FOUNDING OF SEATTLE AND INDIAN WAR.
The most astonishing change wrought in the aspect of nature by the
building of a city on Puget Sound is not the city itself but the
destruction of the primeval forest.
By the removal of the thick timber the country becomes unrecognizable;
replaced by thousands of buildings of brick, wood and stone, graded
streets, telephone and electric light systems, steam, electric and cable
railways and all the paraphernalia of modern civilization, the contrast
is very great. The same amount of energy and money expended in a
treeless, level country would probably have built a city three times as
large as Seattle.
In February, 1852, Bell, Boren and the Dennys located claims on the east
side of Elliott Bay. Others followed, but it was not until May, 1853,
that C. D. Boren and A. A. Denny filed the first plat of the town, named
for the noted chief, "Seattle." The second plat was filed shortly after
by D. S. Maynard. Maynard was a physician who did not at first depend on
the practice of his profession; perhaps the settlers were too vigorous
to require pills, powders and potions, at any rate he proposed to engage
in the business of packing salmon.
The settlers at Alki moved over to their claims in the spring of 1852,
some of them camping until they could build log cabins.
Finally all were well established and then began the hand to hand
conflict for possession of the ground. The mighty forest must yield to
fire and the ax; then from the deep bosom of the earth what bounty
arose!
The Indians proved efficient helpers, guides and workers in many ways.
One of the pioneers had three Indians to help him build his cabin.
To speak more particularly of the original architecture of the country,
the cabins, built usually of round logs of the Douglas fir, about six
inches in diameter, were picturesque, substantial and well suited to the
needs of the pioneer. A great feature of the Seattle cabin was the door
made of thick boards hewed out of the timber as there was no sawmill on
the bay until H. L. Yesler built the first steam sawmill erected on the
Sound. This substantial door was cut across in the middle with a
diagonal joint; the lower half was secured by a stout wooden pin, in
order that the upper half might be opened and the "wa-wa" (talk) proceed
with the native visitor, who might or might not be friendly, while he
stood on the outside of the door and looked in with eager curiosity, on
the strange ways of the "Bostons."
The style of these log cabins was certainly admirable, adapted as they
were to the situation of the settler. They were inexpensive as the
material was plentiful and near at hand, and required only energy and
muscle to construct them; there were no plumber's, gas or electric light
bills coming in every month, no taxes for improvements and a man could
build a lean-to or hay-shed without a building permit. The interiors
were generally neat, tasteful and home-like, made so by the versatile
pioneer women who occupied them.
These primitive habitations were necessarily scattered as it was
imperative that they should be placed so as to perfect the titles of the
donation claims. Sometimes two settlers were able to live near each
other when they held adjoining claims, others were obliged to live
several miles away from the main settlement and far from a neighbor, in
lonely, unprotected places.
What thoughts of the homes and friends they had left many weary leagues
behind, visited these lonely cabin dwellers!
The husband was engaged in clearing, slashing and burning log heaps,
cutting timber, hunting for game to supply the larder, or away on some
errand to the solitary neighbor's or distant settlement. Often, during
the livelong day the wife was alone, occupied with domestic toil, all of
which had to be performed by one pair of hands, with only primitive and
rude appliances; but there were no incompetent servants to annoy, social
obligations were few, fashion was remote and its tyranny unknown, in
short, many disagreeable things were lacking. The sense of isolation
was intensified by frequently recurring incidents in which the dangers
of pioneer life became manifest. The dark, mysterious forest might send
forth from its depths at any moment the menace of savage beast or
relentless man.
The big, grey, timber wolf still roamed the woods, although it soon
disappeared before the oncoming wave of invading settlers. Generally
quite shy, they required some unusual attraction to induce them to
display their voices.
On a dark winter night in 1853, the lonely cabin of D. T. and Louisa
Denny was visited by a pair of these voracious beasts, met to discuss
the remains of a cow, belonging to W. N. Bell, which had stuck fast
among some tree roots and died in the edge of the clearing. How they did
snarl and howl, making the woods and waters resound with their cries as
they greedily devoured the carcass. The pioneer couple who occupied the
cabin entered no objection and were very glad of the protection of the
solid walls of their primitive domicile. The next day, Mr. Denny, with
dog and gun, went out to hunt them but they had departed to some remote
region.
On another occasion the young wife lay sick and alone in the cabin above
mentioned and a good neighbor, Mrs. Sarah Bell, from her home a mile
away, came to see her, bringing some wild [A]pheasant's eggs the men had
found while cutting spars. While the women chatted, an Indian came and
stood idly looking in over the half-door and his companion lurked in the
brush near by.
