USA > Oregon > The Oregon native son, 1900-1901 > Part 25
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a wreath in one hand, and grasping the reins of the horse with the other. There are other female figures-a winged Vic- tory stationed tip-toe on a globe at each of the four corners of the pedestal-and behind all extends an elongated semi- circular colonnade, richly sculptured and decorated overhead, ending on each side in a spacious pavilion, surmounted on the top of the colonnade by colossal quadrigae, after the style of that so con- spicuous over the Brandenburg Gate. Not far distant is that other dominant and magnificent equestrian monument of Frederick the Great and his Generals, facing the plaza and terminating the Un- ter den Linden,
It would be indulging in tiresome de- tail to attempt to enumerate all the prom- inent buildings on or adjacent to this central plaza, and in other quarters of the city-the Prussian House of Com- mons, the Museum of Arts and Indus- tries, the Ethnographical Museum- these three at the intersection of Prince ยท Albrecht and Koniggratzer Streets; but the new cathedral occupies the most commanding position and is in fact most conspicuous structure of the plaza group. It is not yet completed, but ex- pected to be next year. It is Romanes- que in its architecture, built of yellowish gray sandstone, and has a central dome and four corner cupolas-two of greater magnitude being placed on the front corners. The entire edifice is an appro- priate conception, though rather over- loaded with ornament about the root. What surprises me in Gothic Germany is the prevailing style of architecture in its most notable public buildings, which is Grecian or Romanesque. Whether the predilections of Fredierick the Great for French and Italian literature, art and taste as well as some other things, influ- enced subsequent potentates, I know not, but certainly his architectural taste has found followers: and it may be men- tioned here incidentally that in his col- lection at San Souci the paintings of greatest merit are those by French art- ists-Watteau, Lancret, Pesne, et al. There is a fair distribution of becoming
monumental statuary, bronze and mar- ble, in the neighborhood of the plaza, on the Elector's Bridge and Unter den Linden, but without further ado, I will return to the other extremity of the lat- ter. About two blocks north of the Brandenburg gate stands the new Reich- stag building, also Romanesque, and like the Cathedral, built of yellowish gray sandstone. It is impracticable to attempt a minute description of these buildings, any one of which would re- quire more time than is at my command, but in general terms that of the Reich- stag may be characterized as compara- tively massive and impressive; though it has defects, to which I may yet refer, The Victory column stands but a short distance west of the Reichstag, at the head of Victory Avenue, a new thor- oughfare, probably half a mile long, which passes through the Thiergarten not far from the Brandenburg Gate. On both sides of this avenue Emperor Wil- liam II is erecting marble statues, com- memorating his ancestors of the Hohen- zollern family-the dynasty to which he belongs, founded by the Great Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick William, over two hundred years ago. Leaving for the moment Victory Avenue with its new statues-and its towering column about 370 feet high (shaft and pedestal) we turn westward through the Thier- garten park on a fifteen minutes' drive to the Memorial Church of Kaiser William I, which has just been completed by the present Emperor and which again is of Romanesque style of architecture. While in general this building is admirably fin- ished inside, its peculiar charm is a del- icately and finely wrought marble statue of our Lord in the midst of the chancel, the figure exceptionally pleasing in form and.attitude and the face very beautiful indeed. Immediately to the west of this church is a five-story buliding, also con- structed by the present Emperor, to conform with the architecture of the church; a circumstance mentioned here because I will further on refer to this particular feature of architectural over- sight exercised not only in Berlin and
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northern Germany, but also in Northern Europe, the result attained being an ar- chitectural harmony, symmetry, and propriety very apparent in European towns and cities.
Referring to the public buildings of Berlin in general, the National Gallery and the "Old Museum," already referred to are classic in style and are within a square. or enclosed on three sides by a colonnade or peristyle of double columns which is architecturally attractive and becoming. The Bourse, same style of architecture, is a handsome structure both externally and internally; and I may say that all the notable buildings are imposing and effective in design, though I will take the liberty of critic- izing some. The dome of the Reich- stag is too low; it does not have ade- quate breadth of base where it rests on the roof of the structure. I think in this respect the architectural aspect of the government building decidedly de- fective. Next I turn to the Victory col- umn. The approach and foundation of dark-red or reddish-brown granite are appropriate and becoming; also the massive square pedestal or plinth on which as a base it rests; and the bronze bas-relief on each face of the square, il- lustrating Germany's prowess in arms, are excellent. So is the column itself- a round fluted shaft 200 feet high, encir- cled three times throughout its length by an ornamental band of captured can- non-Danish, Austrian and French- gilded and ranged side by side, their muzzles pointing upward; but the gilded figure of Victory on top is, in my opin- ion, disproportionately large, and her extremely unconventional attire and flashy attitude make her seem lacking in dignity. Another exception I note is to the City Hall-in a different quarter-a square red brick building devoid of any architectural significance and quite de- faced by a brick tower rising midway over the front of the building. This tower resembles a railroad water tank, and reminds me of that which rises from the center of the ferry building in San Francisco, which looks as if it had been
dropped down from above and gone too far through.
