V
21, 1913.
WELLESLEY COLLEGE GIRLS ENJOY A
GREAT VARIETY OF OUTDOOR SPORTS
Basketball Hcckey, Tennis, Archery and Tennis Have Many Devotees Field Day Occasion for Inter -Class
Contests.
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WELLESLEY COLLEGE. Welles
ley, Masa.. Dec 20. (Special.)
Now that the season of oul
tirrins football matches is over a little
thought may be sriven to the athletic
activities of the girls' colleges. In fact,
probably few outsiders realise tliat the
Fall is as great a climax in the year's
athletics of Smith or Wellesley as it
It in those of Yale or Princeton. The
athletics of women's colleges could
never have, of course, a universal ap
peal, even if more were known about
them. They afford no such drama as
the Yale-Harvard game. Still an on
looker of this match might not find his
time wasted or himself bored were he
to attend a Wellesley field day.
At least he would ottain an interest
ing contrast. Wellesley. secluded from
the surrounding worlfl. seems more
peaceful than ever in her Fall colors.
If a visitor in Wellesley followed the
oath alone the lake until he came to
(the western extremity of the campus ne
would discover the quiet scene of Wel
lesley's athletics, a large plateau, over
looking many of the college buildings.
1 1 .
but apparently cut off from them by a
heavy barrier of woods. This college
"playground" is large enough to bold
four basketball grounds, two fcockey
fields, eight or ten tennis courts, the
required space for archery, and the first
lap of the relay racetrack, besides pro
viding plenty of room for the onlook
ers,
ClrU Wear Cestasae.
And here. If he were to choose the
right day in the Fall, he would find
the field arrayed In a variety of bright
colors, in addition to those which Na
ture provides. He would see the par
ticipants of the day as 100 or more
girls, in uniform costumes of short blue
CALL OF OREGON TO EASTERNERS IS
TO "OPEN" AND LIFE WORTH WHILE
Land of Last Frontier Combines Scenic Wonders and Commercial Opportunities That Spell Future Greatness.
"Come West, Young Man." as Good Advice as When Greely Offered It, Says Putnam.
BY GEORGE PALMER Pt'TSAJf.
... . .
VTjLf Often a transplanted East
i lit erner. who ba, become an
ITgonian, la asked that question.
Of course, there are a multitude of
answers, but when It come, right down
to fact, the really Important things
of life, like fly fishing, mountain climb
ing, canoeing and the others the an
swer might be something like this:
"I took root here because 1 like it,
and I like it principally because in the
wt mit-nf-rinnrs is always on tap. Not
the ma.ie-to-order kind, mind you, but
the real thin mountains mat are
mountains, not hills: trail, that are
trails, not paths, and rivers several
sizes too larce to be called brook."
For no matter where you happen to
live on the Pacific Coast, the "open
is always ready, almost at your front
door. It is simply a matter of placing
a "back next week" notice on your
desk and selecting the locality.
Bis Coaatry Aloes; Dcschntee.
In the heart of Oregon, flowing
northward to the great Columbia River,
Is the oeschutes. It drains a huge val
ley whose chief claim to notoriety un
til a couple of years ago was that ol
being the "largest area in the United
States without a railroad." The "rail
roadlessness" has ended: towns have
come to life upon the plains and Jn the
timber: sagebrush has been plowed
under, homesteads claimed from Uncle
Sam and great stretches awakened to
prosperity by the magic kiss of Irrlga-
tlon- But the glorious Dig country re
I mains: the railroads have simply made
J it accessible. On its we5tern flank, be
ll tween the Deschutes and the Cascade
jnge, is m ianu ui uc.uin ji ijmi um
ber, crystal lakes and mountain mea
dows, bounded on one hand by snow
clad peaks and on the other by broad
plain, that billow eastward toward
Tit ah a.
la lSM-and ajaln In 1323 the first
skirts and write btouses. wearing hair
band1,' or necktie, of their respect ,
class colors, the remaining 1200 girls
adding to the brilliance of the back
ground. Even before the four classes
march on to the Geld, one can hear
their singing and the musical cheers,
which grow gradually louder, until
finally an army of white bursts into
view. Now the added colors of red,
blue, yellow and green are seen, flying
one for each class, and appearing in
some particular attempt at an original
form. Then as the classes In order of
their rank promenade around the field,
the air is filled with the special songs
written for the occasion, and the In
creasing enthusiasm of the day is
shown by the Increasing number of
songs sung at the same time.
