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OREGON. 
 
 OUR RIGHT. AND TITLE, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF THE 
 
 CONDITION OF THE OREGON TERRITORY, 
 
 ITS SOIL, CLIMATE, AND GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION; i 
 
 TOGKTHER WITH 
 
 A STATEMENT OF THE CLAIMS OF * 
 
 RUSSIA, SPAIN, GREAT BRITAIN, 
 
 AND Tl« ^ -5^jj 
 
 UNITED states; 
 
 ACCOMPANIED WITH A MAP, PREPARED BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 By WYNDIUM ROBERTSON, Jr. 
 
 or VIRGINIA. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 PHIM'UD BY J. 4t G. S. urOEoN. 
 1846. 
 
125" 
 
 1?0' 
 
 10 
 
 MAP 
 
 '-. of the-'— T;- 
 
 TERRITORY Or ORECON 
 
 ^fest of the Rocky Mountains 
 
 Exhihim^ the. v arums Trading Dfpolt or Forts 
 occupied by the British SudsonBayCompfiivii con- 
 - neOedi with the Westerh and rwrthweslem Fur tradi.. ("^ F 
 
 )p^GRAVFD SXPRESSry: FOR 
 
 W.HOBERTSOJf S HISTORY, 
 
 OREGON. 
 
 WA SHINGTON. D C. 
 
 1846, 
 
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 SCALES. 
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 THIS VOLUME 
 
 18 MOST RERPECTFCLLT DEDICATED TO THE 
 
 Hon. R. J. WALKER, 
 
 SeertttBrif tf the Titmury. i 
 
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PREFACE. 
 
 The " Or^on Question," within the last few years, has engrossed 
 much of the pubUc attention; feuds and parties have been blended, and 
 it has been regarded as a question altogether disconnected from politics; 
 as having nothing to do in its results with the constitutional policy and 
 philosophy of our system of Govemment, but as a matter touching the 
 national good; and, as such; it has been regarded and discussed by all 
 classes and conditions ofmen . 
 
 This work has been published with a view to create no unnecessary 
 or undue excitement respecting the maintenance of our rights as a peo- 
 ple to this territory, but because of a sincere desire to see it properly 
 appreciated and adjusted, and its history ^ as fai' back as it can be traced, 
 read and known everywhere. In the preparation of tnis work, the 
 author has carefully avoided using any but tlie plainest language in the 
 expression of his views; he has availed himself freely of the records of 
 Congicss in the collection of important facts and statistical data, shun- 
 ning all ambiguities and technicalities, and addressing himself to the 
 understandings of the learned as well as the unlearned. The subject 
 has been discussed with moderation as well as firmness, doing no act to 
 provoke, and sedalously abstaining from even the appearance of disre- 
 garding the obligation of treaties. We have endeavored to condense, 
 into as small a space as possible, the grounds, both of fact and of public 
 law, upon which we rest our rights; but, in doing so, we have striven 
 to omit nothing material to tlie investigation. 
 
 It may be observed, by those who are conversant with this question, 
 that no attention whatever has been paid to what is commonly called 
 the ^^ French Title, ^^ merely because it has been esteemed by the author 
 as unworthy of consideration , in comparison with the claims of other 
 nations who have been for years warmly contending for their rights; in 
 the appendix, however, as proposed by a committee of Congress, in 
 1843, which we subjoin, there is a careful deduction of it, which may 
 be read with some pleasure by the more curious. 
 
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 •.'1 
 
 Chapter. 
 
 I... Our right and title, together with a statement of Britisli 
 ' claims - - - - - - 
 
 11... What has been done to maintain our title 
 
 Interesting letter from Mr. Hugh Burnet, Multnomah 
 
 , Oregon Territory, October 29, 1814 
 
 IT' aat is the progress of British pretensions to Oregon 
 
 ...What has the United States done to protect her settlers 
 
 V...The value and importance of Oregon to the United 
 
 ■'I States . . . . ' - '-' - 
 
 Cost of necessaries in Oregon compared with the chai-ges 
 in the States ------ 
 
 Resolutions of the Oregon Emigrating Society - 
 Letter from VVallamette, Oregon, dated Nov. 4, 1844 - 
 System of religious teaching in Oregon — its success 
 VL.. Capacities for trade and commerce 
 
 Difficulties in removing slaves to Oregon 
 Contiguity of important markets to Oregon 
 Letter from Gen. McCarver, Speaker of the Lower 
 House of Oregon - - . - - 
 
 Rivers of Oregon - - - - - 
 
 Indians west of the Rocky Mountains — their number - 
 Oregon question in the House of Lords — Mitchell's map 
 VII... Shall Oregon be surrendeied to Great Britain - 
 Review of Captain Fremont's report 
 Great Salt Lake and Boiling Spring 
 Discovery of Nootka Sound attributed to Captain Cook 
 Sketch from the "log-book of the Columbia," determin- 
 ing the discovery of the Columbia 
 Mr. Jefferson's instructions to Lewis and Claik, during 
 the negotiation of 1803 — their disregard of the instruc- 
 tions - - - 
 The convention of 1790 not annulled by the war of 1804 
 Haccta's account while cruising on the coast of the Pa- 
 cific ...---- 
 
 Mr. Benton's speech in the Senate, January 12, 1843 - 
 
 Page. 
 
 5 
 25 
 
 30 
 34 
 63 
 
 75 
 
 78 
 
 83 
 
 86 
 
 99 
 
 101 
 
 111 
 
 114 
 
 115 
 124 
 129 
 131 
 134 
 142 
 146 
 154 
 
 157 
 
 162 
 164 
 
 165 
 
 168 
 
U CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter. Page. 
 
 VII... Table of distances from Independence, Missouri, to the 
 intermediate points between that town and Astoria, at 
 the mouth of the Columbia river - - - 173 
 
 Table of distances travelled by Captain Fremont in 1843 
 
 and 1844 175 
 
 The source from whence Oregon derived its name - 179 
 y III... Review of the late correspondence between the American 
 
 and British negotiators .... 180 
 
 l|. Appendix, containing diplomatic correspondence, Urea- \ 
 i., ties, and negotiations between Russia, Spain, Great ■, 
 
 Britain, and the United States, as contained m the 
 work of Lieutenant Wilkes - - - ». - 202 
 
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^Jt'^:"r^'' ERRATA. 
 
 From the haste with which the foregoing work lias been hurried through the press, to 
 meet the demand of the public, a number of errors have been overlooked, which, in the 
 present edition, can be corrected in no other way than by this final notice. The erroneous 
 dates resulted chiefly from want of sufficient time to refer to the manuscipt in reading the 
 proof-sheets, and tiie occasional mistakes of expression are chargeable entirely to the haste 
 of composition. 
 
 For the words, " while she dared not openly deny to Spain the rights of her Pacific dis- 
 coveries," commencing on the 12th line of the 8th page, read, in flagrant violation of the 
 jaws of humanity, and of the rights of Spain to her Pacific discoveries. 
 
 Page 9, 3d line, for " his vesse' " read the ritfer. 
 
 For the date " 1581," occurring twice on the 20th line of the 10th page, read 1592. 
 
 For the words, "returned to Mexico," on the 27th line of the 10th page, read, sailed 
 again into the Pacific, at its northern outlet, in 1518, and then returned to Mexico. 
 
 For '4780," on the 7th line of the 13th page, read 1789. 
 
 For "1775," occurring twice on the line 24th of page 17, read 1795. 
 
 For "61°" on the 14th line of page 18, read 51^. 
 
 For the word, "Canada," on the 28th line of the 22d page, read British America." 
 
 For the "whole territory," on the 7th line of page 23, read, the greater portion of the ter- 
 ritory. 
 
 For the word, "all," on the 5th line of the 24th page, read, most of them. 
 
 In the first page of Appendix, in the head, for " Lieutenant George Wilkes," read LUk 
 tenant Charles WiOcts. 
 
OREGON. 
 
 CHAP. I. . 
 
 Our Right and Title. 
 
 The '^ Oregon Question,^' in importance, is second to 
 none before the American people. Its bearing upon our 
 agricultural and commercial relations, in view of our vast 
 and growing population, which is extending itself with a 
 rapidity unequalled by that of any nation on earth, renders 
 it necessary that every part of our continent should be 
 peopled, so that the march of improvement may be accel- 
 erated, and an impetus given to those engines of power to 
 which a nation looks for its advancement in prosperity. 
 The sovereignty of Oregon has been contested by no less 
 than five of the principal nations of the earth, each of them 
 presenting their claims at different epochs and under dif- 
 ferent circumstances; it should be considered, therefore, 
 with all that calmness and prudence which is necessary to 
 a subject so interesting and momentous, and which may 
 yet possibly disturb the harmony of at least two large and 
 powerful Governments. In proportion as a country in- 
 creases in its manufacturing interests, and in agricultural 
 and commercial strength, scope should be given to the 
 laboring classes in their industrial pursuits, so that every 
 requisite and ingredient may be furnished to a consumma- 
 tion of these ends. All political economists concur in 
 opinion, that labor should be confined as little as possible; 
 it should be extended every where, so that all may share 
 in its fruits and blessings, and reap a portion of its many 
 
6 OREGON. 
 
 rewards ; hence the propriety of estabUshing our own peo- 
 ple in those sections of country, where they are furnished 
 with the means and advantages of carrying on their opera- 
 tions successfully, and of introducing new designs where 
 they can be exerted most profitably and beneficially. 
 
 The course recently pursued by the British Parliament, 
 respecting the claims of Great Britain to the territory of 
 Oregon, has excited the surprise of the American people. 
 It was supposed, in this country, that the subject would 
 never again be introduced in Great Britain, under circum- 
 stances so aggravating; that there was a general under- 
 standing there^ as well as h£re^ under the treaty of 1827, 
 and that the controversy which has so long existed would, 
 in a great measure, yield to compromise and negotiation. 
 But it appears that the leading men of that country have 
 determined to make it a '•'• mooted point,^' and to settle it 
 by their cunning diplomacy and strong appeals as they see 
 fit; inducing us to believe, (as though we had not all the 
 facts and statistics connected with the subject, from the 
 day of the discovejry of Oregon to the present time,) that 
 they have a right to claim it by cession, and that the laws 
 and usages of nations justify and sustain them in the de- 
 mand. 
 
 The unjust and illiberal assaults of England upon the 
 rights and property of smaller and weaker powers, prove 
 her character at once — her boundless ambition, and her in- 
 ordinate desire to extend her territorial dominions through- 
 out the habitable globe. She is sleepless in her vigilance, 
 artful and designing in her legislation, and courageous in 
 her threats and declarations. View her history, from its 
 earliest dawn to the present time; see the long catalogue 
 of abuses that have characterized it throughout all its varied 
 stages, and the conclusion is inevitable, that she has often 
 wantonly and knowingly violated the laws of nations, spurn- 
 
OREGON. 1 
 
 ing an adherence to principles of rectitude and of mercy,and 
 following the dictates of a cruel, vindictive, and relentless 
 spirit. She is now, without the least pretence or authority 
 whatever, attempting to alarm the American people with 
 fierce threats and empty boasts, stimulating her Premier 
 with flattery and applause, and urging him, as her actor 
 and agent, to affirm in her councils that Oregon is hers by 
 right, and that the title thereof is '^ clear and unques- 
 tionable." 
 
 We beg leave to discuss this subject in a becoming man- 
 ner; proving, as we mean to do, by an introduction of irre- 
 futable facts, and substantial and reliable evidence^ that 
 Great Britain, in view of the cession by Spain, and other 
 cessions, has no right or title whatever to this territory; 
 as far as the parallel of 49°; that her claims, in comparison 
 with those of the United States, are nugatory and trifling, 
 ^ founded upon the sand;" and that her demand is a gross 
 assumption of power, unauthorized by the law of nations, 
 and inconsistent with plain facts which have been published 
 to the world. Four great powers have set forth their claims 
 to this territory — Spain, Russia, Great Britain, and the 
 United States, and at one time France, have each, under 
 different and conflicting circumstances, claimed, if not all, 
 a considerable portion of the Oregon. The claims of Spain 
 have been finally surrendered to this country; those of 
 Russia have been adjusted by ceding to her the exclusive 
 right of settlement within ten leagues of the sea, m north 
 latitude 54° 40, and the controversy for what remains is 
 between Great Britain and the United States. 
 
 It is necessary, in the outset, to define the issue between 
 Great Britain and ourselves. It is not a question of posi- 
 tive^ but of relative^ right; not whether either party have 
 exclusive control, for the course that has been already 
 pursued clearly pi'oves by each that the other is entitled 
 
8 OR£60N. 
 
 to certain rights, but it is the limit and extent of these 
 rights that is in dispute, and which has given rise to so 
 much investigation ^n this country and in England. 
 
 The territory in question is the whole country west of 
 the Rocky Mountains, lying between the latitudes of 42° 
 and 54° 40 north, consequently bounded by the Rocky 
 Mountains on the east, the Pacific ocean on the west, and 
 the northern limits of California, in latitude 42°, on the 
 south, and the southern Umits of the Russian possessions 
 in America, in latitude 54° 40', on the north — thus extend- 
 ing 750 miles from north to south, and averaging about 500 
 miles from east to west, including some 360,000 square 
 miles. The mouth of the Columbia river Ues a few miles 
 north of this parallel of latitude ; in its course it receives 
 many tributary streams, both from the north and south, 
 and about 300 miles from its month is divided into two 
 large branches, one tending towards the northeast, and the 
 other southeast ; the former extending nearly to the base 
 of the Rocky Mountains, and the other quite to its south- 
 em boundary; thus draining all the interior of the country, 
 and a considerable portion of that lying nearer the sea. 
 The entrance to the strait of Juan de.Fuca is in latitude 
 49° 30, on the southwestern side of Quadra and Vancou- 
 Ter's Island. If these facts are kept in mind, frequent re- 
 petition may be omitted. 
 
 We shall discuss this subject, in order that it may be 
 more perfectly and clearly understood, under five separate 
 divisions or heads, viz : 1st. Our Title. 2dly. What has 
 been done to maintain this title ? 3dly. What is the pro- 
 gress of British pretensions to Oregon.^ 4thly. What has 
 the United States done to protect her settlers ? 5thly. The 
 value and importance of Oregon. 
 
 1st. Our Title.— The clfiims of the United States are 
 briefly these : Robert Gray, esq., of Boston, Massachusetts, 
 
OREGON. V 
 
 in 1792, in the ship Columbia, first discovered the mouth 
 of the great river of Oregon ; he arrived on the morning of 
 the 17th of May, and named his vessel the "Columbia." 
 In 1804 Lewis anc^ Clark, in an expedition approved and re- 
 commended by Mr. Jefferson, explored this river, giving its 
 coast and tributaries a careful examination, from its source 
 to the Pacific ocean, and took possession, which no one pre- 
 tended at that time to deny, claiming and calling it a part of 
 the United States. Some time afterwards, in 1810, we 
 think, John Jacob A«tor, of the city of New York, sent a 
 colony over by the ship Tonquin, the unfortunate history 
 of which is familiar to all, which arrived at the mouth of 
 the Columbia in March, 1811, and founded several large 
 establishments in the territory. These were the first set- 
 tlements that were made^ the first step taken to civilize the 
 country^ which is a strong ground of our present claim 
 under the law of nations. Previous to this, all subsequent 
 history proves that no civilized man ever inhabited the coast 
 of the country, or that which is contiguous, except a few 
 scattered Indians. In the last war it so happened that 
 these posts, those established by the colony, were taken 
 possession of by the British, but were afterwards fully sur- 
 rendered by the treaty of Ghent to the United States, un- 
 conditionally, and the validity of the title was duly acknow- 
 ledged by Great Britain in 1814, in the following terms : 
 "That all territory, places, and possessions, whatever, 
 taken by either party from the other during or after the 
 war, except certain islands in the Atlantic, claimed by both, 
 should be restored without delay." Astoria, under this 
 agreement, was in due form delivered by the British au- 
 thorities to Mr. Prevost, appointed by the United States as 
 agent to receive it. The act of delivery is as follows : 
 
 " In obedience to the commands of his royal highness, 
 the Prince Regent, signified in a despatch from the right 
 
10 OREGON. 
 
 honorable the Earl of Bathurst, addressed to the partners 
 or agents of the Northwest Company, bearing date the 27th 
 of January, 1818, and in obedience to a subsequent order, 
 dated the 26th of July, from W. H. Sheriff, esq., captain 
 of his Majesty's ship Andromache, we, the undersigned, 
 do, in conformity to the 1st article of the treaty of Ghent, 
 restore to the Government of the United States, through 
 its agent I. B. Prevost, esq., the settlement of Fort George, 
 on the Columbia river. Given under our hands, in tripli- 
 cate, at Fort George, Columbia river, this 6th day of Oc- 
 tober, 1818. . 
 
 F. HICKEY, 
 Captain of H. M. ship Blossom. 
 ^ J. KEITH, 
 
 » ' - 5 ' Of the JVorthwest Company^ 
 
 Acceptance from Mr. Prevost : ^ 
 
 ''I do hereby acknowledge to have this day received, in 
 behalf of the Government of the United States, the pos- 
 session of the settlement designated above, in conformity 
 to the first article of the treaty of Ghent. Given under my 
 hand, in triplicate, at Fort Geo»*ge, Columbia river, this 6th 
 day of October, 1818. 
 
 I. B. PREVOST, 
 ...^j... . Agent for the United States.'''^ 
 
 It appears from this transfer that Astoria is designated 
 as Fort George, from the fact that it was so called from 
 the time of striking the American and hoisting the British 
 flag, by Captain Black, of the ship Raccoon. This resto- 
 ration of Astoria, or Fort George, is another powerful rea- 
 son in the support of our title, which is founded on prior- 
 ity and contiguity; the former of which rights is establish- 
 ed as a plain broad principle by all of the first diplomatists 
 of the world. In Vattel, p. 99, sec. 207, we find the follow- 
 ing language touching this point : 
 
OREGON. 11 
 
 '^ All mankind have an equal right to things that hav« 
 not yet fallen into the possession of any one ; and these 
 things belong to the person who first takes possession of 
 them. When, therefore, a nation finds a country uninhab- 
 ited, and without an owner, it may lawfully take possession 
 of it ; and after it has sufficiently made known its will in 
 this respect, it cannot be deprived of it by another nation. 
 Thus, navigators going on voyages of discovery, furnished 
 with a commission from their sovereign, and meeting with 
 islands or other lands in a desert state, have taken posses- 
 sion of them in the name of their nation ; and this title has 
 been usually respected, provided it was soon after follow- 
 ed by a real possession." i 
 
 Again, chap, xviii, book 1, Vattel says: "When a nation 
 takes possession of a country to which no prior owner can 
 lay claim, it is considered as acquiring the empire, or sove- 
 reignty of it, at the same time with the domain. For since 
 the nation is free and independent, it can have no intention 
 in settling in a country, to leave to others the right of com- 
 merce, or any of those rights that constitute sovereignty. 
 The whole space over which a nation extends its govern- 
 ment becomes the seat of its jurisdiction, and is called its 
 territory y 
 
 Here we find the language used by Vattel plain and em- 
 phatic, and applying directly to the point in issue. This 
 territory, all admit, had " not fallen into the power of any 
 one." No nation had extended its jurisdiction over it ; it 
 was uninhabited, save by savage tribes of Indians ; and the 
 navigators, Lewis and Clark, who made the voyage, 
 were fully empowered by this Government, and were com- 
 missioned as its lawful agents ; therefore, according to the 
 principle laid down by Vattel, the American people, being 
 free and independent, they may be considered as having 
 first acquired the empire of this territory, and at the same 
 
1\ • 
 
 VZ O R E G ?I. 
 
 lime the domain. There was an attempt made at London, in 
 1818, by Messrs. Rush and Gallatin, commissioners on the 
 part of the United States, and Messrs. Golburn and Ro~ 
 binson, on the part of England to close the negotiation. 
 The parallel of 490 was agreed upon by said commission- 
 era as the boundary line from the Lake of the Woods to 
 the Rocky Mountains. A proposition was afterwards 
 made by Messrs. Rush and Gallatin, to extend the same to 
 the Pacific ocean ; this was positively declined by the Brit- 
 ish commissioners, and the negotiation upon this point 
 ended in the following stipulation, which is the 3d article 
 of the convention of 1818 : 
 
 " It is agreed, that any country that may be claimed by 
 either party on the northwest coast of America, westward 
 of the Stony Mountains, shall, together with its harbors, 
 bays, and Ci ^e* s, and the navigation of all rivers within 
 the same, be i^ee and open for the term often years, from 
 the date of the signature of the present convention, to the 
 vessels, citizens, and subjects of the two powers ; it being 
 well understood that this agreement is not to be construed 
 to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two high 
 contracting parties may have to any part of the said coun- 
 try ; the only object of the high contracting parties, in that 
 respect, being to prevent disputes and difierences among 
 themselves." 
 
 The Florida treaty, between Spain and the United 
 States, was concluded in 1819. The 3d article cedes to 
 the United States all claims and pretensions to any terri- 
 tory upon the western coast of America, north of latitude 
 42°. By a convention between Russia and the United 
 States, signed at St. Petersburg in 1824, the latitude of 
 54° 40 was settled as the boundary, controlling the right 
 of making settlements, between the territory claimed by 
 the contracting parties upon the northwest coast of the 
 American continent. The understanding respecting the 
 
OREGON. 13 
 
 rights of Spain was positive. The country west of the 
 Rocky Mountains, between the parallels of 42° and 54° 
 40, were reduced to two, viz: the United States and Great 
 Britain. It seems, however, that prior to the convention 
 with Russia in 1824, there was an attempt made by a 
 number of individuals ta settle the claims of the three 
 powers — Great Britain, Russia, and the United States. 
 A negotiation, after a long dispute and great difficulty, 
 was attempted ; but such was the diversity of opinion, and 
 the opposition coming from all quarters, respecting the 
 mode of adjustment, and the means to be employed to 
 effect it, so as to meet with the sanction and approval of 
 said parties, that the undertaking was abandoned, though 
 very reluctantly, by its friends. Each country knowing 
 best its own interests, concluded to negotiate in their own 
 way. This could not be objected to, for there were jea- 
 lousies then existing that could not be removed, save by 
 the arbitration of the friends of the parties themselves. 
 
 Another attempt was made, however, in London, in 1824, 
 by Mr. Rush, representing the United States, and Messrs. 
 Huskisson and Canning, in behalf of Great Britain; many 
 opportunities were sought to settle the controversy amica- 
 bly, if possible, each setting forth statements and argu- 
 ments according to their own views ; this failed also, and 
 may be attributed to the great excitement prevailing through- 
 out Europe, at the declaration made by Mr. Monroe, in his 
 message to Congress in 1823 — ^"that henceforth the Ameri- 
 can continents are not to be considered as subjects for 
 colonization by any European powers.^' A negotiation was 
 again attempted at London, in 1826, between Mr. Gallatin, 
 of the United States, and Messrs. Huskisson and Adding 
 ton, of Great Britain. Strong fears were entertained that 
 it would result as did those which preceded it. Many 
 
 months was the matter pending, when in August, 1827, to 
 2 
 
14 OREGON. 
 
 the surprise of the people of both countries, particularly 
 our own, an agreement was made to continue the third 
 article of the Convention of ISIS, indefinitely, either party 
 being at Uberty to abrogate or annul it,'^ by giving twelve 
 months notice to the other party at any time after the 26th 
 of October, 1828, when the Convention would expire by 
 its own limitation. During the different negotiations that 
 were proposed, we have at all times agreed upon the par- 
 allel of 49° to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, as the 
 boundary between ^e territories of Great Britain and the 
 United States, west of the Rocky Mountains ; this they 
 would never consent to, though perfectly just and fair, but 
 expressed their willingness to take this boundary across the 
 mountains, until it intersected the upper branch of the Co- 
 lumbia; thence to continue the boundary line along the 
 middle of this branch to the main stream, and down that 
 to the Pacific Ocean; the United States to possess all 
 south and east, and Great Britain all north and west of it. 
 The river was to be open of course to the vessels of both 
 countries which might pass at any time without the fear of 
 molestation. Afler the American Commissioners received 
 this proposal, and not knowing whether it would be 
 approved in America, they waited before making their re- 
 ply, until they could learn the opinions of the first men of 
 our country, and the voice of the people generally. As 
 soon as it was ascertained in England, that America would 
 not consent to the terms proposed, that they were consid- 
 ered selfish, unjust, and unfair, Mr. Gallatin offered the fol- 
 lowing : "• that if the said line, the parallel of 49°, should 
 cross any of the branches of the Columbia, at points from 
 which they are navigable for boats to the main stream, the 
 navigation of such branches and of the main stream, should 
 be perpetually free and common to the people of both na- 
 tions.^^ This proposition, though reasonable in all its fea- 
 
OREGON. 15 
 
 tures, was rejected peremptorily by the British Commis- 
 sioners, who, after great reluctance, consented to yield to 
 the IVJted States the whole territory lying north of the 
 Columbia, as far as the straits of Juan de Fuca, and east 
 from the Pacific to Admiralty Inlet. The British have al- 
 ways contended for the free navigation of the Columbia, 
 from its mouth to 49° of latitude, and upon this point the 
 negotiation has hitherto failed. The United States have ev- 
 er been unyielding, claiming the exclusive possession south 
 of 49°, and offering to Great Britain, conditionally, sl right 
 to navigate a part of the Columbia within that Umit. She 
 has never contended for the absolute and exclusive right 
 of Oregon, for such a demand would be utterly absurd, but 
 only for that part of it which is not already occupied, only 
 for that which is ceded to her by the third article of the 
 Convention of 1818. She has been perfectly willing to re- 
 linquish a part of these claims, and we have insisted upon 
 her relinquishing the whole. The grounds upon which we 
 base our claims are thus briefly summed up in our able 
 treaties on this question for Congress in 1840. " The fu-st 
 discovery and entrance into the Columbia by Captain Gray, 
 in 1792 — ^the first exploration from its source to its mouth 
 by Lewis and Clark, in 1805 — the first settlement upon any 
 portion of its borders made by Mr. Astor''s party at Astoria, 
 in 1811 — the unconditional restoration of this part, which 
 was captured by Great Britain during the war, and restored 
 under the first article of the treaty of Ghent, thereby vir. 
 tually recognising the territorial right of the United States 
 under the Florida treaty in 1819 of all the titles of Spain, 
 which titles were derived from the discovery and explora- 
 tion of the regions in question by Spanish navigators, be- 
 fore they had been seen by the people of any other civil- 
 ized nation; and lastly, upon the ground of conti^ity, we 
 already possessing the territory up to the eastern boun- 
 
16 OREGON. 
 
 dary.^^ Having, wc think, clearly shown from facts taken 
 from public records that our right and title to this territory 
 is beyond question, inasmuch as we claim it from cessions 
 and negotiations made between different countries, particu- 
 larly from cessions made by Spain and Great Britain during 
 times of peace, we shall proceed to examine the claims of 
 Great Britain after the introduction of additional facts 
 touching the title of the United States. It is acknow- 
 ledged by all, we believe, that the Sprmards ceded to us 
 all their territorial rights between the northern boundary of 
 new Mexico, and the southern boundary of the Russian 
 possessions; at the time that the surrender was made, strong 
 fears were entertained by the Spanish government, that 
 possibly necessity would compel them in some future day 
 to yield to Great Britain, when they were bitterly opposed 
 to their laws and political institutions, and to the general 
 character and spirit of the people ; but thoy surrendered 
 their claims to the United States, and France did likewise. 
 If this be true, and if either of these countries possessed 
 territorial rights, arkd had the power C ^ make what disposi- 
 tion of them they pleased under ths law of nations, these 
 rights are now possessed by the United States, and can be 
 claimed by no other power. What was the state of affairs 
 about the time of the settlement of the English North 
 American Colonies ? The royal patents to these colonies 
 extended westward, even to the Pacific Ocean, and if the 
 British government ever had any right over the region west 
 of the Mississippi, that right was fully transferred to the 
 United States by the treaty of 1783, and therefore preclu- 
 ded, or in a legal phrase, estopped their making any claim 
 to the country at this late day. After the peace of Aix La 
 Chapelle, in 1748, the French government extended their 
 settlements over the valley of the Mississippi, on the east 
 side of that river, and along the Illinois, and along the Ohio 
 
ORGOON. 17 
 
 up to Pittsburg, where they built Fort du Quesne. The 
 British government became greatly incensed, and com- 
 plained of these settlements as encroachments^ declaring 
 that the whole French territory was on the west of the 
 Mississippi, and that they were assuming rights which they 
 had no right to claim. The whole country was thrown 
 into disturbance, an angry dispute arose as to the means 
 which had best be adopted to put an end to these aggres- 
 sions, which resulted in the war of 1756, called in Europe 
 " the seven years war^'^ and in the United States, " the old 
 Frenchwar^'^ signalized by Braddock's defeat by the French 
 and Indians, and the capture of Fort du Quesne by the 
 British, which they afterwards called Fort Pitt ; and also 
 by the British conquest of Canada. By the treaty of Paris 
 of 1763, (the termination of this war,) the French surren- 
 dered to the British the Canadas, and all the territory east 
 of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio ; and by the same 
 treaty the British relinquished to the French all right to 
 the country west of the Mississippi. This unquestionably 
 confirmed the right of the French to Louisiana, extending 
 to latitude 58° 30 north, and indefinitely west ; and every 
 inch of this v"^ ceded by France to the United States, by 
 the treaty oi l^^'6. No one pretended to deny the right 
 of France to makt ' s cession, and the transfer was con- 
 sidered clear and int ^putable. The British patents cer- 
 tainly did extend to the North American colonies ; if so, 
 the treaty of Paris, of 1783, gave Oregon to the United 
 States beyond the possibility of doubt. Grant, for the sake 
 of argument, that these patents did not extend beyond the 
 Mississippi — ^that they were strictly confined within these 
 limits — what became of the territory west of that river .? 
 Great Britain surrendered it clearly to France, by the trea- 
 ty of Paris of 1763, and it became ours by the treaty of 
 1803 ; so the matter stands thus — whether this territory. 
 
18 OREGON. 
 
 prior to 1763, was British or French, it must be American 
 now, and not British. If it belonged to England prior to 
 1763, subsequently it was ceded to us solemnly and for- 
 mally. If it belonged to France before that date, 1763, 
 and. held until 1803, it then became ours. We contend, in 
 whatever light the subject is viewed, that Oregon is ours. 
 Suppose we leave out the French title, which was con- 
 sidered vaUd up to the time of the cession, we still find a 
 bar to any English claim in the right of the Spaniards. 
 In 1790 the British admitted, over and over again, their 
 right ; for, by the convention between Spain and Britain, 
 dated October 28 of that year, the British obtained merely 
 the right to fish along the coast, and to ^^ land, trade with 
 the natives, and settle,^^ and thus admitted the territorial 
 jurisdiction of Spain. In 1819 this country (Spain) 
 made an absolute surrender to the United States of all 
 its territory on the northwest coast, north of latitude 
 42°. If this be true, and Great Britain admitted it by 
 the convention of 1789, and these rights being ceded to 
 us by the treaty of Oregon, of course Oregon belongs 
 to the United States, and not to England. But let us 
 glance at the treaty between France and Spain, that 
 establishes our right beyond controversy. By the treaty 
 of Utrecht, of 1714, the boundary line between the British 
 Hudson Bay possessions on the north, and the French 
 possessions on the south, including Canada and Louisiana, 
 begins on the Atlantic ocean, in latitude 58° 30 north, 
 runs thence south to Lake Mistasin, and thence south- 
 west to north latitude 59°, and thence west indefinite- 
 ly ; and by the treaty of Paris, of 1763, the Mississippi is 
 recognised as the western British and eastern French 
 boundary. By this very treaty France yields all her pos- 
 sessions in Canada, south of a Hne beginning at the Atlan- 
 tic ocean, in north latitude 58° 30, running thence south- 
 
OREGON. W 
 
 west to latitude 49°, and thence due west to the northeast 
 comer of liouisiana. Here we find both of these treaties 
 excluding the British from every thing west of the Missis- 
 sippi, and south of north latitude 49°. And as Britain is 
 excluded by the Spanish convention of 1790, from all ter- 
 ritorial rights north of this French boundary, (latitude 49°,) 
 she is excluded from the whole northwest coast, north of 
 the Mexican boundary of north latitude 42°. Then, as 
 England never had a right to this territory, except an ex- 
 ploded discovery of the pirate Drake, and acknowledged a 
 French right in 1714 and 1763, and an American right to 
 any pretence of British claim in 1783, and a Spanish right 
 in 1790 ; and as France acknowledged an American right 
 in 1803, and Spain an American right in 1819, Oregon is 
 now American and not British. We have presented these 
 facts, many of which have been stated before, but they go 
 lucidly to prove the validity of the American title, and the 
 utter absurdity of British claims. 
 
 > British Claims. r^ . j 
 
 1st. Great Britain founds her right on the commercial 
 treaty of Spain in 1790, which we admit was solenmly 
 made and entered into. It was, however, afterwards fully 
 and completely abrogated by war between the two nations, 
 before Spain transferred her claim to the United States. 
 This was admitted by all nations, and by Great Britain 
 herself, which of course gave to Spain the right and power 
 to dispose of this territory, which was bona fide and vir- 
 tually her own, in any manner she saw fit. - -.i 
 t-" 2dly. She rests her claim on pretended priority to the 
 Columbia river, denying its discovery by Captain Gray in 
 1792, and giving the credit of it to one of her own naviga- 
 tors, (Mr. Mears,) in 1788, four years after its discovery by 
 Captain Gray. She also affirms that some of her own 
 
OREGON. 
 
 subjects, while on an exploring expedition, sailed a con- 
 siderable distance up the Columbia river, exploring its 
 coasts for many miles, apd bringing away with them, as 
 an evidence of the truth of their story, many remarkable 
 productions of the earth, which their own soil had never 
 produced. This, however, was proven to be futile through- 
 out, and was not at all regarded as an evidence of the va- 
 lidity of their title. Moreover, it was afterwards proven 
 that, instead of Mears coasting along the shore from lati- 
 tude 49°, he was sailing in the longitude of 488 to longitude 
 458, and was, in truth, hundreds of miles distant from the 
 mouth of the Columbia. As another evidence of the entire 
 failure of his purpose, soon after his return to London, 
 fully satisfied that the idea of a northwestern coast was 
 false and visionary, he gave to the cape and bay of Colum- 
 bia the name of Cape Disappointment and Deception Bay, 
 and published in the daily journals of the city, some of 
 which reached this country, a history of his voyage, never 
 mentioning the discovery which was afterwards attributed 
 to him with so much plausibility. 
 
 3dly. Great Britain admits that the 3d article of the Flo- 
 rida treaty fully vests in the United States all the rights 
 which belong to Spain, but maintains a right to joint-occu- 
 pancy, and to a participation in all the resources and ad- 
 vantages of Oregon, under the treaty of 1827. She con- 
 tends that all the rights and privileges granted to her by 
 the 3d article of the convention of 1790, commonly called 
 the Nootka Convention, have never been invalidated, and 
 that the same rights she then exercised, having never been 
 annulled, hold good now as then. Though there was at 
 one time a tacit acknowledgment, on the part of Great Brit- 
 ain, that they had no claims upon this part of the territory, 
 by not interfering or objecting to, in any way, the establish- 
 ment of American settlements, many of which stretched 
 
OREGON'. 21 
 
 along the coast for many miles, when their own vessels, 
 laden with their own goods, were passing up and down the 
 river every day ; they now insist that the treaty of peace 
 between Spain and Great Britain revived, or renewed, 
 these stipulations, rendering them as good as ever, and 
 placing them in full operation. She has, surely, no claims 
 by cession, except what she may have obtained by the 
 Nootka treaty, all the rights of France and Spain having 
 been ceded to the United States by formal cession — ^the 
 first by the Louisiana treaty, the second by the Florida 
 treaty of 1819. The rights of Great Britain are defined in 
 the convention of 1790, which we quote as follows : "They 
 embrace the right to navigate the waters of that country, 
 and to trade with the inhabitants and occupiers of the 
 same.'" :-..;. i-s.ci..'* ''.'iiiv-rnt^ 
 
 The reason why England is so very tenacious of her 
 claims to this territory is, that ever since 1813 there has 
 been a steady and constantly increasing intercourse between 
 Oregon and that nation; they have established their fisheries 
 wherever they could, together with their posts and trading 
 houses, which may be found in the interior of the country, 
 and on the tributary streams that can only be reached 
 through the channel of the Columbia. This Government 
 is anxious, as we admit all other Governments are, to ex- 
 tend its vast trade throughout the world, gradually to ex- 
 tend its dominion, and, above all, to place the Hudson 
 Bay Company (which has been often spoken of by Hus- 
 kisson and Addington) on a foundation that cannot be in- 
 terfered with. After the free undisturbed use of these 
 waters, which for the last fitly years have been the means 
 of hheir carrying on so extensively and v<3uccessfully the fur 
 trade, the benefits of which have been felt and appreciated 
 throughout her borders, they are very reluctant, naturally 
 so, to surrender that which for a long time they have 
 
a» OREGON. 
 
 claimed as their own, without, as they think, the assign- 
 ment on our part of any good or just reason. With res- 
 pect to the occupancy of Oregon, the British are not so te- 
 nacious as formerly. Some few years ago a large number 
 of fur traders made considerable fortunes from their estab- 
 lishments planted on the different streams; they were system- 
 atic in all their operations, which is the* great secret of suc- 
 cess in every thing; and there was a congeniality of feeling 
 and of sentiment, which brought about the liveliest interest. 
 The fur was carried to London at a verj trifling' expense, 
 prepared for market, and sold at tremendous profits; they 
 bad vessels of their own, and all that was required was the 
 necessary time of conveyance. The fur-bearing animals 
 of late are not so abundant ; the number has greatly and 
 perceptibly diminished, and those which are most sought, 
 because of their value, are hid in the mountain caverns and 
 recesses, away from the rifle of the huntsman. The pro- 
 ceeds of the sales, indeed the quantity of fur procured, has 
 decreased to almost one-half of what it was in 1829 and 
 1830 ; as the population increases so will the number of 
 these animals diminish, until at last all interest will be lost 
 Irom their scarcity. -.^^i.tfj ;?» £,-wS..m 
 
 *" It is said by Mr. Wyth, a gentleman distinguished for 
 his practical knowledge, and admired for his virtues and 
 noble bearing, "that the profits are hardly worth the labor." 
 He has conducted two parties, at different times, across 
 the Rocky Mountains, and resided west of them for several 
 years, and has never been able to realize even a moderate 
 profit; he says, "that the profits of the Hudson Bay Com- 
 pany, from their collection of furs, within the befora named 
 limits, did not, in 1836, exceed the sum of j|(10,000." This 
 is a very small profit, looking to the number interested in 
 the enterprise. 
 . It appears that, in 1826, Mr. Clay consented to yield to 
 
OREGON. 23 
 
 Great Britain one third of this territory. The question had 
 been before the consideration of the American people for 
 some time, and was ably discussed throughout the land 
 by men whose opinions were entitled to weight, and 
 who had carefully examined it in all its bearings, with 
 regard to our country as well as Great Britain. This 
 distinguished man acted, as he thought, with the consent 
 and approbation of a majority of the people. Soon after- 
 wards, it was hoped and believed, that Lord Ashburton 
 had been sent from England with full p'>wer and authority 
 to adjust all disputes and difficulties, and to bring, if pos- 
 sible, all contested points to an amicable settlement ; but 
 after his arrival it was ascertained that he was only em- 
 powered to settle one question of dispute. He remained 
 in America some time at the seat of Government ; and it 
 was at first thought that, though he was apparently indif- 
 ferent, not having any thing to say or do with those au- 
 thorized to settle the question, that he was, in truth, ex- 
 pressly sent to negotiate tlie matter, and would in a short 
 time enter upon his duties ; this, however, proved to be a 
 mistake, and the Lord returned to England without taking 
 any action whatever. It is possible that he was the bearer 
 of secret despatches to the British minister, and it was sur- 
 mised by some that he was, though there was nothing po- 
 sitive ascertained, or that could be relied on. We cannot 
 help thinking that we have clearly proven, from a deduc- 
 tion of plain facts and statistics, the validity of our title, 
 under the law of nations, to the territory of Oregon ; that, 
 in demanding that portion of it extending to 49°, we are 
 violating no cession or treaty, nor infringing upon the 
 rights of England, or any other power; that we have a 
 pei /i3ct right to send our people there, with our constitu- 
 tion and laws, plant our dock-yards, arsenals, and fortifi- 
 cations, and through all time to come, unless our country, 
 
24 OREGON. 
 
 in her giant etrides in all that appertains to national honor 
 and glory, meets with some unlooked for and revolution- 
 izing catastrophe, to exercise all the rights and immunities 
 of a republican Government, and the privileges of a free 
 people. f ' ^ • '- •'' > 
 
 ■yiil!^ '•»»;»'% .r»^t«v,., . , , ,. V :.. j . : •.>;.,;?. • . . ,{ 
 
 -jmj vino fijivf ;?il t^a; i »•<;}!■:»•• ►* -< . : '•-•\r. 
 
 ^IJB ;;'■ v/U ^iJi-^r .►;• "^'i ^ ■ - i 
 
 ■■^■^ -J^rj; ;;f -'w/ ' i . ; : • . . .. .^. . 
 
 . r. V-- ' 'if., ' ' ,.;? .• :. 
 
 i : -. ' ; : -r-yi • >* </■ . . ; .. 
 
 ioantio ml .ivj ^ :■•!■>. -.^.i . .. ..• > • . . >•» ir: 
 
 •■■in J- > r \ ' <.• ni;i »: - '^ ifi it.jii tl\'. 
 
n> u * ' - ■■ . i 
 
 u: - =5 CHAP. II. . , ,, 
 
 What has been done to maintain this title ? ' '''' 
 
 We answer, that the Government has done absolutely 
 nothing. Though for many years continual aggressions 
 have been made by the British, who have been taking gra- 
 dual possession of this territory, sending over every year 
 their own population, under the protection of their flag, 
 and furnishing them with vessels of war in case of an at- 
 tack, the Congress of the United States has remained per- 
 fectly indifferent, though these facts were presented for 
 their consideration every day in the public prints of the 
 land. This course has been pursued and tolerated for so 
 long a time, that really, to remove them, surrounded as 
 they are by fortifications, and every means of defence, 
 would require a formidable army. There they are, and 
 there they have been for years undisturbed in their pur- 
 suits, and unmolested by foreign interference. They fear- 
 lessly, as they should have done if determined at all haz- 
 ards to execute their design, took up, with the eyes of the 
 world resting upon them, the implements of husbandry — 
 the spade, hammer, and axe — and went forth, with a cou- 
 rage that braved all difficulties, into the very interior of this 
 wilderness, to open a new field for generations to come. 
 Many attempts were made, by the timid and doubting, to 
 deter them in their brave and philanthropic enterprise ; the 
 dangers incident to the voyage and settlement were elo- 
 quently pourtrayed and vividly painted by the strong oppo- 
 sition who held up the idea to scorn ; the press teemed 
 with melancholy forebodings and revolting prophesies; 
 but nothing would swerve them ; they resolved to brook 
 all difficulties, and prove to the world that " perseverance 
 
98 OREGON. 
 
 and labor conquers all things." Their object has been in 
 a great measure accomplished ; where the foot of the red 
 man trod, they have erected their huts and cabins, and the 
 hum of the loom and spinning-jenny tell their purpose to 
 carry on the work of civiHzation. They have become per- 
 manent settlers, perfectly acclimated and well satisfied; 
 and they are anticipating what they will soon reaUze, un- 
 less we take some firm and decisive step— an increase, and 
 a vast one, of the British population. Had it not been for 
 Mr. Jefferson^s message to Congress in 1803, recommend- 
 ing, and almost insisting upon, the exploration of the north- 
 western coast by our own men, Lewis and Clark, and urg- 
 ing, in language almost irresistible, the propriety and ab- 
 solute necessity of making an appropriation for carrying 
 on this work, the undertaking, in all probability, would 
 never have been made ; or, if made, relinquished before its 
 consummation. Congress, at first, was opposed to the 
 scheme, to the surprise and indignation of all parties, for 
 party had nothing to do with a matter purely national in 
 its character and results ; and had it not learned in a very 
 short time the wishes of the people, and that the rejection 
 of a proposition, coming from a statesman so capable of 
 advising, which was so admirable and politic, being uni- 
 versally approved, the presumption is that no action would 
 have been taken whatever, while the British were perfect- 
 ing plans and making inroads which foretold their ultimate 
 success, unless a change took place. After the subject had 
 been considered by the members, the appropriation was 
 made, and here the matter rested, most unfortunately, for 
 a long period of time. Nothing was done until 1815, an 
 interim of twelve years. At this most important and criti- 
 cal juncture the whole nation, the Legislatures of the dif- 
 ferent States, Congress, the Senate, the ex-Presidents, and 
 all in authority, seemed to labor under a false impression 
 
OREGON. 27 
 
 that England had no idea of sending her forces to Oregon • 
 that she was so deeply engrossed with her internal affairs, 
 then somewhat disturbed, that no attention would be paid 
 to minor considerations. The opinion was, that she re- 
 garded it as a wild sterile region, for which she would not 
 give one farthing, and that no fear need be apprehended of 
 her taking possession. At this very time the greatest minds 
 were projecting ways and means by which they could 
 claim, not a part, but the whole of the territory. The sub- 
 ject was not introduced into the House of Commons^ for 
 fear of its being made public ; an attempt was made to do 
 so, which failed. The whole country was on tiptoe, in- 
 cluding Scotland and Ireland, and all the distant domin- 
 ions of Great Britain, to send over their colonies and oc- 
 cupy the whole territory, until the United States, perceiv- 
 ing this intenti )n, positively and emphatically demanded 
 the restoration of Astoria, under the first article of the 
 treaty of Ghent. Thi« caused a panic throughout England ; 
 it came upon them at a time when they thought their 
 scheme was in the very act of being carried out. They 
 little suspected what was going on, when it was believed 
 that the United States was indifferent about the possession 
 of Oregon, considering it incapable of cultivation. This 
 application they seemed unwilling to grant; she considered 
 it unreasonable, in view of the long time that had elapsed 
 since she sent over her first settlers, and a trespass upon 
 her own rights. The American Government was prompt 
 and decisive, reminding her of the lessons taught her in 
 1775 and 1776, and insisting that she had no right to claim 
 that which all nations had acknowledged not her own. 
 The surrender was made, though with great reluctance ; 
 and the British, though yielding to the application, felt con- 
 vinced that, in the course of time, the United States would 
 underrate the value of this vast territory, and consequently 
 
28 OREGON. 
 
 abandon all claim to it. She found that the title, if not 
 false, was founded on the merest pretences, which would 
 not justify her in taking hostile steps; and, though her 
 leading men in Parliament and out of it, were strong in 
 their abuse and denunciation of the prevailing opinion in 
 America, that the cession of Spain gave to the United 
 States the clear and undeniable right of occupancy, and 
 was valid in all time to come. It happened, soon after, 
 that England founded her claims on an absurd title of dis- 
 covery before alluded to — an annulled treaty with Spain — 
 and upon a miserable fancy of a fanatical priest, whose 
 imaginary travels and discoveries are ridiculed and dis- 
 credited by their own historians, and by all contemporary 
 and subsequent authors. These pretensions, as all other 
 British pretensions have been, and must be, are now sanc- 
 tioned by the principal men of Europe. The negotiation 
 of 1827, which gave to Great Britain the right of joint-oc- 
 cupancy, and the privilege of erecting settlements, and the 
 free use of the Columbia river and its tributaries, greatly 
 added to her assumptions, confirmed her purpose to ad- 
 vance in the enterprise, and the intelligence was enthusi- 
 astically hailed from one part of the country to the other. 
 There were meetings of rejoicing and congratulation in 
 several of the largest towns and cities ; in Manchester, for 
 instance, there was a regular organized party, who insisted 
 upon having Oregon, if not by compromise and negotia- 
 tion, at the cost of blood and treasure. Those meetings 
 were riotous and noisy, the speeches were characterized 
 by violence and fanaticism ; appeals were made to the pas- 
 sions and prejudices of the populace; no argument, no 
 ^' sober second thought;^' nothing done that was calculated 
 to maintain peace and good order. This treaty of 1827 
 was regarded as a passport to aggression ; a tacit acknow- 
 ledgment of the willingness of the United States to submit 
 
OREGON. 29 
 
 to her superior claims. An impetus was thus given to her 
 movements ; ships were manned and fitted up, and there 
 was a spirit abroad which plainly foretold their determi- 
 nation to be gradual, but certain, in the occupation of the 
 whole territory. The people of America, notwithstanding 
 this general excitement, remained perfectly inactive, and 
 rather consented, by their silence, to the proposed assump- 
 tion, making no effort to put an end to this maniac spirit, 
 sending out no forces to defend her own soil, causing no 
 excitement to bring abou^ a determined will, but only 
 threatening, not intending, to execute, unless from dire 
 necessity. 
 
 What has been done to maintain our title, to uphold 
 our rights, which those who have gone before us pro- 
 nounced to be clear } Where is that chivalrous spirit, so 
 nobly displayed at Bunker Hill, Georgetown, and Prince- 
 ton? We have a perfect and undeniable right to maintain 
 our jurisdiction ; all must admit it who view this question 
 impartially. If so, why this apparent indifference .'* Why 
 this putting off, from one yearns end to another, a matter 
 that touches so vitally the national good? Delay will avail 
 nothing ; on the contrary, it will soon bring with it dangers 
 and difficulties. Have not foreign nations, wholly disin- 
 terested, concurred with us in opinion that our title is as 
 good as it can be, being sustained by the law of nations ? 
 What more is needed ? Do we want additional evidence 
 to confirm it ? If treaties and cessions, solemnly made at 
 times of peace in convention, are not sacred, we should 
 like to know what is binding between nation and nation. 
 If they are not annulled by agreement, are they not 
 obligatory? The people of the United States, though 
 having permitted years to pass without vindicating their 
 rights, should act at once, resolutely, firmly, and fearlessly. 
 
 Emigration should take place instanter; we should people 
 4 
 
iP OREGON. 
 
 this land, precisely as the farmer peoples his plantation ; 
 and any foreign attack should meet with our prompt and 
 united resistance ; our fortifications and harbors should be 
 built forthwith, and an appropriation made by Congress, 
 recommended by the Executive, to defray the necessary 
 expenses. That which belongs to us, which all admit to 
 be our own, save those who are prejudiced, England has 
 never had any respect for whatever. She has looked upon 
 our laws and commercial regulations with indifference find 
 contempt, and ridiculed the theory of our system of Go- 
 vernment. We should allow no nation to invade our rights ; 
 and, if needs be, they should be valiantly defended at the 
 cannon's mouth. We never interfere with the rights and 
 property of other countries ; we have nothing to do with 
 them, directly or indirectly; they are separate and distinct 
 powers, with their own authorities and legislative functions, 
 and have a right to exercise them in their own way. This 
 principle has been carefully observed by the American peo- 
 ple, who love their honor as they do the^ " lives, and are 
 ready at any time to strike a blow for their country. 
 
 In a letter from Mr. Hugh Bums, dated Multnomah 
 city, Oregon territory, October 29, 1844, we find the fol- 
 lowing very interesting statement: "There is one very im- 
 portant thing that emigrants to this country should bear in 
 mind, and it is starting early in the spring. They should 
 be one hundred miles at least above the settlements by 
 the first day of May. By so doing they will accomplish 
 two things that will be of the utmost importance to them. 
 By starting in April they will be enabled to cross all the 
 rivers, east of the mountains, before the melting snows 
 swell the streams. Secondly. If they manage well, and 
 donH get too lazy, they can get here by the first of Sep- 
 tember. Thus they will reach here in fine weather, and 
 can build their houses and sow their wheat before the bad 
 
OREGON. 31 
 
 weather sets in. If they do not start before the usual time, 
 (May 20,) they are sure to meet the summer freshet, and 
 this will detain them some three or four weeks. Besides, 
 it delays them so much that they cannot get here until late 
 in the fall ; and in crossing the Cascade Mountain, which 
 is far the worst mountain they have to cross, they will 
 meet with rain or snow, and the mountain torrent from 
 those snow-capped mounds which overhang the way. The 
 emigrants should not come by water from the Dalles, for 
 it is a dangerous stream. If any of your friends are com- 
 ing across, tell them as soon as they can get ten wagons 
 and thirty men together, to put plenty of provisions and 
 ammunition in their wagons, and start. Ten wagons are 
 enough. All this bugbear about the Indians is got up by 
 the mountain men who are in the States, and want to get 
 back to Oregon and the mountains, and get paid for it. 
 I say again, that ten wagons and thirty men is better than 
 five times the number; for the small number can always 
 move along with more rapidity, equal safety, and harmony ; 
 and, what is particularly desirable, always obtain plenty of 
 good bread and meat. Let them give their soap tubs to 
 their friends, for we donH want any of their sofl soap here. 
 Some of the last year's emigration actually brought their 
 old wash and soap tubs all the way from Clinton county. 
 
