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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 1904)
Old Indian Figkter Guardi rVarwick Poolroom Portland s First FerrjTne Massacre of 56 . t I i TU I tbe Arat of aeries of tkrtw article eotirtim Ken I tt"- In t-rtl I imc n'tiiliiboi-uvM ef lb furljr d uf Oregon, 1p Major Charles W. rramb THE first time my attention was called particularly to Oregon waa in the spring of 18(0, wben my uncle. W. H. Fruah. came out be re. and It waa at his lnatance. In the main, that 1 followed him in 1181. He came by tha plains across, whlls I mads the trip by water by way ot Panama. While en route across the Isthmus I first became acquainted with the un certainly In the character of a mule. The weather waa extremely hot when the little cavalcade of travelers started for the Pacific ocean side, and I thought the mount I rode must have prevloualy got sunstroke, because of Its lack of animation and objection to keep going at a fair rate. Wben we had gone about four miles ha apparently gave out, and I waa conalderlng whether or not I would abandon him to hla fate, walk back to Aaplnwall and aecure a more table riding animal or propose the "ride and tie" arrangement with aome one of any companions, when forward went his are. up his back and I overboard, land ing on my head. By the time I could dig the dirt out of my ears he waa Some rod along the backward road and going like Tarn O'Shanter'a mare. He waa soon captured, however, by parties behind and brought up to where I had go suddenly halted on the way. Being dvlsed to ride the rest of the Journey With a club, I secured one, and It la needless to say used It. About the time of my arrival at Port land tha ferry which waa being oper ated across tha river between Its east 1 and west banks had become Important. ' fearing grown from a canoe to a email flatboat with long oars, and from a flat- boat to a big scow with paddle wneeis, 1 run by a treadmill operated by mule power. At first there waa but one mule. The treadmill waa In the center of the boat When the mule started the wheels ' revolved, propelling the boat back and forth across ths river. Tha rudder was a long oar set at the rear end of the ' ' ferry. In time two mules were used, .one on each side of the treadmill, thus securing better speed and greater cer tainty of stemming the current. ' which waa very swift during some sessons of i . the year. I don't think that any one ever got converted while employed on the ferry I during the days of mule power. Ei " perlepce has taught me that tha first thing a mule doea, when one Is a safe ! distance from his heels. Is to get. laiy. For a tjme, during the early existence of the ferry. Uncle Jerry Stephens ran It alone, then he and my uncie, w . Frush. became partners. Then Uncle Frush opereted it on hla own account and again Uncle Jimmy took hold as sole director. My connection with It began after It had become a two-mule affair. The crew consisted of two men, the captain and the purser. The captain attended to the steering by the manipu lation of the oar behind. In 1881 everything was in Its in fancy. 1ft Hood not excepted, aa Cot or.el Joe Meek, who claimed to have - come here "when that grand old snow peak waa a hole In the ground." had not as yet grown a bald spot on top of bis head. The centers ot population were As toria, St. Helena Puget sound. Oregon City. Vancouver, Portland and Yamhill. Of the three first mentioned I knew but little until years had -passed; tire next three I lived In or visited often. In 1888 I entered the employ of Wil liam Latimer, who then owned the little Eagle, and ran her for hlra from Port land to Vancouver until the fall of 1888. She waa an Iron propellor of about 10 tona burden and waa brought here In 1881. On coming here aha ran on the Portland-Oregon City route It cost 88 to travel between these towns. N. B. Tngalls was the parser. If there was a crowd, passengers had to stand up as the street car passengers of the present often have to do. Ingalla was tha second to hold the position mentioned on the waters of the Pacific northwest, Dan O'Neill being the first aa hs began his career In IStO on the little Columbia, the first steamboat constructed In Or egon. She waa built at upper Astoria I and ran from Astoria to Portland and Oregon City. I never saw her, as she Iwae dismantled Just prior to my ar I rival, but I have heard that it coat $28 to make the trip between the above stated terminals; that her sole aeeom fmodsttons for passengers were on an .unprotected hurricane deck; that Uncle IDan used the head of a barrel for an I office desk; and that ahe had an exhaust L never to be forgotten, ss It could be heard so far away that she hsd little 'use for the whistle sounded to herald her approach, and. like