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Western ExpressApril1992Map of western San Diego County shows majortowns and the locations of Cave J. Couts' landholdings.agent for the San Luis Rey Indians and did nothesitate to use this labor pool to improve hisproperty.By 1860, Circuit Judge Benjamin Hayesdescribed the ranch as a paradise. His home waswidely celebrated for its hospitality.Smallpox plagued all of SouthernCalifornia in the early 1860s. In November 1862Couts wrote to Steams: "Small pox quite evident 6 to 8 a day being buried at San JuanCapistrano . I vaccinated the whole rancheria atSan Luis some six weeks since, and hope theymay escape." They did.Cave Johnson Couts died at age 53 at theHorton House in San Diego on June 10, 1874.Mr. and Mrs. Couts had ten children, of whomnine lived to maturity. In the 1880s the Guajomerancho adobe was frequently visited by HelenHunt Jackson and it is generally assumed that thesite inspired the locale in her book Ramona. TheCouts home on Guajome Rancho is now aRegional Park and will ultimately become amuseum for the enjoyment of visitors.SAN LUIS RE.Y MISSION, NEAR OC'E.AIVStDE, CAL.PageS

Western ExpressApril1992CONNECTIONS AT JACKSONVILLEby Dale E. ForsterThe first commercially important discovery of gold in Oregon was made in 1852 at thefuture site of Jacksonville in southern Oregon.Jacksonville was supplied from Yreka, Californiaacross the Siskiyou Mountains. It became aconnecting point for express companies and mailroutes. This article is an analysis of eight coversfrom the 1853-63 period.The cover illustrated in Figure 1 originated at Weaverville, California in 1853. It has aCram Rogers Weaverville handstamp and anindistinct Cram Rogers Jacksonville O.T. handstamp. When it arrived at Jacksonville the CramRogers agent faced the problem of how to sendthe cover north to its destination, as there was asyet no post office in Jacksonville, and no expressoperators coming in from the north. Someonecarried it privately to Scottsburg, near the mouthof the Umpqua River, where it was put into theU.S. mail. Here it received the manuscript 5 andScottsburg O.T. Dec 16, 1853 markings. Therewas a mail route from Scottsburg to theWillamette Valley via Yoncalla.The Adams Express failure of 1855caused the demise of Cram Rogers, but C.C.Beekman, former Jacksonville agent for CramRogers. stayed on the Yreka to Jacksonville routeand created Beekman's Express. Figure 2 ill us-trates a November 1859 Wells Fargo cover fromSan Francisco to Roseburg, which was turnedover to Beekman's Express at Yreka. Beekmancarried it north to Jacksonville where he appliedhis handstamp and then put the cover in the mail.The Jacksonville circular datestamp was appliedover the San Francisco Wells Fargo marking.Wells Fargo did not operate overland expressroutes in Oregon at this date, and all northboundoverland mail was turned over to Beekman atYreka.Figure 3 is a similar Wells Fargo coverfrom San Francisco to the same addressee inRoseburg, but mailed about three months later. Ithas no Beekman marking and went into the mailat Leland, a community a short distance northwest of Jacksonville. Possibly Beekman carriedit north from Yreka, but another possibility is thatWells Fargo carried it from San Francisco toCrescent City by ship. In that case an expressoperator from Crescent City would have carriedthe letter inland through the Sailor's Diggingsarea and mailed it at Leland. It is impossible todetermine for certain exactly what route it tookand who carried it.In 1860 Ned Tracy, the Portland WellsFargo agent, was extending his own Tracy &Company's Express south through the WillametteFigure 1Page6

