Lane County Historian

Residence of B. M. Richardson, 10 miles west of Eugene City, Long Tom P.O. Lane County, Oregon

LANE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Vol. XIV, No. 1 Eugene, Oregon Spring, 1969 LANE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Mrs. C. A. Huntington, President 740 West 13th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97402 Stuart W. Hurd, Membership Secretary Rt. 2, Box 345, Eugene, Oregon 97401 Mrs. Stoddard Malarkey, Editor 2075 East 27th Avenue, Eugene, Oregon 97403 Manuscripts submitted for publication should be typewritten and double-spaced.If the author wishes to retain his copy, then please submit a duplicate copy for consideration.

CONTENTS

THE WEDDING RING by Loris Inman

BOHEMIA MINING DAYS: A REMINISCENCE 5 by Ethel Reeves MacKinnon

JESSIE BROCK. 7 by Hallie Huntington

A LETER TO THE EDITOR FROM ANDREW JACKSON ZUM WALT 13

JOSH CAIN, HORSEBACK MAIL CARRIER . 14 by Lawrence Hills

IMPRESSIONS AND OBSERVATIONS OF THE JOURNAL MAN 15

OF THE SEPARATE PROPERTY OF MARRIED WOMEN . 17

STORY AND HISTORY OF THE LOG CABIN INN AND COUNTRY KITCHEN AT McKENZIE BRIDGE . 19

2 7he WecIcIinj Rinj By Loris Inman The Benjamin Richardson family Her name is Ruth Wolford. Para- crossed the Plains in 1846, a good dine's brother, Thomas, was born six years ahead of the flood of emi- a year after Dma and Milt were grants to take donation land claims married. This was not unusual for in 1852. The family took a claim at pioneer families for the oldest the foot of the present Richardson children to be married before the Butte and built their cabin on a youngest brothers and sisters were littleshelf of land that is now born. covered by the stone abutment to We visited the old home site at the west end of the dam that now harvest time in 1968. With us was forms Fern Ridge Lake. Ruth Wolford, then 88 years old. Of the four sons, the eldest was Her father died early and Ruth Benjamin Milton. lived with Uncle Milt and Aunt The Archibald Gibson family Dma for a time. She wished to see crossed the Plains in 1852 and lo- the old home place. The spring is cated a claim and built their cabin filled with water weeds; the wal- on a little hill one mile east of the nut tree that Ruth loved to climb Franklin P.O. (John Benjamin, as a child was blown down in the present owner.) One of their daugh- Columbus Day storm, but it is still ters, Malinda Paradine, married alive. Milton Richardson, a neighbor less The old road coming up the east than a mile away. foot of the hill that was the old The wedding, the first recorded road to Crow before being replaced wedding in Lane County, took place by Central Road is now abandoned. on April 1, 1852. The ruts are still there, where they The couple soon selected a claim* ran between the house and the on which to make their home. On old milking corral. June 9, 1852, they filed on prop- When Milton and Paradine were erty now owned by Lennie Halder- married, Milt gave hisbride a son and Kenneth Nielson, in the plain gold band for a wedding ring. Central community, known in re- Inside the band were inscribed the cent years as the Halderson Place. initials, "M.P.R." One wonders, Milton and Paradine became was the ring purchased six years "Uncle Milt" and "Aunt Dma" to previously in the East, or was it a large number of niecesand made from a gold nugget by a nephews: Dma had eight brothers goldsmith? and sisters. Her brother, Lew, It might be considered a cer- whose claim is now Gibson Island tainty that the ring was made in Fern Ridge Lake, had a family locally, from the story by Mrs. of fifteen children. It is noteworthy Annie Brown, 83. She says her also that of her brother Thomas' mother told her that when her family, one daughter is still living. mother, Sarah Jane, was married, *If any reader wishes to locate this claim, here are the directions: At the intersection of Cantrell Lane with Central Road, off Perkins Penninsula, takeCantrell Lane east ¼ mile. The house south off Cantrell Lane is the home of Lennie Halderson, next east is a large knoll or hill. This is Kenneth Nielson property, and south of the hill about ¼ mile off the road is Milt's old farmstead location. Some buildings and old orchard trees are there. The house is gone. 3 her uncle, who had a gold mine James Thomas was married to asked her if he could have the Kate Stickles, Kate wore the ring. ring made out of a nugget from his Their son, Harvey, married Louise mine. She consented and it was McHeffey, but Louise did not wear done. Mrs. Brown's mother was one the ring. His son, James Thomas of Dma's sisters, and the uncle the Second, named for his grand- who had the gold mine was one of father married Barbara White. Dma's brothers. Since Dma had Their son, James Thomas the five brothers, Mrs. Brown does Third married Jacqueline Lynne not remember which one it was. Pertolle at the bride's home in The marriage of Sarah Jane to Newark, New Jersey on June 6, W. C. Inman, took place on June 1968. The ring young Tom pre- 2,1867, fifteen years after the sented to his bride was the one Richardson marriage, so whether his great grandfather Milton pre- it would have been from the same sented to his bride, Paradine, 116 mine is only conjecture. Sarah years ago. The ring now has in- Jane's ring is now 101 years old scribed inside, in addition to the and is in the possession of Hattie initils "M.P.R.," the initials Hardesty, granddaughter of Sarah "J.L.R." The young couple treas- Jane. When Milt's and Dma's son, ure the ring very highly.*

*Lynne graduated from Beaver Co1iege and is now attending Columbia University. Young Tom graduated from Colgate University, magna cum laude. He is now attend- ing Princeton.

