Dr. Owens-Adair; some of her life experiences

Dedication

To my beloved mother, I dedicate this, the first child of

my brain.

"You, too, my mother, read my lines For love of un forgotten times ; And you may chance to hear once more The little feet along the floor."

Contents

Pages.

The Story of My Life 7-lU

The Perilous Trip of the Steamer Roanoke 115-122

CHAPTER I. The Story of My Life

I was born February 7th, 1840, in Van Buren county, Missouri, being the second daughter of Thomas and Sarah Damron Owens.

My father and mother crossed the plains with the first emigrant wagons of 1843, and settled on Clatsop plains, Clatsop county, Oregon, at the mouth of the Columbia, the wonderful ''River of the West," in sound of the ceaseless roar of that mightiest of oceans, the grand old Pacific. Though then very small and delicate in stature, and of a highly nervous and sensitive nature, I possessed a strong and vigorous constitution, and a most wonderful endurance and recuperative power. These qualities were inherited, not only from my parents, but from my grandparents, as well. My grandfather Owens was a man of exceptional financial ability. He had a large plantation in Kentucky, and owned many slaves, and many stores throughout the state. He was a grandson of Sir Thomas Owens, of Wales, of historic fame.

My grandmother Owens was of German descent ; a rather small, but executive woman, who took charge of, and ably administered the affairs of the plantation, during my grandfather's absence, which was most of the time. She was precisely the kind of woman President Roosevelt most admires ; — a woman of energy, industry, and capability in managing her home affairs, and the mother of twelve children, all of whom grew to maturity, married, and went on giving vigorous sons and daughters to this voung and growing republic.

My grandfather Damron was a man of equal worth. He was a noted Indian fighter, and was employed by the Government, during its wars with the Shawnees and Delawares, as a scout and spy. He performed many deeds of remarkable bravery and daring, one of which was the rescue of a mother and five children from the Indians, who had captured them, at the imminent risk of his own life ; in recognition of this act of signal bravery the Government presented him with a handsome silver-mounted rifle, worth three hundred dollars. (The detailed account of this adventure may be found in the sketch of my mother's life, on page—.)

My grandmother Damron was my grandfather's second wife. She was of Irish descent, and noted for her great personal beauty.

My father, a tall, athletic Kentuckian, served as sherifif of Pike county for many years, beginning as a deputy at the age of sixteen. It was often said of him : "Thomas Owens is not afraid of man or devil."

My mother was of slight build, but perfect form, with bright blue eyes, and soft brown hair. She weighed but ninety-six pounds when she was married, at the age of sixteen.

My earliest recollection reaches back to the first step taken by my brother, Josiah Parrish Owens, I being five years old, and he between seven and eight months. It was in the smooth, cleanly swept back yard, on a soft, warm July afternoon. Mother sat just outside the door, sewing. My sister Diana, who was past seven, and old for her years, and who never seemed to care much for play, (unlike most children,) sat near mother, busy with her patch-work. My brother Flem (about three) and I were playing with the baby. In his infantile glee he crept away from us, raised himself on his feet, and looked smiling at mother, who held out her arms, when he toddled to her, taking at least a dozen

Some of Her Life Expehiexces. 7

steps, before she caught him. From this time on, he never seemed to desire to creep. It was a red-letter day to us, as our baby, named for Rev. J. L. Parrish, of missionary fame, was the pride of our home. My brother Flem, two years my junior, was my constant companion. He grew rapidly, and soon overtook me in size, as I was small, and grew slowly, but I was tough and active, and usually led in all our pursuits of work or play. Not until I was past twelve, did he ever succeed in throwing me. One day he came in the kitchen, where I was washing the dinner dishes and, with a broad smile on his face (he was such a good-natured boy !) said : "Pap told me to go to the barn for two bundles of oats for the horses ; now the first one that is thown down must go for the oats."

Instantly the dish-cloth was dropped, and we clinched.

I had noticed for some time that he was gaining on me, but I could not refuse to take a "dare," and he had not yet thrown me.

Round and round the room we went, bending and swaying, like two young saplings, till, seeing his chance, he put out his foot and tripped me. I fell on a chair which happened to be in the way, and ni}' mouth came in contact with one of its posts, w^iich broke off a piece of one of my front teeth. Poor brother picked up the fragment of tooth, burst out crying, and ran off to the barn for the oats.

