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PART 1.— CHAPTER I. •Situation of the Oregon Territory. — Ftrat (Mscwerp of the Continent of Americoy by the Spaniards and the English ; -^Progress of discovery towards the North West caast. Oregon is a vast stretch of Territory, (which until within the last quarter of a Century was only noticed in the hest Geo^- graphics [and Gazetteers, as the region irrigated by the "Waters of the West*') lying on the North-West Coast of America. It is bounded on the West by the North Pa- cific Ocean ; on the North by latitude 54 deg. 40m. the more higher or Northern district of the Continent having been ceeded to Russia by treaty between the United States, and that court 17th of April 1824.* On the East by. the long range of the Rocky Mountains , and on the South by the 42nd paralld, the lower or more Southern portion of the Continent belonging at present to the Mexican Govern- ment. This Geographical arrangement separates the coast on the North Pacific Ocean into three grand divisions. First the upper belonging to Russia. The Second, or the disputed I I III — _,_r * See Appendix, No. 1. , » * ^■j| mtmi , •y> ristics, we will first discoveig^ t trace the pr6^ veen the boun?^ i Rocky Moun- ■ Ocean. nknown to th© Carthagjiniansi* vledge of it was asive continent, je ,was the ncci- itter part of the - ipposed to con- 24, and Ireland wrhich has given owells History fifteenth Century to find a passage by sea, from the Ports of Europe, to the East Indies, whose precious commodities were of a necessity transported overland, [engrossed by the Venetians,] by a long dangerous and extensive route. This passage was universally sought by sailing along the Western coasts of Europe and Africa, in the hope of finding a termination of the Continent, when the Indies it was sup- posed might be reached by taking first an Easterly and then a Northerly course. The discovery in 1486, of the Cape of Good Hope, by Bartholomew Diaz, encouraged expectation and gave increased activity to the spirit of adventure ; then rife among the maritime nations. Among the number of skilful Navigators of that age, Christopher Columb or Columbus, a native of Genoa, born about 1445 orl446. was distinguished for experience and skill in his profession, for extensive knowledge, and for a bold and original genius. The shape of the Earth then known to be round, and the fact that pieces of carved wood, a canoe, and two human bodies, of a complexion differing from those of Europeans and Africans, had been driven by strong Westerly winds upon the shores contigious to Europe, suggested to his observing mind the project of seeking the East Indies by sail- ing directly West. Unable himself to lefray the expenses of an expedition, he fjrst sought the aid of his native City. But his Countrymen accustomed only to cruising, along shore, in small and frail vessels ; treated his projects as chimerical and declined any assistance, and on meeting with no better success on his, ap- plications to John 11, then King of Portugal, he despatched his Brother Bartholomew to apply for assistance to the English King Henry VI 1, who by favoring his views nearly earned the glory of the discovery of America ; but in the meantime, Colunibus had proceeded to the court of Spain thengovern;edby Eerdinand and Isabella, where for a long AN ACCOUNT OP THE time he solicited in vain, but at length the Queen, just as he wa# on the point of following his brother to England, per- suaded by his continued representations aud after eight years incessant appUcation consented to become his patron,agreeing to defray the expences entirely out of her private property in Castile, and her jewels. Under her directions, the Pinta and two other small vessels were fitted out, and with these he was authorised to sail upon his projected voyage of discovery; it being part of his instructions to claim all land for the Simnish Crown. At length on the 3rd of August 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed from Palos, a port (in the River Tagus,) on the coast of Spain ; directing his course to the Canary Is- lands, on his arrival at which he stopt to refit, and on the 6th of September following, boldly ventured into Sea:j, which no European vessel had yet entered, with no chart to direct him in his course, no guide but his compass, and without any knowledge of the tides and currents, which might interrupt his course. He moved rapidly through the waters before the trade wind, which blows invariably from the East to the West between the tropics ; judiciously, [by keeping two reckonings the true one for his own guidance] concealing from his igno- rant and timid crews, the progress he made, lest they might be alarmed at the speed with which they receeded fivm their na- tive shores. About the I4th of September, having reached a distance of nearly 600 Miles firom the most Westerly of the Canary Islands, the magnetic needle was observed to vary its direction to the Polar Star, and to incline towards the west* an appearance which although now familiar, had never before been ooserved. '%. Columbus and his numerous companions were now really alarmed, they were far from any known land, as well as from the tracks of all other navigators, all before and around them was unknown, and their only guide the compass seemed , OREGON TERRITORY. ■II to be no longer entitled to confidence. But, although alarm- ed and cqnfounded, Columlius did not lose his presence of mind, but assigned a reason for the variation, which, without satisfying himself silenced the murmurs of his more timid, and less scientific companions.The interval of quiet and . subordination was not of long duration, disaffection soon appeared among the ignorant and wavering, and gradually spreading at length pervaded the whole squadron. The men blaming their Sovereign for listening to the wild schemes of a dreaming adventurer, and also themselves for being be- guiled into accompanying the expedition. The indications of land had all proved fallacious. They would be amused or de- ceived no longer. On the 10th of October, they agreed that Columbus should be deprived of the command of an under- taking which seemed to promise nothing short of destruction, in fact, some of the more daring talked of throwing him in the Ocean, as a visionary projector, whose death would cause no regret, and produce no inquiry injurious to themselves at their return home. Amidst these difficulties, Columbus displayed those traits of character, which proved the greatness of his mind, and his peculiar fitness for the arduous duties of his station. He ap- peared with a steady countenance as if satisfied with what had been done. Sometimes he soothed his companions by hold- ing out to them a prospect of riches and fame, and by offering a gratuity to him who should first discover land. At other times he assumed a tone of authority, threatening his officers and their crews with the vengeance of their Sovereign, and everlasting infamy should they compel him to abandon the undertaking. These encouragements and threats, prevented open and for- cible resistance to his authority, meanwhile the squadron pro- ceeded onwards; the indications of land had become more fre- quent, and convinced him that it could not be f^r distant. € AN ACCOUNT OF THE I! Yet his crews were unconvinced and their discontent increa- sed. Assembling tuumltuously on deck they now demanded to be led bock to Spain and as a last expedient to induce them to proceed somewhat further and to silence his turbulent s(}uadron, Columbus proposed that they should continue their course for three days longer, and if during that time land should not he discovered, he would then comply with their \ demands, to this they consented, but before the period had ejc^44^. at mid-night, one of I the crew^f tlie^Pinta, with Coluin^i\s, on board, saw a light f Jttmmerifi|1ff1!ie ''aiight!'*'wis thejoyfuT f exclamalibn WM'6h instantly resounded through the whole' squadron. On the approach of the morning of the 12th all hands stood gazing intently in the direction where the expect- ed land would be discovered. As soon as the morning broke, from the crew of the Pinta, the most forward vessel, was heard the cry of land! land! which was repeated with almost frantic delight by the crews of the other vessels, Passing from one ex- treme to the other, they, who a few hours previous, had reviled and insulted their commander, now regarded him as one whom the Deity had endowed with a knowledge and penetra- tion above the common lot of mortals. At sunrise, Columbus, in a rich and splendid dress, landed, and, with a dr&wn sword in one hand, and in the other the royal standard of Spain, took possession of the land for the crown of Spain, all his followers kneeling on the shore, and kissing the ground with tears of joy. The natives, who had assembled in considerable numbers, on the first appearance [ of the ships, stood around the Spaniards in mute astonish- ment. The Europeans were hardly less amazed at the scene before , them. Every herb, and shrub, and tree, was different in i appearance to those which flourished in Europe. The in- ■j habitants appeared in the simple innocence of nature, entirely > l ift ' ^ M jIiiljghbiW g 'P H W' - ■ "' »- ■'- 'S>- — •— »*■ *J"-^»— -t- OREGON TERRITORY. ^ naked, their black hair, in long and uncurled locks, floated : upon their shoulders, or was bound in tresses round their heads. Though not tall, they were well shapeil and active. They were all shy at first, through fear, but soon became famihar with their visitors, from whom they, with transports of joy, received various trinkets, for which, in return, gave such provisions as they had, together with some cotton yarn, the only commodity of value they could produce. To this land, which was soon after ascertained ]to be an island, Columbus gave the name of Salvador, in honour of the saint whose anniversary occurred on that day* The natives called it Guanahani, and by that name it is still known ; it is one of the Bahama group of islands, and is about three thousand miles west of the Canaries. From the poverty and ignorance of tlie natives, Columbus was at once convinced that he had not yet arrived at cither of the rich countries, which was the ostensible object of his s(>arch. Leaving Guanabini, he discovered Cuba and several other islands, and at length arrived at one, by him, sui)posed to be the Ophir of Solomon, called Hayti by the natives, the name of which he changed to Hispanolia. Here he remained a few weeks, and then returned to Spain, where he arrived in the Tagus, at Palos, 16th of March, 1493, having spent seven months and eleven days in this memorable voyage. (His re- ception at court was flattering and splendid, ceremonies were ordered foi' the occasion, and he was honoured with many proofs of lloyal favour.) The news of his wonderful discovery scon found its way by the then very recent discovery of printing, to the pcrts of other European kingdoms. Columbus made three subsequent voyages, on the first of virhich he left Palos, 25th of September, 1493, with seven- teen vessols and 1,500 persons. When sailing south, he dis- covered Jamaica, &c., returned to Cadiz, 11th of June, 1496. i 8 AN ACCOUNT OP THE ' I I His next or third trip commenced on the 30th of May, 1498, from San Lucar, with six vessels, during which he made the discovery, on August, 1st, 1498, of the con- tinent of America, at the mouth the Oronoco (a river of* the third or fourth magi^tude in the new world, but far surpass- ing the largest in the old), and the first portion of the South American continent ever visited by Europeans. From this voyage it was his hard fate to return l oaded with irons . He sailed on his fourth and last voyage from Cadiz, 9th of May, 1502, with four caravels and 150 persons, during which he struck against the coast at Honduras, and returning to San Lucar, 7th of November, 1504, finished his unrivalled career atValladohd, 20th of May, 1506. t His memory will be held in perpetual honour alike by the old continent, which gave him birth, as well as by the new, which ought to bear his name. But the honour, however, of first discovering the con- tinent of America, without disparagement to the merits of Columbus, must be accorded to John Cabot, a Venetian then settled as a rich merchant at Bristol, [a circumstance which is now placed beyond all uncertainty, by a recent discovery of original documents.] This gentleman obtained from King Henry VII. (who was probably instigated thereto by the recent representations of Bartholomew Columbus) a commission dated 5th March 1495-6* for an expedition of discovery, on which expedition he departed, accompanied by his son Sebastian, from Bristol early in the Spring of 1497 ; arrived the 24th June at the Island of Newfoundland and pro- ceeding westward soon reached the continent, (which as we have stated was not reached by Columbus till his third voyage in 1498,) and saiUng to the 57 deg. retm'ned thence to Bristol as stipulated. * See Rymer's Foedera, folio, vol. xii. page 596. t See Life and voyages of Columbus, by Washington Ir ying. 4 vols. Syq, I OREGON TERRITORY. 9 5 S John Cabot obtained on the Srd Febiruary 1497-8, a se- cond patent in which he is ordered to take six ships and to sail " to the land and Isles of late, found by the said John in our name and by our commandment.""' It does not ap- pear that the elder Cabot undertook this voyage, but left it entirely under the charge of his son Sebastian, who was bom at Bristol. Sebastian Cabot made another Vo}rage to the coast in 1517 in which the highest latitude gained was 67 deg. although some writers carry him as far North as 58 deg. " where not liking the bleak appearance of the land he sailed South to 38 deg. After the voyages of Columbus and Amerigo Vespuccio^ and between the years 1500 and 1543, the progress of disco- very by the Spaniards and Portuguese went rapidly on, for in January, 1500, the continent was reached near Cape St. Augustin, by Vincent Pinz9on, and three months after that by Alvarez Cabral, at a more northerly point, which he named Santa Cruz, in Brazil, and took possession of in the name of the King of Portugal. In this year, also, Alonzo de Ojeda a companion of Columbus in his first voyage hearing of the report: of Columbus's third voyage, set out from Spain discovered the coast of Paria in lat. 55 deg. and explored the coast from Margarita, to Cape de la Vela. In this voyage he was accompanied by a Florentine Pilot, named Amerigo Ves-* puccio, who on his return to Europe published a narrative of the voyage, and represented himself as the first discoverer: his relation was read with interest, and the public by adopting the name of America to the discovered country, have un- * A conclusive proof, but if any ftirther was wanting it is supplied, for by an entry in the privy purse expenses of King Henrv VII. we find the sum of j^lO awarded him on the lOth August after his return," "as the discoverer of the New- found Isle" vide ExcerptaHistorica page 116 117. 10 AN ACCOUNT OP THE &■ I justly yielded him an honor undoubtedly due to Columbus or Cabot, and it is nowtoo late to redress the injury thus inflicted In 1501 the Gulf of Darien was visited by Bastidos ; and that of Mexico was explored by Columbus, in 1502. as was Yucatan by De Solis and Pinzon, in 1508. In 1512 Florida was discovered by Ponce de Leon, a Spanish navigator, and in the following year the great Pacific was first seen from the Mountains of Darien, by Nunez de Balboa. In 1513, Peru was discovered by Perez de la Rua, and subdued by Pizarro. In the year following, Rio de Janeiro and that of La Plata, by Diaz de Solis. In 1518 Spain discovered Mexico, and in the year following it was conquered by Cortez. Magellan, in 1520, passing through the straits known by his name, discover- ed in 1521, Terra del Fuego and the Philippine Islands, where he lost his life. In 1627, New Guinea, by Saavredra. In 1535 California was discovered by Cortez, and in 1537, Chili, by Diego de Almagro. In 1539, Francisco de UUoa traversed the Gulf of California, and, previous to 1541, Spain had explored the interior of the continent as far as the 40th degree of north latitude.* In 1543. Spain fitted out an exnedition under Cabrillo and Ferrelo who explored the coast as high as the 44th parallel on the western side of the continent. From this time until 1589 we read of no other adventurer on the North West Coast, with the exception of what is contained in the account of a voyage made by Fransisco Galli or Guelli, a Mer chautman who in his course, saihng from China to Mexico, is said to hf ve reached the vicinity of the American continent in 57 2 degrees and to have sailed along in sight of its shores till he arrived at the Bay of San Fransisco in lat. 37^ but little if any reliance is to be placed on his account, at by his * For the best Work on these early discoveries, see Chro- nological History of the Discoveries in the South Seas and Pacific Ocean. By James Bumey, 5 vols. 4to. 1800, ) 'jl CT V" " ri.Jti '*^i ■- ■ ■ jpaia^?^ I iLu.fJttiM* W<* |M»p » » M »« i '*"'— ■■—*•-* OREGON TERRITORY. 11 statement the land first seen by him " was very high and fair and wholly without snow" which could not have been the case with the land in that latitude. ' In a voyage commencing the 24th March, 1572, the ce- lebrated navigator Sir Francis Drake from the top of the ridge of mountains at the Isthmus of Darien first set his eyes on the waters of the Pacific, but John Oxnam one of his pilots, was the first Englishman, supposed to have sailed upon its bosom, Oxnam was taken and killed by the Spa- niards, 1575. In Drake's next voyage " called the Famous," 15th Nov. 1577» he steered through the straits of Magellan and reached the waters of the Pacific on the 6th Sept. 1578, after which time levying contributions on the Spaniards, capturing and destroying many Spanish ships, acquiring from them . large quantities of treasure. On the 5th of June, 1579, being in 43 degrees North, ** we found the air so cold and that our men complained, wherefore we thought it best for that time to seek the land." On the 17th of July, Drake entered the bay of San Francisco in California, and named it New Albion^ Drake left this port on the 23rd July and sailed north- ward as far as 48 deg. returned to England 29th Sept. 1580. The next great discovery was made by the Spaniards who in 1592. fitted out a squadron giving the command to a Greek pilot named Juan de Fuca, who by the orders of the Viceroy of Mexico, was to endeavour to discover an outlet supposed to lead into the Atlantic ocean; arriving as it is af- firmed between latitude 48 and 49 deg. he fell upon the great arm of the sea, w hich seperates "Quadra and Vancouvers is- land," from the continent, and which now bears his name, viz, <*the straits of Juan de Fuca" this he thoroughly examined and explored along its Eastern coast, and having remained in it 20 days reached the Pacific ocean, in lat' 51 deg. and then re- turned to Mexico, where he was received but coldly by the Spanish Viceroy, who withheld all encouragement and re- 12 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ward, a circumstance to which may be attributed the cessa- tion by Spain of all attempts at further discovery on this coast. ; From the Policy of the Spanish Government in concealing every thing relative to their American possessions, the exis- tence of this strait was unknown to the rest of the maritime world for a long period. It is stated that De Fu^a named its existence to an English Merchant who derided it as fabulous, [vide post anno 1785.] On the 29th December, 1595, Sir Thomas Baskerville with 750 soldiers attempted to make his way overland to the southern ocean by the passes at the Isthmus of Darien, but. was repulsed, ahd his non success caused a lingering fever to Drake who died off the coast 2Sth Jan. 1596. In 1596 and 1602, Sebastian Viscanio made various dis- coveries along the coast called by Drake " New Albiotf' to a river which appears to have been the present Columbia. There is a narrative by De Fonte who boasts that in 1640, he reached the latitude 53 degrees, but it is regarded as ficti- tious. From about 1600 to 1770, little or no knowledge was ob- tained of the Pacific, if we except that which might have been acquired by the various bands of Buccaneers, who crossing the mountains at the Isthmus of Darien, occasionally, in large bands* to plunder the towns and cities as well as the vessels on the coast, but as nought else besides plunder was their object, little remains in the way of relation. The Russians ^ had by the year 1774 pushed their trading posts down to the borders of 54 deg. 40m. ; and in that year the Spaniards fitted out an expedition uuder the command of Juan Perez, which traversed the coast up to the establishments of the Rus- * On the 6th of September, 1680, three hundred and fifty Buccaneers landed at the Isthmus of Darien, and in twelve days reached the Pacific. It OREGON TERRITORY. 13 •'■ '^ sians. Returning south, he anchored in a spacious bay under 49 deg. which he named San Lorenzo, [afterwards called by- Cook, Nootka Sound.] In 1775, Spain, stimulated probably by the early discoveries of Cook, fitted out another expedition which sailed under Heceta, Bodega and Maurelle,*who examined the whole shore from 40 deg. to 58 degs., and the former, on his return voyage, while between 46 and 47 degs.. noticed an opening in the land at 46 degs. 16 m. which appeared to be an harbour or mouth of some liver. This he reported, aud subsequently Spanish maps have a river laid down there called San Roque. In 1776. Captain James Cook was commissioned by the« English government, on a third voyage of discovery to the Pacific Ocean. Departing from Plymouth, 12th July, 1776. he arrived in sight, on the 6th March, 1778, of the coast of New Albion, lat. 44^ ; but it was the 29th of that month be- fore he anchored at San Lorenzo, which he named Nootka 8ound,t in 49 degs. 33, where he stayed a month to refit. This place he left in April, and afterwards surveyed the coast to Cook's Inlet, much further north than our limits. For a more detailed account of this very extensive and impor- tant voyage of discovery, the reader is recommended to peruse the narrative drawn up by Captain Clerke, now to be obtained - in almost every size, but the original large atlas of map8,must be consulted for their greater accuracy. It is almost unneces- sary; but it may as well be stated, the unfortunate commander of the expedition lost his life in an afiray with the natives of the Island of Owyhee, ilth February, 1779. * See Daines Barrington's Miscellanies. 4to. page 508. t A curious account of the inhabitants of this sound was published by J. R. Jewitt, an English sailor, but belonging to an American vessel, which being seized, all the crew, except himself, was massacred by the natives. 14 AN ACCOUNT OF THE In 1787. An Austrian vessel fell upon the strait now known as those of Juan de Fuga, and entered it, to the distance of 60 miles since which time as it so completely answered the description given of it by that navigator nearly two centuries previously ; justice was at once done to his memory by the bes- towal of his name upon it. No sooner was the valuable commerce that was to be pro- cured in King George's Sound made known to the world by the discoveries of Captain Cook, than the active spirit of ad- venture arose, and numerous vessels sailed in search of fur- ther discovery and to trade with the natives. The first under "Captain Hanna, from Japan, who was the second European that entered Nootka sound. "The Captain Cook," command- ed by Capt. Lowrie, and " The Experiment," Capt. Guise, discovered the large and the most northern Island within our limits, which Captain Dixon, in I787> called after the name of his vessel Queen Charlotte, calling the 'strait by his own, viz. " Dixon's straits." " The Imperial Eagle," Capt. Barclay, dis- covered the sound m Vancouvers Island now bearing his name. *'Th3 Princess Royal," Capt. Duncan, the Princess Royal Islands. On the 13th of May 1788, Captain John Meares of the ship Felice, whose aim was to extend the trade in fur, &c. between China and the north-west coast of America, arrived at Friendly Cove, in Nootka sound, Avliich port he left on the 1 1th of June following, and explored the coast from 49 deg. .'37 nortli, to the south as far as 45 deg. .30 m. passing on the 30th of June, the straits of Juan de Fuca, and, on his re- turn, reaching the strait of Juan de Fuya took possession of it with all the usual ceremonies, in the name of the King of Great Britain, and on the 13th of July, 1788, he sent the long boat up the strait in command of Mr. Duffin, the first officer of the Felice, who, after an affray with the natives, returned in a week, he sailed thence to Nootka, where Captain Douglas SM OREGON TERRITORY. 15 made his appearance in the Iphigcnia, on 18th August, 1788.* The American sloop Washington, Captain," Gray, cast anchor the 17th of September 1788, in Nootka Sound, and three days subsequently Captain Meares launched the first vessel built by Englishmen in these waters, *' calling it the north-west Ameri- can." Captain Meares left Nootka, Sept. 24th, 1788. The ship Columbia, of Boston, Captain Kendrick, arrived early in the next month and wintered with Captain Gray, in the Sound. The Iphigenia remained there until the 27th of October ; and sailing thence with the north-west American to Owyhee, re- . turned again 24th April, 1789, and her consort a few days later. Captain Gray in the spring of 1789 left Nootka and explored the straits of Fuca for fifty miles in an eaat-westerly direction, during which he learnt from the natives, that the waters again returned to the Pacific, the first intimation that Nootka Sound did not run into the main land, he afterwards sailed round Queen Charlotte's Island and returned in the latter part of the summer to the sound. ' - Spain, about this time, having heard with some uneasi- ness, of the movements of those engaged in tne Fur trade, began to be alarmed for the safety of her e? :.blish- ments in that quarter, made remonstrances with Russia and also with England, and more effectually to guard against a projected seizure of Nootka, by the Russians, she sent a squadron under the command of Don Jose Martinez, to proceed thither at once. He accordingly arrived at Nootka on the 6th May, 1/89, and took possession of it in the name of the king of Spain, and finding there the Iphigenia, Cap. tain Douglas, seized her, and put her officers and crew under . arrest, but from which they were shortly set free. On the 14th of the following month, June, the Princess Royal, Capt. Hudson arrived at Nootka, and in a few days af- * Voyages made in the year 1788 and 1789, from Canton to the north-west coast of America. By John Meares, Esq. 4to. maps. 1790. ■v 16 A N ACCOIJNT OP THE terf 2ndJuly, the Argonaut, Captain James Colnett, both en- gaged in the fur trade, the latter with an intention of estab- lishing a permanent post at the Sound. This vessel was also seized byMartinez, and subsequently the Princess Royal. The seizure of these vessels, as the property of British subjects, led to the Nootka treaty between Spain and Great Britain, signed 28th October, 17^0, by which it was agreed that all matters should be restored by Spain, and all British settlements made between April, 1789, and that date be restored to that authority.* Captain Gray left Nootka in the Washington, August, 1789, for Macao, but meeting with the Columbia, which vessel had been on a trading ciHise, transfered himself to its command, and sailed to China, and thence tu New York, krving Cap- tain Kendrick in the Washington, who during the latter part of 1789 and 1790, ranged up and down the coast, making many discoveries, but on his return towards home, was killed by the natives of the Sandwich Islands. In 1790 a Spanish expedition under Quimper, surveyed the strait of Fu9a for one hundred miles. Captain Gray returned to Nootka, in the Columbia in September 1791, followed by the brig Hope, Captain Ingra- !ham, atid four other vessels all engaged in the fur trade soon after arrived. After wintering at Clyquot near Nootka, Gray sailed again in 1792, on further discoveries, particularly to discover the river as placed in the Spanish chart at 46 deg; 16. and on the 11th of May, arrived opposite to the entrance of a large river as laid down therein. When heedless of all risk and in the spirit of enterprise dashed over the breakers and in a few mo- ments slid out on the bosom of a broad and majestic stream* * See copy of the Convention, in the appendix No. 2, and the Debatc;s in the Houses of Parliament. Also " Pictorial History of the reign of George the third. OREGON TERRITORY. 17 and rial which he instantly named after his vessel. The Columbia, and after sailing up for 30 miles, left it on the 20th. of May. In 1792, Captain Vancouver commencing his voyage in latitude 41 deg. sailing thence northward to the strait o Juan de Fu^a and according to his account never losing sight of the shore, he arrived in May 17^2, and explored the straits of Juan de Fuga, where saiUng in company with two Spanish schooners, the Sutil, and the Mexicana, under the command of Galiano and Valdes, the parties, entered the Pacific again at ^Ic'eg. finally settling this doubt,and which led to the naming these straits Quadra's or Vancouver's(8ometimes they are called Georgia) and to naming the continent en the east side New Hanover and New Georgia, and arrived at Nootka, 28th Au- gust 1792, sailed from thence to San Fransisco in California.* In March 1793. Captain Vancouver examined the coast from 39 deg. 27. to Nootka, and after staying there a short period returned to San Fransisco in California, and in the following year he followed up his survey from Nootka, and again returning in 1794, surveyed the American coast to Cook's Inlet. Ou 20th October 1792. Lieut. Broughton, in the Chatham who had been detached in search of new discoveries from Van- couver's squadron, entered the Columbia river and sailed up it ninety miles, at which time the Jenny of Bristol was in this latitude viz. 46 deg. 16. In a subsequent voyage of discovery in the " Providence," Capt. Broughton entered Nootka Sound 17th of March, 1796, and de Fu^a's Straits, 26th of May. The Hudson's Bay Company was chartered in 1668 for the sole purpose of trading with the natives of the western dis- tricts in furs, skins, &c. and in 1721, Mr. Knight one of their * For further particulars see the Voyages in 3 vol. 4to. with folio atlas of charts, which will form an important part of the evidence on which the rival claims rest. B 'i! 'I !g AN ACCOUNT OF THB officers, endeavoured to reach the continent on its western coast, but fell a sacrifice to the climate on Marble Isiandr other attempts were made but unsuccessfully, until Mr. (after, wards Sir Alexander) Mackenzie, who having acquired all pos^ sible information from the trappers of the con'pany, the Coureurs de Bois and their agents, in a journey properly cal- led his second, set out from Canada on the 10th Oct. 1792, from Fort Chippewyan, and reached before winter, the most re- mote European settlements, and in the Spring of the next year, gained Peace river, and after enduring every species of fatigue, hunger, &c. found himself 2dd Sept. 1793, at the out* let of a river first called by his name, but now Frasers river* ivhich discharges itself by various smaller streams into the Pa' cific, at or in Vancouvers straits. The name of Mackenzie is en- duringly consecrated in the annals of discovery in this portion of the world as the first person who penetrated from sea to sea, he returned by the same route in the next year.* From the period of the French Revolution, to the conclu- sion of the war in Europe, in 1816, the English paid little or no attention to discovery in this pa'^1; of the Globe, but by per- severance, the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company and the north-west Company had been gradually forming hunting posts on the Banks or junctions of all the rivers, down to 56 deg. while during the same period the citizens of the United States availing themselves of their Geographical position car- ried on the trade exclusively between the north-west coast and the China seas, btit the States having enlarged their territories by the purchase, in 1803, of the ceeded district of Louisiana, from Spain at the price of fifteen million of dollars. The con- gress soon after commissioned Captains Clarke and Lewis * Voyages through the continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans, in 178.9 and 1/93. 4to. Maps. Which also contains the best account of the Fur Trade in those part!»* •-W. OUBOON TERRITORY. 19 to explore the Missouri, to cross the rocky mountains and trace any of the rivers to their termination in the Pacific. In 1805, these officers and their men crossed the mountains and descended into the plains and found a number of streams fiowing westward, which, upon examination were found to dis- embogue into the Columbia or some of its tributary branches, whose comprehensive arms, embrace within their span the 42nd and 53rd parallels. On the 15th November, 1805, they reached its mouth and after spending the winter there re- turned to the eastward on March 23rd, 180^, when after pro- ceeding up the river they separated, July 1st, but met on August 12th, following, at the junction of the Yellowstone and the Missouri rivers on the eastern side of the mountains.