MILTON RICHARDSON PARADINE (GIBSON) RICHARDSON

4 gohemia 'Y//linin Zai: __'4 Remicence By Ethel Reeves MacKinnon Raising my three young chil- dren in an age of dishwashers, clotheswashers, and other modern conveniences, it is hard for me to realize that not too long ago I spent some time in what was prob- ably one of the last "outposts of civilization." My father, William Reeves, was the chief engineer at the Helena Mine, the most remote mine of a chain of mines in the Bohemia mining district. It was situated one and one-half miles from the Champion Mine, six and one-third miles from Lund Park, where we kept the car in winter. We entered the district in the spring of 1936, when I was three years old, and we left in Septem- ber, 1939, when it was time for us to go to school. Seventeen men were employed at the Mine, working three shifts, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Gold, copper, and lead Mr. and Mrs. William Reeves skiing on were mined, using a flotation mill the mill roof, Helena Mine. process which removed the ores a"self vacuum" within. To boil from the earth. these eggs, one had to pierce the There were four of us in the shell with a pin first. In addition, family: my father, who was the there was bacon, ham, and dried crew boss, my mother, my older beef. Provisions were brought in brother, Bill, and I. My mother, weekly in the summer by truck, who was 24, cooked for us and the but all provisions for the winter crew. She had to prepare four were brought in mid-November for meals a day. She baked eight the entire winter. loaves of bread daily, and alter- The food was prepared on a nated between four pies and three Lang Range, which was a wood cakes, daily. Naturally, the food stove.It had a built-in griddle was plentiful and delicious. There upon which the hot cakes, bacon, was much canned and dried fruit, fried eggs, etc. were cooked. Noth- and the eggs were kept in barrels, ing tastes as good as food fried on preserved in "water glass." "Water the griddle of a wood range! glass" was a clear, viscous liquid Fortunately, mother didn't have which completely sealed the pores to do the crew's laundry; there of the egg shell, hence producing was a hired man for that. But she did wash and iron for us. Water we spent much of our time playing came from a spring above the bunk in the snow. Once I fell down a house, piped to it, and it was thirty-foot slope, because of melted heated by the wood range. A large snow beneath the crust, but I was hot water tank provided plenty rescued, unhurt, by my father. for daily needs. Washing was done We played "King of the Moun- in an electric agitator-type ma- tain" on the bunkhouse, because chine with hand-cranked wringer. there was eleven feet of snow Since the light plant produced which covered the house on the only direct current, the washer had uphill side. to be equipped with a special DC We also skied. Mother made "ski motor. socks" to slip over the back of our Ironing was done with an electric skis to enable us to climb more iron(also DC) which was con- easily. Even they skied down the trolled by plugging in or unplug- mill roof, which was a 30 degree ging to get the desired tempera- slope. Our German shepherd, Buck, ture. enjoyed it as much as we did, and The bunk house had a kitchen, we delighted in Buck's chasing of dining room, sitting room down- rabbits and skunks. We put a salt stairs, and ten or twelve bedrooms lick in a flat near the base of the upstairs with one bathroom. There mill roof, and on moonlit nights, were two toilets downstairs, each we would watch the deer come. in a "stall" and stall showers. I Certain incidents remain clearly remember our family and the in my mindand I'm sure in crew as one big happy family. Mother's! Bill and I shared a bedroom and Once after a walk, I reported there was usually two crewmen seeing a "big black cow." Only a to a room. parent would have realized it was Life for us children was very a bear! much different in the summer and Another memory is of an inci- early fall than in the winter. Bill, dent in the summer of 1939. Father who was four, and I would pan for had left the mine for some reason; gold in the spring water, or we Mother was chopping wood when would climb the ledges along the she severed her left index finger. road and slide down. We were for- She calmly walked with us to tunate enough to have all the same Champion Mine, one and one-half toys most children had in those miles away. Then she was taken days, and being the only children to Cottage Grove and on to Eu- in that remote area, we basked in gene. God must have been with us the attention of the crew. We also in that wilderness, for fortunately picked wild flowers and huckle- a bone splinter had forced its way berries with mother. into the main artery, stopping the The mill was closed in October, blood loss, which otherwise would and usually only the handyman have killed her. stayed to take care of things. But These are just a few of the mem- our family remained, too, to live ories of a different life. Surrounded a quiet life, isolated from the rest as we are today with modern con- of the world. We didn't go out veniences and amusements, I some- until March, when we had to ski times wish my own children could eight miles to the car. Then we experience something of the sim- drove to Cottage Grove. plicity of that life on the moun- With as much snow as we had, tain. c9Cui o'.?,.004 By Hallie Huntington* Near the middle of the 1880's, S. P. Brock, an early settler, de- clared his independence from the Willamette Valley, which by that time had become too thickly popu- lated for his taste. A neighbor had moved in less than two miles from his farm; he felt crowded and depressed. While on a recent hunting trip he had found his dream home, high up in the Cascade Mountains. To reach it an Indian trail led from Big Prairie (later to be called Oak- ridge) up the North Fork of the Willamette River. It was a hard day's trip by saddle horse. There, nestled under the