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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 1900)
THE MORXLN'G OEEGONIAN, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1900. MnMtttMMtmMtmtiMe c----i The Donation Land Law Beneficent Results of tKe Act Its Part in tKe Development of Oregon. REGON cm. Or., Nov. 27. An in quiry Into the origin of the act of Congress of September 27, 1S50, Immonly known as the Oregon do- stion land law (the full text of lch was printed in The Oregonian somber 4, 1850), and the effect llch that law had upon the later tvelopment of the State of Oregon, ikes pertinent brief Inquiry Into the pgln anl development of our entire land Istem. Few men trouble themselves lout the origin of things. The man who fids a fee-simple title to a town lot is Itisfied to know that the original title good, and that his own chain of title complete. Time was, and not so very ig ago, when no individual owned a tot of the soil of Oregon. "What sov- Jignty held title before the question of llvidual titles became a practical topic lesn't particularly interest the average Who cares whether or not we now ln it by virtue of Captain Gray's dlscov- of the Columbia Kiver In 1791, by tue of the purchase from France in by virtue of the treaty with Spain 1S19, or by virtue of the treaty of June 1846, with Great Britain? "We do know it our line should have gone to 54 de les 40 minutes, the southern line of the peslan possessions, instead of stopping the 49th parallel; but all of that is Ilk that was spilled many years ago. Kot to go too far back into the dim Jesses of time to discover the origin of rernment title, it is pertinent to ask: w does the manwho holds title through General Government discover "where is at," and what is the nature and Igln of our system of land surveys? Lder laws that have existed for over 100 lars, the public lands of the United ITites are all surveyed under what is Idwn as the "rectangular system." This stem was reported by a committee of igress consisting of Thomas Jefferson Messrs. "Williamson, Howell, Gerry Id Reas May 7, 17S4. In the ordinance jmlttcd by this committee It was pro sed that the lands of the country should divided Into "hundreds" of 10 geo- laphlcal miles square, these again to subdivided into lots of one mile square, lch to be numbered from 1 to 100, com- 3nclng In the northwestern corner and furtlng alternately from west to east id from east to west continuously. This tan was so amended as to provide for present system of townships lx tiles square, wherein we begin in our al ginate numbering of the sections at the ortheast corner. Bach township con- flsts of 36 sections of one mile square ach. In numbering these townshiDs "lorth- or south, we start at the estab lished base line, and in numbering the hanges east and west we start with an Established meridian line. This system of 3urveylng. so far as Is known, found Its origin of this committee. It was enacted linto law May 20, 17S5. In the United States there are at least two dozen prlri- Rclpal meridians, and a similar number of base lines. The Willamette meridian Is coincident with longitude 122 degrees 44 minutes west from Greenwich. Its In tersection with the base line is on the parallel of 45 degrees 30 minutes north latitude, and It controls the public sur- : veys of Oregon and Washington. The original methods for the disposal xt the public lands of the country were radically different from those in force during the past 50 or 60 years. Congress In 1783 issued a proclamation forbidding settlement on the public domain. A law passed In 1804 emphasized this prohibition, and a law passed in 1807 gave the Presi dent the power of removal of settlers on the public lands. At that time settle ment of the public domain was not en couraged. It was expressly prohibited. Congress then concerned Itself with so handling the public lands as to secure from them the largest amount of reve nue. As early as 1790 Alexander Hamil ton, in response to a resolution of Con gress, submitted a plan for the disposi tion of the public domain. It Is one of the evidences of the matchless genius of this greatest of all our Revolutionary statesman that the leading features of his plan have become a permanent part of ojr land system. He, however, con templated the sale of all our -public lands. That was the ruling idea of that era. At d.fferent periods our agricultural lands have been sold at the rates of 125, 25. 