the history of north america, vol 10: the pacific slope and alaska (1903) joseph schaffer

7/28/2019 The History of North America, VOL 10: The Pacific Slope and Alaska (1903) Joseph Schaffer

1/631

NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES

3 3433 08173453 9

mi?!ii;;'':;'iSi'.'':;:;i

mi'i


2/631


3/631


4/631


5/631


6/631


7/631

IK^


8/631


9/631

THEHistory of North America

GUY CARLETON LEE, Ph. D.OF

Johns Hopkins and Columbian Universities, Editor


10/631

EDITORIAL EDITIONLIMITED TO TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY NUMBERED AND

REGISTERED SETS, OF WHICH THIS IS


11/631

/


12/631

StfyU^AHSWyiySM'Mu. *^


13/631

/


14/631

FATHER JUNTPERO SERRAFounder of the missions in California.

After the painting hy Don Christoval Dia^ in the Hall ofCalijornia Pioneers^ San I-ranctsco.


15/631

THE HISTORY OFNORTH AMERICAVOLUME X

THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKA

BYJOSEPH SCHAFER, M.L., B.L.

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF OREGONAuthor of: The Origin of the System of Land Grants in Aid of Edu-cation j 'A History of the Pacific North-ivest, etc. , etc. Joint authorof Strong and Schafer's Go^vernment of the American People.

PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY BTGEORGE BARRIE & SONS, Philadelphia


16/631

ItHE new YORKI PUBLIC LIBRAKYj / - , ' ** '^'^ '^"^ ^'^

I ASTOR, UKNOX ANO

Copyright, 1904, by George Barrie & SonsEntered at Stationers'' Hall, London.


17/631

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTIONOregon, the land of the mighty pine and the abounding

salmon; California, the land of gold and luscious fruit;Idaho, whose output of valuable ore is matched by theproduct of her grazing plains; Washington, whose possi-bilities are limitless; Alaska, the vast empire wherein menhave found for their labor rich rewards of precious metalsand hardly less precious furs; all these make up the PacificSlope of which we read in the present volume of TheHistory of North America. The importance of thesesections is undeniable; the Slope as a whole demands theconstant attention of the Union. Its vast resources, thoughrichly rewarding those who are exploiting them, are butbeginning to be appreciated by those not in close touchwith them.Strange as it may seem to those to whom the greatnessof the Pacific Slope is known, the literature upon the sectionis scanty; particularly is this condition realized by those whodesire to obtain an adequate presentation of the Slope in onevolume. Indeed, they might search in vain for such a work,for until its production by Professor Schafer there was none.Now, however, the reader may in one correlated presenta-tion follow the exploration, settlement, colonization anddevelopment of that vast stretch of land whose southernboundary is the Gulf of California and whose northern limitis the Arctic Ocean; whose eastern border is the RockyMountains and whose western curb is the Pacific Ocean.


18/631

vi THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKAThe history of this land concerns itself with three widely

differing sections populated by antagonistic peoples. For toCalifornia the Spanish first came; English-speaking peoplesettled the Oregon country; subjects of the Muscovite cameto the land north of " fifty-four-forty." The story of thebeginnings of each of these sections is full of romance. Itsinterest puts that of modern novels to blush. Naught cantake away from the glamour that tradition and history havethrown around those Spanish adventurers and devoted mis-sion priests who first came to the " isle of delight," as theSpaniard called California. Neither can aught dim the lightof romance that surrounds the stalwart trappers and ex-plorers who first brought to the banks of the lordly Oregonthe message of Eastern civilization. Nor can Norse sagarival the tales of the Russian fur traders and their despoticmasters whose deeds in the early days of Alaskan coloniza-tion were as barbarous as they were brave.

It is because of the vast treasure of romance which hasbeen spread before the student that the sober truth ofseveral histories is the bedfellow of fable, and the attractiveprobabilities of appealing episodes have in great measureclouded the clear judgment which it has always seemed tous should be the first qualification of a historian. For thisreason the general reader, besides being confronted by thelack of a history in convenient form, found i(i those sec-tional histories to which he had access such a large numberof inaccuracies that his conception of the Slope and itspeopling was, to say the least, incomplete. It was, then, tosupply a positive need that the present volume was planned.The plan was comprehensive. It included the variousstages of the development of the vast region. It not onlyrelated the history of the sections, but it comprised a pres-entation of their relations, individually and collectively,with each other and with the Eastern States. This planhas been carried out in its every detail with a thoroughnessthat the editor expected from the competence of the author.The narrative is clear and interesting, and withal accurate.


19/631

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION viiSave with the single exception of the mystery surroundingthe operations of Fremont in 1846 1847 there is littleargumentative matter; there we have a necessity for atreatment of conflicting theories and the presentation ofa conclusion. But the author, without argument, is able topresent much new light upon moot points of Pacific Slopehistory. Among numerous examples may be mentioned,*'the Whitman ride," the missionary influence in Oregon,the seizure of Monterey, the Mormons in the gold fieldsof California, the attitude of the English in the boundarydisputes. We feel that in these matters the conclusionsof Professor Schafer settle controversy.Guy Carleton Lee.'Johns Hopkins University,


20/631


21/631

AUTHOR'S PREFACEThe story of the discovery and exploration of the far

West, the exploitation of seacoast and interior by the furtraders, and the planting of new communities along theshores of the Pacific has a peculiar charm for the studentof American history. The writer felt it long before thepresent work was undertaken, and when he was still resid-ing in a distant portion of the country, away from the influ-ences generated in a Pacific coast environment. Now thereason seems obvious enough. Americans have long beenaccustomed to look upon the Pacific as the goal of nationalexpansion, and something of romantic glamour surroundsall participants in the successful movement to bring thesevast regions to the knowledge of the world, to master theforces opposed to thefr occupation, and to make them apart of the United States. Besides, the contemplation ofthe obstacles overcome in the process brings into sharprelief certain traits of American manhood which are every-where admired, namely, native intelligence, strength, courage,fortitude, and above all a pervading, hopeful idealism.

Recent events in the history of the nation emphasize theimportance of our Pacific outlook; but these events them-selves are, so far as the development of trade is concerned,steps in an evolutionary process that began more than a cen-tury ago, when first the Northwest Coast became an objectof interest to the merchants of Boston and New York. The


22/631

X THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKAvastness of our present commerce with the Orient, and thefeeling of expectancy with regard to the futurethe farEast being now the region of ferment, of special develop-ments and world transformationsare added reasons forthe present widespread interest in Pacific coast history.

But while no spur of any description was needed as aninducement to take up the particular study of which thisvolume is one result, it was soon discovered that the studentof Pacific slope history must labor under many and greatdisadvantages as contrasted with him who deals with theeastern and middle western sections of the United States.For there is no great library, with elaborate collections ofsource materials for Pacific coast history, such as Wiscon-sin has for the entire Mississippi valley or Harvard for theAtlantic slope. Besides the Bancroft collection (which ishoused at San Francisco behind barred doors) there is nosingle library of even approximate completeness. Insteadof such a resource one is dependent in this region upon manypartial collections, of local or State consequence only, dis-tributed all along the coast from Seattle to Los Angeles.The best of them, probably, are those of the State Libraryof California at Sacramento, and of the Oregon HistoricalSociety at Portland and Eugene. The first contains a fairlycomplete list of the printed books relating to early Californiaand a good collection of State newspapers which the libraryforce is making a laudable effort to index. It contains littlepamphlet or manuscript material, and like all other librariesof this coast (for all are comparatively new) it is sadlydefective in the department of public documents. TheState of California is to be commended for its intelligentefforts to render this collection fully available to scholars.The Oregon Historical Society has an unclassified collec-tion of valuable books and pamphlets, a mass of extremelyimportant original records, and a few files of Northwesternnewspapers. The collection is the result of a recent move-ment for the garnering of the materials of Northwestern his-tory. The society, as a part of its activity in this direction.


