Bygone History
Some of the Early Schools, Pupils and First Teachers of Chambers' Prairie
Washington Standard
December 18, 1908

By George H. Himes
Portland, Oregon December 6, 1908

The article on the first page of your paper for November 20th. by Mrs. Martha Connor Ellis Sapp, was one of great interest to me as I had a personal knowledge of most of the events she referred to, in particularly after the arrival of my father's family in Thurston county, which was in October, 1853. We arrived at the house of David J. Chambers, four miles east of Olympia, on October 21st, and were given the use of a comfortable log cabin by Mr. Chambers, as he had just moved out of it into a frame house, still standing, and one of the oldest frame farm houses in western Washington. 

We stayed in that log cabin until November 9th following, when my father removed to his donation claim, having bought the squatter's right to it from a man named Fowler. This is now owned by David Fleetwood. During the winter of 1853-4 we made the acquaintance of the Conner family, and I have a lively and grateful recollection of eating warm bread and molasses in the Conner cabin - the first I had after crossing the plains. The school-house Mrs. Sapp refers to, built of logs, I remember well, as it was there I went to school in July, August and September. 

David Lucas Phillips, was the teacher not David Phillips, he was the father. The pupils I recall were as follows; Dorcas Phillips, Mary E. Low, Letitia Chambers, Alonzo Low, John Pattison, John Low, Sarah McMillan, Thomas M. Chambers, James McMillan. James Chambers, Jane McMillan, Hardaway Chambers (now A. H. Chambers), Margaret McMillan,  Mary Hartsock, William Cooper, Malvina Hartsock, George McAlllister. Christopher McMillan, Helen Z. Himes, William Elder, George H. Himes.

I think the above is a complete list of all the pupils of that primitive school, but would like to be corrected if any one now living can do so. The pupils came to the school house from a radius of about seven miles in diameter with the school house almost in the center. There were six young persons in one family, all of school age, a short distance from the school, who did not attend on account of some neighborhood difficulty. The first class in spelling in this school was made up of Dorcas Phillips, aged 22, Letitia Chambers, 18, Mary E. Low, 12, and the writer, in his eleventh year.

The text book was Webster's Elementary Spelling Book, a number of which I have now in possession, and not a member of the class missed a word during the term. Dorcas Phillips had one head-mark more than the remainder of the class, for the reason that she won the choice of position in its first formation. The next school in that log cabin was taught by Marcus McMillan, not related in any way to Archibald McMillan, the father of the McMillan children in the above list, and was begun in May, 1855, to run six months. Having work to do at home I was not permitted to attend until after the beginning of the third month. The pupils at this school were as follows, as nearly as I can remember;

William H Ruddell, Malvina Hartsock, Stephen Ruddell, Sarah McMillan, Lydia Grogan, Jane McMlllan, Catherine Ruddell, Margaret McMillan, California Ann Ruddell, James McMillan, Christopher (Jo) Guthrie, Christopher McMillan, Sanford Guthrie, Isaac A Wood, Levi Prince, Alexander Wood, Charles Pattison, Kate Wood, Mary E. Low, Thomas Chambers, Alonzo Low, James Chambers, John Low, Hardaway Chambers, Henry Risden, William Cooper, Noah Packwood, Hellen Z. Himes, Mary Hartsock, George H. Himes.

It was while in attendance at this school that the Yakama Indian war broke out. The exact date when it was first heard of out in the country is not quite clear to me, although I think it was about the 10th of October. That day some of the classes were somewhat behind in their lessons, hence the school was not dismissed until about 4:30pm. My sister and I had nearly three miles to walk, over half the distance through a heavy forest. 

We had just emerged from the timber and was entering Wood's Prairie, a little ways south of the Woodland Station, on the N. P. R. R., east of Olympia, when John Chambers rode up behind me and quickly shouted, "Hurry, children, and get home! Tell your folks that Mattice has been killed, Bolon, Indian Agent, killed, and I don't know how many more!" and dashed on to his brother David's. Indian spooks began to peer out from behind every clump of brush and tree during the last mile and a half of our journey, and to add to the uncomfortable condition night was coming on. 

At length we reached our cabin, where mother and two younger children were, and the nearest neighbor a mile away. Father was several miles distant from home at work and was not expected home for several days. My first words to mother were, "The Indian war has broken out" "Oh! no: I guess not;" she said. "But John Chambers said so," I rejoined. At that her face paled, and a rigid setting of the muscles of her jaws followed which I never can forget.

Soon she said in a very quiet tone, "Well, as soon as you get the chores done I guess you had better go over to Mr. Wood's and see if he will not let John come over and stay all night." I had wood to get. and some feeding of stock to attend to, besides assisting mother to milk four cows, and this by the light of a lantern. At length I started to Mr. Wood's - Isaac Wood's, many years a resident of Olympia afterwards, and on that mile journey, after night, without a light, I had the scare of my life. 

In the first place the timber most of the way was very dense; and second, in that day - 1855 - wild beasts, such as cougars, panthers, wildcats, lynx, bear, etc., were prowling about all hours of the day. As I was about in the heart of this dismal forest, in the impenetrable darkness, a blood-curdling sound, "Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!" emerged from the trees above my head, and almost transfixed me to the spot. I recovered from the shock quickly, when I realized that the noise came from a pair of unmannerly screech owls. (And here allow me to say that I have not had a very high regard for owls since that day.)

I then went on to the home of Mr. Wood, and John went home with me, with a gun on his shoulder, much to my relief. The next day father came home, and we removed to the stockade which was built around the barn of Andrew J. Chambers, on the south side of Chambers' Prairie.

