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Table of Contents:
Chapter
47
: freedmen's aid societies and an act of congress creating a Bureau of refugees, freedmen and abandoned lands
Chapter
55
:
first
appropriation by congress for the bureau; the reconstruction Act,
March
2
,
1867
; increase of educational work
Chapter
60
: opposition to Bureau and reconstruction work became personal; the
Congregational Church of
Washington
Chapter
62
: life in
Washington, D. C.
,
1866
to
1874
; assigned to duty in regular army as commander,
Department of the Columbia
Chapter
63
: in the
Northwest
, among the
Indians
; trip to
Alaska
; life in
Portland, Ore.
;
1874
to
1881
Chapter
64
: superintendent of the
United States military Academy
; commanding
Department of the Platte
,
Omaha, Neb.
Chapter
68
:
French
army maneuvers,
1884
; promotion to
Major General
,
United States army
,
San Francisco
1886
-
88
[462] the voyage in four days. During this sea trip we were fortunate to make several new and valuable acquaintances. I recall Hon. Henry Failing, of Portland, Ore., among them. Some of these ever after remained constant friends. They warned us against the country we were going to-how rough it was; how extensive the fir forests, and how interminable the rains. They told us the people there were usually called “web-feet,” because of the abundant water. As everybody knows, Astoria is at the mouth of the Columbia River; Portland, 120 miles from Astoria, and some ten miles above the mouth of the Willamette. Coming to Portland in August, we found the country not only clear of storms, but very dry and dusty. The city had then about 8,000 people. Nearly all the streets and walks were paved with plank. Since then Portland has been extended in every direction up and down the Willamette River, across to East Portland, and beyond, encroaching upon the great fir forests until there are few left; the city now ascends the hills westward till the extensive wilderness has almost vanished. There are to-day (1907) 100,000 inhabitants within the city limits. Portland has every modern improvement in electric cars, trolley lines, railways passing in and out, and pavements of stone. The new churches, bank buildings, hotels, and splendid houses with beautiful grounds give to Portland, with the Willamette at its feet, a picturesque appearance equal to that of any city of its size in the Union. Of course, the hills still remain, each crowned with a few trees. From any one of these heights the view of the lofty, snow-capped mountain peaks is superb. Portland people were wise in centrally locating their United States post office, the courthouses, the
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