10
THE ' SUNDAY OltEGONIAN, PORTLAND, NOVE3IBEK 24,
ETQILE DU NORD FOUNDATION OF DRAUGHT HORSE FARM
Chris Minsinger, With Prize-Winning Stallion, Has Fine Assortment of Belgiums on Sandy River. '
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i HEN Chris Mlnsingrer, Tortland
capitalist, purchased Etolls Jj
ord. or Star of the North, the
blu-rlbv"n R'arlum draught horse
winner at the Lewis and Clark Fair,
soon after the 1905 International Ei-
nosltlon. he laid the foundation for a
draught horse breeding farm which to
day outranks any in the Northwest and
compares favorably with any in the
United States. , -
With Star of the North, the mottled
ton of horseflesh which won trophies
galore for J. C. Crouch, of Lafayette,
lnd.. his former owner, as a nucleus.
Mr. Minsinger imported Belgium
draught mares to the Minsinger ranch,
a 750-acre tract on the 'Sandy River,
three miles from Marmot, and now
boasts of 150 high-class draught horses,
all of the Belgium breed.
The Belgium is today recognized as
the coming draught horse of the world,
according to many experts, the demand
for this specie of equine giant far ex
ceeding that for any other. Mr. Min
singer -recognized the superiority of
the Belgium half a dozen years ago
and the result of his activity Is a
breeding farm any state would be
proud of.
Hones Brtns Owner to Ores;oa
Strangely enough, the horse Is re
sponsible for the presence of the Bel
gium breeder in Oregon. In 1378 Mr.
Misslnger was placed In charge of six
carloads of horses Norman and Bel
gium draught, saddle and .other spe
cies bound from Lexington, Ky., for
Japan. The Japanese government was
intent on strengthening Nipponese
stock, so three officials purchased six
tarloads from W. H. Wilson, of Cyn
thlnna, Ky., and Chris Minsinger was
chosen to take charge of the 'shipment
from the time It left Lexington through
man-of-war. from
Yokohama. , .
, Returning to the United States. Mr
Minsinger visited Portland, liked the
country, saw with prophetlo- eye its
wonderful future and settled here.
Then came kls experience with draught
horses on ranch and in the sand busi
ness, leading up to the inauguration
of the breeding of Belgiums so far
from their European home.
The Minsinger Belgium farm Is a
source of dual pleasure to its owner,
The breeding of the draught horse Is
a sport and a business. He derives
Just as much enjoyment from it as
does the horseman who specializes on
the racetrack thoroughbred or standard
bred, and at the same time Is not
troubled with the financial uncertain
ties which beset the path of the race
track devotee.
Horn' Caed on Mlnalnxer Farm.
. "I raise these Belgiums for my own
use." says Mr. Minsinger. "In my
business I have an opportunity to test
the merits cf draught horses as well if
not better than any other business man
nnd the choosing of the Belgium above
all others speaks for Itself, . I con
sider the Belgium not only the equal,
but the superior of all draft horse
breeds.
"Just take a look at those two-year-olds.
Notice their breadth and weight.
Can you beat that anywhere?" are sen
tences hurled In prldeful accents at
one taking a peep at the Minsinger
picture gallery, or better yet, the in
habitants of the Sandy River ranch.
"I have got the best bunch of draught
colts In the country," is the boast of
the 'enthusiastic owner.
A visit to the Minsinger ranch does
much to bolster up the horseman in
his boast. In one pasture are seen the
mares with their newborn offspring.
In another six-month old colts, so big
that it is difficult to understand that
they have had their eyes open no
longer than half a year. In another
spot ,are tho two-year-olds, almost
ready for the harness and the hum
drum of life. The weighty and elderly
members of the husky tribe are on
the work line, stationed In various
stables and smaller pastures far from
the farm.
Stslllon In Prlse-Wlmner.
