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VOrigon, des Californies, «< de la Mcr Vermeille, exicutee fendant lis Annies 1840, 1841, et 1842. 'ar M. Di'FLOT de Mokras, Attach^ k L^- pation de France h. Mexico, &c. 2 Tom. Paris: 1844, S. The History of Oregon and Califarnia. By Robert Grkenhow, Librarian to the De- partment of State of the United States. London : 1844. 3. The Oregon Question, <^c. By Thomas Fal- coner, Esq. London : 1845. 4. History of the Oregon Territory and British North American Fur Trade. By John Dunn, late of the Hudson's Bay Company. London. 1844. Running almost due north and south, at an averasre distance of about 500 miles from the wa- ters of the Pacific, a ridj^e of lofty mountains may be traced on the map of the New World. To the north, this savage ridge faiies off into the inhospi- table plains that skirt the Mackenzie River, to the margin of the Arctic Sea ; to the south, it is con- tinued into another climate, to cast its shadows over more luxuriant scenes, by that chain which is known amongst geographers as the Mexican Alps ; the whole line constituting, according to Humboldt, under various denominations, the course of the mighty Andes, which, from one - x- tremity of the continent to another, from Lape Horn to the Arctic Circle, extends over a distance of 10,000 miles. This ridg6 is called the Rocky Mountains. Its desolate peaks vary considerably in height, from 10,(100 to 16,000 feet above the level of the sea. Its arid steeps and dismal gorges present no vari- ety of surface, except where accumulated snow lies frost-locked in its sightless depths, or where a gigantic forest climbs the face of the precipice, or some rare nook in the recesses of the stony hills, iiistend of being a quarry, as it ought to be, is prankt out by the capricious hand of nature with wild and scanty pasturage. This grim barrier limits the British Canadian possessions on the west down to nearly the forty-ninth degree of lati- tude, and then forms the north-western, as it is the natural frontier in that direction of the United States. A desert plain stretches from its base to the south-east, and beyoml that plain lies the great world of American settlement — explorers, hunters, squatters, trampers, trappers. Lynchers, and bowie-knife men. With that side of the mountains we have nothing to do. Our present business lies on the other side. The region between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean — or rather that portion of it which is bounded south and north by California and Russian America — is called the Oregon Ter- ritory. A glance at the map will enable the reader to fix its limits at once, for they are so in- telligibly indicated by unerring landmarks, as not to be mistaken. With the Rocky Mountains on the east, and the ocean on the west, a chain of lakes, rivers, and rocks on the north, and the grisly Klamet hills, and the sandy plains and salt springs of California on the south, there is no difficulty in ascertaining the natural outline of the Oregon Territory. Diflerences of opinion exist as to the political boundaries ; the American gov- ernment is for extending them, the British for contracting thum. But these diflerences are apart from the great question at issue, as to the right of either over any, and what portion of thia disputed country, whose political geography is so dubious. The character of a region, thus hemmed in and scarred in every direction by great mountains, traversed by innumerable streams, and dotted all over by lakes and swamps, cannot be supposed to be especially favorable to vegetation. Within a hundred miles of the sea, and parallel with the Rocky Mountains, rises another enormous chain of mountains, bearing evident marks of volcanic action at a remote period. The Americans have appropriated the cap of nearly every peak of this stupendous range to their own glorification, and christened them after the names of their r residents — so that Tyler has his cap, and Harrison has his cap, and even Van Buren has his cap, without wait- ing for the settlement of the right by vhich alono any of these worthies will be suffe'.ed to wear their caps in the presence of posterity. No doubt Mr Polk will come m for a peak of his own in the course of time, and nobody has so good a claim, seeing, that of all the American presidents, he is tl 6 only one who has ventured to assert that the ret/ion belongs to America, in the teeth of a treaty which, at least, leaves that question open by the common consent of both countries. The name assigned by Humboldt to this range, is that of the Californian Maritime Alps. The space westward to the sea is the most fertile on the whole surface, with the exception of a broad and tolerably rich plain to the south of the Columbia river. All the rest is rank, or barren — vast for- lorn steppes, hopeless jungle, marsh, lake, sterile rocks, and aboriginal woods. Here and there may be found patches of practicable soil', but nothing grows in them except by dint of incredi- ble labor ; and when wheat and potatoes require to be forced with the care and outlay of the dain- tiest hot-house fruit, it is not difficult to anticipate the issue of agricultural experiments in such dis- tricts. The Hudson's Bay Company have a few small farms on the banks of the rivers, which serve the local purpose for which they were un- dertaken, sustaining a few settlers v\lio, from one cause or another, have clustered round the fur stations ; but agricultural speculations on a large scale can never be undertaken in that major sec- tion of the territory which is shut up between the Rocky Mountains and the Maritime Alps. Indeed, the only places in the interior which present