* In 1808 an American Association " The Missouri Company*' had established a post beyond the rocky mountains at the Head Waters of the Columbia, but it was abandoned from the difficulty of obtaining a sufficient supply of food from the natives. •> The reports of Captains Lewis and Clarke upon their return attracted the attention of John Jacob Astor, an opulent merchant of New York , who conceived the idea of establishing an independent Company to be called " the Pa- cific" he in consequence chartered the Tonquin, Capt. Jona- than Thorn, which sailed from New York, round Cape Horn and after stayins; at Owyhee reached the mouth of the Co* lumbia River on the 22nd of March 1811, his route being 19,000 miles, after building a fort there and naming it after the projector " Astoria " Cap. Thorn departed thence on the 5th of June, and in a few days arrived at Vancouvers Is- land, where the ship being seized by the natives, was finally * Travels to the source of the Missouri River and across the continent to the Pacific Ocean, in the years 1804, 1805* and 1806, by Captains Lewis and Clarke. 4to, with ma^ps' i^l4. 20 AN ACCOUNT OF THE blown up by Mr Anderson, out of revenge ' \ the natives. Mr. Thompson, one of the agents of the Morth west Com- })any, hearing from the natives while at one of the posts on Frasers Lake, of the establishment at Astoria, made his way thither, arriving there in July 18 11. An over-land party dispatched by Mr Astor headed by Mr. W. P. Hunt crossed the Rocky Mountains and arrived with the wreck of his party, at the Falls of the Columbia on the 29th of January 1812, and shortly after at its mouth, his route being about 3,000 miles.* The Beaver, Captain Sowle, sailed from New York in October 1811, and reached Astoria 9th of May 1812, and on its arrival Mr Stuart and four other persons were dispat- ched overland to the East of the rocky mountains, with ad- vices to Mr Astor at New York, which place they reached early in the ensuing Spring ; consuming ten months in the journey. Two months previous to their arrival Mr. Astor had dispatched the Lark to Columbia, but that vessel became a total wreck on one of the Sandwich Islands. In August 1812, Mr. Hunt, in the Beaver, sailed towards the North- ern Coasts, and during his absence (which lasted till the 20th of June, 1813,) Messrs. Stuart and Clarke had estab- lished posts in the interior, but numerous dissensions had , broken out between the parties which Mr. Hunt on his return could not quell. He sailed thence to the Sandwich Islands, and on his second return found that all the property in "the Pacific Fur Company," had been parted with, together - *For the interesting details relative to this, which as a com- mercial speculation resulted in an almost total loss of the great capital which had been embarked in it. See, "Astoria " or Anecdotes of an enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. " by Washington Irving " 3 vols 8vo. and Adventure of ^aotain Bonneville, or scenes beyond the Rocky Mountains, ov the same author 3vols 8vo. 1837. OREGON TERRITORY. . 21 with the posts of Fort Oaktnagan, Spokan House, the Koos koui^he and that on the Willamette Rivers, to the *' North- west Fur Company," by transfer, on 16th of October, 1813. Mr. Ross Cox, who arrived in the Beaver, in 1812. was afterwards employed six years in the trade of the North West Fur Company. He departed from Fort George on the Columbia River April the 16th 1817. on an over-land jour- ney and arrived at Montreal Sept. the 19th 1817* thus occu- pying five months and three days in the Eastward jr'n.rney. From his long residence there, Mr. Cox was enabled to pub- lish much interesting matter relative to the natives, the Fur trade, &c.* On the first of December, 1813, the Eaglish ship Rac- coon Gapt. Black appeared at Astoria, when, although he found that plaee in possession of the N. W. Company, he landed and took possession of it, in the name of his Bri- tannic Majesty, and re-named it. Fort George. At the end of the American war, in Pecember 1814. By the treaty jii Ghent this post was restored to the Americans, and was duly surrendered to Captains Biddle and J. P. Prevost Esq., of tke American Service, on the 6th of October 18 IS. In the year, 1818. was carried on the negociation as to a cettlement of the northern boundary line, which resulted in the establishment of the 49th parallel, from the Lake of the Woods, to the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, as the dividing line ; leaving the portion on the western side unde- fined, except as to article 3.t By a treaty with Spain, on the 22nd Feb. 1819 % the States * The Colombia River, or Scenes and Adventures during a residence of six years on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, together with a journey across the American Conr tinent. 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1832. t See the Convention in the appendix^ No> 3« X See Appendix, No. 4* 22 AN ACCOUNT OF THE purchased for five millions of dollars all the territory belong- ing to that crown, north of the 42nd parallel. The treaty of 1818 expiring in 1828, the convention was renewed August 6th, 1827. ^th a stipulation that either power giving twelve months notice, it should he annulled.* It is to the address of President Polk, recommending to Congress that notice should he given to the British Government, which causes the present excitement of the English as to whether we shall remain at peace or proceed to war. In 1821, bv an Act of Parliament, the North-west Com. pany and that of Hudson's Bay merged into one proprietary^ and their range of territory is now greatly extended. They are for their operations, in possession of Oregon, by treaty \ivith Great Britain and the United States. The annual value of the Peltries collected in Oregon, is about 140,000 dollars? in which trade they prevent all private parties, if possible, to enter upon in their district. To further the pecuniary objects of the company, they now, (in addition to that of dealing in Furs, Skins, &c.) possess large farms, for the cultivation of Grains, Stock, &c., have erected Mills for the sawing of Tim- ber for the markets in the Pacific Ocean ; Manufactories of various descriptions, have entered into the fisheries on the coast, and, likewise employ vessels for other commercial pur- poses. lu 1837 The Government of the United States ordered three vessels and two tenders to be equipped for a voyage of disco- very round the world, and placed the same at the orders of Commander C. Wilkes, which after discovering in January, 1840, an Antarctic Continent, the vessels steered up the North Pacific aud explored the coast. Capt. Wilkes sailed up the Colombia River, near to the Dalles, the results of the voyage are to be found in the printed relation.f * See Appendix, No. 6. t Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition round the World, during the years 1838 to 1843, under the i^. OREGON TERRITORY. 23 ' in 1843, The congress despatehed Captain Fremont, with whom they associated Mr. Niccolet, a distinguished tourist, on a scientific mission, to explore the extent of country lying l)etween the western side of the various tributaries of the Missouri and the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, during; this journey he arrived no further west than the South Pass. In 1843 Capt Fremont was ordered to continue his journey across the mountains to the coast, so as to form a connection with those on the waters of the North Pacific Ocean, as made by by commander Wilkes. These reports have just reached Eng- land, and been published with a large and most excellent map, in which the countries surrounding the disputed territory are admirably pourtrayed.* From this work we find that the party, in all about forty persons, set out May 29th, 1843, from the Kansas River, near its junction with the Missouri, and following its course up the valley to the head of the Arkansas River, on the 8th of August, arrived by observation at 48 deg. 20, and five days after entered the disputed territory at the ** Southern Pass," which is 7,000 feet above the level of the sea, and about twenty miles in width, its latitude being 42 degs. 24, longitude 109 degs. 26., about 962 miles from the starting point, and from hence to the waters of the Oregon by the route, about 1400, or midway between the waters of the Mississippi and those of the North Pacific. They here found several roads already made smooth by the wheels of various emigrant parties. After passing and re-pass- eommand of Charles Wilkes, C. U. S. N. 5 vols. 8vo. and Atlas. Wiley and Putnam. There is an abridged and con- densed edition, published by Whittaker & Co, in 1 vol. 8vo. * Narrative of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Montains, in the year 1842, and to Oregon and North Cali- fomi, in the years 1843 — 44, By Brevet Captain J. C. Fre* mont. 8vo. Wiley and Putmau, 1846, ■«»*-" 24 AN ACCOUNT OF THE 1 ing various small streams and overtaking a rear party of a large caravan of emigrants,* halted for the night, on 21st of Aug., in a valley 6,400 feet above the level of the sea, for the first timfi within the disputed territory, the latitude being 42 ilegs.03. They kept the valley until the first of Sept., and from that date travelled within the Mexican side until the 19th, when they made Fort Hall, on the Saptin or Lewis's River, built by Captain Wyeth, but sold to the Hudson's Bay Company, inlat. 42deg. 01, longitude 112deg. 29, and 4,500ft. above the Sea's level. Distance along the travelled road, from Westport, in Missouri, by way of Fort Laramie and the great South Pass 1,323 miles. They arrived at Dr. "Whitman's Mission HousC} 24th of October ; at the Nez Perce Fort, on the Wallawalla River, on the 29th, in lat. 46 degs. 3, which place is about nine miles below the junction of the Columbia with its north- em branch, and on that account one of the most important positiiMss in the regions drained by the "Waters of the West.*' From the South pass to this place is about 1000 miles, and about double that distance to the Missouri, at the entrance of Kansas River. The party afterwards reached the " Dalles," or narrows, on the 4th of November, and on the 7th Vancou- ver Fort, from whence, as Commander Wilkes had surveyed the Columbia some miles nearer the narrows, the party re- turned up the river on the 10th, and left the Dalles Mission on the 25th of November, on their return home ; crossing the Fall River on 8th of December, and after crossing a river which runs to the Klamath River, just within the 42* parallel the expedition crossedtheboundary on or about Christmas Day. * A Journal of this party, from its commencement, is re- printed in part 2, and from its relations the reader will be in possession of the vicissitudes to which such a party are exposed and the difficulties to be overcome in the route, that expedition commenced at Independence in theState of Missouri,and gives a complete view of the country east of the Rocky Mountains* OREGON TERRITORY. !2S It may be as well to state that this expedition, after endur^ ing great privations from the climate at that season of the year^ traversed California, ascending and descending a range of mountains covered with snow, 9,000 feet above the ocean ; being the lower portion of the dividing ridge of the Eiocky Mountsdns, 1 1,200 feet high, arrived on the 6th of August, 1844, at Samt Louis. ., ^; Having occupied 15 months during it, and traversed during the time 6,475 miles, or from Kansas landing to fort Van- couver, 2,766 ; and from the Dalles to Saint Louis, 3,709. The recent publication of these most interesting travels, with the journal of the emigrants, form the best and latest accounts received in Europe respecting the country now in dispute. , ^,- ^ , , A large band of emigrants, amoimting to about 7)000, were at the meeting place^ viz : Independence, Missouri, wha were to set out in bands or detatchments, on the first of June, 1845. One of which amounting to 800 persons, was met by Dr. White and four other parties on their return eastward from Vancouver. An extract of Dr. White's return journey, occupying only 90 days, is inserted in the appendix, |as being the latest arrived here. /] ■ ■>*;': I.I), i, y'V'^f^ • ; .' \^?-,i r' '* .-^ » ' '• ■ 1.?': n i 26 AN ACCOUNT OF THE CHAPTER II. 1 GEOGRAPHICAL AND GENERAL VIEW OF V ; OREGON. ii The Islands. — Harbours and Coasts of Oregon. — Its NatU' ral Divisions by three Ranges of Mountains, their Climate. — Rivers in the Territory. — The Indian Tribes. — The Capabili- ties and Prospects of Oregon, by a Three Years Resident. THE ISLANDS. The fore-going pages have already ?^.iown that Oregon is a vast country, lying on the North Pacific Ocean, stretching throughl2 degrees and 40 minutes of North latitude, extend- ing its eastern limits into the body of the Rocky Mountains and embracing within those boundaries an area of 400,000, square miles. Attached to this immense territory, and extend-, ing along the whole line of its coast from the Strait of Fu9a to its northern limit, and even beyond that to the Arctic Sea, is a continuous chain of Islands, known by the general name of the North West Archipelago, which in themselves can scarcely be regarded as less than a feature of secondary importance, the largest are all traversed by mountain ridges the whole broken off from the main land at the Strait of FuQa and running through the Sea connecting those of Ore- gon on the South with the range of the north, of which Mounts Fairweather and St. Elias are the most prominent peaks. ^' OREGON TERRITORY. 27 The first and largest of these Islands, is Quadra or Vancou- vers, this extends along the coast from 48deg. 30. in a nor- therly direction for the space of 160 miles, and forms by its parrallel course with the coast, from which it is distant about 20 miles, the celebrated arm of the Sea called the Strait of Fu^'a. Its average width is about 45 miles and it contains a surface of about 15,000 square miles, the climate of this Is- land is mild and salubrious and a large portion of its soil is capable of advantas^eous cultivation. It has an abundance of fine harboiu's which afford accommodation for vessels of any size, the chief of these is the San Lorenzo of^the Spaniards or the Nootka Sound of Cook, a spacious and secure bay running deep into the land at 49 deg. 34. and containing within itself many other harbours affording most excellent anchorage. A few mile* South of Nootka is a large bay called Clyoquot, and another still further South named Nittinat, which lies at the entrance of the Strait and is filled with a little Archi- pelago of Islands. The next Island of consequence is Queen Charlotte's Island of Dixon, or Washington of Gray, it is triangular in form> is 150 miles in length and contLins 4,000 square miles, It is a favorite resoil; of the American Fur Traders, its climate and soil are represented by Captain Ingraham as being extremely well adapted for agricultural purposes, particularly those por- tions in the vicinity of a fine harbour in 53deg. 3. on its eas- tern coast, and at Port Estrada or Hancocks River on the North side. The other Islands below the South Cape of Prince of Wales, [our northern boundary line] are Pitt's Burke's, Dundas, and the Princess Royal groupe. Most of these lie between Washington Island and the shore, rendering the navigation exceedingly perilous. Between Washington and Vancouvers Islands are a continuous line of others, for the most part un* Si Ml •T 28 AN ACCOUNT OF THE inhabited, and are only resorted to by the natives on account of the fisheries on the coasts, as no fresh water is supposed to be had on but few of them. ' i [ THE COAST AND ITS HARBOURS. ' ' The Coast of Oregon, from the 42nd deg. to the mouth of the Columbia, pursues a north-westerly course; and from that point, bends with a slight and gradual inclination to the straits of Fu9a. Its profile consists of a bold, high, wall-like short of rock, only occasionally broken by gaps or depressions where the rivers of the territory find their way into the sea. The first of these openings above the south line is the mouth of (the Klamet, a stream of considerable size issuing from the land, in 42 degs. 40. and extending into it 150 miles ; it has two tributaries termed the Shasty and Nasty rivers. The bay of the Klamet is navigable only for vessels of a very light draught ; its whole valley is extremely fertile, and the coun- try adjacent to it abounds with a myrtaceous tree, which at the slightest agitation of the wind, diffuses a fragrance that lends to it another feature of an earthly paradise. Between this and the Umqua river are two other streams, neither of Which afford harbours for commercial purposes. _ . ... The Umqua River disembogues itself into the ocean, at 43 degs. 30. and is a river of considerable extent, entering the land to the distance of 100 miles. It has a tolerable harbour navigable for vessels drawing eight feet water, and its stream is broken by rapids uid falls about 30 miles from the sea. Its valley is blessed with its portion of fertility, and consists of groves of stupenduous Timber and rich arable plains. The Hudson's Bay Company have a fort at the mouth of the river the site of which is the scene of a flourishing settlement. Five lesser streams find their way between this point and the Columbia, from the range of Mountains known as ''The Presidents," or "Cascade Range," into the Sea. OREGON TERRITORY. 29 The mouth of the Columbia is found at 4G degs. 16, but is only distinguishable from the sea by a slight and gradual in- ner curve in the shore. Like all the harbours formed by the rivers on the sea coast, it is obstructed with extensive sand bars, formed by the deposits of the river on its meetings the ocean, and according to Lieutenant Wilkes *' its entrance which has from four and a half to eight fathoms of water, is impracticable for two thirds of the year, and the difficulty of leaving it is equally great." Passing Cape Disappointment the north Head-land of its mouth, forty miles further north is to be found Gray*s Bay, where is good anchorage for vessels drawing ten feet of water, but the harbour is occupied with extensive flats. From Gray*» Bay to Cape Flattery, the south point of the straits of Fu9a, only two small streams break the barrier of the coast. Thus through the whole line of the positive coast of the Oregon Territory, lying immediately on the Pacific, there are but two places of refuge, of any importance in a commercial: point of view. The next branch of coast is that which lies along the strait of Fu^a. This immense arm of the sea cuts ofl' the north- ward line of the coast, at Cape flattery, in latitude 48 degs. and runs into the land in a north-easterly direction for 120 miles, it then turns north-west by west for 200 miles more, and joins the sea again at Pintard's Sountl, The southern por- tion of this strait varies from 15 to 30 miles in width, and the coast of Oregon, along its course, is an exception in its mari- time advantages to the portion immediately on the sea. It abounds with fine inland sounds, offering a secure anchorage to vessels of the heaviest draught, and there are no portion* of the interior navigation which conceals an hidden danger, they can be entered by any wind and, the great rise and faUv of the tides offer facilities for ship building and oth«?r estab- lishments unsurpassed in any portion of the globe. Here, t. ■ ao AN ACCOUNT Ot THE whatever direction emigration may for the present take, will the commercial operations of the temtory eventually centre, and amid the din of myriads of voices, proclaim to the world the fulfilment of the prediction that, " The course of Empire has westward found its way." The most important branch of this strait is a spacious arm descending from its eastern extremity, in a southerly direction into the land to the distance of 100 miles, called by Vancouver, Admiralty Inlet, while the lowermost portion is termed Pugets Sound. This Inlet, like the southern portions of the strait, is filled with splendid harbours ; the southernmost of which has the peculiar advantage of being within little more than .'300 miles from the navigable waters of the Missouri, on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains. Great quantities of bituminous coal have been found in its vicinity, and there are other peculiar advantages attached to this station that iriust eventually make it a point of the first importance. The Hudson's Bay Company have here a fort. At the east end of Vancouvers Island is a small archipelago of islands (uninha- bited) which, though well wooded, are destitute of fresh wa- ter. The coast of the main land along the north-western course of the strait, is cut up and penetrated by numerous in- lets, called from their perpendicular sides and deep water, canals ; they afford no good harbours and ofh3r no induce- ment to frequent them. One iai'ge river empties itself into the strait, about latitude 49 degs. which pursues a northerly direction for several hundred miles, it is called the Tacoutche or Frasers River, and has a trading post called Fort Langley, near its mouth. The ether portion of the coast to the north is much of the same character as that south of this river, on the strait. It is cut up by inlets and the numerous islands which Une it, and the heavy fogs that are frequent in this region render it at all times difficult to approach or to navigjite. I .' OREGON TERRITORY. ai ". « THE NATURAL DIVISION OF OREGON. THE THREE REGIONS. The land of Oregon, is divided by three separate mountain ranges, into three distinct regions, with an inferior hne binding the extreme outline of the Pacific Coast. Overlooking the inferior rim upon the edge of the ocean the first chain arrived at will be the Cascade Mountains, or as recently named, the Presidents range. They start below the 42nd parallel, and run in a line with the coast at a dis- tance varying from 100 to 150 miles, rising in many places to a height of from 12,000 to 20,000 feet above the level of the sea, in separate cones. Their succession is so continuous as almost to interrupt the communication between the sections, except where the two great rivers, the Columbia and Erasers? force a passage through ; an achievement which they only ac- complish by being torn into foam, plunging down precipices, or being compressed into deep and dismal gorges. This stupendous line runs from Mount Jackson to Mount Tyler. The first of which, and the largest of all, rises in 41 erfect cone * The limit of perpetual snow on these Mountains aie estimated, by Lieut. AVilkes, at 6,500 feet above the level of the sea. • iii: 1 y'-y I'M m m 32 AN ACCOUNT OF THB r w i and two thirds of its height is covered with perpetual snow. Van Biiren, north-west of Pugets Sound, in 48 degs. Harri- son, east of the same, 4/ degs. 30. and Tyler, in 49 degs. The region of country lying between this range of moun- tains and the sea, is known as the first or lower region of Oregon. The Blue Mountains form the next division, they com- mence nearly in the centre of the territory, in latitude 46, und run south-westerly from this point for 200 miles in an irregular manner, occasionally interrupted and shooting off in spurs to the south and west. The region between this and the Presidents range is called the second or middle region Beyond the Blue Mouxitains and lying between them and the Rocky Mountains, is the high country or third region of Oregon. The general course of the Rocky Mountains is from south to. south-east, They run south from 64deg. 46. parallel to the coast, [at a distance of 500 miles,] for about 300 miles, and then gradual! extending their distances from the sea by a continuous south-westerly course to above :700 miles, at the 40th degree. In these mountains and theu' oiFsets, rise the principal rivers which find their way into the North Pacific to the west. Near the 42nd parallel is a remarkable depression in the chain called " the Southern Pass," which experience has proved, aiFords an easy route for parties and carriages from the eastern to the western side of the mountains, into the territory of Oregon. Above the 48th pai'allel, other passes are formed by the courses of the rivers from either side, which find their way in some places between the mountains. From one of the spur or oflfshoots of this range, spring the Wind River cluster, which passing to the east side of the Rockv Mountains, from which How manv of the head waters of the Missouri and the Yellowstone Rivers. OREG. N TERF ORY. u CLIMATE AND GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF OREGON. The first or lower region, is that lying on the coast and ex- tending to the Presidents range of mountains. The portion o^ land lying north of the Columbia and that between it, and the strait of Fuya is a heavily timbered country, covered with trees of an extraordinary size. It has, however, its spaces of prairie, on which good pasturage is to be found, and it has also some fine arable lauds. This section is watered by four rivers, the largest are the Chickelis falling into theColumbia, and theCowelitz emptying itself into the sea at Gray's harbour. The forests of this por- tion of the lower region are its great features. They consist of Pines, Firs, Spruce, red and white Oak, Ash, Arbutus, Arbor Vitae, Poplar, Maple, Willow, Cherry, and Yew, with so close and matted an undergrowth of Hazel and other bram- bles, as to render them almost impenetrable to the footsteps of man. Most of the trees are of an enormous bulk, and they are so thick that they rise before the beholder with a stupen- dous and impregnable solidity, which declares futile, all or- dinary attempts to penetrate it. This astonishing exuberance is not confined alone to the timber of the section north of the Columbia, for at Astoria, on the south bank, eight miles from the ocean is a Fir Tree growing which measures 46 feet in circumference, at ten feet from the ground, ascends 63 feet before giving a branch, and its whole height is 300 feet. Ano- ther tree is said to be standing on the banks of the Umqua, the trunk of which is 57 feet in circumference and 216 below its branches. Prime sound Pines, from 200 to 280 feet in height, and from 20 to 40 in circumference, are by no means c I '-7 .' I m \ 34 AN ACCOUNT OP THB uncommon. The value of this spontaneous wealth Is enur' mous, and duly appreciated by the agents of the Hudson's Bay Company, who here have a free settlement, with saw mills, which are worked entirely by Sandwich Islanders, Iro- quois Indians, and others, and by which is cut daily at 1 or** Vancouver alone, thousands of feet of plank, which afterwards obtains a regular sale in the markets of the Pacific Islands. In the portion lying between the Columbia and the straits of Fu^a, is the Cowelitz lliver, the banks of which are gener- ally bare of Timber j here, too, the Hudson's Bay Company have a fine farm of 600 acres in its western valley, which in 1841 ])roduced 7000 bushels of wheat. The average j)roduce being 20 bushels the acre. They have also a saw and grist mill in full operation, for the produce of which a ready mar- ket is found in the Sandwich and other Islands of Polynesia. Live Stock does not succeed well on these farms, and this may be attributed to the low prairie grounds near the river, and also to the depredations of the wolves. The hilly portion of the coimtry immediately around, though its soil is good, is too heavily timbered to be available, for the present, to agricul- tural purposes. There are, however, large tracts of fine jirairie land at intervals between, suitable for cultivation and ready for the plough. Proceeding northward we come to Fort Nasqually, a fine harbour at the southern end of Puget's Sound. Here, too, the 1 ludson's Bay Company have another fine station, and raise wheat (15 bushels per acre) Oats, Peas, Potatoes, and they also make Butter foi the Russian settlements. On the Islands of the sound and on the upper section of Admiralty Inlet, the Indians cultivate Potatoes in great abundance which are ex- tremely fine, and constitute a large portion of their food. Having disposed of the upper section of this region, we come now to that portion of the lower region which lies south of the Columbia, between the President's range and the coast 6REG0N TERRITORY. This is, by universal agreement, admitted to be the finest por- tion of all Oregon. It is entered }fy the "Willamette River, (about five miles below Vancouver Fort,) which stream runs into the Columbia, and runs southwards up to its source, about two hundred and twenty miles. This river is naviga- ble for steam-boats and other vessels of light draught for nearly forty miles, when you approach the falls — the invaria- ble feature of the rivers of this territory. Above the falls are the principal settlements of Oregon. Here it is that the Amc rican adventurers have located themselves, and by the 'ee>. ■>' contributions of emigrants, are rapidly increasing <* tc^- settlements are described more particularly in the 'jv.»n • cdii.-^ portion of this volume, we will omit an account of .ft n this place. • * - The fertile valley of the Willamette is about 250 miles long, and averages about 76 miles in width, containing in all a sur- face of more than 17,000 square miles of rich arable land. The soil is an unctous, heavy black loam, which yields to the producer a ready and profuse return for the slightest outlay of his labor. The climate is mild throughout the year, but is warm and very dry; from April to October while sea breezes prevail rain seldom falls in any part of Oregon. During the other months, and while the south-winds blow, the rains are frequent, and at times abundant. In the valleys of the low country snow is seldom seen, and. the ground is so rarely frozen that ploughing may be gener- ally carried on the whole vinter. In the winter of 1834 the waters of the Columbia was frozen over, but this was attribu- table to the accumulation of Ice from above. "This countrv says Wyeth, and he resided in it for some years," is well cal- culated for Wheat, Barley, Oats. Rye, Peas, Apples, Potatoes, and all other Vegetables. " Indian Com does not succeed well, and is an unprofitable crop." - Of this valley, Lieut. Wilkes says, "the wheat yields 35. Qt. ■fn\ I 36 AN ACCOUNT OP THE ■ i ! I 40 bushels for one bushel sown, or from twenty to thirty an acre, and that the labor necessary to acquire wealth or sub- sistence is in proportion of one to three." South of the valley we come to the Uraqua, in which is found large prairies of iinsur})assable arable land, though the vicinage of the river is chiefly remarkable for its gigantic Pine timber, some idea of the extraordinary size of its forest trees may be gained from the fact, that their seed cones are some- times more than a foot in length. Below the Umqua we next arrive at the Tootootutna, or Ronge's River, and beyond that to the voluptuous valley of the Klamet. These lower portions of the first region are thought by many to be the paradise of the whole territory, excelling in richness of soil and voluptuousness of climate, even the favored valley of the Willamette. Of this opinion is Lieut. Wilkes, to whose exertions and researches we are in- debted for the geographical knowledge of the western portions of Oregon. Human probability seems to be in favor of regard- ing the vallies of the Klamet, Tootootutna, and the Umqua, as the future gardens of the west, while the preference of the northern portion may be attributable to the access afforded by the avenue of the Columbia. Population, however, is always gradually increasing, and but a few years may elapse before coasters will be running down to the months of these rivers for their agricultural products. '",•:■'■ ■■■";■■ iK ', ■ The principal settlement of the Hudson's Bay Company in Oregon, is situated at Vancouver, on the Columbia ; a point ninety miles from its mouth. At this station the main branch of their foreign commerce is carried on, and from it the chief exports in the way of Pine plank. Wheat, and other grainy. But- ter, &c., &c., is made for the Russian settlements and the islands of the Pacific ocean. They have another farm upon the Fallatry plains, w est of the Willamette and about ten miles OREGON TERRITORY. Sj nvers from Vancouver, which is also well stocked and in productive cultivation. ' The next portion to which we lead the reader, is " the se- cond or middle region" that hetween the President's range and the Blue Mountains. This district being more elevated ^ and not possessing the fertile lands in the lower district, yet being still less elevated than the third, all the stern extremi- ties of the latter's climate and soil are proportionately modi- fied. Its mean height is about 1000 feet above the level of the sea, and much of its siurface is a rolling prairie country, with the exception of the portion above latitude 48 deg. which is very much broken by rivers and traverse mountain chains. It is consequently adapted only m sections to farming piur- poses. Plenty of game, however, is found in the forests, to compensate for its unfitness for agriculture. Below this pa- rallel and in the middle of the section, are extensive plains admirably adapted to stock raising, from the-perpetual ver- dure always overspreading them, and from the salubrious cli- mate that prevails throughout their neighbourhood. Cattle thrive here better than in the low country, and there is no necessity of housing them at any time, neither need provender be laid in ; the natural hay is to be always found in abun- dance on the prairies, and is preferred by them to the fresh grass upon the bottoms. It is in this region that the Indians raise their immense hordes of horses. The southern portion of this region, as it advances to the boundary line, becomes less favorable to the purposes of man, and loses its fertility by rolling into swelling sand hills, pro- ducing nothing but the wormwood, mixed with prickly pear, and a sprinkling of short bunch grass. The only remaining portion now to be described, is the high country, or third region, which has been less trodden than the other two ; and is a rocky, barren, broken country, tra- versed in all directions by stupenduous mountain spurs, on the 'it s' ^ I i^y ^*« : I m ■■Aii.