USA > Oregon > The Oregon native son, Vol. I > Part 68
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I sincerely regret that the gentleman. as you state, has become odious to his neigh- bors in his old age.
I am your obedient servant, NATH. J. WYETH.
Cambridge, Nov. 28, 1850.
Hon. Robert C. Winthrop:
Dear Sir-I have received a letter from Sam'l R. Thurston, Esq., of which the follow- ing is a portion:
"I desire you to give me as correct a de- scription as you can at this late period, of the manner in which you and your party. and your enterprise in Oregon. were treated by the Hudson's Bay Company west of the Rocky moutains, and particularly by Dr. John Mclaughlin, then its chief factor. This Dr. McLaughlin has since you left the coun- try, rendered his name odious among the people of Oregon. by his endeavors to pre- vent the settlement of the country and crip- ple its growth. Now that he wants a few favors of our government. he pretends that he has been the long-tried friend of Aemeri- cans and American enterprise west of the mountains."
I have written Mr. Thurston in reply to the above extract, that myself and parties were kindly received, and were treated well in all respects by J. Mclaughlin, Esq., and the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company. but from the tenor of his letter. I have no confidence that my testimony will be pre- sented before any committee to whom may be referred any subjects touching the inter- ests of said John Mclaughlin, Esq.
The very honorable treatment received by me from Mr. MeLaughlin during the years inclusive from 1832 to 1836, during which time there were no other Americans on the Lower Columbia. except myself and parties. calls on me to state the facts.
The purpose of this letter is to ask the favor of you to inform me what matter is pending in which Mr. McLaughlin's interests are involved. and before whom. and if you will present a memorial from me on the mat- ters stated in Mr. Thurston's letter as above Respectfully and truly vour ob't servant.
NATH. J. WYETH.
Washington. Dec. 28, 1850.
Dear Sir-I took the earliest opportunity to enquire of Mr. Thurston what there wa- pending before congress or the executive. in which Mr. MeLaughlin's character or interes' were concerned. He would tell me nothing nor am I aware of anything.
Respectfully your ob't servant.
R. C. WINTHROP.
To N. J. Wyeth. Esa
John MeLaughlin, Esq .:
Dear Sir-On the 19th of December. 1950 1 received a letter from Sam'l R. Thurston delegate from Oregon, of which see copy. No 1. and by same mail an Oregon newspaper containing a communication over your six nature. the latter, I think, addressed 'in your handwriting.
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OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
From the tenor of Mr. Thurston's letter, I presumed he wanted my testimony for some purpose not friendly to yourself. I answered his letter as per copy. No. 2, but doubting if my testimony. except it suited his views, would be presented, and being ignorant of his intentions, I wrote the Hon. R. C. Win- throp, late speaker of the house of represen- tatives, and at present a member of the sen- ate of the United States. as per copy, (No. 3) and received from him a reply as per copy (No. 4).
Should you wish such services as I can render in this part of the United States, I shall be pleased to give them in return for the many. good things you did years since, and if my testimony as regards your efficient and friendly actions towards me and the oth- er earliest Americans who settled in Oregon, will be of any use in placing you before the Oregon people in the dignified position of a. benefactor. it will be cheerfully rendered.
I am with much respect, yours truly,
NATH. J. WYETH.
Mr. Thurston writes to Mr. Wyeth, "That Dr. MeLaughlin has since you left the coun- try, rendered his name odious to the people of Oregon." '(That I have rendered my name odious to the people of Oregon, is what I do not know.) And "By his endeavors to pre- vent the settlement of the country, and to cripple its growth." I say, I never endeav- ored to prevent the settlement of the coun- try, or to cripple its growth, but the reverse. If the whole country had been my own pri- vate property, I could not have exerted my- self more strenuously than I did to introduce
civilization and promote its settlement. "Now that he wants a few favors of our government, he pretends that he has been the long tried friend of Americans and Am- erican enterprise west of the mountains." Mr. Wyeth states how I acted towards him and his companions, the first Americans that I saw on this side of the mountains. Those that came since, know if Mr. Thurston rep- resents my conduct correctly or not. As to my wanting a few favors, I am not aware - that I asked for any favors. I was invited by the promises held out in Linn's bill, to become an American citizen of this territory. I accepted the invitation and fulfilled the ob- ligations in good faith, and after doing more, as I believe will be admitted, to settle the country and relieve the immigrants in their distresses. than any other man in it. part of my claim, which had been jumped. Mr. Thurston, the delegate from this ter- ritory, persuades Congress to donate Judge Bryant and the remainder is reserved. I make no comment-the act speaks for itself, but merely observe. if I had no claim to Abernethy Island, why did Mr. Thurston get Congress to interfere, and what had Judge Bryant done for the territory to entitle him to the favor of our delegate? Mr. Thurston is exerting the influence of his official situa- tion to get Congress to depart from its usual course, and to interfere on a point in dispute. and donate that island. to Abernethy, his heirs and asigns, alias Judge Bryant, his heirs and asigns.
