In the year 1835 it does not appear that any settlers arrived in the country. Rev. Samuel Parker visited and explored it under the direction of the American Board of Foreign Missions.
In 1836, Rev. H. Spalding, Dr. M. Whitman, W. H. Gray, Mrs. Eliza Spalding, and Mrs. Narcissa Whitman, missionaries of the American Board, and Rev. Mr. Beaver, Episcopal chaplain at Vancouver, and Mrs. Beaver. There appear to have been no settlers this year; at least, none known to us.
In 1837, Mrs. A. M. Lee, Mrs. S. Shepard, Dr. E. White, Mrs. M. White, A. Beers, Mrs. R. Beers, Miss E. Johnson, W. H. Wilson, Mr. J. Whitcomb, members of the Methodist Episcopal Mission. Second re-enforcement this year: Rev. H. K. W. Perkins, Rev. David Leslie, Mrs. Leslie, Misses Satira, Mary, and Sarah Leslie, Miss Margaret Smith, Dr. J. Bailey, an Englishman, George Gay, and John Turner.
In 1838, Rev. Elkanah Walker, Mrs. Mary Walker, Rev. Cushing Eells, Mrs. Elvira Eells, Rev. A. B. Smith, Mrs. E. Smith, and Mrs.Mary A. Gray, missionaries of the American Board. As laborers under special contract not to trade in furs or interfere with Hudson’s Bay Company’s trade, James Conner, native wife, and one child, and Richard Williams, both from Rocky Mountains. Jesuit priests: Rev. F. N. Blanchet, Rev. Demerse, located at Vancouver and French Prairie.
In 1839, Rev. J. S. Griffin, Mrs. Griffin, Asael Munger, Mrs. Mary Munger, Independent Protestant Mission; Robert Shortess, J. Farnam, Sydney Smith, Mr. Lawson, Rev. Ben. Wright (Independent Methodist), Wm. Geiger, Mr. Keizer, John Edmund Pickernel, a sailor.
In 1840, Mrs. Lee, second wife of Rev. Jason Lee; Rev. J. H. Frost and wife; Rev. A. F. Waller, wife, and two children; Rev. W. W. Kone and wife; Rev. G. Hines, wife, and sister; Rev. L. H. Judson, wife, and two children; Rev. J. L. Parish, wife, and three children; Rev. G. P. Richards, wife, and three children; Rev. A. P. Olley and wife. Laymen: Mr. George Abernethy, wife, and two children; Mr. H. Campbell, wife, and one child; Mr. W. W. Raymond and wife; Mr. H. B. Brewer and wife; Dr. J. L. Babcock, wife, and one child; Rev. Mrs. Daniel Lee; Mrs. David Carter; Mrs. Joseph Holman; Miss E. Phillips. Methodist Episcopal Protestant Mission: Rev. Harvey Clark and wife; P. B. Littlejohn and wife. Independent Protestant Mission: Robert Moore, James Cooke, and James Fletcher, settlers. Jesuit Priest: P. G. De Smet, Flathead Mission.
Rocky Mountain men with native wives: William Craig, Robert or Dr. Newell, J. L. Meek, James Ebbets, William M. Dougherty, John Larison, George Wilkinson, a Mr. Nicholson, and Mr. Algear, and William Johnson, author of the novel, “Leni Leoti; or, the Prairie Flower.” The subject was first written and read before the Lyceum, at Oregon City, in 1843.
In the above list I have given the names of all the American settlers, as near as I can remember them, the list of names I once collected having been lost. I never was fully informed as to the different occupations of all these men. It will be seen that we had in the country in the fall of 1840 thirty-six American settlers, twenty-five of them with native wives; thirty-three American women, thirty-two children, thirteen lay members of the Protestant missions, nineteen ministers (thirteen Methodist, six Congregational), four physicians (three American and one English), three Jesuit priests, and sixty Canadian-French,—making, outside of the Hudson’s Bay Company, one hundred and thirty-seven Americans and sixty-three Canadians, counting the three priests as Canadians.
1840.—Petition to Congress of United States.—British subjects amenable to the laws of Canada.—Esquire Douglas as justice of the peace.—Mr. Leslie as judge.
1840.—Petition to Congress of United States.—British subjects amenable to the laws of Canada.—Esquire Douglas as justice of the peace.—Mr. Leslie as judge.
Eighteen hundred and forty finds Oregon with her little population all active and busy, laboring and toiling to provide the necessaries of life—food and raiment. And if a man did not wear the finest of broadcloth, his intelligence and good conduct secured him a cordial welcome to every house or shanty in the country among the American or French settlers and missions. This was an innovation upon Hudson’s Bay Company customs, and a violation of aristocratic rules sought to be enforced by foreign influences and sustained by the missionaries then in the country.
Mr. Hines, in his 21st chapter on Oregon, says: “The number of people in the colony was so small, the business transactions so limited, and the difficulties so few, that the necessity of organizing the community into a body politic did not appear to be very great, though for two years persons had been chosen to officiate as judges and magistrates.”
