The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-04-03
FAMOUS Old WAGON ROAD.
STATE AppRopalATEs FUNDS.
xxa>w apd Kftfitas Counsfes Auss
Help, H0weses-thnmh~ Oh s"
mere~ VIII BE Int~r~nf~d In the
xork-Esrty Histery at Pioneer
po.s~ Argos Casendes-Atde1 by
= Lottery scheme Thsf Faheo'

The rousnx GUNNER viii witness an az
.a,rts "a revive tke usefulness of TIE
,.as-l.r..s ara almost forgotten ~nDS3 'A'h'.-S
..as~ wagon road ercn the great tSsefn3s =
fzre f,...weess Eastern and western y aN-'
.ngson. To tbs end the counties .. h.'s
Ard Efssitas through when tie f'4p 9''',
xvtii harsa ynssr united Efforts I'm raising a.
expendlng funds for the innid"> - -
tne once famous highway
Ar act E.assed hy the last legislature hp-
s,yar,rtafsns as.q Tor the Improvement. *a
condition thai the two ccaat5ts }}sAs-S
raise a ike amount, IL rsspof'slb.s iSt 40"
revival o. interest IN the road. 'iss .
Gle Chamber Of Commerce in an ''f'''''s4@l
,nan,er has taken eogBizancs Of the MA
and will take steps - have ne it"s
81 the iaw carried oBt at o8se "sth tn-@
as,tae, IN view a se}f constituted eoFns.fttss
az vvI known husiI4sss men. 81 h'~ihsN'e
~ .he Chamber az Commerce, @attsi "i3's
,te King county commissioners S@Aasuas
and requested that an APPROPRIATION u go
for the Improvement % The road De n'a"f
Al once promising aaso 10 cali the sae5ee.
o. fhe aftenfson Of the commissioners az
Eg,tttas county at the earliest opportunity.
No action Was taken by the King county
commissioners who wish TO submit toT
matter 10 Prosecuting Attorney SeEsFos
for legal opinion before deciding upon ths
course 10 be pursued IN the matter Inc
"A
Of the 81 90 10 be raised. King county snah
rontrihuse 500 and kittltas 800. the former
f,enenging more largely from the improve
ment il made.
Road for Pioneers.
The rnprnl,ers 81 the committee visiting
.hs county com sioneTs were Thomas
prosch. secretary Of the Chamber Of Com
ruerre; Judge j J Me1ilivra. Fred Rice
Towetl Of the Mining BuFea9. j. W. elise
and Ellis Morrison. Of the Real Estate
Board VIII IL Parry. 81 the Queen eiiy
GOOD Roads Club. w. W. Wil6Hsre and
uav.s T. Denny. Mr.. Denny. as one o. the
,ariiesi pioneers az King county, Is espe
cialIy interested tn the snoggalfn!c wagon
road and his interest, I'm a degree hardly
less. il shared by Judge Mctii.sfa aud Nj
prosch
TIE story Of the Snoguafnsa pass wagon
road as told by the pioneers or Puget s0G1'i
Is fall OF interest. recalling, as II does, In
r.ssnfs of the Obi serTii ogia days when Sc
attic was an annex ~ Henry l. fesieT's
snwmsn. and canoes and saddle horses tho
usual means OF communication between the
isolated communities OF the eparsely settled
commonwealth.
II was Ia the early s9s that road eamo
into being through Il government survey
made hy Gen. George Il. Mcclellan. at
that time n young army officer stationed
auaisnic pass the most favorable route
across the Cascade for a military road
the government az Washington wAs then
proposing - build and also FOR a trans
continental railroad when the time should
be ripe. Even in those days the war de
farsnent WaH partially aware of the great
future ~ the Pacific coast.
For some REASON the proposed military
road was never built bat the route il was
so have followed soon came into general
Use By eatilen1en and frontsersmen IT,
crossing the mountains. Year by year
larger and larger droves ~ cattle were
driven over the trait until Il, length II
became we'll defined en9ugh 10 be called
by courtesy "A wagon read II was fol-
lowed by some az the early enigfant
trains but as a. rule these came down the
Columbia river In their tiresome Journeys
from the states"
Thousands of Cattle.
For years however. II Was the cattle
men who we're the chief users of the road
Through the .Snequaimie pass in the days
before the railroads there came every SUM-
mer thousands of beef cattle destined In
feed all ~ Western Washington and
british Columbia For in those days cat
tle raising was an Infant industry on pu-
get sound and where are row fertile
farms was virgin forest Eastern Wash
tugton. however was che iumonse stock
range. aftf supplied IN" cattle markets not
oniy of Puget sound bat a great Part Of
che Pacific cnast as Well Old residents
of Seattle w.ll remember "a been thousands.
~ Eastern Washington cattle driven over
the pass ia the summer were, stalled 10y.
the farmers on White river and siatfssh-
tered during the winter when the road
scr0ss TIE mountains was blocked ~
snoN drifts,
Il j. ius: "a quarter ~ century $50 sha,
fNe tsrTIietili legislature at tflynpis. wax
flrst called uFan - aii tho Snouualirl..
pass wagon road. The Seattle eYiTtt. about
which 70 1nurh Naa staee teen said ara
written. was beHiHH tae movement The
Seattle Tiou~ors usei tee'r exveotest hlsr-
dlEhmeafe UYon ~. Salons cns winter ard
rs {Hr ffGtt ~ tAc3r forts "A hiii was pass
81 lFSalsiuw lotteries 'Ee- the benefit %
the SfetuaA f1tfe Wagon road" The a.
made II lawful for any isgfsry - oupyate