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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 1908)
SUNDAY OREGON! AX, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 27, 1908. TTTE 6 4 HON 8 AR1S has just erected a monument to "The Father of Mother Goose. Vnhmlv will deny that he de- aerves it. for stories' that have been the 1ov of children for more than two cen turies certainly entitle their some need of consideration creator to from the world today. It wasn't an Englishman who Invented these tales that are so dear to the world not only of little orfes. but of grown-ups as well. A Frenchman, Charles Perrault. was the. originator of the whole line of beau tiful little nursery tale?, and the monu ment In l is honor In the Garden of the Tumeries. which Identified through its history with the. deeds of the great men of France, never vet has been the site of a memorial more thoroughly deserved. "Mother Moose I" What a train of mmnrlt-.s it evokes. The children of the whole wor'.d. more than two centuries- of them, have listened lit the knees of their mothers to revel r-llbound !i the experiences of the many characters that Perrault save Juvenile fiction. to Who has not trembled at the terrific tory of "Little Red P.iding Hood" and her adventures with the hungry wolf that llrst .10 up the other unfortuntaep. art had Its designs on Little Red Rkl Ing Ho.-i had Fhe no: by craft known how to foil the cruel monster? And the pretty story of the "Sleeping Beauty." how man little pillows, has not this soothed, and lioV many thou sands of parents have not been besought to tell its detail--, to iM-gaing little ones? Th terrible "Bl.ie Heard." whose long marital experiences were one record of murdered wive, till the brothers of one of them Anally wroupin the summary -na-ennc that tli- nm"t"r s" richly merttd: the beautiful story of Tln- derelia." witii its l'r.ii' and the tiny li't'.e flipper Charming. that no one could wear but the slighted litil- daugh- ter of the fami'y who was ever pushed aside to take .are of her two older and i:is!i sisters. tVst cam- to the world through, the pen of ttie gi.teu i errau.i and in ti;e years that have has bc-n made the subject o of plays, of pantomimes, and on Brand opera. Moreover. Its' details liaVr elapsed It f paintings', of at least be"n told f.gain In a score of beautiful books, rich !n the colored pictures that mean so much to the childish heart, and which re not without a certain amount of pb-asur for even the grown-up children. A monument for Ptrrauli: Certainly he deserves it: If he had never lone anything more than write "Tom Thumb he would have earned his place In the Walhaila of the heroes of the child hood stage. But Perrault did more than furnish to th mothers of a wore of nations those stories by which they should bring joy to the hearts of their children. These perhaps were his greatest works, though undoubtedly it would surprise him now If he could know that the world best esteemed him for what ho wrote to de light the youngsters or tne people 01 , all countries. For Perrault was more than a writer of Juvenile fiction. He was 'a proud student, who did not fear to enter into a controversy with one of the most profound students of bis day. the (treat Hoileau. Bolieau was a believer in the classical. He took the position that none of the contemporary writers of that period had a right to be classed witii the masters of all time. rerrault. who was intensely modern, took issue wit n Boileau. and the result was a controversy that was the delight of the nation. In the United States. In fact. In Eng land or Germany, it is not possible to arouse the national Interest in a contro versy where tho subject 1 anything that has little direct bearing on the lives of the people as a question of literature. Fut France loves these warfares. It has followed them closely, and Perrault's powerful denial of the position of Boll eau. and bis appeal for the contempro rary writers, made a profound impres sion. Perhaps the most notable thing he did in the controversy was to write a poem. "The Century of Louis the Great." In this lie detailed the notable literary achievements of the men of the period, and aroused France to the greatness of Its mm of letters. So deeply interested did Perrault be come In the controversy that he pro ceded to make a specialty of contem porary writers, and the result of his study was the production of his masterwork. Illustrious Men or the Century of Louis Fourteenth." This was a most prodigious work. It contained more than -Oft