History of Seattle, Volume 1 E-Book

Clarence B. Bagley

• Herausgeber: Jazzybee Verlag
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 861

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

The preparation of a "History of Seattle" has been the exploration of a new field and the amount of patient research and careful investigation involved has been a task of colossal proportions. The printed and written records of the first twenty years of Seattle's existence are scanty almost beyond belief. Not until 1863 was a newspaper established there and, for many years, more space in it was devoted to eastern and foreign politics than to the record of local passing events. Few, if any, pioneers kept diaries and none of these, except that of the writer, has been accessible. And yet has this work become one of the most detailed and accurate narratives of the history of this beautiful town on the West coast. A must read - and not only for Seattle citizens. This is volume two out of two.

Leseprobe

History of Seattle

From the earliest Settlement to the early 20th Century

Vol. 1

CLARENCE B. BAGLEY

History of Seattle 1, C. B. Bagley

Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck

86450 Altenmünster, Loschberg 9

Deutschland

ISBN: 9783849650230

www.jazzybee-verlag.de

[email protected]

CONTENTS:

PREFACE.. 1

CHAPTER I. IN THE BEGINNING.. 2

CHAPTER 11. THE PIONEER PERIOD... 21

CHAPTER III. THE INDIAN WAR PERIOD... 62

CHAPTER IV. THE INDIAN TRIBES AND CHIEF SEATTLE.. 92

CHAPTER V. SEATTLE'S MOSQUITO FLEET.. 118

CHAPTER VI. COAL MINES AND COAL MINING... 143

CHAPTER VII. WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY.. 158

CHAPTER VIII. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES. 189

CHAPTER IX. THE CHURCH.. 209

CHAPTER X. THE PRESS. 222

CHAPTER XI. THE SNOQUALMIE PASS. 244

CHAPTER XII. SAWMILLS AND LUMBER PRODUCTS. 259

CHAPTER XIII. RAILROADS. 284

CHAPTER XIV. WATER AND WATER SUPPLY.. 308

CHAPTER XV. MUNICIPAL PARKS. 319

CHAPTER XVI. THE PUBLIC LIBRARY.. 329

CHAPTER XVII. BENCH AND BAR.. 339

PREFACE

The reader, who may give these pages more than a passing glance, will discover that the writer has presented an account of events and not a history of the men who were the actors in them.

The reasons for this are twofold. First, lack of fitness for biographical writing; and second, of far more importance, the belief that the time is not yet ripe for a truthful and impartial work of that kind. The city is young; of its founders and of those who helped to erect the present structure, in all its magnificence, many are yet here. When these shall have gone to their final account will be time enough to deal with the personal element of its pioneers and builders.

The preparation of a History of Seattle has, in effect, been the exploration of a new field and the amount of patient research and careful investigation involved has been a task of colossal proportions. The printed and written records of the first twenty years of Seattle's existence are scanty almost beyond belief. Not until 1863 was a newspaper established here and, for many years, more space in it was devoted to eastern and foreign politics than to the record of local passing events. Few, if any, pioneers kept diaries and none of these, except that of the writer, has been accessible.

His own local recollections cover nearly all the years since Seattle's founding and he has not deemed it necessary, excepting upon rare occasions, to quote authorities regarding matters within the range of his personal knowledge.

When this work was begun it was contemplated that his connection with it should be that of editor only; to give aid and counsel in its preparation and to read and approve it in advance of its publication. Not until late in the year 1915 was the constructive work placed in his hands and, the publishers being desirous of its delivery to the subscribers as soon as possible, he and his co-workers have since given to it long hours of unremitting toil. The utmost condensation has been observed consistent with a proper presentation of the topics under discussion.

Messrs. Welford Beaton, Floyd C. Kaylor and Victor J. Farrar have done much work in its preparation and the writer's thanks are also here extended to Judge Roger S. Greene, Dr. H. Eugene Allen and Messrs. Harry W. Bringhurst and A. A. Braymer for notable aid and kindly counsel during the progress of the work.

Seattle, Washington, May 1, 1916.

CLARENCE B. BAGLEY

CHAPTER I. IN THE BEGINNING

It is the intention of the writer of this work to bring into it only facts and accounts that belong to a history of Seattle. However, the history of the City of Seattle and of the Sound country are so closely interwoven that it will be necessary to go far anterior to the arrival of the pioneers in Elliott Bay to present a clear understanding of the later years. It is believed the readers of its pages will be more pleased with this plan than to consume much space in describing remote incidents about which they are, perhaps, better informed than the writer.

For more than a century preceding the settlement at Alki Point maritime expeditions into the North Pacific had been made by the Spanish, British, Russian and American navigators, and a brief account of these is proper as a prelude to the later events which made the rise of the City of Seattle possible.

In April, 1596, Michael Lok, an Englishman, met an old Greek navigator called Juan de Fuca, at Venice, and in the course of their conversation, de Fuca opened up to him certain of his voyages. On one of these, in 1592, while in the service of the Viceroy of Mexico, he sailed up the coast of North America until he came to latitude forty-seven degrees where he found a broad inlet between the forty-seventh and forty-eighth, and entering it sailed for more than twenty days, passing many islands. The viceroy promised him a great reward for his discovery, but the reward never came, and de Fuca said that he then left the service of the viceroy, and intimated to Lok that he would like to enter the service of the English if for no other reason than to get revenge on the Spanish for their vile treatment of him. Lok tried to get the old man employment, but never succeeded, and the old man died. It has since been proved that Juan de Fuca or Apostolos Valerianos, as he was known in the Greek language, is a myth and that Lok had been imposed upon by a clever seaman. However, the story became widely known and was published in the leading geographies of the day. It is a remarkable coincidence that his story should be so nearly in keeping with the facts.

The Spanish had been pushing northward from Mexico and, witnessing the efforts of all the other civilized nations in the Pacific Northwest, began to send explorers into these waters. On May 21, 1775, the Spanish sent out from San Blas, Mexico, the Santiago, in command of Bruno Heceta, accompanied by the schooner Sonora, in command of Bodega y Quadra. This expedition sailed northward as far as Alaska, and on its return narrowly missed the discovery of the Columbia River. But they failed to sight the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

On Sunday, March 22, 1778, Capt. James Cook, of the British navy, sailing on his third voyage, made his way along the northwest coast of North America and sighted a prominent cape which he called Cape Flattery. He had in mind the supposed strait or inlet advertised by Juan de Fuca and Lok, but after considerable search was unable to find it. It appears that a heavy wind arose during the night and when morning came he had passed the entrance.