«iiV\fair-niw ti8 AN ACCOUNT OF TRE a I > peaks of which snow lies nearly all [the year. It is from two to three thousand feet above the level of the sea, anJ in con- sequence of the rivers flowing through it westward to the Co- lumbia, are broken at frequent intervals by their rugged des- cent, and rendered unnavigable nearly throughout the whole of their course. There are but few arable spots in this whole section of territory, its level plains, except in narrow strips in the immediate vicinity of the rivers, being covered with sand and gravel, and being also generally volcanic in their charac- ter. The distinguishing features of the territory, are its ex^ treme dryness, ^and the difference of the atmosphere between the day and night. It seldom rains, except during a few days in the spring, and no moisture is deposited in dews. In addi- tion to these discouraging features, the climate, from its en- closure between these snowy barriers, is extremely variable, a diff^er-ence of fifty or sixty degrees taking place between sun- rise and mid-day. The soil is, moreover, much impregnated with salt, springs of which abound in many places. It will be seen, by reference to the journal at the end, that some of these possess highly medicinal qualities, and may, from the beaut y of their situation, become the Cheltenham or Buxton of the western fashionable world. Notwithstanding all these unfavorable qualities, there are many small prairies within its mountain, which, from their production of a nutritious bunch grass are well adapted to grazing purposes, and in despite of its changeable climate, Stoqk is found to thrive well and to endure the severity of winter without protection. These mountains have been exa- mined from the eastern side, and estimates given of their height above the sea level, as Mount Brown 16,000 feet> Mount Hooker, 15,000 feet, &c. OREGON TERRITORY 39 THE RIVERS. Having given a description of the general characteristics of the land in Oregon, we will now proceed to its waters. The northern branch of the Columbia River rises in latitude 50 degs, north, and 116 degs. west, from Greenwich, thence it pursues a northerly course to Mc Gillivary's Pass, near Mount Brown, in the Rocky Mountains; there it meets the Canoe River, and by that tributary ascends north-westerly for eighty miles more. At the boat encampment of this pass another stream also joins it through the mountains, and here the Columbia is 2600 feet above the level of the sea. It now turns south, having some obstructions to its safe navigation in the way of rapids, receiving many tributaries in its course to Colville, among which the Beaver, Salmon, Flatbow, and Clarke's Rivers, from the east, at 45 deg. and the Colville and two smaller streams higher up from the west, are the chief. Thus far on its course, this great river (which in its course to the ocean runs about 1000 miles,) is bounded by a range of high, well wooded mountains, and in places expands into a line of small lakes before it reaches Colville, where it is 2,049 feet above the level of the sea, having a fall from the pass of 550 feet in 220 miles. Fort Colville stands in a plain of 2000 to 3000 acres. Here the Hudson's Bay Company have a considerable settlement and a farm under cultivation, producing from 3000 to 4000 bushels of different grains, with which their other posts are supplied. On Clarke's River the Company have another post called Flathead House, situated in a rich and beautiful coun- try, spreading eastward to the bases Jof the Rocky Mountains, on the Flatbow, also, is another, called Fort Kootanie. From Fort Colville the Columbia winds westward for about sixty miles,and then receives the Spokan River from the south. This river rises in the lake of the Pointed Heart, which lies n the bosom of extensive plains called by that name, it pur- 'I ^' f ■r n ."1 i .".lii ;,«-l I 'i f.l 40 AN ACCOUNT OF THE sues a north-westerly course for about 200 miles and then empties into the Columbia. Its valley, according to Mr* Spaulding, an American Missionary, who surveyed it " might be extensively used as a grazing district, but its agricultural capabilities are limited." The chief feature of its regions are (like those of the upper country through which we have al- ready traced the Columbia and its tributaries) extensive for- ests of timber and wide sandy plains intersected by bold and high mountains. From the Spokan, the Columbia continues its westerly course for sixty miles, receiving several small streams, until it comes to Okanagan, a river finding its source in a line of lakes to the north, and affording boat and canoe nr.vigation to a considerable extent up its coiu*se. On the east side o^ this river and near its junction with the Columbia, the Com- pany have another station, called Fort Okanagan, Though the country bordering on the Okanagan is generally worth- less, this settlement is situated among a number of small but rich arable plains. , . After passing the Okanagan, the Columbia takes a south- ward turn, and runs in that direction for 160 miles to Walla- walla, receiving in its course the Piscons, the Ekama, and the Entyatecoom, from the west; and, lastly, the Saptin (rising in 40 degrees, n.) or Lewis's River, from the south. This stream is the largest received by the Columbia, which at this point is 960yar(is wide, and to it that part which has been traced is navigable for canoes (though obstructed by rapids) to the Boat Encampment, a distance of 500 miles to the north. The Saptin, or Lewis's River, takes its rise in the Rocky Mountains, passes through the Blue, and reaches the Colum- bia after having pursued a north-westerly direction for 620 miles. It brings a large volume of water to the latter stream, but in consequence of its extensive and numerous rapids it is rf s tar^ i ■■ OREGON TERRITORY. 4t not navigable even for canoes, except in the reaches. The Company have a trading station near the south-western boun- dary hne, called Fort Hall, and also one near its junction at Wallawalla; at which the Columbia, is 1,284 feet above the level of the sea. It now takjes its last tuni to the westward, pursuing a rapid course of 80 miles to the Cascades, and re- ceiving the Umatilla, John Day's, and Chutes Rivers, from the south, and Cathlatates from the north. At the Cascades, the navigation of the river, is intei rupted by a series of rapids caused by the immense volume forcing its way through the gorge of the President's range of Mountains. From the Cas- cades there is still water navigation for forty miles, when the river is again obstructed by rapids ; after passing these, it is navigable for 120 miles to the ocean. The only other great independent river in the territory, is the Tacoutche or Fraser's River, it takes its rise in the Rocky Mountains, near the source of ,(/anoe River ; thence it takes a north-westerly course for 80 miles when it makes a turn southward, receiving Stuart's River, which brings down its waters from a chain of lakes extending to the 56 deg. of lat. turning down form Stuart's River, the Tacoutche pursues a southerly course uutil it reaches lat. 49 degs. where it breaks through the cascade range in a succession of falls and rapids then turns to the west, and after a course of 70 miles more discharges itself into che Gulf of Georgia, in the straits of Fu9a, lat. 47 degs. 07. Its whole length is 350 milca, but it is only navigable for 70 miles from its moutb Ijy vessels draw- ing twelve feet of water ; on its bank are three trading posts, viz. Fort Laugley, at its mouth; Fort Alexander, at its junc- tion, with a small stream a few miles south of Quisnil's river ; and another at the junction of Stuart's River. The country drained by this river is generally unfit for culti- vation ; the climate is extreme in its variations of heat and cold, and in the latter part of the year dense fogs prevail. ii HI •-4. I •""III ^''P Hi xc i > 19' ; t 'I I 42 AN ACCOUNT OF THE which bar every object from the eye beyond the distance of a hundred yards. The chief features of the section, are exten- sive forests, transverse ranges of low countries, and vast tracts of marshes and lakes formed by the streams descending from the surrounding heights. The lakes of the Oregon territory are numerous and well dis- tributed. In the northern section, the Oakanagan, from which flows the Oakanagan River j Stuart's and Fraser's, near the upper boundary ; Quesnell's, in 53 degs. and Klamloop's, in 51 degs. are the largest. In the central section are the Flat- bow, the Coeur d* Alene or Pointed Heart, and the Kullespelm, and in the southern district are the Klamet, the Pit, and an abundance of inferior ones, as yet unnoticed in the maps. Several of the latter are salt, while in s^^me parts are found chains of hot springs, as those in Iceland. The smaller lakes are said to add much to the picturesque beauty of the streams. * From the length of the rivers, their frequent falls, and ra- pids, no district in the world possesses so much water power; this is a happy circumstance, as the timber overspreading the western portion will for a long time form one of the principal exports from the settlements on the Columbia, to which al- ready do vessels resort for spars, planks, &e. Of the Natural History of the district, the Fisheries are the most important to new settlers. "These," says Lieut. Wilkes " are so immense that the whole native population subsist on them." All the rivers, bays, harbours, and shores of the coast and islands abound in salmon, cod, carp, soles, flounders* ray, perch, herrings, lamprey eels, and a kind of smelt or sardie, which is extremely abundant. The difierent kinds predominate alternately, according to the situation of the respective fisheries, but the salmon abound everywhere over all. This superior fish is found in the largest quantities in the Columbia, and the finest of them are taken at the OREGON TBRRITO«Y. 43 D alles or narrows. They run twice a year, May and October, and appear inexhaustable. To so great an extent is the traffic in them already advanced, that the estabUshment at Vancou- ver alone, exports 10,000 barrels of them annuariy. There are also larger quantities of oysters, clams, crabs, mussels, and other kinds of shell fish to be found in the bays and creeks, while whales are often seen in numbers along the coast, to the mouth of the Fu^a's strait, and captured by the piscivor- ous aborigines. Of Game, an equal abundance exists. In the spring and fall, the rivers literally swarm with geese, ducks, cranes» swans, and other species of w^ater fowl ; and the elk, deer, antelope, bear, wolf, fox, martin, beaver, the musk rat, grizzly bear, and the siffleur, promise with them an harvest for the hunter's rifle. In the middle section, Uttle or no game is to be found, but in the third region the buffaloes are plentiful* and form an attraction to numerous hunting parties, of the Blackfeet and Oregon Indiaub. The population of Oregon has been estimated, by Lieut* Wilkes, to be about 20,000 j of whom 19,200 to 19,300 are the Aborigines, the remaining 700 whites. This number has, however, since his estimate was made, much increased, and fi-om the large emigrations, the white population may now be safely set down at between 2000 and 3000 ; of whom the majority are from the states. The largest portion are located on the banks of the Willamette, and the remaining portion are those belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company's estab- lishment, and amount in all to about 500 or 600, though this number does not include the Iroquois and Sandwich Islanders employed by them. . There are no means of ascertaining with accuracy the ?aum- ber of the aboriginal population within our limits, as many of them move from place to place during the fishing seasons, but the following table, prepared by Mr. Crawford, of the In- ''■it- , ! 44 AN ACCOUNT OF THE dian department, for the use of the last congress, will be the best for the reader to rely on. Indiani west of the Rocky Mountains, in the Oregon district, and their numbers. Nez Percys Ponderas Flatheads 800 CoRur I)' Alene Shoshonies 1800 Callapooahs Umbaquahs Kiyuse Spokans Oakanagans Cootomies Chilts 800 Snakes 1000 Chinookesf 400 Cathlamahs 200 Wahkittliumes 200 Skillutes 2,500 7,700 Drought up ... . Sokulks Chhnnapuns Shaallatlos Choopunnishcces. . . . Speannaros Saddals Wallawallahs Catlashoots Pohahs Willewahs Sinacsops Chillokittequaws .... Echeboots Waliupums Clackamurs Euesteurs Chanwappans 7,700 ijOOO 2000 200 3000 240 400 2,600 430 1000 1000 200 2,400 1000 1000 1,800 1,200 400 29,670 The most numerous and warlike of the Oregon Indians are in the isltvnda to the north, but on the main land they are gen- erally friendly and well disposed. They are, however, rapidly passing away before the advancing destiny of a superior race and with the wild beasts, vanish gradually from the white mans tracks. Those remaining, are a servile and degraded class, who perform the meanest offices of the settlements, and readily consent to a mode of existence under the missionaries and other settlers, but little short of vasf!alage. In the "Willamette valley, there are now left but fpw rem- nants of the once numerous and powerful tribes that formerly OREGON TERRITORY, 45 inhabited it. At the mouth of the Cohimbia, there are some few of the Chinoocks still left, and about the Cascades, and at the Dalles or narrows, still linger considerable numbers of these ill-fated and fast-fading people. There is no longer any spirit left in them ; their hearts are bruken, then* bows unstrung, and from the '* Lords of the soil, they have sunk to the degradation of its slaves." In. speaking of the influence of the missionaries over the Indians, Lieut. Wilkes remarks, " they have done but little towards christianizing the natives, being principally engaged in cultivating the mission fanns and in the increase of their own flocks and herds. As far as my obser^'ation went, there are very few Indians to engage their attention, and they seemed more occupied with the settlement of the country and agricultural pursuits tlian in missionary labors." The Hudson's Bay Company are entitled to the highest praise, in not allowing any ardent spirits to be imported into any of their numerous stations, and for tlie establishment of schools for the native and half-breed children. By this policy the savage will be gradually cured of his distrust, and coaxed into new connexions, he will abandon his bows and other im- plements of destruction, and attach himself to those used for a more pastoral and conmiercial purpose. THE CAPABILITIES AND PROSPECTS OF OREGON. BY A THREE YEARS RESIDENT. Having resided nearly three years i-iOregon, and frequently travelled over some of the best portions of it, having passed over all the tributaries of the Snake Biver which enters it on its southern bank, from its source in the mountains to its junction with the Columbia, and Laving also travelled by wa- ter from a point .500 miles distant fi'om the ocean, down the Kaskaskia, Snake, aud Columbia to its mouth, and witnessed m M , If/ .! w;i 46 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ^« the character of the banks during the whole of this distance> I am able to speak from personal] observation respecting that portion of the country. The interior country, as has been stated, is divided from the tract lying on the sea coast by a range of mountains, stretching parallel with the coast at a distance of 160 miles from the ocean. Between the ocean and this range of moun- tains the Wallamette country is situated, and in soil and climate differs much from the interior region of country. The atmos- phere of the interior is exceedingly dry, while that of the re- gion along the coast is unusually damp. But as I cannot speak of the Wallamette from personal ob- servation, I will confine my remarks to the valley of the Co- lumbia and Snake'[Lewis*s or Saptin] rivers. The banks of the Columbia, from the mouth to the Cas- cades, is heavily timbered. Here, in proceeding up the river, we enter the gorge which the river has cut through tht moun- tain range. Above the Cascades the timber diminishes in quantity and size till we reach the Dalles, at which point it ceases altogether. The soil on the banks of the Columbia below the Cascades is susceptible of cultivation, though by no means of the best quality. It cannot properly be denominated an alluvial soil, as the river, having its sources in a volcanic region, and pass- ing over in its course nothing but beds of basalt and sterile sands, brings down no deposit capable of forming a fertile soil. The overflowings of the Columbia are thought to injure rather than benefit the soil. At Vancouver, the fields that are AVell cultivated and well manured produce good crops of wheat and potatoes. But without manuring the crops are very light. Indian com does not si cceed at all, and fruit trees decay prematurely. At Fort G 3orge, or Astoria, a few acres of land were cleared by the Americans before the occupation of the country by the Hudson's Bay Company. This is situated on. OREGON TERRITORY. 47 an elevated point of land, about 14 miles above the mouth of the river, and may be considered a fair sample of the hill country of the region. This could have been cleared only at an immense expense of labor, on account of the heavy growth of timber. This is now partially overgrown with a luxuriant crop of brushwood, but those parts which are clear are co- vered with as fine a green sward of clover as can be found in the pastures of England. Very good potatoes are found here without manuring. At the Dalles, cultivation has been attempted, but with what success I know not. Above this point the banks of the Co- lumbia present a barren and inhospitable appearance. Not a tree or shrub of any size is to be seen. Nothing but sterile sands, with a very scanty vegetation, composed of prickly pears of very diminutive size, the bitter sedge, so ca d in that country (genus artemisia, probably), and small quaiitities of wild grass. The bluffs recede sometimes from one-fourth to one-half a mile or more from the river, at other times they appear very close. They are composed sometimes of earth entirely, forming low, handsomely rounded hills. Again they are formed of earth, tipped at the summit with a perpendicu- lar wall of basalt ; and again, in other places, they are formed of huge ledges of that material, standing up from the water on either side, and opposing their lofty craggy points to each other in perpetual defiance. As we proceed up the Snake River, the bluffs become more loi'ty and rugged, and approach usually nearer to the river. In. some instances the bluffs consists of regular columns of trap rock, standing up perpenf jculai'ly from the bank of the river, to a height of, perhaps, one hundred feet, while the ground at the base is strewed with regularly formed fragments of fallen columns, In other places the trap formation is seen only at the summit of the bluffs, forming there a perpendicu- lar wall, while the subjacent portion of the bluff is a steej) de- ■1 mm li m m 48 AN ACCOUNT OF THE h m clivity covered with irregularly formed fragments of basalt, or beds of clinkers. Such are the banks of the Snake River, for 100 miles above its junction with the Columbia. There the Kaskaskia em]>ties into it from the north.The general character of the Snake River, so far as I was able to hear from others; continues the same so far up as to the great cut, which it makes through the Blue ]\Iountains. Tims far no timber is to be found on the Columbia or Snake rivers, and no soil for cultivation. Much of the way there is nothing but barren sands, on which scarcely anything grows but the se(lj;-e, which is so bitter that no domestic animal will taste it. There are, however, small spots sd table for cultiva- tion in tlie vicinity of these large rivers. They Consist of small alluvial i)atche8 on the banks of the small tributaries, at a dis- tance, ])er]iai)s, of one, two, or three miles from the main river. Tliemoutlisof these tributaries are at great distances from each otlicr, there being only tliree on the southern bank within the distance of tv/o miles, and one of these enters the Columbia nine miles below the mouth of tlie Snake River. The banks of the Kaskaskia resemble somewhat those of the Snake River in their general a})pearance and formation. The bluffs are of basalt, stee]) and rugged, approaching usually very near the river. There is, however, one vein of granite crossing this stream, about 100 miles from its junction with the Snake River, and another vein also crosses the Snake Ri- ver below the mouth of the Kaskaskia. A short distance above the mouth of this stream, scattered trees make their appearance, increasing in number as we proceed up the river. The banks also are more verdant, and are covered usually with grass. Still there are no tracts fit for cultivation, except at the mouths of small streams entering the main stream, or where there may be sj)rings of water issuing from the bltrffs at a considerable elevation above the bed of the rive:, and OREGON TERRITORY. forming beneath small beds of loam soil, v.nd vegetable depo- sits brought down frum the mountain sides. Such, then, is the character of the soil on the large streams of the interior of Oregon. We come now to speak of the soil on the tributaries. My remarks will be confined principally to those emptying into the Columbia and Snake rivers from the south, and to those emptying into the Kaskaskia. The valley of the Wallaw alia, and its numerous branches, is undoubtedly the best portion of the interior country. This stream empties nine mil«;s below the mouth of the Snake river. The valley of the Yamatilla, however, which empties into the Columbia below the Wallawalla, is said to be equally as good as that of the Wallawalla. Uoth these streams have their sources in the Blue Moimtains, and the banks are covered to some extent with timber, mostly cotton wood and alder, until we arrive within ten or twenty miles of the Columbia, where timber ceases, and there is nothing but a stinted growth of brushwood the remaininii? distance. The character of the whole region occupied by these two streams is much the same, and a deserijjtion of the one may be taken, as furnishing the general characteristics of the other. It has been said that " the upper country " {i.e. the interior) '* has a fertile soil, especially on the tributaries of the Colum- bist River." Now, this remark is true, but, to a very limited extent, and this is the qualification necessary to give the right impression. The only soil fit for cultivation consists of allu- vial bottom, lying in small tracts of five, ten, fifteen, and twenty acres or more along the margin of these small streams. At the forks of two or more of these small streams the largest tracts are usually found. The Wallawalla, w ith its numerous branches, drains a wide region of country, and along these nu- merous streams there is a considerable amount of good soil lying in small detached portions, yet the whole amount, when compared with the whole region of country drained by this ■l ^' ■P. .•'< ft I: mm 60 AN ACCOUNT OP THE river and its branches, is an exceedingly small fraction of the whole. These alluvial patches form the lowest glade of land along the streams above high-water mark. Portions that are overflowed are usually deprived of the alluvial deposit by the flood. These tracts usually lie at or about the same elevation above the bed of the streams, and on the back ground are usually surrounded by a steep elevation of 3 or 4 feet to a higher glade. The soil of these bottoms is of fine quality. The surface in its wild state is covered with a species of fine short grass, interspersed with thorn bushes. The higher glade just spoken of lies at an elevation of per- haps six feet, more or less, above the alluvial beds, and is en- tirely barren and useless, covered with sedge and green wood, with little or no grass. This glade also is frequently impreg- nated vidth noxious salts, which prevent vegetation. On the Wallawalla there is a much greater proportion of this barren glade than of the alluvial beds, it forming usually the entire back ground of low land, and frequently running down to the very brink of the stream, thus forming a circulf ?,r rim for these alluvial basins. These alluvial beds, indeed, have all the ap- pearance of having once been covered with a sheet of water, which, at length subsided by the depression of the river chan- nel, leaving their beds of dstritus and vegetable deposit to form the portions of fertile soil which are now to be found on the banks of these streams. Between the two glades of land already mentioned, there seems to be an intermediate one partaking somewhat of the characteristics of both. This in- termediate glade always lies between the real alluvial and the higher glade, and seems to have been originally an alluvial bed, but has been covered over by a liiyer of soil brought down from the inner glade which has deteriorated the allu- vial soil. This portion is usually covered with a species of coarse strongly rooted grass, growing from two to six feet iu tkeight according to the quahty of the soil — it is most fertile OREGON TERRITORY. Blong the borders of the real alluvial, and its sterility increases as we approach the higher glade, near which are frequently spots so impregnated with salts as to be destitute entirely of vegetation. The best part of this intermediate kind of soil produces quite as well, though not equal, to the real alluvial. But if portions highly impregnated with the salts before men- tioned are ploughed up, the soil is soon covered with a white saline deposit, and seeds if planted will not vegetate. ' The greatest quantity of good soil and the best quality may be considered about midwav between the base of the Blue Mountains and the Columbia River. As we proceed either way from the middle region, either towards the mountains or the Columbia River, the quantity of the alluvial bottom dimin- ishes, and the quality becomes poorer. As we proceed towards the mountains the banks of many of the small streams are low, the channel changes from time to time, and the soil seems to be all washed away. All those streams make their entrance into the plain from dark, deep, and frightful gorges of the Blue Mountains. The uplands lying between the Wallawalla and Yamatilla, and between the several branches of the Wallawalla are usually quite low, lower than in any other part of the country. The bluffs are very low, and pre- sent no ringed appearance, but are usually formed of earth, and rounded at the summit. These upper plains are covered with a very moderate growth of grass, though in many places particularly as we approach the Columbia, they present a very sterile appearance, and grass gives way to the sedge. The northern branch of the Wallawalla, called the Tasha, which joins the Wallawalla, twelve miles from its junction with the Columbia, forms a very pleasant valley, though the amount of alluvial bottom is less than on the Wallawalla, and inferior to that in quality ; yet as a valley for grazing it is one of the finest in the region. In passing along the region in a north-eastcTly direction. w fi:- l.'.i ]'•! ■i4 'V „ ■ I'il m I m if ii i I 62 AN ACCOUNT OP THB to strike the Snake river in the region of Kaskaskia, we find the uplands more and more elevated as we pass the Tasha. The next stream we come to is Takanan, which empties into the Snake River. As we approach the stream we look into a dark and frightful chasm, walled up on either side by rocky bluffs, and one is struck b^- the feeling that he has come to the jumping- oiF place at the end of the world. But by taking advantage of a small ravine which breaks through the wall, he winds his zig-zag way down the steep to the I o torn, when he finds himself in a narrow walled-up channel, in the mid- dle of which it regains an elevation at an angle of at least 45 to reach the summit on either side by a straight line. The Talley contains a very few tracts of alluvial bottom, and of very small extent. In proceeding onwards, one makes his way up the steep on either side to an equal elevation; and after a few miles down, he goes into the bed of a ' • H stream emptying itself into the former, the bluffs ah ^, iiich are less precipitous than those of the former. This valley also contains but a small quantity of alluvial bottom of an inferior quality. After proceeding up this valley for some miles, we mount up again to a still greater elevation, and at length de- scend to the bed of the Snake River. The elevated regions are exposed to cold piercing winds, and are covered with a very thin and stunted growth of grass. " After passing up the Snake River several miles, we cross over and pass over the Kaskaskia, a distance of 14 miles, when we come to the valley of a small stream, called Lapwai. In this valley there is a moderate amount of good productive alluvial bottom. In passing on beyond this place up the Kaskaskia, we leave the river entirely, and pass over the elevated plains, descend- ing into deep and precipitous ravines till we strike the Kas- kaskia again at Kamiah, about 100 miles above its junction OREGON TERRITORY. 63 with the Snake River. On the way we pass through the hor- der of the timhered region connected with the Bhie Mountain range. These plains are covered witi? a heavier growth of grass than those previously passed over, particularly in the vicinity of the woodland. The timber is a species of pine. The soil, I should judge from the appearance, if cultivated, might, in places protected from the winds, be made to pro- duce moderate crops of some of the smaller grains. At Kamiah, and in that region, there are a few small tracts of very good soil, which produces well, but that is in the vi- cinity of the mountainous region, where the streams are shut up in narrow rocky channels, and land fit for cultivation ceases to be found. One remark I will make concerning this whole region. It is more or less exposed to frost, in consequence of its lying in the vicinity of the mountains. It is also exposed to drought and in order to ensure good crops irrigation is necessary. One more tract of land of considerable interest I will speak of. This is the Grand Ronde ; one finds himself in the midst of a beautiful circular plain of thirty miles or more in diame- ter, with considerable indentations, where the several streams enter the plain, and also at the outlet. The Blue Mountains form a high circular wall around more than half of its circum- ference, the remaining distance being shut up by a bluif se- veral hundred feet in height. Thus it is pent up on all sides having no outlet except a deep channel through the moun- tains, where the waters flow off into the Snake River. This place is evidently an alluvial formation. It is covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, and is susceptible of culti- vation, though, from its !^4tuation among mountains, crops here might be rr.ined by frost. This plain has the appearance of having been once the bed of a lake, whose waters formerly filled its whole basin, but by tlie wearing away of the channel at its outlet> its waters were MJ: k Ill ill 11 ! nt ill I ^< 54 AN ACCOUNT OF THE drained off, leaving its present bed of allii>'ial soil. More re- motely, however, it may have been the rirater of a great vol- cano, which might have been in action at li period immediately subsequent to the throwing up of that part of the continent from the bed of the ocean, and this may account for its present form, and the character of the wells by which it is surrounded. In proceeding farther into the interior, along the southern tributaries of the Snake River, the country becomes more barren and desolate,^ the plains covered with sedge, and the verdure along the small streams diminishes. There are indi- cations also of more recent volcanic action. Hot springs occur, and the river-banks are in some places found teaming with emissions of scalding and hot water. This may properly be de- nominated a desert region, in which there are only occasional oases. ... Having now described the interior country as far as is ne- cessary for the present purpose, it only remains to inquire into its capabilities and prospects. It will be seen at once from the above statements that the interior of Oregon can never become an agricultural country, and consequently can never sustain a dense population. It can be turned to account only by raising flocks and herds, and in this way it is capable of supporting a spare population, and a sufficient quantity of alluvial bottom can be /ound in the best portions of it, to furnish grain and \ egetables for such a population residing there for such purposes. It is necessary, however, to say in reference to the grazing capabilities of this region, that they are very far from being superior. There are considerable tracts of waste land, worth almost nothing at all, even for this purpose. The amount of grass, also, which the uplands furnish is very small. Its medium height I should judge to be twelve or fourteen inches, diminishing on the highest or more exposed plains to six or eight inchesj and in- OREGON TERRITORY. 