Told by the Pioneers - Washington Secretary of State

Told
by the Pioneers
British Columbia, who visited us frequently. On one occasion, Davy
Crockett, chief of the Lummi Indians, who was always friendly to the
whites, informed us that the northern hostile tribes were on their way
to attack the settlers here. He volunteered to defend and protect us
with his braves. Near where Bellingham mill now stands they were
preparing their firearms in readiness for attack. Two 'white men
were placed off shore in a boat as sentinels. Dick 'Williams had been
trying to discharge an old flintlock musket all afternoon, and succeeded
at last with a hot wire. All that was ever seen or heard of that
gun was the report, which was evidently heard by the hostiles, as it
was immediately answered by a shrill war whoop and a "olley of
shots from two northern canoes. Whereupon Dick Williams, his
companion, and the settlers took to their heels and fled to the woods.
Davy Crockett and his brother, Yellow Kanin, by their incessant firing
all night, prevented the landing and massacreing of the whites.
When morning daw"ned the enemy had gone but the two white sentinels
had been killed in their boat.
An Indian girl once came to our house, greatly excited, and begged
for protection from some northern Indians who were closely pursuing
her. My mother being alone at the time with two small children, was
loath to take her in, but finally consented. The girl secreted herself
under a bed. Soon the house was surrounded by Indians, demanding
the girl or admittance. This was refused, and they forced an entrance
at the back door, and soon the room was full of angry Indians searching
every nook and corner until they found her. Seizing her by the
hair, they dragged the poor girl out of the house and embarked in their
canoes and disappeared. We learned, later, that the unfortunate girl
was a Kanaka, brought to the Pacific coast by one of the trading vessels
from Honolulu.
SOME EARLY HISTORY OF THE TOUCHET V ALLEY
Read by Judge C. F. Miller
At a meeting of the Dayton Commercial Club, April 8, 1916
Columbia Countv •
,Vhen this subject was first suggested to me by a member of your
club, I thought it might be a difficult matter to make it interesting,
but I have often found that people of education and extensive reading
on almost every subject, are far better acquainted with the history of
ancient Greece and Rome, than with the early history of their immediate
section of country. As I was not here during the greater part of
the time covered by this paper, much of it has been taken from early
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