which, when heated, with 
 stones in kettle, taste like lozenges. Propose tomorrow to 
 ascend one of the snowy peaks above. 
 
 Sept. 2. Summit of a snowy peak immediately under 
 Rainier. Passed a very uncomfortable night in our trog- 
 lodite mansion. Ascended the river for 3 miles to where it 
 was shut in by amphitheatre of mountains and could be 
 seen bounding over a lofty precipice above. Ascended that 
 which showed most snow. Our track lay at first through 
 a dense wood of pine, but we afterwards emerged into an 
 exuberantly verdant gully closed on each side by lofty preci- 
 pices. Followed gully to near the svimmit and found ex- 
 cellent berries in abundance. It contained very few Alpine 
 plants. Afterwards came to a grassy mound where the 
 sight of several decayed trees induced us to encamp. After 
 tea I set out with Lachalat and Nuckalkut for the summit 
 which was ankle deep with snow for J4 niile downwards. 
 The summit terminated in abrupt precipice Northwards and 
 bearing N. E. from Mt. Rainier the adjoining peak. The 
 mists were at times very dense but a puff of S. W. wind 
 occasionally dispelled them. On the S. side of Poyallipa is 
 a range of snow dappled mountains, and they as well as 
 that on the N. side terminate in Mt. Rainier. Collected a 
 vasculum of plants at the snow, and having examined and 
 packed them shall turn in. Thermometer at base 54 deg., 
 at summit of ascent 47 deg. 
 
 Sept. 3. Woody islet on Poyallipa. It rained heavily 
 during night, but about dawn the wind shifting to the N. 
 E. dispersed the clouds and frost set in. Lay shivering all 
 night and roused my companions twice to rekindle the fire. 
 At sunrise accompanied by Ouilliliaish went to the summit 
 and found the tempr. of the air 33 deg. The snow was 
 
DISCOVERY OF GLACIERS. 15 
 
 spangled and sparkled brightly in the bright sunshine. It 
 was crisp and only yielded a couple of inches to the pressure 
 of foot in walking. Mt. Rainier appeared surpassingly 
 splendid and magnificient; it bore, from the peak on which 
 I stood, S. S. E. and was separated from it only by a narrow 
 glen, whose sides however were formed by inaccessible 
 precipices. Got all my bearings correctly today, the atmos- 
 phere being clear and every object distinctly perceived. 
 The river flows at first in a northerly direction from the 
 mountain. The snow on the summit of the mountain ad- 
 joining Rainier on western side of Poyallipa is continuous 
 with that of latter, and thus the S. Western aspect of Rainier 
 seemed the most accessible. By ascending the first moun- 
 tain through a gully on its Northern side, you reach the 
 eternal snow of Rainier and for a long distance afterwards 
 the ascent is very gradual, but then it becomes abrupt in the 
 sugar loaf form assumed by the mountain. Its eastern side 
 is steep on its Northern aspect. A few small glaciers were 
 seen on the conical portion ; below that the mountain is 
 composed of bare rock, apparently volcanic, which about 
 50 yards in breadth reaches from the snow to the valley be- 
 neath and is bounded on each side by bold bluff crags scant- 
 ily covered with stunted pines. Its surface is generally 
 smooth but here and there raised into small points or knots, 
 or arrowed with short and narrow longitudinal lines in 
 which snow lay. From the snow on western border the Poy- 
 allipa arose, and in its course down this rock slope was 
 fenced in to the eastward by a regular elevation of the rock 
 in the form of a wall or dyke, which, at the distance I 
 viewed it, seemed about four feet high and four hundred 
 yards in length. Two pyramids of rock arose from the 
 gentle acclivity at S. W. extremity of mountain, and around 
 each the drifting snow had accumulated in large quantity, 
 forming a basin apparently of great depth. Here I also 
 perceived, peeping from their snowy covering, two lines of 
 dyke similar to that already mentioned. 
 
 Sept. 4. Am tonight encamped on a small eminence near 
 the commencement of prairie. Had a tedious walk through 
 the wood bordering Poyallipa, but accomplished it in much 
 shorter time than formerly. Evening fine. 
 
 Sept. 5. Nusqually. Reached Tekatat camp in the fore- 
 noon and regaled on boiled elk and shallon. Pushed on 
 ahead with Lachalet and Ouilliliaish, and arrived here in 
 the evening, where all is well. 
 
16 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 "Lachalet," so often referred to here was the hereditary 
 chief of the Nisqually tribe and a man of importance with 
 the Hudson's Bay and Agricultural Companies for many 
 years. At his death the tribe refused to allow his sons to 
 succeed him and remained without a chief until about 1854 
 when Governor Stevens appointed Quiemuth and Leschi 
 chiefs of the tribe, which appears to have willingly accepted 
 their leadership. 
 
 Early in November, 1833, Doctor Tolmie sailed on the 
 Cadboro for Fort McLaughlin, to which place he had 
 started when he came to Nisqually. In a few days Mr. 
 Heron, who was then in charge, started with two boats 
 laden with goods, tools and provisions to establish a post on 
 the large prairie on Whidby Island, that had been selected 
 for that purpose at an earlier date. They were overtaken 
 by a gale of wind and narrowly escaped being swamped, 
 but finally got ashore, though the boats became separated. 
 This led to a return to the Fort. A higher sort of servant 
 had been left in charge, but during the short absence of the 
 chief trader matters had got into such bad shape the plan 
 of establishing the other post was abandoned for the time 
 being, and, in fact, was never revived. 
 
 June 9, 1834, Mr. Heron writes in the journal, "About 2 
 p. m., we heard a couple of cannon shot ; soon after I started 
 in a canoe with six men, and went on board the Llama, 
 with the pleasure of taking tea with McNeil, who pointed 
 out two Chinese he picked up from the natives near Cape 
 Flattery, where a vessel of that nation had been wrecked 
 not long since. There is one still amongst the Indians, in- 
 land, but a promise was made of getting the poor fellow on 
 the Coast by the time the Llama gets there." 
 
 As a matter of fact, these were Japanese, and the third 
 man was rescued later. They had lost command of their 
 junk and drifted before the storms across the ocean and 
 driven ashore near Cape Flattery. They had many com- 
 panions, but only these escaped. Later, they were sent 
 to China, and an effort made to get them home to Japan, 
 
JAPANESE CASTAWAYS. 17 
 
 but as this was long before that country was thrown open to 
 other nations, it is generally thought they never reached 
 their native land. 
 
 June nth, "All the outfit safely landed and received safely 
 in store. The cattle were also got out; they are very wild 
 and wicked ; one of the cows wounded one of the men, 
 William Brown, in the groin and nearly killed a couple 
 more. The cattle received are three cows with their calves, 
 and a bull." These came from the Company's farm at Van- 
 couver. This was the beginning of an industry that in 
 later years attained immense proportions, so much so, that 
 at times cattle were slaughtered by the hundreds for their 
 hides alone. 
 
 Soon after the establishment of Fort Vancouver, the Com- 
 pany had driven what were always called in early days, 
 "Spanish" cattle, overland from the Mexican settlements 
 in California. This breed was slim, active, hardy, long- 
 horned, vicious, and poor milkers, but they bred like rabbits, 
 almost, and it did not take long for the owner of a few cows 
 to have a large herd around him. In a few years the Com- 
 pany sent numbers of these cattle to their posts in the in- 
 terior of the Columbia basin, where they throve amazingly. 
 After a time it was found that Nisqually was better fitted 
 for their herds and flocks than the more exposed eastern 
 stations and it was decided to make a transfer. An old 
 manuscript in the handwriting of A. C. Anderson, gives the 
 following: 
 
 "After harvest in 1841, I set out with a party of men 
 to receive a number of cattle transferred from the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company to the Puget Sound Agricultural 
 Company from the posts of Nez Perces, Colville, and Oka- 
 nagan. We crossed the Cascade range over the northwest 
 shoulder of Mt. Rainier, by the Sinahomish pass, (Now, I 
 think the Snoqualmie pass — Edward Huggins.) We fol- 
 lowed an Indian trail, but expended a good deal of labor 
 in parts to render it passable for our return. Met the party 
 conducting the cattle low down on the "Yachimah" river, 
 on the Swanapun branch. Hired some Yachimah Indians 
 to assist in driving. Left the greater portion of the party 
 
IS PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 to herd the cattle near the verge of the mountains so as to 
 recruit. Returned to Nisqually with a man to procure pro- 
 visions and further assistance. Met the party and returned 
 with them, bringing the cattle through to the Nisqually 
 plains, with some loss, by estrays on the way, some of which, 
 if not most of them, probably, afterwards reached the same 
 locality, following on the trail of the herd. In October, I 
 had orders to proceed to Vancouver. A large herd reached 
 Nisqually just as I was leaving. Others were on the way. 
 A large number of ewes were introduced at the same time. 
 These were the results of purchase made that summer in 
 California by Chief Factor, now Sir James Douglas. They 
 were driven up by land via the Umpqua and Willamette 
 valleys. I cannot state the numbers, leaving Nisqually as 
 I have said just as they were arriving. There were a good 
 many swine, used chiefly for provisioning the people. No 
 settlers in the country at this time, and only the Wesleyan 
 Mission, under Dr. Richmond, near the present site of the 
 Fort, with the aid and concurrence of the Company. The 
 dairy was conducted by an Englishwoman, whose husband 
 superintended the farming operations." 
 
 Here is one of the troubles of these old books and papers. 
 They give enough to whet one's curiosity, and then leave 
 out so much that would have been interesting and oftimes 
 valuable information. How easy it would have been for 
 Mr. Anderson to give the numbers of that first drove over 
 the mountains. It must have been an immense one to re- 
 quire so much help, for when cattle have been driven to- 
 gether for a few days, they follow the leader, with very 
 little attempt at scattering. Two of us, A. S. Mercer and I, 
 drove over from near Salem, Oregon, in 1863, first to Port- 
 land, then by steamer to Monticello, at the mouth of the 
 Cowlitz river, and from there to Seattle, by land, more than 
 two dozen cows, without any loss, or serious difficulty. 
 There must have been several hundreds and, probably, thou- 
 sands in that early day drove. 
 
 In later 3'^ears the Agricultural Company had on Nis- 
 qually Plains from 5,000 to 8,000 head of cattle and from 
 6,000 to 10,000 sheep, also 300 head of horses. It required 
 from fifty to seventy-five men to take care of these, and 
 
INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS. 19 
 
 they were a motley crew — English, Scotch, Canadian- 
 French, Kanakas, half-breeds and Indians. Of the latter the 
 Company employed but few, as all the records show they 
 were considered too worthless and dishonest to be en- 
 trusted with much responsibility. 
 
 x\s early as 1841, they were milking- two hundred cows 
 and had several hundred more on the range. After their 
 importations from California they set to work to improve 
 their breed, and imported some of the best from England. 
 At that time they were also farming on a large scale, using 
 the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company for that pur- 
 pose, who were bound by contracts to do all kinds of work 
 required of them, civil or military. 
 
 For many years they had the supplying of all the forts 
 and stations of the Hudson's Bay Company on the Pacific 
 Coast, and also furnished the Russians of Alaska with grain, 
 butter and cheese, at one time as high as fifteen thousand 
 bushels in one year. They also exported to England hides, 
 horns, tallow, and wool, thereby giving cargoes to the ves- 
 sels that brought out the supplies needed for the use of 
 the employees and for traffic with the Indians, which would 
 otherwise have gone home comparatively empty, as the 
 annual shipments of furs required but little space, though 
 immensely valuable in themselves. At that time their stock 
 required little feed other than they picked up on the range 
 and of course it was quite a profitable business for the Com- 
 pany. 
 
 The flocks of sheep soon became of the best breeds, mostly 
 merino, as large importations of blooded animals were made 
 from England. As early as 1844, nearly seven thousand 
 pounds of wool were shipped, and in ten years later this 
 went up to over thirteen thousand pounds. This year, 1854, 
 it was found that the sheep had become too numerous for 
 the pasturing capacity of the Nisqually Plains, and there 
 being a large demand for improved breed of sheep, in the 
 Willamette valley, Doctor Tolmie, then in charge at that 
 place, decided to get rid of a few thousands, so he started 
 
20 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 with a band of 3600, going as far south as Eugene in the 
 valley, disposing of them to the farmers as he went along. 
 The doctor was absent on this trip about four months, and 
 the venture proved very profitable, as the sheep brought 
 good prices. I can remember that the farmers of the Wil- 
 lamette valley bought very freely of merino sheep brought 
 out from Vermont and sold at from one hundred to one 
 hundred and twenty-five dollars per head, and of short- 
 horn cattle from Kentucky at from two hundred and fifty 
 for cows to five hundred dollars per head for bulls, the 
 latter having been brought out by Gen. Gaines, who had 
 been Governor of the Territory under an early Whig ad- 
 ministration. 
 
 There was one part of the yearly work where the Indians 
 did the most of it ; that was in the washing and shearing 
 of the flocks. It was made a sort of holiday time, similar 
 to modern hop-picking. The men did the washing, and 
 assisted in the packing of the wool, and the women did the 
 shearing. The work was done in a primitive way. The 
 women would work in pairs. A man would catch a sheep 
 and carry it to the women, who would be seated on the 
 floor of a large store room, called the shearing-house, with 
 an Indian mat under them. One would take the fore part 
 and the other the hind part of the animal, whose legs were 
 tied to prevent it from struggling too much or getting away. 
 Some of the workers were skillful and others the reverse, 
 in the latter case the poor brute would be badly mangled. 
 
 Much has been written of the cattle and sheep of the 
 Company destroying the indigenous and highly nutritious 
 bunch grass of the Nisqually Plains. I do not think this 
 indictment will lie. If there ever were a set of men who 
 did things on a methodical and prudent scale, it was these 
 early Hudson's Bay people, so long as they were in control 
 of affairs there. It was their custom to keep their sheep in 
 bands of about five hundred, each band under the charge 
 of two men, which were under the supervision of a white 
 shepherd, who resided at an out-station. Each of these had 
 
PUGET SOUND AGRICULTURAL CO. 21 
 
 from two to four of these bands to care for. The sheep were 
 carefully parked every night, and the parks or corrals moved 
 every two or three nights, thus keeping the ground enriched, 
 and at the same time from being overpastured to the injury 
 of the grass. Although this grass was a "Bunch grass," it 
 was different from that so-called east of the Cascade Moun- 
 tains which leaves fully half of the ground bare. It cov- 
 ered the ground completely, making a thick sward, which, 
 even in the hot months did not dry up, but was of a bluish- 
 green color. After the white settlers secured most of these 
 lands this intelligent care of the grazing ended. In the 
 'seventies there were probably not less than thirty thou- 
 sand sheep scattered over the prairies, as well as thousands 
 of other stock, and as they were there during the spring and 
 summer the grass had no chance to seed and was soon eaten 
 down to the roots so that the hot summer sun and drying 
 winds killed it out completely in a few years, and a growth 
 of worthless grass and weeds has taken its place. 
 
 The cattle, during the later years of the occupation by 
 the Company, became very wild, and were shot by its em- 
 ployees, by the settlers, and by the Indians, so that it be- 
 came almost impossible to handle them. In fact many of 
 them became as wild as deer, and it took a skillful hunter 
 to get a shot at them. They would hide in the woods in 
 the daytime, and come out cautiously at night to feed on 
 the prairies, and it became the custom to hunt them at times 
 of bright moonlight. 
 
 The farming and stock-raising operations of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company 
 had such an important effect in securing the early occupa- 
 tion of the countrv west of the Cascade mountains and north 
 of the Columbia river, and also in affording the early Ameri- 
 can settlers means of subsistence for several years until 
 they had become self-supporting, that a detailed explanation 
 of the origin and operations of the latter is important. 
 
 The older corporation was generally known as the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company, but its legal title was the "Governor 
 
22 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hud- 
 son's Bay." Its sole business was to secure furs and pel- 
 tries, both by traffic with the Indians, and by maintenance 
 of a large force of trappers and hunters in its own employ. 
 
 The idea of forming a company, having for its object the 
 raising of flocks and herds for commercial purposes was 
 first mooted in the Spring of 1833, and introduced to the 
 Company by Chief Factor Archibald McDonald. The site 
 of operations then proposed was in Sacramento valley, Cali- 
 fornia, imder a contemplated grant from the Mexican gov- 
 ernment. Later, the extensive pastoral and agricultural 
 country around Nisqually and the Cowlitz was preferred 
 because of their nearness to Vancouver, the headquarters 
 of the Company's operations west of the Cascade mountains. 
 This tract was then lying unoccupied and was believed by 
 the company people to belong to Great Britain. Objections 
 were raised to the Hudson's Bay Company entering on the 
 business, as it was thought it would be likely to interfere 
 with the legitimate business of that Company, the fur trade. 
 There were, however, many advantages that might accrue 
 to the company in the prosecution of their ordinary business 
 by an association of the kind proposed, with adequate cap- 
 ital, if independently conducted, therefore the directors 
 of the Hudson's Bay Company in London agreed to lend 
 that Company's cooperation. 
 
 A prospectus was accordingly issued in London in 1838, 
 a copy of which lies before me as I write. It is engraved 
 in artistic style, and occupies four pages of foolscap size. 
 
 Its introduction is as follows : "The soil and climate of 
 the Country of the Columbia River, particularly the district 
 situated between the head waters of the Cowlitz River, 
 which falls into the Columbia River about 50 miles from the 
 Pacific and Puget's Sound, being considered highly favor- 
 able for the rearing of Flocks and Herds, with the view to 
 the Production of Wool, Hides and Tallow, and also for 
 the cultivation of other Agricultural produce, It is pro- 
 posed": 
 
PUGET SOUND AGRICULTURAL CO. 23 
 
 Then follow twenty clauses giving the purposes of the 
 proposed organization, its name, capital stock of 200,000 
 pounds sterling, in shares of 100 pounds each, that until the 
 sovereignty of the country involved should be determined 
 the main office and entire management of the afifairs of the 
 Company should be retained in London, naming John Henry 
 Pelly, Andrew Colvile and George Simpson agents with 
 full powers to conduct and direct the business, providing 
 for yearly meetings of the proprietors of the Company, rules 
 of voting and sales of stock, that the superintendent of the 
 Agricultural Company should always be an officer attached 
 to and interested in the Hudson's Bay Company, that no 
 person in the employ or taken into the district of the Agri- 
 cultural Company should in any way trade in furs or pelt- 
 ries, that all such employees should be subject to dismissal 
 and removal from the district, and that such persons should 
 be in every respect subject to the like conditions, restric- 
 tions and regulations imposed upon the servants of the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company, that whenever any part of the district 
 should become British territory the Company should apply 
 for a grant of the land, and then the said Puget's Sound 
 Agricultural Company should be incorporated, and finally, 
 whenever the holders of not less than three-fourths of the 
 whole stock should so decide the Company should wind 
 up its affairs and dissolve. 
 
 A reserve of the privilege of purchase was made in favor 
 of those already out here, and many availed themselves of 
 this privilege. The regulation about the superintendent 
 insured a man experienced in the management of the native 
 tribes. It was also agreed that such breeding stock as could 
 be spared for the purpose should be transferred at stipulated 
 prices from the Hudson's Bay Company's farms to the new 
 Company, and all seeds and grains for the agricultural re- 
 quirements. 
 
 The post at Nisqually was transferred to the Agricultural 
 Company about 1842, and the Cowlitz Farm was established 
 exclusively by the latter Company, both with the provision 
 that the older Company should have all the furs and peltries. 
 
24 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 Restrictions were made as to the purchase of the stock, 
 no one person being allowed more than twenty shares, the 
 Governor being allowed that many and from him down a 
 graduated scale to the lowest clerk, who could only take 
 one share. 
 
 Of course there was some friction between some of the 
 members of the two companies, each party complaining that 
 the other was getting the advantage, but the two companies 
 gained immense profits for twenty years or more. 
 
