Chief
Early Railroad
Project Failure
By MRS. GEORGE BA-CHER
In the year 1890 Roseburg was celebrating a project
that promised to make the city outstanding on the Pacific
Coast. That was the proposed construction of the Coos Bay,
Roseburg, and Eastern Railroad, a proposition for which
the city raised a bonus of $75,000. The project failed of
materialization, although a considerable sum of money
was expended. But some of the features of that project,
as preserved in newspaper files, may .well be applied to
the present day conditions.
At the time when it was felt
that the project was definitely as-
ciirnH Rncphnrff attrnrtoH pnact.
wide attention. San Francisco Ex
aminer sent a special representa
tive to Roseburg to report condi
tions. His report was one of the
most flattering articles of its kind
ever carried in the San Francisco
paper, and his enthusiastic report,
incidentally, was one of the long
est press telegrams ever sent out
of this city.
(Projected Lin to Coos Bay
That Never Materialized Wat Oc
casion for Whoopie i 1890 Ci'y
Raised Bonus of $7,000 and Drift
Extensive Notict, Emphlsiied by
Article in San Francisco Exemin-
A copy of this report is in the
possession of Mrs. George Sewell
and because it contains some in
teresting history and comparisons,
it is published in full as follows:
Letter Flattering
Roseburg, Oregon, May 23, 1890
Nestling among the beautiful
bills of the fertile and pictures
que Umpqua valley is a little city
that is destined to play a most
important part in the future his.
tory of Oregon. Long has Rose
burg gone along quietly awaiting
the time when- the magnificent
country of which she is the com
mercial as well as the geographi
cal center should have been suf-
. ficiently developed to justify her
in going ahead. Now the time has
come, and the city on the banks of
the Umpqua has thrown off the
sleep and started in the race for
wealth and population.
The long period of comparative
inaction has not blunted the en
terprise of her citizens, and now
that the time for progress has ar
rived there are no people in the
world more wide awake and keen
for improvements. The whole city
resounds with the noise of nam
mer and saw is new houses, one
after another, spring up on the
gentle slopes that form the site,
Every train brings new residents
to the city, and on every hand one
hears talk of new railroads, elec-
trio lights, motor street car lines,
gas-works and factories.
Bustling City Projected
The people resolved to have
these metropolitan features and
that was enough. It took no time
to get the stock subscribed, and
before another year is past instead
of quiet country village the river
will flow by a bustling city full of
life and trade and industry.
But despite her quietness a great
deal of trade has always been
done in Roseburg. She is the sup
ply point of the whole great county
of Douglas, and at least 20,000
people are tributary to her even
now. Before another five years is
gone there will be 100,000, say the
people of Roseburg, and certainly
the resources of the country justi
fy the claim.
Like all other cities of this coast,
Roseburg has a pet designation,
and, unlike many, it is entitled to
the one that has been bestowed
on it. Throughout Southern Oregon
Roseburg is known as the "city of
Belles," and the Roseburg man
who would not fight to sustain that
11,1. 1,1. -!,.. ...A..U k otnnArl
Hilt? lui ilia tiijr numu uc hujuku
out of town by squadrons of rosy
cheeked damsels that give the
city its nick-name.
Roseburg is romantically situ
ated on the east bank of the south
fork of the Umpqua river, at the
junction of Deer Creek. It can
spread in any direction, for on ev
ery side are the same rows of
rolling hillocks that form the pres
ent sfte of the city. There is noth
ing lacking to make the place an
excellent residence city. The
streets are well kept, the buildings
v, are substantially constructed, and
' the business houses are really met
ropolitan in the quality and amount
of their goods.
Facilities Praised
It has good schools, churches,
hotels and facilities for accomo.
dating a large volume of business.
The public buildings are new and
a credit to the country.
Recently a new public school
building was erected at a cost of
$14,000. It serves as an academy
for a large portion of Southern
Oregon. The principal, Professor
Horner, and six teachers conduc
a course of instruction that is on
a high plane of excellence, thor
ough and efficient.
All religious denominations have
congregations at Roseburg, and
some of thein have as fine church
buildings as will be found in any
cily of the coast.
