The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1892-09-23
AN ECCENTRIC CHARACTER
Death of a Noted Pioneer of Portland in
England.
From the Telegram.l

nn6ANhN"
From the Telegram.l
Long, yes, many years, before any one
ever dreamed that the Mount Tabor
locality would become place of resi-
dence for Portlanders, to say nothing of
its growing to be fashionable suburb
of this city, Hudson Bay company
clerk named Tom Hudson took up
tract of land along what is known as the
Base Line road.
Hudson was of a taciturn nature, re-
ceiving splendid salary, but never ex-
pending dollar not absolutely requisite
for his simple wants. He was exceeding
ly eccentric, and none of his old asso-
ciates wondered at his seemingly insane
action. Tom was then, it was alleged,
about % years old. He built himself
log hut, in which he lived, with the
companionship of several dogs and very
large collection of books that he brought,
and some that were subsequently sent
to him from his home in Lancashire,
England.
In after years, as the time passed by,
struggling people settled within mile
or two of the land he pre-empted, but
he entered into no intercourse with
them. To all intents and purposes he
was hermit. When not engaged in
laboring in his garden or perusing his
books, he passed his time in manufac-
turing all kinds of aerial propeliing
machines. Some who knew him, but
are not willing to make the statement
under oath, say that they saw him fondle
his English golden sovereigns, earned
in the service of the Hudson Bay Com
pany, with that degree of earnestness
depicted by the hero in the beautiful
opera 1.-THE chimes of ofNormandy"-Gas-
pard, the miser. This may be true or
not, but this part of the story is given
for what it is worth.
1t is something like ten or q. dozen
years ago that Hudson left his pre-
empted land, not further advanced in
improvement than when he primarily
located upon it. He bade no one adieu,
nor did he tell any person whittier he
was going, or how long he would be
absent. The only sign of human feeling
he exhibited was to transfer the care of
his dogs to neighbor till his return.
But that day never dawned. He re-
visited his native heath in Lancashire,
after an absence of almost an ordinary
lifetime. He, of course found very few
of the friends of his youth alive, or at
their old homes, and those having had a
similar experience can imagine the
heartsickness that overcame him.
Well, to cut short what might be
woven into romance in actual life
Hudson died in London about three
months ago, bequeathing his Mount
Tabor property, worth perhaps 81, ,0o0,-
0G0 now, and other goods and chattels
valued at $3.50, 900, to three Lancashire
cousins. The latter property the in
heritors will have no trouble in obtain
ing, but there may be some trouble in
getting hold of the Oregon property, as
it is alleged that the base-line land has
been sold for delinquent taxes. This,
however, is merely conjecture. A. big
law firm of San Francisco has the matter
in charge, member of which will be
here in few days to establish the status
of the Mount Tabor property. IN any
event, should the matter go into court,
it will be of more sensational nature
than has invited the attention of Ore
gon's judiciary for years.
The peanut crop of Virginia yields an