Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-10-23
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

awakened an .ong readers was largely due
10 the pauc .ty OF knowledge of the roman
nc hlstor cal web of that region. Probably
| OF no SECTION of our common country was
SO little known in general sense until
| NJ. Bancroft's admirable volumes ap-
| peared vols. xvii, xviii The last vol
( ume brought US up to the events of 1916,
an era of great discovery, of pioneer bold
ness and energy, of great trial and long en-
durance in the conquest of a new region.
The history of Oregon now before US is
continuation of the narrative referred to,
and sustains the interest already awakened.
The era now treated is modern, within the
| knowledge and experience of living wit
nesses and therefore far more difficult of
treatment. l, has been written over,
in fragmentary way, it is true, but
the cross-plowing has rather confused
than cleared, and as in the case of
California, SO in that of Oregon Mr..
Bancroft, as the annotahons show, has been
put to great labor to reconcile conflicting
statements and clear the truth from great
tangle of error and misconception. The
history of Oregon does not disclose the mo-
| tive for settlement that actuated the gold
seekers of California, There is found no
narrative of mad rush." no struggle to
gain the goal for the sake of wealth. On
the contrary, it was a placid, peaceful and
unexcitng attraction that drew the pio-
neers of Oregon to her hills and valleys.
They came TO conquer soil to home, not to
upturn it for precious ores and leave the
face of the earth scariied by the eager
search for gold. Oregon drew to her
class of people more phlegmatic and eau
tious than the god-seekers of California.
A class more persistent and less impetuous
and out OF these grew society less tenn
pestuous, perhaps more hardy, and GER
tainly as Bancroft suggests, individual and
| independent. The conquest of " this noun
tain-walled plain between the coast eleva-
tons and the northern stretch of the great
Andean range, with fertile SOIL genial
climate, and picturesque scenery, was, as
the historian phrases it, a turning-point in
the destinies OF the country. He finds it
pleasure to recognize the heroic in this con-
quest and to present another example of
| the behavior of the Anglo-Saxon race. I'M
der the influence of American institutions.
In the purpose that projected the pioneer
! element of Oregon upon her plains, Mr..
Bancroft finds that the motive was not
wholly traffic broad lands nor PROSECUTING.
There was present, besides the desire to Sc
cure for themselves and their descendants,
| some small portion OF the earth where they
could plant the pure moralities and fair
civilities which belong to the higher Chris
|
present condition of the people is evidence
| of the certain success attained. 1t was
within the Territory of Oregon, it must be
remembered that the United States first
reached the Pacific Ocean, and this fact
makes the history of that State precedent
in value and interest to that of California,
upon the acquisition of which it bore not
| unimportantly. The volume before US, and
in the reading of which We have progressed
somewhat beyond the middle, or to the
fourteenth chapter, opens with description
of the topography of the region, and some
account of the scenic climatic and soil
| qualities that first impressed the explorers
with the desirablenesS of the region. From
these considerations he passes to accounts
of the early settlements, such as Fort Van
couver, the Hudsons Bay Company head
quarters, upon the north bank of the CO.
| lumbia, Just above the mouth of the Multi
nomah. Below the fort and along
the river was the village populated
by Canadians and Hawaiians, with
their Indian wives and children of
mixed blood. These were the servants of
the company. At the fort dwelt the
traders, mechanics, trappers. Near by was
Touring mill on a farm. The most
western establishment was Fort George
scarcely a fort at this period
and which was surrounded by a
a few Indian huts, and where only about
| four acres were cultivated. Fort Nisqually
was a more important post, a strong fort
with a dozen buildings, post which, in
1884, was but about year old. The re-
naming post of the company was at the
| iuncture of Elk creek and the Umpqua
river. On the east bank of the Columbia,
at the mouth of the Walla Walla, was
| fort of that name and a hundred and
| fhirtv. pipht roilpS north nj If was Fort
| Okanagan. There were besides trad
ing posts on the Spokane, Fllthead
and on Lake Pen d'Oreille, and at few
other points. Fort Colville stood next in
importance to Vancouver. 1t had farm,
horses, quite settlement, a grist-mill etc.
East of the Blue Mountains were
Fort Hall, founded by the Ameri-
can Wyeth, and Fort William,
built by the same hardy adventurer. Alex.
Mckay, of the Aston expedition, had
farm opposite Wapato Island, on the Multi
nomah, and a few other farms were located
south of his. Besides the Canadians set
| tied here and there, good many AmerI-
cans had planted foot along the Willamette.
There were few Missourians, some travel
! ing scientists, some trappers and traders,
and the band of people from California led
! by Hall J. Kelly, once the would-be
| founder of new Pacific Empire. With
these conditions stated in detail the volume
! opens. The dramatic interest attaching to
activities in a wild West Territory thus
peopled and roamed by savage tribes can
easily be fancied. We cannot give space to
more than refer to it. The life at the forts,
the expeditions of discovery, the advance
| of religious pioneering, the progress of civ
| iliZation among the Indians, the story of
the men of the Lewis and Clarke expedi-
! ton, the missionary efforts of the Meth
odists and PIesbyterians, the cattle COM
| pany development, the stock importation
| from California, the story of colonization,
the incoming of new bands of immigrants
| from the West, the regime Of the Indian
agents, the setting up of a Provisional
| Government the progress of agriculture,
the recognition of the country by Congress,
the evaporation of the people over the
crude ideas entertained concerning their
country at the far East, the immigration
| booms of 1913 44-45, the rise of the In
dams and the beginning of war, the massa-
ores OF ~ and AS, and finally the erection
of a Territorial Government, form tie
great central topics of q volume
rich in story, full of tragic incident, dra-
matte in event, and in all respects pre-
foundly interesting. The author has writ
ten with great freedom and tells the story
of Oregon with more of rapidity and
graphic force than anything he has under
taken since his volume on Central Amer
lea, though having less of stirring incident
to deal with, excepting only his histories of
California, which, for obvious reasons, af-
forded him more room for literary effort,
and demanded greater research among
more unsolyed testimonies. Mr.. Bancroft
| is now in the midst of an era in his Pacific
Coast Histories fraught with profoundest
interest. If the earlier volumes, be-
cause of remoteness of period, had
less attention from general readers,
the later ones compensate in this
respect-or should. and receive reading
from all who read books at all. For
there is in these books of ourselves moth
ing prosy, no prolixity, no mere specula-
tion-it is all narrative, activity, dramatic
exeitatiop, the story, indeed, of the
mightiest coneuests of time; the record of
the most rapid spread of ciyillzing infiu
ences known to history the tale of the
sweep of the Anglo-Saxons in the briefest
time over the widest expanse of territory.
The historian with every volume improves
in style conciseness, directness and clear.
ness mark more and more his adj
vancing pages. 1t is notable that
while three or four years ago Mr..
Bancroft was the target for any