The wreck of the Captain Lincoln in 1852.

    MAJOR: I have the honor to report to you, that in conformity to the instructions of the general commanding the division, dated March 24, 1852, (A) I proceeded on the 4th of April, by the steamer Columbia, to Fort Orford, where I arrived on the 12th. I reached the point at which the schooner Captain Lincoln was wrecked, called Camp Castaway, on the 24th. On the 26th I repaired to the Umpqua River, and on the 28th chartered the schooner Nassau, to take off the wrecked stores and deliver them at Fort Orford and Benicia; and, having turned over at Fort Orford nearly all the quartermaster's stores, and such subsistence stores as were required by the assistant commissary of subsistence at that station, I returned to Benicia in the Nassau, arriving at that depot, with the greater portion of the cargo of the schooner Lincoln, on the 24th of May, having been absent from this station nearly two months.
    Such is a summary of my operations under the orders referred to; and I submit with it the following detailed account of the same.
    The orders of the commanding general were received by me on the 25th of March, on the same day they were acknowledged and application made by me (B) for the invoices of the public stores shipped from Benicia on the schooner Captain Lincoln. On the 26th I received Major Allen's letter, (C) enclosing invoices of the quartermaster's stores only. Having no invoices of the subsistence, ordnance, nor medical stores, and a wide discretion being left me in my instructions, I found it necessary to repair in person to the headquarters, in order to collect the remaining invoices, and hold an interview with the general for more definite information. I therefore went to Benicia on the 26th; and, having secured the invoices and such insight into the matter as could be had, I returned to San Francisco on the 27th.
    From the scanty information I could procure, it was impracticable to form a positive plan of procedure before personally repairing to Coos River. Several individuals whom I consulted seemed ready, at first, to charter a vessel to go to the camp and bring the stores to San Francisco; but, upon making an investigation, and discovering the difficulties of the undertaking, only one of them made an offer. This I submitted to the headquarters, with my remarks against its being accepted, (D) on the 30th of March, and it was disapproved by the general on the 1st of April (E.) With my letter was also submitted the accompanying return of quartermaster's and subsistence stores put on board the schooner Lincoln (F & G).
    The difficulty attending the undertaking arose from the fact that no vessel had ever been into Coos River, nor was it supposed that any vessel could enter it. The point was almost unknown to seafaring men, being fifty miles north of Fort Orford, and twenty miles south of the Umpqua River. Lieutenant Stanton had reported to headquarters that the beach, from Camp Castaway to the Umpqua, was practicable for wagons; and vessels were trading between that river and San Francisco. Not being able to procure aid from the shipping in San Francisco, I had three alternatives, all of which were contingent:
    1. To sell the stores where they lay, if practicable,
    2. To haul them to the Umpqua River, and sell them there, if purchasers could be found.
    3. To charter a vessel at the Umpqua River, if one could be persuaded to undertake so hazardous a trip.
    With so many contingencies to contend with, I felt much uncertainty with regard to the success of my enterprise. To provide for the second alternative, I shipped, on the 1st of April, to the Umpqua River, two wagons, with harness, &c., and 100 bushels of barley, on the brig Fawn. There being no regular communication between San Francisco and Fort Orford, I was necessitated, in order to reach that point, to make a special arrangement with the steamer Columbia, plying between San Francisco and the Columbia River, her usual route being direct from port to port. This agreement was also contingent, and I learned that passengers had been carried to and fro the whole route, and sometimes twice, before being landed at Fort Orford. I sailed on the 4th of April, taking with me 100 bushels of barley and some public clothing for Fort Orford. The captain of the steamer had never put into Ewing harbor, in which Fort Orford lies. We approached it on the evening of the 6th of April; a heavy southeast wind was blowing, and increasing in violence. At about 8 o'clock, it being then dark, the steamer was run in to the shore until the lead-line showed 3¾ fathoms, when she was so near that the surf could be seen distinctly breaking with great force on the beach. Several fires were burning near the water's edge, and the captain felt very certain that he was at Fort Orford: two guns were fired, at intervals of ten minutes, but no reply was made to his signals. By this time, it was plainly seen by the eye that it was impracticable to land on account of the surf, and the steamer put to sea on her course for the Columbia River, setting her sails to regain the time lost by her detention. The gale had increased to such a degree, that in about half an hour afterwards the foresail and fore-topsail were both carried away. It was subsequently discovered that we had put in some distance south of Fort Orford, in the proximity of Rogue River, where the Indians are supposed to be hostile. Had I succeeded in landing, the result would lave been unfortunate--perhaps fatal.
    The steamer entered the Columbia River on the 8th of April, stopping at St. Helens, the depot of the steamship's company. From this place a smaller steamer, the Willamette, conveys the freight and passengers to Portland, on the Willamette River. Smaller boats still are required from this point; and various miniature steamers ply between this port and Oregon City, supplying the valley of the Willamette.
    Portland is a new and thrifty town, about nine miles in a direct line from Fort Vancouver, which lies on the Columbia River, just above its junction with the Willamette. These rivers are clad in perpetual green. The pine and cedar with which their banks are rivetted grow, in some cases, to an immense size, and are eminently desirable for masts and spars, being very straight and tapering.
    On the 12th of April, at about midday, the steamer succeeded in entering Ewing harbor, and a landing was effected at Fort Orford without difficulty, the wind being northwesterly. The harbor (see map attached) is an open roadstead, with water sufficient for any class of vessels, and for one-half the year the anchorage is perfectly protected and the water smooth; it is surrounded by an elliptical bluff, the face of which is almost entirely of rock; there are also rocks rising from the water a short distance from the shore; sunken rocks are also found in the harbor, but are readily seen. The southeasterly wind, usually bringing a storm, is the only one which would prevent a vessel from lying in this port; the bottom is excellent for anchoring. It lies in latitude 42° 42' north.
    I found at Fort Orford Assistant Surgeon Sorrel and Lieutenant Wyman, the latter commanding officer, acting assistant quartermaster, and assistant commissary of subsistence. On inquiring into the state of his supplies, he informed me that he should be short of subsistence by the time Lieutenant Stanton would arrive, unless stores which he had already sent for should arrive. Meanwhile, and at my suggestion, he wrote, by the Columbia, to headquarters to hasten their arrival; this letter, it appears, never reached its destination.
    Lieutenant Wyman's command consisted of about twenty men of company "L," 1st artillery, and about twelve of Lieutenant Stanton's company. They were quartered in log houses, erected by the troops from the pine and cedar which grows abundantly on the spot. Shingles are made of the latter wood of the most beautiful and durable kind, and with very little labor. Vast quantities of it are found on the government reserve laid out by Lieutenant Wyman, and extending from the quarters, in a northwesterly direction, to a lake nestled among the hills. Springs of fine water are also abundant, and most excellent pasturage, with clover occasionally interspersed among the grass. There are nine log houses occupied by the troops; two for officers' quarters, four for the men, two storehouses, and one guardhouse.
    The town of Port Orford, as it is called, lies nearly half a mile from the barracks, and contains six houses finished, and two or three more are in contemplation. The first landing having been made about a year since, there has been no crop raised as yet. Two or three settlers in the neighborhood have planted this spring; but, as yet, it is as impracticable to predict the capacity of the soil for raising grain as to foretell the future prosperity of the town. A map of the latter was shown me in which Gold River appears intersecting the principal streets, and affording plenty of water to cleanse the market house, through which it also winds; and I was much surprised to find that I had repeatedly walked over Gold River without perceiving it. [The Rogue River would later be briefly renamed "Gold River"; this name pertains to a different, local stream.] Water lots also appear to great advantage on the map. Gold has been found in minute quantities in the sand at the mouth of Gold River; it has also been said that coal has been discovered in this vicinity, but I could only ascertain, on inquiry, that a small specimen of some mineral resembling coal had been found a mile or two south of Fort Orford, the precise place being unknown. Elk and deer abound in the neighborhood in almost any direction, the former being an excellent substitute for fresh beef.