[Footnote A: Ruffed grouse.]
John Kanem, a brother of the chief, Pat Kanem, afterward told the
occupants of the cabin that these Indians had divulged their intention
of murdering them in order to rob their dwelling, but abandoned the
project, giving as a reason that a "haluimi kloochman" (another or
unknown woman) was there and the man was away.
Surely a kind Providence watched over these unprotected ones that they
might in after years fulfill their destiny.
During the summer of 1855, before the Indian war, Mr. and Mrs. D. T.
Denny were living in a log cabin in the swale, an opening in the midst
of a heavy forest, on their donation claim, to which they had moved from
their first cabin on Elliott Bay.
Dr. Choush, an Indian medicine man, came along one day in a state of
ill-suppressed fury. He had just returned from a Government "potlatch"
at the Tulalip agency. In relating how they were cheated he said that
the Indians were presented with strips of blankets which had been torn
into narrow pieces about six or eight inches wide, and a little bit of
thread and a needle or two. The Indians thereupon traded among
themselves and pieced the strips together.
He was naturally angry and said menacingly that the white people were
few, their doors were thin and the Indians could easily break them in
and kill all the "Bostons."
All this could not have been very reassuring to the inmates of the
cabin; however they were uniformly kind to the natives and had many
friends among them.
Just before the outbreak a troop of Indians visited this cabin and their
bearing was so haughty that Mrs. Denny felt very anxious. When they
demanded "Klosh mika potlatch wapatoes," (Give us some potatoes) she
hurried out herself to dig them as quickly as possible that they might
have no excuse for displeasure, and was much relieved when they took
their departure. One Indian remained behind a long time but talked very
little. It is supposed that he thought of warning them of the intended
attack on the white settlement but was afraid to do so because of the
enmity against him that might follow among his own people.
Gov. Stevens had made treaties with the Indians to extinguish their
title to the lands of the Territory. Some were dissatisfied and stirred
up the others against the white usurpers. This was perfectly natural;
almost any American of whatever color resents usurpation.
Time would fail to recount the injuries and indignities heaped upon the
Indians by the evil-minded among the whites, who could scarcely have
been better than the same class among the natives they sought to
displace.
As subsequently appeared, there was a difference of opinion among the
natives as to the desirability of white settlements in their domain:
Leschi, Coquilton, Owhi, Kitsap, Kamiakin and Kanasket were determined
against them, while Sealth (Seattle) and Pat Kanem were peaceable and
friendly.
The former, shrewd chieftains, well knew that the white people coveted
their good lands.
One night before the war, a passing white man, David T. Denny, heard
Indians talking together in one of their "rancherees" or large houses;
they were telling how the white men knew that the lands belonging to
Tseiyuse and Ohwi, two great Yakima chiefs, were very desirable.
Cupidity, race prejudice and cruelty caused numberless injuries and
indignities against the Indians. In spite of all, there were those among
them who proved the faithful friends of the white race.
Hu-hu-bate-sute or "Salmon Bay Curley," a tall, hawk-nosed, eagle-eyed
Indian with very curly hair, was a staunch friend of the "Bostons."
Thlid Kanem or "Cut-Hand" sent Lake John Che-shi-a-hud to Shilshole to
inform this "Curley," who lived there, of the intended attack on
Seattle. Curley told Ira W. Utter, a white settler on Shilshole or
Salmon Bay, and brought him up to Seattle in his own canoe during the
night.
"Duwampsh Curley" or Su-whalth, appears in a very unfavorable light in
Bancroft's history. My authority, who speaks the native tongue fluently
and was a volunteer in active duty on the day of the battle of Seattle,
says it was not Curley who disported himself in the manner therein
described. I find this refreshing note pencilled on the margin: "Now
this is all a lie about Curley."
Curley rendered valuable assistance on the day of the fight. D. T. Denny
saw him go on a mission down the bay at the request of the navy
officers, to ascertain the position of the hostiles in the north part of
the town.
"Old Mose" or Show-halthlk brought word to Seattle of the approach of
the hostile bands in January, 1856.
But I seem to anticipate and hasten to refer again to the daily life of
the Founders of Seattle.
Trade here, as at Alki, consisted in cutting piles, spars and timber to
load vessels for San Francisco. These ships brought food supplies and
merchandise, the latter often consisting of goods, calicoes, blankets,
shawls and tinware, suitable for barter with the Indians to whom the
settlers still looked for a number of articles of food.
