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32X

Histon/ of
Americi
Habits
Tribes
Dunn,
Ed wan

Anoth
is an El
public mil
cures the
than com
John Bui
even mor
lar claim
limits of
contest, !
dispute.

^^%-

From the Alhenasum.
History of the Oregon Territory and British North
American Fur Trade, with an Account of the
Habits and Customs of the Principal Native
Tribes on the Northern Continent. Hy John
Dunn, late of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Edwards Si Hughes.

Anothek book upon the Oregon ! But now it
is an Englishman tiiat writes, and an English
public must needs admire the patriotism that se-
cures them a voluntary advocate. Brother Jona-
than commanded the talent of a Greenhow, but
John Bull has found a volunteer, if not as subtle,
even more resolute in the assertion of his particu-
lar claims. Fortunately, it comes not witliin the
limits of our duty to give arbitrament on political
contest, nor to act the umpire while nations hold
dispute. If we remarked on the forced inferences

of Mr. Greenhow, we did so, because the argu-
mentative structure of his narrative involved us in
the necessity of logical examination : Mr. Dunn
spares us the consideration of deductions, and
writes with the rough confidence of a man satisfied
with his own conclusions and determined in thtm.
His mode of argument seems fair enough, but his
adduction of historic support is rather too unhes-
itating ; he summarily decides, and evidently to
his own satisfaction, in one brief chapter, a ques-
tion on which Mr. Greenhow has expended a vol-
ume, and two great nations much fruitless diplo-
macy. One pleasant result is, that the reader is
not perplexed by the subtleties of ingenious argu-
ment. Mr. Dunn is a man of facts ; he states
them with a bold, unhesitating front, liaving so
strong a faith in their reality, that he never stops
to examine them. There is, too, an entire ab-
sence of that cxcitad selfishness which dwells m

, every trivial occurrence with visible anxiety, and
trembles to omit a point lest a cause might be en-

I dangered. But we strongly disliko the bitter
spirit of national antipathy in which the writer
so injudiciously indulges, and which will, with
many persons, affect the fidelity of his statements.
Bad conduct is never improved by the application
of hard natnes, and taunting censure is the worst
medicine for evil practice. The unconcealed hos-
tility of Mr. Dunn injures the cause he advocates,
and will give otrenc3 in America without afford-
ing satisfaction here. The work, however, con-
tains much, and of interest, about which there
need be no discussion : a rapid sketch of the
History of the Oregon Settlement of tlie Hud-
son's Bay and other fur trading companies, an
interesting account of the fur trade, and cf those
engaged in it, with characteristic anecdotes and
illustrations of the habits and manners of the
native Indians — and with these alone we shall
concern ourselves.

Here is a sketch to the life of the " trappers,
or beaver hunters" : —

" In the old times of the Canadian Air trade
when the trade in furs was cliiefly pursued about
the lakes and rivers, the expeditions wore, in a
great degree, carried on in batteaux and canoes.
But a totally different class now sprung up — the
' mountaineers'— the traders and trappers that scale
the vast mountain chains, and pursue their hazard-
ous vocation amidst their wild rt'cess^cs — moving
from place to place on horseback — e?cposed not
alone to the perils of the wilderness, but to iho
perils of attack from fierce Indians, to whom it
has become as favorite an ex[)Ioit to harass and
waylay a band of trappers with their {p;ick-horses,
as it is to the Arabs of the desert to plunder a
caravan. The equestrian exercises in wiiicii they
are constantly engaged — the nature of tl-c country
they traverse — vast plains and mountains pure
and exhilarating in their atmospiieric (jualitit^s —
seem to make them, physically and mentally, a
tnoie lively, vigorous, daring and enduring race
than the fur traders and trappers of former days,
who generally had huts or t^nts to shelter them
from the inclemency of the season — were seldom

exposci
ally we
rneuits.
tho ear
lion, di
eiiamoi
pers of
datifjer
from 1
time, h
his <ja
With I
the wo
the m(
— in VI
torrent
track
danpfer
may be
fetinj?
blocks
with h
most 1
the mil
inacces
white
comra(
game,
dians I
being
numbc
shares
own a
Indian
passed
interc(
civilize
into th

Th(
Spain
ling 1
water
They
tionar

savag
made
trow Si
skin s
tipper
which
other
piebal
dered

St€

the "
every
at Re
the a I
of th
mode

"1
the (
reduc
many
aston
is, th
and
and t

DUNN S HISTORY OF THE OKEGON TERRITORY.

