Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/219

 Two COMMON WEALTH Bu FLOURS. 211 mind a wider conception of God than the world had ever known. It involved a plan of unthinkable grandeur; begin- ning with the smallest, simplest things, gradually unfolding into more complex life, often interrupted by some great up- turning of nature, but never losing the continuity of purpose, the steady progress toward the culminating glory of all: the spiritual life of man. "To have all this new wealth of spiritual vision appropri- ated by materialists was a source of deepest sorrow. The storm, starting on the intellectual heights of Europe, was slowly traveling westward. A little later magazines were full of the subject and materialism was creeping into college life with the claim that evolution was antagonistic to religion. The young men who studied science found few leaders so endowed as to interpret the beautiful adaptation of the doctrine of evolution to the spiritual life. "Mr. Condon saw that the old ramparts erected by theolo- gians were no longer a safe retreat; that the church must be defended even by science itself, and he longed to help unfurl the Christian banner over this newly discovered rea.lm of truth. He felt his most effective work could be done with his cabinet in shaping the immature minds of Oregon's sons and daughters. This, with the growing educational needs of his family, finally led him, in 1873, to take his place with the faculty of Pacific University at Forest Grove, and late, in 1876, to accept the chair of Geology and Natural History in the State University. "In 1876, shortly after reaching Eugene, Mr. Condon, in company with a son of ex-Governor Whiteaker, made a trip to the Silver Lake country in Southeastern Oregon. Here they gathered a fine collection of beautifully preserved fossil bird bones, which were sent east to be described, but seemed too rare and valuable to be returned, for, in spite of many efforts to recover them they were finally lost to the rightful owner. Fortunately, they had been previously examined and described by Dr. Shufe.ldt, an expert in the study of fossil birds, and to him we are indebted for much interesting knowledge of the ancient life of the region. This same locality has also yielded some of the finest specimens of fossil mammals in the State. "By this time Oregon had passed out of its pioneer stage and was looking to a broader expansion of statehood, with all its hidden possibilities of industrial development. Men were asking, 'Have we coal in Oregon?' 'How shall we utilize our