any temptations to the agricultural ex- perimentalist, are those which lie on the banks of the rivers, especially the great Columbia river, the principal stream in Oregon. The Columbia rises in the Rocky Mountains, pursues a vagrant and sinuous course to the sea, is occasionally ex- panded into a line of lakes, by the accession of numerous tributary waters, and frequently broken in its downward race by rapids, falls, and eddies. In tlie intervals of these obstructions, it is availa- ble only to boats and canoes ; but vessels of twelve feet draft may sail up 120 miles from the embouchure, where they are stopped by rapids. Beyond the rapids there is a still water navigation of about forty miles ; above that point, the river is accessible only to the boats or canoes of the country. But, although the Oregon Territory is not very seductive to the agriculturist, it has some nat- ural advantages of a commercial kind. It abounds in valuable timber — ash, cedar, arbor- 252 THE OREGON TERRITORY. vitae; its rivers and bays swarm with fish — salmon, sturgeon, cod, herring; whales and sea otters sport along its coasts ; and the interior is inconveniently populated with antelopes, elks, wolves, rats, and buffaloes. Out of all this live stock a brisk trade could be got up in a variety of articles, which in course of time might furnish materials for the establishment of a respectable tariff between Oregon and most parts of the Pa- cific. But as yet few people seem to consider the speculation a safe one. Not a single independent British settler has struck his spade in the earth, warned off partly, perhaps, by those prudential considerations which always hover round disputed titles, and partly by the exclusive privileges guar- anteed by act of parliament to the Hudson's Bay Company, who possess complete jurisdiction over the whole of the territory claimed by the British government. The only stray individuals who have ventured into Oregon, with a view to colonize on their own account, are Americans. We hear of caravans of these adventurous people — v/hose lives seem to be of as little value as their bonds — set- ting out for the Rocky Mountains, and making their way by the help of canoes, hatchets, and horses, into the savage defiles. But even the American h'storians who record these exploits, confess that they have never heard what became of their heroic countrymen. Upwards of a thou- sand emigrants went off in this way from the United States iu the years 1842 and 1843, aj.d more have gone since, and more, we believe, are still going, in defianee of all perils by land, water, and treaty ; and all that is known about them is, that a few families are squatted somewhere on farms so small and miserable, that the only won- der is that they should still survive as a warning and example to the rest of their compatriots. The American passion for going a-head, and keeping in perpetual motion, so curiously exemplified on quarter-day in the large towns, by wagon-loads of flitting furniture, is exhibited in its last agony by this desperate emigration beyond the Rocky Mountains. The journey itself — which we shall presently take an opportunity of touching upon — is replete with hardships and dangers; its suc- cessful accomplishment is extremely improbable ; and its results, when accomplished, are for the most part such as, instead of drawing tnen from their homesteads, would deter any other human beings except the restless and reckless race that rove about the United States. They have not even the excuse for expatriation which is fur- nished by over-populated soils ; for the population of the United States, replenished as it is every day by draughts from all other parts of the habit- able globe, is insuflicient for the daily necessities of the country. Nor have they the plausible pre- tence of bettering their condition ; for it requires, in Oregon, the labor of three men to effect the same quantity of profit that is produced in the United States by the labor of one. Nor have they the higher plea of desiring to render available to the commonwealth this immense tract of territory, by carrying into it their arts and their patrfotism ; for Oregon, to whomsoever it may be ceded in the long run, certainly does not belong to the United States yet, and never may belong to them. So that this daring movement is unsustained by a single prudential consideration, is opposed, on the contrary, to every argument of policy or expe- diency, and must be referred to that inexplicable lovd of change and contempt for consequences, by which Brother Jonathan is preeminently distin- guished in all the affairs, great and small, in which he is engaged. As we have alluded to the dif&cultiea of the journey over the continent, and across the Ro«^ky Mountains in the Oregon Territory, it may be as well to show what they are. The expedition of Lewis and Clarke, undertaken at the instance ol' the American government, in 1804, may be se- lected as the must favorable illustration, because it was carried out under the sanction of advan- tages which no private party of emigrants could, under any possible circumstances, be supposed to possess. The party consisted of forty-four men, who em- barked in three boats on the Missouri, in the month of May, well supplied with all resources necessary for the journey. They worked slowly and laboriously against the mighty current until the month of October, when, finding themselves no further advanced than the country of the Man- dan Indians, they disembarked to winter on the shore, further progress at that season of the year being impracticable. Here they were compelled to remain until the following April, when they resumed the ascent of the river with thirty men, having sent the others back, for reasons which it is unnecessary to investigate. At the end of three weeks they reached the junction of the Yellow Stone, and towards the Middle of June were arrested by the falls of the Missouri, a se- ries o^ st'ipendous cataracts which extend over a distance of tt;.