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It is in the missionary rather than in the commer- cial or agricultural elements that I find that romance which underlies all human endeavor before it becomes of interest sufficient for permanent preservation in the memory of mankind. A mountain-walled plain, between the coast elevations and the northern stretch of the great Andean range, with a fertile soil, a genial climate, and picturesque scenery, through a peculiar sequence of events become the western Utopia of the American states, and kindle in the breasts of those who here lay the foundations of a commonwealth the fire of patriotism, forever sacred even when fed by fallacies. The silent conquest of this area by men and women from the border, Intent on empire, is a turning-point in the destinies of the country ; and it is to me no less a pleasure than a duty to recognize the heroic in this conquest, and to present one more example of the behavior of the Anglo-Saxon race un- der the influence of American institutions. Nor did the people of the earlier west enter upon these achievements without a well-defined purpose. Proselyting alone was not the object; nor yet traffic, nor even broad lands. There was present, besides the desire to secure for themselves and their descendants some small portion of this earth, the determination to plant here those pure moralities and fair civilities which belong to the higher Christian civilization ; and one glance at the present condition of the people is sufficient to assure us that they succeeded. Aside from the somewhat antiquated sentiments of eternal justice and the rights of man as apart from man's power to enforce his rights, the quick extermination of the aborigines may be regarded as a blessing both I'KEFAC'E. IX to the n.d race and to the white. The two seldom prohtably intermix. And tins Imppy eonsununation, the swift and sliarpest means of sweeping from the eartli every human (nicumhrance, the people of the United States have never been backward about Jlowever merciless the conquerors, Spain's .mvern- inent, aided by the church, was ever tender of her native American subjects, and we see the result in Mexico and Central America. The British fur-traders would not permit the killing of their hunters, and we see the result in British Columbia. Avarice, war injustice, and inhumanity are often the most impor- tant aids to civilization. In this respect, with noble intentions and devout aspirations far higher than ordinary, the settlers of Oregon but followed their It .?''^ ^^^"""^ ^^^ *^^ best, and quai relied not with the inevitable. It is proper to remember here that the United States first reached the Pacific in the latitudes of Oregon, thus completing the great zone of states from ocean to ocean; that the first proposals to build a line ot military posts, a wagon-road, and a railway across the continent were made in connection with the occu- pation of the Columbia Valley; likewise in the first project to connect the eastern and western coasts by steamships Oregon was the objective point. Through the generosity and frankness of the people of Oregon I am enabled to present this history in the fulness of its details, and I sincerely hope they have not found their confidence misplaced. It has beon my earnest endeavor, here as everywhere, rightly to ""t^^til^f,-^ P-P-ly to construe moLl Ill mmmmmm PREi^ACE. Of every one however hu.nble, who came early to Oregon and „f all those who early or late contributed the,r intelhgence and energy toward establishing the eom„,„„wealth so far as possible I have n.ademen- tion; and I beheve the time will come, if it be not here already, when te the descendants of these hardy emp,re-bu.lders this enrohnent will be recognized as equivalent to a patent of nobility. The history of Oregon has been to me a most inter- esting s udy, and of her present proud position and her brilliant future her sons cannot entertain too nign an opinion. CONTENTS OF THIS VOLUME. FAOa. CHAITEK I. OUEOON TN 1834. The Northwest Coast and the Oregon Territory-Physical F. < ,-,.*_ M..ntanaUngesa„ailivor.-TheI„.perio„sL.u.^ ColviU -. . ^«HallandBo.s^_F„rtWilliaman.:VVapatoKai.I - The *re„on-Cana,han Settle.nent-Mis.onaries. Trader., . .rn urB CHAPTER ir. LIVE AT FORT VANCOUVKB. 1825-184G. Marriage Relations-Pidelity-Soeial ConditionB-McLoughlin-Dou« ^iTayrj^r^^^^^^^^^ R lu T ,,."°*' '^n" ■^"'"'le-Pambrun— McKinlav— Blapk 28 CHAPTER nr. SKTTLEMENT OF OKEOON. 1832- 1834. a^ng tii^il'pt^^^^^^ Mi.io„aries-Intere. Raised Methodist ^r 1 ^rP'^-^':^ Churches Roused-Action of the VVyetl cL^Xdl^""" ''^n ""r' ^'''^ ^'''"^'^ Mi-io„aries ing at Fort S_ wTat^:^^^^^^^ ^-" Lulependence-Preaeh- mette Valley-MissToTs to V! T"""' ~^''''' *« '''' ^'*"- Flathead pL ThT V; h p^^'V^'"'""' ^"^ ^'^^"^'-""S the Hall J Ke IeT~s?mi , ^-^<^-n«-Campement on ^able- and aarico t*: 7f '°i ''^T' '^' ^^" ^'^^ ^^ame with Lewis Young ' *'' "^^^^ Expeditions. Wyeth. Keliey. and Ewing 54 • XI ) xn CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. METHODIST OCCUPATION. 1834-1838. PAGB, Removal of Eflfects — Fencing, Building, and Planting — The Sorrowful Work of Conversion — Missionary Failures — Dairiel Lee Visits the Islands— Arrival of Kelley and Young — Figucroa's Letter— Estrange- ment of Ewing Young — Attack on an Incoming Party by the Natives of Rogue River — The Affair of the Distillery — Arrival of a Govern- ment Agent 78 i CHAPTER V. COMINO OK THE PRESBYTERIANS. 18.34-1836. American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions — Parker and Whitman Sent to Choose Mission Sites — Whitman Returns East for Teachers — Parker's Adventures — His Favorable Opinion of the Indians — Their Desire for Teachers and Religious Observances — Parker Selects a Site at Waiilatpu — Religiou.-i Services Established at Fort Vancouver — Parker Returns Home— Whitman and Spalding and their Wives — Their Overland Journey — Wliitman's Wagon Route — Stuart and Pilcher — The Welcome at Fort Vancouver — Re turn of Gray for More Teachers — Later Missionaries, Walker, Eells, and Smith 104 CHAPTER VI. THE WILLAMETTE (JATTI.E COMPAN*. 1836-1837. Need of Cattle in the Willamette Valley — The Hudson's Bay Company Refuse to Sell — McLoughlin's Views on the Question — Meetmg at Champoeg — Formation of the Cattle Company — Ewing Young and Party Sent to California for Stock — Solemn and Momentous Nego- tiations — The Crossing of the San Joaquin — Herds Drawn Across by Ropes and Rafts — An Indian Ambush — Plot to Shoot Edwards and Young — Division of the Stock and its Increase in Oregon — What Became of Ewing Young's Property 139 CHAPTER VII. COLONIZATION. 1837-1840. Three Missionary Brides — Jason Lee's Marriage — Sea-coast Excursions — Brand) Mission among the Calapooyas — Petition to Congress for a Civil Government — Lee Goes East — Death of Mrs Leo — Missionary Enthusiiusni in the East — Bill for the Occupation of Oregon — Sailing of the ' Lausanne ' with tlie Mission Colony — Treaty of Commerce witli the Hawaiian Islands — Affairs in Oregon — Drowning of the First White Boy Born in the Territory — Death of Shepard — Reli- gious Interest at the Dalles — Arrival of the Mission Colony 154 XIU PA08. CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. CtaSE OF THE METHODIST KEQIME. 1840-1841. Keturus Last-The WiUamette Station-Trials of Inexperienced Pioneers--Exploratiou of the Un.pqua VaUey-Wnte D«nes to leave Oregon-Accident at the Palk-Tl>e Oregon Institute-P L, to Dnve McLoughlin from the Falk-Conduct of Waller-I^rt tTlL'oi T''Z 7^^,^^--"'y-I"g-tit«de and TrLkc^yl^ Legality of Claimants to Oregon City-Lee Superseded by (^eoL Gray-Progress of Colonization ^ ^"^ ,„ 184 CHAPTER IX. PROORE.S.S OF EVENT.S. 1839-1841. The Peoria Party-Incidents of the Journey-Farnham Arrives in Oregon-Return of McLoughlin from London-Dis tii tLI Z dZTt:nT^'c"''^^-';"*^°" *" Congress-Beirr Sp . dition-Lxtent, of Canadian Juris.lictirn-More Immigrants from I Imois-Missionaries Continue to Arrivc-The Newell Party-Mi C7r,rr.<- <^'-'^««", -Overland Exploration to Califomia^Sir rIS Setter " ^''' ^'— Mofras' Mission-The Red 226 CHAPTER X. ■IHK .SUB-INWAN ACiENTS COMPANY. 1842 ^845. IheEflfect of Lee's Letter to Cushing-White Visits Wasliington- itVL '■"'"'u'''.*'"^'""' '^''"^^ i« Appointed Sul.lfiln Agut or Oregon-He Raises a Largo Conn.anj of Emirn-ants Incidents of the Journev— A Cm-,;.,,. \tt ' r.- ;'-'""fcTant8— -Tlw. H.,]f f V Tl ^laHsacro-Disseiisions in Camp ri e Halt at tort Laramie- The Sioux Take a Hand-Fort Hall i! Reachod-Reccption l.y the Missionaries-AM..to and the Colo.lt 1 Xt^Sr-"^^"-"^" *" '^- IWe-Hastings I^s 253 CHAPTER XI. WHITKS AUMINIHTRATION OF INDIAN AFFAIKS. I842-184i5. IL T r "^ ^'^'''' ^"' ""^" I".lians-The Peace Broken U-nes-lhe K.lhng „£ Cockstock-The Oregon RanKcrs- Yellow Wjah-^VVlutcs Interview witli Chief EIlis-His Conciliatory Prom- -es. and How Tl.ey were Kept-His Departure from Orego.K . m xiv CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. ORGANIZATION OF THE I'ROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT. 1843. PAOX. Methodist Officials — A Probate Court Needed — Meeting of the Settlers — Officials Chosen — Withdrawal of the French Catholic Element — PHirther Political Elements — The Oregon Lyceum — Fresh Overtures to the Canadians — The Land Law — Another Methodist Movement — The ' Wolf ' Organization — The Canadians Brought in — New Selec- tion of Officials — Report of the Legislative Committee — Govern- ment Expenses — The Four Great Districts — Measures against McLoughlin — lofluenco of Shortess on Political Affairs 292 CHAPTER Xin. THB CATUOLIC MISSIONS — MORE Of THE PRESBYTERIANS. 1838-1847 Call of the French Canadians — Coming of Blanchet and Demers — The Vicar-general among the Cayuses — St Francis Xavier on the Cow- litz — Protestant and Catholic Rivalry — Langlois and Bolduc — The Jesuits in the North-west — Lalsors of Father De Smet — Point and Mangarini — St Marys on the Bitter Root — Mission of the Sacred Heart — De Vos and Hoecken — Jesuit Reenforcements — Blanchet Made Archbishop — St Pauls — Affairs at Waiilatpu and Lapwai — Li- solence of the Savages — Whitman's Winter Journey to the East — His Treatment by the Board — Return and Disappointment 315 CHAPTER XIV. OREGON BEFORE CONGRESS. 1820-184G. Oregon's Early Cliampion — Irrepressible Destiny — Crude Ideas of the Country — Expediency of Occupying the Columbia — Tortuous Course of Floyd's Bill — The Russian Ukase — Baylies, Tucker, Colden, Mal- lary. Wood, Walker, Breckenridge, Buchanan, Dickerson, Benton, and Others Express their Views — End of the First Epoch of Legisla- tion — Linn, Clay, Calhoun, Pierce, Cushing, and Pendleton, of the Second Epoch — Linn's Bill — Popular Feeling — Petitions for the Oc- cupation of Oregon — The Question of Slavery 349 CHAPTER XV. THE IMMIGRATION OF 1843. Effect of CongresLional Discussion and Missionary Agitation — Flocking to the Rendezvous — Organization — Disaffection and Division — Names of the Emigrants- — The Light Column and the Cow Column— Along the Platte — At Fort Hall — Whitman's Doings — On to the Columbia and down the River— Policy of the Hudson's Bay Company — It is Better to Sell or (live than Tempt the New-comers to take by Force — The Applegatca — Other Biographical Notices 391 CONTENTS. XT CHAPTER XVL LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDIKGS. 1844. PAGE. Old and New Character of the Immigration of 1843 — The Land Law Settlers — Organic Laws — Personnel of the Committees — Message of the Executive Committee — Revision and Correction of Legislative Errors — Judicial Affairs — The Blessings of Land and the Bp,llot — Willamette Falls the Seat of Government — The Question of Boun- dary — Law Relating to Marriage — Liquor Law — Slavery — Negroes and Mulattoes — Attitude toward the British Fur Company — Lide- pendence of Oregon 425 CHAPTER XVn. THE IMMIGRATION OF 1844. Belligerent Attitude of the British and Americans — Vancouver Forti- Hed — Gathering of the Emigrants — Tlie Several Divisions and Com- panies — The Independent Colony — Cornelius Gilliam — Nathaniel Ford — The Journey — Sufferings on the Journey — Their Destitute Condition — Reception by Missionaries and Fur-traders — Names of the Immigrants — Biographical Notices 446 CHAPTER XVIII. AMENDMENT OF THE ORtJANIC LAWS 1845. The First Three Legislative Bodies — Opposing Parties — The Several Legislatures — Memorial to Congress — What Benton Thouglit of It— EHijah White's Exploits — Proceedings of the Legislature — Fusion of the Americans and British — English Spies in Oregon — British Vessels — Conduct of McLoughlin Discussed — Unjust Censure — Con- sequence to McLoughlin 470 CHAPTER XIX. THE IMMIGRATION OF 1845. Notable Migration — Various Starting-points— Divisions and Com- panies — Joel Palmer — Samuel K. Barlow — Presley Welcli — Sauniel Hancock — Bacon and Buck — W. G. T'Vault — John Way mire — Solo- mon Tetherow — California Extolled at Fort Hall — Meeting witli White — His Fatal Triendship — A Long Cut-off — Hardships on tlie Mallieur — Disease and Death at the Dalles — Heartlessness of Waller and Brewer — Emmet's Wanderings — Tlie Incoming by Sea — Names of the Immigrants — Third Session of the Ijcgialature— Explorations for Immigrant Pass — Wagon-roai'').^«*- '^' R- Reports, vi. A& tKLtf -k^''^-^'- ''4'-^'' Ulysses S. Grant. ADemethy (Anne), The Mission Family. MS. ^i,£™"' "■'" """"'^ **"'«'■ ""S". Democrat, 0„g„„ «„„,„, A^bum Mexicano. Mexico, 1849 et sec,. ^ ^• Allan, iiemmiscences. MS with England, n pi n d ' ' "" ""'' ^l^tions ""'XtLdtmn^Jh^N^^^^^^^ Benton County. 1874; McCormick's New York, T838et sell' ^'"''^' ^^^'^^'l^lphia, 1863 et seq., Tribune, ^'744^Tong?2Ts™*li£ril8t"^r.^^«l^^^^^ ««^*- ^«76. American Citi|k (Thef'sSi F^ancS ] A eK^f "^*°"' ^«'«- 1858-61. folio. 39 vols ' ^^'^-'•^- '^ vols.; Vashmgton, 1832-4; fPr^r&t%"^^^^^^^^^ Territory. A Anlr" (f SS ?"4'^>' NortSto^^VlSory. MS. , ATg" if ifst'^'^^'plPTS "" "" '"'""^ '^^'' ^ WashV,n-and Oregon. A^lTf CrL^'TlthTl'sH^^^^ ^''^^ Commission. 1865. congress. [Ist to I8th Congress.] Washington, 1834-56. 42 vols. '. xlx ) zx AUTIIOKITIKS QUOTED. Anthony (E. M.), Siskiyou County Rcniiniacences. M.S. Anthropographic Chart of State OtKcers, etc., of Cal. Hacraniento, 1869. Antiouh (Cal.), Ledger. Applegato (JesHe), Correspondence with Mrs Victor. MS. Applegate (.Jesse), A Day with the Cow Column in 1843. In Overland Monthly, i. 127. Applegate (.Tease), Marginal Notes in Gray's History of Oregon. MS. Applegate (Jesse), Views of Oregon History. MS. Applegate (Lindsey), Laying out the old immigrant road into Southern Oregon, 1846. In Portland West Shore. Applegate (O. C. ), History of the Modoc War. MS. Armstrong (A. N.), Oregon. Chicago, 1857. Arricivita ( J. D. ), Crdnica Serdtica y Apostolic. Mexico, 1792. folio. Ashland, Tidings. Ashley (C), Speech in U. S. Son., April ,% 1846, on Oregon Question. Wash- ington, 1846. Astoria, Astorian; Marine Gazette. Astoria, Oregon's Seaport. Astoria, 1875. Athey (.James), Workshops a* Oregon City. MS. Atkinson (G. H.), Address befte N. Y. Chamber of Commerce Dec. 3, 1868. New York, 1868; Address bef re Oregon Historical Soc. Feb. 22, 1876. n.pl., n.d. ; Correspondence in Home Missionary; Northwe.st Coast. Port- land, 1878; Reminiscences of Rev. E. Walker. Portland, n.d.; Sketch, n.pl., n.d. Atkinson (Geo. H.), Amer. Colonist in Oregon, n. imp. Atlantic Monthly. Boston, 18.58 ot seq. Austin (Nev.), Reese Pviver Reveille, April 6, 1867. Bacon (J. M.), >regon City Mercantile Life. MS. Baker (E. D.), .speech in U. S. H. of Rep., .Jan. 29, 1846, on Oregon Question. Washington, 1846. Baker City, Bedrock Democrat; Herald; Reveille. Balch (Wm. R.), Mines, Miners, etc. Philadelphia, 1882. Baldwin (R. S.), Speech in U. S. Sen., June .5, 1848, to Establish a Territorial Government in Oregon. Washington, 1848. Ballou (William T.), Adventures. MS. Bancroft (A. L. ), Diary of a Journay to Oregon. MS. Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of Alaska. Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of British Columbia. Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of California. Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of Nevada. Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of Northwest Coast. Bancroft (Hubert Howe), History of Utah. Biuicroft (Hubert Howe), History of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Bancroft (Hubert Howe), Native Races of the Pacific States. N. Y., 187.'J. 5 vols. Bancroft Library M.S. Scrap-books containing classified notes used in writing Bancroft's Works. Bancroft Library Newspaper Scraps, classified under the following headings: Fisheries, Manufactures, Modoc War, Oregon Miscellany, Shipping and Navigation, Trade and Commerce, United States Mails. Barber (.John), and Henry Howe, History of Western States and Territories. Cincinnati, 1867. Barkersville (B. C), Cariboo Sentinel. Barnes (G. A.), Oregon and California. MS. . Baxley (H. W.), What I Saw on the West Coast of Southland North Amer- ica. New York, 1865. Bayly (T. H.), Speech in House of Rep., Jan. 27, 1846. Beadle (J. H.), The Undeveloped West. Philadelphia [1873]; Western Wilds. Cincinnati, 1879. Beardsley (0. P.), in Wallings' Catalogue, 1875. Bedinger (H.), Speech in House of Rep., Jan. 15, 1846. AUTHORITIES QUOTED. zzi Bceson (John), A Plea for the Indians. Now York, 1858. Belcher (Edward), Narrative of a Voyage round the World in I83&-42. Lon- don, 1843. 2 vola. Bell (J. F.), Speech in U. S. H. of Rep., Feb. 4, 1846, on the Oregon Ques- tion. Washington, 1846. Bell (William A. ), Settlement of Seattle. MS. Benicia (Cal. ), Chronicle, Tribune. Bennett (Emerson), Prairie Flower, Cincinnati (0.), n. d. Bennett (Winston), Biograi^hical Sketches. In S. Joad Pioneer, May 26, June 2, 1877. Bentley (Wm. R.), Pleasure Paths in the Pac. Northwest. San Francisco, 1882. Benton Co. (Or.), Almanac, 1874. Benton (Tliomas H), Abridgment of Debates in Congress, 1759-1856. New York, 1857-63. 16 vols; Speech in U. S. Sen., May 22, 25, 28, 1846, on the Oregon Question. Washington, 1846; Thirty Years' View. New York, 1854. 2 vols. Berrian (Hobart), A Plain View of the Oregon Title. Washington, 1846. Biggs (Cal. ), Butte Co. Register. Bigland (John), A Geographical and Historical View of the World. London, 1810. 5 vols. Blagdon (Francis William), The Modem Geographer. London, n.d. 5 vols. Blake (W. P.), Production of the Precious Metals. New York and London, 1869. Blanchet (F. N. ), Catholic Missionaries of Oregon. MS. Blanchet (F. N.), Catholic Missionaries of Oregon, MS.; in Portland (Or.) Oregonian, Sept. 1, 1863; Pastoral Letter, 1870. Blanchet (F. N. ), Historical Sketches of the Catholic Clhurch in Oregon. Port- land, 1878. Bluxome (Isaac), Vigilance Committee, by 33, Secretary. MS. Boise City (Idaho), Capital Chronicle, Democrat, Herald, News, Statesm-'ji. Bourbourg (Brasseur de), Popul Vuh, etc. Paris, 1861. Bowles (Samuel), Pacific Railroad. Boston, 1869. Boiler (Henry A.), Among the Indians. Philadelphia, 1868. Bonnycastle (J. C), Report on Indian Affairs. [33d Cong., 2d Sess., Sen. Ex. Doc. IG.] Washington, 1855. Boston (Mass.), Herald, Missionary Herald. Bowles (Samuel), Across the Continent. Springfield, 1866; Our New West. Hartford, etc., 1869. Boyle (W. H.), Personal Observations on the Conduct of the Modoc War. MS. Brackett (Albert G.), History of the U. S, Cavalry. New York, 1865. Branson (B. B. ), Settlement of Sheridan. MS. Brasseur de Bourbourg, Popul Vuh. Le Livre Sacr^. Paris, 1861. Breckenridge (John C), and Joseph Lane. Biographical Sketches. Wash- ington, 1860. Breeding (W. P.), Reminiscences of the Cayuse War. MS. Breeso (S.), Speech in U. S. Senate, March 2, 1846. Brensletter, Discovery of the Boise Basin. MS. Briggs (Albert), Settlement of Port Townsend. MS. Bristol (Sherlock), Idaho Nomenclature. MS. Bristow (E. L.), Rencounters with Indians, Highwaymen, etc, MS. British Columbia Sketches. MS. British Quarterly Review. Ixxvii. Brockett (L. P.), Our Western Empire. Philadelphia, etc., 1881. Brooklyn (N. Y.), Catholic Review. Brouillet (J. B. A.), Authentic Account of the Murder of Dr Whitman. Port- land, 1869. Brown (B.), in Umatilla (Or.) Columbia Press, July 27, 1867. Brown (J. Henry), Autobiography. MS. Brown (J. Henry), Oregon MiaceUanies. MS. and Scraps. -Ill T zstt AUTHORITIES QUOTED. Brown (.T. H.), in Ashland (Or.) Tidings, Oct. Ifl, Nov. 2, 1877, in Trans. Or. Pionoor Association, 1877. Brown (J. Henry), Huttloment of Willamette Valley. MS. Brown (().), in H. Coin. Report, .S()8, '28th cong. 1 at seas. Browne (.1. Ross), Lower California, see Taylor; Report upon the Mineral R«- sources of tlie States and Territories West of the Rocky Mountains. Washington, 18G7; Wasliington, 18(58; San Francisco, 18G8. Browne (.). Ross), Resources of the Pacific Slope. San Francisco, 18tiS). Buchanan (.laa. ), Letter on Oregon (Question, Aug. 30, 1845. Buck (W. W.), Enterprises. Oregon City. MS. Bulfinch (Thomas), Oregon and El Dorado. Boston, 184}G. Bunker (Wm. M.), In the Lava Beds. In Californiau, Foh. 1880. 161. Burhank (A. R.), Statement. MS. Burnett (Peter H.), Ijctter of July 25, 1844, in Niles' Register, Ixvii. Burnett (Peter II.), Letter on Afiairs in Oregon. In Nues' Itegister, Ixviii. 3JKI; Recollections and Opinions of an Old Pioneer. New York, 1880. Burnett (Peter H.), Recollections of the Past. MS. 2 vols. Burton (Richard F.), City of the Saints. I ..don, 18G1; N. Y., 1862. Butler ( ), Life and Times. MS. Calhoun (John C), Speech in U. S. Sen., Jan. 24, 1843, on the Oregon Bill. Wash,, 1843; Speech in U. S. Sen. March 16, 184G, on Abrogation of Con- vention of Joint Occupancy. Wash., 1846. California Jour. Assembly, 1857; Military Affairs, Scraps. Cr-'Iifornian (The). San Francisco, 1880 et seq. Camp (David W. ), American Year-Book. Hartford, 1869. Gampbcil (Alexander), Speech, July 30, 1863. Sacramento. Campbell (J. F.), My Circular Notes. London, 1876. 2 vols. Camp-fire Orations. MS. Canyon City (Or.), News. Card well (J. A.), Emigrant Company. vJarr (Ezra S. ), Patrons of Husbandry. Carson City (Nev.), Appeal; State Register. 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Philadelphia, 1944-58. 4to, 17 vols. , folio, 8 vols. United States Geological and Geographical Surveys. J. W. Powell, Contri- butions on North American Ethnologjy, etc. Washington, 1870. United States Geological Surveys of tlie TorritoriL's. F. V. Hayden. Annual Reports, Bulletins, Miscellaneous Publication, etc. Wash., 1872 et sen. United States Geological Surveys West of the 100th Meridian. George W. Wheeler. Bulletins, Reports, and Various Publications. Washington, 1874 et seq. 4to. atlas sheets, maps. United States Government Documents; Accounts, Agriculture; Army Regis- ter; Bureau of Statistics; Census; Coast Survey; Commerce, Foreign ami Domestic; Commerce and Navigation; Commercial Relations; Edu- cation; Indian Affairs; Land Office; Life-saving Service; Light-houses; Pacific Rivilroail; Meteorological Reports; Patent Office; Postmaster- General; Post-offices; Revenue. Cited by their dates. United States Government Documents, House Exec. Doc; House Journal; Hoxise Miscel. Doc; House Reports of Com.; Message and Documents; Senate Exec. Doc; Journal; Miscel. Doc; Repts. Com. cited by con- gress and session. Many of these documents have, however, separate titles, for which see author or topic. U. S. Pub. Doc, as follows: Acts and Resolutions, 29th cong. 2d sess., 38th cong. 1st sess., 43d cong. Ist sess.; Burchard (Director of Mint), Report, 1880, 1881; Commissioner of Agric. Report, 1869, 1878; Comptr of Cur- rency Report, 1878; Food Fishes, Report of Commission, 44th cong., 1st sess.; Message of President, Feb. 20, 1845; Secretary of Treasury Re- port, 1800, 1867; Smithsonian Institution Report, 1873; Statutes, 4:)d cong., 2d sess. Vallejo (Cal.), Chronicle; Solano Times. Vancouver (Wash.), Independent; Register. Van Tramp (J. C), Prairie and Riocky Mtn Adventures, etc. St Louis, 1860. Veatch (John A.), Oregon, Washington, 1809. Victor (Frances Fuller), About the Mouth of the Columbia. In Overland, iii. 71; All over Oregon and Washington. 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White (Elijah), Government and the Emigration to Oregon. MS. Whitman (Marcus), Results of the Oregon Mission. In Missionary Herivld, Dec. 1806. Whitman (Perrin B.), Letter. MS. Whitman County in the (Ireat Palouse Country, Descriptive. Colfax, 1878. Whitman and the Massacre of his Protestant Mission. San Francisco, 18''4. Wick (Wm. W.), Speech in House of Rep., Jan. 30, 1846. Williamson (R. T.), in U. S. Senate, .31 cong., 1st sess. Williams, South-western Oregon. MS. Wilkes (Charles), Narrative of the U. S. Exploring Expedition. Philadel- phia, 1844. 4to. 3 vols.; Philadelphia, 1845. 5 vols.; London, 1845. Wilkes (Charles), Western America. Piiiladelphia, 1849. Wilkes (George), History of Oregon. New York, 1845. Willamette Baptist Assoc, Minutes of Anniversaries. Portland, 1860 et seq. Willamette Falls, Canal, antl Lock Company Circular. Oregon City, 1869. Williams (George H.), Speech in U. S. Sen., Feb. 4, iS68, on Reconstruction. Washington, 1808. Williams (L. L. ), South-western Oregon. MS. Williamson (R. S.), Routes in California and Oregcn^ Roport. In Pacific B. R. Repts., vi. Wilson (Elizabeth), Recollections. In Oregon Skesohes. MS. Wilson (Joseph G.), Addresses on the Death of. Columbus, 1873; Railroad Lands in Western Oregon. San Francisco, 1872. Wimmel (H.), Californian. Cassel, 1807. Winser (H. J.), Great Northwest. New York, 1883. Wood (H. Clay), Young Joseph and Nez Perc^ Indians. Portland, 1876. Woodbridgo (Cal.), Messenger. Woods (George L. ), Recollections. MS. Woods (James), Recollections of Pioneer Work in California. San Francisco, 1878. Woodward (Henry H.), Pioneer OfiFerings. Roseburg, 3867. Wright, Campaign against the Indians in Oregon. [35th Ccug., 2d Sess., Sen. Ex. Doc. 32.] Washington, 1859. iL. AUTHORITIES QUOTED. mix Long Jcumoy from Atlan- ct. 1874, 1., 1874. vols. Wyeth John B ). Oregon, or « Short History of Wysc (Frano.8), America. London, 1845. Zaval,.hm (l>.mtry), Delo o Kolouiy liJas. MS, 5. , 1846. S;Ten 1861; erald. 1878. 18''4. adol- seq. 19. tion. cad CO, no \U.\\\V w s 4 s H»l\ viu\»i V H ^/i// °\i MrHijtni'iitrc i).iHn O 'f^ WapwiVAo ^ ynhk. 'ir hut,- (Ml! Sjith « > y Ojfffft* Svm* .NJ^' V MfVtwwj / " "^ '''f-bftiiih I P-ni '"•f'J:.-/!/ >''> yv> /'. ^■^''^n ■tfTKitflU fk I f ri^tee- .W-J^^ HuiBinit I iv; r«tf-JtUli. r 11 f \\ 1/ oy.l|r*,.,.w \ >< T* 'iir*»«i I. 'lUtyntSflt^ ^vfj ■^ niananilL.^ ^*i.' ft «j 'l/fff«(/Ai /■Hrfttuhif /" v^ :p, T-'-Uriwl/tiri) t rf"-!- • J. ,.U|^' ti Will, why' f..4i ''^^^ ni,pr uniiitb U- Miwli 4: :v<^/ ■Swiuil. . I v."I4^1..._\. s^ ■' -A' .tiwfi- lUtlll J o^'— ■, V f.'-rftflrf.-i ^ ^ . _ « 12 rv l«3 lit ♦5 -« HISTORY OF OPvEGOK CHAPTER I. OREGON IN 1834. TiiK Northwest Coast and the Oregon Territory-Physical Features —Mountain Ranges and Rivers— The Imperious Columbia— Distri- RUTioN OF Vegetation- Climate— Sunshine and Rain— Post-plant- ings OF Civilization— Fort Vancouver — Its Lord Paramount— The Garden— Hospitality— Money, Morality, and Religion— Fokt (iEORGE — Fort Nisqually — Forts Langley, Umpqua, and Walla AViLLA — Okanagan and Col viLLE — Forts Hall and Boise — Fort AViLLiAM AND Wapato Island— TiiE French-Canadian Setplement —Missionaries, Traders, Farmers, Horse-dealers, Scientists, and Fur-hunters as Empire-builders— Origin of the Term Oregon. ^ The Oregon Territory, when first tlie term came into use, embraced the same somewhat undefined region wiiich in these Pacific States' histories I have denominated the Northwest Coast ; namelv, the lands lying between the Rocky Mountains and" the Pacific Ocean, and extending northward indefinitely from the forty-second parallel of latitude. Later the name Oregon was applied to a narrower area. In surface and climate it is varied; in resources limitless, though its possibilities are little known. There is grand and beautiful scenery in every portion of it; some wild and rugged, some treeless and lonely • altogether a magnificent stretch of primeval wilder- ness. It IS divided longitudinally by the Cascadt; Mountains, one with the Snowy Range of California (n oimiox i\ 18:m. and Nevada, and so called from the turmoil of the Colmnbia in passing through them ; while the eastern portion is cut transversely by the Blue Mountains — in popular parlance blue, from the contrast of their violet shadows with the tawny plain. Another and lower range rims the seaboard from Lower Califor- nia and along the Oregon frontage to the Russian possessions; the high spurs thrown out by the Coast and Cascade ranges separate the valleys thus formed in southern Oregon by barriers as insurmountable as those in Greece. Besides mountains and rivers there are forests, not spread over broad areas of level surface as they were back of the English Plantations; beneficent nature has for the good of civilized man ct)nfined tliem to tlie mountain sides and r.) tlie low lands along the streams. On the mountains different species of pine, fir, and spruce prevail, while near the streams grow deciduous trees, oak, maple, ash, alder, cotton-wood, and w^illow. This distribution of forest and prairie gives a charming diversity to the landscape in tlie western portion of tlie territory, from California northward; and singularly atliactive is the valley of the Willamette witli its infinite variety of forms, the richness of verdure, and the frequent small rivers with their fertile and wooded borders. In western Oregon there is scarcely a spot, and few ])laces in the eastern part, where there is not visible some lofty snow-dad peak of the Cascade Range, standing as sentinel of the centuries, and forming a landmark and guide. In many places three or five of these ijlisteniniif heisjfhts mav be seen at once. Hardlv less striking are the purpled sununits of the continu- ous range, silvered with snow in spring and autumn, and glowing during the afternoons of sunnner under a rosy violet mist. Eastern Oregon seems less prolific of natural beauties than the country west of the Cas- cade Range, where the Colund)ia River provides not only uninterrupted navigation from the sea to the EASTERN AND WESTERN. 110 heart of the mountains, hut constitutes in itself a continuous panorama of rare views, to which minds even of tlie least ideality soon become attached. As the eastern foothills sink to plain, tlie forest disap- pears, only a few scattering pines remaining in the vicinity of the Dalles; by the bars and on sandy mar- gins of the river grow willows and low shrubs, while above them rise high rounded bluffs, bald and mo- notonous, yet not without picturesque effect. Beyond these the country rolls off in broken plains, covered in spring by a delicate verdure bright with flowers, later wearing a russet hue that early gave it the name of desert. Yet even through this eastern part there is much to please the eye in the softly flowing outlines of the ever-changing scene, in the calm blue which canopies the im])erious Columbia raging at its rocky obstructions, and in the deep canons that channel the inflowinif rivers from the south. A hundred miles from the mountains there are smaller streams with open valleys, occupied as grazing lands by native horse-owners, the tJmatillas, Cayuses, Walla Wallas, and Nez Perces. Yet farther east, beyond the Umatilla and Walla Walla countries, is the Snake or Lewis River region, in the eyes of those who visit it as worthless as it is wild and lonely. Its waterless deserts, severely hot in summer and cold in winter, inspire the overland tourist with dread ; and many a trappei- and voyageur meets his death fi-om want in crossing them. Yet fertile spots are found, pleasant little valleys where the climate is delightful, and, so far as appears, the earth fmitful. North (»f the Snake River the whole region is unexj)lored except as traversed by fur-hunt- ers; iiRle^d. away at the base of the Rocky Moun- tains i,^ a large and diversified tract, a terra in- cognita to the world at large. And for many years to come this portion of the Oregon Territory offers few attractions to agriculturists. On the other hand, all the western portion of Oregon, especially the L 4 OKECION IN 1834. Willamette Valley and the Puget Sound region, has been favorably spoken of by successive ex[)lorcrs, until its spreading fame agitates the question of ownership. Little is yet known of agricultural and mineral re- sources, but its mild and equable climate, affecting as it does the quality and value of furs, and being in itself so })eculiar considering the latitude, is l)etter under- stood. The winters of western Oregon are so mild that little ice forms; but they are wet, and cloudy of sky. The rains begin about mid-autumn and continue with greater or less constancy till May, after which fleeting showers occur until the June rise of the Colum- bia begins to decline. This excessive moisture comes in a measure from the Japan current, and is more im- mediately owing to the south-west winds of autumn and winter, driving inland the evaporations of ocean, which being arrested by the Cascade Range are pre- cipitated on its seaward sides. Hence the j)eculiari- ties of the Oregon climate ; the mountains wall the moisture from their eastern slopes, Tendering that region arid. The dense growth of the western forests are of those trees that live on the moisture of the atmosphere, but do not like it about their roots. The evergreens of Oregon, the firs especially, refuse to grow on land tluit is subject to overflow, and their foliage protects the roots from rain. Spruce, yew, hemlock, and cedar wow on lower lands than firs and pines. It may seem anomahtus that trees which avoid water should thrive in a so-called moist climate, and also that, while the climate is so wet, Oregon's ntmosphere is remarkably dry, as evidenced by the fact that wet articles exposed to the air, but protected from the rain, dry quickly even in the rainy season. Observing this, the early Oregonians call their ordi- nary rains 'mists,' and maintain that they do not wet people; and by a further stretch of imagination their descendants may fancy themselves not affected by the December and January mists. But even if the winters are unpleasantly rainy, the CLIMATE AM) Fl)01». wuiuiuors componsato. By the first of July the cloudss wliich clothe the prairies in waving grass and beds of flowers have passed away, and a clear sun ushers in each long delightful day, which begins in a clear twilight two hours after midnight, and ends only in another lingering twilight, softer though not more beautiful than the first. ()ften the temperature of the dry sunnner season falls to sixty or fifty-seven degrees Fahrenheit ; seldom it exceeds seventy-two or seventy- six, though occasi(nially rising for a brief period to ninety or one hundred; yet whatever the heat of meridian, by four o'clock in the afternoon it begins to abate, leaving the evening so j)leasantly cool that the bed requiies a blanket — ^so comfortably cool that the settlers acquire a love for sleep that becomes charac- teristic, antl is sometimes mentioned to their discredit. About four months of drv weather, with little or n(» i-ainfall, ctinstitutes the summer of western Oregon, during whicji the grass becomes yellow and tlie earth ])owdered drain ripens and is gathered in August. Septeml)ei' is seeding time, experience early teaching that it is better to have the wlieat in the ground over winter, even if it must be pa.stured down, than trust the chance of late sj)ring sowing. The food resources native to western Oregon are fish, game, and berries. The Indians use a root re- sembling the potato, which they call trapato, found in abundance on Wapato I.sland, and also in some shallow lakes or overflowed prairie land. In wild fruit the country is prolific ; but none are as fine as the same kinds in the middle states of the continent. Elk, bear, and deer are plentiful, but ov.ing to the difificulty of pursuit through the der.se undergrowth of tlie mountain forests, the cliase is laborious. Tliere is an abundance of water-fowl, conspicuous among Vvhich are brant, geese of several species, cranes, mal- lard, canvas-back, and summer duck, blue-winged and green-winged teal, snij)e, golden and killdce ph)vei', antl other wading birds, some «)f which are not pal- OREOON IN 1834. atablo. Of game-birds found in woods tluTo aro also plenty; grouse, quails, pheasants, and wood-doves in- habit the thickets of young tirs, and tlie groves of oak young tirs, and tJie gr and fir that skirt the older and darker forest. Sin»^ ing birds wliich make tlieir homes in trees are rare. The only really musical l)ird of Oregon is the meadow- hirk, whicli carols to the passer-by of the happiness he finds in his humble life near the ground. The streams are well stocked with fish — the brooks with trout, and the rivers with salmon of two or three sjtecies. The most palatable and largest of these, the salmo quiunat, has been one of the chief articles of food for twenty years, and constitutes a staple in the Hudson's Bay Company's supplies; in fact, the com|)any's servants receive dried salmon and nothing else when other articles are scarce. Such were the natural conditions of life in Oregon in 1834. European civilization, however, had already driven in its stakes here and there about the wilder- ness preparatory to its overthrow. For some time j»ast the country had been dominated exclusively by fur- traders from Canada and Great Britain ; now people from the United States begin to come and settle. Ownership becomes a nuKjt question ; the territory is held by the United States and Great Britain under treaty of joint occupancy. Altht)Ugh in the History of the Northwest Coast I have given full descriptions of the fur- traders' forts and incipient settlements, I deem it advisable t(3 review them here, so that the reader may have the picture fresh in his mind at the opening of this part of my history. The most important post and place in all the Ore- gon Territory was Fort Vancouver, the Hudson's Bay Company's headquarters. It was situated upon a beautiful sloping plain, on the north bank of the Columbia, about six miles above the mouth of the Multnomah River, as the Willamette below the falls was still called, and opposite the centre of the Wil- FORT VANCOUVER. lainette Valley, at a jtoiiit where the Columbia is hroad and much lUvided by low, woody islands, which add diversity t«> a prospect embracing every element of grandeur and grace, from glistening snow-peaks to the reriections of leaning shrubbery, whose flowers of white or red are mirrored in the calm surface of this most majestic of rivers. The fort was not formidable in appearance. It cw; no bread or meat being allowed, exeej)t occasionally. The Indian servants of the Indian wives hunted and fished for additional sup- plies. Nor was this unremitting industry unnecessary. The management of the Hudson's Bay Company re- quired its posts to be self-su])porting. The extent of territory they traded over was innnense, and the number of their forts increased the demand for such articles as could be j)roduced only in favorable localities. For instance, at Fort Vancouver the demand for axes and hatchets for the tra])pors and Indians re- quired fifty of them to be made daily. In addition to the manufacture of these, the smiths had plenty to do in rej)airing farming tools and milling machinery, and making the various articles required by a com- munity of several hundred people. The carpenter, the turner, and the tailor were equally busy; two or three men were constantly enq)loyed making bread for tlie fort peo})le and sea-biscuit i\n- the coasting vessels. The furs had to be l)eaten once a week to drive out moths and dust. The clerks had not only to keep accounts and copy letters, but keep a jour- nal of every day's affairs. Am(>ng so many persons, some were sure to be in the hospital, and on these the best medical care was bestowed. Thouijh so fai- fi'om the world as to seem removed from the world's wants, Foit Vancouvei- was no place for the indul- gence of poetic idleness. And if within the fort this industry was necessary, it was none the less so without, where a larm of about .seven hundred acres had l^een brought under cultiva- TIIK (iAUbKN AM> lAU.M, 9 tion, on wliicli was mi.sed ahuiidaiicf of ^Tain and V('«(otal)l(>s, it'quirinj;' extensive storehouses. Lai«;-e hands of cattle and slieejt were kept, the latter iin proved hv careful hretsdinijf until thev yielded twelve- pound Het'ces. From the few Enj,dish a|)|ue seeds elsewhere mentioned had sprun<^ trees which, thout^h youn«^, were so crowded witli fmit as to nctul pi'op|iin_L>', and from the peach sprouts hrought from Juan Fi-r- nandez Island had »^rown lar«(e trees that were hearin*; their first fruit. Indeed, the garden at Fort Vancouver jejoiced in a scientific overseer by the name of Bruce, who on visitintj^ England with McLoughlin would see nothing in the duke of J)evonshire's garden so pleasing to him as his Fort A'^ancouver plants, yet was careful to abstract as many of the C^hiswick improvt nents as his mind could carry. Even tlu n, and before, Bruce cultivated strawberries, figs, and lemons, tlie first with 'reat success, the other two with the fruitl.s.s efforts that alone could be expected in the northern tem- jterate zone ; ornamental trees and flowers also received his fostering care. On the farm was a flouring mill and thrashing machine, worked bv oxen or horses in the Arcadian way, vet sufficient for the wants of all. A few miles above the fort, on a little stream falling into the Columbia, stood a saw-mill, cuttinif kunber enouuii durmg the year to supply not only the fort, but to load one or two vessels for the Hawaiian Islands, Between the fort and the river, on the smooth sloping plain, lay a village consisting of thirty or forty log houses, ranged along a single street, and occupied by the servants of the com])any, Canadians, half-breeds, and Hawaiians, with a few from the Orkney Islands. In every house an Indian woman presided as unstress, and the street swarmed with children of mixed blood. Xothing offensive met the eye; everywhere cleanliness and decorum j)revailetl. When a visitor came to Fort Yancouvei- and the fort was sekkan without its ouest even in 18;U— he 10 OREtON IN 1834. \l i would, if a person of consideration, be met at the boat- landing by the presiding officer, McLoughlin, a tall, large, commanding figure of bene^'olent mien, who courteously made him welcome to every comfort and convenience, as well as to his own genial society and that of his associates. Entering by one of the smaller gates at either side of the principal entrance, he was escorted to the dc^ctoi's own residence, and assigned [)lain but comfortable quarters; for it was not in empty show that the hospitality of Fort Vancouver consisted, but in its thorough home-like features, its plenty, and its frank and cordial intercourse. The visitors were all of the sterner sex, no white ladies having yet set foot within these precincts. It was a rule of the company that the Indian wives and offspring of the officers should live in the seclusion of their own apartments, whicli left the officers' mess- T'oom to themselves and their guests ; and while no more time than necessary was consumed at table, the good cheer and the enlightened conversation of educated gentlemen threw over the entertainment a luxury and refinement all the more enjoyable after the rude ex- periences of a journey across the continent or a long voyage by sea. After the substantial dinner, concluded with a temperate glass of wine or sj)irits, the company withdrew for half an hour to the 'bachelors' hall,' to indulge in a })i}>e, and discuss with animation the topics of the time. When the officers and clerks re- turned to business, the guest might choose between the library and out-door attractions. A book, a boat, and a horse were always at his command. The sab- l)ath was observed with the decorum of settled society. The service of the established church was read with impressiveness by Doctor McLoughlin liimself, and listened to with reverence by tlie gentlemen anying 1-' OKEliON LN lo.i4. a fine poHitioii among the hills of that beautiful coun- try. It was but a ^inall place, with a twenty-acre farm attached, under the charge of a French trader. The neat, dwellings and other buildings were surrounded ijy the usual palisade, with bastions at the corners, KORI'S. for tho Tiulians in this quarter were more ravage than those in tlie vicinity of the Columbia. About two hundred miles oast of Fort \"anc;)uvei\ on the east bank of the ( 'olumltia, near where 't makes its great i»»md to the west, and at the mouth of the WALLA WALLA AM> OKANAGAN. 13 Walla Walla River, was a fort of that uaino. This t'StahlishiiK'nt was also a stockade, and heing in the country of warlike savajj^es. there were two bastions, with an inner jj^allery, and otlier defences strongly constructed of drift-logs which had been brought from the mountains and heaped ashore at this 2)lace by the June freshets. Little agricultural land being found in the vicinity, and no tind)er. Fort Walla Walla was without the attractions of Fort V^ancouver, but it ranked nevertheless as a place of importance, being the ]>rincipal trading post between California and Stuart Lake, and accessible by water from Fort Van- couver. It was on the way from the great fur-hunt- ing region about the head-waters of the Snake River and its tributaries, and the first resting-place the overland traveller met after leaving the Missoui'i River. There was always a genial and generous officer stationed at Fort Walla Walla, on whose head many a weary [)ilgrim called down blessings for fa>»/is U'ceived. Horses were plentiful, and a few cattle were kept there, but no grain was raised. The little garden spot by the river furnished vegetables, and those of an excellent (juality. The cliinate w as usually delightful, the only discomfort being the strong sum nier winds, which drove about with violence the dust, and sand, and gravel, so that it was di'emi'd impossi- ble to cultivate trees or shrubbciy ; hence the situa- tion appeared without any beauty exct'pt that dei'ived from a cloudless sky, and the near neighborhood of the j)icturesque cliffs of the Cohnnbia and Walla Walla rivers. ())ie hundred and thirty-eight miles north from F(»rt Walla Walla lay Fort Okanagan, at the mouth of the Okanagan River, like the otlu'rs a stockade, in charge of a gentlenjaidy officer. Other trading posts were locati'd at favorable points on the Kootenais River, on the Spokan(\ on Lake Fend d'Oreille, and on the Flathead River, besides s(>veral north of the fiftieth parallel. But the i)ost of the greatest impor- 14 OUEaON LV 1834. tance next to Fort Yalicouver was Fort Colvillc, situ- ated on the Columbia River, one hundred miles north- east of Fort Okanagan, though much farther by tlu; windings of the river. In the midst of a good agricul- tural country, with a fine climate, good fishing, and other advantages, it was the central supply post for all the other forts in the reiifion of the north Columbia. Established shortlv after Fort Vancouver, with its allotment of cattle, consisting of two cows and a bull, it had now like Fort Vancouver its lowing herds, furnishing beef, butter, and milk. It had, besides, bands of fine horses and other stock, and a grist-mill for the larfs, if thev wished to retire they must live not far from Fort Vancouver, and ccmtinue as the company's dei)end- ents, raising wheat, in ex(;hange for which they re- ceived sucli indispensable articles as their condition of life demanded. There were of this class, commonly called the French Canadians, a dozen or more families, most of them settled on a l)eautiful and fertile prairie about forty miles south of the Columbia, in the Valley Wil- lamette, They lived in log houses, witli large fire- ])laces, after the manner of plt)neers of other countries ; liad considerable land under cultivation ; owned liorses of the native stock, not remarkal)le for l)eauty, but tough and fleet; and had the use of such cattle as the l(i ()UE(i()X IN 1834. fur company chose to lend them. Numerous luilf- hreed cliildren played about their dy certain laymen, who, after having been received with the usual hospitality at Fort Vancouver, were busy erecting a dwelling and making other inij)rovements at the }»lace selected for their station, a little to the south of the French Cana- n'. Tn regard to the word Oregon, its signification and origin, I will hero give what is known. Its first appearance in print was iu the book of Jonathan Carver, who therein represents that he heard from the natives in the vicinity of the head- waters of the Mississippi, to which region he peuetratiMl as early aa 1T()<), oi a great river flowing int. he great western ocean, an.l called hy Hist. Oit., Vol.. I. 2 18 OKEOOX IX lau. them the Oreijou, Oreijan, or Orii/ttn. Nothing is said by Carver of tlie mean- ing or origin of the word. It is doubtful whetlier Carver understood the natives, or whether tliey made such a statement, though there may have been some sound or symlxd l)y wliich or from whicli to coin tlie word. There coubl have been no ol»jeet, apparent to us, for him to misrepresent ; he could never have dreamed that tliis probably meaningless sound, caught up from the wind by his too attentive ear, should ever be applied to the designation of a great progressive state. P'rom his atanch oiiriii/(tii are forms of the same word; but an the French had little to do witM tlie earliest history of tfie Northwest Coast, the origin of the name has nevei lieen ascribed to them. Of .all the conjectures hazarded by writers from time to time, the one th.'*; •suggests a Spanish origin from orejou, meaning 'a pull of the ear,' bi'.t for tliis purpose often interpreted ' long ear ' or ' lop ear, ' seems to have been most popular, though not supported by facts or probabilities. It has been often repeated, with not so much as a qualifying doubt, that the Spaniards travel- ling up the northern coast met a tribe of Indians with ears of extreme length, weighed down ))y heavy ornaments, and from tliis circumstance the Span- iards called them 'Long-ears,' and the country La Tkrni di' los Orcjoiix, which became corrupted into Orci/on by Englishmen and Anierican.-i. Otlier.-s assert that while the derivation is correct it was not properly ai)plied by these first-named writers, but that it signifies the country of lop-eared ralibits, this animal abounding there as well as in California. So popular became this tiieory in tiie mining times of 1848-9 that tlie Oregoniaiis went by tlie i. >iie of ' Lop-ears ' among the Californiau miners. Indeed, I suspect tliiri ;>pportuiiity to ridicule their ol>trudiiig neighbors, proving too good to be losi, really first gave currency to the idea. From jest it grew to earnest; soberer- minded people then began to lo< k for a more distant origin. On inves- tigation it does not appear that any tribe upon the Oregon coast was ever 20 ()UE«iON I.N KSH4. « IP iiioro (idilicted to tar oriiameiitation than is cninmon to all savaj^o nations, or that they woru heavier ornaments. Neither is Oregon inhabited by lop- lared rabbits in a degree to distingiUHh it from some otlier countries. Dates must not be disregarded as we look for proof or disproof of the cur- rent theories concerning the word. 'Ihat it is not of early Spanish origin is established by the fact that it does not occur in the Spanish voyages, or on the Spanish maps. The Spaniards never had a name for the Cohnnbia Ilivi r, unless it be Sun Rottuf, which they applied in 1775 on one of their maps, Carver's Mai*. without being sure that any river llowed there. On their sidiaecpient nmps in i 7!) 1-2, after the river had been visited, it was put rlown as Ifio tie In Columbia. It is clear, then, that the name Oregon had not been applied to the country l)y any navigator up to that time, nor for a long time afterward. 'Ihe word docs not occur in Lewis and Clarke's journal, though it is found in Jefferson's iiLstrnctions to Lewis, but not with reference to the river. It is not in any work published in the United States or England previous to the year 1811, the first year of American settlement, with one exception; that exception is the book of travels by Carver first mentioned, and which was published in London in 1778. It comes in thus: 'From the intelligence I gained from the Naudowessio Indians, among whom I arri\cd on the 7th of December, CAIlVKIl AM) lUlVANT. 21 .ps lu mbid. iiitry Iwonl any 1811, ptioii slied from Ibur, aiioint on the continent where three great rivers head near togetlu'r gave a weight to the former sup})ositiou which it did not merit. The first American writer, after Carver, to make u.se of the word Oregon seems to have been the poet Bryant, in 1817. Struck with the poetical images suggested to his youthful mind by reading Carver's narrative, and knowing just enough of the country, from the reports of ship-masters and rumors of the hasty government expedition of 1804 (i, to fire his imagination, he seized upon the word that fitted best his metre, ansls made that word immortal. The popularity of Bryant's verse both at home and abroad lixed it in the public mind. Its adoption as the name of the territory drained by the Kiver Oregon I am inclined to ascribe to the man who claims it. Hall 2*i oKKdON IN ih:w. J. Kelky, the evidence heing in Iuh favor, ami no a, was looking MArKENZiE's Map. for its origin, and says: 'Oregon, the Indian name of this river, was traceil hy me to a large river called Orjon in Chinese Tartary, whose latituile corresponds with that of Onyoii in America. The word Killdnnirk/i, the name of the trihe a little south of the outlvt of the Oregon, was also traced to 11 people called Kilviuc/in, who anciently lived near the mouth of the Orjon in Asia.' This coiueideuue, however, does not account for the nhanner in which Carver ohtained it; for he did not ohtaiu it upon the 8lu)res of the Pacific, hut about the head- waters of the Mississippi. Kelley, in his anxiety to prove hi.'j assertions, states, without other evidence than a reference to the ' .Miirine Archives of Madrid, 'that Cuadra, a Spanish capbiin in the service of the viceroy of Mexico in 1 7!>2, and who in that year was at Xootka with Captain Vancouver of the Britisli exploring scjuadron, and captains (Iray and Ingra- ham of the American trading fleet in the Pacific, 'called this rivcv Ori'i/on.' The reference to a manuscript in the archives of Madrid must iiave been for KKLLKY AM) HUMHOLDT. 98 <1i>tplay, giiico luitlier Kt'lUy imr liis reaoISLKHOfr 9. CllarlolU4 m, 'ing Omrgt Si ^"^%^^. QDIVIRA Pavnk's jVIai'. the Mississijipi, and running nearly dut^ west to the Pacific Ocean; it is called /fimr of till' WcM near its mouth, and /^'cc;- Oreijoii where it rises. In a similar work by Johr. I'ayne, New York, 17SM), the River of the West ia made to delmuch into the strait of Juan cle F\ica, while the name Oregon appears on the heail, which is far east of the heail of the Missouri. Both are evidently borrowed from Carver. li.she,l 'J l,„,.efo,.,. .1 the evidence vr.uM rea.U-Om/o. invent.,! hi ■ «">n.n.ng of I"« .....norials to Cn^ros. n " ! n'-' "'T' '"' ''^' '^'^"'-'>' ^''-''^'^ it frcu the three .sonLhe.rjiv;!!" '''"""' ""'""''' ^^''^ -'"l'^-' Jl. n,'y;., no. 101 0-7- J'^ninT t '^'''^ ^^"''■' ■'^^' Con.,., 3d 8,..., 7'm«.. 0.,/o. Plon^n- jJr^^'I^l '"-"'• ■\''"''- /->''. MS.. 15-11,; -■" ^'"n.n, Aug. 7 /sri. /;w,/f '■""""■'' '"""•"'///- i- 70: r./Z/br- ^"""•'/, Aug. 20, 1874, IW. R. R. R,^„,t i ', 'v^"' ,f '"• ^"^''"« C''-" Tnu to ore,o,, 170; si:';;':! if'-^-^^r';;: rru''" ''-"' ^"" Mn.yhy\. Onyon ])!r., 187-^ so- V a^ ' ' ^^"jl'Onl . ]\ orhl, v. {,10; PM MM If m CHAPTER II. LIFP: AT FOIir VANCOUVER. 1825- I S4(). MARRIAr.F, ReLATTONS — FiDKT.lTY- S(>( I.\l, CONDITIONS — MrLotTOHMX — Douglas — Pei .^k Skken <}leasing one. It was with the com- panv a matter of business, but with the individuals it was something different. To l)e forever debnrred from the society of intelligent women of their own race; to become the fathers of half-l)reed children, with no prosjK'ct of transriiitting their names to })osterity with increasing dignity, as is every i ight-minded man's de- sire ; to accunudate fortunes to be devoted to anvthing (2f.) MMVES AND CHILKKEN. 27 Imt t'iin()V)l(Mn<'nt — sucli was the ])rosent life and tlie visible future of these oeutlenieii. The coimeetion was so evidently and purely a husinesb .le that, as I have before stated, the native wives and children were ex- cluded from the officers' table, and from social inter- (M)urse with visitors, livinij^ retired in apartments of th. 1 ■ own, and keepinJot to be dtij^raded by conditions so anomalous pre- su]>poses a character of more than ordinary strength and loftiness; and this, a close scrutiny of the lives of the ])rincipal officers of the company in Oregon will show. But if there was ])rescnt no higher motive, ' 'i 111' fiiinilics lived separate ami in private entirely. ( ientlenien who came tratling to the fort ni^ver saw the family. ' We never saw anyl)od)j<'ction liy tlieir respective lords, to whom they are slav- isiily suhniissive. I hey an; not allowed to sit at the same tahle, or indeed at any tahle, for they still continue the .savage fashion of s(|uattingon the ground at their meals, at which their lingers supply the place of forks. 'J he propri- etors generally send their .sons to Canada or Kngland for eihication. 'Ihey liave a wonderfid aptitmlc for learning, and in a slii>rt time attain a facility in writing and speaking iioth French and Knglish that is quite astoni.shing. 'Iheir manners are naturally and iinaflectedly polite, and their conversation ilisplays a degree of pure, easy, yet ini])a.s.''ioned ehxpu'ncc! seldom heanl in the most refined societies.' '1 his is a soinewliat snjierticial view. 'Ihe quick- ness in the chililreii is true euo\igh, hut the paternal name soon disappears, 'i'lie daughters often marry whites, the sons .seldom. Saya another writer: ' Many of tli<^ officers of tlie company marry half-hreed women. 'I hese dis- charge their several duties of wif-, .Mid mother with fidelity, cleverness, and attention. They are in general go id hoiisowives; and are remarkalily ingenious as iicedle-women. Many of them, hesides possessing a knowledge of English, speak Frendi correctly, and possess other accomplishments; and they some- times atteiiil their husliands on tiieir distant and tedious journeys and voyages. I hese half-lireed women are of a superior class, lieing the daughters of chii'f traders and tactors, and other persons high in tiie comiianys service, liy In- ilian women, of a su[ierior desctiiit or of siiperi" .crsonal attractions. 'Ihough tiiey generally dress after tln^ English fashion, according as they see it used l>y tht^ English wives of the superior odicers, yet tlu^y I'etain one peculiarity tlu^ leggiu or gaiter, which is niai^.e, now that the tanned deerskin has been superseiled, ot thi' liiiest and most gau-' \ 'oloreil cloth, heantifuUy ornamented with heads.' /)iiiiii'x Orri/on Tnrifnn/, 147 S. 'I his seems to he iin eivst(>ru view jiresented .second-hand hy tiie author. Heforo l.S4'J or IStlJ tiiere was not a white \\ife of a Hudson's Hay officer in Oregon to he imitated. Aliout that time (Jeorge H. KohiTts, who had lieen on a visit to Englanil, hrought to Fort Vancouver the only white woman evtr at homo witiiin its walls. She diecl in IH.'iO at tlie Cowlitz farm. 28 LIl'K AT KOIIT VANCOUVKU. III! tlu'V were eonipelled to a lite of eouiparative viitiui by way of exnmple to their subordinates. He who respected not liis own marriage rehitions, or those of others, must suffer for it, eitlier l)y incurring tlie wratli of the c-ompany," or the vengeance of tlie na- tives, or both. Licentiousness could not be tolerated, and this was one reason why, with so many discordant elements in the service, such ])erfect ordi^r was main- tained. And this discipline was as rigidly enforced outside the fort as within it.'* Notwithstanding the conjugal n^lations here de- scribed, society at Fort Vancouver end)raced many happy elements, and nund)ered among its mend)ers men who would have graced a court. Fonnnost among these, we may be suri', was John McLoughlin, always a pleasing character to contem- ])late. On the consolidation of the Northwest and Hudson's Bay fur companies, he had l)een sent to •^ There is a story iu Cox's Coliimlmi Plii'r, .345, in which is given au iii- utauce of the seduction by one trader of another's wife; Imt it resulted in the seducer quitting tlie company's service, anil the discarding of the unfaith- fid niistresy. Cox also tells us that wlien a trader wislied to separate from his Indian wife ]ie generally allf)wed her an aniuiity, or married her comfort- ably to one of tlie voyageurs, who for a dowry was glad to becouie tlse 1ms- l»and of III ring up; the fatlier being a I'rotestant, McLoughlin would not put the daughter to a Catholic school, so conseiontioiis was lie.' Ap}ili'(i(i/r'.t I ■/>(/>■, MS., 14. '"See Hi/it. lirit. Vol., chap, xvii., this .series. " ' I have ofte!i smiled at Dougla-s' l)ehavior to people, honest perhaps, liut rough, who had not been accustomed to show much outward respect to any one; lii.s excessive politeness would e.xtort a little, in that way, from tl.eni.' /'ol>('rf.i' Ii'ecolli'clioiis, MS., 17. 32 LIFE AT FUUT VANCOUVKU. inipressed all tlie early settlers of Oreijon as heinj; much less approaehahle than the dootoi', Avhile at thi^ same time they could but admire his bearing toward them.'"' Next in rank at Fort A^aneouver was Peter Skeen Ogden, son of Chief Justice Ogden of Quebec. His father had been a loyalist, in early tunes, in New York, and had emigrated to Canada. Young Ogden was for a short time in the service of Mr Astor, and later of the Northwest Company, from which he was transferred to the Hudson's Bay Company. He had been active in establishing posts and negotiating com- mercial relations with Indian tribes. In one of his expeditions he discovered the Humboldt River.'* Og- den was a contrast in every way to McLoughlin and Douglas, being short, dark-skinned, and rather rough in his manner, but lively and v, Itty, and a favorite with everybody." He died at Oregon City in 1854, aged sixtv years.^'' Frank Ermatinger was another pc^rson of note at Vancouver; a stout Englishman, jovial and com- panionable, but rather too much given to strong drink. He was a successful trader, and was sent out to compete with the American fur companies in the Flathead and Nez Perce countries. Afterward, when Oregon City had been established, he took charge of the com})any's business there, and figured a little in American affairs, being nuich esteemed l)y the set- '■* ' Douglas would not flatter you. .McLougliliu w;is uioro free aiul vaay tliail lie. Hi! was a man borii to comuiaiid; a martial fellow. Jf"' never gave au evasive answer; he was a gentleman, too.' Wtili/o'i Critiijm.'y, .MS., 11. ^■'Ai>i>k';iy au eye-witness, of Ogden's Indian wife, to tlie effect tliat wlieu the Hudson's Hay and American companies were com- peting in the mountains, riding into tiie enemy's camp to recover a pack-animal loaded with furs, the gallantry of the American trappers permitted her to recapture the pack. Tlie Indian women were very useful to the traders in many ways. lAtTOKs, tiiai>j:j{s, and CLKJJKS. Xi tiers. Allan, a brother rlork, stiys he was soiiKitiiiies styled J-}ar(l()]i)]i at the fort, fVoiii tlie color and size of Ills nose; tliat hv, was fond of taikinin', and would aildress liiniself to tlie governor in all liuniors when others stood aloof, bearding; the lion in his den, as the clejks called it, and beiin'' met sometimes with it ^rowl. "Frank," said the governor, "does nothing i)ut bow, wow, wow!""* One of the most noted storv-tellers of the bach- elor's hall was Thomas McKa}^ a step-son of Mc- LougJilin- — for the doctor's wife was an Ojibway woman, formerly the wife of Alexander McKay, who was lost on the ToDquin. Thomas McKay acquired a reputation for daring which matle him the terror of the Indians. Townsend, who met him at Fort Vancouver, said he often spoke (»f the death of Ids father with the bitter animosity and love of ven- geance inherited from his Indian mother; and that he declared he would yet be known on this coast as the avenjjfer of blood. But had he been in truth so hloody-minded he could hardly have been so success- ful a trader. He was undoubtedly brave, antl led many a trailing jwrty into the dreaded Blackfoot country ; and was accustomed to anmse the clerks at Fort Aumccmver with his wonderful adventures. In telling a story, says Allan, he invariably commenced, "It rained, it rained; and it blew, it blew" — often throwing in by way of climax, "and, my God, how it did snow!" (|uite regardless of the unities. McKay was tall, dark, and powerful in appearance, and often Strang-^ in his deportment. Perhai)s the tragical fate of hih father had impressed him, as well as the recollection that in iiis own veins ran savatjfe blood. His first wife was a Chinook, the mother of William McKay of Pendleton, who was brouglit uj) '* Enncatinger married a Miss Sinclair, a relative of Doctor McLoughliii's wife. He was rather too intimate witli the doctor to suit Sir (leorge Simpson. He went home to England on a visit, and, to annoy the doctor, Simi)son pre- vented his return to Oregon, where he ha favorite Pambrun, and the friend and ally afterward of the American missionaries in tlie upper country. He possessed that very necessary acquirement in an Indian countrv, knowledge of the native character."" '■'' Mr Paiultrun was of Freudi (.'aiiadian origin, ami wius foniiL-rly a lieu tenant in the I'oltit/i'iirH ('(inndkn.t. His wife was a native woman, l)y wliom lie liail several children. One of liia daughters was married to l>r Barclay, of the Hudson's Bay Company, in IS.SS, at the same time that her father was formally married to her inotlier. l'aird)ruu died in 1M40, from bruises received in a fall from his horse, occasioned hy the slipping of tiie giii/■. SpecMtor, Aug. 5, 1847; I'irtor's Hirer of the M'est, 31. 'M LII'K A I I'OKT VANiint se<'ur'ity. ivxcept in thi; vicinity of Fort Vancouver, or aniontjf the (hseased and wasted tril)es of tlie Wilhmiette and (\ihunbia valleys, tlu-n^ needed to he exercised sleepless vijj^i- lance, and a scrui)ulous reiifard to the sujH'rstitions of the (liH'erent tribes. ( 'hief Factor Samuel Black, in chai'n^e of Fort Kam- loop at the junction of Fraser and '^rhomi)son rivers, was a great favorite, antl many were the stories told of him." His nuu-der by one of the fort Indiiins shows that, though he had l;ei'n among them many years, he was no more safe from tiieir fury or super- stition than were others."^ William (jrlen Hnc, a large, handsome man, educated at Ediuburgli, was a native of the Orkney Islands. From IH.'U to I8;}7 he was emi)loye(l as trader at the dirt'erent posts, and was then appointed head clerk at Fort A^ancouver. In I HoS luMuarried Maria Eloiso, daughter of J)r McLoughlin, soon after which he was ap})()inted chief trailer, antl sent to Stikeen Kiver in IH40 to receive from the Russians their fort at that })lace, leased to the Hudson's Bay Company. He left the po.st at Stikeen in cliarge of John McJjoughlin, son of ])r McLoughlin and brother of his wife. In 1841 he was sent to California to take charge «;f the -' Tradorn of iiitorior j)o«ts were in constant (liin<,'cr of Tinliaii attacks (hily a few men could bo ke))t at eaeli post, and the Indians at times were dis- contented. Wliou in want of provisions they cfmld not get, they would become I lesperate and easily excited, liitniclt'x Ricollir/ioii", M.S., i. 1J2. '■'■^Sec }/int. Xortliiir.it Count, passim, this series. Black was an odditv. He iiad a ring presented him at the coalition of the Northwest and Hudson'^s Bay companies, engraved, ' To the most worthy of the worthy Northwesters. ' Bolivrts Jierollectioii.% M.S., !). '" MrKi)iltii/'n Nar., MS., 13, 14; SiinpnoHH Nnr., i. IT)?; h'obcrtu'' lieroUa-- lion.", M.S., 10; ToiV.'^ NcwCnleilonh, MS., 13-19. Ft'HTHEK CHARAtTEUlSTICS. a; vij^n- loatod aiuls. it tlu' ik at loise, was er in that e left lilin, 11 10 T tJ ktaoks . Ho iBay sters.' leollri: foinpuny s l)usiiio.ss, wliidi c(»iitimu'(l uiidor liis nian- uircnifiit until his death hy hi.s own hand in IH4(>.** John MeLouglilin. junic .-, second son of Dr Mc- Jioughlin, was hut a young man to bo placed in charge of a fort, and appears to liavo hoon in no way worthy of the name he horo. About a year after Mr liao left him at Stikeen. he was murdered by his own men, Canadians and. kanakas. An account of the affair is given in the History of Uie North wed Coast One who kne,v him <'alled him too y<»ung and hot-headed for such service ; but there is reason to think that he brought about his own death by his debaucheries.'^'' JSir (leoige Simpson, who investigated the nmrder, treated it in such a way as to incur the life-long dis- pleasure of Dr McLouglilin. This, however, was not the only cause for ofi'ence,'" a tacit disagreement having existed for at least ten years between the resident gov- ernor of the Hudson's Bay Ccmipany and the 'emperor of the west.' Sir George was of humble though re- spectable origin, a Scottish family of Caithness, and his father was a schoohaiaster. He was in the possession of no personal qualities that could awe McLoughlin. -* Mrs Uai; had tliree children when .she returned to Oregon on the death of her husl>and, a sou and two daugliters. '1 lie sou inherited a largo property in the Orkney Islands, but died early. The daughters became Mrs Theodore Wygaiit and Mrs Joseph Myriek of Portland. Mrs llae was married again to Daniel Harvey of Oregon City, who wiis in charge of McLoughlin 's mills at that place, and by whom she had two sons, Daniel and Janies, both becoming residents of Portland. Noherts' liec, Mii.,'24, f)7; Harvey's Li/e of McLough- lin, MS., passim. '^•' l)octor MuLoughlin hatl three sons; the eldest, Joseph, was uneducated. He settled at the mouth of the Yamhill River, and died there. His widow, who was a daughter of Mr McMillan of the Hudson's Bay Company, in early Astoria days marrieil Etienne t irt^goire, a French settler. David McLoughlin, the younger son, was sent to Paris and London for education, and was some time at Addiseoinbe, where young men are trained for the East India Com pany. He returned to Oregon, spent his inheritance, and became a resident of Montana. ■^" ' I don't know how the feud between the doctor and Sir George originated. The doctor was "at outs," I think in 1831, and threatened to retire; and Dun- can Finlayson, who afterwards married a sister of Lady Simpson, and cousin of Sir George, came to supersede him. The doctor did not leave for England till March 18H8, and returned still in the employ of the company. It wa.s said that Sir G'.'orge had prei)areark i/t,it(/i'. Captain Charles Kissling. She wa.s only 213 tons, had a crew of l\0, carried 6 cannonades in the waist, ami was for all Indian purposes a safe sh'p. 'Iho small si/t was owing to the diflieulties and dangers of the Columbia, th -i 'jcing no charts, buoys, or pilots in those days. Wc arrive! at the Columbia li SOME WRITEllS. 31) loin^ It is, rittfu there III {h in l(hh of rest !iiu (tf i/lmi/'n lit the I re- |)l)UIl(l ami lirrioil 'Uio Ith' "i Biiilna ■•5lj Alexanflor Caullield Anderson was born at Cal- cutta in India, in 1814, and educated in England. At about twenty years of age lie entered the service of the Hudson's Bay Cor.ipany on the Northwest Coast, but was not so much at Fort Vancouver as north of tliat fort. Fr.Mu his inanuscri})t Hiskmj of Ihe XortJnrcst C(ia4 much valuable and interesting matter has been obtained. Doctor Forbes Barclay came to Ore,.;<':i in the ser- vice of the coiupany in 1839, and remained at Fort Vancouver till 1850, when he became a resident of Oregon City Mid a natui-alized Amei'ican citizen. Barclay was a native of the Shetland Islands, and was born on (^hristmas-day, 1812. While but a lad after calling at the S. Islaiuls, ahout Augus^i Ist. The iipjjrentices were traiis- lerri'l t*i the Cudhoro, for tho c«ii«t — lint all hands were ill with the ague (wo calk'il it). We Iiatl to go into tt^iits in Baker'.s Hay. I was the last to fall ill, aufl w;is sent to Fort < reorge when tlie ship sailed for the Nortliwest Coast. I went to Vaiicoiivor in t'ulpruary and assisted Douglas (Sir .lames), wlio was then a clerk on DICK) a year. When the expedition to tlu! Stikeen was fitted out in "M 1 apiplied to join my seliool-mates, 1)ut oji the return of the exix^li tion, in the winter of "34-3."), 1 ha(iuglas assumed charge, and took me for aid Mistead of Mr Allan to oversee the men. We )iad ahout 1(H) to !.")(), sometimes '-MM), and I w;us the overseer. I eontinueil in tliis witll tlu; exceptions of a. month or two at C'im litz farm in '.'?',(, Oregon ( 'ity in '40, and ( 'lianipotig in '4'2. I left tliat seiison, Novemlier '4'J. for Mngland, with < 'aptain McNeill, as a pas- senger of course. Tlie doctoi an • Douglas, then the hoard of niaiiagemeiit, reatl tome tlieir puhlic lettei eomim cling me to the governor and comnnttee, and tluniglitfully i.sking them ti > allow me to return if I was so disposed, lireaking the rule of the M-rvice in my ease — generally there was no return to t.lio service. We leaeliea '.ondoti by way of the Islands, 10th of May '4;i. 1 was soon tii'eil of lunne, where I was out of ])lace and a nohody, and availing myself of the tlioughtfnluess of tiie doctor and Douglas, marri<;d my first cousin. Miss Maitiia Cable, of Aldhorough, and sailed from ('owes, Isle of Wight, otii of Dec<>.i,l>er, on hoanl tliL' hark /init/urs, Captain I'lere, a char- tered ship; '-'.ud arrived at tiie Islands in April, where we took as fcdlow-pas stn.'jer Rev. (ieorge (ifvry. who was coming to settle up the .Mi-thodist .Mission hi- mess alter the death of .fason Lee. |Mr (iary si^t out hefon; the deatli of .la .HiliOe.l Wo arriveil safely at N'aneouver in .May '44. From theiiee on to D cenlier '41), I luul charge of the company's ilepot, wholi'sale Inisini-ss, that it I r' i.'eived and shipped all cargoes, kept separate account of eacli po»t and f dp. 1 may say that up to that time 1 had a better aciinaintaut^' of ail thingH '; Vanoouver tlum anybody else. I came young, soon b .irMcd p'reni ii and li.dian, knew wluie e\ erytlnng was, and everybody. 1 hardly thiidc there was a book or paper that 1 hi"In't fullest access to. I went to take charge of the ( 'owlit;'. tarni in 184,i. In '48 came the ineash's, and a sei'iie of de.tth; ill '4!»a typluiid or eamp fever, of which my poor wife died in .inly 'M. In ';">."> I luarried Miss Rose Birnie, of Aberdeen, Scotland.' i H II 40 LlKJi; AT FOKT VANCUUVEn. lie wont i;ui'o,)iaii. May 17, 1873; Portland Her- •il,', .May 17. IH'li; S. /•' Coll, May 111, 1873. "'It was during this year that the ship WiWaw mul Aim was cast away win 11 a little distance inside the har of the Columhia, and all on hoard, 'JG MANSON AXJ> M.LKOl). 41 In 1829 Mansoii {ic('(»in})ursous, lost. Tliis, liowevor, was boforu tlio jirrival of the American ve.s.sols or Mr Maiisou at tlie inoutli of the river, and there were none Imt Indian wit- nesses. Tiie erew gained the siiore witli arms wet ami (U'fencehiss, anil were all miussacred hy the t'latsoiis. This wjus avenged, and the two t'latsop chiefs killed. Tlie Ixohellit, Cafttain llyan, ran agronnd on Sand Island in IHSO, and Wiis abandoned hy tlie crew, wlio proliahly dreaded the fate of those of the Williitm itinl Ann. Tlie vessel was lost, llad the men remained hy the sliiji until the tide turned tliey miglit have saved her. A part only of the cargo w;us lo.st. Ace (iiiii Fro.it',1 Or., KM) 7; Naliirfs' JtWollir/ioiit, .SlS.. 1."). Tlie h)ss of another vessel two year.s later, ijuite as imieli as the occasional visits of Anierieau traders, caused tlie company to occupy the post at Astoria con- tinuously after 1S;?0. ■'^ Triiii.'i. Or. Pioii. A,i.tof., DST'J, .")(!; /{iirmi's M; S^ili'iii Fnniin; .March 17, 1870. .Mr Manson's wift^ was Felice Lucier, of l''rench I'rairie, whom lie married in Octoher 1828, at whicli time her father had heeii two yt-ars .settled in the Willamette N'allcy. ■^^ Port Id ml /'ii<-if!r,(:/iri.iliiin Ailrarufr, .March (I, 1S7:1. .McLeod whih' in tlie mountiiius suil'ered so Bcverely witli liiles tiiat he could neitiier riih' nor sit, hut was carried on a litter between two horses. Tiie hnliaii wife of an .Vnierican trappir, Klilierts, gave liim a tea made from pounded iistory of events will jioint to the justice or injustice of i)o])ular opinion. .Vrchihald .McDonald, for a long time iu charge of Fort t'olville, and who had a daughter famous for her heauty, talents, ane II. Til.! iliitiidii. |\Il<> liail us Mc- axwi'll, at Fdit graced ;iys the ,s iiiailu f ohai'- yuais .f the H, anil ualloil (it tlio leetod uoiiM fdl'lllH |iii till' in all Cliol- rhapn others being seated aceordiiii;' to rank. Xo more time was consumed at table tlian was convenient; there was present neither gkittony nor intemperance.*' IT i;-uest8 were present tJio cliief devoted some time to them; after dinner lie showed them the farm and .stock, offered them horses and guns, or perhaps made up a pai'ty to escor-t them wherever they wished t<» go. Did tliey remain at the fort, there was the oppoi - tunity to study a whole museum of curious things from all parts of the .savage and civilized worlds all kinds of wea})ons, dresses, ornaments, mechanisms, and art. When these were exhausted there were the pipe and books, and the long-drawn tales of evening. Wher't; were met together so many men of adventurous lives, mariners who had circunniivigcitcd the gh)be, leaders of tra[)[)ing parties through thousands of miles of wildcrni'ss, among tribes of liostile savages, in heat and cold, in sunshine and stoini, contending always with tlu' iidiospitablc wliims of n\other nature, there could bo but little fla<>t>ing in the conversation. Some- times the .story was a tragedy, sometimes a comedy: but no matter what the occasion f(»r mirth, discipline was always pii's(>r\'ed and j)i'oprietv regai'ded. Afany Americans found shelter and entertain- ment at Vancouver, as \ve shall .see, most of whom have made suitablt; acknowledu'ment, testifvinu- to tiie gener-ous assistance given to (ivery enterprise not in conHict with the coni])any's business. Wluither it was a rival trapj)ing })arty lik(! Jedediah Smith's, which found itself in trouble, or an unlucky trader like \N yeth,''* a mi.ssionarv, a naturalist, or a secret " ' I can SCI' (HiroM N'ain'oiiviT ilinning-hall, with tlu' iloctoi'at the head of till) tilhli; siiiidt'iily pull tlio hcUtiussi'l. " Bruce I' and in a few minutes Bruce would he on hand «ith an oiion uiuU, from which a [liuch would ho taken, without a word on either «ide. The (loctnr never .siiio'-od; chewing wa.s out of the (|ne»tioii; ho occasionally took siiufl', hut soerved afraid to trust himself w itii any.' f,'ol„r/K' ItifolkHioi,'', MS., :i8. "' Wht II Wyetli returned home he sent out a keg of choice smoking 'ol)acco with a friendly letter, to the gentlemen ol Ba.'lielor's Hali. 'I'he doctor and he were great frien.ls, and corrcsiionded for many years afterward. Allnnn /fimiiiixnnris, MS., ".). The tohacco sold hy tlie eonipar.y was mostly from lirazil, twisted into io]h' an inch m diameter, and coiled. It went by the name of liail-rojic tolmeeo among the .\mericar. settlers. u I, IKK Al" KOUT VANCOUVKH. 11 aijccnt of the Uiiitod States in (lis»niist', one universal law of brotherhood eiiihiaeed tliem all. Their charity sometimes went so far as to elotlie as well as house and feed wanderinj^' stars of American wit, as in the case of Thoraas J. Farnham, wlio visited Fort Van- couver i(i 18 CD.''' Likewise theie were other resources at hand. Tlie annual slnj) biought hooks, ri'views, tiles of news- l>apers ; and the mail was brought overland by express from York Factory, Red River, and Canada. With uch d the leadi )f th arrival tne leadmg to{)ics ot tne tune were discussed, more closely l>erhaps from the lengtli of time before the* next batch of .subjects could be ex- pected. A'^ery early in Fort X'^ancouver life, owing to the relative positions of the two governments, British and American institutions and ideas were com- l>ared, and defended or condenmed accortling to the \ iews of tlie disputants.'