I have spoken elsewhere of the house erected by the present Emperor near the Memorial Church to establish harmon- ious surroundings for the latter, my pur- pose being, as stated, to refer later to a custom which prevails in all cities of Northern Europe-namely, that when- ever anyone, be he emperor, prince, fin- ancial potentate, or ordinary citizen puts up a structure he must respect the regulation which provides against exclu- ding sunlight from the street or dwarf- ing by undue proportions improved property adjoining a new building. No house is permitted to be built higher than . the width of the street upon which it faces; more- over the architect's designs must first be submitted to an official commis- sion, which decides whether the build- ing will be in proper keeping with the character or prominence of the section in which it is to be located. This does not mean that the commission exercises arbitrary power in determining the ar- chitectural design or ornamentations of private buildings, but merely that they shall not radically contrast with their surroundings, nor infringe on the rights of some humbler property holder in the same neighborhod. This, so far as I have observed, is a general rule in Northern Europe, and the result is that European cities are much more symmet- rical, harmonious, and pleasing to the eye than they are in America. In none of my travels in continental Europe, past and present, have I ever come across one of those sky-scraping architectural freaks or monstrosities which deface our own cities.
The spirit of paternalism in Berlin which is not confined to architectural matters is not without its advantages. For example: a policeman, thrusting down the ferrule of an American's um- brella carried horizontally, was asked, "Why did you do that?" To save you from the possibility of injuring some other person's eyes," was the reply. Walking along the street I noticed a
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drunken man, the only case I met with during my two weeks'
stay here. He was what Amer- cans call "in a weaving way," but not otherwise demonstrative. A few feet behind him-never nearer than five to ten feet-walked a policeman, who was evidently escorting him to his home to see that no harm should befalll him by the way. The same paternal spirit applies also to public vehicles, street cars, cabs, etc., the drainage of houses, and various other things too nu- merous to think of. In fact the citizen is taken care of, whether he will or no. The average American may on first thought say that this is irksome; yet it is not, and I can very well understand why an intelligent Berliner may prefer the administration of affairs of his own city to that of American municipalities.
As to impressions of the people of
Berlin: this is not my first visit to Ger- many, but all the former pleasant im- pressions have been renewed and con- firmed by later contact with this com- mon-sense, kindly people, who in their customs, appearance and manners differ litle from ourselves. Berlin, of course, is democratic, or more accurately speak- ing has the spirit of social democracy, as Hamburg, Bremen, Copenhagen, Chris- tiania, Stockholm and Helsingfors like- wise have. All these great northern cities are imbued with democratic principles-not radical in the main, but sturdy and insistent; with what seems to me a disposition to assert their rights, but in a spirit tolerant of long-establish- ed conservative institutions, and the pa- tience to await a fuller development of liberty.
Yours truly,
WASHINGTON'S FIRST MILL STONE.
In the July number of the Washing- ton Historian is found an article with reference to "the first mill stone ever used in Washington," which is as fol- lows:
"H. H. Spalding, of Almota, pre- sented the State Historical Society with the first millstone ever used in Washing- ton. It was ground out of a piece of granite along in the 40's and used by the Indians near Alpowa to grind the grain they were taught how to raise by Mr. Spalding's father and his colleague, Dr. Whitman. These two pioneers crossed the plains together in 1836. Al- powa, where the stone was used, was the
home of such noted chiefs as Red Wolf and Timothy and is located in Whitman county, on Snake river. The millstone was hewn out of a piece of granite. It is three feet in diameter, a foot thick and has a hole in the center seven or eight inches in diameter."
The writer of the article has evidently forgotten that history states that the Hudson's Bay Company had a flouring mill near Vancouver in the early thirties, and that it was maintained for years, supplying the needs of the settlers in all parts of the Pacific Northwest where their stations or posts were located, be- sides furnishing flour to the Indians.
