Saturday, March 31, 2012

STEVENS COUNTY, ch. 1, pt. 3, pp. 75-80

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p. 75 (continued)

      In the year 1860 the first election was held in the original Spokane, afterward Stevens, count)-. County officers were chosen, but for some reason a representative to the Territorial legislature was not selected.  Concerning a tragical event connected with this matter Mr.
F. Wolff says:
      "Desiring to have a representative some of the settlers got together and named Mr. H. W. Watson, (who was commonly called Judge Watson) for our representative.  We made up a purse to pay his expenses, and late in the fall of 1860 Mr. Watson, who was a carpenter in the government's employ, started out on a cayuse for Olympia.  The irregularity of his selection as representative restrained him from
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serving in this capacity, but he was given a position as door-keeper in the lower house, which position he retained during the session.  In the spring of 1861 Judge Watson started on his return trip to Pinkney City.  Weeks passed, but the judge failed to put in an appearance.  At that period I was sheriff of the county, and becoming alarmed at the non-appearance of Judge Watson I wrote to parties at Walla Walla in regard to his whereabouts.  I received word that he had left Walla Walla several weeks before on his return home.
      "I then suspected foul play.  Accompanied by my deputy. George \Vaet, and my interpreter, Thomas Stranger, I set out on the trail to the south country.  As I went along the trail I made inquiries, and from some French settlers I learned that Indians in the neighborhood had a horse which they believed to be Watson's.  At a place where Chewelah is now situated I found Watson's horse and saddle in possession of the Indians as the Frenchmen had told me.  These natives said that they had won the horse and saddle from a Spokane Indian by gambling, and gave me a description of him.  We then proceeded to the camp of the Spokanes, a short distance this side of Spokane Falls, but were unable to find the Indian for whom we were looking.  We saw the chief, however, and laid the matter before him.  From our description of the suspected man the chief recognized one of his subjects whom he had, before, suspected of crime.  He said the man in question was keeping company with a young girl of the tribe, and had made her a present of a piece of chain, and that he had refused to state where he had secured it.  I interviewed the girl and saw the piece of chain, which I at once recognized as having been Watson's.  I again laid the matter before the chief, and he called the suspected man up before us.  At first the Indian denied knowledge of everything, but finally owned up that he had murdered Watson for his watch and chain and pony.  He said that he had thrown the rest of the chain and the watch into the brush along the Spokane river, and after a short search we found them.
      "This was in May, 1861.  Accompanied by one of the chiefs of the tribe and a number of braves, we started on the return trip to Pinkney City with the self-confessed murderer.  At a point between what is now Springdale and Walker's Prairie, the culprit pointed out the spot where the murder had been committed.  We had no trouble in finding the body of Judge Watson, which was in a bad state of decomposition.  We dug a grave, buried our friend and marked the spot with a slab. Then we left the Indians and pushed on with our prisoner.  I well remember our arrival home.  It was about five o'clock in the afternoon, and we immediately gave the prisoner a preliminary hearing before Judge Hall, who was then justice of the peace.  The whole settlement was present at the trial.  The Indian admitted the crime, and was bound over to the higher court, which in those days convened only once a year.  Assisted by the deputies I was about to take the prisoner to jail, when we were seized by the crowd who had gathered to witness the trial.  While a few of them held us the remainder took our prisoner and hanged him at Hofstetter's gate, opposite the court house, in what was then Pinkney City, near old Fort Colville.
      "Watson was between fifty and fifty-five years old, and came here from Massachusetts.  Although we made inquiry we were unable to learn anything of his past history, nor were there any papers in his possession which gave any information of relatives."
      While Colville, or more properly Fort Colville. was recognized as the capital of Spokane county, under the old regime, Pinkney City was the county seat de facto.  All proceedings of the county commissioners were dated at Pinkney City.  The Territorial act of January 17, 1860, located the county seat "temporarily on
the land claim of Dr. Bates."  Subsequent acts of the Territorial assembly made mention of "Colville" as the county seat, and thus it

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became recognized throughout the judicial district.  But there was no "Colville" in existence.  In view of this fact Mr. John U. Hofstetter and others, in 1880, platted a townsite three miles southwest of Pinkney City, named it Colville, and thus it became the county seat, according to the recognition of certain Territorial acts, abolishing Spokane, and organizing Stevens county.  The county records were brought to Colville from Pinkney City, and since that time the former place has remained the capital.

      The first term of the district, later called the superior court, was held in Pinkney City in June, 1862.  Hon. J. J. McGilvra, now a resident of Seattle, was at that period United States district attorney, and in company with Judge Oliphant, Salucius Garfielde, Shell Fargo and Charles Allen, he left the Walla Walla military post and started for Pinkney City to hold court.  The equipage of the party comprised a pair of ponies, a wagon and two riding mules.  The only residents, aside from nomadic Indians, along the two hundred and ten miles were one ferryman at the crossing of the Snake river, and another at the Spokane crossing, eighteen miles below the present eastern metropolis of Washington, Spokane.

      Two small fly tents which the judicial party carried along with them, and traveling commissary stores, furnished forth hotel accommodations along the entire route.  To a limited extent Garfielde understood the mysteries of the cuisine, and he was chosen cook, supplied only with the meagre culinary utensils of a frying pan and coffee pot.  Garfielde broiled bacon on sharpened sticks before the fire and baked bread in the frying pan.  Buffalo chips were employed for fuel, and the coffee was settled with cold water.  It is the published testimony of Mr. McGilvra that the "bread, bacon and coffee on that trip had a relish that has seldom been the good fortune of the writer to enjoy."  At that period the regular garrison of Fort Colville, mentioned elsewhere, was en route for the seat of war in the south, its place having been supplied by two companies of volunteers recruited from the California, Oregon and Washington penitentiaries.  The party met these troops at Medical Lake.  Mr. McGilvra says that the officers had with them some good commissary whiskey, and the judicial party were invited to partake of the same, which they did, "unanimously."  The teamster of the outfit, Shell Fargo, managed to imbibe rather more than his just proportion of the whiskey, and soon after parting with the soldiers he upset the wagon, depositing two of his passengers, Judge Oliphant and Salucius Garefielde on the ground.  It is stoutly maintained by Fargo that Garfielde, who was smoking at the time, never lost his hold of the pipe, nor missed a puff during the whole catastrophe.  The case was otherwise with Judge Oliphant; although not seriously injured he was badly shaken up and his nerves considerably unstrung.

