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Pioneer Days in Coos and Curry
"When I first
went to Port Orford, in 1852," said William H. Packwood of Baker,
"there was not a permanent settler, so far as I know, in the Coquille
or Coos Bay country, nor in the whole stretch of country to the
southward, clear to Crescent City, California. The whole country was
unknown--a wilderness of timber and brush--and the mountains were full
of game of all kinds, deer, bear and, best and most numerous of all,
elk that roamed the country. Port Orford was an open roadstead. It had
a small store, post office and saloon and a detail of United States
artillery under command of Lieutenant Wyman, and our company, Company
C, First United States Dragoons.
"As soon as we were back from a Rogue River trip, all hands were put to work building quarters for the post at Port Orford. We made our buildings of heavy logs, which could, if occasion demanded, be used as forts against Indians. For our horses and mules we had canvas-covered sheds. The steamer from San Francisco to Portland called about once a week. There was at this time, in Port Orford, J. E. Franklin and a Mr. Tyler. They had a little sawmill near the lagoon. I was never at the mill and do not think they were ever able to do much of anything. Franklin afterward went up to the Umatilla country and located near where Athena now is. Tyler was an old sailor and is no doubt 'over the river' long since. Two other men I remember well were James M. Gamble, who afterward became a prominent man, connected with telegraph companies. The other man was the famous Oakland multimillionaire F. M. Smith, the railroad man, well known as the 'borax king.' All were then as poor as 'Job's turkey." Spanish Mary kept a small store. Later she married a Mr. Sutton, an engineer, and the last time I saw them was in Portland. They were charitable and liberal, and no one deserving ever failed to receive help from them. I do not know, but I believe that both of them are now 'over the river.' "These are about all the oldtimers, except Jake Summers, Charley Foster, Fred Unican, Simon Lundry [and] Randolph Tichenor, who were all at Port Orford in that early day. "Back of Port Orford was the finest body of cedar timber I ever saw. I went out with one or two others of our men and staked a claim. It was all unsurveyed, so all we could do was to post a notice and do some work. Soon after doing so a Captain Munson came to see me at our quarters and said that Nephas and Tichenor, in looking around for a location for the mill, had found a spring of water on my claim and wanted it. I told him to tell them to go ahead. I could not hold the claim. He said they would pay for it. I told him whatever they did was satisfactory to me. That evening he came back and gave me $125 in coin, and on that claim Nephas and Tichenor put up the first sawmill for cutting white cedar ever built in Oregon. This was in 1852. I have no idea how long they ran their mill. It was in the sixties that a fire came nearly burning Port Orford and the whole country. In the early days one or two cuts were all that was taken from a tree. Captain Tichenor took up a claim and had his family there at the time. Later on he married a second time, and now lies buried on the hill north of where our soldiers' quarters were, with his two wives, one on each side of him." Coos Bay Times, Marshfield, February 5, 1915, page 4 If you have ever traveled along the coast of Curry County you have undoubtedly noticed the large amount of black sand at Gold Beach. Gold Beach is well named. In the early days it was literally a beach of gold. Somewhere, back in the mountains of Curry County, there must be rich ledges of gold quartz, for along the streams, as well as along the beach, large amounts of coarse gold have been panned, rocked or sluiced out. That there is somewhere in the mountains a rich quartz ledge is proved by the rich specimens brought to Jacksonville in the early days from what is now known as the "Lost Soldier" ledge. Someday this ledge and others from which the placer deposits along the Curry County coast have come will be discovered. *
* *
Some years ago, in
talking of the early days of Curry County, one of Curry County's
earliest settlers, Judge William Packwood, told me of the discovery of
gold on the Curry County beach."Gold was first discovered there," said Mr. Packwood, "at Battle Rock, near Port Orford. Early in the year, either in February or March, 1853, I saw an old man named Simmons putting in sluice boxes in the little stream that flows into the ocean near Battle Rock. "In the spring of 1850, while at Trinidad, Cal., I met a party prospecting up the coast toward the Oregon line. Whether they found any gold on the Oregon beach I do not know. Captain Tichenor, who founded. the town of Port Orford, told me there was gold in the sand in front of Port Orford, but he didn't know whether it existed in paying quantities. I believe Simmons was the first man who actually did beach mining. That summer Simmons, with several others, went to the mouth of Rogue River, where they struck it rich. *
* *
"Early in June, 1853,
Captain A. J. Smith, captain of C Troop, First United States Dragoons,
of which I was a member, took a detail of men to look over the country
between Port Orford and Coos Bay. They stopped at a stream later called
Whiskey Run, to tighten their packs. One of the soldiers, Marion
Dildine, lay down to take a drink of water. As he drank he saw in the
bottom of the stream some black sand in which were particles of gold.
Securing a tin cup from his saddle, he gathered a cup or black sand,
panned it down, and found colors in the bottom of the cup. The men who
were in the party agreed to keep the find secret so they could come
back later when they were mustered out and take up claims.*
* *
"Not long after the
soldiers returned to Port Orford several miners arrived from
California. Among these miners were McNamara, McKay, Judd and
'Doc' Hall. The evening they arrived one of the soldiers who had been
with the party who had found the gold on Whiskey Run spent the evening
with them. Drink loosened his tongue and he told them of the find they
had made on Whiskey Run. Early next morning they struck out up the
coast. McNamara, or 'Big McNamara,' as he was usually
called,
had flaming red hair. His face was very red and was covered with
freckles. He was still drunk when they pulled out next morning. He was
riding a small horse. He swayed from side to side, occasionally
grabbing the horse's mane or the horn of the saddle to keep from
falling. There were 10 other miners with McNamara.*
* *
"They stopped at the
first creek above the Coquille River. You will find this creek marked
on the map as Packwood Creek. It was named after me. They staked 11
claims, taking 12 inches of water each, as they estimated there were
just about 12 heads of water in the creek. They drew lots for the
claims.*
* *
"Shortly after they
had made the drawing three half-breeds, Peter, Andrew and Joe, joined
them. They wanted to locate on the stream. McNamara told them all the
claims had been taken. He suggested that they stake out claims on some
other stream. Peter was a very bright and intelligent half-breed. He
said, 'That's all right. There may be good claims on this creek farther
up, but we wouldn't have water enough to work them. We will go farther
up the beach and stake claims on the next creek.' They went on up the
beach two or three miles, prospected, and found very rich ground, so
they located claims near the mouth of the stream. At that time a beach
claim was 60 feet broad on the beach. You had the privilege of working
as far out to sea as you could, and as far upstream as you wished.*
* *
"McNamara, McKay, Judd
and the others found their claims were paying only about $8 a day. When
they discovered that Peter, Andrew and Joe, the half-breeds, had struck
it rich, McNamara claimed they were partners, as he had advised them to
go up the creek and take claims. They had left Crescent City together,
which Mac said was an additional reason for their being partners. In
any event, the 11 men held a miners' meeting, and in spite of the
protest of the half-breeds, decided they were partners and should share
equally in the rich claims. The miners' meeting also decided that Big
Mac, Judd and McKay should have 120 feet of beach front. This
ground included the rich ground that the half-breeds had located.