 In my last I informed you that I had laid off a town, and 
 named it Multnomah city. On the opposite side of the 
 river, east of this, is Oregon city, which is improving ra- 
 pidly. It already boasts three saw mills and two flour 
 mills, one with four run of stone, with the best machinery 
 I ever saw in a mill ; one hundred and forty houses; a tan 
 yard, brick yard, and mechanics' shops of all necessary 
 trades. We have also a brig of two hundred tons under 
 way ; and house building is only retarded by the want of 
 nails. In every other respect, too, our country improves 
 
32 OREGON. 
 
 beyond description. I never saw such harvests ; it would 
 gratify you to see the loads of wheat that pour into this 
 section, to be manufactured into flour for exportation. The 
 emigrants of last fall did not secure their claims until 
 Christmas, and many built their cabins, made fences, broke 
 up the new ground, and raised as much as a thousand 
 bushels of wheat. I wish I could send you a sample 
 of this. We can plough all the winter. The work- 
 ing cattle get nothing but grass through the winter, and 
 keep in fine order; some of our farmers own as many 
 as five hundred cattle, and but few less than fifty. The 
 times are very good here; produce and labor both high. 
 Flour ten dollars per barrel -, beef six dollars per 100 lbs.; 
 pork ten do.; wheat one dollar per bushel; potatoes fifty 
 cents do.; peas one do.; coffee 25 cents per pound ; molas- 
 ses 63 cents per gallon ; salt one dollar per bushel ; iron 
 12^ cents per pound ; cast steel 38 cents do.; board four 
 dollars per week ; common laborers two dollars per day ; 
 mechanics four dollars per day. By this Hst you can judge 
 yourself Besides. I should say that we are a debt-paying 
 people, and ought to be a happy people. But one thing ia 
 wanting, and this our Government should long since have 
 extended to us — I mean its protection." 
 
 It appears that the writer of this letter is deeply sur^ 
 prised at the want of interest which is manifested by the 
 people of the United States respecting the American set^ 
 tiers in Oregon. It is a direct and urgent appeal to Congress, 
 and one that should be heeded without the least hesitation ; 
 a vast majority of the American people are in favor of it, 
 and they are in favor of it because of the progress that is 
 being made every day in population, in the arts and sci. 
 ences, and in all that appertains to national wealth and 
 greatness. There cannot be an extension of our people 
 and laws, unless protection is afforded ; it would be truly 
 
R £ O > . 
 
 33 
 
 surprising if there was. Mankind will never surrender the 
 inestimable privileges of social life, and the advantages of 
 civilization and refinement, without a guaranty of as good or 
 a better state. Here his person and property are protected 
 by the laws of the land ; and in changing his condition, 
 and removing to a distjant and hardly civilized country, he 
 knows not what his condition maybe, ^^ whether safe or 
 unsafe, happy or unhappy." .. . 
 
 a ■■i 
 
 I' , 
 
 . I 
 
 it.:-- 
 t 
 
 « ■ 
 
 ill 
 
 5i i <• '111 '» ; • 
 
 ^>."»?- 
 
 ■ :•( 
 

 CHAP. III. 
 
 What is the progress of British pretensions to Oregon ? 
 
 We propose out of her own mouth to condemn her. 
 This country, on the 6th of October, 1818, virtually sur- 
 rendered her claims, fully recognising the American title, 
 and giving up her entire and absolute allegiance; but 
 strange to say, in the same month, before said surrender 
 was hardly known in the United States, it is a positive 
 truth that it had not reached the extreme southwest, when 
 England commenced a most dishonorable and unjustifiable 
 policy of keeping the question of settlement in abeyance^ 
 that she might first assume., and then assert her title. 
 Though this course was deprecated, not only in the United 
 States but likewise in England — we mean by the yeomanry, 
 as well as by men of good talents and high standing — 
 those who were groaning under the iron sceptre of monarch- 
 ical bondage expressed their opinion in open opposition 
 to a course at once unjustifiable and dishonorable, and at 
 variance with the common usages of all nations. The ex- 
 citement for a long time was tremendous — the whole coun- 
 try seemed to be in a ferment ; Scotland and Ireland, and 
 all the distant provinces of Great Britain, did not hesitate 
 to avow openly their uncompromising opposition. The 
 storm at last subsided, and the question, from that day to 
 this, has remained unsettled; which may be attributed to 
 want of firmness and decision on the part of our men in 
 authority. They should have insisted, resolutely, on a 
 final and honorable adjustment, uninfluenced by any other 
 consideration. The question ought not to have remained 
 unsettled a day longer than necessity required ; prompt 
 and energetic action should have been taken, bringing 
 
O R £ 6 O iX . 35 
 
 together all conflicting elements, compromising all difficul- 
 ties, or causing an open rupture. The representatives of 
 the American people have been eye-witnesses to the pohcy 
 of England ; they have had before them, for years, her 
 entire history, with its long catalogue of abuses, from 
 which they might glean valuable and instructive lessons ; 
 but they have been waiting, we suppose, for an opportu- 
 nity — for a proper time — to assert and maintain our rights. 
 Can any future time be more suitable for the settlement 
 of the question than the approaching session of Con- 
 gress ? Will the present state of affairs admit of pro- 
 crastination ? Does not the experience of the past — ^"the 
 most faithful and trusty of all monitors^' — tell us that 
 delay may be attended with the most unfortunate and se- 
 rious results ? In proportion as the delay is great, so are 
 difficulties increased and obstacles made stronger. The 
 British emigration will increase, and their trading houses 
 multiply, until the whole territory will be covered with 
 their posts and settlements. Great Britain will ask again, 
 why she has been permitted so long to enjoy the advan- 
 , tages and benefits of this country without American inter- 
 ference ? Why she has not been before driven to her own 
 coasts, if the title under which she founds her claim were 
 false and illegal ? Why she has not been denied, years 
 ago, the navigation of the Columbia river, 'if it belonged 
 exclusively to the United States, and was open to no other 
 country ? These questions must arise, and they can be 
 answered neither plausibly nor honorably. 
 
 The question of boundary should have been settled long 
 ago, but better ^^ late than never,^^ and the rights and lim- 
 its of each party clearly defined and firmly established, so 
 that there will be no possible chance of collision hereafter. 
 This can be done in a very short time by a committee of 
 Congress, and the people of thip country will then know 
 
36 OREGON. 
 
 how to act, and what to expect. It was hoped, in the year 
 1844, that the difficulty, being submitted to Messrs. Cal- 
 houn and Packenham, would be settled forever ; that their 
 diplomatic knowledge and profound skill would enable them 
 to put at rest so vexed and troublesome a question. Deep 
 anxiety was felt every where, but unfortunately there was no 
 understanding, and nothing done that was definite; obstacles 
 were in the way that could not be removed ; justice to both 
 Governments, it appears, could not be done, and there was 
 an indefinite postponement. Since that period there has been 
 a change in the afiairs of the Government; a new administra- 
 tion has taken charge of afiairs, and we find, in its very out- 
 set, the President, to the delight of all parties, declaring post- 
 tively, from the portico of the Capitol, surrounded by thou- 
 sands of his fellow-citizens, that our title to this territory is 
 ^^ clear and indisputable.'''^ Here we find p fixed settled 
 conviction, expressed in the very outset of ins administra- 
 tion, that we are claiming what belongs to us, on the au- 
 thority of the law of nations. It has been contended by 
 England, that the Columbia river is the only inlet, and of 
 consequence outlet, to their establishments on the difierent 
 tributaries ; and, as such, they would not consent, under 
 any circumstances, or on any terms, to a surrender of it. 
 But subsequent developments have exploded this excuse, 
 and put an end to any future difficulty. The Colum- 
 bia river, several years ago, was, in truth, the only na- 
 vigable channel of communication between the ocean and 
 most of the trading houses of the Hudson Bay Company 
 west of the Rocky Mountains. Since then there have been 
 several rivers discovered of considerable size, viz : Frazer^s 
 river, called by Harmon the ^^ Nocholttatura,^' in latitude 
 53° ; Stickene^s river, in 56° 50 ; together with a num- 
 ber of other small streams, to which as yet no names 
 have been assigned. It is very certain that Great Britain 
 
OREGON. 37 
 
 will never consent to relinquish her right to the free use of 
 the straits of Juan de Fuca ; if she continues to hold the 
 region north of 49°, it is almost impossible for her to do 
 without them; they are essential in her trading oper- 
 ations, inasmuch as they afford convenient and safe access 
 to a large and valuable portion of the territory. These 
 straits are of considerable size, being at the entrance three 
 leagues wide, from which the width greatly increases. It 
 is surrounded by a number of fertile and beautiful islands, 
 many of them the finest and most accessible harbors in the 
 world, and the fishing for miles around is said to be excel- 
 lent. A distinguished writer thus speaks of ^^ Admiralty In- 
 let: it branches off to the south, and runs towards the main 
 stream of the Columbia, to the latitude of 47° ; and all 
 these islands, harbors, and inlets, will be within our limits 
 should we claim the region up to 49°. This strait, with 
 all its branches, being easy of access, safe, and navigable 
 at all seasons, and in any weather, while the mouth of the 
 Columbia is at all times dangerous to enter, and for a con- 
 siderable part of the year almost inaccessible. I cannot 
 but think that the strait will ultimately be the great chan- 
 nel through which will pass most of the products of the 
 whole region drained by the Columbia and its branches.''^ 
 This division of the subject has greatly excited the public 
 attention, merely because it has been generally thought 
 that Great Britain would never agree to surrender it; upon 
 this point, however, she has been exceedingly tenacious, 
 and in all the negotiations that have been made the fact 
 has been observed and remarked. This is not surpris- 
 ing, for the acquisition of this region would be extremely 
 valuable to her, particularly in her commercial operations, 
 and also as a resort for her ships of war and commerce. It 
 is true, the general aspect of the whole country — its adap- 
 tation to agriculture — has been greatly exaggerated, being 
 
38 OREGON. 
 
 represented by some writers as a paradise, where riches 
 could be accumulated almost by magic ; while others have 
 spoken of it as a country unfit for any purpose whatever. 
 It has been conjectured, by several reasoning men, that it 
 is so entirely covered with immense beds of rock and flint, 
 which extend over whole acres down to the very coasts of 
 the river, that it would be impossible to attempt, with suc- 
 cess, any thing like husbandry. 
 
 According to my observations and researches, both of 
 these accounts have been greatly exaggerated. Those 
 who have painted its beauty, looked at it doubtless in con- 
 trast with the dreary regions they had passed through in 
 reaching it; for the whole country, sometimes for hundreds 
 of miles, presents a dreary and uninviting aspect, while 
 others may not have made sufficient allowance for the 
 gloomy appearance which a large portion of an uncultivated 
 country, in a very high latitude, usually presents. A me- 
 moir, prepared by Mr. Wyth a few years since at the request 
 of Congress, contains the clearest, most important, and faith- 
 ful representation of the territory, its soil, climate, &c., 
 which we have met with. The following is an extract: 
 
 " South of the parallel of 49°, near the borders of Ad- 
 miralty Inlet and Puget's Sound, and in the valley of the 
 Wallamette or Multnomah river, which empties into the 
 Columbia, and upon the banks of which the principal set- 
 tlements of emigrants from the United States have been 
 made, and in some other places, the appearance of the 
 country is attractive, the soil good, and well adapted to 
 agricultural purposes ; and so likewise is the eastern side 
 of Queen Charlotte^s islands, and some other places north 
 of 49°. But I have neither seen nor heard of lands in any 
 part of this territory, that are superior to the millions upon 
 milHons of uncultivated acres within the limits of the United 
 States, on this side of the Rocky Mountains ; and I doubt 
 
OREGON. 39 
 
 it' those who arc dissatisfied with the state of things east- 
 ward of those mountains, will find ^heir condition much 
 improved by emigration to Oregon. They will find, as 
 emigrants to a new and unsettled country have too often 
 found, that — 
 
 *♦ 'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view." 
 
 One thing is very certain, that our right and title to this 
 territory is beyond cavil or dispute, and it matters not 
 whether it is the most fertile portion of the world, or the 
 most barren and unproductive, it is ours, and we have a 
 right to it ; surrender it or not, as our Executive and Con- 
 gress see fit, we consider the title as clear as that which 
 gave to the United States Florida or Louisiana, and no 
 country has a right to claim it, any more than they have a 
 right to claim either of these States. 
 
 By the 3d article of the treaty of London, we repeat, it 
 was agreed that the country on the northwest coast of 
 America, claimed by either party, should be open for ten 
 years « without prejudice to the claims of either. About 
 this time Great Britain seemed to be coming to her senses 
 — ^to value properly the claims of the United States, and 
 to view the question in a tolerably fair light — a majority 
 of those who had been most excited ceased, in a great 
 measure, their denunciations, and affairs began to wear a 
 quiet aspect; but in the memorable treaty of 1827, Mr. 
 Adams and Mr. Clay, the former acting as President and 
 the latter as Secretary of State, consented, most unfortu- 
 nately, to give to Great Britain all north of 49°. This un- 
 popular move was hailed with joy and gladness in the Bri- 
 tish Parliament and in England, and one burst of congrat- 
 ulation rang throughout her borders; politicians of all 
 classes and grades, as well as religious sects — protestants, 
 catholics, and calvinists — joined in the jubilee. It is not 
 surprising that this intelligence was highly gratifying, for 
 
40 OREGON. 
 
 the opportunity was at once afforded her to claim, by de- 
 grees, the exclusive territory. Since this time forward 
 England began to set up her pretensions in a stronger and 
 more forcible light than ever, and they have been progress- 
 ing rapidly ever since. But the claim was not bona fide ; 
 hardly twelve months had elapsed since the British nego- 
 tiation of 1826 declared in the face of the world, ^' that 
 Great Britain claimed no exclusive authority over any 
 portion of that territory?''' Here the question was put at 
 rest; this people had declared solemnly, in view of their 
 naked pretensions and their obviously false claims, that 
 they were willing to let the subject rest — to decline any 
 further disputation or debate. But in one short year the 
 fires were rekindled. Unlucky era for America ! "Great 
 Britain claimed no exclusive authority," while the treaty 
 of 1827 gave her the right of joint-occupancy. From this 
 negotiation, it has been aptly said, has been hatched the 
 chicken "that now flaps its wings, and crows over the em- 
 pire corporation which England is cherishing to emulate 
 in Oregon." Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, acting as the agents 
 of the United States, were placed in truly a responsible 
 situation ; all eyes were turned to them in eager expecta- 
 tion, while performing so high and important a public trust; 
 and the most intense solicitude pervaded the whole Union, 
 from its northern to its southern borders. Hopes were en- 
 tertained every where that the question would be finally 
 and amicably settled, and that Great Britain, as she had con- 
 sented to do, would exercise no longer any jurisdiction ; 
 that the United States would take a firm and undeviating 
 position, proving to the world that knowing her rights she 
 means to maintain them. But the issue was had, and un- 
 looked for it came upon the American people when they 
 were unprepared for the blow, and they felt it severely. 
 Great Britain became a joint-tenant! a co laborer in the 
 
OREGON. 41 
 
 vineyard ; exercising the right and privilege of coasting in 
 ail directions, and planting her forces wherever she saw 
 fit. The Columbia river, and all its tributaries, was open to 
 her ; and she had a right to locate her men where she pleas- 
 ed, and no one could interfere with them. Six and twenty 
 years have been permitted to pass unimproved ; the ques- 
 tion stands now as then, with this exception, that the claims 
 of England are doubly stronger to-day than when this ne- 
 gotiation was entered into. She has increased in popula- 
 tion, sent over additional vessels to guard her possessions, 
 as she calls them, built fortifications, and increased her 
 naval stores, until she regards the whole territory as vir- 
 tually surrendered by the United States. For some time 
 past strong fears have been entertained by the agents and 
 superintendents of the Hudson Bay Company, that they 
 would be disturbed in their operations ; and in that view 
 they have stationed vessels on the coast, and also a steamer 
 of large size, to conduct the intercourse. Notwithstanding 
 these facts, which are no less true than startling. Congress 
 a few years ago, when urged to do so by a number of Re- 
 presentatives, refused to take any action whatever. A dis- 
 tinguished member of the Senate (Hon. Rufus Choate, of 
 Massachusetts) asks the question, " If we have waited so 
 quietly for twenty-six years for the adjustment of this ques- 
 tion, he does not see why we should not wait longer." To 
 prove at once the danger and fallacy of this argument we 
 will suppose a case. Suppose the gentleman^s own house 
 was in flames, and a few buckets of water and a little ex- 
 ertion would save it, would he think of delaying until the 
 devouring element had well nigh destroyed his house, and 
 defied all human power to save it? This is a case in point. 
 Great Britain is every year more zealous in establishing 
 her rights, and making known to the world her intention 
 to take possession as soon as she can ; of course, the longer 
 
4*2 OREGON. 
 
 we delay the extension of our jurisdiction, in proportion 
 will difficulties increase. Congress should take prompt and 
 immediate action, demanding and enforcing the rights that 
 belong to us, and upholding that American spirit which 
 was so fully exemplified in the fathers of the revolution. 
 Tiic question may be very properly asked, what remedy 
 can be applied to arrest British encroachments ? What 
 plan adopted that will meet with the universal consent and 
 approbation of the American people ? Are we to permit 
 their flag to be planted, and their institutions estabUshed, 
 on our own soil, without an attempt to redress such wrongs? 
 Is no step to be taken to arrest them in their march of as- 
 sumption and illegality ? Let Congress answer these ques- 
 tions. One thing is very certain, that she will never recede 
 until necessity compels her. That we know from expe- 
 rience. They are ambitious to claim the world as their 
 own ; that we also admit. Yet it is proposed, notwithstand- 
 ing tlie unnecessary delay, to permit the question to remain 
 in its present state, without any definite decision. We 
 greatly mistake the character of the American people, who 
 have been always just and honorable in their intercourse 
 with foreign nations, if they yield to any surrender, save 
 that which is in accordance with established usages, and 
 which all pronounce to be just and right. ' ' 
 
 Developments have been made, which demand of the 
 United States immediate and decisive action. If no cog- 
 nizance is taken of the threats coming from across the 
 waters, aggressions will be continually attempted, and the 
 British title will be established at last by common consent* 
 It was remarked, by those in Congress who were opposed 
 to the bill, that " the contingency was not urgent.'''^ If not 
 urgent then, do we not now see the necessity of enforcing 
 our rights? At that time there was comparatively no ex- 
 citement prevailing in England, and the subject had not been 
 
OREGON. 43 
 
 fully investigated by the House of Commons. There was 
 nothing said in the United States respecting the vaUdity of 
 the British title, and our affairs wore an entirely different 
 aspect. Difficulties are occurring every day, calculated 
 to weaken our rights and strengthen those of England ; 
 and we beUeve the day will soon arrive, unless a decided 
 change for the better takes place, when the British title 
 will be considered better and stronger than that of our 
 own, unless we declare our rights upon a final adjustment. 
 This is purely a question of right — of national safety — of 
 honor : Whether, having it in our power, we shall permit 
 Great Britain to take unauthorized control of that which 
 is ours; or whether, having rights, we mean at all hazards, 
 and under all circumstances, to maintain and defend them. 
 This is a question of illimitable importance to the United 
 States, and resolves itself into this : ^^ Whether the name 
 of an American citizen is not a guarantee of American 
 rights.^' Our agriculturists, hunters, and tradesmen, who 
 have gone thither — the brave and indomitable champions 
 of their country's cause — look to us, a powerful and grow- 
 ing people, for protection, and it is our duty willingly to 
 extend it. The broad aegis of our laws should be spread 
 over them as over us ; they are a part of us — our fathers 
 and brothers, connected in fortune, in interest, in blood, 
 and in destiny ; and when a blow is struck there^ the vibra- 
 tion should be felt and resisted here. We want nothing 
 that is not strictly our own, nor do we wish to claim an acre 
 which belongs rightly to Great Britain:, hy no means. What 
 is hers we respect, having no right to it ; but that which be- 
 longs to us we mean to protect and defend. This question, 
 by some, has been viewed through a false medium, unjustly 
 and improperly. Great Britain claims a right to a large 
 portion of this territory, as though it had been ceded to 
 her; we claim to 49°, and that is all which we have any 
 
44 B E Q N . 
 
 right to. If the question is to remain in abeyance, it may 
 be necessary for Congress to pass laws for the govern- 
 ment of American citizens residing within the territory ; 
 but how such laws, even were they passed and approved, 
 are to be executed, under existing circumstances, cannot 
 be readily perceived ; by some objection would be made, 
 and by others they would be violently opposed ; so that it 
 would be utterly impossible to enact such statutes as would 
 be universally approved, though the existing state of affairs 
 make it imperatively necessary that our citizens should be 
 protected in their lives and property, and in the enjoyment 
 of all that pertains to citizenship. No stronger proof need 
 be adduced of the ignorance, or something worse, that has 
 prevailed on this subject in our national councils, than the 
 fact that, since 1818, repeated attempts have been made in 
 Congress, both reported and debated, for the purpose of 
 establishing a territorial government, and extending the 
 laws and jurisdiction of the United States over that part 
 of the territory which we claim, or rather over the whole 
 of it. Such a measure would have been a palpable and 
 gross violation of existing treaty stipulations, and fraught 
 with all the consequences of a hostile act against a friendly 
 and powerful nation. What would be the consequence of 
 extending our jurisdiction over the whole of this terri- 
 tory, under the existing treaty of 1827 ? Were this treaty 
 annulled, or had it expired, the case would be differ 
 ent ; then we might act in accordance with the wishes of 
 the people, expressed through their representatives, but 
 now we are under a solemn obligation of honor, which is 
 as binding as any obligation ever entered into. We are, 
 therefore, compelled, until this treaty is done away with, 
 to hold our peace — to keep within the bounds of justice 
 and law ; and a departure from them in the least will ren- 
 der us worthy of the contempt of all the powers of the 
 
OREOON. 45 
 
 earth. Notwithstanding these facts, which facts appeal 
 loudly and powerfully to the people, Doctor Duncan, 
 during the last session of Congress, introduced a bill 
 for taking '''•entire possession of the whole Oregon ter- 
 ritory.'''' The bill was finally submitted to the Committee 
 on Territories ; which, after being revised and amended, 
 was reported to the House and ordered to be printed. 
 The bill provides " for taking possession of the whole re- 
 gion west of the Rocky Mountains, from latitude 42° to 
 54° 40, and extending over it our laws and jurisdiction." 
 This was a remarkable move, and only proves the neces- 
 sity of an investigation of the question. Is there any man 
 living, in his sober senses, who is acquainted with the dif- 
 ferent treaties, and unprejudiced in his opinions, who can 
 for a moment think that England is so dead to her own 
 interests, as tamely to submit to a course at variance with 
 established customs, and in non-conformity with th** 
 ciples of international law.'' She has maintaine^: ana 
 claimed her rights before the civilized world, in undisturbed 
 authority, for nearly half a century. Has she ever acknow- 
 ledged the invalidity of her title to any nation, directly or 
 indirectly ? On the contrary, has she not proven, by send- 
 ing thousands of her settlers over, that she regards it 
 beyond the interference of any nation ? There they have 
 remained British subjects, enjoying and exercising all the 
 rights and immunities of such for more than fifty years ; 
 and is it supposed, for a moment, that she would quietly 
 stand by and see her own people, living under her own 
 flag, driven from their homes, and finally expelled ? Such 
 an attempt would be resisted at the cannon^s mouth ; a 
 rupture, long and bloody, would be caused, as surely as i^ 
 we were to take possession of the island of Jamaica or the 
 city of Montreal. For some time past nothing has been 
 
 heard but an ex parte statement of the case ; the claims of 
 
 5 
 
46 OREGON. 
 
 Cireat Britain and Russia have been but partially investi- 
 gated, and the subject has been discussed by Mr. Green- 
 how, and others, on the American side. We have been 
 told by individuals, who have thoroughly analysed the titles 
 of the different countries claiming a portion of this terri- 
 tory, that all the right is in one; and that, though the ques- 
 tion is disputed, and has been under debate here and in 
 England for many years, that it is "indisputable," and 
 should be settled by an immediate possession on the part 
 of the United States, without any reference to the claims 
 of other countries. Arguments have been adduced, and 
 published to the world, by others who have investigated 
 the whole question, who say that their views are fair, im- 
 partial, and disinterested ; that they have looked upon the 
 controversy as a debatable ground ; and, as such, have dis- 
 cussed it. This is the only way to come to a correct con- 
 clusion. Historical facts should be set forth, without re- 
 ference to sectional jealousies, and unbiassed by any other 
 considerations than those which are based on self-evident 
 and unquestionable truths. This is the only way to force 
 conviction on the mind — to prove to the people that you 
 are uninfluenced by favoritism, and untrammelled by nar- 
 row and selfish ends. It is very easy to assert a thing, but 
 sometimes very hard to prove it. In the courts of our 
 country the sagacity of our counsellors is sometimes irre- 
 sistible, until some development is made on the other side 
 which counteracts and upsets their artful and ingenious 
 argument. 
 
 The inflammatory appeals that have been made on this 
 question, to the rights of the people, would induce some 
 to beheve that arbitration is useless, and that to negotiate 
 is idle in the extreme ; that we do nothing that is wrong, and 
 that it is taken for granted that no national step wil! be as- 
 sumed which is not recognised by the law of nations. The 
 
R B Q N . 47 
 
 public are naturally very anxious to gain their information 
 historically, and from authentic sources, and to form their 
 conclusions and opinions, not on the heated and prejudiced 
 declarations of those who are influenced by their predilec- 
 tions, but on correct premises, taken from matters of fact. 
 In this way a knowledge of the claims of the contending 
 parties is to be gained, and new light thrown on a question 
 of great national importance. No correct or reliable in- 
 formation can be derived from the stump orators and let- 
 ter-writers, who profess to descant so eloquently and truth- 
 fully on the subject; their knowledge is often superficial, and 
 they speak from hearsay. While we maintain our right to the 
 49th parallel of latitude, we contend also for the rights of 
 Great Britain ; insisting that what is hers legally we have no 
 right to and can exercise no authority over, without a direct 
 violation of treaty stipulations. We are in favor of negotia- 
 tion, and think it not at all remarkable that England should 
 not wish to negotiate any further. She is perfectly satisfied. 
 The terms agreed upon do not conflict in the least with her 
 operations or interests. She has all that can be desired, as 
 far as possession is concerned, and is willing to let mat- 
 ters stand as they are, provided she is not worsted. Her 
 laws, both civil and criminal, extend over the whole of 
 Oregon, and she is exercising exclusive and undisturbed 
 ownership, as much so as if the United States had aban- 
 doned all right. She is granting loans, and appropriating 
 them as she pleases ; she controls nearly all the towns and 
 villages of any size, and passes laws favorable to her in- 
 terests. What more does she want.^ She can gain nothing 
 by negotiation, and has every thing to lose. The Ameri- 
 can settlers, few and scattered, (only about two thousand 
 in number,) are entirely subservient. Compelled necessa- 
 rily to be 80, as the serfs of Europe, what can they do ? 
 They wish to be free, and they know that their fathers and 
 
48 OREGON. 
 
 kinsmen here are all free ; but they have not the power to 
 gain this precious boon. The Hudson Bay Company, a 
 party of heartless, cormorant spirits, are the lords of the 
 Territory. Look to their cruel treatment of our emigrants 
 who settled near the Mill Sites of the Wallamette. Every 
 principle of charity and humanity was violated every day. 
 They were told, unless they moved off, every one of them 
 would be shot. And the order would have been executed, 
 had not the command been obeyed. They have passed a 
 law even for the preservation of game, which Paley, in his 
 Moral Philosophy, tells us is the property of all. This 
 law is strictly enforced as regards the American set- 
 tlers, from which the British population is almost entire- 
 ly exempt. That portion of the Territory which they are 
 confident will fall to us is hunted by them continually, in 
 order to remove all the game from it if they can. But 
 this is not all. The poor Indians suffer, too, most severely 
 and unjustly. Depredations are being made constantly 
 upon what httle property they have ; and their persons are 
 often cruelly treated. This company claim all the eligi- 
 ble spots for farms, mills, or towns south of the Oregon, 
 and they have forts from which they realize something like 
 ji500,000 per annum. South of the Columbia they have 
 nineteen Jorts ; and are fast removing from this sec- 
 tion of the country, and for miles around, all of the most 
 valuable timber, so that, if England gets all north of the 
 river, we will be compelled to buy shipping timber from 
 her. They monopolize and control exclusively the prin- 
 cipal markets, fix a standard of value upon every thing, 
 pay what they please for products, and, of consequence, 
 buy every thing they want at a very low price. We hear 
 that the company lay aside a certain per centage of their 
 annual profits to be ^^used for the express and avowed 
 purpose of keeping Americans out of trade, particularly 
 
OREGON. 49 
 
 those who wished to deal in furs." It is a fact hardly 
 credible, but the truth of which can be established, that 
 they once sentenced a respectable emigrant to wear skins 
 for a number of years for the violation of one of theii ar- 
 bitrary, unholy, and oppressive regulations concerning trade. 
 The company are industriously engaged, one and all of 
 them, in ascertaining the means by which they can suc- 
 cessfully stem the tide of American emigration, and what 
 rules they can establish for the protection of their trade. • 
 How much further are the British subjects and Indians 
 to continue their depredations upon American property, 
 and the lives of the emigrants, without an indignant res- 
 ponse from the American Congress ? Are the dwelling- 
 houses and missionary stations of our people to remain 
 unprotected ? Who knows what outrages are daily com- 
 mitted there upon American property, under the sanction 
 of laws ? What laws ? Laws estabhshed by the Con- 
 gress of the United States } They have never been grant- 
 ed them. There is no government there. The only laws 
 that exist are such as are passed to suit certain acts and oc- 
 casions, which may be repealed at any day. The truth is 
 our emigrants, powerless and subservient, are at the mer- 
 cy and clemency of the Hudson Bay Company. They 
 are a little better than the Africans of the South who are 
 menial and irresponsible. In vain does the poor settler, 
 who violates ignorantly one of these arbitrary laws, ask for 
 a judge or jury ; in vain does he ask that the shadow of 
 the An^erican flag may rest upon him ; in vain does he ask 
 for those national privileges with which his connexions and 
 friends are surrounded. There is a gulf fixed between 
 him and the luxurious free trader of Great Britain — an im- 
 passable barrier, which cannot be overcome, save by a de- 
 termination on the part of the American people to relieve 
 and emancipate them. A few laws, it is true, have been 
 
50 OREGON. 
 
 enacted by the Hudson Bay Company, which empower 
 them to give judgment against any American citizen in 
 Oregon, and issue an execution, under cover of which he 
 may be confined in their forts or sent to the jails or Can- 
 ada, at their pleasure. So when they do not wish to try 
 an American citizen, without law, (or mob-law,) on the 
 spot, they will kidnap him, and take him to British courts, 
 to be tried by British judges and British laws. This is a 
 shameful state of things, and appeals loudly to the people. 
 They should have a Territorial Government, having their 
 their own laws and judges ; and if these cannot be given 
 them, let them be protected by the American flag. 
 And what less can be asked by these fearless and in- 
 trepid adventurers, who, duett amove patria^ have with 
 drawn from the endearments of their first homes, and all 
 the gay and fashionable delights of fashionable life, con- 
 sidered their lives as nothing in their desire to advance the 
 cause of freedom, and plant on the shores of the Pacific 
 the Cross of Christ.'' 
 
 The old Scotch Jedbury fashion is followed there, as 
 has been said by Mr. Wentworth, of Illinois — ^^'hang first, 
 and try aflerwards.^^ This company have taken posses- 
 sion of almost every desirable situation on the coast of the 
 Pacific. The Cape and Tongue Points are almost im- 
 pregnable places of defence on the Columbia. The latter 
 has been already taken by this company, and they are 
 going on to exert every effort and devise schemes by 
 which they can claim every harbor and port of importance. 
 How is it possible that when a course like this is in daily 
 progress that we can expect to compete with the whole 
 world, as we wish to do, in bread stufis ? How is China 
 to be supplied with tobacco ? That great country, with 
 itsmilUons of inhabitants vail consume thousands of pounds 
 of this staple. What is to become of our expectation res 
 
' OREGON. If 
 
 pecting our trade with the East Indies ; and, indeed, the 
 Paciffc country ? 
 
 We shall forbear to discuss our claim to that part of the 
 northwest coast lying between the Bay of St. Francisco, 
 near 37° 30^ north, from the fact of its being based on very 
 uncertain and imperfect discoveries. We purpose, how- 
 ever, in order that as much information may be obtained as 
 possible, to present the lucid and able argument contained 
 in the National Intelligencer of the 26th of July, which is 
 as folio ',vs : 
 
 '^Beginning soon after the conquest of Mexico, the Spaniards, from 
 about 1540 to 1.543, carried explorations up the coast of the Pacific, in 
 the interior, as high perhaps as 40*^ north, and by sea, about the same 
 time, as far as 40°, and perhaps 43° north.* Here they for some time 
 stopped their efforts. The next navigator in these high seas was Sir 
 Francis Drake, who, in 1579, sailed along the coast from Guatulo, 
 fourteen hundred leagues north, to a point beyond latitude 43° north , 
 not stated in one of the narratives of his voyage, and given as 48° in 
 the other .f The English, as is natural, prefer the account most favor- 
 able to tliemselves. Mr. Greenhow gives the reasons which, in his 
 view, invalidate that account. Burney, however, one of the high- 
 est and exactest authorities in history, sustains the second narrative ; 
 and, indeed, in one point, he has the advantage. By all the rules of 
 proof, the definite and specific statement is that which does not mention 
 the latitude which was the northern limit of his, Drake's, course. 
 Turning back thence, he ran down to a good port in latitude 38°, 
 probably the Great Bay of St. Francisco, where he remained five weeks, 
 and upon a formal tender to him by the natives of the sovereignty, took 
 regular possession of the region in the name of his mistress Queen 
 Elizabeth . Here , again , for a considerable interval , ceased the English 
 discoveries, as the Spanish had done. 
 
 In 1688, upon the narrative of one Maldonadi, arose and obtained 
 «ome belief the story of a Strait of Amon, from the Atlantic, through 
 which he and another nautic romancer, Admiral Fonti, pretended U> 
 have passed. These are now, in all their particulars, mere recognised . 
 
 * Vkb the «ecounU eited by Mr. Greenhow, pp. 63, 63, 64, 65. f Ibid, 73, pp. 3, 3, 4. 
 
IP OREGON. 
 
 fictions. (See Greenhow, p. 79 to 86.) More, but we think very lit- 
 tle more, reality attaches to the supposed discoveiy, in 1592, by Juan. 
 De Fuca, of the long strait to which his name is now given — that 
 between Vancouver's land and the continent. Mr. Greenhow and 
 some others credit it. Cook, who examined, rejected it, and so did 
 Spanish writere, finding no traces in their archives of any such expedi- 
 tion as that of De Fuca. So that it seems obvious that the pilot's whole 
 tale is only a revival of the story of the Maldonadi and his Strait of 
 Amon. It is true that a strait opens about a degree north of the mouth 
 of his strait, and as it winds about in all directions, it is easy for an in- 
 genious person to discern tlierein its identity with the meanderings of the 
 Pilot's strait. Mr. Greenhow seems, however, to have overlooked a 
 fact that stamps the whole story as a fable. The Hispano Greek plainly 
 says, that after sailing out of the South Sea, he means the Pacific, 
 through this strait, in twenty days, he came into the North Sea, by 
 which he as plainly means the Atlantic. 
 
 "In 1506, under an order from Philip II, the Spanish efforts to ex- 
 plore this coast were renewed in an expedition under Vincaino, but 
 which proceeded no further nortli than the Gulf of California. The 
 attempt, under a French royal order, was renewed in 1602, under the 
 same commander, with Aquila as his lieutenant. They surveyed with 
 some accuracy the coast as far as latitude 42°. From that point Vin- 
 caino turned ba'''- but Aquila's smaller vessel passed Cape Mendoci- 
 no, and reache ititude 43° the supposed mouth of a great river, 
 which they took once again (though there is none there) for the Straits 
 of Amon. This voyage ended in 1603, and with it, until after the ex- 
 pulsion of the Jesuits from California in 1607, ended the Spanish pro- 
 gress of exploration beyond that province, which the missionaries of that 
 order had begun to civilize and survey in 1697. It will thus be per- 
 ceived that down to the voyage of Juan Perezin, 1774, and of Bruno 
 Haceta, in 1775, the Spanish discoveries can scarcely be said to have 
 any sure existence beyond the latitude of 43° north. From that point 
 to 48°, intervene the English claims of Drake's voyage ; and mean- 
 time the Russian expedition, beginning from Behring's Straits, in 1728, 
 and making their way southward. In 1741 , they had got down to lat- 
 itude 49° ; and Cook, in 1778, met these establishments at Onnalash- 
 ka ; Vancouver and Portlock and Dixon still further south. As to their 
 rights adverse to the Spanish, their Minister, Mr. Politica, makes the- 
 foUowiog citation : 'Moreover, when Don Jose Martinez was sent, in 
 
OREGON. 53 
 
 1789, hy the Court of Madrid, to form an establishment on Vancou- 
 ver'' s island, and to remove foreigners from thence, under the pretext 
 tluU all that coast belonged to Spain, he gave not the least disturbance 
 to the Russian colonies and negotiators; yet the Spanish Government 
 was not ignorant of their existence , for the very reason that Martinez 
 had visited them the year before. The report which Captain Males- 
 pina made of the results of his voyage proves that the Spaniards very 
 well knew of the Russian colonies ; and in this very report it is seen, 
 that the court of Madrid acknowledged that its possessions upon the 
 coast of the Pacific Ocean ought not to extend to the north of Cape 
 Blanc, taken from the point of Trinity, situated under 42° 50^ north 
 latitude.' (American State Papers, Foreign Relations, vol. iv,p. S61.) 
 This, it will be perceived, coincides with the view which has just been 
 taken of the Spanish rights of discovery ; and, indeed Mr. Greenhow, 
 in effect, admits nearly the same thing, when, in his fourth chapter, 
 returning to the history of the Spanish progiess of settlement and dis- 
 covery, he says, speaking of tlie year 1769, 'at that time httle was 
 known with any certainty of any part of the west coast of America north 
 of the 43d parallel ; to which latitude it had been explored by Sebastian 
 Vizcaino in 1 60S.' (P. 108.) Disentangling thus from the maze of 
 confused statements in the English books and our own, the essential, 
 the positive, and chronological, we arrive at a few plain results : 
 
 ''I. That the Spanish title by discovery is positive up to about the 
 point which it reached in 1543, viz, the latitude of 43 degrees north. 
 
 *'II. That beyond it is met by positive English discovery, Drake's, 
 of an extent not certain , giving perhaps as high as 48°. 
 
 "III. That the northern limit is again nearly met by the Russian 
 discoveries, which came in 1741 to 49° ; and 
 
 "IV. We may here add, that thus far there is not a trace, not a pre- 
 tence of any manner in which a French right can have arisen that af- 
 terwaids passed to us. We have said that the next discoveries of the 
 Spaniards are in 1774 ; of the English in 1778 ; and this brings us 
 with another survey — that of general dates — to another great fact, the 
 lapse of time over which this series of discoveries along a single coast 
 run. They occupy near two hmidred and thirty years. Up to that 
 period the shore from Bebring's Straits had been in the three several re- 
 gions that we have mentioned , at least as continuously discovered as 
 was the Atlantic coast of America before Spain and England and 
 France were considered the legitimate owners: the first of the West 
 
54 OREGON. , 
 
 IndieS; Mexico, and Florida ; the second of Viiginia and New Eng- 
 land ; the third of Canada. In all these instances the proprietary right 
 is confessed to have flowed from their having first seen the line of coast 
 and taken formal possession of some one part of it . It was even held 
 that all its bays and rivers must be entered . To have waited for this 
 would have bred eternal counter titles, and incapable of ever being set- 
 tled. The principle of discovery, in a word, has ever been that just 
 stated, and upon it the national claims to almost every greater eastern 
 portion of this continent were conceded by tlie civilized world to each 
 nation of which a navigator first ascertained the general existence there 
 of continuous land. All of this may have been said to have been set- 
 tled, down to Cape Horn, within tlie first hundred years ; why must the 
 period be prolonged to two hundred and thirty years, upon a coast only 
 about half as long ? If, as is apparent, the three general discoveries of 
 that coast had been already made, why should the time be prolonged 
 thirty years ; especially when the prolongation can only serve to aug- 
 ment the difficulties of adjustment, and involve the claimants in dis- 
 putes inextricable ? Let us resume our historical narrative, and see 
 whether just the effect mentioned does not follow from our consenting 
 to look upon the coast thus generally discovered as still open to discov- 
 ery at particular points — to discovery such as could confer a general 
 territorial right that could extinguish much older ones along a coast 
 already frequently discovered. This is manifestly the great question 
 as to our obtaining, through Captain Gray's discovery of the mouth of 
 the Columbia, a title within shores already appropriated — a title giving 
 the entire space, north and south, from the mountains to the sea, wa- 
 tered by the branches of the river. The river on the north is a very 
 broad one, if to be thus applied ; of the first discovery of which by the 
 Spaniards there is not a shadow of doubt, near one hundred and fifty 
 years before the French, who granted it to us, ever saw one rill of its 
 waters any where. But let us proceed. 
 
 "In 1763, the English acquired by treaty from France all her Cana- 
 •dian possessions and their dependencies, the Spanish all her terpitory 
 and claims in the valley of the Mississippi. By this cession England 
 -came into undisputed proprietorship of Or^on, extending west, along 
 the 49th parallel, at least as far as the chains of the Rocky Mountains ; 
 fio aU our own subsequent treaties have admitted ; thus bringing her 
 -eastern territory into the same contiguity, as uw in part found our claim 
 on^ with the disputed shores of the Pacific. Thus, if contiguity be any 
 
OREGON. 55 
 
 basis of a right, which we deny, hers dates from 1763, ours, at most, 
 from 1803. From about 1770 to 1798, the Spanish formed, at different 
 points along the shores of California, settlements extending as far as 
 San Francisco, in 38°, the most northern point they ever settled or 
 ever occupied, except Nootka, for the short time during which they 
 held it, after expelUng Meares, Colneti,and others from them, and un- 
 til they restored it to England by the Nootka Sound Convention. We 
 have already mentioned the Spanish expeditions of Juan Perez and of 
 Haceta, in 1774 and 1775. In the former. Queen Charlotte island, 
 Nootka Sound, and a few other points, from 54° north to 49°, are sup- 
 posed to have been discovered. (See Greenhow, p. 116.) But Mr. 
 Greenhow, though evidently partial to the Spanidi discoveries, as now 
 conferring, he thinks, title on us, thus sums up the results of the voy- 
 age: 'In this voyage, the first made by the Spaniards along the north- 
 west coast of America since 1603, very little was learned, except that 
 there was land on the eastern side of the Pacific, as far north as the lat- 
 itude of 54°. The Government of Spain perhaps acted wisely in con- 
 cealing the accounts of the expedition, which reflected little on the 
 courage or the science of its negotiators ; but it has thereby deprived it- 
 self of the means of establishing beyond question the claim of Perez to 
 the discovery of the important harbor called Nootka Sound, which is 
 now, by general consent, assigned to Oaptain Cook J Here, we fear, 
 is the recognition of a new though rational principle, which it would 
 have been, at least, more poliUc to have left to our adversaries to dis- 
 cover ; for the consequences are extensive, invalidating, of necessity, 
 f(Nr the like reason, a// otlier discoveries of Spain not by her made 
 known; and within this categor}' fall the voyage of Juan de Fuca,and it 
 may even seem that of Haceta, Bodego, and Maurelle ; of which, im- 
 portant as they are considered, the publication was never made by the 
 Spanish Government, nor, indeed , made at all , except that of Maurelle 's 
 Journal, obtained in manuscript by Daines Barrington, and by him, in 
 1781 , embodied in a translation in his miscellanies. (See Greenhow, 
 p. 117.) Thus Cook's Journal having been published in 1784, his 
 discoveries take precedence of Haceta and of Bodega, at least, if not of 
 Maurelle. Such, at least, is the effect of Mr. Greenhow 's doctrine. 
 And, moreover, he himself afterwcerds c^fmns that Chok saw the west 
 coast of America south of Mount San Jacinto, or Edgecombe, which, 
 fytdnot beenprevimidy seen by Perez, Bodega, or Haceta; ami after 
 passing thai point, he was, as he frequently admits, aided and in 
 
56 OREGON. 
 
 a measure guided hy the accounts of the Russian voyagers. The ob- 
 servations of the English were , however , infinitely more minute and 
 more important in their results than those of any or all the other nav- 
 igators who had preceded them in the exploi-ation of the North Pad- 
 jic; for, by determining accurately the positions of the principal points 
 on the coast of Asia and America bounding that sea, they first afforded 
 the means of ascertaining the extent of those continents and the degree 
 of their proximity to each other, respecting which they executed this 
 task, and serves to dispel the apprehensions previously entertained with re- 
 gard to expeditions through that quarter of the ocean.' (Pp. 1 58- '59.) 
 There remains to be spoken of but two Spanish voyages, that of Artea- 
 ga and Bodega in 1779, and that of Gallain and Valdez in 1792. Of 
 the first of these, we need only repeat what Mr. Greenhovv' says at page 
 12, 5, that it vioited notliing which had not before been examined by 
 Cook. And his account of the several or succeeding voyages (at pages 
 239 and 240) makes it clear that it did little or nothing, except to attend 
 Vancouver in a part of his course. We have thus brought down this 
 compend and chronology of discovery and occupation on the northwest 
 coast of America to the immediate facts, (nearly of the same date,) be- 
 yond which it seems to us almost needless to descend — ^we mean the 
 Nootka Sound Convention of 1790, and Gray's discovery of the mouth 
 of the Columbia of 1792. The subsequent history belongs to the liv- 
 ing generation of men still fit for action , and , it needs not, therefore, any 
 elucidation such as we have given of remote events. It will be 
 perceived that we have chosen, in the sketch just traced, to follow 
 mainly the authority of Mr. Greenhow, who has generally given with 
 faithfulness matters of fact, although he often reasons ill from them. 
 On the whole, his book does him credit for the research he has bestow- 
 ed upon it. Yet he is obviously quite too much the advocate of every 
 ground of our claims to Oregon ; for as we set up some former adverse 
 titles, there can surely be but one of them which is good. Of these 
 titles we may perhaps offer our judgment after we shall have presented^ 
 as a further fund of information, the arguments of Mr. Rush and Mr. 
 Canning. Meantime, what we have already drawn from Greenhow 
 to present to our readers must, it strikes us, surest to every thinking 
 man the idea that the question at large is a much more thorny one than 
 gentlemen on either side thought y who had only, like the knights quar- 
 relling about the color of a shield, or like the travellers disputing about 
 the hue of the chameleon, fixed it on a particular state of color." 
 
O R E G If . 57 
 
 We have always thought that a nation mistakes its glory 
 that is so alive to the shghtest insult, and musters up in 
 hot haste its army and navy, and fights upon the shadow of 
 a provocation. It is very right that all countries should 
 b'<3 alive to their honor and interests, at all times maintain- 
 ing that dignified position and exalted stand which it should 
 be the policy of all republican Governments to uphold ; 
 but there is a difference between an undue proportion of 
 sensitiveness, an over degree of niceness, and a careless 
 spirit as to what happens to the prosperity of the country, 
 and its character abroad. A nation should protect its hon- 
 or as a parent protects his child. It should be determined, 
 firm, end unyielding; not hasty, but always ready. Let 
 us lay down the good and safe maxim, *•' not to meddle 
 until we are meddled with." By avoiding war, we drive 
 off the most distressing evils, the direst of all calamities that 
 can befall freemen. We admit that sometimes it is una- 
 voidable. Foreign aggression must be met at all times 
 with violence ; and we should be the last people on earth 
 to falter with our laws and institutions and peculiar system 
 of government, but the first to act in case the national hon- 
 or is insulted. If the dispute now pending cannot be set. 
 tied by arbitration or negotiation, let war be the next ex- 
 pedient ; for it will be the only means left to put an end to 
 all strife and difficulty. It acts as a great purifier and regula- 
 tor ; blending conflicting and discordant elements, putting at 
 rest the quarrels and unprofitable disputes of petty cliques 
 and clubs, who are influenced by sinister motives and cor- 
 rupt designs, connecting with ^"hooks of steel" and blend- 
 ing State with State that are almost estranged because of 
 some unimportant and meaningless point of controversy, 
 and stems the angry and swelling tide that threatens the 
 disunion of great Governments. 
 
 In discussing this question, it should be viewed with ref- 
 
58 OREGON. 
 
 erence solely to its own merits and to its bearing upon our 
 honor and interests, regardless of the clamors of ignorance 
 or the suggestions of selfishness. Let the subject be de- 
 bated and ended in a manner that will result to the entire 
 satisfaction of the intelligent people of this nation. It is 
 now regarded by them as it should be, as the great and 
 leading topic of the day, as the great dividing principle be- 
 tween this country and Great Britain. There is another 
 class of men who, to a part if not the whole of this terri- 
 tory, have an undeniable right. They have been there in 
 a state of barbarous wildness, with minds uncultivated, like 
 their own forests, and sensibilities unsubdued by the refine- 
 ments of civihzed life, and the still gentler influences of so- 
 cial happiness and equality. The chase has been their dehght 
 and the delight of their forefathers from the remotest anti- 
 quity. The shrill note of the fox and wild panther have 
 broken in tones of grateful and sweet melody upon their 
 ears, and for centuries past they have lived the sole occu- 
 pants of this territory, in the uninterrupted enjoyment of 
 all its lands and resources. The Oregon, not a part, 
 but the whole of it, is theirs by right, theirs by inheritance, 
 by discovery, and by justice. Pursued and hunted, like 
 beasts of the forest, through a succession of years, until 
 they have at last reached the very extreme hmits of their 
 own native land, and naught is to be seen of the vast do- 
 main save a wild and barren wilderness. In the retrospect 
 the scene opens before them in all its melancholy gran- 
 deur. The wigwam and the prairie fire no longer delight 
 with spells of enchantment. There stand as before the 
 rich blue hills in the distance, smiling in the exuberance of 
 fertility, and decorated with thriving towns and villages. 
 The same streams, upon whose banks they dehghted to 
 build their midnight fires and join in the wild revelries of 
 Bacchus, still smile with their native verdure, and bright- 
 
OREGON. 4P 
 
 en with their accustomed beauty. Amazing change ! Those 
 early visions have fled, while the cold realities of real life 
 bear heavily upon them with blighting and chilling influ- 
 ences. Their houses lie scattered and torn down, a moral 
 desolation upon earth ! Every year has darkened their 
 history and added to the catalogue of their ills. Their 
 chiefs are all gone, and their bones lie whitening beneath 
 the summer^s sun ; while their unfortunate offspring, in the 
 terror of despair, have reached as it were the world's end, 
 and stand upon the shore of the broad and fathomless Pa- 
 cific. The destruction of Babylon and Ninevah, long fore- 
 told, carry to the mind painful and bitter reflections ; but 
 when we follow the Indian race, from the earliest period of 
 their history, through their primeval prosperity and happi- 
 ness, when they were linked together by "hooks of steel,'* 
 enjoying the rights which nature's God gave them, how 
 feeble is the comparison with their present state. But a 
 few lefl to tell the story of their wrongs and sufferings, 
 could they be permitted to remain even where they are, 
 standing almost upon an acre of their once vast and bound- 
 less domain, their situation would be less deplorable, less 
 wretched ; but like a fatal disease working its insidious way 
 into the very seat of life, the progress of civilization is des- 
 tined to sweep away the last dear relic, the inheritance 
 of past days, and finally to rob them of their only homes, ' 
 and their all. Melancholy reflection! Once so formi- 
 dable in number, so indomitable in courage, so strong in 
 war. The mighty people of this western world, with 
 its vast wealth and rich products, like a wreck, the 
 fell destroyer has gone on subduing and conquering, 
 until the war-whoop is nowhere heard, save among the 
 frowning cliffs and ratthng crags of the northwest boun- 
 tlary. 
 