WAS IT LUCK OR PROVIDENCE?
(Copyright 1900, by G. A. Waggoner.)
"There is no such thing as luck," said the young school master. "Nothing happens. Everything which occurs is the direct result of causes sufficient to produce that result. No one believes in luck but the most ignorant people; and I cannot understand why anyone should believe such stuff. There is nothing to support the idea whatever."
It was a cold evening in December, of 1862. We were sitting before a fire of blazing pine logs on the south side of the Spokane river, Washington state, near the site now occupied by the city of Spo- kane. We were enroute from Pen D' Orille lake, traveling with a four-mule team to Walla Walla, Washington. Two brothers, John and Robert Shaw, Ar- thur Grey and myself, composed our company. The schoolmaster had been teaching at Fort Colville and was re- turning to his home at The Dalles. The brothers had been for several years trap- ping for the Hudson's Bay Company and, becoming tired of that pursuit, were seeking other scenes. They were good, manly, honest fellows, but extremely illiterate, which fact annoyed Mr. Grey not a little. John, who was the most talkative of the two, was continually be- ing corrected in his ideas and speech. In fact, Mr. Grey was one of those teach- ers who never dismiss school, but feel it their duty to correct error wherever they find it. There was constant friction be- tween these two.
The remark with which this sketch opens was called forth by John who per- sisted in speaking of luck, both good and bad. His eyes opened wide when his pet notions about luck were thus uncer- emoniously attacked.
"Don't you think anything ever hap- pens that wouldn't happened if every- thing had gone on smooth and regular?"
he asked, at the conclusion of the school- master's remarks.
"I can't say as to that," answered Mr. Grey, smiling, "but I adhere to my origi- nal statement. There is no such thing as luck and I assure you, if you had en- joyed any educational advantages, you would agree with me. I know you are honest in your conviction and I would gladly instruct you about such things, but your mental vision is so extremely limited I find it difficult to make you comprehend what I say."
"Jist so," said John. "I can't argue with you for you've got all the biggest words, and I know it. But I am going to tell you about a streak of luck me and Bob got into, and I'll bet you'll give in when you hear it.
"Well, as I told you, we have been trappin' and freightin' for the Hudson's Bay Company up in British Columbia. Trappin' is done mostly in the winter; so is freightin'. They used dogs for horses and the rivers and lakes for roads. A good pullin' dog is worth ten dollars an' a well-broke greyhound is worth a hundred. They run the greyhounds on the express.
"We was up on the lakes about four hundred miles above Fort Colville. We had bad luck all the time and never made anything. We took a notion to quit and started down a foot, packin' our blankets and camp things on our backs. We made it all right till we got in about thirty miles of -
"One evening we struck a parara and it commenced to snow. We couldn't see wheer we was goin' no more than noth- in'. Maybe we went around, and maybe we went straight ahead. Jist about dark we cum to a little grove of pine trees. Right in the edge of it there was an old cabin. We went in and got out of the
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storm. There was a fireplace and plenty of wood layin' around. We struck a fire and felt purty good, but the chimney smoked so it drove us out doors. Bob looked up and said, 'thar's some boards layin' across the chimney." He climbed up to take them down. Jist as he throw- ed the boards off his holt broke an' he fell. I run out, and thar he was, holdin' his leg with both hands. He fell in a hole where they tuck the mud out to build the chimney and broke his leg. It wud jist swing around sideways. I never was so bad skeered in my life. but I helped Bob in and he laid down on the blankets. I didn't stay skeered long. I knowed I would have to fix that leg somehow. I'd seen sich things done and went at it. I made a lot of splints and got it all straight and tied it up with some strings we found in the cabin. Then we commenced to think about our cussed luck. There was no doctor any- where in reach. . Bob couldn't walk, he was too big for me to pack on my back and we were nearly out of grub, and it was snowing terrible. I wish you had been there to argue the case then. How would your cause come in then? Why Bob didn't fall ten feet. I seed a man once fall fifty feet and it didn't hurt him a bit.
"We jist had one little streak of good luck, we wus in the cabin where I could keep Bob from freezing to death. It kept on snowing an' next mornin' it was knee deep and snowin' still. I told Bob we must hold out till it quit, then I would go for help. So we eat light that day.
