"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. 142.
 
WM. H. MITCHELL

    The following biographical sketch of Mr. Wm. H. Mitchell, one of our most
respected citizens, was typewritten by his son, A. B. Mitchell, who is wholly
blind, and is so crippled from rheumatism that he cannot walk or care for
himself. This is a remarkable verification of the fact often noted that the loss
of any one of the five senses renders more acute the others. In this, the sense
of touch or feeling has produced a manuscript that is the equal of most experts
on the machine. It is, therefore, published verbatim:
     "I was born in Chicago, Ill., November 13, 1834, and a few years later
moved with my parents to what was then South Port, Wisconsin. The name has,
however, since been changed to Kenosha. When I had reached the age of 18, I had
contracted a severe case of Oregon fever and had made up my mind to take the
long trip across the plains, my objective point being Olympia. My parents
objected at first to my going, but later acquiesced and assisted me in
preparing for the trip. Accordingly, arrangements were made with Samuel Holmes
for me to travel with his family as they were leaving that Spring for the same
part of the country to which I wished to go. A horse was also provided for me to
ride and on the 9th of April, 1853, we left South Port and traveled about nine
miles that day, and on the next day, Sunday, my father and mother, with my
sister Eliza, drove out with a horse and buggy and overtook our slower moving ox
team. They took dinner with us there at the beginning of our long
 journey. They then returned home while we once more turned our faces to the
setting sun.
     "The trail across Iowa was a slow and tiresome one on account of the soft
condition of the roads, the wagons often going down to the hubs in the mud.
There were plenty of others, however, like ourselves, making for Council Bluffs,
and there would often be quite a train of us. We were generally delayed in the
mornings. I remember Mrs. Holmes. who would still insist on bathing her children
every morning. She found this to be impossible later on, however. Council Bluffs
was at that time a central point, where the emigrants got together and formed
their wagons into trains for the trip across the plains, and here could be found
all types of the frontier life mingled together. It was here that a three-card
monte man relieved me of nearly all the money that I had. This was a serious
loss to me, but I think I profited by the experience.
     "We crossed the Missouri River, June the third. Our tram, consisting of
about twenty wagons, was well organized, having a captain and train master. Our
course now led up the north bank of the Platte River and there was no sign of
human habitation to be seen anywhere. We met a trader occasionally, sometimes on
horseback and sometimes they would have a tent stretched beside the road with
their goods displayed in front, but as they charged so much for everything they
had to sell, no one purchased of them until compelled to do so by sheer
necessity. There were also bridges built over some of the rivers and at such
places there would be one of these men to collect a toll before allowing you to
pass over the bridge. There were a few Indians also, but they were not hostile
at that time and never attacked us. We also saw
quite a few buffalo and at one time it was necessary for us to open up our train
that a herd of them might go through, otherwise they would have run right over
us. I presume there must have been a thousand buffalo in that herd. It was in
this section of the country that we encountered a severe thunder storm in which
the tent where Mr. and Mrs. Holmes were sleeping was blown down and they were
forced to come into the wagon where I was, to get away from the rain. We arrived
at Port Kearney on July 4th, having traveled a little over a thousand miles
since crossing the Missouri River.
    "We now began to see more signs of the hardships to which those that had
preceded us had been subjected, as the trail was strewn with deserted wagons and
stoves, in fact, with everything that could be spared to make the load lighter
and everywhere was to be seen the bleached bones of cattle that had either died
or had been killed for food. The Indians were also more watchful. On one
occasion two young men of our train, thinking they could get along faster on
foot, started on ahead one morning and that afternoon we came upon them.  The
Indians had killed one and the other was so badly wounded that he died soon
after. We buried him in his blankets beside the trail on the bank of the Snake
River and the nest day we were overtaken by another train and they told us that
the Indians had dug him up and taken his blankets and left his
body on top of the ground. I have often wondered since, though I thought nothing
of it at the time, why they never picked me off, as I was in the habit of riding
ahead of the train and after fastening my horse to my wrist, I would lie down
and wait for the train to come up. The only time that I was shot, however, was
accidental. I was stooping down to get a drink from a river when my revolver
slipped from its holster and was discharged, the ball lodging in my right
forearm. It was removed by one of the men with his pocket knife, this being the
