Old Camp Baker Organized
In 1861 Amidst Hardships
How Jackson county organ
ized Company D of the Oregon
Cavalry during the Civil War,
and details of the construction of
old Camp Baker, were contained
in a talk which Sen. Earl New
bry, Ashland,- delivered at the
annual meeting of the Jackson
County Pioneer association ear
lier this fall. Company D was the
county's first military unit.
Prefacing his review of the or
ganization of Company D, Sen.
Newbry told how Jackson coun
ty was created from the original
Yamhill and Champoeg districts
of the state on Jan. 12, 1852, and
added that Jacksonville was in
corporated as a city in 1860 and
named the first county seat.
Jackson county was named in
honor of Gen. Andrew Jackson.
"On Sept. 24, 1861, authority
was given to raise 10 companies
of cavalry in Oregon," the sen
ator's speech relates. "This was
accomplished through the ef
forts of Col. E. D. Baker, senator
from Oregon. Gov. Wheteaker
was felt to be sympathizer
with the rebellion (of the south
ern states) so the matter was
kept out of his hands, and he
was not allowed to select the
men or choose the officers. His
friends resented this slight and
presented many obstacles to the
success of the organization. They
repeatedly showed contempt for
its officers and men.
Furnishes Own Horse
"Recruiting began in Novem
ber, 1861. Each man was to fur
nish his own horse and equip
ment, for which he was paid 40
cents per day in addition to his
regular pay as a member of the
cavalry. Company D was muster
ed in Dec. 19, 1861, and consist
ed of 85 men. The camp was lo
cated in the woods about one
mile west of Phoenix in Jackson
county, and was named Camp
Baker in honor of Oregon s senator.
"The site was selected by Col.
Maury, "ho was in command of
the company. The officers of
Company D were Col. Maury,
Capt. Sewall Truax, First Lt.
John M. Drake, Second Lt. John
M. McCall. After the company
was mustered, the recruits were
sent to cut down the trees and
build cabins to house the men.
The cabins were of rough logs,
shinked with mud, with rough
board floors and roofs of shakes.
Each cabin had a door and chim
ney. They built a cabin for a
storehouse and office, a cabin for
the officers and a cabin for hos
pital use. Here they passed the
hardest winter Oregon had ever
known since the settlement by
the first white people.
No Military Knowledge
"The officers of Company D
knew nothing of military affairs.
Col. Maury had served one year
in the Mexican -War as a volun
teer, so it was a problem to
know how to train the enlisted
raw recruits. Someone found a
copy of the Army Regulations
of 1841 and a copy of Gardee's
Infantry Tactics, and with these
for a guide the officers began
their study.
"The company's equipment
consisted of four U. S. muskets
and two cavalry sabres left be
hind by the regulars after the
Rogue River War, and with this
equipment they began "learning
the art of war." The weather
was abominable, with much rain
and storm through all of Novem
ber and December, and after
Christmas the real winter set in.
Therefore, they could do no
training until the weather broke.
When that time came, a parade
ground was built and men were
trained in steps and marching.
"Among the privates was a
man who had been in the regu
lar army, so he taught the of
ficers the manual of arms, and
there was another who had been
in the cavalry in British India,
who taught the officers sabre
exercises. Finally, after much
difficulty, a guard was mounted
with the four muskets as equip
ment. The guard consisted of a
sergeant of the guard and three
sentries. When the guard was
eal Cream
of Tomato Soup
as a dish by itself-? delicious
used as a sauce iis superb
I One tin of
I soup plus one
1 tin of milk or
I water rnaKes
four portions
delicious
Sites
Life of 'Dead Man Is Complicated
rs I11,"1".'11.1. " i.,,, frrT
t I P vfi V I Ha 1
: v, , , -.iLll rr
(Acme Tclephoto)
TSgt. Donald Kay Watts, 23, Marlon, Ohio, very much alive hero, re
turns from Jap POW camp to find complications arising from his official
"death," declared after he fell from cargo plane while dropping supplies
to Chinese troops fighting Japs at Hcngyang, China. Here he declares
his Identity to Capt. Hugh F. Kennedy, chaplain with 14th Air Force, at
San Francisco, Calif., Presidio, as Paymaster M Sgt, William J. Mairs,
Ban Bernardino, Calif, witnesses.
I
changed, they also exchanged
their equipment.
Due to the lateness of the sea
son, supplies at the camp were
not adequate, so the quartermas
ter secured hay on a farm five
or six miles from the camp,
where the horses were wintered.
