Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 5.djvu/123

 saw it. This is David McLoughlin, son of Dr. McLoughlin, now over 80 years of age.

He was herein his early boyhood, with his father, over 70 years ago. I am permitted to read an extract. from a letter written by him to a friend in Portland, only a few days since, which is very interesting. He says:

"Oregon was a fine country in my early days—a park on a large scale, that could not be surpassed even by artificial culture. It mattered not at what point immigrants or travelers entered this western shore of America, at each of its thresholds a scene of beauty awaited them. Before the Anglo-Saxon race penetrated the Rockies there was no civilization in the country that is worth mention. It was in its natural state of beauty, romantic and grand, with its endless prairies, streams and forests and wild animals of all kinds for the use of man. Here and there, scattered throughout the country, snow-capped mountains were to be seen, enhancing the grandeur of its scenery.

"The Rockies for many long years served as a barrier against the advance of civilization. This barrier was at last overcome by the immigrants seeking after a new country in the valleys of the far Columbia in 1835-49. But this is not the place to commemorate the trials and privations endured by the immigrants before they reached their final haven. From the banks of the Missouri to the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains they struggled on with a constancy almost unparalleled in history.

"The savage man, the savage beasts, hunger, thirst and disease; in fact, every kind of impediment which nature could place in their way, had all been overcome with Anglo-Saxon tenacity—yet the long journey and accumulations of terrors for their families had shaken the hearts of the stoutest among them.

"It was between Walla Walla and Willamette valleys that the immigrants suffered most, on account of the rains and