WITH COMPASS AND CHAIN IN OREGON
I had occasionally met Mr. Elder, and about this time he informed me
that a surveyor general had been appointed for the territory of Oregon;
that he was a man from Illinois, with whom he was well acquainted, and
that he would probably be at San Francisco on his way to Oregon in a few
weeks.
It was his intention to meet the official in San Francisco, expecting to
make arrangements to go to Oregon and do some work on the government
surveys. He also said to me that if he should do so, he would like to
have me go with him. I did not decide at that time to go.
About that time I met Mr. Pinney in Marysville. I believe he had been
cutting wood at Yuba City for some time previous. During the late summer
or autumn previous he was employed with others at some place on or near
Nelson’s Creek, where they had struck a good claim and had taken out
quite an amount of gold. I never learned the exact amount, but supposed
it to be from $4,000 to $5,000 for his share. Some time while chopping
he had boarded at Yuba City with a Rev. Mr. George H. Hanson.
Mr. Hanson and a Mr. Bayliss, who kept a hotel at Yuba City, owned the
ferry across Feather River at that place. Pinney informed me that Mr.
Hanson desired to let him the contract to excavate a road from the boat
landing on either side of the river up through the banks so as to permit
of teams passing to better advantage. If I would contract with him for
doing the work, he thought we might do well.
We looked the situation over and found the cut on the Yuba City side
would be light, but that on the Marysville side was quite deep. I
suggested to Mr. Pinney that the better plan would be that Mr. Hanson
should set his stakes so that we could know just what would be expected
from us to complete the work. Mr. Hanson proposed that the road should
be at a true grade from the shore to a certain point, about 150 feet
distant, and should be of sufficient width to permit the passage of two
teams when meeting, the banks to be properly sloped.
After considerable discussion relative to the depth of the cut, which I
claimed would be twelve feet, he replied that he knew it could not be
more than nine feet deep, and made the following expression in his
western dialect: “You needn’t for to dig it more than nine feet anyhow.”
We made the contract to do the work with the understanding that we would
not be required to excavate over nine feet in the deepest place, but it
was not written out. We bought some shovels and the next day we
commenced the work. The material to be removed was all fine sand and was
good shoveling. We began at the waters edge and threw it into the river
and it was washed away by the current. We made the sand fly fast and we
made a large showing on the first day.
After we had worked away from the river so that we could no longer
throw the sand into the water, we used wheelbarrows. This was a very
much slower process.
We made the cut nine feet deep at the deepest point and finished it in
width so that two teams could easily pass each other, but Mr. Hanson
then claimed that it must be on a true grade. This would at least add
one-third to the amount of work. But as we had no written contract, we
concluded that the better way out of it was to make the cut as he
proposed.
Another matter that came into controversy later was about the width. At
the time the contract was made, when Mr. Hanson said the cut must be of
sufficient width for two teams to pass, I made the remark that that was
very indefinite, and made the request that he should give the number of
feet required at the bottom of the cut, and he did so.
About this time Mr. Pinney received a letter from Pelham, N. H., which I
suppose was from a Miss Young, with whom he had formerly been somewhat
intimate, and whom he married later. This letter seemed to have such an
effect upon him that he lost all interest in the work, and a few days
later proposed to me that I should pay him for his share of the work
completed. He said he had concluded to start for home at once. I pleaded
in vain that he should remain until our contract was finished.
I paid him for his interest and he started for San Francisco. We
supposed the contract to be nearly finished. I had met Mr. Elder and he
informed me that he had met the surveyor-general of Oregon, John B.
Preston of Illinois, in San Francisco. Mr. Preston was not the first
man appointed, the other having declined to accept the office.
Mr. Elder had been employed as assistant engineer on the Michigan and
Illinois canal in Illinois by the new surveyor-general. He said Mr.
Preston had promised him work on the government survey. He intended to
go to Oregon a little later and desired me to go with him. I agreed to
go.
I continued to work on the job and at length finished it, as I supposed.
I had made the cut a true grade from the river to the point agreed upon,
which made it 13 feet deep at the deepest point. The width was the
number of feet stated by Mr. Hanson, but it was not quite wide enough to
permit of two teams passing each other.
I had also finished the cut on the Yuba City side as was agreed upon,
and I supposed that Mr. Hanson would be willing to accept the work and
pay the amount agreed upon. I informed him that the contract was
completed and requested him to examine it.
We went to the Marysville side, and after measuring the bottom of the
deep cut Mr. Hanson said it was not sufficiently wide to permit two
teams passing each other. I reminded him of the conversation in relation
to the matter when the number of feet was given by him, but he could
recollect nothing in relation to that matter. He insisted that it must
be made considerably wider before it would be accepted. After having
done about one-third more work than we really had contracted to do, to
be required to make the cut two or three feet wider, when it was 150
feet long and 13 feet deep at the deepest point, seemed to me to be
asking too much. But I found him determined not to pay for the work
unless I yielded. I concluded to keep quiet and make the widening as he
proposed.
I made the alteration as he had suggested and again I informed him that
the contract was completed. Again he went with me to the place of the
cut, and also Mr. Bayliss was with us.
Mr. Hanson began to measure and also to find fault with the work,
claiming that the job was not nearly completed. He said he would not pay
me until considerable more was done.
I could endure it no longer, and I said to Mr. Hanson that he was the
meanest man I had had any dealings with in California. Thereupon, he
became almost frantic, and he immediately drew the square over my head.
It was a heavy carpenter’s steel square. He exclaimed that if I uttered
another word he would split my head open! I immediately repeated the
remark. Of course, it was not my intention to stand there quietly and
permit him to cleave my head open, as he had threatened to do. But I
stood still nevertheless, intending, if he attempted to strike me, to
pursue the course that might seem to be best under the existing
conditions. He threw down the weapon and said he would never pay me a
dollar for the work until I had done a large amount more to finish it.
Determined not to yield now, I replied I had already removed about twice
the amount of earth the contract called for at first; that he had
continually lied about it; that no dependence whatever could be placed
on his word or veracity; that he was a very unjust specimen of a man;
and that I would never remove another shovelful of earth for him.
He went away saying he would never pay me a cent. I was as fully
determined I would do no more work on the job under any conditions. At
first I thought I would sue him for the amount due me. After considering
the matter for a day or two I concluded I would see what could be done
with Mr. Bayliss, his partner, about the matter. I had been acquainted
with him for a number of months, and had considered him an honest man.
He had no part in making the contract so far as I was concerned. I went
to him one day and informed him that I was about to go to Oregon and
that I should like to settle the matter. As he was a partner with Mr.
Hanson in the ferry, and I had always believed him to be a reasonable
man, I had come to him to talk about the matter. Mr. Bayliss listened to
my statements very kindly, but said he regretted the conversation that
had taken place between Mr. Hanson and myself. If that had been
otherwise he thought the matter might have been adjusted with little
trouble, but Mr. Hanson was a very passionate man, and as he was then
feeling toward me, he would not agree to any settlement that would be
satisfactory to me. He said it would be of no use whatever to undertake
to have Mr. Hanson agree to pay the full amount of the contract price,
but provided I would consent to make a small discount he would see what
arrangement could be made with him. When I again met Mr. Bayliss a
little later, the proposed settlement had been agreed upon and he paid
me accordingly.