"I had my old Yager, but there was no game in that country then. Bob had been at me all the way to throw it away, but I held on to it: I got in a good lot of wood and kept the cabin warm. Long towards mornin' I thought I heard some- thing trampin' around the house like horses or cattle, but I knowed thar wan't any such stock around. Jist as it wus gittin' light, I heard a kind of snort and knowed thar was sumthin' out thar. I peeped out of a crack and thar stood a big buffalo not ten feet from the cabin.
"My heart cum right up in my mouth and nearly choked me; but I poked the old Yager out and let him have an ounce bullet right in the ear. He didn't know what hurt him. He went down kerwhol- lop. Bob yelled out, "what in the nation ar' you shootin' at?"
"I've killed a big buffalo."
"'Not much,' said Bob, 'thar ain't a buffalo in two hundred mile of here. You must a killed sumthin', though, for I hear it kickin.'
"'By the Moses, Bob, I tell you I've got the biggest buffalo you ever saw. He's right here against the house as dead as a door nail. We can live on him till you git well.'
" 'What's that,' said Bob, lookin' to- ward the other side of the cabin.
"I crawled over and peeped out that side, thinkin' it might be another one. I cum near a jumpin' out of my boots. I would a done it, only I didn't have them on. The whole grove was full uv 'em. They was a standin' around under the trees to keep out of the snow. I never saw it snow harder. I loaded up the old gun and downed another big bull. The gun didn't make much noise. They don't know you when thear's snow on the trees. It never scared 'em a bit. I kept on loadin' and shootin' and seein' more buffalo all the time. Bob got so excited I could hardly make him lay still an' not hurt his leg. He twisted around so he could see out and I had to give him the gun an' let him shoot one. He done it in good shape. I kept on shootin' all morning. When thar wasn't any more in sight I crept out to see what I had done. They was layin' everywhere. Thar was three standin' out in the edge of the grove. I crawled out and got one of 'em; the other two ran off on the parara. They cum back after a while, and I got 'em both. What made them act that way nobody can tell. When I had counted 'em I had twenty-eight as purty beeves as you ever saw. All seal fat. The fust thing I done was to skin out a piece of the one by the house for break- fast. Bob was nearly tickled to death. He laughed at everything I said. Bob's
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got a long head on him. While I was shootin' he was studyin' up what we was goin' to do with all that meat. I wus just poppin' away, without thinkin' of anything. I jist killed 'em because I seed them, like a weasel in a hen-coop. But Bob's idea was to sell them to the company. I forgot to tell you that the company was short of Pimecan. That's part of the reason we quit 'em. They said they couldn't let us have it but twice a day.
"Every trapper knows it gets too cold up thar to work on anything else, so a lot of us pulled out for a warmer coun- try. Thar was plenty of it stacked up in the buffalo country, but the lakes and rivers hadn't froze over so they could get it in yet.
"What's that you say? You don't know what Pimecan is? Well, that beats me. I never heard of the like of that. What would you say if I didn't know what bread and meat wus? Don't know what Pimecan is! Well, I'll be dog- goned! Say, did you ever hear of the Hudson's Bay Company afore?"
"O yes," answered the schoolmaster, feeling he was now being placed on solid ground, "The Hudson's Bay Company is the largest fur company in North America. It has several thousand trad- ing posts and employs several thousand men, besides purchasing all the furs tak- en by the Indians."
"You bet they do. It is the biggest company in the world. It has eat up all the buffalo in the United States. Every bit of it was made up in Pimecan afore they touched it. An' you never heard of it afore! Why man, that is the only thing they can eat down thar and keep warm. Up thar on the lakes it is about the only thing they think about when the thermometer gets down a couple hund- red below freezin'. When they get out of Pimecan nobody dasent leave the fire. Why, the dogs know what Pimecan is and won't stretch a trace unless they git plenty of it. If a dog starts out on them lakes in the winter. without his belly full of Pimecan, he is a dead dog, sure. And you never heard of it! Well, I'm clean
done up! With all your education you didn't know what Pimecan was! But I am glad there's something you didn't know. I thought you knowed most ev- rything. It makes me feel like I would- n't be so uncomfortable any more when you are talking. But maybe I am wear- in' you out like you do me sometimes. If that is so, I'll jist quit now. I ain't got nuthin agin' you. I really wish me an' Bob knew as much as you do. But I don't see how you could have got along without findin' out somethin' about Pimecan. Are you tired? If you are, say so.'
"No," answered the very much wor- ried but good natured school master, "go on. I assure you I am very much in- terested in what you are relating. Please go on with your story."
