The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1916-01-13
BALCH'S GRAVE
Is NEAR LYLE
AUTHOR RESTS NEAR LOVED SCENES
Life Story Of Young Minister Who Wrote
The Bridge Of The Gods" is
An Appealing One


An Appealing One
In little rural graveyard not faI
from Lyle. klickitat county. Washing.
ton. 10 the burying plsce of Fredreie
Homer Balch, who as the author oi
The Bridge of the Gods, IA romance
dealing with Indian legendary tales,
has made for hInself a name in the
history OF northwestern literature. No,
far from the gorge Of his inspiring Go.
lumbia and in the eastern foothills Of
his beloved Cascades, the body of the
pioneer writer has found the long rest.
ing place, and perchance the spirit Of
the youthful dreamer still c0ntemplates
the scenes of natural wonder that sc
thrilled him during life.
When one really interested in pio.
neer life of Oregon and of the legends
of the lnoians of the Columbia river
communities reads of the life story OF
Homer Balch and of his early death al
the aye of 30 years, he cannot help
feeling tnat loss came 10 the litera-
lure Ut the state when Atr0pos welded
too early her shears and cnpped the
thread of the young man y lie.
1t Is intensely appealing, this story
OF the days OF young MANHOOD Of the
man VINO wrote "ihe BRUCE of the
uods." Frederic Homer bach was
self educated. he spent less than q
year attending school. For SIX months
IN 1876. wuen The family resided on u
farm owned by James A. baich, the
father of the author, in the Mount Ia
DOR community, the 10y was student
at scnool taught by /. X. Coon, who
later moved to the hood River valley.
a tier few montns OF study at the
racinc Theological seminary, at Oak
,anu. Caht., Ia 1859, ne was t0iced u
rsturn 70 oregon Decause, Ot illness.
because VI Tue poor health vi the
motner Tue tau.lly ihv,eu lr0m Mount
iaDUt " Ioiue.usis, where they uau
tuiheIly nsed. AIter u sh0it Iesi-
uence tneie they removed to Lyle.
NJ nile young baich was a dreamer, ne
VAS Dy no means AN idler. Work WIS
scarce in The early Gays, but he fOuno
empioy meBt IN ms boy n0od riding tue
tauge Ut The sOutnern W MssnIugtUn
country. In the solitude Of the great
stietcnes with the great peaks VI the
CASCADES to Inspire MIN, ne felt The
ntsl gnawing OF an ambition to tell lne
sIoiy vi the MOUNTAINS anu the rivers
III uUoks Of romance. Inc impulses OF
genius mad stirred witnin him before
,he family IeIt Inc willamette valley,
and in his diary is found jvtted the i0i-
lowing:
"lo make Oregon as famous "a Scott
made scotland: (: ~ make the Cascades
as widely known as the highlands; to
make the splenuid scenery OF the VIII
iamette q background tor romance tuil
oi passion ana grandeur. grow more
ailu m0re into tue one cnerlsned amUi-
ton Of my lite.
While Inc family was living at Lyle
young Balcn, eager TO make money, be.
cureo a jon rs an ordinary lan0rer in
the construction OF the y. X. & N.
Lompany's line, which was then being
pushed to completion along the south
uank of the Columbia. During the
daylight hours, according to his sister,
MRS. James w. Ingalls,. of this city.
young Balch worked hard at manual
labor. welding pick and shovel. But
the late hours Ut night were spent In
reading ana rereadlng the stories OF
Scott and Dickens, and the essays Of
Macaulay. And he was trying his own
nand ana mind at sketchIng out ro-
mances of the Oregon country.
Even before the family mad moved
from the Willamette valley the young
man had written q romance built from
pioneer history. ~ sllulah," the
story was called. 1t was later revised
aud given the title of "Genevieve. l."
ibe book, however. has never been
published. Young Balch also began
another story, which he called "ken-
asket. he made sacrifice of the
manuscript of Wslinlah when, obeyIng
the desires of bis mother, he decided to
enter the ministry.
From the stories that are told of this
period of the young mans lite by his
sister, the young romanticist must
nave undergone the keenest agony.
" ith the decision made to enter the
work of minister. young Balch's con-
science, impelled thy be more Puritanlc
standards of early DAY morals, toid him
that 1t would be sort of a sacrilege
to preach the gospel Of Christ and a,
the same time continue the writing of
stories. ''Waliuiah," which has been
declared meritorious by readers capable
of judging, was burned, and Freoeric
Homer balch became an itineran,
missionary preacher OF the Congrega-
tional church. After serving for q
time rs travelling minister in the mid
Columbia district he was. given his first
pastorste in 1886. when he took charge
Of the work Of the church at HOOD
River. No church edifce had been
erected, and it was through the person.
allty of the young minister and through
his instrumentaiity tnat the second
local church. now kIown as the Valley
ChristIsn church, was built. At the
same time Mr.. bslch was engaged in
preaching for the congregation Of
W bite Salmon, just scr0ss the C0lum-
bia from the HOOD kiver valley.
Despite his resolutions to cease writ
ing romances, the young minister,
much Of whose work was among the
Indians. never lost an oppor rtunity to
learn from them the stories vi legends.
These he has embodied so we'll IN The
Bridge of the Gods.
1t Is saiu that most great writers
reach their moments of climax while
writing their life history. 1t was true,
indeed, of young balch: for "lhe
Bridge of the Gods" really tells the
story of the sacrifice Of the young min
lister.
Cecil Gray, the bero of "The Bridge
of the Gods, who sacrificed bis life to
teach the Indiana the religion of Christ.
despite the advice of members Of his
family ana of bis congregation, typifiss
/ frederick Homer Baleh. The young
suffering because OF dictates
of a sensitive conscience, is the proto-
type of the minister of Colonial days,
who offered up his entire being and
plunged away from home and civilisa-
tion into the dense and unknown viii
derness.
But the spell of romantic literature
was too strong for young Balch. and
afer deciding that be could continue
consistently as q minister and at the
ts-.z --ss> - n. ~