The fact that the judges and magistrates officiating were chosen by the Methodist Mission, in opposition to the wish of the settlers, and from whose decisions there was no appeal, and that there was no statute or law book in the country, and nothing to guide the decisions of the judge or magistrate but his own opinions, caprice, or preferences, Mr. Hines leaves out of sight. This state of things was submitted to from the combined organized influence of the Methodist Mission and the unorganized condition of the settlers. A petition was gotten up and sent to Congress. This petition is too important a document to be omitted. The writer has no means at present to give the names attached to it. The petition speaks for itself. As settlers, we saw and knew the objects of the Hudson’s Bay Company and the English government, by their actions and oft-repeated insolent assertions that they meant to “hold the country”by fair or by foul means, which, as men understanding the unscrupulous and avaricious disposition of the entire English occupants of this country, we fully understood and duly appreciated, as will be readily demonstrated upon a perusal of the following:—
Petition of 1840.
To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled:Your petitioners represent unto your honorable bodies, that they are residents in the Oregon Territory, and citizens of the United States, or persons desirous of becoming such.They further represent to your honorable bodies, that they have settled themselves in said Territory, under the belief that it was a portion of the public domain of said States, and that they might rely upon the government thereof for the blessings of free institutions, and the protection of its arms.But your petitioners further represent, that they are uninformed of any acts of said government by which its institutions and protection are extended to them; in consequence whereof, themselves and families are exposed to be destroyed by the savages around them, andOTHERS THAT WOULD DO THEM HARM.And your petitioners would further represent, that they have no means of protecting their own and the lives of their families, other than self-constituted tribunals, originated and sustained by the power of an ill-instructed public opinion, and the resort to force and arms.And your petitioners represent these means of safety to be an insufficient safeguard of life and property, and that the crimes oftheft,murder,infanticide,etc., are increasing among them to an alarming extent; and your petitioners declare themselves unable to arrest this progress of crime, and its terrible consequences, without the aid of the law, and tribunals to administer it.Your petitioners therefore pray the Congress of the United States of America to establish, as soon as may be, a Territorial government in the Oregon Territory.And if reasons other than those above presented were needed to induce your honorable bodies to grant the prayer of the undersigned, your petitioners, they would be found in the value of this Territory to the nation, and the alarming circumstances that portend its loss.Your petitioners, in view of these last considerations, would represent, that the English government has had a surveying squadron on the Oregon coast for the last two years, employed in making accurate surveys of all its rivers, bays, and harbors; and that, recently, the said government is said to have made a grant to the Hudson’s Bay Company, of all lands lying between the Columbia River and Puget Sound; and that said company is actually exercising unequivocal actsof ownership over said lands thus granted, and opening extensive farms upon the same.And your petitioners represent, that these circumstances, connected with other acts of said company to the same effect, andtheir declarations that the English government own and will hold, as its own soil, that portion of Oregon Territory situated north of the Columbia River, together with the important fact that the said company are cutting and sawing into lumber, and shipping to foreign ports, vast quantities of the finest pine-trees upon the navigable waters of the Columbia, have led your petitioners to apprehend that the English government do intend, at all events, to hold that portion of this Territory lying north of the Columbia River.And your petitioners represent, that the said Territory, north of the Columbia, is an invaluable possession to the American Union; that in and about Puget Sound are the only harbors of easy access, and commodious and safe, upon the whole coast of the Territory; and that a great part of this said northern portion of the Oregon Territory is rich in timber, water-power, andvaluable minerals. For these and other reasons, your petitioners pray that Congress will establish its sovereignty over said Territory.Your petitioners would further represent, that the country south of the Columbia River, and north of the Mexican line, and extending from the Pacific Ocean one hundred and twenty miles into the interior, is of unequaled beauty and fertility. Its mountains, covered with perpetual snow, pouring into the prairies around their bases transparent streams of the purest water; the white and black oak, pine, cedar, and fir forests that divide the prairies into sections convenient for farming purposes; the rich mines of coal in its hills, and salt springs in its valleys; its quarries of limestone, sandstone, chalk, and marble; the salmon of its rivers, and the various blessings of the delightful and healthy climate, are known to us, and impress your petitioners with the belief that this is one of the most favored portions of the globe.Indeed, the deserts of the interior have their wealth of pasturage; and their lakes, evaporating in summer, leave in their basins hundreds of bushels of the purest soda. Many other circumstances could be named, showing the importance of this Territory in a national, commercial, and agricultural point of view. And, although your petitioners would not undervalue considerations of this kind, yet they beg leave especially to call the attention of Congress to their own condition as an infant colony, without military force or civil institutions to protect their lives and property and children, sanctuaries and tombs, from the hands of uncivilized and merciless savages around them. We respectfully askfor the civil institutions of the American Republic. We pray for the high privileges of American citizenship; the peaceful enjoyment of life; the right of acquiring, possessing, and using property; and the unrestrained pursuit of rational happiness. And for this your petitioners will ever pray.David Leslie, [and others.][1]
To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled:
Your petitioners represent unto your honorable bodies, that they are residents in the Oregon Territory, and citizens of the United States, or persons desirous of becoming such.
