The Sunday Oregonian., February 21, 1904, PART FOUR, Page 37, Image 37

THE SUNDAY OEEGONIAN, POEiBANDj FEBRUARY gt, i904'.
ST
M'LOUGHLlN AMD OLD OREGON
Interesting -Scenes Between 1830 and 1840 as Set Down
in Eva Emery Dye's Chronicle.
CHAPTER VIL
Dr. McLoughlln's Early History.
1S29.
Upon the porch of the Governor's resl
denco, one -warm October day, there sat
two women. Every morning those wo
men -were there, rom the first bright days
of May until the Oregon Winter began
with the rains of November. Always nee
dle in hand, they were embroidering the
caps and scarfs and smoklngbags that
were the chief delight of the voyageur's
heart.
Madame McLoughlln, the elder, had a
marvelous needle; one that might have
wrought tapestries In the olden time, so
fine and soft and even was her work. And
yet, Madame's mother had been a wild
little princess on the plains of the North,
woded long and long ago by a Hudson's
Bay trader. Madame nerself had a touch
of copper, that deepened with the years.
But her daughter, Elotee McLoughlln, had
the creamy tint of a Spanish donna. She
had her mother's eyes, and her mother's
shining satin hair; but the form and
features were those of the Hudson's Bay
Governor Imperial, commanding, fair.
Barely 21, tall, graceful, no wonder the
beautiful girl was a star in that land of
dusky women; no wonder the clerks of tho
company competed for her hand, and
hearts wero rent when sho made her
choice. Indeed, how could It be other
wise, in this remote corner of tho world
where the Goernor's daughter queened
It on tho Columbia? Attired in London
gowns, self-poised and sensible. Elolse
McLoughlln was too much like her father
to submit to the tamo self-effacement of
the traders' wives. Her mother's humil
ity pained her. Sho would seo her take
her place as the Grande Dame, the Lady
of Fort Vancouver. JJut madame herself
waived all right to such distinction. By
common consent Elolse had become the
Lady of that Pacific Coast Tha finest
horso on the Colunmbla was hers; a blond
Cayuso with pinkish eyes and pinkish
yellow mane and tall, presented to the
Governor by the1 great chief of the "Walla
"Wallas. And on state occasions Elolse
McLoughlln came forth arrayed in waving
plumes and glittering garments, and
seated on that steed rode at her father's
side, leading the brigade up tho "Willam
ette. For very Well her great father, Govern
or McLoughlln, understood the influence
of pomp arid color oh tho savage heart.
The horse brigades! were gay with bril
liant housings; a multitude of tiny bells
tinkled at saddle skirt and bridle-rein,
bright dresses stiff with beads adorned
the trappers' Indian wives, and at tho
head of this barbaric pageant often sat
Elolse and tho stately Governor, with his
long white locks Wowing over the cloak
of Hudson's Bay blue. As such caval
cades would wind -up ;tho valley in tho
October sun, the whole little world turned
out to gaze. Tou would hardly have sup
posed there were so many Indians in the
country until you saw them trooping in
to witness the autumn brigade to Cali
fornia. -The silence, broken only by the
heavy trampling of the fast walking
horses and the tintinnbulatlng bells; the
succession of gleam and color left an Im
press upon the red man never to be for
gotten, an impress of unmeasured wealth
and splendor hidden behind those pali
sades of old Fort Vancouver.
Elolse herself enjoyed theeo state occa
sions as a flower enjoys the sunshine.
Ever at her father's side, taught by Tilm,
trusted by him, his companion and con
fidant, no wonder she repined at his long
absence The page of Telemachus lay un
touched, tho page she so oft had read at
her father's knee; and. needle in hand,
the fair brldo emulated her mother in pat
terns of silk upon tho pliant buckskin or
the glossy broadcloth.
For Elolse McLoughlln was a bride; and
tho groom (so old voyageurs tell me) was
the handsomest man at Fort Vancouver.
Reserved, cordial, quiet, "William Glen
Xiao was at bottom a scholar and a think
er. Six years had passed since he cam
from his ancestral home in the Orkneys,
from Edinburgh College honors. His
glance fell on the Lady of the Pacific
Coast. The course of a life was change.
No doubt It was a wise provision on the
Governor's part that settled her marriage
before his departure, to bind her heart
with new ties, to end the rivalries that
grew more pronounced from year to year.
