The Sunday Oregonian., February 21, 1915, MAGAZINE SECTION, Page 5, Image 73

THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 21, 1915.
i
i 1
Soi
Keoair
L
assorts in
n 1
Beginning of Livestock Breeding in Oregon, Methods of Pioneer
Harvesting, Development of Horticulture, Effects of Toil on Character
T V Jf "V ta
iffffiiiiAj
. . .- :
ET LESUE M. SCOTT.
Chapter VI.
SHEEP breeding began in Old Ore
gon with the early pioneers, both
British and American. In 1910 the
value of sheep in the three states, as
summarized in the Federal census, was:
Oregon. J12.213.942: Idaho. J15.S97.192:
"Washington. J 1.931.170. In Oregon
sheep were third after horses and cattle
as the chief livestock assets. In Idaho
sheep were second after horses.
The early sheep in Oregon were
merinos. They first appear to have been
Imported by the Hudson's Bay Com
pany in 1833, by sea. In 1842 Joseph
OaJo (American) drove a flock of sheep
- overland to Oregon from California.
These were Spanish merinos. The first
cheep driven across the plains in 1S44
were those of Joshua Shaw and son,
Alva C, R. Shaw, of Polk County. Pure
bred merinos first came in 1851,
brought from Ohio by Hiram Smith.
In 1S53 K. R. Thompson brought to
Oregon across the plains a large flock,
assisted by David P. Thompson, both
of whom later were famous in the Pa
cific Northwest. Other early breeders
of pure-bred sheep were J. L. Tarrish,
T. L. Davidson and Ralph Geer Karly
In 1860 R. J. Jones and S. B. 1 :well
imported pure-bred America. and
French merinos from Addison County,
Vermont. I am indebted to Governor
Vttliycombe for the following copy of
a bill of sale for some of these sheep:
March 31. 1S"60. We have this day
old to Joseph Holraan and J. L. Par-
rish. one French merino buck, $500; crossing the plains in preference to Nathan Eaton used the second mower
four breeding ewes, at J275, $1100; two horses for "prairie schooners," horses beginning in 1857. The first thresher
young ewes (not in lamb), $100; total, we commonly employed, and every and separator was introduced north ot
$1700. Received payment in cash and Immigrant planned either to bring the Columbia at Cowlitz Farms in 1856
notes! (Signed) R. J. Jones, S. B. Rock- horses with him or to obtain them at by T. W. Glasgow, Daniel J. Hubbard
welL- John S. Herrln.. of Jackson his destination In Oregon. The Middle and John B. Forbes. This machine was
County, a pioneer of 1S53, from Ken- West horses, evolved from 200 years of brought to Thurston County in June or
tiir-Vv has been breeding sheep many rough pioneer life, were a strong and July, 1S57. George H. Himes, now cura-
vigorous oreeu, auu were mucn mi- xor ot me uregonfan Historical society.
proved through successive breeding in worked on the machine in August. 1857,
the Pacific Northwest. A good stallion on the farm of David J. Chambers, four
came across the plains In 1843 with miles east of Olympia. "The output of
I
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ma
:;ajia.:i),iiriv::;
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ma
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Sup? of Conriiz, Jjrm.
y'c7ic3eZyys77mor?s,
V -r 7". -r Tf
I is
metatiewaac
years with, the ambition to produce a
60-pound fleece.
It may be added that first-class live
stock was present in sheep consider
71
ably earlier than in cattle or hogs, or John G- Baker, a native of Kentucky, this machine." writes Mr. Himes in a
horses, also that Oregon has long been
a leading wool state and that Its comb
ing wools have been excelled by none
la the world.
VII.
