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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 4 |
| 1859 | 10 |
14 stories matching order
- Steilacoom Empties Its Garrison for a Near-War on San Juan Island
On Aug. 9, 1859, soldiers and two brass cannon left Steilacoom aboard the steamer Julia to reinforce Capt. Pickett’s tiny command, as the U.S. and Britain edged toward war over a boundary and a pig.
- A Chief Seized at Fort Bellingham
Acting Governor Mason's requisition sends soldiers after Kitup and Nelson; a visit to the Indian agent ends in a scuffle, an escape attempt, and a military arrest.
- A Yakama Chief Falls as the Territory's Indian War Ends
Col. Wright's campaign is declared over; Owhi is shot near the Snake River, and the Herald celebrates executions and hostages as peace.
- The Winter War Blueprint: An 1858 Campaign to Subdue the Tribes
A field letter from the Indian war in Oregon and Washington urges the Army to occupy the Colville Valley, cut off Indigenous trade, and expel missionaries and Hudson’s Bay Company employees.
- A Town Organizes a Vigilance Committee to Keep 'Northern Indians' Off Its Shore
Citizens meet at the Court House, resolve that 'no Northern Indians at any time be allowed to land at this place,' and appoint a standing Committee of Vigilance to enforce it.
- A Settler's Plea for Too-e-pi-ti
An old Pierce County resident says a white man, Jim Riley, shot an Indigenous man without cause—and asks voters not to let the case die.
- The Steamer Traveler Goes Down Off Foulweather Bluff
A sudden leak in a winter gale drowned Captain Slater and several others on a routine Puget Sound run from Port Townsend to Port Gamble.
- The Quartermaster’s Arithmetic: Scrip, Pork, and Profiteering in Washington Territory
A detailed audit of Quartermaster General W. W. Miller’s books exposed inflated prices, unexplained payments, and scrip issued for vouchers the commissioners had already disallowed.
- The Fur Company’s Land Empire Is Declared Public Domain
A letter from Washington City reports that the Hudson’s Bay and Puget Sound Agricultural companies’ territorial claims have been ruled forfeit, opening their Nisqually and Fort Vancouver lands to American survey and settlement.
- ‘Rule or Ruin’: A Territorial Lawmaker Turns on Governor Stevens
Confined to his room with a cold, a member of the Washington Territorial Legislature answers his critics — defending his right to name the governor's unpopular appointees and accusing a ruling clique of trying to shut the rest of the territory up.
- The Military Road That Opened the Northwest
A $100,000 federal appropriation sends Lieut. John Mullan back to the Pacific to push a wagon road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton—and with it, a tide of settlers into Oregon and Washington.
- Fighting Whisky and a Free Fight in Steilacoom's Streets
A dozen strangers brawl outside Jerry Dennis's house, prompting the editor to demand the disorderly den be closed.
- The Steamer That Never Came: Steilacoom's Broken Promise of a Pleasure Trip
A hundred neighbors set aside their work for a promised steamboat excursion to Olympia — but the boat failed to show, the crowd simmered, and the day ended in a dance hall instead of on deck.
- A Frontier Fourth: Cannon, Troops, and a Ball in Steilacoom
On July 4, 1859, Steilacoom turned out for a warship salute, a military review at Fort Steilacoom, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, and an evening ball.