Cook remained at Nootka Sound, on what is now Vancouver Island, for over a month, engaged in scientific work.

To Capt. John Meares belongs the honor of sighting the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In May, 1788, while sailing under the British flag, but in reality under double colors, having a Portuguese partner, Meares in the Felice arrived at Nootka, and purchased for two pistols some land from the Indian chief, Maquinna. He erected a fort here and built a little vessel called the North West America. In the latter part of June Meares set out to explore the surrounding country, and on Sunday, June 29, 1788, he sighted the great inlet which he called after its real discoverer John de Fuca. Of course Meares believed implicitly in the story of Juan de Fuca. He made for the southern coast and landed upon the shores of what is now the State of Washington, probably at Neah Bay, and there was received by a chief called Tatoosh. He saw the large mountain to the southward and called it Mount Olympus. He then went southward and entered Willapa Harbor which he called Shoalwater Bay, but was unable to find a river where the Columbia empties into the Pacific and so dubbed the site where he had labored in vain Cape Disappointment and Deception Bay. Returning to Nootka, Meares dispatched one of his officers and thirteen men in a boat to examine the shores of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Meares then left with a cargo of lumber for the Chinese markets and made arrangements for his aids to winter in the Sandwich Islands. Later he organized a joint stock company for trading purposes under a license from the East India Company and proceeded to build up a colony at Nootka of Chinese men and Hawaiian wives. In April, 1789, two captains of Meares, Douglas and Funter, arrived at Nootka.

In the meantime, the Spanish, alarmed at the fact that the Russians were extending their colonies and forts north of California, sent Estevan Jose Martinez northward to examine the Russian settlements. He secured information that the Russians intended to send four frigates from Siberia to Nootka, whereupon he was directed to repair to Nootka and take possession of the place in the name of the Spanish king and build a fortress there. By so doing he would out-general the Russians. When he arrived at Nootka, however, he found the English ships instead of the Russian, and proceeded to take possession of the place and to seize the ships and men, taking them to Mexico. The Spanish then occupied the fort erected by Meares and established a garrison, first under Martinez and later under Francisco Eliza. This was almost an act of war and for a while it looked as if Spain and England would leap at each other's throats.

The Spanish began to compromise by releasing the ships and men and promising indemnities to the owners of the vessels for delays, etc. But Meares had now arrived in England and he set the matter before the English government on April 30, 1790. England demanded not only a payment of damages for the individual losses of ships and stores, but demanded also that the lands be restored to the sovereignty of the English crown. England was able to secure the promise of aid from Holland and Prussia, but as Spain's chief ally, France, was now in the midst of a revolution, Spain was forced to meet the British demands, and signed a treaty dated October 28, 1790, which provided for an indemnity ultimately amounting to $210,000 to be paid by Spain, and the transfer of the lands at Nootka to England. Subjects of both powers were left free to visit the port. The entire matter was patched up at Nootka in March, 1795.

It was during these years that the Spanish became quite intimately acquainted with the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and made fairly accurate surveys of the coasts as far east as Bellingham and as far south as Admiralty Inlet. In 1790, Francisco Eliza, who was in command at Nootka, sent Manuel Quimper to explore the Strait of Juan de Fuca. He placed Spanish names on most of the bays, points, and islands, few of which have survived. In 1792, two scientific men, Dionisio Galliano and Cayetano Valdes, were added to the expedition, and they made further surveys. The principal names added to the nomenclature of the Sound were San Juan Archipelago, Sucia Islands, Matia Islands, Canal de Haro, Port Angeles, Guemes Island, and Fidalgo Bay. Most of the others have long since disappeared, although subsequent explorers have honored the Spanish commanders by naming several places for them.

On the two principal maps left as a heritage by the Spaniards, that portion of the Sound now known as Admiralty Inlet, which connects Puget Sound proper with the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is called Boca de Caamano. Quimper says in his journal, that from his station (now called Port Discovery) he saw other inlets and openings to the east, which he called Boca de Fidalgo and Boca de Flon. He had, however, no time to explore them. Don Francisco Eliza, who advanced in 1791 to the eastern end of de Fuca Strait, recognized for the first time this inlet, and called it Bocas de Caamano, probably in honor of the Spanish navigator, Caamano. Eliza, however, did not further explore the interior of this inlet, because he understood from the Indians that, though it was very long, still, from the end of it, one could not advance further unless with canoes. Eliza's object was not to explore shut-up inlets, but to find a passage to other waters.

Following closely upon the voyages of Cook and Meares was the expedition of George Vancouver who was the first recorded white man to enter Puget Sound above the entrance to Admiralty Inlet. Vancouver's expedition was partly scientific, partly commercial, and partly diplomatic, for he was detailed to meet the Spanish at Nootka Sound and arrange terms of settlement. He sailed from England April 1, 1791, with the sloop-of-war Discovery and the armed tender Chatham, and after rounding the Cape of Good Hope visited the South Seas and the Hawaiian Islands, and then made his way to what was then known as New Albion, but which is today called Oregon and Washington.

He examined the region about Cape Disappointment, but came to the conclusion that there was only an inlet there, and then proceeded northward naming Point Grenville and passing Cape Flattery and entering the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Here he met Capt. Robert Gray of the ship Columbia who told him that he had discovered a large river at Cape Disappointment, but Vancouver would not believe him, and only later did he come to the same conclusion.

Vancouver named the mountain which appeared to the eastward Mount Baker after his third lieutenant, Joseph Baker; New Dungeness after its resemblance to old Dungeness in England; Port Discovery after his vessel, the Discovery, and the little island at the entrance to the harbor, Protection Island, because it served as a protection to the harbor both from contrary winds and armed attacks from an enemy if the island were fortified. He now came in sight of a large mountain to the south-eastward which he called Mount Rainier in honor of Rear Admiral Peter Rainier, his friend. Port Townsend he named after the Marquis of Townshend. [About 1850 the “h” was dropped as the word, so spelled, proved difficult for the Americans. He sailed into Hood's Canal which he so called after the Right Honorable Lord Hood, and Marrowstone Point because it was here that he found deposits of marrowstone.

