LEGISLATIVE CENSURE.--POPULAR VINDICATION
The family remained in Olympia during this year of Indian troubles. The
children attended the public school, and found kind and judicious
teachers in the Rev. George F. Whitworth and his estimable wife. Mrs.
Stevens, escorted by her son, frequently rode on horseback over the
neighboring prairies, heedlessly running a greater peril than they knew
of, for the Indians murdered two men and committed depredations quite
near the town. There was not much social gayety at such an anxious time,
but the little community were drawn closer together by the dangers
surrounding it.
When not absent on his trips, the governor usually worked in his office
till long after midnight, and his assistants and clerks were kept hard
at it to dispose of the multifarious orders, reports, accounts, and
other details of the war and the Indian service. He kept both the War
and Indian departments in Washington constantly informed of the progress
of the war and the condition of affairs by frequent detailed and graphic
reports, and these, with his correspondence, made a volume of four
hundred pages as published with his message of 1857. His physical labors
were also extreme, involving journeys to the Columbia River, the Dalles,
Walla Walla, and down the Sound, aggregating over two thousand miles.
And it should be borne in mind that he was not assisted by any regularly
long established and tried services, but had in a measure to create the
organizations, and to make use of hastily selected and inexperienced
officers. He had by this time fully adopted the rough, serviceable
costume of the country,--slouch hat, woolen shirt, and heavy
riding-boots,--and, indeed, no other garb was practicable for one so
constantly engaged on long and arduous journeys by horseback and canoe,
frequently in stormy weather.
[Illustration: HOMESTEAD IN OLYMPIA]
In the summer and fall the governor caused his block of land No. 84,
which he purchased on his first arrival, to be cleared, and the late
Benjamin Harned built for him a plain, square dwelling, with a wide hall
in the centre and rooms on either side, a story and a half high. A
smaller building, for an office, on the northeast corner of the block,
and a stable in the rear on the southwest corner were also built. The
family moved into the new home in December, and found the spacious
rooms, with the magnificent view of the Sound and the Coast Range, a
most agreeable change from the former contracted quarters and noisy
surroundings.
The governor gave a house-warming, to which he invited the members of
the legislature, a number of naval officers, who happened to be in the
harbor, and about all the townspeople, including Elwood Evans and others
who had been unmeasured in their denunciation of his course.
The site of the residence had been covered with immense fir-trees, and
all within reach of the dwelling had to be felled to avoid danger of
their falling and crushing the house during some storm, which involved
the felling of the trees over an area of ten acres. But notwithstanding
all this care, one of these forest monarchs was left standing some
distance in front of the office, and the following winter fell directly
across it, cutting the building clear to the ground. The labor of
digging out the immense stumps was very great and expensive, and when
the governor, late in the winter, assured Colonel Cock and Mr. George A.
Barnes that he meant to have the finest garden in town the next spring,
and would send them the earliest vegetables, these old settlers laughed
in confident incredulity.
The governor was unable to follow up the improvement of the Taylor claim
this year, but John Dunn, the hired man, and Hazard, now an active lad
of fourteen, rode out there from time to time and planted and raised
quite a crop of potatoes, celery, cabbages, etc., on the beaver meadow,
which also afforded several tons of hay.
The legislature met in December, and Governor Stevens, in a strong
message, accompanied by the correspondence with the War Department and
military officers, rendered a clear and graphic account of his
successful prosecution of the war. In view of his herculean labors and
entire self-devotion, and the outrageous abuse heaped upon him, the
concluding paragraph is touching in its manly simplicity and
confidence:--
"I have endeavored faithfully to do my whole duty, and have nothing
to reproach myself with as regards intention. I could have wished
some things had been done more wisely, and that my whole course had
been guided by my present experience. I claim at your hands simply
the merit of patient and long labor, and of having been animated
with the fixed determination of suffering and enduring all things in
your behalf. Whether in the wilderness contending with the hostile
elements, managing and controlling the more hostile aborigines, or
exploring the country, or at the Capitol struggling with
disaffection, the subject of obloquy and abuse, I have had no end
but my duty, no reward in view but my country's good. It is for you
to judge how I have done my part, and for the Almighty Ruler to
allot each man his desert."