 The following extracts from the old Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany journal, for the year 1839, give all that I have been able 
 to find regarding the selection of the site for the Indian 
 Mission at Nisqually. It is understood that Rev. Jason Lee 
 came over to the Sound the preceding year and decided to 
 have a mission at this place as soon as the increased number 
 of missionaries then expected should arrive. 
 
 April 10, 1839. This evening the Rev. Mr. (David) Leslie 
 and brother (William H.) Willson arrived with an intention 
 of making at this place a small IMissionary Establishment 
 for converting the Indians around. 
 
 Thursday, nth — Showed a spot of ground north of the 
 small river for building house for the mission, as desired 
 by Mr. Douglas. 
 
 Friday, 12th — Took a ride out near the Poolapa river 
 (Puyallup) with the two gentlemen strangers. They were 
 delighted with the country. 
 
 Sunday, 14th — The Indians of the place have been brought 
 into the big house, and Mr. Leslie told them of the purpose 
 of their mission, that is, that they intended to settle here 
 if they, the Indians, wished it for the purpose of giving 
 instruction in religion, and learning their children to read. 
 
 15th — * * * Mr. Leslie has gone home and Mr. Will- 
 son is left to begin building. 
 
 17th — * * * This day the first tree was cut down for 
 the missionary building. Mr. Willson gave the first blow 
 and I the last. 
 
 i8th — Mr. Willson was arranging our grindstone for 
 grinding his broad axe. 
 
 2ist, Sunday — About 11 o'clock a. m., Mr. Demcrs. the 
 Roman Catholic priest arrived from the Cowlitz and brought 
 letters from Vancouver. 
 
ARRIVAL OF FIRST MISSIONARIES. 25 
 
 25th, Thursday — Eighty-nine men, women and children 
 of the Sawayewamish (Snohomish) have come in to see the 
 priest. 
 
 28th, Sunday — * * * Seven children baptized by Mr. 
 Demers. 
 
 29th, Monday — * * * This afternoon, Miss Helen Mc- 
 Donald and Miss Margaret Riedout Orriber were both bap- 
 tized by Mr. Demers, and after the latter was married to 
 her old husband, Joseph Pin. (Note by Edward Huggins — 
 The first marriage was a civil ceremony, quite legal, tho',) 
 At seven o'clock, Miss Helen McDonald was married to 
 William Kittson, (Chief Trader in charge) without much 
 ceremony, the latter being a Protestant and former a Roman 
 Catholic. The rites were performed in a civil manner. Wit- 
 nesses Mr. William Holden Willson, a brother of the Mis- 
 sionary Society and Joseph Pin. 
 
 May 6th — * * * Mr. Willson has lost his Indian. The 
 scamp received pay in advance, and shammed sickness in 
 order to pay a visit to his friends, with whom he has gam- 
 bled a part of his gains. 
 
 Here the record ends. It is known that Willson got the 
 building so it could be occupied and then returned to the 
 Willamette valley. 
 
 In 1878, a book of "Historical Sketches of the Catholic 
 Church in Oregon, during the past forty years" was issued 
 under Church auspices, and in it are some references to the 
 Nisqually and Cowlitz Missions from which the following 
 are extracts : 
 
 "The first mission to Cowlitz was begun by the Vicar 
 General on March 17, 1839, and continued until the ist of 
 May following. Arriving at the settlement on the evening 
 of March i6th, the Vicar General was accommodated by Mr. 
 Simon Plamondeau with a room for his own use and also 
 an apartment 18x25 feet to be used as a chapel. Besides 
 the four farm.ers and their families forming the colony, there 
 were a large number of servants, employed on the farms 
 of the H. B. Co., some of them having wives. * * * 
 
 "The news of the arrival of the missionary at Cowlitz 
 caused numerous delegations of Indians to came from re- 
 mote distances in order to hear and see the "blackgown." 
 Among these delegations was one led by a chief named 
 
26 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 "Tsla-lacum," (Steilacoom) whose tribe inhabited Whidby 
 Island, Puget Sound, 150 miles from the Cowlitz Mission. 
 After a journey of two days in canoes to Fort Nesqualy, and 
 an arduous march of three days on foot, across streams and 
 rivers and by an exceedingly rough trail, they reached Cow- 
 litz with bleeding feet, famished and broken down. Their 
 object was to see the "blackgown" and hear him speak of 
 the great spirit. As soon as they were refreshed the Mis- 
 sionary began to speak to them of God, of the Incarnation 
 and Redemption. But the great difficulty was how to give 
 them the idea of religion so plain and simple as to command 
 their attention, and which they could retain in their minds 
 and carry back with them to their tribe. In looking for a 
 plan the Vicar General imagined that by representing on a 
 square stick, the forty centuries before Christ by 40 marks ; 
 the thirty-three years of our Lord by 33 points, followed 
 by a cross ; and the eighteen centuries and thirty-nine years 
 since, by 18 marks and 39 points, would pretty well answer 
 his design, in giving him a chance to show the beginning of 
 the world, the creation, the fall of angels, of Adam, the 
 promise of the Savior, the time of his birth, and his death 
 upon the cross, as well as the mission of the Apostles. The 
 plan was a great success. After eight days' explanation, the 
 chief and his companions became masters of the subject; 
 and, having learned to make the sign of the cross and to sing 
 one or two canticles in Chinook jargon, they started for 
 home well satisfied, with a square rule thus marked, which 
 they called Sa-ha-le stick. That plan was afterward changed 
 from a rule to a large chart containing the great epochs of 
 the world, such as the Deluge, the Tower of Babel, the 
 Ten Commandments of God, the 12 Apostles, the seven 
 sacraments and precepts of the Church ; these being very 
 useful to enable the missionary the teaching of the Indians 
 and whites. It was called the "Catholic Ladder." 
 
 "About the 8th of April, 1830, Rev. D. Leslie, a Methodist 
 minister, arrived at Cowlitz, en route to Nesqualy where he 
 intended establishing a mission among the Indians. This 
 information at once prompted Vicar General at once to 
 despatch an Indian express to Father Demers at Vancouver, 
 asking him to proceed at once to Nesqually in order to plant 
 the true seed in the hearts of the Indians there. Father 
 Demers left immediately and reached his destination in six 
 days, during which he was drenched with cold and con- 
 tinuous rain. He was welcomed by Mr. Kitson, the com- 
 
HISTORY OF CATHOLIC LADDER. 27 
 
 mander of the Fort ; a house was appropriated for the pur- 
 pose of a chapel, and he at once entered upon the subject 
 of his arduous journey. The Indians flocked from all sides 
 to see the great chief of the French and receive his in- 
 structions. An unforeseen incident, however, came near pre- 
 venting the mission begun under such favorable auspices. 
 The commandant was unwilling to allow a vast crowd of 
 Indians to enter the fort, and ordered them to stay outside 
 of the palisades. One of the Indians, bolder than the rest, 
 dared to force an entry and was pushed back rather roughly 
 by Mr. Kitson, hence the beginning of a riot, which might 
 have become fatal, if the appearance of the Missionary had 
 not appeased that untamed multitude. * * * 
 
 "Father Demers was then obliged to go out of the Fort to 
 teach the Indians, who, during the whole time of the mis- 
 sion, gave evidence of their most perfect docility to their 
 advice. The first mass was celebrated in the presence of 
 the commander and other persons of the Fort. Among the 
 throng there were counted Indians of 22 different nations. 
 * * * After having given orders to build a chapel, and 
 said mass outside of the Fort, Father Demers parted with 
 the Indians, blessing the Lord for the success of his mission 
 among the whites and Indians, and reached Cowlitz on 
 Mondav, the 30th, with the conviction that his mission at 
 Nesqualy had left a very feeble chance for a Methodist mis- 
 sion there. Brother Willson, whom Minister Leslie had 
 left orders with to build a house, on a certain piece of land, 
 must have been despondent at being witness to all he had 
 seen. 
 
 "From his Mission at Wallamette falls, the Vicar General 
 went, on May 6th, 1841, to the Clackamas tribe, which he 
 had already visited in March, at the Wapeto lake. The 
 usual daily exercises were continued at the ringing of the 
 bell for nine days. Bro. Waller came and called him an 
 intruder. His Evangelical ladder was brought near the 
 Catholic one ; the Indians pronounced themselves in favor 
 of the latter ; twelve lodges were gained. Being obliged 
 to return to St. Paul on the 15th, Rev. M. Demers, being 
 at Vancouver came to replace him. He continued the mis- 
 sion for two weeks, giving some days to the Wallamette 
 tribe and the rest to that of Clackamas. It was on that 
 occasion that Wesamus, the Corypheus of Bro. Waller was 
 gained. 
 
 "From the Clackamas, Father DeMers returned to Van- 
 
28 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 couvcr, to administer to the Brigades of the north and 
 south, after which he went home to teach catechism. And 
 as the Colville mission was being omitted this year, because 
 of Father DeSmet being expected to come down that way, 
 and it had been resolved that Father DeMers would go this 
 year to the Sound, he started on August nth, went to 
 Nesqualy and thence to the bay. He visited many tribes, 
 besides those seen by the Vicar General ; he traveled from 
 one nation to another, accompanied by Chief Tslalakum and 
 many other great chiefs. His traveling was a triumphant 
 one, surrounded sometimes by six hundred and other times 
 by 3000 Indians, who, hostile to each other, were peaceable 
 in the presence of the "blackgown." He often passed whole 
 days in teaching, with a ladder 10 by 2)4 feet, these poor 
 Indians so desirous of heavenly things, and continuing late 
 at night to sing, pray and hear the harangues of the chiefs 
 repeating what they had learned. * * * From the bay 
 he passed to Fort Langley on the Fraser river. There were 
 new triumphs among the Kawitshans. There ended his 
 mission, and on Sept. 27th he was at home, having made 
 765 baptisms, and been 44. days absent. 
 
 "In the beginning of ]\\ne Commodore Wilkes left Van- 
 couver on a visit to the Willamette valley, and took dinner 
 with the Vicar General at his residence at St. Paul. He 
 told him that on seeing a cross on Whitby Island, he called 
 it the "Cross Island." The Vicar General having promised 
 Father DeMers that he would visit Cowlitz during his ab- 
 sence, started June 14th, for that place. On returning he 
 gave a mission of 14 days at Vancouver. It was on that 
 occasion that Commodore Wilkes, assisted with several 
 officers of his stafif and Dr. McLaughlin, at High Mass and 
 Vespers on a Sunday. It was a solemn day. The following 
 Sunday, though the Commodore was absent, the ceremony 
 was not less solemn. A house was raised in March, at St. 
 Paul, 62 by 25 feet, to serve as a hall for the people on Sun- 
 day and a lodging for the priest. 
 
 "The next mission to be made was that of the Cascade 
 tribe which had never been visited by the "blackgown." 
 Tamakoon, its chief, had already been a convert since 1839, 
 at the sight and explanation of the Catholic Ladder. He 
 had met, many times, the assaults and efforts of the Meth- 
 odist preachers, but all in vain ; he remained unmoved. He 
 was glad to see "le plete" arrive on September 17th. His 
 tribe contained 150 to 200. * * * Tamakoon received 
 
METHOD OF USING CATHOLIC LADDER. 29 
 
 a bell and a Ladder to be used on Sundays. He was able 
 to speak on it for several hours. Thirty-four children were 
 baptised." 
 
 This "Catholic Ladder" was well designed to accomplish 
 the purposes for which it was prepared. In all matters for- 
 eign to their daily life and material wants the natives were 
 as simple as little children, and the ladder was an object 
 lesson, where the eye as well as the ear served to fix the 
 subject under discussion in their minds. In the hands of 
 the zealous and exceedingly capable men sent out to en- 
 gage in the work of christianizing the Indians, it was a 
 highly effective agent in the conversion of those who had 
 not hitherto come under instruction, and in proselyting 
 those who had already listened to the teachings of the 
 Methodist, Congregational and Presbyterian missionaries. 
 
 The Indian of this region was a materialist — that is he 
 knew nothing that his bodily senses did not teach him. His 
 gods and spirits all had visible forms. 
 
 The Catholic priests appeared in their black gowns and 
 carrying with them the emblems of their service ; they were 
 received with great respect by the officers of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company, and gladly welcomed by the employees who 
 were nearly all Catholics. The Hudson's Bay Company 
 was the highest corporeal power known to the Indians. Its 
 officers enunciated the law and enforced it with iron hands 
 in all that came up between the Company and the natives. 
 Any wrong doing that affected the company was punished 
 surely and swiftly. For these reasons, when the Indians 
 saw what deference was shown to the priests by those 
 whom they, the Indians, looked up to as "Tyees," whatever 
 the priests said to them was naturally accepted with great- 
 est respect. The ceremonials of the Church service were 
 attractive to them, and, together with the emblems on the 
 chart as explained to them served lastingly to fix in their 
 memories the lessons expounded to them. 
 
 The "ladder" from which the illustration is made is one 
 of the first prepared. It has been among the papers and 
 
?.0 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 documents at Fort Nisqually more than sixty years, and 
 is still in fairly good condition. The material is strong pa- 
 per, pasted on strong white cloth, and the illustrations were 
 evidently prepared with a small paint brush, the color being 
 probably India ink. The first was used at the Cowlitz 
 Mission by Rev. Father Blanchet in July, 1842. Thereafter 
 copies of it were in constant use among the Indians all over 
 the North-west until in i860 an engraved edition was is- 
 sued, of elaborate form with a vast amount of historical 
 matter in print and in pictorial form. The method of using 
 it was also printed, and will appear further on. 
 
 The parallel black bars represent the four millennial 
 periods — First, from Adam to Noah ; second, from Noah to 
 Abraham ; third, from Abraham to the completion of the 
 Temple ; and fourth, from that time to the time of the gen- 
 eral peace under Augustus Caesar. The dots represent the 
 thirty-three years of the Christ at Jerusalem, and then the 
 eighteen bars bring the time down to the year 1800. Lastly, 
 the dots represent the years to 1842, when this "ladder" was 
 prepared. 
 
 In each of the first thirty centuries mention is made of 
 some leading scriptural character. In each of the next ten 
 centuries important events in Jewish, Babylonish, Persian 
 and Greek history are noted briefly. In the eighteen cen- 
 turies of the Christian era the spread of the Romish church 
 among the nations of the earth is given. The circles and 
 other figures at the bottom of the chart are emblematic of 
 the days of creation, and of the angels in heaven, and of 
 the devils in hell. 
 
 Going up the forty centuries are the emblems of the lead- 
 ing characters in biblical history, of the ark, the tower of 
 Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, Mount Sinai, Solomon's Tem- 
 ple, Old Testament, Star of Bethlehem, etc. 
 
 Between the lower and upper ladders many events of 
 Jesus' time on earth are noted. The large house at the left 
 is St. Peter's Basilica at Rome. The black branch leading 
 off at the right near the top is the stream of "New Chief 
 
METHOD OF USING CATHOLIC LADDER. 31 
 
 Heretics," from Luther to Joseph Smith, and the three up- 
 right bars under it are the three chief heretics, Luther, Cal- 
 vin and Henry the Eighth. 
 
 Here follows the method of using the Catholic Ladder: — 
 
 1. Begin by running up from the bottom to the top, the 
 column of the ages, through which the world has lasted. 
 Immediately after, point out, in succession, the epoch of 
 the 4,000 years, that of 33 and that of i860. Having done 
 this you will point out the mysteries of the Holy Trinity, 
 of the Incarnation and of the Redemption, so as to teach 
 the learner how to distinguish them by their names. 
 
 2. After this, you will point out, at the foot of the col- 
 umn of the centuries, the image which relates to God, and 
 say all that we know of His divine attributes and divine 
 perfections, namely: His Eternity, His Immensity, His 
 Providence, His Power, &c., &c., &;c. You will then pro- 
 ceed to explain the great mysteries. 
 
 3. From speaking of the power of God, you will pass on 
 to the Creation in a period of six days, adverting to the 
 sanctification of the seventh day, which God reserved for 
 Himself and consecrated to rest. Further on, you will refer 
 to the creation of the Angels, which took place, in the opin- 
 ion of St. Augustin, when He made the light on the first 
 day of creation. Then speak of the rebellion of the wicked 
 angels, a short time after their creation, their fall into hell, 
 created at the moment of their rebellion ; as also of the 
 faithfulness of the pure angels, and of their reward in 
 Heaven. 
 
 4. You will subsequently point out the tree of knowl- 
 edge of good and evil. You will state God's command not to 
 touch its fruit ; also the envy and the madness of the cursed 
 enemy of man at the sight of the happiness of Adam and 
 Eve ; the resolution which he took to work out their ruin 
 and to drag them into the pit along with himself and his 
 rebellious followers ; his temptation of the first pair, under 
 the form of a serpent; the wiles of the devil in that work 
 of temptation ; the disobedience of our first parents, but a 
 short time after their creation ; the rejoicing of the devils 
 when they saw Adam and Eve, with all their posterities, 
 involved in one and the same condemnation by the justice 
 of God ; the promise of a savior, through the means of an- 
 other woman (Mary, the Virgin Mother, most pure and 
 immaculate), who was to crush, that is to baffle the power 
 
32 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 of the serpent, the devil, by bringing into the world the 
 promised Savior, in order to repair the guilt of the first 
 woman. 
 
 5. From this point you will proceed to the fulfillment of 
 the promise, pointing out, in a merely cursory manner, the 
 intermediate events, and especially so to the beginners, 
 whose attention should be distracted as little as possible 
 from the thread of historical facts, but rather made to dwell 
 on the principal object. The rest is but accessory, and may 
 be brought in, further on, with some measure of advantage. 
 
 6. When you have reached the period of 4,000 years, 
 you will begin to give a historical sketch of religion, from 
 the birth of Jesus Christ down to our days. You will refer 
 to the 33 years of his life ; to the apostles ; to Calvary ; to 
 the sacraments ; his promise to the church ; his death ; his 
 Resurrection and Ascension ; to the mission of the Apos- 
 tles ; the coming of the Holy Ghost ; the conversion of the 
 Nations of the earth to the Catholic faith down to the pres- 
 ent day. Having done this, you will proceed more fully to 
 explain the various points which had been only touched 
 upon in the reference to the chart. 
 
 7. Having concluded this sketch of religion, you will 
 pass to the explanation of the symbols of the Apostles, of 
 the commandments of God and of His church, of the Lord's 
 prayer, angelical salutation and sacraments, which embrace 
 the whole of the Christian doctrine, or all that is to be be- 
 lieved, done, and asked and received for salvation. But 
 before you touch this branch of your duty, do, in regard of 
 those prayers, what you had done in respect to the histor- 
 ical sketch of religion ; that is, give a general character of 
 them and of each of them ; tell by whom, how, and under 
 what circumstances they were composed or uttered ; and 
 teach your beginners to retain the title of the sum of the 
 things or articles contained in them. For example : 
 
 1. In relation to the Apostolic creed: By whom and 
 when it was composed ; say all that is embraced in it, was, 
 in substance, received from the lips of Jesus Christ ; that 
 there is one article respecting the first of the three persons 
 of the Godhead ; that there are six articles relative to the 
 second person, and one touching the third, and so on. 
 
 2. Touching God's commandments: By whom, when, 
 and how they were given out and uttered ; that there are 
 three which refer to God, and seven which refer to our 
 neighbor. Sum of them : God, His holy name. His holy 
 
PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES. 33 
 
 day ; honoring father and mother ; not to kill, not to com- 
 mit impurity, not to steal, not to lie, not to covet impurities, 
 not to covet another's goods. 
 
 3. Touching the commandments of the church : By 
 whom and for what purpose they have been established ; 
 the sum of them : Festivals, Mass, Confession, Commun- 
 ion, Fasting and Abstinence, and Church Dues. 
 
