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OREGON 


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"THE UNION" 


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1 





OREGON 



OREGON 

Her Hi^ory 
Her Great Men 
Her Literature 



IVritten and Published by ' . 

JOHN B. UpRNER, A.M., LlttD. 
Professor of History 

Head of the Department of Historical Research, Oregon Agricultural College; 
Author of "Oregon Wterature"; "Vacation on the Mediterranean" 



ILLUSTRATED 



Distributed by 

The O. A. C. Co-operative Association The J. K. Gill Company 

Corvallis, Oregon Portland, Oregon 



For sale at all bookstands; 
Price $2.00; postaffe prepaid 



1919 



Press of the Gazette-Times 

CORVALLIS, OREGON 



\ 



(Joprightod in 1919 
By J. B. HORNER 



WAB EDITION. 

Engravings made by Hicks-Chatten, Portland ; 
Cover designed by W. M. Ball, Gorvallis; 
Bo^n4 by The Enterprise, Oregon City. 



TO 

THE HEROES AND HEROINES OF OREGON 







PATRIOTISM IS INCREASED 

BY 
KNOWLEDGE OF THE STATE 






This volume was written largely from first sources, the 
author having been personally familiar with the Oregon 
Country for more than a half century. His gratitude is due, 
however, to the following members of the Oregon Historical 
Society; Curator George H. Himes. Hon. Binger Herman, 
Hon. John Gill, Mr. Leslie M. Scott, Mr. Frederick V. Hol- 
man, Mr. T. C. EUliott, and Capt, O, C. Applegate, for 
valuable suggestions, and to other authorities freely con- 
sulted in the preparation of this book. These are men- 
tioned later with more data than can appear in the preface. 
All have wisely interpreted their observations and have 
commendably performed their part in preserving and exalt- 
ing the history of Oregon and the Pacific NorthwesL Hence 
with the encouragement and aid offered by these and others, 
the task of preparing this publication has been hopefully 
pursued with one advantage over its predecessors — the op- 
portunity of gleaning the choicest from all of them. 

The reader will observe that the volume is offered 
essentially as a history of Oregon with only such reference 



8 OREGON 

to.: the story of the Pacific Northwest as may be indispen- 
sable in the introductory chapters. 

Approximately five hundred events relative to the 
historical importance of Oregon have occurred since she 
avowed her purpose to "fly with her own wings** in a glori- 
bus ascent to American statehood. This volume, therefore, 
is designed to give such a condensed, authentic account of 
these activities as will instruct the reader, create a love for 
Oregon, and arouse patriotic respect for her laws and insti- 
tutions. 



OREGON 

The Oregon Country was the first territory the United 
States acquired on the Pacific Coast of America. It com- 
prised the region bordering the Pacific Ocean from Cali- 
fornia on the south to British America on the north, and 
extending as far east as the summit of the Rocky Mountains 
— an area equal to all the first thirteen states, Georgia 
excepted. 

From this vast domain were carved the states of Ore- 
gon, Washington and Idaho with a part of Wyoming and 
Montana. There are 96,699 square miles in the State of 
Oregon, which is more territory than the combined area of 

AREA OF OREGON— 96.699 Square Miles 




New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ver- 
mont, New Hzunpshire, Delaware, Maryland, with several 
other states each of which would be the size of Rhode 
Island. 



t 



10 



OREGON 



So great are the distances and so wide the area of 
Oregon that Massachusetts could easily nestle in the 
Willzunette Valley. Massachusetts and Rhode Island to- 
gether have less area than either Harney County or Malheur 
County. Any one of sixteen Oregon counties is larger 
than the state of Delaware, and any one of twenty-four 
counties is larger than Rhode Island. 

England, with about thirty-five million people, com- 
prises only three-fifths as much area sis Oregon. Were Eng- 
land as large as Oregon, she could support more than half 

OREGON COMPARED IN AREA WITH GREAT BRITAIN 




I Bemainlng Jifl eq.ro. i 
' Noarly area of Ifass. j 

the present population of the United States. Yet the total 
population of the State of Oregon is less than one million. 

The white settlers who came, when Oregon statehood 
was a mere Utopian dream, were strong of intellect and 
heroic of heart. Many of them were the descendants of the 
Pilgrims and the Cavaliers; and the others were like them. 
True to their traditions, they took up the westward journey 
of their ancestors, and traveled 3,000 miles, which is 



IT 



%-> 



INTRODUCTION 



II 



one of the longest pilgrimages mentioned in history. Their 
hardships were so severe that every mile of the long journey 
could have been marked with graves of those who fell along 
the way. Truly the Oregon emigrants^ were no less Pilgrims 

OREGON COUNTIES COMPARED IN AREA WITH 
MASSACHUSETTS AND RHODE ISLAND 

Harney County, 9,933 sq. m. Malheur County, 9,883 sq. m. 




Area of 



8366 
BQ. ml. 



Hhode 
Island 



1 

Surplus, 




and Cavaliers than were the colonists of Plymouth and 
Jamestown, 



i"In the history of the Northwest the terms 'emigrants' and 
'emigration* have commonly been used instead of 'immigrants' and 
'immigration'." — History of the Pacific Northwest. 



1 2 OREGON 

Upon their arrival in Oregon, they found themselves 
among Indians whose language was strange and whose 
habits were devilish. But despite the atrocities committed 
by the natives, the forests were converted into homes, school 
houses, churches and cities; the preuries, unscathed by plow 
since creation's morn, were transformed into fields, gardens 
and orchards; and the treacherous Indian was taught to 
worship the God of our fathers. Under the white man's 
touch the hunting ground became the scene of a harvest 
home, the tepee a college, and the battlefield a sanctuary. 

As the result of changes ordained by the sterling men 
and women who had come on the serious business of home 
making, Oregon produced more standard literature in fifty 
years than the original Thirteen Colonies produced in the 
same length of time; and according to area and population 
there can scarce be found in the Union, more universities, 
colleges, academies, high schools, churches and other refin- 
ing forces than there are within the 1 30 miles lying between 
Eugene and Portland. 

As Massachusetts is the mother of New England, so is 
Oregon the mother of the Pacific Northwest. But while 
Massachusetts requires her historic achievements thoroughly 
taught in schools, Oregon has not yet made a similar de- 
mand regarding her own. It has, therefore, become the 
patriotic duty of the schools, the press, the pulpit, and social 
and literary clubs insistently to encourage and actively to 
promote historical research concerning Oregon until the long 
neglected story of her development is taught with the same 
enthusiasm, skill and interest as is the history of Massachu- 
setts or that of any other State in the Union. 



EPOCHS OF OREGON HISTORY 

The History of Oregon is divided into five epochs: 

First Epoch. Early Explorations. This epoch treats 
of the explorations that led to the discovery of Oregon, first 
from the sea, (1792), then by land, (1805). It begins in 
1 502, with the effort of Columbus to find a passage through 
Panama to India, and ends in 1805, when Lewis and Clark 
completed their overland expedition to Astoria. Also under 
Epoch I are selections from Indian folk-lore as told to the 
earliest white explorers and settlers. 

Second Epoch. The Settlement of Oregon, This epoch 
extends from 1805 to 1843. It treats of the settlement of 
the Oregon Country by the British and Canadians, who 
came as trappers and traders; and by the American emi- 
grants, \Nrho settled the country in true colonial fashion. 

Third Epoch. Oregon Under the Provisional Govern- 
ment. This epoch begins in 1 843, at which time the settlers 
provided for themselves a government independent of the 
Hudson's Bay Company; it ends March 3, 1849, when 
Governor Joseph Lane proclaimed the territorial govern- 
ment in Oregon. It is the story of Oregon under the Pro- 
visional Government. 

Fourth Epoch. Oregon Under the Territorial Govern- 
ment. This epoch extends from 1849 to 1859. It is the 
history of Oregon from Governor Lane's proclamation of 
Ap«r'3, 1849, to February 14, 1859, when Oregon was 
admitted to statehood. 

Fifth Epoch. The State of Oregon. This epoch ex- 
tending from 1859 to the present, is the history of Oregon 
as a state, in the union of states under the federal constitu- 
tion. Also under this epoch appears Section XIV which 
treats of the Literature of Oregon, the most of which was 
written during her statehood. 



CASCADE RANGE CREATED 



15 



THE EARLIEST ACCOUNT OF OREGON 

The earliest account of Oregon was recorded in the 
great Book of Stone which lay buried under mountain and 
valley, prairie and seashore, to be opened and read, with 
the aid of pick-axe, microscope and retort. The stories in 
the book are full of meaning. They are illustrated with 
pictures printed, life size; and pressed between the flinty 
leaves are the perfectly -preserved evidences of life in earth 
and sea and air. 

Among the first to open that part of the book which 
gives an accoiint of Oregon, was the late Doctor Thomas; 
Condon, professor of geology in three universities and at 
one time state geologist of 
Oregon. The stories he read 
from its pages were so inter- 
esting and instructive that he 
published them in a volume 
entitled "The Two Islands," 
later republished under the 
title of "Oregon Geology." 

In one of the stories Doc- 
tor Condon describes the first 
appearance of our greatest 
mountains as they might have 
been vie^ved from some eleva- 
tion — possibly that ancient 
sea-bank, which we now cal! 
the Oregon Coast Range. He 
says: 

"A colossal sea-dyke was 
of the ocean, extending from what v 
through what is now Oregon and Washington, to the Aleu- 
tian Islands — a mere sea-dyke for a long time, only a barrier 
between continuous waters; then through other ages a ridge 
of elevated hills; then later one of the vrorld's mountain 
wonders, the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Range." 




DK. THOMAS CONDON 

wly rising from the bed 
:all Lower California, 



THE NAME "OREGON" 

Jonathan Carver applied the name ''Oregon" to the 
"River of the Wot" as early as 1 778 — two years after the 
Declaration of Independence. He said he had heard the 
river called that name in 
I 766. by Indians living near 
the east slope of the Rocky 
Mountains. 

At least six explanations 
have been offered regarding 
the meaning and derivation of 
the word, "Oregon": 

1. Various authors ascribe 
ihe word Oregon to the "Orig- 
anum," a wild plant said to 
have been found growing in 
abundance along the Pacific 

2. Hall J. Kelley, who 
wrote pamphlets concerning 
the Oregon country as early 
as 1 829, claimed to have 
of this river to a large river 




JONATHAN OABVEB 



traced " 'Oregon,' the name 
called 'Orjon,' in Chinese Tartaiy. 

3. William G. Steel, who pub- 
lished a booklet on Oregon 
names, and who was the first 
president of the Oregon Geo- 
graphic Board, says it is claimed 
that "Oregon" came from "Oyer- 
un-gon," a Shoshone word, 
meaning " a place of plenty." 

4. Bidiop Bleuichet, connect- 
ed with the Catholic Missionary 
movement in Washington and 
Oregon, decided that "Oregon" 




DERIVATION OF •OREGON" 



17 



is a form of **Orejon,'* (plural Ore j ones) meaning **big ears'* 
— a term applied by the Spaniards to Indian tribes whose 
ears were enlarged by loads of ornaments. 

5. The poet, Joaquin Miller, who affectionately called 
Oregon the Emerald State, referred to the derivation of its 
name as **from the Spanish w^ords, *aura agua,* meaning 
gently falling waters, a poetic reference to the rains foi 
which the sea coast of Oregon is famed.** 

6. **The Popular History of Oregon** tells us that * 'Ore- 
gon** is a form of the name **Aragon,** which in Spain 
is pronounced very much like **Oregon,** with the accent 
strongly on the last sylla- 
ble, as most Americans 
pronounced the word fifty 
years ago. In support of 
this theory it may be sug- 
gested that the name 
might have been given to 
the new country by Span- 
ish missionaries as a mark 
of courtesy to Ferdinand, 
of Aragon, Prince Consort 
of Isabella, who offered to 
pledge her jewels to make 
possible the voyage which 
resulted in the discovery 
of America. 

Although • 'Oregon** probably came from one or more of 
these words, it could have other derivation. But while we 
are not certain as to its derivation we do know that it is a 
peculiar name introduced by Jonathan Carver and made 
famous in literature by the poet Bryant, in his poem, 
Thanatopsis; that it was applied to the river now called 
the Columbia, then to the entire region dreuned by that river, 
then restricted to the territory which later became the thirty- 
third state of the Union. 




CARVER'S MAP OF THE RIVER 
OF THE WEST, 1778 




DISCOVERY 
OF OREGON 

CHAPTER I. 
For a long time 
the Oregon Coi 
a land of mystery and 
enchantment as vague as were the Pillars 
of Hercules to the ancients, and possessed of 
legends as entrancing as those of Greek mythology. When 
Bryant wrote Thanatopsis' in 1812, he thought of the Bar- 
can desert as one end of the earth and of the Oregon Couii' 
try as the other. So little was known of this far-west coun- 
try that he referred to it as 

"The continuous woods 
Where rolls the Oregon and hears no sound 
Save his own dashings," 
which vr&B as indefinite as a reference to Fairy-land. But 
as the pillars of Hercules eventually proved to be the great 
twin rocks guarding the gateway of the Mediterranean, so 
the "continuous w^oods," mentioned by Bryant, proved to 
be a vast region now called the Oregon Country. 

The Oregon Country, once described in legend as a 
land of mystic obscurity, later appeared in history as the 

'First appeared In "North American Review," 1817. 



^/ 



20 HISTORY OF OREGON 

first territory on the Pacific Coast to which the United States 
of America laid claim; it was the first to which she estab- 
lished a title. It is the only AmericEui territory which she 
acquired by priority of discovery, exploration and settle- 
ment; her only possession obtained on this continent with- 
out bloodshed or cash purchase. This remarkable country 
bordering the Pacific Ocean from California on the south 
to British America on the north extended as far east as the 
summit of the Rocky Mountains. It included the territory 
drained by the Columbia River and its tributaries, also the 
region extending south betw^een the Pacific Ocean and the 
Rocky Mountains to the 42nd parallel — in all more than a 
quarter million square miles. Because of its vast size it was 
subsequently divided into what are now Washington, Idaho, 
Oregon, and a part of Wyoming and Montana. The story 
of the Oregon Country, therefore, covers the early history 
of a region that has developed into prosperous states with 
their busy population, rich mines, great fields, thriving com- 
merce, growing manufactories, beautiful cities and law- 
making Capitols. 

EXPLORATIONS THAT LED TO THE DISCOVERY 

OF OREGON FROM THE SEA 

The discovery of the Oregon Country, like the dis- 
covery of America, w^as accidental. When it came to be 
known that islands and other land barriers of various sizes 
and unknow^n shapes lay across the direct sea route to India, 
navigators made many voyages in search for an open pass- 
age or strait through which ships might sail from Europe to 
India. Know^ledge of the new^ country w^as vague, hence 
every inlet along the western coast was explored in the hope 
of finding a passage-way through the continent. These ex- 
plorations, together with the explorations of fur traders. 



EPOCH I 



21 



accidentally rcBuIted in the discovery of the Columbia, 
which is the water highway of the Oregon Country, later 
known as Old Oregon. The explorations were numerous, 
covering almost three centuries. They were the thrilling 
adventures chiefly of Spaniards, Englishmen and Ann 
Some of them will be re- 
counted in this narrative. 

Exploratioiu Stunulated 
by the StM^ of Anian 
Strait. While historians 
tell us that these explora- 
tions were begun by Co- 
lumbus and Balboa, it 
may assist the reader to 
know some interesting 
things concerning the 
Strait of Anian, through 
which Gaspard Cortereal, 
a Portuguese navigator, 
claimed to have sailed 
from the Atlantic to the 
western ocean, in the year 
1500. This was at a time . 
when Columbus was seek- 
ing just such a passage-way to the waters that led to India, 
and it may be that he received inspiration from the report 
that Cortereal gave. The seriousness with which the Strait 
of Anian' was considered may be inferred from the fact that 
the Hudson's Bay Company in their charter in 1670, an- 




HAIiDONADO'S STRAIT 



iln 1609, Maldonado, another Portuguese explorer made a map 
which marks the Bering Strait of Anian. While the explorations 
of Maldonado have been discredited by some writers, his map is 
valuable since It implies that, with the early navigators, he 
believed the earth to be much smaller than It is: that the Pacific 
Ocean was only a few hundred miles wide; that the Strait of Anian 
was much farther north than Indicated by navigators of the previous 
century. 



22 HISTORY OF OREGON 

nounced their purpose to discover a passage-way from the 
Atlantic waters into the western Ocean. The British par- 
liament in 1 745 offered £20,000 to any Englishman sailing 
through a passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Further- 
more various navigators sought the Columbia River with 
the belief that it would prove to be the Strait of Anian. It 
is, therefore, to be inferred that from the time of Columbus 
to the discovery of the Columbia various explorers were 
bifluenced by Cortereal's account of the Strait of Anian. 

Columbus and Balboa Endeavor to Sail Through the 
Isthmus. In an effort to find a western passage-way from 
Europe to India, so that Spanish ships might compete with 
the ships of the Portuguese, Columbus in 1502 touched 
upon the shores of the Isthmus of Darien. Being unable to 
proceed, he returned to Spain. It so happened in 1513, 
that Balboa, like Columbus, found his westward progress 
obstructed by the Isthmus of Darien. His ships were 
hemmed in by land on three sides. There w^ere the rich 
mines of South America to his left, the equally rich mines 
in Mexico to his right, and the silver mines of the Isthmus 
just ahead. Had Balboa dreamed of the possibility of 
loading his ships with silver and of returning to Spain to 
live in princely splendor, he might have been tempted to 
proceed no further on his journey of exploration. It was 
well, therefore, that his dream of life w^as mystic. He con- 
tinued the explorations begun by Columbus; but finding no 
strait by which his ship could sail through the narrow neck 
of land, he crossed the mountain by a southward route and 
discovered a vast body of water which he called the South 
Sea, but which we call the Pacific Ocean. Upon arriving 
at the newly discovered sea, (1513), he dramatically waded 
into its waters, and with drawn sword claimed all its shores 
as part of the future Spanish Empire. These w^ere the be- 
ginnings of the explorations which gradually approached 
the mouth of the Columbia. 



EPOCH! 



a 



Balboa believed that Darien was the northem head- 
land of South America around which ships could sail, and 
he hoped to find a sailing course through that headland foi 
ships bound to India. But his 
hopes were not realized be- 
cause the passageway which 
he sought remained closed 
until the opening of the Pana- 
ma Canal by the Americans 
four centuries later. In the 
hope of finding the weste' 
entrance of the passage-way, 
Balboa built ships, which were 
the first to sail along the Pa- 
cific Coast. This was the be- 
ginning of the explorations 
along the vrest coast of North 
America, which nearly three 
centuries later resulted in the 
discovery of the Oregon Riv- 
er. Balboa's voyage failed BALBOA 
to meet the expectations of his sovereign, and in 1517, he 
suffered one of those political deaths common among 
Spaniards in those times. Further explorations were con- 
ducted during the same period by Cortez, Governor of 
Mexico, who had already attained distinction as a conqueror 
of the natives, having gained Mexico for Spain. Upon 
hearing of Balboa's expedition, he also desired to become 
a noted explorer. Not being a sailor, Cortez provided men 
and ships to sail under (Jlloa, and constructed a good naval 
station for them on the vreet coast of Mexico. 

Ulloa Discovers Lower California. After exploring the 
Gulf of California, (1539), UUoa. who sailed under the 
direction of Cortez, rounded the southern cape of Lovrer 
California, which had been discovered in 1534, and sailed 
northward along the coast half the length of the peninsula 




24 HISTORY OF OREGON 

to Cedros Island. Only one of his ships returned to Mexico, 
the two others having been lost on the voyage. 

Coronado Marches to Kansas. After a time Cortez 
was succeeded by Mendoza as Viceroy of Mexico. Soon 
the new viceroy became ambitious to outdo his prede- 
cessor in the search for new lands and seas. Accordingly 
he made provision for two explorations; one by land, under 
Coronado, the other by sea, under Alarcon. 

Coronado Started from Mexico in 1330 with a large 
force of horsemen and native allies on an expedition to 
conquer **The Seven Cities of Cibpla,*' which were said to 
be in a northerly direction. The Golden Cities were as 
famous in fable as was the spring of eternal youth which 
Ponce de Leon had already sought in vain. Coronado 
sought them in Mexico and Arizona. He then marched to 
the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River, thence to Arkan- 
sas. Having been misled by a native guide, he pushed 
northward into what are now Kansas and Nebraska, where 
the agricultural possibilities of the country favorably im- 
pressed him. Upon failing to reach the mystic cities for 
which his expedition had been equipped, Coronado returned 
to Mexico, where he was received coldly by Mendoza, the 
disappointed viceroy. Reports of Coronado*s expedition, 
however, created intense interest in the western coast, and 
led to many subsequent explorations. 

Alarcon Approaches Upper California. To assist 
Coronado, Mendoza organized an expedition under Alar- 
con, who ascended the Colorado in small boats to the Gila, 
which is near the Southern boundary of what is California. 
About this time appeared a popular Spanish novel which 
described a mystic island near paradise. The name of the 
island was **California.**^ Because of some fancied resem- 



iSome writers believe that "California" came from the Latin 
words calida fornax — a hot furnace, being a reference to the unusual 
heat the Spaniards experienced upon their first arrival in that 
country. 



EPOCH I 25 

blance between the island described in the novel and the 
peninsula now called Lower California, the name of the 
fabled island was applied to the latter. California came 
to include the territory along the coast north to the 42nd 
parallel. The peninsula, or southern division, was then 
called Lower California; the northern. Upper California. 
Later * 'Upper** was dropped from the latter name. 

Cabrillo Discovers San Diego and Monterey. Being 
much encouraged by the discoveries made by Coronado 
and Alarcon, Mendoza equipped Cabrillo for a northerly 
expedition, following the general outline of the coast. The 
navigator soon passed Cedros Island, and, on the 28th day 
of September 1 542, discovered what we call San Diego, but 
which he named San Miguel. From San Miguel Cabrillo 
sailed to Monterery. He was very methodical in preparing 
charts and maps of his explorations; hence was enabled to 
give valuable detailed information concerning the country 
and people discovered by him. 

Ftfelo Sails Near Oregon. Cabrillo died at San Miguel 
Island, January 3, 1543, and Ferelo, his pilot, assumed 
charge of the expedition. Thirty years after Balboa* s first 
effort to explore the coast, Ferelo may have sailed to the 
parallel of 42^, which is the southern boundary of Oregon. 
There is a possibility, therefore, that Oregon was seen by 
this navigator more than sixty years before the first settle- 
ment was made in Virginia. 

Juan Perez Sails to San Margarita. Juan Perez, a 
Spanish navigator, sailed from California, June 11, 1774, 
and within a month, anchored at San Margarita near the 
southern coast of Alaska. Later he found in latitude 49° 
north a crescent-shaped harbor, which he named Lorenzo, 
since called Nootka Sound. 

Heceta Nearly Entered the Columbia. In the year 
following (1 775), while Washington was taking command 
of the continental troops on the eastern coast, the **Santiago" 
and **Sonora," under the commsuid of Captedn Bruno Heceta 



2 6 HISTORY OF OREGON 

were sealing northward along the western coast. He landed 
at Point Grenville, near the strsuts of Fuca, and there planted 
the Spanish flag. **Soon afterward his crew was so thinned 
by scurvy that the 'Santiago* turned homeward." On the 
1 7th day of August while Heceta* was on his return voyage, 
he saw the mouth of the * 'River of the West," which he mis- 
took for a bay or inlet. But for this mistake Heceta prob- 
ably would have crossed the bar at the mouth of the river, 
in which case the Spanish flag would have been the first to 
float over the river now^ called the Columbia. 

Cuadra Explores Northward to Russian Territory. Al- 
though the * 'Santiago*' commanded by Heceta sailed south- 
ward, the **Sonora** commanded by Cuadra, sailed to the 
north, whereupon the Captain discovered Mt. San Jacinto 
(Mt. Edgecombe), a snow peak in latitude 5 7°. He continued 
his voyage northward to latitude 58°, but decided to pro- 
ceed no further, inasmuch as the Russians cleumed the coast 
north of latitude 60° by right of discovery. 

Mcmacht Ape\ It will be borne in mind that some of 
the explorations along the Pacific Coast were stimulated by 
stories recited by Indians who had visited various parts of 
the country, then unknown to white people. There were 
Indians in the Mississippi valley who had visited the Pacific 
coast and related their adventures to seamen, missionaries 
and others who published accounts of these adventures in 
Europe Euid America. H. H. Bancroft quotes the French 
explorer M. le Page du Pratz concerning Monacht Ape' 
an intelligent Yazoo Indian who traveled from the Missis- 
sippi to the Atlantic and thence to the Pacific Ocean. The 
French Savant regarded this Indian as a philosopher, and 
quoted many of his utterances. The following, which was 
inspired by the sight of the Atlantic Ocean, is one of them: 
**When 1 first saw it I was so delighted that 1 could not 
speak; my eyes were too small for my souFs ease. The 



iHeceta Head was named for Captain Heceta. 



EPOCH I. 



27 



wind so disturbed the great water that I thought it would 
beat the land to pieces." Ape' narrated his ezperiencea 
with the Indian tribes along the River of the West, and de- 
scribed an encounter which the natives under his tempo- 
rary leadership had with thirty pirates who landed at the 
mouth of the river. This Indian traveler was away from 
home five years, and the story of his travels was published 
in Paris in I 758 by du Pratz. 
Drake Calls California "New 
Albion." Thus far only Span- 
ish ships had participated in 
the explorations. But England 
was growing ambitious to be- 
come a sea power. Further- 
more Spain and England were 
unfriendly to each other as 
the result of a quarrel between 
the King of Spain and the 
English ruler, who was none 
other than Queen Elizabeth. 
She had given her consent 
permitting Sir Francis Drake 
to seize, rob and destroy 

Qr,^..:.k .t.;^. :„ A^»:^<... sie fbamcis drake 
opanisri snips in American 

waters. On this voyage, though his flagship, the "Gold- 
en Hind," became separated from four of his fleet, 
Drake attacked Spanish ships in harbors and on the high 
seas, robbing them of silver, gold, and rich cargoes. Upon 
landing at Drake's Bay, which is believed to be the inlet a 
few miles northvrest of Golden Gate, he took possession of 
the adjacent land for England, calling it New Albion. 
Fearing to return by the route he came, Drake boldly sailed 
across the ocean, rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and won 
the distinction of being the first Englishman to circumnavi- 
gate the globe. When he arrived at London with his treas- 




28 HISTORY OF OREGON 

iire-Iaden ship, **thc Queen, declaring her approbation of 
all that he had done,** conferred upon him the honor of 
knighthood. 

Cook Saik Through Bering's Strait In 1778, two 
years after the declaration of American Independence, Cap^ 
tain James Cook, sailing under the British flag, discovered 
the Sandwich Islands. Then he ssuled north, in search of 
the legendary strait connecting the Pacific with the Atlantic. 
Ocean. According to Dr. John Fiske, * 'Captain Cook first 
saw a point which he called Cape Foulweather, and sailing 
south from there he named Capes Perpetua and Gregory. 
Thence he turned about to the northward and in the struggle 
with adverse winds wais carried well out to sea, so that the 
next land he saw was Cape Flattery.** He then entered 
Nootka Sound which he also named. Following the coast 
line northward, Captain Cook penetrated into the bay after- 
wards known as Cook's Inlet. Upon failing to find a 
passage in this direction, he sailed for Bering Strait. On 
August 9 he named the north-eastermost point of the Asiatic 
continent, Elast Cape; and to the northwestern extremity of 
America he gave the name Cape Prince of Wales — both of 
which he visited. Finding the passage interrupted by an 
impenetrable wall of ice. Captain Cook returned to Hawaii, 
where he was killed by a native August 14, 1 779. 

Cook's Expedition Resulted in Fur Trade. When the 
ships of which Cook had been captain touched at C2uiton 
on their return to England, the furs purchased of the Indians 
at Nootka Sound were readily sold at many times the 
cost price. Such was the profit, and so intense was the con- 
sequent excitement on board ship, that the crews threatened 
to mutiny when the officers refused to return to the Pacific 
Northwest for more furs. As soon as the news of the fur 
trade spread throughout Europe, trading ships were sent to 
the northwest coast by England, France and Portugal; and 
in the course of time ships from Spain and the United States 
visited harbors in the fur bearing region. 



EPOCH I 



29 



Ledyard Inipires Ammcan For Trade. On Captain 
Cook's ship was a young American, John Ledyard by name. 
He was an ambitious, restless fellow who after preparing for 
missionary work, decided to be a seaman. He published 
the first account of Cook's voyage. His book interested 
Americans, 'who were thereby led to study Captain Cook's 
report of the valuable furs which the Russian traders pur- 
chased from the Indians for a few trinkets and sold at high 
prices in the ready markets of Canton. Soon a company 
in Boston equipped the "Columbia" and the "Washington" — 
henceforth called "Lady Washington" — to carry on the fur 
trade and explorations. On the 30th of September, 1787. 
the two vessels started on their long voyage with John 
Kendrick as Captain of the "Columbia" and Robert Gray 
as Captain of the "Lady Washington." These two ships 
were destined to carry the first American explorations and 
fur trade along the Oregon coast. 

Captain Gray as a For 
Trader. After rounding Cape 
Horn, the ships ran into heavy 
seas, and lost sight of each 
other. The "Lady Washing- 
ton, touched at several points 
along the coast, among which 
evidently were Alsea Bay or 
Yaquina Bay, and the anchor- 
age at Cape Lookout. On the 
I6lh of September, 1 788. she 
arrived atNootkaSound where 
"for many years all sea cap- 
tains gathered to exchange the 
latest information as to new 
discoveries, etc," Here the 
British vessel, "Northwest Am 

John Meares, was launched — the first sea-going vessel built 
on the Northwest Coast; and on the 27th of the same month 




OAPT. BOBEET OaAT 

constructed by Lieut. 



30 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the ''Columbia** anchored within forty yards of her consort 
The **Lady Washington'* and the "Columbia** then pur- 
chased furs at various harbors. It is said that sea-otter skin% 
which were afterwards sold at Canton for $200 each were 
purchased from the Indians at less than one diilling. In the 
month of July the furs were placed aboard the "Colum- 
bia.** Captain Robert Gray taking command of that ship, 
sailed for China. ^ He sold the furs, purchased a cargo of tea, 
and sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, arrived in Bos- 
ton August 10, 1 790, after a voyage of 30,000 miles. The 
officers and owners were entertained by Governor Hancock 
with fitting hospitality; and the hopeful owners planned a 
second voyage. 

The ^'Columbia/' a Historic Ship. In addition to what 
has been said of the "Columbia,*' the following from **The 
Memorial History of the City of New York** by James Grant 
Wilson is of value: "The ship, the "Empress of China,** Cap- 
tain John Green, sailed (from New York) February 22, 
1 784, Washington's birthday. She carried the original flag^ 
of the United States adopted in 1777. The flag, first flown 
on the Pacific Coast in 1 784, was taken round the world by 
the "Columbia in 1 789-90." It is noteworthy that the 
"Columbia** was the first American ship to circumnavigate 
the globe; that she was the first ship of our nation to carry 
our flag around the earth; and that the flag which she carried 



^Captain Gray's Bill of Lading. The following bill of lading, 
signed by Captain Gray, illustrates the seriousness of going to sea 
in 1790: 

"Shipped by the grace of God, in good order and condition, by 
Shaw and Randall, in and upon the good ship called the "Columbia," 
whereof is master under God for this present voyage, Robert Gray, 
and now riding at anchor at Whampoa and by God's grace boimd 
for Boston in- America^to say, 220 chests Bohea tea, 170 half- 
chests, do, 144 quarter-chests do. To be delivered unto Samuel Park- 
man, Esq., or to his assigns; and so God send the good ship to her 
desired port in safety. Amen. Dated in Canton, February 3, 1790. 
(Signed) Robert Gray." 




1CAP7AIK SKAT'S IXAQ 



was the original American flag adopted in 1777. Hence the 
original flag of our nation was the first American flag to 
circumnavigate the earth; and it is a curious fact that the 
ship which bore this flag 
was yet to add to her 
fame by entering the wa- 
ters of the Oregon on a 
mission of discovery two 
years later and by giving 
her fair name to that ma- 
jestic river. 

Gray Discover* the 
Colambta River. The Co- 
lumbia was thoroughly 
overhauled and rcHtted 
as e X p e d i t i ously as 
possible. Sea letters were grantet) by President Washington, 
Governor Hancock, and the foreign consul in Boston. The 
ship left Boston harbor September 28, 1 790, and arrived 
at Clayoquot, June 4, 1 791. During the summer of I 791 
Gray traded in the harbors along the Pacific coast. The 
following winter he built the "Adventure" in Clayoquot har- 
bor. May 7, 1792, he discovered Gray's Harbor; and four 
days later he entered the Columbia River. The following 
^^ount of thp discovery is given by T. C. Elliott in the 

"After three days spent in Gray's (Bulfinch) Harbor. 
Captain Robert Gray in the ship "Columbia" on the I 1th of 
May, 1 792, at 4:00 A. M. sighted the entrance of the river 
'bearing east-south-east, distance six leagues.' The ship's 
log states: 'At eight A. M. being a little to the windward of 
the entrance of the Harbor, bore away and run in east- 



'A replica of this flag, also Captaio Gray'e sea cheat with other 
property of the ship "Columbia" are in the Oregon Historical Society 
Museum at Portland. 



32 HISTORY OF OREGON 

north-east between the breakers, having from five to tevoi 
fathoms of water. When we were over the bar we found 
this to be a large river of fresh water, up whi<^ we steered.* 




THE "COLUMBIA' 



At one o'clock that afternoon he emchored one-half mile 
from the north bank just west of Point Ellice, northwest of 
Astoria, and close to a large village of Chinook Indians. 



EPOCH I 



33 



There he proceeded to fill his casks with fresh water from 
the river, this being possible because the freshets were then 
on. A day or ao later he sailed twelve or fifteen miles 
further up the river, following a narrow channel along the 
north dde, until the ship grounded. 

"On the 20th he sailed out of the river, having mean- 
time dropped down to an anchorage near Chinook Point 
(Fort Coltmibia), and his log gives more details: 'Gentle 
breezes and pleasant weather. At I P. M. (being full sea) 
took up the anchor and made sail, standing down river. At 
two the wind left us, we being on the bar with a very strong 
tide which set on the breakers; it was now not possible to 
get out without a breeze to shoot her across the tide; so we 
were obliged to bring up in three and a half fathoms, the 
tide running five knots. At three-quarters past two a fresh 
wind came in from seaward; we immediately came to sail 
and beat over the bar, having from five to seven fathoms 
of water in the channel. At five P. M. we were out, 
clear of all the bars, and in twenty fathoms of water. A 
breeze came from the southward; we bore away to the 
northward; set sail to the best advantage. At eight Cape 
Hancock bore southeast distant three leagues'.'* 

Tlie Et^lish Explore the Co- 
lumbia. The Spanish, the English 
and the Russians had expressed 
doubt as to the possibility of enter- 
ing the Columbia with a ship. But 
when it was announced thatCaptain 
Gray had sailed on its waters. Lieu- 
tenant Wm. R. Broughton under 
orders from Captain George Van- 
couver, of the British Royal Navy, 
set SEtil in the armed tender "Chat- 
ham" from Puget Sound for the Co- 
lumbia, and sailed into the river. "Lieutenant Broughton 
left the 'Chatham' at anchor off what is now the Quarantine 




34 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Station opposite Astoria, October 24th and ascended the 
river with most of the crew in two boats, the "Pinnace" and 
"Cutter," to a point above Washougal, making observations 
and soundings, and bestowing names upon islands and tribu- 
tary streams along the vray. 

Mount Hood Named and Eiqilored. On October 30. 
1 792, Lieutenant Broughton, while on this expedition up the 
Columbia, named Mount Hood, which is 11,225 feet in 
elevation, being the highest Oregon peak. It is in the Cas- 




MOITNT HOOD CipTright by Griffitb. 

cade Range, and its summit is about 20 miles from the 
Columbia River as the crow flies. It was named for Alex- 
ander Arthur Hood, afterwards Lord Brinport, of England, 
a personal friend of Vancciuver. For a time it was known 
among Americans as Mount Washington. The mountain 



EPOCH I 35 

was explored by General Joel Palmer, soon after arriving 
upon his first visit to Oregon in 1 845. The ascent of Mount 
Hood was made (1854) by Judge Cyrus Olney, Major 
Granville O. Haller, U. S. A., Thomas J. Dryer, Wells Lake, 
Captain T. O. Travailot, Samuel K. Barlow, and an Indian 
guide. In August, 1867, the first white women ascended 
the mountain. They were the Misses Fannie Case, Mary 
Robinson, and Lucy Hay. Although prior to 1845 it was 
regarded an impossibility to ascend Mount Hood, the sum- 
mit has come to be the annual playground of the Oregon 
Meizamas and other mountain climbers. 

Naming the Columbia River. The Columbia River has 
been known by various names. It was called **Wauna" by 
the Indians.** The Spaniards called it *'La Roque,*' (or La 
Roc), from the cape near the entrance of the river into the 
ocean. It was then known as *'Thegayo** and later as'**Rio de 
Aguilar.*' But the Americans first thought of it as the **River 
of the West." Jonathan Carver, as early as 1 778, referred 
to it 218 the * 'Oregon,*' a name which it is believed he heard 
while among the Indians near the Greait Lakes. Afterwards 
it was called the * 'Columbia** by Captain Gray, in honor of 
the good ship that first sailed upon its waters. 



36 HISTORY OF OREGON 

I 

CHAPTER II 
THE DISCOVERY OF OREGON BY LAND 

"Never did a single event excite more joy throughout the 
United States." — Thomas Jefferson. 

Importance of the Mbsissippi to the Americans. The 

most important navigable river in the Louisiana territory 
was the Mississippi. Horses and cattle that the American set- 
tlers raised were annually driven east to Atlantic markets, 
but grain and other produce were put on barges, which 
floated down the Mississippi to ports that were visited by 
merchant ships of Spain and France. So important was the 
Mississippi river to the farmers along its banks that there 
arose a fear that the river would eventually be used by sub- 
jects of Spain only, and many American settlers threatened 
to sever their allegiance to their country. This feeling of 
insecurity among the Americans along the Mississippi River 
was intensified in 1800 when Napoleon, by a secret 
treaty, obtained Louisiana from Spain. The treaty was 
so very secret that Americans were naturally eJarmed lest 
Napoleon's plan of a world empire might include the 
Mississippi Valley and thereby prove a menace to the United 
States. No one understood the situation better than did 
President Thomas Jefferson. 

Jefferson's Designs. To avert the danger of war and 
preserve the Union, President Jefferson designed two meas- 
ures of far-reaching statesmanship. The first was a proposal 
to purchase from Napoleon the City of New Orleans and 
the adjacent land on the east bank of the Mississippi, known 
as West Florida. This would insure commercial freedom 
to the West and soothe the irritation of the settlers. Jeffer- 
son's second design was to dispatch an overland exploring 
expedition up the Missouri River to the Pacific. By this 
he hoped to accomplish several desirable objects, to-wit: 
to build up friendly trade with the Indians along the Missouri 
and westward to the mountains; to attre^ct the fur tr?^de of 



EPOCH I 



37 



the Noithweat Coast eastward by the overland route; to 
hasten the settlement of the Mississippi Valley by American 
pionee^ and thus forestall the 
intrigues of the English and 
the French; to balk the ad- 
vance of the Northwest Com- 
pany in the region of the 
Upper Missouri and Columbia 
Rivers; to establish intimate 
commercial relations between 
the East and the developing 
West; and last, but by no 
means least, among the mo- 
tives which actuated Jeffer- 
son, to satisfy his keen scien- 
tific curiosity and promote the 
science of geography." 
(Story of Oregon.) 

Purchace erf Loaisiana. peesident thomas jbffeksok 
At the beginning of the year 

1803, Jefferson began the execution of both these designs. 
He dispatched Monroe to France to negotiate with Napo- 
leon for the purchase of New Orleans and West Florida, and 
he'sent Congress the famous message ^hich outlined the 
rilan of the expedition to the Pacific. Congress received the 
/ message on January 1 8, 1 803, and promptly voted the 
f necessary funds. The negotiations with Napoleon succeed- 
ed beyond expectations. Busied with new combinations in 
European affairs, the great leader of France offered to sell 
the whole of Louisiana to the United States, hoping thus to 
upbuild a formidable military and commercial rival to Eng- 
land, his implacable foe. Jefferson leaped at the amazing 
opportunity, and with one stroke of his pen made America 
an imperial nation, and insured to democratic institutions 
the scepter of the world." — (The Story of Oregon.) 




36 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



President Jeffenon'i Eitimate (rf the Oregon Expedi- 
tion. In his message, January 18, 1803, President Jefferson 
said to Congress: "An intelligent officer with ten or twelve 
men fit for the enterprise and willing to undertake it, might 
explore the whole line, even to the Western Ocean, have 
conferences with the natives on the subject of commercial 
intercourse, get admission among them for our traders, as 
other traders are admitted, agree on a convenient deposit 
for an interchange of articles, and return with the informa- 
tion acquired, in the course of two summers. 

Lewis and Clark Placed in Command of the Expedition. 
Congress voted only twenty-five hundred dollars for the 
expedition to the West. But, inasmuch as the purchasing 
power of money then was three times greater than at the 
present time. Congress was much more liberal with the ex- 




MEKIWETEEB LEWIS 



WlUJJUf CUIBE 



plorers than would at first appear. Jefferson placed Meri- 
wether Lewis in charge of the expedition. Lewis, who had 
been the President's private secretary, ^aa thirty years of 
age, robust of constitution, accustomed to outdoor life, well 



EPOCH 1 



39 



infonned, and upright and considerate with others. Lewis 
selected William Clark as his coadjutor and comrade. The 
expedition was, therefore, organized under two captains. 
Both men had received military training. Both knew how 
to command and to obey. Both were eminently qualified 
for the undertaking. 

The Party Assembled at St. Louis. The party of ex- 
plorers consisted of tv^o commanders, eighteen soldiers, nine 
Kentucky hunters, Clark's negro, and two French interpre- 
ters. There were also sixteen other soldiers who accom- 
panied the expedition the first season. They spent the 
winter of 1803-4 at the mouth of the river Du Bois, 
(Illinois) building boats and gathering information and ma- 
terial for the journey.' 

'Oregon Fostered by Missouri. 
Although various states contributed 
to the development and growtli ot 
Oregon, Missouri led them all. Mis- 
souri was the principal supply sta- 
tion — the Half Way House — for the 
early emigrants to Oregon. Among 
the First to understand the situation 
and to advocate American occupa- 
tion and poascaaion of Oregon was 
Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri. 
Later Senator Lewis F. Linn, of 
Missouri, urged military possession 
of the Columbia and a territorial 
government in Oregon. When some 
of the other states were In doubt, 
Missouri was firm. In befriending 
and nourishing the interests of Ore- 
gon, and urged the settlement of 
the new territory so that It might 
become American by occupation as 
well as by discovery. At the outset 
a vast number ot emigrants came 
from Missouri to build homes in Oregon. It will, therefore, be seen 
that Missouri in developing her own interests as a supply station 
for the far West, helped magnificently in the outset to develop Ore- 
gon. Consequently, Oregon grew aa a. by-product of Missouri much 
the same as Missouri grew of Kentucky, Kentucky of Virginia, and 
Virginia of England. 




SEHATOa THOMAS I 



BENTON 



40 HISTORY OF OREGON 

The Journey Begun. Having made ample preparation, 
the Lewis and Clark party began their long voyage up the 
Missouri on the 14th of May. 1804. On the 25th day of 
May they came to LaCharette, the home of Dsoiiel Boone, 
the famous Kentucky hunter, and they passed the Kansas 
and the Platte June 5 th and 14th respectively. Conforming 
to the suggestions of President Jefferson, the party held 
councils of peace with the Indian chiefs wherever possible. 
Probably the most important council was held with the 
Missouris and Ottos at Council Bluffs. The journey was 
steadily continued till the end of October, when the party 
arrived at the Mandan village near what is the City of 
Bismark, capital of South Dakota. Here they went into 
winter quarters. 

Their Winter at Mandan. The Lewis and Clark party, 
while established in winter quarters at the Mandan^ village, 
gathered much valuable information from the Indians. 
They built a fort in the shape of the letter V. It was made 
of elm and cottonwood logs. They made reports of their 
explorations thus far, and they completed preparations for 
their journey in the spring. They also negotiated a treaty 
of peace and friendship between the Mandans and the 
Ricarees' who had been enemies of long standing. 

Sacajawea.^ At the Mandan village W2is found Saca- 
jawea, **The Woman Pilot, who was bom not to die.*' When 
a child she had been taken into captivity from the Shoshones 



i"The Mandan tribe contained about two thousand persons. As 
a tribe it was almost extinguished by small-pox, in 1838, the 
few whom the pestilence spared being made captives by the Ric- 
arees, who took possession of their village. This the Sioux soon 
after attacked, and in the thick of the fight the unhappy Mandans 
rushed out beyond the pickets and called upon the Sioux to kill 
them, for they were Ricaree dogs, their friends were all dead, and 
they did not wish to live. They fell upon their besiegers at the 
same time with such impetuosity, that they were to a man de- 
stroyed." — Catlin's "North American Indians." 

2Also spelled "Ricaras." 
»Also "Sacagawea." 



by an unfriendly Indian tribe, and had been sold into slav- 
ery; and now at the age of urteen was the wife of M. Cha- 
boneau. the French trader. Because she and her husband 
were somewhat familiar with 
the country and the people 
along the route to be pur- 
sued, they were engaged as 
guides and interpreters by 
Lewis and Qark, and were 
permitted to accompany the 
expedition to the Pacific 
Ocean. While they were of 
service to their employers all 
the while, Sacajawea proved 
of incalculable value to the 
white explorers by bringing 
about peaceful relations be- 
tween them and her people 
— the Shoshones. 
Journey Remmed in Spring. 
On the 7th day of April, 
1805, the Lewis and Clark party resumed their journey up 
the Missouri in search of its source. Much game, such as 
buffalo, deer, grizzly bear and elk, was seen along the way. 
Interesting encounters with grizzlies were experienced; and 
on one occasion the explorers while proceeding up stream 
were delayed until a herd of buffalo was given time to cross. 
Later it was decided to divide the expedition into two par- 
ties. Anxious to overtake the Shoshone Indians, who were be- 
lieved to be ahead of them. Captain Lewis, with three men, 
went on up the Jefferson River, while Captain Clark and his 
party followed with the canoes and luggage in a more leisure- 
ly manner. On the 12th of August the Lewis party drank 
from the fountain head of the Missouri River. Then crossing 
the summit, they drank from another spring; and they re- 




42 HISTORY OF OREGON 

joiced, for the spring was one of the sources of the Lewis 
River, one of the arms of the Columbia, which they were 
seeking. After an extended detour Captain Lewis and his 
three men in company with some Indians returned to the 
Forks of the Jefferson, where they met Captain Clark and 
party. When Sacajawea saw the Indians, "she began to 
dance and show every mark of the most extravagant joy, 
sucking her fingers and pointing to the Indians to indicate 
that they were of her native tribe.** 

Sacajawea Discovers the Chief to be Her Brother. 
The dramatic meeting of Sacajawea and her brother, which 
took place on the Jefferson River, August 1 7th, is described 
by Mrs. Eva Emery Dye in the * 'Conquest" as follows: 

'*Sacajawea could not wait. In her anxiety she begged 
to walk along shore, and with her husband went up to the 
rivulet of her childhood. She flew ahead. She turned, 
pirouetting lightly on her beaded moccasins, waving her 
arms and kissing her fingers. Her long hair flew in the wind 
and her beaded necklace sparkled. 

**Yes, there were the Indians, and Lewis among them, 
dressed like an Indian too. The white men had given 
everything they had to the Indians, even their cocked hats 
and red feathers, and taken Indian clothes in exchange, 
robes of the mountain sheep and goat. 

**An Indian girl leaned to look at Sacajawea. They 
flew into each other's arms. They had been children to- 
gether, had been captured in the same battle, had shared 
the same captivity. One had escaped to her own people; 
the other had been sold as a slave in the Land of the 
Dakotahs. As girls will, with arms around each other they 
wandered off and talked of the wonderful fortune that had 
come to Sacajawea, the wife of a white man. 

**A council was immediately called. The Shoshones 
spread white robes and hung wampun and pearls in the hair 
of the white men. 

* 'Sacajawea. Bring her hither," called Lewis. 



EPOCH I 43 

"Tripping lightly into the willow lodge, Sacajawea waa 
beginning to interpret, when lifting her eyes to the chief, 
she recognized her own brother, Cameahwait. She ran to 
his side, threw her blanket over his head, and wept upon 
his bosom. 

**Sacajawea,^ too, was a Princess, come home now to 
her Mountain Kingdom." 

Suffering. The Indians^ rendered valuable service to 
Lewis and Clark by trading horses to them for trinkets and 
by manifesting much good will toward them in other ways. 
But there were many difficulties to be overcome. One of 
the immediate difficulties was the long distance they had to 
travel in a northwest direction over an unknown route to 
the Clearwater River before they could proceed by boats 
westward. Also the party at times endured much suffering 
brought on principally by the scarcity and inferior quality 
of food and by unbalanced rations^ — their diet being roots, 
horse meat, dogs, crows, and wolves in sparse supply. Their 
Journal says: "Captain Lewis and two of the men were 
taken ill last evening, and today he could hardly sit on his 
horse, while others were obliged to be put on horseback; 
and some from weakness and pain were forced to lie down 
alongside the road. The weather was very hot and oppres- 
sive to the party, most of whom were complaining of sick- 
ness. Our condition indeed, made it necessary to husband 



iln a letter to J. Q. Bowlby, of Astoria, Oregon, dated August 3, 
1905, Newton J. Brown, postmaster of Landor, Wyoming, wrote : "I 
myself have seen Sacajawea. She died about the year 1884, and 
was buried near the Episcopal Church at Shoshone Agency." 

2To indicate the struggle for existence among the natives in 
that locality at that time, the following is taken from the Lewis and 
Clark Journal: "Drewer, one of the white hunters had killed a deer. 
When the Indians reached the place where Drewer had thrown the 
entrails, they all dismounted in confusion and ran tumbling over 
each other like famished dogs. Each tore away whatever part he 
could, and instantly began to eat it. Some had the liver, some the 
kidneys — in short, no part on which we are accustomed to look with 
disgust escaped them.' 



» 



44 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



our remaining strength. It was detennined to proceed dovm 
the river in canoes. Captain Clark, therefore, set out with 
the Chief called 'Twisted Hair" and two young men in 
quest of timber for canoes. Having resolved to go down 
to some spot calculated for building canoes, we set out early 
in the morning, and encamped on the low ground on the 
south, opposite the forks of the river." 

The Winter at Fort Clats<qi. Carried by the current in 
canoes from October 7, Lewis and Clark reached the mouth 
of the Columbia. November 1 I . Jefferson had instructed 
them to "leam upon reaching the Pacific if there be any 




OOLVMEIA SMOKE STACKS 



port within your reach frequented by the sea vessels of any 
nation, and to send two of your trusty people back by sea." 
or if "the return of your party by the way they went will be 
imminently dangerous, then ship the whole and return by 
sea— either by Cape Horn or by the Cape of Good Hope." 
Failing of an opportunity to return by sea. they built Fort 
Clatsop on the Netal' River — now called the Lewis and 
3"Netul" by some authors. 



EPOCH I 45 

Clark — about two miles above its mouth. Here they spent 
the long dreary winter, killing elk and obtaining food by 




FACBIMII.E OF F 

whatever means they might, frequently trading with the 
Indians for dogs and fish. Some of the party went a few 
miles west, to where Seaside now is, to procure salt. Here 




£ SALT CAISH 

they constructed a salt cairn, which in recent years has 
undergone restoration, but which is one of the oldest evi- 
dences of civilization in the Pacific Northwest. The Lewis 
and Clark party were well fortified in their fort; and as wood 
was abundant, they were comfortable. The winter was 



46 HISTORY OF OREGON 

spent chiefly in making maps and completing the notes of 
their joum^. 




THE QBAHD TALLES OF THE COLUMBIA 

Their Return. Being unable to sight a ship on which 
the Lewis and Clark party could go home, they began 
their return by land, March 2 3, 1 806. The funds set apart 
for the expedition were nearly exhausted by this time. But 
Lewis and Clark were skilled in the use and preparation of 
herbs; and these remedies were bartered at prices corres- 
ponding to those charged by the Indians for horses, dogs and 
other necessities. The explorers were delayed by snow 
in the Rocky Mountains. But they were strong and deter- 
mined; hence they journeyed steadily until they arrived at St. 
Louis exactly six months from the day they left Fort Clatsop. 

Jefferson's Views of the Expedition. Upon the return 
of Lewis and Clark, there was much rejoicing throughout the 
United States over the success of their expedition; and the 
President, who was inclined to be temperate in his state- 
ments, said "Never did a single event excite more joy 
throughout the United States. The humblest of its citizens 



EPOCH I 



47 



had taken a lively ioterest in the issue of this journey, and 
looked forward with impatience to the information it would 
furnish. The anxieties, too, for the safety of the corps had 
been kept in a state of excitement by lugubrious rumors 
circulated from time to time on uncertain authorities, and 




OBBGON XBAIL AHD KOUTE OF LEWIS AND CI.A.KK 



contradicted by letters and other direct information from 
the time they left Mandan towns, on their ascent up the river 
in April of the preceding year, 1 605, until their actual return 
to St. Louis." 



48 HISTORY OF OREGON 

CHAPTER III 
INDIAN FOLK-LORE 

"Red thunderbolts . . A flash! A thunderblast ! 

The clouds were rent, and lo! Mount Hood stood white and vast!" 

The folk-lore of the Indians in the Oregon Country — 
rich in myths, legends, creative stories, and traditions — ^has 
been compared with that of the Greeks prior to the age of 
Homer. The stories, repeated by these simple people at 
their camp fires, were so interesting that the whites recite 
them to this day. 

Not only is Oregon Indian folk-lore entertaining, but 
it also has a certain educational value. It gives correct 
ideas of the more serious things which the primitive people 
of our land believed and discussed, such as their theories 
concerning the beginnings of things — the creation of moun- 
tains, of men, of birds and fish and beasts. In this respect 
their folk-lore w^as their unwritten Book of Genesis. Hence 
it is worthy of careful study. That the reader may obtain 
a glimpse of the intellectual and spiritual life of the Oregon 
aboriginese, a few Indian myths have been selected from 
Lyman's **History of Oregon" and other sources. 

Legend of the Cascades 

When man came to dwell upon the earth there was 
peace and plenty everywhere. No winter, no poverty, no 
sickness marred his happiness. But with his children came 
quarrels; because the two eldest sons claimed an undue por- 
tion of the inheritance which the father had bequeathed. To 
quiet their dissensions the Great Spirit decided to take the 
children to a new home which was toward the rising sun. 
So while they slept one night, he carried them to the top 
of a great mountain chain which sloped to the east and to 
the west. Then he bade the two sons to shoot arrows to- 
ward the sky, saying to each that wherever his arrow fell 
there he was to make his home. The sturdy young warriors 



STORIES OF THE CREATION 49 

obeyed. One of their arrows fell to the eastward in the 
Klickitat country, and the other to the westward in the 
Willamette Valley; and each son made his home where his 
arrow fell. But the descendants of these sons grew wicked, 
and the Good Spirit was sorely grieved. So to punish them 
he brought about a period of cold and hunger lasting many 
seasons, and among all the people only one woman had 
fire in her wigwam. No one could take it from her, for she 
alone had proved faithful. Then the people became fright- 
ened and repented of their wrong-doing and besought the 
Great Spirit to send them fire. He heard their cry and bade 
the old woman give them fire, promising as a reward any 
favor she might desire. Being a woman, she asked for 
youth and beauty, which were granted upon the condition 
that she would keep a fire forever burning upon the bridge 
which the Great Spirit had built across the river that flowed 
between the two tribes. The people were so happy over 
the return of fire and warmth that they made all manner 
of promises to live better. Then the old woman gathered 
sticks and kindled a fire upon a flat stone on the bridge, and 
straightway she became a beautiful maiden. With the re- 
turn of youth and beauty came suitors; and, like many an- 
other so gifted, she kept them in suspense — particularly two, 
one from the south and the other from the north. Growing 
jealous of each other these swains quarreled, ajid their re- 
spective tribes engaged in warfare. Then the Great Spirit 
became angry and broke down the bridge which had been 
a symbol of peace; and he changed the two warriors into 
Mount Hood and Mount Adams; and the enraged moun- 
tains shot fire and rocks at each other. The maid. Loo-wit, 
was also transformed into a mountain; but she retained her 
loveliness as Mt. St. Helens, which is regarded by many as 
the most beautiful among the snow-capped peaks of the 
Cascade Range. 



5 INDIAN FOLK-LORE 

The Coyote and the Three Witches 

Observing some men exposed to the cold, the coyote 
resolved to get fire for them. The fire was on the summit 
of a high mountain, where it was so closely guarded by three 
witches that no one except the coyote thought it could be 
taken from them. But when the witches were carelessly 
changing vigils, the sly coyote seized a brand of fire and 
disappeared. Soon he was pursued, and all but overtaken. 
Indeed, one witch had the tip of his tail in her grasp, leaving 
the tip white to this day. At that moment the coyote caught 
up with the fox, who took the brand and went on. The witch 
then closely pursued the fox who came up with the wolf in 
time to pass the fire to him. All the animals were in turn 
brought in and pursued down to the frog, which took the 
fire, now a mere coal, and hopped away. The witch soon 
caught up with him, and grasped the tail; but the frog gave 
a desperate leap, and escaped, leaving his tail in the witch's 
hand — so that to this day frogs have no tails. Soon the 
frog was overtaken again, and would have given up the 
precious coal of fire, but, for the fact that he spit it out upon 
a stick of wood, and the wood quickly absorbed it. The 
witch did not know how to get it out of the wood, but the 
coyote did. He therefore instructed men to bring forth fire 
by rubbing sticks together, and from that day mankind has 
had the use of fire. 

The Coyote on the Klamath 

A coyote was roving through the Klamath Country, 
where rabbits were plentiful. But the salmon failed to come 
up the river that year, hence the people were in want of fish. 
The coyote had learned from some source that monsters 
called Skookums had built a dam over which the fish could 
not pass up stream. Because he was a friend of the people 
and an enemy of the Skookums, he made a vow that **before 
many days, enough fish would come up the river to give 
men, women and children, and even the dogs all the food 
they could eat." 



STORIES OF THE CREATION 5 1 

He went to the dam which the Skookums had built; 
and with the craftiness of his cousin, the fox, he waited till 
one of the Skookums approached to guard the place, and 
he sprang upon her. When she fell, the coyote instantly 
opened the gate, letting the sw^arming salmon pass through 
on their way up the river. He then broke down the dam, 
and since that time fish have gone every year to the upper 
stream, so that all the people may be fed. 

The Five Thunders 

The North Wind, the South Wind and the Five Thun- 
ders were ancient gods. They were very fierce and killed 
people. They tore up trees also. But one day Skel (Mar- 
ten) put on the North Wind's hat and the Five Thunders 
fought each other, tied together by the hair, until each of 
the Thunders' hearts exploded with a terrific noise. Then 
the combatants vanished into the sky with a bright flash of 
light where sometimes we can hear them roar even yet; but 
they do not often destroy, nor kill. 

Tallapus and the Cedar Tree 

One time Tallapus,^ the friend of man, went on a 
journey from the country of the Tillamooks to the country 
of the Clatsops. He walked along through the forest look- 
ing at the trees and plants, and suddenly came to a big 
hollow cedar. There was an opening in one side of the 
tree and he thought, what an amusing thing it would be to 
get within. So he gave the command, **Open, O Cedar 
Tree!" and the tree opened and he stepped inside and said, 
**Shut, O Cedar Tree!" The tree closed ageun and the 
Tallapus laughed to himself, thinking it a good joke for a 
man to live in a tree. Pretty soon he wished to resume his 
journey, so he commanded the tree to open, and he stepped 
out. But he thought, **Maybe 1*11 never come this way again, 
I'd like to go inside once more." So he went in a second 



lAlso " 'Tall-a-pus."— Fred H. Saylor. 



52 INDIAN FOLK-LORE 

time, came out and went in again. But the third time the 
tree refused to open; and pound and kick as he would, he 
could not get out. Then he called on the birds to help him. 
The little wren came first but her bill was not strong enough 
to make a hole. All the other birds came and pecked at the 
trunk of the tree, and finally the big wood-pecker made a 
hole large enough to see through. The Tallapus being too 
big to crawl through the hole tore himself to pieces and 
tossed the pieces out of the opening. When the pieces were 
all out, he put himself together again. But a crow had 
flown off with his eyes; so he was blind. He felt his way 
along the trail and presently met an old woman who ridi- 
culed him. He took courage, however, and having put 
two roses in place of his eyes he offered to trade with her, 
declaring he could see things that she could not. To this 
the simple-minded old woman was quite willing. There- 
upon he took her eyes and in exchange gave her his worth- 
less roses. For her foolishness she was changed into a snail ; 
and even now w^e have blind snails. 

How the Birds Came to Have Bright Colors 
The summer was passing and the winds blew colder 
and colder and the green leaves were changed to gorgeous 
colors till the trees looked like great flaming torches. The 
mother tree sorrowed as she thought of the leaves that 
would soon fly away from her; and the Great Spirit was 
moved with pity as he looked down and beheld the bright 
colors that would fade and be lost. So when the strong 
wind loosened their hold and the leaves fluttered to the 
ground he gave them new form and new life, and the brown 
leaves became robins and wrens, and the red ones red birds; 
and they builded their nests in the branches of the mother 
tree where they once danced so merrily in the breeze. 




CHAPTER IV 

-, i^^£^~ ^^- OREGON 

j-^j*^^ ' COLONIZED 

With the purchase of 
Louisiana, and the discovery of the Oregon 
Country, the United States ol America cJaimed a 
vast territory in the west that was not occupied by 
white people. It was impracticable, therefore, at that time, 
to develop great farms, and thriving cities on the newly 
acquired possessions. But there was an excellent opportu- 
nity to extend the fur trade to the Oregon Country, This 
opportunity the Americans and the British sought to im- 
prove. Hence many incidents of historic value took place 
during Epoch 11. 

Efforts to Establish Trading Forts. The Oregon Coun- 
try having been reached both by sea and by land, the settle- 
ment of the Columbia River naturally came to be a matter 
of public interest. The first attempt to establish a trading 
fort in the Oregon Country was made by the Missouri Fur 
Company, which founded a trading post on the Henry 
branch of Lewis River in 1809. It continued somewhat 
over a year and was abandoned because of Indian difficul- 
ties. The second attempt at establishing a trading post in 



5 4 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the Oregon Country was a Boston venture planned by Abiel 
Winship, a merchant whose brother Jonathan as master of 
the vessel **0'Cain** had visited the Pacific Coast on a trad- 
ing expedition. It was decided by the Winship partners to 
form a stronger company, send a ship to the Columbia, and 
proceeding up the river find a suitable location for trading 
and cultivation, and there establish a settlement. The ship 
chosen for the voyage was the ** Albatross," which was 
placed under the command of Nathan Winship, a brother 
of the chief promoter of the enterprise. The **Albatross'* 
sailed via the Sandwich Islands, where the Captain took on 
board a number of Kanakas and some supplies, and then 
proceeded to the Columbia, which he entered May 26, 1810. 
Captain Winship went up the river forty miles to a point 
on the south side, where he caught sight of some oak 
trees, beautifully located ; and he named it Oak Point. This 
was on the bank opposite the present village of Oak 
Point. He decided to build a two-story log house at that 
place to serve as a fort, as well as a warehouse; and it was 
his purpose to cultivate the land close by. The little 
company hewed logs and made other preparation for the 
structure, but the June flood threatened to overflow the 
locality, and the Indians grew troublesome; so the 
Capteun "concluded not to build, but to trade with the 
Indians along the coast, and leave for future decision the 
question of building the fort. " i hus were begun and thus 
abandoned the first two attempts to establish trading posts 
in the Oregon Country. 

The "Tonquin" Enters the Columbia. The next at- 
tempt to establish a trading fort in Oregon vras a New York 
venture. With the purpose of capturing the Oregon fur 
trade and establishing a trading fort on the Columbia, John 
Jacob Astor, of New York City, organized the Pacific Fur 
Company with the central station at Astoria. September 
6, 1810, the "Tonquin" was given safe conduct from New 



EPOCH II 



55 



York out to sea by the historic battleship "Constitution." 
She arrived off the mouth of the Columbia, March 22, 1811. 
and three days later rode 
safely into Baker's Bay with- 
in ahelter of the Cape — the 
ship having lost seven of her 
crew in a hazardous effort to 
find a channel across the bar. 
Ast<MriB Founded. "On the 
twelfth of April" according 
to Gabriel Franchere, one 
of Astor's clerks, "Astor'a 
partners who had come on 
the Tonquin,' began the 
erection of a log fort on the 
south side of die Columbia 
River on a point which was 
christened 'Astoria,' in honor 
of the founder and chief 
promoter of the enterprise, 
a name now borne by a thriving commercial city, which 
marks the spot where America first planted her foot squarely 




TOHH JACOB ASTOK 




ABTOBIA IK leil 



5 6 HISTORY OF OREGON 

upon the disputed territory of Oregon. The site of the fort 
was about one hundred yards south of the shore line of the 
bay inland from the O. R. N. docks. A store-house was 
built and the supplies landed. The significance of the 
founding of Astoria as viewed at that time is fully explained 
in a communication from President Jefferson to John Jacob 
Astor, as follows: 

**I considered as a great public acquisition the commence- 
ment of a settlement on that point of the western coast of 
North America, and looked forward with gratification to 
the time when its descendants should have spread themi- 
selves through the whole length of that coast, covering it 
with free and independent Americans, unconnected with us 
except by the ties of blood and interest, and enjoying like 
us the rights of self-government." 

Tragedy of the "Tonquin.** On the fifth of June, be- 
fore the fort was completed. Captain Thome ssdled north- 
ward to Clayoquot harbor, near the Strait of Fuca, to engage 
in trade with the Indians and to cultivate friendly relations 
with the Russian settlements. Like Christopher Columbus, 
Captain Thorne of the**Tonquin" was an able navigator; but, 
like Columbus, he did not know how to govern civilized 
men, and knew less how to deal with savages. Consequently 
while his ship was in Clayoquot harbor in search of fur trade, 
the Captain needlessly offended one of the leading chiefs 
whereupon the natives returned to their village. Early 
the next day, however, about five hundred came 
back, their pretended friendship concealing murderous de- 
signs. They fell upon the unsuspecting crew killing all but 
five. Four of these were captured upon making an 
effort to escape, while the fifth, who w€is wounded, re- 
mained on board ship. It is believed that like Samson of 
old, the wounded man in a final effort destroyed himself 
and his enemies; for the good ship, crowded with the enemy, 
was blown to atoms by an ignited powder magazine. Not 



EPOCH II 57 

one of the **Tonquin"^ crew was left to tell the story of the 
ill-fated ship.^ 

The Ship "Beaver" Arrives at Astoria. The Astor Com- 
pany promptly equipped the sailing ship * 'Beaver** to take 
the place of the lost **Tonquin.*' The **Beaver" landed at 
Astoria with abundant supplies May 10, 1812. The Com- 
pany planned rival establishments to all North-West Com- 
pany trading posts on the Columbia River and its tribu- 
taries; and it seemed for a time that the Astor fur traders 
would prosper in the Oregon Country. But as will be seen 
there was much trouble in store for them. 

Astoria Christened as Fort George. Late in the year 
1812, some of the Astor partners were told that a war was 
raging between Great Britain and the United States, and 
that the North-West Company expected a British ship to cap- 
ture Astoria. Resolving to abandon the Columbia River, 
they sold the belongings of the Pacific Fur Company at a 
sacrifice to the North-West Company, October 16, 1813. 
On the 30th of November the long expected **Raccoon,** 
a British sloop-of-war, was seen near Cape Disappointment; 
on the 12th of December, the American flag was hauled 
down to give place to the Union Jack, and the name of the 
station was changed to Fort George. 

Amorica Seeks Possession of Oregon. After the War 
of 1812 had ended, it was natural that America should 
desire Oregon's restoration. Americans were the first to 
enter the Columbia River. Americans had purchased Louisi- 
ana, which connected the states with the Oregon Country; 
had founded Astoria; had sent the Lewis and Clark expedi- 
tion overland to Oregon; had looked upon Oregon as the 
territory of the United States; and had come to have a 
patriotic interest in the Oregon Country. Therefore, the 
American Secretary of State, in July, 1815, notified the 
British minister at Washington that the Americans woul 



iFor fuller account of the "Tonquin" disaster see Irving's "Astoria." 



