The Oregon native son, Vol. I, Part 2

Author: Native Sons of Oregon; Oregon Pioneer Association. cn; Indian War Veterans and Historical Society
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Portland, Or. : Native Son Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1252

USA > Oregon > The Oregon native son, Vol. I > Part 2

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The annual meetings have been held in various portions of the state, though the greater number and nearly all of the later ones have been convened in Port- land. The revenue has been derived through fees for membership, dues and donations. For the past fifteen years the number of pioneers has been growing less and less, and the decrease kept re- ducing the membership fees and the dues; in consequence, greater donations were required. Fortunately for the associa- tion it had among its membership such citizens as Wm. S. Ladd, Henry W. Corbett. Henry Failing and C. H. Lewis, some one of whom having been for years past an officer of the association. They would find out from the secretary the amount required in excess of member- ship and dues receipts, which was always over $500; then they would each donate a hundred dollars toward making up the deficit and see that the remainder was collected from the other many who saw fit to lend their assistance. For fif- teen years-$1oo each-have these four pioneers so munificently, though quietly, ttod for the benefit of the associa-

tion. All of them, except Mr. Corbett, have within a short time made their last remove-a transition from an existence where trials abound to one of full joy in the life beyond. As the news of their decease went forth, their associate pio- neers wore the face of gloom, and from each heart came an involuntary and ear- nest "Rest in peace." Since the decease of those named their children have joined Mr. Corbett, as their fathers would have done, in continuance of the donations made subsequently.

[The present secretary of the associa- tion, Mr. Geo. H. Himes, has filled such position for the past fourteen years. Upon his shoulders has fallen the greater portion of the detail work of making each annual gathering a success, one which would be an hour for long remem- brance by those in attendance. His services, though laborious, have been given fully and without salary. He has for years made it a business to collect all data in relation to the history of Ore- gon that he could get hold of in order to preserve the deeds of our pioneer fathers and mothers for coming time; their rem- iniscenses "the plains across"; their bat- tles with the savages and other matters incident to the early struggles to become what we are now-Oregon the great. This information will be placed with the Historical Society and the benefits thereby will be of great value .- F. H. S.]

June 15 of each year was fixed as Pic- neer day, and was so selected at the sug- gestion of the late Governor S. F. Chad- wick. Such date commemorates the date of the treaty made in 1846 between the United States and Great Britain, es- tablishing the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude as the boundary between

OREGON NATIVE SON.

this country and Canada, an epoch which marks the triumphs of the Oregon pio- neer in the contest for the three great states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, a controversy which began in 1818 and continued for twenty-eight years. It is a matter of regret that the anti-expan- sionists of this period are not on earth so as to look upon their "barren waste" and note the "blossoming as the rose" on every hand.

No parallel is found in all the history of mankind to the record of these state builders. No movement like this has been chronicled since the going forth of our first parents from the garden of Eden. The writings of the historian concerning the migratory movements of man state that peoples marched in large numbers; that they first builded cities and improved the adjoining lands after- wards. This was not the case with the pioneer to Oregon; peoples before made a gradual move with no complete separa- tion from civilization and friends, their journeys involving no great distance of travel. But with them the usages of the past were no index to their guidance; they had heard of a new country, to reach which over 2,000 miles must be traveled; over unmarked plains and rugged moun- tains: a country uninhabited except by wild beasts and wilder savages.

Each little company severed the ties which bound it to loved ones and friends, for they knew not how long it would be: abandoning home comforts, institutions of learning, and the marts of trade, and with firm resolve set their faces westward to reach a region whose loca- tion, advantages and possibilities were but little known. To exile themselves across such a wide and dangerous ex- panse called for a faith most sublime, a heroism sterling, and a spirit daring even to the verge of madness.