He had just learned this new accomplishment in wrestling, which he had kept secret from me. to his life-long regret, for in those times and parts dentistry was almost an unknown art. It was at least eighteen years after that before I found a dentist who could repair the injury. Dr. Hatch, of Portland, did the work, and I was more than pleased to have that unsightly gap filled in with shining gold. The rarity of such an artistic piece of work in the mouth added to its attractiveness. The first attempt, by the way, was a failure, the filling soon becoming loose ; but the second was a success, and was still perfect when the tooth was extracted thirty-five years later. This tooth I keep, as a souvenir in remembrance of that particular tussle with my dear, good brother; — not the last, however, by any means, for we were, as I said, constant companions, and I was a veritable "tom-boy," and gloried in the fact. It was father's custom to pat me on the head, and call me his 'boy."

The regret of my life up to the age of thirty-five, was that I had not been born a boy, for I realized very early in life that a girl was hampered and hemmed in on all sides simply by the accident of sex.

Brother and I were always trying our muscular strength, and before I was thirteen, I bet him I could carry four sacks of flour, or two hundred pounds. I stood between a table and a box, on which we had put two sacks of flour each. Then brother placed a sack of flour on each of my shoulders, and held them steady, while I managed to get the other two sacks (one on the table and the other on the box on each side of me) under each arm, and then I walked triumphantly off, carrying all four sacks! In that memoiable vear of 1847, after the shocking Whitman massacre, my father was preparing to go, with other Clatsop volunteers, to fight the Indians. When all was ready for his departure, as he stood in the midst of his weeping wife and children, a Mr. McDonald, who was then working for father, stepped forward and said :

"Mr. Owens, I am a single man, and have no one to care for me, but I am poor. Give me your outfit, and money for tny expenses, and I will go in your place."

Yielding to the entreaties of his family, my father finally assen.'id, and Mr. McDonald went, but he never returned. He was killed, I think, by an accident. We have always remembered him gratefuly, believing that he may have saved our father's life to us ; and at least, he freely gave his own.

I was the family nurse ; and it was seldom that I had not a child in my arms, and more clinp^ing to me. Where there is a baby every two years, there is always no end of nursing to be done ; especially when the mother's time is occupied, as it was then, every moment, from early morning till late at night, with much outdoor as well as indoor work. She seldom found time to devote to the baby, except to give it the breast.

When the weather was fine we fairly lived out of doors, baby and all, I hauling the baby in its rude little sled, or cart, which bumped along, and from which baby was often thrown out, but seldom seriously hurt, and never killed ; with a two-year-old on one hip, and a four-year-old hanging to my skirts, in order to keep up ; but more often on brother Flem's back ; so we went, playing here, and working there, during all the pleasant weather. When it rained, we had access to the barn, where we could swing, play "hide and seek," and slide down the hay-mow, from the top to the bottom. Many a time I have carried the children to the top, from where, with the baby in my arms, and the two next younger clinging to me, I would slide to the bottom, to their great delight.

I was fond of hunting hen's nests, which I seldom failed to find. One afternoon, I crawled under the barn, as I knew there were eggs there. The ground was hard and smooth, and so near the barn-floor that moving-room was at a premium. About the center of the space, I found a nest full of eggs, and squeezed under till I could reach and gather them into my apron. Then, as I could not turn around. I began to slide out backward. When passing a sleeper, a knot in it caught between the waistband of my dress and the first button above. Try as best I might, I could not get loose. Brother was waiting for me outside, and when he found I could not possibly extricate myself, he ran to mother for help. Father was away from home. Mother saw that the onlv wav to release me was to break the button-hole above my belt. Lying wedged in there on my face, I could not reach the button, or break either the button-hole, or strong belt. The barn was full of hay, which it would take several men at least a day, — perhaps more — to remove so as to get down to the middle of the barn floor ; and to tunnel under to me would require about as much time and labor. So she told me to push and work myself backward and sidewise. I obeyed, and after long and persistent effort, I succeeded in tearing the button-hole out, thus enabling me to back once more into freedom and fresh air. After I got clear of the sleeper, I rached back and unbuttoned all my buttons, to make sure I did not get hung up again. My eggs were near by, and I brought them out with me.

