, 1856-07-18

= were mistaken. 1t was not there. Thel
e Illinois, and afterwards Wisconsin and
= Iowa became the West, and thousands emf
f grated to these countries, believing thai
they had found the long sought for ia,
l IIet. But they, like their predecessors
= were doomed to disappointment-thc West
: was not there. But away over the Rocky
, mountains, on the shores Of the Pacific
1000 miles beyond where the farthest o.
, the seGrchers for the West had gone, there
it was and no mistake.
Believing this doctrine, gentlemen, We
= gathered up what little Of our effects would
rbear transportation, and with our wives
: and little ones, we undertook the long, te.
: douS, and dangerous journey and kind
providence guided US safely to ihis goodly
land. And, gentlemen, we have found
what so many before us sought for and
never found-we have found the Wesi, the
far West. The point where emigration, il
! emigration there should be from this land,
must turn the other way.
And goodly heritage We have found
not exactly perhaps what had been asso-
ciatCd in the minds of the searcherS after
the west-a paradise-for we have briers
and thOrns and ncttIes without number.
But, as ! said, We have n goodly heritage.
For sqlubTay of olimqtc ours is not cxceled,
and doubt whether it is equaled by any
country on the globe. Health, that great
est Of all earthly blessings, comes waited
TO us in every bfeezc. OF this the very
few who are ever sick among us bears tes.
timony. Physicians here find no employ
ment, and our dwellings are strangers to a
medicine chest or q cupboard filed with
pill-boxcs and viuls Of medicine Many Of
my hearers, probably, can bear testimony
that they have not seen Il pill box nor a
vial of medicine since they have been in the
Territory.
To 'salpbrily of climate we have pic
tHreSqe and beautiful scenery No country
can be more so. Our valleys, adorned with
perennial verdure, are surrounded with ma
jestc mountains, whose lofty peaks, tower
ing high above the clouds, arc covered with
eternal snow. Our numerous water falls ;
our brooks and rivers rushing from the
mountain sides, flow in a thousand chan
nels through our wales, alrording the cool
est and purcst drink for man and beast !;
our magnificent Sound, stretching more
than hundred miles into the main land,
with its numerous islands and iUlets our
gigantic forests of fir and cedar, whose
tops almost reach the clouds, and whose
huge trunks may challenge comparison with
the Leviathan, all combine TO make our
country picturesque and beautiful.
/ And to beauty we may add fertility.
Our lands arc productive. The labor of
the husbandman is repaid with golden har-
vests. Our soil yields abundance Of susie
nance for man and benst, with but little
comparative labor. While in the Atlantic
States it requires months of toll to provide
food for the cattle during long and cold
winter, our nocks and herds live, thrive and
multiply, without scarcely a thought or an
effort on the part of the husbandman.
Surely we may say, "Qur lines have fallen
to us in pleasant places, God has given us
a goodly heritage
Having been planted in this goodly land,
we had commenced laying the broad fom-
daiion for many generations Farms had
been opened aud under successful cultiva-
ton; dwellings had been built, school
houses and churches erected, grist and saw
mills were in operation, commerce had be-
gun to show its blessings on our shores !;
the sun OF prosperity shone upon us, and
providence and nature seemed to smile upon
us. The wilderness had already began to
Z" bud and blossom as the rose" But sud-
denly the dark cloud Of war rolled up in
blackening volumes to obscure our sky and
check our prosperity. Bands Of savages,
with whom We had ever been on the most
friendly terms, lived among MS, These
savages conspired our destruction. Not for
any particular hatred they bore towards
us, or to avenge any real or imaginary
wrongs they might have received at our
hands. Never had the aboriginese of any
portion of these United States less cause
Of complaint Of the encrorchments Of the
: white man. True we had settled upon
their lands, but it had been with their
fully expressed appreciation. They not
only consented to our settlement, but ex-
pressed strong desise that we should do
SO. The land, as they always said, was of
no value to them. They would not culti-
VaJe u, unu INC rcueTdl OO'cihhVuS Pio-
posed to give them a valuable considera-
tiOn.
1t was robbery and plumber which in
spred these savages to take our lives.
While VIC pursued our avocations in prom
ised security, and retired at night to seek
repose upon our pillows, with our loved
ones sleeping around us, unconscious OF
danger, the knife of the savage had been
drawn and was to have been sheathcd in
our hearts blood. In single night every
family among US was to have been murder
cd, and those worldly comforts kind
Providence has permitted us to gather
around US, were to be divided among the
savage horde. And so far had this CON
spracy extended, so near to its consumma-
ton, that already it had been determined