 4. Touching the Lord's prayer: By whom and at whose 
 request it was uttered ; three petitions which relate to God, 
 and four which relate to ourselves. 
 
 5. The Hail Mary or Angelical Salutation : By whom it 
 was addressed, and so on. 
 
 6. Touching the Sacraments : By whom and for what 
 purpose instituted ; their names ; two of them which blot 
 away sin ; three of them which can be received once only, 
 and the definition of them all. 
 
 To this general statement you may add later, with profit- 
 able results, particular and more substantial details. 
 
 Revs. Jason and Daniel Lee, uncle and nephew, were the 
 first missionaries to reach Oregon, having arrived overland 
 in the fall of 1834. They were accompanied by two lay 
 members of the Methodist church, P. L. Edwards and Cyrus 
 Shepard. Their first field of labor was near the present city 
 of Salem, Oregon. 
 
 In September, 1836, Rev. H. H. Spalding and wife and 
 Dr. Marcus Whitman and wife and W. H. Gray arrived 
 overland at Walla Walla. These were the first American 
 women to arrive in Oregon. They were sent out by the 
 American Board of Foreign Missions. 
 
 In May, 1837, a considerable reinforcement to the Meth- 
 odist mission arrived by water around Cape Horn. They 
 were Dr. Elijah White and wife, Mr. Alanson Beers and 
 wife, and Misses Ann Maria Pitman, Susan Downing and 
 Elvina Johnson, and William H. Willson. This latter gen- 
 tleman will appear often in our story, later. 
 
 In September, following. Rev. David Leslie, wife and 
 three children. Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, and Miss Margaret 
 Smith, the second Methodist reinforcement, also arrived 
 bv water. 
 
34 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 Early in 1838, it was decided to commence a second mis- 
 sion at The Dalles, on the Columbia river. The Umpqua, 
 Killamook, Clatsop, Chenook. Nezqnally, and many other 
 tribes were destitute of missionaries and an effort was made 
 to supply them. The Society passed a resolution advising 
 Jason Lee to make a visit to the United States to represent 
 to the Missionary Society and the public generally the true 
 condition of the country and of the Indians, and soliciting 
 men and means for the missionary work in Oregon. 
 
 In March, 1838, with two white and two Indian com- 
 panions, he started overland for the East. He arrived in 
 New York in November, but delivered a great many ad- 
 dresses in Illinois and at other points along his route, about 
 Oregon, as a missionary field and as a home for settlers. A 
 few weeks later, the Board passed a resolution to send to 
 Oregon five additional missionaries, one physician, six me- 
 chanics, four farmers, one missionary steward and four 
 female teachers. 
 
 During the summer of 1839, Jason Lee, attended by 
 William Brooks and Thomas Adams, the two Indian boys 
 whom he brought with him, traveled quite extensively 
 through the New England and Middle States, holding mis- 
 sionary meetings in all the important places, and collecting 
 funds for the Oregon mission. His success was unparal- 
 leled, and an interest was excited throughout the land 
 amounting to enthusiasm. Crowds thronged to see and 
 hear the pioneer missionary beyond the Rocky mountains, 
 and the Indians who accompanied him. Liberal collections 
 were taken up in almost every place, and these, with the 
 appropriations of the Board for the purchase of goods, 
 amounted to forty thousand dollars — an immense sum in 
 those days, and sufficient to provide all kinds of tools for 
 agricultural and mechanical purposes, and the necessary 
 articles for the construction of a saw-mill and grist-mill for 
 the use of the mission. 
 
 October 10, 1839, the ship Lausanne set sail from New 
 York harbor with a missionary party of fifty-two persons. 
 
PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES. 35 
 
 thirty-six adults and sixteen children, on board. They were 
 srathered from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, 
 Maryland, North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri. There 
 were eight ministers of the gospel, all Methodists, with the 
 exception of Rev. Sheldon Dibble, who was a Presbyterian 
 on his way to his field of labor in the Sandwich Islands. 
 The others were Jason Lee, A. F. Waller, Gustavus Hines,, 
 J. L. Parrish, L. H. Judson, J. H. Frost, W. W. Kone, and 
 J. P. Richmond. With the latter we have most to do in 
 this story. The first five died in the harness in Oregon, 
 after shorter or longer terms of service. Frost, Kone and 
 Richmond worked a few years and then went away, never 
 to return. 
 
 While lying in New York harbor, the infant son of Rich- 
 mond and wife was christened "Oregon," in honor of the 
 country to which they were bound. 
 
 The ship came by way of Cape Horn and the Hawaiian 
 Islands, and the voyage was not disturbed by any disaster 
 or unusual event. May 21, 1840, the good ship crossed the 
 Columbia bar in safety, but it required ten days more to 
 thread the channels and get off the numerous shoals be- 
 tween Astoria and Fort Vancouver, the early day Mecca 
 of every voyager to Oregon by land or sea, be he Methodist, 
 Presbyterian, Catholic, English, American, French, or any 
 other faith or nationality. Dr. McLaughlin extended the 
 hospitalities of the place to the whole party as long as they 
 desired to remain. 
 
 June 13th, a meeting of the members of this mission was 
 called to select the stations for work of the newly arrived 
 missionaries. J. H. Frost was sent to Clatsop, near Astoria, 
 W. W. Kone and Gustavus Hines to Umpqua, A. F. Waller 
 to the station near Salem, and John P. Richmond to "Fort 
 Nez Qualy, on Puget's Sound." 
 
 Cotemporaneous missionary books and records are almost 
 completely silent as to the work of Mr. Richmond at Nis- 
 qually and of the duration of his stay at that point. Elwood 
 Evans also ignored this event almost completely. Evans 
 
36 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 was, during his long life in the North-west, the great over- 
 shadowing authority regarding early local historical mat- 
 ters. Nature lavishly endowed him with a broad and com- 
 prehensive mind, a retentive memory and a graceful flow of 
 language. He was a voluminous writer, an eloquent speak- 
 er, a learned counsellor and an active politician. 
 
 From the time the first Americans made their permanent 
 homes in Oregon antagonisms arose toward the Hudson's 
 Bay Company, which widened and deepened as years rolled 
 on, and Americans became more and more numerous. It 
 is a fact that needs but to be stated to be accepted as true, 
 that down to our late war with Spain American sentiment 
 was largely unfriendly toward the "British." The individual 
 Englishman, Scotchman or Irishman rarely came in for a 
 share of this dislike, until, collectively, they became British. 
 The hostility was stronger in the west than on the Atlantic 
 seaboard. As a consequence, when the true pioneers came 
 to "Old Oregon" and found the Hudson's Bay Company the 
 dominant power all over the great New West it was looked 
 upon as a hereditary enemy. It was the representative of 
 British power and the advance agent of British colonization 
 schemes, therefore the antagonist of all that was American. 
 That company and its foster child, the Puget Sound Agri- 
 cultural Company, had large holdings on the shores of Puget 
 Sound. Americans here all felt that these companies were 
 intruders, that they had no rights that an American citi- 
 zen was called to regard. There were, from time to time, 
 disputes and lawsuits between the representatives of these 
 companies and the settlers ; the adjustment of the boun- 
 daries at the time of the treaty of 1846, later of the water 
 boundary in the San Juan Archipelago, and finally of the 
 immense and unreasonable claims for compensation made 
 by those companies for their lands in Pierce and Cowlitz 
 counties. 
 
 In all these, Mr. Evans was concerned as lawyer and ad- 
 viser in opposition to the companies, and, as it was popular 
 to "twist the lion's tail," it was quite natural for all that he 
 
DR. RICHMOND AT NISQUALLY. 37 
 
 said or wrote to carry with it a strong bias against them. 
 The allotment of large tracts of land for sites for early mis- 
 sions had also led to many contests in the land department 
 and the courts between the settlers and the missionaries, re- 
 sulting in a quite general sentiment that the latter were in 
 the wrong. In these controversies Mr. Evans was often 
 engaged. For these reasons, perhaps, much of his writings 
 had a vein of unkindness or uncharitableness running 
 through them toward the Hudson's Bay Company and the 
 early missionaries. It is to this I ascribe the fact that he 
 ignored almost entirely the work and lives of the Hudson's 
 Bay people and the early missionaries on Puget Sound. 
 
 In the past two years I have devoted a great deal of time 
 to the congenial task of assembling into a more or less con- 
 nected story the history of this first missionary eflfort west 
 of the Cascade Mountains. Old newspapers and still older 
 letters, and recent letters from the children of these first 
 missionaries have all contributed something. 
 
 Mrs. Abbie J. Hanford furnished an article or interview 
 that appeared in the Seattle Weekly Chronicle of July 12, 
 1883, as follows : 
 
 "John Cornelius Holgate was born in Trenton, Butler 
 county, Ohio, October 15, 1828. He moved with his father's 
 family to Van Buren county, Iowa, in 1839. Being delicate 
 and suffering greatly with the ague, he was often confined 
 to the house, and became very fond of reading to and with 
 his sister. Their favorite books were the adventures of ex- 
 plorers and hunters in the far west. Among the various 
 books of adventure which they read two greatly pleased 
 them. They were the journals kept by the Pike's exploring 
 expedition, and a book by one of the men who was in the 
 expedition of Lewis and Clark, whose name was Gass. 
 What pleased them most was the fact that the climate of 
 the northwest Pacific Coast was shown to be so healthful 
 by the experience of all the men who visited it. Although 
 a child, young Holgate determined to see for himself that 
 wonderful, and at that time, unknown country, which all 
 who visited it described with such admiration. He formed 
 a very glowing idea of the country in Iowa, from the de- 
 scriptions written by Pike, but he was satisfied that the 
 
38 ' PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 remote northwest was far superior to anything- he could hear 
 or read of. He never altered his determination until his 
 ambition was accomplished, and he saw for himself Puget 
 Sound. He was so well pleased with the country as he 
 found it that he always regarded it as the most beautiful, 
 healthful and attractive one he bad ever seen. In 1847 ^^ 
 crossed the plains with a party of Quakers commanded by 
 Llewellyn. He drove the wagon which brought the first 
 fruit trees to Oregon. It was loaded with trees from a 
 nursery at Salem, Henry county, Iowa. Among others they 
 brought from that nursery a fir tree for which they refused 
 $5 for on their way across the plains, thinking, from all he 
 could hear, that it would be very valuable and rare tree in 
 Oregon. When they arrived they were much surprised to 
 find great forests of fir throughout many portions of the 
 northwest, and of course their fir tree was of no value. 
 While Holgate was in Oregon he met with numerous adven- 
 tures in the Indian wars. One night he, with a party of 
 others who were looking for Indians that had carried away 
 the horses of settlers, found the Indians in a position where 
 it was dangerous to attack them as a body. Young Holgate 
 volunteered to go into the Indian ambush alone and cut the 
 fastenings of the horses so they could run out to the Hud- 
 son's bay men who were with him. He told them he was 
 the youngest and of the least value to the party, and if he 
 was killed few would miss him. The Indians saw him and 
 were very much surprised to see "tenas" boy go alone, and 
 they reserved their fire, expecting to see the entire party 
 follow him. Fearing that if they fired at him the whites 
 would charge them after they had wasted their ammunition 
 on the boy they continued to reserve their fire until the 
 youth was beyond the range of their guns and out of danger. 
 Thus he succeeded in driving off the horses and delivering 
 them to his own party. He then became a general favorite, 
 and afterwards did many other daring deeds, so that the 
 officers of the Hudson's Bay company in Oregon became 
 greatly attached to him, and often related to him stories of 
 the great attractions ofifered by the country further north 
 and west. They described the country about Puget Sound 
 as being very far superior to any other country in America 
 in every way, and gave him details of its many attractions. 
 
 "In November, 1847, the Rev. Dr. Whitman, his lovely 
 wife and nine other Americans were atrociously murdered 
 by a band of perfidious Cayuse Indians at Whitman's mis- 
 
FIRST SETTLEMENT NEAR ELLIOT BAY. 39 
 
 sionary station not far distant from the present city of Walla 
 Walla, Washington Territory, (then in Oregon), This led 
 to the Indian war with the Cayuses and other tribes. Among 
 the Oregon volunteers was a pale youth yet in his teens 
 who had recently arrived in the Willamette valley. During 
 the campaign he was distinguished for his bravery, but at 
 the close of the winter he was stricken down with the 
 measles. Through his severe illness he was kindly cared 
 for by an old officer of the Hudson's Bay company, who took 
 strange interest in his youthful protege, on learning he had 
 worked his way with comparative strangers to this far off 
 land in search of that healthful and beautiful clime his 
 glowing imagination had pictured on the shores of the 
 Pacific. The officer delighted to tell his eager listener of 
 the wonderful beauty and healthfulness of that great inland 
 sea, Puget Sound ; of its magnificient harbors, its surpass- 
 ingly beautiful scenery, its timber — the grandest on the con- 
 tinent, its fertile valleys, its fish and its hidden treasures of 
 coal, iron and other minerals. Young Holgate thought where 
 all these advantages were combined would be built, at some 
 future day, a great city. He (young Holgate) was so im- 
 pressed with the descriptions he had heard he determined to 
 see the wonderful country for himself as early as possible. 
 Accordingly, in the summer of 1849 he traveled entirely 
 alone from Portland, Oregon, across the country to Tum- 
 water, at the head of Puget Sound. There he was hospit- 
 ably entertained for a few days by Col. M. T. Simmons, 
 the first American settler north of the Columbia river, who, 
 with his family, came and located that place in October, 
 1845- 
 
 "Here Holgate employed an Indian to take him down the 
 Soimd in a canoe. After spending about two months in 
 cruising around, exploring the country he staked out a 
 claim, which he intended to make his future home, near the 
 head of Elliot bay, about thre^ miles distant from the pres- 
 ent city of Seattle. While on this cruise, in order to make 
 his stock of crackers and dried beef last as long as possible, 
 he subsisted principally on fish, clams, berries, game and 
 camas (a bulb which the Indians use, and when dried sub- 
 stitute for bread.) On his return to the Willamette valley 
 he gave such glowing descriptions of the country he had 
 visited, that a number of persons determined to go there be- 
 fore locating south of the Columbia river. In September, 
 1851, a number of persons selected claims and settled on the 
 
40 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 Dwamish river, whose mouth is at the head of ElHot bay. 
 A Mr. Maple took the claim selected by Mr. Holgate, who 
 had not yet returned to the Sound. He afterward came and 
 located nearer the town. On the 26th of September, 1851, 
 J . N. Low, Lee Terry and D. T. Denny arrived at Alki point, 
 five miles distant from Elliot bay, where Low and Terry 
 located and established a trading post, and soon after laid 
 out a town, which they called New York, to which was 
 facetiously added the Chinook word "Alki," meaning after 
 while. Afterward, as its population drifted away to Seattle, 
 it lost the New York, but has retained the name of Alki 
 point. On the 5th of November, 1851, the schooner Exact, 
 Capt. Folger, sailed from Portland, Oregon, for Puget Sound 
 and Queen Charlotte island, with passengers for the sound 
 and a party of gold miners for the island. On the 13th 
 of November she arrived at Alki point and landed A. A. 
 Denny and family, and also three other families. On the 
 15th of February, A. A. Denny and two others located 
 claims on the east side of Elliot bay. On the 31st March, 
 1852, Dr. D. S. Maynard arrived, who also located a claim 
 on the east side of Elliot bay, adjoining the others. On the 
 3rd day of April they moved on to their claims, having pre- 
 viously surveyed the harbor. In May a town was laid out 
 to which they gave the name of "Seattle," (a word of three 
 syllables, accented on the first,) in honor of the Indian chief 
 of that name who owned and occupied the townsite, who 
 was much respected by the early settlers, and to whom he 
 was greatly attached, and continued to be their firm friend 
 until his death. His death occurred about ten years after 
 the war, and in compliance with a request he had previously 
 made, that all the "tyees," (that is leading citizens) of the 
 country attend his funeral, an oration commemorative of his 
 many virtues and greatness was delivered on the occasion 
 by his son Jim Seattle. 
 
 ' "The funeral of Jim Seattle took place at the "Old Man 
 House" reservation, near Port Madison. A number of the 
 citizens of Port Madison were present at the ceremonies and 
 followed the body to the grave. The ceremonies were per- 
 formed in the chapel at the reservation, an old Indian 
 (Louchy or Jacob, in English), leading. The following 
 speech was made during the service : "People of Port Madi- 
 son, we are glad to see you here today. Many years ago you 
 came here to assist in the burial of the father of the de- 
 ceased. We are thankful to good white men who are not 
 
FOUNDING OF SEATTLE. 41 
 
 afraid to come and mix with the poor Indians. Before the 
 white men came the Indians were ignorant and did many- 
 things that were not right, but now they hope, with the 
 assistance of good white men, to become better and more 
 civihzed every year. The Indians on the reservation are 
 members of the Roman Catholic church, and perhaps there 
 are some present who were brought up in that religion. If 
 there are, we hope that you will assist us with your prayers." 
 The leader then waved a small white wand and all began to 
 chant. At the close of the chant the crucifix was borne on 
 high, the women forming and marching two abreast, the 
 men next in the same order and then the coffin. At the grave 
 the women walked in single file, passing the head of the 
 grave, into which they each threw a handful of dirt. The 
 leader then threw the first shovel of earth on the coffin and 
 the ceremony was closed. 
 
 ''In October, 1852, H. L. Yesler arrived in Seattle and the 
 settlers so adjusted their claims as to enable him to hold 
 a claim, including the site he had selected for a steam saw- 
 mill then en route from Ohio. This was the first steam 
 saw mill built on Puget Sound. The first lumber was cut in 
 March, 1853. Large accessions were now made to the settle- 
 ments, and large sums of money were realized from the sale 
 of piles, lumber, pickled salmon and cranberries shipped to 
 San Francisco. Cutting piles was very profitable, persons 
 engaging in this business realizing $20 per day, as they were 
 in great demand for filling the city front of San Francisco 
 at that time. The valleys of Duwamish and White rivers 
 were settled up for a distance of twenty miles from Seattle. 
 The little valley of Black river was settled up, and a saw- 
 mill built on the river, which was afterwards burned by the 
 Indians. King county now seemed to be very prosperous, 
 the inhabitants little dreaming of the calamities soon to 
 overtake them. Farms were rapidly improved, orchards 
 planted, cottages built and schools organized. A little church 
 was also built in Seattle. Universal health, peace and pros- 
 perity seemed to prevail." 
 
