sale of its lands, besides giving to thousands of actual settlers homes that otherwise could not have been had except by paying tribute to speculators. My activity as a legislator was sufficient reason for preventive measures being taken by the political bosses, who were nearly always either interested. in the exploiting of the public domain or allied for aggressive and protective purposes with these corporate interests, to insure my retirement to private life. Thus, while having shown my ability and loyalty to the people who elected me, and being doubly qualified from my experience of one term, and acquaintance with hold-over members, I was the logical candidate to succeed myself for the ensuing term, the bosses thought, or pretended to think, the eastern part of the county should be represented at the next term and deliberately ignoring my claim to succeed myself, the nomination was given to a Republican living near Lakeview. As the new candidate, though an able and very popular young man, had no record of active sympathy with the settlers to appeal to them, in the ensuing election he received simply his party vote and was defeated. Politicians of both parties were ever afterwards shy of any attempt to inject local issues into their party nominations as such always resulted in disrupting party lines and in many instances defeating well arranged political programs. The knowledge gained in my legislative career of the chicanery and corruption of party politics resulted in weakening my faith in party politics, and rendered me skeptical of the fulsome promises and pledges of office-seekers. Though casting my first vote for Abraham Lincoln when he ran for president for the second time, and voting for every succeeding Republican candidate for the presidency since that time, excepting when the silver issue was the paramount issue, when McKinley and Bryan were the opposing candidates, when I voted for the latter. I have permanently allied myself with the Prohibition party as representing the fight against the greatest social, moral and political enemy of civilization, the liquor interests, which undoubtedly have for years past, and now, control both the old political parties and corrupt and demoralize every branch of national and municipal government. An issue, world wide, nation wide, and state wide that does more to debauch and demoralize the human race than any other cause, and which, unless checked, and divorced from governmental protection and exploitation is destined to overthrow the best government on earth and make a by-word and reproach of Lincoln's definition of ours as a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people.' O. A. STEARNS. CHAPTER XVII CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES-THE STATE OF NATURE-GAME AND FISHPRAIRIE AND TIMBER-FREE LANDS AND LAND GRANTS-SOIL AND IRRIGATIONFORESTS WEALTH, MOUNTAINS AND WATER POWERS The first American settlers in Oregon found the country in a state of nature, unmarred and unimproved by the hand of man. The Indians had subsisted here for a long and unknown period on what they found ready to take with their hands, or such crude contrivances of primitive art as would catch fish or ensnare wild animals. Their development had not passed beyond the age of stone mortars with stone pestles for grinding mills of the seed crops of native plants and nuts, and the simple bow and arrow of all ages of barbarism to bring down the wild goose or the unsuspecting deer. Nature furnished not only generous supplies of food, but also the skins and rich furs of wild animals for clothing. What more could be desired? Nothing! And the Indian had no incentive or reason to disturb this order of Providence. And nature was not disturbed, and everywhere herds of elk, deer and antelope, the aristocrats of the wild game world, roved and pastured practically undisturbed by the desires of men. There were here throughout Oregon when the first Christian missionary came, an abundance of wild game, elk, deer, antelope, bears, wolves, foxes, beaver, marten, otter, wild goats, wild sheep, muskrats, wild geese, swans, cranes, ducks, pheasants, grouse, quail and smaller birds and animals. And upon this natural provision of nature, and such edible plants, roots and seeds as naturally grew here without cultivation, a population of wild Indians, variously estimated at from twenty to forty thousand lived in all the comfort their imperfect development could comprehend. Various estimates have been made of this native population; but the one given by Lieut. Wilkes, prepared with care to find out the facts, is probably as near correct as any ever made. It is copied here not only to show the number of the Indians, but also to give the names and divisions of them in the year 1842, as near as could be gathered by a competent and painstaking public official: Vancouver and Washington Islands From the parallel of 50° to 54° 40′ north ... 5,000 Penn's Cove, Whidbey's Island, and mainland opposite (Scat |