Chapter III: David Thomas Denny (1)

David Thomas Denny was the first of the name to set foot upon the shores of Puget Sound. Born in Putnam County, Indiana, March 17th, 1832, he was nineteen years of age when he crossed the plains with his father's company in 1851. He is a descendant of an ancient family, English and Scotch, who moved to Ireland and thence to America, settling in Berk's County, Pa. His father was John Denny, a notable man in his time, a soldier of 1812, and a volunteer under William Henry Harrison.

The long, rough and toilsome journey across the plains was a schooling for the subsequent trials of pioneer life. Young as he was, he stood in the very forefront, the outmost skirmish line of his advancing detachment of the great army moving West. The anxious watch, the roughest toil, the reconnaissance fell to his lot. He drove a four-horse team, stood guard at night, alternately sleeping on the ground, under the wagon, hunted for game to aid in their sustenance, and, briefly, served his company in many ways with the energy and faithfulness which characterized his subsequent career.

With his party he reached Portland in August, 1851; from thence, with J. N. Low, he made his way to Olympia on Puget Sound, where he arrived footsore and weary, they having traveled on foot the Hudson Bay Company's trail from the Columbia River. From Olympia, with Low, Lee Terry, Captain Fay and others, he journeyed in an open boat to Duwampsh Head, which has suffered many changes of name, where they camped, sleeping under the boughs of a great cedar tree the first night, September 25th, 1851.

The next day Denny, Terry and Low made use of the skill and knowledge of the native inhabitants by hiring two young Indians to take them up the Duwampsh River in their canoe. He was left to spend the following night with the two Indians, as his companions had wandered so far away that they could not return, but remained at an Indian camp farther up the river. On the 28th they were reunited and returned to their first camp, from which they removed the same day to Alki Point.

A cabin was commenced and after a time, Low and Terry returned to Portland, leaving David Thomas Denny, nineteen years of age, the only white person on Elliott Bay. There were then swarms of Indians on the Sound.

For three weeks he held this outpost of civilization, a part of the time being far from well. So impressed was he with the defenselessness of the situation that he expressed himself as "sorry" when his friends landed from the schooner "Exact" at Alki Point on the 13th of November, 1851. No doubt realizing that an irretrievable step had been taken, he tried to reassure them by explaining that "the cabin was unfinished and that they would not be comfortable." Many incidents of his early experience are recorded in this volume elsewhere.

He was married on the 23rd of January, 1853, to Miss Louisa Boren, one of the most intelligent, courageous and devoted of pioneer women. They were the first white couple married in Seattle. He was an explorer of the eastern side of Elliott Bay, but was detained at home in the cabin by lameness occasioned by a cut on his foot, when A. A. Denny, W. N. Bell and C. D. Boren took their claims, so had fourth choice.

For this reason his claim awaited the growth of the town of Seattle many years, but finally became very valuable.

It was early discovered by the settlers that he was a conscientious man; so well established was this fact that he was known by the sobriquet of "Honest Dave."

Like all the other pioneers, he turned his hand to any useful thing that was available, cutting and hewing timber for export, clearing a farm, hauling wood, tending cattle, anything honorable; being an advocate of total abstinence and prohibition, _he never kept a saloon_.

He has done all in his power to discountenance the sale and use of intoxicants, the baleful effects of which were manifest among both whites and Indians.

Every movement in the early days seems to have been fraught with danger. D. T. Denny traveled in a canoe with two Indians from the Seattle settlement in July, 1852, to Bush's Prairie, back of Olympia, to purchase cattle for A. A. Denny, carrying two hundred dollars in gold for that purpose. He risked his life in so doing, as he afterward learned that the Indians thought of killing him and taking the money, but for some unknown reason decided not to do the deed.

He was a volunteer during the Indian war of 1855-6, in Company C, and with his company was not far distant when Lieut. Slaughter was killed, with several others. Those who survived the attack were rescued by this company.

On the morning of the battle of Seattle, he was standing guard near Fort Decatur; the most thrilling moment of the day to him was probably that in which he helped his wife and child into the fort as they fled from the Indians.

Although obliged to fight the Indians in self-defense in their warlike moods, yet he was ever their true friend and esteemed by them as such. He learned to speak the native tongue fluently, in such manner as to be able to converse with all the neighboring tribes, and unnumbered times, through years of disappointment, sorrow and trouble, they sought his advice and sympathy.

For a quarter of a century the hand-to-hand struggle went on by the pioneer and his family, to conquer the wilds, win a subsistence and obtain education.

By thrift and enterprise they attained independence, and as they went along helped to lay the foundations of many institutions and enterprises of which the commonwealth is now justly proud.

David Thomas Denny possessed the gifts and abilities of a typical pioneer; a good shot, his trusty rifle provided welcome articles of food; he could make, mend and invent useful and necessary things for pioneer work; it was a day, in fact, when "Adam delved" and "Eve" did likewise, and no man was too fine a "gentleman" to do any sort of work that was required.

Having the confidence of the community, he was called upon to fill many positions of trust; he was a member of the first Board of Trustees of Seattle, Treasurer of King County, Regent of the Territorial University, Probate Judge, School Director, etc., etc.

