:IM4EMTS 86th Congress 2d Session COMMITT:EE PRINT THE DISPOSITION OF THEtLIC DOMAIN IN OREGON MEMORANDUM OF THE CHAIRMAN TO THE /1 LCOMMITTEE ON INTJOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS UNITED STATE/ TEANSMITTI*-X DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY AND THE COMMITTEE ON GRADUATE STUDY OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY NOVEMBER 1960 Printed for the use of the Committee on Interior ad Insular Affairs UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 56227 WASHINGTON: 1960 COMMWI'JiiE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AITAIRS JAMES B MURRAY Montana Chazrmaa CLINTON P. ANDERSON, New Mexióo HENRY DWORSHAK, Idaho HENRY M. JACKSON, Washington THOMAS H KUCHEL, California. 10SEP11 C. O'MAHONEY, Wyoming BARRY GOLDWATER, Arizona ALAN BIBLE, Nevada GORDON ALLOTT, Colorado JOHN A. CARROLL, Colorado THOS. E. MARTIN, Iowa FRANK CHURCH, Idaho HIRAM L. FONG, Hawaii ERNEST GRUENING, Alaska FRANK E. MOSS, Utah OREN E. LONG, Hawaii HALL S. LUSK, Oregon QUENTIN BURDICK, North Dakota RICHARD L. CALLAGRAN, Staff Director STEWART FRENCH, Chief Ceunsel NELL D. MCSHERRY, Clerk H MEMORANDUM OF TRANSMITTAL U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, May 10,1960. To the Members of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs: I submit herewith a committee document entitled "The Disposition of the Public Domain in Oregon."Prior to his death, our former colleague, Senator Richard L. Neuberger, called to my attention a dissertation written as a doctoral thesis by Jerry A. O'Callaghan, legislative assistant to Senator Joseph C. O'Ma.honey.The above- mentioned document incorporates that dissertation as it has been brought up to date by Mr. O'Callaghan. I believe you will find it a most valuable study of the history of Federal lands in the State of Oregon and a most useful frame of reference in your consideration of land problems existing on the public domain in all States. JAMES E. MURRAY, Chairman. In LETTER OF SUBMITTAL U.S. SENATE, CoimnrTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, December, 1959. Hon. JAMES E. MURRAY, Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR SENATOR MURRAY: Recently I had the opportunity of review- ing "Disposition of the Public Domain in Oregon," which I am en- closing.It is Jerry O'Callaghan's (legislative assistant to Senator O'Mahoney) doctoral dissertation at Stanford submitted in 1951, and I consider it an excellent job. It seems to me that a thesis such as this would be a valuable thing tohave printed as a committee print so that it could be used in con- nection with public-land legislation.In fact, I am inclined to think that our committee might well sponsor the publication of a similar document for each of the public-land States. I would like to ask you to publish Jerry O'Callaghan's thesis this fall. May I suggest that he handle the project but that he may want to call on Jim Gamble to help update the action taken on the Klamath Reservation and I3ob WOlf to help footnote the action of the 83d Congress on the controverted 0. & C. lands.With these two revi- sions and such editorial adjustments as Jerry might wish to make, the thesis would be completely up to date. If you agree to this and if you desire, I will glad be to prepare an introduction for the print. With best wishes, I am, Sincerely, Dick Neuberger, RICHARD L. NEUBERGER, U.S. Senator. V THE DISPOSITION OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN IN OREGON BY JERRY A O'CALLAGHAN PREFACE Anyone familiar with the genre will immediately recognize this study for what it is a doctoral. dissertation.It has been revised, by editorial excision of words found surplus when read 9 years after their writing and use of later statistics where appropriate as well as noting important developments since 1950.These intervening years have been active ones which have included teaching at Stanford Uni- versity, where the dissertation was written, and at the University of Wyoming; editing the oil pages of the Casper Tribune-Herald at Casper, Wyo., long the exploration center of the Rocky Mountain oil province; and serving nearly 4 years as legislative assistant to Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney, whose many responsibilities in the Senate have, in late years, included the chairmanship of the Public Lands Subcommittee of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. These years and these positions have all contributed a greater knowl- edge of the public lands but have precluded any further pursuit of their disposition in Oregon. If time and circumstance had permitted, I should have preferred to investigate further the story of homesteading in OregonThe first investigation was necessarily confined to official documents and the ifies of the Oregonian.Beyond the statistical; there is a surprising lack of material in these sources.Undoubtedly, there is in the ifies of country newspapers and the scattered letters and private papers a wealth of material yet to be collected and assayed with respect to