Scandinavians on the Pacific, Puget Sound Part 2

His longing for civilization vanished little by little, and the life of celibacy settled heavily on his heart. He was a friend of the chief and an admirer of his daughter, and it took only the big canoe to seal the bargain. Anderson was rather long-headed for the red heathens, and got the best of every deal. He was now the possessor of the biggest canoe, save the royal s.h.i.+p, and was looked upon as independently opulent. Only a word would change his life for better or worse. Finally he took the delicate step and offered the huge dug-out in trade for the young princess, which was accepted with loud eclat.

The ban of the nuptial day was made public. The bride spared no tiptoeing to make it highly royal. First was a coat of red paint, then purple, tinged with green. A carefully administered shampoo of oil followed, then a crands of wild flowers was critically twined to her wealth of black locks with a few quills set on end in the most confused bewilderment. Of course, Anderson did not fancy the odorous coat of his intended, nor her pert of etiquette, but being as those things were incidental to the dynasty, he darted approbation with his blue eyes, thinking, "Costume is not permanent."

From this time the chivalric Dane became a leader. He piloted the royal squadron to Hood's Ca.n.a.l, where he squatted on a piece of land, hence the sobriquet--Hood's Ca.n.a.l Anderson.

He became attached to his wife, and she reciprocated with equal depth of conjugality, and shaped her costume to meet his liking, yet Uncle Sam pried into their warm nestling by pa.s.sing a law to either separate or marry according to his code. Of course, Anderson had to marry his wife the second time, which he did like a loyal citizen. He took his corpulent queen, placed her in the stern of the big canoe, and paddled to Seabold, where they were united in holy ties by Harry Shafer, Uncle Sam's matrimonial agent. Anderson bears the honor of being the first white man on Puget Sound concubined to a squaw in accordance with the laws of the United States. He was industrious and elevated compared with his station, turned a wooded bit of ground to a flowery garden, and in a corner, beneath a weedy sod, he rests unsung.

PETER FRIBERG.--Peter Friberg, like Hood's Ca.n.a.l Anderson, has walked the highway of frontier trials. He was born in Sweden, but when a mere youth sought the waves. After years of trying experiences he found himself on Puget Sound, among the floating Flatheads, about the same time Anderson landed, but perchance drifted off with another flock of red skins, consequently the two contemporaries were ignorant of each others wanderings till later years, when they accidently met and shook hands.

Peter Friberg also threw his heart to a squaw, and with her he barged along the sh.o.r.es making depredation on salmon and halibut, finally pinning his future to a happy point running into the bosom of the Sound, near Salmon Bay.

MARTIN TOFTEZEN.--About two-and-forty years ago, a son of Norway anch.o.r.ed his canoe on the north side of Whidbey Island. His name has been pinned to its soil among the first on record. He was a pioneer of heart and courage--chivalrous Martin Toftezen. He had drifted around the Horn on a s.h.i.+p, and was tossed into the mouth of Puget Sound, where the breath of the deep calmed to a gentle zephyr, and the wings of speed flapped in disconsolation. The bark was dashed ash.o.r.e by the angry billows, caused by the agitating tide, and Toftezen stood in a transport of mingled awe and perturbation. Nature was grand, enchantingly sang the ripples up the fascinating arm, and mad in grandeur reared the snow-capped peaks, flinging smiles of welcome. "Why reject the poetic landscape? Nature's sweetness will smite the blue forehead of dreary solitude." These thoughts rolled in his fancy, and up the Sound he paddled, and settled on the green tail, where he wore out his life.

PETER ANDRIAS PETERSON.--No man on the Pacific coast ever endured more hards.h.i.+ps than the personage in question--Peter Andrias Peterson--who, about a year ago fell prey to an incidental injury, and was carried over the stream for the unknown sea beyond.