 At that time Rev. John P. Richmond was living at Tyn- 
 dall, Bon Homme county, Dakota, where he had gone in 
 1874. By some means the foregoing article came under his 
 notice, and in a short time he sent a letter to Seattle from 
 which several extracts are taken, as follows : 
 
42 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 "The writer of this does not wish to be invidious, nor 
 to pluck from the brow of Col. Simmons and Mr. Holgate 
 any laurels to which they may be entitled, but as he sup- 
 poses that in giving an historical sketch of the settlements 
 in Washington Territory, accuracy is desired by any who 
 may wish or attempt to do it, he feels it his duty before he 
 leaves this for the eternal world, to contribute his knowl- 
 edge as to the first settlements on Puget Sound, and north 
 of the Columbia river by white settlers. In order to do 
 this understandingly, he makes the general declaration as to 
 the main facts, first, and then details of the events as they 
 occurred, in consecutive order. In the first place, the writer 
 of this declares that the Rev. John P. Richmond, M. D., and 
 his family were the first full-blood white settlers on Puget 
 Sound and north of the Columbia river ; that his son, Fran- 
 cis Richmond, now superintendent of schools for Bon 
 Homme county, was the first full-blood white child born 
 in Washington Territory, and west of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains ; that a Mr. Willson and a Miss Clark were the first 
 white couple united in matrimony in Washington Terri- 
 tory. Now for the facts, in consecutive order, leading to 
 the residence of the writer of this communication, near 
 Puget Sound. He is now in his 73d year, having been born 
 in Maryland, August 7th, 181 1, and at his advanced age 
 does not wish to arrogate to himself any honors to which 
 he is not entitled. He was educated and graduated as a 
 physician fifty years ago in Philadelphia, and subsequently 
 became a minister in the M. E. church. In 1839 he was in 
 charge of the Methodist church in the city of Jacksonville, 
 111., when he received notification through Rev. Dr. Bangs, 
 of New York, that Dr. Richmond was appointed a mission- 
 ary and physician to Oregon. As soon as practicable, he 
 and his family made preparation to start for that destina- 
 tion. They ascended the Illinois river as far as practicable, 
 and thence by land traveled to Chicago, then a village, 
 thence by steamer through the chain of lakes to Buffalo ; 
 thence by the Erie canal to Troy ; thence via Albany to New 
 York City. In the month of October, 1839, they sailed from 
 New York in the ship Lausanne, via Rio Janeiro, in Brazil, 
 Cape Horn, Valparaiso in Chili, to Honolulu, in the Sand- 
 wich Islands. After remaining some weeks at Oahu they 
 sailed for the Columbia river, and debarked at Vancouver 
 late in the spring of 1840. There they found much hos- 
 pitality from Dr. McLaughlin and James Douglas, his as- 
 
FOUNDING NISQUALLY MISSION. 43 
 
 sistant, who were in charge of the Hudson Bay Company's 
 operations in Oregon. The writer of this learned that Mr. 
 Douglas afterward became Sir James Douglas, who recently 
 died in British Columbia. After a brief sojourn at Van- 
 couver Dr. Richmond and family of wife and four children, 
 the youngest born on the way and named Oregon, accom- 
 panied by Mr. W. H. Willson, a carpenter to build a house, 
 and Miss Clark, from Connecticut as a teacher, descended 
 the Columbia in a boat furnished by the gentlemen of Van- 
 couver, to the mouth of the Cowlitz river ascended that 
 stream some distance, then mounted horses, the ladies hav- 
 ing provided sidesaddles in New York, the luggage on pack- 
 saddles, and the children in the arms of the assistants, who 
 were Canadian voyageurs and servants of the Hudson Bay 
 Company, and traveled by land from the Cowlitz river to 
 Puget Sound, having crossed on the way the Chehalis and 
 Nisqually rivers, and arrived at Fort Nisqually, a stockade 
 inclosure near the head of Puget Sound, in the summer of 
 1840, antedating Mr. Simmons' settlement by five years. 
 At Nisqually they found Mr. Kitson, with an Indian family 
 in charge. He was succeeded by Mr. Anderson in 1841. 
 There they found also a small but very neat steam vessel, 
 owned by the H. B. Co., under the command of an Ameri- 
 can, Captain McNeil, having also an Indian family. The 
 vessel was called the Beaver and was the first vessel that 
 plowed the Pacific waters, and which plied regularly be- 
 tween Nisqually and Sitka, then owned by Russia. The 
 house occupied by Dr. Richmond and family was erected 
 on the open plain or prairie, contiguous to a small rivulet, 
 running thro' a ravine, from a chain of small lakes in the 
 interior of Puget Sound — about three quarters of a mile 
 from the stockade and the same distance from Puget Sound. 
 Soon after they had settled in their house, the writer of 
 this solemnized the marriage ceremony which united Mr. 
 Willson and Miss Clark, and who were the first couple 
 married in Washington Territory. They left for the Wil- 
 lamette Falls in 1841. During '41 the American Explor- 
 ing squadron under Capt. Wilkes, U. S. N., arrived at Nis- 
 qually and lay at anchor for some months, making surveys 
 and observations, and measuring the altitude of Rainier and 
 other mountains. 
 
 "The writer of this had a son born to him in 1842, as before 
 stated, and whose birth and baptism entry was made then 
 and there in his family register, which reads as follows : 
 
44 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 "Francis Richmond, son of John P. Richmond and America, 
 his wife, was born at Puget's Sound, near Nesqually, Ore- 
 gon Territory, on the 28th Feb., Anno Domini, 1842, and 
 was baptized by the Rev. Jason Lee, superintendent of the 
 Oregon Missions." The writer of this was engaged to re- 
 main for ten years in Oregon, and intended to remain his 
 lifetime at Puget Sound, but domestic affliction and other 
 circumstances cut short his stay to four years. As it is, he 
 retrospects with much imaginary gusto the time when he 
 and his family lived exclusively upon oysters and other 
 shell-fish, brought by Indians from the Sound, for three 
 weeks, with a pine box for a table, carried there on a pack- 
 horse, with tin plates and some iron spoons for table ac- 
 couterments. He wishes, very frequently, for some of those 
 luscious shell-fish. Dr. Richmond and family returned to 
 Illinois, via Sandwich and Society Islands, Boston, New 
 York and the lakes to Chicago." 
 
 Francis Richmond, at this time of writing, lives at Tyn- 
 dall. South Dakota, and considerable correspondence has 
 passed between him and the writer. 
 
 The first white child born within the limits of "Old Ore- 
 gon" was Marcel Isadore Bernier. Marcel Bernier, the 
 elder, was one of the many fearless and venturesome trap- 
 pers who roamed all over the vast stretch of country be- 
 ween the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, wher- 
 ever furs and peltries could be obtained to eke out a pre- 
 carious livelihood. He and his wife were whites, Canadian 
 French, not half-breeds as many of those who knew them 
 on their farm in Lewis county thought them. 
 
 The child Marcel, was born on the site of the old fort on 
 the bank of the Spokane river, November 10, 1819, more 
 than eighty-five years ago. As a lad he was white, with 
 curly hair, and light blue eyes. At eleven years of age 
 he was sent to school at St. Boniface, Red River, Manitoba, 
 where he grew to manhood. In 1841, the oft-mentioned 
 Red River Colony came to Nisqually and settled for a time, 
 and among them were Marcel Bernier, wife and Isadore. 
 In 1844, the latter married and took a claim on Newaukum 
 Prairie, not far from the present line of the Northern Pacific 
 
SIR GEORGE SOIPSON'S TOUR. 45 
 
 Railroad. He died December 27, 1889, a few days after the 
 admission of Washington as a state, having thus been born 
 here soon after the war of 1812, becoming a resident of this 
 country prior to the organization of the Provisional Gov- 
 ernment of Oregon, and living here through all the years of 
 Washington's territorial existence. He was the senior 
 "Native Son." 
 
 The first American white child born within "Old Oregon" 
 was a daughter of Dr. Marcus Whitman and wife, but she 
 was drowned when two years old, the next was Eliza, 
 daughter of Rev. H. H. Spalding and wife, born November 
 15' 1837. She became Mrs. Warren, and is now living at 
 Chelan, this State ; the third was a son of Rev. Elkanah 
 Walker and wife, Cyrus H. Walker, born near the present 
 site of Spokane, December 7, 1838. 
 
 In 1841, Sir George Simpson, the governor of the Hud- 
 son's Bay Company, came overland on a tour around the 
 world, and reached Nisqually in September of that year. 
 Some time after a party of immigrants from the Red River 
 region also arrived. This migration has been generally as- 
 cribed to the influence of Governor Simpson, and claimed 
 to be a part of a deep laid scheme to people this western 
 country with citizens of Canada and Great Britain to pre- 
 vent its falling under the control of the Americans. Sir 
 George mentions this party several times, but nowhere have 
 I been able to find in his journal that he had anything to do 
 with inducing or ordering its members to start to this coun- 
 try, though, when he overtook them, on the way, he gave 
 them good advice as to their route of travel and place to 
 settle. He remarks : 
 
 'There were twenty-three families, the heads being gener- 
 ally young and active, though a few of them were advanced 
 in life, more particularly one poor woman, upwards of sev- 
 enty-five years of age, who was tottering after her son to 
 his new home. This venerable wanderer was a native of 
 the Saskatchewan, the name of which, in fact she bore. She 
 had been absent from this the land of her birth for eighteen 
 years ; and, on catching the first glimpse of the river, from 
 
46 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 the hill near Carlton, she burst, under the influence of old 
 recollection, into a violent flood of tears. 
 
 "As a contrast to this superannuated daughter of the Sas- 
 katchewan, the band contained several young travelers, who 
 had, in fact, made their appearance in this world since the 
 commencement of the journey. Beyond the inevitable de- 
 tention, which seldom exceeded a few hours, these inter- 
 esting events had never interfered with the progress of the 
 brigade ; and both mother and child used to jog on, as if 
 jogging on were the condition of human existence. 
 
 "Each family had two or three carts, together with bands 
 of horses, cattle and dogs. The men and lads traveled on 
 the saddle, Avhile the vehicles which were covered with awn- 
 ings against the sun and rain, carried the women and young 
 children. As they marched in single file, their cavalacade 
 extended above a mile in length. The emigrants were all 
 healthy and happy, living in the greatest abundance and en- 
 joying the journey with the highest relish." 
 
 The Governor came down the Columbia river to Van- 
 couver, and spent several days in and about that place, then 
 down the Columbia and up the Cowlitz and overland to 
 the Sound. He says : 
 
 "After crossing the 'Squally river, we arrived at Fort 
 Nisqually, on the evening of our fourth day from Van- 
 couver. (Sept. 4th.) Being unwilling to commence our 
 voyage on a Sunday, we remained here for six and thirty 
 hours, inspecting the farm and dairy, and visiting Dr. Rich- 
 mond, an American missionary, stationed in the neighbor- 
 hood. The surrounding scenery is very beautiful. On the 
 borders of an arm of the sea, of about two miles in width, 
 are undulating plains of excellent pasturage, presenting 
 a pretty variety of copses of oak and placid lakes, and 
 abounding in Chevreuil (deer) and other game. 
 
 "The sound yields plenty of fish, such as salmon, rock 
 cod, halibut, flounders, etc. The dogfish and shark are also 
 numerous, some of the latter having been caught here this 
 summer of five or six feet in length. 
 
 "Near the Fort there was a small camp of 'Squallies, under 
 the command of Lackalett, a good friend of the traders. 
 The establishment is frequented also by the Clallams, the 
 Paaylaps, the Scatchetts, the Checaylis, and other tribes, 
 amounting in all, the 'Squallies included, to nearly four 
 thousand souls." 
 
FAILURE OF PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES. 47 
 
 John Flett was a member of this Red River brigade of 
 1841, and after the treaty of 1846 he became an American 
 citizen of fine character, and was well known among the 
 pioneers until his death a few years ago. To most of those 
 who Avere with the H. B. Company during the early years 
 of American settlement, but, in later years, were naturalized 
 as citizens of this country, the emphasis laid upon "Ameri- 
 can born," "first American child," etc., was annoying, so 
 when Flett saw Mr. Richmond's letter, he called upon El- 
 wood Evans, and they prepared an article that was pub- 
 lished in the Daily News, of Tacoma, Feb. 2, 1884, sharply 
 criticising the clerical writer. Most of this would be of 
 little present interest, except the closing paragraphs, in 
 which he says : 
 
 "I cannot account for the desire of the reverend gentle- 
 man to see an Indian in every family but his own, unless he 
 had Indian on the brain. He fills two news columns, but 
 never gives us a word about his mission work. I hope he 
 will come out with a historical sketch of the work on the 
 Nisqually Plains. I have never had the first Indian to tell 
 me that he knew the gentleman as a missionary. Several 
 knew him as a "Boston," living on the stream on the north 
 side of the small brook near the place of Edward Huggins, 
 Esq., who now owns old Fort Nisqually. 
 
 "I have a bible that Mr. Richmond gave me in 1841, that 
 I prize much. It has been my companion for many years. 
 I wish I could present the public something that the first 
 missionary left in the country besides this book." 
 
 In all kindness, I feel like approving what Mr. Flett said. 
 I have been trying for two years to find out something about 
 the missionary work at this point, but there is nothing left 
 to find out. The fact is that the religious work of the early 
 missionaries among the Indians was a complete failure at 
 Nisqually, at Salem, at The Dalles, at Wailatpu, at Lapwai, 
 and everywhere else. The Methodists were the first to 
 recognize this fact and to accept its consequences. They 
 abandoned their outlying posts, and concentrated their work 
 in the Willamette valley, among the white people and soon 
 
48 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 had flourishing churches and schools that have done effec- 
 tive work for good for more than sixty years. 
 
 A copy of Flett's letter was sent to Dr. Richmond, and in 
 April the latter's reply appeared in the News, and occu- 
 pied over three columns. Much of this is not available for 
 use here, though several paragraphs help make up the 
 record. The Doctor says : 
 
 "It was not as a missionary that I wrote to the Seattle 
 Chronicle to correct some errors as to the first American 
 family settled on Puget Sound, and north of the Columbia 
 river, now embraced in Washington Territory. Neither do I 
 feel under any obligations to report my operations for John 
 Flett's edification, or for that of anybody else. It was done 
 more than forty years ago, when I addressed the missionary 
 board at New York for more than three hours at two ses- 
 sions. Bishop Hedding presiding at the first and Bishop 
 Morris at the second, with Dr. Charles Pitman as secretary 
 of the board, after which my report and operations in the 
 Oregon country were unanimously approved. That matter 
 was concluded to my satisfaction. I have never undertaken 
 to vaunt my achievements in the Puget Sound region, or 
 anywhere else. 
 
 "Very few persons seem capable of comprehending the 
 logic or the pure purposes of the board of American Mis- 
 sions in sending a large force of men and women into Ore- 
 gon at an early day, commencing with or during Gen. Jack- 
 son's administration, and continued more or less until the 
 settlement of the controvening claims of the United States 
 and the British government to the occupancy of that terri- 
 tory in 1846, on the 49th degree of north latitude. The 
 question was held in abeyance by the treaties of joint occu- 
 pancy until that year, and until then the Hudson Bay Com- 
 pany, and the subsidiary organization called the Puget 
 Sound Agricultural Company, had stretched their army 
 more or less all over the Territory, and were urging the 
 British Government to hold fast to their pretensions. Hence 
 the Puget Sound Agricultural Company had enlivened the 
 plains back of Puget Sound with flocks of sheep and herds 
 of cattle, with their concomitants of shepherds, shepherd 
 dogs, herders, dairy farms, and servants to conduct them. On 
 the Willamette river they had their superannuated servants 
 planted upon the best of the soil and founded or commenced 
 
HISTORY OF JOINT OCCUPATION. 49 
 
 the building of Oregon City, at Willamette Falls. I met 
 with a number of French Canadian settlers on the plains 
 above the Willamette Falls in 1841, every one of whom had 
 families, had Indian wives and half-breed children, and they 
 were all subject to the Hudson Bay Company's authority. 
 It was in pursuance of the same policy that brought here 
 the "seventeen families" or colony referred to by John 
 Flett, settled in the neighborhood of Puget Sound, under 
 the direction of Sir George Simpson, in 1841. 
 
 "In 1827 a treaty between the governments of Great 
 Britain and the United States, as a temporary compromise 
 agreed to a joint occupancy, which could be terminated by 
 either party, by giving twelve months' notice. This oc- 
 curred during the administration of John Quincy Adams. 
 Under this condition of things the Hudson Bay Company 
 had free sway — their jurisdiction was acknowledged by all 
 their servants and employees. They had British or Canad- 
 ian laws, with officers and magistrates to enforce them. 
 Dr. McLaughlin assumed to reign as an autocrat, and exer- 
 cised both judicial and executive functions in that part of 
 the Hudson Bay Company's dominions. On the other hand 
 American settlers had the protection of no law until they 
 themselves created a provisional government, and my old 
 friend, Geo. Abernethy, connected with the Methodist mis- 
 sion, was appointed or elected first Governor in Oregon by 
 American citizens. From the time that Mr. Jason Lee and 
 his nephew, Daniel, were sent into that region, the mission- 
 ary society of the Methodist Epispocal Church were labor- 
 ing to establish a foundation deep and v^ide for the enter- 
 prise, the civilization, and above all the Christianity that 
 should be developed by proper influences to operate upon 
 the immigrants who were expected to follov/, and who did 
 follow them in a few years. In the meantime they were 
 to use every appliance available for the betterment of the 
 condition of the Indian aborigines. My part of the work 
 was to represent American citizenship and American enter- 
 prise in the same capacity in the region of Puget Sound. I 
 had no complaints to make against the deportment of the 
 gentlemen of the Hudson Bay Company, whom I encount- 
 ered, in the matter of hospitality. But I wish to be dis- 
 tinctly understood that in all cases they received their com- 
 pensation, and I was never a subject of their charity, and 
 generally I could not but be impressed with the conviction 
 that T was regarded as an intruder. On the contrary I could 
 
50 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 not divest myself of the conviction that I was treading upon 
 American soil, and had all the indefeasable rights belonging 
 to an American citizen in his own country, and acted ac- 
 cordingly, in view of the circumstances surrounding me. 
 Hence when I was introduced to Sir George Simpson I 
 could not but feel that he was trying to snub me as his in- 
 ferior, and too insignificant personage for his dignified no- 
 tice. I did not much wonder at it, because he appeared to 
 be surrounded by a body of sycophants. While I was will- 
 ing to accord to him all his titular honors, I could not feel 
 he was my superior in any respect, and I was forced to the 
 conclusion that he was an aristocratic snob, who, while 
 occupying a dignified position, probably possessed more 
 money than brains. Of all the officers of the Hudson Bay 
 Company with whom I became acquainted I was the most 
 favorably impressed by the courteous manners and intelli- 
 gence of Sir James Douglas. 
 
 "He also happened to know Capt. McNeil of the steamei 
 Beaver, and that I might have well have affirmed that his 
 family were white. I was intimately acquainted with Capt 
 McNeil for several years ; he often ate at my table, and 
 on one occasion he brought with him two or three very in- 
 teresting half-blood children, and requested me to baptize 
 them, which I did. His wife was a full-blood Indian from 
 somewhere on the North-west coast, and was comely in 
 appearance, but rather pendulous in her movements. I 
 apprehend that Mr. Flett knew very little about Capt. Mc- 
 Neil. Mr. Flett appears to have made a new discovery in 
 ethnology, that as soon as a white man mingles his blood 
 with an Indian woman, their progeny are transformed im- 
 mediately into whites, and they must be recognized as a 
 wdiite family. I never was an admirer, much less an advo- 
 cate of miscegenation, particularly the mixture of the Cau- 
 cassian with the lower races of the human family — but I 
 have regarded with less reorehension the mingling of the 
 white with the Indian blood. In a long, varied life I have 
 encountered it among the Cherokees in Mississippi, among 
 the Indians in Oregon and also in Dakota where white men 
 thus associated are designated squaw men. Where I have 
 encountered these relations T have regarded them with as 
 much leniency as possible, and when expedient, I have in- 
 variably urged legal marriages. As to the marriage of Mr. 
 Willson and Miss Clark, I still hold that theirs was the first 
 marriage of full blood whites, and of American citizens in 
 
SKETCH OF DR. RICHMOND. 51 
 
 Washington Territory. The second marriage of the same 
 description 1 solemnized on board ship m Baker's Bay, be- 
 tween Mr. Rogers, connected with the American Board of 
 Missions, and Miss Leslie, a daughter of Rev. David Leslie, 
 Methodist missionary in the Willamette Valley." 
 
 The following paragraph is by Mr. Frost, in an old book 
 entitled, "Ten Years in Oregon, by Lee and Frost," both 
 of whom are mentioned elsewhere. It says : 
 
 "On the ist day of September, 1842, we were highly 
 gratified with a visit from my old and tried friend, the Rev. 
 Dr. Richmond, and Mr. Whitcomb, whose families were on 
 board of the Chenamus, which was lying at Astoria, and 
 on board of which they had taken passage to the United 
 States. The Doctor had become satisfied that the pros- 
 pects of usefulness among the Indians would not warrant 
 his longer continuance in the country. This I am fully con- 
 vinced was the true state of the case : and, besides this, he 
 had sufifered much in consequence of family affliction. I 
 should be very happy to have recourse to his journal, so 
 that I might have the pleasure of laying before our readers 
 some of the scenes through which he had passed while at 
 Nisqually, where I left him, just taking possession of the 
 post assigned him, in the summer of 1840; but this privi- 
 lege is denied me in consequence of the distance which now 
 separates us." 
 
