HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON. THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1926.
PAGE THREE
WELLS SPRINGS
STORY IS 10
By Leslie M. Scott,
(Read by Judge R. t. Benge of
Heppner at Wells Springs Marker
Dedication Service, Sunday, June 6,
1.626.)
Well Springs supplied necessary
water on the main route of the Old
Oregon Trail, the ox-team highway of
the pioneers who journeyed overland
to Oregon, beginning in 1843. Prior
to that year, the travelers pursued
the route of the Columbia River, IB
miles to the north, using boats from
Wallula or journeying by land on the
Oregon side of that stream, either
from Wallula or the mouth of Uma
tilla River.
We find the first definite reference
to these springs in an Oregon Trail
diary of 1847, and in the campaign of
the Cayuse War early in 1848. The
author of the present narrative has
divided this inquiry into two periods
that precede and follow those references.
He it remembered that the pioneer
journey in the region of the Snake
and Columbia rivers was especially
difficult and exhausting. The country
is rough, the land is dry, water sup
plies in ox-team transport were far
apart, grass became scarce, heat and
dust were oppressive, sickness was
prevalent, food had to be carried in
the wagons or obtained from slaugh
ter of jaded cattle, there was little
or no wild game, salmon supplies
were unpalatable and dangerous, fre
quent graves afforded mute evidence
of the extremities of suffering. Traces
of nearly a score of graves near Well
Springs are seen at this late day;
doubtless there were many other bur
ials in this locality. The name of
only one person interred there is
known, Robert Evan Williams, who
died in September, 1852, a tablet to
whose memory is to be dedicated there
June 6, 1926. The writer of these
lines recalls in this connection a
touching commentary on the many
deaths of the Oregon Trail, in 1852:
"There are many poor emigrants who
arc halting amid the beauties of this
wild and extended plain, and laying
their bodies beneath its turf where
sweet flowers will grow, wither and
die over them for ages to come."
(Scott, History of the Oregon Coun
try, III, 258). .There is authority for
the statement that 30,000 persons died
on the Oregon Trail west of Missouri
River in the years 1842-59. The bur
ial ground at Well Springs was one of
the many used by Oregon Trail trav
elers. In the dry period of autumn, when
most of the pioneer travelers toiled
over this part of the ox-team trail.
Well Springs afforded the only water
between Butter Creek and Willow
Creek. The distance from Butter
Creek is 18 miles; to Willow Creek
is 12 miles, Each distance meant a
day's journey to and from these
springs. Charles II. Carey, in his
"History of Oregon" (441), says:
"The part of the journey after leav
ing Fort Walla Walla," now Wallula,
"was the most difficult of oil."
One diary writer of 1862 (John T.
Kearns) says; "Dirty faces are as
numerous as the stars every evening.
Thanks be to the rewardcr of
troubles, who some day will get us
dirty-faced boys and girls out of this
dirty-faced kingdom." A diary writer
of 1853 (Henry Allyn) says: "We
hear disastrous accounts of the heavy
mortality behind us; some havo lost
their teams, and are obliged to leave
their wagons and depend on the mer
cy and nhility of their fellow emi
grants for assistance. Where we
passed, the stench of carcasses was
very offensive;"
These springs, two In number and
400 yards apart, doubtless marked an
Indian trail, which the wagons of the
whites pursued as an available road.
The Indians In spring time journeyed
to the vicinity of The Dalles to fish
and trade, and in the fall, to Blue
Mountains to hunt game. The first
of the two springs yields inferior wa
ter, the other good water. Many pio
neers did not see the second spring
until later, or until the next day. The
hrst spring bubbles constantly with
in escaping gas which taints the wa
ter with the flavor of oil or sulphur,
i;s the travelers variously said. This
gas, when collected, is explosive. Both
springs, as the name implies, yield
water as a well does, the water being
beneath the prevailing ground sur
fuce. The surrounding land is dry in
'he summer and fall seasons, sparsely
covered with small sagebrush and an
oicasional shrub juniper. The only
tree now in sight is a locust, at the
second spring, perhaps 40 years old.
The first known settler on the land
was Newton Smith, who established
there a stage station about the year
1863. The land now (1926) is used
for a sheep ranch, owned by Joseph
T. Peters of Portland. Formerly,
these springs were contained in the
large county or district of Clackamas,
"844; they were in Wasco county in
1854; in Umatilla County in 1862,
t.nd since 1885 have been in Morrow
County. (These mutations remind
one of the old story of the ground
squirrel, which animal was said to
n-:grate, apparently from county to
county, yet always kept the same old
hole.) j
Probably the first whites to tra-'
verse the locality of these springs
were John Work and his party of
Hudson's Bay Company fur hunters,
v.-ho passed by in 1831, on their way
to Wallula (Old Fort Walla Walla,
Fort Nez Perce), from Humboldt Riv
?r in California (Quarterly, Oregon
Historical Society, XIV, 313). Lewis
and Clark In 1805-06 and the Astor
ians in 1811-12, followed the Colum
bia River, north of these springs.
