TOLD by the PIONEERS - Washington Secretary of State

try early.
Told by the Pioneers
They were herded to keep them from roaming too far.
Houses were built of boards, double-boxed, and battened. Cracks
were calked on the inside, narrow strips of cloth were pasted over
this, then the walls were papered with the Pacific Christian Advocate
and Portland Oregonian. One of these houses stands near Colfax, put
up in 1878.
Before building our house, we lived in the old Perkins house.
and Mrs. Perkins were the first couple to be married in Colfax.
Most of our furniture was home-made. 'We raised some vegetables,
but lived mostly on a meat diet, as meat was plentiful. People went
as far as Walla ,Valla for fruit. 2\10st of the wild fruit in this region
was service berries or wild gooseberries, which ,\~e canned. Prairie
chickens were so numerous mv father killed four at a time. \Ve ate
•
only the breasts. Some people killed them only for their feathers.
Candles were used in many homes, however, we had brought kerosene
lamps with us from Oregon. As for clothing, the object was to
keep warm. 'We wore red-flannel underwear, and liked it. We were
still living in a tent when word came that the Indians were on the
war path. Father didn't allow the excitement to interfere with business.
He moved us to Colfax, tent and all. Then he went up to the
Coeur d'Alenes for logs to build our house. He had the logs sawed
at Talbert's mill.
It was surprising how fast the schools were organized. We walked
over two miles to school. It was a box-house, with benches, and no
desks. My wife went to her first school in the Kennedy home. We
had pa rti('~ c.lll