Bread being the staff of life to the white man, the supply of flour was
a matter of importance. In the winter of 1852 this commodity became so
scarce, from the long delay of ships carrying it, that the price became
quite fancy, reaching forty dollars per barrel. Pork likewise became a
costly luxury; A. A. Denny relates that he paid ninety dollars for two
barrels and when by an untoward fate one of the barrels of the precious
meat was lost it was regarded as a positive calamity.
Left on the beach out of reach of high tide, it was supposed to be safe,
but during the night it was carried away by the waves that swept the
banks under the high wind. At the next low tide which came also at
night, the whole settlement turned out and searched the beach, with
pitchwood torches, from the head of the Bay to Smith's Cove, but found
no trace of the missing barrel of pork.
An extenuating circumstance was the fact that a large salmon might be
purchased for a brass button, while red flannel, beads, knives and other
"ictas" (things) were legal tender for potatoes, venison, berries and
clams.
Domestic animals were few; I do not know if there was a sheep, pig or
cow, and but few chickens, on Elliott Bay at the beginning of the year
1852.
As late as 1859, Charles Prosch relates that he paid one dollar and a
half for a dozen eggs and the same price for a pound of butter.
There were no roads, only a few trails through the forest; a common mode
of travel was to follow the beach, the traveler having to be especially
mindful of the tide as the banks are so abrupt in many places that at
high tide the shore is impassable. The Indian canoe was pressed into
service whenever possible.
Very gradually ways through the forest were tunneled out and made
passable, by cutting the trees and grubbing the larger stumps, but small
obstructions were disdained and anything that would escape a wagon-bed
was given peaceable possession.
Of the original settlement, J. N. Low and family remained at Alki.
D. T. and Louisa Denny, who were married at the cabin home of A. A.
Denny, January 23rd, 1853, moved themselves and few effects in a canoe
to their cabin on the front of their donation claim, the habitation
standing on the spot for many years occupied by numerous "sweetbrier"
bushes, grown from seeds planted by the first bride of Seattle.
Stern realities confronted them; a part of the time they were out of
flour and had no bread for days; they bought fish of the Indians, which,
together with game from the forest, brought down by the rifle of the
pioneer, made existence possible.
And then, too, the pioneer housewife soon became a shrewd searcher for
indigenous articles of food. Among these were nettle greens gathered in
the woods.
In their season the native berries were very acceptable; the
salmonberry ripening early in June; dewberries and red and black
huckleberries were plentiful in July and August.
The first meal partaken of in this cabin consisted of salt meat from a
ship's stores and potatoes. They afterward learned to make a whole meal
of a medium sized salmon with potatoes, the fragments remaining not
worth mention.
The furniture of their cabin was meager, a few chairs from a ship, a
bedstead made of fir poles and a ship's stove were the principle
articles. One window without glass but closed by a wooden shutter with
the open upper half-door served to light it in the daytime, while the
glimmer of a dog-fish-oil lamp was the illumination at night.
The stock consisted of a single pair of chickens, a wedding present from
D. S. Maynard. The hen set under the door-step and brought out a fine
brood of chicks. The rooster soon took charge of them, scratched, called
and led them about in the most motherly manner, while the hen,
apparently realizing the fact that she was literally a rara avis
prepared to bring out another brood.
Mr. and Mrs. D. T. Denny while visiting their friends at Alki on one
occasion witnessed a startling scene.
An Indian had come to trade, "Old Alki John," and a misunderstanding
appears to have arisen about the price of a sack of flour. The women,
seated chatting at one end of the cabin, were chilled with horror to see
the white man, his face pale with anger and excitement, raise an ax as
if to strike the Indian, who had a large knife, such as many of them
wore suspended from the wrist by a cord; the latter, a tall and brawny
fellow, regarded him with a threatening look.
Fortunately no blow was struck and the white man gradually lowered the
ax and dropped it on the floor. The Indian quietly departed, much to
their relief, as a single blow would likely have resulted in a bloody
affray and the massacre of all the white people.
At that time there were neither jails, nor courthouse, no churches, but
one sawmill, no steamboats, railways or street cars, not even a rod of
wagon road in King County, indeed all the conveniences of modern
civilization were wanting.
There were famous, historic buildings erected and occupied, other than
the cabin homes; the most notable of these was Fort Decatur.
The commodious blockhouse so named after the good sloop-of-war that
rescued the town of Seattle from the hostiles, stood on an eminence at
the end of Cherry Street overlooking the Bay. At this time there were
about three hundred white inhabitants.
The hewn timbers of this fort were cut by D. T. Denny and two others, on
the front of the donation claim, and hauled out on the beach ready to
load a ship for San Francisco, but ultimately served a very different
purpose from the one first intended.
