"Early History of Thurston County, Washington; Together with Biographies and
Reminiscences of those Identified with Pioneer Days." Compiled and Edited by
Mrs. George E. (Georgiana) Blankenship.  Published in Olympia, Washington, 1914.
p.  67.
 
SAMUEL L. CRAWFORD

     My father, Ronald C. Crawford, and my mother, Elizabeth Jane Moore, came to
Oregon in 1847, my father from New York, and my mother from Illinois. Father's
elder brother. Medorum, was of the immigration of 1842, and my
maternal grandfather, Robert Moore, was of the Peoria expedition of 1840, and
both were members of the Champogue meeting, where the provisional government of
Oregon was formed my grandfather being Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions,
and drafted the organic law which, when adopted by the convention, became the
law of the provisional government of the territory of Oregon, or more
particularly what was called the Oregon country.
    Mother was a little girl of 10 years of age when she reached her home in the
West and the lad who afterwards became my father, ten years older. In the course
of time the young couple became acquainted and were married, seven children
having been born to them. Only five of these children are still living, I,
Samuel L., being the second child.
    My early youth was spent in Walla Walla, Oregon City and Salem, in all of
which towns I attended school. When while quite a young lad, and still living
with my parents, I attended school in Olympia. My teacher here was the late
Professor L. P. Venen, who. at that time, was conducting a private school in
Olympia. Then I went to the public schools of the town, and enjoyed .the
companionship of lads and lassies who, many of them, have become among the
prominent men and women of the now prosperous State of Washington.  Among those
whom I am able to recall at this writing are: Levi Shelton, now a prominent
citizen of Tacoma; Cynthia Shelton, who afterwards became the wife of P. B. Van
Trump, who with Hazard Stevens, made the first, complete ascent of Mt. Rainier
in 1870; Clarence W. Coulter, now prominently
connected with Seattle business affairs; Bradford W. Davis, now with the
railroad mail service; Anna Pullen, afterwards Mrs. Matthew A. Kelly. Mr. Kelly
was formerly a prominent druggist of Seattle. George E. Blankenship, who took up
the printing business, and has stayed on the old stamping ground; Fannie Yantis,
who afterwards married Capt. J. J. Gilbert, prominent in the Coast and Geodetic
Survey; Anna Stevens, who afterwards became the wife of the Hon. John F. Gowey,
who was connected with the United States land office in Olympia and later was
made minister to China, where he  was residing at the time of his death, in the
early part of the  present century; S. C. Woodruff, Superintendent of the
Hospital for Defective Youth at Medical Lake; Georgia Percival, now the. widow
of the late T. N. Ford, at one time Treasurer of the Territory of Washington;
her brother, Samuel M. Percival being until recently connected with the state
road bureau and whose wife, Druzie Pereival, is well known in all the Sound
cities as a musical composer of more than ordinary talent; Francis A. Treen, who
afterwards developed a beautiful tenor voice, with which he gave much pleasure
to his friends and acquaintances for many years; Emma dark, who afterwards
married her teacher, the late L. P. Venen; Josie Clark, afterwards Mrs. Dellie
Woodard; Nellie Parker, now Mrs. Herbert McMicken, and many others whose names
are now but a dim and cherished memory.
      After graduating from marbles in the field of amusements, at which game I
was proficient and kept my pockets well filled with the winnings from the other
boys when we played "for keeps," base ball demanded my attention for several
years.  In our team were Clarence Bagley, L. A. Treen, Cal, Jim and Frank
McFadden and many other Olympians.
      In September, 1871. I entered the office of the Washington Standard,
published by John Miller Murphy, as "devil," to learn the printer's trade. There
I worked until 1875, when I left the office to accept the position of assistant
Clerk in the Lower House of the Legislative Assembly, of which my father was a
member from Lewis County.
      At the expiration of the term of the Legislature I worked for Clarence
Bagley, who was at that time public printer. When the public work was finished I
went to work for Francis Cook, at that time publisher of the Morning Echo. Cook
had a chicken ranch on a place called Hardscrabble, in Mason County. The skunks
were numerous and detracted from the financial returns of the chicken ranch, and
as he found it difficult to be at both places at once he arranged with me to run
the paper so he. could devote his energies to the chickens. The paper could only
afford one salary and that, of course, to go to me, and I was left to rustle my
own assistance as best I could.