Yours respectfully,
JOHN McLOUGHLIN.
NESIKA WA-WA.
The congratulation of the Native Son is extended to its readers on the acquisi- tion by the magazine of a series of let- ters and the privilege of publishing them. from Mr. John J. Valentine, president of Wells-Fargo & Co., and an eminent practical philanthropist.
These letters are addressed to "Uncle Aaron," the familiar name accorded by his friends to Mr. Aaron Stein, assistant to President Valentine, and were intend- ed for the eyes of a few personal friends only. Mr. Valentine started. about six months since. to make a tour of the world and his first letter is written from Riviere Du. Loup station .. P. Q .. dated August 29, 1899. This series follows
him through Canada, across the ocean. through England, Norway, Sweden, Po- land. Germany, the last coming from Buda-Pest, in Austria-Hungary. The one. however, granting permission to publish these, is dated at Constantinople. He will. in all probability, continue his travels a six months longer, and will in that time cover many more points and . countries of interest.
As a writer Mr. Valentine needs no introduction to the well-informed. His pamphlets on "Finance," "Expansion." and other kindred subjects, having given him a national reputation. His philan- thropy, however, being so unostenta- tious in its character but a moiety of it
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OREGON NATIVE SON.
has ever been permitted to reach the public ear.
These letters are the outpouring of a of a mind' rich in research, powerful in grasping knowledge and endowed by wonderful descriptive ability, a mind un- hampered by thought of gain-the ne- cessity of writing to please somebody as a sine qua non for fortune's favors.
"After reading them one need not be told that the writing of them is a labor of love with Mr. Valentine.
The Native Son is under especial obligation to Mr. Eugene Shelby, superintendent of Wells-Fargo & Co., in this city. and Mr. Aaron Stein, of the president's office, in San Francis- co, for the interest displayed by them in securing the above privilege.
The first installment of letters will appear in the March issue.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
CAPTAIN HENRY L. HOYT.
An honorable and greatly esteemed citizen was lost, not only to Portland, but to Oregon, when Captain Henry L. Hoyt departed this life on July 27, 1898. Captain Hoyt was born in Caldwell, Lake George, New York. in 1823. Four years later his parents removed to Al- bany, that state, and it was there that the boy received his early training.
At the age of sixteen he started in life for himself, shipping on a sailing vessel for a cruise to the Pacific ocean. As mate, under his brother, Captain Richard Hoyt, he visited Europe and the West Indies, and in 1847 was an officer on the steamship Washington, ply- ing between New York and Bremen. Previ- · ously, in 1844, he was attached to the United States revenue cutter Vigilant, and while ly- ing at Key West the vessel was caught in a hurricane, blown to sea 'and capsized. and of fourteen souls on board, but two were saved. Captain Hoyt being one. After being in the water for forty-eight hours a passing vessel picked him up.
In 1848, while in New York city, the great gold discovery in California reached his ears. and in February. 1849. ne sailed for San Fran- cisco, reaching the Golden Gate the following August. On landing. about the first person he met was his brother. Richard, who had arrived several months previous, as master of the bark John W. Cater. A brief experi- ence in the mines was enough for him, and. returning to San Francisco. he joined his brother, who had purchased the bark Toulon. and sailed for Oregon, arriving here in the spring of 1850. The return cargo to the Bay City, consisting of lumber and piles, then selling at fabulous prices. netted the brothers a small fortune, and Captain Hoyt invested his portion of the proceeds in merchandise. He yearned for a life on the water, however,
and, in 1855, he sold out his mercantile busi- ness and was employed as captain on the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. In 183; he came to Portland, where his brothers Richard and George were located. and here he remained until the time of his death.
On the Willamette and Columbia rivers he cammanded several steamers; was the Co. lumbia river pilot for the Pacific Mail Steam ship Co., and owned and commanded the river steamer Leviathan. Often importuned to become a candidate for official position the captain declined all pleas save one, that of marshal of the City of Portland. He re- luctantly accepted this, then important place. and held the office nearly five years.
