1959 Pioneer Stories
Chapter 6
This page is part of the Reardan History 1959 booklet that was written by the Washington State History class of 1958-1959.
Mrs. John Robertson (Lincoln County)
I came to Washington Territory from Andres County, Missouri, in 1887. This trip was made in an immigrant train with my husband and two children. Our destination was Tacoma, where I had a sister.
We came west because of my failing health, as I suffered from tuberculosis, and welcomed my sister’s suggestion that the dry climate of eastern Washington might be beneficial. After a short stay in Tacoma, we came to Sprague, where my husband secured work as a blacksmith in the Northern Pacific car shops. After working about three months. He quit his job, bought a team, harness and a buckboard and drove to the present site of Wilbur, where Mr. Robertson bought a small blacksmith shop. There were only two board shacks, “Wild Goose” Bill Condon’s two story log house, and the blacksmith shop on the site at that time. Dr. B. H. Yount, a physician,, occupied one of the cabins with his family and carried on a country wide practice for many miles around, and “Wild Goose” Bill occupied his house only during the haying season with a large stock of liquor and a small stock of groceries. On our arrival in front of Bill’s cabin, after a two day’s trip from Sprague, I refused to leave the buckboard to go into his place and sat there until Dr. Yount came out, introduced himself, and invited me into his cabin. We remained with the Younts three days until Mr. Robertson completed a cabin. It was without a floor or windows. The first rain leaked through the roof and we were obliged to raise our umbrellas inside our cabin in order to keep dry.
My husband’s business thrived and customers came great distances to have their horses shod. After buying machinery and a large stock of hardwood, he added a wagon shop in conjunction with his blacksmith shop. In 1888 he bought a quarter section of lieu land, three miles south of Wilbur. In 1901 his wagon shop, $4,000 worth of hardwood that he had just received, and all of his machinery were destroyed by fire. His insurance had expired two days before and it was a total loss. Mr. Robertson continued blacksmithing until 1907, when he sold out and was elected town marshal. He held that office until his death in 1919. He disposed of his land and sold a business lot on the main street of Wilbur to the Woodmen of the World for $3,050.
I was one of the organizers of the Methodist Church, which was the first church built in Wilbur. I was superintendent of this institution for a number of years.
I was born in Andres County, Missouri, in 1852, of American born parents. I was married in 1878. I have two children and three grandchildren. They are Mrs Bessie Dalton, Wilbur, widow with one child; Mrs. Myrtle Peffley, Davenport, Washington, married, and the mother of two children.
So when I came to the Big Bend country there were very few settlers in this district. The houses were rough board shacks and a few log cabins. “Wild Goose” Bill Condon homesteaded the townsite of Wilbur. At the time the town was organized, the question of an appropriate name for the village came up. Some suggested “Goose Town,” but I protested, saying I wouldn’t live in the town if it were given that name. I suggested that if it were desirable to name the town after Mr. Condon, why not call it Wilbur, which was his middle name. This was agreeable to the committee and this name was adopted.
Transportation was by stage, horseback, and wagon. Supplies were hauled from Cheney and Spokane, a distance of about 60 miles over very rough roads. These towns were the nearest railroad points. The Washington Central Branch of the Northern Pacific Railroad was constructed through the Big Bend country and Wilbur in 1888-1889 and the growth of the county from that time was very rapid.
There were many Indians living about Wilbur, but they were peaceable and gave very little trouble unless they were drunk. I learned the Chinook jargon. Mr. Robertson’s uncle was killed by two drunken Indians in Okanogan County in 1889 in a dispute over some tobacco. When found, his body, all except his lower limbs, which were protected by his boots, had been eaten by coyotes.
Julius C. Johnson (Lincoln County)
At the beginning of the severe winter of 1889 and 1890, I had thirty head of horses and thirty head of cattle, but when the snow was gone I had only three or four cows and three horses left, as the others were frozen or starved to death. When it was time for seeing, my remaining horses were in such a weakened state that they could be worked for only short intervals, and it was necessary to do to about half the seeding by hand.
The Ranges About Medical Lake -- Joseph and James LeFevre (Spokane County)
In 1871, our father, with a partner, Mr. Martin, bought a band of five hundred head of sheep, a few cattle and horses and drove them to Medical Lake, where Father settled on a pre-emption claim on the present site of Medical Lake. The first winter they lost two hundred and fifty head of sheep from scab disease. In the spring they washed their sheep in the lake and to their great surprise, discovered that the medicinal properties of the water, which cured the sheep, also cured Father of rheumatism in one of his arms, which had almost become useless. This was the first discovery of the medicinal qualities of the water by the Whites.
George W. Wilson (Lincoln County)
During the winter of 1889-1890 a number of people would have frozen to death if “Wild Goose” Bill Condon had not come to the rescue by selling the settlers his rail fences at five dollars per load. In December, 1889, during the big snow storm, we were living in a cabin in Wilbur. On the morning following the heaviest snow, we found our cabin completely covered by a snow drift. It was necessary to tunnel our way out and shovel snow form the window. This was a tough winter for all of the settlers, as about 90 per cent of the livestock was lost by freezing or starvation.