best medical instrument to be had. The Indians were around us and we would often
see their camp fires at night in the foothills surrounding our camp.
     "We crossed the Snake River by caulking our wagon boxes with rags and using
them to ferry the women and children across while the cattle were made to swim.
Our stock of provisions becoming depleted, Mr. Holmes was compelled to buy from
a trader at La Grande, Oregon. It was at this place that one of the men of our
train had his wife stolen by the trader. I remember hearing him calling through
the camp for her, but she had gone and taken the youngest child with her and he
did not find her.
      "At Fort Walla Walla our train divided, part going down the Columbia River
while the rest of us went on north and through the Natchez pass in the Cascade
mountains. When we arrived at the foot of the mountains we sent two men forward
to see if we could get over and they returned, reporting too much snow for the
wagons, so it was decided to leave our outfits at a Catholic mission that was
there and proceed on foot, letting the women ride whatever there was to ride.
      '"Mr. Wooden and myself were the first to start over the pass and we found
the way not nearly as bad as had been represented and by taking advantage of
cut-offs, we made very good progress and without misadventure until the
last night in the mountains we became separated. Mr. Wooden took what he thought
to be a cut-off while I stayed on the trail, and, at night, as he did not rejoin
me. I called him but received no answer. So I went to sleep at the foot of a
tree and the next morning when I awoke I found that I had rolled several feet
down the mountain from where I went to sleep and it was raining hard, so after
stretching a piece of canvas over some brush to keep the rain off, I built a
fire and was cooking the last of my stare of rice when Mr. Wooden came into
my camp. We ate the rice that I had prepared and started on our way again, and
that afternoon met a Mr. Connel, who gave us a little flour which we cooked on
the end of sticks and ate. Mr. Connel was a very good friend to the emigrants
and often helped them with provisions, as he had a cabin on the west side of the
mountains, on what is now Connel's prairie. He was killed by the Indians in the
uprising of 1855-6. We took supper at his house and then, after hiring horses
from some friendly Indians, pushed on to Fort Steilacoom. I remained there but a
short time, however, but went in a canoe with a Mr. Skidmore to Mud Bay, where I
expected to go to work in his logging camp, but this I did not do, but went with
him the next day in a canoe to Olympia, arriving there on the 6th of October.
     "My first job, after arriving in Olympia, was to split and carry in a load
of wood for J. J. Westbrook, who ran a saloon on the east side of Main street
between Second and Third.  After that I worked at whatever I could get to do. I
joined the volunteers to fight the Indians in the uprising of 1855-6, serving
but twenty-one days, when we mustered out. After this I was deputy sheriff under
Isaac Hays.
    "In 1856 I went into business with John Stewart. I was tending bar at the
time for Mr. Westbrook and Stewart asked me if I wanted to go into business, to
which I replied that I did, but, that I had very little money. John, however,
said he would speak to Mr. Hurd, who wanted to sell his baker shop, and Mr. Hurd
agreed to give us time to pay for the business, so we bought him out and John,
being a baker, took charge of that part of the business, while I did the best I
could by tending the butcher shop, which we had also. The first year we cleared
enough to pay what we owed and also to buy the two-story building which is still
standing on the southwest corner of Third and Main streets.
    "Perhaps it would be well for me to say a word about the rest of those who
were in our train when we crossed the Cascade mountains. Mr. Holmes and his
family settled, near Olympia. Bird Wright and his two brothers, with their
families, located in the Puyallup valley, as did a Mr. Morrison, who was a
minister. Mr. Wooden went first to the Nisqually, but later moved to Seattle,
where he started the first tannery.  His son-in-law, a Mr. Schock, also settled
a few miles out from Seattle. Mr. B. L. Johns, with his eight children, one of
whom afterward became my wife, located a claim on White River, near Seattle. Mr.
Livingston settled in Seattle, while his two
daughters, one of whom married Will H. Brannon, located near White River. Mr.
and Mrs. Brannon, with their children, were killed by the Indians, and Joe
Brannon, Will's brother, after the war, came to Olympia.
     "On the 13th of April, 1859, I was married to Martha T. Johns, in Olympia.
To this union, five children were born, William Walter was born Feb. 29, 1860,
and died about eight months later. Frank Wellington was born July 4, 1862,
Henry William, July 30, 1865, Cora Edith born July 7, 1867, and Albert Bennett,
born Aug. 7, 1870. There are also living nine grandchildren.
     "My son, Frank W., died on March 19, 1914, in Portland, Oregon. My
daughter, Cora Edith, is now Mrs. A. L. Young, of San Francisco, California."

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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.