He was born in Denmark, 1828, and cast on the cold billows to struggle for himself at the age of fifteen. A few years later he stepped ash.o.r.e in England, where he took a course in navigation to enable himself to cope more successfully with the foam-crest surges. He embarked a s.h.i.+p for India and Australia. In the latter place his mind was engrossed with exciting reports from the gold fields, and thither he flew, a fugitive of the sea. Success smiled on his brow, and wealth crowded into his hands; but riches easily won are not highly treasured. In a wildcat scheme he sunk his fortune, and before the dawn of a fresh week his thousands were in the hands of others.

This catastrophe, brought about by sheer mishap, drove him back to the sea, and, in 1859, landed at Victoria, British Columbia. A buoyant spirit, though wounded with ill-luck, will soar to felicity and breathe vigor on green fields. Peterson was delighted with the verdure that greeted his vision, and took a canoe excursion around the Sound. On returning to Victoria, he was struck with the gold fever which raged desperately in the Cascades and Sound country. He compromised with his floating thoughts, bent his energy on a prospecting tour, and in two days flocked together sixteen men. In his customary adroitness he took command of the little army of gold seekers, and bore into the forest, but when two hundred and twenty-five miles from Victoria, thirteen of them lost courage and returned to the city.

Peterson and his two companions proceeded up a small stream for some days, and to their astonishment, one gray evening, fell upon four white men actively engaged in picking gold nuggets. They staked out a claim, glimpses of luck commenced to play on their cheeks, but died ere a fortnight had gone to rest in the pensive dream of growing forgetfulness. Their ration was getting low, and to save themselves from falling victims to pitiless starvation, they raked together their pelf, and returned to Victoria.

In the spring an English syndicate mustered a regiment of fresh recruits, a man of spirit and agility was wanted to head an expedition into the mountains, and Peterson was offered the responsibility, as he had already gained fame as a daring adventurer. It was suggested to seek a new field, and a guide was secured to usher them along. First, however, was to hunt up an easy pa.s.s, and to accomplish this, a knot of fourteen men, headed by Peterson, was dispatched into the wilderness.

They fought their way through murky vales and climbed moss-bearded brows, the day sunk behind the horizon and night wrapped them in darkness. Thus they continued; but, alas! the guide disappears. The others rambled through treacherous woods, thoughtless of any hazard.

Hours were consumed climbing over angry logs and chasing through witching dingles, but the guide was neither heard nor sighted.

The thirteen brave were lost in the forest where gloomy giants stretched into a ghastly stillness, broken only by deceiving owls sailing over their heads on disconsolate wings. For eight days they wandered without a morsel to eat; grouse and pheasant were drumming through the air, and deer gambolled in listless droves, but only to whet their keen appet.i.te.

Their fire-locks were empty like their stomachs.

After darkness comes suns.h.i.+ne, and to their exhileration tumbled into an unknown mining camp. They were received as friends and immediately treated to a savory table. One of the unfortunates being so greedy for the palatable viands that he rose in the night to gormandize a heap of pan-cakes, left from supper, and shortly after fell juicy feed for the grave and worms.

A new plan was formulated, two Scotchmen were sent back to Victoria for provision, and the others remained at the camp. A couple of months elapsed, and twenty-four miners halted at the gold-seeking hamlet where the unlucky retinue joined them.

The company, now numbering thirty-four, resumed their pilgrimage in an easterly direction for nearly two hundred miles. The landscape swept up into jutting brows and gray-headed peaks, and the forest fringed into a scabby shrub of hungry appearance. The change in nature cast cold currents into their souls, but soon melted into delight. A beautiful stream grated their ears, and thither they flocked.

Nature was now sweetness and grandeur, and fortune seemed to smile from every leaf and twig. The blue heaven hung over them, here and there dipped with shades of purple; the sun sent down his wealth of beams to kiss their hardy cheeks; and the clear stream was busy making music as it tumbled down jeweled precipices to swell the deep. They drank hope and aspiration from the poetic environment, and each, as a loyal soldier, embarked his a.s.signed duty with happiness in his heart. Gold was not doubted, before a month had slipped away, the precious metal glittered in rich veins.

