From the desk of Marlys Rudeen – Deputy State Librarian

Traipsing through issues of the San Juan Islander for January-April 1907 is serious business.  For the islanders are a litigious lot and there seems to be a fair amount of news regarding lawyers, courts, suits and arrests in what we think of today as an idyllic vacation spot.  I’ve picked out a few events that struck me as interesting, but there is far more to be explored.

Feel free to browse through the issues for 1898-1914 on your own at the Chronicling America site,

(http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085190/) at the Library of Congress.  Choose the link to ‘Browse’, then use the drop down to choose a year, and the calendar display to choose an issue.

Jan. 5, 1907

1. 1 The first electric street light in Friday Harbor lights up the intersection of Spring and Main streets. Voluntary contributions from citizens will be necessary to purchase additional lights.  The paper takes the stance that incorporation is advisable in order to fund such civic improvements.

Jan. 12, 1907

1. 1 The danger working in lumber mills is underlined by the report of the accident suffered by Dutton McNallie, a 19-year old, who lost his left arm to the planer at the Friday Harbor Mill.
2. 3 Under the heading “No Women Politicians”, the paper quotes Pope Pius X where he exhorts women to do everything they can to care for the poor and uplift civilization, including education. “They should study everything, with, of course, the exception of theology.”  He continues that women should be lawyers, doctors and teacher, but should not enter politics.  “Women in Parliament!  The idea is preposterous.  Men there make blunders sufficient.”

Jan. 26, 1907

1. 1 Former San Juan Co. resident, W. C. Boone, is in jail in Salem, OR, charged with bigamy. Also it seems his name is actually D. M. Richards.  He married a Miss McFadden in Salem on Sept. 15, 1906, failing to mention that he already had a wife in the Bellingham area (and several children) from whom he had never obtained a divorce.  It is also charged that when he married the wife in Bellingham, he already had a wife in Ohio.

The Whatcom County Bar Association has instituted proceeding for the disbarment of E. J. Grover.  Specific charges include misappropriation of funds and soliciting a bribe.  Grover is known for “having been associated with Mr. Garrett in the trial of the Wold-Ziegler cow case.”

The case of the McCrary Liquor License – whether or not to issue a liquor license to W. H. McCrary becomes a burning question in San Juan County.  There will charges and countercharges, sworn affadavits, lawyers and county commissioners weighing in over several months.  See “Officials Clash on License Question.”

Feb. 2, 1907

1. 1 “McCrary Liquor License Held Up.”

Feb. 9, 1907

1. 1 “The ‘Pirates of Penzance’ would have to ‘go away back and sit down’ if they were to come into competition with the fruit and produce commission pirates of Seattle. Compared with them the ‘Forty Thieves’ of the Arabian Nights were mere novices in the art of robbing the public.”

What sort of tactics do fruit and produce pirates employ?  An Orcas Island orchardist shipped 70 boxes of choice apples to the commission, for which he expected payment of about $60 according to current fruit prices.  After considerable time and several letters he went to Seattle and confronted the owner of the shop which had sold the fruit.  The shop owner admitted he had received the fruit in good order and sold it at good prices, but instead of paying the grower he had used the money in his business and so didn’t have it to make payment, and “what are you going to do about it?”  (Pirates, indeed!)

Street lights  – It turns out the single street light was being donated free for a couple months by the local power company.  Now they announce that it will be shut off unless someone raises the money to pay the monthly fee.

Feb. 16, 1907

1. 1 “Special Meeting of Commissioners” (McCrary Liquor License.)

Feb. 23, 1907

1. 1 An argument between citizens, A. Stoliker and Fred Peasley became heated, with such florid language that Mr. Peasely went so far as to attempt to have Mr. Stoliker placed “under bonds to keep the peace.” There was a hearing before Justice Oscar Bergman of the Valley Precinct. “While the evidence showed that the language used by Stoliker wasn’t indicative of a feeling of brotherly love toward Peasley and that it would be somewhat out of place in a Christian Endeavor meeting or high class literary symposium, it did not impress the justice as being of such a character as to indicate that Stoliker was really thirsting for Peasley’s gore… and he was accordingly discharged.”

Mar. 2, 1907

1. 1 “A repeated Misstatement Corrected” (McCrary Liquor License.)
2. 6 The current serialized novel is “The Iron Pirate” by Max Pemberton.

Mar. 16, 1907

1. “A Statement from Commissioner Sandwith.” (McCrary Liquor License.)

Also a new physician settle in Friday Harbor, Dr. George H. Shrodes.

Mar. 23, 1907

1. 1 “Mr. Frits Demands a Retraction.” (McCrary Liquor License.)

Apr. 6, 1907

1. 1 Another saloonkeeper, Fred Lightheart is acquitted in a case involving gambling in his saloon. “While the fact of gambling in the saloon was clearly established, the evidence failed to show that it was done with his knowledge or consent.”  (Perhaps they limited their play to darkened corners?)

Apr. 27, 1907

1. 1 A proposed tax on dogs ($1 for a male, $2 for a female) is said to be unconstitutional by the attorney general. The county attorney had consulted him after the county commissioners proposed the tax.

Ed Gilshenan who was thought to be drowned in the San Juan Channel, turned up safe and sound at his home on Waldron Island.  He did indeed capsize, but managed to reach Brush Island.  Once there it took several days to flag down a steamer that picked him up and allowed him to find his way home.

I’ll leave the islands now but hope you will visit and make the acquaintance of the early citizens.  And in case you’re wondering, Mr. McCrary does indeed get his license, though I would be hard put to identify exactly where and when it happened.

The San Juan Islander was digitized through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities under the National Digital Newspaper Program.  The Islander and many other American newspapers can be found online at Chronicling America (chroniclingamerica.loc.gov) at the Library of Congress.

