John Work's Journey to Umpqua River, 1834 257 charged higher than they have hitherto got them, which in some things perhaps may be the case. But be it so or not the Indians are always apt to say so when a stranger comes among them for the first time. The most of these furs appear to be procured from along the seacoast, & there seems to be an opposition among the Indians who go there to trade, which causes the [206] beaver first to cost higher than they otherwise would do, & to induce the Indians to ask a higher price from us, in order to have a little profit. Joe returned home. I sent a letter with him for Michelle & also sent a bag of corn, 5 Gall rice, 5 Gall flour, 1 lb tea & % loaf of sugar. Should Michell be sick as was my case last year, these things would be a great acquisition to him. After Joe went off I learn that he & some of the other Indians are not on the best of terms. He is said to have killed 4 Indians during the winter & is represented as a very bad character & a great hand for taking other people's wives. The men set some traps since I went off ; only 1 beaver taken ; 2 deer killed. June 12. Fine. Had arranged to proceed to the Umquah old fort where I understood the natives have a few beaver, but was deterred on account of a child of Champaign's which has been sick some time, being so sick that it was not expected to live out the day. By some indians that were here I sent word to those on [207] the Comments June 12. "The Umpqua old fort" indicates there were two Forts Umpqua. The later fort of that name was opposite Elkton on Umpqua River. Either the old or the later fort, probably the former, was established by Chief Trader John McLeod and Michel Laframboise in 1832. The "old fort," apparently, was on Calapooya Creek west of the sites of later Oakland and Sutherlin, perhaps at the junction of Calapooya Creek and Umpqua River, which place was the southermost objective of this journey.