Ono young trader, who from the time
Elolse was a little girl had joked and
cung and danced to win her, was ready to
fight on her wedding day. But tho Gov
ernor took him aside.
'"Walt a bit, Ermatinger. wait a bit.
"When I come back I will bring you the
fairest lily I can find In Canada. Then
you shall have a wedding, too." Erma
tinger stormed. For any other offense
tho Governor would have shut him up in
tho buttertub as they called tho slx-by-nlne
donjon, where refractory engages
were punished. As it was, Ermatinger
betook himself to Bachelors' Hall and
was seen no mOro till ho left with Tom
McKay's brigade for tho Shoshone, ten
days later. Ho had not oven come back
in the autumn. But now it was said that
eurely he would come to meet tho Gov
ernor; for rumor had gone out that Frank
Ermatinger had worked himself Into an
excitement waiting for his Canadian lily.
So this morning in 1S39 the mother and
daughter wero stitching, stitching; fitting
tho pink and purple beads into leaves and
rosettes, and twining long vines of gray
and green along silken sashes. The porch
ran entirely across the front of Governor
McXoughlln's residence. It had deep
seated windows and benches at the ends.
Along fluted pillars a grapevine trailed
and tangled; a vine cut from the mother
vino of all the mission grapes of Califor
nia. Suddenly Elolse spoke. "Mother, how
can you stitch today? "See, my silks aro
knotted and my roses spoiled." She
tossed her work into, the little Indian
basket at her side. Unbraiding her hair,
she let it down In a shining, shimmering
cataract to tho floor. ,
The Madame finished a leaf before she
spoke. Then in a slow and gentle tone:
"I haf tho more patience, Louice. Tou aro
like the father, not quiet." French was
the family language of the McLoughlln
household. "With each other the Hudson's;
Bay gentlemen spoke English; with their
families and with tho voyageurs, French;
with tho Indians, Chinook, a trade-tongue
that grew up on the Columbia a polyglot
of HawaUan-Engllsh-Spanish-French-In-dlan.
"Mr. Douglas says my father is like Na
poleon. He can out-travel all others. He
may surprise us," said Eloiso. shaking
the loosened waves around her like a
camlet,
"That is what I am hoping. But so
many Ills happen in a lifetime." sighed tho
Madame. "When one husband haf gone
away and never come back again, who
can tell about another?" Elolse was sorry
her mother referred to that old sorrow.
To one that noted such trifles the
Madame's hair was growing whiter, as If
& box of powder had been spilled since
the Governor went away. Quite snowy
now, it floated over tho back of her easy
chair. She always wore it so, loosely, like
her mother and her grandmother before
her. Her eyes kept wandering toward the
snow on Mount Hood. Her ears strained
to catch tha distant boat song; she started
whenever the great gate opened and shut.
And who had Madame McLoughlln been
before her marriage to the great doctor?
Some old voyageurs could have told you
that forty years ago tho madame had
been the fairest girl in the Cumberland
district of Manitoba. Her Scotch father
sent her to school with the nuns at Que
bec. As a child she heard rumors from
the South; scattered fragments of the
American Revolution when the Tories
came flocking across the Canadian bor
der. As a girl she met Alexander McKay,
who had Just returned with Alexander
Mackentle from that wonderful tour In
yrhlch thc the first white men that ever
crossed the continent, had scribbled with
red oohre on Pacific rocks:
A. MACKENZIE
ARRIVED FROM CANADA BY LAND,
JULY, 1792.
Retracing their steps. Mackenzie went
to England to be knighted Sir Alexander
and crowned with fame. McKay remained
and married Margaret. Two children
came to her home at Sault Ste. Marie.
A dozen, 14 years went by. The boy be
came a sturdy lad, the girl a miss of 12,
while their Scotch father was collecting
peltries from MIcfaillmacklnac to Detroit
in those early days before recorded his
tory began. One Bummer morning, ,as
he hid done every Summer for 14 years,
Alexander McKay set out with bis brig
ade of furs for Montreal. That was the
last time Madame ever saw him.
For at Montreal McKay met John Jacob
Astor. As tor was starting a Pacific
Fur Company. He had come to Canada
for men skilled in all the mysteries of
the fur trade. McKay pleased Astor
was made a partner. He flew around
Montreal engaging his men, and by the
return boats to Sault Ste. Marie sent a
goodbye to his wife,, and a request to the
commander of tho Northwest post to care
for her "till his return." It was a sudden
leave-taking, but not Uncommon in the
ups and downs of fur-trading life. Mar
garet sat day after day with her arms
around her little girl and wept. The
boy Tom had gono with his father. How
bravely he stood in the boat that Summer
day, waving good-byes to his mother! In
fancy she saw the birchen barks fly down
tho Richelieu, up Lake Champlain, and
down tho glittering Hudson. She dreamed
that they tossed in Astors ship around
Cc.pe Horn. Then came the "War of 1S12.