Additional newspapers for Washington can be found at Historic Newspapers (www.sos.wa.gov/legacy/newspapers.aspx) at the Washington State Library’s web site.  The State Library is a Division of the Office of the Secretary of State.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

The term “yegg” really has some power to it and was used frequently by reporters in the course of telling the story of Blackie Carroll and Irish Slim. Melisa Sevall, a Public Services librarian who had worked in the Coyote Ridge Corrections Center Library before the WSL Central Library staff, pointed me to the reference work, Language of the Underworld / by David W. Maurer (1981). A “Yegg” can be a desperate sort of criminal and burglar, but more specifically (and certainly in our case study) a safecracker.

Our customers are frequently surprised to learn that in addition to having Washington newspapers on thousands of reels of microfilm, we also include a few out-of-state newspapers culturally tied to our history. We have several newspapers from Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia, and Alaska. The following piece from The Morning Oregonian of Sept. 12, 1921 demonstrates how their news beat went across state lines:

  ESCAPED OUTLAWS ARE YET AT LARGE

 Carroll, ex-Convict, Once Tried to Go “Straight.”

 RECORD HERE IS STORMY

 Jimmie Costigan, Who Convinced Victim of Wrong Identification, Is Well Educated.

 “The jailbreak at Montesano of James (‘Blackie’) Carroll, expert safecracker and ex-convict, who openly boasted a few months ago that he would have Portland overrun this winter with yeggs and highwaymen, recalls the record of the outlaw in Portland. Police posters containing his picture and offers of reward for his capture were received at police headquarters yesterday.”

“With Carroll in his escape from the Montesano jail was Jimmie Costigan, alias ‘Irish Slim,’ reputed to be one of the nerviest highwaymen now operating along the Pacific slope. Both were awaiting sentence of life imprisonment as habitual criminals.”

 Chief Accepts Defi

 “‘Blackie’ Carroll ostensibly had decided to go ‘straight.’ He opened up a soft-drink establishment in the north end about a year ago. But the only thing soft about the place was the ‘pickings,’ as his dive soon became known as one of the worst bootlegging hangouts in the north end.”

“Carroll was repeatedly arrested and convicted of bootlegging. Finally he sent word to Chief of Police Jenkins that if he were not allowed to sell liquor openly at his establishment he would see that Portland became infested with yeggs and crooks. The chief accepted the defi and compelled ‘Blackie’ to close up shop.”

“After Carroll had been released from jail the last time here he disappeared. A few weeks later he was arrested at Montesano with ‘Irish Slim’ while in the art of blowing a safe. Their conviction as habitual criminals followed.”

 Costigan Four-Time Loser.

 “Jimmie Costigan is a four-time loser, having served two terms each in the penitentiaries at Folsom and San Quentin, Cal. His last escapade locally, which was called to the attention of the police, occurred about eight months ago, when he held up and robbed a local cider manufacturer of about $30.”

“This man picked out ‘Slim’ in the north end the next day and had the police take him into custody. The identification was positive, it was said at the time of the arrest.”

“When the case came before Municipal Judge Rossman on preliminary hearing, ‘Irish Slim” put up such a good front that his victim wavered in his identification. Judge Rossman declined to hold the suspect unless the complaining witness was certain of his identity.”

 Victim Is Convinced.

 “Finally it was agreed that the complaintant and ‘Irish Slim’ would retire to a secluded room and there discuss the case. A few minutes later the cider manufacturer returned to court and asked that the prisoner be discharged.”

“It was not until several weeks later that the police learned how ‘Irish Slim’ had convinced his victim that a mistake had occurred. During the four terms he served in the California prisons time naturally hung heavy for the convict. He took up a correspondence school education and by the time he had finished his last ‘bit’ had won a few correspondence school degrees.”

Complaintant Offers Apology.

 “When he faced his hold-up victim in the ante-room off the municipal courtroom, ‘Irish Slim’ put his correspondence school education to good use. With the choicest English, he told the hold-up victim he was a college professor on his ‘uppers,’ and horrid things like highway robbery were farthest from his mind. So suave was he in his talk that he convinced the other he could not have been the highwayman, and the latter was more than eager to set him free. He even offered a public apology in police court for having caused ‘Irish Slim’ such embarrassment.”

“Although ‘Blackie’ Carroll has promised Portland a carnival of crime this winter, it is believed he will not be so bold as to return here to attempt to direct any of the work. His face is too familiar with practically every member of the police bureau for him to chance arrest by returning to Portland.”

Earlier in his life Blackie had been the leader of a crime syndicate known as the Bozee Boys, who rode the rails and went from town to town blowing up safes with nitroglycerin. Born around 1877-1878, Blackie was a career criminal who had previously served prison terms in Salem, Oregon and in San Quentin where he was released in July 1919. He was also known as Tom Carey. Carroll did indeed operate a “soft drink” place at 241 1/2 Couch St. in Portland for a few months before selling it in 1921.

James “Irish Slim” Costigan claimed he was a San Francisco based sailor originally from Plymouth, England. He was also known as James H. Ward, James Grant, James Brophy, James Dwyer, James Murray, and John Keating. A professional burglar and bold robber, Irish Slim had spent two prison terms in Folsom and two in  San Quentin, a total of 11 years.

By poking around the Hoquiam’s newspaper, Grays Harbor Daily Washingtonian, and also the Montesano Vidette, I was able to piece together a bit more of the story.

In May, 1921, Blackie and Irish Slim formed a gang with forger Fred Morgan (aka Cecil Hill, released from prison in Salem in 1919) in Centralia, Washington. Blackie was wanted for a warehouse robbery in Astoria, Oregon at the time. The trio rode the rails to Hoquiam and decided to blow the safe in a steam laundry.

In the wee hours of May 4, 1921, the yeggs broke into the laundry, set two charges of nitro, and piled clothes over the safe to muffle the noise of the explosion. The charge was a bit too strong, blowing the safe door into the safe itself. They were quickly captured, and within two months were convicted. But as we saw, the Grays Harbor County jail could not hold Blackie and Irish Slim for too long. They broke the bars of their cell and vanished into thin air.

