The Washington times., 1907-04-07

natures generosity.
4 - The wheat was tall,
strong, bowed down
with laden heads of yellow gold.
The fruit trees had grown beyond
conception the first year, and the
second poisoning they were pink
and white with glory, and brown
and busy wild bees from the noun
tains made honey while we, ali of
Us who were not teaching school,
worked as hard and as happy too,
as they. The apple trees in the
autumn were red and pink and
yellow with luscious fruit. We had
surely come uDon a land of milk
and honey. The cattle, too, were
increasing in the rank, rich grasses
beyond all reasonable calculation
There are nearly 200 kinds of
grasses in Oregon. This seems in
creditable, but our nearest neigh
Dor, NJ. Wilkins, president of the
agricultural society, accurately re-
ported all these things, and the na-
tive grasses of Oregon were and
still are the wonder Of all countries.
The abundant rains and the sum
mer sea mist blown in forever from
the Pacific over the low coast range
are accountable for this generosity
of nature, and the grasses, together
with careful selection Of fine
grades of imported stock as the
years went by gave Oregon the
finest and latest cattle in the world.
Our horses became famous long
before those of California were
known.
Toss Wheat in Wind
To Separate Chat
We had no mills within reach
those first years; no machinery of
any sort. and so had to winnow out
our grain by tossing it in the wind,
as in olden Bible days, and let the
wind blow the chat away, while
the wheat fell down on the out
spread wagon sheet. This wheat,
boiled, then baked, or fried, made a
fine substitute for bread. But sollss
times we had Indian squaws, with
their stone pestles and. deep stone
mortars, grind wheat on shares, so
as TO have wheat bread for break
fast on Sunday when the preachers
came; and this was almost every
Sunday.
But at the end of two years a
shrewd Yankee set up a mill for
grinding wheat, a days drive dis
tant, and soon the report spread
about that squaws were in the
habit Of mixing up roasted grass
hoppers with their mortar-made
-four, and this, of course, drove US
all to the mill to get bread for
Sunday and the preachers. / can
now see that this was all fiction.
These stone mills or mortars with
she long and shapely stone pestles- Of
a finer quality OF stone. are found all
up and down the Pacific sea bank by
the miners, not a cabin but has one or
more In the door yard. And this same
mortar and pestle is found in all the
museums of Japan But L have
searched the Holy Land. and. indeed
al other lands I know, in vain for
this primitive mill. So that ] am
firmly. persuaded that the Oregon and
California Indian came 10 US from
Japan. most likely by way of the
AIeutian islands Of Behring strait
Both Good and Bad
Poured Into Oregon
Immigrants kept coming. the gener-
Gus Oregonians going out each year to
meet them. The cOngested lower end
OF the great valey-comparativel
congested-began to empty out its
multitude up toward cur way. and
new cabins glistened IN the morning
dew to right and left and far away
before as till not q foot OF vacant
tinable land was left.
And what noble pioneersl Poor
enough they were. most of them. as
were we at first but .ey were all
Industrious, honest es rule. and as
steady as oak: devout people. who
always insisted on building a church
and school house. however humble.
the very first thing
But. at the same time. there came
pouring IN on the other side into
California the most depraved and evil
clement thrnugh the Golden Gate that