5 8 HISTORY OF OREGON 

again occupy the Columbia. Two years later, September 
1817, our government ordered Captain Biddle of the 
* 'Ontario** to go to Astoria and assert the claims of the 
United States to the Oregon country in a friendly an 
peaceable manner. 

American Title to Oregon Acknowledged. At once 
the British minister registered objections to the request of 
the Americans. In the treaty of peace which was now 
signed, the two nations agreed that they would restore 
the territory they had taken from each other during the war. 
The British minister, however, claimed that Astoria was not 
taken during the war, but that it was purchased by British 
subjects. In answer, the American Secretary claimed Ore- 
gon: first, as a portion of the Louisiana Purchase from 
France; second, by reason of the discovery of the Columbia 
by Captain Gray; third> by reason of the Lewis and Clark 
expedition; fourth, the establishment by the Pacific Fur 
Company of the forts of Astoria, Okanogan,^ and Spokane, 
and by other rights. The Secretary further argued that the 

American traders sold their stock in Astoria through fear 
of a British man-of-war which threatened to enter the har- 
bor. After a sharp conflict of words, however, the Ameri- 
can flag was permitted to float over Astoria, October 6th, 
1818. While American rights to Oregon were thus ac- 
knowledged, the north boundary line was yet to be de- 
termined. 

Joint Occupation of Oregon. The Oregon Question 
was again discussed by the diplomatic representatives of 
Great Britain and America, October 20, 1818, the British 
claiming the Columbia as the north boundary of Oregon, 
and the Americans claiming the forty-ninth parallel as the 
true boundary. Therefore the Oregon Question involved 
the territory lying between the Columbia River and the 
present north boundary of the United States. The repre- 



lAlso "Okanagan. 



»> 



EPOCH U 



59 



•entatives of both nations were firm in their contention; and 
the American Government not being able to press her claims, 
accepted a provision for the joint occupation of Oregon 
for a term of ten years. This treaty resulted in enabhng 
both nations to settle on land and to trade on equal stand- 
ing in all parts of Oregon until the boundary question v^as 
finally decided and American right to the Oregon Country 
fully confirmed by Great Britain. The reader will find the 
account of the final settlement of the Oregon boundary 
question in Epoch 111. 

Hall J. Kelley Advocates Occupation of Oregon. 
A Boston schoolmaster by the name of Hall J. Kelley 
performed an important part in keeping before the Ameri- 
can people the question of Oregon occupation and settle- 
ment. "As early as 161 5 he directed public attention to 
the Oregon Country. He organized a land expedition in 
1 628, but which failed in its 
equipment. Then soon after 
he urged the formation of an 
expedition by sea with a view 
of colonizing the Puget 
Sound country. In this he 
also failed to secure the 
needful support."' In 1826 
he organized the American 
Society \vhich was incorpor- 
ated by the State of Massa- 
chusetts, for the settlement 
of the Oregon Territory. 
Two years later the society 
presented a memorial to con- 
gress setting forth that they 
were engaged in the work of 
opening to a civilized and virtuous population that part of 
iBlttger Herman In "Louisiana Purchase and Our Title WeBt of 
the Rocky Mountains." 




HAI^ J. KELLET 



60 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Western America, called Oregon; and they asked congress 
to aid them in carrying into operation the purposes of their 
institution; to grant them military assistance; to make it 
possible for settlers to get sufficient lands at the junction of 
the Multnomah (Willamette) with the Columbia and "to 
grant them such other rights and privileges as may contribute 
to the means of establishing a respectable and prosperous 
community/' 

The Multnomah ToMmsite Project. Congress having 
failed to encourage the scheme set forth by the society in 

1831, the latter published an announcement which began 
as follows: "Oregon Settlement to be commenced in the 
Spring of 1832 on the delightful and fertile banks of the 
Columbia river." The expedition was to start in March 

1832. Upon their arrival in Oregon a town was to be laid 
out at the juncture of the Columbia and Multnomah, and 
each emigrant was to receive a town lot and a farm in that 
locality; also a lot in a town at the mouth of the Columbia, 
these places being already platted on paper. But congress 
again failed to take action, and the plan failed. Kelley, in 
1 832, set out for Oregon by way of Mexico. "In Calif omia 
he fell in with Ewing Young in 1834." They drove a band 
of horses to Oregon; but upon their arrival at Vancouver 
(October 15, 1834) they found themselves accused of 
horse stealing. Later they were exonerated by the Governor 
of California. But Mr. Kelley having lost his health and 
fortune in the effort to colonize Oregon returned to Massa- 
chusetts the following March. 

Movement to Settle Oregon. At this time American 
right to Oregon consisted of a title without described boun- 
dary lines. Furthermore, there were not enough Americans 
in the Oregon Country to hold their territory. The situation, 
therefore, gave rise to much solicitude throughout the states. 
The Missouri Fur Company, in 1 808, made St. Louis a center 
in fur trading. This trade gradually extended north and 
westward. In 1822 General William H. Ashley sent out 



EPOCH II 



61 



bands of trappers strong enough to withstand the attacks of 
Indians. Later David Jackson, William Sublette and others 
extNided the Missouri fur trade district to the Columbia 
River, wdiere the trappers clashed with the North-West Fur 
Company. 

Union of the Two British Fur Companies. . Beginning 
with the year 1 800 the rivalry between the North-West Com- 
pany and the Hudson's Bay Company caused the reduction 
of dividends and tended to the demoralization of the Indians 
so that in June 1619, the question of rivalries and existing 
disputes was brought before the British pariiament. Later 
a compromise was effected and the two companies merged 
into one. "In conjunction with this coalition" according to 
H. H. Bancroft, "an act for regulating the fur trade and 
establishing a criminal and civil jurisdiction in certain parts 
of North America was passed by parliament July 2, 1821, 
which consummated the union. The name of Hudson's Bay 
Company was retained in 
preference to the other by 
reason of its age, respecta- 
bility and charter." 

Doctor McLoughlin Sent 
to Oregon. "In 1824 the 
new organization, called 
the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany, sent out Dr. John 
McLoughlin to take charge 
of its business in the Co- 
lumbia region. This re- 
markable man had a gen- 
ius for organization and 
command. He was of a 
resolute character with 
great kindliness of disposi- db. john HcLoughuk 

tion- He never tolerated the slightest disobedience in Hiq 




62 HISTORY OF OREGON 

vride domain and yet his subordinates seem to have mingled 
genuine affection with unbounded respect for him. In deal- 
ing with the Indians he first of all convinced them of his 
power to enforce his will. When they became submisrive, 
as they invariably did, he treated them with a mingling of 
paternal severity and kindness which won their hearts and 
made them the loyal servants of the Company. Doctor 
McLoughlin was an excellent man of business, and an 
admirable ruler over the wild country which had been 
assigned to him and the adventurous characters who inhabit- 
ed it, but he was much more than a mere man of business. 
He was a far-sighted statesman, enlightened in conduct and 
liberal in his opinions. He developed the fur trade in the 
Oregon Country until it became the most profitable part of 
the Company's vast domains. At Vancouver, ^here he 
established his headquarters, he introduced farming and 
stock raising, planted an orchard and built a saw mill and 
a gristmill." — C. H. Chapman. 

Chief Interest of the Hudson's Bay Company in Or^on. 
The entire Northwest was rich in fur-bearing animals. "There 



li 








^HMp 




fe 










<9I 



VAWOODVBE IK 1837 

were bear, panther, lynx, muskrat, beaver, niarten, mink. 
Otter, fox, wildcat, and numerous other animals whose pelts 



could be obtained in vast quantities and ^hich commanded 
extravagant prices in foreign markets. The Hudson's Bay 
Company, becoming aware of the great value of this fur 




supply, employed men — mostly French Canadians, who 
married Indian women, lived the forest life, and earned 
their niaintenance by securing pelts at lovr cost. As a result, 
profits were so great that the Company tenaciously held its 
claims in Oregon until the rich harvest of pelts was practical' 
ly exhausted. During this time only a few farms, homes, 
school -ho uses, churches or other colonial enterprises were 
developed, as the fur trade constituted the chief interest of 
the Hudson's Bay Company in Oregon." 

"Setdement Begun. Doctor McLoughlin encouraged 
a number of men ^ho had left the Company's service to 
settle in Oregon, and aided them to establish farms. Trav- 
elers, explorers, and men of science were always welcome 
at the Vancouver fort. Even rival traders like Nathaniel 
Wyeth were received politely, though Dr. McLoughlin knew 
very vreW how to guard his comniercial interests against their 
encroachments. Finally, when the missionaries began to 
arrive and the trains of immigrants to follow them, although 
McLoughlin must have foreseen the inevitable consequences 
to the fur business and to the British Dominion, nevertheless 
he sold, lent and often gave them supplies, relieved their 
distress and encouraged them vfith vnae counsel. Doctor 
McLoughlin was often misunderstood by the pioneers and 
sometimes maligned, but the verdict of history will be that 



64 HISTORY OF OREGON 

he is clearly entitled to be called the "Father of Oregon'."' 
Cr^ pt^in BonneviUe. One of the early adventurers in 
Oregon was Captain Bonneville, whose experiencea as re- 
lated by Washington Irving are familiar to the average 
school boy. Bonneville was a native of France, a graduate 
of West Point, and explorer of the 
Rocky Mountains and far west, 
(1831-6). By driving wagons 
through the South Pass to Wind 
River, Wyoming, in 1833, he did 
much to establish the correctness of 
Senator Benton's prediction that 
Oregon would some day be connect- 
ed by wagon road with the states. 
But, according to Washington Irving, 
Captain Bonneville's chief object in 
pursuing this exploration was "to 
make himself acquainted with the 
country and the Indian tribes; it be- 
ing one part of the scheme to establish a trading post some- 
where on the lower part of the Columbia river, so as to par- 
ticipate in the trade lost to the United States by the capture 
of Astoria." He reached the Hudson's Bay trading posts. 
Fort Walla Walla, (now Wallula), March 4, 1834. After 
remaining a few days at the Fort, "he returned to the general 
rendezvous for his various expeditions." In July of that 
year the Captain being well equipped with trappers and 
goods, started on a second expedition on the Columbia. 
"He still contemplated the restoration of American trade 
in this country. This time he passed through the Blue Moun- 
tains by way of the Grand Ronde Valley and the Umatilla 
River." But Captain Bonneville' vnis not a match for the 
Hudson's Bay Company nor for the American fur traders, 
hence his venture completely failed. Although he was un- 

i"The Story of Oregon." 




EPOCH 11 65 

able to cope with these trading companies, his name has 
been given to a town on the Columbia and his adventures 
as a mountaineer have been chronicled in hisloiy and litera- 
ture. 

Wyeth Joumejrs Overland to Oregon. Among those 
who became interested in the Oregon Country through the 
literature circulated by Hall J. Kelley was Captain Nathaniel 
J. Wyeth of Boston, who organ- 
ized an overland expedition to 
Oregon in IS3I. Also that 
year he sent a ship around Cape 
Horn to Oregon. In the spring 
of 1832, Wyeth started over- 
land from Boston reaching 
Vancouver on October 29th of 
the same year. The ship which 
was to bring trade supplies hav- 
ing been wrecked, he was com- 
pelled to return to Boston to 
provide another ship and secure 
another cargo. 

Wyeth's Second Vint to 
Oregon. In the faU of 1833 
Wyeth sent the Boston ship "May Dacre" with supplies 
for the Columbia f?iver. In 1834, he made his second 
overland journey, reaching Vancouver in September. The 
"'May Dacre," having arrived too late for the salmon fishing 
season, was sent with a cargo of timber to the Hawaiian 
islands. His trading expedition failed, and Wyeth re- 
turned to Boston. 

Annual Indian Fairs. While Wyeth and other fur 
traders were putting forth strenuous efforts to traffic with 
the Indians, the natives were bartering extensively among 
themselves. We leain from no less authority than Doctor 
William McKay and Alexander Ross that when the first 




NATHANIEL WYETH 



66 HISTORY OF OREGON 

trappers and traders came to Oregon, the Indians held great 
fairs annually in the Yakima Valley, also at The Dalles and 
at Yainax, which is near Klamath Lake. Various tribes sent 
delegations to these fairs for the purpose of trade and festi- 
val in such numbers that Ross reported as having seen in the 
Yakima Valley a camp of native lodges covering six miles 
square and containing three thousand people. Also Samuel 
A. Clarke tells us in his * Pioneer Days of Oregon" that at 
these fairs the Indians exchanged products, sold horses and 
slaves, and carried on all manner of native commerce. 
Everything that was for sale was placed on the market at 
these annual gatherings where the natives gambled with all 
the ardor of Indian nature. Trials of archery were held, 
and there were races— on horse and afoot — the tribes wager- 
ing their money, their horses, and sometimes their wives. 
Feasting, orgies, and dancing took place. The heart of 
some fierce enemy was exhibited with commendable pride. 
It might be dried like a mummy encased in a deer skin 
cover embroidered with bead work and porcupine quills. 
Scalps were proudly displayed and the scalp dance was 
planned regardless of expense. The most accomplished 
warriors went through the maneuvers of battle, in a space 
surrounded by a circle of drummers beating the time to 
barbaric music. Around the fire, which was in the very 
center, the principal warriors went through various evolu- 
tions, uttering horrid cries, flourishing their arrows, hurling 
their spears, brandishing their tomahawks, or performing 
the pantomime of scalping their victims — every one partici- 
pating, except the chiefs who were looking on with dignified 
appreciation from their elevated canopies. Then the young 
chiefs were paired off with the forest belles, who were chosen 
to be brides and who were adorned with feathers, beads, 
paint, nose quills, and rings for their fingers, ankles and 
wrists. These were some of the features of the Indian fairs 
that were annually held in the Oregon Coiuitry before it 
was occupied by the white race. 



EPOCH II 



67 



First School in the Pacific Northwest. We now con- 
sider for the first time the education of children in the Ore- 
gon Country. 7^e first school in the Pacific Northwest was 
taught hy John Ball, of Boston, Massachusetts, who was a 
graduate of Dartmouth College. Mr. Ball arrived with Na- 
thaniel Wyeth at Fort Van- 
couver in November, 1832. 
Here, at the request of Doctor 
McLoughlin, he taught school 
beginning the following Janu- 
ary I . Later he was a prosper- 
ous farmer at Clatsop, where 
he died in 1 890. aged 94. In a 
letter to Elwood Evans, author 
of the "History of the North- 
west," Mr. Ball gave an ac- 
count of that school: 

'The scholars came in talk- 
ing their respective languages 
— Nez Perce; Chinook 
Klickitat, etc. I could not 
understand them, and when 1 
called them to order, there 
was but one who understood 
me. As 1 had come from a land where discipline was ex- 
pected in school management, 1 could not persuade myself 
that 1 could accomplish anything without order. I there- 
fore issued my orders, and to my surprise, he who under- 
stood, joined issue with me upon my government in the 
school. While endeavoring to impress upon him the neces- 
sity of discipline and order in the school, and through him 
making such necessity appreciated by his associates. Dr. 
McLoughlin, chief factor, entered. To the Doctor I ex- 
plained my difficulty. He investigated my complaint, found 
my statements correct, and at once made such an example 
of the refractory boy that I never afterward experienced 




68 HISTORY OF OREGON 

• 

any trouble in governing. I continued in the school over 
eighteen months, during which the scholars learned to speak 
Elnglish. Several could repeat some of Murray's grammar 
verbatim. Some had gone through arithmetic, and upon 
review copied it — entirely. These copies were afterward 
used as school books, there having been only one printed 
copy at Fort Vancouver. The school numbered twenty- 
five pupils." 

Indians Ask for the White Man's Book of Heaven. 
Lewis and Clark also French and English fur traders and 
possibly native missionaries from eastern tribes had told the 
Nez Perces that the greatness of the white people was due 
to their religion. Hence some of the more intelligent Indians 
naturally wanted to learn of the white man*s God. These 
facts reached the attention of churches in the states and 
accounts like the following were published so extensively 
that missionary activity was greatly stimulated: 

**The Nez Perces sent five of their leading men toward 
the rising sun for the White Man*s Book of Heaven. Though 
one of their number soon returned, the other four continued 
their journey to St. Louis where they were kindly received. 
For a time they experienced much difficulty in making their 
wants known. When General Clark came to learn the pur- 
pose of their visit, he reminded them that they had not yet 
learned to read the Book, but that teachers would be sent 
to their people, — -a promise which was soon made good by 
churches and later by the government. The Indians were 
treated as guests by General Clark ; but being unaccustomed 
to indoor life, two of them died during the winter. When 
spring came the remaining two departed for their tribal 
home. But on the journey another died, leaving only one 
to return to his people with the White Man's Book of 
Heaven." 

While historians differ somewhat as to the accuracy 
of this and similar accounts, it is known that untutored 
Indians from the Oregon Country visited St. Louis at van- 



EPOCH II 



69 



OU8 times, dating as early as 1831, when this incident is 
said to have taken place, and that these visits were freely 
mentioned by churches in the development of the missionary 
spirit which was influential in bringing the first permanent 
white population, and in laying the foundation for public 
education and for the present social system of Oregon. 

The First Methodist Misnonaries to Oregon. News- 
papers throughout the nation published accounts of the visit 
made by the Indians to St. Louis. Also it was explained that 
these Indians desired to be 
taught the arts of peace. 
These accounts appealed 
to the churches, which had 
enthusiastically accepted 
"From Greenland's Icy 
Mountains," written by 
Bishop Heber. and a tre- 
mendous missionary spirit 
was aroused. Soon the 
Methodist denomination 
sent Rev. Jason Lee to the 
Rathead Indians. He with 
Rev. Daniel Lee, Cyrus 
Shepard, P. L. Edwards, 
and C. M. Walker, joined 
Wyeth's overland party in 
1834, sending their freight by Wyeth's ship "May Dacre." 
Instead of going to the Flathead Indians as directed, the 
missionary party under the advice of Doctor McLoughlin, 
went to the Willametce Valley, locating a mission on the 
Willamette River about «xty miles above its confluence 
vnth the Columbia. Immediately they set about building 
a house, a bam, fences and other things necessary to the 
home life of people in a new country. 




BEV. JASON LEE 



70 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Found White Settlers in the Willunette Valley. Here 

the missionaries found about a dozen Canadian settlers with 
Indian wives. The white settlers had been in the employ of 
the Hudson's Bay Company; and, following the example of 
Doctor McLoughlin, had chosen wives from among the 
native women. In accordance with the policy of the Com- 
pany these settlers received much encouragement from the 
Doctor, ^ho desired their half-caste families to become use- 
ful men and women. Also the Doctor gave much encourage- 
ment to the missionaries while establishing their educational 
work among the people. 




JASON LEE'S MISSIOH~1334 

First Mission School in Oregon. Soon after Rev. Jason 
Lee arrived in the Willamette Valley he established the 
Indian Mission School in a big log cabin on the east bank 
of the Willamette River opposite what was later called 
Wheatland. This was the first school south of the Columbia. 
It was taught by Philip L. Edwards. Commencing with 
only a few pupils, twenty-five more were brought in from 
the settlers on French Prairie, and from native Indians, on 
either side of the Cascade Mountains, until all the persons 
at this mission amounted to thirty in number. These people 
were all placed in one small house, None of them were 



EPOCH II 71 

accustomed to such confinement, all- having been brought 
up in tents, tepees, or the open air. Some were diseased; 
many became ill from change of diet, and soon an epidemic 
similar to diphtheria broke out, and instead of a school, the 
place became a hospital with sixteen children lying sick at 
one time in one small room. According to Doctor Mc- 
Loughlin, the school was continued until 1838 amid dis- 
couraging circumstances, the missionaries doing everything 
in their power to remedy the want of proper buildings. 

The First School Teacher in Oregon. Philip L. Ed- 
wards was a Kentuckian by birth. He came from Rich- 
mond, Missouri, to Oregon, when he was twenty-three years 
of age. Of more than ordinary attainments, he loved order 
and refinement. A frontiersman, he knew how to accom- 
modate himself to the rough condition of pioneer life. While 
possessed of high moral sense, he was not a missionary. 
After teaching thi? school, he returned to Missouri, studied 
law and married. In 1850 he went to California, set 
tling in Nevada county, taking an active part in politics and 
dying in May, 1869. — **Centennial History of Oregon." 

Methodist Reinforcements. In 1837, eight persons were 
brought on the ship **Hamilton" from Boston via the Sand- 
wich Islands as a reinforcement for the mission of which Jason 
Lee was the head. Among them was ElijeJi White who was 
to be the physician of the Mission. He brought with him 
his wife, an infant son, and an adopted son fourteen years 
of age. There were also Alanson Beers, the blacksmith, 
who was later member of the first Executive Committee of 
the Provisional Government; the kindly W. H. Willson, who 
lived to locate the Salem townsite; Miss Anna Maria Pitt- 
man; also Miss Susan Downing and Miss Elvira Johnson. 
In October, 1839, another reinforcement came on tihe 
* 'Lausanne" from New York, increstsing the missionary 
family to sixty persons. A hospital was at once built and 
the work of the Mission enlarged and intensified in every 
way possible. 



72 HISTORY OF OREGON 

The Dalle) Mission. "On March 22, 1836, Daniel Lee 
and H. W. Perkins, under the superin tendency of Jason Lee, 
established "a Methodist mission to the Indieins at The 
Dalles of the Columbia." It was commonly known as "The 
Dalles Mission" among the whites, but it was called "Was- 
copam" by the Indians. "Wascopam" was the name of the 




BEV. JASON LEE PSEACHIHa TO THB IHDIAIT8 

fine spring of water which the missionaries used, and which 
is now the source of water supply for the high school that 
occupies the site of the old mission. "Wasco" is the Indian 
^vord for a "basin," and "pam" means a "place"; hence 
"Wancopam" means "the place of a basin." Also from 
this basin the County of Wasco received its name. At Was- 
copam the missionaries cultivated a farm of thirty acres, 
and carried on their work successfully until 1847, when 
the Mission was sold to Dr. Marcus Whitman, of the Presby- 
terian Mission near Walla Walla. His untimely death 
soon after, resulted in closing The Dalles Mission as well as 
the other three protestant missions which had been estab- 
lished between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade 
Range."— Mrs. F. C. Crandall. 

Pulpit Rock also marks the site of Wascopam Mission. 
It is one of the oldest pulpits in the world. It was carved 



EPOCH II 



73 




by Nature long before the advent of the white man in 
America. Pulpit Rock, whicb is about twelve feet high^ 
overlooks an open air audi- 
torium of sloping ground 
where the Indians assembled 
to bear the missionaries 
preach, much after the man- 
ner of the Greeks who gath- 
ered about the Pnyx to hear 
Demosthenes deliver his ora- 
tions. This ancient pulpit 
was, therefore, very sacred 
to the more devout Indians. 
Seated on Pulpit Rock, as 
shown in the accompanjdng 
view, is Joseph Luxillo, an 
Indian who was baptized by 
the missionaries with water 
from Wascopam Spring and 
who later became an influential preacher on the Simcoe 
Reservation. He was one of the many Indians who made 
pilgrimages to this shrine to renew their vows long after 
Wascopam Mission had been abandoned by the whites. 

Marriage Rite First (Miserved in Willamette Valley. 
On Sunday, July 16, 1837, religious service was held in the 
beautiful grove near the Lee Mission. Jason Lee delivered 
a sermon on "The Propriety of Marriage, and Duties De- 
volving upon the Married." In conclusion he added, 
"What 1 urged by precept, 1 am about to enforce by exam- 
ple;" then he offered his arm to Miss Anna Marie Pittman; 
and Rev. Daniel Lee read the service for two couples instead 
of one, as Cyrus Shepard and Miss Susan Downing were 
also joined then in wedlock. Yet another wedding occurred 
the same day of two people living on French Prairie; thus 
the marriage rite was first observed in the Willamette Valley. 



PTJLFIT KOCK 



74 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Before that, marriage had been a civil contract, and there 
was considerable laxity aa to native unions.* 

Othtf DenominatioiM Come to Old Oregon. When it 
became Icnown that Jason Lee had established the Methodist 
Mission in the Willamette Val- 
ley, other religious denomina' 
tions soon became interested in 
the Indians of the Northwest. 
Finally the American Board of 
Commissioners for Foreign Mis- 
sions became active. In 1635 
Dr. Samuel Parker and Dr. 
Marcus Whitman were sent 
west to explore the field. While 
on their journey they learned 
that missionaries would recMve 
a ^velcome among the Indians 
west of the Rocky Mountains. 
Doctor Whitman forthwith re- 
turned to the East to procure 
assistance, but Doctor Parker 
continued his journey to the 
Oregon Country, and lived at 
Fort Vancouver the following 
winter. In the spring, he visit- 
„ ed the Walla Walla valley and 
, reported it to be "a delightful 
situation for a missionary estab- 
He explored the Lewis and Spokane Rivers, be- 
1 teaching the Indians whom he 
, whence 




Tight, GitI 



liehment. 

coming greatly interested 

found. Later that year, he returned to Vi 

he sailed to New York. 



i"Ploneer Daye of Oregon." 




health, she was carried 
in a wagon or cart to 
Green River, but from 
here she was able to 
travel on horseback. 

New Minions. Leav 
ing the women at Fort 
Vancouver in Septem- 
ber 1836. the men re- 
traced their journey 
up the river to Waiilat- 
pu, which is seven 
miles from the present 
site of Walla Walla. 
Here Doctor and Mrs. 
Whitman were to la- 
bor. Hence it was 
called the Whitman 
Mtsnon. In the Nez 
P e r c e 8 country on 



II 75 

Doctor Whitman's Re- 
tum. When Doctor Whit- 
man arrived in New York 
with his story of the In- 
dians and their needs the 
Board at once placed him 
in charge of a mission to 
be organized in the new 
country. The following 
year Mr. and Mrs. H. H. 
Spalding and Mr. W. H. 
Gray accompanied Doctor 
and Mrs. Whitman. They 
traveled with the fur trad- 
ers from Missouri to the ' 
mountains. Because of 
Mrs. Spalding's feeble 




Ml&SIOlf FBIKTINQ PKESS 
Ttni prlnUsg praii in Ow Pacific Noithvait, 
BroucU to Oregon from Honolaln, Hnnit, 
ia3S. UHd >t Lapvil Mlulon StiUon, uux 
bwliton. Idaho, Ha7 IBth of that jiu t? E. 
O. H*U, in printing liaflsts containing bymiu 
and Bible Terui in tlie Indian langoasa, from 
tranilatleni mada b; Sev. and lira. H. H. 
Spalding. It la now lu tba Oragon Hlit(alcal 
MnwoM, Portland. 



76 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the Clearwater, a mission was located, and Rev. and Mn. 
Raiding wer« placed in charge of the work. In 1 838, Rev. 
Gushing Eells and wife, Rev. Elkanah Walker and wife. 
Rev. A, B. Smith and wife, and Mr. Cornelius Rogers occu- 
pied the Spokane mission. Adobe houses were built, land 
was fenced and ploughed, crops were sown and harvested, 
cattle were imported, portions of the Bible were translated 
and printed in the Nez Perce language on a little press that 
was sent; and an effort was made to interest the Indians in. 
domestic life as the shortest way to civilization. 

The Steamship "Beaver." Among the most memorable 
ships to enter the river now called the Columbia were the 




'Columbia," the "Tonquin," and the steamship "Beaver." 
The first two have already been mentioned — the "Colum- 
bia" as the first to enter the river named for the ship, and 
the "Tonquin," which brought the Astor partners who estab- 
lished the trading post Fort Astor, now Astoria. Because 
of the growth of the Oregon fur trade, there soon came a 
demand for rapid river transportation. This called for craft 



EPOCH II 77 

propelled by steam. To meet the situation, the Hudson's 
Bay Company on August 27, 1836, started the steamship 
**Beaver" from Gravesend, England, to Vancouver on the 
Columbia River. The**Beaver*' was built on the Thames 
River in 1835, and should not be confused with the Ameri- 
can sailing vessel of the same name, which was brought into 
the Columbia River in 1812 by the Astor Company. Be- 
cause the S. S. "Beaver** was unable to carry sufficient coal 
for so long a journey by steam, the principal part of the 
voyage was made under sail; but there is proof that she 
used her engine in crossing the **dol drums,** the belt of calms 
between 3° north and 4° south of the equator. After a voyage 
of 1 75 days, she arrived in the Columbia, with the record 
of being the first steamship to cross the equator in either 
ocean. The * 'Beaver** then steamed up the river, where 
she did valuable service for the Hudson's Bay Company. This 
was the beginning of steam navigation on the Columbia 
River. 

President Sends Comnaissioners to Oregon. In order 
that he might know from more reliable sources, the wisest 
policy to pursue in the development of the Northwest, Presi- 
dent Jackson, in 1836, sent Mr. W. A. Slacum to secure 
such information as he could concerning Oregon. On this 
journey which extended up the Willamette river as far as 
the present site of the capital, he w^as careful to note all 
matters of importance. At that time the country was new 
and particularly rich in pasture grasses. This fact appealed 
to Mr. Slacum, and he encouraged the settlers to procure 
herds of cattle. These could be purchased from the Mexi- 
cans in California, who were in the habit of slaughtering 
cattle merely for their hides and tallow. To encourage the 
project, Slacum gave a number of the settlers free passage 
on hts ship to Calif ornia, where the party under the direction 
of Ewing Young and P. L. Edwards bought eight-hundred 
head of cattle at three dollars each, and forty horses at 
twelve dollars each. In the fall .of 1837, their stock was 



78 HISTORY OF OREGON 

brought overland to Oregon with a loss of one-fourth of 
the number purchased. It is estimated therefore that a 
cow cost the settlers about $3.75, and a horse $13.00. 
Within a few years cows were regularly sold in the Willam- 
ette Valley for $50 each and oxen at $100 to $150 per 
yoke, such was the demand for them after settlers increased 
in number. 

Slacmn Creates Further Interest in Oregon. In 1837, 
Mr. Slacum, who had returned to the United States, made 
a report to the government in which he insisted that the 
Oregon Country should extend to the 49th parsJlel. In re- 
citing the story of the Willamette Valley settlement, he 
impressed Congress with the gravity of the Oregon boundary 
question which had occupied the attention of that body at 
different times since 1820 and which was yet to be the 
subject of much contention between the United States and 
Great Britain. 

Linn, Lee^ and Famham. By this time Oregon had 
many influential friends throughout the Nation to espouse 
her cause. Prominent among those who championed Ore- 
gon in Congress was Senator Lewis F. Linn, of Missouri, 
who, in the year 1838 proposed to recognize Oregon as a 
territory- Although Senator Linn*8 bill failed to become 
a law, the information it contained was distributed by vari- 
ous means throughout the United States, and in that way 
developed renewed interest in the West. In that same year 
Jason Lee csmvassed Missouri and Illinois asking aid for 
the Willamette mission; and he carried with him a petition 
to Congress, which Senator Linn presented the following 
year. Mr. Thomas J. Farnham carried to Congress a peti- 
tion asking protection for the Oregon settlers. The sub- 
stance of his argument for this petition was that **Oregon is 
the germ of a great state.** 

Jason Lee Returns to Oregon. Jason Lee impressed 
the people of Missouri and Illinois with his devout earnest- 




FIB3T HAHSIOH IX SAI.EM 



EPOCH II 79 

ness and the worthiness of the cause he advocated, and was, 
therefore, promptly supplied 
with forty- two thousand dol- 
lars; and fifty persons were 
assigned to assist him in carry- 
ing on the missionary work in 
the Oregon Country. These 
workers were distributed 
among six missions, — Mouth 
of the Columbia. Willam- 
ette Falls, Umpqua, The Dalles, Puget Sound, and the Cen- 
tral Mission on the Willamette, 

Archbishop Blanchet and Vicar-General Deroer*. The 
presence of the Methodist Missionaries encouraged devout 
French Canadians of the Willamette as early as 1 834 to ask 
the Catholic Church to 
send missionaries to them. 
in 1836 the request was 
repeated. In answer to 
the call, the Hudson's Bay 
Company, two years later, 
conveyed two priests from 
Montreal who were in- 
structed to "establish a 
mission in the Cowlitz Val- 
ley, the reason given be- 
ing that the British aover- 
eignity south of the Colum- 
bia was still undecided." 
Hence for a time those 
were denied who first ap- 
plied for religious instruc- 
;het was appointed vicar-gen- 
eral of the Oregon Mission, and the Rev. Modeete Demers 
was chosen as his assistant. Along their journey toOregon the 




ARCHBISHOP T. S. BIJUIOHET 

tion. Rev. Francis Norbert Blar 



80 HISTORY OF OREGON 

missionaries were well received by the natives, many of "whom 
were baptized at Forts Okanogan, Colville and Walla Walla. 
At Vancouver mass was celebrated for the first time. After 
visiting the Willeunette Valley the Vicar-General establi^ed 
himself (1839) emnong the Cowlitz Indians, in a log house 
twenty by thirty feet which was used as a residence and a 
chapel. Here the activities^ of the church were instituted 
at once. The Hudson's Bay Company finally conceding' to 
the missionaries the right to operate in the Willamette Val- 
ley, the Vicar-General took up his residence in a Canadian 
settlement — now St. Paul — where a log chapel had been 
built in 1836 on a site essentially the same as that occupied 
by the present church. Here January 6, 1840, **Mass was 
celebrated for the first time in the Willamette Valley. On 
the 14th of the preceding October, Rev. Demers, who had 
been left in charge of the Cowlitz establishment, installed 
and rang the first church bell ever heard in the territory. 
Rev. Pierre J. DeSmet and other missionaries soon came. 
The Catholic church prospered, and Oregon on December 
11, 1843, w^as erected into an apostolic vicarate by Pope 
Gregory XVI, who appointed Blanchet archbishop of the 
territory, Demers succeeding him as vicar-genergJ.** 

Chinook Jargon. When Lewis and Clark came to 
Western Oregon they found as many Indisui languages as 
there were tribes. Later there were two languages which 
were understood by all of them — the Indian sign language 
and the Chinook Jargon. The sign language was feuniliar 
to Indian tribes from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific. It 
was very interesting when gracefully rendered, much of it 
partaking of the nature of beautiful pantomime. The Indian 
sign language has gradually gone into disuse until it is almost 
forgotten, yet there are some who can communicate intelli- 
gently by means of its signs and symbols. 

i"One of the first steps taken by the Catholic fathers was to 
separate for a short time the Canadians from their Indian wives, 
after which the couples were married according to the customs of 
the Catholic church," — Bancroft. 



EPOCH II 81 

The Chinook Jargon was the commercial langusige 
used by the fur traders and Indisois along the Oregon coast. 
Later it was popularized somewhat by missionaries who 
translated hymns and portions of the Bible into the Jargon 
for the benefit of the Indians. According to the "Centen- 
nial History of Oregon," **the origin of many words in 
the Chinook Jargon is unknown. This jargon is supposed 
to have been introduced by the first voysigers to the Oregon 
coast in search of furs, and was added to from time to time 
by Indians, travelers and fur traders. It contains some Indian 
words suid some corrupted French and English words, and 
some of it is pure fiction." There are nearly seven-hundred 
words in the Chinook Jargon, only few of which have found 
their way into literature. The once popular Jargon has 
subserved its purpose, and gradually disappeared upon the 
approach of the comprehensive English, so that there are 
comparatively few who speak the barbarous dialect at the 
present time. 

The following interlinear copy of the Lord's Prayer is 
given as a sample of this lingua franca: 

Nesika papa klaxta mitlite kopa Sahalee kloshe 
Our Father who dwellest in the Above sacred 

kopa nesika tumtuni mika nem. Nesika hiyu .tikeh 
in our hearts (be) Thy name. We greatly long for 

chahco mika illahee. Mamook Mika kloshe tumtum kopa 
the coming of Thy kingdom. Do Thy good will with 

okoke illahee kahkwa kopa Sahalee. Potlach konoway 
this world as also In the heavens. Give (us) day by 

sun nesika muckamuck ; pee mahlee konoway nesika mesahchee 
day our bread; and remember not all our wickedness 

kahkwa neska mamook kopa klaska spose mamook mesahchee 
even as we do also with others if they do evil 

kopa nesika. Wake lolo nesika kopa peshak, pee marsh 
unto ourselves. Not bring us into danger, but put 

siah kopa nesika konoway mesahchee. Kloshe kahkwa : 
far away from us all evil. So may it be 



iTranslation from Gill's "Chinook Jargon Dictionary," 



82 HISTORY OF OREGON 

CHAPTER V. 
MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT. 

They crossed the desert, as of old 
Their fathers crossed the sea; 
To make the West as they the East, 
The homestead of the free. — -Whlttler. 

Necessity for the Colonization of Oregon. Oregon was 
the first Pacific Coast region to which there was considerable 
migration from the States. Several reasons were now ap- 
parent why it should be rapidly settled, namely: 

1. If the Americans were to dominate in Oregon, it 
was necessary for them to be in the majority. 

2. Tliere w^as much uneasiness throughout the United 
States as to the Oregon Boundary Question, the decision of 
which msuiy believed would be influenced somewhat by the 
presence of American settlers. 

3. It was the American policy to send colonists to 
Oregon so that they might develop the resources of the 
country, and incidentally replace savagery with civilization. 

4. Lawlessness was becoming prevalent so that live- 
stock and other property were frequently stolen. Also the 
Indians, who were acquiring civilization and were dependent 
upon the whites for government, required better protection 
for their families and their property. Furthermore, the 
Americans wanted a government of their own, the out- 
growth of their desire being a demand for law and order. 
To meet this demand there must be enough Americans to 
enforce such laws as might be made. 

5. But above all was the opportunity for men and 
women to come west and improve their condition. 

The Emigration of 1839. Mention has been made of 
whites who came to Oregon to trap and trade, and of those 
who carried on missionary work eunong the Indians. Vari- 
ous parties had crossed the plains but the first serious at- 
tempt at migration to Oregon was in 1 839. This movement 
resulted from lectures given by Rev. Jason Lee in Peoria, 



EfOCH ll! 



«3 



Illinois, during the winter of I837'1838. In the firing of 
1839, nineteen men took a two-Korse wagon and a band of 
horses as far as Independence, Missouri. Here they trans- 
ferred their luggage to pack horses and turned their course 
toward Santa Fe, where there was abundance of grass and 
many buffalo. By the last of September th^ reached Green 
River vfhere they met Joe Meek and other well kno'wn trap- 
pers. Their suffering was intense as they traveled through 
deep snows with only dog meat to subsist upon, and noth- 
ing but cotton wood boughs for their horses to eat. Of 
this party only tive reached the Willamette Valley. 

First Protestant Church on Pacific Coast With the 
migration to Oregon there grew a demand for churches 
and schools, and to meet this demand a Methodist church 
edifice was begun 
at Oregon City in 
1842, and complet- 
ed in 1644. This 
was the first protes- 
tant church on the 
Pacific coast. How- 
ever, the chapel of 
the Oregon Institute 
of Salem had been 
used for religious 
services as early as 
1841. Prior to that 
time the Methodists 
held religious meet- 
ings in homes, in 
groves, and in the Mission building, their missionary work 
having been begun by Rev. Jason Lee in 1834. 

Willamette University. The missionaries aboard the 
"Lausanne"' on their voyage from New York to Oregon cele- 
brated the centennial of Methodism (October 25, 1839). 
by starting a fund with which to establish a school in the 




64 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



Willamette Vall«y. A sermon was preached by Rev. Gus- 
tavus Hines, and $650 was contributed by leas than tw«i^ 
families; and out of the prayerful dream of the "Lausanne" 
missionaries came forth the first university of the Pacific 




OIJ> OBEOON HTSTITHTE 

Coast But the university was a long time is materializing. 
Meanwhile these were some of the things that took place: 

The Indian Mission School which has been mentioned, 
was jnoved (1842) to what is now the campus of Willam- 
ette University, where it was conducted in a $ 1 0,000 frame 
building. At about this time the white settlers planned a 
school for their own children, elected a board of trustees, 
mibscribed funds, named the school The Oregon Institute, 
resolved that it should gro'w into a college, and began to 
look about for a suitable location. Their investigations re- 
sulted in the purchase of the Indian Mission School property. 
The Oregon Institute was formally opened as a school for 
white children, on the present University Campus in Salem, 
August 16, 1844. with Mrs. Chloe Clark Wilson as teacher 
in charge of nineteen pupils. Mrs. Willson, who came to 
Oregon for the express purpose of teaching the children of 



^m 


^1 




J 



86 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the white settlers, was present when the $650 was subscribed 
on the **Lausanne** for the establishment of a school in the 
Willamette Valley. As soon as the Oregon and California 
Conference^ of the M. E. Church completed its organization 
in 1 849, it assumed entire control of the school, which was 
incorporated as Willamette University in 1853. The Con- 
ference also designated the Oregon Institute as the prepara- 
tory school of the University. 

Waller Hall, the oldest building on the campus, was 
begun in 1864, Governor Gibbs delivering the address at 
the laying of the corner stone. The Greek cross form of 
the building was suggested by Bishop Janes of the M. E. 
Church. The College of Medicine after giving instruction 
two years was formally organized in 1867, and the College 
of Law was established in 1 884. Since there were no high 
schools in Oregon to prepare students for the University, 
a number of academies were orgsuiized for that purpose. 
The first of these was Wilbur Academy, named in honor of 
Rev. James H. Wilbur, whose name has become inseparably 
linked with Willamette University and with the town in 
which he located the Academy. There were also Sherida* 
Academy, The Dalles Academy, Santieun Academy, and 
Portland Academy and Female Seminary. Also there was 
a seminary orgsuiized jointly by the Methodists and Congre- 
gationalists, at Oregon City, in which many students were 
trained for the University. 

Among the most prominent educators who gave to 
the institution its standing as a university in the earlier days, 
were Presidents Francis S. Hoyt guid Thomas M. Gatch. 
Dr. Hoyt resigned the presidency in 1 860, after serving ten 



1 Bishop E. R. Ames organized the Methodist annual conference 
at Salem, March 17, 1853, Including the territory of Oregon and 
Washington. The second annual conference was held by Bishop 
Matthew Simpson, at Belknap settlement, in Benton County, the 
following year. 



EPOCH II 6 

years in that office, and Doctor Gatch, who succeeded hin 
gave the University two ad- 
ministrations. 

In recent years the friends 
of Willamette University have 
raised a cash endowment of a 
half million dollars; also gen- 
erous gifts of from $ 1 to 
$10,000 have been tendered 
the institution, enabling the 
oldest university on the Pa- 
cific Coast of North America 
to maintain an important rank 
among standardized schools 
of higher learning. 

The Ein«ntion of 1843. 
Early in the spring of 1643, 
almost umultaneously, migra- 
Hon b^™ from Mi.«>uri. and™.™'; ySSr.Sf.'S?i,?,.f,j.1i5; 
in less numbers from Arkan- OnivBmity of WKBHington, and tn* 
sas, Illinois, Kentucky, Tenne- 

see. Iowa, and Texas. This was called the "Great Emigra- 
tion" because it embraced nearly a thousand persons. All 
the settlers of Oregon who preceded this emigration did not 
equal half as many as were added by this train. At Kansas 
River, Peter H. Burnett, later first American governor of 
California, was chosen captain; and James W. Nesmith, a 
young man who was to become prominent and influ- 
ential in Oregon, and who later represented the young state 
in the United States Senate during the Civil War, was orderly 
sergeant. Burnett held command only eight days, and was 
succeeded by William Martin who retained leadership until 
the emigration broke into smaller parties. When Whitman, 
who was with the rear of the emigration, reached Fort Hall, 
he found the leaders doubtful as to what plan to adopt. It 
had been customary to leave wagons at Fort Hall and go 




88 HISTORY OF OREGON 

through to the Columbia with pack animals. But S. A. 
Clark tells us in "Pioneer Days of Oregon Histoiy" that 
Whitman encouiaged them to continue, with the assurance 
that he could lead them to the Columbia with their wagons. 
After the settlers had halted for a few days to recuperate 
and to rest their weary teams, they decided to continue 
their journey with Doctor Whitman as their guide since he 
was well qualified to select the best route for the wagons 
to follow. They reached Fort Boise on the twentieth of 




3 THE PLAINS 

September. On the twenty-fourth of September they en- 
tered Burnt River Canon. By the first of October their 
route led through the beautiful Grand Ronde Valley, where 
snowy summits of the Blue Mountains looked do^vn on pine 
clad hills. In the same month they reached Waiilatpu. 
Some of the cattle were left in the Walla Walla Valley. 
The others were driven overland; while "the families, wa- 
gons, and other property were taken down the Columbia 
river on boats and rafts, arriving in the Willamette Valley 
by the end of November." The latter part of the journey 
was so arduous that some declared the hardships greater 
and the suffering more acute while descending the Columbia 
from The Dalles to the Willamette than were those of the 
long pilgrimage from the Missouri River. . 



EPOCH li 89 

Oregon Hilk of Glass. Emigremts as early as 1843 
announced the discovery of natural glass along their route 
of travel in Eastern Oregon. In appearance the glass so 
closely resembled pieces of dark bottles that it was frequent' 
ly mistaken for fragments of artificial glass. They soon 
learned, however, that it was obsidian, a natural rock and 
form of lava which cooled so quickly that it hardened into 
glass. Usually it was of a dark or black color; but occa^ 
sionally phases of it were variegated with streaks of brown, 
and often vivid red, which gave to it an appearance that 
was very attractive. And when the Indians showed them 
spear heads, primitive knives and other useful articles made 
of this substance, the emigrants became more and more 
interested in their new discovery. 

Afterwards it was ascertained that obsidian exists in 
vast quantities in various sectons of that porton of Oregon 
which lies east of the Cascade Range, and that most of the 
scattered fragments originally came from a group of glass 
buttes, near the northeast corner of Lake County. The 
buttes can be recognized from afar because of their dark 
barren sides with broken glass here and there glistening 
in the sun. 




1843-1849 

OREGON UNDER 
THE PROVISIONAL 
GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER VI. 
Epoch III is an account of Oregon under the Provisional 
Government. It begins with the Champoeg meetings in 
1843 and extends to March 3, 1849, when a territorial form 
of government was proclaimed in Oregon by Governor 
Joseph Lane. Preceding Epoch 111, the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany administered the chief civil government of Oregon. 
But many of the settlers advocated a government of the 
people. Inhere being much opposition to the movement, it 
was delayed until the death of Ewing Young, (February 1 5, 
1841), who had settled in Yamhill district in November, 
1834, and whose estate required prompt legal administra- 
tion. Since Young belonged neither to the Hudson's Bay 
Company nor to the Mission, he was what was then called 
an "independent settler." The death of this American, the 
first to leave an estate, created a new and serious condition 
for which there was no legal provision. In this emergency 
immediate action was imperative. Following the funeral 
services of Ewing Young (February 17, 1841), a mass 
meeting was announced to take place at the Mission on the 



92 HISTORY OF OREGON 

following day to provide for the settlement of the estate. 
At the mass meeting held, February 1 8, Doctor Ira L. Bab- 
cock, of the Mission was appointed supreme judge with pro- 
bate powers. It is of interest in this connection to know that 
Ewing Young's estate was later settled, but for the want of 
a known heir it temporarily escheated to the commonwealth. 
A sheriff, three constables and as many justices of the peace 
were chosen, and a committee of nine with Rev. F. N. 
Blanchet as chairman was appointed to form a constitution 
and draft a code of laws to be reported at a meeting to be 
held June 7, 184f. At the June meeting, the Committee 
of nine failing to report, the colonists adjourned to meet 
October 1 . But Charles Wilkes, U. S. N., and many leading 
citizens believing the time was not auspicious to organize 
an American government, "the project was dropped;" and 
for more than a year nothing further was publicly attempted. 

Preliminary Meeting. Protection of Stock. When 
Doctor Elijah White returned with one-hundred and twenty 
emigrants in 1 842, the American party was so strengthened 
that civil government was again discussed. Accordingly, a 
preliminary meeting was held February 2, 1843, at the 
Oregon Institute, to provide for a general meeting to be 
held on the second Monday of the following March, ostensi- 
bly for the purpose of providing for bounties for killing 
wolves,^ lynxes, bear and panthers. 

Why Called the ''Wolf Meeting.'' The meeting in 
March was known as the **Wolf Meeting" because funds 
were voted for suitable bounties for killing wolves and other 
destructive animals, and an officer placed in charge of that 
service. It was adroitly stated, however, that though pro- 
vision had been made for the protection of their flocks, yet 
it was far more important that provision should be made for 



iThe late John Minto suggested the strange coincidence that 
the wolf should have been associated with the first government in 
Jiome and with the first government of Oreg^on. 



EPOCH m 93 

the protection of tke settlers' families. Tkereupoo a com- 
mittee of twdve wa« appointed "to coaatder the propriety 
of taking steps fftr the civil and military protection of the 
colony." 




WOU HUNT OK FBEHCH PR&ISIE JS 



Provisional Government Voted at Champoeg. The 

First Atnerican Governfment on the Pacific Coast was auth- 
orized by the people of the Willamette Valley, at Champoeg, 
May 2, 1843; and it is somewhat remarkable that the same 
number of colonists should meet to provide for the first 
constitution and self-government on the Pacific coast as 
there were in the "Mayflower" when the first constitution 
for civil government in the world was written, and the first 
self-government was authorized on the Atlantic coast. 

The Vote for a Divide. At the Champoeg meeting 
102 men had gathered in an open tield for the purpose of 
considering the report of the Committee of twelve on Organ- 
ization which had been appointed February 2. The com- 
mittee reported favorably on the establJshnient of a govern- 
ment. After much heated discussion, friends of the move- 
ment for a governnient decided that prompt action was 
necessary. Following the motion to adopt the report of 
the committee, Joe Meek shouted: 



94 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



"Who's for a divide? All in favor of the report and 
of an organization, follow mel" 

There were fifty-two who voted for the motion, while 
their opponents were but fifty. Since this meant a pro- 
visional government in Oregon, the opposing faction with- 
drew. The business of the 
meeting was resumed, and 
a committee of nine was 
chosen to report a plan of 
<4vil government at a 
meeting t6 be held at 
Champoeg on the fifth of 
the following May. 

Legidative Commit* 
tee Aisemble at the Falls. 
At the Willamette Falls 
there was a small building 
used as a school, storage 
room, and lodging apart- 
ment. Here the commit- 
tee of nine assembled as 
the first popular authorita- 
tive and deliberative body 
of Oregon, for the purpose of c 
ernment' to be recommended to their fellow citizens at 
Champoeg the following July 5, The most perplexing ques- 
tion to solve was concerning the Ejtecutive, with the result 
that the Legislative Committee decided upon vesting the 
executive authority in a committee of three. 




JOSEPH MEEK 



sidering the form of Gov- 



i"The genesis o( American political government In the 'Oregon 
Country' dates from March 16, 18SS, when a memorial, prepared by 
J. L. Whltcomb and tfilrty-flve others, was forwarded to Washington, 
presented to Congress by Senator Linn on January 28, 1839, read 
and piKeonholed, A second memorial, signed by seventy Oregon 
settlers, was presented by Senator tilnn in June, 1840, and suffered 
the same fate." 



EPOCH III 95 

Form of Govenunent Adc^ted. The con- 
vention assembled at Champoeg, July 5, to hear the report 
of the committee. Canadian settlers who had signed an 
address to the convention were present with the Americans. 
Their address was placed on file as a record of the interests 
of those opposed to the organization of a government. 
Some of the Canadians, however, expressed sympathy with 
the object of the American movement, while others declared 
that they would not submit to any government which might 
be organized. The report of the committee of the Provision- 
al Government was discussed, and Alanson Beers, David 
Hill, and Joseph Gale were selected as the Executive com- 
mittee. Also, the officers chosen at the meeting held May 2\ 
were continued until the election on the second Tuesday in 
May, 1844, at which time proceedings of the convention 
were to be submitted to the people for their approval. 
"Thus the first regular government in Oregon went into 
effect, although it was incomplete until July, 1845, when 
an organic law framed by the Legislative Committee was 
approved" by vote of the settler. 

It will, therefore, be observed that although Massachu- 
setts gained distinction because of her sacrifice to free New 
England from British rule, there were also bitter contentions 
between the Oregon colonists and those who were under 
the flag of Great Britain ; and Oregon, too, could and would 
have sacrificed much toward the same end. But despite the 
claims, influence and power of British subjects, Oregon 
jusdy as well as discreedy obtained without bloodshed a 
provisional government of her own choice for the people 
of the Pacific Northwest. This victory of peaceful acquisi- 
tion achieved by patriotic and determined American settlers 
was no less glorious than the victory of war won by the 
Mother State of New England. 



96 HISTORY OF OREGON 

FIBST EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

The first Executive Committee consisting of Alanson 
Beers, David Hill and Joseph Gale, constituted the execu* 
tive h^ad of the new government of Oregon Territory for 
joae year ending May 1 4, 1 844. 

First Organic Laws of Oregon. July 5« 1843, the first 
.Organic Laws of Oregon were adopted **until such time as 
the United States of America extends jurisdiction over us.** 
.These. laws, sometimes known as the First Oregon Consti- 
tution resembled the usual announcement of principles, pow- 
ers and duties of an American commonwealth with the 
further provision that slavery should be prohibited. Settlers 
were denied the right to hold more than one section of land, 
sind permission was given to boys of sixteen and girls of 
fourteen to marry, the consent of their parents having been 
obtained. The legal fee for marriage was fixed at one dol- 
lar, and for recording the same fifty cents. The laws of 
Iowa Territory were adopted, with the provision that **where 
no statute of Iowa Territory applies, the principles of com- 
mon law and equity shall govern." 

The Salmon Seal. Upon the organization of the Pro- 
visional Government, a seal was adopted which was so de- 
signed that it would in no way prejudice 
either American or British interests. It 
was called the Salmon Seal because it 
contained the figure of a salmon typify- 
ing the fish industry which the settlers 
as well as the Hudson's Bay Company 
could promote. Above the salmon were 
three sheaves of grain symbolic of agri- _ _ ^ ^_ 

. - - , SEAL or THE OBEOON 

culture — the principal vocation of the provisional oov- 

makers of the Provisional Government ebnment 

In the form of an arc above the sheaves * 'Oregon* * was 

inscribed. 




EPOCH III 



97 



Oregon Divided Into Four Districts. In December of 
1843, the Legislative Committee created four legislative dis- 
tricts which, in 1845, were called counties. 

FIRST FOUR LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS OR 
COUNTIES OF OREGON 




Twality District was bounded on the north by the 
northern boundary line of the Oregon Country. Its eastern 
boundary was the Willamette River, and presumably an 
extension of a line from the mouth north to the north line 
of the Oregon Country; its southern boundary was the Yam- 
hill River and presumably a line which would be the western 
continuation of the Ysmihill River to the Pacific Ocean, said 
ocean being the western boundary of Twality^ District. 

Yamhill District was bounded on the north by Twality 
District, on the east by the Willamette River and a supposed 
line running north and south from said river to California, 
on the south by California, and on the west by the Pacific 
Ocean. 



iNow "Tualatin. 



tt 



i 



98 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Champooick^ District was bounded on the north by a 
supposed line drawn from the mouth of the Anchiyoke 
(Pudding) River running due east to the Rocky Mountains, 
on the east by the summit of the Rocky Mountains, on the 
west by the Willamette River and a supposed line running 
due south to California, on the south by the 42nd parallel. 

Clackamas District comprised all the territory not in- 
cluded in the other three districts. 

Importance of the Champoeg Meetings. In 1901, Har- 
vey W. Scott, in a paper on **The Champoeg Meetings'* said: 
"What shall I say more of the impressive scene that was en- 
acted upon this spot eight and fifty years ago? All the 
actors save one, the venerable F. X. Matthieu, who provi- 
dentially is with us today, have passed from earth. The 
results of their fair work remain; and what we must regard 
as a thing of high significance is the fact that they well 
understood that they were laying the foundation of a State. 
In what they did here that day there was a clear premonition 
to them that it was a work for unborn generations. The in- 
stinct for making States, an instinct that so strongly charac- 
terizes that portion of the human race that has created the 
United States of America, never had clearer manifestation 
or more vigorous assertion. On the spot where this work 
was done we dedicate this monument this day. May every 
inhabitant of the Oregon Country, through all ages, take 
pride in this spot, and an interest in preservation of this 
monument, as a memento of what was done here!** 

Wh^i Oregon Posed As ^^No Man's Land." At the 

beginning of the Provisional Government the northern boun- 
dary of Oregon was so seriously in doubt that it became a 
very delicate question requiring negotiations that covered a 
number of years. Neither Spain nor Russia at this time 
made claim to any part of the Oregon Country, but Great 



iNow "Champoeg." 



EPOCH III 99 

Britain and the United States did. The British wanted all 
they could get, and strange to say the Americans disputed 
among themselves as to what should be demanded as the 
boundary line. Some claimed the parallel of 54° 40' as the 
north boundary, while others were content with the 49th 
parallel north. Under the singular conditions that prevailed 
neither the United States nor Great Britain was in position 
to make demands of the other or to exercise jurisdiction 
over the Oregon Country. Hence the Hudson's Bay Com- 
pany and mother adherents of the British greatly feared that 
something might be done by the Americans that would even- 
tually forestall British rights in the Oregon Boundary Ques- 
tion. Therefore, it was decided by the supporters of the 
Provisional Government to act independently of all nations, 
to proceed as if Oregon were '*No Man's Land," and to do 
nothing officially that would prejudice the rights or interests 
of either nation, until the boundary line was agreed upon. 
In the language of a memorial of the Provisional Govern- 
ment, dated June 28, 1844: **By treaty stipulations 
the territory has become a kind of neutral ground, in the 
occupancy of which the citizens of the United States and the 
subjects of Great Britain have equal rights and ought to 
have equal protection.'* This arrangement had much to 
do in quieting the suspicions and fears of British subjects 
concerning the purposes of the new movement; and many 
of them eventually became participants in the Provisional 
Government. 

The Oregon Rangers. Difficult to Enforce Law. By 
this time it was found difficult to enforce some of the laws 
which the Provisional Government had made. Various 
depredations were committed, and the perpetrators escaped 
without arrest. An incident in Oregon City, however, drew 
special attention to the situation and military aid was pro- 
vided for the executive authority. 

Murder of Recorder he Breton. George W. Le Breton, 
Recorder of Oregon under the Provisional GDyernment, 



1 00 HISTORY OF OREGON 

and another citizen, were fatally wounded March 4, 1844, 
while attempting to arrest a Molalla Indian, who with five 
other Indians, was creating a disturbance in Oregon City. 

Organization of the Oregon Rang era. In consequence 
of the disturbance, a volunteer company of twenty-five 
mounted riflemen, with T. D. Keiser as captain, was organ* 
ized at the Willamette Institute on the 23d of the month. 
The purpose of the military organization — ^which was the 
first in the territory, — ^was to co-operate with other com- 
panies that might be formed later in bringing to justice all 
the Indians engaged in the affeur of March 4th, emd to pro- 
tect the lives and property of the citizens against any depre- 
dations that might be committed. The compemy was nsoned 
the Oregon Rangers. Captain Keiser soon resigned; and 
Charles Bennett, who had served in the United States Army, 
was chosen in his stead. **The rangers were to furnish their 
own equipment, £uid in case of actual service were to receive 
two dollars a day, and for each day's drill one dollar, but 
to forfeit twice their per diem for non-attendance. The com- 
pany was to be chartered by the colonial government; and 
might be called out by any of the commissioned officers or 
by any one of the Executive Committee." Although the 
Oregon Rangers met with the disapproval of the Hudson's 
Bay Company they were endorsed by the colonists, who be- 
lieved that the Rangers, by their readiness to enforce the 
law, gave stability to the Provisional Government. 



EPOCH III 101 

SECOND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

(May 14. 1844— June 12, 1845) 
P. G. Stewart, Osborn Russell and W. J. Bailey were 
chosen executive committee at the election held May 14, 
1844. 

Prohibition Law. Upon assuming charge of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company interests. Doctor McLoughlin, who 
favored prohibition as a wise economic measure in transact- 
ing business with the Indians, ordered that no intoxicating 
liquors be sold to them. Later, when Nathaniel Wyeth 
brought liquors to trade to the Indians, Doctor McLoughlin 
at once made known to him the Company's policy on this 
point in such a way that Wyeth acquiesced with the Doctor's 
views. As soon as the Methodist Mission opened a school 
a temperance society was organized, which many of the 
whites joined through the influence of Doctor McLoughlin. 
Therefore, since the settlers were greatly outnumbered by 
the Indians most of whom were subject to whiskey-craze, 
the legislative committee passed a law (June 1 844) prohibit- 
ing the sale of ardent spirits. 



Tyler's Lost Minister. A minister to a foreign country is so 
strictly a representative of his nation that should any ill befall him 
at the hands of another nation grave complications would naturally 
follow. In 1844 just this kind of thing seemed for a time to have 
ta,ken place in America. President Tyler had appointed Delazon 
Smith, then of Iowa, but later U. S. Senator from Oregon, as min- 
ister to one of the South American republics. After the new min- 
ister took his leave for the scene of his duties nothing was heard of 
him for eleven months, during which time the possibility of all kinds 
of national complications resulting from his disappearance was dis- 
cussed by the press and statesmen of Europe and America. Later 
it was learned that the new minister upon assuming the duties of 
his office had decided to inform himself regarding the unexplored 
region in the vicinity of the Andes. For this purpose he traveled 
horseback across the continent, and for eleven months was so com- 
pletely shut off from communication that his whereabouts was un- 
known. In consequence of the vigilant search made for him by the 
State Department and the international interest which his disappear- 
ance created, Smith won the nation- wide sobriquet of "Tyler's Lggt 
Minister.' 



» 



102 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



N^roes Forbidden in Oregon. Slavery a Delicate 
Question. In those days negro slavery was practiced in the 
Southern States, and there ^as a tendency to extend the sys- 
tem of slavery to the Oregon Country. So the emigrants 
from the North and those from the South began to ask one 
another, "Shall there be negro slavery in Oregon?" The 
colonists therefore, seeing the advisability of meeting the 
issue squarely, decided to place themselves on record re- 
garding the negro question, A measure was accordingly 
passed by the Legislative 
Committee, in June, ! 844, 
whereby residence waa 
forbidden to any negro in 
Oregon. It was made a 
law that "Slavery or in- 
voluntary service should 
not exist; any negro slave 
brought into the country 
should in three years be- 
come free; any free negro 
or mulatto coming to the 
country should leave with- 
in two years; if he(or she) 
failed to leave the country 
after notice, he should be 
whipped on the bare back 
with not less than t'wenty 
nor more than thirty -nine 
stripes, and flogged like wis 
leave." 

The law was repealed 
negro question continued ft 




LOUIS SOUTH WORTH 

every six months until he did 



1 the following session; yet the 
r many years to be a bone of 
much contention, "Officially, slavery never existed in Ore- 
gon; but actually some of the Oregon pioneers held' slaves" 
during an extended period covering the time that the people 
were a^vaiting a final decision on the subject. 



EPOCH III 103 

Legislative Action in Ewing Young Estate. Since the 
discussions in connection with the estate of Ewing Young 
had much to do with the formation of the Oregon Provision- 
Oregon was approaching statehood, and a popular vote was 
taken on the negro question, it is noteworthy that while the 
vote against slavery was almost three to one, the sentiment 
on the negro question was so intense that the vote against 
al Government, it is interesting to note that December 16, 
1844, the Executive Committee reported to the Legislative 
Committee at Willamette Falls, **Thi8 government has in 
its possession notes amounting to $3,734.26, most of which 
are already due. These notes are a balance in favor of the 
estate of Ewing Young, deceased, intestate. We will there- 
fore advise that these demands be settled and appropriated 
to the benefit of the country, the Government being at all 
times responsible for the payment of them to those who 
may hereafter appear to have a legal right in them. There- 
upon the money was devoted to the building of a jail at Ore- 
gon City, the first of the kind west of the Rocky Mountains."' 
A few years afterward, Joaquin Young, of New Mexico, 
established his claim as a son of Ewing Young and the full 
amount mentioned was paid to him. 

Governor and Legislature Provided. **A session of the 
Legislative Committee was held in Oregon City beginning 
December 16, 1844, and continuing seven days. Upon 
the recommendation of the executive committee, a commit- 
tee was appointed to frame an amended Organic Law which 
was to be submitted to the people at a specieJ election, and, 
if approved by the popular vote, the amendments were to 



lAmong those who were held as slaves in Oregon was Louis South- 
worth, (died in Corvallis 1917) who in 1855 had purchased his free- 
dom from his master in Benton /County for $1,00(0. Also in 1857, 
Reuben Shipley (colored) residing three miles west of Corvallis 
paid $400 (or $700) for his wife, who was claimed as a slave in Polk 
County, Oregon. 



i"History of the Willamette Valley," 



1 04 HISTORY OF OREGON 

go into effect from and after the first Tuesday in June, 1 845. 
The amendments to the Organic Law met with approval 
of the people, the office of governor was substituted for 
the Elxecutive Committee, and the Legislative Conunittee 
was superseded by the House of Representatives consisting 
of not less than thirteen nor more than sixty-one members 
apportioned among various districts according to popula- 
tion.* '^ 



\ 



2"History of the Pacific Northwest." 



EPOCH 111 



105 



GOVERNOR GEORGE ABERNETHY 

(June 12, 1845— March 3, 1849) 
SECTION VII 

"O bearded stalwart, westward man. 

So tower-like, so Gothic_ built! 

A kingdom won without the guilt 

Of studied battle." — Joaquia Miller. 
First Provisional Gov^nor of Oregon. An election 
had been held on June 3, 1845, for governor and other 
officers, at which lime George Abemethy' and A. L. Love- 
joy were candidates for governor. Mr. Abemethy was 
elected by a majority of 98 votes in a total of 504 and was 
inaugurated on the third of the following August. Two 
years later the same candi- 
dates were again before 
the people for the same 
office and GovemorAber- 
nethy was successful by a 
plurality of 1 6 votes in a 
total of 1807. 

Conditions During Aber- 
nethy's Administratioii. Il- 
lustrating conditions in 
that formative period of 
government, the follow- 
ing in Governor Aber- 
nethy's message to the leg- 
islature in December, 
1846, is of special interest; 
"1 regret to be compelled 
to inform you that the jail 
located in Oregon City oov. qeoege abernethy 

and the property of the Territory, was destroyed by fire 

iGeorge Abemethy was born in New York, Oct. S, 1807. In 1840, 
he came to Oregoa aa a lay member of the Methodist mission and 
kept a store for a time in Oregon City. He served two terms as 
ProvjBjonal Governor, and died in Portland in 1877. 




106 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



on the night of the 1 8th of August last, the work, I have no 
doubt, of an incendiary. A reward of $100 was immedi- 
ately offered, but, aa yet, the offender has not been dis- 
covered. Should you think best to erect another jail I would 
suggest the propriety of building it of large stones clamped 
together. We have but little use for a jail, and a small 
building would answer all purposes, for many years, no 
doubt, if we should be successful in keeping ardent spirits 
out of the territory." 

First Wagons to Cross the Cascade Range. The first 
emigrants reached the Willamette Valley by coming down the 
Columbia in boats and barges, driving their stock over the 
mountains. But late in Oc- 
tober, 1845, Samuel K. Bar- 
low, who said, "God never 
made a mountain without 
some place to go over it." 
left The Dalles with a train 
of thirteen 'wagons upon the / 
hazardous undertaking of ,' 
crossing the Cascade Moun- ; 
tains. With the advice of 'i 
Joel Palmer and others in \ 
the train a route lying along ' 
the south side of Mt. Hood 
was chosen. Upon reach- 
ing the top of the divide the 
emigrants were compelled to 
abandon their wagons. They 
succeeded in reaching the 
settlement December 23. As 

soon as the snows sufficiently melted in 1846, the wagons 
were safely taken into the valley, despite the fact that at 
different times it 'was necessary to chain them to trees so 
that they could be let down over cliffs to other cliffs below, 
and so on until they were drawn by the teams again. In 




SAMUEL K. BARLOW 



EPOCH III 107 

July theae wagons, which were the first to cross the Cascade 
Range and to come over an all-wagon route from the states 
to the Willamette Valley, arrived in Oregon City.^ Upon 
learning that the emigrants had taken their teams and 
wagons across the mountains the surprised Doctor McLough- 
lin said, "These Yankees can do anything." The important 
route along which the new road lay was afterward named 
Barlow Pass in honor of its principal discoverer and pro- 




1 by hundredi of admire: 

Southern Oregon Emigrant Road Opened in 1846. For 

more than two decades the Hudson's Bay Company trail 
was the only traversed route through Southern Oregon. But 
in the meantime it came to be believed that this trail lay 

'Tlie first wagon of this train to reach Oregon City was driven 
by Reuben Gant who died at Philomath, Oregon, ia 1917 at the ad- 
vanced age oC 98 years. 