*" But after the advent of the first niissionaries and settlers as an An)erican element, these discussions became more frecjuent, and in fact developed a great deal of j»atriotism on one side, and a liberality not to be ex[)ected on the otiier. John Dunn ri'lates that in those dayn, from L8:U to 184;}, then; were' two parties at Foit \ anouver, i)atriots, and liberals, or philosophers."' Tlie Briti.sh, or pa triots, maintained that the governor was too chival- rous, that his geni'i'osity was tlirown awa} , and would be unre(]uited, that he was nourishing thost' who wcmld bv and 1)V rise and (luestion liis own authority, and the British right to Fort Vancouver itself This party cited the American free tra|)pei". and the advo- cates of the border lynch-law, as s})ecimens of Ameri- can ci\ ilization. They had no faith in American ■'■' ' Kariihiuii was a jovial, jolly fellow . l>oiiglii.s fitted liiiii oirt from his ow-u warilrolu! ho as to make hiiu preseiitiilile at mess, h'olx'r/.i' liVCoUrvtioiis, MS., !7. '"' ' The doctor was very foiid of argmnelit, especially on iiistorical points connected witii the first Napoleon, of wlioni lie was a j;reat adrnir>er, and often entereii into them with Captain Wveth.' .(/^(»'.^■ I!iiiihii.ia'n<'i''<. MS., !), ^' Dunn was very il'-'/eral toward the Auiericans, having I>»^n e.xcitetl h^ the eoHipetitiou on »he north coast, wiile stationed at Mui/ank Sf»und. liohert"' mrothcfioN^. MS.. 1. ",'M I'ATUKVrs AM) I.IBKHALS. 4o With J were ;-tll of be ex- owing ueiits, B coin- to the of the 'luent, II faet e, and John 184;}, riots, r pa n\al- Adiikl who »rit\ . Th'is idvo- neri- Irieau .S.,!7. ] points |l ot'tmi iftunii. missionaries, noi' approbation for American traders. In sliort, tlie term Ameriean with tluMn was synon}'- mous witli boorishness and dishonesty. The hbcr.d jiarty, of whieii McLouglihn was nnder- stood to be tlir leader, thoutj^h they admitted tliat Americans were not exem})t from cliarges of trickt'ry and tyranny, l)ein«»; slaveliolders, and sonustimes even as states repndiating- lionest debts; and tliat the lialf- apostolical and lialf-agricultural cliara^-ter of the missionaries was not, in their judgment, the liigliest example of clerical dignity; and that the American traders did domineer over and corrupt the riatives; yet he thouglit that Americans ought not to be ex- cluded, because they had some claims to tlie right of occupancy, claims really existing, though feeble, wliich would make it both im[)olitic and unjust to prevent them any possession. And as to American lynch -law and other usages repugnant to justice and liunuijiity, they were ratlier I'xceptions to the American cod»; than examples of American principles (»f legislation, which in commercial and civil matters was, generally speak- ing, just and humane, and fnun which even British legislation might derive some us* ful hints. They had hopes, too. tliat the Americans, by tlie iuHui-nce of the gentlemen fur-tradei's. would beconi more civilized. Sucli sentiments amused Farnhain when he was at Fort Vancouver,''"' and troubled many later comers, who felt tlieir national iliunitv assaulted l)v Britisli patronage of tliis son.'^" There was an An-adian Nunpltcity aitout Fort N'ancouver life, in it> early days, tiuit awakens some- ^*' 'Another was a Mr Simpson, a yonnf,' Sooti ' maxi of ro.sp<'ctal>li- family, a clerk in tlii mtM-iiy and ^ihhI feeling, wiU informed on general topics, and like most otlu i Bntisli buhjeets aUroad, tronlileil witii an irrepressible anxiety at the growing pow-r of the States, and an o\ erwhulniing loyalty toward the mother country and its soven-ign skirts.' Farnfiam's Cult- J'orniii II till h the Willamette Valley, as occurred at rare intervals. On these occasions Indian women were conspicuous. In addition t«) the trapiuu's' wives, there M'as the grand dame, the wife of the l)ourgeois, or leader. Seated astride the finest horse, whose trappings, were ornamented with colored quills, beads, anil fringes to which huno" tiny hells that tinkled with everv mo- tion, herself dressed in a petticoat of the finest Idue hroadclotli, with embroidered scarlet leggings, and moccasons stiff witli tlie most costly beads, her black braided liair surmounti-d by a hat trimmed with gay I'ibbon, or su[)poi'ting drooping feathers, slie presented a picture, if not as elegant as that of a lady of the sixteenth century at a liawking party, yet quite as striking and brilliant. When the caravan was in progress it was a })ano- rama of gayety, as each man of the l>arty, from the chief trader and clerk down to the last tra])per in the train, filed past with liis ever-j)resent and faithful help- mate in her i)rettiest dress. After them came the Indian boys, driving the ]»ack-horses, with goods and camp utensils. When the governor went on a visit, it was like a royal j)romenade; the camp equipage con- sisted of evervtliing necessarv for comfortable lod^i-in"', and a bountiful table, the cook being an important member of the numerous i-etinue. Here was feudalism on the western seaboard, as I before remarked. Tht; Canadian farmers were serfs to all intents and pur- poses, yet with such a kindly lord that they scarcely felt their bondage; or, if they felt it, it was for their good.*' " ' It \va.s a iiinst remarkalilc condition of tilings. The old doctor would go lown to t'hanii)oeg, and wliatevur lie toltl them to do, they would do. If they were shiftles.s, he wouM not give them half what they wanted. If thev were industrious, even if they wore not successful, he would give them what they wanted. He kept himself constantly informed aoout thos(! people, as to how they were doing. If they went around horse-racing, ho woul.l lecture them severely, and inak.; them afraid to do so. There were no laws or rules. If 48 J.IFK AT K(»l!l' VANCOrX T.U. So nlisolntc was McL(»ut;lilin's autlioritv tliat pre- vious totlie scttlciiuiiitot" Ainericaus in tlio Willanietto A'allcy no Icu^al forms lialaces of tr-ade within Ihulson's Bay territory." The ( 'anadians and other servants of the company yielded without esides, turbulent in tlu.'ir habits, and might [)ut thoughts of insubordination into the minds of the company's people. Foreseeing the troubles that would arise on this account, McLoughlin took timely measures to pi'o- vide against them, and ])rocured, by act of ])arbament, the appointment of justices of the peace in difi'erent parts of the country, James Douglas tilling that office at Fort Vancouver. These justices were empowered to adjudicate ui)on minor ott'ences, and to impose pun- ishment; to arrest criminals guilty of serious (;rimes and send them to Canada foi- trial; and also to try and give judgment in civil suits where the amount in dis- thcre wtTc any disputes, lie settleil tlu^m ail)itrarily. .Fust wliat lie said was tliclaw.' Cnnr/on/ nJlis.t., MS., 10. ' He -was a disoijiliiiariaii, strict and stem to tlios(^ nn A.MKRICANS. 49 h this MHont, iereiit office weired I ])U11- 1-rinu's fv and In dis- laiil was lid stern Ihatever them.' pute did not exceed two hundred pounds; and in ea.-o of non-payment, t<> inijuison the debtor at their own forts, or in the jails of Canada. J)unn relates tiiat in the discussions at Fort A'an- eouver the hbera! party had an advantage, even in Ids estimation, wlien the ne,<;;k'ct of tlie home gov- trmncnt, and of tlie Britisli and Foreign ALissionary Socit'ty, touching tlie conversion and civiliziition of tlie natives, was brought u}). The })atriots were fitrced to admit that this state of affairs was highly censurable, and that since England had so grossly neglL'cteart of the tlay was allowed for anmsements. After the first American missionaries came to Oregon, the doctor (juestioned whether it was right to be without a cha])lain at Fort Vancouver, or dignified for so great a conn)any to pay so little regard to religious forms. The American ministers mij»ht not be to his taste, but some there should be who were. These Ameri- cans, uncouth })erliaps in dress and bearing, had set themselves to teach not only the children of the Cana- dians, but those within the fort, his children, and the sons and daughters of uentlemen hiiih in the com- pany s service. Should he not have to aeknowledge that they had been missionari(^s to him? Such an admission ndght never ])ass liis li})s; but in many ways he must ac- knowledge his approbation of the work, and his heart was full of fi.endliness toward them, which alas I they did not always requite ,with kindness. They could not be so liberal toward him as he had been with them. He followed their lead whenever he saw good in it, even when he was doubtful of its being the best Hist. Ok., Vol.. I. 4 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V / O %^t^ :A C/a ■Zc 1.0 I.I 1.25 " 112 „„,2 2 2.0 JA III 1.6 iiC Photograph! Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 872-4503 4^ iV iV \ :\ ^ is r.^ O"^ 4> %^ ' clerks l)oors, the women savaaes. Here was a finis beginning of Enolish mis- sionarv work! And yet the feudal lords could not deny it. Theie was ^[rs Jane Beaviu", who had accom- panied h<'r husl)and. They might kick the chaplain, MKIHTY MRS BEAVER. 51 Scribes lloxioii jatorv, leas of lefiled buver. roiiieii |i inis- (1 not ^com- Iplaiii, but the chaplain's wife had a way with lier, recognized in all Christian coninmnities, of calling such manner of living vile. These lords of the Hudson's Bay Coni- panj' were compelled to chew the reflective cud, and tt) stifle their warmth at clerical interference, wliile they slowly made up their minds to take the only alternative left them, if they would associate with olergvmen and clergymen's wives. It was not enough for the Beavers that the governor, the chief factor, chief traders, and clerks attended the Sunday service and oV)served decorum. There was an abominati<>n within the walls of the foi-t that Christianity could not tolerate. Had Beaver's objections to the domestic relations of Foi"t Vancouver been his sole ground of criticism, his natural fli|)pancy and professional arrogance might have been tolerated. But he found many things that were wronir in the practices of the Hudson's Bav Comj)any, and so reported to the Aborigines Pro- tection Society at London, to which he complained that his attempts to introduce civilization and Chris- tianity among one or more of the neighboring tribes had not succeeded, because his ettbrts had not been seconded by the company. The ti'uth was, that Beaver was quite too nice for the task of civilizing Indians in the vicinity of Fort Vancouver. He was dissatisfled with the plain quarters assigned him, the parsonage being only a cottage built of rough lum- ber, uncarpeted except witli Indian mats, which Mrs Beaver prcmounced filthy, and unfurnisheti witli any of the elegancies of an Englisli parsonage. He despised and disliked the natives, and ablK)red the [tractice ot the jrentlemen at Fort A^ancouver of coliabitino- witli them. Roberts .says that Beavei' kept a good tai)le, al- though his salary was only £l'00 a year; imt every- thhig was furnished him except clothes. He was kind enough to invite the young clerk to diimer frequently, but Roberts thinks the risk im])osed ujion his smd in 52 UFE AT FORT VANCOUVER. making him sponsor-general to a motley crowd of the vilest of the vile, whom the chaplain insisted on hap tizing in his character of missionary, more than offset the dinners. While Beaver haptized reluctant heathen, white red, and mixed, in the intervals of his hunting and other anmsements, Mrs Jane Beaver held herself scornfully aloof from the wickedness of private life at Fort Van couver. When she had been present about six weeks, there arrived from across the continent two other white women, wives of missionaries also, who re- mained as guests of the C(mipany from SepteMiber to November, and who soon made themselves acquainted with its social life, not in the manner of Mrs Beaver, but in a humble, kindly way, which won for them the deference of every gentleman from the governor dowai. Finally, in January 1837, Mr Beaver had the satis- faction of celebrating the church of Enohuid mar- riage-service at the nuptials of James Douglas and Nelia Connolly. McLoughlin too thoroughly despised Beaver to submit to remarriage at his hand, but to quiet the scandal w'hich the chaplain so loved to scatter in Europe;, he had the civil rite performed by Douglas in his capacity of justice of the peace. Whereupcm, in the nostrils of Mrs Beaver the social atmos})here of Fort Vancouver became somewhat purified of its aboriginal stench, though to the pure- minded and chivalrous gentlemen of the fort the Beavers were far more obnoxious than the aboriginals. Beaver returned to England in 1838, having been an imnate of the fort a 3'ear and a half His depart- ure was hastened by an unusual outburst of the doctor's disgust. It was the chaplain's duty to for- ward a written report to the London council, which he was required to place in McLoughlin's hands be- fore sending. On reading one of these reports, the contents so incensed the doctor that he demandi'd an explanation on meeting the waiter in the fort yard. The reverend gentlemen re})lied : "Sir, if you wish AN IMPUDENT CLERCJVMAN. 5;j to know wliy a cow's tail ^roxvs downward, I cannot tell you; I can only cite the fact." Up went the gcvenior's cane of its own volition 2w dt'" ^t^"tf ^ ''"'' ^^^^^^^ "^ '^ 1-^ ^-d "- in n .V' r '''"''i ^^'"^^' "I'"'^ *^'^' siioulders of the iinpudont diynie. Beaver shouted to his wife for his pistols long-barrelled flintlocks; but on retlec ion c , <-lud.u^ he would not kill the d<,ctor just then, nZ day there was an auction of the effects of Captain Hone, drowned m the Columbia; and while the P->plo were gathered there, McLoughlin W t c for ho nuhgnity I laid upon you yestLay » ^-'sf? I dl not accept your apology," exclaimed the cha ' F;;rt! A^n::ter>'""^""^ ""' "^ ^"^- ^^-Pi-- to Journal: Om-laml Monthh, viii Tl . "I ([>« ^och/ MoiaitaiM ; Palmer'., « a. related by an eycSl^s ' '"' ^'^'''''''' -^^^'Lougiaiu and Beat4r CHAPTER III. settlement of oregon. j8:w-18:m. Thk Flathead.s at St Loris — They Ask for Missionariks — Intkrkst Kaisek AMON(i Relihious People — The C'hurihes Roused — A(;tion OF THE Methodist Board — Ja.son and Daniel Lee Chosen Missiona- ries — Wyeth (.'onsulted— Jockney Oveuland from Independence — PREAi'iiiN(i at Fort Hall— Arrival at P'okt VAXiorvKR— Visit to THE WlLLAMETlE VaLLEY — MISSION SlTE ( 'H08EN — REASONS FOR Abandomn(j the Flathead Plan — The French Canadians — Campe- MENT DU SaHLE — HaLL J. KeLLEV— fSo.MKTHINi! ABOUT THE Men Who Came with Lewis and Clarke, the Astor Expeditions, Wyeth, Kelley, and Ewino Young. About the year 1832 four native chiefs from the rcLjion round the head waters of the Columbia ap- peared at St liouis asking for Mr Clarke, of the Lewis and Clarke expedition, then resident Indian agent at that place. Their fathers had told them of his visit to their nation. From various sources, from the praise of pious travellers and the oaths of impious trappers, they had learned of the white man's God, and the V)ook which he had given. And now, would the great white chief grant tlieir prayer and send religious men to point their people the way to heaven? It was promisetl them accoi'ding to tlieir request. Soon after two of them sickened and died; t)f the other two, one met death during his return, and the other reached his people and reported.^ 'Such ia the story, Miniplitietl from iiiauy ('onriicting statements, and pro- iOM. 55 This incident, lioralded tlirouglitlio pres.s, elaborated in the pulpit, and wioui^ht into divine and spiritual foniis by fervid reli^nonists. wiio saw in it the finger of God pointing westward, awakened general interest in that direction. Moved l)y ins})iration, they saitl, and in obedience to the order of a council of chiefs, these messengers liad come from beyond the Rocky Mountains, travelling thousands of miles, and under- going many hardships and dangers; and in the accom plishment of this sacred work they had yielded U}> their lives. Among others the Missiona.y Board of the Methodist Episcopal Church was importuned to establish forthwith a mission among the Flatheads. the ap- the idian u ot roni Itious ;od, lould icnd on? Iiest. the the pre ■ linintl ].l l.y also iFlat- licada and Nez Percys haeeu Ijroken up, they changed their destination, and wen : to Liberia. ' And Kelley himself says; ' In the year 1832, I pulilished several articles in the Zion'n Hernli/'—wc affidavit of tlie editor, \V. B. Brown, Jan, .30, 1843— ' calling for missionaries to accompany the expedition, and two years after, .lason aud Daniel Lee wei'e sent to commence missiouai-y labors on t..b Wal- laniet. ' JASON AX1> 1>ANIEL LEE. in his iiiovonu'iits; of ligiit roiiiplt'xiou, thin Hps closely shut, prominent nose, and rather massive jaws; eyes of superlative spiritualistic blue, hi»?h, retreatino- forehead, carrying- mind withhi ; soniewliat lono- hair, pushed l)ack, and yivin^" to the not too stern but positively niaiked features a siiohtly puritanical as- pect; and withal a stomach like tliat of an ostrich, which would digest anything. In attainments there was the broad open pasture of possiliilities rather than a well-cultivated tield of orchard, grain, and vine land. He believed in the tenets of his church; in- deed, whatever may become of him, liowsoevei' he may behave under those varied and untried conch- tions which providence or fortune hold in store, we may be sure that at this beginning, though nt)t devoid of worldly aml)ition, he was sincere and sound to the core. Strong in his possession of himself, there was nothino- intrusive in his nature. Though talkinij was a part of his })rofession, his skill was exhibited as much in what he left unsaid as in his most studied utterances. Frank and atfable in his intercourse with men, he inspired confidence in those with whom he had dealings, and was a general favorite. If his in- tellect was not as broad and bright as Burke's, there was at least 'lo danger of the heart hardenino; throuixh the head, as with Robespierre and St Just. Un- questionably he was a little outside of the ordinary minister of the period. Some would have said he lacked refinement; others that his l)rusque straight- forwardness was but simple honesty, unalloyed with clerical cant, and strip[)ed of university gown and sectarian straitlace. We shall find him later delighting in his manhood; and while he would not so darkly sin as to quibble over his creed, forest freedom proved a relief from the prison walls of prescribed forms. The nephew, JJaniel, was quite a different charac- ter, less missionary or man com})lete than su})plement to the uncle. Like Boswell beside Johnson, measured beside his colleague, the form and character of Daniel M ISKTTLEMENT OF OKE(iON. assume laij^'er {noportioiih than thoy are really entitled to ; he was in truth a desiccated Dominie Sampson, that later stood as a Imtt before the wits of Fort Vancouver ; a thin, bony form, surmounted by thin, bony features Itcaininu^ in hapjty, -' Shepanl of Lynn, Massachusetts, thirty-five years of age, and Philip L. Edwar-ds, a Kentuckian bv birth, latelv of Richmond, Missouri. Courtney M. Walker, also of the place last mentioned, was engaged for a year, for pecuniary consitleration, to * For full .iccoiints of \\'yetli'a first tuul secoml expeilitions aiul efforts, see Jlist. Xort/ivriil Coiixf, this series. 7m (K) SETTI.KMENT OF OKECON. assist in estahlishinsr the mission. Edwards was a 3'()un«^ man, not yet tweiity-tl nee, of rather more than ordinary attainments, and a lover of" order and refine- ment. His constitution was tU'heato, his temperament nervous, ami Jiis (hsposition amiable. He loved ••■ood comjiany, and enjoyeti the hadierous, buthis<(ood sense prevented him from boct)ming an example of it, like J)aniel Lee. A frontier man, hv knew how to confoiin to the crudities of pioneer life, foi- which by na^ui'e he was not very well adapted. Whili' possessed of a high moral sense, he was not religiously inclined, nor did he ever consider himself in that .-*ense a member ot the mission. Cyrus Shepard, on the other hand, was devoted tt) religion and a missionary at heart. Hi' was a little older than the elder Lee, tall, and fine looking, yet of a sci-ofulous tendency and feeble health. The other member of the mission party, Walker, was .still less than Edwards a missionary, being business agent. Like Edwards, he was young, of good ante- cedents, but of greater physical powers; lie was the only one of the j)arty who became a permanent settle'" in the country. ' Leaving New York early in March 1 8;U, Jason Lee proceeded we \ lecturing by the way. Daniel followed him on the 19th, and was joined by Shepard at Pittsburg. As they approached 8t Louis Shepard hastened forward, took charge of the mountain outfit, and proceeded by boat up the river to Independence, the rendezvous. The Lees made the journey from St Louis on horseback, meetinof Edwards and Walker at Independence. Wyeth was there before them, and l)efore setting out they were joined by Sublette. There were present also two scientists, Townseml and Nuttall. The exj)edition, as it filed westward the 28th of April, consisted of three distinct parties, numbering in •'Townsoml sjieaks of thciii as ' throe younger men, of respectable standing in society, who have arrayed themselves under the missionary banner chiefly for the gi-atitieation of seeing a new country, and participating in straagu adventures." ON THE WAY. 61 e(cive retiiiners, and in tlie rear the missionaries, with their horses and horned cattle. ProeeecHn*^: slowly they erossed the Kansas River, then l>y the forks of the Platte and tlu' I.aramie, past Independi-nco Hoek, arrivinur at (ireen River and the rendezvous at the end <»f two nuinths. On the way the elder Lee cle, service was held at Fort Hall on Sunday, the 27th of Julv, which was not onlv at- tended bv Wyeth's men, but bv the fur-hunters of the vicinitt', and notablv bv a body of Hudson's Bay Comi)any people, half-brei'tls and Indians under Th(mias McKav, who, owing to the Sunday training at the forts, were exceptionally di'votional. it was a grand and solemn sight, these rough and reckless children of the forest, gathered from widely remoti' (juarters, with varied tongues and customs, here in the heart (A' this mighty wilderni'ss, the eternal hills their temple-walls, and for roof the sky, stantling, kneeling, with heads uiwovered, their souls bowed in adoration before their one creator and ijovernor. What these same devout worship[)ers were doing an liour afterward, dritdving. tratticking, swi'arlng, ami stabbing, it is needless to detail. Man is oft an irrational animal, and we are least of all ti> look for reason in religion. The following Wednesday the missionaries con- tinued their westward way, driving with them their LOL'ATIN»T TUE MISSION. 03 % cattle, which must needs havi- time and travel leisurely, while Wyeth remained to complete the fort which he was huUdinLC, that is to sav, Fort Hall. With the Lees were now' Stuart, an English captam travelhnj;- m the Kocky Mountains, and ^[cKay, who sent some Indians forward with tluin to Walla Walla, where they were a^ain joined hy Wyeth. Leaving there the cattle, they were transported hy harge to tlu; Dalles, where they took canoes, most of which were demolished at the Cascades. The greattu' })ortion of their etfects were hy this time lost; and in a be- draggled condition, in advance of the others, Jason Lee presented himself at Fort Vancouver. When the remainder of his party arrivetl, the IGth of Sej)- tember, he stood at the landing beside McLoughlin to receive them. ilall on nly at- ters of ludson's under aining It was H'kless emote ere in 1 hills |nding, bowiMl lernoi'. |ng an and \\'t an il: for con- their The brig JlFay Dacre, Wyeth's vessel, on which were the tools and goods of the missionaries, had for- tunatelv arrived and was Ivino', as before mentioned, at Wapato Island. The innnediate consideration was to locate a mission. Jason and Daniel Lee had strictly observed the uppei' country as they passed through it, and had conversed freely with its inhabitants. Mean- while, among other ))laces, they had hi-ard nmch of the valley of the Willamette, and entertainer! a stronu' desire to behold it before establishing themselves. Therefore, after a brief rest, leaving the three lay- men at Fort Vancouver, they j)rocee the mission- aries a polite and generous welcome. One night Joseph Gervais, a leading [)ersonage thereabout, set up their tent in his garden, among melons and cucumbers. It reminded them of the passage in holy writ, "a lodge in a garden of cucumi)ers."^ It was all ({uite diflerent from what those might be led to expect who undertake to carry the gospel to an unknown wiklerness, among unknown savage tribes. The fascinations of the place were too strong to be resisted; so without more delay, about two miles above the farm of (xervais, on the east side of the river, sixty miles from its mouth, they chose their location, upon a broad sweep of low alluvial plain, whose rich grassy meadows, bordered by oak, fir, cotton-wood, white maple, and white ash, lay invit- ingly ready for tlie plough."^ lii'turning to Fort A^ancouver, the Lees })roceeded to remove their men and eflects to the site chosen. Again they found McLoughlin readv to tender them every assistance. A boat and crew were })laced at their (lis])osal to transport the mission goods from the M((i/ Jhirrc. Horses were given in exchange for others that liad been left at Fort Walla Walla. Seven ' This liy the missionaries themselves. L< c luid Frost, Tin Vi "/w hi Or. , 124. *" liiiiiiel Lee is verj' entiiusiiistie in his Jescriiition of tlie Willamette A al- ley tlimuglirmt, althougli lie calls Kelley's idea thereof extravagant. :1 HEAVENLY AN1> KAKTHLY EMl'IRE. 65 'n and ended , that iching M s, and '"^^1 been dozen been ^^9 iipany, '-^8 ccupa- rt and They lission- Joseph p their mibers. Tit, "a might ■La gospel savage ■1 strong it two Lt side 1 cliose ' 1 plain, Ik, fir, 1 invit- fcceded .| Bhosen. 1 them £i moid at H from 1 Id'i' for ^ ^Wl ■Seven ' m>,:, 124. 1 ^Htte'Val- oxen were loaned with which to haul timber for build- ing, and eight cows with their calves were furnishetl, and one bull, in ])lace of the two cows that had been driven from tlie Missouri to the Columbia lliver and left in the U])per countrv. The labor atU-nding the driving of the cattle and of transporting the goods, which required carriage round the vails and reloading in the canoi'S, was con- siderable, and occuined several days; but by the (ith of October stock and eflects were safely placed on the bank of the Willamette, ready for eonsecration and use. Tlie causes governing the selection of a site are obvious. Jason Lee was a, man ; although a servant of the Lord, he was already the master of men. How far the thought of empire had hitherto mingled with Ins missionary })lans prol)ably he himself could scarcely tell. He could n(»t but see that human }»ossibilities were broader, mightier, in the fertile valley of the Willamette, open through its Columbia avenue to the sea, than the inaccessible so-called Flatliead country. Were lie altogether missionary, and not man, he might have felt that, though tlie possibilities for man were here greater, with God all things are possible, and so have remained in the rock-bound region of mid- continent. But 1)ein 66 «ETTLE.MENT OF UKEGON. The incipient attempts of the French Canadians in the valley of the Willamette can scarcely he called the hegimiing of Oregon settlement, although they did so l)egin and effect permanent work. The object of such a movement must 1)e considered, no less than the result; the object, and the action taken toward its ciMisummation. The organization of a common- wealth, or the establishing of empire, was not among the purposes of the fur company's servants; they desired simply retirement, with ease and plenty. And lienevolcnt action, wliere unlimited supjilioa could lie jirnduuoil as required: lieuce they here Htruek the first blow for the Oregon niissionsf, and here began tlie arduous toil of elevating the heathen. This will do very well for Daniel, though his reasoning is not all of the soundest. White. Tin Yi'iirs in Or., 125, says that ' Lees object seemed principally to introduce a better state of things among the white settlers. .. He had originally been sent out to labor among the Flathead Indians, and passing througli the country, leaving tli'-in far to the right, went on to the Willamette, intending to .sj)end tiiere a winter before proceeding to his destination. He found tlie udld erpiable eliuuite, and society, tiiough small, of wliites, more congenial to his habits than any- thing he could expect in the section to which he had been sent. Thinking that he discovered signs of the colony becoming an extensive and valuable field of u.sefulne8s, and that, for various reasons, the Flatheads had less claim upon missionary efforts than had been supposed, he determined to assume the responsibility and commence a mission on the Willamette.' It is but fair to state in this connection that at the time this paragraph was written and printed White and .lanson Lee were not on the best of terms. (Jray, 7//V. Or., liu, finds a reason in the selfish report of the Hudscm's Bay Company, which led them 'to believe that the Flathead tribe, who had sent their mes- sengers for teachers, were not only a small, but a very distant tribe, and vei'v disadvantiigeously situated for the establishment i.nd support fif a missionary,' and which induced them to turn their attention to the lower Columbia. Tliis is only jtartially true. McLoughlin did advise the Lees to settle in the Willamette Valley, Init not for the reiusou named. I shall have occa- sion to refer again to McLoughliu"s views upon this subject in a subse(juent chapter. The fact uuist be taken into taecount tiiut Daniel Lee wrote after nine years of Oregon life. It is easy to see that when he talks of tlie wants of the whole country, present and prospective, lie nmst have had more than two or three weeks' exi)erience of it; anil it must have been better known to him than it could have l)eeu by a voyage down tlio Columbia and a ride of 00 miles afterward through a wilderness. It can hardly be doubted that when •lason Lee came to see, as he did in his journey across the continent, how much less interesting a being was the real Indian than the one pictured upon the warm imagination of the missionary society, his intuitions came into jday, and his fund of good sense and I'eason nuuie it apparent to him that the task he had undertaken wa.i of too lai'ge proportions for even his strengtii to accomplish. He was ou the ground, however, on Oregon territory, and he would do the be.st he could to fulfil tiie intentions of those who liad sent him, without entirely sacrificing himself and his associates. Tiiere were Indians enough, not to mention half-breeds and wiiite men, in tlie Willamette Valley, who needed the teachings oi' the gospel; and here he would remain, within reach of civilized society and the protection of the friendly fort. HATJ- J. KELLEY. 67 by ivason of continued debt and close intercourse, they were abnost as niucli serf's of the lords para- mount at Foi't Vancouver when in the Valley Wil- lamette as when on the River Columi)ia."' On the other hand, anionu, those who laid the foun- dations of Orei^oii's present institutions, of Oregon's })reserit society and prosperity, I should mention first of all t'.ie Uoston school-master, the enthusiast, the schemer. Hall J. Kelley, though he never was a settler in the country, though he remained there but a short time, under inaus})icious circumstances, and dei)arted without making any apparent mark. It was iie who, more than any other, by gathenng information since 1815 and spreading it before the peojile, kept alive an intelligent interest in Oregon; it was he who originated schemes of emigration, beginning Avith one from St Jjouis in 1828, which, though it failed and led Ifter iiiiu' wants ot Ithau two In to him Vie of GO Jiat when lent, how led upon liino into liini that jstrengtli loryi a'>'l IkuI si'nt I're wero llhunett"' I remain, ft. " AcconUng to a statement of McT^oughlin, the hegiiining of the Frencli settlement liappened in this wise: Etienne Liieier, wliose time had expired in 1828, a«ke(l MeLougldin if he helieved the Willamette Valley would eve." he oecupied hy settlers, to which the latter replied that wherever wheat grev. there would he a farming eomniunity. T^icier tlieii asked what assistanci' woulil lie given him should he settle as a farmer. The Hudson's Bay Com- pany were hound under heavy penalties not to discharge their servants in tlie Indian country, Imt to return tiiem to the place where they were engaged. Jiut McLoughlin otlered a plan and rides for settlement to Lucier which wen^ accepted anil afterward liecame general. First, to avoid tlie penalty, the men must remain on tiie company's l)ooks as servants, hut they might work for themselves, ami no st^'vice wonlil he reipiired of them. Second, they must all settle togeciier, and not scatter about amongst the Indians, with wiioin their half-hreed cliildren would he taught hy tlieir mothers to sympathize, making tiiem dangerous neighbors; while hy keejiiiig their Indian wives among themst-lves e.\clusiv(dy, these women would serve as hostages for tint good conduc"^ of their relatives iu the interior. Third, eacli settler must have fifty pounds sterling due l:im, to supply himself with clotiiing and imple- ments, which rule was designed to make them saving and industrious, and hy making their farms cost them something, attach them to tiieir homes. Fourth, seed for sowing anil wlieat to feer McLoughlin, ami liy consent of Mrs Harvey, his daughter, was printed among the archives of the Oregon Pioneer Association, under the title of Copi/ of a Document, in er of emigrants over fourteen years of age, not in- cluding married women. Next to these will be other lots of KiO acres each, making up the complement of 200 acres to each emigrant. Roads as far as practicable are tc) be laid out in right lines, intersecting each other at right angles. It is desirable that all topographical surveys anil divisions of farming lands be made i>y the method which two years ago was suggested to con- gress, and wliicli was examined, approved of, and recommended by General Hernard, then at thi' liead of the corps of civil engineers. For purposes of relii'ion, a fund was to be set apart for proselytism, and missionaries were urge(l to end)ark in the work of general conversion. These and many other things relating to the proposed adventure were printed in pamphlet form, and the newspaper pres.s throughout the country solicited to 70 .SKTTLEMKNT OF OKKliON. (late of this volume, wliose iiaino^ arc not lierein given. Tliere was one in particuhir among Kelley's com- panions, Ewing Young, wlio remained, and of wlionj I shall have much to say. As previously shown, Wyeth's ])urpose was not settlement, but tratlic; his occupation at Waj)at<> Island was fishing and trade in furs with the natives. As this did not suit the gen- tlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company, who were strong in the land and desired the continuance of their monopoly, but who were without the political right to drive out the people of the United States, while entertaining them hospitably, as a rule, at Fort A'^ancouvcr, they so circumscribed and defeated their busines.*- efforts in this quarter that Wyetli among others waso finally forced to sell to them and retire from the field. With the subsequent affairs of this history the expeditions heretofore given have little to do, excej)t in connection with those of their numbei" who remained to settle. As their terms of contract expired, the Hudson's Hiiy Company began to retire its servants, giving them choice lands not too far removed from its benign rule. This was the origin of tlie French Cana- dian settlements in the beautiful Vallev Willamette, >.'ive the contents further circulation throuf,'li their columns, to the i>roinoti()i) of individual happiness and the prosperity of the country. The settlers were to carry with them their own government, as it should lie formidated for them by congress. Special attention shoidd be paid to schools, morals, and religion. No drones or a icious persons should lut accepted hy tlie society, and all proposing to emigrate must bring cortiticates of good character. The society would supply most of the expenses of emi- gration, and on arrival the emigrant was to receive town lots and land worth from §2,000 to .S10,(MK). The person proposing to emigrate must deposit twenty dollars with the society, and swear obedience to all just regulations, wliich at first were to he militery. The route slundil be fron" St Louis up the Platte, through Soutli Pass, and down the Columbia, and the expedition sliould take its departure the last of March. Tlie funds of tlie society were to consist of %;'20(),(K)0, subscribed stock, divided into sliarcs of ^\W), each share entitling the holder to KiO acres of land, besides deposit money ami such donations as shoiUd be obtained from jiublic-sinrited men and the gov- ernor. Ten years after Kelley had left Oregon, hoping yet to return and realize liis dreams of establisliing ui)on the shores of the Pacilio a virgin state which slmuld grow into an empire in the progress of time and events, most of the formative ideas set fortii in his circular were actuall being carried out by emigrants from the United States. J-KENCH rRAIKlE. 71 And there were those continuing in the service of Uie company who le was still living in Oregon in 1872. '* The nomenclature of the various posts whose historj' is presented in tliese volumes will lie given in their natural order as the work progresses. The name Willamette and its orthography are discussed in the History of the Northwest, Coant, to which the reader is referred. Pudding River receiveil its name from the circumstance of a trapping party which had become bewil- deretl and out of food; there they ate a pudding made from the hlood of a mule which they killed. W/iitv's Ten Yenrg in Or., 70. Lac I^a Biche, or I )eer Lake, took its name from the abundance of game in its v icinity in the period of tlie early settlement of French Prairie. '■■Chehalem is an Imlian name, whose signilicatiou is not clear. Parrish, ill his Ori'i/on Aiurdotcx, MS., 15, attempts to sIkiw thiat the prefix rhf which occurs so frequently in the Indian dialect meant town or 'ville.'and cites C/ieineketa, C/icnoii'di/, ChenmhiU, an^" miles above this })(»int Mas Chnmpoeg,'" tlu; Hist settlement. Amono' those wlio were living:; on French Pi'uirie at the time of" the ai'rival of tlie Lees were sonit- who had eome with the Astor exjx'ditions, some who hinted at havint^ been left behind by l^ewis and Clarke; and to tliese were later joined the rem- nants of the expeditions of Wyetii and Kelley. [rge III., lehenl of liij oaks, led Felix [a vessel !r sailor Imed by ill the of tlie Oregon ;(l in Igresses. I// of thf lived its bewil- |od of a bhe, or in the ^arrish, J which ll cites Ivident ]ey8 or ' view Hht. I will give hero the names of some of those who first settled there, and such information concerning them as I have been al>le to obtain. Some of them we sliall frequently meet in the course of this history, according an they play their several parts in the colonization of Oregon. It has been claimed by or for Francis Rivet and Philip Degie that they were with Lewi.s and Clarke. Roberts, in liis litroUeiiionx, MS., states that Rivet was a c he nettled on a farm ill tin: \S iiiaiiiette Valley, where lie reHiiled for over 40 yeai'M. He died Noveinher 20, 187*), ageil 78 yearn. I'oillnml Sfnmlitrtl, Deceinher '2'2, 187G; StiO'iH WiHomiltc Fiiniiti; Dee. '2'2, lH7(i ; Suli'in S/nfiMmiiii, Dec. '2'2, 187(i. Other Canadians whiLse naine.s apiiear aiiiong the early Hettlern an: Franein l^uemiel, who died in 1844, aged ()"> yearn ; Loiiin Shaugarette, who died in 183.">; lienideM Payette, Hilake, Koudeau, PournafJ'e, ("hanil>'"laiii, and jiroliahly others. Andre La Chapello wan jirolialily of I'iehetteV, iiirty. He was iiorn in Montreal, August 14, 1781, and left Canada for Oregtiii in 1817, to join the nerviee of tlie Northwest Company. In 181!) he was ordered to take a partj' up the Coluinliia as far as lioat Fiiieampmeiit, or the ' liig liend ' of that river, ill latitude nearly .VJ" north, to meet the expresa from Canachi. That year Wiw noted for a great Hood on the Coliimliia, and eneampmeiit eould lie made in few places. There was ten feet of watt^r over tiie prairie where the ttiwii ui>i, wlio romainnl mi thr fariii till IH.'iO, wlicii it wan Mold tn Mr Hmwn. Simim rimnomUiHu in Willi by Dunn, in his On-i/nii Ti-rrifoi\i/, '2'M\, M'itli aiuitlit'i' Ciinailiaii, Kancaiilt, to liuvc l)ceii the tipNt Frciu-hiiiaii to nettlf in tlic Will.iiuutto Valley, liy which 111' limy have meant French I'rairiu. I'lunmnileau had mitvoiI as cock- Hwain todeneral ('««« in an expeilitioii to the northwcMt territory, iuul was a very Mkilfiil and relialde lioatnian and woodsman, and served several Ameri- lans in the Oregon territory, among others Lieutenant Wilkes, in IS4I. U. S. K.i: AV., iv. X^S. Among the reniniints of jinnt's jiarty in Oregon were Madame Dorioii and her son; the woman was still living in the ^\'illamette X'alley in ISiV). .lohu B. W'yetii, Onynii, 51, names ten m(ui who in ISH'J continued their |(iiirn''y with his '.....ther to the Colnmhia: (J. Sargent, W. Hreck, S. Hurditt, ('. 'I'ihlietu, (J. TntmhnU, .1. Woodman Smith, John Hall, Whittier, St Hair, and Alihot. As a matter of iiwt, there were eleven, the other i)rol)alily liiMUg Solomon }\. Smith, who came to Ori^gon in that year. Holu'rt Camphell of St LouiH, originally of the nnmher, does not apimar to have reaehed western Oregon. Alilmt, who remained to trap on Salmon Kiver, was, with one of his companions, killed l>y the lianuack Indians. Toiriiti'in/'.i A'";'., '_'■_'.'». (!ray adds two names, for which I lind no authority— Moore ami (ireely — the former killed hy Indians, the latter not accounted for. He makes no mention of .lohu Kail, reputed the tirst American farmer in the Willamette^ N'alley. iSargent died in IS.Sli, of dissipation. According to r. On the Ist of .lanuary, KS.'W, .lohu Hall was installed as teacher «>f the tialf-hn^ed children at Fort Vaiicouv.'r. From spring till autumn he engaged in farming with Calvin 'rit>liets in the XN'illamette N'alley. As no .Nmerican sc^ttlcrs arrived, and disliking the controlling power of the ]lud.son's Hiiy Company, he emharked on a whaling vessel for South America. Ultimately he settled at Craud K;ij>ids, Michigan. Mr Tilihets remained in Oregon, and is one of the founders of American settlement in the Willamette Valley. He removed to Clatsop, near the mouth of the Columliia liiver. Mr Solomon H. Smith succeeded Mr Ball as jieihigogut) from tlie 1st of March, remained long enough to fall ill love with the Indian wife of the liaker, ran away Mith her and her chihlreii, and estahlished a .school at the house of .Foseph (iervais. RdwH.-i' l(iroU<'cfioii<, MS., 'M\; Porthtuil J/irnld, March 1(), IST'J; Orcijoii. Sjiictaior. Nov. 1, 1849. After the missioiiai'ies arrived ami l)ej;an preaching. Smith 111 t with a change of heart, according to ])aniel Lie, though he never returned the baker's wife. Lee uml FroMf'x Ti'ii YenrM in Or., 2(>!). He proved a good citi/eii of Oregon, finally settling among his w ife's relatives at < 'latsoji, where he liecaiiie a thriving farmer, and dieil at an advanced age. ]n liis worldly afl'airs his Clatsop wife, to whom he was formally marrieil, was of material lieuelit to him. Toliiiir's Piiijot Sumii/, MS., '_'. Of those who iicconi- jiaiiied Wyeth in KSIU, aliout twenty reai'heel th(^ lower Columlpia; hut few of their names have been jireserved. We know of .lames H. O'Neil, 'riiomas •letferson Hnbl)ard. Uicli.iid McCrary, Paul Uicliardson, Sauslmry, Thornburg, i 1 i X 4 I 76 SETTI.EMKNT OF ORK«;0?>. and CouHney M. Walker. Thoruburg was killed l)y Hubbard in a quarrel about an Indian woman in 1835. Thoruburg being tlie assailant, Hubbard wa.s allowed to go free. TownKi'iid\i iViir., 2*23^. Hubbard continued to reside in Oregon, unmolested if not very respectable, settling on a farm two or three miles north of Lafayette. He was active in the affairs of the early American settlement. When the gold discovery in California drew nearly the whole adult male population from Oregon, he built a boat at Oregon City, loaded it with Hour, and in it safely sailed to San Francisco, where he sold both cargo and vessel. He also Imilt a saw-mill in the Willamette Valley, and was one of tlie first to export cattle to t'alifoniia. In 1857 he re- moved to eastern Oregon, and died at the Umatilla reservation April 24, 1877, aged 78 years. Onyoii City Euteiyrixe, May 3, 1877; Portland Standard, May 4, 1877. Richard Mct'rary, meeting with unpleasant adventures as a trapper among the Blackfoot Indians, abandoned fur-hunting, took a Ne/ Perc6 wife, .and settled on a farm five miles below the mouth of tlie Willa- mette. JJinin' Hist. Or., i32-;}. O'Neil settled in Polk County, where he died in September 1874, aged 74 years. Salem Rerord, Sept. IG, 1874; Sali'in ]t'illaincttr Farmer, Sept. 18, 1874. Paul Richardson did not remain in Oregon, having accompanied the Wyetii expedition only as guide. He was a man o£ note in his way. Born in Ver- mont about tlie year 1793, he removed to Pennsylvania, where he married, but unhappily, and abandoned his « ifo to seek forgetfulness in the wilderness beyond tlie Missouri, where he became a solitary and fearless explorer. In 1828, according to Ids own account, he reached tlie head waters of Fraser River. He crossed the continent a number of times and had countless ad- ventures, which he sehlom related. He died in California in 1857, poor and alone, as he had lived, l/ai/c/i' Col. Cul. A'oten, ii. 292. Besides these few Americans whose antecedents are to some extent known, the names of J. Ednninds and Charles Roe appear in the writings of the Methodist mission- aries of that date; they probably belonged to Wyeth's last expedition. These, so far as known, were the only persons in the country in the autumn of 1834 not connected witli the Hudson's Bay Company. See, further, Portland Oreyoniun, March 9 and 1(5, 1872; May 4, 1872; duly 8, 187(); If. //. h'w.i, in Oregon Stutennuin, June 20, 1879; Trans. Or. Pioneer Asso., 1875, 5G; McLouijhlins Private Payers, MS., passim; /ilanchet'n Cat/i. Church in Or., 7-8; S. F. Alta California, April 22, 1853; Portland Herald, Mareii 5, 1872; Salem Statesnuin, June 20, 1879; S. F. Bulletin, July 25, 1877. The party accompanying Kelley and Young, on arriving at the Columbia River, consisted of the following persoiis: John McCarty, Webley Jolin Hauxhurst, Joseph (Jale, Jolin Howard, Lawrence Carmichael, Branny wine, Kilborn, and (leorge Winslow (colored). Grafs Hint. Or., 191. This number corresponds witii McLouglilin's acctiuiit, and is probably correct as to names, though Daniel Lee thouglit there were 'about a dozen,' and gives the name of Elislia Ezekiel, found only in one other place, namely, in if. S. (for. Doe., ,id Sess., J.'ith Conij., 11. lleyt.. No. 101. Ezekiel was employed at the mission, whicli explains the omission from the count at Fort Vancouver. Let Ezekiel have praise for something; he made the first cart-wheel in the Willamette A'alley. See Let and Frost's Ten Y^ars in Or., 129. Joseph Gale was a man li ft HAUXHUKST, WINSLOW, AND M( KAV. 77 1 a quarrel libilld wa.s reside in 111 two or tlie early rew nearly •egon City, ure he sold tte Valley, Si")" lie re- April '24, ! Stiimiard, itures as a ,o(»k a Ne/ the Willa- 74, agetl 74 t. 18, 1874. the Wyetli jrn in Ver- iie married. 1 wilderness plorer. In s of Kraser untless ad- poor and these few lines of .1. inission- )n. These, nil of 18H4 Porllaiii/ 11. Ki'vx, 187;"), 50; 7( in Or., 5, 187--'; iif education, Imt had spent many yi^ars in the mountains with the fur com- {■anies. He settlcMl in Oregon, and took active part in atl'airs until the Amer- ican element acquired ascendency. He farmed, M-ent to California iis miister of the first vessel Ituilt in Oregon hy American settlers, mined in California, returned to Oreg m, and subsequently settled c;uit of the Cascade Mountains, first in the Walla Walla Valley, and afterward i i Eagle Creek Valley, on the eastern confines of the state of Oregon, where he died December '2.3, 1881, aged !l'2 years. Fond of exploring, he joined several expeditions in searcli of new mines during the excitement of 18{'>'2-7, hut finally engaged in fanning. .•\ few months before his death he sold .**2,0()0 worth of produce raised on six- teen acres of ground on Kagle Creek. Through all his life in Oregon he enjoyed the respect of his neighbors. Hauxhurst, a native of Long Island, also stood well in the territory, especially with the missionaries, by whom he was converted in 18.17. He bnilt the first grist-mill in the Willamette Valley. McCarty and Carmichacl were stroiiglj' opposed to the Hu the spot selected had given the well-trained muscles of Daniel Lee and Edwarils an)})le exercise. Lee relates how thev missed the trail in i>oing to the farm of Thomas McKay for horses, soon after landing, ami floundered through quagmires and wet tide-land grass, and how tliey were welcomed, < ii finally reaching their destinati«)n, by Monsieur La l^onte, whose son Louis assisted in drivinu the animals. Takini>' the fur-traders' path over the mountains that border the Coknnbia and lower Willamette, tlu'ough the Tuala- tin' plains, and the valley of the Chehalem, they met at Campement du Sable the canoe party with the goods, and together thev soon concluded their iournev. The little company who here [)itched their tent, during these last davs of the ()rej>"on sununer, found before them much to be done. All around prairie, river, and sky; mountain, beast, and man stood inno- cent of contact with human intelligence. Their busi- ness now was to apply this mind-culture of theirs to ' That is to sav, 'lazy man,' from its sluggish iiKivt'iiicnts. Afoni Piomvr Timi:s MS,, 22. (78) SHKLTEK AND FOUD. 79 Sorrow- 'rass, 8' aeliin*>' )se son lo- the [er tlie riAiala- ■y met Li'oods, tent, Ifoiiiul raii'ie, inno- busi- lirs to I Piomrr reelainiiiig for eivilized man tliis wilderness, and to wage war ui)on primeval nature. And ))y so-called ]nnnl)le ways this mighty achievement nmst be begun. There was the grindstone to be hung, and tools had to be sharpened ; before proceeding to build for themselves a habitation, rails nmst be split to make an enclosure for the half-wild oxen, and yokes and ox-bows must be made. The task of vokinjif and drivin"- the re- fract(jry brutes was one to try the patience, courage, and ingenuity of the missionaries, whose united efforts could scarcely reduce them to submission. The cows, too, lately driven off the pastures, were intractable, and had to be tied by the head, and liobbled, before they could be milked. "Men never worked harder and performed less," says Daniel Lee. The trees being felled, cut into the })roper lengths, and squared,' a buildinii' twenty feet by thirty was in the course of erection when the first autumn storm of rain and wind came on, drenching some of the goods, to which a tent proved only a partial protection. By the 1st of Xovember they had a roof over their heads, and a puncheon floor beneath their feet, while a bright fire blazed under a chimney constructed of sticks and clay. The doors of this primitive mansion were hewn out of til' logs, and hung on wooden hinges; a })artition (Hvided the house int(j two apartments, and four small windows, whose sashes were whittled out with a pocket-knife by Jason Lee, admitted the dull light of a cloudy winter. Little by little tables, stools, and chairs were in like manner added. Of bedsteads there is no mention in the writings of the only one of their number who has left any record. A blanket and a plank served for a coucli. As to the food of tlie family, it was as simple as their lodgings. They had shi])[)ed nothing from Boston excej)t some salt pork, which was boiled with l)arley or pease j)urcliased ^The ln'oadaxe whicli lieweil thoso log.s in ikiw kept as carefully as was the liow of Ulysses. It came (1 ( 'ape Horn in Wyetii's .ship, ami was xhihited at the meeting of the Pioneer Association near Salem in 1878. Pe. * Tliis method of making a roof was not original with tlu^ missionaries, but eoniniou to the frontier of Missouri and the settlements of Oregon. Tlie sliingles were called ' elaiihoards,' and were often used for siding a cahin, heiiig put on iierpcndicnlarly. FUTILE ATTEMPTS AT (ON VERSION 81 \ oung * (Is for ii ispects ^ split ept in iff ■i 'ourse 1. In ails.^ ■:-P. 4 st not ) \}VV- ■formt'il )lea8iiig ic8, but I. The cfibiii, form. The first sonuoii in tliis (juarter was delivered ])y Jasoii Lee on Sunday, the 28tli of September, before a mixed congregation of officers an 'H I 1 1 .1 ■ i 1 Li 8'i METHODIST OCCUPATION. destruction on Daniel Lee and Cyrus Sliepard;" but this Lee denies. The Kilkiniooks hrouulit a lad of their tribe to the .^fission for instruction, who would neither work nor learn to read ; all day long he would sit on the bank of the Willamette ijazinj; tearfully toward the coast, where he was born, exhibiting all the anguish of an exile; hence on the first visit of his people he was permitted to depart. In the midst of tlie harvest the effect of noxious exhalations from the freshly ploughed earth, which had for a long time been poisoning their blood while unsubstantial diet thinned it, became distressingly manifest in fierce attacks of intermittent fever, each member of the Mission family l)eing in turn i)rostrated. Fortunately the disease yielded to medicine and all recovered. About the begimiing of Sej^tember Louis Shanga- ratte, of the French settlement, sud'lenly died from the bursting of a blood-vessel, leavmg three half- breed orphans and five Indian slaves without a home. McLoughlin, zealous for the Mission and the children, desired Jason Lee to take charge of this family, and of whatever property Shangaratte might have left them. The })roi)osition was accepted on condition that the slaves be emancipated. These eight persons proved a burden on tlie establishment, which was partially relieved by the elopement of two of the natives.' Soon three of the others, including one of Shanga- ratte's children, died of syphilis, a disease by which ^ Hincfi' On'ijon J/iMori/, 14. Soon 'after his death his brother came to tlie Mission, ilcteriniiied to seek revenge for the death of Kenoteesh, by taking the life of Daniel Lee and Cyrus Sliepard. He remained overniglit, and was prevented from aeeomplishing his design only by the interi)osition of an Indian who accompanied him. Bent npon glutting hia vengeance on somebody, lie crossed tlus rivei', and fell upon a band of unarmed Indians, and savagely nnirdered several of tliem.' Leo affirms ot the lad's deatli tliat ' a messenger had been sent to notify his relations of his danger, that they might come and •see him before his death, and that they might have no occa«i(m for jealousy in ease of liis decease. However, some days Ijeforc they came he was deacl. They gathered around his grave, and remained some time wailing aloud; but tliey appeared to be satisfied tliat everytliing ha- child, the daUL,diter of a chief who was dying of con- sunij)tion, to he cared for by the missionaries, hut she soon followed her father to the grave. Of the four- teen children received the first year, five died heforr winter and five i-an away; of the remaining four two dit'd during the next two years, leaving two for secular and sacred ministrations.^ This was hrave work in- deed for champions of the cross. To the poor mission- aries, about this time, the place seemed as profitless as that of dentist to King Stanislaus, obtained by L'Eclure the day U})on which the king lost his last tooth ; and Jason anil Daniel talked about it, and won- dered if hitherto heaven's light had come to them I'olored as through a painted window, for it was as clearly apparent to them now, as the mark of the avalanche on the mountain side, that their efibrts were a failure. And later Daniel Lee was called U])on to satisfy pul)lic iniiuiry by giving the reasons which caused his uncle to abandon the Flatheads and settle among Canadians and half-breeds." * During tin; wiutor of ISIJ't a singular complaint attackcr Edwards' plan of returning to Missouri was changed by the verdict of McLoughlin upon the case of Daniel Lee, who he sionaries to establish themselves on the Willamette, in the vicinity of the for- mer servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, this danger would he avoidiMl, the lives of the missioi'aries would be rendered secure, and at the same time those tribes most fretjuently brought in contiict with white men, and least liable to resent innovations upon their customs, or tf the meadow- mouse species, A n''rol(i Totrnxcndii and A rricold Omjonii. Several new species of scjuirr"! are named; downy squirrel, Sciiinin Idnwjiiwuiin and Sriiiriix Rich- (trdMuii; little ground-scjuirrel, Tamins mhinms and Taminn TowtiKcmlii : and Oregon tiying-squirrel, Pferonn/s OrcijoiK'nxU. Of moles there is iS'fdijjw Towiisemia, given as new; and a new shrew-mouse uudescribed; besides two species of bats, Plerotiw Towiiwiidii, or great-eared bat, and a small bat uu- described. Townsend's list of birds found in Oregon is long, and many of tiie species were new to naturalists. Th::y were the chestnut-l)acked titnuiuse, /'(f/vw rit/citcen-t; brown-headed titmouse, Piirim Minimus; mountain mock- ing-bird, Oiy/ieim moiitiinux: white-tailed thrush, not deseribetl; Townsend's thrush, Ptilio()oni/s Tou-iinetidii: Morton's water-ouzel, Ciiire.urnaffe, a lialf-breed, seventeen vears of aije, of uentle and obedient temper, gave evidence to his teachers that tlieir labors were not lost, by dying with the sanu; docility that he had shown during life.^'^ Probably tliere never was formulated a creed which might be adapted to the purpose with less friction than that of the Methodists. Xo expounding of dogmas is neces- .iiivy; sufficient is the simple statement that sin is present, and that Christ's blood will wash it away. To the Indian, who had some idea of atonement, the brane eitlier forms or is 8lougherou<;ht to look torwanl to rielios, lioalth, i)leasuros, and a <^l(»rious cxisb^Mco htjroaf'ter. It is the ideality of relijijion, the p(H'tfy of I'vei'lastin*;' life. iJut thouj^h the Mission seemixl for a shoi-t time to promise some fruit, the expectation was lessened by a return in the first niontlis of I8;{7 of the former dis- orders in a more threateninj^ and fatal foi-m. A chief of the Cayjiscs, h.'ivinjj^ nnnoved in the autumn with his family to the Wilhiniete Valley in order that liis re, besides, 22 Indians and 8 half-breeds wlio attended the day-school. All vi-ere taught to speak English, and several could read. The larger boyp '.i-.i I ed on the farm in fine weather, earning, at Ihe lowest pay of the Hudsiii/a Bay Company, their board, clothing, and tuition. The school and family, it was. said, could be increased, but the mis- sionaries did not wish to add to their number until they had further assistance; a ;id nothing whatever was stated showing any of the discouragements under V hich they labored. Mr Slacum's report was much like other similar docu- Ments furnished the government, that is, nuide to suit the occasion. Of the f.iitlifulne.ss and zeal of the Lees and their assistants up to the period of Slacum's visit, no doubt could be entertained. We have McLoughlin's testi- mony that no men 'could exert themselves Uiore zealously.' Vopn of a Docu- iiu'iit, in Tnui-s. (>r. /'loiin'r, !88(), iiO. For Slacum's account, see X'.J/A Com/. M AyM-v., //o».«' Ifcp/. 101. KKI.I.KY ANI> Y()rN(.. 89 a cursi^, ami missionary i-tlorts aif lik*- a Imist jK-at- l)(>«r sowiiii'" its Mack mud over the land I Wliili' tlui missionaries were lailldiiiiL,'. plovin'hin^', and liarvestino', teach in*;-, |)reacliin«;', and en(hiriiii;', and hciconiing somewliat incorporated with the French settlers, a new element, and one in some respects less tractable, introduced itself in an unexpected manner. It was the party of Hall J. Kelley and Ewinj,^ Voun*;-, which arrived in the Willaniettt; Valley late in Octo- ber IH.'M. Soniethinj:'' has been said of Kelley in tin; History of the Nortliiirnt Coast, but his appearance in Oreuon at this time was a feature in the earlv history of the country demandm;;;' more than a }>assin<;" notice here. Kciiey's object was to found an American settle- ment, and assert the rights of the United States government to the sovereignty of the country. Dis- appointed in Ins scheme of colonization, he set out Avitii a few persons in 18.'];{ to visit Oregon, travelling by a circuitous I'oute through Mexico. At New Or- leans he se})arated from or was desertod by Ids l)arty, and proceeded alone to Vera Cruz. He was robbed, and suffered many hardships, but was not deterred from prosecuting his design. Reaching California, he fell in with a mimber of American adventurers, chief amonjjf whom was Ewino- Young, a native of Knox County, Tennessee, a cabinet- maker by trade, a man of fine intelligence and nerve united to a grand jjhysique, and too restless and fond of new experiences to remain beside a turning-lathe all his life. As early as 1828-9, Voung had visited California with a trapping party, hunting on Tulare Lake and San Joaquin River.''' Returning to New- Mexico, he married a Taos woman, and was soon l)ack in California witli another ])arty of trapj)ers, which in 1831 broke up at Los Angeles, leavhig Young to fol- io ,v his bent among the friars and native Caiiiornians, ^"Lox Aiitji'lfs Hist., 18-19. 90 METHODIST OCCUPATION. He and Kelley first met at San Diego; subse- quently at Monterey the acquaintance ripened. On one side were the thrilling tales of wild life which Young loved to tell ; on the other, the romantic scheme of colonizing Oregon. These were always themes of mutual interest. Kelley recognized in Young the bold and enterprising spirit he needed to accompany him to the yet far away Columbia, and being possessed of superior attainments as well as extraordinary enthu- siasm, he was able to gain him over to his plan of laying the foundations of American empire beside the River of the West. The party which left California for the north in the summer of 1834 consisted of sixteen men, picked up at Monterey and San Jose, some with a character not of the best. They had among them nearly a hundred horses and mules designed for use and sale. Several parted from the expedition before it reached the northern limits of California, but they had remained long enough to stamp upon the company their own thieving reputation, as we shall presently see. While toiling among the mountains of southern Oregon, Kelley was stricken with fever, which ren- dered him helpless, from which condition he was rescued by JV'Iichel La Framboise, who nursed him back to life, while continuing his way to Fort Van- couver with the season's return of ifurs. The only other incident of the journey worth mentioning was a difficulty with the Irulians on Rogue River, a rapid and beautiful stream wliich derived its name from the rascally character of the natives in its vicinity.'* '* ' It was sniiietimea called Kiiscal Jliver by early explorers.' Williams' S. 11 . Or., MS., 2. ' Hence the name Leu Coiptim (the Kojjue.s) and La Itivib-e iiuv Vcxjiiiiin (the Rogue River), given to the country oy tlie men of the l)rigade.' Blanchct's Vnth. C/i. m Or., 04. Townsend calls them the Potdiueos, liut says that they are ''ulled the 'ra.scally Indiana,' from their uniformly evil disposition, and liostility to white people. Nar., '228. Tliis is the true oi igin of the name, though sev(;ral otiicr tiieories have been advanced. In EUicott's Pii- ijct SoKinl, MS., '20, he makes tlie mistiikc of confounding it witii liio Saii Jfoi/iic or the Columbia. (Jrover, in J'lih. Life, MS., 13-1.5, 18-1!), mentions a map (if French origin and 8ome anticjuity, whereon the Klanuith and Rogue riv(T« are united and calle)nly evil I origin of itt's Ph- l(/.' Rwpu' lis a map In; rivers V of the map could hardly liave called the Rogue River red had he ever seen it, as it is (if a beautiful blue color. Sou also Crnrn'n Top. Mem., X\. '' Kelley resents this ignoring of himself an2-.'{. '*' \Vliile Kelley in liis numerous pamphlets •! in plains bitterly of the indig- nities put upon him at Fort Vancouver by reason of Fiijx-- ■ .ia."s letter, he admits the charity of McLoughlin in providing fi;r his Mrnts, and acknowledges tliat lie was prcsent'.'d with a small sum of money .>n leaving for tlie Islands. 92 METHODIST OCCUPATION. ''l\ I I . . find himself posted bandit and liorst'-tliicf'. Strangers were cauti(>ned to receive none of tlie vagabond i)artv into their houses. Young an as furious. He tore down the notices, builed maledictions on the California gov- ernor, and warned the Canadians against accepting such lies. Though the haughty temper and indignant denial of Youni>' were not without etfect on McLouijh- lin, yet official information to an official could not be <]isregarded. On one occasion, being in need of clothing, Young sent some beaver-skins to Fort Vancouver witli which to })urchase the desired articles. McLoughlin refusetl the skins, but sent the goods, with some food, as a present. Thereupon Young's rage broke out afrcsl , and he retui'iied every article. Then he went to Foi <: Vancouver and poured forth his displeasure in person, the interview ending in rather strong words between tlie autocrat of Oregon and the Tennessee cabinet- maker.'" The former modified his opinion somewhat; and when the Cadboro returned to Monten^y in the s[)ring of 18:^5 McLoughlin inquired of Figueroa the foundation of his charges against Young and })arty. A letter also went fiom Young demandinu" why he had been so maliuned. But as no answer could be expected to these inquires for several months, aiiairs remained in ."ttatit quo, Young meanwhile locating himself hi the Chehalem Valley, opposite Champoeg, where he tended his mustangs, and traded when he had aught to sell. He hau some dealings with C. M. Walker, late of the Mission, but now at Fort Wil- liam, as agent of \\'\eth, who had returned to Fort Hall.'-" '" At the same time Kelley says that Young caHoil on him, ami threatenefl liis life for having persuaded him to undertake tlie settlement of Oregon. Kellei/'.i Coloiiiziifioii qf' Orvijon, 5-r. '■"C. M. Walker, who knew Young well in the times referred to, in .fanu- ary 1881, at his home in Tillanu)ok, furnished a Skrfc/i qf' Eirimj Youmj, from whieh I have drawn some of these facts. See .>i. I'ioiiiir Ansoc. 'J'raii-i. for 1880, THk 8. Walker states that Young was the first settle.- on the west side of the Willamette River. He callc him industrious and enterprising, and a man of great determination. See fUso White n Emiiirnfioii to (h\, MS., 3; Emiin' Hint. Or., MS,, '205; Iam Aw/i'les Co. Hint., M. KELLE Y ".S ( DM V I , AI NTS. 93 »g oa the )artv. IV ho ik'i bo jittairs catinn ipoeg", Ml lit' th C. Wil- Fort bi Janu- 1 Youmi, Trans. |>c west g. and IS.. 3: m There is no doubt that by forbidiUiiu" the Canadian farmers to trade with Y(ning, and liiniselt" n!fiisinfave to McLoufTjldin's conduct a dift'eront interpretation. Kelley said to Yount^, and all others who visited him outside the fort,"' that it was opposition to American settlement upon political and ])ecuniary i^rounds. He so placed the matter before Jason Lee, who, he says, often clandestinely left the fort that he might converse freely with liim on liis plans; but Lee had oblij^ated himself to retard immijj^ration to the country by accept- injj^a loan from McLoujijhlin for the purpose of o])ening a farm which should be a su})ply establishment for other missionary stations yet to be erected."" '^' These were not many. Kelley dwells with proud sensitivnness upon hu own countrymen'^ neglect of him. That Wyi'tii, whose name wa.s on the catalogue of the 'American Society for Encouraging the Settlement of th(! Oregon Territory, ' foundeil by Kelley, should not have bestowed sonu; atten- tion upon a man of his antecedents, even at the risk of opposing himself to MeLoughlin, is signiticant. Keiley also icviles Townsend and Nuttall, who, he says, were tlie recipients of tlie company's civilities anil lilieral hospitality, and were receiving their ' good things, while he was only receiving their ' evil things.' 'One of tlusm,' he says, 'had resided in ('and)ridge, Massaclinsetts, for many years, witliin a mile of my place of abode, and had reail my books, seen my works, and learnt mort! or less about the spirit which moved me. He was not ignorant of the fact tliat the only path leading to the country of pretty (lowers west of the Rocky Mountains had been opened wholly at my "xpeuse, and his journey tliitlier liad been made easy ami [ileaaurable tlirough my means." Cyrus Shi'pard was tlie only person from tlie fort in the habit of visiting Kelley. KcUiifx Colonlzntion o/ Orn/nn, .")(>, 58. -^ Kt'lUii'ti Scttkitu'iit nf Ori'ijon, Si). Wliile Kelley exhibits nnu'li excite- n.ent an ' jealousy in his renuirks on .lason and Daniel Lee, we nmst admit t'..at there was some foundation for the assertion that tlie Lees were 'opposed II persons coining to settle ' in tlie Oregon territory, except such as should liecoino memliers of tlie Mission, ami aid in its purposes; and that his views were identical witli those of MeLoughlin, tliougli their motives may have been ilifi'erent. KcUcy blames tlu; Lees for claiming to liave b(>i;uii tlie seltlemetit of Oregon witliout rcs]iect to his previous ctl'orts, and liis Himultaneous appear- ance in tlie cmiutry with a party of settlers; for their avoiding him wliih; there; for disparaging remarks conecniiiig him made in the east, which he construed to be an etlort to deprive liim of any credit as .i pioneer of coloniza- tion; aiul for the small noticiMif him in I>ani', with a sore heart and half- crazed brain, was left to dwell in solitude on the failure of his magnificent scheme of an ideal American settle- ment devoted to liberty, virtue, order, education, the enlightenment of the savage tribes of the north-west, and the promotion of individual happiness.-"' So little sympj^l^hy and so nmch blame did he receive from those he ha " in wittingly hi vol ved in his misfortunes, thr „ lie did ; aiture during his stay in the country to visit the , lamette Valley, being deterred therefrom by threats of vengeance.'* In the spring, accepting passage on the company's ship Dryad, Captain Keplin, he departed from tlu; country upon which his grandest hopes had been so centred, sailing for the Hawaiian Islands. But if Kelley was forced by untoward circumstances to leave the country, he did not fail solenuily to affirm in a comnmnication to McLoughlin, that while he was not a public agent, acting by authority from the United States government, but only a private individual, he was yet a freeborn son of American independence, moved by the spirit of liberty, and animated with the hope of being useful to his fellow-men. ^'^ That those who had come with him were not idle or profligate, in such degree as to threaten the peace of the community, loss to know what portion of it to attribute to either writer. It ia only that j)art of the book which relates to events happening previous to 1840 that we can feel sure was furnished by Lee, unless it be where he speaks of himself by name. Lee writes fairly, and with less of the usual religious cant than might be expected of a Methodist missionary of nearly Hfty years ago. He simply puts down events, leaving the reader to make his own comments. His truth- fulness, compared with other authorities, is nearly absolute. Like his uncle, he could refrain from mentioning a subject; but ii he mentioned it, what he said was likely to be correct. The title of his book is Ten Yenm in f'nipn, and it was publiskcil in 1844 in New York. It is quoted in this work as uee and Frosl'n Or, '^Kcllcy'n General Circtdar, 13-27. '■" Kclky'8 Colonization qf'Or., 50. '^'' Kelleij's Colonization o/(h:, 37. SOMK WHO CAME WITH KNMXC VOLNO. 9S is evident from the rarity of offences. They were in- deed useful ill tJieir way."* One of Young's men, Webley J. Hauxhurst, erected a grist-mill at Chainpoeg in the summer of 1834, adding greatly to the convenience and comfort of the inhabitants of French Prairie, including the missionaries, who had previously pounded their barley in a large wooden mortar, and ground their wheat in a small cast-iron mill called a corn-cracker. Haux- hurst, who was a native of Long Island, subsequently joined the Methodist church, being the first fruit of missionary work among the settlers. His conversion took f ;^ce in January 1837, and he was ever aft'T a faithful adherent to the organization; nor were there any of this so-called band of horse-thieves who seemed indisposed to earn an honest living. Another party of eight, coming in the summer of 1835 to join in the colonization of Oregon,'''" on reach- ing Rogue River were attacked by the savas;;eG, and four of the number slain, the others with difficulty escaping 2S 2* Mention is made, in chapter iii. of this volume, of the killing of Thorn- l)urg by Hubbard at Fort William. But these were Wyeth'a )ncn. Captain Lambert and Mr Townsend lield an inquest, and after hearing the evidenof, returned a verdict of justifiable homicide. TownneniVs Nar., 224. Gray, in Hi'it. Or., 197, tells Hubbard's story as liappening several years later, when there waa a magistrate in the country, before whom he M'as tried. No such trial ever took place. Hubbard was given a certificate by the coroner's jury to show that the killing was in self-defence and to clear him in case of arrest. Lee contributes tlie fact that the desire for strong drink, that article being obtainable at Fort William, led to the stealing of a pig, and tlio selling of it for liquor wliich the thief ' barburou^ly compelled the owner to lU'ink; and now, poor man, he has no pork to eat in harvest I ' Leu iiwl Fro.Ht\t Or., l-M. '^' Toiriisend'-n A'ar., "28. ' Cray with his usual inaccurracy says there was no arrival of settlers in 1835. '^* The same who later caused the bloody wars of 1833 and 18r>5-(). Kelley relates that while he aiul Young were en roiUc, for Oregcm, some of those men who iiS'l joined and left them, and who were formerly trappers under the famous leader, Joe Walker, of tlio American fur company in tiie Rocky Mountains, wantonly slew the California Indians on several occasions where they hung upon their rear, and tiiat Young approved of tiie murders, saying they were Slamned villains, and ouglit t a lo Sla- cum's report, the same pearances, (|uick to take upon himselt the work for which others were too weak, scorning tf:f 106 COMING OF THE PRESBYTERIANS. that refinement which unfitted him for any necessary task, and ready to endure the severest privations. His appearance was an index to the vigor of his character, a spare, sinewy frame, strong features, deep blue eyes, and hair already iron-gray, a man made for responsibility, for overcoming obstacles, and equally by his great energy and kindness fitted to be the leader of a new mission. He was from Rushville, New York, and had reached St Louis by way of central Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, several days in advance of Parker. As it was not possible to travel through the Indian country, even with a guide, except in parties of considerable size, the two missionaries must seek an escort. Fontenelle, a trader of the American Fur Company, was preparing to set out for the Rocky Mountains with sixty men and a caravan of pack- animals and wagons loaded with Indian goods. He courteously offered his protection, and they at once took steamer for Liberty, Missouri, the frontier town from which the caravan was to start. Here, as they were delayed three weeks until the preparations for the long march was completed, Parker occupied himself in visiting a small Mormon settlement neai' by, and riding to Cantonment Leavenworth, "twenty miles out of the United States," where he preached three times on Sunday to the garrison. On the 15th of May the caravan left Liberty for Council Bluffs, l^arker making note that this was his last day's lodging with a civilizetl family f )r a long time to come, but declaring shortly afterward that he preferred sleeping out of doors to lodging in untidy houses — an opinion most well-bred persons will sliare with him. His fastidiousness in this and other mat- ters, liowever, was tlie je^t of his less refined travel- ling companions. It was not until the 22d of June that the final start was made from the trading post of Bellevvie, oii the west side of the Missouri, a few nules below the present city of Omaha, the delay THE JOURNEY. 107 giving Parker an opportunity of visiting Allis and Dunbar, the missionaries to the Pawnees,^ and of studying the tribes in the vicinity, in whom he took much interest. While at Bellevue the cholera broke out among the men, three of whom died almost imme- diately. Doctor Whitman, with characteristic kind- ness, devoted himself to the care of the sufferers, and the disease was arrested by removing the sick from the riverside to the higher prairie, after which no new cases appeared. Besides winning the gratitude of the men whose lives he had saved, and of Fon- tenelle, whose company was kept from breaking up, the doctor's n-putation was established among the Rocky Mountain hunters and trappers, to whom the fame of his skill and goodness was spread by the new- comers at the summer rendezvous. The journey was marked only by the usual inci- dents of travel across the plains : the early morning start ; the long march before breakfast, which with supper constituted the only meals ; the frequent thun- der-storms, in which everybody became drenched and chilled ; crossing rivers in a wagon-bed for a boat, made water-tight by a covering < i" undressed skins;* the occasional visits of Indians, m ith now and then a buft'alo chase or a rare accident. The Black Hills were reached by the 26th of July, and Fontenelle remained at Fort Laramie, a post of the American Fur Company, while Fitzpatrick, another partner, t'^cl: charge of the cai'avan to the rendezvous. On approaching T^aramie, an exhibition of mountain manners rather tried the nerve of Parker, who, leav- ing the road with a single attendant to examine a singular elevation called Chimni'V Rock, about three miles from the caravan, was alarmed by a com[»any '■'In IS'M Mr Allis waH still living at his lionio on the cast side of the Missouri, nearly opposite to tlie old IJuUevuo trading post. •' The jireen hides are sewed togetiier, and tigiitly stretched over the boxes, llesh sitlc out, and fastened with strong taciis to tiie wood, when tlicy are placed hi the sun to dry. Repeated stretcliing and drying iircparcs tiio siiin to iveep out the water. These are called l)ull-hide boats, huing usually made of Ijuflalo-skins. Burnett's liec. o/a Pionvvr, MS., 112. 108 COMING OP THE PRESBYTERIANS. of mounted men, seemingly natives, riding full tilt in his direction. Fontenelle, at the hurried flight of Parker, hastened to his relief with a squad of armed men; but when the wild cavalcade came near enough for recognition, they proved to be a party of trappers, dressed in Indian finery, coming out to welcome the St Louis partner with the year's supplies. Then all was merriment, questionings, and mutual rejoic- mgs. On the Ist of August, the wagons being left at Fort Laramie, which Parker called the Fort of the Black Hills, and the goods all packed upon nmles, the caravan resumed its journey to the rendezvous on Green Kiver, where it arrived on the 12th, and where Parker remained until the 2 Ist, waiting for an escort to pursue his explorations westward. While at the rendezvous Dr Whitman gave surgical and medical aid to a number of persons, among other operations extracting an iron arrow three inclies long from the back of Captain Bridger, who afterward built Fort Bridger on the Black branch of Green River, and an arrow from the shoulder of a hunter who had carried it in his flesh for more tlian two years. The exhibition of his skill excited the wonder of the Flatheads and Nez Perces there present, and roused their desires to have teachers come among them who could do so much to relieve suffering.* The evident anxiety of the natives to secure the bene- fits of the white man's superior knowledge, through the instrumentality of " a man near to God," as they called Parker, led to a consultation between the mis- sionaries upon the ])ro])riety of briiiging out teachers without delay. Witli his usual impetuosity. Whitman proposed to return with the caravan to St Louis, obtain assistants, and join the same escort to the mountains the next spring. To this Parker readily consented, having confidence that God would go with and protect him as s: urely without as in the company * Parlrr.'i Jour., Ex. Tour, 77. WHITMANS RETURN. lOQ Ig I'lie- )ugh mis, the clily v^itli any of his associate.