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SPRINGFIELD, MASS : UNION r II I N T I N O C O M r .; Y 1868. ^ PREFACE Tins book irt till appeal to the justice and humanitj ot' the Christian public for help tu })ut an end to persecutions endured for more than forty years, as terrible us were ever known ; and to bring back to my bleeding bosom my beloved household, which, more than iittcen years ago, were torn from it and carried fur away from me, by the merciless hands of bloody men : and to bring back kindred and friends, long ago turned from and against me. It has in view otiier objects : — to verify and illustrate the state- ments of the Petition now before Congress ; to correct the belied histories of the American and Britisli domains beyond the Rocky Mountains — countries which, until aUer the public announcement of my Oregon Enterprise, Avcre marked on maps nnknmvn ; and to remove unreasonable prejudices, and the false perceptions which friends everywhere have of me, and the obstacles which enemies in all places have thrown in the pathwoy of my useful- ness. Its dictation was commenced more than two years ago ; but \ ('xations and troubles on <^very side, and of every kind, by those that hate me, to prevent the publication of the book and action on the petition ; the inattention and carelessness of some of my youthful amanuenses, and to the vile pen of one of riper years — the first who Avroto after the loss of my eyesight — are some of the causes of its delay. The difficulties I experience in its dictation are another cause. On the 15th page of the book is described, in part, the nature of my dire calamity, and how difficult it has been, for the last thirty years, to converse or to perform with the pen. The last two years, adversaries, at and about the place of my abode, have very much troubled me. The troops at this place have come daily to vex and to torture, hoping speedily to make an eni^ of me ; guerrillas, headed by one of ujy bitterest enemies — at times, POv^Q !*• Pocif ic N. W. History Oept PROVINCIAL LIBRARY VICTORIA, B. C. mrmr IV IMIKFAC^K. U i ^:S another with him — both wore, a» it repir«l»'«l their coiuhiet toward inc, much like despots and y «'fl"orts to propairate Chris- tianity about the shores of the I'acific,* and of the ivar of per- secutions so lonpr a<(o wa^retl against nu*, they have o ten conui to plunder my property — have plundered, and carried < ff, the value of several thousand dollars ; and to devastate my estate ; and Imvc so done ; and have desolated tlie village of Tluee Itivers, s«) that it now is, and has been for several years, a Icsolation, " a heap." They at times break into my house, and 'ake away doo uments and manuscripts and papers of great valMc to me, such as furnish the best material for the book ; perhaps, within this (>eriod, what of the last Avonld nuike a 4to. volume of a thousantl pages. These are vexatious ; they confuse the head and unfit for dictation. This Preface is in part to explain concerning inadvertent ex- pressions, digressions, ciu'tailcd statements, sayings, and the abridgment of the book, and errors of composition with which it abounds. It is but seldom that I can find a person able and ready to write ; at times the amanuensis is turned from me. For weeks, or months no one can be foimd to serve me ; and I am left without help ''ortions of the manuscript prepared for thme of the young and inexperienced anumueiises. These things have caused dtlitij, and they are stnnig indications of a terrible jjcrse- cution. At times, sitting down to write, my thoughts are so dis- turlM'd by some mockery or abuse, just at the time, as to induce a dismission of the subject ; ane llivcrs, «o ft leHolation, " B 'akc away tlocv Itic to mo, such laps, within this lie of ft tltousautl mi\ and unfit for inadvertent cx- lyinga. and the m with which it person able an«i I from me. For L', me ; and I am prepared for tlio •, wanting in the tiie inattentioji les. These things if n terrihU; perse- njjlits are so dis- le, as to induce a 1 Appendix. On iiH, but owing to ne, I was unable ix, tell all about 1 near readlnww for the ndian and Unexplored Ic Ocean K, made In the In order to be fully understood, I should have spoken of unmis- lukable signs whi(*h immediately followed. Dcing in haste to get the book in print and before Congresf<, the subject was passed over. So it was with nie when speaking of Bonaparte's wars. In order that my meaniwg should be fully understood, something more should have been said concerning the defeats of the man of sin, and of the triumphs of Christ. Though He is the Prince of Peace, and the Princt; of the Kings of the earth, yet js He '' a man of war," triumphant in every conflict ; victorious in every battle ; who '' leadeth captivity captive, and maketh the wrath of man to praise him :" and so also on p. , in speaking of merciful inter- positions of Divine Pn»vidence, such im deliverance from the jaws of wild beasts, stings of scorpions and fangs of serjjents ; being in haste to reach the end of tho book, particulars were omitted to be given. When the nefarious plans and plottings and murderous purpose of the conspiracy at Three Rivers — one as diabfdical as was ever known in Christendom — conspiracy, I say, diabolical, with em- phasis I repeat, have been described, and the public understand about them, then Avill persecutions cease, and the deep-rooted prejudices on the minds of men will be removed, public confidence in my statements and character be restored, my household and my kindred, so long gone from me, will return, and all, I trust, ivill treat me with respect and visit me in my " afflictions." In telling about the conspiracy, it is not my intention to designate persons, unless hanl provoked to it, nor specify as to conduct, cruel as it has been, further than it shall be duty in the vindication of myself ami for tin* glory of (iod. T(» confuse my head and delay my writings, I am everywhere represented as stupid, an idler, and prodigal «)f my means of living. But I am certain that neither my — (yovernor of the Californias. Exploration of the Sacramento valley ; map of that valley and of a portion of Oregon exe- cuted. The petitioner permnded a party of American hunters /(. seUlo in Orrtjon. Commencement of the first colonizing set- tlement ; arrival at Vancouver on the Columbia : calumny and slander. Tlie petitioner's party turned against him ; his life threatened ; terrible suf^ltrings ; much valuable informa- tion collected. Passage in tiie brig Dryade to the Sandwich 6 — Islands ; a brutal seu captain. Exploration of some of the Islands. The H. B. Co.'s hostilities against petitioner. Treated with great kindness by countrymen. Attempts to crush the petitioner's claim to Iannis on Quadras Island. — The statement of Capt. E. Young to Lieut. Slacum concerning the seftlevient. Kendrick's purchase of Indian lands. Ore- goo und California made the possession of the United States VIU PAor. CONTENTS. by tlic petitioner. Tiie objects of his enterprise, the welfare of hid country and the g\ovy of Gofl. The prayer of petitioner. CHAITER 1. Tlic object of the first pages of the book. The Author, the .sole fo'uider of the first settlement in Oregon ; any grant or donation made the author is to be appropriated for educational purposes in the land of the freedmaii, an*l for founding ii 2 — benevolent institution in Palmev, Marts. Tlir ^iilcrprini' — stu- pendous it was ; conceived, planned and achieved by the 3 — author nlone, ■without mortal help. l{(>sults. The author testifies against British and American fur dealers ; is hate«l and persecuted by them. Things embraced in the objects of 4 — the jictition. The author's kindred turned from and against him ; is represented as stuplJ, irfnorant and crazy — as having no "mind or means to do anything"; is not "destroyed" — cared for and kept by Jesus Christ. The autiior's under- t» — standing ; defense ; forty years' persecution ; he is what he is. Benefits of early instruction and training by a j)ious mother. Notiung like the instructions and example of a godly mother. Fidfillment of the Scriptures ; "• love thy neighbor." CI I A ITER II. The author's name. Internal improvements planned. An expedition of emigrants to Oregon planned. Soi:tm Pass. 8 — Route. Railroads planned. Improvements in the sy-stem ol" common school education. Elementary scliool l)ooks. Sab- n — bath schools. School books by the author : cruelly treated by lO-adveraariea ; exploits while in college. Perpetual motion. Improvements in the system of topograidiical surveying. Tiie 12-author is represented as having no mind. Names of rivers, places, and Indian tribes accounted for. CIIAITER III. 13-Enemies take advantftge of the author's physical infirmities; . explanation of the nature of his great calaviittj : his hesitating 14-utterance ; is slow of speech ; his diflidence ; injurv doiu' to the optic nerve; tinpnralleied persocntiuns : sliocks given to CONTENTS. uc An iutiH!«; itatiii^ (in« to ivt'ii to PAUK. Irt- •tliu nervuud system. Kiuigruuts enlisted tor Oregon panic- struck by the liiroling pros;*. P^xpedition broken up ; terri- 16 — ble troubles ; near ajjproximation to insanity ; recovery lron> perjdexity. Difliculties attending composition ; forced to live 17 — alone; torsakeu by kindred; his deplorable condition; he has great peace. CHAFIER IV. What increase the nervous aft'ections. Fever and ague. Divine IVovidence. Prostration of physical strength ; visit i'rom a good Samaritan ; conducted down Uniquaw river. 19 — Capt. La Flanibois and men. IJonder.u, humane Indian chief, conduetM dciwn the Um(}uaw. His reward ; health improved ; life threatened ; brutal treatment ; mercitul Providence. The author's public announcement to set- tle Oregon. Propagation of Christianity. The primary cause of the J«r(ij ycnriC war of persecution; the second- ary catise. Sutferings at Vancouver. The author's bag- gage overhauled, and his papers examined. The conduction of the first settlers into Oregon. The achievement of his enterprise was by the Spirit of God. Wliat followed the discovery of the j)apers in the contents of the baggage. The II. B. Co.'s troops in the cities of Boston and New York, and the village of Three Kivers. Advantage taken of the author's friendless and suffering condition ; mockeries, in- sults and cruelties ; self-vindication. The author a servant 23 — of Jesus Christ ; vexations and torture. The author's means for the settlement of Oregon ; his residence at 24 — Three Rivers ; the people abuse. A hireling in the N. E. Magazine. Winter of "'."Vi" passed at Washington; hi.- 25 — person arrested and abuseii, and property plundered ; he leaves Three Rivers for Boston ; ])ainful parting with his family. Funds for the enterprise solicited. Two rascals, 26 — Foster ami Lovett, enlist for Oregon. His party embarks 27 — fn)m New York for New Orleans. Take with them his property and effects. At Washington, the recipient of favors and public patronage ; letl for New Orleans, via Mississippi river. Foster and Lovett resort to acts of felony ; 2H — forgeries ; bold and cruel attempts to prevent his progress ; 2 20- 21- '>•). ;!t CONTENTS, riai. 29 — terrible troubles on board schooner Gen. Lafayette ; loss of .'{0 — property ; the captain a brute ; a perilous voyage ; arrival at 'M — Vera Cruz; the villain comes to grief; a murderous plot; 82 — the author's property plundered. The American consul 33 — seems unfriendly to the enterprise. Loss of property ; plans . and purposes to prevent progress ; unfriendly climate ; con- 34 — cerning the transportation of property through Mexico. The 36 — objects of sojourn through Mexico ; passport of no avail. Leaves for Jalapa. Correspondence with Mr. Butler, the American minister at the city of Mexico. Exploration of 37 — the country ; table mountain ; travels on foot to Puebla ; ar- rives at the metropolis ; meets with Foster, and has further 38 — troubles with that persecutor. Distinguished persons at 39 — "Washington hotel. Wilcox, the American consul. The 40 — cholera. Civil outbreaks and comniotions in Mexico ; vac- 41 — cination. Mr. Butler informs concerning the property detained at Vera Cruz. Reasons for a change of route ; 42 — reasons for traveling through Mexico. The war of perse- cution ; outfits ; Foster ; personal arms. CHAFrER V. The journey resumed. Two persons, Giredot and Koyser, French gentlemen, and a countryman at the hotel, purposed to be traveling companions to (iaudlaxara. [They were, however, such only at times, when Divine Providence in 44 — gi'eat mercy would have tliem be] Foster introduces a footpad ; the servant;'' U'ave ; the ri;rlit road missed ; taken to be the captain (»f a band of robbers ; ti singular occur- 4."j — rence. Yula ; explorations; history; face of the country. 40 — Salais. Salamanca. Custom house otKcers ; troubled by tliem ; ditficuUies with a custom house oificcr submitted to 47 — an Alcelda. Deal with a Padre ; gun cxdianged for a horse ; robbed ; a tinger broken ; providential event. Foster and 48 — Frederick leave ; take with them a horse ; alone ; a rob- ber, in disguise, comes and otters help ; providential occurrence ; robbers ; a night and a day in the hands 49 — of robbers ; their plans broken up ; remarkable interposition of Di\'ine Providence. The village of Argua Caliente. A C'OXTEXTS. XI humane Alcekle. Fandango. Arrival at Guudlaxara ; kind 51 — countrymen. Foster and Frederick overtaken. Kindness and liospitality of Terry and Sullivan. Improvements sug- gested in the system of school education. Richard M. Jones. 52 — Principal of the State Institute in Gaudlaxara. Foster comes to his end in the Bay of Monterey, Cal., " as though 53 — a mill-stone were hanged about liis neck." An-ival at Tepee ; troubles ; arrival at San Bias ; kind friends ; embark for La Paz in Lower California ; sails for Lorett ; kindly treated by his countrymen ; proceeds on with single servant and guide (a Mexican) to fSan Diego ; ship Lagoda, Capt. Bradshaw, from Boston ; Thomas Shaw, supercargo ; the kindest attentions by the captain and supercargo, and by other countrymen, and by tiie Padres at the missions on the coast. [The names of those noble-hearted friends and helpers to be given in a card to be published in the Appendix.] The book curtailed. Troubling, to prevent dictation and action on the petition in Congress. Hair-breadth escapes, perils, wonderful inter- positions of Divine Providence, passed over. CIlAPrER Vl. 55 — " Who settled Oregon?" Lieut. Howison's report. Set- 56 — tiers no stragglers. Declaration of Slacura. Letter E in 57 — report. Capt. Young's statement. Young's visit to the hos- 58 — pital. H. B. Co.'s attempts to break up the settlement. 59 — Jason and Daniel Lee made no attempts to settle Oregon. 61 — " Ten Years in Oregon." Defence against groundless <}2 — charges. The Lees discourage settlement. The raissioua- C3 — ries conducted to Oregon by the author. Maj. Pilcher's statement in regard to the Lees. The author's call for mis- sionaries. Affidavit of the editor of Zion's Herald, [f Mr. * That j)ortion of tlie narrative from the time of leaving Gaudinxara lO tliat «f arrivinji: at San Diouo, owiiid eitlier to mistake or inadvertence, or loss of manuscript bv those who M-ouid delay or prevent dictation, is wanting. It will be given in tlie Appendix. t Mr. Green was Secielai-y to the American Board of Forei;iu Missions, Boston. Boston, December 23, 1847. Sixteen or twenty years ago, Hall J. Kelley, Esq. was accustomed often to call at my office, to converse on his plan.s and measures for awakening interest in, and ultimately settling the Oregon country. He was actively and very constantly I a^l xn fONTKNTS. Green's ntfidnvit should follow tiuit of ^[r. Brown, tlie editor 64 — of Zion's Herald ; it was omitted by mistnkc] Wyeth en- 65 — lists as an emigrant to Oregon. Settlement of California. 67 — Letter from L. F. Linn. Correspondence with Gov. Figne- 68 — roa. C Cnshing's letter. What induced the settlement of 69 — iCalifornia. How it originated, i'apers snppreased and con- 70 — cealed by R. (Ircenhow. Falsities by Grcenliow. I'ersc- 71 — cution. ClIAll^ER VIL 72 — The founding of tiie '• Settlement." Honorable notice of the mthor in the National Intelligencer. Lectures and pub- 7C — liwaions by the author ; vexation to delay dictation of the 77 — book, and prevent action on the petition in Congress. Schcd- 78 — ulo of publications. List of agents. Map of California and Ore- 79 — gon. Documents giving the history of the purchase of lands on the N. "W. Coast, by Captain Kendrick. Petition of the author in •' '48," asking for a grant of land. Hooks, docu- ments and numerous j)ai)ers verifying the statements of the petitioner, put into the hands of the congressional committee. 80 — R. Greenhow's deceiving book. Young's " statement " concern- ing the settlcmo.nt to which the letter "E" refers, not found in 81 — Slacum's report. ^listakes in the book, entitled, " Beyond the Mississippi," by A. T). Richardson. First discoveries of 82 — Columbia River. Spanish Discoveries. Manrelle chart ; this name misspelt in the book (Mamelb). Richardson's 83 — book. The book " Astouia." No town bv the name of 84 — Astoria. John J. Astoi* — no laurels. Fur dealers in Oregon. 85 — Wrongs and outrages practiced upon Indians. Capt. Dom- 86 — mis, of the brig Owyhee, of Boston, at Vancouver, in the cngaae;' as I supposed, in efforts, l)y means of extensive personal intercourse. by newspaper articles, and by circulars and pamphlets, to disseminate intelli- gence relatinp to that portion of our continent, then almost wholly unknown to the mass of out population. He continued this course of labor for roanr years ; and with more or less constancy, he has had the subject before his mind, up to the present time. The welfare and improvement of the Indians in tlint Territory, and the intro- duction, there, of the blessings of civilization and tin- useful aris, with educa- tion and christian knowledge, seemed to he his Icuilmi; object. Much of the early interest felt in the Oregon country by New England people, was proba- bly the result of Mr. Kelley's labors. ' DAVID OKEEN. "% CONTEXTS . Xlll 87—; H7- 88- 8{>- 90- ni- 92- 94- 95 9fi— 97- 98- 99- 100 103 10.') 107 108 109- 110- yeur 1829, iulbrras of the author's ptirposo to settle Ore- ; ed me into the valley of humili- ation, where I delight to be. I have testified against the powerful worldlings belong- ing to the British and American Fur Companies, and the East India merchants doing business on the N. W. Coast ; and so testifying, have incurred the implacable hatred of those men. [Nar. E. D., pp. 76, 51.] Their policy then, as now, Avas to represcpt me as stupid, ignorant and crazy. The friends of my late bosom companion, prior to my visit to Oregon — to turn from, and against me, the loved ones of my household, called me an idler and a spendthrift — [Nar. E. D., p. 45.] ; as one spending his time foolishly, and " his money for that wliich is naught," and as having neither JwtwcZ nor means to do anything. I do not believe these evil sayings of my enemies. I am not, nor have I ever been, an ignorant or crazi/ man, an idler or an idle schemer. My Avorks, and the fruit of the spirit, testify to what I am. I do believe that I have as much as an ordinary understanding. I have at the pres- ent, now in old age, Avhen *' Avaxen in deca}'," as much as Avhon, fifty years ago, [Nar. E. D., p. 73,] I conceived and planned the settlement of Oregon, as when, thirty-five or forty years ago, I planned so largely for internal improvements and the founding of benevolent institutions, and, as when the wise and prudent about me Averc wont to say of mc, " lie is living tiiirty years in advanc of the times." About forty years ago, I attempted the founding of an institution, to be called, " Massachusetts Mechanical and Agricultural College.^* The subject was tAvo years before the legislaturci The Coinmitteo on Education said to me, that if I Avould raise a fund of $10,000, the State Avould give $10,000 more. A munificent individual of CharlcstoAvn proposed to subscribe $2,000 ; myself Avould give a por- tion of my estate in that toAvn. Here, the Oregon enter- an A prise calling I'or my whole attention and time, the project was abandoned. The State of Massacliusotts, Avithin a few years, has founded, an institution at Northhampton, the same m plan and purpose as mine. Now, reader, Uv^js not this look as though I was indeed living thirty years in advance of the times? Stupid. — stupid as they are i^leascd to represent me, I have intellect enough to discriminate betAveen friends and foes ; to judge, and that justly, of the good feelings and the merciful regards of the one, and of the wicked devices of the other. It is true, the ken of the greatest under- standing can penetrate but a little way the mind of the wise, to know its secrets ; yet one of ordinary acuteuess caii penetrate through that of my Avorse tlian stupid defamers. As stupid as I am, 1 can discern the intents and purposes of those seeking to deprive me of my good name, of my earthly substance, and of the comforts and endear- ments of my life. No means or mind to do any thing. — It AA'as so stated in the City of Nca. York, in the hearing of a multitude of persous. It has often been repeated in other places ; and in tlic hearing of public men, implying that I had done nothing toAvards settling Oregon. I pronounce this a con- summate falsehood, uttered A^'ith a malicious design. I have on some previous page truly said ; the conception Avus mine. The sacrifices were mine, great as they wore. The achievement Avas mine, Avithout mortal heli>; virtually made, before I left this for that side of the continent. The enduring over foity years of a merciless persecution, has been, alone mine. Mean and misanthropic men picked my pocket ; and de- ceiving tongues induced the benevolent to Avithhold their munificent prollcrs, and their help. What of that? My means for carrying civilization and the knoAvledgeof God into Oregon, ch icily came from the inexhaustible store-liouse of heaven. The Almighty God, the Creator of all things, hath said, in reference to human undertakings, Avhose objecfs are his glory, " Not by might, nor by poAver, but by my spirit." I have said much concerning self, and noAV find it indis- pensable to say more. With as little self-esteem as self- respect, I shall be able to describe the poAvers and qualitiet of my mind ; ar ^ to satisfy, that it is not strictly true, thas '1& iy '4 -'-. A^M> wmm 9 "J*'* I il I am " without muid to do anythir^." For natural eudow- ments, I have nothing to boast of* yet, the operations of my mind, I think, indicate sanity, and such gifts as elevate character, as high above the chamcters of my groveling enemies, as the clouds are above the ground. It is duo chiefly to early parental instruction and train- ing, that my mind is what it is. Blessed with intelligent and pious parents, who led me in early youtli to fear God, I came into active life serious minded; and much inclined to consider my ways, and to seek to know what could make me useful and happy. Before the years of man- hood, I resolved on a fearless obedience to the divine commands ; and to the present, I have continued to desire and pray for understanding and skill, and for the possession of capabilities and subs< nee to bless the sulFcring mortals about me. There is nothing like the godly instructions and virtuous examples of a mother. She can better mould the mind for pure motives and generous actions ; and can better guard against evil propensities, and prevent bad habits in children, than the father or school-teacher. It was a mother Avho taught me never to take the name of God in vain, — never to be guilty of the sin of insulting the Almighty with the breath he gives. She impressed my mind with a profound aid' pious reverence for Jehovah, and with a high and solemn veneration for the institutions 'of Christianity ; and so impressed it with the love of truth, that not a single doubt, as tc i,he divine authenticity of the Scriptures, ever profaned the sanctuary of mylieart. Her iustiuctious and examples inclined mo to bo diligent and porseyeriug in l)usiness, and faithful and patient in the discharge of duties ; to bo hospitable and morciful, — when enemies hunger and thirst, to feed them, and give them drink ; and to bless them that persecute. Finally, by the grace of God, I hope I have the love for my neighbor, which meets the divine requisition ; and am disposed to do all the good in my power for him, and for the country, and mankind in general : and to endure every evil coming upon mc, with patience and pious heroism. I say, therefore, I have mind; and have been measura- bly useful. Intellectual gifts, purity of motives, benevo- lent actions, and a spirit of public and high-minded enter- prise, have made me so. Ji w m CHAPTER II. I am Hall J. Kelly ; that is my name ; am what edu- cation, habits, and the grace of God have made me, and have a disposition punctiliously to perform every duty 'a life. Stupid, ignorant and crazy ; I have oftci been spoken of in this way ; not to my face, but in whispc'r, and where _ slander can best succeed in doing its work. These oppro- brious appellatives Avere applied to me in public journals, and from the mouth of calumny, when all devoted to the cause of humanity ; when planniug and cllecting great and good things for the people of my country. My projects Avere numerous, and Avere such as, AA'ith a clear head and a sane mind, I could Avell accomplish. I Avill give a list of some of them. Hoav far they indicate mental imbecility or derangement, the candid, Avho knoAv about the founding of the settlements on the American shores of the Pacific, the system of fair and merciful dealing Avitli the Indians of North America, devised by me, and my handy works on both sides of the Continent, at every place of my abode in New England, in the Avilderness and on the Island of the sea, all along, from 3-^0 uth to old age, can judge. I planned for Internal Improvements — a canal from Charles River (Boston) to the Connecticut Ri\'er, as surveyed by L. BaldAvin, and a ship-canal from Barnstable to Buzzard's Bay. As early as 1827, I planned for an expedition of emigrants to Oregon ; to cross in military order, the Rocky Mountains, through the depression, called the Soutli Pass; the same Avhich Col. Fremont sub- sequently minutely examined and described to the general Government. My knowledge of that Pass .was derived from Maj. Pilcher, an Indian agent. It Avas described to me as being passable to loaded wagons. So thousands have since found it. It is noAv the great thoroughfare to Oregon. I am particular in speaking of this route, to shoAV the utter recklessness and falsity 01 those, wbo, as I shall have occasion to mention, opposed the enterprise, and that too, from no other motives than the basest cupidity. Men, Avomen and children have traveled this route, find- ing no ** insurmountable difficulties." Cattle have been di'iven in good condition, the whole length of it, even to 4^ -m 8 i^ -..