biographies of the foremost men of the time, and for much that Is known today of these men of genius the world is indebted to the painstaking work of Perrault. who searched out his facts with greatest at tention to detail, and then gave them to posterity through the medium of a style that Is beautiful in its clarity. rerrault had advanced well in years ' before he began tho writing of his famous "Contes Des Fees." or "Tales of the Fairies." Born in litfit. In Paris, he was rich in honors, and had passed his 60th year be fore be began thinking of putting Into book form a series of stories that he had Invented for the pleasure of children of whom ho was very fond. It Is related of the inventor of all these classics In childhood talcs that he would recite them by the hour to chil dren who would listen, and had his greatest pleasure and reward in seeing their delight. The fame of the tales went abroad. The foremost families of the brilliant court of that day vied with each other In getting Perrault to tell his tales to their children or even to the grownups at tho salons of the period. But Perrault was 69 years old before the world got his book. It became at once the literary sensa tion of the day. and those who had ad mired th writer in the more profound productions of his art were dumbfounded al the lightness and Juvenility, so to speak, of these products of his closing years. Into books and plays they were Inetantly rushed. nd Perrault. in the. p HAS MIGHTIEST v.T ..'-V- V. n ewj-e,'"v : ; iaJt. - ..Ji;oJg', aunset of his life, found himself wor shiped as he rfad never been before. lie lived for six years to revel in the fame gained him by the fairy stories, and even in that day, before the" methods of printing now in force had been in vented, he lived to aee his stories cross the Channel aid go to England and make their way in Germany. Many of the stories were not original with Perrault. He was a close student of the legends, and he picked nia mies In all countries. Many of them are Ger man in origin. What the Exposition Did By Henry K. Ri. Secretary of the Lewis and Clark Centennial. Indianapolis Star. Portland's principal benefit from the Lewis and Ciark Centennial Exposition was confidence In itself. Prior to the financing of the exposition the city, wlille wealthy, enterprising- and capa ble of big things, had a reputation of being "ultra-coiiserVatlve" -in common parlance it was called a "slow town." The panic of 1S93 had tested the cour age of the people to the limit, and from lt effects the mergence waa gradual, though sure. When the sun of prosperity began, shining again in 1838, it revealed a new trans-continental railroad terminating- on Puget Bound, and the cities of that region reaping thfi harvest of the Klondike rush. On the South, San Francisco had the call on the Immense volume of business which the Spanish" War had developed in the Philippines. The struggle for control of the Xorthern. Pacific in the Spring- of 1901 lip V..V: 'SflsJ.- M SLi .v. -S ..." riV. V' t it - . Some of them, forbidding a were more bo on the original. tered them in order to Impart the happy finale, without which he contended that no tale ought to be told to children. A little pathos or even a little horror was all right at the beginning', or even In the middle of the . story. In orde,r to chain their closo attention, -but It was his dictum that when the time for the ending, ha-ppiness ought to reign su preme, tiiil the couple married, at last, after all their tribulations, should "live happy ever afterward." Perrault has long been the cult of a was declared to be a struggle for Xorth Pacific Coast terminals on Puget Sound, in which Portland was not considered. The commercial prestige which. Port land for over 50 years - had maintained on the Northwest coast seemed to be endangered by tho progress of events, the railroad battle for terminals, the development of other trade centers and a perceptible narrowing: of the Portland trade field. It Is not any wonder that Portland, with a commer cial position unsurpassed by any city in the world, looked abou,t and in quired In what situation it found it self. It was not dead or dying, nor even stationary, but it was not going ahead as rapidly as it should. Mani festly it needed a stimulus to arouse It to a recognition of Its geographical position and its potential resources. The exposition furnished the stimulus. Away back In 1S9S, when the general run of people in the Pacific Northwest were as poor as poverty could make them, a Portland ' merchant suggested. .J