I th in k he • J D > sort of feels that it would be m ig h ty
good fo r Ravmund Io have you along fo r he knows
Raymond enioys you as much as any fellow or more
and be would be show ing you around when he m ig h t
otherw ise be h a n g in g around gam bling halts or grizzly
gulches
Letter J B toG C
s p rin g H I *
It wasn t that their lerry was a bad young man just handsome
and fu ll of mischief a little wild Raymond liked his father s idea
and so did jean They threw themselves into their plans w ith
enthusiasm Raymond began breaking in a new saddle for Grace,
riding around w ith his long legs folded up to his chin to get the
stirrup leathers settled at her length
Raymond
has been able to talk of little else
and tells me that todav he n e a rly ran the car in the
ditch three times try in g to th in k of an irresistable
lig h t in w h u h to present ib is to you
Letter J B to G C
s p rin g 1914
In the spring of 191 9 Ur ace received a pair of riding boots in the
mail At the time she was mildly surprised by their arrival - some
whim of her friend lean * she guessed
and put them aside for the
summer She and lean loved to ride
they were all over the
mountains of the Mmam country every summer there was nothing
they liked better than camping beside high lakes, watching for birds
and animals and wild flowers They left the hot crowded city with
its wide, dusty streets and trains and motor car* and all their racket,
and took to the springy squaw brushed trails, w inding up among the
trees and boulders to some silent mountain peak They ate
mushr<*,ms and berries and biscuits and bacon had their coffee
from tin cups in meadows of Indian paintbrush and lupine when
they awoke in the damp mornings with the hobbled horses grazing
around them
Looking back Grace always saw that the portentous arrival of her
riding boots marked the beginning of that most remarkable summer
later she saw that while she had been waiting in Hood River for the
warm months her friend lean up in La Grande was thinking of her.
and helping to plan a most wonderful excursion
At the time the whole scheme depended upon the presence of a
large, loud pessimistic woman Mrs Sharkey who would be
accompanying her husband on the trip Women along on cattle
drives were fa irly uncommon only Mrs Sharkev s presence let it be
proper for Grace to p in the expedition Even so her rushing off to
cow- girl around Alaska was considered a little daring
F*orr> »he start her friend lean recognized the opportunity for
what it was
I ta n l see how you can pcusibly miss th is even
though it is hard fo r me to th in k of the summer
w ith o u t you But it is a chance most people would wait a
life tim e and not get
Now it is a ll f i l e d but
fo r you w ith a few old clothes and a suit of fla n n e l
underw ear in yo u r suiUasc and your tare to SeiUle
in yo u r pocket That is all that is necessary’
an
Alaskan tr ip fo r Gagle Carter such as lew females are
p riv ile g e d to take
1 e tle r J B to G C
s p rin g 1914
Wr arc i (inspirators ol deepest dye A plot is
b r W lA g <■!*- Il
knew the r l l u r i m t-n lil
e ffo rt that has g->nc in to the form ation of this
Grace never had a qualm She started packing as soon as she got
lean s letter and cleaned and oiled her riding boots
*✓ V
x h t m t m its e v e r v d eta il you w ould be quite sure
that somebody has yo u r happiness at heart That ¡s
the reason we have been so long in w ritin g w a itin g
fo r e v e ry th in g to dove ta il co rre ctly
1 e tle r lean B irn ie i J B »to Grace C arter (G C >
s p rin g 1914
Hl •• i . fte ♦ f
'
MX • |
lean and her husband George Birnie had a friend a young man
named Raymond Mckennon He and his fam ily also lived in La
Grande His father was a grocer who traded horses and also ran a
few cattle out in the valley Raymond had been on a few pack trips
w ith Grace and the Birmes up in the Eagle Cap Wilderness the
summer before and he had been impressed w ith the two girls
horsemanship He liked to ride too and showed off a little w ith his
circus stunts on horseback He had never know n girls who so loved
the mountains and the wild places They scouted up on the
sagebrush flats along the ruts of the Oregon Trail marking it w ith
caerns Sometimes loo impatient to wait they even snowshoed up
into the Mmam country in the dead of w inter In the summer thev
were everywhere on their big line brown horses in their wide hats
and riding skirts reining one handed and leading a packhorse
conversant equally well in diamond hitches and Dutch oven biscuits
kav inond s Iathei i D iMikeiiiiou nad a log gi ocery store in La
Grande He was arranging to send some cattle up to Fairbanks,
Alaska when he (irst had an interesting idea It was the first time
he d tried this particular business endeavor but beef was worth a lot
up in that chilly territory w here cattle were rare, and he thought he
would include some horses and sheep to sell He planned to send
Raymond along to oversee the trip and he was a tittle w'orried about
his son behaving himself le rry as everyone called his boy. often
spoke of his friend Grace Carter who was such a pleasant girl and
good with horses I D thought about m u tin g her to iom the trip he
talked it over w ith his wife Louie who was very fond of Grace
although she d only met her a lew times They decided that if Grace
wanted to go she would be a fine asset to the cattle drive she could
ride one of the horses being driven along to sell, she could help w ith
the cooking, and her presence would almost certainly keep Raymond
on his best behavior and out of the pool halls
jean MacDonald and Grace Carter were burn four months apart m
1885 in Island City Oregon They were lucky enough lo b e born to
mothers who were also dear friends The babies were raised
together, nursed by both mothers and grew up together Theirs was
the rarest of friendships beginning as it did before they were born
and lasting their whole lives Even living in separate towns as they
did later, did not effect their closeness By the lime Jean married
GeorgeS Birnie around 1910 Grace was coming up every summer
from Hood River to stay w ith them and go camping In 1913 lean
arranged the firs t pack trip that brought the four of them together -
lean and George and Grace and Raymond
Raymond was up ih c other n ig h t and course
we talked of tittle else He said I 11 bet Grace
would come i f she had to walk and I added Yes
I can iust see how fresh and starched she d took
when she ambled down the track from Hood R iver
And George put in And she d look iust as fresh and
u n ru ffle d the m o rn in g she would get here So you
can see what heroics are eipected of you Ravmond
said
I f th is iust w orks out I II be happy and
contented fo r years
Letter J B to G C
May 1913
l l ended up as a ten day pack trip complete w ith seven horses
and Bummer the sheepdog
I
Surrtft tirr ncc A pril
A
The party made the e n tire tr ip on horseback and
eice p t fo r the few a rticle * that were ca rrie d by the
packhorses they were w ith o u t the conveniences of
c iv iliz a tio n They were caught in a hard ram but were
fo rtu n a te enough to be near a ra n g e r s station w here
they camped fo r the n ig h t On top o f the highest peak
o f the Fagle Cap M ountains
the p a rty deposited th e ir .
names m Che bottle that holds the names of a ll who have \
ascended that peak fo r the past m any years The ladies in J
the party are nearly the firs t who ever climbed th is
m ountain
- newspaper c lip p in g
1913