Although a Republican and an abolitionist, he did not consider every Democrat a traitor, and thereby incurred the enmity of some. Party feeling ran high.

At that time (during the Rebellion) there stood on Pioneer Place in Seattle a very tall flagstaff. Upon the death of a prominent Democrat it was proposed to half-mast the flag on this staff, but during the night the halyards were cut, it was supposed by a woman, at the instigation of her husband and others, but the friends of the deceased hired "Billie" Fife, a well-known cartoonist and painter, to climb to the top and rig a new rope, a fine sailor feat, for which he received twenty dollars.

The first organizer of Good Templar Lodges was entertained at Mr. Denny's house, and he, with several of the family, became charter members of the first organization on October 4th, 1866. He was the first chaplain of the first lodge of I. O. G. T. organized in Seattle.

In after years the subject of this sketch became prominent in the Prohibition movement; it was suggested to him at one time that he permit his name to be used as Prohibition candidate for Governor of the State of Washington, but the suggestion was never carried out. He would have considered it an honor to be defeated in a good cause.

He also became a warm advocate of equal suffrage, and at both New York and Omaha M. E. general conferences he heartily favored the admission of women lay delegates, and much regretted the adverse decision by those in authority.

The old pioneers were and are generally broad, liberal and progressive in their ideas and principles; they found room and opportunity to think and act with more freedom than in the older centers of civilization, consequently along every line they are in the forefront of modern thought.

For its commercial development, Seattle owes much to David Thomas Denny, and others like him, in perhaps a lesser degree. In the days of small beginnings, he recognized the possibilities of development in the little town so fortunately located. His hard-earned wealth, energy and talents have been freely given to make the city of the present as well as that which it will be.

D. T. Denny made a valuable gift to the city of Seattle in a plot of land in the heart of the best residence portion of the city. Many years ago it was used as a cemetery, but was afterward vacated and is now a park. He landed on the site of Seattle with twenty-five cents in his pocket. His acquirement of wealth after years of honest work was estimated at three million.

Not only his property, money, thought and energy have gone into the building up of Seattle, but hundreds of people, newly arrived, have occupied his time in asking information and advice in regard to their settling in the West.

He was president of the first street railway company of Seattle, and afterward spent thousands of dollars on a large portion of the system of cable and electric roads of which the citizens of Seattle are wont to boast, unknowing, careless or forgetting that what is their daily convenience impoverished those who built, equipped and operated them. He and his company owned and operated for a time the Consolidated Electric road to North Seattle, Cedar Street and Green Lake; the cable road to Queen Anne Hill, and built and equipped the "Third Street and Suburban" electric road to the University and Ravenna Park.

The building and furnishing of a large sawmill with the most approved modern machinery, the establishing of an electric light plant, furnishing a water supply to a part of the city, and in many other enterprises he was actively engaged.

For many years he paid into the public treasury thousands of dollars for taxes on his unimproved, unproductive real estate, a considerable portion of which was unjustly required and exacted, as it was impossible to have sold the property at its assessed valuation. As one old settler said, he paid "robber taxes."

When, in the great financial panic that swept over the country in 1893, he obtained a loan of the city treasurer and mortgaged to secure it real estate worth at least three times the sum borrowed, the mob cried out against him and sent out his name as one who had robbed the city, forsooth!

This was not the only occasion when the canaille expressed their disapproval.

Previous to, and during the anti-Chinese riot in Seattle, which occurred on Sunday, February 7th, 1886, he received a considerable amount of offensive attention. In the dark district of Seattle, there gathered one day a forerunner of the greater mob which created so much disturbance, howling that they would burn him out. "We'll burn his barn," they yelled, their provocation being that he employed Chinese house servants and rented ground to Mongolian gardeners. The writer remembers that it was a fine garden, in an excellent state of cultivation. No doubt many of the agitators themselves had partaken of the products thereof many times, it being one of the chief sources of supply of the city.

The threats were so loud and bitter against the friends of the Chinese that it was felt necessary to post a guard at his residence. The eldest son was in Oregon, attending the law school of the University; the next one, D. Thos. Denny, Jr., not yet of age, served in the militia during the riot; the third and youngest remained at home ready to help defend the same. The outlook was dark, but after some serious remarks concerning the condition of things, Mr. Denny went up stairs and brought down his Winchester rifle, stood it in a near corner and calmly resumed his reading. As he had dealt with savages before, he stood his ground. At a notorious trial of white men for unprovoked murder of Chinese, it was brought out that "Mr. David Denny, he 'fliend' (friend) of Chinese, Injun and Nigger."

During the time that his great business called for the employment of a large force of men, he was uniformly kind to them, paying the highest market price for their labor. Some were faithful and honest, some were not; instead of its being a case of "greedy millionaire," it was a case of just the opposite thing, as it was well known that he was robbed time and again by dishonest employes.

When urged to close down his mill, as it was running behind, he said "I can't do it, it will throw a hundred men out of employment and their families will suffer." So he borrowed money, paying a ruinous rate of interest, and kept on, hoping that business would improve; it did not and the mill finally went under. A good many employes who received the highest wages for the shortest hours, struck for more, and others were full of rage when the end came and there were only a few dollars due on their wages.

