TOLD by the PIONEERS - Washington Secretary of State
TOLD by the PIONEERS - Washington Secretary of State
TOLD by the PIONEERS - Washington Secretary of State
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Told<br />
<strong>by</strong> <strong>the</strong> Pioneers<br />
June 11, 1866:<br />
coal mines.<br />
Come to Sehome with intention <strong>of</strong> working in <strong>the</strong><br />
Oct. 26, 1866: Fire in coal mine. Can't be put out in ordinary way<br />
in such cases. It is smo<strong>the</strong>red up for a few days in order to get out<br />
a shipload <strong>of</strong> coal, after which <strong>the</strong> waters <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> bay will be let in.<br />
Nov. 29, 1866:<br />
•<br />
evenmg.<br />
The salt water will be let into <strong>the</strong> coal mines this<br />
Sept. 10, 1870: I am hauling muck from <strong>the</strong> springs and firewood<br />
from <strong>the</strong> maple grove, mine being <strong>the</strong> pioneer wagon <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se parts.<br />
I made <strong>the</strong> first wheelbarrow and used <strong>the</strong> first wagon as far as <strong>the</strong><br />
•<br />
sprmg.<br />
Sept. 10, 1871: I wrote this record with ink made from <strong>the</strong> juice <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> Oregon grape, no mixture in it, we shall see how it ·will wear.<br />
(Editor's note): This writing was still black and distinct in 1913.<br />
May 14, 1876: Hea\"~T rain rained all last night. About nine months<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> year it rains. I am <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> opinion that this country will soon<br />
have to be abandoned and left to <strong>the</strong> Indians and wild fowl for whom<br />
it is admirably adapted. No white man can succeed amid so much<br />
rainfall.<br />
July 16, 1876: Raining'. For <strong>the</strong> past three years fire has not been<br />
used as an agent for clearing lands. Rain will not admit <strong>of</strong> it.<br />
JOHN BENNETT<br />
Plant lVi,zard <strong>of</strong> Puget Sound<br />
,Vhatcom County<br />
Along with man:" o<strong>the</strong>rs who had come to Sehome in 1858 in search<br />
<strong>of</strong> employment, was .John Bennett. He had first come as one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
gold seekers, and like many o<strong>the</strong>rs, had returned disappointed. Unlike<br />
a great majority, however, he remained on Puget Sound. He<br />
knew nature and lo,"ed it, and he believed that <strong>the</strong> climate <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Puget<br />
Sound country would bring plant life to its highest and best development.<br />
He worked in mines and eventually secured enough funds, and<br />
<strong>the</strong>n took time to look about and find <strong>the</strong> best location.<br />
In 1860 he bought <strong>the</strong> Compton claim, just beyond <strong>the</strong> Eldridge<br />
homestead. He had brought with him a chest filled with roots and<br />
bulbs and seeds <strong>of</strong> fruits, flowers, grains and grasses, which he had<br />
g-a<strong>the</strong>red in his wanderings over <strong>the</strong> world as a naturalist.<br />
26