Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/891

Rh act all business connected with the office. Our readers will hear from us as often as circumstances will permit.

(From the Weekly Oregonian, Portland, Oregon, Saturday morning. August 6th, 1859.)

We left this city on the 18th of July, in company with T. Myers, H. W. Davis, and J. M. Blossom; overtook our companions, C. Pickett, A. G. Myers, and M. McLaughlin, who had left on the Friday previous with pack animals, stores, etc., about 20 miles on the route toward the Cascade mountains. The advance party had encamped to await our coming. Upon our arrival we found the camp well stocked with grouse, pheasants, rabbits, squirrels, etc., upon which we all feasted to the entire satisfaction of a most voracious appetite.

The next morning at an early hour, our whole party, consisting of seven men and eleven horses, packed up and got under way, and proceeded towards the mountains. After several hours march, we left the main trail, known as the Barlow road, some five or six miles east of Philip Foster's, on a trail leading to a fine prairie about five miles south, where Mr. Foster informed us we would find an abundance of grass, good water, fine camping-ground and splendid hunting.

The next morning all the hunters left camp at an early hour, with an understanding to shoot any sort of game that wore hair or carried feathers. About noon Myers came in with a load of grouse and pheasants; Davis and Pickett soon followed, each with a respectable number; and Blossom still later with nothing, in consequence of conscientious scruples of firing a first-class yager at small game, and a determination to kill either an elk, bear, or deer or nothing.

After a considerable picking of feathers we enjoyed a good game supper, and prepared our mountain bed for the night. Proceeding on towards the mountain up Zigzag, Rock creek, Sandy and getting lost, the party finally made camp two days afterward as follows:

About two o'clock P. M. the whole party got into camp, where we found an abundance of grass and every convenience for comfort. Fishing-rods were cut, fines strung, and in a few minutes the frying-pans were over the fire, full of fine mountain-trout, weighing from a half to one and a half pounds each. They were no sooner cooked than despatched by as hungry a set of pleasure-seekers as ever surrounded a camp fire. Some of the party had shot a brace of grouse on their way in, and as trout were plenty within a few rods of the camp, and we were all very tired, it was decided that all would remain in camp and rest for the remainder of the day.

The next morning early Blossom, Pickett, McLaughlin, Davis and Young Myers started out for a hunt, leaving the elder Myers and ourself to keep camp and catch trout. We soon heard the echo of Blossom's yager on the mountain side, and soon after the signal—two shots from a revolver in quick succession — to come out. In less than half an hour we reached Blossom, where lay at his feet a fine, large fat black-tailed deer. It was soon packed into camp, and very soon several of his ribs stuck on sticks were before the camp fire. In the afternoon about a dozen grouse and pheasants were brought into camp, and several long strings of trout hung up on the camp poles. The next day being Sunday, was devoted to shaving, bathing, fishing, hunting, eating, drinking, reading, smoking, lounging, chatting and yarn telling.

On Monday morning early we struck camp and left for Mt. Hood. We soon reached the main trail, or Barlow road, and followed it to within about two miles of Summit prairie—eight hours' march. The road is comparatively good for pack animals, but impracticable and impassable for wagons. In two and a half hours after leaving the Barlow road, "we pitched our tents" near the upper edge of timber on the south side of Mt. Hood, where we found an abundance of grass between the large fields of snow which surrounded us on every side, and which extended down to the main trail or Barlow road.