Did Blackie return to Portland to make good on his promise to deliver a “carnival of crime”? On the Christmas after his escape from Montesano, a night watchman identified the two yeggs who tied him up and then blew the safe of a cardroom (netting $1500) as Blackie Carroll and “Jingling” Johnson.

Although I found no record of the fate of Irish Slim, Blackie made his way to Missouri, where he was convicted of burglary in 1923 under the name James Ryan, and sentenced to the state prison. The last record I can find for him was in 1925, when he was returned to Montesano to serve out the rest of his term in the  Grays Harbor County jail.  He was 44 years old, probably making him one of the senior yeggs in the business.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Three mysteries emerge from an episode back when Spokane was known as Spokane Falls, one of them concerns a ghost, another is geographic, and the last is bibliographic. No, I’m not talking about a spirit scouring the online catalog– that is called BOOlean searching (heh-heh, get it?). This series of questions emerge from the following article in the Spokane Falls Review, March 21, 1885:

SPOOKS

Spokane Falls Enjoys the Luxury of a Haunted House.

“Among the other many attractions in and about Spokane Falls, there has recently been added that of a haunted house, wherein the cheerful disembodied spirit holds high carnival, and the spectral inhabitants of the silent and bewitching midnight meet together to join in ghostly orgies, talk politics and frighten the timid denizens of this mundane sphere out of their seven senses. Belated pedestrians, with a tendency to scare easily, shun the side of street upon which is located the trysting place of the jovial spooks, while the more courageous have marched up to the premises, but, if not really frightened, have had no hesitancy in moving off at a speed above that of ordinary promenading when having their ears saluted with uncanny sounds.”

“The building that has been taken without the formality of lease, by these airy nocturnal roysters, is the old Phoenix beer hall that was the scene of a sad chapter in the city’s history; that of the unprovoked murder of a young man last summer, and which has been unoccupied for several months. We have heard vague rumors of the presence of a ghost, but have, so far, been unable to see anyone who will admit of having seen anything of a supernatural agency. Although the belief is so strong that the unexplainable exists that it is not every one you meet who will volunteer to take his blankets and camp in the room overnight.”

“It is said that on a certain occasion, recently, a man passing had his attention attracted by a strange noise that seemed to proceed from the room, and, going carefully up the alley, he peered into a window. He didn’t remain rooted to the spot. His legs refused to allow his body to remain in the neighborhood and he don’t remember just how he soon did get to bed, but it was only a small fraction of time after taking one gaze, when he had his head buried under the blankets.”

“He touches the subject tenderly and has kept much more rational hours ever since. What he saw could not have grown out of the character of the fluid he had been drinking, as he had religiously stuck to water that evening. To a limited few, he claims that when he reached the window he saw the shadowy outlines of a man that shone out with a phosphorous light. The shadowy tenant was walking with his back to the window and was giving vent to a noise sounding as though he was in a good deal of pain or was growling over the chilliness of the night. When the apparition turned about and headed for the window, one glance was sufficient for the individual. Considering that the specter would consider it an indelicate intrusion, the witness adjourned without apology. He calculates that, with ordinary luck, he will be able to outlive the sensation he experienced in fifty or one hundred years.”

“Making all due allowance for a vivid imagination and a bristly fright, there is still left a margin for the belief that the visitor from the other world is not a party that the average man would choose for a boon companion.”

“Since then, and perhaps before (although we have no data for going behind the returns) attention has been attracted to the spot by divers unpleasant sounds, as if a whole colony of the defunct were occasionally congregated for a jubilee. No thorough investigation has, so far, been made, as the initiated have perhaps felt a slight delicacy in forcing their presence in company where they were not invited. We suppose that in time, when the thing becomes shorn of the glamour of freshness, some one will want to deprive the public of the benefit of such an important tributary to the popularity of the Falls, and try to clear up the mystery.”

“We cannot say when the boss spook holds his receptions, but if any one is curious he can hang around o’ nights and find out for himself. We are not paid for keeping a reporter on the spot.”

Mystery # 1: What the heck is it? In all my perusing through territorial newspapers, this is the most detailed and open account I have found describing public “ghostly” happenings.

Mystery # 2: The exact location of the Phoenix Beer Hall, which was designated as the HQ for these ghosts, is not easy to find. Apparently closed by 1885, it doesn’t show up on directories or Sanborn maps of the era. I’d be curious to know if that location has experienced other “supernatural” events in the 20th-21st centuries. But where was/is it?

Mystery # 3: In an attempt to find an account of the “sad chapter in the city’s history,” it was discovered the incident was the September 27, 1884 shooting of a quiet carpenter named Henry R. Roblin by John “Jack” Connerry, “a notorious rustler.” Apparently Roblin accidentally bumped into Connerry on a Saturday near midnight at the Phoenix Beer Hall, and that alone sparked the shooting. Connerry was captured the next morning but was moved from Spokane Falls city jail to Cheney as he was in very real danger of being lynched by an angry mob. It seems Connerry escaped jail in Cheney a short time later.

But here’s the mystery. In an effort to find a local article about this shooting, every single newspaper run we have in the Spokane area is missing the issue that would have covered this news. It’s like we have a nice complete set– except for this one period. Every one of them! What’s the deal here? I had to go to newspapers in California and Montana to get the details. Was the episode so shameful no one wanted to preserve the newspapers, or instead did they keep it as a souvenir? In any case, it is quite odd.

The Spokane Falls Review is one the historical newspapers digitized by the Washington State Library. The above article, and many other lively stories about Spokane can be viewed online on the WSL website.

Portrait of Schlumpf from The Cartoon : a Reference Book of Seattle’s Successful Men (1911)

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Somewhere long ago I read a quote from the late great Larry Fine, the “Stooge in the Middle” of the always underestimated Three Stooges. He said something to the effect that real comedy always works in threes. Either in timing, or in personalities. Library cataloger’s note: I wonder if this where the AACR2 “rule of three” came from– a Stooges fan in the rulemaking woodwork?

Anyway.

