Chapter XXIV

Contribution from J.A. Haines

Coming West-The Flask-Six Month's Work-Married-Dr. Hermann-Floods-Buying a Ranch-Snow-Moving from Umpqua-House Cleaning-New Furniture-Johnson and South Fork-Neighbors-The First Teacher-The Family.

     J.A. Haines, a resident of Eckley, Curry County, Oregon, contributes the following:

     "I was born August 8, 1828, in Lazewell county, Ill. In April, 1851, in company with my brother William and a friend, Mr. Cushman, I started to cross the plains. At the Missouri river we joined Capt. Butrick's company, which consisted of 27 wagons, 54 men and six or seven boys between 12 and 20 years old. There were seven or eight families in the train. We had several unimportant skirmishes with the Indians; only one man was wounded. One man was drowned while crossing the Elk creek. We started with 250 head of stock and lost only nine of them. There was no quarreling or fighting among the men and everything was agreeable. We reached The Dalles September 19, 1851, just six months from the time we left home. We shipped our goods by boat down to the Cascades and drove the stock overland. Above the Cascades we crossed the river on a scow and had to pay $1 per head for the stock. At the Sandy we had to pay 50 cents per head. We reached our destination, Albany Prairie, five miles southwest of Albany, in the Willamette valley, October 18, 1851. My brother, Cushman and myself purchased a quart flask of brandy when we left the east, and seven months afterward we had still over half of it left. The first night in camp at Albany Prairie we finished it in a very short time. I still have the same old flask but use it now only for camphor.
     My brother William got a job of work on the scow, going from Dalles to the Cascade, at $50 per month, just ten times more than he would have received in Illinois.
     After a month's rest I went to Marysville, now called Corvallis, and started the first woodyard for the steamboats. Besides the wood, I made and sold white fir shingles at $8 per M. After the first of May, the steamers could not make Marysville on account of low water. In six months I had cleared $600 and yet had only five of them in United States gold coin, the rest was all in Spanish doubloons. The only silver in circulation was Mexican coins.
     Fence rails were in great demand so I opened up a "rail factory" and made 45,000 rails at $1 per hundred and board. I came to the conclusion that it was not good for a man to be alone and so took unto myself a wife, whose maiden name was Ellenor Chaffee. We were married at the home of Willis Cushman in Linn county by the Rev. Mr. Erven. I rented Cushman's farm for three years and after that, in 1857, moved to the Umpqua valley near Scottsburg.
     In January, 1859, T.C. Davis and I left Scottsburg on the little steamer Washington. On board, I met Dr. Hermann who was on his way to Baltimore to bring his family to the Coquille valley where he had taken up a homestead which still belongs to Mrs. Hermann. Doctor Hermann stopped at Gardner to wait for a steamer, while we went on, and early the next morning crossed the bay and struck into the wilderness each with 40 pounds on our backs.  The first day we made it to the Isthmus House; the second to where Coquille City now stands, but at that time it was owned by Mr. Cunningham, who had a very small clearing. I climbed to the top of a tree and found that the Coquille river overflowed its banks full fifteen feet as there was sand and driftwood in the trees and moss fully that distance from the ground. Mr. Davis would not believe me but found out to his cost that I was right, while living on the farm now owned by John Berry, his little cabin on the bank of the river was entirely swept away. He managed to save the contents. From Coquille we went to Mr. Hoffman's place, passing over the present site of Myrtle Point, then an almost impenetrable thicket of brush and undergrowth. At the North Fork of the Coquille river was a good clapboard house owned by John Duly but unoccupied at the time. A little south of the site of Myrtle Point stood the solitary house occupied by Ephraim Kitchen. At Joseph Ferry's, a mile or so above, we found the owner laid up with a cut foot. After leaving Hoffman's we proceeded to Levi Gants', where William Hood now lives, which place we reached after dark and remained with him over Sunday; and Monday morning we started out bright and early on our back trail. Mrs. Rowland set us across the river at Rowland Prairie and we started for Wash. Waters', who lived where I do now. We met Mr. Rowland and his son building a fence and he told us that Mr. Waters had sold his place to Hull and Leggett. We again retraced our steps and stopped a few days with Sam Dement and he told us it was a mistake, that Mr. Waters had not sold out. Mr. Jones, the next homesteader, told us the same and we returned to Waters'. It commenced to rain, the first that we had had since leaving Scottsburg. We went up to Russell creek, came out on top of the hill near Jack Sears' old house, and found it snowing. We managed to keep our course and intersected the trail as it entered the timber. We knew we were right from the elk horns leaning against a tree. We passed near where now stands John Caldwell's old house. We commenced to go up the mountain and the higher we got the harder it snowed. Davis was frightened and thought that we might be lost and would perish in the snow from hunger. I told him there was no danger of starving as long as the dog lived. At the top the snow was four inches deep and it grew less until we reached the valley. Finally, rounding a point, we came in sight of a light in a window. We were cold, wet, hungry and tired, and received a hearty welcome and a good supper from Mr. Waters. I secured the place from Mr. Waters.