A frontier mining camp, in the heart of savages, is a continuous scene of suns.h.i.+ne and storm, of joy and despair. Precaution must be the watchword of every individual, early and late; a careless step might betray them to the altar of cruel slaughter. The book-keeper had been appointed custodian of the fire arms, who, in a thoughtless way, or to satisfy his greed, bargained the ammunition to the Indians. Oh, terror!

the happy camp was turned to a lake of blood. One sad night, in the early part of winter, the savages stealthily fell upon the camp, and like thieves entered the lodges, pointed their ill-gotten fire-pieces against innocent b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and quenched the light within.

Peterson and two Scotchmen escaped the murderous fire, naked they ran, not dissimilar to deer over the snow, the former dashed into the river where ten thousand pug devils, sitting in its bosom, bleeded his feet, and the latter chased down the bank of the stream as in an elopement from h.e.l.l. After a month of severest suffering and hards.h.i.+p they reached the gate of safety--Victoria--blood-stained and scraggy, hardly able to combat the icy angel of death. The gold fever had ceased to ebb through their veins. The two Scotchmen returned to their dear fatherland, and Peterson built a boat and sailed for Stillaguamish where he sleeps in peace under the green turf, three miles from Stanwood.

FRED LANDSTONE.--In Swedish, Fredrik Landsten, a man of nomadic spirit and fine intellect, was born in Sweden, and in the spring of manhood ascended the horizon of sea-faring exploits. In 1860 he landed at San Francisco, and a year later stept ash.o.r.e at Port Discovery, Was.h.i.+ngton.

A score of years on the rolling brine had changed his mind for terra firma. He resorted to logging camps and saw mills, working hard until 1876, when he retired on a piece of land three miles from Poulsbo, where he still resides, slowly wearing out the balance of his years.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CHILBERG FAMILY OF FOUR GENERATIONS--ALL LIVING.

John Charles Chilberg is behind the vase of flowers and his wife the second to his left.]

CHARLES JOHN CHILBERG (not John Charles as shown under the ill.u.s.tration).--White with a wealth of snowy locks, and seven-and-four scores of years hanging on his back, yet nimbly he frisks about on his beautiful farm at Pleasant Ridge, Skagit county. This aged pioneer of unusual endurance and grit, keen intellect and warm soul, was born in Halland, near Laholm, Sweden, 1813, came to America, 1846, and located in Iowa. In 1860 he visited Pike's Peak, Colorado, and in 1863 left his family again, a loving wife and children, for the West with a view to find a more congenial clime. For some time he traveled in Montana, crossed the Rocky, and came to Puget Sound, 1865. The sweet-scenting forest and the balmy heaven awakened his love for perambulation of the Pacific, from British Columbia to the Golden State. He resolved to make his future abode west of the Cascades, and in 1869 returned to Iowa to remove his family to Was.h.i.+ngton, arriving at Pleasant Ridge the following spring.

Mrs. Charles John Chilberg and three of her sons, Joseph, John H. and Charles F., came to the Pacific in the spring of 1871, and Isaac and B.

A. a few months later. James P. Chilberg has climbed the horizon of pioneer adventures. In 1859 he landed in California, in 1864 traveled in Oregon, and in 1870 beheld the rippling Sound and the Was.h.i.+ngton forest.

In 1872 Nelson Chilberg took a survey of the Pacific and three years subsequent his brother Andrew threw his eyes upon the mighty ocean.

ANDREW NELSON.--A jolly fellow, familiarly known as Dogfish Nelson, was among the first Scandinavian pioneers. He was born in Denmark, 1832, and landed as a sailor at Port Ludlow in 1867. Like many others he was attracted by the country, and to drive away monotony took an Indian woman for wife, as white women were almost unknown on the coast at that time. Nelson has encountered many obstacles in his cruising among the red skins and fierce brutes, but always managed to play the hero. He has been industrious and convivial, and a flowery nest in Brown's Bay bespeaks his rank.