The following story is certainly a candidate for Larry Fine’s Rule of Three. In fact, one figure in this story is even called an “amateur comedian.” The microfilm reel grabbed at random this week unearthed this story from The Seattle Daily Times, Feb. 2, 1907:

JOHN ANDREW NINK ARRESTED

Well-Known Character’s Attempt to Whip Joe Schlumpf Ends Disastrously for Himself and Ally, Matt Dee.

Latter Offered $20 to Pummel the Cigar Merchant and Lands on His Head in the Middle of the Sidewalk.

“John Andrew Nink, for many years a familiar figure on the streets of Seattle, faultlessly dressed in silk hat and fashionable black clothing, a striking contrast to his snow white hair and mustache, spent the greater part of last night in the receiving cell of the city jail, all because he wanted to whip Joe Schlumpf, the cigar merchant.”

“John Andrew Nink, a good judge of beer, a gentleman of leisure and a man with a notoriety that many persons would not be fond of, was shocked when Jailer John Corbett began to search him, just as he would any other prisoner.”

“‘Why, it’s an outrage,’ declared the gentlemanly John Andrew Nink. ‘I’ll not stand for it. I’ve got enough money to buy you all and sell you again. Lock me up in jail? Well, I guess not.'”

“‘If you’ve got $20 bail money to insure your appearance in court to answer a charge of being drunk and disorderly, I’ll let you go,’ replied Capt. Laubscher.”

“John Andrew Nink couldn’t raise the $20, although he dug deep into his broad trousers. Against his protestations and weak resistance, Jailer Corbett led him off to the receiving cell. All night long he paced up and down the cell while the hoboes guyed him about his tall hat which he refused to remove. At 8 o’clock this morning he was allowed to telephone to a well known woman who said she would send up the money for his bail.”

Hires Man to Whip Schlumpf.

“The gentleman prisoner had a grievance against Joe Schlumpf. He wanted to whip Joe but the big German cigar merchant looked too stately for Nink. He believed in nerving himself and therefore took on a few glasses of tonic. Then he met Matt Dee, a West Seattle man, who has figured in more rows in the last few years than he has fingers and toes. Nink told Dee his troubles. Dee sympathized with him and offered to help him.”

“‘I’ll give you $20 if you’ll whip Schlumpf for me,’ said Nink.”

“Matt Dee used to have plenty of money and there was a time when $20 wouldn’t tempt him, but when he saw $20 coming so easily he took up the proposition. Nink and Dee had a few more drinks and Dee started for Joe Sclumpf’s cigar store in the Butler Block.”

“‘What you been a doin’ to Nink?’ angrily demanded Matt Dee of Joe Schlumpf.”

“There was no answer. Dee looked at Joe and Joe looked at Dee.”

“‘Well, I’ve come over here to give you a lickin’,’ said Dee as he started for the show case.”

“Joe stepped from behind his cigar case and with a stiff right-hander he landed on Dee’s jaw and sent him sprawling to the floor. A kick or so landed Dee in the middle of the sidewalk and Joe Schlumpf went back to the case where he finished telling a friend one of his German stories, just as if nothing had happened.”

“Dee hunted up Nink and told him what he had got.”

“‘You’re not game,’ said Nink to Dee. ‘I’ll go over there and wallop that Dutchman myself.'”

“Nink started across the street, followed closely by Dee. The latter, however, decided to wait on the outside. Nink entered the cigar store and big Joe Schlumpf saw him coming.”

“‘Back for trouble, are you?’ yelled Joe, who by that time had decided that he was tired of Nink and his trouble.”

“‘Yes, I’m back and we’ll settle it right here.'”

“Nink started for Joe, but the amateur comedian was too quick for the angry man, and slapping him not ungently on the side of the cheek he sent Nink to the mat, then pushed him out of the door with his No. 12 foot.”

“Nink and Dee had another consultation but they agreed that no more attacks would be made. Nink said goodbye to Dee and the latter wandered up the street. Nink’s humor was not improved and he went deeper into the cups in a nearby saloon, saying he had a gun and was going to get somebody.”

“Not desiring any bloodshed in the thirst emporium, a bartender was sent out for an officer. Patrolman Charles Dolphin responded. He asked Nink if he had a gun. The latter replied that he had not but if he had one he would use it right there.”

“Unawed by the tall silk hat and the fine clothes of Nink, Officer Dolphin put a firm hand on his shoulder and told him he was under arrest.”

Gay With a Policeman.

“‘Are you a policeman?’ asked Nink, who was probably unable to see Dolphin’s uniform and his star.”

“‘Well, I make a noise like one,’ responded Dolphin.”

“There was no more parleying. A wagon call was sent in and Nink went to jail in the private conveyance furnished at the expense of the city.”

“About four years ago Nink was shot in the back while walking along Second Avenue near Union Street. For weeks he was in the hospital and for a time it was thought he would die. It was ascertained beyond all question that a young man had shot Nink because the latter had interfered in family affairs. Nink refused to prosecute and no arrest was made.”

“Nink says he is an insurance agent, but so far as the police know he has not increased business perceptibly in Seattle.”

“Joe Schlumpf’s ‘Webster’s’ Amateur Champions of the State of Washington. Season of 1908.” Schlumpf himself is possibly the man standing on the far right. Photo courtesy of Northwest sports historian David Eskenazi.

Nink had a knack for getting into trouble. A few years before the above incident, on an evening in November 1903 indowntown Seattle, he was shot in the back apparently by someone who objected to the romantic overtures Nink was bestowing upon a wealthy widow. A Morning Olympian (Nov. 13, 1903) account of the shooting described Nink as “a well known character in the city [Seattle]. He always dresses well and for years has worn a silk hat, which made him quite a prominent figure on the street.”

Nink died in Seattle Jan. 22, 1917 at the age of 65.

Mark “Matt” Dee, born in New York, raised in Boston, and sent to Ireland for his schooling always said he came home to the U.S. not with an education but “returned with a brogue only.” At age 12 he went to sea, and claimed that at some vague date he married the actress and early film star Blanche Walsh (1873-1915), an assertion that cannot be verified by any source except Dee himself.