south side of Grasshopper Mountain w a s t h e finest prairie he had ever seen. Deer and elk were numerous and many fur bearing animals would assure winter activity. Before he left for "The Valley" Brock cabin built 1884 by Jessie's father. The original home on the North Fork. he drove his stakes and pegged a Taken in 1918, picture isof Leo Mc- notice to a tree, declaring his in- Mahon, trapper, with his pet bear cub. tentions. Having claimed it for his own, he hurried down to Eugene Death had claimed four in child- tofile the necessary papers for hood and the oldest were married homestead rights. He could hardly and in homes of their own. The wait to tell his wife the exciting trip from the valley was made news! She was a hardy, pioneer with teams and wagons. Stewart woman, having crossed the Plains (known as "S.P.") drove the four- with the ill-fated Lost W a g o n horse team and his wife, Janet, Train of 1853 when she was six handled the lines on the two-horse years old, daughter of John and wagon. Roads of that day were Mary Warner. She lived to be the extremely difficult and followed last survivor of this wagon train. the easiest contour of the coun- Historical plaques mark the course try. Above Butte Disappointment of their starvation struggle to (later called Cannon and t h en reach the Willamette Valley. Lowell) it clung to the north side Preparations for the move were of the Willamette River. It was started at once. Already 10 chil- narrow and often steep and very dren had been born to the Brock's. rough. * Credits are due: Lawrence Hills, former mayor of Oakridge; C. B. McFarland, Forest Service; Leah Menefee, historian; and Shirley Larson, member of the Warner family. It is not possible to document this story, as much has been gained from interviews, and memories sometimes fail to agree on dates and other data. Five days of hard travel landed other gifts of nature were hers them at Big Prairie. There they alone to enjoy. She never seemed left their wagons, saddled t h e i r to miss the companionship of work horses; packed them and others and preferred to play alone headed up the trail on foot toward in the woods. their future home. As they were After the Brock's moved back heavily laden with provisions, to the valley, her heart was still on household equipment and farming the mountain trails or down by the gear, two full days were required North Fork with its icy water and to reach their destination. eager trout. Animals instinctively The country was virgin. Nothing trusted her and she had many had ever disturbed the abundant strange pets. A mischievious and wildlife. A small rustic cabin was playful raccoon followed her every- quickly put together. It's single where. In especially cold weather room was living room, dining room, it might be found, curled up into bedroom and kitchen. All cooking a tight ball under the covers at the of necessity was done over the foot of her bed. Her patient mother fire place. Their one luxury was a tolerated these antics because Dutch Oven in which their bread Jessie loved "Oscar" so dearly. was baked. Such a life was made "Coons" are clean pets, unless they to order for this pioneer type of become angry, then they give off outdoor man. His was a great con- a disagreeable odor. If really pro- tentment. He farmed a bit and voked they chatter with fury and spent happy hours fishing in the bring their sharp teeth into play summer, and in the winter trap- with telling effect. After such a ping and hunting kept him busy childhood, school was a bore for and happy. Jessie, and she longed to be back One wonders how his wife must in the high Cascades with her have reacted to the imminent ar- mountain friends. rival of a child. No one, not even From her mother, who was of an Indian woman was within miles Scottish descent, she often heard for the month was May. Her hus- of Bonnie Brae, where generations band had the entire responsibility. of Warners had lived out their life She must have faced the ordeal of spans on the heaths of Scotland. birth with stoic strength and placed As she grew older a great longing her faith in her husband's good filled her breast to find her very judgment. Nature was kind on this own Bonnie Brae. The old North occasion and there were no com- Fork home was, by now, on a well plications. The bright, pretty little used trail and trappers had claimed girl was named Jessie. the cabin for winter quarters. Its For six years the Brocks con- old charm was gone, along with tinued to Ii v e on their remote her trusting friends. At every pos- homestead. The littlegirl grew sible opportunity she searched for sturdy, strong and self reliant. an ideal location. Her restless wan- "Woods Wisdom" was a very spe- derings even took her to Montana, cial treasure in which small Jessie but somehow, it did not fill her found great delight. She drank it soul with the soothing sound of in eagerly. The trail of a rabbit or rushing waters and the sweet a wild cat in the fresh snow; the music of the wind in the tall tree lacy pattern left by mice and rats tops. Then too, the animals were in the winter; the spotted baby strangely shy. fawns in early June and a thousand In 1916 she visited her rela- tives, the Frank Warners, at their greatly excited and borrowed a mountain ranch, which waslo- saddle horse to head for the spot cated where the great Pope and he so graphically described. The Talbot sawmill now stands. A large trail, long used by the Indians, as log pond covers the old grain field they passed back and forth over near Oakridge, Oregon. the high Cascades, led her, as it Frank always had time to spin a followed the creek, then sought the yarn, often breaking into the Chi- high ridges, where Indians pre- nook language to stress a point. ferred to travel. Carefully follow- He had been reared with the In- ing directions, she left the trail, dians and spoke their language forded Salt Creek to the east side, as fluently as his own. Often, it climbed approximately two miles seemed to express a