CHARACTERISTICS OF OREGON 



and it was curious to hear those perpetual 

 pioneers comparing notes and seeking infor- 

 mation around the camp-fires. 



"Where are you from?" some Oregonian 

 would ask. 



"TheJoaquin." 



"It's dry there, ain't it?" 



"Well, I should say so. No rain at all in 

 summer and none to speak of in winter, and 

 I'm dried out. I just told my wife I was on 

 the move again, and I 'm going to keep moving 

 till I come to a country where it rains once hi 

 a while, like it does hi every reg'lar white man's 

 country; and that, I guess, will be Oregon, if 

 the news be true." 



"Yes, neighbor, you's heading hi the right 

 direction for rain," the Oregonian would say. 

 "Keep right on to Yamhill and you'll soon 

 be damp enough. It rains there more than 

 twelve months in the year; at least, no saying 

 but it will. I've just come from there, plumb 

 drowned out, and I told my wife to jump into 

 the wagon and we would start out and see if 

 we could n't find a dry day somewhere. Last 

 fall the hay was out and the wood was out, 

 and the cabin leaked, and I made up my mind 

 to try California the first chance." 



"Well, if you be a horned toad or coyote," 

 the seeker of moisture would reply, "then 



; 281 