In the foregoing chapter the advent
This animal, while not a thoroughbred, recent note, "was 00 bushels of wheat,
was a high-class one. Another Ken- or 700 or 800 bushels of oats a day, as
tucky stallion came across in 1851 with against 50 and 75 bushels when tramped
S. D. Ruddell from Missouri, and was out by horses and winqowed by the
taken to Thurston County, Washington, primitive method."
the next year. It may be in point to X.
say that Just as Kentucky sent to Ore- AdpIb and -near nrodimtinn in "train.
of pure-bred cattle in 1870-71 has been g.on through Illinois and Missouri a load lot3" is a development of the last
noted. About the same time W. S. large part of its pioneer settlers, so 15 or 20 years. The pioneers grew ap
' Ladd and S- G. Reed imported from also it sent horses, and these horses, pies for home and local consumption;
England prizewinner Berkshire and like the citizens, were most valuable in In the mining days of California they
Essex swine. Two years before Thomas the progress of the country. W. C. shipped considerable quantities thither.
Cross, of Salem, had also imported Myer. of Jackson County. Introduced But the "fancy" fruit packed in labeled
some high-bred Berkshires. Mr. Cross the first blooded Percheron horses and boxes, filling whole boxcars and train
was the first pork packer on a com- Shetlands, in the early '70s. loads, is a late idea or realization,
mercial scale. It may be noted that IX. The pioneers found the Willamette
the Berkshire family was common in It may be appropriate here to note Valley a paradise for apples. A wild
Oregon for 10 or 15 years before these the methods of pioneer harvesting In crabapple is native of Western Oregon
additions. As early as 1856 this kind old Oregon, inasmuch as the progress and Washington, and this wild fruit
of swine was here. The earliest hogs of farm machinery always keeps pace and the finest of cultivated grew in
of the settlers were brought by Hud- with, or precedes, the growth of an equal luxuriance. The late Harvey W.
son's Bay Company, and old pioneers agricultural community. As may .be Scott. 40 years editor of the Oregonian,
have many recollections of the trouble- supposed, the old-time hand sickle and used to tell of beautiful large apples,
some beasts. No fences would hold the flails were in use in the earliest time, grafted on the native stock, growing
hardy animals; they wandered wherever The first cradles for mowing were to fine fruit beside the little crab ap
their fancies took them and started brought by Jason Lee in 1840, on the Pies on the same tree. Throughout the
many neighborhood enmities; out of ship Lausanne, from New York. There three Northwest states apples are prob.
this family of porkers developed the were three types of cradles in pioneer ably more widespread than any other
celebrated "razor back" a specimen times: the "turkey-wing," with handle frutt. From early pioneer times Oregon
that frequently went wild in the for- almost straight; the "muiey." with ban- was named the "Land of Big Red Ap
ests and Imitated Its boar ancestors. die somewhat crooked; the "grapevine," Pies." They had no enemies, neither
These "razor backs" were too busy with handle much bent The latter type wrm nor aphis nor scale, and needed
to let fat grow on their bones. They is still in use. Late In the '50s the Uttle tillage. The origin of the fruit
were always on the move and were first mowing machines appeared, and in ,nduatrT la commonly ascribed as be
rooters of the first order of excel- the early '60s they had come into gen- innlnS w'th the "Traveling Nursery,"
lence. for which function they were eral use. The threshine machine ar- wnu;n "enoerson queuing named irom
uncommonly long rived nearly a decade earlier. Thomas
Missouri to Milwaukie. in 1847. In that
Anuinned with an
snout. Otchin had one near Hillsboro in 1850. f0 year J- C- Geer' Sr- ca"ied to the
A breed known as the "China," most- Chitt blowers were employed early. Dr. "inameite vaney a Dusnel or apDle
ly white, very prolific, medium size. Whitman had one In operation at
was known at Puget Sound, reputed to Waillatpu, near Walla Walla, in 184G.
have been imported In the early '40s The first chaff pller at Puget Sound was
from England. I am informed by made by Isaac Wood & Sons, and used
George H. Himes that David J. Cham- four and one-half miles east of Olym-
bers had "Chinas" at Tuget Sound pia in 1855. George Bush, the leader
when the Himes family arrived there in farming at Puget Sound, introduced
seeds. Ralp C. Geer, years afterward
commended ' the Luelling nursery as
having brought "more wealth to Ore
gon than any ship that ever entered
the Columbia River." (History of Will
amette Valley, page 302).