Western ExpressAprill992Figure 2Figure 3Page7

Western ExpressApril1992Figure4Valley and beyond. The following letter in theOregon Historical Society's archives pertains tohis Jacksonville connection:Jacksonville Oct. 19, 1860C.C. Beekman, Esq.Dear Sir: I was sorry to find you awaywhen I an·ived, but getting married is better thanthe Express business any day I have made an office at Roseburgh,Canyonville, and Oakland - and I have beentalking to Mr. Hayden about business here - andas a starter make this proposition to you - Yousell your Envelopes over my route -- and runmine over yours. I will furnish you Way Bills,blanks, etc. and give you 20% on the nett profitsof the way bills you receive and for'd to me - Iwill send you statements and abstracts to be madeout every month, etc. I do not know whatarrangements you made below but think if youwill come through and see me when you get backwe can make such arrangements as to coral [sic]all this Canyonville, Roseburgh, & Oakland business.I spoke to Mr. Hayden about my sendingyou election Returns and you do the same for me.Yours TrulyE.W. TracyBefore the end of 1860 Tracy was adverttsmg that he had an office at Jacksonville atBeekman's Express office, so they had come toan agreement on the sharing of express revenues.The cover illustrated in Figure 4 is anotherWells Fargo cover to Marks in Roseburg, butdated after Tracy had extended his lines toJacksonville. Wells Fargo carried it to Yreka andturned it over to Beekman, who carried it toJacksonville and turned it over to Tracy. NoBeekman or Tracy handstamps were applied -- infact, Tracy never had a Jacksonville handstamp,and no covers are known showing the markingsof both Beekman and Tracy. Beekman beganusing a printed frank similar to Tracy' s ribbonfrank about this time.Figure 5 is a spectacular 1861 usage originating with Ballou's Express in British Columbia,where it was carried down the Fraser River byBallou and handed over to Wells Fargo atVictoria on Vancouver Island. Wells Fargopasted their own printed frank cover to the backof the Ballou's envelope (the paste-up has beenseparated for display purposes) and sent it southby ship to Portland. The Wells Fargo and Tracy ' sExpress offices were under the same roof, and adecision had to be made as to how to send theletter south. Wells Fargo had agents on the shipsbetween Portland and San Francisco, but possiblythere was no ship leaving soon. So it was turnedover to Tracy to take it overland, and Tracyapplied his Portland circular handstamp to bothsides. At Jacksonville Beekman took the coversouth to Yreka, where Wells Fargo took it on toSan Francisco and turned it over to Bamber &Co. for delivery to Alvarado, Alameda County.PageS

Western ExpressAprill992Note that this paste-up never entered the government mail service, but three governments werepaid-- British Columbia by the New Westminsteroval post office frank, Vancouver Island (whichwas a separate colony at the time) by theVictoria/Paid/ V.I. frank, and the U.S. by the 3 star die emobssed stamp.Figure 6 is another southbound cover orig-inating at Fort Vancouver, just north of P01tlandon the north side of the Columbia River. If theyear of the cover is 1860, Tracy did not yet gosouth as far as Jacksonville, so he could notfollow the sender's "Overland" instruction. If theyear is 1861, the sea mail and overland optionswere both possible. Whichever the date, theWells Fargo Portland marking shows that theFigure 5Page9

Aprill992Western ExpressFigure 7Page 10

Western ExpressApril1992cover went south by ship and did not go throughJacksonville.The cover illustrated in Figure 7 originated with Tracy & Co. in Albany and was turnedover to Beekman at Jacksonville for carriage toYreka, then by Wells Fargo to San Francisco.Figure 8 shows an envelope with a WellsFargo printed frank originating at Roseburg, fromwhere it was carried to Jacksonville by Tracy, byBeekman to Yreka, and by Wells Fargo to SanFrancisco. At San Francisco Mr. Marks wasfound to have returned to Roseburg, so the coverwas sent north by the same three express companies. The year of this cover is probably 1862.The following year Wells Fargo bought outBeekman's Express and installed C. C. Beekmanas their express agent in Jacksonville. Theybought out Tracy's eastern Oregon lines as well,and Tracy's western Oregon lines were indecline. Soon Wells Fargo became the dominantoverland express in the state of Oregon.These eight covers show how in theperiod before 1863 Tracy and Beekman werelinks in the overland chain between Portland andSan Francisco. They show that even undistinguished looking Wells Fargo covers to towns inOregon were carried by other express companies,even when no markings of the Oregon companiesare present.FigureSPage 11 , !] ,,, Scottsburg .'. . ···;'Yoncalla. Oakland',;,Roseburg· Canyonville:·, Jacksonville .\/0 REG 0 NCAL I FORN IA

Western ExpressApril1992POST OFFICE ESTABLISHMENTS:OFFICIAL DATES vs. REALITYby Alan H. PateraSerious postal researchers have long beenaware that the dates of post office establishmentsentered into the official postal records did notreflect the date the post office commenced operations. The dates entered into the Records ofPostmaster Appointments are the date an officialappointment was made in Washington D.C.; untilnews of the appointment reached the postmasterat the location of the new office there was noauthorization to commence postal service. As weshall see, postal service may not have been provided even after the postmaster knew he hadauthorization for a post office.In the early years of the western UnitedStates it took a great deal of time for paperworkto travel from Washington D.C. to the locationsof new post offices. Delays of several weeksfrom the date of the order were the norm, andsometimes the time differential lapsed intomonths. Being aware of the urgent need forservice, the Post Office Department empoweredSpecial Postal Agents with authority to establishpost offices and report the results back toWashington D.C. This has resulted in some confusion as to dates for early California offices,where covers are known predating the officialWASHINGTONMONTANAPierce CityMullan's BridgE eoWalla Walla.loro Finoppei Elk City Florence City La GrandeOREGON AuburnIDAHOLocation of post offices for which we know an actual as well as the official establishment date.Page 12

