234 SOUTHERN OREGON. 



The graves are covered with boards, in order to prevent the wolves 

 from disinterring the bodies. The emblem of a squaw's grave is 

 o-enerally a cammass-root digger, made of a deer's horns, and fastened 

 on the end of a stick. 



From the delay of the party in the Willamette Valley, they became 

 well acquainted with the various characters of the people who were 

 settled there. They generally consist of those who have been hunters 

 in the mountains, and were still full of the recklessness of that kind 

 of life. Many of them, although they have taken farms and built 

 log houses, cannot be classed among the permanent settlers, as they 

 are ever ready to sell out and resume their old occupation, when an 

 opportunity offers. Our party found them, with one or two excep- 

 tions, well disposed. 



The gentlemen of the party, who had more time and opportunity 

 to become acquainted with the operations of the missionaries than I 

 had, were less favourably impressed than myself. One of the prin- 

 cipal complaints of the settlers against the members of the mission 

 was, that they never had any religious service, although several 

 ministers of the mission were unemployed. This complaint, how- 

 ever, could not be made on our part ; for, the first Sunday the party 

 was encamped, the Rev. Mr. Leslie invited them all to his house for 

 that purpose, which invitation was accepted. Tibbats, one of the 

 party, was sitting by an open window during the sermon, and, as 

 many have done before him, was nodding, in which motion he threw 

 his head back and struck the stick that supported the sash, which 

 coming down suddenly, caught him by the neck. This accident 

 occasioned no small disturbance in the small congregation, but no 

 injury resulted from it to the man, who was inclined to join in the 

 laugh that unavoidably took place after he was extricated. This 

 anecdote will show the character of the class of settlers which the 

 missionaries would have to deal "with, and I am inclined to believe 

 that for the neglect of duty imputed to them, those who make the 

 charge are themselves chiefly to blame. 



It was the general impression of our party, however, that the field 

 for a mission was but small, and not sufficient to warrant the ex- 

 penses that have been lavished upon it. Their school was in opera- 

 tion, and included twenty pupils in all. Dr. Babcock mentioned 

 to one of our gentlemen that he had a native boy for a servant, of 

 whose qualifications and education he spoke, saying that it was a 



