Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/918

 the river.

On the 13th of July, 1853, shortly after the division of the Oregon territory, the name was changed from Columbia barracks to Fort Vancouver, which name was again changed on the 5th of April, 1879, to Vancouver barracks, the name it now bears.

With this infantry came Captain U. S. Grant (afterwards President Grant) who was regimental quartermaster, and who was stationed here for about two years, residing near the river.

Sergeant Robert Williams, one of Vancouver's pioneer soldiers, furnishing much of this information, was in this same regiment, and played an honorable part in the wars against hostile Indians. He is still living at Vancouver at an ad- vanced age.

Troops stationed at Vancouver took part in the various Indian wars including those against the Yakima and Nez Perces Indians.

It is alleged that it was by the aid of an Indian princess, Winnemucca, that the Nez Perces war was brought to so early a close. Her father. Chief Winne- mucca, had always befriended the whites and at this time the hostile Indians were trying to force him to join them. Then it was that Winnemucca broke through the hostile lines and fled for help to the approaching army under General O. O. Howard.

She was brought back to Vancouver barracks, by Howard, and became a teacher of the children of the Indian prisoners. She had been educated by Catholic sisters of San Diego. She captured the heart of a sergeant at the fort whom she married and upon his discharge they left the fort.

Some years while P. Hough was principal of the Vancouver Columbian school, a tree was planted and named in her honor on the school grounds. Many of the early pioneers remembered seeing this Indian maiden.

Vancouver barracks has now become a very important fort and is now the headquarters of the department of the Columbia and Alaska. Many different regiments have been stationed here and it served as a recruiting ground during the Spanish-American war. Generals Otis, Anderson and Funston and others prominent in the Spanish-American war have commanded at this post.

But let us return to the early settlement of Vancouver and vicinity.

After an overland path had been made from the east, many settlers began to come into the Oregon country. Some found their way to Vancouver, but as we have said were always discouraged by the Hudson's Bay Company from settling north of the Columbia river. However, a few of the braver ones, in spite of their threats, were obstinate.

One of the earliest settlers was Henry Williamson, who staked out a claim on the present site of Vancouver, where he built a log cabin and had a part of his claim laid out in town lots by Surveyor F. W. Crawford, father of E. G. and W. P. Crawford, two of Vancouver's prominent business men.

Not long after this in 1845, came Amos M. Short and his heroic wife, Esther. Although the Hudson's Bay Company showed a great hostility to them and refused to furnish them supplies, they nevertheless, laid out their claim be- ginning at a certain balm of Gilead tree and erected their log house and built fences. The English officers did everything possible to harass these pioneers, even to destroying their fences and at one time while William Short was away, they placed Mrs. Short and the children in a batteau with one oar and set them adrift on the Columbia. It was only with the greatest effort that she was able to save herself and her children.

While William Short was absent, at another time, at Oregon City, awaiting trial before the Oregon provisional government, for having shot an officer, an interesting little incident happened which is told by Glenn W. Ranch, a son of one of Vancouver's early pioneers in his "Pictures of Northwest History."

"A small squad of men was sent under Fi Ceatte, an adventurous Courier- de-bois who had been in the employ of the company for many years, with in- structions to continue the work of destroying the fences. When Esther Short