Western ExpressApril1992establishment dates in Post Office Departmentrecords.Because such infomation is not includedin official primary sources, it has been exceedingly difficult to determine the time differentialbetween the official establishment of a post officeand the actual operation of the office. This articlewiH attempt to do just that, utilizing informationpublished in the Walla Walla Statesman on thecommencement of postal operations in pioneermining districts in eastern Oregon, easternWashington, and IdahoGold discoveries in northern Idaho inearly 1861 brought an influx of people to an areathat had previously been uninhabited by whitemen. The Post Office Department was trying tocope with the total disruption of services onaccount of the Civil War, and had little time orinterest to devote to happenings in the remotenorthwestern corner of the country. The gap incommunications was filled by a number of enterprising expressmen.Isaac Mossman was one of the pioneerexpressmen between Walla Walla and the Idahomining camps. Ned Tracy & Co. started anexpress to Oro Fino and Pierce City shortly afterPost OfficeOfficiallyEstablishedAuburn OR1 Nov 1862Mossman. Mossman was joined by C.H."Joaquin, Miller from October 1861 to the Springof 1862 as Mossman & Miller's Express. InFebruary 1862 they had competition with theinception of McBride & Rhodes Express to theSalmon River mines, which had come into prominence the previous fall.Oregon's Powder River mines developedthe major camp of Auburn. The first expressmanto establish a route to Auburn from Walla Wallawas G.H. Barnett, who first advertised on June14, 1862. Later that summer Barnett had competition from Shepherd, Cooper & Co., which laterwas run solely by J.M. Shepherd. Through theend of 1862 the express companies provided theonly letter communication for the numerousminers of these camps.Although the Idaho mining camps werediscovered first and attained a sizable populationduring the summer of 1862, the first location toget a post office was Auburn, Oregon, a goldcamp not far from the Oregon Trail. The officialestablishment date says the office started onNovember 1, 1862, but from the files of theStatesman we learn that there was no confirmation there would be a post office until January 24,Newspaper ItemElapsed timeP.O. noted 24 Jan 1863First mail 10 Feb 1863102 daysElk City 1025 Nov 1862First mail 12 Jan 186348 daysFlorence City ID25 Nov 1862First mail 12 Jan 186348 daysHellgate MT25 Nov 1862First mail 12 Jan 186348 daysOro Fino 1025 Nov 1862First mail 12 Jan 186348 daysPierce City 1025 Nov 1862First mail 12 Jan 186348 daysCoppei WA28 Nov 1862P.O. noted 24 Jan 186357 daysLa Grande OR28 May 1863Petition noted 7 Feb 1863Mullan's Bridge WA14 Aug 1863In operation week of 18-25 July52 daysPetition sent 24 Jan 1863P.O. noted 3 Oct 186350 daysPage 13

Aprill992Western Express1863. Even then there were no mail deliveriesuntil postal supplies arrived from Portlan via th.eColumbia River and Walla Walla. The fust malldelivery to Auburn is noted in the paper asFebruary 10, a full 102 days since the office was"established" in Washington D.C.The Idaho mining camps of Pierce City,Oro Fino, Florence City and Elk City actually gottheir first mail earlier than Auburn, even thoughon the official record they are shown as beingestablished at a later date. All four were established on the same date, November 25, 1862,along with Hellgate in Montana. The first .mailfor these offices, which were served by a smgleroute, was commenced on January 12, 1863 - ascant 48 days from the official establishmentdate.The other offices mentioned in theWashington Statesman show a similar 7-weekdelay from the authorization of the office in thePost Office Department and the commencementof mail service. There must have been someadditional delay for the office at Coppei, in WallaWalla County. It took 66 days before the commencement· of a mail to Coppei even though theoffice was not far from Walla Walla and on thedirect route from Walla Walla to Lewiston and·the Idaho gold camps.Mullan's Bridge was located not farbeyond Coppei, and while it only took 50 daysfrom the date of the official establishment untilthe commencement of mail services, it is worthnoting that the petition requesting the post officewas forwarded to Washington D.C. over sevenmonths earlier.The Grand Ronde Valley in northeasternOregon was largely settled during the latesummer and fall of 1862, with the town of LaGrande emerging as the most important of severalsmall settlements established at that time. LaGrande was directly on the Oregon Trail, and ithad the further advantage of being on the maintraveled route between Walla Walla and the goldexcitement at Auburn. As word of the establishment of a post office at Auburn became knownthe residents of La Grande circulated a petition tohave a post office established for their community. The petition was sent to Washington D.C., .passing through Walla Walla the week beforeFebruary 7, 1863. Note that this petition was sentin later than that for Mullan's Bridge, but that forLa Grande received prompt attention, and a postoffice was authorized for La Grande on May 28.The exact date of the first mail is not reported inthe Statesman, but it is noted the office was inoperation the week of July 18 to 25, approximately 50 days after the authorization for the office inWashington D.C.Does the system work?Even with the exact dates of the actualcommencement of mail service known from thepages of the Washington Statesmen, we should beaware that things did not always go smoothly.The weather provided a large element of chance.The roads, which were none too good in thesummer time, turned into quagmires with the falland spring rains. In the mountains enormoussnowfalls sometimes suspended all movement.Even the Columbia River would freeze over,stopping river traffic and resulting in only partially successful attempts to move the mail overlandby horseback from The Dalles.The following excerpt from the Washin ton Statesman shows that there were also problems with the contracted personnel:"The Tri-Weekly Mail.- Our tri-weekly Dallesmail seems destined to be no improvement uponthe old semi-monthly affair. It has now beenmore than a week since a mail was received herefrom the Dalles, during which time we shouldhave had four. Upon inquiring into the cause ofthis irregularity the other day we were given asone reason for the non-arrival of the mail that oneof the carriers was lying at Umatilla drunk, andhad been there for a week. As we fail to learnanything of the others, we reasonably concludethey are drunk also. The mails which have beensent out from here for the Dalles have been lyingat Wallula for more than a week on account ofthere being no carriers there to receive them."BibliographyForster, Dale E. Oregon Express Companies,Lake Oswego OR, 1985.U.S. Post Office Department. Records ofAppoimmens of Postmasters. Various date .Washington Statesman, Walla Walla, Washmgton, 1861-63.Page 14

