Oregon: Her history, her great men, her literature/Epoch V
EPOCH V
1859
OREGON UNDER STATE GOVERNMENT
State Motto: "The Union"
CHAPTER X
On St. Valentine's day of the year 1859, Oregon appeared as the thirty-third star in the constellation of states. But as will be seen, Congress was slow in form ing a decision to admit Oregon to statehood. This caused 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, 1858. 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 Whiteaker by Judge R. P. Boise, and the machinery of the new Government was put in operation. The Legislature elected Joseph 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 without 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 pursued was warmly discussed. There were two full sets ot officers and two forms of government. Gradually it became the general opinion that the State officers should d per mit the Territorial Government to proceed uncmbarraascd. Under the constitution the State Legislature should 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 legislature adjourned, news was received that Oregon had been admitted into the Union. Senator Smith and Representative Grover had gone to W ashington, and when 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, 1 859, the Oregon Enabling Act was passed." Two days later it received the sip^nature 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 was born in Dearborn County, Indiana, on May 4,^ 1820. He went to California in I 849 and after two years returned to Missouri. With his family, he crossed the plains to Oregon in 1852, locating in Lane county. He served as judge of Lane County, was a member of the Territorial Legislature, served three terms in the Oregon house of representatives and one term as State senator. He was speaker of the house in the session of 1 868, and was president of the senate in 1876, and again in 1878. He is the only Governor of Oregon who served in the legislature after having been the chief executive.
Supposing the new constitution which had been adopted 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 was during his term of office as Governor that Fort Sumter was fired upon and the great Civil War begun. He guided the affairs of state with moderation during those trying times and all GOVERNOR JOHN WHITEAKER domestic difCknlties were mtceemMly avoided. Hit teim expired September 10, 1862, and he retired to liie farm in Lane County. He afterward served a term in die lower house of Congress (1878) and for a few years was Collector of Internal Revenoe in Pordand. He died at his home in Eugene in 1902.
Oregon State Seal. When Oregon became a Stale, the territorial seal was abolished and the one provided by the State Constitutional Convention came into use. The centerpiece of the state seal is an escutcheon supported by thirtythree 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 arriving. OREGON STATE SEALi 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 conceived by Aaron Burr on Blennerhaasett's lale. The scheme which probably oriffutiated in California was based upon theory that as the result of the Civil War the nation would be divided into the Northern States and the Southern States.
iThe origilial design for the State Seal of Oregon was drawn with a steel pern in the hand of Ii. F. Orover, one of the Cknnmlttee men on Seal choson by tlio Stato Constitutional ronvention. The State Seal in cuiumon use is not an exact copy of the one designed by the Committee. oiyui^cG by GoOglc The promoters were to take advantage of the disruption between the North and the South and organize a separate republic 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 all its power in hereditary nobles, repudiating universal suffrage. Labor was to be performed 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 sufficiently in sympathy with a movement of the character, she ■was not in position at this time to enter into the conspiracy because of the war claims she held against the federal government 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 advocates of "Pacific Republic" awoke from their delusive dream, while the nation steadily frowned on the bold and unscrupulous scheme."
Compromise on U. S. Senator. A famous anrexciting session of the legislature was held in 1 860 during Governor White , ., . . . T, U. S. SENATOR JAMES W. NESMITH
aker s admmistration. 1 wo United States senators were to be chosen. The political horizon was already clouded by threats of the approaching ( conflict and the question of the sympathies of the new senators 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 states 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 Killed 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 disaster that befell the federal troops in that engagement proved hardly less disheartening 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—retaining 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 sable suit, rendered "Annie Laurie" on the piano, and discoursed in plaintive mood with some U. S. SENATOR E. D. BAKEB
friends. The next day the disastrous battle of BalFs Bluff was fought **Colonel Baker vralked up and do¥m before his men to encourage them, was suddenly as sail ed 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 Orepon Senator feil half of the Federals engaged in the battle ot 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 mysteiy to this day, although many explanations have been offered as to its origin. One of these explanations was that some children belonging to an emigrant train, which was encamped on the Malheur Rivtt, found shining pebbles in a brook where they were wading. The pebbles were thrown into a blue bucket and brought to camp, where th^ 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 Bupket Mine;" and it is probable that no one ynXi 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 countiy.
Search fcr the Blue Bucket Mine, It is known, however, that early in 1 66 1, David Uttlefield, 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
Deschutes, and the desert to the rid^e 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 paying quantities. The place was called Griffin Gulch, from the discoverer of the mine, commonly accepted to be the first gold mine discovered in Eastern Oregon. As a result of the excitement produced by this discovery, there was a stampede lor Eastern Oree:on, and many rich ^old mines were subsequently discovered throughout the Blue Mountains. Rut 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 remarkable discoveries made, the severe privations endureci, and the sensational conrlitions that pre\ailed.
- 'A miner while on his way to Salmon River struck rich ditrgini^s and havinc^ no bnc; for his erathcred gold, filled one ol his mdiarubber l)oots with it and at last date waS fillln^ the other."—Mountaineer, /\prii 18. 1862. **A man by the name of Wiser, of Benton County, Oregon, took out $3,000 in two davs in Salmon River diggings. "— Walla Walla News, Dec. 4, 1661., . "Nine packers
came with $30,000 in hand, the result of their summer's work in the mines."—Washington Statesman, Dec. I. 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 frequently made from $300 to $5U0 per day, and less than $30 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
Walla Walla, part of them with feet frozen. They lelt Mr. Brown of Walla Walla on the road between John Day and the Deschutes, exhausted. They buried hini 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 10 A. M. (5tk) 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 of f tomorrow. ' . . . Wood is selling at $30 per cord and flour at $24 per barrel." — Walla Walla Statesman, January, 1862.
Border Lawlessness. Crime Stronger Tlmn Ann of the
Law, The gold excitement of 1862 attracted ali kinds of men to Eastern Oregon and Washington. The miners were as a rule industrious, and at heart they were as good as the jSfold they dug. But the trails of the miners were infested with ruffians who sustained themselves by unlawful means. Tliis class of men grew to be so numerous and desperate that they were too strong for the arm of the law, and robbery and murder became so common that no man's life or property was secure A verdict of a coroner's jury followa violent death was c^encrally as far as the law was permitted to proceed. Hence the more s\ibstantial 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; smd, what was worse, all the prisoners sent thither for trial before that time had made their escape through the aid of confederates. Sentiment ran high; and in order that the Frenchman might not escape nor be lynched without trial, 200 representative citi
zens 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 opportunity might be given to correct errors, if any. At the expiration of the three days the condemned man paid the death penalty by hanging. Other mining camps and communities adopted a similar method of dealing with criminals.
Vigilance Committee At this time in Walla Walla, a Law and Order League was organized and there was an organization known as the U. F. F. U s that paraded the streets of Walla Walla and did other etmous things, but whose purpose remains a mystery to this day. Also a Vigilance Committee became active throughout the country on both sides of the border line between Oregon an||d Washington. Among the many mute evidences of their work is an aged cottonwood tree and a time worn grave within the city 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 Committee 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. Fre- HANGMAN'S TREE IN WALLA WAIiLA
Dotted Udu indtefttt limb
used by vigilaitt«t» but whieh has dlBappetnd. Sketdied 1918. 1 quently men of doubtful character were found dead at die
end of a lariat But it is said that the course of the Committee was usually attended with more or less deliberatly. The prisoner was generally given an opportunity to speak in his defence; and if found guilty was allotted a few moments 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 many good people who regarded it as the only means of establishing protection of life and property in Eastern Oregon and the Walla Walla covmtiy before the courts became strong enough to enforce the laws.
Oregon Floods. "During the first three days of January, 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 Milwaukie. General Palmer s mill at Dayton was carried down stream, a number of tenements of Linn City[1] 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.
MaDSr actually tasted the WBter to ascertam wfaedier or not liie tea Ikad broken duoagh its mountain barrier. Homes were demoliahed, lives were lost, and the tom <»f OileaiM» nvhich etood on the bank of the Willamette River opposite Coivailis* was bo completely eirept away that its name alone remains in history.
Grand Rande Valley Floods The dements enacted a smilar tragedy in Union Connty during the same year. Fol* lowing this unprecedented vrinter, the flood gates of Indian Valley vreie closed by ddbris and floating ice. Th^ he(d back the water until Grand Ronde Vallcy became a lake with only a winding line of trees above the surface to indicate the course of the river. Digitized by epcx: h V
GOVERNOR ADDISON C. GIBBS
September 10, 1862—September 12, 1866.
The distinction of having been the first "War Governor" of Oregon belongs to Addison C. Gibbs, who was elected 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 Umpqua River, in Oregon, and located the town of Gardiner. In 1852 he was a member of the Territorial Legislature from Umpqua (now Douglas) County, and was appointed collector of customs of the port of entry of Gardiner. Mr. Gibbs moved to Portland in 1860, 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 1864 did much to prevent a violent outbreak by sympathizers with the South in Oregon. OOVEBNOR ADDISON C. GIBBS iThe following incident will illustrate the bitterness of war feeling which existed in Oregon at that time: In 1863, the "Stars and Stripes" was not permitted at the Fourth of July celebration at Hendershott's Point, in Union County. As a sequel 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 make a flag for the following celebration, which was to take place in that town. The flag was made—Miss Martha Koger
t Governor Gibbs Raises a Regiment. In 1864 Governor Gibbs was ordered by the War Department to raise a regiment of infantry volunteers, a difficult task which he creditably accomplished. There was so 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 riiftto by Weister. OBEOON SALMON CANNERY early 30's, he conceived the possibility of shipping salmon to outside markets and he established a plant for salting them for commercial purposes. TTiis plant was located at Fort William—Wyeth's trading station on the west shore of Sauvie's Island, opposite the Scappoose Mountain. Furthermore 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 following it was announced that this was the first time the "Stars and Stripes" floated to the breezes of Eastern Oregon on an occasion of that kind. does not require any land space for ite inceptioil and support. The isolated condition of Oregon at diat time made die business unsuccessful, hence it was abandoned. A few years later interest in salmon fishing for commercial purposes revived, and by 1850, considerable quantities were shipped to the Sandwich Islands and to more distant countries. Salmon were first packed in cans on the Columbia 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 die ports of die world has grown to tremendous proportions, and thousands of men are employed in the various branches of the industry. Since it began 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 Luropean 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 many 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 vedue of the catch to the fisherman alone in 1917 being more than $2,000,000.
The Royal Chinook Saiirion. One of the most important industries in Oregon is the catching, preparation and marketing of the Chinook salmon, which is regarded as the
most palatable and nutritive species of fish known. Fullgrown 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 development in the great family of fishes. Its beauty, strength, CHINOOK SALMON 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 fresh-water stream, usually the one in which they were hatched. They ascend the rivers to their cold, clear sources, high among the mountains. 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- ^ ration, however, they are kept in captivity until about six months old, when they are turned loose in some stream and rind their way to the ocean with an estimated loss of but ten per cent of their number.
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 they live during their four year's absence, still remains a mooted question. It is generally agreed that many return at the spawning time to their native streams, though this is questioned 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 Oregon. The possibilities of the business may be better appreciated 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 Permanent 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 location of the seat of state capitol government to the vote of the people, the assembly of 1860 passed an act calling for this vote at the election 'of 1862« The constitution dedaved that there must be a majority of all the votes cast, and owing to the fact that almost eveiy tavm in the state recetved some votes, there was no majority at this election; but at the election of 1 664, 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 500,000 acre land grant given to Oregon by the general governnnent 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 suppoit given the pubhc 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 r^iarket, and the manufactory prospered. hi 1692, the plant wi:^. moved to Portland, after the }3uena Vista pottery reridcred a service to the p^ublic 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 O^legiate Institute was opened at Albany, Oregon, in the spring of 1866, 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 ^duch is occupied to this day as a residences. The following year Albany Collegiate Institute moved into a two-stoiy frame building, which had been provided by the citizens of Albany. Five years later, Tr^ mont Hall was built In 1 8 73, a class of five women graduated. In 1 892, the name of die institution was changed to Albany College, and in 1915 the college was standardized*
epcx:h V
Albany College received the income from an endowment of $260,000, the moat of which was promised in 1 9 11 and obtained five years later. The College has a compre* henaive and serviceable library of 7,500 volmnes. In the suburbs of Albany, the Cc^lege authorities have purchased a campus of forty acres, which has been named Monteith Campus, honoring both its Presidoit, William Monteidi, and the donor of the original Campus, Thomas Monteilh.
Albany College is Presbsrterian in its sectaiianiim and its policy is' to be definitely Christian in Letters and Arts. Its affairs are administered by a board of twenty^five trustees, elected by the Presbyterian synod of Oregon.
Governor Gflbbs Retires. On September 1, 1 S66, Governor Gibbs retired from the Governorship and became a candidate for the United States senatorship. to succeed James W. Neamith, die legidature then being in seaaion. Receiving the caucus nomination of his party, Gibbs was opposed by enough within his party to prevent his dection. 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. GOVERNOR GEORGE L. WOODS
September 12, 1866—September 14, 1870
George L. Woods was elected Governor of Oregon in June, 1866, and his administration necessarily met the new 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 Oregon with his parents. He was admitted to the bar in 1858. Woods was also appointed Governor of Utah in 1871, serving four years. He afterward resided in California for ten years, returning to Oregon in 1885, where his death occurred on January 1 4,
OOVEENO^^ORGE L. WOOD 1890.
