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4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL NOVEMBER 29, 2017 O PINION Offbeat Oregon History: Vigilante gunfi ght In the 1890s, 47-year-old Kelsay Porter lived alone on a remote farm in the foothills of the Wallowas, in a tiny Union County community called Pine Val- ley. He was a shy, timid bachelor who had moved to this remote place for privacy, sometime in the 1880s. And for many years, he got his privacy, and lived harmoniously with the few neighbors. But then the Mache family moved in next door. Ben and Mary Mache, with their 17-year-old son Ben Jr., had blown into Pine Valley a few months before, and already they had a reputation in the community as “hard characters.” This was especially the case with the younger Ben, who carried a six-shooter and used it far more than was considered appropriate. He didn’t use it to shoot to kill — but he’d been known to send bullets zipping past people’s ears to make his point. At Christmastime in 1895 he had just been released from the state prison, where he’d served a short stretch for rustling cattle. For Porter the problem was, the most con- venient road to the Mache farm was a shortcut across Porter’s land, which came within just a few feet of his barn. Porter’s initial request that the Maches use a different route was ignored. So he built a fence across it. The Maches tore the fence down. Porter went to the justice of the peace to complain; the justice told him to just ignore them, because there was nothing the law could do about it. But word of Porter’s complaint reached the Maches, and infuriated them. The elder Ben Mache threatened to kill Porter. Porter responded by having a judge put him in bond. By Finn JD John For The Sentinel Young Ben Jr. was not under bond, though, and therefore could do as he wished without worry- ing about losing his bond. So he decided to get even, and he and a friend rode out to Porter’s farm with their six-shooters drawn. They found Porter working in his fi eld, and opened fi re — sending bullets zipping by his ears and into the ground near his feet. Terrifi ed, Porter ran and hid in his house; thereupon, Ben and his friend leisurely stole some horse tack from his barn and went on their way. It was after this incident that Kelsay Porter bor- rowed a Winchester rifl e. He fi gured if the law wouldn’t do anything, he’d better be ready to do something himself. Then came New Year’s Day in 1896. The events of that day are still in some dispute. There are two versions: the one Kelsay Porter gave when he turned himself in later that day; and the one the Union County coroner and sheriff de- veloped after looking over the scene. Here’s Porter’s version of the story: On that day, the Maches were driving a sleigh pulled by two horses, returning home to their farm; Ben Jr. rode behind them. Porter was on the roof of his house, clearing off snow. As the sleigh passed his barn, Porter shouted at the Maches to stay off his land. “You lie!” retorted the elder Mache. “This is a public highway. If you fence it up again, we’ll kill you!” Ben Jr. apparently thought this was his cue to go into action, and he once again fi lled the air around Porter’s ears with buzzing lead. Porter jumped from the roof and again ran into his house — but this time, he didn’t stay in it. He came out with the Winchester ready to go, and he appears to have gone clear berserk. Ben Jr., sitting high on his horse, was the fi rst to go down under a hail of Winchester lead, but Porter didn’t stop there. The team bolted with the sleigh; Porter followed after, still fi ring. A stray bullet killed Mary Mache. Another hit one of the horses and it fell dead, pitching Ben Sr.’s body over into the creek. Porter continued shooting into the now-dead bodies of his neighbors until all of his bullets were gone — there were 18 bullet wounds found in the Maches, plus the one that hit the horse. So, that was Kelsay Porter’s story, and he was sticking to it. But after traveling out to the farm from Union City, coroner E.R. Lang and sheriff’s deputy J.H. McLachlin started to suspect some- thing fi shy about his story. Dr. Lang fi gured out that Ben Sr. had actually been killed not by gun- fi re, but by being clobbered with something — probably the rifl e butt. So Porter had chased Ben Sr. down, and beat him to death? And then stood over his obviously dead victims thumbing car- tridges into the side of the Winchester for a good 45 seconds, then squared off and blasted away some more. Why? Because he was still blind with battle fury? Or to stage the scene so it looked more like a gunfi ght? Also, the deputy found, looking on that roof, that much of the snow on it was packed down, and it looked an awful lot like someone had been lurking there waiting for the sleigh to come along. From up on that roof, Porter