The undertaking schooled them in les- sons. of forbearance, energy and leader- ship never to be forgotten, and where they fixed their roof-tree and set. up a hearthstone, their neighbors found 2

latch-string hanging on the outside of the door. From a few at first, then to less than 50,000 in 1859, when statehood was inaugurated; from thence to over 350,000 at present; yet from out of that pioneer band has come the greater num- ber of our merchant princes, bankers and men and women in every profession and trade in our midst. During all the years of changing scenes, the stability, business capacity and statesmanship of the pioneer men and their sons have been excelled only by the self-sacrifice, unfailing devo- tion and spotless purity of character of their wives and daughters. In the suc- cessive steps from wilderness to empire, incidents are extremely rare where a trust has been betrayed by these pioneers of Oregon. A number of them have held highest offices of the nation; in the cabi- net, diplomatic, and have graced the halls of congress, and have administered the foremost stations within the gift of not only our own state, but in those of oth- ers. Of our fourteen governors, all but three were pioneers; of these three, one is a Native Son, and two are worthy of honorary membership by long residence and faithful services as citizens in their adopted state. Of that band one has honorably discharged the duties of at- torney-general of the United States, two have been ministers to foreign countries, one became an advisor to a king, an- other the editor of a great daily: while two others have been appointed judges of the United States court, the survivor still holding that exalted position: one was governor of California, another of Utah, two of Idaho, one of Alaska, and one of Washington. Of the fifteen sena-

FIRST NATIVE-BORN.

tors, all but three were pioneers; of the three, two of them have been here so long and have been so prominently identified with the state's political his- tory that they may be well included in the list; and the third is a Native Son. Of the nineteen representatives to con- gress, seventeen of them came here be- fore 1859, and another is a Native Son. In the field of caricature a Native Son is the leader of the world; in that of rhyme, three have become famous-two were pioneers, the other a Native Son. Some of our pioneer mothers and daughters, to the manor born, are known as writers of history, fiction, poetry, in the lecture field, as journalists, on the stage, and various other honorable avocations, in all of which they have acquitted themselves with credit to themselves and honor to the state.

Whatever Oregon is today is the work of the pioneers. Whatsoever things are here beholden of learning, advancement and of domestic or public worth, are ow- ing to them. If our work shall speedily be forgotten, theirs is safe from the touch of time. The present and the future can- not forget them, for. even to the farthest generations, the evidences of their lives and the munificent fruits of their labors shall be before the beholder.

The circuit of the earth has been com- pleted by the descendants of Japheth traveling westward to a meeting with those of Shem who departed to the east- ward. No more shall the pioneer blaze the way for the palace-car which now wheels in glittering splendor over the once wild and trackless expanse between their starting-place and. their point of greeting in later hours.

GEO. H. HIMES.

FIRST NATIVE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF OREGON, BORN OF AMERICAN PARENTS.

Alice C. Whitman, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Marcus Whitman. Born March 14, 1837. Drowned June 22, 1838, in the Walla Walla river. Her birth antedates that of any other white child born west of the Rockies.

Jason Lee White, son of Dr. and Mrs. Elijah White. Born July 22, 1837. Drowned August 23, 1838, in the Colum- bia, at the lower cascades.

Joseph Beers, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alanson Beers. Born September 15, 1837. Died when about 3 years of age.

Eliza Spalding. daughter of Rev. and Mrs. H. H. Spalding. Born November 10, 1837. Is a survivor of the Whitman ont to years of age at

such time. Was married to Mr. Andrew Warren. Lives at Waterville, Wash.

Lee, son of Rev. and Mrs. Jason Lee, nee Annie M. Pitman. Born June 6, 1838. Lived 10 days. His mother died the day following his death, and both are buried in the same grave, the first to be dug in Oregon for the reception of a white mother. The parents of this na- tive son were the first white people to be married west of the Rocky mountains.

Cyrus Walker, son of Rev. and Mrs. Elkanah Walker. Born December 7, 1838. Lives at Albany.

J. H. D. Gray, son of Hon. Wm. H. and Mrs. Gray. Born March 20, 1839. Lives at Astoria.

OREGON NATIVE SON.

INDIAN WAR VETERANS.

The above association was established at the state fair grounds on September 25, 1885, by veterans who participated in the Indian wars of the Pacific Northwest, which were fought prior to 1860. The objects of the association are "to keep alive the memories of the trials of pio- neer life, to encourage friendship and benevolence among those who have acted as the vanguard of civilization, to trans- mit a true history of the Indian wars of the North Pacific coast, and to impress ourselves and our posterity with that true patriotism which protects our homes from all evils, both by war and peace."

The organization took upon itself the honors of a grand body, and began the work of organizing Subordinate Camps with very flattering results. The pro- posed history has in past been collected and published in book form, and succeed- ing volumes, corrections or additions may be looked for.