23/631

AUTHOR'S PREFACE xihas published several valuable documents of large bulk,notably the Wyeth journals and letters, and also five vol-umes of the Historical ^arterly. Aside from the collectionsmentioned, there are less complete ones at all the Stateuniversity libraries of the region, at Stanford, and at themore important city libraries, notably San Francisco, Port-land, and Seattle. The Southern California HistoricalSociety has a collection at Los Angeles, where it also issuesits publications, some of which contain important sourcematerials. Hon. C. B. Bagley, of Seattle, has a valuablecollection of Washington newspapers; and other private in-dividuals are in possession of rare books and pamphlets whichmight prove very valuable if placed in public repositories.

I have made more or less use of most of the resourcesmentioned above; but their hopelessly scattered conditionhas militated strongly against the completeness and unityof the work. The more general phases of the study havebeen made possible only by a large use of outside libraries,notably that of the Wisconsin Historical Society, whoseofficers and employes have rendered valuable assistance inconnection with my researches. I am also under specialobligations to Mr. C. B. Bagley for the free use of hisprivate collection, and to my colleague. Professor F. G.Young, for placing at my disposal a part of the books andmanuscripts of the Oregon Historical Society of which heis the secretary.The many helpful suggestions received from Guy Carle-ton Lee, the editor of the series, and the courtesies shownme by the publishers, ought here to be acknowledged. ,

Joseph Schafer.University of Oregon.


24/631


25/631

CONTENTSCHAPTER PAGESEditor's Introduction


26/631

THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKA

II The River of the West ...... 25-38I Territorial distribution in 1776. European fear of the ex-pansion of the United States. The Mississippi the westernlimit. Pushing west the fronUer. Carver's explorations.The British quest of a Northwest passage. Hearne discoversCoppermine River. Carver's plan for an eastward search ofa passage. Great Britain's 1776 Arctic expeditions east-ward and westward. Cook, explores the North Pacific.Reaches Cape Prince of Wales. The beginnings of the furtrade. Ledyard's part in American enterprise. Trade openedwith China. Boston merchants begin the fur trade. Kendrick.and Gray's trading voyage to the Pacific. Gray discovers themouth of the Columbia. Trade with the natives. Vancouvei'sexpedition. He fails to discover the Columbia. He surveysthe Strait of Juan de Fuca. Vancouver explores the Colum-bia. Seeks to establish Great Britain's claim to territory.

III The Lewis and Clark Expedition . . . 39-53Jefferson's interest in western exploration. His first sugges-tion of an expedition to the Pacific. Ledyard's plan. Hisfailure to interest Americans. He aims to reach the Pacificby way of Siberia. Sets out instead in an English vessel.Is overhauled and resumes his Siberia plan. Is arrested atIrkutsk. Taken to Poland. Again in London. Under-takes an expedition to the Nile. Dies at Cairo. Armstrong'strans-Mississippi expedition. Michaux undertakes a Pacificexpedition. It is frustrated. Congress authorizes an expedi-tion to the Pacific. Lewis appointed to direct it. Clarkassociated with him. The instructions of President Jefferson.The expedition delayed at Pittsburg. The complement ofthe party. It enters the Missouri. The course of the expedi-tion. Death of Sergeant Floyd. At the Mandan villages.In camp at Fort Mandan. The Yellowstone reached. Onto the Falls of the Missouri. At the sources. Followingthe Lolo trail. From the Clearwater to the Columbia. Viewof the Pacific. In winter quarters. Back in St. Louis. Thepolitical and economic results of the exploration.

IV First Occupation of the Columbia , . 55-75Fur trade the motive of occupation. The operations of theFrench trappers. British sovereignty checks tlie fur trade.Bitter rivalry of the trading companies. The NorthwestCompany. Mackenzie's explorations to the Arctic. Heibaiidons quest of Northwest passage. His overland journey


27/631

CONTENTS XVCHAPTER PAGES

to the Pacific coast. His error as to the Columbia. Hisplans for the exploitation of the country. Extension of theNorthwest Company's operations to the Fraser. Organizationof the Missouri Fur Company. Astor founds the AmericanFur Company. Plan of the organization. The Russian-American Fur Company. Its drawbacks. Astor's oppor-tunity. He organizes the Pacific Fur Company. The voyageand difficulties of the Tonquin. Astoria founded. Massacreof the crew of the Tonquin. Hunt's overland expedition.Interior exploration along the Columbia. British territorialclaim on the upper Columbia. American posts founded atOkanogan. On Thompson's River. At Coeur d'Aleneand Spokane Rivers. Expedition to Snake River. Tradingvoyage of the Bewver. Astoria abandoned. Named FortGeorge by the British. Need Astor's great project have beenabandoned ?

V The Exclusion of Spain from the PacificCoast of North America 7792

Extent of Spain's colonization and exploration in the NorthPacific. Her territorial claims challenged by Great Britain.Effect of Cook's discoveries. Monopoly of the East Indiaand South Sea Companies. North Pacific trade activelypursued. Meares's expeditions. British post establishedin Nootka Sound. Friendly relations established with thenatives. Explorations south of Nootka. Launching of theNorth West America. EstabHshment of permanent Britishtrading posts. Spanish explorations northward. NootkaSound occupied by Spain. Spanish sei^^a British ship inNootka Sound. A further seizure. '^VP Spanish conten-tion. Spain challenges Russia's operation south of sixtydegrees. The British government resists (Spain's exclusivesovereignty claim. The " Nootka Convention." Its resultsfor the maritime nations. The possession of West Florida.East Florida acquired by the United States. The boundariesof Spain and the United States. Spain's exit from the NorthPacific. Causes of the Mexican Revolution. Mexican inde-pendence achieved. California becomes a Mexican province.The end of Spanish dominion on the Pacific coast.

VI Early Phases of the Oregon Question , 93105Astor proposes to resume his business at Astoria. TheUnited States determines to reoccupy tlie Columbia. Bid-die' s expedition. Great Britain protests. Her counter claim

/


28/631

xvi THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKACHAPTER PAGBS

of right. A temporary accommodation. Astoria reoccupied.Other boxmdary questions between Great Britain and theUnited States. Joint occupation of Oregon agreed upon.Russia asserts extensive claims southward. The line offifty-four-forty accepted. The Oregon question in Congress.Growth of expansion sentiment. Floyd advocates the occu-pation of the Columbia. Benton's view of British rights.The claim of the United States. Great Britain's contention.Joint occupation treaty renewed.

VII The Regime of the Fur Trader . . 107-116Scope of the Northwest Company's operations. Extensionof its enterprise in the interior. The company's posts.Operations on the coast not satisfactory. Trading post estab-lished at Walla Walla. Donald M'Kenzie's influence overthe natives. Peaceful relations with the Shoshones. Com-petition and contest between the Northwest and the Hudson'sBay companies. They are consolidated. McLoughlin'smanagement. New headquarters at Fort Vancouver. Im-portance of the trade there. Agriculture and other industriesestablished.

