BIG BEND p. 564: WATERVILLE, pt. 2

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WATERVILLE: pt.1, p. 564        TABLE OF CONTENTS        WILSONCREEK: p. 577

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      During the fall of 1888 considerable trouble was engendered by jumping of lots on the townsite.  Waterville was located on a government townsite dedicated to the public use.  Consequently the lots were the property of the persons who chose to take possession of them for the purpose of making homes or engaging in business and were held somewhat as other unoccupied lands were held, by actual use or occupancy.  For the purpose of liberality to the public and enlisting as many as possible toward the townsite enterprise, which at the beginning of the vear 1888, was little else than

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a "site," certain lots had been dedicated for religious, educational and benevolent purposes.  The town was laid out similar to other towns with streets, alleys and a public square.

      This condition went well until the summer of 1888.  Then the surging tide of immigration brought all classes of people who engaged in various lines of business and people desiring lots were far more plentiful than were the lots.  Some maintained, logically or otherwise, that the townsite being on government land, even the streets and public squares were convertible to private use by occupancy.  It was, perhaps, owing to such chaotic condition of affairs in the status of the townsite that led to several cases of lot jumping, or less harshly, "conflict of titles."  Concerning a well-remembered case of lot jumping' the Big Bend Empire of October 11, 1888, said:

      But the climax was reached last Saturday (October 6), when it was whispered that some individual was about to take possession of the lot dedicated to the Masonic order.  This lot has now become quite valuable, and who the greedy one could be that would attempt to appropriate the property that by common consent had been dedicated to a benevolent institution was a matter of some conjecture.  In due time the parties came in sight and proceeded to dig.  Ever and anon they would turn up their weather eyes as though wondering if it were going to rain.  It was also learned that teams had gone to the mill for lumber.  About this time several of our well-known business men, members of the mystic tie, appeared in a body and commenced remonstrating with the bold intruders.  But it appears the latter reckoned on at least a wordy combat, and they stoutly insisted on proceeding with their improvements.  During the day operations were quite lively in that neighborhood, and by sundown the buildings were well under course of construction; one of which, we are informed is designed as a Masonic hall.  Our night editor is, also, of the belief that he could plainly see figures of individuals passing to and fro at the bewitching hour of midnight, 'when graveyards yawn,' but upon visiting the scene the apparitions vanished.  All parties are now uninterruptedly building and will, probably, occupy the lot until the question of title is finally adjudicated.
      For the information of our readers abroad it is proper to add that the difficulty concerning the title is owing to delay of the government in accepting the surveys; that the surveys have never been accepted, and settlers holding claims adjoining the townsite will in a few days be prepared to give good titles, and the days of 'jumping' will be remembered simply as other pioneer incidents.

      To this the Empire added:

      It will be remembered that Waterville is a government townsite: that is, that lot claimants acquire title to their lots through the general land office at Washington, D. C, by a process similar to that pursued by homestead or pre-emption claimants.  Owing to work being about two years behind in the general land office lot owners on the original townsite have had no shadow of title to their lots except the improvements which, as might naturally be expected, have been of such a character as would answer the demands of their business.

      May 29, 1890, the Empire said:

      The patent to the original townsite of Waterville has been issued to Joseph M. Snow, the duly constituted trustee, who will in due time convey to claimants and occupants of lots good and sufficient deeds.  Thus ends a source of much uneasiness and doubt regarding the final titles to lots on the government townsite of Waterville.  The seeming long delay has been caused by the overwhelming accumulation of business in the general land office at Washington, and the matter has been hastened beyond its regular order by R. W. Starr, Esq., of this place and his associate counsel at Washington, D. C.
      The question of deeds to lots in the original

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townsite has retarded the growth of the town to a great extent as well as to greatly lessen the number of real estate transactions, not only in the 'old,' or original townsite, but addition property as well, for the reason that government townsites are generally little understood here and people who have not taken the trouble to examine the subject have been inclined not to meddle with property they could not see a perfect title to.  But those who have examined the prospects for titles to the original townsite, and among them our able local attorney, have been satisfied all the time that no titles in the world could be better than those of Waterville town lots, and the formal acceptance of the proof by the department of Washington confirms the correctness of their positions.

      It was not until December, 1890, that the lot owners secured deeds to their lots.  The patent to the townsite was received in May, 1890, by J. M. Snow, trustee, and the deeds to
the lots were made out by Mr. Snow.

      The first church edifice erected in Waterville was begun in November, 1888, a Methodist Episcopal church, 28 by 40 feet in size.  Subscriptions were taken and several hundred dollars secured for this purpose.

      Waterville in 1888 was willing to become the capital of Washington Territory.  The Empire in its issue of December 27, of that year, told why the town was qualified to become the capital city of the commonwealth as follows:

      Waterville is approximately the geographical center of the Territory; it is so accessible from all parts of the Territory that three different railroads are breaking their necks to get here first; it is midway between the Queen City of the Sound and the 'Minneapolis of the West,' Spokane.  Three months ago Waterville was nothing, now it is a booming city with over a hundred fine buildings the shingles of which are not discolored by wintry storms.  Among the enterprises under contemplation for spring are a system of waterworks, street cars and electric lights.  It has the most wideawake merchants and greatest number of beautiful women of any town in the United States.  It is a boomer; it is a bird; it's going to be the capital.

      In the vote for the location of the capital in 1889 Waterville was not a candidate, but received a few votes in Douglas county.

      At the beginning of the year 1889 the population of Waterville was estimated from 300 to 350.  There were two general merchandise stores, three hardware stores, four grocery and provision stores, two hotels, one restaurant, three blacksmith shops, one drug store, two butcher shops, four saloons, five attorneys, three physicians, one undertaker, one newspaper and two bakeries.

      Following is the opinion of Mr. Sam Vinson, agent of the general land department, concerning Waterville, voiced while paying the town a visit March, 1889:

      It is the best town in the Big Bend country, and I regard it as the second Spokane Falls.  All that are lacking are transportation facilities.  It is ten miles from the Columbia river in a beautiful and productive valley.  Water can be obtained from the springs in the Badger Mountain, with a fall of 300 feet, that will supply a population of 20,000.  In all my travels over Washington I have never seen a better location for a city — with the exception of Spokane Falls, of course.

      During the fall of 1888 agitation for the incorporation of the town was begun.  Waterville at this time was the recognized metropolis of an immense territory and during the preceding summer had enjoyed a rapid growth.  But the town was not incorporated until the following spring.  The growth of the town and its increasing importance made a city government imperative.  A petition was circulated and it was signed by nearly every tax-paying citizen in the town praying that the district

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court issue an order granting the incorporation prayed for.  Following is a copy of the petition.

      To Hon. L. B. Nash, Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Washington Territory, and holding terms of court in and for the county of Douglas:
      We, your petitioners, being taxable inhabitants of the town of Waterville, in said county, respectfully pray that said town may be incorporated and police established for the local government thereof.  Your petitioners desire that said incorporated town of Waterville shall include the following territory, to wit: The east half of the southeast quarter of section 21, in town 25, north of range 22, east of the Willamette Meridian; in Douglas county, Washington Territory.
      Signed : H. R. Hilscher, W. F. Allender, W. M. Crisp, Kirk Whited, Geo. A. Allen, D. Woods, F. M. Strieker, G. W. Hollingshead, Albert T. Greene, L. E. Kellogg, D. F. Riggs, C. M. Stephens, S. W. Phillips, D. C. Johnson, C. Gilchrist, Colin Campbell, William Ferguson, J. M. Willis, Henry Lieurance, C. H. Abel.

