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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 24, 1903)
15 DAVIT SOfl OF "DOeTCR JOHN M'LOGGHLlM INTERESTING REMINISCENCES OF HIS VISIT TO PORTLAND TWO YEARS AGO THE SUNDAY OBEGOKIAN, gQBTLAND, MAY 24, 1903. Op THE thousands -who have read "McLoughlln and Old Oregon, few realize that the David of the story was a man of today, so utterly seemed he of the past. When Mrs. Dye was searching the world for the actors of that historic drama she fell upon David, the son of that McLoughlln who 60 years ago ruled from Alaska to California and from the Rockies to the Pacific Parliament and Congress were fighting around Oregon in those days, diplomats fliscussed It, newspapers predicted bloody war, trappers and traders skirmished along its borders only to find McLougb lln autocrat and czar. McLoughlln was a name to conjure with In those days, and the son of McLoughlln was David. In 1822 David McLoughlln was sent to Paris for education. It took a whole year to make the Journey. From old Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia, the Doy was taken overland to Canada by the only water route left the British fur traders after the surrender of Detroit. Up the Columbia the boat brigade of the Hudson's Bay Company sped in that Bummer of 132; over the Rockies by the old Yellowstone Pass they crossed where now the Canadian Pacific finds Its outlet to the sea. Then by portages and linked J lakes they reached the headwaters of the great Saskatchewan, glided on down to Fort Garry, the Winnipeg today, and, coasting the Canadian sea of Lake Su perior, came to Canada. In Paris David McLoughlln went to his uncle. Dr. David McLoughlln, a noted physician, who, with his English wife, Lady Paget, gladly welcomed their nephew from the uttermost West. He was, Indeed, a picture, this young British-American, whose utmost conception of splendor heretofore had been the bar onial halls of some Hudson's Bay fron tier fort. David knew Indians and chiefs, and trappers and traders; he knew the gleam and color of the boat brigades gliding to strains of Highland music on the rivers of the North, and as the son of the chief factor in all the Western country, he bore himself like a young prince. The "American Bear." In a few months David McLoughlln became the rage of Parisian artists; day after day he sat In their studios; they ' called him the "American Bear," and ! strove to outdo each other In transfer- j ring the young savage to can'as. With j the slightest tint of Indian in his cheek. J with raven locks rolling on his velvet j collar, with the eyeflash of his father I and the square-set mouth of his mother, ) descendant of ages of Indian kings. David 1 was the study. David knew boats and ! horses, he could lasso the wildest steed, ' outride the wildest horseman, outdance I the lithest Parisian. He loved display, i flung money like a Monte Cristo. Lady Paget, his aunt, mad him her especial favorite. Her carriage was his, her j fastidious taste prescribed for David the : most fetching Byronlc regalia; in fact, ' In those days Dayid McLoughlln. the American Bear, was the Hon of Paris. Strikingly Handsome, magnificently dressed, this earliest Oregon boy sowed FIRST MAN AT COOS BAY EPHRAIM CATCHING, PIONEER OF OREGON, 1840. He Made the Mistake of AbnndoninK His First Choice for the Co qullle River. VANCOUVER, Wash., May 14. (To the Editor.) Having observed not long since In your Coos County correspondence a ref erence to Mr. Ephraim Catching as first locator of the ground upon which the town of Myrtle Point Is situated. It calls to my mind the story of his pioneer ex periences, as related to me by him. sitting under the "fig tree and vine" of his Cali fornia home not many months prior to his death. He died in the month of Au gust last. Mr. Catching, with his two brothers, came to Oregon overland from Missouri In 1S4G and settled In the Willamette Val ley. In 1848. on the first Intimation of the discover- of gold in California that reached Oregon, he resolved at once to cast hte fortune there. A vessel arriving from San Francisco had brought the sen sational tidings, and while many were skeptical with regard to ito correctness, Mr. Catching had faith to warrant him in making the effort to reach the new gold field. Enlisting a score or more of adventuresome companions a party was soon equipped and ready .for the Journey. Murdered an Indian. Their course lay through the valleys of Umpqua and Rogue Rivers a region as yet in a manner unexplored, and inhabited by tribes of Indians whose disposition to ward the encroachment of the white man was an unsettled proposition. The trip as far as the Rogue River country was made without incident or happening worthy of mention. There was, however, enacted a tragedy which though a re proach to our boasted civilization, and even to our race is entitled to a place In history, as the Inceptive prompting of the Rogue River War: One of tho party shot and instantly killed an lnoffendlng old Indian. The Indians had been en tirely harmless and the victim of that most hellish perfidy had visited the camp of the white men with seeming friendship and good will. Standing with folded arms and unmindful of the. to him. strange Im plement leveled at his breast, he fell the victim of a species of vandalism which, in Its degree. Is undeflnable by invective pro vided by the English language. Mr. Catching was in favor of giving the miscreant over to the Indians to be dealt with accordingly as they should deter mine; but other counsels prevailing, the wretch was permitted to go unpunished, and with the immunity so afforded, to vaunt, in after years, his dastardly act as a mark of heroism. Thenceforth the enmity of the Indians toward the white settler or wayfarer, was of marked In tensity, till at