BY THOS. OSTENSON STINE, B. S. P. O. Box 599, Seattle, Wash. AN EVENING ON PUGET SOUND. TO ANDREW CHILBERG, Consul for Sweden and Norway and President of the Scandinavian American Bank of Seattle, As a Token of Respect for Your Friendship and Your Integrity of Character, I Dedicate this Volume. Thos. O. Stine....

On solicitation of prominent Scandinavian-Americans, a year ago, I undertook to write a volume or two, entitled, "Scandinavians on the Pacific." At the launching of this idea an untold number rallied around me with sweet tongues, but many who pretended to furnish historical data fabricated delusive smiles of impertinent selfishness. Others, however, have been frank in ushering kind assistance. The author is indebted to the following gentlemen for willing advice and information: John Blaauw, Edit

The author does not aim to lift the Scandinavians into an air of ungained merit, he does not aim to clothe them with undeserved encomium, but seeks to paint their dues in a straightforward way, thoughtless of sailing the sea of hyperbole, or entering any strait of unearned exploit. In order, however, to give the reader a clear conception of the spirit, the intrepidity, the characteristic worth of the northern peoples, my pen cannot refrain from plowing into the annals of the past. History is pla

High and noble stands the Rocky, looking downward, where jeweled brows hang, where silvery waves make music on the deep, or the sea maid shakes her streaming locks. As early as 1513 the brave Balboa hurled his exploring eyes over the watery waste and in the name of Spain declared the discovery of the mighty ocean. But, alas! the valorous Spaniard received only scoff and scorn for his adventure and hardship, and at last the cold world saw fit to lead him to the judgment block for the unknown dept

No class of people or nation deserves the title, cosmopolitan, better than the Vikings. Their names mingle with the history of England, France, Russia and Italy, and in the Western Hemisphere we find them all over. To trace up the first Scandinavian that touched the shore of Washington is difficult, if not impossible. No doubt but Scandinavians made stoppings along the coast on their fishing expeditions to the north before any white man had dreamt to pin his hopes to the North Pacific. And it is

Seattle, the metropolis of Washington, 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 shore 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! today the Queen city is spread over about fifty square miles of land, overlooking the melodious Puget Sound, and dots the gr

Societies—Press—Prominent Citizens—Churches. Scandinavians in Seattle have contributed largely to the social feature of life. They have organized a number of societies, some flourished immensely for some time, then died a natural death, others have continued to prosper through sun and storm. The Normanna Literary and Social Club was among the first Norwegian societies, but alas! only a few days of sunshine then clouds and dispersion. The Baltic Lodge, I. O. G. T., was placed on record February 1

Ballard merits the appellation, City of Smokestacks. No small town west of the Rocky has more factories. Saw mills and shingle mills are sending clouds of smoke into the air day and night, and brigades of industrious men are busily engaged. The city has been regarded by many as a suburb of Seattle, but this is a misinterpretation. True, Ballard is near Seattle, and is connected to it by a well-equipped street railway, but has its own government. The first Scandinavian who touched Salmon Bay, hal

Tacoma, or the City of Destiny, is the second city in population in the State of Washington, and the first in natural grandeur. It is situated on fine terraces, commanding a beautiful view of Commencement Bay and the Sound for miles distance. Mt. Rainier, or Tacoma, towers over the city, and his head of snow and checkered bosom fills the soul with awe and wonder. Scandinavians have made Tacoma their stronghold, about 10,000 dwell within the city boundary. Some rank among the most thrifty and hig

Societies—Press—Prominent Citizens—Churches A number of Scandinavian societies have sprung into existence in Tacoma the last two decades. The Valhalla, a Swedish fraternal and beneficial organization, was the first that blossomed into prosperity. It was organized December 15, 1884, with G. F. Linquist, president, H. Nyman, vice-president, H. Ohlin, secretary, W. P. Sundberg, treasurer, R. Bomen, financial secretary, Charles Berg, master of ceremony. Only few signed the constitution at its early

Few cities during the short longevity of eight years have blossomed like Everett. In 1891 it sprang into life midst the greatest of stir and excitement, and has ever since enjoyed the presence of healthy sunbeams and steady prosperity. Everett is the county seat of Snohomish county, spread over a pleasant stretch of land between Snohomish river and a beautiful bay of the Sound, affording an excellent fresh-water harbor and an equally laudable salt-water haven. The city has a population of about

Stanwood is the largest Scandinavian community in the State of Washington, situated in Snohomish county, on a delta-like angle, where the Skagit and the Stillaguamish rivers meet to mingle their blue volumes. A navigable tongue of the Sound ripples up the flat, where daily steamers gracefully ride for the proud city. To the east and west from this thriving villa a panorama of inexhaustible fertility spreads out before your eye, dotted with quaint dwellings, here and there flecked with rich orcha

The Stillaguamish valley, spreading out for a considerable distance on both sides of the wandering river, which starts in the green-clad hills, looming up in the southeast, and leaps gracefully downward to the city of Stanwood, where it disembogues its waters, is a fertile plain, running through the forest for twenty-five miles, adorned with royal farms and three happy villas—Florence, Norman and Silvana. Thirty years ago this noble stretch was the home of wild beasts, but now settled by a jolly

Three miles east of Stanwood smiles a beautiful villa, which fifteen years ago received the baptism Cedarhome. It seems as though Nature in her wisdom long, long ago took special pains to prepare a plot for this smoothly sloping panorama. If it had been whittled out to order for a quiet, sober and intelligent people nothing more consistent could have been expected. In early days a dense forest clothed this spot, and savage brutes ruled unrestrained. But some forty years ago the irascible agent—f

The Skagit valley is a stretch of inexhaustible fertility, commencing at the mouth of the river and running northward for scores of miles, and spreads out, east and west, into a plain beautifully embellished with proud farms, and mostly populated with Scandinavians. Six miles up the river rests the town of Fir, a bustling village, surrounded by a rich farming community. Ole J. Borseth is the leading business man of the town, who located here, 1883, and in 1891 engaged in general merchandise. He

It is but few places where nature has been so kind and lavishing with her store of grandeur as in Bellingham Bay. Sweet in music, the happy ripples dance to kiss the pebbled borders of the twin cities—New Whatcom and Fairhaven. Above the din of their tumults stands the white-haired Mt. Baker with a snowy hood drawn down his broad shoulders, throwing glimpses of awe over a gay landscape. About four miles from these sister cities smiles Lake Whatcom, where living gondolas ride on its glassy bosom

AT POULSBO BAY. On a sunny slope slowly rising from the merry sheet of golden water, stands the town of Poulsbo, in Kitsap county, about twenty-five miles northwest from Seattle. A smiling tongue of the Sound is rippling into the land, and here and there a green nose is pushing itself into the brine as trying to contest with the elements of the deep. Sweet melodies spring from the laughing ripples, and sail on the wings of lazy zephyrs to cheer the ears of the village. This musical bay is a natu