Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-11-23
OREGON PIONEERS.
some Interesiing Sketches of the Earl,
Settlers.

| To the Editor of the Free Press and Times:
| have just returned from an interesting
trip over the "West Side road" as that di-
vision Of the Oregon & California railroad
Ben Haladay's old road-which runs south
from Portland on the west side of the Will
amette river, is familiarly called, and brief
account of it may interest some of your
readers. become acquainted with Colonel
j. w. Nesmth soon after coming to Oregon.
and he was kind enough to invite me to his
| house to spend night. He resides at Derry,
u station on the railroad 20 miles from
| Portland, named by him from the New
| Hampshire town where his ancestors, CON-
| ing from the north of Ireland, located many
| years SGD. There, as he told me, he is "lry-
| ing to farm 1000 acres of the best land in the
United States The main staple of the
Willamette valley has been wheat, but Col.
Nesmith this year raised 60 acres of good
corn upon which not a drop of rain fell, and
has one hundred hogs already fitted from
it, and large number Of hogs living in
field of artichokes, which produces an mex
haustiblc supply of nutritious tubers. There
q trout stream running through his
farm, from the bed of which plenty of
gravel is obtained for grading walks and
roads.
After the Colonel returned from Washing
ton, having failed Of Il second election to the
United States Senate, because his support of
the war measures of the government rem
dered him unpopular with one wing of the
Democratic party, county judge thought 1t
would be good joke to appoint him road
supervisor, as President Tyler had been in
Virginia after retiring from office, and the
appointment was accepted and made to serve
q good purpose. The Colonel called out the
taxpayers and put them to work turnpiking
and grayeling the highway, and so thor
oughly was the work done, sixteen years
ago, that the road has never needed repairs
since.
Within radius Of ten miles, he saws,
there is more good land and less poor land
than in any tract of its size in the United
States. 1t is only nine miles from Salem, the |
capital OF the State, aud the railroad station |
is within a quarter OF mile Of his house. |
Here he aud his wife ave living pleasantly, |
after almost as varied an experience as ever
has fallen to the pioneers lot. Starting
when boy from Claremont, n. H.-he was
borne in Maine-he walked across the State
of Vermont TO Troy, and then went down
North river on boat and made his way to
Ohio. where lie staid short time. Then
hearing that DR.. Whitman was preparing to
take large company of emigrarts from the
Missouri river to Oregon be went to West
port, now St. Joseph, IN the spring of 1S43,
aud Joined the first Oregon emigration that
came with wagons to the Columbia river lie
came as n hunter for the emigrants, and his
skill with the rifle and natural boldness and
craft were afterward of much service to the
pioneers. When DR.. Whitman with his
wife and companions were mastered in
lS47, near Walla Wala, Col. Nesmith led a
band of nearly all the white men from the
Willamette valley, across the cascades, to
pursue and capture the offending Indians,
and protect another missionary station at
spokane Falls. This resulted in the
Juyuse war, lasting nearly year before the
OF DIR. Whitman were caught and
Executed. 1t was hazardous thing to leave
heir wives aud children unprotected In the
Willamette valley, as Col. Nesmith and his
roops did while pursuing the Indians 400 or
100 miles away, but it was only by such
,old and vigorous measures that the pioneers
we're able TO in,imidate the natives. In half |
dozen or more wars since then he has I
aiken a prominent part, having been in every '
indian war on this coast until the Modoc q
ampaisn in the lava beds. |
On one occasion he went with Gen. Lane i
nd eight other officers unarmed into the G
amp Of the Royne River Indians on Table d