The Colville examiner. [volume] (Colville, Wash.) 1907-1948, 1920-02-14
EARLIEST TREES
IN THE COUNTY
J. A. MEYERS FURNISHES MORE
DATA ON INTERESTING HIS
TORICAL POINTS
Trees from the Old PrObell Orchard
Still Bearing Fruit After
Many Years

Editor of the Examiner: Will YOU
allow me space for u few brief
sentences apropos of the Earliest
Trees in the County" as published in
the Examiner of the 7th inst.
As we have shown repeatedly, the
oftener an unVerified tale is repeated
the farther it gets from the truth,
and old settlers "reminiscences are
worthless as history unless verified
by written evidence made at the time
of occurrences.
Why eulogize Henry Koch as an
accomplished horticuturist if he only
planted a few seeding apple trees?
Why send to Washington for apple
seeds when he could get all he needed
for few dollars worth of dried
apples, of which there were plenty?
Besides, Washington was not dis
tributing seeds at that time.
A critical examination of the John
ProbeIl orchard shows that it has
never been top grated. There are
30 to 10 of the original old trunks
still growing thliftily, bearing finely
every year of five different varieties,
among them Northern Spy and Bell
flower as verified the others not rec
ognized. A number of the old
trees have grown up from the root,
having died down probably in the
winter of 1874, as the trees did on
the Meyers place. They have that
appearance. These trees are also
grated fruit, which would not be if
topgrafted trees
Antoine Plante was a French half
breed, and never had anything that
could be rated as ferry across
the Spokane river. He had an apple
tree, age unknown; his home was not
on the Spokane river but some miles
from it.
The Hudson Bay company raised
but small crops of corn, 200 or 300
bushels each year, but of wheat they
raised from 1900 to $500 bushels
and 1900 to 1900 bushels Of barley
and rye with all the other usual
produce natural to the country. The
mill at Meyers Falls (Mill creek)
produced cereals that supplied all the
employees Of the company from Utah
to Peace river between the Cascades
and the Rockies. This may be only
to Supply present needs, but the
world does not appear to be doing
any better
Albert T. Pingstone never owned
the John Probell place; he lived with
Probell's widow, and made many i'm
provements in the way of fruit
trees, etc, and married her October
Is, 1884, some weeks before he died
by accidental gunshot wound at
Little Dalles. He was steamboat
captain and pilot on the Columbia
and Snake rivers for number of
years.
"The Governor and Company of
Adventures of England Trading in
to Hudson's Bay" is the official des-
gnaton of that company. In their
Hudsons Bay company without the
apostrophe. We use the name Hud-
son Bay company, considering that
the most correct. AS well spell it
Hudson's river, New York. The
apostrophe in this case makes it an
ownership or possessary claim, which
we consider wrong or inappropriate.
John Probel died the 9th day of
February, 1875, and was buried in
the cemetery at Colville, March l,
1875. This it will be seen is some
months before Mr.. Hickey planted
his orchard. The nucleus of the Kin
sey orchard near Kettle Falls was
planted coincident with the Hickey
orchard, some twenty or thirty trees
We reiterate that our item of the
31st ultimo, is every statement cor
rect and can be verified-4ours
truly, J. A. Meyers.