to THE MBMOISbf ' F ALL WAITERS FOS CHILD) PA1 Sr-H,p W36v""; S t "i.; , FT 15 achool in Paris that -has kept alive his memory- He is much . better known to Ivis native country than outside of it, and the monument placed in the Tulllerles is intended to have the dual purpose of showing the gratitude of France to the great writer, and also of testifying to the rest of the wor'.d the affection It owes to the inventor of the immortals of the for Portland the holding of an international exposi tion at Portland. Tie sowed the seed and the plant waa of slow but sure growth. The more the people, thought of the . ldta the more they liked it. Finally matters came to such a pass that it devolved upon the heavy busi ness interests of the city, which alone could furnish the necessary money, to ay bo ahead or not. Buffalo was nearinsr the end of its exposition, with disaster facing it. and enough had leaked through from Charleston to in dicate that its exposition would have serious difficulties. There was no pre cedent for planning an International exposition In a city of 95,000, situated at the extreme western end of the continent and in a sparsely settled re gion whose aggregate population with in a radius of 300 miles of Portland did not exceed 1,200.000. Then there was a feelins that the people of the United States were surfeited with expositions. Again, while only $300,000 was wanted to finance the exposition corporation, tho Question was asked:-"How- is Port m WJMm aim mm- IS. mi Jig tJJ'l El II '. It U L' fM I.I :V'- ii i " l- jr. .V.ejjuwsf'wr Si 1 1 ewttS!rseee i w:; ' .J7l-tv':, i Jl i,vk'-i"'1... " tl rf t 1 V' -?sf land to take J300.000 out of the regular channels of business and put it Into an exposition?" At this point - Portland's stimulus needed a stimulant. It came forward in the person of H. W. Corbett, one of the most eminent financiers the Pacific Coast has ever produced. He said the exposition could be made successful if Portland would keep within Its means. As evidence of his confidence he of fered to make a subscription of 10 per cent of the authorized capital. The decision of the people of Portland was then and there for an exposition to celebrate tho 100th anniversary of the exploration of the Oregon country by Lewis and Clark. All past differences of opinion vanished in the general aim to crown with success the exposition to be. The $300,000 capital and $117. 000 additional was subscribed promptly and cheerfully, and more was promised if needed. The stockholders, one and all, said they did not care to be repaid ono cent of their subscriptions. Their slogan was: "Let the money be used for the good of Portland and the coun try; the advertising that we shall get will put us on the map." The unfa vorable results at Buffalo and Charles ton were discounted. Wrhen they were mentioned at all. the Portland answer was: "But Portland will be different." In June. 1905, the exposition opened, representing a total expenditure from all sources for all purposes of $7,500, 000. The United States Government and 18 states of the t:nion joined with Portland and Oregon in celebrating the great historical event which formed tho foundation of the exposition. From the Eastern States came. 122,500 people i all?. M :" v"7 V? 4 7 1 1 - y - ISf x to see the Northwest and the exposi tion. Portland and the West loyally supported the exposition from the start, and it was a success. Paid ad missions were 1.600.000. equal to nearly 2 per cent of the estimated population of the United States in 1905. At the close of the exposition the stockhold ers, were paid, In the form of distribu tion of assets, 21 per cent of their sub scriptions. Only two expositions that have been held in the United States have paid back more to their stock holders Omaha with 95 per cent and Philadelphia with 30 per cent. Steals Opal "With Bad Kccord. Xew York World. A burglar entered the apartments of Mrs. Silas Smith, . Patcrson, N.. J., and from a' bureau drawer, which was forced, took, with other jewelry, a ring which those -who know Its history think will bring the thief bad luck. Mrs. Smith attributes to the baleful Influence of the ring the death of her son, as well as the misfortune which attended him previous to lils death. The ring is an opal. It has been In Paterson 15 years and each of lis own ers has had bad luck wiiiie me ring re mained in ' his possession. Hen who owned 11. failed .in business, were wrong ly accused of misdoings, were dischargea or lost their positions, were beaten by thugs, fought with their friends or were hit by. a trolley car. The one woman who dared fate and wore .the ring in open defiance of the hoodoo which was attached to it had domestic, trouble and - tried auiclde. 