Captain Hoyt was married in Portland in 1861 to Miss Mary L. Millard, a pioneer of 1852. Seven children were born to them. only two of which survive, Ralph W. and Harriet Louise. (Mrs. W. M. Cook), the former o! whom is at the present time the treasurer of Multnomah county, serving his second term likewise cashier of the Merchants National Bank.
By his acute foresight. the captain early percieved the future of Portland as a com mercial center. and acquired considerab! valuable property in the city and suburb- At his death he left a handsome competener Mrs. Heyt now occupies a beautiful home a. Irvington with her daughter, where she is surrounded with all the comforts of life.
Captain Hoyt was a life long and hono:"' member of the Masonic order, in which he had attained the thirty-third degree of th Scottish Rite.
CAPTAIN GEORGE W. HOYT.
Captain George W. Hoyt, whose portri' on another page is presented to reader- o The Native Son, was. in the general accept tion of the term, a self-made man. He was
509
BIOGRAPHICAL.
born in Albany. New York, in Ises, where he attended the public schools and when at the age of twenty-three the California gold discoveries came to-his knowledge, he de- parted from the East. via the Isthmus of Panama. for the Pacific Coast. Upon his ar- rival in San Francisco he went to the mines in the interior of the state where he remain- ed about a year. In 1852 he came to Port- land and was engaged as wharf-keeper by. his brother, Richard, until he purchased an in- terest in the steamer Express, plying be- tween Portland and Oregon City. On this craft he filled the position of purser until 1861, when he went to the territory of Idaho, remaining there one year. Returning to Portland Captain Hoyt became a member and entered the service of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company. (now the Oregon Rail- road & Navigation Company), which posi- tion he filled until 1890. He then engaged in the custom-house brokerage business with his brother, Henry, and was so occupied until his death. September 9, 1892.
It was while Captain Hoyt was with the Oregon Steam Navigation Company that the great Inland Empire received its most rapid growth. and the hundreds of thousands of tons of freight shipped to that thriving region passed through his hands. And never in all his service with that corporation. of more than a quarter of a century. was it ever said of him that advantage was taken of any shipper. the poorest settler receiving the same kindness and consideration as the greatest merchant or stockman of the land. His was an office of great responsibility and trust, and well were the duties of the place discharged. Indeed, his entire career in every walk of life. was one of honor to him- self. his family and the community in which he so long dwelt. He was a man of lofty character. splendid business attainments. true to his friends and highly respected by the multitude of his acquaintances.
While a member of the city council Cap- tain Hoyt saw the necessity of closing the saloons on election days. and through his instrumentality and championship an ordi- nance having that effect became a law.
Captain Hoyt was married in Albany. New York. November 30. 1865. to Miss Martha A. Graham, who survives him. Four children were born to them. George W .. Martha A., Susan Graham and Frances Graham.
E. V. HOOVER, M. D.
The subject of this sketch, Dr. E. V. Hoov- er, is one of the native sons, whom Oregon has a just right to be proud of. Dr. Hoover, although young in years, is recognized as a thorough master of his chosen profession and one of the leading physicians and sur- geons of Southern Oregon. Dr. Hoover is a son of the late Dr. G. W. Hoover, an Oregon pioneer, and was born in Roseburg, Ore ..
August 11, 1873, He received his early edu- cation in the public and high schools. The doctor always evinced a desire to become a physician, and at the early age of 18 years he began the study of medicine at Roseburg under local doctors.
