Clarence B. Bagley - History of Seattle, Volume 1

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 Jrgen Beck

86450 Altenmnster, Loschberg 9

Deutschland

ISBN: 9783849650230

www.jazzybee-verlag.de

admin@jazzybee-verlag.de

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

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.