The Enterprise, White Salmon, WA., July 6, 1967, page 10

LYLE PIONEER HISTORY RECOUNTED FOR READERS
By Jesse A. Jewell

     The pioneers of yester-years were hardy souls who braved the hazards, disease, weather, terrain and Indian threats at times, to hew out a home or an enterprise from this vast wilderness. Practically all the way west from the high slopes of the Rockies this area was wild and untamed. Possibly some of our pioneers were wild and untamed, too -- in a way they had to be in order to survive on a frontier that was harsh and unfriendly at best.
     On of the stories told hereabouts is of a teacher in a schoolhouse up on the prairie above Lyle. When she saw an old Indian riding around the building flourishing a tomahawk she called all the children in out of sight and then she sat down on the steps. The fierce old Indian rode up and raised his tomahawk like he was going to split her scalp wide open, but she just sat there watching him and never flinched. When he found he couldn't scare her, he turned and rode away -- to the relief of young and old alike.
     The kids asked, "How could you sit and face him like that?" To which she replied, "If I hadn't, he would have scalped us all, without a doubt." This shows how rough it was here at times, tho history proves there was far less hair-raising than our TV and movies picture.

LEWIS & CLARK WERE HERE

     Lewis and Clark camped at the mouth of our Klickitat river for several days. They must have liked the Indian smoked salmon. It is reported that they had trouble getting enough food along the way. It is too unlikely to think that they might have overeaten of this delicious kippered delicacy and had to stay over until they felt fit to travel again?
     When the first travelers came here, there were a large number of Indians camped on the beaches and up on the flat, even where the Castles live. Most of them were of the Klickitat tribe. When Lewis and Clark turned in their report to the president about being able to travel overland all the way to the Pacific, mostly by following the rivers, it created a new interest in the Oregon Territory. The report electrified the minds and fired the imagination of the adventurous --a whole new empire to conquer, his for the taking, if only he were big enough to hold it. The slogan was: go west, young man -- go
west!
     It wasn't long then before the best and easiest way to go was surveyed; then the government would bet 160 acres of land that a man would starve to death before proving it up. I wasn't easy, some did and some didn't!
     A great many that came west were single men seeking their fortunes. When they had proved up on their quarter section, a lot of men sent back east for their sweethearts, and dear ones left behind until everything was more suitable for the homemakers. Or West really began to settle up then.
     When this section became settled, and river boats were plying the waters of the mighty Columbia, this settlement was known as Klickitat Landing. It remained so until after James O. Lyle became the first appointed postmaster.
      Jim had quite an interesting life. At the age of 22 he headed west for California. Traveling light and fast, his party made it in 5½ months; he mined there for several years.

MONEY MADE AT MINING

      There must have been some money made in mining, for Jim was able to buy a boat ticket on "The Golden Age," bound for back home in Iowa. Mr. Lyle made it back home all in one piece -- but the boat didn't. Seems as though an island didn't turn out and let them go by, or the boat got crossed up in the cross winds, ran aground and sank somewhere down by Panama. Another boat passing by, and seeing their plight, picked them up just in time, too, as they could think of many preferable thing, namely, more pleasant surroundings and sitting down to a square meal. It wasn't clear sailing, but he did make it back to Iowa.
      In 1857, Jim married Martha Snipes and in 1863 they crossed the plains. This time he got close enough to see Klickitat Landing across the river. The lived on a rented place at Rowena for two years before he bought a farm (of Egbert French) across the river. Mr. French had married an Indian girl the whites had raised. It wasn't uncommon in the early days when there were few white women, to see a man take an Indian maiden for a wife; another thing, it was much simpler to get his fish smoked and dried. Besides, that practically made him one of the tribe, and there wasn't so much danger of getting and arrow in the gizzard.
     James Lyle was proclaimed postmaster in June, 1876. He served for eight years in the first post office east of the Cascades (on the north side of the river).
      One of the very early settlers in Lyle or the immediate district was John and Bill Splawn's grandfather -- Francis Splawn. He was here before Klickitat Landing even knew it was going to have its name changed -- some 105 years ago.

