110
THE WEST SHORE.
February,
For Tjir West Shoki.
BUNMUHT AND HIIADOW.
lit MISS 11. 7. CAKBY, W1L., DHL.
One stood in sunlight, and one in shade,
Fair Edith ud graceful May;
Where the oak trees, tossed by the breeses, made
A golden glimmer acrou the glade,
At a cottage door stood they.
The one who stood on the outer side,
Wua bathed in the sunshine's glow;
It kiRBcd her ourla with a lover's pride,
An ! o'er her cheek did It tenderly gild",
To her crimsou mautle'e flow.
And as ihe stood 'neath the roses' bower,
A robin camo there to rest;
Ulia looked to him like a glowing flower,
So he sang to her in the sunset hour,
Ere seeking his leafy nest.
And Edith? Hhe, too, was young end tair,
With eyes of the violet's blue;
Hut no sunlight full on her flowing hair,
Only the shadows wero resting there,
And her dross was of sombre hue.
Yul still she looked from the dusky gloom
With a tondor, wistful smile;
Forgetful nut of her darker doom,
lint glad of the lore and light and bloom,
Which circled her friend the while.
And as the rod robin ceased his lay,
Anil soarud to his leafy nest,
Msy brought to her friend a rosebud spray,
With a look of lore, that seemed like a ray
Of sunshine out of the West.
All! by diverse paths are the children led
Tho children of men, thro' life I
OMsoino and bright are the ways some tread.
While others arc lonely and dark and drond,
'Mid slnidus of sorrow and strife.
Hut ye who have love and light for your dower,
lie ready to do your part;
A tithe of your blessings, a smile, a flower,
A kindly word, hath a wondrous power
Tn lighten a lonely heart
EVENING TAI.KS.No. j.
IIY AUNT Itl'Tll.
Aflcr an early ten, we assembled in
the sitting-room, anil all being seated,
Atlhur, with a merry twinkle in his
eye, drew from among the papers on
the table the December mimher of
Tiik Vi:sr Niiiiiik, remarking as lie
did so, "II is customary in 'associations'
of tin's kind to read Ihe minutes of the
previous meeting before beginning the
business of the session, mid as we have
hero a record of our last discussion, I
move that the Secretary rend the simie;
then handing the paper to Mary, re
quested her to read aloud the account
of our "Talks" as given by Aunt Ruth,
which she did. This created sonie sur
prise, and Funny remarked, "Wc shall
have to be careful what we say if our
talks are to be published."
"Yes," said mamma, "wc should
always be careful what wc say, for if
we wish to improve our minds and
gain useful knowledge, that wc may
liivonie wiser and better, we should not
in bilge in too much jesting or foolish
talking, on unpiolitahlc subjects."
"Hut, mamma," said Arthur, "you
would not have us lay aside all levity;
y .i know some poet says, 'A little
nonsense now and then, it relished by
the wisest men,' or words' to that
cflivl."
"I will illustiatc my meaning, Ar
thin, "said his mother. "You remember
lh- conversation the other evening at
Mr. Illanks; what was it all alwut?"
"Really, mamma, I cannot call to
mini anything worth repenting."
"And yet there was a great deal of
talking and laughing. The poet Mont
gomery, speaking of books says
'Hwka there ate with nothing for
aught, ten thousand words and ne'er
111 night.' The same may l said in
regard to the conversation of great,
m toy K'raons."
"Did you notice Ralph, nianimaf"
auld Harry, "lie Mt down by one of
the tables and read all by himself. It
is not good manners for out to read
when others are talking, it it?"
"There was no impropriety in this,
my son," said mother, "I noticed it
myself, and commended him for it, and
no doubt he gained more useful infor
mation from his half hour's reading
than he would by listening to such talk
a whole week. lie. was reading an
agricultural paper, and seemed deeply
interested. You know he is a poor
boy, and has to work hard to maintain
his widowed mother and send his young
sisters to school ; so that in order to be
intelligent he must seize every opportu
nity for cultivating his own mind.
And I doubt not that in a few years,
people will wonder how a poor boy
could gain so much knowledge under
such great disadvantages."
"Mamma," said Mary, "you ought
to hear his sisters; they are very intel
ligent, and they think so much of
Ralph. 1 think they fully appreciate
his efforts in their behalf, and are very
grateful to him,"
"Yes," said mamma, "he is a noble
boy, and deserves their love."
"But, Arthur," continued mamma,
"how was it when you called at Mr.
R's. the other evening. Can you re
member anything that was said, or did
you get any new ideas?"
"O, yes, I remember that I was very
pleasantly entertained, though I took
no part in the conversation. Mr. M.
spent the evening there, and he and
Mrs. R. were discussing the present
political situation exchanging views in
regard to the cause of, and remedy for,
the corruption in political circles. Mr.