    The only means of supplying this point at present is by transports. The Coast Range of mountains cuts off all communication with the valley on the other side of the range, no trail or pass having, as yet, been found as an outlet [to the interior]. Lieutenant Stanton is, however, very sanguine in his hopes of finding one, and his well-known energy and perseverance may accomplish it. If he succeed, Port Orford will become a place of importance.
    I found here a small party of dragoons who had been sent down from Camp Castaway by Lieutenant Stanton, to await the arrival of dispatches from headquarters. Not being able to gather from them sufficient data to judge whether or not the route was practicable for loaded mules, I dispatched a letter (I) by this party, to Lieutenant Stanton, the day after my arrival, employing the time, while awaiting his answer, in organizing a pack train and recruiting the animals at Fort Orford, who had been without grain for nearly six weeks. On the 20th April Lieutenant Stanton's reply (K) arrived, and everything being in readiness, I set out for Camp Castaway. The train was composed of twenty mules loaded with barley, and had a corporal and ten men of Lieutenant Stanton's company as an escort.
    The route skirts the Pacific shore the whole distance, and crosses the spurs and thalwegs of the Coast Range, which run perpendicularly to the coast, presenting a constant rise and fall to the traveler, and terminate at the ocean in high bluffs, generally abrupt and mostly of rock, and in valleys through which run the rivers and smaller streams emptying into the sea. The route is a very harassing one, and in some places dangerous, passing up and down precipices and through dense forests, with fallen timber in many places, and in others on the level sea-beach. Besides numberless rivulets, there are six rivers to cross between Fort Orford and Camp Castaway :
    These rivers abound in fish, including salmon. They are all much affected by the tide. The first three are fordable at low water; the last are not so. They increase in magnitude as they are enumerated; Elk being the smallest and Coos the largest. There are Indian settlements at all of them, whose canoes are of much assistance in crossing. A road to the Coquille, practicable for wagons, had been made some time since, but it is now impassable in many places. The most difficult and dangerous part of the route is from the Coquille to the Coos; the last six miles are particularly arduous, being a constant succession of ridges, with precipitous gullies and creeks at the bottom, the soil being frequently but a few inches deep on the ridge; at the sides the foothold was precarious; added to which, the weather was showery, rendering the track slippery. It was with difficulty that the men could prevent themselves from falling in some places, and three of them were completely exhausted the night before we reached Coos River. The mules would fall occasionally, and often refuse to proceed, seemingly aware of their danger. Many places were passed which, under other circumstances, would have been pronounced impracticable. Four days were employed in traveling the fifty miles, and on the 24th of April the party arrived at the Coos River, without any serious accident.
    Lieutenant Stanton had, at the time of the wreck, secured as much as possible of the public property and stores, and I found them covered with the sails of the vessel stretched on booms and spars. His exertions to prevent loss to the United States have been great, and worthy of all commendation. He and his men were under the same kind of covering as the stores. The camp was near the point where the wreck had occurred, on the sand-spit lying between Coos River and the Pacific--a very dreary position, the sand being miles in extent in both directions, and blown by the wind in clouds, penetrating every canvas covering, and besprinkling every article of food while cooking--the only protection being a ridge of sand hillocks, behind which the camp was situated.
    On the 25th the mules were gotten safely into camp by swimming them across Killque and Coos rivers.
    Agreeably to my letter of the 13th, Lieutenant Stanton had posted written notices (L) at Umpqua City, Gardiner, and Scottsburg, three settlements on the Umpqua River, inviting bids for the stores. No bids had been received on my arrival. I therefore determined to proceed to the Umpqua and endeavor to procure bids, or charter a vessel. The brig Fawn had arrived there with the wagons, and a party was to go on the 27th to take up the mules and bring down the wagons to the camp. On the 26th I repaired to the Umpqua, taking with me Captain Naghel, former master of schooner Lincoln, and two men. Arriving at Umpqua at about noon, I crossed the river. I found no bids were to be procured from any six white inhabitants of Umpqua City. I proceeded up the river to Gardiner, and the two citizens of that town gave me no more encouragement; and it being evident that no one wished to purchase, either at the camp or after the stores should be hauled to the mouth of the river, I was thrown upon my last resource, the chartering of a vessel. Finding the schooner Nassau loading for San Francisco, I commenced negotiations with her owners. They evinced great reluctance in undertaking the trip, in consequence of having no knowledge whatever of the Coos River. Their first proposition was that I should agree to take their vessel at the risk of the United States, paying her crew and victualing them, and engage to deliver the vessel in her present condition to the owners at San Francisco, paying them also $500 for the use of the vessel. This proposal I rejected without hesitation, and succeeded on the 28th in concluding the accompanying charter, (M) with the verbal understanding that Captain Naghel was to remain on board and pilot the vessel into Coos River. The schooner was to enter the river and be moored to the west bank; the stores were then to be hauled across the sand point by the teams.
    On the 29th I returned to the mouth of the Umpqua River, and, having seen the wagons ferried across and loaded, and the mules harnessed in, I preceded them to the camp on the same day. The wagons arrived on the 30th of April, and on the 1st of May the moving of the stores commenced. On the 4th the removal was nearly completed, and the schooner hove in sight, and on the 5th, a northwest breeze blowing, she triumphantly entered the river, at low water, finding three and a half fathoms on the bar by the lead-line.
    The event was one of great interest to the command, which had been four months on the sand point. Captain Naghel deserves much credit for his enterprising conduct and his efficient assistance at Umpqua in procuring the charter.
    The map of the entrance to Coos River, attached, was drawn originally by him, and is, in the main, correct; the scale is inaccurate; the rest can be relied on.
    The remainder of the stores having been hauled across the point, and the vessel at anchor near the point selected for embarking them, I proceeded, on the 7th, with a corporal and three men, by land, to Fort Orford, and reached that place on the 9th; my object being to arrange my unsettled business there before the arrival of the schooner in order to take passage in her to Benicia. On the 9th the loading was completed under the direction of Lieutenant Stanton, and he arrived at Fort Orford on the 12th with the remainder of his command.
    The schooner was detained in the river by adverse winds until the 19th, and arrived at Fort Orford on the 20th; and, having delivered such portion of her freight as was destined for that place, as well as such subsistence stores as were called for by the assistant commissary of subsistence, she sailed on the 21st for Benicia, taking as passengers myself and the crew of the Lincoln, and reaching the depot on the 24th of May, precisely two months from the date of my original orders.
    There has been but little intercourse as yet between the Indians and the whites along the route from Fort Orford to Coos River, and the use of ardent spirits is still unknown to them. They evinced throughout the most friendly disposition, aiding us readily with their canoes in crossing the rivers, bringing wood and water to the camp-fire, and considering themselves amply remunerated for these services by a small quantity of hard bread.
    They are full of curiosity with regard to the whites, particularly desirous of procuring clothing, and much disposed to barter; offering even their children in trade. In the vicinity of Fort Orford they are aware of the value of coin, but in other places their currency is small shells strung together, and called "sirvash." They are humble and peaceably disposed, being armed entirely with the bow and arrow; and, in my opinion, no difficulty need be apprehended from them, unless it originate in aggressions of the whites.
    Trusting that my operations and their results will meet the approbation of my superiors, I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Major O. CROSS,
    Chief Quartermaster Pacific Division, San Francisco.

