The man, the hermit1, sighed—till woman smiled!
—Campbell.
Our army of peaceful occupation scattered2 along the more fertile parts of the land, principally among the valleys. Of course, it should not be forgotten that what was then called Oregon meant all of what now is embraced in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, with part of Wyoming as well. It extended south to the Mexican possessions of California. How far north it was to run, it was my errand here to learn.
To all apparent purposes, I simply was one of the new settlers in Oregon, animated3 by like motives4, possessed5 of little more means, and disposed to adjust myself to existing circumstances, much as did my fellows. The physical conditions of life in a country abounding6 in wild game and fish, and where even careless planting would yield abundant crops, offered no very difficult task to young men accustomed to shifting for themselves; so that I looked forward to the winter with no dread7.
I settled near the mouth of the Willamette River, near Oregon City, and not far from where the city of Portland later was begun; and builded for myself a little cabin of two rooms, with a connecting roof. This I furnished, as did my neighbors their similar abodes8, with a table made of hewed9 puncheons, chairs sawed from blocks, a bed framed from poles, on which lay a rude mattress10 of husks and straw. My window-panes were made of oiled deer hide. Thinking that perhaps I might need to plow11 in the coming season, I made me a plow like those around me, which might have come from Mexico or Egypt—a forked limb bound with rawhide12. Wood and hide, were, indeed, our only materials. If a wagon13 wheel showed signs of disintegration14, we lashed15 it together with rawhide. When the settlers of the last year sought to carry wheat to market on the Willamette barges16, they did so in sacks made of the hides of deer. Our clothing was of skins and furs.
From the Eastern States I scarcely could now hear in less than a year, for another wagon train could not start west from the Missouri until the following spring. We could only guess how events were going forward in our diplomacy17. We did not know, and would not know for a year, the result of the Democratic convention at Baltimore, of the preceding spring! We could only wonder who might be the party nominees18 for the presidency19. We had a national government, but did not know what it was, or who administered it. War might be declared, but we in Oregon would not be aware of it. Again, war might break out in Oregon, and the government at Washington could not know that fact.
The mild winter wore away, and I learned little. Spring came, and still no word of any land expedition out of Canada. We and the Hudson Bay folk still dwelt in peace. The flowers began to bloom in the wild meads, and the horses fattened20 on their native pastures. Wider and wider lay the areas of black overturned soil, as our busy farmers kept on at their work. Wider grew the clearings in the forest lands. Our fruit trees, which we had brought two thousand miles in the nursery wagon, began to put out tender leafage. There were eastern flowers—marigolds, hollyhocks, mignonette—planted in the front yards of our little cabins. Vines were trained over trellises here and there. Each flower was a rivet21, each vine a cord, which bound Oregon to our Republic.
Summer came on. The fields began to whiten with the ripening22 grain. I grew uneasy, feeling myself only an idler in a land so able to fend23 for itself. I now was much disposed to discuss means of getting back over the long trail to the eastward24, to carry the news that Oregon was ours. I had, it must be confessed, nothing new to suggest as to making it firmly and legally ours, beyond what had already been suggested in the minds of our settlers themselves. It was at this time that there occurred a startling and decisive event.
I was on my way on a canoe voyage up the wide Columbia, not far above the point where it receives its greatest lower tributary25, the Willamette, when all at once I heard the sound of a cannon26 shot. I turned to see the cloud of blue smoke still hanging over the surface of the water. Slowly there swung into view an ocean-going vessel27 under steam and auxiliary28 canvas. She made a gallant29 spectacle. But whose ship was she? I examined her colors anxiously enough. I caught the import of her ensign. She flew the British union Jack30!
England had won the race by sea!
Something in the ship's outline seemed to me familiar. I knew the set of her short masts, the pitch of her smokestacks, the number of her guns. Yes, she was the Modesté of the English Navy—the same ship which more than a year before I had seen at anchor off Montreal!
News travels fast in wild countries, and it took us little time to learn the destination of the Modesté. She came to anchor above Oregon City, and well below Fort Vancouver. At once, of course, her officers made formal calls upon Doctor McLaughlin, the factor at Fort Vancouver, and accepted head of the British element thereabouts. Two weeks passed in rumors31 and counter rumors, and a vastly dangerous tension existed in all the American settlements, because word was spread that England had sent a ship to oust32 us. Then came to myself and certain others at Oregon City messengers from peace-loving Doctor McLaughlin, asking us to join him in a little celebration in honor of the arrival of her Majesty's vessel.
Here at last was news; but it was news not wholly to my liking33 which I soon unearthed34. The Modesté was but one ship of fifteen! A fleet of fifteen vessels35, four hundred guns, then lay in Puget Sound. The watch-dogs of Great Britain were at our doors. This question of monarchy36 and the Republic was not yet settled, after all!
I pass the story of the banquet at Fort Vancouver, because it is unpleasant to recite the difficulties of a kindly37 host who finds himself with jarring elements at his board. Precisely38 this was the situation of white-haired Doctor McLaughlin of Fort Vancouver. It was an incongruous assembly in the first place. The officers of the British Navy attended in the splendor39 of their uniforms, glittering in braid and gold. Even Doctor McLaughlin made brave display, as was his wont40, in his regalia of dark blue cloth and shining buttons—his noble features and long, snow-white hair making him the most lordly figure of them all. As for us Americans, lean and brown, with hands hardened by toil41, our wardrobes scattered over a thousand miles of trail, buckskin tunics42 made our coats, and moccasins our boots. I have seen some noble gentlemen so clad in my day.