They further represent to your honorable bodies, that they have settled themselves in said Territory, under the belief that it was a portion of the public domain of said States, and that they might rely upon the government thereof for the blessings of free institutions, and the protection of its arms.
But your petitioners further represent, that they are uninformed of any acts of said government by which its institutions and protection are extended to them; in consequence whereof, themselves and families are exposed to be destroyed by the savages around them, andOTHERS THAT WOULD DO THEM HARM.
And your petitioners would further represent, that they have no means of protecting their own and the lives of their families, other than self-constituted tribunals, originated and sustained by the power of an ill-instructed public opinion, and the resort to force and arms.
And your petitioners represent these means of safety to be an insufficient safeguard of life and property, and that the crimes oftheft,murder,infanticide,etc., are increasing among them to an alarming extent; and your petitioners declare themselves unable to arrest this progress of crime, and its terrible consequences, without the aid of the law, and tribunals to administer it.
Your petitioners therefore pray the Congress of the United States of America to establish, as soon as may be, a Territorial government in the Oregon Territory.
And if reasons other than those above presented were needed to induce your honorable bodies to grant the prayer of the undersigned, your petitioners, they would be found in the value of this Territory to the nation, and the alarming circumstances that portend its loss.
Your petitioners, in view of these last considerations, would represent, that the English government has had a surveying squadron on the Oregon coast for the last two years, employed in making accurate surveys of all its rivers, bays, and harbors; and that, recently, the said government is said to have made a grant to the Hudson’s Bay Company, of all lands lying between the Columbia River and Puget Sound; and that said company is actually exercising unequivocal actsof ownership over said lands thus granted, and opening extensive farms upon the same.
And your petitioners represent, that these circumstances, connected with other acts of said company to the same effect, andtheir declarations that the English government own and will hold, as its own soil, that portion of Oregon Territory situated north of the Columbia River, together with the important fact that the said company are cutting and sawing into lumber, and shipping to foreign ports, vast quantities of the finest pine-trees upon the navigable waters of the Columbia, have led your petitioners to apprehend that the English government do intend, at all events, to hold that portion of this Territory lying north of the Columbia River.
And your petitioners represent, that the said Territory, north of the Columbia, is an invaluable possession to the American Union; that in and about Puget Sound are the only harbors of easy access, and commodious and safe, upon the whole coast of the Territory; and that a great part of this said northern portion of the Oregon Territory is rich in timber, water-power, andvaluable minerals. For these and other reasons, your petitioners pray that Congress will establish its sovereignty over said Territory.
Your petitioners would further represent, that the country south of the Columbia River, and north of the Mexican line, and extending from the Pacific Ocean one hundred and twenty miles into the interior, is of unequaled beauty and fertility. Its mountains, covered with perpetual snow, pouring into the prairies around their bases transparent streams of the purest water; the white and black oak, pine, cedar, and fir forests that divide the prairies into sections convenient for farming purposes; the rich mines of coal in its hills, and salt springs in its valleys; its quarries of limestone, sandstone, chalk, and marble; the salmon of its rivers, and the various blessings of the delightful and healthy climate, are known to us, and impress your petitioners with the belief that this is one of the most favored portions of the globe.
Indeed, the deserts of the interior have their wealth of pasturage; and their lakes, evaporating in summer, leave in their basins hundreds of bushels of the purest soda. Many other circumstances could be named, showing the importance of this Territory in a national, commercial, and agricultural point of view. And, although your petitioners would not undervalue considerations of this kind, yet they beg leave especially to call the attention of Congress to their own condition as an infant colony, without military force or civil institutions to protect their lives and property and children, sanctuaries and tombs, from the hands of uncivilized and merciless savages around them. We respectfully askfor the civil institutions of the American Republic. We pray for the high privileges of American citizenship; the peaceful enjoyment of life; the right of acquiring, possessing, and using property; and the unrestrained pursuit of rational happiness. And for this your petitioners will ever pray.
David Leslie, [and others.][1]
[1]Senate Document, Twenty-sixth Congress, first session. No. 514.
[1]Senate Document, Twenty-sixth Congress, first session. No. 514.
