Page:The Overland Monthly, Jan-June 1894.djvu/245



894.]

Early Days in Elliot Bay.

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EARLY DAYS IN ELLIOT BAY.

ELLIOT BAY is a beautiful expanse of water tributary to Puget Sound, on whose shores, in the State of Washi- ngton, Seattle, a growing city, is fast spreading its precincts, taking in more and more of the wilderness and convert- ing it into a busy, bustling activity.

The fur-traders, pioneers of our West- tern civilization, were the first to dis- cover and recognize the beauty and re- sources of this favored region ; but in 1846, when the treaty with England es- tablished the northwest boundary of the United States, an impetus was given to actual settlement.

In 1852 three land claims were located, and in 1853 the first plat of the town of (Seattle was filed. Today the limits of Jthis city absorb the original claims, and a much larger area beside.

Among these first settlers was a fam- ily by the name of Campbell, with which I made my home. The father, a strong, stalwart six-footer, seemed to fill the cabin when in it ; the wife was a kind, patient-looking woman, with soft, wavy brown hair, and dark blue eyes ; and there were three children, two sturdy boys, and a laughing, crowing baby-girl. I was a girl of thirteen, and had lost my parents on the journey across the plains. We constituted a busy, happy house- hold, despite privations and hardships. The settlers in this community were very friendly and helpful to each other, and the settlement flourished. It was named after a friendly Indian chief, who, with Pat Kanim, Chief of the Snoqual- mies, did much for the early whites.

Mr. Campbell worked early and late, getting out lumber and piles, which were bought by lumber vessels. These ships carried a stock of general merchan- dise, and upon them was the main de- pendence for supplies.

The first winter, that of '52 and '53, was one of great scarcity ; but few ves- sels visited the Sound, and scarcity amounted to distress. In those days pork and butter came around Cape Horn, flour in barrels from Chile, and sugar from China. As the winter wore on, another cause of anxiety and dis- tress touched us. Pat Kanim came to warn the settlers. There was a growing feeling of hostility among the Indians east of the mountains, and numbers of them were on the warpath, nearing the Sound country, and picking off strag- glers and lonely settlers. We were filled with distrust of the Indians from the east. They were moody, sullen, and re- vengeful. Nothing happened, however, in or near our vicinity, and after a few months the old feeling of security again possessed us.

Matters progressed finely for the next tvyo years. Ships laden with provisions visited us often ; timbers and piles were in such demand that though the men worked early and late they could not supply it. Gardens full of green things sprang up, and the cabins began to take on the appearance of cosy homes. The Campbells prospered. They had a large clearing, and their cabin was one of the largest and neatest. They were popular, too, on account of their hospitality and kindness to all who needed help.

In the spring of 1855 a number of men, old acquaintances of the Camp- bells, stopped with them a few days and told of great mineral wealth to be found in the mountains. Such wonderful ac- counts did they give that a party from the settlement determined to penetrate the wilderness and search for gold. Kent, the oldest boy, persuaded his father to let him make one of the party, and as Mrs. Campbell's brother was to