50. C6 2-3 and 75 cents, and at 1, $1 25, $2 and $2 50 per acre. Today, while our agri cultural lands, under the general laws, are only open to homestead entry, except in the case of arid lands or isolated tracts, timber lands are sold at $2 50 cash per acre, and coal lands at $10 and $20 per acre. The first laws passed to encourage set tlemcn on the public lands were the vari ous rre-emption laws, the act of Septem ber, irii, being the fullest In its scope. Under this law one could enter 160 acres, and at any time after 12 months' resi dence, not later than 33 months from the date of entry, the claimant was entitled to patent upon the payment of $125 per acre. The Idea of giving any part of our pub lic lands to individual citizens, solely In consideration of residence and cultiva tion, scrms not to have taken root, until the homestead law was passed, although the donation of lands to the states and to various public enterprises, and to in dividuals for military service, was com mon from the beginning. Each organized territory, after 1803, was given the 16th section of each township within its borders for school purposes. Oregon Territory was the first to be granted not only the 16th, but the 36th section. Bounty land warrants, issued for serv ices in the Revolutionary War, covered 2.165,000 acres. For services in the War of 1812 they covered 4.930.000 acres. Scrip In lieu of land warrants for military serv ice since 1S12 covers 12.000.000 acres, and bounty land grants, under the acts of 1847, 1S50, 1SG2 and 1SW, cover 61.02S.000 acres. From 1S24 to 1S66 there were given away 4,424 000 acres for the construction of canals; 1.301,000 acres have been donated' for the construction of military wagon roads, of which m, 000 acres was for roads In the State" of Oregon. Grants to state universities aggregate over 1.000,000 acres, white nearly 10.000.000 teres nave Decn granted to states for the equipment of colleges, for the cultivation of agricultural and mechanical and art. About 52,000 acres have been granted tt. the slates as swamp lands, and noarly 20, J00 000 acres more are claimed. A total of 155,504.994 acres have been granted to the railroads of the country. 9f which S,19S.B93 were granted under Fill more, 19 678,179 under Pierce, 74.395.S01 under Lincoln. 31.00L287 under Johnson, ind 19.231 121 under Grant. It is interests to contrast wit these 1 liberal, if not extravagant, concessions the statistics, which show that, although about 600,000 homestead entries have been made in the country since the homestead law took effect in 1863. they cover only about 80,000,000 acres of land, yet It re quired a bitter and long-continued fight to secure the passage of the homestead law. The first demand for this law was made by the Free-Soil Democracy In their National convention at Pittsburg, August U, 1852. February 1. 1859, the first home stead bill. Introduced by Hon. Galusha A. Grow, who Is now the Republican Con-gressman-at-Large from Pennsylvania, passed the lower house of Congress by a vote of 120 to 76, all of the affirmative votes but two being from the Northern States, and all of the negative votes but eight being from the South. The bill was defeated by the Democratic leaders in the Senate. May 6, I860, the bill was again Introduced by Mr. Lovejoy, and passed the House by a vote of 115 to 65, all of the affirmative votes but one being from the North, and all of the negative votes but two being from the South. This bill was so amended In the Senate as to require the homestead entryman to pay 25 cents per acre for his claim. The House reluctantly accepted the amended bill, because, as Mr. Grow expressed It. "half a loaf Is better than no bread." Bven this bill was killed by the veto of President Buchanan, and the passage of the first homestead law was le'ft to the Congress that went Into power with the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. That law passed the House February 28, 1862. It passed the Senate May 5, 1862, and was signed by Lincoln May 20, 1862. Accord ing to its terms, it took effect January 1. 1863, the very day that the emancipa tion proclamation took effect. This fur nishes an added reason why that day should be memorable in the annals of the Nation. The only donation laws ever passed by Congress were confined in their operation to the Territory of East Florida and the Territories of Oregon, Washington and New Mexico. The acta applicable to East Florida and New Mexico granted only 160 acres to each claimant and the total amount patented under these laws were about 20,000 acres In New Mexico and 210,720 acres in East Florida. The Oregon donation land law was more liberal in Its provisions and much wider In Its scope. The stages attending Its development cannot be fully set forth in a brief article. The authorship of the law Is in dispute. In the -earlier years of our history as a state this was a subject of much acrimonious discussion. As early as. August 6, 1846, President Polk, in a message to Congress bearing upon the needs of a territorial govern ment for Oregon, expressed his desire that this region might "be filled up by a hardy and patriotic population" and urged that it was "but nn act of Justice that these emigrants, whilst most effec tually advancing