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About The new Northwest. (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1880)
:cll Ipl ; p pp ' ' ;' I'llf . - : : VOLUMK X No7 l7-T ', " -' . iOHTIANI, OltKOON, THURSDAY, JtFd'TF.MBKU ,!. ltai. PER YKARr-$3 00. ; ( A REMINISCENCE OF TRAVEL '''.' BY ABIOAIL SCOTT DCXIWAY.' . , AH day-long ..our, falthhitfteamer hid busily . itemmed the rushing current of the Upper Colum blsi. When, -at nightfall, we made a landing at the little wind-worn village which wm for aeveraTt -year the head of ther interior navigation of -the great Pacific Northwest, and I Bought entertain ment for the night at an old advfoc hotel (the only one the tiny hamlct-afTorded)r only to find it full to overflowing, I was sorely puzzled. ' All around me was the jar and jam and din of ; travel. Several switches lay alongside the wharf, upon which long flat cars were running to and . fro, and with apparent almlessness, endangering life and limb. The sand and pebbled-blew In -clouds, and the smooth .cobble-stones beneath my feet rolled at every step, alarmingly suggestive of . heavy falls and broken bones I coulU have remained on the steamer till 3 A. yit., the'obllgingXIaptain had Informed me, but L coul'J see no final lileratlon from my quandary by postponing le dilemma for fialf. the night, so I directed my steps to a long, low building in front - of which was a brilliant light, that, as I knocked , '"at the door, revealetl the evidence that I was about to enter the Oregon 8team Navigation Company's express and transportation offlce.-. A bright little boy admitted me to the Inner -r portal, and a- blue-eyed womaiTi apparently on tli ' sunny side of thirty, welcomed me to the hospi tality of her home llerlmsband, a great-hearted, klndly-visaged,.but extremely. buy man, was . hurrying hither and thither about his work, and the telegraph apparatus In theconicr convulsively clicked at intervals. The .little children, accus- tomed to the faces of strangers, paid little heedio lmy 'presence till I managed, by the promise of a story," to draw them toward me. - C- ' W - -A'smoklngsupiier.hatl allayed my hunger, and, My hostess came softly up to me and knelt by my side In silence.' : - 'Tliank Ootl !,r'slie said, after a long pause, Jua half whisper. ' - f'- ,4Do you want to tell me about jt. dear ?'.' I asked, laying my hand upon her shining head,. and gently stroking her waving hair.' ' r f-rheAdrew- up-- a- low-chalr-aml Mfated liemU, sighing heavilyr ' - . . : .."Tlere are stranger tragedies In real life than ever flud thlr way into novels' said she, In an abstracted way. . ' after a few marvelous atouuts of lmi6rtHlbIe-ad-r -venture witlv white water over the . boulders In Its rugged IC4l, Telstlessly carry ing on Uiq. unceasing erosion of theages. little jnncs were dismlnno! for the night, and my hostess and '.r. settled 'ourselves- for a. cozy chatl arouniTlhe glowing stoye. . ' .A rap at'the tlKr startled us. It waa not-the -xtp of-TcgnlarlltTFhtitlw- wlthar-shTidder. " WouTdto-1icavcTi-i tempt of some one in a hurry or in great agitation. -My hostess turned pal?. - . . - -. "I had a queer dream lat night, and I feel a'pe CullarTori'tKsling," she Said. '""KJ- r ' " 7 Of evil?" I ankcd, with a show of concern. ' L Not evil exactly, but surprise," she answered, '"as she openetl the door and admitted the land lady of the one tiriofte hotel, : . . " , : .' .:' . " .