Field day Is the occasion not for In
tercollegiate, but for InterclasB con
tests. Still It affords plentiful excite
ment and a splendid outlet for enthu
siasm and loyafty; for class feeling at
this time runs high. The week before,
the so-called preliminaries are played
off. these consisting of the matches be
tween the Juniors and sophomores in
the seven different sports represented
In Wellesley. Only the freshmen are
denied an active part in field day, since
the sport begins in the Spring nd ends
In the Fall; so they must content them
selves by championing their "sister
class," the Juniors. The open playing
of the seniors Is reserved for field day
Itself, when they are matched against
the different winning teams of the
Junior, or sophomores. The president
nf the Athletic Association, a head of
each sport and a captain of each class
team In earh sport and a number or
coaches fram the gymnasium make up
the committee which decides on the
girls worthy of "We." The commit
tee has three criteria by which to Judge
health, skill, discipline. The train-
entry of white men Into this hinterland
Is recorded in the diaries of Peter
Skene Osden. who. on behalf of the
Hudson's Bay Company, led an expe
dition from the Columbia River south
ward up the leschutes and across present-day
Central Oregon to the Snake
River. That was nearly a century ago
Today two railroads follow the first
stages of Ogden's course and civilisa
tion haa found a flourishing foothold
upon the sage and pine-clad areas no
doubt first viewed by the pioneer, as
so much waste land.
Today not only is that territory far
from being "waste." but its attractions
in other directions than the commer
cial are fast coming .to be recognized.
For in this sunny Central Oregon the
call of the open is especially easily an
swered. I. are la Tarled.
Who would not be satisfied to live
on the banks of a trout stream, whose
varied waters. In addition to fishing
reaches without number, afford 100
miles of delightful canoeing: Its fishing
and its boating reinforced by the equal
ly alluring offerings or nair a score 01
neighboring mountain lakes, all easily
attained? And If a forest ot pine, wnn
a needle-carpeted floor as natty as any
park's, stretched south and west for
miles and miles in endless ranks of
giant copper-tinted trunks, all domd
by silvery green boughs swaying
against an opalescent sky. would you
not think such a happy place to dwell T
And always assuming that you are
blessed with the love of out-of-doors
tf the domes of a dosen everlastingly
snow-covered mountains formed he
western skyline, cool and close and in
finitely Inviting would not that. too.
lend xest to life and make you more
than ever sorry for the folk, back East
in the realms of soot and subwaysT
It would. At all events. If it wouldn t
. rsatrl to dwell uncom
plainingly in. a, city hive, and there Is
no health In you. nor u iur w"
1.V
ing rules are very much the same as
tho. o any Jn crew squad,
. ' J, d n eating between
meals.
Like Merhaafeal Dolls Are They.
With the first blow of the coach's
whistle the players seem for the mo
ment transformed into so many me
chanical dolls, whose arms and legs
can be extended promptly upon the
Jerking of a. string. Nor is the sight
of theso hundred figures of blue and
white all moving rhythmically to
gether and spread over the whole area
of the field, one to be scorned. The
exercisp last but five minutes, how
ever, then the actual games are
begun, ihe onlooker can now gravi
tate between tennis, basketball, arch
ery or hockey, championing at first
one team and then another, whichever
seems for the moment most worthy.
Hnckev is nerhans the most graceful
of the outdoor games, fqr although the
constant striking of the hockey sticks
suggests the opposition, the game
gives as a whole little Impression of a
struggle: one is pleased for the most
part by the steady sweep of blue and
white up and down the field, and
whether this side. or that should make
a goal seems to an outsider to De ae
fhioflv bv fate.