He then quickly sailed southward into the main port of the Sound and established his party in headquarters on what is now Restoration Point on Bainbridge Island. This point he first called Village Point, probably because it was here that he found an Indian village, but he changed the name to Restoration Point in honor of the fact that the day was the anniversary of the restoration of the Stuart monarch, Charles 11, to the throne, after the long rule of Oliver Cromwell. From his headquarters at Restoration Point Vancouver sent out small boat parties to make surveys. His lieutenant, Peter Puget, went up the Sound, through the narrows and made a fairly good survey of the waterways and inlets. This portion of the Sound was called by Vancouver Puget Sound, and the name is probably as euphonious a one as has ever been given to any portion of the earth's surface. It must be remembered that Vancouver intended that only that portion of all these northwest waters should be called Puget Sound, but it is interesting to note the development of this word Puget Sound as a generic term for all these Northwest waters. Vancouver designated these waters by five names, viz.: Strait of Juan de Fuca, Canal de Arro, Gulf of Georgia, Admiralty Inlet, and Puget Sound, but at the present time all save two, Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca, have ceased to be terms of popular parlance. Only the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Charts officially recognize them. Nor is the term Strait of Juan de Fuca safe from ultimate extinction. In 1859 no less a person than Governor Douglas of British Columbia spoke of Vancouver Island as being in Puget Sound, and in a recent decision of the Superior Court of Clallam County, Judge Ralston held that for the purposes of the fishing laws, the Strait of Juan de Fuca was a part of Puget Sound.

Vancouver, himself, surveyed the land to the southward of Restoration Point, and found and named the large island Vashon Island, in honor of a friend, James Vashon. This brings up an interesting relationship of names.

Rainier's sister, Sarah, married Admiral James Vashon, and Joseph Baker married Vashon's niece, so that in a way Mount Baker, and Mount Rainier are related.

The survey of the waterways to the westward of Restoration Point Vancouver intrusted to his clerk, H. M. Orchard, and that is how we get the name Port Orchard. Not wishing to be forgetful of the honors which the board of admiralty in England had bestowed upon him in selecting him as leader of the expedition, Vancouver named the watercourse which extends from the narrows to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Admiralty Inlet, which name is still officially used upon all Government charts, but which is not very generally used by the public at large. On Vancouver's chart a fairly good representation of the harbor which is now known as Elliott Bay is set down, but there is no evidence to show that Vancouver's surveyors did any more than sketch it in the rough from small boats perhaps a half a mile from mainland.

His expedition now repaired to the inlet or watercourse to the eastward of Whidby Island and landed somewhere on the mainland within the present limits of the City of Everett. Here he prepared to celebrate the king's [George III] birthday, it being June 4, 1792. As this region is so near to the present limits of the City of Seattle I take leave to quote a few words from Vancouver's Journal. “Sunday, the 3rd, all hands were employed in fishing with tolerably good success, or in taking a little recreation on shore; and on Monday, the 4th, they were served as good a dinner as we were able to provide for them, with double allowance of grog to drink the king's health, it being the anniversary of his majesty's birth; on which auspicious day, I had long since designed to take formal possession of all the countries we had lately been employed in exploring, in the name of, and for his Britannic majesty, his heirs and successors.

“To execute this purpose, accompanied by Mr. Broughton and some of the officers, I went on shore about one o'clock, pursuing the usual formalities which are generally observed on such occasions, and under the discharge of a royal salute from the vessels, took possession accordingly of the coast, from that part of New Albion, in the latitude of 39° 20' north, and longitude 236° 26'

east, to the entrance of this inlet of the sea, said to be the supposed Straits of Juan de Fuca ; as likewise all the coasts, islands, etc., within the said straits, as well on the northern as on the southern shores; together with those situated in the interior sea we had discovered, extending from the said straits, in various directions, between the northwest, north, east and southern quarters; which interior sea I have honored with the name of The Gulf of Georgia, and the continent binding the said gulf, and extending southward to the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, with that of New Georgia; in honor of his present majesty. This branch of Admiralty Inlet obtained the name of Possession Sound; its western arm, after Vice Admiral Sir Alan Gardner, I distinguished by the name of Port Gardner, and its smaller eastern one by that of Port Susan.”

Recently the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a monument, in commemoration of this event, within the present limits of the City of Everett.

A bronze tablet upon the monument reads: “On The Beach Near This Spot Vancouver Landed June 4, 1792. Erected by the Marcus Whitman Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, June 4, 1915.”

Port Susan has almost disappeared as a name; Possession Sound is still used for Everett Harbor; Port Gardner has been replaced by Saratoga Passage; while Alan Point is still the southern cape of Camano Island; and the term Possession is further used as the name of the south cape of Whidby Island.

It is a matter of regret that his celebration could not have taken place nearer the City of Seattle. It is, however, interesting to note that all the land once taken possession of by the English and later transferred to the United States of America, is connected in some way with the name of George III. It was this king who was reigning when the American Revolutionary war was fought; while this country, called by Vancouver, New Georgia, later known as Oregon and Washington, was definitely ceded to the United States in 1846.

Other names which Vancouver gave were: Whidbey Island, in honor of the master of his ship Discovery, Joseph Whidbey, who had made extensive surveys in this region, and who proved this to be an island. Vancouver never determined that Camano Island was an island but has it set down on his chart as a part of the mainland. Point Partridge was named in honor of the family into which Vancouver's brother John had married. Other names are: Cypress Island, Strawberry Bay, Deception Pass, Bellingham Bay, Point Hudson, Birch Bay and Point Roberts. This latter name is of some interest. Vancouver was not the first choice of the admiralty as leader of the expedition.

Another person, Capt. Henry Roberts, had been selected, and Vancouver was to go along in the capacity of lieutenant, but just as the expedition was on the point of sailing, a war with Spain was imminent, and Roberts was sent in command of a ship of war to fight the Spanish, if war were declared, in the West Indies. But Vancouver and Roberts were on good terms and in recognition of their friendship as well as a recognition of former intentions, Vancouver perpetuated his name in the region which he was once selected to survey.

