- Outraged by the sites and sizes of the reservations imposed on South Puget Sound tribes by the Medicine Creek Treaty, Leschi, a respected Nisqually, took up arms and was recognized as the overall leader of warriors from several of the affected tribes. In the spring of 1856, outgunned and outmanned, Leschi and his remaining Nisqually followers retreated to the sanctuary of the Kittitas Valley, where his mother’s powerful kin held sway. Even out of combat, the Nisqually chief remained the primary focus for the vengeance of Governor Isaac Stevens (1818-1862). Upon returning west in late 1856, Leschi was betrayed by a relative, arrested, and charged with the murder of a volunteer militiaman. After a convoluted and error-filled legal odyssey and two trials, Leschi was convicted, and on a cold February 19, 1858, hanged at Steilacoom. But his fight had not been in vain – a year before his execution, in January 1857, larger and more appropriate reservations were approved for the region’s tribes. Nearly 150 years later, in 2004, a specially formed historical court exonerated Chief Leschi of the crime for which his life was taken.
- Leschi (1808-1858), Part 1 (historylink.org)
Leschi (1808-1858) and his half-brother, Quiemuth (ca. 1798-1856), were respected members of the Nisqually Indian Tribe of South Puget Sound. In 1854 they were appointed by Washington Territory’s first governor, Isaac Stevens (1818-1862), to represent their tribe during treaty talks near Medicine Creek in north Thurston County. Outraged by the inadequate reservation imposed by the treaty, Leschi took up arms and became the leading chief of a fighting force comprising members of several Puget Sound tribes. Outgunned and outmanned, in the spring of 1856 Leschi and his remaining followers retreated to the Kittitas Valley. But he had become the primary focus for the vengeance of Governor Stevens, and upon returning west in late 1856 Leschi was betrayed, arrested, and charged with the murder of a volunteer militiaman. After two trials and a convoluted and error-filled legal odyssey, Leschi was convicted, and on February 19, 1858, was hanged at Steilacoom. Still, the Puget Sound War had not been fought in vain; in January 1857 larger and more appropriate reservations were approved for the region’s tribes. Nearly 150 years later, in 2004, a specially formed historical court exonerated Chief Leschi of the crime for which he was executed.
- Silvertip Peak (summitpost.org)
My climbing partner and I will sometimes refer to a particularly nasty climb as a “one-n-done”. Silvertip Peak, 1.5 miles southwest of Monte Cristo, is the polar opposite of a “one-n-done”. With a ghost town to explore, pleasant approach hike, good camping lake, easy and brush-free route finding, and outstanding views, this is a peak you will want to come back to. Theoretically, the peak should be called Silver Tip (after the Silver Tip mining claim), and the Cascade Alpine Guide refers to it as such. On the USGS map, however, it is labeled as Silvertip, which is probably the more “official” of the two names.