the interest and policy of the Government, should be aided by liberal grants of land." In his message of December 8, 1S46. he says, referring to Oregon: "As our citizens who now reside in that distant region have been subjected to many hardships, privations and sacrifices in their emigration, and by their Improvements have enhanced the value -of the public lands In the neighborhood of their settlements, it is recommended that liberal grants be made to them of such portions of these lands as they may occupy, and that similar grants or rights of pre-emption be made to all who may emigrate thither within a limited period to be prescribed by law." In his message of December 7, 1847, and In a later message, specially devoted to the Interests of Oregon, he earnestly re news his recommendations. Oregon was admitted as a territory Au gust 14, 1S4S, and her territorial bounda ries included not only the Oregon of to day, but Washington, Idaho and the western portion of Montana. Prior to her admission as a territory and under the operation of treaty stipulations for the joint occupation of the country by the United States and Great Britain, ex tensive settlements had grown up and the people In governing themselves had adopted land laws which made occu pancy the basis of ownership between settlers. These laws had provided that every male Inhabitant of the country over a certain age should have 640 acres of land. The act of Congress establish ing the Territory of Oregon declared void all laws theretofore passed in the terri tory making grants of land, or otherwise affecting the title of lands. The temper of Congress, however. In various ante cedent acts and resolutions relating to the Oregon country had been pretty thoroughly tested and the conviction was universal that In any subsequent special legislation the liberal Ideas of the pro visional government in regard to land grants would find favor and be enacted into law. For this reason Immigration was stimulated, and it Is literally true that the donation law, then in limbo and without shape or form, began to operate long1 before It found a place in the stat utes. The donation law, as passed September 27, 1850. provided for making surveys and donations of public lands in Oregon and related to two classes of settlers. It granted to the first class of actual set tlers who were such prior to September 1, 1250, a donation of 320 acres to a single man, and of 640 acres to a married man and his wife, one-half to the husband and one-half to the wife In her own right. The second class of settlers were, thotc -who were or should become settlers between December 1, 1S50, and December 1, 1853, and the date was later extended to December 1, 1855. To the settler of this class were granted, if a single man, 160 acres; if a married man 320 acres, of which one-half went to the husband and one-half to the wife in her own right. Such discrimination as was made was In favor of the man who was already In Oregon at the time of the passage of the law. This Indicates that the leading and primary purpose of the law was not par ticularly the encouragement of Immigra tion, but rather to meet the antecedent expectation of the pioneers who were al ready upon the ground, and Indicates that one of the objects of the law may have been to attach to the American Interest the resident servants of the Hudson's Bay Company. No discrimination wa3 made as between native-born Americans and those who were willing to take out certificates of naturalization. Under the original law four years consecutive resi dence and cultivation was necessary to Insure a patent from the Government. An amendment to the law passed Feb ruary 14, 1S53, permitted claimants after two years' residence and cultivation to secure patent on the payment of Jl 35 Der nrr nA e..v....... i ,.. ..... further duceT ? To otTyei.J The total nuuj of certllic.es issued under the laA Was 7317, embracing 2,563. 7 acre& of Itnd The records of the United States Lai.d Oflice at Oregon City, however, show but 5i5 patents issued. The lirst notification filed by any settler of his Intention to take a claim under the law was that filed on February IS, 1S52, by Joseph M. Blackerby; the second was John Barger, the third B. A. Leonard, the fourth E. F. Colby, the fifth Rice Dunbar, the father of Judge Dunbar, of the Washington Supreme Court, and of Register Dunbar, of the United States Land Office at Vancouver. The sixth no- tiflcatlon was that of Wilburn King, and the seventh that of King Hibbard, to whom, on January IS, 1859, the first patent under the law was Issued. Prior to the Issuance of that patent no individual, since the creation, had owned a foot of the soil of Oregon. The second patent was issued to Ralph C. Geer, uncle of Governor Geer and father of L. B. Geer, State Land Agent. The land cov ered by these notifications was all In township 7 south, range 1 west, about 15 miles east of Salem, In the beautiful region known as the Waldo Hills, one of the richest and most picturesque sec tions of the Willamette Valley. The fore going list of names Is one familiar to all the pioneers of Western Oregon and will . 