KEPEESENTATIVE MEN OF OREGON. 193
position he organized about forty lodges in Oregon and Washington Terri- tory. In 1867 he pre-empted the claim on which he Hves at St. H(*lenH. He then went to Vancouver and bought the "Register," which pai)cr he ran for the next three years, iu the meantime being appointed Register of the Land Office at that place. In 1871 he sold his paper and moved to St. Helens, where he has since resided, and during moat of the time has been Justice of the Peace of the district in which he lives. Two years ago he started the "Columbian," and it is now regarded as the liveliest country paper in the State, and is certainly the most original in its character of any paper we have ever seen, ilie Major has a happy and pointed way of ex- pressing all the passing thoughts that crowd on his busy braiu, and whilst these expressions are amusing to some, they cause others to become <iuito antagonistic; but woe betide the man who takes up the cudgel against the Major, for he is noted for being not only mighty with the pen and the sword, but also dexterous in flourishing his trusty cane. For special valor dis- played on one occasion, in Oregon City, Major Adams was presented, by the citizens of that place, with a silver mounted cane, with the suggestive words, " For use," engraven on it. On July 4, 1881, he delivered an original poem at the grand celebration in Vancouver, before ten thousand people, and received the highest enconiums from all for his spirited and appropri- ate production. In a volume entitled " New Hampshire Poets," nine selec- tions have been chosen from the pen of Major Adams, as well as selections by his sister, Mrs. Mary A. Senter, and also his brother, both now deceased. The whole family were infused with a poetic nature. It wiU be seen from the foregoing brief synopsis that Major Adam's career has been an eventful one. He is a man of more than average height, splendid build, a quick eye, sturdy and impetuous in temperament, an entertaining conversationalist, ready wit, and a man whose imposing address and general bearing will al- ways command attention in a multitude. Considering the prominence of his origin, coupled with the praiseworthy record he has earned for himself, he'possesses little of that unenviable quality of vanity and conceit that is found so distasteful in the majority of men who possess such a historic i)ed- igree in addition to their natural talents, and he is therefore entitled to greater praise for his becoming modesty. Whilst he takes a deep interest in the welfare of the community in which he lives, he is also closely devoted to his interesting family.
SAMUEL FINLY BLYTHE Was born in Fairfield, Adams county, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1842. At the age of fourteen he commenced learning the printer's trade in the office of the "Repository and Whig," at Chambersburg, Pa., and after serv- ing two years as apprentice, removed to Eaton, Ohio, and finished learning his trade in the office of the " Eaton Democrat." After a year's tramp as a "jour." through the States of Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, the breakmg out of the Rebellion found him at Eaton, where he enlisted and served three years and three months in the Twenty-second Ohio Infantry, participatmg with that regiment in the battles of Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Cormth, Siege