HANS HANSEN, a Dane, who resides at Alki Point, near Seattle, has earned a footing among the early Scandinavian pioneers. His years on the Pacific reach pretty nigh two scores. Knut Knutson, a native of Norway, and also a resident of Alki Point, came to Puget Sound over thirty years ago, and has pa.s.sed through days of sun and storm. C. E. Norager, likewise of Norse birth, places his disembarkation on the Pacific about forty years back.

CHAPTER III.

Seattle, the metropolis of Was.h.i.+ngton, and the busiest city on the Pacific coast, has a romantic history, as well as a history of thrift and progress. Thirty-five years ago only a few log cabins set on the sh.o.r.e of Elliott Bay, inhabited by a handful of pioneers. Bears and cougars danced around their huts, and Indians skulked in lazy hordes at their threshold. How changed! to day the Queen city is spread over about fifty square miles of land, overlooking the melodious Puget Sound, and dots the green borders of three fresh-water lakes with snug cottages.

She has a population of about 85,000, of which a large per cent are Scandinavians.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A SCENE IN THE HARBOR OF SEATTLE.]

The first Scandinavian that visited Elliott Bay, of which we have any authentic account, was Peter Friberg, formerly mentioned. Shortly after came C. E. Norager and others referred to in the previous chapter.

Charles John Chilberg made a survey of the bay in 1865, when only a saw mill and a sprinkling of shanties marked the presence of white men. In 1869, Edward Gunderson, a native of Norway, crossed the Rocky to make Seattle his future habitation, which was then in its early embryo. The same year, Amund Amunds, born in Racine county, Wis., of Norwegian parents, removed to the city from Cowlitz county where he had disembarked two years prior. Amunds grew opulent and invited the love of all his a.s.sociates. He was director and first vice-president of the Scandinavian American Bank of Seattle, and heavily interested in real estate. He was an energetic worker in the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and received the highest honor--Grand Receiver of the jurisdiction of Was.h.i.+ngton. He died four years ago and his funeral was a solemn event.

In 1872, Nelson Chilberg, son of Charles John Chilberg, made an appearance, and three years later his brother Andrew was attracted to the coast, as referred to in the previous chapter, and started the first Scandinavian store in Seattle, in company with J. P. Chilberg. The prospect was glittering and ere a year had died Nelson joined them in grocery business, the firm being Chilberg Brothers. Andrew Chilberg soon rose to popularity, became one of Seattle's most prominent citizens, and an honor to the Scandinavians.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SCANDINAVIAN-AMERICAN BANK OF SEATTLE.]

He was born in Laholm, Sweden, March 29, 1845. When a lad of one year he crossed the Atlantic with his parents, settling near Ottumwa, Iowa, where he received his early education in the common schools. In 1860 he left Ottumwa with his father and older brother, Nelson, for Pike's Peak, Colorado, remaining two years, then returned to Iowa. In 1863 he crossed the Rocky with a wagon train, arriving in Sacramento after a journey of five months, September 24th. His health was hara.s.sed by exposure and hards.h.i.+p in crossing the plains, and as an alternative of recovery worked on a farm two years. Mr. Chilberg was anxious to complete his education, and in 1866 returned to Iowa via Nicaragua and New York.

After taking a course in college he obtained a teacher's certificate and engaged in teaching, but abandoned the profession after three years of successful experience to enter a more lucrative position in Ottumwa.