I soon after left Marysville for San Francisco, on my way to Oregon. At
San Francisco I met Mr. Elder and also Mr. Pinney, who had been waiting
here all this time for the sailing of the steamer for Panama. He
expected now to sail within two or three days. He might as well have
remained and assisted me finishing the contract.
Mr. Pinney had brought his gold with him. It had been put up in several
buckskin bags. After his arrival in San Francisco, instead of depositing
it in one of the banks for safe keeping during his stay in the city, he
had buried it in the sands of one of the vacant lots of the city.
When he went to recover it he failed to find it, when he became
thoroughly alarmed. After a more thorough search, however, he found it.
He said it had been removed from the place where he first deposited it
and had been buried in another place. It was in vain I tried to make him
believe that if anybody had taken the gold from its hiding place he
would have carried it away, instead of concealing it in a new place, and
he would never have got his hands on it again. While he admitted the
force of the argument, he said he was perfectly sure that he found it in
a different location from where he placed it. He said he was very
nervous when he failed to find his fortune where he had buried it.
Almost any one would be nervous under similar conditions. However, it
was always my opinion that he found it at the exact spot where he had
placed it, but that he had mistaken the locality. Probably Mr. Pinney’s
deposit of gold did not weigh less than from twenty to twenty-five
pounds, which would make an awkward pocket companion.
I had been in California two winters and one summer, or a little over
nineteen months. As a whole I had enjoyed my experiences quite well.
We remained in San Francisco a few days, waiting for the sailing of the
steamer for Portland, Oregon, and left on Wednesday, June 4, 1851, in
the Pacific mail steamer.
After we had passed out through the Golden Gate into the Pacific ocean,
the sea became quite rough, but as I had never been on the ocean before,
I did not realize it was any rougher than usual. Nearly all the
passengers were seasick. I thought I should escape, but in the evening I
also became a victim. The seasickness stood by me for two or three days,
and was the only time, with one exception, I was ever afflicted that
way.
We passed over the bar at the mouth of the Columbia river on Sunday,
June 8th, and arrived at Portland, Oregon, on Monday the 9th, where we
remained over night.
On Tuesday, June 10th, we passed up the River Willamette, about twelve
miles, to Oregon City, in a small, open iron steamer, that probably
might safely carry 15 or 20 passengers.
At the time we arrived in Oregon the surveys had been commenced by two
parties. The meridian and base lines had to be established and run for
greater or lesser distances before any other surveys could be made.
The surveyor-general had taken with him from the states several
experienced surveyors and quite a number of other persons to engage in
the surveys. A point near Portland was selected from which to the
commence the meridian and base lines. Mr. James E. Freeman, a man who
had been a deputy surveyor in Wisconsin, had been awarded the contract
to run the meridian line south from Portland, and William Ives, another
experienced government surveyor, had taken the contract to extend the
meridian line north from the same point to Puget Sound. These parties
were engaged at running the meridian line at the time of our arrival in
Oregon, and had all the assistance needed, so there was no prospect for
any work on the surveys for me for an indefinite time.
I had been studying surveying when an opportunity presented itself, but
knew practically nothing of the government system of public surveys.
There seemed to be but little work to be had at Oregon City, and board
was quite high.
Mr. Elder was engaged by the surveyor-general as chief clerk in the
surveyor-general’s office. I was a stranger to the surveyor-general and
all his deputies that he brought with him, and I knew that he would
provide places for all his own party before a stranger like myself would
receive any attention. Yet, I knew Mr. Elder was a good friend to me,
but as he was engaged in the office, the prospect seemed to be that he
would have no contract, consequently could give me no assistance that
was most needed by me. It seemed to me that I had made a mistake in
leaving California, and I thought seriously of returning. But through
Mr. Elder’s encouragement I was induced to remain.
We boarded at a hotel which was one of two kept in Oregon City, where
board was six dollars a week, or one dollar and fifty cents per day.
One little incident that transpired while at this hotel I will relate to
show how sometimes people injure themselves in being too sharp in small
affairs. At the time I came to this hotel it was quite uncertain what
length of time I should remain. So I had an understanding with the
landlord that if my stay should be a week or more, the price would be by
the week, but should it be less than a week, I should pay the price by
the day.
After remaining for about three days, I concluded to leave for a time,
and as it was uncertain when I should return, I settled my board bill,
paying the day price. It so happened that I returned on the evening of
the same day, and occupied my room as before. I then remained during the
remainder of the week and some days over. When I came to settle my board
with the landlord he presented a bill made up by the day price for the
time after I had paid him.
I claimed the agreement was, if I remained for a whole week, or seven
days or more, that the price should be by the week, and that the fact
that I settled with him and made a payment at the middle of the week did
not change the matter, so far as right and justice was concerned. At the
time of the former settlement I paid him a part of a week’s board, and
that now I was to pay him the balance. But he failed to see the matter
in that light, and claimed the day price.
Consequently, I paid him on his basis by the day, but I left him to
board at the other hotel, “Mosses,” where I ever after stayed when in
Oregon City.
Soon after arriving in Oregon I went south up the Willemette valley
among the farmers, thinking possibly I would find some work for a time,
but as I found no employment, I returned to Oregon City after a few
days.
Some one informed me that a mill was being erected on the Tualitan
River, a few miles from Oregon City, and that the owner of the mill
needed some more help.
I went to the location where the mill was being built and engaged to
work for three dollars a day and board for a short time. I commenced
work on Monday, June 30th. The labor was very hard, it being on a dam
across the stream, which was being constructed of stone, brush and
gravel. All of this material had to carried by hand.
I labored on the dam for twelve days, when it was nearly completed, and
the proprietor, Mr. Madden, discharged a considerable part of his help.
He had other work to be done in building the sawmill and its
foundations, etc. He said to me he should pay his laborers only two
dollars per day after that date, but that if I would remain he would pay
me two dollars and fifty cents. I continued on the job until the 3d day
of August.
About this time Mr. Elder one day came over to see me and informed me
that he had contracted with the government to resurvey Oregon City and
desired me to assist him in the work. At that time he had very little
work in the office, as none of the surveys had been completed. I went to
Oregon City, but it was some time before he was prepared to commence the
job of resurveying the town. In the meantime I was pursuing the study of
surveying in earnest.
[Illustration: MINERS STARTING FOR HOME.]
We commenced the survey on Thursday, August 21st, and completed it on
September 29th, making an entirely new survey and setting the bounds,
which was authorized and approved by the United States government.
While at work on the Tualitan River, the last part of my work there had
been on the river, clearing it from sunken timbers and obstructions, so
as to permit logs being floated down to the mill.
During the time that I was engaged on the Oregon City survey for Mr.