length It culminated in the memorable Rogue River War, in which Mr. Catching participated and for which service his surviving widow is now en titled to a pension. Though recognizing the primary injustice done to the Indians, In defense of his own race and his own fireside he Joined the' ranks of the illus trious pioneer soldiers. Success in the Mlnea. Arriving at the diggings the little com pany engaged In mining near Flacerville, and with the success those early days in California assured, they had In a short time accumulated quite a sum of money. They then decided to send one of their number with the animals they had brought to Sonora, their nearest trading post, for a renewal of supplies. Mr. Catching brother was detailed for the trip, and in consequence of the high prices of provisions and other necessaries then commanding, he was of course required to take with him a considerable amount of their treasured dust. On the evo of his starting two strangers called at the Catch ing cabin and requested a ride down to Sonora. The request was readily granted and as a night's camping out on the way down was necessary It was considered for tunate to have their company. A party returning from Sonora the next day found the body of the Mr. Catching who had gone for the supplies lying by the road side, where he had been murdered Toy his his wild oats in the capital of Louis Philippe. Next. David became an ensign In the English military training school at Addis combe, near London. He heard India, talked India, dreamed India. He was eager for the service. But one day Dr. John McLoughlln appeared like a flash of sunlight at the military school at Addis combe. He wanted his boy back. Mc Loughlln is famous In story for his shock of white hair, the Whlte-Headed Eagle the Indians called him. His eye was piercing blue, his porte royaL The North west today Is filled with legends of his person and his power. Unexpectedly to David he entered the doors at Addlscombe. He saw his son, the lean and sickly lad of five years ago, grown to the stature of a man, and clothed in the regimentals of an English officer. "I am going with my men to India," said David. "There is nothing for me on the Columbia." But the doctor had other plans. Quietly Interview ing the officials In charge, he canceled his son's commission on the ground that he was under age. "The first I heard of it," said David, "was the notification that I was no longer an officer of the British Army." Then came wrath. "I will never go to the Columbia. I will never become a trader In furs. I was born to be a soldier." And before McLoughlln realized, the boy was gone. Arrested by Ills Father. Great events were occurring In London in those days. The Hudson's Bay Com pany wanted the earth. Sir George Simp son was there, and the London directors. The Russian-American Fur Company had sent representatives from St. Petersburg to settle affairs usually relegated to the cabinets of Kings. Old frictions and rights were, readjusted. A ten-league, strip of Aliskan sea coast was leased to the Hudson's Bay Company in considera tion of 10.003 otter skins a year, the same ten-league strip about whose boundaries we are.dlplomating today. Dr. McLough lln and Sir George Simpson sailed for Canada. But where was David? "I was on a sailing vessel, and they crossed In a steamer," said David, when he was in Oregon two Summers ago, "and that is where they got ahead of me. I landed at Philadelphia, New dreams of soldier life were in my mind. I would go to Texas and Join General Houston in his battle for the Lone Star of the South. But one day there came into my Phila delphia hotel an officer in big coat and brass buttons. He was talking with the landlord, and both scanned me. " "What the devil's up?' thought L They called me forward. 'Is your name David McLoughlln?' My heart Jumped. I was but a boy, half homesick, for I had pawned my watch, and was even then meditating on how I should get the wherewithal to make the journey to Texas. Might this be a friend? Or a re cruiting officer? Either would have been welcome. But my hopes failed. No' soon er had I answered 'Yes than his grip was on me. You are my prisoner,' and I was carried under arrest to my father In Canada. The fur magnates in Montreal were looking at the West, Before a great map they were discussing Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska; the world lay ready to drop into their grasp upon those distant Chores. And when the conference ended companions. The murderers had secured SS00, but had failed to discover another purse on the body containing J1000. Ephraim Catching, on the receipt of the ead news of his brother's death, went im mediately to Sonora, -where he enlisted hplr. in tVi nftnrt trt And nnl nrn.1 tfi - murderers. They were never publicly wu(,iu IU all lluUlAi.411& iui fcUCii "After following their trail for several days," as substantially worded by Mr. Catching, "their tracks were no longer traceable, and we never troubled our thoughts any further with reference to their whereabout." This treatment of the subject was significant in its brevity. After about n vrnr snpnt In tho o-ntA mines and the making of quite a "sack," jir. aicnmg went to aan F rancisco, then a small town, whence he embarked on a sailing vessel for Oregon, and settled near the present City of Roeburg. First Pioneer of Coos Bay. The giving of dates, as told by Mr. Catching, would be, by the faulty recollec tion of the writer, unreliable and of con sequence will not in many instances do attempted. However. It was subsequent to his settlement at Roseburg that Mr. Catching became the pioneer settler on Coos Bay. A knowledge of the existence of a bay and an inhabitable surrounding country westerly from Roseburg had but recently been known of in the interior, of the territory, and. in fact, but little known of anywhere.