4 f THE OREGOMAN OF 1850. Reproduction In Fac-Slmlle of the First issue. On pases 20. 21. 22 and 23 of this lsrue will be found reproduced in fac simile the first Weekly Oregonian. The copy is exact in all particulars. The type has not been reset, but the photographic process has been em ployed to show Just what The Oreso nlan was and how It looked 50 years ago. From the two stories, 'The Trap per" and "The Fashionable Church," en the title page, to the text of the Indian bill on the fourth page, every thing Is exactly as It was on that In teresting occasion when the first paper was with much ceremony pulled from the press. Study and perusal of The Oregonian of 1S50 Is not only Interesting for its historical association. It affords op portunity for comparison between the Journalism of that day and this The Weekly Oregonian of 1850 and The Daily Oreronian of 1C00. I t recall the best and richest traditions of the pioneer era. The donation law expired by limitation on December L 1855. It long since served XL.PU?Se a1d has ovr become anclent history. So far, at least, as the land titles pf the country were concerned It was the first effective Instrumentality ap plied to bring out of the comparative chaos of the provisional days a sem blance of order and of stability. While to Hon. Samuel R. Thurston, our first provisional Delecate. must hi mirrihw? much of the credit of securing the pas- i sage of the law, even the pioneers them- i selves were unable to agree as to whom belonged the credit of Its authorshin. It can hardly be said that It was the crea- ' turn or any single man, but It came as a development out of the minds of many men, and it was the creation, not of a day, but of a scries of years. At the request of Governor Abernethy and many leading- citizens of Oregon, Hon. J. Qulnn Thornton. Supreme Judge under the pro visional government, went to Washington in the Spring of 1S4S to labor with Con gress on behalf of Oregon, and at that time. It Is said, he prepared a bill em bodying the leading provisions of the donation land law as finally enacted. Mr. Thornton also claimed the credit of se- curing the Insertion. In the law providing I for the admission of Oregon as a terri tory, the provision giving us, for our schools, not only the 16th, but the 36th section of every township, the first law of the kind ever enacted; but this claim of Mr. Thornton has been stoutly com bated by Mrs. Frances Fuller Victor and others. It Is difficult to estimate the effects of a,-, j ---- -------- . - - . . . - t n ,11,,, , i - i i i i L -, 1, ,' in,"', ,., -" r rt - - ..--Z II OREGONIAN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER AND CORXER OF Term. For One Year, in Adrenre. S7 00 jjs l Six Months, do ?'nelc Copies, . Cluli Tic Pdper will be irtrntr. tn one a J J res- fur SIU0. MS (a.CCs. V-v h -t. L - .; irtrntr. imojic ad J res- lursIUO. Cah in odvtuce. VJJ :. BOOK MBJWNTING, EXECUTED IN EVERY VARIETY OF STYLE, WITH Lo xJuooioUton' or Cne cfieaT't''cioo. to m m m jp AX EARLY OREGOXIAX RECEIPT. Nete.-Tbe feregoinff reeefpt and memorandum is on exhibition at the rooms of the Oregon Historical Society. It will be observed that, while the receipt is made out to Samuel J. Gardner, a postscript to J. TV. Xesmlth is added. The exnlanaUon probably l. that Gardner's Sub,cxiPtIoa bad been forwarded by Mr. mlth. acUnxas aent for The WOrenianand S, rr ransd to him for deliver to Garoa. Sne pcUcrlnt 1 yldenr. an um, to soma Inquiry NcSlth tad made! the law, either Immediate or remote. As its provisions were confined to American citzens, either native-born or naturalized. It naturally alienated many of the old servants of the Hudson's Bay Company and weakened the hold of that company upon the destinies of the country. It quickened and strengthened the American spirit and it certainty exerted no small Influence In stimulating immigration. The whlt population of Oregon In 1850, a full decade aiter the advent of the first missionaries, was only 13,294. The Immi gration of 1362 has been estimated at j about 10,000. It in no way detracts from . the merit of these earlier builders of the j state that the hope ot securing a half section of the fertile soil of the Willam ette Valley, upon whlcn to build the foundations of a life of comfort and in dependence, was the motive which In spired many of them to face the perils of a six months' journey across the trackless wastes of a continent. The real heroes, aiter all, are of the practical sort who look, forward to some substan tial reward for facing the dangers and privations they have