the sensations (experienced by Mark Twain as the rab Iblt shot by htm. "her buss lingered on , tha breezes for a considerable time after getting out of sight" Uncle Dan and "Pole" continued to follow the oc cupation of purser, with the exception of a brief period In the '60s, until within 'recent years. The advent of the steamboat soon . displsced the ox teams and bateaux aa .a means of transportation, and an ln i crease of population and consequent growing of business largely augmented . their numbers. Speaking of movement following the , exertions of teams and those produced i D Hiram, j am reminaeo mai a genius (living at CorvalHs In 1860 undertook to compete with the latter for supremacy. A yoke of oxen was placed on a flatboat provided with paddle-wheels connected with a treadmill and started on Its con quering voyage. All went well while the prow of his craft was pointed down stream until ie reached a section about midway between Albany and CorvalHs, where green pastures on shore attracted the notice of hla oxen, and trouble aroae. The gentua could not man the tiller and give needed attention to the unruly beasts at the same time, but a wreck Seeming Imminent unless he got his machinery again In satisfactory working order, he trusted to lurk In the guldanue of the rudder and went forward with a club, Hla endeavor accelerated the movement of his motive power, and with the assistance of a wayward steering-gear his boat ran out upon the green flat, remaining there until Capt. Oeorjre A. Pease ateamed up with the Onward. When It waa pulled Into the river again. Tbe skipper, getting hla boat oncfe more In motion, went on down and tied up at Canemah, where he delivered his cargo of hides, tallow, etc. Upon trying to return he found his motive power in sufficient to stem the current, when Hi again tied up hla craft. Hla oxen were -gold to a butcher, and the boat somehow got from Its moorings and as fled to the crest of tbe falla and was broken and dashed to pieces as It shot to the rocks snd whirl below. The ge- nlun was sfterward said to nave re marked that there waa more profit In .raising hogs than in trying to revolu tionise trarflc. " The year 1151 witnessed the advent of the f1rt steamer to ply the upper Wil lamette. She waa called tho Honsler She was originally a ship's longboat but hsd been cut le two snd lengthened. On esrjj side turned a paddle-wheel pro pelled by a pllsdrlvar engine and holler There mere subsequently two others of tha same name, tha second built at Hal em and the other at Canemah. but were nothing more than new hulta with the same old equipment of machinery. If certification of an Incident relating to the ateamer Elk. running there In the '80a, la wanted, I can refer you to Cap tain Pease, The boiler of this boat blew up at Davidson's landing, about a mile below the mouth of the Yamhill, where her nose had been run Into the bank so that a birdcage could be put on ahore. It waa a singular catastrophe, because of the results. The explosion almost annihilated ths boat; but barring a few Insignificant bruises, none of the many orl board was hurt. Another unlucky craft was the Shoal water, built In 1852. She proved an un profitable venture to all parties owning her, and received nearly as msny names .during her career aa Joseph's coat had colore. She waa called Penlx, Intended for "Phoenix"; then Franklin, and final ly Minnie Holmes. After establishing the fact that she wss unprofitable as a steamboat ahe was aold to Salem parties, who transformed her into a floating sawmill, and latterly her machinery, went on ahore and was put Into a lumber-making establishment, and thence Into' final disuse through fire In 18(0. The completion of the railroads from Portland to Albany and CorvalHs ruined or dwarfed nearly all of the steamboat enterprlsea on the Willamette, its tribu taries and navigable watera adjacent. One field of operations Incident thereto la now so dead? that there are but few outside of the older residents living lu Its Immediate vicinity that remember or ever heard of It I refer to the Tualatin river and Sucker lake. From the mouth of the Tualatin to a point up stream for some distance there was a fall of about 80 feet, forming a stretch of rapids that prevented navigation between that river and the Willamette. From the head of tha raplda, however, light-draft boats could run back Into the Interior aa far as 11 miles above Htllsboro. Near this stream was situated Sucker lake, a body of water of considerable .else, and sep arated at the nearest point from the river by a narrow atrip about a mile In width. Here freights were exchanged between the two by tramway until a canal was cut through. Tha eaatern shore of the lake waa within about half a mile of the Willamette, near