1 l j yt ,. a, . .- VHVj i. i. 4 oL V 1 ft,'?! ' 4 .MT - " - , Native Indians of Peru IX THC mountains and other out-of- ilie-v.ay places of the Peruvian region of South America, an estimated num ber of about 1SXI.O0O vi 1U Indians, in color and many other respwts not very unlike ; the original inhabitants of our North I American continent, scour the woods in I scanty clothins, occasionally wage thibal j wars upon one another, build huts now j and then, uae stone axes, or bows and arrows and lances, cat queer foods In ! ono locality, it is said, still practising: cannibalism. and exist according to their j standards of living, in great part un- : disturbed by tho civilization that has 1 grown up on many sides of them. , An authoritative account of these j Indians, transmitted by Charles C. Kber- haidt, formerly American Counsul at i Iquitos. has just been published by the j Smithsonian Institution at Washington. in one of its scrips of otHeiiil publications ; for "the diffusion of knowledge amoug men." The survivors of aboriginal stock are roughly included in some lis tribes, but ; subdivisions of these tribes and remnants of families now nearly extinct could, en-iiy swell the number more than ten fold. "While some general characteristics run through the whole race, each tribe retains certain peculiar customs' of its own. followed, as ever, with religious diligence. The tribe known as the Orejoncs, for, instance, gets its naitio from the curious habit its members cling to. of enlarg ing the lower part of the car by a pro cess begun when tiny are children, until sometimes the ear hangs down almost to the shoulder- Such was the manner, It seems, in which were tagged the original descendants of the lncas of "royal" blood. The Xahumeues, now almost extinct tradition l.as It. were -responsible, on ac count of their siiort skirt-like, "cushmas'.' and their long, loose Mowing hair, for the naming of the great Amazon. It was they who in this garb of women warriors attacked a river party on the exploring expedition of the Si aniard Pizarru. and were Immediately dubbed "Amazonas." The great river naturally took its name from them. nattier gruesome to civilized eyes must he tho nrenaraticin of human heads prac tised bv the Aguarunas, of the Maranon Ulver district. This tribe, sometimes called "head-hunters.' has the repulsive custom of treating the heads of their enemies, alter (icain, in nm u , , that though reduced to about onc-flftll their natural size, they retain the same shape throughout that they possessed during life, and In a seemingly mummi fied diminutive l ead thus prepared, can easily be recognized the features of the individual when alive. The American Consul Bays: "Specimens of these heads became so much in demand a few vears aso for museums, etc., that a tremitmi seemed to-be tiius placed on the heads of persons venturing in the vicinitv of this tribe, and many murders resulted The Peruvian government has now forbidden the practise, and the spe cimens, becoming more scarce, are com manding higher prices. I have known of them selling for $150 to in gold, and rather a poor specimen was recently sold in luuitos for $. In the Rio Negro and Orinoco regions meio ' exist a tribe widen prepares entire In tills manner trie! they are and In tne fiuiiniaju -.un said to retain in natural the Lands e vi tlV n FVHI.C1I1 Ul raw-" nking. slain in battle. 1 have seen .D, shin bones and inner pa. i skeletons thus treasured." Ml the tribes of Veruviian Indians prob ablv possess individual customs of greater or less variety but, so far as is kwn. no one liar, as yet made them the suojCCt of a systematic study. They have ir common, however, many practises strange A,ni-ieaiis of the inn ceiuui. Through Intermarriage i.t-... .ilctncn and wars. with the the Indiana of Pei-'u are rapidly disappearing, and it l said, statistics compile" for a i ,i (lMrinir recent years show that their numbers are diminishing at at la v... -,t of r, ner cent per annum "5 years the wild Indians of tho Upper Amazon win havo disappeared almost entirely, and it seems only a question when the dying tribes of South ,,.,i,-.m Indians must meet the fate of their brothers of North America and i... turn in common, onco Ihe rulers of two continents, become only scattered remnants of their former greatness, if not entity engulfed by the wave which seems sweeping over them.