^ The Flat heads and Nez Perces of- fered to escort liim to the Columbia River. According to the new plan of operations, Parker on the 21st joined the company of Captain Bridger, consisting of about sixty men who were going eight days' journey upon the same route as the savages, to Pierre Hole, an extensive mountain valley on the head waters of the Snake Kiver. Here the com- pany of Bridger took a course toward the Blackfoot country, the main body of natives and their guest travelling north-west in the direction of Salmon River. Becoming better acquainted as they proceeded, Parker taught them the commandments, which he found they readily understood and obeyed ; and further than this, they gave up their polygamous practices, and went back to their first wives, whom they had put away. In all respects Parker found himself treated with the utmost kindness and consideration by his escort^ and so far wari he from fear, that he rejected an invitation by letter from Wyeth's agent at Fort Hall, Mr Baker, to pass the winter with him, preferriug to proceed to Fort Vancouver at once. No better opportunity could ofl'er of studying the character and customs of the })eople he desired to christianize than he at present enjoyed; though somewhat misleading, the savages were in their best mood, and displayed their best behavior. But the hardships of the journey, with the sudden changes of temperature in the mountains, cost Parker an illness, the serious consequences of which he averted by free use of tlie lancet and medi- cines. One cannot but feel an interest in the elderly clergyman, accustomed to the order and comfort of his family, in a land of plenty and peace, now left ■"■That IS H-liat Parker himself said. lu Oroi/'s Jlkt. Or., 108, it is stated tliiit Wliitiiiau went baek because lu? and his superior oouhl not iigrec; tlirtt i'arker could not abide tlie slovenly habits of tlie doctor; but tliat 'their siMise of moral obligation was sueli, tliat a reason must be given why Pr Whitman returns to the States, and Mr I'arker iirocecds alone on his perilous journey.' It is most probable that tlie want of congeniality made it accept- able to botli, when their best usefulness to their mi.^sion allowed them to separate without any r.vVi double dealing as the extract would indicate. 110 COMING OP THE PRESBYTERIANS. alone with a few wandering bands of Indians, starving one day and feasting the next, watchful for an en- counter with the dreaded Blackfoot hunters on their common buffalo-grounds, and startled frequently by false alarms. On the 18th, anxious to reach some post of the Hudson's Bay Company, Parker took ten Nez Perces and went forward, making twice the distance in a day that could be made with the main body, and pushing Gil over the rough and precipitous Salmon River and Kooskooskie ranges, reached the Nez Perc^ country on the 28th, his health rapidly improving as he emerged from the " wild, cold mountains," as he pathetically styled them. The Nez Percds received their friends and their reverend guest with the usual noisy demon- strations, firing salutes, and feasting them with dried salmon. On the following day the journey was con- tinued to the confluence of the Kooskooskie with Lewis River, whence, after crossing the former river, the little party hastened, by a well-worn trail, to Fort Walla Walla. On reaching this post, the 6th of October, Parker was kindly received by Pambrun, the agent in charge, wlio set before him roasted duck, bread, butter, milk, and sugar, spread upon a table, with a chair to sit upon, unwonted luxuries which excited the warmest thanks. Here Parker rested for two days only, but long enough to note the difference between the conduct of the servants of the British fur company and the boisterous and reckless behavior of the American hunters and trappers in the mountains. Instead of boasting of the number of Indians they had ki^^ed, as the latter often did in his presence, he found the Brit- ish company commendably kind in their treatment of the Indians, whose friendship they strove to gain, and whom they sometimes even instructed in religion and morality.^ "Parker's Jour., 124. ON THE COLUMBIA. Ill On the 8th, three muscular Walla Wallas, with a canoe furnished with provisions by Pambrun, took the hopeful traveller in charge for a voyage to Fort Vancouver. The first day's experience of the Co- lumbia rapids so alarmed him that he begged the natives to put him ashore, but he yielded to their assurance that there was no danger. He visited the Cayuse tribe on the south side of the river, and some savages, whom he called Nez Perces, on the north bank. The Cayuses were curious to know what had brought a white man who was not a trader amongst them; and being told that he had come to instruct them how to worship God, they gave him a salute, as the Nez Perces had done, every man, woman, and child shaking hands with him, and expressing their satisfaction. Not being able to converse freely, and having no interpreter, he promised to meet them in the spring at Walla Walla, and bade them farewell. Arriving at the Dalles on the 12th, the Walla Wallas were dismissed. Here he met Captain Wyoth, on his way to Fort Hall, who furnished him a short vocabulary of Chinook words for the necessary busi- ness of a traveller among the natives below the Dalles. After this he engaged a canoe and crew of Wascos, and again set out with a few strange savages. Being near the middle of October, the season of storms was at hand, as he was informed by the strong south wind which obliged him to encamp. On the second and third days from the Dalles it rained, and the portage at the cascades compelled a toilsome walk of several miles. About noon of the 16th, he was surprised by seeing on the north bank of the river two white men and a yoke of oxen drawing logs for sawing, and soon after a large mill, around which were piles of lumber and a group of cottages. Cheered with tlie sight, lie landed, and was offered a breakfast of pease and fish by the Orkney laborers. Reembarking, he landed at Fort Vancouver at two o'clock in the afternoon, and was wel- 112 COMING OF THE PRESBYTERIANS. coined by McLoughlin, who invited him to take up his residence in the fort as long as suited his convenience, an invitation most gratefully accepted ; "and never," says the explorer, weary with more than six months' travel, *'did I feel more joyful to set my feet on shore." After a single night's rest, the May Dacre being about to sail for the Sandwich Islands, Parker de- termined to avail himself of the opportunity of visit- ing the mouth of the river and the sea-coast before winter set in. Going down the river, he had frequent opportunities of studying the character of the natives who inhabited the shores, as they often came on board to trado,^ and he soon discovered the difference between those and the mountain tribes, the latter loading the stranger with favors, while the others never ceased begging for them. Nevertheless he summed up his observations of natives by declaring that in his opin- ion the character of uiiabused and uncontaminated Indians would not sufter by comparison with any other nation that can be named ; the only material difference between man and man being that produced by the knowledge and practice of the Christian religion.* Returning in an express canoe from the mouth of the Columbia, where several days had been spent ex- amining the coast, Mr Parker went into winter quar- ters at Fort Vancouver October 30th, having half of a new house assigned him, well furnished, with all the attendance he could wish, with books and horses at command, "and in addition to all these, and still more valuable, the society of gentlemen, enlightened, polished, and sociable." ' As an example of the traits of the Skilloots, Parker gives this: A chief with a few of his people came on board, being very talkative and sportive. ' He asked that, as they were about to part, Captain Lambert should give him a shirt, which having received, he put it or., saying, "How much better wouhl a new pair of pantaloons look with this shirt. " The pants being given him, he said, "A vest would become me, aiid increase my influence with my people." This 'ift being added to the others, he then said, "Well, tyeo [chief or gentleman], t suppose we shall not see each other again; can you see me depart without a clean blanket ? " ' Failing to obtain the blanket, he l)egge natives from the Dalles visited Fort Vancouver, osklng to be pres- ent at the Uf-'ual Sunday services, conducting them- Hl.XT. OK., Vol.. I. 8 114 COMING OF THE PRESBYTERIANS. selves solierly, and taking part in tlie exercis'js. Having prayed with tliem, Parker tried to convey to these people some idea of the [jrineiples of Chi.'s- tianity. When he had conchided, the head chief Nutive RticeK, i. .310. ^^ Smet's Lettem, 212. Illli His (0.\lINi/o/w, 407, says that some Iroquois formerly of the Coughna- waga Catholic mission, joined the Flatheads 2)revious to 18'2(), the tribe be- coming christianized about tnat time, tlirough tlieir example; ami that tlu'ir desire for teachers led to the pilgrimage to St Louis before mentioned. They oontinued in the ceremonials and practices of the church, daily offering up l)rayers to (Jod, and keeping the sabbath. This agrees with the obserx'ations of Bonneville in 1 SIM, who Hnyi, the Flatheads, Nez Perces, and Cayuses had a strong devotional feeling, but speaks of it as successfully cultivated by some of the Hudson's Bay Company's peoph;. So far as Mr I'ambrun of Walla Walla is concerned, this I believe to be the triith, but not of the com- pany's servants generally, as Dunn in liia HiMorji of the Oin/oii Territori/, 181, informs us, they having occiision to blame tliemselves for their neglect. So well advanced in the Christian religion were tiie tribes mentioned, ac- cording to Bonneville, that they would not raise their camps on Sunday, nor tish, hunt, or trade on that day except in eases of severe necessity, but passed a jwrtion of the day in religious ceremonies, the chiefs leiidiug the ilevotions. and afterward giving a sort of sermon upon abstaining from lying, stealing, cheating, and quarrelling, and the duty of being ho8i)itable to strangers. Prayers and exhortations were also made in the morning on week ilays, often by the chief on hor.sel)ack, moving slowly about the camp, and giving his instructions in a loud voice, the people listening with attention, iuid at the end of every sentence responding one word in unison, apparently equivalent to amen. While these ceremonials were going on every employ- ment was suspended. If an Indian was riding by, he dismounted, and at- tended with reverence until the conclusion. When the chief had finished, he said, 'I have done,' upon wliieh there was an exclamation in unison. 'With I IX SKAUCH OF MISSION' HITKS. u: the Iiidiaus to ])r Wliitninii to \)v torwuicU'd to tlw Unitt'd States, lio turii'Ml hack to the (\iliinibia Kiver, iletoriniiu'd to tako tiu' sea route lionie. No loiijj^or lacking for time, he decided to make furtlier explorations for I'lission stations, and noted with favor the ui)per pari of tiie Walhi Walla Valley as a site for an estahlishment, the only objection to it, in his mind, beinu^ that it was not central for the No/ l\Tces, Cayuses, and Walla Wallas, to whom he had ].i ■omised a mission. H ow easnv le says, "miirht the ])lonijfh i^o througli these valleys, and what rich and abundant harvests might be ijathcsred by the hand of industry. But even now the spontaneous growth of these vast plains, including millions of acres, yields these religious services,' says Bonneville, ' probably deriveil from tlio white men, the tribes above mentioned niiiinle some of their old Indian eerenio- iiialn; such as dancinjf to the cadence of a song or ballad, wliiuh is generally done in a large lodge providf'd for the purpose. Besidt\s Sundays, they like- wise observe the canlinal liolidaya of the Roman Catholic church.' Imntjn Hoiiiici'illc's A)hriitiin:-i, 38!)-'.)0. Says .lolni ^\'yeth, who also gives thest; savages a good cliaraetcu": ' I know luit wliat to say of their religion. I saw iidtliing liiie inuiges, or any objects of worship whatever, and yet tlicy aj)- pcared to keep a sabbath, for tliero is a day on which they do not hunt nor gand)le, but sit moping all day, and look like fools, lliere certainly ap- l)eared among them an lionor, or conscience, and sense of justice. Tliey would do what they promised, and return our strayed horses and lost articles." Orei/nn, 54. ToMnisend was equally struck with the religious ciiar- ac'ter of the Nez I'erces iind Cayusos, and after describing tiudr family wor- sliip, concludes by saying: ' I never wiis more gratilieil by any exhiliition in my life. Tlie liumble, subdued, and beseeching looks of the poor untutored beings who were calling upon tiieir heavenly father to forgive their sins, and continue Ins mercies to them, iind tlio evident and hi^art-felt sincerity wliieh characterized the wliolo scene, was truly atl'ecting, antl very impressive.' A'ar., 107. Elijah White, in a letter to tlie Oreijon SpecOi/or of November 12, 1S46, says: ' Indeed, the red men of tliat region would almost seem to be of a differ- ent order from those with whom we have been in nioro familiar intercourse.' I'arker lumself often remarked upon the reverence and attention with whicli the I'latlieads and Nez Perces listened to his devotional exercises, in wliicli they joined M'ith an intelligence that surprised him. The eil'ect of the teaching they had some time had was apparent in tlie exhibition of that hos- jiitality, care for f)thers, and general gootl conduct to which he often referred. On one of his journeys with these peojjle he says: 'One sabbath out eight in the morning, some of the chiefs came to me and asked where they should assemble. I asked them if they could not be accommodated in tlie willows which skirtev Parker of ihe north of t.ie Walla AVi'Ua Valley for settlement, it was thirty years before it began to be esteemed lor farming purposes; and another decade had ptossed cro the fact wa'.i accepted that this was one of the most i)roiluctive wheat-fields of the world. '*^ ' Place of Rye (trass.' This word is commonly spelled '\ith a terminal II instead of a, which some say changes its signification, afiirining tliat a is the proper termination for the word with the above .neaning. '■' Undoubtedly, this spot Wiis the choice of I'arker, though in (rnii/'t^ Hint. Or., 1(55-1), the reader is made to believe that the choice WiU' left to Whit- man. Parker says that after encamping for a iii^lit on the 'upper part of the Walla Walla River,' he rode twenty-two miles and arrived at Walla Walla, Whitman may liave selected a spot, not the identical one, in tlie Same vicinity. WAIILAXPU. 119 At the time Parker made his selection of Waii- latpu he was alone, except so far as he was surrounded by Indians, who overtook him and his Nez Percd guide, and continued with him out of curiosity or interest. To these he undoubtedly communicated his intention of founding a mission at this spot, and prob- ably obtpined their sanction, as tliey were eager to have a misfjion established among them. There is nothing, he wever, in his account of his journey, which indicates that he offerod the Cayuses, whose country it vas, anything in ptyment for the land, or that the subject was discussei. On the contrary, having no interpreter with him, he mentions a diffi- culty in communicating with the Indians ; and there is no evidence that at this time t .le Cayuses set any value on land required for an individual farm. It seems to have been taken for grar Lud that there was to be a mission for the benefit of the Indians, and not of the missionaries.^^ in their was to known hip, and wlioh; liment; They when ir lan- upon •vident lid tlio was, "ho ex- Hisf. Wliit- )art of Walla in tlie '"In Brouillet's Autheulk Account nf the. Murder of Dr WMtman, 2.3, is a Htateni(!ut by John Toupin, which must be taken with allowance. Toupin, who was interpreter at Fort Walla V/alla from 1824 to 1841, tirst avers that Mr Parker made the selection of the luissiou station in 183,5, which is not possible, as during this journey he proceeded to F'ort Vancouver with the delay of only ouo aay to ai lange for his passage down the river. This might have been simply an error in date, did not Toupin go on to say that Air Parker, in company with Mr Pambrun, an American, and liimself as inter- preter, went first to Waiilatpu, a place belonging to three chiefs of the ('ayuses, where lie met tliem by appointment to select a site for a mission for Whitman, who, he told thtm, would come in the ' following spring ' — whereas, if the error wa*; in date, it woidd have been tlie following autumn tliat he promised them that they would see Whitman. From the (.'ayuses, says Toupin, Parker went to the Nez Perces, about one hundred and twenty-live miles distant, on a small creek emptying into the Ko.iskooskie, or Clearwater, seven or eight miles from the place afterwanls chost n for tlie Nez Perc(5 mis- .sion, where he made the same promises. 'Next spring there wnll conu^ a missionary to establish himself here and take a piece of lan]i he offered a larj^e reward for the service. *' I have shown the way ; you cannot miss it; why sliould I allow you to ]>ay me for un- necessary labor ^ " iiujuircd this punctilious savage ; nor could he be persuaded from his determination. This conscientiousness, as it appeared to liim, and which would have been extraordinary in a man of civilized habits, so moved tlie missionai'v that he not onlv ])aid liim well on tlie spot, buj afterward sent him a pres- ent of powder and ball. Crossing the SpH.ane River on the 27tli, his ferrv- lujin guided him to the ])rhicipal village, where there was a small field of Hourishuig )»otatoes. [lease, l^eans, 12-2 COMING OF THE PRESBYTE11IAN8. and other vegetables, the first instance of native agriculture Parker had seen west of the Rocky Mountains, although the Hudson's Bay Company would at any time have encouraged the Indians in planting in tlie neighborhood of their forts, had they cared to cultivate the soil. The Indians about Pu"ret Sound, more than any others, seem to have taken to the cultivation of the potato for food, Encamping for the night, sixty miles from Colville, he found many Si)okanos and Nez Perces gathered, who had heard from others that a teacher of reli- gion was passing through the country, and they were anxious to see and listen to so great a personage. They brought with them, with wise forethought, an interpreter of their own, a young Spokane, who had attended school at tlie Red River settlement, and who understood English fairly. There was i)resent also a Xez Perce chief who knew the Spokane tongue. For their edification religious services were held in the evening, and as the interpreter rendered the sermon into Si)okane, the Nez Perce translated it into iiis language, wliich was done without disturbance, and was entirely the idea of the Indians themselves. So wonderfully interesting did the preacher- find these people, that he regarded it as a special providence that he had suffered several detentions wliich pre- vented his passing them ; and as he rode next day through a very fertile but narrow valley extending north and south for fifty miles, he settled in his mind that here too should be a mission, from which the tribes of the Spokanes, Coiurs d'Alene, Pends d'Oreillc, and Shuyelj)i, or Kettle Falls, could all be reached. Reaching Fort Colville after a hard ride, on the evening of the 28tli, in an almost starving condition, having exliausted his supplies, he found liimself just too late to see McDonalcI, the gentleman in charge, who had a few days before gone with tlie annual brigade to Fort Vancouver. Every attention was 1! ■' DEPARTURE OF PARKER. 12S j)ai(l toward making hiin (.•(.)ii)lortal)k! by tho people at the fort, hut his visit extoiidod only over the sabbath, v^'^hich he spent as usual in preaching, and teaching the Indians. On the 30th he journeyed to the Grande Coulee, in whose deej) chasm a night was passed. He was again lost for a few hours on the great plain of the Columbia; but more by his own judgment than the knowledge of the Indian guides lie made his way safely to Fort Okanagan. At this place he made no stay, but obtaining a bateau and two natives to assist the voyageurs, set out on his return by river, sending his guides with the horses to Walla Walla, where he arrived tlio 3d of June, having been eleven days, Sundays excepted, in the saddle or bateau. After a rest of two days he left for Fort Vancouver, where he arrived in safety on tlie evening of the Dth, and took passage in one of the fur company's vessels to the Sandwich Islands. It is worthy of note, in connection with Parker's residence of several months at Fort A'ancouver, that thence originated the practice of assembling the Canadians twice every Sunday, and reading to them in French a ]>ortion of the scriptures and a sermon : which practice was kept u[) until the r.rrival of Mr Heaver. Before leaving Oregon Parker witnessed the intro- duction of a steam-vessel into the coasting service of the company. This was the Beaver, which arrived in the Cokunbia River in the spring of 183(5, and on which Parker with a party of gentlemen from the fort took an excursion on tlie 1 4th of June around Wapato Island, indulging during their enjoyment in "a train of prospective reflections upon the ])rol)able changes wliich would take ])]ace in these remote regions in a very few years," and in the dream ''a new empire be added to the kingdoms of the earth.'"' '• Pnrkvrn Jour., Kr. Tour, 810- ■ . This pioneer steamlmat on the Pacific Ocean was eominaniled by Captain Oavid Home, her consort being the Nereid, Uoyal, niaater. She was a hnv-i)rcssure, side- wheel steamer, 110 tons register, hid 124 COMING OF THE IKSBYTERIAXS. On the IHtli of June Parker took final leave of Fort Vancouver, and sailed for Honolulu, where he was compelled to wait until the middle of December for a vessel to the United States, reaching his home in Ithaca the 23d of May, 1837,^** having- travelled 28,000 miles. i! -f. : 1 i.i We have now to deal with the results of the explo- ration ordered by the American Board. When Mr Parker decided to proceed alone, Dr Whitman turned back with tlie caravan to St Louis for the next year's supplies, reaching the Missouri frontier late in the autumn of 1835. The business in hand was some- thing requiring all his superabundant energy, for before spring he must bring into the service of the Presbyterian missions in Oregon persons enough to set up at least two stations, one among the Flatheads and one among the Nez Perces. To enlist the symj)athy of Christians, he took with him two Indian lads, as did Columbus, Pizarro, and Wyeth, and as do othei-s, down to the Indian agents and military men of the present day, when wishing to interest the public in alien and savage races. With these he went directly to the missionary board, and rei)orted the field of mission w( rk west of the Rockv built at Blackwell, England. Her paddle-wheels were small and well forward. She carried a crew of thirty men, arniament 4 six -pounders, with a large supply of small-arins. Tlie decks were protected by boarding-netting, the natives being restricted to the gangways for access. After leaving the Colum- bia in 1837 she never afterward entered it, but was engaged in coasting the northern seas, collecting furs, ami supplying the northern forts. This steamer entered the harbors of Esquimalt and Victoria in 1830. She was in 1881 a tug in tlie latter harbor. Heattle InleUiijenevr, Jan. 1, 1881; FinhiysouK V. I. itiid X. W. Cmut, MS., (). '"With tlu! departure of Mr Parker from Oregon ends his relation to its history. He publishelish gen- tleman, and a few servants. Another, not helonging to eitlier the fur company or missionary party, was a gentleman called Mfijor Pilclior, of St Louis, Indian agent to the Yankton Sioux, whom Parker, havmg met him the year before, calls intelligent and candid, and well dis|)osed tow»ard mission enterprises, but who by his loppish dress excited the remarks of at least one of the mission party, who perhaps fancied that he occupied too mud, of the attention of the two ladies, whom he was good-naturedly desirous of uumsing. According to Gray, he wore a suit of fine buckskin trimmed with red cloth and porcupine quills, fine scarlet shirt, and elaborately ornamented moc- casons; and he must have made a conspicuous figure in any c()nii)any. Major Pilcher was one day showing tlie ladies some singular salt clay-pits, when going too near the edge it ga^■e way, imnicirsing his fine white mule, himself, and his elegant Indian costume in a batli of sticky liquid clay. It was with difficulty he was extricated, when lie j(jined heartily in the merriment liis predicament occasioned. Aside from the occasional storms to which the travellers were exposed, and the meat diet to which in a short time all were restricted, a sunnner's journey under the j)rotection of so varied a company was most interesting to the two untravelled women from central New York. Piftv years at Pi-attsburcf, or at tlie Osage Mission, would not have aiforded the oppor- tunities for expansion of thought, or the accumula- -' From the frequent mention made of him liy travellers, Stuart seems to Imve haunted the lloeky Mountains for more than ten years. Oray asserts that lie waa 'Sir William Dvummond, K. B., \\\w had come to tlie United States to allow liis fortune to recuperate duriiii,' his absence,' and describes him Jis a tall figure with face worn by ether no inconsiderable village, with a vigilant police. A grand reception was planned in honor of the missionaries, and on the day selected a })rocession of all the Indians in uala dress was formed at one end of the plain, each tribe having a company of warriors in iiLihtinij costume, which was a breech-clout and l)lenty of paint and feathers. All were mounted, and the fighting men cairied their weapons, drun:s, rattles, and other noisy instruments. When everything was in readiness a terrifying yell buist forth, aiid to AT THK RENDEZVOUS. 181 the of tnd )r,s Ind liid as I to a barbarous diorus the cavalcado charyfcd tliroUiih the valley at frantic; speed, and returning in the name manner, porforinrd tlieir skilful evolutions in front of the niissionarv tent, the whole heinjjf con- ducted in the ouler of a jiieeoncerttHl niilitarv move- ment, the force of several hundred warriors obeyinjjj the sianal of its leaders as an orchestra olx^vs the conductor's baton. But although perfect order was niiiii'taiiieil, such was the impc^tuosity of the savages, \vl;o ga\e the'!iselves u}) to the excitement of this mimic charu'e, that the women's nerves were S(»n^lv tried. When all was over, having done so juuch to ejiteitain their white friends, the red men l)egan to crowd idw.ut tl'.o missionaries to satisfy their curiosity. Whihi the comjtany remained at (ireen Kiver, Captain Wyeth arrived from Fort Vancouvi'r, having sold his forts and goods to the British conn)any, to the great dissatisfaction of the American traders and trapi)ers, who had not, however, offered less o}>i)osi- tion to him than had the Hudson's Bay traders. He was accompanied by Thomas i\[cKay and John Mc- Leod, a chief trader of the British c(jm{)any, who, after receiving Fort Hall from Wyeth, intended to re- turn to Fort Vancouver, and kindly oftered his escort to the missionary i)arty. McLeod told Whitnmn that he thought, instead of encouraging the American mountain men to follow him and settle in Oregon, it would be more profitable to send a missionary to travel with the camps of the hunters. dray, who ])i'obably knew of the prejudice created by the publications of Kelley, was prepared to see in this advice opposition to American settlement in the country, and to resent it with his natural warmth; although he had ample opportunities of learning that the character of many of these ct)untrvnien of his made them a dangerous element among the Indians, as l*arker could have informed him."^ MeLe;.S. Iri' went so far, we are told, as to say that if the mis- sionaries needed assistance in erectinj^' buildinj^s, or making other improvements, the company lie served would prefer furnishing it to having these reckless men introduced into the Oregon settlements, all of which advice Captain Wyetli indorsed, though Gray helieved it was because he felt the uselessness of opposing the autocrat of Fort Vancouver, whose fixed policy toward unprinci})led men, whether Amer- ican or French, was to keep them as much a^ possible at a distance. There is no evidence that Dr Whitman shared the feelings of his subordinate; his letters to tJie Amer- ican Board refer in polite terms to tlie assistance rendered him by the British fur company, and not to any opposition to liis plans. Arrangements were iunnediately made to proceed to Fort Vancouver, where the missionaries were assured tluy could replace tlie farmiujjf and blacksmithingf tools and other arti- cles which the}' were advised to leave at Green Kiver as too heavy to be transported on their flagging horses over the difficult route to the Columbia River. I i 1; Two or three w(;eks of rest, with a change of iliet, and the favt)rable effect of the climate on the west- ovn slope of the Rocky Mountains, made a decided imjirovement in the health oi Mrs Spalding. But Whitman still liesitated. to give up his wagon, whicli if possible ho wished to take to the Columl)ia River; and lightened of all umiecessary things, he conveyed it with littl*' difficulty as far as Fort Hall, receiving some assistance from the Indians.-' poiisities dictate. It i.s saiil they liavo mAd tlioiii packs of cards at liij,'li j>rices, calling tliem tlic l)il>l(^; ami have toM tht'iii if tlicy sl.oulil refuse to give whi'^c men wives, (lod would Ik angry with tlieni, ard puuinh them eternally, etc. Piirkt'rtt Jo'- r.. Ex. Tiwr,Si\ 1. ( i ray himself relatiii-' tiiat one whom he mot at (ireen River, and who afterwaril settled in the Willanu!tte Valley, amused himself teaching his little halfd)reed son to utter profane sen- tences, lli.st. Or., I'J"). SaysAVyeth: ''I'lie preponderance of had character is already so great amongst traders and their people, tliat crime carries ■> ith it litthi or no shame.' ,.'ntli Con;/., .Ul Scti'<., II. h'cpt. 10 1. ■'' (."oncerning tiie Flatheads and Nez l'erc(''s, and the currespondi u'e of ji'arkurwith Wlutman, somethinj; sliotdd Ik; said in this ph.ie. Act, rack fioni : 'le Nez Ferct^ country, leaving tlie Indians to proceed without him to iic reu >zvous, he mentions writing several letttirs to be for- wanled to the Uniii'wai and Waiilatpu. visiting several tribes both in eastern and western Oregon, and going l)ack to secular j)ursuits after three oi- four years. A mis- sion Avas begun at Kamiah, sixty miles up tlie Clear- water, above Lajjwai, by lie v. Asa B. Smith, in May 1839, and abandoned in 1841 on account of the hos- tility of the upi)er Nez Perces, who were in sympathy with the Flatheads. Thus, after all the cx})ressed desire of this tril^e 'for teachers^ no Protestant mis- sionary was allowed to establish himself among them. Elkinah Walker and Cushing C. Eells, with their wives, established a permanent mission on the Clie- makano'''^ branch of the S])okane Kiver, within easy distance of Fort Colville. C/orndius Rogers became a teacher, first at Lapwai, and then at Waiilatpu.''" V le It ^'Chcmakauo, according' to WilUi'«, iiicaiis 'tlic iilaiu of siiring.s, ' from the fact tliat the streams sink in the t'arili, ami jiassinu uiiilerifrouiid a fow niilcx, Imrht forth a):aiii in sji.-ings. Wilki'i Xnr., I'. S. Kijilr. K.i., iv. 4X3. •'-'Rev. Klkiuah Walker, thirty years of ago, tall, sjiiire, aixl liglit complex ioned, was from North Vai'numth, Ale, and was educated ai Kindiall Academ.v , M.'rideu, N. H., from which he went into the Kangoi Tlieologieal Seminary, wluie ho studied for three years, lie was a diflident ami -iiniaMe man without strong traits. He intemleil to f C)i ■ihould h necessary tnat tne missionarn cows and horsi;s l)eforo they could take rank among the foremost nations of the world. Ewino; Younu' saw this, for he was a, thouu^htfu] , practical man, ready to assist proi^ress and minister to the wants of the race; and as his proposal to su])ply the settlers with that fiery adjunct of civilization, whiskey, had met with poor encouragement, he concluded to do what he could toward stockinii' the vnllev with those i>entle boasts which men make their c(^)mpai,ions, not to say masters. Younji^'s distillery speculation iiad l)oen hke tlio labor of Cloanthes, who support< d Iiiinsi'lf l)y diawiny' water at night hi onler tlu.t h» might indulge in plucking the liowers of philosophy during the day; it was not appreciated by the Willamette Areopagus, and his ju 'gos were delightoil o^ or tlio prospect of suck a ( i;ti' ) Ji, Pii 140 THE WILLAMETTE t'ATTLE COM TAN V IV useful and ])erha])s dangerous ocru])ati()n for so rest- less a settler. If Young would help civilization and the settlers in this matter, jjerhajjs the settlers and civilization might help Young. "I found," observes Slacum, "that nothhig was wanting to insure comfort, wealth, and every hap})i- ness to the people of this most beautiful country, but the possession of neat-eattle, all of those in the country being owned by the Hudson's Bay Company, who refused to sell them under any circumstances what- ever."^ This oft-repeated charge, in the tone of sufferers from tyranny and injustice, it may be as well to explain. McLoughlin asserts that in 1825 the comjiany had but twenty-seven head of cattle of any age or size. So precious were these that they were allowed to nmltiply with lut tlie slaughter of a single animal. As late as 18.39 the company declined to furnish with beef tiie surveying squadron of Sir Edward Belcher, who complained of this refusal on his return to England.^ The policy of the fur mag- nates could not therefore be called an an ti Amer- ican restriction. McLoughlin I'easonctl that if he sold cattle U) the settlers they would l)e entitled to the increase, and he would be deprived of the means of assisthig new-c(jmers, and the interests of the coast letarded. If two hundred dollars, which was otferetl, were paid for a cow, the })urchaser would ])ut such a iji'ice on the increase that the settlej-s could not buv. He therefore thought it better, while cattle were still few in the country, to lend to every settler cows and oxen to make lum comfortable, tliough he was not mjide rich, and all to sliare alike, while the herds suffered no diminution.'^ Jason Lee, Ewing Young, and others so repre- sented the benefits of cattle to them that Slacum made a proposition to carry to California in the brig Loriot ' SlucH)ii\t licport, in Stipp. (o If. Rcpt. 101, 2-'>lh Coii;/., StI Sens. • Bdr/ii-r's f'oi/oi/c, i. 'JlHi; Ajijilcf/n/c s I'icirx <•/ 7J!.i,\, M.S., 28. ^ Copy of a DocntiK'iit, in Trans. Or. Pioneer A t\to<\, iJiSO, 51. i ■■' ':»li C0NTH11JUT()K8. 141 all persons wisliino- to 'Xo tliitluT, where c-attle eould l>e lK)U:tte c'attlk company. i 3' iii: Columbia at least, except such as Great Britain could tifive it under the convention of 1818. In Slacuni's report to the secretary of war, he says that at the public meetiiii^ hold at Chanipoe^ for the orsjfanization of the cattle (H)nipany, he told thi^ Cana- dians that, althouii^i they were located within the territorial limits of the United States, the title to their farms would doubtless be secured to them when that government took possession of the country. He cheered them also, he says, with the hope that ere- long measures would be adopted for opening trade with the Or(\gon Territory, when, instead of getting fifty cents a bushel for their M'heat delivered at Fort Vancouver, they might receive the dollar and a halt which the Russians paid in California.'' So much interest was he able to create by this suggestion, that a petition was drawn up praying the congress of the United States "to recognize them in their helpless and defenceless state, and to extend to them the pro- tection of its laws, as being, or dessiring to become, its citizens," and signed by both Americans and Cana- dians. Little time was consumed by Slacum in executing his mission in Oregon. On the 17th of January, four days after he was met at Champt)eg by Jason Lee, who had been on business to Fort Vancouver, eleven members of the Willamette Cattle Company" left in a canoe for the anchorage of the Ix)riot, a mile and a half below Wapato Island, to embark for California. On the 21st they went on board, and the following morning Jason Lee took leave of them, first gather- ing the comi)any on the (|uarter-deck. and })raying for the success of their undertaking. *In another i)iirt of liis report he says that a cargo of .'ijOOO Imshcls couhl at that tiiiio ho iihtaiiuHl from the hittlors on the WiUamettc, ami also that the Russians reijiiired •_'."), 000 hushels aiimially. This was, of course, a great iuiUiceiiieut to tlie settlers to strive for iiidepeiulence in trade, and to oppose the uiouopoly of the fur company. ''Their names were P. L. lldwards, Kw:ne Puis and Krgnette, CALIFORNIA KXPEUIENc'ES, 143 Two days were s|)eiit in (lesceiHlinjr the river, and when Haker Bay was reachc^d it was found that tiie Nereid and LUnna, two of the fur conipany's vessels, had been detained there since the '22d of JJeceniber. The sea hein*^' still roui^h, on the inorninii; of the .'JOth of January the Loriot parted her cables and was driven on shore, but, bein«5 assisted by the other vessels, escaped uidiarnied. It rendered it necessary, liowever, for Captain Bancroft to return to Fort Van- couver to procure a chain-cable and anchors, so that it was not until the 10th of February that the I/)riot was able to go to sea. Nine days were occu}>ied in the voyage to Fort Koss, where })ernussi()n was ob- tained to land the cattle company at Bodega, anil horses and guides were furnished to take Slacuni to San Francisco. On the 28tli the Jjmot, with Edwards and Young on board, resumed her voyage to San Francisco Bay, while the eight men left at Fort Ross found employ- ment and good wages at Cooper's mills, until their services should be needed by Young. The Jjmot, after some dangerous coast navigation, arrived at San Francisco on the 1st of March, and takin«>: on board Mr Slacuni, proceeded to Monterey, where was the residence of General Valkyo, whom Young wished to consult about driving out cattle, to whicli measure the Mexican government was averse. Edwaids re- mained behind, occupying his time in excursions about the bay, and in studying the customs of the country." On the 10th Young returned from Monterey with the tidings that Vallejo declined giving jiermission to drive cattle out of the country, saying it was the pre- rogative of the civil government, which was at Santa Barbara. Thither Young had proceeded, while Etl- wards continued to increase his knowledu'e of Califor- " Among other scraps of knowledge, I'C remarks in his /)!")•)/, MS.. 13, of the expedition, tliat on the stouk-ranches 'spotted mares are generally lirokeu in, and mueh esteemed on the following aeco>i:it : all the horses of a hand fol- low her, attracted by her peculiarity of color, and arc not so likely tu stray abroad. ' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V /. I f^.- :/. C/i % 1.0 I.I 1.25 ilM IIM u IM la IM 1.8 U 111.6 V] <^ /a '/a .p V y /^ Photographic Sciences Corporation ^ ,j>^ ^v \\ ^^ ^^ V 6^ .^%. #^^ ^l> '<> 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 #: % 1^ s^ Q. i/j. 144 THE ^VILLAMJ:TTE CATTLE COMPANY. it: nia customs, and the affairs of Americans whom he found about San Francisco Bay, visiting, in company with Birnie, Lease, and McNeil of the Llama, the mission of San Rafael, Sonoma, Martinez, Cooper's mills, and the farms of several of his countrymen. On the 8th of May he took passage in the ship Sarah and Caroline, Captain Steel, for Monterey, where on the 12th he met Young, who, after going from San Francisco to Monterey, from Monterey to Santa Bar- bara, and from Santa Bdrbara to Santa Cruz, and back again to Monterey, where the matter was laid before the deputation then in session, had at length obtained consent to drive from the country seven hundred head of cattle, on condition that they were purchased of the government, and not of the missions to which they belonged.'^ The sale of cows was only brought about after much exertion on the part of Vallejo, who on second thought lent his influence to assist the Oregon company, and won to the purpose Alva. ado ard the president of the missions. P(;rmission beiiig thus obt; ' , the next step, and owe quite as difficult, was to ^he cattle and horses into safe possession. There were forty horses pur- chased near Santa Cruz and driven to San Francisco. Young was then obliged to go to Sonoma to obtain the order of Vallejo, who had been appointed government agent in the sale of the cattle. The order was given for two hundred head from the mission of San Fran- cisco, one hundred and seventy cows and thirty bulls; but the administrator at the niission used every means to evade the order, and insisted on inverting the ratio and only furnishing thirty cows. Thereupon Young was obliy-ed to return to Yerba Buena to have the order translated, that he might be sure it was correct. This being at length explained, and part of the men having joined them, Edwards and Young proceeded ■ And (ill this nimpus, * says Edwards, ' on account of an oM colonial law wliich forbids the exportation of male and female animals from the colonies.' Dinri), MS., IG. THE RETURN. 145 he toward the San Josd mission with their first purchase, there to obtain the remaining' five hundred. The administrator of San Francisco, for collecting and guarding the cattle as far as Martinez, exacted presents for his Indians, as he pretended, to the value of over fifty dollars, and Young had a sharj) altercation with the authorities there on account of these exactions. The whole number of cattle purchased was not de- livered until the 2 2d of June, three weeks having been occupied in gf)ing from San Francisco to the mission of San Josd. Some of the animals escaped on the way ; and of those at the mission, some were found to have l)een kept seven days in a corral with little or nothing to eat. The wildest were starved or beaten until sufficiently subdued to drive ; but then they were too weak to travel, and many dropped to the ground the first day. Complaint being made to the administrator, lie agreed to furnish others for those that were lost, from a place beyond, but on reaching the spot desig- nated no cattle were there. Then another order was given, to*be filled from a rancho still farther on ; never- theless when they reached the San Joaquin River, the 25th of June, eighty animals were missing. To cross the river was next in order, and at the same time to train these wild snorting brutes to cross rivers, for there were more of them beyond. The company were nearly all together again, and their number was here augmented by Henry Wood, B. Wil- liams, Moore, and two others. First, a strong corral was put upon the river bank, and the cattle driven into it. Then on the 12th of July a few cows were induced to swhn over after their calves, which were towed across by men in a canoe. Next day all present, some on foot and some mounted, lent their aid to induce the cattle t(^ take to the water. Most of them were driven in ; but when half-way across a j)anic seized them and they turned back, with a loss of seven- teen drowned. To lasso and tow each animal over singly was next attem[)te(l, for the accomplishment of Hkst. oh., Vol. I. 10 ft 146 THE WILLAMETTE CA'ITLE COMPANY. wliich rafts of bulruslies were made, and on them men seated themselves, some to pull the raft over by a rope stretched across the river, and others to drag each an animal through the water by a rope about the horns. In tliis tedious labor the company engaged till the 20th ; the work of herding and guarding at night being increased by the division of both men and cattle on the opposite side of the river. Edwards, who was on the north side, was obliged to be on horseback some- times the greater part of the night, after toiling, as he says, "in sweat, water, and great danger" through the day, with myriads of mosquitoes which maddened the animals beyond bounds. There had been little oppor- tunity to rest since the first of June, and this last trial taxed strength and patience to the utmost. But the climax came on the same afternoon that the crossing- was finally effected. While driving to a new encamp- ment, the horse on which the anmmnition was packed ran into a small tule lake or pond, and all the powder became wet. All day long Edwards had ridden hard," and far into the night he had labored to induce his charge to cross a slough, albeit but knee-deep ; and now before he could sleep he must return to Yerba Buena for powder. If he had ever rebelled at the wild ways of the half-broken oxen of the Hudson's Bay Company in Oregon, he now remembered those days with regret. "The last month, what has it been!" he exclaims. "Little sleep, much fatigue, hardly time to eat, mos- quitoes, cattle breaking like so many evil spirits, and scattering to the four winds, men ill natured and quar- relling ; another month like the past, God avert ! Who can describe it?"'' And yet he was only sixty miles on his way, with five hundred miles still between him and the Willamette Mission. Agahi at Mission San Josd he exchanged two horses for cattle, to replace some which were lost; but when he brouglit the pur- chaser to Livermore's, where one of the horses had * Diary, MS., 24, DASTARDLY CONDUCT. U7 been left, lie found it liad been stolen. By dint of bargain and exchange, however, he secured twenty head, which with considerable assistance were driven to camp. With these, and others he was able to pur- chase on the road, notwithstanding losses, he had seven hundred and twenty-nine when he encamped on the San Joaquin August 14th. On the 20th the company reached the mountains at the head of the Sacramento Valley, fording the Sacramento River without difficulty, following the trail of Michel La Framboise and his trapping party. As they proceeded north the mountains were higher and harder to ascend, being stony, with a close growth of bushes, into which some of the cattle escaped. On the afternoon of the 26tli a high and rugged mountain seemed to close the way. Riding up the steep. Young declared that there was another mountain above it. " Now," said ho to Edwards, " if you are a philosopher, show yourself one ! " But alas ! no man is a philoso- pher longer than his bodily frame can be made to support, his resolution. The patience of tlie company was nearly at an end. The men, tired of eating dried meat, and irritable with toil and privation, insisted that a beef should be killed that night, which Young refused, on account of having to carry the meat over the mountain. A quarrel ensued, in which they defied authority. " Kill at your peril ! " said Young ; and the storm blew over. The mind of the leader was stronger than the nmscles of the men ; still it was evident that tlie courage of the company was declining. It was not until the 12th of September that the Rogue River Valley "^ was gained. Threats had been made by Turner, Gay, and Bailey that after Rogue River was passed there would bo Indians killed in re- venge for the attack on their party in 18:55. Their pui'pose was kept hidden from Young, who for the safety of the property would have forbidden retalia- tion. " Edwards in his diary calls this place Chasta valley and river. 148 THE Willamette cattle comi'ANY. If HH On the 14tl), having crossed the river, camp was made about five miles beyond. A few natives ap- proached, and one of them, accompanied by a bt)y ten years of age, entered the camp in a friendly manner, (ray deliberately raised his gun and fired, and as tlie Indian attempted flight, Bailey also fired, and the man fell. The cry then arose, "Shoot the boy! shoot the boy ! " but lie escaped behind a point of rock. This dastardly act could not be excused on the ground ot revenge, as the spot where these men were attacked two years before was yet four days distant. The folly of inciting a conflict with the natives, under the cir- cumstances, was indefensible. The men had become so excited by past wrongs and present suflerings, aggravated now by bloodshed, that on the following dav, after a toilsome march through dust and heat, their insubordination culminated in a quarrel with guns and knives, which continued for fifteen minutto, while threats and curses emphasized their acts. Then once more the firnmess of their leader prevailed, and peace was restored. For several days and nights Young was on the alert for the expected retaliation of the natives ; he doubled the guard, and used extreme caution in passing through the frequent defiles, where the enemy might lurk in ambush. The first night Edwards fired on a party of five Indians stealing through the woods, and frightened them off. The next day there were arrows shot from each side of the road, and several of the cattle wounded, but only one killed. On the morning of the ISth, when the company entered that i^art of the country where Turner, Gay, and Bailey had been attacked, Indians were discovered running along the mountain side as if to intercept them in some defile. It was nearly noon, and they were passing l)etween the banks of the Rogue River, when suddenly from the thickly wooded mountains yells were heard, and arrows showered upon those in advance. Young, apprehending such an attack, was EDWARDS' DIARY, 149 making a recoiinoissance witli throe of his ii\en some distance in advance in the pass, but had discoverd notliing until the cattle came within range of the arrows, when the savages were found to be on both sides of the trail. Young ordered the men in charge of the cattle to remain where they were, while he undertook to repel the enemy. The Indians were driven off after Gay had been wounded and Young's horse shot with two arrows. That nioht strict y:uard was kept, and no further trouble was experienced. From this point onward, though the road was still rouirh and over toilsome mountains, the condition of the cattle improved, as there was an abundance of grass and water. With prospects more favorable, a better state of feeling was restored, and they reached the settlement in good spirits about the middle of Octo- ber, nine months from the time of their departure.'^ Edwards' unpublished diary of the expedition is the only reliable account extant of the experiences of the cattle company on the road. It is evident that to hin\ this journey was a prolonged horror. In one place he remarks: "Short-sighted man! happy that his knowledge is not prospective, else he would not adventure upon some of his most ennobling enter- prises. Few of our party, perhaps none, would have ventured on the enterprise could they have foreseen all its difficulties. It boots little to reflect tliat the future gains will amply compensate for present suffer- ing. Most of the party cursed the day on which they engaged, and would hardly have exchanged a draught of cool water for their share of the profits." ^"^ '' Lee and Froxl's Or., 146, ^'Edwanlx' Dinni, MS., 30-1. In the Nemda Gazette of June 5, 1869, is an article by an anonymous writer which refers to this expedition. It represents Young as overbearing, and ilinliked !)y tiie men; also saying tliat in the Siskiyou Mountains five of them had couHplred to kill him and others on a certain niglit, and to divide the stock among tliemselves, the nmrder to be committed as Young and Edwards returned from looking for lost cattle, Turner being the one elected to shoot Y'oung. On coming into camp and seeing by the looks of the men that something was wrong, Y oung (piestioned them, and one of the conspirators commenceEATH OF EWINO YOUNG lol 1 1 it was Ewing Young, as Walker says, who " put in motion the introduction of Spanish cattle in Oregon." '•' He was the only man among the settlers who knew enough of California and its customs to intelligently propose such a plan, and to overcome the almost in- superable difficulties of its execution. ^^ He, too, it was who resented the restrictions of the fur company, and determined upon the independence of American settlers. No longer under a cloud, after his return Young rose to an important position in the colony. He built a saw-mill on the Chehalem at considerable expense, whicii was kept in operation until tlie winter of 1840-1, when it was carried away by high water. Soon after this misfortune Young died." The pro- visional government of 1841 was organized to take charge of Young's estate, and the jaii was built with it, the government pledging its faith to restore it or its value to his heirs. It was restored in part to his heirs years afterward when Oregon hcd become a state. In 1854, while Oregon was still a territory, there appeared Joaquin Young, a son of Ewing Young by a Mexican mother, who petitioned the territorial legis- lature for his father's money An act was passed empowering him to commence suit in the supreme court to recover the sums paid into the treasury of the provisional government by his administrators, said action to be prosecuted to final judgment. The suit, however, was not brought; the legislature deferred passing a bill authorizing the ])ayment of the judgment until 1855. Finally the supreme court, consisting of George H. Williams and M. P. Deady, gave judgment for Joaquin Young. In tlie mean time the claim- ant sold his interest to O. C. Pratt; and when this was known, R. P. Boise, a member of the legislature, '* Sketch of Ewing Young, Or. Pioneer Assoc. Trans., 1880, 58; Wilkes' Nar., U. S. Ej-plr. Ex., iv. 384. »8iVar»/i'«/.cKowNiN(i of th"-: First White Boy lioRN in THE Ieruiiohy- Death of Shei-au)- Keliuiois Interest at the Dalles — Arrival of the Mission Colony. ; I Danikl Lkk does not iiu'iitioii what the superin- teiuleiit wrote to the iiiissioiiaiy society of the Metho- dist cliureli on estaUishin*^ liiniself in tlie Willamette Valley, but it is to be presv 'led that whatever it was, the action of the society »vas founded upon it. A reenforecenient for the Mission, consisting of eight adults and several children, sailed from Boston on the 28th of July, 183(5. They took passage in the ship Hamilton, Captain Barker, bound for the Sandwich Islands, where they arrived late in the winter. There they remained guests of the missionaries at Honolulu until the latter part of April 1837, when they sailed in the brig Diana, Captain Hinckley, for the Columbia River. On the 18tli of May, three months after the departure of the hmot with the cattle company, tidings of the new arrival rej^ched the Willamette, and Jason Lee hastened to Fort Vancouver, and found them already provided with c( mfortable quarters by John McLoughlin. (154) WIHTK, HKKUS, AND WILI.SON. 1^ The principal person of the reentoreenient. and ono whom it was expected would supply the jj^reat neetl of the Mission, was Elijah White, A[, JX,tVoni Tompkins County, New York. J)r White was little more than thirty years of nirv, with lid that the society had sent him so prepossessing a woman for a wife, iind took nmcli pains to render himself agreeable. On tlie day after Jason Lee's arrival, the whole company, including Captain and Mrs Hinckley, and Mr J. L. WhitcomI), from Honolulu, second officer of the Diana, set out in canoes for the Mission, the superintendent and Miss Pitman accompanied only by their Indian crew who understood no En^jlish, an arrangement which was apparently not disagreeable. At the close of the first day, which had been bright and musical, an encampment was made under the oak trees on the south bank of the Willamc^tte where Port- land now stands. The following day they reached the mouth of Pudding Kiver, above the falls; and at an early hour on the third day, they finally disem- i)arked at the landing of Baptiste Desportes McKay, at Champoeg, where horses were obtained, ami the journey ended witli a ride through Frencli Prairie, At the landing, a letter from Daniel Lco was found awaiting them, with the request that Dr White should hasten forward, as twelve persons lay sick at the Mis- sion, some of th(;m dangerously so. This ])ressing de- mand for assistance was responded to by the doctor, who, with Willson, IVfrs Hinckley, Miss Pitman, and Miss Downing, mounted and rode oft' at a rapid pace in advance of the others. The reception at the ^lission might well have been disheartening to the new-comers. Think of those refined }oang womiMi, fresh from the comforts aiul orderly ways of eastern homes, ilismountiiig i)efore the rude, substantial Mission house in tlie wilderness, to find its fioors covered with the sick, lying on mats and blankets, more than a dozen (»ut of the tliirty- eight native children who found a homo there down with fever, and the ivst of the strange uidvem[>t brood peeping through doors and windows for a sight of the straiiirers. With natural care Miss Downinj'- had 158 COLONIZATION. i 1 ' t f dressed herself in trim, becoming style for the eyes of her affianced husband. This neat and gentle maiden, who would gladden the heart of any lover, happened upon (^yrus Shepard in the brown linen frock he wore about housework, and which did not by any means set off his tall synnnetrical figure to advantage. It was a trying situation, but thougli Shepard deeply blushed in his embarrassment, he did not entirely faint away, and finally recovered himself sufficiently to welcome the ladies, after which he ])roceeded to lay the table with a brown linen cloth and tin plates, and to prepare dinner for the hungry travellers. The fare was venison, sausages, bread of unbolted tlour, butter, cheese, and fried cakes, with wild strawberries and cream for desert."' The Mission nmst have done well, indeed, to have been able to offer su[)plies like this in the third year of its tixistence, it being too early hi the season for a garden. How sixteen new-comers were accommodated with beds when even the floors were occupied by the sick, not one of the chroniclers of earlv events has told us. Fifty-four, and for a short time fifty-seven, unnates found lodgment in a building forty by eighteen feet, the space increased by a fiooring overhead, which was converted into an attic under the rafters. Thus we see in the chemistry of west-coast adven- ture an adaptation of self to circumstances, not unlike that of sulphuric acid and water, which when mingled are contained in less space than they separately occu- pied. In apparent enjoyment, the missionary recruits and their guests exi)lored the ct)untry by day, and slept under the same roof at night; until, after a few days. Captain and !Mrs Hinckley returned to Fort Van- couvci'.* Dr White, on looking about for the cause ' WhiUi's Ten I'ca/'.-i //( Orci/on, 7'2. * Mrs Hinckley tlioil not long tafter her visit to Oregon, and t'aptain Hinck- ley married a daughter of Martinez of California. In deaurihing the wedding festivities, Mrs Harvey says tliat dancing was kept up for tliree nights, with luiU-fights in the daytime ; feasting, and drinking a good deal, especially sweet wines. L{/'c oj McLouijhVw, MS., 25. PREACHING AND PKACTI81N(i. 159 t)f' disease, found an accumulation of vegetable matter washed up by a freshet, decaying and })oisoni!ig the air. He also noticed tliat a dense grove of lirs be- tween the house and the river ])revented a free circu- lation of air. At once he set the Indian bovs to lopping off branches of trees, and clearing away rub- bish ; after which the general health improved. Shej)ard was soon prostrated witli fever, and Miss Downing's loving care was as the ministration of an angel in this dark wilderness; by good nursing he escaped with a short illness. Jason Lee was fortunate in the prosecution of his suit; nmch of tlie time being spent with Miss Pitman in riding about the country, and the favorable first impression deepened. On the IGth of June there was a large gathering in the grove near the Mission house, it being the sabbath, and the marriage of Cyrus Shepard was expected in addition to the ur.ual service. Jason Lee delivered a discourse on the propriety and duties (jf marriage, a ceremony too lightly re- garded in this new country. When he had finished his remarks he said, " What I urge upon you by pre- cept I am }>repared this day to enforce by example ;" and characteristic as it was, without such a purpose be- ing suspected by any one, he went to Miss Pitman and led her forth in view of all the congregation. Then rose Daniel Lee, and solenmly read the marriage service of the Methodist Episcopal church, after which Mr Lee led his wife back into the assemblage, and returning took his nei)liew's ])lace, and jterformed the same service for Mr Shepard and Miss Down- ing. When the marriages were duly solemnized, Lee preached his usual Sunday sermon, after which the communion service was held, and two members were admitted to the church.'"' The whole mimber of com- municants was fourteen. There was a tiiii'd mar- riage on that day, that of CharVvs J. lioe and Nancy McKay, some of whose brothers were in the Mission ^Ifliies' Orc'/oii Ifht., 2'); /.<■<■ ami Frost'n Or., 149, ItiO COLONIZATION. school.^ A weddinjj^ breakiast followed the conclusion of the services. Thus was inaugurated the marriage ceremony in the Willamette Valley, where heretofore christianized forms had not been deemed essential.^ f 1' r- The labor of settling the families now occupied all the time that could be spared from the harvest, in both of which Jason Lee and White assisted. Beers and Willson spent most of the sunnner in transport- ing the goods which arrived by the Diana from Fort A'^ancouver, by the slow conveyance of canoes. A log house and shop were built for Beers. White had a hewn-log house, in which the skill of the mechanic Willson was very serviceable. A school-room was added to the Mission house, and Miss Johnson in- stalled as teacher. Mrs Shepard made and mended the clothing of the Indian children; the other women attended to the general housekeeping. A temperance meeting was held to keep alive the sentiment against the introduction or manufacture of intoxicating drinks, an tfort in which the missionaries were successful for a numl)er of years after the first formation of the Oregon Temperance Society.^ In August, Jason Lee made two exploring excur- sions in company with his wife and Mr and Mrs Shep- ard. The first one, under the guidance of a French settler named Desportes, was toward the upper end "Roo hail a strange liistory. He was l)orn in New York in 180(5, aiul came to Oregon in ISIU. Ho early joined the Metliodist chnrcli, in whicli for many years he liail a goo; Or. SfaffMinaii, March 1, 18.V.). ' Parker says that when he nrged tlu! dtity of the marriaii;e relation he was nut l>y two reasons for dispensing with a h^gal marriage: one, that if the men wished to return to tiieir former liomes they could not take tiieir Indian familit^s with them; and tiie other, that the Indian women did not nnder- stand the ohligations of the marriage covenant, and might at any time, througii caprice, leave them, Pnrhr'n Joitr., E.i\ Tour, liS<)--l. ''Wilkes, whose visit to the Willamette .settlements occurred in 1841, ex- pressed liis surprise at tile general regard for temperance, and f.pjwisitiou to distilling spirits among a class of men who might he expected to favor that indulgence. Kut they were all convinced that their welfare depended on sobriety. Wilb-'i' Xttr., U. S. Explur. Ex., iv. 380. MOKE MISSIONARIES. 161 (jf the Willainetto Valley, by an eastward circuit to the head waters of the Mollale, and down that stream to its junction with the Willamette, which he crossed, and returned to the Mission by the west side. The second excursion was to the sea-coast, at the mouth ot" the Salmon Kiver, under the guidance of Jose})!! (^ervais. Here they sojourned seven days, batliing 'II the salt water, and preaching as they were able to the Killamooks. Health and pleasure with lioht pro- fessional occupation was the object of these excur- sions, Shepard particulai-ly being in need of change of air. This visit to the coast was an example which later became the custom, namely, for camping parties to spend a portion of the summer on the west side of the Coast Range, there to enjoy the sea-bathing and rock-oysters." Hardly had the excursionists returned to the Mis- sion when news came of the arrival of a second reiin- forcement, which left Boston on the 20th of January, 18:37, in the ship Sanuitra, and arrived at Fort Van- couver on the 7th of September following. The Su- matra was loaded with goods for the Mission, and brought as assistants t<^ Lee the Rev. David I^cslie of Salem, Massachusetts, Mrs Leslie, and three young daughters, Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, who was to marry Miss Johnson, and Miss Margaret Smith, afterwai-d the wife of Dr Bailey. Perkins and Miss Johnson were marrietl November 21, 18M7, Bailey and Miss Smitli in 1H40. The family at the Willamette mission now num- bered sixty n)oml)ers, including the nati\e cjiildren, or nearly an ecjual nund)er of Indians and white persons. It was a somewhat ex[)ensive process, one civilizer to every savage, especiall}' where ninety-nine out of every hundretl of tlie latter died under the infliction. 'A pear-Hhapeil mollusk in a soft shell, incased in the sandstone of the Bca-shorc at tlie mouth of the Salmon River. It is found hy lircakitig open the rock, ami seisms to have enlarged its cell as remiired for growth. Hist. Oh., Vol.. I. U -^^ 1G2 COLONIZATION. tn '\- 5 Tlieretbre it was deemed best tliat the niissioiiaries wliould divide. Lee had purchased a farm recently opened hy a Canadian near tlie Mission premises, with a small house now occupied by Leslie and Perkins with their wives. White and Beers were domiciled in houses of their own, leaving the Mission building in possession of Lee, Shepard, Edwards, Willson, and Whitcomb, the latter at present employed as farm su})erintendent. In addition to these accommoda- tions, it was decided to erect a hospital, which was accordingly begun. The amount of labor caused by the addition of so jnany persons unprovided with the conveniences of living, the transportation of the second ship-load of goods, and the care of the cattle which came in Octo- ber, retarded the progress of the Indian school, which, notwithstanding sickness and other drawbacks, was in a promising condition. Perhaps l)ecause his mind is empty of tlie loftier civilized conceptions, the sav- age is a ready scholar in the elements of learning, thouii'h he rarely masters more than these. A native lad in the class of Solomon Smith at Fort Vancouver learned reading, writing, and the whole of DalioU's arithmetic in eleven months, writing out all the ex- am[)les for the benelit of the other scholars. Some simi)le penalty usually kept these primitive pupils in good order, such as being made to wear an old gun- lock sus})ended round the neck by a string. ^^' The first [)rejudice of the adult ab(jriginals against leaving their cliildreii at the Mission was not over- conu?, the sch(H)l consisting chiefly of those who had no })arents, wliich, if they were to be educated in any sense, was a favorable circumstance. But from pu])ils, the wards of the Mission were likely to become ser- vants, while so mucli labor was reijuired to make their teachers comfortable ; and as the savage is by nature averse to labor, the demands made upon the children '"IiKlividual instances of s,.vage intellect are often founil which are fai- superior to the average civilized mind. THE DALLES MLSSION. 168 at the Mission were sure to operate against tlie suc- cess of the scliool. A meeting to t)rganize a society for the henofit of the Calapooyas, held on Christiiias-dav, was well attended, as occasions for social intercourse anioui' the settlers were rare. Moreover, the Mission being to the VVillan^ettc Valley in points of intiuence and pro- spective importance what Fort Vancouver was to the Oregon territory, great interest was felt in its pro- jects. It was i)roposed to form an organization among the missionaries and settlers to induce the natives to locate at a branch mission on a piece of ground which they should be taught to cultivate, and that they should receive encouragement in their work, and assistance to build comfortable homes. About four hundred dollars weie sul)scribed; Frenchmen and Americans contributing from five to twenty dollars each men who themselves used dried deerskin in place of glass for windows, and who possessed few comforts beyond the actual necessities of life, and yet had farms well stocked. Much more than this would the people have done for Lee and his associates, for the visit of Slacum, tht' petition to congress, and the successful formation of the catth; company had in- s})ired them with a respect and confidence in the judg- ment, energy, and enterprise of the Americans. The branch mission was a failure, as might have been fore- seen ; for though asssted wdth their farming, tlu; natives were so indolent and a])athetic that the attempt h.ad to be abandoned. n It was decided in missionary councils during the winter that the Dalles of the Columbia offered supe- rior advantages for a mission station, and Daniel Lee and Perkins were assiijfned to that |»lace. (hiw states m his account of the Presbyterian missions, that he urged Whitman to establish a station at this point; " Aw nmf Frwt'n Or., 150. 1(14 <'OL()NIZATI()N. I i ' it u and peiliaps tin' lattei' intended to <1(» so when lio sliould l)e ssutficitiiitly reiinforced. Hut wIkmi (iray returned from the Ignited States in the autumn of 1838, he found tlie place already o('cu[)ied hy the Methodists, About the middle of March 1838, Perkins and l^ee proceeded by canoe to the Dalles, and selected a sit(! three miles below the narrows, and half a mile from the Columbia River on the south side, where there was good land, s})rings of excellent water, a plentiful supply of pine and oak tind)er, and a fine view of the Columbia for several miles. Back of the chosen site the ground rose rather abruptly, and was lightly wooded with lofty pines. Standing like a watch- tower in the south-west was Mount Hood, whose icy cliffs wrap]»etl in the silent sky flung back the sun's rays defiantly. Assisted by the natives, who at first labored with zeal, hoping now to realize the good which then- interviews with Parker had taught them to expect, a house was built in which Mrs Perkins came to live in May, Unlike the natives of the Willamette, those at the Dalles showed a willinu^ness to be tauo-ht reli- gion, assembling on Sundays, and listening with a sober demeanor to sermons })reached through an interpreter, and this to the great encouragement of tlieir teachers. After several journeys by river to trans})ort suj)- plies, each of which took three weeks to perform, early in September Daniel Lee undertook the serious task of bringing cattle from the; Willamette to the Dalles by an Indian trail over tlie Cascade Moun- tains,^'" being assisted in this labor only by the natives. Lee's description of his squad of savages might be compared with Palstaff' s remarks in nmstering his re- cruits. There was an old C-hinook, blind in one eye; '^ Daniel Lcc calls lliese monntaiiis the President's Range, after Kelley; nor were tliey as a range ever otherwise formally named. It was from the circumstiince that traN'ellers so often said 'the Cascade Monntains, ' to dis- tingnish tliem from other ranges in the country, that they obtained their present name. DANIEL LKK'S KXl'KDITlON. 165 I a stout yoiiiif? Walla Walla, knij^ht of the sorrowful c'ountoiiaiicc, whoso name signified 'destitute,' because he had gainl)le(l away his patrimony; also another Chinook with a flattened head and wide mouth, a youth wearing the dignity of manhood; another was a W^alla Walla, also a jramestcr and a roi>ue, thouij:h shrewd ; yet another was a cripple with sliort, crooked legs, who carried a crutch of great length on which he poised himself and swung his hody forward three or four yards at a leap.'' The sixtli was to have been the guide, but failed to keep his engagement, which led to much trouble. With ten horses belonging to the Mission, and ten others owned by the natives, and j)rovisions for six davs, Lee set out on his undertaking. The trail i)roved worse than he had anticipo.ted, passing through I'avines and across rapid streams, and often obstructed by fallen trees. Sometimes it lay along the margins of dangerous cliffs, and at the best was everywhere over- grown with underbrush. On the west side of the summit it was lost altogether under many generations of leaves. The six days' provisions were exhausted, and two of their horses, starving like themselves, were eaten before they had reached the Willamette, at the end of two weeks. On this expedition Lee was overtaken, soon after leaving the Dalles, by John A. Sutter, then on his way to California. With Sutter- was a party of mountain men, who were unwillino- to follow the cir- cuitous route taken by Lee's guides, and broke away from them, reaching the Mission in six days — a feat that was considered incredible but for the ])roof of letters sent by T-*orkins.'* Eight days more j)assed, and as Lee had not yet returned, a party was forming to go ill seai'cli of him, when he made liis apitearance. A good guide being procured, antl the services of '^ Lee n»il Fro.i/'s Or., 1.")'). ^^ Slitter's Persoiint Jt'eininisreiices, MS,, 7-8; Siittir f \i. Ilisi., 'j;j; Ynlni Co. Hixt., -M. Hit J COLON IZATION. two wliito mow oiif;nf(i'25th Con;,., M Sfsx., If. J},yt. in/ ; I'^ninx' Ilixt. (>,:, MS., •23.-)-G. The sij,'iiiiig of this iiiumorial by Ydiiiiy aiul liis ansdciatL's iuilicatcs tliat their Htaiidiiig was vi^ry (Uffuruiit at tliis time from wliat it was whuii tliuy tirst (^iiturod the valley- and were ostracized hy .McLoiigliliii; otherwise they were siirniiig a pi^titioii to exehide just sueh adventurers as themselves. .lasou Leo had marked al)ility in using others for his own advantage; Kdwards was his instrument in raper; and there is also his Dinri/ of l/ir WiUaiiictIr Cattle CoinjMiiiy, and i^ikelch of Oreijon. He died May 1, 181)!), leaving descendants in California. "Daniel Lee does not mention them in this connection, and Mines in his llixt. Or., 30, agrees witii Lee. Wliite states that Alexander, William, and .Tohu McKay accompanied Jason Lee, and tiiat they returned in 1842 from the east; having gone there to be etlucated in tlie Wilhraham Academy, Mas.sa- fhusetts, where the Loes, years before, had completed their stuilies. Mrs J,| 170 COLONIZATION. the three sons of Tlionias McKay were also of the party, thciigli there is a conflict on that point in the statements furnished. The first tidings of his family received by Jason Lee were of a most painful character. At Pawnee Mission, near Council Bluffs, an express arrived from Fort Vancouver, sent by McLoughlin, with the intel- ligence of the death of Mrs Lee on the 26th of June, three weeks after the birth and death of a son.^"^ Mrs Lee was buried among the firs that had overshadowed her when her marriage vows were taken, and her burial was the first of any white woman in Oregon.^* After crossing the Mississippi, Lee began a lecturing tou. , drawing large audiences in the churches, where he presented the subject of Oregon with the ardor of an enthusiast, and stimulated his hearers to furnisli funds and men for the settlement of that paradise of the west. The effect of his labors was to draw into his paradise "hundreds of immigrants," says White, " from the western frontier of the states, of a restless, aspiring disposition." who gave him subsequently no little uneasiness.^" The interest at Peoria, Illinois, was augmented by the illness of Adams, the young Chinook, and by his remaining there through the Eliziibeth Wilson of the Dalles says that Jason Lee persuaileil McLoughlin to liave William C. McKay sent to Wilbraham in8tea(l of to Europe as was in- tended. There lie remained two years, and then entered a medical college at Ploaat .iton, Vermont, and subswiuently attended lectures at Albany. Or. Sketch's, MS., 21-2; Ten Yiwh in Or., 140. ^* If men' HM. Or., 31-2; l^ce and Frost's Or., 153. Gray docs not credit McLoughlin with sending the message the entire distance. GrnijsHixt. Or., 182. " Later the remains were removed to Salem. ' In the mission graveyard at Salem, Oregon, is a grave, on the head-stone of which is recorded these words: " Beneath this sod, tlie first ever broken in Oregon for the reception of a white mother and child, lie Iniricd the remains of Anne Maria Pitman, wife of llev. Jason Lee, and infant B:)n. Slie sailed from New York in July 1830, landed in Oregon June 1837, was married in July 1837, and -7. ' No inksionarieM, ' say8 Blancliet, ' wore ever despatched ti> ri'itruseut tlie varioUH sects hi any land uiuh^r more favorahle auspici-.s than weni the ladies and gentlemen belonging to the Methodist Episcopal church ...amidst the "wilds'" of Oregon.' JJiit. Cath. Cfiurrh in Or,, 12. 'It was i 172 COLONIZATION. I i was not idle. The petition prepared in Oregon was forwarded by him to congress, whereupon Caleb Gush- ing of Mussachusetts wrote to Lee, desiring further information concerning the population of the country, tlie classes composing it, and the objects of the Mission. Lee replied from Middletown, Connecticut, January 17, 1839, that there were in Oregon belonging to the Methodist Mission 25 persons of all ages and both sexes, who would shortly be reenforced by 45 more, making 70. As a matter of fact, the number reached was 77. There were IG persons belonging to the mis- sions of the American Board ; and about 20 settlers, missionaries, and others, going out from the wep\.ern states in the spring; in addition to which there were about 45 men settled in the country who had Indian wives and half-breed children. After declaring the objects of the Mission to be the benefit of the Indians west of the Rocky Mountains, by the establishment of manual-labor schools, making it necessary to erect dwelling and school houses, to farm, to build mills, and in fact to establish a colony, Lee proceeded to the main object as follows: " It is believed that, if the government of the United States takes such measures in respect to this territory as will secure the rights of the settlers, most of those who are now attached to the Mission will remain as permanent settlers in the country after the Mission may no longer need their services. Hence it may be safelv assumed that ours, in connection witli the other settlers already there, is the commencement of a per- manent settlement of the country. In view of this, it will be readily seen that we need two tilings at the hand of government, for our jirotection and prosperity. tlie greatest Methoilist exodus probobly evor sailing from an eastern port to any eoast. ' WUko)), in Or. Skclclien, MS. , "23. ' Tliis particular mission involved an expenditure of ^2,000 in a single year. . .At the entl of G years there were OS persons connected with this mission, men, women, and children, r'' sup- ported ))y this society. How a number of missionaries found employment m such a field it is not easy to conjecture, especially as the ureat body of tlie Indians never came under tlie influence of their labors. Olin'n Worku, ii. 4'27-8; M(irn/iaU\i Chrixtian Mixaionn, ii. '203-4. rcJLlTlC'AL I'IIDPOkSALS. 173 " First. We need a guaranty from government tliat the possession of the land we take up, and tiie im- provements we make upon it, will be secured to us. These settlements will greatly increase the value of the government domain in that country, should the Indian title ever be extinguished. And we cannot but expect, therefore, that those who have been pioneers in this arduous work will be liberally dealt with in this matter. " Secondly. We need the authority and jirotection of the government and laws of the United States, to regulate the intercourse of the settlers with each other, to protect them against tlie peculations and aggres- .sions of the Indians, and to protect the Indians against the aggressions of the white settlers. " To secure these objects, it is not supposed that nmch of a military force will be necessary. If a suit- able person should be sent out as a civil magistrate and governor of the territory, the settlers would sus- tain his authority. In proof of this, it is only necessary to say that almost all the settlers in the Willamette Valley have signed a memorial to congress, praying that body to extend the United States govermnent over the territory. . . . You are aware, sir, that there is no law in that country to protect or control Ameri- can citizens. And to whom shall we look, to whom can we look, for the establishment of wholesome laws to regulate our infant but rising settlements, but to the congress of our own beloved country ^ The coun- try will be settled, and that speedily, fr-om some quarter, and it depends very nuicji upon the speedy action of congress what that population shall be, and wiiat shall be the fate of the Indian tribes in that territory. It may be thought that Oregon is of little importance ; l)ut, rely upon it, there is the germ of a great state. We are resolved to do what we can to benefit the country; but we are constrained to throw ourselves upon you for protection."" "~W/t Con,,., a,l Scss., IT. ffept. 