     Mr. Davis located a place at the south end of the Bald hill, the place now owned by William Warner. We returned to Scottsburg by way of Coquille river, Beaver Slough, Empire City and Umpqua City. We were gone from home just twenty days. We returned to the Waters place again in April, by way of Roseburg, Camas valley, Enchanted Prairie (Wm. Packwood was living at the latter place) put in a good garden and returned to Scottsburg for my family. We arrived at the place August 15, 1860 and found Waters absent. It was a lonesome place. The furniture consisted of three or four three-legged stools, a slab table, a few pots and pans, and a Dutch oven, a lot of pack saddles, blankets and a brush broom. The next day was devoted to house cleaning. My furniture had been sent to Port Orford and in September, 1860, I got all of it home. Mrs. Haines was the proudest woman in the county over her cooking outfit. Our nearest neighbors, John Legget, lived four miles away, and the next nearest neighbors was ten miles. Our first visitors were Mr. and Mrs. Legget. We were glad to see them and soon made them at home and in a short time returned the visit.
     When we moved to this place there were fully fifty mines working on the Sixes, Johnson and South Fork of the Coquille river. There were five hydraulic mines, on the Sixes and two on Johnson creek that averaged $1500 per claim. In the summer they worked in the beds of the creeks and averaged $4 per day to the man. Among the miners were James Alvoid, the four Colt boys, Getchel, Nod Richman, Mat Saxe, Frank Chesler who all came from California, in 1859. A.B. Greene came in 1860 and Geo. H. Guerin some time in 1876. Johnson's diggings were discovered in 1853 or '54, by a man named Johnson, who was killed near the Sixes diggings in 1887 or '88. The Sixes golf fields were discovered by Jake Summers and Wm. Bingham in 1855. The Sixes mines have yielded four times the amount of gold that the Johnson mine has.
     After all my supplies were in from Port Orford for the winter. I commenced to put up a new house, and hewed all the logs on all four sides, enclosed and finished the kitchen and we cooked and ate our Christmas dinner in it.
     Our family was gradually increasing and we were in need of a teacher and a school. I engaged Miss Ellen Tichenor, now Mrs. McGraw, of Oakland, Cal., three terms of three months each, to teach a private school at $25 per month and board. Afterwards we had a teacher from San Francisco and paid him the same price.
     In 1874 I bought property in Wilber, built a house and moved my family there and lived until 1887, to give my children the advantages of a good school. Since coming back I have built a comfortable house on the ranch and have paid out several hundred dollars in cash  to help open a wagon road to connect us with the outside world. I cannot tell why I chose this place for after my first trip I knew all the inconveniences of the country and the hardships that my wife and I had to go through, yet I have never regretted that I made this spot my home.
     We have raised a very large family, fourteen in all, and twelve of them are alive.
     Josephine, born February 11, 1855, married, and living in Port Townsend, Washington.
     Cimeon Alfred, born January, 24, 1857, died January 9, 1860.
     Joseph Edward, born September, 1, 1859, married, and living near the old home.
     Charles William, born July, 13, 1861, married, and living in the house in which he was born.
     Liberty Levia, born August 23, 1863.
     Jamison Leeper, born January 23, 1866; married, lives in Idaho.
     Rupert Lawrence, born November, 5, 1867, single, and lives in Grant county, Oregon
     Ida May, born March 3, 1870, married, and living in Portland.
     Oscar O., born January 24, 1872, single and now in Alaska.
     Ruby, born December 24, 1873, married, and living in Monmouth, Oregon.
     Mary M., born August 15, 1876.
     Marion Miles, born February 16, 1879.
     Hariette, born January 6, 1882.
     Chaffee Delong, born June 13, 1883.
     Marion Miles died July 18, 1890.
     The first white men passing through the country had to cross the Sixes river at an Indian village. They were greeted with the words "Clikirana Sixes," meaning in English, "How are you friends." The river soon came to be called Sixes, and has retained that name ever since.

Joseph A. Haines"