    SIR: The government transport schooner, Captain Lincoln, sailed from San Francisco December 28, with a detachment of company C, first dragoons, under Lieutenant Stanton, consisting of about thirty men, and stores belonging to the quartermaster's, subsistence, and medical departments. On the 3rd of January the schooner stranded on the beach near Coos River, about twenty miles from the mouth of the Umpqua. The stores were saved, but mostly in a damaged condition, and are now in the camp near the wreck, There is no definite account of the nature or quantity of the stores not damaged.
    The general commanding directs that you proceed to Fort Orford, or the Umpqua River, availing yourself of the first convenient opportunity, which it is supposed will soon occur, since communication must naturally be expected with the settlements at those points; that you assume the entire direction and disposition of the property belonging to the departments above named saved from the wreck, as well as the wreck itself, so far as it may be of value; that you sell for cash everything which in your judgment had better be so disposed of, using a sound discretion whether to make the sale on the spot or transport the property to the mouth of the Umpqua, or to the nearest settlement, keeping, of course, separate accounts of the stores belonging to different departments. The medical stores, forming but a small package, will not be sold, unless manifestly injured beyond the hope of saving them, but will be transported to Fort Orford. The assistant quartermaster in charge of the depot has been instructed to furnish you all the information in his power, which, though limited, may be useful; and particularly with regard to the captain and crew of the Lincoln, that they may be disposed of appropriately. He will also send to you at San Francisco some clothing for the company of dragoons at Fort Orford, and some grain and such other stores as may be needed, in case you should find it expedient to haul the stores from where they now are to the mouth of the Umpqua, or elsewhere. Should there be any portion of the stores which you deem it best not to sell, provision must be made for transporting such portion to the depot.
    I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Captain M. S. MILLER,
    Assistant Quartermaster, San Francisco.

    CAPTAIN: I have this day received your letter of the 24th, containing the directions of the general commanding in relation to the stores and vessel wrecked near Coos River. I shall avail myself of the first opportunity to repair to the spot via Fort Orford; meanwhile I would request that Major Allen be directed to furnish me with a copy of the invoices of the cargo as originally shipped, and a list of the names of the captain and crew, with their pay, &c.; also, the register of the schooner, which should accompany the bill of sale in case she be sold.
    I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Captain E. D. TOWNSEND,
    Assistant Adjutant General, Benicia.

    CAPTAIN: Enclosed, please receive a list of public property shipped per schooner Captain Lincoln, bound for Port Orford and Steilacoom.
    I shall forward by this evening's boat seven boxes ordnance stores, marked "Lieut. Col. J. B. Magruder, commanding mission of San Diego." I shall also forward a quantity of clothing, &c., for Lieut. H. W. Stanton, 1st dragoons, at Port Orford, an invoice of which please find enclosed.
    I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Captain M. S. MILLER,
    Assistant Quartermaster, San Francisco, Cal.

    CAPTAIN: I submit for the information of the general commanding the division the following papers, relative to the stores wrecked near Coos River:
    Return of subsistence stores shipped.
    Return of quartermaster's stores shipped.
    Estimate of the value of all the stores as they lie on the beach.
    Proposals of William Tichenor to transport the stores to this place, or to Port Orford.
    I am of opinion that the condition of the stores is such as not to warrant the transportation to this point, or to Port Orford, on the terms offered. As the proposals have been put in, however, I submit them for the decision of the general.
    I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Captain E. D. TOWNSEND,
    Assistant Adjutant General, Benicia.

    SIR: The general commanding, to whom your letter of the 30th ultimo, with enclosures, was submitted, confirms the opinion expressed by you in relation to transporting the stores from the wreck of the Lincoln.
    It is not deemed expedient to accept any proposal of the kind without a decision made from a personal examination of the property, cargo, and materials saved from the wreck. The enclosures are herewith returned.
    I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Captain M. S. MILLER,
    Assistant Quartermaster, San Francisco, California.