     Now, I developed a regular Tom Sawyer genius for working my boon
companions, and with such jolly spirits as Harry K. Strove, Pen Patterson,
Yakima Jimmie and Peter Stanup, I managed to get along very well. The work was
rather strenuous, as I commenced rustling news early in the morning, wrote up
the paper in the late forenoons and early afternoons, then helped the boys set
the type, and in the evening worked off the forms, and finally distributed the
paper throughout the city myself, getting to my bed (which was located in
the banking house of George Barnes & Co.) about two o'clock in the morning,
after eating up everything in the way of fruit and cake that Mr. Barnes had
remaining from his lunch at noonday.
     During the summer of this year I arrived at my majority.  Mr. Cook, who had
visited the paper from his chicken ranch, had inserted an item to the effect
that on June 22 the Echo man would be 21. Imagine my surprise on reaching the
office that morning to find a table loaded down with all sorts of presents. My
old friend and Sunday school teacher, the Rev. John R. Thompson, had seat me a
handsome copy of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, George A. Barnes a copy of Hill's
Business Forms, and a number of other books from Francis H. Cook and other
friends. Mr. and Mrs. L. A. Treen, then living in Olympia, sent me a can of
milk, Mrs. T. M. Reed. wife of the lamented Hon. Thomas Reed, the well
remembered and loved pioneer, sent me a large fruit cake, all decorated with
frosted flowers, together with this little note:
         "To the Echo man of twenty-one
          This little token's offered,
         May the joys of life, like Summer sun,
          E'er shine on Sammy Crawford."
I still cherish this kindly token from Mrs. Reed, and I am sorry that both she
and her husband have passed to the Great Beyond.
    While these joyous days, fraught with hard work but plenty of fun, we're
passing in Olympia, things were also doing in Seattle. While a Clerk in the 1875
Legislature the whole assembly of Legislators made a trip to Steilacoom and to
Seattle, the latter place to investigate the needs of the University.  The "fast
and commodious" steamer, the Zephyr, had been chartered for that junket, and was
to leave Olympia at 7:30 in the morning, stopping first at Steilacoom. When I
got up that morning I found the steamer had left, so was I.  While wondering
what I was to do, I met Bob Abrams and several other members of the Legislature,
who were in my predicament also. We rushed to interview Ed Harmon, a well
remembered Jehu of Olympia, and after telling him of our troubles, arranged with
him to beat the steamer to Steilacoom. He agreed to forfeit a considerable
consideration if he failed. But he didn't fail. We came on from Steilacoom
to Seattle with the rest of the bunch, my first visit to the Queen City.
     The citizens gave a dance that evening in honor of the visiting Legislature
in Yesler's Hall. Bailey Gatzert was mayor. All the old settlers, including Mr.
and Mrs. Yesler, turned out. Seattle then had a population of 1500, but
they were all alive and kicking. There was not hotel accommodations enough to
care for the visitors, and the members and their wives were entertained at the
homes of the private citizens. Father and mother were entertained by Mr. and
Mrs. L. N. Robbins, whose beautiful home then stood on the block directly south
of the late old Hotel Rainier.
      I had been invited to spend the night with my boyhood friend, George E.
Blankenship, then employed on The Dispatch, by Brown & Bell, who roomed at the
house of M. A. Kelly on Third and Seneca Streets. On reaching his room some time
after midnight, we found the bed occupied by Ed. Pullen, a brother of Mrs.
Kelly, who had "dropped in unexpectedly."  We returned down town and after
visiting the various hotels and not finding accommodations, decided to spend the
remainder of the night on the hay stored in the open warehouse at the end of
Yesler's wharf. We found this hay literally covered with sleeping men, and after
amusing ourselves, a while tying some of them hand and foot with heaving lines,
we again started up town, George to seek his rest on a pile
of paper in the office and I to fare much better. During the day my friend, the
late Howard W. Lewis, had told me his room was the third door on the left hand
side from the head of the stairs in the Wyckoff House, and I could sleep with
him. About two o'clock in the morning those kind words recurred to me very
prominently and going to the Wyckoff House, which stood on the present site of
the Alaska building, I climbed the stairs, opened the third door on the left.
and found my friend sleeping in a spacious bed, and there ended my first night
in Seattle.
