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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. Fifteen years later, an Oregonian shot him in a gun …
Published on 3 months, 1 week 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. (McKenzie River valley; 1920s, 1930s) (For text and pic…
Published on 3 months, 1 week 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 million “wanted” posters, they were caught. But we stil…
Published on 3 months, 1 week 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 the summit of the Siskiyous. It did not go well — …
Published on 3 months, 1 week 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 — a Union Army outfit nicknamed “Olney's Forty Thiev…
Published on 3 months, 2 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 ashore two by two in his rowboat. (Port Orford, Cu…
Published on 3 months, 2 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 is to cheat ... and cheat they did. (Portland, Mu…
Published on 3 months, 2 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 an attempt to swindle the federal government. It …
Published on 3 months, 2 weeks 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 completely — which led to some confusion on the Appl…
Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago
The rise and fall of ‘king of Portland saloonkeepers’
LATE ONE SPRING evening in 1917, a man named A.L. Sauvie was trying to sleep, and not having much success. The problem was his downstairs neighbor, who had gotten roaring drunk and was now verbally …
Published on 3 months, 3 weeks ago