VIII Arrival OF THE American Advance . 11 7-134Westward expansion. St. Louis and the fur trade. TheMissouri Fur Company. It encounters the enmity of theBlackfeet. Rivalry of the Missouri and the Hudson's Baycompanies. Jedediah Smith's trading expeditions. He reachesFort Vancouver. Visits the Flatheads. Urges the termina-tion of the "joint occupation" treaty. The discovery ofthe South Pass of the Rockies. Bonneville's explorations.Wyeth's expeditions. He establishes Fort Hall. Failureof his trading ventures. Hall J. Kelley's colonization plan.His adventures with Young. The American missionaryamong the Indians of the West. McCoy's labors. Appealof the natives for the " white man's Book." Methodist mis-sion station established in the Willamette valley. Presbyterianmission work on the Columbia. Dr. Whitman's journey.Mission ifetions established at Waiilatpu and Lapwai. Thenatives adopt agriculture. Extension of mission field. Workof the Willamette mission. Natives of western Oregon de-teriorate. Work among the Calypooias. A new mission atThe Dalles. Temperance work successful. Cattle raising

.

in tlie Willamette valley. A new era for Oregon.


29/631

CONTENTS

IX The Colonization of Oregon . . . 135-155Official neglect of Oregon. Resumption of interest. Slacum's

jmission to the Pacific. He insists on the possession of Puget .]Sound. Linn's bill for occupation of the Columbia. Jason jLee returns East. Presents memorial from Oregon asking

jfor protection of the United States. The Oregon Provisional iEmigration Society. Its objects. A Caucasian-Indian State ,;


110/631


111/631


112/631


113/631

CHAPTER IVFIRST OCCUPATION OF THE COLUMBIA

The occupation of Columbia River was effected becauseof conditions similar to those which produced the first set-tlements on the Hudson and the Mississippi. The motiveof colonization was the fur trade. For in the northernpart of the North American continent fur-bearing animalsabounded, and the skins could be procured from Indiantrappers in exchange for articles of small value. Indeed, inthe annals of the fur trading companies may be read theearly history of that part of the continent which is designatedthe Pacific Northwest.

In the forests of British America, operating from theAtlantic side, were thousands of men who were solely en-gaged in exploiting the streams rising in the interior, alongwhose courses abounded the beaver, whose skin was veryvaluable, as well as other animals. From the earliest settle-ment of Canada, this fur trade of the great water courseswas the leading interest of that region, and promoted a veryrapid advance inland. Champlain, the father of Canada, ex-plored the route of the Ottawa to Lake Huron, and sent hisagents as far west as Wisconsin ; before the seventeenth cen-tury ended French traders had explored the Great Lakes totheir western extremity, and had passed over to the watersof the Mississippi. From Lake Superior they had graduallypushed farther westward, until, at the close of the Frenchrule in 1763, the chain of trading posts extended along

55


114/631

56 THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKASaskatchewan River almost to the foot of the Rocky Moun-tains. It had been the ambition of these French trappers toextend their exploration across the mountain barrier to theWestern Ocean ; but this achievement was reserved foranother nation.The change of sovereignty over Canada, resulting fromthe British conquest, for a time demoralized this wildernesscommerce, but gradually it was restored, Britons takingthe places of importance instead of the French merchantsformerly in control, though the traders and most of thesubordinate employes were French,

Another serious shock to the northern fur trade wascaused by the American Revolution ; but the chief obstacleto its prosperity, after the coming of the British, in theperiod following 1763, was the unrelenting and often san-guinary competition which prevailed among the numerouscompanies engaged in the trade. These trading companiespaid little heed to law or justice, and descended to the basestmethods of defeating rival parties. As a result of this war-fare, profits decreased until it seemed as if the fur businesswould have to be abandoned. Impelled by these considera-tions, several of the leading merchants formed in 1783 atrading association, which four years later developed into theNorthwest Company, and soon controlled almost the entireregion formerly exploited by the French.

After the formation of the company, the business becamevery profitable, and efforts were made to extend operationsinto the yet unoccupied territories farther to the north andwest. An additional motive for exploration was the desireto discover a route to the Pacific.The rival of the Northwest Company was the Hudson'sBay Company, and this corporation had gained greatlythrough the explorations of Samuel Hearne. Not to beoutdone, the Northwest Company determined to undertakea similar exploration. By good fortune, they had in theirassociation a man every way

,qualified for the task, Alex-

anderafterward Sir AlexanderMackenzie, who in 1787


115/631

FIRST OCCUPATION OF THE COLUMBIA 57was sent from Montreal to take charge of the most westerndepartment of the trade.

In 1789, Mackenzie set out from Fort Chipewyan, onLake Athabasca, with a small party embarked in canoes,and, circling Great Slave Lake, discovered a river flowingnorthward. This he descended to the Arctic Ocean, makingthe entire voyage in forty days. Returning, he immediatelyprepared to push the trade of the company along the lineof his new discoveries. This voyage Mackenzie believedwould settle the question of the impracticability of theNorthwest Passage, for on reaching the sea, about latitudesixty-nine degrees, in the month of July, he found it chokedwith ice; moreover, he discerned dimly, in the west, a chainof mountains, running still farther toward the north.

Three years later, Mackenzie, having meantime spent awinter in London studying the use of astronomical instru-ments to fit himself better for the work of exploration,entered upon a new and more diflScult undertaking. Sincehe had decided that it was not possible to find a passagearound the continent, he considered it all-important to dis-cover one leading across it. Mackenzie proposed to reachthe Pacific by ascending Peace River, which enters LakeAthabasca from the west, and from its sources to crossthe Rocky Mountains to some westward flowing stream.This feat he actually accomplished, after a succession ofdifficulties which it would be nearly impossible to exaggerate.In the autumn of 1792 he ascended Peace River to the baseof the Rockies, where he wintered. On the 9th of Mayfollowing, he resumed the journey. The party, consistingoften men, crossed the mountains, and finally, on the i8thof June, 1793, discovered a navigable river having a truewestern course. They descended the stream for twenty-fivedays, but, becoming dissatisfied with the slowness of naviga-tion, determined to take a more direct route to the west.By following an old trail, and afterward descending a smallriver, the party reached the coast of the Western Ocean inlatitude fifty-two degrees twenty minutes, at a place which


116/631

5 THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKAhad recently been surveyed by Captain Vancouver and calledCascade Canal. Here, on the even surface of an over-hanging clifF, the British explorer left a memorial of hisdiscovery in the legend : *' Alexander Mackenzie, fromCanada, by land, the twenty-second of July, one thousandseven hundred and ninety-three."

