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About The Times-herald. (Burns, Harney County, Or.) 1896-1929 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1924)
liPiiimmmwuui THH T I M M H II M It A L 1) llllitNH, II A II If H Y OOU N T V OBHOON Hntunlay, November 22, 11)24 VAiiK & fc t . :! P ,H ''I ;, 'V v ?. yA w. w w. IMTHKHHIONH AND OIIHKHVATIONH Prod Lockoy'8 column In tho Port lnad Journal contains hoiuo lotoroHt Ihjc HtorloH. ltccoutly liu devoted notice on two different ilnya to C. A. Swouk, itml old tlmo resident of thin plneo, wlio In now IIvI'iik nt CorvnlllR. On tho 10th mid 11th of thla month th folllni; atorlctt no reared, l'Ywl locklc.v III Portland louinal Wlillo In Huron not Ioiik iij;o 1 foil into conversation with ono of tho olil-tlme ruHlduntu and, In niiHwor to my (UOHtliins hu Hiild: "Tlio flrnt xottlement In thla country was at Kpan. Monlo Uurrey wont to Wln nomuceu, Nov., In 1SS0, and hotiRht a barrel of whlskoy, hoiiiu red baud anna liaudkerchlefn and a few other niH'CHsltlct, and brnuKht them to IiIh cabin, lie had to knock tho frame off IiI.h door to got the liarrel of whlHkoy IiimIiIo. He Hot tho barrel of whlHkey on end, put a brawn faucet nrotty well down on tho barrel and net a few whtttkoy KlnmioH on top of tho barrel. Tho barrel wax ItH own barkeeper. A customer would draw u rIiihh of whlrtkoy and put bin chaiiKo on top of tho barrel. Any man who wan mo low down and or uury an to take a drink and not Hottlo with the top of the barrel would havo boon run out of the country. HouioIIiioa there would bo twenty ilnllom In small Hllver on top of the barrel io a man could always make IiIh oliani;o. If he could not make bin cIiiiuko he left IiIh Hllvor dollar on top of the barrel and took an extra drink. "Prior to 18S0, the only ntoro in tub country wax at the fort In Har ney canyon. A man named Pete ytliiKor started a Htore at what Ih now Duron and called It Axo Han dle. In 1S7U lilll llaiiloy Nettled here. AIoiik about then Devluo and French bought most of the ncttlem out by buyliiK their cattle. Am a matter of fact they bought tho cattle to get r,i f ttto nettlerri. (loorKo Xlcdowan came to Harney valley In the tiprltiK of 1S82. Ha bronchi a four-homo load of Konornl merchnu iIIho. McOowuu Mtartud IujhIiiohh at Hkiwi, Jimt acroaM from Ilunm. Stlu Kor was afraid that the town of Kkii would build up ami kill Axw Handle. StiUKor went over to hbo Mcdnwnii and nuked him to come over to A.xo Handle and ko into imrtuerHhlp with him. McOnwau ncroed with the proviHo that hu could cIiiiiiko tho name of the iiettlemeut from Axe Handle to Hums, for McUowan waH a Scotchman and was very fond of Hobble Ilurnn. McUowan had only been here a nhort tlmo when hu de cided it would be a kooiI Htunt to havo a poHtolllce, ho he Kent a peti tion around tho country to havo It Mlgned, aakliij; that u pontotllce he entnhllHhcd. McUowan waH appoint ed poHtimmtor and IiIh hukkohUou of calling the poHtolllce lltirim wan ad opted by the poHtolllce department." Wlillo In CorvalllH a day or two KO I Interviewed (J. A. Hwuuk. a Ioiik time resident of Muriii. In iiiih wor to my iiotlon, .Mr. Swouk wild "I waH born In the Tualatin valloy, near Portland, on Aucimt B, ISfili. .My father, whoiu name whh John Hweek, whh horn In Mhwourl In 1822. HIh father wmt born In Wont Vlr ;lnla and moved to .Missouri whou MlHHourl was tlio Jiimplm; off place to uowhore. My molher'H maiden name whh Maria Hoard. My father