- ,The twostepixMl behind the great counter la the opposite corner from the telegraphic .Instruments, out of hearing of my host and myself, even had we been - disposed - to - listen - to .. their .srordjC They talked In whispers for a minute or two, and, wheu the landlady howM herself out, my -how tens . ro 'J turnel to her chair, pale, and preoccup1edkwitli a strange lightrin .hcr-eyes, and a fuhlve lookr of perturtcd expectancy which so Impresseit me thai I could not help saying: - " ' "lias anything lmjiH'neirT ; She did nottreply. - - Presently the door was opened wide, ami a.pale," furrowel-faccl woman enlered, accomparrtwl by a well-grownr' fyir-haired youth of apparently ' twenty Summers. . ; ' MJiostess advancel and kissed the youth and motloneil him to a wat on the lounge. He ac- ceptel the seat, and she stood a. Ilttlr apart for a in 1 nu te,7. ey Ing hi nvea nies t ly ,"" and then,' to" my surprise, alvanc4l and perehedherHe1f uKn his knee, taking nq notion of the pale-faced woman," who was silently shedding tears. - "" "How. beautiful you-are V she exclaimed, as she 1 threw ie arm. around the young fellow's neck, and with her other hand stroked his really hand some forehead. ' : ' r "Myjnothrrr cried the boyy'enclrcllng .her In his strong arms with a liear-like hug as he spoke, and bursting into, tears like a sorrow-burdened child. . ' My busy host turnel from his work to gaze at .woman with the furrowed face was still standing, allently shedding tears; longer to the husijand and myself. ''Nobody can tear you away from the now, said the mother, earnestly. ; . "But I moxt go on to-nlght t promised," fal tered the boy. - ' . . f Would you haveknowft me, darling H asked th mother, through her tears. :; '- - f'No," was the candid reply; v "Father said you were gly anil hideous and old vand bad,' and I see that you're young and handsome, with nothing hideous or bad about you." : - "We thought we'd better let hini aee his mother once In his life," said th lale'ontan, addretwlng myself, "Though I thjnk we htui better go how," turning to the boy, who showed nodlioltlon to relax his hold upon his mother's iqrmr--mrr' "It'll je late, and the foUtT'lfbe looking fjrus.. ComtHiir the "woman exclaimed, emphatically.'' -The boy, accustomed to obeying the foter mother, who had reared him from Infancy, let his hands drop, mechanically. -Jopmyjsonj said ' mjr hoHtessj-sIng, -4jand may the loving angels guide you. But, flnt, let me introduce you to my husbamL"- The youtli advanceil and bowel.T My hot, wbo had preiarel to gq out in -the darkness on an er rand to the waiting steamer, swung the lantern he' was holding, and deferentially touched his cap. I fancied there were tears In his eyes. The wires clicked in the corner, and he excuned himself ainl withdrew. . , ' The pale woman awkwardly fumbled her shawl. I turned my head and shut my eyes and tried not to Ik? in their way. My mind was in a tumult o! strange surmises. 77 What could It all mean? A minute later, the woman and the youth were gone; I sjlently acquiesced. ' ' "I irtn thirty-two years old," she continued, after another long pause, "but I have lived much more than motwomen who have reached three score.". ; '.- .-- . .-J.-- Li -Again I was silent. The wind howhl In the flssures of the mighty rocks aIJacent to the raggel I Ma-'.first-. marrktJourtjc.nTi sa 'id - myTdje-l h-peaee so long .-t b possl hH 1 1 jrvx tstav.tliat might forever forget the fact I" f anynirontanTiHreirtnity-be-lpgal iynd -ntthv lessly torn from her, as my oor baby, was.-.-I wonder if they have educated 'hini. I know they have taught him to despise met I wonder olr, " Were you so very unhappily married ?" I asked, 'liow could I be ptherwlse? What was I sup-. posed to know of theTWqwitsibilitiesrro yearning for my hoy r subjugations of my fate? - Fancy a cldldjof four- Uen, tender, imaginative, ambitious and. withal poorly7.dlsclpllnel,being"' sullenly placed," even through her own consent, In the sole cuntody and Iowerof a great, green, unfeeling tonler rufllan, whose tenderest mercies were the direst cruelty. See her placed out on the frontier, in a lonely cabin in a howling wilderness. Let-lter becom a