Th idea of there being given In
ririn' colleges a "letter" denoting ath
Utin honors and the obtaining of it
hAinir considered an achievement. Is
ometlmes ridiculed by outsiders. To
h sure a "W" means no auch big defl
nite honor as does the initial letter of
a man's college, which usually shows
that its owner has played in some im
nnriini intercollegiate game. Yet 1
W" is coveted by nearly every one in
Wellesley, merely because it is the
sign of the highest possible athletic
honor that the college gives, and the
possessor of a "W" can have the grati-
tying feeling that ahe has proved her-
self worthy.
the land of out-of-doors. And then
Central Oregon will not appeal.
But if you care to much pleasure
awaits you in searching out the at
tractions of Oregon's hinterland.
South, in the heart of the Cascades,
is world-famed Crater Lake, now be
come a mecca for Summer autoists
and campers. Northward, from the
lake to the Columbia, extends a belt
of concentrated campers' delight
snow mountains for the climbers, high
land berry wastes for the bear hunt
ers, lake, and rivers for the fishers,
and trails without end which wander
here and there at random, now close
to the snow, now delving in the ca
thedral depths of the fir forests of
the west flank, or winding blithely
through the open pine lands of the
eastern slopes. It is all attractive be
yond words a great public playhouse,
unsolled, fresh, unspoiled a gigantic
park, perhaps 200 miles long and 50
miles broad.
Paralleling the Cascade range, drain.
Ing its eastern slope. Is the Deschutes,
Central Oregon's great wonder stream,
than which no river In America pos
sesses more diversified cnarm. Liose
by the snow banks, in the very shadow
of the peaks, & dosen lesser streams
unite to make the Deschutes In Crane
Prairie a mountain meadow as big as
a Connecticut county. Thence the
stream winds northward some 250
miles. Indulging in all the caprices
ever evolved by the most versatile
river. For miles and miles it meanders
through pine timbered parks where
the big trees march down to the
flower-lined water's edge. Impres
sively beautiful, and offering & myriad
of alluring campsites; then there are
sedate sweeps through meadows lined
with alders such as sheltered the
swlmmin' hole of your New England
short trousers days; and finally, after
passing Bend, about midway on Its
course, the timbered and the grass
clad banks give Way to hillsides which,
Three Days of Lively
Price Cutting
The' holiday season has been a little backward and we are still in possession of the finest holiday
stock of Furniture, Novelties, etc., ever shown under any roof in Portland. We.must clos6 put.;
these goods even at a great sacrifice. So come to Second and Morrison without delay and you
will be astonished at the tremendous price-slashing that we have inaugurated. Jt is impossible
for you to make a mistake in buying any article that we offer. for sale. These goods are useful,
ornamental and will serve as remembrance of the donor for years to. come.
Henry Jenhing &
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. - i
becoming more and more sheer, grad-J
ually narrow to the grandest canyon
of the Northwest, hemmed in for an
almost unbroken 100 miles by minia
ture mountains which 'tumble down a
couple of thousand feet into the roar
ing river.
' Deschutes Water, Vary.
In its varied length the Deschutes
boasts every kind of water. There are
quiet reaches, reminiscent of the Eng
lish countryside, turbulent rapids and
white-watered cascades magnificent
falls, swirling eddies and ebony poois
it plays a complete watery repertoire
with delightful impartiality.
And the grand finale, be it remameu.
Is more than worthy 01 us inuouuu-
tion. That is where the uescouies
emerges from its canyon
the Columbia. The steep-waneu vi
ley opens wide and the brown hills
roll back'; ' the river Itself is flecked
,lth rnnlrta as it rolls its last half
mile and pours out into the great Co
lumbia; one bank is flanked with trees,
behind them nestling fields and an or
chard or-two, and behind that the in
termingled sagebrush; across tne Co
lumbia, rise the" hills of Washington,
.0- emerald, as the season hap
pens, and for all the world resembling
the plush one sees
.k., in hem and there with a
button tight sewn In a crevice of iU
own making. East and west tne Co
lumbia's valley stretches wide. The
air is thick with sunshine, the sky is
blue as a bluebird's shoulder truth, to
tell the mouth of the Deschutes Is
quite the biggest, sunniest, colorful
view one may encounter below the
snow line.