Nathaniel Wyeth, in 1832 and 1834,
and William H. Gray, in 1836, travel
ed the Columbia River by ci;noe, from
Wnllula to The Dalles; also, Elijah
White and Medorcm Crawford in
li42; Johnson and Winter, Burnett.
Beagle and the Applegates in 1843
(Mcdorem Crawford, Oregon Pioneer
Association, 'Transactions,' 1881, 3;
Eancroft's Oregon, I, 407). The Col
umbia River was the regular avenue
of transport of the fur hunters, Brit
ir.h and American, before the ox-team
settler period, which began in 1842-43.
John A. Sutter passed through this
locality to California in 1838 (Ban
croft's Oregon, I, 165). But neither
Work nor Sutter specitirally speak
of the springs in the history records,
nor did they use wagon. Robert
Newell and Joseph L. Meek, Oregon
pioneers of 1840, traveled from Wal
'.ula to The Dalles by the Columbia
River land trail, south side, leaving
their wagons in the Walla Walla
country (Newell in "Oregon Herald,"
March 3, 1887); also, T. J. Farnham
in 1840, Fremont in 1843, Edward
Evans Parrish in 1844, and Joel Pal
mer in 1845.
We may reasonably assume that
many of the ox-team pioneers of 1843
used the Well Springs road. Nesmith
says "a large number of the wagons
with a portion of the stock did reach
Walla Walla and The Dalles, from
which points they were taken to the
Willamette the following year, 1844
(Oregon Poineer Association "Trans
actions," 1876). Daniel Waldo was one
of these travelers (Bancroft's Ore
gon, I, 405). Burnett says, "Another
and the larger portion made their
way with their teams and wagons to
The Dalles." The number of over
land pioneers in 1843 is given by El
wood Evans as 875 (Oregon Pioneer
Association "Transactions," 1877);
1844, 3000; in 1846, 1350. So that we
may assume that between 1843 and
1847, in which latter year we find
specific reference to these springs,
this road was in frequent use. The
rou to the north, 15 miles, along
Columbia River, was rougher, longer,
and steeper; it wound up and round
nad down high points and deep can
yons that jutted into that stream.
It followed down Umatilla River from
Echo, 30 miles east of Well Springs.
Ralph C. Geer, pioneer of 1847, used
the Well Springs route, for his nar
rative speaks of Rock. Creek, which
flows into John Day River 35 miles
west of Well Springs. This road
forked, some five miles weBt of John
Day River, at Webfoot Spiings, the
right branch leading northwest to
Biggs and. the mouth of Deschutes
River; the left branch leading to
Shearer's Bridge of Deschutes River,
Buck Hollow, Tygh Valley and Bar
low Road. Elizabeth Dixon Smith,
pioneer of 1847, afterwards wife of
Joseph C. Geer, makes specific refer
ence to Well Springs: "Here we
found a great hole of water, 12 or 15
feet across. Had to water 150 head of
cattle with pails. Had to stand out
all night in the rain to keep the cat
tle from drowning." (October 17,
'847.)
P. V. Crawford, August 29, 1851,
says: Well Springs, "in a sort of
valley or depression in the hills, and
consists of several small mounds with
nater boiling up in the center and
sinking to the base of the mounds."
Origen Thomson, on September 4,
1862, says: "Never was so dry in my
life; drank half a gallon or more dur
ing the fifteen minutes we were here."
E. W. Conyers, September 6, 1852:
"Wells Springs very srtongly
When business is slow and you feel blue, read this article
on how Fred Andersen, "The Miracle Merchant," does
A $225,000 Business in a Town of 1300 People
Central Market
C W. McNAMER, Proprietor
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AND POULTRY
Call us when you have anything in our
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Phone Main 652
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impregnated with sulphur, and fit only
for the cattle, and hardly fit for that
Some danger of the cattle getting
mired at this spring. Another spring.
the water a little better."
John Tucker Scott, September 10,
There were about 30 wagons ahead
of us, and the cattle had to be watered
out of buckets, a alow process when
so many were wanting water."