     During this brief visit I was so impressed with the business enterprise of
Seattle, although it was then a smaller town than Olympia, that I told my mother
I would venture my fortunes here at the first opportunity. This chance came the
following year. The Daily Intelligencer was launched on the first day of June,
1876, by the late David Higgins. I had gained some reputation as a pressman in
Olympia, and as Mr. Higgins had introduced a power press in his establishment,
he wrote and offered me charge of his press room, together with what composition
I could do when not occupied about the press. As the salary offered was
satisfactory, I accepted the offer, and on the 24th of June I left Olympia and
took up my work on the Intelligencer the following morning.
After I had boarded the steamer Alida at Olympia. Mr. Cook sent two of the
Milroy boys to the wharf to induce me to defer my trip. I hid away to avoid
temptation till after the steamer had left the wharf, and there was never
thereafter an issue of the Morning Echo published. Mr. Cook moved his plant to
New Tacoma and published the Tacoma Herald for some time, after which he again
moved his plant to Spokane Falls, where he founded the Spokane Chronicle.
    The office of the Intelligencer at this time was in a two story and basement
wooden building belonging to H. L. Yesler, on First Avenue, at the foot of
Cherry street. The First Presbyterian church, corner of Third and Madison
Streets, had recently been completed and was staggering under a load of debt and
was heavily mortgaged. My old friend, Rev. John R. Thompson, of Olympia, out of
the bigness of his heart and his love for the Christian organization with which
he was allied had taken it upon himself to relieve the church of this burden and
he traveled from Portland to Seattle, soliciting funds from his personal
friends, whom he numbered by the hundreds. Arriving at Seattle he told me of his
mission, and asked me what I was willing to do. I told him I had just finished
my first week's work in this town and when I got my pay I would settle my board
bill and give what was left to help him in his cause.
     Rev Thompson, years afterwards, accompanied theFirst Washington Volunteers
to the Philippines as Chaplain of the regiment He was dearly beloved by all the
brave soldier boys, but was stricken with the fever prevalent in that country,
and did not live to return to his adopted State of Washington, which he so
dearly loved.
     When I came to Seattle I brought a baseball and bat with me and at odd
times would go out on what was then known as Occidental Square and pass the ball
around. I soon found a number of congenial spirits, but no organization of a
nine was effected for several weeks. One day a challenge appeared in a paper
from an organization in Newcastle, offering to play any nine in King County,
Seattle preferred, on any day in the future on any grounds selected by the
challenged team. I called this to the attention of my friends of Occidental
Square who arranged for some practice games on the old University grounds, and
we found we could play some ball. They authorized me to accept the challenge, on
behalf of the Alki Base Ball Club of Seattle. The game was played two weeks
from the following Saturday. I do not. remember the score, but I do remember
that no one of the challenging team ever got beyond second base. The Alkis at
once sprung into prominence, and for years met all comers from Olympia to
Victoria. In those days amateur ball was played exclusively, and each
community had its team made up of its young citizenship, and took great pride in
their performances and success. It was through baseball that I went from the
mechanical to the news department of the Intelligencer. The Alkis had been to
Victoria on the Queen's birthday of, I think, 1878, and won a great victory over
the famous Amity team of that City. On our return I asked the managing editor if
they had arranged for a report of the game. He said, in apparent great distress,
that the matter had been overlooked and asked me who he could get to write the
story. I told him I didn't know. "Can you do it?" he asked. "I can try," I
answered. So well pleased, apparently, was he with my brief account of the game,
that he sent for me the next morning and requested me to take
charge of the local page of the paper. I remained in that department during the
remainder of my career on the paper, and its successor, the Post-Intelligencer,
extending over a period of about 13 years.
     A couple of years after my connection with the Intelligencer Thaddeus
Hanford, a young college man, and brother of Judge C. H. Hanford, bought a half
interest in the paper and assumed its editorial control, and later acquired the
Higgins interest. Soon afterwards I induced Mr. Thomas W. Prosch, an experienced
newspaper man of Olympia, Tacoma and Seattle, to buy a half interest in the
paper. He and Hanford were so unlike in their tastes and ideas and manner of
operating a daily publication, that they decided to agree to disagree almost
immediately and Hanford agreed to sell his interest in the paper for $5000.
Prosch came to me to buy it. "But," said I, "I have only $960; where am I to get
the balance of the purchase price?" He answered, "I think if you rustle around a
little, you can borrow it. I will let you have, on your note, $540, to be paid
out of the earnings of the paper. This leaves you only $3500 to borrow." I went
to Judge Orange Jacobs, who had just returned from a term as Delegate to
Congress, and told him of my wants, and to my Joyous surprise, he lent me the
money, taking as security my stock in the paper secured by an insurance policy
on the plant. I paid him the then going rate of interest, 1 1/2 per cent a
month, and paid 10 per cent premium on the fire insurance policy to secure him.