We have before alluded to the fact that the English government, by act of Parliament, had extended the colonial jurisdiction and civil laws of Canada over all her subjects on this coast, and had commissioned James Douglas, Angus McDonald, and, I think, Mr. Wark, as justices of the peace, having jurisdiction in civil cases not exceeding two hundred pounds sterling. In criminal cases, if the magistrate found, on examination, sufficient cause, the accused was to be sent to Canada for final trial. In all minor matters the Hudson’s Bay Company were absolute. Their men, by the articles of enlistment, were bound to obey all orders of a superior officer, as much so as a soldier in the army. Flogging was a common punishment inflicted by all grades of officers, from a petty clerk of a trading-post up to the governor of the company. All British subjects, or any that had been subjects to the British crown, were considered as amenable to the laws of Canada, which were delivered from the brain of the magistrate or judge, who perchance may have passed through some parts of Canada on his way to this coast, no one knew when. Of course he knew all about the laws he was to enforce upon her Majesty’s subjects, the same as our American judge, I. L. Babcock, did of the laws he was called upon to administer among the American settlers. Although the following incident is not exactly in the order of time in which we are writing, yet it illustrates the legal knowledge of Esquire Douglas so well that the reader will excuse me for giving it just here. The case occurred in the summer of 1846, I think in August. The Hudson’s Bay Company and the British subjects in the country had changed from the open opposition policy to that of union with the provisional government, and some of the members of the company had been elected to office. Mr. Douglas had received a commission as justice of the peace and county judge from Governor Abernethy. A man by the name of McLame had taken it into his head to jump a claim belonging to one of the company’s servants, near Fort Vancouver. The fact was duly stated to Esquire Douglas, who issued his warrant commanding the sheriff, a servant of the company, to arrest McLame. The sheriff proceeded with his warrant and posse, took McLame, brought him to the fort, and put him in irons to keep himsecure until he could be tried. The day following, the writer arrived at the fort, and as he was an old acquaintance of Esquire Douglas, and also holding a commission of justice of the peace and judge of the county court, Esquire Douglas stated the case to him, and asked his advice how to conduct it. I inquired what it was McLame had done.
“Why, he went upon the land of one of our people and set up a claim to it, and made some threats.”
“Did he use any weapons, or injure any one?”
“No; but he was very insulting, as the men tell me; used abusive language and frightened the men, and attempted to get them off the claim, is the most he did.”
“Well, Esquire, I think if you do not manage this case carefully you will have a devil of a muss among these fellows.”
“What do you think I had better do?” says the Esquire.
“If it was my case, as it is yours, I would call the court as soon as possible, and call the parties. McLame claims to know something of law, and he will plead his own case, or get some one that don’t know any more about law than he does, and they will call for a nonsuit on account of some illegality in the warrant or pleadings, and the first show you have, give them a nonsuit, and decide against your own people. This will satisfy McLame and his party, and the matter will end there. The suit is a civil one, and should have been by notice and summons, for ‘forcible entry and detainer,’ instead of an arrest and confinement as a criminal. They may attempt to make false imprisonment out of it. If they do, I would settle it the best way I could.”
I never learned the exact manner in which this case was settled. I think McLame received some compensation and the matter was settled. But the Esquire never fully recovered from the effect of this legal attempt at provisional American wisdom, as he came as near involving the two governments in a national war in the San Juan boundary question, in 1849, as he did the country, in attempting to protect the unreasonable claims of the company’s servants in 1846. As to law books or legal knowledge, the country in those early times could not boast of having an extensive law library or profound lawyers, and, as was to be expected, some new and strange lawsuits occurred.
Of the following case we have no personal knowledge, and can only give it as related to us by parties present. T. J. Hubbard, of Champoeg, had a native wife. She was claimed and coveted by a neighbor of his, who threatened to take her from him. Hubbard was armed, and prepared to defend his own supposed or real right of possession from his covetous neighbor, who attempted to enter his cabin window, or space where a window might be put (in case the owner had one to gothere). Hubbard shot him while attempting to enter, and submitted to a trial. Rev. Mr. Leslie presided as judge. A jury was called, and the statements of all parties that pretended to know any thing about the case made. The verdict was, “Justifiable homicide.” The petition which was gotten up about this time, says that “theft, murder, and infanticide, are increasing among them to an alarming extent.” A fact was unquestionably stated in the petition, that justice and virtue were comparative strangers in the country. Despotism and oppression, with false notions of individual rights and personal liberty, were strongly at variance. The leading men, or such as one would naturally suppose to be guides of the erring, seemed to have fixed a personal standard for virtue, justice, and right, not difficult for the most abandoned to comply with.
Death of Ewing Young.—First public attempt to organize a provisional government.—Origin of the provisional government.—First Oregon schooner.
Death of Ewing Young.—First public attempt to organize a provisional government.—Origin of the provisional government.—First Oregon schooner.
In the early part of this year, about the 15th of February, 1841, Mr. Ewing Young, having been sick but a short time, died. He left a large band of cattle and horses and no will, and seems to have had no heirs in the country. On the 17th we find most of the settlers present at the funeral. After burying Mr. Young, a meeting was called, over which Rev. Jason Lee presided. After some discussion it was thought best to adjourn to meet at the Methodist Mission.
On the next day, the 18th, short as the notice was, nearly all the settlers were present,—Canadians, French, English, Americans, and Protestant missionaries and Jesuit priests.
Rev. Jason Lee, for some cause not stated, was excused from acting as chairman, and Rev. David Leslie elected to fill his place. Rev. Gustavus Hines and Sydney Smith were chosen as secretaries. “The doings of the previous day were presented to the assembly and adopted in part.” Why does not Mr. Hines give us all the proceedings of the previous day? Was there any thing in them that reflected upon the disposition of the reverend gentleman to control the property of the deceased Mr. Young, and apply it to the use of the mission, or distribute it among its members?
