The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-02-17


tried to drive them of, but they were
all gentle animals ..and came to the
grove for shelter. Our own cows came
to US for protection and all the rest
followed. Mr.. LauRhlin felled. trees to
make large enclosure to keep them
away. When the storm abated be sent
an Indian with message to those men
to come and take their stock away.
But the men abandoned the stock and
went to their homes at the Cascades.
The cattle stayed in that grove until
every one died. All of DR.. Farms
worth's and all of Mr.. Laughlin's but
IA head also died. At that time there
was quite a deep ravine running from
just below the spring down through the
grove. BY spring that ravine was full
of dead cattle.
After Christmas DR.. Farnsworth be-
came discouraged. SO he and Mr..
Laughlin felled large FIR tree. dug
and burned and hewed out a very large
canoe, in which he loaded everything
he had and drifted away from Hood
River forever.
This left Mr.. Laughlin's family very
forlorn. They had winter of struggles
and hardships. With the help of Indi-
ans whom he hired he felled trees to
make corrals to separate the weaker
cattle and try to save some if possible,
hoping from day to day for a chinook
wind. Finally -four gave out. Then
he hired Indians to 60 to the Cascades
to buy some. They were gone for q
long time and returned with shorts,
and demanded half Of that. of which
they brought but little. Very soon
this, too, was gone. Then MIR. Laugh
lin dug out small canoe for himself
and went up to The. Dalles for sup.
plies. While there he made arrange.
ments with Major Alvord to lease land
for farm on the government reserva.
tion (the same land which he after
wards held as a donation claim. As
soon as the snow had gone off he gath
cred what horses we're left and hired
the Indians from White Salmon, who
had five canoes, to take the family up
the Columbia to The Dalles, while he
and his son, James. drove the pitiful
handful of stock back over those hills
where so few months before they had
driven such large herd.
Early in the spring Of 1854 family
excursion party consisting of N. Coe
and wife and the writer, then boy of
nine years, left Portland, Ore, for a
trip to Fort Dalles. at that time head
of navigation on the Columbia river.
Our first days ride was on the little
side wheel steamer Fashion, Van nBersng
master. The James p. Flint was the
pioneer boat on the middle Columbia,
but trade seemed better on the lower
river, so she was taken over the Cas-
csdes the year before and renamed
Fashion.
An all days trip brought US to the
lower Cascades, where We were very
Hospitality entertained at the home of
B. B. Bishop. brother.in-law to the
Bradfords, then In the transportation
business at the Cascades.
The portage of six miles was rather
complicated process. Freight for trans
portation was first loaded in schoOners,
which, when the wind blew sufficiently
strong, were driven to the landing then
known as the middle blockhouse, but
row called Sheridan's Point, where
they we're unloaded onto a tramcar
that came around Sheridan's Point, and
was hauled up by a windlass run by a
very patient and intelligent mule.
When the car reached the summit of
the incline the mule was unhitched
from the windlass. attached to the car
and started for the upper Cascades
alone over a wooden tramway, with a
couple of boards in the middle of the
track for the "engine" to walk on.
Arriving at his destination, the mule
was unhitched, turned around and
coupled onto an empty fiat car and
started on his return trip. A pole was
Iashed to his side and then to the car.
This acted as a kind of automatic brake
to keep the car from running over the
"engine. This arrangement worked
we'll for while, and saved the services
of conductor, but the mule got onto
his job, and when we'll out of sight
would stop to get up more steam and
incidentally to take good long maps.
thereby seriously interfering with the
transportation business. Eventually
a fireman had to be added to the list OF
train hands.
At the upper Cascades the Bradfords
had just completed small schooner Of
about 40 tons burden, which was max.
ing trips to Fort Dalles when the
winds were favorable. At this point
stood Bradford's store, where two years
afterward a handful of brave, fearless
men for three days held at bay hordes
of Indians, in what is known as the
Cascade massacre.
We boarded the schooner and with q
fine breeze blowing we made gsod
progress and about noon reached Hood
River, then known as Dog River. We
were all very .much pleased.with the
general aspect of the country and my
father determined to return at his
earliest convenience and examine the
lands with view of locating if salts.
| factory. We reached our destination
that evening at Fort Dalles, which then
consisted of a government post located
about half a mile south Of the few
scattering houses on the river, where
now stands the city of The Dalles. We
remained over day at this place,
which had at that time but few attrac-
tions.
The only steam vessel then on the
middle. Columbia was the little propel'
ler Allen, Captain Tom Caldwell. that
was capable of carrying few passen'
gers and little freight. She only made
few trips. however, when she was
wrecked or cast away, and her old iror
hull may still be seen at any low water
short distance above Mitchells Point
on the Edgar Locke farm. As the
schooner that we came up on would moi
be ready to return for some days, anC
a down river trip was likely to be 9
tedius one. we determined to take
passage on the Allen. which was tc
start the next morning.
The trip down the river was rough
one, and after an all day battle with
the winds and waves we reached White
Salmon, then the only settlement be-
tween Fort Dalles and Cascades. The
sole white resident here was E. S. Jos
lyn, who with bis wife had located
there, if my memory serves me right