Tho Americans burnt Sault Ste. Marie,
and the little house In which Margaret's
wedded life had sped so happily. Those
blue-coated soldiers waited for the annual
fur brigade due from the North; watched
and waited and went away. One afternoon
a fleet of 47 tjoats, freighted with a
million dollars' worth of furs, slid down
the Sault Ste. Marie, and passed unharmed
for Montreal. She was glad they had
missed the furs those vandals that bad
burnt her house! But, to fill up the
measure of disaster, word was brought
by returning voyageurs that her husband
had been killed by Indians on the treach
erous. Northwest Coast
Then the fur companies went to fighting
on the plains of Manitoba. How could
Margaret know that Tom, safe and sound,
in trying to get home td her had reached
Red River Just in time to tako part In
that battle fought a year and a day after
"Waterloo? Tom McKay saw Governor
Wemple march bravely out of "Winnipeg
with cocked hat and sash, pistols, and
double-barrelled fowllng-plece, and his
Hudson's Bay men behind him. Tom rode
up with the rival Northwesters. There
was a rush and a crash, and tho Governor
and some others were killed. Lord Sel
kirk hastened over from Scotland with a
lot of "Waterloo veterans, so Tom got
himself back to the Columbia without
seeing his mother. But she? She was
coming to blm In unexpected fashion.
A young Canadian doctor commanded
the fort a strange anomaly. Polished and
courtly, he had left tho civilized world
to bury himself in this uttermost wlial
In October, 1754, John McLoughlln was
born at Riviere du Loup on tho banks of
the St. Lawrence. "While still a boy his
father was drowned. The widowed mother
took her children home to her father. Mal
colm Fraser. There her boys, David and
John, grew up id their grandfather's old
stono mansion overlooking the St. Law
rence Just where it widens to the sea.
They played in those hills, rugged as
Scotia's, rock-ribbed Highlands. They
caught a military presence from the sol
flier srrandslre who had brought a High
land regiment with him to Amferlca to-
colonize these selgnioral manors. Here
Scottish books were read and Scottish
tales retold. Hero tho bagplpo droned
and tho kilt hung in thd old colonial
closet. The brothers were sent over-seas,
were pursuing medical studies when Na
polean began to harry England. Dr. David
McLoughlln went Into the wars and fol
lowed the Iron Duke until Napoleon was
caged at St. Helena. Dr. John said, "I
can never fight Napoleon I admire him
too much." He returned to Canada.
The world lay before young Dr. Mc
Loughlln. There was. a pretty girl In
Quebec One" day in Spring he was walk
ing with her, when they came to a plonk
on a muddy street. Sho was Just ahead of
tho doctor when an insolent English offi
cer, coming in tho opposite direction,
crowded her off the plank. Ih one instant
that officer, gold lace, epaulets and all
lay sprawling in the mire. There was din
ger In store for the young gallant, so he
hied him to the Northwest, whore his
uncles the Frasers wero great factors of
Ftaser's River. That was the whispered
tale of how McLoughlln first entered the
fur trade. Birth, talent, magnificent pres
ence brought rapid promotion already he
was in command of Sault Ste. Mario.
And the widow of his friend was in his
keeping. As Pythias waited for Damon,
so McLoughlln had waited for McKay.
His tender heart was touched by the sor
rows of one so fair. Hor well-bred ways
whispered of home. No white woman
could go into the Indian country, but
Margaret could go because she had Indian
blood.
Dr. McLoughlln married the widow Mar
garet McKay. Thefo was no priest at
Sault Ste. Marie, that lonely trading out
post SO years ago. A brother chief factor
said the service. That was all; enough
for a loyal heart like John McLoughlln's.
It was not an unusual matter. From
the days when King Charles had granted
a royal charter to his "well-beloved cou
sin," Prince Rupert, tho gentlemen "ad
venturers of England trading Into Hud
son's Bay" had married the daughters of
chiefs effecting state alliances to facili
tate peace, good will and commerce. From
theso had sprung tho type to which Mar
garet belonged fair, dark-eyed women,
combining the manners and mind of the
whites with the daring and pride of the
Indian. Such had been Madame Mc
Loughlln's early history.
