Years in Oregon (New York, 1882); Barrows, Oregon, the Struggle for Possession (Boston, 1884); Nixon, How Marcus Whitman Saved Oregon (Chicago, 1895); Mowry, Marcus Whitman and the Early Days of Oregon (New York, 1901); Bourne, "The Whitman Legend," in American Historical Review (ib., 1901); Bancroft, History of the Northwest Coast (San Francisco, 1884); id., History of Oregon (San Francisco, 1886-88); Gray, History of Oregon, 1792-1849 (Portland, Ore., 1870); Nicolay, Oregon Territory (London, 1846), a clear statement of the British position; Greenhow, History of Oregon and California (Boston, 1844).
OREGON. A city and the county-seat of Ogle County, Ill., 99 miles west of Chicago; on the Rock River, and on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Map: Illinois, C 2 ). It has a public library with over 2400 volumes. Good water power is furnished by the river; and there are manufactures of pianos, street sprinklers, flour, foundry and machine-shop products, etc. Oregon is an attractive summer resort. Population, in 1890, 1566; in 1900, 1577.
OREGON, University of. A coeducational State institution at Eugene, Ore., founded in 1872 and opened in 1876. It forms an integral part of the public system of the State. It comprises the University Academy; the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, with a school of commerce, and courses in law, journalism, and teaching; the College of Science and Engineering, with courses preparatory to medicine and dentistry; the School of Music; the Graduate School; and the schools of law and medicine, the last two at Portland. Admission to the university is based on examination or on certificates from accredited schools. The university had in 1902 an attendance of 470, 71 instructors, and a library of 15,500 volumes. The productive funds amounted to $200,000, and the income to $59,700.
OREGON BROOK-TROUT. The common brook-trout of the tributaries of the lower Columbia, and of coastwise streams of Oregon and Washington, a variety (Masoni) of the rainbow trout (q.v.). The Dolly Varden trout of the same region is sometimes called the Oregon charr.
OREGON CITY. The county-seat of Clackamas County, Ore., 15 miles south-southeast of Portland; on the Willamette River, and on the Southern Pacific Railroad (Map: Oregon, C 4). It is developing as an industrial centre, its manufactures, which include paper and pulp, woolen goods, flour, lumber, soap, etc., being promoted by the immense water power derived from the falls of the Willamette, 40 feet in height, which are utilized also as a source of electrical power. The city is at the head of deep-water navigation on the river, but vessels pass above the falls by means of a system of locks. There are municipal water-works. Population, in 1890, 3062; in 1900, 3494.
OREGON QUESTION. The name given in American history to the dispute between the United States and Great Britain over the delimitation of their possessions on the Northwest coast, leading to the determination of the present boundary. See Oregon, paragraph History; Northwest Boundary Dispute.
OREGON RIVER. A river in North America. See Columbia River.
OREGON ROBIN. A thrush (Merula nævia) of the Columbia River Valley and northward, which is closely related to the Eastern robin (Merula migratoria), but very different in colors. It is dark bluish slate above, and orange-brown below, with a line of black from the bill backward below the eye and along the side of the neck, whence it curves forward into a broad, crescentic band across the breast. The bird breeds in British Columbia and Alaska, makes a strong nest in bushes, and lays eggs colored light greenish blue, and distinctly marked and spotted with blackish brown. It has a sweet song.
OREGON SNOWBIRD. A junco (Junco Oregonus) common in the Northwestern United States and Canada. It differs from the common Eastern junco (q.v.) in the blacker and more sharply defined hue of the head and neck, the absence of dark color under the wings, and the square patch of rufous brown on the upper part of the back. As in other juncos, white feathers appear in the tail. The male of this species has the second tail feather mostly white and the third partly so near the tip. The adult female's plumage differs from that of the male in being prevailingly brown.
OREGON STURGEON. The white sturgeon of the Pacific Coast. See Sturgeon.
OREGON TRAIL, The. A narrative of travel by Francis Parkman (1849). It is the account of a trip to the far West which he made in 1846, and first appeared in the Knickerbocker Magazine in 1849 as "The California and Oregon Trail."
O'REILLY, Count Alexander (c.1722-1794). An Irish soldier in the Spanish service. At an early age he went to Spain, where he entered the military service. After serving in Italy against the Austrians he entered their service in 1757, and fought in two campaigns against the Prussians. In 1759 he entered the French Army, but soon afterwards was induced to return to Spain, and in the campaign of 1762 against Portugal earned promotion to the rank of brigadier-general. He was made major-general, and was appointed Governor of Havana. There he rebuilt the fortifications which had been demolished by the British. In 1769, appointed Governor of Louisiana and sent with a large force to reduce the rebellious French colonists, he arrested and tried the leaders of the revolution, and had some of them shot, but having thus demonstrated his master's power, he then devoted himself to winning the affections of the colonists by the affability of his demeanor and the liberality of his policy. In 1770 he returned to Spain, where he was made Governor of Madrid. On the death of General Ricardos he was appointed commander of one of the armies operating against the French, and died while on his way to the frontier.
O'REILLY, John Boyle (1844-90). An Irish-American poet and journalist, born at Dowth Castle, county Meath, Ireland, June 28, 1844. He studied at a private school, learned to set type, and became a newspaper reporter. At the age of eighteen he went to London as an agent of the Fenian Society, and in 1865 enlisted in