5G creasing, particularly in the vicinity of the woodlands of the mountains, where there is more moisture, to eighteen or twenty inches. The ground is thinly covered, it usually grow- ing in hunches, so that not more than from one-third to one sixth of the area of the surface is covered. It would, there- fore, require some 4 or 5 acres to furnish the same amount of nutriment which common pasture or meadow does. Cdttle thrive well in this region, particularly when kept along the hanks of the streams; hut it has heen found by experiment that they will not do well on the high lands, away from the streams, especially ia the dry season. Sheep and goats may do well in these up-lands. . > ' The practice of biu*ning over these plains annually, which, however, is only partial, is an evil which must cease, if ever the country becomes extensively stocked with cattle. Cattle live out during the whole winter, and the grass, which dries up dm'ing the dr}'^ season, and remains in this state through the winter, is standing hay for the cattle to gather for themselves as their necessities require. Let all this be burned ever, and the green grass which springs up in the autumn will do but very little towards sustaining a herd through the winter, and starvation must ensue. Cattle and horses suffer in the winter in some parts of this region when there is an unusual quantity of snow, and can iind nothing to supply their wants except on^southern declivities, when the snow is soon removed by the direct rays of the sun. <^ii ,^ .^' What then are the prospects of this region in respect to settlement? There is one motive, and only one, for immediate settle- ment in the interior in preference to the Walhamet, and this is the salubrity of the climate. In every other respect the Walhamet is altogether preferable, and will continue to be so till all its land is taken up, and all the grazing country in its vicinity is occupied. It is doubtful whether emijgrants mM ili {'-A n i 56 AN ACCOUNT OP THl be willing to forego all other advantages for the sake of climate. The region of country described lies from 300 to 500 miles from the mouth of the Columbia, or about 200 miles above navigable v/aters. The Columbia is one of the most danger- ous and difficult rivers in the world to navigate, and this can only be improved at an immense expense. The time required to make the trip from Vancouver to Wallavvalla, 200 miles, with loaded boats, to make portages, &c., requires from nine to fifteen days, according to the direction of the wind, &c. The expense of transportation this distance is seven shillings sterling for .90 lbs. The expense of transporting produce down the river v;ill also be so great, that it will enable the Walhamet settlers to undersell and take all the profits. The only I'cmaining method of reaching the lower country, is by a road over a ditficult mountain from the Walhamet. I would remark, however, that the country lying north of the Colum- bia may find a more convenient outlet to the ocean direct to Nasqually ; but my remarks are intended for the region lying south of the Columbia. With the drawback upon the ui)])er country the probability of its immediate settlement a})pears to be very small. In time doubtless it will be settled by herdsmen, but all the circum- stances connected with the country point directly to the Wal- hamet as the first region to be settled. When this whole valley shall become occupied by a dense population, and the lands which are now devoted to pasturage shall be in demand for agricultural purposes, the more distant regions may be brought into requisition for grazing purposes, and cattl e may be brought down from the interior by a road across the moun- tains, to supply the wants of an agricultural community. Thus, in time, the whole intsrior region, as far as it is capa- ble, may become settled in this scattered and partial manner ■ and become of considerable relative importance in connexion OREGON TERRITORY. 57 vvitli a rich, flourishing, and densely populated country along the sea-coast. But time is necessary, in order to produce all these chanp^es, and bring into requisition all these resources of the countrj', which depend on a great increase of popula- tion in one part of the country, and a consequent demand for products beyond the producing capabilities of that region. There has been laid before the Congress, a proposition or memorial, by Mr. Whitney, for the formation of a Railway \ matter very startling, but certainly not more wonderful tiian the Chinese building the wall, 1500 miles long, across their territory to prevent the incursions of the Tartars,] along the vast distance between Lake Michigan and the shores of the Pacific j on condition of the company forming it, receiv- ing a grant of Public Lands, sixty miles in width along the whole line of its route. But this, Mr. George Wilkes, in his pamphlet on the Oregon Question, insists should not be com- plied with, as being too gigantic for individuals, and urges the States to complete the necessary works as a "national OBJECT," out of the money to be raised by the sale of Public Lands along its route,'* the length of which (from New York) he estimates at 2,500 miles ; which, travelling at the rate of only 15 miles an hour would be performed in seven days, and in twenty-five more the ports of China might be reached. And a return voyage from thence with the products of the East might be landed H Europe in forty -six days ! ! The view that this opens to the mind, independent of its benefits, stag- gers speculation with its immensity, and stretches beyond all ordinary ru'es of calculation, and if the magnetic telegraph should be added to this extensive and comprehensive scheme, where shall calculation look for the limits of its vast re- sults ? In the formation of the line, he says that, " Nature has al- ready contributed to the object more liberally in the country ondcr consideration, than to the same extent of any other ■is ",\'l -. ^■"•'' m 58 AN ACCOUNT OP TUB portion of the globe. From the Missouri tc the Rocky Mountains, spreads a plain scarcely broken by a hillock; through that stupenduous ridge gapes a pass presenting no discouraging opposition to heavily laden waggons with single teams, and from its western sides the banks of the Saptin or Lewis's River lead the traveller through the navigable waters of the Columbia. The cost of its formation, he estimates at 58^ million of dollars, and, by it, they would become the com- mon carriers of the world for the India Trade. The Oregon route, should this project be carried through, would for its shortness, for its safety, for its comparative conifort, and the accuTncy with which the duration of its travel could be calcu- lated, be selected in preference to any other by all travellers to the East or the regions of the Pacific ; so, that besides the revenue to be derived from the postage of correspondence, and the trade traffic, a large income would accv^r^ from tra- vellers, which would consist ofAmbassadors aio i* suites ; Consuls and other government officers to China unJ the In- dies, to New Holland, to the ports of the western coast, and the Islands of Polynesia ; and enticed by the facilities afforded to them, many who otherwise would never have attempted the old voyage, would make a trip to the Indies, Japan, China, or some Island paradise in the Pacific' »> 4 ■ y.'f ORBQON TERRITORY 4»» .;»'-.' T S f* : i.\. . ,f I PART II. \ ■ ■•■ lFe.t>r OurncIT \Al JOURNAL OF THE TRAVELS OF A LARGE EMIGRANT PARTY, ACROSS THE GREAT WESTERN PRAIRIES; AND THROUGH OREGON. *(.; '■ CHAPTER I. A desctiption of the line of route, and the distances between the Missouri, and the Pacific Ocean. — The s*irt — Arrival at the rendezvous — The features of the gathering — The humor of an Evening in the Camp. It is not necessay to the object in view, that the writer of this journal should furnish the reason which induced him to turn his face towards the wilderness. Let it sufSce that on the morning of the 17th of May, 1843, 1 mounted my horse in Independence, Missouri, and set out for the general rendez- vous, This was 20 miles in a south-west direction, starting with a family of the name of Robbins, from the northern paii of Pennsylvania. After examining for the twentieth time if all required for the journey were safe in the waggon, jerking and settling the harness, looking under the horses, and comp- pletely round the whole concern, John Robbins mounted bis .seat, gave a sonorous ahem ! in evidence of his satisfac- tion, and describing a probatory circle with his lash, when a little circumstance in the waggon interrupted his purpope 60 AN ACCOUNT OP THE and softened the threatcninsr sweep of the gad into an oblique flourish, that spent its elegance in a faint snap near the ground le discerned that Mrs. Rohbins viyhlinar to the weakness of her bosom at the separation of the last link that bound her to the associations of youth, home, and fiienils. The hus- band kissed away the tears that wero tumbling over her full and rosy cheek, spoke a word of encDuragment in her ear,and then, with a moi ^ened eye himself, turned hastily to his place, bringing the whip sharply down, set his features as right as a decemvirs' and rattled off at a pace that soon jolted off every vestige of satlness or depression, amid the cheers of a large Earty of neighbours, who had met to see us off, and whose enizons floate«l after us upon the air, as if they were un- willing to resign this living evidence of their long guirdianship The morning was magnificent. The breez 3 fresh and bracing, and the sun poured down his brightness, with such superb glory, that its rays seemed to stream through our very hearts and to change every doubt and , only elicited another burst of merriment. Jack was lifted on the box by his master, and Mc Farley who acted as clerk of the court, made him face the Judge, setting him on his haunches, and holding up his fore paws for the purpose of accomplishing a respectiid attitude. The President then addressed the offender at length, and vrith much dignity and force. Jack, while this was going on, never once altered the solemnity of his demeanor. '1 he only departure from his usual stoicism, was an occasional glance which he now and then stole over his shoulder at Mc Farley, who was holding him. At length the President finished his address, and wound up by saying, that " as mercy was the divinest attribute of dogs as well as men, he would forgive him for this first offence, and allow him the opportunity to retrieve his character, by making him an honorary member of this association." laying which he baptized the animal on the end of the nose, with some of the contents of the flask in his hand^ " to learn him," as he said, " to be a jolly good fellow." OREGON TERRITORY. 65^ Jack had stood everything quietly, until this, but no sooner did the alcoholic nauseate touch his nostrils, than [he gave a sudden twist, followed by a spring which swept off the jug, carried Mc Farley to the ground, and nearly upset me, as he flashed passed where I stood. A long, loud, and continuous roar followed this conclusion of the prank, and under cover of it, I drew off to my quarters again. This may be considered as a specimen of the evening en- joyments of the pilgrimage, (barring the drinking ;) and I have been thus particular with the events of the first night, even at the expense of being charged with frivolity, that the reader may have a correct idea of all the variations and phases of the life that is led in the journey over the prairies. Many and many a time, even in the short period I have spent in this region, have I turned back to luxuriate in thought upon the delights of that adventure. ,■ • 0:f; CHAPTER II. Arrival of my Camp equipages — Outfit for emigrants — Council at Elm Grove — Regulations for future — Evening scene in the Prairies. On the following day my men, waggons, and cattle arrived* and we were all kept pretty busy in making arrangements. A meeting was held in the latter part of the day, which re- sulte 4 ' ■!n '111 ^1, I ': ',"|:*!; ,«.'?!!! w.m II; 6 AN At COUNT OF THE the bowling tempest stru k as, and before wc had fairly reco- vered from our tirst stupefaction, several tents were blown down, and two or three which had been carelessly staked were lifted in the air, and ])asscd otf on the breath of the hurricane like puffs of down. I stood near the scene of one of these mishaps, and could not restrain from a burst of laughter when, as the canvass ileparted, a husband and wife jum])ed up in their scanty night clothes, and on their hands and knees chased the fugitive sheets which curled over and over provok- ingly before them. My merriment startled the female pur- suer, who on discovering me and my roaring companions made a rapid retreat and crept under the mattrass. These were not the worst of the visitations of the storm, for the wind was accompanied by a tremendous deluge of rain that flooded the whole surface of the prairie, and the entire platform of our encampment j and it is not too much to say that there was scarcely a dry inch of skin in it. Our condi- tion during the night was, consequently, very uncomfortable, and it was not until a pretty advanced hour in the morning, that we had recovered from our condition. This learnt us a new lesson of precaution, which was to dig a trench around the tents on pitching them, so as to lead the water off. On this day (6th) we were encountered on our march by a party of Osage and Kansas, or Caw Indains, in all the liorrid accoutrements of war. They numbered about ninety in all, and had evidently studied every means of making themselves disgusting and terrible. They all rode ponies, and had their heads closely shaven, with the exception of the stiff lock in the centre, which their politeness to their foes reserves for the scalping knife. The advantages of this international regula- tion of courtesy is obvious, for when a warrior has conquered his foe, instead of being obliged to rip off his scalp in a tedi- ous operation with his teeth, he relieves him of it gracefully and easily by the assistance of his top knot. He is thus al- lowed to pay .attention to a greater number of foes, and the natural increase which thus takes place in deeds of arms, en- courages the martial spirit |of both nations. The exploit of this party had not been highly creditable to their character, for they had waged-destruction only on one brave Pawnee, whom they had surprised and run down like a wild beast, but who, however, had wounded two of his pursuers badly before he was overcome. The miserable devils had his scalp with •.' OREGON TERRITORY. 77 en- them, and they had also secured portions of his cheeks and nose, which were distributed among the chiefs. They had ripped the former from the head of their victim with consi- derable skill, the ears being attached to it, and upon inspec- tion, I perceived they still contained their unfortunate owner's wam))um ornaments. The Kansas and Osagcs are the most miserable and filthy Indians we saw east of the Rocky mountains, and they an- noyed us excessively whenever we fell in with them, through their mendicant pro])en8ities. We gave to this party a calf and some bread, as they importuned us with great earnestness^ stating, to strengthen their application, that they had not tasted food for three days. One of the chiefs with an ear of the slaughtered Pawnee swinging round his neck, ap))roached (jreen, a strapping Missourian, who stood leaning on his rifle, and gazing at the crew with a stern expression of mingled *corii and abhorrence. The savage importuned him by a sign for some powder and ball. " Some powder and ball you want, eh ?" said Green, slowly rising from his slightly incumbent position. '* Some powder and ball, eh ? Well, I can spare you jist one load out o' here !" saying which he significantly touched the muzzle of liis gun with his finger, and then slowly raised it to his sight. The savage hesitated for a moment, uncertain of the white man's purpose, but perceiving that the weapon gradually tra- velled to a level, he stc])ped back and opened his hands, as if to explain the iiiendliness of his purpose. But the hooshier's blood was up, and advancing as theCaw retired, he raised the butt of his rifle in a threatening manner> exclaiming in an imperative tone : " Out o' ray sight, you d — d nigger, or by — , I'll spile your scalpni for ever." The Indian slouched sullenly away, and Gr«en, when tired of chasing him with his eye, turned ofi' in another directon growling : " I'd like to spend a few privL . moments with that fellow in the open prairie." In addition to their other bad qualities, these Indians have the reputation of being the most arrant thieves in the world. They satisfied us as to their rascally propensities on taking their departure, by the theft of a couple of horses, which dis- appeared from the time of their leaving us. One of the ani- mals was the property of the indignant Missouiian. m ■s- M 'i-;-' ' mm 78 AN ACCOUNT OF THE VM Mii. On the 7th, we removed our camp to the distance of half a mile further on, and resolved to pause the whole day in order to dry our goods and repair the injuries done by the previous storm. The night, however, ended most of our labor, for we were visited by another severe shower, which again flooded the whole camp. On the following morning we started oflf in the rain, which was falling in torrents, with the determina- tion of finding ground high enough to prevent our camp from being continually swamped. After a weary and miserable peregrination of five miles, we came to a grove of young elms on a slightly elevated knoll, which secured us just the advan- tages we sought. The rain still kept coming down, but after our tents were pitched, we were able to defy it. Several of us had caught severe colds by the drenching we had received, and among the rest Mr. Burnet was badly at- tacked with so serious an indisposition, that he was forced to resign the command. On the 9th the clouds dispersed, the sun broke through them with its enlivening rays, and we started oif at an early hour to reach a grove about five miles distant, where we would have superior facilities in wood and water, for drying our clothes and recruiting ourselves. We reached it about twelve o'clock, and making a halt, in less than half and hour, forty or fifty huge fires were roaring and crackling in the plain. After we had thoroughly dried our garments and recovered our things from their previous confusion, we turned our at- tention to supplying the vacancy in the office of commander. A council was held which resulted in a separation of the two divisions, one under the command of Captam Jesse Applegate, and the other, after adopting a new organization, elected William Martin commander. The latter division was the largest of the two, having in it seventy-two waggons and one hundred and seventy-five men. On the 10th, we started out under this new arrangement with fine weather, and a beautifully undulating landscape beckoned us on into its fertile depths. I rode on amongst the advanced guard on the look out for buffalo, and yielding to a spirit of gaiety and spirit in my horse, I suffered him to carry me far beyond the rest. Halting at length to tuin back to my companions, I paused to take a momentary scrutiny of the horizon, when I suddenly perceived in the extreme of the south west, two or three little dots just waving on its edge. OREGON TERRITORY 7B **' Buffalo, BuflFalo !" shouted I, waving my hand to those be- hind, and dashing oif with a dozen clattering feet behind me in the direction of the objects. We were not long left in doubt as to the nature of the new comers, for we were ap- proaching each other, and in a few minutes were shaking hands with the mounted outposts of a trading caravan from Fort Larimie, on its way to Independence with furs and pel- tries. When the waggons came up, they were cheered by our people, and welcomed with the enthusiasm that hails a sail upon the ocean after a joyless solitude of months. It being noon, and a brook running hard by, we insisted on a pause, and we accordingly spent a couple of happy hours together, after which we separated, and both moved on again. Surely there is something good in human nature ! Such scenes as this go very far to destroy the injustice of the assertion, that man's heart is continually evil, and that he naturally inclines to it as the sparks fly upwards. The converse is the rule. Upon our start, I resumed my position as a scout, and fall- ing in with Green, the sturdy Missourian, we kept company together. As we led the advance with Captain Gant, our attention was attractetl simultaneously by a flock of large birds hovering over some object on the plain, and occasion- ally stooping down towards it, For the purpose of ascer- taining the cause of their operations, we rode towards them, and on approaching the scene, found them to be a lot of buz- zards feeding upon the dead body of a man. Upon a close inspection, we discovered it to be the body of an Indian, whose dissevered head, badly scalped, lay within a few feet of his body. It was evidently the victim of the war party of the Kansas and Osages whom we had encountered a few days before. '' I'd give another horse to have a turn with one of the niggers who helped in this?" said Green, as we turned Hway. The road was smooth all the way to-day : nothing within eye-shot, but a gently undulating landscnpe, relieved occasion- ally by little colonies of saplings, and covered with a generous crop of grass, in which o\ir cattle found an elysium of proven- der. We had another fall oi rain on the evening of the 11th, })ut it was slight, and so far from doing damage, it scarcely occasioned inconvenience. j ■ it;!' li : >^ii m AN ACCOUNT OP THE i On the 12th, as we were jogging along at a comfortable pace, the whole camp was suddenly thrown into a fever of ex- citement by shouts of: "Buffalo! Buffalo!" At the wel- come and long wished for cry, several of us who were moun- ted, galloped ahead to take a share in the sport. On reach- ing the advance, our erroneous impressions were corrected by the information that the sport was over, and that Capt. Gant «nd others had just killed a large buffalo, and were waiting until the caravan arrived at the scene of the exploit, to take charge of the carcase. It turned out to be a veteran bull who had been discovered by the hunters grazing by himself about two miles distant on the lead. The horsemen immediately run upon him, discharging their rifles to stop his career, and when they had sufficiently shortened their distance, drew on him their large horse pistols. This proved effectual, and the old soldier bit the dust a victim to Sevan balls. He appeared worn with grief at his desolate condition, and his flesh tough- ened with age, proved hardly an enviable refreshment. The old fellow had probably been left here in the spring when sick, by the other buifaloes. These animals come down to Blue river in great numbers to spend the winter among the rushes, which are abundant in the bt ttoms near the stream, but leave in the spring.- On the 14th, we entered and passed over a broad district of prairie land, equal for farming purposes to any soil in the world ; but it was all solitary wild prairie, and scarcely re- lieved by the slightest rise or fall. For the last three or four days we had every now and then seen an antelope, but in consequence of the extreme shyness of the animals none of us had been able to get a shot at one. To-day, however, Jim Wayne, who to his character of hu- morist and musician, added the qualities of a capital hunts- man and woodsman, brought in a young doe slung across th«i saddle of his horse, singing — " Merrily the wild stag bounds !" with his gun crossed in the hollow of his arm, and his hat cocked more gaily than ever. "Hollo, Jim !" shouted McFarley, who had just conie up, " so you've had some luck, I see I" *' Yes, and I have discovered a new method of making cheap bread.'' OREGON TERRITORY. 81 t( (t Say it, my hearty !" By finding doe to my hand in the prairie." ^ " Faith an you'll find it well kneaded too, (needed) or my stomach's no judge," said the politician with a moistening mouth. " That last execrable pun entitles you to one of her rump steaks, and I'll see that it is bestowed upon you if it should be the last official act of my life," replied the humorist with dignity as he moved on. On the following day, 16th, I had agreed with Jim that he and I should take a skirr together, to see if we could not fall upon another animal of the same species ; but an incident occurred in the course of the morning that diverted our inten- tions. A shout from the rear turned our attention in that direction, and splitting away at top speed, we saw a buck an- telope coming towards us, followed by some of our dogs in full chase. He had been hiding in a little thicket on our trail, and just as the last waggon passed, some loiteripg hound had caught the scent and started him up. Instead of striking away from us across the prairie, the frightened anirual came direct along the line, and ran down its whole length, extend- ing over two miles, at a distance of not more than two hun- dred yards. It was a most beautiful, and at the same time a most exciting sight. Away he flew like the wind, at every moment the pack scouring in his rear, receiving new acces- sions as the chase advanced and at the distance of every few hundred yard^^^ a rifle would send its effectual messenger to aiTest his cot j. At length, however, a large hound from one of the foiemost waggons seeing the squad approaching, ran down to meet them. The aflVighted buck, terrified out of his wits, though plainly headed off\, did not sheer an inch from liis tioursse, and the important item in the emigrant's calculations ior food, it will not be improper for me here to devote a few remarks upon the manner of obtain- ing them. There is perhaps no chase so exciting to a spoilsman as a buffalo hunt, and the reader can readily imt^ine the tremen- dous addition its interest receives when the stomach has been in rebellion for hours, perhaps for days, irom the insidious ex- citements of the fiL'sh prairie air. The mode of hunting these noble animals is very simple. They are most generally found upon the outer range, grazing near the head of some hollow, leading up towards the sand hills. The sight of the buffalo is very dull, but their scent, by its superior acutenest, com- pensates for this defect. You must, therefore, always man- age, if possible, to get to the leeward of them, or you are aUnost certain to see the whole herd scamper off before you ai'rive ill pulling distance. As an instance of this, I one day saw a band of about a hundred buffaloes at two miles distance on the opposite side of the river running up its line on a par- allel with our train. Tliey did not see us, but the wind being from our side, they caught the scent when about opposite oiur centre, upon which they turned off instantly at a right angle and scoured away like mad. Approaclvthem to the leeward, however, and you are almost certain to get within easy shoot- ing distance. When you have discovered a herd close up to the line of the hills, ;^ou should station your horses in some hollow near at hand, (but out of sight,) and then creep cau- 'tiously up to your position, pick out your animals, and fire, one at a time, in slow succession. If you give them the vol- ley, they directly scamper off, and a rapid succession of shots is followed by the sanie result; but if you load and fire slowly, you may kill [several before the whole herd take alarm. I have seen three or four reel down, or bound into the air and fall, without exciting any attention from their indifferent com- panions. When you have fired as often as you can, with ef- fect, from the position you have taken, and the animals have moved beyond your reach, you should hasten to your horses, mount with all speed, and approach as near as possible with- out showing yourselves ; but when you do, put your horses up to the top of their speed and away after the game as fast as you can go. You may dash at a band of bufiiiloes not more than a huncured yards ojBT, and though you may think you are ab wi sli WJ su| OREGON TERRITORY. 89 about to j)lunge into the very midst of them in a moment, you will find if your horse is not well down to his work, they will slip away like legerdemain. Though they jippear to run awk- wardly, they contrive to " let the Imks out '' in pretty quick succession, and if you suffer them to get any kind of a start, you must expect to have a hard run to overtake them. The better plan, therefore, is to put yoiur horse to the top of his spee ;\ 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WnSTIR.N.Y. MSM (716)S72-4S03 *'*^1 ^ & 90 AN ACCOUNT OP THE gons, team, cattle, horses, men and all. Every man prepared his gun, and those on the extreme ends) of the line, stretched down to the biEink ot the river, thus forming a complete semi- circle of death for their reception. Notwithstanding we were thus prepared for their approach, we all felt certain they would turn tail and recross the river ; but to our complete as- tonishment, on they came, regardless of our grim and threat- ening array. They were received with a tremendous bom- bardment, and down went every bellowing vi^bbnd to the ground. Several of them rose to to their feet, but the storm of death bore them back again upon the sod, and not a single one escaped to profit by this lesson of imprudence. There is perhaps no flesh more delicious to a traveller's ap- petite than buffalo meat, particularly that cut from a fat young cpw ; and if has the peculiar advantage of allowing; you to eat as much as 'you please without either surfeit or oppression. I shall never forget the exquisite. meal I made on the evening of the first of June. I'had been out hunting all day, was very weary, and as hungry as a whole wilderness of tigers. Out of compassion for my complete fatigue, Mrs. Burnett cooked six large sUces from a fat young buffalo for mv supper. My extravagant hunger induced me to beheve when I first saw the formidable array served up, that I could readily dispose of three of th6m. I did eat three of them, but I found they were but tii«^ prologue to the fourth, the fourth to the fifth, and that to the sixth, and I verily believe that had the line stretched oit^ to the crack of doom, I should have staked my fate upon cA ^i4her and another collop of the prairie king. This story hai$il|<4«f{is me credit, but the worst IS yet to come, for two houtsr ttfterward, I shared the supper of Dumberton, and on passing Captain Ganfs tent on my way home, I accepted an invitation firom him to a bit of broil- ed tongue ; yet even after this, I went to bed with an unsat- isfied appetite. I am no cormorant, though I must admit I acted very much like one on this occasion. My only consola- tion and excuse, however, is that I was not a single instance of voracity in my attacks upon broiled buffalo meat. Mrs. OREGON TERRITORY. CHAPTER V. Progress of travel — Grand complimentary ball to the Roc' ky Mountains — Route through the mountains — Its points — Its general character — Passage through the pass — Arrival in Oregon. . , On the 29th of Juiie, we crossed the south fork of the Platte. On the 1st of July we crossed the north fork at a distance of thirty-one miles from the passage the day but one before, and then proceeded along its northern bank for a pe- riod of nine days, passing in succession the points on the route known as "Cedar Grove," "the Solitary Tower," "the Chimney," and "Scott's Bluffs," until we arrived at Fort Larimie on the 9th ; thus averaging; from the time of our crossing the South fork on the morning of the 29th of June, about sixteen miles a day. During this period and this space of march, the weather was uninterruptedly fine, the thermometer ranging from 74. to Sddees. and the race of the road suffering no sensible variation. We paused for a day at Fort Larimie, and resumed our march on the morning of the 1 1th. From this point throughout, we suffered no further scarcity of timber, but we now began to encounter a few more difficulties from the surface of the road. This we found to be interrupted by bolder undulation, and after we had travelled eight miles further westward^ we came to the debris, as it may be called, of the Black Hills, whose occasional abrupt inclina- tions, now and then caused our teams a httle exti'a straining but did not require us to resort to double ones. This lasted but for a short distance, however, and we were soon on a level route again. On the 16th we struck the Sweetwater, a beautiful little tributary of the Platte, and following its course for one hundred miles, at last came in view, un the afternoon of the 30th, of the eternal snows of the Kocky Mountains. We still had an open route before us, and a portion of the day remained to avail ourselves of it if we pleased; but this event was worthy of the commemoration of an encampment, and we accordingly wound up the line two hours earlier than usual. The hunters of our partyhad been fortunate this dayinobtain- ing some fine antelope and two fat young buffaloes, and we set out for a regular feast. When the meal was finished, and when the prospective perils which lay in the entrails of those n AN ACCOUNT OF TUB grim giants had been canvassed again ^nd again, we broke from all grave considerations to consecrate the evening to merriment. The night was beautiful, scarcely a breath stirred the air, and the bright stars in the blue vaidt above, looked brighter than ever. The camp fires streaming upwards from the prairie plains, flooded the tents with thier mellow light) and made the tops of the quadrangular barricade of waggons, look like a fortification of molten gold. Jim Wayne's fiddle was at once in request, and set after set were sent in upon the sward to foot a measure to its notes. Mc. Farley and Big Pigeon formed two of a party (amongst whom was my old friend. Green, the Missourian,) who listened to the In- dian traditions of Captain Gant, and then told their own wonderful stories in return. The revelry was kept up till a latie hour, and the result was, that the whole party went to bed worn out with pleasure and fatigue. From this point we pur- sued a directly western course, crossing in our route two creeks called ** BigSandy" and "LittleSandy,' and three or four others until we struck Green river, a tributary of the Colorado' which empties its waters into the Pacific, in the Mexican bay of San Francisco. We followed Green river down its course through the mountains for twenty miles, where we struck a branch of it called Black's fork. From thence we turned off in a westerly direction for thirty miles, to Fort Bridget. Still west we proceeded for twenty more,to a branch of the Great Bear river called Big Muddy, and down this branch for thir- ty-seven miles of fine travel, in a north westerly direction to Great Bear river itself. We now took up the course of Great Bear river, and following it in a north westerly direction for fifty-seven miles, passed a rang^ of hills which run down near ly to its bank ; and '*ontinuing our course for tl -eight miles more, arrived at the Great Soda springa. 