Evan James McClure (Lincoln County)
The women of pioneer times wore half hoop skirts and bustles at parties and dances. These events were held at the homes of the settlers. The dresses were made by the women themselves, as money was too scarce to spend on finery.
Our family became very friendly with the Indians. A great many of them were living in and around Wellpinit on the Indian reservation, a short distance north of our home across the Spokane River. I learned to talk Chinook and had considerable dealings with the Indians. One old Indian squaw worked for us every fall for twenty-seven years, always digging potatoes, until she became too old to work. The family was always invited to the Indian celebrations. We would go on horseback and carry our food on our laps. The Indians would take us across the river in dug-out canoes. My wife has a beautiful beaded buckskin dress and numerous beaded bags and strings of beads given to her by Indians in early days. Every time she would dance with an Indian, he would pay for the dance with a string of beads.
The first school in Lincoln County was held in my brother’s cabin, a short distance from my homestead. This was called district Number One and the seven scholars who attended were taught by Miss Amerilla Waterhouse. A. J. Stevens was the first county superintendent.
As the county became more settled, there were lots of social functions such as house parties and dances. The music was usually produced by two violins, an accordion and occasionally a banjo.
Rev. [George] Whitworth, a Presbyterian minister, who lived in Seattle, would make frequent trips to Spokane and would usually come out to prayer meetings in the different homes. Reverend Whitworth was a well-known pioneer and had been all over the Northwest. Whitworth College was named for him.
I recall the scarcity of money during the first few years on our homestead. For weeks we would live on potatoes and sour dough biscuits. One day a hawk chased a prairie chicken into our cabin, and we caught the chicken and cooked it. This was the first meat that we had had for many weeks. I had ordered some berry bushes from a salesman for a later delivery. When they were delivered in the spring, I didn’t have any money with which to pay for them. I told the salesman I would have to cut some fence posts and deliver them to Mondovi, which I did. I had 25¢ left over after paying for the bushes and with this money I bought a meal.
William Willford (Lincoln County)
I came to Washington Territory in 1881 from Linn County, Iowa, with my parents, a brother and two sisters. A friend of the family, who had come to this country the year before, wrote us of the opportunities which the far West offered. As we were not progressing in Iowa, we, the Willfords, decided to come out here and live.
We came in an emigrant train to San Francisco, then by boat to Portland. From there we changed to a river boat to The Dalles, Oregon, then by narrow gauge railroad to Walla Walla, and then by stage to Sprague, Washington. Soon after arriving in Sprague, I got a job working at Medical Lake in a saw mill owned by Dan Leighton.
After working for him about a year, I bought an interest in the business. In 1883 we moved the mill to what was know as Hawk Creek Falls on the Columbia River near Peach, where we remained for three years; then moved to Hell Gate, where we remained a number of years. We think we are the only lumbermen that ever built a boom which worked successfully on the Columbia River. It was the first saw mill in Lincoln County.
It wasn’t necessary for me to move to different states, territories or counties, because they came to me. I lived in Washington Territory, Washington State, Spokane, Stevens, and Lincoln Counties without moving form the house which I first lived. I belong to the Catholic Church, but there were no churches of this denomination, or any other, in this vicinity, when I first arrived. There were only a few settlers in this vast prairie, and these were stockmen operating along Crab Creek, where there was plenty of water and free range.
I was well acquainted with “Wild Goose” Bill Condon, Portuguese Joe Enos, and the Hutchinson Brothers, all widely known frontier characters of the Big Bend country. I was a pall bearer at the funeral of “Wild Goose” Bill. He was killed in a pistol duel in a cabin near Wilbur. The trouble started over a woman, who was wounded during the duel, and both men were killed. It was presumed that both men shot at the same time.
I have a solid gold ring riven to me by Portuguese Joe. Which I have worn for about thirty years. Portuguese Joe was leaving California and said to me, “Bill, I want to make you a present, so go and pick yourself out a big watch, and if you don’t want a watch, get a big ring. The bigger it is, the better it will suit me.” I have never seen Joe since.
I was born in Linn County, Iowa, in 1861. I am a native-born citizen of Irish and English descent. I was married in 1892 in Wilbur, Washington, and have six children and no grandchildren.
The first settlers here lived in log cabins, when the small logs could be obtained; otherwise, they used rough lumber, which they had to haul from a long distance before the saw mill was built or before the Washington Central Railroad was built from Spokane.
One of the best entertainments in early days was the Indian race at Wilbur. The Indians and Whites would come from miles around and bet large sums of money on these races. Chief Moses was demonstrating how to start the races by firing his pistol in the air. A few drunken Indians nearby thought a fight was starting with the Whites and began to shoot off their guns. Chief Moses was so provoked with them the he tied short ropes to their wrists, laid them on their backs, and staked their wrists to the ground until they sobered up. I cannot talk Chinook, but I understand the lingo. The Indians had their camp grounds at the present site of Wilbur.
“Wild Goose” Bill built the first building on the present site of Wilbur, which was his homestead. He used the building for his home and for a small store, which he ran. This building, built of logs, has been moved to the City Park as a memorial of bygone days.
