wcinfoc3.html

An Illustrated History of Central Oregon
Embracing Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Wheeler, Crook, Lake and Klamath Counties
Western Historical Publishing Company, Spokane, WA., 1905

Historical Information

CHAPTER 3

Passing Events -- 1846-1862

Photographs which appear in this chapter - Cascade Locks - White River Falls - Site of Methodist Mission Building... - Guard House of old Fort Dalles... - Wasco County's First Courthouse... - Surgeons' Quarters...

Thus far this History of Wasco County has been devoted to Indian affairs, the Hudson's Bay Company, Lewis and Clark, the missions, the military post at The Dalles and the short campaign against Indians of the Oregon volunteers. Previous to 1846 no actual settler had come into this portion of the Territory to build himself a home and blaze a trail for others. A few trappers had penetrated the country, and in a few localities east of the Cascade mountains missions had been established to teach and regenerate the savages; later immigrants slowly won their way on a weary march to the Willamette valley, the ultima Thule of the earliest overlanders to Oregon.
But the year 1846 witnessed the appearance of the first settler, Joseph Lavendure, a French trapper. Contrary to the character of the average fur hunter, Lavendure established a land claim, built a log cabin, and fenced a few acres on what later became the Logan estate. But the discovery of auriferous deposits in California in the spring of 1848 induced him to abandon everything and he melted into oblivion, never to be afterward heard from by his successors in that locality. Later the military forces took possession of his personal property. Mrs. Lord is authority for the statement that Lavendure's claim later became known as the "Chrisman place." He built two log cabins; in the early '50's one of them was for a time occupied by a Frenchman named Narcisse Ramon.
It has been authentically settled that Nathan Olney was the second settler in Wasco county. In 1847 he "took up" a claim which was subsequently known as the "John Irvine place." Like Lavendure Olney went to the California gold fields; was financially successful, returned and retained his claim until 1853. He then sold it to Dr. Shaug. and secured another on Ten Mile creek for the purpose of raising stock. He disposed of this holding to James Bird and entered property subsequently known as the "Booth farm," on Five Mile. Mr. Olney had the reputation of having been the first "permanent" settler in this locality. Of his personality Mrs. Lord writes:
I have frequently mentioned Nathan Olney, who came to The Dalles in 1847. He was a prominent man in the country at that time, handsome, intelligent, genial, and a general favorite with men; but owing to his domestic relations he was not usually sought by women. (He was a squaw man.) * * * (In the middle fifties) Mr. Olney came to the conclusion that he was fitted to live a better life than he was then living. Times were changing. The country was settling up, and he craved the society of white women as well as white men. So he sent Annette to the reservation. They had two children at this time. He kept the elder and let her keep the babe.
This man had left home at fifteen years of age and grown up on the frontier, respected and well treated by men, never realizing the light in which he stood with refined women. After he had, as it were, swept and garnished his home, he set about finding a wife. After several refusals he discovered a lady who accepted him, and after one week they were married, on the first day of April, 1856. They were separated within less than a month. A divorce followed, and the Indian woman returned to a place in his home. After passing the following winter in the Sandwich Islands (a law having in the meantime been enacted by congress that men should not be allowed to live with Indian women without being married to them), in the spring Nathan Olney and his two younger brothers took their squaws down to a justice of the peace, and were married.
To Mr. Olney is accorded quite a prominent part in the early history of the county. Following the organization of Wasco county he was elected to a number of offices within its jurisdiction.
September 27, 1850, what was commonly called the oregon Donation Claim law was passed by congress. This act granted to a married man and his wife where were in Oregon previous to the passage of the bill 640 acres of land, on the condition that they should cultivate and live on it four years, each receiving a title to 320 acres. It was under this law that the early settlers of Wasco county acquired homes. The donation law expired by limitation December 1, 1855.
Mr. J.W. Coventon has graphically described the country in the vicinity of The Dalles in 1850. That year he crossed the plains and in September camped near the mouth of Mill creek. This was a point where immigrants abandoned their horses and wagons and proceeded by the way of the Columbia river to the settlements in the Willamette valley. There were no steamboats; pioneers were compelled to utilize almost every conceivable kind of craft in which to float down stream. Invariably some difficulty was experienced in making a portage at the Cascades; but usually the sturdy pioneers were successful in getting their boats around the rapids. There is a chapter of hardships in this portion of the toilsome journey; it may never be fully written. It is the testimony of Mr. Coventon that there were above one hundred old wagons in every stage of dilapidation scattered about the place where now stands The Dalles. Crippled and half-starved cows and oxen were seen on the hillsides. Too weak and emaciated to be driven further they had been turned loose to die or recuperate as fate might determine. On Mill creek there was one cabin, near the rock pile, and here a few articles of merchandise were kept for sale. On the bluffs were camped a company of soldiers, near where now stands the academy; they then lived in tents.
At this period the only residence house, aside from the mission, was owned by Nathan Olney. It was this house, doubtless, that Mr. Coventon referred to. The same year Judge William C. Laughlin built a cabin at Crate's Point, but haying been notified by the military authorities that he was on the reservation, he promptly abandoned it. Mr. Laughlin and Dr. Farnsworth settled at Hood River in 1852, built houses and there passed one winter. The season proved unusually severe; nearly all their stock died, and they abandoned their claims. In the spring of 1853 Judge Laughlin returned to The Dalles.
Mrs. Elizabeth Lord, daughter of Judge Laughlin, in her "Reminiscences of Eastern Oregon," thus tells of the building of their first home here:
Father, while hunting along the rivers and sloughs for ducks and geese, had frequently noticed Crate's Point, and thought it must be five miles from the post, and would be a place where he could raise stock if he concluded to stay; at any rate he would stay for the winter and try, so he moved the camp down there and set it up in front of a rock which was in the shape of a fireplace and served that purpose very well. He then began cutting trees and shaping logs for a. house. He cut small ones, so with what assistance mother could give him, as there was no man he could get to help him, the work went on. It was interferred with by hours of hunting for game with which to sup-ply the table and an occasional trip to Olney's store for supplies which we were obliged to have. * * * After the cabin had been laid up ready to put the rafters on, we were notified that we were within the limits of the reservation, so of course the work ceased.
After abandoning the partially prepared home at Crate's Point, the family lived in tents, making camp at different places in the vicinity of The Dalles. It was after this that in company with Dr. Farnsworth that they removed to Hood, River.
Crate's Point was named in honor of Edward Crate, at one time employed by the Hudson's Bay Company. Early in 1850 he located on the point that now bears his name. The Dalles Times-Mountaineer, of July, 1891, places the date in the year 1848. These dates, however, refer to his location at The Dalles. While in the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company he had passed through the Indian village of Win-quatt, on the present site of The Dalles, so early as 1837.