Peter, Andrew and Joe had to give up their claims and take claims
elsewhere. They took claims farther from the mouth of the river, which
of course were not nearly so rich as their original claims. The three
half-breeds could rock out from $250 to $300 a day, but the 120 feet
taken by Big Mac and his party was the richest ground I have ever seen.*
* *
"On October 8, 1853, I
happened to meet Mac and Judd on their way back to Crescent City. I was
doing packing at the time. They had 40 pounds of coarse gold dust
apiece for their work, somewhere between $8000 and $10,000 apiece. Mac
had seen so many men spend all they had made, in drink or gambling, so
he decided then and there that he was through with mining and mine
booze. He had made his cleanup in two or three months. He went on the
water wagon and I don't believe he ever took another drink. He went to
Crescent City, got married, built a hotel, and did well. I visited Mac
in Crescent City later. He said he and McKay and Judd one day rocked
out $2200 from the claim they had taken from the Indian boys. During
the few months they worked this claim they took out $100,000 in gold
dust. They thought they had worked the claim out and gave it to a man
named George See, but he struck a second beach farther back and worked
it for years, making a lot of money from it. I often met him at
Crescent City when he came in to deposit his gold dust. McKay took his
share of the money and went to Walla Walla, where he went into
the
stock business. Peter, Andrew and Joe made a lot of money, but the
white men soon got it away from them. Andrew, while going from the mine
at Sixes River to Port Orford, became confused during a snowstorm,
wandered from the trail, and froze to death. His body was not found for
some time afterward.*
* *
"The news of the rich
diggings on Packwood Creek and Whiskey Run brought hundreds of miners
to the Curry County beaches. Within the next few years
hundreds of
thousands of dollars were rocked out of the beach between Port Orford
and the mouth of Rogue River. I have an idea that some of these days
they will discover gold farther back on some older beach line along the
coast." Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, September 10, 1919, page 10 Miners and poker players have a saying, "A fool for luck." If you look up the discoveries of some of our richest mines you will come to the conclusion there must be some truth in the saying. William Packwood, one of the pioneers of Curry County, having come there in the early '50's and also a pioneer of Auburn, Florence and other mining camps in Eastern Oregon and Idaho, some years ago told me of the discovery of many of the rich mines of Southern and Eastern Oregon. He came to Curry County as a member of Troop C, First United States Dragoons. Upon receiving his discharge he ran a pack train for a while, raised stock, engaged in mining and represented Curry County in the state constitutional convention in 1857, of which he was the last surviving member. "In 1853, when the rich diggings were discovered on the beach in Curry County," said Mr. Packwood, "Martin Manly, a member of old Troop C, and Jimmy Gordon, another member of our old company, and myself took up claims on the beach above Whiskey Run, and also on the creek just below Randolph. This was the first creek above the Coquille River. A townsite was laid out at Randolph. A man named Soap had a very rich claim on the beach just opposite Randolph. "There were no sawmills in the country. We paid from $50 to $100 per 1000 for lumber to build our sluice boxes. The planks were whipsawed out from the Port Orford cedar. I packed my lumber from Port Orford, cutting it in five-foot lengths and taking it in on a pack horse. McNamara, who, with his partners, washed out over $100,000 of gold that season, made his sluice boxes by splitting logs and hewing out the lumber with a broad ax. "Jimmy Gordon came from the old country. He was a college graduate--Oxford, I think. He was a younger son and had been sent out to America. Having no trade or occupation, he had enlisted in the army. Time after time he was made corporal or sergeant but was reduced to the ranks for drinking. While he was with me he straightened up and didn't touch liquor for two years. Having straightened up, he finally decided to go back to his home and people. We gave him his share of the gold dust and he started for the old country. He was going to San Francisco and thence by the Panama route to New York and on across to England. He got no farther than San Francisco. He died there. I never heard any particulars of his death. *
* *
"Late that
season, about November,
my partner, Martin Manly, went to Port Orford to get supplies. He met
there two young fellows from New England. The youngest was 17 and the
other 19 years old. They had come out to make their fortune in
the
mines. The night they got there they spread their blankets under a tree
close to where I was sleeping. They were full of excitement about
reaching the mines. They talked nearly all night. I was greatly amused
at what they were saying. I heard one of them say, 'The first thing we
will do is to pay back the $500 we borrowed to buy our tickets to San
Francisco.' The other one said, 'As soon as we get $10,000 we will go
back home and go into business.' Next morning I showed them how to pan
gold and told them all I could about the best places to prospect. They
prospected on the beach for several days without success. They went
back to Port Orford. Here they fell in with a Mexican who had a fair
knowledge of mining and who seemed to take a liking to them. They also
met Ben Wright, a well-known pioneer of Coos and Curry counties. Ben
Wright and some half-breeds had located claims at Cape Blanco. They
would rock out a barrel of black sand, dry it and, with a bellows, blow
the black sand away. This was a slow process. They became disgusted
with their claims and traded them to Captain Tichenor's bull teamster.
This teamster didn't care to quit a good job freighting, so he gave the
claims to these two boys. There was a gulch just back of their claims.They threw a small dam across it, which retained enough water to work their claims. For half a mile toward Elk River the beach was completely covered with driftwood. *
* *
"A
southwest storm set in, just at
the time of a full tide. The beach was swept clear of the logs and
drift. It also swept the gray sand away, leaving a large deposit of
black sand in sight. I passed them at work one day while on my way to
Port Orford. They said that if they could wash out enough to make their
expenses for the winter, next season they could get a good claim
elsewhere. Each week they went into Port Orford and secured credit for
a week's provisions. They were good pay, as the following week they
would bring in enough gold dust to pay for the week's credit they had
received. I used to feel sorry for them as I remembered their talk
about going home as soon as they had made $10,000.*
* *
"One of my
old soldier friends,
George Abbott, turned up, so we went into partnership in the mercantile
business. We put in a store at Johnson Creek to supply the miners with
goods. My job was to run the store while George would go to Port Orford
with pack horses to get the goods, which came from San Francisco by
steamer. He got back from one of his trips--this was in the summer of
'54--I remember it was the twenty-first of June, because it was the
longest day in the year. He said, ell, Bill, your Yankee boys
who
were mining on the beach at Cape Blanco have pulled out for home.' I
said, 'Too bad they couldn't make it. Homesick and discouraged, I
guess, so home looked pretty good to them.' 'Homesick nothing,' he
said. 'I was in Port Orford when they weighed out their gold dust. They
cashed in for $21,000, sold their claim for $1000, so they had $11,000
apiece for their winter's work. They told me that when the tide had
washed the logs and gray sand away, their claims turned out to be rich.