HARD WINTER SEEN

     Mrs. Lyle's brother, Ben Snipes, was the great cattle baron in the early days of the Northwest. At one time he was reported to have owned in the neighborhood of 50,000 head of cattle, scattered from Oregon to the Canadian border. He operated the world's greatest bovine highway -- 225 miles long and 40 miles wide -- ranging on the east slopes of the Cascades. There were thousands of acres of natural bunch grass all over this district. Unfortunately, a terrific winter covered all this area with a thick coating of ice and snow, killing thousands of cattle but worse still, the bunch grass that grew waist deep all over wouldn't hide a jack rabbit after that winter, of 1880.
      There is no record that Jim ever worked for his brother-in-law but it must have taken a lot of cowboys to work all those cattle. there is an interesting story about one young cow poke who worked for Snipes. A terrific storm came up. and home 15 miles from home, began to cast an eye out for some place to get out of the storm for the night. A settler's one-room cabin showed up in the dusk. You wouldn't find this in Boston, but he turned in, and was offered the hospitality granted all in those days.
      When bedtime approached he was offered a bed, but there was only one bed! The three children were put to bed first and when they were asleep there were put on quilts on the floor behind the stove. This one and only bed was offered to him then, and being tired, he didn't refuse. What luxury -- oh boy, what dreams he would chalk up tonight. Sure enough, during the night he did dream, but not the pleasant ones he had pictured. His nightmares were wild and stormy like the times. He dreamed of having a runaway when his horses were spooked and he was thrown from the hack or light wagon. Upon awakening the next morning it wasn't hard to see the reason for his violent dreams -- he had been pitched bodily into another corner upon some bedding. But the real eye-opener was when he became aware of the old folks, snoring their heads off in the one and only bed in the house!

PADDLE WHEEL TRANSPORTATION

     The grand old paddle-wheelers served this area well, plying the Columbia, carrying all number of necessities the length of this great thoroughfare, making it possible to easily settle up this virgin, untamed region of scenic beauty and pleasant climate.
      Right at first, the river was sectioned off by rapids and falls. Anyone taking the boat to Vancouver had to ride his cayuse on board the stern-wheeler to Cascade Locks, ride down the rapids, get on another boat for the rest of the distance. It was the same if one was going beyond The Dalles; he had to portage around Celilo Falls to catch another boat up the river.
      Many took this means of traveling because it was the only avenue before roads took the place of trails. The settler who had to shop for supplies took to the river; somewhere along its shores he found them.
      A picture taken in, or before, 1902 shows a boat down by the old ferry landing (the railroad hadn't been built at that time.) Then, the most of the town of Lyle was below where the railroad is now. Most of all that is along the highway and above was in pruned and grapes. (Incidentally, some of the original prune trees are alive and still bearing fruit after nearly 100 years.) Some people planted apples, back out of town; in fact, there were apples planted all over "them thar hills" around Appleton. when it was found that it was good, dry orchard country, everyone had from 5 to 75 acres of orchard. It is claimed that there were 500 families living around Appleton. It thrived until irrigation in other localities proved too great a competition.

RAILROAD ARRIVES

      Early in 1902 the Columbia River & Northern Railroad Co. was organized, (called the CR&N). It purchased the "DP&A," a steamboat line. Their first move was to build at dock at Lyle for handling railroad freight. The next move was to build the railroad from Lyle to Goldendale -- the first on this side of the Columbia. It was built to serve the prairie; take up machinery supplies and passengers; bring out cattle, sheep, hogs and wheat; this was one of the first wheat-producing sections of this whole area. Once the produce reached the Columbia, everything was handled by river-boat to markets far and wide. At one time there were about 100 picturesque paddle-wheelers serving this new frontiers from Astoria to Lewiston, Idaho. Before the turn of the century, canals and locks at the Bridge of the Gods, and (later) Celilo Falls, made it much simpler to navigate the whole distance.
      The settlers here recognized a great many of the boats just by listening to them. The skipper would blow a long blast on the melodious steam whistles (each whistle was different, striving to be more pleasing to the ear). The excitement ran high to see who might be coming in from the outside world. The news they would carry could be talked about for days. At that time, there were few outside papers or other media of getting the news.
     A colorful feature in the history of the CR&N was competition, furnished by another speedy steamboat, called the "Charles R. Spencer." Many a passenger thought he was caught on the short end, if he wasn't fleet of foot. The CR&N had to buy the Baily Gatzert, another fast, powerful boat, to keep in the race. These two boats gave onlookers and riders many a thrill when the two boats were trying to be first at the docks. Those going by boat didn't mind too much, as each company tried to beat the other by lowering the rates from The Dalles to Portland -- it just meant you got a big thrill for less money. The Charles R. Spencer wasn't allowed to dock at the company platforms, so went into the cove just below. Passengers and luggage were almost thrown off before the steamer came to a stop, in order to get ahead of the Baily Gatzert.

