Casto Massacre
Squak Valley, Washington Territory, 1864
From Clarence B. Bagley's 1916 History of Seattle, Volume II
Pages 663 to 665. Now in Public Domain
The arrival of William Casto and his girl-wife in Seattle in 1864, then a
village of about thirty families, created quite a stir. Every desirable addition
to the small community, that had so little communication with the outside world,
was heartily welcomed. It was in the spring of the year that Abbie Casto (John
Bonser's daughter) exchanged her pioneer Oregon home for a more primitive one in
Washington. Her husband's free and easy manner won him many friends, but he
gladly handed the laurels to his wife, whom he loved deeply, and who was noted
for her kindliness and beauty.
He built a small home in the heart of the Issaquah Valley, a natural prairie.
John Halstead, a friend, lived with them. The pioneer, like the primitive man,
must find his means of sustenance at hand, so they put in a garden and commenced
home-making; and to help meet expenses William Casto opened a small trading
post. There was a demand for hoop-poles to be used in the making of barrels, so
he made use of the dense hazel brush surrounding the little home. He found help
in the Indians, who proved industrious and soon became expert workers. He
treated them well and they liked him, looking up to him as a white
"Tyee," or chief. Himself addicted to the free use of liquor, he made
the mistake of giving it to his Indians, either in a spirit of friendliness or
with the mistaken thought that they would work better. It proved his own
undoing, and brought calamity upon his innocent young wife and Halstead.
In the fall of 1864 great fear of an Indian uprising was entertained. This
was due to the fact that the previous summer, during trouble between some white
men and the Snohomish Indians, a chief and two Indians had been killed.
Occasionally, when under the influence of liquor, Casto's Indians had proved
difficult to manage, and the neighbors had warned him against giving them
whisky, but he thought they underestimated his influence and the character of
the Indians. So, in spite of warnings, on that fatal afternoon in November he
gave his Indians liquor and went home to supper.
Tribal revenge is a chief characteristic of the primitive Indian, and
includes all members of a tribe, or race, of whatever color. If wrong has been
done to one or more of an Indian tribe and those who committed the deed cannot
be conveniently reached or made to pay the penalty, every member of the
wrong-doer's race or tribe stands liable to pay the debt with his life, if he
comes within reach of those of the inimical tribe.
Two of the Indians to whom William Casto gave liquor were more brutal or more
deeply steeped in tribal revenge than the others. With their better judgment
clouded by bad whisky they decided to take revenge on the three members of the
white tribe within their reach. The supposition is that they thought the white
"Tyee's" life would avenge that of the chief killed the previous
summer and that the lives of the wife and John Halstead would answer for the two
other Indians who were killed at the same time.
They softly approached the room where the three white people had just
finished supper. A whizzing bullet instantly killed William Casto where he lay
on a lounge; another felled the young wife, who sprang to her husband's
assistance. John Halstead was struck by a third shot, but was not too disabled
to fight valiantly. When found, his body showed many knife wounds. Through with
their bloody work, the Indians ran from the house. One was shot in the back and
killed by a friendly Indian, named Aleck, who had heard the shots and sensed the
trouble. The other Indian ran. Aleck followed and came upon him in the woods
where he killed him with an ax.
The ranch of Mr. J. Bush adjoined that of William Casto. Alarmed, and fearing
worse from an Indian uprising, he and his family, together with several single
men who lived on nearby ranches, set out for Seattle. Although the distance is
now easily covered in two hours by an auto-bus, they did not reach Seattle until
the morning of the 9th. This was due to the roundabout way they were forced to
take. The report of an Indian uprising spread like a forest fire. The coroner,
Josiah Settle, and a party of men started at once for the scene of the murder.
The only witnesses found were Aleck and a young squaw.
The bodies of the young pioneers were laid in the Denny Park Cemetery in
North Seattle. They have since been removed to the Masonic Cemetery.
Later the Snohomish Tribe, unable to catch Aleck, who was very quick with a
rifle, killed his son; but no Indian uprising followed the direful tragedy,
proving the fact that most of the reported raids and uprisings were really cases
of revengeful murder for mistakes made by the white man in his dealings with his
red brother. In this case, as in many modern tragedies, whisky was the
instigator of the crime.