Elder, the contracts had been let to survey township lines, one to
Butler Ives, a brother of William Ives, dated August 15; one to William
Ives, dated September 10; and one to James E. Freeman, dated September
17. These contracts provided for the surveying of the exterior lines of
twenty townships, within the most thickly settled part of the Willamette
valley, and principally south of Oregon City, reaching as far south as
Township No. 10, or near to Albany on the Willamette River.
Mr. Elder made arrangements with Mr. Freeman, when the work at Oregon
City should be completed for me to go out and work for him. Mr.
Freeman’s contract included some of the Willamette and Santiam Rivers,
and extended southerly so as to include townships 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10
south of range 1 west, and townships 9 and 10 south of ranges 2, 3 and 4
west, with a part of the 2d standard parallel south. This work was from
30 to 50 miles south of Oregon City.
After the Oregon City work had been completed, I left the place and
traveled on foot and alone southerly to the point where Mr. Freeman’s
party was at work, and found them without trouble. Mr. Freeman had five
or six men in his party, a part of whose names I yet recall.
Zenas F. Moody from Chicopee, Mass., who went to Oregon at or about the
same time as the surveyor-general. He was young, only 20 years of age.
He afterwards became governor of Oregon for four years. Another was
George W. Hyde, a brother-in-law of Mr. Preston, the surveyor-general;
and another was Allen F. Seymour, of New York state, all of whom went to
Oregon with the party of Mr. Preston, and had worked with Mr. Freeman on
the meridian line. Mr. Moody and Mr. Seymour were chainmen.
All the government public land surveys were required to be made with
Burt’s patent solar compass. This was an instrument that was guided by
the sun instead of the magnetic needle, and was of far greater accuracy.
It was provided with a needle that could be used when it was impossible,
from any cause, to make use of the sun.
The township lines were all required to be surveyed by the sun, but
subdivisions were permitted to be made in part by the needle, at such
places where local attraction did not exist to great extent. At this
time I knew nothing whatever in regard to the working of the solar
compass. I had never even seen the instrument. It is very reliable, but
is provided with several arcs, which must be constantly adjusted; the
most important of these are the latitude arc and the declination arc.
The exact latitude, even to one minute of a degree, of the place of
work, must be set off on the latitude arc, and the declination of the
sun, north or south, must be set off on the declination arc, also to the
exact minute for the month, day and hour, otherwise the instrument
would not give the true meridian of the sun.
The next morning after I came into camp Mr. Freeman told me to take the
axe for that day. He also told me to blaze the trees that stood on each
side and near to the line as run by the compassman where there were
trees, and to prepare posts for the section and quarter-section corners.
I have a distinct recollection of feeling considerably embarrassed, as I
did not fully comprehend all the duties I was expected to perform. It
was all new to me.
The line was started and the first tree that needed to be marked was
blazed on the proper side, but I made it quite low down. I went along
the line a short distance and turned about, facing the tree I had
marked. It at once occurred to me that the purpose of blazing those
trees was for a guide by which to follow the lines, and that marks
should be made sufficiently high so as to be readily seen at a distance,
and that afterwards I would make the marks higher up on the trees.
While I stood looking at the marked tree, Mr. Freeman said: “Make the
marks a little higher on the trees.” Mr. Hyde gave me some instructions
as to what the corner posts should be, and how they should be prepared,
and I soon became familiar with the duties of an “axeman.” I continued
to perform these duties for several weeks, until one day Mr. Freeman
said to me that perhaps I might think it strange he kept me as axeman so
long. He had not at first intended to do so, but they had tried two or
three before I came and could not make them understand the work. As I
had done it so well he had hesitated about making a change.
This was the first time that I had known if I had given even ordinary
satisfaction. I said to him that I was satisfied, that I had enjoyed the
work, and that I felt greatly pleased if I had given satisfaction.
Mr. Freeman was not an expert mathematician, and as I had studied
trigonometry pretty thoroughly, I could calculate distances very readily
by logarithmic sines. There were many triangulations to make and
distances to calculate across rivers and bayous. When I first began work
for Mr. Freeman, he requested that I would make the calculations of the
distances with him. He would work them by the traverse table, and I by
logarithmic sines. Sometimes we would agree in our results, but very
often we would obtain different results, and in such cases we would each
go over the work again. In almost every such instance the error was
found in his work.
After a time he gave up making all such calculations and trusted it
wholly to me, unless they were of a very simple character.
Mr. Hyde left the party soon after I began work for Mr. Freeman. He
assisted him in making the calculations before I came. It was very
important that the work of the calculations of these triangulations and
distances should be done correctly, as a small error was liable to cause
much trouble later, and sometimes might cost hundreds of dollars to
correct.
We continued the work, but in November, previous to the finishing of the
contract, the rainy season began and there was much rainy and cloudy
weather, so the survey was continued under considerable difficulty.
About November 20 Mr. Freeman concluded to go to Oregon City. The
contract was not completed, but with favorable weather it could be
finished in a short time. Mr. Freeman went to the surveyor-general’s
office at Oregon City to return the field notes of the surveys he had
completed, and to get a contract for subdivisions.
The camp was broken up and he discharged all his help, excepting Mr.
Moody and myself. He authorized us to remain and await his return, and
to board with a family, and see to the pack horses. In case it should
become fair weather previous to his return, so the solar apparatus could
be used to advantage. I could try to survey a new township line. I had
not at that time undertaken to make any surveys with the solar compass,
though I had been learning by observation about its workings.
The first week after Mr. Freeman’s departure the weather continued
cloudy or rainy the greater part of the time, and we could do no work on
the township line, but one of the settlers desired me to make a survey
of his claim, which was one mile square. This could be done by the
needle. The lines were to be made to conform to the cardinal points, due
north, south, east and west, but otherwise were not required to conform
to the public surveys. I agreed to survey it for him, and after the
starting corner was pointed out, we began the work. This was my first
experience in surveying any lengthy line, my experience having been on
city lots. We were to survey around one square mile, making four equal
side, each one mile in length. Of course, I felt some nervousness about
the closing. Should errors be made they would show at this point. About
one-half of the land was in the prairie, and the balance in timber land.
I managed the compass, and Mr. Moody, with another man, were chainmen.
The man for whom we were making the survey remarked that he supposed I
had had a good deal of experience in that kind of work. I did not inform
him that I was then engaged in making my maiden survey. When we had
surveyed three sides of the quadrangle, and were running toward the
starting point on the fourth, or last side, the owner began to predict
about where we would come out in relation to the point of beginning.
He declared there would be quite a wide distance from the point of
beginning. This, as was natural, caused me to be more nervous. However,
I made no reply, and when the survey was completed, it proved to be a
very satisfactory close. This gave me more confidence, and as another
man near by desired a similar survey made, we made that with equal
satisfaction.
About the second week of Mr. Freeman’s absence the weather cleared up
and the sun shone, and Mr. Moody and myself started the survey of the
township line. I was compassman, as before, and assisted him in making
the measurements with the chain. This was an east and west line, six
miles long, and was run as a “random line,” as they were called. All
east and west lines were random lines, as at first surveyed, and were
afterwards corrected according to the amount of error found in closing.
