One Day, but not this Day.

In Oregon the name John Day is legendary.

We associated John Day with Fossils. John Day Fossil Fields, John Day River, John Day Highway and John Day the town, even Dayville.

This John Day, Oh Boy what a man, what a pioneer, what a palaeontologist! We couldn’t wait to see what earth shattering break through “Big John”, as I was beginning to think of him had come up with. Alas, it was all for nought. John Day is Oregon’s greatest Hero who did nothing. Well, when I say nothing, he did do something, a story Jen pointed out at the Painted Hills Fossil Site (just out of John Day the town).

It seems that in 1810 John and a bunch of his friends were heading to the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon to set up a Trading Post. The group became scattered leaving John and his new best friend, Ramsey Crooks, on their own. Near the junction of the Mah-Hah River John and Ramsey were “set upon” by a party of Native Americans who helped themselves to all there possessions. When I say all, I mean all. The two hapless, would be entrepreneurs, were left naked and lost.

You really have to admire the natives for their generosity, no staking out in the sun, no ant hill torture, no trial by combat…. just “give us your stuff”.

John and Ramsey were rescued and taken to Astoria Oregon arriving in 1812 two years after they left to make their fortunes. I suspect Beethoven made more out of his overture, of the same year, than John made from his Trading Post.

Getting back to the naming so many areas in Oregon after John Day. It seems that the locals began calling the spot where John and Ramsey were robbed and rescued, “John Day”. The name stuck and Oregonians (if I can call them that) ended up with a string of places named after a rather inept and naked fur trader. One Day, but not today John.

The real credit for the fossil fields belongs to Thomas Condon. Tom by the way was a minister of the cloth and follower of Darwin’s theory of evolution. This was a brave minister.