1 ui the Great Soda springs, which we left on the 27tn of August, we took the course of a valley leading to the great dividint^ ridge between us and Oregon, and after passing i?p it to a distance of about forty-five or fifty miles, came upon the widie depres- sion of the mountains that was to lead ua into the promised land. This remarkable pass is so gentle in its slope, as to afford no obstacle for the heaviest loaded waggons, and without any difficulty at all, our most cumbrous teams passed through it into) the valley of the Saptin, the southern branch of the Columbia. This natural avenue, though surrounded, nay almost overhung w ti( OREGON TERRITOHY. P3 ill parts, with immense crags of frowning desolation, was co- vered, generally, with the softest, and most delighful verdure that had for a long time met our eyes. A beautiful little brook meandered through it; flowers and trees were flourish- ing along it in profusion, and the sweet scent and soft air that floated in our faces ofl^ its fields, half persuaded us that we were sufl^ringthe delusion of some fairy dream. Impa- tient of delay, some dozen or two of us on horseback, plunged into the inviting scene, antl led the way at a gallop to a view of the region beyond. We soon arrived at the waters of the Portneuf, and from this point reined up our panting steeds to gaze upon the valley of Saptiii which lay at last before us. In an instant every head was uncovered, and a cheer rang back into the gorge to the ears of our companions, \a hich made every team and waggon crack with renewed exertion. It is impossible to de^ scnbe the enthusiasm which this event created in our party. Each waggon as it arrived at the point unfolding to the view the region which had been the object of our dearest hopes and the occasion of our weary travel, set up a cheer, which taken up by those behind, rang through every sinuosity of the pass and reverberated along the sides of the beetling crags which hemmed it in. Jim Wayne who was always "about" when any thing of moment was afrot, was among the foremost to reach the point of sight, aud there, with his bugle which he had buiiiished and swung around his neck for the occasion he planted himself, receiving every waggon with "Yankee Doodle," "Hail Columbia, " or " The Star-spangled Banner" and only pausing in the tunes, to wave the instrument in the air, in immense sweeps, to. the measure of the answering shouts. This passage was performed on the 29th of August, and on the afternoon of that day we pitched our tents in the valley of the southern arm of the great Biver of the West. The re- gion we had passed through from the dOth July up to the 29th August, comprised all the passes through the Bocky Mountains, and was by far the most arduous and diflicult por- tion of the whole journey. We performed it, however, with- out sustaining any loss or injuiy beyond the bursting of a single tire, and yet averaged while doing it, a distance of about twelve miles a day. In many parts of this region we had to move shai^ply to secure water and range for our cattle. liPM .a' ' '■'f ! ■' 'HA I I 1'! ■ ; I 94 AN ACCOUNT OP TH8 and the scarcity of game, forced us, so far as we were person- ally concerned, pretty much upon the resources of our private larder^!. Tliough consisting to a large extent of beetling rock, arid plains, craggy defiles and frowning .'gorges, nature has provided throughout a large portion of this route, a continu- ous line of valleys, nourished by gentle rivers, whose fertile banks furnish abundant pasture for youi* cattle, and provide a road from the eastern to the western limits of the Rocky Mountains and through the spurs of the intermediate region, better than many of the waggon routes in some of the eas- tern states. The greater portion of this country, however, is a sterile, flinty waste, and except in occasional dots, and in the green ribbons that bind the edges of the stream, is worthless for agricultural purposes. One of the features of this section, of singular interest, is the number of soda springs it contains, of a most remarkable character. They are situated mostly ou Great Bear river, at the end of the valley leading up to the great pass. There you will find them, bubbUng and foaming, and sending up from their clear depths and gravelly bottoms a continual discharge of gas and steam, as though they were Sunken cauldrons of boiling water. They are represented to possess highly medicinal qualities, and it is said the Indians set a great reliance upon their virtues for a numerous class of disorders. One of these springs makes a loud bubbling sound, which can be heard at a great distance, and there are others which eject their waters some distance into the air; and others, in addition to these peculiarities, have a temperature above blood heat. To such ^n extent do these phenomena prevail, that the surface of the river, in the neighbourhood of those on the shore, is fretted for several bimdred yards with large num- bers of them, some of which force their jets many inches above the surface. The scenery about this spot is wild and impressive ; but though composed mostly of towering rocks, the faithful bunch of grass still fastens to the vales, and ofiem its tribute of sustenance and refreshment to the cattle. On the morning of the 30th, we performed our orisons for the first time in Oregon. For the first time in many dreary days the beetling crags of the Rocky Mountains ran their frowning barriers in our rear, and a broad unbroken plain spread out before us. Our hearts swelled with gratitude and joy, and with these combined emo- tions came a mingling of surprise, that the passage throi^gh OREGON TSRRITORY. ! person- r private ing rockj iture has continu- se fertile provide a le Rocky e regioii> the eas- iwever, is nd in the worthless } section, contains, nostly on p to the foaming, bottoms hey were iented to } Indians 3 class of ig sound, re others id others, ire above Bi prevail, those on rge num- ly inches wild ami ag rocks, ind offers e. •isons for ; crags of our rear, ur hearts aed emo- through the valley and the shadow 'of that misrepresented gorge, had proved so slightly formidable in its character. This can only be accounted for by the fact that most of the pioneers upon the route, from need of the experience of others who had gone before, in the direction of their preparations, set out without providing properly against the difficulties and privations of the route. Neglecting the important item of provisions, they have relied entirely upon their rifles, and their chance for game, and the result has been, that their stomachs, pinched by occasional deprivation, have spread their dissatisfaction to the mind, and magnified and discolored every difficulty and trifling inconvenience into a monstrosity of hardship. It may readily be imagined, that a traveller on horseback, who was obhged to fly from rise to set of sun, over a barren patch of desert to obtain range and food, would be anything but flat- tering in his descriptions of the scene of his sufferings and perils ; but a well appointed caravan, carrying water in their vehicles, and driving their provender along with them, would enjoy a greater measure of contentment, and be inclined to treat the account of their way-faring with a far greater degree of fairness and liberality. I do not hesitate to say, as I said before, that any waggon which could perform the journey from Kentucky to Missouri, can as well undertake the whole of this route, and there need be no dread of difficulties, in the way of natural obstructions^ of a more serious character. I would be wilUng to traverse this road twice over again, if I possessed the means to purchase cattle in thOi^States, and this opinion will appear less strange, when I assure the reader that several of the female emigrants feel in the same way disposed for the pleasures of a second expedition. It is true, there is a good of labor to perform on the road ; but the weather is so dry, and the air so pure and bland, that one turns to it, as he does to the savory meals of the prairie, with a double alacrity and relish. Besides, many of the cares as well as troubles of a first expedition, would be avoided in the second. Experience would be our pioneer, and the continual apprehension of diffi- culties of an unknown character ahead, would vanish. We would not be continually harrassed, whether we should aban- don our horses at the pass, whether we should be out of pro- visions, or whether the route was practicable for travellers like us, at all ! These uncertainties are dispersed for ever. Emi- grants may come now without fear. They will find a road y fmfm^f^m^v •■■■«)• B|, 1 i 96 AN ACCOUNT OF THE broken to their use ; they know the quantity of provisions they need ; they know also the supplies they can gather by their rifles ; they know that they will not suffer from want of water, and they have also been made aware that all the pro- perty they bring with them, is worth double the value as soon as they arrive. Fuel, it is true, is scarce at some points, but proper care and a little trouble, will provide against any suf- fering for want of that. You travel along the banks of streams all the way, and you can almost always reap a harvest of dry willows on the sur- face of the waters, and where these do not offer, you find an equivalent resource in the sedges of their shores. CHAPTER YI. H! I ! 1 I I i i ! II ii , II Arrival at Fort Hall — The three regions of Oregon — Sal" mon Falls — The Saptin and the Platte — Fort Boise — Bunrt River — The Lone Pine — " Woodman spare that tree"— The Grand Round — Scientific speculation of Mr. Mc Farley — A fall of snow — An Indian traffic. We killed a bullock this morning in a fit of extravagance, and after replenishing ourselves with a most substantial break- fast, set out with renewed energies and brightened prospects. We arrived in the afternoon at Fort Hall, a trading post, built by Mr. Wyeth, now belonging to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, on the Snake, Saptin or Lewis's River, and encamped m a fine piece of timber land, under cover of its wooden bat- tlements. We passed a most pleasant evening in exchanging civilities with its inmates, who were not a little surprised at this tremendous irruption in their solitude. Some of the members told us that they could scarcely believe their eyes when they saw the immense stretch of our line, the number of our lowing herds and oui* squads of prancing horsemen, and they inquired laughingly if we had come to conquer Oregon, or devour it out of hand. They treated us, however, with ever>' attention, and answered with the utmost patience and })articularity, all our inquiries in relation to the country. We paused here a day to recruit our cattle, and when we OREGON TERRITORY set out in the morning following, (Ist September,) we re- ceived a parting salute from one of the guns of the fort, and answered it with a volley from our small arms. Our journey to-day commenced through a piece of country well timbered, and possessing a soil apparently capable of raising the grains and vegetables of the States. I learned, however, that the climate of this region is subject to frequent frosts, the seve- rity of which are fatal to agricultural operations of any mag- nitude. Oregon, or the territory drained by the Columbia, is divided by immense high mountain ranges into three distinct regions, the climate and other natural characteristics of which are en- tirely different from each other. The first region is that ly- ing along the coast of the Pacific, and extending in the inte- rior to the line of the Cascade range ; the second region lies between the Cascade chain and the Blue mountains, and the third, between the Blue and the Rocky mountains. The first of these has a warm, dry and regular climate, and it is the abode of continual fertility. The second, or middle region, consists chiefly of plains between ridges of mountain Sj tho soil of which is poor. The timber also is very scarce, up- on it, and what there is is soft and poor. The climate during the summer is agreeable and salubrious ; but the winter brings with it fre<£uent rains. Many of its .plains, though generally unfit for agricultural purposes, are covered continually with an abundant crop of short grass, which renders it a splendid field for raising stock, and for grazing purposes. The third region is called the high country y and is a mere desert, consisting of ridges of rocks of volcanic strata and al- ternate sandy plains. It has its occasional fertile spots, it is true, but they are few and far between. Its distinguishing features are its excessive dryness, and the extraordinary differ- ence of the temperature between night and day. This ex- tremity amounting sometimes to a variation of 40 or even 50 degrees, is modified in the approach toward the middle region, but this outside section is doubtless incapable of being re- claimed to any great extent by the hand of man.* "We emerged from the patch of vegetation around Fort Hall in a * Mr, Wyeth saw the thermometer on the banks of Snake river, in August, 1832, mark eighteen degrees of farenheit at sunrise, and ninety-two degrees at noon of the same day. G ' ■ ^1; >■ I ' ; ,, 'I ■11' V :■ » S' ' I' 'mi' ■ 1 f I 'J 9S AN ACCOUNT OK THE ■ 111 f I I few hours upon wide barren plains of yellow sandy clay, whicti among its short and dry grass, bore nothing but the wild wormwood and the prickly pear, with here and there some stunted cotton wood or willow. We crossed the Portneuf at the distance of eleven miles from our starting place, and still kept along the lower bank of the Saptin, the country remaining the same in its charac- ter — a desert wilderness except in the partial vegetation on its streams. We found the evenings now getting to be quite cold ; the nipping air driving us to our camp iires and direct- ing our attention to extra coverlets ; but the morning sun after getting an hour high, would give us another tempera- ture, and till evening came again, we would have genial sum- mer weather; We reached the Salmon Falls (or Fishing Fall? as they are called from the great numbers of fish which abound in them) on the 11th, after having passed through a piece of Gountr}' still the same in its barren and volcanic character, for the distance of one hundred and forty miles from Fort Hall. We here caught an abundance of fine salmon, and after a short enjoyment of the sport, moved onward on our course. Our eagerness, now that we had conquered the Rocky moun- tains, to get to the limit of our final destination, was ex- treme. On the 14th we arrived at Boiling Spring. The country around this spot was wild in the extreme, the same arid, vol- canic plain, flowing its sterile billows on before us — a vast lake of barren waste, hemmed in and bound by shores of beetling crags and towering mountains. We were all the journey up to this point, still on the west- em bank of the Lewis or Saptin river, biit we crossed to its eastern shore above these sprmgs, and followed the course of the other side. As this river is of the same importance to the emigrant for his travel in this region, as the Great Platte is for the Western Prairies, it is deserving of a special notice. The Platte is a tributary to the Missouri, and unrolls its love- liness and, vegetation from the States to the Rocky Moun- tains ', while the Saptin takes up the task on the western side of this stupendous barrier and leads the wayfarer in the same manner along its banks, until it yields its waters to the Co-^ lumbia near Wallawalla. OREGON TERRITORY. 9-1 Another striking feature of similarity is, that the counlry on either side of the Rocky mountains is a drv and barren hours without hurt or injury to a single soul, and no damage was done to our truck beyond a slight crush of one side of a waggon body. October 2d. — We ascended a hill, or rather a mountain, at the edge of the " Grand Round," and then descended it in an extensive declivity on the other side, ending at a fine running creek for which I could fiud no name, but on the banks of which we encamped. Both of these hills, the one at the en- trance and the other at the outlet of the Great Round, might be better avoided by turning to the left upon the mountain, side and passing them altogether. We passed during the lat- ter part of this day, through large bodies of heavy pine tim- ber, and I will take'this occasion to remark, that of the Blue ' mountains were the first considerable bodies we had seen since we left the banks of the Kansas. October 3rd. — We were obliged to-day to ascend and de- scend three very bad hills, and to pass over eight miles of a very rough and difficult road, a portion of it running through a tract heavily laden with pine. We cut through this a road for the waggons, and it now oiFers much greater facilities for those who follow. October 4th. — This day our route stretched through the still continuous pine, but they were more sparely scattered than before, and our progress consequently was more easy. The weather was cold and bleak. October 5th. — A slight fall of snow this morning brought us to cur heaviest clothing, and increased the size of our early camp fires. The roads were excellent before us, but in con- sequence of two bad hills, and the disposition to linger round our fires, we did not make more than eight miles, after com- pleting whichj we went early to camp. On the 6th, we descended the Blue Mountains, by an easy and gradual declination over an excellent road, and encamped on the banks of the Umatilla river, near a Kiuse village. This stream, like most of the rivers we had crossed in Oregon, was nothing more than a good sized creek. Its waters were beau- tifully clear, and its banks were studded with an abundance of cotton wood timber. We were now in the second region of Oregon, and from the moment we had descended from the mountains we felt the difference of the two climates. The i ■^ : 106 AN ACCOUNT OF THE 1 one we had left being sharp and severe, and this being mild and dry, and offering in its abundant grasses superior facilities for stock raising and grazing. After descending from the region of the pine, we had now come into a country of broad sandy plains, mtermized with a yellowish clay, productive, as I have said before, of abundant herbage, but destitute of timber, except upon the margin of the streams. From this point to the Columbia at Wallawalla, is between forty and fifty miles through continuous plains, vai'ied only with occasonal hills of sand. Th is surface, ex • cept in the vallies of the streams, is sandy and sterile, yet in its least favored sections it bears a description of scattering bunch grass, upon which the cattle become very fat. We found the Indians of this village very friendly, and ex- ceedingly anxious to trade with us. They proved their degree of civilization and advance in the arts of agriculture, by bring- ing us large quantities of Irish potatoes, peas, com and kamas root, for which we gave them in exchange, clothes, powder, ball, and sundry trifles. They raise a large number of horses, by the luxuriant pasturage of the surrounding country, and were continually pressing them upon us for sale, offering two of the finest that we might select, for one of our cows. Se- duced by the delights and comforts of this place, after the weary wayfaring we had just passed through in the upper re- gion, we determined to remain here a day to recruH, and we accordingly gave ourselves up to a regular frolic, during which the peas> com and potatoes, with nice spare ribs, fish and steaks to match, vanished from the earth like witchcraft. Let me remark, for fear that I mav overlook it, that while travelling on the Burnt river, and while passing through the Blue mountains, we had much trouble in finding our stock in the morning, as they wandered off in the bushes during the night, and often strayed out among the hills after the bunch grass. We found the road along this river, and through these mountains, the worst of the whole route, and indeed, nearly all the bad road we saw at all. Lieutenant Fremont who came behind us, and who had Mr. Fitzpatrick for a guide, went further down the Grand Round to the right, came out at a different point, and made his way through the Blue mountains by a route, which he states, to be more safe and easy by far than the one by which we came. Our route, at any rate, can be so improved with a small amount of labor as OREGON TERRITORY. m ng mild 'acilities lad now a with a mndant argin of llawalla, ! plains, ace, ex* }, yet in attering and ex- p degree y bring- d kamas powder, horses, itiy, and ring two vs. Se- ifter the pper re- , and we ig which fish and •aft. lat while )ugh the stock in iring the le bunch gh these J, nearly Dnt who a guide, ;ame out the Blue safe and route, at labor as to be quite practicable, and even as it was, we came through it with our waggons in perfect safety, without even unload- ing them at a single point. Many, if not mosi of the bad hill we had passed, could have been avoided or overcome, with a very little labor. ' ■ 1 1 1 CHAPTER VII. Arrival at Doctor Whitman's Mission — Perplexity — Con^ jlicting Councils — Division into Squads and successive depar^ tures — Progress of the Advance Guard to Vancouver — Our arrival at Fort Wallawalla — Arrangements with its Command der — Naval Operations — Boat Building — the Grand Rapids — the Falls — the Little Dalles — the Grand Dalles — the Whirlpool — Death in the Rapids — General Characteristics of the Middle Region j its Indians, their Habits and Pursuits. On the 8th October, we moved on and encamped in the af- ternoon within twenty miles of the Methodist mission estab- lishment, kei)t by Dr. Whitman, on the banks of a little tri- butary of theWallawalla; but not finding the pasturage to our liking, we moved on the next day a few miles further in ad- vance, and finding a prairie offering us all the advantages we sought, the section to which I was attac}ied, determined to make a halt for a few days, to recruit our weary and way won) cattle. Most of the party had advanced before us and were already at the mission, but we, in consequence of our halt, which continued through a period of five days, did not reach there until the 15th. The mission estabUshment is situated on the north east bank of a small stream emptying into the Wallawalla, around which there are two or three hundred acres in good cultivation, and on the other side of the stream, was the grist mill, where the Doctor converted his grains into fiour. It was in a very delapidated condition when we saw it, but the Doctor informed us that he had made arrange- ments to rebuild it, and make it an efficient feature of his little colony. This settlement has existed here under the care of the doc- tor and his excellent wife, ever since 1834, and by his perse- ,! 108 AN ACCOUNT OF THE tnm I! ] IE vering industry he has fairly coaxed civilization into the very bosom of the wilderness. The stream on which the mission house is situated is from fifteen to twenty yards in width; its cjear cool waters run over a gravelly bed at the rate of five or six miles to the hour, and its banks, on either side, are orna- mented with groves of flourishing timber, and flowering shrubery, that are the usual accompaniments of fertility of soil and geniality of climate. The valley of this stream is about thirty miles in circumference, and is a favorite spot with the Kiuse for raising horses, numbers of which we found galloping about in all their native freedom over its plains. Upon our arrival, we found the pasturage in the immediate vicinity of the mission much eaten out by these animals ; but a few miles further back, towards the mountains, it flourished in unsurpassed profusion. We found at Doctor Whitman's every thmg to supply our wants, and he furnished us with fine wheat at one dollar per bushel, and potatoes for forty cents. His supply of the first gave out, but he had corn and potatoes in abundance. Wliile pausing at this place, we were a$;itated and perplex- ed in the extreme what course to take in relation to the arrangements we should make for the successful conclusion of our expedition. We were assailed with various opinions from every one we met, and in the general indicision were for a time brought to a dead stand. Most of the residents of the mission agreed in advising us to leave our cattle and waggons at this point, or if we did take them to the Dalles or narrows (a point on the Columbia, 120 miles in advance) to send them back here to winter. Others told us that we could not reach the Dalles with our teams, as jaded as they were, as we would find no range along the course of the Columbia. All, how- ever, seemed to think that it would be impossible for us to get our waggons, or our cattle, to the Willamette this fall. But we had already overcome too many difficulties to admit the word impos Able as a part of our vocabulary. We could not remain where we were for a number of reasons. The pastur- es was too scanty ; the width of range would not allow us to keep our stock together, and we sufl^red an additional danger of their loss from the dishonest practices of the Indians, who, if they did not steal them outright, led them off, for the pur- pose of being paid to bring them in. Many of us were obhged OREGON TERRITORY. 109 to pay a shirt (the price uniformly charged by the Indians for every service) for three or four successive mornings, to get back the same animal, and this was a kind of tribute that if kept up, would make fearful inroads upon your wardrobe. The majority of the emigrants therefore resolved to attempt the threatened dangers to the actual evils that now beset us. Accordingly they set out in squads, on successive days, and before the end of the month, all had reached the Dalles in safety. What surprised them most, after the representations which had been made, was the fine pasturage they met with all along the way, an^ especially at the Dalles, where, we had been led to believe the cattle could not subsist at all during the winter. As the parties to which I now allude, preceeded me, I may as well continue this anticipatory account of the route as far as it concerns their progress. They struck off in a south westerly direction, leaving the steriUty of the river's bank, and instead of perishing for want of range, their cattle even improved all along the way. Some of them left their waggons at theDalles, and drove their cattle through the Cas- cade mountains, conveying their baggage and families on pack horses through the mountain paths ; and some went down the river by the boats. But the greatest portion of them con- structed rafts of dead pine timber, a few miles below the Dalles, large enough to carry six or eight waggons, and upon these floated safely down to the Cascades on the Columbia. Their cattle were driven down the river's bank about thirty miles, then swam across and were driven down the other bank to Vancouver. Here the party obtained boats from Dr. Mc Laughlin, the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company's es- tabhshments in Oregon, and returned to the Cascades for such of the families, waggons and baggage as had been left behind. This method was found to be, of all, the most suc- cessful. By the first of {December, all the emigrants had ar- rived at Vancouver, but the greatest portion of them had reached there as early as the fifteenth of the preceeding month. The large portion of the emigration to which I belonged,- arrived at Fort Wallawalla, on the 16th of October. This we found to be a rough parallelogram constructed out of the th'ift wood drawn from the river during the annual rise of the Columbia, in June and July. It is situated on the northern bank of the Wallawalla, just where it joins the Columbia. We ; illii 'Mi ^$^ 110 AN ACCOUNT OP THE t\)und a Mr. McKinley, a very intelligent Scotchman, in charge of this post, and at his hands received every civility and attention. This gentleman proposed to us a conditional arrangement, subject to the ratification or refusal of Doctor McLaughhn, his superior, at Vancouver, in regard to our cat- tle. He represented the impossibility of our conveying them to Vancouver, and to save us any loss, offered to take them for himself, and give us an order on the Doctor for an equal number of Spanish cattle of the same age and gender, in the possession of the latter at the before-mentioned station. If Dr. Mcliaughlin disapproved of the arrangement, Mr. Mc Kinley was to hold our cattle subject to our order, and to re- ceive one dollar*per bead for their keeping. This was a pretty acute arrangement of his, as we afterwards found, but as it eventuated in nothing but a temporary deprivation of our beasts, we did not have occasion to regard it as a very serious matter. As soon as this arrangement was made, we went to work briskly in building boats from material which we sawed out of ^-he drift wood of the stream, and having all our prepa- rations completed on the 20th, we set out on that day with Indian pilots for our guides. The Columbia at Wallawalla, is a beautiful clear and calm stream, and about a^ wide as the Ohio at Louisville, Ken- tucky. We made fifteen miles the first day, and on the morn- ing of the second, passed in safety the Grand Rapids, one of the most dangerous^ points on the river. From this point to the falls, about ten miles above the Dalles, we passed through many severe rapids and narrow passes. At the falls, where the whole Columbia tumbles down a perpendicular ledge of rocks from a height of ten feet, we were obliged to draw our boat from the stream and make a portage of about three quar- ters of a mile, and then launch he anew. This was done with the help of a party of Indians, thirty-five in number, whom we found at the place of our landing, and whom we employed to shoulder our baggage and carry our boat the necessay dis- tance ; giving to each of them for the service, five loads of powder and ball, and to their chief, a shirt and some tobacco. These fellows seemd to understand their interests very well, and subserved them often with as much acuteness as thorough Yankees. Employ all, or none, was the word, and until we had made a fair business arrangement with the chief, not a lop ear would lend a hand to any of our work. The chief OREGON TERRITORY. Ill Spoke English very \>ellj was a tall, fine looking fellow, tlressed in the broadcloth costume of a white ^raan, and wore upon his feet, instead of moccasins, a pair of very fine shoes. His authority appeared to be absolute, and the moment he gave the word of command every thing was performed with the regularity of clock work. Our boat, which was a supe- rior one, that I had procured by especial favor from Mr. Mc Kinley, had now far outstripped all the rest, and indeed, when we left the river for the portage, the remainder of the flotilla* had been out of sight for several hours. After our launch, we pursued the stream for four or five miles, when we struck little Dalles. This is a narrow channel, rushing in whirlpools and dangerous rapids through two precipitous walls of rock. Here we were obliged again to put our familie*^ on shore to lighten the boat, and to procure some Indians to take her through the gorge. Below this point, and between it and the Grand Dalles, we encountered some severe and threatening rapids, all of which, however, we safely overcame. The Grand Dalles is a nt.^ow channel cut through the solid rock, over which it used to flow and fall, by the mere force of the stream. This channel is about two miles in length, and runs between perpendicular walls of basaltic rock, which fence it in on either side, to the height of four or five hundred feet. When the river is low, it may be navigated with but little danger, but if swollen, it is death to attempt it, and a portage of necssity be made. We employed some more Indians here, but (Isaac Smith, our intrepid waterman, insisted upon acting as the coxswain. It was fortunate for us he did, for when we were about in the middle of the pass, the stroke paddle snapped in two, pitching the Indian who |jworked it nearly over the bows, and the boat suddenly twisted around and shot down the stream stern forwards. Smith alone was calm, and seiz- ing a paddle from the red skin nearest to him, shouted in a voice of authority, which danger sanctions in superiority, " Down ! down ! every soul of you !" Fixing his eye upon a whirlpool ahead, he waited until we reached it, and then adroitly striking his paddle in the water, by a dexterous move- ment whipped her head into the circling eddy, and checking it instantly on the other side, before she could.repeat the mo- tion, our little craft shot like an arrow from the perilous spot, head on again, into a smoother current. "Smith drew a heavy I! * See Fremont's Journal, page 189. 