He sent enough men to care for
the horses and ordered them to
construct shanties to house the
men and equip them with stoves.
"In rendering his account to
the quatermaster's headquarters
in San Francisco, he made the
mistake of using the wrong
terms in his report and caused
himself much embarrassment
and the camp much trouble. He
used the term "men employed to
care for cavalry horses," which
was construed to mean he had
hired civilians to care for the
horses, and in reporting the ma
terials used in constructing the
shanties, he used the word "for
quarters" which was construed
to mean barracks.
"It brought forth a storm of
angry disapproval and reproof
sad to remember. After much
correspondence the matter was
straightened out and the word
"detailed" was explained to
have been the correct one to use
in place of "employed" and
"cabins" should have been used
instead of "quarters."
"In May, 1862, Col. Maury and
Company D were ordered to
leave Camp Baker and report to
Fort Walla Walla, which really
marked the beginning of its mili
tary career. They, were assigned
to the Umatilla country to pro
tect immigrants from the Indians
then were to patrol the Boise
basin gold mines against the
troubles which followed the gold
rush.
"Company D was replaced by
Company C, which remained in
service in Jackson county for
five years. It was the first unit
to occupy Ft. Klamath, and
made a record for itself in its
operations against the Indians."
Land-Grant Fare
Compromise Bill
Vetoed by House
Washington, Oct. 30 (U.R)
The house today sent back to
conference a compromise senate
house bill which would have
compelled the government to
pay land-grant railroads full
passenger and freight rates for
the transportation of troops and
property after Oct. 1, 1946.
It rejected the conference bill
by a roll call vote of 167 to 114.
Under an act dating back to
the Civil war, the government
is allowed a 50 per cent discount
for troop and property move
ments on land-grant railroads.
Rep. John J. Cochran, D., Mo
told the house that passage of
the bill would cost the govern
ment $200,000,000 annually.
The original house bill would
nave made the lull fare pro
vision effective 90 days after the
measure s enactment. The sen'
ate changed the effective date to
Oct. 1, 1946. The compromise
Din provided mat the money
saved by the government
through this senate amendment
was to be used to purchase farms
for veterans on western reclama
tion projects.
New York. Oct. 30 (U.R)
United States newspapers car
ried 54,000,000 worth of war ef
fort advertising a month during
the last two years of the war,
the bureau of advertising of the
American Newspaper Publish
ers' association announced to
day. Of the $98,813,358 total ex
penditure for August, 1943,
through July, 1945, $42,597,445
was spent for war bond adver
tising. The Red Cross ranked
second with $6,252,678, followed
by armed forces recruiting, the
don't telephone campaign and
waste paper salvage.
Of the $56,215,913 spent for
other than war bond advertising,
$51,874,543 was paid advertising
and $4,341,370 donated by the
newspapers.
2,225,000 Soldiers
Released Since V-E
Washington, Oct. 30 (U.R)
The army released 307,000 sol
diers during the week ended Oct.
26. This brought to 2,225,000
the total released since V-E day,
May 12, the War department an
nounced today.
Those released from Oct 1
through Oct. 26 numbered 1,047,'
000 and from V-J day, Sept. 2
through Oct. 26 there were
1,633,000.
Parks and recreational areas
in San Francisco total nearly
four square miles.
Hungry for
leatcjcwwv
Here's why these peat are what you want . . .
Grown from our
own special strain
of seed, where toll
and climate produce
the finest quality.
They're harvested
iuit when they're
ready. Doy or nlghtl
Flavor won't wait.
LOOK FOR
They're blended
for flavor balance.
A quality (election of
ust the tastiest
peas in the pad.
They're tail-packed
right ofter picking.
For nothlng'j more
Important In
canned-pea quality,
em
the qualify peat with the fi&utov tfiuC blend
Radio Man Is Held
For Draft Evasion
New York Oct 30 U.R) Kie
Ritter, 35, radio announcer and
producer currently employed in
IMew York as a theatrical com
pany manager, was arrested by
the FBI today for removal to
Fort Smith, Ark., on charges of
draft evasion.
Agents said Ritter allenedlv
had not communicated with his
selective service board in El Do
rado, Ark., since Aug. 15. 1941
and had failed to report for in
duction as ordered on April 9,
Chandler Farewell
Voiced in Senate
Washington, Oct. 30 (U.R)
Sen. Albert B. (Happy) Chandler,
u., Ky., today said farewell to
the senate.
