Page:History of Oregon Literature.djvu/451

 Two Shores. This was brought out by A. C. McClurg & Company in 1906. Of this book and her research in connection with it she tells the most interesting story of all:

I turned my attention to another interesting feature of early Oregon. When I was writing on my other books I had occasion often to talk to the old Hudson's Bay men and they would often say, "You ought to see McDonald about that." They said he was at old Fort Colville on the Columbia river. I became interested in this man and I wrote to him, telling him that I planned calling one of my books The King of the Columbia. He wrote back and indignantly informed me that he was the king of the Columbia. And when I heard his story I admitted that he was right.

In one of many letters I received from him he informed me that he had written a journal of his life and experiences and had sent it to a friend in Canada who intended to write a book on it, but apparently had done nothing with it. McDonald said he was coming down to Portland. He died before making the journey. He had told me where the journal was and I set out to try to find it. It was ten years afterwards that I finally got a copy of it and was able to go ahead with my book, McDonald of Oregon.

I wrote and wrote to the man in Canada who had the journal, but could never so much as get a reply. Finally a British official became interested and he told me he'd try to get it. Sometime afterwards I received a message from him that he had secured the book and I told him I would go to Vancouver, B. C, for it. When I got there he refused to let me take the book away, but offered to let me read it.

I knew there was no use in causing trouble, so I sat down to try to copy it off. It was a hopeless task. While I was at work a thought struck me. In the next room was a public stenographer. Perhaps I could engage her to make a copy. I rushed in and she accepted the work and got another girl to help her. We flew to the work. I read the pages over and had the girls copy. Their fingers flew over the typewriter keys for days during all their spare time. The man who had the book knew nothing of my operations, being busy in a session of the Parliament.

Finally I got the copy made and paid the girls a large sum for their services. I then rushed back to Portland, got together my facts and set to the task of writing my book.

''The Soul of America. An Oregon Iliad'' is her latest book. She stoutly denies, though she was 79 when it appeared, that it will be her last. She intends, she says, to continue