~; miles. At this point their boats became useless to them, and making for the water above the falls, they embarked in canoes hollowed from the trunks of the cotton-wood trees that grow on the banks of the river. On the 19th of July they reached the gates of the Rocky Mountains, where the Missouri narrows itself into a dark and and rapid channel between perpendicular rocks, rising 1200 feet above its surface. They had now been out fourteen months, and had only gained the entrance to the mountains, where the most formidable difficulties of the journey really began. The passage of the Rocky Monntains occupied them three weeks. Their sufferings and priva- tions were of a kind to appal the stoutest nerves. The anguish of a fatigmng and apparently hope- less expedition through the dreary gorges, and over the fearful heights, crossing streams which they dared not venture to navigate, and pursuing tracks which they were constantly obliged to abandon, was enhanced by the extreme severity of the cold and the want of provisions. Before they had entered upon this passage they had buried their goods and canoes in pits, and they must have perished in these frightful sohtudcs but for some horses and guides which they were lucky enough to procure from a party of Shoshonee Indians. From July to October they were unable to find a stream upon which it was considered safe to intrust themselves, subsisting the whole way upon a scanty and precarious supply of berries, dried fish, and the carcases of dogs and horses. At last, in the beginning of October, they em- barked up tn the Kooskooskee river, for which they constructed five canoes, and at last reached the Columbia. The passage down the Columbia was sufficiently dangerous, but having, by an in- finite variety of stratagems, and at a cost of toil and endurance which cannot be very easily esti- mated at a distance, succeeded in evading the 1 e si c THE OREGON TERRITORY. 253 perils of the falls and rapids — they finally made the mouth uf the river on the 15th of November, 1805. The whole journey consequently occupied eipliteen months. From this bare outline, dropping out all those startling incidents and shuddering details which constitute the actual terrors of such an under- taking, somo slight notion may be formed of the risks which the Americans have to encounter, and of the contingencies which render it unlikely in the last degree that they shall ever be able to con- duct the stream of emigration in that direction with the remotest chance of success. Several routes have been subsequently attempted, but witli no better results. They differ from each other only in the privations to which the adven- turers were exposed ; and the difficulties are, in fact, so overwhelming as to justify this conclusion — that no highway can ever be establi.shed be- tween the United States and Oregon for the over- land conveyance of emigrants. '* None but the wild and free trappers," says Mr. Dunn, "who know the country well, can clamber over these freci pices, and tread these deserts with security ; and even these are quitting them as haunts, and now using them only as unavoidable tracks." For hundreds of miles the tracks are barren under foot, with scorching heat or piercing cold over head. The country west of the Rocky Mountains is described by the same competent authority as being broken up with towering cliffs, deep ravines, and sunken streams, from which the traveller can- not draw a drop of water to allay his raging thirst; and the soil is either so sandy, that he sinks into it at every step, or formed of such sharp and rugged stones, that it lacerates his feet. Fruit there is none — except berries, which are scarce, penurious, and not always safe. Faruham tells us that his party were at last obliged to kill their favorite dog, and economize his flesh ; and that during eight days' journey he did not meet a solitary acre of land capable of producing vesreta- tion of any kind. Townsend, an American travel- ler, gives even a still more dreadful picture of the miseries of the journey. Intense thirst is one of the inflictions, produced by the naked heat of the sun upon the exposed surface, and the consequent desiccation to which everything is subject. " Tlie air," he says, *' feels like the breath of a sirocco ; the tongue becomes parched and horny ; and the eyes, mouth, and nose, are incessantly assailed by the fine pulverized lava, which rises from the ground with the least breath of air. Bullets, pebbles of chalcedony, and pieces of smooth obsidian, were in great requisition ; almost every man was mumbling stune of these substances to assuage his burning thirst." Tiiey have recourse to leaden bullets and other substances for the pur- pose of pntducing saliva, which they swallow to prevent inflammation and death. Such are the terrors of the passage from the United States into the Oregon Territory ; terrors 80 repulsive that they seem as if nature had for- ever prohibited the two regions from holding free intercourse with each other. On the other hand, if any political or international value can be reasonably attached to proximity of position, and comparative facility of access, the short and easy transit which we can command from the remotest point of our Canadian possessions to the shores of the Pacific, invests us with geographical advan- tages, which it would be impolitic, not to say