Historical Society
Pack Trains in Salmon River Country
ireka - Jim McNeil, Dres
Itrient of the Siskiyou County
Historical society, spoke to
Ithat group recently on "Pack
Trains of the Salmon River
Country."
Having worked with pack
It rains from an early age as
IB "bell-boy", the speaker had
ifir.st hand knowledge of his
pubject, though he admitted
Ihc couldn't "drag halters
across the corral" with some
:o thf old timers
McNeil pointed out
that
Epiick trains were the earliest
mode of travel and transpor
Hation since the days when
gjCortrz made the first Spanish
explorations in the 16th cen
Hury, on down through his
Bory to the days of Lewis and
Clark, and the Hudson's Bay
Kompany in the early days of
She West.
I Trading posts were estab
blished with the supplies tran
Bborted by means of pack
.r-trains. McNeil believes the
Hargcst trains used, were own
Kc! by the early Spaniards be
Hore the establishments o f
Syjnissions and roads connecting
Hhcm, which made the use of
kjOx carts possible.
I In the northern California
vaiua pack trains were used
t the miners to bring their
Heeds into the primitive area.
gjWany of the early settlers
jBiadc a living by this trade.
Kach head packer trained a
.bell marc to guide the rest
Suf the mules or horses, not
Bnly harnessing and loading,
bin in conduct on the trail.
Ht was a matter of pride of
Ijyc packer when all were lin
ed up in proper relation.
Mule's Average Load
rE The speaker said that the
avnaue load for a mule was
30(1 pounds, but a few had
bci u known to carry much
heavier loads. He knew of a
mule owned by the Denny
Bar company, which had car
ried a safe weighing 8 3 0
pounds for some distance.
Some animals were especially
Useful for carrying loaded
barrels. Not all were willing
to carry that type of load. A
good pack mule and its rig
giny cost an average of $120.
. A good packer had to learn
to pack the mule so that the
load was well balanced, so it
would not slip during the
Hay's travel, or rub sores on
f the mule's back. All sorts of
hitches had to be perfected.
Wages for a head packer aver
aged St9 per month, while the
hind-packer would get $45
and the top pay for the bell
boy, who did the cooking and
was the apprentice packer,
i iff) a iSH All mnn in 1hr trarip
iad to possess good horse
Traveled H Miles a Day
Average pack trains in the
Salmon area were from 6 to
10 animals, but a few larcc
ones oi m jd were Known
FY
ml
I
S wt
e Superbly smooth and mellow
Fine Straight Kentucky Bourbon
Taste Favorite since 1869
tit oil maimi inmiiiT ttk ItlUtHU, It., 11 uoor
to operate at times. An aver
age days drive was 14 miles
when loaded and 25 when
empty.
Great rivalry existed among
t h e pack train operators.
Many humorous incidents
such as the necessity of drain
ing the liquor barrels were re
called. Whenever snow was deep
enough that it came to a man's
knees, it was time to put snow-
! n ine pack ammals- A
wooden snowshoe was shown
to demonstrate to the audience
how they were applied and
used.
McNeil stated that mules
Sacred Indian Spring
Will Be Covered by Dam
By JOSEPH H. CARTER
Cawkcr Cilv. Kan.- WPU -A
natural salt spring, once wor
shipped by primitive Indians
for its healing power, soon
will be covered by the Glen
Elder dam reservoir.
The lake not only will cov
er a place of Indian lore, but
will bury a colorful chapter
in the history of the Great
Plains pioneers and Kansas
a sanitarium-resort near the
rich mineral waters.
Indians told their children
about the legend of "Wacon
da," which means God or
Great Spirit in the language
of the Otte and Pawnee na
tions. The story tells of Wa
conda's love for a warrior of
a rival tribe and the war it
ignited. When she saw the
young man fall in battle and
tumble into the water, she
leaped and drowned behind
him.
Healing Virtues
Thus, the legend said, wa
ters of the Waconda or Great
Spirit Spring took on healing
virtues. Indians drank it and
bathed in it for health.
When pioneers trekked
across the plains, they heard
stories of the spring. They
were amazed at the 35-foot
high mound that the spring
had built for itself.
Dr. Carlos Bingesscr, who
operates the nearby sanitar
ium, said the mound-which
forms a 50-foot round basin
was formed by evaporation
and the deposit of minerals
on the other side.
The pioneers called it "the
Great Salt Spring,'' or "Wa
conda." Bingesser's grandfather, G.
F. Abrams, built a native
stone building nearby and
from 1890 to 1906, excursion
trains brought thousands from
the east and nearby cities to
view the "Eighth Wonder of
ANNOUNCEMENT I
hermitage
is now
6 years
a's
S mostpoPulat
straight
Hears Talk About I
had to be broken in to the
use of snowshoes before hit
ting the trail. Not every mule
could be trained to wear them.