Later I surveyed many township lines, but I believe that was the most
difficult one I ever surveyed. Soon after we commenced it we ran into
the Santiam bottom and river, and the line followed the stream, crossing
and recrossing almost the entire distance. The impassible parts of this
line of six miles, which was measured by us by triangulations and
offsets, amounted to very nearly, if not quite, one-half of its entire
length.
It was a tedious and discouraging task for a beginner. But we worked
upon it steadily, when the sun favored us, and at the end of nearly a
week we reached the town corner. I had run a due west line, and at the
end fell farther from the corner than I had expected. Consequently, I
did not feel fully satisfied with the outcome of my work.
We did not correct the line, however, as I supposed Mr. Freeman would
make a new survey when he should return. In fact, we had no time to
correct the line, as Mr. Freeman returned after an absence of about two
weeks. I explained to him what we had accomplished during his absence,
and how the township line had closed. After he had made an examination
of his field notes of the closing six miles farther north, he said it
was really the best close that had been made on that contract, it having
closed with less variation, as compared with the parellel line six miles
north of it. We soon after finished the contract.
While at Oregon City Mr. Freeman took the contract to subdivide
townships 9 and 10 S. range, 1 west; 8 and 9 S. range 2 W. and 9 S.
range 3 W., it being a part of the townships of which we had surveyed
the exterior lines. This contract was dated November 28, 1851.
After we had finished the first contract we began the subdivision. There
were 60 miles of surveys of subdivisions in each township. At first I
acted as one of the chainmen with Mr. Moody, and Mr. Freeman was
compassman. Soon after we had started, however, Mr. Freeman asked me to
relieve him so as to give him time to write up his field notes. The
result was before we were half done I was compassman substantially all
the time, and so continued until the contract was completed.
The winter of 1851-52 was quite a rainy one in Oregon, and some time
during the rainy season Mr. Freeman concluded to dispense with the camp
and depend upon the settlers for accommodations. Nearly all the settlers
held their claims under the Donation Law, so called, passed by Congress
September 27, 1850.
These claims principally consisted of 640 acres, equal to one square
mile of land, which, when taking account of the lands unsettled, caused
the residences to be at a considerable distance from each other,
generally from one-half mile to three miles.
In some respects this arrangement of seeking accommodations with the
settlers was satisfactory, and in other respects it was not. In many
instances, after our work for the day had been completed, when we were
wet and hungry, we were obliged to travel from two to four miles before
reaching a house. The houses there at that time were log cabins, the
great majority of which contained but one room, with perhaps a small
“loft.”
So, many times when we reached the first house after a long walk, and
made the inquiry if we could be accommodated with supper, lodging and
breakfast, or in western language: “If we could get to stay over
night?” the reply almost invariably would be: “We have no accommodations
to keep folks.” At the next house we probably could “get to stay,” as
they “kept folks.” The estimate of the distance to the next house was
almost invariably given at not more than one-half of the actual
distance. When we at length arrived at the next house a similar story,
in most cases, would be told, so that on some occasion we traveled until
quite late in the evening before we could succeed in finding lodging for
the night. The next morning we were obliged to retrace the same road to
reach the place where we had quit work the evening previous. These
people, however, were very hospitable and could not be censured with
justice. A majority of them were immigrants from Missouri and other
western states, and many of them had lived on the frontier during their
whole lives.
In many cases where we stopped for the night, the cabin contained one
room only, of a fair size, say 15 by 20 feet, and the family would
consist of man and wife, and from five to ten children, in some
instances including two or three girls nearly women grown. Of course,
families so situated could not be expected to have accommodations for
three or four tired, hungry men. However, in many cases we would prevail
upon them to consent to keep us, and they would do the very best that
they were able to do under the existing conditions.
They would divide their bed, putting the feather bed on the floor for
the use of their guests. This was done for us in many instances. After
managing in this way for a time, and becoming familiar with the ways
and manners of the people, I knew much better how to manage the matter
of getting kept over night. I learned that if we should assume a simple
“No” with excuses, more or less elaborate, was to be taken as a final
refusal, that we would find very few places of accommodations.
Later I made it a point to get into the inside of the house before the
request was made for accommodations for the night. I would not even
await an invitation to step inside, but no sooner than the door was open
I would at once enter, if possible, without being conspicuously
ungentlemanly. Sometimes I would inquire for a drink of water and gain
admission thereby. Once inside I found the battle more than half won. We
could then almost always induce the good people to keep us.
The surveying of the public lands may be thought by many to be light,
easy work, but it is really hard and rough. The surveyors are subjected
to much exposure, especially in the winter or rainy season.
The winters in Oregon, as in California, are called “rainy seasons.”
There is much rainy weather and some snow, but the snows are usually
damp and soon melt away in the valleys. The weather is seldom very cold,
but is sometimes cold enough to cause thin ice to form on the surface of
standing water.
During the rainy season in Oregon the small streams were full and all
the sloughs and swampy places were at times overflowed with water. At
that time ferries had been established across some of the larger streams
at certain points. The smaller streams had to be forded.
We had very much wading to do in crossing streams, sloughs and swamps,
quite often having to wade places where the water was not less than
three or four feet deep. The water was necessarily cold, but after a few
days of experience we would become accustomed to it, so we would not
mind it very much. When a pair of new boots were purchased, before they
were worn, a slit would be made in each one, near the sole, at the
inside of the instep to give drainage for the water to pass out. We had
a great amount of similar wading to do on this contract.
I will relate only one from many experiences which came my way during
the fall of 1851. When Mr. Freeman was surveying the meridian line, he
had a transit with his party, to make triangulations to distant mountain
peaks and other topographical objects that might come within range on
either side.
This transit, from a fall or some other accident, became injured, so it
became entirely useless for the purpose of making triangulations, and it
was left by Mr. Freeman at a farmhouse. Previous to his visit to Oregon
City in November, he concluded to take the transit along with him to the
surveyor-general’s office.
One morning he desired me to go for the instrument and bring it to camp.
He gave me the name of the man where it had been left, and the location
of the house was pointed out on the plan. As I remember, the location
was about twelve or fourteen miles distant.
Our camp was to be removed on that day, so that on my return it would be
necessary for me to pursue a different course from the one in going. I
started and found the house without difficulty, and after partaking of
some dinner and settling all bills due the proprietor, I started in the
direction of which I expected to find our camp. In my journey to the
house I found a comparatively dry road, and was not obliged to go
through any deep water.
It was considerably into the afternoon when I started on the home
journey and I did not suppose I would be able to reach camp that
evening, but concluded to take the chances of finding a house where I
could remain over night. After traveling two or three miles I reached a
stream of considerable depth, which I waded, coming out pretty
thoroughly soaked. A short distance farther on I entered a large
prairie. The weather was cloudy, but it did not rain very much. I kept
on and was able to pursue the proper course by the help of the
instrument, until it became dark, when a dense fog settled down upon the
plain. I could see only a short distance and was not able to see to read
the bearing of the needle of the transit. I had no other guide to direct
my course except a very slight movement of the atmosphere, which was
scarcely perceptible.