In the language of President
Lane of (he Roseburg Town Coun
cil: "Nature did so much for
Douglas County that it was years
before her citizens could believe
that there was anything left for
them to do."
The Southern Pacific Railroad
passes through the middle of the
counly and affords one avenue
through which tie products of the
rich district m?y reach the mar
kets of the world.
The city gels an unlimited sup
ply of fine waler from the Ump
qua River. The waler is pumped
rlnto a reservoir in one of the over
looking hills. This gives a splen
did pressure, and, combined with
Mace
Roseburg's fine fire department,
guarantees against any extensive
conflagration. Roseburg has two
good newspapers. Both are week
lies, but the Review is soon to be
changed to a daily. The Review is
edited by Fisher & Floyd, and the
Plaindealer by Benjamin & Buick.
Surrounding Roseburg are a,
number of fine towns and villages
that are in a measure dependent
on her and contribute to her pros.
perity. The principal towns are
Drain, Oakland, Wilbur, Myrtle
Creek, Canyonville, Glendale, Gar
diner, Scottsburg and Riddle.
There are located at Roseburg a
United States Signal Station and a
United States Land Office. Two
telegraph companies and one ex
press company do business here.
The site of Roseburg is 400 feet
above sea level, and the records
of the weather bureau show that
there is less wind here than at
any other station in the United
States. There is a nice courthouse,
and many of the business houses
are fine substantial structures.
Area Is Large
Douglas county contains 4.500
square miles. So it is four times
as large as the state of Rhode
Island, nearly three times, the
size of Delaware and nearly, if
not quite, as large as Connecticut,
While a very large part of the
county is mountainous, there are
many hundreds of thousands of
acres of fine agricultural land.
Small valleys with streams of run
ning waters are so numerous that
almost every farmer may have a
valley to himself.
The valleys are very free from
timber, which is a special advant
age to the farmer who comes into
the county with little money for
he may at once begin to plant his
seed without the laborious and
time-losing work of clearing the
land. The low hills are covered
with oak, madrone and other trees
which furnish an inexhaustible sup
ply of fuel, and there are fir and
pine enough scattered here and
there along the banks of streams
ana upon the hillsides to supply
any quantity of building and fenc
ing material, while the mountains
are covered from base to peak
wim tail tirs and pines. In the
mountains lying in the western
part of the county the fir and
pines grow to very large propor
tions, and, together with immense
myrtle trees, are of inestimable
value for the manufacturing pur,
poses of the near future.
Railroad Opened Frontier
The question may be asked, if
Douglas county has so many ad
vantages, why is she not the rich,
est district on the coast? Her an.
swer is for years she was without
any railroad communication at all
When the Southern Pacific cut
through, the lock of this treasure-
house was partly broken, but even
that did not give an open passage.
The production of fruit, in which
Douglas county is unsurpassed.
could not be engaged in with prof.
it until railroad transportation en
abled the orchardists to take' their
crops to market. .
Previous to the year of 1872,
when the Oregon and California
line was bunt, the people were
compelled to find an outlet for
their surplus production by water
and freight wagons, which, from
the nature and location of the
country, was a very slow mode
of transportation and correspond
ingly unsatisfactory. This lack of
shipping facilities was a great
drawback te the raising of fruit,
and many orchards which were
started well were neglected when
they came into bearing condition
because the ripened fruit could
not be handled to advantage. With
the advent of the railroad to Doug
las County and the extension of
transportation lines in this west
ern country, and the development
of the mining regions of Montana
and Idaho, as well as of Eastern
Oregon an extensive market for
Umpqua valley fruit was opened
Commerce To Portland
All her commerce with foreign
countries, as well as the East
must first go to Portland or San
Francisco. With fruit this extra
day or two makes all the differ
ence in the world, and almost
since the first settlement of Rose
burg and necessity of providing her,
and through that city the county
tributary to her, with a seaport
has been recognized. Coos bay is
only 90 miles from Roseburg, and
a better harbor than that does not
pxist on the coast north of San
Francisco. Even without railroad
connection an enormous amount
of shipping coos out of Coos bay
Those who know now claim
the aggregate of the tonnage that
passes Empire City is as great as
that that goes out of the Columbia
River or from any of the Sound
towns. During the month of April
over 5.000,000 feet of lumber and
4.000 tons of coal were taken from
Coos Bay Harbor by Coast steam
ers. The government has improv.
ed that harbor so that now ships
of any draught have ample room
in the bay. With such a seaport
ready lo hand it is obvious that
Roseburg would not have to wait
long for a direct line to the ocean.
