Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 16.djvu/171



THE DALLES-CELILO CANAL 153

Mention has been made of the wagon road opened in the fall of 1843, by the immigrants of that year, and the western end of that road with minor deviations in 1856 became the Dalles-Celilo Portage road ; its upper end, however, for a time was Deschutes Landing at the eddy just below the mouth of the river of that name. From the boat landing at the present city of The Dalles the road followed very closely the present line of railroad tracks along the river grade and across Three-Mile Creek, then turned to the right through a gap in the hills to a crossing of Five-Mile Creek at its confluence with Ten-Mile Creek, then eastward to a crossing of "Ten-Mile" at the Fulton Ranch, then over what was known as "Nigger Hill" to the landing. Later it reached the River through a natural gap in the rocky bluff opposite the steamboat landing at Celilo. For several years this was the most active, as well as the most important wagon road in the state of Oregon. Its usefulness as a portage road ceased with the building of the rail portage along the river in the year 1863.

Over this sandy and dusty or muddy hilly road fifteen miles in length were transported practically all the supplies, munitions and equipment from army headquarters at San Francisco and Vancouver to the troops stationed in the interior. Up to 1859 the business was largely the hauling of government freight, also that for army sutlers and traders licensed by the Indian agents. Partners named "Green, Heath and Allen" were engaged in that trade ; also Friedman and McGlinchy. But with 1859 general merchandise began to be carried in large quantities, and that term included whiskey and rum as well as pins and needles. After the discovery of gold in 1860 both freight and passenger traffic became enormous. With the beginning of steamboating on the upper river a regular stage for passengers was put on; in July, 1859, Deschutes Landing consisted of a store, an eating house, a stone fort or warehouse and four or five other buildings, according to the Oregon Argus, of Oregon City.