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Outing Edition
SECOND SECTION
EIGHT PAGES
Outing Edition
SECOND SECTION
EIGHT PAGES
Onily Seventeenth Tear.
Weekly Fifty-Second Tear.
MEDFORD, OREGOX, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1922
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.' "Not until my mnlc stoned within a few feet of the
rim of Crater lake (lid I look down, and if I liud Im-n
riding a blind mule, I firmly lielievo I would hnvo ridden
over the edc to, death."
. Thus it was (hat on June 12, GD Jem's as?o, the
first whrte.miui who ever beheld Crater lake literally
Htumbled upon that imignifieent bMly of water. As he
rode liis mule up the long slope that was to lend to the
lake rim, with his eyes seareliing tho rocks for some out--croping
of golil tliought to bo hidden in tliis region,
little did he icaliio that ho was soon to be the discoverer
of tho bluest, deepest and most-beautiful mountain lako
in the world. TlUs hardy prospector was J. W. Hlllman,
an Oregon pioneer of 1841). Tlie trail over wliich Hill
snan and his party tolled in those early days is now re
placed by an automobile, highway, while tho lake itself
and surrounding region have leen fittingly set aside as
a national park, where many thousands come each sum
mer to bo enthralled by tho same wild beauty which held
Hillman and his party under its spell over threescore
years ago. .
A, lew yeai-s ago 3Ir. Hillman died at a ripe old ago at
Ids home in I-olll.slnna, where he spent the closing years
of his life. . Shortly before his death ho dictated his
memoirs to Bentley B. Mackay of tho Louisinnna State
I'niveisity. These memoirs have only recently been cast
into shapofor publication by Mr. Mnckny, and that por
tion dealing with the dlscoveiy of Oregon's wonder lake
is herewith published for tho first time. The story not
only tells of-he discovery of Crater lake, but also do
scribes brlofly tho trip of tho emigrant train to which
Hillman was attached across the plains to tho Colum
bia, and gives a graphic picture of tho Oregon country
of those pioneer dnyg. .
: i ' Uy Hentley V. Mackay.
, AV'ith thousands of tourists thronging beautiful Crater
Lake; national park everyseason and gazing upon the
limpid blue water of the most beautiful lake in America,
it is Indeed fitting that some thought be given to that
intrepid explorer, J. W. Hillman, and his little band of
22 men who first viewed the lake In all of its wild
beauty on June 12, 1853. Outliving all of his compan
ions,: Mr. Hillman died only a few years ago In Louis
iana at the ago of 83, death being Indirectly due to an
Indiau bullet that he carried in his body for nearly 60
years.
Discoverer Tells Own Story
' "I was born in Albany, N. Y., March 23, 1832. In
184S my father moved with his family to New Orleans
by ship. We remained In New Orleans until the Califor
nia gold fever broke out in 1849, and my father de
cided to go to California, taking me with him.
; "At the time there was a regiment of mounted rifles
at St. Joseph, Mo.', preparing to make the long journey
to Oregon. The teamster master's department was being
reenjited In New Orleans, and we were lucky enough to
be allowed to join.
"jOur'trlp up the lonely Mississippi river was typical
of the pioneer life of that day. On our boat there was a
varied assortment of men, from the dregs of society to
millionaires. Gambling and drinking were Indulged in
night and day, and each day brought Its share of ex
citement. It was rumored that Jack Wilson, ,a notorious
gamljler, won and lo3t two fortunes,!
before he was killed In a wild battle
which occurred on the boat 50 miles
from; St. Louis. ' .
Trip Across Plains Begun
. "We landed In St. Louis and re
mained there for several days. We
caught a boat going up the Misouri
river, to St. Joseph, where our regi
ment; was stationed, preparatory to
making the trip to the unknown
Oregon country.
l.'As soon as the thousands of emi
grants heard that a regiment of sol
diers was soon going to "hop off"
into the unknown country, they
made ready to follow close on our
trail.