Mr. Justin Chenoweth was engaged in carry-ing the United States mail and lived in a sort of cave on the banks of the river in 1851-2, below a residence site later occupied by Mr. Klindt, at the mouth of a creek which now bears his name. In the fall of 1852 he erected a large, substantial building there, married and took a donation claim. For a number of years he strove to create a town in that vicinity, but realizing that his efforts would not prove successful he moved to where Mr. Vanbibber subsequently lived.
Although he had come to the country some time previous Mr. Charles W. Denton, the pioneer fruit raiser of this section, set out his first orchard on Mill Creek in 1854. In 1853 D. Bolton had located on Fifteen Mile, where he began farming on quite an extensive scale; he is said to have been the first farmer to raise a crop of wheat in Oregon east of the Cascade mountains. These men mentioned were the pioneer agriculturists of Wasco county, and to them is due great credit for having developed the agricultural resources of what has become one of the most productive grain sections of the northwest.
In June, 1851, the Herbert family, who had been living at The Dalles, removed across the Cascade mountains. With the departure of Mrs. Herbert, Mrs. Laughlin remained the only white woman in eastern Oregon; until immigration began there was none other. In 1852 George Snipes first settled on what was later known as his "lower place," seven miles below The Dalles. L.C. Coe, James Jenkins and J.M. Benson settled at Hood River in 1854. The same year John A. Simms filed a donation claim on the "Chrisman place," long known as the "Logan estate." William Logan was the father of Dr. Logan. Early in the '50's James Mosier built a house on the bank of the creek which now bears his name; Messrs. John Dyer and Green Arnold settled upon Three Mile; R.R. Thompson, Indian agent, filed east of the Logan estate, which property later became known as Thompson's addition, and O. Humason also came about this time.
After 1852, and for a number of years during the '50's, the country which is now Wasco county, was settled quite rapidly. It would be impossible to mention all who came at that period to The Dalles and vicinity. With the gradual unfolding
of important local events in the course of this history, many of their names will appear.
During these earliest years of settlement and founding of the town of The Dalles -- the first in eastern Oregon -- there was gradually coming into existence on the Columbia river quite a fleet of steamers. These have entered into the history of Wasco county; it is our purpose to briefly sketch the story of the early steamboating up to the formation of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, which event will be reserved to a more appropriate place in its chronological order.
From so reliable an authority as Mr. P.W. Gillette it is learned that the first steamboat built above the Cascades was the James R. Flint, The promoters and constructors of this pioneer river craft were the Bradfords, J.O. Vanbergen and James R. Flint, of San Francisco. She is described by Mr. Gillette as "a small, side-wheel boat, with single engine geared to the shafts, and when in motion sounded more like a threshing machine than a steamboat." Dr. Newell was a passenger on her first trip down from The Dalles. It is related that for some time he appeared nervous and somewhat disturbed. At length he ventured to ask one of the crew the cause of "that rattling sound."
"Oh," replied the fresh-water sailor man, "that's only the cook grinding coffee."
The Flint was conveyed over the Cascades in the autumn of 1861 and traded between Portland and Oregon City. Eventually she was bisected, lengthened, the machinery of the old Columbia (the first steamer on the river to run as far inland as the Cascades) placed within her, and renamed the Fashion.
The Mary was the second boat navigated by steam to ply between the Cascades and The Dalles. She was, also, constructed by the Bradfords. Soon after the completion of the Mary the Bradfords built the Hassalo to make the Cascades and Dalles run. In the meantime R.R. Thompson. L.W. Coe and others were not neglecting the opportunities offered in the way of steam navigation. A small craft was built by them at the upper Cascades to be taken to the upper Columbia beyond Celilo. When ready for her maiden trip, by some error of judgment her lines were cast off before she had acquired sufficient head of steam, and she drifted over the falls. Yet so little was she injured that she was run down to Portland, refitted and sold for the Fraser river trade.
At Celilo, in 1859, the same parties constructed the Wright, the first steam craft that ever lashed the waters of the Columbia beyond Celilo This boat was a money-maker. Prior to the appearance of the Wright all freight was transported on schooner-rigged barges. During a portion of each year there prevailed a stiff breeze on that reach of the river, which often enabled these hermaphrodite craft to make good time. They continued in commission as late as 1862, when steam-power crowded them off the river. Captain Dick Williams, S.G. Reed and others built the Relic, the first boat to run regularly between the Cascades and Portland. There were few, if any settlers, in these days east of the Cascades. Consequently all transportation was for the government; soldiers, guns, military supplies, etc. The Mountain Buck, built by Ruckles & Olmstead, was put into commission between Portland and the Cascades. Soon after these parties built the little steamer Wasco, for trade between the Cascades and The Dalles, which with their "portage road," gave them a through line to The Dalles. This was about 1859 or 1860. By this line much business was deflected from the portage road on the north side of the river and the boats running in connection with it.
The steamers Belle, Senorita and Multnomah, one of which ran down as far as Astoria, were owned by Benjamin Stark, S.G. Reed. R. Williams, Hoyt and Wells. The portage road from Dalles City, around The Dalles to Celilo, fifteen miles, was owned by O. Humason. This was a road traversed by immense freight wagons drawn by oxen and mules, for transportation of freight, and stages to carry passengers. until the construction of the portage railroad in 1862. The steamer Allen, built by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1852, was commanded by Captain Thomas Gladwell. In 1854 she was wrecked near Mitchell's point. The Idaho, built by Colonel Ruckles in 1860, was subsequently sold to the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. This company also built the Onconta in 1863, and she was commanded by Captain McNulty.
In the introductory portion of this work, Part I, has been related the story of the evolution of the government of Oregon. Under what was termed the 'Provisional Government" (which continued in force until August 14, 1848, when congress was, figuratively, whipped into granting a regular territorial form of government) there were no regular "county organizations." Instead Oregon was divided into four "districts," Tualatin, Yamhill, Clackamas and Champoeg. The Clackamas district comprised what is now eastern Oregon, all of Montana west of the Rocky mountains, and all of the present states of Idaho and Washington. These districts and their boundaries as recommended by the executive commit-tee and approved by the people July 5, 1843, were as follows:
First district to be called Tualatin District, comprising all the country south of the northern boundary line of the United States; west of the Wallamet, or Multnomah river; north of the Yamhill river, and east of the Pacific ocean.
Second district, to be called the Yamhill District, embracing all the country west of the Wallamet or Multnomah river, and a supposed line running north and south from said river; south of the Yamhill river, to the parallel of forty-two degrees north latitude, or the boundary line of the United States and California, and east of the Pacific ocean.
Third district, to be called the Clackamas District, comprehending all territory not included in the other three districts.
Fourth district, to be called the Champoeg District, and bounded on the north by a supposed line down from the mouth of the Haunchauke river, running due east to the Rocky mountains; west of the Wallamet or Multnomah river, and a supposed line running due south from said river to the parallel of forty-two degrees north latitude, south of the boundary line of the United States and California, and east of the Summit of the Rocky mountains.
By this it will be seen that the original Wasco county was formed from what had been the Clackamas and Champoeg districts. Apparently the second, or Yamhill district, did not come into existence although authorized by the first legislative body.