\^'^ the Wallamct valle}-. Tho loaders ot the early expeditions adopted my very plan for traveling that route. The several railroads, such as were supposed to be of public utility, were planned by rao. As early as 1849, I projected a railroad between the Valley of the Mississippi and the shores of the Pacific. [Nar. E. D., p. 71.] Reference to that project is made in my Geographical "Sketch printed in the above year ; and also in my Memorial to Congress in 1839, relative to the statistics and topogra- phy of that territory. One branch of that road was to extend from some point in the routes, after the transit of the Rocky Mountains, to the Bay of San Francisco ; another branch to terminate at Puget's Sound. In 1837, I sur- veyed three railroads in the State of Maine ; projected maps, and made a printed report of one of them ; in 1839, planned for a railroad thoroughfare between the two great Oceans. I conferred with Mr. Mercer, chairman of the committee of the Senate on Raih'oads and Canals, who said, a report would be made favorable to tho enterprise. Such a report was made, and nothing was further done by Congress upon the subject. While exploring the country between Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico, I became satisfied of the feasibility of a railroad route between those two places. I plaivned and advised for that improvement ; I made it a topic of frequent conversation with Mr. Wil- cox, the American consul at Mexico, Avith whom I quartered several weeks, and with other enterprising foreigners. It was one of the subjects of a communication to the Presi- dent, Santa Anna, describing, Avhat seemed to mo would be the utility of railroads in that country ; and some better system of common school education in the Mexican Re- public. The consul was an understanding man, and inlluential. He and others wishing well to Mexico, promised to do what they could to cause the improvement. Shortly after my return to Massachusetts, I had the satisfaction to learn, that the road had been commenced. It does not follow, as a thing in course, that the undertaking orighiated from any thing I had said; but, there is a possibility ; yes, a proba- bility, and some strong indications of such being tlio fact. Education. — I improved tho system of common school education in my adojited State. The Black Board and the Monitorial Desk were first introduced into the schools of Boston by me. The late distinguished Joseph Lancaster, was the first to use them. I prepared several elementary school books. The first Sabbath-School book used in New England, was by me. The organization of the Sabbath- Schools, in the same portion of the country, was by me and the late Rev. D. Chessman of Boston. I am the author of the ♦' American Instructor," and also the •* In- structor's First Book. " They were, as I tliink, iraprore- ments on all the other books of the kind, then extant. I have not time now to mention the numerous books and documents and uewopaper essays pertaining to conceptions, projects, works, and the fruit of the spirit, but will com- plete the lif^t of them in the course of the nairative. I s y again, to bring me into low repute and to accom- plish laeir nefarious designs, they call me stupid. Stupid- ity implies a want of mind, a lack of intellectual capacity, that which they would also liave the world believe of me, [Nar. E. D., p. 47.] Said the missionaries in Oregon, •' Mr. Kelley cume to this country with a party of strag- glers from Caliiornia, but had no mind or means to do any thing." That the reader may know still more of the bloody purpose of my adversaries, how unreasonable and cruel they treat me, I will add to the list of works just given, and further show the endoAnnent of some mind, and the possession of a full ordinary understanding. When " in college," my class Avas put to the study of astronomy. For the purpose of illustrating, I constructed an Orrery — a macliiuo showing the pathways of the moon round the earth, and the earth round the sun. Lead pencils fixed to the axes of those bodies, and the machine put in motion, their orbits were exactly delineated on paper. It was similar to a figure on one of the plates of Ferguson's As- tronomy. My class-mates thought me to have some inven- tive power and mechanical ingenuity. In my Junior year, a Senior, whoso class had been required to calculate and project a certain eclipse of the sun, which would happen far in the future, came to me, saying, ^f he could he furnished, within twcnty-fom" hours, with an accumte projection of that eclipse, he would give me $5.00. I promptly complied with his request, and the money was promptly paid, and was very acceptable, being, as I was 2 Jli:'^ ^i # •t tbe time, in needy circumstances. He believed me to JlMrTe intellect enough to illustrate any subject in astron- OB^, and therefore did he come to me. A j'^ear or two prior to my entering college, much was said in the papers in regard to a perpetual motion. I went into a workshop determined on knowing the reality of such a motion, spent sevei'al days in an attempt to find out the truth about it. After several days of study and mechanical labor, I was mifAled to demonstmte its impossibility, and was convinced that no surplus of power above what is required for tem- porary motion, could be gained for overcoming friction and air resistance ; that what is gained by one of the mechan- ical powers is lost by another; that nothing more is possible than to put them into equilibrio. One of the results of my scientific reseaiches in 1815, was the conception of an improved system of geographical and topographical suiTcying. It involved principles of Geometry beyond the comprehension of unintellectual and unsophisticated men ; quite beyond the reach of those of the mental imbecility, which is so universally, at the present day, ascribed to me. Believing that the principles and plan of the method of land surveying, as suggested by me in some of the public journals in that year, if generally adopted and practiced, would be of great public utility, I presented the system, in 1829, to the consideration of the General Government. Congress was memorialized. The committee to which the subject was referred, for a good and obvious reason, gave the investigation of the subject to General Bernard, then at the head of the corps of civil engineers. This profound mathematician carefully examined the papers and the formula I had prepared for their illustration, reported an opinion highly creditable to his own talent, liberally estimating the talents of the memorialist. Not- withstanding the system was recommended as being worthy of public adoption, yet nothing was done to bring it into practice. Presiden t Jackson promised to adopt it, when- ever a book, giving directions for its practice and a prosier apparatus, should be prepared. I had described minutely the apparatus and the manner of using it, and had begun the to6Ze of deflections necessary for the book, and this was all my Oregon entei-prise afforded me time to do. The 11 begun i tables might require for tlicii* preparation, one or two yeaxB* assiduous attention of some learned mathematician. The present system is unphilosophical and erroneo? Its practice generally results in unceilainties and appointments. So defective is it, that lines laid oirf1 one sui'veyor, are seldom found with exact ceiiainty another, unless by unerring guides of immovable mono* ments. The system which I propose scarcely admits ol an error. It points out an easy and correct mode of ruimltiV the lines required in the sm-vey. My method has mut^' advantages over that now in practice. The numerous eiTors of the compass are entirely uvoided^ The interests of the land proprietor are better promotediv and the wide door so much open for litigation, which oftoH^ costs him his freehold, is effectually closed. It is the oafy simple method by which right lines, having a given course, can be run with precision. It is attended with as mucih ceitainty, as the high op'ration of trigonometrical sui*veys» By the present method, all lines, westerly or easterly, (supposed to be right lines,) are really curved ; and, if across hills and valleys, are crooked ; but if due north or south, they are right lines as by my method, whether the ter- ritory be even or uneven. The reason of this is obvious ; it is evident that every straight or right line drawn on the sur- face of the earth is an arc of a great circle. An arc of a less circle is necessarily either a curved or crookod line. In order clearly to perceive the evils attending the present mode of land surveying, it is necessary to understand the nature of geometrical lines. The couraes of lines, not due north or south, or in the plane of the equator, inin in the planes of less circles. All right lines lie in the planes of great circles, and not in those of less circles. Their coui-ses, as indicated by the magnetic needle, coincide with tangents common to both. The sui'veyor, therefore, on depai'ting from his compass station, as instantaneously diverges from the magnetic course as the cucles diverge from tlieir tangents. It is further evident, that every thing used in determining the course of these lines, whether moving or stationary, is in the direction of the radii of a circle whose center is identified with the center of the plane of the equator, the common center of gravi- tation. To illustrate the subject, let it be requu'ed to run •RKf. «• mm' ^ 12 I '4 dllfi west course on the fortieth panillel of north latitude, frl^ineans of the compass and perpendicular stations as now iCfiiced in common topographical sui-veying. If, then, course is commenced due west, and is continued by "means as will make it straight round the globe, the 60 ran will cross the equator twice, and terminate at i place of beginning, and will have described a great lie to whose plane that of the parallel; to be run, is le, and foniis with it a vcilical angle of forty degrees, angle is always equal to the latitude of the place. Unoe, therefore, as lias been shown, all right lines only can bfllraced by perjjcndiculars to which the planes of less circles W© oblique, no less circle or parallel can be traced by the tttsnl method of running lines, without violating the laws of gravitation. (See App. A.) I have been tiying all iAoDg, on the foregoing pages of this book, to prove myself not to be a stupid man, as I am univei-sally repoited to be ; and I tiaink when I have adduced a little more of the evi- dence which my handy works can furnish, I shall succeed, And show myself to be endowed in some good measure with intellectual power. Mo mind nor means to do anything. I had mind enough to do just what I did. Had means to do wonders. Christ Jesus was with me. I performed by the " Spirit of God," and did his will " in the power of His might." Who first accounted for the Indian name of the " Great River of the West," (Oregon,) and ajoplied the same to the country watered by that river? Who ascer- tained from whence came the Aborigines of North Amer- ica? [Nar. E. D., p. 20.] Who accounted for the name, both of the Indian tribe and the river called Kilmook ? Who accounted for the name of Mexico? Humboldt did not. Who accounted for the names of many of the places, tribes, of rivers, and animals, on the western side of America? I could wish an answer. But, reader, you can not give it ; you have been deceived by lying tongues and by those external appearances of my person which direful calamities and persecutions and alllictious, so long endured, have caused me. [Nar. E. D., pp. 8, i).] I myself can give the answer. I claim to have been him who has accounted for them. I have alone done them, and many thing " more, that show mind and as much as a common endow- ^'^^IWp'7"?^ •v® 13 ment oi intellectual power, and some that are, as I think, public utility, and are patriotic and philanthropic, extraqyd^^ nary and wondei-ful — much which would go to develop ih# History of the Ancients of that Continent, and to idcntiitt ' '^^^ 1 it with that of the dispersed tribes of the Children of IsnMil) ' 4'T'^, j but for the opposing inlluences of my bitter enemies. CHAPTER III. Persecuting enemies take every advantage of my physi* cal infii'mities to bring me into low repute with fviends and countrymen ; Avhich circumstance renders it highly needful I should explain concerning them. (See App. B.) My infirmities are what render my external appearance unfa- vorablo to right perceptions of me. I will now proceed to explain as to the cause and nature of the gieat calamity I have so long sullered. Early in youth I acquired a fondness for reading. The post came along once a week and left at my father's house the newspaper. Besides accounts of events, accidents and remarkable occunences, it contained bulletins concerning the terrible wars then raging in Europe, and thrilling accounts of Bonaparte's invading and devastating armies. They were new to me, and I read with an intense desire to laiow about them. They were accounts of human slaughter — of fields encrimsoned with human blood, and plains bestrewed with human carnage — of the armies of spiritual Gog and Magog, and of the all- conquering Prince of the Kings of the earth, gathering to battle, both mingled with and led by despots and tyrants, and by defenders of human rights and friends of humanity. I read them, and was kdto read books and papers of every kind as they camo to hand. They were calculated to in- spii-e ambition and to interest my feelings ; the moi-e I read u ! 'i ^. y mt more I desii-ed to read, to hear and to ac(iuire knowledge. 1 4id not then, so early in youth, understand the dlstiuc- ttettB proper to be made as to the conductor in those wars. Bnl aiterwards, in riper yeara, reading, hearing and obser- <4JM|ilis enabled me better to comprehend the meaning of ^fiMt was read, and better to discriminate between lovers ,0i' tiieir country and piiilunthropists, and traitors and mis- pes. (App. C.) Hence was my fondness for reading itching ears for news. At once I lelt my juvenile plays ipoi-ts, and tmued to books and papers. I read at times ;h the day, and more than once through the night. ill taking up a book, treating on some subject I would to comprehend, it was not laid down until I under- all its pages could iufonn me. " Neil's Histoiy of the IS of New England," the first ever published, and histories of that benighted and oppressed people were While preparing for College I have more than once ied my Virgil lessons by moonlight ; in tills way, often I overstrained the optic nerves, the stress so ofleu >iight upon them caused near-sightedness and to be slow of apprehension. I have continued daily to read or write, and to oversti-ain the optic nei-ves, from youth to present old age, when eyesight fails and I can do neither. (App. D.) At the age of fom-teen I first experienced a difficulty in utterance. For one or two years I suflered an impediment in my speech ; in the presence of superiors was unable readily to begin i. terance. About the time of entering College I discovered myself to be '* slow of speech " (of apprehension) ; this defect in utterance was, I think, partly the cause of the diffidence which has so often in life put me to shame, and inclined men to think lightly of me. [Nar. E. D., p. 9.] Notwithstanding the constant and severe exercise with the pen, and daily study of books for so many years, I am not awai-e that any more serious injury was done to the o^tic neiTcs, than that just spoken of, until the year 1824, when the powerful men (powerful because millionaires) of the British and American fui* compa- nies waged a war of persecution against me. I say again, powerful, because of those companies' ready and able writ- ers, theh" ready spoken, fine and fluent speaking hirelings. Persecutions as cruel as man ever endured, since the nativ- ity of Jesus Christ, the manifestation of God in the flesh. •Jia '"^m u 4. %. This long-continued practice of overstraining tlie thalami of the brain, chielly caused the nervous all'ection in,tl|6!. ■ head ; this great calamity, the c&use of so much sufferiofg^i^ ' in tlie flesh. It was increased and made more terrible, by shocks given to the mind at times of great bodily dcbittl^. Besides the calamity and other evils contributing to i|gl3f; external appearances, I am, as has been already explaineo^ slow of apprehension, much slower, probably, than was Moses, who found a like difficulty with me, in expression h|ii thoughts, much slower than Goldsmith, of whom his coletl^ poraries said, that, " in conversation he never seemed 1^" understand his subject." He could not apprehend tliS proper thought, in season for utterance. They called '* stupid, ignorant." Dr. Johnson called him an *' inspi idiot." As to understanding, the leader ol his countrymc into the goodly land of Oregon was much the inferior Goldsmith ; and as to that wisdom which is from abol Goldsmith, very likely, was much the inferior of Mosc the leader of the Hebrews to the goodly land of Canaati^'; This difficulty of expressing my thoughts has continued^ the last ten years, to increase Avith the nervous aflection ; 80 that the last year it has been terrible. At times of high nervous irritation I lose the physical ability of expressing my thoughts — can neither talk nor write ; neither can I dictate to an amanuensis, it takes me so long to bring to mind the proper thought. As a legitimate result of this evil, I am also diffident. This adds very much to unfavor- able outward appearances. Sad, veiy sad, Avere these ap- pearances between the years 1829 and about 1852, when the hireling press had turned and was working against me, and public men, some of the most powerful of them, were working to favor the cause of my enemies ; and the hun- dreds of emigrants enlisted for Oregon being panic struck, left mo ; and kindred, every soul of them, turned against me. I became terribly perplexed, and was driven, at times, to high mental excitement, doubtless to a near approximation to insanity. Was then, more than in previous years, liable to foibles, inadvertencies, and impro- prieties of conduct. In those years, at every attempt to perform before the public, to lead in devotional exercises at public gatherings, was u failm'e ; diffidence at such times was more humbling and mortifying than ever. Often was i; J '--" . ; ji ii 16 put to shame. After the last meutioued year, those ard appearances began to wear a more favorable it. I recovered from perplexity. As a consequence it all, my head is confused, and that continually ; and I ^ in his might, nor the rich man in his riches, but let him itjat glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving- kindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth ; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord." I have spoken of persecutions and afflictions, long on- dared, will now speak more particularly concerning tlieiT> of their primary cause anti ruel results. (1.) In the year 1824 I announced to the world my vi- tention to settle Oregon, and to propagate in regio s '; • yond the Rocky mountains, Christianity. Tlie II. 1 l . and its ^OAVorful friends, alarmed, planned to prevent XL- ove throw of their monopolies in those regions ; in other words, to hinder or prevent the founding of any colonizing settlement in that country, and the great good I had plan- ned (7.) for mankind. This xh^g primary cause of the war of persecution by that company. There is a set^.idary cause. (29.) Again they are alarmed. At the time of my arrival at Vancouver in '34, the Company's chief post in Oregon, I was suffering great bodily debility, 9i. was thrust into the hospital at that place, and was ke^ i ib »r», while a sufiiclcnt opportunity was aflbrded to overhiO • ly baggage, and to examine its contents. In a trunk uiade of tt wild bull's hide, were dee'li^, charts, historical ac- counts and ctbcr papCiS, s'' o^^'ug n vseJf to be in posses- sion of the evidence of a g-od title;, v ich certain Ameri- cans, myself among them, had to the largest and fairest portions of Quadra's Island, and also showing myself to be (23) the attorney andad/o^ate of the claimaiits. I had already conducted into that country the lirst emigrants, Wt, tt for in ■• ■■■i.y kk iiiude I'ical ac- posses- Anieri- fairest tit to be I had llgrants, and founded in the valley ol Wallammet the first settlemeu®^ (App. I.) and that undei' such circumstances, as would ren- der it impossible for the snemy to break it up. Indeed, it was impossible for any human power to break it up. — That undertaking, as all philanthropic undertakings are, was achieved by the "spirit of God," in the * 'power of hia might." As already suggested on some preceding page, the Lord Jesus, the beloved Son of Almighty God, was with me, and wrought for me. In view of the achieve- ment, it might natm'ally be supposed, that the war, and with it all further persecutions, would cease, and undoubt- edly it would but for the discoveries made in my baggage. But their cupidity reaching after the lands just mentioned, was the cause of renewed hostilities. Here is the origin of most of the cruelties, which f or r ?arly half a century, have been practiced upon me. After the discoveries in the baggage, measm-es were im- mediately taken by the chief factor of the Company, to pre- vent intercoui'se and concert of action between me and my settlers; believing, as undoubtedly he did. that to put Kelley out of the way would render it less difficult to re- tard euilgration, and to perpetuate the Company's hold upon the lands. (App. J.) Wherefore I was represent- ed as an impostor, and as slandering the settlers, who, be- coming incensed against me, threatened, by letter and oth- erwise, to take my life. The orders then, were, destroy him. Martyrdom, then, seemed inevitable. The oixiers, afterwards, on this side of the continent, were — treat him, at all times, and in all places, with contempt and abuse ; follow him hard up with calumny and outrage ; and break him down, mind and body — utterly destroj' him. (24) To accom])lisli their designs, and to prevent mine, and to make an end of my project, they raised an army in the city of Boston, and afterwards in *27 enlisted troops in the cities of New York and Washington, and in '29 raised a more bloody troop in the village of Three Rivers, to which place I had just moved my family (App. K.) Here they fought me until my departure for Oregon in '32. In '39, some years after my return from that territorj', I took up again my abode at Three Rivers, and here my adversa- ries conspired together to drive me from the place or from the world, with the object of bringing into the grasp of their cupidity the valuable lands belonging to me, and tlie ■ii 32 and unoccupied mill privilege belonging to a gentle- ' man abroad, for whom I have many years acted as agent, ^^'he persecution has been of forty years duration, unrelent- ig, unremittant and terrible ; and the conspiracy has been f twenty-eight years duration, and as diabolical as was ever known. (App. L.) Taking advantage of my friend- less condition, and the calamities and evils they themselves have brought upon me, and the patience and forbearance towards them, they have succeeded to impress upon the minds of multitudes the belief that I am just what I am aot, and that I am deserving all the cruelties they practice apon me. Now, these mockeries and abuse have become intolerable. I never speak in malice, nor am I ever pro- voked, to revenge, and can brook insults and impositions as long as any man, but, truly, forbearance has ceased to be a virtue ; and it behooves me severely to rebuke them, and publicly t • demonstrate the reality of the monstrous evils which they have done and are doing me. There are a few (I know them and their folly) whose popularity and position among their fellow men, give them greater influence than ordinarily belongs to slanderers, (the com- mon devils,) breathing their pestilential breath upon the communities about me. A word or a nod from them is suflScient to blast the character of any powerless and hum- ble individual, however pure and exemplary it may be. — These, partly for their friends' sake, I shall spare awhile longer, hoping they will consider on their ways, turn about and deal justly with me. It is not my purpose to desig- nate persons, nor to specify as to their conduct, further than circumstances will force me to do, and imperative du- ty, the vindication of myself and the promotion of the pub- lic good. Responsibilities to God and duties to myself and the public compel me now to say what forbearance and a disposition for peace have long prevented my saying. Justice has not been regarded by them, nor have the cries of suflering humanity been answered by the voice of com. miseration. I will longer delay, longer spare ceitain of them, sharing largely the public confidence, though more than others they have wronged me and injm-ed theu" coun- try. To some of the captains of the bloody host I am constrained to administer rebuke. Before saying anything further in regard to the settle- ment of Oregon, I will speak exclusively concerning the 23 war which has raged bo many years so terrible against me, a servant of Jesus Chi'ist ; to hinder the work appointed by the Lord Jesus for me to do. I say servant. I am such according to the will of God. I know I am ; and it has been my duty to testify against dome of the most pow- erful worldlings on earth "that their ways are evil," there- fore do they hate me aad go about to destroy me. N6ver has wrong and outrage been more terrible than during the past year, and at the present time, much more terrible than at any period in the past forty years ; and never more merciless has been the persecution of persecut- ed innocence ; never more done, in the way of vexations, to prevent action on my present petition to Congress, and any confederation of my claim on the country, and to unfit for the dic'^ation of this book, this appeal to the justice of Congress and to the humanity of the christian public. I must hasten to tell my countrymen of the vexations and tortures, and the nithless vengeance of my implacable enemies ; must hasten to remove prejudices, and call back friends and countrymen, many years gone from me. What 1 shall tell will be a mere synopsis of what should be told. I will now proceed. As early as in the year '24, as has already been stated, my adversaries first devised my hurt ; and in the year '28, taking the advantage of the pecuniary embarrassments brought upon me by a heavy loss of prop- erty in the Three Rivers manufacturing company, they plamined to get from me my princely estate and comforta- ble home in Charlestown, Mass., believing that by eo do- ing they would deprive me of the means which they suppos- ed necessary for the accomplishment of the Oregon enter- prise. In this, however, they were mistaken. My means were wholly from the inexhaustible store-house of lleaven, and by low cunning and artful management they succeed- ed in getting from me that estate at one-fourth part of its real value. In the Spring of '29, to be at a greater distance from ad- versaries who are coming daily to worry and impoverish me and to delay progress in my great and ))enevolent en- terprise, I moved with my family to the village of Three Rivers, where I had some landed estate, purchased in '28, at the sale of the property of the Three Rivers manuf actur- ilig company, taking with me what household stuff the plunderers of my property had left. I continued my resi- v=%;ir*''' ■ii ! 24 dence at this place until the Spring of '32, when I was di'iven from it. I made frequent visits to Boston, where was my headquarters ; and when my domestic concerns ad- mitted of my absence, I traveled New England, everywhere lecturing on Oregon ; but my adversaries were everywhere on the alert. They watched every movement "f mine, pm'suing me from city to city, laying every plan to vex and worry me, to alienate friends and tura them from and against me, and to discourage those who had enlisted for Oi'egon (several hundred had enlisted) and to tuni them from their purpose. The public was bribed to abuse me, and shamefully did it misrepresent concerning the expedi- tions which were being made ready. Scm'riUous articles appeared in some of the leading public journals, written by a hireling ; several in the N. E. Magazine, I am happy to say not the products of the pen of the editors. The first in this periodical disgraced the number for Feb., 1831. I believe, as far as it could be done, it was voluntarily sup- pressed, being libelous, so abusive, so perfectly regardless of truth, so extravagant in its denunciations, that, like oth- er vice, to be hated, it needed but to be seen. Two other articles followed. — Vol. II, Fel>. and April, improved it is true in phi'aseology, but scarcely less scandalous than the former. The hU'eling commences with a contemptuous sneer at the comparative resources of Oregon. He dwells particularly upon the distinguished advantages of New Eng- land ; intimating the folly of those who would leave this birth-place of their fa;£hers, with all its comforts and endear- ments ; as though the statesman and philanthropist might here forever find full scope for their generous and noble as- pirations. I passed the winter '32 in Washington, solicit- ing the patronage and co-operation of Congress in my enter- prise. Late in the spring I left for N. E. to complete ar- rangements for my final departm*e for the other side of the continent. On my arrival at Palmer, and within sight of home, where my loved family dwelt, I was arrested by an officer, who served upon me a precept which had no foundation in just- ice, and was only designed to detain my person and plunder my property. I was manacled, and taken to the village, to the door next to my home, where my c inpanion and chil- di'en came to greet me ; yet did they grieve at my afUictions, and their hearts were soiTowtul at what was being done un- i !'i 25 to me. Til is attack waa from au unscrupulous hireling, in the shape of a lawyer, living in a dark alley in the city of Boston ; he was moan and contemptibh;, a fit tool for the re- lentless enemy. Unwilling to tarry, to contend in law, and delay the enterprise, I answered the demand, unjust as it was, and so freed myself from the clutches of my cruel pursuers. A few days- after, I was threatened with another suit, which had the same design. To avoid the delays and vexations which these proceed- ings would necessarily cause me, I left the place for Bos- ton, from whence I sent for my family and effects. Before the latter could be ro moved, they were plundered to the amount of several hundred dollars. These brutal acts were not instigated by my townsmei but by brutish men from Boston, whose object was to prt vent progress in my undertaking. In view of a contei plated long a1)scnce, I did not forget to provide sufficiently for the supjjort of the dear ones of my household, makinsf arrangements with friends who had this " world's ffoods" in abundance, and who were accustomed to show kiudness,|! and to give good cheer* The time for my departure drawing near, I went to Bradford, where my family resided, to take the painful leave. The moment of parting arrived. My companion looked sober, and probably felt sad, though her aflcction- ate regards had been somewhat alienated, by deceiving monsters, who had ill advised her. My children, young, unconscious of the nature of the parting, were cheerful about the room. My heart was burdened, and I could scarcely speak a sorrowing good-by. Taking my valise, I left; and, when beyond hearing, grief burst forth, and I wept aloud. I proceeded to Boston. The journey was a lonely one, and tiresome. My days now were all event- ful ; and every moment seemed to bring increased cares and anxieties. Just before my final departure for Oregon, I took a few days to go about Boston, and solicit from the munificent, contributions to my funds, which I feared would be inadequate for ray purposes, since my enemies, by their cuiming and cruelty, had made so frequent drafts upon them. I called upon a wealthy merchant in Beacon street. It was in the afternoou of thanksgiving day, when 4 ■ im ! lu la ! 'm WVx 26 ik'SJ m :ii: I hoped to find him in good spirits, and disposed to make me a donation. But I was disappointed. He replied to me as follows : «• I am interested in the commerce of the Pacific, being part owner in two ships now on that ocean. The merchants have had a meeting, and are determined to prevent your breaking up their trade about the Pacific." Left Boston for Oregon the first of November, 1832. Having provided a vessel for the party and the transpor- tation of my eflects to New York, I joined the party in that city ; there tarried two or three weeks, occupying "what was called the parsonage house, in Stuyvesant street, with the party. After a few days a band of desperadoes at midnight, beset the house, and attempted to force an entrance : first, at the windows, and then at the door, but not succeeding, they soon hastened away. A short time after, two men came to my quarters, one calling his name Foster, the other giving his as Lovett. They said they wished to migrate to Oregon ; and would like to accompany me thither ; that they were printers by trade, and had money which could be immediately collected to procure outfits, and to meet expenses ; and, with a view of giving me proof of their sincerity^ took me to a printing office, which the}' represented as the place of tlieu' busi.- ness. They were well dressed, and of insinuating manners. But the sequel showed them to be accomplished and adroit villains, ready to perform any act allccting my person, plans, or property, however atrocious or hazardous. They did not act upon their own responsibilit}', but received their impulse from the same powerful source, whence em- anated all the opposition. It was an additional plot so to impoverish me as to prevent any further advance of the enterprise; or, what would be more ellectual, to deprive me of life. It was a mistaken idea ; the like, however, often comes up in the minds of wicked worldlings, that to take from me ni}' earthly substance would be taking means essential to the accomplishment of my heaven-planned undertakings. Learning that a vessel >vas about to sail for the Sandwich Islands, I applied to the benevolent owner for a passage thither, for a sou of mine belonging to the party. A free pas- sage was at once generously od'ered him. As he was of tender years, and fearing that he v uld not well endure the 87 mclwich passage I'cc pas- was of lure the fatigues of the land route, I was glad of the chance to i^ro- vide for him a sea voyage. He was to wait at tiie Islands, until my arrival with the party from Acapulco. The party, with my eflects, embarked for New Orleans. Myself proceeded to Washington, where I was the recipi- ent of many favors and of further pul)lic encouragement and patronage ; and of facilities and tlie'good wishes gen- erally of my countrymen in that city. I left Washington the first of March, 1833, for the land of my hopes; pro- ceeding by the Cumberland road, and the Ohio and Mis- sissippi rivers. At New Orleans I again met the party, provided with good quarters at my expense. Here, too, I found that same spirit wliich had opposed every previous step of my ])rogress, busily at work, devising every man- ner of ev^il aofainst me. Two of the party, Avho a few days before leaving New York, were known to be destitute of money, and poorly clad, whose passage I had paid, were now found dressed in new and costly apparel, and had plcnt}* of money. Without the remotest cause of action, they brought, one after another, suits at law against me, until I was har- rasscd with live such cases. The Foster and Lovctt who joined the party in New York, resorted to acts of felon}^ forging several papers ; one, a draft of fifteen hundred dollars in my favor on J. Ogden, a wealthy merchant of New Orleans, purporting to have been drawn by a friend of mine in Wall street, New York. It was enclosed in a letter and lodged in the post-olfice at that place ; the letter bearing the appearance of having been forwardecl by one "J. Ames." The following is a true copy of the letter and di'aft : New Yoric, March 7. 