Political Hostility to the Negro. The Fourteenth amendment to the federal constitution, which conferred the privileges of citizenship on the recently freed negroes was ratified by the legislature which convened at the beginning of Governor Woods' administration. Much bitterness was manifested regarding this question, as well as toward others which were presented for settlement. At the session of 1868, party 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 opposed, nearly all the Republican members of the house resigned in order to deprive that body of a quorum with which 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 session for that year was noted for its continuous wrangling without important legislative results.
Philomath College. Promoted by United Brethren Colony. Upon the arrival (1853) of the United Brethren Missionary 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- PHILOMATH COLLEQE
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 only to provide necessary 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, were debarred from attending eastern colleges and academies.
Philomath College Established. Therefore, in 1867, the United Brethren of Willamette District Missionary Colony aided by friends, established Philomath College at Philomath, Oregon, as the United Brethren school for Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and California. It was chartered as a Christian college for the liberal education of both sexes, and for the training of ministers. Also, according to a provision of the charter, no intoxicating liquor was 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 institution, 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.
Sublinaity Institute. Sublimity Institute, a preparatory school, was founded in 1867, at Sublimity, Oregon, by Rev. Jeremiah Kennoyer, a member of BISHOP MILTON WRIGHT j^e United Brethren Mis sionary Colony. It was established as the preparatory • From two Greek words meaning a lover of learning. 8chool 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. Sublimity 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.
EUurly 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 1856 by P. F. Bradford. In 1862, the portage road from Tbe Dalles to Celilo was built to cheapen transportation to the newly discovered mines in Idaho. In 1863, a corporation was formed in Jacksonville to build a railroad from Marysville, California, to Portland, Oregon, and thousands of dollars were subscribed for that purpose, mostly in grain. This was called the "Oregon Central Railroad Company" and was authorized by the legislature to proceed with the building of the road, but Ben Holladay,' a venturesome exploiter, appeared before the legislature of 1 868 BEN HOLLADAY iBenjamin Holladay was born in Kentucky, and after engaging In securing mail contracts from the Missouri River to California during the Civil War, came to Oregon to exploit the building of a railroad through the state to California. He was a resourceful man of strong personality. « and persuaded that body to declare the action of the f session not binding. It also designated a company of Californians who had incorporated under the same name to re^ei^e the benefits of a grant of land which had been made by^ Center ess on April 22, 1867.
Raihvri ij 11 'I '(if in RosrJ)/' /■(/. Holladay then sent agents to Washington to secure certam concessions for his company, and that body passed an act declaring; that the company which should construct twenty miles of road from Portland south should he^ entitled to the land grant. This Holladay was able to do through money secured in various ways, breaking the first ground on April 16, 1868. TTirough the sale of bonds in Germany based on the land grant he was able to complete the road to Koseburg in 1869.
Railroad Extended to CoJifnruia. After the Oregon and Cah'fornia Railroad was completed to Roseburg, it was taken out oi the hands of Ben Holladay and placeci 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 Portland and San Francisco.
HiDockt of Hmnletf Soakei. Yeais ago ( 1 869 to 1896) water snakes were very numerous about the wann springs along the banks of Link River, where frogs, tadpoles and other creatures on which they preyed were abundant; and it was observed that when the snakes first came from their winter hiding places in early spring th^ would shoal up into miniature hillocks, thus by close contact conserving 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
by thousands. This wholesale destruction of the snakes disturbed the balance of nature, and ere long an army of frogs issued from Lake Ewauna and marched toward the Upper Klamath Lake in such numbers that one could not walk near the river without treading on them. The whole- HILLOCK OF HABMLESS SNAKES 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 tbie excessive number of young frogs. Shooting at duclcs and other water fowls off the bridge that spans Klamath Kiver in the very heart of the town of Klamath Falls, was a common practice in early times.—O. C. A. Country was the time required to send and receive 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 which required six months for the trip in one direction. A letter sent by the wife of Doctor Whitman in 1841 was six months and seven days in transit from Waiilatpu to Westport, Missouri, which was the nearest postoffice as one traveled eastward. The postage on the letter from Westport to Quincy, Illinois, was eighteen cents. John Minto, a well known pioneer who settled near Salem in 1 844, sent a letter to his father who was living in Pennsyl- OVERLAND STAGE
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 Florence, Idaho, during the winter months of the early "Sixties,'* charging fifty cents per letter.
Stage Lines and "Pony Express System." Oregon had been admitted into the Union as a State by act of congress • everal montlis before the fact was known at Salem* the capital. It was moie than a decade after this ev^t that the overland stage coaches were abandoned for the railway mail service as a means of postal transportation. The stage lines furnished means for the development of commendable enteiprises and many fortunes were made and lost in these undertakings. Most of. the lateral lines ¥rere known as the "pony express** ^stem, which required much courage and daring, but the western pioneer wpmt overcame all difficulties, until the evolution of the rail%vay, cheaper postage and the rural free deliveiy system, which now drivers mail daily 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 daysl
CHAPTER XI GOVERNOR LAFAYETTE GROVER
' September 14. 1 870— February 1, 1877
Few men have filled so prominent a place in Oregon for so long a period as Lafayette Grover, the fourth Governor of the State. He was born in Bethel, Maine, on November 29, 1823, and journeying to California in 1850, came to Oregon the next year and located in Douglas County. Later he served in the legislature from Marion County, and was a member of the state constitutional convention that met in Salem in August, 185 7.
Upon the admission, of
OOVERNOE LATAYETTE GROVER q^^^^^ j^^^ ^nion, Mr. Synchronized Chart of the World. In 1871, there appeared a popular chart of the world under the title of "A Chronological Chart 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, universities and theological seminaries 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 announced in his chart, explained that "to disturb this system would produce great confusion yvith no good results;" and he suggests that "no one is hindered from extending the stream of time back—to suit the chronology of the Septuagint, the claims of the Vedas and puranas of India or the fabulous uncertainties of Chinese traditions." Grover was elected the first member of congress but served only seventeen days, as his term expired the fourth of March, 1859, He was elected Governor in Jime, 1870, and was re-elected in June, 1874. In the middle of Grover*s second teim he was chosen United States Senator by the legislature and resigned the office of Governor in February, 1877. Upon the expiration of hb term in the senate, Grover returned to Porjdand 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 dkeir 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 die tribe. Truly they were enemies, not only to the other Indians, but to the whites also, some of whom they massacred. Their treachery was in turn avenged in 1852 by Captain Ben Wright,' who killed forty-seven of their numberot^ a peace meeting to which he had invited them. This deed led to a war which continued at intervals until 1864, 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, becomin<j; dissatislied and somewhat larbiilent, left the reservation, and then brought on the Modoc War.
Modoc War. The Cai(.'<e. Upon being ordered io return to the Klamath reservation in the sprint,^ of 1872, the Modocs under Captain Jack refused obedience. Fighting commenced on the 29th of November, 1872, and on the 16th of the folhowinrj; month the Indians retreated into the lava l^ed stron2:hold on Fule Lake, where according to Captain O. C. Appiegate. 'The little band of Modocs hald lOn February 22. 1856, an Indian assassinated Captain Ben Wright in his cabin near the mouth of Kogue Kiver. CAPTAIN JACK out five and a half months among the labyrinthine corridors of one of the strongest natural fortifications in the world, backed as it is by miles of rugged outworks and honeycombed with yawning fissures if unknown depth."
Massacre of the United States Commission. Generals Wheaton and Gilliam proved unsuccessful in their efforts to dislodge the Modocs. In the meantime, the government appointed a commission of inquiry, consisting of General E. R. S. Canby, Rev. E. Thomas, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, 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 II, 1873. General Canby, Supt. Meacham and Agent Dyer addressed the Indians. Thereupon Captain Jack gave the signal "All Ready," and General Canby and Rev. Thomas were treacherously 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 his 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 I* 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 soldiers 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 the interpreter* Riddle, with Winema, yAkO was Riddles Indian wife, made good tbeir escape; and, fortuiiatel]r> Meacham^ recovered to live many years.
Modoc War Ended. Captain Jack's signal, "All Ready,** with the assassination which followed. *'was the Indian declaration of war. A vigorous campaign 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 vmrn 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 ThomaSi Captain Jack, Sconchin, Boston Charley, emd Black Jim, were duly executed at Fort Klamath; the others vrere respited and sent to a reservation in Dakota, where th^ were kept under close guard."— Scribner's U. S. History.
lAfter his recovery, Colonel A. B. Meacham, who was a citizen of Oregon, w^t to Boston where he lectured as a champion of the AmericsB Indians whom he believed had been grossly mistreatsd by
the whites. At once he found many ardent sympathizers, among whom were Wendell Phillips, the distinguished orator, and James Redpath, founder of the RedpathXecture 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 ergSBlsed with Colonel Meachnrti as lecturer and James Redpnth 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. Applegate was placed in charge of the Indians. Major and Mrs. C. B. Raymond of Boston financed the oiterprise. 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 'X^ouncll Fire," which espoused the cause of the redman.
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MEMALOOSE ISLAND. Photo, Weister
Memaloose Island. Ancient Indian 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 journey of exploration in 1804-6. Even at that time, however, it was an ancient burying ground, for the history does not point to a time when Indians were not occupying this western coast. Memaloose Island is about 200 by 200 feet in area and is exceedingly rocky; and being located in the Columbia River afforded 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."
Photo, Weister.
REMAINS OF PRE-HISTORIC DEAD ON MEMALOOSE ISLAND, 1888.
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 Washington is easily seen from the trains of the Oregon-Washington Railroad Company. Victor Trevitt, a pioneer of 1851, whose home was in The Dalles, was 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 1868 and in 1870. A granite monument on Memaloose Island, plainly seen from either bank of the Columbia River, marks his last resting place. He died in San Francisco on January 24, 1883, and, on the fourth of the following month was buried on the isle that was "sacred to his aboriginal friends."
Chair of Agriculture Established in Oregon. In 1873. the following two-year course in agriculture was offered by Corvallis College, which the Oregon Legislature in 1868 had selected for the teaching of the subject:
AGRICULTURE
Course of Study
First Year. First Term,—Chemical Physics and Inorganic Chemistry, Structural and Physiological Botany. First five books of Davies' Legendre.
Second Term.—Organic Chemistry. How Crops Grow. English Language.
Third Term. Qualitative Analysis. Detection of the alkalies, alkaline-earths, earths, etc. Systematic Botany; Excursions and Collections. English Language.
Second Year. First Term.—Qualitative Analysis continued. Detection and Separation of the Elements. Chain Surveying and Mensuration. Geometrical Drawing. General Principles of Zoology, (or German).
Second Term. General Principles of Geology. Vegetable Economy; How Plants Feed. Topographical Drawing. Animal Physiology, (or German).
Third Term. Geology of Oregon. Vegetable Economy. Entomology, (or German).
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B. J. HAWTHORNE
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DEMONSTRATION IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY (1912), DIRECTED BY
DR. JAMES WITHYCOMBE, NOW GOVERNOR OF OREGON
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 instruction usually being relegated to academies, seminaries and other institutions of learning provided by the churches. There were but few grammar schools. These were supported chiefly by subscription, and were, therefore, in some respects 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 was no uniform system of text-books in use. Above all, the laws governing teachers and the granting of teachers' certificates were lax, and teachers' institutes were rarely held. There was a provision in the
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UNION EXPERIMENT STATION FARM
(See School of Agriculture, page 206)
state constitution, however, that after five years from adoption, 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 1873. The first superintendent of public instruction was Sylvester C. Simpson, who was appointed to the office by Governor L. F. Grover. Mr. Simpson assumed the duties of his office January 30, 1873.
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. Secretary 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 of Willamette University, Professor A. J. Anderson of Pacific University, Professor John W. Johrfson of the Portland schools, and 1. Allen Macrum, principal of Oregon Qly Seminary, to act in conducting 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, 1873: "Thomson's New Primary Mental, New Rudiments of Arithmetic and new Practical Arithmetic; Brooks' Normal Mental Arithmetic Monteith*s Introduction to Geography and Physical Intermediate Geography (Pacific Coast Edition), Beginners' Grammar and Clark's Normal Grammar, 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 same year the Board, upon the recommendation of a majority of county school superintendents, adopted the Pacific Coast First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Readers, with HopkinsManual 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 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 beginnings, county institutes were held for the improvement and uplift of the teaching profession. State Superintendent Simpson continued in office until September 14, 1874, 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 afterwards 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 was 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 chambers 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, commonly 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 1600 feet beneath the summit of the 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 walls, ceilings and floors with huge flowers and vegetables in limestone are
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"JOAQUIN MILLER'S CHAPEL," OREGON CAVES
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 principal entrance to the Caves,[2] 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 Cutler. 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 mechanic 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 Eastern 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 ardent, and J. L. Carter as acting president, i he 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 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-Tilden Contest Over Oregon Electoral Commission. During the closing months of L. F. Grover's term as Governor, Oregon's prominence in national affairs was augmented 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 185 for Hayes and 184 for Tilden, the managers for the latter sought to declare J. W. Watts, one of the electors for Oregon, ineligible because he was postmaster, which disqualified him under a federal law, from holding two remunerative offices at once. Governor Grover refused to issue a commission to Watts, and, instead, gave it to E. 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.
