East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-11-23


at Nebraska City, we made a stop of
two weeks visiting my mother and
father and in May started across the
plains for Oregon.
We met no serious obstacles to hin
der us until we came to Fort Tarrmie
when one dark night the man we had
hired to drive one of the provision
wagons became so frightened by the
way the Indians were doing, that he
decided to go back home to his wife
and stole the best mare he drove and
took a large pistol and overcoat and
left US without help except our chill
dren, who were all small. My hus-
band went in search of him in the
morning. but he did not go far until
he was taken Ill and came back to
where I had driven on a few miles
and camped with all our stock.
He got along all right. His name
was Miller. He got home in Iowa and
told the most dreadful tale how all
of us were killed by Indians, that he
was the only one that escaped alive
and our old neighbors believed him
until they had letter from me after
a year or more and there was rejoic-
ing when they heard we were all
alive My husband thought II he
could do so mean an act and as he
had nothing. We just let him go un-
punished. We came to Denver and
sold two teams as We thought we
could not trust stranger again, We
bought a span OF Spanish ponies and
I drove them through to oregon. My
husband drove the large wagon and
Joe Campbell. now living near Weiser,
Idaho, drove the stock. We got along
nicely. Sometimes we travelled with
company, for awhile with an escort
of soldiers and surveying party that
surveyed the Union Pacific, the first
railroad on this coast, but most Of
the time we travelled alone. My hus-
band thought we were safer when
alone as We did not attract the at
tention OF the Indians so much then,
and he often took his gun and robe
and stayed with his horses all night,
II he had to take them very far for
feed. No new or stirring things hap
pened to us and when we reached
Fort Bridger we took Subletts cut
mountains, and oh, how steep. Some
times we had to tie ropes to our
wheels to drop down from some large
rocks. That was a lonesome route
and very few would come that way
although 1t was a shorter one.
We came to a beautiful place call
ed Camas Prairie just before we
reached Boise City, Idaho. Here we
camped for two weeks and oh, such
fat mutton to use. There were large
bands of sheep in this fertile valley
and we enjoyed 1t immensely after
having used salt bacon so long. We
really had fresh meat most of the
way. sometimes killing an antelope
or a rabbit We had a big gun we
called Old Wallet, which we had
brought from our old home in Iowa,
and often when at noon we stopped
to let our teams rest, we would gath
er greens and have n fine dinner.
Greens grew along the old immigrant
trail We had our sheet-iron stove
and could set It up in jiffy. An
incident happened which I must yet
put down. When we got to Green
River. we thought We could ford 1t
easily. so my husband drove his large
team and heavy wagon in and went
across all right. The children went
ahead with him, leaving me alone. /
did not stop to think but drove my
ponies in the deep water and soon
my ponies were swimming and the
carriage going down stream. was
OF course frightened, but held my
tyht N
ponies, and we came out all right. We
were told by an emigrant going east
from the Willamette valley that we
would find the best country we had
ever seen when we came to the Una
tlla river q just wrote II DOWN and
you may be sure we found 1t true. All
day we spoke of the tall rich grass
which we thought fine. That night
We camped at the old Bradburn
home on the Umatilla river. The |
Wilkes brothers and Mr.. Tupper came /
by and talked to us and said we had |
better look around and stop here. We
were tired of travelling as we had !
been on the road for six months. My |
husband went up the river next day i
and bought claim OF Robert Mat
teron with a small log house and an |
acre of ploughed land. In a few days |
we moved our wagons and stock to !
our new home, known ever since as
the Campbell ranch at Horseshoe
curve on the o. r. & N Not a wo-
man or school within six miles. My !
oldest boy, who was long afterwards
killed by the Indians. rode this dis
tance to school. 1t was not long,
however, until we had a log house
built near our home so all could go. !
And would you believe it, our
houses were covered with split wood |
with dirt over 1t and II really made a |;
good cover which scarcely ever leak
ed and was so cool in summer and !
warm in winter. A relative of mine
once wrote me in the seventies that
she heard we lived in such houses as
I have mentioned but 1 was ashamed |
to tell her when 1 wrote back for we
had left large farm and house !
where she had been to visit us from
her home in Athens, Ohio. So you
can see from this some OF the hard !