thought even up the ridge, and with little trouble better. He was a realold-west she located the opening which character. He smoked a large ivory Frank had praised so extrava- Meerschaum pipe, with the patina gantly. gained from long and loving use. It was a lovely prairie, sur- It fitted neatly into his handlebar rounded by timbered mountains. mustache. He loved to hunt and On one side was a high, rocky fish, and in his spare time, play crag; Jud Mountain watched over his fiddle! the fresh, unspoiled scene. A jolly, To Frank is given the credit for chuckling mountain stream romped being the first white man to have across the opening. Native grass seen the mineral springs,f r o m was belly-deep to her horse. The which Salt Creek takes its name. moment Jessie saw this small par- In later years this natural phenom- adise, she knew she had found her enon was to be named McCredie long sought Bonnie Brae. Springs and to become quite a f a- Homestead laws were still flex- mous "Spa"! Deep trails along the ible and she hurried to file, as her ridges indicated that many genera- father had done before her. This tions of deer and elk had come to was quickly accomplished and she this gift of nature to enjoy the started at once to gather her "nest" mineral water and eat the delicious together. It would be necessary to mud, which they seemed to thor- camp in a lean-to-shelter, with an oughly enjoy. Great quantities of outside cooking fire for the sum- warm-to-hot water poured from mer. Everything had to be packed many springs and had a heavy, in with pack horses over the rough but not unpleasant odor. Many and steep trail. She bought a husky arrowheads and points have been white horse that would double for found there to prove this was a riding and pulling the pole-sized favorite Indian hunting spot. Frank logs into place, after she had cut grew up with an Indian boy by the them down and sawed them into name ofharley Tufti, whom the proper lengths. Then, they must Warners had taken to raise, along be shaped and notched with a hand with their family. The two boys axe. This cabin was to be her fu- were inseperable. ture home and she was careful When Jessie expressed her long- that every log fit with precision. ing, Frank told her of a beautiful Her cross-cut saw and sharp axe, and remote small v a lie y,sur- together with a lot of determina- rounded by timbered mountains. tion and muscle were used liberally. It was located six long trail miles She was dismayed at how slow the above McCredie Springs. She was work went, but she stayed with Camping trip at Brock Cabin. First girl on left, Atta Wolf. Last girl on left, Flora (Warner) Donpien. Can 1918 readers identify the rest? itdoggedly, and with only the trips to Oakridge for supplies, but help of her horse, each log was she always hurried back, for win- raised into position. The young ter comes early in the high Cas- woman worked tirelessly from day- cades. When the final nail had light to dark, with only time out been driven in the hand-split roof for quick meals. and the longer shakes fashioned "Uncle Frank" did give her a into a stout door, the first snows hand on a few jobs, such as put- of winter blanketed her valley. Re- ting up the rafters(tall slender gretfully, she stowed her tools and poles she had cut) and splitting went to Portland to work in the some shakes for the roof. woolen mills. As she tended the Jessie was strong and muscular, busy shuttles, she dreamed, living even though she was small and frugally and saving every possible petite in stature. Fired as she was penny. In the spring she had a with a great ideal, no task was too fair-sized stake and a head full of great for her to undertake and no plans. She hurried back as soon as part of the building operation too the snow was off the ground and difficult to figure out a way to ac- prepared to plant her first garden complishitwithout help,other and get flowers growing. She had than from her trusty horse. always been a great 10 v e r of At night, lulled by the sound of flowers and natural beauty. Deer the pleasant little s t r e a m that have a greedy fondness for gar- crossed her clearing, she dropped den produce and flowers were a into exhausted slumber. Her bed choice tid-bit. As each t e n d e r tick was stuffed with wild prairie shoot came through the ground, hay that she had cut with a hand the deer enjoyed the change from sickle. The hooting of the owls, or their accustomed b r o u s e an d the noises of the other w o o d s mosses. Every morning Jessie sad- creatures disturbed her not in the ly assessed her losses. It was a los- least. ing battle, but be fo r e another Time had to be taken out for short growing season, she had re- 10 solved the problem by building a place." It boasted warm baths and strong, high fence, as deer-proof a fine, though small, mineral water as she could make it. swimming pool. At night bear occasionally wan- The old Indian trail was stub- dered through her clearing in their bornly resisting, but slowly yield- constant search for food. On sev- ing to the intrusion of the white eral occasionst h e y stopped to man, with his growing need and scratch their itchy backs on the greed fort i m b e r. The outside convenient corners of her cabin. world was m o v i n g swiftly, but She told of laughing with pleasure, Bonnie Brae remained untouched as they rubbed and grunted with by its progress. such evident satisfaction. When an early snow fell before Jessie's only companions were her last possible moving-out date, her horse, Silver, and her pam- Jessie just fastened on her home- pered torn cat, Dick. She loved to made snow shoes and made the fish and Dick liked nothing better round trip to McCredie for supplies than a fresh trout. As one struggled and the mail. She seldom carried a on the hook, he would plunge into gun and was never molested by the water to help retrieve his meal. wild animals, although wolves were A dog could never be considered, still fairly numerous and cougar for he would prove much