That was not the last time I crawled under that barn for eggs, but I had learned a lesson never to be forgotten, for I never again went into a tight place like that without preparing beforehand to leave all my clothes behind, if necessary,— that is, if I should again be hung up on a knot or a

peg- When I was about twelve years old, a teacher by the name of Beaufort came to teach a three months' school in our neighborhood. School-books were extremely scarce, and sometimes whole families were taught out of one book. All the children over four years old attended the school, for children did not remain babies long when other babies came along so fast and crowded them out of the cradle. Boys and girls of fourteen and fifteen were expected to do a full day's work on the farm or in the house, and even the younger ones were all taught to be helpful and useful, and to do their full share in taking care of themselves.

The new teacher was a fine, handsome young man, who held himself aloof from the young people of his age, and kept his person so clean, neat and trim that the country young men disliked him.

Mr. Beaufort boarded at our house, and we children walked the two miles to school with him, daily. He was greatly liked by the children, to whom he was most kind, playing with them, and often taking two or three of the little tots, or as many as could hang on, and, thus handicapped, ho would run races with the older children, to the hilarious joy of the little youngsters, who thought they had won the race.

I simply worshiped my handsome teacher, who taught me how to run, to jump, to lasso, to spring up on the horse's back, and so many other things that I appreciated. On one occasion there was a picnic at our house, it being the largest and best on Clatsop plains ; — and while there, the young men began to joke and guy the young teacher about his white hands. He took it good-naturedly, and finally said :

"I will bet you $200 in cash, my watch and chain, and all I have, against $100, and whatever you can put up, that I can dig, measure and stack more potatoes than any other man on Clatsop."

This stirred their blood, and touched their pride, and his challenge was accepted. He was to dig, measure and stack in three piles, sixty bushels of potatoes in ten hours, he to select his ground on which to dig. My father said to Legrand Hill, who was then working for him. and whom I married two years later : "Now, my boy, take my advice : don't fool away your summer's work. I have been watching that young man, for three months. He is as strong as a bear, and active as a cat."

But, like the other young men (and some of the older ones) he needed no advice. He bet his watch, and two hundred bundles, or sheaves, of oats on the issue.

Mr. Beaufort selected his ground in Mr. Jewett's potato patch, on the fr.rm now belonging to Mr. Josiah West, near the main county road. The day before the contest, he had staked out his ground, and smoothed ofif the spots on which to pile his potatoes.

The day dawned bright and beautiful, and found everybody there, including men, women, children and Indians. All brought good things to eat for luncheon, and came to spend the day, and see the fun.

Time-keepers being selected, and the hour being near at hand, the teacher removed his coat, vest, and long, handsome blue silk Spanish scarf, and hung them on the fence. Suspenders were unknown in those days. He then loosened his leather belt, and taking off his boots, he encased his feet in a pair of handsome beaded moccasins ; then, drawing a pair of soft buckskin gloves over his smooth white hands, he picked up the new hoe, from the handle of which he had sawed off about half, and stepped to the middle of the plot, as the time-keeper called the hour. He took off his hat, and made a graceful bow to the assembled company. Then, stepping across a hill and standing with a foot on each side of it, he, with two or three strokes of the hoe, laid bare the potatoes, and with both hands scooped them up into his halfbushel measure.

It did not require more than two or three hills to more than fill the measure. Then, with a few elastic leaps, he emptied them on one of the places he had prepared for them. For two or three hours he kept the tellers busy counting; and then he took it more leisurely, laughing and joking as he worked, and he finished his task long before night. All the beholders were fully convinced, after the first hour's work, that the stakes were his. That was a "red letter" day for that handsome and accomplished young teacher. He had "raked in" watches, rings, scarf-pins and about all the spare money the young men,^and some old ones in that settlement possessed.

After he had finished his sixty bushels, he turned several handsprings, and, reaching the fence, he put his hands on the top rail, and sprang over with one bound.

That was a revelation in potato-digging to the Clatsopites, who all dug with a long-handled hoe, while the Indians used

Some of Her Life Expekiexces. 13

a short stick, or their hands, for the purpose, at the same time sitting or crawHng on their hands and knees. That was the last, and one of the best lessons that my honored teacher taught on Clatsop. He left in a few days and we never heard of him again, but his memory is always fresh in my mind. He was, in my young, crude, and it might be called barren life, a green, flower-strewn oasis, with a fountain of cool water in its midst.

