274 REVEREND EZRA FISHER
gregation for the sparseness of the settlement, and at night I rode home with Br. Snelling. How distressing the thought that in all my travels in the Willamette Valley I have found no Baptist Sabbath school above Oregon City. My spirit is deeply afflicted with the thought that the children of Bap- tist families and others have so few opportunities for religious instruction. One Sabbath each month they may hear a sermon preached; and then there are few books, except the Bible, adapted to instruct the youthful mind in morals and religion, while the temptations to visit and rove the plains in diversion are many and powerful. I long for the faithful S. S. teachers, with their neat little library of books, to direct the youthful mind in the ways of virtue and wisdom.
17th. Rode 30 miles, crossed the two remaining forks of the Yam Hill River, passed through Chehalum Valley, 173 visited two Baptist families and spent the night on the south fork of the Tualatin River with an interesting Baptist family.
18th. Visited Rev. Mr. Clark in Tuality Plains. Near his residence he, with the assistance of a few benevolent friends, sustains a school called the Oregon Orphans' Asylum. 17 * This school will probably become in some future day a literary in- stitution for the Congregational denomination. Rode 14 miles, visited two families and arrived at Br. Lenox's.
20th. Walked 28 miles to Oregon City. 1 " Spent the re- mainder of the week in visiting in the city and vicinity and in preparing to go down the river. 23rd. Preached twice for Br. Johnson. Congregation moderately good. 24th. Left Oregon City for Clatsop on board the launch of the unfor- tunate ship Peacock. 176
173 The Chehalem Valley was settled as early as 1834 or 1835 by Ewing Young, who had accompanied Kelley to Oregon. Bancroft, Hist, of Ore. I:g2.
174 This was the forerunner of Pacific University.
175 Oregon City at this time, according to Dr. Atkinson, had 120 houses.
176 The U. S. S. "Peacock," of the Wilkes exploring expedition, was lost at the mouth of the Columbia July 18, 1841. Bancroft, Hist, of N. IV. Coast, II 1532.