The mutterings of discontent among the Indians portended war and the
settlers made haste to prepare a place of refuge. The timbers were
dragged up the hill by oxen and many willing hands promptly put them in
place; hewn to the line, the joints were close and a good shingle roof
covered the building, to which were added two bastions of sawed stuff
from Yesler's mill. D. T. Denny remembers the winter was a mild one, and
men went about without coats, otherwise "in their shirtsleeves." While
they were building the fort, the U. S. Sloop-of-war _Decatur_, sailed up
the Bay with a fair breeze, came to anchor almost directly opposite,
swung around and fired off the guns, sixteen thirty-two-pounders, making
thunderous reverberations far and wide, a sweet sound to the settlers.
Several of the too confident ones laughed and scoffed at the need of a
fort while peace seemed secure. One of these doubters was told by Mrs.
Louisa Denny that the people laughed at Noah when he built the ark, and
it transpired that a party was obliged to bring this objector and his
family into the fort from their claim two miles away, after dark of the
night before the battle.
A few nights before the attack, a false alarm sent several settlers out
in fluttering nightrobes, cold, moonlight and frosty though it was. Mr.
Hillory Butler and his wife, Mrs. McConaha and her children calling to
the former "Wait for me." It is needless to say that Mr. Butler waited
for nobody until he got inside the fort.
The excitement was caused by the shooting of Jack Drew, a deserter from
the Decatur. He was instantly killed by a boy of fifteen, alone with his
sister whom he thus bravely defended. This was Milton Holgate and the
weapon a shotgun, the charge of which took effect in the wanderer's
face. As the report rang out through the still night air it created a
panic throughout the settlement.
A family living on the eastern outskirts of the village at the foot of a
hill were driven in and their house burned. The men had been engaged in
tanning leather and had quite a number of hides on hand that must have
enriched the flames. The owners had ridiculed the idea that there was
danger of an Indian attack and would not assist in building the fort,
scoffed at the man-of-war in the harbor and were generally contemptuous
of the whole proceeding. However, when fired on by the Indians they fled
precipitately to the fort they had scorned. One of them sank down,
bareheaded, breathless and panting on a block of wood inside the fort in
an exceedingly subdued frame of mind to the great amusement of the
soldiery, both Captain and men.
The first decided move of the hostiles was the attack on the White River
settlers, burning, killing and destroying as is the wont of a savage
foe.
Joe Lake, a somewhat eccentric character, had one of the hairbreadth
escapes fall to his share of the terrible times. He was slightly wounded
in an attack on the Cox home on White River. Joe was standing in the
open door when an Indian not far away from the cabin, seeing him, held
his ramrod on the ground for a rest, placed his gun across it and fired
at Joe; the bullet penetrated the clothing and just grazed his shoulder.
A man inside the cabin reached up for a gun which hung over the door;
the Indian saw the movement and guessing its purpose made haste to
depart.
The occupants of the Cox residence hurriedly gathered themselves and
indispensable effects, and embarking in a canoe, with energetic
paddling, aided by the current, sped swiftly down the river into the Bay
and safely reached the fort.
Beside the Decatur, a solitary sailing vessel, the Bark Brontes, was
anchored in the harbor.
Those to engage in the battle were the detachments of men from the
Decatur, under Lieutenants Drake, Hughes, Morris and Phelps, ninety-six
men and eighteen marines, leaving a small number on board.
A volunteer three months' company of settlers of whom C. C. Hewitt was
Captain, Wm. Gilliam, First Lieutenant, D. T. Denny, Corporal and Robert
Olliver, Sergeant, aided in the defense.
A number of the settlers had received friendly warning and were
expecting the attack, some having made as many as three removals from
their claims, each time approaching nearer to the fort.
Mr. and Mrs. D. T. Denny forsook their cabin in the wilderness and spent
an anxious night at the home of W. N. Bell, which was a mile or more
from the settlement, and the following day moved in to occupy a house
near A. A. Denny's, where the Frye block now stands. From thence they
moved again to a little frame house near the fort.
Yoke-Yakeman, an Indian who had worked for A. A. Denny and was nicknamed
"Denny Jim," played an important part as a spy in a council of the
hostiles and gave the warning to Captain Gansevoort of the Decatur of
the impending battle.
Mr. and Mrs. Blaine, the pioneer M. E. minister, and his wife, who was
the first school teacher of Seattle, went on board the man-of-war on
the 22nd of January, 1856, with their infant son, from their home
situated where the Boston Block now stands.
On the morning of the 26th, while not yet arisen, she was urging her
husband to get a boat so that she might go ashore; he demurred,
parleying, with his hand upon the doorknob. Just then they heard the
following dialogue:
Mr. H. L. Yesler (who had come aboard in some haste): "Captain, a
klootchman says there are lots of Indians back of Tom Pepper's
house."