Vancouver had other work to do in this Northwest region besides make surveys, namely, to carry out certain provisions of an agreement between Spain and England, which is known as the Nootka Convention, with the Spanish officer stationed at Nootka Sound, Don Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, by name. The two met at Nootka but were unable to come to any agreement, although each had a high regard for the other personally, and Vancouver was treated with great respect. Quadra suggested that some place be named after them both not only to commemorate their meeting but the friendship that existed between them as well, so Vancouver named the island upon which they met, Quadra and Vancouver Island. Then the two separated. Spain gave up her claim to this region, and the fortunes of the country, generally known as Old Oregon, fell to the United States and Great Britain which nations possessed them under a joint occupancy agreement until 1846, when the present boundary was drawn. The name of the island, Quadra and Vancouver, persisted upon some maps until in the '50s, but the Quadra was dropped, and the Vancouver remains. Vancouver gave many names to British Columbia and Alaska as well as to the State of Washington.

After his return to England he devoted himself entirely to the preparation of his journal for publication; but died while the work was on the press, May 10, 1798. His brother John, with the assistance of Captain Puget, completed the work which was dedicated to King George III, the first edition being published in 1798.

In 1670 Charles 11 of England granted to Prince Rupert and associates a charter giving them the exclusive right to trade with the Indians of the region about Hudson Bay, and a company was then formed to take advantage of this charter. It was called the Hudson's Bay Company, and like most of the early English companies did the threefold work of fur-trading, governing the region, and defending the country from a possible foreign enemy. For over two centuries this company maintained a monopoly; but after that time a rival company which disputed its monopoly, the Northwest Company, was organized, and these two organizations expanded, moving across the Canadian wilds. About the beginning of the nineteenth century they moved from northwestern Canada into the unowned country known as Oregon, and proceeded to organize it.

The Americans had been keenly alive to the opportunities of the fur-trading business in the West, but they never succeeded as well as their English rivals. Chief among the American companies was the one promoted by John Jacob Astor, but just as he was getting started the War of 1812 with England came on, and the English compelled the surrender of his post at the mouth of the Columbia. His associates on the ground lost no opportunity in accepting the offer of the Northwest Company to buy them out, and the fort, known in history as Astoria, became the property of the English, and its name changed to Fort George, in honor of the ruling monarch, George III.

About 1821 the two English companies grew tired of the rivalries of each other and merged into one company retaining the name of the older company, the Hudson's Bay Company. With a view to organizing the Oregon country, Governor Simpson came down from Northwest Canada and arrived at Astoria or Fort George, in the fall of 1824. He organized this region as the District of the Columbia and placed Dr. John McLoughlin in charge as chief factor; he made arrangements for the removal of headquarters from Astoria to a newly selected site further up the Columbia River to be called Fort Vancouver because it was near to the site generally known as “Vancouver's farthest.” This was in 1824. A second post, a trading post, was planned and built on the Fraser River and known as Fort Langley. The expedition which located Fort Langley is interesting to us, as one of the clerks, John Work, has recorded it in his journal, also some of his descendants live in Seattle. The proposed expedition left Fort George or Astoria in November, 1824, and was under the command of James McMillan. It made its way by canoe and portage from the Columbia River to Gray's Harbor via Baker's Bay and Willapa Harbor; thence up the Chehalis River to the Black River, up that stream to its source, Black Lake, then by portage to Eld Inlet, and finally by Puget Sound to the Fraser River. After a brief examination of the river the party returned, but when reaching the Chehalis River divided into two groups, one going by the route whence it had come, the other making overland to the Cowlitz River and down that stream to the Columbia. This is one of the first recorded uses made of the Cowlitz trail, so well-known to the early pioneers. In June, 1827, the same commander, James McMillan, headed the expedition which was to build Fort Langley. The Cadboro, a vessel famous in the history of the Sound was to assist, and she went by way of the Pacific. The overland expedition, however, came up from Vancouver by the Cowlitz trail, which shows that the trail was just coming into use. Fort Langley was built in the fall of 1827 and James McMillan was placed in command. At this place a few of the entries in the journal of John Work are quoted as they throw much original light and color on the early nomenclature about Seattle:

“Tuesday, 7th. Wind Easterly. Overcast cold weather, foggy in the morning. Embarked at #4 past 7 o'clock and proceeded 3 miles N. E., 6 E. and 26 North, in all 35 miles. Encamped at 4 o'clock in the evening. Our course lay through narrow channels about ½ mile wide and some wide openings formed by traversing bays and channels formed by islands and points. Passed a channel on the E. side, the last of the bays receives the Qualax River.[Puyallup] Stopped at another little river where there was a village [Steilacoom] of the Nisqually Nation consisting of six houses, these are miserable habitations constructed of poles covered with mats, we were detained 1 ½ hours at this village, getting two men and a woman, wife to one of them, to act as interpreters and guides for us. The men are both of the Sanahomis tribe [Snohomish] and are not intelligible to any of our party, neither do they well understand us but they, at least one of them, understands the language of the Coweechins which is the name of the tribe at the entrance of what is supposed to be Fraser's River. The woman speaks and understands the Chenook language pretty well and is to interpret to the men. Two canoes with 8 Indians passed our encampment in the evening, and when it was dark the lndians visited our camp, these people are from the Interior and belong to the . . . The Nisqualy Indians speak a language different from any we have seen yet. Where we are encamped is an island [Vashon] where we see the marks of some horses which the Indians have on it. The appearance of the shores is much the same as yesterday, still bold and high, composed of clay and generally wooded to the water's edge. Where we encamped last night we found abundance of mussels at low water.

“Wednesday, 8th, some rain in the afternoon, wind Easterly. We were on the water at 7 o'clock and made according to estimation a distance of 36 miles, N. 5 miles, W. 3, northeast 5 and north 23. We were 734 hours on the water, 3% of which we both sailed and paddled with mild breeze, we concluded that we made at least 5 miles per hour. We, this day, proceeded through a fine channel formed, as the other, by the mainland and an island.

Passed an opening on the E. side in the morning and on the same side a bay [Elliott Bay] into which the Sinananimis River [Duwamish River] flows.

On the West side we came through the Soquamis Bay from which there is a small opening to the Westward. Where we are now encamped opposite to a wider channel or opening [Admiralty Inlet] which runs to the Westward, it is very deep with a number of islands in its north side and through its entrance.

The channels through which we passed may be 3 or 4 miles wide, the shores appear the same as yesterday. We stopped at the Soquamis village situated in the bay, Port Madison of the same name. It consists of 4 houses, we saw only 8 or ten men, but understand several of the inhabitants were off fishing. Our object in stopping here was to get the chief to accompany us an an interpreter, but he was not at home. The houses are built of boards covered with mats.”

