A great impetus was given to the systematic development of the various branches of the stock business by the entrance of certain firms of dealers during the decade of the '70s. In Colonel Gilbert's history of Walla Walla and other counties he presents valuable data secured from the foremost of these dealers, as also one of the foremost of all the citizens of Walla Walla, William K. Kirkman. After having been engaged in Idaho and California in the cattle business, in the course of which time he operated more or less in and out of Walla Walla, Mr. Kirkman took up his permanent residence here in 1871. He formed a partnership with John Dooley and from that time until the lamented death of the two members of the firm they were one of the great forces in the organization of the industry of marketing both livestock and dressed meat. From the valuable data secured by Colonel Gilbert from Mr. Kirkman and from Mr. M. Ryan, Jr., another prominent dealer, we gather the estimate of 259,500 cattle driven out of the Inland Empire during the period from 1875 to 1880. Prices were variable, ranging from $9 to $25 per head, usually $10. W. H. Kirkman, son of W. K., relates this interesting incident. He was, as a boy, riding with his father on the range, when they encountered a number of extra fine fat cattle, and the father, looking over them with delight said, "Look there, my boy, every one of them is a $20 gold piece!" It might be added that those same cattle now would be worth $100 apiece. It is surprising to see from the exhibit given in the figures the large number of dealers operating in the country at that time. There were no less than forty-five firms or individuals engaged in shipping, mainly to Eastern markets, though a considerable amount went to California, Portland, or Puget Sound.
It is of interest to see the enumeration by the assessor of the quantity of stock given at two different dates following 1863, for which the figures have already been given. In 1870 the assessment rolls show the following: Horses, 5,787; mules, 1,727; cattle, 14,114; sheep, 8,767; hogs, 5,067. In 1875 a great change occurred of which we shall speak at length, that is the division of the county, by which Walla Walla County was reduced to its present limits. We may, therefore, take that year as the proper one for final figures on the old county. The year 1875, according to the assessor, had the following livestock population: Horses, 8,862; mules, 401; cattle, 17,756 (there were 22,960 the previous year); sheep, 32,986; hogs, 8,150.
We find various local items strewn through the files of the Statesman dealing with stock which are worthy of preservation. In issue of January 10, 1862, mention is made of a steer handled by Lazarus and brother, which weighed, dressed, 1,700 pounds.
A few weeks later it is stated that a cow and calf were sold for $100. That will be remembered as the winter of the extreme cold weather. There are numerous items speaking of suffering and loss of stock. It was well nigh exterminated in some quarters. But it did not take long to change appearances, at least in the cattle that lived through the winter, for an item in the number of June 14 speaks of the fattest cattle and best beef that the editor had ever seen, and of the fact that large herds of cattle were going to the mining regions of Salmon River and South Fork. It is estimated in the issue of October 25, 1862, that 40,000 head of cattle had been brought into the East-of-the-mountain country during the year.
PIONEER RACE TRACK
It appears that during the summer of 1862 a race track was laid out by Mr. Porter at a point on the Wallula Road three miles west of town, known as the Pioneer Race Course. A race is reported in the Statesman of September 27, in which a roan mare won a purse of $100 from a cream horse. That perhaps may be considered the beginning of the Walla Walla Fair.
The sheep business seems to have moved on apace during those early years, for in the paper of May 23, 1803, we learn that A. Frank & Co. had just shipped 10,000 pounds of wool to Portland, and expected to ship 7,000 more in a short time. Among the most prominent sheep men whose operations have covered a field in many directions from Walla Walla is Nathaniel Webb, one of the honored pioneers. In recent times, operating especially in the Snake River region, leading sheep raisers have been Davin Brothers, Adrian Magallon, and Leon Jaussaud, all Frenchmen.
THE FARMING INDUSTRY
From stock we turn to farming as the next great fundamental industry to take shape. We have already noted the fact that there was little comprehension of the great upland region, rolling prairies and swelling hills, as adapted to raising grain. Yet we know that Doctor Whitman had demonstrated the practicability of producing all standard crops during the ten years of his residence at Waiilatpu. Joseph Drayton of the Wilkes Expedition speaks with surprise of his observations there in 1841, seeing "wheat in the field seven feet high and nearly ripe, and corn nine feet in the tassel." He also saw vegetables and melons in great variety. The Hudson's Bay people had fine gardens near Wallula, at the time of the arrival of the Whitmans in 1836, and later on at the Touchet and on Hudson's Bay, as it is now known, southeast of Walla Walla. They had abundant provision also for dairy and poultry purposes.