Commercial Aspect Seen.
Occasionally the Deschutes takes to
Itself a passing commercial aspect, as
where logs choke Its surface above the
mills at Bend, which are Just com
mencing to scratch the thousands of
forested acres. For the river lends a
brief transportation to the logs on
their Journey to the saws and the
markets of the Sliddle West, a .pil
grimage whose ultimate golden re
ward will be millions of dollars re
turned to the Deschutes Valley. De
pressing as statistics are apt to be it
is Impressive to note that In this one
neglected Oregon county alone, Crook
County, there are 2.024,231 acres ot
pine, which, averaged at only 14.000
board feet to the acre, and the finan
cial return at 12 a 1000 :eet, means
that some 340.070.u00 ultimately will
come from Eastern lumber yards to
this timber belt alone. Further, reck
oning that the cost in labor of manu
f...ini7 lumber Is not less than Jo
to the 1000 feet, one stumbles upon the
to we . -
fact that by the Ume
mljled 141,69,000 lil n
ave gone to
i 1 i r-rnnk county aione. uiviuo
it by six if you will, say that only
.--i-tv, nf.it will be milled In the
next decade or so, and even then do
you not face another compelling phase
of the tremendous answer to the prep
t..ir, now making for transporta
tion of labor-wanting Immigrants to
the 1 acme lumi j -
Settlers' Side Come, l"p.
All of which, introduces the other
i-ontrai Oregon, the side 01
settlers and dollars and cents, in its
way doubtless more important even
than that of places to be seen, streams
to be fished, mountains to be climbed
and all the rest of the uncommercial-
ized attractions.
In this field, too. Central Oregon pos
sesses chapters worth recording. For
it has acres fabulous acres Irriga
tion, water power, timber, cattle, sheep
and other livestock, and much of all
of them. , ,
Room for newcomers? Truly, yes!
For instance, take a map and a ruler
and Indulge In some figuring for your
self. Unless your mathematics are
hopeless, you will discover that Massa
chusetts could be dropped Into Central
Oregon and no one know the differ
ence unless "it were the Back Bay
folks, who might find the generous di
mensions of their new quarters a bit
jlrativhtr.
Room? Well, tninn 01 iuur ivis""-;
ten counties Crook, Lake, Harney and
Malheur with an average area of 872s
square miles, and an average popula
tion of .8 Inhabitant to the square
mile. Eight-tenths of one person oc
cupving each square mije of Central
Oregon. Four counties each larger
than the State of New Jersey, and each
with an average population of about
S000 Does It sound uncomfortably
crowded? Tet back East they lament
the imminent land famine!
"Come West, young man, and get el
Knur vitnm. " is as good - advice today,
offered from this side of the Continent,
as Greeley gave a half century ago
from the other." For the Pacific North
west's last frontier offers alluring op
portunity both to grow up with the
country and to help the country grow
up. To do either may be an extremely
profitable experience, and assuredly It
is a fascinating one.
yesterday Central Oregon was un
known, buried behind her guardian
mountains, isolated by her transpor
tation deficiencies. Today it 1, under
going a remarkable change, one that
is both a picturesque and a surprising
object lesson not only of how fast
Father Time moves west 01 ms
Rockies, but also of what unique con
structive strides a new untried coun
try may take under the guiaance ui
far-sighted men.
T3 in.tnnci.. There are a host of
commercial clubs and similar organi
zations In Central Oregon. Their pri
mary mission is to ueveiop 10 v 7
suade people that It wiu ne won"
while to settle and make two bushels
of grain grow where one grew before,-
or accompllsn some oiner equan ciw-
cacious and - profitable agricultural
miracle. . These organizations, Lite tneir
fellows throughout the West, devote
more attention to potatoes than to pub
licity. Incidentally the four counties
the most sparsely populated in the
Northwest, remember set a . mighty
precedent last Summer when each con
tributed 1000 real dollars for agricul
tural development. Then the railroad
matched their gifts, and as a result the
Oregon Agricultural College Installed
and conducted demonstration farms
which showed newcomers what could
be accomplished with the lands, and old
timers what should be accomplished,
an equally vital matters in a territory
where "farming from horseback" had
long been the order of the day.