- The intimation, however, was sufficient to awaken the characteris tic spirit of adventure in Mr. Catching. He resolved at once to learn more of that terra incognita, and with another white man and an Indian guide, the march to the sea was inaugurated. For a num ber of days they scored their way through the patchless forests and rugged mountains. Reaching the bay, a few days were spent In exploration, when it was de cided upon to return home. The following year Mr. Catching singly returned to the coast, resolved upon mak ing it his future home. He arrived there Just in time to secure the distinction of being the first settler, making his primi tive location on an arm of the bay since known as Catching slough. Soon after his second arrival a colony put In an appear ance, whoso purpose was to establish a town looking, no doubt, to the future commercial Importance of the harbor af forded. Thinking that Mr. Catching had already secured the most suitable location for such an enterprise, they made him an offer of purchase $2000. He, however, refused to sell, and as subsequently de veloped, quoting his language, "It was a false move on the checkerboard." A few days later with a canoe of his own making, he navigated what Is now known as Isthmus Slough to Its headwaters, where he found an Indian trail leading to the south. Following this trail he came upon a mountain dividing Coos Bay from the Coqullle. He took his little boat across and again launching It. descended It and made discovery of the Coqullle River. The neck of land over which he dragged his canoe is the Isthmus which divides the waters of Cos Bay from those of Coqullle River and now Intervening be tween Marshfield and Coqullle City. Founded Myrtle Point. Ascending the Coqullle, Mr. Catching found and decided upon locating the pres ent site of Myrtle Point. Returning to the camp of the company he offered to sell them his first location, but in his words, "They had smelt a rat." Knowing his ready discernment they were, no doubt, inclined to "believe that Tin Vmd xtm covered a yet more favorable place for tne rounding or a center of trade. Mr. Catching, without any money consldera Hnns nhnndnnid hist flr.it m1o.tnn - home and transferred his habitation to nis later ooject or attachment. Thero he lived for a number of years and, in the meantime, was married and became the father of three children. Eventually, his wife dying, he became discontented and sold bis place to tho party who subse- nilMltlv divided it Into town Into TT tVio. moved to Del Norte County, California, wnere ne again married and brought up a family, and where he spent tho remain ing years of his life. A coincidence, which may have been in fluenced by Mr. Catchlng's more than or dinary sagacity. Is presented in the cir cumstance of his homestead estate in Cal ifornia now being under "bond to a com pany whose purpose It is to make of it a future town or city. It embraces a beau tiful little valley on the banks of Smith River, and on tho line of the proposed Oregon & Pacific Railroad. Where could Mr. Catching have selected McLoughlln and David set out with scores of engagees for the Northwest Coast. Everything was the same when they reached the Oregon shore in that Autumn of 1S39. Changes might come to the rest of the world, but to Oregon changes never came. The same Indians lounged around old Fort Vancouver, the same traders brought the same fursr the boatmen sang the same old songs, and the round of fur trading life ground on In its endless rou tine of Fall and Spring and Spring and Fall brigades. David had stepped back into yesterday. But, all unseen, unguessed, a great change had come. American missionaries hau crossed the Rockies and planted their banners on the Columbia. One day Whit man led In a thousand people; one day gold was discovered In California; one day a cabin was built where Portland stands, and the builder of that cabin was a tar of the frigate Constitution. a better and more fruitful place to cast his early destinies than where he did? With her vast lumbering, dairying, min ing and fishing resources, no county on the Pacific Coast has a brighter future than Coos County. Well may the people of that oectlon tcherir?h the momory of "Eph" Catching, who lived a life without one blemish. EPH L. MUSICK, FAMILIAR. SONGS AM) THEIR AU THORS. "The melody of "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" was reproduced from a solemn death-song, "Pestal." In the Vatican library there are 80 volumes of masses constructed upon popular tunes by composers of various na tions. The composer of "Old Dan Tuck er" discovered that In "Old Hundred," by simply playing the solemn old hymn at a rattling rate; and by the same process he turned other hymn tunes Into minstrel songs, such as "Lucy Long," "Ober do Mountain" and "Buftalo Gals." " ."We Won't Go Home ' Till Morning" Is an adaptation from the old national song of France, "Malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre," and the tune of that other national French song, "La Carmagnole," was In medie val times a Provencal dance tune. The origin of the present national song of France is told as follows: Rouget de Lisle was greatly esteeme d among his friends for his poetical and musical gifts, and was a particular friend of the fam ily of the Baron do Dietrich, a noble Al satian, then Mayor of Strasburg. "One night during the Winter 6f f792 the young officer was seated at a table of this fam ily. The hospitable fare of the Baron had been so reduced by the calamities and ne cessities of war that nothing," says Mme. Fanny Raymond Rlter. "could be provid ed for dinner that day except garrison bread and a few slices of bam. Dietrich smiled sadly at his friend, and lamenting tho poverty of the fare he had to offer, declared