- Soul on Ice (book) (Wikipedia)
Soul on Ice is a book of essays and letters written by Eldridge Cleaver while he was serving time in San Quentin State Prison and Folsom State Prison. His writings first appeared in Ramparts magazine in 1966, and were collected in book form in Soul on Ice, published by McGraw-Hill in 1968. Although the book ranges over many topics, it is usually classified as a memoir because much of it is a retelling of Cleaver’s life, how he came to be in prison, and the evolution of his religious beliefs and radical politics.
- Fort Steilacoom (1849-1868) (historylink.org)
Fort Steilacoom, located in south Puget Sound near Lake Steilacoom, was established by the United States Army in 1849. Protection of settlers in the area had become an issue. As well, the United States was anxious to plant the flag on land claimed by Britain. (Britain had ceded the territory south of the 49th parallel in 1846, but claimed this land as a commercial enterprise. Fort Steilacoom was established in what was then Oregon Territory. Congress would create Washington Territory in 1853.) In August 1849 the U.S. Army moved onto the Joseph Heath farm to establish the fort, leasing the land from the British Hudson’s Bay Company. The fort served as a headquarters in the 1855-1856 Indian Wars, but there were no hostile actions here. A major event was the incarceration of Nisqually Chief Leschi (1808-1858) in the fort guardhouse. The post commander and other officers protested his trial and murder conviction, arguing that he was probably not guilty, as a state of war had existed. Fort Steilacoom was closed in 1868 and became the site of the Western State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. Today (2012) the Fort Steilacoom Museum is also located on the site.