Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 3.djvu/306



The following is the narrative of a pioneer of 1852, who is, however, at the age of sixty-five, still an active business man, and who belongs not so distinctively to the early pioneer period of settlement as to the second pioneer period that of early enterprises and the business ventures that have determined business arrangements and channels of trade. This is a field that the Historical Society has yet scarcely entered upon, and it should be approached cautiously, as it is thus far without historical perspective, nor free from local predispositions. Nevertheless, the great advantage of collecting such data as opportunity offers, while the pioneers of enterprise are still with us and in active mind, is so apparent, that the scruples of these men themselves, who hesitate to present for public perusal what is so personal, may be set aside. Sooner or later the public claims all worthy life and action.

The following is taken mainly from a letter written by Mr. Warren to a relative at the East, interested in family history, and is, therefore, even more of family interest than the usual pioneer reminiscences; but to the historian and sociologist these records are of much more interest than the usual political history to which such exclusive attention is commonly given. Study of genealogies, even, has ceased, under modern historical methods, to be exclusive or egotistical, and throws valuable light upon our most perplexing social problems. In the case of Mr. Warren, for instance, the question of what has become of the old New England revolutionary stock has some answer, and the persistence of the char-