he would sacrifice the last re maining bottle of Rhine wine in his cellar if he thought It would aid De Llsle's poetic invention and inspire him to compose a patriotic song for the public ceremonies shortly to take place InStrasburg. The ladles approved and sent'for the last bot tle of wine which the house could boast." After dinner De Lisle sought his room, an though It was quite cold, he at once sat down at the piano, and between recit ing and playing and singing eventually composed "La Marseillaise," and. becom ing exhausted, fell asleep with his head on his desk. In tho morning he was able to recall every note of the song, and im mediately wrote It down and carried It to his friend. Baron Dietrich: Ye eons of freedom, wake to glory! Hark! hark! what myriads bid you rife! Tour children, wives and grandalres hoary. Behold their tears and hear their cries! Shall hateful tyrants, mischiefs breeding. With hireling hosts, & ruffian band. Affright and desolate the land. While peace and liberty lie bleeding? To arms! to arms! ye brave! The avenging sword unsheathe; March on! march on! all hearts resolved On victory or death. Row, sow the dangerous storm la rolling. Which treacherous Kings confederate raise; The dogs of war, let loose, are howling. And lo! our fields and cities blaze; And shall we basely view the ruin, "While -lawless force, with guilty stride. Spreads desolation far and wide. With crimes and blood his hands Imbruing. O liberty! can man resign thee. Once having felt thy generous flame? Can dungeons, bolts, or bars confine thee? Or whips thy noble spirit tame? Too long the world has wept, bewailing That falsehood's dagger tyrants wield. But freedom- Is our sword and shield, And all their arts are unavailing. Every one was enchanted with the song, which aroused the greatest enthusiasm. A few days later It was publicly given .n Strasburg. and thence it was conveyed by the multlude to the insurgents of Mar seilles, and of Its after-popularity all know. De Llsle's mother was a most de voted royalist, and asked: "What do peo ple mean by associating our name with the revolutionary hymn which those brigands sing?" De Lisle himself, proscribed as a royalist, when fleeing for his life in the Jura Mountains, heard it as a menace of death, and. recognizing the well-known air, asked his guide what It was called. It had then been christened the "Mar seillaise Hymn." The yearly output of Opia cigars, laid .end to end, would reach twice across the A photograph taken in Mrs. Dye's rose games two years ago. DATID M'LOUGHLIN. One day a ship came into the Columbia with a beautiful girl on board. David Mc Loughlln saw her and lost his heart. The story is told in "McLoughlln and Old Ore gon." I need not rehearse it here. The Whitman massacre, the flight of that ship to . carry the news to the Sandwich Islands, the fruitless, bootless chase of David for that disappearing sail. all( that Is an old wives' tale on the Columbia. David the heir David, who hoped to wed the Queen of the sea. flung himself into dissipation. In vain his father pleaded and stormed; In vain his mother coaxed and wept. "I must be free; I will be free!" said David. And. throwing off the last restraint, he' betook himself to his red friends In the forest. He wedded the daughter of a chief. That was years ago. Men said that he was dead, and by most he was forgotten. The old doctor has lain In his grave for many a year. The heartbroken mother GRANT NO GREAT DRINKER STRONG TESTIMONY ON THE POINT FROM HIS OLD VALET. Rarely Toole More Than a Glass or Two of Whfolcy and Never In Time of Stress. Washington Letter to New York Sun. "It Is not true that General Grant was a whisky guzzler. Like many another man. he liked an occasional nip Very well, but, after all, he was no more than a moderate drinker. I know what I am ' talking about, for most of the spirits and Wine he consumed in the last live years 1 of his life passed through my hands. My observation was that about eight out : of ten of the public men of General ; Grant's day drank more spirits, wine and i malt liquors than he did, particularly the . people in society." This is the emphatic assertion of Har- ; rison Terrell, General Grant's old butler and valet, the story of whose life was told In the Sun last week. It Is very i strong testimony. Harrison himself knows what good liquor Is and what constitutes ; a hard drinker. For 25 years, as an up per servant in several good houses in j Washington and New York, and while IniimAvfrifr frftm nlnrp tn nlnno with il employers he was In a position to closely observe tho social habits of many of the most prominent Americans who were con temporaries of General Grant, and was very capable of accurately gauging the extent of whatever of dissipation he noted. The palate of society he knew thor oughly. Harrison, too, is a very discrim inating person; because a gentleman got funny over his wine at a great dinner function he did not therefore straightway conclude that he was an habitual sot, past redemption. He holds that many an al leged winebibber is very likely to be an abstemious drinker possibly seldom or I never taking a glass except upon some public occasion. Almost annually, to point a moral, there go to the rounds of the public press vague allusions to the story of General Grant's alleged early Intemperance and disastrous downfall, and to his subsequent happy reform and rise to tho supreme command, and eventually to the Presidency Itself. One of the perennial features Is the Lin coln anecdote relative to. the particular brand of whisky Grant was drinking down about Vlcksburg; the weary Presi dent expressed a wish to send a consign ment of.it to some of his more unsuccess ful commanders. Unvarnished stories of the every-day manners and characteristics of the world's great men are never