Page 46 - Southern Oregon Magazine Fall 2018

neck of the woods | sister cities

BANDON

to BANDON

An indomitable, immigrant spirit
and a story waiting to be told

& by Christopher Warner

n May 1873, George Bennett, an Irishman accompanied by his two
teenage sons, arrived at the mouth of the Coquille River along
Ithe southwest Oregon coast. The Bennetts had recently traveled
over 8,000 miles, crisscrossing the rugged, untamed frontier before
reaching their destination. The elder Bennett, a graduate of Trinity
College and adventurous, now set his sights on carving out a new life
in America. He envisioned the vast potential of the timber-rich region
and its navigable river, and soon purchased large tracts of land in the
sparsely populated area known as “The Ferry.” There he would prosper,
reinventing himself as “Lord” Bennett, and name the settlement after
his Irish birthplace, Bandon.

I recently retraced Bennett’s journey in reverse order. Although I
bravely endured hostile TSA agents and treacherously long airport
lines, my path proved far less difficult. The excursion revealed uncanny
similarities, as well as stark contrasts between the sister cities, and
allowed me to follow some of the Bennetts’ same footsteps, imagining
the thrills and hardships of the immigrant-powered, pioneer spirit.

Starting from my home in Portland, I headed south for the first leg of
the trip. The drive provided ocean vistas and abundant woodlands. I
reached Coos County around dinnertime and turned onto Beach Loop
Drive to watch the sun slowly dip into the ocean. I was surprised by the
somewhat diminutive size of the Coquille Lighthouse that sits on the
edge of Bullards Beach, and awestruck by another of Bandon’s promi-
nent landmarks, the striking rock formations found just offshore, with
Face Rock as its centerpiece attraction.

According to legend, the uplifted, stone face belongs to Ewanua, a
beautiful Indian princess of the Nah-So-Mah tribe and the daughter
of Chief Siskiyou. Following a feast celebration, Ewanua carried her
dog, Komax, her cat and a basket full of kittens down to the beach
for a late night swim in the ocean. Unaware of any dangers, she was
suddenly attacked by Seatka, a feared evil spirit lurking undersea. The
monster tried to get her to look at him, but she refused, knowing his
eyes wielded all his power. So the fair princess forever lies here in
repose, shunning Seatka and gazing skyward, while her dog, cat and
kittens wait nearby.

44 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | fall 2018