    DEAR SIR: I arrived here yesterday, with orders from General Hitchcock to dispose of the public property wrecked on schooner Captain Lincoln. The report you made him from this post is all the information I have officially on the subject. Acting on that information, I have shipped to Umpqua two wagons, with harness, and one hundred bushels of barley. I also brought with me to this point one hundred bushels barley, intending to organize a mule train here, of twelve mules, for wagons, and eight or ten for packs.
    My present plan is to haul to the Umpqua and sell to the highest bidder such stores as are worth the transportation, and to bring to this point on the pack mules such small articles as will not sell, and may still be valuable; all the mules to start from this point packed with forage, which, together with that at Umpqua, will, I think, suffice to forage the animals until the stores are disposed of. The wagons, &c., sent to Umpqua are consigned to Mr. Snelling at Gardiner, and sailed from San Francisco on the 6th of April, and should be at Umpqua about this time. I would have accompanied the party who bring you this information, had I found the mules here in good condition, and had the practicability of the route for packed mules been more certain. I have concluded, however, to wait here until the mules have had an opportunity to benefit somewhat by the grain which has just arrived from Vancouver, and until I can again hear from you. Before I start for your camp I wish you would inform me whether or not the track is, in your opinion, practicable for loaded mules; and if so, whether they can carry two hundred pounds each, or what weight they should carry. I wish also to know whether the brig Fawn, on which the wagons were shipped, has arrived at Umpqua. The wagons, &c., are placed at your discretion by my letter to Mr. Snelling, and he will turn them over to you at any time that you may send for them. If you could get them across the Umpqua by the time the mules arrive from this point, it would be a saving of time. The expenses I will settle on my arrival. I would like the fact of my being about to sell the stores to be communicated to Umpqua and Scottsburg; and if the merchants at either place are anxious to purchase, I would be glad to have them send in bids, stating what they are willing to offer, both at the camp and delivered by the United States at Umpqua. They may be willing to offer for them on the ground where they lie, as in that case I could sell them the wagons, harness, &c., and they could find mules at Umpqua to draw the wagons. This plan has occurred to me as the most expeditious, and I would ask for your views on the subject.
    Please to let me know if you are of opinion that purchasers can be found on these terms. If this could be effected, the train of mules I take up could return, almost immediately, with such articles of public property and officers' effects as could be packed and sent here.
    I beg you will communicate with me at once, and express your views fully on the subject; not only on the direct questions asked in this letter, but on the whole subject.
    Corporal Abbott, who is now here, seems well acquainted with the track, and if he could return with your answer to this letter I would like it much.
    I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
Lieut. W. H. STANTON,
    Camp Castaway, near Coos River.

    DEAR SIR: I received your communication from Fort Orford day before yesterday, On the morning of that day I had started a party to the Umpqua, to ascertain if it were possible to charter a vessel to come into the Coos, and also to learn if any vessel had arrived with any communication for me. As the party was to return tonight, I have kept the express for Fort Orford until tomorrow morning, in hopes of getting news from the Umpqua to send you. They have just this moment come in as I am writing, and their news amounts to this: that there is at present a schooner in the river, but the captain refuses to charter her to come down; and that another vessel was off the mouth of the river, supposed to be the Fawn, and she may probably have got in by this time. I will send up next week, and endeavor to get the wagons and grain down to the mouth of the river, so that we can go to work as soon as the mules get up.
    I think you may be able to hire a couple of ox-carts and some yoke of oxen, if you wish to push matters.
    From the report of Corporal Abbott, on the present state of the trail, I hardly think it would be advisable to attempt to bring up more than a hundredweight on a mule; but that would enable you, if you bring up twenty animals, to transport about twenty-five or thirty bushels of barley, taking out the animals necessary for the rations and camp equipage, and for your own use. Twenty mules will not be too many to bring up here in order to change the animals in the teams occasionally. I shall endeavor to cut some grass, bad as it may be, and have it ready for the mules. It will help to fill their bellies, and, mixed with a little flour, will help out the grain.
    I sent up the captain of the vessel last week to Umpqua to look around and see what was the chance of disposing of the stores at auction, either on the ground here, or at the Umpqua. On his return, he informed me that the articles which composed the stores are in demand, both at Umpqua City and Scottsbur; and if the cargo was at the Umpqua it probably would bring a good price, but to sell them as they lie here little or nothing could be got for them; so we will probably have to haul them to the Umpqua, without one of the vessels there would come into this river, and then her owners might be disposed to take all as they now are.
    There will be a man down here from the Umpqua next week, and he will let me know how matters then stand, and if it be possible to induce a vessel to run into this river for the stores. I believe she could accomplish it very easily; for a few days since I had a whaleboat run off through the breakers, in order to bring her round into the river, and the mate who was with her tells me he found a good channel all the way in, with from five to six fathoms water and no breakers.
    I believe I have now given you all the information in my power, agreeably to your request in your letter, and remain, very respectfully,
    Your obedient servant,
Capt M. S. MILLER,
    Assistant Quartermaster, Fort Orford, O.T.

    Captain Morris S. Miller, assistant quartermaster United States army, who is now at Fort Orford, will be at this camp in a few days to dispose of the government property here; and should any of the merchants at Umpqua be desirous to purchase any of these stores--which consist of 90 barrels pork; 20 barrels salt beef; 57 barrels hard bread; 14 barrels sugar; 6 barrels rice; 8 barrels beans; 5 barrels salt; 1 barrel molasses; 8 barrels vinegar; 1 keg pickles; 7 boxes soap; 252 sacks flour; 3 kegs nails; 1 keg white lead; 1 can turpentine; 14 shovels; 3 coils rigging, and sundry other articles--he will be glad to have them send in bids, stating what they are willing to offer, both at the camp and delivered by the United States at the mouth of the Umpqua.

    This charter-party, made, concluded and agreed upon, this twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, between Captain Morris S. Miller, assistant quartermaster United States army, on behalf of the United States, of the first part, and Charles W. Macy, of Gardiner, Oregon Territory, and part owner of the schooner Nassau, for himself and in behalf of the owners, whomsoever, of the second part, witnesseth; That the said Charles W. Macy, for the consideration hereinafter mentioned, hath granted and to freight letten, and by these presents doth grant and to freight let, unto said Morris S. Miller, for the United States, their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, the whole tonnage of the hold; stern-sheets, and half-deck of the said vessel, from the port of Gardiner, aforementioned, to the ports of Coos River and Port Orford, Oregon Territory, Benicia and San Francisco, California, in a voyage to be made with the said vessel in the manner following: The said schooner is to sail from the port of Gardiner with the first fair wind and weather that shall happen after this date, to the Coos River, and on her arrival enter the said river and be moored inside at the most convenient point for receiving cargo, and there receive on board such freight as may be delivered alongside of her by the agents of the United States, to the amount of seventy-five tons, or thereabouts, being the portion of the cargo saved from the wreck of the United States schooner Captain Lincoln, including such parts of the outfit of the vessel as nay be there delivered; also the captain and crew of said United States schooner, and any invalid soldiers that the army officer may think incapable of marching. As soon as practicable after receiving the aforementioned, to proceed to Port Orford, Oregon, and there deliver to the acting assistant quartermaster such portion of said freight as may have been previously designated for that purpose at Coos River; the remaining freight and the captain and crew of schooner Lincoln to be delivered, the former at Benicia, and the latter at San Francisco, to the officers of the quartermaster's department at those places respectively; the freight at Benicia to be discharged within forty-eight hours after arriving. In consideration whereof, the said Morris S. Miller, on behalf of the United States, their heirs, executors, and administrators, doth covenant, promise, and agree, to and with the said Charles W. Macy, his executors, administrators, and assigns, and every of them, that he, the said Morris S. Miller, assistant quartermaster, for the United States, their heirs, executors, factors, and assigns, shall and will well and truly pay or cause to be paid unto Wood & Co., of San Francisco, their executors, administrators, and assigns, for the freight, &c., herein contracted for, the sum of eleven hundred dollars, on presentation of this charter-party, with the endorsement thereon of the officers of the quartermaster's department herein mentioned, setting forth that the terms thereof have been complied with.
    In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals, the day and date before mentioned, to two charter-parties; one of which being fulfilled, the other to stand void.
Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of--
GEORGE F. BUNKER.
D. W. WOOD.
    The within charter-party has been satisfactorily executed as far as it relates to Coos River.
FORT ORFORD, O.T., May 21, 1852.
    The within charter-party has been satisfactorily executed as far as it relates to Fort Orford, Oregon Territory.
FORT ORFORD, O.T., May 21, 1852.
    The conditions of the within charter-party have been fulfilled relative to this depot.
BENICIA, May 26, 1852.