It was generally believed that the legislature, like the people, would
gladly recognize the great services of the governor, and do all in their
power to sustain him. But his political and personal enemies had been
very active, and had covertly secured a number of members, some of them
elected in the guise of pretended friends. From Whitby Island was chosen
an able but corrupt man, J.S. Smith, commonly known as "Carving Fork
Smith," from the current report that his too pressing advances towards a
married woman in Oregon had been repulsed with such an implement by the
insulted matron. This worthy called upon Governor Stevens at the
beginning of the session and proposed some deal, with the result that
the governor indignantly ordered him out of the office. Angered at this
repulse, he made common cause with the governor's enemies, and eagerly
sought means to attack and injure him. His general course in the
prosecution of the war, and even in the martial-law difficulty, was so
universally approved that it would be useless to assail him on that
score, but finally they concluded to make a handle of the dismissal of
Company A. Their object was to obtain some sort of legislative censure
of the governor in aid of the untiring and unscrupulous efforts they
were making for his removal. A resolution pronouncing the charge of
insubordination against Company A to be without sufficient foundation
and also a resolution condemning martial law were introduced, and by the
combination of the supporters of the two, and the strenuous efforts of
the governor's enemies, were passed by a bare majority.
A committee was appointed to present them to him in person, in order to
make the censure more emphatic and offensive. The governor received the
committee with his wonted dignity and equanimity. One of the members was
Colonel William Cock, whom the governor had always treated with
consideration, whose son he had befriended and employed in the Indian
service, and who had always professed a warm friendship for the
governor, and approval of his course. But Colonel Cock had been won
over by the conspirators by appeals to his vanity, and had allowed
himself to be placed on the committee. When it had delivered its
message, the governor, genuinely grieved at the defection of a friend,
addressed Colonel Cock in a quiet and friendly manner, pointing out how
he had stultified himself, repudiating his own sentiments and
declarations, endeavored to strike down the man who had done so much to
defend the country, and his own professed friend, and finally, against
his better feelings and judgment, had allowed himself to be made a tool
of as a member of the committee. Colonel Cock, realizing at last the
ignoble part he was playing, was thoroughly ashamed and took his leave,
expressing his regret and sorrow at his course. The remainder of the
committee sneaked out, feeling small and crestfallen. But the
conspirators were jubilant, making sure that this legislative censure,
coming on top of General Wool's attacks, the martial-law resolutions,
and the numerous secret affidavits sent on, would certainly cause the
governor's removal, and went about exclaiming, "Governor Stevens is a
dead lion at last."
After this deliverance, the legislature passed all the measures and
memorials that the governor recommended. Some of the members who voted
for the resolutions of censure regretted their action like Colonel Cock,
and all were soon compelled to cower and apologize before the
indignation which their action excited all over the Territory.
Everywhere the real people, the stalwart settlers, the men of worth and
character, were denouncing this underhanded and cowardly attempt to
misrepresent their sentiments, and strike down the man who had saved the
Territory in her peril and defended her fair fame against the slanders
of high officials, whose patriotic self-devotion and herculean labors
they had witnessed, whose courage, force of character, and ability they
admired, and whose leadership they were proud to follow. The people
were eager to manifest their approval and support of Governor Stevens,
and in response to this sentiment the Democratic convention, meeting at
Cowlitz Landing, unanimously nominated him for delegate in Congress.
Meantime the governor, least disturbed of all at the unjust but impotent
censure, enjoyed a little respite after four years of incessant and
overwhelming responsibilities and labors. He was comfortably established
in his new home, and hugely enjoyed his garden and farming. He employed
two excellent men about the place, Joel Risden and William Van Ogle, and
fully redeemed his promise of the finest garden and earliest vegetables
in Olympia. He purchased a yoke of oxen, had a cart built, and commenced
clearing the Walker claim, situated half way to Tumwater. The malignant
charges and attacks upon him failed to cause his removal.