112 AN ACCOUNT OF THE sigh of relief as he handed the paddle back,and sat down in his place without evincing any other sign of satisfaction at the triumphant result of his exploit. The Columbia river above this point can never be made safe for boats of any size ; the navigation being difficult and uncertain, even at low water ; and when high, as I said be- fore, it is quite impassable. But the day after our passage, one of Captain Applegate*s skiffs upset with three men and three boys. Two of the boys and one of the men were drown- ed. The former were about ten years old — one of them was the son of Captain Jesse Applegate, and the other of Lindsay Applegate. The man drowned was an old man named Mc Clelland, who steered the skiif. During our passage from the Wallamette to the Dalles, we saw no timber on the Columbia river, or near it, indeed no bolder vegetation appeared than a few occasional willows near its brink. The Indians are numerous all along its line, and are exceedingly thievish, stealing without hesitation every thing they can lay their hands on. The reason of their being so numerous in this quarter is, that the Falls and the Dalles are the great fisheries of the Columbia river, \vhere immense numbers of salmon are annually taken by these primatit^ fishermen. Before leaving this region, I will remark, that the portion we saw of it in our passage down the river, was of a descrip- tion that should by no means be taken as an evidence of its general character. Beyond the immediate line of the Colum- bia, which is a tract of blank, discouraging sterility, stretch numbers of fertile plains, which, though not adapted to the general purposes of agriculture, produce a rich, continual and abundant herbage, admirably adapted to grazing purposes, and indeed rendering it second to no region in the world for raising stock. Its surface is almost a thousand feet above the level of the sea, and it is generally a rolling prairie country, with the exception of that portion about a hundred, or a hun- dred and fifty miles to the north, which is barren and rugged, and much broken by rivers and mountain chains. It is in this section that all the horses are reared for the supply of the Indians and the traders of the interior. " It is not un~ common," says Captain Wyeth, ** that one Indian owns hun- dreds of them. 1 think this section for producing hides, tal- low, and beef, superior to any pai't of North America ; for OREGON TERRITORY. 113 wn in his )n at the be made cult and said be- passage^ men and e drown- ;hem was Lindsay imed Me alles, we Qideed no ows near line, and yn every eir being le Dalles immense primative e portion I descrip- ace of its ; Colum- r^ stretch id to the nual and am-poses, ivorld for ,bove the country, >r a hun- l rugged, It is in upply of i not un- vns hun- ides, tal- ricaj for with equal facilities for raising the animals, the weather in the winter when the grass is best, and consequently the best time to fatten the animals, is cold enoush to salt meat, which is not the case in Upj>^r California. There is no question that sheep might be raised to any extent in a climate so dry and so sufficiently warm, and where so little snow or rain falls. It is also the healthiest country I have ever been in, which, I suppose arises from the small quantity of decaying vegeta- ble matter, and there being no obstruction from timber to the passing winds." The premium portion of this whole region, I have been in- formed, is the Nez Perces county, which takes its name from one of the tribes inhabiting it. The region, however, in the vicinity of Mr. Spaulding, an American missionary, who has an establishment on the Saptin, a few miles above its junc- tion with the Columbia, is thought to be the iinest of all. He has a fine herd of cattle and a very numerous lot of sheep, and I am informed upon good authority, that his ewes have lambs twice a year. The whole surrounding country is co- vered with a heavy bunch grass which remains green during the whole winter. This generally dries up during the sum- mer heats of July, but it is then as good as hay, and the slight rains in the fall make it shoot up at once, after which it remains green till the succeedmg summer. I saw it in October as green as a wheat field. "While at Wallawalla I saw Ellis, the chief of Nez Perces. He spoke the English language very well, and I found him to 1)0 quite intelligent and well versed in the value and the rights of property. He has a fine farm of thirty acres in good cul- tivation, a large band of cattle, and upwards of two thousand beautiful horses. Many of the Kiuses have, as Wyeth says, hundreds of these noble animals. They have a great desire to acquire stock, of which they have already a considerable quantity, and yearly go to the Willamette and give two of their finest horses for one cow. In a few years from this time these Indians will have fine farms and large herds of cattle. They, have already made great progress in civilization, and evince a strong desire to imitate the whites in everything they do. This is shown in a very remarkable degree, by their fondness for our dress, the meanest portion of which, strange to say, they have the strongest passion for. As I said before, they uniformly charge a shirt for every service they perform, mmm 114 AN ACCOUNT OF THE and to such an extent do they carry their admiration of this graceful article, that I have seen some of them with nothing else on under heaven besides, but a pair of old boots and a worn out hat, parading up and down for hours with the most conceited strut, as if they were conscious of attracting uni- versal admiration. Grain grows very well in the vicinity of Mr. Spaulding's, a» also do potatoes and garden vegetables generally. It also produces fine corn, but for this the soil requires irrigation. Mr. Spaulding last year raised four hundred and ten bushels uuon four acres. The ground was measured in the presence or five gentlemen, and its quantity accurately ascertamed. It was sown in drills. li '^ CHAPTER VIII . Arrival at the Dalles Mission — Continuation of journey down the river — Scenery of the Columbia — The Cascades — In- dian tradition — Arrival at Vancouver — The Chief Factor — Mr. Douglass — Conduct of the Hudsons Bay Company to Emigrants — Jumping the rapids — Penalty of braving the Cas- cades — Stock raising — Condition of the settlement at Vancou- ver — Prices of goods in the territory. After we had passed the narrow and dangerous channel of the Dalles, we came out into a smooth and calm surface of river, over which our little craft glided with a quiet rapidity. We now for the first time caught a glance at a seal, occasion- ally popping his head above the level of the stream and as quickly withdrawing it on our approach, and as we progress- ed we found their numbers increased. This animal abounds in the Columbia from this point to the sea, and it is also found in considerable quantities in the Willamette, below the falb of that river. A mile's sail from the fret of the Dalles brought us to the Methodist mission establishment under the charge of Messrs. Perkins and Brewer, which is commonly known as the Dalles Mission. The mission houses stand on a most commanding and eli- OREGON TERRITORY. 115 gible site on the south-west side of the river. When you as- cend the I ak, the sward runs before you in a ^ntle and regular inchnation for about a mile, when it joins a line of hills of moderate altitude, covered with a profusion of pine timber, intermixed with some scatti ring white oak. Just at the foot of the hill, and on the edge of this timber, stand the mission houses, and between them and the river, are spriu' kled numerous Indian huts or lod^s, whose rude inmates are the object of the missionaries philanthropic care. Immedi- ately to the south-west, is a fine mill stream, and directly below it a rich bottom prairie, skirted with yellow pines and oak. This plain is about laree enough for three fine farms, and can easily be irrigated from the stream I have just alluded to. The grazing in toe vicinity of this spot extends in a cir- cumference of twenty or thirty miles, and offers facilities at a very trifiing expense, for raising great numbers of sheep, horses, and other cattle, and the mast from the white oak will support numerous droves of hogs. The Dalles mission is at the head of the practical naviga- tion of the Columbia, and I regard it as one of the most im- portant stations in the whole territory. It is a point which all who ^o up and down the river must pass, and I have no doubt that in a few years steamboats will be running between it and the Cascades. In addition to the facilities which I have already mentioned, it has a mild and dry climate, about the same as that of Nashville, Tennessee. It is slightly colder than Wallawalla, in consequence of its nearer vicinity to one of the stupendous Titans of the Cascade or President's range, called Mount Washington, about fifty or sixty miles to the south-west. I was at the Dalles on the 2dd of November last, and there had up to that time been no visitation of cold weather, nor no fall of rain heavy enough to wet the ground two inches deep. To this place, moreover, from its peculiar situation, and the characteristics of large portions of the adja** cent country, both north and south, will all the cattle raised in the second region have to be driven to be slaughtered, and here the inhabitants from above will purchase their general supplies. The beauty of thi^ situation and the advantages it possess- ed over any to which I had yet arrived, determined me to leave my folks nnd eficcts there for a time, and make a voyage to Vancouver myself, to carry out the provisions of the ar- i\ I ^m tm wssssm H 116 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ii I I lUBllill i! i.ffi rangement I had made with Mr. McKinley, at Wallawalla, in relation to our cattle. I accordingly set out on the 5th of November, and continued my route dovra the river. The Columbia^ between the Dalles and Cascades, is a calm and clear stream, without a rapid in it, and as safe in its navi- gation as the Ohio. The current is slow, but there is at all times an ample supply of water. The distance between the two points is thirty-six miles. Immediately after leaving the missionary landing, the river which was about a mile wide, passed for two miles through high walls of perpendicular ba- saltic rock standing in squai'e columns, sometimes of a foot, and sometimes of two feet in thickness. These rocks, which are the same in character as all that I had seen on the bor- ders of thi^i stream, were perpendicular in their position, ex- cept at two points where we found them gently inclining in- ward towards the river. After we had proceeded some three or four miles from our starting point> the hills gradually ran towards the river's sides. Those on the southern bank are covered with pine and white oak, and those on the northern side bear scarcely anything but scrubby white oak. As we neared the Cascades, the mountains increased greatly in height, and the pines upon their sides grew larger in their size than those on the introductory hills, and became more thickly studded, until the mountains were covered with them. We frequently passed tall walls of rock many himdred feet in height, that raised their castellated sides on the very brink of the river. In fact, the river is so shut m with these natural bastions, both above and below the Cascades, for twenty miles on either side, that within this whole space, there is no bot- tom lands at all with the exception of a single spot of fertility three miles below, and occasional scollops, stolen from the mountains, bearing in their semicircles nothing but the hut of some Indian fisherman. On our way down, we passed several rafts carrying the adventurous members of "our expedition, their families and their baggage, and arrived there ourselves on the seventh. The Cascades are made by the Columbia forcing its way through the Cascade or President's range of mountains over an immense field of rocks, which at this point strew its bottom and peep above its surface. This point of the river bears no resemblance to the Dalles at all. Instead of being confined between perpendicular walls of basaltic rock, [it is lined on OREGON TERRITORY. 117 either side by the slopes of towering mountains studded with evergreen pine, and birch and oak. Immediately at the Cas- cades, the mountains run close in to the shore, but, as if sat- isfied with the experiment at this point, they start away from both sides to the east, and leave several spaces of high, yet tolerably level land. As we approached the Cascades, the roar of the waters fretting in their uneasy course, gave token of its vicinity, and the increasing current of the river lent to our httle vessel an additional speed. The growing foam, and gathering obstructions in the shape of rocks in the bed of the stream, at length warned us to the shore, and we were obHged to give our boat again to the Indians on the bank, and make a portage to escape the danger. The water is here very deep, and the bed of the river is filled with huge detached rocks, with intervening patches of white sand. From the compres- sion of its volume in a trough of three or four himdred yards, and its fall of one hundred and fifty feet in the distance of a mile and a half, the current here sets downward with im- mense force, which renders the passage dangerous in the ex- treme. These rocks are generally conical in form, and stand with their small ends up, like gigantic hen's eggs, deposited in the bed of the stream. They are all worn smooth by the con- tinual friction of the current, and many of them are from ten to fifteen feet high above the water level. It is a most beau- tiful sight, as the water rushes down with resistless impetu- osity, raging and foaming at the resistance made by these stubborn opponents in the very centre of its volume, to stand and gFzeupon, from the commanding position on the northern bank. In all the whirl and turmoil of this watery Babel, I noticed a seal or two occasionally popping up their heads on the lee side of the rocks, as if to make an occasional inquiry as to the course of matters out of doors. The Indians have a remarkable tradition in relation to these Cascades. They say that about seventy or eighty years ago, they did not exist at all, but that the river ran smoothly on under the side of a Projecting mountain, from which an avalanche slid into its ed, and drove it into its present fretful confine. This seems almost incredible, but appearances go strangely to confirm it. The river above the Cascades has all the appearance of beine dammed up from below, and for many miles above, you wiU see stumps of trees in thick squads extending, at some points. i I u y'r 118 AN ACCOUNT OF THE II M more than a hundred yards from the shore along the bottom. These have all the appearance of timber that has been killed by the overflowing of water, as you will sometimes see it in a mill dam. The tops of some of them approach to within a foot or two of the. surface, while in many places, others rise above it for ten or fifteen. What is strongly confirmative of their report, is the fact that you can find no such appearances at any other point on the nver. It is certainly beyond dis- pute, that these trees could ever have grown there, and in a1)8ence of any other mode of accounting for the phenomenon, we must come to the conclusion that they have been drowned by some great overflow, -caused by a convulsion, or a lapse of nature. On the isouth bank, commencing at the foot of the Cascades, and extending half a mile up the river, and spread- ing between it and the mountains, is a space of level land, about three hundred yards wide, which is covered with pine, and is elevated, at low water mark, some fifty or sixty feet. Amon^ these pines, scattered over the surface of the ground, you will see numbers of these loose rocks, a portion of which have tumbled into the flood. It is also worthy of remark, that the pines growing here are all young trees, none being more than a foot in diameter. The portage here is about half a mile, and is made on the north bank going up, and on the south bank coming down. The boats, however, are not taken out of the water and car- ried around as they are at the Falls, but are drawn along by ropes extending to the bank, and in some places are lifted over the rocks. The Cascades form another ^reat salmon fishery. The Indians have speculated and practically^experi- mented upon the doctrines of internal improvement in appli- cation to this object, by making artificial channel by an in- genious arrangement of the loose rock, so as to fof m a number of natural canals, into which the great body of the fish find their way in passing up the river, when they are taken with great ease. The Cascades are a very important point in the Oregon territory in a business point of view. All the commerce and travel up the river, are compelled to pass them, and to make this portage. There is fine grazing, fine timber, some good soil, and an incalculable amount of water power in the im- mediate vicinity. The piece of level land I have already al- luded to as lying on the south bank, would form a fine situa- OREGON TERRITORY. 119 tion for a town or a farmer's residence. Ths rapids below the Cascades extend down about three miles or more, and offer almost insurmountable impediments to navigation at low water, especially to boats ascending the stream. It requires, perhaps, a full day's time to .pass from the foot of the rapids to the Cascades with a loaded boat. Portions of the loading have to be taken out and carried a few yards, at some two or three different points. In descending the river, the Hudson's Bay Company always pasi through them without unloading, and their mode of passage is very descriptively called " jump- ing the rapids." From the Cascades to Cape Horn, (a per- pendicnlar wall of rock about five hundred feet high, and running along the bank of the river for the space of half a mile on the north side,) is twenty miles ; and down to ihis point the mountains continue to be tall, and to run close to the margin Of the stream. On the sides of these, both above and below, there are many beautiful waterfalls. There is one in particular, just above Cape Horn, formed by a considerable mountain stream, whose whole volume falls in one perpen- dicular pitch of five hundred feet amid the caverns of the rocks. At Cape Horn, which is midway between the Cascades and Vancouver, (a distance of forty miles,) you can perceive the mountains dwindle rapidly into hills, and what remains of them when you arrive within ten miles of the fort, turn off abruptly from the river on both sides, almost at right angles, and leave, spreading from its banks towards the sea, level, yet high districts of fertile country, many miles wide, covered with aU'immense body of pine, fir, and white cedar timber. On the north bank, this strip of country ruhs some distance below Vancouver, and on the south it stretches to the Willa- mette. The Willamette is a fine river entering the Columbia five miles below Fort Vancouver, and running nearly in a south-easterly direction from the parent stream. This x;ourse, aided by a slight inclination of the great river, immediately after receiving it, forms a triansle, the point of which formed at the junction, and the base of which extends about five or six miles up the banks of both rivers until it reaches an equilateral breadth. This is low bottom prairie covered with scattering ash and cotton wood. It is overflown every sum- mer, and forms an exception to the high but level land, which I mentioned as stretching along the shore for twenty k'i- ! I> ''\ V- ; 120 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ! >: |i I or thirty miles above. On the north side of the Columbia, in this lower region, the soil is rich, but gravelly ; on the south side it is richer still, and is spread upon a substratum of yellow clay. On the tenth of November, I arrived at Vancouver and could scarcely believe my eyes, when on approaching it, I be- >€la moored securehr in the river, two square rigged vessels and a steam boat. My venr heart jumped as I set eyes on these familiar objects, and ^r the first time in four months, I felt as if I had found a substantial evidence of civilization. The impression of the refinement of the mission, and the peculiarly domestic comforts which the ladies attached to the establisments spread ai-ound them; were as nothing compared with the yards and masts of these coursers of the ocean. The river at Fort Vancouver is from 1600 to 1700 yards wide. The Fort, which is the principal establishment of the Hudsons's Bay Company in Oregon, is on the north bank of the Columbia, 90 miles, distance in a direct line from the It stands a consideraUe distance back from the shore. sea. and is surrounded by a large number of wooden buildings, and also a school house, used for the various purposes of re- sidences and workshops for those attached to the establishment This colony is enclosed by a barrier of pickits twenty feet in height. On the bank of the river, six hundred yards down, is avillajge somewhat larger in extent, (containing an hospi- tal,) which is allotted to the inferior servants of the station. Two miles further down the river, are the dairy and piggery, CO ntaining numerous herds of cattle, hogs, sheep, &c. and about three miles above the forts, are grist and saw mills, and sheds for curing salmon. Immediately behind it, is a garden of five acres, and an orchard filled with peach, apple, fig, orange, lemon, and other fruit trees, and containing also f rapes, strawberries, and ornamental plants, and flowers. Be- iind this, the cultivated farm, with its numerous bams and other necessary buildings, spreads off towards the south. The land appropriated here for the purposes of farming, is from 3000 to 4000 acres, and is fenced into beautiful fields, a great portion of which has already been appropriated to cultiva- tion, and is found to produce the grains and vegatables of the States* in remarkable profusion. To cultivate tnese immense farms, and attend to tne duties arising from the care of flocks, the dbrudgery of the workshops, the heavy labor attendent OREGON TERRITORY. 121 umbia, on the tratum upon hewin» timber for the saw mills, the British residents do not hesitate to press into their service the neigbouring Iroquois, audevento avail themselves of human transplants from the Sandwich Islands ; many of the natives of which are already here working in gangs for the benefit, and at the direction of this shrewd and able company. On my arrival I was received with great kindness by Doc- tor Mc Laughlin and Mr. James Douglass, the second in command. They both tendered me the hospitalities of the fort, which offer, it is scarcely necessary to say. I accepted willingly and with pleasure. Dr Mc Laughlin is the Go- verner or Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, a situation most difficult and arduous in its duties, and requir- ing most consumipate ability in the person aspiring to fill it. The Hudson's Bay Company have been most fortunate in their selection of Dr. Mc. Laughlin for this important trust. Possessed of a commanding person, a refined, benevolent and amiable manner; owning extensive acquirements drawn from study, triEivel and intercourse with mankind; a profound knowledge of human nature, and withal a firmness that en- sures obedience and respect, he is peculiarly qualified to pro- tect the important interests of this powerful company, and to control its wayward servants, while thus far removed from the reach of other civil authority. Dr. Mc Laughlin is up- wards of six feet high, and over sixty years of age. In per- son he is robust, erect, and a little inclined to corpulency, one of the natural results of contentment and repose. The clear flush of rosy health glows upon his cheeks, his eye still spar- kles with youthful vivacity while he is in conversation with you, and his fine head of snow white hair, adds not a little to the impressiveness of his appearance. His hospitaUty is unbounded, and, I will sum up all his qualities, by saying that he is beloved by all who know him. Mr. Douglass ih also upwards of six feet, and about forty five years of age, he is likewise inclined to be corpulent, and his hair is also gently receiving its siftings from thne hun- size and ey make m estab- rom, di- bten the Ration of ry expe- t would he boat- [npany*s len they landing le party lat they *tling at »ut one. t service with all against 1 he re- linquished his opposition, and partly to vindicate himself from the charge, and partly out of spite to their reckless folly, de- termined to give them a chance of proving his correctness by actual experiment. The boat passed ssjely down for some two or three hundred yards, when multiplying dangers whirl- ed and foamed on every side, and the increasing ones that roarerairies fine bodies of white oak timber. Take them altoj^ether, I have never in all my life seen prai- ries more beautiful than these are, or that were situated more advantageously for cultivation. The first settlements in this voluptuous region were made about three years ago, and they now extend to about fifteen miles into their bosom, and al- ready embrace many fine fanns, some containing as much as a hundred and fifty acres in fine cultivation. Were I pos- sessed of a poet's imagination 1 might describe in spontane- ous song the superlative loveliness of this delightful scene as viewed from the slope of one of the encircling hills, but not being gifted with the poet's frenzy, I must leave the features of this delightful region to the imagination of the reader. The Willamette river is navigable for ships for five miles above Linntan, but after passing up that distance, you come to a bar which forb ids the further passage of vessels of any draught. Small vessels and steamboats, however, can ascend to within a short distance of the Falls. Three miles below the Falls, you come to the mouth of a stream called the Klackamus, which enters the river from the east. It rises in the President's range, and in its course of thirty miles, col- lects a considerable body of water, which it contributes to the main stream. Its current is rapid and broken, and not navi- gable to any available degree, and its tide sets with so strong a force into the Willamette, as to offer a serious impediment to boats stretching across its mouth. As we neared the Falls, the water was shallow and fretted by the irregular surface of the bottom, and we were obligeil on coming up to it, to make a portage beyond. At the place of our debarkation, on the eastern bank, rose a perpeiidicular wall of rock, stretching some discance down the river. Through this, however, you find an easy avenue, but recently cut, to the high land above, which as soon as you ascend you find yourself amid the forests and the prairies of the upper plains. After rising above the Falls, we came in view of Oregon City, the town of secondary importance in the territory. Here is situated at the present time, from eighty to an hun- dred families, with stores, mills, workshops, factories, and all the concomitants of thriving civilization. They have like- red with various c timber, jen prai- ted more ts in this and they {, and al- much as re I pos- pontane- scene as I, but not ; features ader. ve miles ^ou come ;ls of any in ascend ies below ailed the [t rises in liles, col- tes to the not navi- so strong pediment ad fretted e obliged the place )eiidicular he river, t recently icend you the upper if Oregon territory, o an buil- ds, and all lave like- OREGON TERRITORY 131 wise an independent government of their own, and as far as things have progressed, every thing has gone well. Great improvements are meditated at this place, and Dr. McLaugh- lin, who is the owner of the first establishment you meet in rising from the lower bed of the river, is cutting a canal around the Falls for the purpose of the more easy transporta- tion of the harvests and manufactures of the upper settle- ments of the Columbia. The Falls presented a beautiful sight as they rushed in al- ternate sheet and foam, over an abrupt wall of dark rock stretching obliquely across the stream, and the hoarse uproar of the waters as they tumbled into the bed of the river below, lent an additional solemnity to the imposing grandeur of the scenery around. The river's edge, for several miles above them, is bordered by a row of mountains, shutting out the surrounchng prospect by their continually intervening bulks, from us who sailed upon the silvery bottom of the immense green trough be- tween. There was nothing forbiddmg in their aspects how- ever, for theu' sides were covered with umbrageous forests of thickly studded timber of the most magnificent description. About fifteen miles above the Falls, these hills, by a gradual modification of their altitude, roll into verdant undulations, spreading at last into level grassy plains, and alternating with flourishing clumps of timber land. At this point, we came upon McKay's settlement, which is situated on the eastern hank, and presents all the evidences of a flourishing little town. Thomas McKay, its founder, is a native of this region in the fullest sense of the word, being the jomt descendant of one of the early i'ur viaders belonging to the Pacific Com- pany, and a (Jhippeway squaw. The son, following the for- tunes of his father, grew up in the service of the North West Association, and transferred himself, at the time of its disso- lution, into that of the Hudson's Bay. Having at length ac- quired a competence, he retired from their arduous service, and established himself in his present location. He may now be said to be the most wealthy man in the valley of the Wil- lamette, having an extensive and well stocked farm, and being the owner of a grist mill of superior construction, which must have cost him several thousand dollars to erect. He is a fine specimen of the two races, and combines the energy and per- severance of the one, with the strong passions and determined ii ^H J* V m i !llf i -3 i ■tr; t^ 132 AN ACCOUNT OF THE HI I will of the other. His life has been one scene of wild adven- ture, and in the numerous conflicts of the early trappers with the savage tribes, he was always foremost in the tight, and the most remarkable [in his display of daring bravery and en- during courage. Many a red man has fallen in conflict be- neath his rifle, and the warlike bands that have gradually moved away, or been subtlued into obedience, well recollect the terrible prowess of their dreaded cousin. Between this town and the mission establishment above, (a distance of forty miles,) farms are sprinkled all along, and 12 miles above McKay's, we meet another flourishing village, called Jarvis's settlement, containing between thirty and forty families, which are about divided as to national distinction. It was originally a mere collection of retired Hudson's Bay servants, but the gradual accession of American settlers, has thus changed its complexion. In my progress up the river I omitted to mention the fact that at a short distance above the falls, we come to the mouth of another small tributary on the west, called the Fallatry river. It takes its rise in the northern portion of the range of mountains which I have described as encircling the Falla- try plains, and in its course through them, pursues a south- easterly direction until it empties into the Willamette. The next stream entering the Willamette on its western bank, is the Yam Hill river. This tributary rises in a west, or south-west direction from the point of its junction with the Willamette, in the range of low mountains that run along the edge of the coast. It starts from its source in a north- west direction, and receives a number of smaller tributaries in the shape of creeks. The valley of this stream is a very fine country, consisting of prairie, spotted with groves, and oak timber growing upon the same rich vegetable soil that is spread upon its plains. It extends to the bases of the moun- tains in which the Yam Hill takes its rise, and from its west- ernmost limit the roar of the adjacent ocean can be heard. The route to California passes some distance along the line of this valley, and a most excellent road can be had leading from it, through the Fallatry plains, to Linntan. The country all along the eastern bank of the 'Willamette, above McKay's settlement, is as good as the Yam Hill coun- try, or the b allatry Plains, and is much the same, both in re- gard to its natural productions, and its soil. There are fine ™ i'iill OREGON TERRITORY. 