Page:Oregon Literature by Horner.djvu/35

Rh our humid atmosphere washed and kept pure by the Webfoot rain—did rain, does rain, will rain; gentle rain; rain that comes like a huge joke, ever welcome, ever-abundant, and never-failing rain; rain that shortens the days, lengthens the nights, and houses the people, domesticating men who ordinarily grow wild and rough in the free light, exhilarating sunshine of the higher altitudes. A heavy, languid, drowsy atmosphere; hence slow thinkers; slower to plan, slow to decide, slow to act,—a people not unlike the Saxons of old, their senses will become blunted, the muscles braced, and the will vigorous. There will be a certain earnestness leading from frivolous sentiments to noble ones—severe manners, grave inclinations, and manly dignity. The western Oregonian will be domesticated per force of circumstances. An indoor plant, a reader of books, a student of indoor ethics. The eastern Oregonian will be an outdoor plant; sallying out from beneath his roof to bathe himself in the summer sunshine and inure himself to the severe atmosphere and draw his inspirations from the bold landscapes, solid clouds that stretch away like great gleaming bars of bronze and gold. A bold man, a brave man, a courageous man, a cultured man, nature's man.

Inasmuch as the climate of Western Oregon is somewhat tempered with the Japanese current, the people who would be cut down untimely in a rugged climate like that of Eastern Oregon naturally