The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1898-05-17


trees. By 1857 the trees had grown
remarkably, so that one of Justin
Chenowith's small boys thought one
tree of right size to fell and chopped it
down
The place two miles west of The
Dalles, now owned by Geo. Snipes, was
planted in trees in 1854 by Dr. Shaug of
the military reservation. A locust tree
PLANTED there still lives-''The oldest
locust tree west of the Mississippi
river" Also some of these first apple
and cherry trees still bear. While Mr..
Snipes was away to the Indian war a
man who had been in his employ and
held some grudge against him, chopped
down one row of this valuable orchard.
John Marden tells of eating apples from
it in 1853.
At the forks of Five-Mile and Eight
Mile cree ks, another permanent dona-
ton was begun by Nathan Olney in 1854.
He painted apple trees of only the best
varieties bought from the Walling
nursery in Portland.
On Mill creek Charles w. Denton
settled in the fall of 1858. He ordered
trees from Knapp and Dwight, of Brook
lyn \. Y. When they arrived most of
them were dead, the effects of their long
journey via. the Istmus. From these he
planted a few apple trees and grape
vines. He shows today an immense
grape vine, souvenir of those then
planted. The next year he set out
several hundred gratis from nursery.
His place was favorite camping ground
of the Indians When the war broke
On his return in 1857 he found only a
few trees from his nursery left to tell
the tale.
Each of these above places boast of
owning the oldest trees in Wasco county
but they must give precedence to an
apple tree in the government gardens,
the Academy grounds, which was
planted from seed in 1880, brought by
one of the soldiers from the east. The
apples would never get ripe because the
bows would steal them while green.
1t was here too that Judge Laughlin
raised the first water melons in 1851.
Mrs. Lord tells the following of the
first apples she saw in Oregon. In the
Spring of 1854, Mr. Mccormack,
brother of Mrs. Herbert Gates, went to
Portland and brought back two small
apples for the three Laughlin children.
In lieu of the third apple, he gave the
third child one dollar. The child's grief
and jealousy over the loss of those
wonderful apples was such that the
mother cut the two apples equally
among the five members of the family
and the child's heart was soothed."
Nothing since has ever tasted so good.
When an apple was given away it was
in this manner, ~ will give you an
apple, if you will give me back the seeds"
The apples bought in Portland were 25
cents apice. When the first fruit began
10 Do TdlSoQ IcTo III SOlu 1TOIH HlUcoH 10
twenty cents pound.
On Three Mile creek, Green Arnold
owned donation claim, now the Whit
ney place, and in 1857 planted trees
from A. w. Denton's nursery. These
first orchards were apples, pear and
cherry it was not certain that peach
trees would live.
The first farm on Fifteen-AIile creek
was owned by Mr.. Alsuph in 1885, In
June of that year the frost cut down
his melons and corn and he abandoned
it. In 1852 Mr.. Lou Henderson entered
it as donation. 1t proved valuable as
a hay ranch but several years passed by
before trees were planted. In 1855 Mr..
Crooks bought out Woodward and Rey-
nolds Just above Dufur and in 1856 he
planted the first orchard on Fifteen
Mile creek. The same year Mr.. Herbert
bought Mr.. Marshes right where Dufur
now stands and the next year planted
his young orchard. Mr.. Mays bought
his first place-The Mountain ranch
from an old bachelor who had planted