347

exposed to the hostility of the natives, and poncr-
ally were within reach of sujjplii's from the settle-
ments. There is, perhaps, no class of men on
the earth who lead a life of more continued exer-
tion, dauber and excitement; and who are more
enamored of their occupations, than the free trap-
pers of the wild regions of the west. No toil, no
danffer, no privation, can turn the trapper aside
from his pursuit. If his meal is not ready in
time, he takes his rifle — liiea to the forest — shoots
his (jame — lights his fire, and cooks his repast.
With his horse and his rifle ho is independent of
the world, ami spurns its restraints. In vain may
the most vigilant and cruel savages heset his path
— in vain may rocks, and precipices, and wintry
torrents oppose his progress; let hut a single
track oi' a heaver meet his eye, and he forgets all
danger, and defies all difliculties. At times he
may be seen, with his traps on his shoulder, buf-
fetiiis his way across rapid streams amidst floating
blocks of ice : at other times may he be seen,
with his traps slnng on his back, clambering the
most rugged mountains — scaling or desceiiding
the most frightful precipices — searching, by routes
inaccessible to horse, and never before trodden by
white man, for springs and lakes unknown to his
comrades, where he may meet with his favorite
game. This class of hunters are generally Cana-
dians by birth, and of French descent ; who, after
being bound to serve the traders for a certain
number of years and receive wages, or hunt on
shares, then continued to hunt and trap on their
own account, trading with the Company like the
Indians; hence they are called /rce men. Having
passed their youth in the wildernsss, in constant
intercourse with th Indians, and removed from
civilized society, thej lapse with natural facility
into the habits of sava<. life."

The " voyageurs" resemble the " arrieros" in
Spain, with this difl^erence, that instead of travel-
ling by land with mules, the voyageurs go by
water with " batteaux or boats, and canoes."
They are the most indispensable class of func-
tionaries in carrying on the fur trade : —

"Their dress is generally half civilized, half
savage. They wear a capot, or outside coat,
made of a blanket — a sniped cotton shirt — cloth
trowsers, or leather leggins — mocassins, or deer-
skin shoes, without a sole, and ornamented on the
upper; and a belt of variegated worsted, from
which are suspended a knife, tobacco-pouch, and
other implements. Their language is of the same
piebald character, being a French patois, embroi-
dered with Indian and English words and phrases."

Steam, it appears, is making encroachments on
the "vocation" of the voyageurs as well as on
everything else. Having described the settlement
at Red River, and the manner of bufTalo hunting,
the author gives us a clear and interesting account
of the Company's principles of dealing, and the
mode of traffic with the Northern Indians : —

" The principle universally acted on throughout
the Company's territories, which have been now
reduced, considering their vast extent, and the
many difficulties to be encountered, to a state of
astonishing quiet, peace, and good government,
is, that the true interests of the native Indian
and the white resident are indissolubly united ;
and that no immediate advantage, or prospect of

