On a road trip from my home in the Pacific Northwest to southern Arizona, my first night stay was in Yreka, California. After studying the road map, I decided I wouldn’t backtrack to Interstate 5; instead, I’d take a scenic route and join the interstate farther to the south. Never having visited Northern California, I wanted to enjoy more of the countryside than the interstate allows.
While driving, I started reading the road signs: Lewis and Clark Trail—Applegate Trail—Aunt Mary’s Tavern—Jumpin’ Joe Bridge—Deadman’s Creek. As I passed by each one, my curiosity piqued and my imagination began seeing a strange story unfold.
Many years ago Joe and Mary were members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Joe was a hard drinkin’, gambling man who only became a member of the expedition because his wife (Mary) was hired as a cook. Mary was also a great tracker and muleskinner. Joe was only good for drinking and gambling, but his body was endowed with strong muscles.
During the trek west, Joe got in trouble many times because of his disrespect for, and dreadful influence on, the Native Americans the exploration party encountered. After an incident involving a small group of Indians, some missing horses, distilled peyote juice and stolen gold, Joe was asked to leave the expedition.
Hoping to start again, he and Mary traveled south. They knew (from family letters) that Joe’s cousin was in the area planting seeds. (Oh, did I mention that Joe’s last name was Appleseed?) Within days they met their cousin Johnny, pleaded their case for a new beginning, and he let them join him on his journey.
They “hoed and sowed" quite a few weeks before Joe reverted to his wrongful ways; he even gambled away some of Johnny’s apple seeds. This angered Johnny because he intended to plant seeds all through the United States, Canada, and Mexico. But, due to Joe’s losses, his mission would have to be cut short.
Johnny insisted that Joe leave at once, take Mary, and change his name so as not to disgrace the family any further. Acceding to Johnny’s request, he and Mary continued their westward trek, blazing their own path and calling it “The Applegate Trail" (his new name).
They settled in an area of northern California where Mary opened a business that capitalized on her talent for cooking. She wanted to call her establishment “Mary’s Home Cookin’," but Joe insisted on the word “tavern," (you can guess why). They compromised by calling it Aunt Mary’s Tavern which evoked a vision of “brew and stew."
Eventually Mary tired of Joe’s drunken philandering and told him to take a “flying leap." Despondent and discouraged he mounted his horse, rode to the edge of the gorge, walked onto the bridge and leaped into the creek below.
A trapper, who met Joe briefly while taking in some libation after stocking up on supplies, saw Joe jump but could do nothing to save him. Quickly he ran to the nearest outpost pointing excitedly and yelling, “Jumpin’ Joe! Jumpin’ Joe!" (He was a dyslexic speaker.)
Some of the locals searched for Joe, but to no avail. The creek wasn’t easily accessible, and, considering the height of the bridge, no one felt that Joe could have survived. Consequently, as a point of reference along the trail and, in deference to Aunt Mary, the bridge was christened in Joe’s name—“Jumpin’ Joe Bridge."
Years later some miners were panning the icy creek for gold when they spotted a body, half submerged and under a log. Being a nomadic group, none of the miners had known, or ever heard of Joe. And, since the creek was nameless, they dubbed it “Deadman’s Creek."
One question that remained a mystery for many, many years was—“Why did the unknown man have a pocket full of apple seeds?"
Now you know.
Ginny Anne Averett is the author of this article. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and has a wide variety of interests. She continually finds inspiration from her surroundings. Her topics include historical fiction, folklore, travel, personal experience, and humor.
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