 From this same book it appears that the trip made by 
 Richmond in 1841, as mentioned in his letter above, was to 
 attend the session of the annual church conference. 
 
 Rev. John P. Richmond, M. D., was born on the 7th day 
 of August, 181 1, in the City of Middleton, Maryland, and 
 died August 28th, 1895, aged 84 years and 21 days. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was a remarkable man, and 
 lived an eventful life. He was the lineal descendant of 
 John Richmond, of England, who emigrated to Virginia 
 late in the i6th century, and all along down the list of de- 
 scendants are to be found men of learning and of distin- 
 guished characteristics, among them, Rev. Leigh Richmond 
 and the distinguished Dean Richmond of New York City. 
 
 Doctor Richmond was the son of Francis Richmond, by 
 his wife, who was a member of the distinguished Stottle- 
 
52 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 meyer family, of Maryland. His youthful aspirations were 
 to become a physician, and at the age of twenty he was 
 graduated from a noted medical college in Philadelphia, then 
 under the management of the celebrated Dr. McFarland, 
 but his religious conversion soon following he took a course 
 in theology and at the age of twenty-three he held a license 
 to preach from the Methodist church. About this time he 
 was united in marriage to Mrs. America Talley, widow of 
 the lately deceased Rev. A. Talley, M. D., superintendent 
 of the Choctaw Missions. She was a native of Alabama, 
 and a member of a Walker family. 
 
 Possessed of strong physique, indomitable will and large 
 Christian zeal, Dr. Richmond elected to enter the itineracy 
 of the Illinois conference. The father of the writer, Rev. 
 Daniel Bagley, about six years later, entered this same work 
 in this same field, in another branch of the Methodist church 
 and underwent the same hardships and experiences here 
 recounted of Dr. Richmond. Assigned to a timbered por- 
 tion of the state, almost a wilderness as yet, often no road 
 to follow except that outlined by blazed trees, his circuit 
 embraced a large territory. On horseback, with saddle- 
 bags, fording streams and swimming torrents, making the 
 round once in three weeks, and preaching twenty-six times, 
 he never then or ever afterward failed to meet his appoint- 
 ment if it was a human possibility. Upon one occasion, in 
 particular, after having swum the swollen Snye Cartye, he 
 was so unfortunate as to lose his saddlebags, and was towed 
 to land by holding on to his horse's tail, yet, arriving on 
 time, he preached his sermon while his clothes were drying 
 on him. 
 
 Of course, the promotion of such a man was rapid, and 
 shortly afterward we find him stationed at Jacksonville, 
 from whence, in 1839, he was sent to the Oregon Board of 
 Missions in the capacity of physician as well as mission- 
 ary. 
 
 After returning from that field of labor to Illinois, he 
 was stationed at Springfield, Quincy, and other points, ex- 
 
BURNING OF NISQUALLY MISSION. 53 
 
 ercising his gifts with telling effect. His regular labors in 
 the ministry ended in 1854, but he continued to preach at 
 intervals on suitable occasions so long as his physical and 
 mental powers remained intact. While in the ministry he 
 was a tower of strength, a mighty force, inferior in ability 
 to but very few of his distinguished associates. 
 
 He was held in high esteem by Peter Cartwright and was 
 his family physician for some time. 
 
 His constituency always loved to honor him in later years. 
 He served in the Senate of Illinois, while Abraham Lincoln 
 sat in the lower house ; he was speaker of the lower house 
 while the present Chief Justice Fuller, and Morri- 
 son and John Logan occupied seats in that body; he was 
 chosen by the Electoral College of his state to cast its vote 
 for President in 1856; was chosen a member of two con- 
 stitutional conventions of the state and for eight years was 
 superintendent of schools. 
 
 Dr. Richmond and family left their station at Nisqually 
 in the last days of August, 1842, having been there a little 
 more than two years. They returned overland to the Cow- 
 litz river over the same rugged trail they had followed in 
 1840, thence down the Cowlitz and the Columbia to the 
 ship that carried them home by way of the Sandwich Is- 
 lands and Cape Horn, so that while their actual stay at 
 Nisqually was a little more than two years, nearly four 
 years were consumed in their missionary trip. 
 
 A few days after they left the Indians burned their cabin. 
 I have before me a letter from Doctor McLaughlin, dated 
 at Vancouver, 23rd Sept., 1842, to Angus McDonald, in 
 which are detailed instructions about the Company's cattle 
 at Nisqually. He closes by, saying, "I am sorry to hear 
 that the Indians have burnt Dr. Richmond's house. Every 
 endeavor ought to be made to give the perpetrator a good 
 fright so as to prevent others doing the same thing; I say 
 to give them a good fright, as I would not wish we found 
 out who did it, as we would not be justified, perhaps, in 
 giving him corporeal ptmishment, and if we knew who it 
 
54 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 was, and did not do so, it might induce the Indians to do the 
 like again ; our policy, therefore, is not to find who did it 
 but to make a noise about it so as to frighten the Indians 
 from doing the like." 
 
 No reason for this destruction of the cabin ever came to 
 light. Many of the Indians were Catholics, and it may 
 have been sectarian fanaticism on the part of some of them, 
 but the following incident often related by Doctor Rich- 
 mond and his wife, furnishes a more probable reason for 
 the incident: 
 
 There was an Indian who became infatuated with bright, 
 black-eyed baby, Francis, and first made efforts to obtain 
 possession of his person by traffic, and, failing in this, he 
 proceeded to abduct him. As the Indian afterward ex- 
 plained, his object was to adopt the little fellow into his 
 tribe. One day. Doctor Richmond had gone to the Fort, 
 the mother was in the main room busy with domestic duties, 
 the baby was in the cradle in the outer room or shed, and 
 the other children were ofif on a ramble. The mother heard 
 a rustling and a slight cry from baby and hastened to the 
 room to find the cradle empty and the outside door open. 
 Glancing through the open window, she saw the Indian with 
 the baby in his arms, making ofT over the prairie toward the 
 Sound. With her to see was to act. She seized a loaded 
 rifle, which was ever at hand, sprang to the outside door 
 and drew a bead on the Indian, but if she was quick, the 
 Indian was equally so, for he saw her in time and turning 
 held up the baby between him and her, and continued to re- 
 treat backward. This, no doubt saved his life, as Mrs. 
 Richmond was a dead shot with the rifle. At this moment 
 she saw her husband on a rising ground coming from the 
 Fort, and making a sign which he recognized, he started 
 on the run. The mother left the house in pursuit of the re- 
 treating Indian, the pursued and the pursuer keeping about 
 the same relative distance until the latter came to one corner 
 of the palisades of the Fort, when the Doctor coming up 
 behind him knocked him down with the cane which appears 
 
GENEROSITY OF H. B. CO.'S OFFICIALS. 55 
 
 in the illustration. The mother handed the gun to the father 
 and picked up the baby. The Indian sprang up and seized 
 the cane, but, after quite a scuffle, the Doctor recovered 
 possession of it and again knocked his antagonist down, 
 after which he took the gun back to the house for the 
 mother and then went back to the Fort and reported the 
 circumstance to the officers. Search was made for the In- 
 dian, and after much time spent he was found concealed 
 under a large mat. His head and face were badly bruised 
 and swollen, and, the Doctor interceding for him, he was 
 let off with light punishment. When the Richmonds were 
 embarking for their return home, this same Indian was dis- 
 covered prowling around suspiciously, and was taken in 
 custody to the Fort, but, no doubt, later wreaked his re- 
 venge so far as possible by the destruction of the house. 
 
 In Doctor Richmond's letters and in every book written 
 by the early missionaries — of which I have seven or eight, 
 long out of print and exceedingly rare — the writers acknowl- 
 edge and emphasize their great obligations to the officers 
 of the Hudson's Bay Company at their many posts for 
 their generous hospitality, uniform courtesy, and consider- 
 ate acts of continuing kindness. Still, all through their 
 writings runs a vein of ill concealed resentment, or of open 
 unfriendliness. At this late day, this seems little short of 
 blackest ingratitude ; but, to one familiar with the affairs 
 of that period, there seems some excuse for it. 
 
 While not all the officers of the Company were Catholics, 
 still the influence of the entire organization was favorable 
 to that Church. Nearly every subordinate was a Catholic, 
 and, so far as I can find out, all the wives and daughters 
 of high and low degree were members of that Church. Its 
 priests were welcomed as friends and companions ; with 
 them it was not a matter of hospitality or of courtesy, but 
 wherever the "Blackgowns" went they found an open house 
 and a seat of honor at the table and by the fireside. As 
 said elsewhere, this had great influence upon the minds of 
 the Indians, and in the vicinity of every Hudson's Bay Com- 
 
56 PIONEER RE^riNISCENCES. 
 
 pany post, the Catholic missionaries left few if any converts 
 for the other churches. Besides this sectarian condition 
 of affairs, opposing political interests arose. The Catholic 
 priests and the Hudson's Bay people were all foreigners, 
 and all opposed to the organization of a civil government 
 in Oregon at the time the missionaries and the free Ameri- 
 can settlers began their efforts in that direction. 
 
 Doctor Richmond says in his letter that he had no com- 
 plaint of the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company in 
 the matter of hospitality, but that he paid for all he re- 
 ceived and was never a subject of their charity. This is, 
 perhaps true, but ungracious ; besides he could not be ig- 
 norant that he and his family were under the protection cf 
 the Company, that they could not have remained safely in 
 their lonely cabin but for this protection, and that under 
 direction from Governor McLoughlin those in charge of 
 Fort Nisqually did much for them that money alone could 
 not pay for ; that only thanks and gratitude could be offered 
 as a recompense. 
 
 In a letter to A. C. Anderson, of October 17, 1840, the 
 Governor says, "You will please supply Dr. Richmond with 
 five bushels of pease and four barrels of flour." In another 
 of May 8th, 1841, "You may continue to break in and milk 
 as many cows as you can. It is not so important to milk 
 them for a long time as to break in so that next year we 
 may establish several dairies at the place. You can lend 
 six broken-in cows to the Methodist Mission for the sea- 
 son, and after sometime when their calves are big you will 
 let them go and give the missionaries others in their place," 
 February i, 1841, "Please hand the accompanying pamph- 
 lets to Rev. Dr. Richmond with my compliments, and after 
 perusal I beg he will return them to you, and you will please 
 send them back by first opportunity." 
 
 Here was the head of the Hudson's Bay Company's af- 
 fairs on the Pacific coast, with stations scattered all over the 
 area much larger than "Old Oregon." because it reached 
 northward to the Russian Possessions, with all the complex 
 
CAPT. WILKES' CELEBRATION AT NISQUALLY. 57 
 
 interests of that giant power to oversee, a domination kingly 
 in its extent, and undisputed everywhere ; but this man was 
 not too busy or too indifferent to forget the comfort of a 
 lonely family of an alien race over on the shores of Puget 
 Sound. Volumes could not more surely prove the grandeur 
 of character, or the simple loveableness, of this prince 
 among men, John McLOughlin. 
 
 Again, a few years later, but for this same kindly spirit 
 of unselfish charitableness, it would have gone hard with 
 the advance guard of true pioneers who established Amer- 
 ican settlements about the headwaters of Puget Sound. 
 The}^ might not have starved, but they would have gone 
 hungry and poorly clothed, and felt the hardships and pri- 
 vations of the first few years far more than they did but 
 for the aid so often extended to them at Fort Nisqually. 
 
 July fourth, 1841, was a notable day at Nisqually, as it 
 was celebrated in genuine Yankee fashion, the first event of 
 the kind on the Pacific Coast, and, probably, west of the 
 Missouri river. Capt. Wilkes declared a holiday, and the 
 crew were given a whole day of frolic and pleasure. He 
 purchased an ox of the Company, which they were allowed 
 to barbecue, and they also made their own arrangements 
 for the celebration. 
 
 The place selected was near one of the small lakes lying 
 to the eastward, and from that time it has been known as 
 American Lake. Here they slaughtered their ox and spit- 
 ted him on a sapling large enough to support its weight, 
 the ends of the spit resting in the forks of other small trees 
 that had been set in the ground for the purpose. A trench, 
 perhaps four feet deep, and large enough to hold the car- 
 cass, was dug. In this a large fire of dry wood that gave 
 oft' little smoke, was maintained, and over this the carcass 
 was turned slowly until thoroughly cooked. 
 
 All was activity and bustle on the 5th, as the 4th fell on 
 Sunday. Before nine o'clock all the men were mustered on 
 board in clean white frocks and trousers, and all, including 
 the marines and music, were landed shortly afterward, to 
 
58 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 march to the scene of festivity, about a mile distant. The 
 procession was formed at the observatory just at the brow 
 of the hill, whence all marched off with flags flying and 
 music playing. Two brass howitzers were also carried to 
 the prairie to fire the usual salutes. When the procession 
 reached Fort Nisqually, they stopped, gave three cheers, 
 and waited, sailor-like, until it was returned. This was 
 done only by a few voices, a circumstance which did not 
 fail to produce many jokes among the seamen. On reach- 
 ing the ground, various games occupied the crew, while 
 the officers also amused themselves in the same manner. At 
 the usual hour, dinner was piped, when all repaired to par- 
 take of the barbecue. By this time the Indians had gath- 
 ered from all quarters, and were silently looking on at the 
 novel sight, and wistfully regarding the feast which they 
 saw going on before them. At this time a salute was fired, 
 when one of the men had his arm most dreadfully lacerated 
 from the sudden explosion of the gun. This accident put a 
 momentary stop to the hilarity of the occasion, but men-of- 
 wars-men were familiar with such scenes, and the interrup- 
 tion did not last long. The amusements of the morning 
 were now exchanged for that of horse racing, a sport always 
 in favor with Jack ashore. Of course thej'^ had many tum- 
 bles off the wild horses provided by the Indians of the 
 place, for a consideration. There were many tumbles, but 
 no one was injured. 
 
 In 1846, the British war vessel, Fisgard, lay a long time 
 at anchor in Nisqually bay, and horse racing was one of the 
 chief amusements of the men-of-wars-men at that time. A 
 regular race course was laid out in the small prairie north 
 of the Fort, which had been then moved to the site so famil- 
 iar to early day settlers, and now known as "Huggins' 
 Place." It was a half mile around, flat and smooth, with 
 grand stand, etc., all complete. Indians came from east of 
 the mountains with their race horses, and betting at these 
 races was the only way the sailors had to spend their money, 
 that and riding horses. 
 
DR. RICHMOND'S PROPHETIC ORATION. 59 
 
 Doctor Richmond delivered the oration which was one of 
 the features of the old-time celebrations, but the record fails 
 to say who read the Declaration of Independence. Here are 
 a couple of extracts from the Doctor's address : 
 
 "The average man, faithful to the lines of human reason 
 and experience, and unconsciously inclined to attribute to 
 Deity thoughts similar to his own, often makes most grave 
 and hazardous ventures with respect to the will and the 
 designs of Providence. Upon Fourth-of- Julys, especially, 
 we are irresistibly impelled to entertain the belief that the 
 whole of this magnificent region, so inestimably rich in the 
 bounties of nature, and susceptible of measureless develop- 
 ment, is destined to become one of the physical ingredients 
 of our beneficent Republic. The time will come, though 
 you and I may not live to realize it, when these hills and 
 valleys will have become peopled by our free and enterpris- 
 ing countrymen, when yonder towering mountains will look 
 down upon magnificent cities, fertile farms, and smoking 
 manufactories. Every succeeding Fourth of July there will 
 gather together hosts of freemen to recall the glorious past 
 of their country and to renew their fidelity to the maxims of 
 the fathers of the Republic as embodied in that grand state 
 paper which has been this day eloquently and effectively 
 read to us. 
 
 "Still further than I have ventured to define, the eye of 
 the philosopher may penetrate the future to view its won- 
 derful and inevitable developments. It may see the sure and 
 steady advance of our dominion to the frozen regions of the 
 North and to that narrow strip of land which connects this 
 continent with its sister of the South ; when, in this "New 
 World" there will have arisen into boundless wealth and 
 power the grandest nation which, in all the annals of man- 
 kind, will have appeared upon the earth. 
 
 "Your names and mine may not appear among the records 
 of the future historians of this region ; but those of our de- 
 scendants will appear. Where our work will end theirs 
 will begin, and we may be sure that as we would now define 
 for them their careers, so they will perform their parts in 
 the grand pageants of American Patriotism. 
 
 "Providently instructed by their knowledge of the past 
 of nations of the deadly dangers therewith, the illustrious 
 founders of the Republic declared against the union of 
 
60 • PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 church and state ; and this doctrine involved both the fact 
 and the theory, both the reality and the suggestion ; but 
 what I now venture to say I am sure will be considered as 
 no violation of any of the doctrines of the fathers. While 
 it would be untrue to claim that Christianity was the foun- 
 der of civilization, knowing as we do that the greatest of 
 all past civilizations was just expiring when Christ ap- 
 peared, yet it is undeniably true that the world's civilization 
 of today is indissolubly connected with the religion of 
 Christ ; and neither could survive the fall of the other. This 
 permits me to say of our mission in this remote region that, 
 by bringing to these savage children of the wilderness the 
 truths of Christianity, we encourage in them that future de- 
 velopment of character which will fit them to act creditably 
 their destined parts as citizens of the Republic." 
 
 Late in the summer of 1838, there left New York harbor 
 the first National Maritime Exploring Expedition fitted 
 out by the Government. It consisted of five vessels, under 
 the command of Charles Wilkes, who afterward became 
 noted by reason of his capture of the English ship Trent, 
 and taking out of her the Confederate commissioners, Mason 
 and Slidell, who were on their way to Europe on business 
 of the Confederacy. The work of this expedition was so 
 well done that it is a matter of national pride to this day. 
 There were two ships of war, the Vincennes and Peacock, 
 the brig -of war, Porpoise, and two tenders that had been 
 pilot boats and renamed Sea Gull and Flying Fish. The 
 corps of scientists consisted of nine men noted in their sev- 
 eral fields of work in their day. There were eighty-six offi- 
 cers and five hundred and ninety seamen. 
 
 They were directed to examine the region about the Rio 
 Negro on the southerly coast of South America, to explore 
 the southern Antarctic to the southward of Powell's Group, 
 to proceed southward and westward in the Southern Pacific 
 as far as Captain Cook had gone in any of his voyages, to 
 survey the Navigator's Group, the Feejee Islands, and select 
 a harbor there, and in 1840. to proceed to the Sandwich 
 Islands, where a government store-ship was to meet them. 
 Thence thev were to direct their course to the Northwest 
 
WILKES' EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 61 
 
 Coast of America, making such surveys and examinations, 
 first of the territory of the United States on the seaboard, 
 and of the Cokimbia river, and afterwards along- the Coast 
 of California, then Mexican territory, with special reference 
 to the bay of San Francisco, as could be accomplished by the 
 month of October of that year. This was only a small part 
 of the work that was planned for accomplishment. 
 
