The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1871-08-12
"Reminiscences o. lhe
California Poet.


Who is creating Il sensation in ..
English literary circles, and re-
ceiVine the Communications OF ihe
Times, .\thenpum, Pail Mail
Gazette, and the Globe, is an
Oreoonian, and his real name is
c. finer Miller. His father, Hui
Inns Miller, settled with his fam
ily-wilc, four sons and one
dauyhter--nem the town OF Eu-
gene City, in Lane county ore
con. nearly twenty years ago,
when the subject OF this skctch
was "a boy. ':Hiner' went TO
California, probably in 1888, ana
spent Il short time in the lnlnes'
near Ireka, where it was report
cd that he got into Il dlfilc'lity
and sho, at the sheriff of Sisklyon
county, On returning home he |
attended school in Eugene City |
ti,l sometime in 1860, and was IN
thc same class as the writer OF
this article. He then spent about
a wear in Eastern Oregon, and
! what is now Idaho. running Il
pony express and carrying lei
tors and papers from the nearest
nOstOt1icc, q distance oi two or
thrce hundred miles over tue
mountains and through the In
dian country to the miners.
Aoaiu he returned home, and for
a short time d,,rin" the early part
of the war OF the rthcllloh, ne
edited he Eugene City RcVleW'
:, Democratic paper, ana as me
writer u 4 = "r this MaS editing the
Republican paper there 1T The
time. he has a distinct rrrn)lcc-
, ton of Il fierce war of words.
Soon after This he married Miss
2 Minnie Myrtle, Il young lady VINO
; had acquired 4 rcpntatlon as il
. writer Of verses. He then went
: east of ihr tarra.lc Mountains
with his, Young wife, and settled
:; in the colI-miuinG camp OF "tan-
yon CITY, on John Days river,
in the new county Of Grant
. where he pui out his ~1,in"lr as
IN attorney 1T law. lie was soon
!. atlcrward elected County Judge
:. Of Grant county by the Demo
!" Gratis, and remained there TIL the
/, spring 1870, during which time
he accumulated considerable, ant
published in The local ncwSpa.
j pcrS. from time to time, Il part o
= The poems which he has since
L. collected and published in Lon
dom. Last spring he came bacl
y 10 his old home at Eugene city
separated from his wife, leaving
=, her and two little children pro
II. viura for. and on he 9th OF june
= 1870. he uaN of ON. state ricc
it ,inn, he left tIlc Willam"1t" Val
~, ley for Europe. and was, u"
lirve, 1i,c Paris correspondent d"
4 lcnding New York paper during
:, the Franco German war. III!
j. LAST production before leaving
l. the shores OF the Pacific was :
parting farewell to his wife emit
nj lied "MNrr,''- and addressed Il
i M. VI. M."-Mimic Myrtle Mil
II Itr-ant was published over IN
III signature on the l1th Of June,
!" i' few days after his departure (h
in carrying away an advanced proof
~, y" Slirct), in the Oregon state JON
"a nal which, although Republican
~ w was the paper he selected as In
e. medium OF most OF his plh!lca
=, tiunS. as his father; brothers an
-. nearly all Of his warmeSt person;
=. friends were of that school ,
politics. TO this production hi
wife published reply in verse
soon after his departure, i'm whIc
Y. she criticized him in severe term:
One Of his brothers, Dr. John |
Miller, left Oregon to serve in In
Union Army in Virginia, and
70. now residing in EastOn, Pa. Iii
~ other brothers and parents III
ne still residing near Eugene Cit.
re- in the beautiful valley Of til
Hrl Willamette: and his only Sisle
l." Ella, died in that place II ft
months ago. 1t WAS reported III;
he became acquainted with Mi:
Myrtle by seeing her verses
print. and in this way commence
corresponding with her, heto
.n,, they had seen each other. The
- is he called nj her home. on Cos
rt- Bay : he first time anothc Ge
'%"r ,lcnan. who was paying his Il
y dresses, to Miss NJ, happened
he in the house, whcr"up,
'Hincr" introduced himself |
drawing Il revolver and h.iNiI
his rival from the room, ih,
were ihcn married and went
Eugene City. Perhaps There
some truth in this. because III II
reply, Mrs. NJ. NJ. NJ. rcpirach
him for rnldncSS and neglect, {:
tan. huyip,, driven L,l. l,,.p, IT,,