Jim Scroggie's family figures prominently in Spokane County history
By LUELLA DOW
Contributor
From all over the world, settlers came in the 1800s to explore the wilderness of this northwest part of the United States. This part of the country, which we so easily take for granted with its paved roads, shopping malls and provisions for every need and want, had a different flavor then.
Josiah Graves, in 1869, was the first white man to find a spring and claim his ownership of land in the wide area known as Amber. Township 22 was named after him.
Those who braved the unknowns and the solitude were neighbors to American Indians, rattle snakes, coyotes, and backbreaking work from the first light of morning until the sun set behind the rocky hills.
Jim Scroggie, now 85 years old, said, “My granddad, Adam Scroggie came from Scotland on a cattle ship in 1889. He worked for $3 a day as a railroad carpenter at Minneapolis-St Paul. My great uncle Jim Scroggie, came by way of New Zealand and settled in Montana.”
One bitterly cold winter day when Adam Scroggie was trying to repair a wooden railroad car in Minnesota's 32 below zero weather he said to himself, “I can do better than this.”
Jim Scroggie said, “At that time the railroad company was trying to get people to come west and settle the land. My granddad boxed up his carpenter tools and bought a rifle to shoot the Indians he'd heard about. He got a pass and ticket for Sprague, Washington. He didn't know anything about Sprague. At that time Sprague was a metropolis.”
Meanwhile, Jim Scroggie's great uncle Jim traveled to Lamont, near the Swannack family holdings. The two Scroggie brothers started a sheep ranch together. Jim said, “They put 4,000 sheep across the river at Lyons Ferry in 24 hours.”
Sheep shearers at Sprague were getting 5 cents a sheep to shear the wool. They raised the price to 6 or 7 cents. Jim Scroggie said, “The sheep people brought in a bunch of Mexicans who sheared for 4 cents.”
One winter in this area was so severe many of the landholder's sheep died. “Let's go back to Scotland,” one of the brothers said. The other brother said, “Let's wait one more year.” But when the time came they didn't have the money to go. They stayed, dug in their roots and planted their names among the pioneer families that make up the colorful history of the area. At one time the Scroggie brothers ran 6,000 sheep from Fishtrap Lake to Rock Lake.
We'll return to Jim Scroggie's memoirs next week.
Luella Dow is a local author. She can be reached at [email protected]
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