Page:Cathlamet On the Columbia.djvu/17



ODESTLY does the author of these tales refer to them as perhaps of little worth; but he has made a work which though small in compass, shines with a quality that endures. It is an unusual book. It possesses savor and sincerity, exactness and charm. Pioneer incidents are told with the warmth that comes of long saturated experience. The Indian scenes are more somber, as befits the race, but related in mellow tones that make the almost forgotten aboriginal live. They embody rare fads of value to the historian and ethnologist. Over all broods the background of river and fir.

In this setting Thomas Nelson Strong was born on March 17, 1853, of New England antecedents. His father, William, came to Cathlamet as the first judge of Oregon territory; and it was after his father's associate and friend, Thomas