Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 19.djvu/50

 40 AUSTIN MIRES dist, and more than once, at her suggestion, father drove the family over there, in the primitive way, to attend meeting. Besides, the cemetery, or graveyard, as it was then called, in which the dead of our vicinity were laid to rest, was located just southwest of the Academy building, some two or three hundred yards distant, on an even sloping ridge studded with the native oak trees of that section. And upon a few sad occasions in my early youth, which are still vivid in my mind, I visited this spot as well. And upon all occasions my won- dering eyes were attracted to the showy academy building, standing out so stately on the terraced hillsid'e, which seemed to beckon me to it. A little later I was sent over there with my elder brother, who was baching and attending school, to bring back the horse he had ridden. At that time there was a building just south from where Mr. Champan's hotel was later located, and it had a sign which read: "Putnam's Hotel." Another feature which remains fresh in my memory, was the long plank bridge spanning the channel of the swale a few rods east of the Wilbur House, kept by F. R. Hill. But my first attendance at Umpqua Academy, as a student, was in 1868, or 1869, during the principalship of James G. Deardorff. The teachers, as I recall them now, were James G. Deardorff, principal, and W. H. Byars and J. H. Skid- more, assistants. At that time the old academy building and the new building just north of it were both occupied. The new building contained one large class room on the ground floor, with living rooms above; in the north part of which Pro- fessor Deardorff with his family, consisting of his wife and two little girls and Mary and Delman Ross, children of his sister from Portland, Oregon, resided. In the old building was located a small sized museum. I remember it contained some jars of snakes, frogs, fishes, etc., preserved in alcohol, specimens of Indian quivers, bows and arrows, some Indian stone implements, mounted birds, a variety of birds' eggs, fos- sils, etc. ; a goodly portion of which had been donated by L. L. Williams, the old pioneer, Indian fighter, county clerk, un- faltering friend, and useful citizen. There were some electric