Univenity of Oregon. The predecessor of the University of Oregon was Columbia College. This college, which was located (1660) by the Presbyterians at Eugene, Oregon, 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 that a stronger organization was necessary to continue an institution of higher learning in that locality under conditions 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
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UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
(1872) the sum of $80,000 for the establishment of the State University. Accordingly, the Union University Association, which was organized to place the school at Eugene on a better basis, proposed to the State to provide a building, 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 following 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 of that year, the University of Oregon opened with the following faculty—John W. Johnson, President and Professor of Greek and Latin; Mark Bailey, professor of mathematics; Thomas Condon, professor of Geology and natural history; Mary P. Spiller, principal of the preparatory department.
JOHN W. JOHNSON
First President University of Oregon
In 1880, Deady Hall, the only building of the University, was practically ordered sold to satisfy unpaid bills on its construction; and the institution was in desperate financial straits. At this time Henry Villard came to the rescue with the unsubscribed balance. Later, Mr. Villard made various 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 solicitation, the second building of the University was named Villard Hall.
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON SEAL
Oregon Geological Disclosures. The patient and prolonged investigations into the story of the rocks of Oregon by Professor Thomas Condon, who, for a number of years was a member of the faculty of the University of Oregon, has added a vast fund of valuable information as to the geological formation underlying our state. His discovery and analysis of many fossil specimens found in Eastern Oregon will be of intense interest to the student of 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, varying 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, while in the living horse two of the hoof attachments are only rudimentary, their functions being lost."
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ANCIENT CEMETERY
These, with many other rare specimens were discovered by Doctor Condon and his assistants in the region of John Day river in Grant County, and are carefully preserved in the State University of Oregon. Doctor Condon says of this horse, "many of these fossils indicate 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 Shoshone 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!"
GOVERNOR STEPHEN F. CHADWICK
February 1, 1877—September 11, 1878
GOVERNOR S. F. CHADWICK
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 elected Secretary of State in 1870, and again in 1874. As there was no session of the legislature held during the short term of Governor Chadwick, his responsibilities were confined to the ordinary discharge of the official duties pertaining to the execution of the laws as he found them, and he retired in September, 1878.
Governor Chadwick continued his residence in Salem until his death in January, 1895. He was born in Connecticut, December 25, 1825; was admitted to the bar in New York in 1850, and came to the Umpqua Valley in Oregon in 1851. He was the first judge of Douglas County; and in 1857, he was a member of the constitutional convention, and was presidential elector in 1864 and 1868.
War With Chief Joseph and the Nez Perces. "When Chief Joseph of the Nez Perces, and his brother, Olicut, inherited 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 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,[3] who had about 500 Nez Perce Indians as his following, had laid claim to the boundary as established
WALLOWA LAKE Photo. W. A. Parker
by the treaty of 1855, especially that country west of the Snake River in Oregon and the Wallowa Valley. . . . President 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 1877, the United States decided to have Chief Joseph and his followers removed from the Wallowa to the reservation in Idaho. Orders were issued to General O. O. Howard to "occupy Wallowa Valley in the interest of peace." That distinguished and humane soldier endeavored to induce Joseph to comply with the plans of the government. On May 21, General Howard reported that he had a conference with Joseph and other chiefs on May 19, and that "they yielded a constrained 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, when 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 would not go on the reservation. Other murders were reported. General Howard dispatched two companies under Captain Perry, who made an unsuccessful attack upon the Indians at White Bird Canyon. General Howard then personally took the field, and on July 11, he defeated the Indians in a deep ravine on the Clearwater, driving them from their position."—Harper's Encyclopedia of U. S. History.
SPEECH OF CHIEF JOSEPH
(An Extract)
My friends, my name is In-mu-too-yak-lat-lat (Thunder-traveling-over-the-mountains). 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 man has many words to tell how my people look to him, but it does not require many words to speak the truth. What I have to say will come from my heart, and I will speak it with a straight tongue. The Great Spirit is looking at me, and 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 die 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 where they please. They cannot tell us.
When I think of our condition my heart is heavy. I see 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 government 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. I 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 known 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 advice 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 Umatillas, a destructive campaign was inaugurated which taxed the unprepared whites to the utmost for more than a month. Killing settlers, burning houses and stealing horses and cattle, the savages terrorized a wide section which included Grant, Umatilla, Baker, and Malheur counties in Oregon and reaching into the Weiser Valley in Idaho. General 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 Pendleton and remained there during the period of danger in Umatilla county. On July 6, a battle occurred on the headwaters of Birch Creek sixty miles south of Pendleton; and on July 12, George Coggan, a prominent pioneer of La Grande, was murdered a few miles from Cayuse station, while several other men were wounded. In all, about fifteen citizens of Umatilla County were murdered.
Courtesy, Oregon Historical Society
BATTLE OF WILLOW CREEK
A detachment under Capt. J. C. Sperry was attacked by Indians at Willow Creek, forty miles south of Pendleton, July 6, 1878. After a battle of six hours the Indians were driven back with loss unknown.
The 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 was thought that the Indians intended to cross into Washington and Idaho by the way 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 through the Blue Mountain ridges into the Malheur country. Chief Egan was murdered by Umapine, a Cayuse Indian 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 rainfall before it is carried over the Coast Range. After crossing 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 become light enough to sweep over the greater heights of the Cascade Mountains to water the region farther east. Because this region is the upland section of Oregon, we may speak of its climate as the Highland Climate. As the atmosphere between the Coast Range and the Cascades is less humid than that of the Coast Climate, but more humid than that of the Highland climate, we refer to it as a distinct climate; and because the region where it prevails lies between 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. GOVERNOR W. W. THAYER
September 11, 1878—September 3, 1882.
GOV. WILLIAM WALLACE THAYER
Born 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 June 1878, and filled that office with distinction from September, 1878, until September 1882.
Asylum Removed from Portland to Salem. Efforts had been previously made to remove the State Insane Asylum from Portland to Salem, but powerful local influences succeeded in preventing the change. During the session of 1880, however, a strong combination was formed to resist all opposition to the movement, and the act passed with but two votes to spare in the house. Two years later, the buildings having been completed, the patients were removed to Salem and the long contest was ended. Prior to that date all 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.
President Hayes Visited Oregon. President Hayes made his memorable visit 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 opportunity 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.
OREGON NORMAL SCHOOL
State Normal School at Monmouth. Upon assuming the management of Christian College at Monmouth, (1881), President D. T. Stanley conceived the idea of transforming that college into a state normal school. The matter was placed before the legislature and an act was passed (1882) by which Christian College received the title of Oregon State Normal School. However, the school was dependent upon tuition, fees, and donations for its support; and the control remained in the hands of the faculty, subject to the state superintendent of public instruction. After a precarious existence covering a number of years as a denominational school, the State Normal School at Monmouth was taken under the control of the State in 1891, at which time a board of regents was appointed and the legislature made its first appropriation to the institution. The school steadily grew in efficiency and influnce as well as in SECTION XII ance until the year 1909, when it was closed because the legislature of that year failed to provide funds for the maintenance of any normal school in the state. However, at the general initiative election held November, 1910, the people voted a yearly tax of ons twenty- fifth of a mill for the suppoit of that institution. Connequenily the State Normal School at Monmouth reopened under the direction of President J. H. Ackerman, ex-Superintendent of Public Instruo tion of the State.
CHAPTER XII
GOVERNOR ZENAS F. MOODY
September 13, 1882—January 12, 1887
Zenas F. Moody was inaugurated Governor September 13, 1882, having been elected as the Republican candidate for that office. Two incidents of nation-wide interest which occurred during his administration were the bitterly contested senatorial elections during the legislative session of January 1885, and in November of the same year at an extra session. In January Hon. Solomon Hirsch was the regular caucus nominee of the Republican party, which had a clear majority on joint ballot; but the refusal of 18 members of the dominant party to comply with the caucus decision, caused the contest to last during the entire session, and that body adjourned without an election.
.png)
GOVERNOR Z. F. MOODY
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
Governor Moody was born in Massachusetts on May 27, 1832, and came to Oregon by way of the Isthmus of Panama, arriving in April, 1851. He followed various pursuits, 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 Wasco County in 1880, chosen speaker of the house in September of that year, and elected Governor in June, 1882. After his term of office had expired he continued his residence in Salem, his death occurring in 1917.
ceive the caucus nomination. An unprecedented bitter fight was made against Mitchell but on the third ballot, by the help of a sufficient number of Democrats, he was successful. He had been a candidate during the session of 1882 to succeed Senator Slater, but after 75 fruitless ballots, and at the last moment of the session, Hon. J. N. Dolph, 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 Oregon pioneers and, indeed, of many of our national statesmen, that the time would come when there would be railroad connection between Oregon and the eastern part of the United States, was realized on November 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 Pacific. There is a great deal of HENRY viLLAKD history between the first sug gestion of building a road along the forbidding banks of the Columbia River and its actual accomplishment. The difficulties of construction which were overcome on the stretch between 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 tirac 1,000 cases of fifty pounds each of powder were exploded, and the entire face of a mountain was thrown into the river.
The Oregon Railway and Navigation Company was in corporated on June I 3, 1 879, and Henry Villard was 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 was in fact, connected in many ways with several railroad 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 commercial 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, DBIVING THE LAST SPIKE ON THE UNION PACIFIC BAILBOAO, AT HUNTINGTON, NOVEMBER 24. 1883.
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
m 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 I "the outside world."
The Denny Pheasant. In 1882, 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 ranges. 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 arrived 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 ol wheat which was scattered \u various nearby sections, and the birds becaume 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 exactly wild never becomes as tame as other birds of its species. The males are noted for their beautiful and highly • colored plnmage. They alternately occupy the nest during the broodm^^ season willi the females, which in color are not very different from the native pheasants.
Penitentiary Outbreak. On the morning of July 3, 188 3, occurred Oregon's worst penitentiary outbreak. Fourteen convicts within the prison walls captured Superintendent George Collin;^. Holding him before them for defense and striking him with a bar of iron, they advanced and demanded that the prison gates be opened upon pain of death 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 ahot 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 amnriunitioTi, hence were useless. The prison bell was rung, convicts within the walls promptly repaired to their cells, and were separated froxn the fourteen who had made a break for liberty.
Pursuit arfd 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 mto by the fourteen convicts who believed the outbreak would be so general as to empty the Oregon penitentiary 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 w illiam Stilwell, the trustworthy 'f^uard, and commended him for his faithfulness in prcventint^ the complete overthrow of order in the Oregon penitentiary.
' tDesiring to ascertain firom personal knowledge as to the observance of the rules goyerDhig the penitentiary at Salem, Governor Moody with two friends, onf* day in November 1884, attempted to ascend the penitentiary wall by means of a ladder. Whereupon a guard coBunaaded the Clilef ExeoutlTe to halt. The Governor persisted and the guard commanded him the second time to halt, flay" ing it was against orders to allow any one on the m -iH Governor Moody said: "Who are you?" I'll show you, if you come any further/' replied the guard who was pointing a gun In the direction of the Governor. The guard's maimer fttlly convinced the Governor that prison orders were obeyed, po tTip yearly returned to the State House. But that afternoon Superiuleudent Collins called to his Office Finley Follerton, the guard, and chlded him for holding up the Governor and his party, to which the quiet guard replied: "Hail T known it was the Governor and his party, I might have been a littio more temperate in my speech, but 1 would have held him up Jost the same/' 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 Oregon. 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 present meaningless and mysterious to us, it is possible that some Rosetta Stone may yet be discovered from which a
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 Inscriptions are apparently 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
two appear to have beeen made by bruifling the stone ¥rath some instniment Group three were evidently made by picking into the stone with some flinty or other hard substance, so long ago that the dark gray characters have become somcswhat worn and covered with a coating of black as solid as the stone in which they were carved. They all present the i^pearance of an orderly arranged and do" 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 centuiy, are a crescent, a five-pointed star, the letters **P*, an **0— 0*\ 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 iQrmbols, 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.
Prd^ortc Burial Mounds Explored, The earliest e±plorers of Oregon found many small elevations, which because 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 Indian had no knowledge respecting their antiquity, which points to the fact that some race which preceded the American 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 aiid others, which led to discoveries relative to the location, shape, and probable purpose of die mounds. Because so many of die mounds had been worn away in die course of a long period, it is impossible 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 when first erected. But through the centuries and possible millenniums 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 depressions or trenches from which earth was removed in building the mounds. One of these depressions is so deep that water is confined vfithin 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 b^ing on the side. Together vrath the skeletons were mortars, beautiiully carved, some of which were of Brazilian type; also there were bone and shell arrow heads, axes, clubs, ceremonial stones, and other implements of conjectural use; and of more than ordinary importance, carved stone of peculiar design has been unearthed, giving evidence that the mound builders observed phallic worship, a religion some- ' INDIAN SKELETONS AND RELICS EXHUMED FROM MOUNDS
p ON THE CALAPOOIA
what common to the most ancient peoples. The presence of reddish burnt earth and charcoal near some of the skeletons indicates that the dead were buried with religious and sacrificial rites.
