, 1875-04-24
WaIIa Waiia valley

the Journal or Lewis anu Ciarke,
those adventurous explorers who at
the dawn Of the century, were sent
forth by the great statesman, Tionas
Jefferson, TO explore the then unknown
wilds tha. stretched from the Rocky
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
Il was after having followed the
Columbia 10 It's mouth, AMI traced
the mighty river in all its windings,
that these pioneers in the work oil
discovery, on their way back TO 81.
Louis, passed through this Valley
and, following up Mill Creek, found
in this immediate vicinity large en-
campment of Indians, attracted here
for the purpose of barter and trade.
For be it known in those early days
this was sort of neutral ground
where the Indians from the mountains
came down to exchange their furs
and peIiries with the Indians from
the coast for the salmon and trinkets
that were obtained from the vessels
that at long intervals dipped their
keels in the waters of the North Pa
citic. It is ,llus that the lively, bust
Inc commercial town of WaIla
| WalIa is the successor of The Indian
trading market of the days of Lewis
and Clark.
This was long anterior 10 the ad-
vent Of the fur trapperS who furnish
ed the first settlers OF the country, and
whose descendants, the offspring OF
white fathers and Indian mothers, still
Euger in the Valley.
Following down the history of our
| Ea.lcY. the most remarkable event
that Claims attention is the Advent OF
Marcus Whitman. who in the year
! 1896, foaulrd lbs rnIrsi,n Oh I rrslra.
bic plat Of !ani aDouL six miles be-
lew The ro@n, and At the very spot
where his bones lie mouldcripg. DIR.
! NJ. Whitman, and Me>srs. Syaulding
and Gray settled here, in that year
and established a mission, and two
years later were joined by Gushing
EellS, venerable gentleman who is
still spared to us-a lax connecting
the present with the past
! Tracing down the history of the
Valley, the next event that claims
our attention, is the advent of Ere
mont, who, In the month of October,
lS42, after having succeeded in ma.
king the passage of the then terrible
Blue Mountains, pitched his tent at
the very spot where the Waila Walla
River issues frGm lis mountain home
/. Describing the valley and lis char,
aclerlStIcS, Fremont says: True to
It's general charac'er-,he reverse oil
other coun,Iic<-,hc hills AMI noun
talnS were .:ch IA grass, the bottoms
barren and sterile" Further on. de.
scrlbing his passage through this Val
/, ley, Fremont SAYS: Oar road TO-DAY
bad nothing il it Of Interest, and The
eggn.ry 5 .,.ais9 altHE%l e @ he eys a%nlY a%nlY &62a
, ScAniiiv timherci river takes it:
Course"
Al" hare we NAV advert to the
tact That IN ihe "l.i"i.'n "f all the
rnr.v explorers, f!:i< Nrl'rv now :,
Productive. MAS rr1nrl",l as barren
ria II, that was L. remain tnrcvcr 4
! desert. lIrw gre I the mistake, i
evidenced hy the lamY homes that
dot the plains AMI pnople the hill
sides, and the still mare conclusive
evidence pre>en;el By the tons and
, tons Of wheat, barley, OATS AMI other
farm produce Annually srnt IL market
Instead of the sterile Valley, described
, by the early explorers, we have hpr5
the garden spot of the great North
West, ana the most productive Val
ley on the Pacific slope.
Tracing the history of the settle
ment of the Valley, we have the
terrible Whitman massacre. of 1871,
) 4 deed of blood that stands ont in
bold relief among even the bl0odicSt
scenes recorded in Indian annals.
After this outbreak of savage fury,
the country, for wears, was regarded
IS accnrsed, and the hardy immi-
grants hurried by, scarcely pausing
to look at the country stained by the
blood of the missionary martyrs
Practically given up to the Indians
and the employees of the Hudson
Bay Company, the annals of the Val
ley contain little worthy of note until
1893, when Governor Stevens came
through at the head of an Engineer
Corps, TO survey a route for the
North Pacific RaiIroad-a project, as
vet, unrealized, but one Of those great
ideas which once conceived are never
allowed to lie out, hut, like the Wis
ion of Columbus or the dream Of
Morse, are sure to end in a glorious
realization.
In 1856 the military post was first
established on Mill Greek, near the
site Of the present town OF Walla
Walla, and what is now known as
Gains Addition,' of which some of
the buiIdings-ruie log cabins-stilI
remain, footprints as it were to mark
the struggle between savage barbg-
rism and christian civilization.
The subsequent building of the
permanent post, as it now exists, and
the stationing Of a large body Of
troops in the Valley, first under the
command of the unfortunate Steptoc,
and later under the lamented Wright,
attracted to the Valley large num-
ber of camp followerS-hangers on of
the army-who had little in them of
tho character of nprnanant settlers