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About Oregon spectator. (Oregon City, O.T. [i.e. Or.]) 1846-1855 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1846)
tr " 4 ; For tho Oregon Bpectalor. TUB LAND' OF TUB PURITANS. When tho Puritans landed on Plymouth Ilnak. thev found tho country in which thev wcro toaettlo, a vast wilderness, inhabited by savages and wild beasts. All around them looked dark, gloomy and forbidding. The tall pino and the sturdy oak seemed to defy tho tillora.toil. Tho dense forcstscullcd forth the courago of the most courageous among thorn, to follow fur on the hunter winding path, in these frightful alxxleH nf Navngo triboit. Un-r like the country they had left they saw no neat cottage, occupied by the industrious furincr and his tidy housewife no groups of lightfootcd childhood, skipping their way along to the villugo school no church going bell salutctUlheir curs on a nauuath rnorn no populous city, filled with tho merchandise of otlior lands no gallant ship, with its proud sprcud Nails, steered its couso for their deep wutered barters no well fitted boat, with its steam moving wheels, ventured up their lonely rivers no canal bout urged her way through tho mountains no Congress held its anuuul Mission at Washington. No! none of these scenes cheered them in their newly udoptcd homo ; ull was dreary, cltfll ilig and silent as tho house of death, save when aroused by the hideous savage yell, or the howling of wild beasts. lint now how changed tho scene ! Tho tall pine and sturdy oak has fallen by tho woodman's axe the long neglected ficldsiurc well cultivu. ted tho robust farmer rises with the lark, and enters upon his well repaid toil the busy housewife, with songs of gladness, plies her evening care and interesting groups of nnut, tidy children meet you every mile you piist, and with well made hows and cheerful smiles, greet you with ' (Jood morning, sir.' Kach Sabbath their ears ore delighted with the chiming of bells, loudly calling them to the worship of thu new world's (Jcx;. Travel which way you will, you may find populous cities, filled with busy multitudes engaged in almost every variety of business. The harbors are crowded with ships, laden with costly merchandise, and every naviga ble stream seems alive with flat boats, sloops, schooners, steamboats, and not unfrcqucnlly the heavy laden ship ventures its precious cargo upon them, and, an if not satisfied with this, canal boats, stages and rail cars, in the speed of their fight, must tumblo rocks out of their path, and force their way through the heart of lofty mountains, and woe and destruction to whatever stands in their way. Now tho lofty domes of the now world's far famed capital raise their towering heads in honor of the immortal Washington, and there the honorable body annually meet who have committed to them the government of a mighty nation. .. . Arc these things soT' Is it possible that thin land, whicJ)Jut yesterday, wasasolita ry wilderness, is to day, as the garde; of the Lord ? Yesterday, a thorny waste ; to day, budding and blossoming as the rose ; yesterday, dcsolato without an inhabitant; to-day , the favored peoples' of the Lord. How has a nation been born at once ! Oh, thou botd spirit of Columbus, which has ever watched with anxious care, the budding, blossoming, ripening glory of the new world, tell us by what means this mighty change has been wrought! And you, ye pilgrim fathers, tell me how you thus secured tho blessing of Heaven upon your posterity ! Was it by a careless forgetfulncss of its laws? or, did you tho first Sabbath spent on shore, erect an altar and consecrate your selves, your children and new homes to the God of heaven, oven down to tho latest gen eration of your postority? How did you command your children after you ? was it by allowing them to grow up in idleness and ignoranco around you ? or, did you consider tho education of your children second in im portance only to tho eternal salvation of their souls? Did you leave them to stroll about upon tho holy Sabbath ? or, did you by pro .cept and cxamplo, teach them to spend tho day in tho holy dutios of the sanctuary ? And thou, mild, pacific, friendly Pcnn, ,toll mo, was there any thine under the bic ,clro tree of Kensington, or in the nature of (the savages, that influenced them to keep sa- .crod the oathless treaty seventy long years ? .or, did the Great Spirit who witnessed the scone and heard thy prayers, give thee peace in all thy borders ? v And you, ye bold, generous, noble hearted, patrlotio philanthropists, with the immortal Washington, the worthily revered and hoo- .ored lather of his country at your head, tell Oregon Spectator. " Westward tho Htar of Empire take ha way." Vol. I. Oregon City, (Oregon Ter.) TJrarrfay, Octotor 15, 1846. Wo, 1?, me, from whence ye derived your wisdom, courage, fortitude, discretion and deep pene tration, which enabled you to meet the dan gers of a long and bloody war with a proud tyrant, and supported you under the pain and oft repeated wrongs of the mother coun try lirected you at what point to meet tho enemy, and finally brought you ofT triumph ant conquerors? was it inherited by your ancestors, or, did you rcceivo it from the God of battles, to whom your worthy gene ral always prayed, and in whom he trusted with implicit confidence ? Discoverers, pil grinis, fathers, friends, heroes, statesmen, an swer, all of you, answer my anxious inqui ries for I too dwell in a waste wilderness, surrounded bysavago tribes. Tell me, how