 But with respect to the occupation of the Oregon, what 
 
60 OREGON. 
 
 Other course can we safely pursue, other than taking pos- 
 session. We regard it as a case of urgent necessity, inas- 
 much as Great Britain is only waiting for a favorable op- 
 portunity to take exclusive control ; and if such is to be 
 the case, it is surely admissible in us to establish a boun- 
 dary which will afford a strong protection, a barrier against 
 foreign aggression. We are not anxious nor are we willing 
 to claim or have any thing that is not ours, and recognised 
 as such by the laws and usages of nations. Should Eng- 
 land disavow any intention of occupying this territory, and 
 we felt convinced that such was her fixed determination, 
 we might then be justified in yielding it to its pres- 
 ent occupants ; but under the circumstances, we believe 
 that our national safety^ and the safety of those of our 
 countrymen inhabiting the northwest coast and the sur- 
 rounding country, demands of us an acknowledgment of 
 our rights under the different cessions made to the United 
 States. That we have an undisputed claim to the paral- 
 lel of 49 degrees, and no further, must be readily admitted. 
 Those who are in favor of taking possession of the 
 whole of that territory contend that they have never seen 
 an argument at all plausible that assigned the reasons 
 why Great Britain should own north of that parallel. It 
 has been said that the parallel of 49° was agreed upon as 
 a sort of compromise, in order that the question might be 
 Settled without delay. Is there a sensible man who be- 
 lieves that this parallel would have been included if our 
 right to it was not as clear as to that south of that line ? 
 It cannot be so. And all the negotiators on the subject 
 on behalf of the United States, who have investigated the 
 subject in its minutest details, insist that the line of 
 49 degrees should be the boundary — all north of it belong- 
 ing to Great Britain, and all south to the United States." 
 We regard these facts as the strongest argument that can 
 
oR£ooir. 61 
 
 be employed, and one that deserves the consideration of 
 the unprejudiced and the unbiassed. All the ethical writers, 
 Grotius, Puffendorff, Baron Wolfius, and Vattel, who have 
 founded their opinions, in the main, on accurate bases, which 
 have been for many years accredited by diplomatists as 
 ready elucidations of the principles that should govern 
 the general course and policy of nations, concur with the 
 President, as expressed in his inaugural, that our right is 
 '"'•clear and indisputable.^'' But we have, independent of 
 the principles contained in the works of these distinguish- 
 ed writers, another consideration which is of binding force, 
 and of primary importance to all others, rendering the 
 point wished to be established beyond doubt — we mean 
 the ^''prevailing sentiment of nalional honors All na- 
 tions admit that there is a certain code of laws touching 
 the rights of countries, and adapted to cases as they may 
 occur, which never, under any circumstances, lose their 
 moral force or effect. These opinions, expressed through 
 the press in a repubhc numbering twenty millions of 
 freemen, must be in the ascendant, and exert a power- 
 ful moral influence that cannot be swayed; and if a 
 rule of action is taken inconsistent with the views of 
 this class, it will be at once denounced and put down, 
 never availing any thing or having any weight. This is 
 the best preservative of the rights of nations ; for, by it 
 redress is demanded. It takes cognizance of the wrongs 
 or injuries committed, and repudiates and abuses every un- 
 just policy with unqualified disdain. Rules of justice, al- 
 ways the same, eternal and unalterable, must be observed as 
 fully by monarchies as by republics. They are the same 
 yesterday and to-day throughout the world ; and though 
 a desire may be evinced at times, and even expressed, to 
 disregard them for the advancement of certain ends, the 
 6 
 
Ml 0EE60N. 
 
 fear and abuse of other countries will almost invariabl^r 
 deter. No written codes can alter these natural tenden- 
 cies, or affect their results. They are as common to coun- 
 tries as passions and appetites are to the human frame. 
 They are immutable and fixed ; as much so as the laws of 
 gravitation, or those which control the planetary system. 
 Independent of the laws of nations, which are invariably 
 consulted in all legislative assemblies in times of necessi- 
 ty, the principles of which are the only governing rules of 
 action, admitted to be so by proper authorities, there are 
 frequently acts of aggression committed under circum- 
 stances which are unnoticed, or not included in the works 
 of writers on international law, that render it necessary 
 to a preservation and maintenance of that dignity which 
 all States boast of, which it is their duty, as States, 
 having their honor to preserve, whether they be strong or 
 weak, whether they have a handful or a legion of men, it 
 matters not, an invasion of their rights, and an assumption 
 of undue power not recognised by the laws of nations, or by 
 that code of laws tacitly acknowledged to be good by com- 
 mon consent of all the powers of the earth, compel them to 
 throw the ^^ scabbard from the sword, and to go forth to 
 victory or death." Their national character is insulted, 
 injuries are added to insults, and they are left but two 
 alternatives, to submit tamely to injuries and wrongs, or to 
 avenge their cause at, all hazards. We shall now pro- 
 ceed to discuss the question under the fourth head. 
 
FF%a< Aas the United States done to protect her settlers ? 
 
 Since the treaty of 1827, which gave to Great Britain 
 the right of joint occupancy, nothing, we may say, has been 
 done to protect our settlers. Many years ago a number of 
 individuals residing in the interior and southwest of the 
 United States, emigrated to Oregon under peculiar cir" 
 cumstances. The plan was long meditated by them, and 
 the promise of protection under our laws, and the flatter- 
 ing prospect that was held out respecting the cHmate 
 and soil, induced them to carry out their undertaking. 
 Poor, and without friends, and stimulated by a laudable 
 desire to seek their fortunes in a "fair and fertile" 
 region of the continent, where they would be enabled to 
 pursue their various occupations, in the peaceful enjoy- 
 ment of their own rights, uninterrupted by competition, and 
 with countless natural resources around them, they went 
 forth from an exhausted region of country to unite their 
 destinies with those of the inhabitants of Oregon. En- 
 couraged by the flattering accounts which had reached 
 their ears of this distant but splendid territory, "with wil- 
 ling minds and honest hearts" they shouldered their knap- 
 sacks in the midst of the blessings of civilization and the 
 refinements of social life, and united hand in hand with the 
 brave pioneers of the northwest coast. "They were anx- 
 ious," says Washington Irving, "to extend the area of free- 
 dom," to reclaim the wilds of this inexhaustible land, to 
 introduce the manners and customs and creeds of civilized 
 and refined life, "to make the desert blossom like the 
 rose," and to work out, as had done the earliest settlers of 
 America, their own destiny. What design could be more 
 praiseworthy and more to be admired, considering the 
 
64 OREGON. 
 
 many disadvantages connected with the enterprise. A 
 handful of men, hardly a corporaPs guard, with but few 
 weapons of defence, without money, and almost without 
 encouragement ! But they were equal to the task ; pos- 
 sessing, in an emiiient degree, one important requisite, and 
 that was an inflexible will^ an unwavering belief that all in 
 the end would be well. But their expectations, which had 
 been fed with various accounts through their long and te- 
 dious journey, were far from being reahzed. 
 
 After travelling for weeks and months without shoes, and 
 sometimes without provisions, the idea frequently occur- 
 ring to them that the life of one of their party would have 
 to be taken to preserve the lives of the rest, they reached 
 their place of destination, care-worn and enfeebled. The 
 American Government faithfully promised to throw around 
 her settlers the broad aegis of her laws, to extend to 
 them freely the inalienable rights of free-born Ameri- 
 can citizens, and to defend them from any attack from 
 without or within. This promise, solemnly made, has 
 been either knowingly falsified or wilfully neglected. No 
 step has been taken from that day to this to redeem this 
 solemn obligation ; and the American settlers remain in 
 Oregon now, as then, unprotected, uncared for, and, we 
 may say in truth, unthought of Perfect indifference has 
 been manifested, be it said with shame. Congress after 
 Congress has convened, no appropriation has been made 
 unsustained by the mighty voice of the American people, 
 and nothing done to alleviate the sufferings of these un- 
 fortunate adventurers. 
 
 It appears that in 1839 there were two or three thousand 
 New England emigrants ready and willing, and anxious, 
 to settle in Oregon if protection under our laws would 
 be promised them. They waited for a long time in anx- 
 ious expectation that their request would be granted. 
 
U R S O !<r . 1^* 
 
 Proposition after proposition was made, not one of which 
 was regarded; and though their sufferings and misfor- 
 tunes increased every day, there was no action taken what- 
 ever. Fuel was now thrown upon the fire ; and that por- 
 tion of the American people who were most solicitous and 
 desirous to establish our citizens in the territory, believ- 
 ing, as they said, ^Hhat our title was perfectly good,'' be- 
 came at last greatly incensed that Congress was unwilling 
 as expressed by their vote, to meet the wishes of this brave 
 and valiant band. Repeated attempts have since been 
 made to extend our laws over this country, all of which 
 have invariably failed. In 1843, a bill to that effect p" ^s"«?d 
 the Senate, after much difficulty, by the votes of . 
 cratic Senators. It was considered by many a law; but, 
 strange tc say, from the day of its passage it has never 
 gone into operation, and is of course regarded as nuga- 
 tory. 
 
 As late as 1824 a resolution passed, by a large majority, 
 the same body, " to give notice to Great Britain of our in- 
 tention to annul the treaty of joint occupancy, allowing an 
 interval of twelve months, as was stipulated in said treaty. 
 After much labor and discussion it was lost by Whig votes. 
 Here we again find the Whig party defeating the object of 
 the democratic portion of the Senate, and in truth violating 
 the wishes of an overwhelming majority of the American 
 people. A severe rebuke went forth from Maine to Louisiana. 
 Dissatisfaction prevailed in every quarter of the Union ; but 
 such was the Whig opposition that a reconsideration of 
 the question was considered useless. Meetings were held 
 in various parts of the land, in which the bitterest denunci- 
 ations were publicly made, and the course pursued con- 
 demned in the strongest and most positive terms. What 
 the design was we do not pretend to say. It has been sur- 
 mised that they were anxious to feel the British pulse be- 
 
CH^ OREGON. 
 
 fore asserting their rights, and if their opinions could be 
 ascertained, then to act accordingly. But we will not im- 
 pute to the Senate such motives. We cannot think, in 
 view of our national position, and the popularity of our sys- 
 tem of Government, that we have had, or ever will have, 
 a Senator who is prepared, with the eyes of his constitu- 
 ents and of the whole world resting upon him, to ac- 
 knowledge, directly or indirectly, his preference for British 
 laws and institutions. This, indeed, would be a phenome- 
 non the most remarkable that has occurred in the history 
 of politics, and calculated to excite the alarm and sur- 
 prise of every patriot and philanthropist. That there are 
 men in our Government, high public functionaries, having 
 in their hands the dispensation of political patronage, whose 
 predilections are on the side of foreign nations, admiring 
 their customs and applauding their usages, there can be 
 but little doubt ; but we believe in the abstract that there 
 is no American, native born, who is not truly an Ameri- 
 can; he may differ, and widely too, as regards the opera- 
 tion of certain fundamental principles, their tendency and 
 bearing upon certain communities and classes, and their 
 effect upon society in general, but we cannot for a mo- 
 ment suppose that there breathes a man in this vast com- 
 munity of States who would exchange our political system 
 for that of any country on the Globe, unless it were done 
 from interrsted motives. The history of our confederacy 
 for the last half century, and long before, fully attests the 
 soundness of our theory, and the honesty of our national 
 systenf, as it has been termed. We want no better gov- 
 ernment. It answers all the ends for which it was intend- 
 ed ; it is not in the least monarchical, nor is it aristocratic. 
 It is not in the hands of a few ambitious men. Each State 
 is sovereign., having its representatives and laws, while at 
 the same time they acknowledge their allegiance with one 
 
OREGON. ,67 
 
 another, their constitutional connexion. The Government 
 is controlled by wise, prudent, and skilful men, and not 
 by selfish parties or cliques. The poor man, in his 
 native simphcity, has an equal voice in legislative mat- 
 ters, because he is a part, a constituent part, of the 
 confederacy. This is not an undue power that he is 
 exercising, it is not a special privilege that is denied 
 to others, but a right, an inherent right, which belongs 
 to all, because they are moral beings. The poor man is 
 under no more restrictions, constitutionally, than the rich 
 man; he is empowered with the same capacity to act 
 in legislative matters as the most noted and distinguish- 
 ed; he partakes in the election of his governors and law- 
 makers, " because he is a part of the State and a member 
 of society." That distinctions will sometimes exist, must 
 be admitted under the present organization of affairs. Men 
 of similar tastes, similar desires, feelings, propensities, and 
 sentiments, will class themselves under one head, but these 
 classes are not given birth to by the laws of the land. They 
 do not encourage them, far from it ; but they exist by the 
 conventional consent of the people, by a tacit willingness to 
 form themselves into separate parties for special purposes. 
 For instance, it is not to be expected that literary men, 
 who are intimately acquainted with all the refinements of 
 dignified life, and who have spent half of their lives in their 
 closets in the attainment of scientific knowledge, will con- 
 sent to associate and mingle with the plebeian orders of 
 society. This has never been the case, and never can be 
 in the nature of things. In the days of the Caesars there 
 were fewer grades in society, but that can be very easily 
 accounted for, locking to the difierence between their 
 creeds and customs and ours. It would be very remark- 
 able if a Republican Government fostered a feeling Uke 
 this, for surely its legitimate object is to protect the peo- 
 
ttg OREGO N. 
 
 pie in the enjoyment of their rights ; and whenever it re- 
 lapses into a state of listlessness or favors the few at the 
 expense of the many, the very life and essence of republi- 
 canism is lost, its spirit is perverted, its character mis- 
 understood, and dissolution is the inevitable consequence. 
 It is utterly impossible, and the history of fallen nations 
 prove it, for a Republican Government to exist which does 
 not recognise the equality of rights in man. The very first 
 principle of republicanism is equal rights and equal privileges. 
 Upon it its principles are based. It is the very ground-work 
 of our policy, and without it there is no republicanism, not 
 even the semblance of it. By fostering these leading prin- 
 ciples the public morals are protected. But we have a strong 
 guarantee for the public morals which Greece and Rome had 
 not. We mean the Christian religion. Its code of morals is 
 perfect, and its sanctions as pure as it is possible for the 
 imagination to conceive. It embraces the whole human 
 family, and even had our own people a downward tend- 
 ency, its power would arrest its progress. It is the great- 
 est incentive in the world to improvement. It tends di- 
 rectly to the institution of democracy. If men are just 
 they must be democratic. And, in the language of a dis- 
 tinguished writer, ^^ what will become of usurpation and 
 force, corruption and fraud, as Christianity takes its march 
 over the earth. It sanctions nothing but what is wise and 
 what is good, and abhors the corruption, extravagance, and 
 vanity of courts." There will always be a struggle be- 
 tween the many stnd the few. This is expected, and can- 
 not be avoided. It is synonymous with the existence of 
 Government, and has prevailed and will prevail in all time 
 to come. Look to the palmy days of the Roman Repub- 
 lic — ^the common people, the plebeians, the patricians, and 
 the nobiUty — look to the war that was waged by them — ^their 
 contests were so fierce that they shook the foundations of 
 
OREGON. 09 
 
 the Government ; and had it not been for the exercise and 
 interference of great minds that were equal to the emer- 
 gency, men of energy and moral force, that nothing could 
 daunt— who directed the martial spirit to conquest and 
 glory, in the subjugation of other nations to their imperial 
 sway — ^the contests of these orders would have destroy- 
 ed the Republic forever. It is very true that the people 
 were never secured in the rights of property to the same 
 extent, and in the same degree, that the enlightened na- 
 tions of the earth now are. Yet compare the state of the 
 arts and sciences, of morals and governments, as existing, 
 (in the republics of antiquity,) with the same or a similar 
 state of things in monarchies, and the fact is prominent, 
 that the republics excelled all the monarchies of ancient 
 times. Look to the system that is observed in the opera- 
 tion of the machinery of our Government — its principles are 
 established, and all that our magistrates or rulers have to 
 do, is to see that this system is kept up, to put an end to 
 all abuses, and to inform the people, from time to time, 
 whose representatives they are, of the state or condition of 
 the body politic. We profess to be a just and law-loving 
 people, living under a Government that dispenses equal 
 benefits and blessings to all, protecting the interests of the 
 high and low, and fostering those institutions which will 
 benefit society most. Equality of rights is the most valu- 
 able conservative feature of our Constitution; it unites 
 in hannonious union the unfortunate and oppressed with 
 the more affluent and elevated ; it is one among the surest 
 safe-guards to republicanism, inasmuch as all republics are 
 based upon it, and without it they would exist in name, 
 but not in truth. Equal rights was the first great law con- 
 ceived in the convention that met to frame our Constitu^ 
 tion. While other principles of Government were en- 
 grossing the consideration of this august body., and calling 
 
70 OREGON. 
 
 forth heated and protracted debates, there was hot one 
 prevaihng opinion respecting equality of rights, but one 
 opinion as to its necessity and importance. It was re- 
 garded by all, as it really is, the connecting link between 
 man and man ; a safe-guard in times of danger and excite- 
 ment, which acts as a check in the prevention of lawless 
 deeds ; hence its existence in our Constitution, and the 
 fact that its value has never been disputed, even by the 
 most degenerate and corrupt, who have scattered firebrands 
 at the altar of our country ^s hopes, is the strongest and most 
 conclusive argument that can be employed in its defence. 
 It proves at once that it is at the very foundation of our 
 principles, one of the principal ingredients of our system. 
 
 In a country like ours, that is improving every day in the 
 arts and sciences, and in agriculture and commerce as well 
 as in the sciences, and in all the various pursuits to which 
 man is adapted, the means of subsistence should be made ad 
 infinitum. Who can doubt the real benefit and satisfaction 
 of hving independently when all around is rapidly improving.** 
 The gain of every season manifests itself to the eye, and 
 every person makes a part of the improvement that he wit- 
 nesses. The impulse of progress communicates itself to 
 alt. Every additional piece of ground that is reclaimed 
 and broken up for tilling, every new barn, every handsome 
 building that is erected, is a theme of conversation and in- 
 terest, not unfrequently of emulation, to a whole neighbor- 
 hood. So very strong is the impulse from this source, 
 that these improvements seem to be made in concert — all 
 appear to be equally interested in the grand march of im- 
 provement, and lend a willing hand to extend this charitable 
 work. It cannot be expected that the soil of our country is 
 as productive as it formerly was. It is a principle laid down 
 by all farmers, that as the land is worked so is the product 
 less, and every year it continues to produce less, until at last, 
 
OREGON. 71 
 
 unless it is improved by certain applications, the product 
 is hardly worth the labor that is expended in the cultiva- 
 tion. This is a very strong reason for emigration, and there 
 is nothing to deter the poor man from making Oregon his 
 home. There he has spread out before him a wide field 
 with all its advantages, lands in all their native richness, 
 and it is indeed gratifying to feel ourselves as "' good as 
 the best,^^ and to stand on a level with the highest. In an 
 old settled country like ours, which has been under a regular 
 system of improvement for centuries, and which, of conse- 
 quence, must be somewhat exhausted, so far as its soil is 
 concerned, labor is chiefly in demand for continuing culti- 
 vation. In the comparative wilderness it is required, on 
 the other hand, for subduing the earth, as well as for cul- 
 tivating tracts already brought under the plough. This 
 forms a great additional source of employment for the 
 laborer. In a new country the surplus that is created by 
 labor is from year to year invested in improvements, while 
 necessity creates an additional demand for labor. In this 
 way every new improvement furnishes the means for new 
 outlay, by which the laborer is the first to profit. Labor 
 can never have so great comparative value as when the 
 country is in its transition state from wild to cultivated. 
 Then there is a constantly increasing demand for the phy- 
 sical energies of the laborer. Every day presents new in- 
 ducements. Undertakings are made and contracts entered 
 into, the success of which wholly depends upon the indus- 
 try of the parties ; hence it is that strong inducements are 
 held out for emigration which before could not exist. There 
 is no country in Christendom more inviting to the indus- 
 trious poor man than a large portion of the Oregon Terri- 
 tory. There he is not disturbed in the exercise of his 
 faculties by the tremendous competition which is witnessed 
 in the United States every day. There he is not burdened 
 
7*2 ' o R E o o ?r . 
 
 by excessive and unequal taxation, which takes a way a 
 great portion of his satisfaction. He finds no law» 
 to take away with one hand what it gives with the other, 
 by levying enormous and unreasonable duties on the ne- 
 cessaries of life. But to touch upon this would lead us to 
 the vexed question' of the Tariff, ^'^in which wise heads 
 labor as in a treadmill.^^ There , i . 
 
 ^'^ The air of Heaven • • *' 
 
 Visits no freshlier the rich man's brow ; .•;,*■. 
 
 He has his portion of each silver star - ^ ., .'. 
 Sent to his eye so freely ; and the light . < 
 
 Of the blest sun pours on his book as clear 
 As on the golden missal of a king." 
 
 In the settlement of Oregon, should it be our fortune to 
 have it, the same wise statutes and excellent laws under 
 which we have so long and so happily lived would be surely 
 introduced. A repubhcan constitution, characterized as 
 ours is by simplicity and impartiality, accommodated to the 
 wants of men of all classes and conditions, and bearing 
 upon its every feature conciliation and compromise, cannot 
 fail to produce a salutary effect in society. Under this 
 constitution, mild and equal in its exactions, md forbidding 
 expressly an exercise of undue powers not delegated, let 
 us move on proudly and successfully, as we have done be- 
 fore, and as becomes a great, growing, and christian na- 
 tion. . The " Father of the universe," in whose hands are 
 all things, has truly favored us, and we are, in deed and in 
 truth, " a peculiar people." He has watched over our 
 country from infancy to manhood, making it the asylum of 
 peace, virtue, and Christianity, and, thanks be to Him, we 
 have preserved unimpaired the only safe-guards of liberty 
 and republicanism. It becomes us, therefore, as responsi- 
 ble to ourselves, and to late and still later generations, to 
 defend and protect the rights and privileges which have 
 
OREGON. 73 
 
 been bought at the cost of blood and treasure. Let us, 
 like the beautiful young mother, Maria Theresa, '•'• unsheath 
 the sword of steel, striking it north and south, east and 
 west, challenging the four corners of the world to dispute 
 our rights." It is true that war is an evil, and should, if 
 possible, be avoided at all times. But are we to surrender 
 valuable rights, touching our honor and standing as a na- 
 tion, for fear of it, thereby proving to the world that we 
 are either incapable or without the courage ^^ to maintain 
 our position.'*" We concur most heartily with the ex- 
 British minister, Mr. Huskisson, ^' that it would be lament- 
 able in this age for two such countries as the United States 
 and Great Britain to draw to a rupture on such a subject 
 as the uncultivated wilds of the northwest coast ;" but we 
 equally concur with the American Senator, who has said 
 " that it is the duty of the Government to protect our citi- 
 zens, wherever they may lawfully be, to the fullest extent, 
 in the rights of property and the privileges which appertain 
 to citizens of the United States. Should any American in 
 Oregon be disturbed in the exercise of the rights, granted 
 him by the laws of the United States, by any power of the 
 Old World or out of it, it is the duty of the President to 
 send troops to their defence, and there to keep them as 
 long as the exigency may require. So far no direct attack 
 has been made upon our citizens, and consequently there has 
 been no actual need of defence. They have gone there of 
 their own accord to better their conditions, to introduce 
 the hght of civilization, and to soften, if possible, the savage 
 in his untutored wildness. As this step has been taken 
 without any very strong inducement on their part as far as 
 the acquisition of wealth was concerned, and for no other 
 reason than to extend wise and salutary laws, that aid and 
 assistance should be extended which they may require. 
 So far but little has been done, notwithstanding repeated 
 
74 OREGON. 
 
 applications have been made by the settlers. They have 
 asked for protection, but no answer has been given. They 
 have expressed their wants, and drawn a faithful and true 
 picture of their condition, hoping that their countrymen 
 would be aroused, their sympathies excited, and assistance 
 rendered, but no answer has been given. Exposed to de- 
 predations that are frequently committed, they have no 
 means of defence, no expectation of defence, no promise 
 of defence. How is it, therefore, that the American popu- 
 lation of this territory can be expected to increase when 
 no interest Is felt in their situation .'' We should be truly 
 thankful to them, encouraging them in their bold and manly 
 efforts, and make known our gratitude for the spirit with 
 which they have advanced the cause of civilization ; and if 
 it so happens that a '^ standing^^ army is necessary to pro- 
 tect their lives and property from invasion, it should be 
 raised without delay, for we can never be too tenacious of 
 our rights and national character. i 
 
 '•''■,; ' ^ ' ■ ;- ' .• . i . ■ 
 
 .'.-■■. ^ ' ^ ' ■■ ' ■ ■;.:.■■■ ;--:• -.,;/- 
 
 'M^J ..-'-. V- ■ '' '. . . ■ .• : '-i.. >■:- -' 
 
 . . ■ ' •' , i. \ '/..-'■■,•■■■ '* i . :..'■ 
 
 V :■ ,1 • . ..■■:. •..: • -■ .,, jf ,;!;■: 
 
 ' i,-- i],o- •:•> ■ '? ' 'ii'' a '"■ " '■ ' 
 
!%. v; CHAP. V. 
 
 TAc value and importance of Oregon to the United States. 
 
 We are very sure that we speak the opinion, the almost 
 unanimous opinion, of the people of this country, when we 
 say that the value and importance of this splendid terri- 
 tory, as large again as France, is incalculable. Its value 
 cannot be properly estimated. Its extent and resources, 
 the character of the soil, and its admirable locality for 
 commerce and trade of every sort, make it superior to any 
 country on the globe. Look to its vast circumference, 
 about one thousand miles in length, and covering a surface 
 of four hi idred thousand square miles, its vast and almost 
 numberless resources, its rivers, harbors, coasts, and cU- 
 mate — every convenience and every facility of making it 
 adapted to any purpose. It seems very remarkable that 
 we should hesitate in asserting our claims, not by mere 
 declaration, that will not do, it avails nothing, but by an 
 absolute possession. Send out our people, with all their 
 advantages of wealth, industry, and intelligence, plant 
 fearlessly the American standard, defying foreign invasion, 
 and the benefits accruing would be the means of diffusing 
 comforts not only there, but the effect would be felt and 
 appreciated throughout the continent. England sees very 
 well the advantages resulting from the acquisition of this 
 territory ; hence it is she is so unwilling to make any sur- 
 render whatever. She is always prompt in finding out 
 first where the jewel lies^ and has fixed upon this rich pos- 
 session as an important addition to her dominions, and is 
 plying all her intrigues and devices to wrest it from us. 
 Wherever there is an unclaimed or deserted spot upon the 
 earth^s surface, whether it be productive or sterile, it mat- 
 ters not how small or how large it is, or what its advan- 
 
76 o R £ e> o N . 
 
 tages may be, she is the first to pounce upon it, like a 
 greedy vulture, and to retain it forever, unless compelled 
 necessarily to relinquish it. Her encroachments become 
 more extended with the time of her possession. Her ap- 
 petite for territorial aggrandizement is sharpened. She 
 wishes to add to her treasury, and as her desire is grati- 
 fied so it is increased. In making known her claims, her 
 voice bX first is weak and doubting. She procrastinates, re- 
 fusing to legislate, working all the while clandestinely, and 
 refusing to let the world know her intentions, until at last, 
 when she sees a rightful title made by a rightfid people, 
 she flatly but falsely asserts that we are trampling upon 
 what is hers, and that our desire for gain is only equalled 
 by the injustice of ^ ur claims. Should the value of Ore- 
 gon be but small, and its physical advantages compara- 
 tively few, she would long since have yielded to the un- 
 questionable title of the United States •, ihe controversy, 
 if any, would have been soon ended; and seeing the 
 injustice of her cause, she would have tamely given way 
 to the superiority of claims. But it is now reduced to a 
 certainty that the longer the delay the more obstinate will 
 she become. But to the subjtct. The chmate, soil, hunt- 
 ing, and fishing, together with the locality of this territory, 
 render it one of the most desirable portions of the new 
 world. All the explorers. Cook, Clark, Pentlock, and 
 Vancouver, represent the climate as being mild and salu- 
 brious. Kotzebue says : 
 
 ''On the 30th of July, a long tract of lowland was 
 covered with luxuriant verdure, the climate being, from 
 March to April, in latitude 49° 30, infinitely milder than 
 the coast of America under the same latitude. There was 
 no frost in the low grounds, and vegetation proceeded 
 briskly ; grass, at this time, was upwards of p foot long. 
 The crops are frequently watered by the most refreshing 
 
O R £ G N . 77 
 
 showers ; the seasons are regular, and there is nothing 
 wanting but villages and hamlets to render it one of the 
 most beautiful countries in creation. Nature has done her 
 part. The ocean teems with otter, whale, and seal, while 
 the mainland abounds in every variety of game, and the 
 water with sturgeon, salmon, and other species of fish. 
 The multitudes of salmon in the Oregon are innumerable, 
 and they ascend to its remotest streams. The water is so 
 clear, that they may be seen at the depth of fifteen or 
 twenty feet, and so abundant are they at certain seasons, 
 that, in the scarcity of wood, dried fish are often used as 
 fuel. In a word, that great and beautiful peninsula, be- 
 tween the mouth of the Columbia and the entrance of De 
 Fuca's sti ait, enclosing more than two-thirds of the coun- 
 try in the ocean between the river and the strait, possesses 
 advantages for occupation by a civilized nation not sur- 
 passed by those of any other country in the world." 
 
 The occupation of this country by Great Britain would 
 certainly be very desirable to her. With Oregon and 
 Canada on the north, in what would our defence consist? 
 Of course we should be completely blockaded. We should 
 be rivalled in many of our staple products, in tobacco and 
 cotton, and in other of our principal productions ; and the 
 competition which would necessarily exist, would cause at 
 once a depreciation m the value of every thing. Our 
 home markets would be seriously disturbed, and we should 
 be ever surrounded by a watchful and jealous people, am- 
 bitious to excel, and stooping to the lowest meanj to ac- 
 comphsh the lowest ends. This would be the inevitable 
 consequence, in ali the rival products, we should be under- 
 sold ; and those articles from which we expected a hand- 
 some revenue, would command comparatively nothing. 
 Another important question connected with ^imigration is, 
 that the necessaries (those which are bought in the United 
 
T$ OREGON. 
 
 States at almost double their value) can be purchas- 
 ed in Oregon for about half of what is paid here. The 
 price of groceries are, upon a general average, with the 
 States. Loaf sugar, double-refined, (the very finest that 
 can be made,) is worth 13 cents per pound ; and brown 
 sugar, 12^ cents per pound. Tea, which is really superior 
 to that sold in the United States, can be bought for 80 
 cents per pound. China is but a short distance ofil, and 
 Wilkes says, " that it is lying, as it were, opposite the door 
 of the Columbia river." Clothing of all kinds is also very 
 cheap. There is no duty paid, and consequently woollens 
 and flannels can be sold at a lower rate than what is paid 
 here. Very good strong blue cloth, six-quarters wide, can 
 be had for ^1 25 per yard. A very neat cloth roundabout 
 comes at ^4 37^ ; pantaloons at ^5. Neat cotton shirts 
 are worth 83 cents ; Mackinaw blankets of superior qual- 
 ity, ^3 50 each. All articles of cutlery are cheap, for the 
 same reason that other articles are so. Calicoes and 
 cottons are rather higher, and sell for about the same as 
 in the States. Iron is worth 10 cents per pound ; gun- 
 powder, 25 cents ; lead, 12^ cents, and shot the same. 
 Boots and shoes are yet very high ; and crockery of ail 
 descriptions command a large price. Tools and farming 
 utensils are very reasonable. The best Cary ploughs can 
 be bought, to order, from an excellent blacksmith, h.. 31 :| 
 cents per pound. Wheat sells easily for $1 per bushel ; 
 potatoes, 40 cents ; fr sh p rk, 10 cents, and fresh beef, 
 6 cents per pound. Ameri«.an cows, from the scarcity of 
 them, bring from $50 to $75 ; and Spanish, from $30 to 
 $40; oxen, from $75 to $125 per yoke ; American horses, 
 from $50 to $75 each. There is an abundance of poultry 
 in this country, and a plentiful supply of the two classes 
 of domestic animals, known by the familiar names of "cats 
 and dogs ;*' but still it is advisable for every emigrant to 
 
OREGON. 79 
 
 bring dogs willi him that are of a good breed. In a coun- 
 try where so much game abounds, and where there are 
 herds to watch, thry are very useful. 
 
 The goods sold at Vancouver are of a superior quality, 
 and the purchaser, in this region of honesty and enterprise, 
 receives them on a credit of twelve months ; so that the 
 greatest obstacle to the poor, worn-down emigrant, after his 
 arrival, vanishes at once. " This is a country of peace 
 and good- will ; every new comer is received as a brother ; 
 the poor man's wealth lies in his arms ; and the spirit and 
 industry that brought him here to claim, by his labor, 
 Heaven's just gifts in the richness of the soil, is accepted 
 as the substantial guaranty of his good faith. The utmost 
 honesty and liberality characterizes the dealings of the na- 
 tives with strangers, and even with residents. If your cir- 
 cumstances are adverse, and you are not able to pay for 
 last year's dealing, you are required to give your note, 
 drawing interest at five per cent." The course of the Co 
 lumbia river, and nearly all its tributaries, lead to the most 
 valuable and fertile portions of the territory. The course 
 of the Columbia is nearly due west and east. In the farther 
 valley of the Oregon, betw een the Blue and Rocky moun- 
 tains, a barren waste presents itself to the eye of the wea- 
 ried traveller — rocks lieaped upon rocks in the wildest 
 confusion, and fearful precipices every hundred yards, for 
 miles. In this sectioii of the country, the soil is seldom 
 refreshed with showers. Sometimes weeks, and even 
 months, pass, without a drop of rain ; consequently vege- 
 tation suffers extremely; every thing is parched and dried 
 up, and often dies for the want of moisture. At this place^ 
 and in the vicinity, the cold is so intense as often to freeze 
 the earth, the ^jroducts of which are entirely destroyed. 
 Agriculture and industry are necessarily palsied, and tut 
 little is done by the inhabitants to till the soil. This region 
 
$0 OREGON. 
 
 as nia} oe supposed, is but little sought by civilized man; 
 its climate, location, and all its advantages, have been for 
 many years the abode of the lawless and- uncivilized. An 
 opportunity is allowed to the settlers in this region to com- 
 mit all kinds of depredations ; yet there are many scenes 
 connected with this extended landscape, which renders 
 the scene at times truly beautiful. Nature has done much 
 to adorn the earth, and her bounties are spread around for 
 miles in the richest profusion. Washington Irving, with 
 his accustomed beauty of style and diction, thus describes 
 it: "The monotony of these immense landscapes would 
 be as wearisome as that of the ocean, were it not relieved, 
 in some degree, by the purity and elasticity of the atmo- 
 sphere, and the splendor of the heavens. The sky has 
 that delicious blue, for which the sky of Italy is renowned. 
 The sun shines with a pure splendor, unobscured by any 
 cloud or vapor ; and star-light in the prairie is glorious." 
 The extreme valley in the west is by far the richest agri- 
 cultural region in that whole section of countrj. It ex- 
 tends far from the straits of De Fuca, to the placid and 
 beautiful waters of the Umpagna river; but about one hun- 
 dred miles south of the Columbia, the most luxuriant and 
 beautiful pastures may be found, upon which herds ot 
 cattle g.re continually feeding. In this splendid valley of 
 ab'^Mt forty-five thousand square miles, the land, in many 
 places, is as productive as the river grounds, as they are 
 termed, which is very well adapted to the growth of wheat ; 
 and immediately below there is a magnificent valley, per- 
 fectly level, 1000 feet in width, and fifteen or twenty miles 
 in length, presenting a field to the industrious and enter- 
 prising noL to be met with in our country. Here, if any 
 where, must be the seat of empire, population, and wealth, 
 while the neighboring region remains in a state r\f irre- 
 claimable wilderness. The climate is healthy, mild, and 
 
O R E G I« . 81 
 
 salubrious ; and the thermometer in the summer seldom 
 ranges higher than 80° ; while the most refreshing air is con- 
 stantly stirring. The winters, it is true, are quite severe- 
 some more so than others ; and the rain commences in 
 October, and prevails till April. They are often very vio 
 lent ; but seldom prevent the inhabitants from carrying on 
 their daily business. Storms sometimes occur which baffles 
 all description. Hear what Washington Irving says of 
 them : " The sun is obscured sometimes for weeks, the 
 brooks swell with roaming torrents, and the country is 
 threatened with a deluge. But these things soon pass 
 away, and the sun again smiles upon the earth with in- 
 creased brilliancy." The inhabitants of this region are 
 hardy and industrious, and capable of enduring the severest 
 fatigue. They amuse themselves in various ways, such as 
 hunting, fishing, boxing, and very often large parties as- 
 semble, who remain together for days, enjoying themselves 
 as they can. 
 
 North and northwest of the Columbia, to the 56° of lati- 
 tude, is the New Caledonia of British traders. This sec- 
 tion is exceedingly sterile and unproductive; so much so, 
 that not even the most common natural growth has yet ap- 
 peared. The chief water course is Eraser's river, a stream 
 of considerable length and breadth, emptying into the 
 straits of Fuca. Strange to say, not even the banks of this 
 river are at all fertile, or even fit for grazing ; however, 
 they very well compare with the surrounding country, not 
 an acre of which, in a circumference of fifteen miles, is 
 worthy of tillage, in truth, these lands have been very 
 often tested, for the purpose of seeing to what growth 
 tLey were best adapted ; but no one has, as yet, ever pre- 
 tended to cultivate them. It would be supposed that the 
 various individuals whf" have endeavored, by various means, 
 to reclaim them, and introduce a system of cultivation 
 
82 OREGON. 
 
 and improvement similar to that whicli is practised on 
 the banks of the Columbia, would give rise to disputes and 
 difficulties with those who claim a right to this particular 
 section; but it appears that all Hve on terms of peace 
 and friendship, and disputes but seldom occur with the 
 settlers. After the resolutions of the Emigrating Society 
 passed, on which occasion Dumbarton acted so distin- 
 guished a part, insisting, with all the powers of his sound 
 logic and eloquence, on the adoption of the commercial 
 laws of Missouri and Tennessee, for the future govern- 
 ment, there has nothing occurred calculated, in the slight- 
 est degree, to disturb the harmony and mutual good feeling 
 which all aid in cherishing and preserving. The resolu- 
 tions adopted by that noted meeting, presenting a free and 
 intrepid body of resolute men, determined to establish 
 their own rules of action peculiar to themselves, and 
 adapted to their own views and wants, are well calculated 
 to prove man^s capacity for self governiLent ; having the 
 means within his reach, should he be willing to adopt 
 those means, of placing himself on an equality, both moral 
 and civil, with the most favored nations of the world, 
 they came to this determination, and though many objec- 
 tions were urged, and arguments employed, to dissuade 
 those who designed carrying out the plan, some contend- 
 ing that the laws of the United States would be soon in- 
 troduced, others that no government was best, yet they 
 would not be stifled ; and met together in convention, like 
 the great framers of our constitution, to introduce their 
 own views of government, and pass their own laws. They 
 mean, if possible, to establish a representative form of gov- 
 ernment. It is very certain that the rights of the individ 
 ual do not grow out of any conventional agreement- by 
 which those rights are recognised and created ; for the 
 gredt leading principles of human conduct, on which those 
 
OREGON. 83 
 
 rights chieriy depend, came into existence with man. De- 
 stroy man, and of course rights cease to exist; but as long 
 as he exists, or as long as government exists, rights must 
 prevail and be acted upon. This point was duly considered 
 by the law-makers of Oregon. They had sagacity enough 
 to know the ends for which governments were instituted, 
 the effect that would be produced from the maintenance of 
 these rights, and they wisely concluded that it would be 
 better to organize and establish for themselves a civil code. 
 They plainly saw that society can exercise no privileges 
 which do not proceed from the individuals forming that so- 
 ciety. Modifications, forms, phazes may exist; but all at last 
 grow out of the inherent, inalienable rights of man — ^''life, 
 liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ;" and whatever inter- 
 poses or thwarts these, interposes a barrier — fixes a gulf 
 between individuals, and establishes classes which conflict 
 directly with the right of self-government. 
 
 The resolutions which were adopted by this convention 
 are so excellent in their character, and so well calculated 
 to advance the prosperity of the country and the happiness 
 of the people, that we beg leave to present them to our 
 readers, as taken from the admirable work of Lieut. Wilkes : 
 
 Resolutions of the Oregon EmigrcUing Society. 
 
 Resolved^ whereas, we deem it necessary, for the gov- 
 ernment of all societies, either civil or military, to adopt 
 certain rules and regulations for their government, for the 
 purpose of keeping good order and promoting civil and 
 military discipline, therefore, in order to increase or insure 
 safety, we adopt the following rules and regulations for the 
 government of said company : . ^ j:;S 
 
 Rule 1st. Every male person of the age of sixteen or 
 upwards shall be considered a legal voter in all the aflairs 
 regulating the company. '*" 
 
84 OREGON. 
 
 Rule Id. There shall be nhie men elected by a majority 
 of the company, who shall form a council, whose duty it 
 shall be to settle all disputes arising between individuals, 
 and to try, and pass sentence on all persons for any act of 
 which they may be guilty, which is subversive of good or- 
 der and military discipline. They shall take special cog- 
 nisance of sentinels and members of the guard who may 
 be guilty of neglect of duty, or of sleeping on their posts. 
 Such persons shall be tried, and sentence passed on them 
 at the discretion of council. A majority of two-thirds of 
 the council shall decide all questions, subject to the ap- 
 proval or disapproval of the captain. If the captain dis' 
 approve of the decision of the council, he shall state to 
 them his reasons ; when they shall again pass upon the 
 question, and if the decision is made again by the same 
 body, it shall be final. 
 
 Rule 3d. There shall be a captain elected, who shall have 
 supreme military command of the company. It shall be 
 the duty of the captain to maintain good order and strict 
 discipline, and, as far as practicable, to enforce all rules 
 and regulations adopted by the company. Any man who 
 shall be guilty of disobeying orders, shall be tried, and sen- 
 tenced at the discretion of the council, which may extend 
 to expulsion from the company. The captain shall ap- 
 point the requisite number of duty-sergeants, one of whom 
 shall take charge of every guard, and who shaH hold their 
 offices at the pleasure of the captain. 
 
 Rule 4th. There shall be an orderly sergeant elected by 
 the company, whose duty it shall be to keep a regular roll, 
 arranged in alphabetical order, on every subject, to guard 
 duly the company, and shall make out his guard details by 
 commencing at the top of the roll and proceeding to the 
 bottom ; thus giving every man an equal term of guard 
 duty. He shall also parade every guard, call the roll, and 
 
OREGON. 85 
 
 inspect the time of mounting. He shall also visit the guard 
 at least once every night, and see that they are doing strict 
 military duty, and may, at any time, give them the neces- 
 sary instructions respecting their duty, and shall regularly 
 make report to the captain every morning, and be consid- 
 ered second in command. 
 
 Rule 5th. The captain, orderly sergeant, and members 
 of the council shall hold their offices at the pleasure of the 
 company. And it shall be the duty of the council, upon 
 the application of one-third or more of the company, to or- 
 der a new election for either captain, orderly sergeant, or 
 new member or members of the council, or for all or any 
 of them, as the case may be. 
 
 Rule 6th. The election for officers shall not take place 
 until the company meet at Kansas river. 
 
 Rule 7th. No family shall be allowed to take more than 
 three loose cattle to every male member of the age of six- 
 teen or upwards. 
 
 It is needless to state that many of these remarkable 
 resolutions were considered a "dead letter," as laws fre- 
 quently are, from the time of their adoption. However, 
 they answered all the ends for which they were intended ; 
 and those who had been most prominent in effecting their 
 passage assumed an air of dignified satisfaction which ap- 
 peared as though they had taken part in a proceeding lit- 
 tle short in importance to the declaration of American in- 
 dependence. From that time forward perfect order and 
 good will prevailed in the colony, each man contributed 
 to the good order of the body, and serious difficulties but 
 rarely occurred. The government that was estabhshed 
 suited the wants and conditions of all, and a spirit now 
 prevails calculated, in the course of time, to render the ter- 
 ritory one of the most desirable portions of the new world. 
 Already the people have been considering the propriety of 
 
86 OREGON. 
 
 forming themselves into societies for the purpose of ad- 
 vancing their social relations, as will be seen from a letter 
 dated Wallamette, November 1st, 1844; which, from its 
 astonishing character and true republicanism, cannot fail 
 to interest all who read it. 
 
 Wallamette, JVovember 4, 1844. 
 
 Sir: The Hudson Bay ship Columbia, sailing in a few 
 days, via the Sandwich Islands, for England, by the polite- 
 ness of her owners, I have the honor of again addressing 
 you, and certainly under circumstances the most favorable 
 and gratifying. Since my last, forwarded in March, aside 
 from two or three incidents of an unpleasant nature, the 
 colony and country has been in a state of unusual quiet- 
 ness, and the season has been one of great prosperity. 
 The legislative body, composed of nine members, met 
 on the 24th of May at the falls of the Wallamette, and 
 closed their short, but effective, session in nine days, hav- 
 ing passed, in due form, twenty-Jive biUs, most of which 
 were of importance to us in the regulation of our inter- 
 course. A few of these laws I transmit to you ; and 
 would here remark, that the taxes v/ere in general cheer- 
 fully paid. The liquor bill is popular, and the laws of Or- 
 egon are honored. The liquor act not coming in force 
 under sixty days from its passage, a few individuals having 
 clandestinely prepared before its passage, improved this 
 favored moment to dispose of all they could with any 
 hopes of safety. Of this I was immediately notified, and 
 hastened in from the Palatine Plains. All the mischief, as 
 heretofore, being done in and about the town at the falls 
 of the Wallamette. I resolved, at whatever danger or cost, 
 to nip this in the bud. I procured the call of a public meet- 
 ing at once, and had the happiness to receive the following 
 expression from all concerned, but one : 
 
OREGON. 87 
 
 Besohed^ That it be the sense of this meeting that Dr. 
 White, in his official relations, take such assistance as he 
 may require, and forthwith search out and destroy all in- 
 toxicating hquor that may be found in this vicinity or dis- 
 trict of country. P. G. Steward, executive chairman, and 
 John P. Long, M. D., secretary, started, with ten volun- 
 teers, early the ensuing morning, and found the distillery 
 in a deep, dense thicket, eleven miles from town, at three 
 o^clock, P. M. The boiler was a large-sized potash ket- 
 tle, and all the apparatus well accorded. Two hogsheads 
 and eight barrels of slush, or beer, were standing ready for 
 distillation, with part of one barrel of molasses. No liquor 
 was to be found, nor as yet had much been distilled. Hav- 
 ing resolved on my course, I left no time for reflection, but 
 at once upset the nearest oask, when my noble volunteers 
 immediately seconded my measures, making a river of beer 
 in a moment. Nor did we stop until the kettle was raised 
 and elevated in triumph at the prow of our boat; and 
 every cask, with all the distillery apparatus, was broken to 
 pieces, and utterly destroyed. We then returned, in high 
 cheer, to the town, where our presence and report gave 
 general joy. Two hours after my arrival, I received from 
 James Conner, one of the owners, a written challenge for 
 a bloody combat, which ended last week in his being in- 
 dicted before the grand jury, fined five hundred dollars, and 
 disfranchised for life. Six weeks since, an unhappy af- 
 fray occurring between one Joel Turnham, late from Mis- 
 souri, and Webley Haixhaust, of Wallamette, and serious 
 threats passing from the former, a warrant was issued, and 
 Turnham resisting with a deadly weapon, was shot down 
 by the officer, for which he comes before the grand jury 
 to-morrow. Turnham expired at once, being shot with 
 three mortal wounds through the neck and head, but, with 
 singular desperation, fought and resisted to the last. So 
 
88 OREGON. 
 
 far as I understand the public expression, all unite in ac- 
 quitting the officer, who has ever been a harmless, quiet, 
 good citizen ; while Turnham was regarded a most des- 
 perate and dangerous character abroad, having left Mis- 
 souri under circumstances the most unfavorable to his rep- 
 utation and quiet here, where he has been particularly sour, 
 irritable, and quarrelsome ; and was the more obnoxious 
 as he was reported brave, and generally too stout for his 
 antagonist embraced in the circuit of five counties. I have 
 not seen in any county such uniform decorum and quiet- 
 ness as has prevailed throughout at these courts. Much 
 of this mildness, sobriety, and good order is doubtless at- 
 tributed to the absence of all intoxicating drinks. The 
 laws of this country, framed to meet present circumstances, 
 are taking deeper and stronger root continually ; and some 
 are already suggesting, notwithstanding our infancy, wheth- 
 er, if long left without a mother protection, it will not be 
 well to undertake to run alone. The resources of the 
 country are rapidly developing, and the expectations of the 
 people are generally high. The mildness of the climate and 
 the strength of the soil greatly encouraged the large emi- 
 gration of last year. For the last twelve months the mer- 
 cury has ranged from 96 to 30 ; four-fifths of the time from 
 80 to 55, making an agreeable summer and mild winter. 
 Grazing has been good throughout, so much so, that the 
 jaded and worn-down animals of the poor emigrants fat- 
 tened up, greatly to their surprise, before spring, without 
 feeding or the least attention. Crops of all kinds were un- 
 usually good, and even Indian corn. Cheerfulness pre- 
 vails since harvesting. As statements have been made to 
 the south derogatory to our soil, allow me to say, it is be- 
 lieved, with the same cultivation, no country produces bet- 
 ter wheat, oats, peas, potatoes, or any other crop, save In- 
 dian com, for which the nights are too cool for a heavy 
 
OREGON. BP 
 
 growth. The wheat crops, being never impaired by the 
 frosts' of winter or rains of summer, as in the States, are 
 remarkably sure ; nor, as yet, have our crops been disturb- 
 ed by flies or insects. Wheat crops are heavy, as you will 
 judge, when I assure you, from simply turning over the 
 prairie, scattering the seed in October, and then, with no 
 further trouble, passing the harrow over it, ten acres upon 
 my plantation grew five hundred and forty-one bushels 
 and a half The river flats, containing much alluvial de- 
 posite, are very rich, the plains beautiful and verdant, being 
 admirably watered, but generally sparsely timbered ; the 
 highlands well timbered and watered in many parts, and 
 producing herbage, fir, an abundance of deer, elk, moun- 
 tain sheep, &c. The entire Wallamette and Umpqua vil- 
 lages, capable of containing a population of several mil- 
 lions, it is generally believed, cannot be excelled as a 
 whole for richness of soil, variety, grandeur, and beauty of 
 scenery. Nor, considering the latitude, can it be equalled 
 in mildness and agreeableness of chmate. Our exports 
 are wheat, beans, and salmon, for which, in return, we ob- 
 tain from the Sandwich Islands sugar, molasses, tea, cof- 
 fee, and other commodities, brought there from China, 
 England, and America. 
 
 We are much in want of a currency and market ; Amer- 
 ican merchants being as yet a slender reliance, £.nd in view 
 of the large emigrating parties of each year, we should be 
 greatly distressed for necessary articles of wearing appa- 
 rel, but for the most commendable spirit of accommoda- 
 tion on the part of the Hudson Bay Company. Could 
 some arrangement be entered into for us to supply the 
 navy of the Pacific with bread, beef, pork, and fish, we 
 would be thereby much improved in our condition. This 
 might, and perhaps ought, to be done, in view of the en- 
 couragements held out for our people to emigrate to this 
 
90 OREGON. 
 
 country. Should it not be convenient for our ships of war 
 to come to the Columbia for such supplies, they could be 
 supplied or shipped to the Sandwich Islands if required. 
 But more of this another time. 
 
 Having just taken the tour of the colony, for the pur- 
 pose of attending the courts and visiting the schools, it af- 
 fords me pleasure to say, I felt amply rewarded through- 
 out. I found health, cheerfulness, and prosperity, and cer- 
 tainly most surprising improvements for the short time 
 sirice they commenced. The decorum of the courts I have 
 spoken of, and now have only to speak of the schools and 
 Indians, and I am done ; fearing I have already wearied 
 your patience. For the want of means, the Methodist 
 Manual Labor Indian School has been recently broken 
 up, and is now occupied as a boarding-school for white 
 children of both sexes. The school is yet small, but very 
 well conducted, and promises usefulness to the colony. 
 The schools at the falls of the Wallamette and Falatine 
 Plains are likewise under the direction of Mr. Blanchette, 
 Catholic clergyman, and are all small, numbering from fif- 
 teen to thirty only, but are well kept and doing good. I 
 feel solicitous on this subject, and am saying and doing 
 what I can to encourage education ; but, like all other new 
 countries, the people need their children much at home." 
 