We Americans were forced to listen to many toasts at that little frontier banquet entirely43 to our disliking. We heard from Captain Parke that "the Columbia belonged to Great Britain as much as the Thames"; that Great Britain's guns "could blow all the Americans off the map"; that her fleet at Puget Sound waited but for the signal to "hoist44 the British flag over all the coast from Mexico to Russia" Yet Doctor McLaughlin, kindly and gentle as always, better advised than any one there on the intricacies of the situation now in hand, only smiled and protested and explained.
For myself, I passed only as plain settler. No one knew my errand in the country, and I took pains, though my blood boiled, as did that of our other Americans present at that board, to keep a silent tongue in my head. If this were joint45 occupancy, I for one was ready to say it was time to make an end of it. But how might that be done? At least the proceedings46 of the evening gave no answer.
It was, as may be supposed, late in the night when our somewhat discordant47 banqueting party broke up. We were all housed, as was the hospitable48 fashion of the country, in the scattered log buildings which nearly always hedge in a western fur-trading post. The quarters assigned me lay across the open space, or what might be called the parade ground of Fort Vancouver, flanked by Doctor McLaughlin's four little cannon.
As I made my way home, stumbling among the stumps49 in the dark, I passed many semi-drunken Indians and voyageurs, to whom special liberty had been accorded in view of the occasion, all of them now engaged in singing the praises of the "King George" men as against the "Bostons." I talked now and again with some of our own brown and silent border men, farmers from the Willamette, none of them any too happy, all of them sullen50 and ready for trouble in any form. We agreed among us that absolute quiet and freedom from any expression of irritation51 was our safest plan. "Wait till next fall's wagon trains come in!" That was the expression of our new governor, Mr. Applegate; and I fancy it found an echo in the opinions of most of the Americans. By snowfall, as we believed, the balance of power would be all upon our side, and our swift-moving rifles would outweigh52 all their anchored cannon.
I was almost at my cabin door at the edge of the forest frontage at the rear of the old post, when I caught glimpse, in the dim light, of a hurrying figure, which in some way seemed to be different from the blanket-covered squaws who stalked here and there about the post grounds. At first I thought she might be the squaw of one of the employees of the company, who lived scattered about, some of them now, by the advice of Doctor McLaughlin, beginning to till little fields; but, as I have said, there was something in the stature53 or carriage or garb54 of this woman which caused me idly to follow her, at first with my eyes and then with my footsteps.
She passed steadily55 on toward a long and low log cabin, located a short distance beyond the quarters which had been assigned to me. I saw her step up to the door and heard her knock; then there came a flood of light—more light than was usual in the opening of the door of a frontier cabin. This displayed the figure of the night walker, showing her tall and gaunt and a little stooped; so that, after all, I took her to be only one of our American frontier women, being quite sure that she was not Indian or half-breed.
This emboldened56 me, on a mere57 chance—an act whose mental origin I could not have traced—to step up to the door after it had been closed, and myself to knock thereat. If it were a party of Americans here, I wished to question them; if not, I intended to make excuses by asking my way to my own quarters. It was my business to learn the news of Oregon.
I heard women's voices within, and as I knocked the door opened just a trifle on its chain. I saw appear at the crack the face of the woman whom I had followed.
She was, as I had believed, old and wrinkled, and her face now, seen close, was as mysterious, dark and inscrutable as that of any Indian squaw. Her hair fell heavy and gray across her forehead, and her eyes were small and dark as those of a native woman. Yet, as she stood there with the light streaming upon her, I saw something in her face which made me puzzle, ponder and start—and put my foot within the crack of the door.
When she found she could not close the door, she called out in some foreign tongue. I heard a voice answer. The blood tingled58 in the roots of my hair!
"Threlka," I said quietly, "tell Madam the Baroness59 it is I, Monsieur Trist, of Washington."
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1
hermit
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| n.隐士，修道者；隐居 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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5
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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abounding
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| adj.丰富的，大量的v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的现在分词 ) | |
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7
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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abodes
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| 住所( abode的名词复数 )； 公寓； （在某地的）暂住； 逗留 | |
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hewed
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| v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的过去式和过去分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟 | |
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mattress
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| n.床垫，床褥 | |
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plow
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| n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough | |
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rawhide
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| n.生牛皮 | |
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wagon
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| n.四轮马车，手推车，面包车；无盖运货列车 | |
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disintegration
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| n.分散，解体 | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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nominees
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| n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 ) | |
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presidency
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| n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期) | |
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fattened
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| v.喂肥( fatten的过去式和过去分词 )；养肥（牲畜）；使（钱）增多；使（公司）升值 | |
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rivet
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| n.铆钉；vt.铆接，铆牢；集中(目光或注意力) | |
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ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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fend
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| v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开 | |
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eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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auxiliary
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| adj.辅助的，备用的 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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jack
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| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
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rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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oust
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| vt.剥夺，取代，驱逐 | |
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liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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unearthed
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| 出土的（考古） | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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monarchy
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| n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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39
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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40
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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41
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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42
tunics
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| n.（动植物的）膜皮( tunic的名词复数 )；束腰宽松外衣；一套制服的短上衣；（天主教主教等穿的）短祭袍 | |
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43
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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44
hoist
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| n.升高，起重机，推动；v.升起，升高，举起 | |
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45
joint
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| adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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discordant
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| adj.不调和的 | |
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48
hospitable
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| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
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49
stumps
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| （被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分 | |
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50
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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51
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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52
outweigh
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| vt.比...更重，...更重要 | |
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53
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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54
garb
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| n.服装，装束 | |
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55
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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56
emboldened
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| v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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tingled
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| v.有刺痛感( tingle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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baroness
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| n.男爵夫人，女男爵 | |
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