yo became so great, so exalted, so happy a nation in so short a time. Tell me, in what soil 1 must plant the seeds of peace, that they may take deep root, and that its roots may extend from the Pacific on tho west, to your land of peace on the east, and from the frozen north to tho extreme south, and grow up until its top shall reach tho very heavens, and its branches cast a goodly a pleasant shade over the entire land. A. For the Oregon Spectator. THE OUIASKUITUS. As this formidable animal is undoubtedly loose, there is no knowing the amount of mis chief he may occasion whilst running at large and disturbing tho cognitions of tnose quiet people who know nothing about him. Tho story goes thus : A couple of Yankees, traveling south, run short of funds : they resolved themselves into a committee of Ways and means for the purpose of effecting a raise. It was at length agreed that one of them was to personate a raro beast, for which they invented the name of the Guiaskuitus, whilst the other was to act as showman tell of his capture, quali tics, cVc. Accordingly, at the next village their bills wcro put up, stating that there would bo a rare and interesting species of animated nature exhibited to the people of that town and vicinity that evening, at 8 o'clock ; admittance U5 cents children and servants half price as the worthies were determined to tako advantage of the excite ment that existed about shows in that coun try at that time. So accordingly, at the ap (minted time, there was a itsgular rush for admittance, where Jonathan, tho showman, gravely received the quarters and dimes, and politely bowed the visitors into a room, across which was stretched a stout rope with a cur tain that did not quite reach the ground, be himTwhich was placed Jonathan, the Guias kuitus, with those big feet moving and flap ping about, that to a lest excited audience, would have Jooked more like tho feet and hands of a live Yankee dressed in coonskins. At length, the time for the commencement of tho performance had arrived, and Jona than, tho showman, having stowed away a goodly quantity of the shining spoil into tho big pockets of his pepper and salt coat. deliberately stepped up for the purpose of opening wo periormance. Ladies and gentlemen the Guiaskuitus is not only remarkable for his ferocious ap pearance, but for the terrible tones! of his voice, with which he makes his native wilds resound, when about to soizo upon and carry off his unsuspecting prey. He was captur ed upon the plains or the Penobscott, where ho was found roving over the plains of the circumjacent hjlls of the Pasaamaquody ; therefore, ladies and gentlemen, before rais ing the curtain, I will stir him up a little with this sharp stiok, to give you a specimen of his voice. Jonathan disappeared the beast gave a Tew premonitory grunts, and then waxing in rage, roared and rattled his his ohain like mad. When curiosity and excitement was wrought up to the very highest pitch, Jonathan leaned out from be. hind the ourtain, with terror in Ma leoka and trembling in every limbj and exclaimed, ' Ladies and gentlemen, save yourselves, tho Guiaskuitus is loose.' Pell-mell, hurly burly, fainting and screaming, the terrified spectators' ruhed out, whilst Jonathan and the Guiaskuitus retired the back way, and for aught we know, are now enjoying tho rewards of their adventure, on the circum jacent hills of the Passamaquody. Aw Ox DaivEK. For the Oregon Spectator. Ma. Editor Would it not be wisdom in this community to institute an inquiry at as early a period as practicable, by what means 'this community may be relieved, from their present situation, growing out of our com mercial relations. Tome this subject is pe culiarly interesting and embarrassing, from my oarly communications to my friends in tho States, written somo thrco years since, in which the abandant supplies of goods, their cheapness, &c. together with the then high prices for the productions of the soil, labor, kc, were then correctly set forth, and which may have been one consideration to induce them to emigrate hither: but who would then have supposed that in the rapid march of settlement in this country since that time, not one step should be made to keep pace with it in our mercantile affairs ; and that the fourth and fifth great emigra ting party would find not as many goods at this day in tho stores of our merchants, as there were in the fall of 1843, and that it is now believed by persons having a right to know, that there are not now sufficient mate rials for shirting in store,; to make a shirt apiece for each citizen, or to furnish the male inhabitants one leg of a pair of panta loons each, and that these articles 'which our pressings necessities demand, havo in anise quencc of their scarcity, advanced in value so as to place them beyond the reach of our indigent farmers whose nakedness is more and more apparent, and under the present reduced prices of labor and tho productions of the soil, growing out of the controlling influence of those who have the trade of this country locked up, must produce embarrass ments intolerable and not long to be borne without a change. Its prevailing influence is felt in every portion of this valley, and with none so much as the farmer who must supply his wants from his wheat field : but how can ho'dothis when the persons having chargo of tho H. B. Company's store at Vancouver can only afford him 60 cents in merchandise per imperial bushel, for his grain delivered in their mills or granaries on the river, and