"How can I know that your father is not
stiff at the bottom of Lake Superior?"
continued the Madame today, half to
Eloiso and half to herself. "Ho capsized
there once, and all but him wero lost
Oh. that lake is cold I It quickly numb and
drag tho swimmer down! I saw them
when they brought him through the fort
gate like dead man. He had beautiful
golden hair, the Indian call it sunshine;
but after that it turn white white as
snow. Before he was 30, Louice, men call
your father old."
That incident was when Chief Factor
Mackenzie was lost and McLoughlln lived
to rule Fort "William. Elolse had Tieard
talk of the fogs and storms and flurries
of the great Canadian sea: she had heard
talk of life at Fort "William, the metro
politan post of the Northwest Company
on Lake Superior, where the merchants of
Montreal used to come In Summer like
kings on a royal progress. She was a
baby then. Sho could barely remember
tho Journey to the Columbia; one long pic
nic it was to Elolse and to David her
brother, who laughed and crowed and
kicked- his pink heels In his blrch-canoe
cradle He, too, was coming homo now
with his father; coming from Ave years
study In Paris and London.
"A penny for your thoughts, Elolse!"
It was tho cheery voice of her husband,
"William Glen Rae. who had 6tolen up the
steps unobserved to the spot whero Elolse
sat with her unbound hair still rippling on
the floor.
4T was thinking." she said, putting her
hands in his "I was thinking what a fam
ily reunion 'twill be when the express
comes in! "We must celebrate this year
with a real Canadian Christmas!"
'Yes." answered Rae, tho shadow of a
cloud flitting over his brow, "yes. for no
ono can tell where you and I may be a
year from now"
It was the Governor's Joke when he lefti
"Walt till I get homo Elolse. Then you
and Rao shall iiuxa a wedding" journey." ,
Rae looked for promotion, but .whether
to some wild new Caledonian post on the
Fraser, to the sage desert on tho Snake,
or up tho Columbia, ho could not juess.
For six years, now, he had been head
bookkeeper at Fort Vancouver. Many a
document had Roe filed away in tho
brick archives of the block counting
houee. To take up a new role, to control
men and manage Indians, might prove
less congenial.
The brass bell on its tripod In the cen
ter of the square rang for dinner. Tho
Canadians in the field heard it; and turned
out their oxen. The Iroquois choppers
heard it, and rested their axes. The
clerks beard it and hurried across tho
court to brush their coats in Bachelors'
Halt "The fur-beaters heard it, and went
to their cabins outside the gate. Madame
heard It. and disappeared through the
door to her own "apartments. Unassertive,
shy. It was the custom of the traders'
wives to live secluded. Visitors at Fort
Vancouver saw little of the resident
women. Custom forbado their presence
at the semi-military table in the great
hall. But children playing- about th& court
attested the. presence of mothers.
"It is worthy of notice." writes an old
chronicler, "how little of tho Indian com
plexion is seen in theso traders', children:
Generally they have fair skin, often
flaxen hair and blue eyes."
Stealing a kiss from the cheek of his
bride as sho flew away after her mdther,
"William Rao turned and watched the
other gentlemen of tho fort coming up tho
semicircular flight of steps to dinner.
Most of them are well known today in
Oregon story. There was James Douglas
Black Douglas they called him, a lineal
descendant of that Douglas who in days
of old was tho. chief, support of, the Scot
tish throne tall, dark, commanding, and,
next to McLouglin. tho ruling spirit on
the Columbia. James Douglas had left the
storied hills of Lanark as -a. boy of 16 to
Beek his fortune with the fur-traders of
Canada. He crossed Lake Superior and
camo to Fort "William in the reign of Mc
Loughlln. Fort "William was then in its
Splendor, a great Interior mart, and chief
Seat of the growing Northwest Company.
Douglas was there when tho reconcilia
tion took place between the rival fur com
panies.. With Joy ho watched, the late
snorting Highlanders, who had cut and
Cafrved and shot and imprisoned each
other, shaking hands under the samo flag
and setting out for tho uttermost forts in
the same canoe. Fifteen years ltunger
than Dr. McLouglin, his attachment was
that of. a son or younger brother. "Whero
Mr. Loughlln went Douglas went "When
McLoughlln was sent to tho Columbia he
requested tho company .of his young fa
vorite, then a lad of IS. Accordingly young
Douglas crossed tho Rockies and tempo
rarily served at Fort 3t James beyond
the Fraser.