133 i adven- ers with ^ht, and and en- lilict be- radually recollect it above, ang, and » village, ind forty itinction. in's Bay tiers, has the fact le mouth Fallatry de range ae Falla- a south- e. western n a west, tion with •un along a north- •ibutaries is a very 3ves, and >il that is le moun- its west- 36 heard. the line 1 leading llamette, ill coun- oth in re- e are fine facilities for intercommunication with its different points ; the Une of travel is level and easy, and it has in consequence, se- cured throughout its course, a row of settlements which in a few years will extend into a continuous chain. After you leave Jarvis's settlement, you proceed up the river for about thirty miles, when you come to the principal town of Oregon. This is situated on the eastern bank of the Willamette, and is ninety-four miles from the Columbia river. It was first formed in 1834, by a party of American missionaries, under the direction of Messrs. Lee, Shepherd, and others, and its vicinity had, even previous to that period, been selected by several retired servants of the Hudson's Bay Company. It has, ever since the above period, been the seat of the Methodist Episcopal mission, and has now become the head quarters of the operations of the district. Passing the period of my first visit to it, I will take this opportunity to state that there are at the present moment, (March, 1844,) at this place, over two hundred families, and that there are in the whole valley of the Willamette, more than a thousand citizens of the United States. A church, a hospital, an acade- my, mills, workshops, comfortable dwellings, a herd of five thousand head of cattle, and all the accompaniments of civil- ization and refinement are to be found here, and any man who can be content to live beyond the limits of a densely populated city, can find at this place all the comforts and en- joyments which a rational being, uncorrupted by false appe- tites, can crave. There are a large number of Indians about this settlement and valley, who were under the care of the missionaries, and who perform much of ,the servile labor of the mission estab- lishment. Indeed they are employed the same way by these religious establishments, throughout the territory, as they are by the Hudson's Bay Company; so if there is anything which smacks of slavery in the one case, it necessarily follow s in the other. There is another, and pretty numerous branch of popula- tion growing up here, which cannot be passed without notice. This is the class of half breeds, the issue of the Indian wo- men, who are either married to, or fall otherwise in the hands of the careless trapper, or the indifferent woodsman. As there is a great scarcity of white women in this territory, this state o f things naturally results, and the consequence will be, that Ih:- "if '■■ i 1. 1 1.'34 AN ACCOUNT OF THE the half breeds, during the next five or six years, will fortti by far the most numerous native born of the population. 8ome of these are line specimens of the two races, and if the cross turns out many such men as McKay, there will be no reason to regret this perversion of fancy, or rather this push of necessity on the part of their male progenitors. At a short distau<;e above Multonraah, a stream called the Santa Ann I believe, enters the Willamette from the east, along the banks of which there is a vast body of fine country. It takes its rise in the portion of the President's range in the vicinity of Mount Jefferson. The portion of the Willamette valley lying between ;he Cascade ridge and the range of low mountains next the ocean, is from fifty to one hundred miles wide, and about two hun- dred and fifty, to three hundred feet long. It consists of rich prairie land and timber, and let who will say to the con- trary, is one the finest pieces of farming land to be found in any country. There is very little difference in the several portions of this valley, with the exception of the circumstance that the timber is larger and a little more abundant in some places than in others, and now and then the prairies vary to some extent in size. This section constitutes the great body of the prime farming and grazing, section of the lower region of Oregon, though there are other beautiful portions in the valleys of the Tootootutna, the Umqua, and the Klamet, far- ther south. CHAPTER X. Fassafje down the Columbia — Astoria — The mouth of the Columbia — How to raise wheat — Facilities for farming pur- poses — General view of the valley of the Willamette. To reach the Willamette, I had proceeded down the Co- luihbia to the eastern mouth of the former river at Wappato Island ; and for the purpose of completing the route to Asto- ria, I will now take the river up at that point again and trace it to the ocean. Passing along Wappato for fifteen miles, you come to the western mouth of the Willamette. The Island ill form pulation. nd if the ill be no his push ailed the ;he east, country. ;e in the een ;he le ocean, ;wo hun- insists of the con- found in D several imstance in some s vary to eat body er region ns in the met, far- th of the ing puT' I the Co- VTappato to Asto- ind trace liles, you le Island OREGON TERRITORY. 135 at this point is high and has a bold rocky shore, right up to which, the v^ater is of sufficient depth to allow a lar^e class vessel to lie up and unload, an important advantage m case the point should ever be selected for commercial purposes. On the southern bank of the river immediately below the lower mouth of the Willamette, is a situation which would af- fords a fine site for a settlement or a town. It is true it is covered with fiine heavy timber, but it rises gently from the river, and through the forests in the rear, a natural gap may be seen, which offers facilities for an avenue directly to the riches of the Fallatry plains behind. The Hudson's Bay C/ompany perceiving the advantage of the situation, have al- ready built a house there and have established one of their servants m it. They have many houses thus spotted about on eligible sites, the whole object of which in many cases must merely be the eventual assumption of a prior right, bj pre-occupation, in case others should wish to settle in the same place. As you pass down the Columbia, you find no plains along the river, but it is still bordered with its row of mountains, running along the banks on either side, and bearing upon their sides the everlasting groves of timber. A few miles be- low Wappato Island, on the other side of the river, you strike the mouth of the Cowelitz river, in the valley of which I am told some very good land is to be found, though most of the soil on the north bank of the Columbia is poor, and is unfit for the production of wheat or the esculent grains, except sparely and in spots. This feature increases as j'ou proceed northward, and the land in the vicinity of Nasqually, on Pu- get's Sound, is incapable, as I am told, of ordinary produc- tion. Below the Cowelitz river, the Columbia begins to widen, and at the distance of ten miles from the sea, it spreads to a width of several miles. Astoria,, or Fort George as it is now called by the company who have it in possession, is situated on the south bank of the river, about ten miles from the ocean. It stands on a hill side, and consists only of a few acres which have been re- deemed by industrious clearing from the immense forests running behind it. Some of these trees are of the most enor- mous size, and the soil can only be got at with immense labor in the way of clearing. Until our arrival, it consisted only of i m iii!;: : m if: ■tvl- * '■1'ir '. (I I ^ I t ill' i 136 AN ACCOUNT OF THE three or four log houses in a rather dilapidated condition, but now it is revived by its old name of Astoria, by Captain Ap- plegate and others, who have laid off a town there, and divi- ded it into lots. It will hardly answer the expectations of those who go to it. The ground is rendered too wet for cul- tivation, by numerous springs that run through it in every direction, and the ocean air is sure to blast the wheat before it can ripen. Garden vegetables, however, grow there finely. Beyond Astoria, and nearer to the ocean, you find a small prairie about two miles long by three wide. It has been formed, it is said, by the ocean, and its soil is represented to be a rich black sandy deposit, varying from eight to fifteen inches deep, when it comes to a foundation of pure sand. The moutL of the Columbia is the only harbor for ships upon the whole Pacific coast of Oregon. Its channel is very difficult, being tortuous in its course, and perplexed by sand bars, and on account of the violence of its breakers, caused by the sudden confluence of the iver's descending volume and the ocean tides, it is extremely dangerous for more than two-thirds of the year to attempt to enter it. Once in, how- ever, and there is good anchorage and safe navigation. The whole coast, in fact, is perilous to approach, and a north-east wind by giving navigators a lee shore of black overhanging rocks, heightens their danger not a little. The only place of refuge for vessels south of the Columbia on the Oregon coast, is the mouth of the Umpqua, a river intering the Pacific in 42 degs. 51, where vessels drawing eight feet of water may securely enter. A similar harbor may be found between forty and fifty miles to the north, called Gray's Harbor, which also affords like security for vessels of the same draught. Having now completed the account of the line of route from the state of Missouri to the north of the Columbia, I ' will now return to the valley of the Willamette as the point of the greatest interest, and after a few more remarks con- cerning it, will turn my attention to some of the general fea- tures of the territory. As I said before, ships ascend the Columbia to the lower mouth of the Willamette at Wappato island, (and as high as the Cascades, in a direct onward course if they please,) and turning into the river, sail five miles up it to Linntan, and be- yond that, five miles more. There, a bar forbids the further progress of any but small v^'^ssels which may proceed onward OREGON TERRITORY. 137 to within seven or eight miles of the falls, and boats may so nearly up to it. Above the falls, the river is navigable for steam boats for over fifty miles. -> The Yam Hill River, which 1 have spoken of before as en- tering the western bank 'of tlie Willamette, is navigable for canoes and keel boats up to its forks, about fifteen or twenty miles from its mouth. Above this still, and at the head of navigation on the Willamette, is another town laid out, called Champoe, but I do not know that any lot have as yet been sold at that place. I look upon the Willamette valley as one of the finest agri- cultural countries in America. The soft, rich soil of the prai- ries is easily broken up from its original imbeddedness with a single yoke of oxen, or a team of horses, and the moderation of the climate allows you to sow spring wheat as early as the middle of February, and from that until the 15th of May, as the season happens to run. You commence ploughing in October, and plough and sow wheat from that time to the fifteentn of May, to suit the spring or fall crops. There is not much difference in the yield of the early and late sowings, but you must put about twice as much seed in the ground for the latter as for the former. The land yields from 25 to 40 bush- els to the acre. I saw a field of five acres sov\n about the I5th of May last, in new ground, which produced one hundred and ten bushels of the most excellent grain. The wheat of this country is better than that of the States. The grains are larger and plumper, and a bushel weighs se- veral pounds more. This country produces oats, peas, tomatoes, and garden vegetables generally, in great abundance. Irish potatoes and turnips grow better here than in the States. Sweet potatoes have not yet been tried, with the exception of an inferior spe- cimen, from the Sandwich Islands, and they did not succeed well. If we had some good seed from the States, I have no doubt we could make them produce very well. Indian corn does not succeed well, and it is not so profitable a crop as other grain, yet it can be raised here in sufficient quantities for all useful purposes, for you need but little, in consequence of not being obliged to feed your stock. Fruit, such as apples, peaches, cherries, plumbs, pears, me- lons, &c., thrive here exceedingly well ; while wild berries abound here in the utmost profusion. Cranberries are found IK, ■II «ii 4 m I «ii'- ii •t I Ik I m V'3S AN ACCOUNT OF THE in great quantities near the mouth of the Cohimbia, and are brought up here and to Vancouver, by the Indians, and sold for almost nothing. Blue-berries, raspberries, sal-lal-berries, thorn-berries, crab-apples, a kind of whortle-berry, and straw- berries are found in large quantities in every direction in this section of Oregon. The strawberries of this country are pe- culiarly fine ; they are larger in their size than those of the States, and possess a more delicious flavor. As regards the country for grazing, it is certainly all that any one could wish it. Cattle require no shelter nor feeding, and upon the Yam Hill plains numerous salt springs supply another necessary of their fodder. Cows calve here when fifteen and twenty months old. This is also a good country for raising hogs ; upon the Willamette below the fall, and on Columbia, they live upon the Wappato root, and upon the plains they find a plentiful subsistence in the grass and fruit of the white oak. The gi-ass of this country, as I have had occasion to say before, is peculiarly nutritious, and cattle who have been put here to recruit, recover their physical energies with wonderful rapidity while feeding on it. In the last of November, the period of my first visit to this place, I saw a fine sorrel horse, which had been brought to this country by Mr. John Holeman, of Clanton County, Missouri, that was turned upon the grass in Fallatry Plains in the middle of the previous mouth. He was then so reduced and feeble, with the fatigues he had undergone during the trip from the States, that he couitl barely raise a trot ; but when I saw him, he was in fine condition and curvetting about the plains as gaily as any of the other horses, with whom he was enjoying primi- tive independence. Cattle that were worked from the States to the Dall«;s, and frcm there brought down to the Willamette valley last year, have borne the winter well, and are now thriving rapidly. The climate of the lower ection of Oregon, is indeed, most mild. Having now passed a winter here, permanently and most comfortably established at Linntan, 1 am enabled to speak of it from personal experience. The winter may be said to commence about the middle of December, and to end about the lOth of February, and a notion of the genial nature of its visitation may be gained from the fact, that I saw straw- berries in bloom about the first of last December in the Falla- tiy Plains, and as early as the 20th of February the wild OREGON TERRITORY. 13!) flowers were blooming on the hill sides. The grass has now been growing since the 10th of February, and towards the end of that month, the trees were budding and the shrubbery in bloom. About the 26th of November, we had a spell of cold weather, and a slight fall of snow, which, however, was gone in a day or two. In Decern^ -, we hod very little snow, all of it melting as it fell ; in January we had more, but all of it like the previous falls, melted as it came down, with the excei)tion of one visitation, that managed to last upon the ground for three days. The soil has not been frozen more than one inch deep du- ring the whole winter, and ploughing has been carried on without interruption throughout the winter and fall. As re- gards rains in the winter, I have found them much less trou- blesome than I anticipated. I had supposed, from what I had heard of the incessant storms of this region, that out-door work could not be done at all here, during the rainy season, but I have found that a great deal more labor of this descrip- tion can be performed here, than during the same period in the western states. The rains fall in gentle showers, and are generally what is termed drizzling rains, from the effect of which a bknket-coat is an effectual protection for the whole day. They are not the chilly rains which sting you in the fall and spring seasons of the eastern states, but are warm as well as light. They are never hard enough in the worst of times, to wash the roads or fields, and consequently, you can find no gullies worn or cut in your fields by this means. As to wind, I have witnessed less, if such a term can be used, than at any other place I have ever been in, and I have but to say, that if the timber we have here, spread their lofty branches in the States, they would be riven by the lighten- ing, and blown down to an extent that would spare many of them the blow of the settler's axe. Here, I have heard no thunder, and have; seen but one tree that had been struck by lightning. CHAPTER XL Aborigines of Oregon — Their numbers and character — Their canoes — Their mode of fishing — Game — Timber — fish- fl ,1" i i II 1.1' 140 AN ACCOUNT OF THE eries — Water power — Mo tintaius — A volcano — Commercial, Agricultural, and Manufactwrimj features of Oregon — Value of the arm of labor. «• - The Aborigines of Oregon form, at present, nine-tenths of the population of the whole country, and from their newly adapted habits, are deserving of a place in the social census. They were formerly much more numerous, but like all the savage race, they melt away from the white man's approach like shadows before the advancing sun. I have no means of accurately ascertaining their number, as large bodies of them are in the habit of moving from place to place to reap the varying harvests of the fisheries, but I believe they somewhat exceed 20,000. They are most numerous in the Nez Perces country, which extends eastward from Wallawalla, and con- siderable nu mbers of the Cheenooks attracted by the fisheries, are to be found at the Dalles and at the mouth of the Colum- bia river. They are, however, degenerate and broken, and instead of the proud and warlike being which presents itself to the imagination when the idea of an American Indian en- ters it, they but offer to the actual beholder the specimen of a creature degraded almost to the level of a beast, and capa- ble of submitting to the most servile abasement. Indeed, so completely are they under the control of the superior intelli- gence of the Anglo Saxon settler, that they can scarcely be considered in a much more dignified light than as a race of natural villiens or serfs. The Nez Perces Indians retain in a greater degree than any other, their ancient mdependence ; but even the members of this tribe fall readily under the con- trol and mastery of the whites. The Indians between Wallawalla and the Dalles are a cow- ardly and thievish set, and the portion ofthem situated at the latter place, in addition to being degraded and ignorant in the extreme, are so addicted to stealing, that they lay hands on every trifle that comes within their reach. Those portions at Vancouver and in the valley of the Willamette, are abject, servile, and filthy in their habits, and most of them go half naked during the whole year. In both this and the adjoining region, they perform a great deal of work for the whites, and where labor is so scarce as it is here, they are of no slight assistance to the settlements. Many of them make very good hired hands^ and they are found particularly useful in rowing ■ ai-....,i^^__,. OREGON TERRITORY. 141 I boats, paddling canoes, herding cattle, and in the menial operations which require a sort of refuse labor, if such a term can be used, that would be dear at the outlay of a valuable settler's time. You can hire a Chenook to work upon a farm a week for a shirt worth 83 cents. These Indians construct the finest canoes in the world. They make them out of the cedar which grows at the mouth of the Columbia, from twenty to thirty feet long, and from three to four feet wide. Their bottoms are flat, like those of skiffs, and being light, this construction, together with the sharp form of the bows, makes them very swift. In fashion- ing the canoe, they commence upon the middle and ta})er it gradually to a sharp point at each end, not turning it uj) with a flourish like the bows and stern of ordinary vessels of the kind. The only ornament they put upon them, is a sort of figure head made of a separate piece of wood, which is fitted on the bows, and is generally beautified with a rude mosaic of sea-shells imbedded in various figures in the wood. The conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company towards the Indians, has been prompt and discriminating, both in the f (fiii if, . m i! r I % ** ll-> AN ACCOUNT OF THE of apparel. They show the most jextravagant delight when dressed in these garments, but still prefer to display the shirt on the outside of all. Candor, however, compels me to de- clare, that those who are fortunate enough to possess one of these articles, generally make it do the duty ot full dress. They call the Americans, " Bostons," which title they have adopted in consequence of having been originally informed by Captain Gray, the first pale face who ever entered their terri- tory, that he came from a place called Boston. The English they call King George. The Indians of Oregon are exceedingly addicted to gam- bling, and have been known to i)ursue this demorilising pas- sion to the fatal length of even staking their liberty on a game, and playing themselves, by a run of ill luck, into a state of perpetual slavery. When we estimate the love of a savage for independence, we can arrive at some measurement of the degree of the passion which exacts its sacrifice. Upon the whole, these Indians are of vast benefit to the whites of this region. In the present condition of the settlements, we shouhl lose much by their absence. Fisheries. — The fisheries of this county are very great, and foremost among all the varieties which they produce, is the unrivalled salmon. It would be impossible to estimate the number of this excellent fish annually taken in the Co- lumbia and its tributaries ; but they have been set down at ten thousand bairels a year, which number 1 do not think by any means too large. The salmon in this country are never caught with a hook. They are sometimes taken by the In- dians with a small scoop net, but generally are caught with a sort of spear of a very peculiar description. These are made by the natives after the following fashion. They take a pole, made of ash, or of some hard wood, about ten feet long and one inch thick, and gradually tapering to a point at one end. They then cut a piece, about four inches long, from the sharp prong of a buck's horn, and hollow out the lai'ge end so that it fits the pole. About the middle of the buck horn, they make a small hole through which they put a cord, or leather string, that runs along the i)ole and fastens to it about two feet from the lower end. When they spear a fish with this weapon, the pole is withdrawn and the buck horn barb is left imbedded in the animal's body, or having run through and through it, remains fastened on tiie other side. Escape is thus OREGON TRRRITORV. 143 ^!t rendered impossible, and the prey unuble to elude the prong, is securely drawn in by the string. All the salmon caught here are taken by the Indians, and sold to the whites at about ten cents each, and frequently for less. One Indian will take about twenty upon an average per day. The salmon taken at different points, differ greatly in kind and quality, and it is only at particular places that they can be taken. The fattest and best are those taken at the mouth of the Columbia, and the next best are tliose taken in the Columbia, a few miles below Vancouver, at the Cascades, and at the Dalles. Those taken at the Willamette falls, are smaller in size, and inferior in flavor, and are said to be of a different kind. What is singular, this fish cannot be taken in any con- siderable numbers with lar,;e seines, and tiiis is only to be accounted for, by their remarkable shyness, and their superior activity. I believe no white man has yet succeeded in taking them with the gig. They make their appearance in the vici- nity of Vancouver, first in the Klackamus river, and the best (piality are taken in June. There are several other kinds of fish in the bays, rivers, and creeks of the territory, of which a species of cod and the stur- geon are the most important. The latter are a large fish, and afford great sport in a leisure hour to take them with a hook and line. They are taken in the Willamette, below the falls ! in the Columbia, at all points, and in the Snake or Saptin river, as high up as Fort Boise. Of shell-fish, we have the crab, clams, muscles, and a small description of oyster. Game. — The wild animals of this, the first section of Ore- gon, are the black bear, black-tailed deer, raccoon, panther, polecat, rabbit, wolf, beaver, and a few others. Of these, the deer and the wolves arc the most numerous. We have no buffaloes, antelopes, oi- prairie chickens here, but in the second section the latter species of feathered game are plentiful. Of fancy birds, we have blue jay, larger, and of a deeper blue than those of the States ; the nut-brown wren, a most beautiful andjgentle little atom, scarcely larger than the hum- ming-bird ; also a species of bird, which rt senibles the robin in form, color, and size ; and also a species of nightingale, that sings the livelong night ; but though I have heanl these evening songsters, time and aji^ain, I have never yet managed to get sight of one. The bald eagle, so well described by I I,' If 144 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ma Wilson, is found along all the rivers ; but here is obliged to compromise a portion of his lordly character to his necessities, and to work for his own living, having no fish-hawks to catch his game for him. He feeds principally upon the dead sal- mon he gleans from the surface of the water, as they float downward in the stream, and changes his diet by an occa- sional swoop upon some unlucky duck, which he catches either while on the wing, or while feeding on the river. If the duck when pursued in the air, can reach the surface of the water, he does so with the utmost speed of wing, and seek a momentary refuge by divinaj under it. The eagle, ba- lancing himself over the spot of his victim's disappearance, waits until he rises, and then strikes at him again and again, until the latter's strength becomes wasted with the unusual effort, and giving out at length, the relentless conqueror bears him off as he rises languidly and for the last time to the sur- face of the water. We have also pheasants in abundance, likewise partridges, grouse, brant, pelicans, plovers, wild geese, thrush, gulls, cranes, swans, and ravens, crows and vul- tures. For a sportsman, this region is a paradise, and a dog and a gun will afford him a chapter of elysium every day of his life. There is one peculiarly attractive feature, which this coun- try possesses over most o^^ers, and that is, that like Old Ire- land itself, it has no poisonous reptiles or insects, and better than Ireland, we are not burdened with obligations to any saiiit for the saintly office of extirpating them, the only snake we have, is the harmless garter-snake, and there are no flies to annoy the cattle. Timber. — The timber of this section of Oregon, constitutes the main source of its wealth. It is found in inexhaustible quantities on the Columbia, and on the Willamette, just were the water power is at hand to cut it up, and where ships can easily take it on board. The principal timber of this section is the fir, the white cedar, white oak, and black ash. There are three kinds of fir ; the white, yellow, and red ; all of them fine for plank, shingles, boards, and rails. The white fir makes the best shingles. The fir is a spe- cies of pine, which grov s very tall and straight, and stands very thick upon the ground. Thick as they stand, however, when you cut one, it never lodges in its fall, for the reason that it never forks, and the limbs of the others arc too small OREGON TERRITORY 146 )liged to ;essities, to catch lead sal- ley float m occa- catches ver. If rface of ng, and Lgle, ba- earance, d again, unusual or bears the sur- indance, rs, wild and vul- id a dog day of is coun- 31d Ire-. d better s to any y snake no flies istitutes austible List were lips can section There of them s a spe- l stands owcver, reason 10 small to stop the descent of its enormous bulk. In the Cascade mountains, and near the mouth of the Columbia river, they rise to the height of three hundred feet. They split exceed- ingly well, and make the finest boards of any timber I have ever seen, I cut one tree, from which I sawed twenty-four cuts of three foot boards, and there are plenty of such speci- mens all around me, yet untouched. The white cedar is very fine timber, and is nearly if not quite equal to the red cedar of the States. In the vicinity of Linntan, it grows to the size of three feet in diameter, and is tail enough to make six rail cuts to the tree. I have cut two warehouse logs, thirty feet long, ott' one tree, and three of the same logs otf a red fir, which was only about fourteen inches in diameter at the stump. The cedar splits remark- ably well, makes fine rails, shingles, or house-logs, and lasts a lifetime. ^ The white oak timber is better for waggon-making than any specimens to be found east of the Rocky Mountains, and it is the best wood that can be had for axe-handles, and for similar purposes. It grows about as tall as in the States. The black oak, which also grows profusely in our forests, makes excellent iire-wood, and answers likewise for many other pur- poses. In the range of mountains back of Linntan, we have plenty of the hc.miock, the bark of which is fine for tanning hides ; and I liave no doubt that ere long, the skins that will be stripped from our large herds of stock, will be extensively converted into leather, by its agency. We have also the dog- wood and cherry-maple, sprinkled among the firs and cedars. The hazel of this country is four times larger than that of the States, and is also much tougher in its texture ; it is exten- sively used for hoops, and for the manufacture ot a coarse kind of scrub broom. The fruit of this -tree is of a lighter color than the hazel-nuts of the States, and they are of the shape and size of a chinkapin acorn. Persons coming from the States will find very little timber here hke that to which they have been accustomed, for aU of it is on a grander scale. The black ash and dog-wood are very similar to those of Ten- nessee and Kentucky, and the white oak is perhaps but little difierent from any eastward of the mountains. But we have no walnut, hickory, percimmon, pawpaw, locust, cotfee-nut, chesnut, sugar-tree, box-elder, poplar, sycamore, or elm. K li ::: ! I hi p. 1,1 !, i 146 AX ACCOUNT OF TIIF. Water Power. — The water power of this country is une- qualled, and, is found distributed through every section. That at the fulls of the Willamette cannot be sur|)assed in the world. Any quantity of machinery can be put into motion there ; but the good water power is not confined to the Willa- mette falls ; for in many places on the Columbia, the Willa- mette, and the other rivers, there are mill sites as good, though none of them are quite so large. These advantages for converting the timber \A'hich surrounds them, into a mar- ketable commodity of great value in the neighbouring ocean, will ere long be appreciated to a far greater extent by even this region, than at present. Mountains. — We have the most beautiful scenery of North America — we lie upon the largest ocean, we have the purest and most beautiful streams, the loftiest and most majestic trees, and the most stupendous mountains of the continent. The latter, as I have had occasion to mention before, are di- vided into three great ranges, but as the description of the features of the lower region is at present my especial object. I will pass over the Rocky mountains and the Blue, and con- fine myself to the President's range which forms the eastern wall of our valley. The several peaks of this range are grand and imposing objects. From Vancouver you have a full and fair view of Mount Hood, to the south, which is called by some the tallest peak of the Cascades, and rises more than sixteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, and ten thou- sand above the mountains immediately around it. This lofty pile rises by itself in a regular an«l perfect cone, and is co- vered with perpetual snow. It is the only peak you can see from Vancouver, as the view in other directions is obscured by tall fir timber. At the mouth of the Willamette, as you enter the Columbia, you hcve a full view of ]\iouiit St. Helens or Mount Washington, and also of Mount Hood. From Linntan you have a verj'^ fair view of the former mountain, which is almost fifty miles distant from this ])oint, though it looks as if it were almost within reach. This peak is very smooth and perfectly conical in its form. It is nearly as tall as Mount Hood, and is the most beautiful of the range. It lies immediately on a line with the mouth of the Columbia, and is a land-mark visible several miles at sea and useful in directing vessels to its harbor. Like Mount Hood, it stands alone in its solitary grandeur far above ail surrounding ob- OREGON TERRITORY. 147 jects and awing them into insignificance. This mountain, which until last year, towered serenely in the air covered with ten thousand perpendicular feet of snow, suddenly burst into (L burning volcano, in which state it now remains. The cra- ter is in its side about two- thirds of its distance from its base, and by the account of the Indian inhabitants in its vicinity, it emitted a flood of lava at the time of its eruption, which poured its stream of fire through the whole depth of the vir- gin sheet that wrapped its sides. A savage who had been hunting deer some (hstance up the mountain, finding his re- tiun to his wigwam thus cut off, took a run and attempted to jump across it, but not beiu.g able to clear its breadth, he fell with one foot in the glowing torrent, and was so severely bm*nt, that he came very nearly being lamed for life. He hastened to Vancouver, however, and by the assistance of Dr. Barclay, at the Fort, was gradually cured. This mountain is second in height to but one in the world, (Cotopaxi ill South America,) and like other volcanoes, it burns at intervals. On one aide of it near its top, is disco- ■. tred a ]?