Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 17.djvu/364



356 SOCRATES SCHOLFIELD

river. At this place Capt. Scott and Mr. Sloane had each taken up donation claims, on the only available land for a town- site, but arrangements were entered into by which the com- pany obtained a location extending nearly one mile on the river, which in honor of Capt. Scott, who had done much toward exploring the Umpqua valley and developing its re- sources, they named Scottsburg. Here they obtained a sup- ply of salmon from the Indians, and proceeded the next day on foot to Fort Umpqua, situated on the south bank of the Umpqua near the junction of Elk river, and about fifteen miles from Scottsburg. At Fort Umpqua they were kindly received by Mr. Gagnier, agent for the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, who, with his Indian wife and family, lived in the fort. Mr. Gagnier was a French-Canadian, and had been in the employ of the company at this fort more than twenty years. At this place they surveyed a townsite located on both sides of Elk river at its junction with the Umpqua, which they called Elkton.

From Elkton the company proceeded in two parties to the ferry kept up by Mr. Aiken on the north fork of the Umpqua at the crossing of the Oregon and California road. One of the parties proceeded up the Elk river to the settlement in the upper valley, consisting of about ten families that were emi- grants from the Willamette valley the year before, and then taking the Oregon and California road, reached the ferry in that way. The other party proceeded directly up the Umpqua and arrived at the ferry on the evening of the llth of August.

The party that had traveled by the way of the Elk river settlements arrived the following day, and then traveled on to the reported gold diggings on the South fork of the Umpqua, about thirty miles from the ferry. They returned in three days with about an ounce of gold of their own dig- ging. In the meantime, the company had purchased the ferry, and the land claims of Mr. Aiken and Mr. Smith, located on each side of the river, and laid out a townsite which they named Winchester. From this place the party returned to