"That's good. Now I'm all right. I'll tell you all about it, and tell it as quick as I can; but it stretches over a good deal of ground. Maybe you would like to know jist how they make it. Well, the first thing is to skin the buffalo; then cut the skin up and make little sacks jist big enough to hold fifty pounds of the meat; sew them up with strings off the hide, and fill 'em with meat. After it is cooked a little, then pour two gallons of hot tallow in each sack, sew it up and your Pimecan is done. The taller makes it all solid and it will keep fresh all win- ter. There were some old traps in the cabin, and among 'em I found a big camp kettle. That was jist right to cook our meat in. Then I went to work on our buffalo. I worked all day and night to get as many of 'em cut up afore they froze as I could. Bob sewed up sacks and kept the pot bilin'. I tell you we worked. Day and night we never let the fire go out. It kept on snowin' an' got colder and colder. I had to chop the meat with a hatchet. We kept on bilin' and stackin' up the sacks until we had the cabin nearly full. We worked four weeks as hard as you ever see men work. an' then I had ten buffalo we hadn't touched, except I took the insides out the furst day. But they was all right. They wus froze as hard as rocks. Bob's
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leg wus gittin' along furst rate. We hadn't nothin' to eat but meat. When the snow got a little hard I made a pair of snow shoes and started for the fort. I left Bob plenty of wood and meat to work on. After I struck the lake the travelin' was purty good. Thar wus about fifty men at the fort and not a pound of Pimecan in camp. When I told my story, they jist laughed at me. One feller said, 'What's the use of tellin' such stuff? Thar ain't no buffalo in this country. You are jist a blow-hard.'
"'Now look here,' I said, 'I don't like that and ain't goin' to take any more of it. I ain't no liar, and won't stand any more foolishness. I don't care whether you believe me or not. I've got the stuff -6000 pounds of it-all stacked up in the cabin.'
"After while they thought maybe I wus tellin' the truth and wanted to talk about it. One feller, the only one that had any sense, asked me if I found a salt mine in the cabin, too. I told him I put it up without salt in it. Then he wanted to know if I had any of it with me. I told him thar was some in my pack. That told the tale. They knowed if I had bought the Pimecan it would be salted.
"Next mornin' twenty men started back with me. We tuck all the dogs and sledges they had. They was the best tickled set of fellows you ever saw when we got to the cabin an' they found I wasn't lyin' about the Pimecan. I sold it all to them right thar-for thirty cents a pound. As soon as they were gone with their load I commenced on the frozen buffalos. They hauled an' me an' Bob biled and stewed until thar wan't a pound of good meat on the bones.
"When we got done we tucked Bob in one of the sledges. I had saved a good buffalo robe to keep liiin warm, and went down to the' fort. His leg was nearly well.
We bought the team that brought Bob down for sixty dollars and started to Fort Colville. We had four good pullin' dogs and came miost of the way on the ice. When we were on the land the
snow was packed hard. We had lots of pervisions and felt purty good.
"It takes a good driver to run a dog, you bet. Most anybody can drive a mule, but a man has got to know a few things to drive a dog. They are so much smarter than a mule. If they ain't man- aged right they will take up all kinds uv tricks. Most of their harness is made of raw hide, an' ever now an' then a dog will turn thief and git up in the night, when you are asleep, and eat up his harness. That's worse than a balky mule, I tell you. After you feed your dogs, after you stop at night, they go off and dig down in the snow, four or five feet, so they will be warm. If it snows you can't see whar they are, the holes is all covered up. A good dog will always come when you call him for breakfast, . but a rogue will sometimes lay still and let you whistle until he gets too hungry to stay any longer. You've got to be careful not to feed too much so your dogs will be hungry in the mornin'. You've got to know jist how much each dog needs. The first night Bob fed. I was busy gittin' supper and didn't see what he give 'em. Bob never druv much an' fed them all they wanted. That night it snowed. In the mornin' when we call- ed, not a dog showed up. Their bellies wus full an' they had a warm nest. They jist laid low. Me and Bob whistled our- selves nearly to death. No use, nary a dog was ready to be hitched up. We had to lay thar until next day. We wus mad as blazes. I found what looked like a dog's nest and run a pole down in the snow. He came out a yellin' but I couldn't find any more. Late in the evenin' they all crawled out for some more Pimecan. They didn't git much. Next mornin' when we called 'em they wus ready for their breakfast, I tell you. After that I done the feedin' an' we got along all right.
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