Neither was he a "heartless landlord," the heartlessness was on the other side, as numbers of persons sneaked off without paying their rent, and many built houses, the lumber in which was never paid for.

According to their code it was not _stealing_ to rob a person supposed to be wealthy.

The common remark was, "Old Denny can stand it, he's got lots of money."

The anarchist-communistic element displayed their strength and venom in many ways in those days. They heaped abuse on those, who unfortunately for themselves, employed men, and bit the hand that fed them.

Their cry was "Death to Capitalists!" They declared their intention at one time of hanging the leading business men of Seattle, breaking the vaults of the bank open, burning the records and dividing lands and money among themselves. But the reign of martial law at the culmination of their heroic efforts in the Anti-Chinese riot, brought them to their senses, the history of which period may be told in another chapter.

From early youth, David Thomas Denny was a faithful member of the M. E. Church, serving often in official capacity and rendering valuable assistance, with voice, hand and pocketbook. Twice he was sent as lay delegate to the General Conference, a notable body of representative men, of which he was a member in 1888 and again in 1892.

The conference of 1888 met in New York City and held its sessions at the Metropolitan Opera House. His family accompanied him, crossing the continent by the Canadian Pacific R. R. by way of Montreal to New York.

In the latter place, they met their first great sorrow, in the death, after a brief illness, of the beloved youngest daughter, the return and her burial in her native land by the sundown seas. Soon followed other days of sadness and trial; in less than a year, the second daughter, born in Fort Decatur, passed away, and others of the family, hovered on the brink of the grave, but happily were restored.

Loss of fortune followed loss of friends as time went on, but these storms passed and calm returned. He went steadfastly on, confident of the rest that awaits the people of God.

At the age of sixty-seven he was wide awake, alert and capable of enduring hardships, no doubt partly owing to a temperate life. In late years he interested himself in mining and was hopeful of his own and his friends' future, and that of the state he helped to found.

While sojourning in the Cascade Mountains in 1891, David T. Denny wrote the following:

"Ptarmigan Park: On Sept. 25th, 1851, just forty years ago,
Leander Terry, an older brother of C. C. Terry, John N. Low and
I, landed on what has since been known as Freeport Point, now
West Seattle. We found Chief Sealth with his tribe stopping on
the beach and fishing for salmon--a quiet, dignified man was
Sealth.

"We camped on the Point and slept under a large cedar tree, and
the next morning hired a couple of young Indians to take us up
the Duwampsh River; stayed one night at the place which was
afterward taken for a claim by E. B. Maple, then returned and
camped one night at our former place on the Point; then on the
morning of the 28th of September went around to Alki Point and
put down the foundation of the first cabin started in what is now
King County. Looking out over Elliott Bay at that time the site
where Seattle now stands, was an unbroken forest with no mark
made by the hand of man except a little log fort made by the
Indians, standing near the corner of Commercial and Mill Streets.

"Since that day we have had our Indian war, the Crimean war has
been fought, the war between Prussia and Austria, that between
France and Prussia, the great Southern Rebellion and many smaller
wars.

"Then to think of the wonderful achievements in the use of
electricity and the end is not yet.

"I should like to live another forty years just to see the growth
of the Sound country, if nothing else. I fully believe it is
destined to be the most densely populated and wealthiest of the
United States. One thing that leads me to this conclusion is the
evidence of a large aboriginal population which subsisted on the
natural productions of the land and water. Reasoning by
comparison, what a vast multitude can be supported by an
intelligent use of the varied resources of the country and the
world to draw from besides."

And again he wrote:

"Ptarmigan Park, Sept. 28th, 1891: Just forty years ago
yesterday, J. N. Low, Lee Terry and myself laid the foundation of
the first cabin started in what is now King County, Washington,
then Thurston County, Oregon Territory.

"Vast have been the changes since that day.

"Looking back it does not seem so very long ago and yet children
born since that have grown to maturity, married, and reared
families.

"Many of those who came to Elliott Bay are long since gone to
their last home. Lee Terry has been dead thirty-five years, Capt.
Robert Fay, twenty or more years, and J. N. Low over two years,
in fact most of the early settlers have passed away: John Buckley
and wife, Jacob Maple, S. A. Maple, Wm. N. Bell and wife, C. C.
Terry and wife, A. Terry, L. M. Collins and wife, Mrs. Kate
Butler, E. Hanford, Mother Holgate, John Holgate and many others.
If they could return to Seattle now they would not know the
place, and yet had it not been for various hindrances, the Indian
war, the opposition of the N. P. R. R. and the great fire,
Seattle would be much larger than it now is, the country would be
much more developed and we would have a larger rural population.

"However, from this time forward, I fully believe the process of
development will move steadily on, especially do I believe that
we are just commencing the development of the mineral resources
of the country. Undoubtedly there has been more prospecting for
the precious metals during 1891 than ever before all put
together.