    Shipped by Captain Morris S. Miller, assistant quartermaster, on board the schooner called the Nassau, whereof John Gibbs is master, now lying at the mouth of Coos River, and bound for Benicia, to say:
    2 anchors; 7 lots chain; 90 barrels pork; 16 barrels beef; 7 barrels sugar; 1 barrel molasses; 7 barrels beans; 8 barrels vinegar; 8 barrels rice; 53 barrels hard bread; 245 sacks flour; 12 horse-collars; 7 boxes soap; 1 large iron boiler; 2 tins turpentine; 1 keg (25 pounds) black paint; 15 shovels; 3 coils hawser; 1 box and 1 keg powder; 7 parcels rope; 1 coil hemp-rope; 2 buckets; 1 keg (100 pounds) white lead; 4 stoves and part fixtures; 1 box sheet-copper; 1 side leather; 70 blocks; 3 pair can-hooks; 1 pair box-books; 1 lot old hoops and thimbles; lot standing rigging; 2 iron boat-davits; 2 wagons, complete; 2 wagon-saddles; 1 box harness; 1 can oil; 5 barrels salt; 2 ship's compasses; 2 copper gudgeons; 1 hawser:
    being marked and numbered as in the margin, and are to he delivered at Benicia (the dangers of the seas excepted) unto the assistant quartermaster at Benicia, or to his assigns, freight for the said stores being payable in San Francisco, as per charter-party,
    In witness whereof, the master of the said vessel hath affirmed to three bills of lading; one of which being accomplished, the others to stand void.
Dated at COOS RIVER,
    the 5th of May, 1852.

    Received, Port Orford, Oregon Territory, on within bill of lading, 7 barrels pork; 5 barrels beans; 30 sacks flour; 1 large iron boiler; 9 shovels; 1 keg black paint; 1 keg white lead; 1 can oil; 2 tins turpentine; 3 barrels beef; 1 stove.
MAY 21, 1852.

    One coil was also delivered to Lieutenant Wyman, at Fort Orford, just as the vessel was getting under way, and for which the vessel should receive credit.
MAY 24, 1852.

    Received, Benicia, May 26, 1852, the following stores, viz: 80 barrels pork; 15 barrels beef; 1 barrel hams; 52 barrels hard bread; 217 sacks flour; 4 barrels beans; 6 barrels rice; 12 barrels sugar; 9 barrels vinegar; 4 barrels salt; 1 barrel molasses; 7 boxes soap; and the quartermaster's stores within named.

    Shipped by Captain Morris S. Miller, assistant quartermaster, on board the schooner called the Nassau, whereof John Gibbs is master, now lying at the mouth of Coos River, and bound for Port Orford, to say:
    2 kegs liquor; 30 boxes sundries; 1 company desk; 3 casks clothing; 6 mule collars; 1 bundle sabers; 2 boxes medicines; 4 boxes candles; 5 trunks; 1 bundle blacksmith's tools; 1 pair bellows; 1 tool chest; 4 kegs nails; 1 keg pickles; 3 stoves and pipes; 2 boats, 9 oars, and 2 sails; 1 wheelbarrow; 1 grindstone and fixtures; 48 sacks barley; 2 bars iron; 6 spades; 1 box crockery; 6 buckets; 2 bags flour; 6 rolls canvas (sails, &c.) 6 camp-stools, 1 box tinware; 2 sacks beans (broken); 1 cabin table; 1 Champagne basket, sundries; 2 easy chairs; 1 pack saddle:
    being marked and numbered as in the margin, and are to be delivered at the post of Fort Orford (the dangers of the seas only excepted) unto the acting assistant quartermaster at Fort Orford, or to his assigns, freight for the said stores being payable in San Francisco as per charter-party.
    In witness whereof, the master of the said vessel hath affirmed to three bills of lading; one of which being accomplished, the others to stand void.
Dated at COOS RIVER, OREGON TERRITORY,
    the 9th day of May, 1852.

    Received the within according to bill of lading, except one shovel being counted as a spade. This error having occurred in the shipment by the United States, the master is exempt on the whole bill.
FORT ORFORD, OREGON TERRITORY,
    May 21, 1852.
NARA M997, Annual Reports of the War Department 1822-1907, Roll 10, Report of the Secretary of War of December 4, 1852, H Doc. 1, pages 103-122. Inventory of ship's stores filmed but not transcribed here.


    The U.S. Quartermaster's schr. Capt. Lincoln, Nagle, came down from Benicia this morning, having on board Lt. Stanton, with a detachment of 30 U.S. troops, bound to Port Orford. She has anchored near the cutter Polk, and will sail for her destination in a few days.
"Memoranda," Daily Alta California, San Francisco, December 24, 1851, page 3




    The following letter, published in the Oregonian, will give all the particulars known at present of the loss of the Gen. Lincoln and the brig Almira.
    The brig Almira, Gibbs master, was cast away after passing the bar, on the 9th, and is now ashore and abandoned, about one mile north of Umpqua City. A government vessel is wrecked and ashore at the mouth of the Coos, about 20 miles below. She was in the Quartermaster's service, loaded with supplies and 36 dragoons to Port Orford. No lives lost. The Ortalan will probably take the men down to Port Orford. We are looking for them up. The trail down the coast is said to be impracticable.
    There is an active demand at Scottsburg for miners' supplies, with small stock--an unusual circumstance, both as to demand and supply, at this season of the year.
    The master's name of the government vessel was Nagle; Lieut. Stanton commanded the dragoons. The Gen. Lincoln, it will be recollected, sailed from this port about the middle of December, and great fears have since been entertained for her safety, no tidings having reached us of her condition until now.
"From Oregon--Arrival of the Columbia," Daily Alta California, San Francisco, February 14, 1852, page 7


    Per Nassau--Capt. M. S. Miller, U.S.A., Capt. S. W. Naghel and crew of schr. Lincoln, Jas. S. Gamble.
"Passengers," Daily Alta California, San Francisco, May 24, 1852, page 2