uninteresting. None such more quickly fix public attention than those concerning General Grant's personality. The recent reproduction of some of these anecdotes furnished the oc casion for Mr. Terrell's vigorous com ments on General Grant's assumed love of liquor. His attention was thereupon called to General Rawlins undisputed and remark able letter to Grant In the Vlcksburg trenches; expressing deep regret upon ob serving that his General had resumed the "old habit" which he had so faithfully promised to quit, affectionately but cour ageously warning him that personal, if not National ruin must inevitably ensuo If It were not at once abandoned. It will be remembered that Rawlins closed by volunteering his own resignation from .Grant's staff in this extraordinary pro test were not received In good part. This documentary evidence did not shake the old valet's position. He dogmatically shook his head; and In answer said: "It may be true as far as it goes. I was not serving General Grant then, 'but was the servant of some Confederates in Lee's army' But Just the same, from personal observation of General Grant'ti habits afterward, I am confident that he was not drinking to excess, or to hurt his Judgment at any time during the Vlcks burg campaign or any other campaign of the war, although his chief of staff may have honestly believed at the moment that such was the case. I know something about General Grant's drinking habit, which it is very likely General Rawlins did not kno,w, something that, no one but his clos'e attendant could well know." Uarrlaoa in hU owe. way. then wast on sleeps by bis side. But where was David? When Mrs. Dye was writing "McLough lln and Old Oregon," she heard these tales of David: "David could sing. David could dance, David had a good heart," said the old wives of the pioneers. But what became of him? All shook their heads. Dr. McKay, on the Umatilla, said: "The last I heard was years ago. David lives in the Indian country." Such was the romance, the mystery and the singularity of the tale, that Mrs. Dye set out to find David. Not In vain had she traced oT3 heroes through British Colum bia, Canada, Alaska. Not in vain had she summoned chiefs around her. and missionaries and voyagers of the old Hudson's Bay days. Preparing a letter to David, she sent copies in care oft res ervation agents in the North country, to Idaho, Montana, Washington. At last there came an answer. David was found in the very northernmost border of Ida ho, in the Kootenai country, where he made his home on Kootenai Lake, and I sometimes over on the Bow in British j America. He had been in the Canadian customs service, a Hudson's Bay trader, and an American rancher. "Yes, David was living, an old man nnw. hnt David MeLousrhlln still. And '! must be free; I will be free,' had ruled i til Ufa David had pattln and landa and I children at school with the nuns. He loved his horse and gun as ever. He ! could ride miles In a day and bring down game as of old. Yes, he knew all about the old times; could tell of Douglas and McLoughlln. Vancouver In Its prime was vi id to him yet." Mrs. Dye handed these interesting let ters to the Oregon Historical Society and put David In her book. Two years ago the Oregon pioneers sent for David to come to their meeting. It was 55 years sin- the boundary of the. Northwest was settled with England on the 49th parallel, and on every anniversary of June 15 the pioneers meet to tell the talcs of long ago, when England's grip held Oregon. And two years ago, for the first time, David met with them. wnen ne got reaay to leave tne itoo- tenai country, his friends, tne custom- house officers up there, said: "David, now you are going back to civilization; you must cut your hair." And so the long locks that all his life had flowed free as In the old Parisian days were lopped off. It gave him a cold that troubled him all tnrougn tnat uregon visit. "Lord!" exclaimed David. "Tho world has changed! From Kootenai to Port- i land Is full of towns!" David used to get ; lost in tne woods or .Portland. xfaw ne got lost among the houses, A hundred thousana people aweu wnere ne usea to build his camp Are in the Oregon woods. I i ird! look at the houses! Here as a boy I chased the deer! Who would have : thought it! Look at these wharves, this i :.rinjr. thesr. paved streets! They were not better in Paris when I was a boy!" ! David sought the home of Mrs. Dye at I Oregon City, and stood in silent Interest I watching here at the typewriter. "What ' would the old mon have said at that!" was his final remark. "Do you mean your father?" 'Yes, Dr. John McLoughlln. He would have had one 1 fthey were going in his day. He was a gfeat promoter of prog ress." Mrs. Dye turned on the electric light. With a start he glanced. "Wonderful! wonderful! What Improvements they are devising! How surprised the old mon j to explain that from habit General Grant t drank very little alcoholic liquor because of a weak stomach. Two drinks of a couple of small swallows each was as jnuch as he ever ventured upon at a sit ting, and even this small quantity would make his tongue thick and hesitating, without at airaffectlng his brain. Among partial strangers this sometimes gave him the appearance of being strongly under tho influence of whisky, when that was far fiom being the case. The vocal or gans only were affected. Knowing this singular fact, the valet cays, the General very seldom went be yond one or two drinks of the favorite American beverage. Perhaps while he was thus imbibing two small drinks with such curious results his table companions would all have taken double the quantity from the same decanter without apparent ef fect upon either head or tongue. From this fact Harrison thinks that Rawlins and others, who supposed they sometimes saw General Grant Inebriated, were