FIFTY-FOUR FORTY OR FIGHT
Oregon was the name given to the country west of the Rocky mountains and
thought to extend to 54 degrees 40 minutes north. England also claimed
the entire territory. In 1827 a treaty of joint occupation was formed,
terminated in 1846 by the United States and it seemed for a time likely
to embroil the two countries in war. A compromise was however effected
fixing the international boundary at the 49th parallel, and through the
good offices of the German Emperor, the beautiful San Juan islands were
at last given to the American government. It had been said in the English
parliament, by Sir Robert Peel: “England knows her rights and dares
maintain them;” while Wentworth, of Illinois, in a speech before congress
in January, 1844 said: “I think it our duty to speak freely and candidly
and let England know that she can never have an inch of the country
claimed as a part of the United States.” Such is in brief the history of
Washington prior to the actual occupation and settlement along in the
latter 40’s and the early 50’s. Of these we shall speak more fully.
Many yet living within her borders and enjoying the benefits of mature
and full-fledged statehood remember the time when Washington was an
almost unexplored wilderness, silent and tomblike as the Sphinx. The
first faint echoes of civilization were heard only along the shorelines
of its inland sea, or along the water course of its debouching rivers.
The vast and wealth-laden interior was unknown, the inner secrets of the
Dark Continent today being perhaps better known than was the heart of
this then northwestern territory. Ships of sail on occasional voyages
ploughed the waters of the placid Sound, distributing here and there
along the deeply wooded shore lines a pioneer with his family and
rude effects, while the less majestic, though none the less important
white-winged “Prairie” schooner, via the Willamette and the Rocky
Mountain passes brought his neighbor, perhaps of Yankeedom, to keep
him company in the wilderness. Suffering from the agonies of long sea
voyages, or racked with the ills and tribulations of long overland
journeys across burning sands and rocky passes, they pitched their rude
habitations here in the primeval wilds to become neighbors of the dusky
red man for many years while waiting for the population which should
follow in their wake.
It was early in the forties when this onward march of civilization began
landing in this country. ’Tis true the fur gatherer was here before
them, but they were only transients and saw not, nor cared for the great
natural wealth of the country that spread out before them.
In the Sound country, Fort Steilacoom, Port Townsend, Olympia and Seattle
and a few down Sound ports became the central points of the sparse
settlements which thus early began to spread over the country. The buzz
of the saw mill was simultaneous with the first efforts of these early
settlers, and in its wake came one of the most potent factors in the
development of new countries—the newspaper.
As it was in California, so it was in a great measure in this northwest
country, the greed for gold formed the incentive that hastened the
early and quick settlement of the Northwest coast. “To Frazer River,”
was the watchword from California and the east, and thousands hastened
to the unexplored country to find first, disappointment, and secondly,
permanent homes. The overflow from the mines added many hundreds to the
permanent settlements on the Sound and in the interior and the march of
civilization and commerce was greatly augmented.
In 1858, and even at an earlier date, the newspaper became an important
factor in the development of the country. On the 12th of March of that
year, the first issue of the Puget Sound Herald appeared. The editor
thereof, Mr. Charles Prosch, has humorously written of the manner in
which he gathered in the $20-gold-pieces from enthusiastic subscribers,
and speaks of his reception by the hardy settlers as having been
exceedingly gratifying and flattering. At that time but one other
newspaper was issued in the territory, that being the Pioneer and
Democrat, a partisan journal of bitter proclivities.
Previous to 1845, this magnificent arm of the Pacific ocean—Puget
Sound—was used only as a thoroughfare of trade by the Hudsons Bay
company, and save the arrival of a few vessels in that company’s service,
its placid water was disturbed only by the canoe of the native red man,
and the unbroken silence of the tree-clad shores proclaimed the country
a wilderness. The posts of the above named company at Cowlitz river and
Fort Nisqually were the only evidences of civilization. No extensive
explorations had ever been made by the company’s agents, and the Indians
confined themselves to the streams and shores of the Sound and so gave no
information regarding the country in the interior.