Oswego, and here another tramway was used. The first boat built upon the Tualatin waa the Swan, launched upon those wa ters in 1861, but being a keel boat, and drawing too much water, she was brought down the rapids Into the Wil lamette, thence over the falla sold and taken to the Cowllts river, where she ran as the Cowllts for awhile, and waa then taken to Puget sound, where she waa christened the Wenat Other craft to run on the Tualatin were the Onward and the Yamhill. The first boat on the lake waa the Minne haha, built in 18(1; then the Henrietta, In HIT. After the completion of the canal In 1871 between the river and the lake the Henrietta wua brought over land to the Willamette via Oswego, leav ing the Onward to ply upon both bodies of water until 1874, wben she also came to the Willamette by the same route. The fall of 1868 found me In the em ploy of Ruckle Co., at the Cascades, a place famed in Indian tradition as being the locality of the Bridge of the Qods, which spanned the Columbia a means of crossing from shors to shore until broken down by acts of mythical per sonages who were rivals for tbe love of a beautiful maiden. Mount Hood and Mount Adama being the contestants, and Mount St Helena the object of their af fections. The first transports to the Cascades conducted- under the auspices of the white man were bateaux propelled by Indiana. In time the old brig Henry, under command of F. A. Chenoweth, afterward Interested in the construction of tha first portage, mads occasional tripa Tba first steamer to ascend the river at that point was the little Co lumbia Following there were, many others until the later '60a, when increase of traffic demanded a more aettled state of running. Above the Cascades flat boats rigged with galls were adequate enough for a time to handle freight or carry occasional passengers, bat they also had to give way to faater craft The first portage built at the Cas cades was constructed on the north or Washington side of the river, and ex tended from the middle blockhouse, near the foot of the raplda, to a point Just above them. Latterly It waa extended about half a mile down the river. It waa built in 1860 by P. F. and D. T. Bradford, F. A. Chenoweth, B. B. Bishop and George Johnson and his son, Oeorge, Jr. At first the rails were of wood, with strap Iron fastened along the upper edgea The equipment was a small fiat car drawn back and forth by one lone mule. The Bradfords after ward secured control and the company became usually known as Bradford A Co. In the fall of 188( they repaired and extended the portage. Iron rails and steam locomotives were not, how ever, used until the Una was again re paired In 11(1. In 18(1 the Bradfords. Capt J. O. Van Bergen and J. P. Flint built the first steamer constructed above the Cas cades, naming her the James P. Flint, after their San Francisco partner. She made a very few trips to The DalUa before they found that there was no necessity for a steamer on those wa ters, and ran her over tne raptas to mo lower river. She was the first boat to make that trip After passing safsly over she steamed below until she ran onto a reef Jutting out into the river at a point near Multnomah falls, where she remained until 11(8. Captain Van Bergen becoming sole owner, raised and took her to Vsn'couver In the summer of that yesr. He cut her in two and lengthened her. took out the old ma ehinery and replaced It with that of the little Columbia, which had been dismantled. Her name waa alao changed to Fashion and she began a new career by running between Portland and the CasadeF. Her first machinery con sisted of but one engine, this being connected to the shaft turning the wheele on each side by gearing. Every one who knew anything personally of her said that her gearing could howl worse than anything elae they had ever heard. Indiana living along the river, hearing the echo of that awful noise, thought that pandemonium had broken out among their fabled gods, and made haste to get ss far away aa possible until Its true cauae was made known to thjem. The Fashion, the Belle snd the Seno rita all ran on the Portland - Cascade route In a go-as-you-please way, as traffic demanded, for some time. The former, In connection with the Buckle at Co. transfer, and the latter two with that of Bradford 4 Co. The Senorlta waa formerly the Ill-fated Oaselle, whose boiler exploded at Canemah In 1864, with terrible reaults, some 20 be ing killed and a dosen more Injured. Sue. ceding thle calamity aha was brought to the lower Willamette and to Portland, where ahe was repaired and given the name of Senorlta In 1868 her engines were tsken nut and mors powerful ones substituted In their place, the old ones finding their way Into a middle river steamer built about tbe aame time. She did considerable towing during the time she was In commission, being the first steamer to tow more than two sailing vsssels st the same time from Aatprla to Portland, In Oo- 'If p.