Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1924-07-18

further discussion along the line
A REPUTATION of a misstatement
broadcasted by Seattle regard
ing the naming of the Mountain
has been disclosed by information
dating back to the Civil War per-
iod dug up by Herbert S. Griggs,
local attorney.
Briefly the story is that a wo-
man writer visited Seattle in 1865
which was four years before Ia
coma even existed and stated
very decidedly that the mountain
"was called by the Indians, TIA
coma" Printed herewith is MI
Grigg's letter to the Ledger in
full:
editor Ledger,
Dear Sir: The Seattle committee
organized for the purpose Of pre-
venting the restoration of the
name Tacoma to the mountain,
is issuing a pamphlet prepared by
Mr.. Conover and is also publish
ing letters written by its chair
man Josiah Collins of Seattle, in
the New York Times and in other
important newspapers objecting to
the. very general disinterested
wish of men of intelligence thru
out the United States to have the
aboriginal Indian name restored
to the mountain, and state as
their specific objection that ",the
word Tacoma is not and never
was the Indian name Of the
mountain.
"This objection has been ans
wered 50 completely and so often
that it would seem to be waste
of time to make further answer
but this Seattle committee is so
persistent that, when an oppor-
tunity offers to convict them from
within the very precincts of their
own city it seems that this oppor-
tunity should not be lost. From
the year 1865 to about 1881 in
elusive, Caroline G. leighton was
travelling in Washington territory
British Columbia, Oregon and
California. She was evidently a
woman of exceptional literary a
bility. During that time she was
writing home letters describing
points of interest in her travels.
These letters were later gath
cred together and published I'M
der the title of "Life at Puget
Sound with Sketches of Travel in
Washington Territory, British
Columbia, Oregon and California,
1865 1881" 1t was published
at Boston by Lee & Shepherd and
circulated from New York by
Chas. T. Dillingham;. And on
November S, 1865, this very in
quiring and Intelligent traveller
was stopping at Seattle, in Wash
ington territory, and writing
from Seattle (then, as now, the
big town of Washington she
tells us from information re
ceived at that time in Seattle that
"Tacoma' was the Indian name
for the mountain. This was at
least four years before the town
or city of Tacoma was ever heard
of or thought of. So, out of her
own mouth so to speak Seattle Is
now convicted Of stultifying her
self and in her eagerness to OPP
pose anything that she thinks
might benefit her sister city, or
circulating and supporting a mis-
statement of the facts.
"Here is an exact copy of this
letter, which will be found on
pages SO and 80 of the publication
referred to and which shows that
in Seattle, at least, the then cen
ter of intelligence in the territory
of Washington, as Except for
this fragrant error) it still claims
| to be, the word Tacoma, was
admittedly and uniformly known
to be the aboriginal Indian name
for the mountain:
"Seattle, Wash. Territory
November 5th, 1863
we saw here a very dignified
old Indian, old and poor but with
something about him that led us
to suspect that he was a chief
We found upon inquiring, that il
was Seattle the old indian chief
for whom the town was named
and the head of all the tribes OF
the Sound. He had with him
little brown sprite that seemec
an embodiment of the wind--sucl
a swift, elastic little creature-hi'
great grandson, with no clothes
about him, tho it was a cold No
vember day. To him motion seen
IL ne, ,,+,ro1 nc ,nc+