John T. Kerns, September 10, 1852:
"A mudhole spring a pretty sick
one we had to carry out about
two wagon loads of mud before we
could get water enough for cooking
purposes."
Cornelia A. Sharp, September 12,
18B2: "Watered at the Well Springs."
James Akin in his diary of Septem
ber 27, 1852, speaks of "Muddy Spring,
water scarce and not good."
Cecelia Emily McMillen Adams, Oc
tober 15, 1852: "A spring of miser
able water."
The outstanding episode of this
place was the accidental death of Cor
nelius Gilliam, on March 24, 1848.
Colonel Gilliam commanded the vol
unteer forces sent from the Willam
ette Valley against the Cayuse In
dians, to avenge Dr. Whitman and his
missionary associates who were mas
sacred at Waiilatpu, near the present
city of Walla Walla, in November,
1847. In drawing from a waeon a lar
iat, Gilliam discharged a rifle, the bul
let of which caused his death. The
"Oregon Spectator," published at Ore
gon uty, on April 6, 1848, speaks of
this scene as "at the serine this side
of Umatilla River." H. K. Hines, in
"History of Oregon" (page 204)
speaks of the place at "Will SDrines .'
evidently misprinted for Well Springs,
not tar from the batt eeround of
Sand Hollow." The body of Gilliam
was transported to the Willamette for
burial. Gilliam County bears his name.
The battle of Sand Hollow, some
eight miles east of Well Springs, was
tought by Colonel Gilliam's volun
teers on February 24, 1848, one month
before the date of his death. The bat
tle began in retaliation for the shoot-
ng of a dog of an American by a Cay
use. The battle was not decisive, be
cause of the escape of the savac-es
northward. The Indians learned,
however, to respect the Americans,
whom they had professed to despise.
The savages had called the Americans
"women," and boasted that they
would beat the Americans to death
with clubs. About 100 squaws looked
on, prepared to mutilate the dead.
Chief Gray Eagle, who boasted of his
invulnerability, was killed by Tom
McKay, and Chief Five Crows was
shot by Charles McKay. The Indians
vaunted their purpose of invading the
Willamette and capturing the white
men's women. Some accounts say
eleven Americans were wounded.
About 300 Indian warriors participat
ed. The Americans used a ship can
non, a nine-pounder, which they had
mounted on wagon wheels.
The result of this campaign was the
seizure by Americans of Walla Walla
Valley and dispersion of the Cayuses.
The American line of supply and
transport for several months passed
by Well Springs. This military cam
paign was supported by the energy of
Willamette Valley settlers and rela
tively was the severest military effort
that Oregon ever has put forth.
Well bpnngs again marked the Ore
gon line of supply for volunteer
forces in the Yakima War of 1855-56
against Indians of the Walla Walla
country. In this campaign, the Ore
gon volunteers led by Major Mark A.
Lhinn, marched from Well Springs
to establish Fort Henrietta at Echo
on Umatilla River, 30 miles eastward.
In the Bannock-Piute war of 1878 In
dians carried hostilities from John
Day Valley into Umatilla Valley.
Another battle with Indians, but
more distant, was that of Willow
Springs, 30 miles south of Pendleton
at head of Birch Creek, some 75 miles
east of Well Springs, on July 6, 1878.
Captain Sperry commanded 45 volun
teers, and 500 or 600 friendly Indians,
against 2300 Indians, mostly Snakes.
The Oregon Historical Society has a
large painting of this battle scene.
This battle was preceded by similar
engagements on July 2 and 4, 1878. On
July 8, 1878, probably on Butter
Creek, General Howard, commanding
regular soldiers, defeated the Indians
decisively. Armed steamboats quelled
Indian outbreaks along Columbia Riv
er, and in the near vicinity.
Thus, these springs hold a signif
icance in the pioneer history of our
commonwealth. It is fitting that these
two tablets should be dedicated, to
commemorate scenes that have taken
place here, and actors who have gone
this way before.
The writer of this narrative is In
debted for many details to Mr. J. Neil
son Barry, head of the Boy Scout
Trail Seekers and Secretary of the
Portland Museum Association; Miss
Nellie B. Pipes, librarian of the Ore
gon Historical Society; Mr. John
Fulton of Sherman County; Mr. Frank
Gilliam of Heppner, and Mrs. Lulu
D. Crandall of The Dalles.
Service and the Small
Account
This bank is a service institution organized to meet finan
cial necessities of its depositors. The amount of its ser
vice, to its dpeositors often depends on the bank balances
they maintain.