mother under cireumstanMs too sad and terrible to repeat: bcnrortlee at lastf In desieration, and in quest of food, carrylug her babe with her her self yet a child. Let her find a imUIoii at meager wages aid"slavih toil in the kitchen of a woman scarcely better marrle!,. as. regards mating7 titan herself; and then let the man the law calls '"her huxltand rob her of her baby lxy, and hide him from her sight till he is grown to manhood. Tlien, after a chain of circumHtanees too complicated to repeat, let that v boy, (crown almowt to maiWiood, suddenly come into her presence for a few minutes,1 only to vanish as 'he came, and need you auk the question,'? Were you so very unhappily married ?' I' "Who was this woman who" .accompanied him hereto-night?" I asked, deeply Interested. ' 71 1 Is aunPIifs lather's slHtefTTut I wouldn't demean myself to speaW to her," "Where Is his father ?" ,-;,.4I neither know norrcare, thank (lqI !" "Hut you are happily -married now Vr 4Ves; so happily that rcfy dark past seemed like a hideous dream till that Woman brought back the boy"they"harToblKrnieof to tantalize me. O madam I It; you rould only know how I have longed In tlife bygone years for the custodytand companionship of my first baby ; could you know how dewpjerate I wa, and how, tf ie.worId tu rnedJPi were, who blamed me for rebelling against the In human father of my child; could you see the black- gulf of degradation and despair from which my The mother and son clasned each other closely owri-ntnuti7Tft stand how noble he haa been, you would not won der that I fairly worship my husband." "fTT"" "Indeed I do not wonder," I answere, through fast-falling tears. '-'"L r - , "But,' n continued, "whenever I think of the legal Inhumanity to woman that robs a mother of the custody of the child of her peril the child that she Is wUHngJo lire for, to drudge for, and, if need beTdie for and gives the child, which never cost Its father a pang, into his hands, to be placed by him among strangers, while the mother, who canhot longer endure the father's despot fs my goes forth Intothe worldTrobbed, bereft and deolatc-4- whenever I think of tuee thing, I get so furioun tliat(I can hardly contnd myself !' and sKuutoh anl rushed nen'ously a Unit the room. j "No wonder, little woman," I said, saUy, as she again seated lierHelf at my feet. The wild wind rosp to a gale, and the rushing river chanted a solemn dirge as a fitting accom pariirhent to our tumultuous thoughts, while the Autumn Tain began a plteou weeping agalnnt the window panes.. " - , ' "My poor lKy !" slghel the mother, rlMlngtostlr the smouldering flret and again moving nervously alout the rtMm. "I hoc he has never grieved for me as I have mourned for him." "Children's minds are plant Ic. You can comfort yourself with the assurance that you alone have suffered,"'! said.' "But I never shall be able to comfort myself!" she exclaimed, almost fiercely "never while the t right of a mother to the custody and companion ship of her minor child depends solely upon the will of its. brutal or-Improvident husband and father. You may rest' assured that no happily married woman will-leave, her huabandla-home and go out to fight her way among strangers. But, when cruelty or incompatibility drives her to ,such a step, and site is compelled to seek refugtjj in the divorce courts, her lot Is hard enough In all "conscience, without the law's compelling hereto give up her children." "But mothers sometimes prove recreant to their trust,'' I ventured to say. x ; 7J '.'They are'recreant to their oWidfenwctrr" she. emphatically exclalmtsl, "A woman's idea as to her duty concendng her children may' not always coincide with man's, hot slio ahum should If inn. pi re l; the case, sliu-e sho alone has endured the peril that has given them existence." "I am rejoiced to see you so happily married now4" I said, to divert her mind from Its train of reflections. . - - ;, "Yes ; fof a dozen years 1 have leeii a shielded, loved and cherished wife," she answered, her eyes the father the superior right to the cusUsly of the children Is still in force, in cases where marriages are not harmonious, and I shall neither live nor The hour was growing late, and we knew by the flickering light of the swaying lantern, as it gleamed through thT uncurtained window, that my h"Tt was coming lack from the. 