They figured it would be a good scheme to let people think they were
just about earning their grub. That's why they always got a week's
credit for their supplies. They didn't want to have a stampede to their
claims."When these two young Yankees cashed in their winter's work for $21,000 it resulted in a rush to the Cape Blanco beach. The miners worked the bench as far as Elk River." Fred Lockley, "Impressions and Observations of the Journal Man," Oregon Journal, Portland, September 11, 1919, page 12 SLAUGHTER OF INDIANS BY THE
VIGILANTES RECALLED
Colville and Randolph City Miners 74 Years Ago Attack Sleeping Red Men in Settlement on Coquille River.
MARSHFIELD, Or., Jan. 28.--(Special.)--Seventy-four years ago on the
morning of January 28, 1854,
40 miners from the Colville or Randolph City mines, seven miles north
of what is now Bandon, at the mouth of the Coquille River, led by George H. Abbott, raided
three Indian settlements on the river, which
had all told 75 persons, including the children, and devastated the
district. The Indians were taken unawares, and when the massacre was
over, 15 males and one adult female were dead.
Mr. Abbott's report to F. M. Smith, sub-agent at Port Orford, the next day, said: "The Indians are sitting about the ruins of their smoldering homes." Mr. Abbott signed the report as "captain commanding Coos County volunteers." That incident of early days, termed "murder" by Sub-Agent Smith, was the subject of a dispute which was never settled in the minds of fair-minded people, for the miners submitted evidence of varied aggravations which the Indians had perpetrated upon the persons and the property of the miners, while Chief John, badly wounded in the massacre, stoutly maintained there had been no offense by the Indians which warranted anything more than a powwow and a definite understanding between the tribe and the whites. Mines Attract Tough Characters.
To this
day there are those who
look upon the incident as one of the blackest crimes ever committed in
Oregon under the guise of plausible excuse. The mines in those days
were peopled by admitted tough characters, and there was, on the other
hand, a claim that the miners, who numbered about 250, with 50 or more
whites residing in the vicinity, were not aware whether the Indians had
in their tribe that many warriors or several times that many, and
whether or not they could not call in other tribes to aid in wiping out
the whites.Numbered among those who participated in the massacre and who signed subsequent documents relating to the affair were the following: George H. Abbott, leader and general spokesman; A. F. Soap, chairman of secret meetings held prior to and after the massacre; William Packwood, secretary; John Grolonis, a witness; B. J. Bell, J. E. McClure, B. J. Burns, W. J. Berry and J. C. Danford, a committee appointed to seek aid from the United States military station at Port Orford, and who made a special report to Sub-Agent Smith, following the massacre. There were also X. E. Scott and J. B. O'Meally, chairman and secretary of several meetings held to consider the Indian situation; John A. Pension was a witness who swore to incidents of Indian insolence. William Whike was another who was conversant with troubles from the Indians. In substantiation of reasons for their attack upon the Indians, four reports were made by the executives of the whites' councils, and among the complaints enumerated were: Indian riding white man's horse without permission; the Indians swore at them in English; the Indians did not want them about their settlements; an Indian shot at a crowd of whites who were standing near the ferry house; the Indians cut the rope holding the ferryboat; they had shot across the river at whites; they had committed thefts from houses; that, on being invited in to discuss affairs, Chief John had sent back an insolent reply and said he would kill any white man who approached his encampment. Various other sins were laid at the doors of the Indians. A rather significant outcome of the massacre was contained in Captain Abbott's report made to Sub-Agent Smith the day of the massacre, January 28, 1854: "I almost forgot to say that our loss was none, either in killed, wounded or prisoners." Sleeping Indians Attacked.
Farcical,
almost, was a portion of
his report: "And I can say, to the credit of both officers and men,
that they behaved like soldiers and avoided innocent bloodshed as much
as possible." They had attacked the three Indian settlements at
daylight, when the unsuspecting Indians were sleeping.The whites had accused the Indians of storing arms and munitions, preparatory to an attack upon the miners. Sub-Agent Smith's report of the subsequent investigation showed the ludicrousness of this claim. There were but five powder-and-ball arms in possession of the natives, and two of these were unserviceable. Although the whites, to make their claims good, afterwards said the arms had been destroyed in the fires which burned all but a single hut, a search of the ashes and ruins disclosed no signs of firearms, and the miners' statements regarding preparation by the Indians were found incorrect. Sub-Agent Smith, who reported to Joel Palmer, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Territory of Oregon, at Dayton, February 5 following the massacre, found a woeful state of affairs in connection with the prior and subsequent activities of the so-called Coos County volunteers. January 27 the word went out for a gathering of whites at the ferry, which was on the south side of the river, and 40 men responded to the invitation. The vigilance committee had prepared a report of the situation to be sent to Sub-Agent Smith, asking him to forward them soldiers from Port Orford to help protect the whites. This was prepared, or at least signed, January 27, but the report was enclosed to Smith afterwards, following the scenes of the morning of the 28th, it having been decided at the meeting of the day before that it was not policy to wait for orders from Port Orford, only 28 miles away, and so the slaughter took place before any aid had been requested. On being informed of what had taken place, Sub-Agent Smith proceeded to the scene, finding the Indians dispersed and in hiding, fearful of further atrocities by the whites, although a truce had been arranged the day following the carnage. Chilliman, an Indian, was used as interpreter both by the miners and Mr. Smith. Through his offices, Chief John and others were induced to come in and discuss affairs. They were not inclined to make any complaint, but on promise of protection from the government, the details of the massacre and the charges lodged against the Indians were learned and discussed. The Indians were ready to make peace at any price and remove from the "homes of their forefathers," if Mr. Smith [so] advised. Chief John was interested in the safety of his people, and only consented to talk when he had been assured that there would be peace in the future. Shot Fired at Duck.
Chief John
had been accused of
shooting across the river at the white once only, but he explained this
incident by saying he had shot at a duck and was not aware there were
any whites in the vicinity. He denied firing at men at the ferry house.
One of the miners corroborated the chief's statement he had shot at a
duck.None of the Indians had shot at men standing near the ferry house, they all declared. Chief John had not sent insolent replies to the miners when they desired a conference, but he admitted that some of the tribe had done so. The Indians admitted they did not want the whites in their country, and incidents of theft were owned to, and they had ridden the miners' horses without permission. Mr. Smith reported at great length to Joel Palmer, who forwarded the voluminous report to the Department of the Interior on March 11, 1854. Indians Have Few Arms.