"In the Silver Creek region there has been, probably, six hundred
claims taken and from all accounts the outlook is very favorable.
Also from Cle Elum and Swauk we have glowing accounts.

"In the Ptarmigan Park district about fifty claims have been
taken, a large amount of development work done and some very fine
samples of ore taken out."

(Signed) D. T. DENNY.

In the Seattle Daily Times of September 25th, 1901.

"JUST FIFTY YEARS AGO TODAY.

"On September 25, 1851, Mr. D. T. Denny, Now Living in This City,
Was Greeted on the Shores of Elliott Bay by Chief Seattle.

"Fifty years ago today, the first white settlers set foot in King
County.

"Fifty years ago today, a little band of pioneers rounded Alki
Point and grounded their boat at West Seattle. Chief Seattle
stalked majestically down the beach and greeted them in his
characteristic way. During the ensuing week they were guests of
a Western sachem, the king of Puget Sound waters, and never were
white men more royally entertained.

"At that time Chief Seattle was at the height of his popularity.
With a band of five hundred braves behind him, he stood in a
position to command the respect of all wandering tribes and of
the first few white men, whose heart-hungering and restlessness
had driven them from the civilization of the East, across the
plains of the Middle West, to the shores of the Pacific.

"As Mr. Denny is essentially the premier of this country, it
would not be out of order to give a glimpse of his early history.
He is the true type of pioneer. Although he is somewhat bent with
age, and his hair is white with the snows of many winters,
nevertheless, he still shows signs of that ruggedness that was
with him in the early Western days of his youth. Not only is he a
pioneer, but he came from a family of pioneers. Years and years
ago his ancestors crossed the Atlantic and landed on the Atlantic
coast. Not satisfied with the prevailing conditions there, they
began to push westward, settling in what is now Pennsylvania. As
the country became opened up and settled, this Denny family of
hardy pioneers again turned their faces to the westward sun, and
this time Indiana made them a home, and still later Illinois."

THE START WESTWARD.

It was in the latter state that Mr. D. T. Denny and his brother first began to hear stories of the Willamette valley. Wonderful tales were being carried across the plains of the fertility of the land around the Columbia River and the spirit of restlessness that had been characteristic of their ancestors began to tell upon them, and after reading all they could find of this practically unknown wilderness, they bade farewell to their Illinois friends, and started off across the plains.

The start was made on the 10th day of April, 1851, from Knox County, Illinois. D. T. Denny was accompanied by his older brother A. A. Denny, and family. They drove two four-horse teams, and a two-horse wagon, and ten days after the start had been made they crossed the Missouri River. The fourth of July, 1851, found them at Fort Hall on Snake River, Montana, an old Hudson Bay trading station. On the 11th day of August, they reached The Dalles, Oregon, and there, after a brief consultation, they decided to separate.

Mr. A. A. Denny here shipped the wagons and his family down the river on some small vessel they were fortunate enough to find there, while Mr. D. T. Denny took the horses and pushed over the Cascade Mountains. He followed what was then known as the old Barlow road and reached Portland on the 17th day of August.

They decided to stay in Portland for a few days, until they could learn more about the country than they then knew, and it was in that city that the subject of this sketch worked his first day for money. He helped Thomas Carter unload a brig that had reached port from Boston, receiving the sum of three dollars for his labors, and it was the "biggest three dollars he ever earned in his life," so he said.

While at Portland they began to hear stories of Puget Sound, and after a brief consultation, the Denny brothers and Mr. John N. Low, who had also made the journey across the plains, decided to investigate the country that now lies around the Queen City of the West.

OFF FOR ELLIOTT BAY.

As A. A. Denny had his family to look after, it was decided that Mr. Low and D. T. Denny would make the trip, and as a consequence, on the 10th day of September they ferried Low's stock across the river to what was then Fort Vancouver. From there they followed the Hudson Bay trail to the Cowlitz River, and up the Cowlitz to Ford's Prairie. Leaving their stock there for a short time, they pushed on to Olympia, now the capital of the state.

When they reached Olympia they found Capt. R. C. Fay and George M. Martin on the point of leaving down Sound to fish for salmon, and Messrs. Low, Denny and Terry arranged to come as far as the Duwamish River with them. The start was made. There was no fluttering of flags nor booming of cannon such as marked the departure of Columbus when he left for a new country, and in fact this little band of men, in an open boat, little dreamed that they would ultimately land within a stone's throw of what was destined to become one of the greatest cities in the West.

Fifty years ago today they camped with Chief Seattle on the promontory across the bay. They slept that night under the protecting branches of a cedar tree, and on the morning of the 26th they hired two of Seattle's braves to paddle them up the river in a dugout canoe. They spent that day in looking over the river bottoms, where are now situated the towns of Maple Prairie and Van Asselt. There were no settlements there then, and nothing but giant pines and firs greeted their gaze for miles. It was a wonderful sight to these hardy Eastern men, and as they wished to know something more of the country, Messrs. Low and Terry decided to leave the canoe and depart on a short tour of exploration. One, two and three hours passed and they failed to put in an appearance. In vain did Mr. Denny fire his gun, and yell himself hoarse, but he was compelled to spend the night in the wilderness with the two Indians.

