- Walter Crockett, Sr. is a candidate for ‘old man Crockett’
- When, however, the doctor [John Miller Haden] and the agent [Edmond Starling] made their proposal to the new collector [Isaac Ebey], the latter said that he could not leave immediately on account of his wife. When, however, they returned from Admiralty bay with their canoe, and guide, the sly colonel changed his mind and said he would go with them, so the original plan was inverted, much to the disgust of Starling and the doctor. The agent had been of little use on the trip. In his official position he had completely failed, and in his promises to supply us with game and to be of practical assistance in several ways, he had “slipped up,” in addition to which he was exceedingly irritable when twitted with his shortcomings.
- I was obliged to discharge the guide I had obtained at New York [Alki], as I had found him gambling in the Suqualmish camp and he had shown himself worthless in other respects. An Indian loitered about our camp for two days, offering to inform against the murderer of [Judah] Church, if he were paid for it. I put him off, and on the evening of the 29th, Hancock came over from Port Townsend and told me that the Indians had told him that one Sla-kai, a Skagit Indian, had killed Church. The next day [May 30, 1853] a man named Martin Tafster agreed to get the Indian if the matter were kept quiet. So I decided to visit Dungeness and return on the east side of Whidby island through Deception passage, where it was said that the Indian could be found.
- After bidding my friends goodbye, I sailed away for Dungeness. Soon after rounding Protection point the wind went down, and we had hard work to reach Protection island, where we camped. There is no water on the island, but fortunately we had two buckets full, which we had brought with us. There are no inhabitants, except some hogs, which seem to thrive very well. The island is composed of sandbanks, which recede from the water’s edge and form a little valley in the center. On the east side is a strip of fir timber and sufficient soil to produce a coat of grass interspersed with fern.
- Washington Territorial Legislature incorporates the City of Steilacoom on April 22, 1854. (historylink.org)
On April 22, 1854, Steilacoom becomes the first town in Washington to be incorporated by the new Washington Territorial Legislature. Originally two separate and competing towns founded in 1851 by Lafayette Balch (1825-1862) and John B. Chapman (1797-1877), they are combined into one by the incorporating legislation. Initially Steilacoom grows rapidly as an industrial and economic center. Despite its promising start, railroad construction in the 1870s will bypass the town, and its growth will slow as Tacoma becomes Pierce County’s main industrial and economic center. Steilacoom will eventually evolve into a commuter town surrounded by encroaching suburban development. Local efforts to preserve historic buildings and sites in Steilacoom beginning in the 1960s will lead to the town being named one of the state’s first designated historic districts.
- When, however, the doctor [John Miller Haden] and the agent [Edmond Starling] made their proposal to the new collector [Isaac Ebey], the latter said that he could not leave immediately on account of his wife. When, however, they returned from Admiralty bay with their canoe, and guide, the sly colonel changed his mind and said he would go with them, so the original plan was inverted, much to the disgust of Starling and the doctor. The agent had been of little use on the trip. In his official position he had completely failed, and in his promises to supply us with game and to be of practical assistance in several ways, he had “slipped up,” in addition to which he was exceedingly irritable when twitted with his shortcomings.