The line of communication between Forts Vancouver on the Columbia and Langley on the Fraser River was too great and difficult of passage, and before a half dozen years had elapsed the company decided to locate a post midway between the two. It is not known why the choice fell to a little prairie at Sequalichew Creek, but it is probable that the locators desired a port on Puget Sound where sea going vessels could land, and also a place not far removed from the Cowlitz trail.

Here, in the spring of 1833, Archibald C. McDonald built the trading post known as Nisqually House or Fort Nisqually. It was more of a post than a fort, consisting of a main hall for business, a hall for the assembled Indians to congregate in, quarters for the men, who seldom numbered more than a dozen, shops, barns and other buildings. The buildings were crudely constructed of hewn timbers and whip-sawed boards, plastered within and covered with cedar bark without. The business of the post was three-fold: Trading in furs with the Indians, raising grain for export to Russia and the Hawaiian Islands, and salmon packing for the export trade. In time the beef, salmon and grain trade became the chief form of enterprise of the posts of Langley, Nisqually and Vancouver, for the Sound country was never very rich in furs. As time went on several extensive farms were added to Nisqually post. While the plowing and more skilled work was done by the employees of the Hudson's Bay Company, among whom were natives of the Sandwich Islands, a large amount of work was also done by the Indians who were fairly quick to learn some of the more menial tasks.

Nisqually secured the Indian trade of most of the Sound region. The Makah, Clallam, Skagit, Snohomish, Twana, Duwamish, Nisqually, Chehalis and Cowlitz tribes were frequent visitors to the post. At times Indians from east of the mountains brought their furs to Nisqually, coming either by way of Naches Pass or a more northern route. The chief furs secured were from the beaver, sea otter, black bear, lynx, musquash and deer, and these the Indians bartered for blankets, guns, and various other articles, chiefly those of dress.

A blanket brought two first-class beaver skins. The employees of the company were very closely allied with the Indians with whom most were intermarried, and the half breed children usually remained in close contact with the post.

While the Indians disliked the Nisqually officials because of the high tariffs imposed, nevertheless, they soon regarded the trading post as an indispensable adjunct to their civilization. The Indian never had much use for the settler, but he had a common interest in the trading post.

Here at Nisqually, in the early '30s, the Indians received their first instruction in the white man's religion, and seemed to make some progress, although the example set by the employees was hardly inspiring.

In the spring of 1834 the company decided that the posts Langley and Nisqually could be supplanted to advantage by a post established midway between the two, and several surveys were taken of the country on Whidby Island in the vicinity of Ebey's Landing and Fort Casey. It was decided that a post should be erected there and the men and materials were on their way from Nisqually when the expedition was recalled owing to disorders at Nisqually which needed the immediate attention of the commander. It seems hardly possible that the fate of a post on Whidby Island should hang on so slight an accidental factor, but although the company continued to speak of Whidby Island as a future site, the post was never built, and Langley and Nisqually served as they had in the past. It is interesting to note the possible effect such a post might have had on the subsequent history of the State of Washington. Had the British been in possession of a post on Whidby Island in 1846 when the Oregon question was settled and a boundary line permanently established it might have been so drawn as to include as British Territory the entire San Juan archipelago as well as Whidby Island.While looking for the proposed site for the new post, one of the employes of the company, Ouvrie, by name, suggested the site later known as Seattle.

Under date of July 8, 1833, the following entry is recorded in Dr. William Fraser Tolmie's diary at Nisqually House: “Ouvrie having frequently talked about a spot favorable for an establishment, it has been agreed that I am to start this evening accompanied by Ouvrie and five or six Indians in canoe to examine the place and return tomorrow night.” The diary for the succeeding day mentions passing “Payillipa Bay” and other points along the east side of the Sound, and in the forenoon “landed on the prairion so much admired by Mr. A. and Ouvrie. It was about one mile in length and from one hundred to one hundred and fifty yards in extent, raised about thirty feet above the sea level, towards which it presented a steep, clayey bank. Surface flat and dotted with small pines, but soil composed almost entirely of sand. Its breadth was measured from the base of the steep wooded bank which lines the coast throughout to the margin of the same. At its northern extremity the coast is indented with a bay five or six miles wide, and perhaps three long, into which Ouvrie's River flows, described by him as equal in size to the Cowlitz. On the opposite shore of this bay was pointed out to me the countries of Sannahomish, Keatchet and Shalatchet tribes lying in the above order from the mouth of Ouvrie's River, to the point marking the extremity of the bay. The south side of bay and river is inhabited by the Tuamish [Duwamish] Indians, of whom we saw several parties along the coast, miserably poor and destitute of fire arms. The opposite coast of Sound is possessed by the warlike Soquamish with whose chief all were on friendly terms. A fort well garrisoned would answer well as a trading post on the prairie where we stood. It would have an advantage of a fine prospect down the Sound and of proximity to the Indians but these would not compensate for an unproductive soil and the inconvenience of going at least one half mile for a supply of water.” The next morning they breakfasted on parboiled peas eaten with a shell out of a potlid. This place later became known as Alki Point. No future attempt to establish a post there was made by the Hudson's Bay Company.

With the completion of Fort Nisqually the old route to the Columbia River via Eld Inlet, Black River, Chehalis River, Gray's Harbor, Willapa Harbor and Baker Bay, was abandoned, and henceforth the portage route to the Cowlitz River was used instead. Every old pioneer is familiar with Cowlitz Landing and the old road to the northward. This route was the heritage of the Hudson's Bay Company, and in its day did good service. When the pioneer settler came to Washington Territory he complained of the trials he had to endure in the way of poor roads; had it not been for the work done by the company he might have been in a worse plight.

In the spring of 1846 the British frigate, Fisgard, forty-two guns, and a crew of 352 men, under the command of Capt. J. A. Duntz, anchored at Nisqually. This was just before the settlement of the Oregon question, and President Polk's aggressive policy of “Fifty-four Forty or Fight” had made war a possibility even if not a probability. Another British vessel of similar mission, the Modeste, anchored in the Columbia River. The Fisgard was accompanied by the paddle-sloop Cormorant, six guns, commanded by G. T. Gordon.

On board the Fisgard was Robert M. Inskip, naval instructor, who proceeded to erect at Nisqually a naval training station wherein to instruct the young midshipmen. Most detailed surveys of the upper portion of the Sound were made by this instructor and a few new names added to the nomenclature, of that region. The hall wherein the school exercises were held was standing when the first settlers came to the Sound, and was for a long time known to them as the “castle of indolence.”