 It will be perceived, from the annexed letter, that stren- 
 uous but successful efforts have been used to remove the 
 distilleries in Oregon, and that many of the citizens were 
 actually compelled, vi et armis, to destroy the principal 
 distillery in a certain section of the country which was 
 spreading mischief and distress for miles around. The 
 people, or a majority of them, were fast becoming bnital- 
 ized with the use of this destroyer. It was introduced at 
 all times and on all occasions. Men, women, and children ; 
 the young maiden, in all the freshness of her early days ; 
 
OREGON. 91 
 
 and the young m^n, in all the strength and vigor of man- 
 hood, became a prey to its several ills. At midnight, in 
 the morning, and at noon, might be seen whole families in 
 groups almost insensible from the quantity of spirit drank. 
 A few were left, however, as spectators to the scene. 
 They saw the progressive power of this fell monster, and 
 affectionately remonstrated. But intemperance heeds not 
 remonstrances. It continued to exist, to the alarm of the 
 more sober and reflecting. Persuasion would not do. It 
 exerted no check, had no beneficial influence. Appeals, 
 solemn and powerful, to the sober sense of the people, did 
 not arrest or even impede the progress of this resistless 
 tide. The hard drinker was taken from his besotted com- 
 panions and implored, for his own sake, to 'Haste nor 
 touch not." Letters were written, speeches made, all to 
 no eflect, until this admirable plan, a sovereign panacea, 
 was fallen upon by Steward and Long. The idea had been 
 long under serious consideration, and, in the event of any 
 opposition, to adopt these means which would put an end 
 to the use of ardent spirits. The subject had been tho- 
 roughly discussed by many of the most influential men in 
 the territory. They had observed with mortification the 
 progress that intemperance was making in the thickly set- 
 tled neighborhoods, and saw to their horror the effect 
 that it was producing, and was calculated to produce, on 
 the laboring and business portions of the inhabitants. 
 Their stern will to check this inordinate and unnatural de- 
 sire could not be swayed, and they at once destroyed this 
 distillery, which brought about a happy state of afiairs. 
 At first, while the scheme was in embryo, the excitement 
 and indignation was very great with the hard drinkers, and 
 particularly with those who had derived immediate profit 
 from the sale of Hquor. They spoke of mobs, tarring and 
 feathering the offenders, and other harsh means of redress 
 
9^ OREOO Pf. 
 
 were suggested ; but their senses soon returned to thenr^ 
 ^^reason took her seat,^^ and a drunken man is now rarely seen, 
 where hundreds were in the habit of assembling. These 
 very men are now probably as useful as any members of 
 society, and are engaged in writing letters to their friends, 
 and exerting their warmest endeavors to induce the poor 
 man to emigrate. They speak of Oregon as a country of 
 immense value to the United States ; and it is very certain 
 that it is not appreciated as such by the American people. 
 Look at its admirable locality. Its extreme northwest 
 is bounded by the Pacific, extending some thousand miles 
 along its coast, admitting the largest and finest vessels of 
 the first class and vessels of merchandise. Storms ofi* this 
 coast are very frequent, sweeping every thing before them, 
 but when these harbors are seen, they always offer a safe 
 protection, easy of access. They are so situated as to be 
 approached from any point, save from a northeasterly di- 
 rection from the mouth, where there are a number of sand 
 banks ; it so happens, however, that no vessel in distress is 
 ever excluded. The principal harbors on the coast are 
 Canovered Bay, Clark's Point, Whitby's Bay, Point Green- 
 ville, Port Discovery, and Breaker Point. The Columbia 
 river is also considered u safe harbor, and is much resort- 
 ed to in bad weather ; its course runs south, nearly to the 
 46th degree, and then takes a northerly directicn as far as 
 46| degrees ; as it advances into the interior of the coun- 
 try the stream is of course less wide^ dividing itself into 
 small tributaries, which water :.oarly the whole interior of 
 the country west of the Rocky Mountains. Clark's river 
 is quite an important branch. It runs from a small lake, 
 called Pondery, in the neighborhood near which live the 
 Flat Bon Indians. To this river belongs several small 
 streams, which, after passing through a fine section of 
 country, empty into the Columbia, not very far firom its 
 
OREGON. 93 
 
 sound. There are several forts in this part of the territory, 
 Fort Vancouver, Fort Wallawalla, and another small fort, 
 to which as yet no name has been given. £ast of the 
 Rocky Mountains there is a fertile and valuable region of 
 country, which has been for several years in active culti- 
 vation, and the product uncommonly good. This immedi- 
 ate section is less rocky, and better adapted to the growth 
 of corn and peas than that which is adjacent; hence the 
 population is larger and the people more industrious. 
 They are provided with all the necessary implements of 
 husbandry, and have succeeded, for several years past, ad- 
 mirably well with their crops ; commanding at all times a 
 good price for their grain, and meeting with a ready market. 
 This portion of the country is of immense value to the 
 United States — it is valuable for its location and natural 
 advantages — for the richness of the soil — so easy of access, 
 and for its contiguity to the principal villages. Considered 
 as a boundary, the portion from the Mississippi to the 
 Rocky Mountains is indispensable ; we should insist upon 
 having it, and any opposition ought to be resisted. It 
 is worse than folly for England to contend for the por- 
 tion lying between Red Lake in the north and Fort 
 Dominee in the south ; it is a very short distance from the 
 boundary of Arkansas, separated only by the Mississip- 
 pi river, which proves at once that the same divine hand 
 that made land and sea, and saw '•'• that they were good,'^ 
 intended that this portion of the Oregon should be a part 
 and parcel of the United States; to surrender it would ac- 
 knowledge at once that our title was spurious, and was not 
 sufficient to sustain us in asserting our right. What would 
 be the situation of our towns and villages bordering on 
 the Mississippi, should they be separated by British pos. 
 sessions, only by a narrow stream, about half of a mile in 
 width? What would be the existing relations between 
 
94 o R E o rr . 
 
 the British and our countrymen? Would they be safe a( 
 any time from insult, depredation, and murder ? Has that 
 deep-rooted feeling of jealousy and malice, that has exist- 
 ed on the part of England towards the United States, from 
 the earliest days of her despotism to the present time, 
 given way to the control of a more kind and friendly spirit? 
 Do we find manifested in her Parhament that respect for 
 our republican institutions, that esteem for our rulers and 
 magistrate, and that desire to cherish good will as a foreign 
 power, that would justify us in permitting them to settle at 
 our very doors, with all their wild schemes of abolition and 
 destructive notions of national policy ? Never. There is 
 not an American who would consent to see them located in 
 a region of country but a stone's throw from their own. 
 Again : Their opinions respecting the abolition of slavery 
 are known throughout the world. The next question that 
 naturally arises in connexion with this subject is, whether 
 or not slavery is a southern institution. This all admit; 
 and it is contended by many, the Hon. John C. Calhoun 
 among the number, that slavery is a necessary institution, 
 the prosperity of the South depending upon it. Here we 
 find them determined to abolish it whenever and wherever 
 they can, conflicting directly with a long-existing, and, we 
 think, important institution. Of course this determination 
 at all times will rem?iin as fixed as it is at this time. No change 
 of circumstances, no event, would alter this settled pur- 
 pose, which has every year become more resolute. Be- 
 tween the British settlers and our slaves there would be 
 constant intercourse. How could it be prevented? They 
 would be subject to the most lawless, insidious, and revo- 
 lutionary designs ; plots and schemes would be continually 
 at work, by which their freedom could be effected, and no 
 vigilance on our part cq^ld prevent it. It is believed by 
 many that in the course of time such would be the indus- 
 
OREGON. 95 
 
 try with which this abohtion party would prosecute their 
 purposes, and such their unalterable determination to effect 
 this object at any cost or sacrifice, that the South sooner 
 or later would present a theatre of one of the most heart- 
 rending and bloody tragedies that ever marked the sanguin- 
 ary eras of Europe. There would be no stumbling block in 
 the way ; on the contrary, every inducement to carry out 
 their plan. This is, therefore, one of the principal reasons 
 for ridicul^ vnd denouncing the idea of a surrender of 
 this pr „ of the territory. The valley between the Blue 
 and Rocky Mountains presents a barren wilderness for 
 hundreds of miles. The land is wholly incapable of pro- 
 ducing the most common weeds, and is consequently never 
 tilled ; the climate is likewise very bad. The nights are 
 intensely cold, destroying every description of vegetation, 
 rendering the climate dangerous to live in. It is inhabited 
 almost entirely by a lawless class of men, who live by the 
 depredations and robberies that they commit; they co- 
 operate with all the savages, whom they can possibly pre- 
 vail on to join them, and frequently take what they call 
 " pillaging expeditions," destroying every thing that comes 
 within their reach, and often taking the lives of useful and 
 industrious citizens. Hear what Washington Irving says 
 on the subject: "The monotony of these immense land- 
 scapes would be as wearisome as that of the Ocean, were 
 they not relieved in some degree by the sweet atmosphere." 
 Not far off there is a beautiful valley, watered by the Walla- 
 walla, situated between the Blue and Far West Mountains. 
 Here nature has scattered her bounties most profusely; 
 fruit, flowers, and grapes may be found in great abundance. 
 This immediate section is also celebrated as a pasture 
 country ; the cattle are remarkably fat and well grown, 
 and, if " there be no deception, the cattle of the herdsman 
 may range over a thousand hills." The valley, not very 
 
96 OREGOff. 
 
 distant from this, commonly called the Western Valley, 
 is the great agricultural region ; it extends from the straits 
 of Fuca to the Umpqua river, and contains about 50,000 
 square miles. This is literally the Eden spot of the terri- 
 tory, and is susceptible of profitable cultivation, provided 
 the proper implements can be obtained ; for in many places 
 the soil is hard and unyielding, and requires great labor to 
 till it. This region is capable of supporting a very large 
 population, almost as large as that of many of the States. 
 The hills and forests around are magnificent ; the foliage 
 of the trees, many of them in perpetual verdure, and the rich 
 shrubbery, running in wild profusion over hill and dale, to- 
 gether with the salubrity of the chmate and the fertility of 
 the soil, render it, to the enterprising settler, one of the 
 most favored and lovely spots of creation. The thermome- 
 ter in summer is seldom higher than 80°, and the tempera- 
 ture is considered at all times, with the exception of a few 
 weeks, genial and delightful. The winter is represented 
 as being mild and delightful, and not too cold for the per- 
 formance of agricultural labors. It is mostly peopled by 
 American emigrants, who are hardy, industrious, and en- 
 terprising, and capable of enduring great fatigue. Within 
 a few years past the most astonishing improvements have 
 been made ; towns and villages are spring:ing up every 
 T/here ; commerce, agriculture, and a well ordered system 
 of government, is taking the place of national and physi- 
 cal wildness, and the recent letters that have been re- 
 ceived bespeak the satisfaction and good feeling that is ex- 
 isting among the inhabitants. Here, says De Bow, ^ if any 
 where, must the seat of empire, population, and wealth be, 
 beyond the Rocky Mountains." The Columbia river, for 
 thirty or forty miles from its mouth, forms a race or estu- 
 ary, varying in width from three to seven miles; its mouth 
 is surrounded with numerous shoals, as far upwards as 
 
OREGON. 97 
 
 the " cascades," not far from the Wallamette river, no ves- 
 sels venture beyond, and the loss of several packets, heavi- 
 ly laden with costly and valuable merchandise, has caused 
 the greatest caution to be observed. The reefs of rock 
 that extend out for miles are not visible to the eye ; hence 
 the necessity of employing the most skilful and experienced 
 pilots. Whenever an accident occurs, there is no evidence 
 of approaching dangers, and the vessel appears perfectly 
 safe, and apparently in deep water, until she is stranded 
 and dashed to pieces. Near the coast there are large 
 groups of islands scattered around, between the 48° and 
 58° of latitude, which has been classed under one name, 
 viz, the Northwest Archipelago. These islands are ex- 
 ceedingly sterile and unproductive, being of a porous, 
 sandy soil *, they abound in wood, however, which is carried 
 off in large quantities and sold. Four years ago there 
 were hardly five hundred of our citizens in all this region 
 of Oregon, and these were simply farmers and graziers, 
 located about the Wallaihjtte or Wallawalla. Since.; the 
 tide of emigration has greatly increased. In 1833 about 
 one bundled persons of all ages and sexes emigrated from 
 the valley of the Mississippi. They carried with them 
 wagons, carts, and farming utensils, and the belief was that 
 this spirit of emigration would continue to exist from the 
 encouraging accounts given by the settlers. The favorite 
 p<rint of rendezvous, for all persons emigrating to this 
 country, is Independence^ Missouri. From Independence 
 the route is along the banks of the Kanzas and Platte 
 rivers, to Fort Laramie, 750 miles. From Laramie, di- 
 rectly westward to Fort Hall, near the head waters of the 
 Lewis river, the distance is four hundred and fifty miles. 
 Here the most difficult part of the journey is reached, and 
 a kind of natural pass admits the party through the Rocky 
 Mountains. From Fort Hall to the valley of the Walla- 
 
98 OREGON. 
 
 walla, four hundred and iifly miles further, the road runs 
 along the banks of the Lewis river ; four hundred and fifty 
 miles more of travel, and the worn down and spiritless 
 traveller, after an almost endless journey of two thousand 
 miles, comes in view of the green and shady banks of the 
 Willamet river. Here the scene is grand beyond de- 
 scription; a splendid landscape, as far as the eye can reach, 
 decorated with the fruit tree and the myrtle, is spread out 
 to his admiring gaze! He finds himself in a strange land, 
 surrounded by strange faces, and the novelties of a new 
 country. At first he feels the deepest sorrow at having 
 left the home of his birth, around which cluster all the 
 joyous reminiscences of his life. The familiar scenes of 
 the past start at once into being, while he is carried in his 
 day-dreams to the land of his childhood. In memory he 
 finds himself with his connexions and friends, with his as- 
 sociates in life, and at the family altar of his own dear 
 homestead. All things are new to him, and he quietly 
 awaits the vicissitudes of time and change upon which to 
 build new hopes. But the spell is soon broken. He forms 
 acquaintances and business connexions, which relieve his 
 mind and give rise to perfect satisfaction. ^ * • 
 
 Among the settlers here and in the neighborhood there 
 is a feeling of sensibility not surpassed in the most favored 
 and civilized countries. The most friendly relations are 
 cultivated in all their various occupations; and whenever 
 disputes occur, which is rarely the case, they are soon ad- 
 justed, and the most amicable feelings exist. For some 
 time past, there has been a system of religious teaching 
 going on which has greatly improved the morals of the 
 people. At first, our ministers were received with great 
 contempt, and their lives even threatened. Large com- 
 panies of Indians would meet together, and concoct 
 schemes for the expulsion of them. After a while, 
 
OREGON. 99 
 
 however, they became perfectly reconciled, and attended 
 divine service regularly, both men and women. Previous 
 to this religious instruction, and for some time after, the 
 Indians were greatly addicted to ball-playing, gambling, 
 dancing, and drinking, ai. - manifested perfect indifference 
 about attending church; but the untiring and successful 
 efforts of Mr. Tolsom, whose anxiety was only equalled 
 by his zeal in advancing their spiritual good, tended, in a 
 very great measure, to reform the bad habits of the more 
 corrupt and degenerate. In the neighborhood of Wheelock 
 religious excitement has been prevailing for a long time. 
 Indeed^ ever since 1840, when a radical change took place 
 in the characters and habits of the people. Prior to this 
 time, many of the inhabitants here had no idea of a God, 
 and, of consequence, of their responsibility. They rid- 
 iculed the idea of religious ceremony — calling it a false 
 mockery — converting the Sabbath into a day of riotous 
 and luxurious living, and taking the greatest delight in de- 
 nouncing the precepts of the Bible, which had been ex- 
 plained to them by their teachers. However, a great 
 change has taken place. Large school-houses have been 
 recently built by the moral and industrious, and they even 
 supply their own teachers. Mr. Wright is also an active 
 laborer in the vineyard. He has extended Sabbath school 
 teaching to several dark and unenlightened neighborhoods, 
 and introduced a system of rehgious and practical educa- 
 tion, the benefits of which are very apparent. At first, 
 there were only about fifteen scholars, who appeared very 
 indifferent, being irregular in their attendance, and fre- 
 quently permitting days and weeks to pass without making 
 their appearance, recently about one hundred and twenty 
 have been added to the number of learners, and seven flour- 
 ishing sabbath schools connected with Wheelock. All of 
 these schools, with the exception of one at Wheelock, are 
 
100 OREGON. 
 
 Open on Saturday as well as Sunday. In the seven schools 
 mentioned, there are from three to four hundred learners ; 
 and the number who can read and write their own language 
 is constantly and rapidly increasing. If no untoward event, 
 says a writer from that country, shall happen to retard the 
 progress of improvement, the Choctaws, as a nation, will, 
 at no distant day, become a reading people. 
 
 ;'i-v'. ■ 
 
 •iii^ V ■-■■■'■ ' ■. i'-r - \. 
 ^>-i> '.-v^; ' ' ! " •r-.vft. ^ ' 
 
 -^ • ■: . ^ ■ •.'-•■.: i,M • ■ 
 
CHAP. VI. 
 
 Capacities for trade and commerce. 
 
 An estimate can scarcely be made of the capacities of 
 this territory for trade and commerce. It has never been 
 fairly or fully tested. Indeed, the settlements that have 
 been made by the American settlers have been compara- 
 tively so recent, that they have had no fair opportunity to 
 test the character of the soil. It is true that farming op- 
 erations have been very successful, and the amount of 
 grain raised greater than was expected; but there are 
 many things yet wanting that are almost indispensable. 
 The system of agriculture is not perfected, and they have 
 not the force on their farms which is essential to success. 
 Many farming implements have been carried to Oregon by 
 emigrants during the last three years; but the number has 
 been so limited, that the land has been only partially culti- 
 vated. Developments, however, are being made every 
 year, and the increase is perceptible to all. We have the 
 most indisputable evidence of the strength and fertility of 
 the soil from gentlemen who have been engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits for the last fifty years. Their accounts 
 are most flattering, and the reports made by them respect- 
 ing the number of bushels of wheat and peas raised to the 
 acre have even astonished the most learned and skilled of 
 our farmers. The attention that they pay to the crops is 
 not half so great as that bestowed in this country. They 
 seed their grain as we do, and attend to it afterwards, be- 
 fore it reaches maturity. The product is almost as much 
 again, and the grain fuller and heavier. No one who has 
 ever gone to Oregon has ever been in the least disappoint- 
 ed after remaining there for some months. Their expec- 
 
F 
 
 102 OREGON. 
 
 tations have been invariably more than rsahzed ; and the 
 accounts we hear, though apparently much exaggerated, 
 are not equal to what they see. All express the most en- 
 tire satisfaction, write the most inviting and glowing ac- 
 counts to their friends, an^. hold out, by the bright pictures 
 they paint, the strongest inducements to emigration. The 
 facilities of intercourse which are offered with foreign na. 
 tions are exceedingly desirable, inasmuch as the people of 
 Oregon can at any time, within a few days, exchange their 
 productions, and bring over to their own country those ar- 
 ticles which are not adapted to the soil of the territory. 
 The western part of it is not very distant from a number 
 of beautiful islands bordering on the coast. Three or 
 four days^ sail will bring them to portions of the world 
 where there is natural and artificial growth in abundance 
 that will not grow where they are. If commerce, manu- 
 factures, and trade of all kinds increase with the impulse 
 they necessarily give to the character of the people, are 
 what the American people desire and need, Oregon pre- 
 sents the most inviting field in the known world, and holds 
 out advantages which any other nation would be delighted 
 to possess. This is a great and inexhaustible and almost 
 boundless territory, ready for an exercise of the industry 
 and ingenious spirit of the American people, and espe- 
 cially of its Atlantic manufacturing and commercial sec- 
 tions, which have an incalculably greater interest in the 
 question of American rights in Oregon than the southern 
 and western States. If any advantages are to be derived, 
 these States will feel them more sensibly than any others. 
 It is necessary, in order to reach the more distant portions 
 of the Union to pass directly through them, or on their 
 banks for many miles. Mr. Baylies, of Massachusetts, 
 chairman of a committee of Congress, in 1826, in a report 
 to the House, which fell unheeded upon the dull ear of 
 
OREGON. 103 
 
 the public, thus happily describes the oaT>acities of this 
 mighty region: "A vast river, with its tributaries and 
 branches, waters its whole extent, through seven degrees 
 of latitude, and flows beyond into the territories of other 
 nations. It abounds in excellent timber and in spars, un- 
 surpassed by any in the wc.ld. Its waters are navigable 
 for vessels through half its extent, even for boats through 
 half the remainder. The water power for moving manu- 
 facturing machinery is unequalled, and ceases where the 
 navigation terminates. It is bounded on the south by a 
 country abounding in cattle and wheat, which can be 
 reached by sea in less than two days, and the vicinity too 
 of other countries, whose interior is filled with the purer 
 metals and the richest articles of commerce, and whose 
 shores abound in the pearl-producing oyster. It is within 
 twenty days^ sail of the coasts of Peru and Chili, which 
 are identified with fine bays and harbors, but destitute of 
 the material for ship building, which they would receive 
 from this source, that could supply the materials at the 
 cheapest rate. It is within seventy or eighty days' sail of 
 China and the East India seas, and within thirty of the 
 Sandwich Islands, abounding in sandal wood, sugar cane, 
 and tropical fruits, and perfectly adapted to the cultiva- 
 tion of coffee and cotton. In a word, if it were given to a 
 civilized, commercial, and manufacturing people to choose 
 their place of rest, the world affords no position equal to 
 this; and it requires no prophetic spirit to foresee the 
 wealth and grandeur of that fortunate race, whose happy 
 destiny shall have placed them in this beautiful region.'' 
 
 If this statement is to be relied on, and in it we put the 
 most perfect confidence, we have within our reach the oc- 
 cupancy of a country infinitely superior to our own in its 
 soil and in its capacities for trade. The settlers are be- 
 coming every day more dissatisfied. Their complaints are 
 
104 R E O If . 
 
 continually being made through the press, and it is very 
 certain that unless the United States take possession with- 
 in a few years, they will, without hesitation, declare them- 
 selves free and independent. Rumors to that effect have 
 ahready reached the seat of our Government, and should 
 arouse the people. Forbearance with them ^^will soon 
 cease to be a virtue.'^ Can it be expected that our 
 own people, born Americans, will live under the con- 
 trol of British laws and rules? This country must 
 soon be Oregon or the United States. There is no half 
 way ground — ^no compromise here. Should England ob- 
 tain it, Americans will be driven away forever. "There 
 is already an organized government, subject to the appro- 
 val of the United States. It consists of an executive, le- 
 gislative committee, &,c. They have adopted the laws of 
 the nearest Territory as their code ; and also made some 
 local regulations. A rich square is allowed each settler. 
 The settled parts have been divided into five counties, all 
 on the south side of the Columbia. They have not ex- 
 tended jurisdiction to the north side yet. And this makes 
 some of the hot-headed fret, as they considered the matter 
 a tacit acknowledgment that the north side belongs to the 
 English. But this is a mistake. The reason why juris- 
 diction was not extended across the Columbia, was be- 
 cause no American had settled there ; and, consequently, 
 there seems to be no cause for passing the river with a 
 government when there are none to govern but Indians or 
 British subjects. Should any of the recent emigrants set- 
 tle on that side, there is no doubt that the next sitting of 
 the legislature will extend their laws to them.^' It is very 
 obvious, from the recent proceedings of the inhabitants of 
 this territory, that they are becoming deeply incensed at 
 the neglect which has been shown them, and are doing 
 every thing in their power, in view of this indifference, to 
 
OREGON. 105 
 
 establish their own government and laws. It is not to be 
 surprised at. They have every thing they want within 
 thirty days^ sail of the Sandwich Islands, where they are 
 supplied with an abundance of sugar and coffee, together 
 with sandal wood and cotton. The necessaries of life, 
 which are used by all classes and conditions, can be pur- 
 chased for a mere pittance, or gotten in exchange for tim- 
 ber that grows in the territory. This; advantage, inde- 
 pendent of others equally important, would be greatly ap- 
 preciated in our southern and southwestern States. In- 
 stead of paying 12^ cents per pound for sugar, it could be 
 bought for about four cents. And in our manufacturing 
 establishments, particularly on the Mississippi river, cot- 
 ton cloths could be made and sold for about one half of 
 what is now paid. The raw material can be purchased 
 for less, and of course sold for less. And those very goods 
 for which we are now paying twenty cents per yard could 
 be bought for sixteen cents. These are some of the few 
 advantages which England would derive had she pos- 
 session. , ., s-. , ,,.. ,_, 
 
 The valley of Wallamette, for beauty and fertility may 
 be regarded as one of the finest countries on the globe, 
 and is described by Walker, p. 105, in the following man- 
 ner : ' " .: ■ . 
 
 " The soft rich soil of the prairie is easily broken up 
 from its original imbeddedness with a single yoke of oxen, 
 or a team of horses, and the moderation of the climate al- 
 lows you to sow spring wheat as early as February, and 
 from that until the 15th of May, as the season happens to 
 run. You commence ploughing in October, and plough 
 and sow wheat from that time until the 15th of May, to 
 suit the spring or fall crops. There is not much differ- 
 ence in the yield of the fall and spring crops ; but you 
 must put about twice as much for seed in the ground for 
 
106 OREOOiN. 
 
 the latter as for the former. The land yields from 25 to 
 40 bushels to the acre. I saw a field of 50 acres, sown 
 about the 15th of May last in new ground, which produced 
 about 110 bushels of the most excellent grain. This coun- 
 try produces oats, tomatoes, and garden vegetables, gene- 
 rally in great abundance. Irish potatoes and turnips grow 
 better here than in the States. Sweet potatoes have not 
 yet been tried, with the exception of an inferior species 
 from the Sandwich Islands, and they did not succeed well. 
 And it is not so profitable a crop as grain. Yet it can be 
 raised here in sufficient quantities for all useful purposes ; 
 for you need but httle, in consequence of not being obliged 
 to feed your stock. Fruit, such as apples, peaches, cher- 
 ries, plumbs, pears, melons, &c., thrive here exceedingly 
 well ; while wild fruit and berries abound in the greatest 
 profusion. Cranberries are found in great abundance near 
 the mouth of the Columbia, and are brought up bore and 
 to Vancouver by the I dians, and sold for almost nothing. 
 Blue-berries, raspberries, salberries, thornberries, crab -ap- 
 ples, a kind of whortleberry, and strawberries, are found 
 in large quantities in every direction in this section of 
 Oregon. The strawberries of this country are peculiarly 
 fine; they are larger in size than those of the States, 
 and possess a more delicious flavor. As regards the 
 country for grazing, it is certainly all that any one could 
 wish it. Cattle require no shelter, nor feeding. And upon 
 the Yan Hill plains, near the salt springs, fodder in abun- 
 dance is supplied. Cows calve here when fifteen or twen- 
 ty months old. This is also a good country for raising 
 hogs. Upon the Wallamette, below the falls, they live al- 
 most entirely upon the wappato root, and upon the plains 
 they find a bountiful subsistence in the ears and fruit of 
 the white oak. The grass of this county, as I have had 
 occasion to say before, is peculiarly nutritious; and cattle 
 
0RE60IT. 107 
 
 that have been put here to recruit, recover their physical 
 energies with wonderful rapidity while feeding on it. In 
 the last of November, the period of my first visit to this 
 place, I saw a fine sorrel horse, which had been brought to 
 this country by Mr. John Hobman, of Clinton county, Mis- 
 souri, that was turned upon the grass on Fallatine plains, 
 in the middle of the previous month. He was then so re- 
 duced and feeble with the fatigue he had undergone during 
 the trip from the State that he could barely raise a trot; 
 but when I saw him, he was in fine condition, and running 
 about the place as gaily as any of the other horses, with 
 whom he was enjoying primitive independence. Cattle 
 that were worked from the States to the Dalles, and from 
 there brought down to the Wallamette valley last year, 
 have borne the winter well, and are now thriving rapidly. 
 The climate of this section of Oregon is, indeed, most 
 mild. Having passed a winter here, permanently and 
 most comfortably established at Linton, I am enabled to 
 speak of it from practical experience. The winter may be 
 said to commence about the middle of December, and to 
 end about the 10th of February. And a notion of the 
 general nature of its visitation may be gained from the 
 fact, that I saw strawberries in bloom about the first of 
 last December, and to eat about the 10th of February. 
 I saw strawberries also in bloom about the 1st of Decem- 
 ber on the Fallatine plains. And as early as the 20th of 
 February, the wild flowers were blooming on the sides. 
 The grass has even been growing since the 10th February ; 
 and towards the end of that month the trees were budding, 
 and the shrubbery in bloom. About the 26th of Novem- 
 ber, we had a spell of cold weather, and a shght fall of 
 snow, which, however, was gone in a day or two. In 
 December we had a very little snow, all of it melting as it 
 fell. In January we had snow, but all of it, like the pre- 
 
108 ofiGoofr. 
 
 vious falls, melted as it came down, with the exception of 
 one visitation, that managed to last upon the ground for 
 three days. The soil has not been frozen more than once 
 during the whole winter. And ploughing has been carried 
 on without interruption throughout the winter and fall. 
 As regards rains in the fall, I have found them much less 
 troublesome than I anticipated. I supposed from what I 
 had heard of the excessive storms in this region, that out- 
 door work could not be done at all here during the rainy 
 season ; but I have found that a great deal more labor of 
 this description can be performed here than during the 
 same period in the western States. The rains fall in gen- 
 tle showers, and are generally what are termed drizzling 
 rains, from the effect of which a blanket-coat is an effec- 
 tual protection. They are not the chilly rains that sting 
 you in the fall and spring seasons of the eastern States, 
 but are warm as woll as light. They are never hard 
 enough in the worst of times to wash the roads or fields, 
 and consequently you can find no gullies, worn or cut, in 
 your fields, by this means. And as for wind, I have wit- 
 nessed less, if such a term can be used, than at any other 
 place I have ever been in. And I have but to say, that if 
 the timber we have here spread their lofiy branches in the 
 States, they would be riven by the lightning, and blown 
 down to an extent that would spare many of them the blow 
 of the settlers^ axe. Here I have heard no thunder, and 
 have seen but one tree that had been struck by lightning.'^ 
 By the acquisition of this territory, an extensive and 
 profitable command of the fur trade of the north would be 
 obtained from latitude 38° to the pole. The whole of this 
 section of the country, which abounds probably more in 
 the fw-producing animal than any other, would be under 
 our command, and consequently an impetus and strength 
 ivould be given not only to the trade of that immediate 
 
O R E G U N . 109 
 
 section, but the eflfect would be sensibly felt in the interior 
 of the United States, and particularly by the cities border- 
 ing on the Mississippi. The demand for fur in Liberty 
 and Lexi^igton, Missouri, and also in many of the princi- 
 pal towis of Illinois, would be very great. Their estab- 
 lishments would be enlarged necessarily; new houses 
 would be opened ; and even in this particular there can be 
 no adequate estimate made of the benefits, when support- 
 ed by the operations of that credit which Great Britain so 
 eminently possesses. Should this part of the territory be 
 ceded to England by negotiation, or in any other way that 
 is legal or in conformity with the usages of nations, there 
 would be scarcely any intercourse between the two pow- 
 ers : we mean no more than there is at present. The two 
 countries, by mutual consent, would be separate and dis- 
 tinct ; each would confine itself to its own dominions, and 
 to the control of its own laws and institutions ; and though 
 bordering on each other, and connected by nature^s God, 
 when we crossed the boundary, we should feel that we 
 were strangers ; as much so as if we were in Manchester 
 or Birmingham. The value of this possession to a nation 
 hke ours, agricultural as it is, is great beyond conception. 
 See the facilities of improvement with which we are sur- 
 rounded, the character and habits of our people, their en- 
 terprising and liberal spirit, the good will and unanimity 
 that exists between State and State — all these considera 
 tions, in forming a territorial connexion, are highly impor- 
 tant. Indeed, without them, it would be worse than folly 
 to attempt the settlement of a country so vast in its natural 
 resources. Oregon might be made by the American peo- 
 ple an important source of revenue in the course of time — 
 almost equal to that which is now paid into our coffers. 
 What would prevent the establishment of large mills and 
 cotton factories on the Columbia, Lewis and Clark rivers, 
 
110 OREGON. 
 
 and on a hundred other streams, which flow almost through 
 the entire territory? They are navigable, a number of them, 
 for many miles, and the land is exceedingly fertile. All 
 the necessary ingredients for putting up houses are close 
 by. Large and inexhaustible quarries of stone may be 
 found almost any where. The timber is infinitely superior 
 to our own, and nothing would be needed but the labor 
 necessary to a work, arduous it is true, but incalculable in 
 its advantages. There are many healthy and beautiful 
 situations for building towns and villages on the banks of 
 navigable streams passing through a fine portion of coun- 
 try. The influence that would be exerted on our slave 
 population would necessarily be very great. Slavery would 
 not be confined, as it now is, to a few States. The popu- 
 lation would be scattered at once, and their conditions 
 much improved. One of the principal objections to the 
 institution urged by the fanatical abolitionists of the north 
 is, that there are too many occupying a small tract of 
 country. This objection would be removed ^ for an ex- 
 tension would take place forthwith, and the liability to re- 
 bellion and insurrection decidedly less. We can very 
 easily dispose of a large number of slave^^ living in the 
 south. There is no need for the labor of all of them there. 
 However, the number has greatly diminished within the 
 last twenty years, and by enlarging their place of resi- 
 dence, their labor would be much more valuable, and put 
 an end, in a great measure, to the disturbances at the 
 north. 
 
 The question may now be very properly asked, in view of 
 the position assumed by us, whether we shall surrender 
 this territory submissively, and with an entire wiHingness 
 to accede to British demands, or maintain our rights as be- 
 comes a free and responsible people ? Whether, after a 
 controversy of many years' duration, which has involved 
 
OREGON. Ill 
 
 the disputed claims oi several large and important powers 
 of the earth, we shall finally yield, after the arguments that 
 have been adduced in favor of our title, or plant ourselves 
 upon the broad platform of constitutional law, and say to 
 the world, " thus far shalt thou go, and no farther." By 
 taking this course, we should meet with the approbation of 
 all nations not interested ; and there would be but one 
 opinion throughout the civilized world, which would justify 
 us legally and honorably upon the ground that we had vi- 
 olated none of the established usages of nations, nor any 
 treaty stipulations. With respect to the slave population, 
 we admit many diihculties have arisen. It is necessary 
 to scatter them over as great an extent of country 
 as can be done consistently with propriety: as far as 
 they are concerned, they have no objection. Their hap- 
 piness would not be disturbed in the least. They would 
 as soon exert their labor in one portion of the world as in 
 another. They ask for kind and humane treatment — they 
 ask for protection. They well know the relations that 
 subsist between the white population and themselves; and 
 are taught instinctively that they are slaves, born to 
 be slaves, and as such must live and die. We are well 
 aware that strong fears have been entertained by a num- 
 ber of large sla\ ao. J'^»*s that in some future day, possibly 
 at the still and sole*. ^ i )ur of midnight, there would be 
 an attempt made by then a bold and united attempt, long 
 conceived and finally matured, to effect their emancipation. 
 The cry in the north has been that the slave of the south 
 is treated cruelly and inhumanly, brutalized by a system 
 of rigid discipline, and deprived, in a great measure, of the 
 rational and innocent enjoyments of life. False, indeed, 
 is the opinion, and unworthy of a moment's consideration. 
 Speeches have been made in the presence of large popular 
 assemblies to awaken, as they say, " a proper spirit on this 
 
112 OREGON 
 
 subject." Awaken a proper spirit! Would they have 
 the master to place himself on an equality with his slave ? 
 Are the results of a course so unwise and dangerous 
 considered? Does the abolitionist reflect upon the num- 
 ber of slaves in the south, their intelhgence, and their 
 capacity for mischief? In their wild fanaticism and un- 
 reasonable suggestions, and in their heated denuncia- 
 ations and extravagant surmises, their judgments become 
 warped, their minds poisoned with false impressions, and 
 the doors of their hearts are closed to the power of con- 
 viction and the force of argument. They do not take a 
 cool and dispassionate view of this subject ; nor do they 
 reflect upon the important fact that slavery does exist and 
 has existed for centuries ; that our fathers quietly endured 
 its abuses, if abuses they are, without the necessity of ab- 
 olition. Their desire is to see the slave elevated in his so- 
 cial, political, and civil relations, to the grade of the white 
 man; to see him under no restriction, amenable to no 
 law, save that which controls the great bulk of mankind. 
 This, in the nature of things, is next to impossible. There 
 is not a free negro in the north who does not afford direct 
 and positive truth of an important part of the Bible. 
 Whether called servants, freemen, or gentlemen, if the ne- 
 gro, north or south, east or west, is serving the white man, 
 and satisfying his wants by an exercise of labor, he is a 
 slave among us : such as barbers, shoe-blacks, waiters, and 
 cooks. They may be called freemen, and may, to a cer- 
 tain extent, exercise the privileges of freemen, but unless 
 the doom of their inferiority is changed, they are in a state 
 of servitude. The scriptures tell us " they shall live in 
 servitude;" and their condition can never be reversed. 
 Place them in any business that is not servile, elevate them 
 above the menial occupations and employments of life, 
 and they are the most unhappy and discontented creatures 
 
OREGON. 113 
 
 on earth, disturbing the p^ace and harmony of society, 
 filling the prisons, taxing the country, and a nuisance to 
 the neighborhood around them. We contend that the 
 masters in the south, for more than a hundred years, have 
 lived more securely among their slave peasantry than the 
 masters of Great Britain among the nominal freemen. 
 The relation between master and slave is not maintained 
 here, like the relation of master and slave of the old 
 world. Far from it. There the bayonet exercises its ir- 
 resistible and subduing control. They are compelled to 
 obey strictly cruel and arbitrary laws, made expressly for 
 their observance. Here the relation is maintained quietly 
 and peaceably, by an instinctive and inborn principle which 
 draws the line between master and slave. Notwith- 
 standing the powerful and abortive efforts to enkindle in 
 this religious land the fires of revolution and discord, the 
 American master has for centuries lived infinitely more 
 happy than the English masters, with all their guard-sol- 
 diers, work-houses, prison-ships, and Botany Bay besides. 
 We insist that the slaves of the United States, and we 
 speak on the authority of British journals and newspapers, 
 are subject to fewer evils, and live in better security, than 
 the laboring classes of Great Britain. Ask the physician 
 of our country, who has been in Europe for years at the 
 medical institutions, what is the social condition of the 
 lower classes of people generally.? Sunday morning is the 
 time, we are told, " when the European hospitals are most 
 crowded with broken heads; the poor laborer, late on 
 Saturday night, returning home, having been knocked 
 down by the half-clad wretches out of employment, and 
 robbed of his wages." So far from living in peace, the 
 laborers seem to wage perpetual war with one another. 
 A spirit of jealousy and dissatisfaction is never at rest. 
 On the contrary, it is perpetually at work ; and hence it is 
 
114 OREGOX.' 
 
 that their calendars are always tilled with the most heart- 
 rending and distressing accounts. 
 
 The people of the north should be highly pleased with 
 the extension of our territory. Their hope to see the 
 slave States free States will much sooner be ret^lized ; for 
 in proportion as the slaves are carried south, in the same 
 ratio will the like number be diminished in Virginia, North 
 Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. There is no bet- 
 ter theatre for the exercise of their labors than the Oregon 
 territory. The climate is as healthy as that of Virginia, 
 and there is less sickness by one-half than in the other 
 States. The commercial advantages are generally supe- 
 rior to those we now enjoy. For a long time the trade with 
 the Sandwich Islands has been daily increasing ; and the 
 manufacturing power must, looking to the spirit with which 
 everything is carried, have a home market for itself. More- 
 over, from what place are California, South America, and 
 the Sandwich Islands to procure their timber, unless 
 they get it from Oregon.'* They have no where else to 
 go for it — they have none of their own, and must get 
 it from Oregon. To one of these markets, already large 
 quantities of plank and shingles are sent ; their vessels 
 come for them, and at the same time there is a great de- 
 mand for all kinds of provisions and surplus productions ; 
 for it is rarely the case that vessels visiting the North 
 Pacific do not touch at these islands. The Russian pos- 
 sessions are also wholly dependent upon the people of 
 Oregon for their ship timber, and many other articles ; and 
 the China markets are all within a stone's throw. What 
 renders this territory valuable in itself is, that the neigh- 
 boring countries and islands produce scarcely nothing that 
 is produced there ; and necessarily there must be a con- 
 stant intercourse. In one respect, Oregon is superior to 
 Cahfornia. In the latter country the climate is so warm, 
 
OREGON. 115 
 
 that pork is never put up, or fresh meat of any kind ; 
 which, of course, depreciates the value and affects the sale 
 of them almost one-half. As soon as the beef is killed it 
 must be sold, or it is good for nothing ; for it is taint- 
 ed in a very little while by the heated and enervating at- 
 mosphere, which never varies. The climate is sufficiently 
 cool for all purposes. Pork, beef, and all fresh meats can 
 be preserved for days at a time. The water is b-.tter, the 
 water-power is greater, and the droughts are by no means 
 as long and destructive as those of California. The coun- 
 try within the last five years has greatly improved in busi- 
 ness of all kinds ; while the people live in a state of prim- 
 itive simplicity and independence. They are given to no 
 very bad habits, and labor meets with such ample induce- 
 ments and ready rewards, that lazy men are made indus- 
 trious by the mere force of the influences around them." 
 There is no business in the country, not even that of the 
 Hudson Bay Company, that is half so profitable as that of 
 farming. All engage in it who have the means ; and often 
 a very small capital, a few horses and wagons, and a little 
 ready money, opens the way to wealth and prosperity. 
 Putting up butter has become a very popular pursuit. 
 When fresh and good, it often brings one dollar per pound. 
 Provisions of all kinds are very abundant, and can be 
 bought at very low prices. The cattle are all fat, and af- 
 ford throughout the winter the finest milk. There can be 
 no country on the globe more productive than this terri- 
 tory in many places, as will be seen from the following in- 
 teresting letter : 
 
 "^Harvest is just at hand, and such crops of wheat, 
 barley, oats, and peas are seldom, if ever, to be seen in the 
 
 * The above is an extract ot a letter from Gen. McCarver, who is, ;it preaent, Speaker 
 
 of the Lower House of Oregon. 
 
1 16 OREGON. 
 
 States — that of wheat in particular — the shocks being in 
 many instances as high as my head, the grains generally 
 much larger. I would not much exaggerate to say that 
 they are as large again as those grown east of the moun- 
 tains. The soil is good and the cHmate most superior, 
 being mild the year round, and very healthy — more so 
 than any country I have lived in the same length of time. 
 Produce bears an excellent price. Pork 10 cents, beef 
 6 cents, potatoes 50 cents, wheat $1 per bushel. These 
 articles are purchased at the above prices with great 
 avidity by the merchants for shipment, generally to the 
 Sandwich Islands and Russian possessions on this conti- 
 nent, and are paid mostly in sugar and coffee, of which 
 abundant supplies are furnished. Wages for laborers are 
 high. Common hands are getting from one to two dollars 
 per day, and mechanics from two to four dollars per day. 
 It is with difficulty that men can be procured at these 
 prices, so easily can they do better on their farms. The 
 plains are a perpetual meadow, furnishing two complete 
 new crops in a year, spring and fall. The latter remain- 
 ing green through the winter. Beef is killed from the 
 grass at any season of the year. If you have any enter- 
 prise left, or if your neighbors have any, here is the place 
 for them.*" 
 
 It appears that the Oregon territory has been divided 
 by nature into three separate parts, in divisions, called 
 mountain ranges. After leaving the coast of the Pacific, the 
 first range that appear are the cascade mountains, which 
 extend but a short distance, and are about 200 feet above 
 the level of the sea. They take their rise about the 42° 
 parallel, and run on a line with the coast at a distance vary- 
 ing from 100 to 125 miles, throughout the whole length of 
 the territory, appearing in many places from 12,000 to 
 13,000 feet above the level of the sea, in separate cones. 
 
OREGON. 117 
 
 Their succession is so very continuous as to affect some- 
 what the interval between the sections. There is a pas- 
 sage forced through, however, by the Columbia and Era- 
 ser's rivers, presenting a very sublime scene. This chain 
 of mountains has been called by various names ; but we 
 believe that the proper name is the " President's range," 
 as the most elevated peaks were named many years ago 
 by an American traveller who was passing through the 
 country. There is another division commencing near the 
 centre of Oregon, in parallel of longitude 43° west from 
 Washington, and in 46° latitude. Their course is westerly 
 and southwesterly from this point to 180 mile» in an irreg- 
 ular manner, occasionally interrupted and shooting off in 
 spires to the south and west. This ridge has been called 
 the Hhird region of Oregon." A considerable distance 
 beyond the Blue Mountains, and between them and the 
 Rocky mountains, is what is termed Hhe high country.'''* 
 The rocky mountains run south and southeast. This 
 range runs south from 54° 46^ parallel to the coast, at a 
 distance of 300 miles, and gradually extend their distance 
 from the sea, by a continuous southeasterly course, to over 
 seven hundred, at the 40°. In these mountains and their 
 offsets rise the principal rivers, which find their way into 
 the Pacific to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico on the east. 
 Near the 42° parallel is a remarkable depression in the 
 chain, called Hhe southern pass^'' which experience has 
 proved affords a short and easy route for carriages, from 
 our States, into the territory. Above the 48° parallel 
 again other passes are formed by the courses of the rivers 
 from either side, which find their way in some places be- 
 tween the mountains. There are other ridges intersecting 
 the face of this vast country, but they are principally off- 
 sets or >urs of the chains spoken of The principal of 
 these is the Wind River cluster, in the east of the Rocky 
 
118 OREGON. 
 
 Mountains, from which flow many of the head-waters of 
 the Missouri and the Yellow Stone rivers. There is ano- 
 ther long Hne of mountains which we have omitted to men- 
 tion in their place, which take their course from Mount 
 Jackson to Mount Tyler. They are thus graphically des- 
 cribed by Lieut. Wilkes, page 36. " Perpetual mementoes 
 in the archives of our nation, they form no perishable 
 notes of heraldry for the contempt of succeeding ages, but 
 basing their stupendous data upon the eternal earth, pierce 
 with their awful grandeur the region of the clouds, to trans- 
 cribe their records on the face of heaven." The first of 
 them. Mount Jackson, commences the list in 41° 10 •, Jef 
 ferson, in 40° 30 ; Mount St. Helen's, in 46° ; Van Buren, 
 northwest of Fugitt's Sound, in 48° ; Harrison, east of the 
 same, in 47|°; and Tyler, in 49°. Of these mountains. 
 Mount Jackson is considered the highest ; rising above the 
 level of the sea at a distance of 20,000 feet. The next in size 
 is Washington, estimated at 17,000 or 18,000. This moun- 
 tain presents a beautiful appearance to the eye. It rises 
 gradually from its base, forming a perfect cone, while a 
 greater portion of it is covered with perpetual snow.* 
 
 The third region^ or high country^ as described by 
 Wilkes, is a rocky, barren, broken country, traversed in 
 all directions by stupendous mountains, on the peaks of 
 which snow lies nearly all the year. It is from 2,000 to 
 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, and, in consequence, 
 the rivers flowing through it westward to the Columbia 
 are broken at frequent intervals by the rugged descent, 
 and rendered navigable almost throughout the whole of 
 their course. There are but few arable spots in this whole 
 section of country ; its level plains, except narrow strips 
 
 * The limit of perpetual snow for these mountains is, according to Lieutenant Wilkes, 
 6,500 feet from the level of the sea. 
 
OREGON. 119 
 
 in the immediate vicinity of the rivers, being covered with 
 sand or gravel, and being also generally volcanic in their 
 character. The distinguishing features of the territory are 
 its external dryness, and the difference of iis temperature 
 between the day and the night. It seldoms rains, except 
 during a few days in the spring, and no moisture is depos- 
 ited in dews. In addition to these discouraging features, 
 the climate, from its enclosure between the snowy barriers, 
 is extremely variable ; a difference of fifty and sixty de- 
 grees taking place between sunrise and mid-day. The 
 soil is moreover much impregnated with salt springs, which 
 abound in many places. Some of these springs possess 
 medicinal qualities, and from the beauty of their situation, 
 will doubtless become, before time is done, the resort of 
 the fashionable population of western America. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these unfavorable qualities, there 
 are many small prairies within its mountains which, from 
 their production of a particularly nutritious hunch grass, 
 are well adapted for grazing purposes, and in despite of 
 its changeable climate, stock is found to thrive well, and to 
 endure the severity of the winter without protection. 
 
 The second^ or middle region, of Oregon, between the 
 Blue and President's ridges, is less elevated than the third, 
 and consequently all the stern extremities of the latter cli- 
 mate and soil are proportionably modified. Its main 
 height is about a thousand feet above the level of the sea, 
 and much of its surface is a rolling prairie country, with 
 the exception of the portion above latitude 48°, which is 
 very much broken by rivers and transverse mountain chains. 
 It is consequently adapted only in sections to farming pur- 
 poses. Plenty of game, however, is found in the forests 
 of the country to compensate for its unfitness for agricul- 
 ture. Below this parallel, and in the middle of the section, 
 are extensive plains, admirably adapted to stock raising. 
 
120 OREGON. 
 
 from the perpetual verdure which always overspreads them, 
 and from the salubrious climate that prevails throughout 
 the neighborhood. Cattle thrive even better here than in 
 the low country ; and there is no necessity for housing 
 them at any time ; neither need provisions be laid in, the 
 natural hay, found always in abundance on the prairies, 
 being preferred by them to the fresh grass upon the bot- 
 toms. It is in this region, the Indians raise their immense 
 herds of horses ; and here, whenever the territory shall be 
 numerously settled, may be bred crowds of horsemen who 
 would not be excelled by any light cavalry in the world. 
 The southern portion of this region, as it advances to the 
 boundary line, becomes less favorable to the purposes of 
 man, and loses its fertility by rolling into swelling sand-hills, 
 producing nothing but the wild wormwood, mixed with prick- 
 ly pear, and a sparse sprinkling of short bunch grass. 
 
 The first region is that which lies along the coast, and 
 extends westward to the line of the President's range of 
 mountains. The portion of this lying north of the Colum- 
 bia, and between it and the Straits of De Fuca, is a heav- 
 ily timbered country, covered with trees of extraordinary 
 size. It has, however, its spaces of prairie, in which good 
 pasturage is found ; and it has also some fine arable land. 
 This section is watered by four rivers, of which the Chick- 
 elis, disemboguing into the Columbia, and the Cowelitz, 
 emptying into the sea at Gray's Harbor, are the most im- 
 portant. The forests of this portion of the lower region are its 
 great feature. They consist of pine, fir, spruce, red and white 
 oak, ash, arbutus, arbor vitas, cedar, poplar, maple, willow, 
 cherry, and yew, with so close and matted an undergrowth 
 of hazel and other brambles, as to render them almost impen- 
 etrable to the foot of man. Most of the trees are of an enor- 
 mous bulk; and they are studded so thickly that they rise be- 
 
OREGON. 121 
 
 fore the beholder like a stupendous and impregnable solidity , 
 which declares futile all ordinary attempts to penetrate it. 
 This astonishing exuberance is not confined alone to 
 the timber of the section north of the Columbia ; for we 
 have an account of a fir growing at Astoria, eight miles 
 from the ocean, on the southern bank of the Columbia, 
 which measured forty-six feet in circumference, at ten feet 
 from the ground, ascended one hundred and fifty-three feet 
 before giving off a branch, and was three hundred feet in 
 its whole height. Another tree of the same species is said 
 to be standing on the Umpqua, the trunk of which is fifty- 
 seven feet in circumference, and two hundred and sixteen 
 feet in height. Prime sound pines, from two hundred to two 
 hundred and eighty feet, and from twenty to fifty in cir- 
 cumference, are by no means uncommon. The value of 
 this spontaneous wealth has already been appreciated by 
 the acute company who reign commercially predominant 
 in this region ; for alrei dy their untiring sawmills, plied by 
 gangs of Sandwich Islanders and servile Iroquois, cut 
 daily, at Fort Vancouver alone, thousands of feet of plank, 
 which are transported regularly to the markets of the Pa- 
 cific islands. But to return to that section of the lower 
 region lying between the Columbia and the Straits of 
 Fuca. ' • :.:. o; 
 
 The banks of the Cowelitz are generally bare of timber, 
 and the soil in their immediate vicinity is, for the most part, 
 poor. The Hudson Bay Company have, however, a fine 
 farm of 600 acres in its western valley, which, in 1841, 
 produced 1,000 bushels of wheat. The average produce 
 is twenty bushels to the acre. They have also a saw and 
 grist-mill now in operation there, both of which find a mar- 
 ket for their products in the Sandwich and other islands 
 of Polynesia. Live stock does not succeed well on these 
 
122 OREGON. 
 
 farms; and this is owing to the Jibsence of low prairie 
 grounds near the river, and also to the extensive depreda 
 lions of the wolves. The hilly portion of the country im 
 mediately around, though its soil is very good, is too heav 
 ily timbered to be available for agricultural purposes ; and 
 this is also the case with many portions of the level land. 
 There are, however, large tracts of fine prairie at intervals 
 between, suitable for cultivation, and ready for the plough. 
 Proceeding northward, we come to Fort Nasqually, a fine 
 harbor at the southern point of Fugitt's Sound. Here the 
 Hudson Bay Company have another fine settlement, and 
 raise wheat, (15 bushels to the acre,) oats, peas, potatoes, 
 and make butter, for the Russian settlements. On the 
 islands of the sound, and on the upper sections of Admiralty 
 Inlet, the Indians cultivate potatoes in great abundance. 
 These vegetables are extremely fine, and constitute a large 
 portion of their food. 
 