M, seemed to think the people were at
fault in not choosing better men to fill
places of public trust, while Mrs. R.
thought that in a great many instances
the officers chosen were overcome by
the temptations which they necessarily
meet with in public life. Mr. M.
thought that men who were honest at
heart would be honest stilt, no matter
what temptations were encountered;
and I think so, too, mamma, and' I felt
more than ever the need of being firmly
grounded in correct principles; and if
I live to become a voter, I shall sustain
lor office only those men who nrc
known to he honest in all their dealings
and correct in all tneir habits,"
"You are right, Arthur," said I'ncle
John. "I often wonder nt people who
seem to he upright themselves, yet east
their votes for men who are known to
be tipplers, gamblers, mid also for those
who arc noted for licentiousness. It is
no wonder that our nation is on the
very brink of destruction. But did
your friends point out a remedy ?"
"Yes, Uncle, they agreed that one
thing, and perhaps the main thing, was
to bring the qualification of both voters
and officers to a higher standard ; that
none should be allowed to vote who
could not read and write, or who were
known to lead vicious lives, to get
drunk, or in any manner violate the
laws of the land, and that candidates
should possess the same qualifications,
ami that any officer known to be a
tippler, or licentious, should immedi
ately be iuiicachetl, and forever dis
qualified to hold office again."
"Well," said I'ncle John, "I fear a
great many of our officers would retire
to private life if such a rule were to lie
established and serve them right,
too,"
"I fear it will he long before the mass
of the people w ill Wc educated up to
that standard," said mamma.
"Mrs. R. mad the same remark,"
said Arthur; "but Mr. M. thought that
if teachers of public schools were re
quired to teach the youth of both sexes
the theory and uses of government, and
to teach and enforce upon their pupils
the practice of strict justice, also to
teach self-government, requiring them
to do right because it is right, and to
abstain from wrong because it is wrong
he thought if this were done, one
generation would sec the work of refor
mation accomplished."
"A very pretty theory," said Uncle
John, "but an impracticable one, I fear.
But as it is getting late, I propose we
adjourn, and take up the subject at our
next meeting."
"Before we separate," said mamma,
"I wish to remark that it gives me
pleasure to know that Arthur is waking
up to the importance oi diligently culti
vating mind and heart, and I hope he
will always choose the society of those
who will be a help to him in acquiring
a love for the 'good, the true, and the
beautiful,' and whose conversation will
strengthen instead of weaken his good
impulses."
"Thank you, mamma. I see now
, the need of being 'careful what we say,'
for light and frivolous conversation fre
quently indulged in tends to weaken
our desires for mental improvement."
WASHINGTON TERRITORY
BY A CITIZEN,
While Gen. Stark, Vice President of
the Northern Pacific Railroad Com
pany, was here last summer, a resident
of the Territory, who has had extraor
dinary faciltics for acquiring informa
tion, addressed him a communication,
of which the following extract is the
principal part:
The agricultural lands of the Terri
tory while generally confined to the
river bottoms, arc not entirely so. It
is frequently found that even on the
sides, and sometimes near the summit
of a hill or mountain, considerable tracts
of rich beaver-dam lands exist. A no
ticeable instance is near the summit of
the immense hill immediately in the
ear of Knlainli. The river bottoms of
the Columbia and its confluent streams,
as well as the valley of the Cowlitz,
contain large tracts of land of unexcell
ed fertility. About midway between
Kalama and Tacoma is the Chchalis
Valley, embracing, with its confluents,
over two thousand square miles of the
best agricultural lands in the Territory.
This valley is to Washington, what tlic
Willamette is to Oregon. It varies in
width from five to fifteen miles, and ex
tends from the base of tire Cascade
range to Grav's Harbor. Large quan
tities of rich land lie in ' the bottoms of
its lower tributaries. Flowing into
I'uget Sound, there arc the Des Chutes,
Nisqually and I'uyallup Rivers, on
which are some fine arable lands. These
river bottoms arc usually sparsely tim
bered with alder, vine maple crab-apple,
etc., which arc quickly and easily
cleared, at an expense ranging from
live to thirty dollars per acre; and will
then yield, on an average, from forty to
sixty bushels of wheat per acre. I csti
mate that of the lands earned by the N.
