, 1890-04-10
CHANGES IN THE "


Twenty years have brought great
changes TO the West. The how of
immigration has been unintcr-
rupted, and the adventurous home
seeker has sought out the hidden
valleys Of the Wilderness aud set the
ineffaoeable stamp of civilization
upon the broad land that was once
hidden from the knowledge of man
by veil Of mystery and peril.
Within that period the border
line has vanished. The wave Of I'M
migration has broken upon the
shores Of the Pacific, and the sound
Of It's dashings has been swallowed
up In the deep roar Of the breakers.
New states have been founded, rail-
roads have pierced the desert and
tho lonely haunt Of the Indiar and
the red deer, steamboats, ply upon
the clear waters of many II mount
ain gcm, towns and cities have
sprung up, the daring prospector has
sought out the hidden veins Of gold
and silver, and capital IL flowing In
from the money conters of Europe
and America.
The change IL productive OF a
smile and tear. In 1t we may
gather hope for the future. Our
reason tells us that these improve
mcnts are for the best; that the ways
OF older communities, modified by
Western pluck and darlng, are what
we need; but aftorall ,uerc nre hours
In the lives OF the pioneers when
their memory wonders to the trying
tiucs of early days, and they find
themselves slghlng for the vanished
hours of their young manhood.
This sentiment is natural and
parIionable. The men who sought
out this fair land of promise, and the
faithful women who shared their
sorrows and privntions, were drawn
hIthcr largely by the glamour that
hung over the Wcst. IL was the
talo OF some grizzled trapper or
miner that first fired their imagina-
tlon and induced them to turn their
backs upon the homes of their
childhood, perhaps forevermore, to
court the hardsbips and dangers ofa
life In the far West. Just as the
steam car aud the telegraph had
reached the homes Of their youth,
they said goodbye to the old home
stead, and pushed out far into the
wilderness.
Many of us who have not yet
grown old and gray can recall a
time wher the wild grass rolled in
unbroken billows, league upon
league, across the fertile lands of
Nebraska and Kansas. In those
days the world had scarcely heard
of Washington, Idaho or Montana.
CALIFORNIA; golden eia had given
her wide fame, and occasional
ivtters from friends and relations
who had wandered into the fertile
valley of the Willamette told us
that Oregon was state. Some of
US had heard of Walla Walla, but
Seattle was unknown, and as for
Tacoma and Spokane Falls and a
score Of other now prosperous and
populous towns, they had not
even IA struggling existence.
Too much honor and respect can
not he shown the pioneers who came
hiiher twenty, thirty, and even for
ty years ago. Some of them may
be a little hehind the times, and
traces of moss may have gathered
upon few backs, but for all that
they had the courage To- cut loose
from the prop of civilization, and to
come into the Golden West when
the land was pcopled by savage In
dians and fun of hidden perlls. II
II had not been for their spirit Of
adventure we should not be here TO,
day enjoying the comforts and nd
vantagcs of civilization. Some OF
them have grown rich, but others
have found only hard knocks, and
little gold has come with their gray
halrs.
And yet little while, and they
will pass away forever from the faii
land OF their discovery, leaving tc
their children and the newcomer
the magnificent heritage of an en-
pire that was wrested from savage