In all probability these people had two homes—a summer 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 substitutes by digging camas and other herbs. Their winter
home was along the tributaiy Atreams in the mountaiiM. Here sheltered by caves and treet iK^ manufactured axes, knives, battle dubs, 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* glyphics 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 hieroglyphics— UKBAB HIBllOOIiYpilOS DT OAB0AI>rA OAVB now so ancient as to be almost obliterated—is as remarkable to the oldest white inhabitants as to the Indians. Yet the inscriptions, which are numerous, were so systematically arranged as to sn^trest an account of some important event or maybe a written code of ethics. Who the people were
iBones of grizzly bear broken for their marrow are in the pos*
session of George M. Geisendorfer, at Cascadia, Oregon, who obtained them in the cave nearby. In this cave may be found many evidences which remind one of the cave life of prehistoric England. that placed their dead in these mounds* or when the mounds were huflt, is not known. But it is believed that the mounds are so ancient that th^ may haye 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 vras 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 <ifter the mounds or pyramids of some country; and while it is commonly believed that the pyrannds ot Esi^ypL antedate the mounds of our continent, there is on the contrary a possibility that the Oregon mounds antedate 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 established, 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 history 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 'Far West'." The prehistoric burial mounds of Oregon when sufficiently explored, may, therefore, prove valuable in determininii: the relative ages of America and the grauid divisions of the Eastern Continent. First Oregon High School. The Old Lincoln High
School of Portland, was the first building of that character
erected in Oregon. It was begun in 1883, 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 1 869, with quarters on the second floor of the Central School building.
High School System Becomes 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
POETLAND HIGH SCHOOL. 1886 State—all similar in
character to their predecessor.
Timely Appearance of the Lincobi 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 different from those which prevailed when the first high school 'At the outset It was known as Portland High School. 1 was ettablldied in Oregon* We may be laid now to be tiving m a new world of manifold inventions. Hence those who were enabled to succeed without superior educational advantages before die 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 succeisfully met only by trained minds. • It was fortunate, therefore, that the tiyatem of popular education
f which the ahna mater of Oregon high schools represents was
established so early in the history of our state, when secondary education was in danger of becoming the possesdcm of only the favored few.
University of Oregon Law School Qrganiied. 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 Lus^ene. Here a tlnee -year course is given. As two years of college work is required for entrance, the student must perform at least hve years of collet^e work belorc obtairiintj the degree of Bachelor of Laws; and six years of work is required for the degree of Doctor of i^aws.
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 and practitioners, continued to maintam a law school at Portland under the name of the Northwest College of Law, offering practically the same course of study as given by the University.
Salem Indian Training School. T.oeatiou (tntl .\'<n}h\ Salem Indian Training School is located at Chemavva, which is five miles north of the Oregon capital. The school was
first established by Captain M. C. Willdntoii, U. S. A.» at Forest Grove in 1 880» and known as the Forest Grove Indian Institute. But in 1865, it was moved to the present site, which was named Chemawa, an Indian name 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 450 acres, which at that time was a wilderness. However, the place has been made beautiful by suitable improvements, among which are fifty buildings which have been erected for the comlort 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 entirely by the governn^ient, which makes an annual appropriation of more than $100,000 for its maintenance. The Salem Indian Training School offers an academic course covering ten years. Instruction is given in farming, fruit- culture, dairying, blacksmithing, tailoring, harness-making, carpentry, ineclianical drafting, music, painting, dress-making and domestic science.
Thh Trahriiui SrJmol Rrrngnized as one of the six great Indian schools m our nation. Surh is its importance that the institution has already l)een seni i-oflicially visited by three presidents of the United States; Benjamin Harrison, in 1691. Theodore Roosevelt in 1904, and WUliam H. Taft in 1909.
A Noted Railway Bridge. The earliest bridges of Oregon 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. ¥^ ucli is and to be the longest wooden draw in existence used lor railway purposes, its length being 260 feet The bridge was constructed in 1 866. and was practically rebuflt in 1910. The draw, known as the Double Howe Truss Sunng 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 bdongs to that branch of the Southern Pacific rail¥fay ¥rhich was the first to extend to the Oregon Sea Coast. Originally it was called the IX^lamette Vall^ and Coast Rail¥ray, then it was knovnn as the Oregon Pacific, then as the Oregon & Eastern, dien as die Corvallis & Eastern, until it became a part of the Southem Pacific system. The road was projected by T. Egenton Hogg associated vnth 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 die biggest American undertakings; and it is possible that in the course of time it may fulfill the fondest dreams of its promoters.
GOVERNOR SYLVESTER PENNOYER January 12, 1887—January 14, 1895
The administration of Governor Sylvester Pennoyer, lasting from January, 1887, until January 1895, was sensational 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 presented. In his inaugural address Governor Pennoyer declared 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 session of the legislature, but declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, was, nevertheless, "in full force and effect." Assuming that President Cleveland was transcending his authority when he advised the Governor what course to pursue as to the labor troubles that were threatened in Oregon, he sent a telegram to the President to the effect, that "if you will attend to your business 1 will attend to mine". He carried his resentment so far that in 1 894, he declared Thanksgiving day a week goveenor sylvestee pennoyer
later than the date proclaimed by President Cleveland, thus giving Oregon two Thanksgiving days in that month.
Governor Pennoyer's administration was notable for the manner in which he peraistently followed a path that had hidieito been in a measure avoided; yet he was a popular
Governor. He was bom 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 teachinc^ school for several years edited the-Oregon Herald" a democratic newspaper, for nearly two years, and then engaged in the lumber business which he followed until his death, which occurred at his home in Portland^ May 30, 1902.
Hie U of O. School of Medicine. The Medical Department of the University of Oregon was ettabliihed at
Portland in 1 887, by a charter from the Regents of the University. The first building was a small frame structure located at what is now the comer of Marshall and I wentythird Streets, on the grounds of the Good Samaritan Hospital. It consisted of a single lecture room on the ground floor, and an anatomical laboratory, on the upper Hoor, In 1 890, the present site was purchased* and the building was transferred to it and remodeled. The present building iraa erected in 1892. It is a three stoiy structure and containa well-equipped laboratories, a convenient dissecting room, two large lecture rooma» and the Medical School library.
The Merger of the Medical Department of the Willamette University, the first Ituuidation of the kind in the State of Oregon, with the Medical Department of the University of Oregon, was ejected by mutual and friendly arrangemenll on the first day of September, 1913. Under the terms of the merger the Medical Department of the Willamette University retired permanently from the field of medical education and tranaferred its entire enrollment; numbering 40, to the State School in the city of Pordandi and arrangements were effected so that the students of die
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, Fhoto, Weistcr.
MT. JEFFERSON and certainly the most difficult to climb, is Mt. Jefferson, located on the summit of the Cascade Range in the north-eastern 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 surrender its topmost point to the explorations of the mountain climber. On the apparent summit of Mt. Jefferson is a pinnacle approximately 700 feet in height that thwarted the "iMineral Resources of Oregon," Vol. 2, No. 1. ambition of prospective climbers until August 12, 1888, when Hay L. Fanner and E. C. Cross, both of Salem, Oregon, reached its apex. Since then others have climbed Mt. Jefferson, but thcgr are few as compared with those who have reached the summits of the other noted mountains of Oregon. Both the Qackamas 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 excite admiration and awe. The region about the mountain abounds in scores of lakes surrounded by dense forests and vast glaciers which have withstood the alow movemmt of die a^ett. The wintry storms pile up huge ever<«hanein(? snow drifts, which annually obliterate the route traversed bv mountain climbers. Owing to its difficult acceasibilitv this resrion affords a splendid place for huntins such wild 'animals as abound in the Northwest This with many weird attractions, makes Mt. Jefferson one of the most popular resorts on die Pacific boast for diose who love to encounter Nature where the hand of man hath not defiled.
Mf. Jpffcrsov in the Tee AflC Ira A. Williams\ Professor of Ceramic Engineering. Oregon Agricultural College^ (1918), tells us that **Mt Jefferson appears to have been a gathering ground for snows that in the ages past doublless 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 ^owed through. From its sides great glaciers moved in all directions; far out to the north and south along the summit, as w^ as down Uie range slopes to the east and west did the iheets of moving ice spread, occupying die river canyons and grinding away lYol 2, No, I, "Mineral Resources of Oregoa". at every surface over which they passed. We are very certain 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 emanated. 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 everywhere along it were so profoundly eroded that we can gain little conception of the amount of rock material thus carried away.'*
The Three Sisters. The Three Sisters* region is that Photo, Scenic America Co., Portland. THE THBEE SISTEBS (From Deschutes Canyon) section of the summit portion of the Cascade range which is located essentially midway between the Columbia river and
the south boundary of Crater Lake National Park. It may be reached from Eastern and Western Oregon by way of the MciCenzie road. * The Three Sisters, ¥duch form the prindpal attraction of this region and ifvhich might be ap propriately called Faith, Hope, and Charity, are usually referred to as North Sister, Middle Sister, and South Sister, 'The altitude of North Sister is 10,067 teet; Middle Sister. 10,039 feet; and South Sister, 10.331 feet South and Middle Sister exhibit a comparatively smooth cone-shaped outline, "while the profile of North Sister is notched, its cliffs arc jagged arid steep, and its general appearance pyramidal.
Her sides have been deeply dug out, and her former out* lines so largely obliterated that we have little conception of how lofty a mountain North Sister originally was. It
takes only another glance at the other n:iembers 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. U
I
Lafayette Seminary* Lafayette Seminary was opened
for the reception of studenLs in ihe old country court-house at Lafayette (1569), 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 gradiiated from courses of sLu(l> that compared favorably with those of collegiate institutions in the state. In 1 900 negotiations 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 Colleg e.
Chair of Household Economy Elstablished. The chair of Household Economy was established at the Oregon Agricultural College in the year 1 889. Doctor Margaret Snell, of Oakland, California, was appointed to fill the position. This and the departments 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 students were to be women. This ruling, however, "was not maintained, and the numerical restriction was removed. DOCTOR MARGARET SNELL 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 small towns and rural districts, it was directed that everything 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 Wa,s 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 hygiene, millinery, nursing and emergency lectures. This department of the college work—the first of its kind on the Pacific Coast—soon became very popular, attracting students 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 present offers four courses for graduation; viz: Household Science, 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 apprenticeship of three years. During this time the apprentice
was provided with the necessaries of life, but his time belonged to his master; hence ordinarily he received little or no school training during this period. Yet under our system of government that mechanic was to be an elector, possibly an officer of the law who required such a training as schools offered. There were many good schools, but they did not provide for manual training. Proceed as he might, the average DEAN GRANT A. covELL youth was, therefore, con fronted with a dilemma; for on the one hand there was trade learning with little or no schooling, while on the other hand there was schooling without trade learning. This situation was significant also for the reason that men had come tO believe that the mind grows so long as ^e hand is used intelligendy. To aid in meeting the demand for a course of instruction which included a liberal education and man\ial training, the department of Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering was established in the Oregon Agricultural College in 1689 under the supervision of Professor (now Dean) Grant A. Covell, a native of Pennsylvania. At first the i** ■ struction was given in a small two-story brick building, which with the present administration building, was the onlv sdiool bulding on the campus. For a number of years the Department of Mechanics in the Oregon Agricultural College was the only one of the kind in the Pacific Northwest. The Department fi:radually developed into a school of Mechanical, Electrical and Civil Engineering; and now Mechanics and Mechanical Elngineering are taught in many of the leading colleges and secondary schools throughout the region once called the Oregon Country.
Oregon Stato Training Sdbool. Its Purpose, The Oregon State Training School was established in 1 89 1, being opened in November that year, for the conlmenient, discipline, education, employment, and reformation of delinquent and inrorrierible boys between the ages of ten and eighteen years. Boys are sentenced to the care of the sehool until they arc twenty-one years old, Ijut. 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 Salem, on the Southern Pacific railroad, on a farm of 500 acres, of which about half is under cudivation. All the work on the farm is done by die boys, under the supervision of an expert agriculturist. Also, the boys make their own dodies and 8ho<ss, and do all the cooking and laundering for the school, under the supervision of the instructors. They attend school one-half da^ and work at their trade the other half. The manual training equipment is one of the best in tibe state, and is in charge of an expert manual training teacher. There ie also a wdl equipped machine ahop, in charge of an experienced engineer. The school is managed in harmony with the public schools, the same feeztbooks and studies being used. The school has a large gjrmnasium and two ball grounds, the play side of the boy's life being con** sidered along with the educational and industrial.—"Oregon Blue Book/ AustaKan Ballot AdcsptmL For several years there had been complaints of corruption at the polls^ and many people believed there was reason therefor. Hence the Australian ballot was adopted at the legislative session of 1 89 1, which radically changed the manner of voting.