Mackenzie supposed that the stream down which he hadfloated for so many days was the long sought River of theWest, and in the map published with Mackenzie's Voyagesin 1 80 1, the river partially explored by him is called theColumbia, a dotted line representing its conjectured coursefrom the point reached above to its mouth in latitude forty-six degrees ten minutes. Acting upon this erroneous belief,Mackenzie developed in his book a vast commercial scheme,the outlines of which foreshadow in a remarkable way thecourse of historical evolution in the fur trade. The scopeof country now rendered accessible was so great that itcould be successfully exploited only by a concern whichcommanded an enormous capital. Even the associationrepresented by him, on account of the inconvenient courseof transportation by Montreal, to which it was limited,would find itself embarrassed in undertaking such a project,and Mackenzie therefore proposed a union of the North-west and Hudson's Bay companies. He suggested centringthe entire trade, from the Rockies east, at the mouth ofNelson River, on Hudson Bay, by the line of Lake Win-nipeg and the Saskatchewan. From the source of the lastnamed river he would pass, either directly west or by themore northerly route discovered in 1793, to the headwatersof the Columbia, which " is the line of communication fromthe Pacific pointed out by nature, ... By openingthis intercourse between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans,"he says, *' and forming regular establishments through theinterior, and at both extremes, as well as along the coastsand islands, the entire command of the fur trade of NorthAmerica might be obtained, from latitude forty-eight degreesnorth [evidently a misprint for forty-five degrees] to the


117/631


118/631


119/631


120/631


121/631

FIRST OCCUPAriON OF THE COLUMBIA 6The first step in the carrying out of Astor's scheme was

the organization of the American Fur Company, incorpo-rated under the laws of New York in April, 1808, with acapital of one million dollars. With this fund the founderpurchased a part of the stock and establishments of theMichilimackinac Company, and began trade along the GreatLakes, on the American side. Astor, who was the con-trolling spirit in the organization, although there were otherpartners, was then prepared to launch the larger enter-prise. His proposition was to make New York the eastern,and the mouth of the Columbia the western terminus, in atrade which should extend across the continent, and drawits supplies from the northern parts of the United States, aswell as the Pacific Northwest. A chain of trading postswas to be built at suitable intervals from the Pacific alongthe Columbia and the Missouri to the Mississippi, andthence eastward by way of the Great Lakes. All furscollected west of the Rockies, on the Columbia and itsbranches, together with the proceeds of the trade along thePacific coast, were to be brought to a central establish-ment on the Columbia. To this place Astor was to sendannually a ship, which should carry to the Pacific coast thesupplies required by all the northwestern posts ; then take ona cargo of furs, proceed to Canton, and after exchanging themfor teas, silks, and other Chinese goods, sail for New York.Another feature of the plan proposed to open a regulartrade with the Russian settlements in Alaska. The fur tradeof this extreme northwestern region had remained, until1799, somewhat chaotic, being prosecuted by several com-panies, whose relations were marked by more than thecustomary evils of unrestrained competition. By 1808,however, the business had consolidated under the newRussian-American Fur Company, which had been granteda monopoly for twenty years of the entire trade of thePacific coast and adjacent islands, from the parallel of fifty-five degrees to Bering's Strait; under this arrangement thebusiness grew to large proportions.


122/631


123/631

FIRST OCCUPAriON OF THE COLUMBIA 63freighted with merchandise for the trade, supplies for themen sailing in her, and for those who were expected to jointhem, and materials for the construction of a trading estab-lishment at the mouth of the Columbia. The ship whenshe left New York had on board four of the partners, anumber of clerks, voyageurs, etc., aggregating about sixtymen. In order to prevent the impressment of the Britishsubjects on board, the United States government detailedthe frigate Constitution to convoy the ship into safe waters.The Tonquin entered the Pacific in December, and thefollowing February touched at the Hawaiian Islands.While the voyage to that point had been without accidentto the ship, all had not been well on board, owing to thefriction between the partners, who were a set of vigorous,independent men, accustomed to command rather than toobey, and the captain in charge of the ship. This captain,Jonathan Thorn, was an American naval officer on leave,who no doubt understood the discipline of a man-of-war,but had little of the tact required to manage a group of furtraders, who believed that, as partners in the enterprise,they were entitled to direct the ship's course and otherwisedictate to her navigators. Both parties were blamable, thepartners being insubordinate, the captain unnecessarilyheadstrong and wilful. Captain Thorn has been heldresponsible for the first loss of life aboard the Tonquin.When the vessel reached the entrance to the Columbia,March 22, 181 1, in spite of the turbulence of the waters,and the fact that the elements were against him, the captaininsisted on sounding the channel. The attempt cost thelives of seven men.

Finally, on the 25th of March, the Tonquin was safelyanchored in the river, and Astor's men prepared to plant thefirst American colony on the shores of the Pacific. Duringthe preceding summer, the Columbia had, indeed, beenvisited by Captains Jonathan and Nathan Winship, of Bos-ton, who tried to establish a commercial station near itsmouth, but had been driven ofF by the terrific flood of that


124/631


125/631


126/631


127/631


128/631


129/631

FIRST OCCUPATION OF THE COLUMBIA 67the preceding season, and expected to descend the river,but, through the desertion of some of his men, had beencompelled to winter on the upper waters of the Columbia.Thompson was an indefatigable explorer, and had made anumber of expeditions through the mountains during thepreceding three years, discovering new routes from the head-waters of Saskatchewan and Athabasca Rivers to the Co-lumbia. As early as September, 1809, he established atrading post on Pend d'Oreille Lake, where Clark's Forkof the Columbia enters it, and in November built a secondpost higher up Clark's Fork, in the Flathead country. Therehe had spent the winter of 180918 10. Both these stationswere below latitude forty-nine degrees, that of the presentboundary between the United States and British Columbia.A third post had already been established, apparently duringthe winter of 1808 1809, on Kootenai River. Indeed,Thompson had crossed the Howse Pass from the Saskatche-wan as early as the summer of 1807, reaching a tributaryof the Columbia on June 22d. Dr. Coues, who examinedhis manuscript journals, quotes him as writing on this occa-sion : " May God in his mercy give me to see where itswaters flow into the ocean and return in safety."When Thompson arrived at Astoria, the Americans hadno doubt that he had come down for the purpose of plantinga post of the Northwest Company on or near the site oftheir establishment; and it seems probable enough that thegeographer had been sent out the preceding summer withthat object in view.

Stuart and his men delayed their departure till July 23d,and then set out for the upper part of the river, accom-panied by the Thompson party. At the Cascades, Thomp-son's men went on in advance of the Astorians ; and theAmericans, on reaching the forks of the Columbia, aftermuch difficulty with the Indians at the Long Narrows andat the junction of Columbia and Walla Walla Rivers, founda British flag waving from the top of a pole. About theflagstaff, strongly tied, was a sheet of paper, containing this


130/631


131/631

FIRST OCCUPATION OF THE COLUMBIA 69his box of papers stolen, put an end to the venture. Theparty returned to Astoria after visiting Oicanogan, in com-pany with David Stuart and M'Lellan of that post, on thenth of May, 1812, one day after the Beaver anchored inthe Columbia before Astoria with supplies and a reinforce-ment for the colony.

Encouraged by the arrival of the supply ship and by thereports from the up-river traders, the resident partners re-solved to prepare for more extended trading operations duringthe following winter. Accordingly, with as little delay aspossible, four parties were fitted out. David Stuart headedthe first, with goods and supplies for Okanogan, and for anew fort to be established by him in the rich beaver countryhe had found northward of the post. A second party,under Donald M'Kenzie, was to ascend Snake River, spendthe winter in trade, and secure a quantity of goods cached byHunt in that region as he passed through to the Pacific.John Clark, a new partner, who had arrived on the Beaver^was to establish a post on the Spokane, and also to opposethe " Northwesters " in the Flathead and Kootenai country.The fourth company, under Robert Stuart, was destinedfor the United States, to carry dispatches to Astor.The four parties set out at the same time, their totalstrength amounting to sixty-two men, and together theyascended the Columbia as far as the Walla Walla. At thatpoint, Stuart purchased horses from the Indians and set offfor the east. Near the crest of the Rockies his party becametotally bewildered and wandered about aimlessly for a timein the vicinity of South Pass, which, however, it did notsee. Later the party went into a winter camp on the Platte.Finally it reached St. Louis, April 30, 18 13.The fortunes of the other parties varied. David Stuartarrived at Okanogan in August and found that Ross hadalready made a successful trading trip to Thompson's River.Stuart immediately repaired to the same region, where hebuilt a post and spent the winter. He was opposed by theNorthwest Company, who had a fort almost beside his post.