      March 22, 1889, the petition was granted by the following order:

      In the District Court of Washington Territory, Fourth Judicial District, holding terms at Waterville, in and for the County of Douglas:
      In the matter of the incorporation of the City of Waterville.
      A petition having been presented to the court praying that the inhabitants of the following described tract of land situated in the county of Douglas and Territory of Washington, and more particularly described as follows, towit: The east half of the southeast quarter of section 21, township 25. north of range 22, east
of the W. M., be incorporated under the name of the town of Waterville, and police be established for their local government; and it appearing to the court that said petition has been signed by a majority of the taxable inhabitants of the tract of land aforesaid, and sought to be incorporated as such town; and the court being fully advised of the premises, it is ordered, adjudged and decreed that they are hereby duly incorporated under the name of the town of Waterville within the limits of the tract of land above described, and that they are henceforth declared to be a body corporate under the said name of the town of Waterville.
      And it is further ordered that C. N. Stephens, Albert T. Greene, W. F. Allender, L. E. Kellogg and S. W. Phillips be, and they are, hereby declared to be the trustees of said town, and to continue in said office until their successors shall be elected and qualified.
      And it is further ordered that said petition and this order be entered in full on the records of this court.
      Done in chambers this March 22, 1889.

L. B. Nash.

      Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Washington Territory, of the Fourth Judicial District thereof.

      In pursuance with this order the gentlemen named in the decree met at the office of Snow & Greene on Thursday, March 7th, took the oath of office before R. S. Steiner, clerk of the district court for Douglas county, and formally organized as board of trustees for the town of Waterville.  A. T. Greene was the unanimous choice for chairman of the board. Kirk Whited was appointed clerk of the board and city attorney; M. B. Howe, treasurer; W. Z. Cooper, marshall.  The only business transacted was the calling of an election to be held on Monday, April 1, to select town officers.  F. M. Strieker was named judge of the election, and Charles Peach and A. M. Tenny, clerks.  At this election A. T. Greene, M. B. Howe, P. J. Knight, S. W. Phillips and John Robb were elected trustees.

      In District Court, Judge W. H. Calkins presiding, on June 17, 1889, the following territory was added to the corporate limits of the

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town: Greene's second addition, Kincaid's first addition and the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter of section 22.

      An organization that did much to advance the interests of the town was the Waterville Board of Trade, organized in April, 1889.  Following were the first officers of the board:  A. T. Greene, president; P. E. Berry, secretary; C. M. Stephens, committee on finance; W. F. Allender, committee on immigration and public lands; R. W. Starr, committee on manufactures and public improvements.

      This organization was shortly afterwards christened the Douglas County Board of Trade and was a lively factor in the settlement of the county as well as the town of Waterville.

      The first fire company in Waterville was organized Wednesday evening, May 8, 1889.  There were 26 members.  A. H. Murdock was foreman.

      Writing to the Tacoma Globe in May, 1889, a correspondent said:

      They are hustling, bustling, go-ahead fellows, these business men of Waterville.  Nothing is too good for their pretty little city and they all pitch in for the common purpose of beautifying and benefiting the town.  One donates a town lot for this, another puts his hand down deep in his pocket to help that enterprise, and so they pass the work around the ring, no one shirking responsibility or refusing aid.

      October 10, 1889, the Empire stated that there were 246 buildings in Waterville, an increase of 238 in a little over a year.

      People who were residing in Waterville during the winter of 1889-90 relate interesting tales of how they passed several weeks in the town completely isolated from the outside world.  For more than two weeks the town was completely cut off by a heavy fall of snow; no mail was received or sent.  January 30th a mail was received from Ellensburg.  The stage had become blocked with snow at the mouth of Corbaley canyon and a Waterville rescue party went to his assistance with shovels and toboggan, and hauled the mail in by hand.  The following day mail went out on the toboggan as far as the stage had come the day before.  February 5th another party started out on snow shoes to meet the stage at Orondo.  This party comprised A. T. Greene, Sheriff Gillespie, M. B. Howe, R. W. Starr, C. A. Carpenter, Eugene Woodin, A. M. Tenny, Henry Smith, A. L. Rogers, Elder J. M. C. Warren, and W. M. Walters.  A portion of this party returned the same evening with the news that the mail had not come over the mountain.  The following day W. R. Wetsel headed a party of snow shovelers to relieve the stage.  The following day the stage came in, but without the mail, as the late snow on the mountain had put a stop to all travel.

      One of the results of this blockade was the prevention of a regular meeting of the board of Douglas county commissioners.  Commissioner Stephens was the only member on deck.  After "Assembling" and "adjourning" from day to day for a time, waiting for his colleagiies, Messrs. Godlove and Lewis, Stephens, too, abandoned the field.  As there was much important business to be transacted a special meeting was called later.  February 12th mails arrived from both east and west.  The eastern mail consisted of letters only and was brought in from Grand Coulee on snow shoes.  The western mail consisted of letters and papers, the latter being rather aged so far as the news features were concerned.  This serious blockade was not entirely raised until the following April.  In the issue of the Empire, March 27th, we find these items:

      Provisions are getting scarce in town.  Our merchants are out of meat, lard, sugar, baking powder, and flour is getting low.  And there is not a pound of hay or grain for sale in town.  It will be several days before teams can get to Almira.

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      Many of our merchants are temporarily out of business — sold out — pending the arrival of goods from the railroad.

      At a regular meeting of the board of. trustees April 14, 1890, a petition signed by 30 residents of Waterville was presented asking for a special towii election to vote on the proposition of the town of Waterville being organized and incorporated under the general laws of the state, such incorporation to take the pace of the old incorporation which was accomplished under the Territorial laws.  Washington was now a state, and the old corporation had been declared void by the state courts.  This petition was granted and Saturday, May 3d was named as the day for holding the special election.  The following persons were named as officers of this new election : Judge, A. C. Porter; inspectors, W. H. Calkins, Robert Gilliland  clerks, C. C. King, William Crisp.  Although the vote was light there was no opposition to the proposition to reincorporate.  Under the new organization the first officers were:  Mayor, A. J. Davis; councilmen, P. J. Knight, C. M. Stephens, Joseph Lovett, M. D. Smith, C. F. Abel.  Police magistrate, A. C. Porter; clerk, D. C. De Galia; city marshall, J. B. Valentine.

      The first flouring mills in operation in Douglas county were the Waterville Roller Mills, of 50 barrel capacity. They were placed in operation Tuesday, December 20, 1890, by D. J. Herstine.

      The fall of 1890 and spring of 1891 were prosperous times for Waterville.  Among other enterprises which served to add to this prosperity was the creating here of a United States Land Office, the building of the flouring mill, the establishment of two banks, First National and Douglas County Bank, and the building of
a $10,000 school house.

     In December, 1890, steps were taken by prominent citizens to interest Seattle capital in Waterville.  The result was the establishment of the First National Bank by Seattle men and the formation of a company among Seattle capitalists known as the Waterville Improvement Company.  About 600 acres of fine agricultural land adjacent to town was donated to this company conditional that the company should place in Waterville a system of water works and electric lights.  Success attended these efforts and both the water works and electric lights were installed in 1892.

      A militia company was organized and mustered in as the First Unattached. Company National Guard of Washington, Wednesday evening, October 26, 1892, by Captain E. W. Lyons, of Company G, Second Infantry, of Spokane.  The officers of this company were W. J. Canton, captain; F. M. Dallam, First Lieutenant; A. E. Case, second lieutenant.  Mr. Dallam soon after resigned, Case was made first lieutenant and J. M. F. Cooper, second lieutenant.  The complete roster at the date of muster was as follows: W. J. Canton, Frank M. Dallam, A. E. Case, J. C. Lawrence, A. T. Greene, J. M. F. Cooper, George A. Newsalt, P. A. Snyder, O. D. Porter, J. H. Dickson, S. L. Behon, Edward Johnson, C. O. Steiner, Perry Wilcox, Charles W. McDermott, Will Day, Henry Lieurance, H. C. Hupe, M. S. Crisp, J. W. Pearl, Charles J. Nokes, Philo M. Crisp, J. R. Pearl, C. H. Kirkland, Robert Beyers, Lewis Wetsel, Charles W. Hudson, Charles Harris, August Hupe.