There was
an opera bouffe element
in the proceedings of that immediate situation--if it were not
remembered how the Indians were slaughtered. The miners, several times
the strength of the Indians, had called for help from the military post
at Port Orford. Sub-Agent Smith, in reporting, said there were only
four soldiers at the fort. The miners had claimed the Indians were
possessed of a regular arsenal, when they had but five arms, and the
miners themselves had but 14 serviceable rifles and shotguns and 11
pistols, making 25 arms in all.At the meeting of the miners of January 28, held after the morning surprise, measures were adopted to prevent the Indians from obtaining arms, and it was resolved: "That if any person or persons sell, barter, or in any way dispose of any gun, rifle, pistol, carbine or other firearms, or any powder, lead, caps or other ammunition, to any Indian or Indians, such person or persons so offending shall be deemed guilty of a high misdemeanor, and shall receive for the first offense 30 lashes upon the bare back, and for the second offense shall suffer death." Rough Element Intimidates.
The
organization could really be
termed nothing more than a vigilance committee, for there were no law
enforcement officers in this part of the state at the time, as
Sub-Agent Smith set out in his reports when he said there was no way to
punish the lawless whites, as there was no justice of the peace in the
area, and men who abhorred the massacre were afraid to come into the
open and make a stand for decency.Only the military could be invoked in case of strife or lawlessness, and four soldiers would not have made much of an impression on the rough mining element which was the majority of inhabitants at the time. Oregonian, Portland, January 29, 1928, page 8 Read official correspondence concerning the massacre on this and subsequent pages. Oregon Man's Letter Throws New
Light on the Death of Grimes
Refuses to Believe Early Basin Prospector Was Murdered by Comrades. WHOLE PARTY SCATTERED AND NONE GOT BENEFIT
BAKER, Ore.--Editor Statesman,
Boise,
Ida. Dear Sir: Some time last summer I cut from your Sunday paper a
photo of a pioneer's grave on Grimes Creek--that of George Grimes. I
now have before me your Sunday paper of November 5, in which there is
an account of Mr. Grimes by a Mr. Wilson, who seems to believe Grimes
was murdered. His account and information as to Grimes would seem to be
from the time of finding the body of Grimes in December, some four
months after he was killed. Now I can believe that he found Grimes'
body and that Grimes was dressed and shot in the back, but that he was
murdered by anyone of his party I do not believe.
Matters of history as important as the discovery of mines such as Boise Basin mines should be as correct and truthful as it is possible to make them. I was in a position to know much about what occurred in the mines in 1862. Our firm, Knight, Abbott & Packwood, had a store at Auburn, in Baker County, Ore., and we did the outfitting for and were interested directly or indirectly with nearly all the prospecting parties, as Auburn was the outfitting point or starting point. What I know of Grimes is hardly hearsay, but firsthand knowledge. Independence Camp Started.
In June or early in
July we sent out a prospecting party having 12 interests, of which
Abbott and I took two shares. They left Auburn and prospected south and
westerly. On July 4 they struck a fine prospect on Granite Creek, about
45 miles from Auburn. The first gold found was panned by Jack Long, a
packer whom I knew when he was working for the United States on Siletz
Reservation in 1857. Twelve claims were located and a town called
Independence laid out. It was so named on account of the gold being
found on Independence Day. Abbott and I were given $2000 for our
shares. It is surprising and almost beyond belief now to think back how
quickly all such news traveled at that day, without roads, stages or
telegraphs. But so it was, and long before July was gone quite a
population and flourishing mining camp was in bloom at Granite Creek.Grimes was one of them. I do not remember him personally, although I have no doubt I met him at Auburn, but I have his story from John Wilson. Wilson was with Grimes at Granite Creek, as I remember. He said that when Grimes crossed the plains in the 'Fifties he pointed out the range of mountains on the right, east of the Boise Valley, and said he believed rich gold mines lay back of those mountains. This was long before gold was found in eastern Oregon or Idaho. He went on down to Willamette Valley and had lived about Oregon City. He was a carpenter. Grimes Goes to Mines.
He was not a miner,
but when gold was discovered and being worked here in Eastern Oregon,
he pulled out for the mines and came direct to Auburn. From there he
went over to the new find at Granite Creek, but he was not satisfied,
Wilson said, and kept up his talk about the mountains he saw when
crossing the plains, and which he believed were full of gold, and his
determination to go and prospect them.He finally got seven men to go with him. Wilson was one of them. They outfitted at Auburn about the last of July or early in August. From there they followed Grimes' lead. After getting over to Grimes Creek they camped and looked around a little. They went up on a bar or bench from the creek in the pine timber (and the picture you have of a pioneer's grave, Grimes', is exactly as described to me by Wilson). They sank a prospect hole, I think about 10 or 12 feet deep, or it may have been less. They found a prospect which they believed would pay. It was now a Sunday, and I have no doubt they washed up and put on clean clothes for Sunday. Grimes Takes a Walk.
About noon, or a
little after, Wilson said Grimes wanted to see about something at the
prospect hole and started from camp to go up on the bar. From what
Wilson said I do not believe they were doing any work that day, or
intended to do any. They were just taking a look around, as miners
often do of a Sunday, and figure out what to do next week--probably
look over ground they intended to locate. And it being the discovery
hole or shaft, by all miners' rules at that time, giving two claims for
discovery, Grimes may have wanted to look it over again (as I do not
remember Wilson saying a word about location of claims) before putting
up notices and staking claims. Grimes lit out for the prospect shaft
soon after. Some of the others started out, and when they had gotten on
the edge of the bar they heard a shot just ahead of them and looked up
and saw two Indians skulking and running in the pine timber above and
about opposite the prospect hole. There were two Indians, and I think
he said they only saw one rifle.They hurried up to the prospect hole to find Grimes, believing the shot was fired at him by the Indians. When they got up there they found Grimes dead, and I think, from what Wilson said, he was stooping over doing something, and I have no doubt was shot in the back. He was dead and there is no reason to believe he saw the Indians, from what Wilson said. They had seen no Indians before this or any signs of Indians, so were careless in going around. He said they buried Grimes, dressed as he was, in the prospect hole he had located and helped to dig, and that night or early next morning they broke camp and got away. Never Went Back.
I do not believe they
ever made a location. If so, Wilson, for one, never went back, in my
opinion, for he soon after was connected with Grenzeback of The Dalles
in mining operations in Owyhee County, for we had one order on them for
1432 pounds of supplies from our store at Boonville. I do not believe
they ever made any locations, or looked up any claims at that time or
did anything to organize a mining district. They called it Grimes Creek
because he led them to it and was killed and buried there. They left
and each one went his way. There was nothing to hold them together.
