27
FREDE'RIC HOME
ALCH
ASPIRED TO BECOME THE WALTER SCOTT
OF OREGON HIS UNTIMELY DEATH
PERSONALITY OF THE MAN WHO WROTE
"THE BRIDGE OF THE GODS"
THE SUNDAY OBEGONIA37, PORTLAltt), OVEWP.EK SO, 1902.
B
AFTER having read that delightful
romance of Indian Oregon, "The
Bridge of the Gods," the Inquiry is
naturally made, who is F. H. Balch? It
may be a surprise to manykto know that
Oregon claims him as a native son. So
little has been known heretofore of the
intense and Interesting personality of.
Frederic Homer Biiich that It seems but
right that the admirers of Oregon liter
ature should learn something relative to
the talented young author who wrote this
Oregon classic. His death occurred before
he was 30 years of age, when he was
standing on the threshold of a great lit
erary career for which his talents gave
promise
Frederic Homer Balch was born at Leb
anon, Linn County. Oregon, December 14,
3S61. His parents were both pioneers. He
was a boy of great ambition. At a very
early age he learned to read and write;
also at a very early age he resolved
to win fame, no matter what it cost.
Afterwards, referring to this resolution,
he wrote in his Journal:""It may have been
a boyish fancy then, but It grew into a
burning thirst In after yearn Stories of
war used to faoMnate me. My ancestors
have been soldiers fcr more than 100 years,
and I was proud of my Welsh blood tho
blood of the old Britona, a line more pure
ly noble and English than Norman and
Saxon. Sly ancestors were free men of
England before the Saxons had heard of
the 'White CllfTs,' or the Normans had
sailed the Baltic."
"When Frederic was about 10 years of
age, the family moved east of the Cas
cades to tho Klickitat Valley, "Washing
ton, and lived there four years. "There,"
to quote again from his Journal, "I rode
on horseback over the prairies after stock
and read.all the books I could get, though
the frontier libraries were very scanty.
Half the education I have I owe to the
ceaseless reading and re-reading of Ma
caulny." Milton was one of his boyhood
favorites, aloo "Nicholas NIckleby" and
"Jane Eyre." At this time he was con
stantly writing essays historical and other
wise, and as he afterwards expressed it
"wrote them almost by the bushel."
Young Balch's father encouraged h!o lit
erary ambitions, and gave him time for
his writing: hie life was one long dream
of future fame. The family again changed
their residence, moving down, to Mount
Tabor and remaining there two j;ears.
Here as elsewhere to become an eminent
author seemed the dominant Idea. At this
time he gave special attention to poetry
and historical sketches. While at Mount
ELIZABETH IN
AMONG "The Pointed Firs." My Dear , claimed: "Filing a saw! I didn't sup- t that idea, and since then we have had ex
Nell: In my last I tried to picture ! Psc either of you knew how." cellent wood.
i,0,tir cnnino I "Know how to file a saw:" fairly c'-i- hs.i.j i m t
some of the beauties surrounding
our new Oregon home, but I do assure
you that that given was only the .
preface to this wonderful nature book of j
the hills. I would like now to tell you j
more of It, but as man cannot live by J
scenery alone, and as you particularly i
Jir seen upon the hills is admirable, green
fir in the kitchen range is -abominable,
especially after being soaked by rain for
nuee mumns. wnen ursi pui in uie stove ;
bolstered up by plenty of pine kindlings, ,
it would blaze rather hopefully, until the
moss burned off and the pine burned, then
with sighing and robbing say: "You sure-
ly don't expect me to go it alone, do you?" ,
V, , , , . ' , , ,
shed a few rainy tears, then turn black-
and all was over. The cr.6st of our pack- j
ing boxes were demolished in the effort .
to make a go of it. but all in vain; it sim- i
ply would not burn, and we had to go t
back to cooking by the fireplace, where .
it did fairly well, with a liberal supply
of bark, the latter burning well here, but '
of no use in the range. While in this
slough of despond, a man came to hang
wall paper for us. Hearing our lamenta
tions, he suggested drying the wood In the ;
oven before ufing it. Long may that man
live and prosper!, The curing process ,
helped wonderfully, only now It burned
out in a jiffy. Fill the stove full, leave it '
15 minutes, come back to it, and not a :
vestige of fire is left. No coals such as
burners of oak and hickory would nat
urally expect to find. We soon learned
that the stove must never be left alone;
one must stand there, with hand on the t
throttle, like the engineer of a locomotive. !