British vessels came up and down the Sound and Fort Nisqually became a place of some consequence. However, the war talk subsided; Polk did not secure all he wanted, and the Oregon question was peacefully settled by the Treaty of 1846 by which the Forty-ninth Parallel of north latitude was continued westward to Puget Sound and the boundary line then drawn through the lower Sound waters through the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean.

By the terms of the treaty the region north of the Columbia River became United States Territory, and Nisqually and Vancouver lost their sovereign power. They ceased to be forts, and were subject to the laws of the United States. The Hudson's Bay Company, and its subsidiary company, the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, continued to operate these establishments as private individuals, until the property was purchased by the United States Government.

Thus passed a great enterprise. It had rendered a great service on the Sound. It had educated and pacified the Indians for thirty years. The early pioneers were well treated by the trading posts, which helped many of them by loans of cattle and advances in foodstuffs to carry them over the unproductive periods when they were getting started in the world.

Many persons were in charge of Fort Nisqually during its existence. Perhaps the best known of these was Dr. William Fraser Tolmie. He was born in Inverness, Scotland, and educated as a naturalist which included medicine and surgery. Botany was his special study. Under the patronage of Sir William Hooker, the famous naturalist, he secured, in 1832, an appointment with the Hudson's Bay Company and in company with another appointee, a Mr.Gairdner, also a naturalist, set sail from London, aboard the Ganymede, and arrived off Cape Disappointment April 30, 1833. Here he received orders from Doctor McLoughlin to repair to Milbank Sound to assist in founding of Fort McLoughlin. While en route he arrived at Nisqually, and because of an accident to a valuable employee, Doctor Tolmie was forced to remain there and treat him. While here, he made the first attempted ascent of Mount Rainier.

In November, he reported for his destination. In 1834 he was surgeon with an expedition under Ogden on the Stikene River, then served at Fort Simpson; finally going to Milbank Sound where he remained until February, 1836, when he took up his abode as surgeon and trader at Fort Vancouver, remaining until 1840, when he was granted a year's leave of absence. The year 1841 he seems to have spent in organizing agricultural establishments in the Willamette Valley. In 1841 he returned to England where he remained until 1843, attending to the agricultural interests of the company. During these years he had acquired a knowledge of Spanish, having in mind an appointment to the post at Yerba Buena, but upon his return was given the superintendency of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company at Nisqually, where he remained until 1859, moving to Victoria, but still managing affairs for both the Hudson's Bay Company, and the Puget Sound Agricultural Company at Nisqually.

The cause of the purchase of Nisqually and other posts of the Hudson's Bay Company in United States Territory was the antagonism of incoming settlers who coveted the lands occupied by the company. When Doctor Tolmie left, Edward Huggins, a clerk, remained as custodian at Nisqually. There were many attempts at settlement in the '50s. The American Civil war delayed a settlement, although Secretary of State Seward and Lord Lyons completed an arbitration treaty in 1863. Under the terms of that treaty a decision was reached in 1869. Under its terms the company was paid for its property. Mr.Huggins became an American citizen, and took over the site of Nisqually as his homestead which he continued to occupy until about ten years ago when he sold out to the Du Pont Powder Company.

By far the most interesting, although the least known of the expeditions to the Sound was that of Lieut. Charles Wilkes in 1841. It was this explorer who, on November 8, 1861, intercepted at sea the English mail steamer Trent and took off the confederate commissioners James Mason and John Slidell assigned to France and England. Wilkes was born in New York, April 3, 1798, and entered the navy as a midshipman in 1818, and after successive promotions was given command of the expedition which was to be known as the United States Exploring Expedition. The object of this expedition was scientific, but if the secrets of the war office were known it is quite probable that it was also political. Wilkes received his instruction August 11, 1838, and sailed from Norfolk, on the 18th of the same month and year, with a squadron of vessels consisting of the sloops of war Vincennes and Peacock; the brig Porpoise; the ship Relief; and the tenders Sea Gull and Flying Fish. His instructions required him to visit Rio Janeiro, Tierra del Fuego, Valparaiso, the Navigator Group, Fiji Islands, Hawaiian Islands, the Northwest Coast of North America, San Francisco, Japan, China, and other places.

Only that portion of the expedition which has to do with the immediate vicinity of the City of Seattle is considered. After a cruise of over two years the expedition arrived off the mouth of the Columbia River on April 5, 1841; but finding it almost impossible to effect an immediate entry, made its way to Puget Sound and anchored in Port Discovery May 2, 1841. Here he dispatched some Indians to make known his arrival to the Hudson's Bay Company's officials Anderson and McNeil at Nisqually House, and to secure a pilot to lead his vessels through the narrow maze of the Sound waters; but failing to hear anything from them in due course of time, made his own way cautiously southward, when he met the officials and named the place Pilot Cove because it was here that he secured his pilot. After a short sojourn at Nisqually House, where he received a cordial welcome, he set his men to work making surveys of the Sound; he sent out an expedition under Lieutenant Johnson across the Cascades Mountains and into various parts of what is now the eastern part of the State of Washington. This party, so far as is known, was the first to ever pass through the Nachess Pass, although it is reasonably certain that the Hudson's Bay Company's servants were acquainted with the pass, as two of their men accompanied Lieutenant Johnson in the capacity of guides. Wilkes, himself, made an excursion down the Cowlitz River to the Columbia and thence into Oregon; while another of his lieutenants, Eld, by name, made a trip to Gray's Harbor and made a survey of the region. Many volumes were the fruits of this expedition and much new information was gathered by his eminent scientists, and on almost every subject. Historically the expedition is of most interest to the people of Seattle because of the surveys which it made.

Prof. Edmond S. Meany of the University of Washington, in the Sunday editions of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for May 23, May 30, and June 6, 1915, gave a thorough account of the work done in these surveys. His articles are entitled Origin of Point Defiance and Other Names of Puget Sound; Origin of Geographical Names in the Vicinity of Seattle; and Origin of Geographical Names in the San Juan Archipelago. A few of the most important will be given.

Commencement Bay on which the City of Tacoma is now situated he so called because it was here that he commenced his work. Point Defiance received its name from the fact that it commands the narrows “which, if strongly fortified, would bid defiance to any attack and guard its entrance against any force.”