      The military post at Fort Colville furnished quarters for the "court."  The pro tern clerk of court, appointed by Judge Oliphant. was Park Winnans, and on the spur of the moment the sheriff of Spokane county summoned grand and petite juries.  The impromptu "term" commenced.  The fact that any court at all was to be held had not been extensively advertised, and in consequence of this oversight there was not a case on the docket, in short, there was no calendar in which to enter a case.  So the community good-naturedly began to manufacture cases.  It is a well-known fact in legal practice that a community of lawyers will always brew business; that it takes two lawyers to impart an impetus to litigation in any place; that where there an abundance of legal advice there will, invariably, be found clients to pay for the same.  Thus it was at Pinkney City.  It appeared to be the disposition of the people to make the best showing possible — as litigation was a rarity, in short, a luxury — and so encourage other visitations of the "court."  The grand jury immediately "got busy" and proceeded to indict everyone suspected of a

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crime and, it might be said, almost every one capable of committing a crime against the peace and dignity of the Territory of Washington.  So anxious were the people to keep the wheels of justice moving that they came freely into court, waived process of service, made up their issues on the spot, and jumped head foremost into trial.  The grist of this judicial mill was the settling of a number of civil cases, several convictions under the criminal law, three divorces, and the accumulation by McGilvra and Garfielde of $750 apiece.  Shell Fargo carried off his reward in the shape of an appointment as United States marshal.

      During this initial term of court the party visited the Hudson's Bay Company's "Fort" Colville, fifteen miles north, then in charge of Angus McDonald.  At this period the principal fisheries of the Columbia river were at this point, and here the Indians came to lay in their season's supply of salmon.  At the time of the visit of this party several acres of ground were occupied in drying out the fish.

      The reader must not jump to the hasty conclusion that this primitive method of conducting law courts was sui genesis in the various states of the union.  Far from it.  There was good faith shown in every legal procedure in Spokane county, and force of circumstances alone prevented a more elaborate and technical process of executing the law of the land.  Over in Montana, at the same period, law had been abandoned, or rather never inaugurated.  The vigilance committee reigned supreme, and no less than fifty-five desperadoes, outlaws and "road agents" were lynched under the rude semblance of law instituted by the Vigilantes.  So far as jurisprudence was concerned the settlers of Spokane county kept themselves within the Territorial statutes to the fullest extent compatible with the spirit of the times, the long intervals between terms of court and the vast distances between the municipal and county jurisdictions.  The majesty of the white man's law, as will be seen from Sheriff Wolff's account of his capture of the murderer of Judge Watson, appears to have been recognized by the Indians, more especially by the Spokanes.  Accompanied by one deputy and an interpreter, Wolff went down into the midst of that tribe, and brought the prisoner to punishment, if not to strict legal justice.  The Indian murderer had confessed; the next term of court was a long ways off; expense to the county could be saved by summary proceedings, and the Indian was lynched.  But consider the thousands of whites and negroes who have suffered from this kind of lawlessness since that time in various portions of the United States, surrounded by all the adjuncts necessary for swift retribution at the hands of legally constituted authorities!  We make no plea in behalf of lynch law, but the surrounding circumstances should be given due weight by the candid and impartial reader.  The fact that this Indian murderer was so readily given up to Sheriff Wolff by the chief and other members of the tribe of Spokanes, naturally awakens comment.  For this credit must be given to the methods of the Hudson's Bay Company.  It
had inculcated in the simple minds of these savage Indian tribes a wholesome respect for the white man's law. Dr. McLaughlin says:
      "A strict discipline was imposed upon the officers and servants of the Hudson's Bay Company.  The officer in charge of a post or party was alone authorized to deal with the natives.  Interference with their women (the so frequent cause of trouble between the Indians and the whites) was strictly forbidden and rigorously punished.  Spirituous liquor, that curse alike to civilized and savage, was never taken into the Indian country, save the one gallon of brandy and two gallons of wine annually furnished each post for medicinal purposes.  By a judicious system of penalties and rewards the Indians were taught to speak the truth and respect their promises.  Theft or murder was never suffered to go unpunished. Tribes as
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well as individuals were stimulated to industry and good behavior by suitable presents and distinctions.  If a theft or murder was committed the tribe to which the offender belonged was held responsible and required to deliver him up for punishment.  If the tribe hesitated or delayed, trade was withdrawn until the thief was surrendered.  If the tribe refused to give up a murderer, war at whatever cost was waged until full satisfaction was obtained."
      The question of roads was one of the most important which came before the board of county commissioners of Spokane county in these early days.  Reference to local laws of 1861-2 shows that J- R- Bates, who was a member of the Territorial assembly, was authorized to construct a bridge across the Spokane river, at the crossing of the road from Walla Walla to Colville.  The following were also appointed as ferry-keepers: D. W. Litchenthaler and John C. Smith, across Snake, opposite Powder river; to Green White and C. R. Driggs, across Snake, at the mouth of Grand Ronde river; to John Messenger and Walter H. Manley, across Salmon river on the Nez Perce trail to Fort Boise.  Rates were generally fifty cents for individual foot passengers, loose cattle fifty cents a head; two-horse wagons $2.50; four-horse wagons $3.50; six-horse wagons $4.50; horse and buggy $2.25; pack animals seventy-five cents. To the writer ex-Sheriff Francis Wolff said:
      "In the spring of 1853 a party of one hundred and twenty men under the command of Lieutenant Saxon started out from The Dalles, and of this party I was a member.  We were to join forces with Governor Stevens, who was then in Montana with his surveying party.  In the fall of that year we met Governor Stevens' party at Benton, Montana.  Then in the summer of 1853 the whole party crossed the Rocky Mountains and went into camp at Missoula.  The first wagon was brought over in the winter of 1854 by Captain John Mullan.
      "At Missoula a consultation was held.  Governor Stevens was anxious to get to the capital of the new Territory to enter upon his duties as governor, but he did not want to give up his surveying project.  Provisions were running low, and to leave a great number of his force behind was out of the question.  Stevens called for volunteers to remain behind and proceed with the survey to Puget Sound, while the main body proceeded directly to Olympia.  Captain John Mullan, to whom the greatest credit is due for the surveying of the route, was given command of these volunteers.  Those who responded and formed the company were Captain John Mullan, James Doty, Tom Adams, Fred Burr, C. Williams, John Farnsworth, William Simpson, Richard Osgood, Henry Pearson, George Simpson, Tom Osgood, F. M. Ruby, Corporal Richard Rose, W. Gates, Albert Sohon, I. Thuhill, E. Williamson, Francis Wolff.  For fourteen months this party conducted the surveying operations and suffered untold hardships, finally arriving at Fort Owens in the Bitter Root valley and going into camp at Camp Stevens, one and one-half miles north of Fort Owens."
      To Mr. Wolff undoubtedly belongs the distinction of having brought the first wagons to the Colville country.  In 1856 he came from The Dalles, Oregon, bringing with him three wagons and a number of horses.  In those days there were no roads — only a trail — and considerable difficulty was experienced by Mr. Wolff in getting the wagons here safely.  At the Snake and Spokane rivers the crossing was made by lashing two Indian canoes together and placing a wagon on them.  The horses, of course, swam across the streams.  In 1877 Mr. Wolff made a trip to Walla Walla.  In passing through the country south of here, he says, he found it in a very unsettled condition, and while on this trip he witnessed a stampede to Walla Walla from what are now the counties of Lincoln and Douglas, on account of an In- dian scare. He says the fears of the stampeders were unfounded, and the excitement due to the