However, I kept the course as well as I was able to do, thinking the
most probable outcome would be that I would be obliged to remain on the
prairie until the next morning.
Some time between eight and nine o’clock in the evening, I heard the low
of a cow at my left, at about a right angle with the course I was then
traveling. I immediately shaped my course toward the point from which
the sound came, supposing there would be a farmhouse in that vicinity.
I soon came upon a little trail or road, which I followed, but I had not
gone a great distance before I came to a slough, at that time filled
with water. As the weather had been quite cool, the water was frozen
over to the thickness of half an inch. I waded into the water where the
trail entered it, and broke my way through the ice. Before I reached the
opposite side, I found the water nearly four feet deep, and it was no
easy task to break the ice so as to make my way through.
After a time I reached the opposite side and soon after saw a dim light
through the fog. I went in the direction of the light and soon reached a
house, where the inmates had retired for the night. I found the people
to be very hospitable. The good lady of the house arose and prepared a
supper for me, and during the night dried my wet clothing before the
fire. The next morning I traveled to camp.
We completed the contract about the first of March and immediately after
went to Oregon City. The pay at this time for chainmen, axemen and
campmen on the surveys was about two dollars a day. Mr. Freeman paid me
a larger compensation, but I do not remember the price. After our
arrival at Oregon City, Mr. Elder said to me that he had resigned his
position as chief clerk at the office of the surveyor-general, and
should go on the field work. He was to have a contract, and desired me
to work in his employ. I agreed to do so.
He received a contract dated March 25, 1852. This contract was for the
survey of the exterior lines of townships 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 south, of
range 3 and 4 west, with a part of the first standard parallel south.
This amounted to about 120 miles of surveys at $17 a mile.
This contract was principally in the Yamhill valley, westerly and
southwesterly from Oregon City. The work was all within 25 miles of the
surveyor-general’s office.
Mr. Elder had procured me a solar compass, for which I paid him $350.
We began the contract about the first of April and finished it near the
end of May. I was compassman on substantially all the lines of the
contract, while Mr. Elder wrote the field notes and made the plats.
I received a commission as a United States deputy surveyor, April 25,
1852, from John B. Preston, surveyor-general of Oregon.
As soon as the contract was completed we went to Oregon City, and Mr.
Elder proposed that my name should be associated with his in a contract
for subdivisions, so as to be able to obtain a contract of ten
townships, instead of five, the number usually awarded to one deputy in
a single contract.
I was to work for him and have charge of one party, while he would have
charge of a second party. I agreed to this. The contract to Elder &
Webster was dated June 8, 1852, and was for the subdivisions of
townships 3 and 5 south range, 2 west; 1, 3, 4 and 5 south range, 3
west; and 2, 3, 4 and 5 south range, 4 west. This included all the
townships, with two exceptions, of which we had made the surveys of the
exterior lines, and included two townships in range 2 which had been
surveyed by Deputy William Ives. The number of miles contained in the
contract to be surveyed was estimated at 660. The subdivisions, or
interior lines of a township, amount to about 60 miles, provided there
are no streams or lakes to be measured. All streams considered navigable
are measured on both sides.
In this contract were portions of the Willamette and the Yamhill Rivers,
which were measured.
We left Oregon City on or about June 9th. We made up two parties. Mr.
Elder managed one party and I the other. In my party were Henry S. Gile,
from Alfred, Maine, a very intelligent man, who acted as one of my
chainmen; James M. Fudge from Sangamon county, Illinois, also a very
fine young man (he was killed by the explosion of a steamboat boiler a
short distance above the falls at Oregon City, in the spring of 1854);
Andrew Murphy, an intelligent Irish-American citizen from St. Louis,
Mo.; and James O’Connor, as compassman. The last named was an inhabitant
of Oregon, a young man. At this time I do not remember the names of Mr.
Elder’s party with the exception of Matthew Murphy, a brother to Andrew,
and who assisted Mr. Elder in the management of the compass before the
contract was completed.
We had good working forces on this contract and consequently had a very
pleasant time. I made considerably more than half of the surveys with my
party.
We were engaged on this contract about four months, or until about the
8th of October, when we went to Oregon City and made up our field notes
and plats, and returned them to the surveyor-general’s office. Mr. Elder
paid me something more than $100 a month for my work.
My health had continued good all through the summer, until just previous
to the time of finishing of the contract, when I was taken ill but
managed to lead my party and do my work until the survey was completed.
After we went to Oregon City I did not improve. I procured some medicine
once or twice from an English physician. Mr. Elder said I was afflicted
with a fever of some kind, and I thought later that probably he was
right. Be that as it may, I was quite sick for three or four weeks,
although I was out more or less every day during the whole time.
Finally, I began to improve, and about the first of December I had
nearly recovered my usual good health.
Up to this time I had had no contract on my own account, but it was
understood that I should receive a contract of subdivisions for winter.
This was under President Filmore’s administration and of course Mr.
Preston, the surveyor-general was a Whig, politically, as was Mr. Elder.
One day when I was in the surveyor-general’s office, Mr. Preston called
me into his private office and inquired in regard to my politics. This
surprised me as I had supposed he knew, and I could not help wondering
how much bearing my reply would have in awarding me a contract. I
immediately said I was a Democrat, and asked if that would make any
difference about awarding me a contract.
He said it would not with him, but with surveyor-generals generally a
distinction was made, and contracts were only awarded to deputies of
their own political faith.
[Illustration: SEAL OF CALIFORNIA IN ITS EARLIER DAYS.]
Mr. Preston was a fine man, and had always been very kind to me. I never
knew the object of his making the inquiry, but I afterwards supposed he
did it to test my honesty, and to see if I would equivocate in any way
in relation to my political principles. If I had pursued such a course
it is possible I might not have fared as well as I did. He said that a
majority of his deputies were Democrats. Mr. Freeman, William Ives, and
his brother, Butler Ives, and Joseph Hunt were all of that party.
He awarded me a contract, No. 27, dated December 1, 1852, for the
subdivisions of township No. 14 south, ranges 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 west,
estimated at 315 miles, at $10 per mile.
I made up my party and left Oregon City about a week later, going up the
River Willamette on a steamer to Salem, where I had arranged to have the
“pack horses” meet us, and where we camped near the river. A storm began
soon after we arrived at Salem, and it continued for two or three days,
so it was impracticable to attempt to move up the valley until the rain
should cease. Our work was about 50 miles southerly from Salem.
After three or four days the weather became fair and pleasant, and we
packed up our camp and moved southerly up the valley of the Willamette.
The river, with all the streams, was very much swollen from the recent
rains, and we were obliged to do considerable wading, some of which was
quite deep. As I had but a short time previously recovered from quite a
severe illness, and had not been so exposed for several weeks, I took
cold.