Pay For Survey
Th citizens of Douglas county
f
Palouse Tipta lasd
SECOND
SECTION
paid for the preliminary survey
that ' demonstrated that - there
would be 90 miles of paying rail
road, between the terminal points,
with easy grade and no engineer
ing difficulties whatever, all the
road to pass through county re
plete with great native resources
easily utilized. They held mass
meetings of respective men, who
expedited a spirit of enthusiasm
in the public that left no room for
doubt that they must get the road.
A company of capitalists then
made this proposition: They would
build the road from Coos Bay if
subsidy of $150,000 was assured.
Roseburg was to give $75,000 of
this.
The proposition was accepted by
the men of the county, and the
completion of the road is now
assured within the next 18 months.
This road is to. be called the
Coos Bay, Roseburg and Eastern,
for it is not going to be merely
a coast line. It is to go through
Roseburg and across the easiest
pass in all the Cascade range.
the grade nowhere exceeding 80
feet to the mile, and on across
southeastern Oregon until it joins
some Eastern road. The junction
and the transcontinental road of
which it will become a part is not
as yet made public, but it is under
stood that Boise City' is the place
and the Union Pacific the road.
Pick Up ' Lost Time
When this is done Roseburg will
make up for all the time she has
tarried and spring almost at a
bound into the position of one of
the largest if not the largest, city
in Southern Oregon. The construc-
tion ef this road to the ocean will
develop a rich country, capable
of supporting an immense popula
tion and many new industries, and
as it will constitute the first divi
sion of another great transcontin
ental line to the business center
of the East, it will give cheap
freights and fares for the trans.
Donation of the produce to a coun
try abounding in an incalculable
wealth of timber, minerals and
other resources, and of all this
country Roseburg will, ber citizens
say, be the center and the metro
polis. Twe Seaports Viewed
Though Empire City on Coos bay
will be the ocean terminus of the
Coos Bay, Roseburg and Eastern
Railroad, the new line will really
give Roseburg two seaports, for
the surveyed line runs through
Myrtle Point at the head of navi
gation of the Coquille river.
Nothing shows how much the
town has grown while it was sup
posed to be plodding unambitious
ly way behind its neighbors than
the amount of freight handled at
the depot. Four years ago the
months shipments amounted to but
$1,200 a month. Now the amount
is over $10,000 a month.
And yet with all her advantages
coming and present, the real es
tate In the vicinity of Roseburg is
far from high. Forty dollars an
PsTj .ruff &&ym -htu
Established 1873
acre will buy some of the finest
farming land in the neighborhood.
and
a considerable tract that is !
being cut up and sold in town lots j
was only a few days ago purchas
ed at from $100 to $150 an acre.
Roseburg now boasts of 4,500 in
habitants, but within ten years her
people are confident that she will
have 25,000. Long before the real
estate will command prices simi
lar to those paid in California.
The city is the center of a vast
fruit belt abounding in never fail
ing crops of most lucious prunes,
peaches, apples, pears and plums
and every hillside may become a
vineyard unsurpassed even in
France.
"Ten Acres A Fortune"
With such markets as the new
railroad connections will insure
ten acres of improved land In this
vicinity will be a fortune. Douglas
county's fir, cedar, sugarpine and
the far-famed myrtle are sure to
win recognition in any market in
the world. Hemlock, spruce, ma
ple, ash, alder, willow and oak are
also found. Possessing a never-failing
water, vast enough to turn all
the machinery of the universe, and
an inexhaustible supply of choice
timber, Douglas County could ship
one million feet of lumber per day
for centuries.