 Pursuant to these orders Capt. Wilkes found himself sail- 
 ing up the Straits of Fuca May i, 1841. They first stopped 
 at Port Discovery for a few days, but on the nth of that 
 month they dropped anchor at Nisqually, near where the 
 steamer Beaver was undergoing repairs, in command of 
 Capt. McNeil, while A. C. Anderson was in charge of the 
 Fort. The latter gave the party a warm reception, and 
 offered it all the assistance in their power. Capt. Wilkes 
 remarks, "Nothing can exceed the beauty of these waters, 
 and their safety : Not a shoal exists within the Straits of 
 San Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, or Hood's 
 Canal, that can in anyway interrupt their navigation by a 
 seventy-four gun ship. I venture nothing in saying there 
 is no country in the world that possesses waters equal to 
 these. The shore, here, rises abruptly, to a height of about 
 two hundred feet, and on top of the ascent is an extended 
 plain, covered with pine, oak, and ash trees, scattered here 
 and there so as to form a park-like scene. The hillside is 
 mounted by a well constructed road, of easy ascent ; from 
 the summit of the road the view is beautiful, over the Sound 
 and its many islands, with Mount Olympus covered with 
 snow for a background. Fort Nisqually, with its outbuild- 
 ings and enclosure, stands back half a mile from the edge of 
 the table land." 
 
 The Porpoise, with tAvo of the Vincennes' boats, under 
 Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold, were directed to take 
 up the survey of Admiralty Inlet. The launch, first cutter 
 and two other boats of the Vincennes, under command of 
 Lieut. Case, were sent to survey Hood's Canal. Another 
 party intended for land explorations, was formed under the 
 
62 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 command of Lieutenant Johnson of the Porpoise. Eighty 
 days were allowed for the operations of this party, which it 
 was intended should cross the Cascade mountains and the 
 Columbia river, and up that valley to Fort Colville, thence 
 south to Rev. Spalding's Mission at Lapwai, on what was 
 in the early days called the Kooskooskie river, thence to 
 Walla Walla, and thence returning by way of the Yakima 
 river, and over the mountains to the place of departure. This 
 was the first party of Americans to cross the Cascades, 
 though the Hudson's Bay people had used the mountain 
 route for several years earlier. They found the Indians had 
 a regular trail over the range, passing to the northward of 
 Mount Rainier, when they first settled at Nisqually. 
 
 An observatory was established on the brow of the hill, 
 a few rods north of the roadway, and within hail of the 
 ships. The remains of the observatory remained until a 
 few years ago when the proposed new railroad across from 
 the Sound to the Columbia river was surveyed and mostly 
 graded, when at this point the grade entirely obliterated the 
 old landmark. 
 
 Captain Wilkes also arranged for another land party, 
 headed by himself with four companions. Their intended 
 route was across the country to the Cowlitz, and down that 
 stream and the Columbia river to Astoria, then back to Van- 
 couver, and up the valley of the Willamette, and then up 
 the Columbia river to Fort Walla Walla. 
 
 While these preparations were making he visited and re- 
 ceived visits from the white people at the station. He men- 
 tions receiving visits from Chief Factor Anderson and Cap- 
 tain McNeil, and from Doctor Richmond and Mr. Willson. 
 Of the two former he remarks, that both reside in the Fort ; 
 both are married to half-breeds, and have several fine chil- 
 dren. He also visited Dr. Richmond, and says : 
 
 "Here I found Mrs. Richmond and Mrs. Willson, the 
 former of whom has four fine, rosy and fat children, whose 
 appearance speaks volumes for the health of the climate. 
 This mission was but reccntlv established ; so far as re- 
 
WILKES ON MISSIONARY WORK. 63 
 
 spects its prospects, they are not very flattering. The loca- 
 tion of the mission-house, on the borders of an extensive 
 and beautiful prairie, can scarcely be surpassed, and would 
 be admirably adapted for a large settlement, if the soil was 
 in any respect equal to its appearance. At the season when 
 we arrived, nothing could be more beautiful, or to appear- 
 ance more luxuriant than the plains, which were covered 
 with flowers of every color and kind." 
 
 After visiting the missionary stations in the Willamette 
 valley and elsewhere, he gives a summary of his observa- 
 tions. The writer became acquainted with the condition 
 of affairs in the Willamette valley only ten years after 
 Captain Wilkes was there and by frequent interchange of 
 views with others who were well acquainted with other 
 parts of the mission work at that time and subsequent there- 
 to, as well as a careful perusal of practically all that has 
 been published regarding the same, he quotes, with his ap- 
 proval, what the Captain said at that time, as follows : 
 
 "We were exceedingly desirous of obtaining information 
 as to the future plans of these missionaries as to teaching 
 and otherwise forwarding the civilization of the Indian 
 boys, but from all that we could learn from the missionaries, 
 as well as lay members, my impression was, that no fixed 
 plan of operations had been digested ; and I was somewhat 
 surprised to hear them talking of putting up extensive build- 
 ings for missionary purposes, when it is fully apparent that 
 there is but a very limited field for spiritual operations in 
 this part of the country. The number now attached and 
 under tuition are probably all that can be converted, and 
 does not exceed the number attached to the mission. I 
 was exceedingly desirous of drawing their attention to the 
 tribes of the north, which are a more numerous and hardier 
 race, with a healthy climate. It is true that a mission has 
 been established at Nisqually, but they are doing nothing 
 with the native tribes, and that post is only on the borders 
 of many larger tribes to the northward. As the holders of 
 a charge, committed to their hands by a persevering and en- 
 lightened class of Christians at home, who are greatly in- 
 terested in their doings and actions, they will be held re- 
 sponsible for any neglect in the great cause they have under- 
 
64 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 taken to advance, and in which much time and money have 
 been spent. 
 
 "That all may judge of the extent of this field of mission- 
 ary labors, I will enumerate the numbers of Indians within 
 its limits. Nisqually, two hundred ; Clatsop, two hundred 
 and nine ; Chinooks, two hundred and twenty ; Kilamukes, 
 four hundred ; Callapuyas, six himdred ; Dalles, two hun- 
 dred and fifty: say in all in this district, two thousand In- 
 dians; and this field is in part occupied by the Catholics, 
 as I have before stated. Of these, the Methodist mission- 
 aries have under their instruction, if so it may be called, 
 twenty-five at the Willamette station ; at the Dalles, and 
 occasionally on the Klackamus river, are the only places 
 where divine services are attempted. I would not have it 
 understood that by these remarks I have any desire to throw 
 blame on those who direct or are concerned in this mission- 
 ary enterprise, or to make any imputations on the laborers ; 
 but I feel it a duty I owe my countrymen, to lay the truth 
 before them, such as we saw it. I am aware that the mis- 
 sionaries come out to this country to colonize, and with 
 the Christian religion as their guide and law, to give the 
 necessary instruction, and hold out inducements to the 
 Indians to quit their wandering habits, settle and become 
 cultivators of the soil. This object has not been yet at- 
 tained in any degree, as was admitted by the missionaries 
 themselves ; and how it is to be effected without having 
 constantly around them large numbers, and without exer- 
 tions and strenuous efforts, I am at a loss to conceive. I 
 cannot but believe that the same labor and money which 
 have been expended here, would have been much more ap- 
 propriately and usefully spent about the Straits of Juan de 
 Fuca, who are numerous, and fit objects of instruction." 
 
 The nomenclature of the waters from Port Townsend 
 southward to the heads of Budd's Inlet and of Hood's Canal 
 is almost entirely the result of this survey and exploration 
 of Wilkes, while of the waters to the northward it is almost 
 all that of Vancouver in 1792, though the Spanish explorers 
 of an earlier day established some names that still remain. 
 
 To the party under Lieut. Commander Ringgold fell the 
 task of surveying from the Narrows down east side of Vash- 
 on's Island, thence northward on both sides of the Sound, 
 particularly all the bays that would afford shelter for ves- 
 
WILLIAM HOLDEN WILLSON. 65 
 
 sels, not only as harbors but for temporary anchorage. Un- 
 der these orders the bay in front of what is now Seattle was 
 surveyed and sounded and named after Samuel Elliot, mid- 
 shipman of the Vincennes, which is probable or in honor of 
 Chaplain J. L. Elliot of the same vessel who left the ex- 
 pedition at San Francisco in October, 1841. Captain Wilkes 
 says : 
 
 "The first bay at the bottom of Admiralty Inlet was term- 
 ed Commencement Bay. Into this falls the Puyallup, which 
 forms a delta, and none of the branches into which it is 
 divided are large enough for the entrance of a boat. The 
 Indians were at this season of the year to be found on all 
 the points, and were the same filthy creatures that have been 
 before described." 
 
 "Port Orchard is one of the most beautiful of the many 
 fine harbors on these inland waters, and is perfectly pro- 
 tected from the winds. The sheet of water is extensive, and 
 is surrounded by a large growth of trees, with here and 
 there a small prairie covered by a verdant greensward, and 
 with its honeysuckles and roses just in bloom, resembling 
 a well-kept lawn. The woods seemed alive with squirrels, 
 while tracks on the shore and through the forest showed that 
 the larger class of animals were also in the habit of fre- 
 quenting them." 
 
 William Holden Willson and Miss Chloe Aurelia Clark 
 were united in marriage at Nisqually, August 16, 1840. To 
 the writer this is a coincidence, for his parents, Rev. Daniel 
 Bagley and Miss Susannah Rogers Whipple, were married 
 the day preceding, or August 15, 1840. My father was sent 
 out by the Board of Missions of the Methodist Protestant 
 church, and we arrived in Salem, on the townsite laid off 
 by Willson, and named by him after the Massachusetts 
 town of that name, September 21, 1852, where we found him 
 and his wife occupying a fine home, the Doctor having 
 already acquired considerable wealth at that early day. The 
 two families became well acquainted, and a strong friend- 
 ship grew up between the Doctor and my father. The 
 Doctor gave my father a lot for a church site, and also sold 
 him two lots on which our first home on the Pacific Coast 
 was erected. On the church lot a substantial church was 
 
G6 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 erected, of good seating capacity, and it was used by my 
 father much of the time until we came to Seattle in i860. 
 
 i\Ir. Willson was born in Charlestown. New Hampshire, 
 April 14, 1805, being of English ancestry. Later he lived 
 in Massachusetts for a number of years, learning the trade 
 of a carpenter, and afterward became a ship-carpenter. 
 About 1834, he began the study of medicine as opportunity 
 offered, there being no regular medical college near him at 
 that time. As mentioned heretofore, Dr. Elija White ar- 
 rived in Oregon at the head of a considerable missionary 
 party, among whom was Mr. Willson. 
 
 They sailed from Boston, July 28, 1836, on the ship Ham- 
 ilton, for the Sandwich Islands, arriving there late in the 
 winter. They were compelled to remain there five months 
 before an opportunity offered to get passage to the Columbia 
 river. In the latter part of April, 1837, they sailed on the 
 brig Diana, and arrived at Vancouver about a month later. 
 
 Dr. White, in his "Ten Years in Oregon," gives some of 
 the characteristics of his sailing companions. Of Willson, 
 he says he was five feet, ten inches in height, cheerful, 
 sympathetic, and affectionate, fond of relating old sea- 
 stories, for he had been quite an experienced whaler. A 
 peculiar characteristic, and a strange one for a man, was 
 an almost childish partiality for cats ; and as there were 
 none on board, he made a pet of a beautiful kid, whose head 
 he would comb for an hour together, talking to it the while 
 as though it was a human being." 
 
 Mr. Willson at once set to work to get the goods of the 
 party up the Willamette river, and continued to lead an 
 active life in the work of the Mission, especially in the 
 mechanical department, where there was always plenty to 
 do. 
 
 He did not take part in the earliest steps toward the form- 
 ation of the provisional government in Oregon, in 1841, as 
 he was then at Nisqually, but at a meeting at the Oregon 
 Institute, February 2, 1843, he was present and was one of 
 six to outline a plan of procedure, and to notify the people 
 
WILLIAM HOLDEN WILLSON. 67 
 
 of a meeting appointed for the first Monday in March, fol- 
 lowing. Not much was accomplished at that appointed 
 meeting, but at one held at "Champooick," May 2, 1843, an 
 organization was effected. Dr. J. L. Babcock was chosen 
 chairman, and Messrs. Gray, LeBreton and Willson, secre- 
 taries. A list of officers was named, consisting of supreme 
 judge, clerk of court, sheriff, three magistrates and three 
 constables, and a treasurer. Joe. Meek, whom Mrs. Victor 
 has immortalized in her book "River of the West," was 
 chosen sheriff, and William H. Willson, treasurer. 
 
 In February, 1844, an affray between an Indian desperado 
 and six of his companions and a party of whites took place 
 at the Willamette Falls, or Oregon City. The leader of the 
 Indians was killed and several others wounded, and three 
 whites wounded slightly, as it was at the time supposed, but 
 two young men, LeBreton and Rogers, died the next day 
 from the effects of poisoned arrows, and our friend Willson, 
 after considerable suffering, recovered without permanent 
 injury. A few days later a meeting was called of which Mr. 
 Willson was chairman, at which it was decided to organize 
 a volunteer company of mounted riflemen, to co-operate 
 with other companies, to bring to justice all the Indians 
 engaged in the affair mentioned above, and to protect the 
 lives and property of the settlers against similar assaults in 
 future. 
 
 One of the first acts of the first Oregon legislature is dated 
 December 24, 1844, and grants to "L. H. Judson and W. H. 
 Willson, and their successors, the right to construct a mill- 
 race from the northern branch of the Santiam river to the 
 eastern branch of the small stream which runs to and drives 
 the mills at Chemeketa, formerly owned by the Alethodist 
 Espiscopal Mission." 
 
 The first woolen mill in Oregon, and, I think, the first on 
 the Pacific Coast, was built on the banks of this little stream, 
 later called "Mill Creek." Our home was a few hundred 
 feet from it, and it was rich in numerous "swimming holes," 
 where the small boys of those early days disported them- 
 
68 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 selves in safety until they had "learned to swim," when they 
 went to the Willamette river to spend all the spare time 
 their hard-hearted parents would allow them from their 
 tasks at home and their books at school. It was in this 
 "crick" the writer learned the art of natation. Our old 
 friend, INT. M. McCarver, the founder of Tacoma, was 
 speaker of the first legislature, of which there was but one 
 house, and he signed the bill granting said "charter," as it 
 was then called. 
 
 Willson was one of the Loan Commissioners of the Pro- 
 visional government in 1848, to raise funds to prosecute the 
 Indian war, which was undertaken to punish the Cayuses for 
 the murder of Doctor Whitman and his wife and nearly a 
 dozen others the preceding year at Waiilatpu. He was also 
 a member of the Oregon Exchange Company, which coined 
 $57,500 in five and ten dollar pieces in 1S49. ^t Oregon City, 
 known as "Beaver" money, from the figure of that indus- 
 trious animal, proper emblem for those days, that was 
 stamped upon the coins. This was the first coinage in 
 American territory on the Pacific Coast. The writer saw a 
 good many of these coins in his boyhood days but they are 
 now quite rare, and highly prized by their fortunate owners. 
 They were made of the natural gold, and in consequence, 
 were a light yellow in color, and being very soft quickly 
 wore oflf smooth if long in circulation. 
 
 March 15, 1842, the "Oregon Institute" was established 
 near Salem, under the management of the Methodist Church. 
 After some delays and considerable negotiation a large 
 building that had been put up for an Indian mission school, 
 was secured. It stood near the present site of the Wil- 
 lamette University, a few hundred feet south of the present 
 state Capitol building in Salem. For more than sixty years 
 this institution has done a grand work in educating and 
 training the youth of our sister territory and state. Thou- 
 sands of young people, and those who are no longer young, 
 are proud to remember the time spent within the walls of 
 the "Old Institute" and its successor, the University. Prof. 
 
"OLD MIKE SIMMONS." 69 
 
 F. S. Hoyt, who returned in early days to his old home in 
 Kentucky, was one of the early instructors there, Rev. Isaac 
 I. Dillon and wife, who were well known on Puget Sound, a 
 few years ago, also taught there; T. M. Gatch, for years 
 President of the State University, in Seattle, was professor 
 of foreign languages and mathematics there more than forty- 
 five years ago, but one of our Nisqually friends of the long 
 ago, Mrs. Chloe A. Willson, was the first teacher, and there- 
 fore upon her devolves the lasting honor of being the first 
 teacher of an American school for white children west of the 
 Rocky Mountains. The school at that time was conducted 
 as a boarding school, most of the pupils coming from a dis- 
 tance and living at the institution. 
 
 Mr. Willson took an active part in the affairs of the in- 
 stitution for many years, it being intrusted to him, person- 
 ally, to secure the title to the grounds, which he did by 
 means of the Donation Claim act; and in this connection 
 a vexatious and long-standing dispute arose with the school 
 board, that is not pertinent to this story. 
 
 He had completed his medical studies on shipboard, on 
 the long voyage out from Boston, under the instruction of 
 Dr. White, himself an educated and skillful physician and 
 surgeon, and about 1843, he became Doctor Willson and 
 entered into active practice, continued until a few years be- 
 fore his death, which occurred April 17, 1856. Mrs. Will- 
 son lived until June 2, 1874, having spent her later years 
 with her daughter in Portland, who married a well-known 
 business man of that city, H. K. Gill. 
 
 Thus the man who laid the foundation for the first Ameri- 
 can home by the beautiful waters of this inland sea, also 
 helped to lay the foundations broad and deep of the great 
 sister commonwealth that lies just across the "Oregon" of 
 Thanatopsis. 
 
 To Michael Simmons, Colonel by courtesy, he having held 
 that rank in the Independent Oregon Company in 1841, 
 while crossing the plains, and to all old settlers, "Mike," be- 
 longs the honor of being the leader of the first permanent 
 
70 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 American settlers on Ptiget Sound. In July, 1845, ^'^^^ 
 George Wanch and William Shaw and a party of others 
 come over from Vancouver ^o the Sound. In August they 
 made a canoe trip down as far as the north end of Whidby 
 Island, returning by the east side of that island, and then 
 going back to their families at Vancouver. A new party 
 was organized, consisting of M. T. Simmons, and family, 
 James McAllister and family, David Kindred and family, 
 Gabriel Jones and family, George Bush and family, and 
 Jesse Ferguson, Reuben Crowder and Samuel B. Crockett. 
 They had to cut a road from the Cowlitz Landing to the 
 prairie near the present town of Centralia. This consumed 
 two weeks and made it near the close of October before 
 they reached the site of Tumwater, at the head of salt water 
 above Olympia. Simmons was attracted by the water power 
 of the Deschuttes, then called The Shutes. 
 
 In 1846, he built there a grist mill which would grind 
 wheat but not bolt it. The stones were chiseled out of gran- 
 ite boulders found on the beach. In 1847, Simmons, Frank 
 Shaw, Edmond Sylvester, A. B. Rabbeson, Gabriel Jones, 
 Jesse Ferguson, John Kindred and A. D. Conifix built a 
 saw mill near the lower part of the falls at the same place, 
 and this was the first mill of the kind on Puget Sound. 
 
 At the time of the re-organization of the Provisional Gov- 
 ernment in July, 1845, the territory north of the Columbia 
 river was formed into Vancouver district. James Douglas, 
 then one of the Board of Control of the Hudson's Bay Com- 
 pany, James Forrest, officer in charge of the P. S. Agri- 
 cultural Company's Affairs at Cowlitz Farms, and Colonel 
 Simmons were named as the first three commissioners or 
 county judges. Lewis county was organized that winter 
 and embraced all the territory north of the Columbia and 
 west of the Cowlitz rivers, and at the succeeding election 
 in June, 1846 Doctor William F. Tolmie, chief Trader at 
 Nisqually, was elected the first representative. Thus, it 
 will be seen that the Hudson's Bay Company officers were 
 in control of affairs of the young community, as well as of 
 
PIONEER LIFE IN 1846. 71 
 
 its business afifairs ; in fact, but for this Company these 
 pioneer settlers would have been on the verge of starvation 
 much of the time for several years. 
 
