Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, OR 97523 October 16, 2002
Biscuit Fire
chronology
on Internet
For most pioneers, Oregon City was the end of the Oregon
Trail. Those who came by raft down the Columbia River from
The Dalles stopped at Fort Vancouver to rest, but then traveled up
the Willamette River to Oregon City before spreading out in the
Willamette Valley to find land.
Barlow Road over the Cascades also ended at Oregon City, so
only pioneers coming from the south via the Applegate Trail did
not usually pass through Oregon City. For river travel within Wil-
lamette Valley, Oregon City was a main junction. The Clackamas
River from the east, and the Tualatin River from the west entered
the Willamette River near Oregon City, and Willamette Falls
stopped river travel coming south from the Columbia.
The provisional government of Oregon met at Oregon City,
as well as the first territorial leaders. Gradually, as the population
of the region moved south, the territorial Legislature and the new
state Legislature shifted the seat of government to Salem. Oregon
City continued to be an important commercial center, and today is
a rapidly growing suburb of Portland.
Oregon City also has the distinction of being the final resting
place for many of Oregon’s founders. John McLoughlin retired
from Hudson Bay Co. and spent his last years there, as well as
another Hudson Bay leader named Peter Skene Ogden. He was
born in 1794 to a wealthy family in Quebec, Canada; and then
moved to Montreal, where his father became a judge.
Ogden was supposed to become a lawyer, but decided to join
the exciting fur trade. As an employee of the North West Fur Co.
he was involved in some of the violent conflicts with Hudson Bay
Co. When they merged in 1821, the new leaders were not sure
they wanted him, but took him in anyway. By 1823 Ogden was a
“Chief Trader” and was leading parties of trappers into unknown
territory. They were searching for beaver and the best routes to
use in transporting the furs. The company policy was to trap out
the beaver population in the areas claimed by the United States in
order to reduce competition from American fur companies.
On one of these trips he discovered a river in northern Utah,
which still bears his name, as does the city of Ogden, which was
named for the river. By the way, Ogden, Utah became the main
terminus for the Union Pacific Railroad coming from the east, and
the Central Pacific Railroad coming from California. Promontory
Point, where the Golden Spike joined the two railroads, is in the
desert north of Great Salt Lake, and nobody wanted to live there.
Ogden also discovered the Humboldt River and Mount Shasta
on other trips, and became the first to cross the Cascade Moun-
tains, probably at Santiam Pass between Eugene and Bend. In
1845 Odgen became the “Chief Factor” or leader at Fort Vancou-
ver for Hudson Bay Co. In 1847 a treaty between England and the
United States settled the northern boundary of Oregon at the 49th
Parallel, where it remains today.
Fort Vancouver no longer had any legal jurisdiction in Ore-
gon affairs. Nevertheless, on Dec. 7, 1847 -- the day after hearing
of the massacre -- Ogden led a rescue party to Whitman Mission.
There he was able, without further bloodshed, to obtain the re-
lease of 47 people, mostly children, who had been taken captive
during the massacre.
The Oregon Legislature later sent an armed force to take pu-
nitive action in the affair. Peter Skene Ogden died on Sept. 27,
1854 in Oregon City after a long career of fur trapping and ex-
ploring in the western region of America.
Domestic violence survivors,
avoidance in display at RCC
A display focusing on pre-
vention of domestic violence
and honoring survivors is of-
fered at the Rogue Commu-
nity College Wiseman Gal-
lery.
“Bringing Honor to Vic-
tims: Josephine County Work-
ing Together to Build Safety
for All” will run through Sat-
urday, Oct. 26. The exhibit is
comprised of artwork, stories
and poems from female survi-
vors, as well as work by chil-
dren who have been affected
by domestic violence.
Workshops on domestic
violence are scheduled at the
gallery from 2:30 to 4 p.m. on
Tuesday, Oct. 22 and Thurs-
day, Oct. 24; plus Saturday,
Oct. 26 from 9 a.m. to noon.