Captain Gansevoort (who was lying in his berth): "John bring me
my boots."
H. L. Yesler: "Never mind Captain, just send the lieutenant with
the howitzer."
Captain G.: "No sir! Where my men go, I go too John bring me my
boots."
And thus the ball opened; a shell was dropped in the neighborhood of
"Tom Pepper's house" with the effect to arouse the whole horde of
savages, perhaps a thousand, gathered in the woods back of the town.
Unearthly yells of Indians and brisk firing of musketry followed; the
battle raged until noon, when there was a lull.
A volume of personal experiences might be written, but I will give here
but a few incidents. To a number of the settlers who were about
breakfasting, it was a time of breathless terror; they must flee for
their lives to the fort. The bullets from unseen foes whistled over
their heads and the distance traversed to the fort was the longest
journey of their lives. It was remembered afterward that some very
amusing things took place in the midst of fright and flight. One man,
rising late and not fully attired, donned his wife's red flannel
petticoat instead of the bifurcated garment that usually graced his
limbs. The "pants" were not handy and the petticoat was put on in a
trice.
Louisa Boren Denny, my mother, was alone with her child about two years
old, in the little frame house, a short distance from the fort. She was
engaged in baking biscuits when hearing the shots and yells of the
Indians she looked out to see the marines from the Decatur swarming up
out of their boats onto Yesler's wharf and concluded it was best to
retire in good order. With provident foresight she snatched the pan from
the oven and turned the biscuits into her apron, picked up the child,
Emily Inez Denny, with her free hand and hurried out, leaving the
premises to their fate. Fortunately her husband, David T. Denny, who had
been standing guard, met her in the midst of the flying bullets and
assisted her, speedily, into the friendly fort.
A terrible day it was for all those who were called upon to endure the
anxiety and suspense that hovered within those walls; perhaps the moment
that tried them most was when the report was circulated that all would
be burned alive as the Indians would shoot arrows carrying fire on the
roof of cedar shingles or heap combustibles against the walls near the
ground and thus set fire to the building. To prevent the latter
maneuver, the walls were banked with earth all around.
But the Indians kept at a respectful distance, the rifle-balls and
shells were not to their taste and it is not their way to fight in the
open.
A tragic incident was the death of Milton Holgate. Francis McNatt, a
tall man, stood in the door of the fort with one hand up on the frame
and Jim Broad beside him; Milton Holgate stood a little back of McNatt,
and the bullet from a savage's gun passed either over or under the
uplifted arm of McNatt, striking the boy between the eyes.
Quite a number of women and children were taken on board the two ships
in the harbor, but my mother remained in the fort.
The battle was again renewed and fiercely fought in the afternoon.
Toward evening the Indians prepared to burn the town, but a brisk
dropping of shells from the big guns of the Decatur dispersed them and
they departed for cooler regions, burning houses on the outskirts of the
settlement as they retreated toward the Duwamish River.
[Illustration: INDIAN CANOES SAILING WITH NORTH WIND]
Leschi, the leader, threatened to return in a month with his bands and
annihilate the place. In view of other possible attacks, a second block
house was built and the forest side of the town barricaded.
Fort Decatur was a two-story building, forty feet square; the upper
story was partitioned off into small rooms, where a half dozen or more
families lived until it was safe or convenient to return to their
distant homes. Each had a stove on which to cook, and water was carried
from a well inside the stockade.
There were a number of children thus shut in, who enlivened the grim
walls with their shifting shadows, awakened mirth by their playfulness
or touched the hearts of their elders by their pathos.
Like a ray of sunlight in a gloomy interior was little Sam Neely, a
great pet, a sociable, affectionate little fellow, visiting about from
corner to corner, always sure of attention and a kindly welcome. The
marines from the man-of-war spoiled him without stint. One of the
Sergeants gave his mother a half worn uniform, which she skilfully
re-made, gold braid, buttons and all, for little Sam. How proud he was,
with everybody calling him the "Little Sergeant"; whenever he approached
a loquacious group, some one was sure to say, "Well, Sergeant, what's
the news?"
When the day came for the Neely family to move out of the fort, his
mother was very busy and meals uncertain.
He finally appealed to a friend, who had before proven herself capable
of sympathy, for something to appease his gnawing hunger, and she
promptly gave him a bowl of bread and milk. Down he sat and ate with
much relish; as he drained the last drop he observed, "I was just so
hungry, I didn't know how hungry I was."
Poor little Sam was drowned in the Duwampsh River the same year, and
buried on its banks.