it, is to stand in the way of improving the condi-
tion of the natives. The following extract from
the standing orders of the Compa.iy will convey
an idea — though a faint one^)f the wise, humane,
and liberal spirit by which it is actuated : — ' That
the Indians be treated with kindness and indul-
gence ; and mild and conciliatory means resorted
to, in order to encourage industry, repress vice,
anu inculcate morality — that the itsc of spirituous
liquors be gradually discontinut-a in the few dis-
tricts in which it is yet iiulispensable ; and that
the Indians be liberally su|)pliod with requisite
necessaries — particularly with articles of ammuni-
tion, whether they have the means of paying for
them, or not.' Since thtise general orders were
issued, the Company, finding the success of this
humane and judicious policy gradually answering
the proposed aim, has at last adopted the bold and
decisive course of abolishing altogether the use of
spirituous liquors as articles of trade with the
natives. They have not only dune this in the
territories within their own jurisdiction ; but have,
by a new article introduced into the treaty of
commerce, entered into with the Russians by Sir
George Simpson, stipulated that the Russians
should act, in their trading with the natives, on
the same principle. So that henceforward one
source of demoralization will be dried up. • •
So far has it been the wish or policy of the Com-

rany not to acquire an undue influence over the
ndians by loading them with debts, that repeated
attempts have been made to reduce the trade to
simple barter ; and they have often cancelled the
debts of whole tribes — for instance, since the
junction of the two companies in 1821, the debts
of the Chippewyans have been twice cancelled.
But from the peculiar disposition and customs of
the Indians — especially the northern Indians —
these good intentions have not yet produced all
the hoped-for good, although l(. ;y are gradually
working out their object. The Cnipewyaiis have
a custom which, until eradicated, must operate as
a check on their progressive prosperity. On the
death of a relative, they destroy guns, ammuni-
tion, blankets, kettles ; in short, everything they
Eossess ; and conclude the havoc by tearing their
uts to pieces. When these transports of grief
have subsided, they find themselves reduced to
utter want, and are obliged to resort to the nearest
establishments for a fresh supply of necessaries ;
and thus their debts are renewed, and their wants

feriodically kept alive. In some parts of the
ndian territory, the hunting grounds descend by
inheritance among the natives ; and this right of
property is rigidly enforced. But where no such
salutary law prevails, their main source of wealth
— the beaver — would soon be exhausted by tho
eager seareh of tho hunters, if the Company had
not adopted judicious regulations to prevent the
havoc ; for they have, for several years past, used
every effort, through their officers, to exhort the
natives to spare the young of that animal. * *
But the attempt will be easily understood to bo
one of extreme difficulty, in consequence of the
passion fur depriving the animal creation of life
so strongly implanted in the breast of the North
American Indian, that it costs him a pang to pass
bird, beast, or fish, without an effiirt to destroy it,
whether he stands in need of it or not. The
tendency to destrucliveness is a vehement instinct
of their nature. Near York Factory, in 1831,
this propensity, contrary to all the remonstrances
of the Company's servants at that place, led to

11)^537

348

Dunn's histoky of the Oregon tekkitohv.

the indiscriiniriato (lostruotioi . a countless liord
of rtiiii-dccr, wli'!<; cros.sin]^^ ilio hroad stream of
Hayc's Hivot, in the liei(,'lit of summer. The
natives Inok some of the meat for present use, but
thousands of carcases were abandoned to the cur-
runt, and infected the river's banks, or drifted
down into Hudson's Hay, there to feed the sea
fowls and polar l)ears. As if it were a judgnent
for this wanton slaughter, in which women and
children participated, the deer have never since
visited that part of the country in similar num-
bers. In short, the Indians, accustomed either to
a feast or a fast, have little idea beyond the
present gratification ; and it is to this impruo^nce
that deaths by starvation, and the occasional de-
sertion of infants, and the helpless aged, must be
ascribed. The (juantity of provisions furnished
by the Indians to the establishments throughout
the northern districts is inconsiderable. In the
winter season, it is limited to the rib pieces of the
moose, red and rein-deer, half dried in the sm<»ke
oC iheir huts or tents, (the bones being removed
for lightness of carriage,) with an occasional ad-
dition of some tongues. In the course of the
suiTiincr, when the animals are easily hunted, and
there is great facility of water transport, the more
industrious families usually bring to the fort a
bale of dried meat, consisting of the fleshy parts
of the deer, cut into large slices and dried in the
Pun, with a bladder or two containing fat, or a
bag of pemican. When the residents of a fort
find these supplies, and the produce of their fishe-
ries, and of their cultivated plots of ground, (where
the ground, from the nature of the soil and climate,
is capable of cultivation,) insufficient to supply
their wants, they engage two or more young In-
dians, without familiee, as ' fort hunters.' These
are corsidered as regular servants ; and their
duty is "onfined to the killing of large animals for
the use "f the establishments. They are allowed
to keep a portion of the meat, sufficient for their
owp consumption : the remainder is transported
to the fort, with sledges and dogs, by the servants
of the Company. To become a fort hunter is an
object of ambition to ^he northern Indian, as it is
an acknowledgment of hia skill and fidelity, and
ensures to him the gayest clothing."

