USA > Oregon > The Oregon native son, Vol. I > Part 75
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After arrival a home was made in Oregon City for a short time when the family settled on a piece of land near that place, remaining there until 1848, when Mr. Holman removed his family back to the city, when he left for the gold fields of California. The party of which he was a member being the first of the gold hunters from Oregon to reach the mines.
His mining ventures were very successful and after a few months he returned home richer than he was on his departure by sev- eral thousand dollars. He came back in 18 !! by way of San Francisco, where he purchased a large stock of merchandise, with which he opened a store in Oregon City, and by at- tention to business he further prospered. In 1849 he was elected a member of the first ter- ritorial legislature and was one of the lead- ers therein. In 1850 he conceived the idea that the metropolis of the Pacific Northwest would eventually be built nearer to tide wa- ter than the towns then on the Columbia were located, he disposed of his interests in Oregon City and removed to Pacific City, on Baker's Bay, purchasing a large interest in the townsite, saw mill and other improve- ments at that place. He also secured a dona tion land claim.
For a time Pacific City gave promise of be. ing the great city he had dreamed of as a future possibility, but expectations were cut short by the government, in 1852, step ping in and appropriating to its uses the greater portion of the townsite and its im- provements, one of the latter being a ho! ! erected by Mr. Holman at a cost of ... Pacific City was afterwards taken as a gov ernment reservation and is new the For: Canby reservation.
In 1879 the government paid him for the hotel, but for the other improvements and the townsite it never would pay a cent.
Mr. Holman then went to live on his dona- tion claim adjoining Pacific City, and after
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
proving up on it removed to Portland where he resided until his death. In 1859 he was elected a director of the Portland public schools, and re-elected for four sucessive :erins. He was a pioneer of the highest type. He was in every way honorable-an ex- "mplary man, conscientious Christian and a model citizen. He died at Portland, Decem- her 21. 1882, leaving a widow and four chil- dren to mourn his loss. His wife was a Miss Rachael Hixson Summers, a brief sketch of whom appears in this number.
MRS. RACHAEL HIXSON HOLMAN.
Among that illustrious band of Oregon's earlier pioneers whose coming blazed the way across the plains was the subject of this -ketch. She was born February 27, 1823, in Fleming county, Kentucky and is closely re- lated to well known families of that state. In 1840 she accompanied her father, who was seeking better health, to Western Missouri, and while there met Mr. James D. Holman. And not long afterwards they became man and wife. A happy choice for her, a selection for helpmate on his part that brought him n) regrets. While it is to be admitted that the social and conventional forms surrounding the lives of mothers keep them in the shad- ow of their husband's name, it is neverthe- Iss a fact that the greater part of the in- rentive which a man has to win position or fortune comes from his wife. And it has often been remarked that the women in the "migration trains showed as much pluck as 'he men; and many a dispirited husband was . heered up and almost carried through by his brave better half. The experiences of those of our pioneers coming here in the forties *rre such that would almost appall the present generations. still, those brave men and as equally brave women never faltered 'a their endeavor to reach this far-away land. Mr. Holman believed that fortunes' star
Mone brighter in the West and determined '", be nearer its greater glowing. To his opin- ins in the matter of coming. his wife, will- "Ely deferred. By her bouyant disposition the hardships of the plains were made to appear * ** heavy; the same spirit of cheer aided her husband to make financial losses in after TrArs an incentive for new effort; and re- ·: ses were robbed of their bitterness by her Empathy and encouragement. Of all God's « A's to man. a brave. true woman, a devoted "'! helpful wife and affectionate mother, is "'s best. Such a woman is Mrs. Holman.
Of the children born to Mr. and Mrs. Hol- man. four are now living. Frederick V. and "+o. F. Holman, both prominent members of
the Oregon bar, Frances A. and Kate S., who reside with their mother in her beautiful and comfortable Portland home.
HEMAN J. GEER.
The name of Geer is so well known in the state of Oregon that the following account of the parents of T. T. Geer, the first native- son of our commonwealth to become its chief executive, will be of interest to all.
This now venerable pioneer was born in the state of Ohio in 1828. Two years after birth he removed with his parents to Illinois where he remained until arriving at man- hood's estate. In 1847 he crossed the plains with the train of which Joel Palmer was captain. There was considerable discontent among the Indians of the Pacific Northwest about this time, but the large number coming in this train prevented any show of hostility being manifested. One of the party, Peter Hall, stopped en route at Waiilatpu, and was one of those who fell by the hand of the treacherous savage during the Whitman massacre. The most trying experience of the party, as a whole, was the crossing of the Cascade mountains by the Barlow road.
Mr. Geer's first stopping place in the state was at Oregon City, where he engaged in the boot and shoe business, remaining there until the following year when he abandoned city life for a pastoral one, locating a claim in the Waldo Hills section. Soon after getting his cabin in readiness for habitation he was united in marriage with Miss Cynthia Ann Eoff, daughter of J. L. Eoff, a pioneer of 1847.
From 1854 to 1861 he was in the nursery business at Silverton, and the next year at Salem, thence to the Caribou mines in 1862. thence to Auburn, and from there to Ban- nock City with his goods. In 1864 he mined on the John Day river with indifferent suc- cess. Upon the organization of Union county he served as deputy sheriff under his brother Isaac Geer. during the incumbency of the latter in that office. In 1867 he located a fruit farm near Cove, Oregon. Here sur- rounded by his fields, fruits, fine stock, etc., he finds employment.
In 1848 he was a member of Captain Eng- lish's company of Oregon Rangers which was of much service in recovering property stolen by the Indians from the settlers in the Wil- lamette valley.
In accordance with the longevity of the Geer family, Mr. Geer bids fair to live to a. very ripe old age, he is at present 72 years old and seems as buoyant and vigorous as a man of forty.
1
EARLY CENSUS TAKING.
The first regular census of Oregon was taken in 1851-2, under the super- vision of Colonel Joe Meek, the then United States Marshal. Among his as- sistants was Uncle Dan O'Neill, the well- known old-time steamboat purser. At such time census taking was not by any means a snap, owing to the country be- ing thinly settled and the difficulties of transportation from place to place. The area to be covered comprised the original Oregon, now Oregon, Washington, Ida- ho and that portion of Montana west of the Rocky mountains. Uncle Dan be- gan his work out south and was in the Willamette valley for five months. While in the Calipooia mountains he got lost for a couple of days and had to subsist on the inner bark of birch trees.
His trip down the Willamette river from Oregon City to Portland was in a canoe, which he tied up to the bank about where the foot of Washington street now is. Upon landing he sallied forth into the brush then covering the site of the future city to round up the most of the residents, being guided to their whereabouts by the sound of their axes: He secured 600 names, but Colo- nel W. W. Chapman, who owned a large part of the townsite, was not satisfied with the number reported, and he hired another man to re-take the census. The hired man only secured 550 names. The latter worked at a certain price for the job, while Uncle Dan was paid so much per name and, naturally, took pains to see every one.
At one of the houses where Uncle Dan called, he found the head of the house to be a widow, one well dressed and of elderly appearance. She met him at the door, and upon stating his business, she waived him to a seat-one of the many stumps which stood near the door. Set-
tling himself and getting his book ready, he inquired :
"What is the number of your family?"
"Six-including myself."
"Very well-your age, madam?"
"My age, sir!" with a piercing, digni- fied look, "I don't think it is any of your business what my age might be."
"The law compels me, madam, to take the age of every person in the territory. It's my duty to make the inquiry."
"Well, if the law compels you to ask ; I presume it will compel me to answer. I am between thirty and forty."
"I presume that means thirty-five?" "No sir; it means nothing of the kind. I am only thirty-three years of age."
"Very well, madam. Now for the ages of your children, commencing with the youngest, please."
"Josephine, ten years."
"Josephine-pretty name-ten."
"Elizabeth was twelve last week."
"Elizabeth-captivating-twelve."
"Annie Maria has just turned fifteen."
"Annie Maria-charming-fifteen."
"Louise is eighteen, sir ; just eighteen."
"Louise-my favorite name-eigh- teen."
"My eldest daughter, Matilda Jane, is a little over twenty-five."
"Twenty-five, did you say, madam?"
"Yes sir; twenty-five. Is there any- thing remarkable in her being that age?"
"No-I can't say that there is-but- ah-but-excuse me, but-did you say you were only thirty-three?"
For answer he got the door slammed in his face, with the mother at eight years of age on the other side of it. Upon the arrival of the noon hour Uncle Dan did not return to that cabin and pull the latch-string and ask if he could get his dinner there.
.
PICTURES.
A fleecy cloud, and a lively bree ze, A sky as blue as the ocean's breast. A burst of song and a drone of bees. A rustling of boughs and orchard trees As white as Hood's own crest- And this is spring-is spring, Oh!
A wayside brook; bright, glowing skies. A rustic bridge from side to side, Two red lips mute, two speaking eyes, A maiden's blush, which rose ne'er vies, A lover's kiss, a promised bride- And this is love-is love, Oh!
True loving hearts and a baby head, A mother's call, a child's wild glee, A father's care, like a page half read, Heart thanks returned for daily bread, Then eyes so dim they cannot see- And this is life-is life, Oh! -M. Agnes Kelly.
Probate Court
IL Babcock Judge of Probate hath appointed Davis eestie administrator of the affairs of the late Ewing young yearman, deceased, intestate, late resident in the Willaminet Settlement.
April 1st 1841
George W Le Breton Clerk
FAC SIMILE OF THE FIRST OFFICIAL DOCUMENT ISSUED BY THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT.
A TOUR OF THE WORLD.
JOHN J. VALENTINE, PRESIDENT OF WELLS-FARGO & CO., WRITES HIS FRIEND, AARON STEIN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, AN ACCOUNT OF HIS TRAVELS.
( Published by Special Permission of Mr. Valentine.)
St. John, N. B., Sept. 11, 1899. DEAR UNCLE AARON:
Following rather quickly my last let- ted, dated Halifax, September 7th, I re- sume my itinerary: Leaving that noted commercial way station on the eastern coast of Nova Scotia-the city of Hali- fax-we traveled by rail for about four hours to Pictou, in the same province, where we embarked on the steamer "Princess" and crossed the Northum- berland Strait, landing in Charlottetown some five hourslater. The strait varies in width from five to twenty miles, but our route, as sailed, was quite fifty: As an index to the passage the first hour and a half, pleasant by reason of a mild at- mosphere, sunshine, and placid sea, proved most deceptive, for after that a stiff northwester sprang up, and during the next three hours we had high winds and a stormy sea. However, ere landing in Charlottetown, when once within the haibor of that city, these elemental dis- turbances subsided.
The French claimed Prince Edward Island as having been discovered by Verazzani in. 1524. However, that may be, Jacques Cartier sailed along the northern coast and touched at various points on the Island in 1534, and be re- corded of it: "All the said land is low and plaine, and the fairest that may pos- sibly be seen; full of goodlie meadows and trees"-and this describes the gen- eral appearance of the island today, so far as I had opportunity of observing. In view of the references already made in "A Trip Across Cape Breton Island" to the different races that first sought to colonize these islands, I will not herein dwell upon such features. Further men-
tion of them will be made in my next budget, to be entitled, "A Trip Across New Brunswick."
In 1758, when, by the second conquest of Louisbourg, Wolfe shook the French power in America, an English expedi- tion was at once dispatched to the Isle of Saint Jean, and Port La Joie was cap- tured without difficulty. Rigorous ineasures were then adopted to enforce the submission of the Acadian popula- tion, many of whom went back to France rather than promise allegiance to their enemies. But a number remained, and even now their descendants are to be found in certain sections of the island, following the same customs, wearing the same distinctive dress, and speaking the same language as their forefathers. The years have passed them by, and they have changed very little in their mode of life. Their settlements at Rustico, Tig- nish, Abram's Village, Miscouche, and other parts of the island, are well worth a visit. They earn their living from the land and from the sea, for they areas much fishermen as farmers; and occasionally their women, in picturesque peasant cos- tume, may be seen on market days in Charlottetown, selling the fish the men have toiled for.
In 1663 a certain Sieur Doublet, a naval officer in the French service, was granted the whole island, which had been named Isle St. Jean. He. with some companions, established a few fish- ing stations, but for nearly fifty years af- terwards it cannot be said that there were any regular settlers in the colony.
In 1713, after the expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia and New Foundland, Isle St. Jean received many
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OREGON NATIVE SON.
of the refugees, and from that date until 1758 the colony was under the active control of the French.
Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island, has about ten thousand inhabitants. After dinner we strolled about in the burg and made arrange- ments to continue our sight-seeing the next morning, after an early breakfast. Accordingly we arose at 6:30, and an hour later were being driven about the city and suburbs.
Charlottetown has a square or plaza near the center of the city on which are located the statehouse, postoffice, the Catholic Cathedral and other notable structures; the ecclesiastical edifice for its size being one of the best appearing church buildings that I have yet seen in America, north of Mexico. The in- terior, however, is not completed at this date.
The province, divided into three coun- ties-King, Queen and Prince-has 2134 square miles, and probably one- third of this area is under water. I may, however, qualify this statement by ad- mitting I am not quite sure that the figure, 2134 square miles, given me by a citizen of Charlottetown, may not be ex- clusive of the island's inland water sur- face. . The extreme length, east to west, of Prince Edward Island is 130 miles; the width, north to south, varying from five to twenty miles. At the present time the population numbers 120,000- or fifty-six people to the square mile.
Not to mention an unlimited supply of good fish, which all the maritime prov- inces of Canada enjoy, the products of this island are cattle, sheep, hogs, butter, cheese, poultry, eggs, cauliflower, toma- toes, potatoes, turnips, beets, carrots and otlier small vegetables. An abund- ance of fine oats was seen in the fields and of trees there are the birch, fir. spruce, larch, willow. poplar, and the mountain ash, which latter were laden with large clusters of bright red berries. The soil is brownish red, or what we would call red sand. Previous to clear- ing, the land has a thick growth of small timber and underbruslı, as already men- tioned, which must be removed before
the soil can be cultivated. Yet this little stretch of country, that in area equals only I-74 part of California, contains, as I have already said, 120,000 prosperous people. Were California populated in the same ratio, it would number about nine million inhabitants; and yet in this less genial northeastern clime these peo- ple dig a living out of the land they must first clear by the most arduous labor, and once free of its natural growth, it must be artificially fertilized to yield sat- isfactory returns. Despite all these dis- advantages, Prince Edward Islanders thrive, are well-appearing, and within their borders churches and school houses abound. Their students, I am told, avail eagerly of all educational opportunities and privileges afforded them, and those sent to the higher universities-notably to Lavalle, of Quebec, and Magill, of Montreal-rank among the foremost in scholarship. In their own province they have Prince of Wales College, located in Charlottetown. Prof. Jacob G. Schur- mann (here pronounced Skew-er-man), of Cornell University, one of President McKinley's commissioners to the Philip- pines, was, I am informed, "raised" on Prince Edward Island, where, for a time, he taught school, etc.
Early in the day we took train for Summerside, a town of from three to five thousand people, which lies almost duc west of Charlottetown. The short railroad ride of fifty miles showed an undulating country, cut upinto trim farms withi neat farm houses and commodious barns. etc. In the well-watered meadows browsed cattle and sheep; and frequently sinall stretches of forest relieved and beauti- fied the landscape. The country in gen- eral partakes somewhat of the placid as- pect of England's rural districts, and al- together we felt well repaid for our very brief visit to Prince Edward Island.
San Francisco, Cal .. Oct. 5, 1899.
After perusal of the letter from our absent president dated Sept. 14, 1800, it may have occurred to some of the friends of Mr. Valentine that, during a similar tour of his made something less than a year ago, he traversed the same
D
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A TOUR OF THE WORLD.
romantic locality made memorable by tales of human achievement and human suffering, and favored them with a letter on the subject addressed to the under- signed and issued to them in the usual form. It was dated, "Lower Canada, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 1898," evidently hav- ing been jotted down enroute. In it he mentions. incidentally, leaving New York at midnight the preceding Fri- day, and of taking a passing look at Bos- ton. Having permission to do so, I here reproduce so much of the let- ter as relates to his rambles in the Ac- adian Land, the impressions of each year, while precisely the same in spirit, being sufficiently diversified in expres- sion to constitute, by comparison, fresh and entertaining reading.
"UNCLE AARON."
A TRIP ACROSS NOVA SCOTIA. In the Acadian Land.
Lower Canada, Tuesday, Oct. 25, '98.
This morning. 7:15 to 9:45, we are voyaging on the good steamer "Prince Rupert" across the Bay of Fundy, from St. Johns, N. B .. to Digby, N. S., (on the south shore of Annapolis Bay), forty- five miles by the ship's course-a little cast of south. From Digby we go by rail, via Annapolis. to Halifax, traveling the beautiful valley made memorable by Longfellow's "Evangeline."
Leaving Boston Sunday night, we breakfasted at Vanceboro, a frontier cus- toms station between Maine and New Brunswick-reached St. Johns before noon, and after lunch began sight-seeing under the guidance of a most intelligent and affable host-Mr. Taylor, of the Canadian Express Company. As you may remember. the city of St. Johns is situated on the east bank of the St. Johns river. near its confluence with the Bay of Fundy-population about 40,000, but with its suburbs-Carleton. Portland and. Fairville -- probably 50.000 all told. The basis of the city's prosperity is the lumbering interest on the St. Johns riv- er, on which stream eighty-five miles dis- tant, is situated Fredericton. the capital of the province.
The afternoon was fine-the sky clear, the atmosphere brilliant, as it were; hence the drive or ride was thoroughly enjoyed. The St. Johns river, with its picturesque banks, its rugged rocks, and turbulent waters, is a sight to be remem- bered. The tide rises here thirty feet, and, at the very narrowest gorge the stream is spanned by two graceful bridg- es-the railroad cantilever, steel trusses, about 500 feet span; the thoroughfare bridge, steel suspension, about 650 feet span. From the car windows in the fore- noon I looked at the beautiful river rush- ing in tumultuous force on its way to the sea, in rapids so furious that only a few weeks since a native Indian who es- sayed to "shoot" them in his canoe, was overturned and drowned. Yet four hours after I had looked at the rapids, the tide coming in had converted the basin or gorge into a sullen maelstrom, with 35 to 50 feet of water on soundings, and over the bosom of this flood were plying tugs, towing schooners, sloops, log rafts, etc .- commerce out of Indian- town Bay (above the rapids) making for the lower bay, the wharves and the sea. For half an hour I watched this animat- ed scene from the center of the suspen- sion bridge, about seventy-five feet above the highest tide. When the tide is at low ebb, there is a fall of about fifteen feet toward the harbor. When the tide returns it moves up the gorge, over- comes the river current, and causes a fall in the opposite direction.
The views from the surrounding hill- tops were inspiring:
"O the great beauty of the earth and heavens, The tender purple of the distant sea."
And looking north-westward over the line of the river I thought of the voyag- curs of nearly 300 years ago-heroic souls, wern't they?
In Montreal there is a splendid monu- ment, comparatively new, to Maisson- neuve, one of the voyageurs and found- er of that city-of the discoverer of the site.
On the day of St. John the Baptist, in the year 1604, the illustrious French ex- plorer. Champlain, cruising along the
566
REV. JOHN MCCARTY, D.D., A Pioneer of 1853.
REV. ST. MICHAEL FACKLER. A Pioneer of 1847.
A
BISHOP THOMAS F. SCOTT, A Pioneer of 1353.
REV. J. R. W. SELLWOOD, A Pioneer of 1856.
PIONEER EPISCOPAL MISSIONARIES.
567
A TOUR OF THE WORLD.
coast of the Bay of Fundy, cast anchor at the mouth of a great river, which, in honor of the day, he named St. John. About the year 1631 Fort la Tour was here established. This fort, a dozen years later, was the theatre of stirring events, in the fierce feud between Charles La Tour, its commander, and his great rival, Charnisay, who was established just across the bay at Fort Royal (now Annapolis). The sieges of Fort La Tour; the part played in the fatal drama by men and ships from Boston, who came to aid La Tour; the final capture of the fort by Charnisay, with its tragic sequence ; the heroism of Lady La Tour. who died heart-broken, the victim of the treachery of a pitiless foe, are incidents ir a story of thrilling interest.
Our course from St. Johns is not wholly through the bay of Fundy, but into Annapolis Bay, an off-shoot from Fundy-the town of Annapolis be- ing situated on the north end and . Digby on the south. From Digby we journeyed by the Dominion Atlan- tic Railroad to Halifax, being sixty miles shorter than the all-rail route from St. Johns to Halifax. En- route to Halifax one has an opportunity to see the fortifications at Annapolis Royal, the alleged oldest town in North America; and the ancient Acadian vil- lage of Grand Pre, the home of Evan- geline, and the scene of the great expul- sion.
Halifax-same evening :- We enjoyed a brief visit of two hours at Digby, leav- ing there at 12, noon, and the ride. of six hours to Halifax, was delightful; for the most part through a valley truly Acadian in its beauty and loveliness, past the basin of Minas, the village of Grand Pre, seeing, close at hand. from the train the willow trees and the well, near which stood in 1757. before the great expul- sion, the cottage of Benedict Belfontaine ( Evangeline's father), and where Gabriel La Jeunness dreamed of a love that fate willed should have no fruition.
Longfellow says:
"Waste are those pleasant farms. and the farmers forever departed."
Possibly that might have been true of the farms when "Evangeline" was writ- ten, but it certainly is not now, for all the valley is a scene of thriving industry- well-kept farms, neat, tidy villages. and an orderly, hospitable people. Neverthe- less, the story is forever new and touch- ing, founded, as it is, upon the ever- recurring "man's inhumanity to man" and the broken hopes of youth and love. Upon all this I mused as we glided through a land rich in historic incidents, the sky flecked with fleeting clouds, the forest foliage splendid in its autumnal beauty, the western horizon glorious in the rich gold and crimson of the sunset -and the musing brought to mind the poet's lines :
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