132/631

70 THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKANevertheless, the Americans were successful and traded farup the streams, returning to Okanogan in May with a finelot of beaver, and enthusiastic over trade prospects in thenorth.When Clark reached the junction of Cceur d'Alene andSpokane Rivers, he found there an establishment of theNorthwest Company under one of David Thompson's clerksnamed M'Millan. Here Clark built Spokane House, as acentre for the trade in this region among the Flatheads andthe Kootenais, to both of which nations he immediately sentclerks to compete with the British traders already amongthose Indians. Because of its prospective importance, thepost at Spokane was made more pretentious than any ofthe other inland establishments. It contained a good dwell-ing house for the superintendent, another for the men, anda large storehouse ; the whole being protected by the regu-lation stockade, with bastions at two angles. The twosub-stations, among the Flatheads and Kootenais, weretemporary log shanties ; but the traders at each securedlarge quantities of furs, with which they arrived at SpokaneHouse in May.The fourth expedition under M'Kenzie passed up SnakeRiver, intending, should indications prove favorable, to locateamong the Nez Perces. M'Kenzie, not being pleased withthe outlook at his first stopping point, decided to advancestill higher up the river, but before doing so visited Clarkat Spokane. There he found J. G. M'Tavish, a partnerof the Northwest Company, just arrived from the East, withnews of the war between the United States and GreatBritain. Clark, who was a native American, carried outhis winter's programme, undisturbed by this news, butM'Kenzie hurried back to the Snake, cached his goods, andreturned immediately to Astoria, arriving on the 15th ofJanuary, 181 3.

In the meantime, since the departure of the four com-panies to the interior, changes had taken place at the Pacificcoast centre. It will be recalled that the Beaver was in port


133/631


134/631


135/631


136/631


137/631


138/631


139/631


140/631


141/631


142/631


143/631


144/631


145/631


146/631


147/631


148/631

TH^ NEW YO.KPUBLIC L!BRAi


149/631


150/631


151/631

THE EXCLUSION OF SPAIN 83that he had received instructions from the Spanish king toseize all foreign vessels found on the coast of America,When Douglas protested that his ship had entered theSound in distress and claimed the treatment due from shipsof all civilized nations under such circumstances, he wastold that the ship had been seized because the Spanish haddiscovered that Douglas's papers required him to make prizesof Russian, Spanish, and British ships of inferior strength.Douglas assured him that the papers had been misinterpre-ted, that they merely instructed him to guard against shipsof these nations, and to capture them if they attacked him.When at a later time the interpreter went over the papersagain and assured Martinez that this was the correct ren-dering, the commander offered to release the ship, providedDouglas would sign a statement that no detention had beensuffered and that the Spanish officer had relieved the needsof the Iphigenia. This Douglas finally consented to do,though under protest, and because his men importuned himto settle the matter. He also claimed that while in Spanishhands the Iphigenia was robbed of everything valuable inher cargo, and that the supplies furnished her were meagrein amount and exorbitant in price.

Three years after the events narrated above. CaptainGray and Mr. Ingraham, of the Boston ships, gave theirrecollections of this and other episodes connected with theNootka Sound controversy. These men declared that theseizure was due to a misunderstanding of the clause inDouglas's papers about the capture of Russian, British,and Spanish vessels. They said, too, that the officers andmen of the Iphigenia were "treated with all imaginablekindness, and every attention paid them. . . . TheIphigenia^ while in Spanish hands, from being a wreck, wasput in complete order for the sea, being calked, rigging,and sails repaired, anchors, and cables sent from the Princesa^etc. . . . Don Martinez supplied them with everykind of provisions they were in need of, for which CaptainDouglas gave him bills on Cravalia [Cawalho]....


152/631


153/631


154/631


155/631


156/631


157/631


158/631


159/631


160/631


161/631


162/631


163/631


164/631


165/631


166/631


167/631


168/631


169/631


170/631

'//( (< fIf

/:/.. /. , , ' , .,>.,

.^ 'f.,,v,,/, Sf^r /.,... ,,,,,.,, .' ,,-,n',. /.. a,-.^'

/ . /

I'l.. 'li'if,i< ,Vr .'.,-r. :. < V.Y,-* . .' ({(h/l\i =

c'^Ci/oi (~rf/,r r* flic Ccii^,ac{ cfjuj Ca.ftichr.r '

fui/rM'yI J

First and hist pages of tl.c treaty for tlie cession of Florida, dated February 22,I 8 19. From the original in the Department of State, Washington.


171/631


172/631


173/631


174/631


175/631

EARLY PHASES OF THE OREGON ^ESTION 99country within the memories of men then living, andprophetically continued: "Some now within these wallsmay, before they die, witness scenes more wonderful thanthese; and in after times may cherish delightful recollec-tions of this day, when America, almost shrinking from the* shadows of coming events,' first placed her feet upon un-trodden ground, scarcely daring to anticipate the greatnesswhich awaited her."

But the bill failed to pass Congress. The ablest speechin opposition was made by Tracy, of New York. He tookthe ground that the proposed military occupation of theColumbia was not demanded as a protection to existingPacific trade; and it had not been shown that it would inany way promote our commercial interests in that quarter.The idea of an overland commercial connection betweenthe east coast and the mouth of the Columbia was simplyvisionary; and he had no sympathy with a policy thatwould employ military establishments to draw populationto exposed regions, when they should be used merely toprotect the existing frontiers. He had received accurateinformation concerning the Columbia region from menwho had been there. The bar at the river's mouth wasdangerous, the valley was cramped by encroaching moun-tains, offering, in one hundred miles from the coast, fewspots fit for the pursuit of agriculture. The Willamettevalley was better, but east of this again all was desert.Finally, the people of the Atlantic and those of the Pacificnever could form one people. For, said Tracy, in languagewhich well represented the prevailing American sentimentof that time: "Nature has fixed limits for our nation; shehas kindly interposed as our western barrier, mountainsalmost inaccessible, whose base she has skirted with irre-claimable deserts of sand."

While the interest aroused in the House by this discus-sion was general, eight members participating in the debate,yet the idea of occupying the Columbia was in advanceof public opinion. The vote, January 27, 1823, on the

rv>


176/631


177/631


178/631


179/631


180/631


181/631


182/631


183/631


184/631


185/631


186/631


187/631

^HS NEW


188/631


189/631


190/631


191/631


192/631


193/631


194/631

114 THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKAsomewhat more than half a mile from the shore. This wasoccupied first in 1825; but it soon proved inconvenient onaccount of the distance from the river, and in the spring of1829 a new fort was begun on the low ground, only abouteighty rods from the shore. It was a stockaded, rectangularenclosure, thirty-seven rods in length by eighteen in width,'built of timbers about twenty feet in length. All theprincipal buildings, including the residence of the chieffactor, were within the enclosure, while in the course ofyears a considerable village grew up outside of the stockade.This was the Fort Vancouver which figures so often in theannals of early Oregon.

