Early baseball in Washington/Game 9
From SABR Encyclopedia
| Spread of baseball: Home -> Washington -> Early baseball in Washington/Game 9 |
| Location | Washington |
|---|---|
| Year | 1881 |
| Month | 7 |
| Date | 4 |
| Note on date | Reported July 9 |
| City | Lummi Village near Bellingham |
| State | WA |
| Country | USA |
| Site | Property of B. N.McDonough |
| Modern address | Lummi Island, WA |
| Was NY rules baseball | Likely |
| Played by | Locals |
| Team 1 | Semiahmoo |
| Team 2 | River Boys |
| Found by | Mark Brunke |
Article Transcription:
The Fourth at Lummi. Lummi, July 4th
EDITOR MAIL: I send you a few items of the festivities at this place. Mr. McDonough and his estimable lady set out to entertain their friends and did so in the most magnificent manner. At an early hour people were winding their way from all directions, and soon a crowd estimated at five hundred persons were gathered from the Reservation and surrounding settlements of the Nooksack River. The young men from Semiamoo played a match game of ball with the River boys- and got the worst of it. At noon we sat down to a sumptuous feast the table literally groaning with the good things of life. In the afternoon Mr. F. F. Lane addressed the crowd in beautiful and well chosen remarks and apt quotations of poetry, to our great delight and edification. After the applause had ceased, Judge Tennant was called on, and after apologizing for his surprise, addressed the Indians in classic Chinook, and made some impromptu remarks in fair English. Captain Jance, of Mountain View, (Chairman,) made some happy remarks. Three rousing cheers were given for Mr. and Mrs. McDonough. Chief Henry, of Lummi, then made some remarks, through an interpreter, expressing the great pleasure of himself and people at the pleasure it gave them to meet with the white people to celebrate the day, and expressing the wish that peace and good will should ever continue between both people. We afterwards had horse and foot races, jumping matched, &c. Not an accident happened to mar our pleasure, and we all left feeling that we had spent a day pleasantly and profitably, and wishing that our friends live a century and do so handsomely each succeeding Fourth. LOOKER ON.
Bellingham WA (1890 pop. about 8,000) is about 90 miles N of Seattle.
Sources
Sources: [Original Source] The Puget Sound Mail, La Conner, WA. July 9, 1881 . [Referenced Source] Sourced from: Washington State Secretary of State Newspaper Archives
ADDITIONAL HISTORICAL NOTES: McDonough was a trader and operator of the local trading post. He was originally from Ireland, and had served in the Civil War from a regiment from Illinois before moving to the Washington Territory (see obituary at http://wagenweb.org/whatcom/obits/obitmc.htm ). Judge Tennant and his wife Clara were significant local leaders. Clara's brother was Chief Henry Kwina of the Lummi (see http://west.wwu.edu/cpnws/findingaids/cpnws/centennial/people/tennant.html). Semiahmoo was both an Indian settlement and co-located with a small army post.