the courage and perseverance to meet and overcome. The legacy of a good name and a heroic spirit, even in the absence of material achieve ment. Is a magnificent thing to leave be- hind, but the reputation of hiving sea- I soned your heroism with an admixture I of common sense and business thrift, is a heritage not to be despised. The Ore- son pioneer who saw in the donation land j law a good thing was no less heroic be- I cause of his thrift and his prescience. J His ambition to secure, through that law. 320 acres of Oregon soil marked him not as a, merely sordid, but as a very prac tical man of affairs, while in this way building up his own fortunes, he was also doing his full share in developing this great state and transmitting to those who were to follow blessings which they might not now otherwise enjoy. Every man owes something to himself and his Immediate dependents. The people who have a touch of the sordid element In their composition are the people who have conquered the world for civilization, and contributed more largely than any other class to the sum total of human com ' fort and human happiness. Heroic sac j rlfice that is purely of the Ideal sort I makes rich material for song and story, Tt- ttlA ftrnrrry TlnnAi xHrte& npfintlnnl Leye saw in the broad acres of this new Eldorado something worthy of his quest, and whose spirit never quailed In the face of perils that were to be met In reaching the goal of his ambitions, was no less a hero because he reserved to himself a goodly portion of the reward Instead of devoting it all to posterity. Few men have conquered greater perils. Few men have shown better courage. Few are the men whose ultimate motives were of a more lofty type. The Oregon ' donation land law made no heroes, but it has played no mean part in the develop ment of that spirit, both heroic and con servative, which was so characteristic of the early pioneers of the state. CHARLES B. MOORES. t . f First Oregon Printer. W. Carey Johnson, too pioneer Oregon City lawyer, and probably the oldest per son now living who learned the printer's trade In Oregon, distinctly remembers conditions existing when The Oregonian first made Its appearance. He was only 13 years old when he arrived with his parents at Oregon City In 1845, his father. Rev. Hezeklah Johnson, having organized the first Baptist church in Oregon there July 4, 1847. During this year young Johnson went Into the Spectator office and officiated as the "devil" while learn- lng the printer's trade. The discovery of gold in California In 1849 induced many Oregon City people to rush for the mines. almost depopulating the place for a brief period, as far as the male Inhabitants were concerned. William. G. TVault, the publisher of the Spectator, concluded to discontinue the publication of the paper. Later Mr. Johnson worked on the Argus, founded and published by Dr. W. L. Adams. When The Oregonian first made Its appearance, Major Thomas Charman IPMAvjJJi,iW3tD3rOr, FROXT AXD JIORRISOX STREET . A iki 0 2 ttnt to Clubs of A Liberal Deduction to Yearly Advertisers. Uah in advance. tooths eraeiiM8 dr. JOfiCUt LnjJLK r - . , L , and Arthur Warner, who were afterward , for many years proprietors of the Pio ( neer store, conducted .a bakery at Oreg6n j City: general merchandise establishments also were controlled by the Hudson's'Bay j Company, Mr. McKInley, manager. Gov ernor Abernethy and W. K. Kllbourn. About the onlv monev In rltwiln tlnrt In these days was "store orders" issued by the mercantile houses, and used as cur cency by the early settlers. These were usually written orders, although at a later date some of them were printed. The orders issued by the Hudson's Bay Company store were considered most valuable, as this establishment carried the largest stock of goods and was re puted to be on a solid basis. The scrip Issued by this store was called "McKInley money," after the name of the manager. The lawyers In Oregon City at that date were Aaron E. Walt and James G. Kelly, who were partners, Milton Elliott and Co lumbus Lancaster, who was the first delegate to Congress from the Territory jse "t rr- t?