Another Concern, Hog and Cow
That was something of an example.
But it was preceded by another, per
haps less far-reaching but Just as es
sentially Important. This other enter
prise concerned hogs and cows. It was
fathered by a. Bend bank and blazed
another almost untried trail In pioneer
development of an agricultural com
munity. . .
C. & Hudson was tne Banner wuu
turned farmer. Ere tnis oiners
followed in his path. He saw surround
ing him in Central Oregon excellent
opportunities to raise hogs and cows
with profit. He likewise saw few hogs
and fewer cows, and what there were
of no high order of excellence. Third
ly he realized to tne iuii wnai. vc. ,
banker and every citizen knows, that
.n.n.r!iv nn the farm is the founda
tion for prosperity in the store, the
railroad and the bank.
So the farmer banker sent to the
well-stocked Middle West for carloads
of hogs and cows, and these he sold at
cost to farmers, and when the farmers
were not able to pay cash his bank
carried them on long-time notes. Only
no one farmer was allowed more than
a limited number of hogs or cows, the
great object being not to enlarge the
holdings of already affluent farmers,
but to aid the little fellows to branch
intn a field of proven profit and
one wherein the divided risk of di
versified farm resources ngures promi
nently. The results have been gr ati
lyjngin some cases truly remarkable
so excellent, indeed, tnat oiner car
loads of four-footed immigrants u
been brought to Central Oregon.
A compelling cry for Central Ore
gon, so far as a magnet for immigrants
has been concerned, is that of free
lands for Homesteaders, and in this
field the happenings of the last two
years have been specially notable.
Bend is at the terminal of the Cen
tral Oregon railroads, about In the
center of the Deschutes Valley, in the
westerly portion of Central Oregon.
Burns Is in Harney County, in South-
. r-ntmi Orecron. some ' 140
miles- from Bend. Four years ago the
enormous Intervening territory was
exclusively occupied by Jackrabbits,
attia and "fuzz tails." wander
ing over fenceless plains whose bunch
grass and sagebrush were innocent of
other inducement to productivity than
the scant 12 to 18 inches of rainfall
annually bequeathed them by nature.
Todav hundreds of thousands of acres
of that lana navo uen
hnn...t.,fipr4f there are miles
fences, scores of homes, hundreds of
cultivated fields, ana aireaoy a.
ful of schools.
r . mnrt between Bend and Burns,
over which is imported from the rail
th exeat bulk of all merchandise
consumed by a county of 9933 square
miles twice as large as Connecticut-
there operates an automoDiie trucn
11 ..u tn hn the longest gasoline-
driven freight service in the United
sti' an every day the nomesteaaera,
! n.rhiiM' 100 miles from town.
and even further from a railroad, rub
shoulders with civilization at least
n it irasoline as the modern
"prairie schooners" rumble past.
Story of Town Interesting.
tk. ntnrv of the towns is interest
ing too For instance. Bend is some
thing of an example of a particularly
healthy municipal mushroom. A couple
of years ago the nearest that a loco
motive ventured was onaumu. u
100 miles distant, and over the inter
vening road all the freight and passen
gers Jolted. The Summer dust, the
Winter mud and the year-around rocks
of the old Shanlko route are now mat
ters of remote and unmourned history,
for that was close to S6 months ago,
which is equivalent to half as many
years back in the mature East, so far
as growth and change is concerned.
The other-day. for example, a 5.000
municipal sewer system was completed
In Bend. Brick and stone buildings
have risen, there are churches with
stained glass windows, homes with
One Year
The Home
rr u ninnnix and hardwood floors.
public library, electricity. tennis
courts, in short, the necessities and the
luxuries of near-metropolitan exist
ence. In other words, in the midst of
a region that a decade ago was unpop
ulated, has come into being a commu
nity rich In the blessings and accom
plishments of dynamic American life,
typical enough of a score of similar far
Western developments.