In 1894 he went to Portland, where he attended the Oregon State Medical College for one year and from this institution he entered the leading med- ical college of the West, the College of Physicians and Surgeons at St. Louis. at which college, by careful and painstaking" study he graduated in March, 1897. The doctor in addition to his studies at this.col- lege. took a special course in obstetrics and also on theoretical and practical bacteriol- cgy, the certificates for these special branch- es of medicine he now holds. On April 8th, 1897, the doctor passed the examination of the State Medical Board and was granted a license and at once opened up an office and commenced practicing at Roseburg. Almost from the start his success has been phe- nomenal and it was but a short time until he was doing the leading practice in Donglas county. It might be said that Dr. Hoover's success has been largely due to his own ef- forts in never missing a chance to add to his store of medical knowledge; his desire to avail himself of all the latest methods of trating disease and the close attention which he has given to his profession. Dr. Hoover is a prominent member and is also the med- ical examiner for a number of fraternal and beneficiary orders. among them being the Odd Fellows, and its auxiliaries, the Elks. Macabees. Modern W. of W. and Wood- men of the World, Order of Pendo, Work- men and also a member of the Oregon State Medical Society. Dr. Hoover was elected coroner of Douglass county in 1898. and he has discharged the duties of the office with credit to himself and has given entire satis- faction to his constituents and has saved the county much needless expense. He is also the present county physician. Dr. G. W. Hoover, the father of the doctor. died Oc- tober 12th, 1886. He was one of the pioneer physicians of this state. He was born near Bocneville, Mo., in 1822, and crossed the plains with an ox team .arriving in Roseburg Ore .. in 1858, where he practiced his profes- sion continuously for over 28 years. Dr. Hoover was celebrated for his erndition in medicine, and for the close attention which he gave hisprofession, and always expressed the desire that his son should follow his foot-steps and made provision that he might do so. The doctor's mother is still alive and lives in Roseburg, where she enjoys the re- spect of all who know her.
DANIEL O'NEILL.
The subject of this sketch, universally known as "Uncle Dan," is a native of New
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OREGON NATIVE SON.
York. He came across the plains to Oregon in 1849 with the Mounted Rifle Regiment. under command of Col. Loring. in the em- ploy of the suttlers department. The jour- ney took just five months.
For a time after the arrival of the regi- ment he remained with it and went with a portion of it to California. Returning to Oregon he was engaged in several occupa- tions up to 1852. Bossing the crews of a fleet of bateaux carrying freights and pass- engers between Vancouver and Oregon City; acting as assistant to Col. Joe. Msek, then marshall of Oregon, in the taking of the census; as captain and purser of the Co- lumbia, the first steamer built in the Pa- cific Northwest, and as an employee of Aber- nethy. Clarke & Co .. the principal merchants of Oregon at that time. In 1852 he returned to the East, going via the Isthmus of Pan- ama. Returning in 1853 as far as San Fran- cisco. he again entered the employ of Aber- nethy. Clarke & Co., as their agent in the Bay city.
1
In 1854 he went to Australia. stopping first in Sydney, then going to Melbourne. where he entered into the photo goods and portrait business. In 1858 he returned to Oregon and was married to Miss Minnie Holmes. daughter of W. L. Holmes, a pio- neer of 1843. Hr. Holmes was one of the first sheriffs of Clackamas county. In Octo- ber of that year Mr. O'Neill set sail, with his wife, for Australia once more. making that country their home until 1866. when he disposed of his business
and they took passage via sailing vessel for London, via Cape Horn. After visiting different parts of the Old World they returned to Oregon. In 1869 and again in 1872 trips were again made to Australia. In 1873 Mr. O'Neill en- tered the emply of the O. S. N. Co., and with the exception of three or four years in the hotel business at Redondo Beach, California. and a year in the customs service in Alaska. he has been engaged in steamboating ever since until within the past year.
His brother. James O'Neill, was mayor of Portland for three terms from 1856 and was one of the most popular men who ever held the seat. As he was. so with Uncle Dan. All who knew or know him. like and honor him. Always pleasant and obliging. never a cross word for anyone. The writer of this article was intimately associated with him while on the steamers and never heard a word about him save in praise. and don't believe he has a single enemy among his wide circle of acquaintances. Uncle Dan and his estimable wife now nave their home in Oregon City.
EUGENE D. WHITE.
Mr. White was born on his father's fail situated about two miles from Oregon City,
on October 16, 1851. His parents were Samu el S. and Hulda White, pioneers of 1815.
The early education of Mr. White was ou tained in the public schools of Oregon Clis. but. believing that a more finished course of study would be for his benefit, his father sent him to the Pacific University, located at Forest Grove. At this institution he re- mained during the school year of 1868-69 when he entered the schools of Portland !. completing his course of study in 1870. H. afterwards took up the study of French and German and through personal applicatio .: acquired a knowledge of these language: sufficient to enable him to speak and write both of them with a good degree of fluent ;. In 1870 he went with his parents to Aubutn. Baker county, where a stay of one year Was made. During such time he clerked in a store located in that city. In 1871 another removal was made to Sparta. where come two years and a half were taken up with mining. In 1873 Mr. White returned to Port- land and entered the Portland Business Cel lege, then conducted by his brother, where he graduated in all the various branches taught in that institution. Receiving an of. fer from one of the wholesale business houses of the metropolis to take charge of their counting room, he accepted. He :" mained in such employ for the succeeding three and a half years, when he began busi- ness on his own account as an agent and broker. In 1880 he turned his attention !o real estate and insurance, a business he has followed ever since. In such an avocation one is very liable to find many ups and downs. He experienced all the various phases of such following during his career. As an advertiser, it is doubtful whether any one dealing in real estate in the Pacific Northwest used as much printer's ink as himself and his associates did. What he did in this respect was a power in the de- velopment of not only Portland, but Oregon . at large.