 We come now to a lower region lying south of the Co 
 lumbia, between the President's range and the coast. This, 
 by universal agreement, is admitted to be the finest portion 
 of all Oregon. It is entered by the Wallamette river, 
 about five miles below Vancouver, which stream extends 
 into its bosom over two hundred miles. This river is nav- 
 igable for steamboats and vessels of light draught for 
 nearly forty miles, when yoi: come to a falls. The inva- 
 riable feature of the rivers of this territory above the falls 
 are the principal settlements of Oregon. Here the Amer- 
 ican adventurers have principally established themselves ; 
 and by the contributions of the emigrants from the States, 
 their number is rapidly increasing. The fertile portion of 
 the valley of the Wallamette is about two hundred and 
 fifty miles long, and averages about seventy in width, mak- 
 ing in all a surface of more than 17,000 square miles of 
 rich arable land. The soil is an unctuous, heavy, black 
 
OREGON. 1*23 
 
 loam, which yields to the producer a rea'ly and profuse re 
 turn for the sHghtest outlay of his labor. The climate is mild 
 throughout the year, but the summer is warm, and very 
 dry. From April to October, while the sea-breezes pre- 
 vail, rain seldom falls in any part of Oregon. During the 
 other months, and while the south winds blow, the rains 
 are frequent, and at times abundant. In the valleys of the 
 low country snow is seldom seen, and the ground is so 
 rarely frozen, that ploughing may be generally carried 
 on the whole winter. In 1834, the Columbia was trozen 
 over for thirteen days ; but this was principally attributable 
 to the accumulation of ice from above." -i 
 
 Lieutenant Wilkes says of the neighboring country : 
 "The wheat yields thirty-five or forty bushels for one bush- 
 el sown, or from twenty to thirty to the acre. Its quality 
 is superior to that grown in the United States, and its 
 weight is nearly four pounds to the bushel heavier. The 
 above is the yield of the new land, but it is believed it will 
 greatly exceed this after the third crop, when the land has 
 been broken up and well tilled. In comparison to our 
 country, we would say, that the labor necessary to acquire 
 wealth or subsistence, is in proportion of one to three ; or, 
 in other words, a man must work through the year three 
 times as much in the United States to gain the same com- 
 petency. The care of stock, which occupies so much 
 time with us, requires no attention here, and on the in- 
 crease alone a man might find support." ' •• 
 
 South of the valley of the Wallamette we come to that 
 of the Umpqua, in which is found large prairies of unsur- 
 passable arable land, though the vicinage of the river is 
 chiefly remarkable for its gigantic pine timber. Some idea 
 of the extraordinary size of the forest trees may be obtain- 
 ed from the fact, that their seed cones are sometimes more 
 than a foot in length. Below the Umpqua, we next ar 
 
124 U RE GO IV. 
 
 rive at the country watered by the Tootootua, or Rogue's 
 river, and beyond that to the voluptuous valley of the Kla- 
 met. These lower portions of the first region are thought 
 by many to be the paradise of the whole territory, excel- 
 ling in richness of soil and voluptuousness of climate even 
 the celebrated valley of the Wallamette. Of this opinion 
 is Lieutenant Wilkes, to whose exertions and researches 
 we are indebted for most of our accurate, geographical 
 knowledge of the western portion of < regon. Indeed, 
 probability seems to be in favor of regarding the valleys of 
 the Klamet and Tootootua and the Umpqua as the gar- 
 dens of the west, and the cause of the preference of the 
 northern portion is to be attributed mostly to the readier 
 access afforded to them by the avenue of the Columbia. 
 Population is already gradually approaching further and 
 further south, and but few years will elapse before coasters 
 will be running down to the mouths of those three rivers 
 for their agricultural products. We had prepared quite an 
 accurate description of the rivers of the territory from the 
 different maps that have appeared, but the description con. 
 tained in the volume of Mr. George Wilkes, beings we 
 think, superior, as far as accuracy is concerned, we shall 
 insert a portion of it : i ../. . .- .: ,fr hiy 
 
 '*=■'•••'■■• '--"■■■ Rivers. ' •- ■ ' ^ ; ' ^ »-^ 
 
 The northern branch of the Columbia river rises in lati- 
 tude 50° north and 116° west from Greenwich ; thence it 
 pursues a northern route to McGillerary's pass in the Rocky 
 Mountains ; there it meets the Canoe river, and by that tri- 
 butary ascends northwesterly for eight miles more. At 
 the Boat Encampment at the Pass, another stream also 
 joins it through the mountains ; and here the Columbia is 
 3,600 feet above the level of the sea. It now turns south, 
 having some obstructions to its safe navigation, in the way 
 
OREGON. 125 
 
 of rapids, receiving many tributaries in its course to Col- 
 ville, and two smaller tributaries higher up trom the west, 
 are the chief. This great river is bounded thus far in its 
 course by a range of high, v/ell-wooded mountains, and 
 in places extends with a line of lakes before it reaches 
 Colville, where it is 2,049 feet above the level of the sea, 
 having a fall of 550 feet in 2*20 miles. Fort Colville stands 
 on a plain of 2,000 or 3,000 acres. There the Hudson 
 Bay Company have a considerable settlement, and a farm 
 under cultivation, producing from 3,000 to 4,000 bushels of 
 different grains, with which many of their other forts are 
 supplied. On Clark's river the company have another 
 fort, called Flat Head House, situated in a rich and beau- 
 tiful country spreading westward to the basis of the Rocky 
 Mountains. On the Flatbow, also, the Company have a 
 fort named Fort Koolamie. 
 
 From Fort Colville the Columbia tends westward for 
 about sixty miles, and then receives the Spokan from the 
 south. This river rises in the lake of the Pointed Heart, 
 which lies in the bosom of extended plains of the same 
 name. It pursues a northwesterly course for about 200 
 miles, and empties into the Columbia. Its valleys, accord- 
 ing to Mr. Spalding, an American missionary, who survey- 
 ed it, may be extensively used as a grazing district, but its 
 agricultural capabilities are limited. The chief features 
 of this region, are like those of the upper country, through 
 which we have already traced the Columbia and its tribu- 
 taries, extensive forests of timber and wide sandy plains, 
 intersected by bold and high mountains. v'^*. I ** 
 
 From the Spokan, the Columbia continues its westerly 
 course for sixty miles, receiving several smaller streams, 
 until it comes to the Okanagan, a river finding its source 
 in a line of lakes to the north, and affording boat and ca- 
 noe navigation to a considerable extent up its course. On 
 10 
 
126 OREGON. 
 
 the east side of this river, and near its junction with the 
 Columbia, the company have another station called Fort 
 Okanagan. Though the country bordering on the Oka- 
 nagan is generally worthless, this settlement is situated 
 among a number of small, but rich and arable plains. 
 After passing the Okanagan, the Columbia takes a south- 
 ern turn, and runs in that direction, for 160 miles, to Wal- 
 lawalla, receiving in its course the Piscons, the Okama, and 
 Entgatecoom, from the west, and, lastly, the Saptin, or 
 Lewis river, from the south. From this point the part of 
 the Columbia which we have traced, though obstructed 
 by rapids, is navigable for canoes to the Boat Encamp- 
 ment^ a distance of 500 miles to the north. The Saptin 
 takes its rise in the Rocky Mountains, passes through the 
 Blue, and reaches the Cc '.ia, afler having pursued a 
 northwesterly direction for 5*20 miles. It brings a large 
 volume of water to the latter stream, but in consequence 
 of its extensive and numerous rapids, it is not navigable 
 even for canoes, except in reaches. This circumstance is 
 to be deplored, as its course is the line of route for the em- 
 igration from the States. It receives a large number of 
 tributaries, of which the Kooskooski and Salmon are the 
 chief. Our previous account of the arid and volcanic 
 character of this region obviates the necessity of a further 
 description here. There is a trading station near the Sap- 
 tin, not far from the southern boundary line, called Fort 
 Hale, and one also near its junction with the Columbia, 
 called Fort Wallawaha. The Columbia at Wallawalla 
 is 1,284 feet above the level of the sea, and about 3,500 
 feet wide. It now takes its last turn to the westward, pur- 
 suing a rapid course of 80 miles to the Cascades, and re- 
 ceiving the Umatilla, Quesnels, John Day's, and Chut« 
 rivers from the south, and Cathlatates from the north. At 
 the Cascades the navigation of the river is again obBtmct- 
 
OREGON. 127 
 
 ed by rapids ; after passing these, it is navigable for 120 
 miles to the ocean. The only other great independent 
 river in the territory is the Tacoutche, or Eraser's river. 
 It takes its rise in the Rocky mountains, near the source 
 of Canoe river ; thence it takes a northwesterly course for 
 80 miles, when it makes a turn southward, receiving Stew- 
 art's river. The Tacoutche pursues a southerly course, 
 until it reaches latitude 49°, where it breaks through the 
 Cascade range in a succession of falls and rapids, then 
 turns to the west, and after a course of 70 miles more, 
 empties into the Gulf of Georgia, on the Straits of Fuca, 
 in latitude 47° 07 . Its whole length is 350 miles, but it is 
 only navigable for 70 miles from its mouth by vessels draw- 
 ing 12 feet water. It has three trading-posts upon it belong- 
 ing to the company — Fort Langley, at its mouth, Fort 
 Alexandria at the junction of a small stream a few miles 
 south of Quesnel's river, and another at the junction of 
 Stewart's river. The country drained by this river is poor, 
 and generally unfit for cultivation. The climate is extreme 
 in its variation of heat and cold ; and in the fall months 
 dense fogs prevail, which bar every object from the eye 
 beyond the distance of a hundred yards. - -'^*^ 
 
 The chief features of the section are extensive forests, 
 transverse ranges of low countries, and vast tracts of 
 marshes and lakes, formed by the streams descending from 
 the surrounding heights. The character of the great rivers 
 is peculiar — rapid and sunken much below the country, 
 with perpendicular banks. They run, as it were, in 
 trenches, which makes it extremely difficult to get at the 
 water in many places, owing to their steep, basaltic walls.. 
 They are at many points contracted by dalles in narrows, 
 which, during the rise, back the water some distance, 
 submerging islands and tracts of low prairie, and giving 
 them the appearance of extensive lakes. The soil along 
 
128 OREGON. 
 
 the river bottoms is generally alluvial, and would yield 
 good crops were it not for the overflowings of the river, 
 which check and kill the grain. Some of the fmest por- 
 tions of the land are thus uniitted for cultivation. They 
 are generally covered with water before the banks are 
 overflown, in consequence of the quicksands that exist in 
 them, and through which the water percolates. "The 
 rise of the streams flowing from the Cascade Mountains 
 takes place twice in the year, in February and November, 
 and are produced by heavy and abundant rains. The rise 
 of the Columbia takes place in May and June, and is at- 
 tributable to the melting of the snows. Sometimes the 
 swell of the latter is very sudden, if heavy rains should also 
 fall at that period ; but it is generally gradual, and reaches 
 its greatest heighth from the 6th to the 15th of June. Its 
 perpendicular rise is from 16 to 20 feet at Vancouver, 
 where a line of embankment has been thrown up to pro- 
 tect the lower prairie ; but it has been generally flooded 
 during these visitations, and the crops often destroyed. 
 The greatest rise of the Wallamette takes place in Febru- 
 ary, and sometimes ascending to the heighth of 20 feet, 
 does considerable damage. Both of these rivers and the 
 Cowelitz are much swollen by the backing of their waters 
 during the height of the Columbia ; all the lower grounds 
 being at times submerged. This puts an eflectual bar to 
 the border prairies being used for any thing but pasturage. 
 This, happily, is fine throughout the year, except in the 
 season of floods, when the cattle have to be driven to the 
 high grounds. It is almost impossible at the present time 
 to form a correct estimate of the population of the Ore- 
 gon territory ; the number has been oft:en reckoned, but 
 with no degree of certainty. Lieutenant Wilkes supposes 
 thjfit there are about 20,000, of whom 19,000 are aborigi- 
 nees and the remainder whites. This calculation was 
 
OREGON 
 
 129 
 
 made, however, several years ago, while, during the inter- 
 val, the tide of emigration has been constantly increasing. 
 We can now safely set down the whole population as 
 numbering from twenty-two to twenty-five thousand. We 
 do not include in this number the serfs and Sandwich Island- 
 ers, who are scattered about in different parts of the territory. 
 The number of aboriginal inhabitants can hardly be ascer- 
 tained with any accuracy ; for in fishing seasons they move 
 about from place to place, and sometimes remain per- 
 manently wherever they can find the best land and loca- 
 tion. The number of Indians in this territory, as is already 
 known, are very great. We shall here introduce a tabu- 
 lar statement, prepared by Mr. Crawford, for the use of 
 Congress. 
 
 Indians west of the Rocky mountains, in the Oregon district , and 
 
 their numhers. 
 
 Nes Perces 
 
 - 
 
 Cutlashoots 
 
 - 430 
 
 Ponderas 
 
 - 
 
 Willenohs 
 
 - 1,000 
 
 Fiatheads 
 
 800 
 
 Smacsops 
 
 200 
 
 Cour D'Alene 
 
 - 1,800 
 
 Echebools 
 
 - 1,000 
 
 Shosones 
 
 - 
 
 Eivesteurs 
 
 - 1,200 
 
 Callapooahs 
 
 - 
 
 Chamoappans 
 
 400 
 
 Umbaquahs 
 
 - 
 
 Lekulks - 
 
 - 3,000 
 
 Kiguel - 
 
 - 
 
 Chunnapuns 
 
 - 2,000 
 
 Spokens - 
 
 - 
 
 Shallatolos 
 
 200 
 
 Oknanagans 
 
 - 
 
 Spearmaros 
 
 240 
 
 Cootomiies 
 
 - 
 
 Saddals - 
 
 400 
 
 Chilte - 
 
 - 
 
 Wallawallahs 
 
 - 2,600 
 
 Chenooks 
 
 400 
 
 Chopunmohees - 
 
 - 3,000 
 
 Snakes - 
 
 - 1,000 
 
 Pohahs - 
 
 1,000 
 
 Cuthlamuhs 
 
 200 
 
 Chillo Kittequaws 
 
 - 2,400 
 
 Wahkenkumes - 
 
 200 
 
 Wahupums 
 
 - 1,000 
 
 Skillutts - 
 
 - 2,500 
 
 Clackainurs 
 
 - 1,800 
 
 Whole number 
 
 - 29,570 
 
130 OREGON. 
 
 The Indians generally on the main land are kind and 
 friendly. The most warhke are those which live in the 
 islands of the north. They are, however, rapidly passing 
 away before the advancing destiny of a superior race ; and 
 soon but few will be left of the many thousands who once 
 happily lived. In the Wallamette valley, their favorite 
 country, where they hunted and fished, and had their 
 dances, there are but a few remnants lefl, and they are dis- 
 pirited and broken-hearted. On the Columbia river, near 
 its mouth, a small number of them live, and also about the 
 Cascades and the Dalles large parties of them may be 
 found. Their situations, as we have before said, are much 
 to be deplored. Their inexhaustible resources have been 
 taken from them, their bows are unstrung, and from " lords 
 of the soil," they have sunk to the degradation of its slaves. 
 A portion of the independence of the Kinsesand Nes Per- 
 ces is still maintained. Many of them have ad < anced rap- 
 idly in civilization ; and, no doubt, would adapt themselves 
 to a methodical system of life, were not the first lessons 
 of the science an exaction of their labors for the benefit 
 of others. At the present, they can only be regarded in the 
 light of a servile population, which, in the existing dearth 
 of labor, is rendered of vast service to the active settler. 
 The missionaries exert a very strong influence over the 
 Indians, particularly within the last few years, since the 
 Territory has begun to be christianized. Not a great 
 deal, we are told, has been done towards christianizing, 
 the natives being principally engaged in cultivating the 
 mission farms, and in the increase of their own flocks and 
 herds. " As far as my personal observation went, says a 
 writer, there are very few Indians to engage their attention, 
 and they seemed more occupied with the settlement of the 
 country and agricultural pursuits than in missionary la- 
 bors." We need not despair, however, of reclaiming this 
 
OREGON. 131 
 
 whole territory, looking to the rapid progression of good 
 morals and habits. The settlers in the neighborhood of 
 the Wallamette are becoming prudent and correct, and 
 many of them regular in the discharge of their rehgioua 
 and worldly duties. 
 
 It appears that on a certain occasion, when the Oregon 
 question was being discussed in the House of Lords, be- 
 fore a large and intelligent audience, Lord Ashburton had 
 in his pocket '-'•MitchelVs map''' of 1783, which was taken 
 ' from the hbrary of George the Third, without his know^ 
 ledge or consent. This map, strange to say^ though pre^ 
 pared by a British subject, and accurately too, as was af^ 
 terwards affirmed throughout £ngland by men of sound 
 sense and clear judgment, gives to the United States un^ 
 disputed possession, and estabhshes beyond doubt it^ 
 right and title, and denying to Great Britain the possession 
 of one "foot of the territory." The following is an extract 
 of a speech delivered by Sir Robert Peel, in the House of 
 Commons, on the 28th of March, 1843 : .i^.m oi ,vi^»u ct 
 
 **But there is still another map. Here, in this country, in the library 
 of the late King, was deposited a map, by Mitchell, of the date of 1753, 
 That map was in the possession of the late King, and was also in pos- 
 session of the noble lord ; but he did not communicate its contents to 
 Mr. Webster. [Hear, hear.] It is marked by a broad red linej and 
 on that line is written 'boundary as described b)'^ our negotiator, Mr. 
 Oswald;' and thaf line follows the claim of the United States. [Hear, 
 hear.] That map was on an extended scale. It was in possession of 
 the late King, who was particularly curious in relation to geographical 
 inquiries. On that map, I repeat, is placed the boundary Une — that 
 claimed by the United States — and on four different places of that line, 
 * boundary, as described by our negotiator, Mr. Oswald.' " ,{ iXPii- 
 
 About this time the question was eliciting profound in- 
 terest, and Lord Brougham, who delivered some time after 
 ^ great and elaborate speech, characterized by close study 
 and careful examination, held the idea up to scorn and 
 
13^ OREGON. 
 
 ridicule, conlending that Lord Ashburton was bound to 
 show this map to Mr. Webster. His lordship was of opin- 
 ion that the handwriting on the face of the map, describ- 
 ing the American and not the British claim, "is the 
 handwriting of George III himself," Mr. Oswald knowing 
 nothing of it at all. After stating that the library of George 
 III, by the munificence of George IV, was given to the 
 British Museum, he says: "This map must have been 
 there ; but it is a curious circumstance that it is not there 
 now. [Laughter.] I suppose it must have been taken out 
 of the British Museum, for the purpose of being sent over 
 to my noble friend in America, [hear, hear, and laughter ;] 
 and which, according to the new doctrines of diplomacy, 
 he was bound to have taken over with him, to show that he 
 had no case — that he had not a leg to stand upon. And 
 again. But, somehow or other, that map, which entirely 
 destroys our contentions, and gives all to the Ameri- 
 cans, has been removed from the British Museum, and 
 is now to be found at the Foreign Office." Sir Robert 
 Peel evidently, with his accustomed acuteness, a "oids the 
 truth of the story, attributing the fact of the King's having 
 the map to the interest felt by him respecting the geo- 
 graphical condition of the country. It would be a little 
 strange, the King desiring an accurate boundary, and ex- 
 erting every effort to obtain one, should Mr. Oswald have 
 furnished him with a false view, suited to his own notions, 
 and in non-conformity with glaring facts. Justly has Lord 
 Brougham declared, " that if this map had been produced, 
 the British Government would not have had one leg to 
 stand upon." There would have been an open and avow- 
 ed acknowledgment made of the strength of our claims, 
 by a great and prominent man of the Opposition, which 
 would have put at rest at once all further difficulty. What 
 did Lord Ashburton say, in reference to the British title. 
 
OREGON. 133 
 
 during the negotiation? Did he suppress the fact that 
 MitchelPs map had actually appeared, which had rendered 
 null the right of his own country ? He expressed his de- 
 cided friendship for the United States ; that he had exert- 
 ed every effort in his power to avert the late war, which 
 no one can deny, and which attaches very great credit to 
 him ; but, after all, he declares, with MitchelPs map in 
 his pocket, in a letter written to Mr. Webster on the 21st 
 of June, 1842, as follows : 
 
 ^^ I will only here add the most solemn assurance, which 
 I would not lightly make, that, afler a long and careful ex- 
 amination of all the arguments and inferences, direct and 
 circumstantial, bearing on the whole of this truly difficult 
 question, it is my settled conviction, that it was the inten- 
 tion of the parties to the treaty of peace of 1783, however 
 imperfectly those intentions may have been executed, to 
 leave to Great Britain, by their description of boundaries, 
 the whole of the waters of the river St. John." (Page 40.) 
 It cannot be denied for a moment, after the facts that have 
 been adduced, which are recorded in the public archives, 
 and credited by all impartial men, that this '' boundary 
 line" was clearly established in the mind of the King. And 
 surely it would never have been introduced into Parlia- 
 ment had no importance been attached to it. . ; 
 
 

 CHAP. VII. 
 Shall Oregon be surrendered to Great Britain f 
 
 We take it for granted that this question need not be 
 asked, as it implies a doubt in the minds of the American 
 people of the justice and propriety of extending our juris- 
 diction and laws over the territory of Oregon. Of the va- 
 lidity of our title, as far as its legality is concerned, the 
 fairness of the demand, and of the honorable motives that 
 promt our demand, we have never had a doubt. '•'^''' ' 
 
 For all the purposes of settlement and commercial en- 
 terprise this territory opens an invaluable field. Hence it 
 is that so many powers at one time set forth their claims. 
 Many arguments have been brought forward by each par- 
 ty, some of them spirited and ingenious, in the support of 
 their rights, but we regard them as too flimsy to deserve 
 notice. Should they be obscure and inconclusive, the as- 
 pect of the case would not be changed in the least. We 
 have been careful in introducing plain legal principles, 
 strictly authorized by the law of nations ; and if they are 
 ineffectual in bringing about correct conclusions, it is very 
 certain that collateral views and arguments can avail 
 nothing. The proposition made on the American side for 
 the settlement and final adjustment of this question was, 
 that the line of the 49th parallel, the boundary on this side 
 of the mountains, should be continued to the Pacific ; and 
 on the British side, that the line should be continued only 
 to the head-waters of the Oregon river, and thence down 
 that river to the sea, the stream being the boundary, and 
 to continue forever common to the two nations. 
 
 From what we can learn, these were the terms proposed 
 in the late negotiation. If other plans were suggested, we 
 have not as yet been apprised of them. Our opinion on 
 
OREGON. 135 
 
 the subject is fixed and unalterable ; that our claims 
 are just and founded on law, as contained in Vattel, 
 PuffendoriT, and other writers on international law, and 
 should be so regarded by every nation on the globe, we 
 can never doubt. And we cannot help beheving, after 
 taking no little interest in the subject, through all its 
 stages to the present time, that we speak the opinion 
 of a large majority of the intelligent portion of the Amer- 
 ican people when we say, that the 49th parallel is a 
 reasonable, fair, and proper compromise, and the south- 
 ernmost limit which should be agreed upon by the United 
 States. Great caution and prudence should be observed 
 on committing this question for settlement to any individ- 
 ual or set of individuals. Look to what it involves, the 
 interest which it has very naturally and properly excited, 
 not only in America and the neighboring countries, but, in 
 truth, in the most remote regions. It should be entrusted 
 to the arbitrament of no European sovereign ; indeed, to 
 no one whose patriotism and ability have not been fairly 
 and fully tested. We have spoken boldly and openly, af- 
 firming our unquestionable right to a certain portion of 
 this territory, adduced arguments, facts, and data in main- 
 tenance of the position assumed ; and it is now our duty to 
 submit to no compromise — to no half-way and indefinite 
 agreement — to listen to no threats, however violent or au- 
 thoritative they may be, or from whatever source they may 
 come; and under no circumstances to recede one-hun- 
 dredth part of an inch from the 49th parallel. By this line 
 the territory would be divided into two separate divisions : 
 one boundary would be carried in almost a straight line 
 from the Lake of the Woods to the South Sea, and we 
 would be thus possessed of what we most want, the safe 
 and excellent harbors in the neighborhood of Fuca Straits, 
 and the almost entire control of the Columbia river. As 
 
136 OREGON. 
 
 far as the coast is concerned, what more do we want than 
 this ? We have all its advantages — all that can be had. 
 This is probably one of the most valuable portions of the 
 whole country west of the Rocky Mountains — inexhausti- 
 ble in its soil., admirably adapted to fishing and hunting, 
 and valuable in location. But suppose that this arrange- 
 ment would not satisfy us — that the body of the American 
 people positively and sternly objected, demanding the 
 whole territory, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. 
 A demand like this, in view of the different cessions and 
 treaties, and afler the avowed and tacit acknowledgments 
 made by our ministers and Secretaries, giving to Great 
 Britain at one time the right of joint occupancy, and at 
 another extending the privilege of navigation into the in- 
 terior of the country, would be a gross violation of the na- 
 tional honor, a slur upon our honesty, which would be vis- 
 ited upon the latest of our posterity, and worthy of the 
 prompt resistance of Great Britain. The good old max- 
 im, that " what is right can never be made wrong," holds 
 good with nations as well as with individuals. The con- 
 cessions that have been made by our Government have been 
 all entered of record ; they face the world ; and no change 
 of circumstances, no step, can destroy their foice or ef- 
 fect. We should not close the door to negotiation ; this 
 would be an anomaly in the history of nations ; but we 
 should endeavor, by peaceable means, to persuade Eng- 
 land, introducing plain and fixed facts, that our claims are 
 true; and that we are determined, at all hazards and ai all 
 costs, to maintain our ground. If the Government owes 
 any duty to its subjects, it is to afford tiiem protection in 
 their rights, on the same principle that it is the duty of a 
 father to protect and take care of his son. The only way 
 to accomplish this laudable end is to establish courts, and 
 the same legal procedure adopted that is practised here. 
 
OREGON. 137 
 
 We trust that there is a probability of a peaceable settle- 
 ment of this question between the two nations. And we 
 recommend, not hastily and without due consideration, the 
 propriety of doing away with the treaty provided by the 
 conventions of 1818 and 1827, as they might break off and 
 put an end to negotiation. But we are clearly of opinion 
 that,afler a reasonable time, if nothing is done to estabhsh 
 a territorial government, or suitable means taken for the 
 protection of our settlers, that we should send out our 
 men, build our cities, establish our trading-houses, and, if 
 necessary, meet the British on the tented field. Should it 
 ever be the misfortune of the American people to witness 
 that day, (which may God in his providence avert,) the 
 gloom, treasure, and bloodshed which it would cost are be- 
 yond the calculation of the human imagination. Twenty 
 millions of freemen engaged in war with a foreign pov\er, 
 greater in population, greater in naval advantages, superior 
 in a knowledge of military tactics, and better skilled in marl 
 time warfare, would present a scene of confusion never be- 
 fore witnessed in the annals of unfortunate Europe. No one 
 has any adequate conception of a conflict with so powerful 
 a Government. At first, all admit, that the loss suffered by 
 our country would be immense — the loss of life and the 
 loss of property — wives would be made widows and sons 
 orphans, by a catastrophe so much to be dreaded. Ex- 
 citement and consternation would reign in every part of 
 this wide land. All would rush forward to the battle- 
 field — none would stay at home when their country's hon- 
 or was at stake, fired by an ambition to see her rise, phoe- 
 nix-like, from the ashes, with her stars and stripes victo- 
 rious. No consideration, no sacrifice of self-interest, would 
 stay the brave American when he heard the cannon's roar 
 on the Atlantic coast, and knew that America's indepen- 
 dence was at stake. It appears, indeed, a weakness of re- 
 
138 OREGON. 
 
 publican Governments not to prepare for coming exigen- 
 cies. We know that each State is sovereign, and has its 
 organized bodies, which can be raUied at a very short no- 
 tice. They have their volunteer and militia companies, 
 that can be gathered together at one point in a very few 
 hours. We know that our towns and cities are well block- 
 aded and fortified ; but what is the comparative condition 
 of our navy ? How does it compare with the ships of war 
 whitening every sea that belongs to Great Britain.'' Look 
 to her present situation, her military advantages. Look 
 to her vast disposable force in readiness at any time. 
 Look to the men of war surrounding every little island and 
 peninsula that belongs to her. For the first eighteen 
 months or two years her blows would fall upon us fast and 
 thick, and the injuries sustained by our Government prob- 
 ably greater than could be repaired in half a century. 
 But who knows how this even would end .'* There would 
 be an emancipation of the American mind from British in- 
 fluence. The creeds, policy, sentiments, and manners of 
 that people would be confined to those dominions upon 
 which, they say, the sun never sets. That day would 
 be gladly hailed when the American citizen would be no 
 longer insulted with the base charge of favoring the inter- 
 ests of the British Government, and applauding their laws 
 and institutions. We should have the proud consolation 
 of knowing, which would be dwelt upon with feelings of 
 pride and honor centuries hence, that there was an era 
 which blended in harmonious union party schisms and 
 jealousies, cutting asunder the secret tie that bound Amec-; 
 ica with Britain, and dispelling all fear of national treach- 
 ery and national abuse. With our circle of free States, 
 with their republican constitutions and wholesome laws, and 
 the inestimable and valuable principle of self-government, 
 one of the constituent parts of our compact^ would be held 
 
aRfiooN. 139 
 
 out to the returning patriot, under which he might take shel- 
 ter with safety. That excessive admiration of British history, 
 and theremnants of colonial ideas, which half a century of 
 independence and two bloody wars, one of them long and 
 eventful, have not been sufficient to eradicate, would be done 
 away with. Our history is a very remarkable one for its noble 
 bearing and patriotic scenes ; but it has run far ahead of our 
 opinions, and is not sufficiently appreciated. With a Gov- 
 ernment of our own, framed by our fathers, republican in its 
 spirit and tone, we should be satisfied to preserve all the 
 privileges handed down to us, so as to transmit them to 
 those who are to succeed us. Another beneficial result 
 would be, the purification of our political atmosphere. 
 ^ The cankers of a calm world and long peace" are no fic- 
 tion. Politics become a trade ; and our first-rate men are 
 betrayed into the ways of cunning and dishonest) , losing 
 respect for themselves and their country, and stooping to 
 the lowest means to accomplish the lowest ends. A c 
 tision would bring the ablest and best men uppermost. 
 The native and moral strength of the people would be 
 fairly and fully tested ; and perhaps those very ones whom 
 we now suppose would defend the country to the last mo- 
 ment of their lives, would be found wanting when the time 
 came to "try their souls;" while another Washington, with 
 an intrepid spirit and an undaunted brow, might step forth 
 from the shades of obscurity, and win for himself the 
 praise of his countrymen, and the gratitude of the latest 
 generations. 
 
 If we are involved in war, now is the time to make suit- 
 able preparation. We find in the early messages of Gen. 
 Washington to Congress he dwelt particularly upon the 
 importance of maintaining the country in an attitude of 
 defence as the most effectual method of averting the ca- 
 lamities of war. He says, ^that the citizens constitute 
 
140 OREGON 
 
 the depository of the force of the repubhc, and may be 
 trained to a degree of eflSciency equal to any mihtary exi- 
 gency." Again : we are told, by Mr. Poinsett, chairman 
 of the Committee on Military Affairs, 26th Congress, 2d 
 session, Senate document No. 118, ^^but, in order to pro- 
 vide the means of a proper training, and to secure this de- 
 gree of efficiency in newly formed forces, it is a material 
 feature in the plan of organization to afford an opportu- 
 nity to acquire, in time of peace, a knowledge of the more 
 difficult and scientific branches of the military. Whatever 
 argument may be drawn from particular examples, super- 
 ficially viewed, a thorough examination of the subject will 
 evince, that the art of war is at once comprehensive and 
 complicated, but it demands much previous study, and 
 that the possession of it, in its improved state, is always of 
 great moment to the security of the nation." It cannot 
 be denied that it is the duty of all Governments that wish 
 to preserve friendly relations with foreign powers to pre- 
 serve a military body, cost what it may, who, from their 
 attainments and knowledge, are ready at any time to re- 
 spond to the call of their country. We do not advocate 
 the propriety of a standing army ; far from it. The ex- 
 pense and evils incident to a standing army should be 
 avoided, while a strict military force, well disciplined and 
 organized, should be preserved at the expense of the Gen- 
 eral Government. In other words, we must cultivate in 
 time of peace a knowledge of military science, and an ac- 
 quaintance with the more scientific branches of the mili- 
 tary art, forming, when occasion shall require, the main 
 body of the army, from persons ordinarily engaged in civil 
 occupations. We have, it is true, what may be called, in 
 one sense, a standing army. Each State has its militia ; 
 and those officers who are appointed to command are re- 
 quired by law, under a penalty, to see that they appear on 
 
OREGON. 141 
 
 certain occasions to pass through mihtary exercises. We 
 have an "organization" purely of a civil character, includ- 
 ing four distinct arms — infantry, cavalry, artillery, and en- 
 gineers, each having distinct duties, but all combining to 
 form one and the same military body, it is very necessa- 
 ry that our legislative bodies should bestow on this subject 
 that attention which its importance demands. It is not 
 always when in possession of a thing that we are most likely 
 to appreciate its utility ; the evils and inconveniencies re- 
 sulting from a want of it, not unfrequently act most pow- 
 erfully with its importance, and the advantages to be de 
 rived from its possession. 
 
 We beg leave to cite a few remarks drawn from military 
 history. There is no occasion for going back to the disas- 
 trous passage of the Vistula by Charles XII, the failure of 
 Marlborough to pass the Dyle and Eugene, and to cross 
 the Adda ii. 1705, nor of the three unsuccessful attempts 
 of Charles of Lorraine to cross the Rhine in 1743. Take 
 the French revolution, from its commencement to its 
 close, and we find strict military discipline indispen- 
 sably necessary in time of peace. It is true that the policy 
 of our rulers is to economise the public money in time of 
 peace, and to preserve the lives of our citizens and the na- 
 tional flag in time of war ; but let this matter be passed 
 over in silence, and the future historian will say of us, as 
 Napier has said of the English : ••' The best officers and 
 finest soldiers were obliged to sacrifice themselves in a 
 lamentable manner to compensate i'or the negligence and 
 incapacity of a Government always ready to plunge the 
 nation into a war without the slighest care of what was 
 necessary* to obtain success. Their sieges were but a suc- 
 cession of butcheries, beiause the commonest materials, 
 and the means necessary to their art. were denied the en- 
 gineers.*" 
 
 11 
 
142 OREGON. 
 
 But we wish it distinctly understood that we are opposed 
 to war when it can be possibly avoided. Its evils and ca- 
 lamities are familiar to all; and the history of countries, 
 that are known only in " poetry and song," teaches the in- 
 structive lesson "that shght causes often lead to disas- 
 trous results." We deprecate it as one of the most fear- 
 ful and distressing curses, (for such it has been regarded 
 by the ablest historians,) that ever befel any country at any 
 time or in any age. 
 
 We cannot permit the celebrated and excellent report 
 of Captain Fremont to pass unnoticed. The circumstances 
 attending the expedition, its progress, and final consumme^- 
 tion, together with the indomitable and unflinching spirit and 
 zeal that was eviaced by him and his companions during 
 their long and eventful expedition, justly entitle them to the 
 admiration and respect of the American people. It was a 
 noble enterprise, one to try the firmness and courage of 
 man, and much to be wondered at in its results. Few, 
 very few, would have undertaken a military examination 
 of the country from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean — 
 a work so fearful and hazardous. His account is now 
 published to the world, which is so accurate in its details, 
 that a statesman may judge correctly of the value of the 
 countrv, and a farmer tell where he can settle to most ad- 
 vantage. An unexplored land lie stretched out before 
 them, its history unknown, and its soil untrodden, save by 
 the foot of the red man. What firmness and confidence 
 was necessary to strengthen them in their slow and uncer- 
 tain march ! The prospect, how dreary ! Their lives how 
 uncertain ! Yet all this vanished, like a mist, before their 
 resolute determination to brave all perils, endure every 
 hardship, and secure the hard-earned bequest. Day after 
 day, for hundreds of miles, they beheld mountain piled upon 
 Inountain^^'Ossa upon Pclion," with their cold and icy sum- 
 
OREGON. 143 
 
 mits, uninhabited and uncheered even by the fires of the set 
 tier. They travelled with "imweary footstep" sixteen hun- 
 dred miles to the South Pass ; from the mouth of the Platte 
 to the same Pass, about one thousand more ; and another 
 sixteen hundred miles from that Pass to the tide water of 
 the river Oregon •, in all about /o?xr thousand miles. Their 
 fears at night would be often greatly excited by the shrill 
 war-hoop of the savage, and the fierce roar of wild beasts. 
 But throughout they quietly trusted to Divine Providence, 
 and would sleep as sweetly, after a rough journey of twen- 
 ty miles over mountains and rocks, as the daily laborer in 
 a christianized and enlightened land. While the guard 
 surrounded the camp, all was stillness within, but they 
 took care never to go to rest unless they were prepared at 
 a moment^s warning for an attack, placing their rifles and 
 ammunition at their heads. This was very important ; for 
 had they been attacked at all by the Indians, it would have 
 been at night, when every thing was still. The idea of a 
 military expedition from the Mississippi river to Oregon, 
 prior to its consummation, was believed by many to be 
 impossible, and even ridiculed by intelligent men. The 
 scheme was considered visionary and absurd, and the pri- 
 vations and troubles incident to so long a trip were regard- 
 ed as more than human nature could bear. It was thought 
 that the cold would be so intense, and the dews so heavy, 
 that persons acclimated here could not Hve ; but these im- 
 pressions have been entirely removed by the facts pubhshed 
 by Capt. Fremont in his narrative. The distance from the 
 frontier '^f the Missouri to the tide-water in Oregon is about 
 two thousand miles. The mountains are easily passed ; the 
 whole way being practicable, even in a state of nature, for 
 horses, carriages, and artillery ; and as for the Indians, 
 twenty -four men with rifles may move in safety in spite of 
 the hostility of any tribe. Their instruments of warfare, 
 
144 OREGON. 
 
 as all know, are the bow and arrow, scalping-knives and 
 spears, which, in open combat, can do but little damage 
 in comparison with the rifle. They lay in ambush gene- 
 rally, and make a secret attack when it is least suspected. 
 This is characteristic of the whole Indian race; and by 
 this mode of warfare the lives of many have been lost, and 
 serious damage committed. In the progress of their jour- 
 ney, however, they had but little use for their muskets, ex- 
 cept for shooting game and exercising at a mark. We are 
 told by Captain Fremont that this territory is " the most 
 impregnable country in the world." With reference to 
 defence, the British Government would have been very 
 careful in considering this important fact, and to have 
 prevailed on the Hudson Bay Company to do for them 
 in Oregon what the East India Company have done 
 for them in Asia. We find that Captain Fremont intro- 
 duces the comparatively insignificant article of grass. It 
 will surprise those not acquainted with the character of 
 the soil to learn, that there is a species of grass that grows 
 in all directions in great profusion, which is equal in luxu- 
 riance and nutrition to our best hay. During his entire 
 journey he had no occasion to use for his cattle any other 
 food. They were extremely fond of it; and though trav- 
 elling twenty or thirty miles per day, it was equal in its 
 green state to our best hay when cured and dried. It is 
 found in the mountains and low lands, and even grows on 
 the mountain ridges at an elevation of ten thousand feet. 
 All the wild animals feed upon it — the elk, deer, and buf- 
 falo — and use it in preference to any other provender. 
 There is another grass that is very abundant ; possessing 
 the very remarkable property of a second growth; appear- 
 ing in the fall of the year as luxuriant as in the spring, af- 
 ter the entire destruction of the first crop. It is very plen- 
 
OREGON. 145 
 
 tiful on the western slopes, and is fit, in all respects, to 
 feed horses and cattle in the depth of winter. 
 
 In the months of December and January, when the 
 grass is entirely destroyed by the snow and frosts, this 
 grass may be found growing in the Sierra JVevada^ Snowy 
 Mountains of California, where the snow has disappeared 
 from the heat of the sun. It may be found also in great 
 abundance in the Desert of the Lower California. Where- 
 ever there is water to be found it appears in large clusters, 
 and may be very easily cut or pulled from the roots. Per- 
 mitting it to dry, it has, if any thing, an injurious tendency. 
 It loses its sweetness and flavor in a great measure, and is . 
 not eaten by cattle with half the readiness as when in its 
 green state. In all expeditions subsistence is one of the 
 principal clogs. There is always a difficulty in procuring 
 necessaries ; hence it is that we hear so often of starva- 
 tion and other calamities. It is very hard at all times to 
 provide the necessary food, and if provided, to keep it 
 in a proper state while travelling. Horses very generally 
 suffer; but the grass spoken of before was found by 
 Captain Fremont to answer all purposes. He seems 
 to have paid particular attention to the study of the 
 sciences. His mind and instruments were never at rest 
 from the time he commenced his travels until they were 
 ended. Geography, geology, botany, meteorology, each 
 seem to have claimed an equal portion of his time. The 
 geographical discoveries made by him are entirely new, 
 and afford the most valuable and interesting information to 
 those taking an interest in the subject. From the fron- 
 tiers of Missouri to the Rocky Mountains, the line of 
 the Kansas and Great Platte is represented, by the most 
 impartial and minute examination, to be arable and inhab- 
 itable. This particular portion of the territory has been 
 often spoken of, and frequently misrepresented. It has 
 
146 OREGON. 
 
 been said by the ignorant and unknowing, that the land is 
 barren and worthless, not worth the labor necessary for 
 its cultivation, being fit not even for grazing ; when, in truth, 
 it is extremely fertile, and covered with a fine, rich, luxu- 
 rious growth. 
 
 The Rocky Mountains are represented as being desolate 
 and impassable. It appears that Captain Fremont passed 
 it at five different places, not selected either as the most 
 accessible. And we are told that there are many excel- 
 lent passes, of which the South pass is the best ; and that 
 it embosoms beautiful vallies and parks, with lakes and 
 springs, rivalling and surpassing the moijt enchanting points 
 of the Alpine region in Switzerland. One of the most re- 
 markable curiosities in the territory, that has attracted 
 great attention, is the ''Great Salt LakeP It is probably 
 without a rival in the world, being a solution of salt, of one 
 hundred miles in diameter. It is most graphically described 
 by Captain Fremont, and also the Bear River Valley, with 
 its rich bottoms, fine grass, walled-up mountains, hot and 
 mineral springs, soda fountains, volcanic rocks, and volcanic 
 springs. T' " is another very great curiosity, which is 
 worthy of aiici .ion. '• The Boiling Spring," the water of 
 which has a very peculiar and disagreeable taste, is hot 
 enough to boil an egg, and finds its way from three different 
 openings, all within a short distance of each other. It takes 
 its source at the head of a small valley, near a very high 
 range of rocks, covered with basaltic rock, and the neigh- 
 boring plains are covered with round rock. This spring 
 forms quite a large branch, which broadens and deep- 
 ens as it advances. The water is quite clear, and 
 rolls off smoking and foaming. The country around 
 presents a beautiful appearance ; and in consequence of 
 the warmth of the spring, the trees and grass wear a 
 green appearance from one year's end to the other. 
 
OREGON. 147 
 
 there being neither frosts, nor snows, nor chilHng winds. 
 It is at page 196 of Captain Fremont's report that he states 
 his determination to pass through a new region of country 
 on his return to the United States. It is very interesting ; 
 so much so, that we give it in his own words : 
 
 '' The camp was now occupied in making the necessary 
 preparations for our homeward journey, which, though 
 homeward, contemplated a new route and a great circuit to 
 the south and southeast, and the exploration of the Great 
 Basin between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Ne- 
 vada. Three principal objects were indicated, by report 
 or by maps, as being on this route, the character or ex- 
 istence of which I wished to ascertain, and which I assum- 
 ed as landmarks, or leading points, on the projected line 
 of return. The first of these points was the Tlamath lake, 
 on the table land between the head of Fall river, which 
 comes to the Columbia, and the Sacramento, which goes 
 to the bay of San Francisco ; and from which lake a river 
 of the same name makes its way westwardly direct to the 
 ocean. This lake and river are often called Klamet, but 
 I have chosen to write its name according to the Indian 
 pronunciation. The position of this lake, on the line of 
 inland communication between Oregon and California, its 
 proximity to the demarcation boundary of latitude 42^, its 
 imputed double character of lake or meadow, according to 
 the season of the year, and the hostile or warlike charac- 
 ter attributed to the Indians about it, all made it a desirable - 
 object to visit and examine. From this lake our course 
 was intended to be about southeast, to a reported lake, call- 
 ed Mary, at some days' journey in the Great Basin ; and 
 thence, still on southeast, to the reputed Buenaventura 
 river, which has had a place in so many maps, and coun- 
 tenanced the behef of the existence of a great river flow- 
 ing from the Rocky Mountains to the bay of San Francis- 
 
148 OREGON. 
 
 CO. From the Buenaventura the next point was intended 
 to be in that section of the Rocky Mountains which in- 
 cludes the heads of Arkansas river and of the opposite 
 waters of the Californian gulf, and thence down the Ar- 
 kansas to Bent's fort, and home. This was our projected 
 line of return — a great part of it absolutely new to geo- 
 graphical, botanical, and geological science — and the sub- 
 ject of reports in relation to lakes, rivers, deserts and sav- 
 ages hardly above the condition of mere wild animals, 
 which inflamed desire to know what this terra incognita 
 really contained. It was a serious enterprise, at the com- 
 mencement of winter, to undertake the traverse of such a 
 region, and with a party consisting only of twenty -five per- 
 sons, and they of many nations — American, French, Ger- 
 man, Canadian, Indian, and colored — and most of them 
 young, several being under twenty-one years of age. All 
 knew that a strange country was to be explored, and dan- 
 gers and hardships to be encountered, but no one blenched 
 at the prospect. On the contrary, courage and confidence 
 animated the whole party. Cheerfulness, readiness, sub- 
 ordination, prompt obedience, characterized all ; nor did 
 any extremity of peril and privation, to which we were af- 
 terwards exposed, ever belie, or derogate from, the fine 
 spirit of this brave and generous commencement. The 
 course of the narrative will show at what point, and for 
 what reasons, we were prevented from the complete exe- 
 cution of this plan, after having made considerable pro- 
 gress upon it, and how we were forced by desert plains 
 and mountain ranges, and deep snows, far to the south, 
 and near to the Pacific Ocean, and along the western base 
 of the Sierra Nevada, where, indeed, a new and ample 
 field of exploration opened itself before us. For the pres- 
 ent, we must follow the narrative, which will first lead us 
 . south, along the valley of Fall river, and the eastern base of 
 
OREGON. 149 
 
 the Cascade range, to the Tlamath lake, from which, or 
 its margin, three rivers go in three directions — one west, 
 to the Ocean ; another north, to the Columbia ; the third 
 south, to California.^^ 
 
 Captain Fremont makes particular mention of the Sierra 
 Nevada and San Joaquin rivers, which belong to the Bay 
 of St. Francisco. The Great Desert comes in very justly 
 for a portion of his attention ; and the inhabitants east of 
 the Rocky Mountains are a most remarkable people. 
 Their manners and customs are entirely peculiar to them- 
 selves, and they live together in great peace and fellow- 
 ship. Whenever there is a difficulty, the whole tribe, or 
 family, is disturbed, and never rest satisfied until peace and 
 good feeling is restored. This is a most fortunate charac- 
 teristic, inasmuch as they carry on their respective pur- 
 suits without conflicting in the least with each other, and 
 the property claimed by one is shared by all. Their inter- 
 course is friendly in the extreme, and nothing like jealousy or 
 malice exists, which so often disturbs in civilized countries 
 the social and business relations of man and man. When a 
 death occurs, the sorrow that pervades the whole race is 
 manifest, and, for days and weeks, that respect is paid to 
 the memory of the departed rarely witnessed in the most 
 refined and enlightened countries. Their burials are con- 
 ducted with great solemnity — hundreds follow the corpse 
 to the grave — and when the body is deposited, there is one 
 burst of deep and true sorrow. This grief lasts for a long 
 time, and large parties frequently meet to pay homage to 
 the memory of the dead. There is one statement made 
 by Captain Fremont, respecting which all contemporary 
 writers have erred. On all the maps of Oregon the cele- 
 brated Buenaventura river is mentioned as running from 
 the Rocky Mountains to the sea. It has been spoken of 
 
 by many as a river of some importance, abounding in the 
 12 
 
150 OREGON. 
 
 finest fish and beautiful shells ; the banks of which are 
 covered with rich and luxuriant verdure, the offspring of 
 fertile soil. Captain Fremont says, " there is no such riv- 
 er in existence. How could there be? Here the moun- 
 tains of Sierra Nevada afford an insuperable barrier. It 
 would be impossible for a river to pass them in either di- 
 rection." Captain Fremont became deeply interested in 
 the study of botany. A wide and unexplored field was 
 presented for his investigation. Plants of every color, size, 
 and description appeared every day. In the highlands and 
 Rowlands, in the marshes and flats, as well as on the steep- 
 est summits, he saw rare objects for his examination. 
 Not an hour passed that he did not make some new and 
 interesting discovery. This branch of study being very 
 famihar to him, he pursued it with great zeal and pleasure, 
 and has had the good fortune to accumulate a rare and 
 beautiful collection, not surpassed, or probably equalled, 
 in this country. He was somewhat discouraged, howev- 
 er, in the undertaking, from the loss of a '''mule load^'' in 
 the Sierra Nevada. The poor mule was lost, and all his 
 load, to the regret of the whole party. He had been a 
 faithful traveller, and performed his daily task as well as 
 any of his associates. However, Captain Fremont has 
 succeeded in bringing home from this splendid and vast 
 botanical field a number of rich and valuable specimens, 
 which we hear are left to the professional science of Dr. 
 Torrey, of Princeton, whose reputation as a man of erudi- 
 tion and scientific attainments, are well known to the world. 
 He has consented to classify them in their order. This 
 has since been done, and his pamphlet on the subject, so 
 emblematical of the proficiency of the man, is sought and 
 read with great pleasure and interest by the friends and 
 lovers of botany. Many of the rarest specimens have been 
 presented to the General Government,- which are deposit- 
 
 •>« 
 
O-R£G0N. 151 
 
 ed at tho Patent Otiice in Washington, probably the most 
 valuable museum in this country. 
 
 Geology, also, claimed no little of Captain Fremont^s 
 time. He sought every occasion to examine the surface 
 of the earth, its composition and ingredients ; and by his 
 great diligence and industry, he ascertained the sizes and 
 shapes of many bluffs, in different latitudes, examined 
 closely the rivers and river banks, and the sides and gorges 
 of mountains. He has been subjected to great trouble and 
 labor in classifying and arranging the different rocks and 
 fossils, and in finding out their properties. He brought in 
 with him a very rare specimen of '•''fossiUferous rock^"^ 
 having an oolitic structure, a part of the Great Basin, and 
 found in the Great Salt Lake^ that will attract the atten- 
 tion of learned men, both here and in Europe, for' a long 
 time. This specimen., together with a number of others, no 
 less rare than beautiful, are referred to Dr. Hale, of New 
 York, and Professor Bailey of West Point, both of whom 
 are well known by reputation in all parts of the country. 
 During the whole of Captain Fremont's expedition, his 
 mind was actively and profitably employed in acquiring 
 important knowledge. And what is the result ? There 
 can be but one opinion respecting the importance of his 
 travels to the American nation. He has explored and ex- 
 amined closely a vast region of country before unknown, 
 save in the records of conjecture and fiction, and opened 
 the way to emigration by pointing out correctly the 
 characteristics of its soil, climate, and geographical 
 and relative position. He has pointed the poor classes of 
 our country, the industrious and worthy, to this garden 
 spot of our continent, and drawn a truthful picture of its 
 capacity for trade, commerce, and agriculture. This 
 great country, stretching out to the Rocky Mountains, 
 and still further to the Pacific Ocean, with its naviga- 
 
15tt OREGON. 
 
 ble waters, smiling valleys, and countless resources, to- 
 gether with its fine rivers and inexhaustible mines, has 
 been presented in characters "of living light" to the needy 
 and distressed in America. A party of a few, say thirty, 
 men, with their horses and carts, and a few farming uten- 
 sils, and with good rifles and gunpowder, could, at a very 
 trifling expense, locate themselves in the most favored 
 parts of this territory. What is it that prevents those from 
 emigrating whose prospects for acquiring wealth, or even 
 a subsistence, are gloomy here ? And what is it that pre- 
 vents the hardy backwoodsmen, trained to perils and hard- 
 ships, and who are capable of enduring the severest fa- 
 tigue, who have frequently to find their daily food before 
 they eat it, the earth for their bed, and a few bushes and a 
 blanket their shelter from "the peltings of the pitiless 
 storm?" We say, what is it that keeps them here.'* Is it 
 the hope of future success ? They cannot reasonably hope 
 for that ; their past history tells them so. Is it the hope 
 that the sympathies of their fellow-man will be excited, and 
 that they will protect and take care of them in their extrem- 
 ity ? They cannot expect that ; the past has a voice there 
 also. They have, therefore, to content themselves, if there 
 be contentment^ with what they possess, and that is neither 
 "this world's goods" nor the hope of better times. We 
 have crowded upon us, asking for daily employment, men 
 of all nations, Scotch, French, English, German, and Irish, 
 all hardy laborers, who would enjoy health and happiness in 
 Oregon. That place is the field for their labors. There 
 they would get employment. And soon, with ordinary 
 economy, they would accumulate enough to take care of 
 ' them the balance of their lives. What inducements are 
 held out ! What a stimulant to the young and adventu- 
 rous just setting out on the journey of life ! A country 
 which, for aught we know, is destined to be the seat of 
 
OREGON. 153 
 
 empire, population, and wealth, upon whose hills may rise 
 populous marts, and along whose valleys may roll the hum 
 of commercial enterprise. During the long and perilous 
 expedition of Captain Fremont, the thermometer was in 
 constant use, to ascertain the degrees of heat and cold. 
 "At the different places of encampment we found it," says 
 he, " a most valuable and important instrument, giving the 
 degrees of temperature at all the different stopping places." 
 The barometer was also in constant use, being applied to 
 tell the elevation above the sea of all the different places 
 and villages. " The nights were often exceedingly cold, 
 so as to prevent the use of the telescope ; however, when- 
 ever an opportunity was offered, we always availed our- 
 selves of it." Every day the weather is noted ; and we 
 are told by a distinguished writer " that an almanac for the 
 Rocky Mountains, Oregon, and California might be con- 
 structed from a perusal of this report — wind, rain, storm, 
 sunshine, ice, hale, and snow, are all carefully noted." The 
 expedition at last terminated from the Mississippi to the 
 Pacific. The expedition of 1842 carried it to the South Pass 
 of the Rocky Mountains; that of 1843 carried it to the Lower 
 Columbia. The great work was now finished, three or 
 four thousand miles of country travelled over, and the ex- 
 plorers returned to the land of their home and birth, after 
 one of the most remarkable performances — remarkable in 
 all that relates to it — which has ever been undertaken in this 
 or in any other country. The whole history is replete with 
 interesting incidents and valuable information. The jour- 
 ney, most of it, was tedious and dangerous, through rivers 
 and mountain brakes, rugged steeps and broken vallies, 
 and deserts and mountains and savage tribes of Indians. 
 