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fact that most of the settlers were new arrivals from the east and totally unacquainted with conditions.  A few cattle had been killed by the Indians in the "coulee country," but so far as he could learn these were the only depredations committed.  Many sections of the Big Bend country were depopulated by this mad stampede to Walla Walla.

      At the time of the present writing there have been three legal executions in Stevens county. In 1872 an Indian named Standist Law was hanged in Pinkney City for the murder of a miner, across the Columbia river.  His apprehension was brought about through information furnished by some of his putative
friends.  In 1879 an Indian named Andrew was executed for the murder of George Reemer, a farmer. living at Garrison Flat, only sixty or seventy yards from the military post.  In 1881 one Michael, an Indian, murdered a man named Shaffer, who conducted a grocery store in Pinkney City, the same place where Reemer was killed.  For this crime he paid the penalty on the gallows.

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Friday, March 30, 2012

STEVENS COUNTY, ch. 1, pt. 2, pp. 70-75

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70 (continued)

      Following the introduction of missions and chapels came actual settlement of the county.  At one period, in March, 1903, there was among the residents of Colville, the county seat, considerable speculation concerning the number of citizens of eastern Washington who had resided within the state and territory fifty years. It will be remembered by all who have followed the preceding chapters that on March 2, 1853, the bill forming the territory of Washington, as distinct from Oregon, passed the United States senate, having previously run the gauntlet of the house with but nominal opposi-tion.  Hence the interest among Colville residents, regarding the matter, March 2, 1903, the fiftieth annniversary of the forming of the Territory.  There was extended inquiry with the result that it was at last reluctantly conceded that there was none in Stevens county who has been a resident therein fifty years.  This, however, was found to be an erroneous conclusion. As the Reveille (Colville) said:
      "Stevens county comes to the front with at least three men who ha\e weathered the stormy times; who have made history for this part of the state for more than fifty years, and they promise to live out a score or more years yet.  One of them is Andrew Hughson, who lives on his farm just two miles south of town.  (Colville.)  Mr. Hughson crossed the Rocky mountains in the Crows Nest region in 1851, and in November of that year established his residence at what was known as the Hudson's Bay Company's fort, near Marcus.  Shortly before his arrival Donald McDonald, now a gray-haired man of fifty-threee years, born in Montana, came to Marcus and still lives there.  John Inkster, of Valley, is perhaps the oldest living settler of the state.  His residence dates from 1848, fifty-five years ago, and he is still in good health.  Mr. Hughson has lived forty-four years on his farm, which is his home, and his review of his past history is truly interesting.  There are many here who date their residence as far back as 1855 and 1860, but these three men mentioned are the first settlers."
      In this connection the following interview with Mr. F. Wolff, residing at Colville, is apropos.  To the writer he said:
      "I came to Stevens county in 1856 from Montana, where I had been employed in Governor Stevens' party.  The first attempt at organization of the county was made in 1858, but was unsuccessful, and some of the officers who had received appointments did not, at the time, know of the honor that had been thrust upon them. But in 1860 a permanent organization
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was established by the Territorial legislature, and officers were appointed and served until the first election was held in that year.
      "In June, 1859, George B. McClellan, then a captain of engineers of the regular army, but a few years afterward the commanding general of the Army of the Potomac, accompanied by two companies of infantry under Captains Frazer and Archer, left The Dalles, Oregon, on a trip through this northern country.  They came up through the Okanogan country and were on duty at the boundary line between the United States and the British possessions, which was then in dispute.  For some reason which I never learned they did not long remain here, but returned to the post at The Dalles.  While in the north country they were engaged in marking" the boundary line between the two countries.  This was done by cutting a wide swath through the timber.  Where there was no timber they built mounds and piled up embankments.  While the swaths through the timber which they cut have partly grown up to timber again, the boundary line can be easily noticed to this day.  A coincidence of this trip is found in the fact that all three of these officers but a short time afterward became generals in the War of the Rebellion — McClellan on the union side and Frazer and Archer in the Confederate Army.
      "In the fall of 1862 the regular troops stationed at Fort Colville (Pinkney City, not Kettle Falls), were called east to take part in the War of the Rebellion.  To take their places two companies of volunteers were recruited at San Francisco and came to the post at Fort Colville.  These companies were in command of Major Curtis.  These companies were recruited mostly from convicts from California, who were thus offered pardon on condition that ihey enlist.  Major Curtis did not remain long, his place being taken by Major Rumelles.  These troops were on duty here until after the war, when regular troops again took charge of the fort."