1833. Deak Sir : — You are authorized by me to purchase of J. Ogden goods to the amount of fifteen hundred dollars, for the Oregon exepdition. Purchase such goods as you think will best suit the Oregon market. Below is the order for the receipt of the goods. I remain yours &c. ROBERT ELWELL. il ! M- IMi m.. 28 Mr. J. Odgen : Sir; — Please deliver the bearer, Hall J. Kelly, goods to the amount of fii'teen hundred dollars, and draw on me for the same. ROBERT EL WELL. • JVew York, Mhrch 7, 1833, By means such as this tiioy hoped to fix the sti,iiT»^i of crime upon me, and procure my incar'XM.atioii ; but tailinf^, they tried another expedient to accc/Uiplish their ultimate object. It was to deprive me entirely of property ; thus, they supposed x should I^e induced to return to New Eng- land, and abandon the en."^crprise. Getting acccsjis to my property in storage, the^^ stole over a thousand dollars of it, and stai-ted with it for Texas. Fortunately, they were on the same day overtaken, brought back, examined before Judge Perval, and with the crime of larceny labeled to theii' character, were committed to prison, where, doubt- less, it was the divine purpose they should realize a por- tion of the reward of evil doers. After a day and night imprisonment, they sent for me. My ears being ever open to the cries of distress, whether of the human or the brute race, I hastened to the window lookina" into the i:)lace of their "torment." They besought me Avith tears, to intercede in their behalf, and obtain their release. I did so, importuning the public authority which had conmiitted them, and they were released. Aly enemies — bitterest enemies, have alwajs my good wishes and compassionate regards. Notwithstanding their grave pretensions to pen- itence and sorrow, being somewhat versed in the book of man's depraved nature, and endowed with at least a mod- erate degree of penetrating knowledge of the human char- acter, I could read them, and understand what was meant, and therefore required from them a writt^.n confession of their guilt. They gave it, thougli reluctantly, solemnly pledging never again to trouble me, then left, but not to keep their pledge. Straightway, using the freedom which humanity had just given them, they proceeded to carry out new plans and plots of treachery and revenge. By anonymous letter and other ways I Avas threatened with assassination, did I not hasten from New Orleans. The following is a copy of one of the letters : :• f';!!i::li!r 80 New Orleans, March 27th, 1833. Deau Siu : — I acclclentaly overheard yesterday, some of your Ori<^oii company forming? a consiJiricy against you, and are determined to take your I Ho cither by some means or other, others thought it would be most too rash an act and had better take you up for swindling, an'^ that they con- sidered a very easy matter according to the lawyers account. I am rcaly allVaid that yom' lite is very much at stake, and now take my advise, and leave the country as soon as possible if you Avant to come olF with a sound head. . I remain, A frnd. ■i.'-S| jateucd Irleaus. Those two blood-thirsty pursuers, finding a vessel ready to sail for Vera Cruz, in conformity, doubtless, to the counsel of others in connivance, eml)arked for that port ; there, to lie in wait, and desti'oy me if they could. IJefore sailing, having had permission to enter the store house where my elFeets were deposited, and receive a chest be- longing to one of them, notwithstanding their solemn pledge to cease from troubling, they managed to abstract from my packages a chest similar in appearance to theirs, packed with articles designed for Indian presents, of the value of over $200, leaving their own, which contained nothing of value, in its stead. I was present, l>ut being near-sighted, and my mind filled with anxieties. ^ did not, at the hurried moment, notice the dillerenco be',\?.nthem. I was surprised, but not frightened at this threatening asi^ect of the enemy's power. Finding a spirit to vex and to destroy me infected most of the part}-, I gladly dismissed them all, and, having adjusted my business as best I could, I seciu'cd a passage to Vera Cruz in ihe schooner Gen. Lafayette, Capt. Iloyt. Here new actors appeared in this persecuting scheme, and an attempt was made to prevent my embarkation. The Capt. had suddenly changed the day for putting to sea, having determined to sail earlier than the time appointed for that purpose. Although my goods were brought to the levee agreeal)le to a previous understanding, and the freight had already been paid, he refused to re- ceive them. I was not to be foiled in that way. Being cramped for time, a few half dollars from my pocket brought aid from the by-standcrs, and my effects were ' '^',' 30 rushed on board, with the oxception of u1)out two hundred dolhu'S wortli, including tlio body and hind wheels of a wagon, which were loft and lost. As the vessel was leaving her moorings, seizing the last opportunity, I leaped on deck, there to endure still greater indignities and sullerings than had been experienced on shore. I will not stop to mention all that I sullered on that pas- sage. During most of the voyage the sea was boisterous, and the heavens were darkened with clouds and storms. Although I had purchased as good accommodations as the schooner ailbrdcd, yet was I denied a retreat to ^ place not open to the angry heavens. No reasoning, peals to justice or mercy, could abate the rigor of tu.^ orutal treatment. Fourteen days and nights I lay on the quarter deck, terribly sea-sick, and exposed to the worst of weather, sometimes drenched in salt Avatcr, and again in fresh. A portion of my freight remained on deck by the side of the bulwarks, exposed to the breach-making sea. Tliis miich was greatly injured, so that a part having lost its value was thrown overboard, and a part less in- jured was given to the poor at Vera Cruz. The language of the Capt. was uniformly abusive, and his whole conduct unfeeling towards me ; so much so, that 1 could not then doubt, nor have I ever since doubted but as a hireling he was serving the interests of those whose object it had been for nine years to crush my enterprise and prevent the set- tlement of Oregon ; I say the settlement of Oregon. Something more should be said of the captain. He was illiterate, ill-bred, ill-tempered, and intemperate, also. In a dead calm, when everything appearetl listless, and almost lifeless, and scarcely wind enough to blow a feather from the round top, he lay stretched in one corner of the quarter-deck, seemingly in slumber. He was called, and called again to dinner — tm-ns a little, gapes and sighs, but makes no answer. The sailors said, let him alone, he will get over it. Often with the brazen and vacant look of an ignorant man did he approach to insult me. was uniformly abusive, and his conduct unfeeling. An occurrence happening on the 2d day of May, nearly proved fatal to the vessel and the lives of all on board. At early dawn, a Spanish gentleman, comini; on deck, cried His language out, "land! laud!" Our frail bark was fast nearing the § 31 rocky shore, which was not more than 50 or 75 rods dis- tant. Fortunately, the fog, which had enveloped it, was now risinjv. Tlie helmsman had just time to wear ship, and save boiii<^ dashed upon the rocks. A similar occur- rence happened on the 10th. In the evening, returning from a trip to or near the bay of Campcche, while the captain was in one of his stupefactions, we heard the breakers roar and could see their foaming crests. They were close by on the lee bow. The mate wears about and goes to sea. The captain, who was in Iiis berth, being inform- ed, raised himself partly up, and said "I can't help it," and fell back. The mate was a sober, active and under- standing man. Deplorable must have been our condition had this valuable officer, second in command in the fore part, and fiJ'st in the alter pai't of the day, been drunk I dead drunk ! On the 11th, the schooner entered the bay of Vera Cruz, and anchored under the guns of Fort St. Juan de Ulloa. [SeeAppendix K.] I now left the captain, but he was not quite ready to leave me, nor to le^ivc the object of wasting my property. He had not fully accomplished the business with which he was charged. Landing at the port of Vera Cruz, Lovett, the treacher- ous actor at New Orleans, called on me to oiler his greet- ing, and to tender his services in repacking my cilects, and i)reparing for my early departure from that place of pestilence and death. His countenance was pleasant, but I could still read in it the Avicked emotions of his heart. Though he seemed to come to kiss, yd his object was to betray, and to execute upon me the bloody deed, which the revengeful spirit of himself and accomplice was hurry- ing them to do. His cunning and insinuating manner drew to him some friends, and there were some about him, friends to nobody. To have suggested to others my bad opinion of him would have exposed myself at that time to the assassin's power. Indeed, being privately reminded of ingratitude at the time of his embarkation at New Or- leans, his jealousy was aroused, and he told me, with gi'cat emphasis, it I named any circumstance exposing his character in that place, I nmst do all my repenting at Vera Cruz, and be ])reparcd for the worst results. However, not intimidated, I gave hiir^ wholesome advice, forbade his taking a step with me into the interior, or traveling the same road the same day', and requested him to rotuni im- mediately to a land of laws, and to his mad and unsuccess- ful employer's. In view of this tlu'eateuiu": aspect of things, I was hot wanting in circumspection and civilities, both in regard to this villain, the ciptahi, andtlieu- accom- plices. Soon after my arrival, a snare was laid by him, which he and a colored man, his associate, were unahle to si)ring upon me ; artfully attemjiting to draw me into a dark hole in the city, unque-^tionably with the design of taking my life. I will not delay to particularize as to this, his mur- derous plot. This monster villain, soon after my departure from that place, w'as seized with the black vomit, and in a few days there was the end of one "by whom oU'ences come.' The following transactions seemed to indicate that the captain and the oificers of the customs were each to share in the plunder of my proi^ei-ty. Some days after the cargo of the vessel was discharged, one of the sailors informed me that a package of my stulf was found conc»3aled under old rigglug in the hold.- It consisted of such pieces and remnants of cotton and woolen fabrics as would be useful to me iu Oregon, and was worth from $100 to $150. My anxiety was to know how to get possession of the goods without prejudice to my character. I had no disposition to smuggle, or to do a dishonorable act. To bring it pub- licly on shore, it was said, would endanger the vessel; or to bring it clandestinely, would allbrd a plausible reason for supposing ii merchandise for that market, which was far from being the fact. I was told, that, for a reward, a custom house officer \vould bring the package to me. An engagement Avas made. The propei.y was brought be- tAveen two suns, and left at the place appointed, and twen- ty silver dollars were paid ft)r doing the business. It appeared like a fair and legal transaction, but, with the officer, it was smuggling, under revenue laws made and provided for that purpose. All along have I been vexed and brought to suffer losses of property, all to prevent progr^iss in my '>rogon enterprise. Tlic losses fit New Orleans, including what the corrupted men of my party caused me to expend at that place, in lawsuits, and what, from necessity, was left on shore at the moment of my re-embarkation ; and also, what the two ■j^^i^^ 58 aliore at the two teloiis, released through my inerciiul feelings trom prison, cairied away, amounted to several hundred dollars. [See Chap. I., p. 7.] The damaged property thrown over- board from the vessel whieh carried me on her (juarter- deck, during reniarkable extremes of weather, across the Gulf of Mexico, added to that which was stored in the cus^^^om house at Vera Cruz, and of whici) I was plundered by Mexican ofiicors, in connivance with corUun American citizens, was a very considerable amount, and mu(!h more than I was willing to lose at .hat stag*; of the progress of the enterprise. Here, though it be a digression, I would ask. what un- derstiindiug man cannot perceive, from the beginning, rebbery and bloody pur|)ose8, and plans fraught with crime by those of my countrymen seivlug tho interests ot the Hudson Bay (yom))any. On landing, having engager' boarding quarters, i.:id got my pass|)ort» «nu«MHcd by proper authorities, \ turned my thoughts to my b!>.i''gagej which was of inuch value, a por tion of it needful for present use. Some of it was in loose packages. Most of it was placeursucd me thither, I had to encounter aiiother enemy more dreadful in con- flict, viz : the poisonous atmosj)hcre of a filtliy city. So frequent and heavy were t\w blows I received from my pui*suers ; so terrible were the exi)osures I was com- pelled to endure, and so many gloomy clouds enshrouded the object uj)on which my heart was immovably fixed, that my enlecbled nervous systcMn could not endure such repeated and dreadful shocks, and I almost sank under the weight of my calamities. In the store of James Culler, v?-. Co. T discovered, dis- played ui)on the counter, the identical aiticlcs which Foster and Lovett stole from me at the time of their leaving New Orleans. I laid claim to thern, but was told by the consul that $1G8 duty had been jjaid, and by paying which I could have the goods. I had been 8i> plundered 1 had not funds to part with, and chose to suller the loss. Finding myself daily becoming more enfeebled, and fast sinking into the gitisp of the endemic destroyer, I hastened arrangements foi- resuming the journey, and called for the property deposited in the custom house. To my surprise, it was refused, on the ground of a requisition of custom house duties. [App. M.] 1 had never, at home or abroad, declined to render "unto Crosar the things that were CtcBar's," but to pay a tax in Mexico on property notduti- 35 able, 1 unhesitatingly declined to do. A bond wc-v.ld have been given, if requested, guai-ding against the sale of so much as a single article in that country ; but that was not the thing. The object was to plunder ; and both the consul and the revenue oflicers seemed leagued to stop my progress ; to turn me back and induce the entire abandon- ment ot my heart-devised, heaitfelt and heart-detenu iued project (once called by public men a noble project; a phi- lanthropic enterprise ; a stupendous umlei'taking ; but in *32, the year of my depaiiure for Oregon, called by a cer- tain few in high places, strange it was, an *^ idle project"). After several days of entreaty, through the consul, ex- plaining the object of my journey, giving my reasons for taking that circuitous route to Oregon, and presenting the passport from the State Department of the United States, the cupidity of the revemie oHicers relaxed a little, and I was permitted to select four nnokages from the eight. I took such Bs cctained vvearii > ii el, defensive weapons, Indian presents, &c. Theanio. i liutic, demanded was nearly the invoice value of the property. By what rule of calculation, or principle of right they uad fixed ujion any specilic amount of tax, or had taxed at aii, I could not understand. The schedule gave only a description of tho packages, but nothing in particular in regard to tluur con- tents, and when the selection was made, I discovcied no appearance of their having been opened. One of the packages retained in the custom house was a large chest containing a full set of tlie laws of the Unit<>d States, and such books of my library as might b«' iso during my intended sojourn in the Oregon teiiaory. Among those books was a rare and expensive work, called the Di<;tionary of Natural Science ; the most comprehen- sive of the kind within my knowledge. The chest itself was a relic of my ancestoi*s. Both were invaluable to me, and I grieve at the loss. Most of the property had been purchased in New York lor the purposes already stated ; tor the f uiUierance of an enterprise encouraged by the public authorities of my own country, and planned for the good of all nations. It was to be transpoi-ted in like manner with the change of gar- ments for covering my pei-son. From Vera Cruz it was to be borne to Acapu'oo, there to bo resliipped to the place of ita o;iginal destination. No package was intended IP 36 to be opened in all its transit through the Mexican do- mains, unless for personal use. The ])roperty, I do not hesitate to repeat, was not dutiable under that government. The very fa(!t of revenue ollicers being the jjersons nho brought on shoje the stolen jjortions of it, supposes it not dutiable. A desire to advanee the intx^.rests of that unenlighlxined and ill-fated jieople induced my journey thither; and while attempting to acattei- light in their dark villages and cities, I llincbed from no hardship, and turned from no peril. In the proper construction of the pa8S]^ort furnishcid me by the State De])artment of the U. S. A., protection should have been given both to my ))crs()n and property. But protection was given to neither. I had to rely on my own arm, directed and strengthimed by the Almighty. These motives and duties Impose obligations, somewhere, to in- demnify for losses caused by the public and private I'ob- bers of Mexico. I appeal to any candid and sensible man, whethei' American or Mexican, if it was dealing Justly with me to demand ti'ibute for no other reason than fliatof my journeying through a land which was being desolated with civil war, and where the govermnent was leeble, and without means to '•:uard the rights of the Aveary and way- faring traveler. I left Vera C'ruz by the stfige, for Jalapa on the 27th. The day following com])U>ted an exchange of one ot the moBt sickly for one of the most healthful cities in Noith America. I seized the carli-'st convenient moment, alter my arrival at that place, to address a lettei- to Mi". IJutler, our Minis- ter at the seat of govei-nmcnt, asking him to int(ui)ose in my behalf, and obtain, if he ■)ul(l, the release of the prop- erty, so wrongfully withhclti in the custom house at Vera Cruz. He promptly appli(la(!c. I tarried here eighteen days, making daily excursions into the country, examining mi- nutely every variety of plants, shrubs, and trees, and also, whatsociver was new t-o me and (ionie under my observa- tion, belonging to the mineral kingdom, and the ]ihysicAl aspect of the country. I passed two days in exploiingthe region about what is called Table mountain. 1 ascended to 37 I'ival the open summit ol a high swell of land, and there, near and in view of that mountain where the ancients of that portion of the country were wont to woi*ship their idol Gods, did I worsliip, offering praise and prayer to the only true and living God, as when, ever after, in the solitude of the mountain-top, it was my devout practice to do. From Jalapa, having ordered my baggage to be for- wai-ded by stage, I proceeded, on foot, to Puebla, and after three days, left that city by the stage for the metrop- olis of the country. The two villains, Lovctt and Foster, who troubled me so much at Mew Orleans, immediately after their arrival at Vera (yruz, separated ; one remained to pcrfonn at that place, the other hastened to the City of Mexico, there to lay in wait for my coming. Almost the first man I met with Avas Foster. He ap- peared penitent, and glad to see me, and promised to trouble me no more. He had taken boarding at the stage house. For reasons I have not now time to state, I took boai'ding for a few dajs at the same place. At a moment of my absence, Foster got access to my pa]iers, and abstracto! therefrom a paj^er which he and Lovett had given me at New Orleans, confessing their guilt}' ' onduct in that city. For reasons I will not now assign, [Apj). N.] I shall omit to nan-ate all that came ^^' my experience, and under my observation, in that city and onward ; have time to say but little more than what pei-tains to the troubling by Fos- t,er and his associates. He had come thither jy stage,* and had also fciken boarding, both at my expense ; taking ad- vantage of some piinted documents and papers of mine whi(!h he had in his possession. ♦In the year 1S.'10, tliree cntorpriBing Yankt-t-a from New Kngland, much to the as- tonlshnient ul' the MexioiiiiH, establlahed a line ot xtaMeti between Verii Cruz and the {;ity of Mexico. '1 heir liorsea were purchafod, and their carriagea manufactured in rennaylvanla. After a few niontha, a company of MexlcHni< got up an oi'pualtion line, which, before ttie end of a year, broke down, owing chiilly lo the inferiority of tlieir horaeg and cnrriiigea. Mkxiuan 1£(iai)8.— Tlie chief defects of the ronda were the broken pavemcnta, (a portion of them Honie yeara previous had been paved, pilea of atone In the traveled path, and deep-worn tracka of OHrriage wheels.) A aniail exj.enae, comparatively, would have put the road from Vera Cruz to Mexico In good condition ; but It ■ as the policy of the proprietors of the preaent line to keep it in its preaent bud condition. In order to diacourage competition in Ihelr buslnesa of singing. Jt would be ruinous for » company to atlei; pt an oppoaltion, using ll.e Mexican heavy and lumbering car- riagea; for while audi would at once break ao>\n, the American carriages, lighter and Ixitter constructed, would ^uatain but little damage. These three New Knglanders, among the moat augacloua of Yankees, At the end of three years, while I was In the city, sold out lo some Mexicans, aud divided the stock and proHts in the business, each receiving •76,000, ntf i ' : I N 38 The keeper of the stage house demanded of me $18 for his board three weeks. To this I objected, but my remonstrance availed me nothing ; I must pay it, or suffer a loss of some part of my effects, which that unjust and unfeeling foreigner had in storage. One of the stage proprietors demanded of me $30 — Foster's fare from Vera Cruz to that city — saying I was his (Foster's) partner in business. I replied that ho had made an improper use of my name, that I was no partner of his and should pay none of his debts ; whereupon I was abused by the proprietor — called, in the presence of a multitude of people, a deceiver and a swindler. A foreigner (Plummer) with whom Foster had taken quarters, attached my baggage, citing me before an Alcelde ^to show reasons why I should not pay him $32 on his boarder's account. Foster at the same time made a bold attempt to get from me a valuable portion of my effects, which he claimed as his own. These matters were laid before a magistrate, and the property was restored to me. Those were perilous and troublesome days ; yet I believe they were ordered in Infinite wisdom, and were, under the over- ruling hand of Divine Providence, for my highest good. Cir- cumstances render it necessary to be brief, and to hurry on to where I shall speak more particularly of explorations and the settlement of Oregon. I took boarding at the Washington Hotel, kept by Mr. Orford, an enterprising man, formerly from the United States, the only public house, with the exception of the stage house, kept for for- eigners in that city. Among the guests there were Col. Austin, the founder of the first settlement of the Americans in Texas, Col. Hodgkiss and Gen. Mason from Virginia, and several other distinguished Americans. Their purpose in that country was t<> bring about the annexation of Texas to the United States. July 12. I walked to St. Nicholas, the beautiful residei«ce of James S. Wilcox, Esq., the American Consul, situated on the border of Lake Chalco, a distance of four leagues from the city. On my arrival I was informed by his family that the con- sul was absent in the city, and probably would not return till evening. So to make the best of my time, I walked about to examine the things new to me in the vicinity. The first things that attracted my attention were the steep hills and the lofty mountains — the prominent things that marked the face of the whole countiy. At half a mile distant from the buildings was a mountain over five hundred feet in height. I climbed its steep ascent. Its sides were covered with red, volcanic ashes, stained, piobably, with oxido of iron, and other minerals, and ii vi;i ':!«!! 89 ed ita ashes, aiui bestreifod in places with scoria. In the summit was a volcanic crater, in the shape of a tunnel, of nine or ten rods in diameter at the opening. Two or three weeks after this, I again ascend- ed the mount, and by a trigonometrical operation ascertained the elevation of several other mountains, particularly that of the far distant Orezava, whose sublime top was distinctly seen. That mount, the second, as to height, in the country, appeared by the measurement I had made of it, to be over 1(5,000 feet above the sea, including the elevation of the plain of Mexico. As others had made it, my measurement was, 1 think, but a near approximation to the real height. The base line, which lay across the crater, was too short compared with another side ci the triangle, which was over forty miles in length, and, besides, my theodolite was not in perfect order. In the evening the consul returned, and gave me a hearty welcome. I was treated by that generous countryman, not only with politeness, but with every kind attention. After two days, I left to look after my affairs in the city. On leaving, he invited me to come and pass the time with him until I should resume my journey onward. I did so, and was for several weeks the recipient of the most generous hospitality. After a month's delay, and much trouble, I received two pack- ages of my effects, which, when at Vera Cruz, I had ordered to the City of Mexico ; they had been over twenty days on the road. The freight was $25 for 300 pounds. It is astonishing what loads the cargodores, or porters, in that city, can carry. One of the packages weighed over 150 pounds, and this the porter carried on his shoulders, and bore to me, a distance of nearly half a mile, apparently with much ease. A week after my arrival in the city, the cholera, in its fear- ful march from Canada, through the United States, reached the city. Concerning it, and some other matters, an extract from my letter to J. B. Thornton, dated Aug. 24th, 1833, will show : — " I am making arrangements to leave immediately for San Bias, expecting, on the way, no protection by virtue of the laws of the land ; no other than the kind which vultiires give to lambs, taking and devouring them — no other earthly security than such as will be aflorded by unarmed servants, and personal defensive weapons. " About twenty days ago, the cholera, in its fearful and deso- lating march, reached this city, and has slain thousands. In the space of five days, four thousand persons are said to have died. A remedy brought with me, furnished by William Dar- I 1 it;.