 Often, I come across ill-natured remarks regarding- its 
 treatment of the early settlers, and the descendants of these 
 early settlers have been among the offenders in this par- 
 ticular. No greater falsehoods could have been told. It is 
 claimed that Dr. McLgughlin and the other officers of the 
 Company endeavored to dissuade Simmons and party from 
 coming to the Sound. This may be true. It would be quite 
 natural, and no matter of criticism. The trading, farming 
 and stockraising operations of the two companies were large 
 and immensely profitable, and it was quite natural they 
 should desire to retain them, but when it became apparent 
 that Simmons and party had decided to come, instead of 
 showing any ill nature or pique the good Doctor set to work 
 to aid them in many ways. He gave orders on Forrest at 
 Cowlitz, and on Tolmie at Nisqually to furnish them on 
 credit with several hundred bushels of grain and ten or a 
 dozen head of cattle at twelve dollars per head. For years 
 this system of credits was continued to all who proved 
 worthy of it, and in addition the Company made work for 
 them it could very well have left undone. 
 
 James McAllister was the first to take a claim away from 
 the prairies near Deschuttes. He was, also, among the 
 first to be killed by the Indians in the war of 1855-6. With 
 the consent of the Indians, he took his claim in the Nis- 
 qually bottom, not far from the council ground of the tribe 
 of that name. 
 
 Mrs. Hartman, daughter of James McAllister wrote sev- 
 eral years ago a long article from which are selected the 
 following paragraphs : 
 
 "We had all kinds of game, which was more plentiful than 
 the tame stock now, fish and clams, dried and fresh, the 
 Indians showing us how to prepare them, but we never suc- 
 ceeded in learning the art of drying them. We were suc- 
 cessful in drying fruits, the Indians' mode requiring no 
 sugar. For vegetables we had lackamas, speacotes, and 
 
72 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 numerous other roots. We children learned to like the 
 Indian food so well that we thought we could not exist with- 
 out it. We kept a supply as long as we could get it, but T 
 have not seen any for many years. 
 
 "In 1846, mother disliking to stay alone while father was 
 building, he laughingly told her he had seen two big stumps 
 side by side, and that if she would live in them he would 
 take her with him. Mother told him she would go, so father 
 scraped out the stumps and made a roof, and mother moved 
 in with her six children. She found it very comfortable, 
 the burnt out roots making such nice cubby-holes for stow- 
 ing away things. Mother continued to live in her stump 
 house until father built a house, the work being necessarily 
 slow, for father had but few tools." 
 
 To one familiar with the big cedar stumps of Nisqually 
 bottom, this charming little story will not seem improbable. 
 
 This home was not far from Nisqually, and one day Mrs. 
 McAllister went to see Mrs. Huggins, and at that time gave 
 an account of the hardships of the trip to the Sound. They 
 grew short of provisions so that the children were crying 
 from hunger, somewhere on the Cowlitz trail, between the 
 Company's store near the mouth of that stream where Mon- 
 ticello afterward stood and the Cowlitz Farm. Here Mr. 
 John Work, father of Mrs. Huggins, met them on his way 
 to Fort Vancouver from Fort Simpson, away up on the 
 North-west Coast, where he had an important post. Mr. 
 Work was a tender hearted man and appreciated the pitiful 
 condition of the poor mother and her children. He promptly 
 unloaded his packhorse and gave Mrs. McAllister all that 
 was left of the plentiful supply of provisions he had secured 
 at Nisqually, enough to last them until they could reach the 
 Company's farm at Cowlitz. This kindness Mrs. McAllister 
 had not forgotten, and showed much pleasure in telling of it 
 to his daughter. Somebody put a story afloat a few years 
 ago that it was the noted Indian Leschi who had performed 
 this generous deed. 
 
 A letter from Peter Skeen Ogden and James Douglas, of 
 July 3, 1846, makes the first mention of the shingle busi- 
 ness I have found, and it shows that the Company had pur- 
 
SHINGLE BUSINESS, 1846. 73 
 
 chased shingles previous to that date. Here is the para- 
 graph : "If it would be any accommodation you may ship 
 the shingles on hand at Nisqually and all the last year's 
 salmon at Victoria to the Sandwich Islands by the Rosa- 
 lind, paying one and one-half dollars per barrel for the sal- 
 mon or per thousand shingles ; or, if there be any oppor- 
 tunity of selling the shingles to advantage you are at liberty 
 to dispose of them." Simmons, McAllister and party ar- 
 rived in October, 1845, and already the shingles made by 
 them had begun to accumulate in July, 1846. 
 
 A summary of these purchases after February, 1847, taken 
 off the old books of the Company by Mr. Huggins, shows an 
 aggregate of 11 50 thousand, for which not less than three 
 dollars per thousand and from that to ten dollars were paid. 
 As it is practically a roster of the settlers in that region at 
 that time, I give the names : T. M. Glasgow, William Pack- 
 wood, Joshua Melvin, Gabriel Jones, George Bush, M. T. 
 Simmons, Jesse Ferguson, James McAllister, William O. 
 Bush, Charles Eaton, Maurice Jones, Franklin Shaw, Ben- 
 jamen Gordon, Williamson, Tyrell & Melvin, Jon- 
 athan Logan, Evans, Gordon & Buchanan, Redwood Easton, 
 Henry Evans, A. M. Poe, Samuel Davis. David Kindred, L. 
 A. Smith, Samuel Crockett, D. D. Kinsey, Edmund Syl- 
 vester, A. B. Rabbeson, George Shazer, George Brail, C. 
 Obrist, Joseph Broshears, Lewis Jones, Luther M. Collins, 
 John Bradley, Joseph Borst, A. T. Simmons. 
 
 In 1885, the writer bought of Schwabacher Bros. & Co. 
 good shaved shingles at two dollars and twenty-five cents 
 per thousand, and on them the firm made a good profit and 
 the makers made good wages. This shows that the early 
 settlers had no reason to go hungry, when they could make 
 from five to fifteen dollars per day shaving shingles. Of 
 the amount named above James McAllister is credited with 
 two hundred and twenty thousand, or nearly one-fifth the 
 whole number, and for 35^ thousand he was paid at the rate 
 of ten dollars. 
 
 Doctor Tolmie inaugurated this traffic and nothwith- 
 
74 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 standing large shipments were made to the Sandwich Is- 
 lands and to other places at times the stock on hand reached 
 large proportions. Along in 1849, he grew apprehensive 
 the Company would suffer loss. He wrote to James Doug- 
 las, then his superior officer, telling him the condition of 
 the business and asking orders as to whether he should 
 reduce the price or discontinue buying them. Mr. Douglas 
 replied, "We must assist these poor people and cannot see 
 them suffer for want of the necessaries of life." He in- 
 structed Doctor Tolmie to continue buying shingles at the 
 old price of three dollars, as it would in the long run turn 
 out all right. A market would be found for the shingles 
 somewhere and he was confident the Company would suffer 
 little or no loss by the transaction. 
 
 Sure enough, in the beginning of 1850, the Sound country 
 began to feel the effects of the mining of gold in California. 
 In March the brig Sacramento, Capt. Alex. Monat, an old 
 Hudson's Bay Company employee, arrived at Nisqually 
 seeking a cargo of piles, lumber and shingles. He paid 
 Luther M. Collins, then of Nisqually but later one of the 
 first settlers in King County, three dollars each for one 
 hundred and five small piles and Doctor Tolmie thirteen 
 dollars per thousand for 121 thousand shingles. 
 
 Capt. Monat obtained a limited supply of lumber from the 
 little Tumwater mill, and for a time the prices ranged from 
 sixty to one hundred dollars per thousand. 
 
 The changed condition of affairs was not altogether in 
 favor of the settlers. To be sure labor was largely in de- 
 mand at big wages. Good axmen were paid five dollars per 
 day, and whatever produce the struggling settlers had to 
 spare brought them large prices. To offset this, breadstuffs 
 and provisions generally, went up to famine prices. Flour 
 reached forty to fifty dollars a barrel, and the demand outran 
 the supply on this Coast, therefore shipments from New 
 York and Boston were made around the Horn, and often 
 when these barrels were opened the contents would be 
 musty or sour. 
 
PRICES CURRENT AT NISQUALLY, 1845. 75 
 
 How fairly the Company dealt in regard to prices of ar- 
 ticles out of its store, the following list of advances made 
 to the American settlers from Nov. 7, 1845, to December 31, 
 1846, the period immediately following the arrival of Sim- 
 mons and party, will show. The reader must not forget 
 this was the only place these goods could be secured, in 
 all this North-west, except at some other post of the Com- 
 pany. These prices average twenty-five per cent, below 
 those of today for similar articles, and were about one-half 
 the rates prevailing in Oregon when we arrived there in 
 1852 : — Six axes at one dollar, twenty-five cents ; one draw- 
 ing knife at 90 cents ; 28 bushels of oats at 50 cents ; 43 
 bushels of pease at 90 cents; 213]^ bushels potatoes at 25 
 cents; 71 ^^ bushels wheat at 80 cents; i>4 bushels of buck- 
 wheat at 60 cents ; I2>4 lbs. black wool at 16 cents ; 8 bul- 
 locks at eighteen dollars ; 2 mares at thirteen dollars and 
 fifty cents ; 25 lbs. salt-pork at ten cents ; 2^ doz. quinine 
 powders at 50 cents ; 98 lbs. coffee at 25 cents ; 62 >^ gals, 
 molasses at 55 cents; 90 lbs. brown sugar at I2>^ cents; 
 115^ bushels of salt at 70 cents per bushel ; 1354 lbs. Congo 
 tea at 70 cents; ^Ib. Epsom salts at 16 cents (this charge 
 was four cents) ; 60 lbs. 3od Rose nails at 4 cents ; 40 lbs. 
 2od clasp nails at 4 cents ; 16 lbs. lod clasp nails at 13 cents ; 
 32 lbs. nails for bark covering at 2 cents per lb. ; 4^ doz. 
 Kirby hooks at 6 cents; 7 lbs. gunpowder at 30 cents; 15 
 lbs. ammunition (lead) at one cent per lb.; I5>2 lbs. twist 
 tobacco at 40 cents; 84 1-3 lbs. leaf tobacco at 26 cents; 
 one tin kettle $1.80; one gimlet four cents. 
 
 With plenty of time and space at my disposal, I should 
 use a great deal more of the old records and letters Mr. 
 Huggins has placed at my disposal, but it is out of the ques- 
 tion. The original letters that follow have more or less 
 bearing upon matters referred to in this sketch, and at the 
 same time will give the reader of today an insight to the 
 manner of doing business out here at the times when they 
 were written. Nearly every one of these was sent by special 
 messenger from Vancouver to Nisqually. The messenger 
 
76 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 came down the Columbia and up the Cowlitz rivers by- 
 canoe and from the Cowlitz Farm on horseback. It took 
 from four to seven days for the trip one way, and no doubt 
 cost from fifteen to twenty dollars for each express. 
 
 xMr. A. C. Anderson, Vancouver, 21 July, 1841. 
 
 Dear Sir: — I forward with this a letter for Commodore 
 Wilkes, which you will please deliver and retain the In- 
 dians till you see the Commodore as he may, perhaps, wish 
 to send an answer. 
 
 I found the letter I wrote to Mr. Yale from Nisqually 
 had been put up with those for this place. I now send it 
 and if the Cadboro has been with you, as I presume, you 
 will endeavor if possible to send it by Indians to Mr. Yale. 
 
 I say nothing about the work at your place as I have 
 already mentioned my views in my former communication ; 
 but I must observe that I hope you will take particular care 
 that the cows are not so much milked as to injure the calves, 
 as our main object is only at present to tame the cows, and 
 raise as many calves as possible. 
 
 I am. dear sir, yours truly, Q 
 
 JOHN McL;^CUGHLIN. 
 
 P. S. — Vizena's things will be sent him by a subsequent 
 opportunity. There is an Indian woman, Madam Tetrean, 
 lawfully married to one Tetrean ; but who ran away and 
 left him, and this woman has lived with Vizena here, but 
 if she goes to Nisqually vou will not allow her to live with 
 
 ^^"^- ' ' J. McL. 
 
 My servant left a pair of my suspenders and a pair of 
 trousers of mine at Nisqually. 
 
 JOHN McLaughlin. 
 
 Mr. A. C. Anderson, Vancouver, 22d Feby., 1841. 
 
 Dear Sir : — I have to inform you that the Cowlitz, Capt. 
 Brotchie, is arrived and by her we have accounts that 
 Messrs. Francis Heron, Alex. Stewart, and A. K. McLeod 
 are no more ; but I am happy to be able to inform you that 
 Europe is at peace. 
 
 T am, dear sir, yours truly, 
 
 "jOHN McL;^(aGHLIN. 
 
OLD LETTERS. 77 
 
 Vancouver, 31 March, 1841. 
 Mr. A. C. Anderson, 
 
 Dear Sir : — This will be handed to you by the Revd. Jason 
 Lee, whom I beg to introduce to your polite attentions, 
 and request you will be so good as afford him such assist- 
 ance as he may require. 
 
 I am, very truly, 
 
 JOHN McL\UGHLIN. 
 
 Vancouver, 5 July, 1843. 
 To Angus McDonald, 
 
 Dear Sir: — This will be handed you by Dr. Tolmie, to 
 
 whom you will please deliver the charge of Nisqually and 
 
 all papers and information connected with the place ; and 
 
 when Dr. Tolmie can dispense with you, you will come here. 
 
 I am, vours truly, Q 
 
 JOHN McLfojGHLIN. 
 
 Vancouver, 26 March, 1843. 
 Dr. Tolmie, 
 
 Dear Sir: — Yours of the i8th reached this today, with the 
 accompanying letters and will be forwarded with our last 
 express. 
 
 I am happy to see you are removed to the new Fort, which 
 in every way is the most convenient situation for you, be- 
 sides being one of the most pleasant situations in the Indian 
 country. 
 
 I was aware, a long time ago, of the difficulty of getting 
 work done as it ought, nay impossibility of doing so, but 
 situated as we are it is impossible to get along without them 
 (Indians), though I am fully aware they are the dearest 
 and worst servants we have, yet we never can get enough 
 of others to make us independent of them. The best is, as 
 you know, for Mr. Heath to do is to humour them ; if he 
 begins by being strict he never will get on with them. I 
 hope he is satisfied with the stock. Pray are the sheep poor 
 or in good condition? 
 
 I am certain there have been more cattle killed at Nis- 
 qually than we are aware of, and here also. I hope you will 
 be able to find out who shot at the steer that was wounded. 
 
 Yours truly, JOHN McL^UGHLIN. 
 
78 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 Vancouver, 27th Sept., 1845. 
 Dr. Tolmie, 
 
 Dear Sir : — This will be handed to you by Col. Symonds, 
 (Simmons) who is going with some of his friends to settle 
 at the falls at the Chute River. He has applied to me to 
 get an order on you for grain and potatoes, but I presume 
 you have not more than you need for your own use. If 
 you have any to spare please let him have what he demands 
 and charge it to home (Vancouver). Col. Symonds and 
 his friends passed the winter in our vicinity. They have 
 been employed by us in making shingles and procuring logs. 
 They have all conducted themselves in a most neighborly, 
 friendly manner, and I beg to recommend them to your kind 
 assistance and friendly offices. 
 
 I am, yours truly, Q 
 
 JOHN McL;«^UGHLIN. 
 
 Vancouver, 9 Oct., 1845. 
 Dr. Tolmie, 
 
 Dear Sir : — The Cadboro is to proceed in tow of the 
 steamer to Nisqually, and both are to be employed till 
 further orders in taking cattle and sheep to Fort Victoria. 
 It would be desirable to send forty head of oxen, which will 
 be fit to kill next year, and a thousand of the finest wool 
 sheep with their rams, and two hundred wethers, which I 
 mention that you may know our views. It will be necessary 
 that one of your most experienced shepherds go with the 
 sheep. I merely mention these in case of Air. Douglas not 
 knowing your instructions about them already. 
 
 As the steamer is limited in her time it will be necessary 
 every precaution be taken that she be detained as little 
 time as possible at Nisqually, as if we can get more than 
 that quantity to Victoria, so much the better. 
 
 I am, yours truly, 
 
 JOHN McLaughlin. 
 
 Fort Vancouver, 26 Sept., 1846. 
 Dr. Tolmie, 
 
 Dear Sir: — Mr. Simmons having applied to us for a sup- 
 ply of flour, you will please to order about thirty barrels 
 from Fort Victoria, for the purpose of supplying that de- 
 
OLD LETTERS. 79 
 
 mand, and you may take shingles, at the usual price, in 
 payment, always taking care not to allow him nor any of 
 his people to get involved in debt. 
 
 We have given Mr. Simmons a crank and other irons for 
 a saw mill, of which Mr. Forrest will send you an account 
 and the weight, such irons being charged by the pound, and 
 you will carry it to his account, at the rate of twenty cents 
 per pound. 
 
 We have promised to take shingles from Simmons' people 
 for the coming winter at former prices ; they have spoken to 
 us about getting sheep and cattle on shares and also for pur- 
 chase, but we have given them no encouragement to expect 
 a compliance with their wishes on that point. 
 
 As soon as the steam vessel arrives, she will be employed 
 as last year in transporting cattle to Fort Victoria, and you 
 will please to make the necessary preparations for that pur- 
 pose. 
 
 Accompanying you will receive notes of hand as follows : 
 — David Kindred, $6.74; Gabriel Jones, $82.93; M. T. Sim- 
 mons, $53.43; James McAllister, $24.31, being the amount 
 of their Vancouver accounts when they left this place last 
 year. As soon as they have paid the amount due, you will 
 return these notes to the drawers. Charge no interest on 
 the notes, as they have been making payments on their ac- 
 counts for many months past, and the sum is so small that 
 the interest is not worth charging. 
 
 With best wishes, yours truly, 
 
 PETER SKEEN OGDEN, 
 JAMES DOUGLAS. 
 
 This letter is the handwriting of James Douglas. 
 
 Fort Vancouver, 22d May, 1846. 
 Dr. Tolmie, 
 
 Dear Sir: — We have just heard through Mr. Jackson, the 
 SherifT, that you had lately been over to Newmarket, and 
 announced your intention of presenting yourself, at the ap- 
 proaching election, as a candidate for the county of Lewis, 
 a most satisfactory piece of intelligence, as until it reached 
 us, we were uncertain whether you had taken any steps 
 towards the attainment of the object recommended in our 
 
80 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 letter of the nth April. We are informed that all the 
 Americans of Newmarket are disposed to give their suff- 
 rages in favor of Mr. Jackson, whom we firmly believe to 
 be a good worthy man ; and were it not for other considera- 
 tions we should have no objection to their choice; but you 
 know it would not be proper or appear right to the world, 
 that we who possess a prevailing influence, and hold so 
 large a share of the property of the County should allow 
 a fragment of the population to represent and legislate for 
 the interests of the whole. 
 
 The election is to take place on Monday the first day of 
 June, and the polls to be opened by the judges of election, 
 at the several precincts, as stated in the letter of the Clerk 
 of Court, which Mr. Jackson will forward ; say, one at Mr. 
 Forrest's house, Cowlitz, one at Mr. Simmond's house, 
 Newmarket, and one at Mr. Tolmie's house, Nisqually. The 
 poll is merely a register of the voters' names, to be kept by 
 the Judge of Election, to which office I have appointed Mr. 
 Heath of your precinct. 
 
 The pollbook should be returned to this place under seal, 
 as pointed out in the "Election Notice" on the fourth page 
 of the 7th number of the Oregon Spectator herewith. 
 
 The number of qualified voters at Nisqually is 16, as per 
 statement herewith. Besides their votes for the return of a 
 member of the legislature, you will also submit the proposed 
 amendment in the land law ; and take the sense of the peo- 
 ple as to the manner of electing Judges of County Courts, 
 whether by the people or by the House of Representatives. 
 On the first point, we intend to oppose the amendment of 
 the land law, as it is, in all circumstances, dangerous to 
 tamper with and make inroads on fundamental institu- 
 tions, and more so in a new country, where things have not 
 assumed a settled form, nor had time to take hold on the 
 affections of the people. The law in its present state is cer- 
 tainly not perfect, neither is the amendment calculated to 
 improve it. 
 