Star of the North, as the English lan
guage converts the Etolle du Nord,
of the Belgium tongue, cost Mr. Min
singer 12500 in 1906. He had won first
pr!e In every event entered from Chi
cago to Portland, Including the Lewis
and Clark Exposition trophy, and Mr.
Minsinger made a fepeclal trip to the
home of J. C. Crouch, In Lafayette, lnd.,
to close a deal for the huge stallion.
The mares cost from $1500 to $2000.
The average weight of a full-grown
Belgium Is one ton. or 2900 pounds,
while they- weigh between 1800 and
1700 pounds as two-year olds.
The endurance and strength of the
Belgium are remarkable. The Port
land breeder contends that they tan
outpull any horse In the world, and has
at his tongue's end numerous instances
of their ability.
Moulding Men.
Home Progress Magazine.
The ial point In life comes In the
plastic years of Infancy, whea too many
mothers think they have done their
duty by, keeping the baby warm, its
stomach filled, and a rattle in Its hand.
But we are now learning that the im
pressions the child receives In its In
fancy before It reaches the school must
be reckoned with. It Is not a meaning
less saying that "mothers mold the na
tion." They accomplish It by molding
men before they leave the cradle
whether intentionally or otherwise. No
mother wants a bad boy. And when
mothers learn the grip that Infancy
holds on the man, they will have done
much to solve the problem of making:
better boys, better men and better na
tions. None of the valuable training
that the church, tho school or the stats
can give should be spared, but the
mother with her home training can
probably do more In the boy's Infancy
to Influence his after lire tnan any on
of these.
"HIKE" FROM EUGENE TO NEWPORT
IN SUMMER IS FULL OF PLEASURE
Roads Wind' Through Beautiful Grass-Carpeted Forests and Over Rocky Crags Which Overhang Pacific Ocean,
and Jaunt Famishes Fine Method of Passing Vacation.
Br W. X. DILL.
EUGENE, Or Nov. 23. (Special.)
"Walk to Newport! Oh, yes! Tou
are like the man who was going-to
walk around the world and sailed two
thirds of the distance on the ocean,"
waj the parting sally as we prepared
to leave the stage for our week's out
ing, a hike to. the coast from Eugene
and thence up the beach to Newport.
Early Monday morning we mounted the
rear seat of the Crow stage, on our
way to Portola. the first objective point
on our trip.
At Lewellyn one' of the passengers
l"ft and we were promoted to the sec
ond seat, out of tho dust. Horses wet
changed and we acquired "Maud." Now
"Maud" is a temperamental horse, and
must survey the stage load for a few
minutes before starting. If the Inspec.
tion is satisfactory, all is well, but If
not. there Is liable to be some fancy
kicking for some minutes.
Portola Is KiMnrtr.''
Aiain. we wind In and out through
partly wooded territory, past the com
pleted grade cf tr.e Willamette Pacific
into Elmira. where we lost the other
passenger. And thankful we are that
we wear kahki. as we survey her dust
rncrusted hat and coat. With 1C0 miles
f unknown territory before us. ice
cream con's are Nought, as the Jtst
rcn-.naDt of civilization. Ten miles. mVe
of dust and we reach : Portola, the
"Gateway of the Siuslaw." and the be
ginning of our real tramp.
Two and a half miles up the corduroy
Is the Notl tunnel camp and there we
ate dinner.
And then we hit the trail. Climbing
mountains Is supposed to be hard work.
but before we knew It we were at the
crest of the hill, and on the down
grade into the valley of Wildcat Creek.
Hills opened, out on either side, partly
cleared, but with hardly a habitation
In sight. We had planned to stop that
night at Lyons' home, some Ave miles
from tho tunnel, but when we got there
Mrs. Lyons declared It would be Im
possible to-take care of us that night,
and recommended Fowlers' five miles
farther on.
"Yes, I can give you some bread and
milk." she said.
A few minutes later Mrs. Lyons ap
peared with the refreshments, and add
ed thereto was a. plate of crisp fried
chicken.