We are well aware of the fact that, on the death of a person in any way connected with, or in the service of, the Hudson’s Bay Company, they at once administer upon his estate, to the setting aside of the will of the deceased, as in the case of Mr. P. C. Pambrun, which occurred the summer before Mr. Young’s decease; and, more recently, of Mr. Ray, who died at San Francisco. Mr. Ray was an active, energetic young man, had won the heart and hand of Miss McLaughlin, youngest daughter of Governor McLaughlin, and by this marriage had three interesting children, a son and two daughters. By his trading and speculations with his private funds, he had acquired a handsome fortune for his young family. At his death the Hudson’s Bay Company sent an agent to take charge of the property. He claimed that as Mr. Ray was a servant of the company, and in their employ, he had no right to acquire property outside of their business; hence, the property belongedto the company. The books were canceled, and left his estate in debt to the company, and his family destitute. His widow was obliged to take in washing, which was given her by some American officers then at that place. By this means she supported herself and young family till she could obtain help from her father, who had withdrawn from the company, and was then residing in Oregon City.
This is as good an illustration of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s generosity as can be given. They pursued Dr. McLaughlin and his children to the death. Their influence and statements have led the American people to mistake the doctor’s unbounded generosity to them as wholly due to the company, and changed the friendly feeling and rewards due to Dr. McLaughlin for needed supplies in the hour of greatest peril to their own account, at the same time holding the doctor’s estate responsible for every dollar, as they did Mr. Ray’s.
As to Messrs. Shepard’s and Olley’s estates, they were both administered by the Methodist Mission, or some one or more of its members. I have never been able to learn the results, but have been informed that, as they were members of the mission, the little property they had was disposed of as per mission usage. In the case of Mr. Young, the settlers found themselves somewhat interested. As to any Frenchman or Roman Catholic, it was taken for granted, if he was not the servant of the Hudson’s Bay Company, his property went to the priest.
The settlers were united in the opinion that some understanding or laws should be adopted to govern the settlement of estates, other than the custom adopted by the Hudson’s Bay Company or the missions; hence they all turned out, and were completely defeated by the operations of the Jesuit and Methodist missions. A resolution was ready, prepared for the occasion:—
“Resolved, That a committee be chosen to form a constitution, and draft a code of laws, and that the following persons compose that committee: Rev. F. N. Blanchet, Rev. Jason Lee, Rev. Gustavus Hines, Rev. Josiah L. Parish; Mr. D. Donpierre, Mr. M. Charlevo, Mr. Robert Moore, Mr. E. Lucia, Mr. Wm. Johnson.”
“Resolved, That a committee be chosen to form a constitution, and draft a code of laws, and that the following persons compose that committee: Rev. F. N. Blanchet, Rev. Jason Lee, Rev. Gustavus Hines, Rev. Josiah L. Parish; Mr. D. Donpierre, Mr. M. Charlevo, Mr. Robert Moore, Mr. E. Lucia, Mr. Wm. Johnson.”
The committee first named in the resolution contained the names of the three first-named clergymen. This was clerical law and constitution a little too strong. It was then moved to put upon the committee some that were not clergymen. The committee was finally made up of nine. Now comes the test of all,—the governor. Revs. Leslie and Hines, and Drs. Babcock and Bailey were prominent candidates. The prospects were that the three Protestant missionary candidates would divide that influence so that Dr. Bailey would be elected.
It will be borne in mind that Dr. Bailey was a man of strong Englishprejudices, and opposed to religious societies and religion generally. He could secure the French Catholic vote, and the majority of the settlers. He was present at the meeting, with his Canadian, French, and Hudson’s Bay servant voters, all trained to vote for him for governor. He nominated himself, and so disgusted the American settlers that they joined in the effort to defeat him.
Mr. Hines was the prominent candidate to enter the field, and secure the leading influence in the government. That office was the leading question,—Bailey could not be trusted, and Hines could not be elected; hence the office of governor was discarded, and the committee instructed to prepare a constitution and laws, to be executed without an executive. This was a shrewd and cunning device, to say the least of it, one calculated to make the judicial and executive office one, in the same person; which seemed by common consent to be Dr. I. L. Babcock, a man equally as ambitious and aspiring as Dr. Bailey, but in good standing in the mission, and a stranger to the settlers. This point gained, George W. Le Breton, a young adventurer, who came to the country in the employ of Captain Couch, on the brigMaryland, having a fair education, and generally intelligent and agreeable in conversation, who had been brought up in good society, and was inclined to, or educated in, the Roman faith. This young man was elected to fill the offices of clerk of the court and public recorder, as a compromise with the Jesuits. To harmonize the English element, Wm. Johnson was elected high sheriff. Zavia Ladaroot, Pierre Billique, and Wm. McCarty were chosen constables. Messrs. Gervais, Cannon, Robert Moore, and Rev. L. H. Judson were chosen justices of the peace. Here comes the climax of all wisdom:—
“It was then resolved, that, until a code of laws be drafted by the Legislative Committee and adopted by the people, Ira L. Babcock, the supreme judge, be instructed to act”—just as he pleased. Mr. Hines says in his book, 419th page—“according to the laws of the State of New York.”