1 Od HISTORY OF OREGON 

along a more practical route to the Willamette Valley than 
the newly discovered route by the way of Barlow Pass; 
and a plan was devised for a new emigrant road into Ore- 
gon. This road was to leave the old Oregon road at Fort 
Hall, then to follow the Truckee and the Humboldt River, 
to cross the Modoc and the Klamath country and the moun- 
tains into the Rogue River Valley, then pass through the 
Umpqua Canyon onward into the Willamette Valley. By 
incredible effort with ax and saw, ropes and chaiijis, in 1 846, 
emigrants with their wagons and teams came over the South- 
ern Oregon route which they developed into a widened trail ; 
but which later was made into a practical wagon road. 

Settlement of the Oregon Question. Americans had 
come to Oregon in such numbers that they began to domi- 
nate the country, north as well as south of the Columbia — 
a condition which the British fur traders did not overlook. 
Also the agitation of the Oregon question throughout the 
United States so interested the American people that many 
became unwilling to accept the 49th parallel as the north 
boundary of Oregon. When James K. Polk, in 1 844, was 
chosen President, it was believed that the national campaign 
shibboleth — *Tifty-four forty or Fight,*' had much to do 
in electing him. Also the Oregon question was given promi- 
nence in the President's inaugural address. However, the 
United States exhibited willingness to compromise on the 
49th parallel, an offer which the British minister courteously 
refused. Congress then voted to put an end to joint occu- 
pation in Oregon; but to avert war, the President, upon the 
advice of John C. Calhoun, opened the question with Great 
Britain again, and that nation, in June 1 846, agreed to 
accept the 49th parallel as the boundary. Upon the advice 
of the Senate, the President signed the treaty, June 15, 1 846, 
by which Oregon was distinguished as the first and only 
American territory that the United States of America has 
acquired on this continent without either bloodshed or cash 
purchase. 



First Newspaper West of the Missouri. The "Oregon 
Spectator," a semi-tnonthly publication issued at Oregon 





Oregon Spectator.: 




Voir. Ma.ORr,ita^T- ih™-.. at.i jh«i. r^o t , 




1=.--=^ 





City, February 5, 1846, was the first newspaper published 
west of the Missouri River. Its first editor was Colonel W. 
G. T'Vault. The "Spectator," 
which was non-political, be- 
came chiefly useful in dissem- 
inating the laws and acts of the 
Provisional Government. 

First Oregon Fruit Nursery. 
The first fruit nursery of 
Oregon was known as the 
Traveling Nursery because it 
was brought to Oregon on 
wheels. Henderson Luelling. 
a prosperous nurseryman of 
Henry County, Iowa, con- 
ceived the idea of conveying 
trees by wagons to Oregon. 
Thereupon in the early spring 

of 1647, with his son Alfred, Hendebson LUEu-ma 
he started westward driving two four yoke ox teams hauling 




1 1 HISTORY OF OREGON 

about 800 vigorous young trees. They arrived at the 
present site of Milwaukie, November 27th. Their trees^^ 
consisted of different varieties of apple, pear, peach, plum, 
and cherry, and were in immediate demand; hence the 
nursery was permanently established in that locality, and 
gave to Oregon the name of the "Land of the Big Red Ap- 
ples." So important, therefore, was the Traveling Nursery 
that Ralph C. Geer, who took much interest in the first fruit 
culture of Oregon, remarked: "Those two loads of trees 
brought more wealth to Oregon theui any ship that ever 
entered the Columbia River." Such was the beginning of 
the first nursery on the Pacific Coast of America. 

Territorial Courts. When the territorial government 
of Oregon was established by Act of Congress, August 14, 
1848, it was provided by the same Act that the judicial 
power of the Territory shall be vested in a Supreme Court, 
District Courts, Probate Courts, and in Justices of the Peace; 
the Supreme Court to consist of a Chief Justice and two Asso- 
ciate Justices. The Chief Justice and Associate Justices were 
authorized to hold the district court. In its largest sense, 
this Territorial Court was a Federal Court; it was national 
in its significance, and it had jurisdiction not only of matters 
which would be cognizable in the courts were the Territory 
a state, but of all matters which were made cognizable in 
the Federal or United States courts. 

The Oregon Coast Range Ablaze. Before white men 
lived at Coos Bay a great fire swept along the Coast Range, 
leaving black stumps and trunks of trees along the hills and 
mountains that had been templed with beautiful groves for 
ages. These mute reminders of the conflagration can be 
seen to this day. There have been many fires in the Coast 
Range, hence the date of the Great Fire has been somewhat 
in question. There is evidence that a conflagration in 1 776 



iln 1851, a good crop of apples and cherries was harvested from 
these trees, and four bushels of apples were sold in San Francisco 
for $500.— Chapman's "Story of Oregon." 



EPOCH III in 

and another in 1 836 swept over the same region. However, 
Indians, whose methods of calculation are somewhat un- 
certain, have fixed the time of the Great Fire in the Oregon 
Coast Range at about 1 846, in which year it is known from 
other sources that a fire devastated the country south of 
Tillamook. Indians connect the Great Fire with the coming 
of the first trading ship into Coos Bay. To know the year 
when the first trading ship appeared in Coos Bay is to know, 
therefore, the date of the great Oregon Coast Range fire of 
which Nature and the Red Man tell us. Some information 
bearing on this date has been obtained. 

In 1898 Chief Cutlip of the Coos Bay Indians related 
the following through an official interpreter to Major T. J. 
Buford, of the Siletz Agency: When Chief Cutlip vras a 
young man a sailing vessel came into Coos Bay to trade for 
furs. It was the first ship his people had ever seen. They 
stood on the shore and watched the ship until it came well 
into the Bay; and believing it to be the **Spirit boat," they 
all ran away. When the vessel anchored, the men aboard 
displayed bright garments and glittering beads and other 
trinkets, and beckoned to the Indians to come to them. 
Cutlip, being the chief, took two of his men and ventured 
aboard. The officers gave each a suit of clothes and many 
other presents among which was sugar — the first which the 
Indians had ever tasted — ^and then indicated by sig^s that 
they wished to trade with the Indians. Cutlip returned to 
his people; and after a parley the tribe decided to trade 
with the white men. This was the beginning of fur trade 
with the whites who came by ship to Coos Bay. 

. Destruction of Life. This being the year of the great 
fire along the Coast Range, the superstitious Indians attrib- 
uted the fire to the presence of the white man*s boat. There 
had been other forest fires in that locality, but this one was 
so terrible that much game and many Indians were burned 
to death and the Indians who survived lamented the coming 



1 1 2 HISTORY OF OREGON 

of the "white sail.*' The heat was so intense at Coos Bay 
that the Indians were driven into the water for protection. 

At the close of the interview. Chief Cutlip's account of 
the intolerable heat was confirmed by Salmon River John 
another aged Indian who weighed his words carefully as he 
spoke. He said the fire was so great that the flames leaped 
across Yaquina Bay, that many of the Indians perished, and 
that only those were saved who took refuge in the 
water; and even they suffered much while their heads were 
exposed to the heat.^ 

The Greatest Forest Fire in Oregon. (1848). There 
have been so many destructive fires in the inunense forests 
of Oregon 'since its first settlement that it is difficult to nsune 
the greatest. But there appears to be no doubt that the 
fire which swept over both the Cascade and the Coast 
Ranges late in the summer of 1 848 covered a wider area 
and ruined more timber than any other before or since. 
Then, as now, it was often impossible to trace a forest fire 
to its actual beginning. But in those days there were numer- 
ous bands of Indians roaming the mountains in quest of 
game; and, doubtless, the fire of 1848, originated through 
the carelessness of Indian hunters. It was also the practice 
of the Indians to fire the brush growth, that grass might 
become plentiful for the wild game. At any rate, the fire 
of that year was more destructive, in the opinion of those 
who saw it, than any that has followed. Men are yet living 
who remember that in eastern Maiheur County in the region 
of Silver Creek Falls the atmosphere became so hot that it 

iThe Fire as Viewed from Sea by Night. Night is supreme, but 
darkness will not come. The world's on fire. The forests are ablaze. 
Flames leaping skyward from the tallest trees, burst and vanish. 
Sparks soar and fall upon the bosom of a blood red sea. They 
dampen and die. Gigantic pines, fir, spruce and hemlocks fall in 
the flaming path. The red among the higher branches fades into 
the white and blinding furnace below. The roar and crackle carry 
far out to sea and warn the sailor. A hundred miles it runs along 
the Coast Range and the shore, the greatest fire chronicled in 
northwest history. — S. S. Harralson. 



epcx:h III 113 

practically evaporated the water in that stream and many 
fish were killed. In many places the water stood in pools 
only, and was the color of lye. 

The Forest Fire of 1867. Another tremendously de- 
structive fire swept over the Coast mountains in the summer 
of 1 867, and laid waste to a vast area of the finest of timber. 
Many people who had gone to the beach for camping and 
who had started homeward were compelled to return to the 
beach and remain a week longer. A well known farmer of 
the Willamette Valley who had started home was compelled 
to drive his team into the small stream of Salmon River and 
remain there all night to avoid the immense heat of the 
fires. Schools of fish, frightened at the heat and confusion 
frequently scared his horses and the man was crippled in 
his effort to control his team. These three fires are perhaps 
the most destructive known to the history of Oregon and 
the thousands of acres of whitened stumps of former giants 
of the forests, to be seen now in all of our ranges of moun- 
tains, bear witness to their ravages in the days long before 
the national government had taken steps for the patrol of 
the mountains by Forest Rangers. 

Growing Troubles at Whitnaan Mission. As has been 
stated, Doctor Whitman in October, 1836, established a 
mission that was named after him. Here the Indians were 
taught to read the Bible, and to cultivate the soil, raise cattle, 
and perform other kinds of civilized labor. Here also Indian 
orphans and white children were given a home and educated. 
The Doctor generously and freely gave medical care. But 
the habits of the Indians were so different from those of the 
whites that the same kind of medical care could not be given 
successfully to both races. When the whites and Indians 
were stricken with measles, the Indians who were treated 
by the Doctor persisted in regularly taking cold plunges in 
the Walla Walla River, contrary to his advice; and necessa- 
rily this proved fatal to many of them Then the Indian doc- 
tor, or Medicine Man, who beheld with envy Doctor Whit- 



1 1 4 HISTORY OF OREGON 

man's growing influence with the Indians, charged that the 
whites were being cured, but that Doctor Whitman was 
exterminating the Indians by his treatment, in order that 
the whites might occupy the Indian possessions. It was 
also pointed out by Thomas Hill, an educated Shawnee, 
that Doctor Whitman had a few years before made a mid- 
winter journey across the continent to persuade more whites 
to come west; and that in the following summer of 1843 
he piloted the emigration train of 875 persons to the Oregon 
Country in order that the whites might overrun the territory 
and eventually drive the Indians away from the land of their 
fathers, as the whites had already driven the Shawnees 
from their land. At this time Joe Lewis, a half-breed 
Indian who had been befriended by Doctor Whitman, was 
aided by other Indians in kindling the growing antagonism 
into a flame of wrath among the tribesmen. As a result of 
these and other forces that were at work it was decided by 
the Cayuses to exterminate the protestant missionaries in 
that country, and in order to make their destruction com- 
plete, they determined also to kill the whites of the other 
protestant missions east of the Cascade Mountains. To con- 
duct successfully this general massacre of the whites, the 
Cayuses found it necessary to form alliances with all Indians 
affected by the missionary movement, and emissaries were 
sent to other tribes to urge their cooperation. 

The Whitnaan Massacre. Hints from friendly Indians 
and the sulky manner of the hostiles convinced Doctor Whit- 
man that treachery was intended. The sacrifice that Doc- 
tor and Mrs. Whitman had undergone in aiding the Indians 
was already so great that taken together with hostile threats, 
the Doctor and his wife at last realized that thev had too 
long delayed their departure from the Waiilatpu Mission. 
On the afternoon of November 29, 1847, »:he Indians sud- 
denly broke into the mission house and bc\rbarously and 
treacherously killed Doctor and Mrs. Whtiman and reven 



others. A few days later they massacred five more. They 
also took captive about fifty women and children of the 




mission, and others temporarily there to be held for ransom 
as hostages to guarantee immunity from punishment by the 
whites as they claimed — though some were not intended to 
be released. 

After the Whitman Massacre. Following the Whitman 
Massacre three urgent requests were rnade for immediate 
relief and protection for the ^vhitcs. The first came to Van- 
couver from William McBean, of Fort Walla Walla, asking 
that a party be sent to ransom the prisoners; the second was 
from Alanson Hinman asking that an armed force be pro- 
vided to protect the station at The Dalles; the third was 
made by Governor Abemethy 'who asked the Legislature 
for enough troops to capture the murderers of the Whitman 
Mission victims, and to subdue the warlike tribes. 

The MUsion Captives Ransomed. News of the Whit- 
man massacre was sent by Agent William McBean, of Fort 
Walla Walla, to James Douglas, chief factor at Fort Van- 
couver. The authorities at Vancouver promptly notified 



1 1 6 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Governor Abernethy; and Peter Skeen Ogden of the Hud- 
son's Bay Company immediately departed for the scene of 
the tragedy, his object being to rescue the women and chil- 
dren taken captive. On December 19th, he addressed the 
Cayuse chiefs at Fort Walla Wallau censuring them for per- 
mitting the murderous deed. After reminding them of the 
probable vengeance that would be visted upon them Ogden 
told the chiefs that his whites were traders and neutrals, 
who wished to buy the captives and prevent further trouble 
and bloodshed. Ogden made liberal presents to the chiefs 
and upon his threats the captives were released. Nine days 
later they arrived at Oregon City amidst much rejoicing. 

^^Oregon Rifles" Sent to The Dalles. Upon learning of 
the Whitman Massacre, Governor Abernethy, on December 
8, sent to the legislature a message concerning the serious- 
ness of conditions and also issued a call for volunteers. The 
same day a company of forty-five volunteers was orgeuiized 
in Oregon City for the purpose of protecting The Dalles, 
which at that season of the year was the **Pass of Thermop- 
ylae,** through which the Cayuse Indians and their allies 
were compelled to go before entering the Willamette Valley. 
This company, which was the first military force organized 
for the protection of Oregon, weis csJled the **Oregon 
Rifles**;^ because the members of the compeuiy furnished 
their own rifles and equipment. 

The Cayuse War. In addition to other troubles with 
Oregon Indians, there have been five wars with them. They 
were the Cayuse War ( 1 848), The Rogue River Indian War 
(1851-1856), The Modoc War (1873), War with the Nez 
Perces (1877), and the Piute-Banock War (1878). The 

iThose without rifles and ammunition were supplied on their 
personal credit by Doctor McLoughlin, who hesitated to trust the 
Provisional Government because he lacked confidence in its finan- 
cial stability. The "Oregon Rifles" went into camp at The Dalles, 
Dec. 21, 1847. The "Oregon Rifles" will not be mistaken for the 
"Rifle Regiment," which came to Oregon in 1849. 



1 1 8 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Cayuse War was important chiefly for the reason that for a 
time it seemed as if the Indisois might exterminate all the 
white settlers of Oregon. Ill feeling had existed among the 
Indians toward the white people, but the war was precipi- 
tated by the Whitman massacre. 

A Regiment of Volunteers Organized. In accordance 
with the Legislative Acts of Dec. 8, 1847, a regiment of 
fourteen companies volunteered for the purpose of suppress- 
ing the troubles with the Cayuse Indians and their allies. 
Colonel Cornelius Gilliam was placed in command, and with 
fifty men reached The Dalles on the 2 3d of January, 1 848, 
followed three days later by the remainder of the regiment. 
On the 2 7th Colonel Gilliam moved eastward toward Walla 
Walla. 

March to the Enemy's Country. '^Colonel Gilliam de- 
sired to press forward as rapidly as possible; for it was 
plainly evident that if the war was not carried to the Uma- 
tilla, the Willamette Valley might soon be molested. Also 
it was equally evident that to permit the murderers to escape 
would give the Cayuses confidence to commit further crimes. 
On February 25, the Cayuses and their allies from the north 
side of the river, felt strong enough to force a battle. Their 
position was on the elevated sage-brush plains west of the 
Umatilla River; and their boast was 'that the whites should 
never drink of its waters'." — H. S. Lymsui. 

Cayuse Chiefs Profess Wizard Powers. But the Cayuse 
Indians, who seemed imbued with some kind of sorcery, were 
deluded into the belief that the white man's gun could not 
kill their Chief Five Crows; and War Eagle, another chief 
of that tribe, stated that he could swallow all the bullets the 
whites might shoot at him. To prove that they were in- 
vulnerable, the medicine chiefs rode into open view of the 
volunteers and shot a little dog that ran to meet them. A 
well-aimed bullet from the rifle of Captain Thomas McKay 
crashed through the brain of War Eagle, while a load of 
buckshot from the gun of Lieutenant Charles McKay dis- 



EPOCH 111 119 

abled Chief Five Crows so that he gave up the command 
of his warriors. Events like these proved disheartening to 
the Indians, many of whom had from the beginning shared 
only slight sympathy with their tribesmen. 

Attacks and Skirmishes. After a battle of three hours, 
the Ca3aise Indians retreated from the Umatilla to the Walla 
Walla River, where they learned that the Nez Perces had de- 
cided not to join them. They then began to realize that many 
of their own tribe were not in sympathy with the war against 
the whites. To add to their discouragement. Colonel Gil- 
liam obtained the Hudson's Bay Company stores of ammu- 
nition at Fort Walla Walla. However, several vigorous 
attacks and lively skirmishes took place. At Touchet the 
Indians successfully disputed the further progress of the 
troops; but not knowing that they had won a victory, the 
Indians retreated across the Snake River where it was not 
practicable to pursue them. At this time, for various rea- 
sons, the troops were ordered to return down the Columbia, 
during which journey Colonel Gilliam was killed by the 
accidental discharge of a gun, and Colonel Henry A. G. Lee 
was chosen to succeed him. 

Elnd of the Cayuse Wai*. The Cayuse Indians, having been 
reduced in rank and prestige and being discredited by their 
allies, ostracized the murderers, who were fineJly captured 
on the John Day River by the Nez Perces. The prisoners 
were taken to Oregon City, where they received a fair trial 
for murdering Doctor Whitman and eleven others at Whit- 
man Mission; upon being found guilty by a jury and sen- 
tenced by the federal judge they were hanged by Joseph 
Meek, the U. S. Marshal, June 3, 1850. Thus ended the 
Ca3aise War, which established authority over the Indians 
and gave the Americans prestige over the Hudson's Bay 
Company. Through the results of the Cayuse war the whites 
became more united, became more patriotic toward the 
American Government, and loyally combined against the 
common foe — the Indian. 



1 20 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Why Marcus Whitman Was Famous. "After living in 
Oregon a number of years, Doctor Marcus Whitman dis- 
covered that the ElngUsh were discouraging American emi- 
grsoits from settHng there, and were colonizing it with their 
countrymen. Late in 1 842, he set out for Washington, D. C, 
and on arriving there in March, 1843, gave the government 
valuable information which led to extensive colonization 
on the part of the Americans, and in all probability kept 
Oregon from falling into the hands of the British." — (Harp- 
er's Encyclopedia of History). Other authorities, however, 
relate that his visit was solely to the mission board at Boston, 
in the interest of the Oregon Mission, over which the board 
had supervision. 

What History Verifies Concerning Doctor Whibnan. 
Concerning the purpose of Doctor Whitman's midwinter 
journey across the continent and his mission at Washington 
City historians differ. But all agree that there were various 
causes which contributed to his fame. 1 . In 1835, he accom- 
panied Doctor Samuel Parker to ascertain the prospect for 
missionary work among the Indians in the far West. When 
they had journeyed as far west as Green River, they were 
convinced that missionaries would receive a welcome among 
vaurious Columbia River tribes. Having obtained the infor- 
mation sought, Doctor Whitman returned to the East for 
aid in the establishment of one or more missions west of the 
Rocky Mountains. 2. He took the first missionary families 
to what is now Eastern Washington (1836) but which was 
then in the Oregon Country. 3. He established Whitman 
Mission (1836). 4. He rendered valuable assistance to 
the great emigrant train of 1843, which opened the way for 
wagon migration from Fort Boise to the Walla Walla Valley 
and the Columbia River. 5. His death (1847) though a 
sad one, was a factor in bringing about a war with the 
Indians, which happily resulted in uniting the whites and 
in committing them to the American cause regardless of 
their nationality. 



EPOCH 111 



121 



Oregonian Discovered Gold in California. "The dis- 
covery of gold in California one of the events which lifted 
the United States above all other nations, was made by 
James W. Marshall, who came to Oregon as a settler in 
1844. Two years later he went to California, Soon he 
became the partner of Captain John A. Sutter, who had 
visited Oregon in 1839 and going to 
California had built Sutter's Fort on 
the present site of Sacramento City. 
Marshall was sent up from Sutter's 
Fort into the Sierra Nevada Moun- 
tains to select a site and build a saw 
mill. He chose the point at Coloma, 
on the south fork of the American 
I^ver, and built the mill. After turn- 
ing on the water January 24, 1848, 
he discovered in the tail race shining 
particles of gold which the water had 
washed from the sand. Two other 
Oregonians who had been employed 
by Marshall — Charles Bennett,' and 
Stephen Staats of Polk County — 
were called to look at the gold in the 
water and confirm the discovery." 

Significance of Marshall's Gold 
Dbcovery jPfee Si ff n ifioan « c ef ihe 
Gold Discove-ryi in California by 
James W. Marshall, is described by Gaston as "one of the 
greatest industrial events of the world." In his history of 
Oregon, he adds, — "A careful survey of the whole field of 
enterprise, the commerce of the world, and the standard of 
living in the United States, will show that the discovery of 




■Certain authorities claim that Charles Bennett was the real 
discoverer of gold at Sutter's Mill; but it is probable that history will 
indorse the verdict of California, which has honored Marshall with 
a memorial for discovering the gold. 



1 2 2 HISTORY OF OREGON 

gold wrought a greater change throughout the United States 
and the financial relations of this country to other nations 
than any other fact subsequent to the independence of the 
United States. 

Scarcity of Gold * Prior to the year 1848, the United 
States possessed a very narrow base for a circulating med- 
ium ; and that was mostly silver. Gold coin was exceedingly 
scarce; and on this account the financial standing of this 
country and the rating of its securities were practically at 
the mercy of the Bank of England and the House of Roth- 
childs, which institution controlled the great bulk of the 
gold coin of the world. When the mines of CeJifomia com- 
menced to pour out their flood of wealth, every kind of busi- 
ness throughout the United States took on new life. Within 
five years after this discovery, there were more msoiufactur- 
ing establishments started in the United States than had 
been for a generation before that time. Bsoiking institutions 
took on a new phase altogether and began to accumulate 
gold. Gold begot confidence a nothing else ever had before, 
and people more freely deposited their savings in banks, 
while the banks were enabled to extend accommodations to 
manufacturers and producers of wealth. And r2dlroads that 
had been for twenty years creeping out slowly from the At- 
lantic seaports to the Allegheny Mountains found sale for 
their securities, pushed on over the mount2dns into the great 
Mississippi Valley, and on across the continent reaching 
Portland, Oregon, a quarter of a century before they were 
expected to reach Chicago under the old paper money sys- 
tem. The flood of gold changed the whole face of affairs, 
put new life into all business and commercial undertakings, 
brought all the states and communities together under one 
single standard of values, and pushed the United States to 
the front as the greatest wealth-producing nation.** 



EPOCH III 



123 



Oregon Became a Territory. Various memorials had 
been sent to Congress requesting full recognition of the Ore- 
gon Territory by the United States Government, But slav- 
ery and other national questions delayed a favorable reply 
to the petitioners until August I 3, 1 848, at which time the 
measure was finally passed by Congress giving the Oregon 
Territory a government authority. Upon signing the bill, 
President Polk appointed General Joseph Lane governor 
of the Territory of Oregon, and Joseph Meek, who was thor- 
oughly familiar with existing conditions in Oregon, was 
chosen United States Marshal. 

Oregon School Lands Increased. First Territory to 
ObtainEaoh Thirty-sixth Section. While Congress was con- 
sidering the advisability of extending territorial government 
over Oregon, various collat- 
eral questions arose, one of- 
which was Government Aid 
to Schools as a Means of 
Education. In this connec- 
tion "The Centennial History 
of Oregon" says: 

"To Nathan Dane, of 
Massachusetts, who was a 
member of the Continental 
Congress from 1 785 to 1 787 
is due the honor of framing 
the memorable ordinance of 
1787 which organized the 
great northwest territory, 
prohibited slavery therein, 
and declared that 'schools 
as the means of education 
shall be forever encouraged." 
By a previous act of the san 
of a contract made by the officers of the United States 
treasury with Rev. Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargent. 




J. QUINW THOBHTMI 
vbo spent the euminer of ia4B In 
WMhlDston. D. O., Bi ft dfllagate from 
the FTOvUlanll Oavernment at OieEon. 
nd i 



i congress, i 



1 pursuance 



1 24 HISTORY OF OREGON 

of the State of Connecticut, in October I 787, the 
section of public land in each township in all states formed 
out of the northwest territory was devoted to the support 
of public schools. 

In framing the act for the organization of Oregon 
territory, the thirty-sixth section of land in each township 
was added to the sixteenth for the support of public schools 
in Oregon, and every state organized since 1848 has thus 
been endowed. 




1849 ABi 

OREGON UNDER 

THE TERRITORIAL 

GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER VlII 

Motto Alia Volat Propriis" 
No man occupied a more 
prominent place in the hiS' 
tory of Oregon in the territorial days and in the 
years immediately following than General Joseph Lane, the 
first Territorial Governor. He was born in North Carolina 
on December 14, 18DI. was reared in Kentucky, moved to 
Indiana when a young man, and served with distinction in 
the Mexican War. Upon receiving his appointment as gov- 
ernor of Oregon, he proceeded with Joe Meek to Oregon 
City, the capital of the territory, where they arrived March 
2, 1849, and he assumed the duties of his office on the third 
which was but one day before the expiration of the term of 
President polk, 



126 HISTORY OF OREGON 

JOSEPH LANE. THE FIRST TERRITORIAL GOVERNOR 

{March 3. 1849) 

Upon assuming the duties of his office. Governor Joseph 
Lane immediately began taking a census of the new terri- 
toiy, which showed a population of 8,785 Americans and 
298 foreigners. On June 1 8, 1 850, he resigned the governor- 
ship under the wrong impression that the ne^ President of 
the United States had appointed a successor. Mr. Lane be- 
came a candidate for delegate to Congress in 1651 and was 
elected. Ide was again appointed Governor on May 16, 
I 85 3. but three days after 
qualifying for the position 
again resigned and became 
a candidate for Congress. 
He was elected, and suc- 
cessively re-elected to that 
position, until the terri- 
tory was admitted as a 
state in February, 1859, 
From the General Govern- 
ment, he accepted a com- 
mission as Brigadier- Gen- 
eral in command of the 
volunteers, and was active- 
ly engaged in suppressing 
Indian hostilities in South- 
ern Oregon in 1853. Gen- 
eral Lane ^vas elected one 
of the first United States Senators upon Oregon's admission 
into the Union and served for a period of two years. He was 
a candidate for Vice-President of the United States in I 860. 
He died at his residence in Roseburg, Oregon, in April, 
1881, aged 80 years. 




OOVEBNOR JOSEPH LANE 



EPOCH IV 



127 



Territorial Seal of Oregon. Upon the establishment of 
a territorial foim of government in 1849, a ne^ seal was 
adopted known a8 the Seal of the Territory of Oregon. 
Characteristic of those times, a ship denoting commerce 




OOVEKNOB JOSEPH LANE BBIHOIHO TBBBITOBIAL QOVEBiniEMT 
TO OBBCKMI 

was placed in the midst of the seal. Above the ship was a 
beaver denoting fur trade, while below was a plow repre- 
senting agriculture. At the left of the ship stood an Indian 
with bow and arrows, while at the right was an eagle. Reach- 
ing from the shoulder of the Indian to the beak of the eagle 
and circling above the beaver was an 
unfurled banner bearing the terri- 
torial motto, "Alis Volat Propriis" 
— She flies with her own wings — 
impljring self-reliance. The legend 
of the territorial seal was "Seal of 
the Territory of Oregon." Instead 
of the date, five stars appeared at 
the bottom of the territorial seal of 
Oregon. 

Beaver Coins. The early set- 
tlers of Oregon suffered much inconvenience because of the 




SEAL OF OBEOOH 
TEBBITOBIAL 
OOVEBmiENT 



128 



HISTORY OF OREGON 





TEVDOUiABf. 



scarcity of coin. When a farmer purchased goods, he 
usually offered in exchange a calf, or wheat, or a beaver 
skin, or something of the kind. In fact, wheat was made 
legal tender under the Provisional Government. Notwith- 
standing the scarcity of money, the people generally pros* 
pered. When gold was discovered in California, much of 
it came to Oregon, so that there was more gold per capita 
in Oregon than ever 
before or afterward. 
Because gold dust was 
so plentiful and some- 
what difficult to han- 
dle, merchants allowed 
only $ 1 to $ 1 1 an 
ounce for it; although 
it was really worth 
about $ 1 8 an ounce. 
This led the Provision- 
al Government to ar- 
range for the coining 
of five and ten dollar 
gold pieces. **But the 
termination of the Provisional Government by the arrival 
of Governor Lane rendered the statute nugatory."^ As a 
remedial measure the Oregon Exchange Company was 
promptly organized, and immediately proceeded to the 
coining of gold pieces having the veJue of $5 and $10 re- 
spectively. This money was called **Beaver Money" for the 
reason that a beaver was stamped on each coin. Containing 
eight percent more gold than coins from the U. S. Mint, 
beaver money disappeared from circulation as soon as U. S. 
currency became plentiful. Therefore, with the exception 
of a few mementoes, the Oregon beaver coins exist only in 
history. It is somewhat singular that **no one was ever 





FIVE DOLLARS 
OREGON BEAVER COINS 



I'Topular History of Oregon. 



»» 



EPOCH IV 129 

prosecuted for this infringement of the constitutional prohi- 
bition of the coining of money by State sovemments or 
individuals." 

FfHTt Dalles. The arrival of United States troops — the 
Rifle Regiment — late in the fall of 1649, resulted in the 
establishment of the military post at The Dalles. In the 
following May, the log Fort Dalles was built and occupied 




by Major Tucker. In 1858 Colonel George Wright in 
command of the 9th U. S. Infantry replaced the old log 
barracks with a fine new fort of which there remains only 
one building. Hiis vr&s the surgeon's quarters. It is now 
the property of the Oregon Historical Society. It serves the 
purpose of the local historical building, by ^hich name it is 
known. The site of Fort Dalles overlooks the canap' of 
Lewis and Clark where the American flag in October 1 805 
was displayed for the first time in that part of Oregon. 

iNear the O. W. R. N. Co.'a Passenger Depot. 



1 30 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Names of Two Counties Changed. On the third of 
September 1849, the Territorial Legislature changed the 
name of Twality County to Washington County, in honor 
of George Washington. Also on the same day Champooick 
County, (which had come to be spelled Champoeg) was 
changed to Marion County in honor of General Francis Mar- 
ion, of the Americsoi Revolutionary War. 



EPOCH IV 131 

GOVERNORS PRITCHETT AND GAINES 

June 18, 1850— May 16, 1853 

To Kintziiig Pritchett of Michigan, belongs the dis- 
tinction of having been Governor of Oregon Territory for 
sixty days. He was appointed secretary of the Territory by 
President Polk upon its creation by Congress and served in 
that capacity until the resignation of Governor Joseph Lane 
on June 18. 1850. John P. Gaines had been appointed 
Governor but did not arrive in Oregon until August, taking 
the oath of office on the 18th of that month. During this 
interim, Mr. Pritchett served as Governor. 

Governor John P. Gaines Received His Appointment 
from the newly elected president, Zachary Taylor, and 
assumed the duties of his office August 16. 1850. He 
served as Governor of Ore- 
gon until May 16, 1853. In 
1835 he was the whig nom- 
inee for Congress, but was 
defeated by Joseph Lane. He 
died at his home in Marion 
County, in 1857. 

In connection with the 
appointment of Mr. Gaines 
in 1 849, it is worthy of note 
that the position was first 
offered to Abraham Lincoln, 
w4io8e term in Congress had 
just expired. Mr. Lincoln 
had taken an active part in 
the campaign which resulted 

in Taylor's election to the oov. JOHN p. oaines 

presidency, and made a special trip to Washington City to 
support his application for the appointment as Commission- 
er of the General Land Office; but that position had already 




132 



HISTORY OF OREGON 




been promised to another. President Taylor, however, 
offered to appoint him Governor of Oregon Territory, but 
Mn. Lincoki, his wife, objected to going to such a far- 
distant section, and the offer was declined. It is interesting 
to surmise what the effect 
would have been on the 
history of the United 
States, if Lincoln had be- 
come Governor of Oregon 
Territory. 

Capital Changed 
fron^ Oregon City to Sa< 
lenrt. A bitter contest wras 
^aged against the pro- 
posed removal of the Ter- 
ritorial Capital from Ore- 
gon City to some point 
further south. Governor 
Lane had by proclamation 
declared Oregon City to be the capital, but the session of 
1830 passed an act locating the seat of government at Sa- 
lem. Governor Gaines refused to recognize the constitu- 
tionality of the act, and v^as sustained by t^vo of the supreme 
judges; and ^hite the judges remained at Oregon City, the 
legislature met in Salem. On May 14, 1852, Congress set- 
tled the matter by confirming the act of the legislature. 

Soutbera Oregon Military Road BoilL With the settle- 
ment of Southern Oregon came the demand for wagon 
roads. Being at the head of tidewater navigation on the . 
Umpqua River, Scottsburg was. in 1850, the starting point 
for commercied operations with the interior and especially 
with the gold mines of northern California. The original 
Indian trails were widened, temporary ferries were estab- 
lished at crossings over the Umpqua river, and abrupt de- 
clivities avoided, so that a pack horse could cany a load 



ABOABAM UHCOLN 



EPOCH IV 133 

from the ship's side at Scottsburg into the northern edge of 
California. But public spirited promoters soon saw the 
necessity of a suitable wagon way. Through their influence, 
therefore, the Oregon territorial legislature, in 1852-3, was 
induced to memorialize congress, with the result that 
$120,000 was appropriated from the national treasury for 
a military wagon road from Scottsburg to Stewart Creek 
in the Rogue River Valley. The route for the road was 
surveyed first by Lifeutenant Withers, U. S. A., October, 
1854; and after a further appropriation the survey was 
completed by Major Atwood, U. S. A., assisted by Jesse 
Applegate. The survey practically followed the old South- 
ern Oregon Trail. The construction of the road was super- 
intended by Colonel Joseph Hooker, detailed by the War 
Department for that purpose. The road was completed 
in 1858. The Southern Oregon Military Road answered* 
the purposes of the people of the Umpqua Valley until the- 
completion of the railroad to Roseburg. — Binger Hermann. 
First Steamboats Built in Willamette Valley. Steam 
propulsion having been established on the rivers of Oregon^ 
as early as 1836-1837, by the Hudson's Bay Company 
steamship * 'Beaver, " Lot Whitcomb, a progressive settler, 
built the first steamboat in the Willamette Valley (1850). 
She was a side-wheeler, was named after the builder and 
owner, engined by Jacob Ksun, and commanded by Captsdn 
J. C. Ainsworth. The **Lot Whitcomb" was constructed 
almost entirely of Oregon wood, at a site where Milwaukie 
now stands. She was projected to run between the Mil- 
waukie site and Astoria, touching all points along the route 
except Portland which already promised to be a strong 
competitor with Milwaukee as the chief townsite on the lower 
Willamette River. After a successful career of four years. 



1 34 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the **Lot Whitcomb** was purchased by a Sacramento firm 
that took her to California. The ** Jennie Clark,** built in 
1 854 on the ways where the **Lot Whitcomb" was built, vras 
the first stem wheel steamer that ran on the rivers of Ore- 
gon. She was succeeded by the **Carrie Ladd,*' built in 
Portland in 1856. The company that owned the **Carrie 
Ladd** came to be the nucleus of the Oregon Steam Navi- 
gation Company, whose boats as to efficiency and elegance 
in subsequent years became rivals of the * 'Mississippi River 
Palaces.'* 



EPOCH IV 1 35 

WAR WITH THE ROGUE RIVER INDIANS 

1850-1856 

Causes of the Indian Wars. The long considered ques- 
tion as to who and what caused the Indian wars had its rela- 
tion to Oregon, as elsewhere in our early settlements. 

The First Cause. The natural objection to the invasibn 
of the whites and their conquest of the Indian domains, and 
trespass upon their hunting and fishing rights. To the mis- 
sionary and the trader who laid no claim to the country the 
Indian never seriously objected. 

The Second. The disregard of the whites as to Indian 
rights and privileges. The Indians were too often regarded 
as intruders, were forced from their favorite camping 
grounds, and driven further and further back to the bleak, 
barren and inferior places. 

The Third. The Indians feared that they would never 
be compensated by the Government for their relinquished 
lands. This fear was confirmed by the delays of the Gov- 
ernment in the execution of treaty agreements. 

Finally, there were the wanton and ruffianly invasions 
of unprincipled white men and their violations of the family 
and domestic relations of the peaceful and neighboring 
Indians, together with lustful and murderous attacks by 
these same whites when remonstrated with. Their lands 
and their family rights were thus both set at naught. The 
saddening inhuman sentiment — **A good Indian is only a 
dead Indian** — became among many whites an accepted 
axiom. Our history teems with unprovoked attacks upon 
unoffending Indians peacefully gathered around their 
campfires. Want of space prevents a recital of the many 
instances which history unfolds. While this commentary 
in no wise justifies many equally savage attacks and rob- 
beries on the part of the Indians, it yet sheds a truthful light 
on the reasons for much of the Indians* deadly hostility to 
the white race. Had the whites treated the Indians with 



1 36 HISTORY OF OREGON 

decent regard for the principles of humane and reasonable 
conduct, aborigineJ sovereignty of the territory would have 
been peacefully relinquished, and some of our most desolat- 
ing wars and terrible massacres avoided. As to these fast 
disappearing people, we can afford at this late day to lift 
much of the opprobrium which our history has placed upon 
them. 

First Treaty with the Rogue River Indians. After a 
number of depredations had been committed by the Rogue 
River Indians, Governor Lane with fifteen white men and 
Chief Quatley of the Klickitats, a fierce enemy of the Rogue 
Rivers, set out for Sam*s Valley, where the party arrived 
about the middle of June, 1850. Upon invitation from the 
Governor, the Indians came for a talk with the view of form- 
ing a treaty of peace and friendship. But not understanding 
the integrity of Governor Lane, they abused his confidence 
by coming one hundred fifty strong with hostile purpose. 
After the Governor had instructed them to cease their war- 
fare and had also given them assurance that they would be 
paid for their land and would be instructed in the knowledge 
of the white men, a circle was formed in which stood Lane 
and the chiefs. But just before the conference a second 
band of Indians appeared, — all fully armed. Lane suspected 
treachery, and had Quatley, the Klickitat chief, enter the 
circle with a few of his Indians and stand beside the Rogue 
River Chief, who uttered words that raised the war cry of 
his band. Thereupon, Chief Quatley with one hand seized 
the Rogue River Chief, and with the other held a knife 
directed at his captive's throat. At this point the captive 
Chief, at Governor Lane's request, sent his warriors away 
with instructions to return at the end of two days, but not 
before. In their absence the Rogue River Chieftain was the 
prisoner and guest of Governor Lane; and from what the 
savage chief saw and heard during his brief captivity, he 
became convinced that it was both policy and wisdom for 
his people to join in a treaty of peace with the whites. This 



EPOCH IV 



137 



advice he gave to his warriors when they returned at the 
time designated. The treaty of peace was signed, and 
Governor Lane gave the Indians slips of paper guaranteeing 
them the protection of the whites. As a token of respect 
for Goveinor Lane the old Chief requested the Governor to 
bestow his name upon him; and the Governor and the peo- 
ple ever after knew the chief by the name of "Joe," 

The Battle Rock Incident. During nearly a year the 
Indians observed the treaty with Governor Lane. However, 
numerous depredations v^ere committed in the vicinity of 
Rogue River, which were attributed to the Indians. One of 
these occurred in June, 1851, at Port Orford on the Coast 
and about thirty miles north from the mouth of the Rogue 
River. Nine men had been landed by the steam coaster "Sea 
Gutr* to open a trail for pack trains from that place to Jack- 




SATILE aooK 
sonville. The Indians ordered them to leave; but it was too 
late, since the coaster had sailed. Thereupon, on the I 0th of 
June, the men carried their effects to the top of a great rock 
near by, and loaded a small cannon which had been the 
signal gun on the boat. After a spirited harangue by the 
chief, a half-hundred Indians rushed up the rock upon a 
narrow trail, at which time the carefully aimed cannon hurled 
them into eternity. The remaining warriors ^ere put to 
flight, and the wailing in the Indian villages for the dead 



1 38 HISTORY OF OREGON 

was beyond description. That night the victorious party 
of nine changed their course from Jacksonville, and after 
enduring severe hardships reached the Umpqua Valley, a 
hundred miles away. Upon relating the story of their fight 
with the Indians, they gave the name * 'Battle Rock" to the 
place of their well-earned victory. 

Second Indian Outbreak on Upper Rogue River. Chief 
Killed by the Whites. On the 2 3d day of June, 1851, thirty- 
one Oregon farmers were returning from the California gold 
mines, and near Table Rock they were attacked by 200 hos- 
tile Indians. The whites were well armed and defended 
themselves valiantly. In the struggle the commanding 
Indian Chief was killed, with no injury to the whites, except 
the loss by robbery of sixteen hundred dollars in gold dust 
and nuggets. 

Captain Stuart Killed. At the time. Major Phil. 
Kearney, of the United States Dragoons, with a few soldiers 
was exploring for a roadway from Rogue River through the 
Umpqua canyon; and messengers having hastened to notify 
him of the difficulty at Table Rock, he rushed to the rescue. 
He suddenly came upon the hostiles in ambush and routed 
them, with the death of eleven Indians. Captain James 
Stuart, who led the whites in the fight, lost his life. His 
death, singular to relate, was from an arrow shot by an 
Indian whom the Captain had knocked to the earth, bow 
in hand. Captain Stuart was buried near the scene of the 
battle at the mouth of a little creek, afterwards known as 
Stuart Creek. 

Arrival of General Lane, This engagement was five 
miles below Table Rock. Afterward the hostiles again 
rallied at their old resort on top of the rock, from which 
they could signal to the Indians at a distance. Major Kear- 
ney hesitated to renew the attack upon them entrenched 
in that stronghold. He waited for reinforcements and soon 
was joined by thirty miners, all well armed, who were on 
their way to the Willow Springs mines, not far away. Soon 



EPOCH IV 1 39 

there also came a body of forty men in company with 
General Lane, who were journeying to the California 
minea. 

Battle of Table Rock. Major Kearney Attacks the 
Indiwns. Major Kearney now had a total force of one 
hundred men eager to begin the assault of the enemy en- 
trenched behind their formidable bulwarks upon Table 




TASLE BOOS Photo, Ed, Weston. Medtord, Ore. 

Rock, which was the tribal headquarters of the Indians of 
Rogue f^ver. On June 23, 1 85 ! , Major Kearney directed 
the attack from b^ind log defences. No advantage was 
gained that day. On the next day, two more attacks were 
made, morning and evening. The Indians were cautiously 
directed by Old Chief Joe. later General Lane's friend and 
imitator. His boasting voice could be heard declaring that 
the white men had few guns, but he had bows enough "to 
keep ],000 arrows in the air all the time." 

Defeat of the IndiaitS. The Indians held their ground 
and fought with such bravery, desperation and strategy that 
two days' continuous siege failed to defeat them. Then 
Major Kearney offered them terms of peace, demanding 
their answer by the next day, which was the 25th. But 
^en the day dawned they could be seen hurriedly speeding 
down the rocky declivity and the full force retreated down 



1 40 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the river for seven miles, then crossed over and continued 
toward Sardine Creek, a short distance away. The troops 
hastily mounted their horses and pursued the hositles, over- 
taking them on the opposite side of the river. Instead of 
halting and offering battle, the Indians hastily scattered in 
all directions, even deserting their squaws and children, who 
fell into the hands of the soldiers. The remainder could 
not be overtaken, and their pursuit was not continued. 
There were thirty among those captured, who were delivered 
to General Lane as Major Kearney had no place to retain 
them. These were conveyed to a point near where Grants 
Pass is now located, and placed in custody of Governor 
Gaines, who had gone that far south. This was July 7, 1851. 
With these captives in his possession the Governor induced 
about eleven of the more prominent Indians, with one hun- 
dred others of the tribe, to come in from the field, surrender 
and make peace. 

More Atrocities. About June 1 , 1 85 3, a party of white 
men from Jacksonville, aroused by the massacre of seven 
white people near Grave Creek the winter before, caught 
a sub-chief named Taylor and two other Indians who were 
believed to have been the murderers, and hanged them; 
and going to the Indians encamped at Table Rock, they 
fired into their village, killing six. These acts impelled the 
Indians to engage in numerous horrid atrocities. There 
being no military companies in that part of Oregon, volun- 
teer white companies were enrolled and Captain Alden's 
Company of regulars of Fort Jones in California were called 
in aid with arms and ammunition. Aid en was also given 
chief command of the volunteers. Governor Curry was 
appealed to and sent a volunteer company under Captain 
Nesmith and Fort Vancouver sent Lieutenant Kautz with 
six artillerymen and a howitzer. Captain Goodall also 
came with eighty volunteers from the Umpqua. The enemy 
were found on Evans Creek and a fight took place, with 
killed and wounded on both sides; and then sin armistice 



EPOCH IV 141 

was agreed to in which all engaged were to meet at Table 
Rock to make a treaty. Before this. General Lane came and 
also engaged the enemy. A son of Chief Joe was taken as a 
hostage for the Indians* attendance at the treaty grounds. 

Second Treaty with Rogue River Indians. **Upon a 
little point under the shadowy walls of Table Rock was 
enacted the treaty of September 10, 1853, in which the 
Rogue River Indians relinquished their land titles and agreed 
to move to reservations provided for them. At the armistice 
preceding, it was agreed between the chiefs and military 
commanders that at. the council at Table Rock all should 
be unarmed and equal in numbers. But when the whites 
approached the council grounds they were astonished to 
behold 700 Indians all armed and reclining upon the grassy 
arena. Captain Nesmith expressed to General Lane his 
fear that a massacre was premeditated, and as a precaution 
had previously concealed a small weapon within his gar- 
ments. Being the interpreter, the Captain chose to sit close 
by the side of the old chieftain, Joe, so that in case of trou- 
ble, the chiefs escape could be prevented. The treaty com- 
pact was then read aloud and when nearly concluded, there 
rushed into the assemblage an Indian in breathless haste 
and with wailing accents proclaimed his grievance. At 
once every Indian rifle was uncovered and poised for action. 
General Lane arose to his feet, gazed defiantly at the chief, 
and without a tremor in his voice, demanded to know the 
meaning of the threatening demonstration. He was told 
that the miners at Applegate had killed an Indian. The 
General replied by promising to punish the murderers and 
to make indemnity to the tribes, and expressed his astonish- 
ment that those present should so treacherously plan vio- 
lence upon the few whites present. This pacified the Indians. 
As the officers were returning to their commands, Nesmith 
observed to Lane, *When you have another council of war, 
I wish to be excused.' The general said in reply: *Captsdn 
luck is always better than war*." — Binger Herman. 



1 42 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Third Outbreak of the Rogue River Indians. Being 
convinced that war with the Rogue River Indians was about 
to begin again, Governor Curry on the 1 5 th of October, 
1855, issued a proclamation from Corvallis, the temporary 
capital of Oregon, for nine companies of mounted cavalry. 
Four companies, designated as the southern battalion, were 
to have headquarters at Jacksonville. The Northern bat- 
talion, which was to consist of five companies — two from 
Lane, one from Linn, one from Umpqua and one from 
Douglas— were to rendezvous at Roseburg. Each volunteer 
was to furnish his own horse, arms and. equipment, and was 
to receive four dollars per day from the territory of Oregon- 
for his services. It is said that every able bodied man of 
proper age in the district placed his name on the muster 
rolls, which accounts for the fact that there were in all about 
eight hundred volunteers. 

Battle of Grave Creek. The volunteers found a large 
number of Indians on a rugged ridge between Cow Creek 
and Grave Creek. From Grave Creek House the troops 
moved at midnight, and by daybreak the next morning; 
October 30, they reached a high point, formerly occupied 




■h 



A Heroine of the Rogue River War. "The ninth of October, 1855, 
was one of the bloodiest days in Oregon Indian warfare. It had 
been the design of the Indians to wipe out the white population of 
Rogue River on that day, and they almost succeeded in their gory 
undertaking. To give an idea of the terrible experiences of the. 
white people, the following incident is related: By noon, when the 
savages had carried on murder and devastation throughout much of 
the settlement, they shot a Mr. Harris. The wounded man ran into 
his home and fell. His wife barred the door, and with rifle, shot- 
gun and pistols kept the Indians away while she cared for her 
dying husband and a little daughter, also wounded in the fray. 
Within an hour the husband was a corpse, but the heroine, with the 
dead husband and wounded daughter at her feet, courageously de- 
fended her home till near nightfall, when the Indians withdrew. 
Relief arriving the next day, the bereaved mother and daughter 
were taken to Jacksonville where they were given such comfort 
and consolation as conditions would permit; and the mother — the 
heroine of the previous day — ^was lauded as a typical home-defender 
of the Oregon frontier." — Pioneer Campfire. 



EPOCH IV 143 

by the Indians. Some hours later the savages were seen on 
Bald Peak, a high mountain a few miles to the north. A 
mile distant, the troops saw the Indians drawn up in line 
of battle. Thereupon the volunteers became so eager for 
the fray that they threw down their coats and blankets and 
made an assault. The Indians retired into the brush, whence 
they poured a deadly fire into the ranks of the soldiers. All 
day long the battle continued ; and at dark the whites retired 
a short distance to obtain water for their wounded and dy- 
ing. The next morning the Indians made a desperate attack, 
but were forced to retire to the brush. Nevertheless **they 
retained a good position on the battle ground and held 
their scalp dance to celebrate the victory. But the victory 
was dearly purchased, inasmuch as the Indians not only 
failed to pursue the retreating whites, but left immediately 
for their stronghold down the Rogue River." 

Last Battle with the Rogue River Indians. *The last 
and most eventful year of the war came in 1856 at the 
Big Meadows on Rogue River near where the hostiles had 
fortified for a final test. Gen. Lamerick, Col. Kelsay, 
Col. W. W. Chapman and Major Bruce were active in 
command of the volunteers. The battle began but was 
maintained by the volunteers with so little energy and dar- 
ing that the casualties were small on both sides. It was 
really a draw. The whites went into camp and the Indians 
witKdrew. 

''The Government was discouraged with these ineffec- 
tual attempts to overcome the hostilities, and resolved upon 
a more determined and decisive prosecution of the war. 
Regular troops were ordered up from California^ in addi- 
tion to those already in the country. The Indians observing 
these preparations, assembled in their natural fortifications 
in the mountain fastnesses, for defense, along the Rogue 
river. The military plan entered upon was for the California 
troops to move up the Coast and ascend the river, and for 
those on the upper river to descend and there to concentrate, 



1 44 HISTORY OF OREGON 

£mcl between them to crush the hostiles on their own ground. 
These movements had their influence upon the hostiles, ^^o 
being conununicated with agreed to a conference with the 
military authorities at a place upon the Illinois river. 

''Lieutenant Colonel Buchanan was in command and 
most of the regular troops, with throngs of Indians, were 
present, at the time and place agreed upon. The main body 
of the assembled Indians agreed to remove to the reserva- 
tion; all except their great Chief John who insisted on re- 
maining upon his own favorite grounds, otherwise he said 
he would fight. Another council, to meet at Big Meadows 
on May 26th, 1856, was mutually agreed upon, when the 
removal to the reservation should begin. 

''The Military Under Captain A. J. Smith with his 80 
dragoons, was present on the day named, but no Indisins 
came. The wretched weather seemed an excuse. Toward 
evening two squaws came into camp with a message from 
Chief George to Captain Smith, warning him to expect an 
attack. The Captain at once removed his troops to a more 
elevated and defensive position, and there he prepared to 
meet the enemy. Early on the 2 7th he dispatched an aid 
over the mountains to Col. Buchanan, announcing the ex- 
pected attack. The aid returned with the Colonel's request 
to know if reinforcements were desired, to which the Captsdn 
explained the necessity for such. His messengers be- 
coming lost on the trails, delayed the reply for some hours, 
but when received a company under Captain Augur, after- 
wards a general in the Civil War, hurried to jSmith*s relief, 
and came suddenly in view just as the savages were making 
their last assault upon three sides of the beleaguered fort. 
The troops had fought all day and already nearly one-half 
had been slain and wounded. They had been cut off from 
all water and their ammunition was nearly exhausted, while 
the Indians were being continually reinforced. The loud 
commanding voice of Chief John could be distinctly heard 



EPOCH IV 
vith all the deliberation a 



145 



sending forth his orders, ' 
ness of a military disciplini 

"The onrush of Captain Augur's company wa» a sur- 
prise to the Indians, who now being attacked in the rear, 
made a hurried flight down the hillsides and away into 
forest cover to the Chiefs headquarters. The siege was 
turned and the day saved. 

"This defeat with much loss of life to the Indians, 
compelled their surrender on May 30th, with Chief John 
and a few of his renegades still holding out. But by July 
1st all had gone in, including John, and the Indian Wars 
of Southern Oregon were forever at an end. 

"The captives, ! 300 in number, were assembled at 
Port Orford. From there all were removed to the reserva- 
tion." — Binger Herman. 

Biih<9 Thomas Fielding 
Scott. With the development 
of Oregon came the growth 
of her churches. Among those 
taking firm hold was the Epis- 
copal Church, which made ef- 
fective appeals for a bishop, 
in answer to ^tch, Thomas 
Fielding Scott was sent in 
1833 as Missionary Bishop of 
the Episcopal Church in Ore- 
gon. He was chosen from the 
diocese of Georgia in 1653, 
the selection being made by 
the General Convention of the 
Episcopal Church then in ses- 
sion at New York. Promptly 

1 • 1 .. , J ., BISHOP THOMAS TIEUIIHO SCOTT 

on his election he assumed the 

duties of his office. He found two churches already erected 
in Oregon — St. Johns at Milwaukie and Trinity at Portland. 
Others were soon built at Salem, Eugene and elsewhere. In 




146 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



the autumn of 1 66 1 the good Bishop opened Spencer Hall, 
a girls' school at Miywaukie; and "The Churchman," the 
official organ of the diocese, was established that year. "The 
Episcopal church was making steady advance, when on July 
14, 1867, during an absence in New York Bishop Scott 
suddenly died, universally lamented. A fresh impetus was 
however imparted to the life of the church when a new 
missionary. Bishop B. Wistar Morris, arrived in Oregon, 
June, 1869." During the first year of Bishop Morris" in- 
cumbency, the church built 
two influential schools in 
Portland— St. Heleii's Hall for 
girls and a grammar and di' 
vinity school for boys, named 
in honor of Bishop ScotL 
When Bishop Scott entered 
upon the duties of his office 
as missionary, bishop of Ore- 
gon, his diocese included the 
original territory of Oregon, 
which was subsequently divid- 
ed into three states and a por- 
tion of two others, each of 
which now belongs to a dio- 
cese of its own. 
Gold Discovered in Oregon. When gold was discovered 
in California, it was believed that the EI Dorado or "golden 
land" extended northward. This led to the discovery of 
indications of gold, in 1849, near the present town of Gold 
Hill, Oregon. However, the precious metal was not found 
in paying quantities. Fabulous prices offered in California 
at this time for farm produce led to the discovery of rich 
gold mines in a singular manner. In 1851 James Cluggage 
and James R. Poole, who were conducting a pack train used 
in conveying supplies from Oregon to California, chanced 
to camp on the present site of Jacksonville. While search' 




BISHOP B. WISTAK M0BBI3 



EPOCH IV 



147 



ing for water, they accidentally found placer gold in what 
was afterwards named Rich Gulch. Also they prospected 
in Jackson Creek, where they saw the glittering metal on 
all sides. Realizing they had niade a rich discovery, they 
at once located the town of Jacksonville, and became 
v^ealthy and influential citizens. Nevrs of the gold discovery 
at Jacksonville rapidly spread, and miners came in vast num- 
bers from all directions; so that within fifteen years after 
the Jacksonville event nearly all the placer gold mines of 
Oregon were discovered. 




First Postoffice West of the Rocky Mountains. 

John M. Shively, having been appointed postmaster 
for Astoria, Oregon, March 9, 1 84 7, soon afterward opened 
the postoffice of Astoria in the accompanying building, 
which had been occupied as a residence by Ezra Fisher, a 
missionary. This bears the distinction of being the first 
postoffice west of the Rocky Mountains. 



1 48 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Oregon's First Custom House. Gen. John Adair was 
the first collector of customs for the Oregon District. He 
was appointed October 9, 1848, and occupied an office 




OKEOOH'S FIRST 



in a rented building in Upper Atoria. His salary was $ 1 ,000 
per annum, besides fees and per cent of duties collected. 
The building was destroyed by fire, and the Govenunent 
erected the edifice above, this being Oregon's first custcm 
house. 

The Baptist Church in Oregon. The first Baptists came 
to the Pacific coast in 1843; and a Baptist church was 
organized at West Union, near Hillsboro, May 25, 1844. 
The first resident Baptist minister on this coast ^vas Rev. 
Vincent Snelling, who came to Oregon in 1 844. The first 
missionaries on the Pacific Coast, sent by the American 
Baptist Home Missionary Society, were Rev. Hezekiah 
Johnson and Rev. Ezra Fisher, who arrived December 1 845. 



EPOCH IV 149 

The first Baptist meeting house on the Pacific Coast was 
built by Rev. Johnson in Oregon City, 1 848. The Oregon 
City University was opened by the latter in Oregon City, 
1849. The first formal meeting of Baptists in the Pacific 
Northwest for educational purposes was held in June, 1 85 1 . 
The first Baptist ministerial conference on the Pacific Coast 
convened at Pleasant Butte, near Brownsville, 1854. Mc- 
Minnville College, which was tendered to the Baptists con- 
vened at Soda Springs in 1856, by Rev. S. C. Adams of 
the Christian Church and accepted by the Central Baptist 
Association of Oregon in 1857, was opened under Baptist 
control in 1858. Its enrollment the first winter was 178. 
The first Baptist Sunday School missionary on the Pacific 
Cosist was W. J. Laughary, appointed in 1872. The first 
Baptist Chinese Mission in the Pacific Northwest was organ- 
ized by the First Baptist Church of Portland in 1874. The 
first Baptist Chinese missionary in this territory. Rev. Gong 
T3mg, arrived in 1 875. The organization of the first Baptist 
Scandinavian mission in the Northwest was effected by the 
First Baptist Church of Portland, in 1875, in which city the 
beginning of the Baptist Women's Foreign Mission move- 
ment in Oregon took place in the following year. The first 
constitutional commitment of the Baptists of Oregon to the 
foreign mission work was by the convention and some of 
the associations in 1 880. The first formal council to recog- 
nize the organization of the Baptist Church in Oregon was 
convened at Grants Pass, 1 886. — Baptist Annals of Oregon. 
Joab Powell* Many of the Oregon colonists were Bap- 
tists. They exhibited genuine missionary spirit, and were 
noted for their acts of charity, for the building of churches 
and for other enterprising deeds, among which was the 
establishment of McMinnville College. From the outset 
there were strong preachers among them. But while others 
may have been greater, the most noted Baptist preacher in 
Oregon was Rev. Joab Powell, who occupies a peculiar place 
in pioneer history. 



150 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



Established Providence Church. In 1852, Rev. Powell 
came from Missouri to Oregon and located on the Santiam 
River, wrhere he established Providence Church, a colony 
organization with four hundred members — a following 
which was very remarkable in that time on account of its 
large membership in so sparsely settled a locality. 

Baptized Three Thousand Souls. Furthermore it is 
recorded in the "Baptist Annals of Oregon" that during his 
ministry Joab Powell baptized "nearly or quite three thou- 
sand souls," which is a greater num- 
ber than any other person baptized 
west of the Rocky Mountains. Rev. 
Powell was illiterate from the aca- 
demic standpoint; but he was so 
thoroughly versed in the Bible that 
he did not require it for reference in 
the pulpit, although his sermons 
abounded in biblical quotations. He 
could scarcely read or write, yet he 
knew the hymn book from cover to 
cover. While he had no school 
training, he was thoroughly versed 
in the things that pioneers know best, 
id he communed with nature as with 
friend. He was so original, so eccentric,' so ready in good 
humored repartee, so equal to every occasion, and so power- 
ful in the pulpit that people came from every direction to 
hear him preach — many out of mere curiosity;' many to hear 
the peculiar but stirring message which he brought. For vremt 
of churches large enough to accommodate his audiences. 




BEV. JOAB POWELL 

He understood men, 



'The Oregon Senate was pursuing a policy which Rev. Joab 
Powell could not approve; so one raomlng when the President in- 
vited him to serve as Chaplain, the senators arose when Mr. Powell 
offered this striking prayer: "0 Lord, forgive them for they know 
not what they do. Amen," which is said to be the shortest prayer 
ever offered by a chaplain before the Oregon Senate. 



EPOCH IV 151 

court hoilses, public schools and theatres were commonly 
placed at the command of this peculiar preacher^ — the Bap- 
tist forerunner in Oregon — who lived on plain diet and went 
about clad in homespun. 

First Mining Code of Oregon. Upon learning that gold 
had been discovered in the Rogue River Valley, a crew of 
sailors at Crescent City, deserted their ship, and with pick 
and shovel ascended the Illinois River to Waldo, Josephine 
County, where they found gold in paying quantities. Soon 
other miners came, and the place was called **SaiIor Dig- 
gin's.** Already the belief prevailed that goldmining would 
be carried on extensively in Oregon. Hence there arose the 
demand for a common understanding regarding the rights 
of miners. Therefore, at a meeting held in **Sailor Diggin*s,** 
April 1852, the following mining rules and regulations were 
adopted : 

1. That fifty cubic yards shall constitute a claim on 
the bed of the creek extending to high water on each side. 

2. That forty feet shall constitute a bank or bar claim 
on the face extending back to the hill or mountain. 

3. That all claims not worked when workable, after 
five days, to be forfeited or **jumpable." 

4. That all disputes arising from mining claims shall 
be settled by arbitration, and the decision shall be final. 

Such was the mining code of **Sailor Diggin's" which 
was the center of the first mining district of Oregon. 

United Brethren Missionary Train. Church Coloniza- 
tion Authorized. Among the church colonies that came to 
Oregon was the United Brethren Missionary Colony. In 
1852, Rev. Thomas Jefferson Connor, of Hartsville, Indiana, 
was delegated by the United Brethren Conference then in 



iRov. Joab Powell was noted for humorous stories and western 
sayings that were clad in homely phraseology familiar to frontiers- 
men. It may be said in his behalf, however, that to every border 
story or saying attributed to Rev. Powell, ten can be found to the 
credit of Abraham Lincoln; and Abraham Lincoln was one of the 
greatest men of his age. 



1 5 2 HISTORY OF OREGON 

■ession at Canal, Ohio, to organize and conduct a nussionary 
colony to Oregon. Five hundred dollars had been contrib- 
uted by the church for the project. The amount was incredi- 
bly small for so great an undertaking. Yet it vras one-fifth 
as much as Congress had 
appropriated for the Levr- 
is and Clark expedition to 
Oregon less than a half 
century before. The party 
of ninety-eight persons 
from various quarters 
gathered at Council Bluffs ; 
and (May 7) began the 
journey to Oregon, with 
Rev. T. J, Connor as their 
leader. 

They arrived in the 
Willamette Valley in the 
following September. The 
most of them settled in 
BentonCounty, where they 

KEV. THOMAS JEFFEESQN COmrOB ii.i i i i i 

established churches, and 
rigidly observed many of the rules of religious life estab- 
lished by the Puritans. Regular attendance at church and 
the strict observance of Sunday as the Sabbath were among 
their requirements. Furthermore, dancing ^vas frowned 
upon while simplicity of dress and plainness of manner were 
regularly taught from the pulpit. They believed in the kin- 
ship of cleanliness and godliness so thoroughly that Monday 
was set apart for putting their homes in order. Hence there 
were no schools in session on that day, but instead, Saturday 
was observed as a school day. Christian education of the 
young was an important canon of their faith. Therefore they 
were diligent in organizing church schools; they erected fine 
homes, and they prospered in the land of their pilgrimage. 




EPOCH IV 153 

Many of the leading citizens of Oregon are descendants 
of that missionary band. 

Beach Mining. Beach mining was probably introduced 
in Oregon as early as 1852. In 1853 a thousand miners 
were engaged in washing gold from the sand along the south- 
em beach of the Oregon Coast. It wais gold that had once 
been carried by streeun and freshet from the mountain to 
the sea, then washed with the sand from the sea to the shore, 
and shifted back and forth by the waves until it became so 
fine that much of it could be seen only by means of the 
microscope. Yet with the aid of quicksilver, shovel, and 
golddust pan the miner obtained it in paying quantities. 

OregonDivided Into Territories. The Territory of 
Oregon in T9t+"was larger than the German Empire wa« in 
«S?ySSa?**l 9 1 4. Hence it was only natural that it should 
eventually be divided into other territories. But few were 
they who realized that this would come to pass and that 
the new territories would be so large that they in time would 
become states to be subdivided into other states. Yet with- 
in nineteen years after Oregon was proclaimed a territory, 
this succession of changes began. 

Washington. In response to a petition from a portion 
of the Oregon Coimtry lying north of the Columbia River, 
Washington was organized as a Territory, March 2, 1853, 
and admitted into the Union as the forty-second State, 
November 11, 1 889. Its capital is Olympia. Washington 
is bounded on the north by British Columbia, east by IdaJio, 
south by Oregon, and west by the Pacific Ocean. It has a 
total area of 69, 1 2 7 square miles, and (1917) a population 
of 1,565,810. 

Idaho was organized as a Territory, March 3, 1863, 
and admitted into the Union as the forty- third State, July 3, 
1890. It is composed of part of the following states: Ore- 
gon, Wsishington, Utah, and Nevada. It is bounded on 
the north by British America and Montana, east by Montana 



154 epcx:h IV 

and Wyoming, south by Utah and Nevada, and west by 
Oregon and Washington. Idaho has a total area of 84, 3 1 3 
square miles and (1917) a population of 436,881. 

Montana. The northeast comer of the Oregon Coun- 
try which was secured to the United States by Great Britain 
in 1846, became the northwest part of Montana, May 26, 
1 864, when Montana became a Territory which on Novem- 
ber 8, 1 889, became the forty first State in the Union. Mon- 
tana has a total ahrea of 146,572 square miles and (1917) 
a population of 466,214. 

Wyoming, The Oregon Country contained a region 
which is now a portion of Wyoming. Wyoming was organ- 
ized as a Territory, July 25, 1868, and was admitted into 
the Union as the forty-fourth State, July 1 0, 1 890. It con- 
tains a total area of 97,914 square miles, and (1917) hsis a 
population of 182,264. 



EPOCH IV 155 

GOVERNORS CURRY. DAVIS. AND CURRY 

(May 19. 1853— March 3. 1859) 
CHAPTER IX. 



"Those pioneers 
Who set their plowshares to the sun 
Were kings of heroes every one." — Joaquin Miller. 

Governor George L. Curry was bom in Philadelphia, 
July2, 1820. In 1 64 3, he started west, and, after an experi- 



the ne^vspaper bi 



ence of three years ir 
crossed the plains to 
Oregon, arriving there 
on August 30, 1846. 
For a time he was 
editor of the Oregon 
"Spectator," and in 
May, 1853, was ap- 
pointed Secretary of 
OregonTerritory, be- 
coming Gov e r n o r 
(upon the resignation 
of General Lane) and 
serving in that qovesnoe and mbs. oeobqe l. cubsv 
capacity until the following December. 

GoTMTior Davis. John W. Davis was appointed gov- 
ernor by President Pierce and arrived in Oregon on Decem- 
ber 2, 1853, but resigned August 1 of the following year. 
Governor Davis had been a member of Congress from 
Indiana for four terms and had served one term as Speaker 
of the National House of Representatives. He was also at 
one time United States minister to China. He was not ac- 
quainted with western spirit or customs; hence resigned his 
office. His career as Governor was uneventful and after his 
bri*f service he returned to Indiana, where he died in 1859. 




1 5 6 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Curry's Second T«rm as Governor. Upon the resigna- 
tion of Governor Davis, George L. Curry on August 1 , 1 854, 
again became Governor of Oregon. He continued to fill 
that office until the inauguration of John Whiteaker, the first 
Governor under the state constitution. Oregon had a terri- 
torial government ten years, and Governor Curry was its 
chief executive for half of that time. He was a cultured man 
of the people, and left a splendid record. Governor Curry 
died at his home in Portland on July 28, 1878. 