too noisy visited her prairie on many occa- and drive her many friends away sions. They seemed to accept her from her Bonnie Brae. as one of their own. Unafraid, she Even with the hazards of trail went about her daily tasks with as- travel on horseback, Jessie had surance. A c o m i cal, blundering many summer visitors; both fam- bear might meet her on the trail. ily and the curious! Her mother, Each time this happened she though by now carrying the weight stopped to enjoy the encounter of many years, made the journey with the bruin, all of whom have and looked with pride upon her notoriously poor eye sight. After daughter's accomplishments. S h e a few uncertain seconds, the bear lived to be the last survivor of the would "get her wind" andith a tragic Lost Wagon Train, the story startled "whoof" scurry outof of which would be retold through sight into the timber. the ages. Historical plaques would Jessie was a fine cook and on mark the course of their starva- one occasion the owner of Mc- tion struggle to reach the Willam- Credie Springs had a large crowd ette Valley. and no cook. In his desperation he McCredie S p r 1 n g s had been thought of Jessie and hurried to reached by a meandering road for her home. She was reluctant, since some time, and by the 1920's the she did not feel experienced, but U.S. Forest Service started road since he was in such deep trouble, and trail work along Salt Creek. she agreed to try to help him out. Even a few cars risked the very She responded with finemeals, probable rupture of fueltanks, plus great pans of home-made fractured crank cases,b r o k e n bread and biscuits. From t h at axles, flat tires and having to back time on when the "season" was at up the steepest pitches when gaso- its height, she could be found in line would not feed into their car- the hotel kitchen. It was no longer buretors! Dozens of other difficul- necessary for her to go to Portland ties had to be overcome to reach to work in the winter months. this, by now, popular "watering During that time a Forest Serv- 11 ice crew of men was working on though he was well-liked and re- trails in higher country. Their cook spected by those who knew him had either become sick or "sick of best, he could not cope with the it all" and headed for a more civi- all-enveloping mountains; they lized part of the country, where the closed in on him and it was more mosquitoes were not so unfriendly than he could endure. They parted and life was considerably easier! friends and he always spoke of her Having eaten Jessie's good food at in glowing terms and continued to McCredie, the crew boss begged declare that she was the world's her to take over the trail kitchen. best biscuit cook! She would not Where else, but in a western leave her beloved retreat and he novel, would Jessie find a man to could not face the prospect of an- interest her? Roy Beamer was a other, to him, desolate and lonely member of the crew. He was a winter. likeable sort, just about Jessie's This was Jessie's only plunge age and had never married! At into romance. She lived on, alone, once, he became interested in her as she had in the past at Bonnie efficient, no-nonsense i n d e p e n d- Brae. ence. Women, from time immemo- Soon the silence and peace of her rial have been susceptible to words mountains was pierced b y t h e of praiseand flatteryfor their shrill whistle and the clamoring cooking. Jessie was no exception. roar of the many steam locomo- Roy, among other things told her tives as they labored up the stiff the biscuits she baked were the grade to the mile high summit of finest he had ever eaten. Soon a the Cascades. The Forest Serv- romance was budding and in a ice's improved road brought many few months Jessie decided to be unwanted visitors to her d o o r. convinced that it might be nice to There was no longer the solitude have a friendly,complimentary which she must have felt when man to share her homestead. They she penned these lines: were quietly married and went to spend the winter at Bonnie Brae. "Oh! to nestle in the bosom of It was a cold, hard winter and the nature, snow pilled high around the cabin. To hide from the world and it's There was little activity to which sting; Roy was inclined. The food was As a wee bird creeps for protection still wonderful, but being of a nerv- 'Neath the shelter of its mother's ous rovingdisposition, b e f o r e wing. spring came, Roy p a c k e d his "There is power in the brooding meager belongings. He yearned stillness, for brighter lights and more ac- I feel, but I cannot see, tivity, and, there he was, caught As the throbbing heart of the in the d e a d 1 y monotony of a forest snowed-in winter! He could not In its silence, speaks to me." understand his wife's complete ac- ceptance of the cold, the discom- It was a wrench to leave Bonnie fort and most of all, the deadly Brae, but it was sold in 1937 and silence. Even a trip of necessity Jessie went to live with her sister to the outside plumbing was an in "The Valley" near Shedd, Ore- ordeal! gon. She was never meant to leave In due time he headed down the the protection of her friendly trail. He was never to return. Al- mountains, for a short time later, 12 both she and her sister were killed the door has fallen from its at a railroad crossing, when their leather hinges. car stalled on the tracks. The Oregon Journal, last dated Jessie's cabin now stands at an 1923, helped to insulate the walls oblique angle. The busy Ii t t I e to keep out the bitter winter winds. creek has changed its course and Strangely enough, Bonnie Brae no is nibbling away at one corner. longer bears her name, but is re- Soon the evidence of what was ferred to as "The Beamer Ranch"! once a happy home will have van- Jessieis not a legend, but a ished. The stout split roofstill strange and somehow wonderful preserves the readability of sheets mixture of Scotch thrift, love of of newspaper that cling in tatters nature, raw courage and dauntless to the inside walls, even though determination.