Be that a. It may. In a few years
Sons!
HOW LATE DR. PLUMMER
AIDED UNION IS TOLD
Bev. C. E. Cline in Funeral Address Gives Narrative of Events of Saving
of Arms in Arsenal at St. Louis in 1861.
BY REV. C. E. CLINE. I
Address Read at the Funeral Services or
Dr. O. Jr. . nummer.
HEN the Civil War came In 1861
the United States Government
had had an arsenal in the south
ern part of St. Louis, on the Mississippi
River. . It contained about 30,000 Har
per's Ferry muskets, 1000 rifles, some
cannon of little value and a large
amount of ammunition and other army
stores. It was the policy of the se
ceding states to seize the arsenals
everywhere, with all their contents.
The struggle, therefore, for the arsenal
at St Louis began early. Each side
saw that whoever held the arsenal
would hold the city, and whoever neia
the city would hold Missouri. Not only
so, but the United States Subtreasury
was in St. Louis and contained $400,000
in gold, a . big amount of money at
that time.
The city was tossed and torn with
fear and doubt. That the disloyal
were making a mighty effort to get
control of the arsenal, custom-house,
postoffice and subtreasury was plain.
After the firing on Fort Sumpter April
12, 1861, the Btruggle In this direction
was Intensified. The secessionists,
embrazened by the tall of Fort Sump
ter, openly declared:
"Come what may, we'll take the
arsenal!"
The other side said:
"We'll defend it."
Captain Nathaniel Lyon, in com
mand of the arsenal without adequate
force for Its defense, was cool and
clear-headed. He saw Intuitively the
dangers by which he and his little
command were beset. April 16 he sent
a messenger to Governor Dick Tates,
of Illinois, that it might be a good
plan for him to make a requisition on
the arsenal for a big supply of arms
to equip troops then gathering in
Springfield under Mr. Lincoln's first
call for 75,000 three months' volun
teers. Governor Yates (God bless his
n.mnrvl miicker than a flash caught
on and made the requisition without
waiting for the red-tape formalities ot
the War Department at Washington
authorizing the same.
Getting the arms out of the arsenal
was the next problem, a problem both
difficult and dangerous. Secession
spies were swarming about the arsenal
with a battery planted by them on the
hin ahove it. As the arsenal could
not be defended by the force i it no
time was to be lost in getting tne
guns, ammunition and other stores
Governor Yates summoned to his
aid a man named Stokes, who had been
a captain in the Regular Army. Stokes
was the right man' in the right place.
To accomplish his purpose Stokes
dropped down to Alton, 25 miles on
the river above St. Louis, where he
first investigated the telegraph op
erator, through whose hands messages
between Stokes and Governor Yate
must pass. In putting, some decoy
secession question to the young op
erator he (Stokes) came near being
ejected from the office. The young
fellow would not stand for it. After
satisfying himself that the operator
was all right Stokes proceeded o char
ter a big river steamer lying at the
dock known as The City ot Alton, In
structing the captain to wait with
steam up for a visit from the tele
graph operator of the place. He then
arranged with the latter to deliver in
person auch word as he might trans
mit from the arsenal at St. Louis to
Captain Mitchell. v
In plain clothes Stokes then dropped
down to the arsenal 25 miles below,
which he found surrounded with a per
fect Jam of sullen, resolute secession
ists. For some time ne was uiii i
get through the throng: but by good
nature and patience he succeeded in
elbowing his way through, handing
Captain Lyon a confidential note. from
Governor Yates. He then wired the
young operator at Alton to have the
boat proceed silently down to the
asenal by midnight. This was done,
and the big steamer pushed her nose
into the bank at the arsenal at 11
P Every available man in and about
the arsenal, aiding the boat's crew,
quickly began moving the boxes of
musketSi sendins first some old Mex
Ahead of Competitors
of Good Furniture
Corner Second and Morrison
more the final paragraphs of Central
Oregon's opening chapter will have
been written, at least as far as the
word "frontier" can be included. And
in the meantime, those who come West
for homes by way of the railroads and
by way of Panama, and those who
come merely for sights-to-be-seen, will
do well to step somewhat from the
beaten paths and glimpse the possi- .
bilitles and the pleasures of Oregon',
hinterland.
ican War flint-locks up the bank, as
If things were being moved that way.