Maury Island was in honor of William L. Maury of the expedition. Colvo's Passage to the west of Vashon Island was secured from the name of Lieut. George W. Colvocoressis, but Wilkes wisely dropped the Greek sounding appendix. Hale's Passage was in honor of Horatio Hale, his philologist. Fox Island was in honor of J. J. Fox, assistant surgeon of the expedition. Anderson's Island and McNeil Island were named in token of the services received by Wilkes from them both in providing him with a pilot and in other ways at Nisqually House, Alexander Anderson was a chief factor for the Hudson's Bay Company, and Capt. William Henry McNeil was the second commander of the famous steamer Beaver. Carr's Inlet and Case's Inlet for two of his lieutenants.

Hartstene Island for Lieut. H. J. Hartstene. Other important names he gave in the upper part of the Sound were: Henderson, Budd, Eld, Totten and Hammersley inlets, in honor of officers aboard his vessels. A half hundred or more of points and capes were likewise named by Wilkes, most of which persist to this day. Blake Island opposite Elliott Bay was named in honor of George Smith Blake, who had charge of the United States Coast Survey from 1837 to 1848, and who was always more or less in close touch with Wilkes.

Alki Point is a recent name which will be treated on other pages; Wilkes named this point Point Roberts to honor Armourer Humphrey Roberts. Elliott Bay, on which our city is situated, is in honor of the chaplain of the Vincennes, Rev.J. L. Elliott.

Before Wilkes made these surveys it was thought that what is now Bainbridge Island was mainland, and it was Wilkes who first made this discovery.

As Professor Meany pointed out, the naming of Bainbridge Island in honor of a hero of the War of 1812 brought together a group of names of famous personages.

On this island is Port Blakeley, and what is now Yukon Harbor Wilkes called Barron's Bay. William Bainbridge acted as second for Commodore Stephen Decatur who fought a fatal duel with Barron. Not far from this group of names the sloop-of-war Decatur was stranded on a reef in 1856, hence the name of Decatur Reef.

Eagle Harbor was named because of some supposed resemblance to a bird, and the two capes to the harbor are called Bill Point and Wing Point. Port Madison and Points Monroe and Jefferson are all in honor of former presidents of the United States. Port Ludlow was in honor of Lieut. Augustus Ludlow who was with Captain Lawrence in the famous naval duel between the Chesapeake and Shannon, in 1813, and who lost his life. He named Appletree or Apple Cove because he saw supposed apple blossoms on shore. There are no apple trees but an abundance of dog-wood trees which produce blossoms which probably deceived him. West Point, which is the north cape of Elliott Bay, was named by Wilkes. The present passage between Whidby and Camano Islands is called Saratoga Passage, and many old pioneers can no doubt recall the time when Camano Island was called McDonough's Island. Wilkes called the passage Saratoga Passage and the island McDonough's Island. Now Captain McDonough commanded the expedition which defeated the British squadron on Lake Champlain, and his ship was the Saratoga. McDonough's Island has disappeared as a term and Camano has taken its place but the term Saratoga Passage is meaningless without the knowledge that the Island of Camano once honored McDonough, her commander.

It is a matter of regret that all the names given by Lieutenant Wilkes cannot be reproduced. A few names in the present San Juan Archipelago cannot be passed by. Wilkes was a young naval officer who had entered the service of the navy in 1818—too late to take part in the War of 1812. He had read of all the war heroes and knew their deeds by heart. So he decided to honor them by placing their names on the various islands, bays, points and mountains in this archipelago. The largest of the islands, San Juan of the present time, he called Rogers' Island, in honor of Commodore John Rogers, who as commander of the President captured the British sloop of war Little Belt. Lopez Island he called Chauncy's Island for Chauncy was in command of the entire naval forces operating on the Great Lakes. The most interesting bit of nomenclature history relates to the naming of places about the present Orcas Island. This island he called Hull's Island; West Sound he called Guerriere Bay; East Sound he called Ironsides Inlet; and the large mountain upon the island he termed Mount Constitution. Only one of these four names has persisted to the present day — Mount Constitution. The story is simple and known to all readers. Capt.Isaac Hull commanded the United States frigate Constitution, nicknamed the Old Ironsides, which captured the British frigate Guerriere. Likewise Wilkes named Fidalgo Island Perry's Island in honor of Commodore Perry who won the victory over the British on Lake Erie, and to the beautiful mountain he gave the name Mount Erie. Like Mount Constitution Mount Erie is the only surviving piece of nomenclature. One can almost make a history out of the nomenclature given by Lieutenant Wilkes among what is today the San Juan Islands.

Lieutenant Wilkes was interrupted in his work upon the surveys of the San Juan Islands by a messenger who brought word that his ship Peacock had been wrecked at the entrance to the Columbia River, and he was forced to make a hurried departure, never to return to the Sound. His account of the expedition was published in several small editions in the early '40s, but his complete works took many years before completion and several of the proposed volumes were abandoned. There were only 100 sets of the complete works published and these were distributed to all the friendly powers and one set to each state and territory then in the Union. Portions of the works are now in the state library at Olympia. Unfortunately, the historical part of the expedition is brief; and the scientist part more voluminous. The Atlas of Charts, however, is remarkable, considering the time which was spent and the instruments at hand. Wilkes made the first calculation of the height of Mount Rainier. From Puget Sound he departed to the Columbia River where he was regarded with suspicion and even hatred by the sturdy pioneers who wanted to see an American Government in Oregon, and to whom Wilkes was not very sympathetic.

From Oregon the party went to California and then left to cross the Pacific Ocean.

In the light of later events it appears that Wilkes never regarded Elliott Bay as remarkable. Of the harbor he made a detailed map, but he did this of many harbors about the Sound both good and bad. In his narrative he has no word of description about the harbor. He seems to have regarded the upper portion of the Sound most favorably, at least from the military standpoint. But this is going to be the case with most of our early discoverers, pioneers, explorers and others. Seattle was not located or planned. It arose because of inherent commercial advantages which had to be learned by later promoters through experience.

Wilkes was the last of the exploring expeditions, and the Hudson's Bay Company, despite the fact that it made a pretense as an agent of civilization, was in reality nothing more than a frontier post. With them we pass from the history of the wilderness to the history of civilization, of the farmer, settler and manufacturer.