 On the second point, the sense of this county is decidedly 
 in favour of the Judges being elected by the people, in their 
 several counties. These things we mention for your in- 
 formation, trusting that the feeling in your county will be 
 found akin to that of ours. 
 
 We think that a majority of the suffrages of the people at 
 the Cowlitz will be given in your favor, as we intend to 
 lend vou all our influence. 
 
ATTACK ON FORT NISQUALLY. 81 
 
 Referring you to the accompanying number of the Oregon 
 Spectator, we remain, dear sir, yours truly, 
 
 PETER SKEEN OGDEN. 
 JAMES DOUGLAS. 
 
 Fort Vancouver, 4 Novr., 1846. 
 
 To Dr. Tolmie, 
 
 Dear Sir : — We have to acknovv^ledge your letter of the 
 
 23d Octr., with the accompanying documents, which were 
 
 found correct and satisfactory. A bill against the Fisgard, 
 
 for postage of Captain Duntze's letters to Fort George, was 
 
 forwarded to you some time ago, of which we can discover 
 
 no traces in your documents, from whence we fear it has 
 
 been entirely overlooked, and not brought forward in your 
 
 statement with Mr. Rames. Pray examine into that matter 
 
 and let us know the result. The amount of the bill was 
 
 $18.53- 
 
 The Barque Toulon arrived lately in the river with very 
 
 important intelligence from the Sandwich Islands. It ap- 
 pears that the Oregon Boundary is finally settled, on a basis 
 more favorable to the United States than we had reason to 
 anticipate. We forward with this copy of communication 
 from Sir George Seymour, Commander-in-Chief in the Pa- 
 cific, to our agents at the Sandwich Islands, which contains 
 all that is at present known to us relative to the Boundary 
 Treaty. Business will, of course, go on as usual, as the 
 treaty will not take effect on us for many years to come. 
 
 You will please get as many shingles ready to ship by the 
 Columbia as possible, which may be shipped by the Beaver 
 to Victoria, as we have not yet a sufficient cargo for both 
 ships. Inform the shingle makers of this, and that they 
 will be allowed 4 dollars a thousand for all they can deliver 
 between this and the sailing of the ships, but the old prices 
 only will be paid afterwards. 
 
 You will please to send six men or engaged Indians im- 
 mediately to clear the road in the two points of wood be- 
 tween the Nisqually River and Bute Plain, which are nearly 
 impassable for loaded horses ; another party will be em- 
 ployed at the Cowlitz end of the Portage, under Mr. Sangs- 
 ter, who will afterwards proceed to Nisqually to relieve you 
 for a time as your presence here will be required on or be- 
 fore the first day of December, to attend the Legislature, and 
 
82 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 yon will please to take your measures accordingly, using 
 every exertion to be here by the time specified. 
 
 With best wishes, yours truly, 
 
 PETER SKEEN OGDEN. 
 JAMES DOUGLAS. 
 
 The first term of court held on Puget Sound was convened 
 at Steilacoom on the last Monday in October, 1849, the Ore- 
 gon chief justice Bryant, presiding. This was brought about 
 by a tragedy that took place under the walls of Fort Nis- 
 qually. In May of that year one hundred or more Snoqual- 
 mie and Skeywamish Indians visited Fort Nisqually with 
 the ostensible purpose of ascertaining whether the reports 
 in circulation among them of the cruel treatment of a mem- 
 ber of their tribe, a sister of Patkanim, who had married 
 a Nisqually Indian named Wyamoch, were true or not. 
 These Indians were among the most warlike of the native 
 tribes on the Sound, and the other tribes to the southward 
 of them feared them greatly. 
 
 At the time of the advent of the Snoqualmies, a large 
 number of the Nisquallies were camped near the Fort, and 
 these sought protection within its palisades. The Fort had 
 been moved from its original location near the brow of the 
 hill to what is still known as the fort in 1842-3, the new 
 location being far more advantageous for many reasons, 
 the chief of which being its proximity to an abundant supply 
 of pure, running water. The original fort was surrounded 
 by a high and strong stockade, but when the transfer was 
 made it was omitted. When the news of the massacre of 
 Whitman and party was received, coupled with the prob- 
 ability of a bloody war to punish that crime, the Hudson's 
 Bay people felt compelled to erect a stockade around the 
 post then occupied. The Indians looked upon this action 
 with disfavor, but a strong force was employed, most of 
 them with arms by their sides during the progress of the 
 work. The palisades were about twenty feet high ; at the 
 
ATTACK ON FORT NISQUALLY. 83 
 
 north-west and south-east corners were large and very 
 strong bastions, constructed of squared timbers twelve 
 inches in diameter, impregnable to any attack of Indians 
 armed only with their old-fashioned muzzle-loading guns. 
 The bastions were three stories high, and armed with small 
 cannon and small swivel guns. A dozen muskets and a 
 good supply of ammunition were always kept in each of 
 the bastions ready for immediate use. 
 
 About noon the visiting Indians, fully armed, came up 
 and took position in front of the water gate on the north 
 side. It has always remained an open question whether 
 their original purpose was an attack on the Fort or upon 
 the Nisqually Indians, but, presumably, was the latter, with 
 the intention of carrying ofif all the women and property 
 they could get within their clutches. Two armed men were 
 placed at the gate, and all the whites outside the enclosure, 
 of whom there were several Americans, were called to come 
 in the gate. At this, several of the Snoqualmies rushed for 
 the gate, but were warned to keep away. Several shots were 
 then fired and one Indian killed and two others wounded. 
 
 For some reason two Americans, named Wallace and 
 Lewis, did not come into the enclosure when the alarm was 
 sounded, although they had plenty of time. They, perhaps, 
 thought as they did not belong to the Fort they would not 
 be harmed, but if so it was a fatal mistake, as Wallace was 
 shot dead, and Lewis wounded in the arm. 
 
 The Indians found the Fort too strong and well defended 
 for them to capture, so they made off as rapidly as possible. 
 
 This disturbance led to the sending of a company of ar- 
 tillery around from Fort Vancouver to Steilacoom, this 
 being the first advent of United States soldiers here. They 
 were under command of Capt. B. Hill. 
 
 On August 7, 1849, J- Q- Thornton, sub-Indian Agent for 
 Oregon Territory, arrived at Fort Nisqually and immedi- 
 ately proceeded to investigate the facts connected with the 
 killing of Mr. Wallace. He sent messengers to Patkanim, 
 and advised him to arrest the chief offenders and bring them 
 
84 ' PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 to Capt. Hill at Fort Steilacoom. He also offered a reward 
 of eighty blankets if this were done within three weeks. 
 Patkanim succeeded in inducing the tribe to give up six 
 of its members, Kussass, Ouhlawot, Stullhahya, Juttain, 
 Wyah and Qualthlinkyne. These were delivered to Capt. 
 Hill, and by him turned over to Joe Meek, the United States 
 Marshal. All six were indicted, but only the first two were 
 convicted, and they were executed. Three of the others 
 were mixed up in the aflfray but had no part in the killing, 
 while the sixth was found not to have been on the ground, 
 but had been brought along, he being a slave, whom the 
 guilty chiefs hoped to place in their stead, to become a scape- 
 goat. 
 
 The result of this trial and execution had a good effect 
 upon the Indians. The whole Snoqualmie tribe was present 
 at the execution ; also a vast gathering of Indians from other 
 tribes on Puget Sound, and they were made to understand 
 that under the United States laws they would be punished 
 for every murder they committed, and that no satisfaction 
 would be accepted short of all who participated in the mur- 
 der of white people. Judge A. P. Skinner was appointed 
 United States District Attorney by Judge Bryant, to con- 
 duct the trial, and David Stone was appointed Attorney 
 for the defense. They had traveled two hundred miles from 
 their homes, camping in the woods on the way, as did nearly 
 all concerned in the trial. They all had to travel in canoes, 
 batteaux, and on horse back, and of course the journey was 
 one of hardship and fatigue. Many of the grand and petit 
 jurors had to travel like distances and by the same methods. 
 The total expense of holding this first term of court for the 
 trial of these Indians was $1899.54, and the value of the 
 blankets given as a reward $480 more, making in all 
 
 $2379-54- 
 
 One of the numerous farms of the Company was rented 
 for the use of this military company. It had a considerable 
 number of comfortable buildings on it that served the pur- 
 pose of the company for some time. The United States paid 
 
OLD FORT STEILACOOM. 85 
 
 the Company a yearly rental of six hundred dollars for 
 nearly twenty years for the use of this place. When the 
 Companies were finally paid for their holdings in Oregon 
 and Washington a mile square enclosing this farm became 
 a military reserve, and when it was abandoned as a military 
 post it was sold to the Territory of Washington for a small 
 sum, and was then devoted for the uses of the Territorial 
 Hospital for Insane. The old quarters for the officers and 
 soldiers were adequate for this purpose for many years, or 
 nearly to the time of admission to statehood. This is where 
 the present Hospital for Insane is situated. The first brick 
 building was begun, I think, in 1886. 
 
 Prior to the advent of American settlers here the Puget 
 Sound Agricultural Company encouraged independent 
 farmers to settle near Nisqually, and in 1844, Mr. Heath 
 came over from Vancouver with letters of recommendation 
 from Gov. McLaughlin, and he leased this farm and occu- 
 pied it for many years, in fact, I think, until the coming 
 of the American soldiers. 
 
 William W. Miller was the first surveyor of customs on 
 Puget Sound, and Nisqually being the only port at that 
 time, he roomed and kept his office in the house built by 
 the Company on the beach, and took his meals at the Fort 
 on top of the hill. He had an excellent metallic boat and 
 kept a crew of four or five men to use in traveling about 
 the Sound. One of these, named Pocock, but who went 
 by the name of Wilson, later, was one of the two men 
 killed at the time of the Indian attack on Seattle. 
 
 General Miller afterward married the daughter of Judge 
 O. B. McFadden. His widow, Mrs. Mary M. Miller, and 
 their two sons have long been residents of Seattle, and the 
 sudden death of Penfield Miller, one of these sons, is still 
 fresh in the memories of hundreds of loving friends in this 
 City and his early home in Olympia. 
 
 To the casual reader it will, no doubt, seem strange that 
 so many extracts from other sources should have been in- 
 cluded in this sketch of early events, but to the historian 
 
86 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 and those interested in historical matters the reason will 
 be manifest. The time and labor bestowed upon the gath- 
 ering of this matter from a hundred sources would have 
 sufficed for the production of many times the amount of 
 matter collected here. Tn one sense this sketch is "original 
 history," for no large part of it has ever appeared in print, 
 and much of the selections were found only after wide 
 and diligent search in long forgotten newspapers or in old 
 time books long out of print. So much in explanation — not 
 in apology. 
 
 The number of those who have lived on Puget Sound 
 fifty years or more is small and rapidly growing less. 
 Among them is my friend Edward Huggins, who lives on 
 the site of Fort Nisqually, where he came a young man five 
 and fifty years ago. He occupies a unique position, con- 
 necting, as he does, the old regime and the new. 
 
 To him I am indebted for countless favors in the matter 
 of historical information. Old papers and old records have 
 been placed freely at my disposal, and in addition by cor- 
 respondence he has given me historical material that I have 
 been able to use but in small part in this sketch. He is a 
 veritable mine of information regarding early days. 
 
 My first recollections of him began about 1866, when I 
 went to live in Olympia and for years frequently saw him 
 riding between that place and his home at Nisqually. 
 
 Mr. Huggins was born in Southwark, a borough of Lon- 
 don, England, June 10, 1832. Beginning school at an early 
 age he continued until in his fifteenth year when he entered 
 a broker's office within a stone's throw of the Hudson's 
 Bay Company's office in Fenchurch street. Through the 
 influence of Mr. Benjamin Harrison, one of the directors 
 of that Company, he obtained a situation in its service, and 
 on the loth of October, 1849, he sailed from London on the 
 Company's ship, Norman Morrison, for Fort Victoria, Van- 
 couver Island, and arrived at his destination late in March, 
 1850. 
 
 James Douglas was then in charge at that place, and sent 
 
EDWARD HUGGINS. 87 
 
 the youth to Nisqually, where he arrived by the Httle trad- 
 ing schooner Cadboro, April 13, 1850. Dr. Tolmie was in 
 charge at that place. He set the new arrival at work in the 
 Company's store or "trade shop," as they called it. Set- 
 tlers were few and Indians numerous, so most of the trade 
 was with the latter. At that time the Company's business 
 was much hampered by the loss of most of its white em- 
 ployees, who had been attracted to California by the gold 
 excitement. It had then about seven thousand cattle, ten 
 thousand sheep and three hundred horses. Nearly all the 
 white men, with the aid of a large crew of Indians had to 
 take care of the stock, while the store business fell largely 
 upon young Huggins. He quickly learned the Chinook 
 jargon and a smattering of the native language, and young 
 as he was became very serviceable. Here he continued 
 until after the breaking out of the Indian war in 1855, when 
 the servants of the Company who looked after the live 
 stock became frightened and abandoned their posts. Mr. 
 Huggins volunteered to head a party and take charge of the 
 stock. He picked up a cosmopolitan crew of English, Irish, 
 Scotch, Canadians, Kanakas, Indians, half-breeds and one 
 negro, and went to the Company's farm at Muck, about ten 
 miles east of the Fort. They had no great fear of the 
 Indians, except a band of renegades who had separated 
 from the main body of hostiles and committed two murders 
 and many depredations. The party remained at the farm 
 until several years after the war ended. On the 21st of 
 October, 1857, Mr. Huggins and Miss Letitia Work were 
 united in marriage and they resided at Muck for about two 
 years. 
 
 Mrs. Huggins was the daughter of John Work, Esq., who 
 has been mentioned elsewhere, and who attained high rank 
 early in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. 
 Three others of his daughters became the wives of Chief 
 Factors William F. Tolmie, Roderick Finlayson and James 
 A. Grahame. The latter afterward became Chief Com- 
 missioner. 
 
S8 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 In common with all the employees of the Company Mr. 
 Huggins looked forward to advancement in the service but 
 it was long in coming. Fort Nisqually was under the con- 
 trol of the Agricultural Company and the parent company 
 failed to give him his steps. At one time he was ordered 
 to go to Fort Kamloops, on Thompson's river, but this 
 was soon countermanded, as it was felt his life at Nis- 
 qually had made his services valuable in the negotiations 
 then pending regarding the compensation to be made by the 
 United States for the Company's holdings in Washington 
 Territory. 
 
 In July, 1859, a little more than twenty-six years after 
 his first arrival there, Dr. Tolmie and his family left Nis- 
 qually and moved to Victoria, where he subsequently made 
 his home. James Douglas, one of the Board of Manage- 
 ment of the Western Department of the Hudson's Bay 
 Company, having accepted the appointment of Governor of 
 the Province, Dr. Tolmie succeeded him on the Board. 
 Mr. Huggins thus succeeded to the charge of Nisqually 
 and with his family at once removed from Muck. 
 
 In June, 1870, the Puget Sound Agricultural Company sur- 
 rendered the rights it claimed under the treaty of 1846, 
 and Mr. Huggins was again ordered to get ready to move 
 to a post in the interior of British Columbia, but his family 
 had been increased by six sons, all still young, and he and 
 his wife decided that the difficulties and perhaps dangers 
 of the new post were so great that he had best resign from 
 the Company's employ, which he accordingly did. 
 
 He had become a citizen of the United States several 
 years before, and as was quite natural, determined to re- 
 main upon the place where he was then living and enter 
 it as a pre-emption claim. This quarter section included 
 the principal buildings of the old fort and the best of the 
 land nearby. He expected to have to pay something for 
 the buildings, but the Commission appointed later to ap- 
 praise them reported the}^ were so old they would be value- 
 less to move off the land, and so they finally came to him 
 
EDWARD HUGGINS. 89 
 
 without compensation. They consisted of the historic 
 building in which he still lives, that was put up in 1854, a 
 smaller squared log dwelling house erected in 1843, and a 
 lot of other out-buildings that show in the illustration. It 
 took a long time to settle the many questions and conflicts 
 arising out of the Company's claims in Pierce County, and 
 in common with many others Mr. Huggins was long in 
 getting the patent to his land claim. Later he bought other 
 lands until he had about one thousand acres in a body, but 
 of such sandy and gravelly nature as to be of small value, 
 except for grazing. Here for many years he continued 
 farming, stockraising and trading a little in furs, but the 
 latter business gradually dwindled away to nothing. 
 
 In the 'seventies he was given the unsolicited honor of 
 a nomination for county commissioner on the Republican 
 ticket and was elected by an overwhelming vote. He was 
 re-elected twice to the same position, and in 1886, while 
 serving as chairman of the Board was nominated for county 
 auditor. The Democratic candidate was very popular and 
 it seemed Mr. Huggins was the only man who could defeat 
 him at the polls. A warm canvass ensued but Mr. Huggins 
 was elected by a small majority. He then moved to Tacoma 
 with his wife and the younger members of the family, while 
 the elder boys remained at Nisqually to care for the farm 
 and stock. He was re-elected two years later, and after serv- 
 ing the four years he rested awhile and then became a mem- 
 ber of one of the leading banks of Tacoma, in a short time 
 becoming its vice-president. Here he remained until failing 
 health compelled him to give up active work, when he and 
 his family moved back to the old farm that is a part of the 
 most historic spot in all Washington, save Fort Vancouver 
 on the banks of the Columbia. Here he and his wife are 
 living quietly in their declining days, in the enjoyment of 
 the respect and love of all who know them. 
 
 There is almost a virgin field for the historian and the 
 story writer on Puget Sound. But little has been written 
 of pioneer days following the arrival of the first American 
 
90 PIONEER REMINISCENCES. 
 
 colony on the banks of the Deschutes, and still less of the 
 years preceding, when the Hudson's Bay Company was the 
 only representative of civilization. For three decades, at 
 least, the few white people braved constant dangers, en- 
 countered numberless hardships and endured ever-present 
 privations, with stoical fortitude. They traversed pathless 
 forests, crossed towering, rugged mountains, swam swollen 
 rivers, and navigated all parts of this inland sea as far as 
 Vancouver Island, the Fraser River, Queen Charlotte 
 Island, or the mouth of the Straits of Fuca in an open canoe, 
 often but one white man and an Indian crew. 
 
 Of McDf(ughlin much has been written, and he richly 
 deserves the tardy justice that later writers have done him; 
 but there were other strong men of whom the reading public 
 knows but little. James Douglas, Peter Skeen Ogden, Wil- 
 liam Fraser Tolmie, Archibald McDonald, John Work and 
 many others, who built the posts and conducted the im- 
 portant operations of the Hudson's Bay and Puget Sound 
 Agricultural Companies were no ordinary men, and they 
 all left their impress upon the times of which I have en- 
 deavored to write in this sketch. It is a difficult matter to 
 obtain the information that is still extant of them and their 
 work. They were emphatically men of action, and most of 
 them left few personal papers. Their history was that of 
 the Companies they served all the best years of their lives, 
 and most of this history is still locked up in the musty 
 vaults of the Company in Victoria or London, or has been 
 borrowed and never returned by a noted California His- 
 torian. 
 
 It is one of my ambitions to get access to the old Hud- 
 son's Bay records kept at Vancouver, Nisqually and Lang- 
 ley, and then add to and amplify what I have here set out. 
 
LBJeX)6 
 
IN THE BEGINNING 
 
 A SKETCH OF SOME EARLY EVENTS IN 
 
 WESTERN WASHINGTON WHILE IT 
 
 WAS STILL A PART OF 
 
 "OLD OREGON." 
 
 By clarence B. BAGLEY 
 
 SEATTLE 
 LOWMAN A HANFOKD 
 STATIONKRY AND PRINTING CO. 
 1905 
 
 ^'--^-'^^^'1