[or-roots] Oregon Insane Asylums (Aunt Charlotte's book)

[DAVIESW739 at aol.com]

There were a number of poor, harmless, unsettled creatures, who came from  
time to time to the ferry. Father was very good to them. I wonder now why there  
should have been so many of them, all out of proportion to the few settlers 
that  were in that great wilderness. Of course, there were many things that 
might have  contributed to it, loneliness, exposure, starvation, fright, and 
many, many  other things that went into the making up of the pioneer life.
 
  One of these unfortunates was a boy by the name of Goodhugh.  One morning 
we discovered that our hymn book had disappeared during the night.  Mother had 
awakened Father and told him that she thought she heard someone come  into the 
house, but Father was too sleepy to bother about it, and in the  morning, 
Mother discovered that her hymn book was gone. Something led us to  suspect 
Goodhugh, so one of our boys asked him about it. He was quite frank and  explained 
that hymn books were very scarce, so he had come in when everyone was  asleep 
and had taken ours and planted it. He explained that he intended to grow  such 
a crop of hymn books as would supply everyone in the whole country. He even  
told where it was planted, under a big fir tree a mile or so beyond the river. 
 The boys went over looked where he told them to. The hymn book was there, 
but in  a very poor state of repair. A herd of wild, impious hogs had found and  
desecrated the hymn book garden and had torn and scattered the leaves around  
everywhere. They picked them up and Mother mended the book as best she could, 
 but after that, she often closed her book when the preacher gave out some  
special hymn. A herd of wild hogs had eaten that particular page. It did not  
bother me, for I had learned to read out of that book and I knew "by heart"  
every single hymn in it.
 
Walt  Davies
Cooper Hollow Farm
Monmouth, OR 97361
503 623-0460 

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