Laura Bell, a little girl of perhaps ten years, during her stay in the
fort exhibited the courage and constancy characterizing even the
children in those troublous times.
She did a great part of the work for the family, cared for her younger
sisters, prepared and carried food to her sick mother who was heard to
say with tender gratitude, "Your dear little hands have brought me
almost everything I have had." Both have passed into the Beyond; one who
remembers Laura well says she was a beautiful, bright, rosy cheeked
child, pleasant to look upon.
In unconscious childhood I was carried into Fort Decatur, on the morning
of the battle, yet by careful investigation it has been satisfactorily
proven that one lasting impression was recorded upon the palimpsest of
my immature mind.
A shot was accidentally fired from a gun inside the fort, by which a
palefaced, dark haired lady narrowly escaped death. The bullet passed
through a loop of her hair, below the ear, just beside the white neck.
Her hair was dressed in an old fashioned way, parted in the middle on
the forehead and smoothly brushed down over the ears, divided and
twisted on each side and the two ropes of hair coiled together at the
back of the head. Like a flashlight photograph, her face is imprinted on
my memory, nothing before or after for sometime can I claim to recall.
A daughter, the second child of David T. and Louisa Denny, was born in
Fort Decatur on the sixteenth of March, 1856, who lived to mature into a
gifted and gracious womanhood and passed away from earth in Christian
faith and hope on January seventeenth, 1889.
Other children who remained in the fort for varying periods, were those
of the Jones, Kirkland, Lewis, McConaha and Boren families.
Of the number of settlers who occupied the fort on the day of the
battle, the following are nearly, if not quite all, the families: Wm. N.
Bell, Mrs. Bell and several young children; John Buckley and Mrs.
Buckley; D. A. Neely and family, one of whom was little Sam Neely spoken
of elsewhere; Mr. and Mrs. Hillory Butler, gratefully remembered as the
best people in the settlement to visit and help the sick; the Holgates,
Mrs. and Miss Holgate, Lemuel Holgate, and Milton Holgate who was
killed; Timothy Grow, B. L. Johns and six children, whose mother died on
the way to Puget Sound; Joe Lake, the Kirkland family, father and
several daughters; Wm. Cox and family and D. T. Denny and family.
During the Indian war, H. L. Yesler took Yoke-Yakeman, or "Denny Jim,"
the friendly Indian before mentioned, with him across Lake Washington to
the hiding place of the Sammumpsh Indians who were aiding the hostiles.
Yesler conferred with them and succeeded in persuading the Indians to
come out of their retreat and go across the Sound.
While returning, Denny Jim met with an accident which resulted fatally.
Intending to shoot some ducks, he drew his shotgun toward him, muzzle
first, and discharged it, the load entering his arm, making a flesh
wound. Through lack of skill, perhaps, in treating it, he died from the
effects, in Curley's house situated on the slope in front of Fort
Decatur toward the Bay.
This Indian and the service he rendered should not be forgotten; the
same may be appropriately said of the faithful Spokane of whom the
following account has been given by eye witnesses:
"At the attack of the Cascades of the Columbia, on the 26th of
March, 1856, the white people took refuge in Bradford's store, a
log structure near the river. Having burned a number of other
buildings, the Indians, Yakimas and Klickitats, attempted to fire
the store also; as fast as the shingles were ignited by burning
missiles in the hands of the Indians, the first was put out by
pouring brine from a pork barrel, with a tin cup, on the
incipient blazes, not being able to get any water.
"The occupants, some wounded, suffered for fresh water, having
only some ale and whisky. They hoped to get to the river at
night, but the Indians illuminated the scene by burning
government property and a warehouse.
"James Sinclair, who was shot and instantly killed early in the
fight, had brought a Spokane Indian with him. This Indian
volunteered to get water for the suffering inmates. A slide used
in loading boats was the only chance and he stripped off his
clothing, slid down to the river and returned with a bucket of
water. This was made to last until the 28th, when, the enemy
remaining quiet the Spokane repeated the daring performance of
going down the slide and returning with a pailful of water, with
great expedition, until he had filled two barrels, a feat
deserving more than passing mention."
On Elliott Bay, the cabins of the farther away settlers had gone up in
smoke, fired by the hostile Indians. Some were deserted and new ones
built far away from the Sound in the depths of the forest. It required
great courage to return to their abandoned homes from the security of
the fort, yet doubtless the settlers were glad to be at liberty after
their enforced confinement. One pioneer woman says it was easy to see
_Indians_ among the stumps and trees around their cabin after the war.
Many remained in the settlement, others left the country for safer
regions, while a few cultivated land under volunteer military guard in
order to provide the settlement with vegetables.
