Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 9.djvu/392

 364 T. W. Davenport. 1862 Celebration. The loyal citizens of Oregon met and greeted each other at the celebration of 1862 with a more energetic hand clasp and brighter faces than in 1861, for many things had happened to lighten the burden they then carried. The gloom of the first battle of Bull Run, which obscured their horizon, had been dissipated by the sunburst of Donaldson and Shiloh. The men of the West, with admirable foresight and resolu- tion, had risen in their might, devoted to the arduous task of freeing the Father of Waters from the grip of rebellion, that the argosifco of wealth borne upon his magnificent tide should go unvexed to the sea, and that no alien power should sit portress at his "watery gates." There might be reverses, but the path of duty and destiny was plain, and that of itself was a great exhilaration. And, besides, the general election in June had been an overwhelm- ing victory for the Union party, thus proclaiming that Oregon was a loyal unit of an indivisible republic. Not the least cheering fact in the series was, that a large majority of citizens can lay aside party names and subordinate partisan issues in the interest of the commonwealth. May it ever remain so. Notwithstanding all this, it was well known that there were several thousand persons of Southern birth and lineage who deeply sympathized with their brethren of the sunny land whence they came, and were barely held in leash by the superior powers which environed them. Indeed, some of their young and more ardent sons had gone South and enlisted in the service of the confederacy. Those remaining were not contented with silent and inactive sympathy, but secretly organized themselves into companies, or squads, under the name of Knights of the Golden Circle, to be prepared for any emergency. Union men also organized Union League Clubs. And thus this combustible material continued in juxtaposi- tion, ready to be set in conflagration by a spark, until the military events of the years 1863 and 4 had rendered the Con- federate cause entirely hopeless. How near w^e came to such an insane outbreak as was contemplated by the madcaps in