CHAPTER 7
THE FIRST SCIENTISTS IN OREGON
This morning in the roadside grass—
I got my skirts all sopping wet—
I took it to the botany class.
THEODOSIA GARRISON
Except that they richly deserve separate consideration because of the nature of their services, the first scientists might have been included with the explorers, for in a very important way they were themselves explorers and were frequently members of the exploring expeditions.
How fascinating the early Oregon world seemed to these accurate observers whose only motive was to find out and to learn, is revealed in the flavored quality of their writings, so often and so greatly removed from any of the dry-as -dust characteristics of such literature. In their reports they fortunately felt justified in giving not only the scientific discovery but also the conditions under which the discovery was made.
Their eagerness would not be deterred by hazards. They took long chances with their lives in order to get a specimen of a strange cormorant or a 14-inch pine cone.
Thus across the years they touch us with the contagion of their curiosity. We share their zeal and take part in their adventures, and the tree or animal or physical feature takes on a romance that is imparted thereafter to our appreciation of the particular object when we observe it today.
This chapter contains brief selections from the field journals or other writings of John Scouler, David Douglas, John Kirk Townsend, Thomas Nuttall and