The United Presbyterian Church Originated in Oregon.^ 
Notwithstanding the sparsely settled condition of the coun- 
try, there were four branches of the Presbyterian church in 
Oregon in 1851. They were the First Presb3rterians, Cum- 
berland Presbyterians, Associate Presbyterians, and Asso- 
ciate Reformed Presbyterians. To meet the situation the 
last two of these organizations came to believe that it would 
be the part of wisdom for them to consolidate. These two 
churches were seceders from the old Church of Scotland, 
one withdrawing as early as 1688, and the other in 1733; 
and, therefore, were among the oldest of the Dissenting 
Churches. Their secession was principally on account of 
departure from evangelical doctrine and laxness of discipline 
on the part of the mother church. 

Meetings Were Held to Discuss Consolidation, the re- 
sult being the passage of the following resolution at a con- 
vention made up of delegates from both of the local organ- 
izations: **Resolved, that there is not that difference be- 
tween the public standards of the two churches which war- 
rants the maintenance of a separate communion and ecclesi- 
astical organization, therefore, we do agree and resolve 
henceforth to unite in one body, to be known as **The United 
Presbyterian Church of Oregon." The leaders in this move- 
ment were: Rev. James P. Millar, D.D. ; Rev. Thomas S. 



iGleaned from a paper read by Hon. C. H. Stewart at the cele- 
bration of the 50th anniversary of the organization of the Willamette 
Congregation at Oaltville, Oregon, 



EPOCH IV 



157 



Kendall, D.D., and Rev. Samuel G. Irvine. D.D., of the 
Amociate branch; and Rev. Wilson Blain, Rev. S. D. Gag- 
er, Rev. Jeremiah Dick, and Rev. James Worth, of the Auo- 
ciate Refoimed branch. 

TWO OF THE OaiaiNATOBS OF THE milTBD FBE3BTTEBIAN OHUBCH 




BBV. THOMAS S. KEVDAI^L, D. D. 



OEV. WILSOH BLJUM 



The Organizations Mtfge Into One. Accordingly a 
of the presbyteries representing these branches was 
held at the residence of Rev. Wilson Blain, at Union Point, 
three miles from Brownsville, in Linn County, Oregon, Oc- 
tober 20, 1852, at which time both organizations formally 
merged into one under the name mentioned. The basis 
adopted was: "The Word of God is the only rule of faith 
and practice, and the supreme authority for the regulation 
of doctrine, worship and government — the Westminister 
Confession of Faith, and the Catechisms, larger and shorter 
— all matters of previous separation to be held as matters 
of private opinion and Christian forbearance." 



1 58 HISTORY OF OREGON 

First Psalm^Singing Congregation in West Half of 

AfHerica, Of the congregations forming the union in 1852, 
but one has had continuous existence to the present time. 
This is * 'Willamette Congregation,** located at Oakville, six 
miles to the south-east of Corvallis. This congregation wsis 
organied in July, 1850 — the first congregation of Psalm- 
singing people in the western half of the United States. 

First U. P. Church in North America. Under the 

auspices of the new denomination a congregation was or- 
ganized in Albany, Oregon, October 10, 185 3, which is still 
in existence, and it bears the distinction of being the first 
congregation organized in North America under the name of 
**United Presbyterian.** 

The mother churches in the East had been anxiously 

watching this movement, and at the first meeting of the 
synods to which the congregations belongedv their action 
in concluding the union was approved. In fact the two 
small organizations in the West had, through force of cir- 
cumstances, accomplished something that the mother 
churches had very much desired for many years; and no 
doubt aided in bringing about the union between them six 
years later at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The new church in 
the East was known as **The United Presbyterian Church 
of North America," and it set forth a declaration of princi- 
ples strikingly similar to those previously adopted by the 
church in Oregon. Steps were taken immediately to bring 
into the organization the little band in Oregon that had 
blazed the way to union and at a meeting of the Oregon 
Church, held at Kendalls* Bridge, Linn County, on May 5, 
1 859, they became a part of the United Presbyterian Church 
of North America. 

Results of the Consolidation. The formation of the 
United Presbyterian Church in Oregon is an instance where 
the members of two church families, holding practically the 
same doctrine, and being almost altogether cut off by dis- 



EPOCH IV J 5^ 

tance from fellowship with the mother denominations, were 
led to adapt themselves to prevailing conditions, and the 
local union thus effected, proved to be so happy in its results 
that the parent bodies in the E^t, after witnessing the course 
of their children for several years, emulated their exainple 
and brought about a general family reunion. And now one 
may travel from the mother United Presbyterian Church at 
Albany, through almost every State in the Union, then to 
South America, Europe and Asia, and then ascend the Nile 
to the United Presbyterian University in North Africa, and 
yet worship every Sunday in a sanctuary of the Church that 
originated in Linn County. Oregon. 

Pacific University. Following the advice of Rev. 
George H. Atkinson, who had been sent to Oregon as a 
special missionary superintendent 'with instruction to found 
an academy, the Congregation alists and Presbyterians in 
conference at Oregon City in 1 846, decided to establish an 
academy at Forest Grove ; 
and Mrs. Tabitha Brown's 
Orphan School, opened 
the year before, formed 
the nucleus of the institu- 
. tion. In 1 849, the school 
was formally incorporated 
under the special act of the 
Oregon Territorial Legis- 
lature as Tualatin Acad- 
emy. Rev. Atkinson and 
his co-workers erected a 
college hall in 1851. Two 
years later Rev. Sidney H. 
Marsh, the first president 
of the proposed college, sidney h. ^.aksh 

came through the wilder- rirat PuBldBnt Pacific Unlvsrslty. 

ness from New England and took up his residence in the 




160 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



new hall. In 1854, the legislature chartered the college 
under the name of Pacific University. The University hdd 
its first commencement in 1 863, graduating hut one studmt. 
This was Harvey W. Scott, who came to be one of the fore- 
most newspaper editors of the nation. 




MABSH HALL, PACIFIC UHIVESSITY 

Japan Patronizes Pacific University. In 1872, the 
progressive movement in Japan resulted in sending many 
of the sons of prominent families to schools in America and 
Europe. Pacific University was selected for three of them. 
Fill of whom graduated in 1876. They were Yei Nosea and 
Hatstara Tamura, both of whom became prominent educa- 
tors and writers; also Kin Saito who ia chief justice of the 
Court of Hokaido, Japan. 

Christian CoUege. In 1854. Rev. John E. Murpl^. 
Elijah Davidson, J. B. Smith, T. H. Lucas and S. Whitman 
donated a mile square of land in Polk County on which to 
fouiid a town, the proceeds from the sale of town lots to 
be used in establishing a .college under the supervision of 
the local Christian Church and to be called Monmoudi 
University. At a mass meeting the town was named Mon- 
mouth. Money was donated, a small building erected, and 
the school was placed in charge of the Christian Church of 



EPOCH IV 



161 



Oregon. An endowment of $20,000 was immediately 
raised from the sale of forty scholarships at $500 each; 
thus what had been a cow pasture and a wheat field came 
to be the site of a college community. In 1856, a wooden 
building was erected at the cost of $5,000 on the present 

State Normal School grounds; 

and the name of the school 
was changed from Monmouth 
University to Christian Col' 
lege. On account of the in- 
adequacy of the building, 
Preudent T. F. Campbell se- 
cured donations and erected 
a brick building, at the cost 
of $16,000. which forms the 
north wing of the State Nor- 
mal School Building. In 1682, 
under the presidency of D. T. 
■ Stanley, the name of Christian 
College v^as changed to Ore- 
gon State Normal School. The 
buildings and grounds were 
given to the State for a Nor- 
mal School free of debt and the 
Legislature of 1 89 1 . 

Capital Located at Corvallis. All of the following 
cities have appeared in school geographies as the capitals 
of Oregon: Oregon City, Salem, Corvallis, and Eugene. 
We have already learned that the capital was located at 
Oregon City and then at Salem; and now we are about to 
see how it happened that Corvallis and Eugene, each in its 
turn, came nearly being chosen as the permanent capital. 
January 13, 1855, a bill was passed by the legislature re- 
moving the seat of territorial government from Salem to 




gift ^ 



i accepted by the 



162 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



Corvallia,' and the university from CorvaUis to Jacksonville. 
Since work had already been commenced on the public 
buildings at Salem, opposition to the change was very strong. 
Governor Curry at once re- 
ferred the matter to the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury, who 
deemed the change inopera- 
tive unti[ acted upon by Con- 
gress. Thereupon Governor 
Curry and Secretary Harding 
removed their offices to Sa- 
lem, and for the second time 
Oregon had two capitals. On 
the third of December both 
houses convened at CorvaUis, 
and the first bill, introduced 
on the sixth, was to relocate 
the seat of government at 
Salem, and the bill became a 
law on the 15th. The capital 
was immediately removed to Salem, where the Legislature 
was opened on the 1 8th. 

Eugene and CorvaUis Lead for the Capital. The leg- 
islature in Salem, December 18. 1855, By a strange coinci- 
dence the new State House in which the Legislature met, 
was destroyed by fire on the night of December 29th. Upon 
the sudden loss of the State House with the library and 
archives of the territory the legislature decided to submit 
the question of locating the capital to popular vote at the 
next general election; and it was provided that in case no 
town had a clear majority of all the votes cast a special elec- 

iln April Mr. Asahel Bush moved the "Oregon Statesman" from 
Salem to Corvallis, as he had previously done from Oregon City to 
the editor replied that the "Statesman" was publiahed at the seat 
of Government wherever that might chance to be. — Wells. 
Salem. Much newspaper comment was made upon the matter, but 




EPOCH IV 



163 



tion ahould be held the first Monday in October to decide 

between the two receiving the greatest number. At the 

general election in June ( 1856) Eugene City received 2627 

votes; Corvallis. 2.327; Salem, 210 

their had a majority, but "Eugene 

highest tvro and the final di 

popular election in October." Hi 

to make election returns according to law, hence the official 

result as announced by Secretary Harding gave Eugene City 



Portland, 1154. Nei 

kd Corvallis were the 

IS to be made at the 

four counties failed 




COBVAIJ.ia OOLIJIGE (IGTe) 

(Tli« Flrit College Oadeta In tlie Fadflc NortbveBt ware otginlied hj OaptBlu 

B. D. BonreU, D. S. A., In CottsIIIb, 1ST2. See pxES 1S4.) 

2319. Salem 2049, CorvallU 1998, and Portland 1154. 
"Hence the vote was to be taken on Eugene City and Salem. 
Hie citizens of Corvallis \vere greatly incensed and the 
public much disgusted. So when the first Monday in Oc- 



164 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



tober came few people took the trouble to vote. Lesa 
than a hundred votes were caot in Portland, wiiile in many 
places no polls were opened. Five counties made no re- 
turns to the Secretary. Eugene City having received the 
largest majority of the votes became the seat of justice; but 
the election was ignored, and both the Legislature and the 
Supreme Court assembled at Salem in December."' 

Corvallis College Founded. Corvallis College took its 
name from Corvallis, the town in which it vras located. In 
1856, the edifice housing the institution was erected by a 
private corporation; and although called a college, it was 
opened as an academy. In 
1856, Corvallis College 
was chartered as a non- 
sectarian school. Later 
the property belonging to 
the institution was trans* 
ferred to the Pacific Con- 
ference of the M. E. 
Church South. In 1865, 
Rev. William Finley was 
chosen president and the 
school offered an ad- 
vanced course of instruc- 
tion leading to the degree 
of bachelor of arts. In 
1668, the college was in- 
corporated by the M. El. 
PBE8IDENT B. L, ARNOU) ^hurch South. Also, dur- 

ing that year it was designated by the legislature of Oregon 
as the Oregon Agricultural College. Upon the resignation 
of President Finley. Dr. B. L. Arnold was chosen president, 
and the chair of agriculture was established in Corvallia Col- 
lege with Professor B. J. Hawthorne as director; whereupon 
iWells, 




EPOCH IV 165 

scientific agriculture on the Pacific Coast was taught for the 
first time. In 1885, the State of Oregon assumed control 
of the school; and three years later the agricultural depart- 
ment of the school was transferred to the present site. At 
the end of one year Corvallis College — the original institu- 
tion — closed its doors; and in 1899 the building was razed. 











^diAiif^ll 




^^^^"iRWf 


mj^^^ 


IJH 


wBgj^ 


MB 


19 



70BTLAHI), OBEOOK, IS 1853 

LaCreole Academic Institute. In 1636, three men do- 
nated I 1 2 acres of land adjacent to the present stie of Dallas 
for the establishment of a school. February 15th of that 
year the board of trustees uras organized, with Reuben P. 
Boise as president and Florace Lyman as secretary. The 
following year the school was opened as LaCreole Aca- 
demic Institute, mth an attendance of 5 7 students. The 
school 'was corr\monly called LaCreole Academy. It stead- 
ily increased in popularity; and in 1900 was united with 
LaFayette Seminary under the corporate name, LaCreole 
Academy and Dallas College, 



1 66 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Oregon Decided to Hold Constitutional Convention. 

Tlie most important event occurring during the administra- 
tion of Governor Curry was the convention which fonnulat- 
ed the state convention. The question of authorizing a 
constitutional convention had been submitted to the people 
by the Legislature in 1856, and was carried by a vote of 
7209 in favor and 1616 against. Tlie Indian wars of 1855 
and 1836 had resulted in many claims against the United 
States Government, and it was thought better opportunity 
for their favorable consideration would exist if Oregon were 
represented by men who could vote in Congress. 

The Constitutional Convention. The constitutional 
convention met in Salem on August 17, 1 85 7, and con- 
sisted of 60 members. Among them were 34 farmers 
and 18 lawyers. All three justices of the Territorial Su- 
preme Court were members — Judge Matthew P. Deady, 
Judge George H. Williams, and Judge Cyrus Olney. Judge 
Deady was elected president of the convention, and Chester 
N. Terry secretary. On September 18, sixty days after it 
began its labors, the convention adjourned, having adopted 
the proposed constitution by a vote of 35 in favor and 10 
against, 1 5 being absent. At a specieJ election held on the 
second of the following November ,the document was adopt- 
ed by the people by a vote of 7195 to 3215 against, and 
on February 14, 1859, Oregon was admitted into the Union 
as the thirty-third State 

Negro Slavery Subnaitted to the People. Two questions 
were submitted separately to the people, one as to whether 
the new state should adopt slavery, and the other declaring 
that free negroes should not be permitted to reside here. 
The vote for slavery was 2645, against 7727. Against free 
negroes as residents, 8640; and for, 1081. TTie new con- 
stitution thus declared against free negroes living in Oregon, 
but its enactment was never enforced. 



BeOel College. Bethel College, near McCoy. Oregon, 
8 built by the religious denomination known as The Chris- 
M (1857). The school prospered for a number of years. 




BETHEL COLLEGE, 



But as Bethel College and Christian College were dependent 
upon the same sources of support, the doors of Bethel Col- 
lege were later closed and the working force of the institu- 
tion was moved to Christian College, located at Monmouth. 
First Woolen Mill West of Ae Rocky Mountains. Ore- 
gon women first manufactured wool into yam by hand - 
tabor; and by hand the yarn was knit into stockings. Hand 
looms were soon introduced into homes where material for 
clothing was woven, and homespun garments were common. 
However, housewives* duties were somewhat diminished in 
1 854, when a wool carding mill was introduced in Albany. 
The next year machinery was erected on LaCreole, for 
carding, spinning and weaving of flannel; and in 1857 Wil- 
liam H. Rector, as superintendent, built at Salem the first 
woolen mill west of the Rocky Mountains. The next woolen 



1 68 HISTORY OF OREGON 

mills erected were: one at Oregon City in 1864, another at 
Ellendale (Polk County) 1866, and the third at Brownsville 
in 1875. It required several years to establish a reputation 
for Oregon Woolen Mills. Accordingly it was very difficult 
at first to market in our state the goods that were manufac- 
tured by our mills. It was frequently necessary, therefore, 
at first to ship the Oregon made fabric into other states 
where it was purchased unwittingly by our merchants who 
brought it back to be sold to their customers But a wonder- 
ful change took place. Oregon woolen mills were very 
fortunate in competing for medals in national and inter- 
national expositions. In course of time, foreign and domes- 
tic recognition was won for our woolen manufacture, result- 
ing in the erection of several other woolen mills. 

McMinnville College. Pioneer Baptist missionaries es- 
tablished Oregon City College in 1849; but for want of 
ample support the school was closed and the property sold. 
The money thus acquired was paid into the funds of Mc- 
Minnville College, which in the meantime, had come into 
existence in the manner related by Bancroft, the historian, 
as follows: **The Legislature in 1857-8, granted a charter 
to the Baptist College at McMinnville, a school already 
founded by the Disciples, or Christian Church, and turned 
over to the Baptists with the belongings, six acres of ground 
and a school building as a free gift upon condition that they 
should keep up a collegiate school.** 

Federal Court Established. By an act of Congress of 
March 3, 1859, the State of Oregon was constituted a judi- 
cial district, within which a district court should be estab- 
lished with powers and jurisdiction like the District Court 
of the United States for the District of Iowa, and the judge 
of said district court was authorized to hold regular annual 
sessions at the seat of the government of the State, to com- 
mence on the second Mondays of April and September re- 



EPOCH IV 1 69 

spectively, in each year. Judge Matthew P. Deady was ap- 
pointed District Judge by President James Buchanan. He 
opened the first term of the district court at Salem, Oregon, 
on the 1 2th day of September 1859. Judge Deady was 
dissatisfied with Salem as the place of holding the Federal 
court, and succeeded, in September, I860, in having it 
changed to Portland. 




Epoch V 



appeared 
states. But 



1859 

OREGON UNDER 
STATE GOVERNMENT 

state Motto: "The Union" 

CHAPTER X. 
On St. Valentine's day 
of the year 1859, Oregon 
s the thirty'third star in the constellation of 
vill be seen, Congress was slow in form- 
ing a decision to admit Oregon to statehood. This catised 
considerable delay, during which certain historic events took 
place, which should be mentioned in this connection. 

In the belief that Congress would promptly pass the 
enabling act, making Oregon a State, the Oregon voters 
elected a complete State ticket in June, 1838. As required 
by the constitution, a special term of the newly elected State 
Legislature convened in Salem, July 5th, for the purpose of 
electing two United States Senators; and on the eighth of 
July the oath of office was administered to Governor White* 
aker by Judge R. P. Boise, and the machinery of the new 
Govemrr\ent was put in operation. The Legislature elected 
Jos^h Lane and Delazon Smith to represent Oregon in the 
United States Senate, and adjourned after a session of four 
days. Soon afterwards, as "The History of the Willamette 
Valley" relates, "Word was received that Congress had 
adjourned vnthout the House passing the enabling act which 
had been approved by the Senate early in May, and that 
Oregon must remain a Territory until the next session. For 
some time the question as to the course that should be pur- 
sued was warmly discussed. There were two full sets ot 
officers and two forms of government. Gradually it be- 
came the general opinion that the State officers should per- 



1 72 HISTORY OF OREGON 

mit the Territorial Government to proceed unembarraasecl. 
Under the constitution the State Legislature diould have 
met in September; but at the appointed time only nine 
representatives and two senators made their appearance in 
Salem« and these adjourned after two useless meetings. On 
the sixth of December the Territorial Legislature again 
assembled and held its regular session. Soon after the legis- 
lature adjourned, news was received that Oregon had been 
admitted into the Union. Senator Smith and Representa- 
tive Grover had gone to Washington, and M^en Congress 
assembled had joined with Delegate Joseph Lane in 
urging the passage of an enabling act for Oregon. It early 
passed the Senate, but met with bitter opposition in the 
House, being supported by the Democrats and opposed by 
the Republicans. Finally, on the twelfth of February, 1859, 
the Oregon Enabling Act was passed.** Two days later it 
received the signature of President Buchanan; and the 
thirty-third star was placed in the American flag. 



GOVERNOR JOHN WHITEAKER 

March 3, 1859— September 10. 1862 
To John Whiteaker belongs the honor of having been 
the first Governor of the State of Oregon. He waa bom 
in Dearborn County, Indiana, 
on May 4^ 1820. He went 
to California in 1 S49 and after 
tvfo years returned to Mis- 
souri. With his family, he 
crossed the plains to Oregon 
in 1852, locating in Lane 
county. He served as judge 
of Lane County, was a mem- 
ber of the Territorial Legis- 
lature, served three terms in 
the Oregon house of repre- 
sentatives and one term as 
State senator. He was speak- 
er of the house in the session 
of 1868, and was president of 
the senate in 1876, and again 

■ lOTO u ■ .L 1 y^ OOVBBNOK JOHN WHITEAKEB 

m 1 8/0. He is the only Gov- 
ernor of Oregon who served in the legislature after having 
been the chief executive. 

Supposing the new constitution which had been adopt- 
ed by the people of Oregon had been accepted by Congress, 
and the state admitted into the Union, an election for state 
officers was held in 1858, resulting in the choice of Mr. 
Whiteaker for Governor. As before stated, Oregon was 
not admitted, however, until February 14, 1859; and as 
soon as news of the fact reached Oregon Mr. Whiteaker 
assumed the duties of his new position. It waa during his 
term of office as Governor that Fort Sumter waa fired upon 
and the great Civil War begun. He guided the affaira of 
state with moderation during those trying times and all 




174 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



domestic difficulties were successfuUy avoided. Hia term 
expired September 10, 1662, and he retired to his (arm 
in Lane County. He afterward served a term in the lower 
house of Congress (1878) and for a few years was Collector 
of Internal Revenue in Portland. He died at his home in 
Eugene in 1902. 

Or^on State Seal. When Oregon became a State, the 
territorial seal was abolished and the one provided by the 
State Constitutional Convention came into use. The center- 
piece of the state seal is an escutcheon supported by thirty- 
three stars to indicate that Oregon 
was the thirty-third state admitted 
into the Union. The State motto, 
"The Union," divides the escutcheon 
into an upper and a lower section. 
On the upper section are mountains, 
an elk with branching antlers, a 
'wagon, the Pacific Ocean on 'which 
a British man-of-war is departing 
while an American ship is arri'ving. 
OBEOON STATE SEAi,i On the lower section are a sheaf, a 
plow, and a pickax. Upon the crest of the escutcheon is 
an American eagle. Bordering these is the legend — "State 
of Oregon, 1859." 

Oregon and "The Pacific Republic" Upon the approach 
of the Civil War there was announced a deep laid scheme 
affecting Oregon which was as treasonable as the one con- 
ceived by Aaron Burr on Blennerhassett's Isle. The scheme 
which probably originated in California was based upon the 
theory that as the result of the Civil War the nation would 
be divided into the Northern States and the Southern States. 




iThe original design for the State Seal of Oregon was dravn 
with a Bteel pen In the hand of L, F. Grover, one of the Committee- 
men on Seal chosen by the State Constitutional Convention. The 
State Seal in common use Is not an exact copy of the o 
by the Committee. 



EPOCH V 



175 



The promoters were to take advantage of the disruption b»- 
tween the North and the South and organize a separate re- 
public on the Pacific Coast, This meant that the United 
States of America was to be divided into three republics. 
"Pacific Republic," according to H, H. Bancroft, was to 
be an aristocracy somewhat similar to the ancient republic 
of Venice which, while providing for an elective executive, 
vested ail its power in hereditary nobles, repudiating uni- 
versal suffrage. Labor was to be perfonr\ed by a class of 
people from any of the dark races— coolies, South Sea 
Islanders, mulattoes and negroes — invited to California and 
subsequently reduced to slavery. Had Oregon been suffi- 
ciently in sjTnpathy with a movement of the character, ^e 
'was not in position at this time to enter into the conspiracy 
because of the war claims she held against the federal gov- 
ernment which would have been invalidated. Throughout 
the west also was the fear 
of an internecine war 
which might make this 
country an easy prey for 
a foreign nation. For these 
and other reasons the ad- 
vocates of "Pacific Re- 
public" avroke from their 
delusive dream, while the 
nation steadily frowned 
on the bold and unscrupu- 
lous scheme." 

Compromise on U. S. 
Senator. A famous anr' 
exciting sesMon of the leg- 
islature was held in 1860 
during Governor White- 
aker's administration. Two 
United States senators we 
horizon was already clouded by threats of the approaching 




The political 



176 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



conflict and the question of the sympathies of the nevr sena- 
tors was one of dominant importance. No party having a 
majority in the legislature, a combination of all who were 
opposed to the proposed movement of the Southern staten 
was effected, and James W. Nesmith. a Union Democrat, 
and E. D. Baker, a Republican, were elected. This was 
regarded as a happy solution of an alarming condition. 
Furthermore both of the Oregon Senators were so perfectly 
in accord with the National Administration that President 
Lincoln repeatedly sought their counsel, which was a matter 
of much significance to Oregon and the Nation at a time 
when the Union was threatened with disruption. 

Oregon Senator KUled at Ball's Bluff. Senator E. D. 
Baker, of Oregon, was killed in the battle of Ball's Bluff 
(October 21, 1861). His 
death together with the dis- 
aster that befell the federal 
troops in that engagement 
proved hardly less dishearten- 
ing to the North than did the 
defeat at Bull Run. At the 
outbreak of the Civil War, 
Senator Baker declined the 
office of brigadier general, but 
accepted a colonelcy — retain- 
ing his office as U. S. Senator. 
Attired in the full uniform of 
a colonel, he dramatically 
appeared on the floor of the 
Senate and with sword at his 
side, made a plea for the 
Union, and then returned to 
his regiment. On the evening of the 20th of October, he 
had a premonition that he would be killed on the following 
day. He donned a aable suit, rendered "Annie Laurie" on 
the piano, and discoursed in plaintive mood with some 




U. S. SENATOB E. D. BAKEB 



EPOCH V 177 

friends. The next day the disastrous battle of Ball's Bluff 
was fought. **Colonel Baker walked up and down before 
his men to encourage them, was suddenly assailed by a 
single warrior, who came out in front of his comrades and 
killed him with a revolver at five paces' distance;** and with 
the Oregon Senator fell half of the Federals engaged in the 
battle of Ball's Bluff. 

Gold Discovered in Eastern Oregon. The Blue Bucket 
Mine, The discovery of gold at Jacksonville in 1851, to- 
gether "with later discoveries, gave rise to many fabulous 
stories that grew into the gold miner's mythology. Among 
these exciting myths was the story of the Blue Bucket Mine, 
which remains a mystery to this day, although many expla- 
nations have been offered as to its origin. One of these 
explanations was that some children belonging to an emi- 
grant train, which was encamped on the Malheur River, 
found shining pebbles in a brook where they were wading. 
The pebbles were thrown into a blue bucket and brought 
to camp, where they were hammered flat on a wagon tire, 
and declared to be nuggets of gold. Whereupon the mine 
was called *The Blue Bucket Mine,** from the blue bucket 
that was filled "with gold. This was only one of the 
numerous stories told regarding the origin of the name **Blue 
Bufket Mine;" and it is probable that no one will ever 
know the true origin of the name nor the location of the 
mystic mine. But the story proved valuable in that it 
spread until, with other stories, it stimulated gold hunting 
in Eastern Oregon with the result that rich gold mines were 
discovered in various sections of that country. 

Search for the Blue Bucket Mine. It is known, however, 
that early in 1 86 1 , David Littlefield, Henry Griffin, William 
Stafford and C. W. Scriber, left Portland in search of the 
Blue Bucket Mine. They were guided by a man named 
Adams, who had led them to believe he knew the location 
of the mine. Their route was by way of The Dalles, the 



1 78 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Deschutes, and the desert to the ridge between Burnt River 
and the Malheur. They were compelled to abandon their 
guide on the way, since he had evidently lost his bearings. 
The party of four, descending Elk Creek, came to a ravine, 
where Griffin sunk a prospect hole and struck gold in pa3ring 
quantities. The place was called Griffin Gulch, from the 
discoverer of the mine, commonly accepted to be the 
first gold mine discovered in Elastem Oregon. As a 
result of the excitement produced by this discovery, there 
was a stampede for Eastern Oregon, and many rich gold 
mines were subsequently discovered throughout the Blue 
Mountains. But no one since has been able to locate for a 
certainty the Blue Bucket Mine, if such a mine ever existed. 

Other Gold that Came to Oregon. Because of the gold 
excitement of 1861 and 1862, Portland, Oregon, became 
almost depopulated by the wild rush for the mines. The 
press of Oregon published many sensational reports such 
as the following, which convey an impression of the re- 
markable discoveries made, the severe privations endured, 
and the sensational conditions that prevailed. 

**A miner while on his way to Salmon River struck rich 
diggings and having no bag for his gathered gold, filled 
one of his indiarubber boots with it and at last date was 
filling the other.*' — Mountaineer, April 18, 1862. 
**A man by the name of Wiser, of Benton County, Oregon, 
took out $5,000 in two days in Salmon River diggings.** — 
Walla Walla News, Dec. 4, 1861. . **Nine packers 

came with $50,000 in hand, the result of their summer's 
work in the mines." — Washington Statesman, Dec. 1, 1861. 
* 'Scarcely a miner here (Florence) would stay by 
his claim if he were not sure that it would pay him $25 a day 
in good weather. When rockers could be used, miners fre- 
quently made from $300 to $500 per day, and less than $50 
was not spoken of. As high as forty ounces a day have 
been taken out.** — Walla Walla Statesman, June 14, 1862. 
.... **Seven men arrived yesterday at The Dalles from 



EPCX:H V 1 79 

Walla Walla, part of them with feet frozen. They left Mr. 
Brown of Walla Walla on the road between John Day and 
the Deschutes, exhausted. They buried him alive in the 
snow, but with both feet frozen. Brown had about 30 
pounds of gold dust with him.*' . **A party arrived 

this evening from Grand Ronde. One of them found Brown 
on the road and slept with him all night : left him 1 A. M. 
(5th) buried in the snow and alive but unable to use his 
feet. There are reports of others frozen on the road. 
Frozen men all doing well. Moody will have all of the 
toes of his right foot taken off tomorrow.** . **Wood 

is selling at $30 per cord and flour at $24 per barrel.** — 
Walla Walla Statesman, Jsoiuary, 1862. 

Border Lawlessness. Crime Stronger Than Arm of the 
Lo/lV, The gold excitement of 1862 attracted all kinds of 
men to Eastern Oregon and Washington. The miners were 
as a rule industrious, and at heart they were as good as the 
gold they dug. But the trails of the miners were infested 
with ruffians who sustained themselves by unlawful means. 
This class of men grew to be so numerous and desperate 
that they were too strong for the arm of the law, and rob- 
bery and murder became so common that no man's life or 
property was secure. A verdict of a coroner's jury follow- 
ing a violent death was generally as far as the law was per- 
mitted to proceed. Hence the more substantial citizens, 
as early as 1862, began to take steps for self-protection. 
In the month of September, in that year, the mining camp 
of Auburn was shocked by the announcement that two of 
its citizens had been poisoned, and that one of them was 
dead. A Frenchman who had been their partner was 
arrested for the crime. It was 250 miles to The Dalles, 
which was the nearest seat of justice; said, what was worse, 
all the prisoners sent thither for trial before that time had 
made their escape through the aid of confederates. Senti- 
ment ran high; and in order that the Frenchman might not 
escape nor be lynched without trial, 200 representative citi- 



180 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



zena of the mining camp chose three judges, who in turn 
selected a jury of twelve men, a sheriff, and two attorneys — 
one for each side of the case. After three days' trial the 
jury returned a verdict of "Murder in the first degree." 
Execution was deferred three days more in order that oppor- 
tunity might be given to correct errors, if any. At the ex- 
piration of the three days the condemned man paid the 
death penalty by hanging. Other mining camps and com- 
nilar method of dealing with criminals. 
Vigilance Committee At this 
time in Walla Walla, a Law and 
Order League ^vas organized and 
there was an organization known as 
the U. F. F. Us that paraded the 
streets of Walla Walla and did other 
curious things, but ^hose purpose 
remains a mystery to this day. Also 
a Vigilance Committee became act' 
ive throughout the country on both 
sides of the border line between 
Oregon and Washington. Among 
the many mute evidences of their 
vfcrk is an aged cottonwood tree 
and a time ivorn grave within the 
-;ty limits of Walla Walla. From r 
limb of this tree there was hanged in 
1865 a negro known as "Slim Jim" 
for the alleged offense of aiding pris- 
oners to escape from jail. News that 
the rougher element had threatened 
the authorities, at Lewiston, while 
endeavoring to bring to trial the murderers of a man named 
Lloyd Magruder, lent greater activity to the Vigilance Com- 
mittee in its operations throughout the Walla Walla and 
Eastern Oregon country; so that Death began to stare crime 
in the face, and wrong-doing decreased accordingly. Pre- 




EPOCH V 181 

Quently men of doubtful character were found dead at the 

end of a lariat. But it is said that the course of the Com- 
mittee was usually attended with more or less deliberation. 
The prisoner was generally given an opportunity to speak 
in his defence; and if found guilty was allotted a few mo- 
ments for prayer before he was hanged. The Vigilance 
Committee was severely criticized by many as an illegal 
organization; and it was believed that in some instances it 
brought about the death of the innocent. But there were 
msuiy good people who regarded it as the only mesuis of 
establishing protection of life and property in Eastern Ore- 
gon and the Walla Walla country before the courts became 
strong enough to enforce the laws. 

Oregon Floods. **During the first three days of Janu- 
ary, 1853, a disastrous flood occurred in the Willamette 
Valley. Heavy snow in December was followed by copious 
warm rains converting the brooks into torrents and the 
rivers into a raging flood. The steamer **Lot Whitcomb" 
was wrecked near Milw^aukie. General Palmer's mill at 
Dayton was carried down stream, a number of tenements 
of Linn City^ started on a voyage to the Columbia, and but 
a small portion of the stock along the river survived.** — 
History of the Willamette Valley. 

The Willamette Valley Flood . The winter of 1861- 
1862 was the severest in Oregon history. A protracted 
storm was intensified by blizzards and snow lay very 
deep. Warm rains followed which simultaneously melted 
the snow in the uplands and the lowlands. Torrents from 
the mountains met the half-melted snow and ice of the 
Willamette Valley, forming a mass of heavy slush which was 
unable to push its way through the gorge at Oregon City. 
Consequently, the swollen tide of backwater spread over 
the valley to such a depth that settlers believed that an 
ocean liner could have sailed over some of their farms. 



1 Situated just across the Willamette River from Oreg^on City. 



1 82 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Many actually tasted the water to ascertain whether or not 
the sea had broken through its mountain barrier. Homes 
were demolished, lives were lost, and the town of Orleans, 
which stood on the bank of the Willamette River opposite 
Corvallis, was so completely swept away that its name alone 
remains in history. 

Grand Ronde V alley Flood. The elements enacted a 
similar tragedy in Union County during the same year. Fol- 
lowing this unprecedented winter, the flood gates of Indian 
Valley were closed by debris suid floating ice. They held 
back the water until Grsoid Ronde Valley became a 
lake with only a winding line of trees above the surface to 
indicate the course of the river. 



GOVERNOR ADDISON C. GIBBS 

September 10, 1862 — September 12, 1866. 

TTie distinction of having been the first "War Govern- 
or" of Oregon belongs to Addison C. Gibbs, who was elect- 
ed in June 1 862. He was born in Cattaraugus County, New ■ 
York. July 9, 1825. After 
graduating at a state normal 
school, Mr. Gibbs became a 
teacher and was afterwards 
admitted to the bar. In 1849 
he went to California, but the 
next year proceeded to the 
mouth of the Umpqun River, 
in Oregon, and located the 
town of Gardiner. In 1852 
he was a member of the Terri- 
torial Legislature from Ump- 
qua (now Douglas) County, 
and wsts appointed collector 
of customs of the port of entry 
of Gardiner. Mr. Gibbs 
moved to Portland in I860, 
and became a member of the 
house of representatives from Multnomah County. In 1 862 
he was elected Governor, serving the state in that capacity 
with distinction during the Civil War. Governor Gibbs was 
a firm defender of the Union cause and in I 864 did much 
to prevent a violent outbreak by sympathizers with the 
South in Oregon. 

iThe following Incident will illustrate tlie bitterness of war feel- 
ing wbicli existed In Oregon at tliat time: In 1863, the "Stars and 
Stripes" was not permitted at tlie Fourth of July celebration at 
Hendershott's Point, in Union County. As a seijuel to this Incident 
It may, however, be stated that some ladies, who determined to 
correct the situation, met at the home of Mrs. Harriet Lewis, of 
Union, to malce a flag for the following celebration, which was to 
take place in that town. Tbe flag was made — Miss Martha Koger 




OOVESNOB ADDISON C. QIBBS 



1 84 HISTORY OF OREGON 

GovertM>r Gibbs Rauea a RegimenL In 1864 Gov- 
ernor Gibbs was ordered by the War Department to raise 
a regiment of infantry volunteers, a difficult task which he 
creditably accomplished. There was ao much opposition 
to the requirements of the Governor's proclamation that it 
was seriously proposed to resort to conscription, but this 
drastic course was finally abandoned. 

The Salmon Industry. From time immemorial the coast 
tribes of Oregon Indians have subsisted largely on fish — 
mostly salmon — which find their way into all our mountain 
streams. When Captain Wyeth came to Oregon in the 




OBEGON SALMON CANNEBT 

early 30's, he conceived the possibility of shipping salmon 
to outside markets and he established a plant for salting 
them for commercial purposes. This plant was located at 
Fort William — Wyeth's trading station on the west shore 
of Sauvie's Island, opposite the Scappoose Mountain. Fur- 
thermore he recognized the fact that the salmon industry 

appropriating a portion of her blue riding skirt, inasmuch as suitable 
cloth for the field could not be purchased. The national emblem was 
then publicly dedicated; and at the Fourth of July celebration follow- 
ing it vras announced that this was the first time the "Stars and 
Stripes" floated to the breezes of Eastern Oregon on an occasion of 
that kind. 



EPOCH V 185 

does not require any land space for its inception and sup- 
port. The isolated condition of Oregon at that time made 
the business unsuccessful, hence it was absuidoned. A few 
years later interest in salmon fishing for commercisJ pur- 
poses revived, and by 1850, considerable qusuitities 
were shipped to the Sandwich Islands and to more distsuit 
countries. Salmon were first packed in cans on the Colum- 
bia River in 1864 — the amount that year being 4,000 cases 
of 48 pounds each. Recently, however, the business of 
canning and shipping salmon to all the ports of the world 
has grown to tremendous proportions, and thousands of 
men are employed in the various branches of the industry. 
Since it begsui the Columbia River pack has exceeded a half 
million cases in each of ten different years, and there have 
been more than 25,000,000 cases packed during the life 
of the business, totaling $1 15,000,000. 

In recent years the system of freezing the whole fish 
has been installed, and it has made possible the shipment 
of fresh fish to all parts of the world, the consumers thus 
practically using fresh salmon at their meals. The principal 
markets for frozen fish have been the Atlantic cities of the 
U. S. A. and European capitals. Immense canneries have 
been established on the Columbia and other Oregon rivers, 
where salmon are prepared for the markets of the world. 
Most of the catch is made by the use of drift- and gill-nets, 
though msuiy wheels, traps and seines are used with marked 
success. Near the mouth of the Columbia River, however, 
and outside the bar in deep water, boats of different rig, 
and fitted for trolling, drift or purse-net fishing, swarm by 
scores and hundreds. The salmon industry has grown to 
be one of the greatest in the commercial life of Oregon, the 
value of the catch to the fisherman alone in 1917 being 
more than $2,000,000. 

The Royal Chinook Sahnon. One of the most import- 
ant industries in Oregon is the catching, preparation suid 
marketing of the Chinook salmon, which is regarded as the 



1 86 HISTORY OF OREGON 

moat palatable and nutritive species of fish known. FuU- 
grown Chinooks reach a weight averaging from 25 to 50 
pounds, while occasionally one is caught weighing 75 pounds 
or more. The Chinook salmon is probably the highest de- 
velopment in the great family of fishes. Its beauty, strength. 




^ r 

CHINOOK SAXUON 

and marvelous intelligence, or instinct, make the salmon a 
creature of increasing interest and wonder. The flesh is a 
pinkish red in color, rich in oils, and it appeals favorably to 
the taste of all people of all climes. This species of salmon 
is considered a delicacy in the royal palaces of Europe; and 
because of its excellence, it is commonly known as the Royal 
Chinook. 

Habits of the Chinook Salmon. When three or four 
years old, Chinook salmon — which, after their first year 
pass their lives in salt water — return to a frerfi-water stream, 
usually the one in which they were hatched. They ascend 
the rivers to their cold, clear sources, high among the moun- 
tains. After fanning out a small depression in the gravel 
in shallow water — using her tail for this purpose — the female 
salmon deposits a quantity of eggs, and the milter or male 
salmon fecundates them. A little above, the salmon fan 
out a similar hollow, the disturbed gravel covering the eggs. 
After the spawning is over the parent salmon soon die. In 
a few weeks the eggs hatch, and the little fry at once become 
the prey of most other fishes. An average of less than ten 
per cent of the hatch live to reach salt water, where they are 
comparatively safe. Under the system of artificial propa- 



EPOCH V 187 

gadon, however, diey are kept in captivity until about six 
months old, vrhen they are turned loose in some stream and 
rind th«r way to the ocean with an estimated loss of but ten 
per cent of their nimiber. 

Characteristics of the Royal Chinook. Long-continued 
and careful study of the salmon has established most of 
its habits and characteristics beyond question, though where 
the salmon travel after reaching the ocean, and how thev 
live during their four year's absence, still remains a mooted 
question. It is generally agreed that many return at the 
spa^vning time to their native streams, though this is ques- 
tioned by some naturalists. Tests made by marking the 
hatchery fry have proved that many return to their parent 
stream. Before artificial hatching 'was established by both 
the state and national authorities, the Chinook salmon was 
on the rapid road to extinction. But under this method, 
millions are turned loose in the streams every year and an 
industry has been preserved, which, in commercial value, 
is surpassed by but two or three others in the State of Ore- 
gon. The possibilities of the business may be better appre- 
ciated when it is understood that one female salmon has 
been known to yield 5000 eggs at spawning time and that 
the average production is about 3,5uO. 

Salem Becomes the 
Pennanent Capital. 
"By the Constitution 
of the State of Oregon, 
requiring that at the 
first regular session of 
the legislature after its 
adoption a law should 
be enacted submitting 
the question of the lo- 
cation of the seat of state capitol 
government to the vote of the people, the assembly of 1 860 
passed an act calling for this vote at the election lof 




1 88 HISTORY OF OREGON 

1862. The constitution declared that there must be a 
majority of all the votes cast, and owing to the fact that 
sJmost every town in the state received some votes, there 
was no majority at this election; but at the election of 1864, 
Salem received seventy-nine majority over all the votes cast 
upon the location of the capital, and was officially declared 
the seat of government.** — Bancroft. 

State School Fund. The 300,000 acre land grant given 
to Oregon by the general government for school purposes 
was selected by Governor Gibbs in 1864, and the sales 
resulting therefrom now constitute the state school fund, 
which is the principal source of financial support given the 
public schools of Oregon. 

Buena Vista Pottery. An extensive deposit of fine 
potter's clay having been discovered near Buena Vista, 
Polk County, Freeman Smith opened a pottery there in 
1866. The products of the pottery successfully competed 
with imported wares in the northwestern market, and the 
manufactory prospered. In 1892, the plant was moved 
to Portland, after the Buena Vista pottery rendered a service 
to the public in establishing the fact that Oregon contains 
vast deposits of clay valuable for manufacturing purposes. 

Albany College. In response to an urgent demand for 
instruction in the higher branches of study, Albany Collegi- 
ate Institute was opened at Albany. Oregon, in the spring 
of 1 866, during which year the school was chartered as a 
Presbyterian educational institution. For want of a "school 
edifice, the first session was held in the home of Mr. Thomas 
Monteith, a building which is occupied to this day as a resi- 
dence. The following year Albany Collegiate Institute 
moved into a two-story frame building, which had been 
provided by the citizens of Albany. Five years later, Tre- 
mont Hall was built. In 1 873, a class of five women gradu- 
ated. In 1892, the name of the institution was changed to 
Albany College, and in 1915 the college was standardized. 



EPOCH V 1 89 

Albany College received the income from an endow- 
ment of $260,000, the most of which was promised in 1911 
and obtained five years later. The College has a compre- 
hensive and serviceable library of 7,500 volumes. In the 
suburbs of Albany, the College authorities have purchased 
a campus of forty acres, which has been named Monteith 
Campus, honoring both its President, William Monteith, 
and the donor of the original Campus, Thomas Monteith. 

Albany College is Presbyterian in its sectarismism and 
its policy is to be definitely Christian in Letters and Arts. 
Its affairs are administered by a board of twenty-five trus- 
tees, elected by the Presbyterian synod of Oregon. 

Governor Gibbs Retires. On September 1 , 1 866, Gov- 
ernor Gibbs retired from the Governorship and became a 
candidate for the United States senatorship, to succeed 
James W. Nesmith, the legislature then being in session. 
Receiving the caucus nomination of his party, Gibbs was 
opposed by enough within his party to prevent his election. 
On the sixteenth ballot H. W. Corbett, of Portland, was 
elected as the successful candidate. Governor Gibbs was 
afterward United States district attorney for Oregon, and 
was also one of the commissioners to settle the Indian war 
claims of the state. In January, 1887, he died while in 
London and the legislature appropriated a sum of money to 
defray the expense of bringing his remains to Oregon. 



90 HISTORY OF OREGON 

GOVERNOR GEORGE L. WOODS 

September 12, 1866 — September 14, 1870 

George L. Woods was elected Govemor of Oregon 
1 June, 1666, and his administration necessarily met the 
ew questions arising for settlement from the Civil Wai 
which had just closed. 
Governor Woods was 
bom in Boone County, 
Missouri, on July 30, 
1832, and when fifteen 
years of age came to Ore- 
gon with his parents. He 
was admitted to the bar 
in 1858. Woods was also 
appointed Governor of 
Utah in 1 8 7 1 , serving four 
years. He afterward re- 
sided in California for ten 
years, returning to Oregon 
in 1885, where his death 
occurred on January 14, 

OOVEBNOB BEOBGE L. WOOD 1 890. 

Political Hostility to the Negro. The Fourteenth amend- 
ment to the federal constitution, which conferred the priv- 
ileges of citizenship on the recently freed negroes was rati- 
fied by the legislature which convened at the beginning of 
Governor Woods' administration. Much bitterness was mani' 
tested regarding this question, as well as toward others 
which were presented for settlement. At the session of 
1 868, parly differences were so pronounced that the general 
appropriation bill was not introduced until the day on which 
the session should have constitutionally adjourned; and to 
prevent other legislation to which they were radically op- 
posed, nearly all the Republican members of the house re- 




EPOCH V 



191 



signed in order to deprive that body of a quorum with w^ich 
to conclude proceedings. This compelled an adjournment 
and the State 'was forced to continue during the next two 
years without the funds usually provided by law. The ses- 
sion for that year ivas noted foi its continuous vrrangling 
without important legislative results. 

PfailoiiMth College. Promoted by United Brethren Col- 
ony. Upon the arrival (1853) of the United Brethren Mis- 
sionary train in Oregon, it was decided to divide Oregon 
into two districts, each comprising an area of about three 
thousand square miles. The south district, under the super- 




FHILOMATH OOUiEGE 

vision of Rev, T. J. Connor, was called Willamette, and the 
north district, in charge of Rev. Jeremiah Kennoyer, was 
called "Yam Hill." It was the ambition of each district not 



192 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



only to provide necessarj' church buildings for the growing 
congregations, but also to build a suitable school for the 
higher religious and literary training of the young people, 
who, because of the long distance across the plains, vrere 
debarred from attending eastern colleges and academies. 

Philomath College Established. Therefore, in 1867, 
the United Brethren of Willamette District Missionary Col- 
ony aided by friends, established F^ilomath College at 
r%ilomath, Oregon, as the United Brethren school for 
Washington, Idaho, Montana. Oregon and California. It 
was chartered as a Christian college for the libera) education 
of bcth sexes, and for the training of ministers. Also, ac- 
cording to a provision of the charter, no intoxicating liquor 
viras permitted to be sold within a mile of the institution. 
For this and other reasons Philomath College prospered and 
became so popular that 
there was a movement to 
change it into a state in- 
stitution, provided the 
United Brethren church 
surrendered its control, a 
provision 'which theChurch 
authorities were unable to 
meet because of certain 
clauses in the charter of 
the school. 

Sublimity Institute. Sub- 
limity Institute, a prepar- 
atory school, was founded 
in 1 867, at Sublimity, Ore- 
gon, by Rev. Jeremiah 
Kennoyer, a member of 
the United Brethren Mis- 
established as the preparatory 




BISHOP HILTON WKIOHT 

sionary Colony. It was 



■ From two Greek words meaning a lover of learnlne- 



EPOCH V 



193 



school of the North district of the United Brethren church 
in Oregon. The school was prosperous for a number of 
years, then closed its doors for want of sufficient patronage. 
Subhmity Institute is remembered by many because of its 
first President, Rev. Milton Wright, who later was chosen 
bishop and who also is widely known as the father of the 
famous aeronauts— Orville and Wilbur Wright. 

Early Railroad Building. The first railroad of any kind 
built in Oregon was a wooden tramway constructed on the 
north side of the Columbia River around the Cascades in 
1 850 by F. A. Chenoweth. 
This was rebuilt in 1656 
by P. F. Bradford. In 
1662, the portage road 
from The Dalles to Celilo 
was built to dieapen trans- 
portation to the newly dis- 
covered mines in Idaho. 
In 1 663, a corporation was 
formed in Jacksonville to 
build a railroad from 
Marysville, California, to 
Portland. Oregon, and 
thousands of dollars were 
subscribed for that pur- 
pose, mostly in grain. This 
was called the "Oregon 
Central Railroad Com- 
pany" and was authorized by the legislature to proceed 
with the building of the road, but Ben Holladay,' a venture- 
some exploiter, appeared before the legislature of 1866 




BEN HOLLADAY 



iBenJamin Holladay was born in Kentucky, and after engaging 
in. securiiig mail contracts from the Missouri River to California 
during the Civil War, came to Oregon to exploit the build- 
ing of a railroad through the state to California. He was a re- 
BOurceful man of strong personality. 



1 94 HISTORY OF OREGON 

and persuaded that body to declare the action of the former 
session not binding. It also designated a company of Cali- 
fornians who had incorporated under the same nsune to 
receive the benefits of a grant of land which had been 
made by^ Congress on April 22, 1867. 

Railway Built to Rosehurg. HoUaday then sent agents 
to Washington to secure certain concessions for his company, 
and that body passed an act declaring that the company 
which should construct twenty miles of road from Portlsuid 
south should be entitled to the land grant. This HoUaday 
was able to do through money secured in various ways, 
bresJeing the first ground on April 1 6, 1 868. Through the 
sale of bonds in Germany based on the land grant he was 
able to complete the road to Roseburg in 1 869. 

Railroad Extended to California . After the Oregon 
and California Railroad was completed to Roseburg, it was 
taken out of the hands of Ben HoUaday and placed under 
the management of Henry Villard. The southern terminus 
was soon extended to Ashland, where it remained seven 
years; and in 1887, it was finished to the northern terminus 
in California, thus completing the connection between Port- 
land and San Francisco. 

Hillocks of Harmless Snakes. Years ago ( 1 869 to 
1896) water snakes were very numerous about the warm 
springs along the banks of Link River, where frogs, tad- 
poles and other creatures on which they preyed were abund- 
ant; and it was observed that when the snakes first came 
from their winter hiding places in early spring they would 
shoal up into miniature hillocks, thus by close contact con- 
serving the warmth of their bodies. They were entirely 
harmless, and some gardeners strongly objected to having 
them killed since the snakes were materially valuable in 
their destruction of mice and various insects. One season 
the settlers who wished to get rid of the snakes, because 
they regarded them as dangerous, offered a small reward 
for all that could be killed, and the boys slaughtered them 



EPOCH V 



195 



by thousands. This wholesale destruction of the snakes 
disturbed the balance of nature, and ere long an army of 
frogs issued from Lake E,wauna and marched toward the 
Upper Klamath Lake in such numbers that one could not 
walk near the river without treading on them. The whole- 




HUXOCB OF HABMI.ESS SSAEES 



sale destruction of snakes did not occur again, though some 
people continued to kill them, and the annual frog invasion 
gradually diminished as domestic fowls' became numerous 
along the river and around the margin of Lake Ewauna. 
Water snakes are not now numerous, neither are frogs, and 
it is thought that the birds, tame and wild, have taken a 
leading part in restoring the natural equilibrium between 
the serpents and amphibians. — Captain O. C. Applegate. 

Lack of Postal Facilities in Early Times. One of the 
most trying hardships endured by the settlers in the Oregon 



iWild birds, too, assisted in reducing the exeeaaive number o( 
young frogs. Shooting at ducks and other water fowls off the bridge 
that spans Klamath River In the very heart of the town of Klamath 
Falls, was a common practice in early times. — O. C. A. 



196 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



Country was the time required to send and recMve mail to 
and from "The States." Of course, there were no facilities 
of any kind for transporting letters or papers save that of 
private conveyance ivhich required nx months for the trip 
in one direction. A letter sent by the wife of Doctor Whit- 
man in 1 84 I was six months and seven days in traiiKt from 
Waiilatpu to Westport, Missouri, which was the nearest 
postoffice as one traveled eastward. The postage on the 
letter from Westport to Quincy, Illinois, ^as eighteen cents. 
John Minto, a well known pioneer who settled near Salem 
in 1844, sent a letter to his father 'who ^as living in Pennsyl- 




OVEBLAND STAQE 

vania and it went by sailing vessel to Sandwich Islands and 
thence across the isthmus, reaching its destination by the 
way of New York six months later. The elder Minto 
answered at once and his letter was delivered to the son a 
few days more than one year afterward. No less personage 
than the poet Joaquin Miller traveled on snow shoes and 
carried the mail over the mountains for the miners of Flor- 
ence, Idaho, during the winter months of the early "Sixties," 
charging fifty cents per letter. 

Stage Lines and "Pony Express System." Oregon had 



admitted into the Uni 



) State by act of congress 



EPOCH V 197 

several months before the fact was known at Salem, the 
capital. It was more than a decade after this event that 
the overland stage coaches were abandoned for the rsulway 
mail service as a means of postal transportation. The stage 
lines furnished means for the development of commendable 
enterprises and many fortunes were made and lost in these 
undertakings. Most of the lateral lines were known as the 
**pony express** system, which required much courage and 
dsuring, but the western pioneer spirit overcame all difficult 
ties, until the evolution of the railway, cheaper postage and 
the rural free delivery system, which now delivers mail dsuly 
to nearly every household in the United States. And many 
men and women are now living in Oregon who have seen 
this marvelous change — the reduction of the time required 
for a letter to travel from Oregon to the Missouri river from 
six months to three days! 



. HISTORY OF OREGON 
CHAPTER XI 
GOVERNOR LAFAYETTE GROVER 

September 14. 1870— February I, 1877 

Few men Have filled «o 
prominent a place in Oregon 
for BO long a period as Lafay- 
ette Grover, the fourth Gov- 
ernor of the State. He was 
bom in Bethel, Maine, on No- 
vember 29, 1823, and jour- 
neying to California in 1850, 
came to Oregon the next year 
and located in Douglas Coun- 
ty. Later he served in the 
legislature from Marion Coun- 
ty, and was a member of the 
state constitutional convention 
that met in Salem in August, 
1857. 

Upon the admission, of 
Oregon into the Union, Mr. 

Synchronized Chart of the World. In 1871, there appeared a 
popular chart of the world under the title of "A Chronological Cbart 
of Ancient, Modern and Biblical History, synchronized by Sebastian 
C. Adams, of Salem, Oregon." The chart, which soon found place 
in many of the leading colleges, univeraitiea and theological sem- 
inaries of the country, is interesting because of its agreement with 
the prevailing ideas of that time concerning important dates In 
sacred history. For example, the chart placed the creation of the 
first man at 4004 years before the Christian era, a statement which 
receives little credence at present. Hence knowledge of the chart 
prepared by this Oregon author, is valuable to us chiefly for the 
reason that it gives us the popular conception of ancient history 
in so late a time as 1871. Anticipating objections to his statements, 
the author, who evidently knew the earth is much older than an- 
nounced in his chart, explained that "to disturb this system would 
produce great confusion with no good results;" and he suggests that 
"no one is hindered from extending the stream of time back — to suit 
the chronology of the Septiiagint, Ihe claims of the Vedas and 
fumnas ot India or the tabulous uncertainties of Chinese traditions," 




EPCX:H V 199 

Grover was elected the first member of congress but 
served only seventeen days, as his term expired the fourth 
of Meurch, 1859. He was elected Governor in June, 1870, 
and was re-elected in June, 1874. In the middle of Gro- 
ver' s second term he was chosen United States Senator by 
the legislature and resigned the office of Governor in Febru- 
ary, 1877. Upon the expiration of his term in the senate, 
Grover returned to Portland and lived a retired life, his 
death occurring in Portland in July, 1911. 

Trouble With the Modocs. Originally the Klamath 
Indians disagreed among themselves. A portion of their 
number, upon withdrawing, to territory farther south, were 
called Modocs, an Indian name meaning **enemies.** The 
Modocs soon claimed to be a distinct tribe suited to their 
name and as they believed, their name was suited to the 
tribe. Truly they were enemies, not only to the other 
Indians, but to the whites also, some of whom they massa- 
cred. Their treachery was in turn avenged in 1832 by 
Captain Ben Wright,^ who killed forty-seven of their num- 
berot^ a peace meeting to which he had invited them. This 
deed led to a war which continued at intervals until 1 864, 
at which time the Indians were put on Klamath reservation, 
where lived some of their ancient enemies. A clan of the 
Modocs under Captain Jack, becoming dissatisfied and 
somewhat turbulent, left the reservation, and then brought 
on the Modoc War. 

Modoc War. The Cause. Upon being ordered to re- 
turn to the Klamath reservation in the spring of 1872, the 
Modocs under Captain Jack refused obedience. Fighting 
commenced on the 29th of November, 1872, and on the 
16th of the following month the Indians retreated into the 
lava bed stronghold on Tule Lake, where according to 
Captain O. C. Applegate, *The little band of Modocs held 



lOn February 22, 1856, an Indian assassinated Captain Ben 
Wright in his cabin near the mouth of Rogue River. 



200 



HISTORY OF OREGON 




CAFTAIH JACK 



out five and a half months among the labyrinUiine corridors 
of one of the strongest natural fortifications in the world, 
backed as it is by miles of rugged outvrarks and honqr- 
combed with yawning fissures 
if unknown depth." 

Massacre of the United 
States CommissiOTU Generals 
Wheaton and Ciilitun proved 
un successful in their efforts 
to dislodge the Modocs. In the 
meantime, the government 
appointed a commission of in- 
quiry, consisting of General E. 
R. S. Canby, Rev. E. Thomas, 
Superintendent of Indian Af- 
fairs, Colonel A. B. Meacham, 
and Indian Agent L. F. Dyer. 
The meeting of the Commission with the insurgent chief 
Captain Jack, and his staff, took place in a depression in 
the lava beds one mile from the soldiers, April I I. 1873. 
General Canby, Supt. Meacham and Agent Dyer addressed 
the Indians. Thereupon Captain Jack gave the signal "AD 
Ready," and Genera] Canby and Rev. Thomas were treach- 
erously killed, and Meacham, with five bullet wounds, fell 
apparently dead. "While he lay prostrate among the rocks, 
unconscious and bloody, a Modoc placed the muzzle of hia 
gun against Mr. Meacham's head, but the Modoc woman, 
Winema the interpreter, with the valor of Pocahontas, 
dashed away the gun, saying in Modoc, 'Do not shoot a 
dead man!' Another drew his knife and made an incision 
around the margin of Mr. Meacham's hair preparatory to 
scalping him, when Winema cried out in Modoc, "The sol- 
diers are coming.* Instantly the Modocs sprang for the 
rocks, carrying with them clothing and valuables taken 
from the victims." The soldiers appeared; Agent Dyer and 



EPOCH V 201 

the interpreter. Riddle, with Winema, who was Riddle's 
Indian wife, made good their escape; and, fortunately, 
Meacham^ recovered to live many years. 

Modoc War Ended* Captain Jack's signal, **A11 Ready," 
with the assassination which followed, "was the Indieoi dec- 
laration of war. A vigorous campsugn was then opened 
against the Modocs intrenched in the Lava Beds, which 
resulted in the capture of the band, including Captain Jack 
and his associates, in June, 1873. The treatment of the 
captives was a new departure in the Indian policy of the 
United States. The principals were tried for murder in a 
civil court, and seven of them convicted and sentenced to be 
hanged. Four of the assassins of Canby and Thomas, Cap** 
tain Jack, Sconchin, Boston Charley, and Black Jim, were 
duly executed at Fort Klamath ; the others were respited and 
sent to a reservation in Dakota, where they were kept under 
close guard." — Scribner's U. S. History. 



lAfter his recovery, Colonel A. B. Meacham, who was a citizen 
of Oregon, went to Boston where he lectured as a champion of the 
American Indians whom he believed had been grossly mistreated by 
the whites. At once he foimd many ardent sympathizers, among 
whom were Wendell Phillips, the distinguished orator, and James 
Redpath, founder of the Redpath Lecture Bureau. Influenced by the 
encouragement he received, Mr. Meacham continued his lectures 
and published a book called the "Wigwam and Warpath"; or "The 
Royal Indian in Chains," in which he dwelt to a large extent upon 
the history of the Modoc War, condoning the course of the insurgent 
Modocs and their leader. Later a dramatic company was organized 
with Colonel Meacham as lecturer and James Redpath as personal 
manager. Frank Riddle the interpreter and a number of prominent 
Indians, among whom was Winema, were chosen as performers. 
Because of his personal experience on the warpath and his thorough 
acquaintance with the character and history of the redman, Captain 
O. C. Applegate was placed in charge of the Indians. Major and 
Mrs. C. B. Raymond of Boston financed the enterprise. The lecture 
tour which embraced the principal cities from Sacramento to the 
National .Capital, resulted in creating a more favorable sentiment 
for fair and intelligent treatment of the American Indians. After 
the lecture tour Colonel Meacham made Washington, D. C, his 
headquarters, and devoted his remaining years to the publication 
of a paper called the "Council Fire," which espoused the cause of 
the redman. 



202 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Memaloose Island. Ancient Ifidian Cemetery. One 
of the very interesting points of Oregon is the Memaloose 
Island in the Columbia River, a few miles below The Dalles. 
It is one of the oldest of the Indian burial grounds in the 
Northwest, and is mentioned in the journal of Lewis and 
Clark when they made their famous joum^ of exploration 
in (804-6. Even at that time, however, it was an anciott 
burying ground, for 4be' history does not point to a time 




MEMALOOSE ISLAND. 



when Indians were not occupying this western coast. Mema- 
loose Island is about 200 by 200 feet in area and is exceed- 
ingly rocky: and being located in the Columbia River afford- 
ed a safe place to deposit the bodies of the dead where 
there was freedom from the prowlings of wild animals. 
When the whites first came to the Oregon Country there 
were many burying grounds used by the Indians, but that 
at Memaloose Island was the most generally preferred. 
Indian bones were to be seen in abundance; but in recent 
years the Island is not used for that purpose. "Memaloose" 
came from the Chinook jargon, which was spoken by the 
early pioneers and the Indians, and as a verb the word 
means "to kill." 



EPOCH V 



203 



Memaloose Island is a Point of Interest to travelers 
along the Columbia River either by boat or rail, and being 
nearer the Oregon shore than that of the state of Washing' 
ton is easily seen from the trains of the Oregon -Washington 
Railroad Company. Victor Trevitt, a pioneer of 1851, 




PKE-niBTOKIO DEAD OH MEMALOOSE ISLAND, 18BS. 



^vhose home ivas in The Dalles, ^as a special friend of the 
Indians, and when he died several years ago was buried on 
Memaloose Island under the terms of a provision in his will. 
He set aside a sufficient sum to bear the expense and named 
a personal friend in Portland to see that it was complied 
with, remarking that he "had met many crooked white men 
but no Indian had ever failed to keep a promise with him 
when once made." Mr. Trevitt was a state senator from 
Wasco County in 1866 and in 1870. A granite monument 
on Memaloose Island, plainly seen from either bank of the 
Colimibia River, marks his last resting place. He died in 
San Francisco on January 24, IS63, and. on the fourth of 
the following month was buried on the isle that was "sacred 
to his aboriginal friends." 

Gmr of Agriculture Established in Oregon. In 1873, 
the follovring tvro-year course in agriculture was offered by 
Corvallis College, which the Oregon Legislature in 1868 
had selected for the teaching of the subject: 



204 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



AGRICULTURE 
Course of Study 

First Year. First Term, — Chemical Physics and Inorganic 
Chemistry, Structural and Physiological Botany. First five books 
of Davles' Legendre, 

Second Term. — Organic Chemistry. How Crops Grow. Bnglleli 
Language. 

Third Term. Qualitative Analysis. Detection of the alkalies, 
alkaline-earths, earths, etc. Systematic Botany; Escurslons and 
Collections. English Language. 

Second Year. First Term. — Qualitative Analysis continued. De- 
tection and Separation of the Elements. Chain Surveying and Men- 
suration. Geometrical Drawing. General Principles of Zoology, 
(or German). 

Second Term. General Principles of Geology, Vegetable Econ- 
omy; How Plants Feed. Topographical Drawing. Animal Physiol- 
ogy, (or German). 

Third Term. Geology of Oregon. Vegetable Economy. Ento- 
mology, (or German). 

The foregoing was the first c 
on the Pacific coast. Professor 



pointed professor of agricuUi 




B. J. HAWTHORNE 

regard with increasing fai 



ourse in agriculture offered 
B. J. Hawthorne was ap- 
and languages, a position 
which he filled eleven 
years without assistance. 
During this period the 
classes in agriculture col- 
lected and mounted about 
1200 botanical specimens 
and made numerous ex- 
periments which stimulat- 
ed the belief that the sci- 
ence of agriculture is 
based upon certain princi- 
ples and unfailing lawa 
which can be successfully 
taught in a college and 
thereby exalted in nation- 
al estimation. Later &e 
State of Oregon began to 
the scientific study of agricul- 



ture in schools and generously supplemented the federal 



pFpl if 


P^fl 


■ ' «-^ 


ftt^S^^ 


_- . 


-IJ 


i^ J 


.?^_^i 


^1 


^ j 


^^BIWB 


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. -'"l:.i 


!lfl 


m 


^f^ift'^ 


^1 


HliMi^fai4 



206 HISTORY OF OREGON 

fund set aside by congress for this purpose. As a result 
there are 1 6 major departments in agriculture of the Oregon 
Agricultural College offering degrees, lite faculty in Agri' 
culture has increased to 104 members, including twenty- 



W 



^1 



*\ <>' 



four county agents; great laboratories have been established 
in the experiment station and the school of agriculture, and 
the essentials of scientific agriculture have come to be taught 
in many of the high schools of the state. 

First State School Superintendent of Oregon. During 
the first fourteen years after Oregon became a State, the 
duties of the office of superintendent of public instruction 
were performed by the governor. At this time there was 
not a high school building in Oregon — high school instruc- 
tion usually being relegated lo academies, seminaries and 
other institutions of learning provided by the churches. 
There were but few grammar schools. These were support- 



EPOCH V. 207 

ed chiefly by subscription, and were, therefore, in some re- 
spects select schools during a portion of the year, open 
only to the well-to-do. As a rule the public schools were 
ungraded, and there v^as no uniform system of text-books 
in use. Above all, the laws governing teachers and the 
granting of teachers' certificates were lax, and teachers' in- 
stitutes were rarely held. There was a provision in the 




state constitution, however, that after five years from adop- 
tion, it should be competent for the legislature to provide 
for the election of a state superintendent of schools; the 
office was, therefore, separated from that of governor in 
1673. The first superintendent of public instruction was 
Sylvester C. Simpson, who ^as appointed to the office by 
Governor L. F. Grover. Mr. Simpson assumed the duties 
of his office January 30, 1873. 