took the Kohl fevor In 1819 and Htart cd for California. Hu not n far an Fort IlrIdi;or whou word whh brought to him that both IiIh fath er niul mothor had died within a day whluh In an hour wn a ruHhlng tor or two of each othor, ho my fnthor rent, which continued until tho ur had to turn around and go back to faces of tho two lakoH were aftho ! hu mo holKht, Thin apparently In- conHoiiuoutlal act wn tho cauno of Hottlo up tho oHlato. On February 29, 18B2, my father and mothor were married, and a few wookH later they Htarted aorortu tho ptalnu by pralrlo Hchoonor on their wuddlitK trip. "In 1882 1 moved to Canyon City, whoro I opened a law olllco. I prac ticed law at Canyon City for the next Moven yuan. Harney county whh cut off from Grant county on February 20, 1889. Harney county wiih uamud from Harney take and Harney lake wiih named after (leu oral William 8. Ilnruey, one of Ore j;ou'h old-time Indian ftahtorH, The railroad that ran from Yaqulna to Albany had been extended to tho foot of tho Cancado mouutaltiH, The name of tho road wiih "Tho CorvalllH and KitHtern" and the plan at that time wiih to extend tho road by way of Mluto piihh ucrOHH the caHcaden and on to Hurim. In fact, Hoctlnn men were workluc on tho ktikIo on the IjiiHteru Hide of the moil utnl tin for the road to piihh throtiKli HuriiH and j;o on to llolno. The bouilH wore ImhuoiI and ready to hIi;ii when tin llarrlinan InteroHtK purchtiHed the road. Tho road atopped on tho wont Nlde of the Cancaden at Detroit and never camo any farther. However, hooIiik the men at work on the (trade ! and learnliiK that tho road wiih to run from tho coat at Vaiulna, I do elded that MuniH would be a live railroad town ho I moved from Can yon City to UuriiH. Thin wan In 1889. I lived In HuriiH III yearn. In fact, my wife and I are coiiMldered plon euro of Harney county. My wife helped orKunlzu tho Harney County Pioneer annotation. "The P rnnoh, which h now owned by the Corbett and Hwlft IntorestH, wiih owned In early dayi by (llonu, Peter French wiih inanar.er of the ranch. Peter French belonged ( Hie old time cattlemen and hollovod that the county wiih made for cattle only, and that "neatern" or "homoittnnd ero" wore HpollliiK the open mime. ContieUently, when a homoK'oador tried to nettle there French treated Vm rotiKh. If hard wordn would u ;l drlvo thein out he uhoiI IiIh quirt or miw to It that they were Hiibt'ctotl to ho many petty aunoyancoH they p. eil up HtakoH and movod away." Many a dontrui'tlve foreHt fire ha been riiUHod by a mulch thrown care lHHly In foroHl litter. An obncuro puaHiiut In Kuropo klllri hoiiiuouu, and wo have a world war. Mauy an liHldont, Htnall In Itnolf. leadH to uu looki'd for and dlHaHtroiiH renultn," Hald C. A. Hweek, when I vIhIIoiI him recently In Corvallln. "Three cow boy camped on the hand reef be tweuii Malheur lake and Harney Inko idly kicked a channel In the Hand ho that tho water from Malheur lake could flow Into ItH nearby iielKhbor, Harney lake. ThM whh in April, 1881, and the three cowboyn, who were out rouiidiiiK up humeri, wore Carl Cecil, Mart Ilruiitou and Tom Allen. Malheur lake waH ummuaUy lilKh. In fact, tho Hand reef Hoparat Iiik the two lakoH wiih not more than a foot above the Hiirface of Malheur lku. The Hiirface of Harney lake i wan much lower than that of Mai- ' Imur hike, probnbly olKht or ten feet ! lower. One of IIioho cowboyn, with the heel of hi boot, kicked a channel , throiiKh the uaiiil