- , Nlf Lv 'MP- Jasper Fuller, Oregon Pioneer, Indian Fighter and Fidiis Achates of Sheriff Tom Word, Who, With "Big Betsy," His Long Barreled Rifle, Forms s Combination Holding the Warwick Poolroom Against All Comers, r - Bullet-Headed Man to the Rescue , , f (HERE wss a large and hllar- I loua wedding party at tha I station when 1 took the train for the wet at Harrisburg one afternoon a few weeks ago," said a traveling insurance man. "The brake man was Just clearing hla throat to cry 'All aboard!' when a mischievous eyed young fellow forced his way through the party immediately aurrounding the brldb and bridegroom. "He took hold of a hand of each of them as If about to make a graceful little speech to them. Then grasping their two hands with his left hand, ho did a btt of fumbling in the tall pocket of his frock coat, brought tha hand out and quickly carried it to the polned hands of the pussled looking bride and bridegroom. There was a sharp little dick. " 'AH aboard!" yelled the brakeman and conductor, and the bride and bride groom had to do the best they could to scramble on board their car. "It len't easy to scramble on board a car when you're aecurely handcuffed to another peraon, especially when you're not used to handcuffs. And the young chap with the mischievous eyes had handcuffed the bridal couple together aa neatly aa a police officer could have done lt- "There waa a great shout from the wedding party when they saw the sit uation, and thsy were still yelling hl larloualy when the train pulled out. The bridal aouple, atandlng on the platform of the parlor car, looked at each other disconsolately. Thsre was a gleam of wrath in the bfidegroom'a eyes, and the corners of his wife's mouth were drawn down in the first pout of her married 11 ' "Clam pad together that way, the young couple turned from the platform and walked into the parlor car. the bridegroom ahead, hla right wrist se curely locked Into the left wrist of his pretty little wife, and pulling her after him. They aank into the first two vacant chairs they came to, their arms forming a brldgs between the chairs. "Anybody could see that they weren t going to be able to sit that way very long the position would be top tire some with their arms stretched out In that way. They aaw u inemaeives u fore they had been In their chairs a minute, and then they got up. looking very much chagrined, and walked to the rear to one of the day coaches, where they sat down with more comfort the bridegroom reeling hla ironed wrist in his wife's lap. ais.i "I felt sorry for them, but I dldn t feel like butting in some newly wed couples sre peculiar. Anyhow. I dldnt have any keys with me to unlock the handcuffs. Bo I took a seat a little way back from the steel Joined couple and waited to see what would happen. tober, 185(, she performed that taak. tbe veasels being a bark, a brig and a erhooner. Getting badly damaged dur ing a blow near the Caacadee In 18(8. she was sent to ths boneyar. From the time of the departure of the Flint from the middle river until 18(4 flatboats were again the trana ports on those waters In this year Bradford Co. built the Mary at the upper Caacadee. Whether her hull had formerly been a flatboat and was transformed Into a steamer by the addition of a cabin snd machinery I don't remember, but her build, waa of the flatboat pattern. She l"hoccuJ' a page In history outside of her. work as a traffic carrier. In 1(6( ahe l.y at Mill creek. Just above the raplda. when the Indian maaaacre of that year took place at the Cascsdes, and cams very near being captured and deatroyed by the hoatllee. Fortunately stesm was generated, under great dlfflcultlea,, and away ahe went to The Dalles to return with Uncle Sam's boys In blue, who quelled the outbreak with the aaslst ance ot othera coming from Vancouver, A - Bantam Tt VI ' ( sjaaaaaV ..sTsssssssW . .97 3najrirt V .- 'B3mJi Mr.- IM, rwfiS. "The conductor entered the car pres ently, demanding all tickets. When he came to the bridegroom, the young man smiled at him in a cbalkly sort of way. " 'My tickets,' he said to the conduc tor, "are in my right hand trousers pocket. You'll have to reach into that pocket and get them yourself.' and he stood up, his wife rising sheepishly with him. "The conductor darted a surprised look at the handcuffs, and then he Involun tarily glanced about the car for some body who might look like a detective or a keeper. Then he amlled gravely, and then looked sympathetic. He reached Into the dlagusted bridegroom's pocket and got out the tlcketa, which were neatly tucked away In an envelope, punched them and returned them to the pocket, whereupon the bridegroom and his bride resumed their seats. "'I'll be back directly,' said the con ductor, cheeringly, to the bridegroom, 'and see if I can't undo you two young folks.' "When he had finished taking up the tickets of ths train the conductor re turned to where the newly wed pair were seated and began to tinker with the handcuff of the young man with all of the keys that he had on hla key ring. But It waa no use. The keys wouldn't come Anywhere near doing the trick. 