Office of AtionMy GeoefnL Unlike that of many other states in the Union the constitution of Oregon made no provisipn for an Attorney General. This was not an over* sight by its framert^ but was the result of a consistent poli^ which limited the state officers to the smallest possible number. During the first years of statehood the need of this official was not especially urgent, but as population increased and public busin e ss became greater in volume, situations frequently arose when opinions on intricate legal questions coming b^ore 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 efiFect was passed in 1 89 1, and under its provisions Gov* emor Sylvester Pennoyer appointed Hon. George E. Chamberlain as the first Attorney General, In 1892 Mr. Chamberlain 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 complicated matters which come before the different branches of the state government. These opinions of the Attom^General do not have the binding force of judicial decisions
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 Irrigation Law Passed. It is easy to trace the management of our water resources, includin^^ irrit^ation, 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 dehnite policy or understanding as to whether the Federal Government or the states controlled the ¥rater. In early days the same general polic^y relative to water rights was followed in Oregon as in California; and in most cases water rights were so closely associated vdth mining rights that county records frequently have one volume containing bo^ 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 application was limited to pubhc service companies.
Pacific College. The hrst settlers of Chehalem Valley provided a log school house with rough blocks for seats. There being no high school in I685» members of that religious 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 became so apparent that Pacific College was incorporated in 1891. 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 Hom^ Emulating the example of other states, Oregon enacted a law in 1893 providing for
1 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 OREGON SOLDIERS' HOME
this gave rise to differences of opinion and resulting friction. This difficulty was removed by the amendment to the law in 1 899 which abolished 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 Purchased 40 Acres of Land within two miles of Roseburg, and 25 acres are in a high state of cul History cultivation. 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 provided by the State, and such soldiers as have wives are permitted 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 189.
GLADSTONE AUDITORIUM
Largest Western Chautauqua. Some enterprising citizens in 1893, established the pioneer Chautauqua of Oregon, at Ashland. The idea immediately became popular, and many new Chautauqua assemblies came into existence throughout the state and prospered. In the same year a Chautauqua reading circle was organized in the parlors of Mrs. Eva Emery Dye, the author, at Oregon City. 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—entered the grounds for the change of scenery and environment, as well as for the remarkable programs presented by the best American talent. Hence the Willamette Valley 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 die greatest speakers and the sweetest Singers.
Reading Clubs in Oregon. Their Importance. Perhaps no movement inspired the club work in Oregon more effectually than did the Chautauqua Reading Circle, originated 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 academy of Greece, opened to the masses all the doors of art; literature, science and general information.
Their Growth. Out of Chautauqua Reading Circles in Oregon grew wider circles. Women, thirsting for knowledge, 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 organization, 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, cidentally, to be of service in exploring for historical ends the many beautiful snow-capped peaks of the state. This organization is the successor of the Oregon Alpine club which was instituted in September, 1887, whose purpose was not only to stimulate mountain climbing but to gather specimens for exhibition in its museum. The Mazamas were organized on the summit of Mount Hood on the afternoon of July 19, 1894, by 193 persons—155 men and 38 women—jraoiu, >v Ulster.
OREOON MAZAMAS 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 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 animal 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 eligible for membership. Its efforts have beeen largely contributory 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, Oregon. He was bom at Fort George, now within the city limits of Astoria, March 18, 1824. His grandfather, Alexander McKay, a partner of John Jacob Astor, was lost in the "Tonquin" disaster north of Cape Flattery in 1811. His grandmother, who was a descendant of the Chipewa tribe, became the wife of DocDE. WILLIAM c. McKAY tor John McLoughlin, early in
1816. His father was Thomas McKay, and his mother was a daughter of Chief Comcomly of the Clatsop Indians. He was a pupil of John Ball at Fort Vancouver, in November, 1632. In 1838 he entered Fairfield College, Herkimer County, N. Y., where he completed a course in medicine and surgery. Doctor McKay's medical practice extended from Pendleton to The Dalies. 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. 1693. GOVERNOR WILLIAM P. LORD January 14, 1895—January 9, 1899
William P. Lord was inaugurated Governor of Oregon on January 16. 1 895, 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 expired and his candidacy for re-election was bitterly opposed by a minority of the members who belonged to the same party as himself. The contest was continued until the last minute before adjournment, when the name of Hon. George W. McBride was presented and his election as United States Senator followed.
Governor Lord was born in Dover, Delaware, on July 1, 1839, and graduated from Fairfield College, New York, in 1 860. 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 1 868, was elected state senator from Marion County in 1878, and a member of the supreme court in 1880. Governor Lord served as a member of that body until elected Governor in June, 1 894. He died in San Freuicisco, February 11. 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- OOV. WILLIAM p. LORD
operates in matters concerning instruction. Tke school ¥ras located in the West because the management was convinced that all things being c:on8idered, western-trained 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, 1916» the institution closed a successful campaign for a quarter million dollar endowment. Hence, the total net assets of the school^ in« eluding endowment fund properties* and current expense fund amounts to $365,000. Nearly all the graduates choose ministerial, evangelbtie, or educational work in America or in foreign lands.
Ofattmctioiis Offered to Sdectkm of U. S. Senator. Legislature Fails to Convene. When the legislature met in Januaiy, 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 rejection of Senator John H. Mitchell and die constitutional limit for the session of the legislature expired without die election of a Senator or any kind of legislation.
Governor Lord Appointed Hon. H. Wm Corbett to fill the vacancy thus created in the United States Senate; but that body after extended deliberation refused to seat him,- b^ cause the legislature, though it had had opportunity to do so, had failed to elect a Senator and the Governor was not empowered to fill the vacancy by appointment. An extra session, of the legislature was called to convene in October, 1 698, 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 magnificent vess^ which did splendid service in the SpanishAmerican war, was built by the Union Iron Works of San Francisco. She distinguished herself in the record voyage made from Puget Sound to Sand Key, Florida, in the Spring of 1898. Needed by the Government to assist in destroying the Spanish fleet in Cuba, the "Oregon," commanded by Captain Charles E. Clark, left Puget Sound on March 6, San Francisco on March 19, and arrived at Sand Key on May 26, a distance of 18,112 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 officially reported, "without a loose bolt or screw out of order;" at
UNITED STATES BATTLE-SHIP "OREGON"
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 were 11,037 horse-power, and while larger ships have since been built and the "Oregon" is of a make now discarded, no modern ship has yet equalled its splendid record made during a naval crisis. At the launching of the battleship "Oregon," Joaquin Miller wrote:
The Boadicea of our fleet;
And from embattled heights the voice
Of cannon make the deep rejoice,
And festal sunshine gleam upon
The green clad hills of Oregon."
GOVERNOR THEODORE T. GEER
January 9, 1899—January 14, 1903
Theodore T. Geer is the only native son of Oregon to become her Governor. He was born in Marion County, Oregon on March 12, 1851, and educated in Willamette University. He was a farmer, having followed that vocation until elected to the Governorship 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 sessions of 1880, 1889, 1891. and 1893. Mr. Geer was elected speaker of the house in 1891. In 1896, he was chosen one of the electors on the Republican ticket and carried the vote of Oregon to Washington, D. C, as the State's official messenger. In 1898, Mr. Geer was nominated by acclamation in the state Republican convention for Governor, and was elected by a majority of 10,000. His opponent was Will R. King, who had served as a representative and state senator from Malheur and Baker Counties. GOV. THEODOSE T. OEEB An interesting story connected with Governor Geer's nomination published in the newspapers was to the effect that he was plowing on his farm when he first heard the news of his nomination. The truth is that he was engaged with his neighbors in improving the roads, with shovel and spade, when the school children returning home from Macleay—his country post office—came shouting down the road that "T. T. Geer has been nominated for Governor." The shouts were heard before the children were in sight. Thus did Mr. Geer first receive news of his nomination.
Oregon State Flower. At a meeting of the Oregon Horticultural Society at Newberg in 1890, on the motion of George H. Himes, Dr. J. B. Pilkington and E. W. Hammond, both well known botanists, were appointed a committee to nominate a State Flower. That committee reported at the annual meeting of the Society at Hood River, July 1 8, 1892, suggesting several flowers, among them the Oregon Grape. Then, upon the motion of Mr. Himes, the Oregon Grape was adopted. Through the efforts of the State Federation of Woman's Clubs of Oregon this choice was confirmed by the Legislative Assembly of 1 899.
The Oregon Grape (Berberis Aquifolium) is one of the prettiest native shrubs of the Northwest. Oregon grape thrives in the mountains and in timbered districts along valley streams. Its rugged evergreen foliage resembles that of the holly, which adds cheer to the landscape particularly throughout the winter. In springtime it illumines the scenery with OREGON GEAPE dainty blossoms of yellow
from which pretty berries of deep blue and bright purple grow, maturing in summer and autumn. Of all the flowers 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 appropriation of water for electric purposes. The act provided for the appropriation of water by the posting of a notice at the proposed 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 president, 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 Portland Auditorium Building. All citizens of Oregon in good standing are eligible to active membership in the Oregon SBAL OF oaaaoa xhtobioal soonnrr 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 support of the society are from the State, from a private endowment 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 hiatorial societies in the United States. The object of the Oregon Historical Society is to gather information relating to the history of Oregon find the United States; and for the accompllshment of this purpose to explore archaeological depoMta^ acquire pioneer records and other publications and manuscripts, perpetuate geographic and hisiBorical Indiate names, ^preserve Indian ^traditions, maintain a gallery of historical portraiture and an ethnological and historical museum, encourage the study of histoty and diffuse information relative to the histoiy of Oregon* As a result of the work of the society thus far, newspapers, pamphlets, books, manuscripts and relics appertaining to pioneer and Indian life for more than a hundred yean 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 history and traditions of the State.
The Second Oregon. The Second Oregon U. S. Volimteer 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, 1896, called for one regiment from this State, both the First and Second Oregon regiments prompdy reported at the Portland Armory for duty. Since both regiments desired to go, and but one could be accepted, ^'Governor Lord ordered a consolidation of the two into one full regiment, selecting the best men in each." This selection resulted in foinung a regiment of unusually strong and well-equipped soldiers. The new regiment was named the Decono o regon United States Volunteer Infantry. Colonel Owen Summers of the ohgi
nal Second Regiment was appomted Colonel, and Colonel George Yoran of the First Regiment was appointed lieutenant 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 Spanish authority in the Pacific Ocean. August 1 3, Colonel Summers was ordered to place his nine companies aboard 0 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 certain number of companies," Lyman tells us in his history of Oregon, "were desired for this service, and the Second Oregon affording just that number, was selected." As landing was neared Colonel Summers advanced in a smcdl 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 troop s fi ve diousand 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 do¥m, 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 Regiment. The SpanishAmerican War was concluded during the first year of Governor Geer's term, and as the famous Second Oregon Regi ilt was G. W. Porey of Cknnpany L, Second Oregon, who raised the American colors over Msnlla. ment was the first to go to Manila it wbb the fiist to be mustered out when the war ended. Governor Geer, accompanied by his entire staff, met the regiment upon its arrival in
San Francisco and welcomed it home. A great demonstration 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 between San Francisco and the l^omes of the Or egon so Id lers. The troops were mustered out of the service at San Francisco three weeks later, and Governor Geer returned to the state line and accompamied them home. Later he made a special trip to Washington, D. C, to confer with the Secretary of War, Elihu Root, about securing a cannon from Manila for the purpose of using a part of it for making medals for the members of the Regiment. The cannon was socured, borings from it were made into medals* which were distributed to the individual soldiers* and the caimon now stands, mounted, on the grounds surrounding the capitol building at Salem.
Initiative and Referendum. During the legislative session of 1899 and again m 1901 an amendment to the constitution was passed providing for the initiation of laws by the people and the referendum of laws i)assed by the legislature to the people for their approval or disapproval. This amendment was submitted and ratified at the June election in 1902 by a vote of 62.024 to 3665.
Sil» of the Guunpoeg Meeting Located. Goyemor Geer was commissioned by the Oregon State Historical So* ciety to locate the exact sate 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 survivor of that celebrated gather-* ing. It was there that the beginning of the government in
Oregon was made; and the organization instituted on that day was the first civil government ever 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 OHAMPCEG MONUMENT people gathered to pay homage to the founders of the Government.
State Text Book Commission 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 selected as the five members of the commission the following: H. W. Scott, chairman, William M. Ladd, of Portland, William Colvig, of Jacksonville, P. L. Campbell, President of the University of Oregon, and C. A.
Johns, of Baker. f. x. matthieu I
LaCreole Academy and Dallas College. LaCreole Academy and Dallas College, located at Dallas, Oregon, resulted from the union (1900) of LaCreole Academy and Lafayette Seminary. The school offered academic and college courses, but was compelled to suspend operations (June, 1914) for lack of funds to meet the requirements of the Oregon standardization laws. TTie Oregon conference of the Evangelical Church, desirous to con- OHAMPOEO PIONEEB MEMORIAL BUILDING (See Page 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 Corvallis. The school property at Dallas has been transferred to the Oregon 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 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. Senate. Accordingly what was known as the Mays* Law was passed by the legislature in 1901, the purpose of which was that candidates for the United States Senate might submit their names to llie people at the precedmg general election in order to determine the popular preference for that office. In accordance ivith this law Elx-Goveroor Geer securedthe 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 follovring legislature, in choosing the U. S. Senator ignored the popular vote. This disregard of the popular wOl did much to khidle a sentiment that resulted in the initiation of the direct primary law and "Statement No. 1,*' in the following administration.
