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The early history of "Old Oregon" is that of Washington until the latter separated from the parent Territory. The history of the voyages of discovery along the ocean coast, the explorations across the continent, the trapping and trading ventures of American and foreign companies, the grand and heroic work of the early missionaries and the pioneers of the great Northwest, is the common heritage of the sister States on opposite sides of the mighty Columbia.

Prior to the separation in 1853, good newspapers had been established in Olympia, the capital of Washington, and at no time since has the country west of the Cascade Mountains been without one or more of them.

Our early history was thus gathered week by week, in the most painstaking way by the men who wrote the matter for those early journals, and printed it.

Of course the official records of the Territory, its counties and municipalities, have been preserved, and they have suffered but little loss by fire or the ravages of time.

To these two sources must we apply for most of the materials for the history of Washington, that still remains to be written. There have been many more or less pretentious efforts in this direction, but as they were prepared more with an eye to pecuniary results than for the preservation or presentation of our history, they have but little historic value.

Many of the early-day men here, of literary tastes, pre-