XL
iSa7?m.jn S8-3S
country and with It t r I lul r ir ha rut
down the general levrl lirlnw (tint of
Eastern Orrjton. ARiiln. the pront rull
road ytein. terinln.iliin:, t I'littrt
Sound, havo covered Kutta'rn WnxhlnB
ton with a network of lln.-n and
brandies, wh'l In KaRtrrn 'r.'K'"'
there has beon llttlo or no rsllrond
trannportat Ion t runiimra with It
There advatitaitrn Imve rtimulati-d n -tlvlty
as nowhere In Oregon.
WhMt mlt-lnir J I l not hilnir lont
the old letliarny of the Vlll;4mrtt
Valley: was only a reuetinK cytiiptntn
of It. The real reason for whet-iU-Intf
there was tho fltne .f null and
Summer dryness lo mirli ernn: then
unreadiness of the old population to
change methods of tlll.'iRfl; next tlm
lack ot "new blood" Immigration. The
easy fannlnir of the pioneers enin to
have produced a raeo of IeHt:oiiiJant
too cany-golng. Soil was o fertile
and climate so mild that the children
of pioneers fell Into lacy habits of
farming.
Now the new generation and a frexh
race of newcomers nro pulling- away
from the old method. They nr re
storing tho soil and etaMI.liln th
annual repair mtthod; hio cutting
down the nlxo of farniM, and. Inelden
tully. thereby trying to reduea tho la
bor problem, havo dincurded the old
idea that Summer drynons ticcexkltates
graln-growlnB:: are lournlng liow to
conserve for the dry Hummer the heavy
rainfall of the threo other seaaonit
this without artificial Irrigation.
The pioneers were an actlvo rare,
both In mind and In body. They were
sharply aware of the new Inventions
as each came along and managed to
bring them here, chiefly by ea, do
splte tho gencrul poverty of (he coun
try In the '60s. It would not be fair
to judge tho first generation ot pio
neers ffom tho example of their slip
shod descendants, who have permitted
the old farms In Willamette Valley to
go unkempt and farm machinery tn
rust to waste In tho field Tho first
pioneers were not mosshaeks; far from
it. They were a stirring rare of men
and women; their 2500-mile trek icroM
the plains shows them to have been
hardy and untiring: absence of crime
among them shows their nciixe of Indi
vidual responsibility hlxhly developed;
also their regard for th golden rule.
Marital Infidelity was rare and divorce
was unknown. They tolled early and
late, and thought hardship the natural
and inevitable portion. Theae habit
were produced through generations of
hard work and Individual thrift In thn
Middle West and In tho Atluntla coart
colonies.
Their descendants in tho Willamette
Valley somehow did not Inherit the.-.o
characteristics, perhaps because life
here was "easy." It Is well known that
the sturdiest races are those which
have had to struggle hard nunlni-t nat
ural severities, such as tho of North
ern Europe. It seems not good for
men and women to live without effort.
I'erhaps there was too much ease for
tho successors of the pioneers In tlm
Willamette Valley. If o. this condi
tion did not last long. The soil sflr
a while "petered out" and It possessors
had to go to work with a vim. In re
cent years they have been working to
the first mower and reaper in 1856.
WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY
In 1853.
In recent years the beginnings of
large pork production have started in the
Willamette Valley. While nearly every
farmer has had his swine from earliest
pioneer times, he has grown them usu-
ally in a smail way. Not until the last (Continued From Page 4). nlture of the room is the same-even
""j'"" Mr. Gould. "Why. I ll attend to that, to a liquor case in the corner holding
The place has become a Mecca of however, must have been for emer-
agriculture in Eastern Washington ences. Between Eastern Washington mer. Besides, Eastern Washington Is good purpoe and the effects are good.
than in Oresron. the exnlanatlon lies in and Eastern Oregon, the advantage of better watered: the Columbia River both on the land ana on in inaivuium
As for the more rapid progress of certain natural and man-made differ- low elevation is on the side of the for- traverses the whole breadth of the character.
