Page:History of Oregon Newspapers.pdf/498

Rh are many things that are trivial, some foolish, but all of them in some degree reflect the peculiarities of the times in which we live. Hereafter, when historians commence the history of a community, they will immediately hunt up the old musty files of the local newspaper, and then the Local Items will be looked upon as a mirror of the time in which they were written. Although the writer may be unknown to the historian, he will accept his statements, for they were written where they occurred, and passed uncontradicted when all parties interested were present. If any veracious narrator of the progress of this city should get hold of the files of the Oregonian for the past week, he will read that the attempted desecration of the Day of Rest—the shameless blazonry of vice, the open exhibition of rowdyism in this goodly city, was rebuked in proper terms. . ..

And he will feel fairly certain that John F. Damon, later the "marrying parson" in another city, had already reached Portland and begun making his contributions to the Oregonian's news columns in the hope not only of providing a mirror of the time, but of doing something for the improvement of his city. He did give an effective statement of the function of the newspaper, and he ran a rather pretty little editorial in the news columns, while saying what he thought was the last word on something he regarded as disorder rather than sport.

Items about hunting and fishing were beginning to find their way into the papers in the early 60's. In the Morning Oregonian of February 11, 1861, is an account of "The Boss's" (Mr. Pittock's) success in duck-shooting on Willamette slough. The item includes a description of how the ducks were decoyed.

"He (the boss) has been putting in his time among the canvas-backs. In one day he finished nine dozen, and he did not consider it much of a day for duck-hunting, at that. He uses a double-barreled shotgun, and averages about three fowls at a double-shot, but sometimes he has the fortune to bring down five at a time. The modus operandi of enticing the innocent water-fowl in range of the hunter's gun, is by placing a number of decoy-ducks (made of wood and painted the color of the game) in a pond of water, which the ducks flying over swoop down to see. At this period the portly form of "the Boss" is seen rising from his ambuscade and giving both barrels, drops them at the rate described above. The Chesapeake Bay duck-hunters use a long single-barreled gun with an exceedingly large bore, which is uncommonly fatal. "The Boss" says the English snipe have not yet made their appearance yet this year."