For twenty-two years Dr. McLoughlin remained in chargeof this establishment, and his rule there and over the greatwilderness empire under his supervision showed many ofthe characteristics of the benevolent despotisms of theeighteenth century. Subordinates both feared and lovedhim; Indians learned to trust his justice, both to rewardgood deeds and punish evil doers ; American traders, mis-sionaries, colonists, and even mere adventurers, expectedand received at his hands the most exemplary hospitality.The business of the entire western department found itsclearing house at this Vancouver. Ships from Londonarrived at that place annually, bringing supplies and mer-chandise for the trade. There were the general storesand warehouses from which the expeditions for the interiorwere freighted and which usually contained supplies for ayear in advance of actual needs. There, too, was the furhouse in which were gathered all the peltries collected froma territory embracing half a million square miles, andstretching from California in the south to Alaska in thenorth. The coasting vessels of the company landed at theVancouver wharf the furs collected from St. James, Alex-andria, Langley, Kamloops, and other stations in what isnow British Columbia. The spring fleets of boats broughtdown the Columbia the proceeds of the winter's trade andhunt from Umpqua in the south, Walla Walla, Okanogan,


195/631


196/631


197/631


198/631


199/631


200/631


201/631


202/631


203/631

ARRIFAL OF THE AMERICAN ADVANCE 121Fur Company, who headed one of the trapping parties,crossed the Rockies by this pass late in the fall of 1823.The recent discovery of a bit of written tradition throwssome doubt on the correctness of this theory. Amos Hol-ton, writing as an old Westerner, April 13, 1843, ^^7^ posi-tively : " General Ashley informed me at St. Louis twentyyears ago next fall [1823] that he had a short time previ-ously discovered a new route across or through the RockyMountains, just above our line of separation from Mexico,it being a valley extending quite through them, the passageof which was perfectly practicable and easy." The passwas certainly discovered about 1823, by some one connectedwith Ashley's parties, if not by the general himself, and wasthereafter regularly used by the mountain traders andtrappers. In 1826, Ashley took a mounted cannon throughto his post on Salt Lake, this being the first wheeled vehicleto use the route, so far as known. The wagons of Smith,Jackson, and Sublette, in 1830, did not enter the pass, butapproached it, and could have crossed without difficulty, asthe partners asserted and as later travellers demonstrated.Two years from that time wagons were taken through toGreen River. Thus the fur trade was not only opening upto the knowledge of Americans the country on the bordersof Oregon, but it was serving to develop a practical high-way, leading from the frontiers of settlement into the newterritory yet further westward.

In 1832, that picturesque character. Captain Bonneville,whose exploits have been so charmingly told by Irving, setout from the borders of Missouri with a company of overone hundred men, bound on a trading expedition into theRocky Mountains and the Columbia region. Bonneville wasa United States military officer who had served for someyears in the West, and had become familiar with the storiesof wealth to be obtained from the wilderness streams. NewYork parties furnished him financial support, and it washis expectation to follow the example of General Ashley,and to acquire fortunes for himself and his associates.


204/631


205/631


206/631


207/631


208/631


209/631

ARRIVAL OF THE AMERICAN ADVANCE 125their success was conditioned, Kelley therefore went toCalifornia in 1833, hoping to reach Oregon from the south.In California he met Ewing Young, a noted frontiersmanof New Mexican fame, who also was planning a trip to theWillamette valley. These two men then united their inter-ests and started northward with a band of horses, whichthe Mexican officials mistakenly supposed had been stolen.Mexico's view of the case was transmitted to McLoughlinthrough the captain of the Hudson's Bay Company'sschooner, which touched at Monterey, and Kelley andYoung reached Oregon under suspicion. Wyeth tells usthat Kelley was not received at the fort "as a gentleman,"but was furnished food and other necessaries at a house out-side, a sore point ever afterward with the father of Oregoncolonization. Kelley finally got away to the SandwichIslands and thence to the United States.The period we have now reached was marked in thecountry at large by an active philanthropy, having as oneof its objects the amelioration of life among the Indians ofthe far West. Many tribes living in the region of the greatplains had once occupied territories east of the Mississippi,with hunting grounds, pastures, and corn fields. Fromthese they had been removed, sometimes for their own good,oftener because of the demand for their lands by the in-coming tide of white settlers, and always with bitter lamen-tations on the part of the Indians forced to abandon thegraves of their ancestors.

These scenes, so frequently repeated in the early years ofthe fourth decade of the nineteenth century, called out theactive sympathies of men like Isaac McCoy, the missionaryhero of many frontiers, who followed the emigrating peoplesacross the great river. These men carried the Gospel to theIndians, opened schools for the Indian children, and paidgreat attention to the promotion of agriculture and the habitsof settled life. The government cooperated with the mis-sionaries by supplying the agencies with farmers and smiths,and sometimes by paying them for their work as teachers.


210/631


211/631

ARRIVAL OF THE AMERICAN ADVANCE 127Episcopal Church. In 1833 it appointed the Rev. JasonLee to begin missionary operations upon the Columbia. Inthe spring of 1834, Lee, with his nephew, Daniel Lee, whowas also a missionary, and three laymen, Cyrus Shepard,C. M. Walker, and P. L. Edwards, joined Wyeth's over-land expedition on the Missouri frontier. Their supplies,tools, and other equipments for beginning an establishmenthad been shipped on the A/ay Dacre. The first missionwas to be founded among the Flatheads, according to theplans of the society at home; but on reaching the Columbia,it was decided for several reasons to begin operations on theWillamette instead. Accordingly, the whole party descendedto Vancouver, arriving about the middle of September.

Soon afterward they made an exploring trip up the Wil-lamette. " On the east side of the river, and sixty milesfrom its mouth, a location was chosen to begin a mission.Here was a broad, rich bottom, many miles in length, wellwatered, and supplied with timber, oak, fir, Cottonwood,white maple, and white ash, scattered along the borders ofits grassy plains, where hundreds of acres were ready forthe plow." The work of building was at once begun ; andwhen the rains of the Oregon winter came, the industriousmission family found shelter in an excellent log house, whichwas nearing completion. A fenced field of thirty acres wasready for cropping in the spring. This, together with a logbarn, work oxen, cows, and poultry, gave the establishmentthe appearance of a thriving frontier farm.Nor was it the only one of its kind in this part of theWillamette valley. When the missionaries arrived on thescene, they found settled near them about a dozen families,living on farms scattered along the river below their station.Old hunters and trappers, weary of forest life, having retiredfrom the service of the Hudson's Bay Company, soughtpermanent homes for themselves, their Indian wives, andtheir half-breed children. The situation afforded many ad-vantages. The soil was fertile and easily tilled, while thefort provided a convenient market for all surplus products


212/631


213/631


214/631

George Abernethy, governor of Oregon \mder tlie ProvisionalConstitution, 1 845-1 849. From ti photogrnph in possession of theOregon Historical Society.


215/631


216/631


217/631

ARRIVAL OF THE AMERICAN ADVANCE 31The work was now broadened in its scope. Walker

and Eells, in the spring of 1839, established themselves onthe Tsimakane, a tributary of Spokane River, while Smithwas stationed among the upper Nez Perces, at Kamiah,sixty miles above Spalding's mission, on Snake River. Thusa vast extent of territory, containing many thousands ofnatives, was penetrated by the missionaries. They laboredincessantly, teaching, preaching, translating portions of theScriptures, and printing them on the little press sent overfrom Hawaii, building houses for the natives, erecting gristand saw mills, ditching and watering the land, helping theIndians to secure cattle in exchange for their numeroushorses.