Bnkingr the Firewood.
The demand for fuel was always greater
than the supply, though the oven was
kept filled with It from January to May,
except on baking days. Sometimes we
would close the oven door, forgetting It
until reminded by a great crackling, when,
Hinging the door open, flames would rush
out in our faces, and every stick of it
would be ablaze: I wonder that we didn't
blow the stove up and burn the house
down. Though we didn't know enough to
bake our wood without being told, we
found out one thing for ourselves, and
that was, that when heated a pitch oozed
from it that stuck to the fingers and
burned like hot sealing-wax. -ven after x
it-iti imi iu liiti, wc ivepi lurgciung,
would hurriedly reach In the oven, seize a
fctick and then shriek and dance around
like a Sioux Indian. All Winter long, our
hands were blistered and seared. Once on
the hand, it stuck there, like an adhesive
plaster of fire; and not 'all the waters of
"great Neptune's ocean" icoulJ wash It
off.
Again our man of experience came to
the rescue, telling us first to soak
our hands in kerosene and then wash
a very helpful, though not fragrant
remedy. "We learned some other things
from our guide, philosopher and friend;
first, that the wood we were using was
"dozy" (we had ourselves observed that
It was somnolently Inclined); secondly,
that if "our men" would cut or saw down
a big tree, we would find that the heart
of It would make a roaring fire. Now, we
tiaa suspicions mat neuner or 'our men" ,
had ever felled a tree, which were strength- j
ened by their great activity in collect-
a. .i- i i rtiin uuuier mere came a raDDine i i.nuMn vuv. i ..n i j i
here, not only the lights but the shadow e Jnblffi&SSrtcauSf5 w tZr ' th This flour Sge pcrus!
I will have to go back again to those shoulSS a sal about four -nr EST !!F?.d" at iere ' V'Fof.1 wn-bes!cle th6
memorable davs of January. 1902. Green one carrvln-r nn axe. tho ntw M n " .I t"l,1 on Ve nein.s uoara' lot of little
ing bark, fallen limbs and otlier wood- , "But. Mary, they could have bunched
land debris, palming It off on us. as some- them like cheese-straws, you know." And
thing rather choice, but Mary and I. pin- then. Nell, we got to laughing, and fancy
ing for the "heart of that big tree." did ing all sorts of nonsensical things
not let concealment prey upon our dam- ( "Wouldn't these mossy little things be
ask cheeks, but harped so long on that lovely standing about the room In vases,
"mouider'd string" that at last the fagot- i burnlner like those Chinese incense tan.
gainerers were epurreu io ucuun; ut least
we judged something was about to hap-
pen, from n conversation in the wood
house, overheard by us:
DIvrxZsed a Secret.
"Ever file one?"
"No, did you?"
"No. "What the Dickens will we do?"
"Do? We'll Just file her. that's what."
Whereupon began terrible rasping, grat
ing, screeching noises, which continued
until the perpetrators were summoned to
dinner. During the meal we were told they
had been filing a saw. Though painfully
aware of the fact, Mary Innocently ex-
Tabor he attended school for six months.
On account of the mother's Health the
Ealch family again went forth to seek a
home. This time they settled In a little
town called Lyle. in Eastern Washington,
on the Columbia River. An older half
sister and her two children came to Lyle
and bought a small farm near by. This
sister, being a widow, It naturally fell to
the lot -of Frederic to make his home with
her. He ever after attributed to this sis
ter the molding of his entire character.
Her goodness and wisdom must have been
great, as his after life showed such sin
gleness of purpose and pureness of heart.
All this while Frederic was still dreaming
droamo and soaring into ambitious,
thought. But life was not always sun-,
shine, for he waa -obliged to go into the
world and do whatever presented itself In
the way of workThe O. R. & N. Co.
was then building' its line up the Colum
bia, and this gave the opportunity for
labor; so Frederic Balch shoveled sand
and handled rock among the lowest class
of humanity. Even while engaged in thla
manual occupation, his mind was filled
with romantic thoughts and he completed
an Indian tale, entitled "Wallulah." Tho
name was afterwards used for the hero
ine of "The Bridge of the Gods," parts of
which he later submitted to one of the
first literary critics In the Northwest at
that time. Judge Mathew P. Deady, who
gave it great praise. However, the manu
script was not accepted by the publishers.
This romance was afterwards destroyed
on account of the strain of infidelity that
ran through it, which was at variance with
his later convictions.