Columbia University. Columbia University, of Portland, a boarding; and day school for the Christian education of boys and young men, was founded in 1901 by Archbishop 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 grammar grade, a high school, and a college department. The present Administration Hall was erected under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1891. This was the Portland University, which began to languish after the panic of i 893 and some years later closed its doors. Columbia University is strictly Roman Catholic, but admits students of other denominations and respects their conscientious beliefs.
Carey Inigatioii Act Accepted by Oregon. In 1901, the State of Oregon accepted the terms of the Carey Irri a
gation Act. The acceptance of the Carey Act and the passage 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- GAUGING AN OEEGON STREAM FOR IRRIGATION
struction work on the Klamath County and Umatilla projects in 1904 and 1906. Numerous private projects were initiated and irrigation securities found ready sale, owing to the fact that they carried interest, which was somewhat higher than the interest on ordinary bonds.
Crater Lake. A Lake That Was Once a Mountain. Crater Lake National Park was created by an act of Congress approved May 22, 1 902. It consists of 249 square miles on the crest of the Cascade Range of mountains in South-eastern Oreg'on. 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, CRATER 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 Courtesy of National Park Service. MOUNT MAZAMA RESTORED
mountains of the Continent. Yet no human eye ever saw Mount Mazama; for before the advent of man in what is now called Oregon, all that portion of the mountain above 8,000 feet elevation disappeared leaving a vast smoking caldron, which gradually filled with water 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
above sea level; while above it tower walls from 500 to 2,000 feet. Imagine a lake occupying the crater of this extinct 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 fifteen hundred 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 constructing 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 1 9 1 9. It is proposed 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 Joaquin Miller. "Crater Lake? The Sea of Silence? Ah, yes, I had forgotten—so much else; besides I should like to let it alone, say nothing. It took such a hold on my heart, so unlike Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, 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- SAND PINNACLES Near "Miracle Boulevard," Crater Lake National Park 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 8o bright, so intensely blue is the lake, that it seems at times, from some points of view, to rise right in your face.**
Clear Lake. Crater Lake, The Gulf of Mexico, The Mediterranean Sea, and Clear Lake, under certain atmos- CLEAB LAKE
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 is that it is fed by numerous springs which have teen thoroughly 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 originate 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 feeders of Clear Lake. Also there are numerous other lakes 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 mountain lakes in Oregon perhaps none has a more attractive setting than Qear 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 secure their water supply from the Willamette River the State Board of Health has for several years had under consideration a project of inaugurating a water system which would ould have its source in Clear Lake; thus in time insuring the purest 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 caldrons 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 ags of the lake. The Three Sisters may be STANDING TREE TBUNES IN CLEAR LAKE 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
doubt Clear Lake will be one of the most popular health resorts in the Northwest.
Willamette Meteorite. Willamette Meteorite took its name from the Willamette Valley in which it was discovered. "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 believed are due to rust. It is 10 ft. long, 6I/2 ft. wide, and 4 ft. high; its weight is 3 1, 1 07 lbs. and it contains 9 1 .557^
iron. This meteorite was discovered in the autumn of 1902 in the woods 1 9 miles south of Portland by two prospectors who were searching for the precious metals. The finders at first supposed they had come upon a ledge of solid iron, but the meteoric character
WILLAMETTE METEORITE _£,v,^oo,«oo o««« ^«
oi the mass was soon ascertained. Later one of the prospectors removed the meteorite 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 presented to the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, where it was given a prominent place at the entrance of the building. lEdmund Otis Hovey, American Museum of Natural History, New York.
CHAPTER XIII
GOVERNOR GEORGE E. CHAMBERLAIN January 15, 1903—February 28, 1909
George Earle Chamberlain was born 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 arts 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 attorney-general of Oregon, serving in that ofHce 1891-5; inaugurated governor in 1901, and again in 1907; resigned in 1909 on his election as U. S. Senator, and was reelected U. S. Senator in gov. oeobge e. chamberlain 1915. At present, (1918) he holds the responsible position of Chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs.
Indian War Veterans. The recognition of the Indian War Veterans 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 1 856 promised to aid, but did not comply with its agreement and nothing tangible was done until the session of 1903 made an appropriation of $100,000 for the purpose of pay- 1 ing each surviving veteran the ram of $2.00 for each day he had performed actual service. To secure proof of such service after the lapse of nearly fifty years was often difficult and more than half of the old Indian fighters vrere dead, but the relief that had finally come was gratefully accepted those who lived to receive it In 1901, the legislature had appropriated a rafficient sum to defray the expenses of seven veterans, to be appointed by the Governor, who were authorized to go to Washingtrni* D. C. for the purpose of inducing congress, if possible, to furnish relief to thc»se soldiers, and in 1913 the legislature appropriated die 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 majority 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 tax, the proceeds of which are to be applied to the support of all indit^ent Indian War Veterans within the rounly: so that, after the lapse of many years which marked a period of shameful indifference and broken promises, the state is in a measure performing its duty to a class of patriotic citizens who volunteered to risk their hves in the pioneer times for the protection of the country they were trying to reclaim from savagery. The privileges of the Soldier's i lome at Roseburg are also extended to the Indian War Veterans, and several of them have availed themselves of its protection and support.
The Oregon System. It was during the administration of Governor George E. Chamberlain, that most of the features 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 pubhc offices, and the
desire for a direct nominating law had become pronounced. Many flagrant violations of the popular wish in these matters had occurred, and the matter occupied a prominent place in the list of questions that were generally discussed.
Statement No. 1 . Ariothe r Imp o rta yi t Change in the Control of political nominations was made by the people in 1904, when they abolished the system of primary conventions and initiated the Direct Primary Law, which included what is known as Statement No. I," by the terms of which each candidate for the legislature was requested to sign a statement to the effect that, if elected, he would support for the United States Senate such candidate for that office as had received the highest vote at the preceding election. 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. I" and Statement No. 2" but as the legislative candidates were unwillmg to court defeat they almost without exception signed "Statement No. 1."
The Intenticn of "Statrwe7if No. I" was to secure the election of United States Senators by a direct vote of the people relyini^ on members of the le':z:is] ature to act upon the instruction of the people, in advance of an amendinent to the federal constitution providing for their election by popular vote.
This Plan Worked As Was InfevfJ^fJ. and at the election 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 overwhelnungly Republican in both houses, had almost unanimously subscribed to "Statement No. I," and promptly elected Governor Chamberlain the democratic candidate to the Senate, and thus was inaiigo^ rated a great reform that had baffled odier states for many decades.
The Oregon Snpieme Cy r L The organization and growdi of the Oregon Supreme Court affords a fine illustration of die caution displayed by the framers of the stale constittttion in the matter of preventing the esteosion of financial burdens upon the people. That instrument provided for d&e creation of four judicial districts and four circuit judges vd&o constituted ihe slate Supreme Court, sitting at staled intervals to pass upcm sudi cases as should be appealed to diem from the lower courts. When sitting as a Supreme Court, however, no judge was permitted 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 constituling Eastern Oregon. From that date until 1878 the state Siqureme Court consisted of the five circuit judges. This measure of economy was pursued until the year 1878 when, under a provision of the constitution authorizing such step when die white population should reach 200,000, a separate supreme court was created, consisting of diree memb ers . Under a requirement of dus act Governor Thayer appointed James J. Kelly, P. P. Pite and R. P. Boise as justices, to serve untO the people should sded their successors^
In 1907 the business of the Supreme Court had grown to such proportions dial diree justices could not 6upo9e 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 Digitized two more were added. Tke deeiaioiis of the Oregon Supreme Court have high standing in all the states of the Union for their conformity with legal interpretations of fairness and justice.
Th» Whipping PosI Law, The question of using the vdupping post as the most effective method for punishing certain petty crimes had been suggested in various quarters in Oregon since its earliest histoiy, but it was always opposed on the ground that it seemed unnecessarily crud and was really a relic of barbarism and slavery days. In 1905, however, die legislature amended the criminal law by providing that in the case of the conviction of a man for beating his vrife the trial judge m^t, at his discretion, sentence him to a certain number of lashes to be applied by the siierif f of die county or marshal of the town in which the crime was committed. The operation of the law did not, however, result in the benefit its advocates had hoped for, since few judges fdit inclined to use the discretion as conferred and imposed fines or imprisonment which was their privilege under die provisions of the law. The resort to Mapping as a punishment for vrife-beating was not popular, however, since in most cases the wives themsdves interceded for the convicted husbands, and the legislature in 1911 repealed the provision, and public whipping vras aboHAed after a trial of six years.
Lewis and Ciailc tefemiial Ejvodllion. Natllm-Wide CBUbration. Oregon had developed so rapidly that as die centuiy was nearing the close it was decided to commemorate the centennial of the Lewris and Claik Expedition vrith a national celebration at Portland, Oregon, beginning June 1, 1905, and continuing four and one-half months. Thereupon a local corporation, with H. W. Corbett^ as president in 1902, subscribed $500,000 to the enterprise, which was
^TT. W. Corbet t died March 31, 190n, whereupon Harvey W. Scott became president. Upon Mr. Scott's resignation, H. W. Goode was elected.
substantial evidence that leading citizens were ready to support the undertaking. So much encouragement was given 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. BIEDSEYE VIEW OF THE LEWIS AND OLARK EXPOSITITN President Roosevelt Lays Cojmer Stone. Early in 1903 the Oregon Legislature authorized the holding of the Exposition and appropriated $500,000 therefor; and Governor Chamberlain appointed the Oregon State Commission' of eleven members with full power to act in all matters pertaining to the management of the Lewis and Clark Exposition. On the 2 1 st of the ensuing May, President Theodore Roosevelt, in the presence of a vast throng, laid the corner stone of the Lewis and Clark monument in City Park, Portland—an event of much significance in connection with the approaching exposition. In February, 1904, Congress appropriated $475,000 to the enterprise; and authorized the transfer of the entire U. S. Government exhibit previously
iThe members of the Commission were Jefferson Myers, Salem; Warren R. Thomas, Portland; Richard Scott, Milwaukie; Frank A. Spencer, Portland; F. G Younp. Eugene; George Consor, Heppner; J, H. Albert, Salem; Frank Williams, Ashland; J. G. Flanders, Doctor Day Lafferty, and G. Y. Harry, Portland, 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 publicity to the Exposition.
Foreign Countries Participate. On May 3, 1904, the first ground for the construction of the Exposition was broken amidst imposing ceremonies conducted by Jefferson Myers, 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 state of Oregon, and seven for the use of other states Sixteen foreign countries and seventeen states participated in tke expMtion, which was formally opened on the appointed day« May 1, 1905, by Vice-President Fairbanks.
There Were Approximately Three Million Admissions 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 fmally responded to the long neglected call from the Northwest. A new impetus was given to public and private enterprises, and the throb of prosperity began to be felt SIS never before throughout the region explored by Lewis and Clark in their famous expedition to the Pacific Coast.
The State Institution for Feeble>Minded. The State Institution for feeble-minded was established by the Legislature of 1907, and was formally opened in November, 1 906, when 38 feeble-minded persons were admitted. The objects of the institution were first, prevention of mental defectives by segregation; second, care and attention to make them as nearly self-supporting as possible; third, custody of die idiotic and epileptic, seventy to eighty percent of which, according to statistics, are in the state institution 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. Various other branches in connection vrith these subjects are also taught Those yAiO are capable may advance in scholarship about equal to the f ourdi grade in the public schools. Addiliofial Federal Judge. By Act of Congress of March 2, 1909, an additional district judge was provided for the District of Oregon. By the same act Congress provided 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 dian one judge for its transaction. President Taft appointed Judge Robert S. Bean to be the additional judge.
Oregon Stete 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 disease, 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 Portland, 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 endowment 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 Steam Navigation Company; and he had amassed a fortune in that enterprise. He died in 1895, leaving a will which contained this significant provision: "Feeling, as I do, a deep interest in the welfare and prosperity of the City of Portland, where I have spent my business life and accumulated the property I possess, I 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 happiness of its inhabitants."
Mrs. Reed died in 1904 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 rapidly
ARTS BUILDING—REED COLLEGE
growing, that city was a special field for the establishment 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 essential 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 Expedition. Of the old emigrant trail Clara Blake 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.
Copyright, Gifford and Prentiss.
END OF THE OREGON TRAIL
View in City Park, The Dalles
When the ox team gave place to the iron horse, the old highway of Oregon became neglected; and although of unusual depth and width, it was evident that in time it would be effaced, and uncertainties arise as to its location, unless some one who had traveled over the route should mark its course.
Ezra Meeker Marks the Oregon Trail. Fortunately this task was undertaken by Ezra Meeker, who croated the plains in 1852, located a homestead on which he platted the town of Puyallup, and then moved to Seattle, where he now resides (1916). 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 between The Dalles and Omaha, a distance of eighteen hundred miles. In assigning a reason for beginning at The Dalles, Meeker said: "I 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 callled 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 outfit, 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 placing stone monuments at important points under his personal supervision.
Influence Upon Children. Upon commending the interest taken by the people of The Dalles, Pendleton, Lee's Encampment, LaGrande, Baker, Huntington, Vale and elsewhere, the Oregon Trail Marker aptly said of die 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
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 older."