Oregon, in its infancy, was baptized in the blood of its inhabitants. Three In- dian wars, with numerous Indian out- breaks, make a part of its history. No one without experience can understand the appalling frightfulness of such wars. Terror becomes universal. Every bush is thought to be the hiding-place for an Indian. His movements are known to be stealthy and sudden-and to torture and murder those who fall into his hands, without regard to age or sex, is his known mode of warfare. Many brave men laid down their lives in these wars, and many mothers, with their little ones, were butchered by the relentless foe.

In civilized warfare the soldier realizes that the eyes of his countrymen are watching his every act, the pomp and he Lindles anew the flames

of patriotism and urge him on to· deeds of valor and feats of prowess; if he goes down he knows that an honored sepul- cher will receive his remains, and that a grateful nation will perpetuate his name and memory. Not so with the pioneer who made a fortress of his log cabin, and. leaving the wife of his bosom and the mother of his children to guard home and family, went forth to meet a savage foe, unknown to civilization and law; no bugle sound or martial strain led him on, but often alone or in small bands he was compelled to seek the lurk- ing foe.

Of such as these are the men who formed the Association of Indian War Veterans of the North Pacific Coast. Such were the brave men who protected the early settlements with their blood, their treasures and their lives. In our homes for disabled soldiers the govern- ment pays $100 per year for all honorably discharged soldiers of the Mexican and civil wars who are members of these homes, but nothing for equally as deserv- ing veterans of our Indian wars. Uncle Sam has dealt justly and liberally with those who have defended the flag against civilized and human foes, then why not give some consideration to those who performed a similar service against a sav- age and inhuman foe. There has been absolutely no assistance rendered those veterans who welded the link which unites the Pacific with the Atlantic under one constitution and one flag.

The sublime courage and patriotism which impelled these veterans forward when duty called is indicated iy their pa- tient waiting for the long-delayed justice clue them at the hands of the government. The voice of Gen. John E. Wool, of the

TROUBLE.

regular army, in misrepresentation of these volunteers, and the lethargy of in- terest shown by the lawmakers at the na- tional capital, the red tape and halo of sainthood the war department throws around an officer, all tended to weight the scales of justice against the truth and the deserving veteran. Like many of these veterans, he saw fit to contemn and scorn. Gen. Wool sleeps in the silent tomb, but the time will come, in the prov-

idence of God, when their names will, though humble volunteers, stand higher than his on the honorable roll of history, and when the record of their lives and sufferings will be a source for all who love liberty and their country to exclaim, "As brave as the brave, and worthy as the most worthy." Columbia can well take up the echo and acknowledge it too late to right a glaring wrong.

T. A. WOOD.

TROUBLE.

Gov. Geo. L. Curry.

With aching hearts we strive to bear our trouble, Though some surrender to the killing pain; Life's harvest-fields are full of wounding stub ble, To prove the goodness of the gathered gra in. With aching hearts we struggle on in sorrow, Seeking some comfort in our sorest need; The dismal day may have a bright tomorrow, And all our troubles be as "precious seed." As precious seed within the heart's recesses, To germinate and grow to fruitage rare, Of patience, love, hope, faith and all that blesses, And forms the burden of our daily prayer.

With aching heart we cling to heaven's evangels, The beautiful, the good, the true, the pure, Communing with us always like good angels. To help us in the suffering we endure.

Indeed, to suffer and sustain afflictions Is the experience which we all acquire ; Our tribulations are the harsh restrictions To consummations we so much desire. With aching hearts life's battle still maintaining, The pain, the grief, and death we comprehend, As issues we accept without complaining, So weary are we for the end. Alas! so weary, longing for the ending, For that refreshing rest-that precious peace, That common heritage, past comprehending.

When all the heart-aches shall forever cease.

OREGON NATIVE SON.

Photo by Browning. GEO. ABERNETHY, Sole Governor Prov. Oregon. A Pioneer of 1840.

Photo by Short. GEN. JOSEPH LANE. First Territorial Governor. A Pioneer of 1849.

Photo by Short.

JOHN WHITEAKER. First State Governor. A Pioneer of 1:52.

Photo by Moore. THEODORE T. GEER. Present State Governor. First Native Son Elected to That Office.

FIRST GOVERNORS.

WHY THE INDIAN FEARS GOLDEN HAIR.

A LEGEND.

A frequent vis- itor to the cabins of the pioneers of Oregon was an old Indian bowed with the weight of many winters, and so little given to in- tercourse with his people that he was consid- ered harmless by his entertainers.