For six years he was rent and torn by
a battle between his avowed infidelity and
a secret self-questioning as to the truths
of Christianity. Then came the final strug
gle that Involves the lives of so many
young men: Religion vs. non-religion, but
becoming convinced of the falsity of his
infidel beliefs, truth was vindicated and
Christianity accepted.
After a time the conviction came to him
that he must give up his cherished literary
aspirations and obey a command to enter
the ministry. The struggle was Intense,
as he then felt that he was casting aside
forever the great, overwhelming ambition
of 'his life. After the final decision was
made in favor of the ministry, and fear
ing lest the new work at times woull
prove discouraging and his literary ambi
tion would lure him again into forbidden
pathf, he decided to destroy the manu
script of "Wallulah." Its destruction was
painful to all the family. His sister clung
to him, begging him not to destroy it and
trying to save some of it from the flames.
But unfalteringly and with the look on his
face that one might fancy was on the face
of Cecil Grey, his hero of "The Brldee of
the Godn" when he turned his back on j
New England and civilization to become '
a missionary to the Indians, the minister
HER NEW OREGON HOME
PAINFUL DOMESTIC STORY OF GREEN FIREWOOD AND BAKING BREAD
FROM "SOFT WHEAT" FLOUR
shrieked Bert, "Why, I ve filed em, I I
mav sav. from lnf.mrv
"ycs," chimed in his shameless coadju-
tor, "and If I had a dollar for every one
I've filed, I'd ask nothing of -J. Pierpont
Morgan." Scornful silence on the part j
or their auditors. ,
unuii nun ujiuiei- mere came a rapping
rait half full of iron wedges. ,
Whither awav'" waR nnltrd
"We aw going ladies to hold 'corn-
munion witi; , aS! 'in her vS
fnm - ,
"Oh!"
"Yes, ma'am, we are going to . draw
near to Nature's heart, as it were, and
rlve out a chunk of It to satisfy your
frwful cravings." We were then told that
if we would glance up Mount Nebo about
twJght. vrebv-ould behold a novel aad
interesting scene. "Suppose neither of
you ever happened to sec a tree snaked
out of the woods, did you?"
1 ve seen 'em from infancy up." "Yes,
and if I had a dollar for " but our
hearers had" gone to rejoin the horses,
which stood near, literally wreathed in
log chains. They had not long been gone,
until the rain poured down as if the bot
tom had dropped out of the water tank3
above. We pitied them. then, through
that long afternoon. Sure enough, about
dark, "silently down from the mountain's
crown a great procession swept" but.
bpinV "wnicwi
Taclclesl the Wrong Tree.
Passing the house, those poor men j
looked so miserably wet and bedraggled, i
we considerately refrained from
COm-I
mentlnir on 'tVi nnpol nnA lntA...flnr.
scene"
, .
After supper, when the inner man had r
bcen refreshed, and the outer one was
basking in the genial heat of an open
fire, the story came out. It seems they i
had found a fine tree. 6 feet throueh I
and. thinking thev micht ns wn "t
plenty while they were gittin'," had
tackled it "Good! Saw it down saw It
down! We never got half way through
the bark, because, you see, every time I '
pulled I pulled on the saw Tom pulled." j
"Yes," retorted Tom, "and what did
you do when I pulled?" J
"Well, sir. I thought, old man, you I
don't get the better ' of me, so I just '
braced my feet and pulled, too." i
"Well, if you two men oughtn't to be '
in a feeble-minded asylum! The idea of
you standing in a drenching rain this
whole afternoon pulling a saw in opposite
directions
"But, Mary, we didn't 'pull the saw all
the afternoon; when we found we had
struck a lignum vitae. Instead of a fir
tree, we gave It. up. But we've got you
some dandy wood; we will bring it down
in the morning."
"Snake it?"
"I hardly know what do you think,
Bert?"
"Better not." said that gentleman,
frowning thoughtfully. "Your team Is
just a little bit too light might strain
em."
int. V- VV , . raorn-1 which plant cells fabricate as the result
ing; a preponderance of bark and a few j .
small, mossy poles, about such as one! ot tneir lhin& work-
uses tq support Lima beans. I called Mary Tne chemist can build up many respect
to come and see our "dandy wood." "It's 1 ale Imitations of such substances, one
Just what I. expected," she cried indlg- j of which Is salicylate of soda, used in the
nantly. " 'Strain the horses! Snake It ! treatment nt rhcnmntlsm. Th hiela hr
down!' J guess not. unless they had poked
those little sticks through the links of the
chain."
i ers? "Yes, or cut in short lengths and
tied with baby ribbon, they would make
stunning favors for a green luncheon."