They told the story of the find, and while the prospect was fairly
good, it was largely exaggerated. This was, I believe, about the 11th
of August 1862.The news soon reached Auburn, Florence and other camps. By September there were parties from Florence and other northern camps, Marion Moore, Colonel Fogus and Captain Relf Bledsoe. A little later Moore's Creek was found--Idaho Basin. I outfitted and was one of a company of eight from Auburn. Captain Crouch of Roseburg was at the head. We went up in September or early in October and located eight claims on Moore's Creek, eight claims on Buena Vista Bar, eight Hill claims and water rights from Moore's Creek. We came back to Auburn in November. It was said a miners' meeting had been held and claims laid over until March (a custom among miners declaring claims laid over--not jumpable except in the working season). Captain Crouch said he had to go down for the winter to Roseburg and all were to be on hand in March. I told them it was a mistake to do so, that a regiment of soldiers could not, in my belief, put us in possession of our claims next March. In February 1862 I sent a man to look after my claims. All our claims were gone, and our locations, I have been told, were among the best on Moore's Creek and Buena Vista Bar. Thinks Death Caused Rush.
As to Grimes having
been murdered by any of his comrades, I do not believe it for a moment.
I can hardly conceive such a thing happening, from what Wilson told me,
nor can I conceive of any motive. Who could benefit by it? The party
was the same as other parties prospecting for mines. No, Grimes had an
idea, a belief, or whatever we may call it, that there were rich mines
in the mountains. He had that idea for years, and when the time came
that he could do so, he followed his idea out, and in doing so he lost
his life, and that caused greater excitement than finding the gold.The two combined caused a rush to that country that resulted in finding one of the richest placer mining districts in Idaho, and while they would have no doubt been found later on, I do think his name should stand out prominently in Idaho history and a monument should be erected to his memory, designating him as the discoverer of the Boise Basin mines, as it is due solely to him. A small amount would do it, and it should be in a place like that shown in your photo of a pioneer's grave (Grimes', for it is according to and agrees in detail with the account give me by one of the men who helped bury him). Miners Respected Rights.
Miners as a rule in
the early days had a very great respect and regard for rights of
discoverers, and it may have been that when Grimes Creek was made a
mining district and laws passed, some provision was made to protect
Grimes' rights. As to Grimes, Mr. Wilson said he was a common man, a
carpenter, and was wholly carried away with the idea of finding gold in
the mountains to the right and east of Boise Valley--when you were
traveling west. He had that idea for years, and it was proved correct,
although he only lived to know that his idea bade fair to prove
correct, and that his life was a forfeit in doing so.I think his discovery and death hastened, possibly by years, the discovery of mines that have yielded more than $100,000,000 up to this time, and I think his memory should be, and no doubt will be, preserved and honored in Idaho history. And you could claim for Grimes that he: "Belonged
to the legion that never were listed,
They carried no banner nor crest; But, split in a thousand detachments, Were breaking the way for the rest." Yours
very respectfully,
P.S.--I knew of your
old-time Boise residents, Wilson, George and Mark Ainslie, Jacobs,
Bilike, B. M. Durrell and Moore, Captain Bledsoe, James A. Pinney,
George H. Abbott, Soldier, and all over the divide, also my old friend,
Judge Kelley, former owner of the Statesman.
Hon. John Hailey, my old friend since
1854, is still with us, but it is sad to think back of the friends now
no more.WM. H. PACKWOOD, SR. Idaho Statesman, Boise,
December 31, 1916, page 4
CONSTITUTION FRAMER IS LAST OF
STURDY MEN
Captain William H. Packwood, Participator in Stirring Events of Early Oregon, Pays Visit to Roseburg. BY W. A. PETTIT.
ROSEBURG, Or.,
Nov. 25.--With pathetic interest the world notes the passing away of
the old empire builders, and too often it is unaware of their eminent
achievements until too late. Their modest lives in old age obscured
them from the public gaze and the reporter's pen. Thus it is that the
floral wreaths that should have been bestowed upon them during life
come only, if at all, after death.
One of these old heroes and argonauts of the Old Oregon--decrepit and bowed over with the weight of 80 years--is here visiting the scenes of his early days. This is Captain William H. Packwood of Baker City. Fifty years ago he was a member of the convention which framed the constitution of the state of Oregon. Of the 60 members which composed it, he is the last. Of this body, the late Federal Judge Matthew P. Deady was president. Of its sturdy men in after years two became Governors, four United States Senators, two members of Congress, one a Federal Judge, six Judges of the State Courts, and one became Attorney General of the United States and Mayor of Portland City. One enjoyed the distinction of being successively member of Congress, Governor and United States Senator. Regiment Travels West.
Captain Packwood was born in Illinois in
1832 and
served in youth as a clerk in the city of Springfield, the home of
Abraham Lincoln, whom he often met passing to his law office.In 1848, a rifle regiment was mustered in at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, for service in the distant Oregon Territory. In this Packwood enlisted for five years. A military escort was required to conduct General Wilson, the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Pacific Coast, to California, and it was selected from the rifle regiment, with Packwood as one of its troop. It was also an escort for Major Reynolds, United States Paymaster for Oregon, who came with his official attendants as far as Fort Laramie, and of this number Matthew P. Deady was an assistant teamster. When the escort reached California, the people there were in feverish excitement over the new gold discoveries, and most of the soldiers at once deserted and scattered to the gold fields. Great Officers in Camp.
Those left wintered in Sonoma. Here was
stationed
Joseph Hooker, then a young military officer, who afterward in the
Civil War became the celebrated General Joe Hooker, of Lookout Mountain
fame. Charges were preferred against him for some offense, and he was
court-martialed and found guilty. At this trial Packwood was detailed
as orderly for the judge advocate, who was W. H. Halleck, who became
another of the noted Union generals at the beginning of the war.There were other young officers there at the same time whom Packwood met and who became afterwards known in history as General Alfred Pleasanton, General Persifor F. Smith, General Casey and General Lyon. In 1850 the rifle company was sent to Oregon, and the men were stationed at Vancouver. They came in the revenue cutter Ewing to the Columbia River. The ship was commanded by Captain McArthur, father of the late Judge L. L. McArthur, of Portland. The company was soon ordered back and went to California. It was then that the Indians along the coast and in Southern Oregon were becoming troublesome. The siege and terrible fight of Battle Rock, at Port Orford, and the massacre of the T'Vault party at the mouth of Coquille River had aroused the settlements, and the regular troops were called for. Men Saved in Storm.
