rovvrvi r all dulios in the transit or goods from one
lieprttiiont to another, wJiich duties being prejudicial
to rr:( i.tu and restrictive ot the exchange of imports
ior i xj-urls, rvere abolished on the 31st of March
last.
OREGON FREE PRESS
Geo. L. Currt, Editor and Proprietor.
OKEtiON CITY, SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 1848.
Cold! gold ! gold! gold !
ilnyht and yellow, hard and cold,
toiler), graven, hammered, rolled;
Heavy to get, and light to hold;
Hoarded, bartered, bought and sold;
.Stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled;
Spurned by the young, but hugged by the old;
'io the very verge of the church-yard mould;
Vricc of many a crime untold;
Gold! gold! gold! gold 1
i.ood or bad, a thousand fold.
Truly it is gold, gold, gold and for the last ten
das mis same yellow substance has been crazing our
whole community. The desire to get rich suddenly,
without undergoing the accustomed ronline of labor
cr business, is now being manifested throughout the
country br leaving employment of every kind the
plow literally in the furrow forsaking 'kith and kin'
and rushing to California to dig in 'the bowels of the
harmless earth' for gold. The chances are deemed too
magnificent to be hazarded by the least delay.
YS hat the deuce are to become of such poor fellows
as cursclf, who, unfortunately, belong to the 'Can't get
away Club,' it is impossible to determine. That wc
vrant as much of the 'filthy lucre' as we can conve
niently scrape together, we are free to confess, and
if we could but get even a little of it, nowadays, it
ivould astonish us marvelously. Here ue are up to
ur eyes in type pi and matter promiscuously jum
bled together, about us all because the worthy young
gentleman who has been printing our paper (Mr. Craw
ford) has, and very properly loo, gone to try his luck
wild the rest of the gold seekers.
That good may come of all tiiis we most heartily
wish, yet we have misgivings as to the end, for our
friends who have gone and are going, and for our
rountry. It will take Oregon a long time, we fear,
to recover from the baneful effects of this gold ma
nia. Some of the good fellows who are leaving
ns, may never live to return disease, and want,
have fatal power in such places, as the mines of
California are likely to become. However let us
hope for the best.
Marine. The brigHenry,Capt.Kilborn,leaves Port
land during the coming week, for California, loaded
with flour, salmon and passengers.
There is a flying rumor of the arrival of a ves
sel in the river we give it as report.
"Free Press. "Notwithstanding the many incon
veniencies we labor under, inconsequence of having
no printer, we shall endeavor to continue to pub
lish, as usual and with a little indulgence at first,
we shall be as regular in appearing, as heretofore.
The Immigration. From our information we judge
that the 1st company of immigrants haio crossed
the Cascades and are now at Foster's, on the Clack
amas perhaps this side or there.
CATIIOL1C PRIESTS-ARMS AND AMMUNITION.
Mr. Editor: It is a matter of surprise, how the pro
fessional Editor of the "Oregon Spectator" for the 7th
inst. should have overlooked the explanation, given
m your paper of the 26th ull. , regarding the purpo
ses for which a certain quantity of arms and ammu
nition have been sent, by the priests, to the Cas
cades. This, unaccoutable, oversight of the Editor
of the "Oregon Spectator" obliges me here to re
peat these reasons, which, if attentively considered,
will prove satisfactory and silence all complaint.
The Missions of the Catholic Priests arc established
among six different tribes the Flathcads, the Kalis
ispels, the Cocurs d' Aleines, the Okanagans, those
of Colville and those of New Caledonia. All of whom
live so far remote from the country inhabited by
the hostile Indians, that arms, provisions, etc., i i
order to be conveyed to the country of the for
mer, does not pass through, nor even touch upon,
the country of the latter: and thus all danger of
arms or provisions, falling into the hands of the host in;
Indians, was completely precluded. It has always
been the custom of the Missionaries, to bring up
an annual supply of arms and ammunition to their
Indians, since their first establishment among tbnti
in 1841, to the present; nor did the supply of this
year exceed that of former years: and when too jou
take into consideration the number of persons, whitr?,
half-breeds and indians, among whom this ammuni
tion was to be distributed, (whenever phrmissiiv
should be granted) the quantity shall appear rery
trifling and quite inconsiderable.
The purposes of supplying these six tribes of Indian
with ammunition are that by shootinir down game
they may supply the Missions and themselves wit
the means of subsistance, and that they also may de
fend themselves against other hostile tribes. Much
also of this ammunition was to be distributed among
the Whites as part payment of theier wages; aud a
large portion of it was destined for New Caledonia,
situated in the British possessions, and containing, in
this ono Mission alone, a population of upwards of
5000 natives, who depend chiefly on the labors of
the chase for their subsistance. Subtracting than the
quantity of ammunition to be forwarded to New
Caledonia, with that destined for the service of the "
whites and half-breeds and dividing the remainder
among the five other Missions at the Rocky Moun
tains, you may perceive that the portion allotted to
each Mission is very inconsiderable, and should not
excite unjust suspicions against tho Priests. Those
six tribes of Indians have always been, and still are,
most friendly to the whiles they disapproved of the
massacre at VVaiilatpu, and are ready to exert their
endeavors to avenge the murder, if properly invited
to do so. To continue, therefore, to supply the am
munition, as usual, will maintain them in a friend
ly dispositon, whilst to withdraw, or to postpone,
this heretofore regular provision of ammunition
may raise suspicions against the whites, and will
certainly deprive many of those miserable beings
of their only .means of subsistance.