NEWSPAPERS: Jackson County, Oregon *************************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with United States Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by noncommercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *************************************************************************** Transcribed and formatted for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Elizabeth Corethers 2 May 2003 *************************************************************************** Talent (Oregon) News, 15 Jul 1892, p. 1 A FOURTH-OF-JULY REMINISCENCE. By Welborn Beeson. On July 4th, 1853, this county did not have quite as many wagon roads leading up to the heads of the canyons, wed up to the summits of the high ridges, as now. Jacksonville had assumed the appearance of a busy mining camp; numerous saloons were in full blast and as it was quite warm weather, some of the more enterprising proprietors of places of resort thought if they had just a little of the snow that they could so plainly see on the summit of the now well known Wagner Peak, to mix with their "dead shot," they would have a monopoly of furnishing the cooling drinks to the thirsty miners. So early on the morning of the 3rd of July, 1853, John Hilman of the Eldorado, with a companion and a pack animal set out on the trail to Wagner Creek to bring a load of the frozen snow to Jacksonville. They came to Fort Wagner thence up through the timber towards the large patch of snow that showed so plainly on the old peak that year. The previous winter there had been an extraordinary heavy snow. According to John B. Wrisley's account the snow fell over two feet deep where the town of Talent now is and deeper in proportion the higher up the creek. Mr. Wrisley with his family wintered at Fort Wagner that winter and there his daughter, Alice, was born, being the first white girl born in the present limits of Jackson County. She is now the relict of the late Carlos Goddard. Hilman and his companions proceeded through the unbroken forest to the point where Geo. H. Lynch now resides. Here Grandville Naylor and Co. had located a sawmill and erected a log cabin, but had not put any doors or windows in it and had gone to Portland for supplies. Hilman found this cabin and could still see the snow in the distance, but being weary, turned back to town and reported they had got within a mile of the snow and had found the "lost cabin," when in fact the snow was twelve miles away. But such were the delusions of the first settlers here.