Dee also included being the manager of boxer John L. Sullivan (1858-1918) for a three-year stint in his resume, as well as having a part in the early career of “Gentleman Jim” Corbett (1866-1933). Again, outside sources to verify these claims don’t come easy.

After a brief time in the mining camps of Montana, Matt moved to Seattle around the turn of the century. He settled in West Seattle where he became known as “Daddy Dee of Alki.” Dee became a very active member of the Republican Party and was known for the practice of taking a dip in Puget Sound on a daily basis. He died in Seattle July 1, 1931 at the age of 73.

Although called a German and Dutchman in the article, Joseph Schlumpf was born in Wisconsin. He arrived in Seattle ca. 1890 and was well known as a cigar merchant. Apparently he was politically ambitious, but had difficulty getting elected to office, although he did serve one term on the Seattle City Council, 1910-1911, representing the East Capitol Hill district.

Perhaps Joe Schlumpf’s real legacy in Seattle was his role as an organizer for one of the early baseball clubs. In this regard he could be considered a visionary.

Schlumpf moved to Hollywood, California in 1919. He died there July 16, 1941 at the age 73. I wonder if he ever had a chance to meet Larry Fine?

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

Although the word “snarky” wasn’t really used in 1889, the concept was there– as we shall see.

In this case study we should start with the 1889 Constitutional Convention held in Olympia, where delegates from across Washington Territory met in order to hammer out a guiding document. When I read through the WSL copy of The Journal of the Washington State Constitutional Convention, 1889, I find an entry for July 17 describing a proposition submitted by a generally quiet gentleman from Lincoln County with the literary name of Handford Wentworth Fairweather:

“Relating to Bribery of Officers. By Mr. Fairweather. Referred to Committee on Legislative Department.”

H.W. Fairweather, 37 years old, was a former railroad executive turned banker from Sprague. You might recall his name as a narrator in our blogpost about Amore de Cosmos.

Apparently Mr. Fairweather’s action at the Convention amused the folks back home. The random reel this week is from The Wilbur Register for July 26, 1889. They just don’t write political commentary like this these days. I have tried to keep the original spelling and punctuation as true as possible while still keeping it readable:

“At last Delegate Fairweather has been heard from. Lincoln county, through her delegate, has become famous, and the delegate won renown, which handed down to posterity, in generations to come, will shine with such brilliance as to illume a world with its glory, until the bones of all the honored dead now in peaceful repose at Westminister shall grow restless and turn green with envy.”

“Delegates from other counties might devote their entire attention to such unimportant, common place matters as schemes for state, county, and municipal government, legislative and executive powers, the bill of rights, revenue and taxation, or the judiciary to the exclusion of others of such vital importance that a state government formed without them would surely prove uninduring. No such neglect is to be charged to this renown member from Lincoln. To his fertile brain is to be ascribed the keystone plank of the constitution without which it never could have proven durable.”

“Mr. Fairweather has figured considerably in legislative and public affairs. In such matters his is the wisdom of experience. He has necessarily stood by, a disinterested spectator of course, and witnessed the corruption, bribery and dishonesty that creeps into legislative bodies, prostitutes public servants, pervades our elections and even contaminates railroad employees. Of course there are men who have taken to this state of things like ducks to water or swine to a swill barrel. But not so with Mr. Fairweather. Oh no! not he. He has revalted at the sight. His pure and lofty character became horrified at these spectacle and turned from them with loathing and disgust. That a nature such as Mr. Fairweather’s should grow restless while his country was polluted with such enormities is not to be wondered at. Indeed to his sensitive nature it was extremely cruel. Perhaps those acquainted with Mr. Fairweather have observed an anxious troubled expression lurking on his saintly countenance, but now, the cause of its existence having disappeared serenity and peace once more there reigns supreme.”

“There is a day distinguished from all others in the life of every man. Mr. Fairweather had his day in the territorial constitutional convention last week.”

“‘Mr. President,’ rang out in a clear tone, and the richness that sounded in that voice was conclusive to those who listened there was nothing of the spurious about it. The convention was at once hushed in rapt attention and the gaze of every member was directed toward the member from Lincoln county, who stood in his place, his towering symetrical form the impregnable fortress of the keenest sense of honor, while the frank, open countenance, for which he is noted, was directed at the presiding officer. The occasion will long remain fresh in the recollection of those who witnessed it as a momentus event. There stood Mr. Fairweather, The delicate flush on his pale cheeks proclaimed the humility, bashfullness and retiring reserve that had sought and found seclusion there. His large, black eyes, the realms of sincerity, whose borders of pearl like purity the ideal madonna has yet to equal, that appear as the entrance to caverns stored to overflowing with the gems of honesty and saintly integrity, that shown forth in a hallow of glory compared to the low, calculating, cunning discernable in the small, keen opticts of several surrounding colleagues.”

“Then when Mr. Fairweather sent to the clerk’s desk and had read a provision to be embodied in the constitution prohibiting bribery and bribe taking by public servants the blow of the mighty avenger of political corruption fell. Think of this great blessing, Mr. Fairweather secures to your future state, fellow citizens. The state of Washington is not to be contaminated by this form of public corruption because it will be prohibited by the constitution and to this member from Lincoln county is to be ascribed all honor and glory.”

“Every member present recognized the great importance of this provision. As Mr. Fairweather took his seat numerous were the glances of admiration directed toward him. For so far-reaching a stroke a statescraft he would have, without doubt, been the unanimous choice of the convention had a vote then and there been taken, for U.S. Senator. Still here and there were noticeable members not at all pleased. The good and righteous Judge Turner winced a little as his recollection was carried back to former campaigns and future necessities in Spokane county politics. President Hoyt closely scrutinized Mr. Fairweather to ascertain if anything of a personal nature was intended. Delegate Moore remembering the ‘personal explaination’ a heartless reporter had compelled him to make, by casting base reflections on his recently received consignment of Kentucky’s choicest brands, could not suppress a preceptable quivering of the lips, while Tom Griffiths, constantly on the look out, was not a little chagrined to think so favorable an opportunity to cover himself with glory and bask in the rays of public attention had escaped him.”

