Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 18.djvu/186

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158 Leslie M. Scott

From Priest Rapids or White Bluffs, Wallula or Walla Walla, to Okanogan, Fort Colville and Kootenai; also from Lewiston."

From Fort Benton, on Missouri River, to Helena and Vir- ginia City and Salt Lake.^

From Red Bluff and Chico, in California, to Owyhee f^ also from Sacramento via American River and Humboldt Riyer.

From Yale, on Fraser River, to Barkerville in the Cariboo; from Hope to Similkameen; from Douglas to Lilloet and Cariboo.^

Jacksonville, in Rogue River valley, had routes to Crescent City, Yreka, Sacramento, Winchester (near Roseburg) and Scottsburg. Joel Palmer was a persistent promoter of the route from Priest Rapids to the diggings of Okanogan, Similkameen, Rock Creek and Upper Columbia rivers. Similk- ameen and Rock Creek became famous in 1859 and a big rush took place thither in I860.** Joel Palmer built a road from Priest Rapids, in 1860, and raised a public fund therefor, much of it at Portland. A stage line began the route in 1860. The steamer Colonel Wright ascended to Priest Rapids in 1859, and a town of promise was laid out there,^ but the promise was not fulfilled. Joel Palmer, A. P. Ankeny and others opened a trail for pack trains and cattle through the gorge of the Columbia River on the Oregon side in 1863, as a route to the mines.** This was hardly equal to the present Coltunbia River Highway.*^ The route included ferries at

kB See note 37 preceding for Joel Palmer's description of Ihe Okanogan- Similkameen route. The routes to Kootenai from White Bluffs and Lewiston arc described in Tht Oregonian, March 11, 1865.

59 Steamboat transportation on Missouri River to Fort Benton continued until the opening of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1882-83. See Bancroft's Montomi. pp. 4*3. 752-53. See also note 55, preceding.

60 The stage route from Red Bluff is described in The Orggonian, February

?i, 1865; the Chico route, September 14, 1865, p. 2. John Mullan started a stage ine from Red Bluff to Silver City in 1865. See Hailey*8 History of Idaho, p. 123; The Oregonian, February 9, 1865.

61 These routes are well described in Howay's British Coiuwibia.

.6a Details of these dinings, by Rufus W. Henry, appear in The Oregonian, May 17, 1861. See also tbid., June 29, 1861; February 4^ i860; November »6, 1859, et ^r^., January 14, February 18, 25, June 23, 30, i860.

63 See The Oregontan. July 10, 1863.

64 John F. Miller made the surveys in 1862 (The Oregonian, November 10, 1862). The road was opened to cattle and pack trains early in 1863 iibid., March 21, 1863). The cost was $15,000 (ibid., December 9, 1864).

65 opened in the Summer of 191 5.