homesteading in Oregon.I have chosen, however, to publish in its present form this story of "The Disposition of the Public Domain m Oregon" in the belief that a contribution can be made at this time. This is a modest effort, yet there are many to whom I am greatly indebted for encouragement, advice, and information.Those to whom public acknowledgement would be most fitting include: Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney, who has given me opportunity as his legislative assistant to learn much about many affairs including the public lands; Richard Callaghan, staff director, Senate Committee on interior and Insular Affairs, and Stewart French, its chief counsel, E D Eaton, Robert Wolf, James Gamble, members of its professional staff, an Harold Symes, its printing editorial assistant; E. E. Robinson, chair- man emeritus, department of history, Stanford University; and the late Dan E. Clark, onetime chairman, department of history, Univer- sity of Oregon. I have many regrets about the untimely death of Senator Richard L. Neuberger of Oregon. A minor one is that Senator Neuberger, whose suggestion it was that this work be printed by the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, cannot be the author of the preface which he indicated he desired to write for it. Wives of scholars are universally called upon, it seems, to bear a large share of the responsibilities of scholarshipFlorence Sheehan O'Callaghan has responded in this instance with the intelligence, wit, and affection which are characteristic of her in all endeavors. JERRY A O'CALLAGHAN WASHINGTON, D.C., May 10, 1960. Ix CONTENTS Introduction: Page Physiography of Oregon 1 Statistics on disposition in Oregon 2 Chaptet I The early settlement of Oregon, 1840-60 "Oregon Fever" 3 Character of pioneers 5 Boundary settlement 5 Provisional government 7 Its land legislation 8 Chapter II. Later settlement of Oregon, 1860-1910: Settlement of eastern Oregon 11 Mining and the cattle industry 12 Railroad construction 13 Land promotion by the railroads 14 Homesteads in eastern Oregon 16 Irrigation and reclamation 17 Population increase 18 Chapter III. Extinguishing the Indian title: Delayed extinguishment 21 Joel Palmer's negotiations 23 Unratified treaties and the Yakima war 24 Congressional responsibility 25 Encroachment upon Indian land 2(1 Kiamath termination 27 Chapter IV. The Donation Land Act: The Linn bills 31 Passage of the Donation Act 32 Congressional debate 33 The Donation Act and the Hudson's Bay Co 33 Importance of the act 34 Chapter V. The Oregon & California grant: Authorization in 1866 37 The designation struggle 38 Changes in congressional attitudes 39 The "actual settler" clause 39 Sale of the grant lands 41 Southern Pacific closure 42 Authorization for recovery suit 43 Before the Supreme Court 44 The Ferris-Chamberlain Act 45 Chapter VI. The wagon road grants: Wagon road grants in Mississippi Valley 4 Five military wagon roads in Oregon 50 Oregon Central Military Wagon Road 50 The Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Wagon Road Co 52 The Dalles Military Wagon Road 54 The Corvallis and Yaquina Bay Wagon Road 55 The Coos Bay Wagon Road 55 Forfeiture suits 56 Oregon Central grant and the Klamath Indians 58 Chapter VII. Grant to the State of Oregon: State lands in the timber boom 61 Land provisions of the admission act 63 School lands 64 The intriiai improement grant 6(1 The university grant 66 The agricultural college grant 67 Swamp lands 67 Minor grants 70 XI XII CONTENTS Chapter VIII. The disposition of timber lands: Page Early lack of value 71 Private ownership of timber 72 The commuted homestead The Timber and Stone Act 74 Timberland locators 75 The Northern Pacific grant and the Forest Lieu Act 78 The Southern Pacific as timber owner 80 Present ownership pattern 8Z Chapter IX. Land fraud in the timber: Stephen- A.- Douglas Puter- and the 11-7 case 86 Francis J. Heney as special prosecutor 88 Trial of Senator Mitchell 89 Blue Mountain Reserve conspiracy 92 Trials of Congressman -Williamson -- 93 Acquittals of Binger Hermann 94 Dismissal of numerous indictments 94 Chapter X. The Homestead Act and after: - - -- - - Twentieth century homesteading 97 Original and final entry - - 98 Cash sa'es ----- - 99 Railroad grants -- -- - 100 Land -ownership pattern 101 Summary - - - - -- 103 Appendix - - 107 Bibliography 10 INTRODUCTION Physiographers divide Oregon into eight physiographic provinces: the Coast province, the Wilamette Valley province, the Cascade plateau, the Kiamath province, the Snake River plains, the South-. eastern Lake province, the Blue-Wallowa Mountain province, and the Columbia-Deschutes province'In general designation Oregon is moi e simply divided into eastern and western Oregon, separated by the Cascade RangeIt is easy to think that the Cascades divide Oregon equally into an eastern and western halfActually eastern Oregon is the larger as the Cascades leave western Oregonas one- quarter and eastern Oregon as three-quarters of the State Western Oregon was the first settled and is themost populous.