Told by the Pioneers - Washington Secretary of State

Told by the Pioneers
schooner filled with supplies. En route we encountered an occasional
settler who had taken up land on the creeks and watering places. On
the way up, near a settler's little cabin in the vicinity of Pine Creek,
our prairie schooner tipped over and everything spilled out.
Rum Helped Settler's Wife
The settler came out and offered his assistance, but noticing among
our supplies a small keg of rum, he hastened back to his little shack
and retumed with a bottle and a heart-breaking tale that his wife had
nearly killed herself doing the family washing that day and that he
had to liave some rum to revive her. Mr. Gray good naturedly supplied
him with some rum, but we never believed that the wife drank
anv of it.
o
"\Ve finally arrived at the small settlement of Spokane Falls late in
the afternoon of October 8, 1878, and drove up before the door of the
only store in town, that of Cannon and Warner. The first person to
greet us was that dear old man, Frederick Post, for whom Post
Street and Post Falls, Idaho, were named. At that time the only accommodations
for tra\'elers in this little settlement were such as were
afforded bv James Masterson's house at the southwest corner of
•
Front (Trent) Avenue and Stevens Street.
"Masterson 1ras Df'mocralic
Masterson was a horse doctor and was generally known as "Doc",
:md his small ]lOuse was open as a sort of boarding house. Masterson
was a good-natured, easy-going man of democratic manners. It was
his custom, after eating with his guests, to place his feet upon the
table, tilt back in his chair and enjoy a smoke while entertaining the
more leisurely eating guests still at the table. The accommodations
were somewhat crude and it was a rather rough place to stay.
Mr. Post would not consent to our stopping at Masterson's, and insisted
on takino. us to his own comfortable home until we could get set.
tled in two va~ant log cabins. They had been built and occupied by
the soldiers during the previous winter and spring before they moved
on to establish Fort Sherman on Coeur d'Alene lake.
"\Vithin two days we were settled in the cabins and began pioneering
•
III earnest.
The first week here I had to cook for my family and two workmen,
as ~Ir. Gray had immediately started work on our hotel building. Our
dining quarters were so small that I could seat but three at a time.
One day, after Mr. Gray and the men had gone, and just as my brothers
and I were about to sit down to eat, an Indian squaw came in,
looked about without saying anything, and then gathered all the food
167