Spooked in Seattle. Ross Allison
your children’s children think themselves alone in the field, the store, the shop, upon the highway, or in the silence of the pathless woods, they will not be alone. In all the earth there is no place dedicated to solitude. At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled them and still love this beautiful land. The White Man will never be alone. Let him be just and deal kindly with my people, for the dead are not altogether powerless.”
These are truly powerful words of a poet and a very wise man. This was only a portion of his moving speech that was to open the minds of the white man. But, unfortunately, most white people didn’t speak his language, and it wasn’t until some years later that Dr. Henry A. Smith translated it into an English version.
Clarence B. Bagley reprinted a slightly altered version in his 1929 History of King County Washington. Bagley appended a new close without explanation or attribution:
“Dead—I say? There is no death. Only a change of worlds.”
Whether or not Chief Seattle would have said this, they are words truly inspired by a great man, whose spirit will live forever in the heart of Seattle.
2. PIONEER SQUARE
Pioneer Square is the birthplace of Seattle and may be thought of as the city’s first neighborhood. With its tumultuous history, this area may also be one of Seattle’s most haunted. Conflict between Native Americans and the pioneer settlers, the Great Seattle Fire, and even more recent tragedies have left their mark on this neighborhood. From untimely deaths to brutal murders and hangings of innocent people, Pioneer Square has its share of pain.
Along with the neighborhood’s rich history, this area holds a number of attractions. As the home of Seattle’s nightlife, Pioneer Square has a vast collection of art galleries, shops, bars, and restaurants. It is also one of the most architecturally diverse neighborhoods in the United States. Some of the must-sees of the area include the Pioneer Square Totem Pole, the “Sinking Ship” parking garage, and the statue of Chief Seattle.
Map Markers
6 OK Hotel
7 Star Bar
15 Frye’s Hotel
20 Megan Mary Olander Florists
21 The Central
22 J & M Café
24 Dutch Ned
26 88 Keys
GREAT SEATTLE FIRE
On June 6, 1889, John E. Back, a worker in Victor Clairmont’s cabinetmaking shop near the old Front Street and Madison Avenue, was making glue in a hot glue pot. The glue boiled over starting a fire on the shop’s wooden floor. The fire soon spread to the wood chips and turpentine covering the floor. But, the small shop fire combined with many other elements to create the tragedy of the Great Seattle Fire.
The tragedy of the great fire might not have happened if…
If the neighboring building wasn’t a supply shop storing ammo, gun powder, and dynamite.
If the fire hadn’t spread to a warehouse that had received fifty barrels of whiskey just an hour earlier.
If the fire chief had not been out of town at a firefighters’ convention in San Francisco.
If the fire trucks had not gotten stuck in the mud flats.
If a poor water-pump system hadn’t failed to maintain water pressure for the firefighters’ hoses.
If (unbelievably true) the city officials hadn’t asked young men to use dynamite to blow up the buildings surrounding the fire. Granted, they hoped to contain the fire by removing some of these structures, but these young men were blowing up buildings already on fire, spreading burning rubble.
GREAT SEATTLE FIRE
All of these possibilities contributed to the city’s destruction as Seattle burned to the ground in just twelve hours! John Back snuck out of Seattle the next day unaware the hero he had become. This was a chance for the pioneers to fix all their city problems. So the citizens were back at work rebuilding their city the very next day. The fire leveled the city, giving the settlers a chance to rebuild and correct many of the mistakes they had made when building the first city. They could