I query whether there was a single copy of the laws of that State in the country for ten years after the last resolution was passed. I know there was none at the time, and only a single copy of the laws of Iowa two years after; hence, Ira L. Babcock was law-maker, judge, and executive to the settlement, just as much so as John McLaughlin was to the Hudson’s Bay Company.
To keep up the farce (for the whole proceeding deserves no other name), “it was then resolved to adjourn, to meet the first Thursday in June, at the new building near the Roman Catholic church.” The record proceeds: “Thursday, June 11, 1841. The inhabitants of the Wallamet Valley met according to adjournment, and the meeting was called to order by the chairman, Rev. David Leslie. On motion, the doings of the former meeting were read, on which the committee for drafting a constitution and code of laws was called for, and information was communicated to the meeting by the chairman of the committee, that, in consequence of his not having called the committee together, no report had been prepared.”His Jesuitical Reverence, F. N. Blanchet, was excused from serving on the committee, at his own request. The settlers and uninitiated were informed by his reverence that he was unaccustomed to make laws for the people, and did not understand how to proceed, whiledivide and conquer, the policy adopted by the Hudson’s Bay Company, was entered into with heart and soul by thisReverend FatherBlanchet and his associates. “On motion, it was then resolved, that a person be chosen to fill the place thus vacated in the committee for drafting a constitution and code of laws, and Dr. Wm. J. Bailey was chosen.”
The motion that follows shows that the settlers were suspicious of influences operating against them to deprive them of a voice in their own government, for they then, “on motion, resolved that this committee be instructed to meet for the transaction of their business on the first Monday of August next.” They further instructed this committee to report at a subsequent meeting, “to be held the first Thursday in October next. On motion, resolved, that the committee be advised to confer with the commander of the American exploring squadron now in the Columbia River, concerning the propriety of forming a provisional government in Oregon.”
“Resolved, That the motion to adopt the report of the nominating committee presented at a previous meeting be rescinded.” Were the settlers really in favor of an organization adapted to their wants, and contrary to the wishes of the Hudson’s Bay Company and clerical government then existing? The above resolution shows the fact. They have handsomely relieved the Jesuits of their responsibility, and left them to work with their associates and co-laborers,—the Hudson’s Bay Company and Indians. They, to soften matters, allowed the committee to consider the nature of the government about to be formed, and the officers necessary, and—
“Resolved, That the committee to draft a constitution be instructed to take into consideration the number and kind of officers it will be necessary to create, in accordance with their constitution and code of laws, and to report the same at the next meeting.” It was also resolved that the report of the nominating committee be referred to the Legislative Committee.
Mr. Secretary Hines does not give us the names of the nominating committee and the officers they first reported.
The meeting held at or near the Roman Catholic church on the 11th of June was adjourned to meet at the Methodist Mission at eleven o’clock on the first Thursday in October following. Duly signed, David Leslie, chairman; Gustavus Hines, Sydney Smith, secretaries. The whole humbug had been completed; the Methodist Mission party was safe; the Hudson’s Bay Company and Jesuits only wanted time to carry out their arrangements and drive the whole concern from the country, or make a grand sacrifice for the benefit of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s trade and mother church.
The idea of resisting the American influence was no new one; it was announced as early as 1838. The combinations were ready to be made that, at the proper time, every Hudson’s Bay Company’s man felt certain, would accomplish the object they desired. They were ready and did invest their money upon the issue. It is true other parties came in and formed combinations that they supposed themselves capable of destroying by a single word. They failed; and in 1865 we find them, the petitioners, with a host of those they sought to rob, crying against their injustice. They ask for compensation for attempting to prevent the rightful owners of the country from occupying it. This is in keeping with their whole course. Their impudence may carry them through and win their case, which justice and truth should deny them.
Mr. Hines says, page 240: “I have previously stated that the origin of the attempt to form a kind of provisional government was the removal by death of the late Ewing Young, leaving, as he did, a large and unsettled estate, with no one to administer it, and no law to control its administration. The exigency of this case having been met by the appointment of a judge with probate powers, who entered immediately upon his duties” (giving no bonds to any body), “and disposed of the estate of Ewing Young to the entire satisfaction of the community, and the fact that some of themost influential citizensof the country, and especially some of theLegislative Committee, were adverse to the idea of establishing a permanent organization so long as the peace and harmony of the community could possibly be preserved without it, the subject was permitted to die away and the committee for drafting a constitution and code of laws did not meet according to their instructions, nor did the meeting at which they were expected to report ever take place.”
Mr. Hines, in his account of this affair, is not quite satisfied himself with the reasons he has given, so he goes on to state many facts as connected with the arrival of the exploring squadron of the UnitedStates, under command of Captain Wilkes, and says, page 421: “In addition to this, the officers of the squadron were consulted on the subject of organizing the country into a civil compact, and were found to be decidedly opposed to the scheme, and recommended that the subject be allowed to rest. They encouraged the people in the belief that the United States government would probably soon extend jurisdiction over the country.”