Chandler told his colleagues
his resignation becomes effective
Wednesday. He will 'then de
vote full time to the job of base'
ball commissioner to which he
was elected by major league club
owners April 24.
Daily Weather Report
FORECASTS
Mffdlord and vlrlmtv- rinnrfv ...
ntjtht and Wednesday with rnttrti
showers.
Oregon: Mostly cloudy with ihow.
era imiffnt ann Wednesday with mod
erate to fresh south to southeast
winds ofr coast. Little change in
temperature.
LOCAL DATA
Temperature a year ago today
Highest 67; lowest 51.
Total monthly precipitation SB
incnos.
Deficiency tnr the month 41 InrhM
Total precipitation since September
I, i jt ini'nes.
Deficiency tor the reason .38 Inches.
Helatlve humidity at 4 30 p.m. yes
terday ou-fl, i:m loaay WU7o.
Tomorrow
Sur.n-e 8-43 a m. Sunset 5 07 n m.
Observations taken at 4:30 a.m., 120
mericisn ume;
High Low Pree.
Bols
Boston - .
Chicago
Denver
Eureka
Havie .
Los Angeles ,
Mrdf.rd
New York
Omaha
FhoenlJC
Portland .
Heno .
Boseurg
Salt L3K
San Tranclsco ......
Seattle '. .
Snokirie
Wasnlnglon, D C. ,
Yakima .....
70
67
03
sa
an
;
. n
70
55
. St
48
54
46
47
54
32
41
57
5l
57
48
41
.02
.08
JS
.87
.20
1 02
.01
.01
Hirohito's Wealth
Told First Time
By Tokyo's Hochi
Tokyo. Oct. 30 (U.R) The
newspaper Yomiurl Hochl. in an
action unprecedented in Japan
ese press history, published avail
able figures today on Emperor
rnronito s wealth.
It included 3.267.500 acres of
land holdings as of 1940, or six
per cent of the entire nation's
pasture -and forestry land: and
share holdings valued at $4,540,-
uuu in the bank of Japan, Yoko
hama specie bank, the Formosan
Sugar Manufacturing company,
the Nippon Yusen Kaisha Orient
al Development company, the
Hokkaido Coal company and
state subsidized transport indus
tries as of March, 1942.
Non-revenue yielding assets
were not included.
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 194S MEDFORD MAIL-TRIBUNE THREB
Japs Had Big Army
Ready For Defense
Tokyo, Oct. 30 (U.R) The
Japanese irmy general staff
had planned to use a total of
2.225.C00 troops against the
American invasion that ulti
mately came off bioodlessly, the
Domei news agency said today.
Japanese armed forces would
have been under two overall
comn-onds, one bhsed hero and
the other at Hiroshima, Dome!
said. It was the first indication
that Hiroshima, viitually wiped
cut by the first atomic bomb
attack Aug. 6, wai one of the
most important military targets
in the country.
Carmel, Calif., Oct. 30 U.R)
Gen. Joseph W. (Vinegar Joe)
Stilwell, on leave at his home
here, said yesterday it was a
"great surprise" to him that a
Republican strategy committee
in Santa Barbara had proposed
he run for congress next fall
from the 11th congressional district.
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don't forget to tell Mom pep
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ACHING COLDS
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frnray ookjusf ffie same,
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difference if makes m your ear
You can't see, for Instance, how Improved RPM
Motor Oil actually "washes" carbon and gum off your
motor. But just look how clean and carbon-free it
kept the piston in my right hand. No carbon-removal
bill for the owner of that bright piston.
And you'll never know how hot It gets Inside your
motor (unless you've ever touched the business end
of a blowtorch). "RPM" is fortified to stick to hot
spots most oils leave exposed to wear. It has an oxida
tion inhibitor, too, that makes it stand up under heat.
Most folks didn't learn in school that some vital parts
of an engine can corrode just like some of the shiny
metal trimming on the outside of your car. Improved
RPM Motor Oil is very tough with corrosion stopj
it cold, and saves plenty of Bearing trouble.
Like an egg-beater, the crankshaft whips ordinary
oils into a froth that impairs circulation to vital parts
nd makes the oil level seem higher than it really is.
We fixed that, with a de-foaming agent. And it's
another car-saving reason for (witching to "RPM."
Keep your Standard National Credit Card with you and you won't
need to bother about cash for service and gas when you're motoring. Your
Card provides an accurate record of motoring expenses too. So use it
wherever you go in the U.S. and Canada. ..STANDARD OF CALIFORNIA
Cfoyron Gas Stations, Garages and 'Statfa'ara' Stations