The rifle company, now transferred to
the First
Dragoons, with Packwood still in the ranks, was ordered to proceed at
once by sea to Port Orford, in Oregon. The ship proved to be
unseaworthy, old and leaky, and for almost the whole distance the
soldiers were constantly employed in pumping out the inrushing waters
of the sea which entered the broken seams. To add to their misfortunes,
a heavy fog set in when near their destination, and with this a
terrific storm arose, and the ship became unmanageable and was driven
upon the beach a short distance above Coos Bay.As the tide receded the weary crew and soldiers began to remove the commissary stores and munitions, which after united effort, amid much excitement, were soon brought ashore beyond high water. Every life was saved, and the ship soon went to pieces. Remaining there four months until a way through the unknown forests should be exploited, the survivors then made their way down to Port Orford. This at once became an important military post, other companies being sent there as a further protection. Gold discoveries were now frequent along the beach and in the mountains, and the most celebrated of these was on the coast above the mouth of the Coquille, and by a zealous old Virginian, was named Randolph. At one time it became a large mining town, and single miners often washed out of the sand in their primitive methods as high as $50 to $150 a day. One of the merchants and packers here was Major Ball, the nearest kin of General Washington--descending from Mary Ball, Washington's mother, and of kin to Charles Washington, the General's brother. He was heir to Balls Bluff, where in a battle of the Civil War Oregon's Senator Baker was killed. Whites Are Vigilant.
Captain Packwood was one of the early
miners at
Randolph. These mining settlements again aroused the Indians, and the
whites assembled at different places for defense. Forts were
established and companies formed, and a mutual feeling of hostility
pervaded whites and Indians.The terrible Indian war of 1855-56 was about to sweep over Southern Oregon. The regular soldiers were not sufficient. Captain Packwood was chosen to command the volunteer companies, and he was commissioned by Governor Curry, the Territorial Governor, as Captain of the Coquille Minute Guards. The Captain's recital of the adventures in which his company participated during this trying ordeal would read more like romance. Fort Roland and Fort Kitchen were welcome places of refuge for the threatened miners and settlers. The prairie and the forest they once occupied have since been grown in grasses and grains for over half a century and their history and names entirely forgotten except in the memory of a very few aged survivors, such as the subject of this sketch. Forts Guard Settlers.
The troops at Port Orford often gave
timely service.
One in command there was Major Reynolds, afterwards the lamented
general killed while leading his forces in the first day's fight at
Gettysburg. At the same fort was Stoneman, later a general under Grant
and Sherman in the Southern campaign of the Civil War. He also became
Governor of California. In the same war Captain Packwood often met A.
J. Smith, E. C. Ord,
Augur and Kautz,
all of whom were distinguished cavalry generals in the Civil War. It
was of General Ord's father it was said that he was the son of
England's King George IV by lawful wedlock with a Mrs. Fitzherbert,
when he was the Prince of Wales. This was shown by disclosures of
documents long concealed in the Bank of England. Ex-United States
Senator Cornelius Cole, of California, and an old resident of that
state in the '50s, knew the Ord family there in those days and in his
recent memoirs mentions this incident.One whose property was entirely destroyed by the Indians of the Coquille in those wars was Henry H. Woodward, now a resident of this city. He is 85 years of age. Captain Packwood, after serving as delegate from Curry County to the constitutional convention, was later elected as the first Assessor of Coos County under the state. He then followed the gold excitements to Eastern Oregon in 1862, and was one of the founders of the early mining town of Auburn, which he says soon had 40 mercantile stores and a floating population of 3000 people. It was the outfitting point for the numerous placer gold mines far and near. In a few years the precious metal was extracted from the shallow ground and the people abandoned the town. Now there is not a vestige left! Packwood Appointed to Office.
A new county was demanded and created
and named
Baker in honor of Oregon's Senator killed in the war, and Packwood was
appointed the first County Superintendent of Schools for the
then-immense territorial empire which the county embraced.He was also active in promoting some of the most extensive mining ditches in all that country, and also engaged in the development of several well-known quartz mines there. In the Bannock Indian War of 1877-78 he was chief of the scouts for Malheur district, under General O. O. Howard, who had been one of the great generals of the Civil War. In the late years of his life he has been and now is an honored citizen of Baker City, where for five successive terms he was elected city recorder. Patriotism Thrives in Woods.
The Captain grows young again as he
narrates the
incidents of struggling society in the backwoods before the days of
wagon roads, post offices or telegraphs. No store was nearer than 40
miles. As he dwells upon a Fourth of July celebration 50 years ago [reportedly in 1859]
in the dense myrtle and maple forests of the Coquille River, he becomes
intensely interesting. The settlers and miners and trappers came from
afar on horseback and in canoes.Some were dressed in buckskin garments and wore moccasins. Every man carried a rifle. If rents were made in their one-time "Sunday-go-to-meeting" clothes, they were patched with pieces of flour sacks, often displaying the brand of the mill, such as "Alviso Flour," or "Baker Mills," and the old Captain's eyes twinkled as he related how, as at the sunset the last planks were laid on the ample cedar platform bedecked with ferns and mistletoe boughs, the assemblage was called to order by the cow horn and soon the well-strung violins of [Samuel] Dement and Getchell proclaimed the hour of hilarity in music, song and dance. Then the whirling mass of pioneer men and women were tripping the light fantastic to the "French Four." Then old-time songs and the swelling notes of "The Old Kentucky Home" awoke the stillness of the sylvan groves, and then the rustic dance was again resumed. All around were cheery fires which lighted up the arena. On tables around which the noonday feast had been enjoyed were still loads of barbecued elk, deer and bear meats, with plentiful remains of roast chicken, luscious blackberry pies, and the well-baked bread of the Dutch oven, with rich yellow butter and fine-flavored honey, brought to the grounds by the wives and sisters of the pioneer settlers. Nearby under a great white cedar tree was a well-constructed barbecue pit, with great irons still loaded with roasted meats. Orations are Heard.