      This organization retained its individuality three years and was highly esteemed by the citizens of Waterville.  July 1895, the First Unattached Militia Company was mustered out of the service.  The reason for the disbandment is told in the following letter:

      Olympia, June 29, 1895 — Captain W. J. Canton, Waterville, Washington — Sir: I am directed by the commander in chief to inform ou that the disbandment of the First Unattached Company has been announced in General Order No. 7, in pursuance of the provisions of Section 59, of the military code.
      The disbandment of your company carries

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with it no reflection in the shghtest degree upon your patriotism or efiiciency.  The military code in providing for a reduction in the Guard requires that companies shall be stationed in such localities as the necessities and advantages of the service require, with reference to the means of rapid concentration.  The mustering out of your company was wholly due to the fact that a careful consideration of all the existing circumstances has forced the conclusion that your location is not so accessible nor of such strategic importance as that of other companies.
      The commander-in-chief desires to express for himself personally, and the citizens of Washington, his appreciation of the valuable services rendered by your company.  Your record has at all times been most excellent, and your severance from the guard was determined with regret.

Yours respectfully,        
      E. C. MacDonald,
Acting Adjutant General.

      Up to, and including the year 1892, there was great activity in the bustling town of Waterville.  Business houses were erected and new enterprises inaugurated.  Preparations were made for great events.  A railroad was expected to arrive at almost any time — in fact at one period it looked as though three different railroads were striving to get to Wateville.  Additions were platted which extended far out into the country.  But all this was changed.  "Financial depression" which has so often been recorded in this history, effected a marvelous change in the prosperity of Waterville.  Building operations were brought to a standstill; for many years the young city which started out with most flattering prospects, was suddenly halted in its once rapid progression.  The latter part of the 90's witnessed a slight change for the better, but it was not until the season of 1902 that the old time prosperous gait was again reached.  This, of course, was brought about by the rapid settlement of the county at that time.

      At all times since the reincorporation of the town of Waterville there had lurked in the minds of the people a suspicion that such action had not been valid.  The citizens decided to make a third attempt to set matters right.  This occurred March 25, 1894.  The people had gone to the city council for permission to reincorporate.  A palpable error.  Now they made application to the board of county commissioners.  The population of the territory according to a census taken by order of the commissioners just prior to the election which was called by them was 503.  The result of the election was: votes cast, 105; For incorporation,
65; against incorporation, 28, 12 not voting on the question.  For mayor— P. E. Berry, republican, and endorsed by the democratic convention, 89.

      For councilmen — A. L. Maltbie, rep., 65; E. W. Porter, rep., 56; W. J. Stanley, rep., 67; M. S. Holland, rep., 53; C. M. Stephens, dem., 54; G. E. Steiner, dem., 40; J. H. Brockman, dem.. 35; C. C. King, dem., 41; W. R. Wetsel, dem., 35.

      For Treasurer — H. C. Thomas, dem., 44; George Hollingshead. rep., 42.

      Even after the town had voted thrice on the question of incorporation complications arose.  Doubts were expressed concerning the validity of the last election.  The matter found its way into the courts. In September, 1894, Judge Wallace Mount, of the superior court, held that the old, or second incorporation, was good, and that the old council should be reseated, and that the new incorporation was null and void.  The case was carried to the supreme court.  A dispatch from Olympia dated November II, 1895, said:

      The supreme court in the case of the State of Washington ex rel, George Bradley, prosecuting attorney, respondent, vs. P. E. Berry et al., appellants, affirms the judgment of the lower court.  This is a proceeding involving

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the validity of the organization and existence of the town of Waterville as a municipal corporation.  The question has been fully decided several times before by the supreme court, and they decline to entertain further discussion.

      Thus the Gordian knot was cut, and the second incorporation stood.

      During the Spanish-American war Waterville was represented by a company of her young men and officered by Waterville citizens.  A number of Wenatchee boys also joined this company.  The company departed for Tacoma, the muster-in point, July 8, 1898.  Here they were mustered in as Company D, Twenty-second Washington Volunteer Infantry.  July 21st Company D moved to Vancouver Barracks.  Early in September orders were received to muster out the company, which was accordingly consummated October 30th.  The officers of Company D were Captain P. G. Maltbie  First Lieutenant, Edward Johnson;
Second Lieutenant, J. N. Kiesling.

      The United States census of 1900 gave Waterville a population of 482.

      The year 1902 was, perhaps, the most prosperous one in the town's history.  The arrival of new settlers from the east and the rapid filling up of the country in the Waterville neighborhood caused the county seat town to assume many of the features of a "boom."  New brick blocks replaced frame buildings which had done service since the days of 1888 and 1889.  In June, 1903, the assessor's census gave a population of 760.  The population of Waterville at the present writing (July, 1904) is fully 1,000.  Religious denominations were represented by the Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Church of God, Catholics and Christians.

      The fraternal societies number eight, viz: Masonic, Odd Fellows, Maccabees, M. W. A., W. O. W., Eastern Star. Rebekahs, and Grand Army of the Republic.

      Waterville is destined to become one of the leading cities of Central Washington.  To every one who has visited the place this is patent.  It is situated in the midst of one of the richest agricultural sections of the state. Barren of transportation and against great odds it has risen to a town of 1,000 people, a town which for progressiveness and enterprise can not be excelled. When a railroad builds through the country and the land surrounding Waterville is occupied by settlers, many of whom it is able to support, then will Waterville become a city of importance.

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WATERVILLE: pt.1, p. 564        TABLE OF CONTENTS        WILSONCREEK: p. 577

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BIG BEND p. 564: WATERVILLE, pt. 1

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HARTLINE: p. 562        TABLE OF CONTENTS         WATERVILLE pt 2: p. 570

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WATERVILLE.

      Waterville, the county seat and metropolis of Douglas county, is situated in the northwestern part of the county, distant about nine miles from the Columbia river to the west.  It is an inland town, 28 miles east from Wenatchee, the nearest railway point.  Daily stages run from Waterville to the steamboat landing on the Columbia river, and also to Coulee City, the western terminus of the Central Washington

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railway, 45 miles to the east.  Waterville is 2,600 feet above sea level.  The townsite is as lovely as one could have selected within this scope of the country, the table lands gradually sloping to the south and affording easy and natural drainage to the place.  Says the Big Bend Empire, published at Waterville:

      Talk about scenery! What's the matter with the view that may be had any day from Waterville?  To the south skirt the Badger Mountains.  Farther away to the west extends the Cascade range with their snow-capped peaks rivalling one another in their ambition to reach the skies.  As the eye follows along to the north it will see Mount Chelan, the home of every wild animal known to a north temperate zone climate, and a landmark for all tribes of Indians to the northwest.  Next the beholder views the rugged mountains of Okanogan county, their bosoms filled with gold and silver, and rivers glistening with mountain trout. When this interesting panoramic view has been satisfied let the eye rest on the great expanse of rolling prairie of thousands of acres, here and there dotted with the cabin of the immigrant, where peace, happiness and contentment dwell as nowhere else in the Big Bend.

      In the midst of this scene is the mighty Columbia river winding its way through the center of diversified resources as though to serve as a medium to float the overproductions of the country to the sea.  When an observatory has been erected at Waterville no city in the world can excel her in extent and variety of natural scenery.

      The quarter section of land which is now known as the original townsite of Waterville and Green's First and Second Additions, was taken as a squatter's claim by Stephen Boise in 1883, the year that witnessed the arrival of the first settlers to Western Douglas county.  At this period the government had not accepted the survey of this part of the country and Mr. Boise could only secure a squatter's right.  A private survey had been made, however, and this was, practically, the same as the one afterward made by the government.

      Here Mr. Boise built a log cabin, a log barn, and dug a well.  He passed the winter of 1883-4 here and the following year fenced about fifteen acres of land where the court yard is now.  Ten acres of this land he had under cultivation.  These pioneer buildings have long since been removed, but the place where stood the cabin is marked by a depression in the ground which served Mr. Boise, and later Mr. Greene, as a cellar.  They were located near the center of the quarter section, the cabin being just south of what is now Walnut street; the barn near the Big Bend Hotel and the well being in the middle of Walnut street.

