The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1894-08-10
TRIP TO BELKNAP SPRINGS
Described by Conover and his
Man Friday who Accom-
panied Him.

A week ago last Tuesday Mr.. ConoVer OF
the GAZETTE left bicycle for few
days outing in the Cascades. He was fol
lowed on the evening of his departure by
VIII Fl. Bloss who overlook him the next
s,ay at Eugene, from whence the pair made
tie trip together. They returned Monday
afternoon and give an account Of their trip
something as follows:
Frank departed at p. m. expecting to
join party of friends at Eugene who were
going to Be,knap springs. All went well
With him until he reached junction where,
in some mysterious way, he sprained his
leg which necessitated stop. No llnbn-
lance corps had been provided for the trip,
81 ne sought quarters and homeopathic
treatment at a friendly farmers house near
by where the injured limb was properly
t,aadaged and given generous dose OF horse
iinament and wizard oil. The treatmen
received here proved so effective that in the
IN ssEirg the strained leg was able to do
duty and Eugene was reached before noon
without further mishap. Will started
about 9 o'clock. Tuesday evening, but OIL
account of rain the travelling was bad and
=. VAS compelled to stop in Monroe over
night. In the morning the journey was re
snled, hut when few miles out of town
liz had the misfortune to break the chain on
his bicycle, which he was compelled to lead
as far as junction where the train was
taken for Eugene. Here it was learned that
IL
;ec5ed to meet had gone on the day previ-
GUS. S., Frank aud his man Friday 1--WE
have dubbed Will as Friday because he
acted as private secretary, stenographer,
and general utility man to Frank)
eft early next morning and breakfasted a.
Thnrston. Here they passed Prof. Bristow
and family and A. W. Rose who were
hound for Belknap.
As Thurston boasted of a postoffte and a
daily service with Eugene, Friday was i'll
structed to write postal to Mrs. Conover
laden with messages of love and assurances
of constancy and undying devotion. This
is said 10 he characteristic of married men
when many miles from home.
Not far distant from the postnffice Hen
dric!is' ferry was crossed, when the ferry =
informed the pair that party of ten
wheem"n from Eugene portion of whom,
hy the way. were ladies-were only short
known to be ahead served as an incentive
for the boys to put forth their best energies
in order to overtake them. Franks leg
still gave him some pain bnt he would not
he outdone by Friday and the noon hour
:. found them at Fnnis hotel, thirty miles
from Eugene, which, considering the time
employed and the rough condition of the
road, was good riding After partaking of
most excellent meal, to which eacA did
ample justice, the party pulled out for Blue
river, reaching there at p. m. where they
osertook tie party Of friends from Eugene.
Excellent accommodations were had here
a. Smiths place, which is headquarters for
miners ana prospectors IL the Blue River
Mines. At the summit of the mountain six
miles from Smiths the -iain quartz mining
is done. Frank spent few hours thai
evening eisIling but met with poor success.
He was repaid for his walk, however, by
watching numerous prospectors at work
pruning out gnld. In tie morning. he Dor.
rowed pair of old overalls and shoes and
went up the river fishing in company with
four Eugene gentlemen, the net catch for
the party being alghty three: A mile out
from the hotel a prospector was discovered
-; l. ,I.l, tod
him $oJ in dust and nuggets. Each of the
party took turn with the pan and one re-
aiyled about sixty cents in gold dust for
his trouble. Not caring to fish, Friday
spent the day at Foley springs and over
tnok.hi muster at Porter's place the next
morning. where an excellent breakfast was
ha,l
FrAm Powers to Balknaps company that
r,:Ie ia les wheel was had. = This parttof
The story is clothed in deep dark mystery
that is unfathomabIe and whether this COM
panv was a male or n female is matter of
conjecture. All that could be learned was
that i5.had beautiful dark hair and eyes
AMI bo,h escorts were &ssiduous In their
The first persons to greet them on arrival
was Prof Bristow, and family, A. w. Rose
and George Taylor, who had reached the
springs the might before and were busily
engaged in arranging their camp for a long
stay. The acquaintance of A. ?. Ostrander,
t'issgeniaI hotel proprietor at the springs.
was soon made, who showed the pair many
corrtesies during their short stop at his
excellent hostery. A visit to the springs,
which have become justly famous, on ac-
count of the health giving qualities of the
water, was the first thing on the program
The. water boiis out of mountain, 45G0
f,;t in hight, in great quantities and at a
temperature Of iS0. degrees. From. the
spring it is conveyed to the hotel and bath
houses by means of wooden pipes, The
use Of wooden pipes was inaugurated some
5ime ago and after several unsuccessful
attempts to use iron piping, which, 1t was
discovered, was eaten away by the action
Of chemicals contained in the water. A
s7agular thing about this place Is the pres
a.ce of hole about three feet Iuare and
ouly a short distance from where the water
bubbles forth at temperature OF $50
degrees, from whence issues strong cur
rent of cold air. Prof Condon's theory of