DECIDED TO LOCATE.

The next day, however, or to be explicit, on the 27th of September, he was gratified at the appearance of his friends on the river bank. They had become lost the night before, and falling in with a band of Indians, had spent the night with them. Having seen enough of the country to become convinced that it was the place for them, they returned to what is now West Seattle for the night. After the sun had disappeared behind the Olympics, they heard a scow passing the point, which afterwards they found contained L. M. Collins and family, who had pushed on up the river and settled on the banks of the Duwamish.

On the morning of the 28th they decided to take up claims back of Alki point, and on that day started to lay the foundation of the first cabin in King county. Having decided to settle on Elliott bay, Mr. Low determined to return to Portland for his family, whereupon Mr. Denny wrote the following letter to his brother and sent it with him:

"We have examined the valley of the Duwamish river and find it a
fine country. There is plenty of room for one thousand settlers.
Come on at once."

By the time Mr. Low had reached Portland, William Bell and C. D. Boren had also become interested in the Puget Sound district, and therefore Messrs. Low, Denny, Bell and Boren, with their families, hired a schooner to take them down the Columbia, up on the outside, in through the Strait, and up the Sound to Alki, reaching the latter point on the 13th of November, 1851.

In speaking of those early pioneer days, Mr. Denny said:

"We built up quite a settlement over on Alki, and the Indians of
course came and settled around us. No, we were not molested to
any great extent. I remember that on one night, our women folks
missed a lot of clothing they had hung out to dry, and I at once
went to their big chief and told him what had happened. In a very
short time not only were the missing articles returned to us, but
a lot that we didn't know were gone."

WHISKY CAUSED TROUBLE.

"In those early days, in all my experience with Indians, I have
always found them peaceable enough as long as they left whisky
alone. Of course we had trouble with them, but it was always due
to the introduction of the white man's firewater, which has been
more than a curse to the red man.

"When we reached here, the Indians were more advanced than one
would have naturally supposed. We were able to buy berries, fish
and game of them, and potatoes also. Great fine tubers they were
too, much better than any we had ever been able to raise back in
Illinois. In fact I don't know what we would have done during
the first two winters had it not been for the Indians.

"But talk about game," he continued, a glow coming to his face as
the old scenes were brought up to him, "why, I have seen the
waters of Elliott Bay fairly black with ducks. Deer and bear were
plentiful then and this was a perfect paradise for the man with a
rod or gun. Never, I am sure, was there a country in which it was
so easy to live as it was in the Puget Sound district fifty years
ago."

"In coming across the plains, Mr. Denny, were you attacked by
Indians, or have any adventures out of the ordinary?" was asked.

"Well," said he meditatively, "we did have one little brush that
might have ended with the loss of all our lives. It was just
after leaving Fort Hall, in Montana. We had come up to what I
think was called the American Falls. While quite a distance away
we noticed the water just below the falls was black, with what we
supposed were ducks, but as we drew nearer we saw they were
Indians swimming across with one hand and holding their guns high
in the air with the other. We turned off slightly and started
down the trail at a rattling rate. We had not gone far when a big
chief stepped up on the bank. He was dressed mainly in a tall
plug hat and a gun, and he shouted, 'How do, how do, stop, stop!'
Well, we didn't, and after repeating his question he dropped
behind the sage brush and opened fire.

"My brother lay in my wagon sick with mountain fever, and that,
of course, materially reduced our fighting force. Had they
succeeded in shooting down one of our horses, it would, of
course, have been the end of us, but fortunately they did not and
we at last escaped them. No, no one was wounded, but it was the
worst scrape I ever had with the Indians, and I hope I will never
have to go through a similar experience again. It isn't pleasant
to be shot at, even by an Indian."

RECOGNIZED THE SPOT.

"In 1892," said Mr. Denny, "I went East over the Great Northern.
I was thinking of my first experience in Montana when I reached
that state, when all of a sudden we rounded a curve and passed
below the falls. I knew them in a minute, and instantly those old
scenes and trying times came back to me in a way that was
altogether too realistic for comfort. No, I have not been back
since.

"Mr. Prosch, Mr. Ward and myself," continued this old pioneer,
"had intended to take our families over to Alki today and hold a
sort of a picnic in honor of what happened fifty years ago, but
of course my sickness has prevented us from doing so. I don't
suppose we will be here to celebrate the event at the end of
another fifty years, and I should have liked to have gone today.
Instead, I suppose I shall sit here and think of what I saw and
heard at Alki Point just fifty years ago. I can live it over
again, in memories at least.

"Now, young man," concluded Mr. Denny, not unkindly, "please get
the names of those early pioneers and the dates right. A Seattle
paper published a bit of this history a few days ago, and they
got everything all mixed up. This is the story, and should be
written right, because if it isn't, the story becomes valueless.
I dislike very much to have the stories and events of those early
days misstated and misrepresented."