This bank must carefully protect the funds deposited
here by its depositors. Money can be loaned only when
we feel sure that it will be safe. When a depositor main
tains a reasonably large, steady balance, it is an indica
tion to us that he knows how to use money successfully.
It gives us a reason to believe that loans to him will be
safe. That is one reason why depositors who maintain
large balances get better service from their bank. They
are entitled to it.
And even more than that, a large balance provides
the depositor with sufficient funds to take care of emer
gencies and business opportunities that may arise.
MM-
Farmers & Stockgrowers National
Heppner Bank Oregon
T'
Reprinted with Permission of Forbes Magazine
HIS is the story of Fred Andersen, Mir
acle Merchant of Cozad, Nebraska, a dy
namic, two-fisted he-merchant with a
think-tank that registers a new merchandis
ing idea every minute. He has a department
' store which covers a quarter of a block, with
37,000 square feet of floor space and get this,
all in a town with a population of only 1,300,
doing more business per cap
ita than any other known
business institution.
How does he do it, how
does he turn his stock three
and one-half times each sea
son, in a village of 1,300
jeople, in a county which
gravely boasts of 8,000 in
habitants? Advertising and Co-operation.
Let me tell you the story
briefly.
Andersen advertises some
thing somewhere every day.
Advertising and Service is a
fetish with Andersen. He
uses full page ads twice a
week in the bi-weekly town
and county papers.
Then there are the service
features. Some merchant
folks do a lot of crabbing
when a church holds a ba
zaar, a rummage sale, or a
food sale. They say it cuts
into their profits. Not so
with Andersen ; he gives free space in his store
for such sales. At the last sale 400 women
came into his place to purchase the church
products. The church made a net profit of
$40 from those buyers. His profit was over
ten times the amount from the same group.
Wins Friendship of Young Folks
Then there are the high school boys who
come in every day from the country. They
bring their lunches and eat them in Ander
sen's store. He doesn't have a cafeteria, but
he does arrange to have tables for the young
people and always sees that their coffee is kept
hot for them. Boys nearly always have money
to spend. They grow up. They have families
more business for Andersen.
Not long ago forty Poles and their families
moved into the county. The merchant of Coz
ad heard about this and when they came he
had his trucks meet them at the station and,
free of charge, moved them and all their per
sonal property to the new homes. Then he
FRED ANDERSEN
Who endorses advertising
in his statement, "You gotta'
keep tellin' 'em!"
mailed to each family a letter welcoming them
and suggesting that his store was always
ready to serve oldtimers and newcomers alike.
To date they have purchased over $30,000.00
worth of merchandise.
He's literally surrounded by a number of
larger towns and several small cities. Only
fifty miles away there is a city of 10,000 peo
ple, and that's not distance at
all for the folks of Nebras
ka. Andersen's big job is to
keep them coming to Cozad.
In Winter this is often a
problem. After a storm, An
dersen immediately checks
up on the roads, and as soon
as a blocked highway is dis
covered he telephones to the
state or county maintenance
commissioner who sends out
the plows. In the weekly let
ter that follows, Andersen
suggests the best route to
town. All this is advertis
ing, the right kind of adver
tisingnot only copy that
tells what merchandise to
buy, but where to come and
how to get there.
Said Mr. Andersen during
his talk, "Blessed are they
who are too meek to adver
tise; it makes it all the
easier for the rest of us."
And then I questioned.
"To whom do you direct the
greater portion of your copy?" And he an
swered in that quick-fire, dynamic way of his,
"To the women, of course. The women read
the ads. The women do the buying they are
the real shoppers.
Must Stick to Facts
"But advertising alone won't get you very
far," he went on. "You must have truth in
your advertising tell the absolute facts and
no more. For this reason we sell nationally
advertised merchandise. We never cut prices.
If you have the right products and then ad
vertise right you'll never have to. But, be
lieve me, you've got to tell 'em." i
In Winter, the store has afternoon tea par
ties for the ladies, and in Summer they serve
lemonade. That's all a part of the folksy kind
of advertising that keeps and holds a commun-
ity spirit and draws-people to trade at the
community store.
h A MERCHANT'S CODE
Here is Fred Andersen's code for the merchant: Your face is the mirror of your soul: Keep it trimmed with sun
shine and radiance. Your store window is the mirror of your store. Keep it trimmed tied up with your advertising.
Goodwill is more than a spoken word. It implies the Golden Rule theme of business. Get it and keep it. U Be a part
of your community, energetic in its activities. If Boost your competitors. Perhaps some day they'll be customers, Talk
to folks in your advertising; not at them. Advertise not only your store, but every local association and interest that is
worth while.