To the disgrace of the leader of that squadron, the general impression of all the early settlers of this country is, to the present day, that he understood and tasted the qualities of Dr. McLaughlin’s liquors, and received the polite attentions of the gentlemen of the Hudson’s Bay Company with far more pleasure than he looked into or regarded the wants of this infant settlement of his countrymen. Mr. Hines says “theofficersof the squadron decidedly opposed the scheme.” And why did they do it? Simply because the parties named above were opposed. They had absolute control of the persons and property of all in the country, and they scrupled not to keep and use their power to the last.
The unconquerable energy of the Americans was this year manifested in the building of a schooner, of about forty tons burden, on a little island some four miles above the present city of Portland. R. L. Kilborn, of the party of Ewing Young, Charley Matts, P. Armstrong, who was afterward killed in the Indian war on Rogue River, H. Woods, John Green, and George Davis engaged in this enterprise. They employed Felix Hathaway, who was saved from the wreck of theWilliam and Ann, as head carpenter, and commenced their work. To obtain spikes and such irons as were required, they had it reported that they were going to build a ferry-boat to cross the Wallamet River. To obtain rigging, they induced the French farmers to go to Fort Vancouver and get ropes to use in the old Dutch harness for plowing, Dr. McLaughlin having informed them in the start, that he did not approve of their scheme, and would furnish them no supplies. They, however, were not to be deterred in their undertaking. Procuring a whip-saw of the mission, and such tools as they could spare, these men commenced their work; and when Captain Wilkes visited them, and found they had a substantial and sea-worthy craft well under way, he furnished them such articles from his stores as he could spare, and spoke favorably of their enterprise to Dr. McLaughlin, who became more liberal; so that, with the assistance of Captain Wilkes, the mission, and such as they received from Dr. McLaughlin, the vessel was launched and made trips to California, under the command of Captain Joseph Gale, who returned to Oregon in 1843, and was elected one of our Executive Committee, with David Hill and Alanson Beers.
Lee and Hines explore the Umpqua River.—Hines tells a story.—Massacre and plunder of Smith’s party by the Indians.—Sympathy of the Hudson’s Bay Company.—Extract from the San FranciscoBulletin.
Lee and Hines explore the Umpqua River.—Hines tells a story.—Massacre and plunder of Smith’s party by the Indians.—Sympathy of the Hudson’s Bay Company.—Extract from the San FranciscoBulletin.
The reader is requested to note the statements that follow, as they show influences operating that tell how active the enemies of the Protestant missions had been. Mr. Hines admits that he owed his own and Mr. Lee’s life to the wife of Guinea. (See his journal, page 109.) He says: “During the evening Mr. Guinea came to us considerably excited, and warmly congratulated us on the safe guardianship his wife had exercised over us in our absence. He said that in all probability we should have been robbed of all we had, if we had not lost our lives, had it not been for the faithfulness of his wife and her brother. He told us that one of the chiefs of the clan we had visited was at the fort. Learning that we designed to visit his people on the coast,excited with the utmost fear, he hastened down the river and reported many evil things about us, intending thereby to instigate the Indians to prevent us from going among them.”
Mr. Hines, can you vouch for the truth of this statement? I believe sincerely you have told the truth, for you even attempt to excuse the Indian for his fears, and have not the least suspicion of the sources from which the Indian received his instruction and is made to believe that you and Mr. Jason Lee had come with yourmedicine bagto destroy them. Let us hear Mr. Hines’ excuse for the Indian’s fears, in his own words. He says: “Mr. Lee had brought a fowling-piece with him, and had in his possession a patent shot-pouch. This was the thing that had alarmed the chief. One story he told was, that we had broughtmedicine in a bagthat Mr. Lee wore on his neck, for the purpose of killing them all off; and that if we were permitted to come among them the fatal bag would be opened and they would all be destroyed.”
How did these Indians learn about the missionary medicine bag? Our good friend, Guinea, Mr. Hines tells us, is from Montreal, and of a good family,—a Frenchman. This trip, it seems, was made in 1840, about the 26th day of October. Dr. Whitman had not yet gone to the States, but the medicine-bag story is tried with the Indians on theUmpqua. Guinea has a little too much sense of moral responsibility to allow his Indians to commence the slaughter of Lee and Hines, as Dr. White had come with them and seen them safe at the fort, and had returned to the settlement. The medicine man of the Methodist Mission had escaped, and it was not best to commence on these preachers. MadamSiwashGuinea must accompany them, to watch and explain matters and protect them.
Mr. Hines says, page 100: “We had been informed by Mr. Guinea that there would begreat dangerin our going among them alone, and indeed he appeared to stand in the utmost fear of them, of their hostility to the whites, and especially to theAmericans.”
Can a reasonable man read this simple narrative with the light of history, and facts piled on facts, with the stains of the blood of our countrymen all over the country, and not trace the cause of these foul murders to their true source? While none but American traders and hunters were in the country, it was an easy matter to dispose of them, but when the American missionary comes among the natives, another element of opposition must be introduced; moral teachings must be met by religious superstitions, to secure the victim, to advance the interests of an unscrupulous trade. Let us take another statement from Mr. Hines before we proceed with his political history. On page 106, in speaking of the closing remarks of the chief at the mouth of the Umpqua, he tells us, the chief “said he was very glad we had come to see them; that their hearts toward us were like our hearts toward them; that he wanted us to continue with them another day and tell them about God; that they had heard about us, and had been told that we were a bad people.”Who told these wild Indians this?Was it an American that had been living among them and teaching them that his countrymen were a bad people? “That they were glad to see us for themselves, and were convinced that what they had heard was a lie; that they now believe us to be good, and that they meant to be good also.”