The Yesler mill cookhouse, a log structure, was made historical in those
days. The hungry soldiers after a night watch were fed there and rushed
therefrom to the battle.
While there was no church, hotel, storehouse, courthouse or jail it was
all these by turns. No doubt those who were sheltered within its walls,
ran the whole gamut of human emotion and experience.
In the PUGET SOUND WEEKLY of July 30th, 1866, published in Seattle, it
was thus described:
"There was nothing about this cook house very peculiar, except
the interest with which old memories had invested it. It was
simply a dingy-looking hewed log building, about twenty-five feet
square, a little more than one story high, with a shed addition
in the rear, and to strangers and newcomers was rather an
eye-sore and nuisance in the place--standing as it did in the
business part of the town, among the more pretentious buildings
of modern construction, like a quaint octogenarian, among a band
of dandyish sprigs of young America. To old settlers, however,
its weather-worn roof and smoke-blackened walls, inside and out,
were vastly interesting from long familiarity, and many pleasant
and perhaps a few unpleasant recollections were connected with
its early history, which we might make subjects of a small volume
of great interest, had we time to indite it. Suffice it to say,
however, that this old cook house was one among the first
buildings erected in Seattle; was built for the use of the saw
mill many years since, and though designed especially for a cook
house, has been used for almost every conceivable purpose for
which a log cabin, in a new and wild country, may be employed.
"For many years the only place for one hundred miles or more
along the eastern shores of Puget Sound, where the pioneer
settlers could be hospitably entertained by white men and get a
square meal, was Yesler's cook house in Seattle, and whether he
had money or not, no man ever found the latch string of the cook
house drawn in, or went away hungry from the little cabin door;
and many an old Puget Sounder remembers the happy hours, jolly
nights, strange encounters and wild scenes he has enjoyed around
the broad fireplace and hospitable board of Yesler's cook house.
"During the Indian war this building was the general rendezvous
of the volunteers engaged in defending the thinly populated
country against the depredations of the savages, and was also the
resort of the navy officers on the same duty on the Sound. Judge
Lander's office was held in one corner of the dining room; the
auditor's office, for some time, was kept under the same roof,
and, indeed, it may be said to have been used for more purposes
than any other building on the Pacific coast. It was the general
depository from which law and justice were dispensed throughout a
large scope of surrounding country. It has, at different times,
served for town hall, courthouse, jail, military headquarters,
storehouse, hotel and church; and in the early years of its
history served all these purposes at once. It was the place of
holding elections, and political parties of all sorts held their
meetings in it, and quarreled and made friends again, and ate,
drank, laughed, sung, wept, and slept under the same hospitable
roof. If there was to be a public gathering of the settlers of
any kind and for any purpose, no one ever asked where the place
of meeting was to be, for all knew it was to be at the cook
house.
"The first sermon, by a Protestant, in King county was preached
by the Rev. Mr. Close in the old cook house. The first
lawsuit--which was the trial of the mate of the Franklin Adams,
for selling ship's stores and appropriating the proceeds--came
off, of course, in the old cook house. Justice Maynard presided
at this trial, and the accused was discharged from the old cook
house with the wholesome advice that in future he should be
careful to make a correct return of all his private sales of
other people's property.
"Who, then, knowing the full history of this famous old relic of
early times, can wonder that it has so long been suffered to
stand and moulder, unused, in the midst of the more gaudy
surroundings of a later civilization? And who can think it
strange, when, at last, its old smoky walls were compelled to
yield to the pressure of progression, and be tumbled heedlessly
into the street, that the old settler looked sorrowfully upon the
vandal destruction, and silently dropped a tear over its leveled
ruins. Peace to the ashes of the old cook house."
While the pioneers lingered in the settlement, they enjoyed the luxury
of living in houses of sawed lumber. Time has worked out his revenges
until what was then disesteemed is much admired now. A substantial and
picturesque lodge of logs, furnished with modern contrivances is now
regarded as quite desirable, for summer occupation at least.
The struggle of the Indians to regain their domain resulted in many
sanguinary conflicts. The bloody wave of war ran hither and yon until
spent and the doom of the passing race was sealed.
Seattle and the whole Puget Sound region were set back ten years in
development. Toilsome years they were that stretched before the
pioneers. They and their families were obliged to do whatever they could
to obtain a livelihood; they were neither ashamed nor afraid of honest
work and doubtless enjoyed the reward of a good conscience and vigorous
health.
Life held many pleasures and much freedom from modern fret besides. As
one of them observed, "We were happy then, in our log cabin homes."