> 40 1 lil I rah, M. D., Professor of Principles and Practice of Medi- cine in Pennsylvania Medical College, Philadelphia, has saved, it is believed, the lives of some thousands of the higher class of population. For the poor who fill the streets, there seems no escape from death. Tlu'ir condi- tion, and that of those in all the villages, is truly deplora- ble. Sleeping upon the ground between rush mats or filthy blankets, without physicians or medicines, or even knowl- edge of means for relief, they are peculiarly exposed to the terrible destroyer. The work of death goes on among them unopposed. Gen. Santa Anna has found in the mon- ster a formidable enemy, irresistible in attack, and cruel in victory. There were slain by that foe, near Guadlajara, in one battle, over two thousand of his army ; and many who escaped are panic struck, and are deseiling. The patriotic and intrepid general is making a new draft, and will be able, I trust, to put down his veheWioua fell m-citi- zmsy though Gen. Arista and Col. Duran lead them. *'The civil outbreaks and commotions constantly occur ring in Mexico are not likely to result in any beneficial ellects to the people. The fundamental priucii)les of gov- ernment must be dillerent, more in harmony with the prin ciples of Christianity. The policy of the governing powei- must be changed. Under present circumstances, while the whole nation is living in sottish ignorance, without schools for the youth, and without a heavtni-taught ministry, unenlightened and inexperienced, as to practical freedom and the blessipgs of Christian civilization, that policy should bo more ar))itrary, and the government less repu-b lican. *' When the consummation of the happy state of things comes, — and would to God it would speedily come, — thai Mexico is regenerated ; and only by the genei-al diffusion of education and useful knowledge, and by the preaching of the gospel, — with the strongest emphasis, I say, by the promulgation of the religion of Jesus Christ in its pu,rity can she be born again. Then may there be less ai'bitrary sway, and more freedom ; then bloody internal conttjsts will cease, the rights of man be supported, and the peace of the nation great and enduring. <* Mexico should have more light, and the sympathy of neighbors. Other nations should help her. It would be hi: '-\ 41 right, tiiat hei" elder sister republic, the powerful and opu- lent United StateSj should help her, and make her a loan of a few millions of money, to bo applied exclusively in laying the foundation of freedom just described. Unless such a foundation is laid ; and the monsters, ignorance and superstition, are driven from the land, political delusions, clandestine disorders, war and bloodshed and human suf- ferings will continue ; and she will remain heathenish and accursed, even unto the time when the angel of God will announce to the world, time is no more." Vaccination. — T received from the benevolent hands of N. R. Smith, M. D., of Baltimore, and William Motion, M. D., ot Georgetown, D. C, a supply of vaccine matter, which was carefully applied to the benefit of the Indians in the ranches near the city. I lost no time, neglected no opportunity, relaxed no ef- fort to do the good I had purposed to do in that country. T engaged in no idle amusements ; expended not so much as a dollar 'for that which is nought;' yet, occasionally I took a game at checkers witii my distinguished fellow- boarders at the hotel, and once did I attend the theatre to witness a bull-fight, and learn concerning that ancient, bar- barous custom. Neither the games nor the visit to the theatre Avere without some benefit to me. Mr. Butler again informed me of his being unable to ellect anything in my behalf with the Government. His frequent notes to the Minister of Finance bring him many promises for an interview, but no opportunity. See Mr. Butler's printed correspondence with that Govern- ment, in the State Department at Washington. The time was near when I was to resume my journey onward. Change of Route. — A vessel had been engaged to be at Acapulco at a ceitain time, to take myself and paily, with my circcts, to the Sandwich Islands. The party having been dismissed at New Orleans, having been robbed of a large part of the effects deposited in the cus- tom house at Vera Cruz, and having been delayed over two months at the City of Mexico, I found it impractica- ble to be in season, at the place appointed. These and other distressful circumstances induced a change in my route. It now lay through the country direct to San Bias. In the beginning of the enterprise, I planned to cross the continent via. St. Louis, and to make a transit of 6 43 the mountains at the southern paBS, so called, which is mi- nutely described in the "Narrative of E. D." In order to effect some arranf^ement with the Mexican Government and distinguished individuals in that country, relative to the lumber and fish trade, &c., between the Columbia Riv- er and the Mexican western ports ; and for extending, in proper time, my colonizing operations into High Califor- nia; and, also, by a desire of tmning the attention of the people in the cities of Mexico to some better system of ed- ucation than had ever been adopted by them ; and, gene- rally, to such internal improvements, moral and physical, as would most likely lay a better foundation for freedom, and multiply in their land the conveniences and comlorts of life, induced this circuitous route through the Mexican domains. My objects were to benefit others more than myself. Not only did that journey subject to incredible hardships and sulferings, but gi-eatly exposed me to the pursuing and subtle enemy. At New Orleans and Vera Cruz, the hostile troops made bold and fierce attacks. They, there, almost overcame me. And so, all along through distract- ed Mexico, did they closely pm-sue me ; every few days did they force me into hot and bloody battles, naking demonstrations of their wrath. On page 14 it is seen that in the year 1824 the Hudson Bay Company waged their war of persecution ; and tlie caudid reader will see how ter- rible it has been. On my part it has been " the good fight of faith," in defence of life and libeily, and of the rights of man, and in the cause of humanity. No moital man has fought with me ; but Christ has been with me ; therefore have they not triumphed. The change of route, spoken of above, was, I think, providential. It afforded me an opportunity to explore Indian countries, and investigate concerning that benighted and oppressed peoi)le. Just before leaving the city, and proceeding onward, Col. Ilodgkiss, a countryman distinguished in the war of 1812, presented me with an elegant sword, a testimonial of his respect for me ; and perhaps partly in vie^v of the perilous journey to be pursued along roads at that time known to be infested with banditti. My generous and kind-hearted friends, Mr. Wilcox, and Geo. L. Hammer- kin, the latter a gentleman from New York, associatiid 43 with tl»e consul in the maim;;cnu;nt ot* his hacienda, con- tributed liberally to my outfit. The consul presented mo with two noble mules, and a theodolite, all ot the value ot several hundred dollars. Mr. Ilammerkin made nio a gen- erous gift of money. Foster now again creeps into my presence, and impor- tunes hard for the privilege ot again traveling with me, promises another paper ccmfessing his past guilty conduct, and to assist in driving the animals. 1 consented. He proposed to hand mc inmiediately the paper, a matter I cared but little about. He had, as I have said, soon after my arrival, abstracted from my baggage a paper confessing his guilty conduct in New Orleans. I told him, however, that I had no conlidence in his professions of repentance or friendship, and that I believed him to be entirely destitute of principle. He purposely delayed giving that paper un- til after we had passed out of the city. It was at length artfully given mc when I was on horseback, at a moment when he knew it would not be likely to be read. After- wards, at the place of my encampment, I found it was not what it should be ; yet did I suffer him to proceed on, not fearing what he could do to me. My personal arms were a light gun, a brace of pistols, and the sword just presented me. In the baggage were three guns and other weapons such as are usually used in human slaughter. Thus was I accoutred in complete Cossack panoply. Also, included in the mules' cargoes, were Indian presents, three guns, a tent, journals, station- ery, a nautical almanac, thermometer, theodolite, and other things, such as might be useful at the place of my destination, and on the way thither. My trust was not in these equipments, earthly weapons, liable to fail me in the hour of danger ; it was then, and ever has been, in the suie mercies of David, in the strong arm of Christ, the beloved Son of the Almighty God, the Redeemer of men, who said to his servants, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the ends of the earth." Just before resuming the journey, tAvo strangers, a French gentleman and a countryman from Philadelphia, Giredot and Keyser, came and proposed to accompany me to Gaudlajara. Their company was very acceptable, and proved to be of much benefit to me. I was now ready to go forward. W' 44 CHAP. V. Just as I was leaving, Avlien oiitsl'lc of the gate, Foster introduced to nic a savage looking nui.i whom he eallcd Frederick, and who was going, he said, to San IJlas, and desii jd to travel with me ; said he would assiait in driving the bnrthened animals. I consented, believing a refusal would bo of no avail ; that Foster had picked him up for an accomplice in carrying out his bloody purpose. 1 learned aftei-wards by the French gentleman that he was a foot-pad, and an associate with the highwaynuMi in that portion of the country. My servant engaged in the city to take charge of the mules, and to serve r-^ a guide, at the end of two days re- iused to go iaither. I settled with him, paid him his price, and for a further compensation he j^lundered my baggage of some small articles, not, however, of much value. After four days, Giredot and Keyser, finding it too tiresome to travel in a slow walk, and impatient to go forward, left me. They had traveled with me two or three hours in the morning, and then hastened to their night quarters. Foster and Frederick were now my only servants and guide. At eight o'clock in the evening, after a hard day's journey, having missed the road, I stojiped, pitched my tent by the side of the i)ath and unburdened the mules. Early the next morning I started in search of some populated place for food and provender for the beasts, and also for information as to the right road. After traveling nearly a league I entered a village, went from house to house, but the doors were kept closed ; none cared to give me answer — not so much as a cup of water. Returning to the encampment, I ordered the animals to be got ready to leave. While in the tent making ready the baggage, Foster, outside, called out, "Robbers are com- ing." Looking out, I saw ten or fifteen men, variously armed, near approaching. To show non-resistance, I grounded my gun at the tent door. The supposed robbers came up in front, their captain advanced, and with tremb- ling hands stooped down and picked up the gun. Then, full of courage, called out, Hamoa, hamos. On my coming 45 out ho demanded my side-arms. They were now silent for awhile, as though waiting for u reinforcement. Soon I puw, under a cloud of dust, a crowd of women and chil- dren. They came and seated themselves in a line on the ground. All fears of their having hud intentions were now dispelled. They were silent. Four men on hortichack arrived ; one was the Elceldc of the village where 1 had just been eo unsuccessful in finding friends. Ho addressed to me a few words, all of which I did not understand. 1 then exhibited the traveling passport given me by the chief executive of the United States, and a letter from a distinguished countryman, stating the objects of my sojourn in Mexico. These jiapers were translated into bis own language. He read them and bowed. I bowed also, and we shook hands. Among the women was a fair and thoughtful looking old lady, wlio had come prepared with toilillis and fruit to relieve our hunger. She uncovered a basket, and looking kindly at me, said, "Senora, toma." We partook of her bounty ; though I had fasted twenty- four hours, was not hungry, but Foster ate much, and ate like a dog on the point of stai-vation. This lady I suppos- ed to be the mother of the Elcelde, and a "mother in Isra- el." I thought I could see an excellent spirit in her; and believed the fa^'irit of Christ prompted her to administer comfort to me. After opening a package of Indian pres- ents, I addressed her, "Senora, toma (take)," and gave her in return, lace and ribbons, with which she seemed pleased, ten times the value of what had been received. The Elcelde and his suite having conducted me to the right road, bade me good-by, and returned to their vil- lage, and I proceeded on my route. After two days reached Yula, where I found my two fellow travelers awaiting my arrival. Here I passed two or three days in exploring the region about the city, most of the time in the market place, studying human na- ture, observing the manners and customs of the people, and seeking knowledge, and picking up memorials of an- tiquity. Ilistory informs us that the Anuuhac tiibe, the earliest aborigines of Mexico, iu their migration south- ward from the place of their landing on the American shores, made Yula their first stoi^i^ing place. After two or three days, with my companions in company, I again moved forward. I would here remark as to the aspect of the country. It is a great plaiu, spreadiuc^ out from tlio city of Mexico, westward, nearly or quite an liundrcl leagues. It is neaily destitute of timber, possesses a fer- tile soil, which is crimposed mostly of volcanic ashes and vegetable mould. In Curetero I delayed one day, bouglit a horse, and there wcro stolen from my effects ai tides of six or eight doliars value. The baser sort of the natives are much given to thieving, and practice with wonderful skill the sleight of hand, and can steal before the eyes of another without his knowledire. Though I kept a constant watch over m}' property, yet I was constantly losing. My fel- low travelers have again left me and gone ahead to hunt rabbits. I passed though Salais, and put up for tlie night in a Puebla, three leagues beyond tliat place. The hunt- ers were with me, and we made a good supper on rabbits. About tlie middle of the next day reached Salamanca. Outside of the town a man on horseback met me and said he would conduct mc to a mason and to the Custom House. At the litter place my passports and papers were examined. The custom house officer said I was unlawfully carrying four guns. I replied that the passport gave me a right to carry them. He said, however, I might sell one of tliem to his son, then standing at the door, and proceed on with the three. Accordingly, one was offered to tlie lad at lialf its vahie. But this was not the thing ; the gun he wr'^ted without price, I took back the passport and walked o.it, returned to the Inn and ordered the servant to make ready to leave. The marshal now 1)rouglit forward a hirge horse, which he olio red to exchange for a gun. The animal, on examination, was discovered to be blind in one eye and to be badly foundered. It was more than two Ikmu-s b(>lore 1 could get rid of these insolent oilicers of the gi.vcrmnent. I finally got out of the city, l»ut had not proceeded half a league when a man came in great speed, offering to sell his horse for a gun. I assured him I had no wish to b.iy, and desin^d him to leave. At length, with nmch difficulty, I induced him to wheel about aud leave mc. He hastened back to report, no doubt, to the oHicer ul the customs. I began to think I had now escaped the heathen city; but alas ! in less than an hour afterwards, whom sliouhl I see following l)ut him who was a few hours before so courteous and attentive to me in the city. ITo conies to veiKiw his 47 ^tcd attempt to rob me of the gun. lie first said lie must have the gun and $4.00 for the horse ollcred me. He demanded it — demanded me to stop and tuni back ; seized hold of my bridle, llom-ished his sword and discharged a pistol, liding forward to stop the mules, again discharged his pistol, crossing the path ahead of my horse, and again, the third time discharged the pistol. To get rid of his troubling, 1 proposed to submit the matter to the Elcelde of the next village. It was nearly* dark before we reached one. Providentially, 1 mot there my two friends. Giredot, conversant in the Spanish lan- guage, and serving me as an interpreter, stated the case to til", magistrate, and the robber was ordered to turn back and pursue me no further. In the morning, the Padre, whom I believed to be an honest man and disposed to deal jistlj'' with me, ])roposed to buy the gun, oilering me for it a large and powerful looking horse, apparently without 11 blemish. Ilis price was fifty dollars ; mine the same. An exchange was at once made, and I jirocceded on my way. The new steed proved to be but partly domesticated — wild and dillicult to manage. About noon, meeting three armed men on hoi-seback, whom I supposed to be robbers, 1 dismounted, holding my gun in the right hand and the bridle reins in the left. They passed on the off side, and pricked the animal Avitli a sword, causing him to jump ; and he escaped, leaving me with a dislocated little finger. Making a circuit ol a few rods, he set his head to- wards the place of his former master, taking along with him a valise mailed back of the saddle, containing a small amount of money, some jewelry and valuable papers. I was now in trouble, and feared I sliould not easily get out of it. I was alone — my two friends had gone ahead, and neither Foster nor Frederick, having charge of the mules, and unacquainted with the roads, were suitable persons to hunt for the horse. Looking about I saw at no great dis- tjince an Indiiin standing in front of his habitation. I called to him and oiiered him a dollar (three or four Avcre in my i)ocket) to fine? and bring back the runaway animal. He was at ouco upon the track, and in two hours retuined with the horse, but without the valuables. Ho reported thai the valise was hanging on one side of the animal with one end cut ope.i, emptied of its contents. I proceeded 48- ^,. IUh on several leagues to a large town, where I stopped tor a day to give rest to the lame and wearied animals. My friends, G. and K., wero overtaken at this place, and rodo in company with me, as they had previously done, one or two hours in the morning, and then took their final leave of mew I again, however, met them on ni}' arrival at Gaudlajara. Foster and Frederick, while ascending a hilU cut each of them a stick and hastened forward with one of the mules and a horse, laden with my tent, a gun and some other light articles, leaving me to drive the other, whicli was lame, and traveled slow. Having passed the summit of the hill, and out of sight, they also took their final leave. They probably believed they had already be- trayed me into the merciless hands of robbers in the moun- tain just ahead, who would make an end of me. Frederick doubtless had so planned, being acquainted, as I had been given to understand, with the banditti infesting that por- tion of the country, and having had in the cities through which we had passed, communication with some of the highwaymen, looking after such wayfaring travelers as they would like to make their victims. I was now alone, unacquainted with the road, and it seemed almost impossi- ble for me to go forward. I proceeded on a mile or more, hoping to find some habitation. Leaving tlie packed animals, I rode to the summit of a swell of land. I saw in the distance a cabin, and approached near it. A man came out, seized a fetone and auvau(!ed towards me. I made inquiries of him concerning tiie way to Gaudlajaia and for some person to guide me thither. He i)ointed out the right road, but thought it unsafe for me t(» travel. It led over a mountain, the same in which I had been told were a band of robbers. I left him, and on my way to the mules, another man was seen coming from ;.he direc- tion of the mountain. He rode up to me, and inquired as to my condition, spoke kindly, as though he would have mo believe him a friend ; had a crucifix in his l)osom as though a christian man. I asked him if he would conduct me to Gaudlajara; said he would for two dollars a day. I consented to give it. Taking charge of the mules, he led on the way. On beginning to ascend the mountain, a large rattlesnake was seen crossing the i)ath near in front ot my horse. My conductor, dismounting, killed the ser- pent with my sword, and took from it its rattles, thirteen T a 49 in number, and passed them to me. I Lave somcthiog more, hereafter, to say in regard to this incident, proTi- dential, I think. [App. O.] On tlie summit, at the dis- tance of a few rods, were seen five armed men on horses, looking steadfastly at me. The guide said, "Lahombres, malos." Among their weapons was the lasso, the most ellectual one used in their line of business. I raised my gun as though about to make demonstration. They seemed as motionless as though they had no power of action. A gun in the hands oi a foreigner appears terrible to Mexi- can robbers, and they may have been intimidated by mine, and have thought it a less risk of life to cap- ture mo in some other place. I was not much fright- ened, but, tliinking myself in an unsafe place, has- tened to get out of it. I soon reached the toot of the mountain and a cluster of cabins, (three I recollect,) and there saw the five identical men whom I had just passed, still on their horses. I avus oideved to dismount. The animals were stripped of their burdens and led to some place where 1 sujiposed they were supplied with provender. There wore four women, l)ut no children or young persons. With a good degree of presence of mind 1 made my con- versation agreeable to them, spoke of my lonely travels, of robberies and of the loss of my money ; and made them presents, hair (iombs and scissors, which tliey seemed to think of great value. In return thoj' gave me food — a bountiful sup[)ly of tortillos. Early in the evening they conducted me to the place for my lodging. " I lay mo down to sleep " upon the baggage, and the Lord Jesus spread over mo (lie wings of his luve. I was comfortable, and slept quietly and safely through the night. Tho women had doubtless iiKluced the men to change their pre granitne of proceedings from a merciless to a more hu- maiM! one — to go on with me, and on the way, at some place of anibush, take possession of the mules and their cargoes, and let me go. In the morning I saw the men again on their horses leave the place. Soon after, the treaclun'ous guide brought forward jmd made ready the animals and left with me. At the end (?* three or four leagues, in a lonely place, the conductor, who had api)earod so honest and so much a fricMid, stopped the largest of tho mules, tlie leading one of them, the one laden with tho most valuable and l)ulkly i)ortion of the property, under pretense of adjusting the fastening? of the load, and said 7 50 M. ii ' .,; tome, "Go on." I did so, driving on tlic other mule, then before me. After proeecdhig a few rods, and look- ing back, lo, both the nnile and driver were missing. They had gone buck liehind some clumps o{ bushes near the roadside. Moving on some hundred or more rods, and leaving the mule near a lonely house, I turned about with the determination to rescue the captured nude, even at the peril of life, if so it needs be. On the way I met the same five men in who.^o hands and poAvej* I had been the previous day and night. When opi)osite the house where the mule driven fcn'ward was left, they discharged a pistol, which was a signal for the conductor to bring forward the mule, and again join me. In a few minutes he was on the road hastening towards me, and now, with both mules, we pro- ceeded on the way, and at the distance of a league, reached a fording place at the head waters of the Kio Grande, emptying into the ocean, near San Bias. It was a dark and solitary place, and near nightCall ; the path was nar- row, flanked Avith thick bushes leading o])lique to the river, and the men purposing to take my lih; la}- concealed among them. Xo one could be seen crossing until quite on the hither bank of the stream. When the nniles had come to the water's edge, the conductor, back of them, wheeled about and said, with an air of triumph, and, to me, a ghastly snnle, "1 am going no further; are you ffoinffon?" Instantly two nu'n were seen on horsebiick, close at hand. One of them said, "Tiu'n, and go Avith us ;" and commanded tiie conductor (speaking with antlior- ity) to drive along the animals. They Iiad been apprised of the movements of the robbeis, and had come to my help. Here was a fuUilhnent of the passage ol Scri|)ture — "No weapon tliat is formed against thee sliall prosper." TJK^V beloniicd to the villaue called ^VriruaCaliente, situate near the liouse where tlie mnle had been left. It was not seen by me at the time ol passing, owing to a swell of land which intervened, or I should there have stopjjcd and freed myself from the company of my bloody ])ursuers. One of them was the lOlcelde of the village. .• On the way, I spoke of my enter})rise — the reason of the sojourn in that country and the cause of my loneliness. I tarried in that village two dajs, at the house of the Elcelde, by whom I was made the partic'pant of the most generous hospitality. I have not time to s])eak of the respect there jiaid nie, or 51 of the dance (Fandango) given in honor to the stranger so providentially in the village. Leaving the mules, fatigued and worn down by hardships, to rest, I proceeded on to Gandlaxara, accompanied hy one of the sous of my hospit- able friend, where, after giving myself and horse a few days' rest, returned for them. The first thing alter my arrival at Gandlaxara was to find my two I'unaway com- panions, and make search for the two villains who had robbed me of the horse and his valuable burden. Among the foreigners residing and doing business in that city, were Terry and Sullivan, two of my countrymen. My first call was upon them. I stated to them how a man by the name of Foster had followed to trouble me from New York to witliiu thirty or forty miles of tliat phice, and how he and a man by the nai.'e of Frederick, a highway- man wliom he had picked u[) to be liis associate in villany, had robbed mo of a horse, a tent, and some otlier valuai)le articles. Mr. Terry, looking earnestly at me, said that a foreigner l)ut a few llays in the place had sold him a gun. lie brought it forward, and it was the identical gun stolen. " Wc will go,'- said he, "and see the man; I know where, he quarters." Foster, at the fii-st sight of us, seemed agitated and turned i)ale. Terry demanded of him the return of the twenty dollars paid for the gun. Foster re- plied, "It is mostly gone to meet expenses." lie was told if he did not then return it, ho should be put where the dogs could not bite him. He handed to Terry twelve dol- lars, saying "this is all I have." I then said to Foster, "You must immediately leave the place, and lea 'e me forever, or I will conuuit you to the hands t)f the public authority as being a felon, a robber, and the chief of ras- cals." "I will leave," replied he, <'for San Bias, and there go on boai'd the first vessel for the Sandwich Islands." And he did leave, and so also did Frederick, but not until he had taken the tongue from tiie mouth of my best mulc! and I'uined that noble and valuable animal. The gun and t<'nt were restored to me ; but a cane, a present by Mr. Jcswett, a countr3'man and friend residing at Jalapa, was lost. Ex[)ecting to Hud in Mexico the system of education extrenudy defective, I went prepared to make, or rather to suggest, improrements. I was well qualified for it, liaviiig: been mvse'!f a teacher, most of the time, from the Pacific N. W. History Oept. PROVINCIAL LIBRARY VICTORIA, B. C. 52 age of sixteen years to that of thirty-tbrec ; autl having, myself, made improvements in the art of teaching. It was desirable to see adopted, there, the excellent system of instiuction practiced in New England, whore moral, mental and physical instruction are measurably united ; and where the mind is not matured at the expense of the body ; and mind and body are invigorated with wholesome exercise ; and the pupil comes into manhood with health and strength, evincing skill and dexterity in his avocatiith the leading citizens. After mv return home, in IH.'UJ, to mv native side of the continent, I learned about Foster's movements after his arrival at the Sandwich Islands, and how ho finished his wicked career. At the Islands he, with two other persons like himself, went on board a whaloship bound to the noith-west coast. The vessel touched at Monterey ; there the three sailors or passengers landed, purposing to remain awhile. On the day of their landing, my friends there called on Governor Figueroa, [see Narrative E. D.,. p. 91,] and acquainted him with Foster's character and the manner in which he had troubled me. He innnedi- ately called the strangers to his ofUce, and said In? should give them no pennits to remain oven a single day in Cali- fornia, and that they must do one of two things straight- way — -leave the country, or go on board a shii)-of-war then at anchor in the bay. They chose to do the latter. The following day a squall came up ; the ^■essel rolled and tossed, was separated from her moorings, and began to 53 wrongs rnako lor the shore. Foster and his two new associates, jiffrighted, plunged into the sea and swam to the beach. Foster's companions walked up and mingled with the hun- dreds tlieu on shore — (most of the people of Monterey were there, Avitnessing the event.) Foster gained a stand- hig, hut the receding sea took him back again ; he swam and reached the beach, and again was tiiken back ; and again he swam, and got, it was said, a linn standing; and the third time the angry waves bore him back. Some on shove went in to save him, but there was no help for him. He sank in the sullen deep, as though a "millstone were lianged about his neck." Here was an end ol another ol my mad pm-suers. " Woe unto him by whom offenses come ; it were better lor him that a millstone were hanged about liis neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." The Lord Jesus, who hath all power in heaven and on earth, sajs it. He is ever with "his servants," and avengeth the done them. [App. P.] My informant was the late Thomas Shaw, of Boston, Secretary to the Baptist Foreign Missionary Society — (Secretary, I think.) In the year 1833, he was super- cargo of the ship Lagoda, from Boston, at anchor in Mon- terey bay at the time of the event, and Avas one of the eye-witnesses of Foster's "awful end." Tlie following letter speaks of Mr. Shaw's being on the coast of California in the year '33, and gives a word ol testimony as to the pitiable condition, at the time of my arrival in California, to which persecutions had reduced nie. Baptist Miss. Rooms, ) Boston, March 2Sth, 184S. J IIali. J. Kelley, Esq. : Dear Sir, — Such was the state of my health when I left Washington, that I omitted to put on paper the facts relative to my first meeting you at San Diego, (en route for Oregon,) and now, at this late day, forward 3'ou au extra(;t from a letter to my wife, dated May 26, 1834. '♦ You may Siiy to Mr. B. that Mr, Kelley was on board of the Lagoda a short time since ; he arrived at this place (San Diego) the 14th ol April last, and took passage with us up the coast to St. Pedro ; he is bound to Monterey. From thence he intends to proceed to the (^olumbia River ; 54 it is a dangerous route ; ho has sufleied much since he left New Orleans, where he took passage for Vera Cruz, and from thence traveled to Mexico. From that place he went to San Bias, and there took passage for La Paz, a port in the Gult of California; from thence he traveled to this place, through a country that may almost be termed a desert. He has seen and suH'cred much, and is almost destitute of anything to make him comfortable ; still his favorite idea of settling Oregon predominates over every other consideration. lie left some property at Vera Cruz, which ho hopes to receive so. le time or other. He has been robbed of a considerable part of what he brought out with him from New Englaud. He has letters to persons in Monterey, from whom he expects help in prosecuting his journey. I hope his expectations will be realized." I am obliged to close, or lose the chance for to-day's mail. In hiistc, very truly your friend and servant, THOMAS SHAW. <^- k I will hero turn and speak further of troubles. The, war ol persecution continues to rage ; the troops are mak- ing, daily, fierce and terrible attacks. The order of the day is now, as years ago — vox and torture him — drive him to despair — drive him out of the world. !Much as it fared' witli the Apostle Paul, who was "tr()u])led on every side " by " unreac"onal)le and wicked men," so for the laet forty years it has fared >vith me. "In journej'ings often, in perils by robbers, in perils by mine own countrynK-n, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the (Mty, in perds in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in fastings, in weariness and painfulness," and in loneliness my life long. One of the objects of the present ont[)ouriii.u"K ot the "wrath of man," is to prevent the dictation of this Itook, and any action on the petition now in Congress. The nervous all'ection has increased — am more slow of speech — more slow of apprehension. Have nearly lost, at times, the physical ability to compose, and am more liable to inadvertent speaking. Can prepare no more than thiiiy or forty lines of manuscript for the press in a day. [App. I).] I must curtail the book forty or fifty pages. 