      In the summer of 1883 H. N. Wilcox came with the vanguard of pioneers to the western portion of the Big Bend country.  They settled on the quarter section of land just north of the Boise quarter, and what is now Wilcox's addition.  Mr. WiIcox remained on the place during the summer and fall.  He then returned to Cottonwood Springs (later known as Davenport) to pass the winter.  It was currently reported that Mr. Wilcox had abandoned the place, and the following spring the land was "jumped" by Howard Honor.  The outcome of this act was told by Dr. J. B. Smith, one of the pioneers of the Waterville country, in the first
issue of the Orondo News, in July, 1889:

      In the latter days of March, 1884, we met Howard Honor hauling a load of lumber from Nash & Stephens', Badger Mountain, saw mill.  We were invited to get aboard and go out with him to 'Jumpers' Flat', (now the site of Waterville), as he had jumped the ranch of H. N. Wilcox.  *  * .*  We helped Mr. Honor put up a cabin and stopped with him at the ranch of Mr. Charles Hall,  Within a few days Mr. Wilcox pulled in to occupy his ranch, and current report of those days said there was a parley between the Wilcox and Honor parties in which the use of Winchesters was proposed, but reason prevailed and Howard Honor

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retired from the contest and took up his present ranch.  It is worthy of mention that in the early days of the settlement, although the country was, practically, without officers, or law, breaches of the peace very seldom occurred.  This speaks volumes for the excellent character of the early settlers of the Big Bend.

      The building of a town on the location of the present Waterville was conceived by A. T. Greene, who is known as the "Father of Waterville."  Mr. Green first came to the Big Bend country in 1884.  Land in the western Big Bend was then unsurveyed, but in the spring of 1885 Mr. Greene came out from Davenport and purchased the Boise claim.  During the summer of 1865 he remained on his claim and sowed a crop.  It was during this period that he decided to build there a town.  To the writer Mr. Greene has stated just how there happened to be the town of Waterville, and the circumstances which combined to bring about the founding of a town in a country which at that time, certainly, was not very promising.  Ever since childhood, when Mr. Greene lived with his parents in New England, his ambition had been to either engage in literary work or to become the founder of a city.  These ideas clung to him when he had arrived at manhood.  When first he came to the western Big Bend it was not with the intention of carrying out his early dreams, however.  But this identical idea came strongly upon him one night, during the summer of 1885, as he lay by his hay stack, where he slept during the heated term.  Here he was in possession of a claim to which he hoped some day to secure a clear title.  Why not lay out a townsite and realize his ambition?  Stranger things had happened than the building of a town in a new country like the one in which he had cast his lot.  But Mr. Greene did not at once reveal his plans to his neighbors, yet from that time out the founding of the town of Waterville was assured.

      During the month of June, 1904, the writer enjoyed the pleasure of a drive in company with Mr. Greene from that gentleman's ranch, four miles northwest of Waterville, into the city for which preparations for building had been planned just nineteen years previous.  As we arrived at the summit of an elevation, and the beautiful city of Waterville burst into view, and the "Father of Waterville" pointed out the various landmarks, reminiscences of the early days, it certainly must have been with a feeling of pride.  Where nineteen years before he had lived, the sole inhabitant, he now gazed down upon a little city of 1,000 people;  a city of which he was the founder and a city whose welfare has ever engaged his best attentions.

      Mr. Greene returned to Davenport in the fall, and in November, 1886, he was married to Miss Dell Turner.  Immediately upon the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Greene plans were made for the platting of a townsite.  Being unsurveyed land it was necessary to lay it out as a government townsite.

      A few days after their marriage Mr. Greene and his bride had started for their new home.  The possessions of the newly married couple consisted of a span of horses, a second-hand wagon, a supply of provisions and a firm determination to build a city on the young husband's land.  Waterville at this period, the fall of 1886, consisted of Mr. Greene's log cabin, and what was a rarity in those days, a fine well of water.

      Mr. Greene interested J. M. Snow, a surveyor, in the building of a town here, which should become a candidate for county seat honors.  Mr. Snow surveyed the townsite and these two gentlemen laid their plans for securing inhabitants for the town, and, incidentally, the county seat.  The settlers in the immediate vicinity of the proposed town at this period were A. T. Greene and wife, Harmon Wilcox, H. N. Wilcox. J. M. Snow, James H. Kincaid, wife and three children, Al Pierpoint, Morris

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Buzzard, John Buzzard, William Wilson, John Barrowman, Arch Barrowman, E. A. Cornell, James Melvin, Frank Silvea.

      In October, 1886, Mr. Greene relinquished 40 acres of his ranch to be used as a government townsite.  If this action had not been taken by Mr. Greene at that time, it is doubtful if Waterville or a town by any other name would be in existence there today.  It was proposed to build a town that would become a candidate for county seat honors.  The town was named Waterville in consideration of the fine well which was a sharp contrast to the dry well of Okanogan, the county seat.  There is said to be nothing in a name, but there was something significant, in the naming of this town.  People in the neighborhood for several miles around would come to Mr. Greene's place for their supply of water and his ranch began, at an early day, to be called "Waterville."  And yet visitors to the capital of Douglas county marvel at the name applied to a town which is miles from water, other than wells.  The town was platted by a board of trustees. Following is the dedication of the Waterville townsite:

      Territory of Washington,

         County of Douglas, ss.

      Know all men by these presents that we, John Brownfield, James H. Kincaid, and Judson Murray, trustees, all of Douglas County, Washington Territory, desiring to locate a townsite under the laws of the United States government, governing the location of towns upon the pubic lands of the United States, have caused to be surveyed and platted upon the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of section 21, in township No. 25, north of range 22, East Willamette Meredian, W. T., in the county of Douglas, the town of Waterville as herein shown.  And that we hereby dedicate to the use of the public forever the Park Square and all streets and alleys herein shown; also that we hereby dedicate to the county of Douglas, to the town of Waterville, to the Free Masons, to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and to the public schools, and to their successors, assignees and trustees forever, those several tracts respectively marked for them on the herein plat and map.  Witness our hands and seals this 26th day of October, A. D., 1886.

John Brownfield,  

James H. Kixcaid,
Judson Murray     

Trustees.

      In the presence of Emily D. Brownfield and J. M. Snow.

      To the town of Waterville additions have since been platted -as follows:  Greene's First Addition, December 22, 1888, by A. L. Greene.  Greene's Second Addition, February 20, 1889, by A. L. Greene.  Kincaid's First Addition, February 25, 1889, by James H. Kincaid.  Walter's First Addition, February 26. 8880, by William Walters.  Park Acre Addition, August 26, 1889, by H. C. Thomas, Attorney in fact for Enos A. Cornell.  Cornell's First Addition, April 24. 1890, by E. A. Cornell.  Cornell's Second Addition, April 24, 1880, by E. A. Cornell.  Cornell's Addition, January 12, 1891, by E. A. Cornell.  Walter's Second Addition, January 5, 1891, by William M. Walters.  Walter's Third Addition, January 19, 1891, by William M. Walters.  Eddson Addition, February 2. 1891, by David Orr, Gus Pagel, T. R. Busteed, J. B. Bliss, Walter Guson.  Kincaid's Second Addition, January 26, 1891, by James H. Kincaid.  Wilcox's First Addition, February 28, 1891, by H. M. Wilcox.  Columbia Park Addition, March 14, 1891. by C. M. Stephens.  Melvin's First Addition, April 2, 1891, by James Melvin.  Kellogg's First Addition, November 28, 1903, by L. E. Kellogg.

      The platting of these additions during the years 1889-91, many of them of liberal proportions, resulted in extending the town of

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Waterville over a generous territory.  Illustrative of the extent of these plattings a story is related of a citizen of Waterville who appeared on the streets of Spokane one day.  The gentleman from Waterville was accosted by a friend with the remark:  "Well, I thought you belonged in Waterville; what are you doing here?"

      "Oh," replied the Douglas county citizen, "I had to make a trip to one of our newly platted additions, and being so close thought I would drop in and see you."

