The Settler's Faith in Horse Heaven
Life on the frontier requires more than just endurance; it demands a resilient, if sometimes wavering, belief in the future of the arid landscape.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The average Horse Heaven settler will find himself reading a glowing description of his country today, given in the Herald and taken from a Walla Walla paper. Of course, the editor never exaggerates; it is quite out of the editorial line. The fact remains that the original Horse Heaven settler may be found scattered from 'Dan to Beersheba,' a sadder if not a wiser lot of men for their Horse Heaven experience. Among those who remain, there is still an abiding faith in the future of the country; but even that arc of faith has to wink sometimes.
“Among those who remain there is still an abiding faith in the future of the country; but even that arc of faith has to wink sometimes.”
Horse Heaven Hills remains a region defined by its harsh agricultural cycles and the persistence of its farmers. The tension between the boosterism of local newspapers and the realities of farming life documented here still characterizes the discourse around Washington's arid agricultural lands today.
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