The folk who dwell in this rain-kissed emerald city carry on an open love affair with their town. To Seattleites, living on a tree-lined hillside—with icy mountain vistas and a backyard of flowering dogwoods, all within the city limits of a major metropolis—is living well indeed. To best appreciate the city’s setting, visit the Space Needle to see the Olympic Mountains to the west, the Cascade Range to the east, and island-dotted Puget Sound all around. This Seattle landmark, with a revolving restaurant and lounge, offers stunning 360° views. On the rare days when the sun splits open the pewter sky, snowcapped Mount Rainier makes a grand showing. When “the mountain is out,” as they say in Seattle, the populace is doubly content.

Seattle is a city of water. Some 161 bridges pass over inlets and rivulets often swollen with rainwater. On days when skies are gray and drizzly, locals head for one of the best public libraries in the country or to the city’s famed bookstore, the Elliot Bay Book Company. Or they drink coffee-pots of it. This is, after all, the city that originated the coffee-bar craze.

Gray skies or no, Seattle is abuzz with activity. An antique streetcar shuttles passengers along its route from Pier 70 to the International District. Visit the Seattle Aquarium to catch the antics of harbor seals at feeding time. Up the hill is what some say is the soul of Seattle: Pike Place Market. At this four-block soundside warren you can forage for fresh produce and fixings, banter with mischievous seafood dealers—beware of “low-flying” fish—or scour alleyways for free samplings of homemade jams.

The historic neighborhood known as Pioneer Square Historic District was once the prosperous hub of 19th-century Seattle. In the 1920′s, this 31-block district of Romanesque Revival structures fell into a state of near ruin: it was the original Skid Row, so named for the local sawmills’ practice of sliding lumber down the street onto loading docks. In the 1970’4, the neighborhood was dusted off and restore, and now gleaming cafes and galleries line its cobblestone streets. You can revisit the Seattle of the Victorian era in the Underground Tours, 11/2-hour guided tours of the now-subterranean old establishments of Pioneer Square. After the great fire of 1889, the city was built at a higher level for better drainage and these street-level floors were sealed off.

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In later years, Seattle inherited the position as chief of the Duwamish tribe from his uncle. He forged a successful relationship with Doc Maynard, the husband of Seattle’s firstborn, Princess Angeline. Maynard was able to negotiate peaceful relations between the Duwamish and the more powerful Patkanim tribe. Seattle stood his ground and refused to move his people to the reservation for fear of bloodshed in mixing the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. Maynard persuaded the government to let him move his people to Agate Passage, his fathers house.

Speech Controversy

In March of 1854 Chief Seattle gave a captivating speech to a large outdoor gathering, called by Governor Stevens, in Seattle WA. While that part is certain, the date, location and interpretation of his speech are all uncertain. He spoke in the Lushootseed language, it was translated into Chinook and then some years later was translated into English by Dr Henry Smith based on notes. Smith even acknowledged that he had recorded “…but a fragment of his (Chief Seattle’s) speech”. The authenticity of the translation is even questioned by scholars.

In recent years, people have added even more to his speech concerning gods and the environment. In promoting their causes they have made outlandish claims as to what was said. The speech of Chief Seattle has been widely cited in Pronouncing Chief Seattle’s Name 2003-2007 as “powerful, bittersweet plea for respect of Native American rights and environmental values”, but there is no evidence that he even spoke on those subjects.

With the environmental movement well underway the environmentalists have, in addition to rewording the speeches of our US Presidents, went so far as to rewrite a famous Indian chief’s speech. We have seen this before, especially in regards to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.