By G. Sanford as told by Mr. Michael Kintschi of Edwall (Lincoln County)
He was born in Wisconsin, but soon after his birth they traveled by train to San Francisco, then made their way to Wallula by boat. Then his parents journeyed to Rosalia and from there to a homestead site eight miles southwest of Edwall, Washington.
Mr. Kintschi was six months old when he arrived in this portion of the country. His father began immediately to construct a hut which was located one hundred yards south of the present home. It was built into the side of a hill. Logs were used for the front and a few were used for the sides, The roof was constructed for branches and brush. Then this was covered with sod for the roof. The floor was dirt for the first few years, then this was replace with boards. The cracks in the walls were caulked with red clay mud.
A small center of activity for this one area was called Sassen (some believe this was the name given by the Postal Department). This spot on the map or center was the only stop for the stage coach between Fort Colville and Fort Walla Walla. In this wayside inn was the Post Office. Mr. Kintchi’s father held the contract of carrying the mail for four years. When the Northern Pacific completed to railroad through Sprague, he lost his contract.
Mr. Kintschi arrived in the Sassen are in the spring of 1881 and homesteaded 160 acres in 1882. Hot having enough land Mr. Kintschi’s father took out a timber claim on another 160 acres and planted box elders on this land. In this way of improving the land, in five years a person could keep it by having witnesses come out and verify the fact that improvements had taken place.
The year 1881 was also the year in which the railroad was completed through Sprague and thus ended the transporting of supplies from Walla Walla. The trip to Walla Walla was a six-day journey. All the lumber was hauled from Walla Walla to this are until the railroad started hauling in supplies.
A man named Cosgrove was the nearest neighbor of Mr. Kintschi. He lived about one and a half miles away.
The city of Sprague was thriving, small city an was the center of activity for miles around. Supplies or foodstuffs were gotten from Sprague about every two weeks. These consisted mostly of flour, sugar, coffee, and corn meal.
Mr. Kintschi’s father came over from Switzerland in his youth an was interested in dairying as he ha been in the old country and Wisconsin. His interests in dairying were substantiated by his starting a herd of cattle an selling dairy products in and around Sassen an Sprague. At one time he had one hundred head of cattle and a few sheep.
In 1888, one year before Washington became a state, the Kintschis built their present home. This well built home is still well-kept and semi-modern even today.
Mr. Kintschi’s father spoke German as he came form that section of Switzerland. This complicated matters for Mr. Kintschi as he lasted only three days in school the first year under a Mr. Scott. The only language he knew was German.
In school, which usually ran three month in the fall and two or three months in the spring (depending on the money supply), he dropped out and started to learn some English. Next year in school he had an old maid school teacher, Ella Kerr, who could speak some German, so together, with his somewhat limited vocabulary of English and German, they got along just fine. Another early teacher in the Sassin school was Elda Sinclair.
He would walk to school. The school day started at 9:00 and went to 12:00 o’clock. It then convened at 1:00 and lasted until 4:00. Everything was book learning–no basketball or other activities as such. The teacher received twenty-five dollars a month. All the Kintschi children attended the Sassen School. He was the eldest of ten children. All the other children were born on the homestead. In later years this school consolidated with the Edwall district.
The Sassen Church was built in 1888 and claims have been made that this was the first Evangelical Church in the whole of Washington territory.
Sprague was the first county seat of Lincoln County and the Catholic Academy, which is on the north side of town, was located near the Court House. Then in the middle 1890s the county seat moved to Harrington, because it supposedly located in a more central position in the county. But again it moved, and is now at the present town of Davenport.
In 1893, Mr. Kintschi took his first trip to Spokane to visit a Mr. Tanner (Mrs. Bob Snow’s grandfather) who lived on Hangman Creek.
The first harvest was don by mower and rake. Then they advanced to the reaper–then the headers. One early system of thrashing the grain was having a post with a swivel located on the top with horses connected to it and they would be driven around and around the post–thus the grain would be trampled and somewhat thrashed out. The chaff would be wind blown and the few bushels left, in most cases, could be used for chicken feed. Then came horsepower, another method of separating the grain from the other husk. Now arrived in the area, team thrashing outfits. These used wood at first, but finally went over to straw as it was more plentiful and handy to use. The first year they contracted the use of a steam thrasher was in 1896.
In 1903 the last virgin ground left on the homestead was broken and tilled. Spring wheat being the pre-dominant crop of the area. Oats were grown n he valleys because of the moisture content factor. Some barley was grown. None of the grains did very well for it took too long to plow this soil before the moisture could be contained and planted to utilized this moisture. Usually by the time you finished plowing, the ground was dry and hard as a board. One reason for finishing late, in plowing, was to have the plants that were growing on the soil used as feed for the many horses.
In clearing or preparing the ground for usage in planting, it required the tilling of a grass which was known as “wool grass.” It had a highly complex system of roots and they were like wine [twine? or wire?]. This grass had advantages though, it checked the soil in the spring run offs and made a good erosion preventive. The clearing rocks and brush wasn’t much of a problem n this area as was the job of getting rid of this “wool grass.”