Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 25.djvu/243

 Portland, Ore. Oct 26, 1862. H. Olmstead.

Dear Sir:

Mr. Cartee has just arrived on Carrie Ladd. He says that yesterday while on the Washington side he saw three of your men stop two freight cars and take off a box and hide it in the brush. He subsequently crossed the river and went to the place and there found the box hid in the bushes. This is only another proof positive that a large portion of our losses occur on the Cascades. One of the cars referred to had two mules and two men, the other one mule and one man. Try and look them up. J. C. Ainsworth, Pres't.

From this letter it would seem that the "Oregon Pony" unless laid up for repairs, was unable to haul all the freight, since mules had to be made use of again on the Oregon Portage Railroad.

The division of the portage earnings between Bradford & Co. and Ruckel and Olmstead when only the latter's railroad was in use, and there was now no likelihood whatever of the Bradford line's being restored to traffic, soon became distasteful to the Oregon portage owners, and D. F. Bradford, hearing of this from his brother Putnam while the former was traveling in the Puget Sound country, in a letter of August 24, 1862 to "My Dear Captain" (J. C . Ainsworth), said that he had learned that Ruckel had asked Ainsworth or Thompson whether Bradford & Co. were entitled to any of the earnings of the Cascade portage as they had no railroad. "I don't believe," the letter went on to say, "the Col. has entirely lost his judgment or he would hardly agitate such a question. As it is, it is not a matter for the Company's consideration; they have a contract with Bradford and Olmstead and 'tis for the latter parties to settle their own difficulties if there are any. You will keep the accounts as you have always done and I will see to the rest."

Apparently this stopped any plans Ruckel and Olm-