PIONEERING in the PALOUSE COUNTRY in 1878 and Later as Viewed in retrospect by Ralph COMEGYS

On March 17, 1878, George and Margaret (Ball) COMEGYS with their family of three children established a home on a preemption claim of one hundred sixty acres of Thorn Creek, in Section 34-19-43-about 1 1/2 miles south of the present site of Thornton he three children were Harriet, age fourteen, who was half sister to the boys, and who returned to Oregon in 1882 to enter Normal School and later taught in the valley, Ralph, four years old, Horace, one and one half years. Claude was born in 1882. The Comegys family came to the Palouse country in a covered wagon from the little village or town of Amity, Oregon located in the Willamette Valley about 46 miles southwest from Portland. George and Margaret both came from families representing long lines of immigrants and pioneers. George crossed the plains in 1848/1850 from Missouri in a covered wagon in where the Oregon Trail crosses the John Day river near its confluence with the Columbia. On our way from the Willamette Valley to the Palouse country, we drove from Amity to Portland, thence by boat to The Dalles, thence to a point above Celilo rapids by wagon, thence to Wallul a by boat. Believe we used the wagon for the rest of the way. The location selected by the Comegys for a home was also on the "Old Territioial Road" ex-tending from Walla Walla to Colville. The family lived in a tent the greater part of the summer of 1878.Our house was built near the line running between two 160 acre traces in Section 34-19-43. Father proved up on the preemption claim as quickley as possable, paying $1.00 and a quarter per acre. He then filed a homestead claim on the other tract and moved the house across the line onto the homestead, for which he received a patent from the government five years later. He purchased from the railroad company for two dollars sixty-five cents per acre the west half of section 35-19-43, and a few years later purchased the NE 1/4 of 3-18-43 for about seven or eight dollars per acre. He also purchased from a neighbor two 40 acre tracts in Section 34.

In the early days we traded at two stores - Cashup and the Pine City store. When about seven years old, I began riding a straw-berry roan cyause pony that we named Gipsy. The variety of our grocery purchases were very limited compared with todays. We usually brought home brown sugar, dried apples or peaches, dry beans, green coffee beans and tea. We usually obtained a supply of flour at the mills, enough to last six months or a year. The light we used was day light or candle light, candles made at home in a candle mold.

Everyone depended on live stock for a living, all had milk cows and some other cattle and some had horses and, of course everyone had hogs and chickens. There were three rather large bands of horses in the immediate neighborhood, probably 40 to 60 head in each band, one of the owners being George COMEGYS. It was from these bands that the settlers obtained work horses to plow up the sod when the railroads came.

We threshed barley and oats for stock feed and the first grain sold on the market for cash was at Cheney. It took three days round trip. The first night we camped at a tolerable camp site four or five miles out of Cheney, the second day saw the grain sold , part of the proceeds went to pay a note dad had previously given for a Peter SHUTTLER wagon and another part was invested in supplies. The return was made to the camp site for the second night out & we would arrive home in the middle of the afternoon. On two occasions we celebrated the 4th at Colfax and on one of these, we were driving just behind Tom MATLOCK on Dry Creek when his team became frightened, broke the double-tree hitch, and ran away leaving the hack in the road with Tom and his wife sitting in it. We loaned him one of our horses which he rode after the runaways, captured them in a fence corner and we proceeded on our way.

The Comegy children did not attend any of the county schools, their parents chose to teach them at home.

HORACE COMEGYS, came in 1878. Moved to Oakesdale in 1887 when the railroad came in. He built a house . His old house burned at the homestead near Thornton, Wa. Mr. Comegys remembers hearing the sleigh bells when people came in sleds through the fields to Jenning's place to dance. Horace Comegys has the old brand his father had "31". Horace's uncle, Mr Chase had a blacksmith shop.

One of the interesting attractions that greeted the eyes and ears in those early days was the long-legged and long billed curlew, with its peculiar manner of alighting from flight and its clear, full, musical siren-like cry as it circled and lost altitude before finially settling its feet firmly on the ground with its wings fully extended in perpendicular pose, then slowly, slowly lowering them to synchronize complete immobility of wing action and vocal effort.

A bird we came to know intimately which was less spectacular but more useful than the curlew, was the prarie chicken. These birds invaded our premises by the dozens and in the winter time we kept a supply dressed and frozen hanging on the cloths line for daily use.

[Note: This family of COMEGYS are related to Lafe COMEGYS a member of the RINEHART's on the DUNCAN branch. WSB]

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