James Hartley, vice pres
ident, conducted the business
portion of the meeting. Some
50 members and guests were
present.
Mrs. Hazel Pollock, t h e
curator, reported that more
than 700 visitors had viewed
the museum durinc the month
of March, which included scv
cra crouDs of school children
An 0( the momenta ot the
j iate Alec Rosborough have
I been grouped in one show
lease.
the World
or "A Bit of the
i Lost Sea
as it was adver
tised.
Gay Parties
Race tracks, gay parties
and dancing spiced the trips.
But visitors came mostly to
view the spring, taste its
cleansing waters and to enjoy
a spa or health bath.
Abrams lated converted the
four-story building into a san
itarium. Bingesscr described
his German-born grandfather
as a "doctor who never saw
a medical school . . a neces
sity on the plains."
Bingesscr, himself an osteo
pathic physician, said the wa
tcr serves as a laxative and
to "neutralize poison in the
body." He said it healed trou
ble with mucous membrane
He said the World's Fair at
St. Louis judged the water
as the "highest medicated wa
ter in the world.
40 Parsoni
At one time, up to 40 per
sons came daily for treatment
at the sanitarium. The doctor
said publicity about Glen El
der dam led many to believe
the spring already was inun
dated and business fell off.
He said, however, the spring
probably would be accessible
until 1965, but he may leave
sooner.
Bingesscr said he can re
member once when a group
of "modern" Indians carried
a woman to the spring. "They
sprinkled her with water and
she walked away," he said.
"They believed in the water's
great healing power.
The spring was estimated
at 8,000 years old, but govern
ment scientists who studied
Waconda spring said Hs
source of water was "inde
terminable." The flow is unaf.
fected by drought and the
temperature remains constant.
"But I have seen it in at
least seven different colors,"
Dr. Bingesscr said, "from
milky to yellow to blue."
old
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Tom Bigclow. field trip
chairman, has made plans for
the next field trip to be to
the Ski bowl. Strawberry val
ley and Old Sisson sometime
in late May. The definite date
will be announced.
Fred Stratton. membership
chairman, announced the
membership to be 1,066. He
added that lie had honn a
head narlcor fnr ih. oic Ul,
ision of the U.S. Army during
World War I. Ammunition
and supplies were carried to
the troops in France by mule
train, usually 50 animals to
a train. During attacks of
poison gas the mules, as well
as the men. had to be equip
ped with gas masks. He re
calls that many lives, both hu
man and animal were lost by
gassing.
Old Millinery Modeled
Musical enterainment con
sisted of two numbers by Mrs.
Maurice Dittner accompanied
b y Mrs. Joyce Sanderson.
During the singing of "Eas
ter Parade" four old hats from
the millinery shop in the base
ment of the museum were
modeled by Mrs. Athea Smith,
Mrs. Orlo Davis, Mrs. Den
nis Broderick and Miss
Amelia Andrews. A record of
"The Holy City" was played
on the music box.
Refreshments were served
by Mrs. Hazel Rider and Mrs.
Pollock.
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: Account
In the amount of $10 or mere
J tin famiLf 5iW I jp "'B,sseJTsa i
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RIBBON WINNER One of the 10 blue ribbon winners at
South Gate, Calif, art exhibit was an untitled "expression
lstlc" black and white painting done by 22-months-old
Theresa Bates, shown with her work. "Very sensitive and
reminiscent of strange creeping insects" was the way judge
Frederick Black, director of the Long Beach Museum of
Art, described the work. Some of the artists were so shaken
they picked up their entries and went home. (UPI)
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Sale
Low Bids Opened
For Astoria Bridge
Salem- OT' Two low bids
totaling nearly $14 millon for
completion of the major part
of the Astoria-Mcglcr bridge
were opened Wednesday by
the State Highy Commission.
An apparent low bid of
$10,121,862 for construction
of the super-structure was
submitted by U.S. Steel Corp,
American Bridge Division,
Portland.
On the Dcsdcmona-Sands
viaduct portion of the bridge,
Pomcroy and Gerrick Co.,
San Francisco, submitted an
apparent low bid of $3,777,
140 on alternate "A" and an
apparent low bid of $3,870,
140 on alternate "B".
Both alternates call for
span construction using pre
stressed beams, but the first
calls for a pourcd-in-placc
deck and the second for prc
casting a portion of the deck
slab.
City Clock Watchers
Complain to Mayor
Midvale, Utah-OOT-The city
hall clock, which had been
running late, was corrected
after a complaint to the may
or. A petition was sent to May
or Henry Beckstead signed
by "Official Clock Watchers
of Midvale City, Inc." It not
ed the clock had been an hour
behind, meaning it was hard
to tell when quitting time
came.
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