At Fort St James. Chief Factor James
Cqnnolly, a Jolly Irish gentleman, held
sway, and dealt out beads and blankets to
tha Shush waps for the" beaver - Bklns and
THE BIRTH OF OREGON
A dream he scarce dared whisper to the world
Stirred in the breast of Monticello's sage;
A dream df empire, wider yet, unfurled
A century beyond, the dreamer's agel
Born of a race that spurned the narrow bound
Of ancient tyranny o'er soul or mind
He longed for some dominion, newly found,
In which, to build for Freedom and Mankind I
"To "Westward! Westward!" was the world-wide
creed;
"Westward! Westward! ' turned all eager eyes!
.Ah, but upon those rugged paths did bleed
The pioneers, in search of Paradise!
And step by step the desert was pushed back!
And zone by zone the wilderness was won; ,
Prom far Potomac led the Westward track
Toward realms unknown beneath the setting sun!
Then Jefferson dared put his dream to speech;
Its wonder and its daring shook the world!
Across a continent's unmeasured reach,
The banner of his land should be unfurled f
Undreamed-of perils should be cast aside
Defiant .souls should scale yon glistening chain!
Force yon barred gates and look on yonder tide
that bound these shores to India's fabled main!
Then wilder dreams than crazed Columbus' men
In awe were; whispered 'mong the pioneera;
The trackless deserts, haunted glade and glen,
And nameies3 perils multiplied the fears!
Cnt off by foes, by fiendish hands to die,
Or yet to perish in the parching sun
With face upturned toward" a brazen sky,
And dream in madness of sweet brooks that run!
But two had faith in Monticello's seer
Two valiant souls wrought of Virginian steel
Who learned beside a martyred father's bier,
The stirring depths of Liberty's appeal!
Such men as these turned toward the wondrous West,
Men to whose courage failure was unknown;
No chartpno track across the desert's breast,
But trust in God and faith in strength their own.
Go, thread yon shimmering streams, wher'er they lead
Go, scale yon peaks, whate'er their dizzy height!
Go, touch yon gates, and ope for human need
An empire that shall fill the world with light!
Go, plant tho seed of empires yet to be!
Unfold their vastness, lay their glories bare;
. Blaze wide a trial from swelling sea to sea,
That Freedom may uprear her temples there!
Let stories of that marvelous march be told
As fireside legends in the coming years!
As wider yet, these empire-bounds unfold,
More sainted be those crowned pioneers!
The dream that dazzled Monticello's sage,
That roused and wakened all the listening world,
Is blazoned oh his country's brightest page
"Old Oregon" in glory is unfurled!
BEET HUFFMAN.
Pendleton, Or., Feb. 17, 1904.
otter. Chief Factor Connolly had a
daughter, who Is known In the annals of
British Columbia as Lady Douglas. She
was not "Lady Douglas" then. A shy,
sweet, lovable girl, modest as the wood
violet and as fair, it is not strange that
Douglas loved Nelia Connolly. It would
have been stranger If he had not. In ad
dition to personal beauty tho blood of
neroes ran in her veins. Old chronicles
are full of romance of this pair. Once a
renegade Blackfoot murdered a Canadi
and escaped.. A smoke-dried, skinny old
squaw whispered through tha gate in
Douglas ear: "Ho haf come agaim Ha
hides in yonder camp." Arming himself,
young Douglas walked fearlessly into tho
Indian camp and shot the renegade.
Looking neither to tho right nor the left,
ho coolly walked back to Fort James.
The daring-act awed tho astonished Shush
waps for weeks they were silent, it
seemed forgotten. But when Chief Factor
Connolly went down thejCOlumbla with a;
brigade of furs, tho mindful Shushwaps
roused themselves. "We must have pay,"
they said, "pay. pay, pay for tho dead
man." Crowding in at the fort gate ono
day two hundred blackened warriors
sou-prised and seized the Douglas and
bound, him hand and foot.