    Per Ortoleon--Left at Umpqua brig Fawn, Bunker, for this port in two days. The sch. Nassau had been chartered and sailed a few days previous for Rogue River to save the stores, etc., of government schr. Capt. Lincoln, lost near that place in January last. Everything was quiet at Umpqua when the O. sailed, and there had been no trouble with the Indians for some time.
"Memoranda," Daily Alta California, San Francisco, May 15, 1852, page 2


    Per Nassau--The Nassau is the first vessel that has entered the Coos River, having been chartered for that purpose by the U.S. Quartermaster, and was piloted up and out by S. W. Naghel, former master of the schr. Lincoln. She entered the Coos River May 6th, left on the 18th, arrived at Port Orford the 20th, and sailed for this port on the 21st. Capt. Naghel reports the bar at Coos River as far more convenient and practicable than that at the Umpqua, there being from 3½ to 4 fathoms at low water, with a good beating channel. The Coos River has been explored by Lieut. Stanton for 35 miles from its mouth; its direction is ENE, with sufficient water for small steamers and sailing vessels.
"Memoranda," Daily Alta California, San Francisco, May 24, 1852, page 2


   
   
    It will be remembered by many of the old settlers in San Francisco, Cal. and Port Orford, Oregon, that, the schooner Lincoln was chartered by government of San Francisco to transport troops and sutler goods to the safe and commodious harbor of Port Orford for the purpose of protecting the miners and settlers of the newly discovered "Eldorado." The Lincoln sailed from San Francisco, Dec. 25th, 1851.
Democratic News, Jacksonville, May 1, 1869, page 2  "Pumice Stone" is apparently the pen name of Harry Baldwin, the author.



    William H. Packwood, who is the only surviving member of the state constitutional convention of 1857, in speaking of his experiences in Oregon 60 or more years ago, told a graphic story of the wreck of the Lincoln, on which C company of the First Dragoons were passengers from San Francisco to Port Orford. He said:
    "About December 27, 1851, the Lincoln, a three-masted schooner of 200 tons, sailed from San Francisco for Port Orford, Oregon, and Puget Sound. There were on board Lieutenant H. W. Stanton of C company, First United States Dragoons; Dr. Sorrell, U.S.A., and 35 soldiers of company C, of whom I was one. The captain of the Lincoln was Captain Nagle. The Lincoln was an old vessel that had come around Cape Horn, and was in poor condition for going to sea. We were hardly outside the Golden Gate when a southwest storm struck us and drove the vessel north of Port Orford. Soon after the storm broke the vessel began to leak. Twelve of the soldiers were ordered to man the pumps, but the water continued to gain on us.
    "The cargo of the vessel was stored in the hold and consisted of barrels and boxes. On those barrels and boxes planks were laid. The planked walk extended from the officers' cabins at the stern of the vessel to the forecastle, where the sailors' bunks were. We slept on these planks, or rather lay awake on them, when not at work at the pumps. There was about four feet of space between our beds and the deck of the vessel. The only way of getting down or out was through the main hatch. The water came in from the side seams of the vessel, and we could hear the wash and swish of it running among the barrels and cargo. It never came up to our planks, on which we lay, the work on the pumps holding the water to about a certain height, with but slight gain.
    "On January 1, 1852, the water was beginning to gain on the pumps. The steward told us the water was over the floor of the officers' cabin. On the second, the storm calmed somewhat and Captain Nagle took the sun about noon and he and the lieutenant determined to head for the coast, and failing to make it, they decided to jettison the cargo to lighten the vessel. There was but one whaleboat left. We had two when we started. One was smashed to pieces when a big wave rolled over the vessel. If the dumping of the cargo and the pumps failed to keep her afloat, and it became necessary for us to use the whaleboat, there would have been trouble, as the whaleboat could carry but a small portion of those aboard. There was an ugly feeling among the men, and a fight would have resulted for possession of the boat.
    "On the first of January Captain Nagle changed his course, the wind calmed down and we hoisted more sail. About 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning of January 3 there was a heavy fog. I had gone below with my pumping shift and Pat McCullock and his shift had relieved us at the pumps.
    "Then the vessel struck and came to a dead stop. Instantly you could feel the lift of the vessel, as though she was trying to raise up. It was simply a bar she was crossing. She righted and soon had headway. We thought were past all danger, but it was only a few minutes until she struck again--this time to stay. We were afraid we had run on a reef of rocks. The water increased rapidly. I called Pat McCullock to the hatch, which was kept fastened down and covered with a tarpaulin, and asked him if we were on a reef of rocks.
    "I told him he could find out by sounding over the side of the vessel with a whaleboat oar, and that all below were anxious to know, as the vessel was settling broadside to the ocean, and the breakers were running over the vessel, and at times it seemed as though she was going to turn over. We had been driven ashore on a new moon tide, and with the heavy sea running after the storm, we were high and dry.
    "It was very dark, but McCullock took an oar and succeeded in sounding until he was certain we were on sand and not on the rocks.
    "It is curious to note the result of fear on different individuals. We expected at any minute we might be drowned in the vessel or fighting in the waves to save our lives. Some were praying, some cursing the government for sending men to sea in such a vessel. I had a bunkie who had a plank to sleep on next to mine. He was a very steady, thrifty Irishman named Dan McFall. He had saved nearly $1000 in gold coin and carried it in his belt. Soon after the storm began Dan would say to me: 'I would give so much money to be on land.' Dan kept raising his bid, with no takers, until he put up the whole amount of his savings to be on land.
    "We waited patiently, probably half an hour after McCullock's report, and then broke through the planking into the sailors' gangway and went on deck.
    "Daylight was beginning to break. We could see we were on an open sand beach, with a background of low sand hills. We had struck on the ocean beach, almost opposite to where Empire City now stands, and between two or three miles above the mouth of Coos Bay. By the time the sun was up we could see Indians coming across the sand hills. Soon there were nearly 200 assembled."
Oregon Journal, Portland, January 4, 1915, page 8