I felt the cold quite severely on the first night out from Salem. On the
second evening I had, as I believe, as severe a cold as I ever
experienced in my whole life. After the other men had turned in for the
night I inquired if any one of them had anything that would cure a cold.
One of them replied that he had some cayenne pepper in his valise and
told me where I could find it, and he told me that a teaspoonful in hot
water was a proper dose. After heating some water I put in a
tablespoonful of the cayenne, stirred it thoroughly, and drank dregs and
all. I am now convinced it was the warmest dose I ever drank, but I
immediately laid down for the night, and when I arose the next morning,
my cold had nearly disappeared. It troubled me very little afterward.
This, I believe, was the only serious cold I experienced while in
Oregon.
We were about three days in making the trip from Salem and we began work
December 17, in township No. 14 south, range 3, west. The Willamette
River ran through township 14, range 4 and 5, west. The Callapooza, a
small river, also passed through some of the townships.
There was much rainy weather through the last part of December, and also
during January, 1853, all the streams and swales being full of water.
I don’t recollect the names of the men who made up my party, with the
exception of one, whose name was McDonald. Whenever we got into a hard
place, he was always complaining, and would say that he should quit
work. He was not the sort of a man I desired, but I did not wish to have
him leave, as he had a sympathizer in the party who would be pretty sure
to leave if he did, and that would break up my gang. It would probably
trouble me to supply their places at that time.
We finished one township on January 3, and commenced upon the one next
west in range 4. The Willamette River intersected the western boundary
of this township, which it crossed four times, and also crossed its
south boundary. We had completed about two-thirds of the easterly part
of this township when one day it became necessary to cross the
Willamette River and bring out a line before we could make any farther
progress.
I made some inquiries of some of the settlers in relation to a boat, and
learned of a man nearby who owned a “dugout,” but upon seeing him he
declared it would be impossible to cross the river in its swollen
condition. We went to the river where the boat was located and the
situation for crossing did really look to be somewhat dangerous to be
undertaken at that time with such a craft. I had many times used similar
boats to cross streams.
A “dugout” is a boat made from a log, being dug out, as its name
implies, and many of them are not very steady on the water, overturning
very easily. This was one of the unsteady kind, and the river at the
point where the boat lay at that time was very rapid. A short distance
below was the upper end of an island, against which a large quantity of
drift timber had lodged and against which the current was lashing itself
with great force. After considering the situation for a few moments I
concluded that I could make the crossing, as I was obliged to do, or
await the fall of the river. The boat was so small and frail that it was
not safe for us all to undertake to cross at one time. I said to the men
of the party that I could take them safely over, as I believed, provided
they would do just as I should command them, and not become frightened.
I said also that we must cross the river or lie still until the freshet
should subside, which might be several days; that I would leave it to
them to decide whether to go or not, as it was, as I knew, attended with
some danger to make the attempt to cross.
Possibly we might meet with some accident, and if so, we probably would
fare hard. They concluded to make the attempt. I took two men into the
boat with me, together with the instruments. The men sat on the bottom
of the boat to steady it, and after giving them their instructions, I
pulled the boat into the current. Though the passage was difficult we
went safely across to the other side of the river. But our troubles had
only begun. The lowlands along the river were overflowed to a depth of
several feet; in places it was so deep that it was impossible to wade
it, so that it was necessary to make triangulations. The country was
timbered, and brushy, and the lines crossed the island.
We were wading in the water nearly all day. I believe now, considering
the water, brush and all the conditions there present, it was the most
difficult line of equal length that I encountered on all the surveys I
made while in Oregon.
It crossed the river at a little more than one-half mile from the corner
at which we began, and we worked in the water nearly the entire day, but
got the line across before night.
At the time when we were wading in the deep cold water, Mr. McDonald
began to complain as usual, and said he would quit the job. I was
feeling a little out of patience myself, and I said to him that he had
been saying about the same thing whenever we got into a hard place, and
that I had become tired of hearing it. I advised him either to stop such
talk or quit at once. He replied that he would quit after that day. I
said, “all right.” The next morning when we prepared to start for our
work, he said to me that he supposed I understood he was to quit work. I
remarked that I had heard him say as much when we were in the water the
day previous, but that I had concluded that probably he had changed his
mind in the meantime. He went to work again and continued for several
days, when he concluded to quit, and his companion went with him.
This broke up our party, when it was near the first of February. My
contract at that date was less than one-half completed. As I was getting
short of supplies that were impossible to procure from the settlers, I
sent the campman with the horses to Albany, it being about twenty-five
miles northerly, down the Willamette valley, and gave him orders to
procure such supplies as were needed, and to hire two good men. I
remained alone in an unfinished log house while he was absent, about one
week, and was engaged in copying my field notes. He returned with
provisions and brought along with him two men that proved themselves to
be very good help. After this time we had much better weather, and also
an improved party. I finished the contract about the 25th of March, and
went to Oregon City with my returns.
Before my return to Oregon City, Mr. Elder had arranged for a double
contract in the Umqua valley, and had the name of Harry S. Gile
associated with his own in a similar way that he had my name used in the
contract a year previous.
As at that time I could have no contract of my own until later, Mr.
Elder suggested that I go with him to the Umqua valley. As Mr. Gile had
had but little experience as a compassman I could help him survey the
township lines, and return in season to get a contract of my own; which
would probably be available later. I at once agreed to his proposition.
The location of the contract was about 150 miles south of Oregon City on
an air line, and included the best part of the Umqua valley. It
consisted of eight or ten townships, both the exterior and interior
lines, or between 700 and 800 miles of surveys.
We left Oregon City for Umqua about the middle of April, 1853. It was a
good country to survey, and Mr. Elder made it well. I remained until the
contract was completed, some time near September 1st, or between four
and five months.
I surveyed the larger part of the township lines and considerably more
than one-half of the subdivision. Mr. Gile worked one party, and I the
other, while Mr. Elder copied the field notes and drew the maps.
A short time previous to the completion of the contract, Mr. Elder
proposed to me that if I would remain and complete the work, he would go
to the surveyor-general’s office at Oregon City and get a large contract
in the Rouge River valley, the same to be a company contract for Mr.
Elder and myself.
The Rouge River valley was about seventy-five miles south-easterly from
the place where we were then at work, and the understanding was to move
our parties over there from the Umqua country, and thus save the
breaking up of the parties. I at once consented to the proposition, and
Mr. Elder was to start for Oregon City at once, both of us feeling
certain he would be able to procure the contract.
Before he had started, however, we received information that an Indian
war had broken out at the Rouge River valley. That put a stop to our
proposed contract. Of course, we could do no surveying during an Indian
war. The war continued during the succeeding three or four months.
General Joe Lane was then in Oregon, and with the United States regular
army that was stationed there, together with volunteers, he secured
peace. But a large number of the white inhabitants lost their lives
during the outbreak. It happened very fortunate for our surveying party
that it did not occur a month later, when we should probably have been
surveying in that valley, and probably some of us would have lost our
scalps.