2 08 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Department of Public Instruction Reorganized. Upon 
the appointment of State School Superintendent Simpson, 
a meeting of the State Board of Education was held in the 
Governor's office to reorganize the department of public 
instruction. There were present: L. F. Grover, Governor 
and ex-officio President of the Board; S. F. Chadwick, Sec- 
retary of State, and Sylvester C. Simpson, Superintendent 
of Public Instruction and ex-officio Secretary of the Board. 
The Board appointed President B. L. Arnold of Corvallis 
College, President Thomas M. Gatch 6f Willamette Univer- 
sity, Professor A. J. Anderson of Pacific University, Pro- 
fessor John W. Johnson of the Portland schools, and 1. Allen 
Macrum, principal of Oregon City Seminary, to act in con- 
ducting examinations of teachers and in adopting a uniform 
series of textbooks for the schools of the State. In July, 
1873, the following textbooks were adopted for use in the 
public schools of Oregon for four years beginning October 1 , 
5 873: Thomson's New Primary Mental, New Rudiments 
of Arithmetic, and new Practical Arithmetic; Brooks* Nor- 
mal Mental Arithmetic, Monteith*s Introduction to Geogra- 
phy and Physical Intermediate Geography (Pacific Coast 
Edition), Beginners' Grammar and Clark's Normal Gram- 
mar, Barnes' Brief History, Peter Parley's Universal History, 
Spencerian Penmanship and Copy-books, Robinson's Higher 
Arithmetic, Brooks' Algebra and Geometry, Anderson's 
General History, Hart's Composition, Steele's Fourteen 
Weeks in Physiology, Natural Philosophy, and Chemistry, 
Woods' Botany and Florist, and Bryant and Stratton's High 
School Bookkeeping." On September 22d of the samne year 
the Board, upon the recommendation of a majority of coun- 
ty school superintendents, adopted the Pacific Coast First, 
Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Readers, with Hopkins' 
Manual of American Ideas in lieu of a Sixth Reader; and 
the Pacific Coast Spellers replaced Webster's Elementary 
Speller, which had done service as primer, first reader, and 
spelling book in many schools. The printed course of study 



EPOCH V 209 

with a list of rules adopted by the board was officially 
placed on the walls in all public school rooms of the State. 
Also strong influence was brought to bear upon communities 
to support their schools by taxation, so that elementary * 
education might be free to all persons between the ages of 
four and twenty years; and among numerous other begin- 
nings, county institutes were held for the improvement and 
uplift of the teaching profession. State Superintendent 
Simpson continued in office until September 1 4, 1 8 74, when 
he was succeeded by Dr. L. L. Rowland, who had been 
connected with Bethel College mentioned elsewhere in this 
publication. 

The Oregon Caves. Their Discovery. In 1874, a 
wounded bear, closely pursued by Elijah Davidson, took 
refuge in a mountain recess which later proved to be one 
of the doorways to the Oregon Caves. The mountain, which 
was afterwar.ds called Cave Mountain, is 6,000 feet high. 
It is located in Josephine County, and divides the Illinois 
River from Applegate Creek. Openings were found later 
on the opposite side of the mountain; and it w^as believed 
that a constant draught might pass through the caves from 
the portals on one side to the outlet on the other side about 
three miles away. Thereupon a fire was kindled at the 
entrance and within a short time smoke was seen emerging 
from the portals on the farther side, which conclusively 
proved there is a continuous passage through Cave Mountain. 
Description The Oregon Caves, in decorations of wall 
and ceiling, surpass the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. So 
far as known they consist of **five levels of glittering cham- 
bers with a basement apparently bottomless.*' Upon further 
exploration it may be found that they extend through the 
marble summit of the Siskiyou mountains into California. 
The largest explored chamber is the Ghost Room, common- 
ly called Dante's Inferno. It has the shape of a crescent 
520 feet long and 50 feet wide, with a ceiling about 40 feet 
high. It is about 1 600 feet beneath the summit of the 



i 



210 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



mountain, and is located nearly two-thirds of a mile back 
from the main entrance. The Graveyard, a chamber about 
75 feet long and 25 feet wide, is next in size to the Ghost 
Room. Joaquin Miller's Chapel is a beautiful room, in which 
there is a pillar seven feet high and ten inches in diameter. 
Near the pillar is a stalacite and a stalagmite that have nearly 
grown together, illustrating how the pillar in Joaquin Miller's 
Chapel was formed. Fantastic decorations of ^^Is, ceilings 
and floors with huge flowers and vegetables in limestone are 




"JOAQUIH MILLEB'S OHAPEL," OBEOOH 

among the attractive features of the chambers and galleries. 
Some of the most wonderful of these are found in that 
end of the Ghost Room known as Paradise Lost. 

The Caves a Part of National Reserve. The Oregon 
Caves, embracing in all 420 acres, were set aside by the 
National Government in 1913, because of their scientific 
interest. The Forest Service maintains a camp at the prin- 



EPOCH V. 211 

cipal entrance to the Caves/ where may be found during the 
tourist season a competent guide who daily conducts parties 
gratis over a route covering three and one-half miles * 'among 
the wondrous marble halls of Oregon.** 

First Oregon-built Revenue Cutter. The year 1875 
marks an era in Oregon naval construction, as it was at this 
time that the revenue steam cutter **Corvin*' was built and 
engined by Mr. Edwin Russell, at Albina. John Steffin was 
the master mecheuiic for construction of hull, and Smith 
Brothers & Watson installed the machinery. After twenty 
years of service in northern waters, the hull of the **Corvin" 
was found to be in perfect condition, which was additional 
proof that Douglas fir of which it was constructed, is first 
class material for ship building. The advent of the **Corvin" 
determined Lloyd*s Register of British and Foreign Shipping 
—one of the great classification societies — to. establish a 
branch office at Portland, Oregon; and in 1884 Capt. 
George Pope was elected by Lloyd* s Committee to act for 
them as Ship and Engineer Surveyor with jurisdiction from 
the southern border of Oregon to and including Alaska. 

Blue Mountain University. Blue Mountain University 
was the only university ever established in Eastern Oregon. 
La Grande was chosen for the location of the institution 
because of the central location of the town with reference 
to Elastem Oregon and Washington. An endowment was 
soon subscribed by leading citizens, and in the fall of 1875 
Blue Mountain University was opened under the auspices 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with Rev. H. K. Hines 
as financial agent, and J. L. Carter as acting president. The 
classes were accommodated in the public school building, 
while the town hall was reserved for the larger gatherings 
that attended the institution. In 1876, the University was 
moved into a new two-story brick edifice erected by the 

iThe Oregon Caves are commonly reached by trail, six miles 
from Grimmitt's ranch on the Illinois side, and three miles from 
Caves Camp on the Applegate side. 



2 1 2 HISTOR V OF OREGON 

trustees; and the attendance was increased to two hundred 
students from Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Because 
of certain unavoidable but far-reaching financial reverses, 
Blue Mountain University closed its doors in 1883, having 
completed a comparatively brief but signally important 
career. 

Hayes-TOden Contest Over Oregon Electoral Commis- 
sion. During the closing months of L. F. Grover's term as 
Governor, Oregon's prominence in national affairs was aug- 
mented by reason of its connection with the Hayes-Tilden 
contest for the presidency. The state had voted in favor 
of Mr. Hayes, but since the result in the electoral college 
stood 1 85 for Hayes and 1 84 for Tilden, the managers for 
the latter sought to declare J. W. Watts, one of the electors 
for Oregon, ineligible because he wais postmaster, which 
disqualified him under a federal law, from holding two re- 
munerative offices at once. Governor Grover refused to 
issue a commission to Watts, and, instead, gave it to £. A. 
Cronin, a Tilden elector. This would have resulted in the 
election of Tilden as President of the United States, but the 
Electoral Commission, to which this and other doubtful 
questions were referred, decided in favor of Watts, on the 
ground that the people of Oregon had unquestionably voted 
in favor of Hayes, and their will should be observed; so 
the vote of Mr. Watts, the republican elector from Oregon 
was counted, without which Hayes could not have been 
elected to the Presidency. 

University of Oregon. The predecessor of the Univer- 
sity of Oregon was Columbia College. This college, which 
was located (1860) by the Presbyterians at Eugene, Ore- 
gon, trained many prominent men and women, among 
whom was the poet, Joaquin Miller. However, the school 
languished for want of patronage; and it became evident 



EPOCH V 213 

that a stronger organization was necessary to continue an 
institution of higher learning in that locality under condi- 
tions then prevailing. 

Establishment of the University. In admitting Oregon 
to the Union, Congress had set apart (1859) seventy-two 
sections of land, from which had accumulated by this time 




TnnVEBSITY OF OKBOOK 



(1872) the sum of $80,000 for the establishment of the 
State University. Accordingly, the Union University Asso- 
ciation, which was organized to place the school at Eugene 
on a better basis, proposed to the State to provide a build- 
ing, ground, and furnishings to cost not less than $50,000, 
if the Legislature would establish the state university at 
Eugene. The offer was promptly accepted, and the follow- 
ing directors were immediately appointed: Matthew P. 
Deady, R. S. Strahan, L. L. McArthur, John M. Thompson, 
Thomas G. Hendricks, George Humphreys. Benjamin F. 
Dorris, William J. Scott, and Joshua J. Walton. Deady Hall 
was completed July. 1876, and on the sixteenth of October 



214 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



of that year, the University of Oregon opened with the 
following faculty — John W. Johnson, President and Pro- 
fessor of Greek and Latin; 
Mark Bailey, professor of 
mathematics; Tliomas Con- 
don, professor of Geology and 
natural history; Mary P. Spill- 
er, principal of the prepara- 
tory department. 

In 1680, Deady Hall, 
the only building of the Uni- 
versity, was practically ordered 
sold to satisfy unpaid bills on 
its construction; and the insti- 
tution was in desperate finan- 
cial straits. At this time Hen- 
ry Villard came to the rescue 
with the unsubscribed balance. 
Later, Mr. Villard made vari- 
ous liberal contributions to the 
University, one of which was an endowment of $50,000, — 
the only endowment the institution has ever received. In 
recognition of these loyal and generous 
services, which came without solicita- 
tion, the second building of the Uni- 
versity was named Villard Hall. 

Oregon Geological Discloiurei. 
The patient and prolonged investiga- 
tions into the story of the rocks of Ore- 
gon by Professor Thomas Condon, 
iraiVBiisiTY or ^^,ho. for a number of years was a mem- 
OBEOON SEAL j^^^ ^j ^j^^ j^^^,^ ^j ^^ University of 
Oregon, has added a vast fund of valuable information as 
to the geological formation underlying our state. His dis- 
covery and analysis of many fossil specimens found in 
Eastern Oregon will be of intense interest to the student of 





EPOCH V. 



215 



geology. Especially valuable are his discoveries of the 
existence of the form of horse that abounded in that region 
in the Miocene age, "a genus of three or four species, vary- 
ing in size from that of a Newfoundland dog twenty five to 
twenty-seven inches in height to that of a small donkey. 
There were three continuous sets of bones in each lower 
leg, joined to as many separate hoofs, ^vhile in the living 
horse two of the hoof attachments are only rudimentary, 
their functions being lost." 

These, with many other rare specimens were discov- 
ered by Doctor Condon and his assistants in the region of 
John Day river in Grant County, and are carefully pre- 
served in the State Uni- 
versity of Oregon. Doctor 
Condon says of this horse, 
"many of these fossils in- 
dicate a really beautiful 
little animal of graceful 
outline about the size of 
an antelope, bringing to 
that early period a truthful 
prophecy of the highest 
type of our present horse. 

And so abundant were 

they on the hills of Sho- ancient cembtesy 

shone that fragments of skeletons are found in nearly all its 
fossil beds. In his description of one of these fossils Doctor 
Condon says "it was of this handsome specimen from John 
Day that an experienced stableman once exclaimed. "Full 
mouth, five years old past. Horse? By George, it is!" 

The Geological Revelations Yet to be Made by investi- 
gators will be of supreme interest and value and will add 
immeasurably to the amount of knowledge at the service 
of the human family. Of this subject in general Dr. Condon 
said; "One can scarcely study such a form, as he loosens 
fragment after fragment from a crumbling hillside, without 






*m:^- 



2 1 6 HISTORY OF OREGON 



a conviction that the laur of lineal descent, with the hold- 
ing ponrer of heredity and the directing power of an all 
comprehensive plan* entered together into its creation. 
The Almighty's work of creation* as recorded among these 
^oshone hills of Miocene times, may properly be de- 
fined as a providential bringing together of the agencies of 
mountain streams, of uplifting forces, of scattering seeds, 
of the nurture of plants and animals and of the gathering 
into this favored region the life that this same Providence 
stretching over a preceding age, had prepared for this 
Western Eden of the Miocene." 



EPOCH V 217 

GOVERNOR STEPHEN F. CHADWICK 
February 1. 1877— September 11. 1878 

By the resignation of Governor Grover in February, 
1877, Stephen F. Chadwick, who was Secretary of State, 
became acting Governor 
to fill the unexpired 
term. He had been elect- 
ed Secretary of State in 
1870, and again in 1874. 
As there was no session of 
the legislature held during 
the short term of Gover- 
nor Chadmck, his respon- 
sibilities were confined to 
the ordinary discharge of 
the official duties pertain- 
' ing to the execution of 
the \a-wB as he found 
them, and he retired in 
September, 1878. 

Governor , Chadwick 
continued his residence oovebhoe s. f. chadwick 

in Salem until his death in January, 1695. He was bom in 
Connecticut, December 25, 1825: was admitted to the bar 
in New York in 1850, and came to the Umpqua Valley in 
Oregon in 1 85 I . He was the first judge of Douglas County; 
and in 1857, he was a member of the constitutional con- 
vention, and was presidential elector in 1 864 and 1 868. 

War With Chief Joseph and the Nez Perces. "When 
Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces, and his brother, Olicut, in- 
herited the name and power of their father. Old Joseph 
called the two sons to his death bed (1872) and requested 
them to hold forever the beautiful Wallowa Valley, in 
Oregon. It was in defense of this valley and protest against 




2 1 6 HISTORY OF OREGON 

its settlement by the whites that the famous Nez Perce War 
was fought." — Major Lee Moorhouse. 

The Nez Perce War came about after this manner: 
"Chief Joseph.' who had about 500 Nez Perce Indians aa his 
following, had laid claim to the boundary as established 




WAIJ.OWA I.ASE Photo. W. A. Parker 

by the treaty of 1855, especially that country west of the 
Snake River in Oregon and the Wallowa Valley. . . . Presi- 
dent Grant conceded it to the Nez Perces in his executive 
order of June 16. 1873. but on June 10. 1875, this order 
was revoked, and all that part of Oregon west of the Snake 
River, embracing the Wallowa Valley, was restored to the 
public domain. In the early part of 1677, the United States 
decided to have Chief Joseph and his followers removed 

>A portion of the eloauent speech of the dying tather ie thus 
recorded by Young Joseph: 

"My son, my body is returnine to my mother Earth; and my 
spirit is going very soon to see the Great Spirit Chief. When I 
am gone, think of your country. You are the chief of these peo- 
ple. They look to you to guide them. Always remember that your 
father never sold his country. You muat stop your ears when 
asked to sign a treaty selling your home. A few years more, and 
white men will be all around you. They have their eyes on this 
land. My son. never forget my dying words. This country holds 
your father's body. Never sell the bones of your father and' 
your mother. 

"I pressed my father's hand and told him 1 would protedt his 
grave with niy life. My father smiled and passed away to the 
spirit land. I buried him in the valley of the Winding Waters. I 
love that land more than all the rest of the world. A man that 
wvald Dot love his father's grave Is worse than a wild animal." 



EPOCH V 



219- 



from the Wallowa to the reservation in Idaho. Orders were 
issued to General O. O. Howard to "occupy Wallowa Val' 
1^ in the interest of peace." That distinguished and 
humane soldier endeavored to induce Joseph to comply 
with the plans of the government. On May 2 1 , General 
Howard reported that he had a conference with Joseph and 
other chiefs on May 1 9, and that "they yielded a con- 
strained compliance with the orders of the government, 
and had been allowed thirty days to gather in their people, 
stock, etc." On June 14 the Indians under Joseph from 
Wallowa, White Bird, from Salmon River, and Looking- 
glass from Clear Water assembled near Cottonwood Creek, 
in apparent compliance with their promise, ^hen General 
Howard, who was at Fort Lapwai, heard that four white 
men had been murdered by some Nez Perces, and that 
White Bird had announced that he ^vould not go on the 
reservation. Other murders 
were reported. General 
Howard dispatched two 
companies under Captain 
Perry, who made an unsuc- 
cessful attack upon the In- 
dians at White Bird Canyon. 
General Hovrard then per- 
sonally took the field, and on 
July I 1 , he defeated the In- 
dians in a deep ravine on the 
Clearwater, driving them 
from their position." — Har- 
per's Encyclopedia of U, S. 
History. 

Retreat and Capture of _ „ 

Oiief Joseph. On July 1 7, yojisq ckiet Joseph 

1877, the famous retreat of Chief Joseph began, followed 
by the troops of General O. O. Howard. The thrilling story 
pf this retreat, written by some gifted Indian, would sound 




220 HISTORY OF OREGON 

much like Xenophon*s story of the **Retreat of the Ten 
Thousand.** General Gibbon, who was then in Montana, 
started in pursuit. August 20, the Indians turned on Gen- 
eral Howard and stampeded his pack train, which was par- 
tially recovered later by the cavalry. **The fleeing Indians 
then traveled some of the worst trails for man or beast on 
this continent,** as described by General Sheridan. On Sep- 
tember 1 3, they gave battle to General Sturgis near the 
mouth of Clark*s Fork. **The Indians proceeded north to- 
ward the British possessions with the view of join- 
ing the renegade Sioux with whom Sitting Bull was in 
hiding.** The Indians, who had successfully retreated a 
thousand miles, crossed the Missouri River, and at the 
mouth of Eagle Creek in the Bear Creek Mountains, ^thin 
fifty miles of the British possessions, were attacked by 
Colonel Miles. As the fight was closing. General Howard 
came up and the entire band of Indians surrendered to 
him and General Miles. **This,** said General Sheridan, 
**ended one of the most extraordinary Indian wars of which 
we have any record.** The Indians throughout displayed 
a courage and skill that elicited universal praise; they ab- 
stained from scalping; let captive women go free; did not 
commit indiscriminate murder of peaceful families, \^ich 
is unusual; and fought with almost scientific skill. After 
the war the Nez Perces were sent to Indian Territory where 
they were peaceable and industrious; and May, 1885, they 
returned to Idaho and Washington; but they were never 
again permitted to live in the Wallowa Valley for which 
the Nez Perce War was fought. September 21, 1 904, Chief 
Joseph died at the age of 67, at his lonely place of exile at 
Nespelem on the Colville Indian Reservation, Washington, 
surrounded by a small band of his intimate friends. A splen- 
did monument erected by the State of Washington now 
marks his grave. 



EPOCH V 221 

SPEECH OF CHIEF JOSEPH 

(An Extract) 

My friends, my name is In-mu-too-yah-lat-Iat ( Thun- 
der- traveling-over-the^moun tains). I have beeen asked to 
show you my heart. I am glad to have a chance to do so 
now. I want the white man to understand my people. The 
white m£ui has many words to tell how my people look to 
him, but it does not require many words to speak the truth. 
What 1 have to say will come from my heart, and I will speak 
it with a straight tongue. The Great Spirit is looking at me, 
said will hear me. 

Good words do not last long until they amount to 
something. Words do not pay for dead people. They do 
not pay for my country now overrun by white men. They 
do. not protect my father's grave. They do not pay for my 
horses and cattle. Good words will not give me back my 
children. Good words will not give my people good health 
and stop them from dying. Good words will not get my 
people a home where they can live in peace, and take care 
of themselves. It makes my heart sick when I remember all 
the good words and all the broken promises. There has 
been too much talk by white men who had no right to talk. 

If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indians, 
he can live in peace. There need be no trouble. Treat all 
men alike. Give all the same law. Give them an even 
chance to live and grow^. All men were made by the same 
Great Spirit Chief. They are all brothers. The earth is the 
mother of all people, and all people should have the same 
rights. If you tie a horse to a stake, do you expect him to 
grow fat. If you pen an Indian on a small spot of earth and 
compel him to stay there, he will not be content, nor will he 
grow and prosper. I have asked some of the great white 
chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that 
he shall stay in one place, while white men go w^here they 
please. They cannot tell us. 

When I think of our condition my heart is heavy. I see 



222 HISTORY OF OREGON 

men of my race treated as outlaws^ and driven from country 
to country, or shot down like animals. 

Let me be a free man — free to travel, free to stop, free 
to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my 
teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to 
think and talk and act for myself — and I will obey every 
law, or submit to the penalty. 

When the white men treat the Indians as they treat 
each other, then we shall have no more wars. We shall be 
alike — brothers of one father and one mother. There will 
be one sky above, one country around us, and one gov- 
ernment for all. Then the Great Spirit Chief will smile upon 
this land. He will send rain to wash out the bloody spots 
made by my brothers* hands upon the face of the earth. 
For this the Indian is waiting and praying. 1 hope that no 
more groans of wounded men and women will ever go to 
the ear of the Great Spirit Chief and that all people may be 
one people. 

In-mu-too-yah-lat-lat has spoken for his people. 

The Piute-Bannock Indian War. One of the fiercest, 
though not greatly protracted, Indian outbreaks knoivn to 
the history of the Northwest was the hostile raid of the 
Bannock, Piute and Snake tribes through Nevada, Eastern 
Oregon and Southern Idaho in the summer of 1878. The 
trouble originated by reason of the dissatisfaction of the 
Piutes on account of the removal of a favorite agent and the 
appointment of one whom they disliked. Following the ad- 
vice of a few leaders who claimed an inspiration that the 
time had come when a coalition of various tribes could over- 
throw the whites in the Northwest, the effort was made under 
the leadership of Egan, the head of the Piutes. Joined by 
the Bannocks, the Snakes, and later by some of the Uma- 
tillas, a destructive campaign was inaugurated which tcoced 
the unprepared whites to the utmost for more than a month. 
Killing settlers, burning houses and stealing horses and cat- 
tle, the savages terrorized a wide section which included 



EPOCH V 223 

Grant, Umatilla, Baker, and Malheur counties in Oregon and 
reaching into the Weiser Valley in Idaho. Genaral O. O. 
Howard, who was commander of the Military Department of 
the Columbia, stationed at Vancouver, at once went to the 
scene of hostilities and Governor Chadwick went to Pendle- 
ton and remained there during the period of danger in Uma- 
tilla county. On July 6, a battle occurred on the headwaters 
of Birch Creek sixty miles south of Pendleton; and on July 
1 2, George Coggan, a prominent pioneer of La Graiide, wras 
murdered a few miles from Cayuse station, while several 
other men were wounded. In all, about fifteen citizens of 
Umatilla County were murdered. 




BATTLE OF WILLOW OEEEE 

A dstaclimeBt nndei Capt. J. C, Sperry was attacked b; Indlani at 
Willow Creek, fart; mUea south at Pendleton, July 6, 1BT8. Aftsr 
a battle of six houia the Indiana ware driven back with Idbi unknovn. 

Tlie people of the other counties named were fearful of 
similar experience and moved in large numbers to the 
nearby towns and erected stockades for defense. It ^as 
thought that the Indians intended to cross into Washington 
and Idaho by the ^ay of the Grand Ronde and Wallowa 
valleys, but the hot pursuit of the forces of General Howard 
evidently changed their plans, and they sought escape 



224 HISTORY OF OREGON 

through the Blue Mountain ridges into the Malheur coun- 
try. Chief Egan was murdered by Umapine, a Cayuse In- 
dian who, through fear, had espoused the cause of the 
whites, and the backbone of the uprising was broken. 
Dividing into smaller bands and following numerous trails 
the Indians were finally either dispersed or captured. , The 
Piutes, who were the real leaders in the terrific uprising, were 
mostly captured and removed to the Yakima Indian 
agency; but they could not be made to accept the ways of 
civilization, as the Simcoe Indians had done, and after a 
time were permitted to return to their former home in 
Northern Nevada. 

The Three Climates of Oregon. Oregon possesses 
nearly every variety of climate found in the Temperate 
Zone. But it may be said to have three principal climates 
which vary in moisture and temperature as the regions which 
they affect rise in altitude or approach the equator and the 
ocean. These climates are as marked as those of far distant 
states or of foreign countries; so that men, cattle and horses 
removed for a sufficient time from one Oregon climate to 
another are materially affected by the change. 

The Coast Climate is that of the region between the 
Coast Range and the Pacific Ocean. It is the most humid 
climate in the State. The atmosphere of the Coast Climate 
is heavily charged with vapor much of which is lost in rain- 
fall before it is carried over the Coast Range. After cross- 
ing the Coast Range a vast number of straggling clouds float 
over the valleys and frequently are resolved into fog. Others 
expend their substance in dew, rain and snow until they be- 
come light enough to sweep over the greater heights of the 
Cascade Mountains to water the region farther east. Be- 
cause this region is the upland section of Oregon, we may 
speak of its climate as the Highland Climate. As the at- 
mosphere between the Coast Range and the Cascades is less 
humid than that of the Coast Climate, but more humid than 



EPOCH V 225 

that of the Highland climate, we refer to it as a distinct 
climate; and because the region where it prevails lies be- 
tween Eastern Oregon and the Coast region, we may call 
it the Midland Climate. 

The Coast Climate of Oregon is somewhat similar to 
the climate of England. The Midland Climate of Oregon is 
similar to that found further toward the interior of France. 
The Highland Climate of Oregon is much like that of the 
uplands of Central Europe. 



226 HISTORY OF OREGON 

GOVERNOR W. W. THAYER 

Septonber 11, 1878— September 3, 1882. 

Bom on a farm in the state of New York on July 15, 
1827, Governor W. W. 
Thayer came to Oregon in 
September, 1862, locating 
in Corvallis. in 1851, he 
had been admitted to the 
bar in his native state, 
and he continued in that 
profession until his death. 
He went to Idaho in 1863. 
After serving as a member 
of the Idaho legislature 
and as district attorney of 
the third judicial district in 
that territory, Mr. Thayer 
removed to Portland in 
1867. He was elected 
Governor of Oregon in 

GOV. WILLIAM WALLACE THAYEB , .mo i rii i .i . 

June 1 0/(5, and tilled that 
office with distinction from September, 1878, until Septem- 
ber 1882. 

Asylum Removed from Portland to Salem. Efforts 
had been previously made to remove the State Insane Asy- 
lum from Portland to Salem, but powerful local influences 
succeeded in preventing the change. During the session of 
1 680, however, a strong combination ^as formed to resist 
all opposition to the movement, and the act passed 
with but two votes to spare in the house. T'wo 
years later, the buildings having been completed, the pa- 
tients ^ere removed to Salem and the long contest was 
ended. Prior to that date alt the State's mentally defective 
were kept in Portland under the private contract system, 
which was unsatisfactory and expensive. The institution is 
now known as the Oregon State Hospital at Salem. 




EPOCH V 



227 



Preudent Hayei Visited Oregon. President Hayea 
made Kia memorable vint to the Pacific Coast in September, 
1880, and on the 30th of that month was given a public 
reception in the Hall of Representatives, in the capitol. 
The legislature adjourned in honor of the event and 
many thousands of people availed themselves of the oppor- 
tunity to meet the first President of the United States to 
visit the State of Oregon. With President Hayes were his 
wife, and General W. T. Sherman. Governor Thayer met 
the party in the southern part of the State and accompanied 
it to the State Capitol. 

State Normal School at Monmouth. Upon assuming 
the management of Christian College at Monmouth, (1861), 
President D. T. Stanley conceived the idea of transforming 
that college into a state normal school. The matter was 
placed before the leg- 
islature and an act was 
passed (1682) by 
^ich Christian College 
received the title of 
Oregon State Normal 
School. However, the 
school was dependent 
upon tuition, fees, and 
donations for its sup- 
port; and the control 
remained in the hands 
of the facul^, subject 
to the state superintendent of public instruction. After a 
precarious existence covering a number of years as a de- 
nominational school, the State Normal School at Monmouth 
was taken under the control of the State in 1 89 1 , at which 
time a board of regents ^vas appointed and the legislature 
made its hrst appropriation to the institution. The school 
steadily grew in efficiency and influnce as well as in attend- 




OBEOON NOBJUAL 8CB00I. 



228 SECTION XII 

ance until the year 1909, when it was closed because the 
legislature of that year failed to provide funds for the main- 
tenance of any normal school in the state. However, at the 
general initiative election held November, 1910, the peo- 
ple voted a yearly tax of one twenty-fifth of a mill for the 
suppoit of that institution. Consequently the State Normal 
School at Monmouth reopened under the direction of Presi- 
dent J. H. Ackerman, ex-Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion of the State. 

Date (or Convening Legislature Changed. Since 
the beginning of the state government the legislature had 
convened on the second Monday of every even-numbered 
year, according to a provision of the constitution; but at the 
regular session of 1 882 the time was changed to the second 
Monday in January. For this reason Governor Moody, 
whose term of office followed, occupied the position of 
chief executive from September, 1882, until January, 1887, 
the longest single gubernatorial term in the history of the 
State. 



EPOCH V 229 

CHAPTER Xll 
GOVERNOR ZENAS F. MOODY 
September 13, 1882 — January 12, 1887 

Zenas F. Moody was inaugurated Governor Septem- 
ber 13, 1682, having been elected as the Republican can- 
didate for that office. Two incidents of nation-wide in- 
terest which occurred during his administration were the 
bitterly contested senato- 
rial elections during the 
legislative session of Janu- 
ary 1885, and in Novem- 
ber of the same year at an 
extra session. In January 
Hon. Solomon Hirsch was 
the regular caucus nomi- 
nee of the Republican 
party, which had a clear 
majority on joint ballot; 
but the refusal of 18 mem- 
bers of the dominant party 
to comply with the caU' 
cus decision, caused the 
contest to last during the 
entire ses«on, and that 
body adjourned without 
an election. 

Governor Moody called an extra session to convene 
in the November following, at which time the Hon. John H. 
Mitchell became the Republican candidate, but failed to re- 

Oovemor Moody was born In Massachusetts on May 27, 1S32, 
and came to Oregon by way of the Isthmus of Panama, arriving in 
April, 1851. He followed various pursuita, surveying, mercantile and 
mining. Went to Illinois and lived there from 1856 to 1860; returned 
to Oregon In 1862, and located in The Dalles; was elected to the 
legislature from Waaco County In 1S80, chosen speaker of the house 
In September of that year, and elected Governor in June, 1882. 
After bis term of office had expired he continued his residence In 
Salem, hie death occurring in 1917. 




OOVEBHOB Z. F. MOGDT 



230 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



ceive the caucus nomination. An unprecedented bitter fi^t 
was made against Mitchell but on the third ballot, by the 
hdp of a sufficient number of Democrats, he was successful. 
He had been a candidate during the session of 1 882 to suc- 
ceed Senator Slater, but after 73 fruitless ballots, and at 
the last moment of the session, Hon. J. N. DolpK Mitchell's 
law partner, 'was chosen. 

The effect of this senatorial contest was far-reaching 
and profoundly affected the fortunes of the two dominant 
political parties of Oregon for the following twenty years. 
Direct Railroad Connection. The dream of the Ore- 
gon pioneers and, indeed, of 
many of our national statesmen, 
that the time would come when 
there would be railroad connec- 
tion between Oregon and the 
eastern part of the United 
Sutea, was realized on Novem- 
ber 24. 1883. when the "last 
spike" was driven which held 
the rail that spanned the last 
gap between the O. R. & N. 
railroad, building eastward 
from Portland, and the Oregon 
Short Line which was extended 
westward from the Union Pa- 
cific. There is a great deal of 
HENRY V1I.LAED history between the first sug- 

gestion of building a road along the forbidding banks of the 
Columbia River and its actual accomplishment. The difficul- 
ties of construction which were overcome on the stretch be- 
tween Bonneville and The Dalles are said by railroad men to 
be greater than are to be found on a similar length of line 
elsewhere in the United States. In some places the workmen 
were suspended from the tops of cliffs by ropes in order to 
drill for blasts in the perpendicular walls. At one time 




1,000 cases of fifty pounds each of powder were exploded, 
and the entire face of a mountain was thrown into the 
river. 

The Or^on Railway and Navigation Company was in- 
corporated on June I 3, 1 879, and Henry Villard ^vas elected 
its president. He had come to Oregon in the interest of the 
bondholders of the Oregon and California railroad, and had 
bcome president of that company in 1875. He vr&e in 
fact, connected in many ways with several rail' 
road projects, in all of which success followed; 
and he may be regarded as second only to James J. 
Hill as the influence that later accomplished the ultimate 
binding of Oregon with bands of steel to the eastern com- 
mercial world. 

For the Driving of the "Last Spike" connecting Portland 
with the "outside world" at Huntington a special train was 
run from that city, leaving at 6 o'clock p. m., November 24, 




1883, and arriving at Huntington the next afternoon at 3 p. 
m. A great celebration was held after the spike — a steel 
one — had beeen driven. The Portland locomotive was 



2 32 HISTORY OF OREGON 

moved forward until it rested on the last placed rail and a 
speech was made by United States Senator James H. Slater, 
who was a passenger on his way to Washington, D. C. This 
was the first through train from Oregon connecting it with 
**the outside world." 

The Denny Pheasant. In 1 882, Mr. O. N. Denny, who 
was in the consular service of the United States, located in 
Shanghai, China, had become an ardent admirer of the na- 
tive pheasants of that country, which were not only very 
beautiful of plumage but were superior as game fowl for 
the table. Mr. Denny decided to send some of the 
birds to his brother, John Denny, in Linn county, 
to be turned out on the Oregon rsuiges. The 
first shipment was made in the fall of 1881, 
but through neglect on shipboard nearly all died. In the 
following spring Mr. Denny sent fifty pheasants which ar- 
rived safely and in good condition. They were liberated 
on the farm in Linn county, where Mr. O. N. Denny had been 
reared. The neighbors donated several sacks of wheat which 
was scattered in various nearby sections, and the birds be- 
came at once domesticated in their new surroundings. 
Pheasants soon became numerous in that part of Linn 
county, and in a few years extended their range until it 
now occupies nearly all parts of Oregon and Washington. 
The Denny Pheasant is a beautiful bird, and while not ex- 
actly wild never becomes as tame as other birds of its 
species. The males are noted for their beautiful and highly 
colored plumage. They alternately occupy the nest during 
the brooding season with the females, which in color are 
not very different from the native pheasants. 

Penitentiary Outbreak. On the morning of July 3, 
1 883, occurred Oregon's worst penitentiary outbreak. Four- 
teen convicts within the prison walls captured Superinten- 
dent George Collins. Holding him before them for defense 
and striking him with a bar of iron, they advanced suid de- 
msuided that the prison gates be opened upon pain of death 



EPOCH V 233 

to the Superintendent. The gates were opened, fourteen 
convicts rushed through, and all would have escaped, but for 
a guard, William Stilwell by name, who shot some of them 
while the others ran into the Superintendent's office for fire 
arms. Fortunately, the guns in the office were not provided 
with ammunition, hence were useless. The prison bell was 
rung, convicts within the walls promptly repaired to their 
cells, and were separated from the fourteen who had made 
a break for liberty. 

Pursuit and Capture. Immediate pursuit was made 
for the fugitives and in time nearly all were captured. It 
was soon learned from the prisoners who remained within 
the walls that the outbreak was the result of a conspiracy 
entered into by the fourteen convicts who believed the out- 
break would be so general as to empty the Oregon peniten- 
tiary of prisoners, under which circumstances many of the 
more desperate men would be enabled to make good their 
escape. Great was the satisfaction at the capitol, however, 
when it was learned that the escape of the conspirators had 
been prevented; and that afternoon Governor Moody^ 
called upon William Stilwell, the trustworthy guard, and 
commended him for his faithfulness in preventing the com- 
plete overthrow of order in the Oregon penitentiary. 



iDesiring to ascertain from personal knowledge as to the ob- 
servance of the rules governing the penitentiary at Salem, Governor 
Moody with two friends, one day in November 1884, attempted to 
ascend the penitentiary wall by means of a ladder. Whereupon a 
guard commanded the Chief Executive to halt. The Governor per- 
sisted and the guard commanded him the second time to halt, say- 
ing it was against orders to allow any one on the wall. Governor 
Moody said: "Who are you?" FU show you, if you come any fur- 
ther," replied the guard who was pointing a gun in the direction of 
the Governor. The guard's manner fully convinced the Governor 
that prison orders were obeyed, so the party returned to the State 
House. But that afternoon Superintendent Collins called to his 
Office Finley Fullerton, the guard, and chided him for holding up 
the Governor and his party, to which the quiet guard replied: 
"Had I known it was the Governor and his party, I might have been 
a little more temperate in my speech, but I would have held him up 
just the same," 



9 » 



t » 



J •> 



234 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



Prehistoric Inscriptions on the Columbia. The oldest 
human accounts of Oregon, as far as known, are the rude 
inscriptions in stone made apparently by some prehistoric 
race. Similar inscriptions are found in many places in Ore- 
gon. Some of them are as unintelligible as were once the 
letters and symbols carved on the walls and pyramids of 
Egypt, many of which have since proved to be the records 
of wars and other events of national interest described in 
the Bible. Although the Oregon stone records are at pres- 
ent meaningless and mysterious to us, it is possible that 
some Rosetta Stone may yet be discovered from which a 




N>^^^ft:= 




HIEROGLYPHICS NEAR ARLINGTON, ON THE COLUMBIA 

key will be found to decipher its inscriptions and that they 
may cast light upon the history of a race whose intelligence 
surpasses the conception of the most credulous now living. 
Hence these inscriptions are worthy of careful study. They 
are so numerous, however, in Oregon, that brief mention can 
be given here of but one locality where they are found. 
This is the ledge along the bank of the Columbia River 
opposite Arlington. 

The Arlington Prehistoric Stone Inscriptio7is are ap- 
parently of three classes or groups, which may belong to 
as many periods. Group one seem to have been made 
with a firm instrument driven by a mallet or hammer. Group 



EPOCH V 235 

two appear to have beeen made by bruising the stone with 
some instrument. Group three were evidently made by 
picking into the stone with some flinty or other hard sub- 
stance, so long ago that the dark gray characters have be- 
come somewhat worn and covered with a coating of black 
as solid as the stone in which they were carved. They all 
present the appearance of an orderly arranged and elo- 
quent statement. One series of these inscriptions, which 
begin with a sunrise and extend westward ending in a 
sunset, seem to indicate the events of some memorable day. 
Among the characters which are as well defined as the 
sculpture in the Roman catacombs of the third century, are 
a crescent, a five-pointed star, the letters **P*', an **0 — O", 
a pine tree, a coyote head with a cryptic body, a deer, a 
lizard, a branch of foliage, also a chart approximately two 
feet wide and three feet long — presenting apparently the 
consecutive account of an event full of significance to some 
intelligent race. Who the people were that carved these 
ancient symbols, when they lived, or what meaning they 
strove to convey may never be known. But research 
promises further light on the interesting life of a people who 
abode here and flourished in the remote ages. 

Prehistoric Burial Mounds Explored. The earliest ex- 
plorers of Oregon found many small elevations, which be- 
cause of their form and contents were termed Prehistoric 
Burial Mounds. The mounds were usually near streams, 
and some were covered with big trees; and, strange as may 
seem, the mounds were of so great age that the oldest In- 
dian had no knowledge respecting their antiquity, which 
points to the fact that some race which preceded the Ameri- 
can Indian might have built and occupied them. Possibly 
the western Indians are descendants of the Mound Builders. 
Researches were made in Linn County, Oregon, however, as 
early as 1883. by Dr. J. L. Hill, J. G. Crawford, G. W. 
Wright, Rev. P. A. Moses and others, which led to dis- 
coveries relative to the location, shape, and probable pur-: 



236 HISTORY OF OREGON 

pose of the mounds. Because so many of the mounds had 
been worn away in the course of a long period, it n impos- 
aible to know with precision how many there were. But 
there are thirty or more along the Calapooia River between 
Brownsville and Albany, and many others have been found 
throughout the length and breadth of Western Oregon. 
The mounds were probably of considerable height >^en 
first erected. But through the centuries and possible mil- 
lenniums since they were cast up, storms and other action 
of the elements have reduced them until they are only four 
to ten feet in height, and from 50 to 150 feet in diameter. 
Near some of the mounds there are to be seen depreasions 
or trenches from which earth was removed in building the 
mounds. One of these depressions is so deep that water 



^A 




, 


I^^mM^P''^ 




1^^:^ 


^^^:: 




' -'^ 




CeCKKAN TIOWWD 


liSD 


AM 4AV.T ^j_ ^_^ 



is confined within it nearly all the year. On the southern 
edge of the mounds, skeletons of human beings have been 
exhumed — some in a sitting posture, others lying on the 
side. Together with the skeletons were mortars, beauti- 
^)]y carved, some of which were of Brazilian type; also 



EPOCH V 



237 



there were bone and shell arrow heads, axes, clubs, cere- 
monial stones, and other implements of conjectural use; and 
of more than ordinary importance, carved stone of pecu- 
liar design has been unearthed, giving evidence that the 
mound builders observed phallic v^orship, a religion some' 



J/. 1^ 1^ 


*Jf; i -o^jg .^ jv^ ■ 







ISDIAS SKEUITONS AND BHIJCS EXHUMED FBOM MOUNDS 
OH THE CAIu^POOIA 

what common to the most ancient peoples. The presence 
of reddi^ burnt earth and charcoal near some of the skele- 
tons indicates that the dead were buried with religious and 
sacrificial rites. 

In all probability these people had two homes — a sum- 
mer home and a winter home. Traces of their summer 
home are found in the mounds of the Willamette Valley. 
In the valley they obtained their bread foods and substi- 
tutes by digging camas and other herbs. Their vKvA-cx 



238 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



home was along the tributary streams in the mountains. 
Here sheltered by caves and trees they manufactured axes, 
knives, battle clubs, and arrow and spear heads of flint and 
obsidion, some of which had been conveyed a long 
distance. Here they easily overpowered the large game^ 
in the deep snow. Many of them probably came to the 
mountains because of the mineral springs, the healing value 
of which their medicine men understood. Further evidence 
of their mountain life may be seen in the linear hiero- 
gl3rphics which indicate higher intelligence than that in the 
picture stories in stone along the Columbia. Strange as it 
may appear, however, the origin of these hieroglyphic 




o n /?/? o^ 



LINEAR HIEROGLYPHICS IN CASCADIA CAVE 

now so ancient as to be almost obliterated — is as remark- 
able to the oldest white inhabitants as to the Indians. Yet 
the inscriptions, which are numerous, were so systematically 
arranged as to suggest an account of some important event 
or maybe a written code of ethics. Who the people were 



1 Bones of grizzly bear broken for their marrow are in the pos- 
session of George M. Geisendorfer, at Cascadia, Oregon, who ob- 
tained them in the cave nearby. In this cave may be found many 
evidences which remind one of the cave life of prehistoric England. 



EPOCH V 239 

that placed their dead in these mounds, or when the mounds 
were built, is not known. But it is believed that the mounds 
are so ancient that they may have been in use as retreats for 
human beings long before the channels of the Willamette 
and the Calapooia rivers had worn deep enough to prevent 
the overflow of the lands during the wet season; also that 
the mounds were built by a race that inhabited this country 
before the Indians lived here; and it is suggested that in 
some respects the system of worship of the people who built 
the mounds was similar to that of the most ancient peoples 
known to history. 

Significance of Oregon Mounds. Because of numerous 
points of resemblance, the mounds of Oregon and those of 
the Middle States and France appear to belong to the same 
system as the mounds of Mexico and the pyramids of Egypt. 
All were modeled after the mounds or pyramids of some 
country; and while it is commonly believed that the pyra- 
mids of Egypt antedate the mounds of our continent, there 
is on the contrary a possibility that the Oregon mounds ante- 
date the pyramids of Egypt and the mounds of Europe and 
Asia, and that the rest of the world are only emigrants from 
America. Should the latter theory eventually become es- 
tablished, it would lend color to the belief of Agassiz that 
* 'First born among the continents, though so much later in 
culture and civilization, America, so far as her physical his- 
tory is concerned, has been falsely denominated the *New 
World.* Hers was the first dry land lifted out of the waters, 
hers the first shore washed by the ocean that enveloped all 
the earth beside; and while Europe was represented only by 
islands rising here and there above the sea, America already 
stretched an unbroken line of land from Nova Scotia to the 
*F'ar West'." The prehistoric burial mounds of Oregon 
when sufficiently explored, may, therefore, prove valuable 
in determining the relative ages of America and the grand 
divisions of the Eastern Continent. 



240 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



First Oregon High School. The Old Lincohi High 

School of Portland, was the first building of that character 
erected in Oregon. It was begun in 1663, and completed 
two years later, but before this time there had been high 
school instruction in Portland. Under the principalship of 
John W. Johnson, who had much to do with framing the 
original high school course of study in the State, and who 
later became the first president of the University of Oregon, 
work of high school grade had 
been done in Portland as early 
as 1869, with quarters on the 
second floor of the Central 
School building. 

High School System Be- 
comes Popular. The erection 
of Lincoln^ High School was 
opposed by many who believed 
that secondary schools should . 
not be supported by taxation. 
But the high school system grew 
in favor in Oregon until there 
came to be eight high schools in 
Portland, and one or more in 
nearly every other city or 
town in the State — all similar in 
character to their predecessor. 
Timely Appearance of the Lincoln School. Since the 
establishment of Lincoln High School there have been more 
great inventions than in any period of the same length in 
the history of the world. So many inventions have been 
made, and such numerous changes have followed that the 
conditions under which we now live are pronouncedly dif- 
ferent from those which prevailed when the first high school 

'At the oulRet it was known as Portland Hifih School. 




POETLAND HIGH SCHOOL, 1 



EPOCH V 241 

was established in Oregon. We may be said now to be liv- 
ing in a new world of manifold inventions. Hence those 
who were enabled to succeed without superior educational 
advantages before the advent of this era of science would 
find themselves laboring under disadvantages at the present 
time; for the requirements have bcome so exacting that 
they can be successfully met only by trained minds. It was 
fortunate, therefore, that the system of popular education 
which the alnna mater of Oregon high schools represents was 
established so early in the history of our state, when second- 
ary education was in danger of becoming the possession of 
only the favored few. 

University of Oregon Law School Organized. The 
Portland law department of the University of Oregon was 
organized by Richard H. Thornton in 1 884, with a two-year 
course of three lectures per week; and in 1906 the course 
of study was extended to three years. In pursuance of 
a policy of consolidation of the different departments of the 
University, the board of regents (April 1915) decided to 
discontinue the law school at Portland and maintain a law 
department on the campus at Eugene. Here a three-year 
course is given. As two years of college work is required 
for entrance, the student must perform at least five years of 
college work before obtaining the degree of Bachelor of 
Laws; and six years of work is required for the degree of 
Doctor of Laws. 

Northwest College of Law. Upon the removal of the 
University Law Department to Eugene, several members of 
the former law faculty, with other able lecturers guid prac- 
titioners, continued to maintain a law school at Portland un- 
der the nsmie of the Northwest College of Law, offering 
practically the same course of study as given by the Uni- 
versity. 

Salem Indian Training School. Location and Name, 
Salem Indian Training School is located at Chemawa, which 
is five miles north of the Oregon capital. The school was 



% 



EPOCH V 243 

first established by Captain M. C. Wilkinson, U. S. A., at 
Forest Grove in 1880, and known as the Forest Grove In- 
dian Institute. But in 1883, it was moved to the present 
site, which was nsmied Chemawa, an Indian nsmie meaning 
**Our Happy Home" ; and the school was officially called the 
Salem Indian Training school. For a number of years in 
honor of President Harrison, it was officially known as the 
Harrison Indian Institute. It is now officially known as the 
Salem Indian Training School. 

The tract of land on which Salem Indian Institute 
was built consists of 430 acres, which at that time was a wil- 
derness. However, the place has been made beautiful by 
suitable improvements, among which are fifty buildings 
which have been erected for the comfort of the Indian 
school children and the employees of the institution. The 
school has an attendance of about 600 or 700 pupils from 
nearly every western state and Alaska. It is supported en- 
tirely by the government, which makes an annual appropria- 
tion of more than $100,000 for its maintenance. The Sa- 
lem Indian Training School offers an academic course cov- 
ering ten years. Instruction is given in farming, fruit-culture, 
dairying, blacksmithing, tailoring, harness-making, carpen- 
try, mechanical drafting, music, painting, dress-making and 
domestic science. 

This Training School is Recognized as one of the six 
great Indian schools in our nation. Such is its importance 
that the institution has already been semi-officially visited 
by three presidents of the United States; Benjamin Harrison, 
in 1891, Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. and William H. Taft 
in 1909. 

A Noted Railway Bridge. The earliest bridges of Ore- 
gon were built of wood. Many of these have been replaced 
by more durable bridges constructed of steel and stone. 
Among the old wooden bridges now in use is the railway 
bridge which spans the Willamette River at Albany, Oregon. 
This bridge is distinguished from other bridges by its draw^ 



244 HISTORY OF OREGON 

which is said to be the longest wooden draw in existence 
used for railway purposes, its length being 260 feet. The 
bridge was constructed in 1 886, and was practically rebuilt 
in 1910. The draw, known as the Double Howe Truss 
Swing Draw, was operated first by hand power, but now it is 
operated by an electric motor. In connection with this 
bridge it is interesting to note that it belongs to that branch 
of the Southern Pacific railway which was the first to extend 
to the Oregon Sea Coast. Originally it was called the Wil- 
lamette Valley and Coast Railway, then it was known as 
the Oregon Pacific, then as the Oregon 6c Eastern, then as 
the Corvallis &l Eastern, until it became a part of the South- 
ern Pacific system. The road was projected by T. Egenton 
Hogg associated with New York and English capitalists, as 
the beginning of a transcontinental railway system with river 
steamboats, ocean liners, and lateral railroads as feeders. 
The railway bridge at Albany was built as a part of one of 
the biggest American undertakings; and it is possible that 
in the course of time it may fulfill the fondest dreams of its 
promoters. 



EPOCH V 



245 



GOVERNOR SYLVESTER PENNOYER 

JuuHUry 12, 1887 — January 14, 1895 

The adminUtration of Governor Sylvester Pennoyer, 
lasting from January, 1867, until January 1695, was sen- 
sational to a degree that attracted national attention. He 
was the head of the state government during four sessions 
of the legislature. These sessions were overwhelmingly 
dominated by the Republican party. Though meeting with 
constant opposition, he enjoyed the conditions thus pre- 
sented. In his inaugural address Governor Pennoyer de- 
clared that the Supreme Court of the State had no right to 
pronounce an act of the legislature unconstitutional, and 
asserted that the registry law, enacted at the previous ses- 
sion of the legislature, but declared unconstitutional by the 
Supreme Court, was, 
nevertheless, "in full force 
and effect." Assuming 
that President Cleveland 
was transcending his au- 
thori^ when he advised 
the Governor what course 
to pursue as to the labor 
troubles that were threat- 
ened in Oregon, he sent 
a telegram to the Presi- 
dent to the effect, that "if 
you will attend to your 
business 1 will attend to 
mine". He carried his re- 
sentment so far that in 
1894, he declared 
Thanksgiving day a week ooverhok sylvestbb PEimoYiiE 
later than the date proclaimed by President Cleveland, thus 
giving Oregon two Thanksgiving days in that month. 

Governor Pennoyer's administration was notable for 




246 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the manner in which he persistently followed a path that had 
hitherto been in a measure avoided; yet he was a popular 
Governor. He was born on July 6, 1831, in Tompkins 
County, New York, and graduated from the Harvard law 
school in 1854. He came to Portland in 1855; and after 
teaching school for several years edited the* 'Oregon Herald*' 
a democratic newspaper, for nearly two years, and then en- 
gaged in the lumber business which he followed until his 
death, which occurred at his home in Portland, May 30, 
1902. 

The U. of O. School of Medicine. The Medical D&* 
partment of the University of Oregon was established at 
Portland in 1887, by a charter from the Regents of the Uni- 
versity. The first building was a small frame structure lo- 
cated at what is now the comer of Marshall and Twenty- 
third Streets, on the grounds of the Good Samaritan Hos- 
pital. It consisted of a single lecture room on the ground 
floor, and an anatomical laboratory, on the upper floor. In 
1890, the present site was purchased, and the building was 
transferred to it and remodeled. The present building was 
erected in 1892. It is a three story structure and contains 
well-equipped laboratories, a convenient dissecting room, 
two large lecture rooms, and the Medical School library. 

The Merger of the Medical Department of the Willam- 
ette University, the first foundation of the kind in the State 
of Oregon, with the Medical Department of the University 
of Oregon, was eflFected by mutual and friendly arrange- 
ments on the first day of September, 1913. Under the 
terms of the merger the Medical Department of the Wil- 
lamette University retired permanently from the field of 
medical education and transferred its entire enrollment, 
numbering 40, to the State School in the city of Portland, 
and arreoigements were effected so that the students of the 



EPOCH V 247 

Willamette University will graduate during the course of the 
following three years, and shall receive degrees indicative of 
the merger of the two schools, and the alumni of both 
schools will be consolidated under the Medical Department 
of the University of Oregon, which becomes at once the 
only school of medicine in the Pacific Northwest. This is the 
largest territory in the United States that is served by but one 
medical school. 

Mt. Jefferson. First Ascended in 1888. One of the 
most beautiful of the snow-capped mountains in Oregon, 




MT. JEFFEKSON 



and certainly the most difficult to climb, is Mt. Jefferson, lo- 
cated on the summit of the Cascade Range in the north-east- 
em part of Linn County. According to the most recent 
measurements Mt. Jefferson has an altitude of 10,523' feet. 
It was the last of the snowy peaks in the Northwest to sur- 
render its topmost point to the explorations of the mountain 
climber. On the apparent summit of Mt. Jefferson is a pin- 
nacle approximately 700 feet in height that thwarted the 

"iMineral Reaourcas of Oregon," Vol. 2, No. 1. 



248 HISTORY OF OREGON 

smibition of prospective climbers until August 12, 1888, 
when Ray L. Farmer and E. C. Cross, both of Salem, Ore- 
gon, reached its apex. Since then others have climbed Mt. 
Jefferson, but they are few as compared with those who 
have reached the summits of the other noted mountains of 
Oregon. Both the Clackamas and Santiam rivers find their 
sources near the base of Mt. Jefferson, which presents a 
formidable exterior of sheer precipices, forbidding ridges of 
snow, dangerous crevasses and jagged promontories that ex- 
cite admiration and awe. The region about the mountain 
abounds in scores of lakes surrounded by dense forests and 
vast glaciers which have withstood the slow movement of 
the ap^e*. The wintry storms pile up huge ever-chansring 
snow drifts, which annually obliterate the route traversed bv 
mountain climbers. Owing to its difficult accessibility this 
reeion affords a splendid place for huntinc: such vnld ani- 
mals as abound in the Northwest. This with many weird 
attractions, makes Mt. Jefferson one of the most popular re- 
sorts on the Pacific coast for those who love to encounter 
Nature where the hand of man hath not defiled. 

Mt Jefferson in the Ice Age. Ira A. WilHamsS Profes- 
sor of Ceramic Engineering, Oregon Agricultural College. 
(1918), tells us that **Mt. Jefferson appears to have been 
a srathering ground for snows that in the ages past doubtless 
fell much more copiously than now. Surely the mountain 
must have been a great white dome so deeply snow-cov- 
ered that scarce a point of rock showed through. From its 
sides great glaciers moved in all directions; far out to the 
north and south along the summit, as well as down the 
range slopes to the east and west did the sheets of moving 
ice spread, occupying the river canyons and grinding away 



iVol 2, No. 1, "Mineral Resources of Oregon". 



EPOCH V 



249 



at every surface over which they passed. We are very cer- 
tain that the ice from Jefferson actually met and joined 
with that from other high peaks that were at the same 
time areas of snow accumulation from which glaciers ema- 
nated. An abundance of evidence is found that the entire 
Cascade summit from Mt. Jefferson southward for more 
than one hundred miles was not only entirely ice-covered, 
but the rocks eversrwhere along it were so profoundly eroded 
that we can gain little conception of the amount of rock ma- 
terial thus carried away." 

The Three Sisters. The Three Sisters' region is that 




THE TEBEE 8I8TEB8 (From D«*clintes CinyaD) 



section of the summit portion of the Cascade range which is 
located essentially midway between the Columbia river and 



250 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the south boundary of Crater Lake National Paric It may 
be reached from Eastern and Western Oregon by way of 
the McKenzie road. The Three Sisters, which form the 
principal attraction of this region and which might be ap^ 
propriately called Faith« Hope, and Charity, are usually 
referred to sis North Sister, Middle Sister, and South Sister. 
*The altitude of North Sister is 10,067 feet; Middle Sister, 
10,039 feet; and South Sister, 10,351 feet South and 
Middle Sister exhibit a comparatively smooth cone-shaped 
outline, while the profile of North Sister is notched, its cliffs 
are jagged and steep, and its general appearance pyramidaL 
Her sides have been deeply dug out, and her former out- 
lines so largely obliterated that we have litde conception 
of how lofty a mountain North Sister originally was. It 
takes only another glance at the other members of this 
group to tell us at once that it is quite greater in age than the 
other two peaks. — **Mineral Resources of Oregon," Vol. 2, 
No. 1. 

Lafayette Seminary. Lafayette Seminary was opened 
for the reception of students in the old country court-house 
at Lafayette (1889), with Dr. W. C. Kantner in charge. 
The Seminary continued for a term of eleven years, during 
which diplomas were issued to sixty persons who had gradju- 
ated from courses of study that compared favorably with 
those of collegiate institutions in the state. In 1900 nego- 
tiations were begun with the trustees of LaCreole Academic 
Institute of Dallas, Oregon, which resulted in the union of 
the two institutions at Dallas under the incorporate name of 
LaCreole Academy and Dallas College. 



Chair of Houi^old Economy Established. The chair 

of Household Economy was established at the Oregon Agri- 
cultural College in the year 
1 889. Doctor Margaret 
Snell, of Oakland, Califor- 
nia, was appointed to fill the 
position. This and the de- 
partments of agriculture and 
mechanical engineering were 
for a number of years the 
three principal departments 
offering scientific courses 
available for the student 
The college catalogue stated 
that only one-third of the stu- 
dents were to be women. 
This ruling, however, "was 
not maintained, and the nu- 
merical restriction was re- 
moved. 

There Were Forty-four Women Students in the only 
course offered to them at that time. Four hundred dollars 
was set aside by the board of regents to equip and maintain 
the department. As most of the women were from the 
email towns and rural districts, it was directed that every- 
thing in the department should be of the simplest nature, 
in order that there might be no dissatisfaction by contrast 
when the students returned to their homes. By a strategic 
movement of the head of the department, plated knives, 
forks and spoons took the place of iron ones and colored 
napery and dishtowels were replaced by white. 

The Euipment Was Limited, but there was abundance 
of spirit and interest, and there came to be a growing respect 
in the minds of the students for the quiet hearthstone. The 
subjects taught were cooking, sewing, general and special 




nOOTOB HABOABET SHBLL 



252 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



hygiene, millinCTy, nursing and emergency lectures. This 
department of the college work — the first of its kind on the 
Pacific Coast — soon became very popular, attracting stu- 
dents from all parts of the Northwest. "As the thoughts 
of men are widened by the process of the sun," so it was 
here. The department of Household Economy developed 
into one of the schools of the College. The school at pres- 
ent offers four courses for graduation; viz: Household Sci- 
ence, Household Art, Household Administration, and Home 
Economics Education. 

First School of Mechanic Arts. To learn a trade in 
the early days of Oregon one was required to serve an ap- 
prenticeship of three years. During this time the apprentice 
was provided with the nec- 
I essaries of life, but his time 
I belonged to his master; 
I hence ordinarily he receiv- 
I ed litde or no school train- 
I ing during this period. Yet 
I under our system of gov- 
1 ernment that mechanic was 
I to be an elector, possibly an 
I officer of the law who re- 
I quired such a training as 
ichools offered. There 
were many good schools, 
I but they did not provide for 
anual training. Proceed 
he might, the average 
DEAH OBANT A. covELL youth was, therefore, con- 

fronted with a dilemma; for on the one hand there was 
trade learning writh little or no schooling, ^hile on the other 
hand there was schooling without trade learning. This situa- 
tion was significant also for the reason that men had com« to 




EPOCH V 253 

believe that the mind grows so long as the hand is used in- 
telligently. To aid in meeting the demand for a course of 
instruction which included a liberal education and manual 
training, the department of Mechanics and Mechanical En- 
gineering was established in the Oregon Agricultural College 
in 1889 under the supervision of Professor (now Dean) 
Grant A. Covell, a native of Pennsylvania. At first the \r> 
struction was given in a small two-story brick building, which 
with the present administration building, was the onlv school 
bulding on the campus. For a number of vears the Depart- 
ment of Mechanics in the Oregon Agricultural College was 
the only one of the kind in the Pacific Northwest. The De- 
partment gradually developed into a school of Mechanical, 
Electrical and Civil Engineering; and now Mechanics and 
Mechanical Engineering are taught in many of the leading 
colleges and secondary schools throughout the region once 
called the Oregon Country. 

Oreigoii State Training School. Its Purpose. The 
Oregon State Training School was established in 1 89 1 , being 
opened in November of that year, for the confinement, dis- 
cipline, education, employment, and reformation of delin- 
quent and incorrigible boys betw^een the ages of ten and 
eighteen years. Boys are sentenced to the care of the school 
until they are twenty-one years old, but, at the discretion of 
the board of control, may be paroled, after one year, as a 
reward for good behavior. 

The School is Located about five miles southeast of Sa- 
lem, on the Southern Pacific railroad, on a farm of 500 acres, 
of which about half is under cutlivation. All the work on 
the farm is done by the boys, under the supervision of an 
expert agriculturist. Also, the boys make their own clothes 
and shoes, and do all the cooking and laundering for the 
school, under the supervision of the instructors. They at- 
tend school one-half day and work at their trade the other 



\ 



254 HISTORY OF OREGON 

half. The manual training equipment is one of the best in 
the state, and is in charge of an expert manual training 
teacher. There is also a well equipped machine shop, in 
charge of an experienced engineer. The school is managed 
in harmony with the public schools, the same textbooks and 
studies being used. The school hsts a large g3rmnasiiim and 
two ball grounds, the play side of the boy's life being con- 
sidered along with the educational and industrial. — "Oregon 
Blue Book.** 

Australian Ballot Adopted. For several years there 
had been complaints of corruption at the polls, and many 
people believed there was reason therefor. Hence the Aus- 
tralian ballot was adopted at the legislative session of 1 89 1 , 
which radically changed the manner of voting. 

Office of Attorney General. Unlike that of many 
other states in the Union the constitution of Oregon made no 
provision for an Attorney General. This was not an over- 
sight by its framers, but was the result of a consistent policy 
which limited the state officers to the smallest possible num- 
ber. During the first years of statehood the need of this 
official was not especially urgent, but as population increased 
and public business became greater in volume, situations 
frequently arose when opinions on intricate legal questions 
coming before state officials for decision were necessary. 
Efforts had been made, but failed, in several sessions of the 
legislature to provide for such legal adviser; but a law to 
that effect was passed in 1891, and under its provisions Gov- 
ernor Sylvester Pennoyer appointed Hon. George E. Cham- 
berlain as the first Attorney General. In 1892 Mr. Cham- 
berlain was elected by the people to serve for the ensuing 
two years and until his successor should be elected for the 
full term of four years. At present the Attorney General's 
office renders an average of 250 opinions each year on com- 
plicated matters which come before the different branches 
of the state government. These opinions of the Attorney- 
General do not have the binding force of judicial decisions 



EPOCH V 255 

but serve as a guide to public officers in the performance of 
their duties and contribute in large measure to the more 
rapid and satisfactory transaction of public business. 

- First Oregon Irrigatioii Law Passed. It is easy to trace 
the management of our water resources, including irrigation, 
to California. In the days of '49, water rights were initiated 
by discovery, and there was no law governing the use of 
water, nor was there a definite policy or understanding as to 
whether the Federal Government or the states controlled 
the water. In early days the same general policy relative to 
water rights was followed in Oregon as in California ; and in 
most cases water rights w^ere so closely associated with min- 
ing rights that county records frequently have one volume 
containing both mining locations and water locations. In 
1 89 1 , the first state irrigation law was passed. That law 
provided for the appropriation of water by the posting of 
a notice at the proposed point of diversion, but its appli- 
cation was limited to public service companies. 

Pacific College. The first settlers of Chehalem Val- 
ley provided a log school house with rough blocks for seats. 
There being no high school in 1885, members of that reli- 
gious body called Friends, in an effort to develop sons of 
the William Penn type, organized Friends Pacific Academy, 
which was attended by a large number of young people, 
many of whom were from distant localities. Although an 
academy in name, the institution did considerable work of 
college grade. Hence the demand for higher training be- 
came so apparent that Pacific College was incorporated in 
1 89 1. Suitable buildings were erected at Newberg and 
twelve years later an endowment fund of $100,000 was 
raised, which amount has since been materially increased by 
contributions. 

Oregon Soldier's Hon^e. Emulating the example of 
other states, Oregon enacted a law in 1893 providing for 



256 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



the construction of a state home for needy soldiers who had 
served in any of the various wars in which the United States 
has been engaged. The law provided for the appointment 
by the Governor of five trustees who should have control of 
its management, but in a few years it was discovered that 



OREOON SOLDIEKS' HOME 



this gave rise to differences of opinion and resulting friction. 
This difficulty was removed by the amendment to the law in 
1899 which abohshed the board of trustees and placed the 
management of the Home in the control of the Governor, 
with a Commandant appointed by him in charge. Since this 
change, there has been no trouble at that institution, and the 
purpose of its existence is fully justified. 

The State Piirchaaed 40 Acres of Land within two 
miles of Roseburg, and 25 acres are in a high state of cul- 



HISTORY OF OREGON 25 7 

tivation. A large share of the foodstuffs consumed at the 
Home is produced on this land, thus materially reducing the 
cost of maintenance. A number of cottages have been pro- 
vided by the State, and such soldiers as have wives are per- 
mitted to maintain homes. The climate of Roseburg is 
especially pleasant the entire year, and this contributes to 
the comfort of the veterans who served their country in the 
troublesome times in the past. Indian War veterans, and 
soldiers who served in the Spanish war and are in need, are 
eligible to admission to the Home. The number of soldiers 
at the Home at this time is 1 89. 

Largest Western Chautauqua. Some enterprising citi- 
zens in 1 893, established the pioneer Chautauqua of Oregon, 
at Ashland. The idea im- 
mediately became popu- 
lar, and many new Chau- 
tauqua assemblies came 
into existence throughout 
the state and prospered. 
In the same year a Chau- 
tauqua reading circle was 

organized in the parlors of "^^BflJUlife ^"'"^^^' ^ r^ ^J i ^ 
Mrs. Eva Emery Dye, the 
author, at Oregon City. Gladstone auditorium 

This reading circle developed (1894) into an assembly at 
Gladstone Park, which came to be the permanent meeting 
place. It was named the Willamette Valley Chautauqua, 
and July was appointed as the time for the annual sessions. 
Situated between Portland and Oregon City, Gladstone Park 
is favorably located to accommodate the crowds that seek 
intellectual diversion. In 1917, a thousand automobiles — 
many from Eastern Oregon, and from other states — en- 
tered the grounds for the change of scenery and environ- 
ment, as well as for the remarkable programs presented by 
the best American talent. Hence the Willamette Valley 




258 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Chautauqua has grown to be the largest Chautauqua west of 
the Rocky Mountains. Many enthusiastic towns have taken 
up the Chautauqua movement, and others will follow, until 
all Oregon can listen to the greatest speakers and the sweet- 
est singers. 

Reading Clubs in Oregon. Their Importance. Per- 
haps no movement inspired the club work in Oregon more 
effectually than did the Chautauqua Reading Circle, origi- 
nated by Bishop John H. Vincent, who, having been denied 
the benefit of a college course, made it his life-work to place 
collegiate privileges in the curriculum of common, daily life. 
Bishop Vincent contended that school life does not end "with 
youth, but continues as long as life lasts. The Chautauqua 
Reading Circle modeled somewhat after the ancient acad- 
emy of Greece, opened to the masses all the doors of art, 
literature, science and general information. 

Their Groiuth. Out of Chautauqua Reading Circles 
in Oregon grew wider circles. Women, thirsting for knowl- 
edge, read and discussed Ruskin, Tennyson, Shakespeare; 
and out of this practice grew the Woman's Club of today 
with its thousands of members. At first the Woman's club 
began purely as a study club, but out of the transient 
glimpses of masters of literature grew the idea of civic or- 
ganization, until the original woman's club developed into a 
civic club devoted to local improvement, and later with its 
resultant benefits creating a world of uplifting influences to 
state and national betterment. Then followed the franchise 
not yet in its zenith. Not the least result of the old-time 
reading club is the so-called feminist movement which was 
inspired by the desire to know, to be, and to do. 