'steamer. ' He greeted his wife most tenderly. I could have kntlt to him for very gratitude. ' "Taken by surprise, was you, eh ?" he aikcd, In an audible whlser. ' I excused '-myself from their' presence and re t i ml to my hmhiH Mo red -tsHween-.themseiyeji was the chasteneil interchange of thought that I could see was Welling up for utterance. The gale Increased till It fairly blew a hurricane. The heavy' clouds' drifted away-to the northward, and the gibltous moon liung low over the horizon's edge and played Uon the fantastic waves in the busy river. A white tent hard by a covered wagon was visible front my window In the moon light, and I kncw lhat my frlend'A,rTewhNe baby boy" was ensconce! within the one or the other, his waking thoughts filled with new and sweet re membrances of the loved mother of his dreams, whom in hts waking hours he had been taught to Shall these things always Is?? The use of the word "female" for "woman" Is rapidly growing Into disrepute., When thus em ployed, it Is low at liet. No letter rebuke can Ik found for such a senseless usage of the word than the stinging satire of an editor In reply to a young lady, "Annette," who wanU-d to know" "what' cel ebrated female 'character In history It would j proper" for her to select as the "subject of a grad uating essay." The answer was: "With such an abundant store to s4iH t frouL1Anurttwo.harrilli' I ttzri. dsck ujwn me, wimiow imii nm uihui wuiucu now now io answer your question ; out from such names a Queen Mary, Catherine der;McdlcU Mme. de"TM"vlgner, Harriet Beei her Stowe, Its wjfc.eorgcjaiotj tltUU,UiiilliiullMM(M'thtlifimMr4t Maud 8., Boadlcea and Mr. Somervllle, you ought to be able to choose." The members of the Chimste Kmbnssy, now fii New York; City, must think that" the boasted su periority of the Christian civilization over the Confucian 1inr7delusIon. They " have been st shamefully .treatod by Uie rabble -ofiNew York CUyfc where they are establishing a consulate,' that they will return home on the completion; of their business. While on the street, they find It neces sary to have an escort of police. MKS. A. H. ENt'KS THK CAl'ITAI.f i ' f WNIWAY iHjM'HIUKJi ll.KK KXPKItK Ht'KINO THK KIRMT SKMMIQNS. OV THK OKKUON LKOIHl.ATl'KK, '- - - -. v . -1 Once more the duy(ec4wl-lclscnUlrvfio1 -the aristocracy of stx jiire In (hje WaVipf Uie two legislative (tranches of the O'go'n 'goVtTfcmeut, . engagett In te a rdmHis phyfiefl-laltor if .Snaking laws to govern pfotji-teil woine'n, and regtlatd.tha " prlvllegt's of thelr reres'iteI coiirtituentlh-, ' eluding white me and black, brow u (men and v gray, nil men and yellow, and Indian who are taxed. A finer looking body of individual sover eigns one seldom sees; and there Is but- one. way to improve the general apicarance of such a eon- vocation of rulers, and that Is by observing the natural order of human selection and obeying the divine law of Inalienable rights admitting both men ami women to scut in the sessions of future years, to make the laws by which both arc gov- erned, and which lsth are taxed to sustain. Our stpularand flue appearing friend, Hod. 8oV Hirsch, has lorne away the honor of the Senate, and HvupIe the President's chair wtth lho grace, fair dealing and dignify. that'haractcrlze his life in