1. R. R. on its 105 miles constructed
in Washington, more than 150,000 acres
are suitable in an eminent degree for
agricultural uses. The productions of
such lands have been frequently pub
lished and exhibited, and can now be
seen at the Philadelphia Centennial
Exhibition. The small grains are pro
duced most abundantly with .a larger
everagc yield than obtains in almost
any other locality or section of the
country, and command the highest
market price at home. And so long as
we have the large non-prodicing lum
bering population, the farmers' market
will lie at home. These agricultural
nds are more fertile, the country more
healthy, the climate more congenial,
and the commercial and manufacturing
advantages greater than arc to be found
in any other unsettled portion of the
I nited States. It i, easfer for a poor
man to obtain a farm here than one on
the prairies of Minnesota, Iowa or
Kansas. An absolutely poor man can
go on to such land in the Spring of the
year, and, if he can buy a side of bacon,
a sack of flour, an axe, ami . hoe, and
will work, he can make a living from
the beginning. I know personally of
a man who, m 1S70, took a homestead
of 160 acres, alwut three miles back of
lenino. He pawned some personal
apparel to procure money with which
to purchase provisions for his family and
a few farming took He has support
1 ed his family from the products of his
larm, and to-day has a standing cash
offer of $4,000, gold, for the place. Of
course, his is an isolated and exception
,il instance; but the same success may
be obtained by any practical farmer
who will select with the same judg.
ment and labor as industriously.
Your grant in this Territory is essen
tially a timbered one, and therein lies
the immense wealth to be realized by
your company in the future; but within
its limits lie the only choice farm lands
convenient to railroad, water navigation
and markets, in the United States,
which are open to homestead and pre
emption.. An immense amount of ignorance re
garding the climate and agricultural re
sources of this northwest coast is rapid
ly being dispelled ; it is pretty generally
known now, that this section is never
troubled with grasshoppers or agricul
tural pests, that drouths are unknown,
and that the climate, instead of being a
second Greenland or Iceland, is really
mild and pleasant. The numbers of let
ters of inquiry received by every promi
nent person and official in the Terri
tory, shows the interest that is being
awakened. Hitherto, the northwest
coast, notwithstanding the attractions
of its genial climate, fertile soil, and im
mense forests (the only considerable ac
cessible body of timber in the United
States, and which has been very prop
erly denominated the timber preserve
of the Continent), has been beyond the
reach of the ordinary emigrant of the
man whose wealth consists of the labor
of his hands and only the more ad
venturous and energetic found their
way hither. But ns railways, steam
ships and telegraphs lessened the time
for travel and communication, we have
been brought prctically nearer the cen
tre of population. The influx and efflux
population at San Francisco, the entre
pot for the whole coast, for the year
ending Dec. 21st, last, was as follows:
Arrivals by sea, 30,829; departures by
sea, 12,752; arrivals overland, 74,899;
departures overland, 30,412. Of these
departures by sea, it is estimated that
between seven and eight thousand came
to Oregon and Washington. This
would show a total increase of popula
tion on the coast for the last year, by
emigration, of about 78,000 souls, of
which 66,000 remained in California,
and the balance chiefly went either by
sea or land to Oregon and Washington,
Samish is a rich agricultural district
in Whatcom county, W. T., but it as
yet sparsely settled. Good farming
lands can be bought or rented there on
reasonable terms; many desirable claims
of Government lands arc yet to be had
at usual price. The lands in that lo
cality comprise thousands of acres of
tide and fresh water marsh and some
excellent timber lands.
Tobacco Manufactory. The
first manufacture of tobacco in the ter
ritory has just began at Elhi, Pierce
county, by T. F. Patton. The weed
was grown by Mr. Patton, and is being
ut up iy turn in the shape of Ulack
tran tobacco, and la cni,! in hp a verv
good quality. Mr. Patton has about
twelve hundred pounds, and will no
doubt realize a good thing out of it
His factory was examined by a reven
ue officer this week, and is denominated
" Factory No. 1, District of Washing
ton Territory." This is another indus
try which bids fair to be an important
one in this territory within a few
years Olrmfia Transcript.
Weather Report The following
is the record of the weather at Rose
burg for the week ending Feb. 16.
We obtain it from Dr. J. Woodruff,
w-ho was kind enough to keep it for us.
The thermometer was kept in the
shade, and examined at 2 p. M. each
day, with the following result: Satur
day, 60 degrees; Sunday, 62; Mondsy,
jS; Tuesday, 54; Wednesday, 60;
Thursday, .Independent.
From a point on the stage road in
Douglas county, a short distance south
of Myrtle Crc'ek, can be seen, in field
adjoining, at least four thousand acre
of wheat, which now presents a mag
nificent appearance. The yield will be.
the season favorable, about forty usl
els to the acre or about 160,000 bushels.
Grain, In all parts of the county, givei
indications of an extra crop lor the
coming year. Plaindtaler.
It is estimated that $150,000 will hf
expended next summer in dcvelopiel
1 the Santiam mines.
8