When I left Oregon City for the Umqua with Mr. Elder, although my eyes had improved some, they were very sensitive to light. They continued to improve, but when I commenced work they troubled me greatly. I could see double—that is, I could see two objects where there was only one. Suppose I was looking at a man some distance away, I would seem to see two men, instead of one.
However, my eyes continued to improve slowly but steadily, and at length regained their normal condition, so far as my sight was concerned. Still it was a long time before they became strong, so as to bear any excessive light without causing me pain, and it is my opinion they were never quite so strong after that time as they had been previously.
At the presidential election that took place in November, 1852, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire was elected president of the United States. This caused a change in the national administration from Whig to Democratic. After I arrived at Oregon City from the Umqua valley, Mr. Preston said to me that he supposed that Mr. Pierce would send a man there to take his place as surveyor-general, and that he would be removed from the office. He also said that as I had been crowded out of a contract in the previous spring, which I was really entitled to, he would give me my first choice of a contract from any of the lands at that time available to be surveyed.
After we had examined the plans, I selected for a contract the country west of the Willamette River, including the Long Tom valley. The contract was dated September 19, 1853, and included the survey of the 4th standard parallel south of range 5 and 6 west, the township lines of townships No. 16, 17 and 18, south of range No. 5 west, and 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18, south of range No. 6 west, or so much of these as was suitable for settlement, estimated at 396 miles, at $12 per mile. The west line of some of these townships ran into the coast range of mountains, and included some lands that were unfit for cultivation. This was the largest single contract, as I believe, that had been awarded to any deputy in Oregon. It proved to be a good contract, notwithstanding I had some very difficult township lines to survey in the mountains. Instead of the surveys amounting to 396 miles, there were 486 miles of surveys. In making the surveys of the public lands the deputy contracts to do the work at a certain price per mile; employ and pay his own help, and also pay all expenses. We paid help at that time each by the day and paid for the time only that we were able to work, on account of good or bad weather.
As soon as practicable after the contract was signed, I made up my party and left Oregon City, September 23, 1853. My party consisted of A. M. Addington and Granville Blake, chainmen, and John E. Boyd and Joseph Hawkins. All were from the western states.
I began work on the survey September 28. The weather was fair for the most part until the 13th of October, and it was not very stormy and bad through November.
The west line of the west tier of townships for nearly its entire length, or thirty miles, was in the coast range of mountains. It was very difficult to survey. The spurs and ravines made it up or down nearly the whole distance. Much of the way it was very steep. The mountains were heavily timbered. To survey these lines it was necessary to pack some provisions and take along. When night came we would build a fire, and after partaking of such eatables as we had managed to carry with us, lie down to sleep. To survey the two lines of a township in this broken country usually kept us in the mountains three or four days at a time, and we would carry with us provisions sufficient to last that length of time. Each one would carry his own pack.
Before the middle of October we had completed the lines of the three townships of range 5, which was in a fine country to survey, and had made some progress upon the other range. In cloudy weather we worked upon the subdivisions. There was considerable cloudy and rainy weather in November, while December proved still worse. I completed the subdivisions of the three townships of range 5, and on December 9th went to Marysville and copied my field notes, as the weather was so cloudy and stormy that I could not work to any advantage. I returned from Marysville December 21, and worked a few days, when there came a snow storm. The snow fell to the depth of ten or twelve inches and it was light and dry like a New England snow in mid-winter. It cleared away cold, and we had really a New Hampshire winter for about two weeks. The snow blew and ice formed over the streams and other exposed waters six or eight inches in thickness. This was a very unusual occurrence for Oregon.
This state of affairs continued for more than two weeks, or until the 27th of January, when it became warm, and the snow soon melted away.
During the cold spell we could do no work at surveying, but keep ourselves as comfortable as possible in our tent.