55 and give a synopsis only of the story of further hardships and suilorin'^s. Will pass over, for the present, particular mention of wonderful interpositions of Divine Providence, of deliverances from the hands of bloody men, of hair- breadth escapes from the rille, from the Jaws of wild beasts, from the stings of scorpions, and from the fang.s and venom of serijcnts. I say I must curtail this book, and hafete to make it ready for the consideration of Congress and the people of my counti*y. CHAP. VI. 1 would ask, by whom do men say was the settlement of Oregon made. This question I am able myself to an- swer. I know myself, and am not ignorant of my j^er- formanecs in Oregon. Some say the llrst missionaries laid tlie foundation for the settlement of that country. The public agent, the late Lieut, llowison, in his report to the comman ler of the Pacific squadron, Feb. 1, 1847, while he is profoundly silent as to mc, the mlc founder of the (irst nucleus and colonizing settlement in Oregon, I de- clare it, makes the followiui; declarations : " The Ameri- can missionaries were the tirst persons to attempt any establishment in Oregon, independent of th elludson Bay Company." "A few American hunters, not numbering over twelve or liftecn,* straggled into tlie country about tlie same time." Late Lieut. Slocum, the government agent in '35 sent to learn the condition and wants of my settlement made in OctolK'r, '34, (the committee in Congress on foreign affairs knowing one ot the objects of my visit to Oregon to be, Hettlement, instructed the chairman, Mr. Archer, to say to me, that any settlement I should make in Oregon would be protected by the Government,) was told by the settlers themselves, that H. J. K.^Wey persuaded them to settle in • Fifteen was the number of persons so conducted, and tliey were riot strngglcrs. u 56 (hat territory, and conductod them from Calirornhi thitiuir. He was furnished with a written statement to that elVcct, which he evidently intended to publish. That paper was marked, in the body of his report, E, rcferrinff to Uie Appendix. But it was not found there ; he negloeted to make an}' mention of my name, on account, doubtless, ot the very same influence at Washington, and in other parts of the countrv, which had been for so many rears vvorkin*c against me. Mr. Slocum, immediately after his return to Washing- ton, came to Boston; called on the late Charles Bulfinch, Esq., and inquired to know my place of residence, and said lie had come expressly to have an interview with mo. Mr. Bulfinch addressed to me a note, saying that a gentle- man at the Tremont House desired to see me. I then; met Mr. Slocum, and we conversed about the settlement ; said that he saw in the hands of the settlers a book of mine, called "The Manual of the Oregon Expedition." See the book in the Appendix, under the letter Q ; an pub- lish tile Spanish letter,* which he never believed himself; but used it as a protest to juatily himself in exercising all manner of mean conduct toward me/'f There are some errors in Mr. Young's statement, but they are immaterial; and, being made under the peculiar embarrassments which the oppressive policy of Dr. McLaughlin had brought upon him, he was excusable. The nine marauders overtook my party two days' jouiney from St. Joseph, and not at that place. I neither gave consent nor dissent to their traveling with the party ; tor I could not prevent it ; and Capt. Young did not object. After a few days, those men, finding that I was not dis- posed to connive at their villany, sought an opportunity to destroy me. One of them dischai'ged his riile at me, and very nearly hit the mark ; and at a subsequent time the rifle was again leveled at me, but at the moment a word from Young staid the death-charged bullet. The letter of the Governor of the Califomias to McLaughlin did not implicate me with those men. My coiTcspondenee with his Excellency, Joseph Figveroa, testifies of his good opinion of me. ■ [See Narrative E. D., p. 91.] The first person who came to visit me in the Company's hospital, after the physician, was Capt. Young. His call was not so much to sympathize, (slander had, already, • See Appendix B. t Being in a hurry, I copkd only such (arts of it as seemed essential to my use. 8 58 mensnmbly repressed Avllliin him any fr«»<'i'ous fecrm*^ of that kind,) as to speak of the personal al)usc just received from Dr. McTiau t Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Suffolk, ss. January 30, 1843. Personally appeared the within Wm. C. Brown, and made oath to the truth of the within statement, before me, JOHN P. BIGELOW, J. P. Other? attribute to Capt. Nathaniel Wyeth's spirit of enter- prise, that great and philanthropic work. They that "hate" me say these things and viciously belie the history of Oregon, and would have all other persons say and do the same. Wyeth, I have reason to believe, knew comparatively little about the con- try buyond the Rocky Mountains, marked on all maps 'unknown,' until he road my pvihlications concerning it. Some time in the year 1820, he came to me for the loan of some of ray looks and documents concerning the far west, and the programme of the ex- pedition in which he would enlist, and he enrolled his name among the names of several hundred others in the emigrants" book. The following extract of his letter dated Philadelphia, Aug. 30, 1831, shows further about it: "I write to inform you that I shall not return as soon as I expected, hp.vir.g been detained here on business. I shall be in Boston about thfl fifth of nextir')ntL, and will see you as soon thereafter as practicable in regard to my application for a situation in tho first exjHidition to the Oregon coun^ y. Dr. Jacob Wyeth, a brother of mine, wishes to enter sh; ini In tliu tak and acci sac but teri ot m Go his name as an emisjrunt." Soon aller, tliitJ Wycth, asso- ciatini^ hhnscU with .some of the meichantc} of Boaton, withdrew his name and got np a hunting and trading party of his own, and in '82 left for Oregon ; not to settle nor to encourage the settlement, but to trap and trade with the Indians and oppose the settlement. His Ijrothcr, Dr. Wyeth, John Ball, Calvin Tibbets and J. Sinclair, whose names were enrolled for the expedition, migrated in Wyeth's party. Mr. Sinclair assigns a reason for so trav- eling, in a letter to me dated New Yoiik, Feb. 22, 1832 : " V.'^hat dill'erence would it make to the Society, should I go to tlie Oregon country with Capt. Wyeth's i»arty, if in the country when the expedition arrives." Two of these persons only, Tibbets and Ball, reached Oregon ; they had no connection with Wyeth's party, whose views were com- mercial and adverse to colonization. Dr. Wyeth having reached the llocky Mountains, for some reason known to himself, and not to me, tuiii< d back and wrote a book called, ''Wj'cth's Oregon Expedition." It was written by the pen of Dr. Watirhouse, of Cam- lu'ido'e. Honorable mention is made of niv name on some of its pages. The bo»»k attributes to the writings auvi per- sonal persuasions "of H. J. Keik>y all that led to 'Wyeth's Exi)edition. ' " Now in view of what has been said, can tl;ere l«»f a shadow of doubt, or even the slightest misgiving in the mind of any candid person, what led to the settlement oi Oregon ? lie is a deceivir and u iiar, wlio would liave my countryman believe that Wyeth or the niiseionaiies laid the foundiition of the settlement, nnd that Hall J. Kelley. t(M)k no part in bringinr about tLuit .^Teat and good work. I repeat wliat I Iuim' <»uee before said, and declare it trut , that any personal advantage to be deri\'cd f»"on) founding the first settlement in the far-oil" wilds of Oregon, is wholly and iustly claimed by me. That was an under- ^taking fraught with great discouragements and difliculties, and attended with great expense. It rei^uired for its accomplishment much fortitude and i)erseveranee, besides such sacrifices o£ time and property as, at that time, none but myself wmmned w^illin^ to make. Furttiennore. T brou^rlit al»out the settlement (■■■. the in- terior of Calil-^rnlii. *• stat<^' in the petition (No. 19) ; of this I am aL*o eeruiu. My ciicuiiuus route through I 66 II I ; 1. ( Mexico, instead of a direct one across the Rocky Moun- tains, was wholly induced by a desire ol efl'ecting some arrangements with oificers of the IVIexicrai government and distinguished individuals in that country relative to the fish and lumber trade between the ('olumbia river and the Mexican western ports ; and tor extending, in proper time, my colonizing operations into High California. And I did, while in Mexico, make arrangements in ])art for being constituted an Emprcsarias for the settlement ol the inte- rior of that country. The first petitlcix to Congress, presented in the Senate and referred to the select committee on Oregon — after my return home from the Far West — set forth the things done and sudercd in colonizing Oregon and bringing about the settlement of High California. The accompanying docu- ments substantiated its allegations and verified every state- ment. The chairman of that committee being satisfied of the facts, wrote me as follows : "Washington City, Feb. U, 1840. ^^ Dear Sir; Your letter, with the extracts cut from the papers, have both l^een received, and for which, please ac- cept my tlianks. I hop* you have seen m}^ Oregon bill, which was published at my request, both in the Globe and Intelligencer. "Government must soon act with decision on this subject, now becoming truly important in a national point of view. When any thing definite is done, your claims would then present themselves with a power not to be resistv'd, upon this Government ; and should I remain in Congress, you may depend en at least my assistance. "Feeling deep sympathy for your losses, hardships and afilictions, I remain Yours truly. " Hall J. Kellev, A. M. L. F. LINN." The following is an extract from a subsequent letter : " When Congress takes up this subject of the Oregon Territory seriously, I do not entertain a doubt that jour claim will be awarded. I say seriously, because notiiing now seems to excite any attention but dollars and cents, and squabbling about political power. To-morrow I will endeavor to get up the Oregon bill, and try at least to get bat: 67 an expression on the part of the Senate in regaril to our title. I sincerely sympathize with your misfortunes and providential atilictions. "Hoping that bettor and happiei; days are in store, I remain, "J. II,\L.L Kelley, Esq. Most RcspcctfuU} , L. r. LINN." The portion of California northward ot the Janquin River,, exoeptiuu; some spots on the coast, as late as 1834, remained unsettled. Contemplating its coloni;iation, I had several intcrviewb, while- at Monterey, in the summer of that year, Avith CI en. Figucroa, the Governor of the Cali- fomias. I was desirous of public patronage and his co- operation ; and, also, of making such minute explorations as would all'ord a correct knowledge of the topography and capabilities of the country, and enable nii.' to delineate its prominent features upon a map, pri."parat(>ry to the in- troduction of settlers from a distant land into that region. The following is a reply to a letter upon the subject, addressed by mo to tlie Governor : ;.^A^ "Es muy laudable el poueamieuto de V. y < L. s. ^ nm}' digno de su ilustraciou el proyecto, de re- ^ s^,^^ ^ conoscx los lerrenos incultos de este Territori*! hastti la linea dondo confma la Iiepul)lica para levantar un mapa esacto que de a conoser al mundo googralicameute, la cituaeion, i)roducciones, y demas elemcntos de riguera de que es susceptible este pais, y que aun son desconosidos. Mucho plaser tendria yo en contribuir a unos descubrlmi- entos tan imjiortantes, poro me encuentro sin facultades para proteier la empresa, por estar reservadas al supremo Govlerno General tanto el couceder la licencia para levan- tar mapas, como el decretar la erogacion de gastos en esa o cualesquiora otra empresa. "En tal concepto, y en el de que deseo vivamente los adelantos de mi patrla, reconoeido ala generosa disposicion que Y. me maniliesta para emprender una obra tau difieil, coino arriesgada, y dispendiosa, soy de sentir que su pro- yecto, lo someta ala deliveracion del supremo Gcv^ieruo aquien yo protesto remitirlo y recomendarlo con el empeno que en mi concepto merece ; pero csto no lo vcrilicare hasta que V. me conteste si es o no conforme, y se propone aguardar la resoiucion. (58 "Tcngo el lionor do protcptar a V. miiccpclo y consid- eracion. •'Dies y Libertad. Monterey, 2G de Juniu, dc 1834. "JOSK FIGUEROA. •• Sor. Don Ham, ,T. Kki.1,ky." Ij Ml ? [Translation of the preceding letter.] "Your tliouiiht is 'very laudaljle, and very < L. s. ^ worthy of your illustration is* the project of sur- ' v-^v^.-/ ^ voying the uncultivated lands of this territory as far as the boundary line of the Republic, for the purpose of constructing a map which would geographically show the world the situation, productions, and other elements of wealth of which this country is susceptible, and which, as yet, are imknown. " I shall feel much pleased in contributing towards such important discoveries ; but I find myself without faculties to protect the undertaking, it being reserved to the supreme government as Avell the gi'anting of license to construct maps, as the furnishing of funds for this or an}' other un- dertalcing. "Wherefore, and because I earnestly desire the pros- perity of my country, grateful for the generous disposition which you have manifested to undertake a work as diffi- cult, as dangerous and expensive, I am of opinion you should submit your project to the supreme government, to which I will remit it and recommend it with th" efGcacy it deserves ; but this I shall not do until you inform me Avhether it will be agreeable to you, and whether you pro- pose to wait the answ^er. " God and Liberty. Monterey, June 26, 1834. " Senor Don Hall J. Kellky." "JOSE I'lGUEROA. Besides Mr. Ijinn of the Senate, Caleb Cuj?hing of the House pledged me his advocacy- of my cause in Congress. That eminent jurist and far-sighted statesman, in reference to the petition just mentioned, wrote as follows : "Washington, Jan. 20, 1840. ''Dear Sir: I have yours of the 11th. You may de- pend on my continued purpose to see justice done to you U8 far as I have the power. The object of the settlement of the Oregon question is every day gaining friends. i 69 Scvcial oi tlu! new mcMiibcrs Ironi the West are enuagcd ardently in the matter. And I cannot but liope that c^onie- thintr eilieient will he done hy the present Consiress. " I am, vours trulv, Mk. Kf.llev. C. CU8IIING." i No. o7. My moral movements about the American fchores ot the Paeltle, as averred in the i)etition, 1 am cer- tain induced the settlement made by Capt. John A. Sutter, on tlu! bank of the Sacramento. Alter m}' return home to Boston from those shores, I often met Mr. Shaw, ot Avhom I have si)oken on some previous page, and had conversa- tion with that gentleman concerning my exploits in Cali- foi'uia and Oregon, and the interest he took in my great enterprises. On one occasion he rehited what led Sutter to settle in California. When at San Francisco, he tell in com])any Avitli Mr. Sutter, who had just come doAvn the coast to thr^ place for the i)urpose of trade. Believing him to be an enterprising and active man, he advised him to go and select some fair spot in the valley of the Sacra- mento, and there settle, saying that an acquaintance of his, Hall J. Kellc}', had gone up through that valley to Ore- gon Avitli a party to colonize that country, and purposed to return and found settlements in Califoraia. Mr. Sutter replied that he had no ready means for doing it ; that he had, hoAvcver, a draft on the Eussian settlement. This, Mr. Shaw said he would honor, and supply him with funds. He then said he would go, and having engaged some working men, pursuant to Mr. Shaw's advice, settled in that valley. Mr. Sutter, as I was told, had resided some years at St. Louis ; but after the colonization of Oregon had been commenced, he migrated, with some party of emigrants or Imnters, to that territory; first with a view to traffic, and then, if they were found favorable, ♦o settle. After a while at the Hudson Bay Company's establishment at Vancouver, he left in one of the Com- pany's vessels for San Francisco, with a view of trade, as alrcadj^ stated. At a time when in Washington, in 1848, I inquired of Greeuhow for some of those papers ; particular!}', an advertisement printed in London, 1795, in four different laugnages. I was curious to regain possession of that an- 70 Hi iw cient document. He denied knowinij where it was. I, also, wished to know about the medal. Tliat, he said, was in tlie patent-olfiee. It was not in the ])atent-olIice, nor had it been there. I next called at tlie li])rary which Avas under his care, to see Capt. Ingraham's journals, hav- ing obtained permission to examine them,. with tlie inten- tion ot copyinf? some statements relative to Kendrick's voyage and the land purchases. At iirst, Greenhow being absent, the second librarian said the journals ai)peared to be missing ; but he would make further search. After calling several times, some days intervening the calls, and finding they had not been retmned to the archives, I ad- dressed a note to the Secretary ol State, and then, two or three weeks after my first inquiries, those journals, full of valuable information concerning the claim, were forth- coming. My name (a part only) occurs but once in the hiritory by Greenhow; although the tbirgs which I had done and suilercd for Oregon were known to that author ; and my memoir, embraced in the congressional document, (Rep. No. 101, House of Kepresentativcs, 1839,) showing what led to tlie settlement of that territory, was before him, showing that Hall J. Kelhy, without eveu a single coad- jutor by his side, to assist, i)laiited the germ of empire on the Pacific shores ; an event sufficiently remarkable to have attracted his attention, and to have entitled me to some more respect than he seemed disposed to pay me. On the 14th page he briefly speaks of me, omitting, as is the polic}^ and uniform practice ot my enemies, a part of my name ; and misspelling the other part. The Chris- tian names of all other persons, and i\\by are numerous, introduced into the book, even the longest of Spanish names, requiring two or tluee long breaths to utter, arc remembered and correctly written ; but, strange as it is, the shoit Hall J., printed with fair type, in a multiplicity of papers which were before his eyes, was unseen, and the Kelley so indistinctly recollected, as to be mis.'^pelt. In Lee's book it is Kelly, and so in Greenhow's ; which thing indicates their having concerted what to sa}'. After marking my name as nothing worth, he throws to me a sugar-plum, calls me patriotic ; and then, as if wholly to turn the mind f om thoughts of Kelley, suddenly, with a sort ot admiration, turns to the name and exploits of 71 as Cnpi. Wycth, whom he makes the hero ol the remainder of liis l)ook. In describing (p. 191) the expeditions of Wyetli and Bonneville, he slips meanly by the origin of those enterprises, and keeps dark concerning him who caused them. With great injnstice to me, (p. 199,) he says: "The first emigrations from the United State;;, for the purpose of settlement, without any special commercial views, appear to have been made in 1832." There is a sentence in Ilowison's repoi-t, of similar meaning. The style of this and that are so similar, I should think one pen wrote them both. However, it matters not who writes, if the truth is told. Two persons only, that year, reached Oregon for the purpose of settlement. Others leaving Nev England in their company, were frightened by deceiving hunters in the service of some fur company, and tm-ned back before far ascending the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. These facts were known to Greenhow, at the time of writing the book ; and he should not have been so careless of my character, as not to have mentioned them. He further says : "Three years afterwards, a small col- ony of Americans was established on the Wallamet, under the direction of Mr. Jason Lee and other Methodist cler- gymen." This statement is false ; and was made to award the credit of the " fh'st establishment " in that country to the "American missionaries." There were no persons with the Methodist clergymen to compose a colony. Of course, no colony was established under their direction. Two years afterwards, not three, a colony of Americans was established on the Wallamet, including the missiona- ries, by the "patriotic American" whose name is so art- fully and cruelly Icept out of sight in Greenhow's state- ments . His silence concerninir me is not a matter of which I would complain, farther than it has a hard bearing upon my character and fortune. It has had a terrible bearing upon both. He might, with consistency, have interspersed his book with things relative to my enterprise and adventures, — spoken of philanthropic projects and mighty achieve- ments, — of hardships, perils, and "hair-breadth escapes," — and of remarkable interposing providences of God. I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A o^" 4^ ^ 1.0 I.I 1.25 1*5 *^^ 25 2.2 2.0 1= U Hill 1.6 -► Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (7 lb) 872-4503 I 1 T Tf hav€ no vanity to be gratified in his doing it ; but justice demanded it to be done. Enough, I trust, has been auid to satisfy the i*casonable reader, that Greenliow belongs to the troops oi the Hud- son Bay Company, marshaled and drilled for tlio special servi'"^ of destroying me, and of preventing the govern- ment recognition of the claim of some of our citizens to lands now occupied and coveted by that conipan}'. During the wearisome yeara, when hardshii)s had broken me down, and sickness had rendertnl me incapable of self- defence, my enemies were bold and unmei'ciful. At times they almost overwhelmed me with troubles ; thisy perse- cuted nigh unto death. CHAP. VH. I have somewhat fuilhcr to state concerning the laying of the foundation of the firat settlements in Oregcn ; and will adduce incontroveilible evidence in [)root of what I shall state. A friend at Washington, in 1*848, published in the National Intelligencer the following honorable notice ol me : HALL J. KELLEY. Messrs. Editors : It is the fate of men in advance of their times to Ix) the martyrs ot the ago for which they labor. To H^vll J. Kelley the country is indebted for the settlement of Oregon and for the fixity ot oiu* title to that country. As early as the year 1817, while filling the truly honorable office as principal of one of the com- mon schools in Boston, his attention was arrested by the value and impoi-tance oi the country west of the Rocky Mountains, at that time marked on all the maps as '* un- known." With an energy and iudustiy which has over distinguished Mr. Kelley, he devoted himself to the acqui- sition of all the knowledge at that thno extant in books, and which ho gi'eatly increased by oonversationa with ship- !t.ii;,[ T3 iniistors tradiii;!f to tbo northwest coast of America. Tliis intoiiniitioii ho spread broadcast in the papers of New En;^]and, as well as by prhited ch'culars and letters addressed to our public men. In 1829 lie procured an act of incorporation from the Legislature of Massacliusetts of "Th'v5 American Society for encoumging the settlement of the Oregon Territory," and in 1830 be published a "Geo- gmpliical Memoir of Oregon," accompanied by a map, (the first ever compiled,) drawn by himself, and also a "Manual of the Oregon Expedition," for the guidance of emigi'antii. In 1831 seveml hundred persons had been already enlisted by him, and the expedition was projected and preparations made, which was ol)structef which he submitted a memoir to the Government in 1829. The Committee in Congi-ess to whom the sub- ject was refcired, assigned its examination to Gen. Ber- ) . 75 ligher imi'd, then at tho head oi our coi*i)S of civil euofiucers. Gen. Bernard reported favorably as to its impoitanec, and the patronage oi tho Kxecutive was promised on condition that Mr. Kclloy would prepare and publish tho requisite tables. This was a work ot time, and, as it would inter- fere with liis plans lor Oregon, the work never was com- pleted. Noj" are these tho only services of Mr. Kelley which render him worthy ot the sympathy and support of the public hi his application now before Congress. Mr. Kelley has distinguished him^ell as an engineer ; he n^ado the l()(!ation and surveys of several railroads in the State of Maine ; and also ])roject>cd u canal from Boston to the Connecticut river, and made a cuisory survey of the same ; and in Mexico he ])rojected a milroad Irom Vera Cruz to the city of IMexico, which was submitted to several private but enterprising men, and also to General Santa Anna and the Executive of Mexico, a plan which has since been commenced. Of Mr. Kelley 's litnc^ss for these labors, Geo. B. Emerson thus writes, under date of Boston, Sep- tember, 1838 : "From natuml taste and adaptation; from tho most extraordinary experience ot the work, in every form and variety ; from practical skill and acquaintance of all kinds ot ground and uU modes ot operation, Mr. Kelley is singularly avcII qualified to understand, superintend, and execute the work of- a survey for any railroad or other improvement, public or private." And the then Governor Everett endorses this letter by saying : " Mi. Emerson is well known to me as a person eminent for his scientific attainments, ♦ • * uuj ] fed gi-eat reliance on his judgment," «S;c. Thcjo, nv.A many such tacts which might be stated, show tho activity, capacity, and power of the man who enlisted his soul and has sunk his toituno in tho entequisc for the christianizing and civilization ot Oregon. He has labored, and others have reaped the harvest. He is now an old man, worn out by severe sullerings, a partial loss of eye- sight, and bereaved of family and fortune, an applicant to Congress tor a grant of land in that Territory which it has been tho gi*eat aim ot his lite to secure by settlement to our coimtry, and to make it the seat of lite, light, and liberty. Is not the laborer worthy of the rewai*d he seeks ? JUSTITIA. 76 Soon after flic conception (in 1817) of tlie settlement, I began first to converjie with friends conceniing it, and tlien to leetnve and to M'rite books and tracts, in oi'der to give the widest i^ossible i^ublicity to my plans and puiposcs. The following testimonial states in regard to the collecting of infoiTnation and tlio lecturing : U. 8. lievenue Cutter ^Hamilton,* ]}oston, February 7, 1849. Hall J. Relley, Esq. : Dear Sir, — You first called on me about thirty y(>ars ago, after my return from the Columbia Kiver, requesting information conceniing Oregon. I loaned you at that time my journal, in which I had noted some accounts of the country about the mouth of the Columbia Kiver. I also was present at a public lectui'o delivered by you in refer- ence to tliat territoiy. I know of no one who lias greater claims on the Government, than yourself. With wishes for your success, I am respectfully, your obedient servant, JOSIAH STURGIS, Capt. U. S. R. 8. The pajier under the head of " Schedule " I must here introduce, tliough it properly belongs to the Api^endix. I am in haste to finish the dictation of this book, and to have it in print and before Congi'css the present session — a document so clearly and fully verifying and illustrating the statements of the petition now in the hands of a Com- mittee. It is a solemn appeal to the justice of Congi'ess and to the liunmnity of the Christum public, and it will not bo in vain, I trust, should it be road and duty consid- ered by tlie lovers of truth, the patriots and the philan- thropists of that illustrious assembly. It ^ 'as commenced more than a year and a half ago, and yet not 80 pages of it are in print. Consttmt vexations, ''troubles on every side " cause the delay ; they enfeeble my pen and unfit my mouth for speech, of course for the dictating of the com- position of the book. (App. S.) Persecutions and afllictions of forty years' continuance have nearly worn me out, and I may not last to see, in print, the Appendix, the 7 J most Instructive as it re«,'aixl8 my biography, and i^erhaps the most inttM-esting portion of the book. SCHEDULE. Books and papers put into the possession of committees and iudividual members of Congress, in dilferont years, substantiating tlie allegations of the author's petitions, presented from time to time ; and to show the falsities in certain liistorical accounts of Oregon, favoring the inter- ests of the II. B. Company, with explanations. 1838. — Put into the possession of the late Hon. L. F. Linn, were a series of papers published in the Bunker Hill Aurora, in 1837, on the American claim and title to Oregon, giving accounts of the early discoveries and ex- aminations by Spanish, American and British navigators of the N. W. Coast. (Nar. E. D., p. 17 to 44.) Documents showing the nature and validity of the claims of certain American citizens to lands on Vancouver's Island. Petition, asking for a grant of land in Oregon. 1839. — Memorials, in dilFerent years, praying Congress to take possession of the Oregon Territoiy, and to aid in its colonization. Petition of the leading citizens of Boston. A collection of books and pamphlets, including the *' Geogi-aphical Sketch of Oi'egon " and the "Manual of the Oregon Expedition." On the cover of the last named book was the following AGENTS from whom information 3ould be obtained. S. Coleman, Portland, Me. J. Shaw» P. M., Northijort, do. G. C. Woilh, Burlington, do. J. McNab, M. D., Baraet, Vt. H. Brewhter, Ed. State Herald, Portsmouth, N. H. J. Nye, P. M., Claremont, do. J. W. Rand, New Hampton, do. H. J. Kolley, Gen. Agent, Boston, Mass. W. W. Wheildou, Ed. Bunker Hill Aurora, Chailes- town, do. Wm. Young, Taunton, do. "i "'f 78 N. Wyetb, Cambridge, Mass. CalleDder & Kirkhnni, Springfield, do. Doit & Ilowland, Worcester, do. Lewis G. Clurk, Ed. Conn. Mirror, Hartford, Conn. Rev. E. Cusliman, Now Haven, do. Rev. B. T. Welch, Albany, N. Y. A. McCall, Lansinnburgh, do. A. Palmer, Ed. Schenectady Whig, do. E. W. Collins, Rochester, do. J. White, P. M., Bmditt, do. J. WaiTcn, Lyons, do. R. Elwell, No, 80 Wall St., New York City. W. C. Jones, Columbus, Ohio. N. G. M. Sonter, Dayton, do. B. Willis, Hillsboro', Illinois. L. Dunlap, Indianni^olis, Ind. C. D. Smith, Detroit, Michigan Tor. D. R. Burbank, Henderson, Ky. T. J. Bradford, Ed. Kentucky Gazette, do. Geo. Rohtlc, Newark, N. J. Rev. J. R. Dodge, No. 80 Vine St., Philadelphia City. J. Jcwett, No. 229 Market St., Baltimore City. J. Riordan, Washington City, D. C. C. C. Dun, M. D., Abington, Va. R. B. Seneecum, SomerviJle, Tenn. Asa Hartfield, Augusta, Miss. J. M. Bradford, St. Fi*ancisville, Lu." A collection of circulars and advertisements published between the years 1829 and '32. A collection Of docu- ments and newspaper articles concerning the enterprise and ad'airs in Oregon. Put into the hand of Hon. C. Cushing, a map of Upper Califoniia and Oregon, di'aAvn by myself from the date, of explorations made by me in '34, which map was examined by Col. Fremont, who explored the same country in 1837 or '40, and was pronounced remarkably correct. It was the iirnt ever made by an American of the valley of the Sacmmento. One of the medals furnished Capts. Ken- di'ick and Gray, commanders of the " Voyage of Discov- ery," fitted out from Boston, in 1787. An impression of which is given on the map attached to Greenhow's history of Oregon. 