reef, ho that lh ; WHturn of Malheur lake trickled i through to Harney lake. A Hhovolftil of Hand would havo Htopped It dur liiK tho firot few mlnuteH, but an the trickle of water wiiHhed the Hand away and wldoned tho ntream the trickle of water bocamo a tdroam bitter and Ioiik continued IIUkiuIoii, to nay itothliiK or bloodHliod. Peter French, mamiKer or tho (llonu ranch, claimed the laud to the nhoro line of Malheur lake. When Malheur lake drained I1h HiirpliiH wiitern Into Har ney lake, It left a Htrlp of uncovered land raiiKliiR In width from a quarter or a mile to two iiiIIok wide, all or which French claimed. The iiettlern contoHtod thin claim, HiiyliiK that Freuch'H Hue wiih entablliihed by the lloiiderHou meander line, oHtabllHlied In 1877. "From 1881 to 189r, when the Koveruiuent ordered a new iiurvoy of the lake, wlijch nurvoy wan made by John It. Neat, now IIvIiik In Port land, there wiih coiiHtaut friction about tho owuernhlp of thin Htrlp of laud. French claimed tho uncover ed laud by the ancient law of ripa rian r I ; 1 1 Lm , but that law Moon not hold In ciihoh where the Hhore line Ih changed tiuddonly, an wan the case In thin liiHtanco. One day French wiih rldlliK In what whh called the Hooky Ford field. when a mini nam ed Oliver came up on oorHohnol; hiiiitliiK for cattle. French rode out to meet Oliver, and told him hu would run him out of the country If he did not Htiiy off bin laud. Oliver responded that It wiih Kovornmuiit laud, and' that French had no moro rlKht to It than he had. French ml.v JudHotl hla man, for when he hit Oliver over the head with IiIh (jiilit, Jimt iih ho had done to many another Hottlur, Oliver drew IiIh revolver and killed French. "Koine day when you are up In Harney county you iiiiihI Interview I). II. Hmlth. l-eryone up there known him by tho name of llyo Hmlth. Ho and A. W. Iloimor and Pete HllliKor and John Chapman, and a few olhorit, lire iuiiouk the early tlmo nettlero of that vicinity. "You UMkod me a few mlnuten iiko about my iiticoNtorH. My father, John Hweek, wiih bom at Ht. Oeiie vleve, Mo. HU father. Martin Hweek. wiih born In Wont Virginia. I know very Ilttlo about my luothor'a people. Her mothor whh found on the Wharf In Now York oily. Ilor pnroulM had both died on tho Nhlp comliiK to Amorlcn. My Kraudmoth er wiih a little Klrl, probnbly not over ft or i yearn old. Tho only trace of her paroutiiKo wo havo over had wiih a picture of a man and woman In the koIiI locket hIio wiih wouiIiik. but what their namcH were and whore they camo from wo never I car noil. My mother, horoolf, wan left an or phan when hIio wiih a little child. Hbo bollovoK hIio wan born In May, 1830, but (Iooh not know tho day. "I am the oldcnt child In our fam ily and next to me camo Alice, who married Milton W. Hmlth, an attor ney In Portland. Ktiwroiiro wiih one of tho pioneer of Multuomnh In flraut county Hu died two yearn iiko. My brother Alec live In Port- P f-'- y -h c ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES Lamps, 'Toasters, Sweepers, Irons, Percolators, Etc. ROSTERS AND PERCOLATORS All Reasonably Priced In g r gv 50 ijteeir cfe Co. SSw l MldCIIAhWll t land. Lily mnrrlod Cai Hnrdlng of Portland. Thai! worked for tho Oro ko Hnllroml nnd NivvlRntlon com pany for many yearn, Ho now llvoi In Heattle. My brother Aloo wan born In the ntimmer of 1801 nnd like myHolf attainted Paclrle unlvornlly until IiIh mnilor year, when ho quit iichiiol to Htudy law. In 1883, ho