In this county there are 50.000
head of cattle and as many sheep
and swine. Direct communication
with the sea would enable them
to supply a large portion of the
ban rrancisco meat market on
three days' notice and that without
shrinkage. Twenty thousand hors
j es, many of the choicest breeds,
may be found on the farms and
in the pastures and barns of this
section.
The county, being nearly as large
as the State of Connecticut, con
tains a pastoral region that, when
the market is opened by cheap
transportation, will supply annual
ly 2,750,000 pounds of butter and
170,000 pounds of cheese. 2,000-
000 dozen chickens and quite as
many ducks, geese and turkeys.
Douglas county wool commands
the highest prices in the eastern
markets.
The Umpqua valley is the Switz
erland of America, but the beauty
of her hills is not their only value.
They arc one vast mass of lime
stone, marble, building stone, coal,
precious melals, all awaiting de
velopment. Douglas county mar
ble was the first to attract atten
tion in Oregon. A thousand hills
of marble as white as the Italian
or as rich as the clouded Tennes
see are ready to supply the West
ern continent for a thousand years.
Limestone, going 90 per cent, is
found in abundance, and is highly
recommended by hundreds of
master workmen, who have test
ed It thoroughly. Freestone of the
most durable character for build,
ing purposes, standing white heat
and sudden exposure to the cold
without blemish.
ROSEBURG, OREGON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18, 1952
Cow Creek Scene
A r I . A . .
jt inuian mtcjck.
During Hog Drive
By B. AMES '
My mother, born Elizabeth Mc-
Collum, crossed the plains in 1848
when she was 12 years old.
She said she not onlv "crossed"
the plains but she actually "walk
ed" the entire distance, most of
the time barefoot.
Her first husband was Holland
Bailey, who had driven oxen across
the plains in 1848 with the train
of which my mother was a party.
He settled on 160 acres of fine
land on Spencer Creek- bottom,
about nine mils west of what is
now the city of Eugene. He en
gaged in raising hogs.
There was a profitable market
for hogs in the Southern Oregon
and Northern California mine
fields. The pioneers thought noth
ing of driving a hundred or more
hogs a few hundred miles.
In the spring of 1853 Bailey and
some of bis neighbors were driv
ing hogs overland to the mines
around Jacksonville. They had an
ox team and wagon to transport
supplies, while the hogs were driv
en by men traveling on tool.
Amhuihed By Indians
The Darty. while in Cow Creek
Canyon, was ambushed by Indians.
Bailey and two others were killed.
Bailey's body was horribly muti
lated, his tongue- cut out and ar
rows were stuck nto his flesh.
It was said the hogs scattered
into the hills and went wild. Pio
neers later told of killing many
wild hogs in that section.
Bailey left his widow, a son,
John, and two daughters, four and
six years old.' My father married
Mrs. Bauey in 1856 ana 1 was Dorn
15 years later.
My mother would never talk
about the massacre. She said it
was "too horrible." I got the story
from my half-brother, John, who,
however, would seldom talk about
it.
My half-brother, John Bailey
died 18 years ago at the age of 80
years.
Mirror Routs
Curious Indians
By MRS. GEORGE BACHER
The first mirror ever to be
brought into Douglas County be
longs to Mrs. Florence Aiken
Banks who resides at 243 South
Main street in Roseburg. It was
passed down by her mother, Mrs.
Dee E. Aiken. The latter's par
ents, Andrew and Sarah Chap
man, came across the plains by
covered wagon from Johnson
county. Iowa, in 1853.
The mirror Is in an old clock,
the works of which are all made
of wood. The ancient clock still
keeps good time this same old
clock which saw the first religious
Of
HAPPY HUNTING GROUND of Chief Mace Palouse Tipton,
lost chief of the Umpquos, ond his squaw, Nance, above,
is this old Indian Graveyard, pictured at left. Located on the
McMillen place on the North Umpqua river, this final rest
ing place for some 60 Indians is secluded in a forest setting,
but unkept and almost forgotten. (Pictures of graves taken
by Ben Serafin, that of Chief Mace and Nance reproduced
from photo of Walter Tolles)
Good Indians As Well As Mean Ones
Were Met By Pioneer Era Settlers
By GRACE DODSON ECCLESTON
' When Samuel Houston Dodson
was 14 years of age, he made the
long trek across the plains by ox
team with his parents. Jon and
Hannah Dodson. They settled
12 miles east of Roseburg at the
foot of Mt. Dodson, which was
named for his father. There were
many hardships those days. It
would take two or three days by
ox team to take their wheat or
corn to a grist mill to be ground.