    "Early in January, 1852, while en route from San Francisco to Port Orford, our vessel, the Lincoln, was wrecked near the mouth of Coos Bay," said William H. Packwood of Baker. "In the early days the Indians used to scan the beach every morning after a storm, to see if a whale might have been driven ashore in the storm, or a vessel wrecked. To find a whale meant food for the whole tribe for weeks. At daylight an Indian sentry sighted our vessel rolling in the heavy surf, and soon there were nearly 200 Indians on the shore waiting for what the sea would bring them.
    "The tide was running out rapidly and the sea going down so that a man could jump overboard and by running when the tide was out, reach the shore safely.
    "We began, with the aid of the Indians, to get the cargo ashore. The tide would sweep in around the vessel, but when it ran out the cargo would be dumped over the side. Sometimes before it was out of the way the return tide would come, and many narrow escapes occurred from being caught and swept to sea with the return tide. One of our men, Martin Manly, was caught in the return tide and swept around the stern of the vessel. Fortunately there was a tiller rope swinging over the stern of the vessel and as Manly swept by on the tide he saw this rope and caught it and held on, swinging with the rise and fall of the breakers. I remember how long it seemed to be before he was rescued from the grip of the breakers. There he was, hanging onto a rope and the breakers breaking over him and leaving him at times swinging in the air. Finally a rope noose was made and he was hauled up safe and sound.
    "A man named Lockwood had a cargo of liquors aboard. I saw a barrel of whiskey raised out of the hold, the head knocked in and the men with tin cups drink from the barrel as though it were drinking water. One of our company, Jimmy Gordon, was at the hold helping raise the cargo. I told Jimmy it would be better to have the cargo saved instead of the whiskey. He stopped the hoisting of liquors and got our provisions. We expected the vessel would break up in the next tide, so we wanted all the grub saved that was possible.
    "With the work of the Indians and our own men, we soon had on shore a large part of the cargo before the return tide cut us off. Everything was carried onto the first sand ridge back of the beach and stacked up. About 2 o'clock in the afternoon Lieutenant Stanton took me and two other men and we went down the beach to the mouth of Coos Bay. Sails were stripped from the vessel and the supplies covered with tarpaulins. We made tent houses of the sails, also. They were located on top of the sand ridge on the east side. We soon had a regular military camp.
    "Next day Lieutenant Stanton raised a flag staff by his sail tent. When the flag with the Stars and Stripes was raised a great cheer went up from all of us.
    "During the entire time of the storm, from San Francisco until we landed on the beach at 'Camp Cast Away,' I do not remember having anything warm to eat. Our cook's galley had been flooded at the beginning of the storm. I remember we tried to build a fire, but it was put out by some heavy seas that broke over the vessel. We ate hard bread and raw salt pork, as this was before the day of canned goods.
    "Now that we were ashore, a fire was soon made, and nearly all the men got drunk. We had a night of it, never to be forgotten. It was one continuous round of drinking, roaring, fighting and eating. I and one or two others were the only sober ones in the crowd. The reaction from the danger of a watery grave, and our present safety on land, and the whiskey, together with the hard work and excitement of the last few hours, nearly all had become wild with drink and excitement. Pistols and weapons were brought into the melee. Fortunately no lives were lost. Captain Nagel, the commander of the vessel, and our officers, Lieutenant Stanton and Dr. Sorrel, remained in their tents on the hill and let the men have their orgy without interference. Had the officers interfered I think the result would have been serious. Captain Nagel had taken the sun on January 1. It was decided at that time to change our course, and unless the storm abated, the cargo was to be thrown overboard to lighten the vessel, and if this did not help matters, it was planned to take to the whaleboat. It was known that the officers' pistols were loaded and convenient to use, in case it became necessary to take the whaleboat and leave the vessel. I remember hearing some of our men say they had as much right for a chance in the boat as any officer, and they would have a say as to who should go, if it came to that.
    "Captain Nagel was in error in his last observation. We were one degree north of where he thought we were. He [had] laid his course for Port Orford, which he expected to make next day, January 2. This error in his reckoning caused us to strike the beach north of Coos Bay. If a man was sent along the coast from Columbia River to San Francisco to find a more favorable place in which to beach a vessel, it could not be found. When I look back and think of the fearful fate that overtook many of those saved in this wreck, I wonder if it would not have been preferable to have been drowned in this wreck in place of being massacred by the Indians, as many of them were."
Oregon Journal, Portland, January 13, 1915, page 8


    William H. Packwood, who while an enlisted soldier marched from Fort Leavenworth to San Francisco in 1849 and was one of the few who did not desert to go to the mines, is a pioneer of Coos County. While en route with his company of the First Dragoons from San Francisco to Port Orford, in January, 1852, their vessel, the Lincoln, was wrecked at the mouth of Coos Bay. In speaking of his experience at that time he says:
    "On our first day in camp after the wreck all hands got to work and made matters as comfortable as possible by putting up tents made from sails. The Indians brought us an abundance of fish of all kinds, for which we gave them hardtack or pilot bread.
    "The first move our commanding officer, Lieutenant Stanton, made was to take a trip up the beach to the mouth of the Umpqua River. He ordered Sergeant Hill to detail six men to escort him on the trip. George H. Abbott came to me and said a detail was to be made of six men to go with the lieutenant. He said the lieutenant had a reputation of being a hard one to keep up with, and he wanted me to volunteer to go in place of being detailed. He said that Dawes, Ryan, Cantle and myself and one other man would volunteer, and he would ask the lieutenant to accept us as escort. George said, 'We will show him he has some boys he will not run away from or leave behind.' The lieutenant told Sergeant Hill to accept the volunteer detail. We left camp carrying a blanket apiece and one day's rations. We started, and Lockwood, a young man who had a cargo of liquor in the wrecked schooner, went with us up to Ten Mile Creek. We waded through and went on up to Umpqua and stayed all night. Next day we started back and kept together until we passed Ten Mile Creek, about eight miles from camp. We began to lead out and increase our pace, and we soon had quite a lead of the lieutenant and Lockwood. We were scattered out singly, walking fast. When we were nearly a mile ahead, we could see the lieutenant and Lockwood hurrying to catch us. Failing to gain on us, they began to shoot their revolvers. We kept right on as though we did not hear them.
    "We got into camp and were nearly through dinner when Sergeant Hill called us and ordered us to report to Lieutenant Stanton. He was waiting for us to report. In a few minutes, with Abbott leading, we marched up to report. The lieutenant had a peculiar cast in one eye that seemed when looking at you to telegraph his feelings. We could see that his eye was doing business. As soon as we formed a line Abbott saluted and reported the detail all present. The lieutenant stood and looked us all over, and finally he said: 'Men, I did not take you up to Umpqua to see how fast you could come back, but to stay with me. Now go to your quarters.' I do not know how the lieutenant viewed it. He had the reputation of always leading, and to find a bunch of men that could walk away from him was new to him. He used the words 'stay with me,' instead of 'come with me,' as had always been the case before.
    "I was a little afraid that we might have 'queered' ourselves with the lieutenant. It was the reverse, however, of what we expected. He was a good sport. The lieutenant always ordered Abbott and myself out on scouting or express service, and he never found us wanting. As for me, I can say never have I had a better friend than Lieutenant Stanton.
    "We settled down to routine at Camp 'Castaway.' One of the first moves we made was to haul the whaleboat across the sand hills and launch it in Coos Bay, nearly opposite where Empire City now stands. There was at that time several Indian villages on that side of the bay. The lieutenant sent a detail of men over across South Slough and had them cut trail over what we called the Seven Devils. The country was very brushy and it was slow work. After the trail was completed to where it took the beach line above where Randolph now is, some men were sent to Port Orford. Some horses and mules had been shipped to Port Orford by steamers from San Francisco for our company. A number of pack mules were sent up the beach from Port Orford and over the trail we had cut. The mules swam South Slough and Coos Bay. With these mules we packed our traps and some supplies and broke camp at Camp Castaway about May 9, 1852. We camped on a gulch in the Seven Devils. I remember that from the fact that in 1849 our rifle regiment, three years before, on May 9, broke camp at Camp Summer, out from Fort Leavenworth five miles, and started on the long tramp for Oregon. And now on May 10 we were in the Seven Devils on the Oregon coast, looking out on the Pacific Ocean. During those three years what changes had occurred. Here in this small command were practically all that was left of the rifle regiment of over 1000 men, and we had been transferred to company C, First U.S. Dragoons, and our own officers of the rifle regiment were sent on recruiting service."
Oregon Journal, Portland, January 14, 1915, page 8