      Fort Colville, at Pinknev Citv. three miles northeast of Colville, in contradistinction to the Hudson's Bay Company's "Fort" Colville, near Kettle Falls, was established in June, 1859, by the government of the United States.  It was built for the protection of widely separated groups of American settlers.  There had been a large overflow of population on opening of the transmontane country, east of the Cascades, in 1858.  Reputed gold discoveries on the Columbia, Malheur and other streams accounts for this sudden hegira.  Gold was also discovered on the Wenatchee river, in the latitude of the Snoqualimich Pass, and near Colville.  Some of the earliest settlers in Stevens county were ex-miners who found both soil and climate favorable and concluded to establish homes in this locality.  Again, the completion of a military road between Forts Benton, in Montana, and Walla Walla, in Washington, attracted quite a number from the valley of the Bitter Root, which at that period was a portion of the vast area known as Spokane county.  Military officers, soldiers, freighters became gold seekers, and they flocked in from the Fraser River country, their stories adding materially to the stock of information in possession of mining prospectors.  The writer has seen a letter written by Lieutenant John Mullan, who had charge of the construction of the military road, in which he says he discovered valuable ore showings along his route, but was afraid to divulge the same through fear of desertions among his rather small force of road builders.  Few are the biographies of Washington pioneers that do not contain episodes of mining exploitations, of greater or less range, in the careers of the subjects.  Companies were organized in Portland, and from that city capitalists sent out "grub-staked" prospectors by the hundreds.  The quality of the gold in this vicinity was coarse, equal in coin to seventeen or eighteen dollars, and superior to the gold of the Similkameen.  In February, 1859, a party led by J. N. Bell, of The Dalles, set out for Colville.  This contingent, together with fifty others who

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had wintered at that point, were among the first in the new "diggings."  In March the floating population of the Walla Walla valley swarmed up into this vicinity, while others came from far off Yreka, California.  A wagon road was opened between the Similkameen and Priest Rapids.  Parties came in from the Willamette in small boats, and the steamer Colonel Wright brought up sixty tons of freight.  It was still early spring when these "stampeders" arrived, and much of the placer ground was under water.  Those who could work could not pay expenses.  Some returned westward; others pushed on to Quesnell river, and others, more fortunate, discovered gold on Rock Creek, one of the headwaters of the Kettle River, and on the Pend d'Oreille.  Suddenly it was discovered that the most productive mines, those on Rock Creek and the Similkameen, were in British territory, north of the 49th parallel.  A tax of $100 was levied on American traders who wished to sell goods to the miners, and in 1861 there were 20,000 of them, mostly Americans, in British Columbia.  Later discoveries of gold at Pierce City and Oro Fino attracted the attention of the Colville miners, and their number, from that period, 1860, dwindled materially.

      Of the Fraser River stampede the Statesman-Index, (Colville), of October 8, 1897, says:

      "This Fraser River excitement, while it terminated like most 'rushes' in disaster, or ill-luck to the many, had its influence on Stevens county.  In the autumn of 1859 about forty prospectors, full of the strength of youth and a determination to get a share of the wealth that was free to men of pluck, were making their way through the Colville valley well equipped for an undertaking that might have made less experienced men falter.  Arrived thus far on the trip they began to meet miners who told of their own folly and fruitless errand to Fraser river.  As the days passed other men were spoken who had. practically, the same tale to tell.  This settled it with our party of prospectors; the meadow lands of the Colville valley seemed likely to yield greater returns in gold than would the gold fields of the north, and accordingly they decided to go no farther, but returned and settled here.  These men formed the nucleus of civilization in Stevens county.  Some are still among our most honored citizens; others have passed over the great divide into the vale beyond. But each had his part in the early history of Stevens county."


      The honor of being the oldest settled portion of the state of Washington, east of the Cascades cannot justly be denied Stevens county.  This distinction, however, cannot be accorded "Fort" Colville, of the Kettle Falls location, nor the later Fort Colville, of Pinkney City . At Meyers Falls, on the Colville river, the Hudson's Bay Company erected a grist mill in 1816, only eleven years after Lewis and Clarke had completed their memorable expedition.  The old burrs of this mill are yet on the ground.  Agents of the company, however, were in this vicinity as early as 1809, but merely for the purpose of purchasing furs of the Indians, and making no attempt at settlement.  Whether this original mill was torn down or destroyed by fire is not definitely known, but another milll was crested on the same spot, which was standing in 1865-6.  At this period L. W. Meyers, for whom the falls were named, a Canadian and the pioneer of Stevens county, took a lease upon the building pending a settlement of the old company with the United States government for relinquishment of their lands.  Mr. Meyers afterward secured possession of the water power, a fall of 135 feet in a distance of three-eigths of a mile, and one of the most valuable water powers in eastern Washington.  The roof of this mill was covered with cedar bark and although far from being supplied with modern milling appliances its product was eaten with keen relish for many years.  New buildings were erected in 1872.  Mr. Meyers, being in a reminiscent mood in August. 1899, wrote as follows:

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      "One would scarcely believe in passing through the Colville valley that its quiet solitude had once been rudely shaken by war's alarm.  On the site of the town many, many moons ago there was a terrible fight between the Spokane and Colville Indians.  The story goes that for three days the battle raged, first the victory seeming to perch upon the banners of the Spokanes, and then the terrific onslaught of the Colvilles, who were defending their homes, would turn the tide of battle, and finally the Spokanes were driven from the field.  In this terrific battle the casualties were two Indians wounded, who were artistically decorated with arrows in various parts of the anatomy.  In this battle there were 2,000 warriors engaged. This skirmish is not recorded in any history of Stevens county, but it is well authenticated.  So it would seem that the quiet of Colville valley has not escaped war."
      In tracing the history of Stevens county it again becomes necessary to revert to the period when it enjoyed a commonwealth existence under the name of Spokane county.  The first meeting of the board of county commissioners was held May 8, 1860.  The records show that all members of the board and the auditor, R. H. Rogers, were present.  It will be remembered that the bill providing for the formation of Spokane county named one Douglas as county auditor, and R. H. Rogers as treasurer.  It appears that a change, or transposition of these officers was made whereby Mr. Rogers assumed the duties of auditor and Mr. Douglas became treasurer.  At this initial meeting the board established an election precinct at Pinkney City, the place where the county commissioners first met, and which was supposed at the time to be the county seat.  Of this election precinct Charles Miller and Cyrus Hall were appointed inspectors, E. Averill and C. L. Thomas, judges, and Henry Lafleur, clerk.  An election precinct was also established at the mouth of the Pend d'Oreille river, of which John Bolonge and James Smith were appointed inspectors, and Richard Frye, Rich and Rouse, judges and clerk. Notices of election were ordered posted, and Joseph L. Houck was named as a road supervisor.  This is all that appears of record at the first meeting of the Spokane county commissioners, and the proceedings were signed by R. H. Rogers as clerk of the board.

      On August 4, i860, another meeting was held which adjourned to meet on the 8th inst.  There appears to have been an election previous to this meeting, but there is no record of it other than is shown in the board proceedings.  The meeting is dated Pinkney City, August 8, i860, and shows that there were present I. W. Seaman, James Hayes and George Taylor, as commissioners, and Taylor was elected chairman of the board.  The following officials, supposed to have been elected at the interregnum election, presented their bonds which were accepted: R. H. Douglass, treasurer; Cyrus Hall, justice of the peace; John Gunn, assessor.  The board established grocery licenses (properly saloon licenses) at $200 per annum, and for billiard tables and bowling alleys, when conducted in connection with the "groceries" at $30 per annum.  By application licenses were then granted to Messrs. Chamberlain & Walker, Seaman & Company, James Hayes, and Bigelow & Lynch to retail ardent spirits in Pinkney City; also license was granted to Bigelow & Lynch to keep a billiard saloon.  The record is signed I. W. Seaman, chairman.

      At the following meeting of November 6, 1860, George Taylor appears as chairman and J. R. Bates, clerk. The principal business transacted was the granting of licenses as follows: John Nelson, P. Stergenacker & Company and R. H. Rogers to retail ardent spirits in Pinkney City for six months : J. W. Crow and Wheelock & Company to conduct the same business near old Fort Colville, for six months, and to Seaman & Company to keep a bowling alley in Pinkney City for six months.  The following day the commissioners proceeded to ballot

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for their respective terms of office. George Taylor drew the one-year term, James Hayes two years, and I. W. Seaman three years.

      At the following meeting of the board, December 8, 1860, Commissioner James Hayes reported to his colleagues on the board that Messrs. Allen & Juet had been guilty of retailing liquors without passing through the formality of securing a license.  L. Hilbord appeared as a witness, and having been duly sworn testified that he had been in the establishment of the parties complained of, and drank liquor; the last time being on the day on which he testified before the board.  He added that the house was quite disorderly owing to the many men within who were drinking and carousing.  Allen & Juet at that period resided in the lower part of Pinkney City.  No action appears to have been taken in regard to this matter.  A license was granted to Joseph Ladoux to conduct a ferry on the Columbia river, opposite the mouth of Kettle river, for the term of one year.  The rates of ferryage prescribed were: Pack animal, $1.25; man and horse, $2; loose animals, $1 each; footman, 75 cents; freight, per ton, $5. Thomas Ferrill was recommended to the board for constable of Pinkney precinct, and appointed as such.

      December 15, 1860, the county commissioners assembled at Pinkney City and proceeded to locate the first county road, after they had appointed B. F. Coppage as road supervisor.  It is described as follows: Commencing at the ferry on the Columbia river opposite the mouth of Kettle river; running thence to Peter Gurrie's, at the foot of the hill in as near a straight line as practicable; thence following the present wagon road, as near as convenient, to Pinkney City; thence following the government road to the bridge at "old Pears," leaving the present wagon road at, or near, the bridge, and following an old Indian trail bearing to the right and intersecting the old road running up the valley near George Muce's claim; running up the old road as near as practicable to where the old pack trail leaves the wagon road to cross Mill river; turning to the right; following said pack-trail, or as near to it as convenient to strangers; running from thence along the pack-trail to the Spokane.

      A branch road, located at the same meeting is described thus: "Leaving the county road near Louise Matt's house, down the side of his field to the southeast corner of his fence; thence running through the swamp to old Marcus' house; thence down the lane from Marcus'; running below Alexander Muriejoe's field; thence along the old road to George Taylor's; thence up the side hill, leaving the old road to the right, to F. Muriejoe's; thence following up the old road, intersecting the county road where it comes down the hill near George Muce's claim."