Result of Meeker's Jour ney. After marking the trail with monuments as far as Omaha, Mr. Meeker visited a .number of eastern cities where he awakened interest in the old emigrant route. Partly as the result of the prominence which he gave to the Oregon Trail, during his visit in the Eastern States, Congress at three successive sessions took up for consideration the appropriation 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 preserve 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 Holidays. Financial Panic m Eastern States. Early in October, 1907, a financial panic occurred in the United States which was very disastrous in many ways, and peculiar in that it happened during a period of prosper- I'fidto. ParkLT OREGON TRAIL MONUMENT AT BAKER ity. It was properly called a "banker's panic" for the reason 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 was 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 dose because the balance due them from eastern banks could not be had. To meet such an abnormal 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; hut 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, Portland and 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 construction work was begun on the Northern Pacific in Minneseta in the summer of 1870; but the failure of the Jay Cooke Company in 1673 threw it into financial straits and it afterwards passed through many troublesome times before reaching its Pacific Coast terminus The Great Northern reached 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 "down grade" route to tidewater and when the time was ripe he began the construction of the North Bank line from Spokane, Washington, 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 energy and great foresight, and all obstructions were finally overcome.
Completed by James J. Hill, This enterprise called for the construction of bridges across the Columbia River at Willamette below Portland, but they were built, and the "James J. Hill Special" crossed the Columbia bridge on December 5, 1908, the event being celebrated at Vancouver with speeches, brass bands and fireworks. The bridge was put into regular service on December 1 7. 3oon afterward the North Bank road acquired the Astoria and Columbia River railroad which gave the "Hill interests a continuous 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 desire, and gives all Oregon, together with its other railroad connections, the advantages in transportation which its natural position commands and deserves. Mr. Hill will be JAMES J. HILL iilS l ORY OF OREGON known in the histoTy of the Northwest as *'The Empire Builder," as by his foresight he constnicted roads into sections before they were settled, thus providing means for locators to develop latent resources. He proved himself a valued friend to the people of Oregon and of the entire Northwest
GOVERNOR FRANK W. BENSON
March 1, 1909— June 17, 1910
Frank W. Benson was born in San Jose, California, M arch 20, 1858. When twenty-one years of age he graduated from the University of the Pacific, located in his native city. In I 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 1896, he was admitted to the bar, and in 1 906 as a lifelong Republican he was elected secretary of state. By virtue of his office as secretary of state, Mr. Benson became governor, March 1, I 909, when Governor Chamberlain resigned to become United States Senator. Declining the nomination to succeed himself as governor, Mr. Benson was reelected secretary of state, in which relation he was entitled to remain governor exofficio until the governor elect could be lawfully qualified. But ill health compelled him to resign the duties of governor, June 17, 1910. However, he continued in his office as secretary of state until his death, April 14, 1911. GOVERNOR FRANK W. BENSON GOVERNOR JAY BOWERMAN
June 17, 1910—January 11, 1911
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GOVERNOR JAY BOWERMAN
Jay Bowerman was the first president of the Oregon Senate to become ex-officio governor of this State. When Governor Benson, who was in California because of ill health, resigned his executive duties, June 17, 1910, J. Bowerman by virtue of his office as President of the Senate became Governor of Oregon, a position which he held until his successor was inaugurated January 11, 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 exciting 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 pioneer. From five hundred to one thousand cowboys, cowgirls, and Indians direct from the ranges and reservations participate in this dramatization of western life, performing many of the most difficult feats of horsemanship; and tKey have succeeded in making clasaic many features belonging to the border. Their performances are given on a quarter-mile circuit surrounded by grandstand and bleachers 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. Patronage has steadily increased until this exhibition of frontier horsismanship 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 Pendleton is its absolute freedom from commercialism. Citizens of. that community own the stock. The officials tender their services wrathbut compensation; they purchase their own tickets of admission; and all profits are expended in improving the performances and the stadium. It is thus that the Pendleton Round-Up hcu been safeguarded from criticism and preserved from decay. Oregon's Grand Old Man." A distinctive honor came to the State of Oregon when, in 187) President Grant appointed Hon. George H. Williams, its most prominent citizen, 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 born 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
GEORGE H. WILLIAMS
Attorney-General of President Grant's Cabinet
bar of that state. Soon afterwards he removed to the then far western state of Iowa and began practicing law at the 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 185 7 was re-appointed by President Buchanan. In 185 7 he served as a member of the slale constiLutioncd convention and canvassed the state while its adoption was pending before the people in favoi of the section ^vhich pio- hibited slavery, it having been submitted for a separate vote.
In 1864 Mr. Williams was elected to the United States Sraate 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 confirn:iati(3ii was delaved and Mr. Will lams wi thdr ew 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 artich written by Mr. Williams and published in the "Washington Star" which contained the first 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 known 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 "Oregon's Grand Old Man;" and in 1910, when well past 87 years of age and without any signs of mental decad«ice, 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 small 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, determined character, and originality. Upon the ascension of Governor Chamberlain to the executive office in 1903, Mr. West was appointed State Land Agent, and afterwards was assigned to a place on the State Railway Commission. In 1910 he was elected Governor, and January 11, 1911, was inaugurated. Although his administration was notably eventful he declined to be renominated.
Honor System for Convicts. Perhaps the Most Notable Feature of the administration of Governor West was his radical change in the manner or conducting the affairs of the State Penitentiary. He inaugurated what was known as the Honor System of managing prisoners, appealing to their honor as a basis for giving them more liberties and greater freedom generally. The manufacture 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 escapes, it ¥ras generally conceded that the greater number of convicts proved worthy of the trust in dieir 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. The 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 enforce 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 naturalist, as State Game Warden, to carry on the enforcement of game laws and the propagation of various kinds of game. 
"A BIRD IN THE HAND"
Before this time game protection had been 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 gradually changed, and game soon began to be regarded as one of the State's important resources.
State Biologist With New Duties. At the end of four years, the Fish and Came 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 fires, 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 consider 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 development and irrigation; furnish refuge for game, and prevent 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 agricultural 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 Forestry School at the Oregon Agricultural College, and five additional members, each representing and selected by one of the following organizations: Oregon State Grange, Oregon Fire Association Oregon Lumber Manufacturers' Association. 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 stations 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 annually.
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 universally 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 undiminished enthusiasm through many defeats until its success in November 1912.
Initiative Amendment for Equal 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 adjoining 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 
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 Mrs. 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 advanced age. Mrs. Duniway was unable to be present at the Executive Office to witness the Governor subscribe his signature to the document; hence Governor West, out of consideration 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 Secretary of State, gave it to her.
Copperfield 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 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 authorities attracted attention throughout the Northwest. Governor West sent a squad of National Guardsmen to that place, and his private secretary[4] took possession of the municipal government, and held it for several weeks. His private secretary called a meeting of the citizens, read the Governor's proclamation declaring Copperfield under military government, 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 illegal operation of saloons throughout the state.
New Year's Reception to Ex-Governors 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 opportunity for an exchange of greetings, it was a special recognition of chief executives and their wives, which reminded the people of the valued services these men and women had rendered 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 providing for the establishment of a state hospital for the insane east of the Cascade mountains, and appropriating $200,000 the purchase of a site and the erection of buildings, adopted by the people of the state in November, 1910. The 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 Umatilla 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 trustees 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 23, 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 districts became the popular plan under which irrigation works should be constructed, and the reports of the State of Oregon, acting in co-operation with the United States, led in 1914 and 1915 to the organization of eight districts. Therefore, 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 irrigation development in Oregon,
Oregon State Industrial School for Girls. "The Oregon State Industrial school for girls was established by act of the 1913 legislature, and located in temporary quarters until February, 1915, when it was removed to its present site, five and one-half miles south-east of Salem. The courses given for credit are cooking, sewing, laundering, gardening, 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 construction 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 to river traffic in November, 1896. 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 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 history 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 condemned such punishment as barbarous. At various times movements had been inaugurated to abolish capital punishment in Oregon, but no concerted action in that direction was undertaken until the year 1914, when, headed by Governor 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.
GOVERNOR JAMES WITHYCOMBE
January 12, 1915
GOVERNOR JAMES WITHYCOMBE
James Withycombe is the only man who resigned a college chair that he might assume the duties of an Oregon Governor, and he is the only Governor of Oregon re-elected on the Republican ticket. He was born in Tavistock, England, March 21, 1854. When seventeen years of age he moved with his parents to Hillsboro, Oregon, where he lived on a farm. Although a mere youth, Mr. Withycombe displayed keen interest in all problems relating to rural life, and proved himself to be an enthusiastic admirer of fine livestock of all kinds, with a special fondness for the American saddle horse. After receiving thorough training in grammar and secondary schools, he specialized under tutors in agriculture and veterinary science, and in 1889, was appointed State Veterinarian. He resigned nine years later to accept the office of Agriculturist, Director of the Oregon Experiment Station, and Director of Farmers' Institutes held under the supervision of the Oregon Agricultural College. During his connection with that institution of learning, Doctor Withycombe was associated with a number of the most prominent livestock associations of this country, and at various times was delegate to congressional and state conventions and other civic organizations. In 1914, he was elected Governor on the Republican ticket, receiving the largest plurality ever given to a candidate for that office in Oregon; and on the 12th day of the following January, his inauguration took place. He was re-elected November 5, 1918.
Labor Laws Governing Minors. For the better protection 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
- Any minor girl in any occupation more than nine hours in one day, and in no case more than fifty hours in one week.
- Any minor boy for more than ten hours in one day.
- Any minor boy or minor girl under sixteen years of age more than eight hours in any one day.
- Any minor boy or minor girl more than six days in one calendar week
- Any minor girl for more than six hours of continuous labor between the hours of 7 a. m. and 6 p. m. without a rest period of at least forty-five minutes
- Any minor girl in any occupation after the hour of 6 p. m. on any day
- 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 practiced along the Oregon Coast. This was in a period when literature 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 to stories such as the shipwreck that enabled Chief Multnomah, 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."
WAX CANDLE AND LUMP, BELIEVED TO BE WRECKAGE FROM THE "BEESWAX SHIP"
Wreck of the "Beeswax Ship." Since the first appearance 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 manner, the early settlers could not understand how it came there. Because they could not account for its presence, they began to think they were mistaken, and that it was not beeswax, but a mineral closely resembling beeswax. Also the fact that the wax[5], some of which had been whitened by the sun, bore evidences of having been disturbed by drifting sands that wore and melted it into various shapes, added to their doubts. Many therefore, 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, scientists 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 substance, 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 Nehalem, 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 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
CELILO FALLS ON 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" would 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 Columbia River was so far removed from the population center of the United States it was exceedingly difficult to cure an appropriation, and Congrew after Congress rejected the propoaition. Success, however, finally followed permsten^ in the matter, and in 1 904 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 ui the railroads.
The Canal and Locks Were Completed in the early summer of 1915, eleven years after the Brst 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 ^even 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 transportation condition in Oregon,, and while most of the freight is still handled by the railroads the existence of the canal and locks will always inBuence the adjustment of traffic rates.
Oregon Gold Output IncreasiBg. For a number of years the gold output of Oregon has been steadily increasing. 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, Oregon surpassed the world's record in poultry husbandry. An Oregon Agricultural College hen, by name Lady Mo* Duff, and by No. C52 1, was the first hen in the world to lay 300 eggs in a year by actual trap-nest count* Her record
was 303 eggs in her first 12 months of laying. Tliis hen was the result of scientific breeding conducted at the Poultry Department of the College. Experiments with Hen No. C521 demonstrated that it is possible to breed flocks of lowls that will lay an average of 200 eggs a year, notwithstanding the prevalent belief 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 poultry husbandry, however, has advanced so rapidly that Hen C521 was finally surpassed, but not until her record stimulated nation-wide experiment in poultry industry.
Lady McDufF is not only a champion herself, but she has the greater distinction of producing champions. Large numbers of her descendants have shown phenomenal laying proclivities. In the sixth International Egg Laying Contest at the Connecticut Agricultural College, in competition with the best bred layers in the world, a pen of ten of her grand-daughters beat all other entries, 1 00 in number, and broke the record for a pen of ten in laying contests with an average production of 2 35.2 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 Oregon Library Commisrion, which had been created in 1 905 for the purpose of extending the iiee of books throughout the state by a system of traveling libraries, and for advisory work with public libraries. When the State Library ¥ras 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 ¥rith the exception of the Supreme Court Law Libraiy, which is under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, and consists of law books only. The Supreme Court Judges had previously conslitttted die Board for the State Libraiy. Hie reason for the establishment of the Library Commission in 1905 was the necessity for the distribution of books for coun^ try places and small towns; the funda- btatb xjbkaby sbaIi mental purpose of the movement was to provide equality 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 borrower pays the cost of transportation, 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 organizations. 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 any other State in the Union, perhaps, Oregon enacted Diyilizeu by GoOglc a law prohibiting the importation or use of intoxicating liquors. The Provisional Legislature in its session in 1844 enacted a law prohibiting the sale of ardent liquors, but in 1845 it amended the organic law?? to provide for the regulation of such traffic, because the Hudson Bay Company permitted the use of intozicanto by its employees. At that tmie the Oregon Country was an independent region* hat was hampered in the enforcement of its own laws* The change in the law providing merely for regulation wae carried hy a vote of the people by the email majority of 203 on July 26, 1645. The next year a license law was passed over the veto of Governor Abemethy.