hopeless, to contest. Whatever becomes of Ore- gon, the English, who hold so vast a stretch of country due east of the mountains, and who have long wielded direct sway over the disputed terri- tory itself, through the numerous locations of the Hudson's Bay Company, must always exercise an inevitable influence over its destinies. If Oregon were ceded to the United States to-morrow, Brit- ish influence must still predominate from the source of the Columbia to the sea ; a state of things which, so far from producing any practical bentliis to the Union, would be attended by dis- astrous consequences sooner or later. Confident as the citizens of the "model republic" may be of the solidity of their institutions, there is nothing more certain than this, that tlie moment they em- bark in any project of aggrandizement likely to create jealousy amongst other powers, or to pre- cipitate serious divisions of opinion at home, they strike a vital blow at their independence. And of all conceivable designs, that of embroiling them- selves with Canada would be the most unfortu- nate ; for, whatever foolish calculations they may raise upon the discontent of the habitans, now rapidly va;iishing before the wise measures of a paternal administration, they may be assured that there is no part of the globe where their intrusion or interference would be met with a more de- termined resistance. There are certain gloomy memories haunting the borders of Maine which it would be a deplorable mistake to revive ; nor can tliat people who invaded Florida with blood- hounds, and banished the aborigines from their hunting-grounds across the Mississippi, expect a much better reception from the Indians of British America. All parties in Canada, however they may differ on other subjects, are unanimous about Uncle Sam. Lewis and Clarke, as we have seen, were eigh- teen months on their journey. The passage from Montreal to Fort George can be made on ordinary occasions in less than a fourth of that time ; and, where expedition is necessary, in less than a sixth. The fact is sufficiently notorious to everybody acquainted with the country ; but we prefer stating it explicitly on the authority of M. Mofras, be- cause that gentleman displays such miserable ani- mosity against England in his useless volumes on Oreg ish settlements on the Columbia, over which Spain could have had no shadow of a right. We leave America to extricate herself from this dilemma as creditably as she can. But it is sufli- ciently apparent that she must relinquish her claim altogether, or rest it upon some intelligible basis. She has hitherto resisted every approach to a candid and equitable adjustment with Eng- land. Mr. Canning and Mr. Huskisson pro- posed that a boundary line should be drawn west- ward alone the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, from the llocky Mountains to the north-eastern- most branch of the Columbia river, and thence down the centre of the stream to the sea. This proposition was rejected. All negotiation, with a view to a moderate and amicable adjudication of the respective claims of England and the United States having failed, the convention of 1818 was renewed in 1827, and the provisions, instead of being limited to ten years, were extended to an indefinite period, either party having the right, upon a year's notice, to withdraw from the agree- ment. In this condition the question remains. The violent and unstatesmanlike declaration of Mr. Polk, in his inaugural address, has not been serviceable to America in the public opinion of Europe. He thought proper to launch upon the furious tide of the democratic passions which car- ried him into ofl^ce a wilful mis-statement, couched in the most oflensive language. The bad taste and worse policy of that very foolish proceeding, must recoil upon himself. But we earnestly hope, tor the sake of the paramount interests of peace and civilization, that the calmer judgment of the ministers by whom he is surrounded may avert the consequences from his country. He will have time to reflect in the interval before the next meeting of congress, and it is gratifying to ob- serve that nearly the whole press of America in the mean while protests against his conduct. The bill for the occupation of Oregon comes before congress in December. We venture to predict that it will be thrown out ; simply because it can- not be carried without involving the United States in a war with England ; and there are three sound reasons why America cannot go to war- she has neither men, money, nor credit. No — America will not go to war. The true policy of America is peace. Wash- ington declared that the moment she committed herself to schemes of aggression and aggrandize- ment, her power was at an end. She cannot ex- tend her territory without the risk of weakening it. She has not enough of population as it is to defend the shores of the Atlantic in the event of hostilities : by what process of conjuration then can she undertake to occupy and defend territo- ries remote from her own states and difficult of ac- cess? If she got possession of Oregon to-mor- row, she could not maintain it. Her sovereignty in that distant region could be preserved only by the presence of an imposing force, and by a chain of strong military outposts from the Missouri across the continent to the sea. How is ahe tu 262 POETBY OF THE RAIL — VIDOCQ IN LONDON. organize this force? How is she to supply this enormous machinery of defence ? Even if she could succeed in laying down such a plan of war- like preparations, she must still fail ir. securing a permanent occupation of the nortli-wes^tern coast, which, it is notorious, can only be reached and commanded