The governor, however, felt that he had not been properly supported at
Washington. His Indian treaties were left unconfirmed, and Wool's course
in excluding settlers from the upper country and vilifying the people
was not rebuked. He declared with great feeling that he would never
accept another appointive civil office.
On January 26, 1857, at the instance of the governor, the legislature
passed an act incorporating the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, with
a capital of fifteen millions, which might be increased to thirty
millions, and authority to build a railroad from one of the passes in
the Rocky Mountains, on the border of Nebraska, westwardly across
Washington by the Bitter Root valley, crossing the Coeur d'Alene
Mountains, and traversing the plain of the Columbia, with two branches,
one down the Columbia, the other over the Cascade Mountains to the
Sound, with a line from the river to the Sound. Among the incorporators
were Governor Isaac I. Stevens, Senator Ramsay, and General James
Shields, of Minnesota, Judge William Strong, Colonel William Cock,
Elwood Evans, A.A. Denny, and W.S. Ladd. The governor expected a rapid
development of the Territory, and evidently thought that an organized
company with a charter was a practical step towards starting the great
railroad enterprise.
Early in the year 1857 General Wool was relieved of the command of the
Pacific Department by General N. G. Clarke, colonel 6th infantry, and
went to New York, where he continued his malignant warfare upon the
authorities, volunteers, and people of Oregon and Washington, by whose
governors and legislatures he was denounced, "and whose respect he had
long since ceased to possess."
After his nomination the governor determined to make a canvass of the
Territory, and invited Alexander S. Abernethy, who was nominated by the
Whig convention, to accompany and meet him in joint discussion. The
newly appointed receiver of the Land Office, just arrived from the East,
Selucious Garfielde, a man of fine, showy presence and great oratorical
gifts, offered to assist in the canvass by discussing national politics.
A small steam-tug, the Traveler, W.H. Horton owner and captain, was
chartered to take the party around the Sound. Mr. Abernethy declined the
invitation, but Colonel William H. Wallace went in his stead, and the
governor, accompanied by Garfielde, Wallace, his son Hazard, and a few
friends, started from Olympia in May, and visited Steilacoom, Seattle,
Ports Madison, Gamble, Ludlow, and Townsend, thence up Hood's Canal to
Sebec, thence Whitby Island, thence Bellingham Bay, and thence returned
to Olympia. At each point the governor spoke at length, defending his
course, but devoting more time to pointing out the needs of the
Territory and the measures necessary for its benefit, such as the
confirmation of the treaties, payment of the war debt, additional roads
and mail service, and especially the Northern Pacific Railroad and its
relation to the trade of Asia. With much feeling he indignantly denied
the personal charges against himself, denounced the traducers, and
defied them to meet him face to face and repeat them. Though not a
fluent speaker, he was clear, strong, earnest, and convincing, and was
everywhere received with the greatest attention and respect.
A plot was formed at Steilacoom to get up a row at the meeting to be
held there, and under cover of it to assassinate the governor; and in
consequence of the earnest entreaties of his friends there, who had
discovered the plot at the last moment and were wholly unprepared for
it, he made but a short stop at that point. In July he again visited
Steilacoom, and held a meeting and joint discussion, but no attempt at
disturbance was made, his friends being ready for it.
As the little Traveler slowly churned her way into Bellingham Bay, a
great war canoe, manned by the northern Indians,--those dreaded sea
wolves,--went speeding across the entrance to the bay twice as fast as
the Traveler could possibly go, and the little party felt rejoiced to
have escaped meeting them. It was only a few weeks later that the
unfortunate Colonel Ebey met his tragic fate at the hands of a crew of
these savages. They were forbidden to enter the Sound, and the
appearance of one of their war canoes betokened only violence and
robbery.