Also available will be re-
sources and information from
Senior Nutrition Menu
Sponsored by
592-3562
Senior Nutrition Program
Information:
(541) 592-2126, 474-5440
Meals are served in the
County Building
in Cave Junction
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18
Roast turkey with gravy,
whipped potatoes with
gravy, glazed carrots, roll,
molasses cookie
MONDAY, OCTOBER 21
Kielbasa sausage with bun,
parslied potatoes, cabbage
and carrots, Black
Forest cake
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23
Meatloaf with gravy, herbed
potatoes with gravy, Italian
blend veggies, honey wheat
bread, birthday cake
Asante Domestic Violence
and Sexual Assistance Pro-
gram, Women’s Crisis Sup-
port Team, and the Illinois
Valley Safe House Alliance.
Wiseman Gallery is on the
RCC Redwood Campus, ap-
proximately five miles west of
Grants Pass, on Redwood
Hwy. The gallery is open from
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays
through Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. Fridays; and 9 a.m. to
noon on Saturdays.
A chronology of the
499,570-acre Biscuit Fire,
which started on July 13, is
available on the Internet at
www.biscuitfire.com the
Siskiyou National Forest an-
nounced.
Trees and brush were
burned in the major fire.
The chronology describes
the situation in Southwestern
Oregon on the days leading to
the start of the Biscuit Fire
and gives the history of events
to the time of containment.
For each day during the
fire the chronology describes
major fire events, local fire
danger levels, and the national
large-fire situation that con-
tributed to the Biscuit Fire
growing to the largest blaze in
Oregon in 100 years.
The Biscuit Fire Chronol-
ogy was prepared prior to
complete control of the fire
which is anticipated on Nov.
1. Additional information and
clarification may be added as
it becomes available.
Cougars face
Pirates after
Hornet win
With a 39-6 victory
against the Henley Hornets in
Klamath Falls on Friday, Oct.
11, Illinois Valley Cougars are
primed for their game vs.
Phoenix on Saturday, Oct. 19
at 1 p.m. in Cave Junction.
Mike Pagnotta led the
charge against Henley, begin-
ning with an 85-yard kick-off
return at the game start.
The Cougars now own a
2-2 Skyline Conference mark,
3-3 overall.
In its crushing defeat of
the Hornets, I.V. tallied 384
rushing yards. The Cougar
defense held Henley to 144
yards. Henley now has a Sky-
line mark of 0-3.
Touchdowns for the Cou-
gars came from players in-
cluding Gary Couch, who
amassed 162 rushing yards on
18 carries. He notched a 63-
yard TD run in the second
quarter.
Another Cougar TD came
shortly thereafter from Josh
Pope. Plus, Natty Krauss --
who led all rushers with 190
yards on 26 carries -- scored
with seconds left in the first
half to give I.V. a 26-0 lead.
Pagnotta scored again in
the third and fourth quarters.
Go Cougars!
By JOYCE
HEFFINGTON
Contrary to rumor, the
Oregon Caves Chateau is still
open for business and will
remain so until the last week
of October. While sales and
bookings are on the decline,
we have been pleased to see a
healthy number of “walk-ins”
coming through our doors this
month, with a shift from out-
of-state to in-state visitors.
Being fortunate enough to
spend time at the Chateau this
year, I have seen the potential
that Oregon Caves National
Monument has to draw people
from all over the country into
our valley. With only 21
rooms to fill each day, we of-
ten have to turn away people;
and when we do, we send
Page 9
them into the valley, where
they stay at our inns, eat in our
restaurants and buy our goods.
It nearly boggles the mind
to think what we could do
with some advance prepara-
tion and a concerted business
and community effort to in-
crease visitation to this valley.
Toward this end, the Illi-
nois Valley Community Re-
sponse Team (IVCRT) Tour-
ism Committee will host a
Tourism Conference on Nov.
8 and 9. The committee has
invited Professor William J.
McLaughlin, from the Dept.
of Resource Recreation and
Tourism at University of
Idaho, as keynote speaker.
McLaughlin has experience in
helping communities take ad-
vantage of tourism opportuni-
ties in the aftermath of a fire
such as the one we just experi-
enced, and will address issues
particular to sustainable tour-
ism issues in rural towns.
If you have a tourism-
related business, organization
or agency in the valley, your
attendance is encouraged.
Watch for more detailed infor-
mation about this important
event in next week’s column.
Invitations will be going out
in the mail this week, but if
we miss you, forgive the over-
sight and phone 592-4440.
We want to include every-
one interested in increasing
visitation to our valley, as it is
only through a cooperative
effort that we will succeed in
making Illinois Valley a truly
viable tourism destination.