_'4c,L1etterto th ed0 from .Andrewc9acison ZurnwaEi Irving, Oregon Lincoln we saw some dead buffalo, Dec. 10, 1914 a band had wintered on Salt Creek. Editor Journal: The Indians stole 3 yoke of oxen Some time ago I was requested from Mrs. Waters, wife of Col. to write your paper an account Waters a soldier of the war of of my trip across the plains to 1848 in Oregon. We arrived at Fort Oregon. Kernid (Kearney) by way of the I was born in St. Charles County, Platt river, there I saw the first Missouri, Sept. 2, 1832. My father canon and the great emigration Solomon Zumwalt was born in No- toCalifornia, they brought the vember 1807, at the same place, cholera with them from St. Louis my grandfather Adam Zumwalt and other points, many died. was born in Pennsylvania, served We were now in buffalo Lountry, under Gov. Dinmore of Virginia the first day from the fort 30 buf- in the Indian war on the Otigo, falo across the road in ahead of was at the mouth of the Kanawa, us, one was killed. We arrived at served in the continental army 5 Fort Larima (Laramie) the 4th years, settled in Kentucky, moved of July, we laid over there one day to Missouri in 1800, held a Spanish to wash and rest. Father went out Grant where we lived until the 5th point and killed a Rocky Moun- day of April 1850, when father and tain sheep; The next morning 3 of mother and 11 children started for us went on a hunt and soon found Oregon. a band of sheep but failed to get Our outfit consisted of 2 wagons, any, but saw a band of antelope but 7 yolk of stears, 1 yolk of cows, 3 failed to kill any of them. As we horses and 6 head of loose cattle; rested on the hill, looking at 4 I was 17 years 6 months old when buffloe about a mile away, a gris- I was detailed to drive the family ley bear run from one thicket to wagon, we went by the way of another about 50 yards away, we Mexico, Huntsville Chicotha and did not follow, we went down on crossed the Missouri river to Salt the plain and killed a buffloe, this Creek, 50 miles, when Lincoln is was near the crossing of North a city now. A few miles west of Platte. 13 c9oih Cain, JIor3each 7//lad Carrier By Lawrence Hills An early day post office was robberies. Josh carried a key, so located near where the Pope and on the days scheduled for delivery Talbot peeler plant now stands of mail he could unlock the door just east of Oakridge. It was form- at the front of the store and walk erly in the home of V. P. Hebert back to where Mr. Smith always and at that time was called Hazel piled the full bags. Dell. It was not the very first post On this particular morning, he office in the area, but it served the went in, threw the heavy bags over Willamette territory for 16 years. his shoulder in the usual fashion Mail bags for individual families and started out the way he had were carried on horseback from entered. Mr. Smith had been sleep- Lowell, a distance of approxi- ing soundly and awoke with a mately 25 miles, first up the river start. Creeping out in the very from Lowell to Hazel Dell and dim light, he saw the shadow of a then back to Lowell. man! Thinking it was a robber, Mail carrying jobs were awarded he grabbed his fine, shiny brand by government contract. One of new shotgun, which boasted 12 the early mail carriers was Josh gauge, leveled it and touched off Cain, who lived with his large both barrels! There was a fright- family not far above Lowell. His ful roar and no sooner had he contract called for two deliveries pulled the trigger and staggered each week to the Hazel Dell post to regain his balance than he saw office. On the way he not only car- the "robber" sink to the floor. ried the mail for all other settlers With horror he realized he had but was the general errand man shot the mailman. for everyone along the long and Josh was rushed to the nearest lonesome route. It was necessary doctor who spent several busy to get a really early start. hours in picking the buck shot out Edward Smith owned the gen- of his back and legs. The doctor eral store at Lowell and he was told him he was a mighty lucky also the postmaster. It was his job man and had it not been for the to sort the mail, put it in the proper mail sacks, he would have been bags and have it ready for the mail "one dead mail carrier"! Josh did carrier to pick up. not sit down well for sometime, The Smiths had the post office but in a few weeks he was back on in the southwest corner of the the job. The man who substituted store in a space about 20 feet for him on the mail delivery re- square. They lived directly over- ported that much of what had head in what might have been received the charge from the shot- called an apartment. Mr. Smith gun was ruined and quite unread- decided to purchase a double-bar- able due to the shot that had en- reled shotgun for protection from tered the canvas bags.

