and fragmentary notes from others. The journals of Burnett and others, so far as they have been given to the public, were jotted down from time to time by men wearied by unremitting toil, who had no time or disposition to record more than the briefest itinerary of the day. Therefore, with all its faults, Wilkes' book is of priceless value as a memorial to Congress about the Oregon of that period and the history of its local events and men of seventy years ago.

To one familiar, as was the writer of this paper, with the remarkable editorials appearing in the Spirit of the Times during all the Civil War period, with their vigorous English, their fervent loyalty and lofty patriotism, the style of the book is not comparable, but in giving the salient facts about the migration and the conditions then existing in the Willamette Valley it is so accurate that an occasional slip of the pen can be readily condoned.

At the time of his death, which occurred September 23, 1885, the New York Herald and the Times each devoted nearly a column to his obituary and other newspapers of that city and other Atlantic cities made more or less extended mention of him and his life.

The Librarian of the New York Public Library has furnished me with photostat reproductions of the obituaries of Mr. Wilkes published by the New York Herald and Times and the Spirit of the Times. The latter article, dated September 26, 1885, is given in full below:

"We regret to record the death, in this city, on Wednesday, of George Wilkes, one of the founders and proprietors of The Spirit of The Times, and for many years its sole editor. Mr. Wilkes joined the staff of this paper when it was called Porter's Spirit. A division of the proprietorship having occurred, he continued its publication under the title of Wilkes' Spirit until 1866, when his name was dropped. He lived abroad for several years, in the enjoyment of an ample income, which enabled him to indulge his cultivated tastes, and returned here a few months ago, as if he felt some premonition of his approaching death, and desired to rest in his native land, which he loved enthusiastically and served zealously.

"George Wilkes was, in his way, one of the foremost American journalists. He not only founded the greatest paper of its class which this country has ever possessed, but he made it, during the Civil War, as tremendous a power in national politics as it has always been in the departments to which it is more particularly devoted. Among such giants of journalism as James Gordon Bennett, Horace Greeley, Henry J. Raymond, Charles A. Dana and William Cullen Bryant—of whom only Mr. Dana now remains to us—Mr. Wilkes held an equal place by virtue of his remarkable talents. They had daily papers in which to address the public; his paper was published only once a week; but they all conceded the vigor and brilliancy of his writing and his articles in The Spirit were republished so extensively that their circulation may be said to have been world wide. His editorials during the War were regularly reprinted in the Tribune and some of them were read in Congress. His advice was asked and followed by President Lincoln and the members of his famous Cabinet. Having convinced himself that General McClellan was inefficient, Mr. Wilkes fairly wrote him out of the command of the Army of the Potomac. He was largely instrumental in bringing Grant to take charge of our Eastern armies. He was on most intimate terms with the leading statesmen and generals of the Union.

"Mr. Wilkes went to the front at the outbreak of the Rebellion and witnessed and described for The Spirit the battle of Bull Run. In the concluding words of that report he gave the keynote for all patriots by stating that the South had fought so well as to be worthy of being brought back into the Union. Throughout the magnificent series of letters and editorials which illuminated the pages of The Spirit this was the text which Mr. Wilkes enforced. He never displayed toward the misguided men who were trying to break up the Union the bitter animosity with which he hunted down the incompetent leaders of the Union side, whose incapacity delayed the restoration of peace and unity. He never doubted the ultimate salvation of the Republic, but he was righteously impatient with those who did not share his faith and agree with him in his opinions of men and measures. He labored ardently to hasten the triumph of the Union as any soldier in the field—as General Grant himself. If he made any mistakes they were on the side of patriotism and were due to his anxiety to hurry on the inevitable victory. One mistake of his in regard to General Fitz John Porter cost that officer his condemnation by Court Martial and nearly cost him his life. But Mr. Wilkes lived to see this error redeemed by the full justice done to General Porter in The Spirit, by Grant, by Congress and by the American people. In the fever and fury of a Civil War such injustices could scarcely be altogether avoided; but Mr. Wilkes went with our armies, saw personally the matters which he criticised, and, in McClellan's camp on the Peninsula, caught the disease which has finally resulted in his decease.

"George Wilkes has been so long absent from editorial connection with The Spirit that his death will not affect it in any way. But, like all strong individualities, he has left a permanent impression upon the paper which he so long conducted. His energetic and splendid style of writing elevated the journalism of sports from the slipslop methods of his predecessors. He attempted to banish slang from every department of The Spirit and he succeeded. In Shakespeare he found a living well of English undefiled and there he sought for strength and purity of diction. After his retirement from practical journalism, he wrote a commentary upon Shakespeare which is remarkable for its original views and theories. But Mr. Wilkes felt that the work of his life had ended with the Civil War and that thereafter he might take such enjoyment as his broken health permitted. He made business arrangements which left him free to live or travel wherever he pleased and independent of all cares and responsibilities. Never afraid of death and boldly facing it a hundred times in the discharge of what he believed to be his duty, he finally died at home, peacefully and fearlessly."

Allibone's Dictionary of Authors, Vol. 3, p. 2720, quotes the following: "New York, April 28, 1870.—George Wilkes, the proprietor of the Spirit of the Times, has received from the Emperor of Russia the Grand Cross of the Order of St. Stanislas, as a recognition for the suggestion made to the Russian Government in reference to an overland railway to China and India by way of Russia. This mark of royal favor entitles the holder to have his male children at the Military School of Russia at the expense of the State."

This great honor from the Russian Government came to him about a quarter century after he had been made the object of jest and ridicule for a similar suggestion backed by sound argument for a railroad across the United States. Scriptural comment: "A prophet is not without honor save in his own country."

The New York Times said of him that when the Civil War broke out Wilkes wrote a series of newspaper and magazine articles on the burning question of the hour that attracted wide attention, and gained him the friendship of many prominent men. Secretary Stanton took a personal interest in him, and gave him a great deal of literary work to do in Washington. His articles were very vigorous, well written, and patriotic. They commanded a wide influence, and besides strengthening the attachment of the author to people who had heretofore been his friends, they had the effect of subduing the belligerence and increasing the caution of his enemies.

In April, 1860, Frank Leslie's "Illustrated Newspaper" published a photograph of him and