The Last of the Pioneer Wagon Train

Mrs. James Biles, mother of Mrs. M. S. Drew, of 1514 6th street, who was stricken with paralysis a few days ago, died this morning at 1:10 o'clock at her daughter's home. Mrs. F. A. Knapp, her daughter, who lives at Portland, arrived in time to be at the deathbed. Mrs. James Biles was born in Tennessee January 18, 1820. Her maiden name was Nancy M. Carter. In the early spring of '53, a party consisting of over 150 persons, mostly Kentuckians, under the leadership of Mr. Biles, made up a wagon train and started westward with the Puget Sound basin as their objective point. When Naches Pass, Cascade mountains, was reached, the fatigued travelers were out of provisions. The party expected to find a good wagon road, but instead they found nothing but a small, narrow pack trail, impracticable for wagons. The men were obliged to cut the way and build a road through the thick bushes and undergrowth. On November 23, the travelers halted on Nisqually plains. They had made the journey in seven months. Mr. Biles went into the stock business, and he and his wife were known for their hospitality; no one, however humble, was ever refused food and shelter beneath their roof.