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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1887)
012 THE WEST HII0IU1 Although it las been b good many With the scream of the iron horse, years since the first settlement of this and clack of the mill or factory, the Id. country, and the whites have been but- dian, with his romances, fades away liko rounded with Indians most of the time, the mists, and is gone. The onward they know but little about them. The tread of the invincible ADglo-Saxou relentless march of cirilization will soon sweeps relentlessly away th present, boAr away before it the Indian, with his and with the present, the past and tho legends and traditions. I, with many hopo for the future, of the poor ab others, regret to seo the tendency to origine, substitute new names, for the euphoni- There is something pathetic in tho ous Indian titles, to various localities, fate of the Indian. For unknown ages, We have taken the Indian's lands, and his race has struggled alone, on a conti driven him from his home; and it is as nent isolated from the civilization of tho little as we can do, to perpetuate tho East He has wrestled with tho prob name ho has given to tho mountains, lem of destiny, with no guiding star, and valleys, rocks and rivers ho loved so at last yields his country, to bo a homo well, and fought so hard to defend for strangers, and goes out of existence Thcro is much of the grand and beau- as a race, without leaving even so much tiful in the scenery of tho fur North- as a history behind him. The plow west, and connected with many of tho share of the pale-face has turned the sod scenes, aro myths and legends, which, over tho graves of his fathers. A few in future years, would Iks read with ab- names attached to scattering localities, sorbing interest If we could place in a few rude characters canred on the tho hands of tho tourists, who will ilock walls of nature's battlements, a few mys to this country, guide Ixwks, or descrip- terious mounds, and we have all that is tions of our scenery, with tho ancient left to tell of the centuries of a nation's legends connected therewith, we would ambitions, struggles, sufferings, migra greatly enhanco the pleasure of gazing tions and final ruin. AH that is known on tho sccneg. Guld wo seo tho coun- of the hopes, fears, loves, battles, intel try as tho Indians seo it, through the lectual, physical and moral life of un tight of wondrous legends, that have counted millions of human beings, that come down to them from tho past, it have lived in this country, might almost would seem to us, not only as home, but bo recorded with a single drop of ink, as tho land of magic, of spirits, and of and then thn history closes and oblivion genii Tho mountains, rivers, lakes, engulfs all the rest The Indian's home rocks, and widening and winding val- is gone, his kindred are buried, the web hys, would ojM-n up to our vision as the of fancy pictures, that formed his re homo of fairi s, the land of marvels, tho ligion and philosphy, is broken; ho has battle-field of gola, and tho scenes of no faith in those who havo crushed and wonderful enactments in a dim and ruined him, and there is nothing left for mUty past Thcro would linger round him to do but to die; and he is told, in each beauUous sjot, a magic spell, that tho grim humor of tho cowboy creed, would heighten interest and dcejen our that an Indian is never good wntil ho is love for this favored land of the Pacific dead. Northwest fl. ft Kcykendall, M. D. r