nroh- ! ably largely. If not wholly, mistaken. He argues with much reason that from this peculiarity which Harrison denominated an "ailment," General Grant bore with many people the reputation of being a hard drinker when to his knowledge, such was not the case. Harrison admits that the General hab itually took wine with his guests or as a guest at table, and on social occasions often drank whisky. At home after din ner, in the evening, he oftentimes took a dram or two of strong liquor, generally a good brand of whisky, before retiring. Just as often, however, he drank ale. In short, according to Harrison Terrell, Gen eral Grant's alleged drinking habit was Just about on a parity with that of most well-to-do gentlemen who move In good society in our dny. only most of them can Imbibe much greater quantities of various liquors and show It less than Gen eral Grant. Tho valet records another peculiar fact which Is Interesting. In moments of ex citement or in any crisis the General never drank either wine or liquor of any kind. The valet particularly noticed this abstention during the crisis of the great Grant & Ward failure In New York. Har rison sagely draws the conclusion from this suggestive fact that General Grant seldom Indulged his undeniable taste for alcoholic drinks In tjie crisis of battle, when his mind was busy with the prob lems of the field, a reasonable deduction quite contrary to the Impression which generally prevailed at one period of the Civil War. On the contrary, Harrison asserts that sometimes In an evening, when the Gen eral was confronted with a heavy task of literary work or personal correspondence, it required the tonic effect of a glass of whisky properly to set oft the machinery of his brain. Then, with a good cigar, an ash-holder at his side, clear and rapid action followed until whatever Job was in hand was finished. General Grant's old valet, a man of large worldly experience, holds to the opinion that whisky, as General Grant used it, postlvely aided rather than re tarded him In all his undertakings. This may well be true, because it is quite cer tain that General Grant had one of the most remarkable careers in the world's annals. REWARDS FOR SOLDIERS Explanation of Many Recent Promo tions and Retirements. Chicago Record-Herald. Charles EL Baker, of Cedar Rapids, calls attention to the large number of Colonels In the Regular Army who have recently been advanced in rank and pay Just be fore being retired from active duty, and remarks that years ago a promotion meant a reward for long services In active duty, or a special act of bravery In bat tle, "and it seems .to me," he says, "that a, long Una of men are now being pro moted up to the office of Brigadier-Generals, only to be retired in a few days, so that they can enjoy for life higher P3y In addition to. higher rank. -If they have Geserved promotion for gallant deeds during the recent war it seems strange that they have not received their Just dues." Mr. Baker also inquires the com parative amount of salary received by re tired and active officers. There are now In the Army very few officers who served through the War of the Rebellion, and they have spent 40 years in the service. They have been prosaoted from grade to grade until would be!" So David's thoughts turned ever to the famous father who had so much to do with early Oregon history. " 'Keep praying. David; do not forget your God. That la what the old man said when I wandered off. He knew I must be free!" Mlsanderstood the "Old Mob" "You stood up for the old mon," ho said to Mrs. Dye, "and I like you for It. He was a good mon, and deserved well of his country. He died believing he had prevented a war by his conciliatory meas ures toward the American Immigrants. They came In hot for war, hut my father met them kindly. He gave the food, re lieved their distresses made them friends. But England could not understand. Do you know what they say up there when I cross the .border sometimes? They say: There is the son of the man who sold Oregon to the Americans! They do not understand it yet! The Indiana used to call me Plncin. tfle White-Headed Eagle's son. Kamla- kin used to come to the fort and make me bows and arrows, and Plo-pio-raox-mox and Kesano. They all loved me, and I loved them. I saw some Indians as I came down, and asked them if they new Plncin and they said: No. 1 knew I was forgotten!" Then Revisiting Fort Vancouver. George H. Hlmes, F. X. Matthleu, Mrs. Myrlck and Mrs. Dye went with DavJd to the site of old Fort Vancouver. He gazed long and earnestly at the Columbia, where In days gone by he paddled wild as the Indians themselves In his bark canoe. "There were villages once," he said, "all the way from the Cascades to the sea. AH these plains were covered with teepees, and warriors came dashing down theso hills. Where are they now? A typhoid malaria came with the first plow ing at Fort Vancouver, and they died by hundreds. A quietness came over the land. No more" -Indian shouts and halloos and games of ball. No more Indians came up to Fort Vancouver with furs. I There was a stench from all the waters. and buzzards hovered In the sky. Their bones were corded up like wood and burned In great funeral pyres. The streams were filled with corpses that floated out to sea, for always in the fever they leaped into the cold Columbia and never lived to reach the shore. They died In the -water. That was from 1S29 to 1S32. Oregon was depopulated. "God! there were no houses here when t left!" David was looklnir at the flour- , lshlng town of Vancouver. Wash. "Where is the fort?" Who could tell if David could not? Its very site had become a matter of Questioning and conlecture. ; since the appearance of Mrs. Dye's book 1 curious visitors have Investigated the oiace. but none remained to point the SDot