WASCO THE MOTHER OF COUNTIES.

It was created by the Oregon Territorial legislature January 11, 1854. It was then the largest county in the United States and included that part of Oregon territory lying east of the Cascade range to the Rocky mountains, and from the Columbia river and the 46th parallel south to the 42d parallel. Its area of about 130,000 square miles, embraced more territory than the British Isles, or than any present state of the union with the exception of Texas or California, and more than twice the area of New England. During the passing years since then the county has been sliced into a fraction of Wyoming, most of Idaho, and the counties of Baker, Umatilla, Union, Grant, Crook, Gilliam, Wheeler, Sherman, Morrow, Lake, Klamath, Harney and Malheur, in Oregon, until its present area is only 2,962 square miles, of which 324 square miles are in the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
In more detailed recapitulation it may be said that a part of Silver Bow and Ravalli counties, Montana, were once a part of Wasco -- and of Idaho the southern part of the Nez Perce, all of Idaho, Lemhi, Washington, Boise, Custer, Fremont Canyon, Ada, Elmore, Blame, Bingham,. Owyhee, Lincoln, Bannock, Bear Lake, Oneida and Cassia, eighteen, and a fraction of another. Of the present Wyoming it contained Vinta, Fremont and Sweetwater counties, and, in addition to other territory heretofore described, the south-western corner of Yellowstone Park. January 19, 1905, Mrs. C.J. Crandall, writing in The Dalles Daily Chronicle, said:
"It is interesting to follow the metes and bounds of this county of such gigantic proportions. East on the Columbia river and the 46th degree near Wallula, crossing the Snake river near the mouth of Salmon river, on through the state of Idaho, with Grangeville and Mount Idaho on the Oregon side, crossing the Bitter Root mountains into Montana in the region of Silver Bow county, perhaps near Butte, which city stands on the crest of the Rocky mountains near the 46th parallel. Thence southerly along the summits of the Rockies, cutting off the south-western corner of the Yellowstone Park, and quite a chunk out of the western side of Wyoming, intersecting the 42d degree near the South Pass, through which was the old emigrant road; thence west on the 42d degree to the Cascade mountains, having for southern boundary parts of Wyoming, Utah Nevada, and the eastern half of northern California."
In its chronological order the loss of territory from the original Wasco county will be told as this work progresses. It is, however, proper to say here that by an act of March 3, 1853, the country north of the Columbia and the 46th parallel was organized into a separate Territory and named Washington. In all this vast area known as Wasco county, there were not at the time of its organization to exceed three hundred white citizens, most of whom were trappers in the employment of the Hudson's Bay, and American Fur companies. Less than half a hundred were actual settlers, and Mrs. Crandall records that Major Rains, of the Fourth Infantry, stationed during the winter of 1853-4 at The Dalles, opposed the organization of the county, not only on account of its mammoth and unwieldy proportions, but for the further fact that, as estimated by himself, there were only thirty-five white inhabitants in the whole proposed county. Yet this little handful of patriots was composed of sturdy pioneers who carved from this tenantless wilderness a mighty empire. They were in the main true and law-abiding citizens, who sought county government as a protection to their property and as a safeguard against the ravages of the lawless element that then, throughout the northwest, held sway.
Following is the complete text of the organic act creating this historical political division:

An Act to create and organize Wasco county:

Section I. Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Oregon -- that so much of said Territory of Oregon as is bounded as follows, to-wit:
Commencing at the Cascades of the Columbia river, thence running tip said river to the point where the southern shore of said river is intersected by the Southern boundary of Washington Territory, thence east along said boundary to the eastern boundary of Oregon Territory, thence southernly along the eastern boundary of said Territory to the southern boundary of the same; thence west along said southern boundary to the Cascade mountains; thence northerly along said range of mountains to the place of beginning; be and the same is hereby created and organized into a separate county, to be called Wasco county, with the same organization, rights, powers and duties as appertam to other counties in this Territory.
Sec. 2. That county officers, justices of the peace, and constables shall be chosen at the next general election on the first Monday of June, eighteen hundred and fifty-four, and until they shall be elected and qualified; W.C. Laughlin, Warren Keith and John Tompkins be and they are hereby constituted and appointed a board of commissioners in and for the said county of Wasco; and that J. . Simms be, and he hereby is constituted and appointed sheriff, and that Justin Chenoweth be and he is hereby appointed Judge of Probate, and that Chase be and he is hereby constituted and appointed clerk in and for said county of Wasco; all of whom shall continue to hold their respective offices until their successors are duly elected and qualified.
Sec. 3. The persons hereby constituted and appointed officers by the second section of this act, shall before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, qualify in the same manner and with like restrictions, as those elected at an annual or general election.
Sec. 4. The commissioners hereinhefore mentioned shall be, and they are hereby empowered to locate the county seat of Wasco at or near the Grand Dalles of the Columbia river.
Sec. 5. The said county of Wasco shall constitute a part of the second Judicial District, and until otherwise provided, the court shall be held at such times as the Judge shall appoint, not less than once in each year.
Sec. 6. That until other provisions shall be made for the confinement of persons charged with, or convicted of crimes, or committed to prison for other lawful cause, the guard house of any military post within said county may, with the consent of the commanding officer of such post, be used as a jail or place for such confinement.
Sec. 7. That this act shall take effect from the time of its passage.

Z.C. BISHOP,
Speaker of the House of Rep's.

R. WILCOX,
President of Council.

Passed House of Representatives, Jan. 7, 1854.
Passed Council, Jan. 11, 1854.

(ENDORSED.)

H.B. No. 28. An act to create and organize Wasco county. Originated in House of Representatives. John McCraken, clerk. Enrolled January 11, 1854.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

State of Oregon -- Office of the Secretary of State:

I, F.I. Dunbar, Secretary of the State of Oregon, and Custodian of the Seal of said State, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a full, true and complete copy of "An Act to create and organize Wasco County," together with the endorsements thereon, as filed in my office and custody.

In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed hereto the seal of the State of Oregon.

Done at the Capitol, at Salem, Oregon, this 24th day of February, A.D., 1905.

F.I. DUNBAR,
Secretary of State.

The first meeting of the Wasco county board of commissioners, of which there is any record, was held April 3. 1854. Undoubtedly one or more previous meetings had been held, following the approval of the organic act, January 11, 1854, and before April 3d. The gentlemen named in the enabling act as commissioners qualified and were present during the proceedings which follow. But little business was transacted at the meeting of April 3d. Precinct officers were appointed, an account of which will be found in the political chapter relating to Wasco county. Another meeting was held April 24th, but this was, practically, without result.
Two days later, April 26th, the commissioners again assembled, and this time they were more fortunate in finding some official material upon which they could work. William C. Laughlin was elected chairman of the board. Following are the proceedings as they appear on the commissioners' journal:
Granted license to Orlando Humason to keep a ferry on Snake river at any point within a distance of three miles above or below Fort Boise, said ferry only required to be kept in time of the emigration passing; assessed the tax for license at fifty dollars per annum for the term of two years; rate of ferrying to be for a wagon and persons belonging thereto, four dollars; for cattle and horses, one dollar per head; for sheep twenty-five cents per head.
Granted to Richard Marshall license to keep a ferry at or near Salmon Falls, on Snake river, for the term of two years with the same tax rates and provisions as to O. Humason.
Granted to C.E. Irvine license to keep a ferry on Green river, at a point on said river eighty miles above the boundary line between Utah and Oregon Territories, with the same tax rates, provisions, and the same term of years as before.
Granted license to J.L. Henderson to keep a grocery at The Dalles for six months at the rate of fifty dollars tax per annum, commencing on the first day of April, A. D., 1854.
The proceedings of July 3d were, in part, as follows:
License was granted to Justin Chenoweth to keep a ferry across the Columbia river at or near The Dalles for the term of two years; assessed the tax at five dollars, the rate of ferriage to be as follows: For each loose animal one dollar; for horses with rider one dollar and fifty cents; horse with pack, sheep or hog, twenty-five cents; for a man fifty cents.
License was granted to Matthew Finlay to keep a ferry across the Columbia river at or near Wind mountain for the term of two years; assessed the tax at eight dollars with the foregoing rates.
O. Humason's tax to keep a ferry on Boise river It also appears that the commissioners appointed a place of voting at the house of Mr. Forsythe. At a subsequent meeting of the board held December 4, 1854, Wasco county was divided into three commissioners' districts, the boundaries being described as follows:
"The first district beginning at the Falls of the Cascades, running east to Dog (Hood) river; south to the boundary line of the county. The second district commencing at Dog river, run-ning east to Five Mile creek; the center of that stream being the divide between that district and the third district, which shall include the eastern balance of the county; the southern and northern line of each district being the established county line."
This division into commissioners' districts is rather vague and indefinite. Hood river and Five Mile creek run only a comparatively short distance into the interior of the immense territory then embraced by Wasco county. Of course the only settlements at that period were in the northern part of the county in the vicinity of The Dalles. These commissioners' districts were, also, the road districts, having the same boundaries and being numbered one, two and three. At the meeting of December 4, the commissioners authorized the levying of a tax of seventeen mills upon each dollar of taxable property in the county (and it is certain that at that period this tax could raise but little revenue, military property being exempt). This was in addition to the Territorial tax of one mill upon each dollar and two mills upon each dollar for school purposes. This brought the total tax up to two per cent.
The first session of district court held in Wasco county convened at The Dalles August 14, 1854. Judge Cyrus Olney, one of the justices of the Oregon Territorial supreme court presided. Other officers of this court were William R. Gibson, clerk; B.M. Reynolds, sheriff; and N. Huber, prosecuting attorney. The court organized by the selection of the following named gentlemen empaneled as a grand jury: W.C. Laughlin, foreman; John A. Sims, John Tompkins, R. Marshall, L.P. Henderson, J.A. Stoley, W.C. Keith, M.M. Cushing, J.H. Mosier, S.S. Moore, Charles E. Evelyn, John Irvin, Thomas Martin, Justin Chenoweth, John Wamsley and John Matthias. The initial cause given to the petit jury was an action at law; Roger G. Atwell vs. Felix J. Imans. The plaintiff was represented by Mr. Chenoweth; the defendant by Mr. Campbell. The jury summoned to try this cause consisted of L.W. Coe, William Jenkins, John Whitebread, George Cannon, Mark Cole, L J. Kimberland, Matthew Duffa, Hiram Russell, William H. Robinson, John D. Woodward and Charles Bellman.
This jury found for the plaintiff granting a judgment of $1. The grand jury found true bills against Felix Imans, larceny; George Turner, larceny; and Stephen Lewis, larceny. The jury also investigated charges against Ebenezer Hardy and William P. Thomasson, but found "not true bills." Benjamin M. Reynolds and George R. Snipes were court criers and Henry Humphreys and Luke G. Torrence officiated as bailiffs.
Jacob Juker came into court, made proofs, took the oath required by law and was admitted to citizenship of the United States -- the first one in Wasco county. October 17, 1855, it was noted by The Dalles Times-Mountaineer that "The time is still remembered by some of our oldest residents when the only courts between the Willamette valley and the Rocky mountains were held at this point, and a justice of the peace's jurisdiction extended from the Cascades to Fort Hall."
During the succeeding four years Wasco county's population was largely increased by an influx of enterprising and wide-awake settlers. The Dalles grew in proportion and quite a flourishing business was transacted therein. But not all these incomers remained to locate in this immediate vicinity. Discovery of gold near the old Hudson's Bay Company's post at Kettle Falls -- near Fort Colville -- brought many miners and prospectors here to outfit for their far-away trip northward.
From the records of the commissioners' proceedings of September 17, 1855, we learn that for the assessment of that year a tax of one per cent, was levied on all taxable property in Wasco county. It was apportioned as follows: county tax, eight mills; Territorial tax, one mill; school tax, one mill. For 1856 the tax levy was one cent and three mills on the dollar. For 1857 ten mills on the dollar for county purposes.
The question of building a jail had been before the county commissioners several times previously, but with no favorable action. However, in the minutes of the meeting of July 6, 1858, we find the following:
"A petition having been received with a large number of signers praying the commissioners to erect a jail, whereupon it was ordered that one should be built at a cost not to exceed $2,500, as near as possible to a plan now before us. And that N. H. Gates and W. C. Moody be appointed as commissioners to plan, lay out and contract for the erection of said jail and court room, etc., according to law, and to have full power to do the same as they deem best."
August 2d a special meeting was held and arrangements made for accepting the bid of W.C. Wallace "to the extent of $2,500 if necessary." April 8, 1859, the court house and jail were accepted from W.C. Wallace by the commissioners.
Many and varied have been the tales related of peculiar methods of meting out justice in the pioneer days of what was once -- but no more to be "the wild and woolly west." Here is a story told of an early day justice court at The Dalles. It fell to the lot of one of the first magistrates to try a person for a minor offense. The justice fixed the penalty at $20 and costs. To "liquidate" this fine the defendant was unable and the justice promptly remanded the prisoner to Vancouver for incarceration. But at Vancouver the authorities refused to receive him. There was but one other horn to this dilemma -- in the eyes of the trial magistrate; he accepted the prisoner's promissory note for the amount, "payable six months after date," and gave the man his liberty. Up to the present writing of this history the note has not been paid. Small wonder that the citizens of Wasco county wanted a jail!
The Wasco county court proceedings record another interesting example of early day "justice." This was in August, 1863. and the following is an order in the court journal:
"In the matter of the imprisonment of Charles McKay.
"This day comes ----------, and presents the report of the sheriff touching the imprisonment of Charles McKay for $200 fine and costs, and the court having examined said McKay under oath, and it appearing that said McKay is unable to pay said fine and costs, it is ordered that he be discharged from jail according to law."
Another interesting official record is an item appearing in the commissioners' journal reporting the meeting of December 12, 1859, which is as follows:
"Bill of A.J. Crabb, sheriff, was presented and rejected, for board of prisoner, Negro Jim, or James Taylor, $39. The above bill was rejected by the clerk and judge on the ground that the said Taylor had not been kept in jail, but has run at large."
In the Times-Mountaineer, in 1898, the following appears:
In those days resorting to courts as arbitrators was an infrequent occurrence, except between parties living convenient to the seat of government, and even criminal matters were often settled outside the court room. An idea of the inconvenience of dispensing justice during the early history of eastern Oregon may be gained from the account given of the execution of Berry Way at Canyon City, in 1863.
The gold mines at that place had been discovered the year previous, and hundreds of desperate characters had flocked thither. Way was among the number. His avarice induced him to murder a companion named Gallagher, and appropriate his money and horses. Gallagher's death soon became known to the miners, and the crime of his murder was then fastened upon Way. The deputy sheriff was the only peace officer in that section, and Way was taken in custody by that official. Jails were then unknown, and miners' wages being $5 a day, while the deputy's was only $2, he could not afford to stand guard over the prisoner or hire an assistant, so Way was tied to a log for safe keeping. One night he escaped, but was recaptured at Boise and brought back to Canyon City. Having been put to considerable trouble in recapturing the murderer, the deputy sheriff refused to further inconvenience himself by bringing the prisoner to The Dalles to be tried. It was a journey of 200 miles through an Indian country, with savages who were no respectors of even high officials, lurking behind every wayside hiding place. The deputy sheriff determined to be put to no more trouble by Way, and calling to his assistance a number of trusted friends, proceeded to serve in the capacity of judge, jury and executioner, and Berry Way expiated his crime on the gallows.
The beginning of the gradual reduction in size of Wasco county was in 1859. February 14th of that year Oregon was admitted to state-hood; its bounds were defined as we now know them. This act of congress took from Wasco county fully one-third of its territory. To Washington territory was annexed that portion of Wasco county east of the Snake river; west of the Rocky mountains and between the 46th and 42d degrees of north latitude. Five years later this tract became southern Idaho. Later in this work will be recorded the history of additional slicing from Wasco territory.
But now it is eminently fitting that the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, which, in its day, proved so important a factor in the history, not only of Wasco county, but of the entire northwest, should be briefly noticed. We have previously told of the earliest navigation of the Columbia river; by canoes, batteaux, schooner-rigged barges and pioneer steamboats. It is ours now to describe the formation of all the water transportation interests into one of the greatest and most oppressive monopolies of the new north-west. We quote from the Daily Astorian of February, 1892:
But it was the Oregon Steam Navigation Company that made the money. Probably no steamboat corporation ever run business on so liberal a scale or ever made so much money in a very thinly settled community. An old purser of one of the steamers told an Astorian reporter that one year the profits on the boat that he was on were over $65,000. The company gave considerable latitude to its employees. It got good men, gave them big wages, and so long as the boats made money didn't look after them very closely. The Oregon Steam Navigation Company came front small beginnings. Captain J.C. Ainsworth was the prime mover. With him were R.R. Thompson, S.G. Reed and W.S. Ladd. When Jay Cooke was building the Northern Pacific railroad he bought out the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. When Cooke went broke in 1873 the original owners bought their former property back for one-third of what they had received for it from the great Northern Pacific financier, and then made more money than ever.
The Dixie Thompson was built at Portland in 1871. The Emma Hayward in Portland in 1878. She is still making money and was recently brought back from the Sound. The Bonito was built at Portland in 1875; she is still making money for her owners. The Welcome was built at Portland in 1874; the Wide West, the company's finest boat, at the same city in 1877. She was worth $150,000, and was broken up three years ago. The S.G. Reed was constructed at Portland in 1878; the R.R. Thompson, now plying between Astoria and Portland, was built at The Dalles, the same year. The Mountain Queen was built at The Dalles in 1877. The Annie Faxon, now running to Lewiston, was built at Celilo in 1877, and the John Gates at the same place in 1878. The Harvest Queen, one of the Union Pacific boats, plying between Astoria and Portland, was built at the latter place the same year.
In 1878 Henry Villard was appointed to represent the German creditors of American railways. At that time some of those parties had an interest in the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, and Villard managed his trust in such a way that it was found convenient to compromise with him. He relinquished his hold upon the railway and secured an interest in the steam-ship business. At that time the Oregon Steamship Company had two vessels, the George W. Elder and the City of Chester. It is said that while managing this business for his principals he aided in placing the Great Republic in opposition. This vessel was wrecked at Sand Island in 1879. While that vessel was making inroads upon the ocean business of the pro-rating companies, experts were busy acquiring information as to the precise amount and character of business done by river steamers. On every steamer was placed an expert, whose business it was, pencil and book in hand, to note all freight received and discharged; the number of cabin fares and the number of passengers carried on the lower deck. From such information furnished daily for several weeks, a pretty accurate idea of the value of the traffic was obtained and calculations made to determine the strength of the company and the probable Cost of successful competition and the resultant gain.
Villard had begun the scheme for the reorganization of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, and worked on it for some time. He gave up the idea of competition and concluded he would supplant the old company and made overtures for its purchase. He had no money himself, but relied on his ability to show capitalists an opportunity to make considerable. He talked with Ainsworth, Ladd and Reed for several months, but at last they told him he must put up some money or quit talking. But while he was talking he was getting others interested, and at last he got an option on the Oregon Steam & Navigation Company for one year by paying $100,000. This option was dated May 23, 1879.
With considerable effort Villard got the $100,000, paid it to Ladd and Reed, and with his bonds, option and stock, started east. He had been in correspondence with Jay Gould, and tried hard to make that wily wizard take hold, but there wasn't enough in it for him, and he refused. Then Villard took his option and script to Germany, but couldn't make it work and came back to New York considerably discouraged. But he went to Boston and succeeded in getting Endicott and Pullman interested in the scheme. They put up the money, and twelve years ago he bought the Oregon Steamship Company. On the 31st of the following March he bought the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, for which he paid $2,3000,000.
The stock and bonds were sold at a heavy discount to Boston capitalists, and with what was left after buying the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, a rail-road was built from Celilo to connect with the Walla Walla & Columbia River Railroad. The stock went to a very high figure and all concerned made big money, Villard and his friends retaining control of the stock. This was soon worth twice what it had cost, and the stock was watered and watered again, until finally it represented $15,000,000.
Mr. P.W. Gillette, from whom we have previously quoted, contributed the following historical sketch of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, October 24, 1900:
By 1859 the transportation business had greatly increased, and there being two complete through lines between Portland and The Dalles, produced strained relations between the two opposing companies, and a rate war seemed imminent. Several efforts had already been made to combine all the different interests under one management, but all had failed. At length an arrangement was reached. The portage roads at the Cascades; all the steamboats, wharfboats and property belonging with them, were appraised each at its cost value, the whole amounting to $175,000. On the 27th day of December, 1860, articles of incorporation were signed, and filed at Vancouver, Clark county, Washington Territory, incorporating the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, shares, $500 each. There were sixteen shareholders, the largest being R.R. Thompson, with 120 shares; Ladd & Tilton, 80 shares; T.M. Lyles, 76 shares; J. Kamm, 57 shares; J.C. Ainsworth, 40 shares; and so on down, the smallest share-holder having but three shares.
In October, 1862, the company filed new articles of incorporation with the secretary of state at Salem, and also with the county clerk of Multnomah county, Oregon, with a capital stock of $2,000,000, represented by twenty-five shareholders, at $500 a share. Bradford & Company were the largest shareholders, having 758 shares, R.R. Thompson, 672; Harrison Olmstead, 558; Jacob Kamm, 354; and so on, the smallest share-holder having but eight shares. This corporation put both portage roads and the gorge of the Columbia into the hands of a corporation, giving it perfect control of all transportation to and from every point beyond the Cascades. Thus owning both portages and all the steamboats, it is needless to say that the Oregon Steam Navigation Company found it unnecessary to consult any one as to what prices they should charge. Such an opportunity, with such unlimited power seldom ever falls into the hands of men. It made them the absolute owners of every dollar's worth of freight and passage, going up or down the great valley on the second largest river in America.
In 1855 there were no settlers living beyond the Des Chutes river, but after that date they began to spread out over the country pretty fast. Previous to that date, the government had given transportation companies nearly all the carrying they had. But by 1860 the natural growth of the country was making considerable business. In 1861 the discovery of gold on Orofino awakened new life in the valley of the Columbia. As if by magic the tardy wheels of commerce were unfettered; human thought and energy unshackled and turned loose with determined purpose to meet the great emergency and reap the golden harvest.
From Portland to "Powder River, Orofino and Florence City" mines the country resounded with the busy whir of trade. All the steamboats and portage roads were taxed to their greatest capacity. So great was the demand for transportation the Oregon Steam Navigation Company had to build new steamboats and improve their roads at the Cascades. The old portage wagon road at The Dalles was entirely inadequate to do the immense business, and the company was obliged to build a railroad from Dalles City to Celilo, fifteen miles. So enormous were the charges for freight and passage, I am creditably informed, that the steamer Okanogan paid the entire cost of herself on her first trip. It makes my head swim now, as memory carries me back to those wonderful rushing days, when the constant fall of chinking coin into the coffers of the company was almost like the flow of a dashing torrent. The Oregon Steam Navigation Company had become a millionaire-making machine.