' ', "The officers finally decided that
due to better camping facilities the
outfit should be broken up Into small
companies. There were 300 six-mule
wagons and these were divided into
groups of 100 Wagons each. I was
sent along as extra driver.
' Oregon Trail Followed
. "We followed what was known as
tho Oregon trail, intending o cross
the Rockies at South Pass. The
country was unsurpassed in Us wild
beauty, the miles and miles of un
charted prairies, stretched as far as
the eye could see and the grass wav
ing and nodding before the wind.
Above us by day shone the blazing
sun, and when it disappeared into
the very ground, as It were, it seemed
but a moment until darkness, when in
all directions could be seen the camp
fires of the soldiers and emigrants.
"The two things that Impressed
me most were the awful ravages "of
cholera and the thousands of buffalo'
that could be seen in the distance:
We had the pleasure of witnessing
several stampede of these animals.
The leader of the herd would become
frightened and begin to run; soon it
would seem that the entire universe
was moving. As far as the feye could
see were the brownish forms of the
great beasts gathering momentum as
they swept along. On they would
rush, sweeping all before them, over
a wagon train, through a river of
over a precipice, but never would
their mad rush be checked until they
were .overcoin'e by exhaustion. Iu
the wake hundreds of the weaker
members strewed tho way, some
crushed and mangled, others bleed
ing and dying: all Inevitably falling
prey to the coyotes and wolves that
followed- them.
- -Indians Xot Feared
-"We came in contact with a, great
number of Indians, but our Imme
diate party was too strong, and we
feared nd attack. Troops were called
out several times to go to the assist
ance of small trains that had been
raided by the savages, and each time
a number of the emigrants had been
killed.
"When 'we reached the Rocky
mountains and saw the water flowing
oward the Pacific we though that our
troubles were nearly ended, but such
was not the case. Desertions among
the soldiers became
very common when
we came to tho trails
that led to Salt Lake
or to California..
"Finally we eamo to
(he mighty Columbia
river and its majestic
sweep was a revelation to us all. The
caravan now headed straight for Ore
gon City, reaching there September
18, 1S4 9, after having been five
months nnd three days on the jour
ney. Oregon City Tiny Village '.
"Oregon City was a tiny place, hav
ing much the appearance of a New
England village, rows of Bmall houses
lining the streets with neat, clean
gardens in front.
"Turning over our wagons to the
quartermaster ended our connections
with tho United Stutes government,
and a new and different life was
begun. '
".My father heard that there was
lying at the mouth of the Wil
lamette river a three maslod full
rlgged whaler, the Aurora, com
manded hy Captain Kilbourne, ready
to make a trip to San Francisco with
a load of lumber, and we were able
to get passage.
"I remember but one settlement
between Oregon City and Baker's hay,
at the mouth of tho Columbia, and
that was Astoria.
Portland Miuts of Timber '
"Wh'en we came to what was
known as the village of Portland we
stopped for a few hours for wood.
I went ' ashore and looked for the
town, but could not see It at first be
cause of the tungle of fallen timber.
I climbed a tree and In the distance
I saw three huts, a blacksmith shop
and on small commissary. This was
In the latter part of Septombor, 1819.
AVhen I returned to this town In
185 2 I found that a great many
changes had taken place. .
"Wo were held up In Baker's bay
for several weeks, due to the fact
that we could not cross the bar into
tho open water. Several times were
were nearly dashed to pieces on the
Peacock shoals.
"Ono day everything was favor
able and we dashed across the bar
and were soon on the high seas. The
trip to San Francisco was made
without Incident. We reached there
a few days before the big tire that
swept the tented city oft the map.
"My adventures in the gold mining
country, of course, Is another story,
but I will say that while we were
lucky enough to flncf some goid, we
did not discover enough to make us
very wealthy. I soon went to north
ern California, and from there I went
to Jacksonville, Ore. It' was a live
mining town of about 1200 inhabit
ants. The town was situated at the
mouth of a gulch at the edge of the
beautiful Rogue river valley, and the
mining was not done in the immedi
ate vicinity of the town, .; I learned
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