>r< ] \xk ()])jcct amid the surrounding snow, which is suppose • e tlie mouth of a huge cavern, and doubtless is tlu; ancic'iii muteY of some expired issue. On the I6th of lebruary, 1844, the mountain burned most magnificently. Dense masses of smoke rose up in immense columns and wreathed the v hole crest of the peak in sombre and massive clouds ; and in the evening its lire lit up the flaky mountain- side with a flood of soft yet briLiaiit radiance. The range, of which this is the most distinguishiug feature, runs throughout the whole length of the territory, and is remarkable for its se- parate and iride|iendaut cones. .. Cotmnerctul, Ayriculturuly and Mtmvfacturinff advantages. — The commercial advantages of this country arc veiy great. The tratle with the JSandwich Islands is daily iuereusing, and surrounded as we are witli a half civilised race of men, our manufacturiiij;- power will soon have a home market for itself ; besides, South America, California, and the Sand^v•ich Islands, must depend ujjou us for their lumber. Already hu'ge quan- tities of shingles and plank are sent to the latter market, and we shall also have a full demand for all our other surplus pro- ductions at the same port, for most vessels visiting the north Pacific, touch at these islands for the purpose of obtaining supplies of fresh provisions. The Russian settlements are ai- M (■ I' I n % ■ 148 AN ACCOUNT OF THE ready dependant on us, and even the markets of China are within reach. For the supply of the regions of the Pacific, and the more northern settlements of the coast, there can be no competition in the way of provisions, as there are no neigh- bors iri the producing line. I consider Oregon, in many respects, superior to Califor- nia, as in the latter country, the climate is so warm that pork and beef cannot be put up, and consequently the grazier loses hall his profits ; besides, its enervating temperature like that of all warm countries, has a degenerating effect upon the en- ter}: rise of the inhabitants. For a 3ommercial and a manu- facturing people, the climate of Oregon is warm enough. We can here preserve our pork and beef without danger of its tainting before the completion of the packing ; and we have finei' timber, better water power, and are not subject to the ruinous droughts of California. Since our arrival, the prospects of the country are very much improved. Business of all kinds is active and times are flourisli'n^i;. We live in a state of primitive simplicity and in- dependence ; we are the victims of no vices ; there is no drink'ag or gambling among us, and Labor meets with such ample inducements and ready rewards, that lazy men are' made industrious by the mere force of the influences around them. Farming is considered the best business of this country. The business of making and putting up butter, which is never worth less than twenty cents per pound, is very profitable. A good fresh article is, I am told, never worth less than fifty cents and often brings one dollar per pound in the Pacific is- lands. There are now in operation, or will be this summer, mills enough to supply the whole population with flour. There is no scarcity of provisions at the prices I have pre- viously stated, and I find that the emigrants who came out last year, live very comfortably, are perfectly content with their change, and are much improved in their appearance since the time of their arrival. We have the finest spar timber, perhaps, in the world, and vessels arriving at the Columbia often take off a quantity for that purpose. The saw mills at the Willamette Falls cut large quantities of plank which they sell at two dollars per hun- dred. In speaking of the fir before, I omitted stating that it made excellent coai for blacksmith's purposes ; and I will ■: 1" OREGON TERRITORY. 149 farther remark that it is singular that neither the fir nor the cedar, when burned, makes no ashes. It has been supposed that the timbered land of this country will be hard to clear up, but 1 have come to a different conclusion from the fact that the fir timber has very httle top, is easily kindled, and bums readily. It also becomes seasoned very soon, and it is the opinion of good farmers that the timbered land will make the best wheat-fields of the country. When an individual has any idle time, he can employ him- self in making fir and cedar shingles, for the first of which he can get four dollars a thousand, and for the second, five ; any quantity of them can be disposed of at these rates. Carpen- ters and other mechanics obtain three dollars per day and found. There is employment in abundance for every one de- siring it, and it is only necessary for a man to be industrious to accomplish sure success and surround himself with all the comforts of an earthly paradise. i\ i I it'll: 3,f CHAPTER XII. Concluding remarks — Directions to Emigrants — Line of route and table of distances, ^c. Having now completed an account of all the material points of our expedition into Oregon, and furnished the in- quirer a general idea of its character and capabiUties, the only thing that remains for me to do in the limits of this sketch; is to add a few more directions for the emigrant, for whose particulf ? benefit, as I said before, these imperfect notes are furnished. I have shown, indeed the result ot our expedition proved, that the route from the Rendezvous in Missouri, to this point, is practicable for any description of conveyance, and the success of our cattle in coming through, adds an as- surance that it is remarkable as well, for its extraordinary emigratin[^ facilities. If this needs any corroboration, a world of '. /idence can be furnished to sustain it, as well as every fact I have advanced ; but in support of the peculiar feasibility of the route across the Indian territories of the States and along the line of the Platte, I will merely refer the reader to the i 150 AN ACCOUNT OP THE fact, that Mr. Ashlev, in an expedition in 1836, drew a field piece, (a six pounder) from Missouri, across tha prairies, through the southern pass, to a fort on Utah lake (to the south of the southern boundary line,) the whole journey being a distance of 1200 miles ; and to the additional fact that in 1828, a large number of heavily laden waggons performed the same journey with ease and without an accident. It will be remarked that I have slurred over portions of the route and neglected the regular incidents of much of our d^ily travel, but when it is remembered that the journey lasted six months, and that the events of many successive days scarcely varied from each other, the reader will come to the conclu- sion that it would have been hardly wise in me to have taxed his patience with each day's dull routine. The great object, I considered to be, the furnishing the course of the route, a view of its general aspect and difficulties, the distances be- tween points of travel, (the main object of the present chap- ter) and to impart an accurate notion of the regi actual employment. The trip to Oregon is neither a costly nor an expensive ODfi, and an individual can travel here at as small an expense, as he can move from Tennessee or Kentucky, to Missouri. All the property he starts with he can bring through, and it is worth, upon his arrival, more than when he set out , To conclude, there is no country iu the world where the wants of man can be so readily supplied, and upon such easy terms as in this ; and none where the beauties of nature are displayed upon a grander scale. The chief value of this country, I must remark in closing, lies in the advantages it offers for a direct route to the East Indies and the ])orts of the Pacific ocean. Already these have been embraced by the Hudson's Bay settlers, and even now, the products of this region have grown to an importance that would make them sadly missed by several of the island mar- kets and settlements upon the western coasts which they have of late supplied. Every day adds to their amount and their demand, and any ordinary segacity may see in this fact, the promise of their future importance in the commercial world. ♦. THE END. ! ,r S.U APPENDIX. 155 APPENDIX. -000- (No. 1.) Convention between the United States and Russia, signed at St. Petersburg f on the \7th of April, 1824. Article 1. It is agreed that, any part of the great ocean, commonly called the Paciiic Ocean, or South sea, the respec- tive citizens or subjects of the high contracting powers shall be neither disturbed nor restraiued, either in navigation or in fishing, or in the power of resorting to the coasts, upon points which may not already have been occupied, for the purpose of trading with the natives ; saving always the restrictions and conditions determined by the following articles. Art. 2. With the view of preventing the rights of navi- gation and of fishing, exercised upon the great ocean by the citizens and subjects of the high contracting powers, from be- coming the pretext for an illicit trade, it is agreed that the citizens of the United States shall not resort to any point where there is a Russian establishment, without the permis- sion of the governor or commander ; and that, reciprocally, the subjects of Russia shall not resort, without permission, to any establishment of the United States upon the north-west coast. Art. 3. It is, moreover, agreed that hereafter there shall not be formed by the citizens of the United States, or under the authority of the said States, any estabUshment upon the north-west coast of America, nor in any of the islands adja- cent, to the north of 54 degrees and 50 minutes of north lati- i; 156 APPENDIX. tude ; and that, in the same manner, there shall be none formed by Russian subjects, or under the authority of Russia, south of the same parallel. Art. 4. It is, nevertheless, understood that, during a term of ten years, counting from the signature of the j)resent con- vention, the ships of both powers, or which belong to their citizens or subjects, respectively, may reciprocally frequent, without any hinderanee whatever, the interior seas, gulfs, har- bors, and creeks, upon the coast mentioned in the preceding article, for the purpose of fishing and trading with the natives of the country. Art. 5. All spirituous liquors, fire-arms, other arms, powder, and munitions of war of every kind, are always ex- cepted from this same commerce permitted by the preceding article ; and the two powers engage, reciprocally, neither to sell, nor suffer them to be sold, to the natives, by their resj)ee- tive citizens and subjects, nor by any person who may be un- der their authority. It is likewise stipulated, that this restric- tion shall never afford a pretext, nor be advanced, in any case, to authorize either search or detention of the vessels, seizure of the merchandize, or, in fine, any measures of constraint whatever, towards the merchants or the crews who may carry on this commerce ; the high contracting powers reciprocally reserving to themselves to determine upon the penalties to be incurred, and to inflict the piraishments in case of the con- travention of this article by their respective citizens or sub- jects. .: ..- (No. 2.) ..,:, ,, :, .-. ,,: Copy of the Convention between his Britannic Majesty and the King of Spain, commonly called the Nootka Treaty, ;,,; of October, 1790. ^ Article 1. The buildings and tracts of land situated on the north-west coast of the Continent of North America, or on the islands adjacent to that Continent, of which the sub- jects of his Britannic majesty were dispossessed about the month of April, 1789, by a Spanish officer, shall be restored to the said British subjects. APPENDIX. 157 Akt. 2. A just rcpjuMtion shall be made uccordiiig to the nature of the case, tbr all acts of violence and liostility which may have been committed subsequent to the month of April, 17H9, by the subjects of either of the contracting- parties against the 8u\)jc*cts of the other ; and in case the said respec- tive subjects shall, since the same period, have been forcibly dispossessed of their lauds, buildings, vessels, merchandize, and other ])ropcrty whatever on tiie said Continent, or on the seas and islands adjacent, they shall be re established in the possession thereof, or a just compensation shall be made to them for the losses which they have sustained. AiiT. li. In order to strenj^then the bonds of friendship, and to preserve in future a perfect harmony and good under- standing between the two contracting parties, it is agreed, that their respective subjects shall not be disturb* .1 or mo- lested, either m negoeiating or carrying on thir iisheries in the Pacific Ocean or in the South !Seas, or in landing on the coast of these seas, in places not already occupied, for the purpose of carrying on their commerce with the natives of tiie country, or of making settlements there ; the whole subject, nevertheless, to the instructions specified in these following articles. Art. 4. His Britannic majesty engages to take the r-ost eff^ectual measures to ])revent the navigation, and the fishing of his subjects in the Pacific Ocean, or in the South Seas, from being made a pretext for illicit trade , with the Spanish settlements ; and with this view, it is moreover, expressly sti- pulated, that British subjects shall not navigate or carr} on their fisheries in the said seas, within the space of ten sea leagues from any part of the coasts already occupied by Spain. Art. 5. As well in the places which are to be restored to the British subjects by virtue of the first Article, as in all other parts of the north-western coast of Ai^^rica, or of the islands adjacent, situated to the north of the rvtf s of the said coast already occupied by Spain, wherever the subjects of the two powers shall have mrde settlements, since the month of April, \7Si), or shall hereafter make anv^ the subjects of the other shall have free access, and rhidi carry on their trad« without anv disturbance or molestation. Art. 6. With resj)ect to the eastern and western coasts of South America, and to the islands adjacent, no settlement shall be formed hereafter by the respective subjects in such I 158 APPENDIX. ; part of those coasts as are situated to the south of those parts of the same coasts, and of the islands adjacent, which are al- ready occupied by Spain ; provided, that the said respective subjects shall retain the liberty of landing on the coasts and islands so situated, for the purposes of their fishery, and of erecting thereon, huts and other temporary buildings, ser>ing only for those purposes. Art. 7- In all cases of complaint, or infraction of the articles of the present convention, the officers of either party, without permitting themselves previously to commit any vio- lence or acts of force, shall be bound to make an exact report of the aifair, and of its circumstances, to their respective courts who will terminate such differences in an amicable manner. Art. 8. The present convention shall be ratified and con- firmed in the space of six weeks, to be computed from the day of its signature, or sooner, if it can be done. " In witness whereof, we, the undersigned, plenipotentaries of their Britannic and Catholic majesties have in their names, and by virtue of respective full powers, signed the present convention, and set thereto the seals of our Arms. Done at the palace of St. Lawrence, the 28th of October. 1790. [l. s.] "El Conde De Florida Banca. [l. S.J "Alleyne Fithzhebert." > ' - '' (No ^.) r. Convention between the United States and Great Britain, signed at London, October 20thy\^\'S. Article. 2. It is agreed that a line drawn from the most north-western point of the Lake of the Woods, along the 49th parallel of north latitude, or, if the said point shall not be in the 49th parallel of north latitude, then that a line drawn from the said point due north or south, as the case may be, until the said line shall intersect the said parallel of north lat- itude, and from the point of such intersection due west along and with the said paiallel, shall be the line of debarkation be- tween the territories of the l;nited States and those of his Britannic majesty; and that the said line shall form the northern boundary of the said territories of the Lnited States, and the southern boundaries of the said territories of his Bri- APPENDIX. 159 tann ic Majesty, from the Lake of the Woods to the Stony Mountains. Akt. 3. It is agreed that any country that may be claim- ed by either paity on the north-west coast of America, west- ward* of the Stony Mountains, shall, together with its harbors, bays, and creeks, and the navigation of all rivers within the same, be free and open for the term of ten years from the date of the signature of the present convention, to the vessels, citizens, and subjects, of the two powers ; it being well un- derstood that this agreement is not to be construed to the prejudice of any claim which either of the two high contract- ing parties may have to any part of the said countiy, nor shall it be taken to affect the claims of any other power or state to any part of the said country ; the only object of the high con- tracting parties, in that respect, being to prevent disputes and differences among themselves. (No. 4.) Treaty between Spain and the United States^ called the Flo- rida Treaty, signed at Washington, February 22rf, 1819. Article 3. The boundary line between the two countries west of the Mississipi shall begin on the Gulf of Mexico, at the mouth of the River Sabine, in the sea, continuing north, along the western bank of that river, to the 32d degree of latitude ; then:e, by a line due north, to the degree of latitude where it strikes the Rio Roxo of Natchitoclies, or Red River; then, following the course of the Rio Roxo westward, to the jlegree of longitude 100 west from London and 23 from Washington ; then crossing the said Red River, and running thence, by a line due north, to the River Arkansas j thence following the course »)t the southern bank of the Arkansas, to its source in latitude 42 north; and thence, by tliat parallel of latitude, to the South Sea ; the whole being as laid down in Mehsh's map of the Ignited States, pubhshed at Philadel- phia, improved to the 1st of Januarj^ 1818. But, if the source of the Arkansas River shall be found to fall north or south of latitude 42, then the line shall run from the said source due south or north, as the case may be, till it meets the said pa- rallel of latitude 42, and thence, along the said parallel, to the South Sea ; all the islands in the Sabine, and the said Red and Arkansas Rivers, throughout the course thus described. APPENDIX. 169 to belong to the United States ; but the use of the waters and the navigation of the Sabine to the sea, and of the said Rivers Koxo and Arkansas, throughout the extent "of the said boun- dary, on their respective banks, shall be common to the re- spective inhabitants of both nations. The two high contracting parties agree to cede and renounce all their rights, claims, and pretensions, to the territories de- scribed by the said line ; that is to say, the United States hereby cede to his Catholic Majesty, and renounce for ever, all their rights, claims, and pretensions, to the territories ly- ing west and south of the above described line ; and in like manner, his CathoUc Majesty ceeds to the said United States all his rights, claims, and pretensions, to any territories east and north of the said line ; and for himself, his heirs, and suc- cessors, renounces all claim to the said territories for ever. (No. 5.) Cotivention between the United States and Great [Britain, signed at liondon, August 6th, 182/. Article 1. All the provisions of the third article of the convention concluded between the United States of America and his majesty the king of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, on the 20th of October, 1818, shall be, and they are hereby, further indefinitely extended and con- tinued in force, in the same manner as if all the provisions of the said article were herein specifically recited. Art. 2. It shall be competent, however, to either of the contracting parties, in case either should think fit, at any time after the 20th of October, 1828, on giving due notice of twelve months to the other contracting party, to annul and abrogate this convention ; and it shall, in such case, be accordingly en- tirely annulled and abrogated, at the expiration of such notice. Art. 3. Nothing contained in this convention, or in the third article of the con ention of 20th October, 1818, hereby continued in force, shall be construed to impair or in any way affect the claims which either of the contracting parties may have to any part of the country westward of the Stony or Rocky Mountains. ^London : — Printed by W. Lott, 21, Abchurch Lane, Citv. 169 fccrs and Rivers d boun- the re- RKTUIIN JOURNEY OF DR. WHITE. I The Return Journey ofDr.E. White and party, from Vav couver, across the Rocky Mountains to Independence, in Missouri, U. S. We had the pleasure^ on Saturday evening last, Dec. 6th, of taking by the hand our old friend Dr. Elijah White, sub- agent of Indian affairs for the territory of Oregon, who had just arrived with a party 'of only three men, Messrs. Chap- man, Brown, and Saxton, all claiming to be citizens of Willa- mette, two of whom, Oras Brown and Charles Saxton, had accompanied him some time previously on an interesting and important exploring expedition, the results of which will soon come before the pulic officially. They left the beach of the Pacific on the 30th of July, 1845 some 40 miles from the Umqua river, and arrived in the co- lony about the 10th of August. They found the Legislature in session at Oregon city, and Dr. White being officially re- quested to bear a memorial and petition emanating from that body and signed unanimously by them, also by the judge of the territory and executive committee — to the Congress of the United States, left on the 16th. They arrived at Fort Van- couver on the 17th, the Dalles of the Columbia on the 20th, and on the 23rd proceeded on their journey. At the first camp. Major Moses Harris, alias " Black Har- ris," his pilot and his dependence, as interpreter for the Sioux and Pawnee Indians, in ; passing through their country, with- out any difference or explanation, withdrew from the party and returned to the valley. Surprised, but nothing intimi- dated, they moved forward. They met the Wallawalla Indians — so much excited the spring before, by reason of the violent and treacherous death of Elijah Heading, an educated young chief of distinction, killed by a white man at California — and were handsomely saluted and most cordially received — the excitement having entirely subsided. Com, potatoes, peas, camas, and cherries, were brought forward for the consump- tion of the party, and their plantations, with those of the Kiuse, speak well for their advancement in agriculture and civilisation. Not many of the Wallawallas cultivate ; they generally subsist on fish. But the Kiuse and Nezperces, or Scheptans, under the auspices of Dr. Whitman and lady, and Rev. H. H. Spaulding and lady, are represented as having made most commendable advances in agriculture, science, 11 RETURN JOURNEY OF DR. WHITE. arts, morals, and religion ; many of tlie latter reading their own language fluently and writing well, and in the regularity of their family devotions and observance of the Sabbath, it is beleived few equal them. * On the 1st of September they met at Burnt River, Capts, Barlow, Knighton, and Macdonalds companies of emigrants, the three companies comprising somt eight hundred persons, with eighty-seven waggons, ^vithin some three hundred and fifty miles of their destination, all in good health and fine spi- rits, representing the diffi !U' U2S of the route as nothing in comparison with what tht_ had expected. AVhile the Doctor was giving them an intellectual treat, to which all listened with indescribable interest, some of the ladies prepared a rich repast for him and his little party ; coffee, sugar, bread, bis- cuits, buttermilk, and honey, with bacon, rice, and several kinds of dried fruits, were nicely spread out ; they ate and drank, talked, and mutually cheered each other, and parted in the happiest mood. At different points, for a distance of a hundred an?ed to give him any, when the rascally Indian cocked his gun. At the suggestion of the Doctor, Chapman gave him some powder and he went off; but while the Doctor was talking to Chapman six or seven had surrounded hiro, and two had his horse by the bridle, when he asked L: own to come to him. Brown did so, pre- senting his pistol at one of them, and the Doctor motioning to them at the same th^e, with his six-shooter in his hand, to be off, they left, an* I iWt party collected their animals and started again towurib the hills, where a large Pawnee village, ' of some three hundred lodges, appeared in sight, several miles from the road. As the Indians left the party they fired three times at them, and the shot fell thickly around Brown — the Indians going towards the village, and the party from it, over the hills. When out of sight of the Indians and the village, the party again halted, filled their powder horns and took a good quan- tity of balls in their pouches, and went on again ; but they had scarcely started, when two Indians were seen coming from towards the village over the hills. Soon another, and ano- ther appeared in sight, each coming from different directions; and in ten minutes from the time the first two appeared in sight, the party were completely smTOunded by two or three hundred men, armed with rifles, muskets, bows and arrows, tomahawks, and war- clubs, while the air resounded with the awful war-whoop as they still continued to dash upon them on their fleet horses. Seeing that four could do nothing by firing on such numbeis, the Doctor told the party not to fire, while the Indians were in great confusion among themselves. RETURN JOURNEY OF DR WHITE. The first who came talked loud and boisterous, and began to catch the pack horses, when it was proposed to go with them to the village. In the meantime all was confusion, some snatching a rifle from one, while another caught a blanket from another, and ran off. Saxton first got under way, following his packed horse, having many valuable papers, and surrounded by some twenty Indians. They soon stripped him of his powder horn and his horse and saddle, and put him bare-back, wbile a brave, with a large battle-axe, led his horse by the bridle. Brown followed Saxton in a similar manner, passed him, and was the first to grace their fiendish triumph as they entered their villages in full gallop. The Doctor was next suffered to start towards the village, but not until they had torn his coat into pieces, and stripped him of his vest. One Indian then struck him a hard blow on the right cheek ; another hit him two blows on the top of his head with a war club, which nearly deprived him of his senses. With nothing left but his flannel shirt and pantaloons, he passed Saxton soon after Brown, with a brave leading his horse, and a chief riding behind him, em- bracing him in his arms. Chapman followed immediately af- ter Brown ; they struck him several times as he was riding ; he was hurried along and taken into the village. The Doctor was last on the ground, and was conducted into the lodge of a chief, but not permitted to converse with any of his party ; . the rest of the men were conducted to separate lodges, and treated in a similar manner. The party were fed several times during the evening on boiled com, at several lodges, accompanied by an Indian, but were not permitted to be together, except about ten minutes at a time. The first impression made upou the Doctor and all the party on entering the lodges was, that the chief would cause most of the property to be given back, but before morn- ing all were convinced to the contrary, by having their packs opened and pillaged of everything of value ; not even letters to people in the State* were omitted. Dr. White lost many of his most valuable papers, and some twenty letters, though he mailed at this place 541, to various persons in the Union. After robbing the party of all their provisions and clothing, as well as horses, in the morning several squaws, true to the character of women, put up some corn, and the chiefs who were at the head of the outrage brought forward several poor. Li i\ VI RETURN JOURNEY OF DR. WHITE. lame ponies and mules, and gave each man a few old garments scarcely enough to '^over him, much less to protect him from the inclement seasoii. A little after sunset they told them to be off, pointing over the hills where they were taken prisoners. In the lodge where Saxton stopped during the night, while Brown was with him a few moments, an old chief came in with a large packet of papers, evidently robbed from some in- dividual, but he would not suffer him to read any of them ex- cept the wrapper, which was of the kind of paper used for en- velopes in the War Department, and directed on the envelope : — '* Tangawanga, Chief of the Otto Nation." The Indian then opened the package, and took out a passport from the United States, and a large paper having ten or twelve seals on it, op- posite to which were many signatures, a large paper resem- bling a deed, and a French passport ; he then folded them all up, after pointing to the coat of arms on each, but would not suffer them to be investigated ; putting them all into the en- velope, laid them under his thigh, gave a contemptuous laugh, and soon left the lodge. The party travelled till one o'clock at night without a drop of water, on the day they left the vil- lage on the open prairie, taking as their guide the north star, and going in an easterly direction. The Doctor was very much indisposed, owing to the violent blows he had received. Soon after the party were out of sight of the village, the smoke behind told them that their enemies had fired the prairie, and all that day the wind dro^ the fire hard upon the party, and at night the flames of the tall grass were seen behind them mingling with the horizon, giving it the appearance of an ocean of fire. One of the party kept watch while the others slept, or rather dozed. Next morning, taking a bite of raw com, they continued their course north-east ; the party and poor animals sufferi ig extreme v»rant of water. About ten o'clock they found a stag- nant pool, where all the party were once more sensible of the watchful care of Divine Providence. They continued on in the same direction till three o'clock, when the party struck a deep ravine and began to follow it, but they had only proceeded a short distance when the Doctor discovered two Indians far in the distance to the south-east ; the parties stopped, concealed themselves in the ravine. Brown crept to the bank to watch their movements — the Indians advanced a little, then stopped. The Doctor then prepared to retreat and change the course of RETURN JOURNEY OF DR. WHITE. VU B garments limfrom I them to msoners. :ht, while came in some in- them ex- id for en- mvelope : iian then e United )n it, op- r resem- them all ould not > the en- US laugh, e o'clock ; the vil- )rth star, e violent of sight enemies 5 the fire all grass giving it rty kept )ntinued iuflferiig a stag- e of the n in the k. a deep ceded a IS far in ncealed » watch topped. )urse of travel, and the party readily complied with his suggestion, went up the ravine some distance, took a sor therly direction, and travelled some six miles, when they struck a small creek, kept their course still towards the south, and just at dark struck the Oregon road, to the great joy of all the party. They then encamped that night at twelve o'clock on the Republican Fork, again eating raw corn for supper. On the 3d of November they considered themselves nearly out of reach of the Pawnees, being fifty miles from their vil- lage. They arrived at the bank of the Big Blue on the even- ing of the 7th, when, on entering the tall forest trees, by the light of the moon, a large flock of turkeys were heard among the branches. All were excited with pleasing anticipations of once more tasting something palatable, as the com, in what- ever state it was taken, for several days had soured on the sto- mach of the men, and they ate it only to keep them from starving. The next morning Brown's well-directed rifle brought a fat turkey to the ground. *After the turkey was dispatched, they returned to the corn again, as the Indians gave them only two rifles having percussion locks, with no more amunition, the other rifle was unloaded to strike fire with the powder. On the evening of the 13th they ate the first meal in the house of Mr. C. Fish, quickly prepared by his lady, residing among the Shawnee Indians, 30 miles from the United States line. ., The Doctor left the Willamette colony in a very flourishing state, and is of opinion that Oregon, at no distant day, will rival many of the Atlantic States in agriculture, science, and the arts. In this opinion all the party concur, and they in- tend to return again in the spring. A daily computation makes the distance from Oregon City to Fort Hall 800 miles. Fort Hall to Green River 105 „ Green River to Fort Larimie 400 „ Fort Larimie to Independence 630 „ Total 2,025 The St. Louis Republican of the 24th of November, says : — *' Dr. "White is now on his way to Washington, the bearer of d memorial to Congress, from all classes of citizens in Ore- gon — American, English, French, and half-breeds — asking for the extension of the authority and government of the MmJpt JOUBNKY-tif D9i WHITE. ^m0mm!^ The dohimeitt^iM^V ^u! m ^| W ^l0^t^ift'CM1e oftthci MiiiiquiI flelegatioiiti Mdi '«oiin»f M be* itt(i4e kiiQwn witll pveiented to Qoie i f ;p[id<|iiivsf of Or; W^e, the !flBfcin(ii»g ; ■;-'V t ; .;lU tflK> ••r!J^'" ■ :. 7 rrr ■/> : ! ) .,i 4 u^rf^K'ji; r'i ii*ii u. ui .JK^^'. ft ,:..,.',.^i\ ■)•):♦ la- ( -■'' ^l'"'''.!' '')?."-U 'J^j*' .■-';•• 'tuii .c> ,•}.*.**& I Iff c.-r ."i'mi f.i.-li.i^t-y ' » Off \ ,.,>t«^^ v ,rykt . -r { 1 /.,'n'i . , ., t 0:1 i^. ,^^\^ij iA * ■: '.,'*. > Jti' him\%.ik ■ ,{^ 'I'- i .T -^ -'ft', j; «»f Midi ■.♦ > : 1 ».* tff6 ■ >iii. ) ., ; \ o^is.- ^ t ^1 •'■IV » <