101, 3, 4. I 4 n 174 COLONIZATION. Ill the 1 ght of this correspondence with Mr 'Cushiiig, Jason Lee's object in demanding S(/ large a reenforce- iiient of laymen is unmistakable. His declarations present him unequivocally as a missionary colonizer ; and though born a British subject, and with no evi- dence to show that he ever became a naturalized citizen of the United States, yet he talks glibly of appealing to ' our own beloved ' country for the estab- lishment of laws. In August 1838, at Lynn, Massachusetts, the old home of Cyrus Shepard and Miss Dov/ning, a society called the Oregon Provisional Emigration Society was organized. The intention of this association was to send to Oregon at the outset not less than two hundred men with their families, to be followed by other divisions at intervals, until thousands should settle in the country. The constitution debarred all persons from becoming members who were not of good moral character and believers in the Christian religion, and the general exjienses of the enterprise were to be paid out of a joint-stock fund, no member to be assessed more than three dollars a year. The society published a monthly paper devoted to the exposition of its ob- jects, called the Oregonian. The officers were Rev. Samuel Norris, president ; Rev. Sanford Benton, vice- president; Rev. F. P. Tracy, secretary; Rev. Amos Walton, treasurer. The committee consisted of four- teen members, ten of whom were ministers.^ While Mr Cushing was in correspondence with Jason Lee, he received letters from the secretary of this organization, and in reply to inquiries as to its object, was told in a letter of the 6th of January, 1839, that it was designed, first, to civilize and christianize the Indians, and secondly, to avail themselves of the advantages offered by the territory for agriculture, commerce, and manufactures. " Having reached the territory," says the secretary, "f5r(.'pared them to aceept tlie Christian belief, hut in a sense surprising to their teaehers. The })rinei])al point in the Metliodist faith is tlie etticaey of prayer, whieli was ini})ressed upon the minds of tlie Indians in their first lessons, causing them earnestly and sincerely to strive for tliat state whicji they inmgined necessary to the working of the spell which was to hring them their hearts' desires. On being disappointed, they lost faith, antl reproached their teachers. Said an Indian to Perkins, "I want a coat. Per- kins replied, "You nmst work and earn one." "Oh," says the neophyte, " I was told if I took your religion, and prayed for what I wanted to have, I should get it. If I am to work for it, 1 can earn a coat at any time of the Hudscm's Bay Company."'" On one occasion a chief at the Cascades set adiift a canoe belonging to Daniel Lee in order to sell him one of his own. To secure his friendship and i)revent a repetition of the theft, Lee presented him a musket, which so affected the chief that when he met another of the missionaries at Fort Vancouver he assured him that his people now all obeyed Lee's instructions, and as for himself, "his heait was full of pray."^" They often stopped in the midst of their supplications to demand pay for praying. ^^ In the autunm of 1831) the natives at the Dalles, by this time convinced that prayer did not place them on an equality in worldly goods with their teachers, be- came so intrusive and connnitted so many thefts that the missionaries began to fear for their lives ; and Dan- iel Lee took the precaution to provide himself with arms and annnunition from Fort Vancouver, intending to garrison the mission house, and to resist any hostile attempts. To his relief and astonishment on return- ing to the Dalles he found Mr Perkins in the midst of a "work of God," among the Indians. Several of '^ /{(n/moiii/'.-) yof.cM, MS. •'« Lee and Froxt's Or., 2:V). ^^Oriyon City Areople ns a missionary, having experienced p danxtie of heart; and on the IGth of May they startc '' on their trip, and held re- ligious services with the Indians wherever they found it convenient to land. They had just encamped on the 21st of May at Chinook, when a vessel was seen coining up the channel under Cape ])isappointinent, and anchoring in Baker Bay. Lee lost no time in going on board, and in meeting his uncle and the '-He was born in Pliillipston, Massachusetts, August hi, 179'.). SILENT CENSUKK. *88 srreat reenrorcomont. Miss Maria T. Ware was the one ahovo all others whom he soui^ht; for to her he had been eii«^agecl for some time, and on the 1 1th of June following they were married. Jason Lee, impatient over the necessary delay, and anxious as to the acconnnodation of so larjjfe a company, took a canoe and went in advance to the Mission. When there he handed over the shi[)'8 list of passen- }ifers, headed by the name of Mr and Mrs Jason Lee, that he might notify liis old companions that he had returned with another wife. He made no remark on the subject, and nothing was said to him. Deeply stirred had been the sympathies of his old associates as they thought of his return to his desolate home; and now the revulsion of feeling was so great that the suprenviicy of Jason Lee in their hearts was thence- forth a thing of the past. on lO •e- id m ni t, \n le 9 ^ I; CHAPTER VIII. t'LOSE OF THE METHODIST REGIME. 1840-1841. Settlement of CLATaop Plains — The Nisqually Mi.ssion Site — Daniel Lee Returns East — T);e Willamette Station — Trials of Inex- perienced Pioneers — Exploration of the Umpqua Valley — White Determines to Leave Oueoon — Accident at the Falls — The Oregon Institute — Plan to Drive McLouohlin from the Falls — Conduct of Waller — Parts Played by Hastings and Abernethy — Ingratitude and Trickery — Legality of Claimants to Oregon City — Lee Super- seded BY George Gray — Progress of Colonization. As soon as information of the arrival of the Lau- sanne reached him, McLoughHn sent fresh bread, butter, milk, and vegetables to meet the vessel in the river; and on her arrival at Fort Vancouver, he in- vited the whole ship's company to take tea with him. The invitation was accepted by Captain Spaulding and several others. On the following day rooms were made ready for the whole fifty-three persons, who were quartered and fed at Fort Vancouver during the several weeks unavoidably spent before places could be assigned them.^ Having acquainted himself with the existing con- dition of the Mission and the territory, Jason Lee allotted to tlu* colonists their several fields of labor. The j)oints selected covered the places likely to be of most importance in the country when the "United States should extend jurisdiction t)ver it. ^ Journal of Spniirdiiiti, in ('. S. If. idpt. SSO, 27th Con;/., 2<1 Scmk.: ^nnn Norfhwi'Mf ('(vi.it, MS., 203; Mrljomihliit'-i I'rh'dti' I'lqx'fK, MS., 2(1 Ifini'M Omjon I {hi., IM>, A miff- Hcr 9; ON THE CLATSOP Pl^AINS. 186 Before returning from the mouth of the river, Daniel Lee had already accompanied Solomon Smith and wife to Clatsop plains, where were good farming and pasture lands, though not conveniently situated, being eighteen miles from Astoria, and reached by eight miles of rather routrh water in Meriwether Bav, or as it is now c^alled. Young Bay, and ten miles of land journey among alternate marshes and sand-dunes. But as Americans foresaw that a city would be built at the entrance of the Columbia, few considerations would weigh against the importance of securing this location. Daniel Lee and Frost were accordingly de- tailed to erect a station on the Clatsop plains. Lee seems to have preferred staying at the Dalles, and Frost spent most of the summer between the missions and the forts of the fur company, apparently waiting for some one to provide a pleasant place for him. At length, after his family had been a long time the guests of Mr Birnie^ at Astoria, Kone was sent as associate, and they set to work with the aid oi Solomon Smith to prepare a residence among the Clatsops ; but having only Smith to assist them, and Frost being afraid of canoes, bears, savages, and, in a general ANay, of everything not to his liking, they made little progress, and the autunni rains came on before the green log house was ready for use, or the Mission goods Iiad been brought from Astoria. However, by tl. j time the Decembor storms had set in, with the st; ong south-west winds and Hoods of rain, they h.'d ct)mfortable covering; but at night their floor was often covered with sleeping Indians of the filthiest habits, and through the leaky roof the water came down upon their beds. Tliese trials wore increased by the difficulty of getting to Astoria i'or supplies, the marshes being overflowed and the }>laiMs a quagmire Fortunately, about Christmas they were reenforced by Calvin Tibbets, wlio had determined to .settle near the sea-coast, and l>v a negro named Wal- •See Porlhii'l lUiHn 0)-fijnv!»». T)nr. >2\) ISU: n^lifrU' Ih-c, MS., 100. 186 CLOSE OF THE METHODIST REGIME. lace, a deserter from the American brig Maryland, then in the river. With this help the missiona^'es began to explore for a road to the landing which should be on firm ground ; instead of which, they found upon the shore of the Columbia, about half-way between Young Bay and Point Adams, four miles from their house, a convenient place for building ; and it was decided The Clatsoi* Ccjstry. that it would be better to remove to this place, where supplies could be brought all the way in boats, than to make a road to the locality first selectetl. Upon this idea Frost, Kone, Smith, and Tibljets at once counnenced preparations for building. By the lOtli of February, 1841, a one-story log hous \ twenty by thirty feet, floored and roofed with rougli lumber from the Fort Vancouver mill, was ready tor oocujiation, AFFAIRS AT CLAT80P. 187 and thither the families and goods were removed. Mrs Kone, wlio had been ill, wa.s carried in a chair the greater part of the way, while Mrs Frost and the children walked, there being as yet no horses or cattle on the plains, and the distance by the beach, tlie only practicable route, being seven miles. As soon as the household goods were transported to the new place, Smith and Tibbets put up cabins near the mission house, and the settlement of Clatsop may be said to have begun,^ especially as Smith set about cultivating a vegetable garden on tlie plains as soon as spring opened; and with much difficulty l)rought down two horses by boat from tlie V/illa- mette settlements. During tlie sunnner, Frost and Solomon Smith explored a route to the Willamette l)y way of the coast and the Tillamook country. So far as known, no white men had visited this part of the coast since 180(), when Captain Clarke partially exploretl it, and the trail from Tillamook Bay to the Willamette Val- ley was then known to the Indians only. But Smith and Frost, with an Indian guide, reached the settle- ments in safety at the end of two weeks, and drove back to Clatsop by the same route some cattle and horses, to stock the plains of that excellent grazing region. '-> In November of this vcar, in view of his wife's iiealth, Mr Kone applied for permission 'to return to tlie states, which was granted, and he took leave of Oregon I "ter a residence of a ycuir and a half, leaving i:<) grand acliieveinent, and harboring in his breast no regrets for his lost occupation. Before leaving, he had been detailed to superintend tlie mission farm opened at (^latsop, and a lionse was in process of erection for liim, at the original spot cliosen by Lee and Frost, on the plains. In 1842 Mr Raymond and family, with Miss Phillips, occupied this house, and took charge of the farm. Frost also nniioved thither ' niaW Xar., U. S. K-rplor. Ex., W. 'MX. ibS CLOSE OF THP: METHODIST RECJIME. u; V in August of uliis year. Auotliei settler at Clatsop arriving about this time was Peter Braiiiard, a young man who canie from California with Calvin Tibbets, who brought thence a small band of cattle which was driven to Clatsop plains.* This was the second cattle expedition in which Tibbets had been concerned, and it added much to the prosperity of that portion of the country. Tibbets and Smith now built themselves houses on the plains, which with the farming improve- ments gave the j)lace an air of permanent occupation. In February 1843, Frost requested and received his discharge from the Mission. He was suffering from a d H.as?e of the throat which unfitted him foi' exposure, ..i . which Mrs Frost, a kindly and cheer- ful woman b , ture, was much broken down and dis- couraged. They sailed for California and the island of Oahu, August 14, 1843, on the bark Diamond, Captain Fowler, of Scarborough, England, leaving J. L. Par- rish as principal of the Clatsop mission. The actual mission work performed among the Clatsops was small, for what has been said of the Willamette people is true of the Clatsops, nothing- could exceed their degradation. When Frost and Kone had been long enough among them to discover their character, they were glad to avoid them, though when they came in the way, which was sekU)m, they "Vvore instructed for conscience' sake.^' During the previous year a mission station had been begun near Fort Nisqually, on Puget Sound, by Willson. And now Kichmond and family are sent thither, Miss Clark accompanying them. It is meet that Miss Clark and Willson should marry, therefore they marry. The site of the Nisqually mission was well chosen for an American settlement north of the * Lee ami FroH'x Or. , 'A'2i. ■' Wilkin' A'- as a missionary," and he had not enlisted to spend his time and talents as a fa^-nur. His family had suffered from the acclimatizing process, aggravated by the in- conveniences of their rude manner of living; and on the 1st of September, 1842, he left for home in the American vessel Clioiatnai^, bound for Newl)uryp()rt, and the Nisqually mission was not long afterward *The lake \v;»a never formally named; but on account of the American eolebratiou ami the residence of the missionaries, wjw callotl Aniericau^Lake, and sometimes Kichmoiul liake, by the settlers of the I'uget Sound Comiiany. The prairie was also called the American Plains; and by the natives, 'Boston lUehee ' Kiyiiis' PtiyoUiip Ailt/n-sx, in Xi'tr Tucoma Lidijvr, .July l*, 1880. '/,('(; (i)nl Front's Or., W'lW. 190 CLOSE OF THE METHODIST RECilME. abandoned. In tlie same vessel sailed Mr Whitconib and family of the Willamette mission, liis health being so broken that it was doubtful if he would live to finish the voyage. At the Dalles, Lee, Brewer, and Mrs Perkins con- tiimcd to labor at mission work and farmini; for three years after the arrival of the great reenforcement ; but in August 1848, Daniel Lee with his wife went east in the same vessel with Frost. At the same time Di' Babcock dissolved his connection with the Mission, and went with his family on a voyage to the Hawaiian Islands. Toward the close of the summer of 1844 Perkins, after Shepard the most faithful missionary of the Methodists in Oregon, also returned to the UniteJ States, and the station at the Dalles, now no longer byany construction worthy to be called a mission, was pliced in charge of the Rev. A. F. Waller. Mrs Shej)ard, after a year or more of widowhood, married J. L. Whitcomb, superintendent of the niis- r.ion farms, a worthy man. Mrs Leslie, who had had two daughters since her arrival in the country, lingered in a feeble condition until February 1841, when she died, leaving to her husband the care of five girls, the oldest of who'n was fourteen. Had the missionaries been as well acquainted with the needs of their bodies as they were with those of their souls, it would have been better for themselves, their families, and their undertakings altogether. But they knew no more of hygiene, and its infiuence on the human spirits, than most other excellent people of the same day and cul- tivation, and they suffered accordingly. Let us now return to tlie parent Mission, and follow its fortune from tlie year 1840 It was soon evident to the mind of Jason Lee that a better locality than French Prairie, for both missionary and colonization purposes, might be found. The French Canadians still owed allegiance to Fort Vancouver. A society ot CHEMEKETA PLAIN. 191 low, illiterate half-breeds was not the best soil in which to plant American institutions. Let him have something apart from all the world, plenty of room, plenty of agricultural land, with some commercial facilities if jDossible, and he would clear the ground for a commonwealth of intelligent freemen such as God would delight to prosper. If there were another Columbia River that he might occupy like McLough- lin, placing the natives under tribute, temporal and spiritual, holding the key to the interior by means of a metropolis on the bank of a stream into which ocean vessels might easily enter and depart, with a nobler ambition than to collect the skins of wild beasts, with loftier aims than to keep the country and its inhabi- tants wild and primitive, and stay the hand of progress — in such a case, on this western shore he might rivjd Raleigh, Smith, Penn, or any &f the great founders of empire on the eastern seaboard. But unfortunately the River Umpqua was not like the Columbia; it offered no safe refuge for the tieets of nations, no site suitable for a commercial metropo- lis. It is true, there were savages present, however averse to conversion, and these might serve as capital in enlisting money and recruits among the religious people of the east. But something more than money and recruits was needed if success was to attend his efforts; there must be good land, and pleasant sur- roundhigs, and all the conditions stimulating to prog- ress. Thus in pursuance of the grand scheme, more and more 2)ossessing him, prior to his departure for the east Jason Lee had selected his position where there was land enough, and all other absolute requirements of the ambitious superintendent, the fine harbor, the magnifi- cent river, alone forgotten by nature, being wanting. The spot thus chosen was a large and fei-tile plain, south of the original site, and only ten miles tlistant. The place was called by the natives Chemeketa, that is to say, 'Here we Rest.'^ In front, on the west, ^BrotvH'n Willamette Vol., MS., I'J I 192 (LOSE OF THE METHODIST REdlME, fiowed the Willamette between banks verdant with lowland vegetation. Beyond rose the beautiful Polk county hills, while to the south-east was the line of the Waldo heights, whose softer crests melted into the hori- zon. On the east a forest stretched away toward the purple shadows of the Cascade Range, overtopped here and there by a snowy peak ; groves of ^r and oak at intervals studded the great plain toward the north. A stream furnished mill privileges; and the whole was central to the great Valley Willamette. The late reenforcenient, except the portion detailed elsewhere, as hereinbefore narrated, had been reserved for service at French Prairie, and to his new and charming Place of Rest, on his return from the east, Jason Lee immediately removed his people. Between two thousand and three thousand acres were selected, and a part put un^er cultivation, but owing to the scarcity of men accustomed to farm labor and to the inexperience of those present, they were obliged to leave the larger part untouched. A mill was greatly needed, and nearly the whole summer was ct)nsumed in getting milling and farming machinery on the ground.^ And when the mill was there, the mission- aries could not put it together. The stones were set running the wrong way, and when at work threw out all the wheat.^" The sagacious sui)erintendent had ^ ' We were three or four months before we had finy of the conveniences of living, tliough we liaf operations had yet been digested, and tliat the boys, nearly grown up, were ragge. rocks characterize almost tlie whole distance from Fort Umpipui to the I'acitic Ocean. ' lliiici' omjoii Hist., mi I'.Mi CLOSH 01" THK .MKTHOKlST UKCI.MK. shot-poudi wliirli Loo woro aUout liis luick, and l>o lievod it a had uiodioino with which ho intondod t(» kill thoni all. (laj^iiior's wit'o know this, and with hor hrothor kopt watch throu^ifh the wholo nit^ht, novor porniittini^ tho canip-firo to y^o out, or hor eye- lids to closo.^" It was not strange that those savajj^es should he ahirniod at the shoi-|)ouoh. Like tho trihes of the Columbia, they hnd suflerod from such fatal tliseases since white nu^u came as to liavo heen nearlv sw(;pt from tho earth. Hines tells us that all ho could obtain knowlodi^e of in that part of the country wore no inore than three hundred and soventy-fivt! souls, and ox})resses his conviction that tho doom of extinc- tion is over this wretched race; and that the hand of Providence was removin*^ them to oivo place to a ])oo})le more woi-thy of so beautiful and fertile a coun- try — a doctrine comfortinj^' to tho missionary who fails to perceive its unfair roHection on Providence. With such convictions, it was scarcely to be expected that a mission should prosper anywhere; so after hasty exploration of the Ump(|ua Vallo}', the ff sionaries returned home, and the subject of a statL in that quarter was droj^ped.'' Soon after his return from the Umpqua country, a misundorstandinti^ arose between Jason Lee and Elijah White. The reason of the rupture remains some- what of a mystery. White himself said it was an honest difference of opinion in relaticin to the best way of carrying on the Mission work.^^ The truth is, '* Gray, iliat most mendacious missior.ary, makes f tagnior an jigent of the Hudson's Bay (.'ompany for the killing of Hines and Leo, ami to render more plausible his horrible hypothesis, he twice falsely cpiotes from Hines. " A newspaper at the Sandwieii Islands, commenting on the secular nature of the work m the Willamette Valley, said: 'As settlers we wish theni every success, but advise them to drop the missionary in their connnunications, nowadays.' /'oli/>ics!iiii, Nov. '21, 1S41. "* Whiten Tt'ii Yciirt ill Or., l.'?!. Parrishimore pointetlly ascribes it to a misappropriation of the Mission funds in Lee's absence. Or. Anecdotes, MS., 108. ( Jray, who hated White, assigns, dishonesty, treachery, libertinism, etc., as the reasons which brought about the difference. Jii.^l. Or., 175; and Ray- mond accuses him of improper relations with the Indian girls of the Mission school. Soks of a Talk; MS., 4. AVilkes says that he was told, when in Ore- LKE AND WHITES yLAUKEL. 1D7 tliat White, wlu) was prono to take tho upper hand, led L(\> hite was able to give of the superintendent's course. In these dissensions, which arose soon after the assignment of the reiinforcement to their several ])laces, Hines, Waller, Abernethy, and Parrish, with the laymen (nnployed in the Willamette Valley and in the more favorable locations, appeared on the side of the superintendent, while the others arrayed them- selves against him. Probably dissatisfaction with their circumstances had much to do with this ill feel- ing. Some complained that they were not allowed to visit the Missicm in the Willamette, or their missionary predecessors, before being sent to the wilderness to hew out uncomfortable homes. But Lee knew t!>e value of time, and the necessity of providing shelter and getting: established before winter, and had cause, besides, to fear that if they saw the Willamette Valley they might Jiot go so willingly to another quarter. The misunderstandings which disturbed fjon, that White had been of iimch service to the countrj'. WUh's' Xar., U. S. JC.rphr. Ex., iv. 375. '"-( Coyy of a Document, in Or. Plonvr Aaxoc. Tntnx., 1880, 50. 198 CLOSE OK THE METllOmST REAilME. the liarnioiiy of the Mctliodist colonists arose to a i^reat degree from the unavoidable tiials (*f a new settlement in the hands of inex[)erienced persons. It does not appear, from anything discovei-ed in the writings of the missionaries, that Jason Lee told his {issooiates of his correspondence with agents of the government. Had the disaffected members of the Mission known that they had been used to carry out a colonization project, some expression of their resent- ment on finding themselves the victims of so worldly an artifice would somewhere appear. But the colo- nization scheme is never alluded to as a cause of their disappointment.^" White hr.vinu: resitrned, Babcock was called from the Dalles to the Willamette, where the usual summei- sickness was dioabling the Mission. Chills and fever, ending in a low typhoid, prostrated the white popula- tion and carried off the nativcs.^^ '-■" Frost ,.iiy;! tliat lie does not in tlio ioast regri't that ho etiihark'Ml in the enterprise, iiltliough in the three jears lie remained in Orej^on lie nuijed his healtli for life, for he believes he aeconii>lisheil some go<>(l to the Imliaiis by preventing murders, which were formerly freijuent amongst the"i. Arc din/ /''/•(Mt'.i Or., .S31-2. Hines, who wrote later, when more was known ab'.iit the facts, excuses the fraud on the missionarv society l>y explain!. ig that the Indians Lee expected to teach nearly all dieil during his visit east. Orm/oii lliM., '2'M\. ■-' I'arrish says 500 Indians died in the Willamette Valley in 1S40. Un- doubtedly an over-estiiii.i.t-j, as this nundier of Iniliana enuld not bi found within the range of observation of t!?" missionaries in that valliiy. ih\ Aiivr- i/i)/(K, MS., ;<,■). Of the personal atl'airs of i,!'.'^ missionaries from 1S40 to 1S4S, I have gleaned the following: In the summer of 1840 .f. L. I'arrish lost, his il'lest son by the prevailing fever. On the ISth of January, 1841, a daughter was born to Mr and Mrs Perkins. On the Kith of February of the same year l>avid CartiT of the late reeiiforeement married Miss ()r]iha Lankton of the lianie. Miss l..ankton was daughter of Abra and Tiiankful Lankton of IJur- lington, Connecticut, i)ora ()i:tober '2, ]80(). Mr Carter died in 18411 or KSoO, and Mrs Carter again marrieil Rev. John McKiiniey of tlu' .Methoilist eliurch. .She liad three sons by ]h\v lirst husband, oiie died at So lavill j, Linn ( 'ounty, Septend)er 'JC, 1873. I'ortiuiil I'. C. Ai/mnif,; Nov. V.i, IST,'?. On the 'JlJd of March Mrs Oaniel Lee presented lu'r husband with a son, who was named \Vilb\ir Fisk. It was about this time that Mi' Wliiteomb married Mrs Slicp- ard. On the Ctli of .May, a young man named .biseph Holiiian, whom I shall have occasion to mention in another place, and whoarrivi.'il ;it Fort Vaneomer on the ihiy the rceiiforeeiiielit laiKled, iiiarritNl .Miss .Uinira lMiel])s of the mission family. Miss I'iielps was born July '_",), 1814, at S[iringlield, Mas- sachusetts, and ediieated at \Vilbraliani Academy in that .^tate. .Mrs Kolman died at Salem, Oregon, t)etober '2;\, 1874. Su'lcin Mcrriin/, Oct. '2'A, 1.S74; IWtbuid Adivciiiv, Nov. 1,'i, 1874. On the 'J8th of Fel r.iary, 1S4U, Mrs Jason I A SAD CALAMITY. 109 Jii- 11(1 ".*• lis Ut ar lu' ir- r.(i, ii. y. (if About the 1st of September of this year, CorneHus Rogers, who had reiiioved from the Presbyterian mis- sions of eastern Oregon to the Willamette Valley, married Satira Leslie, a girl of fifteen years, eldest daughter of David Leslie. The marriage took })lace under circumstances at once trying and romantic. Mr Leslie, having lost both his wife and his salary as a member of the Mission, was nmch conc(?rned about his future, and thinking that in st)me way a voyage to the Islands, where ho would place his elder daughters in school, would help to settle matters for him, made arrangements to embark with his family in the brig Chenamas, the same vessel in which Richmond, Whit- comb, and Bailey, with other families, left Oregon in Sopteml)er 1842. Rogers' jn'oposal came at the last moment, and the marriage took place on, board the (lienamas; and it was there arranged that the two older girls should accompany their father, while the two younger should remain in the country with their married sistei Rogers returiiod to +he Mission with his wife and the two children, and prepared tt) remove to the Wil- lanjotte Falls. During the winter Raymond arrived from Clatsop to ])roeure sui)plies for that station, whicli were to be carried in a large; canoe belonging to the ^Mission, and in which Rogers determined to emlniik for the falls, with his wife and her youngest sister. Dr White, who liad lately retui-ned to ()reg()n, and Nathaniel Crocker, of Lansingville, New York, who Lt'(.' gave liirtli to a (laughter, siion after wliicli .>eral other Methodist scliools. Her constitution was delicate, and she died in 1S81 at t!ie l)alles, at the age of thirty-nine years. J/iinn' Or. I/ixf., Itlil; Umix' Or. uml /iis/i/ii/ii>ni, 240, '247, -.")7; Iiuli'iK-ndrniri', Or., Riwrsidv, June !.'{, 187',t; S. 1. Fri'wl, iv. iui. f 200 I l-OSK OF THE METHODIST REGIME. Iiad also lately arrived in the country, l)eing desirous of seeing the mouth of the Columbia, decided tt) accompany Raymond to Clatsop. A sad calamity awaited them. The Willamette was running with great force, the winter rains having swollen its flood. On coming to the rapids above the falls the passengers all left the canoe, which was thereupon let down with a rope to a point near the landing, where Mr and Mrs Rogers, Aurelia Leslie, White, and Crocker, with four Indians, again entered it. Raymond and three Indian^ lemained on shore to hold the line while the canoe dropped down to the proper landing. It passed this by a slioi-t distance, and was brought alongside a large log, used us a landing. As White touched the shore v/ith one foot he endeavored to hold the canoe with the other, but the slight impetus given it by his fir-st movement, and the force of the current catching the l)ow, wJiich Avas up stream, threw the canoe out into tlie river, which was moving on toward the cateract with resist- less power. It was in vain that those on shore endeavored to cling to the ro])e. They were drawn into the water, and forced to relinquish their hold to save them- selves. Then the freed craft darted like an arrow toward the fatal verge; a cry of anguish went u[) from the doomed, the plunge was made, and five white [)ersons and two Indians descended hito the rocky vortex from which none of them ever issued alive. Only two of the bodies were recovered, those of Rogers and Crocker. Two of the Indians sprang into the water wlusn the danger wan first })erceived, and gained the shore. Tliis event occurred February 4, 1843, and threw a gloom over the whole Mission colony. The previous December James Olley, local preacher and carpenter to the ^lission, while endeavt)ring to raft some logs to the mill, to make lumlKT for finishing his house, had been drowned in the Willamette. The loss of life bv ORK(;ON IN.STITUTK 201 sickness and accident in the Mission circle in the space of five years was thirteen, ten being in the Hush of youth and prime of hfe, while three of them were chil- dren. When to these is added the mortality among the Indians and half-breeds, the impression might be that the climate was deadly. Yet the climate of Oregon has since been ])roven exceedingly salubrious ; and to the causes of disease already enumerated, there seems nothing more to add except the theory advanced b}' some writers, that a disease when newly introduced into a country is most virulent.'^ Meanwhile tlie superintendent is perfectino' his plans for the foundation of a Methodist state. At the first annual meeting of the Methodist society in May 1841, a committee is appointed to select a loca- tion for the manual-labor school, which is chosen not far from the Mission mills, on the southern bor- der of the Chemeketa plain. Here a building costing ten thousand dollars is erected, in which an Indian school is kept for about nine months, begiiming in the autumn of 1842, which comes to a clos^ through the causes long tending in this direction.-" The education of the children '"f the missionaries and settlers, now twenty in number, is a subject more pleasing to contemplate than tli. '^ Craii'J'or(/'/i MinKioiKiricx, MS., 4; J/iiicn' fh\ nii'l lustitutmiis, ItiO. 202 CLOSE OF THE METHODIST REGIME. French Prairie, and it is decided to begin at once to lay the foundation of this institution. The name selected is the Oregon Institute ; and the first board of trustees are Jason Lee, David Leslie, Gustavus Hines, J. L. Parrish, L. H. Judson, George Aber- nethy, Alanson Beers, Hamilton Campbell, and J. L. Babcock, Present at this meeting is the Rev. Harvey Clark, an independent Presbyterian missionary, who is then living on the Tualatin plains, and about whom more will be said by and by. This gentleman exhibits nuieh interest in education, and is put upon a com- mittee with Lee, Hines, Leslie, and Babcock to select a location. Their choice falls on a beautiful situation, at the southern end of French Prairie ; but owing to a deficiency of water, this spot is abandoned for a plain known s the Wallace Prairie, about three miles north from the mill, on an eminence half a mile south of the farm of one Baptiste Delcour, and near a fine spring of water. Having |)roceeded thus ftir, a prospectus is drawn up on the Dth of March, and a constitution and by- laws on the 15th."* Soon $4,000 is pledged, in sums -* This constitution and by-laws may be found in full in Jlhics' Oreijon and il.1 liixtiliilioiix, 143-51, a work of SOO pages, duvoted to .'vdvcrtising the Wil- lamette University. It was puldished in New York in 1808. By the first article the institute is j)lai:ed forever under the supervision of some religious denomination. By tlie second it is maile an academical boarding school, until it sliall be expedient to make it a university. Tho thinl declares that tlio ob- ject of the institution is to educate tiie children of white men ; but no persori shall be excluded on account of color wlio possesses a good moral character, and can read, write, and speak tlie English languiige intelligibly. The re- ligious society whicli shall first pledge itself to sustain tiie institution is by article fourth entitled to elect once in three j'ear.s nine directors, two thirds of whom shall bo members of this society, whose duty it shall bo to hold in trust tlie projierty f)f the institution, consisting of real estate, notes, bonds, securities, goods, and cliattels ; and any person siibscrilnng Sr>0 or more shall lie entitled to a vote in the business meetings of the society relating to tlie institution. The scliool is divided into male and fenialo departments, to be taught and controlled by male and female teacliers ; and placed in charge of a steward, whose duty it is to provide lioard and to direct tho condnct of the resident pujiils ; besides which a visiting committee of the society shall ex- amine all the departments, and make public reports. Annual meetings are to be held to fill vacancies in the board ot trustees, appoint visiting coinmittees, ami transact other business. Should no society pleili;e itsilf liefore tb.e last of May 1842 to sustain tjie institution, then the busin .ss shall be transacted VERY SHAKP rRACTlL'E. 203 ranjTfing from 5? 10 to .$500, all but $350 beiiii^ sub- .scribod by the inissioiiarios. On the 2Gtli of ()etober it is resolved at a meeting of the Methodist society of Oregon, to make the pledge required by the con- stitution of the proposed institution of learning, and assume prf)prietorship of the jiroperty in the hands of the board, which is done. A building is connnenced soon after, under the superintendence of W. H. Gray, formerly of the Presbyterian mission ; and in tlie course of the year following $3,000 has been expended in its construction. There was one more scheme in which the superin- tendent of the Oregon missions was deeply interested, but to which he did not care j)ublicly and personally to commit himself This was no less than the acquisi- tion for the Methodist colony of the water-power at the falls of the Willamette. To this place, as we have seen, John McLoughlin held the })rior claim, and the unsettled condition of tlie Oregon boundary allowed him to maintain it; but from this the Metho- dists were plotting to drive him, standing ready to take his place when he should have been forced to abandon it. It was a plan worthy of persons who, ])rofessing piety, had turned the sanctified gold of their sup- porters into personal profit. Their intention was made known by report to Mc- Louijfhlin soon after the arrival of the ij^reat retin- forcement. He at once notified Lee of facts with which every one was already well aware, namely, tliat possession had been taken of the place by him in 1829, at which time, and since, improvements had lieen made, consisting of several houses and a mill- hy those who subscribe §")() or upwards, until such time as soiiio society sliall Ml jibMlge itself. The liy-liiws proviile that no suhscriiitioli is biudiiiff until Nunie society has come forward and assunied the resjionsiI)ility of maintaining the Oregon Institute, and as notiiing can be done without fumls, and as there In no other Protestant religions society in the Willamette ^'allev able to take eharge of tlu^ proposeil sciiool, it falls, as it was nitended to ih), to tlie Meth- odis^t Episcopal church. 204 (.LOSE OF THE METHODIiST REdlME. race. Furtherniorc, he declared liis intention to hold the property us a private claim when the boundary should be finally determined. The ground claimed was " from the upper end of the falls across to the Clackamas River, and down where the Clackamas falls into the Wallamette, including the whole point of land, and the small island in the falls on which the portage was made.""'' The correspondence appears to have been begun in July 1840, soon after Waller had been sent to estab- lish a mission at the falls, in which he was generously assisted by McLoughlin, who gave him permission to erect a house out of some timbers that had been pre- viously squared by himself for a mill. After giving the notice mentioned, McLoughlin concluded his letter with these words: "This is not to })revent your build- ing the store, as my object is merely to establish my claim." A satisfactory reply was returned, and Waller pro- ceeded in the erection of a building, divided into two apartments, one of which served as a dwelling and the other as a store-room for the goods of the Mis- sion. And yet Hines tells us that Waller was left without an appointment by Lee in 1840, in order that he might assist " in the erection of mills on the Wallamette River." -" For some reason no mill was begun at the falls at this time; but in 1841 Felix Hathaway, in the eni- phn'ment of the Mission, began to build a house on the island, at which McLoughlin again took alarm and remonstrated with Waller in person. At tliis inter- view Waller, without directly denying the intention of the Mission to hold the site at the falls, quieted the apprehensions of McLoughlin by stating that he had taken a claim on the Clackamas River below McLoughlin's claim. At the sanu> time Hathaway desisted from his building operations on the island, '■^ MrLoHiihlin'x Primte Payifrt, MS., Istser. 1*2. ''■'^Hiiu'^'hi: //Uf., iven lots to retain them; a proposition to which McLoujj^hlin agreinl, j)rovided an equal amount of land should he given to him out of Waller's claim adjoining, to which Waller consented. But before the survey was completed. Waller retracted, saying, before two or three wit- nesses, " ]^o you keep yours, I will keep mine."''* But the next day he had again altered his mind, and wished to make the exchange. When McLoughlin declined, Waller returning several times to the sub- ject, the doctor at length paid him for clearing the land in ({uestion, and again the matter rested. In this transaction Lee, thinking the charge made by Waller extortionate, appeai'cd in his character of supei'in- tendent, ami refused to accept more than half the amount demanded, the negotiations being conducted through McLoughlin's agent, Hastings, an American lawyer, who came to Oregon in company with White, two months previously. Waller's vacillating course could only be explained upon the hypotliesis that he was endeavoring to hold the falls claim for tlie Mission, and the land at the Clackamas for himself, and was unwilling to trust the Mission to make good the land he had agreed to ex- change with McLoughlin. jVEeantime the purpose of the missionaries was being develoj)ed by the forma- tion of the Island Milling Company in 1841, three fourths of whose members belonged to the M_ission, and tiu^ remainer being settlers, mIio were allowed to take that amount of stock in order that it could be said that the enterprise was a public one, and not a missionary speculation. ]^ut had it in I'eality been to benefit the settlements, a site thirty or forty miles ■^"Tho witiicssi's were L. W. Hastings, J. M. Hudspi'atli, ami Walter Pomerny, iimiiigraiita of 1842. Crnir/ort/'-i Mhnio)iiirii'M, MS., 'JO-1. Uuds- ])i'ath lai i off Orugou City as tar as Eighth street in tin' autumn ot' 1S4'J. Mats' I'loiuir Times, MS., '1\. ABERNETHY USES SHORTESS. 207 >kl of 1.1- -eel l.l lot en I'S tor .Is- 4-_'. Up the valley would liave been preferable."" In Octo- ber 1842, the lisland Millinijf Company had erected a saw-mill on the island part of McLou<:fhlin's claim, intending to follow it as early as possible with a grist-mill.^" McLoughlin now became satisfied that it was the intention of the missionaries to seize his land, and deprive him of his rights. Hence to save his inter- ests he built a saw^-niill on the river bank near bv, and gave notice that a grist-mill would soon be added. Indignant at what they chose to term the ai-bitrary proceedings of the Hudson's Bay Company monopoly, a petition to congress was framed. This was done by George Abernethy, who kept the Mission store at Oregon City, and from notes furnished cliietly by Robert Shortess,^^ a convert of the Mission before Lee had turned his attention to colonization and self- aggrandizement. The memorial is known as the Shortess petition, for Abernethy was unwilliiug to have his own name connected with it, and to avoid this it was copied by Albert E. Wilson, employed in an American trading-house established in Oregon City in 1842."'''' This petition was of considerable length, and set '■""Tliis is the best site in the country for extensive tl(>iiring or lumber mills.' Fiinihatu'.H Trnii'U, 17'-!. ■^ Crair/onrK Minxiomiric-i, MS., '25-{5; McCnicb'n''< Kur'i/ Sfedntboofhi'/, MS., 0. _ ^' Robert Shortess was a native of Ohio, l)ut emijjrateti fro'Vi Missouri. He arrived in IS.'i!) or 1840 alone, or nearly so. I find liin) writing a letter to I>aniel Lee in January 1841, in which he announces hi.si^'„iveri!>.)n toCiod from a state of gloomy inlidelity. He was a man of good attainments and exten- sive reading, but possessed an ascetic disposition and extreme party feelings. Me immediately ailopted the anti-Hudson's Bay tone, and maintained it, as it suited his temperament. He invented the phrase 'salmon-skin aristocracy," as applied to the gentlemen of that company. (!ray, who thoroughly sympa- thized with his anti-British spirit, says that he and many others shouhl have a pension for maintaining the rights of Americans on tlie west coast. Shortess and (Jray represented tiie extreme of American fanaticism. Shortess ili.-d in 1877 near Astoria, where he had lived as a recluse. (Irnii'n lli.it. Or., '207; Stroilij'n Hlxt. Or., MS., ',\7i; .ijijilcj/nfi'.i I'itir.i, .MS.. .S8; Aslilninl, Or., Tiiliwjx, Sept. 14, 1877; i'rawfortl'.-i N', made a forced voyage to ovei'- take William C. Sutton, then on his way to the States. He came up with him at the Cascades, and delivered to him that absurd document which afterward fi»;ured in the reports of congress as the voice of the people, to the <^reat annoyance of McJjou<(hlin. The doctor (iiiircd to pay for it. McIiOUgliliu refers to tliix statement in .1 ('opi/ oj' n Doi'inneiit, in TntiiK. Or. Pioii. .•I.v.voc., 1S8(), and says tliat cattle were sonii-- tinies poisoned l)y eating a noxious weed that grew in the valley, l)ut that no attempt Wiw ever made to recover their value from the settlers. In all tlie statements made, it was inteiuhul to create a feeling in the congressionid mind that the British fur company was directly and maliciously oppressing American citizens, and to gain credit tliemselves for tlie patriotism with which these tyrannical measures were resistetl. Then followed in a puerile strain a recital of injuries indicted upon American trade hy the fur company. An instance of this was in tiie Canadian practice followed hy McLougidin of having the wheat-measure struck to settle the grain in purchiusing wiicat from the settlers ; forgetting to stJite that when it was found that Oregon wheat weighed I'l \h». instead* of tJO Uis. per hushel, a ditierence of sixpence was nuide in the price. In regard to the charge con- cerning Hastings, they neglected to state tliat he was an American, or that the deeds he drew up wcr^ for lots freely given to American citizens ; nor ilid they remendier tiiat they liad no legal claim themselves to the land in Oregon. It was forgotten that Slacum liad promised the C'anailians that tiieir rights to their lands should lie respected ; and tliat McLougidin was not different from any other settler, except tliat they asserted that lie held the Oregon City claim for the Huilson's Hay Company, and not for himself, wliich he denied. McLoiii/lilni's Prini/c Piijh'i-m, MS., 1st ser. 30. And they seemed to forget that in times past they had been the reciiiients of the verj' favors tiiat tTiey now complained were liestowed on their countryinen. ''*In a letter to McLougidin, written 1iy L. W. Hastings, the latter ex- jiresses his surprise that the petition slumld have ix^en signed, not only hy many respectable citizens, but by several of his party who arrive(' in the pre- vious autumn; and that on in(juiry they were ready to afiirm they had l)eeu imposed upon, land that tiiey supposeil tiuy were only petitioning the United States to extend jurisdiction over the country. McLoinjhUn'a Friratv Po})f !•■■<, MS., 1st ser. ."W. lUsT. UK , Vol. T. 14 \ !| 1 v III! fi ' : III 210 CLOSE OF THK MKTHOlUsT RK(iIMK. jukirossod a Icttoi* to Sliortess, April 13, 1843, awkiiii,' for a copy of" tlie p(!tition circulated hy him, aiul which ho was infoniicd contained t'harijfcs iniuriou.s to himself and the com])any he represented, hut Shortoss refused liis recjuest.''' Such were the methods hy which the memhers of the Methodist Mission exhih- ited their hostility to the man who had pursued (»ne uuvarvinj^ course of kindness to them and their coun- trvn\en for ei: Ifohn-f^' JimiUvctiou-i, MS., 21.' »"Mm Edwards, in Or. Sketrhx, >[S., 23-4. - Whitr'x Ten Yearn in Or., 20()-l; Emits' Hixl. Or., MS., 2mpany in the j)etition of lH4.'i, he exelainu'd indij,;iiantly : " Heally, really, the citizens are themselves the hest judges if we did so or not, and 1 am certain if they ar-e so lost to a sense of what is due to truth as to make such an assertion, it is usekss for me to say anythinj^'," " J am astonished," he adds, " that there should be one person in the country to say such a thing of me.' '» 3!» The milling company continued to make improve- ments upon the island })ai't of Mcljoughlin's claim, while Ahernochy, Waller, and others still i-esided on the site of the town. In the autumn of 1843 there airived the first large innnigration overland, of fami- lies, many of whom remained at Oregon City acquir- ing l)uilding-lots and making im[)rovements. This aggregation of peo})le and means at this place hi- creased the determination of the missionaries to secure the land to themselves, and alarmed McLoughlin still more lest tliey should succeed. Among the innnigrants was one John Ricord, of tall, commanding person, insinuating address, and some legal knowledge, all shown off cons])icuousl3" by per- sonal vanity. He signed himself " Counsel of the Supreme Court of the United States," whatever that might mean, and was both admired and laughed at by his fellow-travellers. •"•Letter to L. "W. Hiwtiugs, in Prti-dte Pnwr.<, MS., 1st ser. 41. Tliis brings to iiiiml the reniiirks of a clerk of the Hudson's Bay Company, John Dunn, referred to in a previous chai)ter. 'Tlu! patriots,' at Vancouver, he says, ' maintained that the doctor was too chivalrously generous, that his generosity m as thrown away, that he was nurturing a race of men who wonld hy and by rise from their meek and humble position, as the grateful ackuowl- eilgers of his kindness, into tlie bold attitude of (juestionersof his own autlior- ity and tlie British right to Vancouver itself.' Dnini's Or Tir., 177. 212 CLOSE OF THE METIIOIUST KE(il.ME. {*'- The question of legality of claims at Oregon City was every clay growing more important to the con- testants. They now took the ground that McLougli- lin as a British subject was precluded from holding land by preemption. Thereupon McLoughlin con- sulted Ricord on points of American law, l)ut found him unwilling to give advice. Not long after, how- ever, he visited Vancouver in company with Jason Lee and made a proposition in writing to tlie follow- ing eft'ect: He would become McLoughlin's legal adviser, provided the doctor should so alter his pre- emption boundaries as to exclude the island part of liis claim, on which had been erected the sav and grist mills of the Island Milling Company, concecHng to them as much water as was necessary for their n)ills; that Waller should be secured in the ultimate title to two lots in Oregon City, already in his p(w- session, and other lots, not to exceed five acres, to be chosen by him froui lots unsold ; and that Jason Lee should be in like manner secured in the possossioji of certain lots in Oregon City not described or numbjrcd, to be held for the Methodist Episcopal Mission; all of which conditions he considered necessary to an amicable arrangement. For his services in attempting to establish Mc- Loughlin's preiimption rights, Kicord demanded the sum of three iiundred pounds sterling, to which was added the request tiiat the fact sliould !iot be made public tluit he had been retained by McLoughlin, and the suggestion that some j)ers<»n not directly connected with the Hudson's Bay Com])any should l)e appointed as McLouglilin's agent at Oregon City. Shoidd these ternjs not be com[)lied with, he should ]>roceed, at the earliest (.p|iortunity, to the Hawaiian Islands. " These terms of Hicord's," says McLoughlin, " ap[)eared to ]>ropose an amicable arrar.gement, when all tiie sacrifices were to be made by me." Ten days were asked in which to consider this pro])osition, at the (jxpiration of whidi Mcljoughlin wrote to Kicord FURTHER .rROPOaALS. >i:5 tliat some of his proposals were inadmissible, as he could not dispossess certain persons of lots already deeded, to give them to others; and that he did not see how he could accept his services on the con- ditions oifered. To this Ricord replied that it was the only proposal he could make in respect to his friends at the falls, and affecting to regret the circum- stance for McLoughlin's sake and the sake of the })eace of the community, expressed the hope that the matter might be arranged by an interview with Waller. Soon alterward McLoughiin offered to compromise, by yielding to tue Mission ei^^ht lots for church and school purposes in Oregon City, to be chosen out of unoccupied property, the Mission to restore certain lots held by them which we' e necessary to his business, on one of which Abernethy was living ; he offered to pay for Abernethy's ho .r.e whatever it should be ad- judged to be worth by iive commissioners, two chosen by the Mission, two by himself, atid the fifth by the four. In addition, he would allow the Mission to re- tain one lot on which tliey had built a store, and one on which Waller's house stood ; these lots to revert to him in case the Mission should be withdrawn, by his paying for the improvements; or he would take them and pay for the improvements, giving two lots in closer pro.ximity to the eight lots offered, in their place. He proposed also to permit the milling company to retain possession of the island until the l)oundary question between the Ignited States and Great Britain was settled, when if his claim should be allowed, he would purchase their property on the island at the price agreed upon by five connnissioners, or sell them the island in the same way, the choice to be o})tionul with him which course to pursue. The pr()[)osal here given was made t<» Ricord and Ijvv at F'ort Vancouver, the latter expressing himself satisfied with it, as being fair and liberal, but regretting 214 CLOSE OK THE METKODlf^r KE(aMi:. i* • il?e-J; that lio had no power tc treat for Waller, always the Mission superintendent's most convenient scape-goat." I would not present Jason Lee as a bad man, or as a good man becoming bad, or as worse now, while tricking his eastern directors and cheating McLough hn out of his land, than wliile iHeaching at Fort Hall or seeking the salvation of the dying Indian children. He was the self-.same person throughout, and grew wiser and better if anything as the years added ex- j)erience to his li'c. He was endeavoring to make the most of himself, to do the best for his ccmntry, wliether lalmring in the fiekl of piety or patriotism; and if on Jtbandonintf th<^ missiouarv work and enM-au'int'' in tliat of emi)ire-budding he fell into ways ctilled devious by i)uslness men, it nmst be attributed to that s})ecious Hne of education which leads to the a})proj)riation of the Lord's earth by ministers of the I^ord, in so far as tlie power is given them. In all tilings he sought to do the best, and he certainly was doing better work, work more })eneficial to mankind, ajid more praise- worthy, as colonizer, than he had formerly achieved as missionary. He had ])assed through his five years of silence during wliich time l^ythagoras had Ijeen wash- ing out his mind and clearing his brain of rubbish, and being now in a ;)osition to learn something, lie was- fast learning it. While })reten(ling so nmch conci>rn over what he ternu'd the obduracy of Waller, he was plotting deei)ly *"T)io duplicity practisuil in tin, att'aii' of tli(^ Oregon City claim, and other matters, reflects serifusly on Jason Lee'.s character for trutlifulness. Mc- Longhlin atKi .is that in tlie summer of IMS lie spoke to Lee ahout the pretence of tlie milling company tl\at they did not know of his claim wjien they coinnienced buildiiig; and Lei; re))lied, that they must havt^ known ot it, as he had himself told them before they hegau operations. Not long after- ward, Lee and I'arrish lieing togetiier at Fort Vancouver, the latter at the puMio taltlc declared he had never heard of the doctor's claim before the mill was begun, when Lee replied, 'I attended your tirst or second meeting, anil it is the only meeting 1 attended, and I told you that Mcl^oughlin claimed the island,' This must iiave bi'i.'u rather hard lor I'arrish, wiio was acting accord- ing to instnietioiis; iuit .lason !,ee had his part as superintendent to play, which wa.s not to aMowliimself to be implicated, or he wovdd lose his inthienco with th.e fur company. » WALLER DISCLOSES HIMSELF. 215 to areomplifsh more than Vraller, as ]iis scori't agent, ever aimed at. He had determined to again visit tlie United States, to secure, if possible, from tlie government a grant, conditioned on the sovereignty of the United States, of c/"! tlie tracts of land settletl upon as missions, wliich »'ould include Oregon City, and a gift of $5,000 in money toward the endowment of the Oregon Institute.^' With this pur|)ose in view he had resiijned the presidencv of the board of directors of the institute in September, and had oftered his ser- vices as a;i agent for the collection of money in the States, Avith which to furnish chemical and other ap})a- ratus to the school, an ofl'er gladly accepted by the other members of the board. The visit to Fort Vancouver, before mentioned, was while he, in company with Ricord, and Hines and family, was on his way to tlu; mouth of the river to embark in the fur company's bark (/olumhia, Captain Humphries, for the Sandwich Islands. Bef( )re lea\ iiig the Willamette Valley, Ricord had penned a caveat against ^IcLoughlin, in which he called Waller his client, and in which ]\IcLoughlin was warned that measures had been taken at Washiiii^ton to substan- tiate Waller's claim to Oregon City as the actual i)re- emptor upon six huiulred and forty acres of land at that place; and that any sales which ^IcLoughlin might make thereafter would be regarded bv his client and the governiiieiit as fraudulent. Waller founded his claim on tlie grounds of citizen- ship of the United States, prior occuj)ancy of the land, and improvement. He denied ^rcLoughlin'a claim for the following reasons: that he was an alien, and so not eligible; that he was officer of a "foreign cor- }»orate monopoly ;" that he did not reside and never had resided on the land; that wliile h(> picti'iided to lioli it for himself, he was in fact holding it for a foreign corporate body, as was jirovetl by the employment of individuals of tiiat company as his agents: and as no *' \V/)iti's Till Yiiii.< in III-., l".".'; lliuis Or. (Iiul Ins., I .">.".. II i I -! 210 CLOSE OF J HE METHODIST KEIJIME. <•< )!'])( irate body in tli'3 United States eould hold land ]>y {)reenipti()n, so no foreign coi-poration could tiA of John Mi-ljoiujldin, from \\liifh tlio liiittory of tlic Oregon City claim is ehielly ohtuined, eonsist of several doeumcnts, witli his comments .".nd e.v]il;iniitionrt. They are divided into series, as they relate tu ilitferent matters to tlie settlement of tlie country; to early efl'orts at traih^ by the Americans; to tiie millin;,' company, and the Ore^v^on City claim in mis- sionary and afterv.unl in territo'-ial time.->. McLon^idin was no writer, in a literary .Menso; hr.t e\ i^ry sentence penned byliim is endowed witii tliat (piality which carries onvietion with it; direct, siniide, ii.t.>ove suliteriuge. The care THE MERITS ()K THE CASE. '2\: g claims to As to the actual merits of the opposin Oregon City, the facts on the side of McLoughlin were these : The improvements at the falls of the Willamette were begun in 1829 for the Hudson's Bay (^ompany. But the company objected to the location of a mill south of tlie Columbia River, for the reason that in the settlement of the boundary (juestion it would almost certainlv be found on the American side of the line ; fin* at tliat time, and for many years thereafter, it was understood from the official an- nouncements of the British jrovernment that Eny:- land would insist only on the countrv north of the Columbia being conceded to her in the future boun- dary treaty,''* and tliat no claim would be made of anv territory south of the Columbia, in Oregon. McLoughlin, however, who had a fondness foi' farming, after aureeing to settle some of the released servants of the company in the Willamette Valley, which he foresaw would be a great wheat-raising country, determined to build the mill with his own means for himself; but being strenuously o})posed by «ome of his friends in the company, he decided about 1 8^58 to relinquish the land and the water-power at the falls to his step-son, Thomas McKay. He finallv yielded to his own strong inclination in favor of the place, however, and determined to keep it, putting up a house to rejjlace those destroyed by the Indians, and openly claiming a ])reeinption right to tlie land, keeping himself informed ol' the proceedings of tin- United States congress in the matter of Oregon lands. Linn's land bill, which was suggested by Jason Let^ himself, had no clause ])reventing foreigners of any nation fi( ni bi^coming citizens of Oivgon, but bestowetl 11 with which letters and other liistoricul duta wero preservod hy McLoughhn renders these pajiors of givjit vahic They wi'i ■ furnished hy Mrs Harvey t'> tlie fund of niatei'i'd out of wliieli tliis iiistory lias hecii made. Without tlunn, many of th(.' secrets of ti-'"sionary ingratitude wmdd never have come ti) light; with them, mueli thav ras ohneure is made })hiiii. '* A Copi/ oj' a Ikiciniii'ii', in 'J'nni.s. Dr. /'ioinir Ai-ior., ISSO, 4'.t. ■ 'ff 218 CLOSE OF THE METHODIST liEGI.ME. i'. L m on every white male inhal)itant six hundred and forty acres of land. MeLouij^hlin accordingly had that amount surveyed to himself in 1842, and although Linn's bill never passed the house, he with the Amer- icans confidently believed that this, or some similar law, would follow the settlement of the boundary of Oregon, and he intended to take advantage of it. The opposition he met with in his endeavor to hold his claim occasioned increased expenditure. The im- provements made by both claimants drew settlers to ()regon City, and made it more valuable as a town site. Strictly sjjeaking, neither McLoughlin nor Waller liad any legal right to the land in question. But in justice, and by a law of connnon usage among the settlers of Oregon, McLoughlin's claim, being the elder, was the stronger and the better claim. His right to it would be decided by the future action of congress. The greatest difficulty he ex})erienced was that of meeting the untruthful representations made to the government, and the efforts of his enemies to mould ])ublic opinion in Oregon. As liicord has already given the points in Waller's case, they need not be repeated liere. Lee and Ricord were within four days' sail of Hono- lulu when the truth was ms-ue known to McLouglilin I'oncerning their covert proceedings. But that mill of the gods wliich slowly grinds into dust all human ambitions lickl Jason Lee between the upper and the nether millstone at that identical moment, though he knew it not. On reaching Honolulu, and before he stepped ashore, he was met by Dr Babcock with the intelligence that he had been sui)erseded in the suj)er- intendency of the Oregon Mission by th:' Jiev. (^eorge .Gary, of the Black River conference, New York, who was then on his way to Oregon to investigate Lee's career since 1840, and if he thought proper, to close the affairs of the Mission. The reports of White, Frost, Kone, Richmond, and others had taken effect, i»EAlH OF .lA.SDN LEF. 219 and an inquiry was to 1)0 instituted into the financial affairs of the Mission in Oregon Wlien Lee left Oregon it was witli the intention of waiting at the Islands for a vessel going to New York or Boston, and with the exj)ectation that Mr and Mrs Hines and Jiis little daughter would aeeonii)any him. He had been superintendent for ten 3'ears, and just at the time wlien the ])osition seemed most important to him he was to be deposed. For a whik^ he was staggered, but after the first revulsion of feeling he determined to make at least a protest. After con- sultation with Hines and l^abcock, it was settled that tluy should return at the earliest opjwrtunity to ( )reg()n, and do v* iiat thiy could in his interests there. Without waiting for an American vessel, and leaving his child, he hastened on to Xew York by the Ha- waiian schoonei' thm Tifa, for Mazatlan, and thence proceeded to Yera Cruz and to his destination. In the work of colonization the wav was oftentimes (litiicult, and seemed at times exceedingly slow, yet he could not V)ut feel that though the soft air bites the granite never so gently, the rock will crund)le beneath coiistant eflbrt. He felt imeasy at the thought of meeting his Itrethren. Surely there were enough redskins in the West who knew not God. What should he sa}' to those who had sent him forth, when they should ask why he had not converted the heathen !* Though he miffht wrap himself in a newlv slain bullock's hide, after the maimer of tlu; Scotchman, and lie down beside a water-fall or at the foot of a j)iecipice, and there meditate until the thoughts i-ngendered by tlie wild surroundings should become inspiration, yet could he not fathom the mvsterv why (lod's ci'eatui'es, whom he had been sent by (jrod to instruct, should MMther and r., \'A'2. Sen also Ulnrs Oni/on 'Hht., -J.-io 7. 220 CJ.()SK OF THK METHODIST RKcilME. :i f Lee arrived at New York in May, but what trans- pired between himself and the missionary board is unknown. He em]>loyed himself durini( the year in soliciting'' funds for the Oregon Institute, which he was destined never to see again, for he died March 2, 1845, at Lake Memphremagog, in the ])rovince of Lower Canada. His last act was to make a small be(juest to the institution for which he was laboring, and for the advancement of education in tlie countrv of his adojjtion.''" In the books of the missionary writers, ''Jason Lee of precious memory" is alluded to only in his char- acter as director of a religious mission, no referenci- ever being made to his ])olitical schemes. The reason is obvious. To impute to him all that belonged to him would be to acknowledji'e that the missionary society in New York was riiifht in dismissinii" him for mis- representation of the requirements of Oregon, and a misappropriation of a large amount of the funds of the society; the^v fore, that j)art of his career which best illustrates his talents is left entirely out of the account, and appears only in the reports of congress and the ])rivate manuscri[)ts of McLoughlin. That he had tlie ability to imi)ress upon the Willamette Valley a character for religious and literary aspira- tion, which remains to this day; that he suggested the manner in which congress could promote and reward American emigration, at the saiiu; time craftily keep- ing the government in some anxiety concerning the intentions of the British government and Hudson's Bay Company, when he could not have been ignorant of the fact that so far as the country south of the (^olumbia was concerned there was nothing to fear; that he so carefully u;uarded his motives as to leave even the sagacious McLoughlin in doubt i'(*ncerning them, u]) to the time he left Oregon — all of these taken together exhibit a combination of qualities which "wei-e hardly to be looked for in the frank, eusy-tem- *'' Hiiiis Or. It III f fii.i/ihi/inii-^, ].")('i, HONOR TO JASON LKK. •-'•Jl jK'red, but energetic and devoted missionary, who in tlic autumn of I8;U built liis rude house beside tlie Willamette River, and gatjiered into it a lew sickly Indian children whose souls wei'e to be saved though they had not long to remain in their wretched botlies. How he justified the change in himself no one can tell. He certainly saw how grand a work it was to lay tlu^ foundation of a new empire on the shores of the Pa- cific, and how discouraging the prospect of raising a doomed race to a mouientary recognition of its lost condition, which was all that ever could be hoped for the Indians of western Oregon. There is much credit to be imputed to him as the man who carried to suc- cessful completion the dream of Hall ,J. Kelley and the purpose of Ewing Young. The means by which these ends were attained will a[)i)ear niore fully when I come to deal with government matters. Taken all in all, and I should say, Honor to the memory of Jason ]jee I Hines and Babcock retmiu'd to ( )regon in Api'il i>y the brig ClioicniKi.^, C^ajitain CoucJi, and (lary, the uvw superintendent, arrived at Oregon ( ity on the 1st of June, 1844. Early t)n tlie 7th of that month a meeting of the missionaries took j)lac(! at Chemeketa, for the pur])ose of consultation upon afl'aii's of the Mission, and an investitjjation l)v (iarv. "Such was the interest involved," savs Mr Hines, "that the in- vestigation continued until dayliglit th(> next morn- inii'." The result of the conference was tlu; dissolu- tion of the Mission ; the laymen being oflered a ])assage for themselvt's and families to their former homes, or its equivalent out of tlic ])roperty owned by the Mis- sion, an amount, in each case, reaching $H()0 or 61,000. W. h one exception the laymen all jtreferi'cd to remain, and were discharged, except T^rewer, wlio was retained at the Dalles. The Mission farm, buildings, and cattk' at Clatsop were ordered to be sold. The property of the Willamette Mission, consisting of houses, farms, cattle, farm-tools, mills, and goods of every descri})- 222 CLOSK OF THK MKTHOIUST UI^JCIMK. tioii, was likewise sold. Maiiv of the iniiiu}»iants of the previous year \voukl liave been i»lay a Me.xican for gold. Portlow! Oreijoii'mn, July 29, 1803. ** liolin-tx" livvolb'cliom, MS.', ;W; Mox^' Pioni;-r Tiwrs, .MS., 31; M. 1'. Deady, in ,<>'. /'. IMlHin, July (i, 18()4. '"Mrs Willson, iir'i> Clark, was horn April 1(>, 1818, in the state of Conneoti- eut, and educated at Wilhraham Academy. She ilied .Iu!U''29, 1874. /'. ('. Adivcnte, June 30. 1874. WIN1)IN(; UP THE Bl'.SINESS. Si'S Oroooii In.stitute, to follow Ciaiy in his efforts to cloHe up the business of the Mission. Gary seems to have hecome imbued with the spirit of his a(h isers, and to liave eclipsed his j>redi>^t episcopal church a (piarter of a million of dollars."- As colonists, the seventy or eighty persons who were thrown into Ore- '^ McClane's Firxf Wm/nn Tnini, MS., <(, 10; ' niirronl'.i Jfixsioiiiirii'-i, MS., 4, r>. •'■ .ijiplf'ijutv'l \'«'li:t I,/ Hist., Ms., ■_'<.l; Hulls' < )i\ It nil ! iistilutlOtt.'!, 222. RESULTS. S25 j^on by the Hoeiety wvrv jjfodd citi/.ciis, and t'xorcistd a wliolc'soiiu' moral iiitluunci", which fxtciidiHl from missionaiy tiiiu's down to a much hitcr day. Not liaviiiji;' to struj^*;lc for an existence as (Hd the early immigrant settlers, and lu-ini;' turnished with the means M'ithout any exertion of thi'ir own, they were enabled to found the first school, and do many other thin<(S for the im|>r<)vement of society, for which this j^eiieratlon lias reason to he j^rateful.''^ ^ Sfrirklfiwl'i J/m««o/ix, 144-'). Among the missionary writciH who tiiltn iiii exalted v'„vv of tliu merits of his cla.ss is (riistavu.i tliiieH, horn in Heriiinier Connty, New York, Septemher 1(>, KSO'.t. He was ajujoiiited to preaeli liy the (teneseo conference in li>>V2, and appointed to the Orej/on Mis.sion hy Hishop Hedding in ISH!). He returned to New York in 184(), hut in IH.VJ wuh sent hack to Oregon hy Hisiiop Waugh. During iiis residence east, hetween l)<4()aud 1852, he pul)lislied Ids Onijoii. iU lliMorii, Conilitioii, untl /';(wj«r/.<, " o.v'"',i."j.;/ 11. lA .,rri]itioil nf (he ijiixirnjiliil, rliiiititr, a ml pfiMliiclionx, irith ]" rsoiml iKfirntiintt (imoni/ titc IikIhiiis, atv. liuti'alo, l.S.")l. 'I'iiis hook is not witiiout some faults of style, asiiU; from its verlxisity; luit is in the main trutliful, its errors of statement heing traeeahle to hearsay. Without heing hittirly |>artisan, it contains allusions wldcli hetray the i»ent of tiie Metiiodist and American missionary mind of the poriixl. As a narrative of early events aucl adventures it is interesting. In ISliS Mr Hines puhlished a second Iiook, under the name of (h-n/oii imil its /ns/ifn/ians: ( 'omjintnii/ njiitl J/is/ori/ tif llir WiWutieUv rniri'rxitii. New York. Tlds work is half deserii»tive ami half historical, containing in the latter portion imich fulsome laudation of the mis- sionary society and the founders of the Willamette University, ahout which very full particulars are given. After Hines' return to Oregon he continued to res'de in the country up to the time of his death, Decemher !(, 187;{. Tiiree year' hefore, March 14, IS7<>, his wife, Mrs Lydia Hines, an exemplary t'hristian woman, died at the age of hS years. Porflaml /'. C. Adroni/r, Dec. 11, !87:i; Siilfiii Stiilfsniiin, Dec. l.S, 187:5; IiL, March l(i, 1870; Si'lnn Wll- liimcUf Fitniici; March lit, 1870. Waller returned to the Willamette Valley, where he resided up to the time of his death, in l)ecend)er 1872. He ac- quired riches, and occu])ied honorahle positions in the Methodist churdi and Willamette University. IIiiicm' Or. iiwl Iuk., 27(i; I'ortldiiil I'. ('. Ailm- riile. Fell. '27, 187;{. llev. L. H. Judson continued to reside at Salem, where lie died March 'A, 1880. .V. /•'. liidkfni, March 22, 1880. J. L. J'arrisli, who was sent to Clatsop when Frost returned to the states, remained on the Mission farm until it was sold, when he returned to Salem, where he con- tinued to reside. He was a circuit preacher, and special Indian agent in territorial times. He acquired a comfortahle fortune, and owned a pleasant home in the outskirts of Salem. His tir.st wife, Mrs Eli/.aheth I'arrish, )i(<' Winn, diecl August .'SO, 18()!), soon after which he contracted a second mar- riage. There are several children hy hoth unions. \n 1878 Mr I'arrish fur- nished, for use ill this history, his Orfi/oii Atirciloti-i, a manuscript hook of more than one hundred pages, illustrative of ]>ioneer life and Indian charac- teristics, with narratives of his adventures as Indian agent. His views are, tliat to henetit the Indians it is necessary to he let down to the level of their comprehension, and to learn to think and reason from their stand|)oint, Mr I'arrish was horn in Onomlaga County, New York, January 14, I80G. IlisT. Oil., Vol.. I. 10 CHAPTER IX. PROGRESS OF EVENTS. 18:«)-1841. The 1'eoria Party — Incidknts of thk Jouuney — Farnham Arrives in Oregon— Retukn of McLouohlin from London — Dissatiskaotion OF Missionaries and Colonists — Petiiion to Conuress— Belcher's EXPEDITION^EXTENT OF CANADIAN JuRISDIirriON- -MoRE iMMUiRANTS FROM Illinois — Missionaries LViNtinue to Arrive — The Neweli. Party — Missionary Hosi'italit- — Spaildincs's Report — Wilke> on THE Coast — The 'Star ok Ofehon' — Overland Ex.-loration to CvLiKORNiA — Sir George Simpuon at Fort Vancouver— IvIofi'as' Mission— The Red River SErixERs. l:M I HAVE termed Jason Lee a Methodist colonizer, but he was in reality more than that. His well- directed eft'orts in behalf of his church could not, in their effects, be restricted to that body. They were, in fact, quite as likely to fire tlie ima^>ination of the adventurer as to stir the pious zeal of the sectarian, while tlie di.scussions which they had provoked in congress attracted the attention of all classes. The first ri])p]e of imuiiirration springing from Lee's lec- tures at Peoria was in tlie autumn of 18.'}8. It will be remembered that one of his Chinook boys, Thomas Adams, was left there ill. Tom was ]>roud of being an ol)ject of curiosity to the young men of the place, and was never better' ])leased than wht;n suj^plemcnt- ing Lee's le- -lures witii one of his own, delivered in broken English lielped out witli expressive pantomime, and dilating upon the grand scenery of his native country, the wcaltli of its hunting-ground v and the abundance of its fi?,lu ries. liude as Tom's ( escriptions were, they stirred the ardor o( his hear -rs, and sug- (220) ii FARNHAM'S COMPANY. .).>7 gested to certain ambitious young men the project of establishing a commercial depot at the mouth of the River of the West. A company of fourteen persons was formed, imm- berinsT amonji: its members Thomas J. Farnham, Joseph Hohaan, Amos Cook, Francis Fletcher, li. L. Kilborne, Sidney Smith, J. Wood, C. Wood, Oak- ley, Jourdan, and, later, a Mr Blair. The necessary outfit for the journey, costing each man about a hun- dred and sixty dollars, was h< < r. secured, and all being ready to start, the adventuious little band gathered before the court-house, wher(3 a prayer was offered in tlieL- behalf Their motto was ' Oregon or the Grave,' and they bore it aloft upon a flag ])resented to them l)y Mrs' Farnham, their ca})tain's wife, who accomj)ani(Ml them one day's march. Their declared intention, upon reaching the Columbia, was to take possession, as American (iitizens, of the most eligible points, and niake settlements.^ So now, liaving pledged themselves never to desert one anotliei, they set out from Peoria about the lir.st of Ma}' 18.'M), and proceeded to Independence, where they took the trail to Santa Fe. The}'^ had not been lony: on the wav before Smith received a shot from his rifle in drawing it from the baggage, and having previously rendered himself obnoxious to several of his con:pa.ii tis, it was proposed to abandon ium. The prepofcal was denounced by Farnliam and some othexo and the disagreement thus occasioned cjvused the breaking-up of the party. W^hen eig'lit wei l;s on the journey Farnham resigned the command ; and two oi the l)est men having joined some Santa Fe tra lers, the company fell into disorder. At Bent Fort, on the Arkansas River, where Farnham arrived the r)th of July, the company disbandtMl. Bent Fort is often mentioned by early travellers to Oregon. It was sit- uated eitjhtv miles north bv east from Taos in New Mexico, and was first called Fort William, but soon ^Peoria, Itlhiols, R:,j!.''ht, with a large gateway closetl by stn )ng doors of ] )la i ik ing. The wall , which was surmounted by two armed bastions, enclosed several buildings, shops, and a warehouse. The country in which it was situated being a dangerous one, about sixty men w(!re required to perform the duties of the place, including that of guarding the fort and the stock belonijins*' to it." For uien so lately swearing such fidcility, this was a bad beginning, but Fanduini'was not dislu;artened. On the nth of July, the malecontents left the fort foi' another establishment of the Bents, on Platte Kivtir; and Fandiam with three sound and good men, and one wounded and bad one, as he expressed it, resumed his journey to Oregon. Mis comj)anions were Blair, one of the Woods, Smith, and a Kentuckian named Kelly, who was engaged as guide.'* Smith recovered rapidly, and about the middle of August the party reached Brown Hole, on the head waters of (Jreen River, where was St Olair's fort called David Crockett. Here Kelly's services ended, Oakley and Wood determined to return, being so p(>r- suaded by Paul Richardson, a mountain man of some notoriety, who gave a dis])iriting account of the Or-e- goi) country in order to secure Noluntcei's for his own ))ai'ty about to start for the Missouri frontier. Witli oidy Smith and Hlair for companions, and a Shoshone guide, Farnham pushed on to Fort Hall, then in '^ F.>(). '' Fai'iiliaiii ilt'Hcriln'.s Hlair as an elderly man, a nieeliaiiie, from Missonri. 'A man of kinilur heart never existed. From tlie plaee where he joineil lis, to ( h'egiui 'I'lTritory, wiien myself or otlK'rs were worn with fatigue or disease or stiirvation, he was always ready to administer whatever relit f was in his power. But towards Smitli, in his helples.s eondition, ho was especially olilig- ing. He dressed his wound daily. He slept m^ar him at night, and rose to supply hi.s Iciust want.' Smith he ealls ' hase in everything tli.it makes a man estimuhle,' ami says ho had an alias, Carroll. TriiirU, .'U» 7, I'-H). In Oregon Smith, was nickuamud IJluhhor-mouth. (Irnijs Hint. Or , 187. AMON(! THK PKESBYTKRIANS. 229 c'l large of C. M. Walker. They arrived there Sep- tember 1st, and i-einained three days, after which, witli fresli horses and provisions, they proceeded, and in tiMi days readied For-t Boise, where they were kindly entertained by Mr Payette of the Hudson's J^ay Company/ Proceeding thence, an Indian guided them down the west hank of Snake River fifteen miles, to some boiling sj)rings; thence to the -narrow valley of Burnt iiiver, U}) which tlu^y passed through charming little nooks, to a branch of Powder River, whence, after resting under the L(me Tree,'' they passed into (xrand Hoiid Valhsy ; and thence over steep hills to the foot of the Blue Mountains ; tht.n through a belt of forest, along grassy ridges, u]) and down hills made difficult by loose masses of broken rock, through tracts of tanuled wood, and alonijf the face of cliff's overlian<)fini>c mountain torrents, coming at last to grassy swells, and finally to the long descent on the western de- clivities of the mountains, which brought tliem to the beautiful rolling ])Iains at the head waters of the Umatilla and Walla WaUa.