SPEEDBOAT HAZARDS

     This racing caused considerable damage to the Spencer, one morning, as she and the "Dalles City," another Company boat, headed into a howling head wind going from The Dalles to Lyle. The Spencer stayed on the south side, going right into the wind, while the CR&N boat hugged the north shore to escape some of the wind and heavy swells. When the Spencer started to steer for the landing at Lyle, a chain broke due to the gale, breaking some steam pipes in the pilot house. The skipper couldn't see to steer in the cloud of steam, so his boat was blown on the bank across the river in Rowena.
     This was but one of many spectacular events in the history of travel on this great river highway, whose importance was great in the development of this whole area from Astoria to Lewiston.
     It wasn't until 1893 that Balfour sold property to the C.R.N. for the railroad, that the township was broken up into lots for sale; before that there were only business houses and most of them down by the river. The lots were all up in the alfalfa field and prune orchard, above where the railroad is now. The old business district then burned down all but the post office and jail, parts of these buildings are still standing. Jesse Jewell can still show you some of the bars in a small window.
     The Swift & Company built the sheep sheds when cattle and sheep ranches both flourished in the county. They brought sheep in from off the range in the fall to fatten through the winter for an early spring market. At first there were two sheds but one winter the snow fall became so heavy on shed collapsed and it was never rebuilt. It was a reported that they fed as many as twenty to twenty five a winter.
     About 1900 a convict camp was established up near where the Thunderbird is now, over and back of the tunnels east of town. That was before there was any road up the river toward Dallesport. The renown and respected builder of the northwest that built railroads, is supposed to have fostered the idea of building a road up the river (Samuel Hill wanted very much to have a road to Maryhill from Lyle because of his castle and stonehenge which is a replica of a ruined structure of giant stones on Salisbury Plain in S.W. England; of great antiquity; perhaps once a temple of the sun. The Castle has been turned into a Museum.)
     One of the cheapest way to build was to use the existing convict labor already here. You can still see some of the results of their labor as you are leaving town by looking up above the highway, as you are, the tunnel clearance sign is just below quiet an extensive bit if cement work. Rex Bullis has unearthed a culvert which is dated 1915. The roadbed is plainly visible from the roadside park just beyond. The rolling rock has all but filled it in the rest of the way, though glimpses may still be had for more than a mile further farther up the river. The road was never completed. About twenty five years later the State had a long look at their map and found out that the Lewis & Clark Highway hadn't been finished so by golly we got us one through here.
      It wasn't uncommon to see a wagon with four to six horses pulling a load of wheat into town from the prairie, unload for shipment to market, go to the hotel, stay over-night and go back home the next day. Because this means of travel was slow, there was a big need of several hotels, a livery stable, blacksmith shop and of course two or more saloons; a bank and several stores; so it can be seen that this was quite a little shopping center before the railroads and highways came through. The Clarks, Sorensens, Daffrons, Kures, Hewitts, Olsons, Chamberlains and Korthase, all, figured very prominently in the early growth of the community.
      A nice little old lady arrived here at the local post office fresh from the east. This was all so new to her, names, indian terms and all that to get used to. She was asked how she got here? Her answer got many a chuckle, it was, "Oh, I just rode in on a coyote." The term used was, "cayuse", but it was all Indian or Greek to her.
      There were many bands of wild horses running on the range in the 1880s, they were called the indian cayuse by all the early timers. They had been crossed the Kentucky that had been imported with the first settlers. Whiteman and indian alike caught and broke these excellent riding ponies, they were sure-footed, wiry and tough. A small group of men figured they could make easy change by turning a jack loose with these wild ponies on the range. There was one thing they missed; the noise of his braying scared all the wild cayuses so badly they never stopped running and he wasn't fleet of foot enough to keep in the race at all.
      Lord Balfour purchased the property from James O. Lyle and planted quite a bit of the low land to grapes. The Balfours were English capitalists with Japanese house boys, here in America to seek their fortune. While the Balfours were still here it seems the river came up so high some of the grapes were in the river-water. A man wanted to land his boat in a spot where he was accustomed to landing but this time he had to go much farther up the bank where he found himself surrounded by grapes. Sir Balfour saw him boating on his property and yelled for him to get his blasted old scow out of his vineyard. To which the man replied with considerable spirit, "Oh it that so, well, your Lordship get your such and so of a grape vineyard out of my river".
      Frederick Homer Balch is buried in our Lyle cemetery. He wrote the much publicized book, "The Bridge of the Gods". It was published in 1890 after he had made an extensive study of the Indians habits and their beliefs. It is considered good reading particularly, because if there is no written language the history of the race is carried on through their legends, generation after generation. His father was a college graduate, which was in itself quite note-worthy on the west coast in the 1880s - particularly here in the northwest. It isn't surprising that Fred was able to write fluently at an early age with that background.