At first, bands of wild long-horned
Spanish cattle roamed every
where and it was not safe for one
person to be out alone.
There were Indians, too, but they
were friendly as Grandfather Dod
son was very good to them and
gave what he could spare them
to eat. The women would find a
few things in clothes for them.
They were always very grateful
as the Umpqua Indians were a
very poor tribe. Some of the olhor
tribes would coma in and whip
them, taking most of their supplies
They woulrj come to Grandfather
Dodson for counsel, and in this
way learned the language.
There were a few renegade
whites who were worse than the
Indians. This one time they did
not have the principle to go out
and fight, but, knew where a
peaceful old unarmed Indian
couple were living, and before
some friends could get there, rid
ing as fast as they could, these
men had shot the two old Indians
who had no protection other than
a piece of bark held up before
their faces.
Happenings like these were what
caused some people to have their
barns Durnen ana ineir siock run
off. Years after the Indians were
taken to the reservation, an Indi
an and his wife came through
the neighborhood lust on a
trip. The male Indian was Jim
Pierce, ana he ana my lamer narj
grown up together. He told how
many and who they were hid out
when the others were taken to the
reservation. Their purpose was
to eet even with anyone who had
done them wrong. Many barns
were burned.
In later years, my father used
to hire out to a cattleman by the
name of Joe Stevens. They would
service ever held in this county.
The service was conducted at Win
chester.
The -story has often been told
of how Indians were frightened
awav from the Chapman home
stead by this old mirror. The red
skins often came boldly to ine
home and peered through the top
half of the door. The old mirror
was hung directly opposite the
door, and upon seeing their re
flection, they'd scamper away
without doing any devilment.
Sometimes, Mrs. Aiken used to
say, the Indians would sleal back
to the rear of the house in an ef
fort to determine what the mir
ror's secret was. Simple secret
though it was, that mirror afford
ed mora protection than a loaded
rifle.
Oregon's state flower is the Ore
gon Grape. The slate bird is the
Western Meadow Lark. The state
tree is the Douglas fir. No state
colors have been officially recog
nized.
ua
Ml-52
gather cattle until there were 1200
or 1600 head and drive them out to
old Fort Klamath for the summer.
This time, he was going with Tom
Dixon, but for some reason he
did not go, and somewhere out
along the route the Indians at
tacked and Dixon and several
others were killed.
Among the list of names given
in Mr. Murray's letter living in
Camas Valley was my father's
half-brother, Dan Anderson.
Jarvis Was First
Uniformed Chief
ST,
5,1? A 1
Duel J. Jarvis, above, Is shown
when he was Roseburg's first uni
formed chief of nolice In 1902.
Before his nolice job he had
been a driver of horse drawn
stages for several years on the
run between Roseburg and Coos
Bay.
Jarvis had also worked as a
maintenance man on the Cons Bay
road at the foot of Mt. Camas
After his service as police chief
he opened a "gent's toggery" store
on Sheridan street and later oper
ated a general repair shop on Oak
street. He continued In the latter
establishment until failing health
forced him to quit.
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North Umpqua
Tribe's Final
Resting Place
Indian Lore Recalled
In Story Of Early
Days In Douglas Co.
By MRS. ARTHUR M. SELBY
Chief Mace Palouse Tipton, the
last chief of the once powerful
Umpqua Indians of Southern Ore
gon, is burled in the tribal grounds
located on a high bench overlook
ing the Narrows on the McMillen
property. His grave is marked
only with the official county mark
er, near nis grave is tne fallen
headstone of Nance, his wife who
preceded her husband in death
shortly after the turn of the cen
tury; and, in the surrounding
woods, are the unmarked graves
of sixty of the Chief's cousins.