* Here Farnham fell in with a Cayuse on his way to Whitman's mission, and deciding to accompany him, they arrived there the 2'.]d day of September, while Smith and Blair pro- ceeded to Fort Walla Walla. Blair spent the winter at Lapwai, and Smith ol)taine, with Burnett's Rfcol. of pKieei* to make a ilitmir to a\(iid some narrow ledges, or too alirupt elevations. Mi MM > Hi !i ' ■■ I >'M) PKCKiRE«S OF EVENTS. Paml>riin at the fort, Fariiham resumed liis journey to the Dalles, the 1st of October. He spent a week with Lee and Perkins, and beeanie imbued with the prevailing Methodist sentiments concerning British residents. On the 15th, in company with Daniel Lee, he took passage for Fort Vancouver, having narrowly escaped the wrath of the Dalles Indians for forcibly recovering some of his property which had been stolen/ At the Cascades they encountered McLoughlin, lately returned from England, the doctor being prob- ably some distance l)ehind the express which had bnmght him from Canada. Lee presented his newly arrived friend to Mc- Loughlin, who straightway invited them both to the fort, where they arrived late on that evening, the 18th. of October. Farnham, who had been forced to ex- change his clotlies for horses, was amply sup[)lied by his host, even to a dress-coat to appear in at dinner. He made a favorable impression on the inmates of Fort Vancouver,** where he remained till the 21st, learninof much concerning the countrv and the fur trade, which he afterwards turned to account in a tmmber of works published under difi'erent titles, but contahiing nmch of the same n)atter.^ ' Farnham gives an account of liis skirmish with 40 Innients. He visited a number of persons at the Missioti, among them Bailey, White, and Leslie, Jason Lee l)eing absent. During his stay there several Aniorican citi- zens unconnected with the Mission consulted him as to tlie probability of the United States taking them under the protection of its laws, Thes(3 persons complained that they were not protected, that for- eigneers domineered over them, drove American trad- ers from tlie country, and made them dependent for their clothing and necessaries on another nationality. They wanted to know why the Uni-^ed States per- mitted these things. "I could return )io answer/' says Farnham, "to these questions, excul})at()ry of this national delinquency; and therefore advised them to embody their grievances in a petition, and forv/ard it to congress." They took his advice, and gave him a memorial to forward to Washini>i()n, siuiied bv sixtv- seven citizens of the United States, and persons de- sirous of beconiinyf such.'" The petition set fortli that the signers settled in Oregon under tiie belief that it was a [lortion of the })ul)lic domain of the United States u[)on w liicli they might rely for the blessings of free institutions, and for armed protection; but that so far -is tliey knew, no such benefits had been extended to them; and tliat therefore they were at the mercy of the sav- ages around them, and of otliers that would do them harm." They conii)lained tliat tliey had no ///(■ 'J'lflc of till' Ciiifi'd St(U('r< of North America to thf Sniiii; vith a iiutjK ami a wofk entitled Mi'.iiro, Jl.'i :,in:d olwervationsareainuHiuirand instructive, l>y rea.son of tlujir litt ralnes.s and siuiplieit} . After many advcn- tnres ho .settletl in C'llifurnia, wliere he died iu KS.Vi. '" Fiini/iiiin'n 'J'riirei-i, 17.^. NN'ilkes say-s th^it Karnhani wrote the niomo- rial from suggestions furiii.shed liiiu liy l*r Hiiiley. Wilkes, who aJuo vis- ited Bailey, probably received ids inforniatio'i at first hand, which r-rnders it reliable. See Witlcex Nar., iv. .'i8S, iu)te. " In O'nifs Jlisl. Or., the ' otiiers that would o > them harm ' is printed in capitals. As I havo net seen the original of the uocunient I cannot -^ay if the memorial made it so empliatic; l)ut in either case, the iiifereuce is clear tliat tiic Hudson's Buy Company was meant. Ill 232 PROGRKS.S OF E\liNTS. til'! M..i legal protection oxcuj)t the st;lf-('oustituted tribunals, originated by an ill -instructed public opinion, and .sustained only b}^ force and arms. They declared that the crimes of theft, murder, and infanticide were increasing to an alarming extent, and they were them- selves })owerless to arrest the progress of crime in the territory and its terrible consequences.^'^ Having made this appeal on account of their help- less condition, congress was artfully reminded of the I'ichness of the country in soils, pasturage, timber, and minerals; and also that a British surveying squadron had been on the Oregon coast for two years, employed in makhig accurate surveys of all its rivers, bays, and harl)ors. The latter allusion referred to the expedition of Sir Edward Belcher, then Captain Belcher, who com- manded the English surveying squadron in the Pacific. J^elcher's attention was fixed at this time, however, not on Oregon, but on the liussian possessions. The attempts of the Hudson's Bay Company to get a footing there had up to this period occasioned a feeling of hostility, which led the Russians not only to ft)rtify at Stikeen, buc to have a sloop of war in readiness to repel invasion. The English, not to be behind i2i a show of strength, sent the >'(//^>//*oughw was only carrving out his irih in.' Kerolkctionx, MS., 8. '* Helc/i('r\' Vni/fiije, i. '->i>6, UiW, '" Matf.huii'.'t liisj'uijee, MS., 18. ^■^ Bdeher'H T'lt^riiyp, i. 'Ji(7. 'By.*', strange ami iinpardonal'lo oxersight ot the local otlicers, niissionarif froi,i the United Static were allowod to take religious e. large of the iiopula i>n; and these artful men lost no time in intro- ducing sucli .» !i\iml>er of i,hi ir cfiuntrymea a.H reduced tlie iulliiencf if tlie British settlers to complete insigniticance.' Hnufnii Miih. J/rnilil, Dec. IfvtKi. '"As if that were not what the Americans were doing on the south side of the C'olumhia. But ah to tin. government making j;rants, it couM no more ilo so than the Anieriean government, hetnre the lioumlarj- should lie detiiiecl. The Agricultural Associati< r ■duM not e\en incorporate hcfore tin' crown of ill! 234 riiocREss OF evp:nts. foreign ports vast quantities of tlie finest pine lum- ber.'^ Such ^vas the memorial for which Leslie, superL - tondent of the Mission pro tem., and Bailey, an attache of the same institution, were responsible, whatevei- Farnliam had to do with drawing it up. Farnham remained among the hospitable missionary families un- til the middle of November, when he rej)aired to Fort A'^aiicouver to wait for tlie departure of the company's vessel, tlie Ncra'd, in which he embarked for the Sand- wich Islands early in December. When he reached Oahu he addressed a letter to the United States sec- retary of war, in which he informed the government that the Hudson's Bay Company had taken upon Iciase, for a term of twenty years, tlie exclusive right to hunt, trap, and control bylaw the Russian possessions in America, Sitka only excepted, possession to be given in Marc] I 1840; that the British government had granted a large tract of land to the English fur company, wlio were niaking grants and sales to indi- viduals; that the company wc>re making large quan- tities of flour to supply the Russians, with whom they liad a contract for a term of years; were getting out lumber for California and the Hawaiian Islands,^'^ and op(!ning extensive farms in the Cowlitz Valley. He mentioned the arrival of the Englisli emigrants, and stated as a significaiit fa(.'t that among them was a gunner, for Avhoni he could see no use, as the com- })any confessed there was no danger from the Indians in the vicinity of tlieir forts; lie also alluded to a rumor that the fur company had cannon buried on Oreat Britain became possessed of the territory; so that actually tlie Puget Sound Company was on ahoiit tlie same basis as the Methodist Mission ; one was under the auspices of tlie Hudson 's Bay Company, .and the other of the Methodist Missionary Society, and neither had nor c<>uld '..ave any real title to the lands thi.'y held. "*„W/( Con;/., Ut S<'H.H., Si'ii. J>o<: .'>J4; Ovii/k Hkf. Of., lt)4-6. The only saw-mill of the company at this period w;ts tliat above Vancouver, which tunieil out about S,(XH) feet daily. '"Jn his letter Farnham says tlie comiiain's iiiiU turned out 3,()0() feet of lumber every -IS hours instead of every '2A, FAUNHAMS LETTER. 23o 19 n- iis a 1)1) itlo iof Tongue Point, above Astoria, where they liad built a liouse,'* and referred to the Enghsh surveying squad- ron, and a report tliat Captain Belcher liud declared England's claims to the Columbia Kiver to rest upon priority of discovery. Though not all true, tiiere was nmch in his comnmnication of interest to the United States. Among other things, he stated that the Canadian settlers in the Willamette and Cowlitz valleys were favorable to the American claim, and would yield willing obedience to American law — an assertion that required modification. The French Canadians were l)y nature an amiable, light-hearted, industrious, and well-disposed people, ready to submit to authority, and fond of a quiet life. They were by training ren- dered obedient to the officers of the fur com[)any, and even more so to tiie teachings of their Catholic priests. They were friendly to the American settlers, an<^i looked up to tlie missionaries. Tliey had been prom- ised a square mile of land when the United States should extend jurisdiction ovi!r them. So far they were favorable to American institutions; but should McLoughlin and their priest counsel them to withhold their support, they would obey notwithstanding the ti>mptation of free farms. Such was the character of all the company's servants who settled in the country. ^^ It was not tr^e that the British company controlled by law the Kuf.sian possessions in America, or strove to goVern the American settlers in the Willamette Valley." By an act of parliament the laws of Cau- ^"Mr Birnie had a potato-lield on TC licijiKltr, Iviii. 242. Wilkes, in hx'A J^'nrriitiiv, iv. ;iS8, says they were dissatisfied with his not putting tlie memorial, ami his letter to tiio sec- M'tary of war, into his hook. Cray, in Jlt.'if. Or., 18()-7, is very abusive of him, and says he was expelled from the I'eoria party, which, according to Hohuan, one of the seceders, is not true. ■^".'rr/i Comj., Sd Svsx., Sm. Dor. JO?. LATE AliUlV\,S_L.S. •-';17 Four ot'icr iiu'ImIkts of the orin'mal |iai-tv reached Fort Vaneouver in the loUowiiij;' May, just when the Laumnnc, l)eariii^ tlic reonforeeniont of Jason Loe, touclieil lier lanchnu'. These were Holnian, Cook, Flctflier, and Kilhorne. They liad jiroeeeded K;isurely from post to post of tlie fni'-traders, and heen coni- pi^led to winter in the Hoclvy Mountains. When they reaeJied Fort Vancouver tliey were clad in skins, hai-e- headed, lieavily hi>ardi'd, toilworn, and sadly travel- stained, yet looking'' so hoyish and defiant, that the sliijj's company at once set them down as four runa- ways from homes in the States. McLou^hlin, with his usual kind impulse, at once sent them to the dairy.-'' Like Faridiam, these four seemed to have j^iven up all thouglit of tln'ir projected city at the mouth of the rV)lund)ia, and weie content to be incorporated with tile settlers of the Willamette.-'"* The Peoria company were not the only adventurers who made in 1839 'TIr' lirst low wash of waves, where sodii Sliall nill a huiiiau sea.' A second ])arty, eleven in number, started from Illi- nois this season, and followed the same route as the first, but did not reacli Oregon as a party. "'' As -" Ifolmitn'n Pcoriii. I'artii, MS., 1-4. '*■. Joseph Holinaii attached himself to the Mission as a carpenter, ami Jiiarried in 1S4I Miss Almiiu J'heips, as already mentioned. Vn 1S4."{ he took a land claim near Salem, and farmed it for (i years. Siihscqiieutly he was merchant, penitentiary commissioner, suijcrintendent of tli(! eonstruotioii of tin; state-house at Salem, and president of the I'ioneer Oil Company at that place. Holman was horn in 1 »ovonshire, Kngland, in 1817, and emi^; ited to the United States at the age of I!), and to Orej^on at the ago of 'I'l. Portlmiil. Went Shore, Nov. KSTli; Porliiinl. Sluiiilnnl, July 2, 1880. ]loliniUi!< J'eonn. Pdrtij, MS., is a, narrative of the adventures of the 4 young malecontents who abandoned Faruham on account of Sidney Smith, and agrees substan- tially with Farnham's account up to the time they separated at Bent Fort. Holmans dictation was taken by S. \. I'larke of Salem in 1878, and contains several facts whicli do not appear in any printed authority. Of Holman 's companions, Fletcher settled in Vandiill County, where he died. Cook s\ir- vived him at Lafayette, in that county. Kill>oi-no went to California in 1N4-. '■''•'The name of one of tins jiarty has heen preserved, that of Robert .Moore, who reached Oregon in 1840. lie was born in Franklin ( 'ounty, IVnnsylvania, October 2, 1781, of Irish j)arentage. He removed to .Mercer County, wliere he married Margaret Clark. They were the jiarent.s of 10 children. Mooru served in tlie war of 1812; and i'.i 1822 emigrated to (ienevieve County, Mis* 4m ^%. ^. . W^ %. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) y {/ /. ^ iP- W.r [/ /A, 1.0 I.I 1.25 .50 IM IIIIM 132 14 [ZO 1.6 ^ V] o e). ^m 'a. # /- ^>% 7 # M Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WESf J.UIN STREET WEBSTER, NY 14580 (716) 872-4503 4is % L<'- C??/ 238 PROGRESS OF EVENTS. if iiiLssionaries were not likely to outnumber the natives in Oregon, the North Litchfield Association of Connecticut, in 18:39, fitted out two vouncf men for that field of labor. They were Rev. J. S. Griffin and Asaliel Hunger. Hunger was already married ; Griffin found a young woman at St Louis who was willing to join her fortunes with his, and who married him at a moment's notice, as seems to have been the fashion with missionaries of that ])eriod. Placing themselves under the i)rotection of tlie American Fur Com])any, they proceeded to Westj)ort, Hissouri, where they wore joined by several persons bound for California.'"^ ■si) if ( I,' i ^ souri. He was a memhor of tlie lugislature of that state, ami ailvocated free- statu iloctriiie. In J 835 lie roiiiovod to Illinois, wlu;re lie laid out the town of Osceola; I)iit l)ueoniiiig cnd,inori'il of tlie far-off Oregon, left his family and sought the famed Willamette Valley. Seh-eting a claim on the west side of the falls, he made himself a home, which he called ' liobin's Nest,' where he was joined liy his family, and where he spent his remaining days, having acted well his part in the early history of the country. He died September 1, 1S.")7. <)r<-(joii An/ii.i, Sept. l"i, 1857; U'llb'.t' Nm:, U. S. Erylor. Ex., iv. 370; Address of M. ]'. Deady, in Or. Pioneer Ax.tor., Tnuix., 1875. Another pioneer of this pei'iod was a Rocky Mountain trapper, named (Jeorge W. Ehberts, who settled in Oregon in 183!), whiu'e he was known as S(iuire El)..erts, or the Black Sipiire. He was born in Bracken County, Kentucky, June 2'2, 1810. At the age of 19 he oti(.':i"iI with Wm Sublette to go to the mountaii's as a recruit. He ser\ ars in the American Comjiany, and 3 years in the Hudson's Bay (> y, leaving the inonntains in tlie autumn of 1838 and wintering at Lii['\v Farnliam describes an interview with liim. Seeing a white man on the bank of the river above the falls of tin; Willamette, he went ashore to speak to him, and found Jiini sitting in a driz- zling rain by a large log tire. He had already made one ' improvement ' ami sold it, and was beginning another. He could otl'er no shelter, and took Farn- liam across the river to the log cabin of William Johnson, which contained a firejjlaco and a few rude articles of furnituie. Ebberts finally settled in the Tualatin plains, with several otlier mountain men who arrived a year or two later, liroirn'n Jfi'iri-lltiiiii.s, MS., '2'2. Ahhi-rt'i' I'rajyfx'r'n L'/<', a manuscript narrative of scraps of mountain adventure and pi, bravii, and frank. Ebberts lived in the Tualatin plains. William .lohn-son, above mentioned, was a Scotchman. Ho had Iioen in the naval service ol the United States. Subseipiently he became a trajiper in the Hudson's Bay service, and when his term e.viiireil settled near Cliampoeg, and took an Indian wife. By l.er iio had several children, to whom he gave such educational advantages as tlie country atlorded. U'llliis' X(ir., ('. S. ErjUfir. Kr., iv. 'M\-2; Fdrn/iaiun TrnrdH, 173. Johnson died in Se])temlK'r 187(). ■''' Karniiam, wiio fell in with these persons at Fort David Crockett, in Brown Hole, says one had the lofty intention of conquering California, otiiers of trading, farming, etc., on the lower Columbia, and oth- ^s to explore the womlers of nature on the shores of tlie I'aeitic. Trnirls, 1'20. The names of this party were William (ieiger, J. Wright, Peter Liissen, and Doctor Wisli- /enuH and a (rerman com]>anion. A second party for California consisted of J>. (). Johnson, Charles Klein, William Wiggins, and Davi.'ioii'.-< Xnr., i. l()l. ^^ Centennial iiistory of Tualatin Academy and I'acitic University, iu Port- tdiii/ (hri/o/iiini, Feb. 12, 1870. ^* Walker'had expected to meet a companj- of ffirty persons ready for Ore- gon, but was disappointed. According to his A'(UT't//'(v', MS., itwasthepronii.se of land held out in Linii'.s bill whidi caused the movement. His history belong.s jji'operly to California, Imt since lie set out for Oregon, he may be claimed as its first regular overland immigrant with a family. I^le, like the missionaries, liad two wagons. Tlie fur company had thirty carts. The wagons came as far as Fort Hall only. Walker was born in (ioochlaiid County, Virginia, in 17!*7, and like all the Western men, kept moving toward the border, first to Tcniii'ssee, then to Missouri. When only seventeen lie enlisted under Jack- son to figlit Indians in Alabama, and subse{[uently in the Seminole war in Fliiriila. In 1822, witli Stt!iihen ( 'oo])e'i', he engaged in trade with the Mexicans at Santa F'e, and tlius bi'gau what afterward became sucii an important liraiicli of commerce. Finally he settled in Sonoma County, California. There is a n.anuscrijit J\'(irrii/.irr by him, in which he says little of Oregon, except that his daughter Louisa wlio was liorn at Salem, .biniiary 14, 1841, was the first child of American parentage born in that territory, a statement whieli is erroiu'otis. •'•' Herman Klirenberg emigrated to the United States from (ieriuany at an early age. He was a.t New Orleans wlieii the Texan war broke out, and was one of Uie few of tlie New Orleans ( Jrays who surviveil the defeat of Fan- nin and tiie barbarous massacn^ of prisoners after tlie battle of (Joliad. After the war emled he returned to (Sermany, and induced a large emigration of his countrymeu to Texas. In 1840 he was in St Louis, and determined to cross the continent witli a party forming for that purpose. From Oregon he went to the Hawaiian Islands, and after wandering for a few years in Polyne- sia, went to California and joined Fremont in his etl'orts to free that country from Mexican rule. TlieCadsden pureliase next attracted liis restles.s nature, and in 18,")7 he settled near Tubae, and engaged in silver-mining iu the Santa THK MOUNTAIN MKN. 241 or Ore- romiso longs iiud us iries, iiiiu as Ilia, in st to .lack- ill- in ieaus i'i> uch •e is a tliat lii-st u'ii is at ail (I was Fall- After ;ratioii ll'll to ^i)U hu olyiic- miitry atiiri', Santa Soiue WL'eks after tlie iiiissioiiarics had left Fort Hall a ooiiiicil was held there by eertaiii hunters and trap- pers, now without occupation and destitute througli the dissolution of tlie American Fur ('onipany. This corporation liad broken up tliat same year without making })rovision of any kind for their servants. Most of these men had adopted their vocation in youth, and now, in the prime of life, were almost as poor as when they took to the mountains- a tact due ui part to the ])olicy of the company, but in a large measure to their own improvident habits. '"' As it was now absolutel}' necessary to seek the settlements in order to live, seven of them determined to go to Oregon witli their Indian wives and chil- dren, about their ' interested in the undertakiiiijf. Meek was engaged to drive Newell's remaining wagon, and Walker drove his ow'n. Loading the little train with their scanty posses- sions, the party, having been joined at the 1.' st moment by a (xerman named Nicholas, set out on the otli of August, and despite the great difficulties of the road, reached Waiilatpu in good season, and with the frames of their wagons intact, though they had been forced to throw aw%ay the beds.^'* Craig remained in the upper country and settled at Lapwai, while Meek, Newell, and Wilkins proceeded to the Dalles on horseback, leaving their wagons to be brought on at the first opportunity.^'' Newell owned a few poor footsore cows which had been left by the passing missionaries at Fort Hall, and these he drove with him toward the Willamette Valley. They reached the Dalles on a Sunday, and, fully expecting a cordial reception, at once called on their countrymen, Lee, Perkins, and Carter. But, to their surprise, the doors were closed against them, and no one appeared to give them welcome. They encamped at some little distance from the Mission, and were shortly afterward visited by Carter, who explained that he and his friends did not receive visitors on Sunday; at the same time he hospitably invited his famishing countrymen to partake of a meal of spir- itual food at the evening prayer-meeting. They went, inwardly cursing rather than praying, and amused themselves with the antics of Jandreau, a lively Frenchman wdio accompanied them. This facetious personage had no particular h)vc or reverence for the nnssionaries, though he affected to be suddenly smitten with an overwdiehning sense of guilt, and kneeling " Newell's Letter to E. Emus, Feb. 27, 1807; Erans" Letter m A, McKinlmj, Dec. 27, 1880. ^* This dill not occur till 1842, when Newell had his taken to the Tualatin l)lains, it being the first wagon that erossetl the plains from the Missouri to the Pacific. MISSIONARY J'UKDOMINANClv ■J4:{ I"'".'/. Ilatin Iri ti) down |)()uml fort-li in tones of deep contrition wliut the missionaries, in their iii'iioranc-e of the hmiiuan'e, took to l)e a fervent pi'ayer. The mountain miMi. liowever, reeo^nized it to he one of Jandivau's camp- fire storii'S, and impiously minglt'd their coarsi\ smotli- ered lauglitei' witli the I'apturous liallelujahsand aniens of the preachers.*" Possibly the mouniain men would not have thought the missionaries so chui'lish had thev l)etter under- stood that the orthodox plan of settlement in those days excluded from Or-egon the renegades of civiliza- tion from the liockv ^[ountains/^ and scarcelv ad- mittcd the right of the frontiersmen of the western states to settle in the Oreuon Territorv. Later in the history it will be seen how the missionaries succeedt'd in the struggle to maintain this pi'edominani-e/'- Our unwelcome colonists now drove their stock along the river as far as Wind River Mt)untain, whei'i' the natives assisted them in crossing to the trail on the north bank, down which they continued until opposite tlu mouth of the Sandy, when they re- crossed to tile south side, and drove the cattle through the woody nortiiern end of the Willamette Valley to the moutii of the Clackamas below the Willamette Falls, where Newell and Meek arrived in December, travel-worn, wet, hungry, and homeless, and alto- gether beneath the notice of the missionaries, who very unwillingly sold them a few i)otatoes. There was now nothing to do but to seek at Fort Vancouver the relief denied by the Americans. They easily obtained sup])lios from the fur company, where- ♦• Victor's Jfiwr of the Wext, 282-3 ; Port lam f Hemld, March .S, 1867. *' Petition of JS.IS, in .J.'>/h Con;/., ..'«/ Si-.-'s., 11. Siqit. Rfyt. 101. ^'■'It Wdulil not l>e fair to iussunie tliat ovory individual belonging to the Methodist Mission was selfishly inditferent to all other classes ; hut tliat tlie missionaries iis a body entertained and iiractised exclusive senti.neiits, I ha\ e already shown from documentary evit fence. There is much ad-«) ; .l/or.i('.i W(t.'fesmith's Address, in Or. /'loiieer Aimc, Tninx., 1880, 19-22. k i ^ (.,., rr" at'i V: L'44 IMlOilKKSS (II' KVKNTS, upon tliey crossed to the west side of the AVillamette River, and drivhi}.'' tiieir cattle t!ir<)njj;"li storm and niiri^ to the Tualatin ])lains, there selei^ted farms, and erected cabins for their famiHes. Th(!y M'ei-e joined soon after hy the otht^r mountain men, Doty, Walkei', Wilkins, Ebberts, and l^arison, formin>ij, with tlic in- dependent Presbyterian missionaries, (TT'ittin. Clark, Smith, and ijittlejohn, with their families, a I'ival set- tlement to that on Chemck(>,ta plain/' There was an arrival l)y sea in IS 40 of an Ameri- can vessel, the Maryl(inver contractoil a socond mar- riage, ran away and joined Sublette at the sann^ time with Newell and Ebberts. The friendship formed between the two young adventurers lasted through their lives, and Meek, M'ho ontlivotl Newell several years, sincerely mourned him. Unlike Newell, Meek was o.xcessivoly frolicsome, and enjoyed shocking sedate people. While uiidoubtccUy brave and magnanimous, ho missed much of the consideration riNilly clue his exi>loits, through his habit of making light of everything, iiuluding his own feelings and ■iv.'^s. Ho jiossessed a splendid physiiiue, a magnetic presenco, wit, courtesy, and gen orosity. His wife was a Nez Perci\ who outliveil him. He died Juno '20, 187"). I'ir/or'.'i U'wrr of the Wi.st, 41~.S; Jiiini('U\f Her. of n, Pioneer, ir)7 eiident, Juno '24, 187'); S. I<\ Coll, July 23, 187'); S. F. l'o.- lireton. employed his vessel in trade witli the Sandwicli Islands, as hail lueii arranged in the informal treaty hetween .Jason Lee and King Kameiiameha 111.; tiie wliole liusiness l)eing under tlie name and auspices of Cushing it Co. Conch coiitiniU'd to numage the busi- ness of Cushing & Co. until 1847, wlien he returned to Newhuryport hy way of China. In tlie following year he engaged with a company of New York shipping merchants to take a cargo of gooils to Oregon in tlie bark Mui/oiiiin. Captain Flanders sailed witli him as first oHicer, and took comnuind of the Madonna on reaching Oregon, while Ccmch took charge of the cargo, whicii was placed in store and sold in Portland. Tlie two captains went into Imsi- ness together in 1850, and remained at Portland up to the death of Coucli, April 181)9. Besides his hiisiness, Couch owned a laml claim which proved a source of wealth, being now a part of the city of Portland. His wife and family came from Massachusetts by sea in 1852. His children were all daaghters, and the three elder married I)r Wilson, C. H. Lewis, merchant, •md Dr (Jlisan, all prominent citizens. •'5'. /'. Bitlktin. May I 18(31). *'//. R^yt., .'7th Conij., ..^/ .Vc.s.-*., 5«-lil. m IfTT 1 1 3 1' 246 rum; liEiS.S UK KVKNTS. TIk! liistory of tln^ I'liitcd States ('Xploriii<;f fxpt'di- tioii under Lieut 'nant Wilkes is ofiveii in fumtlier volume. It is only neeessnry to say lieiv that tlie colonists were not well pleased with its ri'sult. They complained that Wilkes was entertained with marks of distinijuished consideration hv the officers of the fur company, and that he did not see affairs as th(^ colonists saw them ; and wlu'n the navi<>^ator declared openly that there was no ur^vnt nt;cessity foi- the in- terference of the United Staters nrovernment so louj^^ as they enjoyed their present peace, j)ros])erity, and com- fort, the settler's were disu^usted. He visited, the set- tlers aver-red, the American settlements west of thi^ Cascade ^[()untuins, and other' of his officers the in- ferior missions, without discover'irii>' the cavils which formed the subject of so many |)etitions and reports. It seems strarin'c that since Jasi^n Lee was at the head of affair-s in the Willamette Valley, he should only have met Wilkes l>y accident, when the latter* stunihled u})orr his camp at the head of Sauve Lsl- and.^*' After so many api)eals to the Urrited States govermnent for the protection of its arms and the heiiefits of its jurisdiction, sur'ely common courtesy would ha\(' dictated soniethin^' like a formal rece[)- tion. Hut in this instance, as was his custom, Lec^ left the execution of his designs and the appeararrce of responsi})ility to other's, and set forth on an ex- cursion to the mouth of the Columhia. If the colo- nists were in the situation r'e[)r'esented to congress, he should have beeir makinrty consisted of Joseph dale, wlio came with Younijj; Felix Hathaway, the only sliip- carpenter amonjjf them; Henry Wood, who came to California in I8.'{7 with the catth' company; R. L. Kilborne, of tlie l^eoria immiu^rants; and Pleasant Armstron<^, .[ohn (irreen, (Jeorge J)avis, and Charles Matts, who arrived some time between I H',]H and 1 840. The company had obtained part of the material necessary to ])uild their vt^ssel, such as iron and s[)ikes, i)y represent! n<>' that they wen; wanted for a ferry-boat to be used on the Willamette. To obtain riLj^iring' they induced the French settlers to ti^o to Fort V^ancouver and buy cordaL^e, pretending it n'a.« for use in their rude ftirm liarnesses. These underliand })roceedings cominyf to the knowh^dsjfe of McLouti^hlin, naturally excited his sus])icions. How could lie know that these wore not prepai'ations for })iracy on the Cali- to the report that cannon were hnricil on Tongue Point, and from tin- representationa of the tyranny and vices of the fur company ti> tlie ph'ading.n for American institutions; for all these suhjects are there hrought up and answered. He did not syiriiiathize with Waller's complaint of the fur com- pany's monopoly of trade, hecau.se he coulil not help feeling that it was ' unsuited to tlie life of a missionary to he entei'ing into trade of any kind, ' and that complaints against tlie Hudson's Bay ( '(impaiiy ' came witli an ill grace from tlie menihers of a inissiou who are daily receiving the kindest atten- tions and hosjiitality from its otiicers.' He visited some of the settlers, and wius visited by others; dined with Father Blanchet at the Catholic mission on French I'rairic; visited Ahernethy at the old mission; criticised the mannei' in which the Mission people left a patent thriushing-machitie in the mitldle of the road, 'where it had evidently heen for a long time totally neglected,' and mentioned that a thonsaml husliels of wheat had heen lost through neglect to harvest it, and that ahout all the Mission prendses there was ahseiice of repaii aninion of VVilkes, it is that ho considered his \isit uncalh^d for, from a political ])oint of view, and that tl i ' ieit themsi'lves badly treated because that was his opinion/" Late in Autj^ust a company ""^'[is oruranizod ' y liiou- tenant Emmons of Wilkes' ex^ edition fetwee'i Astoria and Cathlamet, carrying passengers, live-stock, ai'd other freight, and supplying a necessity in the early devekipnieut of the country. Ori-riiml .Moiilhhj, xiv, 27.'{. ^ ''% M wv m •JIM) l'U()(iKK.SS OF KVKNTfS. fi ' I . > i Tlu' vt'cir liS4L was re'inarkahlc for briot visits of ixi)loration, ratluT than f(»i' any eiilai-jj^onu'iit of tlu' Ainericau colony. Wliile Wilkes was still at Fort Vancouver, Sir (;}eor«.i^e Simpson, governor of the Hutl- son's Bay Coni})any's ti'rritorios in North Ainorica, arrivi'd at that post, having travelled from Mon- treal in twelve weeks, the whole journey being made in canoe and saddle."'' Tlie principal objects of his visit to tlu; coast were the inspection of the fort at Stikeen, leased from the Russian American (\)mpany, and the establishment of a [)ost at San Francisco. After spending a week at A^ancouver he ])roceeded to Stikeen, and was back again at tlie fort by the 22d of ( )ctober. Almost simultaneously with Sir (Jeorge's ivturn to \'ancouver, the French I'xplorer JJuHot do Mofras airived at that post from the Hawaiian Islands in the comj)any's bark Coirlitz. In IS'M) Mofras, then an attache of the French end)assy at Madrid, had been sent by his government to join the legation at Mexico with s[H'cial instructions to visit the north-western portion of Mexico, together with California and Ore- gon, to report on their accessibility to F^rench com- merce, and to learn something of the geography of the country."* Such, at leasts was the ostiMisible pur- j)ose of Mofras' mission, though there were some who suspcicted him of playing the s})y for his government. Sir (xeorge was of this opinion, and he took no [)ains to conceal it, which so hurt the F^renchman's innour projirc, that he insisted upon ])aying for his passage in the (j)ivliiz and defi'aying all other pmsonal exj)enses. Xevertheless it is possible that Sim[)son's a})prehen- sions were not wholly groundless, at all exents so far as Mofras' personal sentiments w^ere concerned ; for tlie latter in his writings concludes a discussion of the Oregon Question with the hope that the French Cana- dians luiglit throw off the hated English yoke and ■''' .S'j'wjwow'.i ^V((;'., i. 1-17-. ^ ** J/(j/>(i.«, Explor., i. iirufiice, ;i3-74. MOFKAS AM) SlMI'SON. 2S1 i*stiil)lisli ;i MOW France "m Aiiu'iica, extoiuliiig truni the St LawiviK'c to tin- Pacific, or at lea.st a sover- ciij^n state in the t'cdi'ral union.'' Sini})son also speculated upon tlu> future of tlio Canadian colony, of whose trade the Hudson's Bay Coni[)any were assuivd, and rv-marked that the Amer- ican colony also were in a iLfreat measure' dependent upon the company. But the rei»resentatives of two jj^overuments, and one corj»oiation almost o(|ual to a soverei^'nty, who visited Oieoon this year, all reported favorably u[)on the moi'al, social, anil matei'ial condi- tion of the colonists."" Ahout the end (tf November Sin)pson and Mofrns hoth sailed from Orcij^ou for San Francisco Bay, in the hark ('oich'fz, accompanied hy Mcljouohliii and his dau_!L>htei', Mrs Hae, who was i>^oini«^ to join lu'r hushand, William (JKmi Ha<', in charge of the new post of the company at Yeiha Buena. .lust hefore Simpson's dej>arture there arrived in ^Woj'nfs, Knilor., i. 'J!U: (Iri'ciihow to FiilcoiuT, (!; S011//1. (^iunii. h'crinr, \v. 218; Dwiiii'lle's SpctH'li, .">, in J'ioniir Sbfr/nx. "' Sim\>nii{ui1atii>ii of tin- Willanu'tto X'alU'y in IMI, Aiiii'rii'uii ami Frciu'li, at THH) souIm, (>() (aiiadiaiiM and otluT.s with lu- iliaii wivt's and liall'-hrccd taniilifs, and ()."> Amorii'an families. A'k;'., i. 'J4!K Spauliling ^n\v the nnmlitT of Anu'iican I'olonists at "0 families. ;.'7t/i Cvinj., .'il Sffs., Si'ii. Iti]>t. ,s'.)'". \\ likes gavt^ liie numlurs of white families at ahout ()((. Hi- also have the niindiei- of eatth' in the Willamettt! X'alU^y at 10, (MM), wortli .*>10 a head w ild, and nnieh more for milch cows or work oxen. This estimate of the riches of the colonists in cattle is prohalily too high, thouj{h some herarle_\, ))ease. and potatoes. 'I'ho price of wheat, in 1841, after the Puget Sound Company had openeil its farm on the Cowliv/, wa.s \\'1\ cents jicr luishel, tor whieli anything except spirits could he draviii from the company's stores, at .")() per cent advance on London cost. 'This is supposed,' says \\'ilkes, "all things tiiken into consideration, 1(1 lie equal t( ^\.\'l per liushel; hut it is didicult for the settlers so to under- stfind it, and dieyaro hy n<) means satisfied with therat^^ Sur. ('. S. h'.niitir. K.i:, iv. .'{(K); Sliiij>.-«iii's Xin:, i. '2M. The wages of meehiinies in the \\'il- lamette Valley were .*'2..'"i() to S'l a day, counnon lahorers .*>), and hoth dilHcult to procure at these pri<'es. It could not reasonahly he said that under theso conditions tlu' colonists were siitleriii); any severe hardships. For other .iceounts of tiie colony at this time, see \ii-<>liu/'.i dr. 7Vc. ; liliiiicliit'" llisl. <'i'l/i. Cit. in (h:; Kvans. in Or. Piounr , I fstx.'. , Trnw<., 1877; Uond, in J7tk f'otMj,, JU Henit., Sen. Jt'ipt. S.t'iK ,jmtwm.m.m "■ y . SI III t m PKOUKESS OF EVEN1.S. Oregon a company of twenty-three families, <»r about sixty , yrsons, from the Red River settlement, brought out under the aus])iees of the Hudson's Bay Conn)any to settle on the lands of the Puoet Sound Aijricultural Com])any. Tliey had left Red River about the first of June with carts, of whi(;h each family had two, and with bands of cattle, horses, and dogs. The men and boys rode on horseback, and the women and children were conveyed in the carts with the household goods. The whole formed a procession of more than a mile in length. They started twenty-eight days in advance of Simpson, who passed then at Fort Carlton, on the Saskatchewan, and they arrived about the middle of October at Nisqually," where it was designed they should settle. But soon discovering the inferior (jual- ity of tht! soil in that region, they nearly all removed to the Willamette Valley, to the great disappointment of McLoughlin and other members of the Puget Sound Comnany.'"* L 1/ The failure of the Red River settlers to remain t>n the lands of the Puget Sound Company defeated whatever political design tlie formation of that organ- ization favored, and during tlie year after their arrival added a considerable number to the Willamette settle- ments. ''Gray, in I/i-rs and Indians in Ore- gon sadly needed tlie protection of tlie laws of tlu* VTnited States, and suggested tliat if a suitable j)erson sliould be sent out as civil magistrate and governor of tlie territory, the settlers would sustain liis authority." There can be little doul>t tliat IjI'c lio|(e(l for the a])pointment liims(>lf; certainly nothing was furtlii'r fiom Ids desire than that Wliite shouhl get it. No action was taken in the n»atter at the time, but it was carefully kept in mind Ity those persons in the '^SSthComj., 3d Si MX., II. 1,'iyl. 101, Snjtpl,'i,iinl, 4. 2.18 ) 254 THE SUB-INDIAN A(iENTS COMPANY. States who were interested in the affairs of Oregon, It was not until the Lanmnnc had returned and Cap- tain Spaulding had presented his report according to the representations made to liiin by the missionaries, that the 'Friends of Oregon' began to regard Lee's proposition as feasible. But wliere were they to find the man for their purjmse? It was desirable tliat the .prospective governor sliould be thoroughly familiar with Oregon afi'airs, and as such Lfse liimself would probably have been the first choice; but he was on the other side of the continent, and they wanted their candidate on the spot, in order that lie might person- ally plead his cause with the government, and also that he might take direction of an emigrant scheme which they had in contemplation. In January 1842 White, who had for a year past been living at his old home in Lansing, chanced to vi it New York, and while there called on Fry and Farnham, owners of the jAinmntie, to whom he was favorably known. Here was the very man the Friends of Oregon needed. In the consultation which followed, it was arranged that White should proceed at once to Washington. He shortly afterward set out, armed with introductory letters from persons of note to Presi- dent Tyler, Webster, and Upsher. On reaching the capital, he was })resented to Senator Linn of Missouri, J. C. S[)encer, secretary of war, and other high offi- cials who were interested in the Oregon Question, and disposed to remedy the evils complained of by the colonists by adopting Jjce's suggestion to send out a person to act as governor and Indian agent, though they recognized tli.e fact that the commissioning of sucli an official was, undc^r the existing treaty with Great Britain, a mattt^r of nmcii delicacy, The plan was only jiartially successful. After con- siderable discussion the government decided that as the United States made pretensions to tlie territory lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, they might venture to send a sub-Indian agent ELIJAH WHITE IN THE STATES. 265 into the coiiutry t(i look after the intercourse l)et\voen the natives and citizens of the United States. But as to the office of civil magistrate or governor, that was a commission the president was not prepared to issue; though the settlers, if they chose to do so, could by mutual consent sustain the sub-Indian agent's claim to be regarded as a magistrate among them without definite authority from the United States. All this having been explained to White, he was commissioned sub-Indian agent, with a salary of seven hundred and fifty dollars, and the guaranty that if Linn's bill, then before congress, i)assed, his pay should be raised to the full pay of an Indian agent, or fifteeii hundred a year. He was also verbally given permis- sion to draw upon government funds for the payment of necessary expenses in the discharge of his duties." His instructions were to lose no time in returning to Oregon, but to proceed at once overland, using by tlie way every reasonable effort to induce emigrants to accompany him. On reaching home the doctor ar- ranged his affairs, and having been joined by two of his neighbors, and two sons of Thomas McKay, pro- ceeded westward, making known his desire to raise a company for ()reg(^n wherever he went, by advertis- ing in the newspapers, and occasionally lecturing to interested audiences.^ At St Louis everything relat- ing to Oregon was heard with attention, and the farther he prcjressed in the direction of Independence, the former recruiting rendezvous of the now disbanded fur companies, the greater was the interest evinced. From this latter place White made excursi(ms through the country, travelling over the counties of Jackson and Platte, from which a large number of innnigrants k:-^ <• ^See hill for relief of Elijali White, and report of cuiniuittee of the senate (latf.l Feb. 2, 184(5, in White's Conriti: I'li-ir, G4-C. ■^ White gives the following glimpse of his emigration eflforts: ' Last niglit all the other appointments were ttiken np to hear ma lecture on Oregon, and i\» tlie weather was tine and travelling good, the noble church was tilled, the )ul|)it lined with ministers of all denominations, and I talked an lioiir and a lalt with all my might.' 'fcii Ytarii »/t Or., 142-3: Whi'.es Early Vovernment, MS., 2*2, 24 256 THE SUB-IN DIAX A(;ENT~S COMl'AXV. Ill was gained, while others a[)])earecl at Elm Grove, the appointed rendezvous twenty miles south-west of In- depeiidencCj who had come fi'om Illinois and Arkansas, so that by the 14th of May one hundred and twelve persons were assembled,* fifty-two being men over eiijhteen vears of ao^e.''' White's company was not so favorably circum- stanced as those which had preceded it and had trav- elled under the protection of the American Fur Company. He says that his heart sank when he began to realize what he had undertaken; and that it was not made more buoyant when Sublette assured him that there would be nmch difficulty in organizing and governing such a large pai'ty, and in conducting it successfully sucli a distance through a wilderness in- * It is not to 1)0 I)eliev(Ml that tliese i'inifi;rants from afar came at the doctor's I'all. Probably they had already begun to move in the direction of Oregon, and hearing of White's party, joined it for safety This opinion is sustained by Crawford. ^ Their names are as follows: Thomas Boggs, Gabriel Browax, William lirown, James Brown, Hugh Burns, H. W. Bellamy, Barnam, Winston, Bennett, Vandeman Bennett, Bailey, Bridges, Nathaniel Crocker, Nathan ('oonibs, Patrick. Clark, Alexander Copeland, Medorum Crawford, A. N. Ciiats, James Coats, John Dearum, John Daubenbiss, Sanmel Davis, Allen l>avy, John Force, Jamos Force, Foster, Joseph (libbs, Girtman, Lansford W. Plastings, John Hoti'stctter, J. M. Hudsjjeth, Hardin Jones, Columbia Lancaster, Reuben Lewis, A. L. Lovejoy, S. W. Moss, J. L. Morris(m, John McKay, Alexander McKay, l>utch Paul, Walter Pomeroy, J. H, Perry, I>wight Pomeroy, J. K. Kobb, T. .1. Shadden, Owen Sumner, Andrew Smith, A. !>. Smith, Darling Smith, A. Towner, Joel Turnham, David Weston, Elijah White. Of these, 10 had families, as follows; Gabriel Brown, Mr Bennett, James Force, Mr Girtman, Columbia Lancaster, Walter Pomeroy, .1. W. Perry, T. .1. Shadden, Owen Sumner, and Andrew Smith. But Has- tings gives the force of armed men as 80; and Frdmoni as 64. Crawford says the wluile munber of emigrants was 105. The largest nundjer given by any authority is 100. Lovejoy says about 70 were able to stand guard. White s statement that tiicre were 112 persons in the company when it organized, and that this nund)er was augmented on the road until it reached 125, is probably the most reliable, and agrees with the account given in Lcc and Front'n Or., '2'il. McLoughlin, in his Primle Papcra, MS., 2d ser, 7, puts the number at 137, but he pn)l)ably includes a party of mountain men who joined the emi- grants at Fort Laramie. The authorities on the subject arc: White's Ten Yearn in Or., 144; l(7(//(,''.'< Eniit/nUion to Or., MS., IS; ^froii;/ n J/int. (Jr., MS., 33; llastoniH Or. and Cut., (}; Crawford'^ Mi.tsionarii'M, MS., 20; Loix- joi/'.t FoiindiiKj of Portland, MS., 4; Bennett's Narrative, in San Joni J'tonerr, May 2(5 anil June 2, 1877. Gray says there were 42 families, and makes the \v hole nundjcr of persons 111, but only names two of them. J/tM. Or., 212. The names of many of the adult emigrants must have been forgotten, the register having been lost after the death of the secretary, N. Crocker, soon after reaching Oregon. Mrs .\\u\ IVrry, wife of J. W. Perry, died in June 187y. Salem Weekly PurnKr, July 4, 1870. ON THE PLAINS. 267 ibia ^estcd with liostilo Iiulicaiis tribes; Imt Sublette gave valuable advice with reyanl to outfit and reirulations." The train of eij^liteen larj>e P ennsvlvania Wimons, with a long procession of horses, pack-nmles, and cat- tle, set out on the IGth, White having been elected to the command for one month from the time of starting. According to the regulations, camj) was made at four o*clock everv afternoon when wood and water were convenient. After the wagons had been drawn up so as to form a circular enclosure, the animals were turned loose to feed till sunset, when thev were brought in and tethered to stakes set about the camp. Every family htvd its own fire, and ]»repared meals in its own fashion. The evening was s})ent in visiting, sino;inff, and whatever innocent amusement suiifi^ested itself The women and children slept in the coveretl wagons, and the men under tents on the ground. A guard was stationed at night, and at the dawn, at a given signal, everyone arose and Vv^ent about his duties, the cattle being collected while breakfast was being prepared. When all were ready, the wagon which had taken tlie lead the previous day was sent to the rear, so that each in rotation shcmld come to the front. In this manner all ])rogressed amicably until the roy, lays any .l)ly >r. , at iiii- T,;i >/••, 31V'- ei'v, the VI. the uie *The resolutions adopted were substantially as follows: That every male over 18 years of age should be provided with one ni\ile or horse, or wagon conveyance; should have one gun, 3 pounds of powder, 12 pounds of lead, 1,000 caps, or suitable flint i, ")0 pounds of Hour or meal, HO pounds of bacon, and a suit.ab'.e proportion of provisions for women and cliildren; that Wliitt; shoulU show his official appointment; tliut tliey elect a captain for one niontli; that there be elected a scientific corps, to consist of tlireo persons, to keep a record of everything concerning the road and journey that niiglit be useful to government or future emigrants. Tliis corps consisted of C. I^mcaster, L. W. Hastings, and A. L. l^ovejoy. James Coats was elected pilot, ami Nathaniel Crocker secretary. Moreover it was ordered that H. Burn:^ l)e appointed blacksmith, with power to clioosc two others, and also to call to liis aid tlie force of the company; that John Hotfstetter l)e appointed master wagon-maker, witli like power; that the captain appoint a master road and bridge builder, with like powers; that a code of laws be draugl\ted, and submitted to the com- pany, and that they be enforced by reprimand, tines, and final banishment; tliat there be no profane swearing, obscene conversation, or immoral cf)nduct allowed in tiiu company, on pain of expulsion; that the names of every man, "oman, and child be registered by the secretary. Whites Ten Years in (Jr., U5-G. Hist, on., \'or.. I. 17 aw THE .SL'H-INDIAN AGENT'S COMPANY. \i i T company liad turned off' from tlie Santa Fc trail in a north-westerly direction to the crossing of tlie Kansas River. At this point White startled the company hy officially recommending that all the dogs in camp he forthwith killed lest they should go mad upon the arid plains whicli they were now approaching. King Herod's edict anent the slaughter of the innocents could scarcely have called forth a louder wail of lamentation from the mothers of Judea than was evoked from the women and children of White's })arty by this ])roposed immolation of their canine pets and companions. Many of the men, too, pro- tested loi Jly against the sacrifice; and although when it came to a /ote most of them yielded to their leader's wish, yet the measure was so unpopular that it con- tributed largely to the election of L. W. Hastings as captain at the end of the first month.^ At this same camp Columbia Lancaster lost a child, and as the mother was ill, the disheartened parents turned back to Platte City, their starting-point. The Kansas River, the South Platte, and other deep fords were made by placing boards across the tops of the wagon-boxes, on which the load was fastened, while above were perched the women and children. Soon after passing the South Fork, the company was over- taken by Stephen H. L. Meek, a brother of J. L. Meek, then in Oregon, and one Bishop, who was travelling for his health. After Hastings was elected to succeed White, har- mony no longer prevailed. The determination of the new connnander to "govern and not be governed'"* divided the party into two factions, who marched in separate columns till Fort Laramie was reached on the 2-3d of June. Here they spent a week in refitting, and during that time Mr Bissonette, who was in charge o^ the post, managed to bring about a reunion by " LovcJoi/h PorlUiiid, MS., 3. It appears that after all the iiieasurt! vas only partially carried out. '•fhwtiuijM Or. (tii'l CdL, «, 9. OVER THE MOUNTAINS. urgiiiu- that tlic; coiiipany would need its full strony White, wlio claiins to liav(^ acted with authority, to ii^uide the com- pany to Fort Hall at tiie expense of the novernnient." The new j^uith; soon had an opportunity to show his skill in dealiniJf with the natives; for while at [ndependence Kock, wlu're sonu^ of the paitv were ani- hitious to inscrihe their names, Hastinj^s and Love- joy, who had fallen hehind, were cut ofi' hy a }>arty of Sioux, aiul narrowly escaped to camp after several liours of detention, the savai;'es followiny^, and i)einL;' met by Fitzpatrick, who succeeded in arrauij^in^ mat- ters.''^ The Sweetwater was reached f)n the 13th of July, and here one of the comj)any, a younu,' man named Bailey, was accidently shot hy another of the j)arty. At this place all remained for several days to hunt huffalo and to dry the meat. The Sioux, who infested the country in considerable numbers, caused the hunt- ers great amioyance, frequently robbing them of both horses and game, though they were kt'pt at a safe distance from the cam]). The last that was seen ol them was on a tributary of the Sweetwater, where the principal chiefs were invited to camp and con- ciliated with })resents. As soon as they were clear of the enemy. White and a dozen others who were well mounted })ushed on before, taking Fitzpa trick with them. This left Has- tings in charge of the Jieavier portion of the train, without a guide, and accordingly caused nmch dissat- " Hastings says that White liad no authority to employ a gtiidc at the expense of the government, (h: am/ Ciil , {). Lovejoy, wlio w;is Hastings' lieutentant, says the same. FoKiii/imj o/ J'or/lnm/, MS., 7. Wliite undoubtedly liad verbal assuranees that the necessary expenses of his expedition would be paid, see lietter of J. C. Spencer, in HV/iVe's Ten Ynir.t in Or., 322-5, anai'ties, who arrived at Fort Hall ahout the same time. Here the enui^iants were kindly reeeivt-d hy (Irant, who sold them Hour for half the priee paid at Jjaramie, taking in payment the running-gear of the wagons, whieh all now {)greed to dispense with.''' The company remained at Fort Hall ahout ten days, exet'pt White's ])arty, who starti'd a few days in advance. Thev lost a man, Adam Horn, the un- fortunate cause of Bailey's death, at the crossing of Snake liiver below Salmon Falls.'^ The doct(n' and his companions started with Mc])onald, a Hudson's Bay trader; but the pack-animals not being able to kee}) up with the fur comi)any'8 cavalcade, the greater nund)er of the party fell behind, while White and a fewotl -irs proct^eded with McDonald to Walla Walla. The route taken by McDonald and White after leav- ing Fort Boise was the same as that described by Farnham, through Burnt Kiver Canon, and Grand Konde A'alley, and thence over the Blue Mountains, whieh they ci'ossed in two days. From the foot of the mountains an Indian guided White to Wliitman's mission. Hastings' party avoided the crossing of Snake River, proceeding along the south side of that stream as far as the lower crossing at Fort Boise, where they came into the' trail of the advance l)arty. They also turned aside to visit Waiilatpu, where they were wannly welcomed by Whitman about the middle " Whi'te'ii Tni Ycarti in Or., 164; Jfmf.im/s' (h: and CiL, 20; Crnn-fonV'* Mixsionitrii't, MS., 24. Attempts liave been made to sliow tliat tlie HiuUoii'.s Hay Company's oHicers did wliat tlicy coulle, arr'ived at Van- couver ahout the 20tli of Septemher. ( 'onsidering the circumstances of his departui'e from Oregon, it was liut natural that he should have sonu' feeling of self- importance antl exultation on retui'iiing as tJie first officer of the United Statiss appointed in that country. Hut as his connnission as governor, oi- rathei' magis- trate, was only verlml, and depended on the will of the colonists, it was prudent at least to ascertain the sentiment of the j)eo])k', and that, too, before the ar- rival of the Hastings wing of the immigration, whose influence was likely to be thrown against him. The position in which White found himself on pre- s(Miting his credentials to the colonists was not an enviable one. A meetiMg was called at Cham})oeg on tl: ' 23d of September, which was addressed at some nigth by the doctor, who gave such information as he It himself authorized to give, as he expressed it, coi jrning the intentions of the government in regard > the colony, and the feeling of the jieople of the Un .ed States toward it. Resolutions were then l^ssed, oo the effect that the })eople of Willamette Valley were ha})j)y that the government had niani- '■'^Lovcjoy, who was of Hivstings' party, had heeii left behind to search for a lost companion. When he reached Walia Walla, Hastings had gone, so ho remained at the mission, and in the following month was engaged to accom- pany Whitman to the Stjites. KKCKPTION IN THE WILI.AMKITE. 2j>lt- Moxn' Pioneer Time.^, MS., 29. '■'- Medorum Cr iwforil went to Salem, and taught the Mission school during its last session, after wliich he returned to Oregon City and entered upon the business of transporting goods around the Falls with ox-teams for the greater eonvenience of the settlers above the portage. He was born in the state of New York, being 21 years of age when he came to Oregon. He married in 1843 Miss Adeline Brown, who catne in the same company. Mrs Crawford died in June 1879, leaving 6 children. CraifJ'ord'H MiMxionai-ien, MS., 4. This manuscript, was dictated from memory. It agrees in the main with other accounts of the emigration of 1842, and refers to many Oregon matters. •Sid. icy W. M(i;i8 assisted in building the original Oregon Institute on Wal- lace's prairie. He was born in Bourbon County, Indiana, March 17, 1810, was a stone-mason by trade, and finally took up his residence at Oregon City. He appears, from his Pietiire-s of Pioneer Timex, to have been a man of strong l)iases, giving his opinions incautiously, though in the main his statements were c rcct. H.,i wad of a literary turn, and was interested in founding the first association for n.'utual improvement in Oregon in the autumn of 184;{, callc'!. the Falls Debating Society. Moss says that wliile on the way to Oregon, and during the winter of 1842, he wrote a story called the f'rairie Floirer, which he giive for publieatu>n to Overton Johnston, an emigrant from Indiana, wlio roturned to the States in 184:1; and that it fell into the liandr of Emerson. Bennett, who polished it, and published it as his own, securmg considerabli; fame thereby, as it was the first <>f a series of those sketches of border life whicli afterward l)eeanie popular. Bennett subse- tjuently wrote a secjut'l, Leni Leofi. Matx' Pioneer 7V/«('.>i, Oregon City, 1878, is a valuiilile maimsci ipt treating ably of a great vari;;ty of historial topics, chielly relating to Oregon City. David AVeston, a Idacksmith associated witli Hul)l)ard, with I)orn in Indiana, .July 4, 1820. He became a worthy citizen of the young common wealtli, serving thiuigh the Caj-use war. He died Dec. 19, 1875. Siilein Former, Jan. 187(). .Manning settled on a farm near the old Mission, v/here .,8 lived 7 years, but went to California in 1849. Sonoma Co. Hisf., ()12. Crocker was ilrowned in the Willamette in February 1843, as mentioned in a previous chapter. U'i i ik n m-' 260 THE SUB-INDIAN ACENT'S COMPANY ment ai)p()intmeiit, Hastings may have thought that his ambition would be more fully gratified by seeking fresh fields. Wherever Hastings went his adherents were willing to follow, and the result was that he, started for California in the spring witn about a third of the adult male members of the original company, together with a number of women and children." The party rendezvoused at Champoeg, and began their march on the 30th of May. Nothing occurred to in- terrupt their journey until Rogue River was reached, where the savages crowded about them in large num- bers, profiering the use of their canoes in cr. o^'ng. The travellers accepted the offer, but prudc!itly di- vided their armed men into two parties, half being on the farther side to receive and protect the goods, and half left to })rotect the families which had not yet crossed. In this maimer, by great watchfulness, and occasionally driving the natives back by discharging a gun, this dangerous point was safely passed. Several days' travel below Rogue River they en- countered a company en route to Oregon, headed by J. P. Leese and John McClure. Thi' meeting was the occasion of serious discussion, both parties encaniping in order to consider the relative merits of the two countries. The result was, that about one third of Hastings' })arty turned back to Oregon with Leese and McClure.''"* Hastings' company, reduced to six- ''' Hastings gives the whole mimuc* ns 53, and of men hearing arms '25. J. M. Hiulspetli, wlio was horn in Alahaina Fehruary '20, 181'2, 'a civil gentle- man,' as Moss says, was one. Sonoma Co. Hint., 478-1). N. Coonihs, who settled in Napa Valley, was another He died Decemher 1877. AiUioc/i fii'dijer, Jan. 5, 1878. T. J. Shaddcn is also mentioned. He returned to Oregon and settled in Yamhill County. Crau[f'ord\H Min.sioiitiries, MS., 29. Among tlio rest M-ere W. Bennett, V. Bennett, 0. Sunnier, A. Smith, A. Coneland, (r. Davis, S. B. Davis, Jo'iu ]-)auhenbi88, G. W. Bellamy, H. Jones, and Mr Briilges. Four of tliese had families. San Jomc /'ioiini; May '20, 1877. (Jraj' remarks that Hastings relieved the colony of a numher of not very valuahlo settlers, referring to the fact that tliey were furnished l)y McLough- lin with BUjiplies for their journey to California, for which tli i most of them neglected to make payment to Mr Ilae at San Francisco as agreed. McLotuili- I'm X Primtf, J'apern, MS., '2d ser. 8. But the subsequent career of these nieu proved them no worse in this respect than some who remained in Oregon. '' McClun! was from New Orleans, wliere, according to Moss, something happened tu cause him to leave that part of the world. Hu settled at Astoria, HASTIXdS IN C'AUFOKNIA. 267 teen armed iiieii, proceeded to their destination, being* twice attacked by Indians, once at SliasUi River, and again on the Sacramento, with no other damage than the wounding of Bellamy, and tlie loss for several days of two men who became separated from the com- pany, and who, having exhausted their amnmnition narrowly escajied death from starvation. At Sutter Fort all were kindly received and cared for, and Has- tings, after remaining a short time in California, during which he gathered nmch floating information regard- ing the country, pul)lished a narrative of his travels and observations for the benefit of succeeding emi- grations. liis land claim forming a part of the town site, and married a native, a sister of the wife of (ieorge Winslow, colored, of the many aliases, wliose business as 'medical doctor' was so unfeelingly hroken up by Dr Barclay, at Oregon City. James John, M. C. Nye, James Daw.son, and Benjamin Kelsey, his wife Nancy and one daughter, were of the California emigration to Oregon. Tiie Kelseys did not Icmg remain, but returned to California; and Dawson Wiuj drowned, in the Columbia River in 1847. Sun Jodi/iiiii Co. HiM., 15; Sutter Co. Hkl., 2-). '■'* Till' Bi)iiijrivils' (liiiilc to Orcijoii niiU Cali/oniin, CoDtAiiuiiiij Smii-.i mid Inriid'nlii of a J'arfi/ of l)n'IAN, '2im Goiter joimnl White's party, who received anotlur important addition at Walla Walla in the person of MeKinlay, who declared that he would make common cause witli the Americans in dcjaliniy^ with the Cayusi-s. But few natives were found at Waiilatpu, and those were shy; so leaving*' an a})pointment for a meetinj^ with the Cayuses on their return, the party [)roceedcd to Lapwai. A courier had been sent in atlvan were not fools, as their advancenient in learning showed, surely would not refuse to hearken to the voice of wisdom. When McKay had ended, several of the leading chiefs replied, avowing friendliness toward the white men, and expressing their grat'tude to tlie United States government for sending an agent to look after their welfare. White next proposed that for their better government and organization the Xez Perces elect a head chief, with authority to control the young men and punish them for wrong-doing, the sub- chiefs acting as his aids, each with a suite of five men to execute his orders. He also read to them, clause by clause, a code of laws which he suggested they should adopt." ^ \ "Following are the oflFencea named and penalties attached: Murder and purposely Inirniuj,' a ant, punishment left to the cliiefs. Tlieft of property of the value of a beaver-skin or less, pay hack twofold, and L'.") laslies. Theft of property worth more tlian a heaver-ski ., pay back twofold, and 50 lashes. Lsing another's horse or other property without perniission, '20 to "Jo lashes, as the chief directs, and payment for use of the horse. Injuring crops or fences, payment ot damages, and 'J5 lashes. Oidy those travelling or living in the game country might keep a dog. If a dog kill u domestic animal, the owner must pay the LAWS FOR TUK SAVACJK. 'J71 against Althougli this code was specially levelled the class of iiiisdeiueanors from wliicli settlers and mis sionaries suffered most annoyance at the hands of the Indians, yet its provisions were readily a[)proved and accepted by the chiefs, who even pro})osed that in some instances the penalties should be made heavier. But they were by no means so unanimous in the matter of eloctinu' a head chief. The canvassinu: caused much agitation, on account of jealousies among them- selves, but after a great deal of anxious consultation with one another and the Americans, who endeav- ored not to give advice in this important matter, Ellis, the educated son of the Bloody Chief, was at length chosen, to the general satisfaction of the tribe.^ Appreciating the truth that the shortest road to an Indian's heart lies through his stomach, White had provided a fat ox for a barbecue, together with abun- dance of corn and pease. After the feast the pipe was smoked, and then both the civilized and savage gave themselves up to song and merritnent. On the fifth day of the visit a final council was held, when White took occasion to lecture the savajjes on their bey::, 181^. * Hines describes Kllis as having 'a smattering of the English language, and a high sense of his own importance,' and says that after he was appointeil he pursued a very haughty and overbearing course. Ore(/oii. Jlinf., 143. Whiti.' describes him as 'a sensible man of 3'2, reading, speaking, and writing the English language tolerably well;' that he had a tine small plantation, a few sheep, some neat stock, and no leas than 1,100 head of horses. Ten Yeui-fi in Or., 18G-7. '-1 l.'7'J WHlTirs ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. their pet)plo, the agent and liis party returned to Waiilatpu, being escorted several miles upon their way by the Nez Perces. On reachinj; Whitman's station, White found oidv a tew of the Cayuse chiefs assembled, and the people still shy. Hearing that the Nez Perces had so read- ily accepted laws, and chosen a high chief, they were much distressed. It seemed to them as if their rela- tives and allies had turned against them, while the presence of McK.inlay, and especially of McKay, warned them that all the white j)eoj)le, English and Americans, were likely to combine for their punish- ment. McKay spoke first and was followed by Rogers. Their earnest reproaches had considerable effect upon their hearers, one of whom, Tauitau, formerly head chief of tlie tribe, made a long speech deploring the incorrigible wickedness of his people, and expatiating- upon his own sincere but fruitless efforts to control them. White replied in terms of encouragement, taking care, however, to warn the savages that there was trouble in store for them unless they mended their ways. Finally, it was arranged that a meeting be- tween the agent and the Cayuses should take place in April, when it would be expected that a satisfactory settlement of the existing troubles should be had. Returning to the Dalles on the 25th of December, and findiny; the natives much excited between the warlike rumors they had heard and curiosity about the mission of White, several days were spent in instructing and inducing them to accept the laws instituted for the Nez Perces, to which they finally consented. Having thus smoothed the way, W^liite reconnnended that Mr and Mrs Littlejohn should proceed to Lapwai to reenforcc the Spaldings, which they did innnediately after the winter holidays, while he returned to the Willamette Valley.'' ' Tlie only child and son of Littlejohn was drowiifil in the inill-race afc l^ipMiii thu following suininur. Li,- nnil Frost'n Or., -12. rLAYI!^G THE MA(iISTKATE, White liad liardly reached home when he was called to tlio mouth of the Columbia to take measures for the arrest and punishment of George (ieer, a sailor who had deserted fnmi an American vessel which hatl been in the river sellincj liquor to tlu! natives.'' Geer had acted as aji^ent in this nefarious business, which had occasioned battles and l)loodshcd amonjjf the Clat- sops and Chinooks; and Frost had protested some- what wannlv, as his own life as well as the lives of the contestants was endangered. This so enraged Geer, who was, as White expressed it, "a fool as well as a villain," that he offered a bribe of five blankets to the natives to murder Frost. White arrested the man, Vmt not knowing what to do with him in the absence of any law, prevailed on McLoughlin to allow him ti) accompany the Hudson's Bay Company's express across the mountains, on a promise never to return to the country. By the 1st of April, 184:3, White had eight prisoners on his hands, mostly Indians, guilty of various crimes, [)rincipally horse-stealing and petty larceny of articles of food. He says in his report that "crimes are mul- tiplying with numbers among the whites, and with scarcity of game among the Indians." The crimes of which the white men were guilty seem to have been few, and were probably violations of the laws of the United States reu;ulatini>' intercourse with the natives. In his zeal to perform his whole duty. White may have sometimes listened to complaints which might have i>een disregarded. He was confessedly in doubt as to his authority to prevent certain acts which he found injurious to the general }>eacc, and was compelled to ask the commissioner of Indian aftairs for specific instructions in the premises." Letters received from Spalding and Brewer testified to the better behavior <»f the natives at their stations during the winter, but m Hiif I ■'This was the lilnne/ic, Capt. f'hepman, from Boston. Mrr,ouiifiliii'.i Prirnte nopcr-'i, MS., 2il ser. 7; Lee und Frost' ■■< <),:, .32? '■ ]Vhif'''s Trn }V'»/-s h, Or., 200. JlinT. Or., Vol. I. 18. 274 WHITES ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. it was rumored that at the Jesuit stations the priests had been robbed of their cattle and were in fear for their Hves/ The peace at the Protestant missions was not, however, of long duration. In the s[)rint>- White received information from Lapwai, Waiilatpu, and the Dalles tiiat the natives were ai»ain threat- enmg the extinction of the settlers, assigning as a reason that the white men intended to take away their lands. The Cayuses, Walla Wallas, and Nez Perces were exasperated because there were so many strangers in the country, and rumor had it that they contemplated cutting off Whitman, who was expected soon to return from the States with a party of colo- nists.** The alarm was great and general. Almost every mail had a plan of his own for averting the impending catastrophe, for should the savages combine, it was probable that the settlers would be exterminated. Several isolated families abandoned their liomes and sought the settlements. Some urged the Indian agent to erect a strong fortification in the midst of the colony, and furnish guns and ammunition. Others thought it better to go witli an armed force into the midst of the conspirators and bring them to reason with words, if possible, and if these failed, to use force. White himself wished the settlers to pledge them- selves, under forfeiture of a hundred dollars in case of delinquency, to keep on hand, ready for use, a good musket or rifle, and a hundred rounds of annnunition ; and to hold themselves ready to march at a moment's notice to any part of the country, not to exceed two days' travel, for the purpose of repelling the savages should they attempt to invade the settlements. But no plan could be formed upon which all would unite. To add to the general excitement, the Indians in the Willamette Valley became unusually insolent, ' No hint of this is given by tho Catholic authors, except the acknowledg- ment of having built a stockade about one of their stations. 1 heir policy was to represent the natives as being everywhere rejoiced at their advent. ^Mim' Or. llixt., 143-4; niiitc'i Ten Years in Or., 213-14. si(;ns ok wau. owino- to a quarrel between some Molallas and the iie<;j;;ro (Jeorire Winslow, or Winslow Aiulersoii as hv now called hiniiself. Moreover there was hostile ayfita- tion among theCalapooyas because White had ordered some of them to be Ho<>i>'ed for stealing from the missionaries." On tlie 20th of April White received a letter from Brewer urging him to come U]> to the Dalles without delay, and endeavor to (juiet the excitement among the natives. He was under an migagcment to visit them this month, and immediately began to prepare lor the expedition, whicli involved the raising of both nien and means. On all other occasions when the Americans lacked anything, they had obtained what- ever they needed at Fort Vancouver, and from the Canadians. But Spaulding's report and the Abernethy- Shortess petition had given great ott'ence to Mc- Loughlin, who declared that henceforward he would extend no favors to the authors of that memorial, whoever that might be. Nor did McLoughlin favor White's jiroposal to go among the Indians with an armed force. Such a step he thought might bring on a conflict, whereas to remain quiet might soothe their excitement — an oj)inion which he communicated to White by letter. The Americans, however, held different views. But when White was ready to proceed, not a Canadian could be induced to accompany hhn, so that when he set out only Le Breton, one Indian, and an Hawaiian servant were with him. Nor were the requisite oquij)menta at hand, or the funds to procure them at Fort Vancouver. On arriving at the fort, where according to Hines they " found it rather squally," ^'^' White requested provisions, annnunition, and arti- « //»!««' Orenon Hist., 146. '" Hines says lie inquired of McLonghlin if lie had refused to grant supplies to those Americans who had signed the inuinorial against him, when the tloctor replied that he had only said that of its authors. ' Not being one of the authors, but merely a signer of the petition, I did not come under the ban of the company; consequently I obtained my outfit for the expedition." Or nut., 149-50. !, <' 270 WlllTK'.S ADMINISTRATION OK INDIAN AriAllW. cleH for j)rusoiits, on an order aptisi:e Dorion, while acting as White's interpreter OTi Ini. first visit, had told them that the Americans d<.'signed taking away their land. The young CayUrtOi, were in favor of raising a war party at once, surprising the Willamette settlements, and cut- ting off the colony at one blow, which by concert of " Of course the Hiulson's Ray Compiuiy found no one in Washington to honor Dr Wliito's hills, amouuting, in iiil, to S!(!,(MH). By a proper represen- tiitiou of the facts, the friends of Oregon in congress, after some years delay, procured the passage of an act authorizing the payment of these hills. In the mean time theT)oard of management in London passeil an order, which, hesides heing an imperative command for the future, was a sarcastic rebuke for the p.ist. The orilers info; mcd their traders in Oregon ' that they did not understand government securities,' and forbade them to deal in them, and for the future to ' stick to their beaver-skius.' Appleyate's Vicwa oj Hist., MS., 37; White's Or. Tcr , 04- C. COUNCIL CALLKl). 277 ton t<' roseii- leliiy, . In hit!h, elmkc id not nd for !S.,37j action could easily have been done. But the older chiefs counselled more cautious measures, j)ointiiit( out the lateness of the season, and the difficulty of cross- iiiti" the mountains in the snow. It would be wiser in any case, they added, not to be the first to attack, but to be prepared for defence should the Americans attcunpt their subjugation, So impressed were they that such design was in contemplation, that they could not be induced by Geiger to prepare the ground for cultivation, as usual, early in spring, and could with difficulty be made to believe that White's small party was not the advance guard of an armed forte. '"^ The Cayuses declared that the laws introduced by Whiti' a»i ong the Nez Percds liad effected more harm than good, being made an excuse for petty tyranny to such an extent that the new code was regarded by the Indians as a device of the white })eople to accomplish their subjection. They were uneasy also because McKinlay and McKay had intimated their determi nation to act with the Americans, if the Indians exhibited a hostile purpose. In their perplexity they had sent Peupeumoxmox to ask McLoughlin what course he intended to pursue in case tliey were attacked by the Americans. For answer McLoughlin advised them to keep quiet, assur- ing them that they had nothing to fear from either the Americans or the Hudson's Bay Company so long as tliey behaved themselves. News now reached White that seven hundred Nez Perces, fully accoutred for war, were coming to the appointed rendezvous at Waiilotpu. It was thought important to prevent a conference or a quarrel between them and the Cayuses, by holding a council with the latter at once, and ever}^ endeavor was made by the whole company of the Americans, which now embraced Geiger, Perkins, and Mrs Whitman, to bring about — '^ ' I actually found them, says White, ' aufifering more from fears of wai from the whites, than the whites from the Indians — each party resolving, how ever, to remain at home, and tliere fight to the last — though, fortunately, some :{00 or 400 miles apart.' Ten Yearn in Or., 214. ii w WHITL'S ADMlXlvrUATlON 01' INKIAN AFFAIRS. this object, but witliont success; the Cayuses would not talk until they had seen Chief Ellis. When White proposed to go to Lapwai, and bring the Nez Perces at once, they were suspicious that his intention was to prevent the coming of Ellis, and objected. At length White and his aids were allowed to go, and were received with a grand parade, such as had been given to the missionaries in the Rocky Mountains in 1836, and were escorted back to Waiilatpu by several hundred of the principal men of the tribe with tiieir families, Ellis signifying his intention of influencing the Cayuses to accept the laws ado})ted by the Nez Perces. It was not until the 23d of May that the chiefs on both sides were ready for council, the meeting being- opened by Tauitau. The savages were assured that the white men had not come there with the design of deceiving or injuring them. If they would be united, would cultivate the ground and obey the laws, they might become a great and happy peo|)le; but if they persisted in disorder, disob(^dience, and an unsettled manner of life, their condition could never be bettered. On the laws being called for and read, Peupeumox- mox arose and inquired : " Where are these laws from !* Are they from (xod, or from the earth? I would that you might say they were from God ; but I think they are from the earth, because, from what I know of white men, they do not honor these laws." When told that the laws were recognized by God, and im- posed on men in all civilized countries, the chief ex- pressed himself pleased to hear that it was so, because many of his people had been angry with him when they were whipped for crimes, and had declared that he would be sent to hell for it. Therefore he was relieved to know that his conduct was pleasing to God. Here Tiloukaikt, jealous of the apparent c(»n- sent of Tauitau to the proceedings, and thinking he might be looking forward to a high chieftainship, in- quired why the laws were read to them before they THE LAWS ACCEPl'ED. 279 I ez liad indicated a desire to adopt thein. "We do not take the laws because Tauitau says so," said the chief, angrily. "He is a Catholic, and as a people we do not follow the Catholic worship."'^ But White ex- plained that the Americans had different modes of worship, yet obeyed one law. A Nez Percd sub-chief, called the Prince, complained that the white people had not given them cattle, but they had been compelled to pay for them. He wanted something tangible, cattle and presents, because his people had been kind to Lewis and Clarke. Illutin, also a Nez Perce, declared that he was wearied with the wickedness of the young men, and asserted that it was because they had stolen property in their pos- session that they objected to the laws. But the prince argued that the white people had long since been promising them benefits, though they passed on and left no blessing behind. If the Americans de- signed to do them good, why did they not bring pres- ents, like the British traders, who not only promised but performed. To this very pointed argument White replied that the Americans among them were mis sionaries, and not traders. Thus the first day passed without anything definite being accomplished. After the meeting adjourned i^Uis and Lawyer came pri- vately to the sub-agent to tell him that they expected l)ay for beiny chief>s. The former had counted the months h'^ had been in office, and thought there nmst be enough duo him to make him wealthy. It certainly was a singular civilization, this of White's, which al- lowed officials no salary, and criminals no recompense. On the following day it was found somewhat easier to proceed with the business of the council. The '■' This was truo, though the Cayuscs were protty evenly divided between I'roteataiitisiu and Konianisin. Of the chiefs, oidy Tauitau was a (.'atholic. His brother, Five Crows, was a Protestant; Tih>ukaikt was a I'rote^jtuut; and "O was Sticcas. I'eupuunioxiiiox of the W-dhi Wall-, ("ayuses was also a Protestant. Parrish calls Peupeiunoxiriox :> ni.-igriiUviit man. but gives no ■ better reason for tiiis opinion than that lio sent his uni Klijah Hedding to the Methodist Mission to ue ducated. Or. A iicdof.eji, iVl8., 95. Ho seems to have been an intelligent savage, anne ocn.sion he boarded a vessel of which J. H. Couch s/as master, and attein})ted to search for liquors, but Couch, knowing his rights and duties better than the Indian agent, ranged his guns fore and aft along the i '■"This (Ustillery, the first attempted since 183G, was owned Ijy James Conner, who liad been in tlie country since 18.38. It consisted of siieet-tin pipes — the tin purchasetl from Abernethy — joined like a worm-fence, and placed in a large wooden trough with water flowing through it, tiie whole iieing covered with boards placed in the form of a house gable. Moiu' Pionefr Timeg, MS., 5.3-4. "This second distillery belonged to .Tames Conner, Richard McCrary, and Ifiram Straight. It consisted of a large kettle, with a wooden top, and a worm; and the whi.skey, called 'blue ruin,' was distilled from shorts, wheat, and molasses. HVi/Ve'^ Or, Tvi:, 40; Wnltx Firxl T/iiiujn, MS.. 10, 11; Omjon Laii'M, 1843-9, 83. 