The early '40s witnessed the coming of that class of persons whose activities formed the basis for our great cities on the Sound. In the fall of 1849 Samuel Hancock, started from Olympia in a canoe with a crew of Indians, in search of coal, which he had been informed had been noted at several points along the Sound. He says: “The first night we camped at the mouth of the Puyallup River. We left here and proceeded slowly northward, for the prevailing winds are so violent at this season that at times it is unsafe to travel in canoes. My Indians were anxious to stop, but I insisted on continuing, though the wind was now blowing a half gale, and they seemed a good deal alarmed for our safety.

However, we reached Alki Point, an excellent harbor against the prevailing winds in winter, without accident. [This journal was prepared for publication in 1860, but never published. The notes were taken from day to day by Mr.Hancock. This will explain why he mentions “Alki Point” years before its naming.]. A great many Indians came from their houses to the beach here to ascertain where we came from. All the Indians I have met with in this region have a great deal of curiosity, and they are certain to know very soon after your arrival amongst them all that the Indians who are with you are in possession of in relation to you. So they were soon pretty well posted in regard to me; indeed, such was the nature of my business that I desired they should know, as I expected to derive considerable information from them about the coal.

As they seemed well disposed, I opened my valise and gave them all presents, to the men pipes and tobacco, to the women small looking-glasses and brass rings.”

From Alki Point he went down the Sound and during his explorations he went up the Snohomish River and visited and described the falls of the Snoqualmie, the first recorded account, though the visit of Capt. Robert Fay was made about the same time, probably. In the fall of 1850 Col. I. N. Ebey wrote from Olympia to M. T. Simmons an account of an exploration he had recently made of the valleys of the Puyallup and Duwamish rivers.

He gave a vivid and truthful description of the rich Puyallup Valley as far as where the Muckleshute Indian Reservation was afterward established. Coming on down the Sound he entered this bay which he called the Duwams. His party ascended the crooked river that he also called the Duwams to the forks.

What is now called Black River he spoke of as a continuation of the main stream. He says:“The river meanders along through rich bottom land, not heavily timbered, with here and there a beautiful plain of unrivaled fertility, peeping out through a fringe of vine maple, alder or ash, or boldly presenting a view of their native richness and undying verdure. Other plains of more extensive character are represented as being near at hand, and of sufficient fertility to satisfy the most fastidious taste.

“At a distance of about twenty miles from the bay the river forks—the right fork bears the name of Duwams. It has its source about ten miles to the north in a large clear lake [Lake Washington]. This stream has an average width of about twenty yards. The country along its banks partakes of the same character as that lower down the river. A few miles of this stream will be found quite rapid, offering many fine opportunities for mill privileges. Sandstones of a good quality for building materials make their appearance along this stream. The lake from which this stream has its source is of considerable extent, surrounded principally with woodland, consisting of cedar, fir, ash, oak, etc.

It varies in width from one to six miles. I traveled on it to the north a distance of more than twenty miles without finding its terminus. The water is clear and very deep; from the beauty of the lake and the scenery surrounding it we christened it by the name of Geneva. Another lake of less extent lies about six miles east of Geneva, and connected with it by a small stream.

“Between Geneva Lake and Admiralty Inlet there appears an extensive country of low land that has never been examined by white men, and when examined I have no doubt will be found very valuable. The distance from the Inlet to Geneva Lake in many places cannot exceed a few miles, as the Indians make portages across with their canoes.”

Colonel Ebey also went up the valley of what is now called White River, but did not give it a name. He intersected his former trail up the Puyallup.

CHAPTER 11. THE PIONEER PERIOD

The history of Seattle began September 28, 1851, when the vanguard of the first settlement at Alki Point arrived there. The settlement on the Duwamish River two weeks earlier was only a farming enterprise, and their claims were beyond Seattle's boundaries for thirty years or more.

When they left their homes in the East the majority of the settlers at Alki and Seattle intended to locate in the Willamette Valley, but on reaching the country west of the mountains they heard so much about the Sound country that they determined to investigate it sooner or later.

While the members of the pioneer party were at Portland, John N. Low and David T. Denny, who were on the lookout for homes, set out for Puget Sound after they had driven Low's cattle to the Chehalis Valley for winter range.

Arthur A. Denny, the elder brother, and the leading spirit in the expedition which had crossed the plains from Illinois, had heard so much of the Sound country that he decided to become better acquainted with it before deciding to settle elsewhere, but an attack of ague made it necessary for him to remain at Portland while his brother and Low went on ahead.

At Olympia the two were joined by Lee Terry and Capt. Robert C. Fay, and the four came on to the Duwamish River on a prospecting tour. They spent their first night under the trees on the promontory of what is now West Seattle, called Sgwudux by the Indians. The next morning Low, Denny and Terry hired two young Indians of Chief Seattle's band to take them to the Duwamish River in a canoe.

After ascending the Duwamish several miles Low and Terry landed and set out over an Indian trail to look at the country, leaving Denny to follow in the canoe with the Indians. As they did not appear when night set in Denny landed and camped for the night at a place afterward known as Maple Prairie.

His companions arrived the next morning in a canoe which they had obtained from the Indians at the mouth of Black River. The party returned to Sgwudux, where they remained during the night of the 27th. In the evening a scow passed them on the way to a settlement which had been made a few days earlier by Luther M. Collins, Henry Van Asselt and the father and son, Jacob and Samuel Maple, on the banks of the Duwamish River. Two women, the wife and daughter of Collins, conversed in Chinook with Captain Fay. On September 28th, the party moved their camp to Alki Point, where a permanent settlement was begun.

They made up their minds that they had reached the end of their journey.

Terry and Low had visions, and in their enthusiasm they determined that someday a city would build itself back of the point. It is not strange that this place that later was called Alki should have been selected by these earliest settlers for a townsite. It was either a natural prairie or the timber had mostly been burned off. This made it easy to put up the first buildings. The beach was sandy and gravelly and the upland easily accessible. It had an unobstructed view of the Sound northward and southward and of the Olympic Mountains.

The few sailing craft then visiting the upper Sound passed near it, and the smaller boats and canoes made of it a convenient port of call. Elliott Bay was guiltless of settlers and there was then nothing that attracted visitors. The point was well protected from southerly storms but the small craft that harbored there soon found it dangerous when the winds and waves swept in from the north.

They erected a rude shelter to protect them while they put up a more pretentious cabin. Their townsite was called by them New York but visitors smiled and said, “Yes, by-and-by.” This was translated into its Chinook equivalent, “Alki,” and ere long that was its only name.