The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-02-22
T. \. ARENS WRITES
FROM NEW YORK

F. Y. Arens, one of the leading vocal
teachers OF the country. whose studios
aie in New York City and who pur-
chased a ranch in Central Vale from
DR.. W. 5. Nichol last Fall, writes US
the following interesting letter from
the American Metropolis:
This morning, returning from my
usual constitutional during which ate
my usual Hood River apple as an ap-
petizer. | happened to come across the
enclosed article in this mornings issue
of the New York American. Being
already such an enthusiastic Hood
Riveronlan, since my purchase of an
orchard in the valley, / take the lib
erty of sending the article to you.
would suggest that the Commercial
association send the Rev. Gregory a
box of the choicest apples.
Within a few weeks | will send
another one of my sons TO join his
mother and brother. He is a news
paper man like yourself.
The clipping from the American"
is given below:
When Oregon, fifty-three years ago,
today, took her proud place in the sis
terhood of the Union the controversy
of more than half a century was
brought to glorious and happy termi-
nation.
Full of interest is the story of the
"0regon Country" as it was called in
the olden days. In 1892 Captain Rob
ert Gray discovered the Columbia
River, naming the mighty stream after
the ship in which he made the discov-
cry. 1t should be said right here that
Captain Gray had already achieved
memorable results. In 1857 he sailed
from Boston in the ship Washington
for the purpose of trading with the
natives of the Northwest, and returned
in 1880 by way of China, thus being the
first man to carry the American flag
around the globe.
OF course, after Captain Gray had
discovered the Columbia. England was
obliged to have it discovers" by one
of her captains, and the great contro-
versy between the two countries over
the Oregon Country was not closed
until 1912, when Uncle Sam won out in
the famous Asburton Treaty, negotiat-
ed by Daniel Webster.
For long time the American people
were blissfulIy ignorant of the splendid
region in the far Northwest. In 1910
Captain Winship, a New Englander,
built the first house in Oregon, and a
year later John Jacob Astor founded
Astoria.
In 1888 the Methodists established
mission in the willamette Valley. In
1896 DR.. Whitman and the Rev. II. II.
Spaulding, with their wives, went out
from Missouri, the two ladies being
the first white women to cross the
Rocky Mountains. So late as 1912 the
white people in the vast region of more
than 300, 900 square miles numbered
only some 240.
About that time DIR. Whitman made
his memorable trip East and returned
in lS43 with 1000 settlers, when a pro-
visional government was organized.
Still the ignorance and indifference of
the people of the East held on, and it
is no exaggeration to say that but tor
Whitman and Thomas I'll. Benton and
one or two others the Oregon Country
would have been allowed to go by de.
fault. The leading men in the nation
declared that the Columbia River re-
gion was worthless to begin with, and
that it was too far away, anyway, for
sensible people to trouble themselves
about it.
But Benton stuck to them, giving them
no rest by dayor night; and finally the
deal was closed by which the magn-
ficent region was ceded to the United
States, to have and to hold forever,
with its splendid forests, fertile valleys
and wealth laden bills and streams, to
say nothing of the Hood River APP
nlac -