“Had the dome of the capitol been otherwise than secure and durable without doubt a dove would have descended, with a similar message to that conveyed to John the Baptist as he stood in the midst of the Jordan over eighteen hundred years ago. Had Mr. Fairweather at that moment murmured ‘it is finished’ and expired, as did that good man from Calvery’s Cross, all the hosts of the earth, even unto the present day, would have proven unequal to the task of preventing his assent to the realms of eternal bliss.”

“After so worthy an occurrence and historical event undoubtedly the convention immediately adjourned for the day in commemoration thereof, but upon this point our information saith not.”

H.W. Fairweather went on to be elected to the very first Washington State Senate and served one term. A essay he wrote about the history of the Northern Pacific Railroad can be found in the Washington Historical Quarterly v. 10, no. 2 (Apr. 1919).

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

From 1909 to 1921, give or take a few years, there was a woman who created a local news stir wherever she went, but somehow evaded the radar of national media. She criss-crossed the United States on foot and went under the name “Hiking” or “Hikin'” Nell. Nearly all the information sources I can find on Nell come from newspapers around the U.S. The following article is the earliest mention of Nell I have located, from The Pasco Express, March 4, 1909:

 WOMAN TRAMP IN COURT

 “Hiking Nell” Faces the August Majesty of the Law

 VARIED AND VIVID EXPERIENCES

 While Youth Has Played Havoc With “Nell” Her Pedestrian Qualities Remain Unimpaired.

 “After walking 1300 [i.e. 3100] miles on a wager of $5,000 and then to be arrested and forced to spend 60 days in the King county jail just a few miles from her coveted goal. This and even more is the grievance of Nellie Hale, alias ‘Hikin” Nell, who was arrested by officers Dent and Torrents Tuesday afternoon.”

“According to a statement made by Officer Dent in justice court ‘Nell’ was found in a small tie house constructed of old ties. In company with three tramps, she was busily engaged in preparing a mulligan stew. Without protest she accompanied the two officers to the city jail, and the following day was given a hearing before Justice McCarthy.”

“‘I don’t want no comment cast my way,’ said Nell, ‘for I am nothing but a tramp. I was just walkin’ my way on a bet from Pascolia, Florida, to the coast. What have you’s got against me? I never harmed nobody nohow.'”

“The woman says she is 35 years of age and has traveled extensively, but always walks. When she appeared in court she carried a large bundle of clothing consisting of shoes, skirts and waists. She answered the chief’s questions rapidly and seemed to take the whole matter as a joke until W.J. Davis appeared upon the scene with his camera and attempted to take a picture of the woman. As Mr. Davis was acting under instructions, Nell immediately protested and it was not until a collection was taken and promise given that the ‘whole bunch would be shot’ that she reluctantly consented to have her picture taken. The newspaper fraternity, together with the distinguished court and officers of the law lined up as per agreement and the heroine of many ‘hikes’ was for the first time, the victim of the camera.”

“‘Yes, judge, if you will let me go, I will hike mighty quick,’ said Nell. ‘It does seem a funny thing that I should start from Pascolia and wind up in Pasco. Ain’t that terrible luck?'”

It would be wonderful if someone could produce the photograph taken by Mr. Davis that day. Unfortunately it was not included in the news piece.

Nell’s story seemed to change from town to town. She gave different accounts of her past, but piecing together all the tales a rough portrait emerges. She was from St. Louis, Missouri, born around 1878, and called herself Nellie Hale, sometimes she said Nellie Hall. But as she told the Fort Worth Star Telegram in 1910, “I will never tell my right name because I don’t want to disgrace my folks, and because I do not want them to know where I am.”

Nell said she received a music education in Atchison, Kansas, then married. Her husband, who she said was very rich, became abusive and Nell decided to hit the road. For some reason she thought he decided she was dead, another explanation for her use of a fake name.

In the early years of her growing fame, Nell told the press she was walking across the country on a $5000 wager from Richard K. Fox of the Police Gazette, but she lost it due to missing the six month deadline by being detained so many times by law enforcement officers. She also claimed to know Della Fox, a prominent actress of the day (also from St. Louis), and Tammany Boss “Big Tim” Sullivan.

Nell frequently found shelter when she was placed in jails or a mental health facility. She also approached private homes. In the only non-newspaper account I found regarding Nell, Ida K. Maloy’s 1955 essay reprinted in The Cochise Quarterly (v. 11, no. 1 spring 1983) recalled a 1911 visit from the legendary traveler Nell near Manzora, Arizona.

Maloy wrote: “As I looked at her, I thought I had never seen such a sight. She had on a light tan coat made of about eighteen or twenty gores, as was the style in those days, a long black voile skirt with a train, a blouse, and men’s shoes. Her dutch bob of black hair fell in strings about her thin face. She wore a black scarf. As I waited for some sort of introduction, the traveler introduced herself, saying, ‘I’m Hiking Nell. Haven’t you ever heard of me?'”

The last record I can locate for Nell is an article in the Casa Grande Valley Dispatch (Arizona), June 24, 1921, which concludes with: “According to the tramper this is her last journey and she is Los Angeles bound where she will end her travels and contemplates writing the unusual story of her life.”

The Pasco Express is an ancestor of the present-day Tri-City Herald.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

The town of Sidney, Washington once had a newspaper with the unusual title of People’s Broadax. The first issue, dated Oct. 27, 1889,  was published just before statehood, and the final issue appears to be June 6, 1891. The Washington State Library has a complete run on microfilm.

It was in the very last issue I found this interesting bit of news we can add to Washington State cat lore. It took place in Chico, which is north of Bremerton. Those of you who live with and love felines might say the term “strange freak” is redundant when used with “cat,” but this story does stand out a bit from most other kitty tales.