Early Morning Mike Taken.
Before we reached Fowlers' it began
to grow dark, but we plodded on. As
we passed Atkinson's we were hailed,
and told, that Mrs. Fowler, learing that
we were coming, had telephoned back I
for us to be kept there5-the Fowler
house was full.
Tuesday morning's walk along the
river, with the fog Just slipping away
into the treetops was a splendid tonic
after the weariness of the first day's
hike. Ferns higher than ; one's head
grew along the roadside, - and great
trees rose scores of feet to the first
limb.
Noon that means shortly after 11
o dock for hungry people found us
emerging from . wooded road ' Into
an open stretch, with the Richardson
ranch, on the river bank, exposed to
the full sweep of the cooling wind. Din
ner preparations entlued us. and we
rested while Mrs. Richardson, reputed
to be one of the best cooks In the
Siuslaw Valley, prepared the meal.'
Hoad Cut In t'llff.
Gradually as we went westward the
hills became steeper and more rugged,
but the road led on its even water
grade U the coast. M1d afternoon
found us at, Bcecher Rock, where the
road Is cut for 100 yards In the faco of
a cliff, 75 or 100 feet above the jagged
rocks at the river's edge. Here the
rock water drips continuously from the
seams in the cliff, and maidenhair fern
grow in profusion.
Monday night we had stopped with
people who had lived in the valley 27
years. This night at "Wise Villa" was
with newcomers to the valley, people
from Tonopah. v
A. few miles below Wise Villa Is Til
den .Rock, where the road again clings
to the cliff, but here there are several
places where the rock' hangs out over
the road. In one place for the entire
width of the road. Trafric over these
narrow places in the road is governed
on an Improvised block system, the
farmers' phone proving its usefulness.
The passing of teams is telephoned to
some house beyond the narrow' road, so
that wayfarers going the other way
may' know what to expect, and not get
Into a dangerous place.
j Incidentally, the distances are rather
' great along the Siuslaw. "There are
houses all along- down the river," we
were told. They were there all right
about once in five miles.
Launch Ride la Enjoyed.
Soon wo reached Maoleton. a little
white city on tidewater, where our af
ternoon was passed waiting for the
launch to take us to Florence. Our
pilot, commonly called "Wild Bill" (he
surely was wild of river regulations)
puffed his cigarette while adjusting hi
balky gasoline engine, and neglected
to indicate, by his lights when he was
towing a barge. . .
-The trip down the Siuslaw Bay was
glorious, as we stood on the deck of
the launch to watch the fading shore
line and the fishing boats with their
crews of two fishermen in slicker
aprons and gum boots.
Docking at Florence, we made a dash
for the hotel, to avoid the gathering
raindrops, and registered before the
ruii.
In three days we had walked nearly
50 miles and it was now- 40 miles to
Newport, so we were told. . But miles
In the country are elastic, and hefore
we reached Newport four days had
elapsed and we had covered 56 miles
by easy stages.
Thursday morning we were orf down
the river beach for the coast and a
first view of the ocean. Beach walk
we had to cross the point was terri
ble. Awey to - the north stretched the
beach, not smooth as I had Imagined
it would be, but full of little ridges
and valleys, with packed sand mingled
with soft, where headway was diffi
cult because of the uncertainty of one's
footing. Later we were told that this
Irregularity of the. beach south of
Heceta Head is its own peculiarity,
but In Winter It Is smooth like other
beaches.
About noon we came to a river run
nlng into the ocean. We waded until
we found, a plank we could make into
a bridge. Before us stretched a vast
triangle of sand, perhaps two miles on
a side, and beyond, Heceta Head pro
Jected Into tho ocean. ,
.When we reached the first rocks the
waves were beating high against the
points. The tide was going out. but
as there was mist in the air we de
cided to take to the road we could see,
rather than wait for the tide to go out
far enough for us to get around the
point. Fortunate decision. Wo would
still be waltlne:.
