A Day In A Life Along The Applegate Trail

"Wednesday 29th: Today we only passed over the mountain and camped in the valley below - distance only about 4 1/2 miles. `This night we were sadly visited by savages. They approached and finding they could get no cattle vented their spite at a young lady who had been baking and was then by the fire. They shot 3 arrows at her. Two of them hit her. One passed through the calf of her leg and the other through her arm into her side; we fear she is mortally wounded but hope for the best. Her name is Ann Davis. Four arrows more were found that had been shot at a man on guard. These prowling Indians are as hard to find as the deer." 

This is an excerpt from the diary of Lester Hulin.  He was the pilot for the Oskaloosa Company (Wagon Train), and reached Oregon by using the Applegate Trail in 1847.

Black Hand Extortion Letter Received

The following article appeared in several out-of-state newspapers on December 9, 1909:

"Grants Pass, Ore, Dec. 9 --Eastern Black Hand methods have found their way into this quiet valley, if a letter received by Mrs. A. N. Parsons, wife of a local business man, is a genuine threat.

According to this letter, which is undated and unsigned, Mrs. Parsons has until 5 o'clock tomorrow evening to make up her mind whether to deposit $1,000 in a designated place or to have her husband killed, her ten year-old son kidnapped and mutilated, and her home burned.

Mrs. Parsons, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, as a result of worry that the letter has caused her, is directed to place $1,000 in $20 gold pieces in a certain spot in Granite Hill cemetery, before the time specified unless she wants all these terrible things to happen to her.

The letter has been turned over to the police and the entire force is now working on the case.  Three deputy sheriffs are kept on guard at the cemetery night and day in order to intercept any prowler who might come around looking for the money.

Parsons and his family came here from Omaha early this year.  Mr. Parsons says he has, so far as he knows, no enemies in Grants Pass or in Omaha."

The term "Black Hand" does not refer to a criminal organization, but is an extortion scheme.  It usually involved sending a letter to an intended victim, foreshadowing  murder, kidnapping, bodily harm or arson.  The letter would demand an explicit amount of money to be left at a precise location.  Often the letter would be decorated with a hangman's noose or smoking gun and signed with a black ink hand print.

This news story didn't say if the threatening letter contained any of these markings.

The conclusion to this story could possibly be found at the Josephine County Historical Society's research library.  Why not pay a visit to them, and see what you can dig up!

The JCHS research library is located at 512 SW Fifth Street, next-door to the historic Schmidt House.  The library is open Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Tea to be Grown in Southern Oregon!

This newspaper story was published April 26, 1902.

"Officials of the Southern Pacific company have become convinced that tea can be raised profitably in southern Oregon and today General Freight and Passenger Agent Miller sent a number of tea plants to Grant's Pass, Medford, Ashland and Jacksonville, where the industry will be given a thorough test."

This test of growing tea in Southern Oregon does not seem to have been very fruitful.  Today, small quantities of tea are grown commercially in Oregon, and there are many backyard gardeners that grow their own tea.

Trying to find the results of the exploration of growing tea in Southern Oregon led me to a type of tea made from pine trees, and we have plenty of those!  This particular tea is called "tallstrunt" in Sweden, and is made by steeping young, green pine needles in boiling water.  It is said to be high in vitamins A and C.


If you're interested in making "tallstrunt" tea, click on "Hesson Haus..." below for detailed instructions. 

Hesson Haus: Tallstrunt Tea: "I was in the kitchen makin' some pigs in a blanket for Brandon's 'poker night' [what a wife, eh?] when Lucas asked me if I'd ever had pine s..."

Governor Releases Man Upon His Word As Security

The following article was published in an out of state newspaper on January 19, 1912.

"Honor bound to return to serve out his life sentence as soon as he had earned money to pay off a debt owed his father-in-law, William Mack is back in the penitentiary after an absence of six months.

Mack is serving a sentence for the slaying of George Carter at Grants Pass.  In order that he might have money enough to defend himself at the trial his father-in-law mortgaged his home.  Governor West learned that Mack's family was in destitute circumstances after his conviction.  Bidding the prisoner to go out and earn enough to pay off the mortgage and provide for his family.  West released Mack with the man's word of honor as security."