      At the same meeting, on application by petition of the citizens of Pinkney City, the commissioners appropriated $100 for the construction of a public well in Pinkney City, to be paid on completion of the well.  The board appointed James Hayes to superintend the digging of this public improvement.

      April 10, 1861, it appears that James Hayes had left the county and the commissioners appointed in his place Robert Bruce to serve as county commissioner until the next general election.  The board, also, purchased of C. R. Allen, for $500, a house and lot to serve as a court house.  The following day T. J. Demerce was appointed assessor for Spokane county, in place of John Gunn who, it appears, had been elected but failed to qualify.  I. W. Seaman tendered his resignation as commissioner, and the same was accepted.  At the meeting of May 6, W. D. Bigelow was appointed commissioner to succeed Mr. Seamon.  For county purposes a tax of four mills on the dollar was levied.  The board then proceeded to divide the county into election precincts, as follows: Precinct No. 1 — Pinkney City, including all that portion of Spokane county east of a line running due I north and south from the west side of F. Marcus'

________________________

75

claim, "and that the place of voting shall be Pinkney City, at the court house."  Precinct No. 2 — Kettle Falls precinct: All that portion of Spokane county west of the west boundary of Precinct No. 1. The judges of the next election shall be, for Precinct No. 1, as follows: T. J. Demerce, Thos. Stranger and Thomas Ferrill.  For Precinct No. 2, Wheelock, Donald McLoud and J. W. Crow. The board divided the county into road districts as follows: Road district No. 1 — All that portion of Spokane county lying north of a line running east and west through the government brick-yard.  Road district No. 2 — All that portion of Spokane county lying south of said division line.  John Duplissis was appointed supervisor of road district No. 1, and Charles Montgomery of No. 2.

      July 8, 1861, a general election was held, but the result was not made a matter of official record. July 18, 1861, two of the new board of county commissioners met, L. Richardson and Thomas Stranger, and adjourned to meet July 20, at which time we find the two commissioners mentioned in session with J. R. Bates, as clerk. Richardson drew the one year, and Stranger the two year, term.

      At the meeting of November 21, 1861, R. H. Rogers presented a bill for $128.92 for fees as deputy treasurer, which was accepted and ordered paid.  The books of R. H. Rogers were examined and found correct.  Then the board declared the office of county treasurer vacant, owing to a defalcation of $565.50, county money, and requested R. H. Rogers to serve as county treasurer, which he did.  No other meeting of the commissioners appears to have been held until May 5, 1862, when voting precinct No. 3 was established, comprising all that portion of precinct No. 1 lying south of a line running east and west, one mile south of —— Hubbard's house, to be known as the Spokane precinct; the election to be held at some convenient place at the mouth of the Spokane river.  July 24 we find John U. Hofstetter and Robert Bruce taking the oath of office as county commissioners, Bruce being selected as chairman.  The following day the late treasurer, R. H. Douglas, appeared before the board for final settlement.  He presented order No. 2, which had appeared on the treasurer's books as having been returned while the treasurer's books were in the hands of R. H. Rogers, deputy treasurer, and paid twice, through a mistake.  Douglas was credited with the amount of the order, $21.50, and he then presented an order approved by the district judge for services as grand juror, for $59.60, with which additional amount he was credited.  In the final settlement with Douglas there was found to be a balance of $394.12 due from him to the county, for which sum the commissioners made a formal demand, through the new treasurer, as follows :


      The treasurer was instructed by the board that no interest should be charged Mr. Douglas should he make settlement with the county, which he did, August 2, 1862

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________________________



Closing of St. Andrews Post Office

Last Mail Going Through St. Andrews Post Office

By Hu Blonk

“News & Standard” – May 24, 1957

ST. ANDREWS - Some weeks hence, this "St. Andrews" dateline will be officially a thing of the past.

The small post office, 67 years old, will be closed.

Big Bend Postmaster Hans C. Wogensen, a proud Dane, has told Uncle Sam he's quitting.

His resignation more or less coincides with the Post Office Department's plan to close the office and substitute a rural route.

The once bustling community, where farmers and horses rested en route to Coulee City with the wheat, has gradually been shrinking.

Two or three years ago the two-room school was closed, the pupils being hauled to Coulee City. Wogensen shut up his grocery counter, near the mail boxes, four months ago when he lost his wholesaler. Now all you can buy are soap suds and a candy bar.

What there's left here now is a small one-room building called a “teacherage" and an old-fashioned two-story building, where Wogensen and his wife live and handle the mail. All around are acres and acres of green wheat and fertile summer fallow.

St. Andrews, named after the first postmaster, a Capt. Andrews, once boasted a livery stable that could hold a hundred horses. It also supported a church, a blacksmith shop, a two-room school, a harness shop, a butcher shop (once run by Wogensen), and, also, according to him, "one of the best hotels."

Wogensen became postmaster in 1942 but he knows the history of St. Andrews well. The post office was established in 1890. The first mail, he said, was hauled on horseback from Sprague. Later postmasters included Foy Sinclair, Eva Dodd, Ambrose Cross, Aage Olson and Ras Tanneberg.

The retiring postman came here in 1907, thinking of a homestead and ending up for the first five years as a butcher. Later he farmed 30 years. He still owns land.

Of the homestead days he said: "It was just pitiful. They couldn't make it on a quarter section. Most of them had nothing to go with in breaking up their land. They generally ended up with just a garden spot. That's as far as it went. The men used to work away and the women would sit in the shack with the kids. The queered me on homesteading."

The first floor where the Post Office sits in a corner, was once littered with everything from a "pinto to a threshing machine," Wogensen recounted. Now it's almost bare except for two counters, over which many hands passed, and a wall with Daily World clippings of Grand Coulee Dam, in which Wogensen is tremendously interested.