During an afternoon spent in vis
iting the N. W. McMillens and their
daughter, Mrs. Harry Bakken,
this story of Chief Mace was ob
tained. There is no record of the
exact date of birth of Chief Mace,
but he is believed to have been
more than 90 years old at the data
of his death, in June 1932.
Tribe Spilt Up
After the close of the Indian
wars in 1855, the Umpqua tribe
split up, part going to reserva
tions on the coast, others to Klam
ath and Warm Springs, and the
remainder settling in the forest
lands of the North Umpqua. It was
here that Mace, the future chief
of the North Umpqua Indians, was
born. His mother was killed by a
falling tree while he was still a
papoose in an Indian cradle, and
the many mothers of the tribe
raised him. Later, a family by the
name of Tipton, who owned a large
ranch in the ML Scott area, adopt
ed Mace and he took their name.
In the spring of the year, the
tribe would pitch their tepees at
the Narrows, (just above Idleyld
Park) for the Chinook salmon run.
At this spot in the North Umpqua,
the rock walls of the canyon form
a narrow gorge with the falls just
ahead. When the spray from the
falls was not heavy enough to
cloud the water, the salmon could
be seen lying in the water, noses
upstream, as thick as shingles on
the roof of a house. The braves of
the camp hung down over the cliff
on ropes, each with a horn spear,
watching the spray under the falls.
Aooui every len minuies, a saimon
would leap about eight feet in the
air to jump the falls to spawn.
Become Easy Prey
Not half the salmon would get
halfway up the falls. Falling back
hitting the water sideways, they
would float helpless. Then the In
dians would go to work with their
spears. The spear that snagged a
fish would be passed up to a squaw
waiting at the top of the cliff. At
that time, salmon were plentiful in
the North Umpqua and the squaws
smoked the fish for winter use.
When the braves did not fish, they
hunted deer to be dried into jerky
to add to their winter provisions.
In his youth, Mace according to
tribal custom, purchased a squaw
named Nance who spoke only a
little English, paying for her with
ponies. They had only one child, a
daughter, who died in infancy and
her grave is In the tribal burial
grounds.
In September, 1898, W. W. Mc
Millen, a Civil War veteran from
Ohio, moved to Oregon with his
family and homesteaded the
grounds surrounding tne triDai
cemetery. Mace and Nance often
visited the McMillens, camping
nearby for weeks at a(time.
Fabulous Gold Mine
They would tell the family of a
gold mine to which, Nance as a
child would be taken by her moth
er at night to bring back large
amounts of gold for The benefit of
the tribe. All the information re
garding this gold mine that was
ever obtained was that It was in
a dark canyon some place in our
present Umpqua National Forest.
Although men have searched for
years, this fabulous mine, today
remains one of the unsolved mys
teries of the western states.
Mace often told of the horse
races between the different Indian
tribes, which were held at lUahee,
near the forks of the Umpqua and
Steamboat Creek and at Olalla.
The Indians were great gamblers.
would bet all their possessions as
they followed the races from track
to track. The Klamath Indians
were top winners; the Umpquas
would lose their horses, their win
ter supplies, hides, and believe it
or not, lose their squaws.
During his last years, Mace liv
ed in a little cabin on the slope
of Nance's grave, stopping at the
McMillens to receive the colorful
bouquets of peonies, zinnias, and
roses they had ready for him so
that Mace could decorate his
wife's grave following the custom
of the white men. In later years.
Mace became partially blind and
was unable to make his yearly
pilgrimage but the McMillens dec
orated Nance's grave in respect
for their old friend.
In June 1932, Mace went to his
"Happy Hunting Ground" and is
buried beside his family. It is
quiet among the tall pines. Over
head, stretches the new power line
from Toketee Falls, his grave over
looks a scene of great progress
new homes, markets, motor courts
and a steady stream of traffic on
the North Umpqua highway,
trucks hauling huge logs from the
forests where Mace had hunted as
a hoy.
This centennial year for Doug
las County, the Centennial com
mittee is marking spots of his
torical interest. The residents of
the Glide-Idleyld community be
lieve that this Indian cemetery
should be fenced and designated
as a historical landmark.