Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1902-07-18
THE PRIZE ESSAY.
WHAT GAN BE SAID OF OUR
STATE BYA CHILD OF EIGHT.

WHAT CAN BE SAID OF ouR
STATE 6YA CHILD OF EIGHT.
The Theme Is an lnspiration-C Competition
Restricted to Pupils Not Above the EIGHTH
Grade-The Result is an Interesting and
Faithful Compilation Of the Salient Features
Of Our Wonderful State.
Months ago Congressman F. W.
Cushman, of Tacoma, offered a prize
of 500 for the best essay on the State
OF Washington, written by pupil o
the public schools of the State out.
side Of Pierce county. The competi.
tion was restricted to those not above
the eighth grade.
The prize was awarded to Ellis
Hudson, III years Of age, in the Baker
school OF Walla Walla. The essay is
as follows:
The region around Puget Sound was,
for centuries a favorite resort of In.
dams.
In 1892, just one hundred years
after the discovery of America, a
Greek navigator by the name of San
Juan de Fuca. sailed through the
strait which now bears his name. He
was in the Spanish service, thus giving
the Spanish claim to the lands
sighted by him.
In 1887. Captain Robert Gray of
Boston, sailed along the west coast
and discovered Gray's Harbor and
Willapa Harbor. Afterwards, in a
second visit to the Coast in 1892, he
sailed up the Columbia river. In this
way the United States secured claim
to the Northwest.
Jefferson had been working for
twenty yesrs to send an exploring ex-
pedition to the Northwest. Finally, q
few months after the Louisiana Pur-
chase, Jefferson asked Congress to ap.
propriate money for the expedition to
discover the source of the Missouri
river and explore the province of
Louisiana. Congress replied by vot-
ing $500 to furnish an expedition
for the purpose of extending the ex.
ternal commerce OF the United Sta tes."
At first it was thought that it would
be scientific expedition. Jefferson
did not know how he was going to es-
tablish claim for the United States
to the Oregon territory.
Captain Merriwe,her Lewis and
William Clark were chosen to lead
the expedition. They found what
they thought to he the source of the
Missouri, crossed the Rocky Mount.
aims and sailed down the Clearwater,
Snake and Columbia rivers to the Pa
cific ocean in 1904 5 6.
The Hudson Bay Company attempt
ed to take possession of the North
west from 1928 to l84l, but the Unit.
ed States claimed it for several rea.
sons-the discovery OF the Columbia,
the Lewis and Clark expedition, the
founding OF Astoria and the transfer
OF the rights Of Spain to the North.
west Coast in the treaty of lS19-and
American settlers occupied it in 1874.
DR.. Marcus Whitman, the noted
missionary to the Indians, made q
midwiuter ride to the President at
Washington to get him interested in
the country and save it to the United
States. After a long dispute with
Great Britain treaty was made in
which she ceded all the land lying
south OF the forty.ninth parallel to
the United States.
It will remain to the people Of COM
ing generations to appreciate the vail.
ant and heroic ride of Marcus Whit
man; for after the country is flowing
over with prosperity, what he did for
the United States and his own State
will be more priced, his name will
stand with that OF Paul Revere, while
his endurance and patriotism will be
told in poetry and prose.
The discovery of the great river Of
the West by Gray in 1892. and the
Lewis and Clark expedition in l8O4-5-
6, added to the national domain
region exceeding in extent the whole
OF the States east OF the Mississippi.
In March, 1858, new territory was
organized from the land lying north
of the Columbia river and was named
Washington, after "The Father OF His
Country"
A new star, the forty.second, was
added to the flag OF the Union on
November IL, 1889.
The first Governor OF Oregon Ter
ritory was Hon. George Abernethy
and the first Governor of Washington
Territory was Isaac I. Stevens. The
present Governor is Hon. Henry Nc
Bride, who has just succeeded to the
Office owing to the death of Governor
Rogers.
Washington is bounded on the
north by British Columbia, on the
east by the State of Idaho, on the
south by Oregon and on the west by
the Pacific ocean. Three.fourths OF
the southern boundary follows the
Columbia and the remainder is the
forty-sixth parallel OF latitude. The
extreme length is three hundred and
sixty miles and the extreme width is
two hundred and forty miles; its area
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