'The brakeman swung along while the conductor was fooling with the hand cuff, and atopped to look the proceeding over. Then he began to pick at the handcuff lock with the small blade of hla penknife. No go. "By this time word of the predica ment of the young couple had passed all through the train, and the helpful-ones began to appear from all the cars. A whisky drummer did the best he knew how to unlock the handcuff with, nrst, a corkscrew, snd, when that fizzled out a fountain pent which he carefully washed out before making the experi ment Nothing doing with either of those tools, either. 'The whisky drummer retired in favor of a middle aged man who approached the Job with a great deal ' ! quiet re assuring confidence. Hla Implement waa a pointed nail file. Said he'd seen a handcuff unlocked once at a crooks' con gress In a dime museum, or some such plsce. with a pointed nail file. He got htmaelf all "hat up' by poking away at the lock with the pointed nail file, and then he had to take a reat and mop hla forehead. "A fussy middle aged woman waa do ing the best ahe could with the lock by attempting to uae a wire hairpin on it, when a bullet headed chap, with a four days' growth of beard, slouched In from the smoking csf. He looked enough like the comic papers' pictures of the conven tional cracksman with ths protruding together with volunteers from Portland, en the Belle and Senorlta, At the time of this massacre there was but one blockhouse at the Cas cades, and that wag situated near the foot of the rapids. Here Is where Gen. Phil Sheridan, then a lieutenant, won his spurs This was built in November, 16G, under the superintendence of Capt. Henry D. Wallen Fourth U. 8. In fantry, and waa called Fort Bains, In honor of MaJ. Gabriel Balne of the aame command. .It was, however, alwaya called the middle blockhouse by civil ians. Ths one which stood on the eminence nesr ths upper landing for so man years, and erroneously called "Sheri dan's blockhouse," waa erected In April, 1850, under the aupervlaloh of Major Loughenbeel. Ninth V. B. Infantry. Aa the massacrs occurred In March, I860. It can readily be aeen that it could and did not figure In the conflict except as an afterthought Ae a matter of fact though the upper blockhouse wss oc cupied by a few soldiers for a short time. It was never the scene of actual 3m rtRf'"1'"' Jaw to be ones of them, and he wore a red bandana handkerchief around his neck and had a little cap pulled over his outstanding left ear. "He ahambled over to where the bride groom sat next hla sad' little wife, who was gaxing mournfully out of the win dow all this time " 'Hey, let's take a peak at them cuffs, bo,' said the bullet headed chap to the bridegroom, who gave an upward glafice betokening aome resentment at the fa miliarity. 'I've seen some o' them pulse warmeri that's easy.' 'They all made room for him. and he picked up the bridegroom's Immaculate hand in hla grimy paw and took a shrewd look at the style of the hand cuff. Then he dug Into one of his rear trousers pockets and brought something out. 'There were a lot of people standing In the aiale watching him, but none of them had as yet seen the thing that tbe bullet head brought out of his pocket. He kept - It In the palm of hla hand. Holding a it that way, and screening his use of it' with his other band, he applied It to the bridegroom'a handcuff. There waa a pleasing little click, anu the hand cuff fell apart "Now fr the little lady,' said the bullet head, an again with the expert application of that Invisible thing that he held In the palm of his hand the little click followed, and the young woman found herself freed. 'We all cheered the bullet head. We didn't care a hang about his antecedents or record, although it waa perfectly pal pable to all of ua that he hadn't gained his handcuff wisdom at the Y M. C. A., and that he wasn't carrying around toots to unlock 'era just for ballast. We Just cheered" him because we liked him, and because be was the right man in the right place. "The bridegroom looked delighted as he got up preparatory to escorting his bride to the parlor car. " 1 insist upon your scceptlng this,' skid he to the bullet head, peeling a yellow twenty from his roll. " 'Not on your slncograph, pal,' said the bullet head, as he turned to slouch back to the emoker. 