      When the Waterville townsite was surveyed by Judge Snow the only building on the proposed location, was the cabin of Mr. Greene.  Until the spring of 1887 Waterville remained without improvements.  That spring, however, a building was run up.  Sometime previous a blacksmith. E. E. Stowell, had come to Badger mountain settlement with his tools and there located.  Under the influence of Mr. Greene and other settlers Stowell located at Waterville on the new townsite.  As an inducement to do this all the neighbors turned
out and hauled lumber to the townsite and assisted the blacksmith in erecting the first building in Waterville.  This original edifice is still standing.

      The second building was erected, also, during the spring of 1887.  This was put up by Isaac Newhouse for the ostensible purpose of being utilized as an office by Judge Snow.  It was, however, subsequently utilized as a court house, Judge Snow occupying but a portion of the edifice.  This building occupied the site where now stands the Piper brick store, on Walnut street.  It was removed to another part of town and is now used as a residence.  The same summer Mr. Newhouse erected another small building and put in a stock of goods, thus becoming the pioneer merchant of Waterville.  Here Mr. Newhouse conducted business until the spring 1889. Mr. Newhouse had been the first to build his campfire on tbe present site of Waterville and to tread down the thistles for those who followed later.  It was his money and his energy that contributed to a large degree to the present success of the town.  Mr. Newhouse died near Waterville, February 12, 1901.

      Following the platting of the town the embryo city at once waged a warm county seat contest an account of which will be found in the current history chapters of this work.  Judge J. M. Snow did much of the head work that secured an early boom for the town.

      The removal of the county seat to Waterville, which was accomplished on May 3, 1887, did not create any undue excitement.  While Waterville had secured the honor of being the county's capital, it was without a postoffice.  It was not within the province of the board of county commissioners to legislate the Okanogan postoffice to Waterville, and for some time following the removal of the records Okanogan was a town with a name only — and a postoffice.  To this postoffice it was necessary for the county officials to go for their mail.  Some people had their mail directed to Badger postoffice.  The official trip for mail was made by Auditor R. S. Steiner on horseback, once or twice a week.  Of course this plan was quite unsatisfactory. But in December, 1887, a postoffice was secured for Waterville and A. T. Greene was named as postmaster.  In point of fact Mr. Greene was the only bona fide resident of the new town, and legally entitled to hold the office.  The county officers who constituted the balance of the town's population were all residents of other places in the vicinity where they were "holding- down" claims.  Auditor R. S. Steiner was made deputy postmaster and one corner of his office was set apart as the postoffice.  This condition of affairs continued until the spring of 1888.  Then Rogers & Howe opened a mercantile business and the postoffice was taken in by them, Mr. Howe becoming postmaster.

      During the fall of 1887 George Bradley came to Waterville and erected the first

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permanent building, and one that was, certainly, pretentious for that period.  The upper story was arranged for a public hall, the lower portion being utilized for store purposes.  But it was not occupied in this line until the spring of 1889.  The building was completed Christmas, 1887, and was dedicated by a grand ball, the first ever given in Waterville.  Following this event the sale of town lots became quite brisk.  Preparations were made for lively times in the spring and the results fully justified the preparations.

      Speaking of these pioneer days the Big Bend Empire of date January 30, 1896, said:

      Mail in those days (1887-8) was received at odd times from Spokane, about 150 to 160 miles by stage line east, and from Ellensburg, 75 miles across the Columbia and over the Kittitas mountain to the southwest.  Provisions and supplies of the settlement were freighted from these points at rates ranging from $40 to $60 per ton.  Flour, bacon, feed and grain brought enormous figures.  Few luxuries were then known to pioneer's table; necessaries only were handled by the one grocery shop, (Newhouse's), and the want of these at times — flour, meat, salt and lard, the writer recalls, threatened periods of famine, forcing the settlement to halt rations, while the arrival of wagon trains was awaited from the far away stations.

      The Empire states that in the spring of 1888 only eight buildings could be found on the Waterville townsite.  This condition of affairs did not long continue.  Building operations began and in a few short months Waterville was a town of some size.  Nearly all branches of business were represented.  Fred McDermott, who came to Waterville in the spring of 1888, describes conditions prevailing in the little town at that period as follows:

      The writer well recalls that even then there were but few prairie cabins and no fences beyond a distance of six or eight miles from the embryo city of the county seat.  Waterville was only a hamlet, and on the day, particularly that we arrived after a long journey across the southern deserts from the Dalles, in Oregon, there were but two stores in operation and neither of these had on hand as much as a side of bacon or a sack of flour.  In fact a temporary famine was imminent and want of bread stared the few citizens in the face until, luckily, an accidental outfit, laden with flour and meat for the Okanogan mines, appeared on the 'offing' outside the townsite, shortly following the writers arrival.  It cost them at the rate of $60 per ton to get anything into Waterville from the railroad at Spokane Falls, Ritzville or Ellensburg, though it was not until the first of June of that year, 1888, that wagon navigation opened on the Kittitas mountain so as to admit of the import of supplies from that point.  Spokane was about 150 miles distant by the freight road; Ritzville 95 and Ellensburg 75 miles.  The rush to the Okanogan, or Salmon river mines, was great at that time and for a year following there were scores of packing outfits going through Waterville every week bound for the north.  Money was plentiful, too, in those days, and twenty dollar gold pieces appeared to he as freely circulated as the nickels are today.  A marvelous development began that summer and continued into the next year throughout the whole country.  Cabins sprung up all over the plains and during the fall and winter — the latter being remarkably open and mild — over a hundred large and substantial business and residence buildings were added to the city of Waterville.

      July 4, 1888, was the first Independence Day celebration held in Waterville.  The following account is taken from the file of the Big Bend Empire.

      The people of the Big Bend may well feel proud of their celebration of July 4, 1888.  It marks the era of a new and grand existence that has dawned upon the heretofore almost isolated region west of the Grand Coulee that is destined to become a great commonwealth.  Although the day was made disagreeable by a

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heavy wind which made it almost impossible to go out of doors those who had the management of the exercises were not to be discouraged and the program was carried out almost exactly as arranged.  At an early hour in the morning the streets were thronged with people and the town was beautifully decorated with evergreen trees and national flags.  The procession started from Bradley Hall, and was of such imposing splendor as would have done justice to much older and larger towns.  The Liberty Car gotten up exclusively by our enterprising citizen, Mr. G. W. Philbrick, was the admiration of all.  Much praise is also due the ladies, Mrs. E. E. Stevens, Mrs. G. W. Philbrick, Mrs. Phillips, and Mrs. Harden, for their success in finding the 38 little girls for the Liberty Car.
      The exercises at the grand stand were of more than usual interest as was shown by the marked attention of the people who were able to secure seats.  Miss Eunice Derifield did herself credit for the excellent manner in which she rendered the Declaration of Independence.  Orator Bradley acquitted himself well, as was indicated by the frequent bursts of applause. His speech was prefaced by interesting allusions to our own new country;  then he reviewed the history of our government and the theory of our free institutions.  He rose above political parties and interested his hearers with the grander thought of American liberty.  H. Hilscher responded to a call from the G. A. R. boys and made an off-hand speech that was heartily applauded.  His reference to the Rebellion and to those who fought on the other side was especially well received.  Judge Snow, as president of the day, proved himself equal to this, as all other occasions, by his dignified bearing and many winning ways.
      The vocal and instrumental music rendered by Miss Frankie Whaley, as organist, Mrs. Rounds, Mrs. Van Alstine and Messrs. Murray, Corbaley, and Clark, was one of the most enjoyable features of the day.  The wind did not blow too hard to plainly hear the sweet notes of the organ in perfect time with the clear voices of the singers.  At the conclusion of exercises at the stand the multitude repaired to dinner, after which the program of sports was witnessed, when dancing was commenced and was continued till sometime the next day.  There were many strangers and new comers present and all agreed that it was the most successful and every way agreeable Fourth of July celebration they ever witnessed.  The crowd in attendance was variously estimated from 1,200 to 1,800.