Western ExpressApril 1992Auction Actionby Bill TathamFor this issue it's the marvelous "Edwards" Collection, a pseudonym for a beautifulcollection of covers sold by Christies of New York at auction on October'29, 1991. Christies putout another beautiful catalog. Unfortunately a few fakes crept into the sale, but these werewithdrawn or noted and offered "as-is" at sale time. Many lots did not sell, and it's believed that allthese lots have been sold to one person. Many lots sold for reasonable prices -- I don't think thereis any question that the market for express covers has been saturated. Only lots that sold are listed.Most lots sold for low estimate or less. The following lots sold for high estimate or above: 1060,1077, 1081, 1082, 1089, 1143, 1144, 1181, 1199, 1203, 1241, 1243, 1265, 1267, 1270, 1283,1284, 1304, 1307, 1309, 1317, 1319, 1322, 1323, 1324, 1326, 1342, 1352, 1365, 1383, 1384,and 1425.Illustrated Stagecoach EnvelopesThese are difficult to describe, so they are lumped together here. Such covers brought from 950 for acommon design from San Francisco to 2300 for a scarcer type from Angels Camp.Illustrated Railroad "Choo Choo" Propaganda Envelopes1m10161017DescriptionLarger train not in a lined boxSmaller train in a lined boxRealized3.2001.200Pony Express 103410351036Fine blue SF 'Running Pony' with St. Joseph CDS tying a 10 1857 with RED St. Joseph'Running Pony' on the back, addressed to ABRAHAM LINCOLNRED St. Joseph 'Running Pony' on front and choice strike with oval carmineCalifornia/Paid/Pony Express. A GEM!Choice blue SF 'Running Pony' clear of address and stamp with VF oval COC&PP Express Co.same as above on 12 black 1857, markings not as clearPony Express. The COC&PP Express Company/St. Joseph oval in circle in green. Choice.Red SF 'Running Pony'Blue oval Pony Express/Sacramento on 2 red 143Ll. A gem.Mss 'per Pony Express' to Confederate Virginia 2 red 143LI tied by blue SF 'Running Pony' on 10 star die envelope with Patriot design 1 red 143L3 tied by blue 'Running Pony' on 10 star die red WF Frank 2 green 134L4 with 10 1861 on red Wells Fargo franked 10 1861 envelopeNevada Pony cover with five 3 186ls on a 3 1861 envelope with 6 25 blue 143L8stamps, the largest multiple by far.An XF 143L9 25 redSimilar to lot 1034 but seven times rate with 00090.00016.50045.00020.0006.50020.000Western Expresses10371048105310591060106110

Dr. Heinz von Hungen MD 1134 Granger Ave. Modesto CA 95350-4035 Aprill992 . send check to R.H. Salz, 60 27th Ave., San Francisco CA 94121 . James Inverarity James Jacobitz MD Rev. Constant R. Johnson Karl Koons George Kramer James E. Krome Frank J. Liska