Occasionally, while on his round of visita- tion for provis- ions, he could be induced to speak of his race; but of their folk lore Photo by Browning. MULTNOMAH FALLS. (WAH-SE-AK-LI.) not a word would he say until he saw one day what he believed to be an apparition from the legened past.

It seems that one of the settlers of the "district of Champoeg," upon whoni the Indian sometimes called for charity, had a daughter blessed with long, lux- uriant, golden hair: few there were so endowed among the pioneers, and she was the first the old Indian had looked upon. As she stepped out upon the sward in front of the cabin, a look of consternation came over the face of the Indian, and for a moment his hunger was forgotten, and supplanted by a desire to propitiate the will of the spirit he be- lieved her to be -- Wah-se-ak-li. the sor- ceress; and, with as rapid and active a dance as his aged limbs could perform,

accompanied by a low and weird chant, began to circle around her. It was now the turn of the young lady to think of evil, and that "the devil" had become possessed of the Indian; and she hur- riedly fled within the cabin for safety. The commotion brought the practical mother upon the scene, who, in the course of the Indian's explanation of his con- duct, induced him to relate some "society happenings" antedating the advent of the paleface.

His story was to the effect that in the long, long ago, or "Wee-tee-tash" age, the earth was peopled by beings possess- ing the powers known to the mythologi- cal deities of the ancients. The greatest of these gods was Speelyia, and to hint was attributed the creation of the In- dians, one of whom so captivated him by her graces that he took her to wife, the result of the union being two sons. These, after arriving at man's estate. be- came enamored of the same woman, the goddess referred to.

The elder of the sons was proud, cold and cruel, his highest aspiration being to lead his fellows upon the warpath against the people of neighboring nations; ever fomenting trouble, where Speelyia en- deavored to plant the seed of amity and good-will.

The younger lived a life of ease by captivating his listeners through his suav- ity of manners, coupled with songs of praise of their prowess, virtues and what joy the future had in store for them.

As eaclı in their turn pressed his suit, it was in keeping with the bent of his mind. One related the heroisms of the warrior. the perils of successful chase: yea. how he would the very gods defy. As his

OREGON NATIVE SON.

flow of languade portrayed martial ac- tion, the flash of fire in his listener's eye seemed to kindle for the fray; the look of determination, and the hand almost ready to clasp the arm of the speaker, would indicate that bravery had won the cause. But no; her changeful mood would make her bid him wait, and, with fleetness of foot, she was soon far up the mountain- side, turning only to smile on the dis- concerted lover, and then she is lost to view behind the rugged cliffs. In her look at vanishing the warrior believed he saw cause for the picturing of "hope" in the river sands at his feet.

The younger brother sought by his praises and gift of flattery to win the prize; well-rounded sentences caused pleasure to make merry with each throb of heart, and send its blood to suf- fuse breast and brow with blushes; still, the wearer of the golden hair would Photo by Short. CASTLE ROCK. make no promises, nor yet linger for continuing plea, but was away, leaving the echoes of sweetest laughter to be- guile him into belief that his happy hour was not far distant. To drive dull care away did she appear to each in turn, only to prove their longings vain as oft as their vows were spoken.

A knowledge of the matter was brought to the notice of Speelyia, who sought to bring about the release of his sons from her influence, but he found that all efforts in such direction were frustrated through the faith they entertained of their ulti- mate success in winning her. At last he induced them to go with him, when he would demand from her a settlement of the issue, each son agreeing to abide by the decision obtained with the best of

good-will. At this time Speelyia was living far up the Chuck-a-lil-um-the In- dian name of the Columbia-and, in or- der to make sure that the goddess, who lived further down, would be at home on his arrival, he caused a violent wind and rain to gather and sent it down- stream, knowing that at its coming she would seek and remain under cover dur- ing its continuance, for to allow her hair to get wet would deprive her of her power of enchantment. Following the storm, echoing from cliff to cliff in its mad flight through the gorges, came the yet more angry god, intent upon requiring Wah-se-ak-li to marry one or the other of his sons, or pronounce the doom of both of them.