After returning to Olympia the governor spoke at meetings of the
settlers there, at Tumwater, and Yelm, Chambers', and Grand Mound
prairies. Then he proceeded down the Chehalis River and traveled along
the coast, crossing Gray's Harbor and Shoalwater Bay, to the mouth of
the Columbia, holding meetings on Miami prairie, and each of these
points; thence, continuing the canvass, he went up the river, speaking
at Cathlamet, Monticello, Lewis River, Vancouver, and the Cascades, and
then, returning home by way of the Cowlitz, he spoke at Cowlitz Landing
and Judge Ford's.
In this canvass, in five weeks Governor Stevens traveled by steamer,
canoe, and on horseback fourteen hundred and sixty miles, and spoke at
forty meetings. His friends supported him with great enthusiasm, and one
of the features of the contest was the "Stevens Hat," adopted as a badge
by his more enthusiastic supporters,--a black slouch hat, the rougher
and shabbier the better.
The election took place July 13, and he was chosen by a vote of 986
against 549 for his opponent.
During the governor's absence on the canvass occurred the untimely death
of James Doty, his faithful secretary and assistant in so many difficult
and dangerous Indian councils and expeditions. "I have never been
connected with a more intelligent and upright man," declared the
governor. He was buried on Bush prairie beside his friend, George W.
Stevens.
After his election as delegate Governor Stevens resigned as governor,
August 11, 1857, and Lafayette McMullan, of Virginia, was appointed his
successor. The governor turned over the gubernatorial office to the new
appointee on his arrival, and the Indian superintendency to Colonel
Nesmith, who was appointed superintendent for both Oregon and
Washington, the two superintendencies having been united by the last
Congress, in May. At his invitation Colonel Nesmith visited him at
Olympia, and the governor took the greatest pains to impart to him all
the information and assistance in regard to his new duties in his power.
It was on a beautiful morning in the early fall that Governor Stevens
with his family started from Olympia on the return journey to the East.
He rode his noble gray charger Charlie, and his son was also mounted,
while Mrs. Stevens and the three little girls rode in an easy spring
wagon. The roads were dry, the weather of the finest, the country in its
most beautiful garb, and all the family were in high health and spirits;
and the governor, buoyant with courage, hope, and vigor, having
accomplished the tremendous tasks laid upon him by the government,
carried the Territory through the Indian hostilities, overcome all
obstacles, and put down his enemies, now looked forward with renewed
confidence to vindicating his course in Washington, and compelling a
deceived and misguided Congress and administration to do justice to his
people and himself.
The return journey to the Cowlitz, and down that stream in canoes, and
up the Columbia to Portland by steamboat was uneventful but pleasant, in
strong contrast to the discomforts of the trip on entering the country
three years previously. San Francisco was reached after a short voyage
down the coast, where the governor was again welcomed by his old
friends, and everywhere received with the attention and deference
considered due his remarkable achievements in face of unprecedented
obstacles.
On the voyage to Panama, the steamer Golden Gate broke her shaft the
second day out, and had to creep back to port with one wheel, like a
bird with a broken wing, losing an entire week. The Golden Age, which
took her place, came near meeting a worse disaster; for one stormy and
misty afternoon, as the captain and cabin passengers were at dinner, a
steerage passenger on the forward upper deck espied a rock-bound island
directly in front of the steamship, upon which she was rushing at full
speed, and gave the alarm. The great paddle-wheels were instantly
reversed, and the vessel just managed to back off before striking.
Colonel John C. Fremont, the Pathfinder, the Republican candidate for
the presidency, was one of the passengers,--a slender, alert man,--as
was also one of the Californian senators, John Broderick, who fell in a
duel with Judge Terry soon afterwards. The passage across the Isthmus
was made safely and easily all the way by rail; and the voyage from
Aspinwall to New York was unmarked, save by a severe storm, with
mountainous billows for three days, off Cape Hatteras. They arrived in
New York in time to make a short visit in Newport, and to spend
Thanksgiving at Andover with the Puritan father.