While these things were happening east of the Cascadesthe little community on the Willamette was making prog-ress in many ways. At the mission the buildings were atfirst enlarged, and then, as the needs of the establishmentdemanded, others were erected in the neighborhood for sepa-rate families. The area of cultivated land increased fromyear to year, while the crops of grain and vegetables reachedconstantly larger proportions. The missionaries opened aschool in which they taught the children of the settlers, aswell as those of the Indians. Their Sabbath school wasresorted to by a number of all classes and all ages.

By the fall of 1836 the mission family, recruited by anumber of adopted Indian children, numbered thirty. Thenext year two reinforcements arrived, one in May, the otherin September. The first party left Boston in the summerof 1836, and was made up of Dr. Elijah White, his wifeand two children, Mr. and Mrs. A. Beers, with three chil-dren, three unmarried young women, and one unmarriedman. The second company contained seven persons.The mission colony was much strengthened, but its dis-tinctively religious work languished on account of the smallnumber of Indians living within its sphere of influence.The natives of western Oregon were vastly inferior to thoseof the upper country, especially on the physical side; and


218/631


219/631

PUBLIC LIBRARY'ASTOf^, LENOX[TfLDEN FOUNDATIONS


220/631

Alexander Baring, first Baron Aslihurton. From the paintuig by GeorgePeter Alexander Healy, in the Department of Statey IVashington.


221/631


222/631

134 THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKAbears no proportion .to the extent and resources of thecountry."The time was ripe for such agitation. The Willamettesettlement, in October, 1838, contained forty white menexclusive of the missionaries. More than one thousandacres of land had been enclosed, and the crop of 1836included nearly ten thousand bushels of wheat, as well as alarge amount of other produce. The settlement was " fastapproaching civilization and good order." The stimulusgiven to cattle raising by the events of 1837 had opened anew era, in which the valley came to be looked upon asa land of ease and plenty, not only by a considerable numberof " mountain men," but, with the dissemination of the newsthrough the country at large, by a good many people in theMississippi valley as well. The age of Oregon colonizationwas at hand.


223/631


224/631

136 rHE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKAacknowledge ; the sentiments entertained by all in respectto the United States and to the two European powers havingpossessions in that region ; and, generally, endeavor to ob-tain all such information, political, physical, statistical, andgeographical as may prove useful or interesting to theUnited States."

Slacum's report, dated March 26, 1837, was presented toCongress in the following December. It enters slightlyinto the history of the Oregon question, discusses the situa-tion, trade, the political and economic importance of theHudson's Bay Company, and describes with some detailthe missionary establishment on the Willamette. Slacumfound the missionaries doing much good and respected byall; the temperance society was a remarkable success, andthe settlers, both American and French, were in a way toprosper greatly by the introduction of cattle from California.We recall that Slacum promoted the organization of theWillamette Cattle Company, and gave its agents a freepassage to San Francisco Bay. He was so strongly im-pressed with the possibilities of the Willamette valley forstock raising, that he declared it ''the finest grazing countryin the world. Here there are no droughts, as on thepampas of Buenos Ayres, or the plains of California, whilstthe lands abound with richer grasses both winter andsummer."One interesting feature of Slacum's report is the emphasishe placed upon the maintenance of the right of the United

States to Puget Sound. From the strategic point of viewhe regarded this body of water as of the highest importance,and hoped that no line south of forty-nine would ever beaccepted by the United States, because such a surrenderwould put this magnificent harbor beyond the republic'sboundaries.

After the delivery of Slacum's report, Congress took upthe Oregon question once more, and from that time forwardthere was no abatement of interest until the country had beenoccupied by the American pioneers, the treaty of partition


225/631


226/631


227/631


228/631


229/631

c>'r. ///c./.-./ ' ../.,

fi- < //c^yc/ ^/ />rV

-',''

. . . -4,

/ //

/

'''r^ r'f-. t:--/- , /^,


230/631


231/631


232/631

142 rHE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKAunfortunately, for some reason,and considering the finan-cial stringency of the time we need hardly look further tofind the cause,the society sent no emigrants to the Colum-bia in 1840. The last number of the Oregonian appeared inAugust, 1839, and this date marks the end of the society'sactive existence.The events of 18381839 indicate clearly that the Ore-gon question had reached the practical stage, and that therenewed activity of Congress was in response to a wide-spread interest among the people. During the summer of1839, emigration societies were formed in many places, bothEast and West,in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana,Illinois, and Missouri.

Meantime, Lee's missionary colonization scheme wasworking out even more successfully than he had hoped.The request made to the Board for missionaries and lay-men brought a prompt and hearty response. Thirty-sixadult persons volunteered, and with their seventeen chil-dren were sent to Oregon in the ship Lausanne^ fitted outwith a very complete colonizing equipment for which theBoard had provided the unprecedented sum of ^42,000.It has been affirmed, on the authority of one of the passen-gers, that in chartering the Lausanne Lee was assisted fromthe secret service fund of the United States government.The vessel left New York on the lOth of October, 1839,and reached Honolulu on the nth of April following. OnMay 2 1st, the ship arrived at the mouth of the Columbia,and on the ist of June the sea-weary passengers werecomfortably housed within the hospitable walls of FortVancouver.

From there the missionaries were distributed to theirdestined posts of duty. Rev. J. P. Richmond and family,accompanied by Miss Clark as teacher, repaired to the PugetSound station at Nesqually; Rev. A. F. Waller took con-trol at the falls of the Willamette; Rev. J. H. Frost wentto the mouth of the Columbia; Revs. W, W. Cone andGustavus Hines were detailed to begin a wq-^ mission on


233/631

THE COLONIZATION OF OREGON 143the Umpqua, an enterprise foredoomed to failure. Twoof the laymen, Mr. Brewer and Dr. Babcock, were addedto the Dalles mission, and the remainder of the half hun-dred newcomers passed up the Willamette to the centralestablishment.

This settlement took on more fully than ever the aspectof a prosperous agricultural colony, which, by reason of itssocial unity and religious leadership, was able to dominatethe intellectual interests of the Willamette valley. About thistime a small number of " mountain-men," set adrift by thedissolution of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, soughthomes near the missionary settlement, further strengtheningthe American element in Oregon. Soon afterward, aboutsixty Canadian settlers from Red River arrived in thecountry, expecting to locate near Puget Sound, where someof the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company were beginninglarge operations under the name of the "Puget Sound Agri-cultural Company." The Canadians were not pleased withthe soil in the Sound region, and nearly all removed to theWillamette.The year 1841 is notable for the presence on the Colum-bia of three distinguished visitors, each of whom gave anaccount of his observations. One of them was the gov-ernor of the Hudson's Bay Company, Sir George Simpson,who came across the continent from Montreal. Anotherwas the French diplomat, Duflot de Mofras, at that timeattached to the French legation at Mexico. He was sentnorth to visit both California and Oregon, which he madethe subject of his "Explorations." The third was theAmerican naval officer. Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, at theconclusion of his voyage of exploration in Pacific watersbegun in 1838.

Wilkes gave a detailed account of the conditions existingon the Willamette at the time of his visit. Near the mouthof the river he found a group of young Americans who hadcrossed the Rockies in 1840, and were busily engaged inbuilding a vessel, which they called The Star of Oregon^ for


234/631


235/631


236/631


237/631


238/631

146 THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKAcolonized by straggling parties and a few defenceless mis-sionaries from across the mountains.