"And nothing could be better if we were ;
n-rtlnr t n Vinnm.nr trio ATniliirn TV r H .
etc. In the fun of conjuring up ludicrous
uses for our new wood, we quite forgot
that It was not the most desirable. There
is nothing like a good laugh, Nell, to
float one over difficult places.
Well, we never got our big tree, until
this Summer. Then, the men were told
by a wise Nestor of these hills that by
boring holes In these large trees, and fir
ing. them from the inside, they wouJ4 soon
burn down. They eagerly pounced upon
FREDERIC
completed the work of sacrifice. Night
after night he studied and wrote, many
times by the flickering light of pine knots
in the open fireplace ofa pioneer home,
tolling hopefully toward the goal of the
young author's ambition. Eight such
years were thus represented in the'comple
tlon of this historical romance.
About this time came the Jbsn of the
half-sister whose sympathy had been jrjch
an Inspiring companionship and stimulus
for the higher and loftier aspirations of
life. In the year 1S85 Mr. Balch entered
upon his pastorate In Hood River Valley
as a home missionary of the First Congre
gational Church. For the first two years i
V. I . , -1, H Ul -V. n.tj 1 .1 n.i . !
ins iimn in ii iij uiiu;-iuu ucm jjuiu lll.ll i
his duties were arduous and various. He '
rpde all over toe valley to minister to
uur sr''s were not only tried Dy lire nut
b' flour: not that the Hour was poor, for
we ate good bread made of the aimc
kind, in the little town where we stopped,
when we first arrived here. But ladies
tilere assured us we would have much
",d(1 ' Tnrf stV w v. ,,1.
, 7 , . ... Z
Jr?' 'ZJTl thJS V fl0U,r
liS'1
v,,.i. ......v. v,iwilo, ., uumu uu,. ui me
oven as hard as a baseball. Come to cut- 1
uus it. iuu coum c.-s easily sncc a "two
by four scantling. No, It must be mixed I
soft, and must not J.Ie motionless one ;
Instant on the board, or it. had to be
scraped up with a knife. We remembered J
hearing that Boston bakers -pound the
board with the dough, instead of knead- ,
Ing it, a metnod we adopted, though It I
required the alertness and dexterityof nn
East India juggler. We wculd clutch the
, mays, raise it high toward heaven with
one nanu, wim me oiner aasn uour. on tne 1
board, then bring It down, swift as Heht.
nlng snatch it up again, dash on more
flour, whack It down again, and so con
tinue to the bitter end. I tell you, Nell,
when bread was mixed In the ranch of j "Come, Bert, we've got to fly. "When
"The Pointed Firs" the china rattled and Elizabeth begins to talk like Shakcs
the earth trembled. About this time, the l npnrn nho'q marl, hilt T'll ln.qt fnlrn nnn
people of Salem and other places were
occasionally experiencing slight earth-
quake shocks. You can imagine
how
guiltily we read of them.
Mixing was not the only trouble; it
wouldn't rise after it was mixed, though
swathed and swaddled In wrappings until
.. .ww ... . uiii.ii
It fl.RRlimfri QlinVi nrrlTirtrtlnnp n.h Vinrl
v.1113 i i,o iu
. uan ujnjn tne power 01 man io carry it to
, tne nrepiace, wnere it mucn resembled
the fireplace, where it much resembled
an enormous hassock cosllv placed. In
expectancy of a call from some Brob-
dlngnaglan of the hills. When the tlmo
came to make It in loaves, one would nat
urally expect to find some slight recog-
n,"on of these warm attentions, but bless
you' no: there !fc waa' as Inert and unre-
sponsive as a mixture of Portland cement,
or putty; and when baked would have -a
MEDICAL VIRTUES AND POISONS IN PLANTS
BY DR. ANDREW WILSON
E HAVE the authority of Friar
Laurence in "Romeo and Juliet"
for the assertion that "mlckle is
the powerful grace that lies in herbs. ! notablv tn, bcliadonna plant. of whlch j
plants, stones and their true qualities." the substonce named "atropine." much
This statement is confirmed, of course, used by the eye aurgeon, Is a typical ox
by the large number of medicinal sub- I amole. Solanlne. It must hp rpmnrM "i
stances to say nothing of food products
which are derived from the plant wprld.
It is difficult to say, for Instance, how
many different principles can be Isolated
from opium. When we think of strych
nine, belladonna, aconite and quinine, to
mention only a few important drugs, we
may readily re-echo the friar's words.