By the map it was two and a half
miles to the lighthouse, but the road
made it four. Up and up the road
wound, receding into the spaces bS
tween' the heads and rounding out on
the points that succeeded one another,
and all the time the rain was getting
worse, and our fair weather costumes
were getting wetter. We were not
tired, but the first glimpse of the
lighthouse far below we had reached
1200 feet above sea level looked da
cidedly good to us. Then we lost tiie
view as the road ran rapidly "down
ward. At the bottom of the hill a small-
sized river ran across the road. Around
some projecting trees there was a
foot bridge and a few minutes later
ing was. fine, but the soft sand -whereTVe were drying out in front of -the
fireplace in Charles Stonerield's home,
set in the valley where Cape Creek
divides Heceta Head.'
We thought wo had seen some
rather rough country for ocean beach
that day, but a traveling photogra nN;r
declared we had worse yet to see. Cape
Perpetua on our next day's , Journey
was like going around a ciiir. lie re
called the stories of mail carriers hav
lng been blown off the trail bv the
winds. Fifteen hundred ree'. scruigui
down to the ocean, he said. Mr. Stone
field added the tale of a Waldport sa
loon keeper who had all but 'oi hi
head coming around the cape, and but
for Mr. Stonefleld's threats to kick
him off "Just for luck" wpu'd have
fallen to his death.
An Incoming tide next morning Im
pelled us to leave the beach rather
early, and so w-e missed one of the
best agate beaches on the coast best
because less pinked over and so we
passed much of the forenoon follow
ing a trail ui and down over the hills.
The road had ended at the Lane-
Lincoln County line, and a narrow trail
took its place. Incidentally I might
remark we had not brought any
luncheon, and as houses are far be
tween along the roast, we were ready
for something to eat when we reached
Ocean. iVlew at the mouth of the
Yachats.
And Cape Perpetua wasn't anything
so very terrible after all. The climb
ing of the day before had somewhat
accustomed us to getting high above
the ocean, and the real narrow, fear
some section of the trail was hut a few
hundred leet long. Tho trail Is blasted
out of a rather steep, sloping hillside.
Two. persons could walk abreast, and
there Is A little fringe of graes and
stubby ealal on the ocean side that
takes away the appearance that one s
feet might slip off.
At one place there Is a slide that
leaves an almost perpendicular drop
to the ocean, but one is past the dan
gerous point so soon one need not be
frightened. Really, It was fun coming
around the point. I could see. however,
that In Winter the winds sweeping
iround the point might make It dan
gerous, and - could understand Mr.
Stonefleld's story of the mule that re
fused to carry mail around the cape In,
the face of a hailstorm, turning around
on the narrow trail and hiking back
before the mailman could stop him.
A man never rides around this point.
A rolling stone might frighten the
horse, and there is nothing to catch
hold of on the way down. Cape Per
petua, we learned, was named by Cap
tain Cook, the explorer, because it was
"perpetually" in sight for several
months as he beat -up the coast.
For a restful, delightful Summer,
Ocean View, at the mouth of the
Yac.als, appealed to mo. Scores of
tents were scattered about In the low
trees, and there are several Indian
mounds of shells that give up Indian
relics to the searchers. Waldport Is
only 10 miles away, hut Newport Is 2R.
and for ordinary travelers the latter Is
a little too long. Anyway, the division
of the trip makes one delightful, easy
day's work one almost entirely on
the sandy' beach.
The last day we crosred the Alsea
Bay by rowboat and tramped toward
that olstant point that Is Capo Foul
weather. Gradually the outlines of the
lighthouses became plainer and wt.
came into sight of Newport. A mlli
or two through marshland brought us
to the beach of the bay ready for the
crossing.
A week's tramping for a hundred
miles on mountain roads and along the
beach does have a tendency to mako
one wish for home.