George Henry Himes

“ Himes had a little daughter six months old. This child had beautiful auburn hair, and this fact caused the Indians through whose country the "Oregon trail" passed to observe her very closely—in fact, the Indians at different times wanted to buy the child, and one chief on the western slope of the Blue Mountains offered some hundreds of ponies for her. As may be imagined, this desire upon the part of the Indians caused considerable apprehension at different times on the part of my mother. ”

“ Now, you can do as you please—go with me, or go home to your father and mother with the baby, and wait until I go out there and get a home started, when I will send for you or come back after you."
"Francis," she said, "when I married you I left my father and mother to live with you; and when you get ready to go to Oregon I will go with you."
Soon afterwards Mrs. Perry's father visited her and said:
"My child, come back home with the baby and stay until your husband has a home ready for you in that far-away land. Just think of it! There is nothing out there but savages and wild beasts. Mr. ”

“ It is for her good example, her cheerfulness under trying circumstances, and the excellent counsel she always has ready for those in trouble. She never complains, but always makes the best of everything. ”

“ Occasionally she would visit a neighbor, particularly in case of sickness—there was but one physician in the country, and he five miles away, and his lowest fee for a country visit was $10.00—walking five to ten miles', and would knit socks while she was walking. My father died April 22, 1879, and mother managed the farm five years with the aid of two sons in their teens. At length she sold it, and in 1885 returned on a visit to her girlhood home in Pennsylvania, after an absence of thirty-nine years. ”

“ The little ones when hungry could not understand why food was not forthcoming. After arriving at the settlements on Puget Sound and securing shelter in the rudest of log cabins for the first winter, my father was compelled to be away from home a great deal in order to earn funds to keep the food supply going. ”

“ Everything was high, and mother patched clothing for the children and herself and also spun yarn from wool that she got on s'hares from neighbors, made socks and stockings for a family of six, and in addition knit at least three pairs of men's socks a week to sell, besides making garments whenever father could get ahead enough to get a piece of clothing stuff. ”

“ The third range is called the "Blue Mountains," because of the bluish appearance when looked at from a distance, caused by the pine-covered summits. While large bodies of snow lie upon these mountains the greater portion of the year, it has no perpetual snow peaks. ”