By hard work and careful management I succeeded in discharging all my debts,
principal and interest, besides a lot of indebtedness against the paper, some
$3000, for white paper and telegraphic services, of which neither Mr. Prosch nor
I knew anything at the time of our purchase, within two years.
    In 1882 the Intelligencer was consolidated with the Post, a daily, owned by
John Leary and George W. Harris, but which was proving a losing venture. This
was the beginning of the long and glorious career in the newspaper field of the
Post-Intelligencer. About this time trouble arose with the Printers' Union, and
I was unwilling to accede to terms demanded by this body of workmen, so sold my
interest in the P.I. to Mr. Prosch and became an employe on the paper.
     On the 30th day of October, 1888, I finally severed my connection with the
Post-Intelligencer, to enter the real estate business in partnership with Mr.
Charles F. Conover, who had been associated with me on the paper for a couple of
years previously. Owing to our wide acquaintance, growing out of our long
connection with the paper, our new venture prospered almost from the start. We
opened an office in the new Yesler block, on Yesler Avenue. That evening we gave
a banquet to our late associates on the paper, the members of the editorial,
news and business staff, and it was some banquet, too. It was given at the
Occidental, which was on the site of the present Hotel Seattle.
      We busied ourselves during the next 25 days in listing properties and
publishing advertisements and announcements. By that time our capital was pretty
well exhausted, and we had not taken in a cent. On the 27th a stranger came to
the office to have some notary work done and we charged him a dollar. We put
that dollar in an envelope, marked it our first dollar, locked it in the safe
and have the identical coin to this day. The next day we sold 11 lots and eight
houses to the late Ursula Wyekoff for $20,000. Her son. J. V. Wyckoff, still
owns four of the lots valued at over $120,000. From that time on business was
quite active and at the expiration of our first year our commissions amounted to
upwards of $50 000 In the summer of 1889, we placed the Renton addition on the
market for Capt. W. H. Rentoii, of Port Blakely and sold fifteen lots the first
day at prices ranging from $700 to $1.000 each.
       The next day the great Seattle fire took place, and burned our office,
together with the greater part of the business portion of Seattle. I was in Port
Blakely when I was told that Seattle was burning, and induced the captain of the
steamer Success to leave a half hour earlier than schedule time for home. Frye's
Opera House was burning when I got Seattle on the wire at Blakely. When I
reached our office I was mad to find all of our furniture piled out on the
sidewalk in front of the Yesler building. I demanded to know why it was
not hauled to safety, and was told of the impossibility of getting teams. I
rushed across the street where was the owner of teams and who had for years
expressed the warmest friendship for me. But he said he could do nothing for us.
I was very angry and went on clown to Yesler's wharf, where I found a man
unloading brick. I hired him for $5 to go with me to move my furniture. While
standing in the wagon with him, directing where to drive, and when we left the
wharf excited men began rushing up to my driver and began shouting, "$50 a load,
$75 a load, $100 a load," etc. The man asked me what they meant and I told him
to drive on, they were all crazy. We rushed the furniture onto the wagon and I
directed the man where to drive. Then I rushed to the Post Intelligencer office,
where I met the business manager and asked him if the bound files of the paper
had been saved. He said they had not and would not be, as no effort would be
made to save them. I notified him that I would undertake the
task and would brook no interference. The fire was then burning the building
between Cherry Street, and Yesler Avenue.  Unaided, I carried those files, four
volumes at a time, up to Third and James and placed them in the custody of Mrs.
Bailey Gatzert. The nest day I met Mr. Hunt and asked him if he had saved his
files. He replied that they had been burned with the office, and that no money
could reimburse him for their loss. I then told him I had saved them for him and
gave him an order on Mrs. Gatzert for their return. I judge the files which I
saved of daily, weekly and tri-weekly from the beginning of the paper up to that
time weighed in the neighborhood of a ton and a half and they were almost worth
their weight in gold. The paper afterwards published the fact that the files had
been saved and gave me due credit for their preservation. The next morning the
paper was published in a much condensed form and contained but two
advertisements, one announcing the change of location of the Puget Sound
National Bank and the other notifying the public that Crawford & Conover had
temporarily moved their real estate office to 615 Union Street. A couple of days
later my mother sent me word that if were going to continue to advertise our
office at her home she wanted me to send some one there to show property, as
customers were constantly calling and she knew nothing about the real estate
business.