In 1899, Mr. Denny had the arduous task of personally superintending the improvement of the old Snoqualmie road around the shore of Lake Kichelas and on for miles through the mountains, building and repairing bridges, making corduroy, blasting out rocks, changing the route at times; after much patient effort and endurance of discomfort and hardship, he left it much improved, for which many a weary way-farer would be grateful did they but know. In value the work was far beyond the remuneration he received.

During the time he was so occupied he had a narrow escape from death by an accident, the glancing of a double-bitted ax in the hands of a too energetic workman; it struck him between the eyes, inflicting a wound which bled alarmingly, but finally was successfully closed.

The next year he camped at Lake Kichelas in the interests of a mining company, and incidentally enjoyed some fishing and prospecting. It was the last time he visited the mountains.

Gradually some maladies which had haunted him for years increased. As long as he could he exerted himself in helping his family, especially in preparing the site for a new home. He soon after became a great sufferer for several years, struggling against his infirmities, in all exhibiting great fortitude and patience.

His mind was clear to the last and he was able to converse, to read and to give sound and admirable advice and opinions.

Almost to the last day of his life he took interest in the progress of the nation and of the world, following the great movements with absorbing interest.

He expressed a desire to see his friends earnest Christians, his own willingness to leave earthly scenes and his faith in Jesus.

So he lived and thus he died, passing away on the morning of November 25th, 1903, in the seventy-second year of his age.

He was a great pioneer, a mighty force, commercial, moral and religious, in the foundation-building of the Northwest.

In a set of resolutions presented by the Pioneer Association of the State of Washington occur these words: "The record of no citizen was ever marked more distinctly by acts of probity, integrity and general worth than that of Mr. D. T. Denny, endearing him to all the people and causing them to regard him with the utmost esteem and favor."

On the morning of November 26th, 1903, there appeared in the Post-Intelligencer, the following:

"David Thomas Denny, who came to the site of Seattle in 1851, the
first of his name on Puget Sound, died at his home, a mile north
of Green Lake, at 3:36 yesterday morning. All the members of his
family, including John Denny, who arrived the day before from
Alaska, were at the bedside. Until half an hour before he passed
away Mr. Denny was conscious, and engaged those about him in
conversation."

MARRIED IN A CABIN.

The story of the early life of the Denny brothers tallies very nearly with the history of Seattle. Mr. and Mrs. David Denny were married in a cabin on the north end of A. A. Denny's claim near the foot of Lenora street, January 23, 1853. The next morning the couple moved to their own cabin--built by the husband's hands--at the foot of what is now Denny Way. The moving was accomplished in a canoe.

Though they professed a great respect for David Denny, the Indians were numerous and never very reliable. In a year or two, therefore, the family moved up nearer the sawmill and little settlement which had grown up near the foot of Cherry street. D. T. Denny had meanwhile staked out a very large portion of what is now North Seattle--a plat of three hundred and twenty acres. Later he made seven additions to the city of Seattle from this claim. In 1857 it was a wilderness of thick brush, but the pioneer moved his family to his farm on the present site of Recreation park in that year. The Indian war had occurred the winter before and the red men were quiet, having received a lesson from the blue jackets which were landed from the United States gunboat Decatur.

Three or four years later the family moved to a cottage at the corner of Second avenue and Seneca street. In the early '70s they moved to the large home at the corner of Dexter and Republican streets, where the children grew up. In 1890 the family took possession of the large house standing on Queen Anne avenue, known as the Denny home, which was occupied by the family until a few years ago, when they moved to Fremont and later to the house where Mr. Denny died, in Licton Park, some distance north of Green Lake.

Until about ten years ago David T. Denny was considered the wealthiest man in Seattle. His large property in the north end of the city had been the source of more and more revenue as the town grew. When the needs of the town became those of a big city he hastened to supply them with energy and money. His mill on the shores of Lake Union was the largest in the city, when Seattle was first known as a milling town. The establishment of an electric light plant and a water supply to a part of the city were among the enterprises which he headed.

The cable and horse car roads were consolidated into a company headed by D. T. Denny more than a decade ago. In the effort to supply the company with the necessary funds Mr. Denny attempted to convert much of his property into cash. At that time an estimate of his resources was made by a close personal friend, who yesterday said that the amount was considerably over three million dollars, which included his valuable stock in the traction companies. In the hard times of '93 Mr. Denny was unable to realize the apparent value of his property, and a considerable reduction of his fortune was a result. Since then he has been to a great extent engaged in mining in the Cascade mountains, and for the past three years has been closely confined to his home by a serious illness.

Among the gifts of D. T. Denny to the city of Seattle is Denny Park. Denny Way, the Denny school and other public places in Seattle bear his name. D. T. Denny was a liberal Republican always. He was at one time a member of the board of regents of the territorial university, the first treasurer of King county, probate judge for two years and for twelve years a school director of District No. 1, comprising the city of Seattle.

Several of those who were associated with David T. Denny during the time when he was in active business and a strong factor in local affairs have offered estimates of his character and of the part he took in the founding and building of the city. Said Col. William T. Prosser:

"It is sad to think that David T. Denny will no more be seen upon
the streets of the city he assisted in founding more than fifty
years ago. During all that time he was closely identified with
its varying periods of danger, delayed hopes and bitter
disappointments, as well as those of marvelous growth, activity
and prosperity. The changing features of the city were reflected
in his own personal history. The waves of prosperity and
adversity both swept over him, yet throughout his entire career
he always maintained his integrity and through it all he bore
himself as an energetic and patriotic citizen and as a Christian
gentleman."

