On this date 150 years ago, Thomas J. Dryer, the editor of the Oregonian, a Captain O. Travaillot (an early Portland merchant), and others didn't climb Mount Hood.
Didn't climb Mount Hood?
Mr. Dryer said that his party did climb Mount Hood on August 8, 1854, possibly claiming to be the first party to do so. He claimed that members of the party passed out from the altitude and blood was oozing from Captain Travaillot's skin. This account has reportedly been debunked.
In 1860, Mr. Dryer owed so much money to his printer, Henry L Pittock, that he gave Mr. Pittock his interest in the Oregonian. Interestingly, some sources credit Mr. Pittock with being in the first party to climb Mount Hood, in 1857. But others credit Sam Barlow and two others with climbing in August 1845.
And Captain Travaillot? Described by Jewel Lansing as "the council's nemesis" (Portland: People, Politics, and Power, page 71), partly because he let his ship sink in the Willamette in 1852, where it blocked navigation, and wouldn't move it, he was also one of the first Portlanders to fight City Hall and win. On May 20, 1851 (less than four months after the City was incorporated), Mayor O'Bryant fined him $25 for riding too quickly. He fought the fine, and four years later the court ordered the City to pay him back the $25 plus an extra $10 for his trouble. Let's name a street after Captain Travaillot, preferably one with a speed trap.