SOHS Ms 362
DAR records
Mt. Ashland Chapter
Diary of Welborn Beeson by Mrs. Grace Andrews
[bracketed notes by Jan Wright 2018]
Welborn Beeson III, [error – it was Welborn Beeson Jr.] 276 B. Street, [Ashland, Oregon] brought an interesting document to the Tidings office today. It was the diary of Welborn Beeson II, [error – it was Welborn Beeson Sr.] begun September 22, 1850, [Error- diary started on Welborn Sr’s birthday July 22, 1851] in LaSalle county, Illinois, when he was a lad of 14. The book closes on October 23, 1854.
When he was but 16, he drove an ox team across the plains to this valley, arriving in Ashland, but not the Ashland we now know, on August 16, 1853. [Beeson’s left LaSalle county, Illinois 17 Mar 1853 when Welborn was still 16 years old and arrived at Fort Wagner, Oregon 30 Aug 1853 after Welborn had turned 17 years old.]
The boyish record of events concerning a trip to Yreka with a load of potatoes shows how vastly different ways of travel and transportation of freight was in those days, from the super-highway mode of today.
From an entry made September 19, 1854, it is learned that the mill in Ashland will soon be running. [Thursday Sept. 21,1854 “Father and I went up to Mr. Thomases to get the sacks to put the potatoes in. He, Mr. Thomas, will have his Mill running before long.” Mr. Thomas actually ran Eagle Mill on Bear Creek – not the Mill on Ashland Creek as the above quote implies.] September 20 records that four and one half cents were paid for the potatoes, and they would be sold in Yreka for seven and one half cents per pound.
The lad writes that Samuel Robison will drive one team and he the other. Samuel is but 16 years old at this time. On Saturday, the 23rdof September, a wagon is hired to carry the load. [John Beeson hired the wagon on Sept. 22nd]
An entry is made on Sunday, the 24thof a quarterly meeting which was held in Jacksonville at the Methodist church house, (the one where the ceremonies were held recently), but he does not seem much interested in the services. [Welborn did not attend the meeting]
The work is finished on the 25th, and the two boys started to Yreka, from their home in the Wagner creek neighborhood, each driving 2 yoke of oxen to each wagon. It seems that a neighbor, Naylor by name, hired the extra wagon to them for one dollar per day. Samuel Robison was paid two dollars per day for driving it.
The first day they traveled to Russell’s Mountain house, (the Barron Ranch at the foot of the hill.) They camped out at that place the first night, having made 12 miles of their journey.
Young Beeson speaks of the grass with which the cattle were fed, of the steep road traveled over the Siskiyous, where they had to double the teams four or five times. He makes the statement that he would not cross again with less than three yoke of cattle to each wagon.
They camped at sun down the second day, having made five miles more of the trip.
On the third day they reached the ferry on the Klamath River at two o’clock where they stopped to water their cattle. One team swam across. They continued on to Willow Springs, a distance of five miles. They had traveled 20 miles this day.
Friday, 13 miles were covered, passing through the Shasta Valley to the Shasta River which they forded, then on the big town Yreka, which the writer says they could not see until they were right on it.
Their load weighed 3,798 pounds, for which they received at seven and one half cents per pound of $284.85.
They boys did not even stop in the town but “rolled out of town three miles, to the Shasta River,” but found no grass for the cattle and then drove on six and one half miles, having to carry wood with them and the dough pan full of water for drinking.
“On September 30, not having water for man or beast, we started on our way before breakfast, and came to Milk Ranch, where we watered out cattle, then drove on eleven and one half miles to Willow Springs, where we turned the cattle out to graze, and cooked our breakfast and dinner combined. We then drove on five miles to the Ferry.”
Sunday, October 1, they started the 15 miles to the foot of the mountains and camped at the same place as they did the second night on the way out. Monday morning early they started over the mountains and arrived home at dark, October 2, their cattle tired, but the boy adds, “Mother had a good supper ready for us when we got there.”
The story tells of the week’s arduous journey, one that would take less than two hours today.