One special advance of chemical science
has taken the direction of Imitating in
the laboratory many of the products
is sallcin, obtained from the bark of the
willow tree, and this substance Is als.o
used pure and without combination In
medicine. The chemical imitation of na
ture, however, is apt to fall short of the
reality. There Is admittedly a something
wanting in man's preparations which na
ture Is able to fabricate, so that, close aa
nis imitations are, tney ao. not represent
exactly the products of life. Perhaps
this is only to be expected. It would,
Indcedi be wondrous if in the laboratory
we could precisely turn out substances
which are the original products ofv the
living cells. So that even in the furthest
science there would- appear to be a limit
fixed to our powers of building up imita
tions of organic compounds.
' Among the principles which Illustrate
the natural manufactures of the plant
world is a substance called "solanlne."
The chcml6t is abj to extract this prlncl-
H. BALCH
his scattered flock and to hold church
services. He also served as pastor of a
Congregational Church at White Salmon,
Wash., just across the Columbia. His
zeal was so great that he would send
a hay wagon Into Hood River, four miles
away, to give his church members ana
friends opportunity to attend his church
services. He succeeded In having a
frame church building erected. In which
divine service is still held. It Is a neat
little white church, on the edge of a
wood. In the heart of the valley, and
stands as a monument to his good work.
His old home Is opposite.
But against all discouragements Mr.
Balch felt the crying need of religious
work on the frontier, and never wavered
a moment from the determination that
crust as thick as this fir bark, and as
hard.
An Experiment "With Biscuits.
One day while molding it into loaves, I
thought: "I'll lust use some of .this for
biscuit and give this family a surprise, "
t and I did. First, the bread was baked.
! and put out on the table, where it looked -
as if It had ju3t been exhumed from the
ovens of Pompeii. Then, with beating
heart, my great venture was placed In
the oven.- After 20 minutes of thrilling
suspense, the door was cautiously opened,
"and lo! my own hhd come to me." The
queerest-looking outfit you ever saw, Nell.
They seemed dried Instead of baked, and
were about half their original size, had
shrunken and shriveled as mysteriously
ao Mr. MansflcW In the "Jekyl and Hyde"
i.tm;.n a usis were
and a"o. I plumped them
brca'fl they looked like a
madstones. Just as I was
!'?"n? mj mInd w?ct.hcr 11 ,wef.e
nouier 10 Durn mem, anu inus era au,
the men ca n. were about to pass
the room, when Tom's eye was
arrested by my layout. "Hello! Look
at Elizabeth's geological exhibit-four
biffi round boulders," and, spying the
madstones. "what might these little
jokers be? Gecdcs? No, can't be geodes;
not the right color. What would you call
these things, Bert?" Scrutinizing them
carefully. Bert thought they "might be
a s0rt of ammunition." "Not shells." eald
Tom. hitting them a resounding whack
with a No. 10 carving knife. "Too eolld,
and there Is no fuse to 'em. Might bo
paper-weights."
winlnr tenrs from mv pvps with nitrhv
fingers, hermetically sealing one, I looked
up with the other, remarking:
"You are pleased to be merry,- gentl'e-
men.
of these things out to the woodhouse and
bust It open and see if I can find out what
it's made of."
We wrestled with this flour, Nell, for
six long months; while the bread Im
proved come, It war? never good. One day
i mr. 51 ulci 3 iiiiiu fitive iuiii a uiituieiii j
I i-i . 1 1 . 1 Jl 1 I . tin .
j jtmu, Buying inej nuu uiuen-u il specniuj- i
i for "newcomers." as they all complained
t of the other. "When I learned that it.
too. was Oregon flour, I hnd small hope
of it. but to my surprise It made light,
soft, tender bread, which was eaten with
praise and thanksgiving. And now, Nell,
: I've given you shadows enough for one
1 time, but, in the words of the familiar t
, hymn. "Still there's
more to follow.'
ELIZABETH.
' Yours' devotedly',
1 November, 1902.
pie from the berries or fruits of the po
tato plant. To this order belong other
plants which exhibit poisonous principles,
not likely to be developed normally in the
potato itself. If it is present It must be
In Infinitesimal amount. The potato is, of
course, a "tuber," and represents a swell
ing on an underground stem. It is not a
root, and, being part of. a stem, can pro
duce Buds, which are the familiar "eyes"
of the potato. When the gardener plants
his potatoes he takes care to see that an
"eye" exists on each portion of the tubers
he places in the ground. He divides hla
tubers, as we know, and thus imitates
fairly accurately :the mode of plant prop
agation known to us under the head of
"slips." Solanlne would' therefore appear
to be the articular principle of the potato
plant.