The Oregon Mazamas. One of the most popular and, 
indeed, one of the most useful organizations in Oregon is 
that known as **The Mazamas." As its name indicates, its 
purpose is to foster the love of mountain climbing and, in- 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



259 



cidentally, to be of service in exploring for historical ends the 
many beautiful snow-capped peaks of the state. This or- 
ganization is the successor of the Oregon Alpine club which 
was instituted in September, 1 88 7, whose purpose was 
not only to stimulate mountain climbing but to gather speci- 
mens for exhibition in its museum. The Mazamas were or- 
ganized on the summit of Mount Hood on the afternoon of 
July 19. 1894. by 193 persona— 155 men and 38 ^ 




the Reverend Earl M. Wilbur as temporary president and 
Mr. F. C. Little as temporary secretary. Arrangements had 
been made for a banquet to be held on the summit and the 
party had divided in two sections, one to climb from the 
south side of the mountain and the other from the north. 
The banquet was held and the organization effected. A 



260 



HISTORY O FOREGON 



red fire that burned at night was seen in the Willamette 
Valley in spite of the prevailing storm. Tar was burned on 
some of the lower points of the mountain and three carrier 
pigeons were released bearing messages. 

Because the Rocky Mountain Goat, or Mazama, is 
regarded as the surest footed mountain climber of the ani- 
mal creation, the name "Mazama" suggested by Mr. Louis 
B. Aiken, of Portland, was adopted as appropriate for the 
organization. None but real mountain climbers are eligi- 
ble for membership. Its efforts have beeen largely con- 
tributory to a more general knowledge of the topography 
of our beautiful mountains and forests. Each year it selects 
some mountain for its annual trip. Its explorations include 
the states of Washington and California as well as our 
home state. 

Dr. William C. McKay. 
Among the notable deaths in 
1893 was that of Dr. William 
C. McKay, of Pendleton. Ore- 
gon. He was bom at Fort 
George, now within the city 
limits of Astoria, March 18, 
1824. His grandfather, Al- 
exander McKay, a partner of 
John Jacob Astor, was lost 
in the"Tonquin"disBster north 
of Cape Flattery in 1811. 
His grandmother, who was a 
descendant of the Chipevra 
tribe, became the wife of Doc- 
Da. wiLLiAu o. McKAY tor John McLoughlin, early in 
1616. His father was Thomas McKay, and his mother was 
a daughter of Chief Comcomly of the Clatsop Indians. Ho 
was a pupil of John Ball at Fort Vancouver, in November. 
1832. In 1838 he entered Fairfield College, Herkimer 




EPOCH V. 261 

County, N. Y., where he completed a course in medicine and 
surgery. Doctor McKay's medical practice extended from 
Pendleton to The Dalles. His knowledge of Indian 
character and language enabled him to become an efficient 
officer of the government as an interpreter and scout. He 
died at Pendleton, January 2, 1893. 



262 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



GOVERNOR WILLIAM P. LORD 
January 14, 189S — January 9, 1899 

William P. Lord was inaugurated Governor of Oregon 
on January 1 6, 1 893, but the business of the legislature then 
in session was largely interfered with by a "dead-lock" in the 
election of a United States Senator. The second term of 
Hon. J. N. Dolph had ex- 
pired and his candidacy 
for re-election was bitterly 
opposed by a minority of 
the members who be- 
longed to the same party 
as himself. The contest 
was continued until the 
last minute before ad- 
journment, when the name 
of Hon. George W, Mc- 
Bride was presented and 
his election as United 
States Senator followed. 
Governor Lord was 
born in Dover, Delaware, 
'. WILLIAM p. LOBD on July 1, 1839, and 

graduated from Fairfield College, New York, in 1860. He 
served in the Civil War under General Lew Wallace and was 
admitted to the bar in New York in 1866; came to Oregon 
in I 668, 'was elected state senator from Marion County in 
1878, and a member of the supreme court in 1880. Gover- 
nor Lord served as a member of that body until elected Gov- 
ernor in June. 1 894. He died in San Francisco, February 
II, 1911. 

Eugene Bible University. Eugene Bible University. 
first known as the Eugene Divinity School, was established 
by the Christian Church in 1 895, for the training of ministers 
and other Christian workers in the western states. It was 
built adjacent to the University of Oregon, with which it CO- 




EPOCH V. 263 

operates in matters concerning instruction. The school was 
located in the West because the management was convinced 
that all things being considered, westem-tredned men would 
be better equipped to lead western churches than would 
those educated in a different environment. That the Eugene 
Bible University steadily progressed from the outset may be 
inferred from the fact that on May 3, 19 1 6, the institution 
closed a successful campaign for a quarter million dollar 
endowment. Hence, the total net assets of the school, in- 
cluding endowment fund properties, and current expense 
fund amounts to $383,000. Nearly all the graduates choose 
ministerial, evangelistic, or educational work in America or 
in foreign lands. 

Obstnictions 0£Fered to Selection of U. S. Senator. 
Legislature Fails to Convene. When the legislature met in 
January, 1897, the senate promptly organized, but the 
house failed to secure a quorum and did not organize for 
business at any time. The purpose of the dissenting minor- 
ity in not taking the oath of office was to prevent the re- 
election of Senator John H. Mitchell and the constitutional 
limit for the session of the legislature expired without the 
election of a Senator or any kind of legislation. 

Governor Lord Appointed Hon. H. W. Corbett to fill the 

vacancy thus created in the United States Senate; but that 
body after extended deliberation refused to seat him, be- 
cause the legislature, though it had had opportunity to do so, 
had failed to elect a Senator and the Governor was not em- 
powered to fill the vacancy by appointment. An extra ses- 
sion, of the legislature was called to convene in October, 
1 898, at which time Hon. Joseph Simon was chosen United 
States Senator to fill the unexpired term. 

The Battleship "Oregon." Every Oregonian is proud of 
the battleship bearing the name of this State. This magnifi- 
cent vessel, which did splendid service in the Spanish- 
American war, was built by the Union Iron Works of San 
Francisco. She distinguished herself in the record voyage 



264 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



made from Puget Sound to Sand Key, Florida, in the Spring 
of 1898. Needed by the Government to assist in destroy- 
ing the Spanish fleet in Guba, the "Oregon," commanded by 
Captain Charies E. Qark, left Puget Soimd on March 6, 
San Francisco on March 19, and arrived at Sand Key on 
May 26, a distance of 18. 1 12 miles, equal to two-thirds of 
the distance around the globe. The battleship made 4,726 
miles of the trip without a stop for any purpose. To this day 
this is the best distance record ever made by a battleship. 
The Oregon arrived at its destination, as its officers offidally 
reported, "without a loose bolt or screw out of order;" at 




By courtesy „l Haruer Brolbera, New York. 
UNITED STATES BATTLE-SHIP "OREOON" 

the beginning of the battle of Santiago; and had the honor 
of firing the first shot in the contest which sealed the fate of 
the Spanish navy. The engines ^ere I 1,037 horse-povrer, 
and while larger ships have since beeen built and the "Ore- 
gon" is of a make now discarded, no modem ship has yet 
equalled its splendid record made during a naval crisis. At 
the launching of the battleship "Oregon," Joaquin Miller 
wrote: "Columbia in his pride, will greet 

The Boadicea of our fleet; 
And from embattled telgtte the voice 
Of cannon make the deep rejoice, 
And festal sunshine gleam upon 
The green clad hiiie of Oregon." 



if Oregon 
County, 



EPOCH V. 

GOVERNOR THEODORE T. GEEK 

January 9, 1899 — January 14, 1903 

Theodore T. Geer is the only native 
to become her Governor, He 
Oregon on March 12, 1851, 
and educated in Willamette 
University. He was a farmer, 
having followed that vocation 
until elected to the Governor' 
ship at the age of 47 years. 
He served as a member of 
the house of representatives 
in the Oregon legislature from 
Marion County in the ses- 
sions of IS80, 1S89, 1891. 
and 1893. Mr. Geer was 
elected speaker of the house 
in 1891. In 1696, he was 
chosen one of the electors on 
the Republican ticket and car- 
ried the vote of Oregon to 
Washington, D. C, as the 
State's official messenger. In 1898, Mi 
nated by acclamation in the state Republi 
Governor, and v 
opponent was Wi 
tive and state senator from Malheur and Baker Coundcs. 

An interesting story connected with Governor Geer's nomination 
published In the newapapera was to the effect that he was plow- 
ing on his farm when he first heard the news of his nomination. 
The truth Is that he was engaged with his neighbora in improving 
the roada, with shovel and spade, when the school children re- 
turning home from Macleay' — hia country post orCice — came shout- 
ing down the road that "T. T. Geer has been nominated for Gov- 
ernor." The shouts were heard before the children were in sight. 
Thus did Mr. Geer first receive news of his nomination. 




Geer was nomi- 
.n convention for 
ted by a majority of 10.000. His 
R. King, who had served as a represents- 



266 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



Or^on State Flower. At a meeting of the Oregon 
Horticultural Society at Newberg in 1 890, on the motion of 
George H. Himes, Dr. J. B. Pilkington and E. W. Ham- 
mond, both well known botanists, were appointed a commit- 
tee to nominate a State Flower. That committee reported at 
the annual meeting of the Society at Hood River, July 18, 
1892, suggesting several flowers, among them the Oregon 
Grape. Then, upon the motion of Mr. Himea, the Oregon 
Grape was adopted. Through the efforts of the State Fed- 
eration of Woman's Clubs of Oregon this choice was con- 
firmed by the Legislative 
Assembly of 1899. 

The Oregon Grape (Ber- 
beris Aquifolium) is one of 
the prettiest native shrubs of 
the Northwest. Oregon 
grape thrives in the moun- 
tains and in timbered dis- 
tricts along valley streams. 
Its rugged evergreen foliage 
resembles that of the holly, 
which adds cheer to the land- 
scape particularly throughout 
the winter. In springtime it 
illumines the scenery with 
OREGON GRAPE j^inty blossoms of yellow 

from which pretty berries of deep blue and bright purple 
grow, maturing in summer and autumn. Of all the flow- 
ers in the State probably none is more common to the 
haunts of the American eagle than is the Oregon Grape. 
Its characteristics, habitat and popularity especially fit it 
to be the State Flower of Oregon. 

Law Governing Water Supply for Electric Power. 
In 1 899, a law was passed with reference to the appropria- 
tion of water for electric purposes. The act provided for the 




EPOCH V. 



267 



appropriation of water by the posting of a notice at the pro- 
posed point of diversion, but its application was limited to 
public service companies. 

Oregon Historical Society. The Oregon Historical 
Society was organized December 1 7, 1 898. The officers 
are (1918): President, Frederick V. Holman; vice presi- 
dent) Leslie M. Scott; secretary and editor. Professor F. G. 
Young; treasurer, Ladd & Tilton's Bank; official custodian 
and curator, George H. Himes. It is located in the Port- 
land Auditorium Building. All citizens of Oregon in good 
standing are eligible to active membership in the Oregon 




Historical Society by paying a small fee; and non-residents 
of Oregon may become honorary members by complying 
with certain requirements. The principal sources of sup- 
port of the society are from the State, from a private en- 



268 HISTORY OF OREGON 

dowment, from membership dues, and from the sale of 
publications — the leading one being the Oregon Historical 
Quarterly, which is sent to the principal libraries and his- 
torial societies in the United States. The object of the 
Oregon Historical Society is to gather information relating 
to the history of Oregon and the United States; and for 
the accomplishment of this purpose to explore archaeo- 
logical deposits, acquire pioneer records and other pub- 
lications and manuscripts, perpetuate geographic and his- 
torical Indian names, \preseTve Indian ^traditions, main- 
tain a gallery of historical portraiture and an ethnological 
and historical museum, encourage the study of history and 
diffuse information relative to the history of Oregon. As 
a result of the work of the society thus far, newspapers, 
psunphlets, books, manuscripts and relics appertaining to 
pioneer and Indian life for more than a hundred years 
have been collected. The society headquarters have 
come to be a veritable museum of Oregon antiquities 
which are useful in developing a vital interest in the his- 
tory and traditions of the State. 

The Second Oregon. The Second Oregon U. S. Vol- 
unteer Infantry gained national distinction for its achieve- 
ments in the Spanish-American War. Yet mention here 
can be made only of its earlier history. When President 
McKinley on the 28th of April, 1898, called for one regi- 
ment from this State, both the First and Second Oregon 
regiments promptly reported at the Portland Armory for 
duty. Since both regiments desired to go, and but one 
could be accepted, * 'Governor Lord ordered a consolida- 
tion of the two into one full regiment, selecting the best 
men in each.** This selection resulted in forming a regi- 
ment of unusually strong and well-equipped soldiers. The 
new regiment was named the Second Oregon United States 
Volunteer Infantry. Colonel Owen Summers of the origi- 



EPOCH V. 269 

nal Second Regiment was appointed Colonel, and Colonel 
George Yoran of the First Regiment was appointed lieu- 
tenant colonel. Upon arriving at the scene of action the 
Second Oregon very fittingly bore a conspicuous part in 
the surrender of Manila and the final extinction of Span- 
ish authority in the Pacific Ocean. August 1 3, Colonel 
Summers was ordered to place his nine companies aboard 
the two vessels **Kwanchai'* and **Zafiro," and accompany 
the troops designated to support Dewey's demonstration 
from the Bay. By a chance, as it seemed, they were the 

first to be ordered into the works. **A cer- 
tain number of companies,** Lyman tells us 
in his history of Oregon, **were desired for 
this service, and the Second Oregon afford- 
ing just that number, was selected.** As 
landing was neared Colonel Summers ad- 
vanced in a small boat, being the first to step 
ashore. The regiment soon disembarked 
and forming in order of march entered the 
city. The Spanish gunners were still at their 
cannon; all the Spanish troops — five thous- 
and in number and fully armed, occupied 
the walls of the citadel. But the Oregon 
troops marched to their places, the citadel 
was occupied, the Spanish flag was taken 
down, and the Stars and Stripes run up^ ; and 
the arrogant power of Spain, which had 
domineered over half of the world and had punished as 
pirates all that entered the Pacific, went down. 

Return of the Second Oregon Regim^it. The Spanish- 
American War was concluded during the first year of Gov- 
ernor Geer*s term, and as the famous Second Oregon Regi- 




ilt was G. W. Povey of Company L, Second Oregon, who raised 
the American colors over Manila. 



2 70 HISTORY OF OREGON 

ment was the first to go to Manila it was the first to be mus- 
tered out when the war ended. Governor Geer, accompan- 
ied by his entire staff, met the regiment upon its arrival in 
San Francisco and welcomed it home. A great demonstra- 
tion was made in that city over the arrival of the Oregon 
troops, and a banquet was tendered more than one thousand 
soldiers, officers and invited friends; the local telegraph and 
telephone companies extended free use of their facilities be- 
tween San Francisco and the homes of the Oregon soldiers. 
The troops were mustered out of the service at San Fran- 
cisco three weeks later, and Governor Geer returned to the 
state line and accompanied them home. Later he made a 
special trip to Washington, D. C, to confer with the Secre- 
tary of War, Elihu Root, about securing a cannon from 
Manila for the purpose of using a part of it for making med- 
als for the members of the Regiment. The cannon wais se- 
cured, borings from it were made into medals, wbich were 
distributed to the individual soldiers, and the cannon now 
stands, mounted, on the grounds surrounding the capitol 
building at Salem. 

Initiative and Referendum. During the legislative ses- 
sion of 1899 and again in 1901 an smnendment to the con- 
stitution was passed providing for the initiation of laws by 
the people and the referendum of laws passed by the legis- 
lature to the people for their approval or disapproval. This 
smnendment was submitted and ratified at the June election 
in 1902 by a vote of 62,024 to 5668. 

Site of the Champoeg Meeting Located. Governor 
Geer was commissioned by the Oregon State Historical So- 
ciety to locate the exact site on which the famous Champoeg 
meeting was held on May 2, 1843; and on May 2, 1900, 
with Hon. F. X. Matthieu and George H. Himes, Secretary 
of the Historical Society, Governor Geer drove a stake on 
the spot designated by Mr. Matthieu, who was the only sur- 




'OCH V. 271 

vivor of that celebrated gather- 
ing. It was there that the begin- 
ning of the government in 
Oregon was made; and the or- 
ganization instituted on that day 
was the Brat civil government 
ev& attempted by Americans 
west of the Rocky Mountains. 
The legislature in 1 90 1 made 
provision for the erection of a 
monument on the site chosen; 
the event was celebrated on 
May 2, of that year, and the 
monument dedicated in the 
presence of several thousand 
people gathered to pay homage 



State Text Book ConunisHon Created. The session of 
the legislature made provision 
for the appointment of a 
State Text Book Commission 
whose duties were to select the 
books to be used in the public 
schools. Governor Geer se- 
lected as the five members 
of the commission the follow- 
ing: H. W. Scott, chairman, 
William M. Ladd, of Port- 
land. William Colvig, of 
Jacksonville, P. L. Camp- 
bell, President of the Univer- 
sity of Oregon, and C. A. 
Johns, of Baker, r, x. matthieu 




272 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



LaCreole Academy and Dallas College. LaCreole 

Academy and Dallas College, located at Dallas, Oregon, 
resulted from the union (1900) of LaCreole Academy 
eind Lafayette Seminary. The school offered academic 
and college courses, but was compelled to suspend opera- 
tions (June, 1914) for lack of funds to meet the require' 
ments of the Oregon standardization laws. The Oregon 
conference of the Evangelical Church, desirous to con- 



LMlk. 



CHAHFOEO FIOHEEB MEMOEIAL BTJILDIMa 

{See Fsge 271) 

tinue the work done in part by LaCreole Academy and 
Dallas College, elected a board of trustees (1916) for 
the purpose of incorporating the Oregon Bible Training 
College, which has since been located at Corvallia. The 
school property at Dallas has been transferred to the Ore- 
gon Bible Training College, and the trustees have procured 
a suitable building and opened the Bible Training College 
with a strong faculty and a comprehensive curriculum. 
The Mays' Senatorial Law. The obstructions already 



EPOCH V. 273 

offered to the election of U. S. Senator had become so 
flagrant a violation of the popular will that the people of 
Oregon began to appreciate the necessity of some other 
method of choosing their representatives in the U. S. Sen- 
ate. Accordingly what was known as the Mays' Law was 
passed by the legislature in 1901, the purpose of which wais 
that candidates for the United States Senate might submit 
their names to the people at the preceding general election 
in order to determine the popular preference for that office. 
In accordance with this law Ex-Governor Geer secured 
the necessary signatures and announced his candidacy for 
the Senate, and his name was placed on the ballot. He 
received a majority of 12,070, but the following legislature, 
in choosing the U. S. Senator ignored the popular vote. 
This disregard of the popular will did much to kindle a sen- 
timent that resulted in the initiation of the direct primary 
law and * 'Statement No. 1," in the following administra- 
tion. 

Columbia University. Columbia University, of Port- 
land, a boarding and day school for the Christian educa- 
tion of boys and young men, was founded in 1901 by Arch- 
bishop Christie. Since 1902 the institution has been owned 
and conducted by the congregation of the Holy Cross, a 
religious community of priests and brothers with the mother 
house at Notre Dame, Indiana. The institution has a gram- 
mar grade, a high school, and a college department. 
The present Administration Hall was erected under the 
auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1 89 1 . This 
was the Portland University, which began to languish 
after the panic of 1 893 and some years later closed its doors. 
Columbia University is strictly Roman Catholic, but admits 
students of other denominations and respects their con- 
scientious beliefs. 

Carey Irrigation Act Accepted by Oregon. In 1901, 
the State of Oregon accepted the terms of the Carey Irri- 



274 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



gation Act The acceptance of the Carey Act and the pas- 
sage of the U. S. Reclamation Act in the following year 
stimulated irrigation development. In the first two years 
of operation under the Carey Act projects aggregating nearly 
400,000 acres were initiated, and the investigations of the 
U. S. Reclamation Service resulted in the beginning of con- 




GAUHINQ AN 



STKEAM rOK IKBIBATIOM 



atruction work on the Klamath County and Umatilla pro- 
jects in 1904 and 1906. Numerous private projects were 
initiated and irrigation securities found ready sale, omng to 
the fact that they carried d^f" interest, which was somewhat 
higher than the interest on ordinary bonds. 

Crater Lake. .4, Lake That Was Once a Mountain. 
Crater Lake National Park was created by an act of 
Congress approved May 22, I 902, It consists of 249 square 
miles on the crest of the Cascade Range of mountains in 
South-eastern Oregon. The principal attraction of this 
national park is Crater Lake, which has been listed as one of 
the six wonders of the Western Continent — the others being 



the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Yellowstone Park, 
Niagara Falls, Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, and Yosemite. 
Stephen T. Mather, Director U. S. National Park Service, 




ORATE B LAKE 

tells us that "although there are thousands of craters in this 
country, some of which contain small lakes, there is but one 
great caldera in the world and that contains Crater Lake." 
, Crater Lake is, therefore, one of the most remarkable bodies 
of water in the world. Originally it was not a lake, but 
Mount Mazama, about 15,000 feet high — one of the great 




Court. 
HOmiT MAZAJtA BESTOBED 

mountains of the Continent. Yet no human eye ever saw 
Mount Mazama; for before the advent of man in what is 
no^ called Oregon, all that portion of the mountain above 
6,000 feet elevation disappeared leaving a vast smoking 
caldron, v^hich gradually filled with ^ater to the depth of 
2,000 feet; beautiful, sweet, and limpid. Crater Lake is five 
and one-half miles in diameter — the surface being 6, 1 77 feet 



iu 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



above aea level; while above it tower walls from 300 to 
2,000 feet. Imagine a lake occupying the crater of this ex- 
tinct volcano. From the dark gray walls that rim the crater, 
one can look far down upon the water of unbelievable blue. 
There can be seen Wizard Island, a more recent volcano. 
which rises to a height of 845 feet above the water, and has 
a crater of its own a hundred feet deep, and fiitcea hun- 
dred feet in circumference. There can also be seen another 
island — a mass of curiously carved lava called the Phantom 
Ship — which is interesting because of its fancied resemblance 
to a turreted battleship, and because of its peculiar coloring, 
which in certain slants of light causes the image to disappear 
— a phantom indeed. 

Crater Lake was discovered by 
a party of prospectors under John 
W. Hillman, June 12, 1853. The 
Federal Government is construct- 
ing a system of roads through the 
park under the name of "Miracle 
Boulevard" that will encircle this 
marvelous body of water, and will 
be completed in 1919. It is pro- 
posed to bore a tunnel a half mile 
long through the crater rim so 
that vehicles can convey visitors 
between the summit and the lake 
below. 

Crater Lake Described by Joa- 
quin Mill^. "Crater Lake? The 
Sea of Silei " 

forgotten so much else; besides Crater Laka Katlonal Fuk 

I should like to let it alone, say nothing. It took such a hold 
on my heart, so unlike Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Can- 
yon, when first seen, that I love it almost like one of my own 
family. But fancy a sea of sapphire set around by a com- 




EPOCH V. 



277 



pact circle of the great grizzly rock of Yosemite. It does 
not seem so sublime at first, but the mote is in your own eye. 
It is great, great; but it takes you days to see how great. It 
lies 2,000 feet under your feet, and as it reflects its walls so 
perfectly that you can not tell the wall from the reflection in 
the intensely blue water you have a continuous unbroken 
circular wall of 24 miles to contemplate at a glance, all of 
which lies 2.000 feet and seems to lie 4,000 feet below. Yet 
so bright, so intensely blue is the lake, that it seems at times, 
from some points of view, to rise right in your face." 

CIcM LJte. Crater Lake, The Gulf of Mexico, The 
Mediterranean Sea, and Clear Lake, under certain atmos- 




CLEAK T.k-KT! 

pheric conditions, are as blue as indigo. But the latter 
body of water is famous for its clearness. The waters of 
Clear Lake are crystalline, and they magnify objects until 
a shining substance can be seen farther under water than 
upon the dry land ; hence the lake is said to be clearer than 
the air. One reason assigned for its remarkable clearness 



2 78 HISTORY OF OREGON 

is that it is fed by numerous springs which have been thor- 
oughly filtered by the extended lava beds through which 
they flow. Because of this filtering process the water is 
very pure — ^so pure that tin and iron do not easily corrode in 
it, and the more perishable substances, such as meat and 
bread, are slow to decompose or decay in its depths. Clear 
Lake, which is a mile or more in length and approximately 
a half mile in width, is divided by a narrow passage into 
the Upper Lake and the Lower Lake. Of the springs which 
feed Upper Lake one is large enough to turn a small saw 
mill, and its temperature in summer is but a few degrees 
above the freezing point. 

Source of Clear Lake. Whence these springs ori- 

ginate has not yet been determined. But some of them 
evidently are the seepage of Fish Lake, which in winter is 
a deep lake and in the summer a fine meadow with a small 
stream running through its entire length. This stream is a 
continuation of the headwaters of the McKenzie. It sinks at 
the lower end of the lake and it is probably one of the feed- 
ers of Clear Lake. Also there ar6 numerous other Isikes in 
that locality which have no visible outlet — among them being 
Lava Lake,^ Big Lake, Lost Lake, and a score or more of 
lesser lakes. It is probable that Clear Lake is fed by some 
of these. The outflow of Clear Lake is the McKenzie River 
which at this point is ordinarily about twice as large as the 
South Santiam River at Cascadia in summer. 

Location and Importance, Of the many beautiful moun- 
tain lakes in Oregon perhaps none has a more attractive 
setting than Clear Lake. This rare body of water is located 
in Linn county, seventy-seven miles southeast of Albany 
and seven miles from the summit of the Cascade Mountains. 
Since many of the cities and towns of Western Oregon se- 
cure their water supply from the Willamette River the State 
Board of Health has for several years had under considera- 
tion a project of inaugurating a water system which would 



EPOCH V. 



279 



have its source in Clear Lake; thus in time insuring the pur- 
est of water in ample quantity for domestic use. 

Popular Resort. Like many other inland bodies of 
water in Oregon, Clear Lake has a great depth, nobody yet 
having visited it with a line of sufficient length to reach its 
bottom. Many tree trunks standing upright — the ruins of an 
ancient forest — may be seen far below its surface, dating 
from the tragic upheavals of lava from Vulcan's mighty cal- 
drons into the valley until the waters of a small stream were 
held back and became a lake. Hence a record of the trees 
would give us the age of the lake. The Three Sisters may be 




STAHDDie TREE TBtTNES IN CLEAB lAEE 



plainly seen from Clear Lake; and a half mile away may be 
seen the McKenzie River plunging over a cliff sixty feet 
in height. Its location so near the summit of the Cascade 
Mountains together with other attractions destines Clear 
Lake to be a popular resort for those who enjoy a mountain 
journey involving all the hardship of a frontier outing. In 
later years, when better mountain roads are constructed, no 



280 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



doubt Oear Lake will be one of the most popular health re- 
sorts in the Northwest. 

Willamette Meteorite. Willamette Meteorite took its 
name from the Willamette Valley in which it wju diacov- 
ered. "It is the most interesting iron meteorite as to external 
characteristics yet discovered, and it is the largest ever 
found' in the United States." The meteor is apparently solid 
with the exception of deep pits on the surface which it is be- 
lieved are due to rust. It is 10 ft. long, b]/z ft. wide, and 
4^ ft. high; its weight is 31.107 lbs. and it contains 9 1.55 7r 




This 



meteonte 



was discovered in the 
autumn of 1902 in the 
woods 1 9 miles south of 
Portland by two pros- 
pectors who were 
searching for the pre- 
cious metals. The find- 
ers at first supposed 
they had come upon a 
ledge of solid iron, but 
the meteoric character 
wilLAMBTTB METEOBiTE ^f ^jj^ ^^gg ^^^ ^^j^n as- 

certained. Later one of the prospectors removed the mete- 
orite to his ranch nearby. But the owners of the land on 
which it had been found instituted suit for its recovery and 
the contest was carried to the supreme court before the finder 
relinquished his claim. In 1 906. the great specimen was pre- 
sented to the American Museum of Natural History, in New 
York, where it was given a prominent place at the entrance 
of the building. 



CHAPTER XIlI 



231 



GOVERNOR GEORGE E. CHAMBERLAIN 
January 15, 1903 — February 28, 1909 

George Earle Chamberlain was bom on a plantation 
near Natchez, Mississippi, Jaunary 1, 1854. He graduated 
in 1876 from Washington and Lee University with degrees 
from the colleges of liberal arta and law; during the latter 
part of that year Mr. 
Chamberlain came to 
Linn County, Oregon, 
where he taught in a 
country school and later 
practiced law. He was 
elected representative in 
the Oregon legislature in 
1880; was the first attor- 
ney-general of Oregon, 
serving in that office 
I69l'5; inaugurated gov- 
ernor in 1901, and again 
in 1907; resigned in 1909 
on his election as U. S. 
Senator, and was re- 
elected U. S. Senator in oov. GEonaE e7 chambeblain 
1915. At present, (1918) he holds the responsible posi- 
tion of Chairman of the Senate Committee on Military 
Affairs. 

Indian War Veterans. The recognition of the Indian 
War Veterems for their valuable services in protecting the 
lives and property of the early settlers in Oregon came late 
in the history of the State — too late to be of any benefit to 
many of those who volunteered to defend their firesides and 
those of their companions. The territorial legislature of 
1856 promised to aid, but did not comply with its agreement 
and nothing tangible was done until the ses«on of 1903 
made an appropriation of $100,000 for the purpose of pay- 




282 HISTORY OF OREGON 

ing each surviving veteran the sum of $2.00 for each day he 
had performed actual service. To secure proof of such ser- 
vice after the lapse of nearly fifty years was often difficult 
and more than half of the old Indian fighters were dead, but 
the relief that had finally come was gratefully accepted by 
those who lived to receive it. In 1901, the legislature had 
appropriated a sufficient sum to defray the expenses of 
seven veterans, to be appointed by the Governor, who were 
authorized to go to Washington, D. C, for the purpose of 
inducing congress, if possible, to furnish relief to those sol- 
diers, and in 1913 the legislature appropriated the sum of 
$50,000 or so much thereof as might be necessary to be 
used in paying all surviving veterans the sum of $2.00 for 
each day they had used a horse in the volunteer service. In 
the process of time Congress passed a law providing for the 
payment of losses by Indian depredations, but in a major- 
ity of cases, those who suffered died before there was any 
opportunity to be benefited by it. There is now a state law 
requiring each county court to levy a small tsix, the proceeds 
of which are to be applied to the support of all indigent In- 
dian War Veterans within the county; so that, after the 
lapse of many years which marked a period of shameful in- 
difference and broken promises, the state is in a measure 
performing its duty to a class of patriotic citizens who vol- 
unteered to risk their lives in the pioneer times for the pro- 
tection of the country they were trying to reclaim from sav- 
agery. The privileges of the Soldier's Home at Roseburg 
are also extended to the Indian War Veterans, and several 
of themi have availed themiselves of its protection and sup- 
port. 

The Oregon System. It was during the administration 
of Governor George E. Chamberlain, that most of the fea- 
tures that have come to be known as **The Oregon System" 
were adopted by the people. Much dissatisfaction had 
been aroused with what was known as the convention 
method of selecting candidates for public offices, and the 



EPOCH V. 283 

desire for a direct nominating law had become pronounced. 
Many flagrant violations of the popular wish in these mat- 
ters had occurred, and the matter occupied a prominent 
place in the list of questions that were generally discussed. 

Statement No. 1. Another Important Chmige in 
the Control of political nominations was made by the peo- 
ple in 1 904, when they abolished the system of primary con- 
ventions and initiated the Direct Primary Law, which in- 
cluded what is known as ''Statement No. 1," by the terms 
of which each candidate for the legislature was requested to 
sign a statement to the effect that, if elected, he would sup- 
port for the United States Senate such candidate for that 
ofHce as had received the highest vote at the preceding elec- 
tion. The law contained another statement namely, that the 
candidate would not support such candidate unless he chose 
to do so. The two statements were known as * 'Statement 
No. 1" and Statement No. 2" but as the legislative candi- 
dates were unwilling to court defeat they almost without 
exception signed * 'Statement No. 1.*' 

The Intention of **Statcment No. V* was to secure 

the election of United States Senators by a direct vote of the 
people* relying on members of the legislature to act upon 
the instruction of the people, in advance of an amendment 
to the federal constitution providing for their election by 
popular vote. 

This Plan Worked As Wa^ Intended, and at the elec- 
tion in 1906 Jonathan Bourne, Jr., and Fred W. Mulkey were 
so chosen by the people, and during the following session 
of the legislature were elected United States Senators. In 
1908, when his second term in the Governor's office had 
but half expired. Governor Chamberlain was nominated by 
the Democratic party as its candidate for the United States 
Senate, and in November following he received a majority 
vote at the hands of the people. The legislature which met 
in January, though overwhelmingly Republican in both 
houses, had almost unanimously subscribed to * 'Statement 



284 



HISTORY OF OREGON 




No. 1," and promptly elected Governor Chamberlain the 
democratic candidate to the Senate, and thus was inaugu- 
rated a great reform that had baffled other states for many 
decades. 

The Oregon Supreme Court. The organizatioD and 
growth of the Oregon Supreme Court affords a fine illus- 
tration of the caution displayed by the fraraers of the state 
constitution in the niatter of preventing the extension of 
financial burdens upon the people. 
That instrument provided for the 
creation of four judicial districts 
and four circuit judges who consti- 
tuted the state Supreme Court, sit- 
ting at stated intervals to pass 
upon such cases as should be ap- 
pealed to them from the lower 
courts. When sitting as a Supreme 
Court, however, no judge was per- 
mitted to pass upon a case which 
had come from his own court. In 1862 a separate judicial 
district was created by the establishment of a fifth district 
composed of the then five counties constituting Extern Ore- 
gon, From that date until 1878 the state Supreme Court 
consisted of the five circuit judges. This measure of econ- 
omy was pursued until the year 1878 when, under a pro- 
vision of the constitution authorizing such step ^hen the 
white population should reach 200.000, a separate supreme 
court was created, consisting of three members. Under a 
requirement of this act Governor Thayer appointed James 
J. Kelly, P. P. Prim and R. P. Boise as )ustice^ to serve 
until the people should select their successors. 

In 1907 the business of the Supreme Court had grown 
to such proportions that three justices could not dispose of 
it and the legislature provided for the appointment of two 
commissioners to assist in the work. Two years later the 
membership of the court was increased to five, and in 1 9 1 3 



EPOCH V 285 

two more were added. The decisions of the Oregon Su- 
preme Court have high standing in all the states of the 
Union for their conformity with legal interpretations of 
fairness and justice. 

The Whipping Post Law. The question of using the 
whipping post as the most effective method for punishing 
certain petty crimes had been suggested in various quarters 
in Oregon since its earliest history, but it was always opposed 
on the ground that it seemed unnecessarily cruel and was 
really a relic of barbarism and slavery days. In 1905, how- 
ever, the legislature amended the criminal law by providing 
that in the case of the conviction of a man for beating his 
wife the trial judge might, at his discretion, sentence him 
to a certain number of lashes to be applied by the sheriff 
of the county or marshal of the town in which the crime 
was committed. The operation of the law did not, how- 
ever, result in the benefit its advocates had hoped for, since 
few judges fdt inclined to use the discretion as conferred 
and imposed fines or imprisonment which was their priv- 
ilege under the provisions of the law. The resort to whipping 
as a punishment for wife-beating was not popular, however, 
since in most cases the wives themselves interceded for the 
convicted husbands, and the legislature in 1911 repealed 
the provision, and public whipping was abolished after a 
trial of six years. 

Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. Nation-Wide 
Celebration. Oregon had developed so rapidly that as the 
century was nearing the close it was decided to commem- 
orate the centennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with 
a national celebration at Portland, Oregon, beginning June 
I, 1905, and continuing four and one-half months. There- 
upon a local corporation, with H. W. Corbett^ as president 
in 1902, subscribed $500,000 to the enterprise, which was 



iH. W. Corbett died March 31, 1903, whereupon Harvey W. Scott 
became president. Upon Mr. S'cott's resignation, H. W. Goode was 
elected. 



286 HISTORY OF OREGON 

substantial evidence that leading citizens were ready to 
support the undertaking. So much encouragement was giv- 
en that during the same year a beautiful tract of several 
hundred acres overlooking Guild's Lake was chosen as the 
site of the Nation's Great Fair. 



BTEQSETE VIEW OF THE LEWIS AND OLABK BXPOSITITH 

President Roosevelt Lays Cornier Stone. Early in 1 903 
the Oregon Legislature authorized the holding of the Ejcposi- 
tion and appropriated $300,000 therefor; and Governor 
Chamberlain appointed the Oregon State Commission' of 
eleven members with full power to act in all matters per- 
taining to the management of the Lewis and Clark Exposi- 
tion. On the 2 I st of the ensuing May, President Theodore 
Roosevelt, in the presence of a vast throng, laid the comer 
stone of the Lewis and Clark monument in City Park, Port- 
land — an event of much significance in connection with tlie 
approaching exposition. In February, 1904, Congress ap- 
propriated $475,000 to the enterprise; and authorized the 
transfer of the entire U. S, Government exhibit previously 

iThe members of the Coiniulssion were Jefferson Myers, Salem; 
Warren E. Thomas, Portland; Richard Scott, Milwaukie; Frank A. 
Spencer, Portland; F. G Yoimg, Eugene; George iCoDsor, Heppner; 
J. H, Albert, Salem; Frank Williams, Ashland; J. G. Flanders, Doc- 
tor Day Lafferty, and G. Y. Harry, Portland, 



EPOCH V 287 

shown at the St. Louis Exposition, and in April provided for 
the circulation of 250,000 souvenir Lewis and Clark silver 
dollar coins, which had a far-reaching effect in giving pub- 
licily to the Exposition. 




JEFFE&301T UTEKS, FBESIDEHT OF THE LEWIS AND OIu^KK 

CEHTEHNIAI. EXPOSITION OOMHISSIOK BBEAKEHO OBOTJND 

FOB THE riKStt -'WESTEEN WOELD'3 FAIB" 

Foreign Countries Participate. On May 3, 1 904. the 
first ground for the construction of the Exposition was brok' 
en amidst imposing ceremonies conducted by Jefferson My- 
ers, president of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition 
Commission. Twenty-three buildings were then erected' — ■ 
three of which were for the government, thirteen for the 



288 HISTORY OF OREdON 

state of Oregon, and seven for the use of other states. Six- 
teen foreign countries and seventeen states participated in 
the exposition* which was formally opened on the appointed 
day. May t, 1905, by Vice-President Fairbanks. 

There Were ApproMmately Three Million Adimssums 

to the grounds. Such was the patronage that the Lewis and 
Clark exposition was the first national exposition in the 
United States to prove financially successful. But, best of 
all, the Lewis and Clark Exposition brought Americans as 
well as foreign nations into better acquaintance, and into 
closer touch with the people and the resources of Oregon, 
so that capital finally responded to the long neglected csJI 
from the Northwest. A new impetus was given to public 
and private enterprises, and the throb of prosperity began 
to be felt as never before throughout the region explored 
by Lewis and Clark in their famous expedition to the Pa- 
cific Coast. 

The State Institution for Feeble-Minded. The State 
Institution for feeble-minded was established by the Leg- 
islature of 1907, and was formally opened in November, 
1 908, when 38 feeble-minded persons were admitted. The 
objects of the institution were first, prevention of mentsJ 
defectives by segregation; second, care and attention to 
make them as nearly self-supporting as possible; third, 
custody of the idiotic and epileptic, seventy to eighty per- 
cent of which, according to statistics, are in the state insti- 
tution for feeble-minded because of hereditary defects. 

The institution is located on a farm of 635 acres, about 
thiee miles southeast of Salem. Instruction is given in 
grade work, manual training, basketry and sewing. Vari- 
ous other branches in connection with these subjects are also 
taught. Those who are capable may advance in scholar- 
ship about equal to the fourth grade in the public schools. 

Additional Federal Judge. By Act of Congress of 
March 2, 1909, an additional district judge was provided 



EPOCH V. 289 

for the District of Oregon. By the same act Congress pro- 
vided for two additional terms of court to be held each 
year; one at Pendleton on the first Tuesday of April, and 
one at Medford on the first Tuesday in October. The special 
reason for the appointment of an additional district judge, 
and the holding of court in Pendleton and Medford, was the 
large increase of business, requiring more than one judge 
for its transaction. President Taft appointed Judge Robert 
S. Bean to be the additional judge. 

Oregon State Tuberculosis Hospital. *The Oregon 
State Tuberculosis Hospital was established by an act of the 
legislative assembly of 1909. Its purposes are to provide 
treatment of tubercular patients; to act as an educational 
institution, where patients are taught the fundamental rules 
of right living and how to avoid spreading the disease among 
others; to segregate those in the advanced stage of the dis- 
ease, thus eliminating the danger of infecting their families 
and others; to provide a home for those tubercular patients 
who are unable to secure a home or proper care elsewhere. 
Located about five miles southeast of Salem, the hospital 
occupies a commanding site which affords a beautiful view 
of the valley.'* — Oregon Blue Book. 

Reed College. Reed College, which is located on a 
campus of eighty-six acres in the southeastern part of Port- 
land, within three miles of the center of the City, was 
founded in 1904 as Reed Institute, but was established in 
1910 as Reed College. It had in the beginning an endow- 
ment of $3,000,000 through the terms of the will of Mrs. 
Susan G. Reed, who, with her husband, both natives of 
Massachusetts, came to Oregon in 1854. Mr. Reed was 
one of the promoters and managers of the Oregon Stesun 
Navigation Company; and he had amassed a fortune in 
that enterprise. He died in 1895, leaving a will which con- 
tained this significant provision: * 'Feeling, as I do, a deep 
interest in the welfare and prosperity of the City of Port- 
land, where I have spent my business life and accumulated 



290 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the property 1 possess, 1 would suggest to my wife that she 
devote some portion of my estate to benevolent objects of 
some suitable purpose which shall contribute to the beauty 
of the City and to the intelligence, prosperity and happi- 
ness of its inhabitants." 

Mrs. Reed died in 1 904 and bequeathed property of 
the value mentioned for "an institution of learning," leaving 
a large latitude to its directors as to the details of its general 
work and nature. Owing to the fact that Portland was rap- 




ASTS BUILDING— SEED COLLEOE 

idly growing, that city was a special field for the establish- 
ment of an institution of higher learning; hence the wisdom 
of the provision of her will. 

Reed College is undenominational and non-sectarian, 
but the authorities regard religion as wholesome and essen- 
tial to human life. Religious meetings are regularly held 
accordingly, under the direction of the institution. It is a 
college of arts and sciences. In its efforts to elevate college 
standards, it was the first institution in Oregon to announce 
its refusal to admit special students, preparatory students, 
or other students on condition. 



Oregon Trail Monument Ejcpedition. Of the old emi- 
grant trail Clara Blalce Morgan has written: 

Aged and desolate, grizzled and still, 

It creeps in slow curves round the base of the hill; 

Of its once busy traffic is left little trace. 

Not a hoof-print or wheel track is fresh on its face. 

The Oregon trail is one of the most noted trails in 
America. Originally only a pathway, it was later 'worn 
deep and wide by the hoofs of stock and the grinding of 
the wagon wheels of the Oregon immigrants into a well- 
beaten wagon road. Yet it retained its original name. 



Wlaik 


lii^.-^^TMi,^ •j^T^.i 


/ ^1 






■ •,. ■* ^ ri 



Copyright, GiffMd and Prenliss. 
END OF THE OREOOH TRAIL 
Vl«ir in 01t7 Faik. Tli« Dalles 

When the ox team gave place to the iron horse, the old 
highway of Oregon became neglected; and although of un- 
usual depth and width, it was evident that in time it would 
be effaced, and uncertainties arise as to its location, un- 
less some one who had traveled over the route should 
mark its course. 

Ezra Meeker Marks the 0^'egon Trail. Fortunately 



292 HISTORY OF OREGON 

this task was undertaken by Ezra Meeker, who crossed the 
plains in 1852, located a homestead on which he platted 
the town of Puyallup, and then moved to Seattle, where 
he now resides (1918). With an ox team, in 1906, he 
drove from the tidewaters of the Pacific to the tidewaters of 
the Atlantic, establishing monuments along the Trail be- 
tween The Dalles and Omaha, a distance of eighteen 
hundred miles. In assigning a reason for beginning at The 
Dalles, Meeker said: **1 have always thought that here 
[The Dalles] was the real starting point, as from here, there 
could be no more shipping, but all driving." 

Meeker's Equipment consisted of a yoke of oxen, and 
a wagon of the old type with axles of wood and **the old 
time linch pins and steel skeins involving the use of tar and 
tar bucket. The bed was the ancient *prairie schooner,' so 
called because it was fashioned to serve as a boat for use 
in crossing rivers.** His outfit was strikingly similar to that 
used by the Oregon immigrants, with but one exception — he 
had a kodak. With this. Meeker photographed important 
points to illustrate the story of the journey, which was later 
published under the title, **The Ox Team.** His traveling out- 
fit, together with his lectures, awakened much interest along 
the way, enabling him to obtain the co-operation of clubs, 
societies and schools in preserving the historic trail by plac- 
ing stone monuments at important points under his per- 
sonal supervision. 

Infhience Upon Children. Upon commending the 
interest taken by the people of The Dalles, Pendleton, Lee's 
Encampment, LaGrande, Baker, Huntington, Vale and else- 
where, the Oregon Trail Marker aptly said of the 800 school 
children of Baker, who contributed their dimes to erect a 
granite monument with a bronze tablet: **I am convinced 
that this feature of the work is destined to give great results. 
It is not the financial aid I refer to, but the effect it will have 
upon the children in causing them to cherish patriotic sen- 



EPOCH V. 



293 



timents in after years. Each child in Baker, or Huntington, 

or Boise, or elsewhere, where these contributions have been 

made, feels that he has part ownership in the shaft he helped 

to erect. This feeling will develop into tender care for the 

memorial, and it will grow 

stronger as the child grows A 

older." 

Result of Meeker's Jour 
ney. After marking the 
trail with monuments as far 
as Omaha, Mr. Meeker vis- 
ited a .number of eastern 
cities where he awakened in- 
terest in the old emigrant 
route. Partly as the result 
of the prominence which he 
gave to the Oregon Trail, 
during his visit in the East- 
em States, Congress at three 
successive sessions took up 
for consideration the appro- 
priation of $100,000 to complete the work of marking the 
trail, with the belief that this aid would involve a preliminary 
survey for a national highway as a suitable memorial to the 
pioneers of Old Oregon. But the bill failed to become a law. 
In co-operation with Mr. Meeker in the patriotic effort to pre- 
serve the Oregon Trail, the Oregon Geographic Board, The 
Oregon Historical Society, The Daughters of the American 
Revolution, and other organizations in this State have begun 
the commendable movement of establishing landmarks 
along other historic highways of Oregon. 

Oregon Bank Holklays. Financial Panic in Eastern 
States. Early in October. 1 907, a financial panic occurred 




OREGON TRAIL MOmfMENT 



in the United States which was very disastrc 
and peculiar in that it happened during e 



in many ways, 
iod of prosper- 



294 HISTORY OF OREGON 

ity. It was properly called a * "banker's panic" for the rea- 
son that it started through fear on the part of wealthy men 
that something was about to happen, and clearly illustrated 
the saying that **there is no coward so great as money.'* A 
lack of confidence in one instance w^as sufficient to frighten 
others, and the condition became national in twenty-four 
hours. Many of the greatest banks of the country suspended 
payments and closed their doors. Others, dependent upon 
them did likewise, and for a time business was completely 
paralyzed. 

The Effects of the Eastern Panic Reached Oregon, 

and though our banks were in splendid condition many of 
them were forced to close because the balance due them 
from eastern banks could not be had. To meet such an ab- 
ilormal condition Governor Chamberlain, at the solicitation 
of a committee of Portland bankers who went to the capital 
on a special train for that purpose, proclaimed a series of 
bank holidays, beginning on October 28 and lasting for five 
days. At the end of that period, however, the danger had 
not been lessened and he automatically continued the bank 
holiday season from day to day until conditions had righted 
themselves and the fright had passed. The method to which 
the Governor resorted was novel; but it answered a good 
purpose and served to alleviate a condition which might have 
been far more disastrous than it was. 

The North Bank Road. The Spokane, Poitland a/nd 
Seattle Railroad, popularly known as the * "North Bank 
Road," is a joint property owned equally by the Northern 
Pacific and Great Northern railway companies. The con- 
struction work was begun on the Northern Pacific in Minne- 
sota in the summer of 1 870; but the failure of the Jay Cooke 
Company in 1873 threw it into financial straits and it after- 
wards passed through many troublesome times before reach- 
ing its Pacific Coast terminus, The Qreat Northern reached 



EPOCH V. 



295 



the Pacific Coast in 1893. Mr. Villard gave the Northern 
Pacific the benefit of his financial genius, but not until James 
J. Hill, a controlling factor in its affairs, became its manager 
did it realize the hopes of its first stockholders. For many 
years, Mr. Hill perceived the advantage of a "do'wn grade" 
route to tidewater and when the time was ripe he began the 
construction of the North Bank line from Spokane, Washing- 
ton, to the Columbia River at Pasco and thence down the 
north bank of the Columbia River, This was a most difficult 
engineering task; but Mr> Hill was a man of indomitable en- 
ergy and great foresight, and all obstructions were finally 
overcome. 

Completed by James J. Hill. 
for the construction of bridges a 
Willamette below Portland, 
but they were built, and the 
"James J. Hill Special" cross- 
ed the Columbia bridge on 
December 5, 1908, the event 
being celebrated at Vancou- 
ver with speeches, brass bands 
and fireworks. The bridge 
^vas put into regular service on 
December I 7, 3^on after- 
ward the North Bank road 
acquired the Astoria and Co- 
lumbia River railroad which 
gave the "Hill interests a con- 
tinuous line from St. Paul to 
the sea on a down grade 
route through the State of 
Oregon. This was the consummation of Mr. Hill's great de- 
sire, and gives all Oregon, together with its other railroad 
connections, the advantages in transportation which its 




JAMB3 J. HILL 



natural position commands and di 



Mr. Hill will be 



296 HISTORY OF OREGON 

known in the history of the Northwest as **The Empire 
Builder,'* as by his foresight he constructed roads into sec- 
tions before they were settled, thus providing means for lo- 
cators to develop latent resources. He proved himself a 
valued friend to the people of Oregon and of the entire 
Northwest. 



EPOCH V. 
GOVERNOR FRANK W. BENSON 

March 1, 1909.— June 17, 1910 



Frank W. Benson was born Ln San Jose, California, 
MarcK 20, 1858. When twenty-one years of age he gradu- 
ated from the University of the Pacific, located in his native 
city. In 1 880 he moved to Douglas County, Oregon, where 
he served as teacher, school superintendent, clerk of the 
United States Land Office, president of the Normal School 
at Drain, and county clerk. 
In 1 896, he was admitted to 
the bar. and in 1906 as a life- 
long Republican he was 
elected secretary of state. 
By virtue of hia office as sec- 
retary of state, Mr. Benson 
became governor, March 1 , 
i 909, when Governor Cham- 
berlain resigned to become 
United States Senator. De- 
clining the nomination to 
succeed himself as gover- 
nor. Mr. Benson was re- 
elected secretary of state, in 
which relation he was en- 
titled to remain governor ex- 
officio until the governor elect could be lawfully qualified. 
But ill health compelled him to resign the duties of gover- 
nor, June 17, 1910. However, he continued in his office as 
secretary of state until his death, April 14, 1911. 




OOA^ERIfOK FBAHS V 



HISTORY OF OREGON 

GOVERNOR JAY BOWERMAN 
June 17. 1910— January 11, 1911 




Jay Bo^erman ivas 
the first president of the 
Oregon Senate to be- 
come ex-officio gover- 
nor of this State. 
When Governor Ben- 
son, 'who was in Cali- 
fornia because of ill 
health, resigned his ex- 
ecutive duties, June I 7, 
1910, J. Bowerman 
by virtue of his office as 
President of the Sen- 
ate became Governor 
of Oregon, a position 
which he held until his 



IS inaugu- 
.■ated January II, 1911. 
The Pendleton Round-Up. The Pendleton Round- 
Up is the world's greatest frontier exhibition. It is reputed 
to be a most unique and characteristic, thrilling and excit- 
ing reproduction of the sports and pastimes of the pre- 
civilized days of the West. Its purpose is to represent on 
the passing frontier — rich in cowboy and Indian tradition — 
the excitement of frontier life, the barbaric beauty of 
Indian knighthood, and the romance and rugged grandeur 
surrounding the American savage, the cowboy and the pio- 
neer. From five hundred to one thousand cowboys, cow- 
girls, and Indians direct from the ranges and reservations 
participate in this dramatization of western life, perform- 
ing many of the most difficult feats of horsemanship; and 



EPOCH V. 



299 



they have succeeded in making classic many features be- 
longing to the border. Their performances are given on a 
quarter-mile circuit surrounded by grandstand and bleach- 
ers with a total seating capacity of 40,000 — the largest west 
of the Mississippi River. 



The Pendleton Round-Up was first produced in 1910. 
Since then it has been held annually. The performances 
continue three days, during which world championships in 
the sports of the cowboy 
are won and lost. Patron- 
age has steadily increased 
until this exhibition of 
frontier horsemanship is 
witnessed by the largest 
assemblages attending any 
single event in the western 
part of the continent. 

A peculiar feature of 
the Round-Up at Pendle- 
ton is its absolute freedom 
from commercialism. Citi- 
zens of. that community 
own the stock. The offi- 
cials tender their services without compensation; they pur- 
chase their own tickets of admission; and all proiits are ex- 
pended in improving the performances and the stadium. It 
is thus that the Pendleton Round-Up has been safeguarded 
from criticism and preserved from decay. 




Oregon's "Grand Old Man." A distinctive honor 
came to the State of Oregon when, in 1671 President Grant 
appointed Hon. George H. Williams, its most prominent citi- 
zen, to the position of Attorney General of the United States, 
who thus became the first member of a President's cabinet to 
be selected from the Pacific Coast. Mr. Williams was bom 



300 HISTORY OF OREGON 

in New Lebanon, Columbia County, New York, on March 
26, 1823. He received an academic education at Pompey, 
New York, and at the age of 21 years was admitted to the 




bar of that state. Soon afterwards he removed to the then 
far western state of Iowa and began practicing law at the 



EPOCH V. 301 

town of Fort Madison. Upon the organization of the state 
government he was chosen judge of the first judicial district 
and held that position for five years. In 1 85 3 he was ap- 
pointed by President Pierce, Chief Justice of Oregon Terri- 
tory and in 1857 was re-appointed by President Buchanan. 
In 185 7 he served as a member of the state constitutional 
convention and canvassed the state while its adoption was 
pending before the people in favor of the section which pro- 
hibited slavery, it having been submitted for a separate vote. 
In 1 864 Mr. Williams was elected to the United States 
Senate and upon taking his seat in the following March at 
once attracted the attention of the nation by his far-seeing 
statesmanship and clearness of expression. He took a lead- 
ing part in the great legislative work connected with the re- 
construction of the southern states and was an active member 
of the committees on finance and public lands. He was the 
author of what was known as the **Tenure of Office Act** 
which was vetoed by President Johnson, but was passed over 
the veto. He made a brilliant record as United States Attor- 
ney General, the duties of which position were extremely im- 
portant, and highly technical owing to the vast amount of 
legislation growing out of the Civil War. He was appointed 
a member of the international commission to settle differ- 
ences between the United States and England which had re- 
sulted from the war and won the high esteem of his fellow 
members for his learning and diplomacy. President Grant 
appointed him Chief Justice of the United States Supreme 
Court to succeed Salmon P. Chase; but owing to political 
complications which arose, the confirmation was delayed 
and Mr. Williams withdrew his name. This is deeply to be 
regretted for during the thirty years he lived after that event 
he would have made a splendid record in that high office. 
When the serious controversy was presented in 1877 in the 
contest between Hayes and Tilden over the Presidency of the 
United States it was an article written by Mr. Williams and 
published in the ** Washington Star" which contained the first 



id! HISTORY OF OREGON 

public expression of the groundwork which was afterward 
adopted by Congress as a solution of a grave national crisis. 
After returning to Oregon, Mr. Williams resumed the 
practice of law in Portland and for thirty years was knowm 
for his public spirited endeavors, his philosophic teachings 
and democratic bearing. When past 80 years of age he 
served the city of Portland as its Mayor, giving the position 
his active attention. He was affectionately known as * 'Ore- 
gon's Grand Old Man;** and in 1910, when well past 87 
years of age and without any signs of mental decadence, 
passed peacefully away. 



GOVERNOR OSWALD WEST 
January 11, 1911 — January 12, 1915 

Oswald West was born in Ontario, Canada, May 20, 
1873 and came to Oregon with his parents when a amall 
child. His boyhood was one of struggles and hardship. 
At fifteen years of age he was given a position with the 
Ladd & Bush Bank, in Salem, where he rose from office 
boy to cashier. Later he was cashier in an Astoria bank. 
In his youth he earned a reputation for high integrity, deter- 
mined character, and originality. Upon the ascension of 
Governor Chamberlain to the executive office in 1903, Mr. 
West was appointed Stat 
Land Agent, and aftei 
Wards was assigned to 
place on the State Railway 
Commission. In 1 9 1 he 
was elected Governor.and 
January II, 1911, ^as in- 
augurated. Although his 
administration ^ffa» notably 
eventful he declined to be 
renominated. 

Honor System for Con- 
vkU. Perhaps the Most 
Notable Feature of the 
administration of Gover- 
nor West was his radical 

l_ . ., c OOVEEMOE OSWALD WEST 

change in the manner ot 

conducting the affairs of the State Penitentiary. He inaugu- 
rated what was known as the Honor System of managing 
prisoners, appealing to their honor as a basis for giving them 




304 HISTORY OF OREGON 

more liberties and greater freedom generally. TTie manu- 
facture of stoves at the prison had been abandoned; and to 
avoid the evil effects of idleness among the prisoners, other 
work was necessary. At different times Governor West had 
scores of prisoners in various parts of the state engaged in 
many kinds of employment; and while there were some es- 
capes, it was generally conceded that the greater number of 
convicts proved worthy of the trust in their honor. 

The Parole. Upon the theory that the community is 
better protected and the convict given a better opportunity 
to reclaim himself when allowed to go out on parole, rather 
than to be compelled to complete his sentence and then 
turned loose without restraint, such convicts as proved 
worthy were paroled upon the condition that they be law- 
abiding and report monthly to the parole officer. 

Fish and Game Commission Created. At the 1911 
session of the Oregon Legislature, a law was passed creating 
a Fish and Game Commission. This law provided that this 
board shall consist of five citizens, four of these members to 
be appointed by the Governor, one appointed each year to 
serve a term of four years. The law also provided that two 
members were to be residents of that section of the state 
lying east of the Cascade Range. The other two were to be 
from the western part of the State. Tke fifth member was to 
be selected by the other four, his term of service to be one 
year. This board was given full power and authority to en- 
force all laws respecting the protection, preservation and 
propagation of fish, game animals, game and non-game birds 
within the state. 

Commission Appoints Game Warden With New Duties. 

The Fish and Game Commission appointed by Governor 
Oswald West chose William L. Finley, well-known natural- 
ist, as State Game Warden, to carry on the enforcement of 
game laws and the propagation of various kinds of game. 




Before this time game protection had heen largely a matter 
of making laws and trying to enforce them. It had been 
considered a police problem. It was now to be treated as an 
economic and educational problem. Hence for the purpose 
of interesting children systematic study of the birds, animals 
and fish of the State was begun for the first time in Oregon. 
In many parts of the State where it had been impossible to 
convict people for the violation of game laws, the sentiment 



306 HISTORY OF OREGON 

gradually changed, and game soon began to be regarded as 
one of the State's important resources. 

State Biologist With Neiv Duties. At the end of 
four years, the Fish and Game Commission decided that Mr. 
Finley*s entire time should be devoted to educational and 
scientific work and a new position was created for him. 
Instead of State Game Warden he was given the position of 
State Biologist. 

Oregon Forestry Board. At this time forest (ires, 
which had been frequent in Oregon since the earliest Indian 
traditions began to attract attention. It was affirmed that 
four times as much timber had been burned in Oregon as had 
been manufactured, which is very significant when we con- 
sider that two-fifths of the state is covered with forests, and 
that next to land, timber is Oregon's greatest asset. The 
forests also invite railroads, furnish employment to an army 
of laborers, lessen taxes, tend to preserve the equal flow of 
streams, thereby rendering them valuable for electric devel- 
opment and irrigation; furnish refuge for game, and pre- 
vent the destructive erosion of mountain soils. Therefore, 
when carefully compiled statistics were submitted showing 
that eighty-five per cent of the forest fires were unnecessary 
— having been the result of carelessness, indifference, or 
malice — the legislature of Oregon, in 1911, decided to give 
the great forest crop the same care that is given to agricul- 
tural products. Accordingly the present Forestry Board 
was created for the purpose of co-operating with the federal 
government in keeping the forests green until they could be 
converted into lumber or be of other benefit to the State. 
This board is composed of the Governor, head of the Fores- 
try School at the Oregon Agricultural College, and five addi- 
tional members, each representing and selected by one of 
the following organizations: Oregon State Grange, Oregon 
Fire Association, Oregon Lumber Manufacturers* Associa- 



EPOCH V. 307 

tion, United States Forestry Service, Oregon Woolgrowers' 
Association. As a result of the Forestry Board's efforts many 
localities have already been reforested, about six thousand 
miles of telephone constructed and put in order, lookout sta- 
tions equipped and hundreds of patrolmen and lookout men 
placed in charge at strategic points during the months when 
fires are most common. In consequence of the progress 
made in forestry conservation, the board has announced that 
the income from our forests will increase fifty per cent annu- 
ally. 

The Woman Suffrage Movement. The Apostle of 
Equal Suffrage. Since the beginning of the territorial days,, 
there has been no effort in Oregon for the success of any 
movement marked by more indomitable persistency than 
that which finally resulted in conferring on women the right 
to vote at all elections. Though at all times loyally assisted 
by many men and women, the credit for this triumph is uni- 
versally given to Mrs. Abigail Scott Duniway, who, in 1871, 
began the publication of the New Northwest, a weekly 
journal devoted to the dissemination of trenchant arguments 
supporting the justice of the demands for equal suffrage. In 
1873, Mrs. Duniway was instrumental in organizing the 
Oregon Equal Suffrage Association, which inaugurated a 
campaign for equal suffrage that was waged with undimin- 
ished enthusiasm through many defeats until its success in 
November 1912. 

Initiative Amendment for Eqvxil Suffrage Carries. 

Through all these intervening years Mrs. Duniway was very 
active with pen and voice in spreading the gospel of equal 
suffrage, and made scores of speaking campaigns in adjoin- 
ing states and territories as well as in the eastern section of 
the United States. In the earlier days of Oregon's history it 
required the approval of two legislatures before a proposed 
amendment to the state constitution could be submitted to 



HISTORY OF ORLGON 




MBS. ABIGAIL 800TT DPNIWAY 



EPOCH V. 309 

the people for ratification or for rejection, thus requiring six 
years to act finally upon the matter. After the adoption of 
the initiative amendment to the constitution, however, this 
handicap was removed, and the supporters of the equal suf- 
frage amendment submitted the question to the voters at 
every election until it was ratified in 1912. The vote for 
equal suffrage was in 1906, 36,902, and against 47,075. In 
1908, for 36,858 and against, 58,670. In 1910, for 35,270. 
against 58,065. In 1912. for 61,265, against, 57.104. a 
majority of 4. 1 6 1 . 

Equal Suffrage Becomes a Law. After Equal Suffrage 
was passed it became a law by the Governor's proclamation 
November 30, 1912. At the request of Governor West 
iMrs. Duniway wrote the official proclamation announcing 
the adoption of the amendment, which successfully closed 
one of the most spectacular and persistent campaigns known 
to the history of any state in the Union. Because of her ad- 
vanced age Mrs. Duniway was unable to be present at the 
Executive Office to witness the Governor subscribe his sig- 
nature to the document; hence Governor West, out of con- 
sideration for what she had done for Oregon women, went 
to her home in Portland, so that it might be signed in her 
presence. In order to give Mrs. Duniway further recognition 
as the foremost apostle of Equal Suffrage for Women, the 
Governor, after the document had been recorded by the Sec- 
retary of State, gave it to her. 

CoppeTiield Placed Under Martial Law. Illegal sales 
of liquor being the most prevalent violation of the law at 
this time. Governor West was determined in his purpose to 
prevent illegal sales of intoxicants in the state. Although 
it was still lawful to operate saloons, his warfare against all 
infractions of the law governing them was waged without 
fear or favor. As the result of his efforts. Governor West 
was enabled to demonstrate to the people of Oregon that 
the law can be enforced ; and in this way he encouraged the 



3 1 HISTORY OF OREGON 

passing of more stringent laws, until the sentiment in favor 
of law enforcement was so strengthened that prohibition 
ultimately carried the state. 

Copperfield Attracts Wide Attention. The case of 
a saloon in Copperfield, Baker County, where Governor 
West decided to declare martial law against the city authori- 
ties attracted attention throughout the Northwest. Gover- 
nor West sent a squad of National Guardsmen to that place, 
and his private secretary^ took possession of the municipal 
government, and held it for several weeks. His private sec- 
retary called a meeting of the citizens, read the Governor's 
proclamation declaring Copperfield under military govern- 
ment, saw to it that the civil authorities were deposed, and 
then she returned to Salem. This drastic measure was the 
first instance of martial law in Oregon since the Civil War, 
but it had the effect of noticeably lessening the extent of il- 
legal operation of saloons throughout the state. 

New Year's Reception to Ex-Govemors of Oregon. 

Under the direction of Governor West a reception was given 
at the State House, on New Year's Eve, 1912, to all the ex- 
governors and ex-governors* wives who were then living. 
While the occasion was arranged to afford them an opportu- 
nity for an exchange of greetings, it was a special recognition 
of chief executives and their wives, which reminded the peo- 
ple of the valued services these men and women had ren- 
dered to the State. It was a most impressive social affair of 
unique prominence in the history of Oregon. 

Eastern Oregon State Hospital. 'The Eastern Oregon 
State Hospital had its origin in an initiative measure provid- 
ing for the establishment of a state hospital for the insane 
east of the Cascade mountains, and appropriating $200,000 
toward the purchase of a site and the erection of buildings, 
adopted by the people of the state in November, 1910. The 



iMiss Fern Hobbs. 



EPOCH V. 311 

legislature of 1911 appropriated $315,000 additional to 
complete the erection and to furnish the buildings, and for 
other equipment. A tract of land comprising about 450 
acres situated a mile and a half west of Pendleton, in Uma- 
tilla County, was selected, and hospital buildings, modern in 
every respect, and of a capacity to accommodate about 400 
patients, were completed and accepted by the board of trus- 
tees January 1 , 1913. The hospital was formally opened 
and occupied upon the transfer of 325 patients from the 
Oregon state hospital at Salem, on January 25, 1913.*' — 
Oregon Blue Book. 

New Era of Irrigation Activities in Oregon. In 1913, 
$450,000 was appropriated by the State of Oregon for the 
completion of the Columbia Southern Project in Crook 
County, which had been initiated under the Carey Act. At 
the same time provision was also made for the investigation 
of many of our other large irrigation projects. Irrigation dis- 
tricts became the popular plan under which irrigation works 
should be constructed, and the reports of the State of Ore- 
gon, acting in co-operation with the United States, led in 
1914 and 1915 to the organization of eight districts. There- 
fore, as the passage of the Carey Act, and the United States 
Reclamation Act, marked a new era of interest in irrigation 
development, so the passage of two important statutes in 
1913 appropriating $450,000 for the Tumalo Project and 
$50,000 for investigations marked a new era of promotion 
and development; and as a result of these movements there 
are (1918) approximately 700,000 acres of land under irri- 
gation development in Oregon. 

Oregon State Industrial School for Girls. **The Ore- 
gon State Industrial school for girls was established by act of 
the 1913 legislature, and located in temporary quarters un- 
til February, 1915, when it was removed to its present site, 
five and one-half miles south-east of Salem. TTie courses 
given for credit are cooking, sewing, laundering, gardening. 



3 1 2 HISTORY OF OREGON 

the housewife arts of cleaning and bedmaking; hand crafts of 
weaving, plaiting, crochet and basketry; chicken and rabbit 
rearing; physical culture; vocal and instrumental music ;child 
study, feeding, training and care of children; and the usual 
English courses through the eighth grade accredited by the 
Salem superintendent of schools. Only girls committed by 
the courts are received. The institution is under the state 
board of control, but has an advisory board of three women 
appointed by the governor." — Oregon Blue Book. 

Cascade Locks. Cascade Locks required forty years 
for survey and construction. Work preparatory to the con- 
ctruction of the canal and locks was begun by Major N. 
Michler in 1874, under an act of Congress passed that year; 
but construction was not actually begun until 1879, The 
canal, which is 90 feet wide and 3,000 feet long, was opened 





"5 



to river traffic in November, 1696. Until this time no boat 
had ascended the Cascades, although several passenger boats 
including the "R. R. Thompson," the "Gold Dust," and 
the "D. S. Baker," had successfully ridden over them with 



EPOCH V. 313 

the current. The south wall of the canal was completed in 
November, 1914, the entire cost of the locks being nearly 
four million dollars. This was five times the estimated cost 
given by the engineers at the beginning of the undertaking. 