      It may be justly said that the merchants of Waterville, during the infancy of the town, were devoid of one fault too common with the business men of nearly all new towns.  There was no jealous rivalry among them.  All were on friendly terms; all worked for a common object, the welfare of Waterville.  The same is true today, there being few towns where such goodwill and unanimity of purpose prevail among the business men.

      One of the notable improvements in Waterville during the year 1888 was the establishment of a brickyard by J. C. McFarland.  He secured a contract for 75,000 brick in the town.  He immediately set to work under all the disadvantages that confront such enterprises in a frontier country, but in July he opened his first kiln and produced a fine product.  This enterprise was continued two years.

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HARTLINE: p. 562        TABLE OF CONTENTS         WATERVILLE pt 2: p. 570

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BIG BEND p. 551: DOUGLAS CO. 1886 TO 1904, pt. 2

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ch. 2, pt. 1, pp. 545-551        TABLE OF CONTENTS        COULEE CITY: p. 558

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551 (continued)

      In September, 1891, there was great activity among the government officials in their endeavors to suppress the cutting of government timber.  September 3d, of that year, the Big Bend Empire published the following account of the prosecution of Mr. Harris, the Badger Mountain saw mill man:

      The Ellensburg stage arriving Tuesday evening, August 25th, brought among its passengers a Mr. C. E. Bayard, of Seattle. Wednesday he made his appearance at C. A. Harris' saw mill, on Badger Mountain and made known the object of his visit to Waterville.  He was a special land agent from the United States government and had a direct commission from Washington to investigate and act upon complaints against Mr. Harris made to the Interior Department.  * * * * *  The mill was not ordered closed down. United States Commissioner Pendergast fixed Mr. Harris' bond at $500, which was promptly furnished with H. N. Wilcox, as security.  Mr. R. S. Steiner and Mr. Wilcox, both of whom had accompanied the agent up the mountain, unwittingly, not knowing his designs upon Mr. Harris, were subpoenaed as witnesses and ordered to appear at the same time and place as the defendant.  Mr. Bayard took his departure the following day.  He is reported as having said that in his report to the government he should apprise them that Nash & Stephens were in the same boat with Mr. Harris, and equally liable to prosecution.  News of the arrest of Mr. Harris quickly got abroad.  Much alarm was manifested at the prospect of the lumber supply being cut short.  The outcome of Mr. Harris' trial became at once the general subject of discussion, and fears were expressed that not only one but both mills would be obliged to stop their saws. That such a contingency would be in the nature of a public calamity was the universal opinion.  'It will practically amount to closing our land office, entirely stopping our immigration and paralyzing out trades, said a prominent business man.  A consultation was determined upon and the office of Matthews & Loucks selected as a place for the meeting.  Nearly every business and professional man in Waterville was on hand.  A number of speeches were made, and the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:

      "Whereas, it has come to the knowledge of the people of Douglas county, Washington, that a special agent of the Interior Department has caused the arrest of one, C. A. Harris, a sawmill man, charging him with cutting timber from government land in this county, and

      "Whereas, it has been further learned that prosecutions are about to be instituted against all mill owners operating saw mills on government land in this county,

      "Therefore, be it resolved that in view of the fact that the cutting of said timber and the manufacturing of it into lumber is absolutely necessary for the continued development of Douglas county, that all of said lumber is used for domestic purposes and is applied by settlers in making needed improvements upon their lands thus enabling them to fulfill the requirements of the law and obtain title to their homes.

      "There being no means of transportation from such places where other lumber is manufactured, except at excessive cost to the settler for hauling the same for a distance of sixty to eighty miles, and being compelled to pay almost double the price of the lumber manufactured in this county.

      "That Badger Mountain lumber is of inferior quality and would have no market value were there any transportation facilities from lumber markets.

      "That it is believed that the complaints entered against the said sawmill men were actuated by selfish motives and that if the Interior Department were informed of the true state

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of affairs and of the needs of the settlers, these, or any prosecutions would never have been instituted.

      "Therefore, be it further resolved that this meeting view with apprehension the action of the government in this matter and are unanimous in determining to use all honorable means to secure the dismissal of the prosecutions."

      The following affidavit was circulated and unanimously signed by residents of Douglas county and forwarded to Congressman Wilson with a view to having the cases against Badger Mountain mill men stopped.

State of Washington, County of Douglas, ss.:

      We, the affiants, whose names are hereunto subscribed, on our several oaths, do depose and say: That we are residents of Douglas county, Washington; that we are well acquainted with the topography of said county, which is 60 miles' wide and 100 miles long, and consists almost entirely of rolling bunch grass prairie; that there is no timber in this county except in the extreme western portion upon the summit of what is known as Badger Mountain, 4,000 feet above sea level; that this' timber is 50 miles distant from the nearest railroad point; that there is but little timber in the counties west of Douglas county and east of the Cascade mountains; and what there is, with the present and previous facilities for transportation, is absolutely inaccessible to the residents of Douglas county from the fact that to reach it it is necessary to cross the Columbia river, which is 1,800 or 2,000 feet lower than the table land which comprises Douglas county; that there is no timber near enough in any other direction to be available for building or fencing purposes; that without the use of timber from Badger Mountain it would have been impossible to have settled the lands in Douglas county west of Grand Coulee, and will be absolutely impossible to further develop it; that there has been taken up by settlers, up to the present time, 300,000 acres of land west of Grand Coulee, in Douglas county, Washington, and that the settlers of all these lands have drawn their supply of timber and lumber from Badger Mountain; that if each individual settler had taken his supply of timber necessary for his building in the shape of logs, he would not have as good and valuable improvements as he now has, and each and every settler would have used so much greater an amount of timber that the timber on Badger Mountain would by this time be exhausted, and none left for future improvements, and in all cases, except that of settlers living in the immediate vicinity of Badger Mountain, he was enabled to make his improvements at a much less cost to himself by purchasing the lumber cut on Badger Mountain, than had he expended the large amounts necessary to haul the timber in the log to his respective claim.

      We further state that the timber cut on the lands upon which the alleged trespass was done has been an indiscriminate cutting by the settlers and the saw mill men, and that much of it has been done by the settlers living near Badger Mountain for the improvement of their claims, and much of it done before the saw mills came into the country and that the tops of trees cut have been almost all used for fuel.

      We further state that none of the timber cut and manufactured into lumber on Badger Mountain has been exported from the country, but it has been used in the country adjacent thereto for domestic purposes, for the building and improvement of the country; that the lumber manufactured from the timber on Badger Mountain is of a very poor quality, and that it could only be used in the pioneer periods of the country; that as soon as transportation facilities are such that other and better lumber can be obtained, that the lumber from Badger Mountain will be driven from the market; that because the timber is so scattering and of so poor a quality few individuals can be found who are willing to sacrifice a timber right in order to obtain title to the land.

      And we further depose and say, it is our firm belief that, as the timber is indispensable to the development of Douglas county, as above represented, any action by the United States, either civil or criminal, against so-called timber trespassers on Badger Mountain would be harsh, uncalled for and oppressive, and that such persecutions would be in pursuance of a mistaken policy, and without full knowledge of existing conditions, and would result disastrously to this community.

      Meanwhile the criminal prosecution against C. A. Harris was disposed of temporarily by the finding of the grand jury which returned "Not a True Bill." The civil action instituted against alleged timber trespassers were carried over until the next sitting of the United States district court.  The following correspondence

wound up the whole affair:

September 22. 1892.
Register and Receiver U. S. Land Office,
Waterville, Washington.

