Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/279

 REMINISCENCES OF SEVENTY YEARS 271 contracting parties simply married themselves and it took them just three months to do it. Their churches were all built with two departments, one for the women and one for the men, but arranged so they could be thrown into one room. The first month, each of the contracting parties rose in his or her own department where neither could hear what the other said. We will take the woman first. She rises and says: "My beloved sisters, John and myself have concluded to become man and wife; if there is no objection, and we do not change our minds within the time allotted for the ceremony." John Killom gets up in his department and repeats the same thing, only calling the girl's name instead of his own. The next monthly meeting they both get up in their respective depart- ments and state that they have had no cause or wish to change their minds and if nobody else has any objections, they will con- tinue in the good work for the time allotted. The third month the gentleman gets up and walks into the ladies' department and takes his seat beside his affianced, but she can have a bridesmaid and he can take a groom in with him if he likes. Then, at a signal from the ladies' department, the doors are thrown wide open and the two contracting parties with the groom and maid rise in their seats and declare themselves man and wife in the presence of the whole audience. Then congratulations and shaking of hands finish the cere- mony, and it is just as good and lawful and legal a marriage as ever was performed by any priest or magistrate in the United States. I am not sure whether they keep up this ancient custom or not. I see they have discarded the old broad brim hat and shad-belly coat, and eat with their hats off. They are shrewd and witty in business as the most accomplished broker you can find in any state, the only difference in their system of doing business and ours is in the modus operandi. Under their system of government one Superior Court and one term a year would be all Oregon or any state would ever need. I have only written this little history of what I call a model class of people to show the changes that have taken place since I was a boy seventy years ago.