The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1912-09-04
Potatoes Washinglon's Earliest Crop
Pioneer Traders Who Established Fort Cove Looked After
Potatoes Before They Gathered Beaver Skins


The keynote of FIT. Collville, Wash
was not beaver skins, but potatoes
Potatoes are the first subject men,
toned, and the last, while in between
there are frequent references to but
ter and cheese and few--only few
TO furs.
Spokane House was to be abandon
ed. 1t was too far out of the way
for economy and not on navigable
stream. When Sir George Simpson
came down the Columbia in 1924
with DR.. Mclaughlin, he decided its
fate and chose Kettle Falls as the site
of the new fort. The beginning of t
was entrusted to the general super
vision of John Work.
II have lined out the site of new
establishment at the Kettle falls he
wrote to Work in April, 1925, land
wish YOU to commence building and
transporting the property from Spo-
kane as early as possible. Mr.. Bir-
ME has been directed to plant about
five kegs of potatoes. You will be so
good as to take great care of them.
the produce to be reserved for seed,
not to eat, as next year l expect that
from 80 to 40 bushels will be plant
ed"
Such was the great care of the
great baronet for the potato patch.
So in August of that year French
Canadian with seven men started for
the falls to begin work on the store,
inevitably the first building. Others
were to be sent later, but Work could
not be there himself, and though in
September there were Is men in all,
some Telling and rafting lumber, 9TH
ers saving, few squaring and one
carting, SO many mistakes were made
and so many delays resulted that the
foundation Of the fort had to be
abandoned for that fall. The pre-
cious potatoes, however, were put into
pit by the men under special in
structions, covered up and entrusted
to an Indian chiefs kegs of them
in all.
Work was begun early next spring
and the fort buildings erected ''in a
little niche above the falls a valley
of horseshoe form about two miles
along the river side and two miles
or more back to steep hills. The
500 feet from the river side and the
roar of the falls could be heard there
increasingly. In this sheltered nook.
with increasing density of forests be-
hind them and barren and sterile
country across the river before them,
the clerks in charge grew potatoes
and other garden vegetables, raised
pigs and cattle and kept a large band
of horses The place served as a way
station for expressmen bound up or
down the river. A portage had to be
made around the falls, which varied
in height, according to the volume of
water, sometimes 10 and sometimes
40 feet. The water Numbered down
into basin, which thereby got it's
name of boiling cauldron, or La Chau-
diere, from the Canadians. 1t was =
noted fishery for both Indians and
whites
The furs came from the Flathead
and Kootenay tribes, in the northeast,
the Occur d'Alenes and Pend
even Is packs Of beaver skins, aver
aging perhaps go or IS to pack.
was considered remarkable.
A long series of unpublished letters
and manuscripts give the intimate
history of the fort. In 1886, the prof
it's were still between $4,000 and
$4,000. but were largely from farm
produce. Three thousand bushels Of
wheat, 1000 bushels of corn, and 1900
of other grains constituted the 1886
harvest, according to the report Of
Archibald Mcdonald, clerk in charge,
to Honest John" Work, and it said
further: @E
your calves (of 1926 are up to
SO & your 8 Grunters would have
swarmed the country if we did not
make it a point to keep them down
to $50 Last season, to complete
our independence 1 got up d
new mill and new stores"
Here Mcdonald lived for years dis
cussing politics with his friend Erma-
finger in Canada, telling of Hudson
Bay Company affairs and family news
as well-news of his Indian wife, a
daughter of old one-eyed Comcomly,
and of the doings of his numerous
sons. Jenny's butter, cheese, ham
and bacon will shine in any ordinary
market was his opinion in 1887. BY
1910, the farming establishment was
still more firmly established, and the
report says:
"At Colville itself we are pretty
busy for the present, building boats,
grinding wheat, counting beaver,
making packs, and giving ample en-
ployment to plows, and as many
harrows Our dairyman, too,
old Joachim, is busy securing up his
milk tureens in order to meet our
share of very heavy demand in but
ter and cheese that is to be made
upon all cattle holders in the Co.
lumbia for the fulfillment of our con-
tract with the Russians to the tune
of 200 frkins in the article (of) but
ter alone"
Nor did Sir George Simpson fail to
appreciate FIT. Colville. on his trip of
1s41, travelling after 1000 miles
through the wilderness with sharpen
ing appetite.
When Commodore Wilkes of the
United States exploring expedition
sent party inland that summer, Nc
Donald gave them as hearty a recep-
ton as he had extended the acting
governor of his own far-famed COM
pany. "A place so famed as Colville
for its beautiful scenery, and as some
say for its domestic comforts to a
man in need, you may be sure was
=