Running the Post Office wasn't always easy for the immigrant from Denmark. "I didn't get a day of American schooling," he said. "And I made a lot of bloopers. I didn't understand all the regulations of the Post Office at first."

Wogenson has been on his own since he was 12 in Denmark. He came to this country when 20, looking for opportunity. In Denmark he worked for 8 crowns a year ($1.10), plus "the overalls I wore out and my keep." He borrowed $200 to come to the U.S. and soon was broke. His first job was working in an Iowa sewer.

One of the first intriguing sights for Wogensen was a woman in a train chewing gum. "I never saw gum before," he laughed. "I kept watching, figuring she was chewing tobacco and had to spit sometime."
St. Andrews may be passing out of existence but to Wogensen there "isn't a finer community anywhere - as a whole."

The 77-year-old mailman said, as he neared the end of the last batch of mail: "I'll mist the people I've lived with."

As to the future . . . "I just got a good car and I'm going to see the country as long as I can push it around."

And as to St. Andrews without Wogensen, Farmer Lloyd McLean said: "The Grange is taking in 20 members . . . that shows St. Andrews isn't quite dead yet."

      (from Conor Jorgensen via facebook)

CCHS CLASS OF '54

________________________

1953        HIGH SCHOOL INDEX        1955
________________________


Marsha Duane Bewick
June Marie Bolyard
James Garred
Gladys Anne Gilbert - Valedictorian
Edward Ivan Long - Salutatorian
Willis Duane Mickelsen
Maurice Ottmar
Leslie John Penrose
Sharon Loette Pitts
Derral Gene Smeltzer
Rose Anne Southern
Ward Milton Tanneberg
Jo Anne Roberta Thorp
Ronald Arthur Wilson

      (list from Conor Jorgensen)

CCHS CLASS OF '55

________________________

1954        HIGH SCHOOL INDEX        1956
________________________


Ralph Bechtol
Gene Bonderenko
Penelope Garred - Valedictorian
Arthur Hall
Karrol Hall
Paul Hartman
Carol Lawter - Salutatorian
Pearl Strege
Myrna Struchen

      (list from Conor Jorgensen)

CCHS CLASS OF '56

________________________

1955        HIGH SCHOOL INDEX        1957
________________________


Gayle Bonderenko
Rae Webster Bell
Mary Lou Brewer
Laurane Driessche
Yvonne Gardner
Don Hardt
Bernice Hurst
Alan Lakoduk
Gary Logg
Stanley Major
Darlene Scheibner
Nancy Scheibner - Valedictorian
Doris Steinmetz
Larry Stephenson
Karla Vaughn - Salutatorian
Patricia Webley

      (list from Conor Jorgensen)

CCHS CLASS OF '57

________________________

1956        HIGH SCHOOL INDEX        1958
________________________


Dan Bach
Kenneth Bechtol
Lawana Bolyard
Wayne Conner
Sharon Draper
Virginia Evans
Shirley Hardt
Walter Hartman - Valedictorian
Thomas Jess
Nancy Jones
Arlene Kelby - Salutatorian
Phyllis McLean
Yvonne Miller
Larry Spurbeck
Norene Stephenson
Karen Vaughn

      (list from Conor Jorgensen)

CONQUEST of the COEUR D'ALENES

________________________



THE CONQUEST

of the

COEUR D'ALENES, SPOKANES,

AND PALOUSES





THE EXPEDITIONS OF COLONELS E. J. STEPTOE
AND GEORGE WRIGHT AGAINST THE
"NORTHERN INDIANS"
IN 1858


______


B. F. MANRING

PUBLISHED BY
JOHN W. GRAHAM & CO.
SPOKANE, WASH.


________________________



Printed by Inland Printing Company
Spokane, Wash.
1912


________________________


      This work is being included in this blog partly because of the place of these events in the settlement of the Inland Northwest; partly because Col. Steptoe was my 3rd cousin 5x removed; and partly because, through my wife, I am connected to the Spokane Tribe — one of her nephews is married to a member of the Peone family of the Spokanes. C. S.
This book is available for view or download on the Internet Archive


________________________


CONTENTS


PAGE      CHAP.

                               PREFACE
  13           1            TRADITION
  18           2            STEPTOE BUTTE
  26           3            1858
  30           4            CAUSES
  49           5            CAUSES — CONTINUED
  67           6            STEPTOE MARCHES NORTH
  81           7            STILL NORTHWARD
  88           8            BATTLE OF TOHOTONIMME
110           9            THE COUNCIL
116         10            THE RETREAT
127         11            COLONEL STEPTOE'S REPORT
158         12            PRELIMINARIES
186         13            MEASURING STRENGTH
186         14            RETRIBUTION
227         15            THE SPOKANE COUNCIL
246         16            THE LONELY BATTLE-FIELD

BIOGRAPHICAL —
264                        COLONEL EDWARD J. STEPTOE
275                        CAPTAIN O. H. P. TAYLOR
278                        LIEUTENANT WILLIAM GASTON

________________________


PREFACE

      The expeditions of Colonels Steptoe and Wright into the country of the Coeur d'Alenes, Spokanes and Palouses were made without the blare of notoriety; they were not heralded by the press in startling headlines; nor were the minutiae of accompanying details flashed momentarily over convenient wires to an expectant nation.  In obedience to orders laboriously conveyed to them, the commanders of these expeditions went forward to their duty.  They went into a country to them unknown and pursued their courses under the direction of guides.  On returning they bore the history of their achievements with them, save that which was impressed upon their adversaries.  Excepting the few white men in charge of the Coeur d'Alene Mission, none of their race remained on the field of their operations to tell the coming settler of the things they did.  And when in after years the settler arrived the physical evidences of combat had been almost obliterated.

      Meager and unauthenticated details of the story gained circulation among the early pioneers and were by them rehearsed from memory to those who came after them.