. Nelia Connolly in her little boudoir
heard.-a sound of confusion. Tho girl of
16 ran out sho saw every man of tho
fort tied. A burly fellow was flour
ishing a knlfo above tho head of Doug
las. . At a glance sho read her lover's
perU, Darting upon the Indian, she
snatched tho weapon. Turning to the
chief., tho bravo girl cried:
"What, you a friend of tho whites and
say not a word In their behalf at such a
time as thl3? Speak! Tou know tho
murderer deserved to die According to
your own laws, the deed was Just! It
is blood for blood. Tho whito men are
not dogs. They love their kindred, as
well as you! Why should they not ave'ngo
their murder?" Awed by tho skookum
tum-tum (strong heart) of tho trader's
daughter, the Indians fled from the room.
As tho. last blanket flopped through tho
gate, tho old chief, standing in the door,
caned niter them in a derisive tone: "Tou
Braves! Woman make you run! Go
home! Hide In Ieedle holes."
Toung Douglas married tho girl. Chief
Factor Connolly read the ritual and gavo
away tho bride. Then over tho mountains
Connolly went to Canada, where shortly
he became tho Mayor of Montreal.
As for Douglas, he took his wife down
the Columia, whore in tho then new Fort
Vancouver they took up tho quarters
they had occupied ever since. The gen
tle Nelia had grown and ripened with tha
.years, until the comely young matron
was only a. degro less attractive than
Eloiso herself. At the west end of that
samo porch wiis the door to their sitting
room, whero on any Sabbath evening
you might find Douglas with tho BIblo on
his knee reading to his wife and Httlo
ones. It was a sweet home picture; one
of tho fevr, very few, to bo found tho
entire length of McXoughlln's kingdom.
Summer morning found Nelia the third
in that group on tho porch, while her
little daughter Cecelia, in a pink sun
bonnet, played among tho flowerbeds at
the foot of the steps. There Douglas
had scattered fine seed and in floral let
ters had sprung his little daughter's
name "Cecelia."
There wero other things besides flow
ers at tho foot of the steps. Facing the
main entrance of the stockade stood two
elghteen-pounders and two swivels, bel
ligerent, but rusty, and piled in orderly
heaps were pyramids of black cannon
balls that were never disturbed, partly
because there was no fighting: more be
cause Robert Bruce, the old Scotch gar
dener, had piled them there, and woe be
tide the chick or child that presumed to
interfere with anything that Bruce had
done. Bruce was far away now in Eng
land with the.Governor; but habit had be
come fixed. In ail Bruce's IS months of
absence not even a dog had ventured to
noso the forbidden balls. Neither wad
the grass trodden. They Seemed still to
hear the gardener's call: "Meestress
Dooglas! Meestress Dooglas! Kap the
balrnles aft tho grass!"
But to continue tho dinner company at
the fort, Daily, besides Douglas, there
was the fort physician. Dr. Barclay; and
the clerkK. gay young fellows, English
and Scotch, whose friends across the
sea had sufficient Influence to secure them,
a berth in the opulent Fur Company. Not
that their present salary was at all
princely 20 to.100 pounds sterling a year
wa3 the most that any received but clerks
by promotion becamo traders, chief
traders, factors, and partners. There
was not one of them that did not expect
to become a chief factor or to retire at
middle life to an' old-world manor on the
Thames or Dee. Some waited years, some
a ilfetlme, for promotions that never
came.
Rae would greet them each as they
passed Dunn, who wrote letters to the
London Times; Allen, brother to the phy
sician of tho Earl of Selkirk; Roberts,
factotum; and all tho ever-changing train
of voyageurs and traders.
CHAPTER VIII.
Dr. McLoughlln's Return.
1839.
HOMEWARD hurrying comes Mc
Loughlln In these October days of
1S39. "Ready!" Tho sun and windburhed
voyageurs catch up tho paddles, the boat
song strikes:
Ma 1-brouck has gone a-flghttsg,
Mlronton, mlronton. mlrontalne
and away they go, glittering down the
Columbia. Mile3 of blue waters sweep
behind them before tho sunrise break
fast. ' it was the doctor's ambition to have
the best paddlers in the world, and he did.
Never before did there, never again will
such, bold watermen rido the Columbia.
Such order, such discipline: Not the
slightest minutiae escaped tho master's
eye. Monlque, a stalwart Iroquois half
breed, a strong fellow, at homo In the
rapids, stands in the bow of tho doctor's
boat Tawney-skinned, stripped to the
waist and bareheaded, his long hair
streaming on the wind, with eye fixed and
eiery muscle tense, this side, that, swift
the paddle lies as his quick eyo measures
the lino of safety and sends tho signal
back to tho steersman in the rear. It Is
a play of llfo and death, but so skillful
are thoso bowmen that rarely a bark
goes tum-tum-tum grazing a rock.
