The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1874-01-30

love. ''For we do love him dearly
dearly, don't We, honeym
In the midst Of this sad embrace
Jack Miles interrupted them. He had
been drinking some farewell cups with
his neighbors, and was not in q sympa.
thizing mood.
"Air ye a-cryin' an a-mournin' to
leave this yer God-fursaken ranch p,
he quickly inquired. "Ye've got no
more speerit nor ter stay hyar till the
durnation railroads an Yankees an
Dutchmen all Cinnamon stomp We In
the ground! WAL, sech as ye,c mout
live 'mong the id 'ristocrats an Chi
namen, ef I'd low it; but blame me eff /
Will The sooner Ye'uns gifts shet ov
'em the better. iTain't no place fur
honest men nor honest wimmin no more.
Katie, quit yer cTyin'. Jude, yew tend
to yer bizness. The boys I'll start on to-
night with the stock, an the wagons
got ter foller right sharp in the morn
in"
With this parting objurgation of the
country that was too civilized for him,
Jack Miles proceeded to assist bis daugh-
ter in the final adjustment of their mu-
tual possessions in the wagon. This Ia
Dor completed, they had one night more
of shelter beneath a roof-the only one
they were to enjoy of home, for-who
could say how long?
On the following morning a covered
wagon drawn by four mules might have
been observed by the curious, moving
slowly along the road leading south
ward across the Spedden estate. 1t con-
tanned the household goods of the Miles
family, with little Katie seated in front
beside her father, well pleased to have
begun a series of daily journeyings in
that-to her-novel and delightful man
ner. a little in advance proceeded Ju-
dith, well-mounted, and riding with
careless ease. In the rear followed a
little herd of loose animals, riding
horses and two cows. The main herd
WIZ oNhGAaA lOAAo AZ DlGdh-
ant arrangement on account of the dust.
And so the die was cast; and SO men 20
wilfully 'into the jaws Of death, into
the mouth Of hell" dragging their un-
resist ones with them.
The huge sun-bonnet which Judith
had prepared for the protection of her
complexion hid, on this morning, face
disfgured with weeping-the last unre-
strained tribute Of tears upon the altar
Of home, love and hope. Must we not
pity Judith Miles? With her youth,
her passionate heart, her imperfect men,
tai and moral training, yet with those
generous gifts from the bountiful mother
Nature, whose possession, in her cir
cumstances, made them more Of a curse
than blessing.
If we could have imagined some
other conditions for this journey than
those already described, it could not
be found in our heart to pity any
one participating in it. That portion
of California through which the trail
leads the traveller furnishes at once a
charming climate and scenery unsur-
passed for beauty or grandeur. Nor
was the season Miles had chosen unfa-
vorable, provided the rains did not come
so heavily as to render the streams i'm
passible.
The southern end of the San Joaquin
valley, the Kern river, the Tejon Pass,
leading by a narrow defile between the
Sierras and Coast Range into the lovely
Los Angeles country, the San Bernar-
dino plains and mountains, all, up to the
Colorado river, is a continuous pano-
rama of alternating easy grace and stu
pendous grandeur. In such journey is
health and mental
growth. The traveller who can live for
weeks among scenes like these, in an at
mosphere like this, which infuses fresh
life into blood and brain, without hay-
ing learned anything that will make
him broader in his judgement, or nobler
in his aspirations, Is but poor senseless
clod whom no process of education
could elevate or purify. The gifted and
accomplished Theodore Winthrop felt
this when he testified that in the pres
ence of mighty Nature the convention
alities of society became contemplate,
and man was lifted out of himself to
learn and acknowledge hitherto unfelt
capacities for growth. The broader civ
ilization Of the West, whose pioneers
lived for years in saddle, canoe and tent,
confirm the belief in these influences
that are like healthy young blood in ex-
hausted veins.
To those healing, strengthening and
softening influences we commit our
heroine.
4.