The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1939-06-29

- seAS 10y. 4AAV WV AlCA
would then man the sweeps and
head for the long bar on the other
side. Arriving, they would ease the
craft around the point and cross
the short backwater to the bank. On
the way back, If a strong upstream
wind prevailed. they would hoist san
and return with ease. The Gap was
favorite crossing for travellers
bound for the Yakima country over
the old hill road.
It seems to me that in the early
COS about every third man one met
had a larruper of q plan for ex-
tracing flour gold from the tricky
sands Of the Columbia, Yakima and
the Snake. Some Of the contrap-
tons invented fopt this purpose
would have been Delight to the in
mates of an. insane asylum. with
a slight change of gear and the adj
dillon Of an oscillating icta-bob on
the okoke, In conjunction with q
realignment Of the luriac on the
bob-actor, am satisfied that some
Of those monstrosities would hove
succeeded In tanning oats. mixing
concrete or peeling apples. but
damned II I ever saw one that
would coax flour gold from the
tricky sands Of the Columbia. Yak
lima or the Snake.
At the time Of which I write, an
old seas captain named Brown was
perhaps the most erudite man in
the settlement. He could plumb
profound. depths In philosophical
dissertations and was the only man
in the village who could speak and
write Arabic.
doc" Contonwine, our lone drug
gist, was also remarkable charac-
ter. He was "a years old in 1894 and
came to the Willamette Valley in
the early 40's. In the spring Of "a
or g5. Doc and myself loaded a
camp outfit into boat and made q
trip to Savage's Island, with the idea
of investigating certain irrigation
possibilities. Doc manned the oars
and used me as combination mule
and goat to line the boat over the
swift water.
This meant keeping q tight line
on the craft while forging ahead
through boulders ranging in size
from bean pot TOP kitchen stove.
Old Doc was a wizard with q pair
of oars. He was 50 crippled with
rheumatism he used q cane, but
from the waist UP he was q whale Of
a man.. incidentally, It was he who
made the initial effort to cultivate
the swags and swales comprising
what afterward become known as
the Nelson Rich ranch, above the
present town of Richland.
Kennewick in those days had only
two gun toters": Ed Owen, alias
"Stoker" packed six shooter be-
cause he was mean. Jim DodSon
carried one because he loved to pop
over jackrabbits from horseback.
So far as I know, the first pep
perrint oil distilled as q CONNER
cial venture in the Yakima Valley
was produced right here at Kenne-
wick, by a man named Osborn, who
had been in this same business in
Michigan, near White Pigeon, I
think. His industry was located on
the ranch of c. E. Lum, father of
our own. Charlie Lum, who has HIM
self lived here since the eos and has
not only attended school here him
self, but has seen his children and
grandchildren do likewise.
q I sometimes bark back in men,
DRY to the old days Of the station
airy thrasher DON'T, say '.thresh-
er!" The word "thresher" is an AZ
fectation and is-or was-so re-
garded by the Dept. of Ag.) A lit
tie old 28-inch cylinder machine
was agitated until it speved wheat