190
THE WEST SHORE.
EDUCATION IN PIONEER DAYS.
T OOKTNO Vmck to tit enrly dnys of Oregon I reenl
J J one" fact worthy of' note. Coming over an nlmost
untravcrsod region, and traveling by the alow process of
ox tennis mostly, and encumbered with only the absolute
necessities for the route and a very meagre supply for
present need after arrival, it is not to be wondered at if
not ninny lxx)ks were brought The missionaries and
others who came by the " Horn" and the "Islands" were
more fortunate, for they could lxx up Bnd bring what
could not Imj hauled over the "Plains." Well do I
rememlHir the first stove shipped direct from the New
England home, arriving some time after the owner did,
who came overland It cost him only $8 for transporting
Hint luxury. And n luxury it wns. But I digress.
Like the pioneers of Pennsylvania, the founders of
society in Oregon made uso of the means within reach,
and laid deep and well tho foundations for as good an
education for all as could at that time be had The Wil
lamette University at Knlom was started Common
schools came in as soon as ixissiblo, and all were anxious
to have tho rising generation obtain knowledge suflicient
for all ordinary duties. The Oregon Spectator did a
gixxl work through its columns. George Abernothy, the
proprietor, issued an edition of Webster's Elementary
Hpelling Book in 184(5 or 1817. This helped along the
good work very much. And those few recollections show
the wishes of tho enrly settlers. Labor wns then . fifty
cents a day, payable in wheat, then selling at fifty cents a
bushel. This wheat was to be delivered at tho landing,
which meant where " batteaux " could tnko it to mill or
market Tho school teacher received orders on some
store or took his pny in wheat Tho writer had. an agree
ment with the lamented Dr. Whitman to go to his home
at Waiilatpu, in tho f.ill of IS 17, an I t-vioh school for $14
Vancouver orders or 1G McKinlny orders.
Thus did our builders lay n grnxl foundation. What a
Hiiiorstrueture lias boon reared I Oregon and Washing
ton win offer opportunity for ns complete an education at
this timo as any portion of our newer settled regions.
Our Ktato and our Territorial universities, and our young
but flourishing colleges, are worthy to receive full endow
ment, and to lie put on such a basis as will make them
worthy tho patronage of our rapidly growing iopulation
Wo aro not ashamed of the building which has been done
upon tho foundation laid by the pioneers.
Caulos W. Shane.
Last year the semi-woekly Etut Oreyonum of Pen
dleton, Oregon, issued a Fourth of July nuniler of the
x.r, uxui which tho Ktors and Strips were tinted i
red and blue. It received much favorablo notice from
tho press throughout tho Union. This year a mammoth
nu.ulH wdlbo issu.Hl.ornninenUHl in tho same manner.
1 he edition will be 5,000 copies. It will contain matter
of general .uterest, stories, sketches, etc, and carefully
prepared descriptions of the counties and towns of East
ern Oregon. U will I a splendid publication to send
way to fnends. rr,oe, 25 cuts per copy, or five for 1
ALASKAN EXPLORATIONS.
4 LETTER from Dr. Willis R Everette, ivho recently
1Y left Vancouver for an exploring tour into the interior
of Aluska, thus speaks of his experiences after leaving
the mild atmosphere of the coast: "I went up Lynn
Channel from Juneau, and was four days and nights in
an open boat. What a weird looking country 1 AH
mountains and glaciers and snow-covered peaks. I am
sketching some of the glaciers and scenery to be exhib
ited on my return. Imagine yourself at the foot of an
immense wall of solid ice, 130 feet high, six miles wide,
and extending back into the interior 150 miles. In olaces
the glacier narrows down to one mile in width, but the
mouth is over six miles wide. There are crevices in this
solid Ixxly of ice in which a plummet let down 4.000 feet
touches no bottom. Specimens of gigantic algae, or sea-
weed, will bo sent by the next steamer." He expects to
pass beyond the lintits of communication about the 1st of
July and plunge into the untrodden interior. His report
will be an interesting one.
A steamer has been built in San Francisco bv raivata
parties to be employed in exploring the great Yukon.
She has a screw propeller and is brig-rigged, and is
about 5JSU tons burthen. She is under the command of
J. Hardy, late mate of the bark Alden Bess, and will
carry as passengers the four owners of the craft and two
others. Among the owners are the Schieffelin Brothers,
who last year spent so much money in prospecting
Alaska, and reported the minerals rich but the season too
short for successful mining. This new venture seems to
indicate that such was not their true opinion.
PICTURES.
DON'T purchase a picture in a hurry. They stand
alone. A dozen other articles of adornment or use
may be put aside, thrust into quiet corners, draped with
tins or mat, or even entirely hidden. A picture once put
on tho wall is a decorative landmark. It asserts itself
loudly and perseveringly. Whatever you miss seeing in
a room, you never miss the pictures. The first golden
rule of the picture buver is not to bnv a dunk Danbs
which are cheap are generally so hideous. They have
uiso me m-gotten and most annoying merit of putting all
other tastef ul and quiet arrangements of a room out of
harmony. One bad thunder and lightning, red and blue
and yellow nightmare, on canvas, will do more to make a
room look hideous than any other article on the prem
ises. What you buy let it be rood. A siimle fair
engraving of some famous picture, an autotype, or a
uiroiuo-iitnograpli from the works of an acknowledged
master, will do more to beautify your parlor or bedroom
than a dozen muddled, ill-colored, ill-drawn transcripts-
o cnueu-ouocal or other scenery.
"That's not what I IT! fin nf " raanAnlorl 4-1 a nwtfaeanr.
In ancient days knowledge was confined to a few learned
...!, uut nowadays almost every donkey knows as much
aa a professor." The students looked at each other,
nodded, and whispered, "That's so."