, 1862-01-03

odds in men and circumstances-Ghe pres
ent indications are that the Confederate ar
my have been in sufficient engagements to
convince them that their cause is a hopeless
one, that their attempt to destroy the glo-
rious fabric which our fathers reared and
which it is their duty to strengthen and
perpetuate, can never be successful. We
may confidently hope that grim-visaged
war will smooth his wrinkled front" and
that ere the close of the year upon which
we have just entered, peace and prosperity
may again abound in our country.
Sail on, oh Union, strong and great.
And thou sail on, oh Ship of State
Our hopes, our fears, our prayers, our tears
Are all with thee--are all with thee.
We know what workmen wrought thy keel,
What anvils forged thy ribs OF steel
What hammers rang, what pulses beat,
In what furnace and what heat,
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope.
Sail on, oh Union, strong and great,
And thou sail on, oh Ship of State.
The close of the old year has left us its
usual examples and experiences its lessons
and suggestions. 1t has dealt kindly with
some; harshly with others. Some have
inherited all the good things which its
reign had in most prolific store, and have
basked in The sunshine of prosperity. 9th
ters have been coldly treated the hard lot
of adversely has fallen upon them and fol-
lowed them through the year. Joy and
gladness have attended some, like guardian
angels, shedding over their lives a halo of
fpure delight, and giving promise of happy
years in the future. With others, homes
have been desOlated, the old hearthstone
corner vacated husbands and sons have
fallen in battle, and the wife and mother
have been brought to mourn over the loss
of cherished ones
Life is a sea, as fathomless,
As wide, as terrible, and yet sometimes
As calm and beautiful The light of heaven
Smiles on it, and It's deeked with every hue
Ofglory and ofjoy. Anon, dark clouds
Arise, cOntending winds of fate 90 FORTH
And Hope sits weeping DER general wreck.
And so the old year comes and goes. 1t
comes in bright promises, and goes out
without leaving us the anticipated fruition.
In the buOyancy of our hope, we bid the
old year grateful farewell, and commence
turning the pages of the book which the
new year gradually unfolds. Let it be our
ambition to record upon the unfolding leaves
of that book, actions and deeds that the
closing page will sum up creditably to our
selves.
POWDER RIvER-Mr. D. S. Littlefeld,
who arrived from Powder river yesterday,
called upon us and furnished us some in
formation from this locality. He is one of
the party that left Portland last August, in
duced by one Adams, regarding the discov-
cry of gold on the Malheur river, to under
take prospecting trip in that section
Failing to find paying diggings on the Nal
heur, the perty continued their search and
finally struck it ca Powder river. He
showed us a specimen of the gold obtained
there; it is coarse, and appears to be of a
fine quality. The mines are situated on
Grifin's gulch near Powder river. There
are eleven men belonging to Mr.. Little
fields party, who will remain during the
winter, and they are the only miners on that
gulch. He reports the diggings as yet in
an embryo condition, none having worked
sufficiently to determine what they will
yield. More or less prospecting is being
done on gulches and small streames putting
into Powder river. A party of Orc Fino
miners are prospecting in that section
They report good prospects, but are looking
for rich diggings. Littlefeld states that
there are not to exceed twenty men in the
Grand Ronde valley, and large proportion
of these are men engaged in the prospective
route to Salmon river and in building
mill. There are only two families settled in
the valley. Mr.. Stephen Cofin's mill is
progressing, and will probably be complet-
ed in about three months. Mr. Littlefeld
will return in few days with the win
ter's supply of provisions.
LAST TRIP OF THE STEAMER.-It is al
together likely that the steamer has made
her last trip from Deschuttes to the Old
Fort, until the opening of navigation in
spring. The boat which was due on Sun
day last did not arrive and we may ex-
pect for month or two at least, that our
communication with the lower country will
be restricted to the overland coaches. The
passengers who went to the old fort to meet
the steamer, returned to this city, and will
leave for the Dalles to-day, overland.
Ba% We have made arrangements to re-
ceive letters from the mines by every ex-
press. They will be written by gentle
man of confessed ability as writer, and
one who has had much experience in the
line of collating news. We feel warranted
in promising our readers some interesting
sketches of the upDer country as well as a