Judge Thomas Burke:

"D. T. Denny had great faith in Seattle, and his salient
characteristic was his readiness in pushing forward its welfare.
I remember him having an irreproachable character--honest, just
in all his dealings and strong in his spirit. In illustration of
his strong feeling on the temperance question I remember that he
embodied a clause in the early deeds of the property which he
sold to the effect that no intoxicating liquors were to be sold
upon the premises. Yes, he was a good citizen."

Charles A. Prosch:

"Although Mr. Denny's later years were clouded by financial
troubles, reverses did not soil his spirit nor change his
integrity. He was progressive to the last and one of the most
upright men I know."

D. B. Ward:

"I first met David Denny in 1859 and I have known him more or
less intimately ever since. I know him to have possessed strict
integrity, unswerving purpose and cordial hospitality. My first
dinner in Seattle was eaten at his home--where a baked salmon
fresh from the Sound was an oddity to me. His financial troubles
some years ago grew out of his undaunted public spirit. He was
president of the first consolidated street car system here, and
in his efforts to support it most of his property was
confiscated. I knew him for a strong, able man."

Judge Orange Jacobs:

"Mr. Denny was a quiet man, but he carried the stamp of truth. He
was extremely generous, and as I remember, he possessed a fine
mind. In his death I feel a personal, poignant grief."

Rev. W. S. Harrington:

"D. T. Denny was a man of much more than average ability. He
thought much and deeply on all questions which affected the
welfare of man. He was retiring and his strength was known to
few. But his integrity was thorough and transparent and his
purpose inflexible. Even though he suffered, his spirit was never
bitter toward his fellows, and his benefactions were numerous.
Above all, he was a Christian and believed in a religion which he
sought to live, not to exhibit. His long illness was borne with a
patience and a sweetness which commanded my deep respect and
admiration."

Samuel L. Crawford:

"A man with the courage to fight for his convictions of right and
with a marvelous capacity for honest work--such is the splendid
heritage David T. Denny has left to his sorrowing family. When
but 19 years of age he walked from the Columbia river to Puget
Sound, driving a small band of stock ahead of him through the
brush.

"No sooner had his party settled and the log cabin been completed
than David commenced looking for more work, and, like all others
who seek diligently, he was successful, for early in December of
that year the brig Leonesa, Capt. Daniel S. Howard, stopped at
Alki Point, seeking a cargo of piling for San Francisco. David T.
Denny, William N. Bell, C. D. Boren, C. C. Terry, J. N. Low, A.
A. Denny and Lee Terry took the contract of cutting the piling
and loading the vessel, which they accomplished in about two
weeks, a remarkably short time, when the weather and the lack of
teams and other facilities are taken into consideration.

"Other vessels came for cargo and Mr. Denny became an expert
woodsman, helping to supply them with piling from the shores. In
1852 Mr. Denny, in company with his brother Arthur and some
others, came over to Elliott Bay and laid the foundation of
Seattle, the great city of the future. Mr. Denny, being a
bachelor, took the most northerly claim, adjoining that of W. N.
Bell, and built a cabin near the shore, at the foot of what is
now Denny Way. The Indians being troublesome, he moved into a
small house beside that of his brother on the site of the present
Stevens Hotel.

"In the meantime he married a sister of C. D. Boren, and a small
family commenced to spring up around him, thus requiring larger
quarters. In 1871 Mr. Denny built a large frame house on the
southwest shore of Lake Union, on a beautiful knoll. He cleared
up a large portion of his claim, and for many years engaged in
farming and stock-raising. He afterward built a palatial home on
his property at the foot of Queen Anne Hill, midway between Lake
Union and the Sound, but this he occupied only a short time. In
1852, in company with his brother Arthur, Mr. Denny discovered
Salmon Bay.

"Mr. Denny was a just man and always dealt fairly with the
Indians. For this reason the Indians learned to love and respect
him, and for many years they have gone to him to settle their
disputes and help them out of their difficulties with the whites
and among themselves.

"As Seattle grew, David Denny platted much of his claim and sold
it off in town lots. He built the Western mill at the south end
of Lake Union and engaged extensively in the building and
promotion of street railways. He had too many irons in the fire,
and when the panic came in 1892-3 it crippled him financially,
but he gave up his property, the accumulation of a lifetime of
struggle and work, to satisfy his creditors, and went manfully to
work in the mountains of Washington to regain his lost fortune.
His heroic efforts were rapidly being crowned with success, as he
is known to have secured a number of mines of great promise, on
which he has done a large amount of development work during the
past few years.

"In the death of David T. Denny, Seattle loses an upright,
generous worker, who has always contributed of his brain, brawn
and cash for the upbuilding of the city of which he was one of
the most important founders."

DEXTER HORTON'S TRIBUTE.