Gentlemen : My understanding of what are known as the Badger Mountain cases is that they were measurably excused by the local necessities of a pioneer neighborhood and that the trespasses were not for the purpose of shipping timber to other points and did not

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amount to a profitable speculation in government property.  I have decided to dismiss the pending civil cases and unless the public good demands a criminal prosecution, no further action will be taken.  I desire your views on this subject and also wish to know whether the parties sued — Messrs. Cannon, Harris, Rogers, Howe, et al., have ceased to trespass on the lands in question.  If so, then the whole business will be dropped.  Please notify me of your opinion at once. Yours truly,

P. H. WINSTON, U. S. Attorney.

      To this Mr. Dallam replied as follows:

Hon. P. H. Winston,

      U. S. Attorney, Spokane, Washington.

      Dear sir:  We are in receipt of your letter of the 22d inst.  In reply we will say that the depredations have been discontinued on Badger Mountain for more than a year.  As a matter: of fact, as indicated in your letter, depredations were excused by local necessities.  * * * * *  A dismissal of the criminal cases would be an act of justice and appreciated by the whole community.  Please notify us when the cases are dismissed, that parties may be saved the necessity of an expensive trip to attend court.

F. M. Dallam, Receiver.  

J. C. Lawrence, Register.

      In 1892 the Great Northern Railway Company extended its line through the southern portion of Douglas county.  At this period that part of the county was considered worthless as an agricultural country and no settlement was added by reason of building of the road until several years later.

      The year 1893 was a severe one for Douglas county — as well as the rest of the country.  The conditions which wrecked financial, commercial and manufacturing industries throughout the length and breadth of the land necessarily left their mark in Douglas county by prohibiting public and private improvements and almost totally stopping immigration.  Early in the spring the prospects seemed good for the addition of a large population to the county, but the arrival of homeseekers ceased and the progress for the year, so propitious in the spring, was nullified by the "hard times."  It was, indeed, a trying time for the residents of the county.  It proved to be a set-back which was not overcome for several years. Yet conditions in Douglas county were not worse than elsewhere. In fact we have the best authority for the statement that the depression for the few years in the middle 90's was felt less in the Big Bend country than in most portions of the west.  But many settlers became discouraged.  In times of financial distress and depression the idea invariably prevails that somewhere else one can do better.  Some who had cast their lot with Douglas county disposed of their holdings or abandoned them and sought other fields.  On these accounts little progress was made for the years between 1893 and 1896.  This condition was relieved by the immense wheat crop of 1897 and the prevailing high price for that cereal.

      The June floods of 1894 will not be forgotten by pioneers.  The following accounts are from the Spokane Review and the Empire.  The Review correspondent, writing from Waterville under date of June 6, says :

      The Columbia river is higher than ever known by white men and at last reports was still rising.  Some orchards along the river are badly damaged.  A Mr. Sparks, living a couple of miles below Orondo, is a great sufferer.  He had one of the finest orchards on the river.  The water covers every acre, and Sunday, June 3, his residence was washed away.  Not a ferry is in operation on the river and crossings are made in skiffs.  A brief, but severe storm, in the nature of a tornado, struck here Sunday, the 3d. Chimneys were wrecked, outhouses blown down and fences prostrated.  In some localities hailstones as large as hickory nuts fell.  No such blow was ever before experienced.

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      The Empire of June 14th said:

      The rapid rise of the Columbia the past three weeks has rather changed the face of nature along the river bottoms and considerable damage has been done near here.  The Orondo Shipping Company's warehouse stands in about twelve feet of water anchored down with three tons of potatoes and fastened to the bank with ropes; all the grain was saved.  W. Z. Cooper's house stands in nine feet of water and is fastened with ropes.  In all probability both of these houses will stand the flood.  All the wood from the woodyard has gone out and a great many logs have followed the procession.  Captain Knapp had quite an experience with his steamer in trying to bring in a house which was sailing past.  After trying in vain to secure it he was compelled to cut loose and, drifting upon a rock, broke a fluke from the screw of the steamer.  He landed about five miles down the river.  Fortunately he has several extra screws at the ferry and the accident has been repaired.  All along the river to Orondo the orchards have suffered and a great many fine bearing trees washed away. The fine nursery of Stephen Konkel is flooded and in all probability entirely destroyed. This will be a great loss; for the condition of it was at the point of where his years of patient industry were being rewarded.

      At Orondo a warehouse and stable went out. The warehouse was loaded down with rocks and sand, but the current was too strong for even this stout resistance.  Many rods offense belonging to Messrs.  Kunkle, Thompson, Howe and Miles were carried away. A raft of logs broke loose from a steamer near Orondo, and went down the river with two men aboard. It was finally landed at Sparks' orchard.

      The gold excitement of 1894 is thus described by the Empire.

      It has been known for years that the banks of the Columbia river contained fine gold.  Almost any of the dirt will show color, but the best showing is taken from a yellow sand and clay streak that can be found on both sides of the river above general high water mark. This strata runs all the way from a few inches to two or three feet in thickness, and in places will pan out several hundred colors, but the colors are so infinitesimal as a rule that they can hardly be seen with the naked eye. The high water of this summer in many places has exposed this old pay streak, or rather washed off the top sand and dirt until it is uncovered.  It was while prospecting one of these uncovered deposits that Mr. S. A. Pearl's attention was attracted to the Banty process, then being operated in Oregon, and he at once made a trip to that state, met the inventor, induced him to come up here and finally purchased three of the machines, what they will really do is yet to be proven by a thorough test. The Pearls have not been able to secure a retort that would work and hence are not in a position to state what wages can be made working Columbia river dirt. The writer has seen the process in operation and is satisfied that it will save gold.  The inventor claims that it will save 90 per cent of the gold and we think it will.  The only question to be settled is, is there sufficient gold in the dirt to pay for working?  If the dirt runs only from 50 cents to $1 a ton the process will not pay big for the simple reason that its capacity is limited.  With such low grade dirt the problem of returns reduces itself to the quantity that can be handled.  *  *  *  *   Until Mr. Pearl can give the process a thorough and complete test the public is at sea as regards its value as a gold saving invention.

      Continuing, the Empire said on August 30th:

      Mr. Banty, of Oregon, who has a new chemical process for saving flour gold tried the experiment on the river at Troy, last Saturday (August 15), and it seems to have proven a success. The work of shoveling the pay dirt and carrying the water in buckets to the sluice Boxes occupied an hour and a half and at the

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cleanup it was found that the process had saved something over $4 worth of gold.  Parties present being satisfied with the work done bought several machines, the Pearl boys purchasing three.  The excitement for the past week over placer mining claims has been at fever heat and claims have been taken up all along the river from Wenatchee to Virginia City and, probably, some above that point.  Should the process continue to be a success, which we hope it will, the country here will soon be flooded with gold.  Mr. Banty, after making the experiment, left Tuesday for Alaska, where he had promised to go. Another trial will be made by the Pearls next Saturday, and if successful they will sell several machines.

      While for a time there was considerable excitement over the machines, it was found to be a slow process of extracting wealth from mother earth, and gradually conditions resolved themselves into the normal, and again attention was turned to the surer methods of agriculture and stock growing.

      The year 1895 witnessed the beginning of the end of hard times.  In its resume of the progress of the county during this year the Empire said, December 26th:

      With the weight of disaster in financial centers yet bearing with crushing effect upon development and progress; with all the distress of 'hard times,' so much about which has been heard throughout the breadth and scope of the nation, shutting up manufactories and reducing wheat and farm stuffs to the minimum; with disadvantages in transportation and marketing facilities such as no other country of like size, fertility and development was ever known to be so long without — with these disadvantages to meet and difficulties to overcome — the year 1895, now about to close, has brought greater prosperity to the people of the western Big Bend and leaves them in better shape, freer from debt and with more money on hand according to population than have the people of any other agricultural section in the Pacific Northwest.  Indeed, the year has been full of material benefits.  Wheat advanced in the spring and farmers unloaded their hold-over supply, at saving figures and went ahead to grow more of it. A broad acreage was sown and vast fields of peas, beans and potatoes were planted. Corn, barley, oats went in all over the country for feeding purposes, and the live stock interests experienced a boom by the branching out of agriculturalists into beef, pork and dairying.  In this way the foundation was laid on the plains for a season of abundance at harvest time, while along the valley of the Columbia orchards were budding with the promise of a sure yield of the fullest weight the frail branches might bear.
      The growing season, it is true, might have been more propititious, as the summer was phenomenally dry, and there were fields upon which no rain fell after planting, yet the crop yield generally was wonderfully abundant.  The harvest time was a splendid period, and from early fall to a week ago no weather could have been better suited.