There wis McDonald at Fort Colvillo
that had a daughter of the rich, dark
beauty of the Creole type. Smaller In
figure than her Blackfoot mothei. better
rounded, lithe, and willowy, Christine
McDonald was tho embodiment of the
grace and supple shapeliness of the half
breed girl. The chief factor, with hi3
long locks flowing over his shoulders,
Indian fashion, was always in the sad
dle, and at his sldo rode his fearless
daughter Christine. Handsome as her
father and as daring, astride with a
serape buckled around her waist, she fol
lowed the hounds to the fox-hunt, leaped
canyons and fallen trees, and outdid the
Indians themselves in her desperate rid
ing. On such a ride as this they caught
sight of the Montreal express and dashed
to greet McLoughlln, the chief of chief
factors. As in some glen of the High
land, Scotch plumes and tartans flew.
Scotch Macs clasped hands with other
Macs famous in the fur trade. Demon
strative Canadians fell on one another's
necks with tears and laughter. Indian
wives and children clamored for recog
nition. Delighted voyageurs dandled their
terra-cotta. babies on their knees with
gifts of beads and bells bought in Cana
dian shops for this happy hour. Within
the cedar hall there was roast turkey,
sucking pig, fresh butter and eggs, and
ale. Spokanes, Kootenals, and Pend
d'Orellle, in al the splendor of paint arid
feathers, dashed around Colviie on horse
back. Some In soft-tanoeA JuifZalo-xobes
peeped through the trading: gate. All
ujgnt oia V.01VU0 rang, uutsice me
the bagpipe.
. There was a hush. McDonald had
taught Christine tho sword-dance. Under
the rouffh rafter In tho iittif nf Vn n
tho fair barbarian advanced. Jnvited and
cvaoea use suppio oiaao that gUtterca
rolmd her head. Christina's-, little moc
icasined feet tortnkW in.-t Rtvr anA Vi
beaded bodice shimmered In the
nrengnc etching a" lock' of her
flowing hair, she threw It across
mo aarung bladerrit fell, severed,
to the floor. Spellbound, the trad
ers watched them. The: movements grew
swift and swifter: until In the o-rMto-
ment. Dr. McLoughlln thumped hl3 cano
uyuu me iioor ana cnea, ".nough, Mc
Donald, enough r
For hundreds of miles the Columbia has
a regular descent, broken only at; long in
tervals by steps of rapids and falls. Ono
hundred. 150 miles p
glide, pausing at nightfall to camp. Scarce
ly aas me nrst Doat touched shore beforo
tho axe is in tho forest. Tho Canadian cook
builds tha tiny pile of lighted brush into
a pyramid of blazing logs. From a sapling
bent beside it the kettle swings and sings
of supper.
On ono side of the fire tho voyageurs
carve with pocket-knife and hunting-knife,-and
never resting in their talk gulp tea,
tea, tea. On tho other side' the cook has
spread Mclaughlin's kitchen of linen
and plate. Catherine Sinclair Is that Can
adian lily taking her first flight from tho
Manitoba home. David's laugh rings mer
rily. Bruco tho gardener sips his tea. He
loves the camping life; it reminds him of
military marches and Waterloo. Two now
clerks. McTavisS. and Flnlayson? are keep
ing copious Journals to send home- to
Scotland. There Is a world of difference;
between the happy-go-lucky voyageur and
his more thoughtful Scotch companion.
Tho French-Canadian or French Iroquois
laughs at mishaps, he rollicks and flings
out the border song. Tho Scotchman la
grave, solemn and watchful, the brain
and nervo of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Down the Okanogan country the grass
is sere. Autumn flames. Sombro Alpine
forests climb tho far-off heights. East
ward dwell the Spokanes. tho Children of.
the Sun, desolated once by a more than
Trojan war over a. stolen Spokane bride.