Strange Freak of a Cat

“G.C. Sutherland of Chico was in Sidney last Thursday and gave the Broadax a call. While here he related a strange freak of his black cat, which for novelty eclipses anything of the kind we have heard for a long time. He stated that she had kittens in a duck’s nest, and about the time the kittens were born three young ducks appeared. Soon afterward the old cat, to avoid the annoyance of the children, removed the kittens and ducks to a spare chamber up stairs. She regards the ducks with the same paternal care and solicitude that she does her own offspring, licking them all over at times and carrying them around the same as she does her kittens, and even stealing food for them. Mr. Sutherland says if you don’t believe it, call at his house and be convinced.”

Now if you are scrambling to try and find Sidney on a modern map, don’t bother. Today the town is called Port Orchard. According to James W. Phillips in Washington State Place Names, “The town was platted as Sidney by developer Sidney Stephens, but in 1903, at the request of residents, the state legislature renamed it and shortly afterward made it the county seat.”

A map of Sidney was published in the same issue of People’s Broadax as the cat story.

As for Mr. Sutherland, who apparently built the first hotel in Chico, the book Kitsap County History (1981) gives a brief biography: “Captain George C. and Christina Sutherland arrived from Port Arthur, Canada, in 1889 with their children Horatio, Elizabeth (Donovan), John and Jessie (Green). He operated a salmon saltery on the beach and was the area’s first photographer, calling his firm Sutherland Brothers or Olympic View Company.” I wonder if he ever took a picture of that cat with the ducks?

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

The reel grabbed at random this week contained The Big Bend Empire, the first newspaper established in Waterville, Washington. The issue for May 13, 1920 included this intriguing article:

 EPHRATA TO TRY OUT RAINMAKER

 “The people around the Grant county seat want rain, and in fact they are willing to try any old scheme to get it, even to employing a professional rainmaker.”

 “The Ephrata Commercial Club has entered into negotiations with Chas. M. Hatfield of Los Angeles, who claims to have had success in rainmaking in other sections.”

“The fact that the commercial club of Ephrata became interested in Mr. Hatfield’s proposition made it possible to guarantee $6,000 to Mr. Hatfield. Under the contract with the Commercial club he is to receive for first inch nothing; for second inch $3,000; third, $3,000 additional with a time limit of June 10. We understand that Mr. Hatfield is now on the ground and busy with his experiments.”

Charles Mallory Hatfield was already a famous figure throughout the West by 1920. The dapper 45 year-old sewing machine salesman had a strong resume, he claimed, of creating conditions which would result in rain for the parched corners of the world. His method included mixing a concoction of 23 chemicals (to this day the ingredients remain a secret) and setting this stew in vats atop 20-ft. high towers near bodies of water. Hatfield’s place in the history of “pluviculture” earned him an entire chapter in Clark C. Spence’s The Rainmakers (1980). One editor is quoted in this work on the odoriferous impact of Hatfield’s towers, writing they smelled like “a limberger cheese factory has broken loose … These gases smell so bad that it rains in self defense.” Electricity was also used in the process.

The rainmaker had set up his operation at the east side of Moses Lake and became an instant regional media sensation. He erected a tower constructed of 4 x 4s about 16 ft. square and over 20 ft. high, with vats containing his 23 top secret ingredients.

Sure enough, the area was rained on, but less than an inch. Weathermen pointed out that the distribution of the wet stuff was too vast to give any Hatfield any credit. They said the rainmaker took a long chance and won. But it was still far short of what the inventor promised. The Wenatchee World seemed to take a special interest in covering this story. After Hatfield’s June 10 deadline passed without reaching the desired goal, legendary World publisher Rufus Woods paid a visit to Moses Lake to conduct an interview.
Some of the rainmaker’s observations made during the interview concerning the Ephrata-Moses Lake area included:

“The conditions in this country are the hardest to make a showing in of any place I have been. When I get my forces at work, so often the wind comes up and blows them all away.”

“I have operated from Dawson to Mexico and Texas but this is the dryest atmosphere I have ever had to deal with.”

“It is harder to produce one inch here than it is five in California. I gave these people a better contract than I should have had I known the conditions in this locality.”

Hatfield also made a political prediction: “It is only a matter of time till the government will come to me … I know all these weather men poke fun at this. But they always tell what can’t be done when I am starting. It’s the same old hash, they go for me at the start. But results are what count. I have never failed to produce the record rainfall in every place I have operated.”

But fail he did at Moses Lake, and he quietly dismantled his tower, collected no fee, and set out for the next customer. His pluvicultural career was over by the 1930s. He died in 1958.

The U.S. government apparently never used his services. In fact the U.S. Weather Bureau made a point of highlighting Hatfield’s failures. During the Dust Bowl years Hatfield supporters could not convince the government to employ his methods.

But Hatfield did live long enough to see rain-making develop into a high-tech science both in cloud seeding and in warfare. If you look up the subject heading “Rain-making” in the WSL catalog, you will find many reports in state and federal publications.

The Big Bend Empire, which started in 1888, is an ancestor of the current Douglas County Empire Press. The entire run is available on microfilm, yes even via interlibrary loan, through the Washington State Library.

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

The microfilm reel grabbed at random this week contained The Puyallup Valley Tribune. The following article was found on the front page of the issue for January 14, 1922:

 “122-Year-Old” Newspapers Are Well Preserved

“Some people are willing to admit that ‘Barnum was right.'”

“Others insist on absolute proof. Many schemes have been formulated to substantiate Mr. Barnum’s observations, but one of the latest is the ‘old newspaper’ gag.”

“A man in Tacoma announced on Monday that he had a copy of the Ulster County Gazette, published in Kingston, N.Y., on January 4, 1800. The funeral of George Washington was described, and the column rules were inverted to produce a black border.”

“Since Monday several persons have admitted that they have copies of the same issue that have been ‘handed down’ from generation to generation. Those who have seen the copies remark how well they have been preserved.”