David walked back and forth, studied i certain gnarled old trees, wandered far off on the cavalry ground of the military reserve, and finally said: "I have It! Do you see thoso four trees all in a row, those tall firs to the north? Do you see that Island in that river? Well, the line across from one to the other mar Its the eastern border of the old stockade of Fort Vancouver. Back there were the gardens, yonder Mount Hood la the same. Before us flows the Columbia where the Indians used to swim their horses over to the fort- Down there the Hudson's Bay ships used to come for furs. Winding down past those knotted old trees ran the path from the most of them are now at the top of the list of Colonels in the various corps, and it is the policy of the Government to con fer upon these grizzled veterans the only honor and reward that can be given them without a special act of Congress. There fore, when there Is a vacancy In the grade of Brigadier-General, it is the habit of the President to promote as many Colonels as are eligible, one after the other, and then place them on the retired list. Just now all the officers who went'lnto the Union Army In 1S62 are eligible for re tirement under what Is known as the 40 year law, which accounts for the large number of such prdmotlons that have been made during the past Winter. Almost without exception those veterans are without any property or Income beyond their pay, and it is considered not only tho duty, but the privilege, of the Presi dent to exercise tho authority granted to him by the laws to add as much as pos sible to their comfort for the rest of their lives. Brevets could not be conferred upon these officers without a special act of Congress, and would carry no addi tional pay. The following statement will show the difference in the pay of officers on the act ive and tho retired list in the- grades men- 3l,oncd: Active. Retired. Lieutenant-General $11,000 58.250 Major-General 7,500 5.625 Brigadier-General 5.E0O 4,123 Colonel ;.v. .. 3,500 2,623 Lieutenant-Colonel 3.000 2.K0 Major 2,600 1.S75 Captain 2,000 1.600 JOHN BULL, "UNCLE." Many. Loans ly Great Britain "Will Never Be Repaid. Pearson's Weekly. There is not a country in the world which his not had to borrow money from Great Britain, and there are few govern ments which Lave had not had to fall back upon John Bull when they've been in Queen street Guatemala has borrowed a large amount of British capital. How do -matters stand today? The bonds for 100 are "worth somewhere about 23 only, and there has been no payment of Interest since June, 1890. Even then only a paltry' 2 per cent was paid, and half of that was not In cash. Honduras is a far worse debtor. The bonds w"hich have a face value of 100 are dear at 5. All this Is owing to the fact that Honduras spends far more than it earns. Colombia, strictly speaking, owes Brit ish Investors 3,500,000. Nearly the whole of these debts are due to British creditors. This particular republic In 1S97 called Its creditors together and made them an offer of a compromise of so much In the pound. It wiped out its old debt by giving new bonds for 2.700.000, on which it paid V& per cent interest. Even other countries, about which we know far more, such as Greece and Tur key, are almost as bad. A Greek 100 bond Is worth from 31 to 44. according to Its class. A Turkish bond, "series D," Is worth but 26. That is why British creditors sigh. Greece owes her very existence to John Bull. Then the money she owes him! This must amount to somewhere about 2,500.000, excluding the loan of 1SS8, all of which Is gone hopelessly. The latter loan was one of 6,800,000, and was guaranteed by Great Britain, France and Russia, each country being liable for a third of it. Should France and 'Russia decide to renounce their liability, poor old John will have to go ball for the whole amount. Very likely this loan will never be repaid. Greece's old taskmaster is another un fortunate debtor. In 1831 the Ottoman government, being unable to meet Its lia bilities, was obliged to call together Its creditors In order! to enter Into an ar rangement with them. John Bull must hive a sum of about 4,000,000 owing to nim by Turkey. This sum Is the balance still owing of a loan of 5,000,000 made in 1K5. in order to help Turkey fight Russia. Egypt owes a loan obtained so recently as 1S37. In John Bull's account of his expenditure there is a heading, "Special Services; Egyptian Government, Grant in Aid." Under this is an amount of 798,800. This Is because John lent Egypt some thing better than mere money. He lent her men with brains, who have made her Into a healthy, prosperous country of the sort that pay off their debts in full. Egypt has other debts than monetary debts to pay off. river to tho gate. Yonder on -tne Mil stood Dundas Castle. It Ifi gone now, like all the rest. A Modern Rip Van Winkle. It was a study to watch David. Ho was deeply moved- The recollections of 40, 50, 60 years ago came back. He talked of things we had never heard be fore. "Here is where my father chose his land. Yonder was to be the home of Douglas. They thought in their old age. when no longer oflicers of the Hud son's Bay Company, hero they would make their final settlement in view of the blue river and the white peak. They were g.eat friends and had planned never to be divided." But American occupation changed all. Douglas went to the North, became the first Governor of British Columbia and was knighted by Queen Victoria, Sir James Douglas. Dr. John McLoughlln became the rescuer of starving American Immigrants and casting his lot with them became the father of Oregon and the founder of Oregon City. David knew tales of the mission priests in the Kootenai country, tales of Indian battles in the Shasta and Rogue River lands. He remembered Oregon before any white