282 WHITE'S ADMINISTRATION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. deck, whereupon the search was rehnquished as hastily as it had been begun. Private individuals also came in for a share of his officious attention. For instance, F. W. Pettygrove, described as " a merchant of good liabits," was put under bonds in the sum of one thou- sand dollars for having in his house wine and brandy for his own use. White also attempted to confiscate the whiskey-barrel of an Englishwoman named Cooper, but +' nought it advisable to desist when the Amazon vigoi rotested "in the name of Great Biitain, Ireland, i Scotland." There was but one instance of serious trouble with the Indians in the Willamette, and that was brought about by the quarrel between the negro W^inslow and the Molallas, to which I have already alluded. It appears tliat Winslow overreached an Indian named Cockstock in some business transaction. To right the account, the latter appropriated a horse belonging to the negro, but was compelled by White to restore it. Thereupon Cockstock, who was a bold and vicious fellow, vowed vengeance against Winslow and another negro named James D. Saules, who was in some way involved in the dispute. Saules complained to White, who offered a reward of a hundred dollars for the safe delivery of the Indian into his hands, intending to send him to the Caj'uses and Nez Pcrces to be tried by their laws. This so enraged the turbulent Cockstock that on the 4th of March, 1844, he called together a few followers, and putting on his war-pair:t, rode into Oregon City with many hostile demon- strations. After creating some alarm, he crossed the river to a village in search vS recruits. When shortly afterward he reap})eared on the Oreg jn City side, his landing was opposed by a confused crowd of white men, wjio, without a leader, or concert of action, en- deavored to capture him, some for the reward, and others with a more deadly pur[)()8e. Fire-arms were dis- charged on both sides sinmltaneously, and in the melee WHITE, REI>, A^D BLACK. Cockstoc'k was killed, and three Ainericajis wounded, George W. Lo Breton and a Mr Rogers mortally/^ The death of Le Breton, who was an active young American, and conspicuous in the early politics of the colony, was severely felt; and a public meeting was called at Champoeg to consider the subject of the outbreak, the result of which was the formation of a volunteer company of mounted riflemen under the name of Oregon Rangers, this being the first mili- tary o/*?anization in the territory."* Resolutions were })assed n. 'orsing and supporting the measures taken by White in his official capacity, the reason for this sti p being that McLoughlin had censured the conduct of the Americans, alleging that the killing of Cock • stock was an assassination, a view which, liowever well founded in the fact that the cilizoiis had not waited for the overt act,'" was extremely offensive to the Americans. An investigation was (»rdered by the executive committee, and White cited to appear before the colonial judge, ( ). Rus.sell, to vindicate him- self, and remove the stigma from the fair name of the American colonists."" Probablv the trial never took his ^hite en- and dis- lelee " lioMlOH MUk. Ho-.tUl, Nov. 1844. lilanchet, in liis llrnt. dUli. Cli. in Or., 145-7, gives a different version, intended to make it appear that tlie killing of Cockstock was a deed of unprovoked brutality on the part of the Ameri- cans; but as White, in his report to the secretary of war, gives the corre- .spondence and particulars, I see no rciuson to depiirt from tliat record. A part of Blauchet's bitterness ij accounted for where he says, ' Le Breton will pay daarly for his apostasy.' Le Breton had become fi convert to the Catiiolie faith at St Pauls in 184'-!, but seeint; he could not get the girl he expected, ho ■ fro n tlie church. A/., \i]; aniel Waldo, Lindsey Applegate, and W. }1. <»ray. Commissions were issued to the officers April 3d, signed by 1). Hill, J. C.ale, and A. Fieers, executive committee, and ()verton Johnson, secretary. <^r. Archiwg, MS., 10, 12. ^'^liliiurhi'l'.'* llist.Cith. Vh.inOr.,m-^. '•■"The letter of .Mr Beers of the executive committee is to Im found in Or. A rrhiri ■*, MS., ,") 7. -'>S4 WHITES AUMINISTHAIION OF INDIAX AFFAIRS. })la('e, as no record of it exists. It is likely enough that wiien the excitement had died awa}', and all the circumstances were known, it became apparent that the encounter might have been avoided by the exer- cise of cooliKiss and moderation. Not long after the affair of the 4th of March, Saules, the negro who had complained of Cockstock, was himself arrested for joining the Clackamas Indians in making threats against the life and property of Charles E. Pickett. There being no prison in which to confine him, he was permitted to go to Clatsop with his Indian wife, where he was employed about the Mission until its suspension in 184G, soon after which he was arrested on the charge of murdering his wife, but the necessary proof being wanting, he was disv'iiarged.'"^ The trouble occasioned by Winslow and Saules aroused a strong prejudice against persons of African blood, which was exhibited in a communi- cation sent by White to the secretary of war, inquir- ing if the emigration of negroes could not be prohibited, and in the subsequent legislation of the colonists. As to the Indian relatives of Cockstock, they were pacified by McLoughlin paying to the wid«)W of the chief, on White's order, some blankets and other goods,"^ and there the matter ended, so far as thej^ were concerned. The executive committee, however, being deter- mined to oppose the policy and advice of McLough- lin, declared that "the idea should be hooted out of countenance, that they allowed Indians to be nmr- dered, and paid for it with blankets." If White found it necessary to take such measures as he had taken, he should go on, and the committee would "support ••" Oriyoii SfX'cMor, Dec. 24, 184G. " Petty ijroirK Or., MS., G, 7; Or. Arc/iiirA, MS., 1."?. About 70 Dalles IiuliaiiM, aceortling to White, presented themselves as relatives of the dead chief, and demanded indemnity, according to their customs; hut White showed them that as the Americans had lost two men, by their rule there ■would I)e due the Americans twice what they claimed, on which representa- tion they consented to accept a present for tlie widow. Or. Tcr., 'M. TlIK OUKCiON KAN(H-:U.S. •-M5 him witli thirty mounted riflemen." -'^ This was easy to promise, but tlie riflemen tliemselves must liave a voice in the matter. The officers of the ran<^ers wrote to the committee demandint^ to k/iow if after all tliero had been any cause for raising troops, or if there existed any need of their services at that moment. They were also anxious to be informed where the military stores, provisions, and pay were to come from, and concluded by remarking that if they were expected to fight at their own expense, tliey had enoujjh to do to fiijht their own battles.'^ The forma- tion of the company was m fact a mere piece of braggadocio, intended (juite as much to alarm the Hudson's Bay Company as to awe the natives. The only service in which the rangers were engaged wa.> in tlie pursuit now and then of a band of hungry savages who had stolen a beef White himself ridicules the course of the committee in calling out the troops because a miserable party of natives, whose single gun was broken and unserviceable, had been tempted to kill an old ox which chanced to stray in their vicinity, and for which they were forced to pay the gun and eight horses. Several of these small affairs sionalized the existence of the Oregon Rauijers. The last of the kind occurred in July 184G, when a small party of natives from east of the Cascade Mountains, being encamped on the Santiam River, near ]jOoney's l)lace, and suspected of stealing some Jiorsc^s beh^iging to him, were surrounded and fired on without further inquiry, though, as afterward transpired, tlvey were innocent of the theft. "'^ i The next serious troubl(> with t1u> natives came from an unex})ected source. Early in the spring of 1845 White received a connnunication from Whitman at Waiilat})U, informing liim of the return of a party '■"Letter of A. Beers, in (h: ArchiiH'n, MS., 5-7. '" Letters of Kaiser, Morrison, anil Brainard, in Or. Arcfihvn, MS., 12, 13. '^^(h-cijoii Sycrtntdi; Aug. 1(5, 184(i; M'nilo's Enrhj Dni/n, MS., 38-40; Kni- M):r'ii A^ar., Mis., 12-14; Kai-irr'-t E'lil'jnin/ Itoiul, MS., 7-i). U80 WIHTK'S ADMIMSTKATIOX OF IN'UIAX AFFAIRS. of Spokanes, Cayusos, aiiJ Walla Wallas from Califor- nia, under circunistam-es wliirh hd him to fear for the safety of the settlers in the upper country,'"" as Elijali Hedding, the son of Peupeumoxmox, had been killed by an American. Before the excitement caused by this information had subsided, White was surprised by a visit from Ellis, high chief of the Nez Percds, who came to recount to him the particulars of this unfortunate affair. The story told by Ellis was that the natives had seized upon the idea of procuring cattle from California, and taking their surplus furs and horses to exchanoe foi- cows, had set out on this expedition under the leadership of Peupeumoxmox, or Yellow Serpent, who was accompanied by his converted son, Elijah Hedding. The journey was fraught with danger, as they were obliged to pass through a country inhabited by tribes with whom they were not friendly ; but being well mounted and equipped, they reached California in safety, and were well received by the white population at Sutter Fort. An agreement to trade was entered into; all went well until the natives in hunting met witli a band of freebooters from whom they took a prize of twenty- two stolen horses. On returning with them to the settlements, the animals were claimed by their former owners. The Oregon chiefs remonstrated, saying that in their country the horses, having been recovered from an enemy at the risk of life, would belong to those who reca})tured them. But the others insisted that accordino' to the laws of California the animals must bear a transfer mark before they ceased to be the prt)perty of their original owners. As the Indians refused to take that view of it, a ransom of first ten and then fifteen cows was offered for the captured estrays. But Peupeumoxmox was sulky, and would not reply, so the negotiations were broken off, A day or two later, an American, seeing a nmle which had been stolen from him among the animals, '•"^ Jfoiiolulii Fr!eml, •-'9. ASSASSINATION OF ELIJAH. 287 roughly doinanded his property, and declared that lu- would take it himself if it was not promptly surren- dered. Thereupon Elijah Hedding deliberately loaded his rifle, and turning to the American said signiticantlv : "Go, now, and take your mule." The white man, considerably alarmed, asked Elijah if he intended tt) kill him. " O, no," carelessly re})lied the young chief, "I am only going to shoot that eagle on yonder tree." But his looks ajid manner belied his tongue, so the American thought it best to leave the mule. Oi the following Sunday some of the natives attended religious services at Sutter Fort. After the close Elijah was invited into another apartment, to- gether with his uncle. Here they were menaced, and .subjected to much wordy abuse. Finally the man who had had the dispute about the mule said to Elijah, " Yesterday you were going to kill me; now you must die," at the same time drawing a pistol. Elijah said, "Let me pray a little first;" and dropping on his knees, was shot dead in that attitude. Suca was the story as told by Ellis to White,'" and as reported by the latter to the secretary of war. As Elijah was a convert, the same version was generally accepted by the missionaries;'^** but the truth of the matter is, that Elijah was a turbulent fellow, and met his death in a quarrel which he himself provoked. This side of the story I have, however, related in detail elsewhere.^" Having made the most of his story, and put forth liis finest arts to impress White with a proper sense of the enormity of the crime which had been com- mitted, the wily Ellis went on to talk about the " While's Or. Ter., 49-50. ■'» Parri«ri\o Or. AnealoteH, MS., 00; Mitnion Life Sketches, 20.3. Thi.s latter is a work of 229 pages, IGiuo, and appears to have been published as a contribution to Sunday-school literature. The author's name is not given, l)ut from wliat he says of himself I infer he was H. X. W. Perkins, who canio with the mission family of 1840. His account of Elijah's death is substantially the same as White's. '^ Hist. Californid, this series. See also lieirre'x Tour of Dtitij, 154; Lur- kins Doc. l/isf. Ciii, MS., iii. 227. 'JS8 WHITES AUMINlSTKATIOxX OF INDIAN AFFAIKS. retaliation wliicli iniglit ho expected. Yellow Ser- pent, lie said, had returned to Oregon hurning with rajie and srriet', and swearine, but others that were allied, related, or friendly to it, were furiousl}'^ excited against the white men, both on account of the murder of Elijah and because certain persons from tlie Willamette Val- ley, now settled in California, had called the Oregon Indians 'dogs' and 'thieves.' So furious was the indignation of the tribes,, continued the envo^ ex- tr-aordinarv, that a scheme was on foot to raise two thousand warriors among the Cayuses, Walla Wallas, Nez Perces, Spokanes, Pend d'Oreilles, and Shoshones, and march at once into California to exact retribution by pillage and slaughter. There was an influential party among the natives, Ellis added, who were for holding the Americans in Oregon responsible for Elijah's death, since it was one of their countrymen who had killed him. Should this be avoided, however, he was specially charged to learn whether the Oregon settlers would remain neutral while the people of Cali- fornia were being swept from the face of the earth. Such a relation was enough to make one shudder; and it was all the more alarming when the hearer was officially responsible for any trouble that might occur with the natives. Perha})s White showed agitation ; at all events, the envoy pushed his advantage by refer- ring to another source of discontent which had nothing to do with the matter innnediately in hand. It seems that when the immigration of 1844 was expected, White had sent to the natives a number of ten-dollar drafts, presumably made payable by the government, with which he said cattle mio^ht be bought from the innnigrants. This he claims to have done in order to deter the natives from plundering the new-comers. But the immigrants had declined to accept the drafts, '" Tliis threat was nevcv fulfillod, though the C'aliforniaus aubsequeutly had caiiso to rciiienil)yr tluit it had huuii made. See Hltt. C«l., this series. BKOKKN I'RO.Ml.Sl-X •on img- ;uk1 ii(»\v cliicf Klli.s was anxious to know liow Wliito was ^oin^ to coinpensate liis jicoplo for tli«'ir disa))- poiiitnuMit. At liis wit's end liow to conciliate and prevent tlie threatened destruction, tlie uidui)){)y agent resorted to Hattery and fair proniisiis. He feasted liis savage guest to liis soul's content, sJiowod his library, |)erst)n- allv conducted him over his i)lantation, and in every way treated him with great consideration. Besides this, he promised to write to the governor of California and Captain Sutter concerning the recent disturbance, and also to address the United States government on the subject. Furthermore, he gave Ellis letters for the chiefs, sym})athizing with them for the wrongs they had suffered, and inviting them all to visit him in the autunm of 1845 and exchange their worthless drafts for a cow and a calf each out of his own j.ords. Finally he promised them that if they would defer their invasion of (California for two years, and assist liim to the amount of two beaver-skins each, he would establish a good school for the children, adjust favor- ably all their grievances, and at the end of that time would give them five hundred dollars out of his own purse with which to buy cattle in Calif()rnia. Flattered by the attentions he had received, and elated by the success which he imagined had attended his mission, Ellis returned home to use his influence for peace with the chiefs of the Walla Wallas and C'ayuses. But his trium})h was not of long duration, for before the autunm of I K4o White wj^« on his way to the States, caring littU; for his en*;;;; j^ nents, and leaving no one behind to redeem his promises tf> ])ay.^' The sub-Indian agent, from the moment he entered upon his duties in Oregon, encountered serious diffi- culties. So awkwardly did he find him.self situated, '" In his report to the secretary of war Wliite bestows praise upon tlie good coniliict, progress, industry, and prosperity of Ellis and liis people with an ••iithusiasni which his own experie' e certainly diil not call for. Such a re- [port, however, rellected credit on his own efforts. Hist. Olt., Vol.. I. 19 bi too WHITK'.S AI»M1N1STUAT10N OF INDIAN AFFAi ..S. that ill 1844 he wrote that lie was stroiii^ly inclined to leave the country, but was deterred hy tlie tiiought that his ])resen<'e was beneficial, and the hope of beino- relieved from his enibarraHsnients. Wiiatever were his schemes, it is due to him to say that in opposin*^ the introduction of intoxicatinj^ liquors, aiid in set- tling difficulties between the white inhabitants and the natives, his services to the colony were of im- portance."'^ Not the least of White's embarrassments arose from the fact that the njen in Washington wlio had become, verbally at least, responsible for the payment of his salary and ex|)enses, were no longer in a position to befriend him. Before his accounts were settled there was a change in the administration, and persons who did not know White were in the places of Webster, Tyler, Spencer, and Linn. Being solici'^-^d by the legislative assembly of the provisional g nnient in 1845 togotv) Washington as the bearer^ memorial to the United States government, he presented him- self at the capital, and was requested to continue in his office of Indian agent. He was obliged, however, to remain at the east until a bill should be passed by congress for the payment of debtj due the Hudson's Bay Company, and granting him additional compensa- tion for services. A year was consumed in waiting, during which time certain representations were made by his political enemies in Oregon which lost him the position, and closed his connection with Oregon affairs."' He returned in 1850 and engaged with James D. Hol- man to build a town on the claim of the latter, which he called Pacific City, which was afterward trans- '■' Applegate'ti Marginal Nofat, in Grui/'x IlinL, 259. ^^ \VhUeii Ten Ymrs in Or., 322-5; iVhite'n Or. Ter., 64-6; Allen' RegMter, Ixix. 407. The occasion of White's loss of place was the belief in Oregon that he would make an offinrt to get a scat iu congress as delegate from the territory, whenever tlie expected settlement of boundary was consummated, and a territorial government established. That he so intended in 1845 seems probable, from tlie fact that on passing through Missouri, the St Louis Era spoke of him as a delegate from the self-constituted government of Oregon, going to ask for a seat in congress. 'ri/iiitci; Oregon om the niatetl, i seems lis A'/" )regon, SKETCH OF WHITK. Lit I I'tTivd to other liaiuls. He then wtsiit to reside at San Fraueisco, where he died in March 1871).'^ " While on a tour througli Oregon in 1878 1 was informed that Klijali Wliite, a most important witnuus in thu early annals of the state, was living in San Francisco, and then: on my rctarn I fonml him practising medicine, liis ortici! liL'ing withiti a stone's throw rary, and there gave me an exceedingly valuable dictation, which I called Kiiiiiinitinn to Oinjon, Klling many gaps left open by the printed material especially conceriung the immi- gration of 184*2. His 7V/I Yearn in (hrijoii, Ithaca, N. Y., 18i)<), contains the incidents of his journey to and residence in Oregon, as physician to the Mis- sion, his return to the States, snl)se(|nent emigration, his laliors lus Indian agent, explorations, etc., with an account of the formation of the provisional government, and some extracts from Kr»'mont"s journal of explorations in Oregon. Previous to the publication of this book he issued a pamphlet in Washington City, containing his correspondence with the Indian commis- sioner and other documents, tlir obji. t of which was to assist the passage of a bill reind)ursing him for expenses ii irred in the administration of authority as Indian agent. This book is calleii a Coiirise View of Oreijon Tcrritorji, lU Coloniixl (iml Indian Relalionit, etc., 72 pages. Another pamphlet called While K TeMtimoiiKiln contains some of the same matter, with other letters, ami was apparently intended to assist him in a reappointment to Oregon. ^>y ^hicli fans- CHAPTER Xll. i: , n OROANI/JATION OF THE PROVISION A I. (JOVKKXMKNT. 1843. J MkIiIODIST GfKICIAI.S— a ProBAIK Coi'KT NkKDEI) — MKKTIN(i l)K TlIK SKT- i:,Ki!s Okfk'ials (.'hoses- Witiidhawal ov tiik Iukmu Caihoi.ic Klement- KriiTiiEii Political Elements — The Okeuon Lyceim • THESH OVEKTIKES TO THE CaNAKIANS — ThE LaND LaW — AnOTHEK Methodist Movement -The 'Wolk' ORdAxiZATioN-^TnE Canadians BuorciHT in New Selection ok Okkicials — Rei-okt of the LEtasLA- TIVE CoMMiriEE- ( ioVEH\:..'ENT Exi'EXSES - ThE FoVH (iREAT DiSTKICIS — Measures aijainst McLol'vUilin — Inflience of Siiohtess on Polit- ical Affairs. I havk alreadv nioiitioiicd that as oarH' as 1H;^S tlio Methodist Missions f'uiiiishod tlic colonists with a magistrate and coiistaiilf, not so niueli hecause the .services of those otticers wcic nee'ht he nuinnuiHl without law, but property for which there was no owner- alas for the luck of it! The thrifty settlers t-ould not see it go to waste. And so the needed excuse to those who were anxious for legislation was at liand, and without delay a connnittee of arrangements called a )iiass-meeting of the settlers to be held at the Metho- dist Mission the 17th and 18th of February, 1841.- The meetina' on the I7th was <'omiu)sed chiefly of the members of the Mission, Jason Lee being chosen t'hairman, and (lustavus Hines secretary. The only business transacted was the passing of ri.solutions to elect a connnittee of seven to draught a code of laws f )r the ofovernment of the settlements south of the (^)lumbia; to admit to the jtrotection of those laws all settlers n(*rth of the Columbia not connected with the fur comoany: and the nomination of candidates for the several ofliices of governor, supreme judge with probate j)owers, three justices of the peace, three constables, l^hree roati cttnnnissioncrs, an attorney- general, a (;]erk of the couits and [)ublic recorder, a treasurer, and two o\erseers of tlu' ])oor. ' The second day's meeting being attendtid by the French and Anierican settlers, the proceedings took a less sectional tone. To propitiate and to securi' the cooperation of the Canatlians were the aims of tlic leading Americans; as without them, or o[)[)osed by them, there would In; difliculty in organizing a gov- ernment. David Leslie being in the chair, with Sid nev Smith and Hines as secretaries, the minutes ot' I 1' ii ■* ^ 5 , ' IS )- - Acoording to Hiiics, the comimttee o ' arriiiiginiu'iitH wan clioscu iit Young's i'liiit'i-il. Ori'iioii //is/.. 4IH. ^Iii till! prooecdiiigs ot' tlie first ilay's meeting, t'ouixl in Orn/oit Archini'H, Mil ineiitioii is iiiade ot tlic r.u'ii noiiiinateil; l)ut from tliuir 'iiimltcr, sevciitoen, there must liave been an orticer to about every other Anieriean in tlie Mi.suion colony. Two overseers o' tlie poor aonnds like irony. w I I' •_'".t4 ( URBANIZATION OF I'KOVI.SIOXAL (iOVKKX.MEXT. 'i 'i ! tlio previous mooting woro prosontod, aim acroptod so far as ohoosiiii;' a coimnittoo to framo a constitution and rode of laws was conoerned. Tlio conimittoe named consisted of F. N. Blanch et, Jason Lee, David Donpierre, Gustavus Hines, Charlovon, Robert Moore, J. L. Parrisli, Etienne Lucior, and William Johnson. The oidy one of the number who hnd any practical knowledge of le<»;islation was Moore, 'ind most of the others were probably iij^norant of even the theory of law. By making' Blanchet chairman of the com- mittee, tlie Mission party hoped to secure the French ( 'atholic influence, and harmonize sectarian rlifliculties, wliile the settlers were to be cajoled by the liberal bestowinent of small orti(vs. It was found expedient to defer the election of a governor to a more convenient season, owing to the jealously of several missionary aspirants, and the op[)osition of the settlers to a govemoi- from that party. This matter being settled, I. L. Babcock was chosen supreme Judge with j)robate powers, George W. IjO Breton clerk of tli(^ courts and public recorder, VV^illiam Johnson high sheriH", and Zavier Ladaroot, Pierre Billicjue, and William ]\[eCarty constables. A resolution was then j)asst'd that until the code of laws should 1)0 dvanghted. Judge Babcock should be "in- structed to act according to the laws «>f the state of New York."' The conviMition then adjourned to meet again on the 7th of Jnni' at St Pauls. But when that day arrived, and the people were gathered to hear the re|)ort of the coimnittoo on con- stitution and laws, it was found that no rejiort had boon pre[)ared, as Blanchet had not called that body together, and that he now desired to be excused from si'i'ving as chairman. This re([iiest being granted, W . J, Bailey was chosen in his jdace, and the committee were instructed to meet on tht> first Monday of Au- gust for the transaction of business, and to re[)ort to * Hini'H Ori'ijoii J/ixf., 41i(. At this tiiiio tlicio was lint one copy nf tlic laws i)f tln! stati' iif Xi'V York in tlic I'oloiiy. MULTIPLRATION OF FACTIONS. •-"Jo Jill adjourned session of the convention on the first Thursday in October. In the mean time they were advised to confer with the commander of the United States exi)loring expedition, then in tlie Columbia River, and with John McLout;hhn of Fort Vancouver. Resolutions were then jmssed rescinding the nomina- tions made at the [)revious meeting, and instructing the committee on constitution and laws to "take into consideration the number and kind of offices it will be necessary to create in accordance with their con- stitution and code." The report of the nominating committee was to be referred to the ley;islative com- mittee. An adjournment was then taken to the Octo- ber meeting at the Methodist Mission. The withdrawal of Blanchet from the chairman- slii}) of the legislative committee was taken, as was probably intended, to signify that the Canadians would take no part in the organization of a govern- ment; hence the rescinding of the nominations em- 1 tracing a number of their names T.is revived the discussion as to the necessity of a governor, and in fact threw many difficulties in the way of the scheme for an organization. Moreover, some of the most influ- ential persons in the country and some of the mem- ber's of the legislative committee were o[>[>osed to th(^ idea of a government so long as peace and harmony existed witliout it.'' Besides this formidable opposition, Wilkes, on being consulted, condemned the sclieiiie, on tlie grounds that only a small miiiorit}' of the iiihai)itants desired to establish a government, that laws were not necessary, that they would be a poor substitute for the nwn-al code tliey all followed, that there would be great diffi- culty in enforcing them within any definite limits, ''^Villialll ■liiliiiMon. who was tlu' oiily mi<^ of the m'ttU'r class not Freiicli oil the I'omiiiittw, saiil tiiat thi'iv was as yi-t 'no nt'(M!ssity for laws, lawyers, or iiia^'istratcs.' Hlaiicliet ' was of ojiiiiioii that tlif iimnlier of settlers in tli- Willamette Valley would not warrant the estalilishineiit of a constitution, and as far as his ])eo[)le were concerned, then; wa-i no netH'ssity for tnw, nor had lie anv knowledge of crime Imving Ueen yet committed.' WiUci^ \7 The question of e.stal)lishin_i>f an indepeiuleiit i^oveni- nient for Oregon was also discussed by this body. Tlii^ selienie is said to have been favored by MeLoughhn, and openly advocated by several intlaential Ajneriean colonists. Hastings went so far as to ofler a resolu- tion in favor of the plan, but (jreorge Abernethy, tlicn residing in Oregon City, met this witli anotiier, to the effect that: " If the United States t;xtends its jurisdiction over this country, within four years it will not be expedient to form an independent govern- ment." This resolution was warmly discussed and finally carried." In tlie autumn of 1842 overtures were aj^ain made to the Canadians to assist in forming a temporary gov- erimient, and meetimjs to consider the matter were held at French Prairie. But the Canadians declined, ])resumably by the advice of McLoughlin and their s})iritual adviser, Blanchet. The position of the former at this juncture was enil)arrassing. It was evident that some form of political legislation nmst before long grow out of the persistent consideration of the subject. To aid or countenance the establisli- ment of a government owing exclusive allegiance to the United States would be di.sloyal to his country and to the interests of the com{)any. An inde})endent government would l)e preferable to this, though there H. Couch, V. W. IV'ttygrove, J. ^^. Wair, A. L. Lovejov, Jesse Applegatc, S. M . Moss, Kooert Newell, .1. W. Nesinitli, K<1. Otie, H. A. (t. Lee, Freil. Pri^M. C. E. Pit'lvL'tt, Win V. Domeiit, .Moildniiii ( 'niwfonl, Hiram Straight, I \\'.....i ^1. w.,. /'....I.;... ^- ••■ ■• ■ ■•• ' •■ '••• was seorotary of the eliih. Aiiinial A0. \o two authorities eall the institution hy tht^ same name. The (hri/on S}nrf\). ^ I! '2W OKCAMZATION OF PROVISIONAL (.0\ EKXMLNT. llL"! 'Ill was danger tliat sucli an organization, l)eing Ameri- can, niiglvt enact laws depriving him of liis property j'iglits south of the Columbia. Plaiidy tlie most pru- dent course Jie could follow was to avoid the issue if possible until the two governments claiming jurisdic- tion had settled the matter. It was with this eml in view that he, directly or indirectly, inHuenced the C.^anadians to reject the overtures of the American settlers. This tliey did in a formal reply, evidently {treparcd by Blanchet, which though written in very imperfect English, sufficiently explains the views of the French settlers. They professed cordial senti- ments toward the Americans and the gentlemen who had invited them to particii)ate in forming a govern- ment, and declared that they were in favor of certain regulations for the protection of ptu'sons and property, and were willino; to vield obedience to the officers chosen at the meeting of February 18, 1841,'^ although tliey did not approve of all their measures. They declined to address a petition to the United States, as solicited, until tlie boundary should be established. They were opposed to the land law in contemplation by the supporters of the government scheme, because they had no guaranty that all would not be changed by the succeeding government. They olyected to a provisional form of government as being cumbersome instead of heli)ful to the colony. Men of laws and science, they said, were still few in the country, and had enousxh to, do without ley-islatiny". '*'riio aiiswor of tin; Canailians as it appears in the On : m Airhiven, MS., in nut dated; Ijut it is addressed to 'Tlie meeting at Chaniiioeg, Mareh 4, 1843,' wliieli shows tliat tliere was an appointment for that date, when their answer was expecteil; and as, owing to the popnlation hc^nig seattered over a lai'ge area, witli shiw and ditlicnlt modes of eoniinunication, it wiis the custom to make appointments months in advance, to allow time for the people to consider the matter proposed, and prepare their opinions, tlie invitation w;is probably given late in the previous year. McLoughliu says, in his I'rimiUi Papcru, iSlS., 2d ser. 7, that a formal proposition was niade to the Canadian settlers in tJie spring of 1842, to nnite with the Americans; lint on comparing this with other authorities, I am convinced it was in the autumn of 1842. Another evidence is, tliat the address of the Canadians refers to the ' measures taken liist year,' which could only mean the choosing of a judge and other otiicers in 1841. ATTITUDE OF THE FKENCH SETTLEKS. '2\M Tliey proposed, liowover, that a council or senate l»e chosen for tlic judgment of ott'enses, except capital ones, and to make suitahle leoulations for the [teople ; that tlie council he elected and com[)osed of memhers from all parts of the country to constitute a [)arlia- ment, the presiilent of tlie council and anothe)- niem- i)er heinj^ empowered to act as justices of the peace in each county, with the j»rivilcge on the part of the people to appeal causes to the whole council. The members, they said, should be inHueticed bv a desire for the public good, and not for their own gain. Tax- ation they pronounced inexpedient, and espi-cially onerous to new arri\als in the colony ; and they would not consent to be taxed. As to militia, they declared it needless, and the occasit)n of suspicion to tlu; natives, as well as a hinderance to necessary labor and an ex- pense to the people. The country, they contended, was open to all nations, until its sovereignty sliould be determini'd, and })eo[)le might settle in it witiiout l)eing called uj>on to declare to what government they would give allegiance in the future. Thev desired to be in unison^ with all respectable citizens, or else to bo left free to make such regulations as ajtpeared most necessary to themselves, until the coming of some law- ful authority, to which they would cheerfully submit. While they did not forget that some laws might be profitably ado[)ted vvvn then, they held that the more laws there were the greater the oj)j)()rtunity for- roguery and for sul)se(jU('nt changes which might not l)e profit- able. Besides, in a new country the more men em- ployed antl paid by the j)ublic the fewer remained for industry. The address concluded with the assurance tliat none could hi' more desirous of the peace, ])ros- j)erity, and lilterties of the colony than themselves, and with good wishes for "al! those who are or may become our fellow-countrymen."'' ^ Hmrir's Or. Arr/ihis, 14-1'). UnfnrtnuHtcly t"i>i- the iR'rfcct continuity lit liintory, the Oriyon A rr/iirc.i do not coiitiiin either tin- invitation which ciilleil out this imsw "•, Of tlu' ]iroceeiling» of the meeting at I'liunipoeg of tiie 4th !. ) I w I 1 1 iV- •Mi OUCANIZATION OF I'UOVISlONAJ. (iOVKKNMKN T. Altliough McJjoUij^liIii) had taken no ojkmi jmit in tliose procoL'dings, he was naturally and ii»>htly suj)- posed 1)V the rebuked and offended orit^inators of the provisional government idea to be responsible for the attitude taken by the French settlers, and a feeling of hatred toward him had much to do with the drawing- up of the ShortesH-Abernethy petition, the history of which has already been given. Meetings were likewise held in other parts of th(( colony; one at the Oregon Institute, where (iray resided, being ostensibly called for the purpose of devising means of protecting the herds of the country from wild animals,'" but really as a device by which the settlers, French and American, might be brought together, and the plan of a provisional government broached." The minutes of the meeting occupy less than half a page, the only business accom[)lished being the ap[)ointing by Babcock, the chairman, of a com- mittee of six, to give notice of a general meeting to be held at the house of Joseph Gervais on Monday the 6th of March. of March, to which it wiis addressed. ))j)(isitioii .s aj)- ))arent iu the wording c)f' the resolution itself, which only ]jroj)oses to consider the propriety of taking measures. But the coniniittee, or those of them who were mauaging the husiness under the direction of the Mission, held stated meetings, at which they dis- cussed more than anything else the question of liow to make a governor, and whom to pla(;e in tliat posi- tion. They also \ KKXMKNT. Ix'fon! the count could lu- t^ikcii. Wlicii every man Imii»'ani/in«i^ n temporary ji;()vcrn- mont. Xot (juite lialf the Americans voted for the organization, and hut for tlie aid of a few Canadians wlio wi're fiiendly \o the missionai'ies, tlie victory would have heen on tno otiier side." The dissenters liavinj;' with ■miiii the cost of tln! t'Xpcriincnt, l»y VK'Miiii,^ tlic |toint of taxes, and i)ioinisiii»jf to j^^'t aloii<;' without a o()vi'rn()r, tlie missioiiaiy party liad won the day. It was only, however, by enrourajjjino- tJie settlers to belii've that it was their ( \ui tiovcriinu'nt that this success was secured. J. S. (IritHu was su<;.ot a.avo- cate ail iiulopendeut ^ovoriinoiit at thi.s tiiiio, it is certain tbut tlu;ru were those who did, as well am )iig thu Aiiiuricans ai- tiio British sul)ji:uts. Sou J/ini-i' Oni/oii Hist., 4'2'J. '"Report of the iogisiative eiiminitti^c upon the jiidieiary The legislative committee reeoiiuneiuled that tlic following laws u])on judiciary he accepted: 'Sec. I. We, the i)eople of Oregon Territory, 'or purposes of mutual pro- tection, and to secure peace and i>rosperity among ourselves, agree to adopt the following la\rs laud regulations, until such time as the United States of Anieric.k extend their jarisiliction over Us. Be it therefore eiu'-teil, hy the free citizens of Oregon l\'rritory, that the said territory, for purposes of temjxirary government, he diviiled into not less than W, nor more than ">, districta; subject to be extended to a greater number, when an increase KNACTMKNT OF LAWS. WT The minutes of the meeting show tliat a son of ^ohn McLougliHn named Joseph McLoughhn, who lived on a faiiii in the Wilhimette Valley, moved the adoption of Article I., L. H, Judson, of Article II., of population shall riMjuire it. Vur the purpose of fixing the prineiplt-s m civil and riligiou.s liberty, as the hasi.s of all laws and constitutions of gov ernniunt that may luTeafter Ite adojited. Be it enacted, that the following articles 'je considered as articles of compact, among the free citizens of this territory 'Art. 1. No person, demeaning hiinsdf in a pcacealile and orderly maani^r, shall ever l)e molested on account of his mode of worsliip or religious senti- ments. 'Art. 2. The inhahitants of sari territory shall always be entitled to tile benefits of tiie writ of habeas connis, and trial l)y jury; of a [)roportionate representatl.i.i of the people in the '"gislature, and of judicial ]iroceedings, according to the course of common 'aw. All persons shall be bailal)le, unless for the capital offences, where the '/roof shall be evident, or tlie presumption great. All tines shall be mode ite, and no cruel or unusual punishments inflicted. No n)an shall be dej .ived of his liberty but by the judgment of liis peers, or tlie law of the lanM; and should the pul)lic exigencies make it neces.sary, for tlie comn;r>n vre ,ervation, to take any person's proi)erty, or to demand his particular ser'"? js, full compensation shall \)v uuule for the same. And in the just preservati<.n of the rigiits and property, it is understood and iledared that no law ought ever to be made, or have force iu said territory, that siiall in any manner interfere with or atl'ect private contracts, or engage- ments, bona lide, witlumt fraud, i)rcviously formed. 'Art. 'A. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good gov- ernment ami the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged. The utmost good faitli shall always be observed towards the Indians. Their lands and property shall lU'ver be taken from tliem without their consent; and in their property, rigiita, and liberty, they sliall nevf r be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawfid wars, author- ized by the repi' sentatives of the people; but laws founderi'ni to transact 'm.sinoss. 'i.rt. '). The legislative jiowcr shall he vestt.'il in a committee of per- sons, who shall lie elected hy the (|nalitied electors at tlie annual election, giving to each district a representation in ratio of its population, excluding Iniliaiis; ;>.nd the -aid meinliers of tlu; connnittec siiall reside ii' the district for whi^ii they shall he chosen. ".Art. 7. 'i he judicial power shall I)e vested in a supreme court, consist- ing of a suprenuy judge and '2 jiistices of the peace. The jurisdiction of the supreme court shall l)e hoth appellat'' and original. That of the prohatt^ court and jnstices of the peace as limited hy law — provideil that individual justices of the peace shall not have jurisdiction of any matter of controversy when the title oi' lioundary of land may he in dispute, or where the sum claimed exceeds fe-.')!). 'Art. S. There shall he a recorder elected liy the (|ualitied electors, at the annual election, who shall keep a faithful record of the ]iioeeedings in the legislative committee, suiu-emeand prohate courts; also, rcord all houndarief of lands jiresented for that purpose; and all marks and h'- mds tised for mark- ing live-stock; [irocnre and keep the standard weightr, and measures re(|uired hy law; seal weights and measures, and keep .t record of the same; and also lecord wills i'ud deeils, and other instruments of writing re(|uired liy law to he recordeil. The rei'order sliall receive the follo\\ iiig fees, vi/. : for recording wills, deeds, and other instruments of writing, ]'2 t'cnts for every KM) words, and the same jn ice for copies of the same; for I'very weight or me;i.snre sealed, ■J.i cents; foi' granting other (iliicial jiapers and the seal, 'J.") cents; for serving as clerk of the legislati\e committee, the same daily pay as the niemhers of the legishiture; and for ;dl other services re(|uireil of him hy this act, the same fees as allowed for similar services hy tlie laws of Iowa. 'Art. ;>. Tlu-re shall lie a treasurer elected liy tiie (jualitieil electors of the territory, who shall, het'ore entering upon the dtities of his oliice, give hond to the executive committee, in the sum of !*1,">*' his receipts and dishurseinents, w ith necessary voiichers for the sanu', and shall deliver to Ids successor in otiice all hooks, money, ac- counts, (jr other property hehuigi'ig to the territory, so soon as his successor shall hiei-me inialilieil. 'Art. II. '1 he tre.'isurer shall recei\e for his serviees the sum of .") per cent of all moneys received and paid out, according to law, and H per cent of all nu)neys in the treasury w hen he goes out of oliice, anil '2 per cent i\pon the ilisbursement of money in tin- treasury when he comes into otiice. 'Art. I'.V The laws of Iowa shall he the laws of this territory, ni civil, nnlitary, and criiuiual oases, where not otherwise provided for, and wiiero no l. IOWA STATUTES THE MODEL. :ny.i f pcr- plection. have sucli a liead, yet tliey were instructed by the people against it, and against taxation tor the support of a government. T'l ^v liad evaded the issue bv reconunending to the pubhc the appointment of an executive committee of three, which phin was finally adopted, but not without considerable discussion and amendment. statute of Iowa Territory applies, the principles of eoiiiiiuiii law and ecpiity sliall gov M'U. 'Art. IS. That the law of Iowa Territory regiilatiug weiglits and niea.s- ures siiall he tiie law of this territory — provided, that the supreme court shall perform the duties of the county commissioners, and the recorder shall per- form tlie duties of the clerk of the county coiiunissioners, as prescrihed in said laws of Iowa — and provided, that tK) pounds avoirdupois weight shall he tilt," standard weight of a hushel of wlieat, whether the same he more or less than 2, l.")0 '2 o culiic inches. 'Art. 14. Tlie laws of Iowa Territory respecting wills and administrations shall lie tile law of this territory, in all cases not otherwise provided for. 'Art. I."). The law of Iowa respecting vagrants is lierehy adopted, as far as adapted to the circumstances of the citizens of Oregon. 'Art. Hi. The supreme court shall liold two sessions annually, upon tlie tliird Tuesdays in April and Septendier; the first session to he held at Tliam- jioeg, on the third Tuesday of Septendier 1841^, an.■ ih-nimi Jiist. 4'_'t>-;ti; ^'lVF*/^ ///.«/. ",., ;ri,'t 7 l^:i nn Fii ■i iimiii u :ui) om.ASlZATlO'S OF rROVLSIOXAL (iOVKUNMKN T. The question of government exi)enscs was met by a subscription, pledging tlie signers to pay annually certain sums affixed to their names, providt'd the sub- scriber might withdraw his name on paying arrearages and notifying the treasurer. The country was divided into four districts, the first to be called Twality dis- tiict, comprising all the country south of the northern boundary line of the United States west of the Willamette or Multnomah Kiver, north of the Yam- hill Kiver, and east of the Pacific Ocean. The second was Yamhill district, and embracetl all the country west of the Willamette or ^Fultnomah Kiver, and a line running north and south from said river south of the Yamhill Hiver to 42° north latitude, or the houndary line of the United Statt>s and California, and east of the T^icific Ocean. The third, Clackamas district, comprelu'iided all the territory not included in the )ther three districts. The fourth, or Cham- jiooick"" district, was bounded on tlu' north by a line supj)osed to be drawn from the mouth of the Anchi- yoke River running due east to the Kocky ^[ountains, west by the Willamette oi' Alultnomah Kiver, and a supposed line running due south from said river to the 42d j)arallel, south l)y the northern boundary line of California, and east bv the summit (»f the Kockv Mountains. Collectively, these districts were to be designated Oregon Territory. The military law provided that there should be om- i»attaJion of militia in the territory, divided into three or more companies of mounted riflemen. This law contained nothing deserving of comment, except in its tenth and last article, which made the militia, "with the advice and consent of the executive com- mittee, subject to the call of the authorized agents of the United States goveriiment, until troops should be sent to support the same:" which meant that with the cop.sent of the executive connnittee. White might •"'riiis spcllinj; <>l < 'lianiiiopp waj* .mite c'lmniuii in tlii' early ueciipatidu of the NN'illuiiiette VuUuy, a» Twulity was of Tualatin. THE LAND LAW. :iii call oil the military companies to put down uprisings among the natives. The ntanner in which White and tlie soldiers used their authority has been giveri in a previous chapter. The law of land claims, the most important of all to the original agitators of a provisional government, required that the claimant should designate the boundaries of his land, and have the same recorded in the office of the territorial recorder, in a book kept for that purpose, within twenty days from the time of making his claim; unless he should be already in possession of a claim, when he should be allowed a year for recording a description of his land. It was also required that improvements should be made, by building or enclosing, within six months, and that the claimant should reside on the land within a year after lecording. Xo individual was allowed to hold a claim of more than one square mile, or six hundred antl forty acres in a square or oblong form, according to natural surroundings, or to h<»ld more than one claim at one time; but havmg conq)lied with these ordi- nances, he was entitled to the same recourse against trespass as in other cases }m>vided by law. The fourth and last article of the land law forl)ade all persons to hold claims upon city or town sites, extensive water privileges, or other situations neces- sary for the transaction of mercantile or manufactur- ing operations. Like all the important acts of the legislative committee, the land law was the work of Shortess, who was, at this period of his history, in close sympathy with the Methodist ^fission. The fou?i:.h article was directly designed to take from John Mcljoughlin his claim at Oregon City, but when the luoticn was put to a(lo})t tlu; law as a whole, there arose considerable argumei't, the 31ission having als(/ laid claim to a portion of the land at Oregon City, and having erected mills on the island at the falls. In order to quiet this discussion and satisfy the Mis- sion, a proviso was proposed "that nothing in these J I I ! ;{!•_' 011(1 AXIZATIOX OF PROVISIONAL GOVEKNMKXT. : h i i laws shall be no construed as t(j affect any claim of any mission of a religious character, made })revious to this time, of an extent not more than six miles square. The reports of the various connnittees having been adopted, Jason Lee, Harvev Clark, and David Leslie were chosen a committee to draught and administer an oath of office to the ])ersons elected on the 2d of May, and to the supreme judge, who should thereafter ([ualify all civil and military officers elected by the })eople. Burns having resigned his office as justice of the peace, Moore was chosen in his place. James O'Neil was also chosen justice of the peace for Yam- hill district, and Anu^s C(3ok constable. Joel Turn- liam was elected constable for Champooick district, in place of Bridges, who had gone to California. The choice of an executive committee was a matter of more moment, and the subject of active canvassing; it finally fell on David Hill, Alanson Beers, and Joseph (xale. None of these men had influence enough to l)e dangerous to the peace of the coinnmnity; two be- longed to the settler class, and the third was but a lay member of the Missior. The oath of office was ad- ministered the same day, by motion of the meeting, and thus the whole business of starting the machinery of the first u-overnment of Oretfon was concluded. With reixard to the influence of the Methodist Mis- '-'In a lotter to the Om/OH Speftdfor of Aug. 5, 1848, (iray affirms that this ])roviso was suggested l)y Jason Lee li'mself, and offered by Le Breton, and tliat none of tlie legislative eonnnittee were responsible for it; and to tliis he says he has made oath. In liis IlUtnrii, 338, lie informs us tliat Le Breton liad Ijeen ehoseu seeretly to the legislative eonii littee, the mend)ers agreeing to pay his 2)er diem if necessary. Newell, in his Slrictun'H on Onii/, says that the word ' Protestant' was inserted in tiie proviso l)efore 'missions,' hut that lie argued for the American right to worshij) (tod according to his conscience, and succeeded in having the obnoxious word sti'icken out. er'n Pith. Life, MS., 23-5; J. Q. Thornton, in Or. Pioneer Ahuoc., Trans.. 1874, 70; Burnett, in mies' J}e THi: CATHOLIC MLSSIONS-THE rUKSBYTP:RIANS. of tlie Hudson's Bay Company in London \v» ve askcy the t t)nipuny's annual express from jVIontreal, the object being to estabhsli a Catholic mission in the Willumtate val- ley. The comj)any would grunt the reipu^st on our co!idition, namely, tliat the })ro[)oscd mission should be established in the Cowlitz V'^allcy, the reason given beinij that the sovercionty of the British north of tlu* Columbia was uiujucstioned, while the right to tlie country soutii of the C(jlund)ia was still undecided.' No objection being made to this nMjuirement, tlu" archbishop of Quebec appointed tlie Fiev, Francis Xorbert Blanchet, then cure des Cedres, Montreal dis- trict, to the charge of the Oregon Mission, with the title oF vicar-general, antl for his assistant gave him the Rev. Modeste Demers of the district of Juli()})olis. They left Montreal in May 1838, with the company's express, which also had a number of other travellers under its protection. All went well till the Little Dalles, on tho Columbia, was reached. While tlu' j)arty were descending these dangerous i-apids one of the boats was wrecked and nearly half the com})an}' were drowned.^ i At Fort Colville the priests were received with the same demonstrations of pleasure that had given encouragement to the Protestant missionaries in east- ern Oregon on their first ap})earance. During a stay of four days nineteen persons were bai)tized, mass was said, and the natives a})i)earod to take great interest in the sacred rites.^ At Fort Okanagan they met ^ Shiij>.wii'/< Letter, in Bltinrhet's Jfist. Culfi. C/i. in Or., 24-5. Siinp.soii ot course know tliat tins country north of the Coluinhia wa.s still in dispute, hut ho prohahly helieved that the British had a l)etter chaiu^e of eventually getting it than the southern territory. Hence his desire to strengthen the claim by inducing the Canadians to settle north of the river. -Those drowned were: Wallace and wife, English tourists; Banks, a botanist, an rely much on the first dispositions they manifest.' /(/., 102. AKRIVAl. OK l'UIE!ST.S. 817 to uitli similar success, and l)a]>t izcd a mmihor of jhtsohs. At Fort Walla Walla .a few natives Mere baptized, l>ut liaviui;" l>een recently taught hy Whitman, they were less demonstrative, though, at the same time, more observ'ant and critical. On witiu'ssinj^ mass, with all those accessories which a|>j)eal most power- fully to the ima<4ina,tion of the savaijfe, they were, accordinjn' to the vicar-LCeni il, "struck with amaze- ment." Had Hlanchet \)vv\\ more fully inlornied con- ctTninsjf the relii^ious antecod(Mits of tlu^ (\ivuses, lie would have heen al)lu to account for tlu; inti'rest exhihited l»y them in this mysti'rious ceremony, wliich hroui;ht to their recollection all they had ever heard frttm their Ii'o(juois teachers, or learned from their intercourse with the French trap])ei's and voyaij^eurs, and which they were: now wonch'rin^ly contrastiniL*' \\ itli the less (h'corative and moi'e coldly ideal worshij* of tlu' Presbyterian missionaries. The appearance of the ])rii sts in their dark lohes, their frequent mystical siijns of I'everence, their chastity, their ajtj)arent inditfert'nce to secular affairs, all impressed the natives ^vith the su! limity and gravity of tlie faith. The Umatilla hr.uich of the Cayuses esj)ecially showed a stron;^ leanins^ toward this religion, so that already the 'hlackgowns,' as the ])riests were called, he^j^an to divide the natives ar^ainsfc themselves in thiui^s spiritual. On arrivinjj^ at Fort \'ancouver the (^atholic missionriries wer'e Maited uj»on I >y a delegation from tlu^ Canadian settlement, consist- ing^ of Joseph Gervais, h'tieiuie Luciei', and Pierre Belle(]U(^; hut no promise of an estalilishment on the Willamette was _i>iven thiMn at this time. Mass was first celebrated at the fort on tlu" •Jath of Xovember; and it is related that many of the Canadians were affected to tears, not havino- enjoyed this religious ]>rivilego for many years. After remaininj^ some time at A^ancouver, Planchet visited the (\anadian settle- ment on the Cowlitz. ( )n i eturning he spent a month in the Willamette A'^alley. ' 1 t 318 THK CATHOLK MISSIONS THK I'HKSHYTKIUAXS. One of till' first stt'])s takt'ii by tlu' Ciitholii' tiitlu'is was to H».'|tai'atf lor a short tiiiR' tlu' ("aiiadiaiis tVoin their IiMhan wives, after which tliey were nmri-ied act'or(hii liis lahois for the winti'r imdt'i" the liead of baptisms one hiiiuht'd and thirtv-four, st'|iulture> nine, and marriay^es fortv-nine. Xot oidv (hd ht; mai'rv the iinmari-ied, hut i-emarried those before united by tlie Protestant ministers, to the unutteral)le (hsijfust of tlu> latter. He also withdrt'W a nund)er of pei'siMis from till' tem])eranee society fornieil by the Meth- odists, and from their pi'ayer-meetin^s. In the summer of 183D J)enieis paid a visit to the interior. For thirty djiys he taujjflit the natives in the vicinity of Fort C'olville, after which he spent two weeks at Fort VN'alla AValla in the same manner, III the mean time the vicar-^eneral had established liimhcH" amon.t; the Cowlitz in a log house twenty by thirty feet in size erected for his use, and had received the lirst-frujts of the mission farm, which amounted to si:v bushels of wheat and nine bushels of pease. His farmer had fenced twenty-four acres, and plouinhed fifteen besides for the autumn sowing. His house was used both as a residence and a chapel, and the estab- lishment received the name of 8t Francis Xavier. A visit was made to the natives at Nisijually during the summer, and in the autumn both Blaiichet and JXnners re[)aired to Fort Vancouver, where they I'e- ceived permission fioni Douglas, McLoughliii not yet havinijf arrived from England, to form an establish- nient in the Willamette Valley, the governor and committee having withdrawn their objections. On what grounils the prohibition was removed does not ajipear; but it is probable tliat McLoughlin re})re- sented to the directors in London that the Canadian families in the Willamette were ])ermanently settled, and being free, had a right l;) live where they liked, and choose their own teachers. The vicar-general re[)aired immediately to the HLANfllET AND DKMKU.S. 31 'I Caiuuluiii settleiiu'iit on tho Willaiiu'tto, wliore ji loi^ cliuivh was ahvadv awaitin<'- liiiii, tour iiiik's aUovi* C'-ainpooi;', luivini;- Ihhjii built in 1H'A(\ wlu'ii tlu- Fii'iich l)eii^aii to (.;ntortain tho liopr of having' priests anion*;" tlieni.'' Hero Blancliot took up his rcsicU'ni-o Octohor 1 2th. On the 2:kl of Di'ci'inber lie blessed the bell ho had brought with him, and on the Oth of January, 1840. the liuniblo editicr was foi-nially dedicated to St I'aul, and mass was ccli'brated for tho tirst time in the Willamette \'alley. The ni'xt three weeks were chietly devoted to ii'li^ious exercises, the men lu'in*; examined to ascertain if theii- jirayors were remem- bered, the women and children instructed in tlu'ii- duties, and all made to confess their sins. The fourth week was occuj)ied in visitinj4" the settleis at their homes, and in selecting a square mile of land for the Catholic establishment. In the mean time, Demcrs, havinij^ finished his visit to Xis(jually, was assigned to the cliari;e of the Cow- litz establishment, where he arrived the l;5th of Octo- ber, 183!), Next day he hun«^ and rang out the first church-bell ever heard in the terr-itory. There were at this time but eight families on the Cowlitz, includ- ing altogether forty-six peisons, which number was oc-casionally augmented as more men were required by the Puget Sound Agricultural (\)mpany. To these ]»ersons Demers gave religious instruction during the early jiortion of the winter; and endeavored in the spring to iin})art a limited knowledge of farming to the natives within reach, in the hope of ameliorating their condition. During the earlier part of 1840 the jealous rivalry between the Catholic and ^[ethodist missionaries was shown with much bitterness on both sides. The former regarded it as impudent intrusion that Prot- estant ministers should preach their heretical creed to * This, the first Imildint,' erected for j)ul>lie religious services in Oregon, was 70 hy .SO feet in size. I suppose it to he ideutieiil witli that iu which Jaaou I.ee and his associates preached to the settlers. ^■i m r3 1' :i JiiL ; IM; 1 4^-1 I :wo THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS— THE PRESBYTERIANS. the Catholic Canadians, or even atteni[)t to convert the natives; while the latter naturally took an exactly opposite view of the matter. This feeling was fre- quently the cause of mutual recriminations wliich were generally without foundation in fact, while in some cases the missionaries so far forgot the dig- nity of their calling as to proceed to acts of mild hostility against each other. Thus Blanchet relates in his history" that Leslie, in revenge for his action in remarrying those persons already united by the Methodist ministers, instituted a revival, which was, however, barren of fruits; that Daniel Lee endeav- ored to make proselytes by praying in the houses of the Canadians, and that the Methodists circulated among the Catholics an obscene book," wliich pre- tended to give awful Usclosures concerning convtuitual life in Alontreal. Furthci-, that a complaint v/as made to Douglas by the Metliodists, because the Catholic missionaries were using their influence "to keep the lambs of the flock out of tlie clutches of the Wes- leyan wolves," and that tlie governor told his inform- ant very curtly tliat "it was none o'' his busim^ss." Blanchet then proceeds artlessly to laud his own zeal by describing how he meddled with Waller's mis- sionary work at the falls of the V\'illaniette in 1840, on which v»ccasion lie claims to have christianizetl the most degraded com[)any of sa\ ages in Oregon in seven days, though he was obliged every day to run after the lazy Indians to bring them to his tent. Finally he baptized eleven children, and as the result of his week's labors found that "nine families out often had ^llutorcial SL-ffr/ii'y of the Catholic Church in Omjon, rortlaiul, 1878. Tliis work is not graccfuUv A-ritteu, owiii^' projaMy to tlu' antlior'H iiiipi-rfect kiiowludgt; i>f the English language, Its ooiiteutti for tlu; most part appear pncrilt! to the general reader, though ilie hlanie of tliis may he ehargoJl to the nature of iia themes. Tlio liiatorical value of the work is great, thougli impaired by the eoai-sely abusive tone adopted hy ^il.'Moliet when referring to the Protestant missionaries, which only serves to tl i'' .v discredit ui)ou his own statements. So far as the Methodists ha\e writ' I'W of the Catholio mis- sions, they have shown more charity and moderation " Moria Moid; a publication whioli at one time . -'^ated a great stir iu the leligiuns world. I i RELKJION AND POLITICS. 321 bev^n rescued from brother Waller." In return for this interference with his mission, Waller pulled down a Hag hoisted on Sunday by Blanchet's order. But the latter declares that he was consoled for tliis insult because son.e Clatsoj)S, seeing' the altar, ornaments, and vestn>ents, spoke disparagingly of the IVotestant missionaries, who had never shown them such pretty things.^ The childish quarrels, )f which this is an example, might well be overlooks !. were it not necessaiy to refer to sectarian feuds hereafter to account for events of greater importance. Despite their troubles with the Methodists, Blan- chet and De?ners labored industriously to disseminate their religion. Tliey visited distant tribes and bap- tized a vast number of infant savages, attended to the spiritual wants of the fur company's servants, most of whom were Catholics and taught diligently at St Paul and St Xavier. Aside from their super- abundant zeal, thev were excellent men and faitlifullv discharged their duties as they understood them. If thev drew awav from the Methodist snhool the chil- dren of the French settlers, they did not neglect their education afterward, but were as zealous to establish institutions of learning as Jason Let; himself Nor were tl>' . behind in erectiny: mills and making im- provements which might give them a title to the lands o( rupied by them when the United States shoild carry out its promise of free farms to actual settlei •. The innnediate eU'ect of the arrival of Blanc let and Deniers was to unittj tht* Fi'ench settlers in a com- nuinity by themselves, and thus weaken the pcAver *>f the Methodist Mission as a political body. This is shown by the fact that tlu' first two petitions of the si'ttlers to the United States congress were signed e(jually by French and Americans, but the subsequent memorials by Americans oidy. It increased the lios- ' mnuryi'x Cuh. r/i. Ill Or., 120-2. " Porri.t/,'.i Or. .1 mnhtv^, MS., 'M; ll'/nVc'^ Or. Ter., IG; Wilken' X'ir., iv. 374. Hist. Or., Vm.. I. n ! ' 1 f ■I 322 THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS-THE PRESBYTERIANS. ■ ■IBM I l: tility of the latter toward the fur company, and es}3e- cially toward McLoughHn, to whose jealousy of them the Methodists attributed the action of the company in allowing, or as they believed in inviting, the Cath- olics to settle in the territory. This suspicion was strengthened when McLoughlin joined the Catholic church in 1842. It then began to be said of him that he had always been a Catholic, and a very Jesuitical one, and that he was plotting against Protestantism and American progress in every form; and though nothing could be further from the truth," these accu sations had great weight with those opposed to him from personal, sectarian, or political motives. That neither McLoughlin nor the fur company had any intention of covering the country with missions, as the Americans had done, was evident from the refusal of the committee to allow two other priests. Rev. A. Langh)is and J. B. Z. Bolduc, to follow the first two to Oregon, by denying them a passage in their express in 1841, although this did not prevent their coming the year following by sea. The reader will remember that a petition of the Flatheads for white teachers, sent to St Louis about I j " Though McLougliliii's religion has been tlio subject of much rancorous dispute, there is really no mystery about it. He was l)rought up in the Anglican church; but his life in the wililorness had separated him so long from religious observances that at the time the first missionaries appeared at Van- couver he might be sai the required aid, and after conferring with Bianchet and Demers, determined to make a further a[>peal to St Louis for assistance. Returning to St Mary, he '^ /)e Smet'a Or, MimioiiK, .S8; Shea-'* ll'mt. CiitJi. Mi>u<., 474; jVfc Jftircii, CoHrkr and Jouritnl, •July 1871. RETURN OF BLANCH ET. directed Point to found a new mission, under t]ie name of the Sacred Heart, among the Canirs d'Aiene, and set out in August for the Missouri horder to lay the wants of the savages before liis sui)eriors. The result of his appeal was, that in the fv)llowing year, 184.'}, fathers Peter De Vos and Adrian Hoeken, with three lay brothers, were ordered to the Rocky Moun- tains, while De Sniet himself was despatched to Europe to enlist other aid for the new field of Ore- gon." In the same year seven lay brothers came from Canada with the annual brigade, Blanchet hav- ing made such rei)resentatiorjS to Simpson at Van- couver as to overcome his objections.** De Smet's jouriiey to Europe was eminently suc- cessful. He returned to Oregon July 31, 1844, ac- companied by fathers A.ntonio Ravalli, Giovanni Nobili, Aloysius Vercrnysse, Michele Accolti, several lay brothers, and six sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. They arrived, like the Methodist reenforcement of 1840, in a chartered vessel, the bark L' fnde f at i gable, from Antwerp, bringing money and material for the prosecution of their plans of esta])li.shiug Catholic schools in the Willamette Valley, and Indian missions in the more remote parts of the territory.'^ The sisters tot)k possession of a convent erected i'or them on French Prairie, called St Mary, on tl e IDth of Oc- tober, and o])t'iied a school for girls soon after. A boys' college, named St Joseph, was already in o|)era- tion, under the charge of Rev, J. B. Bolduc, who '^Burnett, in his /{ccollirtioti.-) of a Pioufcr, UfcJ, speaks of meeting De Niiiet and Do N'cw at tlie erossing of tlic Kansas River, but this is an error. IK' \'i)8 and Hoeken were meant. They travelled in advaiiee of the einigrunt.s of 1843, a part of the time in eompany with a hunting jwirty from New Or- leans, under Captain Stuart. See Nilc-'i' HvijhU-r, lx\ . 70. ^* Ilhmii't's Cnf/i. Ch. ill Or., VM, VA\>. The archhishop is at fault agaan in his dates, writing 1H4'J for 1841. Sir (ieoige is also maile to keep 'his promise of sending assi»tantH, ' as if he rt'cre part of the CathoUr Mission, Mhieh lie was far from l>eing. '"The /iiilejati,;iiittiveil the south ehannel >.' tlie Columbia, an entrance not attempted hefore. Her eommauder was witht ut any ktiowleilat? of tin; river, liut hilving lain outside four ilays waiting for a pilot, deeided to try the mtranee, and sailed straight in, being several times m peril from shallows, hut arriving safe at Astoria. Suhsetjuently th- chanael deepened until it eaue into eommon u>e. ii.il ¥/ i I 1 1'" :i26 THE CATHOLIC MLSSIONS-THE rRESBYTKKIAN.S. came from Canada by sea, in 1842, as previously men- tioned/^ During De Smet's visit to Europe, Oregon was erected into an apostolic vicariate by Pope Gregory XVI., who appointed Blanchet arclibisht)p of the ter- ritory, Deniers succeeding him as vicar-general. The briefs were made out December 1, 1843, and reached Oregon November 4, 1844. Soon afterward Blanchet proceeded by sea to Canada, to receive his consecra- tion at tlie hands of the archbishoj) of Quebec. He then made a voyage to Europe to devise means of in- creasing tlie resources of the Oregon mission. He met with great success in securing funds and voluji- teers,^'' and returned to Oregon in August 1847, with twenty-one recruits, among whom were seven sisters of Notre Dame de Nanmr ; three Jesuit priests, Gaets, Gazzoli, and Menestrey, with three lay brotliers ; five secular priests, Le Bas, McCormick, Deleveau, Pretot, and Veyi'et ; two deacons, B. Delorme and J. F. Jayol ; and one cleric, T. Mesplie.^** '* An ofi'er was made by the Catholics to pnrcha.so the huildmg and grounds of the Oregon Institute tirst erected on WaUace Prairie, and offered for mdc hy (Jary, who was tdosii.g u[i tlie Methodist Mi:<.sion; hut that gentleman declined to sell to tiie suceessful rivals of Methodism, though the Methodist Society would liave received double what it did receive Tor the property. J fines' Or. uml Ins.. Kil " Louis Pli'lipjie of France gave ;<,()00 francs, .uid ordered tne ministers of the interior and 'uarine t iiml Skrt^lici, written in 1841, after his first visit to the Rocky Mountains, prii.ted in 1S4.H, and marked liy the novel impressions •cceived from coni '.et witl'. suiva^e.s. Wis ' 'rn/oii MU-iiDiis, New York, liH47, is u hook of over 4' «> pages, and contains, I)e8ides a narrative of the mission Work in the Wiilumettt Valley and a brief sketch of the territory, a great number of hitters tilled with descriptive, scientilic, unil reliynms matter. He followed this with st-veral works, little more than reprnits, in P'rench and Italian; ami published in lS(i.S his W'-steni .\fi.isioii'< "ih/ MisM/oniirits, a series of letters addre88< I to the editor of Pnrin Histr>riruary 8, 1846. On the 24th of May the corner- stone of a new brick church at St Pauls was laid, which was opened for service on the 1st of Novem- l)or."' This edifice was 100 feet in length, by 45 in breadth, with wings 20 feet in length, used for chapels, and a belfry tower 84 feet in height. That the Protestants of the Willamette Valley should be able to lo(»k upon the achievements of the Catholics without jealousy was not to be expected. Had they })ossessed the utmost liberality in religious matters, there was still the fear of foreign influences, and anti- American sentiments in their midst at a critical period of the colon^-'s existence, which might defeat tlie most impoi'tant ends at which they were -"Blanchct, froiii whoso Cnth. C'l. in Or. I have taken the account of tlic arrival of the Itishop of Walla Walla, does not name tlie Ohlate Fatliers except KatiuT Kichanl, wiio he says was their superior. But I gather from various authorities that two of the others were named I'auilc y ami C'herouse. -'This was the lirst ehun^li huilt of hriek in Oregon, Imt not thetirst briek Iiuililing erected, as Blancliet supi)ose.s. I'revioiis to this George (lay huilt a small hriek house on his farm, tlie hri^iks being inaile at a place now called Wlieatland, opposite the old Me.Miodi.^t Mission, by John McCaddon, who also made tlie first bricks in Salem. AbeTiiethy built a brick house at Oregon City in 1844, and oiiened a ston.- in it. The iiricks were made at Bull Creek tu Oregon City. J/ox.i' Pioneer 7'two, MS., 33. METHODLST AND TKESBYTEUIAN. 3-2*J aiming. This feeling of appreliension served, on .^re- (juent occasions, to liold the balance even or to prompt certain conciliatory measures, when there was danger of a conflict of opinion dividing the j)opulation on colonial questions, as will be more clearly illustrated in a future chapter on govern nient affairs. In the matter of religious differences, when the Methodist Mission was dissolved, the chief cause of irritation was removed, and Protestant and Catholic labored side by side with similar if not coincident aims, and without seriou.sly interfering with one another. It was not, therefore, in the Willamette Valley that the intrusion of another form of religion was regarded with the greatest uneasiness, but in the unsettled Indian country east of the Cascade Mountains, where a few isolated fam- ilies were endeavoring to teach the first principles of progress to wilful and capricious savages, and where any interference with tlieir labors was sure to create a division among the natives, which might destroy the effect of all their efforts. The experience of the Presliyterian missionaries was entirely different from tha;. of their Methodist brethren. They had to deal with tribes yet in their ])rimitive strength of mind and body, having their intelligence not yet weakened but .sharpened by con- tact witli white men, lordly in their ideas of personal dignity, but blind to the rights of others while in- sisting with the utmost psrtinacity upon what they esteemed their own. To teach such beings required the exercise of extraordinary tact, firmness, and i)a- tience, and would have been difficult had the savages been constantly subject to the influence of precept and example. But their roving habits took them away from their teacliers during a considerable ])()r- tion of the year, and although eager and quick to If^arn, they gave little time to study. To overcome these difficulties the missionaries worked liard to put themselves in sympathy witli their pupils, by mastering their dialects, and endeav- I! fi'f, ii m 880 THE CATHOI-IC MISSIONS—THE PRESBYTERIANS. orerl to attach them to certani locahties by teacliing them farming. The latter was a more difficult task than the former, as the natives, particularly the Cay- uses, afleeted to believe that they were doing a favor to Dr Whitman" by receiving his instruction, and frequently demanded pay for what they did f(^r them- selves, as well as for the use of the ground which he cultivated for the support of the Mission. Split-lip, a chief of the Cayuses who lived near the Waiilatpu Mission, was often most insulting in his demands, occasioning difficulties which would never have been settled but for the ijood offices of Pambruu of Fort Walla Walla, who was usually able to manage the natives through the influence of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the fear they had that if they exhibited hostility to white men who were friends of the com- l)any the trading posts would be withdi'awu from theii" country. The same state of affairs existed at Lapwai, except that Spalding exer-cised a more arbitary authority over the Nez Perces than Whitman could exert over the Cayuses, and established a system of laws, or rules of conduct, which rendered the natives liable to punishment for eert:;in ofl'ences. Though these laws were not without their advan- tages, yet, unless great discrimination was used in applying them, they were likely to breed mischief, as the following instance will show : A difficulty arose from the death of The Hat, the young chief who, while ac('()nn)anying Gray to the States in 1837, was killed by the Sioux. The other two young chiefs, Blue Cloak and Ellis, who agreed to go with Gray, as I have before mentioned, turned back at the ren- dezvous, giving as a reason that the feet of their hoi'ses were sore, and that they would die up(jn the road. When tliev i)resented themselves in the au- tumn at Lapwai, Spalding, who had a quick temper, fearing for Gray's safety, and vexed at the failure of - "Whitman's letter, in Bo-ttoii M sn. Herald, November 1S40, 138. KLLIS' KETOKT. xn I i^,- lo- a part of his j)luii, wliicli was to oxclian^o a herd of Indian horses for oattU; on the frontier, severely reproved them, and exactc^d a liorse from each for hreach of contract. The youn*>' men not complying with this demand, Spalding took occasion when the Indians were assemhied for instruction to order some of them to take Blue Cloak and whi[) liim. Ellis was also })resent, but as he had a number of his hand with him, he was not molested. For some time no one oifered to execute the order, hut at length one of the principal men arose, and having seized ami hound Blue Cloak, turned to Spalding, saying, "Now you whi[) him." To this Spalding objected on the plea that he, like God, gave commands but did iu)t exe- cute them. " You are a liar," retorted the chief; " look at your picture" pointing to a rude })ainting sus- pended against the wall — "there you liave represented two men, with God behind them holding a bund'e of rods with which to whi[) tliem. If you refuse to })unish Blue Cloak, we will })ut you in his place aiid whip you." Not relishing the alternative S[)akHng laid on the lasli,"^ after which the horse re(|uired was given him. Had The Hat returned alive, this affair might have been forgotten. But when Gray a})peared without liim, Ellis accused him of having caused tlie chief's death, and declared that S})alding's wrath against him and Blue Cloak for turning back sliowed that it had been intended that they also should be killed. Ellis then assembled the Nez Perces, and kept Spalding and all the white [)eople attached to the Mission pi'isoners in their house for several weeks, and it was not until Pambrun had several times sent messages from Walla Walla assuring them that (xray was not responsil)le for the deatli of The Hat, that they finally consented to release their [)risoners. The calm which followed was oidy the send)lance of peace. In the following year, 1831), Smith, who '■' /lroiiilkt.''i Aiifliniti- Afcointt, 1J5-1). ' ?i r 'M ;|. Ill' i' IS m'4 i-i -tr- I w IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 'f IM IIM !?" IB III 2.2 m 2.0 i.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 -4 6" — ► ^ <^ /a ^/. 'c5. e. a, A ^ ■>N % S / / '/ /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 :«J THE CATHOUC MISSIONS-THK I'KKSBYTEUIANS. establisliecl a mission at Kamiah, obtained the assent of Ellis to build a house on his land, but was refused permission to cultivate the ground, Ellis telling him that if he dug a hole in the earth it should serve for his grave. In the s])ring of 1840 Smitii made an attempt to plough, but was interrupted by the sav- ages with the same threat, when he desisted, and soon after went to the Hawaiian Islands, the station Kamiah being abandoned."* This much is the account of the Catholic authorities, and Gray does not deny it, although, having tlie means of knowing, he should have done so, if not true. But the Presbyterian missionaries were habitually reticent concerning their troubles with the savages, probably because tliey were reluctant to confess their failures to the religious world."'' Yet in truth there was little to be ashamed of in a lack of success in such a field of labor. For the ''* Wilkes mentions meeting A. B. Smitli and wife at Fort Vancouver in 1841, at which time it was saiil tliat they were leaving Oregon on account of Mrs Smith's health. He also learned fT-om Smitli that there were no natives in the neighborliood of Kamiiil' uand a station. A'lir., iv. 354. But Smith, ia liis correspondence, dt Kamiah to be ' the most eligible spot for a station in the whole count i'hree fourths of a year, autumn, win- ter, and spring, the people remain Here permanently.' BohIou MisK. Herald, Aug. 1840, .32G. (iray attempts to show that Smitii left tlie Nez Perce Mis- sion because Spalding was 'andjitious and selfish,' and jealous of the superior ability of his coaprovcd by Whitman, they covered him with mud, plucked his beard, ))ulled his I'ars, sna})ped a gun at him, threatened to pull down his house, and would have struck him with an axe had ^"Letter to l)r White, 184'-', in Oraii^ IILtt. Or., '2'^. '''' Shii]>.io>i's Xui:, i. J 01; Wilh-s' Xnr., iv. 484; HokIoii MIm, Jfrnili/, NovcihIkt 1840, 441. "^Boston M!s.t. Jfriald, October IS41, 4:5(;; A/., Septoinlwr 1841, 405. li ! 334 THK CATHOLIC MISSION'S— THE PRKSBVTKRIANS. he not evaded the blow.^ A report of tliis outrage reached the Sandwicli Islands, and prevented J. D. Paris and W. H. Rice from joining- the mission with their wives. They were about to depart for Oregon, but on liearing of the assault, determined to remain at the Islands, believing that Waiilatpu would be abandoned. Indeed, Whitman was strongly coun- selled by McLoughlin to quit Waiilatpu; being assured that should he do so temporarily, as if offended with the natives, they would re])ent of their conduct and ask him to return.'