Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 6.djvu/163

157 POLITICAL BEGINNING OF WASHINGTON. 157 sion ended. The man who was first nominated for this legislative seat, and who would certainly have been elected, as there was no opposing candidate, died also before the day of election, and Scudder was put on the ticket in his stead. This was practically three deaths in one office in three months, none of the men getting near enough to it to be sworn in. George N. McConaha was president of the council and F. A. Chenoweth speaker of the house. B. F. Kendall was chief clerk of the house, and Morris H. Frost chief clerk of the council for a few days, he being succeeded by Elwood Evans. The legislature elected J. W. Wiley, Public Printer ; William Cook, Treasurer ; Benja- min F. Kendall, Librarian ; Daniel R. Bigelow, Auditor, and Francis A. Chenoweth, Frank Clark, and Daniel R. Bigelow, prosecuting attorneys of the three judicial dis- tricts. With a full corps of United States appointees ; with a congressional delegate, Columbia Lancaster ; with a law- making power in session, and with territorial officers as stated, Washington was fairly launched upon the sea of time, fully equipped and thoroughly provided for the long and prosperous voyage before it. It is not going too far to say that no State of the Amer- ican Union was more favored in its pioneer citizens than our own. The men whose names are recited in this nar- rative were fair illustrations of the body of the people of Oregon and Washington. The past tense in this state- ment is used advisedly, for with perhaps half a dozen exceptions, all are now gone to that other land and that blessed reward which their good works here on earth en- titled them to. These men were large -of brain, large of heart, strong, courageous, public spirited. They proba- bly did not realize how well they were building ; but it was their nature to do well, their training, their fixed habit. We of the second generation are the gainers thereby, and with us the whole world. These men would