"'I have known Mr. Denny for fifty years. A mighty tree has
fallen. He was one of the best men, of highest character and
principle, this city ever claimed as a citizen. That is enough.'

"By Father F. X. Prefontaine, of the Church of Our Lady of Good
Help: 'I have known Mr. Denny about thirty-six or thirty-seven
years. I always liked him, though I was more intimately
acquainted with his brother, Hon. A. A. Denny, and his venerable
father, John Denny. His father in his time impressed me as a fine
gentleman, a great American. He was a man who was always called
upon at public meetings for a speech and he was a deeply earnest
man, so much so that tears often showed in his eyes while he was
addressing the people.'

"Hon. Boyd J. Tallman, judge of the Superior Court: 'I have only
known Mr. Denny since 1889, and I always entertained the highest
regard for him. He was a man of firm conviction and principle and
was always ready to uphold them. Though coming here to help found
the town, he was always ready to advocate and stand for the
principle of prohibition and temperance on all occasions. While
there were many who could not agree with him in these things,
every manly man felt bound to accord to Mr. Denny honesty of
purpose and respect for the sincerity of his opinion. I believe
that in his death a good man has gone and this community has
suffered a great loss.'"

C. B. BAGLEY TALKS.

"Clarence B. Bagley, who as a boy and man has known Mr. Denny for
almost the full number of years the latter lived at Seattle, was
visibly overcome at the news of his death. Mr. Bagley would
gladly have submitted a more extended estimate than he did of Mr.
Denny's life and character, but he was just hurrying into court
to take his place as a juryman.

"'Mr. Denny was one of the best men Seattle ever had. He was a
liberal man, ever ready to embark his means in enterprises
calculated to upbuild and aid in the progress of Seattle. He was
a man of strong convictions, strong almost to obstinacy in
upholding and maintaining cherished principles he fully believed.

"'Mr. Denny suffered reverses through his willingness to
establish enterprises for the good of the whole city. He built
the Western Mill at Lake Union when the location was away in the
woods, and eventually lost a great deal of money in it during the
duller periods of the city's life. He also lost a great deal of
money in giving this city a modern street railway system. His
character as an honorable man and Christian always stood out
boldly, his integrity of purpose never questioned.'

"Lawrence J. Colman, son of J. M. Colman, the pioneer, said: 'Our
family has known Mr. Denny for thirty-one years, ever since
coming to Seattle. We regarded him as an absolutely upright,
conscientious and Christian man, notwithstanding the reverses
that came to him, in whom our confidence was supreme, and one who
did not require his character to be upheld, for it shone brightly
at all times by its own lustre.'"

SAMUEL COOMBS TALKS.

"S. F. Coombs, the well-known pioneer, had known Mr. Denny since
1859, about forty-five years. 'It was to Mr. Denny,' said Mr.
Coombs, 'that the Indians who lived here and knew him always went
for advice and comfort and to have their disputes settled. Their
high estimate of the man was shown in many ways, where the whites
were under consideration. Mr. Denny was a man whom I always
admired and greatly respected. He afforded me much information of
the resident Indians here and around Salmon Bay, as he was
intimately acquainted with them all.

"'At one time Mr. Denny was reckoned as Seattle's wealthiest
citizen. When acting as deputy assessor for Andrew Chilberg, the
city lying north of Mill Street, now Yesler Way, was my district
to assess. Denny's holdings, D. T. Denny's plats, had the year
previous been assessed by the acre. The law was explicit, and to
have made up the assessment by the acre would have been illegal.
Mr. Denny's assessed value the year before was fifty thousand
dollars. The best I could do was to make the assessment by the
lot and block. For the year I assessed two hundred and fifty
thousand. Recourse was had to the county commissioners, but the
assessment remained about the same. Just before his purchase of
the Seattle street car system he was the wealthiest man in King
County, worth more than five hundred thousand dollars.

"'Of Mr. Denny it may be said that if others had applied the
Golden Rule as he did, he would have been living in his old home
in great comfort in this city today.'"

LIFE OF DAVID DENNY.

"Fifty-two years and two months ago David Thomas Denny came to
Seattle, to the spot where Seattle now stands enthroned upon her
seven hills. Mr. Denny, the last but one of the little band of
pioneers--some half dozen men first to make this spot their
home--has been gathered to his fathers; 'has wrapped the mantle
of his shroud about him and laid down to pleasant dreams.' Gone
is a man and citizen who perhaps loved Seattle best of all those
who ever made Seattle their home. This is attested by the fact
that from the time that Mr. Denny first came to Elliott Bay it
has been his constant home. Never but once or twice during that
long period of time did he go far away, and then for but a very
short time. Once he went as far away as New York--and that proved
a sad trip--and once, in recent years, to California. Both trips
were comparatively brief, and he who first conquered the primeval
forest that crowned the hills around returned home full of
intense longing to get back and full of love for the old home.

"Mr. Denny lived a rugged, honorable, upright life--the life of a
patriarch. He bore patiently a long period of intense suffering
manfully and without murmur, and when the end approached he
calmly awaited the summons and died as if falling away into a
quiet sleep. So he lived, so he died.