*" But the missionary was no ordi- nary man. I do not know which to admire in him most, his coolness or his courai>e. His nerves were of steel; his patience was excelled only by his abso- lute fearlessness; in the mighty calm (»f his nature he was a Caisar for Christ. He would on no account give the Cayuses occasion to think he had feared them. So he resolved to stay. In 1841, while the Red River immigrants were at Walla Walla awaiting a change of horses, another assault was made on Whitman in consequence of Gray striking an Indian lad for some offence. The boy's uncle was the chief Tiloukaikt, a haughty and irascible man, who to avenge the insult to his nephew struck Whitman, knocked his hat off, and pulled his nose, all of which insults the doctor bore meekly, but without showing fear. In former attacks of a similar nature, Pambrun had interfered to prevent further mischief; but the ruler of Fort Walla Walla was now dead, and Archibald ]VIcKinlay reigned in his stead. The Cayuses had agreed with McKinlay to furnish horses to take the Red River immigrants to the ])alles; but when the animals were brought, he refused them, saying he would have nothinu' to do with Indians who treated a white man, and his friend, as tlicy had treated Dr Whitman. This was an argument they could under- ''^ Brouillet's Authentic Account, 25. '^lidtertti Ki'collcctioiiH, MS., 4 A l'KINllN(irRESS. 3;» stand. After making some delay and difficulty about it, he a])peare(] to relent, and ])romised to aocej^t the horses provided Tiloukaikt, and all concerned in the assault, should go and beg pardon of the doctor, wliich they consented to do.^^ So again the sky was clear over Waiilatpu. Meanwhile Spalding was having similar trouble at Lapwai. The Nez Perces puDed down his mill, claim- ing it to be their own, and assaulted him witii a gun, Mrs Spalding herself not escaping insult. There hail not been one year in the five from 1837 to 1842, in which some of these occurrences had not taken place. Surrounded by difficulties and dangers sucli as these, it is no wonder that the Protestant missionaries resented the advent of the Catholics. The natives could not fail to see that there was trouble between their teachers, and their mischievous nature made them quick to take advantage of the situation. They carried stories back and forth, taking a malicious de- light in exaggerating such scra})s of scandal as were blown about their ears upon the breezes of religious rivalry. While A. B. Smith was at the Kamiah mission he reduced the Nez Perce dialect to grammatical rules. In the summer of 1839 the Lapwai mission received a visit from the printer of the Honolulu mission, E. 0. Hall, who brought as a present from the first native church of Honolulu a small printing-press and some type. He remained long enough to teach the printer's art to Spalding and Rogers, and on this press were printed primers in the native language for the use of the pupils, a collection of hynms. and some *^ Tolmie's Piitjct Sniiml, MS., 24-."). I luive Tolmie'.s authority al.so for the story told Iiy several others, that < iray, to prevent tlie native chililreu from taking melons out of tlie ganlon at Waiilatpu, inserted tartar cnietio into several of the finest ones in order to make the thieves sick and destroy their craving for melon. Its evil eflects were (juickly perceived, and tlie suspicion naturally engendered that the missionaries were exerci.sing tdmaiioiran, or evil-eye, upon them, which led to furtlier suspicions at a later date. See also the testimony of Augustine Raymond and John Young, in Brouilkt'H Au- thentic Account, 31. '^ S 33() THL CATHOLIC MISSIONS— THK 1'K1>BYTKK1ANS. • •liaptt'is from St Matthew."''" By the aid of these hooks ill tlieir own tonj^uc, a iminher of tlie Nez Perees were tauglit to read, and also to reproduce tlieir lessons, hy printing with the pen, for the benefit of less advanced pupils. In the labor of translation, Smith was assisted by Lawyer, whom I 1 ave before mentioned as having obtained his sobriquet by his shrewdness in dealing with white men, and who had a sufficient knowledjje of the Enijlish lanjjfuaije to enable him to assist in the earlier efforts of the mis- sionaries. This astute savage soon })erceived that so Iciug as the missionaries were in the field he could })rofit by siding with them in all disputes. Besides the books used, pictures drawn by Mrs Spalding, in water-colors, to illustrate sermons and lessons, were important aids. It was found that bible history was interesting to the natives, but they were opposed to the doctrine of orii-inal sin, and also to being made responsible as sirmers. Yet they readily understood the meaning and the natural justice of the command- ments, and had a love for laws, though each one evi- dently hoped to gain some advantage by them over liis fellows. In addition to reading, writing, singing, and religious instruction, the men were taught farming and the women housekeeping, knitting, sewing, spinning, and weaving. The chief difficulty in the way of progress was the necessity of collecting food, the men spending a great portion of the year in hunting, and the women in digij^ing roots or tjatherini; berries. Their absence, however, gave the missionaries oppor- tunities to perform the labor required for their own subsistence. The mission at Lapwai after a few years consisted of a larjje and connnodious dwellintj with eleven fire- '■^Oii this press, the first north of California, ■was also printed in 1848 the tirst periodical, not a newspaper, published in the Willamette Valley, the Ompii Ameriruii and EvftmjfUcal Unionist, edited l>y J. S. OriHin. It was a sectiirian and rabidly anti-Catholic journal. The press and type are preserved in tlio state-houso at Salem. Thornton s Or. JfiKf., MS., 'Jo-6; S'nocomb's ('lldaimUa of Misx., 02.S. M. (J. Foisy was the tirst printer in Oregon after the missionaries. Rorkij Moiintnin (•ir.rtir: T/wrnlou'n Or, Jiclicn, MS., 4, WAIILATPU BUILDINCJS. :W7 N( fire- jtlaces, and Indian ret'(!j)tion-rooni, weavins^ and spin- ning room, eating and sleeping rooms for the children, rooms for the family, and a school-liouse, all under one roof. There were, besides, a church, saw-mill, blacksmith-shop, granary, storehouse, and all necessary farm buildings. The mission farm, besides simply supporting the family, as was at tirst anticipated, be- came a source of supply to travellers the natives, and the other missions. ^^ The mission at Waiilatpu consisted of an adobe a story and a half high, sixty feet in length by eighteen in width, with library and bedroom at one end, din- ing and sitting room in the centre, and Indian room at the other end of the main building; the kitchen, school-room, and bedrooms being in a wing at right angles to it. A second house, called the mansion, stood at a little distance from the first, and was forty by thirty feet on the ground, and a story and a half high. Near these was a blacksmith-shop, and within four hundred feet of the dwelling was a small grist-mill. On one side of this gnmp of buildings were the Walla '^ Spaliliiig hail discovered as early as 1838 tlie fertility of the soil iu tlu- country eiist of the Cascades, and as early as 1845 that the plaiim were even more valuable for farnii'ig tiiaii the valleys. In a letter ^ repared by him in 184(5 for the use and by the request ot Joel Palmer, then on his way to the States, after giving tlie above opinion, he gf)es on to say: ' My plaee is one of the deepest valleys, and consequently tlie most exposed to relleetion from the high bluffs around, wliich rise from 2,()()0 to ;{,(K)0 feet; but my farm, though prepared for irrigation, haa remained without it for tlie last 4 years, I find the ground becomes more moist by cuHivatiop. Three years ago I raised (KX) liushels of shelled corn from G acres, and good crops of wheat on the same piece the 2 following years, without irrigation. Eight years ago I raisisd l,r)()0 bushels of potatoes from one acre and a half ; mea -uring some oj the bags in which tliey were brought to the cellars, and so judging of the whole amount. I gave every eleventh bag for digging ami fetching, and kept a strict account of what every person brought, so that I was able to make a pretty accurate estimate of the wliole amount. My pofcitoes and corn are always planted in drills. Every kind of grain or vegetal>le which I have tried in this upper country grows well. Wheat is sown in the fall, and harvested in June at tliis place; at I>r Wliitman's in July, being in a more open country. Corn is planleil in Aiiril and rii)ens in July; pe;iso the same. /'iitiiicr'n JoitriKil, I()7. In 184'2, 140 Nez Perces cultivated tlie ground, in quantities of from :{ of an acre to 5 acres each. One chief raised that year l(K) bushels of corn, 17tJ bushels of peaae, and between 300 and 400 bushels of potiitoes. Another chief raised about the same amount; and about 4U In- dian farmers raised from '20 to 100 bushels of grain of different kimls, liesides potatoes, vegetables, and mclouit in abundance. Bo-iloii Miss. JJenilU, Oct 1843, 383. ll;sT. Oil., \'oi.. 1. 22 v.) 'A -r-il $38 THE CATHOLK: missions— the PKESBYTEItlANS. Walla River and mill-pond; on t!ic opposite side a ditch for discliarj^ing waste water from the mill, and for irrigating purposes. Willow, birch, and alder fringed the stream. A meadow lay in front stretch- ing toward the west; apple-trees were growing in sight of the house, and l^owers in the small enclosure in front.^ A general air of thrift and comfort prevailed.'' In 1839 the stock at Waiilatpu consisted of a yoke of oxen, two cows, an An)erican bull, and a few hogs. In 1841, according to Wilkes, a considerable herd had come by descent. Sheep had been obtained from the Hawaiian Islands, and hogs had greatly nmltipliod. There was a saw-mill belonging to the mission twenty miles up Mill Creek, having a capacity of about three; thousand feet a day, together with a house for the mill men. It was first thought that the soil of the Walla Walla Valley was not fertile, but Wilkes found wheat stand- ing seven, and corn nine, feet high in the mission fields at Waiilatpu, while the garden was filled with fine vegetables and melons. There was less cultivation by the Cayuses than by the Nez Perces, j^^et they brought into use many small ])atches of ground, some of them at Waiilatpu, but more on the Umatilla River, where at a distance of twenty to forty miles lived some of the most influential chiefs. Less grain was raised at Waiilatpu than at Lapwai, partly because of the man- ifold cares of the superintendent, and partly because, owing to the hauglity and intractable disposition oi the Cayuses, fewer of them could be employed as farm laborers.''"' Whitman's manner of teaching was similar % 1 3* Victors All Over Or. and Wrotection and assistance in rebuilding, the mission was soon restored, although many things of value in this remote region were destroyed. Agriculture at Chemakane did not succeed as at Lapwai or Waiilatpu, on account of frosts, and it does not appear to have been attempted to any great extent. ''^^ Among the Spokanes was a chief named (xarry, corresponding in character and mfiuence to • Lawyer among the Nez Perces. He had been taki'ii to the Red Kiver settlement, where he was taught t , • ,1 ill of this les, the Imtter en anil in ;i But whicli ;f oasiouetl a serious difficulty, which was averted, however, when tliey hecame couviiiced there was water enough for all if they would dig treiiehes for themselves. A'fu-., iv. 423. '^'' Ildstimjs Or. and Cal., 54; Jn/iiinoii'n <^iil. ami Or., -71. ^*De 8met says: 'It appears they are fearful that, sliould they cultivate more, they might have too frequent visits from the savages. They even try to prevent their encampment in their immediate neighborliood, and therefore they see and converse but seldom with the heathen they liave come so far to .seek.' Lctlcr-i and Skvtc/i(.'f, 212. t- i % : :mu THK ( ATIIOLU' MIS.SIOXS TIIK I'KK.SHV I'KlllANS. reading and writin lr Whitman, in Boston M'ms. Herald, Dec. 18G6, 374 342 THK lArilOLK- MISSIONS IMi: I'llKSUVTKUIAXS. tliciii tlirou^li to tin; Columbia. Tlic inonu'iit that is accu will in'Cdiin' su|»i)ly stations to thousands of travellers, and the objections of the connnittee will be removed. Hel[) eau be obtained from the inmiiu^rants; a settlement <'an Ikj formecl, and a stronj^ Protestant influence brou^j^ht to counter- act the efforts of the Catholics. Heri^ a^ain was earthly empire risini^ up to overshadow the spiritual. S(> sure did Whitman feel of the truth of his propliecy, that he projjosed t(» start at once for Boston to pro- cure a reversal of tlu* unwelconut ordt'r recallinj^ S})aldin(; and closinjr the two most inijiortiint stations, and to })rocure further assistance for the missions. In vain did his colleai^ues oppose the scheme. With the determination characteristic of tlu> man, he set about mMkiiiu' his arranLTcments for the iournev. As in all cases of exiwncv, Wliitmau now souiifht counsel of his friends of the fort.^'' McKinlay said that although the proposed ex})edition in the winter was likely to be attended with some hardships it was not impossible, if the southern route by Santa Fe were taken. Xothing nnained but to liastily conclude arrangements foi- the care of the station durinjjf his absence, which lie did by writing to Geigei' and Mr and Mrs Littlejohn to spend the year of his absence with Mrs Whitman,''^ and by charging McKinlay also with her welfaiv.'*' On the ;')d of October Wliitman left his home, "6'. S. E,\, If. B. Co. Claims, 173-r>. ** Lre (till/. /•'/•(W'.i Or., 2I.% i.'.")?. *^Tliurc was a warm frieinlaliip lietweeu Whitman and McKinlay. I have also a letter written liy D. (Jrecne, secretary of the American Board of Com- uuHsioners for Foreign Missions, acknowledging the receipt of a letter from McKiiday, dated Deceml)er 27, 184'i, whicli seems to have been written witli a view of furthering the object of Wliitman"s visit, as it was in praise of Spalding's success as a missionary, and hoping lie would not he recalled. The same refers to an onler of ^IcKinlay for hooks which Whitman left with Oreeno to be filled; all showing tlieir kindly relations. See also noto on page 2*21 of (tray's JfisL Or. But most of all I have seen the eyes of tho old fur-trader fill with tears when speaking of the noble Presbyterian. In a letter written recently l)y McKinlay, he expresses the highest regard for Whitman, which opinion is also ei^ually emphasized in Tolmtc'a Ptujcl Sound, MS., 24. WHITMAN AT THE EAlST 848 accompanied only by a guido and A. L. Lovejo}' of the recont innnij^ration, nvIk*, lK'ino»'ler, when J^ove- joy determined to remain at the foi . ill spring, and Whitman proceeded without him to his, destination, whicli he reached in March 184;} The reception given to th(> (lov.o«»r by the ^ ussionary ' ' ard was not cordial or e^■en kin(' . ic was fri>;id. They disj^pproved of his leaving L;s station, of tin- unnecessary expense of the journey, and of its object, especially as it asked for more money anrl mission- aries. Whitman repeated tli;; ar'^uuK^nts advanced t^' his colleagues in the wilderness.^' Tiie l)oard was • •old; the savages of the inhospitable north-west were not just then in favor with the Sunday-schools. Nev- ertheless, these wise men of the east did finally c(tu- sent to permit the doctor to continue the mission work there begun should he wish to do so without further help from them.*^ Further than this, the hoard refused to pay the expenses of his journey,*" *'^ Lorrjoi/'n Portland, MS., 20. *' This is the stiiteineut iikkIc of Whitman's object and arguments, by the lirudeiitial coniniittee to whom they were a(hlresse last hut 'J he I from was grossly insulted, and compelled to take refuge for the winter at the Dalles, A few days later the mis- sion mill, with the grain stored in it, was destroyed, and a general warlike attitude assumed by the Cay- uses,'*^ which was only overcome by the united efforts of an autliorized agent of the United States govern- ment and the British fur company, as before narrated. ( )wing to this intervention, order had been restored, and the savages were once more apparently friendly, receiving him with demonstrations of pleasure. Yet there were present many disappointments. When he left the east, where, contrary to his expecta- tions, not a single family had been oljtained for settle- ment near tlie missions, he indulged the hope that some of' the inuiiigrants might yet be induced to take locations in his neighborhood ; but we find him writing, shortly after his return, that all the help received by the mission was one man, hired by Mr Spalding, a Scotch school-teacher, and one family selected from the emigrants, all of whom he had sent to Spalding's assistance at Lapwai, none being found to go to the lielj) of Walker and Eells. He also added a hope that the board would send one minister, fitted to preach to western men, to meet the Catliolics, and to instruct the natives. "It 's asking but little," he wrote, "to request two ministers for this [the Indian] language ; as in tlie case of the death of Mr Spalding or myself, the knowledge of the language would be limited to so few that little could be done." He also referred to his protect of encouraging teacliers to come out as ■"■'Itwas about this thne that McKiiihij' liail hi.s famous ailventure M'ith I't'upeumoxniox of the WaUa Walla hraiich of tlie Cayuscs, whr), on account of his sou being seized by a clerk at tiie foit for a slight theft, vas about to ilo violeii ;o to the chief trader, wlien MeKinlay placed a keg of jiowdor in the midst of the ajjartment, ami stooil over it ready to touch it off at the first hostile movement. Not wishing to be blown uj>, l'caiiit'\inio\niox became cooler, an I was induced to listen to reason. White says, in one of his re- Jiorts, that the insolence of the Cayuses had been growing ever since tiie \ isit of Bomievdle, wlm paid them more for furs tlian the Hudson's /Jay Comnany. This caused them to make similar demands on I'ambruu, and tliese not being complied with, they seized him, stamped violently on iiis breast, i)eat him, and retained him prisoner, until they gained to some extent their ol)jeet. T)-ii )'«)/-.s in Or., 175. I 1-' ll 1; 346 THE CATHOLIC MISSIONS— THE PRESBYTERIANS. emigrants, and labor for a time at the mission, and to the need of good men being settled, three or four in r place, to form a nucleus for religious institutions, and to hold Romanism in check/'* Tlie country must be occupied, he said, by Americans or foreigners; and if l)y the latter, they would be chiefly Catholics. This alarm regarding the Catholics, who at the period when these apprehensions were felt had no station nearer than the Bitter Root and Willamette valleys, would appear disproportioned to the occasion, were it not that in a subsequent letter it is said there was an evident desire on the part of the natives to make use of the differences between the Protestants and Catholics for their own purposes, a danger which only those who understood Indian cliaracter could properly estimate. From the time of Whitman's return to Waiilatpu, it could not be said that there was any ini})rovement in the moral cliaracter of the savages, tliougli their temporal condition continued to men*! cliiefly through tlie increase in the number of those who cultivated the ground and raised cattle. As early as 1842 the Xez Perces owned thirty-two h.ead of neat cattle, ten sheep, and forty hogs. The Cay- uses owned about seventy head, chiefly cows, which they obtained from the Hudson's Bay Company, the mission of the American board, tlie Methodist mis- sion, or the W^illamette settlers, in exchange for horses. They had also a few sheep, earned by herding the flock belonging to the mission. The possession of cattle by their teachers had been a constant occasion of envy and of reproach by the natives, who demanded, in effect, that the missionaries should share their herds with them, instead of which they were shown how to p"ocure them for themselves. The advent of the immigriuits produced a change for the Avorse in the savawsfor two reasons. It yave them plausible ground for declaring that the mission- aries were leagued with other Americans to tak(! ■>* Jloston Mis^f. ll,rained bv remainijig. Xo .settltMnents had been foi-nied in his neighborhood, tlujugh many immigrants had passed. [f he was able to induce a few persons to winter at Ills station, they invariably left in the spring for the \Villamette Valley. LittU; by little the savages de- parted, and now tliat he was ivady to go, the ditiiculty was for time to withdraw, the chiefs being divided, and sonu! desiring him to i-emain on purely sectarian grounds, that they might, as Pi-otestants, triumph o\er the Catholics of the" tribe. As this was the very ground on which he had proposed to the board to remain, he had no valid reason to give for abandoning the field. Had all the chiefs desired his departure, his way would have been plait)," Fn this '.lelay he was ])robably (Micouraged by the temporizing policy of the lTnn.ed States ui the matter of tlu^ boundary of Oregon, and afterward in the ■■'' Statc'iiK'nt "if 'I'lDiuas McKay, in /IroiiiUfl'n Authi'iilk Airoiint, '28, I 348 THE CA'I'HOLIL' MlSSIONS-THE ritESBYTKUIANS neglect to establish a territorial govern iiieiit, and to extinguisli the Indian titles. At last, in the autumn of 1 847, acting upon the conviction that the Waiilatpu station would have to he abandoned, he purchased the Methodist station at the Dalles, intending to remove thence the following spring; and at the very moment that he decided u})on this course, and had already connnenced ])reparations by sending his nephew to occupy the Dallas during the winter, Archbishop Blanchet, the bishop of Walla Walla, and associate clergy of the Catholic churcii, arrived among the Cayuses, prejmred to take the Presby- terians' ])lace. li'I'i CHAPTER XIX. 0EiE(iO\ BKFORE CONLETON, OK THE 8e<_oND PhWH — LiNn's BiLL — POPULAR FEEL- ING — Petitions for the Occupation ok Oreoon — The Question ok Slavery. I HAVE shown how, step by stop, without tlio aid of congress, a hundred Auicricans cstahhshed a gov- ernment in Oregon, and wliile professing ahegianee to the United States, were in fact iiidei)endeiit. But eouoress was not indifferent to the movement; and whatever opinion in their isolation the colonists may have held, the archives of the national legislature contain the proofs of a watchful care over the United States claim to the (Oregon Territory, and a determi- nation not to relin(piish it to any foreign power; the oidy doubt being as to the exj)ediency of i)ressing that claim while other matters of innnediate impoi- ta)\ce to the government and the connnerce of the country were pending. Before proceeding furthei' with the histoi'v of the Oi'eijfon colonv, a brief review of the action of congress will tend to make ck'ar the mutual action of the national representatives and the people in promoting the settlement of the disputed territory on the Pacific coast. It is not to l)e sup posed that at the period of the conviMition of IHIH, or ( :V1U ; 330 (lUKdON BKFOIIK CON(!KK.SS. t!ie Louisiana j)urcliase of 1819, the jioople of tlu' United States were much interested in or well in- formed as to the t^eography or history of that region, or that they understood the gounds of the contro- versy with (ireat Britain ujjou the sovereignty of the Columbia. But they were not long to remain in Ignorance. On the 19th of December, 1820, Floyd of Virginia, a member of the house of representatives, a man of ardent temperament, ability, courage, and })ersistent purpose, took up the Oregon Question with the deter- mination to champion it in congress against whatever indifference, opposition, or ridicule it might meet.' From many years' residence in Kentucky, he under- stood the character of the men of the western states, each a pioneer of the Alexandrian ty})e, sighing for more worlds to conquer, more wilderness to redeem to civilization by the sheer strength of brawny arm and independent will. Of the support of this portion of the people he was sure, as soon as they should be informed of the value of the territory in dispute, and the foundation of the American claim. Encouraged by the well-understood sentiments of President Monroe and certain younger men of the JefFersonian school, Mr Floyd began the contest by a motion in the house that a connnittee be appointed to inquire into the situation of the settlements on the Pacific, and the expediency of occupying the Kiver Columbia, and procured the appointment of that com- mittee with himself as chairman, the other members being Metcalf of Kentuck}' and Swearingen of Vir- ginia. On the 25th of January, 1821, Floyd presented his report, giving an abstract of the history of the United States from the discoverv of the continent down through the nmtations of more than two centuries, embracing in his review an account of the several ^ Betiton'x Thirtu Year'), '.. \X See //M^ Xortlnrcf)/ Coant, this series. FLOYD OF VIKiilMA. 351 treaties by which the United States had enlarged their original boundaries since achieving independence. Following this was an able and suggestive examina- tion of the profits of the fur-trade in the west and north-west over the territory acquired by discovery and treaty, but which was still almost a terra incognita to the citizens of the union. As to the expediency of occupying the Columbia, Floyd was sanguine, for the reasons contained in his report on the fur-trade, the profits of that business, and the opportunities for greatly enlarging the com- merce of the United States by direct connnunication with China by way of the Columbia and Missouri rivers, that idea of which the eccentric John Ledyard was author, President Jefferson, however, usually receiving the credit of it, and in whose mind it was confirmed by the expedition of Lewis and Clarke. The route reconnnended by Floyd was the same, namely, up the Missouri, across the mountains, and down the Columl)ia. Accompanying the report was a bill authorizing the president to occupy the Oregon Territory, extinguisli the Indian title, and provide a government." The bill was twice read, and referred to a connnittee of the whole for the following day, but was not taken up, and nothing further appears to have been said upon the subject till the lOtli of December, when Floyd again made a motion for a committee to inquire into the expediency of tlie measure, with leave to report a bill. This was agreed to, and he was aj)- pointed chairman of the connnittee, with Baylies of Massachusetts and Scott of Missouri as associates. The report of the committee, accompanied by a bill authorizing the occupation of the Columbia, was pre- sented to the house the 18th of January, 1822. This, like the previous bill, was twice read, after which it disappeared for the remainder of that session. Mean- while Floyd had submitted a resolution requiring the Kiininls of Cotif/reiiM, 1820-1. 940-59. )'' ■■■ ':ib'2 <»RE<;ON BKFOKE tON(;RE>S.S. ;t secretary of the navy to report on the expense of examining the harbors on the Pacific, and .shipping artillery to the mouth of the Columbia. The secretary's estimate for the survey and trans- portation was $25,000. In February, in consequence of rumors that the emperor of Kussia had promulgated a ukase in relation to the western limits of the United States, Mr Floyd offered a resolution requesting the president to conmmnicate to the house whether any foreign government laid claim to any part of the ter- ritory of the United States upon the coast of the Pacific Ocean north of latitude 42°, and to what extent; whether any regulations of a foreign power existed, affecting the trade of the Pacific; how far the trade of the public was affected by it; and whether any foreign power had made any communi- cation '"touching the contem})lated occupation of the Columbia River."'' In reply to this resolution, the president submitted a re})ort by the secretary of state containing the correspondence with the ministers of Great Britain and Russia relative to the respective claims of those governments,^ which comnmnicaticm was re- ferred to the select connnittee of which Floyd was cliairman, on the expediency of the occupation of the Columbia. At the second session of congress for 1822, Floyd's bill of January previous was discussed in connnittee of the whole, and certain additions and amendments were made. Floyd made the opening speech, which was an exhaustive resume of the \'alues of certain articles of commerce to the countries wliich were so fortunate as to secure them, being the same which the settle- n)ent of the Columbia would secure to the United States; advocating its military possession, and the steamboat route to it before mentioned. As the first speech ever made in c(Higress on this subject, it is » Amuil^ of Congrenx, 1821-2, 10.34. * Sou Hist. Northwest Coast, a!i;i t'fspecially interesting.' But I'roni the remarks of Wriglit of Maryland it evidently awakened no enthu- siasm in the minds of Jiis listeners; and it is shown hy Floyd's admissions that he had heen called fanci- ful and a bold projector, that few [)ersons either in or out of congress were as yet much agitated (ner the United States claim to the Oregon Territory. The second speech of importance was by Mr Baylies of Massachusetts, who began by saying that all the objections to the bill which he had heard had been outside of the house; and of these he was willing to admit that some were weighty, and all plausible. The first, that of the expense (jf the territorial estab- lishment with no immediate prospect of a revenue, was, lie thought, not valid : to prove wliich position he offered a correspondence with the collector of cus- toms at New Bedford, showing the profits of the whale-fishery, and estimating its annual value in the Pacific, with the vessels already employed, at $500,000, while the profits of the same business to Nantuckcit were not short of i? 1,000,000 annually. "A settle- ment on the Colundiia," said this correspondent, "if properly conducted, would insure to our nation an immense source of wealth," not only on account of the whale-fisheries, but of the lumber trade, it being known that a vessel loaded with spars from the Columbia River had recently arrived at Val- paraiso.'' The objections that by extending the territory of the United States too far it would })e exposed to dis- memberment, and that by occupying the (\)lunibia the chances of war would be increased, were met by Baylies with arguments not necessary to be repro- duced here. He supported the position taken by Floyd of the value of the fur trade (^n the North- west Coast, and advanced many proofs of tin; advan- tage of colonies to an empire; the argunients in favor •' December 17, 182*2. See //(-s/. NorthweM Coa-tf, this series. ''AintnUo/Connri'ss, 1822-3, 41i5. Hist. Oit., Vol,. I. T-\ );!■ 3M ()HE«JON BKFOilK CDNiUlES.S. u\ H of a settlement on the Columbia being cliieHy of a connnercial nature. Tucker of Vir«;inia expressed surprise that "three long and eloquent speeches" should have been made in support of a measure to which he had intended to give a silent negative. He did not object to tlie occu- pation of the Columbia River because it was visionary, but because he thought it too j)racticable, and likely to draw off population and capital to a point where they would be less useful than where they then were; and because the ])e'»ple of the Pacific coast would, by their local position, carry on their trade with China and the Orient rather than with the Atlantic states. He could not see what interest the Pacific and Atlan- tic states would have in common, and mentioned the appalling fact that the mouths of the Mis8issip])i and the Columbia, by any route then know^n, were four thousand miles asunder! Colonies he declared were of no advantage to the parent country, unless that country enjoyed a monopoly of the colonial trade, which in this instance the United States could not hope to do. The 13th of January, 182.3, Colden of New York spoke, giving facts concerning seal-fishing designed to favor the bill ; and also an interesting history of the trade with China, showing that although that country was said to be the sink of coin, the cargoes brought from there were sold in Europe at a profit of more than twice the cost in China, and for coin. He cited also the treasury report for 1821, which gave infor- mation of seventeen vessels from the United States sailing for the Northwest Coast, which he took to mean the vicinity of the Columbia River, carrying goods to the value of $400,000; and although he was not informed .who were the purchasers, he thought under such circumstances the mouth of the Columbia must be a point of importance to commerce. Unlike his predecessors in the debate, Colden referred to the subject of title, and gave his view^s of the security of MALI.AKY OF VKllMONT. 805 : to 'iiig was ^•ht l)ia ike tlR- of the United States claim, which were entirely favor able to it. Malla»y of Vermont did not wish for the establish mcnt (tf a civil government on the Columbia, befort^ there were people in that territory over whom it might he exercised ; but approved of occupation by a military force only, with encouragement to settlers. As to the rest, he was decidedly in favor of occu}n'ing the coun- try, and entertained no fear of consequences. The smallest nation of Europe would not hesitate to plant lier colonies in ary l)art of the world; and yet Amer- ican enterprise, so often vaunted, dared not venture beyond the Rocky Mountains. The subject, he de- clared, occupied a large share of the public attention, and the action of congress was anxiously looked foi\ The only objection he found to the argument whicJi liad preceded him was the advocacy of the colonial system by Baylies, to which he could not agree, as being foreign to the principles of the American re public. Then followed Tracy of New York, and overturned all the si)ecious reasoning of his colleague, Mr Gol- den, by giving information of the real nature of the country which would be embraced in the thirty square miles of territory over which the United States, it was proposed, should extend its laws and protec- tion. Tracy chanced to have made the acquaintance of several gentlemen who had been at tlie mouth of the Columbia, from whom he had learned that the imaginary Eden of the gentleman who had spoken in favor of the bill was an inhospitable wilderness, con- fined within a rugged and iron-bound coast. The entrance to the Columbia was dangerous, and only with a fair and free wind could be undertaken; the climate was bleak and inhospitable; so humid and with so feeble a sun that the grains could liardly bi raised, though the soil was deep and good. For u long distance from the ocean tlio country was so broken and rugged that no place could be found for a I I J \l ^ '! 'If :»u OUWJON BKFOUl'; CONliHKSS. scttloiiu'iit of luori' tliaii u few fiiniilioM. Only the VVillfiincttc \'all('V afloidcd any |)»us)k;('(:s ot' an anii «'ultural naturo, and tlu-sr wne not allurinin'. And as for tlio country I'ast of tlio Cascade Mountains, it was nothing l)ut a waste of sand any sonic of the memhcrs of the Pacitic fur company. Franchere mentions that they couM raise notliing but roots at Astoria. It is not surprising that as the fur companies conrinetl their explorations to the rivers, whicli were bordered by heavy forests, such opinions of the country prevailed. ''Precisely what happened, witii this difference: The company occupying (iKNKltAI, DISCUSSION. 857 At tlio flose of this (lay's arjjfumcnts some amend- iiieiits wen; ort'orcti to tlie bill, Mallary moving to make the occupation merely inilltary, over the tor- ritorv north of the 42(1 parallel, and west of tlu; Kocky Mountains, which section should he known as tiie Territory of Oregon; a fort was to l)e erected at the mouth of the (N)lunil)ia Hiver; as soon as ex- jiedient the Indian title to a tract of country not exceeding thirty miles square, including the place selected for the fort, should be extinguished. T(» every head of a fc^.iiily settling in the territory should he •'•ranted three hundred and twenty acres of land ; to an unmarried settler, farmer, or mechanic, two hundred acTes; this to apply <>'dy to citizens of the United States, and for six years only after the extin guishment of the Indian title. The president was authorized to o]»en a jiort of entry for the territory, and to appoint officers for the reveime service, the rt'venue laws of tlu; ITnited States being extended to the territory. An appro] )riation of .$00,000 was also made by the amendments, to earry into effect the ]irovisions of the bill. The consideration of Floyd's bill being resumed on the 24th, Walker of North Carolina made a motion to amend by inserting Columbia in place of Oregon as the name of the territory to be erected, which did ncjt })revail; and Floyd amended Mallary's amendment, so us to call the tract of country over which the Indian title should be extinguished, and where the fort should he erected, the District of Astori i, the object of which M"as to restore the original name of the establishment at the m(>uth of the Columl)ia made mulcr the auspices of Astor. This amendment was accepted. Smith of A^irginia and others then s]X)l;e for and against the hill. Baylies replied at some length to the objections of the opponents of the bill that the Ro(tky Moun- tains were the natural boundary of the United States. Wiis British; the Indians, rather than their title, became extinguished; a'ld tile settlers (American) came in, and formed an independent government. X)S ORE(;()N BEl-'OKE t'ONOKESS. "As we reach the Rocky Mountains," said the advo- cate of'tlie occupation of Oregoii, "we should l)e unwise did we not pass that narrow space wliich separates tlu^ mountains from the ocean, to secure advantages far greater than tlie existing advantage?' of all the country between the Mississipj)i and the mountains. Gentle- men are talking of natural boundaries. Sir, our natural boundary is the Pacific Ocean, The swelling tide of our population nmst and will roll on until that mighty ocean interposes its waters, and limits our territorial empire. Then, with two oceans washing our shores, the commercial wealth of the world is ours, and imagi- nation can hardly conceive the greatness, the grandeur, a!>'' the power that await us." liaylies then reviewed the statemiJiits of his oppo- nents that the country was sterile and the climate inhospitable; that the moutii of the Colunsbia was a bad entrance and worse departure, and tlie liarbor indifferent quoting from the official reports of Prevost, Lewis and Clarke, Cook, and Vancouver. He again [)resented the facts, as tliey a[)peared to him, con- nected with the connnerce of the l^acific, present and to come. He reverted to remarks made in debate that there was nothing to fear from Russia, because the autocrat of tliat country had himself fixed the southern limit of his territory at 51°, and to other remarks that if Russia chose to enforce the limits set the United States could not successfully encounter that power; to both of which conclusions lie took ex- ceptions, and also to the })rediction that the ])roposed settlement could not sustain itself against the savages, instancing tlie early New England settlers, who foi- fifty years maintained peace with the savages, and when at last they wei'e comjjelled to fight, vanquished them. On the following day, being the last of the dis- cussion, Brcckenridge of Kentucky made a speech in which he o[)posed the bill, because as it now stood it p^'ovided neither legislation nor courts; all the power A NEW BILL. 359 and authority being confided to a military chieftain, in whose hands were placed the legislative, judicial, and executive functions of the country, subject only to the control of the president; and this he denounced as unconstitutional, also denying the right of congress to colonize. Or if it was pretended that the step con- templated was preparatory to admission into the union within any short period, had the promoters of this scheme thought of the probable consequences ? Were they prepared to go to war to protect the territorial or commercial rights of Oregon, and to extend to that state equal laws, and afford it equal rights and privi- leges, when there could not be any community of interest with the rest of the confederacy ? He looked upon the proposition as impolitic and dangerous; upon the appropriation to carry it out as entirely inadequate ; upon the troops who should be stationed on the Co- lumbia as the prisoners in their own fort of the beleaguering Indians, unless, indeed, a naval force should be stationed there for their protection. He doubted if the possession of the country would add anything to the validity of tlie claim of the United States; or that if it should fall into the hands of a foreign power, that would weaken the title of the United States, He was opposed to emigration while the population of the states and territories was not yet sufficient to occupy the public lands within theii- l)ounuarios. Not until their posterity, he said, should occupy the seats iu congress which the supporters of the bill under discussion now filled would the measure proposed be justifiable. Oa the 27tii the yeas and nays were taken to decide whether the house were really determined to act upon the subject at that session, when it was found that the vote stood sixty-one for, to one hundred against, taking up the bill. The influence of the discussion was ob- servable, however, when on the 22d of Fel)ruary Little of Maryland presented a memorial from eiglity farm- ers and mechanics within his district, praying congress 300 ORFXiON BEFOUK ('ON(iRESS. to pass the bill, and intimating their desire to emigrate to, and for the improvement of, that country.^ At the next session of congress, in December, on motion of Mr Floyd, a committee on the expediency of occupying the Columbia was again aj)pointed, con- sisting of Floyd, Gurley of Louisiana, KScott of Mis- souri, Haydcn of New York, Bassett of Virginia, Frost of New York, and Baylies of the former com- mittee, with leave to report a bill; and on the 19th of January, 1824, Floyd presented a bill to authorize the occupation of the Columbia or Oregon liiver, which was twice read, and referred to a committee o^ +he whole house on the state of the union. Th.'s bill, unlike that immediately preceding it, authorized the president not only to establish a military colony, but to erect a territorial government whenever he miglit deem it expedient to do so — Floyd's first proposition, but one which was opposed by a majority of the friends of military occupation. The bill also granted a section of land to actual settlers, instead of the former amount. On the 2Gth a resolution, of which Floyd was the author, was agreed to by the house, v> questing the president to cause to be laid before the house an esti- mate of the expense which would be incurred by trans- porting two hundred troops from Council Bluffs to the mouth of the Columbia. The reply by the war department was that the transportation of the troops by the Missouri and Columbia rivers, with boats, horses, and equipments, vould be $30,000 ; and the trunsportatit)!! by sea of the lieavy baggage, ordnance, and supplies would amount to not more than 1 1 4,000 more; the report being referred to the committee on the occupation of the Columbia or Oregon River, and by them laid before the house. The estimates con- tained in this report were made by Thomas S. Jessup, quarterinastei-general. He reconnnended a post to be established at the Mandan villages, to control the 700. *.iii)iKNT\S MESSACiE. 3(;i natives in that quarter, and liold in chock tlie Britisli fur companies; another at the head of navigation on the Missouri, to control the Blackfoot, and remove the British companies from that part of the territory. as well as to serve as an intermediate suddIv Dost. and a depot of trade for the Indian department. To keej) open communication through the mountains, he ad- vised the establishment of a small post between the Missouri and the Columbia; and on the Columbia and its tributaries three other posts. These were to give protection to American traders for the time being, and when the convention with Great Britain sliould have expired, to remove the traders of that nation from the territory. As to the expense, it would be trifling. Once established, in a few years the cost would be greatly din\inished by farms, mills, and the good grazing of the country in the interior; and the posts on the Coknnbia could be cheaply supplied witli beef and wlieat from California, and salt from an island on the Lower California coast. Floyd's bill did not come up for discussion till the following December. In the mean time much infoi- mation had been gained concerning new routes to the Columbia by passes recently discovered by American fur-traders, and other matters of interest in tlebate. The speech with which Floyd opened the discussion was not only in answer to former arguments, but was loaded with accumulations of facts concerning the geography and top()grai)hy of the country; but more than anvthiniif else, concerninpled from tlie United States than from other nations, with whom we might— nay, must — have to go to war; and peopled by other nations it would be unless the American people took measures to prevent it. In none of the arguments was the question of title touched upon, except to suggest caution in coming in conflict with tlie terms of the existing treaty. No doubt was ever expressed of the valitlity of tlie claim of the United States. When Buchanan of Penn- sylvania objected that the establishment of a port of entry would interfere with the treaty, Floyd ex- plained that the section objected to directed tlie president to open a port of entry only whenever he should "deem the public good may require it;" and tliat it was intended to put the citizens of the United States as early as possible on an advantageous footing for j)rosecuting commercial enterprises. When it was feared that Great Britain might look Ujion the found- ing of a military establisliment as an act of bad faith, Smyth replied that Great Britain at that moment had a military post on the Columbia, ami that the rights of the two governments under the treaty were at least equal. At length, after four years of constant efl'ort, on the 23d of December, 1824, Mr Floyd iiad the satis- faction of seeing his bill for the occupation of the Columbia River and tlie establishment of the territory of Oregon [)assed in tlie house by a vote of one hundred and thirteen to fifty-seven, and sent to the senate u So far discussion had been confined to the houSe, <'\cej)t in February 1823, wJien Benton intrtuluced a lesohition in the senate that tlie committee on military iirt'airs be instructed to iiHpiire into the exi>ediency of ^^('oii'jrrss/nii'il n,hafr.-<, 1824. i, i. i:i-'.'t!, '28, 30, 38, 39 4-.', 44. .V.;. ■ :m4 OKE(;ON HKFOKK CONciRESS. aj)propriating money ^o enable tlie president to takr and retain jwssession of tlie territory of tlie United States on the north-west coast of America. Benton explained that his motive in offering the resolution was to })revent the territory in (juestion from fallinj^' into tlie hands of another power. When Floyd's hill was brought up in the senate, in February 1825, it found an advocate in Barbour of Virginia, who believed both in tlie right and the policy of the United States in forming an establishment on the Oregon River,'- the arguments used being in essence the same as presented by the friends* of the bill in the house. Oickerson of New Jjrsey took opposite grounds. He not only contended that the military occupation of the Oregon would justly lead to war with (xreat Britain, but that Jie territory would never, in any event, become a state of the federal union. He ridiculed the idea of a senator from Oregon to Washington City going and coming in less than a year, whether he travelled overland, oi' by .sea around Cape Horn, or through Bering's Straits round the north coast of the ceech of sonu; length he reverted t(j the movement of population westward, and the means resorted to by govermnents to prevent it urivate enterprise being always in the 1 1' 4 ^* Loiii/'s AVji'v/., ii. 3.")() (il. :m OKEOON BEFOKK t'ONCiKESS. I advance. He referred as in former speeches to the coiiiiiiercial advantages of tlie Columbia; and warned congress of the loss with which the country was threatened through the occupancy of Great Britain, citing a fact, as he helieved, of much significance, that an act of parliament of 1821 had extended the civil jurisdiction of the courts of Upper Canada, " within the Indian territories and other parts of America, not within the liniits of Uj)per or Lower Canada, or of any civil governments of the Uiwted States;" includ- ing in this description not only the territory west of Canada, and north of latitude 4!)^, hut all of the terri- tory of the United States not yet erected into ter- ritorial orii'anizations. " This insolent and outraij^eous act," exclaimed Floyd, " we ought promptly and effi- ciently to resist and re})el." ^'' A citizen of the United States, west of Arkan.sas, he said, under this act might he taken to Upper Canada, and tried for his life. The country ought not for a moment to submit to it. " If England has not yet learned to respect the sov- ereignty and rights of the confederacy, she nmst be taught that lesson ; and, sir, it nmst and shall be taught her ; and that, too, at no distant day, in a way which she will not easily forget." The remainder of Floyd's speech was devoted to an exposition of the profits of the fur trade, and to strictures on the tarifl' regula- tions, which prevented the American from realizing the same benefits enjoyed by the British trader, who introduced his goods free of duty, and sold them at an advance of more than a hundred per cent, while tlic American trader, selling at the same price, made no profit at all;^® and to the importance of the mouth of the Columbia as a naval station, either for the pro- tection of commerce, or in case of war as a port from ^^ComjreKtmint Dclxtkx, 18'28-9, v. 19.1. "This diflference operated in two ways against the American traders, as they found to their cost. Either they must sell inferior goods at the price asked by tl»e English traders, or they must consent to sell without jjrotit. either course being ruinous to their business, as the natives soon learned to know good articles, and to carry their furs where they brought the most. FRESH I'ROi'OSALS. mi which tlie vessels of the United States could annoy the East India trade of Great Britain. In the course of the debate which followed, the result of the former agitation was strongly brought out in the fact that three several coni})anies of enii grants were petitioning congress for land grants in Oregon, one of which in Massachusetts numbered three thousand persons,*'' farmers, artisans, and others. Neither of the three obtained a grant, because it was objected that two schemes of settlement, one by the government and another by private individuals, were incompatible ; and because the plan of granting exclu- sive privileges to one class of citizens was not repub- lican in spirit.*^ The question was again discussed at length, occupy- ing the greater portion of the time of the house for more than two weeks, from December 23d to January 9th. New men took up the discussion ;*^ but new arguments were difficult to find. The expediency, and not the right of making settlements, was the subject of doubt, as it liad been in 1821 and 1825. Yet it was acknowledged that delay, by strengthening the number of British })osts, increased the difficulty. The question of the con- flicting sovereignty claims was referred to oftener than in former debates; but only added to the more easily understood obstacles of expense, and the objections to making land grants before the boundary should be settled. At length, after amending the bill several times, it stood as follows, in four sections: First, au- thorizing the president to erect a fort or forts west of the Rockv Mountains, between latitudes 42° and 54° 40', and to garrison them; second, authorizing ''This was the association formed hy Hall J. Kelley. The others were a Louisiana cnnipaiiy lieailetl hy Joliu M. Bradford, and au Ohio company liuaded by Albert Town. "^The Louisiana company petitioned for a tract of 40 miles square, whicli e ex[)lore(l l)V engineers, selected by liiniself, accompanied l>y a military escort; and also authorizing the delay of the troops mentioned in the first article until the exploration should have been completed; third, en- acting that any citizen of the United States who should commit any crime or misdemeanor in the territory should, on conviction, sutier the i)enalty at- tached to the same ofi'enco in any district of country under the sole jurisdiction of the United States; the trial to take ])lace in the first district where he might be apprehendi'd (n* brought, that was under the laws of the United States; the courts being by this act in- vested with the power to try such ofl'enders in the same manner as if the crimes had been connnitted in the district; fourth, the sum of $25,000 was appropri- ated to carry into efi'ect the provisions of the act. But although this bill seemed free from the objec- tionable features of the previous ones, it was rejected when it came to a third reading, by a vote of ninety- nine to seventy-five.''^" When Floyd's congressional term ended, no suc- cessor was found to take up the subject where he had left it. But he had succeeded in infusing into the minds of the American ])eople a romantic interest in the Oregon Territory, and above all a patriotic feeling of resistance to the re})uted aggressions of the British in that quarter, which eventually served the purpose for which he labored, the settlement of the country by citizens of the United States. American traders pushed their enterprises beyond the Rocky Moun- tains, and to the Columbia River, attempting to com- pete with the English company, but failing for the reasons he had pointed out. Through these traders the missionary societies heard of the superior tribes of red men in the Oregon Territory who sought a knowledge of the white man's God, and prepared to respond to the call, with the results which have '"Coiiijirmional JMni/rs, IS'J.S it, V. li>r)-.");<, ]()8-7r>, 1S7-W. VALUK OF THE COUNTllY. :»(i'J lie in l>eeu refolded in ])reviouH chapters of this liistory. The enthu.siast Kelley, luivini^ failed in securin^j;' a j^rant of land, finally reached Ore^^on, sick, and in poverty and unmerited disjjfrace, to be rescued fntin ])erishin*^ l)y the foreign company he had beforehand determined to regard with sus})icion and hatred. But the Httle company he persuaded to accompany him from California as colonists really hecame such, and touether with the missionaries, formed the luicleus round which grew a population which soon rivalled the fur com})any. I have shown how this little colony was encouraged and fostered by the heads of the gov- ernment; how IVesident Jackson sent Slacum to inquire into their condition; how the Mission colony was assisteil; the commander of the Pacific exploring s({uadron ordered to examine into their causes of coni- })laiut; and how Elijah White was commissioned sub- agent of Indian affairs to keej) up their courage anil loyalty. Between 1829 and 1837 the people as well as con- gress had become com}>aratively well informed as to the value of the Oregon Territory, its natural resources, independeiit of the fur trade, and its commercial posi- tion with regard to the coast of Asia; nearly every person known to have returned from that quarter having been put upon the witness-stand. On the IGth of October of the latter year, a resolution was passed in the senate, requesting the president to inform that body at its next session of any corre- spondence between the United States government and any foreign power relative to the occupation of the territorv of the United States west of the Rocky AEountains. The president's reply, made in Decembei-, was, tliat since the convention of 1827 no such cor- respondence had taken place; those negotiations being connnunicated in confidence to the senate in the early part of the 20th session of congress.'^ ■^^:?.->fh Coii!/., 2d Sexs., Sen. Doc, i. .39. lIiKT. Oil., Vol.. I. 24 ■1 l> nffi 1 ' r •( , the fislu'ries, the tradi! with China, Ja[>an, and the Orient jLj^enerally, and with the Hawaiian Islands and Calif<»rnia. Hi; dwelt on the importance of a harbor on the iKtith- wi>st coast <»f America, where tliu whalin^- Heet of tlu^ J^iciHc miu^ht ri'fit, and proplnssied that direct conimunication between the Atlantic and J'acific would soon be oj)ened by a canal across the isthmus of Darieii, by which the whole trade of the eastern hemisphere would be changed in its course, which would then be toward the shores of Xortli America. He spoke of the ease with which the Rocky Moun- tains could be crossed by the passes discovered by the fur-hunters, of the majjfniticent scenerv described by trayellers, of the fertility of the soil, and the mildness of the climate, testified to by various authorities. To conclude, the title of the United States was asserted by the committee to be beyond doubt, the possession of the country imjioi-tant, and delay in occupying it dangerous. The committee therefore reported a hill authorizing the president to employ in that quar- ter such portions of the army and navy of the United States as he miglit deem necessary to the protection of the American residents in that Ci)untry. Althouuh ardiMitlv labored foi- the bill for the oc- cupation of Oregon failed of its passage in tlie senate. Hut Linn's report furnished that kind of information to the American people in which they were deeply Hitorested. Pioneer sons of pioneer ancestors, they delighted in the thought of founding another empire on the Pacific Ocean as their sires had done on tlie Atlantic seaboard. Resolutions began to be adopted by the legislative assemblies of different states favor- d"maiMled for thi? protection of the persons and property '»f citizens of wrm i - i rp 374 OREGON BEFORE tONCJRESS. tlie United States residino' in that territory, to erect a line of military posts fi m Fort Leavenworth to the Rocky Mountains, for the protection of the Indian trade, and provided also for the appointment of an Indian agent for Oregon Territory. The chief feature in these resolutions was a provision for granting to each white male inhabitant over eighteen years of age one thousand acres of land. This was the measure of the ' liberal grant ' to set- tlers, which was, on the suggestion of Jason Lee, to reward the pioneers of Oregon, a suggestion wliich was eagerly caught at by the western people. A })etition was presented to congress at this session from twent' • seven citizens of Elizabeth town, Kentucky, settuu; forth that in their opinion the United States goveiii- nient should plant a colony in the Oregon Territory, giving it such nuiture in its infancy as to enable it to establish itself peniianently, and to develop the natural resources of the ct)untry, making it contribute to the national wealth. They believed it necessary to the success of the enterprise that a road should be cut"* from some ])()int on the Missouri liiver to Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia. "As soon as this passage can be opened," said the petitioners, " a colony of farmers and mechanics should be con- ducted across the mountains anil settled, with a mili- tary power stati )ned, strong enough to [)rotect the colony. Donations of land should be made to those who would become actual settlor's, sutticiently largo to induce emigration. At convenient distances across the mountains, small garrisons, should be ])laced to protect travellers from the hostilities of the Indians." These measures it was thougvht would secure a more inn)ortant conmiereial position than any yet enjoyed by the United States.""' Forty-four citizens of Indiana i.l^o petitioned con> ■^'The wortl 'cut' coiiiea well fnini ir.lia1)itantA of a timbercil country like Kentucky, hut scarcely a])i>li('s to tlic western prairies, '-' .'(itli Voiiij., lit ,S<'.i.s., Sill. Doc, 17J. PFTITIONS AND MEMORIALS. 376 gress for the "occupation aixl settlement of Oregon Territory, and the construction of a road thereto ;" and remonstrating against the jiroposed ship canal across the isthmus of Darien; urging as a reason for the construction of a national load to the Pacific, that the connnerce of the United States was then, and had always been, exposed to the dangers of the stormy seas of the high southern latitudes, with long vth CoH'j., 1st S<:%'*., .bV/j. Doc. 41.1. !. 'a i < 370 OREGON BEFORE CO./GRESS. necessay to increase the military force of the United States in order to garrison such estabhshments Poinsett's report set forth that the question as to expenditures and troops could not be satisfactorily answered before the completion of certain explorations undertaken by liis direction, and which were expected to be extended to the passes of the Rocky Mountains during the summer. He however believed that a line of posts such as proposed would be of great bene- fit to t^ie whole stretch of country to be traversed; and '..!*' ^'le route ordinarily pursued by the fur traders I be the most practicable line, for various reasons, ii. ading its directions, and its being per- j)endicular to a line of defences or the frontiers of Arkansas, Missouri, and Iowa. Three posts were con- sidered to be sufficient to "prepare the way for the peaceable settlement of the fertile valleys w^est of the Rocky Mountains;" one at the junction of the north and south forks of the Platte, and another at the con- fluence of tlie Laramie branch of that river. The third might be either at the junction of Wind River and Popoagie, the principal sources of the Big Horn, or at the confluence of Horse Creek, called by travel- lers the Seedskeeder, with the Colorado. And to these, the secreL.'.>ry thought, the stations for the })resent might be limited. "Under their shelter the rich and fertile valleys west of the mountains may be settled and cultivated by a population which would pour forth its numbers to the shores of the Pacific as soon as the question of boundary shall be definitivelv settled."-'^ Such was the not very intelligent report of the secretary of war in 1840. It is doubtful if he, or any of those persons, citizens or others, who talked of a road or a line of forts to the Pacific, rt all compre- hended the fact that wlien the Rocky Mountains were reached there remained the hardest, if not the most dangerous, j)art of the route, or that a colony '*?Gth Com,/., Jxt Seax., Sen. Dor. 2-U. REPORTS RECEIVED. 87: transported to the western base of the Rocky Moun- tains would be hopelessly removed from a source of supplies on either side of the continent for at least half the year. Soon after the resolution above referred to had been reported to the senate, Linn was placed in possession of Farnham's letter to the secretary of war, with the petition which accompanied it, and which was drawn up during his visit to the Willamette Valley, complaining of the introduction of English emigrants by the Hudson's Bay Company, the pre- tended r;v nt extension of the laws of Canada over the inhabitants of Oregon, and exhibiting alarm lest the company entertained hostile intentions toward Amorican settlers. Acting upon this information, Linn introduced, on the 28th of April, a bill to extend a portion of the laws of the United States over the territory of Oregon. On the 24th of May, en his motion, the Oregon resolutions were made the special order of the day for a fortnight thence ; but by the advice of other senators, were posponed for the time, lest their consideration by the senate at this juncture should prejudice the adjustment of important ques- tions then pending between the United States and Great Britain.*' In the mean time, Captain Spauld- ing's report had reached Washington, and although the same cause for silence existed, on the 8th of Jan- uary, 1841, Linn brought the topic, of wliich ho was now the acknowledged apostle in the senate, to the attention of that body, by moving a joint resolution to authorize the adoption of measures for the occupa- tion and settlement of the Oregon Territory, and for extending certain portions of the laws of the United States over it. The resolution was referred, as before, to a select conmiittee of whicli Linn was chairman, who reported it to the senate, witliout amendment, "•Tlie settlement of the Maine boundary, so long deferred, the right of search, the lilieration of slaves, and the burning of the Caroliiii', besides others. Only a few cf the affairs were settled by the treaty of 1842, known as the Ashburtou treaty. 37b OREGON BEFORE CONORESS. on the 14th of January, nothing further being done at this session. But at the extra session in August, Linn submitted another resolution, that the president be requested to give to the British government the twelve months' notice required by the convention of 1827, of a desire to put an end to the treaty of joint occupation of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains. This resolu tion was subsequently amended so as to direct the committee on foreign relations "to inquire into the expediency of requesting the president" to give the notice. As the subject was permitted to drop there, it is presumable that it was pronounced inexpedient by tltat committee. The president, however, in his essage to congress December 7, 1841, recommended to its consideration the rcporr. of the secretary of war, John C. Spencer, a strong advocate of the occupation of Oregon,^^ who favored extending military posts as far as the Rocky Mountains; and who believed with John C. Calhoun that silent emigration would do the rest, and settle all disputes about that region.''"' On the IGth of Decem- ber Linn P^^ain introduced a bill in the senate, the pre- amble to which declared that the title of the United States to the territory of Oregon was certain, and would not be abandoned,^'' authorizing the adoption of measures for the occupation and settlement of Ore- "^ That part of the president's iriessage relating to the establisliinent of a clialn of posts from the Missouri to the I'ucitic was referred to tlie committee on military affairs, of which Pendleton of Ohio was chairman. His report, i.'7th C'oiKj., ,.'(l Smx., Jlouxe Doc. SM), contains a review of the Oregon question of title, an estimate of the expense of erecting forts, a description of tlie country, a letter with information about tlie Metliodist Mission, tlie Hudson's Bay Company, and other matters. ^'^ Xili'Ji'h'ci/., Ixviii. 102. Xikn WeeUi/ Kegisier was started in Septem- ber 1811, at liiiltimore, Maryland, by H. Niles. It was a journal of sixteen pages octavo, devoted to the jjublication of 'political, historical, geographical, scientific, ;ustroiiomical, statistical, and biographical documents, essays, ami facts, together witli notices of the arts aiul manufactures, anil a record of tlie events of the times.' It was subsequently enliu-ged and was removed to Phil- adelphia, where it was edited by (Jcorge Beatty. As a record of current fVents, it sustains its character well, an for consideration. Lord Ashburton, the British pleni- potentiary, arrived in Washington, and out of delicacy as well as diplomacy, the senate refrained from any further discussion on the subject for the time. On the 9tli of August, 1842, the treaty framed by Lord Ashburton and Mr Webster was concluded, and early in the following session Linn brought up his bill, pressing it with great ardor, and enlisting the best talent of the senate in the debate.^'' After a heated discussio)!, it passed the senate by a vote of twenty- four to twenty-two, February 3, 1843, but failed in the liouse.^^ Thus, like Fk)yd, after a struggle of '* Calhoun, Archer, McDuffie, Crittenden, Conrad, Clioate, and BeiTieii were ndverse to the passage of tlie bill. Benton, Young, Sevier, Buchanan, Walker, Phelps, and Linn were its advocates. Benton said: 'I now go for vindicating our rights on the ColuiTibia, and as the first step toward it. passing this bill, and making these grants of land, which will soon place thirty or forty thousand rifles beyond the Rocky Mouutoius. ' Thirty Ymm' Vieiv,ii. 470 82; Oroivr's Piildir L[ti' in Or., MS., 99. ■"^roii;/. Glolx; 1842-3, 297. DlSArPOINTMEXI OF THE I'EOi'LE. 3t)I years, he had the satistactioii of j^ettinijf liis measure through tliat branch of the national lej^islature of whicli lie was a member, thoujj^h it did not become a law. It was Floyd's last eflbrt in congress; it was Lum's last eliort in the senate, for he died October 3d ot that year, and before the reassembling of con- gress. The disappointment of the people of the western states was great when the results of the Ash burton - Webster treaty were made known, and it became cer- tain that the Oregon boundary had not been touched upon, the interest in the title increasing rather than diminishing. President Tyler, in his message t occupy and settle " not over twenty thousand squari' miles of land in Oregon in one body;" the settlers not to number less than fifty men, one half of whom nmst have families.*" The request was referred to a special committee, who already had in hand a petition from Illinois asking: that a section of land be granted to every man over twenty-one years of age who should settle in Oregon. Petitions were received from Alabama, Iowa, Ken- tucky, Missouri, and Indiana, of a similar nature. Public meetings were held at Alton, Illinois, Cincin- nati, Ohio, and at Washington City, demanding the occupation of Oregon.*^ Hundreds of letters pouretl in on Senator Linn, and continued up to the time of his death to make large demands u])on his time. Nor did these petitions and memorials cease with the loss of Oregon's able champion. In the first session of 1843-4 petitions of the same nature were sent in from Iowa, Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio.*" The citi- zens of Missouri desired that an appropriation be made for the survey and establishment of the boun- dary of Oregon Territory, and that the jurisdictioi» ^^27th Cong., 3d Seas., Sen. Doc., iii. 158; 27f/i Cong., 3d Sens., Sen. Doc, iv. 217; 27fJi Comj., 3d Sena., Sen. Doc., iii. 159; 27th Cong., 3d Seas., Sen. J)oc., iii. 180. **27lh Conij., 3d Seas., If. Jour., 260. *^ 27lh Cong., 3d Sesa., Sen. Doc., 84; Semple's Oc<'upiUion of Oregon, 8, 9, IS; Com/. Gld>e, 1842-3, 84, 88, 220, 2C7, 287, 340. ^^2Slh Cong., lal Sess., li. Jour., 80, 107, 270. THE QUESTION OF TITLE. c»f tlie United States should \)e extended over it as soon as possible. Moore of Ohio presented in the lower house a declaration of the citizens of the Mis- sissippi Valley in convention assembled at Cincinnati, on the 5th of July previous, and indeed, from this time forward till the final settlement of the Oregon boundary in 1 840 the agitation increased, as I have already shown in the chapters on the Oregon title in the second volume on the Northwest CoasfJ^ The president in his annual message to congress, December 5, 1843, in remarking on the subject of the Oregon boundary, announced the ultimate claim of the United States to be to all the territory north of 42° and south of 54^ 40' on the Northwest Coast. Great Britain, he said, controverted this claim, and the American minister at London, under instructions, had again brought the subject to the consideration of the British government. A happy termination of the negotiations was expected; but in the mean time many citizens of the United States were on their way to Oregon, many were there, and others were prepar- ing to emigrate, and he recommended the establishing of military posts along the line of travel. This was the first formal announcement of the in- tention of the United States to ignore any claim of Great Britain to territory on the Pacific; but it quickly became the watchword of a majority of the *' Petition of the citizens of Licking t'ounty, Ohio, urging the government to take innnediate possession of Oregon. Com/. OUAe, 184;V-4, 82. Resolu- tion of the legislative assembly of Ohio, to terminate the convention witli Great Britain. JSth Comj., 2(1 tienn.. Sen. Ex. Dock., ii. 5C; with similar reso- lutions from New Hampshire, Missouri, Illinois, anil Alabama. Resolution of the general a.>jsembly of Indiana to the same efi'eut; 'poaceaW .1 ve can; forcibly if we must.' 28thCoiuj., LstSm.^., H. Jour., 42.3-4; Comj. : ■ ■ lS43-4, 22G. Petition of David Newkirk and 55 others of Seneca County, Oliio, asking ci-ngress to take measures to aid settlers in Oregon. Petiti^m of citizens of Wayne County, Ohio, for the immediate occupation of Oregon Territory. Tlie same from Carroll County and Medina County, that the ordinance of 1787 be extended over Oregon. Petition of the people of the state of Ohio, that the Oregon Territory be immediately occupied. Petition of the citizens of Ross and Pickaway counties, Oliio, praying lor a territoriiii government in Oregon. Petition of the citizens of Oswego Cduuty, New York, for the set- tlement of the boundary and for the protection of emigrants to Oregon. Cong. Globe, 1843-4, 030; Id., 1844-5. 155; and probably others that have escaped my observation. 884 OllKdON BKFOUE tON(iUEss. i. American pooplc, and on this issue Polk was elected to the presidency the f'ollowinj^ year. Meanwhile con- gress was more than cvi'r en«if}i>jfed in the discussion of the Oregon Question and Oregon measures, a bill for occupation hcing before both houses. Early in the first session of the "iHth congress, Atchison of Missouri introduced in the senate a bill " to facilitate and encourage the settlement of the terri- tory of Oregon," by a line of stockade or block-house forts, nresentatives the same topics were prominent throughout the session. Hughes of Missouri introduced a bill for the organization of a territorial government,'** which being refei-red to the committee on territories, Brown of Tennessee chair- man, reported a bill extending the civil and criminal jurisdiction of Iowa Territory over Oregon, as far north as 54° 40', giving land as in the senate bill; jiroviding for the appointment of a judge and justice of the peace; and appropriathig $100,000 to build forts on the road to Oregon, and within it.*^ Ten thousand copies of the bill and report wore ordered printed, and tliat was the end of it. Semple of Illinois offered a resoluti(»n requesting the president to give notice to (^reat Britain of the intended abrogation of the treaty of 1818, at the end **28th Com/., IM Sem., H. Jour., 1844, l()8-9. *''<:'om/. iij. GMh; ISU-Ty, 17, 155, 237, 277. TEKKITOKIAL GOVERNMENT. :«: inent for Oregon, and urging the government to give notice to Great Britain.*^ In the lower house the sentiment in favor of organ- izing a territorial government had also much increased during the sunnner vacation ; and when Duncan of Ohio asked to introduce a bill for that purpose, tiic objections were overruled by a vote of one hundred and twenty-five to fifty three. When the bill was reported back from its connnittee, it met little opposi- tion, and was finally passed February 3, 1845, by a vote of one hundred and forty to fifty-nine. Then it was sent to the senate, and adopted by the select committee in place of the Atchison bill, but being ])()stponed when on the point of a vote, failed for want of time. The efiect of the objections to the Oregon bills defeated at the previous session was apparent in tlu' bills offered at this, Atchison's bills enacted that a tein))()rary government,**^ with a governoV to remain in office five ye;\rs, and other officers necessary to a ])roper administration of law should be provided for ; with a legislative boJy consisting of the governor and judges, ail of whose acts should be transmitted to the secretary of state of the United States by the secre- tary of Oregon every six months, to be annually laid before congress. The governor was made connnander- in-cliief of the militia, with ])o\ver to a])])oint both niilitary and civil officers, and lay off districts for civil and military ])in'poses. As socui as there should be *' The legislature of Maine claimed the whole Oregon Territory up to CA^ 40', and closed a lonj^ series of resolutions with this f)ne: 'That our senators in congress he instructed, and our reinvsenlutives he re(iuested, to use tlieir l)est exertions tosecu.e the annexation of Texas to tlie United Stales, and tlie occupation of Orego'i, in co.ii<.rnuty with the foregoing rcsolutious.' Texas was at tliis juncture fre(jueiitly in the 'resolutions' hotli in a.>d out of con- gre:is, and was really one olistac e to the suciess of the Oregon nie'isures; as the southern states cared more for its annexation than for the occupation of Oregon. As tliu annexation of Tex.;s seemed more prohaMo, it was endeavored hy coupling to carry the Oregon measuii;. See resolution of the legislature of New Hampsliiro, Coikj. (llnhf, 1S44-'), p. !()<»; of Ohio, p. M^s. **\i is rernarkahle that no allusion is made in the dehates to a temporary government already existing in Oregon, of whicli information nmst have l)ecn ohtained, otiicially or othurwi'io. Elijah \\lute certainly reported on tlie suhject. fl fl 388 OREGON liKFORE CONGRESS. five tliousaiid free white male inhabitants over twenty one years of age citizens of the United States, they might elect a legislature, one representative for every five hundred voters, to serve for two years ; the legis- lature to consist of a council and house of representii- tives, the council to consist of five members, electefl by the whole legislative body, to serve five years ; the president of the United States to have power to re- move any member; the assembly to have power to make laws for the territory, not conflicting with the laws of the United States, the veto power being abso- lute in the governor. A delegate to congress, witii the right of debate only, should b(i elected immediately upon the aj)pointment of a governor, the latter being also superintendent of Indian affairs. Tlie bill provided also for a line of stockade forts and block- houses to the South Pass, and a fort at the mouth of the Columbia. The grant of land to settlers was promised ' hereafter ;' six hundred and forty acres to every white male in- habitant over eighteen, one hundred and sixty acres to the wife of every married man, and the same quantity to the father for each child under eighteen already in existence, or who should be born within five years after his settlement on a land claim. The president was authorized and recpiii-ed to appoint two additional Indian agents besides the governor. The territory over which this form of governnunt was to be extended was confined to tlu' limit of 41)^. I have; given this abstract of Atchison's bill to show tJie gradual i)rogress toward the idi'a of a government for Oregon, in spite of the international question in the 40 way The bill which passed in the house, while claiming the Oregon Territory to 54" 40', contained several clauses intended to guard it against the charge of ignoring the treaty obligations of the United States, li ij *^ I liavt' another ohject— to give tho gradual growtli of the ilonatioii land law, tlie chief new feature in this bill being that ItK) acres were given to the wife, instead of to the liusbaiid. NO SLAVERY. 389 British subjects arrested within the territory were to be delivered to the nearest British tribunal, up to a period twelve months after the United States should have served a notice on Great Britain of abrogation of the treaty. It was provided that the future grants of land contempiated by the act should be subject to the settlement of the title with Great Britain, and the extinguishment of tlie Indian title; also, that nothing in the act should be ccmstrued as closing or obstructing any of the navigable waters within the limits of the t(irritory organized by the bill, or any part of the country claimed by either g(>vernment on the Northwest Coast, against the vessels, citizens, or subjects of (;rreat Britain.''" As an indication of the growing im])ortance of another question which was to enter as a factor into the destiny of Oregon, Win- throp of Massachusetts proposed as an amendment a jjroviso "that there shall be neither slavery nor invol- untary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof ^ e party shall have been duly convictijd." But already the provis- ional government of the Oregon colony entertained the principle of a free state. And the p(M)ple of Oregon were, for obvious reasons, l^ettor off' with their simple organization than they would have been had either of these acts passed. It is not necessary to the pnrj^oses of this history to pursue the action of congress through the 2i)th session. It was a [)eriod of great excitement and in- creased freedom of ex})ressioii. President Polk in his message declared that "beyond all (|uestion, the pro- tection of our laws, and our jurisdiction, civil and criminal, ought to be innnediately extended over our citizens in Oregon." The legislative committee of Ore- gon for 1845 memorialized congress upon the subject of their temporary organization, reciting the griev- ^ Under this law MuLouglilin's claim at Oregon City would have been ivspected 3>f I [t)f the 40th degree of latitude — a convention which had ceded to tlu; HudsonV Bay Company in perpetuity the navigation of the (."olundjia River. It was a convention for tlie joint occupation of Oregon soutii of 4'.