79 1840. — Put into tho liand ol tho Hon. Abbott Lawrence, tho manuscript copy of tho document — IIouso ol Repre- sentiitivcs, Cong. 1(3, Scss. Ist, No. 43, prepared by tho petitioner, giving an abridged history of the purchases of Indian lauds on tiio N. W. Coast by American citizens. An advertisement ]n'iuted hi I otidon, m 1793, in four diilcrent languages, ollering for sale the lands purchased of Indians on the N. W. Coast, by Capt. J. Kendrick, in the year 1797, embnicing the country extending from tho 47th to the Slst parallel. 1848. — Put into the possession of tho committee of the Senate, on Public Lands, a petition asking for a donation of land in consideration of services and sacrifices and suf- ferings, in causing tlie c ionization of Oregon ; and setting forth the chief things which render the petitioner deserv- ing public respect f and worthy tho consideration of Con- gress. A pile of documents, embracing all such copies of books and papers, of which a duplicate copy remained to tho petitioner, as were deposited in the hand of Senator Linn, together with the testimonials in this book. A collection, in two volumes, of pamphlets and original papers, including a scries of lrought fron. at settle- ment, a copy of the petitioner's " Manual of the Oregon Expedition," and also a statement given him by Captain Young, the chief man of the settlers, declaring that " Mr. Hall J. Kelley persuaded " him and his party to settle in that territory. The paper marked 10 in the report, is that identical statement ; and it was evidently, at first, intended to ho printed y with the matters included in the report; but it was not printed, nor to be seen by members of Congress ; nor was any allusion made to the petitioner, or to any of his meritorious acts in Oregon. In the spring of 1849, the petitioner took back from the hands of the committee a i)ortion of his books and papers, fearing the most valuable of them would be lost, as nearly the whole mass of those accompanying tlte petition of '38 had been. A day or two ago, there was put into my hands tlie book 81 of book entTtlcd, "Beyond tho Mississippi." On the 409th page it is said that "tho earliest white settlers were the Hudson Bay Company and Nathaniel Wyeth." Tlie author, Albert' D. Richardson, lias here made a mistake ; his information, doubtless, was derived irom persons who hnl citlicr been deceived, or would tlicmselvos deceive. Wyeth was no scttlcT ; Ilia object in going to that country was not to set- tle, but to trap and hunt ; for the privilege of doing which he put hiniscit under obligations to the Hudson Bay Co. to discounigo emigiiition to that country. If indeed ho is to be regarded as a settler, enougli has been said in my book to show as to the inducements of his being such. The Hudson Bay Co. were no settlers ; no pei'son belong- ing to that Company — no one of its subordinates was a settler prior to the founding by myself of tho settlement in the valley of the Wallamet. Most of the authors of books accounting for the settle- ment of Oregon seem to misapprehend the true meaning of the words, to settle, or Kettlement. With some of them it is owing, doubtless, to hasty and inadvertent exercise with the pen. The word settlement, as defined by Web- ster, in its application to country, means — the act of pos- session by legal sanction — the act of planting or establish- ' ing — tlie jilaee or the colony established. Now, rightly to understand the true meaning of this woixl, we should in- . quire to know the purpose and object of those "white men" in Oregon. Was it colonization — Christian civiliza- tion—the establisliment of civil freedom and the s])rcad of tho knowledge of God? If this was not the object, it was not settlement of that wilderness, nor was it in the com- prehension of the meaning, nor as is the acceptation of the word settlement. Was not the object of the Hudson Bay Co. and Wyeth, exclusively selfish and mercenary? It is evident their establishments were tempoi-ary, and wei'e wholly for facilities and comfoits while trnjiping and hunt- ing and "getting game ;" and not for colonization. A set- tlement of a small patch of land, perhaps less than a mile square in area, is not the settlement of the whole country, and cannot be considered the settlement of Oregon, or of " laying the foundation " of the settlement of that terri- tory. The Hudson Bay Co.'s establishments were not permanent ; ihny were liable in a few years to be broken up, at the termination of the conyentiou then existing be^ 11 82 twecn llio United States ami Groat Britain. Tlioir tann- ing ostablishnicnts wore similar in character to tliat of Fort Vancouver, and were indis}}ensablc estahlislinicnte — were for tiio purpose ot providin*; breadstiitis I'or the two thousand persons in the employment of tlio Company, Ttlio immbor employed in '34,) and the many hundred Indians with wliom they uero in ti-affic, and sujiplyinjif, from tlio products of the field, a distillery, the wherewith for tho distillation of alcohol. When I was at Fort Vancouver, I saw with my own eyes, in one of the out-l)uildino;8, tho huge monster preparing for his daily work of human slaughter. I notice in the book one other misttikc ; one, however, but of little consequence now that tho "Oregon question" with Great Britain is settled. It is stated tliat "tlio first American knowledge of tho river Columbia Mas through Capt. Robert Gmy, of Boston, Avho entered the mouth of the unknown beautiful stream in 1792, and named it from his ship, Columbia licdiviva, the first keel which had over cut its waters." Now, tho first discovery of the Oregon river was by Spaniards sent puiposcly by tho Viceroy alty of Mexico, by order of tho King of Spain, to make discov- eries on the north-west coast. Before any other people, they discoverea and examined every portion of that coast, and commenced the colonization of Quadra's Island . ( App. T.) Admiral Font, in 1G40, made discoveries and exam- inations as far north as tho 60th parallel, entering rivere, straits, and bays ; and taking possession of tho country in the name of their sovereign. In 1774, Juau Perez was sent from San Bias with two public vessels, to explore tho whole coast, in view of its annexation to the Spanish do- minions. He examined Nootka Sound, and traded with the natives. In the following year, Heceta, with two ves- sels from San Bias, made an expedition in which was dis- covered the Oregon. (See Nar. E. D., pa^e 18, and page 12, this book.) It is evident he entered with his two ves- sels, and sailed up that river as far as navigable, and the "keel '* of one of the vessels, we may suppose, "was tho fu-st that ever cut its waters." Mam'elle, tho pilot, deline- ated ui)on his chart the river for the distance of 70 or 80 miles from its entrance, calling it San Roc. Capt. John Meai'cs, a British subject on that coast in 1788, admits this discovery. He notes in his jouiiial : 83 bocic, To W Uings " We were pleased with the expectations of its being Cape San Hoc ot tlie Spaniaixis, near which they are said to have found a * good port.' " Mr. Riehardsou has given to the world a useful one written with groat perspicuity. If any one wish to know u1>out men and things exactly us they regions "JJeyond the Mississippi," nnd understan*' grunt and sp^)'".. struiglit and crooked, minutely, in all their diversity oi character, as tliougli close to and urdet the nil al eye, let him read the pages of tliis book. The book called "Astoria" was writtciu partly to deceive the i)ublic as to t'le settlement of Oregon. Some of its pag(!S are delusive. The delusion is more in its materials than in its author. There never was a town of that or any otlier name prior to the year 1834, at the mouth of the Co- lumbia river — never a settlement in Oregon nor of the 38th parallel, unless two or three log tcnemenls, with a stock- ade fence about them, constitute a town. When at the mouth of the Columbia river in '34, I saw but two tene- ments. If my recollection serves me right, one was a storehouse ; the other Avas occupied by a person whom the company had stationed there to trade with the Indians and to collect furs. I saw little there but darkness and black- ness and desolation ; heard but little more than the sighs and cries of the misery in the perishing remnants of the Clotsop and Chenook tribes, and tlic roar and rage of mighty waters. The late John J. Astor, of New York, a man of no ordi- nary siigacity in business transactions, established a trading post on the south side of the estuary of the Columbia, Avhich post, to magnify the importance of his doings in that territory, has since been called the " Town of Astoria." I am free to say, having had opportunities to know about it, that he did not so much as contemplate a permanent settlement or occupancy of the country. Nothing ever indicated his having entei'tained, for a moment, a thought of that kind. It is true, in 1822, he proposed to invest $200,000 in the building of a town at the mouth of the Columbia, provided the government of the United States would establish for its protection a military post at that place. The proposition, though reasonable, was not ac- cepted ; and nothing further was said or done on his part. It is not my meaning that he was a whit worse than the M yery best of the leading men in the associations of fur dealei's ; yet, I apprehend, liis object was not materially unlike that of all others whom cupidity has led to that country to trap and hunt, and to trade with the Indians ; and who, to get gain, have overreached that benighted people in every instance of traffic with them ; and have robbed them of the productions of their hunting grounds, and iisliing privileges — a predatory object, no better than that of marauders. Most historical writers, and lecturers on that country, have given to this enterprising and adroit fur dealer, credit which ho never claimed ; have attributed to his condtict motives Avhieh never moved him ; and laureled him with- out his consent, at the expense of another. They have made prevalent false notions as to the character of his establishment; and have artfully drawn public attention that way, hoping to divert the inquu'ing mind from the best grounds of the American claim to Oregon ; and from the fu'st cause of the settlements of that country. Though his object was, exclusively, that of avarice, yet meeds of praise have been awarded him, as though he had done some mighty thing, greatly benefiting his adopted nation. There was nothing visible in Aster's pmpose, indicating colonization. His men were unprovided With agricultural stores or farming implements ; and it is evident that they were without skill for the cultivation of the ground, and were not sent to Oregon on business of that kind. While there, they made experiments at horticulture — none at fanning. In 1828, when engaged in efforts to enlist emigrants for Ore- gon, I noticed in the loading newspapers an article purporting to be an extract from a journal kept at Astoria. It stated, in substance, that a email patch of ground was cultivated, to sup- ply the post with garden vegetables ; that the ground was sterile, and incapable of producing enough of any thing to re- munerate for the seed put into it ; and that the experiments were failures. The same article suggested the way of man- agement. Turnips were sowed and potatoes planted, among stumps and under the shade of the tall trees which environed their plantation. *' The mice, the first year, took one part of the yield ; the other part was reserved for another trial." " Tbe second year the seed entirely ran out" That article shovrs, how early the lying spirit of the friends of 85 the Hudson Bay Company was going about to deceive the pub- lic, and to thwart the movements of my enterprise. I have seen the spot of ground, and know it to be highly fertile, and well adapted to the culture of all the useful vegetables raised in the northern part of the United States. There was nothing pariicularly meritorious in Astor's trading on the hanks of the Columbia. The character of any trade, gain being the only object, is the same, whether pursued on land or water. To trade on the hank of a river, is much the same as to trade on the deck of a vessel. I have, somewhere, seen the principle illustrated by a comparison between two oyster estab- lishments — one was in the heart of a city ; the other, in a hulk moored alongside of a wharf. The query was, which of the twain, from the circumstance of situation, was the most praise- worthy establishment. Astor bought no territory, made no treaty, and obtained no consent of the Indians to occupy. His men were unkind and unmerciful towards that despised and oppressed race. Finally, his acts in Oregon were not of a character to give strength to the American claim to the territory. They were all morally wrong ; in violation of the laws of God — contrary to the precepts of that religion given to the world by Jesus Christ, requiring perfect obedience to the divine commands — requiring all men, of what- ever tongue, or tribe, or nation they may be, to live in brotherly kindness with each other — each, to communicate good, and not evil, to his neighbor ; and, the stronger, whether an individual person or a nation, to protect the weaker ; the civilized to en- lighten the uncivilized — imparting to all, as circumstances favor, that knowledge of tl\e ways of God, which, more than all other knowledge, dignifie. , adorns, and sweetens life. The transactions of the fur dealers in Oregon, up to the time of the first settlement in the Wallamet Valley, uniformly tended to demoralize, degrade, and make miserable the Indians, and to the extinguishment of t! at race. They were hostile to the com- mon intcr«Jst8 of mankind. The trappers and hunters beyond the Rocky Mountains, with a few exceptions, have evinced a great want of that elevation of character, which, in part, dis- tinguishcL the human from the brute species \ and they have deserved to be driven from the Oregon Territory with the same speed with which they have driven nine-tenths of its unoffending population from the world. Such brutish men are not identified with the heaven-adopted. instrumentalities by which the " desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose ;" and *' the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord." l\ ■ H 86 Their hbtory is full of unfair dealings, and unprovoked mur- ders. I cannot be silent, mrhen I call to mind the wrongs and outrages practiced by them, upon their fellow-men. Should my pen ever gain sufficient ability for the task, history shall not belie the oppressed people driven out from that goodly land. Further in regard to what is said of the Hudson Bay Company being the first settlers. Some time in the year 1829, Capt. Dominis, commanding the brig Owyhee of Boston, was in the Columbia river, and commu- nicated to Mr. McLaughlin, the chief officer of the H. B. Co., information of my purpose to colonize Oregon, putting into his hands a printed paper headed, " General Circular," setting forth the plan and objects of my projected enterprise. That company now devised ways and means to thwart my plans and prevent my coming into the " company's territory." They raised and laid aside a fund of $800,000 to be used for a special purpose. It was said that the objects of this fund were to turn from the coast, American vessels, and to keep off competition in the Indian trade. Authors of l)ooks concerning affairs in Oregon, state the same thing. It is also stated in the "Ten Years in Oregon," p. 78, by Daniel Lee, that " The Hudson Bay Company pos- sess a fund of two million sterling, for the purpose of competing with every vessel that may come upon the coast for trade," and " to control the destinies of Oregon." This I know was not the purpose of that fund ; it was to prevent the settlement of the country and the overthrow of the Company's monopolies. It is also stated in some publication by J. K. Townsend, that " travelers and naturalists, and all who are not traders, are kindly and most hospitably treated ; but the moment the visitor is known to trade a beaver skin from an Indian, that moment he is ejected from the commimity, and all communication between him and the officers of the Company ceases." Does this statement of Townscnd's look as though it was tho object of the Company to settle, to colonize Oregon ? ' To secure to himself and the servants of the Company, when the first colonizing settlement should be commenced, tho best farming, mill privileges, and positions for commercial towns, ho sent five Canadians to take up lands near the falls of tho Wal- lamet, the very place which he had reason to suppose would be first occupied by me. My " General Circular," then in his hands, designated the places. At the same time he commenced the excavation of a canal, in order for the erection of mills at the falls. After thus marking the spot for himself, he moved the 87 Company's servants farther up the valley, to select lands for themselves. These Canadians were still to remain servants of the Company. He then planned to get possession of the coun- try about Puget's Sound ; they had already a trading and farming establishment there. I was told that the lands about that Sound have a rich and deep soil, and great productive capa- bilities. Vancouver, in his " Voyage of Discoveries," says " it seems ready to melt in its own fatness." To secure a title and to possess it as their own, the Company represented to the treaty-making power in '46, at the time of the settlement of the " Oregon question " with Great Britain, that the Indian title had been extinguished by the Puget Sound Agricultural Asso- ciation, and asked of that power a confirmation of the claim so acquired. It afterwards appeared that there was no such Asso- ciation. Simpson, who succeeded McLaughlin as the Company's Chief Factor, in his book called " Tour Round the World," remarked that the Association was none other than the Hudson Pay Com- pany, and it was confirmed, and there was put into tho grasp of the Company's cupidity that most desirable and advantageous tract of territory for commercial and agricultural purposes, west of the Rocky Mountains. They also artfully planned to perpet- uate entire possession of Vancouver's Island, if not of the whole country north of the Columbia river ; this also by means of the delusive influences of Robert Greenhow's book ; and a certain Boston merchant's lecture on Oregon, (Nar. E. D., page ,) brought it about. I will proceed further to show by whom, and in what ways, the cause of Oregon and humanity was oppugned ; public confi- dence in my character and writings destroyed ; myself abused and made the victim of books ; my country deceived and made the victim of intrigue ; and how the public conosssion of Qua- dra's Island,* and other northern parts of Oregon to Great Britain were brought about. I do it in vindication of myself. • Commoiily called Vancouver Island. This Island, lu 1791 and '92, was conveyed by the Indian chiefs to Kenclrick, and through Quadra to the King of Spain. For this reason it was called on Gray and Ken- drick's charts, and by early American navigators, Kendriek and Quad- ra's Island. It was first discovered by the Spaniards, and before Vancouver was seen on the Pociflc side of America, every i)lace on or about 1h.1t island was examined and named by thum, and, also, most of the iilaces by Kendriek and Gray. It appears to me thnt Grcenhow, on the 131st page of his book, *'0u the North-Wos 'oast," does the memory of Quadra Injustice. It is very doubtful Wii<;clier he can fUrnish better authority than his own for some of his statements In that book. The friends of the Ilud- |« I ■• - 8^ The Oregon question was long ago settled, and I have no de- sire it should be discussed anew, or the public mind be agitated 80 much as hj the mention of it '; but the false-hearted citizens interfering to deceive the people, and to turn aside from me public justice, remain to be reproved, and to be posted, as de- serving objects of the scorn and indignation of their country- men. They were remarkably cunning, and strangely successful, in making the public believe that " our claim " to Oregon only ex- tended to the outlines of the Columbia Valley ; and rested, only, on " four grounds." They carefully kept out of sight the best of all conceivable grounds, those showing an unquestionable title to the country extending far north of that valley, a stronger claim to the territory north of he forty-ninth parallel, or the line suggested by William Sturgis, of Boston, for the north- em boundary * of Oregon, than to any part south of that par- allel. It was contended that nothing there had been done, on the part of the United States, to acquire a title. Mention was scarcely ever made of acts done by Americans and Spaniards north of the Columbia river. Too much importance was attached to Capt. Robert Gray's discovery of the Oregonf in 1792, and to John J. Aster's trad- ing establishment at the mouth of that river in 1811 ; while the truly meritorious acts of Gray, of Kendrick, and of the Span- iards were considered unimportant, and were kept back, as though they did not strengthen the American claim, and were not the very best evidences of our title. It was inconsistent to ascribe to Capt. Gray the discovery of that river ; for it had been previously discovered, and often en- tered. Capt. Gray, as has been said of him by others, was an son's Bay Company, either to honor Britlsli subjects, or to give plausi- bility to the pretences made by Great Britain to ri.urhts in Oregon, cliau^ed the names of all impc i^nnt places on that coast, substituting British instead of Spanish and American. ♦ This line is crooked, and bends round the southern extremity of Quadra's Island. It was sujrge^^ed by one of the strongest advocates of the Hudson Bay Company. ^ Oregon, the Indian name of this river, was trnced by me to a large river called 0)ion in Chinese Tartary, whose latitude corresponds with that of Oi'cgon, in America. The word Killamucka, the name of a tribe a little south of the mouth of the Oregon, was, also, traced to a people called Kilmucha, who anciently lived near the mouth of the Orjon in Asia. It is evident the Oregon Kilmucks were among the early settlers of North America, and brought with them many of the proper names used by our Indians. The word Mexico (Mecaco) is ideutlfled with the name of the ancient capital of Japan. Identifications of both proper and common names arc numerous. 89. eagle-eyed naviijator, and unsurpassed by any of his con- temporaries. He entered the river in 1792, and there are circunistancca which incline me to believe that Maui'elle's chart turned him thither. However, he did his country a good bcrvice. The publicity given to the event, excited the attention of our government, awakened a spirit of eu- terpi'ise among the merchants, and produced great and beneficial results. The fact is well established of there having been a ^* good port" in its estuary, belonging to the Spaniards, and of their frequent visits to the same. Although it would seem as though enough is said to prove the allegations of the Petition before Congress, and to convince of the persecutions and atilictions, as terrible as were ever endm'cd by mortal man since tlie world was made, yet it may bo for the public good to say more about the cruelties so long practiced upon me, and concerning the settlement of Oregon and what led to it. The books of the missionaries and Greeuhow and others, and the re- ports of public agents, have done me great injury ; but vastly more injurious to me has been the report submitted in tUe Senate of the United States, Feb. 5, 1850, on my Petition of 1848. That report went to coufinn the false perceptions of me of not a few public men, and to streugt! the prejudices of friends and to give general currency to the vile reports of adversaries ; that he is "stupid and crazy," and to the sayings every where rife, " that ho came to tliis country without mind or means to do any thing and went away " ; — and who turnied from and against me my beloved household and my kindred, every soul of them ; rather, should 1 say, to put them at a greater distance from me and to increase their dislike of me ; for it was the ])ersecutiou that first turned them from me, and to make more fierce and savago the troojis making daily attacks upon me. It was a strange report ; though it did me monstrous injustice and tends to deepen and perpetuate my sorrows, and though all the gold ever taken from the mines of California could not sufficiently make amends for the injuries done me and my near kindi*ed ; yet I impute no wrong motive to them that made it. It denies me the merit of having taken any part as a pioneer in the colonization of Oregon, oj* in bringing about the 12 ; w , ; I 90 events which led to the goveninient acquisition of Alta California. It was a great mistake — I cannot account for it ; but I do not believe it was owing to any intention to do me wrong. I do not complain of intentional injustice. I am evp disposed duly to respect the jDowers that be ; to render "honor to wliom honor is due." The legislative functionaries are amenable for their odicial conduct only to the sovereignty of the people and to God. It is a source of mucli grief that my philanthropic plans and achieve- ments, nay, my whole manner of life, entitling me to the regardful consideration of my countiymen, should be so generally misrepresented, and the terrible results of hard usage should attract so little public attention. Senator John Davis sent me a copy of the report, letter shoAvs about it. His My Dear Sir : I now enclose the report which you ask for. It had somehow escaped my attention that such a report had been made. It can however do you little harm. I had conferred with Judge Underwood, Avho formerly had charge of the business, and he promised me to give every attention to it ; but it seems, without my knowhidge, Gov. Felch took charo'c of it. Yours Respectfully, July 25, 1850. J. DAVIS. That report was lost. It was, I think, among a mass of documents and manuscript papers taken from my house some years ago, by those who would rob me of the evi- dences of my claims on the country, and suppress all knowledge of me. It was brief — in a few words. I recollect a part of it. It wa., in sul stance, as follows : " The petitioner aslcs a grant of land froin the government, in consideration of services and sacrifices in explorations about the'Amerioau shores of the Pacific," * ♦ » • "and has, in common with other adventurers, sullcred loss from the failure of his cllbi-ts, the committee have no doubt." The memorial is here given to show that the objects of my visit to Oregon were settlement, and not mere explorations. 91 ''MEMORIAL PRAYING FOR A DONATION OF LAND. To the IJonoi'able, the Senate of the United States. The Meuioiial of Hall J. Kclley, a Citizen ot tlie State of Massaeluisctts, respectfully represents : That, as early as the year J817, he became deeply im- prcssetl n'ith the value and importance of the country west ot the Koeky Mountains, at that time marked on the maps as " unknown." More than thiily ^^cars ago, he conceived the ])lan of its colonization, and the founding- of a new lie- public of civil and religious freedom, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. »»»#*« Your memorialist presented memorials to Corgress, for several yciirs, hoping to secure the co-operation ot the government ; and though unaided by the Congress of the United States, he prosecuted the work alone, by selecting agents in all the States of the Union, of gentlemen favora- bly disposed towards the enterprise. In 1829, he fonned a society for these objects; and in 1831, caused the same to be iucorpoiiited by the Legislature of Massachusetts, under the title of " The American Society for encom-aging the settlement of the Oregon Territory." In 1830, ho published a Geographical Sketch of Oregon, accompanied by a maj) of his own drawing, compiled from materials he had procured at great labor and trouble. He also pub- lished the "Manual of the Oregon Expedition," as a guide book to all who should be willing to enlist in the enter- prise. Tliese publications he sent to all the heads of our De- persons « partments, to members of Congress, and to all likely to aid him in his labors. Durins: all these years, not one essay, not afi article appeared in the papers, not from the pen of your memori- alist, — and how fruitful his was, ho has files of such arti- cles to show. *•*•'» Your memorialist passed the winters of 1830, '31 and '32, at Waphiugton, making known to the Govenimeut by personal interviews, bis plans and operations; and com- municathig all the facts in his possession of the highest I ( ;l Jb 1 - ^B vi n n 92 importnnce to the safety, and the establishment of the rights and title of the United States. * * * He was traveling under a passport from the State Depait- ment of the United States, endorsed by all proper ^lexiean authority. • * * * . * Your memorialist, while at Monterey and in its vicinitj', persuaded a paily of American hunters to accompany him to the Columbia river, and to settle in Oregon ; which paily, with a few other persons, were previously induced by him to migrate thither. » » « He left Fort Van- couver in March, 1835, taking i)assage in the brigDi-yade, belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, for the Sandwich Islands ; but not, however, until ho had collected a large amount of valuable information relative to the geograpliy and statistics of that Territory ; and had made a particular survey of the Columbia river, from Vancouver to its mouth. » * » * * And now your memorialist, in the decline of life, woni out by severe suflerings, having lost and sunk his whole fortune, of upwards of thirty thousand dollars, reduced to poverty, and bereaved of the ties of life, comes to ask that such services and sacrifices as he has made for the interests of the United States, and the Territory of Ore- gon, may be rewarded by a grant of such land in that Territory, as may be subject to the disposal of the United States. The documents accomjianying this memorial, and other documents which your memorialist can show to the honor- able Senate or its Committees, too voluminous to be trans- mitted herewith, will, he trusts, be the highest and best of all pl'oofs of his industry, energy and usefulness. "hall J. KELLEY." The Washiniiton coirespondent of the Boston Whig, in 1848, wrote : " I Icani that the Committee on Territories will not report on the claim of Hall J. Kelley, to whom allusion was made in a fomier letter. That Committee, it seems to me, has not troubled itself about going into an examination of his claim, or it would not hesitate in this manner about doing justice to a worthy citizen. Individ- iials who have availed themselves of Mr. Kelley 's re- . searches in Oregon, who have not scrupled to use his writings for their own benefit, are to receive liberal remu- y'3 neration from Congress for wliat of right belongs to Mr. Kelley. It is a burning disgrace to the Government and to the Committee which has charge of this case, that they do not act in the matter and examine the proofs, which aro ample, and sufficient to satisfy any reasonable mind that the petitioner is richly entitled to compensation for labors which the government and the country have hud the beur- fit of." Here is another and previous letter of Mr. Duvis : WA&HI^•GTON, June 21, 1848. To Hall J. Kelley, Esq. : Having