The war was said to have been caused by the abuse of the daughter of the
chief by some gold miners who were at work on Rouge River, and as the
perpetrators of the foul deed immediately left the place, so that the
chief could not punish the guilty parties, he made preparations to
exterminate all the white people then in the valley. Nothing was known
in relation to his intentions by the whites until his arrangements were
completed.
One day when all was in readiness, as he supposed, the Indians commenced
shooting down the whites indiscriminately in Jacksonville, the principal
village of the Rouge River settlement. In this instance, as in one or
two other Indian outbreaks that I knew something about while I was in
the Indian country, the trouble was caused by ill treatment of the
Indians by the whites, and I firmly believe the same, or similar causes,
have produced similar results in the great majority of Indian wars and
massacres since the discovery of America by Columbus. It is my opinion
that the poor Indian--naturally a noble race of men--have been most
shamefully and wickedly abused and mistreated.
I will give just one instance that came under my observation, as an
illustration. In Oregon City I became acquainted with a man by the name
of Angel. About the time the Rouge River gold mines were discovered and
began to be worked, Mr. Angel concluded to remove there. Previous to his
removal, as I was talking with him in relation to the matter, he said he
was the owner of a good rifle, and that Indians were quite plentiful in
the Rouge River country. He said he intended to shoot the first Rouge
River Indian that he should see after his arrival at that place.
I had some argument with him in regard to the justice or propriety of
committing such an act, but he persisted that his mind was fully
settled, and he would certainly do that deed, provided he should have
an opportunity. When I was fully convinced that he was truly in earnest,
or appeared to be so, I said to him, that should he do as he said he
would do, and murder an innocent, unoffensive Indian in cold blood, it
was my wish that he would also be shot by an Indian.
Mr. Angel removed to Rouge River, and I later learned that he shot three
or four Indians at different times, while he was standing in his own
doorway, and that he made a boast of it, but that he was killed during
the Rouge River Indian outbreak. Provided I had the truth of the matter,
I certainly believe he received his just deserts. Poor Mr. Angel!
We had a pleasant time while engaged upon the Umqua contract, and after
it was completed we returned to Oregon City. Mr. Elder paid me $185 a
month for the time I was employed, nearly five months.
One incident that I failed to relate in its proper place I will insert
here. When writing in relation to the work on the contract in the winter
of 1852-3, I wrote that I sent the campman to Albany, where he hired two
men.
One of these men had had very sore eyes, from which he had not fully
recovered. He said it was his opinion the disease was contagious, as he
believed he had contracted it from another person. A short time previous
to the finishing of that contract, one of my eyes felt as though some
foreign substance was in it. I endeavored to remove it, but with no good
results. The eye soon became inflamed and troubled me badly. Within two
or three days later the other eye was affected in a similar manner as
the first. They were in bad condition and troubled me much. After I had
completed the contract and went to Oregon City my eyes did not improve,
but steadily grew worse. I could not bear the light without pain, and
many times in the evening after the hotel was lighted, it caused me such
suffering I would go outside and walk the dark streets. In the morning
my eyes would be fairly glued together, and it would be impossible for
me to open them until I had removed the sticky substance and open them
with my fingers.
I applied to the English physician I have previously mentioned, and he
gave me some salve, which he directed me to apply at night. I applied it
as directed. It seemed almost like putting fire into my eyes. After I
had applied it for two or three nights, my eyes instead of improving, as
I had reason to suppose they would do, became worse, and in the morning
after I had succeeded in getting my eyes open I threw the box of salve
into the street. From that time my eyes began to improve. I wore colored
glasses for a time to protect them.
When I left Oregon City for the Umqua with Mr. Elder, although my eyes
had improved some, they were very sensitive to light. They continued to
improve, but when I commenced work they troubled me greatly. I could see
double--that is, I could see two objects where there was only one.
Suppose I was looking at a man some distance away, I would seem to see
two men, instead of one.
However, my eyes continued to improve slowly but steadily, and at length
regained their normal condition, so far as my sight was concerned. Still
it was a long time before they became strong, so as to bear any
excessive light without causing me pain, and it is my opinion they were
never quite so strong after that time as they had been previously.
At the presidential election that took place in November, 1852, Franklin
Pierce of New Hampshire was elected president of the United States. This
caused a change in the national administration from Whig to Democratic.
After I arrived at Oregon City from the Umqua valley, Mr. Preston said
to me that he supposed that Mr. Pierce would send a man there to take
his place as surveyor-general, and that he would be removed from the
office. He also said that as I had been crowded out of a contract in the
previous spring, which I was really entitled to, he would give me my
first choice of a contract from any of the lands at that time available
to be surveyed.
After we had examined the plans, I selected for a contract the country
west of the Willamette River, including the Long Tom valley. The
contract was dated September 19, 1853, and included the survey of the
4th standard parallel south of range 5 and 6 west, the township lines of
townships No. 16, 17 and 18, south of range No. 5 west, and 14, 15, 16,
17 and 18, south of range No. 6 west, or so much of these as was
suitable for settlement, estimated at 396 miles, at $12 per mile. The
west line of some of these townships ran into the coast range of
mountains, and included some lands that were unfit for cultivation. This
was the largest single contract, as I believe, that had been awarded to
any deputy in Oregon. It proved to be a good contract, notwithstanding I
had some very difficult township lines to survey in the mountains.
Instead of the surveys amounting to 396 miles, there were 486 miles of
surveys. In making the surveys of the public lands the deputy contracts
to do the work at a certain price per mile; employ and pay his own help,
and also pay all expenses. We paid help at that time each by the day and
paid for the time only that we were able to work, on account of good or
bad weather.
As soon as practicable after the contract was signed, I made up my party
and left Oregon City, September 23, 1853. My party consisted of A. M.
Addington and Granville Blake, chainmen, and John E. Boyd and Joseph
Hawkins. All were from the western states.
I began work on the survey September 28. The weather was fair for the
most part until the 13th of October, and it was not very stormy and bad
through November.
The west line of the west tier of townships for nearly its entire
length, or thirty miles, was in the coast range of mountains. It was
very difficult to survey. The spurs and ravines made it up or down
nearly the whole distance. Much of the way it was very steep. The
mountains were heavily timbered. To survey these lines it was necessary
to pack some provisions and take along. When night came we would build a
fire, and after partaking of such eatables as we had managed to carry
with us, lie down to sleep. To survey the two lines of a township in
this broken country usually kept us in the mountains three or four days
at a time, and we would carry with us provisions sufficient to last that
length of time. Each one would carry his own pack.
Before the middle of October we had completed the lines of the three
townships of range 5, which was in a fine country to survey, and had
made some progress upon the other range. In cloudy weather we worked
upon the subdivisions. There was considerable cloudy and rainy weather
in November, while December proved still worse. I completed the
subdivisions of the three townships of range 5, and on December 9th went
to Marysville and copied my field notes, as the weather was so cloudy
and stormy that I could not work to any advantage. I returned from
Marysville December 21, and worked a few days, when there came a snow
storm. The snow fell to the depth of ten or twelve inches and it was
light and dry like a New England snow in mid-winter. It cleared away
cold, and we had really a New Hampshire winter for about two weeks. The
snow blew and ice formed over the streams and other exposed waters six
or eight inches in thickness. This was a very unusual occurrence for
Oregon.
