Eugene Skinner And The Founding Of Eugene
Another entry in my month-long series of posts on Oregon, all in support of my Kickstarter Campaign.
When I lived in Eugene, I knew very little about the city’s history. I knew Eugene was named after a man named Eugene Skinner and that was about it. I wonder if I had grown up there I would have known more about the city, or if even long-time residents are in the dark when it comes to Eugene’s origins.
I hope that my novel Quitting The Grave provides more than just an enjoyable read. It’s also meant to fill in the gaps in the historical knowledge of Eugene and Oregon. Here’s another brief excerpt:
Eugene Skinner began his first cabin at the foot of the butte. He figured the isolated, flat-topped hill with steep sides would provide protection from the elements while still allowing easy access. He had already leveled the ground and was busy hauling logs from the nearby woods when he noticed a Kalapuya Indian approaching from the nearby river.
Skinner had his rifle close, leaning against a log only a couple steps away, but did not immediately jump for the weapon. He’d encountered members of the Kalapuya tribe several times on his journey through the Willamette Valley and only knew them to be peaceful and friendly. Being on his own left him feeling vulnerable–he’d insisted with bravado he would build the cabin himself, despite a surplus of men at Ft. Vancouver who warned him the restless Indians and winter rains made Oregon no place for a man to start a home–but a lone Indian rider was more likely to be friend than foe.
He was an older Indian possessing the regal bearing of a chief, his long mane colored a brilliant silver and his crimson skin lined with prominent grooves along his brow and temples. He wore leather jerkins, moccasins, and a hide top embroidered with indecipherable white and blue thread and bead patterns. It was only when he looked at his eyes, bright and intense, that Skinner decided the chief must be much younger than his hair indicated.
Watching Skinner hard at work, the native began laughing. He gestured with his hands, repeating Ya-po-ah as he pointed to the hillside behind them. Build high up.
Skinner had spent the past winter at Sutter’s Fort, where he picked up some of the Chinook jargon while working as a ferryman on the Sacramento River. He listened to an account of big waters sweeping through the valley. Heeding the old chief’s advice, he abandoned the unfinished structure and relocated to the south face of the butte, in a flat clearing overlooking the valley. Hauling newly felled fir logs from the forest’s edge, Skinner erected a simple, one-room cabin–all that was needed in those days to stake a claim to the site.
Finishing the cabin took several weeks, but once it was completed, Skinner did not settle in. Instead, he returned north to spend the winter near Fort Vancouver with his wife Mary, who was pregnant at the time. They would return in the spring, and to their surprise find their new home had been the sight of a tumultuous gun battle, the outcome of which would leave an enduring impression on a town that had not yet even been founded.
Many questions still linger today about what happened in Eugene Skinner’s log cabin during Eugene’s first winter, questions that may never be answered. All we know for sure is that one December night in 1846 determined the future of the town more surely than any events precipitated by Skinner himself.
I want people to ask themselves as they are reading Quitting The Grave, did this really happen? That’s how the best historical fiction works. And often, the most spectacular events are the true ones, the kind that even the best authors wouldn’t dare make up. In researching the story, I was often struck by some of the seemingly outlandish coincidences that I discovered. But of course, for the purpose of the narrative, I at times needed to condense, embellish, or rearrange events to make everything fit into a single novel.
That’s why I’m planning the enhanced e-book. By producing this series of mini-documentaries on the histories of Eugene and the Oregon Trail, readers will be able to quickly learn more about the actual events and know where reality ends and fiction begins.
I hope you will take the time to learn more, by visiting my Kickstarter page, and consider contributing. Every little bit helps, and I think you’re going to love the story.
Thanks for the support.
Check out Decater's new novel, available now at Amazon. Plus, don't forget his earlier books: Ahab's Adventures in Wonderland and Picasso Painted Dinosaurs.Related Posts
About The Author
the good doctor
Life is a constant battle versus my own entropy.