Capital Punishment Abolished. Movement Headed 
by the Governor. From the earliest years of Oregon's his- 
tory until 1914, the punishment for convicted first degree 
murderers was **hanging by the neck until dead.** This has 
been one of the common penalties for such crimes in most 
countries from time immemorial. Yet efforts to abolish 
it have been made during the past century by those who con- 
demned such punishment as barbarous. At various times 
movements had been inaugurated to abolish capital punish- 
ment in Oregon, but no concerted action in that direction 
was undertaken until the year 1914, when, headed by Gov- 
ernor West, a state-wide campaign was carried on having for 
its object the elimination of that provision from our statutes. 
The vote in the state stood for its abolition, 100,552, and 
against 100,395. 

The effect of this change in the criminal law of the state 
is not regarded with unqualified public approval, and the 
adoption of the prohibition law at the same time renders it 
the more difficult to form an accurate opinion as to its 
merits. It is not likely, however, that any attempt will ever 
be made to re-establish capital punishment in Oregon. 



3 1 4 HISTORY OF OREGON 

GOVERNOR JAMES WTTHYCOMBE 
January 12, 1915 

James Wtthycombe is the only man v/ho resigned a col- 
lege chair that he might assume the duties of an Oregon Gov- 
ernor, and he is the only Governor of Oregon re-elected on 
the Republican ticket. He was bom in Tavistock. England, 
March 21, 1854. When seventeen years of age he moved 
with his parents to Hillsboro, Oregon, where he lived on a 
tarm. Although a mere youth, Mr. Withycombe displayed 
keen interest in ail problems relating to rural life, and proved 
himself to be an enthusias- 
tic admirer of fine livestock 
of all kinds, with a special 
fondness for the American 
saddle horse. After receiv- 
ing thoKough training in 
grammar and secondary 
schools, he specialized under 
tutors in agriculture and vet- 
erinary science, and in I 669, 
was appointed State Veter- 
inarian. He resigned nine 
years later to accept the 
office of Agriculturist, Direc- 
^ tor of the Oregon Experi- 
GOTEKNOB JAMES wiTHYOOMBE ment Station, and Director 
of Farmers' Institutes held under the supervision of 
the Oregon Agricultural College. During his con- 
nection with that institution of learning. Doctor 
Withycombe was associated with a number of the most 
prominent livestock associations of this country, and at vari- 
ous times was delegate to congressional and state conventions 
and other civic organizations. In 1 9 1 4, he was elected Gov- 
ernor on the Republican ticket, receiving the largest plurality 




EPOCH V. 315 

ever given to a candidate for that office in Oregon; and on 
the 1 2th day of the following January, his inauguration took 
place. He was re-elected November 5, 1918. 

Labor Laws Governing Minors. For the better protec- 
tion of minors in Oregon, State Labor Commissioner O. P. 
HofF, in 1917, published and gave prominence to the follow- 
ing labor laws governing minors. No person shall employ — 

1. Any minor girl in any occupation more than nine 
hours in one day, and in no case more than fifty hours in one 
week. 

2. Any minor boy for more than ten hours in one day. 

3. Any minor boy or minor girl under sixteen years of 
age more than eight hours in any one day. 

4. Any minor boy or minor girl more than six days in 
one calendar week. 

5. Any minor girl for more than six hours of continu- 
ous labor between the hours of 7 a. m. and 6 p. m. without a 
rest period of at least forty-five minutes. 

6. Any minor girl in any occupation after the hour of 
6 p. m. on any day. 

7. Any minor boy or minor girl in any occupation at a 
weekly wage rate of less than $6.00 except as arranged by 
the commission in the case of apprentices. 

Prehistoric Wrecks Along the Oregon Coast. Early 
last century there were rumors that piracy had been prac- 
ticed along the Oregon Coast. This was in a period when lit- 
erature and the talk of the home circle were pervaded with 
stories of Captain Kidd and other pirates. So that when 
strange marks slightly resembling hieroglyphics dimmed 
with age, but which might have been wrought by some 
freakish act of Nature, were found on the ledges along the 
sea coast, many believed them to be inscriptions indicating 
places where treasures had been buried by the pirates. Also 
unmistakable evidences of shipwrecks along the Oregon 
Coast gave some color of truth to the practice of piracy and 



i 



316 



HISTORY OF OREGOM 



to atories such aa the ahipwreck that enabled Chief Multno- 
mah, in "The Bridge of the Gods," to find his cultured Hindu 
wife, the gifted mother of Wallula, the Indian princess. But 
while these accounts of piracy have not been established as 
historical, and stories of stranded ships have come down to 
us merely as myths and legends, it is known that there were 
numerous prehistoric shipwrecks along the Oregon Coast. 
Among these was the wreck of the "Beeswax Ship." 

Wreck of the "Beeswax Ship." Since the first appear- 
ance of white men in Oregon to the present time, beeswax 
has been found along the ocean beach near the Nahelem 
River. This being the only known locality where beeswax 
can be obtained 
after this man- 
ner, the early 
settlers could 
not understand 
how it came 
there. Because 
they could not 
account for its 
presence, they 
began to think 
they were mis- 
taken, and that 
it was not bees- 
wax, but a min- 
eral closely re- 
sembling bees- 
wax. Also the 
of which t.dd been whitened 
ces of having been dis- 
and melted it into 




I LUMP, BEUBTED 
WBECKAOB FBOM TH 

fact that the wax', som* 

by the sun, bore evidences 

turbed by drifting sands that 



B in 



EPOCH V. 317 

various shapes, added to their doubts. Many there- 
fore, came to believe that it was a mineral deposit which had 
been thrown up from the bed of the ocean, or washed down 
from the mountains. That it was frequently found at a 
considerable distance from the present shore line and above 
the highest known tide, gave some credence to this theory. 
But when blocks symmetrical in form bearing inscriptions 
such as IHN and IHS, also many candles, which the sun had 
melted at the ends thereby preserving the wicks, were found, 
it became apparent it was truly beeswax which had 
been sent to missions for use in worship. But in time, scien- 
tists from the Smithsonian Institute and elsewhere began to 
inquire, **How came the wax here?** It was then suggested 
that Lewis and Clark had reported the presence of this sub- 
stance, and that Indians had prior to 1850 used it for lights 
and for other purposes. Later, when portions of ancient 
ships were found imbedded in the sand, it was decided that 
various wrecks had taken place near the mouth of the Neha- 
lem, and that the cargo and parts of the various ships had 
been washed to the same shore and then strewn by wave 
and tide up and down the beach. In a vain endeavor to 
gain specific information regarding the lost vessel, wrecks of 
numerous ships were recounted, among which was the one 
mentioned by Hall J. Kelley, which was laden with a similar 
cargo, and met its fate farther up the coast. No one, 
therefore, has been able to learn the name of the craft that 
was lost with her cargo near Nehalem, whence she sailed, 
nor whither she was bound. Her identity and destination 
are shrouded in mystery. Therefore, her stranding and 
destruction may fitly be termed the wreck of the * 'Beeswax 
Ship." 

Celilo Locks and CanaL One of the Great Internal 
Improvements that had engaged the attention of the early 
transportation companies of Oregon was the construction 



3 1 8 HISTORY OF OREGON 

of a canal and locks on the Columbia River between The 
Dalles and Celilo. The natural obstructions at that 
point had made necessary the double handling of 
all freight, and this handicap could be overcome only 




OELILO FALLS OH THE COLUMBIA 



by the construction of a canal and locks. This was, of 
course, before the days of railroad transportation, and 
even after the introduction of that means of traffic, it was 
recognized that "an open river" ^vould have a bearing on 
a lower rate of freight handling. 

The first survey for this improvement was made in 
1874. and efforts were soon made by the Senators and 
Representatives in Congress to enlist the interest and aid 
of the federal government in the project. Because the Co' 
lumbia River was so far removed from the population cen- 
ter of the United States it was exceedin^fly difficult to se- 



EPOCH V. 319 

cure an appropriation, and Congress after Congress rejected 
the proposition. Success, however, finally followed per- 
sistency in the matter, and in 1904 a contract was let for 
the beginning of the much-desired improvement. Even after 
its beginning there were many delays, and before the Locks 
were completed the State constructed a portage railroad to 
assist the people in an effort to lower the freight rates of 
the railroads. 

The Canal and Locks Were Completed in the early 
summer of 1915, eleven years after the first work was done; 
and the event was celebrated in Portland by sending a 
steamboat on a trip to Lewiston and back, thus actually 
realizing the benefit of an **open river.** The canal cost a 
trifle less than $5,000,000 and is approximately eleven 
miles long. There are four locks, each 65 feet wide at 
the bottom, which have a depth of 8 feet at low water. 
The fall from Celilo to the lower end of the canal is about 
1 00 feet. This marks a great improvement in the transpor- 
tation condition in Oregon, ^and while most of the freight 
is still handled by the railroads the existence of the canal and 
locks will always influence the adjustment of traffic rates. 

Oregon Gold Output Increasing. For a number of 
years the gold output of Oregon has been steadily increas- 
ing. Of the thirteen counties that yield gold. Baker 
County, in 1915, took the lead with $1,700,000. The 
same year the three counties in the order of their promi- 
nence as mercury producers, were Josephine, $85,000; 
Malheur, $33,700; and Jackson $30,200. . 

Improved Poultry Industry. In the year 1913, Ore- 
gon surpassed the world*s record in poultry husbandry. 
An Oregon Agricultural College hen, by name Lady Mc- 
Duff , and by No. C5 2 1 , was the first hen in the world to lay 
300 eggs in a year by actual trap-nest count. Her record 



320 HISTORY OF OREGON 

was 303 eggs in her first 12 montha of laying. This hen 
was the result of scientific breeding conducted at the Poul- 
try Department of the College. Elxperiments with Hen No. 
C52I demonstrated that it is possible to breed flocks of 
fowls that will lay an average of 200 eggs a year, notwith- 
standing the prevalent be- 
lief of a few years before that 
an individual hen laying that 
number of eggs in a year 
was a '"rara avis" — a fowl 
that could not reproduce her 
kind. The science of poul- 
try husbandry, however, has 
advanced so rapidly that 
Hen C52I was finally sur- 
passed, but not until her rec- 
ord stimulated nation-wide 
experiment in poultry indus- 
try. 

Lady McDufF is not only a champion herself, but she 
has the greater distinction of producing champions. 
Large numbers of her descendants have shown phenomena] 
laying proclivities. In the sixth International Egg Laying 
Contest at the Connecticut Agricultural College, in compe- 
tition ^vith the best bred layers in the world, a pen of ten 
of her grand-daughters beat all other entries, 100 in num- 
ber, and broke the record for a pen of ten in laying contests 
^vith an average production of 235.2 eggs a hen. 

Oregon State Library. The Oregon State Library has 
been in existence since territorial days. Until the year 1913 
it was a law and document library exclusively. In that year 
the legislature transferred all except the law books to the 





EPOCH V. 321 

Oregon Library Commission, which had been created in 
1905 for the purpose of extending the use of books through- 
out the state by a system of traveling libraries, and for ad- 
visory work with public libraries. When the State Library 
was turned over to this Board of Trustees the name, Oregon 
Library Commission was dropped, and to the Trustees of 
the State Library all the state library work was given with 
the exception of the Supreme Court Law Library, which is 
under the jurisdiction of the Supreme 
Court, and consists of law books only. 
The Supreme Court Judges had pre- 
viously constituted the Board for the 
State Library. The reason for the 
establishment of the Library Commis- 
sion in 1905 was the necessity for 
the distribution of books for coi 
try places and small towns; the funda- state libeart seal 
mental purpose of the movement was to provide equali^ 
of opportunity for country and city. During the 
biennial period ending September 30, 1916, the 
State Library sent out over 104.000 volumes by 
mail, freight and express, reaching the small public 
libraries, schools, granges, and people in isolated 
places in the State. The borro^ver pays the cost of trans- 
portation, but the service of the library is entirely free. 
Through this traveling library system and its general loan 
collection, groups of books are sent to clubs, schools, county 
agricultural agents, debating teams and other organiza- 
tions. Through the continuous distribution of books and 
other literature, the Oregon State Library has become a 
highly valued and important factor in advancing the kind 
of intelligence which is especially essential in a state 
where the right of equal suffrage has been established by 
popular vote. 

Bone Dry Laws of Oregon. Earlier in its history 
than an^ other State in the Union, perhaps, Oregon enacted 



322 HISTORY OF OREGON 

a law prohibiting the importation or use of intoxicating 
liquors. The Provisional Legislature in its session in 1 844 
enacted a law prohibiting the sale of ardent liquors, but in 
1845 it amended the organic laws to provide for the regu- 
lation of such traffic, because the Hudson Bay Company 
permitted the use of intoxicants by its employees. At that 
time the Oregon Country was an independent region, but 
was hampered in the enforcement of its own laws. The 
change in the law providing merely for regulation was car- 
ried by a vote of the people by the small majority of 203 
on July 26, 1845. The next year a license law was passed 
over the veto of Governor Abernethy. 

The passage of the prohibition law in Maine in 1851 
renewed an interest in the question in Oregon, and during 
the years 1853-54 it was an important factor in Territorial 
political campaigns. At intervals in succeeding years it was 
revived, and in the 80's was the basis for the organization 
of the Prohibition party, which for several years was an ac- 
tive factor in the State elections. In November, 1887, a 
special election was held on a constitutional amendment 
which had been submitted by the legislature in order that 
the question might be considered and passed upon by the 
people, uninfluenced by a political campaign; but after a 
spirited contest it was defeated by a large majority. From 
that time until the effort was successful in November, 1914, 
the movement toward prohibition was before the people 
in one form and another, uniformly gaining in public sup- 
port, its advocates never abandoning its discussion where 
there was a possibility for its consideration. The smiend- 
ment adopted in November, 1914, by a vote of 1 36,842 for 
and 100,362 against, provided for absolute prohibition of 
the manufacture, importation or sale of all forms of in- 
toxicating liquors and every saloon in the state was closed, 
according to the terms of the act, on January 1 , 1916. 



EPOCH V. 



323 



Oregon in the World War. Although located as far 
from the political and commercial activities of the country 
as any other state in the Union, Oregon was at all times 
welt in the front in accepting and performing her part in 
prosecuting the great war against Germany and her 




allies. When the first call for troops was made after the dec- 
laration of war, Oregon promptly furnished her quota of 
volunteers, and her support of the Government was not 
surpassed in any section of the United States. She sent 
many of her bravest sons to the firing line of battlefields 



324 HISTORY OF OREGON 

already made famous by Caesar, Joan of Arc, and Napo- 
leon; and she bade many of her courageous daughters to 
follow the **Stars and Stripes*' to the same fields of glory 
and there administer to the comfort of the noble wounded 
and pay a sisterly tribute to the honored dead. In a loyal 
response to the country's call state pride became aggressively 
active and permeated every branch of endeavor. In 
what was known as the Third Liberty Loan, Oregon was 
the first state in the Union to subscribe the assigned quota, 
and Portland was the first city of her class in the nation to 
**go over the top." In the Fourth Liberty Loan, Portland 
repeated this splendid record while Oregon was the second 
state to raise her quota — $33,000,000 — Iowa being the 
first. Oregon met every demand made upon her in the 
struggle to w^in the great war, and she now shares the honor 
of establishing a new Independence Day — the Independ- 
ence Day of the Nations — on which the world was made 
safe for democracy." 

Ship Building in Oregon. The Industry Stimulated 
by the War, Although possessing the best timber for 
the building of ships of any state in the Union, Oregon 
had done little toward assisting in that industry. A few 
vessels had been constructed, but as a business shipbuilding 
languished. With the beginning of the **World War," how- 
ever, this condition changed, especially after the United 
States entered actively into the contest. 

Thousands of Men Are Employed in various parts of 
the state in shipbuilding, and it is impossible to secure suf- 
ficient labor to answer the demand. At present (October 
1918) there are 31 steel ships under contract for construc- 
tion, three of which have been completed. There are 75 
wooden ships under construction and 20 others under con- 
tract to the French government. Twenty-eight wooden 
ships have been finished under private contract. Approxi- 



EPOCH V. 



325 



mately twenty firms are now engaged in this industry in Ore- 
gon, and the industry is rapidly growing. 

Herbert Hoover an Oregonian. Soon after the 
declaration of war by the United States against Germany in 
April, 1917, President Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover 
National Food Administrator in the interest of food c 
vation, not only for c 
own benefit but for the ; 



of our 
was boi 




allies. Mr. Hoover 

n in West Branch, 
Iowa, on August 10, IS74, 
but losing his mother 
through death when he was 
I 1 years old he was sent to 
livewithhisuncle. Dr. H. J, 
Minthorn, in Newberg, Ore- 
gon. Herbert Hoover was 
one of the first students to 
register in Pacific Academy 
at Newberg, as a few years 
later he was one of the first 
to register as a student at 
Stanford University. In 
1886 Dr. Minthorn moved 
to Salem and became an ac 
tive promoter of real estate 
enterprises and young Hoo- 
ver served as a boy of all 
vfork in the office; milking the 
and driving prospective purchasi 
he became a student at Stanford University, graduating 
from that institution in 1893. After spending a fe^ months 
in the U. S. Geological Survey and two years at mining en- 
gineering in Eastern Oregon, Idaho and California, he was 
appointed engineering adviser of the Chinese govemiuent. 



HEBBEBT HOOVEK 

ow, caring for the horses, 
s about the country. Later 



326 HISTORY OF OREGON 

After a short sojourn in CsJifomia he returned to China 
\^ere he became director of an undertaking 'which employed 
25,000 men and involved the management of 20 ships, 'with 
a system of canals and railways, used for the development 
of coal mines. 

After a few years in developing mines in Alaska, India, 
Russia and Australia, Herbert Hoover was appointed the 
head of a commission to direct the expenditure of $300,- 
000,000 for the relief of Belgium and for the distribution of 
foodstuffs amounting in value to $200,000,000 which w^as 
raised in Europe. 

Mr. Hoover had shown such remarkable efficiency in 
the performance of these tremendous tasks that he was se- 
lected by President Wilson to take charge of a similar under- 
taking when the United States entered the world war. Since 
the necessity of largely supplying our allies with food rests 
upon the United States, the problems of saving: and properly 
distributing our food production were of colossal propor- 
tions, but the unusual executive ability displaved by Mr. 
Hoover during his remarkable career at once directed atten- 
tion to him, and he has since maintained his reputation as a 
far-seeing man, reinforced by firmness, tact and a wide ex- 
perience. 

Deepest Canyon in the World. Oregon and Idaho 
share the possession of the deepest canyon in the world. It 
is called the Snake River Canyon. In some respects it is 
more remarkable than the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, 
which it surpasses in depth. Yet little is known of Snake 
River Canyon, because few have explored it. 

Location and Description. The most rugged portion 
of Snake River Canyon lies between the Seven Devils Range 



EPOCH V. 



327 



in Idaho and the Wallowa 
Mountains in Oregon. 
This section of the canyon 
is from 6,000 to 7,000 feet 
deep and about seven miles 
wide on top. At one place 
there is a sheer slope from 
a sno^V'Capped peak of the 
Seven Devils Range, having 
an elevation of 9,000 feet 
to the river, which itself has 
an elevation of 1,600 feet. 
In that section of the gorge 
which is locally called "Box 
Canyon," a vertical wall 
rises directly from the river 
on both sides to an eleva- 
tion of 2,000 to 3.000 feet. 
To the student of geology 
Snake River Canyon pre- 
sents another feature of in- 
terest in the cross section of 7,000 feet of the earth's crust. 
The uppermost layers of the section are composed of lava 
rock known as basalt, which but a comparatively recent 
geologic time ago poured out over this northwestern country 
in enormous fiery floods, filling the valleys that existed at 
that time, and here and there covered mountain peaks. 
The older rocks are mineralized in many localities. Hence 
there are mines and prospects on both sides of the river in 
these old formations — one of which is the Iron Dike Mine, 
at Homestead, which produces $1,000,000 worth of cop- 
per, gold and silver annually. 

Difficult of Access. When the first white men came to 
Oregon, Indians cautioned them against descending this 
portion of the Snake River by rafts or boats. In this the 




328 HISTORY OF OREGON 

Indians proved to be the friends of the white men; for as 
was afterwards learned the route was too rugged for travel. 
At present, the gorge here described may be approached 
either from Homestead by a difficult wagon road and horse 
trail, or ftom Lewiston by a high-power launch which as- 
cends the one hundred miles of whirl pools, swirls, and 
rapids in two or three days and returns in four hours. No 
craft has passed up through the gorge, although sturdy 
mountaineers by creeping 'neath overhanging walls, crossing 
a dangerous crevass, pursuing narrow trails along steep 
ledges, and surmounting countless other obstacles, accom- 
plish the journey. Such has been the lot of the ex- 
plorers of the gorge royal of the Snake River. But when 
Oregon and Idaho increase sufficiently in wealth and popu- 
lation they doubtless will unite in providing some practical 
route^ of travel to and through Snake River Canyon which 
will be extensively patronized by American and foreign 
wonder seekers. — G. E. Goodspeed, Dept. of Geology, 
Oregon Agri. College. 

"Billy" Sunday. Rev. William Ashley Sunday, com- 
monly known as **Billy" Sunday, is the Premier of Ameri- 
can Evangelists. During the year 1 896 he received from 
1,000 to 5,000 conversions a month. In late years he has 
been engaged continuously in evangelistic service, meeting 
with remarkable success in many of the largest cities of the 
United States. It is probable that he has preached to more 
people than any other man since the days of John the 



A preliminary survey for a railroad through Snake River Can- 
yon connecting Homestead with Lewiston has been made; but on 
account of the enormous expense involved, the project has been 
temporarily abandoned. Should the railroad be eventually con- 
structed, it would convey sightseekers through a gorge of unique 
scenery, also afford water grade transportation from the inter- 
mountain region immediately west of the Rocky Mountains to 
Portland and the Pacific Ocean. 



EPOCH V. 



329 



Baptist. In early life Mr. 
Sunday waS a professional 
baseball player. From 
1883 to 1890 he played 
with the Chicago, Pitts- 
burg, and Philadelphia 
teams of the National 
League. He preaches 
with the same vim and en- 
thusiasm that he mani- 
fested in playing baseball 
— with his coat off and his 
sleeves rolled up. He was 
masterful as a baseball 
player and he is masterful 
in the pulpit. His career 
from the diamond to the 
decalogue has been mar- 
velous. As an evangelist 
ihis duties call him to all 
parts of the United States; but when seeking rest from his 
arduous tasks he comes to his beautiful home in the Hood 
River Valley where he renews his strength and refreshes 
his energies by communing with Nature in the shadow of 
Mt. Hood. 

Oregon Social Hygiene Society. The glory of a 
State lies in the strength and purity of her pepple. In 
this respect, Oregon is probably pre-eminent. This in- 
ference is made from data giving the per cent of diseased 
draftees in the recent war as taken from a cheirt issued 
by the United States Public Health Service, Washington, 
D. C, in 1918. According to the chart of all states in 
the Union, Oregon has the lowest per cent, and Florida 




right, Underwood & Under 
"BILLY" SUNDAY 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



the highest per cent of 
are here given: 
Oregon 



nmorally afflicted. Six of the states 



1.63% 

3.24% 



lo- 
Ohic 

Georgia 5.60% 

South Carolina 8.04% 

Florida 8.90% 

It is a remarkable coincidence that Oregon, which is 
reputed for the purity of her men, was the first slate to or- 
ganize a society for the promotion of sex education. In- 




1910, some men organized the Oregon Social Hygiene So- 
ciety in Portland. Until that time there had been a con- 
spiracy of silence concerning matters of vital importance 
regarding health and purtty. Young men and women were 



EPOCH V. 



331 



pennitted to grow up in ignorance of the causes and con- 
sequences of certain loathsome diseases; and quack doctors . 
were preying upon the victims of immorality to an alarming 
degree. The newly organized society secured the co-opera- 
tion of the Portland "Oregonian," which, at a tremendous 
sacrifice, discontinued quack advertisements. Other news- 
papers did likewise. The legislature made it a felony to 
advertise so-called cures for venereal diseases. Quack doc- 
tors went out of business. Public meetings v^ere held for 
both sexes in the cities and towns of the State. The move- 
ment spread to other states; and today the Social Hygiene 
Society which originated in Oregon has become national. 
The mother society, which was supported by a few philan- 
thropists is now supported by the State, and Oregon, the 
first in the movement, stands out first among all the states 
in the Union in the low per cent of diseases brought on by 
immorality. 

The Pacific Highway. No matter how extensive the 
means of transportation by fail may become, the need of 




FAOinC HIGHWAY DBSCEIBEB A LOOP IN WHICH IT 0BO8SBB ITSELF 

AND A DOUBLE TBAOK BAILBOAD. Eleratloii, l.GOO fau; 

locRtlon, noctb Blap« of Sliklron Haautftlni. 



332 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



good wagon roads will al^vays be present; and it was ivith 
this thought uppermost that the proposition to construct a 
roadway for vehicles across the state of Oregon from Port- 
land to the California line was conceived and set forth by a 
few men, who may be called public benefactors. The project 
includes, in the course of time, a road along the coast; 
another through the Willamette Valley and another east 
of the Cascade Range. Certain public-spirited individuals 
have provided signs, which have been erected along the 
route chosen through Western Oregon; and the further 
promotion of the project is largely left to the counties 
through ^hich the roads are to pass. Many counties have 
taken up the work, and have accomplished some note- 
worthy improvements The dream of the Pacific Highivay 
has (1918) been practically realized as all the heavy grades 
are under construction and ^11 soon be eliminated. Sub- 
stantial progress is also being made on the Coast Highway 
through Tillamook and Clatsop Counties and this road is 
passable along the entire coast for light vehicles. 

The Columbia River High- 
way. No greater instance of 
genuine public spirit has been 
given during the history of 
Oregon than that shown by 
the people of Multnomah 
county when they expended 
the sum of $3,250,000 
for the purpose of construct- 
ing and paving the Columbia 
River Highway, through 
Multnomah county to the 
Hood River county line, a 
distance of 63 miles. The 
former county had voted an 




L AT HITCHED' 8 



EPOCH V. 



333 



annual tax providing for the survey and grading of such 
a Toad. But the intention was to construct it along the 
tracks of the O. W. R. & N. Railroad Company, which 
organization had secured an injunction against such a step. 
It was at this stage of the proceedings that Samuel Hill, of 
Maryhit], Washington, a not- 
ed good roads enthusiast, 
had a vision of a popular 
scenic highway that would 
capitalize the unequaled 
beauty of the Columbia 
Gorge "Where Rolls the 
Oregon." He presented the 
matter to the court of Mult- 
nomah County with the re- 
sult that the route was 
changed, the injunction suit 
was withdrawn, and within 
two years a highway was 
constructed and covered 
with a hard surface. 

The Columbia Highway which extends from the Pacific 
Ocean to Umatilla is 290 miles in length. The highest point 
is 23 miles from Portland and its elevation is 725 feet above 
the Columbia River. It is called Crown Point. Here the 
Vista House, an imposing architectural monument, has been 
erected at a cost of $90,000. The grade of the highway 
nowhere exceeds five per cent and no curve has a radius 
shorter than 100 feet. All the bridges — and there are 
scores of them — are made of re-enforced concrete and 
have a minimum mdth of twenty-four feet. Upon- pass- 
ing over the Columbia River Highway, Major General 
George W. Goethals, builder of the Panama Canal said, 
'The Columbia River Highway is a splendid job of engi- 




334 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



neering, and absolutely without equal in America for 
scenic interest," Visitors who traversed the Alps and 

, have enjoyed the picturesque 

Hudson declare the grandeur 
of the panorama displayed 
from many points on the 
Columbia Highway to be as 
inspiring as the earth affords, 
if Lewis and Clark, or the 
Oregon Pioneers of the early 
forties could have caught a 
glimpse of this modem tri- 
amph of engineering and en- 
terprise through a vision, 
they would haVe doubted 
their sight and questioned 
their sanity. 

Interstate Bridge. When 
Lieutenant Brought on, in 
1 792, sailed up the Colum- 
bia, he observed Indians in 
canoes crossing the river near 
the present site of Vancou- 
ver. Again in 1824, when 
J the Hudson's Bay Company 
I FALLS established the Vancou- 

ver trading post, Indians in large numbers from the 
South ^ere encouraged by Doctor McLoughlin to encamp on 
the south bank of the Columbia, so that they might come 
in convenient numbers across the river to trade. With the in- 
crease of white settlers in the Willamette Valley, the crossing 
place at Vancouver grew in importance and a modern ferry 
was established. In the belief that a wagon bridge across the 
Columbia would increase communication between the two 
growing states of Oregon and Washington, the counties of 




EPOCH V. 



335 



Multnomah, in Oregon, and Clarke, in Washington, jointly 
constructed a bridge across the Columbia River at Vancou- 
ver, it being finished and thrown open to traffic on February 
14, 1917, the fifty-eighth anniversary of the admission of 




IHTEBSTATE WAOOK BBIDOE 



Oregon into the Union. Miiltnomah County appropriated 
$1,250,000 for this purpose, and Clarice County $500.- 
000. . The bridge is a Y-shaped structure with a lift span 
of 275 feet. The entire length of the bridge including its 
approaches is four and a half miles, the main part con- 
sisting of 1 3 steel spans — three of which are 275 feet 
long, each, and the others being ten feet shorter — reach- 
ing in all approximately two-thirds of a mile. The bridge 
has a paved roadway of 38 feet in width, has a five foot 
sidewalk on one side and is the only wagon bridge span- 
ning the Columbia river between the states of Oregon and 



336 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



Washington. The traffic crossing this magnificent struc- 
ture has grown immensely and the income from the tolls 
already much more than pays the interest on the bonds 
which provided for its building. It will prove a great in- 
fluence in increasing the commercial and social life between 
these t^o great commonwealths. 




F TREES IN THE C 
BUbmergsd during the blgh water 
In the backfironnd. — Photo 



Columbia River Natural Bridge. While the Colum- 
bia is spanned by the Interstate Wagon Bridge and by 
railway bridges, many believe that there was at one lime 
a natural bridge connecting what are now Oregon and 
Washington. This belief has existed among the whites 
for a century. It probably arose from the Indian legend 
concerning the "Bridge of the Gods." Overton Johnson 



EPOCH V . 337 

and William Winter of the emigration of 1843, in their 
book entitled, **Route Across the Rocky Mountains and a 
Description of Oregon and California," describe that sec- 
tion of the Columbia river where the **Bridge of the Gods" 
is said to have stood. 

Standing Trees in the Columbia. They said: "We 

found the trees standing erect in ten or fifteen feet of 
water as if a dam had beeen thrown across the [Colum- 
bia] River, and the water backed up over its natural shores. 
We asked the Indians if they knew how these stumps came 
to occupy their present position, but none of them was 
able to inform us. They have a tradition among them 
that long ago the Columbia in some parts ran under 
ground, and that during an eruption of Mount St. Helens^ 
the bridge fell in. ... A short distance below 
Wascopin Mission (The Dalles) and the Rapids of the 
Great Dalles, we found the first of these submerged stumps. 
They increased in number as we descended the River, as 
is always the case wherever there has been an impediment 
thrown into the channel of a stream so as to raise the 
water over its natural shores. Immediately above the 
Wascopin Mission and at least as far up as Fort Wallula, the 
river is full of falls and rapids. Such also we believe to 
have been the original character of the river below where 
we find at the present time these stumps and an entire lack 
of current, as this portion of it includes the breach through 
the Cascade Mountains the most rugged country perhaps 
through which the Columbia flows. If these stumps and 
trees (for many of them are still sixty or seventy feet 
above the water in the river) had been brought into the 
present position by land slides as Captain Fremont sug- 



iMount St. Helens, a lofty snow-capped volcano rises from 
the plains, and is now (1846) burning. Frequently the huge col- 
umns of black smoke may be seen suddenly bursting from its 
crater, at the distance of forty miles." — ^Johnson and Winter. 



338 HISTORY OF OREGON 

gests, it seems to us to be a matter of course that the most 
of those which were not thrown down by the motion and 
agitation would have been standing in various inclined posi- 
tions. But on the contrary we find them all standing erect. 
And again it is probable that the slides were very nearly 
simultaneous, as the trees are all about in the same state 
of preservation. The most of them stand opposite where 
we consider the shores too gradual to admit of a slide." 

Geological Explanation. Many modern scientists do 
not find sufficient evidence to justify the conclusion that 
the Columbia was once spanned by a natural bridge. Among 
them is Ira A. Williams, Geologist for the Oregon Bureau 
of Mines and Geology. After a thorough examination of 
the Columbia from The Dalles to the mouth of the river, he 
reports: ** Above the Cascades for miles there are in places 
erect stumps of trees that were obviously killed by the en- 
croachment of the water about their base, just as would 
happen were an obstruction unexpectedly thrown across the 
river at some point below. That the low water level of the 
Columbia above its cascades was remarkably raised for a 
time there seems little question. Whether it has receded 
since to any considerable extent can be said only after a 
more detailed study of it than has been made. That the 
cause was the choking of its channel by a barrier at the site 
of the present cascades available evidence seems to point. 
And not beyond the range of reality is the possibility that 
at one time this barrier may have constituted the causeway 
about which grew the enchanting tale of the Indian maiden 
Lowit and the contesting rivals for her hand. But far from 
fabulous* *Bridge of the Gods" was this, rather instead — plain 
tottering blocks of lava and a crumbling, sloughing clay- 
stained bouldery assemblage from yon proud cliff was its 
make up, over the rise or fall of which, in our humble judg- 
ment, inexorable gravity, not Sahale the Great Indian Spirit, 
exercised complete control." 



EPOCH V. 339 

Conclusion. Mythology is only the dream of history. 
While the Bridge of the Gods has not been proved to be 
more than a pretty legend taken by the white man from 
Indian folk lore, there may some time be unearthed further 
evidence that such a bridge across the Columbia did exist. 
But from evidence thus far produced Professor Williams 
is of the opinion that *'It is possible that Indians may have 
crossed the Columbia by means of boulders and other 
larger rock masses at the site of the Cascade rapids, and 
that this may have given rise to the tradition of a natural 
bridge that spanned the river." 

Congressmen from Oregon. The following is a list of 
congressional delegates and representatives chosen from 
Oregon since January 6, 1 849 : 

Delegates. Samuel R. Thurston, January 6, 1849- 
April 9, 1 85 1 ; Joseph Lane, June 2, 1 85 1 -February 1 4. 1 859. 

Representatives. Lafayette Grover, February 15, 
1859-March 3, 1859; Lansing Stout, March 4, 1859-March 
3. 1861; George K. Shiel, March 4, 1 861 -March 3, 1863; 
John R. McBride, March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865; J. H. D. 
Henderson, March 4, 1865-March 3, 1867; Rufus Mallory, 
March 4, 1867-March 3, 1869; Joseph S. Smith, March 4. 
1869-March 3, 1871; James H. Slater, March 4, 1871- 
March 3, 1873; Joseph G. Wilson^ March 4, 1873; James 
W. Nesmith, March 4, 1873-March 3, 1875; George A. 
LaDow\ March 4, 1 875 ; Lafayette Lane, October 25, 1 875- 
March 31, 1877; Richard Williams, March 4. 1877- 
March 3, 1879; John Whiteaker, March 4, 1879- 
March 3, 1881; M. C. George. March 4, 1881 -March 

3, 1885; Binger Herman, March 4. 1885-March 3, 1893; 
Binger Herman, March 4, 1893-March 3, 1897; W. R. Ellis, 
March 4, 1893-March 3, 1899; Thomas H. Tongue, March 

4, 1897-March 3, 1905; Malcolm A. Moody, March 4, 
1899-March3, 1903; Binger Herman, March 4, 1903-March 
3, 1907; J . N. Williamson. March 4, 1903-March 3. 1907; 

iDied before qualifying. 



340 HISTORY OF OREGON 

W. C Hawley, March 4, 1907-March 3, 1921 ; W. R. Ellis. 
March 4. 1907-March 3. 1911; A. W. Lafferty. March 4. 
1911 -March 3. 1 9 1 5 ; N. J. Sinnot. March 4,191 3-March 3. 
1 92 1 ; C. N. McArthur, March 4. 1 9 I 5-March 3. 1921. 

U. S. Senators from Oregon. The following are the U. 

5. Senators chosen to represent Oregon at Washington : 

Delazon Smith, February 14, 1859-March 3, 1859; 
Joseph Lane, February 14, 1859-March 3, 1861 ; Edward D. 
Baker, March 4, 186 1 -October 21, 1861; Benjamin Stark, 
October 21, 1861 -September 11, 1862; Benjamin Harding, 
September II, 1862-March 3, 1865; James W. Nesmith, 
March 4, 1861 -March 3, 1867; George H. Williams, March 
4, 1865-March3, 1871; Henry W. Corbett, March 4, 1867- 
March 3, 1873; James K. Kelly, March 4, 1 871 -March 3, 
1877; John H. Mitchell, March 4, 1873-March 3, 1879; 
Lafayette Grover, March 4, 1877-March 3, 1883; James H. 
Slater, March 4, 1879-March 3, 1885; Joseph N. Dolph, 
March 4, 1883-March 3, 1889; John H. Mitchell, March 4, 
1885-March 3, 1891; Joseph N. Dolph, March 4, 1889- 
March 3, 1895; John H. Mitchell, March 4, 1891 -March 3, 
1897; George W. McBride, March 4, 1895-March 3, 1901 ; 
Henry W. Corbett\ March 4, 1897; Joseph Simon, October 

6, 1898-March 3, 1903; John H. Mitchell, March 4, 1901- 
December 8, 1905; Charles W. Fulton, March 4, 1903- 
March 3, 1909;John M. Gearin-, December 12, 1905-Janu- 
ary 23, 1907; Fred W. Mulkey, January 23, 1907-March 
3, 1907; December 10, 191 8-December 17, 1918; Jonathan 
Bourne, Jr., March 4, 1907-March 3, 1913; George E. 
Chamberjain, March 4, 1909-March 3, 1915; Harry Lane, 
March 4, 1913-May 23, 1917; George E. Chamberlain, 
March 4, 191 5-March 3, 1921; Charles L. McNa^y^ May 
29, 1917-March 3. 1925. 

• » 

iThe United States Senate refused to seat Mr. Corbett, appointed 
by Governor Lord. 

2Appointed to succeed John H. Mitchell, who died December 8, 
1905. sAppointed to succeed Harry Lane, who died May 23, 1918. 



CHAPTER XIV 34 i 

OREGON LITERATURE 

All literature writes the character of the wise man. — Emerson. 

The lamp of literature was a long time coming from 
Egypt to Oregon. Ages ago wise men passed the lamp from 
Egypt to Phoenicia, thence to Athens, thence to Rome, 
thence to London, thence to Boston; and before the close 
of the last century the Oregon Pilgrims brought it with them 
to the new land which they occupied and planted. Hence 
the rays from the Egyptian lamp of letters came to be traced 
in the literature of Phoenicia, of Greece, of Rome, of Eng- 
land, of New England and of Western America. 

And the historic lamp shone so bright in the Far West 
that the makers of Oregon produced in half a century more 
standard literature than did all the Thirteen Colonies in their 
first half century. It is, therefore, but fair to conclude 
that the education of Oregon people — more particularly the 
teachers — is not complete without some knowledge of Ore- 
gon literature. 

Furthermore, in Epoch I, mention was made of Indian 
Folk Lore as the highest type of literary and intellectual 
endeavor among the savages before the coming of the white 
man. It will be of historical value, therefore, to give a few 
glimpses of the literature of the present, in order that the 
reader may fully understand the remarkable transition that 
took place in Oregon under civilization. However, the au- 
thors selected for mention in the limited space allotted to 
Chapter XIV are but a few of those who caught the rays 
from the old Egyptian lamp of literature that eame by way of 
Greece and Rome to shine incandescent in Oregon. 



SAMUEL L. SIMPSON 

Samuel Leonidas Simpson, the author of "The Gold- 
Gated Weat," has been called the "Burns of Oregon." 

"His father was bom in Tennessee on March 29, 1818, 
of Scotch ancestry. His mother was a granddaughter of Col. 
Cooper, a companion of Daniel Boone in Kentucky. Sam. L. 
Simpson crossed the plains to Oregon with his parents in 
1846. His mother taught him the alphabet when he was 
four years old by tracing letters in the ashes on the hearth- 
stone of the primitive cabin in Marion County in which the 
family lived. The first poems he ever read were selections 
from a worn volume of Robert Burns which was presented to 
Samuel L. Simpson's mother by Dr. John McLoughlin, at 
Oregon City, where the Simpson family spent the first winter. 
An occasional country school of 
three months in the year afforded 
the only opportunity the boy had 
for education until he was fifteen 
years old. Then he was em- 
ployed as clerk in the sutler's store j 
of his father at Fort Yamhill, 
military post near the Grand 
Ronde Indian Reservation. Here 
he became acquainted with Lieut. 
Phil Sheridan (afterwards Gen- 
eral), who gave him a copy of 
Byron's poems. When sixteen 
years old Samuel Simpson en- 
tered Willamette University, Sa- 
lem, where he graduated in 1865. 
Soon afterwards he became edi- »"•■ ^ simpbon 

tor of the Oregon "Statesman," continuing in that relation 
until the close of ) 866. He was admitted to the bar in 1 867, 
and began practicing; but clients were few and the profession 
of law was not to his liking; hence he entered the journalistic 
profession which he followed the remainder of his life, writ- 




SAMUEL L. SIMPSON 343 

ing numerous poems. **Ad[ Willametam,'* or **Beautiful Wil- 
lamette," as it is generally known, was written while the poet 
was a resident of Albany. It first appeared in the **Demo- 
crat" in that city, April 1 8, 1 868. 

**Samuel L. Simpson was married to Miss Julia Hum- 
phrey, of Portland, in 1868, who bore him two sons. He 
died in Portland June 1 4, 1 900, and was buried in Lone Fir 
Cemetery.*' — George H. Himes . 

Upon the death of the poet, his poems were edited with 
an introductory preface by W. T. Burney, and published by 
the J. B. Lippincott Company in a very attractive volume 
entitled **The Gold-Gated West.'* Referring to Simpson's 
masterful pen, Joaquin Miller said: **Simpson*s 'Beautiful 
Willamette* is the most musical poem written on the Pacific 
Coast." 



344 OREGON LITERATURE 



BEAUTIFUL WILLAMETTE 

From the Cascades* frozen gorges, 

Leaping like a child at play, 
Winding, widening through the valley, 
Bright Willamette glides away; 

Onward ever. 

Lovely river. 
Softly calling to the sea. 

Time, that scars us. 

Maims and mars us, 
Leaves no track or trench on thee. 

Spring's green witchery is weaving 

Braid and border for thy side; 
Grace forever haunts thy journey. 
Beauty dimples on thy tide; 
Through the purple gates of morning 

Now thy roseate ripples dance. 
Golden then, when day, departing. 
On thy waters trails his lance. 
Waltzing, flashing. 
Tinkling, splashing. 
Limpid, volatile, and free — 
Always hurried 
To be buried 
In the bitter, moon-mad sea. 

In thy crystal deeps inverted 
Swings a picture of the sky, 
Like those wavering hopes of Aidenn, 

Dimly in our dreams that lie; 
Clouded often, drowned in turmoil, 

Faint and lovely, far away — 
Wreathing sunshine on the morrow 
Breathing fragrance round today. 
Love would wander 
Here and ponder. 
Hither poetry would dream; 
Life's old questions. 
Sad suggestions. 
Whence and whither? throng thy stream. 



SAMUEL L. SIMPSON 345 

On the roaring waste of ocean 

Shall thy scattered waves be tossed, 
'Mid the surge's rhythmic thunder 

Shall thy silver tongues be lost. 
O! thy glimmering rush of gladness 

Mocks this turbid life of mine! 
Racing to the wild Forever 

Down the sloping paths of Time! 
Onward ever, 
Lovely river, 
Softly calling to the sea; 
Time that scars us, 
Maims and mars us. 
Leaves no track or trench on thee. 

SNOWDRIFT 

Tenderly, patiently falling, the snow 
Whitens the gloaming, and in the street's glow 
Spectrally beautiful, drifts to the earth — 
Pale in life's brightness, and still in its mirth ; 
Swarming and settling like spirits of bees 
Blown from the blossoms of song-haunted trees — 
Blown with the petals of dreams we have known, 
Rosy with heart dews of days that are gone. 

Spirits of flow^ers, and spectres of bees — 
Emblems of toil and its guerdon are these — 



Thrown to us silently — cold, and so fair — 
From the gardens that gleam in the regions of air; 
As if the high heavens that gathered our sighs 
Wept for the promise the future denies; — 
Dreamingly lifted the glowing bouquet. 
Sweet with life's longing, and tossed it away! 

Soft as the touch of the white-handed moon 
Wreathing the world in a twilight of June, 
Gently and lovingly hastens the snow — 
Weaving a veil for dead nature below; 
Kissing the stains from the hpof-beaten street, 
Folding the town in a slumber so sweet, 
Surely the stars, in their helmets of gold. 
Pensively linger and love to behold. 



346 OREGON LITERATURE 



Thus our endeavor may fail of its prize- 



Hope and ambition drop cold from our skies ; 
Yet on the pathway, so lonely and drear, 
Rugged with failure and clouded by fear, 
Spirits of beauty come out of defeat. 
Cover life's sorrows and shield its retreat — 
Healing the heart as the fall of the snow 
Brightens the darkness of winter below. 

O, when the Angel of Silence has brushed 
Me with his wings, and this pining is hushed. 
Tenderly, graciously, light as the snow. 
Fall the kind mention of all that I know — 
Words that will cover and whiten the sod, 
Folding the life that was given of God; — 
Wayward may be, the persistent to rove — 
Restful, at last, in the glamour of love! 

OREGON RAIN 

It is raining, raining, raining! 

And my spirit darkly rues 
All the pleasures that are waning 

In a carnival of blues. 
For the constant drone and sputter 
Of the shower seems to mutter 

Memories of Noah's cruise! 
Surely neither navigation. 
Irrigation, or oblation. 
Nor the final conflagration 

Such a streaming flood requires. 
Nor the gentle mitigation 
Of the regulation ration 

Of the lurid liquid fire! 
Lo, there's something awful in it — 
And I'll tell you in a minute 

Of a fancy, damp and dire. 

From some planet's spectral stare — 
Down, and down, within the hollow 
Womb of seas where bright Apollo 

Never drifts his yellow hair 

O'er the rising blush of mom — 
Nor the moon to any maiden 



SAMUEL L. SIMPSON 347 

Pours the silv'ry dream of Aidenn 

From her lily wreathen horn, 

Earth has .fallen as of old, 
In the dying baron's wassail, 

Fell the wine-flushed cup of gold. 
Round about the dripping shrouds 
Of the weary dreary clouds 

In the charnel of the deep, 
Where the toiling globe of ocean 
Swings in dark, mysterious motion 

Round a misty realm of sleep; 
And a silence, dim, eternal. 
Hushes all the march of time; — 

Only ever and forever, 

Like the wail of some lone river, 
Fraught with sorrow strange, supernal, 
Mourn the clouds, in ceaseless rhyme. 

As they ever weep and weep; 
Fallen world of wrong and sorrow. 
Never hope for brighter morrow — 

Doom has met thee at the tryst! 
In the glamour of thy dreaming 
Thro* the ivory-gated East; 
With the red and purple feast 

Of the roses he has kissed! 
For the gold-browed stars have faced them 

Off to other loves and wars, 
And the sparkling crest of Venus 
That so often flashed between us 

Turns along the trail of Mars, 
O, the years shall wane and sicken. 
And the turbid clouds shall thicken. 

In the lonely lapse of time. 
Till the cavern gloom of sea 
Fills, anon, with massy waters. 
And Willamette's sons and daughters 

Rise to other lives sublime 
In an ocean broad and free! 
O the changes, slow, dramatic. 

Of the gloomy world terrene — 
Merging still to shapes aquatic 

As the ages shift the scene. 
Till the rustling woods that quiver 

Sweet with every sigh and sound, 



348 OREGON LITERATURE 

Never wake again, and never 

Song of bird is heard around; 
And the music and the beauty. 
Toil and battle, love and duty. 

Of the bright terrestial space 
Shall be hushed and chilled and faded 
In the ghostly deeps invaded 

By a cold and silent race; 
O thy hamlets of the meadows; 

And thy cities of the plain; — 
Have we not their fates and shadows 

In the sunny tropic main? 
Coral cities, wall and tower, 
Temples, arches, tree and flower. 

Wrought with all the soul of art! 
And the fishes, gold and scarlet — 

Silver-mailed, and purple-barred, 
Shine, like idle orient people, 

*Mong the columns, flushed and starred; 
And a myriad shapes of terror. 
Dumb as death and black as error. 

Loiter slow in street and isle 
Or in slumber's horrid semblance 

Lure their prey with hellish smile. 
Thus forever and forever. 

Till the sad sea songs are sung. 
Name or fame of thee shall never 

Live on human lip or tongue; 
Set within the dim recesses 
Of the ocean's wildernesses 

Shall thy sculptured city shine, 
And the gold of mermaid tresses 

Match the emerald of thine! 
And I sit and look and listen. 

While the pathos of the rain 
And the streaming tears that glisten 

On the misty window pane 
'Weave a sadness in my fancy 

And a horror in my brain! 
Ah, believe me, land of apples. 

Swarming hives, and matchless grain, 
'Tis a fate that with thee grapples 

In the sobbing of the rain; 



SAMUEL L. SIMPSON 349 

And its ceaseless hum and patter 
Is the many million clatter 

Of a vast surrounding main, — 
Beating, beating, nor retreating 
Till its hoof prints weld the chain 
Of a people — fleeting, fleeting 

Into ocean's finny main. 



THE FEAST OF APPLE BLOOM 

When the sky is a dream of violet 

And the days are rich with gold. 
And the satin robe of the earth is set 

With the jewels wrought of old ; 
When the woodlands wave in choral seas 

And the purple mountains loom. 
It is heaven to come with birds and bees 

To the feast of apple bloom. 

For the gabled roof of the home arose 

O'er the sheen of the orchard snow, 
And is still my shrine when storms repose 

And the gnarly branches blow; 
While the music of childhood's singing heart, 

That was lost in the backward gloom. 
May be heard when the robins meet and part 

At the feast of apple bloom. 

And I think when the trees display a crown 
Like the gleam of a resting dove. 
Of a face that was framed in tresses brown 
And aglow with a mother's love; 

At the end of the orchard path she stands. 
While I laugh at my manhood's doom. 

As my spirit flies with lifted hands 
To the feast of apple bloom. 

When the rainbow paths of faded skies 

Are restored with the diamond rain. 
And the joys of my wasted paradise 

Are returning to earth again, 
It is sadder than death to know how brief 

Are the smiles that the dead assume; 
But a moment allowed, a flying leaf 

From the feast of apple bloom, 



350 OREGON LITERATURE 

But a golden arch forever shines 

In the dim and darkening past, 
Where I stand again as day declines, 

And the world is bright and vast; 
For the glory that lies along the lane 

Is endeared with sweet perfume 
And the world is ours, and we are twain 

At the feast of apple bloom. 

She was more than fair in the wreath she wore 

Of the creamy buds and blows. 
And she comes to me from the speechless shore 

When the flowering orchard glows; 
And I sigh for the dreams so sweet and swift, 

That are laid in a sacred tomb — 
Yet are nothing at least but fragrant drift 

From the feast of apple bloom. 

THE NYMPHS OF THE CASCADES 

The campfire, like a red night rose, 

Blossomed beneath a gloomy fir 
When weary men, in deep repose, 

Heard not the gentle night wind stir 
Her priestly robes high overhead. 

Heard not the wild brook's wailing song 
Nor any nameless sounds of dread 

Which to the midnight woods belong. 

The moon sailed on, a golden bark 

Astray in lilied purple seas. 
While forest shadows, weirdly dark. 

Were peopled with all mysteries; 
And all was wild and drear and strange 

Around that lonely bivouac, 
Where mountains, rising range on range. 

Shouldered the march of progress back. 

The red fire's fluttering tongues of flame 
Whispered to brooding darkness there. 

While spectral shapes without a name 
Were hovering in th^ haunted air; 



SAMUEL L. SIMPSON 35 1 

And from the fir tree's inner shade, 

A drear owl, sobbing forth his rune. 
Kept watch, and mournful homage paid 

At intervals unto the moon. 

The travelers dreamed on serene, 

Save one alone, whose brow, curl-swept. 
Was damp from agony within; 

Who tossed and murmured as he slept. 
The fitful firelight on his face 

Wavered and danced in elfin play, 
Where all the youth's enchanting grace 

As light as dreams upon him lay. 

The glamour of the rosy light 

The heavy lines of care concealed, 
And trembling shadows of the night 

Beyond him, like sad spirits, kneeled; 
For his had been the lustrous gift 
Of genius, lent by God to few, 
The splendid jewel wrought by swift 

Angelic art of fire and dew. 

But like the pearl of Egypt's queen, 

'Twas drowned in Pleasure's crimson cup, 
And lo, its amethystine sheen. 

In baleful vapors curling up. 
Soon wreathed his brain in that dark spell 

That has no kindred seal of woe, 
As phantoms, that in Orcus dwell. 

In mystic dance swept to and fro. 

Swept to and fro and maddened him 

With gestures wild and taunts and jeers. 
And waved the withered chaplets dim 

That he had worn in flowery years; 
His spirit furled its shining wings. 

Never again to sing and soar. 
And wove all wild imaginings 

In shapes of horror evermore. 

The sleeper started, raised his head, 

Upon his elbow leaned awhile. 
And gazed where deepest night overspread. 

With wistful eyes and brightening smile. 



352 OREGON LITERATURE 

"I hear sweet music far away 
The mountain nymphs are calling me!** 

He murmured. "How divine a lay, 
O soul of mine, is wooing thee!** 

"Coming!** he whispered and arose, 

And gropingly reached forth a hand, 
As if another's to enclose. 

Some ghostly guidance to command — 
And lo! into the heavy night, 

As led by forms unseen, he fled 
Far from the waning firelight 

Into the canyons dark and dread. 

'Twas years ago, but trace or track 

Of him has never yet been found. 
For Echo only answered back 

The hunter's call and baying hound; 
Forever lost untract, unseen. 

In the upheaved and wild Cascades, 
Forever lost, untract, unseen, 

A shadow now among the shades. 

From some snow-wreathed and shining peak 

His soul swam starward long ago. 
And now no more we vainly seek 

The secret of his fate to know; 
While fires of sunset and of dawn 

Flame red and fade on many a height. 
The mystery will not be withdrawn 

From him, long lost from human sight. 



And yet I sometimes sit and dream 

Of him, my schoolmate and my friend, 
As wand'ring where bright waters gleam. 

In some sweet life that has no end — 
Within the Cascades' inner walls. 

Where nymphs, beyond all fancy fair, 
Soothe him with siren madrigals. 

And deck him with their golden hair. 



SAMUEL L. SIMPSON 353 

TO-NIGHT 

When the stars gather in beauty to-night, 

Grlorious, love-litten — a heaven in bloom — 
Somewhere, astray, in a sorrowful plight. 

Earth will be dreamingly toiling towards doom; 
And the myriads at rest 
On her storm-stricken breast. 

Rocked into dreams, will be never afraid 
Tho' stars marching over and stars streaming under, 
Filling the deep with a pageant of wonder, 

Guard and attend her with godlike parade. 

When the sJiars gather in splendor to-night. 

Darkness, O Planet, will cover thy face — 
Death-ridden darkness, in shapes that affright, 

Black with the curses that blacken our race ! 
And the mist, like the ghost, 
Of a hope that is lost. 

Strangely will hover o'er fields that are bare; 
And the seas, at whose heart the old sorrow is throbbing 
Restless and hopeless, eternally sobbing — 

Madly will kneel in a tempest of prayer. 

When the stars gather in armor, to-night, 

Planet of wailing, thy fate shall be read! 
Steal like a nun under scourge from their sight, 
Gather thy sorrows, like robes, to thy head! 
For the vestal white rose 
Of the crystalline snows 
Coldly has sealed thee to silence unblessed; 
And the red rose is dead in thy gardens of pleasure — 
Forests, like princes bereft of all treasure, 
Rise and upbraid thee, skeleton jest! 

When the stars gather in vengeance to-night, 
Gibbering history, too, will arise, 
Rustling her garments of mildew and blight, 
Only to curse thee, O mother of lies! 
With thy goblet all drained. 
And thy wanton lip stained — 
Singing wild songs where all ruin appears — 
What Shalt thou say of this dust that was glory. 
Dust that beseeches thee still with a story. 
Deep in whose silence are rivers of tears? 



354 OREGON LITERATURE 

When the stars gather in triumph, to-night, 

Raining their joy thro' the chill and the gloom. 
Only one jewel, an emblem of light. 

Marvelous planet, thy crest shall illume! 
It was Calvary's first, 
And its white lustre burst 

Wide and resplendent, a dawn and a day! 
Clasp it and keep it, O princeland of heaven. 
The deep-bosomed worlds for that signal have striven- 

Aeons of wrong shall not wrest it away! 

When the stars gather in chorus to-night. 
Singing the lullaby song of our Lord, 
Childhood shall come to us, dimpled and bright. 
Kissed by His promise, and fed by His word; 
And our fears shall depart, 
And our anguish of heart, 
Rending us darkly the lengthy years through! 
And the dust of the perished shall blossom, and beauty 
(Jarland the lowliest pathways of duty. 
Rich with the hopes that our spirits renew. 



MRS. ELLA HIGGINSON 



"Ah, me! I know how like a golden flower 
The Grand Ronde Valley lies this August night, 
Locked in with dimpled hills where purple light 
Lies wavering.' 



f» 



Hius wrote Mrs. Ella Higginson of her childhood home. 
Bom at Council Grove, Kansas, she crossed the plains while 
an infant, and with her parents located at LaGrande, Ore- 
gon. Her name was Ella Rhodes. With her parents she 
moved to Oregon Gty and attended the Oregon City Semi- 
nary. Later she moved to Portland, and married Mr. Rus- 
sell C. Higginson, with whom she moved to Washington 
where he died in 1909. Her home at present is in Belling- 
ham. 

As a writer of short stories, novels, travel, and verse, 
Mrs. Higginson, according to the verdict of critics, ranks 
close to Joaquin Miller. Therefore, since much of her best 
literary work was done before her departure from Oregon, a 
list of her most popular stories and books follows: 

Five Hundred Dollar Prize Stories: 

**The Takin* in of Old Mis* Lane'* (McClure*s Maga- 
zine), and **The Message of Anne Laura Sweet** (Collier's). 
Books of Short Stories: 

**The Flower that Grew in the Sand;** **From the Land 
of the Snow Pearls;" **A Forest Orchid.*' 
Books ot Poems: 

**When the Birds go North Again;** **The Voice of 
April Land;" "The Vanishing Race." 

Novel: 

"Mariella of Out-West," 




.« . 



t 



%.^-; 



'■J ' / 



URS. ELLA HIOOINBOH 



MRS. ELLA HIGGINSON 357 

FOUR-LEAF CLOVER 

I know a place where the sun is like gold. 
And the cherry blooms burst with snow, 

And down underneath is the loveliest nook, 
Where the four-leaf clovers grow. 

One leaf is for hope, and one is for faith, 

And one is for love, you know, 
And God put another in for luck — 

If you search, you will find where they grow. 

But you must have hope, and you must have faith, 

You must love and be strong — and so — 
If you work, if you wait, you will find the place 
Where the four-leaf clovers grow. 

THE RHODODENDRON BELLS 

Across the warm night's subtle dusk, 

Where linger yet the purple light 
And perfume of the wild, sweet musk — 

So softly glowing, softly bright. 
Tremble the rhododendron bells. 

The rose-pink rhododendron bells. 

Tall, slender trees of evergreen 

That know the moist winds of the sea, 
And narrow leaves of satin's sheen. 

And clusters of sweet mystery — 
Mysterious rhododendron bells, 

Rare crimson rhododendron bells. 

O barken — hush! And lean thy ear, 

Tuned for an elfin melody. 
And tell me now, dost thou not hear 
Those voices of pink mystery — 
Voices of silver-throated bells, 

Of breathing, rhododendron bells? 

SUNRISE ON THE WILLAMETTE 

The sun sinks downward thro' the silver mist 
That looms across the valley, fold on fold, 

And sliding thro* the fields that dawn has kissed, 
Willamette sweeps, a chain of liquid gold. 



II 'J. 



358 OREGON LITERATURE 

Trails onward ever, curving as it goes, 
Past many a hill and many a flowered lea, 

Until it pauses where Columbia flows, 
Deep-tongued, deep-chested, to the waiting sea. 

O lovely vales thro' which Willamette slips! 

vine-clad hills that hear its soft voice call! 
My heart turns ever to those sweet, cool lips 

That, passing, press each rock or grassy wall. 

Thro' pasture lands, where mild-eyed cattle feed. 

Thro' marshy flats, where velvet tules grow. 
Past many a rose tree, many a singing reed, 

1 hear those wet lips calling, calling low. 

The sun sinks downward thro' the trembling haze» 
The mist flings glistening needles higher and higher. 

And thro' the clouds — O fair beyond all praise! 
Mount Hood leaps, chastened, from a sea of fire. 

WHEN THE BIRDS GO NORTH AGAIN 

O, every year hath its winter, 
And every year hath its rain; 

But a day is always coming 

When the birds go north again. 

When new leaves swell in the forest, 
And grass springs green on the plain. 

And the alder's veins turn crimson. 
And the birds go north again. 

Oh, every heart hath its sorrow, 

And every heart hath its pain ; 
But a day is always coming 
When the birds go north again. 

*Tis the sweetest thing to remember. 

If courage be on the wane, 
When the cold, dark days are over — 

Why, the birds go north again. 



FREDERIC HOMER BALCH 

Frederic Homer Balch. author of the "Bridse of the 
Goda," was bom at Lebanon, Oregon, December 14, 1661. 
In his childhood, stories of vrar fascinated him; and when he 
grew older the study of ancient history was his delight 
When thirteen years of age he wrote poetry and historical 
sketches. Hie early contributions revealed intense love for 
his native state, keen interest in the Indians along the Colum- 
bia, and the disposition to weave the traditions of a fast- 
disappearing race as woof in the warp of civilization which 
the earliest colonists brought to Oregon. These things de- 
veloped in him an intellectual code which he faithfully fol- 
lowed in collecting a vast fund of valuable knowledge re- 
garding the Indians, their 
habits, religious beliefs, tra- 
ditions and mode of living, 
all of which ^ere sub- 
sequently prepetuated by his 
pen. 

However, Balch lacked lit- 
erary preparation for the 
arduous undertaking to 
which he aspired. And it 
will be difficult for the reader 
in an age of splendid schools 
to understand the struggles 
of a boy to educate himself 
under conditions that pre- 
vailed in Oregon at that 
time. How he later obtained his training is best explained 
in his own words: "Much of the education 1 have is due to 
the ceaseless reading and re-reading of Macaulay." Of 
Milton he wrote: "How 1 thrilled and exulted in the mighty 
battle of Satan for the throne of God; in his fierce defiance 
emd unbending hate, after the throne was lost; and in the 
dusky splendor of the palace, and the pomp with w^ich he 
and his followers surrounded themselves in hell." 




360 OREGON LITERATURE 

At the age of twenty-one years, Frederick H. Balch en- 
tered the ministry and organized churches, spending his days 
in the saddle and his evenings in the pulpit, laboring in re- 
mote settlements where sermons were practically unknovoi. 
During interims he studied Indian lore in quest of material 
for his book ; and after much research among various tribes, 
became thoroughly convinced of the previous existence of 
the **Bridge of the Gods** of Indian tradition. No matter, 
therefore, what the reader may conclude regarding the ex- 
istence of the **Bridge of the Gods;** for of this one thing 
he may be assured — Frederic H. Balch, after conscientious 
study systematically pursued, wrote with the firm belief 
that the Columbia was once spanned by such a bridge. 

While pastor of the' Congregational Church of Hood 
River, he began writing the **Bridge of the Gods." Upon 
completing the book, he pursued a theological course in a 
seminary in Oakland, California, and while there his book 
was published. A short time before completing his course 
in the seminary, Balch was overtaken by illness, and had 
not the strength to rally. His death occurred in Portland, 
Oregon, June 3, I 89 1 . 

Frederic H. Balch outlined several other books among 
which were: **Tenasket,** a tale of Oregon in 1818; "Gene- 
vieve,** a story of Oregon in 1890; **Crossing the Plains," 
and "Olallie.** But his masterpiece is the * 'Bridge of the 
Gods.** Americans agree as to the merits of "The Scar- 
let Letter;** yet the "Bridge of the Gods** is in some re- 
spects a better story. Unlike "The Scarlet Letter," it pre- 
serves the high moral tone of all the leading characters, 
thus constantly holding before the mind of the reader that 
which is purest and noblest; and it delights the reader with 
the triumph of virtue. The beloved minister rises in his 
victory over temptation; Wallula, the Indian Princess of 
Sauvie*s Island, asserts herself as becomes the daughter of 
a great chieftain; and Chief Multnomah stands out to the 
end as the exponent of that integrity, courage and honor 
characteristic of the better types of the earlier Indian 
tribes. Frederic H. Balch is, therefore, entitled to rank 
with the leading Oregon autVioia. 



EDWIN MARKHAM 

When the poem, *The Man With the Hoe," appeared 
in 1899, **it received world-wide attention, being hailed 
by some as the *battle-cry of the next thousand years'." 
Hence it was with satisfaction that the people of Oregon 
learned that the poem was written by Edwin Markham, 
who was born in Oregon City, April 23, 1852, and -that in 
him a great poet had arisen. 

When Edwin Markham wrote "The Man With the Hoe," 
he was a resident of California. He had studied MiH^^s 
celebrated painting of "The Man With the Hoe," until he 
discovered something hitherto unrecognized in the blank 
face and bent form of the servile laborer toiling like an ox 
at the bidding of another; and the poet made. a picture of 
that laborer in these immortal words: 

"Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans 
Upon his hoe, and gazes on the ground; 
The emptiness of ages in his face, 
And on his back the burden of the world." 

These lines have been the subject of more sermons and 
editorials than any other four lines written in the English 
language during the last quarter century. It is, therefore, 
but fair to the author to concede that if true greatness is 
measured by one's ability to stamp his impress upon human- 
ity, Edwin Markham would be counted great if he had done 
no more than to cause mankind to pause long enough to 
consider the oppressed laborer who had never been taught 
to think. Largely upon the suggestion of this poem men 
have begun to correct that "emptiness of ages" in the 
faces of those against whom conditions have cruelly dis- 
criminated. The world is now writing a new dispensation 
for industry — a new Talmud governing intelligent labor — 
and that upon the inspiration of seers such as Edwin Mark- 
ham. 




BDWni MABBBAM 



EDWIN MARKHAM 363 

THE MAN WITH THE HOE 



►r ..- « 



Bowed by the weight'of centuries he leans 

Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground. 

The emptiness of ages in his face, 

And on his back the burden of the world. 

Who made him dead to rapture and despair, 

A thing that grieves not and that never hopes, 

Stolid and stimned, a brother to the ox? 

Who loosened and let down his brutal jaw? 

Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow? 

Whose breath blew out the light within his brain? 

Is this the thing the Lord God made and gave 

To have dominion over sea and land; 

To trace the stars and search the heavens for powers ; 

To feel the passion of Eternity? 

Is this the Dream He dreamed who shaped the suns 

And pillared the blue firmament with light? 

Down all the stretch of Hell to its last gulf 

There is no shape more terrible than this — 

More tongued with censure of the world's blind greed — 

More filled with signs and portents for the soul — 

More fraught with menace to the universe. 

What gulfs between him and the seraphim! 
Slave of the wheel of labor, what to him 
Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades? 
What the long reaches of the peaks of song. 
The rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose? 
Through this dread shape the suffering ages look : 
Time's tragedy is in that aching stoop; 
Through this dread shape humanity betrayed. 
Plundered, profaned and disinherited, 
Cries protest that is also prophecy. 

O masters, lords and rulers in all lands, 

Is this the handiwork you give to God, 

This monstrous thing distorted and soul-quenched? 

How will you ever straighten up this shape; 

Give back the upward looking and the light; 

Rebuild in it the music and the dream; 

Touch it again with immortality; 

Make right the immemorial infamies, 

Perfidious wrongs, immedicable woes? 