     The firm of Crawford & Conover recently celebrated their 25th anniversary
in business by moving into spacious quarters in our own building near the corner
of Third and Pine. In a book descriptive of the thriving City of Seattle and
the rapidly developing State of Washington, which we published for public
distribution at an expense of $15,000, entitled, "Washington, the Evergreen
State, and Seattle, Its Metropolis," we gave this commonwealth the soubriquet of
"Evergreen State," which has since been adopted as Washington's universal and
most appropriate name.
     Mr. Crawford has always been a public spirited man and has performed many
acts of kindness and benevolence, which has made his name entitled to honorable
mention among the list of philanthropists of the State of Washington. His
enterprise of collecting funds for the erection of the monument over the last
resting place of the late Princess Angeline was a praiseworthy undertaking and
one which gave Mr. Crawford much satisfaction. Angeline and Crawford had for
years been close tillicums, the white man frequently calling on the princess to
be sure she was not suffering for the necessities of life. During her latter
years, after she was unable to help herself, many a timely gift of money or
provisions were sent by the kindly man. 'When the weight of years was heavy upon
Angeline and it was evident she would soon join her father.  Chief Seattle, in
the Happy Hunting Ground, Mr. Crawford asked her where she wished to take her
long sleep, in the white man's graveyard or beside her father's remains. "Oh
let me be buried with my white tillicums, who have been so good to me!" and her
wish was respected.
      Mr. Crawford started a movement among the children of Seattle to raise a
fund for the erection of a monument by 10 cent contributions. The children
responded gladly, although the promoter of the scheme had to supply part of the
expense from his own pocket. Granite from the mountain of that name in the
Cascades, was employed in the handsome and appropriate monument which marks the
resting place of the Princess Angeline, and Mr. Crawford tells that even to this
day her grave is covered with bouquets of daisies and other common flowers,
sometimes tied with white twine string, placed there by childish hands whose
owners feel a personal interest in the spot because they had helped to build the
monument.
     For several years after Mr. Crawford had retired from active newspaper work
the itch remained with him and a column of "Reminiscences" contributed to the
Sunday edition of the Post-Intelligencer, was one of the features of that paper.
When Mr. Crawford had been writing these reminiscences for several years, Mrs.
Crawford collected all her husband's writings in a large scrapbook and presented
it to him as a valentine present. The columns of this scrapbook are replete with
interesting and amusing incidents of pioneer history, not only of Seattle, where
Mr. Crawford has spent the greater number of years of his majority, but also of
Olympia. The compiler of this book spent a most delightful evening skimming over
Mr. Crawford's scrap book and listening to the author of the sketches elaborate
on the printed stories and relate the circumstances which gave rise to a
particular event. Such a bewildering richness of material was offered the
compiler that it was difficult to select a limited number of the most typical
sketches. But among those which interested the writer most were the following:
     During the Republican campaign of 1869 Selucius Garfielde was a candidate
for Representative to Congress. In order to secure his election Mr. Garfielde,
as is the custom to this day, made many pre-election promises. Candidates for
office seem to have been as plentiful in those good old days as they are at this
later day. Came the election and the men who had been promised a friendly word
in high places worked tooth and nail for Mr. Garfielde's election, with the
result that he was winner by a good majority. Rejoicing, the candidates who had
pinned their faith to the Congressional Delegate, hurried to bring him enough
endorsements and testimonials of their peculiar fitness for political jobs to
which they aspired, to stuff a good-sized trunk to bursting. Garfielde suavely
accepted all the papers and with smiles and promises to see the powers on behalf
of his Washington Territory friends as soon as he arrived in the National
capitol. It took a long time in those days to make the trip to Washington. D. C.
but the Olympia politicians awaited word from their political sponsor with what
patience they might. Days rolled into weeks and then months rolled over the men
who were impatient to begin on their official duties, also their official
salaries. Letters were sent Congressman Garfielde, but no answer was received.