'No use t'rowln' none o' that stuff away, now that you're spliced. Anyhow, I'm on velvet,' and he pulled out of his coat pocket a rubber banded bundle of the aepla hued papers as big aa a boy's size hat and gave us a flash at It Then he went back to the smoker, and we didn't see hlra any more. "But, wherever he goes, he'll carry with him the warmest regsrds tf that tralnload of passengers, and I. for one, hope that the next time he'a handcuffed himself he'll have that mysterious Utile Implement along with him and handy for uae." warfare, waa never besieged by Indians and no ahota were ever fired from Its port holes st an enemy. For three days the Indians were the masters of the field, and during the time some 1( whites lost their lives and 11 others received wounds mors or less se rious. Being stopped, the whites took an Inning and Chenoweth. chief of the Watlalaa, or Caacade Indians, and eight of hla band were hanged. The old chief, Indian-like, began proceedings for releaae, offering hie two squawa, horses and various chattels as' a purchase price of freedom. The knot was either badly tied or the drop waa not far enough to kill. for. as ha dangled between earth and heaven, he was heard to mutter, "Wake nlka quash copa memalooae,' when he Waa silenced by a bullet It has always been asserted, and no doubt truly, that this maasacre waa Instigated snd the foremost psrt taken In It by the Yaklmaa, but. If present, they retreated at an opportune moment back to their homes on the other side of the mountains. EN Sheriff Tom Word raided the pool-room of tne war- ick Commission company laat November 1. and ejected Manager M. O. Neaae and his employes, he selected a men he believed would exactly all the bill to place in posses sion and hold the cltadsl against sll oomers. That man Is Jasper Fuller. Oregon pioneer and Indian fighter. It Is strange in these piping times of peace to see an establishment In the cen ter of a city of 140,000 people closed by the tern decree of an executive officer and in charge of a man armed to the teeth. But unusual aa is the situation, more remarkable Is the personality of the man whose duty it is to gusrd the premises and allow none to enter but the representatives of the law. He is a man who by life and nature Is fitted perfectly for the work choeen for him. Grim nd grlxsled. his countenance seamed and furrowed by age and ex posure to the elements, old Jssper is svsr on the alert. His experience with tha Indiana has made him cautious, and be seldom wandere far from the corner In which stands "Big Betsey." his long barreled Marlln rifle, its magaalne Jammed full of cartridges a weapon whose appearance la In perfect harmony with that of its owner. 31g Betsey" was nanfed after h huge cannon at Fort Baker, Cal., which haa been sta tioned on the brow of the hill above Lima Point Its yawning mussle a menac. to any foreign man-of-war endeavoring to enter tha Golden Oata Moat of the time the old man may be aeen sitting at the window of the War wick, with the curtain drawn back so a not to impede his vision. Usually he is reading or smoking his pipe, but sometimes he simply sits there and watches pedestrians aa they paaa. Now and then he unlocks the door and steps outside for a breath of fresh air or to chat with a friend who may stop ti greet him. Hla bed la in the corner, a few feet from the door. The slightest sound serves to awsksn htm. Dike most men who have passed through stirring events for ths greater part of a lifetime, he sleeps, as it were, with one eye open. His meals are brought to him from a nearby retaurant, and though he gets little exercise hs eata heartily. Jaaper Fuller la in the true meaning of the phrase, a child of nature. The word "fear" la not in his vocabulary. He la aubborn of purpose and aa a rule not amenable to argument on anything regarding which he haa passed his opon Ion. His sense of fealty is highly de veloped. With him. If Sheriff Word says It is so. It la so. Why not? Ia not Tom Word the sheriff of Multnomah county, and Is not Jasper Fuller his deputy? He Is inclined to reticence as a role, this quaint deputy of the sheriff. On some subjects he will converse freely. But aa the tortoise will draw In its head when a touch warns it of danger, tha old man padlocks his lips when a question Is ssked on some topic which he has placed under the ban. "How old am IT" he echoed. "What yuh want to know that fur, anyhow? Ain't I furnished you fellers with enough stuff to put in the papers fur a whlls. Them pesky, papers Is altera af ter things that? don't lnt'reet nobody. Still, I don't know as a man's age la anything to be ashamed of; at leaat I ain't ashamed of mine. I'm (( years old and a darned good man yet " in aome ways. "Where'd I