The daily gazette. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1874-1883, 1879-08-26
FIRST EDITION.
what the Democrats Gained For
| Our Country

W uast tn6 nDStmOCrouo 00lDeNn FOF
Our Country
AND WHAT ENGLAND LOST IN OREGON.
IA m bles ia Northwest A m erica from The
Pacific Ocean to the Rocky Mountains.
by JON Nor inner Murphy. Chapman
a Hall.
London Academy, August o.
II the cession of Oregon to the United
s ates by the Ashburlon treaty Of 1916
was in reality eventually determined by
the considr ration that the territory was
not worth keeping, it must be allowed
that the grounds for the decision were
singularly erroneous. And what makes
the error the more extra rdlnary is the
fact that /. was not based upOi mere
hearsay, but upon the report Of COM
missioner specially s-nt out by the Brit
isn Government to examine the country
and certain its value. The legend still
survives that the English agrnt was
chiefly influenced To All unfavOrable
opinion by the circum tance That the
salmon he found sw.rming in the
Columbia could not be inducei to take
tie artificial fly; and his serious short
coming of the Pacific fish, mertin < him
at the very outset, woGlt no doubt have
chilling effect upon the sportsman
COmmiss Oner. We may. however, ty
the way, that this abstention, although
the rule, is not alb, olute, for Mr.. Murphy
tells us that he succeeded Oh two spar
ate occasions IN taking with the fly sew
era fine specimens of he SdimO q,tin,sdi,
spring silver salmOn-the king Of the
ten tribes of salmon of the Western
Ocean.
Without altogether accepting the cur
rent story of the commissioners report,
we may assume that it was of an ull-
favorable character, and the author Of it
must lave been smitten by a marvellous
blindl ess to the essential elements Of
material wealth. Probably his examina-
tion of the c. untry was as limited in ex-
tent as 1t was superficial in character, so
that he saw only the rugged, torest-cov-
cred dis rct along the coast. II g fertile
valleys OF Western Oregon, which now
yield rich harvests of the plumpest a. d
whitest of grain and fruits of every cline
in unex implied profllson, tho grassy
wales and uplands east Of the Cascade
Range which now form the grazing
grounds OF inuumel able cattle, and the
stores OF mineral wealth hidden away in
the noun aims remained unvisited and
unknown. Yet it seems strange that th
s~ arming fish OF the bays and rivers, TIL
crowding salmon aud trout, the cod and
heIrinps and oysters, the magnificent
| timber of the boundless forests, thr.
mighty water-power of the COLUMBIA, did
not strike the observer as containing
sources of extraordinary wealth. The
truth is that the shores ofthe Pacific were
A. g. H. lnxro
out of reach and possibility of usage
and re, ources so inaccessible, even If rec
ognized, would hardly be deemed OF grea
value. And SO this grand and fertile re
gion was tossed over to the United State.
,ith Indifference or contempt. But aft,
all although the Judgment upon which il
was founded was so mistaken, the trans
fer Is not to be regretted-since 1t wa
lust and rlpht-for the American Cover,
ment appear TO have made out by far th,
best lie 10 the land.
The Oregon of that day is now divid
ed into the State of Oregon and Terri
tory of Washington and of these, tn,
former. with a population OF 2OO,OCl
onj- inclnding both Chinese and In
dians exnorts 500. OOO. 600 worth of pro
dnca ami has nro,ertv of the value O
xI05 ONO OOO. 80 that for its populatio,
II ia one of the richest and most pros
norous Communities in the world
Gthe~ states and Territories have run,
nm around on h tn sides of the Rock
Mour,o;ns-Idabo Nevada. Montana
I1t.b and Wvominp. or alllthese new
sot,iaJ co,,ntries Mr. Mnrnby gives
f,i, and nart;cnlar account. Ha dc
scribes with much min,nenns the phy
s;o;a, charoc,er;st;cs of the diffarent r.
lions and their fora and fauna. an
s; Sos stat;s,;cs of nonulation. trade r,
noos sMos as" sti,n,;ons and indeed every
thing which hears upon the progress.
nrns5er;tv rm or social and material cond
r"'f r;n' "f,Io countrv The authors state
.lol vi 'no cIJs -, ,arsonaI ~
menus are iouhueu upon peison' ns. ~ -.
srrvatlon ana inquiry, anu his pooh na
no doubt be trusted as very complet
and authoritative compendium OF infOl
nation the subject. of which it treat.
NJ Mrrnhav waxas enthusiast,c onl
~, i,a po,nos IN snaak of the nbv sic,
"on ~ ~, W sr r,,;,,h 10 n.
beauty OF the country, when ne a'
scribes as among the grandest IN tn
world. And in truth this part of Mort
America abounds in scenery which
unsurnassed in its varied loyeliness an
.aaa,,iTcance The Ioffv. snow-cla
"as EIo ID 80 of ,,o,,nta;,
peaks oi the CasGaue nanS I.Ga.
such as mount Hoou anu houhI oene
son, wide-spreadng inland seas nk
Puget sound, great rivers, with might
catsracts such as the Shoshone and Cs
I,..'t;s h,,oo ,ocLs ond cbasms az in III