“Major Kryger, fire truck driver, has one on display at the city hall. One man is said to have admitted that he paid $1.50 for his copy. A stranger told him that he was parting with the relic because he needed for food.”

As it happens, the Ulster County Gazette for January 4, 1800 is possibly the most reprinted single issue of a newspaper in American history, starting in the 1820s. Some Americana dealers have estimated more than 200 versions exist out there. In its Information Circular 1 (rev. 1958), the Library of Congress states, “The Ulster County Gazette was established May 5, 1798, at Kingston, New York, by Samuel Freer and Son. It was a weekly supporting the Federalist Party. Publication continued until 1803, when the title was changed to Ulster Gazette and the publisher was Samuel S. Freer, the ‘Son’ of the earlier partnership.”

“Reproductions of the issue for January 4, 1800, are well known to librarians and dealers in old books through the great number of reprints that are scattered over every part of the country … Almost every private owner of one of these honestly believes that he has an original copy. At the same time, only a few original copies of other numbers of the same paper are in existence.”

“Librarians watched many years for an original, but it was not until November 1930 that the first was found. This is now in the files of the Library of Congress. Another original is now in the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts. These are the only originals known.” LC goes on to describe in detail the methods for identifying the original.The Gazette captured the attention of Washington State historian Edmond S. Meany. His essay originally appeared in the Washington Historical Quarterly (v. 22, no. 1 Jan. 1931) and was later reprinted as a monograph. The Washington State Library has both versions.

Prof. Meany: “It is undoubtedly true that original copies existed and were used when the first reprints were made. The motives for those earlier reprints were probably sentimental and patriotic, to celebrate an anniversary of the paper or of Washington’s death. In later years the motives were quite mercenary.”

Indeed.

Major Kryger, the Puyallup fire truck driver, was not a Major in rank. Major was his actual first name. He died in 1926 at the age of 35.

The very real and authentic Puyallup Valley Tribune, which ran from 1903-1966 is available on microfilm at WSL either in-house or interlibrary loan. It is an ancestor to today’s Herald (Puyallup, Wash.).

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library:

This entertaining bit of creative thinking was covered by the Leavenworth Echo, March 25, 1904, page 3:

WEDNESDAY’S FIRE SECOND THIS YEAR

 G.S. Merriam’s House and J.H. Mitchell’s Household Goods a Total Loss

SNOW BALLS SAVED THE HOUSE

 Mrs. H.A. Anderson’s Lodging House Saved by Heroic Work

 “As if to show how utterly this town is at the mercy of the elements, and how entirely helpless its people are at a fire Leavenworth had a recurrence of what has happened here several times before, only in this case it was not such a serious matter, and but for the fact that the fire broke out in the daytime, with people all around, and heroic work it might have been worse.”

“On Wednesday afternoon, just a few minutes after six o’clock an alarm of fire attracted attention to Mrs. H.A. Anderson’s lodging house near the Congregational church.”

“The facts, as near as can be ascertained are that Mrs. Mitchell, who lived in a three roomed cottage about twelve or fifteen feet from Anderson’s house, went over to a neighbor’s house for a few moments before the fire broke out and left a good fire in the heater, which is one of those air tight stoves with all drafts turned off. The gas accumulated and an explosion followed, or at least someone heard what sounded like an explosion and immediately after flames shout out of the building. With the exception of a trunk and a few bed clothes all of the household goods of J.H. Mitchell were destroyed, on which there was no insurance. Mr. Mitchell is night watchman at the Lamb-Davis Lumber mill and left to go to his work not ten minutes before the fire broke out. The building, which belonged to G.S. Merriam, was partially insured.”

“Mrs. Anderson’s lodging house, which is a large and substantial frame structure and stood only about ten or fifteen feet from the house which burned was only saved by the hardest kind of work. At one time the entire east end of the house was ablaze and no water to be had, or at least in such inefficient quantities that it served no purpose. Several hundred men were standing around with their hands in their pockets, gazing in mute and helpless astonishment at the fast disappearing house of Mr. Merriam’s and the blazing one of Mrs. Anderson’s when some one without, perhaps, the serious thought of saving it, yelled, ‘let’s snow ball it.’ The suggestion was taken up at once by the crowd, which appeared to be waiting for someone to tell them what to do, and in much less time than it takes to tell it the end of the house was hit by thousands and thousands of snow balls from the hands of men and boys. To the writer it was an odd sight to see men and boys throwing snow balls with all theirmight, with an earnest, serious look on their faces. Snow balling is usually done amid shouting and laughing, but here all was quiet as a funeral. It soon became evident that the snowballs were having an effect and soon where a few moments before the entire end of the house was ablaze, there appeared a black charred and smoking surface. The fire had, however, made enough headway so that it had begun to burn under the cornice where it could not be reached with snowballs. A ladder was finally procured and some men got upon the roof and by tearing away the shingles a few buckets of water put out the last bit of fire that was left.”

“Mrs. H.A. Anderson, a most estimable widowed lady who owned and kept the house, was once before burned out in Leavenworth, and at that time had no insurance. Her loss on building and household goods will amount to five or six hundred dollars, which is covered by insurance. She expressed great satisfaction and was very thankful for the heroic work that was done in saving her house.”

“A report got out that Mrs. Mitchell’s baby had been left in the house and was burned up, but this it was learned was not so as she had taken it with her when she went to the neighbors.”

The Leavenworth Echo is still with us, and as any library cataloger will tell you, it is nothing short of astonishing that it has kept the same title since 1904. We have nearly a complete run in the collection, issues from 1904-1995 are on microfilm and can be sent to your library via inter-library loan.

Also, thanks to WSL’s participation in the National Digital Newspaper Program, historic issues of the Leavenworth Echo from 1904-1922 are available online.

Mrs. Anderson’s Lodging House also still exists in Leavenworth, and is called, oddly enough, Mrs. Anderson’s Lodging House. It is “now the oldest commercial wood frame building in Leavenworth,” thanks to the quick thinking of the snowball thinker upper in the crowd back in 1904.