sells him in exohango for. this article, or for cash if be has nq wheat, naUt, for example, at from 20 to 25 cents per pound, and iron for his plows, when they have it, at12$ cents per pound, and window S'ass, 8 by itf, at) IP cents per pano: and ere is no one able to Bay to what extent the productions of tho soil may be reduced, or the prices of these articles of trade increas ed under the paralizing influence of this mo nopolising system, unless this community take some speedy measure to counteract its operations by communicating these -facts to our mercantile community on our Atlantic sealioard ; and let them know that we are without ships to carry our produce to market, and that wheat will not command cash here at any-price, and that it is sold at Oregon City and Vancouver for dry goods, and for prices fixed by tho merchants and regulated in value at each place according to the price thiav reftMetivelvTnlaca unon their aoods. and that under the present system of trade no one expects or asks oredit; ami gooas are pur chased for cash or wheat, at prices thus reg ulated. , Let these who are devoted to the prosperity and interests of Oregon, know that of r abundant harvests and our redun dancy of grain ia deceptive In value, and is reallv of Tittle use to its erowers without soanatalng to regulate our iateroourse with its purchasers, and that our saeawy and wheat is absolutelywajjffVlMMt paid out lor raer. fihandise'at taapfeeeat MUav Do this oy petition, or ' by jaeif some Sviadividual among our cerittUaiay to represent our situ, ation ; or both woild probably be the the bettpUn nd we'shell hare relief pertakly before the Bext three years, and' without it, we shall wobably grow wm instead of bet ter as the passage of the Land Bill will pro bably ma increase cwr sbpulatlea.. -I close this .by e-sequeet that seme individual come forward ia defence of our riffhtf , as designing persipis impute my oosjunuance to motives of penes! aggrandizerneajt, Instead of the general intents of the eoaatry. M. M. McCAKVE. Beautiful AtLaooir Night Ueeed the vonnff rose, and it bent soMy to sleea.? An gel stars, shrined in pare,, dew-drops, buag upon its blushing bosom, sad watched Its sweet slumbers. 'Mornina easac with her dancing breezes, and they watap seed to the oung rose, ana 11 iwose jvymmimm iwwwi jithtlv it danced to and fro ia aMffee levefi- ness of health and youthful intkmtm.- ' Then came the ardent sua-godaaiapaH from thA P.at. and ha smote the voaasr seas with his golden shaft, and it fainted. De serted and almost heart-broken, it drooped to the dust in its loneliness and despair. Now. the eentle breezewho had beam oamtvtliiiur nvAi-th f nilMlirf iha llaht bark, sweeping over hill and dale by the neat cottage and the still brook tunriag the old mill, fanning the fevered brow of disease, and tossing tne curl oi innocent enuunuw came trioDin? alone: on her errands of raer- cy and lovo ; and when she saw the young rose, she hastened to kiss it, and fondly bath ed its forehead in cool, refreshing showers, and the young rose revived looked up and mitt. and flutter out its ruddv arms' aa if in gratitude to embrace the kind breeae;1 bat i ei . tA '- she mirnea qmcxiy awy on guuniuiw task was performed; yet not without re. ward, for she soon perceived that a aeueieas frsjrrmnce had been mured uvea her wisjaa by tho grateful rose; and the Mad sraaaa- wasglad in nor heart,, ana went away .stag ing through the trees. ' Thus true charitv. like the breeat wakh gathers fragrance from the hwaUeet lower it refreslieiflcooibk)usly reaps a reward is the periormance oi m ontcee oi ansasaessi and love, which steals through the heart Ilka a rich perfume 'to bless and to cheer. Exr.T.ANn's Tkstimony or AllXllC'A. We coDV the following from the London Christian Examiner: The pilgrim spirit has not fled. America is now strong in moral power, and as long as ahA breathes tho'soirit of the rsliaiba of thn pilgrims, we hope well, notenly for the Uai. ted States, but lor Uhnetenoom ana tse world. In the srreat effort to compass and subjugate the world to the cross, she will press into every field of action. Her eagle stands with unfolded pinions, reaay taxe hr flioht to the ends of the earth, and in her upward, onward passage, to scatter blessings ncher and more precious tnan arops irosaue wings of the morning. Nay those pinions never be folded, till the whole wprld, renova ted and purified, liWl repose beneath the shadow of eternal love. . Positive and Cokpakative. Joe Mil ler, the younger, shows his grammatical knowledge in the following specimens : 1. An attempt to poison yourselr is a 'trash" act but a slice of fried bacon is " a re. 2. A showery day is "damp" but there fusal of a young lady to marry yoa is "a damper" ? A sovereign short ia weight is "light" but a boat for the conveyance of goods is "a lighter." 4. What you attach to a window is a " blind" but a tashof Ikht. ning in your eyes is "a bUnier." 5. Priape Albert is called a fine" roan but oae who refines metal Is" a finer. 0. A stiff old lady is " prim" but a child's spsWng-boek Is m primer." 7. A cracked; bead is a "aoreM eflair but a aky-lark is " a Merer." ' 8. A negro is a black"-4mt one wao.oieeae boots is "a Meer. , A IsoWkfci. ' but a detached raesf of iaIVw oou)i(ur. The Ibon .Busiaaes or The produce of lroa?aVfts from the pig, for the year l4f,1sl citv. will be aa aveaaaeor'r week. About one-fMa of J form of nails. ' -si?- cr '' PiwaasaaaW - ..in t.-a -jjti Ysarssssi wna "HE jfcl meaawaaaVaaa. -rA 9PI v - Jl