6.
Bill Huggins and the Snohomish
Medicine Man.
Submitted by Gary Reese
Edward Huggins, "Response to Prosch's
account of the McDaniel Affair," Letter to Clarence Bagley. February
26, 1905 (excerpts).
Did you notice how severe Charles Prosch is in his little book of Puget
Sound Reminiscences upon the McDaniel and Gibson committee. He
says that many of the crowd were ex. Hudson's Bay servants, but
that is not so. I think there were only a few of them Hudson's
Bay men, not more than three or four, but I forgot their names, I mean
the names of the so called committee, but the court records will give
them from the Indictment.
Prosch is very severe upon them. says that if many of them had received
their just deserts they would of expiated their crimes upon the
gallows. Why, most of them were decent fellows. The two
leading men amongst the crowd were McLean Chambers of the Andrew &
David Chambers family and a Scotchman named James Ross, who kept a
store in Steilacoom. Neither of them were ex Hudson's Bay men,
but both bore good characters.
McDaniels and Gibson one might come within an ace of killing McLean
Chambers. They ran him nearly down before he made his own house,
where they fired shots at the house, and dared him ( Cham¬bers ) to
come out. They made threats to kill him, and wound up by killing
one or more of his ( Chambers's ) dogs.
I was told this, and also that the two worthies notified the Committee,
who had met together and signed a paper, ordering them to leave the
country ( McDaniel and Gibson ) that they would kill them all, those
that signed the paper. This action on the part of the two
desperadoes, was the cause of the killing of the two.
The decent farmers expected that they would be treated badly, perhaps
killed, and to protect themselves, took the initiative. Judge
Wyche defended the Indicted men, and a very able effort he made,
although poor fellow he seemed at the time to be suffering from
sickness. James McNaught assisted the Prosecution, very ably he
did it too. Jacobs was Judge, and he seemed to me to favor the
prosecution.
Some people in this country, and many in adjoining counties took sides
against the men Indicted, but they didn't know the villainous character
of Mc D. I lived next to him at Muck, and had an opportunity of knowing
him well.
He never did me any harm, but I've seen, and known him to seriously
harm my friends and neighbors. He McD. treated a neighbor of his
very shamefully. The man Greig was a Scotsman, fairly
educated. He deserted from the British Army, crossed the line and
enlisted in the U.S. Fourth Artillery, and came out as one of Captain
Hill's company, but before his company arrived at the seat of the
Mexican War, peace was proclaimed, and the U.S.Troops were ordered, and
came to the Columbia River, and from there came in the Harpooner (a
chartered vessel ) to Steilacoom, in Aug. 1849.
He served his time, was discharged, and took a Donation Claim upon Muck
Creek in 1853. He was married to a decent Indian woman from a
down sound tribe, and fifty or more years ago we called her "Old
Betsy".
She is alive today, and doesn't look more than fifty. Greig
didn't like farming, and in 1854, about, he entered the service of the
Puget Sound Agricultural Company and became a trusted man, a clerk.
After the company's matter with the U.S. Govt. was settled, he took the
claim ( the company's station ) he was then living on, about a mile
north of Roy, upon the lower Muck Creek, a very pretty place, with some
good bottom land upon it, and the creek, with Trout, plenty in it,
running through it.
Greig was permitted by the company to take the place, but of course he
had only a Squatters right to it. Greig, unfortunately, was
persuaded to join the party who ordered Giles and McD to cease
annoying their neighbors, and remove from the claims they had jumped,
and Greig, being a man of timid disposition felt much alarmed at
McDaniel's threats, and the latter threatened to get a man, a friend of
his to jump the place, on the grounds that he, Greig, being a
foreigner, and an ex Hudson's Bay Company's servant could not hold the
land.
Greig believing all this, and to save, as he thought, his home from
being jumped, he paid McDaniels, five or six Horses, and I think, a Cow
or two, but I'm not certain as to the Cows. Greig would have been
with the gang of Regulators, were it not that on the evening appointed
for them to meet, he was at our house, and I wouldn't let him join the
party, although he wanted to badly. He was afterwards very
thankful that I so acted.
Has Mr. Thomas Prosch given you the manuscript stories I loaned
him about November 1st last? The following are the titles, the
manuscripts are: "In the camp of the volunteers"; "A Canoe trip to Alki
Point in 1853"; "About the Fur Trade on Puget Sound from 1850 to 1880."
2 paper and two cuttings from the Sunday Oregonian "The killing of
Cush"; The story of Captain Jimmy Jones." Six stories in all. I
have not heard anything from him relating to the papers. Didn't
even acknowledge receipt.
I think you told me in a late letter, that Ezra Meeker had cut out some
of the objectionable stuff he had at first written about Governor Isaac
I. Stevens, but there still remains enough to create a sensation
in the reading world. 'tis a pity he is so head strong, and I
suppose Vindictive. Besides hurting the sale of his book he is
likely to get into trouble.
Will write again soon. Best regards from all hereto all with you,
and hoping you are well in health. I remain, as ever,
Edward Huggins.
Edward Huggins, "Response to Prosch's account of the Mc Daniel Affair,"
Letter to Clarence Bagley. February 26, 1905 (excerpts).