 If the territory in dispute were worthless, it would not 
 be surprising if the United States felt no interest on the 
 subject ; but it is far from being worthless. It commands 
 
1 54 OREGON. 
 
 the Pacific Ocean, and is intimately connected with the 
 commerce of that sea. Upon its shores the Hght of civili- 
 zation is fast dawning, and we have every reason to be- 
 heve that it is sure to become the seat of commercial 
 strength. Half a century must, in the nature of things, 
 make many changes. There our enlightened population 
 will be, with their intelligence, honesty, and industry, 
 carrying on an extensive and valuable trade with Aus- 
 tralia, India, and China, and, we cannot help thinking, 
 Japan. The power that would be concentrated near the 
 mouth of the Columbia, so very contiguous to countries of 
 vast wealth and trade, would be felt and appreciated every 
 where. There would be an extension in all that concerns 
 the march of greatness ; and our onward strides would be 
 greatly accelerated. Let us have it in our power to say 
 that this subject was honorably and prudently negotiated. 
 And, should war come, it will be gratifying to know, that 
 every thing reasonable was done to avert it, while we would 
 meet the issue with a firm reliance on the justice of our 
 past course, and a full assurance of a liberal reward for 
 our strict adherence to treaty stipulations and the common 
 usages of nations. ' r: -! .t ''>!?!'? 
 
 Having omitted to make a statement of several impor- 
 tant facts in another chapter, we take occasion to intro- 
 duce them here, as it may be interesting to know them. 
 
 The discovery of Nootka Sound has been attributed to 
 Captain Cook by several distinguished writers on this 
 question, who insist that in 1773 he made the first voyage 
 along the western coast. This is obviously a mistake; for 
 his course was northward, and he passed the mouth of 
 the Columbia, without notice, in a gloomy night. On the 
 15th of August, 1775, Haceta observed an opening in the 
 coast, in latitude 46° 17 from which issued a current so 
 strong as to prevent him from entering. He was, howev- 
 
OREGON. 150 
 
 er, thoroughly convinced of tlie existence of a river, to 
 which he gave the name of Rio St. Roc, the first intimation 
 that there was such a river as the Columbia. It is very 
 certain that there was no Spanish settlement ever made 
 nortii of Cape Mendocino, from the fact that the whole 
 coast, for many degrees, was wild and uninhabitable ; but 
 had it been capable of improvement and fit for the habita- 
 tions of settlers, the case would not have been altered. 
 Discover} amounts to nothing, unless there is an alleged 
 intention of occupation: for instance, the continent of 
 America was discovered by the English, but who question- 
 ed the right of the French to settle ? One part of this 
 continent was occupied by the Spanish, but the French 
 established themselves in Louisiana. When it is ascer- 
 tained that there is an abandonment on the part of the 
 discoverer, that they have no design to introduce their 
 people and laws, any other country, " after a reasonable 
 time,^' may take possession. The opportunity was given 
 them, but as they did not avail themselves of it, there is a 
 surrender of their claims, and any other power may step 
 in. A " settlement" must be understood to mean " the es- 
 tablishment of the laws or government of the persons 
 making the settlement, with the assent and authority of the 
 nation to which they belong." Unless this authority is vest- 
 ed in them, their discoveries and occupations amount to 
 nothing, and is so regarded by the laws of nations. His 
 own government may afterwards recognise the settlement, 
 "but unless it is so recognised it does not become a de- 
 pendency of the nation of the settler." 
 
 Afler the discovery of the northwest coast by the Span- 
 ish, there was no Spanish settlement on it. There was 
 an abandonment at the very time the English were at 
 Nootka, and, consequently, they have a perfect right to 
 establish their own settlements. Upon the intelligence of 
 
156 OREGON. 
 
 the seizure of the vessels by Martinez, the British at once 
 declared their determination to make settlements, and on 
 the 5th of May, 1790, the Crown delivered a message to 
 Parliament, complaining '' that no satisfaction was made 
 or offered for the acts of seizure, and that a direct claim 
 was asserted by the Courts of Spain to the exclusive 
 rights of sovereignty, navigation, and commerce, in the 
 territories, coasts, and seas in that part of the world." 
 Spain, without a moment^s hesitation, affirmed in her reply, 
 dated Aranjuez, June 4, 1790, signed by the Conde de 
 Florida Blanca, that "• although Spain may not have es- 
 tabhshed tracts or colonies planted upon the coast or in 
 the ports in dispute, it does not follow that such ports or 
 coasts do not belong to her." At all events England so 
 regarded it, and insisted that ^^ English subjects had an 
 indisputable right to the enjoyment of a free and uninter- 
 rupted navigation, commerce, and fishery, and to ihe pos- 
 session of such establishments as they should form with 
 the consent of the natives of the country, not previously 
 occupied by any European nation." Spain now yielded, 
 and took no farther step to secure the territory by oc- 
 cupation, and '^ there was no assertion of a right to occu- 
 py, in case occupation was taken by an European power." 
 Afterwards, there was a convention between Great Britain 
 and Spain, signed at the Escurial, October 28, 1790, which 
 gave to both countries the privilege of navigation, and car- 
 rying on their fisheries on the coasts of the Pacific ; and it 
 wcs moreover agreed, " in all other parts of the northwest 
 ern coast of North America, or of the islands adjacent, 
 situated to the north of the parts of the said coasts already 
 occupied by Spain, wherever the subjects of either of the 
 two powers shall have made settlements, since the month 
 of April, 1789, or shall hereafter make any, the subjects of 
 the other shall have free access." Here then was a clear 
 
OREGON. 157 
 
 admission of the right of Great Britain to make settle- 
 ments, and, of consequence, to introduce her customs and 
 laws, which could not be revoked by war, not being the 
 result oi favor or concession. It is very certain that Cap- 
 tain Gray is entitled to great credit for his zeal and perse- 
 verance in attempting to discover the Columbia, as he was 
 the first person, after Haceta, who placed it on his chart, 
 '''' within one mile of its true posilion.^^ It has been said 
 that Vancouver's feelings towards Captain Gray were un- 
 friendly, and that he did not attach proper credit to his 
 discoveries. This cannot be so ; for he makes the fullest 
 acknowledgment of his superior services. As a proof of 
 it, he retained the name of " Adam's Point" on His chart, 
 and adopted that of Gray's ship, the •■' Columbia," as the 
 name of the river. The account given by Broughton re- 
 moves all doubt as to any intended misrepresentation on the 
 part of Vancouver, and we hope all will read it who ques- 
 tions his intentions. The following is a sketch from the 
 log-book of the Columbia, which determines the point of 
 controversy as to the discovery of the Columbia : 
 
 "It appears by the log-book of the 'Columbia,' that Gray crossed 
 the bar of the river on the 11th of May, 1792. At one o'clock he an- 
 chored. At noon of the 14th he weighed anchor — at four o'clock he 
 had sailed upwards of 12 or 15 miles, and at half past four o'clock the 
 ship took ground, when she was backed off, and again anchored. On 
 the 15th Gray dropped down the river, and the subsequent movements 
 were to get the vessel out. On the 20th he got clear of the bar. The 
 river he named the Columbia, and called one point of the entrance 
 Adams's point, and the other Hancock's point. 
 
 "Captain Vancouver states (vol. ii, p. 53) that Broughton had with 
 him a chart made by Gray — that he got to an inlet which he supposed 
 the chart to represent, and passed Adams's point. After a minute des- 
 cription of it, he says, Hhis bay terminated the researches of Mr. Gray, 
 and to commemorate his discovery, it was named 'Gray's bay.' ' This 
 /rertainly proves that there was no wish to avoid acknowledging Gray's 
 merits. The inlet from the sea to the river runs about east and west, 
 13 
 
158 OREGON. 
 
 and in the chart of Vancouver 'Gray's bay' is placed east of Adams's 
 point, and far inland. On the 24th of October (1T92) Broughton left 
 the 'Chatham' in lat. 43° 17', having brought it as far within the bay 
 as he thought safe, and as far as he had reason to suppose the 'Colum- 
 bia' had been brought. — (Vancouver, vol. ii, p. 56.) He then pro- 
 ceeded to survey m a boat, taking with him a week's provisions. He 
 proceeded up the river until the 30th , and calculated the distance he 
 went, and which he particularly describes, 'from what he considered 
 to be the entrance of the river, to be 84, and from the 'Chatham' 100 
 miles," That is, that the entrance of the river was 16 miles (upwards 
 of five leagues) above where he left the'Chatham,' and consequenly above 
 where Gray anchored . He therefore came to the conclusion that Gray did 
 not see what he called and explained to be 'the entrance,' and this conclu- 
 sion is sustained by the distance mentioned in Gray's own log-book." 
 
 It is very certain that before Gray entered the river the 
 coast had been fully traced and examined. The posses- 
 sion of a river may be followed with important inland 
 rights ; but Gray neither discovered it, nor had authority 
 to do so, had such discovery been made. He was in 
 a private ship, having for his object the attainment of 
 private ends, and was not empowered by this Govern- 
 ment to settle. The sending out of an explorer by the 
 President of the United States, without the concurrence 
 of Congress, is illegal, and can avail nothing. The Con- 
 stitution does not vest in him that power. It expressly 
 says, in its firsi article, "that all legislative power is 
 vested in Congress;" and when the President acts in 
 opposition to this provision, it is assuming authority 
 which is not delegated. By an act like this there can be 
 no territory annexed, no legal acquisition by our Govern- 
 ment. The executive and national legislature must co- 
 operate, and without their co-operation there is a palpable 
 violation of the Constitution. Not so with Great Britain ; 
 her laws and government widely differ from ours, and all 
 power is vested in the " Crown." The sanction of Parlia- 
 
OREGON. 159 
 
 ment is not needed to make or confirm a law. The decla- 
 rations of the crown are valid, and cannot be reversed. 
 The crown possesses absolute authority to extend its sov- 
 ereignty ; it can send its diplomatists to treat for, its sol- 
 diers to conquer, and its people to settle new countries. The 
 taking possession,therefore, of unoccupied lands by persons 
 officially authorized — and no private person can assume 
 the authority — is the exercise of a sovereign power, a dis- 
 tinct act of legislation, by which the new territory becomes 
 annexed to the dominion of the crown. 
 
 In 1805, there was an exploration, made by Le- '«■ and 
 Clark, of the country west of the Rocky Mounta.. lo 
 returned to the United States in the following year. But 
 this act did not rest on any original right, nor was it sus- 
 tained by any act of the American Congress. The scheme 
 was projected by Mr. Jefferson, it is true, and that is all ; 
 there was no legislative approval ; and therefore, under an 
 express provision of the Constitution, the undertaking falls 
 to the ground. In 1810, a house was built by Captain 
 Smith, of Boston, on the south bank of the Columbia, 
 which he deserted before the close of the year. This, 
 however, was a private act, to which no weight is attached. 
 Soon afler, it is known, John Jacob Astor established the 
 " Pacific Fur Company." To the British Northwest Com- 
 pany his intentions were communicated, and to them a 
 large interest in the scheme was offered. This co-part- 
 nership was soon dissolved, and all the furs and stock sold 
 to the Northwest Company for about JJ58,000. From the 
 facts mentioned, it may be concluded, in short, "that 
 Spain never occupied, but abandoned the west coast of 
 North America ; that the British Government announced 
 its intention to occupy, and formally declared the annexa- 
 tion of parts of the coast to its own territory, acting, in 
 this respect, as the Government of Russia has done, and 
 
160 OREGON. 
 
 that the British settlements on the Columbia were the first 
 of a national and legal character, recognised as such by 
 foreign nations. 
 
 With respect to the rights of the French to the Valley 
 of the Mississippi, Mr. Greenhow and others seem to think 
 that they extended, indefinitely, west and north. It can 
 be most distinctly demonstrated, says Falconer, ^^ that 
 there is not the slightest foundations for this statement.^' 
 Before the settlers who accompanied La Salle sailed to 
 establish the colony of Louisiana, Beaujeau promised to act 
 under the orders of the Governor and Intendant of Can- 
 ada. In the grant made by Louis XIV, Crozat, it is dis- 
 tinctly mentioned that Louisiana was to be subordinate to 
 the General Government of New France (Canada.) The 
 extent of the province north was to be to the Illinois, but 
 the Illinois was subsequently added to it. The Govern- 
 ment of Canada had the control of the whole, and the ju- 
 risdiction of the subordinate could only be over the terri- 
 tory defined as the province of Louisiana. This province 
 did not extend in 1712 farther to the north than the Illi- 
 nois ; all the north remained part of Canada. The highest 
 point of Louisiana, at the time of the surrender of Canada, 
 was the head waters of the Illinois. First, then, as a sub- 
 ordinate province, partly formed out of Canada, Louisiana 
 extended no farther than the distinct boundaries of it could 
 be shown. Secondly, it never extended further north than 
 the Illinois river. Thirdly, the extent of the question of 
 Louisiana was argued at the peace of 1762. Fourthly, 
 Canada, in its fullest extent, was ceded to Great Britain. 
 And lastly, the official map used by France in its negotia- 
 tions with Great Britain, incontestably proves, that the 
 pountry north and northwest of the Mississippi was 
 ceded as the province of Canada. By a treaty signed 
 between the negotiators of Great Britain and the United 
 
OREGON. 161 
 
 States, in April, 1807, it was agreed that the parallel of 
 49° should be the boundary between British and American 
 settlers. From some cause or other, however, the treaty 
 was not ratified, and the subject was not discussed again 
 until 1814. Various reasons have been assigned why this 
 parallel was not established, but it is very certain that Mr. 
 Jefferson was perfectly satisfied with it, but feared that 
 the allusion to any claim extending to the coast, would be 
 offensive to Spain. This was in 1807, after the purchase 
 of Louisiana. It has been argued, that the rights granted 
 to the United States under the treaty of Utrecht, were su- 
 perior to any maintained by foreign powers. The treaty 
 of Utrecht is one of a cycle, or cluster of treaties, then and 
 there concluded, between 1711 and 1714. They were 
 chiefly separate conventions of nation with nation, among 
 those engaged in the "war of the succession." England^s part 
 of them alone extended to some 13; and among them was 
 this with France, in which, among other things, was deter- 
 mined the boundary of the Hudson Bay possessions of the 
 one, and the Canadian and Louisianian of the other. By 
 it they settled that, from the Lake of the Woods on the 
 49th degree, the limiting line between them should run 
 " indefinitely west.'''' Col. Benton has considered this as 
 carrying it from ocean to ocean ; but, of course, it meant 
 only " so far as either nation had co-terminous claims." 
 Neither had yet carried its possessions or discovery to the 
 Rocky Mountains, their natural, inevitable boundary, as 
 running west from the Atlantic or its waters. But they 
 stopped there, from the fact that counter discoveries had 
 been made on the Pacific, in which France had no share, 
 and which ascended in an opposite direction, to the 
 sources of whatever waters emptied themselves along the 
 coast visited. It is thus plainly seen, that — 
 
162 OREGON. 
 
 1st. This convention settled nothing beyond the valley 
 of the Mississippi west. 
 
 2d. That for any thing beyond there could nothing arise 
 out of an agreement between these parties, because one 
 of them (France) had no right there. 
 
 3d. That, to have made the convention of any effect, 
 Spain should have been the counter-party, not France^ 
 with England. 
 
 Accordingly, it is perfectly clear that France herself 
 neoer.^ for an instant, set up any title for any thing west 
 of the Rocky Mountains. Her entire territorial rights in 
 North America ascended from the St. Lawrence, on one 
 part, and from the Mississippi, on the other, and ended 
 with their waters. So clear was this, that it was never 
 till 1814, in the contest between Spain and the United 
 States for Florida, that any pretension of right to Oregon, 
 derived from France^ was set up *, and even then no at- 
 tempt was made to explain how that right came about. 
 
 Our own public acts, just before and just afler our ac- 
 quisition, estop us in the most decided manner. In fitting 
 out the expedition of Lewis and Clark, while the negotia- 
 tion for the purchase of Louisiana was pending, (Febru- 
 ary, 1803,) Mr. Jefferson prepared instructions for these 
 commanders, in which he expressly tells them that the ob- 
 ject of the exploration was not to make discovery of any 
 territorial claim; that it was purely commercial^ and 
 with a view to open a trade west of our possessions; that^ 
 therefore, to guard against any misapprehension or inter- 
 ruption, he had applied to the Governments claiming the 
 soil — to Spain, England, and Russia — and obtained from 
 them PASSPORTS /or the party. France, it is believed, is not 
 mentioned, or, if included, could only have been so as then 
 the proprietor of Louisiana. This application was a clear 
 pledge of our faith to all the Governments included that 
 
OREGON. 163 
 
 we meant to make no territorial claim. If our title had 
 been considered by Mr. Jefferson " clear and unquestiona- 
 ble,'^ can it be supposed that this application would have 
 been made to said powers? It obviously implies doubt; 
 for there would have been no ))assports asked unless their 
 claims were superior. Now this was eleven years after 
 the alleged discovery of Captain Gray, (1792,) of whom, 
 therefore, nothing more need be said. So much for what 
 preceded the purchase of Louisiana, concluded on the 
 30th of April, 1803, and known to our Government in 
 June, or early in July following, which was several months 
 before the departure of Captain Lewis, (October, we think,) 
 and yet no change wa^ made in his instructions. Nor is 
 it until the expedition reached the mouth of the Columbia, 
 in 1804, that we hear any thing of our claim. Those offi. 
 cers then, in entire disregard of their instructions, took 
 possession in the name of the United States. A very sin- 
 gular act every way ; utterly illegal and unjust, being an 
 individual act ; for if they went upon a title created by dis- 
 covery, they knew of that of Gray's only by vague report ; 
 and it had been waived by their Government. And as for 
 their own discoveries, not only were they deprived by the 
 orders and pledges of their Government of all power to 
 make any such as conferred any title to the soil, but they 
 knew that the very ground on which they went through the 
 ceremony of taking possession was far below the point to 
 which Lieutenant Broughton had surveyed the Oregon in 
 1792, he having examined it with his boats 90 miles up- 
 wards, and they themselves using his journal, and calling 
 capes and mountains by the names which Lieutenant B. has 
 given them. In the negotiations at Madrid, in 1805, as to 
 the western boundary of Louisiana, no claim was set up 
 beyond a line from the sources of the Rio Grande, or else 
 the Colorado, around the western heads of the waters of 
 
164 OREGON. 
 
 the Missouri, and so ^Ho the northern boundary of Louis- 
 iana. '' All this, then, flings our entire claim upon the 
 right derived from Spain by the treaty of 1819, and so 
 substitutes us for her in the Nootka Sound convention 
 of 1790. 
 
 It is argued by several writers, whose views are manifestly 
 partial^ that this convention was entirely annulled by the 
 war of 1804, while Joseph Bonaparte was on the throne, 
 thereby vesting all right in the United States. It is utterly 
 impossible to infer from this that the claims of Britain 
 were invalidated ; for it has never been denied that the 
 territorial boundaries of countries are disturbed by war, 
 unless there is a concession on the part of the party con- 
 quered. Treaties may be dissolved^ but territorial limits 
 cannot be destroyed. Again : If this convention had been 
 annulled, ^^and stricken from existence,^^ would it have 
 been afterwards referred to, and the proceedings of it con- 
 sulted in all the subsequent negotiations touching treaty 
 stipulations ."* It is very certain that in the convention of 
 1818, when a review of the past was taken, with a desire 
 of ending disputes and difficulties, the proceedings of this 
 Nootka Sound convention, every suggestion that was 
 made, and every circumstance that occurred, was careful- 
 ly weighed ; and, indeed, their whole action was entirely 
 based upon what had been said and done. 
 
 In the controversies that have existed between the 
 United States and Great Britain, it is contended by the 
 latter that Haceta, a Spaniard, was the first discoverer of 
 the Columbia river. It is conceded on all hands that he first 
 saw the coast of the Columbiu, but the existence of this 
 river was believed by many long before his time. And its 
 coasts must have been seen by all the navigators who sail- 
 ed in sight of it. The mere fact of seeing the coast first 
 is not sufficient. This has been done hundreds of times. 
 
OREGON. 1G5 
 
 . and not the least importance attached to it. In making a 
 discovery it is necessary to ascertain the river, to see it, 
 and know it to be a river. This Spaniard sailed for many 
 miles along the coast of the Pacific, but never entered into 
 any examination ; he cannot, therefore, be considered a 
 discoverer. It is very true that the discovery of one part 
 of a river points out the way to further discoveries. A 
 clue is given, and investigations continue to be made, until 
 the party or parties are perfectly satisfied. If, however, 
 we have any title to the discovery of the Columbia river, 
 it is very certain it has not been disturbed by the set- 
 tlements of other countries ; for there have been no settle, 
 ments made prior to our own. The following is Haceta^s 
 account, while cruising along the coasts of the Pacific, 
 which is no evidence that he ever saw the opening of the 
 land through which the river issues : 
 
 '*In the evening of this day I discovered a large bay, to which I 
 gave the name of Assumption bay, and of which a plan will be found 
 in this journal. Its latitude and longitude are determined according to 
 the most exact means afforded by theory and practice. 
 
 " The latitudes of the two most prominent capes of this bay, espe- 
 cially of the northern one, are calculated from the observations of this 
 day. 
 
 ''Having arrived opposite this bay at six in the evening, and placed 
 the ship nearly midway between the two capes, I sounded, and found 
 bottom in twenty-four brazas; the currents and eddies were so strong 
 that, notwithstanding a press of sail, it was difficult to get out clear of 
 the northern cape, towards which the cniTent ran, though its direction 
 was eastward, in consequence of the tide being at flood. 
 
 "These currents and eddies of the water caused me to believe that the 
 {dace is the mouth of some gieat river, or of some passage to another 
 sea. 
 
 "Had I been certain of the latitude of this bay, from my observations 
 of the same day, I might easily have believed it to be the passage dis- 
 covered by Juan de Fuca, in 1592, which is placed on the charts be- 
 tween the 47th and the 48th degrees, where I am certain that no such 
 14 
 
166 OUCGON. 
 
 •trail exists; because 1 anchored, on the 14tli of July, midway between 
 these two latitudes, and rarefuUy examined every thing around. 
 
 << Notwithstanding the great difference between the position of this 
 bay and the passage mentioned by De Fuca, I have little difficulty in 
 conceiving Uiat they may be the same, havmg observed equal or greater 
 differences in the latitudes of other capes and ports on this coast, as I 
 shall show at its proper time; and in all cases tlie latitudes thus assigned 
 are higher than the real ones. 
 
 ''I did not enter and anchor in this port, which in my plan I sup- 
 pose to be formed by aii island, notwithstanding my strong desire to do 
 so; because, having consulted the second captain, Don Juan Perez, 
 and the pilot, Don Christoval Revilla, they insisted that I ought not to 
 attempt it, as, if we let go the anchor, we should not have men enough 
 to get it up, and to attend to the other operations which would be there- 
 by rendered necessary. Considering this, and also that, in order to 
 reach the anchorage, I should be obliged to lower my long boat, (the 
 only boat I had,) and to man it with at least fourteen of the crew, as I 
 could not manage with fewer, and also that it was then late in the day, 
 I resolved to put out; and at the distance of three or four leagues I lay 
 to. In the course of that night I experienced heavy currents to the 
 southeast, which made it impossible for me to enter the bay on the fol- 
 lowing morning, as I was far to leeward. 
 
 "These currents, however, convinced me that a great quantity of 
 water rushed from this bay on the ebb of the tide. 
 
 "The two capes which I name in my plan Cape San Roque and 
 Cape Frondosa, lie in the angle of ten degrees of the third quadrant. 
 They are both faced with red earth, and are of litde elevation." 
 
 But so soon as the river above mentioned was discovered, 
 and the intelligence reached England, 3IcKenzie was sent 
 out to make what developments he could. In order to ac- 
 complish this, the British navigator took the Canadas in his 
 route, missing all the waters of the Columbia, and falling 
 upon the Tacoutche Terse, McKcnzie was soon privy to all 
 the circumstances connected with the discovery by Lewis 
 and Clark, and finding himself in a dilemma, determined 
 to seize the river, and jlteserve the trade and dominion of 
 his own country, and to drive away, if possible, all '''•Jimer- 
 
OREGON. 167 
 
 Uan adventurers.''^ From that day to this the labors of 
 the British negotiators, and all concerned in the success 
 of British claims, have been zealously engaged in advancing 
 arguments and suggesting ways and means by which they 
 would have free access to the Columbia. Their main ob- 
 ject was, to annul the established boundary of the 49th 
 degree of latitude; for as long as this boundary ex- 
 isted, they could not advance within three degrees of the 
 mouth of the Columbia, which was in 46 degrees. Louis- 
 iana was acquired in 1803. At the very time that this 
 treaty was signed at London, (without a knowledge of 
 what was done at Paris,) "fixing, among other things, 
 the line from the Lake of the Woods to the Mississip- 
 pi." Mr. Jefferson refused to sign it, fearing that it 
 might disturb the boundary of Louisiana and the par- 
 allel of forty-nine degrees. There was another treaty in 
 1807, between Mr. Monroe and Mr. Pinckney, on one 
 side, and Lords Holland and Auckland on the other. The 
 British were aware of all that had passed ; that we had 
 acquired Louisiana, and established the 49th parallel, and 
 they set systematically to work to destroy that line. An 
 article was at last agreed upon, in which the British suc- 
 ceeded in stopping at the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Jeffer- 
 son rejected this also, and there the matter rested. A 
 third attempt was made at Ghent, where the British in- 
 cluded in their proposition the privilege of navigating the 
 Mississippi. Here they were again foiled; but such was 
 their perseverance, that their object was accomplished to 
 their satisfaction in the convention signed at London in . 
 1818. That convention opened the Columbia to the joint 
 occupation and free use of the British., which was confirm- 
 ed by the United States^ and became valid and obligatory. 
 " But it is a point," says the distinguished Senator from Mis- 
 souri, Mr. Benton, "not to be overlooked or undervalued in 
 
168 OREGON. 
 
 this case, that it was in the year 1818 that this arrestation 
 of the Hne took place. That up to that period it was in full 
 force in all its extent, and consequently in full force to the 
 Pacific Ocean, and a complete bar, leaving out all other 
 barriers, to any British acquisition by discovery, south of 
 49 de^ )es, in North America/^ Let us look, for a moment, 
 at the Spanish treaty. The United States, by that treaty, 
 succeeded to all the rights of Spain on the northwest 
 coast of America north of 42 degrees. Don Onis says, 
 '''• that these rights extended to the Russian possessions, 
 the British having nothing on that coast.^^ That point 
 was decided by the Nootka treaty of 1790. It was decid- 
 ed "that Nootka, four degrees north of the Columbia," be- 
 longed to the United States. The privilege of hunting 
 and fishing and erecting huts was granted to them. Colo- 
 nization was positively denied — the 3d and 6th articles of 
 the treaty will prove this. The British should have nothing 
 to do with the Columbia river. Up to the year 1818 it 
 was never contended for. After that time, a field was open 
 to them, and they have taken possession of it to the fullest 
 extent." 
 
 It is denied by many that the 49th degree of latitude 
 was ever established as the boundary between the British 
 and American possessions in Oregon ; and that this line 
 has been adopted by those of our countrymen who wish 
 to favor the British side of tht question. The very able 
 speech delivered by Mr. Benton in the Senate on the 12th 
 of January, 1843,* goes clearly to prove that this is the 
 only boundary that can be established without involving 
 our country in serious difficulties, and probably in war. 
 The following is an extract : 
 
 "Mr. BcTiton said he would not restate the American 
 
 * Sec Congressional Globe, 27th Congress, 3d session, page 74. 
 
ORE GO re. 169 
 
 title to this country ; it had been well done by others who 
 had preceded him in the debate. He would only give a 
 little more development to two points — the treaties of 1803 
 and 1819 ; the former with France, by which we acquired 
 Louisiana ; the latter with Spain, by which we acquired all 
 her rights on the north W3st coast of America north of 42°. 
 By the first of these treaties we became a party to the 10th 
 article of the treaty of Utrecht, between France and Eng- 
 land ; the treaty of peace of 1714, which terminated the 
 wars of Queen Anne and Louis XIY , and settled all their 
 differences of every kind in Europe and America, and un- 
 dertook to prevent the recurrence of future differences be- 
 tween them. The 10th article of this treaty applied to 
 their settlements and territories in North America, and di- 
 rected commissioners to be appointed to mark and define 
 their possessions. These commissaries did their work. 
 They drew a line from ocean to ocean, to separate the 
 French and British Dominions^ and to prevent future en- 
 croachments and colhsions. This line began on the coast 
 of Labrador, and followed a course slightly south of west, 
 to the centre of North America, leaving the British settle- 
 ments of Hudson's Bay to the north, anc! the French Ca- 
 nadian possessions to the south. This line took for a land- 
 mark the Lake of the Woods, which was then beheved to 
 be due east from the head of the Mississippi ; and from 
 that point took the 49th parallel of north latitude in- 
 definitely to the west. The language of the line is Hndefir 
 nitelyp and this established the northern boundary of 
 Louinana^ and erected a wall beyond which future French 
 settlements could not cross to the north nor British to the 
 
 south. ■ •-^^^: ■'-■:"> •'■■■ .. H-.^i :■■■ ^.-H i-''-^ M i\^-*t 
 
 "The rights of Grep* Britain are recorded and defined 
 in the convention of 1790 ; they embrace the right to nav- 
 igate the waters of those countries — to settle in and over 
 
170 OREGON. 
 
 any part of them, and to trade with the inhabitants and oc- 
 cupiers of the same^ These rights have been peaceably ex- 
 ercised ever since the date of that convention ; that is, for 
 a period of nearly forty years. Under that convention, 
 valuable British interests have grown up in that quarter." 
 
 When Louisiana was purchased, we were mad«> by the 
 treaty of 1803, a party to the \Oih article of the treaty^ 
 Utrecht^ making the 49th parallel the same to us and the 
 British which it had been to the French and British. As 
 far as that line was considered, there was an impassable bar- 
 rier presented that could not be overleaped, and was 
 equally binding upon one country as upon the other. We 
 admit that the American, Captain Gray, discovered the 
 Columbia, at its mouth, in 1790, and that Lewis and Clark, 
 Americans also, discovered it from its source to its mouth, 
 in 1804-'5, thereby making the title of discovery good and 
 undeniable, giving the control of the whole river. 
 
 We have thus briefly presented this subject to the Amer- 
 ican people, in what we consider a fair and candid ligh.. 
 The claims of the different disputants, in addition to 
 treaties^ cessions and negotiations^ with all statistical data, 
 have been carefully, and, we trust, impartially considered. 
 Our opinions, it is true, have been freely expressed in the 
 analysis made ; we have not scrupled to do so, but it has 
 been our aim throughout to form correct premises, and 
 from them to take accurate conclusions ; and we are very 
 sure, should any error or mistake have been made by us, 
 placing the right and title of any nation in an unjust or il- 
 liberal light, it has not resulted from a desire to take undue 
 advantages by assuming false positions, but from an ardent 
 wish to see this vexed and knotty question adjusted on 
 honorable grounds, finally and definitely, and that too, 
 speedily. Is it to be wondered that England, under the 
 circumstances, should be anxious to take possession of a 
 
OREGON. 171 
 
 large part of this territory, when her interests in every par- 
 ticular, commercial and agricultur*il, would be advanced, 
 and her dominions extended ? Where is the nation on 
 earth that is not anxious to add to her possessions by ter- 
 ritorial acquisition? As the miser gathers his hoarded 
 treasures together, in the same ratio and in the same de- 
 gree is every nation inclined to extend her power by adding 
 to what she already has. It is natural that all countries' 
 v.'ill adopt those means and use those efforts that wil^ add 
 to their wealth, and increase thereby their influence with 
 other countries. Mark the conduct of Great Britain to- 
 wards different foreign powers since the year 1730. How 
 different from that of other countries ! What a constantly 
 increasing, an unappeasable appetite for territorial aggran- 
 dizement! How long and hard the struggle for power and 
 dominion ! Her philosophers, poets, and orators, her lords 
 and nobles, like the Caesars of old, have been going on steadi- 
 ly " conquering and to conquer," whitening every sea with 
 their ships, and carrying suffering and distress to the once 
 peaceful firesides of unoffending peasantry. For eight hun- 
 dred years the sword has been busily at work ! The king- 
 dom of Ireland, distracted and oppressed with intestine 
 commotions, has cried loud and long for protection and 
 mercy. Her voice, though feeble, has been heard in the 
 remotest parts of tne civilized world, and bursts of indig- 
 nation have gone forth upon the heads of hard-hearted Bri- 
 tons. The eloquence of her Burke, her Sheridan, her Grat- 
 tan, her Emmett, and her O'Connell, pleading the cause of 
 the injured and oppressed in language of true eloquence, 
 has been unheard amidst the long and bloody warfare for 
 dominion. Wales, too, has raised her imploring voice, that 
 was no sooner 'heard than forgotten ; while Scotland, un- 
 suspecting Scotland, has maintained her ground, and resist- 
 ed successfully the fell sweep. She is plying $11 her guilty 
 
172 OREGON. 
 
 devices to be the autocrat of commerce, planting her flag 
 on every sea, and including in her territorial bounds all the 
 small islands within her reach. Look to the course of 
 France towards this country — the good will and friendship 
 that was cherished on her part ; yet she has taken from 
 her the Canadian possessions, which justly .belonged to her, 
 securing thereby two important sources of revenue, the fur 
 and lumber trade, and its incaluahle fisheries. 
 
 How has she treated the Dutch, and Spaniards, and 
 other nations having possessions in the West India islands ? 
 She has snatched from them their islands one by one, and 
 indignantly spurned any application for redress. Gibraltar, 
 the property of the Spaniards, and Malta, owned by the 
 Knights of St. John, have fallen a victim to her merciless 
 ambition, together with the Ionian Islands, until she claims 
 the countries on the Mediterranean sea from its eastern to 
 its western extremity. The French in India have lost 
 what they had ; province after province has been swallow- 
 ed up in the great vortex of English ambition, and row one 
 hundred millions of Hindoos bow to her imperial sceptre. 
 She is now casting a longing, wistful eye to the Oregon 
 territory, the richest jewel yet. To this long-neglected 
 western frontier we maintain a clear and unquestionable 
 right. Her object is to exclude, if possible, the United 
 States from the India trade. This is admitted bv all. She 
 wishes to carry on a monopoly, shutting us out from any 
 cor/miercial advan age^ hxii this ice protest against. We 
 have on our side the la/v of nations, and arguments that 
 can nevor be refuted. This has beeii a long and excited 
 question on the other side of the Atlantic, as well a» on 
 this, and we sincerely trust that some step will be taken to 
 a*^ luire the territory that will be fair and equal, but, at the 
 same time, final and irrevocable. 
 
OREGON. 173 
 
 A TABLE OF DISTANCES ' 
 
 From Independence, Missouri, to the interinediaic points between that 
 town and Astoria, at the mouth of the Qolumbia river. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Prom Independence to the Rendezvous - - - - 20 
 
 Rendezvous to Elm Grove - - - - 15 
 
 t • Walpalusia to Kansas river - - - - 31 
 
 Kansas river to Big Sandy creek - - - - 31 
 
 Big Sandy to Hurricane branch - - - - 12 
 
 Hurricane branch to east fork of Blue river - - 20 
 
 '" ' East fork to west fork of Blue river - - 15 
 '• West fork, where we came in sight of the Republican fork 
 
 ■'* of the Blue river - - - - - 41 
 
 *'•" Up Republican fork of the Blue river to where we left it to 
 
 '' ' cross over to the Big Platte river - - - 65 
 
 ■ Up the Platte to where we saw the first herd of Buffalo - 55 
 
 Up the same to the crossing on north fork of same - - 117 
 
 • South fork to crossing on north fork of same - - 31 
 
 Crossing of north fork to Cedar Grove - - - 13 
 
 ''"■' Cedar Grove to Solitary Tower - - - - 18 
 
 ' ' Solitary Tower to Chimney Rock - - - - 18 
 
 **"> Chimney Rock to Scott's Bluffs - - - - 20 
 
 <>^- Scott's Bluffs to Fort Laramie - - - - 38 
 
 * Fort Laramie to Big Spring at the foot of Black HiH" - 8 
 
 Big Spring to Kergan on north fork of Platte - - 30 
 
 Kergan to crossing of north fork - - - - 84 
 
 Crossing of north fork to Sweetwater river - - - 55 
 Up Sweetwater river to where we first saw the eternal snows 
 
 of the Rocky Mountains - - - - 60 
 
 The above point to main dividing ridge of Rocky Mountains 40 
 
 Dividing ridge to Little Sandy river - - - 16 
 
 Little Sandy to Big Sandy - - - - 14 
 
 Big Sandy to Green river - - - - - 25 
 
 Dowf* same - - - - - - 12 
 
 To Black fork of Green river - - " - 22 
 
 Black fork to Fort bridge - - - - - 30 
 
174 OREGON. 
 
 Milea. 
 
 From Fort biidge to Big Muddy river - - - 20 
 
 Big Muddy to Bear river - - - - 37 
 
 Down Bear river to range of hills mentioned as running up 
 
 to its bank - - - - - - 57 
 
 Down Bear river to Great Soda spring - - - 28 
 Soda spring to the Portneuf river, the fir^. water of the Co- 
 
 i V lumbia - - - - - - - 25 
 
 ." ; To Fort Hall in the Snake or Saptin river - - - 58 
 
 i'-: Fort Hall to the Portneuf again - - - - 11 
 
 » Z Portneuf to Rock creek - - • - - 87 
 
 > Rock creek to Salmon falls on the Saptin - - - 42 
 
 Salmon falls to crossing on the Saptin - - - 27 
 
 . ; Crossing of Saptin to Boiling spring - - - 19 
 
 Boiling spring to Boise river - - - - 48 
 
 1 1 Down same to Fort Boise on Saptin - - - 40 
 
 Fort Boise to Burnt river - - - . - - 26 
 
 /.■^ East point to Powder river at the Lone point - - 18 
 
 The Lone point to Grand river - - - - 15 
 
 : ' , Grand river to the Umatilla river on the west of the Blue 
 
 t;. Mountains - - - - - 43 
 
 j:i Umatilla to Dr. Whitman's mission - - - 29 
 
 >,j -y, Mission to fort Wallawalla - - - - - 25 
 
 /-,| Wallawalla to Mr. Dalles' mission .... 120 
 
 «)<;: Dalles to Vancouver ..... 100 
 
 XK Vancouver to Astoria - - - • - Z^ 
 Astoria to the ocean - - . . -10 
 
 Makir4g in all from Independence to the Pacific ocean 2,0^6 
 
OREGON 
 
 175 
 
 TABLK OP DISTANCES 
 
 Alotig the road travelled by Ldent. Premoni in 1843 and 1844. 
 ward journey from Kansas Landing to Port Vancouver. 
 
 Outr 
 
 
 U>. 
 
 tance from 
 sas landing. 
 
 !i 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ii 
 
 
 Date. 
 
 5-5 
 
 11 
 
 1, 
 
 Localities. Date. 
 
 j 
 
 |2 
 
 i 
 
 Localities. 
 
 
 s'^ 
 
 .s i 
 
 
 «t3 
 
 ■s S 
 
 
 
 s- 
 
 a^ 
 
 1 
 
 15 -s 
 
 Qj2 
 
 
 1843. 
 
 MUa. 
 
 MiUs. 
 
 1843. 
 
 MUes. 
 
 MiUs. 
 
 
 May 29 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 
 Aug. 7 
 
 30 
 
 1,011 
 
 
 30 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 
 ! 8 
 
 29 
 
 1,040 
 
 
 31 
 
 26 
 
 55 
 
 
 1 9 
 
 26 
 
 1,066 
 
 Sweet Water. 
 
 June 1 
 
 23 
 
 78 
 
 \ 10 
 
 23 
 
 1,089 
 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 100 
 
 11 
 
 29 
 
 1,118 
 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 123 
 
 !• 12 
 
 25 
 
 1,143 
 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 
 141 
 
 ;' 13 
 
 Ul 
 
 1,152 
 
 South Pass. 
 
 5 
 
 19 
 
 160 
 
 1,167 
 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 174 
 
 1' 14 
 
 25 
 
 1,192 
 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 182 
 
 15 
 
 29 
 
 1,221 
 
 Green river, or Rio 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 187 
 
 Junction of Smoky ji 16 
 
 26 
 
 1,247 
 
 Colorada. 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 188 
 
 Hill and Repub- 1; 17 
 
 21 
 
 1,268 
 
 
 11 
 
 24 
 
 212 
 
 lican forka. ; 18 
 
 32 
 
 1,300 
 
 
 12 
 
 28 
 
 240 
 
 19 
 
 28 
 
 1,328 
 
 
 13 
 
 18 
 
 258 
 
 i; 20 
 
 30 
 
 1,358 
 
 
 14 
 
 17 
 
 275 
 
 i! 21 
 
 26 
 
 1,384 
 
 
 16 
 
 21 
 
 296 
 
 
 ; 22 
 
 37 
 
 1,421 
 
 
 17 
 
 14 
 
 310 
 
 
 ; 23 
 
 12 
 
 1,433 
 
 
 18 
 
 23 
 
 333 
 
 
 24 
 
 22 
 
 1,455 
 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 351 
 
 
 25 
 
 8 
 
 1,463 
 
 Beer Springs. 
 
 20 
 
 26 
 
 377 
 
 
 26 
 
 21 
 
 1,484 
 
 
 21 
 
 27 
 
 404 
 
 ■ 
 
 27 
 
 21 
 
 1,505 
 
 J 
 
 23 
 
 26 
 
 430 
 
 
 ; 28 
 
 27 
 
 1,532 
 
 
 23 
 
 26 
 
 456 
 
 
 ; 29 
 
 17 
 
 1,549 
 
 
 24 
 
 34 
 
 490 
 
 
 30 
 
 19 
 
 1,568 
 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 516 
 
 Crossing of the Re- 
 
 31 
 
 26 
 
 1,594 
 
 
 26 
 
 24 
 
 540 
 
 publican. 
 
 Sept. 1 
 
 22 
 
 1,616 
 
 
 27 
 
 27 
 
 567 
 
 . 
 
 1 2 
 
 17 
 
 1,633 
 
 
 28 
 
 30 
 
 597 
 
 " 
 
 { 3 
 
 3 
 
 1,636 
 
 Mouth of Bear river. 
 
 29 
 
 21 
 
 618 
 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 1,642 
 
 
 30 
 
 26 
 
 644 
 
 South fork. 
 
 5 
 
 27 
 
 1,669 
 
 
 July 1 
 
 32 
 
 676 
 
 , 
 
 : 6 
 
 25 
 
 1,694 
 
 
 2 
 
 29 
 
 705 
 
 
 ' 8 
 
 20 
 
 1,714 
 
 Shore of Salt lake. 
 
 3 
 
 28 
 
 733 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 1,722 
 
 Island in Salt lake. 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 
 751 
 
 St. Vrain'a fort. i 10 
 
 28 
 
 1,750 
 
 
 26 
 
 4 
 
 755 
 
 12 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 1,763 
 
 
 27 
 
 26 
 
 781 
 
 27 
 
 1,790 
 
 
 28 
 
 90 
 
 801 
 
 . • "^ - ;■" 
 
 1 1* 
 
 24 
 
 1,814 
 
 -' 
 
 29 
 
 6 
 
 807 
 
 • 
 
 i 15 
 
 19 
 
 1,833 
 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 831 
 
 . ■. 
 
 16 
 
 26 
 
 1,859 
 
 
 31 
 
 30 
 
 861 
 
 
 ! 17 
 
 24 
 
 1,883 
 
 
 Aug. 1 
 
 26 
 
 887 
 
 
 18 
 
 23 
 
 1,906 Fort Hall. 
 
 2 
 
 31 
 
 918 
 
 Medicine Bow riyer. 
 
 \ 22 
 
 12 
 
 1,918 
 
 3 
 
 26 
 
 944 
 
 
 24 
 
 10 
 
 1,928 
 
 American falls on 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 
 962 
 
 North Fork. 
 
 25 
 
 13 
 
 1,941 
 
 Lewis's fork. 
 
 6 
 
 19 
 
 981 
 
 
 1 26 
 
 17 
 
 1,958 
 
 
176 
 
 OREGON. 
 
 Table of distances — Continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 tance travel- 
 each day. 
 
 tance from 
 sas landing. 
 
 Localitiea. 
 
 Date. 
 
 ~S 
 
 It 
 
 tance from 
 sas landing. 
 
 Localities. 
 
 
 
 0) c 
 
 
 
 
 2 K 
 
 
 1843. 
 
 MiUs. 
 
 Milts. 
 
 
 1843. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 MiUs. 
 
 
 Sept. 27 
 
 20 
 
 1,978 
 
 
 Oct. 16 
 
 13 
 
 2,384 
 
 
 28 
 
 25 
 
 2,003 
 
 
 17 
 
 21 
 
 2,405 
 
 
 29 
 
 24 
 
 2,027 
 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 2,425 
 
 
 30 
 
 26 
 
 2,053 
 
 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 2,446 
 
 
 Oct. 1 
 
 16 
 
 2,069 
 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 2,458 
 
 
 2 
 
 29 
 
 2,098 
 
 1 ' - 
 
 21 
 
 5 
 
 2,463 
 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 
 2,114 
 
 
 22 
 
 16 
 
 2,479 
 
 
 4 
 
 19 
 
 2,133 
 
 
 24 
 
 18 
 
 2,497 
 
 
 5 
 
 26 
 
 2,159 
 
 
 25 
 
 18 
 
 2,515 
 
 
 6 
 
 22 
 
 2,181 
 
 
 26 
 
 3 
 
 2,518 
 
 Fort Nez Perce, at 
 
 7 
 
 23 
 
 2;204 
 
 
 28 
 
 19 
 
 2,537 
 
 the mouth of Wal- 
 
 8 
 
 26 
 
 2,230 
 
 ,, 
 
 29 
 
 19 
 
 2,556 
 
 ahwalah river. 
 
 9 
 
 24 
 
 2,254 
 
 
 30 
 
 21 
 
 2,577 
 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 2,256 
 
 Fort Boise. 
 
 31 
 
 26 
 
 2,603 
 
 , 
 
 11 
 
 20 
 
 2,276 
 
 . 
 
 Nov. 1 
 
 23 
 
 2,626 
 
 • 
 
 12 
 
 27 
 
 2,303 
 
 i. 1 
 
 2 
 
 19 
 
 2,645 
 
 r 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 2,323 
 
 ^ 
 
 3. 
 
 17 
 
 2,662 
 
 ^ * 
 
 14 
 
 22 
 
 2,345 
 
 ' ' 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 
 2,676 
 
 Dalles. 
 
 15 
 
 26 
 
 2,371 
 
 6&7 
 
 no 
 
 2,766 
 
 Fort Vancouver. 
 
 Homeward journey— from the Dalles to the Missouri river. 
 
 Date. 
 
 ance travel- 
 each day. 
 
 3 sj 
 
 Localities. 
 
 Date. 
 
 ance travel- 
 each day. 
 
 as 
 
 5 « 
 
 Loc^tiea. 
 
 
 •^2 
 
 3^ 
 
 
 
 Bt3 
 
 (5" 
 
 
 1843. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 
 1843. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 i «• 
 
 Nov. 25 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 J. 
 
 Dec. 14 
 
 21 
 
 288 
 
 ■ » 
 
 26 
 
 22 
 
 34 
 
 ii 
 
 15 
 
 21 
 
 309 
 
 
 27 
 
 13 
 
 47 
 
 
 16 
 
 9 
 
 318 
 
 Summer lake. 
 
 28 
 
 21 
 
 68 
 
 .[ 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 324 
 
 
 29 
 
 21 
 
 89 
 
 '- 
 
 18 
 
 20 
 
 344 
 
 
 30 
 
 10 
 
 99 
 
 j- 
 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 365 
 
 
 Dec. 1 
 
 ti 
 
 105 
 
 
 20 
 
 26 
 
 391 
 
 Lake Abert 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 116 
 
 
 21 
 
 6 
 
 397 
 
 
 3 
 
 22 
 
 138 
 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 426 
 
 "\. 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 147 
 
 
 23 
 
 7 
 
 433 
 
 I 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 
 158 
 
 
 24 
 
 13 
 
 44P 
 
 Christmas lake. 
 
 6 
 
 J9 
 
 177 
 
 
 25 
 
 14 
 
 460 
 
 
 7 
 
 25 
 
 202 
 
 
 26 
 
 21 
 
 481 
 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 221 
 
 
 U 
 
 24 
 
 505 
 
 
 9 
 
 14 
 
 235 
 
 
 28 
 
 16 
 
 521 
 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 250 
 
 Tlamath lake. 
 
 29 
 
 15 
 
 536 
 
 " 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 255 
 
 
 30 
 
 17 
 
 553 
 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 267 
 
 
 31 
 
 18 
 
 571 
 
 
OREGON. 
 
 177 
 
 TcAle of distances — Continued. 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 s 
 
 11 
 
 "oj »l 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 
 Si 
 
 1 
 
 
 &i 
 
 
 Date. 
 
 8| 
 
 i^ 
 
 Localities. 
 
 Date. 
 
 c *o 
 
 
 Localities. 
 
 
 § o 
 
 3 u 
 
 1 
 
 
 1- 
 
 5 « 
 
 
 
 J-s 
 
 .2 a 
 
 
 
 .1^ 
 
 .S"5 
 
 
 
 Q- 
 
 Q 
 
 F 
 
 
 Q- 
 
 Q 
 
 
 1844. 
 
 MiUs. 
 
 MUis. 
 
 
 1844. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 
 Jan. 1 
 
 20 
 
 591 
 
 
 Mar. 28 
 
 17 
 
 1,256 
 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 616 
 
 
 29 
 
 8 
 
 1,264 
 
 , 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 623 
 
 
 April 1 
 
 10 
 
 1,274 
 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 630 
 
 
 3 
 
 22 
 
 1,296 
 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 632 
 
 
 4 
 
 15 
 
 1,314 
 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 647 
 
 Great Boiling spring. 
 
 5 
 
 37 
 
 1,351 
 
 
 9 
 
 11 
 
 658 
 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 1,366 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 668 
 
 
 7 
 
 50 
 
 1,416 
 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 678 
 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 1,422 
 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 684 
 
 Pyramid lake. 
 
 9 
 
 31 
 
 1,453 
 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 696 
 
 
 10 
 
 40 
 
 1,493 
 
 
 14 
 
 9 
 
 705 
 
 
 11 
 
 24 
 
 1,517 
 
 . 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 717 
 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 1,532 
 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 735 
 
 
 13 
 
 27 
 
 1,559 
 
 Pass in the Siem 
 
 17 
 
 22 
 
 757 
 
 
 14 
 
 32 
 
 1,591 
 
 Nevada. 
 
 18 
 
 8 
 
 765 
 
 
 15 
 
 32 
 
 1,623 
 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 783 
 
 
 17 
 
 39 
 
 1,662 
 
 
 20 
 
 5 
 
 788 
 
 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 1,665 
 
 
 21 
 
 24 
 
 812 
 
 
 19 
 
 15 
 
 1,680 
 
 
 22 
 
 14 
 
 826 
 
 
 20 
 
 33 
 
 1,713 
 
 Spanish trail at Mo 
 
 23 
 
 25 
 
 851 
 
 
 22 
 
 20 
 
 1,733 
 
 hahve river. 
 