I was then but twelve years old ; small, but perfect in form, health, and vigor. Brother Flem towered far above me, and sister Diana, "The Beauty of Clatsop," was taller than our mother.

My love for my handsome, kind and intelligent teacher knew no bounds. Diana said I was always "tagging him around;" and mother chided me for being so rude, saying, "You ought to know that he must get tired of you and the children sometimes."

However I found many oportunities of being in his society, and I improved them all ; especially as mother was so over-worked she was only too glad to be relieved of the care of the baby, and the two other smaller children. Taking my brood, I would seek out. my friend, who invariably met me with a welcoming smile, for he had learned to love the two tiny girls, and the big, fat baby, who warmly returned his affection.

He wohld catch up one of the older little ones, toss her above his head in such a way that she would rest across his shoulders, with her little arm around his head. Then he would take the baby and hug it close, and, picking up the other little midget, under his other arm, we would be off for a race. And how we all enjoyed it ! The children would scream with delight, and my own happiness, though less demonstrative, was no less deep. We often went to the fields where father was plowing, cultivating or haying. Many a time did he lift me lightly to the back of the near horse, hand me the baby, and seating one of the others behind me, with one on his shoulder, walk beside the horse with his hand reached out to hold us from falling. Father liked him, too, and was always pleased to have him around.

It was a sad, sad day when he left us. First, he bade father and mother good-bye ; and then the children. He snatched up the baby from the floor, tossed her, up, and kissed her. I was trying to keep back my tears. He smiled down on me with his handsome blue eyes, and said to mother : "I guess Fll take this one with me."

Mother answered, "All right ; she is such a tom-boy I can never make a girl of her, anyway."

He took my little hand in his, and I went with him through the gate, and some distance down the road. Then he said : "Now, little one, you must go back. You are a nice little girl, and some day you will make a fine woman; but you must remember and study your book hard, and when you get to be a woman everybody will love ou ; — and don't forget your first teacher, will you?" He had gathered me up, and smiling, kissed me, and then set me down with my face toward home. I ran back, and seeing the children on the fence, all looking, I ran off around the back of the house, and hid, and cried a long time. Of course they all laughed at me, and often times afterward, when I was especially rebellious and wayward, which was not infrequently, I would be confronted with, "1 wish the teacher had taken you with him," to which I never failed to answer promptly and fervently, "/ wish he had, too !"

Some of Her Lji-e Exi-ekiences. 15

CHAPTER H.

About this time, a Mr. and Mrs. McCrary moved on the adjoining farm, owned by a Mr. McDaniel, a bachelor.

Their little house was not more than a quarter of a mile from ours, just over, and beyond a pretty, grassy ridge. I did not like the man, but I fell in love with his tall, splendid wife. She was quite a little older than my mother, but very different from her. She was tall, and very fair, with pleasant gray eyes ; — not pretty in form or features, but she was one of the most admirable and beautiful characters I have met with in all my life. To me she looked beautiful, and I loved her ardently. No child could have loved a mother more than I loved this pure, noble woman. It is said that "love begets iove," and it surely did, in this case, for she returned my love with a true mother-love. She was not blessed with children of her own. The affection between us remained unbroken throughout her long subsequent life, of nearly fifty years ; and now I can realize, looking back, that the lovely example of her beautiful life has had much to do with molding my own, and I doubt not, the characters of many of those around her. Their worldly goods were few when they settled near us, but she made the most of what little she had, — only two small rooms scantily furnished, — but every thing in them was kept immaculate, and she, with her kind words, sw^eet smiles, and winning ways, her hair combed smoothly back from his high, prominent forehead, an ample white kerchief crossed and pinned smoothly over her bosom, and her long, checked apron ironed without one wrinkle, fastened trimly about her waist, was a fitting, and charming mistress of her spotless little home.

My mother was a neat and tasteful woman, but she said

Mirs. McCrary always looked as if she had "come out of a band-box."

It was my habit to visit my friend once a day ; — often several times. Whatever might be my task, I would try to finish it as quickly as possible, that I might slip off, and fly to Mrs. McCrary's. It did seem like flying, for my feet scarcely touched the ground, as I ran. I received many scoldings, for running off thus, without permission, and was repeatedly told that grown people did not want to be bothered with children, but, unless I was positively forbidden, I still went.