Yet Vancouver was to many Americans the type of agreat foreign monopoly, which benefited itself while givingaid to settlers and missionaries, and which by virtue of itsposition held the entire community in a sort of subjectionpeculiarly galling to men who honestly believed themselvesto be the rightful sovereigns of the land. It was from thisfeeling that there was to come the change of conditions inOregon which should substitute American rule and protec-tion for that of Great Britain.

Soon after the arrival of the Lausanne^ in the summer of1840, the physician of the mission, Dr. Elijah White,severed his connections in Oregon and returned to theUnited States. When a little later the government decidedto commission a sub Indian agent for Oregon, believingthat this step would be wholly within its rights under thetreaty of joint occupation, while the appointment of a civilgovernor might not be, Dr. White was offered this agency,and early in the spring of 1842 he prepared to return toOregon with as many emigrants as he might be able toenlist. After an active campaign he gathered a companyof about one hundred and twenty persons, with whomhe made a successful journey to the Columbia during thesummer.Two other steps were taken by the government in 1842

for the settlement of the Oregon question. Senator Linnhad brought in a new bill providing for the occupation ofthe Oregon country, the granting of lands to settlers, theextension of the laws of the United States over the territory,and the establishment of a line of forts along the most feas-ible route for emigrants. The idea contained in the lastprovision was partially carried into effect by the appointmentof Fremont to find a route through the Rocky Mountains.This was the beginning of that series of "path finding"operations which led to such interesting results in Californiaa few years later.


239/631

THE COLONIZATION OF OREGON 147But Linn's bill of 1842 was not passed. It was with-

drawn when, in the spring of 1842, the United States andGreat Britain again opened negotiations for the purpose ofsettling all differences outstanding between them. It wasconfidently expected that the Oregon difficulty would beadjusted at this time, but when the treaty was concluded atWashington on the 9th of August, by Daniel Webster andLord Ashburton, it made no mention whatever of Oregon.The public and private discussion of the Oregon questionbrought the advantages of that region to the attention of anever widening circle of people. Oregon was known to havea productive soil and a climate peculiarly attractive to thefarmer by reason of its uniform mildness. The settlers ofMissouri and other western States, whose crops, for wantof easy communication with markets, brought but slight re-turns, and for whose cattle there was almost no demand,learned that in this land, with ocean transportation, theirgrain would bring remunerative prices; and that their stock,living throughout the year on the rich prairie grasses, withlittle or no expense to the owners, would be worth fourtimes the amount paid for it in western Missouri. Then,too, there were to be considered the opportunities for com-merce, fishing and manufacturing.The persistent "hard times" in the newer States of theWest predisposed many to a change ; and others, especiallythose living in the Southwestern States, saw in emigrationto Oregon a chance to get away from the institution ofslavery. Moreover, the excitement of a journey beyondthe great mountains into a new country was a lure to theyoung and adventurous, who possessed the same spirit whichhad carried their fathers and grandfathers across the Alle-ghany barriers into the plains and valleys cf the middleWest. This motive must receive its share of considerationin the discussion of the settlement of the Oregon country.When the spring of 1843 arrived, many persons in variousparts of the West made ready for the journey to Ore-gon. The movement was largely individual, but efforts at


240/631


241/631


242/631


243/631


244/631

152 'THE PACIFIC SLOPE AND ALASKAfavorable, little time has been lost in preparing the road, sothat he and his pioneers are at the nooning place an hourin advance of the wagons, which time is spent in preparingconvenient watering places for the animals and digginglittle wells near the bank of the Platte. As the teams arenot unyoked, but simply turned loose from the wagons, acorral is not formed at noon, but the wagons are drawnup in columns, four abreast, the leading wagon of eachplatoon on the left, the platoons being formed with thatin view. This brings friends together at noon as well asat night."To-day an extra session of the council is being held,to settle a dispute that does not admit of delay, between aproprietor and a young man who has undertaken to doa man's service on the journey for bed and board. Manysuch engagements exist, and much interest is taken in themanner in which this high court, from which there is noappeal, will define the rights of each party in such engage-ments. The council was a high court in the most exaltedsense. It was a senate composed of the ablest and mostrespected fathers of the emigration. It exercised both leg-islative and judicial powers, and its laws and decisions provedequal and worthy of the high trust reposed in it. Its sessionswere usually held on days when the caravan was not moving.It first took the state of the little commonwealth into con-sideration; revised or repealed rules defective or obsolete,and enacted such others as the exigencies seemed to require.The common weal being cared for, it next resolved itselfinto a court to hear and settle private disputes and griev-ances. The offender and the aggrieved appeared before itwitnesses were examined and the parties were heard bythemselves and sometimes by counsel. The judges beingthus made fully acquainted with the case, and being in noway influenced or cramped by technicalities, decided allcases according to their merits. There was but little usefor lawyers before this court, for no plea was entertainedwhich was calculated to hinder or defeat the ends of justice.


245/631

THE COLONIZAriON OF OREGON 153Many of these judges have since won honors in higherspheres. They have aided to establish on the broad basisof right and universal liberty two pillars of our great repub-lic in the Occident [California and Oregon] . Some of theyoung men who appeared before them as advocates, havethemselves sat upon the highest judicial tribunals, com-manded armies, been governors of States, and taken highpositions in the Senate of the nation.

"It is now one o'clock; the bugle has sounded and thecaravan has resumed its westward journey. It is in the sameorder, but the evening is far less animated than the morningmarch; a drowsiness has fallen apparently on man and beast;teamsters drop asleep on their perches and even when walk-ing by their teams, and the words of command are nowaddressed to the slowly creeping oxen in the soft tenor ofwomen or the piping treble of children, while the snoresof the teamsters make a droning accompanimentthe sun is now getting low in the west and at length thepainstaking pilot is standing ready to conduct the train inthe circle which he has previously measured and markedout, which is to form the invariable fortification for thenight. The leading wagons follow him so nearly aroundthe circle that but a wagon length separates them. Eachwagon follows in its track, the rear closing on the front,until its tongue and ox chains will perfectly reach from oneto the other, and so accurate the measure and perfect thepractise, that the hindmost wagon of the train always pre-cisely closes the gateway. As each wagon is brought intoposition it is dropped from its team (the teams being insidethe circle), the team unyoked, and the yokes and chains areused to connect the wagon strongly with that in its front.Within ten minutes from the time the leading wagon halted,the barricade is formed, the teams unyoked and driven outto pasture. Every one is busy preparing fires of buffalochips to cook the evening meal, pitching tents and otherwisepreparing for the night. . , ." The watches "begin at8 o'clock P. M., and end at 4 o'clock a. m."


246/631


247/631

THE COLOmZAriON OF OREGON 155act as guide. His services to the emigrants had alreadybeen valuable, but from Fort Hall they were very essentialto the success of the undertaking.Pressing on at the best rate possible, with the jaded andfootsore oxen, the party passed Fort Boise on the 20th ofSeptember, and by the ist of October reached the beautifulvalley of the Grand Ronde. Another ten days of ruggedroads and storms brought the caravan to the borders of theColumbia at Whitman's station. Many were in need offood, and took the opportunity to purchase supplies at themission. But within a few days the party was again onthe way, eager to complete the last stage of the journeyto the Willamette.Some went down by boat, leaving theircattle at Fort Walla Walla, while others drove their stockoverland.And so the first great movement of American families tothe shores of the Pacific terminated successfully ; and theheroic achievements of the American pioneer laid the founda-tions of a new State.

7/28/2019 The History of North Amer

the history of north america, vol 10: the pacific slope and alaska (1903) joseph schaffer

Documents