At first I did not enthuse very much about this country, but now I am fond of it, and would not consider leaving it.
William Boeing on the Pacific Northwest, 1914
Of course, Empire took its way westward, what other way was there but into those virgin sunsets to penetrate and to foul?
Former Boeing employee Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow, 1973
In her false witness, hope that you’re with us,
To see if they float or drown.
Our favorite patient, a display of patience,
Disease-covered Puget Sound.
She’ll come back as fire to burn all the liars,
Leave a blanket of ash on the ground.
Kurt Cobain, “Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle,” 1993
Mr. Boeing Goes to Washington
The territory that is now Washington State was one of the last places vanquished by the American Empire. One of the final major wars between European-descended settlers and native peoples, the so-called Puget Sound War of 1855-1856, occurred in Washington Territory, and the settlers’ victory signaled the final conquest of the region.
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