      This volume, the result of long research, was primarily suggested through a lingering love of the pioneer days.  The pleasures that were woven into the thin mesh of early day society and the occupations of those first citizens, as well as the hardships and privations which came into the country hand in 'hand with the pioneer himself, are matters that have frequently passed in review of the writer's memory.  They are of a period which of itself constitutes an important epoch.  From meditation upon these things has emanated the desire to place in the hands of the people the facts of the events which made it possible to settle and develop this great, rich section of country in unbroken peace of the time just beyond the real pioneer.

      In the preparation of the work, the writer acknowledges grateful appreciation of the assistance of Mrs. Nannie Steptoe Eldridge, Lynchburg, Va., sister of Colonel E. J. Steptoe; Brig.-Gen. David McM. Gregg (Lieutenant with Colonel Steptoe), Reading, Pa., who, besides offering valuable suggestions as to original sources of information, kindly gave the manuscript of the chapters covering Colonel Steptoe's expedition a critical reading; Mrs. Mae D. Taylor Clark, Cincinnati, Ohio, daughter of Captain O. H. P. Taylor; Mrs. Bronson and Miss Mary G. Hawks, Summit, N. J., cousins of Lieutenant Wm. Gaston; H. N. Fleming, Erie, Pa., son of Major (Lieutenant with Colonel Steptoe) Hugh B. Fleming; Hugh Lyon, Crider, Ky., son of Brig.-Gen. (Lieutenant with Colonel Wright) Hylan B. Lyon; Mrs. Edith Coventry, Henley-on-Thames, England, daughter of Colonel (Lieutenant with Colonel Wright) Lawrence Kip; Lieutenant Charles Braden, West Point, Secretarv Association of Graduates, U. S. M. A.; Captain John Mullan, Washington, D. C.; General (Lieutenant with Colonel Wright) Michael R. Morgan, Minneapolis, Minn.; Hon. Wesley L. Jones, U. S. Senator, State of Washington, through whose assistance he was enabled to procure a large part of the official documents consulted and which have been extensively quoted; John O'Neill, J. J. Rohn and Thomas Beall, survivors of the Steptoe-Wright campaign whom he has personally consulted. He has also been kindly
permitted to quote from the Journal of The Military Service Institution, Governor's Island, N. Y., and has taken the liberty of quoting largely from Lieutenant Lawrence Kip's valuable journal, "Army Life on the Pacific," printed soon after Colonel Wright's expedition, copies of which are now extremely difficult to find.

      The writer has not striven for literary distinction, but rather for the object of assembling the details of the consecutive events which total the history of the expeditions, and if that be approved he will feel that the task, which has been one of pleasure, will not have been in vain.

BENJAMIN F. MANRING.
                              Garfield, Wash.,
                                    Aug. 1st, 1911.

________________________

Thursday, March 29, 2012

PINE CANYON

from The Wenatchee World, Thursday, March 29, 2012

Old news
by Linda Barta
Librarian and News Assistant

PINE CANYON: Convict labor from the state penitentiary built the first Pine Canyon road from Orondo to Waterville in 1915-17. It was about five miles long, 30 feet wide, with a maximum grade of five percent. The new section branched off the original Corbaley Canyon road. Pine Canyon road was rebuilt in 1949-50 and in the late 1960s.


The trip through Pine Canyon to and from Waterville can still be an adventure, but it's nothing like it was in this photo.

MILLER, DIAN LEE 1953-2012

Dian Lee Miller (10/08/1953 - 03/21/2012) (Age 58)

Passed March 21, 2012 at Central Washington Hospital, Wenatchee.

Born October 8, 1953 in Chelan, Washington to Lee Merchant and Bessie Marie "Todd" Merchant. Three sisters: Marjorie Smith, Rose Davis and Linda Curran. Two sons: Zachary, (Stephanie [Smith] Borst and James, (Luz [Barela]) Borst. Two grandchildren from Zach and Stephanie: Michale James Lee and Danielle Bess-Marie Borst.

Dian began working before eighteen at E & F Recreation, "Einers" and continued at Dry Falls Cafe in Coulee City. Later she worked at Galfanos' and Bills' Chinese in Ephrata. At McKay Memorial Dian earned her CNA and later became an in home provider for Beneficial Home Care. As a baker she excelled at cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookies and enjoyed helping Carmon Cunningham in Catering.

Most of all Dian loved to be of service and a help to others, and enjoyed making people happy. Her smile was one of a kind and had a way of changing your day and making you just feel good when you saw her smiling at you.

The family appreciates the many friends who visited and encouraged her while she was ill. Jim Weed will officiate at the Kingdom Hall, 960 2nd Ave. SE, Ephrata, Washington on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 2:00 PM. Reception will be held at the Alberti Lodge, 145 Hwy 28 West in Lakeview. Please express your thoughts and memories at http://www.nicolesfuneralhome.com./

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

CCHS CLASS OF '65


____________

1964        HIGH SCHOOL INDEX        1966
____________

____________



Connie Ellen Adams
Michael Gray Bach




















John Edward Baier
Nancy Beth Bise




















Wayne Wallace Bolyard
Mary Ann Borst




















Alvina Kaye Bramhall
Cheryl Marjorie Brewer




















Duane Lee Brown
David Gilbert Davis, Jr.




















Jacky Lynn Davis
Peggy Jean Dorlarque




















Margery Phyllis Edgemon
Louise Mary Edwards




















Joseph Charles Gordon
Frederick C. Hurst




















Judith Ann Jensen
Susan Jane Johnson




















Frederick Gary Joplin
Kenneth Charles Kane




















Shirley Killingsworth
Rick N. Latterell




















Glenn C. Marsh
John L. McLean




















Marsha Jo Neihart
Eugene David Peterson




















June  Roberts
Doris Jean Schultz




















Christy Lee Tabert












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