The great American establishment of Astoria
now belongs to the Company's head-quarters at
" Vancouver," has changed its name to " Fort
George," and retains no vestige of its former
importance. There are four tribes of Indians
about the lower parts of the Columbia. The
author tells us of their distinguishing traits of
character, and furnishes us with many curious
anecdotes, but the presence of the " Ojibbeways
and loways" among us, and the publications of
Mr. Catlin have bo familiarized the public with
Indian life, that it is unnecessary to enter on this
subject. Fort Vancouver, so called from the
English navigator, is situated about ninety miles
from the Pacific on the north-west of the Colum-
bia. It was founded by Governor Simpson, in
1824, as being more convenient for trade than
Fort George : —

" Fort Vancouver is then the grand mart, and
rendezvous for the Company's trade and servants
on the Pacific. Thither all the furs and other
articles of trade collected west of the Rocky moun-

i tains from California to tlio Uiis.*i.ui teriiloriys, arc
brought from the several otluT iuiMt ami stations;
and from thence they are shi(iiic(i to llnsiand.
Thither ton all the goods broujjhl fnmi I'lnjiland
for traffic — the various articles in woollen."* iiiul
cottons — in grocery — in hardware — rea'!y-made
clothes — oils and paints — ship stores, &e., are
landed ; and from thence they are dibtrihiiied to
the various posts of the interior, and alonj; tiie
northern shores by sailing vessels, or by boat, or
pack-horses, as the several routes permit ; for dis-
tribution and traffic among the natives, or for the
supply of the Company's servants. In a word,
Fort Vancouver is the grand emporium of the
company'a trade, west of the Rocliy mountains;
as well within the Oregon territory, as beyond it,
from California to Kamschatka."

The fort is a parallelogram 250 yards long, and
150 broad, inclosed by a wooden wall 20 feet high,
at each angle of which there is a bastion furnished
with two twelve-pounders. The area within is
divided into courts, around whicl. arc the offices,
warehouses, workshops, with a chapel, a school-
house, and a powder magazine. The governor's
house stands in the cetitre ; in it there is a public
dining-hall and "smoking room," where the au-
thor tells us " there is a great deal of amusement."
The clerks are promoted, according to their skill
and integrity, to be chief traders, chief factors,
until finally they may become shareholders, and
governors of forts. The mechanics, and servants
of the Company, reside on the bank of a river some
distance from the fort. The officers often marry
half-breed women, who, it seems, make admirable
housewives ; they are the daughters of persons
high in the Company's service, by Indian women
of good descent, and are considered of a superior
class. The lower servants of the Company marry
native women, who make fond and careful wives.
The male half-breeds are distinguished for their
horsemanship, and are very dexterous in catching
the wild horse, which they do by means of the
lasso. A farm of 3000 acres is attached to the
fort, which is in a high state of cultivation.