A colony of Baltimoreans had recently
settled there
and became a valuable accession to the country. They were a literary
and musical people. They brought the first piano to Coos County.They selected a young boy speaker to deliver the oration, who in recent years became Binger Hermann, Oregon's Representative in Congress. The old miners and Indian fighters selected Captain Packwood, and so two addresses were delivered. The Baltimore boy, fresh from the eastern schools, had prepared a classic oration and delivered it to the satisfaction and applause of the entire assemblage. The Captain, who had spent so much of his life on the Indian frontier and in the army, found it more difficult to prepare, but fortunately had preserved a copy of a Corvallis newspaper, then edited by James Slater, and which contained a Fourth of July address he [i.e., Slater] had delivered the year previous. It was a model of oratory. This the Captain had memorized, and this he delivered to the backwoods audience and concluded with deafening applause. It was the surprise of the day and the talk for years. The Captain, however, did not enjoy his fame, for he had a misgiving which followed him and annoyed him until long after. When residing in Eastern Oregon, he met Mr. Slater, who had been a Representative from Oregon and was then elected United States Senator, and the Captain entertained him on the eve of his departure to Washington. Taking him aside, he explained to him in confidence how in the years gone by he had committed to memory and delivered to a Coos County assemblage of pioneers the Senator's Fourth of July oration as his own, and with which he, the Senator, had several times enraptured a Benton County audience, and he felt he had done the Senator and the old settlers a wrong by thus appropriating that splendid oration and obtaining credit for it as his own composition. The Senator leaned over, and whispering in the Captain's ear, said: "Do not be at all annoyed; feel perfectly easy; that oration was not mine--I stole it from Patrick Henry." Oregonian, Portland, November 26, 1911, page 13 William H. Packwood, of Baker, came to this city yesterday to spend a few days during "Elk Week." Mr. Packwood is the only survivor of the constitutional convention held in Salem, in the months of August and September 1857. He came to Oregon with the Mounted Rifles, Colonel W. W. Loring commanding. Of that body of troops Mr. Packwood and George H. Abbott, of Soldier, Idaho, are the only survivors. "Personal Mention," Morning Oregonian, Portland, July 8, 1912, page 16 CONSTITUTION PIONEER RECALLS 65
YEARS HERE
William H. Packwood, Honored Guest of Legislature, Is Spry as Youth as Well as Reminiscent on Visit to Portland. BY ADDISON BENNETT.
Few men can trace their residence in Oregon back to 1850 and still be
able to tell of the happenings of the 65 intervening years as
intelligently and precisely as can William H. Packwood, of Baker, who
is passing a few days in the city after having been the honored guest
of the Legislature at Salem. Mr. Packwood was born at Jordan's Prairie,
Jefferson County, Illinois, October 25, 1832. He is more than 82 years
of age, but one would not think it to look at him. To converse with
him, you are assured that he is in full possession of every mental
faculty, and certainly he is strong physically.
In escorting him to the art department of the Oregonian to have his picture taken, Mr. Smith, in charge of the art department, though it would be asking too much for the old gentleman to walk up the four flights of stairs into the tower. Bless my soul! He pranced up those steps like a kid on a lark. When Mr. Packwood was a little less than 15 years old, he enlisted in the United States Mounted Rifles, Captain J. B. Backenstos being the recruiting officer and later his captain. Captain Backenstos has a son who has been for many years living in Portland, being at present engaged at the city hall. Early in 1849, during the Fillmore administration, General Wilson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Pacific Coast, was ordered to make an inspection of the various agencies. Trip Made to San Francisco.
A convoy
of 25 men was selected from Mr. Packwood's regiment, and he was one of
the lucky ones. So they marched across the plains from St. Louis to San
Francisco. The balance of the regiment was ordered to Vancouver post,
and they came over by the northern route, passing the first winter in
Oregon City.General Wilson and his party arrived in San Francisco in January 1850. Mr. Packwood says there were no sidewalks in that city at the time of this visit except one short stretch of boardwalk. About April 5, 1850, the members of the Packwood party who had not deserted were ordered to join their regiment at Vancouver. The revenue cutter Ewing, which was only a little schooner, was ordered to bring them up. Captain McArthur, great-grandfather of our Congressman-elect, C. N. McArthur, was in charge of the Ewing. They had a rough passage of 12 days up as far as the Columbia River bar. Then the storm ceased and it became so calm that the captain could not bring the vessel in over the bar. So a whaleboat was dropped down, a painter made fast from this to the Ewing and a dozen strong men at the oars soon had the vessel anchored opposite Astoria, or Fort George. Only Four Soldiers Are Left.
By this
time there were only four of Mr. Packwood's fellow soldiers left with
him. The others had deserted, and most had gone to the mines. With
these and half a dozen men from the Ewing, Captain
McArthur was rowed in the whaleboat up to Vancouver, stopping one night
at St. Helens and reaching Vancouver the next night.He remained at Vancouver about a year and then was sent to Benicia, Cal., going down on the schooner Lot Whitcomb. Soon he and his fellow troopers started for Port Orford in the schooner Lincoln. Drifting into Coos Bay channel, the vessel was wrecked nearly opposite Empire City. Much of the equipment was saved; no lives were lost, but the vessel was a total wreck. Then they had to hew their way out and were four months in getting out and up to their destination. Mines Attract After Army Term.
When Mr.
Packwood's term of enlistment expired, September 23, 1852, he made his
way down to Curry County, to the vicinity of Sixes River, where there
was a big mining excitement. He made his home there for nearly nine
years, in the meantime being elected a member of the constitutional
convention of 1857. Mr. Packwood is today the only member of that
convention living. It does one good to hear Mr. Packwood talk of the
personnel of that convention. While he only modestly mentions his own
labors, he avers that the legal talent of the convention was never even
approached by any territorial convention held in this country.In 1870 Mr. Packwood removed from Sixes to Baker and has made his home there ever since. His fellow citizens feel proud of him, not only because of his old age and his part in the early affairs of Oregon--they feel proud of him as a man, looking upon him as one of the typical good citizens of a little city where there are many men of mark and merit. Mr. Packwood is so rugged, like a sturdy oak, that it would not surprise anyone to see him live to become the oldest citizen of the state. The next dozen years will tell the story, and he certainly looks rugged enough to live to be a centenarian. Oregonian, Portland, February 20, 1915, page 9 WILLIAM H. PACKWOOD DIES AT AGE
OF 85
Last of Famous Pioneers Answers Call. HISTORY-MAKER VENERATED Mantle of Death Envelops Noted Indian Fighter. CAREER FULL OF ROMANCE Signer of Constitution, Baker's Most Distinguished Citizen, Led Adventuresome Life as Gold Hunter, Official, Civilizer.
BAKER,
Or., Sept. 21.--(Special.)--Closing a life that for more than half a
century was interwoven with Oregon history, death came at 1:30 this
afternoon to Judge William
H. Packwood, aged 85, who was the last
surviving member of the group that signed the state constitution when
Oregon was admitted to the Union.
Judge Packwood was venerated by innumerable friends in all parts of the country and was revered by thousands of men who had been in his employ during the years that he was identified with the growth of the state. Traces of his work appear in every corner of Baker County. Three children survive. They are Mrs. J. L. Rand and William H. Packwood, of Baker, and Jefferson Packwood, of Seattle. Two daughters are dead. There are 14 grandchildren. Career Full of Romance.