Mrs. McCrary seemed always so glad to see me, and had so many pretty and pleasant things to say to me, that it was no wonder I was drawn so strongly to her. She did not visit much, and never gossiped. She was a reader, but books and papers were very scarce in those days. She always treated me as if I were a little lady of some consequence.

For instance, she would say :

"Why, your visits are just like bright, sparkling, refreshing sunbeams to me."

If a button was gone from my dress, or apron, a pin went into its place, and she would say :

"Now, that looks so much nicer !"

Again she would frequently say :

"I am just going to comb out those long, pretty braids of yours ;" and she would take down my hair, which came half way to the floor, and brush and comb it, and then take cfbwn the little mirror from the wall, and hold it before me, warning it from side to side, so that I could see how long and nice it was. waving over my shoulder, saying : "We'll leave it so awhile, it makes you look so like a fairy."

Sometimes she would tell me a fairy story, at the same time showing me how to knit, crochet, or sew. All this time talking, and drawing me out, correcting my mistakes with such dehcacy that even my super-sensitive nature was not wounded. She infused such a charm into everything she did and said that I was not only interested, but most anxious to learn. She impressed upon my mind in the most positive language just how the thing should be done, showing me by example, at the same time, always having me assist her when possible ; invariably excusing my blunders, and praising my progress.

Was she making biscuits, she would have me stand by, while she showed me every step of the process. First she would take down the clean board, and say : "Now you take so many cups of sifted flour, so many cups of milk, so much butter, so much salt, so much soda for so many persons. When you knead the biscuits, be sure you do not put the flour too near the edge of the board, or it will get on the floor; and stand a little farther back from the table, or you will get your apron mussed."

"Do you know, I have seen women who could wear one apron all the week and then it would not be as soiled as that of some women would be in one day. That shows the difference betwen a neat and slovenly person."

"Some people always have a place for everything, and keep things where they belong, while others keep their things hap-hazard, and never know where to find them, — and so make themselves a great deal more work, and have a much harder time to get along. You will never be that kind of a person, for your mother is a good housekeeper, and you will grow up to be an orderly housekeeper, too."

Was it any wonder that I loved that wise, good woman? I was as wax in her hands, and could I have been under her influence until I had reached maturity, instead of but one year, I could, and would have escaped many of the sorrows and hardships of my life.

Mr. McCrary soon took up a claim on Young's river, a part of which is now known as "Greenwood Cemetery," but it was then quite remote, and could be reached only by boat.

After the lapse of many years, on my return to Clatsop, I heard that Mrs. McCrary, now a widow, was spending the winter in Astoria, and I embraced the first opportunity to visit her. Oh, what a joyful meeting was ours ! And with what interest and emotion did we recall and rehearse the past !

She was the same grand woman. Hardships and griefs — ■ of which she had suffered many — seemed to have made her more lovely and saintly. She said to me: "Well, I am getting old, but you are young, and fresh, with the bloom and beauty of womanhood upon you, and yet I can see much to remind me of the little bare-footed girl who brought me so much pleasure the year I lived near your father's ;" and she laughed happily.

Again we parted ; and year after year came and went. I became a physician, married a second time, and went to live on our Sunnymead farm in Clatsop county. One dark night a messenger came with a lantern, saying that Mrs. McCrary was suffering dreadfully from an abscess, and wanted me. Would I go ? Yes, by every fond recollection ; — by every tie of gratitude and affection — most assuredly I would go! And a walk of one mile over a rough tide-land road brought us to the Lewis and Clarke river, which we had to cross in a boat, to where a horse was awaiting us. Then three miles farther, and we were at our destination. I first administered an opiate ; then lanced the ulcers, and applied a hot poultice and a hot-water bag, and she was soon comfortable and free from pain : Then she said :

"Oh, how good God is, to send you to me in my trouble; and I do not regret my sickness, since it brought you here. I want you to get right in bed with me. I am ashamed to be so selfish as not to let you sleep in another room, after this long, hard trip, but if you had given me a bushel of opiates I could not sleep, I am so hungry for a good, long talk."

"Do not for a moment think," I replied, "that you are depriving me of an3thing, for I am quite as anxious as you are for such a talk"; and we did talk, from 2 a. m. till breakfast the next morning, living over much of our past lives from my early childhood.

A year or so later, she came to Clatsop to visit her friends, the Carnahans, who now own my father's old donation land-claim.