      It was not, however, until the "bumper" crop of 1897 that conditions began to regain their former bright hue.

      The first Douglas County Industrial Exposition was held October 3d, 4th and 5th, at Waterville.  There were fully 2,500 or 3,000 people present.  They came early and remained late.  They swarmed the streets and pushed and jostled and jammed the exposition grounds.  The stock parade took place at noon and the free barbecue was an immense success. The people assembled at the grand stand and Congressman S. C. Hyde, of Spokane, delivered an address.  He was introduced by Mr. R. S. Steiner.  The exposition was in every respect a grand success financially and socially.

      A mass convention of Douglas county citizens held at Waterville, February 14, 1896, was a step taken toward securing immigration and it resulted in much good to the development

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of the county that year.  It was attended by 200 citizens and every section of the county was represented.  W. H. Anderson, of Mountain View, was chosen president and Fred McDermott, of Waterville, was made secretary.  Valuable papers were read by Messrs. P. D.Sutor, of Fairview; R. H. Thomas, of Pleasant Hill; Judson Murray; A. L. Maltbie; John R. Morgan and John Wilson.  A permanent organization was effected, and owing to plans originated at this convention a large immigration was subsequently brought to the county.

      The year 1897 was the most prosperous ever witnessed in Douglas county up to that date.  There was a large wheat crop, high prices, every body made money and all were prosperous.  From this year until 1902 the county continued to enjoy a steady growth, although not in such proportion as in the later 90's.  The financial depression had left the county in poor shape, and these were the years of reconstruction.  In the spring of 1902 many eastern settlers came to the county.  There was plenty of good government land at that period.  The Coulee City News on March 28, 1902, explained why the county was behind its neighbors in the matter of settlement as follows:

      Ever since the boom this town experienced when the Central Washington Railway built in here ten years ago Douglas county has lain dormant.  Last spring an exodus of settlers from the east gave a slight impetus to the real estate market, but the effect on the condition of affairs was only temporary.  While the surrounding counties which had ordinary transportation facilities went ahead, Douglas county remained in the same old rut, and all because the management of the Northern Pacific made the huge mistake of making an alkali flat situated in a coulee 1,000 feet below the surrounding country, its terminal point.  This town being the only egress for grain shipment from a wheat belt several thousand square miles in area, it is no wonder, although our soil is first class, settlers have given Douglas county the go-by and located in other and less fertile districts where a shipping point could be reached without ascending and descending a hill five miles long and in places nearly perpendicular.  Douglas county's present influx of population can be regarded as a natural course of events.

      But despite this gloomy outlook in 1902 every train and every stage brought men and their families to the county seeking investments and homes.  Parties who had for several years lived in the county, but who had never taken the trouble to file a homestead, now commenced to hustle and file on land before all the choice selections were taken.  The following figures illustrate the rapid settlement of the county and other territory in the Columbia Land District during the year 1902:  In the year ending July 1st, there were 2,166 filings in the Waterville land office.  During the first ten years the office was opened there were only 2,170 filings, and the one year's business came within four of being as large as the whole of the first ten years' business.  These filings represented 320,428 acres divided by counties as follows: Okanogan, 58,271; Chelan, 28,181; Filings; Douglas, 1,588; Chelan, 198; Okanogan, 380.

      The Coulee City-Adrian "cut-off" was completed in 1903.  This is a connection by rail between the Central Washington and the Great Northern railways, between Coulee City and Adrian.  As a piece of engineering there is no road in the state that can surpass it.  For many miles it is a tangent cutting through obstructions however formidable.  Every cut found a depression nearby which was filled, making a roadbed of solid rock and gravel.  In the twenty-two miles there is little curvature and but few bridges, and these are to be found at the southern end, where the ground is almost level and material to make the fill not so convenient.  Mr. Mellen's estimate of cost of construction, off-hand at the time of construction was first announced, was $250,000.  It has cost nearly twice that sum, because when they made

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1960's view in Dry Coulee with Williams Lake in the background of the
largest trestle on the Northern Pacific Central Washington branch
between Adrian and Coulee City, torn down in 1979. 



the preliminary and final surveys they carried the line straight as possible and allowed no rocky wall to turn them a hair's breadth.  When the engineer and contractor had completed their work in a scientific and conscientious manner, those who passed on the rails failed.  In a number of instances there are found rails that have seen hard service, splintered and worn, turned for the wheel flange.  The adjoining rail, most likely, is a 70-pound, serviceable one, while the next one is fit only to remain in the scrap heap from which it was taken.  Someone, through incompetency, rendered this fine piece of construction a useless commodity, as those who were called upon to pass on the road refused their consent to permit heavy wheat trains to run over the defective rails.  Under these conditions there is only one proper recourse; replace the condemned material with good.  To do this will require some time.

      January 3, 1904, there was organized at Waterville a society known as the Douglas County Old Settlers Association, composed of settlers who have lived in the county before and during 1890.  The following officers were elected : A. T. Greene, president; A. A. Pierpont, first vice president; Charles F. Will, secretary; M. B. Howe, treasurer; Ole Ruud, recording secretary; S. E. Jordan, marshal; Mrs. S. C. Robins, librarian; Trustees: A. L. Rogers, three years; H. N. Wilcox, two years; J. A. Banneck, one year.  Following is a list of the names of the charter members and the date of their arrival in the county:

      Mrs. J. H. Kincaid, 1889; Agnes Jordan, 1888: Al Enrich, 1889; Sarah Owens, 1890; Belle Patterson, 1888; Ethel Pearl, 1886; John Shearer, 1888; Christina Jansen, 1887; John McLean, 1888; Charles Kellogg, 1888; S. E. Jordan, 1888; Joseph Ogle, 1888; A. N. Gormley, 1888; Mrs. Fitzgerald, 1889; John Hall, 1888; A. T. Greene, 1885; R. J. Waters, 1884; Elmer Thompson, 1890; J. M. Johnson, 1888; Al Pierpont, 1883; Mrs. W. W. Fitch, 1888; Charles Cumbo, 1888; E. C. Ogle, 1886; J. F. Metlin, 1886; Fred Carpenter, 1888; T. N. Ogle, 1886; M. B. Howe, 1888; Orville Clark, 1884; J. D. Logan, 1888; Mrs. Etta M. Jordan, 1888; Mrs. Hattie Waters, 1884; Mrs Teddy Enrich, 1889; Lizzie C. Hall, 1887; Mrs. Alice Speed, 1888; Mrs. S. A. Pearl 1886; Gerde Jamison, 1887; F. C. Tyler, 1886 Hattie C. Kellogg, 1888; C. W. Hensel, 1887 Edward Ownens, 1883; J. N. Gormley, 1888 J. J. Fitzgerald, 1889; George Bradley, 1887 C. F. Will, 1885; G. W. Philbrick, 1887; G. M. Cumbo, 1888; J. A. Banneck, 1883; W. W, Fitch, 1887; O. Ruud, 1883; F. M. Alexander 1883; S. A. Pearl, 1886; James Pattie, 1885 H. N. Wilcox, 1883; J. S. Withrow, 1888; T, A. Power, 1883; T. J. Cusick, 1889; C. H Wilcox, 1886; J. F. Hunt, 1887.

      According to a census taken by the assessor during the summer of 1892 it was shown that the population of Douglas county was 4,284. The commissioners therefore, on December 12, 1892, raised the county's class from the 25th to the 23d. January 15, 1902, it was raised to the 2 1 St class, having, a population of over 5,000. July 6, 1903, it was raised to the i6th class, the assessor's census showing a population of 9,183. According to a census taken by Assessor Will and his deputies in the spring of 1903 the population of the county at that time was 10,168.

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ch. 2, pt. 1, pp. 545-551        TABLE OF CONTENTS        COULEE CITY: p. 558

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