Funeral
arrangements had not been completed today, but they will be conducted
from St. Francis Cathedral.No man in Baker County had a history more interesting than that of Judge Packwood. Few pioneers there are in Oregon who can point to a record such as Mr. Packwood's, from the day when he first set foot on Oregon soil in 1849 to the time of his death. Mr. Packwood, bowed under the weight of his 85 years, was still an active citizen, and at the time of his death was concluding a book on the early pioneer history of Oregon, a work to which he devoted the major portion of his recent months. In this history, George H. Himes, of the Oregon Historical Society, has expressed intense interest and declares that it will be an invaluable addition to the historical records of Oregon. Lad Lincoln's Friend.
Mr.
Packwood was born at Jordan's
Prairie, north of Mount Vernon, Ill., October 23, 1832, and lived there
until he was 15 years old. In his youth he met and talked to Abraham
Lincoln and could recall conversations he had with the man who was to
become America's greatest President. When a boy of 15, in the summer of
1848, he obtained the reluctant consent of his parents and enlisted for
service in the Mexican War. He never saw service in Mexico, but instead
started on a march to Oregon in May 1849, serving as an orderly until
he joined his regiment at Vancouver.Mr. Packwood used to recount in an interesting manner how, at Astoria, he saw the timbers which had been gathered for the keel of the first steamboat to ply the waters of the Columbia, the Columbia, which made its first trip up the river in 1850. Warring Indians Subjugated.
The
youthful pioneer went back to
California in the following year and served with Major Wessels in
making treaties with the Indians of California. That same year trouble
arose with the Indians of the Coquille and Coast tribes, and Mr.
Packwood was put in command of an expedition and started by boat to
Port Orford. The schooner Lincoln,
however,
was wrecked in a storm at Coos Bay, January 3, 1852, and this it was
which linked Mr. Packwood's early life with Curry and Coos counties and
which made it possible for him later to become a member of the
constitutional convention. Some supplies were saved from the wreck of
the Lincoln, and
after
camping for a short time Mr. Packwood took his command overland to Port
Orford and subjugated the turbulent redskins. He was discharged from
army service September 23, 1853, after having served five years.Although he had not yet reached his majority, Mr. Packwood was at last a free agent to do as he wished. He formed a partnership with George H. Abbott and took up mining, made a little stake and then he and Mr. Abbott bought horses, sold their claims and, after packing and freighting for a while, took up ranching in Curry County. Indians became troublesome, and the youth was made lieutenant of a volunteer company, captained by Mr. Abbott. They subjugated the Indians again and then, in December 1854 he went prospecting to California. He returned to Oregon and in 1855 was elected captain of a company to enter the Indian war. He was commissioned captain of the Coquille Guards by Governor George L. Curry. He took an active part in the Indian war and was instrumental in bringing about the surrender of the three warring tribes. Lure of Gold Wins.
Mining
again attracted the young
pioneer, and he went in 1857 to the Sixes River mines and soon after
was elected by unanimous vote of Curry County to represent it at the
state constitutional convention. He was then a youth of 25 and had
never even voted, but had taken part in making laws in mining camps and
had presided as chairman at miners' meetings. He was worried somewhat
as to his qualifications and appealed to Mr. Abbott, his old partner,
for advice."Be yourself," was Mr. Abbott's sole advice, and thus equipped he joined the convention made up of citizens who were destined to become leaders in Oregon's affairs. Of that little body of men which drew up Oregon's constitution, two later were Governors, four were United States Senators, two were Representatives to Congress, one was a Federal Judge, one became Attorney General of the United States and Mayor of Portland, one State Attorney General, six judges of state courts, one Mayor of Portland, and one had the triple distinction of being successively Representative to Congress, Governor and United States Senator. Of all this list of distinguished pioneers and the others who were members of that convention, Mr. Packwood was the survivor. Auburn Waterworks Built.
The elk in
the Oregon seal was
placed there at Mr. Packwood's suggestion at that historic convention,
while he was also active in the debate on the many questions
which came before the body.It was not long after this that Mr. Packwood went to Siletz and Yaquina, where he was sub-agent for the Indians. He did not stay there long, but returned to Coquille, where he raised cattle and horses and then was elected county assessor, not even knowing he was a candidate until election day. Business reverses took his ranch away from him in 1862 and, interested in the Blue Bucket strike in Eastern Oregon, he left for this section and helped lay out the town of Auburn, then the mining center of the entire district. He engaged in merchandising, freighting and packing at once, and the first year he was there organized the Auburn Water Company, which after many years became the greatest water company in the entire Baker district, and the plant, which cost $225,000, is now giving water to the city of Baker. Stump Taken for Lincoln.
Among his
earlier experiences in
Baker County was one which he never liked. He was elected one of three
judges to try a Frenchman for poisoning his partner. The Frenchman was
convicted by a jury and was hanged. This was in 1862.The same year, October 16, Mr. Packwood married, soon after being appointed school superintendent for the newly created Baker County. Among the achievements which he recalled with pride was that he signed the first call for the Union Republican Party in Baker to send delegates to the convention, and he stumped every precinct in the county for Abraham Lincoln. He had not been in Baker County long before his mines failed and he lost $45,000. He did not have the money, but Mr. Packwood always paid his debts and for years was busy in paying for something which many men might have easily evaded. For many years then, until 1887, he gave his time to organizing water companies and building ditches in the county. In 1888 he was elected police judge of Baker City and held that office for five years. Career Active Until Last.
The call
of gold again was heard
by Mr. Packwood in 1893, when he was 61 years old, and he went to Port
Orford to engage in beach mining, but he found that the reports of the
strike had been colored and he returned to Baker and went with the
Columbia Gold Mining Company. Soon after he became assistant postmaster
of Baker, then Baker City, and he held that position until he was 78
years old, when he resigned.For the last six years Mr. Packwood was retired from active business, but he kept an interest in public affairs which was little short of amazing. There must have been something in that historical convention which brought a community of interests among its members. Like the late George H. Williams, Mr. Packwood was an ardent football follower, and never a game was played but he was on the sidelines "rooting." Oregonian, Portland, September 22, 1917, page 1 -
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We have a letter from Wm. H. Packwood, late of this city, now at "Johnson's Diggings," Southern Oregon. He represents the miner's as a hard life, and that as much as most of them do is to make a living, without amassing sufficient means to return to the States. Farming is as much depressed as mining. Mr. Packwood says if the young men of Sangamon County knew when they were well off, they would stay at home. He says--"My advice to the young men of Illinois is that they stop where they are, where they can hear the neighing of the iron horse, and all other kinds of noises made by workmen attending to their trades and business, and whenever they see anything which appears to be exaggerated in regard to California and Oregon, set the same down as gas. I send you the worth of $2.30 in native gold for my subscription to the Journal."--[Ill. Jour. Quincy Whig, Quincy, Illinois, February 3, 1855, page 1 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 May 23, 2019 |
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