- stefe&W; Francis "W. Pettygrrove. Francis W. Pettygrove, who was as sociated with Lovejoy and Overton In founding the City of Portland, and who gave It its name, was born in Calais, Me., in 1S12. At the age of 30. he came to Oregon with a stock of goods. After many difficulties In getting around the Horn and up the Columbia River, he landed his cargo at Oregon City, where it was disposed of at a profit. He then engaged in the fur trade, and built a warehouse at Oregon City to handle the grain bulness. He becatno associated with A. L. Lovejoy in Portland, but in 1851, owing to ma larial troubles, sold out and went to the Straits of Fuca and established the City of Tort Townsend, where he re mained until his death, in 1SS7. of Washington. Mr. Johnson commenced his law studies In Walt & Kelly's office in 18W, working on the outside four days in the week to pay his board. He began the practice of law In 1858 on his own account, and later formed a partnership with the late Captain F. O. McCown. Captains P. H. Hatch and Medorum Crawford car ried on a transfer business around the falls, using oxen and horses at different times to propel the freight between the steamers on the lower and upper river. Rev. Ezra Fisher was pastor of the Bap tist Church. Rev. George H. Atkinson of the Congregational Church, while Fathers Blanchet and Acoltl had charge of St. John's Catholic Church. Wane of the Bticlnvheat. Pittsburg News. The practical extinction of the buck wheat cake of our fathers must be laid at the door of the miller. He Is accused of mixing with buckwheat flour wheat bran and shorts In the Interests of econo my. For a while the adulteration was un detected, but gradually consumers began to complain that the buckwheat cakes don't taste any more like they used to In the good old days back on the farm, and people began to stop buying buckwheat flour. A.s the demand fell off the farmers raised less and less buckwheat. A race of honest millers, cc-operatlng with the farmers, might raise the buckwheat cake to Us former proud position. - -t-TXXX .V01 JOB PRINTING f p VT PARTI..(sn. 1 :M AW Adrct'tisiHg One Square (tvrelre lina tr lets,) Three msf rtion, f S; for every sJJiiion al insertion f I. NEATNESS AND DESPATCH. ifJHfon U rfc-fSXi & e-y ixr- - r ! Treaties WitK Hov and Why TKey "Were Made by tKe . United States Commission. THE people of Oregon Territory in 1S50 had a delegate at "Washington, and as the Indian title to the soil had been the ostensible cause of differences between the missionaries and the natives east of the Cascades, It was natural that -the extinguishment of the native title in "Western Oregon should receive early at tention. To meet this want, the sixth public act of the 31st Congress was: "An act f authorizing negotiation of treaties -with the Indian tribes of Oregon for the extinguishment of their claims to lands west of the Cascade Mountains, and for other purpeses," passed, signed and approved June 5, 13&), and published in the first copy of The Oregonian Decem ber 4 of the sitae year. The object of this bill, besides extin guishing the Indian claims to the soil ot "Western Oregon, and providing for the appointment of officers to effect this ob ject, was to locate the tribes treated with east of the Cascade range, If found prac ticable. This was found Impracticable, be cause the healthy wild tribes east of the mountains would have none of the dis eased rem.nant of tribes that had been long dying on the west of the range, and the latter dreided and feared those from east of the range when they made Sum mer excursions into the Willamette "Val ley. The commission appointed was Anson Iart. of "Wisconsin; A.- G. Henry, ot Illi nois; Ellas "Wampole (not located), and H. H. Spauldlng, of Oregon. To these were added Governor John P. Gilnes, A. A. Skinner and B. S. Allen. Dr. Dart knew nothing of Indians; Mr. Henry neer came on the ground. Mr. "Wampole was placed over the tribes of Northeastern Oregon, and was soon broken for speculating off the In dians. Mr. Spauldlng was allotted as agent over the tribes of Southern Oregon, In cluding the Rogue Rivers and Shastas, who feared neither God nor devil nor man they could steal from or kill. The first effort of Dr. Dart was at Champocff, in Marion County. The Cala pooias and Molallas were to be treated with. But they would, sign nothing with out seeing J. L. Parrlsh. He was sent for, advised them to sign, and they did sign in behalf of those two tribes. They gave up 0x20 miles on the east side ot the "Willamette River, the north bound ary belng the small creek making Into the "Willamette between Oregon City and the Clackamas. The native contracting parties were Joseph Hudson, chief of the Calapoolas and Margaret, his wife, youngest daughter of Costa, chief of the Molallas. The Indians had no idea of mile measurements. They both told the writer that the Calapoolas claimed the plains and the Molallas the slopes of the Cascades to the summit eastward and to the Capaloola Mountains south. They were to receive $42,000 in cash payments in 20 annual Installments. The Clackamas tribe was bought out for $2500 annually for 10 years, one-fifth cash and the balance in load and cloth Ins. There were SS persons, 19 of whom were men, or had that semblance. The Tualatin branch of the Calapoolas ceded 50xS0 miles west of the "Willamette River. The total number of Calapoolas was found to be 220.. A treaty was made with the Coast tribes, covering the coast line from Che halls, south of the Columbia, to Taqulna, reaching Inland to the mouth of the Cow litz River, at a cost