I wasn't able to find out what happened to William Mack or his family, or the family of the slain George Carter, but Governor Oswald West's actions are still felt in Oregon today.

 Oswald West was Oregon's 14th Governor; he served from January 11, 1911 until January 12, 1915.  He was responsible for establishing our beach highway law, which keeps the beaches undeveloped and allows motor vehicles to drive the beaches between low and high tides.  This law remains in effect today.  He is also considered responsible for establishing Oregon's highway system.

He worked hard to preserve our natural resources, and during his one term as governor, the Fish and Game commission and the Bureau of Forestry were created. 

Now that I know where Oswald West State Park got its name, I can stop looking for Oswald East State Park.

Stagecoach Etiquette

 The following is an actual set of rules posted by Wells-Fargo sometime in the 1800's.

1.      Abstinence from liquor is requested, but if you must drink, share the bottle. To do otherwise makes you appear selfish and unneighborly.

2.      If ladies are present, gentlemen are urged to forego smoking cigars and pipes as the odor of same is repugnant to the Gentle Sex. Chewing tobacco is permitted but spit WITH the wind, not against it.

3.      Gentlemen must refrain from the use of rough language in the presence of ladies and children.

4.      Buffalo robes are provided for your comfort during cold weather. Hogging robes will not be tolerated and the offender will be made to ride with the driver.

5.      Don’t snore loudly while sleeping or use your fellow passenger’s shoulder for a pillow; he or she may not understand and friction may result.

6.      Firearms may be kept on your person for use in emergencies. Do not fire them for pleasure or shoot at wild animals as the sound riles the horses.

7.      In the event of runaway horses, remain calm. Leaping from the coach in panic will leave you injured, at the mercy of the elements, hostile Indians and hungry coyotes.

8.      Forbidden topics of discussion are stagecoach robberies and Indian uprisings.

9.      Gents guilty of unchivalrous behavior toward lady passengers will be put off the stage. It’s a long walk back. A word to the wise is sufficient.

These rules were taken very seriously and vigorously enforced!

I found this amusing book trailer on YouTube for the novel "A Lady Like Sarah" by Margaret Brownley.

Blind Man Plans To Go Places On A Bike

This short article was published January 5, 1933 in an out-of-state newspaper.

"Grants Pass, Ore.--'Blind George,' whose fingertips serve faultlessly as eyes in the conduct of his confectionery and news stand, says he tired of feeling his way about the city.  He plans to buy a tandem bicycle and put a chauffeur in the pilot's seat."

"Blind George's" Newsstand today

"Blind George" purchased his tandem bicycle and employed several chauffeurs over the years, including Gordon Dewayne Lewis.  Mr. Lewis died October 18, 2010.  The following excerpt comes from his obituary, which was written by one of his children.

"Then they moved to G. Street, and he began working for Blind George, a Grants Pass icon. Blind George had a tandem bicycle, and he paid Dad to peddle him on his rounds to deliver newspapers. Dad sold magazines for Blind George, and his best customers were the Soiled Doves on G. Street. They bought Ladies Home Journal and the Saturday Evening Post. He said that they were the only ones with money and even tipped a little."

A Day In A Life Along The Oregon Trail

"Sunday, May 8th -- Sunday morning. Still in camp waiting to cross. There are three hundred or more wagons in sight and as far as the eye can reach, the bottom is covered, on each side of the river, with cattle and horses. There is not ferry here and the men will have to make one out of the tightest wagon-bed (every company should have a waterproof wagon-bed for this purpose). Everything must now be hauled out of the wagons head over heels (and he who knows where to find anything will be a smart fellow), then the wagons must be all taken to pieces, and then by means of a strong rope stretched across the river, with a tight wagon-bed attached to the middle of it, the rope must be long enough to pull from one side to the other, with men on each side of the river to pull it. In this way we have to cross everything a little at a time. Women and children last, and then swim the cattle and horses. There were three horses and some cattle drowned while crossing this place yesterday. It is quite lively and merry here this morning and the weather fine. We are camped on a large bottom, with the broad, deep river on one side of us and a high bluff on the other."

Independence Rock - photo courtesy of Thunderbrand

This is from the 1853 diary of Amelia Stewart Knight.  She, her husband and seven children left Iowa in April of 1853 and made their way to Oregon in Autumn of the same year.