The Oregon territory, according to Mr. Dunn,
extends from latitude 42° to 54° north, and is about
four times the area of Great Britain. It is re-
markable that all the rivers which flow through
the country take their rise and are emptied witiiin
its limits. The scenery is beautiful ; but though
there are many fertile districts along the Pacific,
as a whole the country is not favorable for agri-
culture ; it is chiefly valuable for trade, and the
advantages of its maritime stations. Mr. Duim
divides the country into three sections, the West-
ern, between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade
mountains ; the Middle, lying between the Cascade
mountains on the west, and the Blue mountains on
the east; the Fjastern, extending from the Blue
to the Rocky mountains. The Cascade rang-e of
mountains bounding the western section is the
most interesting ; the numerous peaks of this range
have been named by the Americans after their
presidents, which seems to excite much indignation

ssian tprriloriHs, arc
r i'ovis iiiiij stations :
'I'l'C'l 10 Kiitiiatid.
iiilL'lit fnim Kiijiland
s ill W()(ill(!iis iitid

Iware— rea'lv-made
' stores, Sec, arc

are distrihuied to
or, and alono: tlio
3els, or Ijy boat, or
Bs permit ; /or dis-

natives, or for tlie
"lis. In a \vord,
emiioriiim of the
^"■l>y iniiuiitains ;
tory, as beyond it,

yards loop, and
wall 20 feet high,
bastion furnished
R area within is
h are the offices,
chapel, a school-
The governor's |
there is a public I
' where the au- i,
of amusement." f
ing to their skill
3, chief factors,
lareholders, and I
cs, and servants |
c of a river some |
2rs often marrv I
make admirable |
tors of persons ?
' Indian women
d of a superior
'ompany marry
careful wives,
ished for their
lus in catching
means of the
tached to the
ivation.
to Mr. Dunn,
'', and is about
in. It is re-
flow tlirough
tnpiied vvitliin
; but though
? the Pacific,
■hie for agri-
■ade, and the
Mr. Dunn
s, the Wcsf-
the Cascade
the Cascade
lountains on
^ the Blue
ie range of
tion is ilie
f this range
after their
indignation

in Mr. Dunn. The chief river is the Columbia,
which rises in the Rocky mountains, in latuude ot
60° north ; it receives a vast number of tributary
strean.s, ColviUe river, the Spokan, the Kana-
gan, the Walhwalla, the «nake river, the Walla-
mette, and the Cowlitz. After the Columbia,
Frazer's river is of next importance ; there are
also numerous lakes, so that the country is well

watered. . .,,

The climate of the W. stern section is mild
throughout the year. The Middle section is sub-
led to droughts, and the extremes of heat and
cold arc great and frequent ; the climate of .he
Eastern division is very variable. The soil of the
Western district is a deep black vegetable loum
varying to a light brown. The hills are ol basalt,
stone, and slate. The soil of the Eastern section
is so impregnated with salts, that it is incapable
of cultivation. On the northern coast there are
many islands which belong to the territory ; Van-
couver island, containing 15,000 square miles,
Queen Chariotte island, containing 4,000 square
miles, are the two largest; their climate is mild,
and their soil well adapted to agriculture. Coal
is found close to the surface, and there are numer-
ous veins of valuable minerals ; the rivers abound
in fish, particulariy salmon; elk, deer, bears,
wolves, martins, and musk rats, aro. m great abun-
dance, and large herds of buffaloes are found near
the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Dunn speaks thus
hopefully of the future prospects of Oregon :—

^' From the advantages this country possesses,
it bids fair to have an extensive commerce, on
advantacreous terms, with most parts of the Pac.hc.
It is well calculated to produce the following sta-
ple commodities-furs, salted beef and pork, fish
prain, flour, wool, hides, tallow, timber, and coals ,
Sn return for these, sugars, coffee, and other
Jropical productions, may be obtained at the Sand-
3 Isfands. Advantages that, in time, must
become of immense extent.'

On the whole, this book is interesting as furnish-
incr a clear and rapid history of the British fur
trade, and a minute and familiar account of the
habits and the social doings of the remote remnants
of a people who are fast perishing.