The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1917-04-27
LOOKING BACKWARD.
Happenings When the Land Wa,
Young and Sparsely Settled.

(From the Loomis Prospector, April
l29, 1882
At a meeting of the county commits
Isioners held April 6, 1898, resolution
Twas presented repudiating the old debt
lof Okanogan county, but Commi-
lssioners M. d. Griffin and T. R. Prev
lit refused to support the resolution
land it failed to pass.
The Prospector announces that war
has been declared against Spain and
Excitement is said to have prevailed
land many were willing to join the ar
lmy, yet in the end the quote from
Loomis was exceedingly small, SO
small that we see no mention OF any
individual enlistlng.
The announcement was made OF the
death of Joseph Bertrand, who at one
ltime owned the land along the river
from the present town Of Nighthawk,
Eastward, and operated ferry across
1.-The Similkameen river.
Jas. O'Herin returned to Loomis
Monday from Republic. but only for
| AiC SAPSSeS w @~AN~>S -->~
HEADQUARTERS at the bustling reserva-
ton city this summer. (Mr. O'Herin
Ibid not remain in Republic. He re-
turned to Loomis and owns one of the
Ichoicest ranches and orchards In the
Sinlahekin valley. To its credit be 1t
said that county has many square men
but none squarer in every attribute
hov Tim n'Harin !
Maj. A. NJ Anderson, Indian agent
on the Colville reservation, was at the
old Tonasket school site several days
this week distributing supplies to the
Indians. Qn those days the supplies
/ the Indians received were wagons,
farm machinery, food, clothing, etc
handed out in profusion by an open
handed government. After Major An
derson left the Indian service he Sc
cured an important position with the
Great Northern railroad, which he is
still holding. AS right-of-way agent he
secured the right-of-way through
lands in this county both for the main
line and the Oroville- -Wenatchee
branch. The major is still with the
railroad, and occasionally visits his
old stamping grounds. in the perform
ance of his duties.)
j. M. Henkins, VIM. Brown and Robt.
Vail left Loomis on prospecting trip
through the reservation, taking sew
eral pack horses loaded with supplies.
| Drown Is dead, we believe Henkin's
whereabouts is unknown, but Vail, an
;,,a1 Se CO.
| a resident of Loomis.)
Wednesday afternoon Geo. H. Ellis
and Jas. E. Forde, proprietors of the
Loomis Trading Company, started for
Republic, where they will open an
other establishment under the name of
the Republic Trading Comnay. (They
started the store and did we'll for a
short time, but fire cleaned them out,
there was no insurance, and they were
heavy losers. They reopened in tent,
but soon disposed of their Republic
|interests.)
Mention Is made of the establish
ment of postoffice at Brewster, with
Il. l.. Gillespie as postmaster.
Among those advertising to prove
up on homesteads at that time were
George w. Loudon, Jas. E. Forde, Ma
than Smye, John w. Douglas, Mithas
Garigen, Willard X. Munson, James
Cottini and Theodore Erickson.
Announcement is made of the death
|of Peter l.. Anderson, a pioneer resi-
dent Of the Similkameen valley, and
the father of Ben Anderson. The de-
ceased crossed the plains to California
in 1852, and was one of the army of
|prospectors that was attracted to the
Frazier river gold district.
Horace Brown and VIM. Lewis, men
well advanced in years even at that
time. were joyful over strike on a
mining claim they were working on
Whisky Hill. The old boys never made
the mine 60 Mr.. Lewis is dead, but
Mr.. Brown was still a resident of this
|county up to last fall, when he left to
Visit with his children.
In the old days when man became
exhuberant he was in the habit of dis
lp.aying his Joy by banging away with
la revolver on the streets. Judge
Stocker kind of threw cold water on
the practice according to the follow
ing item: 20. S. Stocker Is earning
the name Of Judge Sockittoem. The
first man called before him for shoot
ing on the streets was fined $25 and
the next $50 He says he will jump $25
on every case until he reaches the
limit, and will hold it there" And 1t
may be added that the barking of re-
volvers went silent in the land.
The Buffers brothers are hard at
work getting their dredge In shape at
/ jOroville to carry out their scheme of
placer mining by working the sand
and gravel at the bottom of the Simil-
kameen river. (But like so many other
projects to work the gravel in the
ISimilkameen river the dredger failed
to prove success)
new cable ferry was put In over
the Okanogan river at Tonasket cross
ing, the old Parry place.
Mr.. and Mrs. ]. P. Dexter were made
HAPPY by the arrival Of new boy.
| Among the Oroville items is one
that reads: opal Samson was play
ing near bon fire Saturday after
noon when the back Of her skirts
caught fire, and but for the timely aid
OF Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Tufty, who
were near at hand, she would have
been seriously burned. They sue
ceeded in tearing off the outer cloth
Ing, which was all in flames, before
the child received burn. Mrs. Potter
suffers from severely burned hands
and wrists, received while extinguish-
ing the flames"