We find analogous examples of such
plant manufactures in the case of tea, cof
fee and cocoa. In tea vre get a principle
called "thelne," while in coffee we find
"caffeine," "and in cocoa "theobromine."
To these principles these foods owe their
stimulating qualities, and caffeine has
passed into the list of substances used
for the cure of certain classes of head
ache. It may therefore be said that in a
wide range of plants special products of j
the kind under' discussion are part and 1
parcel of the constitution of the living or- '
ganlsm. Thelne and caffeine may be
technically regarded as poisons, and in
adequate quantity would poison us; but I
the amount we receive in "the cup that '
cheers" Is small enough to convey' stlmu- '
lant effects only. It Is different, of course,
with other plants that develop principles
notably poisonous, even in small doses.
From. IreJand, 4n 1846, came awcoa.nt3 of
had come to rule his life, but he threw .
himself Into his speaking, riding and J
missionary work with the. utmost zeal, j
spending almost all his days on horse- j
back and his nights in preaching. This ;
close attention to his pastoral duties, the j
long rides, the exposures, keeping ap-1
pointments through drenching rains and j
blinding snow storms, bore the usual j
his health, so that presently he was
obliged to give up some of his most ardu
ous labors.
This gave him leisure to divide his time
between the church work he retained and ;
his dearly loved but long-denied literary
field. In resuming his work in the paths
of literature again ho did so with a two
fold motive, hoping not only to assist in
the uplifting of mankind with pure
and lofty thoughts, but also to ;
preserve for future generations the
sometimes beautiful and strange traditions '
of Indian Oregon, which he was so well
prepared to portray. At different- periods
of his life he had given a great deal of
time to Btudylng the Indians, their cug
toms, habits, language and legends. This
had been an absorbing study from his
boyhood. Often hnd he gone many -miles
to talk with some old Indian, both in
Oregon and adjoining states.
About this time he went to British
Columbia on a vacation and there com
menced "The Bridge of the Gods," this
Indian legend having appealed to his
vivid Imagination for years. Finding that
he needed the advantage of a theological
course, and his health demanding a'
chance. In IRS?) he pnterpfl th Pacific
Theological Seminary in Oakland, Cal.
while there he revised The Bridge of
tho Gods" and placed the manuscript
in the hands of his publishers. .Mr.
Balch remained in the seminary almost !
two years. His health now completely
broke down from an attack of la grippe.
He -returned to Hood River Valley in
March, 831; but, not regaining the de
sired strength, by the advice of his phy
sician he went to the Good Samaritan
Hospital. After being there the short
space of two weeks, on June 3 he peace
fully passed away. .His remains were
taken to his od home at Lyle, Wash.,
and there laid to rest.
If one Is a believer In Inherited ten
dencies, he 'can readily trace the deep
religious convictions of Frederic Balch
to his mother and his scholarly attain
ment to his "father and his father's
ancestors. Mrs. Balch was a woman of
very strong Christian character with a t
firm adherence to what she thought was
I right. Having" been left an orphan at
I an early age, she had formed the habit of
settling all her vital questions by herself.
Her wish and hope had always been that
her gifted son should follow the ministry.
In fact. and in thought she had dedicated
him to that calling in his earlle3t infancy.
The life of Mrs. Balch was one of devo-
f tlon to her son, and she was always proud
1 of his achievements. Her grief was so
potato poisoning. As far as I have been
able to trace thcee reports, there Is a
doubt whether potatoes themselves were
consumed or whether other parts of the
plant had been used. It was also stated
"IU ibuumu.c in tuu .-
'ncss were diseased, and. If this latter view
be taken, possibly the ailment Induced
may not have been caused by solan'ne at
all. The study of the living chemistry
both of animals and plants, 13 one obvtos
ly fraught with great practical importance
to mankind, supplying them as it does
' with Important drugs, and arming him
' also agaln3t possible sources of illness,
tg need have no fear that the healthful
YQeetable of our table can nroduce undo-
slrable results when- properly cocked. s
nobody Is' likely to U3e disease potatoes;
we eiscape danger naturally from this sido
of things. But it 13 Just possible that in
the prtato skin we may get an occasional
limbs and shattered nerves.
