Wallowa chieftain. [volume] (Joseph, Union County, Or.) 1884-1909, 1902-12-11
Copyright, 19O2.)
CHAPTER l.
THE OREGON DESERT"


the south boundary line of the state,
there lies in Eastern Oregon a strip
OF territory about 400 miles long and
about 200 miles wide, which was
.ouce known as the Great Oregon Des-
-ert and through which ran the old
Oregon trail.
This desert, unlike most deserts
contains many GASES. There are run.
ming streams of pure water, and nu.
merous springs boil from the sides of
the mountains and rise even from des-
/ ert sands; and wherever this water
touched the fertile soil, beautiful mead
ows of native grass greeted the eye
OF the occasional adventurer.
But these seemed few and far be-
tween in early days; and for lack of
knowledge Of their location many
weary traveller lost his way between
them, and his bleached bones for
many years afterward marked the
last place where he laid himself down
to rest.
Even in these days when much
Of the ground accessible to water, Is
occupied by the pioneer homesteader,
one may travel hundred miles or
more without encountering a single
human habitation, or living thing.
The Oregon desert Is practically a
succession Of mountain plateaus. 1t
Is at high altitude at every point.
To reach it from most any direction
one must climb great mountain
range, and meander at intervals
among snow-capped peaks and through
rock-bound canyons and gulches; and
to cross it. one must traverse wide
stretches of barren plains that never
taste of water, except from the melt
ing SHOWS of winter, and must also
encounter lava beds and walls of rock
seemingly insurmountable. These
Plains remind one of a huge extinct
volcanic crater, although they cover
Thousands of acres in area, and it
takes DAYS of travel to cross many of
them. They vary in size, however,
rom small plateaus of few acres to
the illimitable outstretched plains. But
they all bear the same characteristics.
The traveller. whether passing through
o small basin or great plateau, is
struck with same impression. A wall
surrounds each of these ba-
sins or plateaus and sepa-
rates one from another. These
walls consist of rocks piled upon one
another with masonic care, the joints
being broken as perfectly and smooth
ly as If done by skilled human hands,
and they rise perpendicularly from ten
To two thousand feet into the air, and
to make them the more difficult Of
ascent, thick layer of fiat rocks lie
alonS the top of the wall extending
out on either side into wide caves and
sheltering them like the rim of hat,
or the caves of fiat roof, and these
are called the rimrocks.
While they appear TO be a success
sion Of plateaus, Independent OF one
another, and in nowise connected
whereby one might scale the walls
which separate them, yet, with sell
dom an exception, nature has come
to the rescue, and by the same pro
cess through which the great upheav-
els were caused and these mountains
OF lava rocks and plains of volcanic
ashes were formed, serpentine-
shaped canyons and gulches had rent
tie walls, and through these the trav-
eer may find his way from one basin
to another.
The smaller plains were the scenes
OF many conflicts, and were often
places OF great slaughter in early
days. Bands of deer and antelope
often wandered into them and the
watchful Indians came upon them,
and guarding the only places of out
let would charge down upon the en-
Gagged animals and slaughter whole
band. And these animals were not
the only victims to Indian cunning
and bloodthirstiness. Many an i'm
migrant train whose members hac
become exhausted and careless from
want of proper food and water, to-
gtther with the care Of their JARED
animals, reduced to mere skeletons
from plodding through the burning
sands and drawing heavy loads over
the f1inty rocks, without feed or
water, while passing through these
canyons and beneath the rimrocks,
came under shower of poisoned ar
rows that left death along the trail
the heaps of rocks in the gulches
and canyons, and the little mounds
scattered over the plains, are yet IN
dexes to many of these sad stories.
Captain Jack had his territory, ana
mad some principle, although he died
or the gallows, but the marauding
chiefs, Egan and Paulina, knew no
pounds Of territory and knew no
unit for crime and bloodshed. The
peaks, buttes, streams and canyons
stil bear their names from one END
OF the desert to the other, and there
Is no landmark that guides the trav-
eler through the plains that does not
recall some memory Of the terrl'ie
crimes Of these two chiefs and their
iD,oodthirsty warriors. and many OF
these were committed even after me
arrival of the bold and determined
General Crook.
But in early days wherever there
vas water and natural meadows AM,
mails Of all kinds f1ocked. Horses ana
cattle were plentiful, and wild game
nom the monarch grizzly to the COM
mon jackrabbit, including elk deer
antelope, mountain sheep. mountain
hons, cougar, coyote, wildcat anu
marten roamed at will, and were sci,
uom ever disturbed by the hand VI
man. The flesh of the game anlma,s
was the tenderest and best WINE ie
h.