 24 
 
 20 
 
 871: 
 
 
 23 
 
 33 
 
 1,766 
 
 
 25 
 
 25 
 
 896 
 
 
 24 
 
 8 
 
 1,774 
 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 908 
 
 
 25 
 
 25 
 
 1799 
 
 
 28 
 
 12 
 
 920 
 
 
 27 
 
 43 
 
 1,842 
 
 , 
 
 29 
 
 7 
 
 927 
 
 
 28 
 
 12 
 
 1,854 
 
 , 
 
 30 
 
 11 
 
 938 
 
 
 29 
 
 7 
 
 1,861 
 
 . 
 
 31 
 
 26 
 
 964 
 
 1 
 
 30 
 
 24 
 
 1,885 
 
 . 
 
 Feb. 2 
 
 16 
 
 980 
 
 
 May 1 
 
 15 
 
 1,900 
 
 . 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 987 
 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 1,912 
 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 990 
 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 1,930 
 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 994 
 
 
 4 
 
 57 
 
 1,987 
 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 995 
 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 2,005 
 
 Rio Virgen. 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 998 
 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 2,015 
 
 
 20 
 
 3 
 
 1,001 
 
 Summit of the Si- 
 
 8 
 
 18 
 
 2,033 
 
 
 21 
 
 5 
 
 1,006 
 
 erra Nevada. 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 2,034 
 
 
 22 
 
 3 
 
 1,009 
 
 
 10 
 
 24 
 
 2,058 
 
 
 23 
 
 5 
 
 1,014 
 
 
 11 
 
 12 
 
 2,070 
 
 
 24 
 
 12 
 
 1,026 
 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 2,084 
 
 Vegas deSantaCla 
 
 . 25 
 
 14 
 
 1,040 
 
 
 13 
 
 15 
 
 2,099 
 
 ra. 
 
 26 
 
 14 
 
 1,054 
 
 
 15 
 
 21 
 
 2,120 
 
 
 27 
 
 1 
 
 1,055 
 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 2,137 
 
 
 28 
 
 10 
 
 1,065 
 
 
 17 
 
 17 
 
 2,154 
 
 
 Mar. 1 
 
 6 
 
 1,071 
 
 
 19 
 
 27 
 
 2,181 
 
 
 2&3 
 
 10 
 
 1,081 
 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 2,203 
 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 1,088 
 
 
 21 
 
 31 
 
 2,234 
 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 1,108 
 
 H ^ 
 
 23 
 
 2,257 
 
 
 6 
 
 34 
 
 1,142 
 
 Nueva Helyetia. 23 
 
 12 
 
 2,269 
 
 Sevier river. 
 
 24 
 
 16 
 
 1,158 
 
 24 
 
 23 
 
 2,292 
 
 
 25 
 
 18 
 
 1,176 
 
 1 25 
 
 32 
 
 2,324 
 
 
 26 
 
 21 
 
 1,197 
 
 1 26 
 
 9 
 
 2,333 
 
 Utah lake. 
 
 27 
 
 42 
 
 1,239 
 
 -. 
 
 B 27 
 
 22 
 
 2,355 
 
 
!78 
 
 OREGON 
 
 Table of distances — Continued. 
 
 
 
 h 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 
 travel- 
 iday. 
 
 : from 
 lies. 
 
 
 Date. 
 
 |1 
 
 It 
 
 S w 
 
 Localities. ^ 
 
 Date. 
 
 : 81 
 1^ 
 
 as 
 
 Localitica. 
 
 
 •-S- 
 
 ' 
 
 
 .a'S 
 
 •^"S 
 
 
 
 (5- 
 
 Q 
 
 1 
 
 
 Q- 
 
 Q 
 
 
 1844. 
 
 MiUs. 
 
 MOa. 
 
 
 1844. 
 
 MUt$. 
 
 MUes. 
 
 
 May 28 
 
 25 
 
 2,380 
 
 i 
 
 June 29 
 
 30 
 
 3,063 
 
 Pueblo, on the Ar- 
 
 '29 
 
 25 
 
 2,405 
 
 i 
 1 
 
 30 
 
 37 
 
 3,100 
 
 kansas. 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 2,436 
 
 
 July 1 
 
 33 
 
 3,133 
 
 Bern's fort. 
 
 31 
 
 16 
 
 2,452 
 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 3,153 
 
 
 Juns 1 
 
 16 
 
 2,468 
 
 
 6 
 
 31 
 
 3,184 
 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 2,476 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 31 
 
 3,215 
 
 
 3 
 
 21 
 
 2,497 
 
 Uintah (bit. 
 
 8 
 
 28 
 
 3,243 
 
 Head water of Smo- 
 
 5 
 
 26 
 
 2,523 
 
 
 9 
 
 27 
 
 3,270 
 
 ky HiU fork of 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 2,538 
 
 
 10 
 
 28 
 
 3,298 
 
 the Kansas. 
 
 7 
 
 30 
 
 2,568 
 
 Grreen river .Brown's 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 
 3,322 
 
 
 9 
 
 36 
 
 2.604 
 
 hole. 1 
 
 13 
 
 30 
 
 3,352 
 
 
 10 
 
 30 
 
 2,634 
 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 3,362 
 
 
 11 
 
 30 
 
 2,664 
 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 3,385 
 
 
 12 
 
 26 
 
 2,690 
 
 t 
 
 17 
 
 32 
 
 3,417 
 
 
 13 
 
 26 
 
 2,716 
 
 1 
 
 - ! 
 
 18 
 
 24 
 
 3,441 
 
 
 14 
 
 23 
 
 2,739 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 19 
 
 29 
 
 3,470 
 
 
 15 
 
 25 
 
 2,764 
 
 New Park. 1 
 
 20 
 
 29 
 
 3,499 
 
 
 16 
 
 26 
 
 2,790 
 
 
 21 
 
 23 
 
 3,522 
 
 
 17 
 
 33 
 
 2,823 
 
 Old Park. j 
 
 22 
 
 17 
 
 3,539 
 
 
 18 
 
 13 
 
 2,836 
 
 1 
 
 23 
 
 26 
 
 3,5C5 
 
 
 19 
 
 16 
 
 2,852 
 
 ^ 
 
 24 
 
 22 
 
 3,587 
 
 
 SO 
 
 27 
 
 2,879 
 
 
 25 
 
 19 
 
 3,606 
 
 
 21 
 
 19 
 
 2,898 
 
 
 26 
 
 24 
 
 3,630 
 
 
 22 
 
 15 
 
 2,913 
 
 Bavou Salade,South 
 
 27 
 
 18 
 
 3,648 
 
 
 23 
 
 36 
 
 2,949 
 
 28 
 
 22 
 
 3,670 
 
 
 24 
 
 21 
 
 2,970 
 
 
 29 
 
 12 
 
 3,682 
 
 
 25 
 
 21 
 
 2,991 
 
 
 30 
 
 12 
 
 3,694 
 
 
 26 
 
 11 
 
 3,002 
 
 
 31 
 
 8 
 
 3,702 
 
 Kansas landing. 
 
 27 
 
 10 
 
 3,012 
 
 -■ 
 
 Aug. 1 
 
 7 
 
 3,709 
 
 Missouri river. 
 
 28 
 
 21 
 
 3,033 
 
 
 
 
 
 ( tcHuy i 
 
O R E O O Pf . 179 
 
 Various disputes have arisen as to the source from 
 whence the Oregon river derived its name. Some say it 
 is taken from a Spanish word signifying pennyroyal, or 
 hysop, which grows abundantly on the banks of the river ; 
 but this is a mistake. The country was named by an 
 Irishman, whose ancestors took up their abode in the ter- 
 ritory about the time the Danes invaded Ireland. For a 
 long time the country was without a name, and this man, 
 finding that it would be never named unless he took the 
 matter in hand, he called the country O'^Regan. Within 
 a hundred and fifly years, however, the Milesian has been 
 corrupted by the English, Yankees, Spaniards, and Indians, 
 and it is now called Oregon. 
 
^^1 ro 
 
 .f 
 
 REVIEW 
 
 Of the late Correspondence between the American and 
 
 British JVegotiators. 
 
 In order to place before the public, as far as can be ob- 
 tained from creditable sources, the means that have been 
 taken by the American Secretaries of State and British 
 Plenipotentiaries to bring the Oregon question to a '' final 
 and equitable settlement,'^ and believing that a review 
 of the correspondence between the late Secretaries of 
 State, Mr. Webster and Mr. Upsher, and Mr. Fox and 
 Lord Aberdeen, will be interesting and instructive, and 
 calculated to throw new light on a much entangled and 
 deeply-absorbing question, we shall introduce the most 
 important clauses in the statements, with a view of bring- 
 ing down OMr investigations to the latest period. This 
 correspondence, we are happy to say, has been conducted 
 in a spirit of fairness, and with a degree of courtesy that re- 
 flects credit and honor upon the distinguished gentlemen 
 to whom the two Governments referred the question. 
 
 The letter of Mr. Fox to Mr. Webster, the first that was 
 written, bearing date Washington, Nov. 15, 1842, is char- 
 acterized by a spirit of fairness and candor, prudence and 
 moderation, so necessary to the settlement of a controversy 
 involving in its issue the territorial possession of a highly val- 
 uable and extensive domain. He invites the earnest and se- 
 rious attention of Mr. Webster, which is endorsed the 
 month after by a respectful appeal to the same gentle- 
 man, then Secretary of State, from Lord Aberdeen, dated 
 " Foreign Oflice," October 18, 1842. In this communica- 
 tion his language is frank and open, clearly indicating the 
 desire of Her Majesty's Government to settle, by prudent 
 negotiation, all difliculties and disputes, and fix upon a 
 boundary fair and satisfactory to both parties, and calcu- 
 
ORSGON. 181 
 
 lated to preserve the pacific relations of the two Govern- 
 ments. His Lordship requested that the President of the 
 United States (John Tyler) would send to England a spe- 
 cial minister, fully authorized to settle the question, who 
 would be met at the British court with Her Majesty's 
 agent, also clothed with the same power and authority. 
 He says, in behalf of Great Britain, ^^ that she is prepared 
 to proceed to the consideration of the subject in a perfect 
 spirit of fairness, and to adjust it on a basis of equitable 
 compromise.'^ In the letter of Mr. Pakenham to Mr. Up- 
 sher, he also earnestly recommends a speedy adjustment, 
 and says ^' there is no matter under the consideration of 
 the two Governments respecting which the British Govern- 
 ment is more anxious to come to an early and satisfactory 
 arrangement with the Government of the United States 
 than that reb.ting to the boundary of the Columbian or Or- 
 egon Territory. In Mr. Upsher's reply, dated Department 
 of State, February 26, 1844, he informs Mr. Pakenham that 
 he will receive him at the State Department on the follow- 
 ing day, at 11 o'clock, A. M. It appears, however, that 
 the proposed interview never took place, and there was a 
 " pause" in the correspondence until July 22, 1844, after 
 the death of the lamented Upsher, which was renewed by 
 Mr. Pakenham in a letter addressed to Mr. Calhoun, then 
 Secretary of State. In this letter he proposes. Congress 
 having advised a re-consideration of the subject, " the ear- 
 nest desire of Her Majesty's Government that the question 
 should be disposed of at the earliest moment consistent 
 with the convenience of the Government of the United 
 States." In Mr. Calhoun's reply, dated August 22, of the 
 same year, he evinces an equally strong desire to settle the 
 question in dispute, and fixes upon the next day as a suit- 
 able time for their deliberations, which is accepted by Mr. 
 
 Pakenham. The following is the result of the interview : 
 16 
 
18^ OREGON. 
 
 'W^h Pi Protocols. >iTT o) h*»»f ; 
 
 On the 23d of August, 1844, a conference was held by appoinunent 
 at the office of the Secretary of State, in the city of Washington, be- 
 tween the Honorable John C. Calhoun, Secretary of State of the United 
 States, and the Right Honorable Richard Pakenham, her Britannic 
 Miyesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, both duly 
 aiiUiorized by their respective GSovemments to treat of the respective 
 claims of the two ccuntries to the Oregon Territory, with the view to 
 estaWsh a permanent boundary between the two countries westward of 
 ihe Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 The conference was opened by assurances on both sides of the desire 
 of their respective CSovemments to approach the question with an earnest 
 dedre, and in the spirit of compromise, to effect an adjustment consistent 
 with the honor and just interests of either party. The plenipotentiaries 
 then proceeded to examine the actual state of the question as it stood at 
 the last unsuccessful attempt to adjust it. 
 
 This done, the American Plenipotentiary desired to receive from the 
 British Plenipotentiary any fresh proposal he might be instructed to offer 
 on the part of his Government towards effecting an adjustment. 
 
 The British Plenipotentiary said he would be ready to offer such a 
 proposal at their next conference, hoping that the American Plenipoten- 
 tiary would be ready to present a proposal on the part of his Govern- 
 ment. The conference adjourned to meet on Monday, the 26th inst. 
 : ; J. C. CALHOUN. 
 
 R. PAKENHAM. 
 
 On the 26th of August, 1844, there was another confer- 
 ence held by the representatives of the two Governments 
 at the office of the Secretary of State. On this occasion 
 Mr. Pakenham offered a paper proposing to adjust the 
 claims of the two countries, which was declined by Mr. 
 Calhoun. The following is the proposal of the second con- 
 ference : 
 
 Whereas the prc^sals made on both sides in the course of the last 
 n^;otiation had been mutually declined, her Majesty's Crovemment were 
 prepared, in addition to what had already been offered on the part of 
 Great Britain, and in proof of their earnest desire to arrive at^an arrange- 
 ment suitable to the interests and wishes of both parties, to undertake to 
 
O R E G O ]!1 . 183 
 
 make free to the United States any port or ports which the United States 
 Government might desire, either on the main land or on Vancouver's 
 island south of latitude 49°. 
 
 Protocol of the twentij-ihird conference, July 13, 1824. — Extract frmn 
 
 the British paper . , , , 
 
 "The boundary line between the teTritories claimed by his Britannic 
 Majesty, and those claimed by the United States, to the west in both 
 cases of the Rocky Mountains, shall be drawn due west along the forty- 
 ninth parallel of north latitude, to the point where that parallel strikes 
 the great northeastemmost branch of the Oregon or Columbia river — 
 marked in the maps as McGillivray's river — thence down along the raid- 
 die of the Oregon or Columbia, to its junction with the Pacific Ocean; 
 the navigation of the whole channel being perpetually free to the sub- 
 jects and citizens of both parties; the said subjects and citizens being 
 also recif^'ocally at liberty, during the term of ten years from the date 
 hereof, tc pass and repass by laiid and by water; and to navigate, with 
 their vessels and merchandise, all the rivers, bays, harbors, and creeks, 
 as heretofore, on either side of the above mentioned line; and to trade 
 with all and any of the nations free of duty or impost of any kind, sub- 
 ject only to such local regulations as, in other respects, either of the two 
 contracting parties may find it necessary to enforce within its own limits, 
 and prohibited from furnishing the natives with fii'earms and other ex- 
 ceptionable articles, to be hereafter enumerated; and it is further espe- 
 cially agreed that neither of the high contracting parties, their respective 
 subjects or citizens, shall henceforward form any settlements within the 
 limits assigned hereby to the other, west of the Rocky Mountains; it 
 being at the same time understood that any settlements already formed 
 by the British to the south and east of the boundary line above described ^ 
 or by citizens of the United States to the north and west of the same 
 line, shall continue to be occupied and enjoyed, at the pleasure of the 
 present proprietors or occupants, without let or hindrance of any kind, 
 until the expiration of the above mentioned term of years from the date 
 hereof. ... 
 
 It was now agreed that written statements should be 
 presented at the next conference. They appeared at the 
 appointed time, but not being considered satisfactory, there 
 was another interview held at the State Department on the 
 
164 OREGON. 
 
 !2d of September, 1844, when Mr. Calhoun presented an 
 able statement of his views of the claims of the United 
 States, and the reasons why he declined the terms pro- 
 posed by the British Minister. Mr. Pakcnhani's statement 
 is as follows : " That the boundary of the United States be 
 limited by. a line drawn from the Rocky Mountains, along 
 the 49° parallel of latitude, to the northeastemmost branch 
 of the Columbia river, and thence down the middle of that 
 river to the sea, giving to C^oat Britain all the country 
 north, and to the United States all south of that line, ex- 
 cept a detached territory extending in the Pacific, and the 
 Straits of Fuca, froia Bulfinch Harbor to Hood^s Canal. 
 To which it is proposed in addition, to make free to the 
 United States any port which the United States Govern- 
 ment might desire, either on the mainland, or on Van- 
 couver's island, south of latitude 49°." The elaborate 
 statement of Mr. Calhoun is admirably prepared, and pre- 
 sents most clearly the claims of the United States to the 
 Oregon Territory. He goes much into detail, thoroughly 
 analysing the claims set up by the contracting parties, and 
 enumerates the rights of his own country with those of 
 Great Britain. On the 12th of September, 1844, the Bri- 
 tish minister held a fourth conference with Mr. Calhoun 
 at the Department of State, when he took occasion to pre- 
 sent the grounds on which he declined the proposal offered 
 by the American Secretary, and what he considered a fair 
 and just compromise. With respect to the claim of the 
 United States as derived from France, he observes, that 
 ^ he has not been able to discover any evidence tending to 
 establish the belief that Louisiana, as originally possessed 
 by France, afterwards transferred to Spain, then retroceded 
 by Spain to France, and ultimately ceded by the latter 
 power to the United States, extended in a westerly direc- 
 tion beyond the Rocky Mountains." He contends that, 
 
OREGON. 185 
 
 at the time of the cession of Louisiana, its acknowledged 
 western boundary was the Rocky Mouiitains, as was the 
 opinion of Mr. Jeiferson at the time of the purchase. The 
 following is quoted by Mr. Pakenham from a letter written 
 by Mr. Jefferson in August, 1803: -..,^ 
 
 "The boundaries (of Louisiana) which I deem not admitting ques- 
 tion, are the high lands on the western side of the Mississippi, enclosing 
 all its waters — the Missouri, of course — and teiTninating in the line 
 drawn from the northwest point of the Lake of the Woods to the nearest 
 source of the Mississippi, as lately settled between Great Britain and the 
 United States." _ ^^ , ^ ,^^^^^ ^^ .^^^^ 
 
 Mr. Pakenham makes mention also cf another document 
 containing the opinions of Mr. Jefferson, subsequent to 
 the expedition of Lewis and Clark, in which he took of- 
 fence at the intimations made respecting the object of the 
 expedition, '' that the claims of the United States extended 
 to the Pacific Ocean." It seems clear, says he, " that the 
 United States can deduce no claim to the territory west of 
 the Rocky Mountains ; but even were it otherwise, and if 
 France had even asserted a claim to territory west of the 
 Rocky Mountains, as appertaining to the territory of Lou- 
 isiana, that claim, whatever it might be, was necessarily 
 transferred to Spain when Louisiana was ceded to that 
 power in 1762, and, of course, became subject to the pro- 
 visions of the treaty between Spain and Great Britain of 
 1790, which effectually abrogated the Spanish claiims to 
 exclusive dominion over die unoccupied parts of the Amer* 
 ican continent." ■' 
 
 Mr. Pakenham enters into a long argument respecting 
 the cession made by Spain in 1819, when she disposed of 
 all the territory in her possession north of the 42d parallel 
 of latitude to the United States ; but, as he very truly ob- 
 serves, ^she could not, by that transaction, annul or inval- 
 idate the rights which had, by a previous transaction, been 
 
186 OREGON. 
 
 acknowledged to belong to another power." The treaty of 
 October, 1790, was solemnly and formally made. All the 
 powers interested regarded it as valid, and the rights of 
 Great Britain to the unoccupied parts of the northwest 
 coast were clearly and fully recognised. No one doubted 
 the right of Spain to cede to the United States all of this 
 territory which actually belonged to her, but that which 
 was unoccupied was surely surrendered to Great Britain. 
 Spain, at that very time, could not clearly perfect her title. 
 She met with many difficulties that could not be overcome. 
 And as her right could not be made good, ^'still less could 
 she confer such a right to another power^ How is it, 
 therefore, that the United States can assert exclusive do- 
 minion over the Oregon territory ?" I U' ?^ M «)ff/v ;»!{: 
 Mr. Pakenham presents the arguments and facts that 
 have been employed by the American agents respecting the 
 discovery of the Columbia river made by the Spanish nav- 
 igator Haceta, who, it is admitted by the American Secre- 
 tary, first saw the mouth of that river. This admission is 
 surely inconsistent with any discovery made by Gray ; for 
 if Mr. Calhoun had supposed that he was the first who 
 entered the channel of the said river, he would have never 
 admitted to the contrary. On the ground of discovery, 
 Mr. Pakenham appears well fortified. H'j passes over as 
 not worthy of attention the French title, and, of conse- 
 quence, its little weight, and comes down to the indepen- 
 dence of the United Statf -,, when " possession to the Co- 
 lumbian territory was claimed." At that time the treaty 
 of 1783 was in full force, when the attention of the British 
 Government had been directed to the northwest coast, as 
 is shown by the voyage and discovery of Captain Cook, 
 who, in 1788, visited and explored a great distance of it, 
 from latitude 44° northward. Already a regular commer- 
 eial intercourse had been established, the territory was 
 
OREGON. 187 
 
 peopled by her own subjects, who had explored many of 
 the neighboring islands, and, as a proof that an extensive 
 commerce was existing, there was a strong disposition 
 manifested by Spain to disturb and, if possible, to destroy 
 it Mr. Pakenham briefly alludes to the discovery of 
 Meares in 1788. But this is regarded by us as too vision- 
 ary to be worthy of notice. Meares was thought by many 
 to be a fanatic. And the discovery supposed by some to 
 have been made by him is discredited and long since ex- 
 ploded in his own country. Reference is made to the me- 
 morable discovery of Lewis and Clark, which the British 
 think does not compare in importance with McKenzie's 
 discovery, acting as a counterpoise to the exploration of 
 that part of the Columbia which was first visited by Lewis 
 and Clark. Mr. Pakenham concludes his sts^ement, which 
 is quite a long one, by saying " that a line of demarcation 
 should be devised which shall leave to each party that 
 precise portion best suited to its interest and commerce.^' 
 He also says : 
 
 In addition, Great Britain offers a separate territory on the Pacific, 
 possessing an excellent harbor, with a further understanding that any 
 port or ports, whether on Vancouver's island, or on the continent south 
 of the 49th parallel, to which the United States might desire to have 
 access, shall be made free ports. , , v. 
 
 It is believed that by this arrangement ample justice would be done 
 to the claims of the United States, on whatever ground advanced, with 
 relation to the Oregon territory. As regards extent of territory, they 
 would obtain acre for acre, nearly half of the entire territory to be di- 
 vided. As relates to the navigation of the principal river, they would 
 enjoy a perfect equality of right with Great Britain; and, with respect 
 to harbors, it will be seen that Great Britain shows every disposition to 
 consult their convenience in that peuticular. On the other hand, were 
 Great Britain t« abandon the line of the Columbia as a frontier, and to 
 surrender her right to the navigation of that river, the prejudice occa- 
 doned to her by such an arrangement would, beyond all proportion, 
 exceed the advantages accruing to the United States from the possession 
 
188 OREGON. 
 
 of a few more square miles of territory. It must be obvious to every 
 impartial investigator of the subject, that, in adhering to the line of the 
 Columbia, Great Britain is not influenced by motives of ambition with 
 reference to extert of territory, but by considerations of utility, not to 
 say necessity, which cannot be lost sight of, and for which allowance 
 ought to be made, in an arrangement professing to be based on consid- 
 erations of mutual convenience and advantage. 
 
 The undersigned believes that he has now noticed all the arguments 
 advanced by the American plenipotentiary, in order to show that the 
 United States are fairly entitled to the entire region drained by the Co- 
 lumbia river. He sincerely regrets that their views on this subject 
 should differ in so many essential respects. 
 
 It remains for him to request that; as the American plenipoten;.ary 
 declines the proposal otTered on the part of Great Britain, he will have 
 the goodness to state what arrangement he is, on the part of the United 
 States, prepared to propose for an equitable adjustment of the question; 
 and more especially that he will have the goodness to define the nature 
 and extent of the claims which the United States may have to other 
 portions of the territory to which allusion is made in the concluding 
 part of his statement; as it is obvious that no arrangement can be made 
 with respect to a portion of the territory in dispute while a claim is re- 
 tained to any portion of the remainder. 
 
 American statement. 
 
 The reply of Mr. Buchanan to the communication 
 of Mr. Pakenham is characterized with the usual ability of 
 this distinguished statesman. He differs essentially in al- 
 most every branch of the subject discussed by the Britisii 
 minister, not only with respect to the discovery of the head 
 waters of the Columbia, but also on priority of settlement, 
 and the force and effect of the cession made by Spain of 
 Louisiana to the United States. He speaks of the con- 
 vention of 1818, signed a few days after the restoration of 
 Astoria, and that of 1827, which he contends are still in 
 force. He goes on to say that the said treaty attempts to 
 weaken the effect of implied admission, ^^ by designating 
 
O R E G If . 169 
 
 positive treaty stipulations as an understanding between 
 ttie two Governments, but a change of phraseology cannot 
 possibly transform treaty obligations into a mere under- 
 standing between the two Governments ;^' he thinks also, 
 that the counter-statement respecting Lord Castlereugh 
 is entitled to but little consideration, and that the Amer- 
 ican title, derived from Spain ceding Louisiana to the 
 Unit tates, is perfectly good, establishing the Missis- 
 river as the " irrevocable boundary" between the 
 Jt:<'rench and British territories. On this cession, connected 
 with those of France, he rests the claim of contiguity^ ex- 
 tending to the Pacific Ocean, with nothing to oppose ex- 
 cept the claim of Spain, which has been since acquired by 
 the Florida treaty. These claims, he contends, are denied 
 by the counter-statement on the authority of Mr. Jefierson, 
 but without good reasons. Mr. JefTerson^s object was not, 
 says Mr. Buchanan, to state the extent of the claims ac- 
 quired with Louisiana, but simply to state how far its un- 
 questioned boundary extended, with a view of a statement 
 of relations with Spain. He passes over the statement of the 
 British minister respecting the dependancy of Louisiana 
 on Spain, subject to the Nootka Sound convention, and 
 proposes to attend to it at another time. He insists that 
 Great Britain cannot rest her claims to the northwest 
 coast of America upon discovery. As little will her single 
 claim of settlement avail her. Owen Belsham, her own 
 historian, forty years ago declared it to be certain, from 
 the most authentic information, ^Hhat the Spanish flag, 
 flying at Nootka, was never struck, and that the territory 
 has been virtually surrendered by England." The agents 
 of the northwest company, penetrating the continent from 
 Canada in 1806, estabUshed their first trading post west of 
 the Rocky Mountains, at Frazer^s lake, in the 54th degree 
 
 of latitude; and this, with the trading posts established by. 
 IT 
 
190 OREGON. 
 
 Thompson, to which the undersigned has just adverted, 
 and possibly some others afterwards previous to October, 
 1818, constitutes the claim of Great Britain/' The states 
 ment of Mr. Buchanan, wo repeat, is masterly, and on 
 some points irresistible ; his arguments are close, con- 
 vincing, and logical, and the subject is viewed and discus- 
 sed by him with that system which cannot fail to add to 
 his already distinguished reputation, for all that constitutes 
 a devotion to the interests and honor of his country. 
 
 Brtltsh statement. 
 
 'It 
 
 Mr. Pakenham's reply to Mr. Calhoun is contained in 
 a brief communication bearing date January 13, 1845, in 
 which he states, that all that passed in the correspondence 
 had been laid before her Majesty's Government up to the 
 3d of last September, which still remained under the con- 
 sideration of her Majesty's Government : he says, more- 
 over, that no more fair or honorable mode of settling the? 
 question could be adopted than that of arbitration^ and 
 that he is authorized to offer for the consideration of the 
 Government of the United States, and under the supposi- 
 tion that it may be found acceptable, further to suggest 
 the choice of an arbiter, and the mode in which their res- 
 pective cases shall be presented, may henceforth be made 
 -the subject of final agreement between the two Govern- 
 ments. - 
 
 In Mr. Calhoun's reply of the 21st of January, 1845, he 
 observes, that the offer made by Mr. Pakenham had been 
 presented for the consideration of the President of the 
 United States, who refused to accede to the terms pro- 
 posed, while, at the same time, he hopes that the question 
 may be speedily settled by negotiation, without resorting 
 to any other mode as long as there is hope of arriving, at 
 
OREGON'. 191 
 
 a satisfactory settlement. Here the correspondence ends, 
 without having accomplished the important and desirable 
 object of coming to some understanding at all events. 
 
 Proposals of settlement, it appears, were presented by 
 the representatives of both nations, accompanied on both 
 sides with strong and clear arguments setting forth the 
 cjaims of each nation ; but nothing was done, and the ques- 
 tion remained at rest until July 12, 1845, an interval of six 
 months, when there was a renewal of the correspondence 
 by Mr. Buchanan, Secretary of State, on the Vlih of July 
 following. The question is considered by him with all 
 that frankness and fairness which characterized the cor- 
 respondence between Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Pakenham. 
 He argues at great length the American title to this terri- 
 tory, presenting an accurate and highly interesting review 
 of the different cessions, treaties, &;C., and the proceedings 
 of the Nootka Sound convention, signed at Escurial on the 
 28th of October, 17, 0. He devotes much attention to the 
 discussion of the title of the United States to that portion 
 of Oregon lying between the valley of the Columbia and 
 the Russian line, in 54° 40 north latitude, which is ceded 
 ^ in the Florida treaty." Under this treaty, it is known, 
 Spain made over to the United States '•'' all her rights, 
 claims, and pretensions," to any territory west of the 
 Rocky Mountains, and north oi the 42d parallel of latitude. 
 It is contended by Mr. Buchanan with strong, and we 
 think sufficient, proof to sustain his position, that the Span- 
 ish title against Great Britain to the whole territory was 
 good^ when in truth, Mears, in 1788, established himself 
 at Nootka, when the Spaniards took possession under the 
 command of the Viceroy of Mexico. That very conven- 
 tion expressly provides, as is admitted by Mr. Buchanan, 
 for the restoration of lands, dtc, which had been taken by 
 
19% R E 6 O K . 
 
 the Spaniards from British subjects, and a payment of in- 
 demnity for injuries sustained. * * ""' * "" 
 This indemnity^ actually paid by Spain^ was equivalent 
 to an admission of the rights of Great Britain to certain 
 portions of the territory. What does the 3d article of that 
 convention signify, but an acknowledgment on the part, of 
 Spain that England possessed territorial right? Ifthj^ 
 right could not be sustained by facts, and was based alone 
 on the declarations of interested persons, why was this 
 provision made in the proceedings of said convention ad- 
 mitting ^Hhat British subjects should not be disturbed or 
 molested, either in navigating or carryiuff on the fisheries 
 in the Pacific Ocean?'''* It is true, had this convention 
 published no provision impairing the sovereignty or terri- 
 torial jurisdiction asserted by Spain, the case would have 
 been different; but she openly permits and consents for 
 British subjects to hold a joint occupation with her. . Not- 
 withstanding these facts, some of which are exposed by 
 Mr. Buchanan, and the evidence adduced, ^^ which, to his 
 mind, plainly proves the validity of the American title," 
 there is a proposition made by the President to settle the 
 question upon the principle of compromise ; and he accord- 
 ingly offered the 49th degree of latitude as a permanent 
 boundary. The following is the conclusion of Mr. Bu- 
 chanan^s interesting letter: 
 
 ''In this determination he trusts that the British Government will re- 
 cc^nise his sincere and anxious desire to cultivate the most friendly rela* 
 tions between the two countries, and to manifest to the world that he is 
 actuated by a spirit of moderation . He has therefore instructed the 
 undersigned again to propose to the Government of Great Britain, that 
 the Oregon territory shall be divided between the two countries by the 
 49th parallel of north latitude from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific 
 Ocean; offering, at the same time, to make free to Great Britain any 
 port or ports on Vancouver's island, south of this parallel, which the 
 British Government may desire. He trusts that Great Britain may re- 
 
OREGON. 193 
 
 eeive thn proposition in the friendly spirit by which it was dictated, and 
 that it may prove the stable foundation of lasting peace and harmony 
 between the two countries. The line proposed will carry out the prin- 
 ciple of continuity v - .ally for both parties, by extending the limits 
 both of ancient Louisiana and Canada to the Pacific along the same 
 parallel of latitude which divides them east of the Rocky Mountains; 
 and it will secure to each a sufficient number of commodious harbors 
 op the northwest coast of America." ^ -=.,,-. .w* 
 
 Mr. Pakenham to Mr. Buchanan^ July 29, 1845. 
 
 Mr. Pakenham very briefly, but with much spirit, an- 
 swers the argument of Mr. Buchanan respecting the title 
 of the United States to that poition of the Oregon territo- 
 ry lying "between the valley of the Columbia and the 
 Russian line, in 54° 40 north latitude.'^ It appears, as has 
 been before stated, that the Florida treaty of 1819 ceded to 
 the United States^^ all the rights, claims, and pretensions 
 of Spain to any territory west of the Rocky Mountains, 
 and north of the 42d parallel of latitude." The Secretary 
 of State insists that at the date of the convention, (Feb. 22, 
 1819,) Spain had a good title against Great Britain "to the 
 whole Oregon territory," in the face of the convention of 
 October 28, 1790. When the treaty of 1819 was conclud- 
 ed, the convention of 1790 was then considered binding, 
 and in full force. Mr. Pakenham contends that the 
 treaty of 1790 is not the " main reliance^'' of the British 
 Government for the establishment of her rights ; it is ap- 
 pealed to for the purpose of showing that the United States 
 does not possess exclusive dominion. The treaty of 1790 
 was not confined to one matter solely, "it embraced a va- 
 riety of objects : it had a commercial bearing, while at the 
 same time, it is an acknowledgment of existing rights"— 
 an admission of certain principles of international law not 
 to be revoked at the pleasure of a single party, or to be 
 set aside by a cessation of friendly relations between them. 
 
194 OREGON. 
 
 It might have been considered as an abrogation of certain 
 stipulations, but expressly confirmed and ratified all com- 
 mercial relations between Great Britain and Spain. She 
 evidently never considered the stipulations of the Nootka 
 Sound convention annulled by the war of 1796. Had she 
 supposed that by it exclusive dominion was given her, 
 would she have consented to permit Great Britain to make 
 her settlements and people the territory with her own sub- 
 jects ? Spain was perfectly quiet after the convention of 
 1814, "• when, as yet, there had been no transfer of her 
 rights to the United States.^^ Mr. Pakenham states, in 
 reply to the argument of Mr. Buchanan, ^Hhatthe British 
 Government had no idea in 1818 that the Nootka Sound 
 convention was in force." That in "the year 1818 no 
 claim, as derived from Spain, was or could be put forth 
 by the United States, seeing that it was not until the fol- 
 lowing year (1819) that the treaty was concluded." "The 
 exploration of Lewis and Clark," says Mr. Pakenham, 
 " and the estabhshment founded at the mouth of the Co- 
 lumbia, must be considered as encroachments on the terri- 
 torial rights of Spain." Look to the claim that was array- 
 ed for the restoration of Fort George, and the proposal 
 actually made for joint occupancy ; all of which took place 
 antecedent to the Spamsh cession ; in truth, long before 
 the transfer was made. Surely, then, the Nootka Sound 
 convention stamps with illegality and gross injustice any 
 title founded before to the conclusion of the Florida 
 treaty. It is impossible for the United States to found 
 ^. laims on discovery, exploration, and settlement before the 
 Florida treaty was entered into, without admitting the 
 principles of the Nootka Sound convention, and the conse- 
 quent validity of the parallel claims of Great Britain, 
 founded on like acts. It is perfectly clear, from documenta- 
 ry proof, that there has been as yet no array of facts 
 
OREGON. 195 
 
 introduced thtit annuls or even affects the force or validity 
 of the convention of 1790. It holds good as fully now as 
 ever; and it is as binding to this day as it was in 1791. We 
 cannot, however, acquiesce in opinion with Mr. Pakenham, 
 who affirms " that even if the Nootka Sound convention had 
 never existed, the position of Great Britain, as regards her 
 rights, is at least as good as that of the United States.'^ 
 The rights of Great Britain, as must appear to every im- 
 partial mind, mainly, and, we may say, wholly depend 
 upon the convention of 1790. Had she not been included 
 in the proceedings of this convention, upon what ground 
 could she have based her claims ? Had she been denied 
 the right of '^ navigation and settlement,^^ the Spanish title 
 being sustained alone by it, she would not be entitled to a 
 single privilege she now enjoys. But the case is entirely 
 different. The British right was openly avowed in con- 
 vention, and no subsequent act of Spain could affect it in 
 the least. If, as is admitted, the title of the United States 
 is older than the Florida treaty of 1819, under which she 
 acquired the rights of Spain to the northwest coast of 
 America, so must the claims of Great Britain, resting on 
 the sarhe basis, in point of principle, and in strict conform- 
 ity with the law of nations, be as good as those of the 
 United States. Great importance is attached, by those 
 writers who have investigated only the claims of the United 
 States, to the discovery of Captain Gray ; but it cannot be 
 denied, as has been before observed, in the face of conflict- 
 ing statements, that he was not empowered by the Ameri- 
 can Government to make settlements — he was sustained 
 by no legal authority — the Executive and Congress had 
 taken no action in the matter whatever, and he was no- 
 thing more than a private navigator, unlike Cook and Van- 
 couver, who were duly authorized by their respective Gov- 
 ernments, and sailed for the express purpose of exploration 
 
190 ORKOON. 
 
 and discovery. It must be recollected, in the next place, 
 when the Oregon question was pending at the Court of 
 St. James, and the claims of each nation were sustained 
 by their repr^ sentaiives, there was an admission contained 
 in a report of one of the American agents, ^^ that respect- 
 ing the mouth of the Columbia river, we knew nothing of 
 Gray's discovery but through British accounts.'*'' It must, 
 therefore, be taken for granted, that the American repre- 
 sentatives, who had left their country expressly to adjust 
 equitably this question, had examined and studied the sub- 
 ject with all that zeal and minuteness which made them 
 thoroughly acquainted with it in all its details. They could 
 not, under the circumstances, have been ignorant of the 
 facts involved, and their predilections, naturally, must have 
 favored the American side. Thompson, a^British naviga- 
 tor, was the first civilized person who traversed the coun- 
 try drained by the Columbia. Lewis and Clark, it is true, 
 made their way to the main stream afler a while, but it 
 was by a tributary, nearly two hundred miles from the part 
 discovered by Broughton. But, admitting this, which is a 
 strong ground in defence of British claims, we confidently 
 beheve, that ^^on discovery, exploration, and settlement, 
 the United States has as clear a title, and is as firmly sus- 
 tained in her claims, as any nation can be.'' The terri- 
 tory, under a joint occupancy, with the treaty of 1827 in 
 full force, is now claimed by both powers, which leaves 
 the question to be settled by cool and prudent negotiation. 
 After an elaborate statement of Mr. Pakenham, he begs 
 leave to decline the proposal made by the Secretary of 
 State for the adjustment of the question, on the grounds 
 of ^4ts want of fairness, equit}, and with the reasonable 
 expectations of the British Government." 
 
R E G :< . 19T 
 
 Mr, Buchanan to Mr, Pakenham. '!4i.»ii^**»t> 
 
 The correspondence between Mr. Buchanan and Mr. 
 Pakenham is concluded by a long and very able letter ad- 
 dressed by the ion ,er to the British minister. His views 
 throughout are truly American, and breathe a spirit of hon- 
 esty and patriotism which so eminently distinguish the 
 wiitings of this valuable and learned statesman. He takes 
 the arguments of Mr. Pakenham, one by one, and replies to 
 them, in many instances, with success adducing all the 
 statistical facts and documentary evidence to sustain his 
 position and give currency to his opinions. The state- 
 ment made by Mr. Pakenham, " that the treaty of 1790 is 
 not appealed to by the British Government as their main 
 reliance in the present discussion,'^ is met on the other 
 side by Mr. Buchanan, "that ever since 1826 tht', Nootka 
 Convention has been regarded by the British Government 
 as their strongest ground, if not their main reliance/' Mr. 
 B. quotes the declarations of Messrs. Huskisson and Ad- 
 dington, as follows : ^ 
 
 "Great Britain claims no exclusive sovereignty over any portion of 
 that territory. Her present claim, not in respect to any part, but to the 
 whole, is limited to a right of joint occupancy in common with other 
 States, leaving the right of exclusive dominion in abeyance." 
 
 And again: 
 
 "By that convention (of Nootka) it was agreed that all parts of the 
 northwestern coast of America, not already occupied at that time by 
 either of the contracting parties, should thenceforward be equally open 
 to the subjects of both for all purposes of commerce and settlement — 
 the sovereignty remaining in abeyance." h 
 
 But on this subject we are not left to mere inferences, however clear. 
 The British commissioners, in their statement from which the under- 
 signed has just quoted, have virtually abandoned any other title which 
 Ghreat Britain may have previously asserted to the territory in dispute, 
 and expressly declare that — 
 
 ;t'"Whatever that title may have been heretofore, either on the part of 
 18 
 
108 ' O R K 6 O N . 
 
 Great Britain ur on the part of Spain, {»nor to the convenUon of 1790, 
 i4 ivas thencefonoard no longer to he tmced in vagtce narratives of 
 discoveries, several of them admitted to be apocryphjcd, but in the text 
 and stipulations of that convention itself. ' ' 
 And again, in summing up their whole case, they say: 
 <' Admitting that the United States have acquired all the rights which 
 Spain possessed up to the treaty of Florida, either in virtue of discove- 
 ry, or, as is pretended, in right of Louisiana, Great Britain maintains 
 that the nature and extent of these rights, as well as the rights of Great 
 Britain, are fixed and defined by the convention of Nootka," &,c. 
 
 To Mr. Pakenham's argument ^^ that the United States 
 can found no claim on discovery, exploration, and settle- 
 ment effected previously to the Florida treaty, without ad- 
 mitting the principles of the Nootka convention,^' Mr. B. 
 says, '^ this is a most ingenious method of making the dis- 
 tinct and independent titles held by the same nations worse 
 than one of arraying them against each other, and thus 
 destroying the validity of both. Does he forget that the 
 United States own both of these titles, and can wield them 
 either separately or conjointly at their pleasure ? From 
 the course of his remarks it might be supposed that Great 
 Britain, and not the United States, had acquired the Span- 
 ish title under the Florida treaty. But Great Britain is a 
 third party, an entire stranger to both of these titles, and 
 has no right whatever to marshal the one against the 
 other.'' Admitting, says Mr. Buchanan in another place, 
 ^^ that the discovery by Captain Gray of the mouth of the 
 Columbia, its exploration by Lewis and Clark, and the set- 
 tlement upon its banks at Astoria, were encroachments on 
 Spain, she, and she alone, had a right to complain. The 
 British minister attempts to prove, even if the Nootka 
 l^ound convention had never existed, the position of 
 Great Britain, with regard to her claim, whether to the 
 whole or any particular portion of the territory, " is at 
 least as good as that of the United States." To which 
 
OREGON. 109 
 
 Mr. Buchanan says, '•'• in order to establish his position, he 
 must show that the British claim is equal in validity to the 
 titles of both Spain and the United States — these can 
 never be separated, they are one and the same.^^ He ex- 
 presses his surprise that the Britisl\ minister should again 
 have invoked, in support of the British title, the inconsis- 
 tencies between the Spanish and American branches of 
 the title of the United States. Mr. Buchanan first con- 
 firms and illustrates the American title, 1st, by commend- 
 ing the frankness and candor of Mr. Pakenham in depart- 
 ing firom the course of his predecessors, and speaks at 
 considerable length of the discovery made by Juan de 
 Fuca, a Grecian, in the service of Spain, in 1592. These 
 voyages were published in London, in 1625, by Samuel 
 Purchos, in a work called the " Pilgrims." A brief detail 
 is here entered into of the discoveries of the Spaniards in 
 1774, enumerating the different places on the coast exam- 
 ined by these navigators, in company or separately. "Suf- 
 fice it to say, that they landed at many places on the coast 
 fi'om the 41st to the 57th degree of latitude ; on all of 
 which occasions they took possession of the country in 
 the name of their sovereigns, according to a prescribed 
 regulation." After entering into a prolix and interesting ar- 
 gument touching the discoveries made by Haceta, Van- 
 couver, and Captain Cook, he proposes to show that "the 
 title of the United States to the portion of territory lying 
 at the mouth of the Columbia, has been acknowledged by 
 the most solemn and unequivocal acts of the British Gov- 
 ernment." Mr. Buchanan shows, after the purchase of 
 Louisiana from France, an expedition was fitted out by 
 this Government under Messrs. Lewis and Clark, who 
 first explored the Columbia river. In 1811, the settlement 
 by John Jacob Astor was made at Astoria. The war of 
 1812, between Great Britain and the United States, foun4 
 
200 ORJCOON. 
 
 the latter in peaceable possession of that region. Astoria 
 was captured during the war, but afterwards surrendered. 
 With respect to the discovery of Thompson, Mr. Buchan- 
 an contends it has no bearing whatever. His journey was 
 undertaken in behalf of the Northwest Company, for the 
 mere purpose of anticipating the United States in the oc- 
 cupation of the mouth of the Columbia, " a territory to 
 which no nation, unless it be Spain, could, with any show 
 of justice, dispute their right." They had acquired it by 
 discovery and exploration, and were now in the act of tes- 
 tifying possession. It was in an enterprise undertaken for 
 such a purpose, that Thorupson, in hastening from Can- 
 ada to the mouth of the Columbia, discovered Nootka, ar- 
 bitrarily assumed by Great Britain to be the main branch 
 of the river. At this period it was too late to impair the 
 title of either Soain or the United States by any such pro- 
 ceeding. In ^ Jl*2, there was another trading post estab- 
 lished by a party from Astoria, on the Spoken, about six 
 hundred and fifty miles from the ocean. To sum up the 
 whole, says Mr. Buchanan, Great Britain cannot rest her 
 claims to the northwest coast of America upon discovery. 
 As little will her single claim by settlement at Nootka 
 Sound avail her. Even Belsham, her own historian, forty 
 years ago declared it to be certain, from the most authen- 
 tic information, " that the Spanish flag, flying at Nootka, 
 was never struck, and that the territory has been virtually 
 relinquished by Great Britain." Upon the whole, says 
 Mr. Buchanan : 
 
 ''From the most careful and amj^e examination which the under- 
 signed has been able to bestow upon the subject, he is satisfied that the 
 Spanish- American title, now held by the United States, embracing the 
 whole territory between the parallel of 42 deg. and 54 deg. 40 min., is 
 the best title in existence to this entire region; and that the claim of 
 Great Britain to any portion of it has no sufficient foundation . Evert 
 British geographers have not doubted our title to the territory in dispute. 
 
OREGON. {201 
 
 There is a large and sp'endid globe now in the Department of State, 
 recently arrived from London , and published by Malby and Company, 
 "manufacturers and publishers to the Society for the Diffusion of Use- 
 ful Knowledge/' which assigns this territory to the United States. 
 
 Notwithstanding such was and still is the opinion of the President, 
 yet, in the spirit of compromise and concession, and in deference to the 
 action of his predecessors, the undersigned, in obedience to his instruc- 
 tions, proposed to the British Plenipotentiary to settle the controversy 
 by dividing the territory in dispute by the 49th parallel of latitude, of- 
 fering, at the same time, to m£ike free to Great Britain any port or ports 
 on Vancouver's island, south of this latitude, which the British Govern- 
 ment might desire. The British Plenipotentiary has correctly suggested 
 that the free navigation of the Columbia river was not embraced in this 
 proposal to Great Britain; but, on the other hand, the use of free ports 
 on the southern extremity of this island had not been included in for- 
 mer offers. 
 
 Such a proposition as that which has been made never would have 
 been authorized by the President had tliis been a new question. 
 * Upon his accession to office he found the present n^otiation pending. 
 It had been instituted in the spirit and upon the principle of compro- 
 mise; its object, as avowed by the negotiators, was not to demand the 
 whole territory in dispute for either country, but, in the language of the 
 first protocol, "to treat of the respective claims of the two countries to 
 the Or^on territory, with the view to establish a permanent boundary 
 between them westward of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.'' 
 
 Placed in this position, and considering that Presidents Monroe and 
 Adams had, on former occasions, offered to divide the territoiy in dia. 
 pute by the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, he felt it to be hi» duty not 
 abruptly to arrest the negotiation, but so far to yield his own opinion a? 
 once more to make a similar bffer. 
 
 Not only respect for the conduct of his predecessors, but a sincere and 
 anxious desire to promote peace and harmony between the two coun- 
 tries, influenced him to pursue this course. The Or^;on question pre- 
 sents the only intervening cloud which intercepts the prospect of a l<»ig 
 career of mutual friendship and beneficial commerce between the two 
 natiops, and this cloud he desired to remove. 
 
 These are the reasons which actuated the President to offer a ^opo- 
 ntion 80 liberal to Great Britain. 
 
 And how has this proposition been received by the British Plenipo- 
 
Wi OREGON. 
 
 tentiarj? It has been rejected, without even a reference to his own 
 Government. Nay, more, the British Plenipotentiary, to use his own 
 language, <' trusts that the American Plenipotentiary will be prepared 
 to offer some further proposal for the settlement of the Oregon question 
 mare consistent with fairness and equity j and icith the reasonable ex- 
 pectations of the British Crovemment.^* 
 
 Under such circumstances, the undersigned is instructed by the Pres- 
 ident to say that he owes it to his own country, and a just appreciation 
 of her tide to the Or^on territory, to withdraw the proposition to the 
 British Government which had been made under his direction; and it 
 is hereby accordingly withdrawn. 
 
 In taking this necessary step, the President still cherishes the hope 
 that this long-pending controversy may yet be finally adjusted in such a 
 manner as not to disturb the peace or interrupt the harmony now so 
 happily subsisting between the two nations. 
 
 Here this long and interesting correspondence ends, and 
 as far as the Eettlement of the question is concerned, nothing 
 has been done to bring about ^^ an equitable compromise.^^ 
 The representatives of both nations have each presented 
 with dignity and respect their arguments and views, obvious- 
 ly with the hope of ending the controversy in a creditable 
 and honorable manner; but they have failed; and the 
 question is presented, without having advanced at all to- 
 wards a close, for the discussion and consideration of the 
 representatives of the people. We humbly trust that a 
 war will be the last resort. It is very certain that, if our 
 title to the whole of Oregon is urged, after the admissions 
 that have been made, the most disastrous war known to 
 our history must ensue, because it would be waged with 
 means so destructive, and under cii'cumstances so aggra- 
 vating, as to give rise to the most distressing and painful 
 consequences. Our policy is peace — ^we are unprepared 
 for war — our national spirit is against it. Valor we lack 
 not; but our men are unorganized and undisciplined. 
 We have means in abundance. The war cry would open 
 
O R E G o .> . 203 
 
 the pockets of all men ; they would be fired at once with 
 a spirit of patriotism, and the nation would be thoroughly 
 aroused from one end U> the other. But let us take heed 
 lest a step is taken that will plunge the country in blood- 
 shed and distress, destroying all business relations, and 
 hterally upsetting our commerce, and all that pertains to 
 national greatness and prosperity. We have no right to 
 disturb the peace of the world without good cause. Dur- 
 ing'.the late war we were provoked to hostility, and sus- 
 tained by the unanimous voice of the family of nations. 
 It was no thoughtless step, taken in the heat of clashing 
 interests and intestine commotion ; the flag of our country 
 was grossly insulted, our ships seized, confiscated, and 
 burned, our coast blockaded and men killed, and we were 
 absolutely compelled to declare war, or sufler injuries and 
 insults. Not so now. We cannot think that the national 
 honor is involved, and that redress should be sought. 
 This is a question of relative right of ownership to a very 
 few degrees of territory, that should be settled by peacea- 
 ble negotiation and compromise on the principles of inter- 
 national law. If £ngland declares war, let us collect our 
 strength, muster our armaments, and put forth our naval 
 power, as we have done on former occasions, and exert 
 our skill to the utmost. 
 
 We trust, in conclusion, that a kind Providence may 
 watch over our people, and direct us in the right way; and 
 that prudent and wise councils may prevail, bringing the 
 subject, so long in dispute, to a happy termination, to the 
 honor of both Governments, and to the satisfaction of 
 both nativ7ns. 
 
liiu 
 
 j'l' 
 
 Mf' 
 
 fo" 
 
 I 
 
 narior 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 Containing the Diplomatic Correspondence^ Treaties and 
 Negotiations^ between Russia^ Spain^ Great Britain 
 and the United States^ as contained in the excellent 
 work of Lieutenant George Wilkes 
 
 (No. 1.) 
 
 OomoerUion between the United States and Russia^ signed at St. 
 Petersburg, on the 17 th of April, 1824. 
 
 Art. 1. It is agreed that, in any part of the great ocean commonly 
 called the Pacific ocean, or South eea, the respective citizens or sub- 
 jects of the high contracting powers shall be neither disturbed nor re- 
 strained, either in navigation or in fishing, or in the power of resorting 
 to the coasts, upon points which may not already have been occupied 
 for the purpose of trading with the natives, saving always the restric- 
 tions and conditions determined by the following articles. 
 