In 1857 he journeyed to Seattle, where he still resides, embarking in grocery business in company with his brother, the firm being Chilberg Brothers. Three years subsequent to his arrival in the city, he was elected to the city council, in 1879 appointed vice-consul for Sweden and Norway, in 1882 chosen county a.s.sessor, and in 1885 intrusted with the responsibility of city treasurer. In 1886 he was named city pa.s.senger and ticket agent for the Northern Pacific Railroad, but resigned, 1892, to accept the presidency of the Scandinavian American Bank of Seattle. In 1896 he was elected to the board of education, and the following year a.s.sumed the presidential chair. He was married to an estimable lady, Miss Mary Nelson, in Iowa, November 5, 1874. They have one son, Eugene, who is a young man of fine training, being educated in the Seattle High School, Was.h.i.+ngton Agricultural College and School of Science, and Was.h.i.+ngton State University.

Peter Wickstrom.--With the first brigade of Scandinavians, Peter Wickstrom marched in the front rank. He was born in Sweden, 1837, arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota, 1868, and four years later beheld the city of Portland, Oregon, and the same year located in Seattle.

Louis and Henry Peterson.--The Peterson brothers were among the early Scandinavians and the first to engage in the art of photography in the city of Seattle. They were born in Norway but sailed for America while young boys, arriving in Chicago, 1857, where they resided nineteen years, leaving for Seattle, 1876.

Martin C. Mortensen.--Mortensen was a native of Denmark, and arrived in Seattle the same year as the Peterson brothers. He came to America, 1868, and two years later landed in San Francisco, spending six years in that city, then journeyed northward.

Christian C. Plough.--Vice-Consul Christian C. Plough is one of Seattle's most highly respected citizens. He was born in Denmark, 1825, and came to America, 1868, selecting Chicago for his first stopping place, but after two months of abode in the Windy City he removed to Nebraska, where he stayed one year. The Pacific was his aim and thither he went, disembarked in Olympia, via San Francis...o...b.. boat, 1872, where he remained three weeks. Portland, Oregon, had attracted considerable attention as a city of business prospect, and Plough again picked together his effects to resume another journey. He stayed in Portland three years then removed to Seattle. In 1883 he was appointed vice-consul for Denmark, served with honor until 1895 when he was compelled to resign on account of ill health. Christian Geerstsen, a man of honor and intelligence, came to America in company with Plough, and also arrived in Seattle together. He was born in Denmark, 1839.

Ben Jensen, now a resident of San Juan county, arrived in Seattle when a dense forest clothed the princ.i.p.al streets. He was born in Norway, came to America while a youth, and has proved a worthy factor to his adopted country. Ole Egge, also a native of Norway, has shared the hards.h.i.+ps of the early Pacific. He is a man of intelligence, and enjoys the respect of his countrymen. His son Peter is a bright man of mechanical ingenuity, and landed in Seattle with his parents.

In the more recent years, Scandinavians in Seattle have made great progress in professional and business circles. In politics, too, they have commanded notice, and in science and letters attention.

E. H. Evenson is the inc.u.mbent county auditor, and H. P. Rude councilman-at-large.

E. H. Evenson was born at Whitewater, Wisconsin, in the year 1852. His early life was spent on a farm in Waupaca county, Wisconsin. At the age of 18 he began to teach in the common schools in his neighborhood, and with the money thus earned he started on a six years' course at Decorah College, Iowa, from which he graduated in the spring of '79. During all this time he taught common schools at intervals, and during vacations worked in the harvest fields of Minnesota and earned the money with which to pay his college expenses. Having finished his course at Decorah College he entered the State University of Wisconsin, from which he graduated with the cla.s.s of '81.

In the fall of the same year, Mr. Evenson secured a position as teacher in Milton College, Milton, Wisconsin, where he remained for three years; at the end of that period he removed to Madison, South Dakota, to fill a place as teacher in the State Normal School at that city, which position he occupied for two years; he was then elected county superintendent of schools for Lake county, in which capacity he served two terms. At the close of the last term he made another move west, to Puget Sound, and settled on 40 acres of land near the town of Kent, where he now resides with his family. He is at present serving his second term as auditor of King county.

Mr. Evenson is a firm believer in the "single tax" theories of Henry George; that is, in placing all taxes on ground rents. The justice of that method, he claims, is based on the following self-evident truths: