Chapter 1

September 15, 1847

We spent the night getting reacquainted again and telling each other of our adventures. Claire told us about her trip as well.

(Claire's Story)

We began our ride determined to get the information we needed in order to file our claims and meet the rest of you in Oregon City. We figured that riding would not be a problem. After all, we have ridden all during the trip out here. We found out the hard way the difference between riding for a short period and riding for an entire day. When we reached Laurel Hill where we made camp for the night everyone was so tired that we barely had energy to move. We set up the tents and then took out the food we had ready, warmed it up, and stumbled into bed. It was then that I began to miss you very much because it was really difficult to get to sleep without someone to sleep next to. I had forgotten what it was like to sleep alone.

We women got up early the next morning and made breakfast. After breaking camp, we mounted our horses and began to ride again. We rode around Laurel Hill and reached the Sandy River by noon. We saw a lot of bears in various berry patches eating their fill of the abundant harvest. Several times we had to yield the roadway to the bears until they moved away. In spite of this we made a good distance until we reached an area of bogs and fallen trees. We stopped along the banks of a stream and the men went fishing. They speared a salmon and we made a good noon meal for all of us from this one fish. After we ate, it was time to mount up and continue on our journey. However, we ran into bogs so many times that we finally dismounted and used a long stick to test the ground before us and walked for the rest of the day. When it was time to stop we found a small clearing and made ready for the night. We ate a quick dinner of leftover fish and journey bread and went to sleep. I realized how much I had become accustomed to having you help me when I kept looking for one of the men to offer to help us get ready for the night.

Joseph showed us a gap through the mountains that led to the Valley and we managed to cut off two days' travel by not following the Barlow Trail to the end and coming back. It started to rain and we had a wet ride for the entire day. By the time we got through the mountains and into the Valley, no one felt much like eating and we had to force ourselves to make dinner and eat. It was then that I really appreciated you, Alex, for the men acted as if they thought that we women should do all the work in the camp with the exception of shooting or catching dinner. We grumbled as we pitched the tents and gathered wood for the morning's fire while the men took care of the horses. I would rather have taken care of the horses instead of cooking and setting up the camp. The only game we saw today was the bears and occasional birds and we are running out of provisions.

We resumed our journey the next morning and made much better time since we were in the open valley. As we traveled we noticed the rolling fields of dried grass with occasional clumps of oaks and pines on the foothills. We were surprised at the lack of game in the valley, seeing only occasional deer in the distance. I wondered about that. We had planned on supplementing our supplies with game but from the appearance of the valley we were not going to be able to do that. Finally Joseph managed to shoot a small deer of a rather indifferent quality which was barely enough to serve as a single meal for all 10 of us. We had deer steaks and cornbread for dinner with several varieties of ripe berries for dessert. We cracked the leg bones of the deer for the marrow with which to flavor tomorrow's corn mush. Unless we are able to find someone from whom to buy provisions I fear that we will be hungry by nightfall tomorrow.

We had been hunting as we traveled through the valley, but without success. All we saw were small deer in the distance that moved away rapidly when they saw us approach. We gathered berries and a root that Joseph calls cammas. These are small bulbs about the size of a large thumb that when peeled we boiled and ate as we would potatoes. We spent a good two hours gathering enough for a meal. We had only a small portion of corn meal to make mush in the morning. Joseph told us we should be in an area that had been settled for some years by nooning tomorrow.

We continued our journey the next morning and finally began to find signs of civilization in our trip across the valley. Occasional fields of wheat were showing up as well as scattered houses the further we traveled. We begged housing at one of the houses and were gracefully welcomed by the landowner. The women joined his wife in helping to fix dinner. We had pork cutlets and peas. We slept on the floor of the house while the men slept in the barn. In the morning we thanked our hosts who refused to accept anything else for their hospitality. We were able to find a ferry that took us over the Willamette for ten cents each. We were also able to buy food at the same location and purchased peas, beans, beef, and wheat flour. Corn meal was not to be had in the country at this time. I asked about that and the storekeeper told me that no one grew corn in the valley because it didn't grow as well as wheat and barley.

We arrived at the Eola hills and began to lay out the plats for the land grants. We were able to find where a large stream flowed into the Willamette River and used that as a reference point for the plats from there. I used trigonometry to find the corners of each section and we marked them as claimed. Altogether, we spent two days laying out the plats and describing each one in as much detail as we could.

We finally finished and returned to the ferry. After crossing the Willamette we headed toward Oregon City. The valley is filling up rapidly along the river. This is because it is the main means of transportation between October and June. We saw numerous people riding and working in the fields as we went along. Along the Willamette River we never had a night where we had to sleep in the tents. All the people we stayed with were gracious and we learned a lot from them about the climate and the best methods of growing gardens and crops here.

We arrived in Oregon City two days ago and were just wandering around town waiting for you to arrive when I saw two people I thought I recognized. As I got closer to them I saw that hussy Abigail wearing one of my best dresses. I greeted her and Henry and they acted like they had never seen me before. When I told them who I was she accused me of being a liar and that's when I lost my temper and called her a thief. Henry stepped between us and I used one of the throws you showed us and started to pull Abigail's hair when the others grabbed me and pulled me away.

The sheriff showed up and that lying hussy told him that I assaulted her for no reason and was pretending to be someone else who was dead. That's when he arrested me. When I protested he gagged me. The next day is when you came in and got me out. (This is the end of Claire's story.)

September 16, 1847

I walked through town and looked at the various stores to see what they had to offer in the way of seeds and farming equipment. I was disappointed about the quality and choices that were available and I thought that the prices seemed excessively high. During my walk I again met the sheriff, William Livingston Holmes. He told me that the complaint against Claire had been dropped by the complainant so he had dismissed the charges. He did warn me that any fighting was strongly discouraged in Washington District. When I asked him about buying seed and farming equipment, he recommended that I go to Fort Vancouver and check the Hudson Bay Company store there as the local stores did not have as much variety.

I sent one of Johan's boys with Elizabeth to pick up the items that had been taken from their wagon. I didn't want Claire anywhere near those people the way her temper was flaring up. Besides I was counting on Claire and Corrie to set up the lottery for the land grants. We had decided that the lottery would consist of us drawing lots from a pot held by Mr. Abernathy since he had no interest in the outcome. The lottery worked this way: the person holding the number drawn would match it to the numbered plot. We were going to have the drawing following dinner tonight.

Elizabeth finally got back and I was surprised at how much stuff she had with her. I asked her about it and she said, "The people of the other wagon train really aren't bad people. They felt bad that they had left us for dead. They decided to give Claire some things that they thought she'd like, to show how sorry they are." She picked up a dress and looked at it with satisfaction, "At last I can stop looking like a cross between a man and some strange creature."