of $91,300, to be paid In 10 yearly installments. Clatsop Point, "Woody and Cathlamet Islands, inthe Co lumbia, were mentioned as reservations. In tho securing of these treaties, not a single figure of the native race made it self notable In making conditions, from the date ot the law authorizing them till July 2, 1S56, when the followers of Chief John, of the .Rogue Rivers, were cowed and worn out by a six-year contest begun .by them as wayside murderers for pur poses of robbery, and ending In a des perate race struggle for possession of one of the most beautiful valleys of Oregon. John was left the one unconquered man of his race, making his own conditions of submission. On the side of the whit,e race, General Joseph Lane fully justified his appoint ment as first Governor of Oregon under the United States dominion. There are few brighter spots in the history of pur dealings with the Indians than. Lane's courage and watchful wisdom in holding the head chief ot the Rogue Rivers as hostage. That and the conduct of the brave wife, who cme alone and solicited the favor of being with her husband while he was held prisoner, ought to receive the attention of both poets and painters that Oregon will produce. True, the Table Rock treaty barely kept the"peace during a year. The elements of the contest, when It became one between the races, were so divided by native bands and factions on the one side, and between volunteers and regulars on the other, that tHe duration of the struggle Is not sur prising. Its results are summed up in 6.000,000 acres ceded to the United States at a cost of about 3 cents per acre, and 4000 natives put upon reservations and guarded and protected by the Government. In constructing this brief chronicle of race strifes and changes, the writer has de pended largely on Bancroft's great col lection of annals and notes. To one of the latter an opposing view Is submitted. Note 26, on page 412, of Bancroft's "Ore gon,"" volume U, concludes: "Out of an appropriation of $500,000, if the Indians re ceived ?SO.00O or $100,000, they were fortu nate." The efficient work of securing these treaties was done by Oregonlans. A. A. Skinner superseded Dr. Dart as Commis sioner; Joel Palmer succeeded Skinner. Of agents, H. H. Spauldlng, being utter ly misplaced ( over the Southern Oregon Indians, may have drawn pay without service; but no one ever doubted his hon esty. J. L. Parrlsh was the most serv iceable man in the field In the work of getting the Indians to treat. His ac cepted accounts came within $1 of a bal ance. No one in Oregon ever doubted the probity of Judge Skinner, General Palmer or J. "W. Nesmlth. A note following the above says: "A Special Commissioner C. H. Mote, was sent to examine the ac counts, who could find nothing wrong, and they were allowed and paid in 1859." Mr. Bancroft's note strengthened the arbitrary action of the Third Auditor of the United States Treasqry In scaling down the claims of the Oregon and "Wash ington volunteers and robbing those sol diers and people out of two-fifths of what was found due by a Congressional com mittee, and 13 yet Justly due. It sup ported General "Wood's malevolent course against these volunteers, who were starving amid the thickets and steeps of Lower Rogue River, Coquille and other streams In the southwest corner of Ore gon, on a public promise of $2 a day, when J Indians the writer of this could and did get all thd labor he wanted at $4 per day In Califor nia, and from that sum to $2 for common labor prevailed all along the coast at that time. It was, of course, much mora In the mines, even at Yreka and Jackson mining districts where miners detailed parts of their separate camps to chasd and run down the separate bands of wild; murderous robbers. In using these words as descriptive of the Rogue Shastas one tribe was divided into clans by family contentions and mountains it Is without bitterness: "Within two years prior to the beginning of this contest between natives and min ers the writer saw the hunters paradlsd of Upper Rogue River. He saw banded; antelopes lying on the swells of land op posite where theCity of Ashland now is, like flocks of peaceful sheep. He saw the watchful native runner, seemingly naked, start to carry the news of our parties' presence from village to village in advance of us. He saw them closing in on the trail we made Into the snows of the Sisklyous, where, according to the estimate of our leader. Jesse Applegate, they would slaughter every one of us for the property one of us carried, if we gave them the chance. "When they were sur prised by us. three-fourths of them wera clad in deerskins, with tne hair yet on. That they fought for their native valleys according to their knowledge is no dis grace to them. JOHN MINTO. Q- 60tt P-ulling tKe First Paper IV. "W. Baker, a well-known Portland citizen and