*', while l)efore we held as far north as 54' 40'. He repeated tiiat tiiose who were opposed to the convention desired to be lieard in reference to it, in an ai)peal to their constituents and to the country.' Alh'n of Ohio trust(^ny across the jdains to the sliore of tlie Pacitic, Ho then proceeds: 'You asii for information in regard to tlie route and outlit of emigrants. In reply, I can nicommeml no other than that usually taken by traders anil trappers, with occasional deviations which it would be useless to endeavf.i to point out on paper. I mean the route up the south Platte, a short distance above the junction of the north and south forks; thence up the north fork until you have travelled soine li or 8 days within the first range of mountains, called the Black Hills; thence to the Colorado cif the \\' est; and thence to Fort Hall on Lewis River by the way of Bear River.' In answer to the cpies- tion if the journey could be made in wagons, he sai years of age. This roll, after 32 years hail elapsed, was lead before the Ore- gon Pioneer Association at its third annual reunion in I ST"), by its author, t ff ^U rf:t i^ 'II V: 1 'I THE IMMIGRATION OF 1843. Looriey, and Daniel Matheney, swelled the army to nearly a thousand persons, although the 'fighting who requested the sun'ivors present to answer to the'r names 'as present for duty,' when 13 t)uly responded. The Oregon Pioneer Association has been of much benefit to the author of this liistory. P'or a nuniliur of years a desire had existed for such an associa- tion in the Willanictte Valley, and some preliminary movement lia. Phuiitm, M. (,'. Field. Tlie Jesuits, Do Vos and Hoecken, (111 tlieir way to tlie Flathead country, were also with tlie liunters as, far as tlie Rocky Mountains. Nitcx' Jfei/., Ixv. 71, 214. Burnett erroneously states that one of these priests was Do Sniet; but De Smet was then on his way to Europe. A'ecolli'C/ion.s, 10*2. NOTABLE MEN. 307 north branoli was? t'onk-d. Four days more of travel brouglit them to the Sweetwater, and on the 3d of August tlie snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains came in sight. Up to tliis time everything had gone well; the company retaining its original immher, save five, who turned back at the first crossinu' of the Platte.' But on the 4th of August, Clayborne Payne died of fever, and was buried besidi; the road, the funeral services being conducted by a Methodist preacher named Garrison. At the Big Sandy, a tributary of Green River, died Mr Stevenson, August 9th. Con- sidering the number of persons on the march, and the privations incident to camp life, the health of the emigrants was lemarkably good, sickness and the disath i-ate being scarcely greater than in a conununity of the same size in towns. There were births as well as deaths. Many an emigrant to Oregon first saw the Hght beneath a canvas tent on the roadside.^ No difficulty occurred with the natives; the num- bers present, and recollections of chastisement a few years previous, by Captain Bennett Riley, with his artillery, deterring them from predatory or hostile acts." After passing Independence Rock caution was considered necessary, and the two principal divisions were broken into smaller companies for greater con- venience.^'^ Likewise this was a pleasant arrangement, as leading raen now found themselves at the head of tlie smaller divisions, and associated with those of con- genial habits. Friendships were formed and cemented which lasted through life, surviving all the struggles and changes of the founding of a new empire." 1.,".; i.iif ■' V.lf ' Nicholas Biddle, Alexander J-'rancis, F. Lwgiir, John Loughborough, and .Tackson Moore. Or. Pioneer .'l*soc., Traii.t., 1875, 53. ^ Applegnie, in Orerland Mont/il;/, i. 131. " /iurneU\i liecolkeUoiut, 114. This was the first instance of their iising cannon against the Indians. ^"Mien' lieij., Ixv. 168. "Burnett, who left Oregon in 1848, has told me of the meeting between himself and Jesse Applegate, in San Francisco, after more than 20 years of separation, wlieu they 'embraced each other with tears.' T}IM IMMir.RATION OF 1843. Aiiioni^ those wlio kept tlie load was Thomas J J. Kaiser, wlio'" was amoii«if tlie first to arrive at (ireen Riv'er, and the Hrst also to leave it for Fort Hall. Another impatient to reat;h his destination was J. B. McClane.'^' A l)arty was formed of these and others, with JJr- WhitDian, who had joined the emigration on the Platte River, also anxious to reach his home, and to gi't news of his family and affairs at the fort, where he was likely to meet Cayuses and Nez l^erees. At Green Kiver they leanu'd that the Jesuits, De Vos and Hoecken, had, by mi'ans of their Flathead pilot, discovered a pass throui^h the mountains to Soda Si)riniii8, hy way of Fort j^ridn'cr, on tln^ Black branch of (Ireen Kiver, a cut-ofi* which saved considerable distance, information of which Whitman communi- cated to the companies by a hitter left at Green River. That the road in tlu; lear was, for a natural one, ex- cellent, is evidenced by the fact that the ox-tcanis made an average of thirteen i.iiles a day for the whole distance fron) the Sweetwater to Fort Hall, wheic the rear arrived the last of August, the advance hav- ing waited for them to come up. At this jdace died Daniel Richardson; and here also was found Lovejoy, who had come across from Bent Fort during the sum- 'Trom Kaiser's Xarnttive, ■x valual)le manuscript, penned by himself, 1 obtain the main biographical facts of liims(ilf and his family, with their immigration to Oregon. Mr Kai.ser .seems to !iave been a representative wt'stern man; vigorous, courageous, frank, ai.d indepeiulent. He was born in Huidier County, Nortli Carolina, where he married Miss Mary (iirley, hy wliom lie had 10 chihU-en, 3 sons and 5 daughters. In 1828 he removed to (Hies County, Tennessee, and in 18.'W to Van Buren County, Arkan.sas, where he remained until 1842, wlien lie started witli liis family for Oregon; but arriving too late to join Wldte's emigration, he renewed the attempt with success the following year. He died in .lune 1871, aged 78 years. Tlie narrative contains also some account of the Oregon rangers and otlier colonial matters. Anotlier manuscript, by liis son, ]'. C. Kaiser, entitled T/ic Eniij/nnil /'(Ml)/, deals more witli recollections of tlie journey to Oregon, and supplies several facts omitted liy the fatlier. "John Burch Mc(iaue left I'liiladelphia in 1842, and 'went west' In the following spring lie determiiud to go to the limit of western territory. Like Kaiser, he Wivs ambitious to hv in tlie lead, and disputes M'ith liim the honor of ' breaking the first sagedirush west of Fort Mall. His manuscriiit, called Firs/ U'oi/on Train, deals chiefly with the immigration, and adventures in California, after the gold discovery, with some remarks upon missionary monopoly. ON THK WKSIKHN SI.Ol'K. :{!•".• inor to be ready to join Whitman on his return t*) Oregon. At Fort Hall tliti\' was the usual discussion upon (•lifi!!;:^ing from waj^ons to jtack-animals, it lK>in<^ finally decided to retain the wagons, as there were men enough to make a n»a«l when.' none (existed. The chief ohjection was the latcMiess of the season. In their councils, both (inint of Fort Hall and Whitman were consulted. Whih^ admitting that tlu; wagons might he taken to the Columhia Jliver, (irant ac- knowledged that ho did not know how it c(»uld ])e done, as he had tra\'c;lled onlv hv the ])ack-tniil ; hut Whitman, from Newell's experience, believed that a wation road was feasibk', and encoura<;cd the cmiij^rants to decide in favor of the undi'rtaking. It had been the intcnition of the cnnigrants to take their wagons to the Columbia. They would open the way, and show congress that the enterprise which the ii'overnment was so slow to undertake was not bcv()n'. Thinkhijx there miijfht be liostile Indians in the vicinity, ho fornx^d his men for batth', and marching up to the red signal, discovered it to be a large salmon split open and lioisted on a pole to notify travellers that there were fish for sale. Thus the danger and difficulties of this portion of tiie journey disappeared on approach. '* McClaue says the Indians met 1 >r Whitman at Fort Hall, ' with supplies, prol.ably sent by liis associates. FirM Woium Tniin, MS., 3. '"The names of tlio.se wlio went to California were T. B. Chiles, W. J. Martin, .hilius .Martin, John (lantt, Milton Little, J. Atkinson, V. W. Daw- son, V. McC'lelhuul, .lohn Mclntire, .John Williams, Scjuire Williams, Isaac Williams, 1'. B. Reading, Samut^l J. Hensley, Mc(tee, and Boardman. Or. I'ioiwer AfiMf., Tnnm., 1875, 53; FonVs liowl-ruakcr-i, MS., 5; Frimont's E.r- ylor. Ex., 10(i. AT GRAND ROND VALLEY. 401 From Salmon Falls the route lay across an expanse of sage plains to Fort Boise. A pa.rty, consisting of Whitman and his nephew, Lovejoy, Ricord, and Nini- rod Ford, pn.shed forward, leaving written notices by the way of the course to be taken by the wagons, which canio after at a rate of thirteen miles a day^ notwithstanding the toughness of the artemisia and the depth )f the sand. At Fort Boise they were ki idly received by Payette, but could not tarry, aa it was already the 20tli of Se^)tember. Fording the Snake River, where it has sincv^ been found necessary to have a ferry, by raising the wagon-beds a few inches on blocks, they reached the wrst side in safety. Fol- lowing down the river, encoup ocring no serious obstruc- tions for three days, they re iched on the 24th Burnt River Canon, twenty-tiv miles in length, through which ran a small stream whose bed was used for a road for the greater pari of the way, there being no time to clear away from the banks the masses of fallen and 1)urnt trees from which the river was named. ^' Tlie first grading re(juired on any part of the route from the main Platte to tlie Columbia was at the crossing of tlie ridge at the head of Burnt River; and this, too, was the first occasion on which it had been necessary to double teams.^** From this point the toils of travel increased, the country being rough and hilly. Nevertheless by the 1st of October the main body of the immigration had arrived at Grand Rond Valley, which appeared so l)eautifui, set in its envi- roning pine-clad hills, with its rich pasturage and abundajit watercourses, that a })ortion of the immi- grants were deterred from settling there only by the impossibility of obtaining supplies for the colony dur- iiiij: the coming winter. On the Viiorning of the 2d two inches of snow whitened the mountain sides, and warned the travellers not to waste piecious time. On IZ] ^' Mrnnu'x Fh-Mf ]V-T. On., Viii,. I. ■>(< 402 THE IMAUGRATION OF 1843. the evening of the 3d the first ridge had been crossed; and beyond tliis was still the main cliahi of the Blue Mountains covered with heavy timber which it viaa imperative to remove. As the sappers and miners of a military legion precede the army, a force of the most active and enertjetic of the emifjrant legion fell upon these barriers to progress, and although their axes were dulled by a sunmier's use, and their hands were sadly blistered, forty men in five days cleared a wagon-road over the dreaded Blue Mountains,^" the wagons and herds following as the road was opened, boys and v;omen driving the teams whose owners were clearing the way.^" On the 5th, and while the innnigration was in the mountains, a severe snow-storm was experienced, which made the beautiful valley of the Umatilla River thrice beautiful bv contrast, when the travellers arrived on the evening of the Gtli at the western base. Here they found a Cayuse village, and ol)tained fresh vegetables. On the 10th the innnigration was encamped within thrf^e miles of Whitman's station. At Grand Bond, Whitman was met by a courier from Lapwai with intelligence of tlie alarming illness of Mr and Mrs S])alding,'"^ and relinquishing his office of guide to Sticcas a Cayuse chief in whom he re- posed confidence, left the party and struck across the ci>untry to the sta,tion. Sticcas faithfully performed his duty, bringing the white men, to whom, as we "Among tho8(i vere the Fori'ls, the Kaisers, Lennox, Zachory, Matheney, the ApplegatcH, Hurnett, and J. W. Nosinith. Kaiser, in his Eiiil(ir(uii Rmul, MS., says that Ni-sniith carried an axe on his slioulders all tlio way throu^ii the Blue Mountains, and WiU distinguished hy a quiet reserve, for whieh in later years he has ht^en less Conspicuous, though the friends ho made in his youthful days (ho was then but 22) still cherish for him the most loyal regard. 'The wanio tiualitics which led him to usefulness theu have never deserted hiin. '-" An emigrant of 184(5 refers to the fact that writers on Oregon have overlooked the w("nen. 'They seem to have heeii ignored; yet they per- formed their toils with as much fidelity a« the men, and have l)een as useful in their way. I coulil never have gotten through to tliis country without my wife.' r/wrtiton's Or. Hlxt., MS., 33. ^' lioston Jlina. Herald, May 1844. ABORKHNAL THIEVERY. 403 know, his people were unythiiig but friendly, safely to the vicinity of the mission."- For this service many were unj^rateful, for two rer ns: it took them forty- five miles out t)f their course ; and exposed them to the annoying peculations of the natives, who not only intruded into their camps by day, but stole their horses at night in order to obtain a reward for re- turning them — a j^ractice which was repeated every twenty-four liours. The great ambition of the natives along the Co- lund)ia, as elsewhere, was to secure the clothing worn by white men. Lewis and Clarke mention seeing odd garments, evidently obtained from trading-vessels on the coast, in the possession of these natives as early as in 1805, and which must have been purchased from the Indians t)f the Lower Columbia. After the ( )regon immigration began they were to be seen ar- layed in cast-ofi' wearing apparel of every description, ])i-esenting a motley and fantastic appearance. They gladly sold whatever they had for shirts, dresses, or hats; but as stealing and selling back a horse to its owner was a more productive plan, it was greatly affected by the Cayuscs. Kaiser in his nari'ative t!omplains of these practices, and says that at the missit^n he called a council of c'iiiefs, and told them that he had paid his last shirt for having his horses returned by the thieves, and that hereafter when ho found one of them about his camp after dark he should shoot him. This warning was not witliout its effect. Burnett also speaks of })aying a shirt for several successive mornings to get back the same animal; and Waldo, in his cynical style, lemarks that the iumiigrjuits had no trouble with the natives until they encou: tered the mission Indians."* ^''Noamith says Sticcap wis tlio only Indian he ^'^•^^r kiiuw who had any conception of or who uractised Christianity. Or. /'ioiurr Axuoc., Tratut., 1875, 48. '^■^i'rititiue)*, MS., 2. Daiiit'l Waldo was Ixiru in Vimnia in 1800. At tlie auo of 19 he einigrattid to Missouri, where he resided in St Clair County till 1843, and was a neighbor of the .-Vpplegates, and of Joseph B. Chiles. His 4()-t THE IMMIGRATION OF 1843. Wlieii Whitman arrived at Lapwai lie found Mr and Mrs Spalding convalescing, and liastoncd to his own station to meet the imniijLcrants and furnish them with supplies, which had to he brought from Ijapwai and Colville, his grain and mill having \)con destroyed the previous winter. For this service he was cen- sured by some and applauded by others."* That it was a wise and philanthropic action to give the Innni- grants an opportunity to jmrchase fresli provisions, the sequel proved; besides, it was personally known to Whitman that some of tlieni had exhausted their sup- j)lies before reaching the Cohunbia. But whether thev were or were not in need, thev found the prices at Waiilatpu exorbitant w lien com- pared with tliose of Missouri, and accused Wliitman ol selfish motives in conducting the immigration past his station, making them ninety additional miles of travel, which, with tlieir worn-out teams and the lateness of the season, became a matter of serious importance."'^ lifiilth boiiig poor, liaviiig heard of Uio salubrity of tlie Orogoii climate, he ilutcriniiied to join the emigration, starting with Chiles for the i'endezv()iis a little behind Applegatu. He recovered healtli d\iring tin; journey, which was made in an easy carriage. He was a man of j)ec\diai' ami jirououuced cliaracter, and a strong frame; for 20 years he suffered wi^l) ctincer on the elieek, and was soniewliat irritahh;, as well as naturally critical in his remarks, which abound in sensible and pertinent suggestions. This characteristic oansey Spalding and '>ray, his associates. Tluu'e is no question of his merits ius a mm, or that he was of much service to immigrants. But I am warned from accepting as fact all tiiat these men have recorded of his disinterested generossity, by tiie remarks of those wlio are said to have prolited by it. Not to appear partisan, I shall ijuoto freely from both critics and admirers, wliero such qiiotiitious are perti nent. '■'■'Burnett, in speaking of thest^ accus:itious, hays: 'Tliis foolisli, false, and ungrateful charge wns ha,sed upon the fact thai: Ik; asked ^1 a bushel for wheat and 40 .;eut.s for poUitoes. As our people hail been accustomed to sell tlicir wheau at from oO to M cents a hushel, and their ))otatoes at from '20 to -5 cents, in tin; Westeiii States, they thoiighf, tlie [)i'ic(.'s demanded by tlie doctor amountoil to something liki; extortion, i.ot ictltcting that he had to pay at least twice as much for his si.iip'ies of mcrdiandise, and could not afford to sell his [iro'.iuce as lowas they did theirs at hoiU''.' Rirolli'cfioii-i, 127. This is a gener- '•us view of tlie cast', characteristic of tlie author; but it is not altogetlier l)orni' out 1)3' the facts, Wliitman receiving his supplies from the board. The mission MISSJOXAKY MISKKPRESKXTATION. 405 Kaiser was ani()ii*r those wlio felt tliemsclvcs injurfd by being piloted out of" their yvay, and by having to pay a dollar a bushel for wheat. So obstinate were some, says Burnett, that they refused to purchase until the wheat was all gone, in consequence of which he had to divide; his supj)ly with them before the end of the journey."'" Thert; wx're other causes of dissatisfaction, and sub- sequent reproach. Neither Whitman, nor MeKinlay at Fort Walla Walla, knew anvthinu,' of the countrv back from the Columbia River,"' or whether there could be found crossinus for the wagons at the .Fohn Day and Des Chutes rivers; and both advised the innuigrants to leave their wagons and cattle in the Walla Walla Valley to be brought down in the sj)ring, and to make themselves boats in whicli to descend the Columbia, One of the arguments used in favor of this plan was that no grass would he likely to be found on the route, as the natives were accustomed at this season of the year to burn it ofl* — a statement which sufficiently proved the doctor's ignorance of the country, and which was construed to his disadvantage l)y those who travelled through it. 2S l[,i(l sustained losses iluriug, and possibly tlirough, his ahseiioe, of several thou- >i;iiul dollars. 'J'lie hoard had not approved of his leaving iiis station, and had M'ut him liack etnpty-lianded — how eniptydiauded is more than ouee hinted at hy the emigrants. Waldo hluntly says: 'He had notliing to start with hut a hoiled lianv. .. .After wo erossod the Snake River 1 had to feed him again. 1 ilid not like it nuich; hut he was a very energetie man, and 1 liked lum for his perseverance; he iiad not niueli judgment, hut a great ileal of per- si'veranee. He expected tlie emigrants to feed him, and tliey liiil. He was hound to go, and took the chaiici's. ' <'ri/ii/in:t, MS., 17. Perhaps Whitman tliought to reimliur-ic tlie mission for its losses. Tliere walles, The tirst night out I found the tiuest grass I ever saw, ■und it was good every night.' Vriliipn'-i, MS., IG. 1 &,. 'n,: 406 THE IxMMKillATION OF 184:1. t!l From a journal of Burnett's, published in a Mis- souri paper a year or two after the emigration, there seems to have been some ground for suspicions of in- terested motives in advising the immigrants to leave their cattle. " The residents of the mission agreed," says the journal, "in advising us to leave our cattle and wagons at the station. McKinlay of Walla Walla also advised us to leave the animals, either to exchange for California cattle, or to pay one dollar per head for their keeping. . .What surprised us most, after the representations that had been made, was the fine pasturage we met all along the way, and espe- cially at the Dalles, where wo had been led to believe the cattle could not subsist at all during the winter," Applegate gives some further information,^ where he tells us that at the mission they received one fat bullock of Spanish stock for two poor emigrant oxen. Those who did not distinguish the difference between Spanish and American cattle consented willingly to pay this price for fat beef Without any expense to the missionaries they had in the s[)ring two fat American work-oxen for their one bullock. The natives did better, who gave a fat bullock for a lean heifer, for breeding purposes. After a few days' rest at the mission, the emigra- tion moved toward the Columbia River with their wagons and stock. Propositions were made to some members of the company to remain at Waiilatpu, which were rejected on account of the thieving habits of tJie natives, and the difficulty of taking care of their cattle on st) wide a range as the Walla Walla Valley, besides the general desire to reach their destination that year. But at Fort Walla Walla, a portion t)f '^This manuscript of Mr Applegate's is a running commentary on Mrs Vic- tor's JUivr of the, IIVw., filling out some chapters wliere delicient in historic fact and correcting others, while in the main it assents to the record there given of Oregon's early history. l\\ a similar manner he has commented on (rray's //wtor*/ o/"Om/oH, hy marginal notes. A third source of information furnished l)y this moat classical writer of Oregon's pioneers is .a collection of letters on historical subjects. The elegance of diction and accuracy of state- ment render these contributions of che highest value. SAD ACCIDENT TO THE APPLEGATES. 407 them being still in doubt from the representations made to them of the difficulties in the way, finally agreed with McKinlay to leave their cattle with him and take orders on the Hudson's Bay Company foi' the same number and description of California cattle in the Willamette Valley. Among those making this arrangement was Jesse Applegate,^** who with Waldo owned more stock than any other two men in the emigration.^^ Waldo proceeded with the main body to the Dalles by land, while Burnett, Beagle, McClane, the Applegates, and others, seventy-one in all, decided to take the advice of Whitman and descend the Colum- bia in boats. Whitman accompanied them to bring home his wife, who was still at the Dalles, where she had taken refuge from the violence of the Cayuses. Burnett had a Hudson's Bay boat and an Indian pilot. Beagle, who was with him, was steersman. He was a good boatman, and familiar with the lapids of the Ohio at Louisville; but those compared to the rapids of the Columbia were insignificant, and Burnett relates that Beagle's cheeks often paled, though he obeyed the intrepid Indian pilot implicitly.^^ This party arrived in safety at the Dalles. ^ Fremont's Ejplor. Ex., 184. Gray saya Applegato sold or mortgaged his cattle to get supplies at Walla Walla. Ili«t. Or., 422. But Burnett denies this, and says it was an exchange, or one dollar a head for herding them; and that when Applegate arrived at Vancouver, McLoughlin protested against Applegate making such a bargain to his injury, and not only gave him his American cattle back but refused compensation for the care they received during the winter. ^^ Burnett's Jfccollectwn.-^, MS., i. ?74-5. Concerning tliis matter, Waldo liimself says: 'I started from Missouri with 108 head, and got here with 08. They were worth in Missouri $48 a head. ' Here, horses were wortli from $7 to $10, while American cattle were worth $100, Spanish, §9. Critiques, MS., 10. ^' ' On one occasion, I remember, we were passing down a terrible rapid with a speed almost like a race-horse, when a huge rock arose above the water before us, against whicli the swift and miglity volumne of the river furiously flashed in vain, and then suddenly turned to the right, almost at right angles. The Indian told Beaglo to hold the bow of the bout directly towards the rock as if inteniUng to run plumb upon it, while the rest of us pulled upon our oars with all our might, so as to give her such a vehicity as not to be nmch afJ'uctud l)y the surging waves. The Indian stood cool and motioidess in the bow, pad- illo in hand, with features set as if to meet immediate death, and when we were within from 20 to 30 feet of that terrible rock, as quick almost as thought he plunged his long patldle-blade into the water on the left side of 408 Tm: IMMIGRATION OF 1843. a III The Applegate company being in less nianageablc canoes constructed by themselves, and less skilfull\- handled, were not so fortunate, one of their boats ovei"turning in the rapids, by which accident a son of Jesse Applegate was drowned, a son of Charles Applegate crippled for life, while Elisha, a son of Lind- sey A[)plegate, and William Doke narrowly escaped. C. M. Stringer and McClelland were also drowned.'^'' The main part of the innnigration, which t(H)k the land route to the Dalles, met with no other obstacles than some difficulty in crossing the two principal riv- ers in their course, the John Day and Des Chutes, and had no accidents. To be the first to reach the Dalles, the terminus of the emigrant road to Oregon for 1843, was an honor that was contended for by the foremost drivers, and I find is claimed by both Nine- veh Ford and Kaiser.^* At the Dal! ; the immigrants had still the most difficult and dangerous portion of their journey before them, there being neither a road over the rugged mt)untains that separated them from the Willamette Valley, nor boats in which to embark on the river. It was too late to attempt opening a wagon-road intf) the Willamette Valley, a distance of sixty miles of extremely rough country, and there were few facilities for constructing a sufKcient number of boats to con- vey the families and goods to their destination. The innnigration of 1843 was differently situated from any company that had preceded, or any that fol- tlio bow, and with it gave a sudden \vTench, and tlic boat instantly turned upon its centre to the right, and we passed the rock in safety.' Burnett'a L'ecollcctimis of II /'ioiiecr, 129. ^^ A member of Fremont's expedition, which was in the rear of the immi- gration all the way to the Dalles, returning to St Louis the same season, car- ried a very unfavorable report of the condition of the immigrants, 8 of whom he said had perished of hardship. A'iles Jli'ij., Ixv. '243. The trutli was, that 9 deaths occurred on the road, if we count that of William Day. who died at Vancouver; 4 from sickness, and 4 by drowning, one out of every 100 — and none of these of what might properly be called hardships. '■'* Ford says, ' My wagon was in front of the caravan when it got to the l)alles.' Kaiser says, 'My father's teams broke tlie sage-brush from Green River to the Dalles.' James Athey is content to claim the second or thinl place in the van, and says, ' Mine was the second or third team to drive up to the Dalles.' Workshop.^, MS., 1. ARRIVAL IN OREGON, 409 ■d lowed it into Oregon. When a company came by sea to Fort Vancouver, or a small i)arty overland to Walla Walla, every facility for continuing their journey or prosecuting their designs was tendered to tJiem by the Hudson's Bay Company. White's party, which was (jnly a pack-train, arrived early, and j^roceeded direct to the settlements without any serious hinderance. But here were nearly nine hundred people wit4i their household goods and a largo number of cattle and horses. It was impossible to meet this whole colony as guests, and help them to their destinations with all manner of courtesies as had so often been done in regard to smaller parties. They must help themselves, and help themselves they did. Going inU) the ])ine forest which beautifies the foot- hills near the Dalles, they felled trees and made rafts of logs from a foot to eighteen inches in diameter and twenty feet long, which being securely lashed to- gether, the wagons were taken apart and with their loads placed upon them. Sometimes one covered wagon-bed was reserved as a cabin for the use of women and children. A child was born in one of tliese cabins on a raft,^"" between the Dalles and the Cas- cades. Others who had come from Walla Walla by boats kept ori to the Cascades in the same manner. Some left their wagons and stock at the Dalles, while the greater number drove their cattle down the river, swimming them to the north side, and ferrying them back again to the south side o})posite A^ancouver. On arriving at the Cascades a formidable bar to further progress was discovered. The rafts and boats couM not be taken over the rapids. Two weeks were occupied in cutting a wagon-road round the Cascades by which the wagons brought down on rafts could reach the lower end of the portage. In the mean time the autumn rains had set in, and the weather in the heart of the great range was cold and wintry. The few immigrants who had friends or relatives in ^^ Foi-d's Road-mtden, MS., 15. 4IU THE IMMIGRATION OF 1843. Oregon had received sono assistance at the Dalles. Robert Shortess met the Applegates at that plac;« with a canoe-load of provisions; but before passing- the Cascades portage these were consumed by the party of seventy who had made the voyage from Walla Walla in boats, and they were in danger of starvation. There were no means of transportation at the Cascades, and starving or not, many women and children were compelled to wait for a passage in some boat from below.'" James Waters, who had been among the earlier arrivals at the settlements, became alarmed at the failure '^f the rear to come up, and feeling sure that they were suffering from want of food, went to Mc- Loughlin, to whom he represeated the situation of those still at the Cascades, and asked for credit to obtain provisions for their relief Though contrary to rule, this favor was accorded, the only condition required being that the provisions shoukl be sold to the immigrants at Fort Vancouver prices, and that Waters should navigate the bateau carrying the sup- plies."''" This timely relief rescued many people from perishing of want and cold. ''Ford says: 'I had a cousin that brought the long-hoat of the Peacock to take us down the river. He had packed across the plains in 1842, and heard that we were coming. There were women and chihlren that had no mode of conveyance, ami were waiting for some means of getting away, and I prevailed on my cousin to take them. They were strangers to me, hut in distress, and I could stand it better than they coidd. ' Ford fortunately pro- cured four Indian canoes, which he lashed side by side, and taking the boards of five wagon-beds, made a platform over them, loading on it the running-gear and other goods, and lashing all down. Then setting up a mast in the centre, with a wagon-sheet for a sail, and with two natives and two white men to assist in managing the craft, not only sailed down to Vancouver, but up to Oregon City, where he arrived on the 10th of Novendjer. McLoughlin met Ford as he stepped ashore at the former place with many kindly compliments upon hia enterprise. Eoad-mnkers, MS., 1(>-19. ^' Says Appiegate, in Vietcs of Orerjon HMory, MS. : ' The first full meal my party of 70 had for three weeks was out of the bounty of Dr McLoughlin, dispensed by Captain Waters. ' Concerning the conditions put upon Waters, Burnett remarks: ' Many of the purchasers never paid, but contenteil them- selves with almsing the doctor and the captain, accusing them of wishing to speculate upon the necessities of poor emigrants. The final result was a con- siderable loss, which Dr McLoughlin and Captain Waters divided ecpially l>etween them. ' Of Waters, whose title of captain came from his having been at the head of one of the emigrant companies, Burnett says; ' He was a most excellent man, possessed of a kind heart, truthfid tongue, anil patient dispo- yoi)]) AND CLOTHING. 411 A small party of tlio belated immigrants beinj]f wind-bound behind Caju; Horn for a number of days — a circumstance that frequently ha}H)ened at this part of the i iver— were in dani^er of death by starva- tion, being reduced to eating })oiled rawhide, whicli they had upon their boat. Ford relates that a Mr Delaney had a box of hemp-seed which he consumed. Among them was an immigrant who had been d Vancouver and returned to the Cascades to the assistance of his friends. Remembering that he had breakfasted at a certain spot on his way up the river, he searched upon his knees, in the snow, for crumbs that might have fallen, weeping bitterly, and expecting to perish. But McLoughlin, with his wonderful care and watchful- ness over everybody, being satisfied, from the length of time the ])arty had been out, that they were in (Hstr^^s, sent another boat with provisions to look for and relieve them, which arrived in time to prevent a tragic termination to their six months' journey.*^ A letter in the Oregon Hjiectator of Januai y 21, 1847, written by one of the immigrants of 1843, declares that they experienced more hardships and sufferings in descending from the Dalles to the Willamette than in all the former portion of their journey, and that almost in sight of the promised land many were saved from perishing by the benevolence of the Hudson's Bay Company and the timely assistance of a fellow- iinmigrant — presumably Captain Waters. It might be asked why help was not rendered by the American settlers in the Willamette Valley, and tlie Methodist Mission. In justice to the missionaries, I nmst say that some help was rendered, but it appears sition;' and of McLoughlin, that 'he Wiis one of the greatest and most nolilc [ihilanthropists I ever saw; a man of superior ahility, just in liis dealings, and a faithful Christian.' Yet tliese were the men wliom a certain portion of tlie immigrants of 1843 maligned and hated, although they were indebted to thorn tor saving their lives. ^* Ford's Jioad-mak'ern, MS., 24-5; Letter of Lieut llowisou, in Emm' ll'mt. Or., MS., 348. The only death that happeneil at tlie Cascades, and the ninth on the road, was of a negro woman, a servant of Mrs Burnett, who was drowned ))y stepping on the edge of a canoe which sheered from under her, when she fell into the river and disappeared. Ford, MS., 21. ii«ii 41: THE I.MMKiKATlON OF 1W3. to have been uuirely the scndincf of some provisiiiiis to peiHoiuil friends and aoquaintanoe.s, and wa.s enthely inadequate to the needs of the new-comers. As far as the settlers were concerntxl, tliey were too scattered, and liad not the nusans to render niucli assistance, wliicli required boats as well as provisions in larjj^c quantities. Tt is i)lain that the greatest surferers were those who were prevailed upon by Whitman and McKinlay t(» leave cattle and wagons at Walla Walla. No lives were lost anioiig those who took the; land route,^ and those wlio had cattle had always something to cat. Though the main innnigration came down from tlu- Dalles in boats, parties of horsemen accompanied the cattle-drivers on shore. One party, consisting of M. M. McCarver, James Chase, the two Doughertys, and a dozen others, took Daniel ]^ee's cattle trail over the Cascade Mouiitains into the Willamette A^alley. The immigrants all along this portion of the route, whether in boats or ashore, were nmch annoyed by the natives, who stole the cittle, or who came in large numbers, and when the assistance of one or two was required, would i-efuse to give it unless all were employed and l)aid, which was only another form of robbery. Bur- nett mentions one chief who spoke English very well, and was dressed in a suit of broadcloth, witli a paii' of fine shoes. With absolute authority he counnanded his thirty-five subordinates to do no work unless all were engaged. This was the practical working of the head-chief system of Elijah White turned against the Americans. The lateness of the season v/lien the travellers ar- I'ived, the last of November, with the difficulty of sheltering so many in a new country, rendered it im- practicable for the majority to select land for a set- tlement before spring. Those who had means bought the necessaries of life of the Hudson's Bay Company ; '"Dr Ttilirtie usetl to say tliat we could go anywhere with a wagon tliat th(\v eoulil witli a pack-hor.se.' .S'////v.'ld mission, Jesse Ain)legiite being employed in surveying both at Salem and ( )regon City. In the spring the three brothers opened farms in Yaui- hill district, near the present site of Dallas." Atlu'y '" The Fords were originally from North Carolina, where Nineveh Fonl, autlior of the lioml-inakcrs, MS., was horn July lo, KSl."). They emigrated to Missouri in 1840, but taking the prevalent Oregon fever, joined Burnett's eoni- liany. • " Some of the younger members of the Applegiito family long resided in the Willamette V^alley; but the three elder ones made their homes in soutliern Oregon; Jesse and Charles in tlie Uniixjua Valley, where they settled in 18411, and Lindsey in the Kogue Kiver Valley, to which he removed in 185!(, and several of their children in the Klamath Valley. The Applegates wen; from Kentucky, where Jesse was born in 181 1 . Tlie family removed to Missotiri in 182'2, where Jesse was a jiroUije and pupil of Edmund Biites, whose voice m congress was ever against the project of settling Oregon from tlie western stfvtes. There is a flattering ami kindly tribute to Jesse Api)legato in the Or. Pioneer Anxoc, Tnnin., 187"), 01, by .1. \\. Nesmith, in which he says: ' No man did more upon the route to aid the destitute auil encouragi^ the weak. ' 'As a frontiersman, in courage, sagacity, anrought up by the Younts. One of this family came to California at a period earlier than the advent of Captain Sutter, and settled at Napa, where he had r::-| 414 THE IMMKiRATION OF 1843. was employed on the flouring; mill of the luilling com- pany at Oregon City, and finally built a house and engaged in the manufacture of furniture, being by trade a cabinet-maker/" Like Hastings of the year before, Ricord wa^ offered employment by McLoughlin as his legal ad- viser; but he held to the missionaries, as I have else- where related, and in the spring went to the Hawaiian Islands, where he became chancellor to the king, whom he left for tlie gold-fields of Califc rnia in 1849.'''^ a large establishment and mill, with huuilrctla of Indian servants. Anotluii- wa.s a wealtliy farmer iu Missouri at the time of Mrs Applegate's marriage. After a long and usefnl life, she died at her residenee in Umpqua Valley, in the spring of 1881. Applryat!''/ Cnrre.- ear he left home to join Ashley i.i his expedition to the Rocky Mountains. One part of Ashley's company ascedded tlie Missouri in boats; the rest proceeded overland. Young Applegate btloi.ged to the river detachment, which was attiicked by the Ari'^karees, defeated, and driven back to t'ouncil Bluffs. Falling ill at this place, he was sent back witi\ the wouniled to St Louis. He afterward worked in the lead-mines of Illinois, and served in the Black Hawk war. He was married in 18H1 to Miss Eliza- beth Miller of Cole ("ouuty, Missouri, and removed soon after to the south- western part of the state, where he built the first grist-mill erected in that portion of Missouri, and where he resided till 1843. Mrs Applegate was a woman of superior character and abilities; she died at he» home in Ashland in the spring of 1882. J (tcknonvHle Sentinel, July 30, I879', AMand, Or., Tidiwjx, Aug. 8, 187S). Charles Applegate was two years the senior of Lindsey. la IS'JO he married Miss Melinda Miller, antl witli her and several children emigrated to Oregon. He is described as a man of iroi. constitution, deter- mined will, and chpntable dispt, ncion. He also possessed considerable natural ability as a writer, having published several tales of frontier life. He iliedat his lionie in Douglas County, in August 1870; respected by all who knew him. 6(dvnhStatet,nieti, Aug. 15, 1879; Ro.ichuriuver, made a lathe, and used it for turning iron. That was not till 1817, and was notliing more than tinkering and making such things as I wanted for my own use.' Athey was born in V'i , inia in 181t). He took up a claim on the Tualatin River in 1851, ami clearei .i, but did not succeed at farming, and sold it after a few years for ^1,800 He afterward engaged in building a small steamer. *'^ Jloiiolidn I'olyiieaiaii, Dec. '11, 1845; Cunip-Jire O /•.«'. "jh.h, ^'S., 13. THE TOWN OF JJNNTON. 415 The Garrisons found farms in the Tualatin plains, now Washinoton County/* Burnett and McCarver toolt a piece of land on the west bank of the Willamette River, not far above the head of Sauvd Island, and laid out a town which they named Linnton, after Senator Linn; "' but as no one came to purchase lots, after having cat out a road from the river to the Tualatin plains, iliey removed in the spring to the vicinity of the present town of llillsboro, and o})ened farms near the Garrisons.** ^hively settled on a claim above the old fort of Astoria, which together with the clahn of Colonel John McClure, before men- tioned, became afterward the site of the present town of Astoria. Lovejoy remained at Oregon City, em- ploye:! by McLoughlin as an agent to do business between the Americans and himself, until he became a part owner in the land where Portland now stands, and where he with F. W. Pettygrove laid off tliat towii.*^ With regard to the general condition of the new colonists, it was one of destitution. In subduinjj; a wilderness without reseived supplies tliere is often a ** Joseph (iarrison died at the Dalles Jan. 17, 1884, aged 71 years. S. F. Aha, Jail. 18, 1884. See also Portland Par. ChriMitn AilrofaU', April It, 1874. *^ Buchan! u iiL a >eech remarked that the oitiz«ns of Oregon would deservi' the brand of inj^ratitude if they ilid not name tlieir first city the City of Ijinn. Comj. Glr;'i3, »843-4, 370. Tliere were two attempts to sh<»w gratitude in this way .vhich faile' at the same time. !Milk and potatoes, with butter, made a ^'' 8aya Waldo, in \\\s Cnt!i -- - '• 1.S7, 2 Hi. yetiiii/Ji, m ('iimp-fhr < h-ntionii, MS., Vl\ McClniiv's Fimt Wn, givu.-s a hroail Hketcii of the iloctor H luamicr of dealing witli and yieliling to tin; American .settler.s. for which I have not room here. He was more ol'teu overruled than otherwise. ^* Sketch of Orojoii, MS., 3. I'HK IMMORTAL I'ATHFIXDKU. 410 d, ik, (.f vy U' tor ers .11- and L'tcll Icrs. stoail of this, tluy i'ouud a stream iiiipracticiihlc tor navigation, and borderod with sand, rocks, anavi>n when lie slee|)s in death'. Or, if all was not riglit, it would be the fault of the British fur company; in which case they would pull down Vancouver about the ears of its venerable factor and help themselves. The state of disappointment and discontent v/hich followed the first introductioii to the mw life was after all not long. When spring came with sunny skies and balmy air, they forgot the sorrows of the winter, and yielded conteiidedly U) the witchery of fresh sceiu'S and the pleasure of new l)(\giimn;gs. By autumn they wer-e settled, and had already becouie well incorporated with the old colony/" Some mention should bu made in this place of the second expedition i4' Fremont, wliich though it had *■' It is without doubt just to T)r Wlutiii.iu to say that iu the matter of insisting upon their keeping in motion and aeeomplishing some ilistariee each day, tiiey were indelittu tor tiuir success. He kmw the weary nides before them, and warned them eoimtuntly to travel. Ayjilci/'i/i, in ih-irlnml Mnuthln. i. 1'27. * In writing this eliapter, I iiave been often guidiJ by lUirm'U'i Ilcfiril''- liou-1 nf II Pioiiicr, New >drk, l.ScS(t, chirlly beeause he ke^-t a journal ot his traxfls and his early life in Oregon. Tiie i)()ok abounds iii rieidents told m i natural uuiniier. It contain:., besides, numerous pen-pictures of other puHieers. with whieli these pages will lie from tiuio to time illustrated, aud valuable remarks on eaily goveruuient ati'airs 'I i i-M Tiij; i.mmi(;kation uf i84:{. nothing to do witli tlio ciuijj^i'iition inovi'iiiciit of I H4:i, was ail incident ot" it. Tliu expedition left tlie Mis- souri River, near tlie junction of tiic Kansas, on the •JDtli of May, travellinj^ just beliind the eniii^rants as far as Soda Sprinjj^s at the (ireat Bend of Bear Kiver, wliere tliey turned off to Salt Lake. Havinjj^ made a hasty visit to that inland sea,''" they returned to tlu' emigrant roa<], which they followed to the Dalles,''** arriving there on the 4th of Novend)er. Tlu-re Fre- mont left his men and animals, and took a canoe tn Fort Vancouver to purchase sup[)lies for his expedi- tion to California, which were furnished him on the credit of the United States, the company sending the goods to the Dalles in their own boats. The emi- grants ridicule Fremont's sobri(piet of 'l^ithfinder.''''* The naturalist Audubon was skirting the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains in the summer of 184o, in pursuit of his favorite study of ornithology; and mentioii is made of airerman botanist named Luders, wiiom Fremont met on the Cohunbia, at a little bay ludow the Cascades, which was called afti'r him Lu- ders' Bay. The toils and dangers of this class of men occupy but little space in history, yet ai'e iione the less wortiiy of mention that they are not ])erformed for gain or political prefernu'nt. If it is a brave dt;ed to dai-e ■'•'The follow iiijj; alwnnl report ipjuuncl in t\w St l.'nm Gazette; 'On tln' Kith of St'[iti:iiil)Lr thfV -urvoycil tlio(Jreat Salt Lake, .sujiposed to empty into tile I'acitie, aiiil computed its length to ikj 2S0 mileB, ami its breadth 1(K). ' X:(,^ J{,y., Ixv. iJ43. ^^'Waltlo'.i Critj, jKVti; Frriiioiif'n Rejil. E'l'loi. E.r., 107. •'"This feelinj^is illiiMtrated liy tlie foUowiag extract from Neaniith's Address in (h: I'iomcr Ak-soi'., Tnin-t., 1S7.">, (iO: " la the eastern .states I have often been asked liow long it \v;is aftiT Fntnont discovered Orvjjon tliat 1 emigrated there. ^ , is true that in the year IMii Fremont, then a tk'uteiiant ii\ the engineer corps, ilid (Tiiss the plains, anci l)rouiriit liis party to thi^ Dalles in the rear ol our emigivition. His outtit coiitaincil all tlie conveiueiices and luxuries that ;>. governimiit appropriation could procure, wiiile he " I'oughed it. " in a covered I'arriage, surrounded by servants paid trom the public purse. He returned to the States, ami Avas rewariled with a ;iresidential nomination as the " J'atli- liiider. " The t«th he found wiis thaB made by the liardy frontiersmen wlio preceded him t- ;iie I'acilic, and whostiHid bytkicir ritltsi and held the country against hostile Indians and British tin'cats. without uovemmeiit aiil or reuog- nitioii untU l>mw, wJicn tUuiirst gi>«^ laamuait troops ciuau; to our rebel.' -.! f BIOORAPHICAL. 421 tlio perils of the wildcrne.ss fur these, in companies of hundreds^ liow much nobler is it for the solitary student of science to risk life for the benefit of man- kind!'^ •'^Of tlio immifrration of 1843 :nany have passed away. John Ford died in Salem Oct. 10, 187."), ageil .")(). .John (Jill Caiiipholl died at Oregon City Nov. '_'l, 1S7-, aged ."),"). III! vas a I'liiladelpliian hy hirth, and married, in 1840, Miss Kdthilda K. Huek of Oregon t'ity. Jolni Howell, born in Tennessee lU'c. (i, 1787, died Oct. 4, 18(it), aged 82. A. Olingor, a native of Ohio, died mar .Sahnn .Jan. 'A, 1874, aged &2. Thomas Owens dii;d .Jan. '2'i, 187S, at i'iety Hill in California. He was l)orn in TazeMX'U (.'onnty, Virginia, Jan. 12, 1808. He settli'd hrst in Oregon near Astoria, where he remained 10 years, wiicn he renioveil to Kosehnrg. His age was G"). Steplien Tarhox was horn ill Maine in 1812, of Irish parentage. He never married. Before emigrating to Oregon he had hcen a soldier in the U. 8. army under Kearny eommand- iiig the 1st regt of dragoons stationed at Leavonworth. He died Nov. G, 1878, in Benton County, Oregon, aged 0(i. ^Villian^ Holmes died Sept. 18, 187!', at Ills home in Oregon City, at tile age of 7.">. .Tesse Looney died Miireli 2"), 1809, aged 88. His iiome was in Marion i'ounty, where his ehildren still reside, Daniel Matiieney died near Wheatland, Yamlidl County, J''el). 1, 1872, ageil 7!). He was horn in N'irgiiua Dec. 11, 17'.i:{, and removed successively to Kentucky, Ir.diana, and Hlinois. He was married Dee. 1!), 181',). He served in tlie war of 1812, receiving his tiiseliarge at the victory of New Orleans. He fought again in the Black Hawk war under (General Atkinson, and was elected 1st lieutenant of a company, and in 18.'{i) again enlisted and was elected captain in the Mormon war. In tlie inimigrotion of 1843 he was one of tiie most active, cxjiloring and opening the road from Fort Hall to the Dalles. Henry Matiieney w..< married in Indiana in 1828; his wife died in .June 1877, tlie Imshand preceding her. David T. Lennox Wiis horn in New York in 1S02, removi'd to Kentucky in 1810, to Illinois in 1828, to Mis.souri in 18.37. He was among the foremost men of this migration. He settled on the Tualatin plains, when' he lived many years, tilling several places of piddic trust. He liied at tlie home of Ins son-udaw, .John S. White, in Umatilla County, Oct. 10. 1874, aged nearly 7.3. Kieliard Holison M'as born in Kngland in Oct. 1829, and was theref,)re under the age of U), which entitled 'iim to be enrolled as ablediodied m 1843. He emigrated tnim Liverpool witi ids fatlier s family ia .January 1 '>4.3, with the design of going to Oregoii. and arrived at Vancouver Nov. 17t'i of tliat year. His fatlier, .John Hohson, located on Clatsop plains in.Janu.ry 1844, vlur^- tlie family still reside. Kiehaid visited Australia, ami returned to Oregon in 18.")0. He then became a pilot on the Columbia River, in which iaisiness he remained until his death in 1878, it the age of 49. .John Holiiiaii » as a nativo nf Woodford County, Kentucky, where he was horn Sej t. 1 1, 17'*7. In Oct. 18l(> he married a daughter of Tlioniius Duvall. About the same time lie jmnoH the Baptist ehureh at Hillsboro. In 1817 hi' emiiirated t«> M ii Idle Ten nesst'e, iind resiiled in the county of Lincoln until I82»>, when lie removed to ('Jay County, Missouri. In this insalubrious climate lie lost his wife and three eh ihlreii, and in 1843 detiiniined to join the emigration to Oregon, wlu'ie he spent tlie decline of his life in traiKjiiil haiipiness. He died .May ];"• 18(14, at the resilience of his son, Daniel Hol- maii of Me.'-' :!iiiville. His a^e was 77 years> Charlei) H. Katon, horn in Oswego County, N. Y., l>ee. 22, 1818, removed with his parents t(> I'aulding County, Ohi(^ when a buy, whiMiee he emi- grated to ()regou in l.v4.3. In 184G he settled in the I'liget Sound region, with whose liistory hi^ own is idtjutilied. He died Dee, 1(), 1870, at ^'akiiiia I'ity, aged M William Fowler, \v itji thv other two of that name, went to California in \ ^ h 4lIiJ THE IMMKaiATJON OF IM.}. The innuigration by stui for tlic year 1843 amounted to fourteen persons. The bark Fama, (^a])tain Nye, from the Hawaiian Islands, brouj^ht Francis W. Pet- tyii^rove, wife and chikl, Phihp Foster, wife and four cliildren, Peter H. Hatch, wife and child, and Nathan P. Mack. These all settled at or near Oregon City. F. W. Pettygrovc was a native of Calais, Maine. He came to ()regon as agent for A. G. and A. W. Benson, with about $15,000 worth of merchandise, supposed to be suited to the trade of the country, and established himself first in competition with the Cush- irigs, and the Methodist Mission which ()[)ened a store at Oregon City this year, and later competed with the traders of the Hudson's liay Company very success- fully,"^ buying beaver-skins, and erecting a wheat 1S44, and settled in tlie Napa V^alley. Ho ■was born in Albany, N. Y., ami ilii'd cat tlie residence of his son, Henry, at C'ali.stoga, Calfornia, Feb, 3, bSO"), aged 80. T. (t. Naylor, a native of Albemarle County, Virginia, and later a resi- dent of Missouri, from wbicli state be eiiii<,'rated, was l)orn Oct. 12, 1S14. On eoining to Oregon lie settled on Tualatin plains, a, 1872, at tlie age of iVJ. He was twice muiried, ami tbe fatber of 18 cbildreii, \'> of wbom survive. His ebarueter as a true man gave lum intbience in tbe Congregational cluireb, of wbicb be was a deacon, and nuiib! bini a trustee of tbe raeitio University, and director in tlie state agricultural society. He was a generous sujiporter of all wortliy jmblie institutions. Orris Brown w:is liorri in Massaciiusetts, Sept. 4, IS(H), bis fatber ])eing tlie Rev. (birk Ibdwii, and bis motber, Taliitlia Urown„famous in tbe bistory of tbe I'aoilic University of Oregon. His parents removed to Maryland, wliere bis fatber di(;d, and bis motber emigrated to Missouri witb ber ebildren in 1821. In 1843, being tben marrieil, lie came to Oregon, leaving bis family, but returned in 184.") witb a small Jiarty under Wliite, wbicb was roblieil on tlie road by tlie Pawnees. He lirougbt back to Oregon in 1840 bis own family and bis motiier's, most of wbom settled at Forest drove. Mr Jirown bad 12 ebildrei;. He died May 5, 1874, aged 74. Daniel Delaney was murdered at tbe age of more tban 70, Jan. !), 1805, upon bis own premises, 18 miles from Salem. One of tlie men convicted of sliooting bim to obtain bis money was (Jeorge 1'. Beale, also an immigrant of 1843, and at tbat time only a lad. Beale was executed, witb bis confederate, May 17, ISO,"). Margaret (larrison, wife of Itev. Enoch (iarrisou, was born in Kentucky January 24, 1814. Her maiden name was Herren. At tbe age of 18 yeans she removed to Indiana, where in 1830 slie was married to Mr (iarrisou, and '■•ith bim went to Oregon in 1843. She was the motber . f 8 children, only A )f wlioin outlived lier. She died in Yamhill County, ]\Iaicli 20, 1874. "'In a manuscript called Onujon in iS.}J, Imt giving an intelligent view of tbo business of tbe country down to 1850, and the gold excitement; with a history of the founding of I'orthwid, of v.liicli be was one of tlie first owners; and of the opening of American commerce on I'uget Sound, IVttygrove re- lates his introduction to MeLouglilin. He came to the Islands in the ship L I INCOMERS BY SEA, 423 warehouse at ( hampoeji^, to purdiase tlie crops of the French Canadians. This course led to tlie estabhsli- iiient of a store at Orejjjon City by the Hudson's Bay Company, which was placed in charjjce of Frank Ernia- tiiioer; so it niay be said that Pettygrove added two stores to that infant metropolis. Mr Foster, from Maine, who also came from New York by the same ship which brou<,dit Pettygrove to the Islands, remained for a year or two at Oregon City, but finally settled sixteen miles u[) the Clack- amas River, on the trail leading to the Dalles, his farm becoming a halting-place for the innnigrants who took the Mount Hood road into the Willamette N'^alley.^" Mack, who was a ^lassachusetts man, had been in Pacific waters f(»r several years, trading and whaling. Being by vocation a carpenter, he found ample employment at Oregon City for three or four years, after which he settled on a farm ten miles east (^f that place, but finally removed to Salem."'* About tlie first of September there arrived in the Victoria, from New York, Captain Jolin H. Spring, and from the Islands tfi the Colinnbia in the Fmnii, as above stated, tlie Iiark lying in the river oppo- site Vancouver for two weeks, and I'ettygrove, who liad come to Oregon prepared to lind only oppression and hostility in all tiie acts of tlie fur com- pany's oHicers, was compelled to remain a guest of McLouglilin and Douglas until some means offered of getting his goods conveyed to Oregon CHy. Hav- ing at length secured the service of the company's little schooner used for navigating the Willamette, he emliarked cargo and family, and repaired to McLoughlin's otHee to in(|uire to what extent he was indehtud for the favors extended to him. 'Show me your invoice,' said the doctor. I offered him a memorandum-hook containing the nnmher of packages shipped in the Fdiuii from Honolulu. He looked it over, and remarked he could ' learn nothing from that.' I did not intend he should; and again asked for my hill cf expenses. He made me a very low how, and said: ' We are happy to receive such men as yoxi in our miS4(i McLoughlin ask(;d I'ettygrove to take liis son Uavid into partnership with him, to learn the American mode of business transactions, offering to furnish !<'J(),(KM) capital as his portion of the partner- ship. This arrangement was finally m.ide and continued for '2 years, when the firm was dissolved. "■■'Jlonoliilii, S. /., Friend, Oct. ITi, 1849. '^'■' Mxrk-'s Ori'i/oii, MS., ]-',i. This manuscript deal.'* only with the author's private affairs, the substance of which here appertaining is given in the above paragraph, it coutirms in some particulars I'ettygrove s Or<(jon in 16'4'J, M8. y.\ ' I. I 1 , 'h[ (.^ -^^ j^^H t , f "' t^^H : ^iH «r^ m 424 THE IMMIGRATION OF l*i3. niC i^ Columbia tlio brij^ Pallas, Captain Sylvester, from Ncwl)uryport, with a carjj^o of Indian goods consigned to Cusliing and Company. In the brig came Edmund Sylvester, also of Maine, brother of the captain, who reniahied in Oregon, and assisted in buildhig the first two houses in Portland. In 184G he removed to I*uget Sound,"^ and siittled at Olynipia, of which town he was one of the founders. It will be observed that those who came by sea were New Englanders. As the missionaries were all from N(nv England and New York, they received these traders and sea-going pt^ople with a welcome warmer than that they extended to the western settleiu Their impression on the country was distinct. One class bought and sold, built mills, and speculated in any kind of property. The other, and now tlie larger class, cultivated the ground, opened roads, exercised an unbounded hospitality, and carried the world of politics on their shoulders. '"These items are found in Si/lrcitcrK Oti/mpia, MS., 1-4, which treats liriiicipally of the early settlement and business of Puget Sound in a clear ;;iid comprehensive manner. This manuscript is one of the most valuahlo authorities on Washington Territory. Sylvester says that tlie brig took away :{(HI or 400 barrels of salmon; also that his brother sold the Pallux at the .Sandwich Islands to a purchaser from Mazatlan, to carry the United States mail between that port and the Islands. He does not say what became of the cargo, or whether it was on the route to Xewburyport that she was sold, or on the return to the Columbia River with anotiier cargo. All that is known is that the brig was lost, and that in 1845 Captain Sylvester was in connnand of the ('/icnaiiiii/i, which sailed from the Columbia River for New- buryport. The C/iciKiiiiK.'t never returned to Oregon after her voyage of 1S45-G, of wliich I shall speak hereafter. \:S T CHAPTER XA^I. LEOISLATI \' K 1'K(1C v:p:I)IN< JS. 1844. I'UARACTER OF THE ImMIORATIOX OF 1843 — TlCK LaND LaW — OlD AM> New SEriLEus — OufiANic Laws — rKKsoNNEi. of tiik Commiitees — Message of the Execctive CoMMriTEE- Revision anh Cokkection OF Leoislative Errors — Judicial Affairs — The Blessi.nos of Lam> Asv THE Ballot — Willameite Falls the Seat of (Ioverx.mest— The QiEsTioN of Boundary — Law Relatisc! to Marriaue — LiyioR Law — Slavery — Neoroes and Mulatfoes— Atiitude towari> the British Fur Company- — Independence of Oregon. t '■ i :\i The imniigTatioii of 1843 was coin[)Osed of people of pronounced character, rudely arrogant and aggress- ive rather than tame and submissive. The poorest might claim the liberal uraiit of land offered by con- gress to actual settlers, while the leaders aspired to achievements no less than founding a state, and framing laws to govern it. If what liad been already done suited them, well; if not, they would undo, if strong I'liough. Hence immediately on arrival they were deeply interested in what had been done by tiic pro- visional government. They then discussed the laws passed by the legislative committee, the most hnpor- tant of wliich was the land law, whose objectionable ])arts were the proviso allowing the missions six miles s([uare of land, and granting but twent}' days to new settlers in which to record their claims, the old set- tlers havino- a year.^ This injurious discrimination against new-comers, joined to the greed of the missionaries, and the inti- ^ Graver's Or, Arcfihv-i, 3o. ( iy> : Kvaj ^<^«> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) y / O {/ <° MP.. s .<''' ^ #/ ' w^ V t/j 1.0 I.I - IM 11112.2 Ir MAO "' 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 -^ 6" - ► ^. v^ /. ^. ^1 V> c%. /^ <5> *J-V'# o / Photographic Sciences Corporation m ^«*' \ ® « '^v> ^N-^ «*- ■f".' 6^ X 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 423 LE(JISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS. () I" m I Illation given by Jason Leo, who met the iniiuigration at the Dalles, that the Methodist Mission intended t make the laws for the colonists, was sufficient to arouse the independent spirit of the western men, who had l)csidesa liberal contempt for the close-tisted Yankee class to which most of tlie missionaries belonged," But the Methodist was of all the Protestant denomi- nations most poi)ular on the western frontier, where zeal rather than intelligence contributed to the quali- fications of members; and among the immigration were many zealous Methodists. Obviously these were likely to indorse, or at least excuse and condone, any acts of the missionaries. But of the leading men few were hampered by this religious allegiance. Men of note amongst western communities, they ])ossessed not only greater freedom from conventionalities than the ordinary New Eng- lauder, but greater mental culture. By reason of their struggles with the har'dshi})s of pioneer life, not to mention that of their ancestors, they were often lacking in J'efinement of manner, and always in the })olish which inherited ease imparf ^t their ideas were bold, strong, and speculative, ^ their conver- .-ation, tliough sometimes bookish, was seldom pedantic, wJiile their adventurous past furnished them with original matter of interest far beyond the ordinary topics of salovs. That this was so, and that they won the friendship and respect of the more regularly educated and trained uentleinen of the aristocratic Hudson's Bay Com})any by their true manliness and evident talents, is a matter of liiiitory.'^ If, then, some of the immigiants of 18415 affiliated at once with the Mission, others openly exhibited a I'egard and deference for the officers of the fur com- pany, which was in missionary eyes heretical and dan- gerous. There was still anotiier class composed of those who had conscientiously opposed the formation '•Si/tri',ttir'>i Oli/tiijiiii, MS., H. ■' f '/•((Hy'o/v/'v .)//.s.>i/(i;)((/vV.v, MS., 17. (lOVKKNMENT. 4t.'7 of a government in tlie doubtful eondition of national affairs, who comprised nearly half of the former set- tlers, leaving out the Canadian j)opulation. These; were glad to consult with the new-comers as to the right of the colonists to take such a step, and having some grievances of their own, were not averse to drawing party lines. That some form of government was made necessary l)y the present addition, and by the probability that with every year it would be increased, was clear, even to the Hudson's Bay Company, who, however, could not bring themselves to give allegiance to the United States, but favored a temporary government which should l)e independent of any sovereignty.* And see- ing the embarrassment under which the fur magnates labored between their allegiance and the pressure brought to bear by the colonists, there were found some Americans {)repared to give their consent to such a compromise, But the majority were opposed to the scheme: the Mission, because in the event of a union hetween the two nationalities it could not hope to preserve a leading position in colonial affairs; and others, because it was not patriotic to act inde])en- (leiitly of the United States government. Of this way of thinking were most of the immigrants of 184;], who were prompt to take part in the politics of the colon v. According to Article I., Section 2, of the organic laws adopted the [)revious year, the election of an executive and legislative conunittee, and other officers of the provisional government, was lield on the second Tuesday of May 1844, and resulted in the choice of W. J. Baihy, Osborne liussell, and ]*. (I. Stewart, to constitute tlie executive arm of the government; and for the legislative branch, P. H. Burnett, M. M. Mc- Carver, David Hill, and Matthew Gilmore, from the * Af^phjnte's r'/r/ri, MS., 41; Orr Joliu K. Long was born in Engliuul ami l)re(l to the iirofession of medicine. He immigrated to the United Ntiites in ISIW, and to Oregon in 1843. Ilewiia a niemlKr of tlie Catholic churci; of Oregon City, but at the same time was a firm supporter of the provisional govei'nmt nt. Me Wiu? drowned or killed Jnne '21, 184(5, by a fall from his horse, which became uinnanagcablc ■it a ford of the Clackamas River, throwing liini into the stream. Or. !<, Walilo, Lovejoy, and Newell; roads, Bii>uutt, Waldo, ane(l to these committees liy tlie organic law were far too iimiteii for tiie display of aiiluue.-i and suit,esmanslii[) wliich they hoped to ohtiin the credit of possessing; and not understanding that tiit ajiparent defects of the organic law were its wisest provisions, witliout war- rant first obtained from the people to do, and witliout submitting their work. ;ing tiieir work, idel the orifaiiic when done, to their sanction or rejection, jn'oeeeded to remodel tlie orga law itself to an extent amounting to its subversion.' Vkw-iof Hislorj, MS., 41. m mmm 432 LK( USLATI V K PIKM EKDIN* IS. Itffore furtlu'i" loi^islation could take j)laco. As the organic law then stood, it was either all constitution or all stututo. No mode of amendment havinii" been provided, if the orf^anic law was in fact the constitu- tion of Oregon, to amend it would be revolutionary; and unless it could be considered as statutory, and amended or appealed, there was nothing for a legisla- tive connnittee to do. Under these circumstances it was decided to consider the laws in the light of stat- utes, and witliout altering the s})irit or intent of that portion which might be understood to be fundamental, to remodel the remainder where they could be hn- ])roved. Accordingly on the 27tli of June an act was passed "regulating the executive power, the judiciary, and for otluT purposes." The reader already knows that the exjx.'dient of a triumvirate liad been adt)pted, not because it was considered a form of executive power most efficient l)y the first connnittee, but to avoid a division l)y rival candidates which would have defeated the organization. No such necessity now existed ; therefore the judiciary act just mentioned vested the gubernatorial power in a single person to be elected at the next ammal election, and to hold his office for a term of two yeai's, with a salary of !?:]00 per annum. The legislative })()wer was vested in a house of repre- sentatives consistinij of thirteen members; nine beiui^ thought too few in proportion to the increased popu- lation. J^y the organic law the judicial power was vested in a supreme court, consisting of a judge and two jus- tices of the peace; and in a probate and justice court. By this peculiar combination of jurisdictions, should a decision be made by a majority, the two justices could overrule the supreme judge, or if a unanimous verdict should be recjuired, a disagreement would de- feat any decision. The judiciary act of 1844 vested the judicial power in circuit courts and justices of the peace, and provided for the election (»f one judge, II HMM THE LAND LAW. 433 ]US- DUrt. loukl itices I nous II de- with probate powers, whose duty it should be to hold two terms of court, annually, in each county, at such times and places as the law should direct. It like- wise established the duties of clerk, recorder, sheriff', and justices of the peace. One of the conditions insisted on by the old colo- nists in consenting to a government organization was that they should not be taxed. But the committee of 1844 believed that no efficient and regular govern- ment could be sustained without a revenue ; that no revenue could l)e had without taxation ; and no taxa- tion could be enforced unless the majority were satis- fied with the government. The great majority would not support the organization unless convinced that they were receiving an equivalent in the form of pro- tection, and it was a perplexing question how to secure the support of law-abiding men.^^ The legislative com- mittee remembered, however, that Americans prize above all things the possession of land, and the priv- ilege of the ballot, and shaped their course accord- ingly. The ways and means act in its fourth section provided that any person refusing to pay taxes should have no benefit from the laws of Oregon, and should be disqualified from voting. Thus by outlawing those who refused to support the government, the people began to consider its value to them, and few were willing to forego its assistance in preventing trespass or collecting debts. Nor did many desire to be de- prived of the ballot. ^^ • The land law of 1843 was repealed and another passed in its place. By the first, any person of any age, sex, or race could hold a land claim, while by the '^Thia refers aa much to the Canadians, who were law-al)i. being granted certain Ainericans to construct a • ., :o the island mills, but the leave w:is granted. But the petition for Icavo to construct a canal around the falls was allowed, because that was a work re(|uiriug a large outlay, and one which would be of great benefit to the colony. jJcLoughlin's name of ' Oregon City ' for his town was steadily rejected by the legislative committee, who wrote 'Willamette Falls ' at the neail of their proceedings, till at the December session it was formally incorporated iis Oregon City. ^ Waldo's Cntiquee, MS., 8. * Males over 18 years, 72o; under 18 years, 530; females over 18 years, 303; under 18 years, 485. Champoeg County liail tlie largest population; Tua'atin next; then YandiLll, Clackanuis, and Clatsop, in a descending scale. White in his report gave the population at 4,000. Ten Ycnri in Or., 225; Co/i- c'me View, MS., 54. The census of 1844 wiis taken by Thomas H. Smith, later a resilient of Los Angeles Coimty, Cal., according to an act of the legislature. It would h» been impossible to obtain a perfect count at the time. Li 444 LEGISLATIVE PROCEEDINGS. No census was taken of the amount of property in the country. Applegate calls the acts of the legislative commit- tee of 1844 "impolitic and unpatriotic;" and asserts further that the conservative class, which greatly out- numbered the mere demagogues and their followers, determined these wrongs should be righted at any cost.^^ Had Mr Applegate ever done anything to deserve the name of demagogue, here would be the time to accuse him of wishing in his turn to subvert a good government, because it was proposed to place it on a firm basis. He was perhaps unconscious of the influence at work to create public sentiment against the acts of the legislative committee, or the jealousies v/hich struggled to prevent either of two of the members of the executive committee from being governor of the colony. How the people finally decided I shall relate in a future chapter concerning the legislature of 1845, of which Applegate was a member. After all there appeared to be no great need of law in Oregon. The only occasion on which Judge Bab- cock, elected at the primary meeting of 1841, exercised his probate powers, Avas at the death of Cornelius Rogers in the spring of 1843.^^ All the disturbances occurring in the colony had been of a nature to bring them under the jurisdiction of White. There is but a single mention of an assault previous to the estab- lishment of circuit courts, and that one was accom- panied by extenuating circumstances, the oflender escaping with a fine. But in the spring of 1845 Joel Turnham assaulted Webley Hauxhurst with sucli violence that a complaint was entered against him. Turnliam, being a constable, could not take himself into custody, and John Edmonds was deputed to make the arrest. Turnham resisted and attacked Edmonds, " Vierm of Huttory, MS., 41-2. reaic ''•^ HiucH and Gray appraised tli^ estate at $1,500, debts $700. Rogers' heirs idedjiii Utica, N. "i. Hiiiea' Or. Hist., 14>,. SHERLFJ' MEEK. 446 who was compelled to fire on him, the shots result- ing fatally. The grand jury found no bill against Edmonds.^* Not long after this, Sheriff Meek had a warrant to arrest V. W. Dawson, an enemy of the government, who openly defied the organization, and would have resisted the officer had not Meek been as kind and cool as he was courageous. Dawson, finding he must submit, thereafter was a firm friend of law, and insisted that as he obeyed, everj other must. " White'n Concise View, MS., 40; Nilea' Jieij., Ixviii. 393; Kaiser's Nar., MS., 10, 11: Salem Dircct(i!/x, MS., 18. Shaw was ijorn in North Carolina, near Raleigh, in 1795; but emigrated with his father to Tennessee when a chiM; and again to Missouri in 1819, when the inhabitants were living in forts to protect them- selves against the natives. He liad fought under Oeneral Jackson in '&I4:- 13, in the wax against the Creeks and the British. Sfiaio's Pioneer Life, MS., 1,2. nisT. Or., Vol. L 29 450 THE IMMIGRATION OF li^. i I i II f oquity was estahlislied by tlio election of a judn'c, with two UHHociate justices.'" But the court was in- operative, martial law ])rovailiug during the mainte- nance oi' military discipline.'^ When the independent colony reached the hutlalo grounds, (iilliani used to dash oft* after tiie game, to the disappointment of those left in charge of the train.'" Sjuieches were made in camp on this .suhject, and some legulations were laid down for hunting, hut they were not regaixled ; and as liapj)ened in 184:5, when the Kocky Mountains had been passed, there was no longer any attempt to keep together in large companies. Th()5. '* ' An Oregonian,' in .SVi/t';/( 1)7//. Fnriiifi; Dee. 17, 187;). '* Sublette 8 company consisted of '2'2 men, 11 of wliom were travelling for their health. Tliree of these died within a few days of each other: Marshall, June 27th, Kotchum, July .3d, Browning, July 7th. Clyimiiin Xote Book, MS., 22, 25, 2G. A Mr Baruutt of the emigration died at Green River, of tj-phoid fover. Id. fLYM.VN. MINTO, AND WATT. 451 at Fort T^arnmio many families wore already witliout lldUi'^ iiiitl cominllcd to jturcliasc it at thirty and f'oity dollars a harri'l. Suj^ar could l)o procured only at a dollar and a half a pint. The route from (jrreon River to Fort TT;dl was tlie same o[H'nearty of young men were sent forward on horses, who reached Oi'egon City on the I8th of October, These wen; John Alinto,^^ Ml''. i '* Of this company was James Clyman, who kept a ihiily journal or iioto- lidok, wliich lia.s fortunately \>ecn prcsurvod through iriaiiy vicisnitudus, and ■whiuli I have found very useful. ]Jeside.s tlie incidents of the journey, it eon- tains many instructive remarks on the country traversed; and an account of affairs in the Oregon colony during tliu winter of ltS44- "). Clynian was a Vir- ginian hy liirth, Imt emigrated from Stiirk County, Oliio. "'.lohii Minto became well known and highly esteemed in Oregon. J^ie T\as of English l)irth and education, a native of Wylam on the Tyne, in Nor- thuinlierland, born Oct. 10, 1822. He came to the United States in 1S40, and settled at Pittsburgh, I'a., as a coal-miner. From Pennsylvania he v.ent to St Louis in tho spring of 1)S44, on his way to the frontier of Iowa, and learned at tills place of the emigration to Oregon, which he determined to join. Having no means to procure an outfit, he engaged with 11. W. Morrison to drive team and make himself u.seful, for his passage and board. It is to Mintox i'Jurlij piiyt, a manuscript by his own hand, that 1 am chiefly indebted for the account of (Hlliam's company. I* cor :ains, besides, valuable. riMuarks on tiie political situation of lS44-(), on tiie industrie;! of the country and stock- raising, and on the social condition of tlie colonists, with other miscellaneous matter. Minto married Miss Martha A. Morri^oii when they ha'l Iteeu about three years in Oregon, and they went to reside near Salem. Minto h;is lieen a useful, intelligent, and every way an exemplary builder on the edifice of u new state; a farmer, stock-raiser, and editor; public-.spirited in every positio»i lie lias been called upon to till. Mrs Minto is known throughout tlie state for lier fearless vindication of what she esteems the right; and has been called tlie ' musket-member ' of the Woman's Sutlrage Association of Oregon. According to Minto, her mother uarried, or at least w;i8 furnished with, a rifle, on lier journey to Oregon, which she was competent to use had it been necessary. Mrs Miiitu has, as well as her hubband, furnished a manuscript to my coUec- Ii 11 1 462 THE IMMIGRATION OF 1844. Samuel B. Crockett, and Daniel Clark. Accordino- to Clyman, they encountered at the Grand Hoik I James Waters of the previous emigration, who was t^oinff to meet his family, and who supplied them with j)rovisions for the remainder of tlieir journey.^" Ford's company, being in advance of Gilliam's, also sent three young men to the Willamette Valley with Minto's party. Snow had now begun to fall in the mountains while a large part of tlie emigration was between Fort Boise and the Dalles. Tlie misery entailed upon the belated travellers by the change to winter weather was indescribable.^^ The road from tion. It was tak from her lips by a stenographer at a incotiiig of the Pion(>or ANsociatioii in 1878, and is called Femitk Pionceriii;/. As it gives the woman's view of frontier life, it is especially valnalile — few reeords having been m;ulc of the trials which women were called upon to endure in tlu; settlement of the Pacific Stiites. " Minto compares the warm interest and sympathy exhibited by Waters with the chilling indifference and absolute ignoring of tneir presence or tlieir wantd by the niiasiouaries Waller and Brewer at tlie Dalles. Clyman, wlio brought letters to the missionaries, find who Wiis a few ilays ahead of Minto's party, remarks that he was not tliankod for the trouble of carrying them from the Stati!S, which he attributes to his travel-worn and iinshaven appearance. Note Hook; MS., (58. '* Joseph Watt, born in Ohio, author of a manuscript called Firnt Thiii'js^ gives an acecmnt of the incoming of 1844, and of the importation of slu'cp from the States by himself in 1847, the erection of the first wooUen-niilLs in Oregon, and other first things, and tlescribes his passage from Burnt Kiver to tlie Willamette. Watt was tlien a young man and poorly ecjuippeil for such a journey, but drove can ox-team as far as Burnt River. Hen;, probal)ly because he thought there were too many mouths for the jirovisions, he wi i.L forward, afoot and alone. At tlio end of the first ilay he found a cabin, occupied by Blakeley, an emigrant who gave him a few crusts. Bowman, a destitute traveller, joined Watt, and they walked on together until they overtook Ford's company, from whom they obtained one meal. In the (Jraiul Rond they lost tiieir way, but regaining the road, met a family nanied Walker, who had nothing to eat, and thought of killing their oxen. Being overtiikcn by others who still had a little food, they liegged them to divide; but want an