14 imprWioni anti Ooerva1iono of i/e (9ourna/ fl'/an By Fred Lockley (The story of the life, to date, years may seem strange to you," of Mrs. Ada B. Millican is con- she said, "but I don't see why cluded by Mr. Lockley today. It is there is anything out of the way a story of uncommon interest, rep- about it. When I had got a frag- resenting as it does phases of that mentary schooling equal to finish- restless ambition that has been the ing the fourth grade I had to stop making of the Great West.) school to earn money, so I de- cided to be a teacher. My uncle was The first time I ever saw Ada B. one of the school board, so I got Millican was when I stopped over- the place. The children used to night at her house at Millican on love me, for all I taught them was the way from Prineville to Kiam- reading and writing, and I let them ath Falls. We reached the Millican have long recesses to take up the ranch just at dusk. Samuel Hill, time. Word came thereafter teach- whose guest I was, in his courtly ers must take an examination. Mr. way, introduced himself and then Todd, a minister, was county school said, "And this is Fred Lockley." superintendent, and as he had Mrs. Millican said, in a very disap- eaten many a chicken dinner at pointed voice, "Are you the Fred our house I felt sure I would pass Lockley who writes?" "Yes," I re- the oral examination without sponded, "but why that look of trouble. When I went to Roseburg disappointment?" Mrs. Millican to take the examination I learned, smiled and said, "Forgive my ex- to my consternation, that Mr. Todd pression, but to tell the truth I am was away, that his deputy would a little disappointed. I have been hold the examination and that it reading your articles for years and was to be written instead of oral. I had formed a mental picture of I was in despair. I stayed that night you. I thought you were tall and at Mrs. Booth's home. Her husband slender, with long black hair and was a minister and a friend of our soulful eyes, and it rather jarred family. She put in the whole eve- me to find that such a very prosaic ning drilling me, as she knew about looking person was Fred Lockley." the kind of questions that were After such a supper as a "very asked. Quincy Grubbe, the deputy prosaic looking person" could superintendent, held the examina- greatly enjoy Mrs. Millican showed tion, and to my surprise I was us her collection of Indian curios given a certificate. and told us at length why in her opinion there would soon be uni- *** versal suffrage throughout the "I taught a term at Cleveland, the United States. As I remember then at Looking Glass, and later at Deer Creek. I received $25 a month it,her argument was not that and 'boarded around.' While in women are just as capable as men, Douglas county I taught the but that they are much more so. grandchildren of General Joseph * * Lane, our first territorial governor. Yesterday I again met Mrs. Milli- For a while I taught a private can at Eugene. She is there attend- school at Amos Dunham's house ing the state university. "That I at West Point. Later they made it should resume my studies after 50 a public school and I taught there 15 three and a half years. It was ferred to the Indian school at here I met my fate. I was taking Yuma, and still later to the In- the part of a bride in private theat- dian school at Pima, Ariz., where T ricals. Jasper Wilkins took the taught nearly four years. From part of the groom. We gave the there I was transferred to the In- performance in the grange hail and dian school at Puyallup, and from took up a collection to defray ex- there I went to our Pine Mountain penses. I passed the basket and ranch, for we had got on our feet one of the men in the audience again. For the past few years we dropped a handful of silver into have lived at Prineville. the basket, at the same time giving me a smile that made my heart * * * go pitty-pat. After the play Will "You will always find me an Van Dyne introduced the stranger. active participant inall conven- His name was George Millican. He tions and gatherings of woman's was 47, I was 23. He owned a ranch clubs and other organizations to on the McKenzie. The Rev. I. D. advance the cause of women. My Driver married us in Eugene. We great interests in life are helping started on our wedding journey the secure a square deal for women next morning on horseback to and for the Indians. In the past cross the Cascades into Eastern women and Indians have always Oregon. Mr. Millican owned a meat got the worst of it. My husband market at Salem, later bought by died last fall, on November 25. He E. C. Cross. My husband had a had celebrated his eighty-fifth ranch on McKay creek, near Prine- birthday two days before his yule, and a ranch at what is now death. known as Walterville, on the Mc- * * * Kenzie. It was named Walterville "When I was a girl a woman of after his son Walter. 50, or even 40, put on a black dress, wore a poke bonnet and considered * * her place the chimney corner. I re- "After a few years times became fuse to put on my poke bonnet, I very hard and my husband lost his do not feel old, and I am going to property. He took up a ranch near gratify my long suppressed desire Pine Mountain, now known as Mi!- for an education. That's why I am licans. We had to have money to a student here, and some of these help stock the ranch, so I went to youngsters will have to go some if teaching. I secured a position as they get better grades than I am teacher at White Rocks, Utah, in going to make." an Indian school. Later I was trans- From The Journal, April 5, 1920