About 1880 he began to read law during his leisure moments with a view of making that profession his future calling. but it was not until the later nineties that he gave the subject close attention. When he did do so. it was a foregone conclusion that he would master such studies thoroughly. He was ad mitted to the bar in 1899. and is now en- gaged in the active practice of his profes- sion in Portland.
Mr. White is serving his second term ?: grand secretary of the Native Sons. an or- ganization of which he was a charter miem- ber. as well as one who has been for. most in its upbuilding.
On April 27. 1876 he was united in mar riage with Miss Emma Giltner, daughter of J. S. Giltner, of Portland. They have one child, a son.
511
THE PILGRIMS OF THE PLAINS.
They climbed the rock-built breasts of earth, The Titan-fronted, blowy steeps That cradled Time. Where Freedom keeps Her flag of white-blown stars unfurled, They turned about, they saw the birth Of sudden dawn upon the world. Again they gazed; they saw the face Of God, and named it boundless space.
And they descended and did roam Through leveled distances set round By room. They saw the silences Move by and beckon; saw the forms. Their very beards, ofttime in storms, And heard them talk like silent seas. Or unnamed heights black-blown and brown, And torn like battlements of Mars, They saw the darkness come down, Like curtains loosened from the dome Of God's cathedral, built of stars.
They saw the snowy mountains rolled And heaved along the nameless lands Like mighty billows, saw the gold Of sudden dawn, and felt the hush Of Heaven when the day sat down, And hid its face in dusky hands; Then pitched the tent, where rivers run As if to drown the fallen sun.
The long and lonesome nights; the tent That nestled soft, in sweep of grass; The hills against the firmament Where scarce the moving moon could pass; The cautious camp, the smothered light, The silent sentinel at night!
The wild beasts howling from the hill. The troubled cattle bellowing; The savage prowling by the spring. Then sudden passing swift and still. And bended as the bow is bent, The arrow sent; the arrow spent And turned in its bloody place. The dead man lying on his face!
The clouds of dust, their cloud by day. Their pillar of unfailing fire, The far North Star. And high and higher They climbed so high it seemed if soon That they must face the falling moon. That like some flame-lit ruin lay Thrown down before their weary way.
They learned to read the signs of storms. The moon's wide circles. sunset bars. And storm-provoking blood and flame: And like the Chaldean shepherds came At night to name the moving stars; And in the heavens pictured forms · Of beasts and fishes of the sea; And marked the great bear wearily Rise up and drag his clinking cucin Of stars around the starry main. -Joaquin Miller.
StUd ENT 10 21219009 At
QUEBEC, FROM POINT LEVIS.
"From the opposite shore, the cliffs, the spires, the tin roofs glistening in the sunlight will all seem very real and kindle a longing to enter the city sorich in the legends of the past."
512
A TOUR OF THE WORLD.
JOHN J. VALENTINE, PRESIDENT OF WELLS-FARGO & CO., WRITES HIS FRIEND, AARON STEIN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, AN ACCOUNT OF HIS TRAVELS.
( Published by Special Permission of Mr. Valentine.)
Riviere du Loup Station, P. Q. August 29th, 1899.
DEAR UNCLE AARON:
Today, as we steamed down the Sag- uenay, feeling that out of consideration for my eyes I could not afford to look long upon the glassy waters, with the bright sun and clear sky o'erhead, I thought to rest them a bit by going into the cabin and jotting down a few notes for you and those of my friends who may care to hear of my journeyings. As you already know, N. W. headwinds impeded our passage to Victoria and Seattle some ten hours. After a forty-hour's stay in the latter city, we took the Great North- ern train at 4:10 P.M. Saturday, August 19, for the east. . The following morning we were traveling through the Kootenay country, a promising mining district, and ran along the river of the same name.
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