The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1879-01-02
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.

lONE the EfEEIAuA AAAE ~ ~"--~'
hotel at Umatilla, and thinking long .
ingly OF home and our proposed de-
narture ON the morrow, when rumor .
reached the village 10 the elect that
Indian bostilities had commenced IN F.
earnest some sixty miles away aud .
about a dozen miles below frests
RAPIDS. To this startling intelligence
Was added tie cheerful information that
the new steamer .'John Gates" and the
ouly one now in use above Celilo' was
ordered TO the scene Of conflict with
reinforcement of regulars, and there was
no telling when we could 20 home. All
day we were kept IN "a state Of extreme
anxiety over the probability Of being
caught up at last by the dreaded winter
freeze-up. We did not particularly
dread the Indian scare. Indeed, We be-
ieve there Is always "a sort OF numbuing
Of the seuses ia the immediate pres
ence Of actual bodily danger; aud We
fancy that death, let. it come when
ever Il may, and under whatever eircum-
stances, is a great deal worse ia imagin-
alton than reality. But it was pitilul
TO reflect upon the exposed condition of
the defenseless Umatillians and the
prospect OF their being icebound aud
savage-besieged in mid-winter. Hap
PLY the rumor Of an outbreak thongh
true in part, was greatly exaggerated
Chief Moses and posse Of his equally
good Indians had exhibited the nor
NAL treachery Of the savage character
by surrounding the sheriff Of Yakima
and company OF volunteers who had
gone with him to arrest the Perkins
murierers. But the prompt Interference
OF the military soon put a quietus upon
the dusky warriors, the leaders of whom
are al this writing In duranee vile.
The report that the steamer would
not come TO Umatilla on time proved
false one; aud at an early hour on
Thursday, we gladly hurried aboard,
leaving behind a score Of warmth -arted
friends, for whose safety during their
forthcoming isolation We iuvoiuutarily
bresthed a fervent prayer.
During the last night Of our sojouru
at Umatilla, the beautiful ermiue Of
winter fell TO the depth Of four or fiye
inches upon the earth, and the morning
greeted u.s. looking as stark aud white
and cold and calm as though the world
were dead aud frozen. The iilimitabie
wastes of these upland wilds look mo-
notonously majestic when only the gray
rocks, s0mber sage aud waving grass are
visible, but when the downy coverlet OF
winter has encloaked the whole in al
undulating blanket, as white as alabas-
ter, as soft as June rose-leaves, aud as
icy as death, the effect Of solitude, mo-
notouy, majesty and magnitude is
heightened beyond comparison.
quite crowd was on the steamer,
many being our personal friends, and
all hurrying oceanwari, lest 10y tarryiug
ttey should become ice-bound. Among
the travellers We notice J. G.. Davenport.
Esq, on his return 10 DanviiIe, n. Y,
where himself and wife, Mr. and Mrs.
Preston, and Mr. Witcher and wife are
/ quartered for the winter % "our home
Oh the hillside" Mr.. D. gives "a Hat
tering report OF "our home" and is
I hopeful Of speedy restoration To- per-
feet health under the regimen there af-
forded
Mr.. Ritz, the well-known nurserymau
Of Walla Walla, was also a fsllow-trav-
eler, on his way to Washington in the
interest Of the Northern Pacific Rail-
road. This gentleman informs Us that
there are many farmers in Eastern Ore
gon aud Washington Territory who are
turning their attention 90 the rearing OF
/ groves ot oox elder f.r sugar-u,4.sire
aud forest trees. This box-elisr, which
/ is a species of maple closely akin to the
sugar-mapie oftLe Middle We.ts is very
/ hardy, enduring both drou.h and frost
remarkably well. One farmer near
| Weston has planted grove Of 1000 Of
these trees, and many others are order
ing quite as largely. Mr. Ritz sells tine
young trees at the lov rate OF 81 per
hundred.
I We must not omit 10 make mention
Of Judge Lewis, now Of Portland and
again Of Tacoma. who is now in the
employ of the y. p. r. r. Company.
and who was one Of the many agreeable
companions du yoyags who helped 90
beguile the time with wiz, wisdom and
logic during that memorable river ride.
Then, we had the company Of J. Put.
Smith, Major Jones. Of San Francisco,
and Mr.. Cannon, OF Spokane; aud last.
but by 40 means least, our good friend.
I Captain Spencer, one Of the most skill
ful of the upper Columbia navigators.
Through this gentlemau's poiiteuess.
we were permitted 10 visit the pilot
house and witness the dextrous skill
with which the good steamer, like a
thing Of life, 'darted here and there
among the boiling eddies, her proud
head up, and her stately form as COM
posed and graceful as gliding swan.
This steamer carries self-actiug hv-
draulic steering apparatus, the iuveu-
tion Of our fellow-townsmau, John
Gates, Esq, for whom the steamer is
named, and which i've mean the in
vention now, for excellence in every
thing which the usual wheel is designed
TO accomplish, certainly far outdoes the
I original wheel itself Weare not enough