16 0/ the Separate Propert, of l'l/larried V!!0men

Sec. I Propertyand pecuniaryrightsof Sec. 3 Declaration,in what county record- marriedwomen, exemptfrom ed ; change of residence, effect of. debts and contractsof husband, 4.Copyofrecord,effectofasevi- after record; debts and contracts, dencefee for recording how construed ;proviso 5. Revocation ofdeclaration,how 2 Declaration to hold separate prop- made and effect of. erty; execution, acknowledgement and record of

June 4, 1859. SEC. 1.aThat the property and pecuniary rights of every Property of mar- ried woman to bemarried woman acquired by gift, devise or inheritance, shall exemptfrombe deemed to be the separate property of such married women, debts of husband after record. and not subject to be taken in execution, or in any way charged on account of the debts or contracts of her husband, from and after the time said property or pecuniary rights Debtsandcon tractshow con-shall be recorded as hereinafter provided. The debts or con- strued tracts of the husband, above mentioned, shall be construed to mean such debts and contracts as the husband may become liable for or have contracted after the declaration of the wife to hold separate property shall have been recorded, Provided, Proviso That the property and pecuniary rights of the married woman shall in no case be liable for the debts and contracts of the husband for which he may have become liable or contracted before marriage, from and after the time the declaration of such married woman to hold separate property shall have been recorded. Declarationto holdseparate SEC.2.That whenever the declaration of any married property, execu-woman, executed in the presence of two witnesses, and ac- tion acknowledg- ment and recordknowledged before any officer having authority to take of. acknowledgement of deeds, containing a description of said property or pecuniary rights, according to the nature of the subject, with the same certainty and particularity as would be required in a deed, and declaring it to be the intention of such married woman to hold such property, or pecuniary rights as her separate property, shall be presented to the county clerk, it shall be the duty of such clerk to record the same in a book, to be called "the register of married women's separate property," and note therein the date of such entry. Declaration, in what countyre- SEC. 3.That such declaration, when made with reference corded. to any interest in lands, or the rents and profits thereof, shall be recorded where such lands lie; but when such declara- tion shall be made with reference to any other property or pecuniary right, it shall be recorded in the county where such married woman resides at the time, Provided, That when such married woman shall remove to any other county, such declaration shall be recorded again in the county to which she has removed. GENERAlLaws ot ORcc,oN,1864-1872,edited by Matthew Deady Entitled, 'An act to provide for the registration of the separate property of married 's omcn, and to declare the effert thereof,'and took effect by operation of the ((institution, Sept. 2,1859. 17 June 4,1859. SEC. 4.Certified copies of the record of such declaration Cres?f record. may be read in evidence in any court where the original dence. would be admissible, Provided, That such declaration, nor any copy thereof, shall not be evidence of any fact except that such married woman has elected to hold the property or Feesforrecord- pecuniary rights described in such declarationas her separate property. The county clerk shall be entitled to the same fees for recording any such declaration, or making a certified copy of the same, as he may be entitled to in case of deeds. dedaration,h SEc. 5.Any married woman may at any time revoke such made andeffect declaration by making a written revocation of her intention of. to hold the property or pecuniary right therein described, as her separate property; such revocation shall be executed in the same manner as the declaration, and recorded in the margin of the page and book, where the declaration may have been recorded. From and after the time of such revocation, the property and pecuniary rights described in the declaration, shall cease to be the property of such married woman, and be held, owned and treated as though this act had not been passed.

(3)Repealed in1921.

1969c,Cane Cottnt, JiiiioricafSocieij Sui1ainin, 7/4ern4ero lo3-1-6 9

Lounsbury-Musgrove Mortuary Williams Bakery Eugene Fruit Growers Association Weyerhaeuser Company Bohemia Lumber Co., Inc. Cone Lumber Co. United States National Bank of Oregon Eugene Register-Guard Giustina Bros. Lumber & Plywood Co. Citizens Bank

18 Siorj ancIJkiiiorj f the £, Cain innand Cottnir1 J&chenat 'fl/IcJ<'enzie&;4e From Their Menu Cover The original Log Cabin Inn was started in the winter of 1885 and completed in the spring of 1886. It opened that spring as a hotel and travelers from as far as Los Angeles came to visit the new re- sort on the McKenzie River. In August of 1906 the old Inn burned to the ground; construction for a new log structure was begun years. They in turn sold the pres- in the same year and was com- ent eight acre property with ap- pleted early in 1907. Except for proximately 900 feet of McKenzie minor changes the Inn looks much River frontage to Paul A. Krumm the same today as when it was re- and Arthur J. Lucey in September built in 1906. The cedar paneled foyer and the principal cedar of 1967. paneled dining room are virtually The historic Log Cabin Inn had unchanged except for furnishings. been successfully operated as a The second cedar paneled dining dining room by Mrs. Tuttle, Sr. as room was added later. a service to her cottage guests. Historically, the Log Cabin Inn However, for the past seven years property itself was homesteaded the old Inn lay vacant. The new by P. C. Renfrew in April of 1878. owners leased the Inn almost im- He died in 1880. Renfrew's heirs mediately to Mr. and Mrs. A. J. secured title to the property from Marastoni who have maintained the U.S. Government in August of the character of the log structure 1882. In March 1884 they sold the with furnishings in keeping with land to George Frissel for $350.00. its age. The only departure is the For this incredible sum Frissel had spotless stainless steel kitchen with titleto 160 acresof McKenzie ultra modern cooking and serving River frontage extending apnroxi- facilities. mately from the present McKenzie The Marastonis (Peggy and Tony Bridge one mile upstream and one to their guests) have brought to quarter of a mile wide. Log Cabin Inn a lifetime of experi- In 1909 the acreage was subdiv- ence and skill in the preparation ided into 29 lots following the river and serving of fine foods. Tony has upstream about a mile. Frissel's successfully managed and owned widow sold Log Cabin Inn and fine restaurants. Peggy's specialty adjoining properties in September is antiques and interior decorating 1925 to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Wach- and the antique shop at the Inn and smith who held the Inn properties its appointments are her creation. until 1944. In this year they sold The owners, Art Lucey and Paul to the Taylor family who in turn Krumm are ex-Californians who sold to the Robert Tuttle family in held executive positions with a na- April 1946. The Tuttles operated tional food chain and with Knott's the Log Cabin Inn Resort for 21 Berry Farm. 19 Bunk house, Helena Mine. Third floor.

LANE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY Non-Profit 740 West 13th Ave., Eugene, Oregon Organization U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 96 Eugene, Oregon

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