learnt that vou are about to Ica^ e here for your home without having obtained an Act ot Congress in your behalf, the subject not having been acted upon, I beg leave to say, that I consider you as entitled, in equity and good conscience, to a liberal gjant ot land from the gov- ernment for your meritorious services in promoting the settlement ot Oregon ; and I by no means despair of ob- taining such a grant. I am. Sir, with much respect, j^our ob't seiT't, J. DAVIS. Daniel Webster, in 1831, expressed to me the exalted sentiments he cntei-tained of the "project." On receiving my "Geographical Sketch of Oregon," and a memorial which I would have presented in the Senate, addressed me, iu the presence of Charles Bullinch, Esq., the uational architect, in this way : " Mr. Kelley, I think much of your project, and will do all I can when it comes up in the Sen- at3 to sustain it." As early as 1826, I began to communicate with mem- bers of Congress upon the subject ol the settlement of Oregou ; that year, I think, with the Hon. Timothy Fuller, meml)er of the House^ and with the Hon. Edward Everett in 1827. His letter speaks about it. Ti^ r» o- Washington, IVlAncii 6, 1827. My Dear /Sir: ' ' I duly received and read with great interest your letter of the 10th of February, on the subject of a settle- ment at the mouth of the Columbia River. I have always [: I 94 been favorably impressed, on the subject of colonizing the mouth of that river, on the ground of expediency and public safety. You know how we are situated with the British government in regard to tliis matter. The con- vention witli England expires next year. While it lasts, the conflicting claims of tlie two governments to the teni- tory, in view of the settlement of the country, remain open. In this state of things, many persons have thought the settlement of the mouth of the Columbia at this moment would be premature. I am not myself prepared to admit this. But the late period of the session at wliich I received your letter, and the shortness of the session itself, will, I trust, be considered b}' yon suflicient reasons for not attempting to bring forAvard the subject this winter. In the course of the ensuing summer, it is probable our nego- tiations with England may assume some decisive character on this subject ; and we shall be better able to judge, at the opening of the Congress, whether it is a favorable mo- ment for moving in the business. Meantime, I am, Dear Sir, verj-^ faithfully yours, 11. J. Kelley, Esq. EDWARD EVEKET1\ Mr. Everett at that time moved in the House, that 25 square miles of land on the Columbia be made me, in view of a settlement of the country ; not exploration, as some seem to think. In 1831, soon after the incorporation by the Massachu- setts Legislature of the Oregon Colonization Society, I prepared a petition asking of Congress the establishment of a military post at the mouth of the Columbia, foi- the protection of settlements which I had i^lanned to make at that place, and in the Valley of the Wallamet; and for government patronage. Another letter from Mr. liiverctt spealvS about this also. Washington, Dec. M, 1831. Hall J. Kelley, Esq. : Dear Sir, — I have this day your favor of the 9th. Two days ago I received the memorial of your Society, without any letter inforaiing mo what it was wished I ^Il 95 shouM do with it. In such cases — which Ircqucr.tl^' occur — I do nut feci niyscli at liberty to withhold the petition, and I accordingly presented yours to the House and moved its) reference to the Committee of Forei«jfn All'airs ; that l)eing the only appropriate committee. In doing this, I thought that duty to myself — to avoid public misconcep- tion — required me to state, that I did not think that, at this time, the prayer of the petition could be granted, con- sistently with the convention with Great Britain. You are uware that I have always been in favor of proceeding, as fast as public faith would permit, in colonizing the country in ({ueslion. On the receipt ol jour letter, this day, I find it was not wished that 1 should, at all events, present y(mr memorial in the House. I should have kept it back for advisement, had any letter to that eiloct accom- panied it. I am ho^vcver of opinion, that the Committee of Foreign Aliairs is as favorable as any other connnittee of the House, and that no prejudice to your Society Avill result from its presentation at this time. I think you may depend upon your i^ctition being *' kindly received and duly considered " by the Committee of Foreign Affairs ; that they will report favorably. Candor obliges me to re- peat, Avhat I have so often told you, that I cannot promise you. But as far as I have any influence with the com- mittee, it shall receive their candid consideration. Committee on Foreign Aflaus, House of Rej^resenta- tives, 1831-2 : Messrs. Archer, E. Everett, Mass., Tay- lor, Polk, Crawford, Baniwell, Wayne. I remain, respectfully yours, EDWARD EVERETT. ■ '3 All my writings, voluminous they were, published prior to my visit to Oregon, testify most clearly as to the objects of that visit — ^that of the country and good to the Indian race, were the ol)jccts. The General Circular, otherwise called. "Manual," which Lieut. Slacum found in the hands of tlje settlers in the Wallamet Valley, and is mentioned in my memorial of '48, shows further and most conclu- sively about them. I will give a synopsis of its contents. " General Circular to all persons wishing to migrate to the Oi'egon Territory, embracing some Account of the Nat- Off uial Advantages, for Trade and Commerce, of the Coun- tr}' ; and of tlie ri;^ht means and operations by which it is to be settled ; and all necessary Directions tor becom- ing an Emigrant. Hall J. Kelley, General Agent. By order ot the American Society for Encouraging the Settlement of the Oregon Territory. Instituted in Boston, A. D. 1829." "Oregon Settlement purposed to be commenced in the Spring of 1832, in the delightful and fertile Valley of the Wallamet, a tributary to the Columbia." Under this head is given some geographical account of the country; its natural resources ; advantages which may accrue to our nation ; and a report of a committee of the Society appointed to devise ways and means for bringing about the settlement. Here is an extract from that report. "Among the first results of their inquiry is a clear con- viction, that the time is near at hand and advancing in the ordinary course of Providence, Avhen the Oregon Country shall be occupied bj'^ an enlightened people, skilled in the various improvements of science and art. A people, thus enlightened and skilled, and enjoying the advantages of a climate, soil and markets, as good in their kind as the earth affords, and other natural means, which mostly con- tribute to the comforts and conveniences of life — energized and blessed by the mild and vital principles of tlie Amer- ican Republic, and the sacred ordinances of the Christian Religion, would be, it is believed, prosperous aud happy." " The settlement carrying on a trade with the islands of the Pacific and with the people about the shores of that ocean, commensurate with its wants, must advance in prosperity and power unexampled in the history of nations. From the plenitude of its own resources, it will soon be enabled to sustain its own o])eration8, and will richly re- ward the maternal kindness that helped it into existence ; and will hasten on to empire and Avill attain (perhaps at a period far in the future) to a proud rank among the Chris- tian nations of the earth." "Survey and Division of Lands. — One of the first things to be done after the arrival of the emigrants in the Valley of the Wallamet, is to lay out lands and villages 97 for (ioinnienntil lownn. Mcasinvs will hv tukon for cstab- lisliinu,' stiUlcmciits iit (irny's Buy and tlio ncrthoru .side of the junction of the Wallnniet iind C()hinjl)la Rivers, and at tlio Fulls of the Wallaniec. The Buy ojiens Into the north- ern hank of the Colun'.hia, iihont 11 miles from ifs mouth. Five mileH «(jnare at this jjlaee will l)e laid out for a sea- ])f)rt town. Streets oT convenient width will run from the water, biseetln,!^ otiier streets at ri_i»ht angles. At dis- tances of two S(juares is to he an area of ten acres for pa- rade or pK^asurc! ground, which is fon^ver to remain open and unoccu[)ied witli buildings. Tlio centre of the main street, or thorouu' hu-e, of the uidth of 100 feet, is to bo devoted to the puipose of a ])nbrK! mruket. The vallev of the Multnomah is to be chieily occn])ied for commercial, agricultural and manufacturing o[)erations. The metrop- olis of the country is designed to be at the Falls. Portions of the outlands adjoining the towns will be i)ut into lots, 40 by IfiO rods, jr 40 acres each ; making the iiumbci" of their divisions equal to the whole number of emigrants over 14 years of age, not Including manied women. Next to these will be other lots of 1(50 acres each, making up the complement of 200 acres to each emigrant. Roads as far as practicable arc to bo laid out in rjglit lines, inter- secting each other at right angles. It is desirable that all topographical surveys and divisions of farming lands be made by the method Avhich, two years ago, Avas suggested to Congress — examined, api>roAcd of, and recommended by Gen. Bernard, then at the head ot the corps of civil engineers. It has many advantages over the method in common use. It is more easily performed ; numerous errors of the compass are avoided ; the interests of the land proprietor better promoted, and the wide door for litigation, which often costs him his freehold, effectually closed. "All boundaries of towns ar.d lots of lands should be identified with meridional lines and parallels of latitude, — not by the parallels as found on the surface of the earth, where they are as crooked as the hills, and depressions make them uneven ; but by such as they would be, if the surface ofthe ground was level, it is confidently believed that this is the only simple method by which westerly or easterly lines can be run vvith precision, and that it is attended with as much certainty as the high operations of U 98 tiigonometrical surveys. By it the Ijoumlaries oi h>ts and townships Vvill be distinctly marked and their contents exactly known. A countr}' thus surve3'ed gives the ad- vantage of ascertaining, Avithoiit expensive admeasure- ments, the relative localities, one from another ; conse- quently, the latitude and longitude of the boundaries of townships being determined, those of any of tii" smaller localities are readily known." "Civil Government. — The Oregon Territory lies be- yond the civil jurisdiction of the United States. It becomes, therefore, a matter of great moment, that the settlers have some form of government provided, either l)y Congress or themselves. Fatal to their hap])iness would it be, for them to go Avithout the means of subjecting the corrupt principles of depraved natures. Laws made elUcient, by the higliest virtues and energies of the people, are neces- sary to the encouragement oC virtue, the punishment of vice, the enjoyment of lite and liberty, the acquisition of property and security of comfoi't and safety ; as likewise, to the suppression of the restless spirits of asjiiring and unprincipled demagogues, who infest every political soci- et}', have ever aimc'J at civil conunotion and usui-pation, and have ever been ready to make the fairest c^pot of eai-th, the theatre oC Isiwlcss ambition. " Whatever be its frame, it should be one of tlie most finished improvements of others. Whether the settlers are to be considered children ui mature age, made free, and setting up for themselves, constituting, in some de- gree, an independent Province, the friend and allV ot the mother couiitiy ; sharing in her generous and maternal so- licitude ; or \vhether tliey are to he a Colony, [danted, cherished and piotected by her, depends entirely on Con- gress. That the latter should bo the case, is the ])rayer of a memoi-ial,atthe ]n'esc!\t time, [181)1,] before that august assemblage of talents, virtue and wisdom. " Should the emigrants fail of that Charter, Avhich rea- son and justice dictate, and humanity calls for, they will attempt to frame a temporary Commonwealth, and to make for themselves just and ecpial laws, under the provisions of their form of government, so far bee and democratic as will be consistent with an unequivocal recognition of the sove- reignty of the American Repuhlic. Le£ it bo the Com- 99 inonNvcjilth until Congress ]:)rt'sciibcs a substitute. The emigrant citizens will leave the land of their fathers under no circumstances of o])prcsslon, and with no feelings of discontent, resolved still to cultivate only the lields ol civil and religious ireedom, where lile is made ^\g most easy and felicitous, and civilized man attains his greatest power, and his most dignilied su])eriority over the man in igno- rance and in vassalage ; still animated by the holy and un- extingulshablo lire, kindled Avitli that of the best lovers of American Independence, they will ever be a free people." "Religion. — The Eellgion of the settlement, it is hoped, will be the religion of conscience and of the Prince of Peace. No people can long continue free and hapi^y, Avithout acknowledging with pious reverence and obedi- ence, the laws of Jehovah ; giving full toleration to all communities of his conscientious worshipers,' however various their forms ; and feeling due respect and love for those who minister at the sacred altar, and are accounted 'workers together witii Christ,' in labors < hat succeed unto eternal life." I M " Educatiox. — Tlio cdueatiou of voutli is the safeiruard of free government, and, together Mlth faith in Christ, is the basis of the blessingy and enjoyments of civil and religious Jrecdom. In order, then, for the diUuslou of elementar>' and scientific and religious instruction, both among the childi in of the settlere and of the Indian tribes, some etficlLMit and ap])ropriate system of education should be adopted; and wiiatever will best civilize the manners, reform ihi morals, enlighten the mind, and free it from the grasp of ignorance and superstition, should belong to iu.:t system. "Schools of every grade, and religious institutions, are objects ^^x)l'thy the earliest consideration of the settlers. Agricultui-al and classical institutions and colleges should also receive the earliest attention. The children of the forest, as well as the sons and daughters of civilized lands, ehould be taught the rudiments of learning, the sciences, morality, farming industry, and that knowledge of meu and things which best enlighten, elevate and dignify the mind. Youth in this way, while yet little children, should bo cared for. Every mortal, >vhatever be his color, or 100 wherever be his abode, If tralucd up m the mirtuie and aclinouition of the Lord, will be upheld by the free spirit of God, and will be prompted to sa^'^ as one of old, 'I w A praise the Lord \Yhile I have breath, and glorify him Avhile I have existence.' " "Emigration. — The ultimate success of the settlement depends very nmch, if not entirely, on the virtuous quali- ties of its members. If its elementary principles are de- fective, the result of its operations will be unceilain, and productive of but little good, if not entirely aboilive. The settlement ought not, therefore, to bo made the recep- tacle of vicious characters, or drones too indolent to pursue any honest or useful occupation ; of cunning persons, pos- sessing talents without viituous principles ; ot idle dream- ers of power and riches, who, faithless to good o: icr, are often ready to sa}) the foundation of morality and relig- ion; — such are a burden and a curse to society. Men of steady hal)its, virtuous intentions, endeavoring to eultiyato practical knowledge and honest industry, Avill be deemed worthy of the enterprise ; and such persons may, in Ore- gon, secure to themselves a pleasant home and competency of good things — subserve individual happiness and sustain the great objects of founding the settlement.'^ "Route. — The emigrants will be embodied at St. Louis, and will from thence; ])roceed in military order, under con- ductors well acquainted \vith the C(;untry, to the place of their destination. Capt. IjonncvilJe, of the U. S. army, and Major Pilcher, the Indian agent at the Platte country, are to have the chief coniniand — Ca])t. Nathaniel Wyeth, to have a cajAaincy. The route will be Avestcrly, near the mouth of the Platte, and up that river to its source, making the transit oi the mountains, througli tiic Southern Paffi; thence to Uie Valley of tiie Wallamet. The prac- ticability ol this route is described in a memoir to Con- gress in 1830, by Mcssis. Smith, Jackscm and Sublette, and JMr. Pilcher. They say : ' On the 10th of April, ISoO, we set out from St. Louis, with a caravan of ten wagons, drawn by five nmles each, and two dearliorus, drawn by one mule each. We have eighty -one men in company, all mounted on mules. Our route was nearly due west, to the western limits of the State ; and thence alonir the Santa 101 Fe trail about forty miles ; irom which the course was some clef>reos north ot west, across the waters of the Kan- sas, and up the Great Platte to the Rocky Mountains, and to the head of Wind river, where it issues from the moun- tains. Here the wagons could have easily crossed the mountah)S, it being what is called the Soufharn T^ass, had it been desirable. For our support, at leaving the Mis- souri settlements, until we should get into the bufl'alo country, we drove twelve head of cattle, besides a milch cow, eight oi these only being required for use before we got to the bud'aloes ; the others Avent on the Platte, about three hundred and lift}' miles from the white settlements, and from that time lived on l^ulialoes, the quantity being infinitely beyond wiiat we needed.' "Mr. Pilcher remarks tliat the most erroneous ideas prevail on the practical )ility of crossing the Kocky Mount- ains. 'I have been,' says lie, 'familiar with these mount- ains, for three years, and have crossed them often, and at various points between the latitude 42 and 54. I have, therefore, the means to know- something about th )m, and a right to oppose my knowledge to the suppositions of stian- gers. I say, then, that nothing is more easily passed than these mountains. AV^agons and carriages may cross tlicm in a state of nature Avithout difficulty, antl with little delay in the day's journey. Some parts are very high ; but the gradual I'ise of the country in the vast slope from the JNIis- sissippi to the foot of the mountains, makes a considerable elevation without perceptible increase, and then the gaps or depressions let you through almost upon a level. This is particularly the case op[)osite the head ot the Platte, where I crossed in 1827. I have crossed here often, and always without delay or dlihculty.' " Mr. Pilcher, in his connnunication to Congress, through the Secretary of War, Mr. Eaton, remarks that in 1829 he visited Columbia river, and ' found the mildness of the seasons infinitely greater than in the corresjionding latitudes and elevations in the valley of the Mississippi, or in the Atlantic States. The winters are less cold and the sum- mers less hot. As a proof of this, may be mentioned, the state of the (/rass, M'liich is green and juicy nearly all win- ter, allbrding excellent pasture for horses, on Avhich those animals not only sustain themselves, but the poor and lean get in good order. ' The section of the country called by iiiii Pacific N. W. History Dept PROVINCIAL LIBRARY ' VICTORIA, a C. 102 him, the middle regions or plains, he says ' is remarkable for a mild climate, a cloar sky, a serene atmosphere, and a soft and brilliant sunshine. The nights, when the moon is near full, and the hemisphere studded over with stars, are indescribably beau- tiful. The tide water region has a climate of its own. Ico or snow is seldom seen ; the heats are never great ; and Avinter is hardly a distinct season.' " This Pass in '37 or '40, some years after the settlement of Oregon, was minutely examined by Fremont. He describes it as being passable with loaded wagons. So thousands have found it. It is now the thoroughfare to Oregon. Since the giants and lions have been slain, men, women and children have crossed the "Western prairies and the Rocky Mountains, finding no " three years' journey" — no " insurmountable difficulties." The early emigrants seem to have adopted my plan of traveling it. They took cattle along with them, which, there being no necessity to slaughter, were in some instances driven to the Wallamet Valley. They found comfort and pleasure at every encampment. My expedition was to have had similar or greater conveniences, and would have found like comforts and pleasures. After the evening repast, the fatigues of the day would have been forgotten in recounting the agreeable things of the past, in the pleasing anticipation of things future, and in the story and the song ; and pleasures from full flowing bowls would have be- longed to the cheer of the party. I am particular in the descrip- tion of this route, to show the utter falsities of those who op- pugned the enterprue. I Avill notice some of the objections which mean and self-interested men, opposed to it, and the ac- count of the route, and the imaginary difficulties and insur- mountable hardships, and of terrible disasters wiiich they said would inevitably befall the emigrant^. The Indians, say they, are hostile, and the country a barren waste, this side of the Rocky Mountains. Hardships and privations will attend every step of the expedition, and be made the suffering lot of young and old, through the first generation. These objections are futile and delusive, and are calculated to perpetuate the wants and hard fortune of many who might secure to themselves and posterity, permanent blessings, in a healthful and productive country. Let the reflecting and provident man choose the country where something more than fertile soil is found, and let the means of securing health and property, and generally, the comforts of life, determine his choice. Other objections are made, without any knowledge of the country through which the 103 expedition will pass, or of the mild and friendly disposition of the Oregon Indians ; of the resources of that country ; or of the facilities and ease by which the expedition may be effected. A hireling'-vvriter in the New England Magazine, Vol. II. 1882, with the vile purpose of preventing emigration, and the settlement, says : " Those who reach St. Louis will find there many who have been to Oregon and found no temptation io re- main there. These will treat their undertaking Avith the scorn it deserves ; and if they go farther, it Avill be in spite of good advice. The people of Missouri, though a little addicted to dirking and dueling, arc not destitute of humanity, and will not see their fellow-creatures perish without expostulation. — If our friends are ready to start from St. Louis by the first of June, they will have done wonders ; if ('icy reach the mouth of the Platte in a month more, it will be l ore than we think possible. Thence they have a thousand miles to go before they reach the Rocky Mountains. At the above-mentioned i*ate of traveling, they would reach the dividing ridge about the last of Septem- ber ; that is, supposing they met with no accident, hinderance, or delay. But there are many obstacles to their progress, against all of which they may, and some of which they must, be obliged to contend. They cannot take provisions with them for more than a few days, and must, therefore, depend on their guns for supijort. — There are bears, indeed, but these are of the kind properly called by naturalists, horrUnlis. These are much more likely to feed on the travelers, than to furnish them with a meal. Likewise there are owls, marmots, rattlesnakes, and other vermin, on which all who make long journeys in the ateppes of North America must occasionally be content to dine, and be thankful for the god-send. — The country through which the ad- venturers must pass is a level plain, where the eye seeks in vain for a tree or a shrub. The streams only are scantily fringed with wood. In some places the emigrants must travel days and nights without finding wood or water. None but those who have endured these privations can conceive the sufferings attendant on them. And supposing the horses are not stolen by the In- dians, or driven away by the wolves and grizzly bears, they can- not find food. The ground is covered with herbage for a few weeks in the year only . The Indians burn the prairies regu- larly, twice a year, from Lake Winipeg to Mexico, and for at least nine months in the twelve, nine-tenths of their area is as bare of vegetation as the Desert of Sahara. — The country through which the expedition must pass is precisely in the track of all the war parties that travel over the space between the 104 Missouri and the Rocky Mountains. It is the abiding place and the battle-ground of fifty Avarlike tribes. We grant that there is not an individual among them who will not receive a stranger kindly, in his wigwam, and give him to eat of the best ; but neither is there an individual among them who will not cut that stranger's throat, for the value of his gim flint, if he meets him alone in the prairie. Besides, it is their rule, when they under- take a warlike enterprise, not to bear the sword in vain ; and if they happen to be unsuccessful, or defeated, woe to him who crosses their path. We could adduce a hundred instances of American citizens who have been put to death for no other cause than having accidentally fallen in the way of an unsuccessful war party. Was not the last caravan that went from St. Louis to Santa Fc repeatedly assailed, and only preserved from de- struction by a strong armed party of United States trooj)s ? Those travelers gave no offence to the savages, unless passing through their country be considered such. — We make no doubt that the emigrants are numerous enough to beat any number of savages that can be assembled, in a fair field. But Indians dp not fight pitched battles ; they come when they are least ex- pected, and, if they find too much resistance, retire and wait for a more favorable opportunity. In so long a march, it is impos- sible that so many can keep together. The Indians may easily cut off the stragglers, and those who, from very weariness, fall in the rear. They may drive the buffalo out of their road, and bum the prairie before them, so that their horses must perish, and in consequence, the women and children also. In a word, it is impossible that such a body can make so long a journey, through a hostile country, without a hundred times exposing themselves to attack at disadvantage. That they will lose their horses, we consider absolutely certain ; and if they do, the women and children will inevitably perish l)y hunger or the tom- ahawk. If they are not assailed more than once before they reach the Platte, then must the Indians have changed their opinions ; nay, their vory nature. — The project of a settlement on Columbia river has been repeatedly before Congress, and has been pronounced visionary by the wisdom of the nation. At this present session, such an opinion has been expressed by one of the best and greatest men in the country, and there is little appearance of any measures in favor of the expedition. " We are told that General Ashley and Mr. Pilcher encour- age this undertaking. " Have not the parties imder their com- mand been re])eatedly attacked ? Have not very many of their people perished with cold and hunger, or been killed by wild 105 ord, ■ney, osing ;heir the :om- they ;heir nent has At one little cour- coin- their wild beasts and Indians ? Did any white man ever cross the Rocky Mountains, who will say tliat a white woman could have followed him ? In short, to live in an Indian country, man must be able to move with a celerity which cannot have being in our body of emigrants. — We have taken it for granted, that they have found a practicable road into the mountains. Messrs. Pilcher and Ashley say there is one ; at least, so Mr. Kelley tells us. Per- haps it would be well to inquire if these gentlemen (who have much business beyond llie Rocky Mountains) have not some interest to desire a settlement on the Columbia. But they are far distant, and we have no wish to iiapute other than the best motives to them. Let it suffice that the emigrants have now gone over half their distance. " We know there is a nutriment in old shoes ; and though two-thirds of Capt. Franklin's men died of abdominal cramp in (sonsequence of eating tripeB de roches, that fungous aliment may agree better with the emigrants. It is but trying it, when the worst comes to worst. . With these helps, then, we will sup- pose our friends have starved through the winter with the wolves. The horses may also be s\ipposed to have been brought through the winter as they were through the praiiics, by the especial favor of Providence. By the first of April, perhaps, the expe- dition will be ready to start afresh, and a proper day it will be for the renewal of such a journey. — That a party of young, brave, hardy men may cross the continent to the mouth of the Colum- bia, we know ; but that a large body of the inhabitants of 'Nevf England, wholly unacquainted with Indian life, and encumbered with baggage and tlieir families, can do so, we hold impossible. We think we have proved that it is so. Our facts cannot be disputed, and the inference is as clear as a geometrical demon- stration. We do net know that the prime mover of tlie folly we have exposed • , actuated by any evil motive ; we do not believe it. We look upon him as an unfortunate man, who, deluded him- self, is deluding others, and conceive it our duty to warn those who are about to follow him on the road to ruin. To con- clude, we advise those who have been so unfortunate as to embark in this enterprise, to erase their names from the list as soon as possible. If they cannot retrieve the money they may have advanced, let them con::ider it better lost, than fol- lowed to Oregon, and be thankful that they have so escaped." This hireling, in a previous article touching* the expedi- tion, said : " A gontlenian, for Avhose talents and amhition his native land does not altbrd sulficient scope, has been employing his leisure in devising schemes to better the 14 H i 106 condition of hia fellow-coiintiynien. His studies have not been in vain; if his plan sliould prove ])i'actieablo, nations yet to be born will bless him as their father and benefactor. In a word, ho has issued adveitisemonts, inviting the good people of New England to leave their homos, their con- nections, and the comforts of civilised society, and follow him across the continent to the shores of the Pacilic. When Ave heard of this scheme, our first impressions re- speciing the moi'als of its originator Avas by no means favorable. His noble confidence in his abilities as a gov- ernor and a guide over territories he had not seen, to a country in which he had never been, apjieared extremely like impudence. — When we C(jnsidcr the dangers and hardships which he, as well as those he may delude, must undergo ; when we think of the risk he has run, and still runs, of being 8(Mit to the insane hospital ; Aviieu Ave reflect on his ceitain disappointments, and the ridicule he Avill • incur by it, we arc constrained to believe that disinterested benevolence is his motive. We are informed that this ex- cellent person has noAv a list of the names of many hundred, persons Avho receive his dreams as oracles." Such vile sayings as these;, and the reports of my wicked adversaries in high j^laces, Avhose influence in the Avay of Avhisper spread like contagion over the length and breadth of the land, pan'c-struck my followers and turned them back, every one of them, and turned the few who had promised contributions to my funds, from their benevolent purpose ; but not the projector of the Oregon enterprise from his. "Indians." — This is the last subject of the Manual, importtmt to be noticed. Under this head it is stated that "the first ninety miles of tlie banks of the Columbia river are occupied by eight independent tribes of Indians, num- bering, about 8000 souls ; these include about 1000 male adults, Avho arc truer in the excellence of moral integrity — are more hospitable to strangers and less disi)osed to quarrel, than those on the eastern side of the Eocky Mountains, where the red man is more cxjioscd to the demoralizing influences and the Avrath of Avhite men. They are fond ot the society of Avhite men, and are ga er ready to appreciate and promptly to recipnjcate fair and honest dealing. Nothing is more remote fi'om the intentions of the Society , 107 than to o[)pr(;88 them, or to occupy their lands, without makino- them ample and satislactory remuneration." Here I leave ihd Manual. Tins document is not jj^iven in the exact lan<>nai>e in wliieli it was coiiched. It would be mollifying- to do it. It does not furnish a iair specimen of my comj)osition. The productions of my pen in 1829, and several after years, were abundantly marked with faults. At times of mental excitem(Mit ane£ in tlie valley of the Columbia; awhile pill to whom he would cure, and a blade pill to whom he would destroy. I was an- eye witness to some of the wanton and savage cruelties by Americans that roamed tlie regions of California and Oregon. Young, in his paper given by him to Lieut. Slacuui, the government agent, states that "five persons joined the pally at St. Josephs, California." Two of them had be- longed to the party of twenty-five, under Walker, of whom Capt. Bonneville speaks in his " Adventmes beyond the Rocky Mountains." Walker's chief object had been, for more than a year, to hunt and destroy Indians. Those two i:)erson8, themselves, informed me about it, and spoke often of the black flag, the rifle, and the arsenic. The other three vvere runaway sailors — may have been pirates ; they were now marauders and Indian assassins. I will illustrate. Some days after, crossing the Jaquin river to- wards evening, we passed an Indian village ; three of the monster men, finding the males absent, entered their dwellings, ravished the women, and took away some of their most valuable ell'ects, and overtook the party at the place of encampment. I saw in their possession some of the articles of their plunder. The next day, after pro- ceeding two or three miles over the prairie, one of the party cried out, "Indians are coming," and there were fifty or more Indians advancing towards us. I turned and advanced towards tliem ; the men in the rear of the animals were with me. The Indians halted and I halted, at the distance of perhaps two rods from the chief. He was tiill, good-looking, stood firm and seemed imdaimtod before us. A red card was pendent from his plumed cap, he held in the right hand his bow, and in the left a quiver. He ad- dressed me as though ho would explain what brought him and his men to that place. He spoke in the language of nature, and I thought I understood what he said. I ad- dreesed him, also, in the languago of nature, by gestures and significant motions; tried to induce a retreat, and loa s£|,vo the llvos of his yomi«j; warriors ; pointed to our rifles and to tlieir hows, and to the ground ; and I tried to havo him understiind that I was his friend and the tnend of hia people ; and that my men had <»iven him occasion to pur- sue us, and provocation for revenge. My paily seemed lieitse for fight ; but were pereuaded to let the pursuers retreat unhanned. The chief gave a A\ord of command, and they turned about and hastened from us ; but he, him- self, stood awhile, looking towards us as though he feared not deatli. Turning slowly upon his heel, he walked away. Two of the party stalled to follow. I begged they would not; they persisted, saying they would do him no harm. In fifteen or twenty minutes after this, I heard the reports of their rifles. On their retuni I inquired if they had shot the chief. The reply was, No, wo fired a salute ; but, alas ! I saw among their ellects the' identical card, the bow, and the quiver, and I wept. After a few days I saw, on the opposite side of the Sacramento, ten or a dozen. In- dians. Young said " they were hostile Indians." They were the same Indians that had just escaped the bloody hands of the party, and were pursuing us to avenge the wrongs done them. Some days after this, we crossed the river called American and encamped on its banks, and the animals put to feed near by. Nearly opposite the encampment was an Indian village, and till late in the evening was heard from it a doleful noise, and beating on liollow logs. In the morning it was found that seven of our animals had been killed, doubtless, by those provoked to pursue us. When the party were about to leave, seven Indians crossed the river twenty or thirty rods from us. Five of them ventured to come up to the camj) ; the other two stood upon the bank, as though they were afraid to come. They were as naked as when born, and bore with them presents — a bag of pinions, and salmon,- just caught and nicely dressed. Standing in a semi-circle not more than ten feet distant from me, their orator began to speak and explain as to their innocence ; and probably as to those who had killed the animals. Im- mediately one of the party (of the five marauders) said, "These are. the damned villains, and they ought to be shot." "Yes," said Young. No sooner said, than they seized their rifles and shot down those five innocent, and to all appearances, upright and manly men, and perforated I- id 110 their bodies with balls, while welteriiifif in thciv blood. 1 heard but u single groan. Two or three of tlie parly, mounlinnf their h()rs(;s, hastened to murder in lik(^ manner the other two, and they were shot while lordini; c(liti()ii to the Oregon Tcrrlfory. Had 1 received this letter some months earlier, 1 should, beyond a doubt, liave made arrangements t(y iiavc joined you in this enter- prise. The notice is so short, that it will be im])Ossible lor me to dispose; o{ ni}- proj)erty." — "Though I am com- pelled to stay behind, my heart irot^s with you in your laudable attempt to beneiit maid\ind. lOvery philanthro- pist will say, (Jod speed you; and will accompany you with his prayers, that you may succeed in establishin<^ the blessings ot refined society, and of a relio-ious community beyond the Rocky Mountains." — "Would to heaven, I could join jou — :;•() with you, and drink of your cup. May God in hisintinito goodness j)ros2icr you in this noble undertaking. ' "I remain, dear sir, your obedient servant, "J. S. LINN." n 1 5' In a i)reviou8 letter dated March 4, 1832, Mr. Linn says: "I could outrun the limits ot my sheet m giving my views, but I must come back to the expedition, and state what I sat down to do in this epistle, to wit : that you may consider me, life and health permitting, an en- rolled emigrant." I. know not what relation J. S. T^inn was by consan- guinity to L. F. Linn, the late Senator in Congress ; but this I think 1 am given to know, that by the S[)irit of God they were brothers in Christ — both great and good men, living by faith in Him." Mr. D. W. Elmore, a student in the Newton Theolog- ical Institution, writes : "NewtoxV, Sept. 1, 1832. "Dear Brother, — Your answer seems to decide the question that Oregon is not to bo, at present, the scene of my earthly toils ; that is, I am fully satisfied that it is not my duty to leave Nowton this fall. The instructions I am here receiving are too valuable to leave unstored, for the 112 use oi tbo people whom the great Head of the Church may commit to my care ; and now and here, I enjoy tb.o very best facilities for securing them ; and hope with you that the Oregon colony will be supplied Avlth all kinds of use- ful instruction before a twelvemonth shall have fulfilled its course. * * * * * If the colony should succeed, Dr. Bolles. and also Prof. Chase, seem to think it will be well for the Board to sec to the establishment of an efficient ministry there. * * But if it should so bo that a year hence you are in need of help from the Bonrd, tlicii I should be satisfied that it is my duty to go there. I should have the advantage of the patronage of the Board, the approbation of my i^■ien(l^s, those Avho have the man- agement of our religious aO'aifs. * * * * "I forgot to mention ^aat »vhen the countrj'^ is laid out into diagrams, of a township each, by meridional and lon- gitudinal lines, I should advise that roads should be laid out on each of these lines, and worked as the necessities of the commimity require. * * » • « " Your fello iv-servant in the Gospel, "D. W. ELMORE." This letter was about the time of the embarkation of the missionaries Lee for Oregon ; and is for the purpose of showing in regard to my call upon religious communities for missionary laborers. About the same time, two other persons of the Method- ist community oll'crcd to accompany me, as \v<'ll qualiiicd, doubtless, by "the spirit of tnifh that leadcth into all tiuth," and with biblical knowledge for the ministry, as were the Lees. Their names have pat-^ed from my mind. They afterwards changed their purpose, and both wort as missionaries to Liberia. I planned largely — 'tlie enterprise was stupcmdous, and many were those m all parts of the Unicm, and in some parts '>{ Europe, who would (nigage in it. Companies were formed, in dillerent parts of tlie States, suid many men of distinction and of high standing in society, all de- eiving their names to bo enrolled in the cxpeditum. The Kon. Samuel Houston, in conversation said : " I hav:j almost made up my mind to go with you to Oregon, and engage in tho East India trade." A company in Faris v.us farmed, and 113 another, a more numerous one, in Germany. The former corresponded with me through Mr. Everett; the latter, through a German gentleman in the government service at Washington. My records concerning them are lost, with the files of letters and manuscripts taken from my house by those who hate and trouble me. The enterprise was encouraged by the Legislature of Massachusetts ; and both encouraged and patronized by the general government and benevolent institutions. Gwei'n- ment permission was granted to hold correspondence with government authorities of Mexico, and I accordingly pre- pared a letter to that foreign government, asking what seemed to me necessary, to the carrying out my designs. Among other things, I solicited the privilege to enter the port of Vera Cruz with a vessel , free from port charges, to land my eftects, and tranej>oit thera across that country, without liability of any kind to the revenue laws. Mr. Montoya, Charge de Affaires of the Mexican government at Washing-ton, was consulted, and did me the honor to forwaixl that letter. In New York, learning that a veesel was about to sail fort':e Sandwich Islands, I applied to the benevolent owner for a lyassage thither, for a son beionging to the party. A free jjassage was, at once, generously offered him. In that city I obtained, on credit, money and property ; one to meet expenses of the expedition, the other for Indian pres- ents, and for domestic uses in the contemplated settlement. The American Bible Society furnished a quantity of bibles ; tLe Tract Society and Sunday School Union Society fur- nished books and tracts ; and benevolent individuals, va- rious other articles ; all of which contributed to my useful- ness, on the way to und at Oregon. Members of Congress gave me stationery, and other presents. The Hon E. Everett, chairman of the Libi*ary Committee, communicated to me by letter that the com- mittee had placed at my disposal a set of the laws of the United States ; and Mr. Archer, chairman of Committee on Foreign Affairs, was iustructed to say, that protection would be given to any settlement which I might make in Oregon ; and a passport such as is usually given to minis- ters plonijjotentiary, for use in traveling in foreign coun- tries, was ordered by the President, and endoreed by Mr. Montova and other proper Mexican authorities, both at 15 lU New Orleans and Vera Cioiz. Though powerfully oppugned, it wm not a little encoui'aged by members and committees itf. Congress f and by the heads ot some of the executive departments; and my bands were strengthened by many true^earted and public-spirited citizens. In lectures, newspaper articles, books and tracts, and in every possible way I labored to arouse my countrymen to a just sense of the wants of Oregon, and to induce a settle- ment of that goodly land, and so redeem it irom the moral and physical degradation whiili overshadowed it. In con- £rmation of this, I will introduce the publicly expressed opinions of a few individuals, out of the many who have testified and can testify to the same import. THE AFFIDAVIT OF MR. WHEILDON, Editor of that loog-establisbed paper, the Bunker Hill Aurora, and Boston Mirror. I, William W. Wheildon, of Charlestown, Massachu- setts, testify, that I became acquainted with Hr^i J. Kelley, Esq., sometime in tlie yeju* 1827 or 1828, ana that he was at that time, and subsequently, much engaged in talking, writing, and ieciiuing on the subject ot Oregon, and a settlement of that Territory. His tinle, as it ap- peared to me, was all devoted to the object of dissemi- nating infonnation on the subj jct, and by various ways, of endeavoring to effect a colonization of the Territory. He wrote a plan of colonization, including a description of the country, soil, climate, advantages to those who are dis- posed to emigi*ate, &c., which was printed for him in my office. I knew no other i^erson connected or 'nterested with him, and the work was done for bim solely. It is my opinion that he labored altogether alone ; and to him ia due, as I have cause to believe, the merit of awakening, exciting and interesting the public mind on this subject, and eflecting a settlement of the Oregon Teri'itory. WM. w. v;heiljl>o c. Middlesex, ss, Jan. 2(5, 1843. Personally appeared the above-named William W. Wheildon, and made eoleran oath that the above declaiation hy him subscribed, is truck Before rae, . IL N. Perkins, J. P. [ HON. JOHN P. BIGKLOW. BosTOW, Januar3' 26, 1843. To alt wJiom it may concern : I hereby certify, that I am well acquainted with Mr. Hall J. Kelley, and that I was associated with him hi teaching one of the public schools of this city, in the year 1820. He had then conceived the project of colonizing the Oregon Territory. It was a subject upon which he frequently conversed with much zeal and earnestness of manner. From the years 1828 to 1832, he aiipeared to devote his whole time and means to the purpose of dissem- inivting throughout the country, information conceniing that region, together Avith his plan for its colonization, avowing it to be his dearest Avish to improve the condition, moral, religious and physical, of the native population of the Oregon Territory, and to secure to the people of the United States, the benefits which he expected would result froii) the settlement of that country. In fact, Mr. Kelley may ' o said, with tnith, to have devoted his life, health, and I c;h rty, for more than twenty years, to the coloniza- tu or 'Oregon. He has sulfered much, very much, in, ?t v i-isr-ect, in his* endeavors to promote this object, and it f 'i^jil, richly, to the gratitude of his country, for hia devoiw y f ^ the noble cause. JOHN P. BIGELOW, Late Secretary of Masaachugetts. Later Mayor of Boston, SAMUEL WALKER, ESQ., Ai Coun, ellor at Law, and a Gentleman of great literary attalBni«i.t3. T- Samuel Walker, of Cliarlestown, in the State of »r "iichusetts, aged seventy-five years, do on oatli testify and say tliat, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three, I first became acquainted with Mr. Hall J. Kelley, and was employed as his assistant in one of the public gmmmar schools in Boston. We often had conversation concerning the Oregon Territory. He appeared to possess a more accurate knowledge of the Oi*egon country than any other man of whom I had i-ead or heard. He expressed to me his opinion that the great aatural advantages of the coimtry for commercial and 116 agricultural operations, ought not longer to remain unim- proved. ' He declared his intention to colonize it. He was then engaged in this work with uncommon zeal and persovemnce. Thi ^itoxmrise, in my opinion, was philan- thi'opic, as he seemeu ilculate more on its beneficial results to tlie country i. , to mankind, than to himself; and that the credit ot originating the colonizing the Ore- gon country, is undoubtedly due to Mr. Kelley. SAM. WALKER. CGmmonwealih of Massachusetts. Middlesex, aa, Charlestown, January 26, 1843. Per- sonally appeared the above-named Samuel Walker, and made oath that the above declaration by him subscribed, is true. Bis been the ingratitude you have ex- perienced, one thing is certain, the name of Hall t^, Kelley will be honored in histoiy, and his calumniators v^^^ill be unequivocally condemned. God is your poilion, infamy is theirs. Rest assured of this. A- memorial to Congress on yom* behalf ought, without further delay, to be prepared, and ought to bear the signa- tures of thousands, especially of the citizens of New Eng- land — Massachusetts in paiticular. As a native of that State, I would esteem myself honored in placing my hum- ble name with others beneath such memorial, whatever may be the fate of your claim to the lands made yours by the deed of the heii-s of Kendrick. Yours, respectfully, &c., C. P. GROSVENOR. I will return to the expedition. I had secured the pledge from wealthy and lienevolent citizens for funds suf- ficient for the accomplishment of the undei-taking, and five hundred or more persons from all parts of the Union were soon to rendezvous at St. Louis, and I thought I was about to achieve the great objects for which I had so long and un- ceasingly labored. It is true, I had been opposed from the beginning by powerful and interested individuals ; but now, that my designs ajjpeared on the very point of com- pletion, opposition became more desperate and determined. No effoi-ts were spared to disable me for further pro- gress, and to discourage and break up the expedition. This they accomplished to their satisfaction, and nigh over- whelmed me, also. The enterprise contemplated great blessings to mankind — ^blessings which are beginning to be realized' half the woild over. Unopposed, I should, doubtless, crossed the mm 188 Rocky Mountains aa early us '32, with, perhaps, 2000 emi- gmntH j^itherod from all parts of civilization, and with everything? necessary for putting at once into successful operation the various ])usine8s of enlightened and refined life, and for hastening the spread of tlie knowledge of the glory of God ; and as early as '35 the tide of emigration would have began to How down into the valley of the Sac- ramento, and the acquisition of Upper California to the American domain would have followed in the natural order of things, without the expense of a di*op of blood or a dollar of money. Unopposed, the ratlroad projected by me, neai'ly fifty years ago, to oommuT:icate between the valley of the Mississippi aud the shore of the Pacific, (reference to that project is made in my Geographical Sketch of Oi'egon, and in the memoir to Congress in 1839, relative to the statistics and topography of that countiy, the same in plan &h that urged by Mr. Whitney, of New York, in 1840, ujion the consideration of Con- gress,) would, I think, have been graded from one end to the other, and Oregon would have teemed with a popula- tion from our own blest country, and the whole wilderness between the parallels 31 and 54, dark as it was, ere this day, would have been changed to shining fields and flowery gardens; and society there would have been drasscd in lovely attire, and robed in charms of moral beauty< Things would have been in that country more than twenty ^ears in advance of what they now are, and Quad- ra's Island would have continued to be an integral part of the Americ»n domain, and greater would have been the triumph of Christianity. Had my plans been unopposed, and carried out under government auspices, that territory, very soon after the settlement of the Oregon question with Great Britain, would have been States of high rank in the Union, and tiie pride of the Nation. I do most deeply regret the sucess of the opposers of my efforts in behalf of my country and humanity. I am no prophet, but can see, I think, indications in the movement of Divine Providence, for the prosperity and greatness of California and Oregon. A mild and salubrious climate,- exuberant productions, and natural advantages for trade and commerce, conspire to make those countries prosperous and gi'eat. I am led to believe that Christianity is about to do wonderful things for our nice, such as it has not entered the hearts of infidels to conceive of — that tlio li^ht of tioith is about to increase to a glorious effulgence. That the hea- then, all nations, tongues and tribes of them, are soon to become "the inheritance of Christ," and "the uttonnost parts of the earth His possession," and the "will of God be done on eailli as it is done in Heaven," and the seventh day, the day of rest, to come, and the whole eailh to be filled with a knowledge of God, and all nations to bo free and happy. I was brought into life, raised up, and divinely appointed to do the very things I conceived and did for Oregon. In the year 1817 " the word came expressly to mo " to go and labor in fields of philanthropic enterprise, and promote the propagation of Christiar»ty in the dark and cruel places about the shores of the Pacific. "I speak the truth in Christ Jesus, and lie not." In my youth the Lord Jesus revealed to me in visions the lonely, laborious and event- ful life I was to live ; and gave at the time of the visions, and afterwards, unmistakable signs that the revelations were by Him, and I have lived exactly that manner of life. [See App. W.] I had pui'posed to introduce here a chapter under the head of Things ProviderUial, but being in haste to get the book in the hands of my friends in Congress, I must refer the entire subject to tho appendix. [App. X.] Some of my skeptioal friends, who never examined my works, nor the "fruit of the Spirit," say to me, "you talk too much in your book about religion. You will expose yourself to public ridicule." My reply to them is. You think too little about religion. " I am not ashamed to own my Lord." "I gloiy in this, that I know God," and "know Christ Jesus and Him crucified ;" and am a "servant of Christ according to the will of God." While yet in Oregon, about the time of embarkation for home, I planned to retura to that country, and form a set- tlement at New Dergeness. This place is on the south side of Do Fuca's Sea, and on the westerly side of Port Discoveiy. It is admirably situated, and in every way convenient for whale fishery, or of fi^ihing craft of any kind. Any such vessels from the sea can, in any season of the year, safely enter the harbor, and can here I'epair and find supplies of provisions and other outfits. mm '*?»','/ 1 126 Port Discovery is situated near the northwesterly en- trance ot Admiralty Inlet, 48, 7, N. ; a name derived from the ship Discovery, commanded by Vancouver, "who first discovered it. It is a fine and commodious harbor, about eight miles in extent, aHbi*ding from ten to filty fathom soundings, and a muddy bottom. Tlie entrance is formed by two capes, which are low, and opposite each other, extending in gentle descent from high wo< 'land cliffs, leaving an oi^ening of two and a half miles, directly in front of which is an island, in the foiin of a crescent, presenting its concave side to the harbor. It is called Pro- tection, from its convenient location for giving protection to the harbor. It is the conviction of all who have wit- nessed its natui'al advantages for commerce, that the larg- est ship, whatever bo its tonnage, can sail through De Fuca's Sfraits, enter Pott Discovery, and there moor, and find safety and comfort from the violence of winds and waves. I have given these full descriptions to show the judicious choice I had made of a position for the settle- ment. Soon after my return to New England, I announced to the public, through the medium of newspapers, my pur- pose and programme ; and many enterprising and intelli- gent men of New England, some with families, a sufDcient number for a settlement, enlisted for the expedition. But the war of persecution continuing to rage, and the troops about me making daily attacks, and the hireling press again being tunied against me, I was forced to abandon that enterprise. It was my intention to take my family to the place of settlement, and to be myself a settler, believ- ing that should my abode be on that side of the continent, far away from persecuting enemies on this side, I could better, I supposed, promote the extension of the Redeem- er's Kingdom. But I am now satisfied that it was oiHiered in Divine Providence, and for my good, that that settle- ment should not bo made by me ; that, although the ideal " Puget's Sound Agricultural Association " could do no- thing, yet the Hudson Bay Company could do much to break up the establishment, and drive me and my friends from the coast. In regai-d to the position I had chosen ior the settlement and what Avould be the developments of commerce at that place, Mr. Pieroe, of whom I have already spoken, m TW^B» 12(5 reply to inqairies I had made, wiites at Honolulu, under date August 4, 1835 : Hall J. Kellev, Esq. : Dear Sir: — Having undoratood from yourselt that you contemplated torming a settlement at Juan de Fuca Straits, I have, in consequence, and for the information ot those who may be concenied with you in such an enterprise, thought it well to stat,e what the market value is hero tor those articles which will probably be exported Irom yom* establi&Iiment : 30,000 feet pine, lur or spruce boards and planks, at $40 per 1000 ; 200 ban-els salmon, at $10 ; 200 barrels flour, at 8 a $10 ; to which may be added house irames, spars and oak plank and logs for repairing ships. One thousand barrels of flour can be sold every year at St. Peter and Paul, in Kamschatka, at $10 |)er barrel. If a settlement can bo formed to good advantage any- where upon this side of the American ten'itory, it is at the place you have chosen on the south side of Juan de Fuca Straits; it is in many respects the most eligible — good harbors, easy of access and egress at any time of the year, good climate, excellent soil, plenty of timber, fish and g?.me^ and a region abounding with fur animals. I think favorably of your plan, and shall bo glad to fa- cilitate in any wa;^' which will be most conducive to the prosperity and success of the settlement. Very truly yours, HENRY A. PIERCE. To bring me into the lowest possible disrepute, and un- der universal contempt, and to break up this exi)edition, also, the following abusive notice was taken of me and my enterprise by the publishers of the "Old American Comic Almanac of 1837." In one of its queer cuts was a geographical caricature of a poi-tiou of Oregon. On the banks of the Columbia was written '* Mowed ujp Salt River y" and on the countiy noT.th, betwce.; the cowlitz and the ocean, ^^Eelley's Folly. ^* Twenty thousand copies were said to have been sold. To apprise my cruel enemies that I was yet alive, and had yet some power left to defend my bleeding character, I published the following in the Boston Post : ■^. m aWfirfai 127 UNPROVOKED CRUELTY, The country with ivhich my name has been so many years associated is represented on the cat; as above, "Kel- ley's Folly." It is receiving all the publicity which newapapcu's, and twenty or a hundred Inousand almanacs can give it. Now I am not pleased with being hung up to public ridicule — with having my character defamed, in song, c story, or pictm*e. I have done many things in the Oregon country, whereof I am not ashamed. Though I have acted an im- portant part, and a difficult one too, in its colonization, yet there is no reason fo: supposing it the theatie of my folly, or for making an attack so brutal upon my reputation. The benevolent and magnificent things wliich my una'aed eflbrts had brought about, could not have induced It — cer- tainly not. Thoy cuulu harm no cv'^, ^a.7o tne evil-doers living to harm eveiy one. My having thrown down the high walls which the K. B. Co. had built, and for nearly forty years had maintained about the land of Oregon ; or, of my having opened, in despite of the mightiest efforts of the most powerful of worldly wise men, that finest portion of our continent, to tbd harbingers of the blessings of Chris- tianity, are benefite. m every bod3^ I had fallen into the hands of bloody men, and was half killed by them ; so that since my return, I have b^^u una- ble to give the ]}ublic any account of my perilous adven- tures ; or of my services and achievements in bet alf of the country ; or of the glorious things beginning to result to the world from the entet'pnse so generally opposed. Ene- mies seeing this, and other dire misfortunes, take advan- tage — take coui-age, and wreak their ruthless vengeance upon me. They seem to infer from my past forbearance, ftilence, and the terrible results of sufferings, that I am a dead man, or nearly so ; and am unable to speak in my defence ; but I am a/e've, and can speak, and, though fee' bly, defend my person; and, with my own, defend the injured rights of my countrymen. It may 7/et be, that I can speak louder — yet, in tones of thunder. Great difficulties were anticipated in the settling of Oregon : greater on this than on the other side of the continent; opposers started up in the beginning; they increased daily ; and, at length, strangers and acquaint- ances, deceived and duped, united in making common the ^ 128 "work ot persecuting him who had dared to break up tbo JET. £. Gon^ny^s trading and trajyping monopolies in Oregon. Here is the end ot the book lor the present. When it is in the hands ot the Congressional Committee, to whom was referred the 'X'^titlon, should my life be spared, and should I remain qualified tor the task of fuither dictation, I shall proceed to prepare the appendix, which, I think, is calculated to be as instructive and interesting to readers as the other poitiou of the book. ■^'"^'PWffMpip? eak up tbo lopoliea in ttt. When e, to whom pared, and r dictation, I think, is leaders as m