Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/266

198 unbroken forest—literally "the continuous woods, where rolls the Oregon." The only evidence of pre-occupation by any human being, was a camping place used by the Indians along the bank of the river, ranging from where Alder street strikes the water, up to Salmon street. This was a convenient spot for the Indian canoes to tie up at on their trips between Vancouver and Oregon City, and the brush had been cut away and burned up, leaving an open space of an acre or so.

On this occasion, Lovejoy and Overton made some examination of the land back from the river, finding the soil good and the tract suitable for settlement and cultivation if the dense growth of timber was removed. Overton was penniless and unable to pay even the trifling fees exacted by the provisional government for filing claims for land, or getting it surveyed, and then and there proposed to Lovejoy if he would advance the money to pay these expenses, he should have a half interest in the land claim—a mile square of land. Mr. Lovejoy had not exercised his right to take land, and the proposition appealed to him. Overton had not thought of a townsite use for the land and did not present that view of the subject. But the quick eye of Lovejoy took notice of the fact, that there was deep water in front of the land, and that ships had tied up at that shore, and so he accepted Overton's proposition at once, and became a half owner in the Overton land claim; and the Portland townsite proposition was born right then and there in the brain of Amos Lawrence Lovejoy; and making him in reality and fact the

Following up this bargain and joint tenancy in this piece of wild land, Lovejoy and Overton made preparations for surveying the tract, some clearing and the erection of a log cabin. But before these improvements could be even commenced, Overton's restless disposition led him to sell out his half interest in the land to Francis W. Pettygrove for the sum of fifty dollars to purchase an outfit to go back to the states or somewhere else, nobody ever knew where. Of Overton, nothing is known of the slightest consequence to the location of the town. One account says that he made shingles on the place. If he did, it was probably only for the cabin that was necessary to hold the claim, but he never built any sort of a house protection, and sold out to Pettygrove before the cabin was built. Overton was a mere bird of passage; no one ever knew where he came from or where he went to.

By some writers, Overton is given the honor of being the "first owner of the Portland land claim," and "after completing his settlement" he sold out to Lovejoy and Pettygrove. But he never was the owner of the claim, and he never made or completed any settlement. He had done nothing to entitle him to the land; he merely said to a passer-by, "This is my claim." He filed no claim with the provisional government, he posted no notice, he built no cabin, and he did not even do what the pioneers of the Ohio valley did, in a hostile Indian country in taking lands—he blazed no line or boundary trees. The Ohio valley pioneers took what was called in their day "tomahawk claims" to land. That is, they picked out a tract of land that suited their fancy, twoor three hundred acres, and then taking a light ax or Indian tomahawk, they established and marked a boundary line around the piece of land by blazing a line of forest trees all around that land. That was the custom of the country. There was no law for it. Those settlers were hundreds of miles beyond the jurisdiction of any state, or the surveillance of any government officer. But when the public surveys were extended west from Pennsylvania and Virginia, these "tomahawk claims" were found to cover large settlements. Their blazed trees were notice to everybody and were respected by all incoming settlers; and the United States government surveyors were instructed to adjust all these irregular boundary lines and give the actual settlers on the lands, or their bona