bo nan readlni? law with Milton W. Hmlth. He ban nerved In tho IokIh latum and on tho county central ctm mltteo of the Uemocratlo party, nnd linn been active in politic over nlnce I can remember, "My rather hauled the Iorm to build the twin lirldnoii In Hotilh Portland. While fnthor wan Work Inir al tli Ih job, he wiih oatliiK bin lunch one day, when a young man iimartly dromiod and K(od looklni; Htopped to talk with him. Ho told my father IiIh name wan J, II. Mit chell, and that ho had Juwt come to Pontlaud, He Hald, "If I can necuro financial ImckltiK (IH I can col a Htart here, I know I can make It." My father liked IiIh lookn nnd itcld. 'All rlKht. I will help you out," which he did. Ah lone "N United Htntfta Hneator J. II. Mitchell lived, there wan nothlm; my father would ink him that ho wouldn't do If It wiih ponnlbl .o "In 1918 my wire with hot two next children enmo to Ccrvalllg no the ehllilruu could attend the O. A. ('. ( col Mirk or keepli.r. liaoholor'n hall at llurnn, mi in 1920 I moved to CorvalllH. Our three oldenl chil dren and our two youni:ol children attended O. A. (.. John, our ohlenl boy, workH for Crane & Company, and Hvoh at Mpokiuio. Karl Ih work in i; for the Koveriiment, and Ih iita Honed nt Howard. Alanka. Ai;uen died liiKt year. Alice married H. 11. Heuiiott. of the foront norvlre. Thoy live at HuriiH. CyrtiH ban panned nu. Klla marrlod W. J. McKIuiiIh, Dorcan married Alvln llurlburt, a ntock rnlncr In llarnoy county. KoIh mnr rled Henry Cnnlday. HIio teachen hero In Corvallln. Knther mnrrleil Fred Ilalrd. Hbo tenchen nchool at Woodburn. Alec uraduatod thin year from tho O. A. C, and In In the en Klueer department or tho Houlhern PmcINc company. I have 21 Kraut! chlldron, no you nihi with my children nnd Krnuilchlhlrtfii there in quite a fnmlly or int. "Home or iho tlttiHn when you want to )!it the rtml faoln about tho lllue Hucket mine come to me, for whllo I wiih up In that country I In VMllKutml the whole mibject Ihor oiiKhly, anil can ;lve you nome new llKht on that roiitn-vemy." FICATUniO AT THH MHKHTIT TIIM ATIIH HAT.-HUN. NOVKMllKH 22-2.J Hemstitching , 10 cent Ynrd Stamping nnd Mail Orders Promptly Filled Mrs. W. W. Keeney Burns The bit Get na and eat at the CLUB CAFE LevensHtrtelBMlIdlng McnlH at all lioura and the menu includoH everything obtainable in the local mar ket in Reason Special Sunday Dinners Quick courteous Hcrvice Bring the Family MK J VfjKBP AOOtPII 7UK0R and JtWILtAOKYH-U V IB B mi M U S - W A of It t IAS MEIGHAN 'Indent? WM. FARRE NOTARY PUBLIC FIRE INSURANCE, Standard Stock Com panies PRACTICE, before U. S. Land Office and bureaus of ihc Department REAL ESTATE; city, acreage and farm property YOUR BUSINESS SOLICITED yat My iiMm Further Reductions In Our CLOSING OUT SALE Lunaburg, Dalton & Co. Crane-Burns Mail Stage Seven Pusscngcr Touring Cars Best on tbe line Leaves Burns Post Office every evening except Saturday, at 6 P. M. Fare $2.50 BONDED CARRIER U. S. HACKNEY, Proprietor mittriSTinvw'h wFBrasragg3uas FOR SALE Buiclc-4, 1923 model Touring Car Run about 6500 milea VALE TRADING CO. Crane Oregon EfrWHifcn.hhmiifca f-tLSiyUWjlWJ If'f. ff JLgWry sSS ( .l'j- -S .Vi. jr. r!fr.--',i 0Ur fcjteT "T T 'All We will be glad to confer with prospective home builders or business investors. Let us help you to plan and finance your building operations. le Til I 'I1!1 I : GEORGE HACKER Contractor and Builder Corner North of Burns Garage IMTiHOCTIII III'MI ' ?:x?:'SS