, 1890-11-27
A DYING PATHFINDER
Matthew Hayden, for Whom Hay
den Lake Was Named, Is
Nearing the Grave.
Noble, Hospitablo Pioneer Whose
Many Good Qualities Will
Long Be Remembered.

deaths door at the hospital of the
Sacred Heart.
Others there are who, In various
institutions, where the suffering are
tenderly cared for, are nearing life's
extremity. Each short hour
marked by the hands of u million
clocks, besides adding sixty min.
utes to the age of the universe, adds
hundreds of names to the list of the
worlds great majority. During all
these, there is not one sorrowful
event that is surrounded by such
an atmosphere of path os as the story
suggested by the lamentable illness
OF one of the sturdest path finders
that Idaho and Washington eyer
knew.
Three motherless and almost
fatherless children are now being
taken care ofat st. Joseph's orphan
age, near Spokane Falls. AT the
Old Mission, on the Cnur dAlene
river, are three others, sons of the
same father, to whom the the mis-
sion's sheltering walls are a home,
and the love of the Jesuit fathers
the only parental sympathy they
are conscious of. Seven members
of the same family, separated by un.
kind fate, the father dying and the
youngest children unconscious of
their impending bereavement, form
the characters of story that all OF
the Northwest's pioneers ure deeply
interested In.
Matthew Hayden, the father, was
one of the earliest settlers of the
beautiful valley of the Kootenai
Nearly forty years ago he entered
British Columbia, and opened q
roadside inn. He established terms
of amity with the Indians, and be-
came firm friend of all the early
settlers. Travellers in those regions
found In him 81 genial host, and the
unfortunate an ever ready frend and
sympathizer. His latch-string was
always on the outside of the door
and the good cheer of his
hospitable home was everybody"
said an old friend, In speak
ing of their early days of
boon companionsip. "Although he
kept an inn, 1t was more of the ma
ture of home, where everyone
might find shelter and welcome.
1t was for this resson, perhaps, that,
after few years spent in that To-
cality, he was forced to seek better
paying location. Others, whom
he once had fed and clothed, were
in afilut mt circumstan ces when he
! shoudered the few remnants of his
shattered fortune and made his way
into the Cnur d'Alepo valley"
His early education, through cir
cumstances controlled by other than
himself, was neglected. Thrown
into contact with all that was rude
and uncouth, and buffeted by the
not too gentle zephyrs of adversely,
he still maintained that peculiar in
tegrity that characterized him In
ali his transactions with other peo-
pie. In the beginning of his life,
the principles of the Catholic faith,
TO which he was n strong adherent,
were taught him by a loving mother,
and intensified by nature in
which inherent honesty was
leading characteristic. To this
same early training, is one of many of
those pleasant features of character
that have conspired to win him
host of friends. To the strong faith
In human nature that he held, and
his own principles of righteousness,
perhaps is due the fact that with
his opportunities he had not re-
tanned the half dozen princely for
tunes that he accumulated in the
course of an eventful career.
The state of Washington, even as
a territory, was little known in the
days of Mr.. Hayden's youth. The
great wealth of the Okanogan coun-
try hardly contributed subject
matter for the dream of
the widest enthusiasts. There were
cold winters and Indians In plenty.
a few trading posts formed the
foundation to fortunes since erected.
The blue-coated boys that worked
for Uncle Sam for Sl4 per month
were as few and far between as angel
visitatious. 1t was upon the pio-
neer residents that the task of pre-
serving their own interests devolved.
There was the talent, in rude
form, of statesmen, and the physical
ability of armies in the little
band that then inhabited aud paved
the way for the development of the
country, Even under the most ad-
verse circumstances the way was
built over which the boom has sub
sequently travelled, and the country
was opened that since has borne
that charming child named Spo-
kane Falls.
The Jesuit fathers In early days
owned large and valuable tracts of
bottom land, These were leased to
Mr.. Hayden during the latter part
of tho COS and were sown with
timothy. Hay was q staple COM
modify in the days when horses
filled the place now taken by the
steam engines and brought u high
price. A government contract of
lordly dimensions was taken by the
lessee OF the property. Fortune
smiled again, and for time the
record of events in Mr.. Hayden's
life was as unvaried as Mark Twain's
celebrated diary.
The financial weather remained
as clear as u summers morning on
Pixies Peak. The pioneer farmer,
in his own palmy days, did not for
get the troubles Of others, and sue
ceeded, by his efforts in contribut-
ing materially to the success of
others. He subsequently, fluctuated
between the Colville and the Cnur