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The legendary lost Spanish gold of Neahkahnie Mountain
OREGON IS A state with more than its share of buried-treasure legends. But the one that gets the most attention, and until fairly recently attracted …
5 months, 2 weeks ago
Oregon was scene of first recorded Soapy Smith con
The most famous con artist of the Old West started in Portland, then traveled throughout the state working the “marks” with his signature swindle. Fi…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
Oregon gold-country legend: The solid-gold snuff can
Is there anything to the story of the Native American man who came out of the woods every few years with a snuff can full of gold dust? Maybe. (McKe…
5 months, 2 weeks ago
Bungled robbery-murder was solved ‘CSI’-style
College professor's forensic investigation fingered the DeAutremont Brothers in the brutal robbery; after a years-long manhunt, and more than 2 milli…
5 months, 3 weeks ago
‘Last great train robbery’ was brutal, clumsy fiasco (part 1 of 2)
After several other attempts to get into the crime business didn't work out for them, the DeAutremont brothers came up with a plan to rob a train at …
5 months, 3 weeks ago
Black sheep of the Union Army was Oregon’s last Civil War veteran
Lebanon man lived a quiet, respectable life after the Civil War, but back in his youth he was a member of Olney's Detachment of the Oregon Cavalry — …
5 months, 3 weeks ago
Dory fisherman rescues stranded sailors — from Coast Guard boat
The conditions were too rough even for the legendary Coast Guard 36-foot motor lifeboat to make it through the breakers, so a fisherman brought them …
5 months, 3 weeks ago
The game of Faro was a crooked gambler’s dream
Frontier Oregon's favorite game of chance was a “banking” game that's little played today. That's because the only way to make money as a faro banker…
5 months, 3 weeks ago
Pirate, jailbird, hustler, tycoon: 'Colonel' T. Edgenton Hogg
Desperate for some ready cash after his steamer wrecked on the beach, the would-be magnate hastily built a “railroad to nowhere” over Santiam Pass in…
6 months ago
Giant mud puddles were once Lake Chewacan, a great inland sea
Summer Lake, Abert Lake and Goose Lake were once all part of a vast network of seas surrounded by lush vegetation. In dry years they can evaporate co…
6 months ago