come from? Say. you're the moat curious-minded cuss I ever see. Well, I was born in Ohio, but Ivs been in Oregon fur nigh onto (0 year, about (( I think It Is. Oh, I'm a genuine web footer. I am. Yea. I been all brer this old state. I waa In Portland in '48, when two atores, a blacksmith ahop and a whisky mill was all there waa to the town, and they was located right on the river everywhere elee was brush." "Oot any children? Tou bet Oot four, all grown. The youngest, my little girl, I call her the baby, but ahe's big enough to work In one of the big department atorea, though. My wife la dead died at Vancouver three years ago." As the hardy old fellow referred to hla dead wife and hla "Babv" daughter, a abade of aadness crossed his face and a melancholy note entered his voice. It Is plain to see that he thought a great deal of that wife, the mother of his children. "Tell us something about those Indian fights you took part in, Jaaper." The old man raised one horny hand deprecatlngly, and the ghost of a smile hovered for an instant on hla features. "Say now, let'a drop that subject" he protested. "Of course, I waa mixed up In a lot of Indian fights. principally about CorvalHs in '67, but I don't think a man ahould talk too much about them things it looks too infernal muoh like a feller tootln' his own born, I opine. I never did take no stock in a man that was always blowln' about himself. Now yuh' mtght as wall drop It cause yuh ain't a-goin' to get a gol darned word about it. nohow." Asked If he had had many narrow escapea from death or Injury, ha chuckled. The thoughts conjured up by the query aeemed to lmpreaa him as be ing very humorous. He naively con fessed to having had many hair-breadth Sninplasters Vanisk as From the New York World. T is more than probable that should I one of the pressnt generation he given a 1( cent or a 26 cent note of the fractional currency so com mon In this country from 1888 to the middle of the seventies, he or she would refuse to take it, on the ground that It was either spurious or a piece of Con federate money. The whole amount outatandlng against the government as a debt at this time Is only a little more than 818.8(0,000. While there are so many persons who sre not familiar with the "ahln plasters." aa they were commonly dubbed, there are atUl many left to whom they recall vivid memories. When the years are reckoned It waa not so long ago that this medium of exchange waa much In evidence and along with the thought of It cornea tha recollection of the count less advertising schemes that were baaed upon a suitable pocketbook or holder for thla currency. The first Issue of the fractional postal currency waa made under an act au thorising It passed July 7. laat, and 820.116,816 was Issued In denominations of 6. 10, fl. and (0 cents. The second and all Isauea thereafter ware made under an act passed March 8, 18(6. In the second Issue the denominations were the aama ss In the first, the amount being It8,164,4.t8.((. A new denomina tion was Introduced In tbe third Issue the three cent note snd the amount lasued was nearly twice aa much as that already In circulation undsr ths two prevlou Issues 88.116. 028.80. In this last issue there were two 60 cent notes, escapes from death, but would give no Instances. "Yea, slree," be commented. "I guess I've had a little more'n my share of etch things." His prssent abode, with a native humor which distinguished him. ha calls "Port Arthur." When the news of Circuit Judge George's decision that an injunc tion would not be granted Manager Nease, restraining Sheriff Word from longer Jboldlng possession of the War wick waa carried to him. Fuller was la high fsttle. "They've made all kinds of assaulta on old Port Arthur," he cackled, "but by gum, the old fort la still untook. I guess we're a-goln' to stay here till the Jap take St Petersburg, by Jlmlny! I tell you that little sawed-off sheriff is a corker. He keeps 'am all a-gueaaln' for sure. Wall, one thing Is purty danged cert'n Jest as long aa Tom Word says, 'You hold that Joint down.' I'm a-goln' to hold her down, and don't you forget It. The man that ain't got no right in here and tries to butt In Is sartln aura a-goln' to hear 'Big Betsy' bark) And when tha old lady barks she Ken' rally makes an all-fired good stag ger at blttln' 'bout the same time." The old man took up his rifle and stroked Its long barrel' lovingly as he spoke. Hs meant what he said. When he was Installed at the Warwick he In formed Deputy Sheriff Sam Downey that the first man who "fools with that there door will get a leg shot off." Dep uty Downey explained to him that he should not shoot In case anybody "fooled with the door," but ahould wait for the door to be broken open before he used his gun. Ha waa also advised to stand