all things. It Is refreshing' to note the goodly numltcrof kindly faces that greet us us we enter and take our scat in the front of tlds august as sembly. Tle old" prejud ice-that used to set our heart a-fiutterlng when we enteml like it dli jonee in the long agt wheii somelssly we liked leUerTritIn Mirself -unex setslly "popped tha question" nov longer dlsturlm our cHjuanimlty, and we meet on all sides the cordial greeting that t le' subject Is always proud to get from the ovf clgn ruler who holds the destiny of ficr emancipa tion or subjugation In the sver of his Ijallstfl Men as law-makers are not afraid of women, TM eiials likejhey once were; and theeourtcjj wltk wlilch thy receive us when we soltcjtj heir name for the Nkw North wkht IsdechUslly encouraging Tluare'Vxecptlonii fo all generalities, however," and tluLfttta-iliat-we lue-t-theni,lyiro-1 not-auf prising'. TWo crusty Representatives from Jack- J7.; son, the Fgypt of Oregon, informed us that they -didn't 'Want the aer, Imm-husc they "hadn't time " -Ut read. It. anit-uttend, tp tUclr.."lcgltImatu busk nes"- of .represent Ing thelreonstltiients. 6no f """"" T' them said he was alone In the world and had no- " . Issly to. scud 'it to, or he would subscribe. We ."" r ake him w)m he represemd, It he wa so com- J plete un allcn .and he answered, ' Tlie IeopIe. .7. -. We couldn't see It ssslly lecause we were not ' . one of the Hople. Hlseollcague promised to read -the lVoplc's Paper to him, however, and wo are happy. ; - --' . . "Mr. MMsy, of Wasco, has Uhmi chosen SpoakcT ' r; of the House, a lid Is gradually working himself Into parliamentary harness. Among the Repre-; x sentatives, as well as H'iistors, we s'e many ir r. ' nounced friends of human rights; atul were It not for the tHTsoiial that 4ilnoinlaUV'' brlna7 pTfTrien and women lobbyists to the front, Wh ask for the ballot forwoniau on sl Issues such as ' ' Intemiwrance and insanity, there would be no prejudice to tight this year. As lit Is, the offloei of the Woman Hulfrage Assts-iat Ion have deter- mlnel to make no organlzsI move for wonutn'a enfranchlsi'inent during this session, choosing to rely for Justice usn the magnanimity and common sense of honorable 'men rather than to seem for a moment to place themselves on a foot- ' ing with the fanatical nonsense that demands the one-sided "teniH'raiH'e ballot." Judging from the well-develOssl to-hcMds of most of the members, we are Induced to believe that they can cotnpre- j hend the importanreas writ n the honor fttid jUs tice of woman's demand for the free Its I lot, with out which all -"side issues" In form of ccial leg- islatlon prove theni-elves to le .practically null , and void. Fnun the srtloiM of the (ttivernor's mossjigc which we heanK wc judge It to be a fair and bosi-uess-like document, as far as It gMs; butJt.lt. gfven wholly In the interest of the aristocracy M sex though It admit that taxation, always un pleasant, even as a duty, when infllcUnl ujon "It"i pTcjIng to n nbstimte crime note that His F.xcvllency b not averse to the en franchisement td-Xlw italf of hi constituency who are taxed without beltiir alhtweil anv renrtwift. YA arfSS i'ii4ii - n mtM m I ..... 1 . . to.. . t u, I II 1.. ... I .. IT! . amendment to the Constitution, submfltlag the Woman Suffrage o,uflou to a opular vote, if thf Itepubllcan legislature wll nmhi It, A. H IX ) louse of Representative, Sept. l 18K1. -Men look at ever) thing with an eye to economy, -that I to say, economy to Is? practiced by wouen. -flie New,yrk Thnrt iMtes tliat barrels, car--' wheeN, and many other articles for hard uaaga-v are maiJeorpajper, and cries aloud jr tho maniH; facture of lace handkerchiefs for women of lha same versatile material. .4 , i -4 I 33PIW ---r -'-'-'- '': '" . ' if. ' " . ; r: 74 '. f.' ' ' , - - ' 7 . . - -