The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1918-10-03

CratUe v a presented and rejected for
beard IF DIS ner negro Jim. 1r James.
Taylor. -. sand oil Is hereby reject
ed by the CLERK and Judge on the ground
that tbe said Ialyor has not been kept
ln Jail but has run al large The
order Is silent as 10 whether his run
ming al large was according To law OF
not.
Will YOU pardon NE if | turn from
musty court records To an Oli letter
which lies before NE as | WrIte1 The
reference l. q personal one and for that
reason may be out Of keeping. but il Is
80 illustrative of the times and places
Of the long age that ! am tempted 10
quote. The letter is dated Umatilla
Landing, November Is lShs. and ad
dressed IL the mother of the one N ho
wrote. then living i'm Ohio.
My dear mother When nearly
around my circuit. | see the grand old
Columbia river and am always remind
ed that | should write TO you As /
sit in court. every moment Of leisure Is
occupied in looking out Of the front
door upon the waters stretching out a
mile wide Every day a steamer pass
es by. and when the wind IS up stream
the wood barges under sail seem like
ships.
am one hundred miles from home,
and | think there are not ten cords Of
wood growing along the river, OF with
IN sight nothing but sage plains and
bare hills. On the road there is not a
house for fifty-tive miles. Someday
perhaps the country will be generally
settled, but not IN my day. The val
leys and rich lands about springs will
be taken up, and that Will be all. Yet.
you must not suppose my district is all
wilderness. With SIX thousand more
square miles than the state of New
York, it Is very easy for many people
to live here without elboWing each
other. | wrote you from Canyon City ,
since then | have crossed two ranges
of mountains and held three terms Of
court. In two days more | hope TO be
on my way hOmeward.
The writer was the father Of the
speaker, and a letle grandson. but a
few months old now bears his name
Joseph Gardner Wilson.
The Umatilla landing Of those days
was different place from the all but
deserted Umatilla station Of today
Then Pendleton was unknown and
Umatllla was the county seat of that
county, and in its heyday boasetd a
population of 1900 people. presume
80 would cover the number there now.
Ex-Governor Moody was its first mayor
lad I L. 4 k.,. . L., .
recorder.
The minutes have flown, dear pio.
neers. and the end draws near. | dc
not like to leave you for am enjoying
my visit with you immensely, as al
ways do when IN company with the
men and women of the early times.
One Of my greatest pleasures comes
when court cOnyeneS at Hood River,
and opportunity is given to pay re
spects and honor to lovely character,
the most reVered man in the beautiful
valley of Hood River, f. l.. Smith.
Before coming as a pioneer he had
seen and spoken with Lincoln in days
when that great man was still Abra.
ham Lincoln and not the President OF
the United States He had personal
acquaintance with Thomas Starr King,
the eloquent patriot of early Califor.
MIA, and with other notable men. Wher
shake his hand, the same hand which
touched Lincolns, and hear him 81 eak
of the appearance and character Of thl
great president, | feel as though
/ were brought closer to the living pres
i ence of that ideal character With the
I true spirit Of the pioneer Mr.. Smitt
came to Hood River while it was still
untouched. except for a few who cam,
before, save by the hand Of nature
and is now with but few exceptions its
oldest pioneer. cannot imagine more
fitting surroundings for youth to work
and age to rest than in this favoreC
vale And here in the midst of min
ature paradise he sits, cheerful ant
serene, indifferent to all doubtings fol
/ the future spreading sunshine rounC
today, typical of all that is best in tn,
stouthearted family of the pioneers.