Long after the incidents herein related occurred, one of the survivors
of the White River massacre wrote the following letter, which was
published in a local paper:
"Burgh Hill, Ohio, Sept. 8.--I notice occasionally a pioneer
sketch in the Post-Intelligencer relating some incident in the
war of 1855-56. I have a vivid recollection of this, being a
member of one of the families concerned therein. I remember
distinctly the attack upon the fort at Seattle in January, 1856.
Though a child, the murdering of my mother and step-father by the
Indians a few weeks before made such an impression upon my mind
that I was terror-stricken at the thought of another massacre,
and the details are indelibly and most vividly fixed in my mind.
When I read of the marvelous growth of Seattle I can hardly
realize that it is possible. I add my mite to the pioneer history
of Seattle and vicinity.
"I was born in Harrison township, Grant county, Wisconsin,
November 13, 1848. When I was five months old my father started
for the gold diggings in California, but died shortly after
reaching that state. In the early part of 1851 my mother married
Harvey Jones. In the spring of 1854 we started for Washington
territory, overland, reaching our destination on White river in
the fall, having been six months and five days in making the
trip. Our route lay through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho,
Oregon and Washington territory. To speak in detail of all my
recollections of this journey would make this article too
lengthy.
"My step-father took up land on White river some twenty miles up
the stream from Seattle. At that time there were only five or six
families in the settlement, the nearest neighbor to us being
about one-fourth mile distant. During the summer of 1855 I went
some two and a half miles to school along a path through the
dense woods in danger both from wild animals and Indians. Some of
the settlers became alarmed at reports of hostile intentions by
the Indians upon our settlement and left some two weeks before
the outbreak. Among those who thought their fears groundless and
remained was our family.
"On Sunday morning, October 28, 1855, while at breakfast we were
surprised, and the house surrounded by a band of hostile Indians,
who came running from the grass and bushes, whooping and
discharging firearms. They seemed to rise from the ground so
sudden and stealthy had been the attack. Our family consisted of
my step-father (sick at the time), my mother, a half-sister, not
quite four years old, a half-brother, not quite two, a hired
man, Cooper by name, and myself.
"As soon as the Indians began firing into the house my mother
covered us children over with a feather bed in the corner of one
of the rooms farthest from the side attacked. In a short time it
became evident we were entirely at the mercy of the savages, and
after a hurried consultation between my mother and the hired man,
he concluded to attempt to escape by flight; accordingly he came
into the room where I was, and with an ax pried off the casing of
the window and removed the lower sash, and then jumped out, but
as was afterward learned he was shot when only a few rods from
the house.
"My step-father was shot about the same time inside the house
while passing from his room to the one in which my mother was. In
a short time there appeared to be a cessation of the firing, and
upon looking out from under the bed over us I saw an Indian in
the next room carrying something out. Soon we were taken out by
them. I did not see my mother. We were placed in the charge of
the leader of the band who directed them in their actions. They
put bedclothes and other combustible articles under the house and
set fire to them, and in this way burned the house. When it was
well nigh burned to the ground, we were led away by one of the
tribe, who in a short time allowed us to go where we pleased. I
first went to the nearest neighbor's, but all was confusion, and
no one was about. I then came back to the burned house.
"I found my mother a short distance from the house, or where it
had stood, still alive. She warned me to leave speedily and soon.
I begged to stay with her but she urged me to flee. We made a
dinner of some potatoes which had been baked by the fire. I
carried my little half-brother and led my half-sister along the
path to where I had gone to school during the summer, but there
was no one there. I went still further on, but they, too, had
gone. I came back to the school house, not knowing what to do. It
was getting late. I was tired, as was my sister. My little
brother was fretful, and cried to see his mother. I had carried
him some three and a half or four miles altogether.
"While trying to quiet them I saw an Indian coming toward us. He
had not seen us. I hid the children in the bushes and moved
toward him to meet him. I soon had the relief to recognize in him
an acquaintance I had often seen while attending school. We knew
him as Dave. He told me to bring the children to his wigwam. His
squaw was very kind, but my sister and brother were afraid of
her. In the night he took us in a canoe down the river to
Seattle. I was taken on board the man-of-war, Decatur, and they
were placed in charge of some one in the fort. An uncle, John
Smale, had crossed the plains when we did, but went to
California. He was written to about the massacre, and reached us
in June, 1856. We went to San Francisco and then to the Isthmus,
and from there we went to New York city. From there we were taken
to Wisconsin, where my sister and brother remained. I was brought
back to Ohio in September, 1856. They both died in October, 1864,
of diphtheria, in Wisconsin."
"JOHN I. KING, M. D."