people came except h!s father and officers of the fort. He remembered California In the old Spanish days and gave many a glimpse of Vallejo with his J250 saddle, finished in gold and silver, "Vallejo wore a cloak of scarlet bordered with gold," said David, "and hats of gold, and gold spurs that rung half a mile. Vallejo wao the Prince of Northern Cali fornia." Forgetting tho years between he asked about old prairies, now the seat of populous cities. He was there when the old Hudson's Bay house at Yerba Buena was sold for a song, and helped close up the establishment. With that event Eng land lost her last grip on California. The next year the Bear Flag was raised at Sonoma and California came under the Stars and Stripes just In time for the discovery of gold. David said he played quoits with 550-slugs then. Running on In reminiscent strain this charming Rip Van Winkle whispered, "After the Cayuees were hung at Oregon City I was sorry for Tauitau. the old chief. Not all the Cayuses were to blame for the Whitman massacre. I had a calumet that cost $75, a regular peace pipe with extensions a yard or more in length and bowl of silver. It was a pipa precious In Indian eyes and so I gave It to soothe the sore heart of Tauitau. He was a arood chief." At the earnest solicitation of friends David remained to view the marvels of a modern Fourth -of July and then turned again to his home in the Kootenai Valley. But civilization had invaded there. The Northern Pacific Railway runs right through this settlement and" this modern Rip Van Winkle could sleep no more. He is dead. One night he dreamed that Bishop Blanchet said: "David, your sins are so many you can never enter heaven." He awoke and shook as with an ague. "All that day I shook," he eald to Father Hlllebrand at Oregon City. "I could not sight my gun my hands shook so. The Indians asked me If I was cold. No, no, I was not cold, but I resolved to ask the good God to make me better than I had been." And that David did become am iable and forgiving and tender in his old age no one can question who met him at Portland two years ago. TREAT FOR MUSIC-LOVERS FAMOUS SPIERING QUARTET COM ING TO PORTLAND. Mis Steers Secures Great Musicians to Fill Engagement of Knei- sel Quartet. Portland music-lovers will be delighted to hear that the Spierlng String Quartet, of Chicago, which alms to present the highest type of quartet-playing to Amer icans, very much as the famous Joachim Quartet of Berlin interprets the master music of the world to Europeans, has been obtained for a concert In Portland, June 4. This highly Important musical event Is under the direction of Lois Steers. The Kneisel Quartet has been booked for a concert here, but owing to the lllnes3 of Mr. Schroeder, the cellist, this en gagement had to be canceled. By a for tunate conjunction of circumstances, how ever, the Spierlng Quartet was obtained in its stead. The class of music given by the Spier lng Quartet Is on the same plane as that offered by the Knelsels and the renowned Joachim Quartet. Musical Interpretations of the kind presented by these organ izations demand enlightened expressions of the composer's Intention even more than mere smoothness of musical utter ance. It Is this attainment that has placed the Spierlng Quartet among the three or four famous quartets of the world. Its playing is of a peculiarly sen sitive and high-strung nature, with that rare musical temperament that holds the ear and enthralls the heart. The Enquirer, of Cincinnati, one of the strongholds of critical musical utterance in this country, says of it: "The Schu bert variations were played with a ro mance of sentiment and poetry of muslo that was like the realization of a dream." Following are one or two of the many favorable press comments on its work: "The Spierlng Quartet Is superior to any like organization in this country, there being a fire and spirit, accent and phrasing, yet withal unity in the ensemble work that Is nearer suggestion of that model quartet playing, the Joachim Quar tet, of Berlin." Ithaca (N. Y.) Daily Journal, "The performance was of a kind to re pay attention and study, and Justifies a farther expression of gratitude to Mr. Spierlng and his associates, who are now alone in the representation of chamber music in Chicago." Chicago Record. The good fortune of Miss Steers In ob taining this quartet to fill the engage ment made with the Kneisels will be ap preciated by all music-lovers. Fonglxt on Coffee. Christian Intelligencer. The pupils of a Sunday school class at Canton, O., took exception to some parts of the temperance lesson by their teacher because, as they said, Dewey and his men had taken liquor while In the famous. bat tle of Manila Bay. The teacher wrote to Admiral Dewey about this, as a large part of her lesson hinged on the use of liquor by tho world's leaders, and most of its effect would be lost If the boys carried their point. She received the following reply direct from the Admiral: -Dear Madam: I am very glad to have the opportunity of correcting the impres sion which you say prevails among your Sunday school scholars that the men on my fleet were given liquor every 20 min utes during the battle of Manila Bay. As a matter of fact, every participant, from myself down, fought the battle of Manila Bay on coffee alone. The United States laws forbid the taking of liquor aboard ship except for medicinal uses, and we had no liquor that we could .have given the men even had it been desired to do so. Very truly yours, "GEORGE DEWEY." BUSINESS ITEMS. - If Baby Is Cutting- Teeth, Be sure and use that old and well-tried remedy, Mrs. WlMlow's Soothing Syrup, tor children teething. It soothes the child, softens the gums, allays all pain, cures wind colic and diarrhoea. From Maine to California Opt 5a cigars are smoked by the millions.