boisterous weather in the fall of the year. I believe there was not one but gave a heartfelt prayer of thanks when they saw the broad valley of the "Willamette bathed in the sunlight beneath them and learnt from others that this was the land of Ophir they sought and that these virgin acres were to be theirs.
"Therefore, the immigrants and pioneers of Oregon, men and women of the Anglo-Saxon race, who have given to the western shore of the continent its greatness, deserve the greatest praise, honor and reward for their valor and endurance in raising the Oregon region to its present rank of greatness in so short a time. It is marvelous. It surpasses imagination of man. It has grown to an empire State in wealth, population, culture, and in trade, all in about 60 years.
"They have cleared away the forests, bridged the streams, built cities, spanned the continent and crossed and recrossed and checkered it with highways of iron; they have planted orchards and vineyards upon side hills and in every valley within its borders. It is marvelous to contemplate the achievements and exploits of these people."
And to the missionary effort that preceded the general immigration a debt is due that never should miss acknowledgement, when the story of the acquisition and settlement of Oregon is recited. The missionary enterprise began with Jason Lee in 1834. Next came Samuel Parker in 1835. Whitman and Spaulding, with W. H. Gray, followed in 1836. In 1838 came Walker and Eells. By 1840 there were in Oregon 13 Methodists and six Congregational ministers, 13 lay members of the Protestant missions, three Roman Catholic missionary priests, and a considerable number of Canadian settlers of the Roman Catholic faith. If the missionary effort did not succeed as its authors hoped in its direct purpose of helping the Indians to uplift and regeneration, it did succeed greatly in its secondary purpose, which the American missionaries ever kept in view, namely, in lending aid to the foundation of a commonwealth under the sovereignty of the United States. Long time there was disinclination to give the