Finally, quite desperate, a telegram was sent Garfielde demanding to know why
the appointments were not forthcoming. " Trunk and all endorsements lost!" was
the answer wired back. Mr. Garfielde had found, as do Western Congressmen ever,
that when they arrive in Washington. D. C., keeping pre-election promises are
not always possible. The town wit, but whether that was Francis Henry or Fred
Eltze is a disputed question, drew a caricature of a mammoth trunk flying
through the air and in this trunk, with grotesque expressions on their faces,
which, although caricatured most fantistically, were yet plainly recognizable,
were pictured the disappointed politicians. Although that caricature was made
almost, 45 years ago many of the old timers, on being shown the photograph which
John Yantis made of the drawing, recognize then friends and smile over the
remembrance of Mr. Garfielde's lost trunk. There were L. P.. Beach, Randall
Hewitt, Cherokee Smith, Judge Dennison, Rev. Whitworth, Judge Strove,
of Vancouver; Elwood Evans, W. W. Miller, A. R. Elder and Hon. P. D. Moore, the
latter perfectly recognizable to the friends of the present day. Strove's feet
were sticking out the side of the trunk, a reference to his large extremities.
In fact, the most. characteristic feature of each of the men pictured in the
trunk was prominently brought out and enlarged on.
    During a later and still more famous campaign between Selucius Garfielde and
Hon. Obadiah B. McFadden for election  as Delegate to Congress in the year of
1872, Mr. Francis Henry contributed several columns of his brilliant writings
each week to the Washington Standard, under the head of "Chronicles."
In these contributions the most prominent men were dubbed titles which, owing
either to their fitness, or the pleasing alliteration of the words, clung to
their recipients, in many instances. to the day of their death. As for example:
Judge McFadden, "Obadiah, The Faithful"; Garfielde, "Selucius the Babbler"; B.
P. Dennison, "Benjamin the Stiff"; T. M. Reed, "Thomas the Good'"; E. P. Ferry,
"Elisha the Prophet"; S. Coulter, "Samuel the Smiler"; C. B. Bagley, "Clarence
the Amorous"; Rev. John R. Thompson, "John the Jocky"; Marshal Blinn, "Marshal
the Headstrong."
     When Mr. Crawford was still serving his apprenticeship of printer on the
Washington Standard, the proprietor. Mr. John Miller Murphy, was a candidate for
the office of Territorial Auditor. Mr. Miller was opposed by the Hon. Jos. Kuhn
of Port Townsend. The latter man being a member of the Legislature of 1873,
there was occasion to put his name in type many times in each issue of the
Standard during the time the Legislature was in session. Murphy, holding his
grudge against his opponent, told young Crawford never to allow Kuhn's name to
appear in the paper correctly spelled. The ingenuity with which the printer
carried out the commands of his superior are worthy of preservation: "Cun,"
"Coon," "Cune," "Kun," "Kune," "Koon," "Kunne," "Keun," "Khunne," and "Keunn"
were among the variations Crawford managed to ring on the name "Kuhn."
     While working on the daily Echo in Olympia I had as an apprentice an Indian
boy named Peter C. Stanup, son of Jonas Stanup sub-chief of the Puyallup
Indians.
     Unusually bright and well educated, young Stanup had been converted to the
Christian faith and had studied theology and preached to the Indians for six or
seven years. After graduating from the newspaper business Stanup studied law and
became very able in that profession. About this time the Government granted the
Puyallup Indians their land in severally and Peter's holdings were estimated to
be worth from $50,000 to $60,000.
     Peter, while working for the development of the reservation, against the
wishes of the more ignorant Indians of his tribe, was thrown off a foot log into
the Puyallup river and drowned.
     During the time the late lamented John H. MeGraw was a candidate on the
Republican ticket for Governor of the State he was bitterly opposed by the
Tacoma papers and it looked as if he would not be able to carry a single
precinct in Pierce County. In talking over file matter, he asked me if I thought
there was any chance for him to carry even one precinct in that County. I told
McGraw and Mr. L. S, Hunt that if we could enlist Stanup's services we might
carry the reservation precinct.
     Stanup was sent for but when he arrived he told us that a strong feeling
had been worked up against McGraw in all of Pierce County owing to a plank in
the Republican platform favoring construction of the Lake Washington canal.
However, if I was willing to give the Indians a feast the night before election
and a talk after the feast and have U. S. officers at the polling booths so that
the boys would not be interfered with by thugs from the town we might carry the
precinct for McGraw. "We promised Stanup all this and fulfilled our promises.
When the votes were counted after the election Peter wired, "We carried the
precinct for McGraw by a majority of one."
     Peter was invited to Seattle and was an honored guest at Mr. Hunt's office
while the State returns were being received. These returns showed McGraw had won
by a handsome majority all over the State.


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Submitted to the Washington Bios. Project in May 2007 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.