Told by the Pioneers - Washington Secretary of State

Told by the Pioneers
sailing vessel which had appeared between the islands some miles
away. They were betting as to which of the several vessels plying the
Sound this might be. It seemed a good chance for me to make some
more money. The vessel was too far away to be recognized, so I
went into father's store, got his binocular and slipped away to a place
wllere I could watch it, unseen. In a short time I saw the name. Then
I replaced the binocular and very innocently joined the gamblers.
They were still wondering. I said, "Can I bet?" "Sure," they replied.
'Well,' I said, 'I'll bet it's the Walter Ellis. I'll bet five dollars.'
"Just for a joke, as they believed, they took the bet, and I produced
my money. I won, of course. I didn't tell how for years afterward.
"I often took care of the store while father was away on a trading
trip. He would load up a boat, a small schooner, with flour and
bright-colored cloth, and many small articles for trade, sail up Port
Gardner Bay to the mouth of the Snohomish river and then up rinf
as far as he could navigate. He would exchange his cargo for hiJes
and cranberries, which upon his return he would ship to Tacoma.
Most of his trading was with Indians, there were few white men along
the Snohomish at that time.
"One day while I was running the store, an Indian was knocked
into a campfire during a fight near the store. His back was badly
burned and he was in great pain. I wanted to help him and ran into
the store to retnrn with a bottle of Pain Killer, a liniment presumed
to be good for bruises and rheumatism, but which, if applied to a cut
or exposed sore would burn terribly. I felt like a real angel of mercy
as I emptied the whole bottle on the poor Indian's burned back, amI
for an hour he writhed in a pain far greater than that caused by the
fire. Fortunately for me, he assumed that I had done the best thing'
possible for him, and when the pain had eased some\vhat, he thanked
me for saving his life. But how my father laughed at me when he
leamed what I had done to soothe the poor fellow's pain!
":NIy father was the first postmaster at Mukilteo, and in the early
days there was no other postoffice in Snohomish county. So all the
mail for settlers up the river came to our office. There may have
been a schedule, but if there were, it didn't mean much; for the mail
often was a week later than we hoped for. Sometimes letters addressed
to settlers up river lay in our office for weeks before being
called for. But when a vessel called the 'Chehalis' began making' regular
trips up the Snohomish river, its captain used to pick up mail
for settlers he knew and carry it to the nearest point he could reach.
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"One article of commerce that was always acceptable was feathers,
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