The record-union., 1892-12-10
THROUGH RAIN AND SAND.
Rough Experience of Ex-Governor
Perkins and Party in Oregon.
A Tramp of Twelve Miles in the Teeth
of Gale on Wild Beach-One
Man Exhausted.

The San Francisco Post Of last evening
says that Ex-Governor Perkins, Captain
Nelson and G. NJ. Goodall have returned
from trip through Southern Oregon,
where they encountered some of the
roughest experiences of their lives. They
left here shortly before the recent south
east storm and calculated making their
trip before the rains set in. They went
overland by rail as far as Drains. where
they took stage and travelled thirty five
miles over a road all cut to pieces by the
rains.
The passengers, with the lives almost
Jolted out OF them, were finally landed at
Scotsburg, whence, after only a few
hours rest, they embarked on a little
steamer and sailed down the Umpqua
River to the ocean. At this point there
was a two-horse stage waiting to take the
passengers down to Coos Bay along a
beach twenty-five miles long. 1t had
been raining thus far necessarily all along
the road, but when the travellers reached
the beach it seemed that it had never
ralned so hard. Beside the San Francisco
people there was minister and another
passenger.
The wind was blowing from the south
east right in the faces of those in the
wagon at something like sixty miles an
hour and the sand covered them, blowing
up from the beach with the force of a
SIMEON. At Ten-mile River the iaded
animals gave out and could not proceed
any further under the heavy load. The
passengers all got out and attempted to
walk on while the team rested
The rain and flying sand almost blinded
them, and 1t was impossible to make
headway against the storm. The driver
gave his horses half an hours rest and
then went on. The wearied passengers
sensibly got behind the wagon and this
gave them some protection from the sand
and rain.
1t was finally decided to send the driver
on ahead to get fresh horses, and it looked
as II the party would have to camp ont all
night on the bleak and barren beach. The
tide was supposed to be low, but every
other beaker rolled the surf higher up on
the sand and forced the team and the
travellers up among the driftwood.
At times the men We're almost up to
their waists in the water. Governor
Perkins dropped behind one time, and in
attempting to reach the wagon again.
which was only fifty yards ahead, he was
well nigh exhausted. The men took
turns in driving, and on and on they
went, never knowing what moment they
were gong to be hemmed in by the
ocean.
With the sea on one side and sand on
the other the trip must have been de-
Hghtful one. The driver kept on and
was soon lost to sight. His objective
point was the cabin on the Coos Bay
beach opposite Empire City, where he
lived and kept his horses. He reached
the door and fell in a dead faint When
he had been brought to fresh horses were
given him and he started back, but 100
yards out he met the party almost dead
from fatigue.
The trip to Empire was completed in a
rowboat across Coos Bay. In getting
back to Drains the party had sixty-five
miles of staging out of Myrtle Point, and
they spent twenty-four hours in hard
riding mud-wagon. The gentlemen arc
very glad to get back to San Francisco.