So, many times when we reached the first house after a long walk, and made the inquiry if we could be accommodated with supper, lodging and breakfast, or in western language: “If we could get to stay over night?” the reply almost invariably would be: “We have no accommodations to keep folks.” At the next house we probably could “get to stay,” as they “kept folks.” The estimate of the distance to the next house was almost invariably given at not more than one-half of the actual distance. When we at length arrived at the next house a similar story, in most cases, would be told, so that on some occasion we traveled until quite late in the evening before we could succeed in finding lodging for the night. The next morning we were obliged to retrace the same road to reach the place where we had quit work the evening previous. These people, however, were very hospitable and could not be censured with justice. A majority of them were immigrants from Missouri and other western states, and many of them had lived on the frontier during their whole lives.
In many cases where we stopped for the night, the cabin contained one room only, of a fair size, say 15 by 20 feet, and the family would consist of man and wife, and from five to ten children, in some instances including two or three girls nearly women grown. Of course, families so situated could not be expected to have accommodations for three or four tired, hungry men. However, in many cases we would prevail upon them to consent to keep us, and they would do the very best that they were able to do under the existing conditions.
They would divide their bed, putting the feather bed on the floor for the use of their guests. This was done for us in many instances. After managing in this way for a time, and becoming familiar with the ways and manners of the people, I knew much better how to manage the matter of getting kept over night. I learned that if we should assume a simple “No” with excuses, more or less elaborate, was to be taken as a final refusal, that we would find very few places of accommodations.
Later I made it a point to get into the inside of the house before the request was made for accommodations for the night. I would not even await an invitation to step inside, but no sooner than the door was open I would at once enter, if possible, without being conspicuously ungentlemanly. Sometimes I would inquire for a drink of water and gain admission thereby. Once inside I found the battle more than half won. We could then almost always induce the good people to keep us.
The surveying of the public lands may be thought by many to be light, easy work, but it is really hard and rough. The surveyors are subjected to much exposure, especially in the winter or rainy season.
The winters in Oregon, as in California, are called “rainy seasons.” There is much rainy weather and some snow, but the snows are usually damp and soon melt away in the valleys. The weather is seldom very cold, but is sometimes cold enough to cause thin ice to form on the surface of standing water.
During the rainy season in Oregon the small streams were full and all the sloughs and swampy places were at times overflowed with water. At that time ferries had been established across some of the larger streams at certain points. The smaller streams had to be forded.
We had very much wading to do in crossing streams, sloughs and swamps, quite often having to wade places where the water was not less than three or four feet deep. The water was necessarily cold, but after a few days of experience we would become accustomed to it, so we would not mind it very much. When a pair of new boots were purchased, before they were worn, a slit would be made in each one, near the sole, at the inside of the instep to give drainage for the water to pass out. We had a great amount of similar wading to do on this contract.
I will relate only one from many experiences which came my way during the fall of 1851. When Mr. Freeman was surveying the meridian line, he had a transit with his party, to make triangulations to distant mountain peaks and other topographical objects that might come within range on either side.
This transit, from a fall or some other accident, became injured, so it became entirely useless for the purpose of making triangulations, and it was left by Mr. Freeman at a farmhouse. Previous to his visit to Oregon City in November, he concluded to take the transit along with him to the surveyor-general’s office.