      Many thought an electric plant in the gorge of the Klickitat River was a feasible idea, down below the Fisher Hill bridge; trouble dogged that steps from the very start. To begin with, one old squaw sold them the rights three different times --- three individuals, each paid a thousand dollar apiece only to find out too late that she didn't have the right to sell any of it. An old treaty had reserved the rights of this property for the Indians only. They got spooked about the whole deal, gave it up and finally moved the whole thing down to what is now Northwestern Dam on the White Salmon River --- right below Husum. White Salmon and Bingen got lights but Lyle, got nary a glimmer.
      Something similar went on when they built the railroad up through Klickitat to Goldendale. When they goat as far as old Chief Skukum Wallehe's place just beyond Pitt he wanted a contract. They dickered and the more they dickered the more rocks he rolled and he continued to roll rocks down on the workmen until they signed an agreement allowing him to ride to Goldendale whenever he got a notion to. Every day for a long time he would go out, flag the train down and take himself a ride to Goldendale and back. They tried to discourage him at times but he didn't discourage easy. This was the first railroad in Klickitat County, built in 1902 -- the mainline wasn't built until 1908.
     The old chief, (or so the story goes), was faced with a hard problem. The fish run that year was very light and his people hadn't caught nearly enough to run them through the winter; game was scarce too. His people depended on fish for most of their diet and when the run was real light they were in trouble. He proved he was worthy to be their Chief; like 1966 where was a bumper crop of acorns which this wise old Indian put them to picking up for storage -- there must have been many a belly ache but it was somewhat better than starving, even at that.
     In the early years, crossing the Columbia River posed quite a problem at times. Right at first a scow rigged with sails crossed the river at The Dalles but if the wind wasn't blowing it wasn't so easy. In time steam was used for power and all was well until high water every spring, the river was swift then as well as trashy -- no one liked to be on the ferrys then.
     The river just wasn't the same then as it is now, with the Dams to slow the stream and raise the water level. Before, there were places you could wade your horses away out during low water, then he didn't have to swim far before touching bottom again. When some of our cattlemen first went to ranching in the district, there were island in the river on which there was good feed. Cattle somehow got on them to get to this green feed in later summer, so the ranchers always had to check for some of his cows.
     Some horses swim better than others -- the one you have to watch out for is the single-footer. Oh, it isn't a one-legged horse but one with an easy rolling gait -- sort of a running walk, that covers many miles a day without tiring horse or rider. The cowboys and ranchers were always on the lookout for a pony with that gait.
     When in the water swimming a horses gait is always trotting, all but a single-footer. They just can't navigate in water if they can't touch bottom. A horse with this sort of pacing walk will turn on his side when trying to swim; so, if you take one out in deep water be sure to have a paddle. Fred Smith tells how he found this out one night when he tried to swim his single-footer across from an island near The Dalles -- before he landed on this side he had drifted clear down in the current to Lyle, soaking wet and mighty cold.
     Byrd Clark wrote that a big, fat hog can't swim very far either. When as a young man living on the ranch, he brought a wagon load of fat hogs down to the boat for shipment to market. They ran the gang plank from the boat to the back end of the wagon with gates up on the side so they could run the hogs on to the boat. They started all-right but didn't want any part of a boat ride. Gentle persuasion caused them to knock down the sides of the ramp and into the river they went. The Captain ordered the deck hands to roundup the hogs in the lifeboats. They herded them back to the landing. A fat hog can't swim very long until they give out and drown. The boat was late in departure but did get all but two of the porkers on board, the river got, the other two. Byrd wrote, "you can imagine what the deck hands were saying".
     The Grange Hall up on the hill has quite a distinction in that it is the oldest that has been in continuous use in the State. In fact, it was built before we even had a State. The Grange was organized in 1889, the Hall was dedicated in 1891, so it must have built before then.
      They had a charter when this was still the Oregon Territory. Changes have been made on the interior but the exterior is the same as when it was built, all but for adding a small section. This was one of the main meeting places for early settlers, so it is very dear to many of them.
     Mrs. West's parents (Mr. and Mrs. Claus Staack) purchased the 600 acre estate in 1914 from the Balfour's making it into a prosperous cattle ranch. The first lights in Lyle were furnished by Jim West, who had a Delco plant at the Columbia Garage (where the Richfield Station is today). It was only for the business district. The lights were turned on at sundown and off at 10:00 p.m. About fifteen years later a power line was brought in from White Salmon, then everyone had lights and power permanently.
      We have enjoyed our first brush with this amazingly, vigorous frontier before white man had hardly touched its shores on through the courage, stamina and determination of the first adventurous and hardy men to map out our region here in the Northwest. We must pay tribute to the men and women among our first settlers in their heroic efforts to hew out a spot in this vast wilderness.
     We shared the thrills, joys, heartaches and excitement in the taming of the west, just like taking a wild mustang from the open range and making him a working part of progress.
      This is a man endeavor, to take what ever he has and continually try to improve that to his and his neighbor's gain.
      We look back on this exciting episode in our history with pride and a sense of gratitude, for making this a glorious example for us to follow in our efforts on our new horizons, which will be history in some future age.
      So ends this chapter on our pioneers.

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©  Jeffrey L. Elmer