Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 18.djvu/257



News and Comment 229

Manuscript Collections,

Important additions to the manuscript collections of the Society have been received from Mrs. Eva Emery Dye, of Oregon City, the widely known writer upon historical subjects relating to Oregon. These include her personal notes and numerous letters from pioneers and many others used in the preparation of McLoughlin and Old Oregon, The Conquest, McDonald of Oregon; also the autobiography of Ranald Mc- Donald, and a nimiber of letters from John Work to Edward Ermatinger, between 1829 and 1846, and from Sir George Simpson, Archibald Barclay, Sir J. H. Pelly, and Andrew Col- vile to James Douglas, between March 26, 1850, and Oct. 12, 1854.

Old-Time Weapons.

A brace of old-time derringers, of very beautiful design, suggestive of the pioneer period, has been presented to the Society by Mr. Joseph M. Teal. These pistols were the prop- erty of his father, Joseph Teal, an Oregon pioneer of 1850, and a widely known citizen of the commonwealth. Miss Helen Teal, sister of Mr. Joseph N. Teal, has presented a pair of hunting pistols which also belonged to her father. These four weapons are single-shot breech-loaders.

Annual Reunion of Pioneer Association.

The forty-fifth annual reunion of the Oregon Pioneer Asso- ciation occurred on July 22, 1917, more than one month after the proper date, for the reason that the Armory in which the reunion has been held for many years was not available this year on account of military necessity, and the Public Audi- torium, where the pioneers met was not ready for occupation until the date mentioned. The nimiber present was 935 and the average age of that number was seventy years. No one who came to, or was born in, any part of the original "Oregon country" later than 1859 is eligible to membership in the Association, according to the constitutional provision made by the founders of the organization. The year 1859 was chosen as