pioneer, was present in The Oregonian oflice when the first paper wasi lifted from the press. "It was a most Interesting ceremony,'! says Mr. Baker, "and I am proud to re member that I took a prominent part in It. There was a considerable crowd pres ent In the office, attracted by the news that the long-expected and long-desired, r paper was about to Issue from the press. Mr. Dryer, was there, and Stephen Ccffln, and "W. "W. Chapman, and others, ameng whom I remember only young Henry Hill. "When the forms had been placed on the press, and the lever pulled, ami the Impression made, Coffin, Chapman. Dryer and myself took our assignee! positions, one at each corner, and wita great solemnity joined in lifting tha sheet from the press. There were other doings of a more or less formal nature. Another Incident worth recalling In con nection with The Oregonian is the fact that a few years later I bought from Dryer the lot at the corner of First andi Morrison, then occupied by The Orego nian. The building was off from the cor ner. It was agreed that I should builrl a two-story frame building on the cor ner, and that The Oregonian office should be upstairs, while "W. "W. Baker & Co. had a store below. The former quarters of the paper were occupied by U3 as a, storeroom. , "I had arrrived In Portland September , 17. 1850, and I at once engaged In the business of teaming. I met Dryer and h engaged me to haul his material and outfit for the new paper from the river landing to the original office on the cor ner. This I afterwards did." Mr. Baker says that when he came to Portland there was just one whlte-palnt-ed building in the town. There were no sidewalks, and the streets were full ot stumps. Stumps on First Street (! T. B. Trevett, a prominent citizen of Portland, is another pioneer whose ar rival here antedates the first appearance of The Oregonian. "I came to Portland first July 8, 1S50," says Mr. Trevett, "with the Massachusetts, of the United Statea Navy. I was captain's clerk, I had como around the Horn the year before to Cali fornia, and I was the first purser of the first steamboat on the Sacramento River, the Mint, But I only made a single trip. I was taken with a protracted fever, and I finally went to the Sandwich Islands. "While I was there the Massachusetts called, and I was made captain's clerk aboard her. Then she came to Portland. "When we were lying in the river the offi cers were invited to the wedding of young Cyrus A, Reed to the daughter of Stephen Coffin. "We went, and we had a very good tiire. The Massachusetts then made a. northern cruise with the United States Commission she had aboard. I went with her and left her at San Francisco. I re turned to Portland July 12, 1851. and made It my permanent home, t came In tha steamer Columbia, with a number ot other passengers, among them Judge Nelson, of the territorial Supreme Court; Benjamin Stark and Mrs. Dryer and hen daughter, Mary, afterward Mrs. Ogden. The cabin passage was then $100. The town was somewhat rough in those days. T remember that I got up on top of a, tower somewhere and counted 134 shingle roofs. There were stumps on First j'jeet. and everywhere there were the rough evidence? of pioneer life. Tes, I remem ber the early days of The Oregonian. It was a "Whig paper, and I was a "Whig- and I did my share to keep it going.' How Various Monarclttt Sleep. If one is to believe in the accuracy off a paragraph going the rounds of the vari- vous German papers, some of the crowned heads lie very uneasy, at least at night. William of Germany insists on sleeping on a narrow camp bed, the rigors of which system are somewhat mitigated by sheets of the finest linen and silk coun terpanes, of which he Is very fond. Ha goes to bed regularly at 11 and rises at F. He is terribly agitated during his sleep. " Leopold of Belgium goes to bed very late. He makes it a rule never to work In the day time, and consequently has to go through all letters and documents at night. He is a very cold sleeper, and even in Summer nights his bed is made up of a heap 6f feather-beds and feather counterpanes. In which he completely, buries himself. Humbert of Italy had a hard bed, coarse sheets and no pillows. He slept and snored for eight hours at h. stretch. The Czar of all the Russlas dreads night and darkness. His bedroom 13 al ways lighted with electric lights, scarcely subdued by white silk .shades. He fre quently has to use epme mild sleeping powder, and has the greatest difficulty in getting up, which he does as late as possible. Abdul Hamld sleeps on a couch ot silk and gold, and as peacefully as a, child. Felix Faure, President of the French Republic, had a splendid modern bed and eiderdown quilts. He had frequent night mares. "When he did not sleep well he used to ring the bell In the middle of the night and order the sheets to be changed at once.,