 Art. 2. With the view of preventing the rights of navigation and of 
 fishing, exercised upon the great ocean by the citizens and subjects of 
 the high contracting powers, from becoming the pretext for an illicit 
 trade, it is agreed that the citizens of the United States shall not resort 
 to any point where there is a Russian establishment, without the per- 
 mission of the "o^Citior or commander ; and that, reciprocally, the sub- 
 jects of Ru " biiJ' not resort, without permission, to any establish- 
 ment of the Uniiv. ^t es upon the northwest coast. 
 
 Art. 3. It is morec r agreed that, hereafter, there shall not be 
 formed by the citizens of the United States, or under the authority of 
 the said States, any establishment upon the northwest coast of Ameri- 
 ca, nor in any of the islands adjacent, to the north of 54 degrees and 
 40 minutes of north latitude ; and that, in the same manner, there shall 
 be none formed by Russian subjects, or under the authority of Russia, 
 south of the same parallel. 
 
 Art, 4. It is nevertheless understood that, duringa term of ten years, 
 counting from the signature of the present convention, the ships of both 
 powers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects respectively, may 
 reciprocally frequent, without any hindrance whatever, the interior 
 seas, gulfs, harbors, and creeks, upon the coast mentioned in the pre- 
 
H APPENDIX. 
 
 ceding article, for the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives of 
 the country. » . 
 
 Art. 5. All spirituous liquors, fire arms, powder, and munitions of 
 war of every kind, are always excepted from this same commerce per- 
 mitted by the preceding article ; and the two powers engag*;, recipro- 
 cally, neither to sell, nor sufl'ei them to be sold, to the natives, by their 
 respective citizens or subjects, nor by any person who may be under 
 their autliority. It is likewise stipulated, that this restriction shall ne- 
 ver afford a pretext, nor be advanced in any case, to authorize either 
 search or detention of the vessels, seizure of the merchandise, or, in 
 fine, any measures of constraint whatever, towards the merchants or 
 the crews who may carry on this commerce ; the high contracting pow- 
 ers reciprocally reserving to themselves to determine upon the penalties 
 to be incurred, and to inflict the punishment, in case of the contraven- 
 tion of this article by their respective citizens or subjects. 
 
 (No. 2.) *"*i' 
 
 THE FRENCH TITLE. . 
 
 ExtjcKtfrom the Report of the Committee on Military Affairs y made 
 
 in Congress, in 1843. 
 
 ''The treaty of Utrecht was concluded in 1713. By the tenth article, 
 it was agreed, between Great Britain and France, to determine, within 
 one year, by commissioners, tlie limits between the Hudson's Bay and 
 the places appertaining to the French. The same commissioners were 
 also authorized to setde, in like manner, the boundaries between tlie 
 other British and French colonies in those parts. Commissioners were 
 accordingly appointed by the two powers, and there is strong reason to 
 believe they actually established the boundaries according to the terms 
 of the treaty, although no formal record of the fact now exists. The 
 evidence that the boundaries were thus estaulished is, first, the fact of 
 the appointment of the commissioners for that express purpose, and that 
 two distinct lines may be found traced on different maps, published in 
 the last century, each purporting to betbe limits between the Hudson's 
 Bay territories, on the north, and the French possessions, on the south, 
 fixed by commissionors according to the treaty of Utrecht. One of 
 these lines is drawn irregularly from the Atlantic to a point in the 49th 
 
APPENDIX. ii 
 
 parallel of latitude, south of the southernmost part of the Hudson's 
 bay, and thence westward along that parallel to Red river, and in some 
 maps still further west . This line is generally considered in the United 
 States, and has been assumed by their Government, as the true bound- 
 ary, setded by the commissioners agreeably to the treaty abovemen- 
 tioned. Thus, we find Messrs. Monroe and Pinclcney, at Madrid, in 
 1805, writing to the Spanish minister as follows: ' In conformity 
 with the tenth article of the first mentioned treaty, (treaty of Utrecht,) 
 the boundary between Canada and Louisiana, on the one side, and the 
 Hudson's Bay and Northwestern Companies, on the other, was estab- 
 lished by commissioners, by a line to commence at a cape or promon- 
 tory on the ocean, in 58 degrees and 31 minutes north latitude; to run 
 thence south westwardly to latitude 49 degrees north from the equator, 
 and along that line indefinitely westward.' These extracts are taken 
 from the memoir of Mr. Greenhow, who, it is proper to add, considers 
 the opinion , that these boundary lines were actually established by tlie 
 commissioners, 'at variance with the most accredited authorities.' In 
 this opinion the committee do not concur; so far from doing so, it is 
 thought the presumption, that the 49th parallel was adopted by the 
 commissioners under the treaty of Utrecht, is strengthened by the line 
 of demarcation subsequently agreed on by the treaty of Versailles, in 
 1763, between France and Great Britain, and also by th^ treaty of 
 peace, of 1783, between the United States and Great Britain. By the 
 former, the confines between the British and French possessions were 
 irrevocably fixed 'by a line drawn along the middle of the Mississippi, 
 from its source, to the Iberville,' etc. By the latter, that part of the 
 northern boundary of the United States, which is a'pplicable to the sub- 
 ject, is described to be througli the Lake of the Woods, 'to the most 
 northwestern point thereof, and from thence on a due west course to 
 the Mis&issippi river.' The most northwestern point of the Lalce of the 
 Woods is perhr.os a few minutes north of the 49th parallel of latitude. 
 By the convention? of 1818, between the United States and Great Bri- 
 tain, in the second article, it is agreed, that a line drawn from the most 
 northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, along the 49th parallel 
 of north latitude, or, if the said point shall not lie in the 49th parallel of 
 north latitude, then diat a line drawn from tlie said point, due north or 
 south, as the case may be, until the said line shall intersect the said par- 
 allel of north latitude, and from the point of such intersection due 
 west, along and with said parallel, shall be the line of demarcalion be- 
 
% APPENDIX. 
 
 tween the territoiies of the United States and those of his Britannic 
 Majesty; and that the said line shall form the northern boundary of the 
 said territories of the United States, and the southern boundary of the 
 territory of his Britannic Majesty, from the L8':e of the Woods to the 
 Stony mountains. >- - 
 
 This line, it will be observed, is a deviation from the boundary es- 
 tablished by the treaty of 1783; for that was to extend due west from 
 the northwestern point of the Lake of the Woods, without any refer- 
 ence to its ladtude. By this we are, in the contingency named, to run, 
 by the shortest line, from the specified point on the Lake of the Woods 
 to the forty-ninth paiallei of latitude. Whence, it may be asked, the 
 solicitude to adopt this particular paiallei, except as it corresponded with 
 pre-existing arrangements, which could have been made under the pro- 
 visions of the treaty of Utrecht alone; for under no other had any refer- 
 ence, at that time, been made to the said forty- ninth degree. «;> 
 
 This coincidence between the boundaries established by Great Britain 
 and France, in 1763, and between Great Britain and the United States, 
 1783 and 1818, can scarcely be accounted for on any other supposition, 
 than that the said line had been previously established by the commis- 
 sioners under the treaty of Utrecht. This conclusion is strengthened 
 by p. further coincidence in the boundaries fixed in the said treaties of 
 1763 and 1783. In both the Mississippi is adopted as the boundary. 
 One of the lines, then, (the Mississippi,) previously established between 
 Great Britain and France, being thus, beyond all cavil, adopted be- 
 tween the United States and Great Britain, may it not be fairly inferred, 
 in the absence of all proof to the contrary, and with strong corroborat- 
 ing proof in favor of the inference drawn from the stipulation of trea- 
 ties, lines of demarcation on old maps, &g., that the other line, (forty- 
 ninth parallel,) equally beyond cavil established by the United States 
 and Great Britain , was also the same one previously existing between 
 Great Britain and France? But such line had no existence, unless un- 
 der the stipulations of the treaty of Utrecht. For these reasons, the 
 committee have adopted the opinion , that the forty-ninth parallel of 
 latitude was actually established by the commissioners under that trea- 
 ty. It may not be unimportant here to observe, that this forty-ninth 
 parallel is not a random line arbitrarily selected, but the one to which 
 France was eijititled upon the well-setded principle, Uiat the first dis- 
 coverer of a river is entitled, by virtue of that discovery, to all the un- 
 occupied territory watered by that river and its tributaries. 
 
APPENDIX. y 
 
 We have seen that, by the treaty of 1763, the Mississippi, from its 
 source, was adopted as a line of demarcation between the British and 
 French possessions. Louisiana then extended north as far as that riv- 
 ^er reached. In other words, it stretched along the whole course of the 
 Mississippi, from its source, in about latitude forty-nine, to its mouth, in 
 the Gulf of Mexico , in latitude twenty-nine . By the stipulations , then , 
 of this treaty alone, without calling in the aid of die previous treaty of 
 Utrecht, the northern boundary of Louisiana is clearly recognised as a 
 line drawn due west frotn the source of the Mississippi. We say due 
 west, because the east line alone of the boundaries of Louisiana being 
 specifically and in express terras established by the treaty, her surface 
 can only be ascertained by the extension of that whole line in the direc- 
 tion in which her territory is admitted to lie. This simple and only 
 practicable process of giving to Louisiana any territory under the treaty 
 fixes, as the whole of her northern boundary, a line running due west 
 from the source of the Mississippi, which may, for the purpose of this 
 argument, be fairly assumed as the forty-ninth parallel, without injus- 
 tice to any party. 
 
 Having thus ascertained the northern boundary of Louisiana, it be- 
 comes important to inquire, what were its western limits, as between 
 Great Britain and France? We say between Great Britain and France, 
 because here another competitor appeared, (we speak of 1763,) in the 
 person of the King of Spain, upon whose title we shall insist, if we fail 
 to establish that of France. 
 
 . The treaty of 1763, professing to establish, and actually establishing, 
 lines of demarcation between the contiguous territories of the contract- 
 ing parties, it cannot be denied, except upon strong proof, that all the 
 boundaries about which any disputes then existed, or subsequent dis- 
 putes could be anticipated, (that is, where these respective territones 
 touched each other,) were then definitely adjusted and settled. These 
 territories are known to have touched on the north or on the east, and, 
 accordingly, in those quarters, we find the lines clearly described. Is 
 it not evident that, had they touched on other points, had there been 
 other quarters where questions of conflicting claims might have arisen, 
 the lines in those quarters also would have been fixed with equal pre- 
 cision? But to the south and west there is no allusion in the treaty; 
 an omission, conclusive of the fact that, in those directions, Great Bri- 
 tun had no territory contiguous to Louisiana. But Louisiana extend- 
 ed, by the stipulations of the treaty, west firom the Mississippi; and 
 
W APPENDIX. 
 
 Great Britain, having no territory, or claim to territory, which could 
 arrest her attention in that direction, is precluded from denying that the 
 French tide covered the whole country from that river to the shores of 
 the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 The parties to the treaty of 1763 made partition of almost the whole 
 continent of North America, assigning to England the territory east of 
 the Mississippi, and north of the 49th parallel of latitude. No claim 
 was at that time advanced by Great Britain to territory in any other 
 quarter of this vast continent — a very pregnant conclusion against the 
 existence of any such claim. Her government, ever vigilant for the 
 increase of her territory, with a view of the extension of her com- 
 merce, manifested upon the occasion of this treaty an avidity of acqui- 
 sition which the continent was scarcely large enough to satisfy. Never 
 very nice in scrutinizing the foundation of her pretensions, nor over 
 scrupulous in the selection of means to enforce them, she was, at this 
 junction, in a position peculiarly auspicious to the gratification of her 
 absorbing passion of territorial aggrandizement. Conqueror at every 
 point, she dictated the terms of peace, and asserted successfully every 
 claim founded in the slightest pretext of right. Still, no title is either 
 advanced, or even intimated, to possessions west of the Mississippi. 
 Mr. Gushing, of Massachusetts, in a report from the Committee on Fo- 
 reign Relations^ to the House of Representatives, made January 4, 
 1838, has the following sentences : "As, between France and Great 
 Britain, the question (of boundary) would seem to be concluded by 
 the treaty of Versailles, already cited, which in Great Britain relinquishes, 
 irrevocably, all pretensions west of the Mississippi, on the footing of the 
 treaty of Utrecht, ratified by our convention of 1818, England may 
 possibly, by extension of contiguity, carry her possessions from Hud- 
 son's Bay across to the Pacific, north of latitude 49 degrees; but by the 
 treaty of Versailles we possess the same right, and an exclusive ox^e, to 
 carry our territory across the continent, south of that line, in the right of 
 France." 
 
 It may, perhaps, be urged that the limits of Louisiana, on the west, 
 are confined to the territory drained by the Mississippi and its tributa- 
 ries; the extent of her claim founded on the discovery of tliat river be- 
 ing restricted to the country so drained. The principle upon which 
 this limitation is attempted may be safely admitted, without in any de- 
 gree affecting the right for which we contend ; because, first, Great 
 Britain is precluded from asserting it by her admission, in 1763, that 
 
APPENDIX. Vii 
 
 Louisiana extended indefinitely west from the Mississippi; and second, 
 because the principle being of universal application, if the discovery of 
 the Mississippi by the French confine Louisiana to its waters east of the 
 Rocky mountains, the discovery of the Columbia by the Americans 
 will extend their claim to the whole country watered by tliat great 
 river west of those mountains, and our true claim has this extent. 
 Yet, to avoid unprofitable disputes, and for the sake of peace, we have 
 expressed a willingness (met in no corresponding spirit, the committee 
 is sorry to say) to confine ourselves to much narrower limits. ,^^^, 
 
 (No. 3.) 
 
 Copy of the CSmvention between his Britannic Majesty and the King 
 of Spain, commonly called the Nootka Treaty, of October, 1790. 
 
 Art. 1st. The buildings and tracts of land situated on the northwest 
 coast of the continent of North America, or on the islands adjacent to 
 that continent, of which the subjects of his Britannic Majesty were dis- 
 possessed about the month of April, 1789, by a Spanish officer, shall 
 be restored to the said British subjects. 
 
 Art. 2d. A just reparation shall be made, according to the nature of 
 the case, for all acts of violence and hostility which may have been 
 committed subsequent to the month of April, 1789, by the subjects of 
 either of the contracting parties against the subjects of another; and, in 
 case said respective subjects shallj since the same period, have been 
 forcibly dispossessed of their lands, buildings, vessels, merchandise, and 
 other property whatever on said continent, or on the seas and islands 
 adjacent, they shall be re-established in the possession thereof, or a just 
 compensation shall be made to them for the losses which they have 
 sustained. 
 
 Art. 3d. In order to strengthen the bonds of friendship, and to pre- 
 serve in future a perfect harmony and good understanding between the 
 two contracting parties, it is agreed that their respective subjects shall 
 not be disturbed or molested , either in negotiating or carrying on their fishe- 
 ries in the Pacific ocean or in the South seas, or in landing on the coast 
 of these seas, in places not already occupied, for the purpose of carry- 
 ing on their commerce with the natives of the country, or of making 
 settlements there; the whole subject, nevertheless, to the instructions 
 specified in these following articles. 
 
VUl APPENDIX. 
 
 Art. 4th. His Britannic Majesty engages to take the most eflfectual 
 measures to prevent the navigation and the fishing of his subjects in the 
 Pacific ocean, or in the South seas, from being made a pretext for illi- 
 cit trade with the Spanish settlements; and, with this view, it is more- 
 over expressly stipulated, that British subjects shall not navigate or car- 
 ry on their fishing in the said seas, within the space of ten sea leagues 
 from any part of the coasts already occupied by Spain. ■ '•■ t- 
 
 Art. 5th. As well in the places which are to be restored to (he Bri- 
 tish subjects by virtue of the first article, as in all other parts of the 
 northwestern coast of America, or of the islands adjacent, situate to the 
 north of the parts of the said coast already occupied by Spain, wherever 
 the subjects of the two powers shall have made settlements, since the 
 month of April, 1789, cr shall hereafter make any disturbance or mo- 
 lestation. 
 
 Art. 6th. With recpcct to the eastern and western coasts of South 
 America, and to the islands adjacent, which are already occupied by 
 Spain, provided, that the said respective subjects shall retain the liberty 
 of landing on the coasts and islands so situated, for the purposes of 
 their fishery, and of erecting thereon huts and other temporary build- 
 ings, serving only for those purposes. 
 
 Art. 7th. In all cases of complaint, or infraction of the articles of 
 the present convention, the officers of either party, without permitting 
 themselves previously to commit any violence or acts of force, shall be 
 bound to make an exact report of the affair, and of its circumstances, 
 to their respective courts, who will terminate such dififerences in an am- 
 icable manner. 
 
 Art. 8. The present convention shall be ratified and confirmed in 
 the space of six weeks, to be computed from the day of its signature, 
 or sooner, if it can be done. 
 
 In witness whereof, we, the undersigned, plenipotentiaries of their 
 Britannic and Catholic Majesties, have, in their names, and by virtue 
 of respective full powers, signed the present convention, and set thereto 
 the seals of our arms. Done at the palace of St. Lawrence, the 28th 
 of October, 1790. 
 
 [l. s.] el CONDE DE FLORIDA BLANCA. 
 
 [l. S.J ALLEYNE PITZHEBERT. 
 
 [Nos. 4 and 5 of the appendix, consisting of a correspondence be- 
 tween Captains Gray and Ingraham and the Spanii^ commissioner at 
 
A»PBNDIX. 
 
 Nootka, in 1792, and an extiact from Captain Gray's log book respect- 
 ing the occurrences in the Columbia river on his first visit, thou^ re- 
 ferred to in the preceding pages, were deemed to be of not enou^ im- 
 portance to warrant any further increase of this portion of the work.]- 
 
 (NO. 6.) 
 r ijs«» • J -.»» - British Statement, of 1826.» 
 
 The Government of Great Britain, in proposing to renew for a fur- 
 ther term of years the third article of the convention of 1818, respect- 
 ing the territory on the northwest coast of America, west of the Rocky 
 Mountains, regrets that it has been found impossible, in the present ne- 
 gotiation, to agree upon a line of boundary which should separate those 
 parts of that territory, which might hencetprward be occupied or set- 
 tled by the subjects of Great Britain, from the parts which would re- 
 main open to occupancy or settlement by the United States. 
 
 Tg establish such a boundary must be the ultimate object of both 
 countries. With this object in contemplation, and from a persuasion 
 that a part of the difficulties which have hitherto prevented its attain, 
 ment is to be attributed to a misconception, on the part of the United 
 States, of the claims and views of Great Britain in regard to the terri- 
 tory in question, the British plenipotentiaries deem it advisable to bring 
 under the notice of the American plenipotentiary a full and explicit ex- 
 position of those claims and views. 
 
 As preliminary to this discussion, it is highly desirable to mark dis- 
 tinctly the broad difference between the nature of the rights claimed by 
 Great Britain, and those asserted by the United States, in respect to the 
 territory in question. 
 
 Over a large portion of that territory, namely, from the 42d degree 
 to the 49th d^ree of north latitude, the United States claun fidl and 
 exclusive sovereignty .f Great Britain claims no exclusive sovereignty 
 over any portion of that territory .J 
 
 •Thia statement is here inserted in full, beeatue it is a complete synopsis of all thepre- 
 tensioBS <rf Great Britain, and, being the groundwork of her claims, u partioUarly mte- 
 resting as showing the other mde of the story. 
 
 fAt the period of thk convendon, the United States plenipotentiary wa« instnietad to 
 agree to the extension of our northern boundary Une westward, from the Lake of we 
 Woods, along parallel 49° to the Padfic; with the further inrtruetion that, m caae soeh a 
 compromise fliould not be accepted, we should feel ourselres entitled, thereafter, to insist 
 luon the full measure of our rights. 
 
 IS. has exercised it, nevertheless. 
 20 
 
/ APPENDIX. 
 
 •- Her present claim, not in respect to any part, but to the whole, is 
 limited to a right of joint occupancy, in common with other States, 
 leaving the right of exclusive dominion in abeyance. In other words, 
 the pretensions of the United States tend to the ejection of all other na- 
 tions, and, among the rest, of Great Britain, from all right of settlement 
 in the district claimed by the United Slates.* 
 
 The pretensions of Great Britain, on the contrary, tend to the mere 
 maintenance of her own rights, in resistance to the exclusive character 
 of the pretensions of the United States. 
 
 Having thus stated the nature of the respective claims of the two 
 parties, the British plenipotentiaries will now examine the grounds on 
 which those claims are founded. 
 « The claims of the United States are ui^ed upon these grounds: 
 
 1st. As resulting from their own proper right. 
 ' 2d. As resulting from a right derived to them from Spain — ^that 
 power having, by the treaty of Florida, concluded with the United 
 States in 1819, ceded to the latter all their rights and claims on the 
 western coast of America north of the 42d degree. 
 
 3d. As resulting from a right derived to them from France, to whom 
 the United States succeeded, by treaty, in possession of the province of 
 Louisiana. 
 
 The first right, or right proper, of the United States, is founded on 
 the alleged discovery of the Columbia river, by Mr. Gray, of Boston, 
 who, in 1792, entered that river, and explored it to some distance from 
 its mouth. I 
 
 To this is added the first exploration, by Lewis and Clarke, of a 
 main branch of the same river, from its source downwards, and also the 
 alleged priority of setdement, by citizens of the United States, of the 
 country in tfee vicinity of the same river. 
 
 The second right, or right derived from Spain, is founded on the 
 alleged prior discovery of ihe region in dispute by. Spanish navigators, 
 of whom the chief were, first, Cabrillo, who, in 1543. visited that 
 coast as far as 44 degrees north latitude; second, De Fuca, who, as it 
 is affirmed, in 1598 entered the straits known by his name, in latitude 
 49 degrees; third, Gruelli, who, in 1582, is said to have pushed his re- 
 searches 85 high as 57 degrees north latitude; fourth, Perez, and others, 
 
 *TrnIy so ; and this must always be the case between rightful owners and mere nt^ 
 
 tenders. ;*;• . -:* * 
 
APPENDIX. - Xi 
 
 I 
 
 who, between the yearn 1774 and 1792, viriied Nooika sound and the 
 adjacent coasts. The third right, derived from the cession of Louisiana 
 to the United States, is founded on the assumption that that province, 
 its boundsuries never having been exactly defined longitudinally, may 
 fairly be asserted to extend westward across the Rocky Mountains to 
 the shore of the Pacific. 
 
 Before the merits of these respective claims are considered, it is ne> 
 cessary to observe, that one only out of three can be valid. They are, 
 in fact, claims obviously incompatible the one with the other. If, 
 for example, the title of Spain by first discovery, or the title of France 
 as the original possessor of Louisiana, be valid, then must one or the 
 other of those kingdoms have been the lawful possessor of that territory 
 at the moment when the United States claim to have discovered it- 
 If, on the otlier hand, the Americans were the first discoverers, there is 
 necessarily an end of the Spanish claim; and, if priority of discovery 
 constitutes the title, that of France falls equally to the ground. 
 
 Upon the question , how far prior discovery constitutes a legal claim 
 to sovereignty, the law of nations is somewhat vague and undefined. 
 It is, however, admitted by the most approved writers that mere acci- 
 dental discovery, unattended by exploration, by formally taking posses- 
 sion in the name of the discoverer's sovereign — by occupation and set- 
 tlement, more or less permanent — by purchase of the territory, or re- 
 ceiving the sovereignty from the natives— consitutes the lowest degree 
 of title; and that it is only in proportion as first discovery is followed by 
 any or all of these acts, that such title is strengthened and confirmed. 
 
 The rights conferred by discovery, therefore, must be discussed on 
 their own merits. 
 
 But, before the British plenipotentiaries proceed to compare the rela- 
 tive claims of Great Britain and the United States in this respect, it 
 will be advisable to dispose of the two other grounds of right put for- 
 ward by tlie United States. 
 
 The second ground of claim advanced by the United States is the 
 cession made by Spain to the United States by the treaty of Florida, in 
 1819. 
 
 If the conflicting claims of Great Britain and Spain, in respect to all 
 that part of the coast of North America, had not been finally adjusted 
 by the convention of Nootka,in the year 1790, and if all the arguments 
 and pretensions, whether resting on the priority of discovery, or derived 
 from any other consideration, had not been definitely set at rest by the 
 
XU APPENDIX. 
 
 signature of that convention, nothing would be more easy than to de- 
 mcmBtrata that the clainu of Great Britain to that country , as opposed 
 to those of Spain, were so far from being visionary or arbitrarily assum- 
 ed, that they established more than a parity of title to the possession of 
 the country in question, either a& against Spain or any other nation. 
 By no meani. An equitable setdement might at one lime have divid- 
 ed the territory between the two first parties claimant; and their joint 
 release in favor of the United States, while it makes absolutely against 
 Great Britain, strengthens the title of the United States in the same 
 d^ee. Whatever that title may have been, however, either on the 
 part of Great Britain or on the part of Spain , prior to the convention of 
 1790, it was from thenceforward no longer to be traced in vague narra- 
 tives of discoveries, (several of them admitted to be apocryphal,) but in the 
 text and stipulations of that convention itself. By that convention it was 
 agreed that all parts of the northwestern coast of America, not already oc- 
 cupied at that time by either of the contracting parties, should thencefor- 
 ward be equally open to the subjects of both for all purposes of com- 
 merce and settlement, the sovereignty remaining in abeyance. 
 
 In this stipulation, as it has been already stated, all tracts of country 
 claimed by Spain and Great Britain, or accruing to either, in whatever 
 manner, were included. 
 
 The rights of Spain on that coast were, by the treaty of Florida, in 
 1819, conveyed by Spain to the United States. With those rights the 
 United States necessarily succeeded to the limitations by which they 
 wered efined, and the obligations under which they were to be exercised. 
 From those obligations and limitations, as contracted towards Great 
 Britain, Great Britain caimot be expected gratuitously to release t^ose 
 countries, merely because the rights of the party originally bound have 
 oeen transferred to a third power. 
 
 The third ground of claim of the United States rests on the right sup- 
 posed to be derived from the cession to them of Louisiana by France. 
 
 In arguing this branch of the question, it will not be necessary to ex- 
 amine in detail the very dubious point of the assumed extent of that 
 province, since, by the treaty between France and Spain of 1763, the 
 whole of that territory, denned or undefined, real or ideal, was ceded 
 by France to Spain, and, consequently, belonged to Spain, not only in 
 1790, when the convention of Nootka was signed between Great Bri- 
 tain and Spain, but also, consequently, in 1792, the period of Gray's 
 discovery of the month of the Columbia. If, then, Louisiana embrac- 
 
APPE 'DIX. xiH 
 
 ed the country west of the Rocky Mountains, to the south of the 49th 
 parallel of latitude, it must have embraced the Columbia itwlf, which 
 that parallel intersects; and, consequently, Gray's discovery must have 
 been made in a country avowedly already appropriated, necessarily in 
 eluded, with all other Spanish possessions and claims in that quarter, in 
 the stipulations of the Nootka convention. 
 
 Even if it could be shown, therefore, that the district west of the 
 Rocky Mountains was within the boundaries of Louisiana, that circum- 
 stance would in no way assist the claim of the United States. 
 
 It may nevertlieless be worth while to expose, in a few words, the 
 futility of the attempt to inci 'de that district within those boundaries. 
 For this purpose, it is only necessary to refer to the original grant of 
 Louisiana, made to De Crozat, by Louis XIV, shortly after its discov- 
 ery by La Salle. That province is therein expressly described as "the 
 country drained by the waters entering directly or indirectly into the 
 Mississippi. Now, unless it can be shown that any of the tributaries of 
 the Mississippi cross the Rocky Mountains from the west to the east, it 
 is difficult to conceive how any part of Louisiana can be found to the 
 westof that ridge. 
 
 There remains to be considered the first ground of claim advanced by 
 the United States to the territory in question, namely, that founded on 
 their own proper right as first discoverers and occupiers of the territo- 
 tory. '■*' 
 
 If the discovery of the country in question, or rather the mere en- 
 trance into the mouth of the Columbia by a private American citizen, 
 be, as the United States assert, (although Great Britain is far from ad- 
 mitting the correctness of the assertion,) a valid ground of national and 
 exclusive claim to all the country situated between the 42d and 49th 
 parallels of latitude, must any preceding discovery of the same country, 
 by an individual of any other nation, invest such nation with a more 
 valid, because a prior, claim to that country. 
 
 Now, to set aside, for the present, Drake, Cook, and Vancouver, 
 who, all of them, either took possession of, or touched at, various points 
 of the coast in question. Great Britain can show that, in 1788 — that is, 
 four years before Gray entered the mouth of the Columbia river— Mr. 
 Meares, a lieutenant of Uie royal navy,* who had been sent by the 
 
 * Meares was a Portuzuese hireling, and not in any branch of Engliah service; and 
 though a speculating hiuF-pay lieutenant, was, to all intents and purposes, as much a pri- 
 vate citizen as Captain GJray. See Appendix No. 10. 
 
XIV APPENDIX. 
 
 East India Company on a trading expedition to the northwest coast of 
 America, had already minutely explored that coast, from the 49tli de- 
 gree to the 64th degree north latitude; had taken formal poasesBionof 
 the Straits of De Fuca, in the name of his sovereign; had purchased 
 land, trafficked, and formed treaties^ with the natives; and had actually 
 entered the bay of the Columbia, to the northern head land of which he 
 gave the name of Cape Disappointmentf — a name which it bears to 
 this day. 
 
 Dixon, Scott, Duncan, Strange, and other private British traders, 
 had also visited these shores and countries several years before Gray; 
 but the single example of Meares suffices to quash Gray's claim to prior 
 discovery. To the other navigators above mentioned, therefore, it is 
 unnecessary to refer more particularly. 
 
 It may be worth while, however, to observe, with regard to Meares, 
 that his account of his voyages was published in London in August, 
 1790; that is, two yeeis before Gray is even pretended to have entered 
 the Columbia .J 
 
 ^ To that account are appended, first, extracts from his log-book; sec- 
 ondly, maps of the coasts and harbors which he visited, in which every 
 part of the coast in question, including the bay of the Columbia, (into 
 which the log expressly states that Meares entered ,) is minutely laid 
 down, its delineation tallying, in almost every particular, with Vancou- 
 ver's subsequent survey, and with the description found in all the best 
 maps of that part of the world adopted at this moment; thirdly, the ac- 
 count in question actually contains an engraving, dated in August, 
 1790, of the entrance of De Fuca's straits, executed after a design 
 taken in June, 1788, by Meares himself.^ With these physical evi- 
 dences of authenticity, it is needless to contend for, as it is imposdble 
 to controvert, the truth of Meares 's statement. i 
 
 . It was only on the 17th of September, 1792, that the Washington, 
 commanded by Mr. Gray, first made her appearance at Nootka. 
 
 If, therefore, any claim to these countries, as between Great Britain 
 and the United States, is to be deduced from priority of the discovery, 
 
 •The only treaty h? formed was an agreeihent with Maquinna, the king of the sur- 
 rounding country, granting him leave to make a temporary settlement. 
 
 t " Cape Disappointment," because he failed to discover the river he sought. 
 
 t That is to say, he was " disappointed" two years before Capt. Gray was satisfied. 
 
 \ It will be recoUected, it was " Meares himself" who despatched word to England of 
 the wonderful discoveries of Capt. Gray, m the strait of Fuca. 
 
APPENBtX. XT 
 
 the above exposition of the dates and facts suffices to establish that 
 claim in favor of Great Britain on a basis too firm to be shaken. ■'^ 
 
 It must, indeed, be admitted that Mr. Gray, finding himself in the 
 bay formed by the discharge of the waters of the Columbia into the 
 Pacific, was the first to ascertain that this bay formed the outlet of a 
 great river — a discovery which had escaped Lieut. Meares, when, in 
 1788, four years before, he entered the same bay. 
 
 But, can it be seriously urged that this single step in the progress of 
 discovery not only wholly supersedes the prior discoveries, both of the 
 bay and the coast, by Lieut. Meares, but equally absorbs the subse- 
 quent exploration of the river by Capt. Vancouver, for near a hundred 
 miles above the point to which Mr. Gray's ship had proceeded, the 
 formal taking possession of it by that British navigator, in the name of 
 his sovereign, and also all the other discoveries, exploration, and tem- 
 porary possession and occupation, of the ports and harbors on the coast, 
 as well of the Pacific as within the straits of De Fuca, up to the 49th 
 parallel of latitude?* 
 
 This pretension, however extraordinary it is, does not embrace the 
 whole of the claim which the United States build upon the limited 
 discovery of Mr. Gray, namely, that the bay of which Cape Disap- 
 pointment is the northernmost headland is, in fact, the embroschure of 
 a river. That mere ascertainment, it is asserted, confers on the United 
 States a tide, in exclusive sovereignty, to the whole extent of country 
 drained by such river, and by all its tributary streams. 
 
 In support of this very extraordinary pretension, the United States 
 allege the precedent of grants and charters accorded in former times to 
 companies and individuals, by various European sovereigns, over seve- 
 ral parts of the American continent. Among other instances, are ad- 
 duced the charters granted by Elizabeth, James I., Charles II., and 
 George XL, to sundry British subjects and a" ;Ociations,t as also the 
 grant made by Louis XIV. to De Crozat, building, on the express 
 condition tliat, when he finally left the coast, "the house and all the 
 goods thereunto belonging" should fall into that chief 's possession — a 
 
 *No ; we claim these latter on the ground of other discoveries, and also on the score of 
 Spain. 
 ^fThis is a wilful perversion, to say the least of it. The United States, in proving the 
 principle, merely alluded to these latter charters, as instances of Britain's recogniuon of 
 ttie n5e with her own subjects, or, in other words, when it ran in favor of herself. 
 While the correctness and usage of the principle was otherwise indubitably proved, the 
 above instances were merely brought forward as a conclusive rebuke to Britain's opposi- 
 tion to its application to us. 
 
XVI APPENDIX. 
 
 coadition, by the way, which Meares dishonestly failed to fulfil, for the 
 boards were struck off and taken on board one of his vessels, and the 
 roof was given to Captain Kendrick. 
 
 It was on the ground of these charters, together with the application 
 of their rule to the pretended discovery of the Columbia river by Van- 
 couver and Meares, that we felt warranted in asserting, on the 31st 
 page, that Great Britain advances the principle herself, over the tract of 
 country watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries. 
 
 But, can such charters be considered an acknowledged part of the 
 law of nations? Were they any thing more, in fact, than a cession, of 
 grantee or grantees, of whatever rights the grantor might suppose him- 
 self to possess, to the exclusion of other subjects of the same sovereign — 
 charters binding and restraining those only who were within the juris- 
 diction of the grantor, and of no force or validity against the subjects of 
 other states, until recognised by treaty, and thereby becoming a part of 
 international law. 
 
 Had the United States thought proper to issue, in X790, by virtue of 
 their national authority, a charter granting to Mr. Gray the whole ex- 
 tent of country watered, direcdy or indirectly, by the river Columbia,* 
 such a charter would no doubt have been valid in Mr. Gray's favor, as 
 against all other citizens of the United States. 
 
 But, can it be supposed that it would have been acquiesced in by ei- 
 ther of the powers, Great Britain and Spain, which, in that same year, 
 were preparing to contest by arms the possession of the very country 
 which would have been the subject of such a grant ? 
 
 If the right of sovereignty over the territory in question accrues to 
 the United States by Mr. Gray's discovery, how happens it that they 
 never protested against the violence done to that right by the two pow- 
 ers, who, by the convraition of 1790, regulated their respective rights 
 in and over a district so belonging, as it is now asserted, to the United 
 States? 
 
 This claim of the United States to the territory drained by the Co. 
 lumbda and its tributary i^eams, on the ground of one of their citizens 
 having been the first to discover the entrance of that river, has been 
 here so £eu: entered into, not because it is considered to be necessarily 
 entided to notice, since the whole country watered by the Columbia 
 
 ^Tliese Engliahmfin are crazy; the Columbia was not discovered by Capt. Grray tiS 
 1792. If the above is intended as an illustration only, the instance is as weak as the pre- 
 vious arguments are inconclusive. 
 
APPENDIX. XVli 
 
 falls within the provisions of the convention of 1790, but because the 
 doctrine above alluded to has been put forward so broadly, and with 
 such confidence, by the United States, that Great Britain considered it 
 equally due to herself and to the powers to enter her protest against it. 
 
 The United States further pretend that their claim to the country in 
 question is strengthened and confirmed by the discovery of the sources 
 of the Columbid, and by the exploration of its course to the sea, by 
 Lewis and Clarke, in 1805-'6. . , 
 
 In reply to this allegation, Great Britain affirms, and can distinctly 
 prove, that, if not before, at least in the. same and 'subsequent years, her 
 Northwestern Trading Company had, by means of their agent, Mr. 
 Thompson, already established their posts among the Flathead and 
 Kootanie tribes, on the head waters of the northern or main branch of 
 the Columbia, and were already extending them down the principal 
 stream of that river; thus giving to Great Britain, in this particular again, 
 ai in the discovery of the mouth of the river, a title to parity at least, if 
 not priority of discovery, as opposed to the United States. Ii was from 
 those posts that, having heard of the American establishment forming, 
 in 1811, at the mouth of the river, Mr. Thompson hastened thither, de- 
 scending the river, to ascertain the nature of that *establi8hment. 
 
 Some stress having been laid by the United States on the restitution 
 to them of Fort George by the British, after the termination of the last 
 war, which restitution they represent as conveying a virtual acknow- 
 ledgment by Great Britain of the tide of the United States to the coun- 
 try in which that post wis situated, it is desirable to state, somewhat in 
 detail, the circumstances attending that restitution. 
 
 In the year 1815, a demand for the restoration of Fort George was 
 first made to Great Britain by the American Government, on the plea 
 that the first article of the treaty of Ghent stipulated the restitution to 
 the United States of all posts and places whatsoever taken from them 
 by the British during the war, in which description Fort Geoige (Asto- 
 ria) was included. 
 
 For some time the British Government demurred to comply with the 
 demand of the United States, because they entertained doubts how far 
 it could be sustained by the construction of the treaty. 
 
 In the first place, the trading post, called Fort Astoria, (or Fort 
 George,) was not a national possession; in the second place, it was not 
 
 * We have seen that Mr. Thompson caine too late. 
 
 21 
 
XVllI APPENDIX. 
 
 a military post; and thirdly, it was never captured from the Americans 
 by the British. It was, in fact, conveyed in regular commercial trans- 
 fer, and accompanied by a bill of sale, for a sum of money , to the British 
 company, who purchased it, by the American company, who sold it of 
 their own free will. It is true that a British sloop of war had, about 
 that time, been sent to take possession of that, but she arrived subse- 
 quendy to the transaction above mentioned between the two compa- 
 nies, and found the British company already in legal occupation of their 
 self-acquired property. 
 
 In consequence, however, of that ship having been sent out with 
 hostile views, although those views were not carried into effect, and in 
 order that not even a shadow of reflection might be cast upon the good 
 faith of the British Government, the latter determined to give the most 
 liberal extension to the terms of the treaty of Ghent, and in 1818 the 
 purchase which the British company had made in 1813 was restored to 
 the United States. 
 
 Particular care, however, was taken, on this occasion, to prevent any 
 misapprehension as to the extent of the concession made by Great Bri- 
 tain. Viscount Castlereagh, in directing the British minister at Wash- 
 ington, to intimate the intention of the British Government to Mr. 
 Adams, then Secretary of State, uses these expressidis, in a despatch 
 dated 7th February, 1818: 
 
 ''You will observe, that, whilsi this Government is not disposed to 
 contest with the American Government the point of possession as it 
 etood in the Columbia river at the moment of the nipture, they are not 
 prepared to admit the validity of the title of the Government of the 
 United States to this setdement. 
 
 '-In signifying, therefore, to Mr. Adams the full acquiescence of 
 your Government in the re-occupation of the limited position which the 
 United States held in that river at the breaking out of the war, you 
 will, at the same time assert, in suitable terms, the claim of Great Bri- 
 tain to that territory, upon which the American settlement must be con- 
 sidered as an encroachment.'* 
 
 This instiuction was executed verbally by the person to whom it was 
 addressed. The following is a transcri^H of the act by which the fort 
 was delivered up by the British into the hands of Mr. Prevost, the 
 American agent: 
 
 "In obedience to the command of H. R. H., the prince regent, sig- 
 nified in a despatch from the right honorable the Earl Bathurst, address- 
 
APPENDIX. Xix 
 
 ed to the partners or agents of the Northwest Company, bearing date 
 the 27th of January, 1818, and in obedience to a subsequent order, 
 dated the 26th of July, from W. H. Sheriff, esq.. Captain H. M. ship 
 Andromache, we, the undersigned, do, in conformity to the first article 
 of the treaty of Ghent, restore to the Government of the United States, 
 through its agent, J. P. Prevost, esq., the settlement of Fort George, 
 on the Columbia river. 
 
 "Given under our hands, in triplicate, at Fort George , (Columbia 
 river,) this 6th day of October, 1818. 
 
 " F . HICKE Y , Captain H, M. ship Blossom . 
 
 "J. KEITH, of the N. W. Co.'' 
 
 The following is the despatch from Earl Bathurst to the partners of 
 
 the Northwest Company, referred to in the above act of cession: 
 
 •■ • ii 
 
 "Downing street, 27th January, 1818. 
 
 "Intelligence having been received that the United States' sloop of 
 war Ontario has been sent by the American Government to establish a 
 settlement on the Columbia river, which was held by that State on the 
 breaking out of the last war, I am to acquaint you that it is the Prince 
 R^ent's pleasure, (without, however, admitting the article of the treaty 
 of Ghent,) due facility should be given to the re-occupation of the said 
 settlement by the officers of the United States. And I am to desire 
 that you would contribute as much as lies in your power to the execu- 
 tion of his royal highness 's commands. 
 
 "Ihave,«fcc.,«fec. ' BATHURST." 
 
 *^ To the partners or agents of the 
 
 ^^ Northwest Oompany residing on the Columbia river. *^ 
 
 The above documents put the case of the restor^^'on of Fort Astoria 
 in too clear a light to require further observation. The case, then, of 
 Great Britain, in respect to the country west of the Rocky Mountains, 
 is shortly this: 
 
 Admitting that the United States had acquired all the rights which 
 Spain possessed up to the treaty of Florida, either in virtue of discovery 
 or, as is pretended, in right of Louisiana, Great Britain maintains that 
 the nature and extent of those rights, as well as of the rights of Great 
 Britain, are fixed and defined by the convention of Nootka; that these 
 rights are equal for both parties; and that, in succeeding to the rights 
 
■^ APPENDIX. 
 
 of Spain; under that convention, the United States must also have suc- 
 ceeded to the obligations which it imposed. 
 
 Admitting, further, the discovery of Mr. Gfray to the extent already 
 stated. Great Britain, taking the whole line of the coast in question, 
 with its straits, harbors, and bays, has stronger claims, on the ground 
 of prior discovery, attended with acts of occupancy and settlement, than 
 the United States. 
 
 Whether, therefore, the United Slates rest their claims upon the title 
 of Spain, or upon that of prior discovery, or upon both, Great Britain 
 is entided to place her claims at least upon a parity with those of the 
 United States. 
 
 It is a fact, admitted by the United States, that, with the exception 
 of the Columbia river, there is no river that opens into the interior on 
 the whole western coast of the Pacific Ocean. "••-■»• • 
 
 In the interior of the territory in question the subjects of Great Bri- 
 tain have had, for many years, numerous settlements and trading-posts; 
 several of those posts are on the tributaiy stre- is of the Columbia, sev- 
 eral on the Columbia itself, some to the northward, and others to the 
 southwrad of that river; and they navigate the Columbia as the sole 
 channel for the conveyance of their produce to the Britiah stations near- 
 est the sea, and for the shipment of it from thence to Great Britain. It 
 is also the channel for their annual supplies from Great Britain.* 
 
 In the whole of the territory in question the citizens of the United 
 States have not a single settlement or trading-post. They do not use 
 that river either for the purpose of transmitting or receiving any produce 
 of their own to or from other parts of the world. 
 
 In this state of the relative rights of the two countries, and of the rel- 
 ative exercise of those rights, the United States claim the exclusive pos- 
 session of both banks c' the Columbia, and subsequently that of the 
 river itself; offering, it is true, to concede to British subjects a condi- 
 tional participation in that navigation; but subject, in any case, to the 
 exclusive jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United States. 
 
 Great Britain, on her part, offers to make the river the boundary; 
 each country retaining the bank of the river contiguous to its own terri- 
 tories, and the navigation of it remaining forever free^ and upon a foot- 
 ing of perfect equality to both nations. 
 
 * Those views were carried into efiect. The place was regularly taken possession of in 
 the Kind's name on the 1st December, 1813, ana the British Sag was run up, with all the 
 formalities of conquest, in place of the American standard. 
 
» APPENDIX. «xi 
 
 To cany into effect this proposal on our part, Great Britain would 
 have to give up posts and setdements south of the Columbia. On the 
 part of the United States there could be no reciprocal withdrawing from 
 actual occupation, as there is not, and never has been, a single Ameri- 
 can citizen setded north of the Columbia. i 
 
 The United States declined to accede to this proposal, even when 
 Great Britain had added to it the further offer of a most excellent har- 
 bor, and an extensive tract of country of the Straits of De Fuca — a sac- 
 rifice, tendered in the spirit of accommodation, and for the sake of a 
 final adjustment of all differences, but which, having been made in thi» 
 spirit, is not to be considered as in any degree recognising a claim on 
 the part of the United States, or as at all impairing the existing right of 
 Great Britain over the post and territory in question. 
 
 Such being the result of the recent negotiation, it only remains for 
 Great Britain to maintain and uphold the qualified rights which she 
 now possesses over the whole of the territory in question. These rights 
 are recorded and defined in the convention of Nootka. They embrace 
 the right to navigate the waters of those countries, the right to setUe in 
 and over any part of them, and the right freely to trade with the inhab- 
 itants and occupiers of the same. These rights have been peaceably 
 exercised ever since the date of that convention; that is, for a period of 
 nearly forty years. Under that convention, valuable British interests 
 have grown up in those countries. It is fully admitted that tlie United 
 States possess the same rights, although they have been exercised by 
 them only in a single instance; and have not> since the year 1813, beeo 
 exercised at all. But, beyond these rights they possess none. 
 
 To the interests and establishments which British industry and enter- 
 prtse have created Great Britain owes protection. That protection will 
 be given, both as regards settlement and freedom of trade and naviga- 
 ^on, with every intention not to infriqge the co-ordinate rights of the 
 United States; it being the earnest desire of the British Go>{iemment, so 
 long as the joint occupancy continues, to regulate its own ob%atiaQsby 
 the same rule which governs the obligations of any other occupjring 
 party. 
 
 Fully sensible, at the same time, of the desirableness of a more defi- 
 nite settlement, as between Great Britain and the United States, the 
 British Grovemment will be ready, at any time, to terminate the present 
 state of joint occupancy by any agreement of limitation; but such an 
 arrangement only can be admitted as shall not derogate ttma the rights 
 
XXH., APPENDIX. 
 
 • of Great Britain, as acknowledged by treaty, nor prejudice the advan- 
 tages which British subjects, under the same sanction, now enjoy in 
 . that part of the world. 
 
 .1 . ir li 
 
 (No. 5.) 1 '>.'-^ 
 
 Convention between the United States and Great Britain , signed at 
 
 London October 20th, 1818. 
 
 Art. 2. It is agreed that a line drawn from the most northwestern 
 point of the Lake of the Woods, along the 49th parallel of north lati- 
 tude, or if the said point shall not be in the 49th parallel of noith lati- 
 tude, then that a line drawn from the said point due north or south, 
 as the case may be, until the said line shall intersect the said parallel of 
 north latitude, and from the point of such intersection due west, along 
 with said parallel, shall be the line of demarkation between the territo- 
 ries of the United States and those of his Britannic Majesty; and tha^ 
 the said line shall form the northern boundary of the said territories of 
 the United States and the southern boundary of the territories of his 
 Britannic Majesty, from the Lake of the Woods to the Stony Mnun- 
 tains. 
 
 Art 3. It is agreed that any country that may be claimed by either 
 party on the northwest coast of America, westward of the Stony Moun- 
 tains, shall, together with its harbors, bays, and creeks, and the naviga- 
 tion of all rivers within the same, be free, and for the term of ten years 
 fiom the date of the signature of the present convention, to the vessels, 
 citizens, and subjects of the two powers; it being well understood that 
 this agreement is net to be construed to the prejudice of any claim 
 which either of the two high contractmg parties may have to any part 
 of the said country; nor shdil it be taken to affect the claims of any 
 other power or State to any part of the said country; the only object of 
 the high contracting parties, in that respect, being to prevent disputes 
 and differences among themselves. 
 
 (No. 6.) • 
 
 7%e Fhrida treaty, signed at Washington, Pebruary 22, 1819. 
 
 Art. 3. The boundary line between the two coimtries west of the 
 MiBUssippi i^all begin on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the river 
 
APPENDIX. xxiii 
 
 Sabine, in the aea, continuing north along the western bank of that 
 river to the 32d degree of latitude; thence, by a line due north, to the 
 degree of latitude where it strikes the Rio Roxo of Natchitoches, or Red 
 river; then following the course of the Rio Roxo westward, to the de- 
 gree of longitude 100 west from London, and 23 from Washington; 
 then crossing the said Red river, and running thence, by a line due 
 north, to the river Arkansas; thence following the course of the south- 
 em. bank of the Arkansas, to its source, in latitude 42° north; and 
 thence, by that parallel of latitude, to the South Sea; the whole being 
 laid down in Melish's map of the United States, published at Philadel- 
 phia, improved to the Ist of January, 1818. But if the source of the 
 Arkansas river shall be found to fall north or south of latitude 42°, then 
 the line shall run from the said source due south or north, as the case 
 may be, tilTit meets the said parallel of latitude 42°, and thence, along 
 the said parallel, to the South Sea; all the islands in the Sabine, and 
 the said Red and Arkansas rivers, throughout the course thus described, 
 to belong to the United States; but the use of the waters, and the navi- 
 gation of the Sabine to the sea, and of the said rivers Roxo and Arkan- 
 sas, throughout the extent of the said boundary, on their respective 
 banks, shall be common to the respective inhabitants of both nations. 
 
 The two high contracting parties agree to cede and renounce all their 
 rights, claims, and pretensions to the territories described by the said line; 
 that is to say, the United States hereby cede to his Catholic Majes^, 
 and renounce forever, all their rights, claims, and pretensions to the 
 tenitories lying west and south of the above desQribed line; and, in 
 like manner, his Catholic Majesty cedes to the said United States all 
 his rights, claims, and pretensions to any territories east and north of 
 the said line; and for himself, his heirs, and successors renounces all 
 claim to the said territories forever. 
 
 (No. T.) 
 
 Omvention between the United States and Great Britain, signed at 
 
 London, Aitgust &h, 1827. 
 
 Art. 1. All the provisions of the third article of the convention con- 
 cluded between the United States of Amenca and his Majesty the 
 King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, on the 20th 
 of October, 1818, shall be, and they are hereby, further indefinitely ex- 
 
ZSlf APPENDIl:. 
 
 teadMl and continued in force, in the same manner as if all the provisions 
 of the said article were herein specifically recited. 
 
 Art. 2. It shall be competent, however, to either of the contracting 
 parties, in case either should think fit, at any time after the 20th of Oc- 
 tober, 1828, on giving due notice of twelve months to the other con- 
 tracting party, to annul and abn^te this convention; and it shall, in 
 such case, be accordingly entirely annulled and abrogated, after the ex- 
 inration of the said term of notice. • •' 
 
 Art. 3. Nothing contained in this convention, or in the third article 
 of the conventicm (tf the 20th October, 1818, hereby continued in force, 
 flhall be construed to impair, or in any manner affect, the claims which 
 either of the contracting parties may have to any part of the country 
 westward of the Stony or Rocky Mountains. 
 
 (No. 8.) • • >•'. 
 
 7^ instructions of the merchant proprietors to John Meares. 
 
 ♦ • • Should you, in the course of your voyage, meet with 
 an* Russian, English, or Spanish vessels, you will treat them with ci- 
 ▼iKty and friendship, and allow them, if authorized, to examine your 
 papers, which will show the object of your voyage. But you must, at 
 the same time, guard against surprise. Should they attempt to seize 
 you, or even carry jou out of your way, you will prevent it by every 
 means in your power, and repel force by force. You will, on your ar- 
 rival in the first port, protest, before a proper officer, against such ill^al 
 procedure, and ascertain, as nearly as you can, the value of your vessel 
 and catgo, sending such protest, with a full account of the trensaction, 
 to us, at China. Should you, in such conflict, have the superiority, 
 you will then take possession of the vessel that attacked you, as also her 
 cargo, and bring both, with the officers and crew, to China, that they 
 maybe condemned as legal prizes, and their crews punished as pirates. 
 
 Wishing you a prosperous voyage, &c. 
 (Signed,) THE MERCHANT PROPRIETORS.