364 OREGON LITERATURE 

O masters, lords and rulers in all lands, 
How will the future reckon with this Man? 
How answer his brute question in that hour 
When whirlwinds of rebellion shake the world? 
How will it be with kingdoms and with kings — 
With those who shaped him to the thing he is — 
When this dumb Terror shall reply to God 
After the silence of the centuries? 



MRS. EVA EMERY DYE 



Many a splendid historic fact has been recorded by 
the swift-flowing pen o( Mrs. Eva Emery Dye, of Oregon 
City, who has undertaken for Oregon the kind of literary 
service that Sir Walter Scott performed for his own loved 
Caledonia. She has preserved much of the early folk lore 
of the Northwest in her four books — "The Stories of Ore- 
gon" published by Whitaker and Ray in 1900 (the plates 
of which were destroyed in the 
San Francbco earthquake and 
fire) :McLoughlin ond Old Ore- 
gon," in 1900; "The Conquest, 
the Story of Lewis and Clark," 
in 1902; "McDonald of Ore- 
gon," in 1906; all of which 
were published by A. C. Mc- 
Clurg and Company, of Chi- 
ago. These books were at 
once taken into the great li- 
braries of the country where 
they drew attention to the 
Northwest. 

Like Ruth of old. Mrs. Dye 
is a busy gleaner, quick to 
perceive golden grains in the 

great oudying fields of fact and fiction; and her ■ 
proves that if ever a history of the world could be corr 
written, much of it would be the story of what noble 
have accomplished. 

Not the least of her heroines was Sacajawea, the In- 
dian girl guide of Lewis and Clark, whose name, first 
popularized in "The Conquest," is now as well known 
throughout the Northwest as that of Pocahontas. Statues 
have been erected to the memory of the Shoshone maiden, 




HSS. EVA EMERY DTE 



^ork 
=ctly 



366 OREGON LITERATURE 

and tablets wherever she trod; and no one has risen to 
question the story of her exploits. 

Mrs. Dye chose to record the things that appertain to the 
adventures of the first white people who came to Oregon; 
and she has interpreted the romantic life of the whites and 
the Indians of those times so picturesquely that her fame 
as an author is permanent. 



SENATOR EDWIN D. BAKER 

Edward Dickinson Baker was bom in London, Eng- 
land, February 24, 1811. Five years later bis father's 
family located in Philadelphia where Edward was apprentic- 
ed at an early age to a weaver. Later young Baker drove a 
dray in St. Louis. He was admitted to the bar in Illinois, 
obtained a Major's commission in the Black Hawk War, 
was commissioned colonel in the Mexican War; became a 
member of congress from Illinois in 1849; located in Cali- 
fornia; moved to Oregon, and in I860 was elected United 
States Senator. His was a dramatic career while in the 
senate. Attired in the full 
uniform of a colonel, he 
appeared before his fellow 
fense of the Union, August 
Senators in a stirring de- 
2, 1 86 1 ; and four days 
later was confirmed Briga- 
dier General. He fell in 
battle at Ball's Bluff, Oc- 
tober 21, 1861. 

As an orator and poet, 
Senator Baker treated 
each subject in its appro- 
priate individual style. He 
was enabled to give a typ- 
ical plea in the"Defense of 

Cora;" tart repartee in b. d. baker 

his "Reply to Benjamin;" the fiery animus of Patrick Henry 
in the "Baker Mass-Meeting Address;" human sympathy in 
the "Broderick Oration;" ornate style in the "Oration on 
the Atlantic Cable;" and poetry and music in the "Ode 
to a Wave." On all occasions the flight of the "Old Gray 
Eagle" was lofty, attracting the minds of men from sordid 
thoughts and groveling themes. 




t 



368 OREGON LITERATURE - 

FREEDOM. 

In the presence of God — I say it reverently — freedom 
is the rule, and slavery is the exception. It is a marked, 
guarded, perfected exception. There it stands I If public 
opinion must not touch its dusky cheek too roughly, be it 
so; but we will go no further than the terms of the compact. 
We are a city set on a hill. Our light cannot be hid. As 
for me, I dare not, I will not be false to freedom! Where 
in youth my feet were planted, there my manhood and my 
age shall march. 1 will walk beneath her banner. I will 
glory in her strength. I have seen her, in history, struck 
down on a hundred chosen fields of battle. I have seen 
her friends fly from her, 1 have seen her foes gather around 
her ; 1 have seen them bind her to the stake ; I have seen them 
give her ashes to the winds, regathering them that they 
might scatter them yet more widely. But when they turned 
to exult, I have seen her again meet them face to face, clad 
in complete steel, and brandishing in her strong right hand 
a flaming sword red with insufferable light- And I take 
courage. The Genius of America will al last lead her sons 
to freedom. 



TO A WAVE 

Dost thou seek a star, with thy swelling crest, 
Oh! wave that leavest thy mother's breast? 
Dost thou leap from the prisoned depths below 
In scorn of their calm and constant flow? 
Or art thou seeking some distant land, 
To die in murmurs upon the strand? 

Hast thou tales to tell of the pearl-lit deep, 
Where the wave-whelmed mariner rocks in sleep? 
Canst thou speak of navies that sunk in pride, 
Ere the roll of their thunder in echo died? 
What trophies, what banners, are floating free 
In the shadowy depths of that silent sea? 



SENATOR EDWARD D. BAKER 369 

It were vain to ask, as thou rollest afar, 
Of banner, or mariner, ship or star; 
It were vain to seek in thy stormy face 
Some tale of the sorrowful past to trace. 
Thou art swelling high, thou art flashing free, 
How vain are the questions we ask of thee! 

1, too, am a wave on a stormy sea: 

1, too, am a wanderer, driven like tl ee; 

I, too, am seeking a distant land 

To be lost and gone ere I reach the strand. 

For the land I seek is a waveless shore. 

And they who once reach it shall wander no more. 



1 



LOUIS ALBERT BANKS 

Louis Albert Banks, D. D., has written more books 
than any other Oregonian. He was born near Corvallis, 
November 12, 1655. Banks pursued a course in liberal 
arts at Philomath College; and some years after entering 
the ministry he attended Boston University and Mount 
Union College. He has been pastor of some of the leading 
Methodist Episcopal churches in this country; was prohibi- 
tion candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 1893; has 
done much effective evangelistic work; and is now (1918) 
campaigning for nation-wide prohibition. His sermons 
have been read by more people than have the sermons of 
any other American clergyman since the death of Talmage. 
He is the author of fifty-five books, the most of which were 
published by Funk and Wagnalls. They are: — 

**Live Boys in Oregon,** "The People's Christ," **The 
White Slaves,** **The Revival Quiver," "Anecdotes and 
Morals,** "Common Folks* Religion,** "Honeycomb of 
Life,** "Heavenly Tradewinds,** "The Christ Dream/* 
"Christ and His Friends,** "Paul and His Friends." "The 
Saloon Keeper's Ledger,** "The Fisherman and His 
Friends,** "Seven Times Around Jericho," "Hero Tales 
from Sacred Stories,** "The Christ Brotherhood," "Heroic 
Personalities,** "The Unexpected Christ," "Immortal Hymns 
and Their Story,** "Sermon Stories for Boys and Girls," 
"The Christian Gentleman,** "John and His Friends," "My 
Young Man,** "Immortal Songs of Camp and Field,'* "The 
Great Sinners of the Bible,** "A Year's Prayermeeting 
Talks,*' "Chats with Young Christians," "A Manly Boy," 
"David and His Friends,** "The Lord's Arrows," "Twenti- 
eth Century Knighthood," "Fresh Bait for Fishers of Men,'* 
"Poetry and Morals,*' "Hidden Wells of Comfort,** "The 
Great Saints of the Bible," "Unused Rainbows," "The 
Motherhood of God," "The King's Stewards," "Hall of 
Fame,** "Life of T. DeWitt Talmage, D. D.,*' "Youth of 
Famous Americans," "Windows for Sermons,** "The Heal- 




LOins AIAEKT BAHSB 



372 OREGON LITERATURE 

ing of Souls,** **The Great Portraits of the Bible,** * "Soul- 
Winning Stories," **Thirty-one Revival Sermons,** **The 
Religious Life of Famous Americans,** **The Great Promises 
of the Bible,** "Capital Stories of Famous Americans,^" "Spur- 
geon*s Illustrative Anecdotes,** "Sermons which have Won 
Souls,'* "The Problems of Youth,** "The World's Child- 
hood,*' "The Great Themes of the Bible,'* "The Sunday 
Night Evangel,** A Summer in Peter's Garden." 

Doctor Banks' residence is in Brookline, a suburb of 
Boston. 



HARVEY WHITEFIELD SCOTT 

"Harvey Whitefield Scott was one of the greatest 
American newspaper editors. He was born in Tazwell 
County, Illinois, February 1, 1838. At the age of 14 years 
he came with his parents to Yamhill County, Oregon — 
traveling across the plains in an ox wagon. At the age of 
1 7 he carried a rifle as a private soldier in Colonel Shaw's 
militia company in the Indian wars of 1855-1856. When 
eighteen years of age he matriculated in Pacific University, 
but for want of funds was compelled to withdraw from the 
Institution. In 1863, he received the honor of being the 
first graduate of Pacific University; and many years later 
an official of the school remarked that had Pacific Univer- 
sity done nothing more than to educate Harvey W. Scott, 
its mission would not have been in vain. While reading law 
and acting as librarian of the Portland Library in 1865, Mr. 
Scott became editorial writer on the **Oregonian,*' and, 
excepting four and a half years, he was continuously its 
editor from that date until his death. In 1 9 I 7 two large 
volumes of Mr. Scott* s writings, compiled by Leslie M. 
Scott, were published under the title, **Religion, Theology 
and Morals,** this branch of study having occupied the edi- 
tor*s attention more continuously and for a longer time 
than any other. These essays, which are wholly Mr. Scott's 
in thought, diction, and manual writing, stand out promi- 
nently in the journalistic literature of our country as ac- 
ceptable counsel from a reverent and tolerant mind con- 
cerning the permanent substance of religion. 

Among the many other important positions of trust 
held by Mr. Scott was that of Collector of Customs for the 
District of Oregon for five years, beginning with 1872. 
Also he was president of the Lewis and Clark Exposition in 
1904, but declined re-election in 1905. He was many 
years a director of the Associated Press, the greatest news 
gathering organization of America. He died at Baltimore, 
Maryland, August 7, 1910; and a week later was borne by 
loving hands amid a great concourse of people to his last 



1 




HARVEY W. 



HARVEY WHITEFIELD SCOTT 375 

resting place at Portland — Riverview Cemetery." — ^From 
Memorial Address by T. L. Elliot, D. D. 

**It was given to the generation of Mr. Scott's youth 
and to the succeeding generation of his maturer years to 
take a wilderness in the rough and mold it through steadily 
advancing forms to the uses of modern life. At the begin- 
ning of Mr. Scott's career, Oregon was a country whose very 
name was best known to the world as a poet's synonym for 
solitude and mystery; at the end it was a country which 
might challenge the world as an example of the worthiest 
things in social development. Thus the background of Mr. 
Scott's career was a shifting quantity, presenting each year 
— ^almost each month — new conditions and fresh problems, 
and calling to the man who for forty-five years was the pre- 
eminent leader of its thoughts for new adjustments, often- 
times for compromises. If it must be said of Mr. Scott that 
the essential values of his character were individual, it still 
remains to be said that they were profoundly related to the 
conditions and times in which his work was done. The 
great figures of any era are those who, sustaining the rela- 
tionships of practical understanding and sympathy, are still 
in vision and purpose in advance of the popular mind and 
of the common activities. So it was with Mr. Scott. There 
was never a day of the many years of his long sustained as- 
cendsmcy in the life of Oregon in which he did not stand 
somewhat apart and somewhat in advance of his immediate 
world. In this there was an element of power; but there 
was in it, too, an element of pathos. For closely and sympa- 
thetically identified as Mr. Scott was at all times with the life 
of Oregon he was, nevertheless, one doomed by the ten- 
dencies of his character and duties to a life measurably soli- 
tary. 

**The fewest number of men are pre-eminently success- 
ful in more than a single ensemble of conditions. Any radi- 
cal change is likely first to disconcert and ultimately de- 
stroy adjustments of individual power to working situations. 



376 OREGON LITERATURE 

The qualities which match one condition are not always or 
often adjustable in relation to others. It was an especial 
merit of Mr. Scott's genius that it fitted alike into the old 
Oregon of small things and into the new Oregon of large 
things. Yet there was that in the constitution of Old Ore- 
gon which relieved it of the sense of limitation and narrow- 
ness, for be it remembered that the old Oregon — the Ore- 
gon of Mr. Scott* s earlier years — stretched away to the 
British possessions at the north and to the Rocky Moun- 
tains at the east. Geographically it was a wide region, and 
some sense of the vastness of it and of the responsibilities 
connected with its potentialities, early seized upon and pos- 
sessed the minds alike of Mr. Scott and of the more thought- 
ful among his contemporaries. If we regard this primitive 
country with attention only to the numbers of its people, it 
appears a small and even an insignificant outpost of the 
world ; but if, with a truer sense of values, we study it under 
its necessities for social and political organization, there 
opens to the mind's eye a field vast, practically, as the 
scheme of civilization itself. Thus even in the old Oregon 
of small things, the man who sat at the fountain of commu- 
nity intelligence lived and worked for larger purposes and 
under high aspirations. In a mind of common mold, taking 
its tone from the life around about it, there would have de- 
veloped a sense of power leading to the exhilarations of an 
individual conceit. Upon the mind of Mr. Scott the effect 
was far different. In him and upon him there grew a noble 
development of moral responsibility. And this he carried 
through the vicissitudes of changing times. It was this which 
gave to him, firmly rooted as he was, the power which, in 
conjunction with his individual gifts sustained him as a con- 
tinuing force through all the years of his life.*' — Alfred 
Holman in Oregon Historical Quarterly. 

**Harvey W. Scott* s mentality placed him in that great 
group of journalistic writers from which Greely and Dana 



HARVEY WHITEFIELD SCOTT 377 

have passed, and of which Pulitzer and Watterson are the 
sole survivors. His mind was a huge storehouse in which 
knowledge of men, events, literature, philosophy, theology, 
ethics and history was piled up and labeled for ready use. 
His powers. of expressing thought in written language have 
been rarely equaled. To him, words and sentences were 
the keen-edged tools with which the expert works and fash- 
ions with unerring directness. They were the leaden missiles 
with which the skilled rifleman cleaves the target. They 
were the thunderbolt or the lightning flash with which elec- 
tricity proves its resistless powers. Splendid in their 
strength, overwhelming in their incisiveness and captivat- 
ing in their grace, his phrasings in conveying the thought 
that surged in his dominant mind were the essence and 
means that brought him high place in his great profession.** 
. — Oregon Journal, August 1910. 



HOMER DAVENPORT 

The most widely known the world over of the native 
sons pf Oregon was Homer Davenport, the famous cartoon' 
ist, lecturer, and author. He was bom in the Waldo Hills, 
Marion County, on March 8. 1667, living there and in Sit- 
verton until reaching his majority. When twenty-five years 
of age he had developed no talent for any special bunness 
career save a disposition to 
draw pictures of birds and 
anirnals on fences and other 
convenient backgrounds. 
In 1892. his father sent him 
to San Francisco where he | 
secured a position on the 
San Francisco "Chronicle." 
and later was employed by 
William Randolph Hearst 
on the "Examiner." Here 
Mr. Hearst discovered 
young Davenport's talent, 
so when Mr. Hearst, in 
1895, entered the New 
York newspaper field he 
took Davenport with him as 
a special cartoonist. In the homek davenpokt 

following year, during the presidential campaign, the car- 
toonist made a reputation for humorous, pungent and ef- 
fective representations of different phases of that contest 
that won for him a national fame which grew until his death. 
May 2, 1912. 

Homer Davenport was a born genius, a man of rare im- 
agination, a master story-teller, and a man with a heart as 
tender as that of a woman. He ^as as democratic in man- 
ner as the commonest day laborer, and when in London 
calling on William E. Gladstone — finding him in the woods 
at Hawarden — told him he ^as "from Silverton, Oregon, a 
town that had a brass band and a sawmill." The greatest 




HOMER DAVENPORT 3 79 

of his cartoons, perhaps, was that representing Admiral 
Dewey on his flagship during the battle of Manila, entitled 
**Lest We Forget," published when the public was severely 
criticising that hero for deeding to his wife a house in Wash- 
ington given him by friends. This turned the tide in favor 
of the Admiral, who assured a close friend that he was on 
the eve of making his permanent home in London, when 
Davenport's cartoon awakened the American people to an 
appreciation of what Dewey had accomplished at Manila. 
Mr. Davenport entered the lecture field in 1901, and 
traveled in all parts of the United States, winning success 
wherever he went; his **Silverton Stories** amused to the 
utmost degree the noted men of the nation as well as the 
common people. His book, **The Country Boy,*' which 
presented the experiences of himself during his boyhood 
days is a wonderful mixture of humor and pathos and won 
the faVor of the public at once. He made a visit to the 
Arabisui Desert a few years before his death and secured 
several of the famous Arabian horses for his stock farm in 
East Orange, New Jersey. His book, **My Quest of the 
Arab Horse," describes his experiences among the Arabs 
and his personal interview with a sheik, is one of intense in- 
terest and exceptional value. 



380 OREGON LITERATURE 

THE STORY OF THE HUTCHINS GOOSE 

Although Silverton was situated in a great hunting 
country and had lots of good shots, 1 never took much 
to hunting, perhaps because I was a poor wing-shot, 
and deer were too pretty to kill; but I had heard of 
the great flocks of geese and ducks out on the coast of 
Nestucca, so I went over to have a great hunt, and the 
first day 1 was there 1 actually found a band of geese 
big enough so that when I shot into the entire bunch 
one on the outskirts fell. When this small goose hit 
the sand, he raised to his feet and ran, me after him, 
and after quite a run I overtook him and found only 
one wing broken. I always had wanted to own live 
wild birds and things, so 1 saw my chance. I carried 
him to the cabin carefully, and cut up a cigar box lid 
into splints and set his wing, and 1 was overjoyed to 
see an expression in his cute little black eyesi that he cort o' 
knew 1 was trying to cure him instead o* kill him. He 
got rapidly better and 1 started for Silverton with him, 
and there astonished our family by the kindly way this 
Hutchins goose let me doctor his wing. Father helped 
me doctor him some, and finally when we took the 
splints off his wing his affection showed more than ever, 
and to tell the truth, he and 1 grew to be the nearest and 
dearest friends possible, not being of the same species. 
He used to follow me all over the place, and once when 
1 was sitting down by him in the barnyard he brought 
me some straws, evidently wanting me to build a nest. 
He was a great talker and an alarmist; he would come 
to me after I had been away down town and try his 
best to tell me what had been going on in the barnyard 
while I had been away. 

In fact, he was my real chum. When I came into 
the barnyard mornings when the frost was on the ground, he 
would greet me with all smiles, as much as a goose could 



HOMER DAVENPORT 



381 



smile, then he would step on one of my boots, which was 
quite an effort, and held his other foot up in his feathers to 
warm it, and if I started to move he would chatter and cackle 
that peculiar note of the Hutchins geese, as much as to say, 
"Hold on, don't move' I'll tell you another story." Mean- 
while he would warm his other foot. 

When I went for a walk in the back pasture he would 
walk with me at my side, juat as a dog would do. There he 
spied a slight knoll and he went and stood on it erect, as 
much as to say, "I'll watch out for hunters while you eat grass 
in peace and com- 
fort.". When I had 
finished my pretext at 
eating grass 1 v^ent 
and stood on the 
knoll, and as long as 1 
stood there he fed 
with perfect confi- 
dence that I was 
watching out for his 
welfare, but when Ii' 
walked away he ran 
to me chattering some- 
thing good naturedly, '~' 
perhaps telling me that he had not finished. We really had 
great times together, but finally spring was approaching and 
I had noticed how he could fly around the barnyard. Father 
came to me one day and warned me that if I wanted to keep 
that goose I had better clip his wings, but he said, "1 hope 
you won't. You say that you love animals; now show it by 
letting this goose alone, then when his kind come by in a few 
weeks going north for the breeding season, he will join them 
and be happier than he is here." 

1 replied that "of course an outsider might think he 
would leave, but in reality he would not. The goose and 1 




;*» 



382 OREGON LITERATURE 

have talked it over and he don't care for anything better 
than I am, so he ain*t goin* away.** 

**Well,'* said father, **When 1 see you two together I 
think as much, but when you go down town loitering around 
with people that aren't half as smart as this goose, it*s then 
that he misses you, and it*s on that account that I wish you 
would leave his wings the way they are now. But because 
after he is gone you will feel bad and mope around for a 
few days, I thought I would tell you now that when spring 
comes he will leave you, 'notwithstanding the bond of friend* 
ship, so if you want him kept here (which I hope you don't) 
you had better cut the feathers on one wing." 

I didn*t want to mutilate his feathers so I left them on. 
A few weeks later coming from one of those important trips 
down town, they told me at home that my pet had gone. 
I said, **1 guess not.** 1 didn*t want to let on that I was 
alarmed, but when they were not looking I made some big 
strides for the barnyard, and it was actually as still as death. 
1 whistled but no sound, save an echo, came in return. 

I noticed the leaves hung silent on our trees, though the 
neighbors* trees were in action. 1 went back of the bam and 
called, but the call was wasted on a few old hens that **didn t 
belong.** 1 tried to ginger up some life into the landscape by 
throwing a few old potatoes at things, but the brakes were 
set in general on everything and 1 went into the house and 
found all the family sitting in front of an empty fireplace with 
long faces. No one spoke and the only noise was the clock, 
which ticked louder than ever. It was about dark M^ien 
father arose and said it was for the best, that **here in Silver- 
ton there were no opportunities for him, in fact no pond for 
him to swim in even, and when you were away down town, 
no one that he apparently loved, and if you will think of it 
a moment, it would have been cruel for you, a lover of ani- 
mals, to have kept him here all of his life.** But there were 
no answers, just long breaths now and then, until it was tiinc 



HOMER DAVENPORT 



.ndle. Then the 



>rld took I 



383 
L brighter 



to light the 
aspect 

In a few days I recovered with the rest, and the long, 
beautiful spring came. No rain to speak of, and it was fine. 
1 never saw so many picnics and never went with so many 
pretty girls and ball games ran all through the summer, and 
the joUiest threshing crews you ever heard of. Fall came, 
s hauling wood into the barnyard one day when I 
heard wild geese; lota of 
them had been passing over 
_, ^ P* for a week past, on their way 
/p" *WJ,\ ^f south for the winter, but 
T^jT't Irl Pr^s^^tly just over the cone 
I 'Arr- Ij ' F ^ of the barn came some large 
r F ~ i? l""J ' thought at first it was 
~' a condor he lit in the barn- 
yard and 1 was astonished 
that It was a wild goose. Our 
rooster hit him, and he rose 
and circled and again lit 
twenty feet from me. 1 
yelled for the neighbors who 
kept guns and one of them 
ran over resting his gun on 
the fence and shot him while 1 held fast to the team. It 
was great to think of killing game right in your own 
barnyard. 1 ran to pick him up, when father, 
who was in the orchard yelled at me not to touch him. 1 
said, "We have killed a goose in the barnyard, a wild 
goose." "No," said he "Don't handle him; I want to feel of 
your head first to see if you have any bump of memory." 
Father said, "Do you see that band of geese flying in a circle 
next to the hill? You used to tell me you could understand 
this little goose's language and could talk some of it. If you 
remember any of it now, go out there as near as they will let 




384 OREGON LITERATURE 

you approach them and tell them they need not wait for their 
friend; he is never coming back." 

By this time 1 had realized all. I could recognize his 
every feature, even to the little black, glossy soft eyes, which 
were now half open. Father asked if I saw what had hap- 
pened, and said, *T11 tell you, as I believe you are too dumb 
to comprehend. Your friend that used to be has brou^t 
that band of geese five hundred or a thousand miles out of 
their beaten course that he might bring them here where a 
lover of birds and things treated him so well. They like^jr 
objected, but he persuaded and finally they have obeyed, 
and he left them there at a safe distance and came to see you» 
and so perhaps renew his love, and there he lies, suid if you 
never commit another murder I hope this one will puni^ you 
to your grave. Some murders can be explained to the dead 
one*s relatives, but you can never explain this one and I 
want to show you his right wing. 

I didn't want to see his wing, but father was deter- 
mined, and as he lifted the feathers at the middle joint, ^we 
saw a scar, a knot in the bone where it had healed. 

Everybody is a criminal more or less, and some of 
the crimes are done by stupid people. Thus I console my- 
self in a way over the death of the Hutchins goose, that 
perhaps I am a murderer through stupidity and not by pre- 
meditation. — **The Country Boy.** 



JOAQUIN MILLER 




"1 had been writing, oi 
trying to write, since a lad. 
My two brothers and mj 



homei 

selves, 
teachei 
lege, 
brothel 



; at my side, out 
with our parents, anc 
'ed entirely to our 
We were all schoo 
when not in col 
In 1861, my eldei 
ind I were admitted 
to practice law under Geo 
H. Williams, afterwards At- 
torney General under Presi 
dent Grant." 

As a lawyer Mr. Mille: 
became deeply interested in 
Joaquin Murietta, a Mexi- 
can brigand for whom 



Cincinnatus Hiner Miller 
was born in Union County, In- 
diana, November 10, 1842. 
His parents moved to Missouri 
in 1846, and to Oregon in 
1852. The Poet tells the 
story: 

"The first thing of mine in 
print was the valedictory class 
poem, at Columbia College, 
Eugene, Oregon, 1859. At 
this date Colnmbia College, 
the germ of the University of 
Oregon, had many students 
from Oregon and California, 
and was famous as an educa- 
tional center. 




HnnilB HTKTLE HILLEB 

he made a legal defense. 



386 



OREGON LITERATURE 



Later he poerized his client, taking his name. The 
nom-de-plume became popular; and at the present time the 
Poet is best known to literature under the name of Joaquin 
Miller. In 1863, he edited the "Democratic Register." in Eu- 
gene, Oregon, which was suppressed for disloyalty. While 
editor, he was married to Miss Minnie Dyer, of Gold Beach, 
who became famous in Oregon literary circles as Minnie 
Myrtle Miller. She produced a marked change in the char- 
acter and writings of her husband. That delicate and re- 
fined love for the beautiful and that sympathy for the err- 
ing and unfortunate which characterize his writings must be 
admitted to date from his marriage. The Poet said: "TTiat 
which is best in my works was inspired by her." 

Miller moved to Canyon City, in Eastern Oregon, 
where he wrote poetry, served as County Judge and prac- 
ticed law. In 1 868 he published "Specimens;" and in 1869, 
"Joaquin, Et Al." Believing that he could find a better 
market for his publications in Europe than in America, he 
went to London in 1870. Then the "Songs of the Sierras" 
which were written before he left Oregon, appeared in Eng- 
_ land and in Boston simul- 

taneously. "His original- 
ity, freshness of style, 
vigor of thought and ex- 
pression were greeted with 
applause; and Englishmen 
hailed him as the "Ameri- 
can Byron," Upon relum- 
ing to America he did 
journalistic work in Wash- 
ington, D. C, until the 
autumn of 1887, v^en he 
removed to Oakland. Cali- 
fornia, and remained un- 
til his death which took 
place February 17, 1913. 




JOAQUm UIIXEB'S FYBE 



JOAQUIN MILLER 387 

In addition to the books mentioned, Joaquin Miller 
wrote, **Song8 of the Sunland,** **Song8 of the Desert,** 
**Song8 of Italy,** * 'Collected Poems,** **Songs of Mexican 
Seas,** **The Baroness of New York,*' **The Danites in the 
Sierras,*** 'Shadows of Shasta,** **Memorie and Rime,** **Gold 
Seekers of the Sierras,** and **Songs of the Soul;** and un- 
like many authors, he acquired a fortune from his pen. 

In a tribute to this adopted son of Oregon, upon his 
death the "Oregon Journal** editorially said: **His 'Mothers 
of Men* and his 'Columbus* are two of the most beautiful 
creations of the English language.** 



THE MOTHERS OF MEN 

The bravest battle that ever was fought ; 
Shall I tell you where and when? 
On the maps of the world you will find it not; 
It was fought by the mothers of men. 

Nay, not with cannon or battle shot, 
With sword or nobler pen; 
Nay not with eloquent word or thought. 
From mouths of wonderful men, 

But deep in a walled-up woman's heart — 
Of woman that would not yield. 
But patiently, silently bore her part — 
Lo! there is that battlefield. 

No marshaling troops, no bivouac song; 
No banner to gleam and wave; 
And oh! these battles they last so long — 
From babyhood to the gravel 

Yet, faithful still as a bridge of stars, 
She fights in her walled-up town — 
Fights on and on in the endless wars. 
Then silent, unseen — goes down. 



388 OREGON LITERATURE 

Oh, spotless woman in a world of shame; 
With splendid and silent scorn, 
Go back to God as white as you came — 
The kingliest warrior bom. 

TO JUANITA 

Come, listen O love to the voice of the dove. 

Come, harken and hear him say 
There are many tomorrows, my love, my love. 

But only one today. 

And all day long you can hear him say 

This day in purple is rolled. 
And the baby stars of the Milky Way 

They are cradled in cradles of gold. 

Now what is the secret, serene gray dove, 

Of singing so sweetly alway? 
There are many tomorrows, my love, my love. 

But only one today. 

LINES ON BYRON 

In men whom men condemn as ill 
I find so much of goodness still. 
In men whom men pronounce divine 
I find so much of sin and blot, 
I do not dare to draw a line 
Between the two, where God has not. 

IS IT WORTH WHILE? 

Is it worth while that we jostle a brother 
Bearing his load on the rough road of life? 

Is it worth while that we jeer at each other 
In blackness of heart? — that we war to the knife? 
God pity us all in our pitiful strife. 

God pity us all as we jostle each other; 
God pardon us all for the triumphs we feel 

When a fellow goes down ; poor heart broken brother. 
Pierced to the heart; words are keener than steel. 
And mightier far for woe or for weal. 

Were it not well in this brief little journey 
On over the isthmus down to the tide. 



JOAQUIN MILLER 389 

We give him a fish instead of a serpent, 
Ere folding the hands to be and abide 
Forever and aye in dust at his side? 

Look at the roses saluting each other; 

Look at the herds all at peace on the plain- 
Man, and man only makes war on his brother, 
And dotes in his heart on his peril and pain — 
Shamed by the brutes that go down on the plain. 

Why should you envy a moment of pleasure 
Some poor fellow mortal has wrung from it all? 

Oh! could you look into his life's broken measure — 
Look at the dregs — at the wormwood and gall — 
Look at his heart hung with crepe like a pall — 

Look at the skeletons down by his hearthstone — 
Look at his cares in their merciless sway, 

I know you would go and say tenderly, lowly, 
Brother, my brother, for aye and a day, 
Lo! Lethe is washing the blackness away. 



IN THE GREAT EMERALD LAND 

A morn in Oregon ! The kindled camp 
Upon the mountain brow that broke below 
In steep and grassy stairway to the damp 
And dewy valley, snapp'd and flamed aglow 
With knots of pine. Above the peaks of snow. 
With under-belts of sable forests, rose 
And flashed in sudden sunlight. To and fro 
And far below, in lines and winding rows, 
The herders drove their bands, and broke the deep repose. 

I heard their shouts like sounding hunter's horn. 
The lowing herds made echoes far away; 
When lo! the clouds came driving in with morn 
Toward the sea, as fleeing from the day. 
The valleys fiird with curly clouds. They lay 
Below, a level'd sea that reach'd and roird 
And broke like breakers of a stormy bay 
Against the grassy shingle fold on fold. 
So like a splendid ocean, snowy white and cold. 



390 OREGON LITERATURE 

The peopled valley lay a hidden world, 
The shouts were shouts of drowning men that died. 
The broken clouds along the border curl'd, 
And bent the grass with weighty freight of tide. 
A savage stood in silence at my side. 
Then sudden threw aback his beaded strouds 
And stretch'd his hand above the scene, and cried. 
As all the land lay dead in snowy shrouds; 
"Behold! the sun bathes in a silver sea of clouds." 

Here lifts the land of clouds! Fierce mountain forms. 
Made white with everlasting snows, look down 
Through mists of many canons, mighty storms 
That stretch from Autumn's purple, drench and drown 
The yellow hem of Spring. Tall cedars frown 
Dark-brow*d through banner'd clouds that stretch and stream 
Above the sea from snowy mountain crown. 
The heavens roll, and all things drift or seem 

To drift about and drive like some majestic dream. 

In waning Autumn time, when purpled skies 
Begin to haze in indolence below 
The snowy peaks, you see black forms arise. 
In rolling thunder banks above, and throw 
Quick barricades about the gleaming snow. 
The strife begins! The battling seasons stand 

Broad breast to breast. A flash! Contentions grow 
Terrific, Thunders crash, and lightnings brand 
The battlements. The clouds possess the conquered land. 

The clouds blow by, the swans take loftier flight. 
The yellow blooms burst out upon the hill. 
The purple camas comes as in a night, 
Tall spiked and dripping of the dews that fill 
The misty valley. Sunbeams break and spill 
Their glory till the vale is full of noon. 
The roses belt the streams, no bird is still. 
The stars, as large as lilies, meet the moon 
And sing of s immer, born thus sudden full and soon. 

WILLIAM BROWN OF OREGON 

They called him Bill, the hired man, 
But she, her name was Mary Jane, 
The squire's daughter; and to reign 
The )t)elle from Ber-sh^.-be to Dan 



JOAQUIN MILLER 391 

Her little game. How lovers rash 

Got mittens at the spelling school! 

How many a mute, inglorious fool 

Wrote rhymes and sighed and dyed — mustache! 

This hired man had loved her long, 
Had loved her best and first and last, 
Her very garments as she passed 
For him had symphony and song. 
So when one day with flirt and frown 
She called him "Bill," he raised his head, 
He caught her eye and faltering said, 
"I love you; and my name is Brown,'* 

She fairly waltzed with rage; she wept; 
You would have thought the house on fire. 
She told her sire, the portly squire. 
Then smelt her smelling-salts and slept. 
Poor William did what could be done; 
He swung a pistol on each hip, 
He gathered up a great ox-whip 
And drove right for the setting sun. 

He crossed the big backbone of earth, 
He saw the snowy mountains rolled 
Like nasty billows; saw the gold 
Of great big sunsets; felt the birth 
Of sudden dawn upon the plain; 
And every night did William Brown 
Eat pork and beans and then lie down 
And dream sweet dreams of Mary Jane. 

Her lovers passed. Wolves hunt in packs. 
They sought for bigger game; somehow 
They seemed to see about her brow 
The forky sign of turkey tracks. 
The teeter-board of life goes up, 
The teeter-board of life goes down. 
The sweetest face must learn to frown ; 
The biggest dog has been a pup. 

O maidens! pluck not at the air; 
The sweetest flowers I have found 
Grow rather close unto the ground 
And highest places are most bare. 



392 OREGON LITERATURE 

Why, you had better win the grace 
Of one poor humble Af-ri-can 
Than win the eyes of every man 
In love alone with his own face. 

At last she nursed her true desire. 
She sighed, she wept for William Brown. 
She watched the splendid sun go down 
Like some great sailing ship on fire. 
Then rose and checked her trunks right on; 
And in the cars she lunched and lunched. 
And had her ticket punched and punched. 
Until she came to Oregon. 

She reached the limit of the lines, 
She wore blue specs upon her nose. 
Wore rather short and manly clothes, 
And so set out to reach the mines. 
Her right hand held a Testament, 
Her pocket held a parasol, 
And thus equipped right on she went, 
Went water-proof and water-fall. 

She saw a miner gazing down, 
Slow stirring something with a spoon; 
"O, tell me true and tell me soon, 
What has become of William Brown?** 
He looked askance beneath her specs, 
Then stirred his cocktail round and round, 
Then raised his head and sighed profound. 
And said, "He's handed in his checks.** 

Then care fed on her damaged cheek. 
And she grew faint, did Mary Jane, 
And smelt her smelling-salts in vain, 
Yet wandered on, way worn and weak. 
At last upon a hill alone; 
She came, and there she sat her down; 
For on that hill there stood a stone. 
And lo! that stone read "William Brown.'* 

"() William Brown! O William Brown! 
And here you rest at last," she said, 
"With this lone stone above your head, 
And forty miles from any town! 



JOAQUIN MILLER 393 

I will plant cypress trees, I will, 
And I will build a fence around. 
And I will fertilize the ground 
With tears enough to turn a mill." 

She went and got a hired man, 
She brought him forty miles from town, 
And in the tall grass knelt down 
And bade him build as she should plan. 
But cruel cowboys with their bands 
They saw and hurriedly they ran 
And told a bearded cattle man 
Somebody builded on his lands. 

He took his rifle from the rack, 
He girt himself in battle pelt, 
He stuck two pistols in his belt. 
And mounting on his horse's back, 
He plunged ahead. But when they shewed 
A woman fair, about his eyes 
He pulled his hat, and he likewise 
Pulled at his beard, and chewed and chewed. 

At last he gat him down and spake: 
*'0 lady, dear, what do you here?" 
"I build a tomb unto my dear, 
I plant sweet flowers for his sake." 
The bearded man threw his two hands 
Above his head, then brought them down 
And cried, **0, I am William Brown, 
And this the corner of my lands." 

The preacher rode a spotted mare. 
He galloped forty miles or more; 
He said he never had before 
Seen bride and bridegroom half so fair. 
And all the Injuns they came down 
And feasted as the night advanced. 
And all the cowboys drank and danced. 
And cried: "Big Injun! William Brown." 



394 OREGON LITERATURE 

THE DAYS OF '49 

We have worked our claims. 
We have spent our gold, 
Our barks are astrand on the bars; 
We are battered and old, 
Yet at night we behold, 
Outcrcppings of gold in the stars. 

Chorus — Tho' battered and old, 
Our hearts are bold, 
Yet oft do we repine; 
For the days of old. 
For the days of gold. 
For the days of forty-nine. 

Where the rabbits play. 
Where the quail all day 
Pipe on the chaparral hill; 
A few more days. 
And the last of us lays 
His pick aside and all is still. 

Chorus — 

We are wreck and stray. 
We are cast away. 
Poor battered old hulks and spars; 
But we hope and pray. 
On the judgment day, 
We shall strike it up in the stars. 

Chorus — 



JOAQUIN MILLER 395 

COLUMBUS 

Behind him lay the gray Azores, 
Behind the gates of Hercules ; 
Before him not the ghost of shores; 
Before him only shoreless seas. 
The good mate said: "Now must we pray, 
For lo! the very stars are gone. 
Brave Adm'r '1, speak; what shall I say?" 
"Why, say: 'Sail on! sail on! and on!" 

"My men grow mutinous day by day; 
My men grow ghastly wan and weak." 
The stout mate thought of home; a spray 
Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. 
"What shall I say, brave Adm'r'l, say. 
If we sight naught but seas at dawn?" 
"Why you shall say at break of day: 
*Sail on! Sail on! Sail on! and on!'" 

They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, 
Until at last the blanched mate said: 
"Why, now not even God would know 
Should I and all my men fall dead. 
These very winds forget their way. 
For God from these dread seas is gone. 
Now speak, brave Adm'r'l; speak and say — " 
He said: "Sail on! Sail on! and on!" 

They sailed. They sailed. Then spake the mate: 
"This mad sea shows his teeth to-night. 
He curls his lip, he lies in wait. 
With lifted teeth as if to bite! 
Brave Adm'r'l, say but one good word: 
What shall we do when hope is gone?" 
The words leapt like a leaping sword: 
"Sail on! Sail on! Sail on! and on!" 

Then, pale and worn, he kept his deck. 
And peered through darkness. Ah, that night 
Of all dark nights! and then a speck — 
A light! A light! A light! A light 
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled! 
It grew to be Time's burst of dawn. 
He gained a world; he gave the world 
Its grandest lesson? "On! sail on!" 



396 HISTORY OF OREGON 



WAR EDITION OF "OREGON" 

This Edition of **Oregon" was published under war 
conditions, when many Oregon printers, with other patriots, 
were attending to the Nation's business in Europe. Hence 
this volume, which was to have appeared in 1918, was de- 
layed until 1919. Much of the work was performed under 
difficulties. Oregon was so gloriously represented abroad 
during the terrific struggle for democracy that the peaceful 
pursuit of printing books became temporarily of secondary 
importance. Consequently, the generous indulgence of the 
patriotic reader is invoked in the perusal of this War Edition. 
However, encouragement already received, has led the 
author to undertake the preparation of a second edition. To 
this end he will be grateful for helpful suggestions, and 
will cheerfully consider any additional material that will 
tend to acquaint the public with Oregon and to exalt the 
study of her history, her great men, her literature, and her 
natural resources. 



APPENDIX 397 

Authorities Consulted. Among the publications con- 
sulted in the preparation of the present volume are the fol- 
lowing, the most of which are for sale by the J. K. Gill Co. 

and the Hyland Book Store in Portland: 

Bancroft, H. H.— "Historical Works"; 

Chapman, C. H. — "The Story of Oregon"; 

Clarke, S. A. — "Pioneer Days of Oregon History"; 

Dye, Eva Emery — "McLoughlin and Old Oregon"; 

Franchere, Gabriel — "Narrative" ; 

Gaston, Joseph — "The Centennial History of Oregon"; 

Gill, John — "Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon"; 

Harper's "Encyclopedia of U. S. History"; 

Himes and Lang — "History of the Willamette Valley"; 

Irving, Washington — "Astoria" ; 

Johnson and Winter— "Description of Oregon and California"; 

Lewis, Meriwether — "History of the Expedition of Capt. Lewis 
and Clark"; 

Lyman, Horace Sumner — "History of Oregon"; 

North Pacific History Co.— "History of the Pacific Northwest"; 

Olcott, Ben W.— "Oregon Blue Book"; 

"Oregon Historical Society Quarterly"; 

Parkman, Francis — "The Oregon Trail"; 

Saylor, Fred H. — "Oregon Native Son"; 

Schafer, Joseph — "History of the Pacific Northwest"; 

Steel, William G.— "Oregon Place Names"; 

Walker, W. S.— "The Schools of Oregon"; 

Woodward, W. C— "Political History of Oregon." 

"Fifty Years in Oregon," written and published by ex-Gov- 
ernor T. T. Geer, Portland, Oregon. "It is a mine of good stories." 
— Knoxville (Tenn.) Sentinel. It contains 536 pages. Orders re- 
ceived and filled by Mr. Geer. 



398 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



PRONOUNCING INDEX 

(Consensus of opinion rendered by members of the Oregon Greo- 
graphic Board.) 



A Ian' son 

A lar' con or al lar' kon 

Allegheny, al le gay ny 

Al se' a or al se' 

An' chi yoke 

A ni an' or & nl an 

Ar' a gon or a ra gon' 

B 
Blan' chetor blong shay' 
Boi' se 

Bonneville, bon' vil 
Broughton, br6' tun 
Buena Vista, bway na vis ta 

C 
Cabrillo, Ca breel' yo 
Cal a poo' ia. 
Cas cades' 
Cayuse, ki use' 
Celilo, se-li' lo 
Champoeg, sham poo' eg 
Champooic, sham poo' ick 
Chaboneau, shah bon o' 
Che h4 lem 
Che ma' wa 
Che mek' e ta 
Clatskanie, klats' ka ni 
Ciat s6p 
Coose, koose 
Coquelle, ko kwell' 
Coquille, ko keel' 
Coronado, ko ro na' tho 
Coyote, ki o te 
Cuadra, kwa' dra 



Farnham, fam' am 

G 
Gervais, jer' vis 
Gil' li am 
Grand Ronde, grand rond 

H 
Heceta, hek' e ta, heth' a ta, 
he se' ta 

I 
I' da ho 

J 
Joaquin, wah' keen 

or hoo aw keen' 
Juan de Fuca, hwan de foo' 
kah 

K 
Klickitat, klick' e tat 
Kwanchai, kwon chi 

L 
La Charette, la shar ette' 
La Creole, la ere' ole 

or lack re' 61 
Lapwai, lap' way 
Lausanne, law z&n' 
Le Breton, leh bray' ton. 
Led yard 
Luckiamute, luck' i mute 

M 
Man' dan 

Matthieu, mat' thu 
McLoughlin, mack lock' lin 

or mack loff lin 
Mem' a loose 



PRONOUNCING INDEX 



399 



Mo' lal la 
Mai do n&' do 
Mult no mah 

N 

Ne cin i cum 
Nesmith, nez' mlth 
Nez Perces, neh p6r seh 

O 
Okanagan, o kan a' gan 
Okanogan o kan d' gan 
Or' e gon 
O rig' a num 
Orejon, 6 ray hon' 
O yer un' gon 

P 
Pend d'Oreille, pond do rdy 
Phir o math 
Pritch' ett 

Q 

Quadra, kwa' dra 

R 

Rick' re all 

S 
Sacajawea, sak a j& we' ah 
Sacagawea, sah ka gow' ah 
San Miguel, san me' gel 
San ti &m 
Sauvie, so' ve 
Scio, si' 6 
Sierra Nevada, 
si er a ne v&' da 



Shoshone, sho sho' ne 
Siuslaw, si use' law 
Spokane, spo kan' 

T 
Tir la mook 
Tonquin, ton' kin 
Touchet, too' sheh 
Tualatin, twal' a tin 
Tum' a 16 
T'Vault, te' vault 

U 
UUoa, ool 15' ah 
Umpqua, ump' kwa 

W 

Waiilatpu, wi e lat pu or 

wi al at pu 
Wallowa, wal low' a (ow as 

in cow) 
Wau' na 
Wau' re gan 
Whiteaker, whit' a ker 
Winema, win' e mah or 

wi ne' mah 
Willamette, wil lam' et, or 

wil lah' met 

Y 

Yachaats, yah h&tz 
Yai' nax 
Yak' i ma 

Yoncalla, y6n c&l' & 
Yaquina, yah kwl' na 



INDEX 



Abemethy, Gov. George, 105; 
calls for volunteers, 116. 

"A Bird in the Hand," 305. 

"Ad Willametam," 344. 

American Board Missions inter- 
ested in Oregon Country, 74. 

Anian Strait, importance of, 22; 
map of, 21; story of, 21. 

Ainsworth, Capt. J. C, 133. 

Alarcon approaches "Upper Cali- 
fornia," 25. 

Albany College, 188. 

"Albatross," 54. 

Americans seek possession of 
Oregon, 57; American claims 
to Oregon, 58; title acknowl- 
edged, 58. 

Ames, Bishop E. R., 86. 

Arnold, Pres. B. L., 164. 

Ashley, Gen. William H., 60. 

Astor organizes Pacific Fur Com- 
pany, 54. 

Astoria in 1911, 55 ; christened as 
"Fort George," 57; "Astoria," 
Irving's, 57. 

Asylum moved from Portland, 
226. 

Atkinson, Rev. G. H., 159. 

Attorney General, office of es- 
tablished, 254. 

Australian ballot adopted, 254. 

Authorities consulted, 377. 

Baker, E. D., chosen U. S. Sena- 
tor, 175; killed at Ball's Bluff, 
176; orator and author, 367. 

Balboa discovers Pacific Ocean, 
23. 

Balch, Frederic Homer, 359. 

Ball, John, first N. W. teacher, 

Banks, Dr. L. A., 370. 

Baptist Church, 148. 

Battle of Grave Creek, 142; of 
Table Rock, 139; of Willow 
Creek, 222. 

Battle Rock, 137. 

Battleship "Oregon," 263. 

Beach Mining, 152. 

"Beautiful Willamette," 345. 

"Beaver" arrives at Astoria, 57; 



S. S. "Beaver," 176. 

Beaver coins, 127. 

Beers, Alanson, 71; member Ex- 
ecutive Committee, 95. 

"Beeswax Ship," wreck of, 316. 

Bennett, Charles, 121. 

Benson, Gov. F. W., 297. 

Bethel College, 167. 

Biddle, Captain, 58. 

Bitterness of war feeling, 183. 

Blain, Rev. Wilson, 157. 

Blanchet, Bishop, 16, 80. 

Blue Bucket Mine, legend of and 
search for, 177. 

Blue Mountain University, 210. 

Boise, R. P., 165. 

Bone Dry Laws of Oregon, 321. 

Border lawlessness, 179. 

Bowerman, Gov. Jay, 298. 

Bridge of the Gods, 336. 

British Fur Companies united, 61. 

Broughton explores the Colum- 
bia, 33. 

Brown, Mrs. Tabitha, 159. 

Bryant, W. C. 19. 

Buchanan, Col., 144. 

Buena Vista pottery, 188. 

Buford, Maj. T. J., 111. 

Burnett, Peter H., 87. 

Cabrillo discovers San Diego and 
Monterey, 25. 

California named New Albion by 
Drake, 27. 

Campbell, T. F., 161. 

Canby. Gen., 200. 

Candle from the "Beeswax Ship," 
316. 

Cape Foulweather named by 
Cook, 28. 

Cape Gregory named by Cook, 28. 

Cape Perpetua named by Cook, 
28. 

Cape Prince of Wales named by 
Cook, 28. 

Capital punishment abolished, 
City to Salem, 132; at Cor- 
vallis, 161; removed to Salem, 

Capital Punishment Abolished, 
313. 



402 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



Captain Jack, 200. 

Carey Irrigation Act, 273. 

"Carrie Ladd," 134. 

Carver, Jonathan, 16. 

Cascades, legend of, 48; emerg- 
ing from the Ocean, 14. 

Cascade Locks, 312. 

Cattle and horses brought to 
Oregon, 77. 

Caves, part of National reserve, 
209. 

Cayuse Chiefs profess wizard 
powers, 118. 

Cayuse War, 116, 119. 

Celilo Falls, 318; Locks and Ca- 
nal, 317. 

Cemetery in stone, 215. 

Chadwick, Gov S.. F., 217. 

Chair of Agriculture established, 
203. 

Chamberlain, Gov. George E.,281. 

Champoeg Meeting, importance 
of, 98; site of located, 270; 
monument, 271; Pioneer Me- 
morial Building, 272. 

Champooick District, 97. 

Chautauqua, 257. 

Chemawa, 241. 

Chenoweth, F. A., 193. 

Chief Cutlip, 111. 

Chief John, 144. 

Chief Quatley, 136. 

Chinook Jargon, 80. 

Chinook Salmon, habits of, 185, 
187. 

Christian College, 160. 

Cleveland, President, 245. 

Clackamas District, 98. 

Clear Lake, 277, 279. 

Climates of Oregon, 224. 

Colonization of Oregon, neces- 
sity for, 82. 

"Columbia," a historic ship, 30; 
equipped, 29; circumnavigates 
the globe, 31. 

Columbia Highway, 332. 

Columbia, River, mouth of espied 
by HecetsL, 26; entered by Cap- 



tain Gray, 32; Columbia River 
explored by British, 33; names 
of, 35. 

Columbia River natural bridge, 
336. 

Columbia University, 273. 

Columbus, 395. 

Compromise on U. S. Senator, 
175. 

Condon, Dr. Thomas, 15. 

Congressmen from Oregon, 339. 

Connor, Rev. T. J., 152. 

"Constitution," Battleship, 55. 

Cook discovers Sandwich Islands, 
28 ; sails through Bering Strait, 
28; names Cape Gregory, 28; 
names Cape Foulweather, 28; 
names Cape Perpetua, 28; 
names East Cape and Cape 
Prince of Wales, 28 ; fur trade, 
29. 

Copperfield placed under martial 
law, 309. 

Corbett, H. W., 263. 285. 

Coronado marches to Kansas, 24. 

Cortereal, Gaspard, 21. 

Cortez conducts explorations, 23. 

Corvallis College, 163, 164. 

Corvallis College founded, 164. 

Courts, Territorial, 110. 

Covell, Grant A., 252. 

Coyote and Three Witches, leg- 
end of, 50. 

Crater Lake, 274; described by 
Joaquin Miller, 276. 

Crater Lake National Park, 274. 

Crime stronger than arm of law, 
179. 

Crossing the plains, 88. 

Cuadra explores coast to Rus- 
sian Territory, 26. 

Curry, Governor, 155, 156. 

Dallas College, 272. 

Davenport, Homer, 378. 

Davis, Governor, 155. 

Deady, Matthew P., 166. 

Deady Hall, 213. 

Beei&esl canyon in world, 326. 



INDEX 



403 



Denny pheasant, 232. 

Demers, Vicar-General, 79. 

Downing, Miss Susie, 71. 

Drake names California New Al- 
bion, 27; plunders Spanish 
ships, 27; circumnavigates the 
globe, 28. 

Driving last spike at Huntington, 

231. 
Duniway, Mrs. Abigail Scott, 30^, 

308. 

Dye, Mrs. E. E.. 42, 365. 

East Cape named by Cook, 28. 

Eastern Oregon State Hospital, 
310. 

Edwards, P. L., 69. 

Eells, Rev. C, 75. 

Election of U. S. Senator, ob- 
structions offered to, 263. 

Electric power and water sup- 
ply. 266. 

Elliot, T. L., 375. 

Emigration of 1839, 82; of 1843, 

"Empress of China," 31. 

Epoch I, 19; II, 53; III, 91; 
IV, 125; V, 171. 

Equal Suffrage, initiative move- 
ment, 307; a law, 309. 

Eugene Bible University, 262. 

Explorations by Columbus and 
Balboa, 21. 

Executive Committee, 95, 100. 

Faith, Hope, and Charity, 250. 

Famham, Thomas J., 78. 

Federal Court established, 168. 

"Feast of Apple Bloom," 349. 

Feeble-Minded, State Institution 
of, 288. 

Ferelo sails near Oregon, 25. 

Finley, Pres. William, 164. 

Finley, William L., 304. 

First College cadets, 163. 

First Mining Code, 151. 

First mission school, 70. 

First Oregon-built revenue cut- 
ter, 210. 

First high school, 240. 

First postoffice, 147, 



First protestant church on Pa- 
cific Coast, 83. 
First psalm-singing congregation, 
158. 

First school teacher, 71. 

First state school Supt., 205. 

First steamboats built in Wil- 
lamette Valley, 133. 

First trading post on Lewis Riv- 
er, 53 

First trading ship in Coos Bay, 
111. 

First Woolen Mill west of Rocky 
Mountains, 167. 

Fish and Game Commission, 304. 

Forest Fire of 1867, 113. 

Fort Clatsop, winter at, 44. 

Fort Dalles, 129. 

Four capitals of Oregon, 161. 

"Four-leaf Clover," 255. 

Franchere, Gabriel, 55. 

"Freedom," 368. 

Gaines, Gov., 131. 

Gale, Joseph, 95. 

Gatch, Dr. Thomas M., 86. 

Gauging Oregon stream for irri- 
gation, 274. 

Geer, Gov. T. T., 265 ; marks site 
of Champoeg, 270. 

Geological disclosures, 213, 215. 

Ghost room, 209. 

Gibbs, Gov., raises a regiment. 
184; dies in London, 189. 

Gilliam, Col. Cornelius, 118. 

Gold discovered in Southern Ore- 
gon, 146; scarcity of, 122; dis- 
covered in Eastern Oregon, 177. 

Governor accompanies 2nd Ore- 
gon Regiment home, 270. 

Gi-and Ronde flood, 182. 

Grave Creek, Battle of, 142. 

Gray, Capt. W. H., 75; fur trad- 
er, 29; sails for China, 30; bill 
of lading, 30; enters the Co- 
lumbia River, 32. 

Griffin, Rev. J. S., 75. 

Griffin Gulch, 178. 

Grover, Gov., 198; designed state 
seal, 174, 



404 



HIS! ORY OF OREGON 



Hangman's tree, 179. 

Hawthorne, B. J., 164, 204. 

Hayes, Pres., visits Oregon, 227. 

Hayes-Tilden Contest, 211. 

Heceta Head, 26. 

Hen C521, 319. 

Hermann, Binger, 1315. 

Hieroglyphics near Arlington, 
234; in Cascadia Cave, 238. 

Higginson, Mrs. Ella, 355. 256. 

Hill, David, 95. 

Hill, James J., 296. 

Hillman, John W., discovers Cra- 
ter Lake, 276. 

Hillocks of snakes, 194. 

Hogg, T. Egenton, 244. 

Holladay, Ben., 193. 

Holman, Alfred, 376. 

Honor system for convicts, 303. 

Hoover, Herbert, 325. 

Hostility to negroes, 190. 

Household Economy, chair of, 
established, 251. 

Howard, Gen. O. O., 219. 

Hoyt, Dr. Francis S., 86. 

Hudson's Bay Company, 61; 
chief interest in Oregon, 62; 
convey Rev. Blanchet and Rev. 
Demers to Oregon Country, 79. 

"Hutchins Goose," 380. 

Idaho Territory organized, 153. 

Improved Poultry Industry, 319. 

Initiative and Referendum, 270. 

Indians, their struggle for exist- 
ence, 43; their folk-lore, 48; 
their Book of Genesis, 48; 
fairs, 65; wars, causes of, 116, 
135; War Veterans, 281; skele- 
tons and relics, 237. 

"In the Emerald Land," 389. 

Interstate Wagon Bridge, 334. 

Irvine, Rev. Samuel G., 157. 

Irrigation law passed, 255 ; activ- 
ities in Oregon, 311. 

"Is it Worth While?" 388. 

Jackson, President, sends com- 
missioners to Oregon, 147. 

Jacksonville, 147. 

Jefferson's estimate of Lewis 



and Clark Expedition, 46. 

"Jennie Clark," 134. 

Joaquin Miller, 17, 385. 

Joaquin Miller's Chapel, 209. 

Johnson, John W., 240. 

Juan Perez sails to San Mar- 
garita, 26. 

Kam, Jacob, 133. 

Kelley, Hall J., 16; advocates 
occupation of Oregon, 59; ar- 
rives in Oregon, 60; returns to 
Massachusetts, 60. 

Kendall, Thomas S., D.D., 157. 

"Kwanchai," 269. 

Labor laws governing minors, 

LaCreole Academic Institute, 
165, 272. 

Lack of postal facilities in early- 
times, 196. 

Lady McDuff, 319. 

Lafayette Seminary, 250. 

Lake Ewauna, 195. 

Lake once a mountain, 274. 

"Land of the Big Red Apples," 
110. 

Lane, Gov., 123, 126. 

"Lausanne," 71. 

Law and order league, 179. 

Ledyard publishes first account 
of Cook's voyage, 29. 

Lee, Rev. Daniel, 69. 

Lee, Rev. Jason, 69, 78. 

Legends: Birds and their 
Bright Colors, 52; Cascades, 
48; Coyote on the Klamath, 
50 ; Coyote and Three Witches, 
50; Skookums, 50; Tallapus 
and the Cedar Tree, 51; Five 
Thunders, 51. 

Legislative Assembly at Falls, 94. 

Legislature, date for convening 
changed, 228. 

Lewis and Clark Centennial Ex- 
position, 285. 

Lewis and Clark Expedition, 38; 
at Council Bluffs, 40; winter 
at Mandan, 40; suffering, 48; 
Fort CUtsop, 44; salt cairn, 
45; return, 46. 



INDEX 



405 



Lewis discovers Lewis River, 42. 

Lincoln, Abraham, appointed 
governor of Oregon, 132. 

Lines on Byron, 388. 

Link River, 194. 

Linn, Lee, and Famham, 78. 

Longest wooden draw, 244. 

Louisiana Purchased, 37. 

Lord, Gov. W. P., 262. 

Lord's Prayer in Chinook Jar- 
gon, 81. 

"Lot Whitcomb," 133. 

Luelling, Henderson, 109. 

Luxillo, Rev. Joseph, 73. 

Lyman, Horace, 165. 

Magruder, murder of, 180. 

Mandan Tribe, destruction of, 40. 

"Man with Hoe," 363. 

Markham, Edwin, 361. 

Marriage rite first observed in 
Willamette Valley, 73. 

Marsh, President S. H., 159. 

Marsh Hall, Pacific University, 
160. 

Marshall, Jas. W., 121. 

Massacre of U. S. Commission, 
Modoc War, 200; Cayuse Sta- 
tion, 223. 

Matthieu, F. X., 270, 271. 

May Dacre, 65. 

May's Senatorial Law, 272. 

Mazamas, Oregon, 258. 

McKay, Dr. W. C, 260 

McLoughlin sent to Oregon, 61; 
establishes trading fort at Van- 
couver, 62; character sketch 
by Chapman, 62 

McMinnville College, 168. 

Mechanic Arts School, establish- 
ed, 252. 

Meek, Joseph, 94, 123. 

Meeker marks Oregon Trail, 291. 

Meeting of Sacajawea and her 
brother, 42. 

Memaloose Island, 201. 

M. E. Church South, 164. 

Millar, Rev. James P., 156. 

Miller, Minnie Myrtle, 385. 



Miles, General, 220. 

Miners at Auburn administer 
law, 179. 

Minors, labor laws, 315. 

Minto, John, 82. 

"Miracle Boulevard," 276. 

Mission, The Dalles, 72. 

Missionaries to Oregon, Metho- 
dists, 69, 71; conference, 86. 

Missouri Fur Company, 60. 

Modoc War, 199, 201. 

Monacht Ap6, 26. 

Monmouth University, 160. 

Montana Territory organized, 154 

Moody, Gov. Z. F., 229. 

Moorhouse, Major Lee, 218. 

Morris, Bishop B. W., 146. 

"Mothers of Men," 387. 

Mt. Adams, 49. 

Mt. Edgecombe, 26. 

Mt. St. Helens, 49. 

Mt. Hood named and explored, 
34, 35; Legend of, 49. 

Mt. Jefferson, 247; in the Ice 
Age, 248. 

Mt. St. Jacinto, 26. 

Mt. Mazama, 275. 

Movement to colonize Oregon, 60. 

Multnomah Falls, 334. 

Multnomah townsite project, 60. 

Myers, Jefferson breaks ground 
for L. & C. Exposition, 287. 

Negro Slavery submitted to the 
people, 166. 

Negroes forbidden in Oregon, 102 

Nesmith, James W., 87, 175. 

New Year's Reception to ex-Gov- 
ernors, 310. 

Nootka Sound discovered by 
Juan Perez, 26. 

Nez Perces send for White Man's 
Book of Heaven, 68. 

Normal School at Monmouth, 227. 

North Bank Road, 294. 

"Northwest America" built, 30. 

Northwest College of Law or- 
ganized, 241. 

North-West Fur Company, Gl. 



406 



HISTORY OF OREGON 



Nursery, first Oregon, 109. 

Nymphs of the Cascades, 350. 

Oak Point, 54. 

"O'Cain," 54. 

Ogden . ransoms Waiilatpu cap- 
tives, 116. 

Olney, Judge Cyrus, 166. 

Oregon — compared with other 
states, 9; with Great Britain, 
9; with Massachusetts, 12; 
Epochs, 13; earliest account 
of, 15; Book of Stone, 15; ori- 
gin and meaning, 16; what we 
know of, 17; where rolls the, 
19; discovery of, 19; boundary 
of, 20; explorations that led 
to discovery of, 21 ; discovered 
by land. 36; trail, 47; joint 
occupation of, 58; under Pro- 
visional Government, 91; or- 
ganic laws of, 96; divided into 
four counties, 96; no man's 
land, 98; Rangers, 99; question, 
settlement of, 108 ; apples sold 
at $1.25 per bu., 110; Coast 
Range ablaze, 110; Forest fire 
(1848), 112; "Rifles" sent to 
The Dalles, 116; proclaimed a 
territory, 125; Exchange Com- 
pany, 128 ; first Custom House, 
148; divided into territories, 
153 ; Constitutional Conven- 
tion, 166; under State Govern- 
ment, 171; Enabling Act 
Passed, 172; Oregon State 
Seal, 174; Floods, 181; Central 
R. R. Co., 193; Caves, 208; 
State Flower, 266; Bible Train- 
ing College, 272; bank holi- 
days, 293; "Grand Old Man," 
299; Forestry Board, 306; Gold 
output, 319; in World War, 
323; literature, 341; "Rain," 
346; "Journal," 377; Names, 
378. 

"Oregon," Battleship, 263. 

Oregon hills of glass, 89. 

Oregon Historical Society, 267. 



Oregon Horse, fossils of disooy- 
ered by Thomas Condon, 215. 

O. R. & N. Co. incorporated, 231. 

Oregon Institute, 84. 

Oregon System, 282. 

Oregon Trail marked by Ezra 
Meeker, 291. 

Oregon Trail monument expedi- 
tion, 291. 

Oregonian discovers gold in Cali- 
fornia, 121. 

Orleans carried away by flood, 
182. 

Pacific College, 255. 

Pacific Fur Company organized, 
54. 

Pacific Highway, 331. 

Pacific Republic, 174. 

Pacific University, 159. 

Parker, Rev. Samuel, 74, 75. 

Patriotism, Oregon, 6. 

Pendleton Round-Up, 298. 

Penitentiary outbreak, 232. 

Pennoyer, Gov., 245. 

Philomath College, 191. 

Pillars of Hercules, 333. 

Pittman, Miss Anna M., 71. 

Piute-Bannock War, 223. 

Portlan^Jn-4853,JL65^ 

Poultry Industry Improved, 319. 

Povey, G. W., 269. 

Powell, Joab, baptized 3000, 150. 

Prehistoric burial moimds, 235. 

Prehistoric inscriptions on Co- 
lumbia, 234. 

Prehistoric wrecks along Oregon 
coast, 315. 

Printing press, first in Pacific 
Northwest, 75. 

Pritchett, Gov., 131. 

Prohibition Law, 101. 

Provisional Government voted at 
Champoeg, 93. 

Pulpit Rock, 72. 

Purchase of Louisiana, 37. 

Railroad extended to iCalifomia, 
194; built to Roseburg, 194; 
noted bridge, 242. 

"Raccoon," 57. 



INDEX 



407 



Reed College, 289. 

Reading clubs, 258. 

Regan, Chief, 224. 

"Rhododendron Bells," 357. 

Rlcarees, treaty with, 40. 

Rogue River War, 135 ; heroine of, 
142; first treaty with, 136; last 
battle with, 143; second treaty 
with, 141; third outbreak, 142. 

Root, Elihu, donates cannon for 
2nd Oreg. Regiment medals, 
270. 

Roosevelt, President, lays comer 
stone L. & H. Elxposition, 286. 

Sfacajawea, 40, 41, 42. 

"Sailor Diggin's," 151. 

Salem, first mansion in, 79. 

Salmon industry, 184, 185. 

Salem becomes permanent capi- 
tal, 187. 

Salem Indian Training School, 
241. 

Salmon Seal, 96. 

San Diego discovered, 25. 

Sandwich Islands discovered, 28. 

Sand pinnacles, 276. 

Santiam Academy, 86. 

School, first in Northwest, 67. 

School land, thirty-sixth section, 
124. 

Scott, Bishop T. F., 145. 

Scott, Harvey W., 373. 

Seal of Provisional Government, 
96. 

Second Oregon, organization of 
268; return of, 269. 

Senators from Oregon, 340. 

Shepard, Cyrus, 69. 

Sheridan Academy, 86. 

Ship building in Oregon, 324. 

Simpson, Bishop Matthew, 86. 

Simpson, Sam. L., 342. 

Slacum creates interest in Ore- 
gon, 77, 78. 

Smoke Stacks on Columbia, 44. 

Snyke River canyon, 327. 

Snell, Dr. Margaret, 251. 

"Snowdrift," 345. 

Social Hygiene Society, 329. 



Soldier's Home, 255. 
"Sonora," 26. 

Southern Oregon emigrant road, 
opened, 107; military road, 132. 
Spalding, Rev. H. H., 75. 
"Spectator," 109. 
Spokane Mission located, 76. 
Stanley, D. T., 161, 227. 
Stars and Stripes over Astoria, 

58. 
State Biologist, 306. 
State Board of School Examiners 

created, 207. 
Statement No. 1, 283. 
State Library, 320. 
State Library seal, 321. 
Stage lines and pony express, 196 
State Motto, "The Union," 171. 
State Normal School, 161. 
State School fund, and 500,000 

acre land grant, 188. 
State Text Book Commission 

Created, 271, 
Steel, Will G., 16. 
Sublette, William, 61. 
Sublimity Institute, 192. 
Suffering of miners, 178. 
Supreme Court Library, seal of, 

284. 
Supreme Court, organized, 284. 
Summers, Colonel, 269. 
Sunday, "Billy," 328. 
Sunrise on the Willamette, 357. 
Synchronized Chart of World, 

198. 
Table Rock, battle of, 139. 
Tallapus and the Cedar Tree, 51. 
Territorial seal and motto, 127. 
Thayer, Gov. W. W., 226. 
The Dalles Academy, 86. 
The Dalles Mission sold to Doc- 
tor Whitman, 72. 
"The Days of '49," 394. 
Thornton, J. Quinn, 123. 
Three Sisters, 249. 
"To a Wave," 368. 
"To Juanita," 388. 
To-Night. 353. 
'Tonquin," 54, 56.