would have been able to see, and shoot, a good long distance. Had Porter actually waited there, shot the boy from ambush before he could reach pistol range, then chased after the parents as they tried to race away on the sleigh, picking Mary off and then shooting a horse to stop their fl ight? Had he then run up to the wreckage, clubbed Joseph to death with his empty rifl e, reloaded, and pumped eight more rounds into the dead body so that it would look like a fair fi ght? What he saw at the scene convinced the deputy that this was the real story. The real turning point was the fi nding of how Ben Sr. had died. Had “Old Man Mache” been killed in an exchange of bullets, with his notoriously trigger-happy son in- volved, no one would have made much of a fuss — not in eastern Oregon in 1896. And they prob- ably would have viewed the shooting of Mary Mache as a tragic accident. But chasing a man down and bashing his head in with a rifl e butt was not the sort of thing a fellow can claim was done in self-defense. In the end the jury agreed, and sentenced Kel- say Porter to hang for murdering the family. As the day of the execution drew near, Porter remained true to his shy, quiet nature. He gave no interviews and declined to say anything to the crowd of gawkers that stared up at him as he stood on the gallows on Friday, Nov. 9, 1897; he went to his death silent as a sphinx. But he wrote a short letter, just before his execution, and handed it to a Presbyterian minister to be released after his death. “This is my last request on Earth,” he wrote. “The real cause of my trouble is the way children are raised to live too easy, regardless of the law of justice and right. Parents, please raise your chil- dren with a principle that will defend their char- acter.” In other words, he was blaming everything on Ben and Mary Mache’s parenting style. Dr. Fuhrman:Osteoporosis and how to prevent it About 60 percent of women and 40 percent of men over 50 have low bone mass, and those numbers increase with age. The National Osteoporosis Founda- tion estimates that 50% of wom- en and 25% of men over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture during their lifetime. Bone is constantly being bro- ken down and rebuilt, and in os- teoporosis, there is an imbalance leading to a decrease in bone mass and an increase in fracture risk. The best protection against osteoporosis is to tip the balance back toward bone building with a combination of exercise and excellent nutrition Exercise: When we increase muscle strength, we increase bone strength, which is why strength training is important. Mechanical forces produced by exercise stimulate activity in bone-building cells, leading to denser, stronger bones – not just stronger muscles. Weight-bear- ing exercises improve balance and build bone strength, and non-weight bearing strength training also helps increase bone density. While swimming and biking are good for car- diovascular conditioning, they don’t help protect against oste- oporosis like running or lifting weights. In women who are at a risk for osteoporosis, back strengthening exercises are es- pecially benefi cial for protec- tion against spinal fractures. For women, I also recommend wearing a weighted vest for a few hours each day. A weighted vest can be worn during exer- cise and also while you work or shop and bend, stand, and move C ottage G rove S entinel (541) 942-3325 throughout the day. Wearing a weighted vest also burns extra calories, increases core strength and stabilizes muscles, thus im- proving balance and decreasing the risk of falls. Calcium from greens, seeds and beans: Ninety-nine percent of the body’s calcium is stored in bone. The intermingling of bone mineral with colla- gen fi bers provides bone with strength and fl exibility. A diet full of natural plant foods pro- vides the calcium required to build strong bones. Green veg- etables in particular are rich cal- cium sources. For example, one four-ounce serving of steamed kale has just as much calci- um as one cup of cow’s milk. Broccoli, bok choy, sesame seeds, and garbanzo beans are also excellent calcium sources. Furthermore, the body absorbs about 50 percent of the calcium in many green vegetables, com- pared to only 32 percent of the calcium in milk. I don’t recom- mend high-dose (1000 mg/day) calcium supplements, because some studies have linked these supplements to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and high dose calcium supplements have not been superior to lower doses in studies on preventing bone fractures. Magnesium from nuts and seeds: Calcium is important, but it’s not the only bone-building mineral. Sixty percent of the body’s magnesium, which is es- sential for bone formation and structure, is found in bone. Al- most half of Americans do not meet the recommended intake for