The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-04-14
FIFTY YEARS AGO.
Written for the Astorlan by John Mimic.

The writer was one of a crew
rhree ITO man a Chinook canoe to col
vey lthe family of THE ISte Captain
w. Morrison and family, pioneers {
1874, to ltholr chosen new home on Ciat
sop Plains, west OF Astoria one c
the said crew being Captain Morriso
himself. The family left Dinnton Cho
a town OF l5enl5s only about the Sth O
january, 1845. They camped the frs
nis1ls IN the site of THE lost village O
the MuItnomah tribe OF Indians, thel
but recently extinct, situated on Sau
We's Island. The second night the!
oanlped on she noGijh side of the river
nearly oppoalte st. Helens; the follow.
ing might near where Rainier now Is
and the fourth might ait Oak Point
where CAMP was SGT in one of the mos
drenching rain storms / have ever seen
or felt in Oregon. The next night
was IaSsed ait Hunts mill, the first
lumber min built on The lower Column
bla by ALma.Gcan en14rprlse. The
next night was PASSED ON THE east side
of 1.-THE low neck of Tongue Point, and
the weather being so stormy as to
render rounding THE point with the
goods, even without the family, very
dangerous. The day was occupied
making the portage across the neck
of Tongue Point with THE goods and
camp %equlpage, where we lay nearly
two days exposed TO a slanting storm
of wind and ralin. On the afternoon of
the second day, the storm having abat-
ed we managed to get across the Up-
per Astoria buy to Ihe block houte,
then owned by A. e. Wilson, where
the family was given the very best
entertainment and The first lodging in
a house THEY had enjoyed from the
time they left their Missouri home in
April, 1874. From Astoria we crossed
Young's hay into and up THE Skipanon
creek 10 ,the location of the present
80 VI Ai1 llIlilGs where we CIInD-
ed for THE night In the cellar of the
first mouse erected there. The next
day we carried 1.-THE goods across the
swamp west of sklpanon and nearly on
the line of the present county road, to
bAe first sand ridge, whence they were
hauled to line farm of 1.-THE latte Solomon
H.. Smith, which Captain Morrison had
re0aed, together with the dairy cows,
for one year. There were then settled
ca the Plains, j. L. Parish, in charge
CT The M. e. mlsslon station; Solomon
s. Smith and Calvin Tlbbets, the two
gentlemen coming to THE coun-
try with N. J, Wyd,he, George Sum-
nlors, JJhn HJ5aon and two o
AIl1Us. ThEk and Perry became the
dra. settlers of Til,amook county. Thoa
Owdn, firi. oleriff-e,e It, father of Mrs.
Owens A6L.r, and maternal grand
of Mrs. C. w. Fulton. John
ard Mr.. Molltly, Ben Wood,
atl MIN Herman (yet living, and
J-te5itll E,fer .5I5l-al lat Skipanon
on a ctHlrfse. Two brothers named
O'Bst,a mud aoeaIed Tanzy Point as a
.tcTacite, and B. Kindred, Mr.. Whit,
aGi VIM. DJak located a claim in
1915 On rJhe eaJt side of Young's bay.
Smiths Point was located by a man
by Ia1lt name, and Col. John Mcclure
aialmed lower Astoria. Joining him
en- The east was Mr.. Shlvely, and east
aSaln was A. z. Wilson, where General
john Adair, hts successor, located the
first pu'LJm Glsuge. Robert Shortess
made Lhe NEXT claim eastward, ard
west Of Tongue Point. These were all
lhe American sJJJlers in the county in
january. 1916. James Burnie, chief
of the Hudson Bay Company,
in charge of Font George, as that
loC1Sion was vat known 10 all but the
Amegl tans, and he was tine most in
1uential per55Gage alt ME place, unless
indian George, the pilot, be excepted.
Bulnie was the first H. B. officer
heard complain of the Americans for
the TRADE relations with the
Indians. All passenger movements on
the river was done in canoe and the
hudson Bay Company had certain
la'es fixed for service. For a canoe
Win three padi!ers to go to Vancou-
yer, the price was a hickory (c5arse
Shirt. Mr.. Birnie declared that
ylhen a party of Americans wanted to
90 anywhere They kept bidding up,
ill sometimes they would pay five
for much less service than
le could command for three shirts be-
ore they spoiled the Indians. He
poke of :his las reckless expenditure
ind a great fault with the American
He lett the service of the
'onr2ny, however, and located the
now known as Cathramet, and
ctDad AIea5rs. Hunt, Wood, and A. E.
,V!,l5n in the ownership OF Hunts
VIII, his successor at Fort George be-
ng Alexander Lal5ta, another Scotch
ran, wtho sometimes acted as pilot on
he bar When Indian George was
'~yuas'-afrald. The Indians at this
line were completely subjected to the
'ule of Jhe Hudson Bay Company, and
.he King George ma (BrIHshep
ar above his Bo5ton brother (Amer-
cal) as a fighting man. They got
hut idea taken out OF them when the
Ca-yuses-wrl0m The lower river Ind
held in great dread-murdered DR..
Marcus Wthitman and his noble wife,
some twenty c-G1rs, and the Bos-
loners inva3sd thetr country in 1913.
This, however, is an1Iher story, as
would say. More than half
If tl.e nsrives at gG1.s date on the
ever Colurrsia, dressed in whole or
palt, in woven fabrics, procured by
with Che In51aas. They also
Used fa5S1s made of lJhe native fax