The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-08-14

VANCOUVER, w. T., July 80, '79

county called the Battle Ground. l
had passed the previous night under
the hospitable roof Of Mr. OBrien,
living about four miles west of that
locality, and started out rather early
in the morning that 1 might get there
at the opening of the school. The
road is somewhat winding, and seems
to ascend the greater part of the way.
1t was beautiful morning; the sun
rose bright and clear, and the music of
the feathered songsters was heard on
every side. AS I reached the more ell
evated places where l could gaze into
the mountains that stretched out in
grandeur before me, imagination would
voluntarily dart forward into the flu
ture, when that brush, fern, stumps
and logs that now cover the surface on
which l was travelling will have been
swept away, and the whole land be
made to bloom meath the magic touch
of the husbandman. But this was not
all. That significant appellation, "Bat-
tie Ground" kept ringing in my ears.
l had stood upon the very ground
where the proud Burgoyne surrendered
to those illustrious patriots, Gates and
Lincoln. had trodden upon the blood
stained soil Of Lundy's Lane, where
the genius of Scott and Ripley had
shed a halo of martial glory around
the American name. / had passed
over many other fields on the Atlantic
slope made famous by the clash of
arms, but now, at the foot Of the tow
ering Cascades, near shore lashed by
the pillows of another ocean, | was
about. to gaze upon the scene where
General Strong with his faithful band
had met in sanguinary conflict the bar
barous hosts. 1t dose'nt look much
like the field of Gettysburg. 1t has
no resemblance to any of those fields,
that mark the scenes of those memor-
able battles of the late war; No hui
man bones are there bleaching in the
sun. You may look for the spiked
cannon, the broken wheels, the broken
shell, or any other relic of war, but
you will look in vain. Repeated fires
and other agencies have done the work,
and you turn from the spot filed with
unavailing regrets that this part of our
history, as a county, is forever buried
in oblivion.
On arriving at the school house l
found the school was not in session.
Sickness in the neighborhood had in
terfered with it to a certain extent,
and as it was already small it was de-
cided best to have short vacation.
Miss Clark, of Brush Prairie, is their
teacher, and seems to be liked very
we'll. From the school house l passed
over to the house of Mr.. Carey, near
by, whom found, with several of his
neighbors, busily engaged in hauling
hay into his barn. He has fine farm.
About sixty acres are cleared, most of
it bottom land, and covered with
good crop of hay. After dinner Mr..
Carey took me up on the hill near his
house and showed me one of the lead
ing natural curiosities of this country.
The land seems to rise gradually to
this point from all sides, eliminating
in a small plateau, on which is found
a beautiful oval shaped lake, covering
a surface of abot twenty-five acres.
The water is clear and pure, and it
seems to be huge reservoir lifted and
formed by nature to water the beauti-
full farms that now, and the many 9TH
ers that will, ere long, surround it.
Numerous living springs are found