    Sixty-four years ago, William H. Packwood landed on the Oregon coast, or to be more exact, he was washed ashore in the Lincoln, which was wrecked near the mouth of Coos Bay. From about January 3, 1852, to May 9 they lived in tents made of sails from the wrecked schooner. In speaking of life at "Camp Castaway," Mr. Packwood says:
    "We were at Camp Castaway over four months. During that time there was not a white woman nor an Indian woman in our camp, nor was there any trading done with the Indians, except for fish. I think only two or three men visited our camp during the winter. As to amusements, we could go over to the bay fishing or hunting. Sometimes of an evening we held a police court or kangaroo court. We elected a judge, the police brought in the prisoner, charges were made, the jury empaneled and counsel for prosecution and defense selected. The witnesses were sworn and testified. The charges were often of a fearful nature. Generally the side telling the most plausible lies won the case. Some of these trials, if reported, would have made interesting reading, showing how economical men could be with the truth. All these things helped to pass the time.
    "Now, after four months, we were bidding the camp farewell. We were glad to do so, and yet I have a thankful feeling for Camp Castaway, as it was the place where we all escaped from what seemed a watery grave.
    "H. H. Baldwin and Phillip Brick, both of whom now are dead, who were both on the wreck, have given an account of the wreck.
    "Baldwin speaks about men coming to our camp, James and Pat Flanigan and Ed Breen. I remember hearing of some men coming to camp, but I did not see them. H. H. Baldwin wrote a song about the wreck of the Lincoln which went like this:
    Harry Baldwin, who wrote this song, came across the plains in 1849 with Colonel Loring's command. He served out his enlistment and at the breaking out of the Civil War he reenlisted, serving through the Civil War. He was a cousin of the Earl of Bandon and settling near Bandon, the town of Bandon was named at his suggestion.
Oregon Journal, Portland, January 15, 1915, page 4


    Not long ago I talked with one of the very earliest settlers in Coos County, and he told me how [Floras Creek] and the lake received their names. My informant was William H. Packwood, now a resident at Baker, in Eastern Oregon. He was a delegate to the state constitutional convention at Salem in the summer of 1857, representing Curry County. He is the last surviving delegate of that historic convention. In speaking of his early experiences in Curry County, he said:
    "We started from San Francisco for Port Orford in December, 1851. We were aboard the schooner Captain Lincoln. On January 3 we were wrecked two miles north of what the Indians called Kowes or Cowes bay, now known as Coos Bay. Improvising tents from the sails of the wreck, we spent four months there.
    "In May, 1852, we marched to Port Orford. We had been sent there to guard that newly established town from the Indians. We reached Port Orford, and after a brief stay we were ordered to find a feasible route from Port Orford to connect with the main-traveled Oregon and California trail, so that Captain Tichenor's new town of Port Orford could become a port of entry and outfitting point for the Oregon miners.
    "George W. Stoneman, second lieutenant of our company, Company C, had come to join us from San Francisco. By June 18 we were ready to go. We started on June 19 and made our first night's camp on a mountain up on Floras Creek.
    "We had a civilian with us named Fred Flora, who on one of our trips to Camp Castaway fell into this creek. Our men then called it Flora's Creek, and it has since been called Floras Creek.
    "On the morning of June 20, 1852, we were on a bald mountain on Floras Creek. The sun shone brightly and we had a grand view of the ocean. Lieutenant H. W. Stanton was in command, Second Lieutenant George W. Stoneman, Lieutenant Williamson of the topographical corps and about 35 soldiers of Company C, First United States Dragoons constituting the command. The country was largely covered with burns and down timber and was overgrown with underbrush and berry vines so thick as to make traveling difficult.
    "We had a force of axmen ahead, cutting trail. We followed the divide between Sixes River and Floras Creek to where the summit of the mountain is reached and the waters run into the Coquille River. We then cut across the south fork of the Coquille and made camp on what is now called Rowland's Prairie. Our trail was blazed with three hacks with an ax on each side of trees, so that our blazes could be easily found. The blazes were generally made by a man on horseback.
    "From Rowland's Prairie we went up the south fork of the Coquille to what later was Woodward's ranch. From there we struck an Indian trail leading up a trail between Coquille waters and Sixes River. We followed this divide and went down on the south end and crossed a creek afterward known as Johnson Creek, and then crossed over the divide to Rogue River at Big Bend.
    "We went up Rogue River, making and cutting a trail and blazing it all the way. It was a tough route.
    "We found some letters cut in the bark of soft maple trees, well grown over, showing white men had been in the country years before--trappers, probably, as there had been no prospecting for gold on the river at that time.
    "We followed the river to where we could see what is now known as Big Meadows. We were making our way through thick brush high on the mountainside. A number of the company had been detailed as axmen to cut trail for the party.
    "While we were waiting for a particularly heavy place to be cleared by the trailmakers, Lieutenant Williamson dismounted from his mule, whose name was John, and let him graze. When we were ordered to continue our march the mule had disappeared. We scattered in all directions in search of the mule, but he was not to be found, so we named the stream that rose near where we had lost the mule John Mule Creek, and the mountain Mule Hill--names they bear to this day, though probably there are but one or two men now alive who know how they received their names.
    "Five years later, at the Siletz Reservation, I ran across this mule in the possession of the Indians. We went no farther than Big Meadows, for Lieutenant Stanton decided that the country was so rough and difficult that a road connecting Port Orford with the Willamette Valley trail to California was impracticable, so we returned to Port Orford."
Fred Lockley, "Names of Streams and Hill Result in Early Day Oddities," Oregon Journal, Portland, July 23, 1916, page 12



Last revised April 19, 2026