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History
"Short History of the Little Nestucca River Valley and Its Early Pioneers" written about South Tillamook County, Oregon
The page below was written by Mrs. Hardy Rock (Alexandria LEY Rock) and published in 1949. NVMS students have retyped her history so that many may read it. Although some punctuation errors have been corrected the text remains as written by Mrs. Rock.
Note that Alexandria LEY Rock's "Short History of the Little Nestucca River Valley and Its Early Pioneers" has been republished in book form as of January 2007 and is now being offered for sale by the Tillamook County Historical Society!
p. 33 Horses continued and Ingenuity
(This page was typed by seventh grader, Heather, during the spring of 2002 and edited by Dean Bones.)
Suddenly it raised high up with its front feet and dived down as if committing suicide. It was quickly carried down stream. After a search for it by a number of persons; Russell started home. Night overtook him near the farm house of Andy Commons who kindly kept him until morning. When Russell did not get home before the second night, his mother was greatly alarmed, there being no phones then.
Some months later, the dead horse was found on the beach. The groceries all spoiled, the sugar gone, but the pair of shoes were still on the pack-saddle. A heavy price to pay for one pair of shoes for a small boy.
In the year 1943, a large, fat stallion belonging to Earl Porter disappeared and no trace of him could be found. A thorough search on the farm and surrounding country proved fruitless. About 25 days later, he came walking slowly toward the house, very thin and hungry. After caring for him, Earl Porter, with his wife and son Lloyd, and Eula and John Redberg traced him to the steep sides. He had eaten salmon berry brush and elder up to one inch in diameter, also all the moss he could reach for the tree. When he grew thin and had eaten his way upward, he must have made a desperate effort to succeed in reaching the top. Needless to say, there was rejoicing in the Porter home.
During the first couple of years Chris Christensen and his wife, Anna Hardmen Christensen, lived on their homestead (about 1876-77), they made trips to Tillamook for previsions using two miles as pack- horses. Swimming the miles across Nestucca Bay behind a canoe, they followed the beach to Sandlake which they forded and made Netarts the first day. The second day, they climbed Cape lookout on a trail worn to a depth of six feet and forded sloughs and rivers to Tillamook City.
On one of these return trips, the brown mule (little Jennie) attempted to swim Nestucca Bay by herself; she was over-balanced by the heavy pack on her back, drowned, and was carried to sea by the tide. The loss of the mule as well as the precious provisions was a serious loss to them.
Ingenuity
Before the arrival of the whites, the native Indians had a passion for horse racing and their race was on what is now the Redberg farm. Between 1870 and 1875, Chris Christensen, with great difficulty, brought three foot ponies from Netarts to participate in the races; these easily won over the to sell. He bargained, however, with the chief to give the ponies to the Indians in exchange for the labor of the Indians calling oysters through the spring season at Netarts where Christensen was engaged in oyster culture. Thus Christensen's ingenuity solved a difficult problem confronting him.
Continue to page 34 of "Short History of the Little Nestucca River Valley and Its Early Pioneers!"