This state of affairs continued for more than two weeks, or until the
27th of January, when it became warm, and the snow soon melted away.
During the cold spell we could do no work at surveying, but keep
ourselves as comfortable as possible in our tent.
In December and January we worked only twenty-seven and one-half days.
February was a better month, but we had some stormy weather.
I finished the contract April 21, 1854, just seven months from the time
of its date. We worked 133 days on the field work and averaged very
nearly three miles for each working day. After the contract was
completed we started for Oregon City, leaving all the camp equippage,
blankets, etc., with a man near Albany, going by the Willamette on a
steamer. When I arrived at Oregon City, Colonel Gardiner was in the
office as the new surveyor-general of Oregon Territory, Mr. Preston
having been deposed during the winter. Mr. Preston had remained in the
place and had opened a private land office. Colonel Gardiner was a good
man in his place, but he knew very little in regard to the public land
surveys. As Mr. Preston was a practical engineer and surveyor, it was a
poor exchange in a practical sense.
I copied and returned my field notes and plats to the office. At this
time, my friend, Mr. Elder, had returned to his home in Illinois, and
Mr. James E. Freeman had gone to California and was employed on the
public surveys there. After my work on the field notes and maps was
completed, which kept me busy for a considerable time, I was one day
near the Willamette below Oregon City a short distance picking some
strawberries for pastime, when a gentleman accosted me and inquired if
my name was Webster. I replied that it was. He said he was agent for
some coal mines on Bellingham Bay, at the north end of Puget Sound, near
the British boundary and opposite to Vancouver Island. He represented a
company in New York, and had come to Oregon City for a surveyor to go
there and make a survey of the land upon which the mines were located.
He went to the surveyor-general’s office, where I had been recommended
to him, and he asked me if I would go with him and do the work.
I agreed to do the job, which was a matter of a few days’ work only,
after we should have reached the place. He was to return to Olympia,
situated at the head of Puget Sound, immediately, where I was to meet
him.
I started on the trip June 11th, and went down the Willamette to
Portland in a steamer. From Portland I boarded another steamer and
traveled down the Willamette and Columbia Rivers about 70 miles to the
mouth of the Cowlitz River. From this point I went up the Cowlitz River
in an Indian canoe, propelled by two or three Indian men with poles,
about 35 or 40 miles, as far as the Cowlitz Farms Landing. From Cowlitz
Landing I rode horse back 50 or 60 miles to Olympia, at the head of
Puget Sound, where I arrived June 16.
At Olympia I learned the agent had gone ahead down the Sound, and had
left instructions for me to follow with the mail carrier to Alki Point,
near the present site of Seattle, about 60 miles from Olympia, where he
proposed to meet me.
We left Olympia in the afternoon in a small skiff, and made a landing at
Steilacoom for the night. This was about 20 miles from Olympia. Upon
reaching Alki Point early the next morning I met the agent, who had
engaged three Indians with a large Indian cedar canoe to take us to
Bellingham Bay, which I believe was about 100 miles northerly.
On leaving Oregon City I had heard of an Indian outbreak at Puget Sound,
and I learned that there had been an attack at Bellingham Bay. I was
advised to abandon the trip, but I had resolved to keep ahead.
Two other men, friends of the agent, went with us from Alki Point
(Seattle), which, including the three Indians, made seven in our party.
After leaving Alki Point we encountered some dangerous experiences with
our canoe on the Sound and got thoroughly drenched with water several
times, but the Indians succeeded in keeping the cedar canoe right side
up.
At length we reached Bellingham Bay, which I believe was the same
location where the city of Whatcom, Washington, is now situated. When we
arrived we found five or six men, which was all the inhabitants then
residing in that vicinity. They occupied a small log cabin, which was
the only building within many miles.
This was the exact location where two men of the same party had been
killed by the Indians a short time previous. The door of the cabin was
literally riddled with bullets.
The trouble had been with the Indians from up the British coast, near
Fort Snelling. It was a very intellectual tribe of red men, who were
tall and well proportioned, with a skin almost as white as many of the
white race.
A number of the Indians had been employed for a considerable time at one
of the sawmills along the sound, and had been very satisfactory
laborers, when for some cause they concluded to quit work. The
proprietor refused to pay them the amount due at that time unless they
should continue. A dispute arose, when the proprietor drew his revolver
and shot one of the Indians dead on the spot. The other Indians
immediately left for their homes. This caused the trouble.
[Illustration:
From a Painting by Frank Holland.
WARSHIP PORTSMOUTH WHICH CARRIED THE AMERICAN FLAG INTO SAN FRANCISCO IN
1846.]
The chief of the tribe fitted out a war party and they came down the
coast to the sound in large war canoes, and at once created a general
alarm at the settlements all along the sound. These war canoes were made
from giant cedar logs, and neatly and elaborately ornamented. Some were
of sufficient capacity to carry 50 warriors, each one with a paddle.
The men at the coal camp at Whatcom had heard of the danger and had
taken the precaution to keep out a guard at night, two at a time. They
supposed the Indians would approach them by water in case they made an
attack, consequently they adopted the plan of keeping guard in a boat,
anchored a short distance from shore.
On the night of the attack, two men were on guard in the boat as usual,
when the men in the cabin heard shots at the landing, only a few rods
distant. Thoroughly alarmed they took to the brush for safety. The
Indians fired many shots into the house, but the men had made their
escape. The two men on guard were supposed to have been surprised and
killed, but their bodies had not been discovered when I was there. One
evening about sunset we heard much shooting out in the bay, but it was
too far away for us to see so as to ascertain the cause. We supposed it
to be a war party of the Indians, which was later learned to be the
fact. They were exchanging shots with some men in boats.
That night we expected an attack at our exposed camp, and we were all
armed and prepared to defend ourselves as well as possible under the
conditions. But they did not trouble us and we heard nothing further
from them during our stay.
I completed the survey as was desired. As I now remember I surveyed two
square miles of land, on which the coal mines cropped out. After the
surveys were completed we left Whatcom on our return, and arrived at
Steilacoom on the evening of the 3d of July, 1854. Here we celebrated
Independence day and remained until the 5th, after which I returned to
Oregon City over the same route I had traveled when on my way out,
having been absent about twenty-eight days.
After my return Colonel Gardiner, the surveyor-general, offered me the
work to finish the remainder of a contract somewhere in the northern
part of the territory, upon which a deputy had been at work and had
failed to finish it. So far as I was able to learn in regard to it, it
was located in a rough, brushy, timbered country, and was not a
desirable piece of work.
Yet, as I learned, the deputy who first took the contract and undertook
to do the work, did not attend to his business as he should have done,
which was probably the real cause of his failure.