Page:The History of Oregon Bancroft 1888.djvu/155

Rh and when they had closed his eyes forever, treasured up every word that could be of interest to his bereaved wife and friends. Thus while preparing boldly to vindicate his acts and do battle with his adversaries, he was forced to surrender the sword which was too sharp for its scabbard, and not even his mortal remains were permitted to reach Oregon for two years.

The reverence we entertain for one on whom the gods have laid their hands, caused a revulsion of feeling and an outburst of sympathy. Had he lived to make war in his own defence, perhaps McLoughlin would have been sooner righted; but the people, who as a majority blamed him for the disgraceful eleventh section of the land law, could not touch the dead lion with disdainful feet, and his party who honored his talents and felt under obligations for his industry, protected his memory from even the implied censure