the California Legislature, before he finally went to Munich to complete his engineering studies. While in Europe he reported the news of the Franco-Prussian war for the New York Tribune, travelling extensively in Russia, Sweden, and Norway before returning to California, where he married Miss Annie Cortes, a lady perfectly suited to afford companionship to a mind so broadly cultured.
In 1876 Mr. Bowman explored on the line of the Canadian Pacific, becoming thereby well acquainted with the country on both sides of the international boundary, and asked Mrs. Bowman to select some spot in the Fucan Archipelago where she would consent to establish a home. This she did, and Mr. Bowman purchased a quarter section of land on the northeast corner of Fidalgo Island, built a house to reside in and a tradinghouse,—for the exchequer bad to be looked after,—asked the Post-office Department to establish an office for the Island at his place, and to call it Anacortes, which prayer was granted, and then set about unfolding his views.
The manner of doing this was exceedingly painstaking, and required the courage of conviction. There were but few inhabitants on the island, and seldom any visitors to it, yet Mr. Bowman published a newspaper. He made and published elaborate maps, showing the position of Fidalgo Island to the whole world, demonstrating the relation of Anacortes to transcontinental and oceanic travel and traffic, showing that it was the shortest, quickest, and least expensive route between Great Britain and Asia, via New York, the Great Lakes, Chicago, Duluth, Spokane Falls to Anacortes and the Strait of Fuca. He represented clearly the local advantages of Anacortes over any port on the Sound by careful measurement and lucid illustration. These maps—large, colored, and with full explanations —were sent free or as "prizes" to subscribers and newspaper exchanges. By and by they began to awaken attention, and about ten years from the time Mr. Bowman settled upon Fidalgo Island he was receiving propositions from railroad companies which sought to make Anacortes a terminal point. In January, 1890, there were not twenty inhabitants in this place; in February, when the Oregon Improvement Company advertised that it would sell lots, there were three thousand people on the
