The Man Who 'Bled' His Town Dry: The Rise and Ruin of Eldridge Morse

From the Oregon City Enterprise

OREGON CITY, Dec. 11, 1876.

Editor Enterprise: Having promised a short sketch of my travels on the Sound in W.T., I hope your numerous readers will excuse my lack of descriptive expertness in letter writing, and be content with simple facts as they appear to me.

Kahuna, the first place of interest I found on the line of travel from Portland to Seattle, is situated on the east side of the Columbia river 40 miles from the former city, and is quite a 'tidy little place,' as the N.P. R.R. terminates at this point, running eastward. The distance by rail from this point to Tacoma, is 96 miles, Tacoma being the present northern terminus of the road. The country lying between Kahuna and Tacoma is alternately rich and poor, a large majority being very gravelly and hardly fit for cultivation.

Tacoma is a small place with but little outlook for the future metropolis of the Northwest. Seattle, the present center of trade and commerce, is growing quite rapidly, the present resident population being about thirty-seven hundred. The city is beautifully situated on the eastern shore of Duwamish bay, which is perhaps one of the most beautiful in the world. A section of the Seattle and Walla Walla R.R. is nearly completed a distance of fifteen miles. The completion of this road is only a question of time, as the route is not only practicable, but will pay large returns for the investment.

Snohomish county lies immediately north of King, the county in which Seattle is situated, and is comparatively a newly opened county, but contains some of the finest agricultural lands on the Sound. Snohomish City, the present county seat, is situated twelve miles above the mouth of the Snohomish river, and is one of the most lively little towns on the Sound. The people are principally from the New England States, well educated and energetic almost to a fault.

The Northman Sun is published here, and claims to have the largest circulation of any paper [except one other] on the Sound. It is edited by Eldridge Morse and Dr. A. C. Folsom.

Morse, the chief editor, is the most energetic person I ever met. I traveled with him in an open boat from Snohomish to Mukilteo, a distance of twenty miles, one night after 9 o'clock, and I can any truthfully that I do not wish to take another such pleasure trip. He is a lawyer by profession, carries a large business in that line, and has been honored by occupying many positions of trust in that county. He was the chief man in the organization of the Snohomish Industrial Society, and also the Athenaeum.

I regret very much that I have misplaced a short sketch of his early life and education which I obtained of a friend, in lieu of which I will relate what a man in a rural district of that county said of him: 'He has bled the county out of more money than any other man, and will finally ruin it if let alone.' He begs money for the Athenaeum, the Free Religious Society, the public school, bridges, etc., etc. But notwithstanding the murmurs in the rural districts, the people have raised many thousand dollars for these purposes.

The Athenaeum building is 60x80 feet high with apartments for Museum, Library and Halls. A large amount of statues and animals, and a large amount of books for the Library, has already been received. Dr. A. C. Folsom, an associate editor of the Sun, is a native of New England and a graduate of Harvard University. He came to California in 1849, and served the U.S. Army both here and out in the Rebellion. He has traveled in South America, in the interest of science, and also in Europe. He has performed more noted surgical operations, and has been a regular contributor to several medical journals. Of sciences, his taste runs to natural history, geology and astronomy. He was a regular correspondent for the Scientific Journal for sixteen years, and came to Snohomish four years ago, was one of the founders of the Athenaeum, and was made superintendent of the scientific department, which position he still retains. He is superintendent of public schools, is a Republican in politics, a Liberal in religion, and takes an active part in all that pertains to education. He is one of those free thinkers who takes pleasure in according to others the same privilege he claims for himself: 'The right to think for himself; and not because somebody else says so or thinks so.'

I had intended to speak of E.C. Ferguson, the acknowledged sage of Snohomish county and member elect to the Legislative Council of W.T., and president of the Athenaeum; of Mrs. Masterson, a poetess of rare ability; of Mrs. Bell, principal of the public school of Mukilteo, an accomplished lawyer who does a large professional business, and superintendent of the splendid Sunday School of that place; but my space will not allow. I became greatly attached to the people at Snohomish.