The passage of the prohibition law in Maine in 1851 renewed an interest in the question in Oregon, and during the years 1653-54 it was an important factor in Territorial political campaigns. At intervals in succeeding years it was revived, and in the 60*8 was the basts for the organization of the Prohibition party, which for several years was an active factor in the State elections. In November, 1887, a special election was held on a constitutional amendment which had };ecn suhnntted 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 support, its advocates never abandoning its discussion where there was a possibility for its consideration. The amendment 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 intoxicating liquors and every saloon in the state was closed, according to the terms of the act, on January It 1916.
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 well 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 declaration 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
already made famous by Caesar, Joan of Aid and Napoleon; and Ac bade many of her courageous daughters to follow the **Stars and Stripes'* to &e 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 ihe Third Liberty Loan, Oregon was the tirst state in the LJnion to subscribe the assigned quota, and Portland was the first city of her class in the nation to "i'o over the top." In the I-ourth Liberty Loan, Portland repeated tliis splendid record wlnle Oregon was the second
state to raise her quota $33,000,000 Iowa bcmt^ the
first Oregon met every demand made upon her in the struggle to win the threat war, and she now shares the honor of establishing a new independence Day—the Independence Day of the Nations—on which the world was made safe for democracy.'*
Ship BnOding m Oregmi. The IndiAStry Stifmdated 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/* however, this condition changed, especially after the United States entered actively into the contest.
Thouaands of Men Are Employed in various parts of the state in shipbuilding, and it is impossible to secure sufficient labor to answer the demand. At present (October 1918) there are 51 steel ships under contract for construction, three of which have been completed. There are 75 wooden ships under construction and 20 others under contract to the French government. Twenty-eight wooden ships have been finished under private contract Approzi
mately twenty firms are now engaged in this industry in Oregon, 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 conservation, not only for our own benefit but for the aid of our allies. Mr. Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa, on August 10, 1874, but losing his mother through death when he was 1 1 years old he was sent to live with his uncle, Dr. H. J. Minthorn, in Newberg, Oregon. 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 Hoover served as a boy of all work in the office; milking the cow, caring for the horses, and driving prospective purchasers about the country. Later he became a student at Stanford University, graduating from that institution in 1895. After spending a few months in the U. S. Geological Survey and two years at mining engineering in Eastern Oregon, Idaho and California, he was appointed engineering adviser of the Chinese government. HERBERT HOOVER
After a Aort •ajoom m Califotnia lie retnmed to China where he became diredar of an undertaking which emplojed 25,000 til en and inTolved the management of 20 ships, with a system of canals and railways, used for the development of coal mines.
After a few years In de^doping mines in Alaska* India. RtMsia and Australia, Herbert Hoover was appomted the
hccid of a commission to direct the expenditure of $300,000,000 for the relief of Belgium and for the distribution of foodstuffs amounting in vahie to $200,000,000 which was raised in Europe.
Mr. Hoover had shown such remarkable efficiency in the performance of these tremendous tasks that he was selected by President Wilson to take charge of a similar undertaking when the United Stales entered the world war. Since the necessity of largely suppljring our allies ¥nth food rests upon the United States, the problems of savinsr and properly distributinfiT our food production were of colossal proportions, but the unusual executive ability displayed 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 ez^ perience.
Deepest Canyon in the World. Oregon and Idaho share the possession of the devest 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.
Locafio}> (I nd Description. The most rurrcred portion pf Snake River Canyon lies between the Seven Devils Range 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 snow-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 elevation of 2,000 to 3.000 feet. To the student of geology Snake River Canyon presents another feature of interest 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 copper, 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 SNAKE RIVER CANYON Vista of the River 2000 Feet Below 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 from Levriston by a high-power launch which ascends 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 *neatli overhanging walls, crossing a dangerous crevass, pursuing narrow trails along steep ledges, and surmounting countless other obstacles, accomplish the joum<^. Such has been the lot of the explorers of the gorge rosral of the Snake River. But when Oregon and Idaho increase sufficiently in wealth and population th^ 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. £. Goodspeed, Dept. of Geology, Oregon Agri. College.
"Billy" Sunday. Rev. William Ashley Sunday, commonly known as "Billy" Sunday, is the Premier of American Evangelists. During the year 1896 he received from 1,000 to 3,000 conversions a month. In late years he has heea 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 Kiver Canyon conaeetliig Homestead with Lewlston has been made; but on account of the enormous expense involved, the project has been
temporarily abandoned. Should the railroad be eventually constructed, it would convey sitrlitsf okors throuph a gorge of unique scenery, also afford water grade transportation from tho intermountain region immediately west of the Rocky Mountains to Portland and the Pacific Ocean. Digitized by Coo^ 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 enthusiasm that he manifested 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 marvelous. As an evangelist
- his 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 people. In this respect, Oregon is probably pre-eminent. This inference is made from data giving the per cent of diseased draftees in the recent war as taken from a chart 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 Copyright, Underwood & Underwood "BILLY" SUNDAY
the highest per cent of immorally afflicted, are here given:
0.59^^— Six of the states Oregon Iowa Ohio Georgia South Carolina Rorida 1.63^3.24%5.60%. 8.04%8.90%- It is a remarkable coincidence that Oregon, which is reputed for the purity of her men, was the first state to organize a society for the promotion of sex education. In DB. ALLEN GILBERT, OF THE OREGON SOCIAL HYGIENE SOCIETY. LECTURING AT THE PORTLAND SHIP YARDS
1910, some men organized the Oregon Social Hygiene Society in Portland. Until that time there had been a conspiracy of silence concerning matters of vital importance regarding health and purity. Young men and women were
permitted to grow up in ignorance of the causes and consequences 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-operation of the Portland "Oregonian," which, at a tremendous sacrifice, discontinued quack advertisements. Other newspapers did likewise. The legislature made it a felony to advertise so-called cures for venereal diseases. Quack doctors went out of business. Public meetings were held for both sexes in the cities and towns of the State. The movement 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 philanthropists 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 rail may become, the need of PACIFIC HIGHWAY DESCRIBES A LOOP IN WHICH IT CROSSES ITSELF AND A DOUBLE TRACK RAILROAD. Elevation, 4,500 feet; location, north slope of Siskiyou Mountains.
good wagon roads will always be present; and it was with " this thought uppermost that the proposition to construct a roadway for vehicles across the state of Oregon from Portland 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 which the roads are to pass. Many counties have taken up the work, and have accomplished some noteworthy improvements The dream of the Pacific Highway has (1918) been practically realized as all the heavy grades are under construction and will soon be eliminated. Substantial 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 Highway. 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 constructing 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 TUNNEL AT MITCHEL S PuINT >
annual tax providing for the survey and grading of such a road. 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 Maryhill, Washington, a noted good roads enthlisiast, 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 Multnomah County with the result that the route was changed, the injunction suit was withdrawn, and within two years a highway was constructed and covered with a hard surface. PILLARS CF HERCULES 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 1 00 feet. All the bridges—and there are scores of them—are made of re-enforced concrete and have a minimum width of twenty-four feet. Upon passing 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 engineering, 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 modern triamph of engineering and enterprise through a vision, they would haVe doubted their sight and questioned their sanity.
Interstate Bridge. When Lieutenant Broughton, in 1 792, sailed up the Colimibia, he observed Indians in canoes crossing the river near the present site of Vancouver. Again in 1824, when T^^Ti^h^T^o. Hudson's Bay Company
established the Vancoularge numbers from the MULTNOMAH FALLS
ver trading post, Indians m South were 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 increase 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
Multnomah, in Oregon, and Clarke, in Washington, jointly constructed a bridge across the Columbia River at Vancouver, it being finished and thrown open to traffic on February 14, 1917, the fifty-eighth anniversary of the admission of i'hotif by Hicks Lhatten INTERSTATE WAOON BBIDOE
Oregon into the Union. Miiltnomah County appropriated $1,250,000 for this purpose, and Clarke 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 consisting of 1 3 steel spans—three of which are 275 feet long, each, and the others being ten feet shorter—reaching 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 spanning the Columbia river between the states of Oregon and
Washington. The traffic crossing this magnificent structure 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 influence in increasing the commercial and social life between these two great commonwealths. Copyright, WeiHter, Portland, Oregon. TRUNKS OF TREES IN THE COLUMBIA AT LOW WATER They are submerged during the high water season.—Wind Mountain in the background.—Photo 1893. Columbia River Natural Bridge. While the Columbia is spanned by the Interstate Wagon Bridge and by railway bridges, many believe that there was at one time 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
and William Winter of the emit^ration ol 1843. in their book entitled, "Route Across the Rocky Mountains and a Description of Oregon and California," describe that section 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 [Columbia] River, and the water backed up over its natural shores. We asked the Indians if diey 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 Colunibia 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 riv^ 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 p^haps 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 snov-capped volcano rises from the plains, and is now (1846) burning. Frequently the huge columns of black smoke may be seen stiddenly biursting from Its crater» at the distance of forty miles."-^ohiison and Winter.
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 lind 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 panned 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 die Cascades for miles there are in places erect stumps of trees that were obviously killed by die encroachment 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 s:rew the encliantino tale of the Indian maiden Lowit and the contestlnr^ 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 claystamed bouldery assemblage from yon proud cliff was its make up, over the rise or fall of which, in our humble judgment, inexorable gravity, not Sahale the Great Indian Spirit, exercised complete controL'*
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 **lt 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, 1849April 9. 1 85 I; Joseph Lane, June 2, 185 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. 1861-March 3, 1863; { John R. McBride, March 4, 1863-March 3. 1865; J. H. D.! Henderson, March 4, 1865 -March 3. 1867; Rufus Mailory, March 4, 1867-March 3, 1869; Joseph S. Smith. March 4. i 1869-March 3, 1871; j ames H. Slater, March 4, 1871- j March 3. 1873; Joseph G. Wilson', March 4, 1873; James W. Nesmith. March 4, 1873-March 3. 1875; George A. LaDow', March 4, 1875; Lafayette Lane, October 25, 1875March 31, 1877; Richard Williams. March 4. 1877March 3. 1879; John Whkcaker, March 4. 1879March 3, 1881; M. C. George, March 4. i 68 1 -March
3, 1885; Binger Herman, March 4. 1885-March 3. 1893; Binder I lertiian. March 4, 1893-March 3. 1897; W. R. Ellis, March 4, 180 3-March 3, 1899; Thomas H. 1 ongiie, March
4, 1897-March 3, 1905; Malcolm A. Moody, March 4, 1899-March 3, 1903; Bi nger Herman, March 4. 1 903-March 3, 1907; J . N. Williamson, March 4. 1 903-March 3. 1907;
iDied before qualifying.
■ W. C. Hawl^, March 4. 1907.March 3. 1921; W. R. Ellis. Match 4, 1907-MarGh 3. 1911; A. W. Lafferty. March 4. 191 l-Maich 3, 1915; N. J. Siimot. March 4. 191 B-March 3, 1921; C N. McArthiir, March 4. 1915-Mareh 3. 1921.
U* S. Scaaton lirom OMfon. The following are die U. j
5. Senators chosen to represent Oregon at Washington: <
Delazon Smith. February 14. 1859-March 3, 1839;! Joseph Lane, February 14, 1859-March 3, 1861; Edward D. Baker, March 4, 1861 -October 21, i 86 i; Benjamin Stark, s October 21, 1 86 1 -September 1 1, 1862; Benjamin Harding, September 11. 1862-March 3, 1865; James W. Nesmith, March 4. 186 I -March 3, 1867; George H. WilHams, March 4, I865-March3. 1871;HenryW Corbett, March 4, 1867March 3, 187 3; James K. KcWy, 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, 1889March 3, 1895; John H. Mitchell. March 4, 1 89 1 -March 3,
1897; George W. McRride. March 4, 1893-March 3. 1901; Henry W. Corbett, March 4, 1897; Joseph Simon, October
6, 1898-March 3, 1903; John H. Mitchell, March 4, 1901December 8, 1905; Charles W. Fulton. March 4, 1903March 3. 1909;John M. Gearin-, December 12. 1905-January 23. 1907; Fred W. Muikey, January 23. 1907-March 3. 1907; December 10, 1 9 f 8-December 17, 1 9 1 8; 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\ 1915-March 3. 1921; Charles L. McNary*. May
29, 1 9 1 7-March 3, 1925.
»f
iThe United States Senate refused to seat Mr. Corbett, appointed
by Governor Lord.
-Appointpd to succeed John H. Mitchell, who died December 8, 1905. 3Appomted to succeed Harry Lane, who died May 23, 1918.
- ↑ Situated just across the Willamette River from Oregon City.
- ↑ The 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.
- ↑ A portion of the eloquent speech of the dying father is thus recorded by Young Joseph:
"My son, my body is returning 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 people. They look to you to guide them. Always remember that your father never sold his country. You must 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 I would protect his grave with my 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 would not love his father's grave is worse than a wild animal."
- ↑ Miss Fern Hobbs.
- ↑ A number of pieces of this beeswax and a piece of teak are in the collection of the Oregon Historical Society.