at the side of the door, and If ha shot to let his gun be pointed in such a direction that the bullet would enter the thick wall at the side of the building. Dow ney did not anticipate a raid on the place, but thought it beat to have the new deputy properly coached In case of an emergency. I - "You see," explained Sam. "if you should shoot so that ths bullet would fly across the street you might kill an Innocent person or shoot a horse or other anlmaL" Old Jasper shook his head sagely, after receiving the advice of the more (experienced deputy. Then aiming a stream or tobacco juice ac a vagrant, fly crawling along the floor, he bowled the Insect over with an accuracy indi cative of long practice, "I kin see where that's good advice. Bam." he answered. 'We don't want to have no innocent blood on our handa" He has some particularly odd traits of character, thla grlm-vlsaged old man. His wants are few and easily supplied. A bed-to sleep In. three good meals a day. a pipe and smoking tobacco, a plug of chewing tonacco these mske him, content. But lately ha haa seen something of which possession would give him happinees. Policeman Qulntoa'a beat ia on Fourth street, and aa he saunters op and down, past the Warwick, Jasper sets envious eyes on hla star. It la a big, bright star, while the one the sheriff's deputy wears la mailer and old and tarnished. To him that large, highly polished star, worn by Police man Quinton la a thing of which its owner should be proud. "Of course, I don't expect many peo ple would really see It. as my Job don't take me prancln' 'round the streets." thoughtfully murmured the veteran who holds "Port Arthur." "but then, by gum, I'd kinder Have to look down and see it now and then myself." Frequently street urchins and news boys try to have a little fun with Dep uty Sheriff Fuller. They rattle the door and run away, sometimes coming back to stand In front of the window snd make faces at the custodian of the place. He takes these pranks quietly, his stolid face giving "Yto clew to his thoughts. But the humor in the old men's composition sometimes is in evi dence. '' . A few days ago several small boys congregated In front of the Warwick and began to 'Josh" him. Beaching Into hla pocket, he auddenly brought out his briar pipe and pointed It at them. Ev ery lad In the group ducked and aprlnted aa if for Ufa Then the old Indian fighter fairly haw-hawed. "Boys will be boys." he said, hut now and then a feller has to oheck em up a little or they get too fresh. Guess that gang thought they was dead ones, aura" Next door to the Warwick Is kept on exhibition a giant boa constrictor spe clea This snake Is the one unpleasant thing In Jasper'a exiatence. It la the only thing. In point of fact, that per turba him In the leaat. He hatea the sight of a snake. "Afraid?" he echoed: "Nb.'SI ain t afraid of that snake nor of any other reptile" (he sounds the "1" long), "but darned If It don't cause a kind of un comfortable feelln' to creep over a feller to know a peaky critter like that big snake Is colled up on the other side of the wall from where he's sleepin'. And then that heathen cuss that's all blacked up and marked like a seby, and keeps his head workln' out all the time like a bloomln' Jack-in-the-box, gives me a tired feelln' evry time I see him." a rare occurrence in the same series. Ons haa a picture of Justice and the other a portrait of Spinner, the latter being a highly prised specimen of the currency. The three cent note and this 60 cent note form two of the "hardest" specimens. In the vernacvular of the small boy and the collector, to obtain. In the fourth laaue there were three series, the first carrying 10, 16, 26 and 60 cent notes, and the other two addi tional 60 cent bills. The 16 cent note made its first appearancs at this time, and the amount Issued was 1176.6(7,082. The last Issue carried but three denomi nations, the 10, 28 and (0 cent notes, the smount put into circulation being 162. (161, SOU. The notes of the first three Issues were not very artistic and were too small, with ths exception of the two (0 cent notes of the third Issue. The last two issues were really beautiful specimens of the art of engraving and bank note printing, the notes of ths last laaue resembling the familiar treasury note of todsy In miniature There are eoma specimens of this currency which. In the eyes of collectors, at least, are worth very much more than others. A II cent note with the heeds of Grant snd Shermant is very valuable. a la the 10 cent note with the head of Spinner and red back, tome of the notea that are not especially valuable or rare triple their commercial value ahould they possess red backs. The 16 cent note cited above Is the moat sought after note In the whole set of fractional cur rency. , I