Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1888-09-06

- H'diiy Ioltiesh3hc Cplltt lop ii'lI,
No rattlesnake ever was so bereft
OF sense as to creap out that day
In the frost Nay, scarce would n grizzly
For a sniff at him. Only man would dare
The bitter cold, in whose heart and brain
Burned the quenchesS flame OF great
y man with nothing himself to gain.
From success, but whose heart blood key t
its fire,
" hile with freezing face he rode on and on,
The United States must keep Oregon!
1t was November when they came
10 the icy stream. Would he hesitate?
Not he, the man who carried State
At hls saddle bow. They have made the
leap;
Horse and rider have plunged below
The Icy current that could not tame
Their prond ilte-current's tiercer flow,
lhey SWIM tor 1t, reach it clutch he shore,
Climo the river bank. cold and steep,
Mount aud ride the rest Of that day,
lased III an arnor close and fine
AS ever an ardent warrior wore:
Armor of ice that dared to shine
Back at \ sun beam . dazzling raw,
Fearless rs plated steel OF old
Before that splcnd.r lance Of gold
Ii Is December as they rido
Slowly across the Great Divide;
ne binding storm turns day to night,
ANA clogs their feet the suowillt,es roll
he'r winding sheet abuIt them; sight
Is darkened faint the dc, pairing soul.
NO TRAIL before nor behind them. Spur
his noise Nay, child, it were death to
Motlonless horse and rider stand,
i"rhlhE to stone till one poor mule,
iflckinS his ears as If to say
Ii they gave HIM the rein he would Gul
the way.
Found it, and led them back, poor fool,
10 last nights camp in that lonely land.
1t was January when he rode
Into st. Louis, The gaping crowd
Gathered about with questions loud
Aud eager. He raised one frozen hand
With gesture Of silent, proud command
II am here to ask, not answer! Tell
Me quick, is the treaty signed p "Why,
yes
In August, six months ago or less -
Six months ago r Two mouths before
lhe gay young priest at the fortress shaved
The English hand Two months before.
He had saddled his horse Too late, then
"W.ll,
But Oregon? Have they signed the State
Away ?" 'Of course not. Nobody cares
About Oregon" He in silence bnres
His head Thank God | am not too
late -
1t was March when he rode at last
Into the streets of Washington.
The warning questions came thick and fast
"Do you know that the British will colon
ize,
II you wait another year, Ores
And the Northwest, thirty six times the
size
OF Massachusetts !" A courteous stare.
And the Government murmurs: "Ah
indeed
Pray, why do you think that wo should
care?
With Indian arrows and mountain snow
Between US, we never can colonize
The wild Northwest from the East, YOU
know
If you doubt it, why, W. will let you read
The London Examiner proofs enough:
THE Northwest is worth just a pinch oi
snuff
And the Board of Missions that sent him
Gazed at the worn and weary man
With stern displeasure "Pray, sir, who
Gave you orders to undertake
This journey hithcr, or to incur,
Without due cause, such great expense
To the Board Do yon suppose we can
Overlook so grave an offense
And the Indian converts? What about
Th little flock for whose precious sake
We sent you West? Can it be that you
Left them without shepherd Most
Extraordinary conduct, SIR,
Thus to desert your chosen post -
All, we'll! What matterel it He had
dared
A hundred deaths in his eager pride
To bring to his country at Washington
A message for which, then, no one cared
But Whitman could act as well as ride
The United States must keep the North.
west.
He whatever might say tho rest
Cared, and would colon,zc Oregon
1t was October, forty-two
When the Gathering hoof died away
On the Walla Walla, that fateful day.
1t was September, forty.three-
Little less than year, You SEE
When the woman who waited thought she
heard
The clattering of hoof beats that she knew
On the Walla Wa.la again. ''What word
From Whitman Whitman himself
And see
What do her glad eyes look upon!
| The 6rst OF two hundred wagons rolls
Into the valley before her. He
Who, q year ago, had left her side.
Had brough them over the Great Divide
Men, woman and children, q thousanc
souls
The army to occupy Oregon.
You know the rest. In the books you hav,
| read
That the British were not year ahead.
The United States have kept Oregon
Because Of one Marcus Whitman. He
Rode eight thousand miles aud was net tot
late!
In his single hand, not Nations fate,
Perhaps, but gift of the Nation, she
Would hardly part with to-day, If We
May believe what the papers say upon
This great Northwest, that was Oregon.
And Whitman Ali NY children, he
And his wife sleep now in martyr,
grave
Murdered Murdered, both he and she,
By the Indian souls they went West te
But the fact that he died BY violent
hands does not diminish the lustre of biz
life or the triumph of his death. II