During the next year our family lived in four different stockades and block-houses every one of which we helped to build. And during all these trying experiences, which I now am sure must have troubled mother greatly, I never heard her utter a single complaint or exhibit an emotion of fear. She would in spite of everything, see a silver lining in every cloud. And that was the characteristic spirit of the great majority of the early pioneers of the Pacific Northwest.

The killing of William White, alluded to by Mrs. Sapp, has an enduring place in my memory. It was on Sunday afternoon, March 2, 1856, about 4:20pm. For some time prior to that date our family had been living in the Ruddell Stockade, "Fort Ruddell," it was called, - on the northern edge of Chamber's Prairie. The volunteers at the front were keeping the Indians pretty well under control, it was believed, and by February of that year it became apparent to many that unless crops could be put in disaster would follow. Consequently it was a common thing for settlers whose families were in blockhouses or stockades to sally out to their farms and do some planting.

My father was of that class, and he and I had finished planting our early garden on March 1st and intended to have returned to the Ruddell fort that night, but were prevented from doing so by the failure to find a cow which we knew had a young calf. The animal was found the next morning, but in the search much of our fence was found thrown down, presumably by Indians, and this had to be repaired. Just as we were hitching up our oxen, preparing to start for the stockade, we heard several reports from the firing of guns south of us, but were not alarmed thereby, because it had been the custom for the settlers to go into the woods nearby and kill deer whenever it was necessary.

Supposing this to be the case at this time we paid no attention to the firing, and drove home ward. When within about a mile of the Ruddell Fort we met John Chambers, who had been riding furiously, and he halted long enough to say, "William White has been killed, get into the fort quick." And we hurried as rapidly as the oxen could be forced to go. In the fort all was excitement; but the first thing done was to put ourselves in condition for defense. This being done we waited for developments.

Hour after hour passed by without tidings, and meanwhile all were growing more and more apprehensive. Stephen D. Ruddell, James T. Phillips, Abiel Morrison, Archibald McMillan, and my father, were the only men about the stockade, and the remainder of the inmates were women and children, about 30 all told. Boys of my age were given arms, as had been the case before, in numerous instances. Between two and three the next morning the body of Mr. White was brought in, and it was believed that the killing had been done by " Yelm Jim" and half a dozen more of his Tillicum's and later information confirmed this suspicion.

In this connection, permit me to add a little to Mrs. Sapp's account and make a slight correction. Rev. J. F. Devore had an appointment to preach at the "Parson's Schoolhouse" that fateful Sunday, as she says; but he was not prevented from filing the appointment by fear. According to a previous arrangement, a horse was to have been sent into Olympia for him to ride out on, and he was ready to go, and waited for it until it was too late to walk the distance.

Mr. White, Mrs. White and Mrs. Stewart, as Mrs. Sapp states, went to the schoolhouse, the ladies riding on a cart, attended Sunday school, and after getting dinner called on the Connor family, Mr. Connor being very ill. After leaving the Conner place they started home. As they were rounding a point of timber in sight of Fort Eaton - "Fort Raglan," it was sometime called - the Indians, after firing several shots, some of them hitting Mr. White, but not causing him to fall, rushed out of their ambush and after a hand to hand fight slew him.

Meanwhile the horse, having been frightened by the firing, ran straight to the fort. John Chambers happening to be there, was sent off to arouse the neighbors, and Nathan Eaton and a number of men went on a scouring expedition after the marauders, but couldn't get within reaching distance during daylight. They then returned and found the body of the unfortunate man and took it to the Ruddell Fort.

Recently I found a letter written by Mr. Devore a few days after the above episode. While it does not allude to the event of March 2nd, yet it gives a picture of the conditions then prevailing in Thurston county which can scarcely be realized after a lapse of more than fifty years.

Olympia, March 15,1856.

Dear Brother: Can you sympathize with us on this side of the Great Columbia? Have you one consoling word to utter in our belialf? Our country is laid waste. We hear nothing but the clangor of arms and the war-whoop. "We lie down at night after bidding each other farewell and resign ourselves into the hands of the God of battles, not knowing that we shall ever behold the light of another day. When we find that we have lived to see the light of another day, oh! how thankful.

Bro. Waller, how intolerable this state of suspense! But for Christ's sake we will stay here and preach Jesus to the people. As you are aware, all the preachers have left this district but myself. I am willing to die at my post, if necessary. By a course of abstinence, or very hard living, we can stay on this year. I shall visit all the charges when I can. We must have at least four preachers for this work at our next conference. Will you give us your aid in this matter? We want Oregon preachers if we can get them. The Lord is with us on this charge. I took one person into the church last week, and the Hon. Mr. Bigelow and wife will join tomorrow. Pray for us and write us soon and often and give me all the good advice that you may think necessary. 

J. F. Devore

In closing this letter, which is much longer than I intended to make it. it may not be out of place that the Mrs. Bigelow above alluded to, is the oldest daughter of Mr. White, who was so cruelly murdered, and that Mrs. Dunbar, wife of Judge Dunbar, is his youngest daughter. In this connection I am inclined to venture a suggestion: Would it be amiss, in the near future, to permanently mark the sites of some of the stirring events of the early days? There is no occasion for an elaborate or expensive monument, but a truncated cone of cobble-stones a few feet high, with a copper or granite tablet, suitably inscribed, perhaps would answer all requirements; or. if thought best, a rough ashlar of granite or basalt, suitably faced to contain the necessary inscription, might be chosen.