On arriving at her habitation, Speelyia commanded the storm to stand aloof, and in its stead bathed the scene with sun- shine. Thinking this was done to honor her, and that the young men had brought their father, the greatest god of all, to admire and perchance fall victim to her wiles, she ventured forth as though al- ready a conqueror; but the illusion was quickly dispelled by Speelyia's demand- ing in a voice of thunder that she put an end to past actions and plainly state her preferment between her suitors and go with the favored one to his lodge, or de- cline a union with either of them. Wo- man was ever given to delay when such a question arises, and she was no exception to the rule; so, with the consent of Speel- yia, she went for a ride in her canoe to deliberate, as she told him, but in reality with hope of escaping. As the waves rose high before her to bar further pro- gress, and the clouds gathering darkness and threatening rain, she saw it was use- less to put off the inevitable, and returned to the shore.

Being again pressed for definite an- swer, and in language unsuited to her

WHY THE INDIAN FEARS GOLDEN HAIR.

tastes, she forgot prudence, and in scorn replied: "My ancestors were of the gods, your sons of earth: the eagle mates not with a dog."

Seeing that her reply had aroused the ire of Speelyia to such an extent that he was likely to harm her, she sought to evade its infliction by flight; but he proved to be on the alert and quicker of movement than herself, and before she had reached more than half the distance to the mountain's crest she was seized by him, and with a determination on his part that such hour should be her last;

Photo by Browning. ROOSTER ROCK.

but voices on the river bank caused him to stop, and upon finding that his sons left behind had, through jealousy of each other, begun to fight, he felt he must first go to them. The rolling of a stone upon the hair of the goddess which she could not remove was but the work of a moment, and he returned to the contest below. Upon separating his sons, imag- ine his feelings to hear them accuse him of being the author of all their sorrows and curse him for his treatment of the object of their affections, swearing to be avenged upon him by inciting rebellion among the people. one to gather and convince by flattery. the other to lead to battle. This unfilial language so en- raged Speelvia that the solicitude of the father was blotted out by the god's judg- ment upon such conduct, and through the powers he possessed pronounced the punishment he deemed as just.

The boaster he willed should become a towering rock, standing alone and with sides so abrupt that his spirit could not «lescend from its peak, and so lofty that assistance could not reach from below; that the only voices to allure should be the roar of the storm overhead and the sound of the river beneath in its rush to the sea.

The flatterer was condemned to in- habit a rock some distance away, on the opposite shore, and the only diversion al- lowed him was power to imbue those passing with a feeling that good or ill would cross their trail in the future. During the time of Speelyia's absence the goddess had tried to escape, but in vain; in her endeavors to free herself she had loosened the earth and rocks beneath her so that they had fallen far away, leav- ing her suspended to the top of the cliff thus formed. On the return of the god, she plead for mercy; but to her cries he gave no heed. Still, as he looked upon her golden tresses falling in graceful, waving folds, the idea that they should be preserved could not be put out of mind, and with his stone knife he severed them from her head and fastened them to the top of the bluff, at the same time

· willing that they should become a cat- aract, to burst forth and lend luster to the grandeur around, and also serve as a warning to future generations to have some regard for constancy and for the feelings of others. Behind the fall he im- prisoned the sorceress, and in the roar and splash of the waters can be heard the moan of a soul bewailing a fate enduring forever.

As tourists are borne along by Colum- bia's unsurpassed scenery, little do they know or dream that their eyes rest upon the links of the Indian's story; that the golden tresses which gave Wah-se-ak-li

OREGON NATIVE SON.

Photo by Moore. WILLIAM S. LADD, A Pioneer of 1851.

Photo by Short. HENRY W. CORBETT, A Pioneer of 1851.

Photo by Moore.

HENRY PAALLANG. A Pioneer of 1851.

Photo by Browning. CICERO H. LEWIS, A Pioneer of 18522.

OREGON PIONEERS.

AN UNPUBLISHED LETTER OF GEN. JOE HOOKER.

the power of enchantment are preserved to them in Multnomah's falls; not as they were at first, a continuous fall; time and the wear of the water having worn the bluff away so that now into two it is divided; that high on Castle Rock dwells · the spirit of the mighty warrior of the long-dead past; nor yet will they imagine

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The Oregon native son, Vol. I, Part 2

Author: Native Sons of Oregon; Oregon Pioneer Association. cn; Indian War Veterans and Historical Society Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Portland, Or. : Native Son Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1252

Author: Native Sons of Oregon; Oregon Pioneer Association. cn; Indian War Veterans and Historical Society
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Portland, Or. : Native Son Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1252