MARTIN CAMPBELL
MRS. MARTIN CAMPBELL
Martin Campbell was reared under the parental roof and pursued his education in one of the old-time subscription schools of that early period. When but seventeen years of age he went to sea and on the vessel on which he shipped was the captain's wife and little daughter. Shortly after they sailed away the little girl fell overboard and Mr. Campbell jumped in and rescued her. He was then taken out of the forecastle and given a berth in the cabin, while the captain's wife made it her duty and pleasure to look after his education and to her he owes much of his early intellectual development. In 1856, after sailing round Cape Horn, he landed at San Francisco and made his way up through the Puget Sound country. He began work in the mills of the Fort Gamble Lumber Company and in 1858 was attacked by the mining fever, which it is said some time or other gets everyone who resides in the vicinity of a developing mining district. Accordingly he went to Victoria, British Columbia, where he fell in with some of the clerks of the Hudson's Bay Company and through them he learned of the gold dust that was being brought down from the Fraser river. The Indians had scratched the gold out with sticks and brought it to the Hudson's Bay Company. Although forbidden by Governor Douglas of British Columbia, Mr. Campbell raised a company and began prospecting for gold up the river, returning that fall. In the spring of 1860 he made an overland trip to the Similikameen country in British Columbia and while crossing the mountains lived on rice and sugar. There is scarcely an experience which comes to the prospector and the miner with which he is not familiar. He met all of the hardships and privations incident to such a life and, like many another, he did not gain the fortune for which he was striving in that way, although in later years he made for himself a most substantial place in business circles. In the fall of 1860 he crossed the border into Washington and spent the winter at Fort Colville. In the following spring he engaged in prospecting on the Pend Oreille river and later engaged in prospecting and mining on the Columbia river, thus spending his time until 1863.
In that year Mr. Campbell came to Walla Walla county and through the following two years was variously employed. In 1865 he turned his attention to farming, making a specialty of the raising of wheat, which he hauled to Wallula, selling it for from thirty-five to fifty-five cents per bushel. He was afterward a member of the firm of Coyle & Campbell, millers, and for several years, engaged successfully in the milling business in Walla Walla. In recent years he has disposed of his farm holdings but still owns various city properties, from which he derives a very gratifying annual income. His investments have been judiciously made and his sound judgment is manifest therein.
In 1869 Mr. Campbell was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Ernest, who came to Walla Walla county from Iowa in 1862. They are well known as a most honored pioneer couple of the northwest. The experiences which have fallen to the lot of Mr. Campbell would rival any tale of fiction and he can speak with authority concerning the phases of development and progress in this entire section of the country. He came here when the red man largely held dominion over the northwest, regarding its great forests as his hunting ground and its streams as his especial place for fishing. But the country, rich in its natural resources, beckoned the progressive man of the east—the man who is not afraid to face danger, hardships and privations in order to aid in reclaiming this great region for the purposes of civilization. To this class belongs Mr. Campbell and the work which he has done in the development and upbuilding of the west entitles him to more than passing notice. He has left his impress upon the work of progress and improvement and his reminiscences concerning the early history of the country are most interesting.