its powers for evil; not a fibre' of the body is beyond
the reach of the dangerous acids and poisons circu
lating in the blood; the valves of the heart are
often affected, resulting in palpitation of something
far more serious. Rheumatism does not always
come on suddenly; its growth is often gradual. Lit
tle pains begin tugging at the muscles or wandering
from joint to joint as winter approaches, or the
weather is unsettled and changeable, but they in
crease with each recurring attack and nothing is
more certain than that this insidious disease will at
last get you completely in its power and almost
before you realize it joints are swollen and locked,
muscles contracted and stiff, and you are a chronic sufferer from Rheumatism. You can
never conquer this deep-seated disease with external remedies that give only partial or tem
porary relief, nor by flooding the system with Alkali and Potash mixtures, which break
down the digestion, while the disease is left to pursue its destructive work.
No remedy brings siich prompt and lasting relief in rheumatic troubles as S. S. S.
which attacks the disease in the blood, neutralizes the acids and stimulates all the blooci
with safety by the old, middle aged and young. It will cure you, no matter whether you are a
long-time 'sufferer or only beginning to feel occasional twinges of Rheumatism. Write us
about your case and our physicians will advise you without charge. We will mail free our
special book on Rheumatism, TUG SWIFT SPEOiHQ Q&MPAflY. iSfJW
. "WHAT THE ZITHER SAID.
By Frederic Balch. ,
I learned a lesson, Gn;v!cvs,
Tonight, from what the zither n!d;
Its swift notes taught me notto grieve,
Xor mourn for pleasure fled.
"Be brave!" the keen notes rung; .
"Be brava; speak strong,
Bold words; be sorrow from you flung;
'Twill not be long.
"She watches from afar;
. Would you falter In her sight 7
She. lifted like a star,
She sees you day and night.
Aye, her deep pity knows
All the cares that on you press;
All your .sorrows, woes;
ThUik you she loves you less?
"Be brave, be true, be strong;
Speak words that burn;
Defend the right, denounce the wrong;
Be worthy her you mourn."
This was what the zither said.
What it told me, Genevieve.
Was it your message, yours, my dca'd.
Saying, "Cease to grieve"?
I will be brave and true.
Fight out the battle to the end;
Live a life not unworthy you;
Live a life unstained, sweet friend.
But," alas! for the years erewhlle; -Alas!
for the glad years fled;
Ah, me! for a look or a smile
From thee, O silent dead!
Oh, utrojig the words the zither said,
But woak the human heart!
Ah, me! I hunger for my dead
With pain beyond the zither's art;
The zither sings a song divine, '
Of purpose grand and high;
I see a grave beneath the pine
The river flowing by.
I see the reach of -weary years. .
Of burdens fitter to be borne;
Of deathless memories stained with
tears.
O zither, can I cease to mourn?
Alas! I failed to learn the lesson, Gen
evieve, Tonight from, what the zither said;
The spell that taught me not to grieve.
That spell Is with the music fled.
Published In the Pacific, Sept. 19.
1SS7.
excessive that she survived him only alngalls, of Hood River Valley, who was
month or so. Mrs. Balch came across the gonerously kind in furnishing the data for
plains- In 1SS2 In the train with Dr. Craw- this article. M. W. P.
development of solanlne which may affect
us, although It is ard to reconcile this
contingency with the fact that so many of
us consume the potato cooked in Its
jacket. The solution of the mystery, in
deed, may lie in the occasional develop
ment in the potato itpelf of Its active
principle.
Canada's Coal Lnndi,
Toronto Star.
Time will show the wisdom of the do
minion government in setting apart 50
square miles of the coal lands of the
Northwest as government property. Tho
coal can He there for the present. It Is
net needed, and will not be for a long
time to come; but It is there, it belongs
to the state, and pone any it can be
mined by the people and for the people,
if need be. .
The Crow's Nest Coal Company and the
Canadian Pacific Railway have larger coal
areas, but they have not better coal than
But a good liniment or plaster will often give temporary
ease by producing counter-irritation and reducing the in
flammation and swelling, but there is nothing curative
about these simple remedies, for RllSurnaiism is not a Skin
disease and cannot be rubbed away with liniments or
drawn out by plasters or anything else applied to the sur
face. Rheumatism is caused.by urea, uric acid and other irri
tant poisons in the blood, which are carried through the
circulation to every part of the body and deposited in the
muscles, joints and nerves.
