The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1907-01-04
(New York Sun, Sunday, Dec %


liberality of the donors.
From Washington to Omaha
nineteen monuments have been
erect d. At the time when the
traveller made his first trip across
the plains Omaha was not On the
map. Council Bluffs then was
known as Kanesv lie. a trading
stat on a d the end of civilization.
Since leaving Washington 20, ooo
ueople have contributed to the cree
tion OF monuments. A. Baker City
Ore the monument was erected by
contributions received IRON 80
chool Chi d.en
At Boise City, Idaho, Meeker
camped for several days beside the
pos;office. He spoke 10 the public
school children of his object and
200 Contributed to purchase the
grant e monument which will mar k
the place where the old timers past
thru what is now thriving city
The Governor of the State and
other State officers insisted that the
>lab be erected in the State House
yard, and it was. The monument
is twelve feet high.
To erect a monument at the sum
NIT of South Pass Mr.. Meeker
travelled eigh y-lour m les from a
postofic'', and TWEEN y-tour people
VINO reside in the neighborhood
were the only wine se> to the
event These pc pie, with Mr.
Meeker, in-cribed the stone. Il,
stands on he irrigation survey near
Sweetwater and is 7,54o feet above
the sea lie, Ell, probably the highe>
monument in The U',i ed States.
In most of the owns and places
where monuments have been erect
Ell Mr.. Meeker stays to see the
work done; but in some instasoes
he has turned the matter over to
local committee appointed for
that purpo He h IS witnessed
the exercises incidental to the cree.
ton OF permanent land mark at
the following places: Tenino, Wn.
The Ddlles, Pendle ton, Meacham
La Grand, Baker City, Durkee all
IN Oregon; American Falls and
iw,n Falls, Idaho; Fort Boise ano
at Casper i'll Wyoming.
MIR. Meeker, accompanied bv hi
grand daughter, Miss Bertha Tim
p eton, lett Puyalup, Wash, JAM
uarv 29, 1906, aud has made the
trip by easy stages. His old fash
Ioned prairie schooner is fitted up
for housekeeping and in it he sp-nd>
mis- DAYS and nj hts comfortably. =.
He has not b Ell i'll, he said, for
ifty-four years, aid lie looks it.
He is st ong and rugged and ap-
parently capable of enduring any
kind OF hardship. He will reach
Indianapolis i'll time for a New
Years dinner with friends of his
noy hood.
In appearance Ezra Meeker is
the typical pioneer. He is tall and
straight, Notwithstanding his 76
years and his hard lie on the p aims
His hair and beard are white and
long, making him conspicuous
The changes that have been
madr,' he said, ARE marvellous.
The entire face of the country is
changed.
with the exception of about
| 900 miles thru the Rocky Monn-
tains the country is thi ky settled,
but even i'll This country things
have changed. The old buffalo
grass is no more and o'her grasses
have come OH to take the place of
it.
THE country past thru about
fifty four years ago is nothing like
the country l am going over today
Mountains, rivers, valleys, hills,
prairies, all are dff-rer.t. 1t
seems impossible for me to realize
that the vas wilderness we travel
ed over such a short time ago is
now built up with manidc1nt cities
and Villages and the prairies have
been transformed into great forests
and elegant homesteads.
1.-The increase in the number of
forests is wonderf' to me We
travel ed for days wi hout seeing
tree, and now the entire way al
most is shady"
In making his westward trip Mr..