In the corn regions of the Middle West.
VIIL
at auction by a Philadelphia woman,
and a descendant of hers gave it not
long ago to the Mount Vernon Associa
tion, so that it finds itself by a curious
chain of circumstances in the place for
which it was originally intended.
When the ladies of the association are
"camping out" for their annual week at
Mount Vernon they take their meals in
JEFFERSON'S GREAT DREAM REALIZED
(Continued From Page 8).
many improvements and steady growth
tb the road.
Then Jule M. Hannaford, present
pilgrimage for multitudes of persons gency use, Inasmuch as Washington the od ilbrary and tho c00king is done president of the Northern Pacific took
- from nil nv., li n T'nU Oi.i., T. Wfl a eprtalnlv not ndleta? tn Dtlmn. i 1 i it. i J 1.1.
The most valuable group of farm ani- from all over the United States. In- was certainly not addicted to stimu-
mals always has been that of horses, deed, if it were possible, it might he lants. Washington's bedroom, by the
From earliest time these faithful allies said that foreigners hold Washington way, is said to be haunted. It is not
of agricultural life have thrived in the in even higher reverence than we do, that any recognizable apparition has
Willamette Valley and elsewhere in and distinguished visitors from foreign ever been seen there, but the few per-
Oregon. The pioneer horses were me- parts Invariably
dium-sized, strong and fleet a combi- Mount Vernon.
Pacific. On the retirement of Howard that time he has occupied many high
Elliott to become head of the Ner positions requiring ability, knowledge
Haven Mr. Hannaford was elected of business and tact In hsndling. The
president of the Northern Pacific. Northern Pacifies official history Is
James G. Woodruff, second vice- ,......,...,
for them by an aged wom&a named n01"- i18 Is a seir-made man, ana nis president of the Northern Pacific Rail-
Sarah, who is a great-grandchild of one active work upward in uie nistory 01 way has Tjsen from the ranks also.
of Washington's slaves. She has a farm tha Northern Pacific is a part of Its He was born October 31, 1864. at Hllls
of her own, but it delights her to .come eventful history. ' Hannaford's dlsposl- ale. Mich. His father was a Free
and minister unto those who have made tlon was such that he stopped at will Baptist minister, with a alrge
careers from Its Inception to Its growl li
a great trans-continental linn.
find their way to sons who have occupied the chamber themseives caretakers in these days of nothing that was honest to push hjs famlly. On account of his father's ill
for sleeping purposes have been
.Place Shows How Owner Lived.
almost unanimous
nation animal for all-round service.
Iter came Clydesdale and Percheron An or,thi. ,thnslasm i the iret tney 'were beset
and Belgian infusions. result of the efforts of the association. ne8s ot tho nearness of
The American horse, like the Ameri- j-or the Interest attaching to Mount strange and brooding specter pre-
can citizen, is a mixture of old-world Vernon depends mainly upon the fact sumed' of course, to be that of the for-
families, and as we are fond of saying that its physical aspect and environ- mer Proprietor of the mansion.. '
that the human family In America has ment are substantially the same as in Carpet Causes Scandal,
been improved by the intermingling, George Washington's time. It repro- Although Mount Vernon in Washing-
somewhat earlier, from whose lmporta
tions spread the equlnes that were in
possession of the Indians when the
whites began exploring the continent.
The "cayuse" ponies of the Upper Co
lumbia River prob. My did not precede
Lewis and Clark more than 150 years.
Helping Hint to It.
(Birmingham Age-Herald.)