When the sj-stem is in this condition, exposure to night
air, cold winds or damp, chilly weather, seem to arouse the
sluggish blood and the most terrific pains begin to shoot
through the muscles and joints and they swell and inflame,
writhe and twist, and so intense is the suffering that the
strongest constitution cannot long hold out against the nerve
racking tortures of acute Rheumatism, and many times its
victims are left hopeless, helpless cripples, with crooked
There is no limit to
making organs. It removes from the system all poisonous
substances, purifies and enriches the thin acid blood, and
when the IJric Acid salts and the gritty particles are dis
lodged and drenched out of the aching muscles and
joints, the patient is happily relieved' for all time of the
discomforts and misery of Rheumatism.
S. S. S. being a purely vegetable remedv can V tnt-Pn
ford, as his ward. She was then a girl of
16. The Crowfords settled in Linn Coun
I ty, and there she married Mr. Balch.
; James A. Balch, the father of Frederic.
; was a man of Inventive turn of mind, but
j lacking practical endeavor. He was bora
I in Sullivan County, Ind., in 1S?5, came to
f this coast in 1S51, was in frontier service
j 1SM-C6, serving as Lieutenant In Company
F, Eighteenth Regiment Oregon Volun
teer Infantry. In his early days in the
Northwest he taught school in various
places, including Olympia and Tumwater.
In his first manhood he attended the
Wabash College, Indiana, and adopted
law as a profession. At one time ho
servsd as County Judge in Klickitat
County, Wash. And old dagucrreotypo por
trays him as a man of-tine presence and
intelligence. His son described him as "a
very handsome man, full of verve and
grace, certainly gifted beyond mcst of
men, a man of intense ambition-. My
earliest recollection of him Is of his re
turning from the War of the Rebellion
It way, I think, a rainy day. We children
were all In the house, the others were all
waiting excitedly for my father's arrival.
I remember the anxious expectancy with
which the older ones were awaiting some
thing. Then we. heard the stage horn and
shortly my father entered the room, a
handsome, stately soldier, dressed In uni
form. It Is a living picture standing there
athe farthest limit of .my memory."
iTrederic Balch left a large accumulation
new novel called "Kenasket 'had been
commenced, and the opening chapters
completed. There were also the titles
chosen, and outlines drawn for at least
six historical romances relating to In
dian Oregon.. There is also a completed
novel In the manuscript called "Gene
vieve," the plot being laid near Wash
ougal. Wash.
Oregon sustained an Irreparable loss to
the early death of Frederick Balch. His
! fondness for Oregon was a strong passion;
her scenery, her views and mountains,
her legends, all called to his romantic
fancy: the spirit of the Indian past
breathed through him. He hnd resolved
to become the Walter Scott of Oregon, to
make Oregon as famous as Scott had
made Scotland, to make the Cascades a3
widely known as tho Highlands, tho
Santiam as celebrated as the Tweed or
Ayr, to make the splendid scenery of the
Columbia and Willamette the background
of romances.
An old friend describes his personality:
Tall, slight and dark, but "with blue eyes,
a man withal of beautiful Christian char
acter. Wherever he was he carried his
singular childlike faith with him and the
gift of sowing the good seed. No one
was ever with him an hour without food
for thought."
The living members of the Balch family
are a younger brother and Mrs. J. W.
that preserved under Mr. Clifford Sifton's
policy to remain the property of the state.
The Socialists argue that all the coal
should have been held In behalf of the
people, and mined by the government; but,
practically speaking, this Is not yet pos
sible, and will not be until the advocates
of public ownership of all the unities and
necessities are In a voting majority In
Canada. Half of those who follow the
cause fall 'weak at heart when the time
comes to actually lay hold of something
that may be owned and operated.
But the publicly owned coal fileds of the
West will always serve in a measure as
a check upon the company-owned mines,
and one day they will be worked by tho
state, for people grow too wise to part
with further property of that kind once
its value le within popular knowledge.
When the West Is filled with people the
retention by the state of control over the
coal supply will be seen to be'one of the
best pieces of practical statesmanship in
Canadian history.
Louisville, Ky., March 27, '02.
Gonflemen : f am glad to say that S. S. S.
has cured mo of Rheumatism. About two
years ago I suffered from Rheumatism in my
knees and feet, my ankles swelling so that i
could not put on my shoes. This continued
for several months, during which time I was
applying iinimento and going by my physi
cian's directions, but derived no benefit. I
was- told of S. S. S. and tried it. I imme
diately got relief, and in six months was
entirely well D. J. Duane, 2108 Fioyd St.
I
D: 104.2