magnesium. Vitamin K1 from green veg- etables: Vitamin K is a crucial component for maintaining healthy bones, specifi cally for the process of bone mineraliza- tion. Higher intake of vitamin K1 is associated with lower rates of bone loss and fractures. Vitamin K exists as K1 and K2; the richest source of K1 is green vegetables, and K2 is produced by microorganisms. It is import- ant to get both K1 from green vegetables and K2 from a sup- plement. Plant protein from beans, seeds, and nuts: Starting in mid- life and especially after the age of 70, it becomes more import- ant to ensure adequate protein intake for healthy bones. Phy- tate from beans, whole grains, nuts and seeds: Phytate was once known as an “anti-nutri- ent,” a substance that prevents us from absorbing certain min- erals, however the phytate in plant foods might actually ben- efi t bone health. Studies have found that women who con- sume more phytate had either greater bone mineral density or less bone mass loss over time. Antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables: The best foods for bone health are whole plant foods. Studies show that indi- viduals with the highest con- sumption of fruit and vegetables have the strongest bones. High- er levels of oxidative stress are linked to lower bone mineral density, suggesting that the an- tioxidant content of fruits and vegetables may be partially re- sponsible for their bone health benefi ts. Bone-healthy supplements: The major source of vitamin D for most people is sun exposure, and vitamin K2 is not easily ob- tained from plant foods. It is im- portant to get adequate amounts of these bone-supporting vita- mins, and supplements are use- ful. Vitamin D regulates calci- um and phosphorus absorption. The worst foods for bone health are those that cause calcium to be removed from bone and lost Administration James Rand, Regional Publisher Gary Manly, General Manager ................................................. Ext. 207 gmanly@cgsentinel.com Aaron Ames, Marketing Specialist ........................................... Ext. 216 aames@cgsentinel.com Tammy Sayre, Marketing Specialist ......................................... 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Ext.215 graphics@cgsentinel.com (USP 133880) Subscription Mail Rates in Lane and Portions of Douglas Counties: Ten Weeks..............................................................................................$9.10 One year ............................................................................................. $36.15 e-Edition year ...................................................................................... $36.00 Rates in all other areas of United States: Ten Weeks $11.70; one year, $46.35, e-Edition $43.00. in the urine. Excess sodium pro- motes the excretion of calcium. High caffeine intake is associ- ated with increased bone loss and osteoporotic fractures. A nutrient-dense, plant-rich (Nu- tritarian) diet, combined with the conservative use of supple- ments assures individuals they are achieving maximum protec- tion against later life disease. LETTER TO THE EDITOR According to Cottage Grove Sentinel article the re- cent waterline rupture caus- ing some homeowners dam- age to their properties is not the City's fault and therefore the affected folks are stuck with the clean up bills and their homeowners insurance probably wont help them ei- ther for needed repairs. Per City's manager, Mr. Meyers stated that city will not help these tax paying citizens. He quotes that an investiga- tion done by City / County Insurance Services declared that there was no negligence on the city's part. Perhaps no negligence but the city still owns the equipment, i.e. the waterline.His reasoning that maybe in the future there may be some kind of disaster, perhaps an earthquake and maybe some people may sue. Very lame explanation if you ask me. According to Meyers he doesn't want " open legal can of worms". I feel very sorry for the affected home- owners. If a law suit is in the cards for them, then maybe they can all chip in and get the legal representation they need for all of them. I just wonder if any of the City's upper management folks lived in this affected neigh- borhood then the outcome as far as help would be dif- ferent? Susan Zaji Cottage Grove Letters to the Editor policy In foreign countries, postage extra. No subscription for less than Ten Weeks. Subscription rates are subject to change upon 30 days’ notice. All subscritptions must be paid prior to beginning the subscription and are non-refundable. Periodicals postage paid at Cottage Grove, Oregon. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Local Mail Service: If you don’t receive your Cottage Grove Sentinel on the Wednesday of publication, please let us know. 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