The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1922-11-03
WRIGHT DELVES
INTO PAST FOR
O[D LANDMARKS
r q of ga Pictures
1ome of Caldwell's
Early History for Ore
gon Trail Boosters,
Portland, Ore, Oct. %, 1922
Mrs. Fred Mcconnell, 20
Dear Madam:

ar oltidnd, Ore, Oct. %. 1922
MRS Fred Mcconnell,
Dear Madam;
notice in the Caldwell Trihrr.
.""' you wish information in referenc.
10 the old Oregon Trail. will n;,,s
you some of my observations 4hosS.
landed in Boise city with an ~
,eail the hrst day of September 1864
= rev days afterward | went dou,.
the valley with my team on the north
sac OF the river looking for 4 nice
place to spend the winter crossed
noise river to the south side about
where the railroad bridge of the road
noi1i Nampa to Emmett, is now To-
Gated and struck the old OREGON Til
ABOUT tour miles above the present site
OF Caldwell. Following westerly 7
crossed Canyon Hill beginning a. =,
low place close to where Georoe
mason now lives, and continued across
along the lowest place until DESCENDING
uoWh gfaVelly point
tnru which the road to the cemetery
mas since made deep cut, and veer;no
to the right made camp on the botton,
near where Tom Wheeler has since
built his little brick house, | b,,ilt a
CABIN on that particular side and re-
! NAMED there till the first day of the
Following April. While camped there
IN September, couple of men with a
band OF mules from Missouri Joined
me. The men were Thomas Carter
OF Portland, Ore, and Joseph PAYNE
an old Oregon pioneer.
Carter had bought the mules in St
Louis, Mo, and Payne was helping
bring them through. The mules were
small, being rejected by the govern
ment for army service; about IS of
them bought for $4,000 Carter con-
Guided to leave the mules on the range
IN the care of Payne for the winter
and took the wagon and one span and
proceeded on the old trail towards
Portland. Payne made arrangements
to remain with me during the winter
aad herded the mules on the range
bordering Snake river. He bought
one ton of Dixie hay for feed for his
saddle mule for which he paid 5000.
At that time all the available land
along the river to its mouth was oc-
cupied and also all of Dixie slough.
This slough was densely populated,
some facetious person called it the
remnant of Prices army.
= About where Main street in Cald-
well is now located, Frank Black built
a cabin. His oldest daughter, now
Mrs. w. H. Ridenbaugh, was then 9
years old. Further along down the
trail was John Anderson, John Le-
wander, James SHINES, and cattle
man named Richardson and his part
ner, where a tragedy occurred during
the winter
SPCllt tllS PlSdoahtly
ing deer, some on the slopes of Snake
river, and wintering my cattle there
and hunting ducks and big white rab-
bits nearer home.
Having considerable leisure | ex-
splored the country around pretty thor
oughly. l built a small boat with
(which to cross the river and also ex-
plore the river in the canyon. The
river was full of salmon going up
and l speared some OF the finest and
sailed down for the winter.
Just at the outlet of the canyon
the river divided into two channels
forming a large island below where
I got logs for building my cabin, haul
ing the logs across the casterly chan
mel with my ox-team, having severa
men to help me on the job lh'