Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1893-03-19
BELLINGHAM BAY HISTORY

swift, or the battle to the strong, but tim
and chance happeneth to ALL" the trut
: OF which Is strongly demonstrated in til
7 checkered history of Bellingham ba,
D When Nature made-I will correct tina
$ right here-when God made Qor If we d
I not acknowledge the Creator of our mum
, beriess blessings, how can we hope I
enjoy thcm?) When God made Belling
ham bay, he made it the queen of har
bors; superior to any other on the Paciii
coast OF the United States in its scent
beauties and commercial advantages. LIE
us investigate this point. Starting at SaI
Diego and going north, we have Sal
, Diego, good little harbor of but limited
extent, where the teredo gets in it
destructive work unchecked by the pro
, tecting influence of fresh water. SAINT;
Barbara and Monterey are only opeI
roadsteads, not worth mentioning in thi!
connection. San Francisco has a fin,
sheet or water and a good harbor wheT
reached, but marred by dangerous bar
brakes bay is small and well sheltered
but only available to run into in case OF
emergency. Tomales and Bodega, both
limited in extent and infected with the
teredo. Crescent City is dangerous har-
Dor TO navigate in consequences of sunken
/ rocks and exposed to the full influence of
! the prevailing winds. So much for Cali
! fornia. And Oregon fares no better, with
Coos bay, faquina bay and Astoria, all
bar harbors. While Washington has
Shoalwater bay and Gray's harbor, both
| opening direct to the Pacific ocean. Then
comes that wonderful inland sea-Puget
sound-with its bays, inlets and island
! shelters, chief among which are Port
townsend, nothing more, however, than
an open roadstead. Seattle is a fairly
we'll sheltered harbor, but given over To
the ravages OF the teredo, with long and
tortuous approach and requiring costly
towage TO reach. Tacoma. still further
up the Sound and with such deep water
that ships cannot find anchorage, even
along the shore. Friday Harbor is a
little island harbor, unconnected with the
mainland. Semiahmoo, OF limited extent,
IS mostly tide flats. And superior to all,
the queen Of harbors, Beliingham bay,
with its land-locked shelter, large extent,
deep water, good anchorage and sufficient
fresh water flowing into Ii from the
Nooksack river and Whatcom creek to
prevent the ravages of the teredo, and a
location and fair way TO the Straits of
Fuca and the Pacific ocean that enables a
navigator to reach it without difficulty
or cost, tugbOat or pilot, with its tide fats
about Squalicum and Whatcom creeks
where small vessels may be beached and
repaired without the heavy cost of dry
dock or gridiron. and its deep water at
the Fairhaven end, which allows the har-
Dor line to close in shore. So much for
its commercial aspect. while its scenic
beauties enables it to take an honorable
place in the four most beautiful bays Of
the world: The Bay of Naples, the Bay
OF Dublin, Port Jackson, and last, but by
no means least, Bellingham bay.
The Bay OF Naples, with its almost
81 af,Ax OIL. IL i
hills, backed by the Apprentices and Mount
Nesuyiqs. Dublin bay, stretching in
graceful course from Dabky head to
the hill of Howth, and backed by the
lovely heather covered Wicklow noun
tains. Port jackson, lin New South
Wales, with its deep and narrow en-
trance, guarded by the betting cliffs Of
north and south heads. Its sheltered,
winding course, placid surface, and
charming serrated coast of rocky points
and fndented coves, and headed by the |
beautiful city Of Sydney. Bellngham |
bay, with It's grand sweep of shore line, !
from ChHckanut to Lummf point. its |
forests sweeping back over the foothills |
and backed by snow capped Mount Baker |
and the Sisters. Yet this beautiful Bav |
and perfect harbor has been lying perdu, |
while Others far inferior have distanced !
in the race. Truly the race has not
bttu W lut SWllL OF I0e DdttlH 10 the |
strong, but time and chance happeneth to
all.
Bellingham bay was first visited by the
Spaniards but they left no record and II
remained in its primeval solitude until
vancouver entered IL and named ii Bel
Iingham bay. after Lord Bellingham,
when for the first time It obtained Mace
IN the maps and Biographies From that
time 1t still remained unvisited by white
men with only few exceptions until De-
,ember, 1852. when Messrs ROeder and
Peabody visited it and obtained permis-
sion from the Indian chief, Chow witz-
,nt, TO return and erect a saw mill on
Mhatcom creek where there was beau
Liful mill site and water power.
The incident that led those gentlemen
o undertake the enterprise is suggestive
u pluck, energy and business saQacity
I seems Roeder and Peabody we're in
cortland. Oregon, when news arrived
hat the city Of San Francisco had been
completely destroyed by fire and the de-
nand for lumber was so great that the
rice had gone up to 800 per thousand,
They started right up to Beiingham bay
o erect a saw mill and supply the de.
land. But alasl THE best laid plans of
nice and men aft gang agee Before
hey could get their mill into running
rider timber was rushed into San Fran
lsco from all parts Of the world Freiphts
rices tumbed to $50 per thousand This
,as the first start Of Bellingham bay in
he race for commercial utility. Roeder
nd Peabody, however, undaunted by the
isappointment, kept right on with the
ork OF the mil until 1t was finally
armed in 1873, furnishing the first lum-
II ever sawn at a regular saw mill on
uget sound, all previous supplies being
reduced by the old fashioned hand Dit
ws. They furnished also the lumber to
lid the first Episcopal church in Vic
ria.
The next arrival on Bellingham bay
rs Captain William X. Paddle, who
ok up claim at Paddles point. where
e Belliugham Bay mill now stands,
rrouRded IL with mines, excavated and A
ed with broken bottles and gunpoWder q
: the purpose of blowing up the Indians
ould they attack the fort. He also ex-
waited covered ways in different dlrec-
ms, under the protection of which he
aid go back and forth and peep ont to
Itch the Indians. Governor Mason
va Paddles mint tho mama of Doipt