The price of freight from Portland to The Dalles, about one hundred miles, was $40 per ton; from The Dalles to Celilo, fifteen miles, $15 per ton; from The Dalles to Wallula, $55 per ton; and from Portland to Lewiston, $120 per ton. All freights, excepting solids, such as lead, nails, etc, were estimated by measurement; forty cubic feet making a ton. Passage from Portland to The Dalles was $8, and seventy-five cents extra for meals. From Portland to Lewiston passage was $60, and meals and beds were $1 each.
* * * H. D. Sanborn, a merchant of Lewiston, in 1862 informed me that among a lot of freight consigned to him was a case of miner's shovels. The freight, $120 per ton, made the freight on each shovel $1. A merchant at Hood River said that, always, before the railroad was built, freight from Portland to Hood .River, 85 miles, on a dozen brooms was $1. To better illustrate the method of measurement, I will have to relate an anecdote:
When O.B. Gibson was in the employment of the company at The Dalles, he was down to get the measurement of a small mounted cannon that had to be shipped for the government. After measuring several ways and figuring up the amount, he seemed so much perplexed that he attracted the attention of two soldiers who were lying in the shade of a pine tree near by. One of them finally called out, "What's the trouble, Cap?"
"I am trying to take the measurement of this blamed gun, but somehow I can't get it right," replied Mr. Gibson.
"Oh, I'll show you," said the soldier, leading up a pair of harnessed mules that stood near, and hitching them to the gun, "try it now, Cap." "Thanks; that makes it all right. I see now why I could not get the correct measurement." (Evidently he measured the mules, too, as would seem from the following:)
In measuring a wagon or any piece of freight, the full length, heighth and thickness were taken and carried out full size, the largest way of the piece. To make the method of tonnage clearer, I will give you one more illustration. "Old Captain" T.W. Lyles, of San Francisco, was a large stockholder in the company, and frequently visited Portland to look after his interests. Once while here he attended a meeting of the board of directors. After the principal part of the business had been transacted, Captain Lyles arose and said:
"Mr. Chairman, I move that Eph. Day, a purser on one of our boats, be discharged from the service of this company."
Now Eph. Day was one of the favorite pursers, and everybody sprang up to know what was the matter with Eph. Day. After quiet had been restored Captain Lyles said:
"I see, gentlemen, that Eph. Day is purser on a boat of only 150 tons register, yet I find that he comes in at the end of every trip with a report of having carried from 250 to 300 tons of freight, and, gentlemen, he substantiates his report by bringing in the cash for those amounts of freights. Now while I do not claim to be much of a steamboat man, yet I can see, gentlemen, that if you allow our boats to be overladen in this manner and made to carry twice as much as they are designed to carry, they will soon be worn out and we will have no boats."
The meeting adjourned amidst roars of laughter and Eph. Day kept his place and still measured up big loads of freight.
The Florence gold excitement of 1862 brought the Oregon Steam Navigation Company a flood of prosperity. They could, not possibly take all the business offered. At Portland the rush of freight to the docks of the company was so great that drays and trucks had to form in line to get their turn in delivering their goods. Their lines were kept unbroken day and night for weeks and months. Shippers were obliged to use the greatest vigilance and take every advantage to get their goods away. Often a merchant would place a large truck in line early in the morning, then fill it by dray loads during the day. That great rush continued for months. * * *
Unquestionably the Oregon Steam Navigation Company held in check and kept back the growth of the country east of the Cascade mountains for years, though perhaps unintentionally on its part. It had so long been accustomed to receive such exceedingly liberal compensation for its service, that I have no doubt that they believed farm products could not be carried to Portland at rates that would leave anything to the farmer. Captain James W. Troup, who commanded one of the boats on the upper river, said to me that he had so many applications to bring wheat to Portland, which he had no authority to do, that he finally went to the president of the company and asked for permission to do so, but he was informed that it was impossible; that wheat was not worth its transportation. The next season the people fairly begged him to carry their wheat to market, and he made another appeal. This time the company yielded, and President J.C. Ainsworth said: "Well, Captain Troup, you may try it; do the best you can." Wheat has been pouring down the Columbia ever since, and the Inland Empire is one vast wheat field. * * *
In reviewing the career of this most interesting corporation one can but view with wonder and amazement the ease and rapidity with which colossal fortunes were made. And I can but regret, on their own account, that not one of that company has left any little token of good will, or any memento of kindness to the place or people where they were so splendidly favored by fortune, and so liberally patronized by the business public. Had they even erected a small drinking fountain, where the faithful dray and truck horses that indirectly carted millions of dollars into their pockets could have slaked their thirst, that would have somewhat served to ameliorate and soften the memory of them. But they seemed to be remembered only as members of a corporation that took every possible advantage of one of the most extraordinary opportunities that ever fell into the hands of men to amass fortunes for themselves. * * *
The Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company grew out of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, continuing its business, and almost immediately began the construction of a railroad up the Columbia from Port-land (1880). * * * The Oregon Steam Navigation Company's property was sold for $5,000,000, a small sum for property possessing such wonderful advantages, and that was then paying fifteen per cent net on the purchase price, with the most flattering prospect of a rapid and constant increase. For the year ending November 30, 1879, which was the last year the Oregon Steam Navigation Company owned and operated their property, the income of the company was $1,600,000, while the expense, repairs, etc., amounted to $850,000, leaving a profit of $750,000. * * * They received about $3,000,000 more than the actual cost of the property. The $175,000 put in when the company was first organized in 1860, was about all the cash ever put up. That small sum was the prolific nest egg from which so many fortunes and millionaires were hatched.