At Walla. Walla Chief Factor Pamhrun.
comes down from his tower to greet his
chief; there are letters for Dr. Whitman;
tho Shoshono brigade sweeps into lino
with 30 packs of the best beaver of tho
mountains. Tha ho.it
.narrow gorge. The Frenchmen sing in
umes ot aanger; tne Iroquois are silent
and stern as death as they let fly tho
canoe through tho hissing and curling
waters like a. race horse. There wero
times when Monlque ran the swift and
norrow Dalles; down tho Cascades ho shot
with arrowy wing, but not today. Dr. Mc
Loughlln Is along and Charlefoux Is
guide. Many a time McLoughlln said:
"Monlque Is my boldest man, but I'd
trust my llfo with Charlefoux." On they
speed, past Memelose, the Isle of Tombs,
tho Westminster of tho Indian, past i Wind
Mountain with Its Ulyssean tales, past
Strawberry Island where the fairies feast
in June, to the wild-rushing" cascades. Not
a feature escapes McLoughlln's eye. Every
cliff and crag Is a familiar landmark
pointing to Fort "Vancouver.
Madame and Elolse need wait and em
broider no longer. Like silver bells shook
far away, the boat song heralded tha
singers: Hood seemed to listen, the Co
lumbia heaved It3 breast of blue, tho very
Islands -smiled with gladsome Joy. Elolse
touched her finger to her lip. "That is my
father's boat song, his favorite because
Napoleon was said to hum It when mount
ing for battle." Again she hearkened; then
starting up as tho words grew more and
moro distinct
'It is Just like my father to slag Mal
brouck at such a tinie as this," and as
she flew to the gate her own voice Joined
the strain that so oft had rung in tho
halls of Fort Vancouver:
Malbrouck has gone a-flghtlng.
Mlronton. mlronton, mlrontalne.
ilalbrock has gone a-fighting,
But wba will ho return?
My Lady cllmha her watch tower
As hleb aa sho can get;
Sho sees her page, approaching,
All clad in sable hue.
"Ah. page, brave paje, what tld!ng3
From my true lord bring ybu?
'The news I bring, fair Lady,
Will mako your tears run down;
"Put oft your rose-red dres so fine.
And doff your satin gown.
"Monsieur Malbrouck Is dead, alas!
And burled too, for aye;
"I saw four officers who bore
His mighty corse away.
"One bora his cuirass, and his friend
His shield of iron wrought;
rha third hl3 mighty saber bore.
And the fourth ha carried naught
"And at tho corners of his tomb
They planted rosemarle;
"And from their tops tho nightingale-
Kings out her carol free.
"We' saw, above tho laurels.
His soul fly forth amain;
"And each one fell tipon hli face.
And then rose up again. .
"And so wo sang the glories
For which great Malbrouck bled;
"And when the whole was ended
Each one. went off to bed.
"I say no more, my Lady,
Mlronton, mlronton, mlrontalne.
I say no more, my Lady
v As naught more can be m
And with the coming of tho express
would como all manner of newsj and the
renewal ot contact with the East. Letters,
at least, should be in hand. Newspapers
for the entire year came in the express
a year's edition of "Le Canadian" and
tho "Quebec Gazette," Just as in Jund
the barquo "Columbia" brought a file of
the "Daily London Times" of the pro
ceding year. Packed away in a great
chest, every day the traders drew out that
date a year, two years ago. to tlckld
themselves with tho fancy that tho post
boy called each morning.
They were at hand! "The express! Tha
express!" rang through the court. Every
one was busy. Old Burris ran up tho
British ensign on the flagstaff. Swinging
round the last green headland like tha
curve of a great wheel, tho brigade shot
into view. The song fang shrilly out.
From the governor's barge fluttered th
triangular pennon of the Hudson's Bay
Company, with its rampant beaver and
tho familiar "H. B. C.' upon a fleld of
blue.
"H. B. C." "Here Before Christ," was
Ermatlnger's translation, and Bruco
agreed. "I reeckon ye'll find the coom
pany's coolers were klrkmen seeldom git."
And then thec9 was a struggle .to see who
could touch tho sand first Paddles roiled
on the gunwales, flinging the spray across
the voyageurs' faces as they shooii tha
water from the blades.
What rejoicing! Cannon boomed, flags
waved, the bagpipes struck up "The
Campbells are coming. Hourray! Hour
ray!" Indians whooped, dogs bayed.
Frenchmen ran wild, as tho whole fort
turned out to greet tho arrival and the
chief. The sharp end of tho canoes
gritted on the sand. Every cap ffew off
as the familiar form of Dr. McLoughlln
arose from the cramped position that had
grown so irksome and stepped on shore.
Every eye rejoiced In that majestic
presence. With a hand-clasp for Rao
and Douglas and a salute for the Mad
ame's cheek he presented her son "I have
brought the boy home, mother." And
Ermatineer gava a shout ot Joy