1
1
I
I
S ECTION 3, PACE 2
WAR WHOOPS cont.
nose without chopping it off.
Meantime, the lady Indians
were doing all the drudgery
of the camp, while a big
bunch of able bodied warriors
were squatting along the side
of a saddle blanket playing
poker, and sweating blood
over their bard work. Three
young Indian boys were at a
nearby prairie dog village
with bows and arrows. When
there was not a prairie dog
in sight, a few chirps from the
Indian boys would bring every
prairie dog in the village up
to sit over their holes; the
boys would shoot a few of
them and like a flash the rest
would go into their holes.
Then the boys would repeat
their chirping and the little
dogs would bob up again, and
a few more would get plugged
with arrows, and the bovs
William Barbour Darratt
and
Eliza Anno (Hynd) Darratt
Whose rugged determination, inspired by Old World
ancestry, brought to a new land, the courage, ambition
and a will to work. Breathing the air of freedom and
independence, they created, from bunch grass and sage f
brush, a home and the foundation of a family enterprise,
that for 89 years of the past century, has endured flood,
fire, drought, financial depression and alternating pros-1
perity and is today, a successful ranching operation, con-1
tributing to the economy and tax base of Heppner and
Morrow County.
WE, their children, grandchildren and the succeeding!
generations of the Barratt family, are proud of our heri-f
tage and express our gratitude to this pioneer couple,
who through the formative years, contributed to thef
building of Heppner and Morrow County.
!
We extend our sincere congratulations to fhe citizens
of Heppner upon the occasion of their 1 00th Anniversary.
James Garnet Barratt
Helen (Barratt) Reiman
Willetta (Barratt) Hodecker
Margaret (Barraft) Keltze!
would bring them back to
camp where the ladies would
skin them, and soon they
would be savory stew in the
tribal camp kettle.
"I once asked Jim what his
Indian name was. He rattled
some words as long as your
arms that no man could pro
nounce. Asked as to what it
all meant, he said he did not
know, and what was more he
did not care. He acquired his
name Jim on account of break
ing wild horses for Jim Fer
guson, whose ranch was just
below Heppner on Willow
Creek afterwards becoming
the Shorthorn Ranch ofOscar
Minor. Those wild horses
did not kill Jim, but one
of them killed the owner, Jim
Ferguson and thus the little
settlement had lost a good
man.
"I asked IndianJimwhyone
of his young ladies was rumed
Snake, as she was a fine
looking girl with no snaky
With Loving Memories
and I
Everlasting Appreciation I
We J
1
dedicate This Tribute
to I
I'KT'lWVA
William F. Barratt
James G. Barratt
Robert Reiman
William Reiman
Betty (Reiman) Locey
Joan (Hodecker) Patterson
John Hodecker
Anne (Heltzel) Abere
James Heltzel
IP.
..v
ways about her. Jim explain
ed that when a lady papoose
was born, her father went out
of the lodge and the first
object he saw had its name
inflicted on the new baby.
Thus when the girl's father
went out the first thing he
saw was a snake, and the
poor baby had to stand for
the name Snake. If he had
a few inches of fire water
under his belt, he would have
named the baby two snakes."
Old Oregon Trail
Morrow was bypassed with
only slight mention by the ex
plorers who traveled by ca
noe or raft from Umatilla
or up-river points down the
Columbia. It had several
regular stopping places for
those who came on foot, hor
seback and by wagons. Most
of the overland travelers who
followed the Oregon Trail
did not see the Columbia
until they were part way ac
ross what is now Sherman
County. They stayed 15 or
more miles to its south.
Furtraders and explorers
traced the route of the trail.
Benjamin Bonneville is cre
dited with taking the first
wagons through in the 1830" s;
Nathaniel J. Wyetb also led
companies over the trail.
John C. Fremont surveyed a
portion of the route in 1842
for the U.S. Army.
Settlers began following the
trail about 1841 and by 1843
so many came out that a
provisional government was
organized. Until 1946 the
Oregon Country was occupied
Jointly by the U.S. and Bri
tian, then after the boundary
dispute was settled the Ore
gon Territory was created in
1848. It included the pre
sent states of Oregon, Wa
shington, part of Idaho, part
of Montana, and a little of
Wyoming and Utah. There
were three counties in the
eastern section before 1853,
the largest was Clackamas
County consisting of north
central and northeastern Ore
gon and much of eastern Wa
shington; to its south were
Marion and Linn Counties.
The Washington Territory
was created in 1853 and on
Jan. 11, 1854, Wasco County
was created by the Oregon
Territorial Legislature. It
embraced all of Oregon east
of the Cascades and parts of
what are now Idaho, Montana,
Wyoming and Utah. The new
state government separated
Umatilla County from Wasco
on Sept. 27, 1862, and it con
tained the present Morrow
area until Feb. 16, 1885 when
Morrow County was created.
Most earlyOregonianswent
to the Willamette Valley, lea
ving only a few miners, rov
ing stockmen, and packers in
Eastern Oregon. Thus it was
not until several years af
ter Oregon achieved state
hood that EasternOregonwas
settled. By then the choice
valley land was pretty well
taken up, the excitement ov
er the California sold fields
waned, and some people be
gan to remember the rolling
bunch grass covered hills of
the land through which they
had passed.
FEBRUARY 14, 1859
The history section of the
Oregon Bluebook puts this
period well, "During the
fifties, population growth, po-
- cont. srsgc 4