These worthless old uns were seized
by the secessionists, who made the air
ring with their shouts. A few sus
picious characters, however, remained,
watching the steamer at the bank.
These Captain Lyon arrested and
locked up.
In an Incredibly short time 20,000 ..
muskets, 500, new carbines, 100,000
musket cartridges, with a vast amount ,
of army equipment were on board the : .
steamer. When they attempted to
push off her prow was fast in the mud..
"Move the boxes aft," said the cap- '
tain of the steamer. This was done .
and she floated out on deep water.
"Which way?" called the captain.
"Up the river to Alton," said Stokes. , ,,(
"What if the rebel battery on the .
shore fires on -us?"
"Get away if you can, and if you y-.
can't escape run her out to the deepest ,..
place and sink her!"
Til do it," said Mitchell, "to a dot.
If I go down with her."
The big steamer plowed through the
water, past the rebel battery, with ,
everybody seemingly sound asleep on
shore. At 5 o'clock In the morning the
steamer reached Alton dock, where
Stokes was met by the young tele
graph operator, the two running to the
market-house, where the fire bell was
rung ferociously, causing the people to
pour out by hundreds, some of them
half dressed, to see what was up.
"There Is no fire," said Stokes, "but
at the landing is that steamboat you
all know, loaded with arms we are
getting from the arsenal at St. Loum
to Springfield, and we are afraid the
secessionists from St. Louis will follow
and be on us before we get her un-
loaded. We want every one of you to
help us."
With a shout, men, women, and even
the children, laid hold with a will, the
enthusiasm running higher and higher,
and by 1 o'clock two brief hours
that immense steamer load of arms and ';
war material was safely locked in the
cars of the Chicago & Alton Railroad.
The bell rang, the Whistle sounded, the
engine coughed and tugged up the
steep grade out of Alton, and the train '
was off for Springfield.
In the meantime the wires had been -kept
hot all the night by the operator
in Alton, receiving from the arsenal
and transmitting to Springfield infor
mation of events as they transpired.
Time works wonderful changes. It ""
was in this same Alton where Lovejoy.
fighting against human slavery and
for the freedom of the press, poured
out his blood, and on the very same
spot where the eager citizens that
morning with a cheer and shout hur- ,
ried forward the arms to be used in
abolishing slavery in the awful conflict
into which we were rapidly drifting.
And out of that lot of arms my regi
ment, the first that went from Illinois,
was speedily equipped.
That night's work decided the destiny
of the Government arsenal, the City of
St Louis and the State of Missouri, and
one of the men whose intelligent and -capabilities
contributed to that Na
tional result was the young telegraph
operator at Alton O. P. S. Plummer.
Two days after the events just de
scribed, the Seventh Illinois Volunteer ;
Infantry, to which I belonged, dropped v
down from Springfield, going into camp
at Alton, where we were visited by Mr.
Plummer, an aristocratic, dressy-looking
fellow, with a characteristic grin '
on his face, as he shook hands with us
all around. The regiment gave three '
rousing cheers to the operator who
helped to secure the arms we carried. "'
and which were later used at Fort
Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh and
Vicksburg. ,,''
' On account of his loyalty and skill,
Mr. Plummer was transferred to Cairo,
111., at the juncture of e Mississippi
and Ohio rivers, and the end of the
Illinois Central Railroad, at the time
the most important military point of
operations in the West. From this .'.
point he transmitted reports of the en-
gagements alluded to above, and down
the river. These historic facts coil- :
cerning our late honored citizen, Dr.
O. P. S. Plummer, Hon. Levi W. Myers,
my old friend, who was associated with r
Mr Plummer at Cairo, but now resld- .
Ins in Portland, can confirm. ... ?
.