The People's Transportation Company was organized in 1862. Three boats for the Columbia river trade were constructed soon after the formation of the company -- the E.D. Baker, from Portland to the Cascades; the Iris, from the Cascades to The Dalles; and the Cayuse, above The Dalles to Lewiston, Idaho. Of this company Stephen Coffin was president; Mr. Kings-ley, vice president, and David and Asa McCully and E.N. Cook, directors. Other stockholders resided at Eugene, Albany, Salem, Portland, and many other points on the two rivers reached by its boats -- in all sixty-five stock-holders. In 1858 David McCully had moved to Salem. To the People's Transportation Company stiff opposition was offered by the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, on the Columbia and Snake rivers. The secretary of the People's Transportation Company reported that it was in debt $50,000. It was proposed by Asa and David McCully, E.N. Cook, and Mr. Church, to raise $50,000, pay up the liabilities and secure themselves by a mortgage on the company's property. When this proposition had been accepted it was discovered that the debts were $65,000. Three weeks subsequently W.S. Ladd called on David McCully and proposed a deal whereby the People's Transportation Company and the Oregon Steam Navigation Company would cease cutting one another's throats, as the latter company was losing some money and was in debt. In June, 1863, the People's Transportation Company traded the Iris and Cayuse for the Ormand and two other of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company's boats, and received in addition $10,000.
The winter of 1861-62 was, without doubt, the most severe ever experienced in the northwest by white men up to that date. Nearly all the stock in the country perished and many were the hardships endured by settlers. Fortunately we are enabled to procure data relative to meteorological conditions during this memorable season. The following are extracts from the diary of Judge W.C. Laughlin, deceased, then a resident of The Dalles. The weather record for the winter was arranged from the diary kept by Samuel L. Brooks, also of The Dalles:
November, 1860 -- Very wet month; first snow on the 25th; on the 30th the snow nearly all gone. Very muddy.
December 1 -- Rain; mild. 2d -- Rain heavy. 3d -- Light rain; mild. 4th -- Clear; fair; mild. 5th -- Clear; p. m. cloudy; mild; river rising rapidly. 6th -- a.m., two inches of fresh snow; river higher than I ever saw it before. Steamers land at foot of Front street, at Fitzgerald's store. 7th -- Snow hard; everything afloat. 8th -- Snow hard; weather mild. 9th -- Clear and frosty. 10th -- Clear and pleasant. 11th -- Cloudy. 12th -- Cloudy; mild. 13th -- Cloudy; mild. 14th -- Foggy. 15th -- Cloudy; pleasant. 16th -- Cloudy;. warm: 17th -- Cloudy; warm. 18th -- Cloudy ; warm. 19th -- Clear; frosty a.m. 20th -- Clear; frosty a.m. 21st -- Clear; frosty a.m. 22d -- Cloudy; cold. 23d -- Snow four inches deep. 24th -- Light snow. 25th -- Clear; cold. 26th -- Frosty; cold. 27th -- Frosty; cold. 28th -- Warmer. 29th -- Variable. 30th -- Heavy snow eight or nine inches deep; cold today and tonight; about thirty inches of snow fallen so far.
January 1, 1862 -- Cold; snow eight inches deep. 2d -- Pleasant day. 3d -- Very cold; thermometer 10 degrees. 4th -- Bitter cold; river blockaded with ice; thermometer 5 degrees. 5th -- Bitter cold; river frozen over; Indians crossing over on ice. 6th -- Bitter cold; thermometer 3½ degrees. 7th -- Bitter cold; two inches fresh snow; thermometer zero. 8th -- Bitter cold; growing milder. 9th -- Fresh fall of snow, eight inches; is 18 inches on a level. 10th -- Snow again; 12 inches. 11th -- Not very cold; 10 inches more snow. 12th -- Cold, dry weather. 13th -- Very cold; thermometer 7 degrees below. 14th -- Very cold; thermometer 12 degrees below. 15th -- Milder today; thermometer, zero. 16th -- Extremely cold; thermometer 24 degrees below. 17th -- Violently cold; thermometer 30 degrees below. 18th -- Cold; thermometer 12 degrees below. 19th -- Cold; thermometer 4 degrees below. 20th -- Pleasant; thermometer zero. 21st -- Snow-ing; 8 inches; snow about three feet deep. 22d -- Snow fell 2 inches; rain and sleet. 23d -- Thawing all day. 24th -- Thawing all day. 25th -- Thawing all day. 26th -- Colder; thermometer 10 degrees. 27th -- Bitter cold; thermometer 13 degrees below. 28th -- Bitter cold; thermometer 10 degrees below. 29th -- New snow, four inches; thermometer zero. 30th -- Very cold; thermometer 24 degrees below. 31st -- Moderate; snow 54 inches deep; thermometer 2 degrees below.
February 1 -- Milder; thermometer 10 degrees. 2d -- Milder; thermometer 10 degrees. 3d -- Two inches more snow; thermometer 2 degrees. 4th -- Milder; thermometer 16 degrees. 5th -- Colder; thermometer 16 degrees below. 6th -- Cold; thermometer 3 degrees below. 7th -- Cold; thermometer zero. 8th -- Cold; thermometer 13 degrees. 9th -- Same. 10th -- Same. 11th -- Same. 12th -- Milder. 13th -- Snow disappearing. 14th -- Snow disappearing. 15th -- Up-stream wind. 16th -- Thawing and sloppy. 17th -- Cooler. 18th -- Snow today. 19th -- Cold. 20th -- Cold; thermometer zero. 21st -- Snowed nearly all day, nine inches. 22d -- Warm; mercury up to 50 degrees. 23d -- Two inches more snow. 24th -- New snow, nine inches; thermometer 52 degrees. 25th -- Snow melting fast. 26th -- Four inches more snow this a.m. 27th - Raining, wet and sloppy. 28th -- Warm; mercury 55 degrees; snow 30 ½ inches deep.
March 17 - The first boat came up to the landing today; ice all out.
From the diary of N. Coe, deceased, kept at Hood River during the winter we take the following extracts relating to the weather:
December, 1861 -- Lowest thermometer, 14 degrees; general mean, 32.96 degrees; deepest snow, 19 inches.
January 1862 -- Lowest thermometer, 25 degrees; general mean, 10.45 degrees; deepest snow 4½ feet.
February, 1862 -- Lowest thermometer, 2 degrees below; general mean, 37.82 degrees.
March, 1862 -- Thirty inches snow fell in March.
The discovery of gold in what is now Idaho, and the subsequent rush to the upper country, was a means of bringing Wasco county to the fore. The Dalles, then the only town, evolved into a city; much of the county's history of the Dalles. The increased activity at this town also '60's will be told in the chapter devoted to The Dalles had the effect of settling the adjacent portion of the county. The mining rush created a lucrative market for stock; the stock interests of Wasco county began to attract attention abroad; The Dalles became a center of this important industry. New settlers scattered themselves among the bunch-grass hills; cattlemen drove their herds into Wasco county, where the abundance of feed and mild climate were favorable to the interests of stockmen. Before many years had elapsed the products of the ranges contributed as much wealth as did the mines of the northern and eastern sections. True, lack of facilities for transportation to the markets of the east proved a serious drawback, but adventurous spirits were soon driving large bands of beef cattle across the plains and mountains to railroad connections at Cheyenne. The entire summer season was required to complete the drive. The sheep industry received an impetus, and has since proved a lucrative resource.