Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1915-07-02
Newport

4 .
Mrs. VIM. McWillis stayed
over night in Newport while on
her way to Waldport to visit the
old home. She had been stay
ing with her daughter, Mrs.
Norm Holgate, who lives at Gull
desac, Idaho. Mrs. McWillis is
now SO years old. She, with her
husband, filed on school land at
Bay View September, 1872,
where she has lived most of her
life. Members of the family
still own the farm. William Nc
Willis died in 1887. Since that
time she has made her home
with her children at the old farm
on the beautiful Alsea bay. Mrs.
McWillis is the mother of ten
children, all living except one,
which died in infancy. Mrs. Nc
Willis was the first white woman
to settle on the Alsea bay. At
that time the Alsea Indian res
ervation was still kept up and
Samuel Case was the sub-agent
and he had about three hundred
Indians under his care. In 1876
these Indians were removed to
Siletz and the Alsea reservation
was open for settlement. Where
Waldport now stands was an old
Indian village and through the
woods there the ground was
covered with Indian graves and
relics. The Indians buried their
dead in canoes and the canoes
were left on top of the ground.
In these canoes were placed
everything that belonged to the
dead, his gun, his squaw and
sometimes large sums of money
and other valuable things, espec-
tally II the dead was a chief or a
princess. It is said that in pass
ing over these grounds in the
shade of the evening you could
almost hear the sound of the
war-whoop and the cry and song
of the women as they chanted
the death dirge over the spirits
OF their departed friends. II
would make the cold chills run
up your back to hear them. But
now these things have passed
away and now the beautiful
little city of Waldport has sprung
up and, where forty years ago
the place was occupied by the In
dian and his dog. 1t is now the
abode of a happy commun-
ity enjoying the blessings of
a high state of civil
ization. The most progressive
community in the county. In
the olden times the deer, bear,
elk. cougar and bob cats roamed
at large and drank from the pure
sparkling waters of a thousand
springs. Mrs. McWillis, stand
ing in her door, could see the elk
and deer sporting over the hills
and the black bear feeding on
wild berries and skunk cabbage.
The bay, too, was full of trout
and salmon. 1t was no trouble
then to get all the meat and fish
you wanted and game was not
destroyed then as 1t has been
since. Mrs. McWillis said all
their supplies of flour, sugar,
coffee, bacon and beans were
brought from the upper Alsea
In fiat boats down the river and
the mail came from Newport.
Often they would have to wait
weeks before they got any mail
at all. Mrs. McWillis says she
wants to spend her last days at
the old home and when life's fit
full dream is passed she wants to
rest with her departed friends
UPON the green hills overlooking
the beautiful Alsea bay.
The coast and geodetic survey
have just established an agency
with w. B. Hartley, Front street,
for the sale of coast and geodetit
survey charts, coast pilots and
tidetables, and for free distribu
ton OF chart catalogues and no
tice to mariners. This agency
win make It handy for the loca
mariners to obtain charts ant
tidetables where heretofore theN
had to send to Portland or Mars
field for the same. The loca
agency has information that tn,
new chart Of Yaquina bay, which
was prepared by Captain Johr
w. Maupin and crew last Sum
mer, will soon be issued and {
supply furnished the agency
here. Mr.. Hartley has gone t
considerable trouble to get thii
Information for the accommoda,
ton of the people on the bay.
A number OF the people ol
Naupprf q ora yci,, ~ to ott ~, a Al, :