from the ocean. She must, there- fore, cover her land force by a powerful naval ar- mament. Where is she to tjet the means ? Over- whelmed with debts, and draizging her reputation as she is at a discount throu{»h the exchanges of the world, is she prepared to incur still greater odium and an impossible outlay? We believe there is not a sensible man in America who does not denounce the Quixotic project which points at the hopeless occupation of Oregon. The British minister has solemnly announced that he is not only resolved but prepared to assert the rights of the British crown in the Oregon Ter- ritory. This is not an idle threat; and it has been echoed back by the universal conviction of a country ton well instructed in its own power, too confident in the integrity of its cause, and too well assured of the advantages of peace, to em- bark hastily in an expensive war. We have the means of vindicating our riglits, and we will em- ploy them should it become necessary. The mere addition to our naval estimates this year amounts to 1,000,000/. sterling — a sum nearly equal to the total naval estimates of the United States — and our squadron in the Pacific under Admiral Seymour is a sufficient pledge of the sin- cerity of our intentions in that quarter. But we do not believe that America will sub- mit the Oregon question to solution in tlie field of battle. She is not in a condition for such dan- gerous experiments, and, if she were, a dispas- sionate investigation of the case must finally sat- isfy her that the claim she sets up could be set- tled much more speedily, to her own honor and ultimate advantage, by peaceful arbitration. It is the interest of botii countries to settle their claims amicably ; but it is chiefly the interest of Amer- ica, for the experience of all history concurs in this warning — that when a subject in litigation between two powers is removed from the cabinet to the camp, it must be at the cost of the weaker party. The Poetry of the Rail. — We have already pointed out the alteration likely to be made in poetry and song-writing hy the introduction of railroads, and we this week give another specimen of the probable effect of the cliange. We shall hear no more now of the Lily of the Vale or the Village Rose, but the Pearl of the Refreshment- room and the Daisy of the Rail will supersede the once popular maidens alluded to. The following touching ballad is supposed to be addressed by one of the luggage superintendents to one of the female waiters at the same station, and may be called — THE PORTER TO HIS MISTRESS. Oh maiden, but an instant stay, And let me breathe my vow ; I know the train is on its way, I hear its thund'ring row. Another moment crowds will stand Where now to thee I kneel ; And hungry groups will soon demand The beef, the ham, the veal. Turn not away thy brow so fair, 'Tis that, alas! I dread; For thou hast given me, I swear, One fatal turn a-head. I 've linger'd on the platform, love, My brow with luggage hot ; A voice has whisper'd from above, " Porter, take heed, love knot !" O'er thee mine eye doth often range ; I 've mark'd thee take the pay From those who, ere you bring their change. Rush to the train away. Turn not, &c., &c. Punch. ViDOCQ IN London. — Mens. Vidocq, for many years the celebrated Chef de la Police de Sureti in Paris, has, on his arrival in this country, opened an exhibition of rather an extraordinary character, at the Cosmorama in Regent-street. The exhibition c(msists of several and rather heterogeneous materials. In the first place Mens. Vidocq oflx^rs to the public inspection various instruments of torture and manacles which were used by him in the coercion of criminals, or against him when he was a prisoner at the instance of the French government. In this department of the exhibition are also included the different disguises Vidocq used to wear in order to effect the arrest of prisoners, and several objects that belonged to persons famous for their crimes. Another portion of the exhibition consists of a collection of drawings in water-colors, among which are several of the works of Dirk Lan- gendyk, a Dutch artist of considerable merit, and a selection of paintings of the Byzantine, Italian, and Flemish schools, many of which are extremely curious and interesting. The third portion of this exhibition will probably be thought by most visitors to offer the greatest attractions. It is a collection of imitated tropical fruits, executed with such perfection that it would puzzle the best judges of horticulture to distinguish them from the real productions of nature. This collection com- prises sixty varieties, and more than 4,000 speci- mens. M. A^idocq, who is now seventy-two years of age, but scarcely appears more than fifty, attends personally, and politely explains to the visitors the different objects comprised in the exhibition. — Atlas. On dit that Sir R. Peel intends proposing a grant of 30,000/. towards the endowment of the projected college in connexion with the Free Church of Scotland ; and that he further intends to bring in a bill rendering compulsory on land- lords to grant sites for the erection of free churches, on the requisition of not less than 50 persons in parishes where their estates are sit- uate. — Atlas. One of the hnn mots which contributed to make Talleyrand so famous as a wit, was his definition of speech as a faculty given to man for the pur- pose of concealing his thoughts. The prince- bishop can well affi>rd to give up the credit of having first made this sarcastic observation to an English clergyman. Young mentions some place, " Where nature's end of language is declined, And men talk only to conceal their mind." m H A_j|g-^^ M >'^r