"I'm looking for trouble," said the
and seven
the ftnnlnnt mansion. Another old not- Company to the ITOnt, at the Baroe feAaltti whan ha -at a a a 14 ven rm at man wtth h.ivv law
i. """'"a ored woman-, of similar ancestry, occu- time carrying nimseir upward In his ag.e- jjr. woodworth was obliged to drinks in his system.
by a conscious- neN th cminninp. hmiRA n nH -va loa- career as a railroad man. . i r - .nr.An. i - -1 -
' - o - gci .ii n. a wiill. . u ww no i' i' . l u wwuwawt i. ' i .n . man,
Pora8 sons In spinning with the wheel and in Mr. Hannaford was born November ticed to the station agent of the Chi- pleasantly.
weaving after the old-fashioned method. 19, 1850, at Claremont, N. H. He hur- cago & Northwestern Railway at Des "Yep. I ain't been In a regular mix-
The only fear for the future of Mount ried through an ordinary school educa- pjains, III., where he learned teleg- up for a coon's age."
Vernon lies in the possibility of fire, tion, and in 1866 entered the railway raphy and station work. "Just so," said the little man, "Io
Against this danger every imaginable business with the Vermont Central Tne next year he was office boy In" you see that group of men across the
precaution is taken. No lights, save road at St. Albans. In 1872 he entered h. n.i freight oiric. of th Chi. tr..t t.iwim- .rnM!ir
" a " vu.D . uuiuiumj u. ouces ine intimate circumstances or ion s cay was equipped witn au me canaies, are allowed, on tne premises, me employ vi me noruera x'acinc, ana cago & Northwestern Railway at Chi- "Sure."
the horse family. The English and the Washington's life and doings. Persons latest luxuries then known. It knew no In a vault near the house are kept four from that day to this he has been with cago. At 16 years of age he was made "Well, they are officials of the Antl-
Dutch and the French colonists in who go to Mount Vernon feel that they carpets or rugs. On one occasion Wash- chemical engines, and there are' four It In the various capacities of chief agent and operator for the Chicago A Saloon League. If you want some ex-
America brought over their favorite have done the next best thing to meet- lngtonId Import a carpet which was tanks of bicarbonate of soda and wa- clerk in different departments, up tho Northwestern Railway at De Smet. Da- citement Just go over there and say
breeds of horses; so did the Spaniards lng Washington face to face. Intended for his library, but the cost ter. over each of which is suspended a line Including assistant freight, pas- vota. Territory, remaining there for that prohibition does not nrnhihit
Entering the mansion, they are" ad- of it was so great that his political receptable containing a gallon of sul- senger or general agent at various three years. He was deemed too -
mltted to its domestic intimacies. They opponents advertised the matter as a phuric acid. In case of emergency the times until Jn 1899 he was general young to have the station carried in Tlie Lnt One
even behold the room in which Wash- scandal. No President of the United sulphuric acid would be upset into the traffic malmger of the system. In 1890 ns own flame and It was carried In his
Jngton died, and Its old-fashioned bed. States has ever been more abused and soda solution, generating quantities of he was general traffic manager of the father's name' although the bov ner- (Birmingham Age-Herald
with four tall and slender posts, hung vilified than Washington, and he. in carbonic acid gas. in the presence of wlsconsIn Central lines during their formad .n th work "M,S" Sere8um ,h1 '
with the original white dimity cur- order to put a stop to the taik in this J'cSSEd "thS lea8 the Northern Pacific. In !899 '"TS year,8 o7 age h, was general Kao0,Trrpyro0pno0scT.h,.,, TlitU
tains, and covered with the same spread instance, refused to receive the carpet ston a number of portable fire extin- he was third yice-presidept and in 1902 freight agent of the Union Paciiio at that oae man In a million did not
Although the pioneers used oxen for that was used for his couch. The fur- or to pay duty on it. - It was bought Jn guisherd.'
second vice-presldeat of the. Northern PoxUand, Or, this-being, ia I88Z. Since, exist,"