Mr. Hines tells a story, as he received it from the Hudson’s Bay Company gentlemen, to show that these Indians are very treacherous and not to be relied upon, especially those on the coast. It relates to a company of fur hunters composed of Smith, Sublet, and Jackson. At page 110 of his book, he says: “In this division Smith was to take the country extending from the Platte River by the way of Santa Fé to California; then turn north along the Pacific Ocean as far as the Columbia River, and thence back into the interior to join the other partners of the company. The country was in the wildest state, but few white men having ever passed through it. But, nothing daunted, Smith and his companions marched through to California, and thencealong the coast north as far as the Umpqua River, collecting in their course all the valuable furs they could procure, until they had loaded several pack animals with the precious burden [forty packs of furs]. On arriving here, they encamped on the borders of the river near the place where they intended to cross, but, on examination, found it would be dangerous, if not impossible, to effect the passage of the river at that place. Accordingly, Smith took one of his men [he had two] and proceeded up the river on foot, for the purpose of finding a better place to cross. In his absence, the Indians, instigated by one of the savage-looking chiefs whom we saw at the mouth of the river, rushed upon the party with their muskets [the same furnished by the Hudson’s Bay Company for that purpose], bows and arrows, tomahawks, and scalping-knives, and commenced the work of death.” Just as they were expected to do with all intruders in this fur traders’ empire. “From the apparent kindness of the Indians previously, the party had been thrown entirely off their guard, and consequently were immediately overpowered by their ferocious enemies, and but one of the twelve in camp escaped from the cruel massacre. Scarcely knowing which way he fled, this one fell in with Smith, who was on his return to the camp, and who received from the survivor the shocking account of the murder of eleven of his comrades. Smith seeing all was lost, resolved upon attempting nothing further than to do his best to secure his own personal safety, with that of his surviving companions. The Indians had secured all the furs, horses, mules, baggage, and every thing the company had. The three immediately crossed the river and made the best of their way through a savage and inhospitable country toward Vancouver, where, after traveling between two and three hundred miles, and suffering the greatest deprivations, they finally arrived in safety.”
Rev. Mr. Hines’ savage-looking chief was no less a personage than a slave of a Frenchman by the name of Michel, or rather belonging to Michel’s Umpqua wife. This slave had learned, from the statements and talk he had heard at Vancouver, that in case the Indians killed and robbed the Boston men, there would be no harm to them; that neither the Hudson’s Bay Company nor the English or French would take any notice of it. Hence, the Indians were taught to regard the killing of a Boston man (American) as doing something that pleased the Hudson’s Bay Company. Under this instruction it is said this slave ran away from Vancouver, and went back to his people, and was the cause of the massacre of Smith’s party. He is again present, doing all he can to induce his people to rob and take the lives of Lee and Hines. Mr. Guinea, then in charge of the fort, is aware ofhis instructions and his object. He dare not tell Lee and Hines of their full danger, yet he knows all about it.
They were determined to visit the Indians and see for themselves. Guinea’s Indian wife and her brother must go with them. This is considered sufficient protection. The story of the Indian slave’s part in the massacre of Smith’s party is related to us by Mrs. Smith, the wife of S. H. Smith, an intelligent and much respected native woman, a neighbor of ours for near twenty years, and by one of the men that accompanied McKay to recover the property; corresponding exactly to another event of the same kind that occurred in 1847, which will be given in detail as stated by eye-witnesses under the solemnity of an oath.
Mr. Hines, of course, believes the following statement, because thegentlemenof the company told it to him; just as I did the first time I heard it from them. It is said, Smith and companions, “rehearsing the story of their wonderful escape and subsequent sufferings to the members of the Hudson’s Bay Company, the utmostsympathywas excited in their behalf, and a strong party was fitted out to go and rescue thepropertyfrom the savage robbers, and restore it to its surviving owners. The vigor and perseverance of this party were equal to the promptitude with which it was fitted out. They proceeded to the scene of blood, and after committing the mangled bodies of Smith’s murdered companions to the grave, compelled the Indians to relinquish the property they had taken,” by giving them presents of blankets and powder, and such things as the Indians wished, as stated to us by a Frenchman, a servant of the company, who was one of McKay’s party that went to get the furs. They found no bodies to bury, and had no fight with the Indians about the property, as stated by Mr. Smith also. But, as the Hudson’s Bay Company tells the story through Mr. Hines, they “spread terror through the tribes.” Was this the case in the Whitman massacre in 1847? the Samilkamean massacre in 1857? the Frazer River murder of American citizens in 1858? No: Governor Douglas told the committee that asked him for protection, or for arms, to protect themselves; that “if they[the Americans]molested her Majesty’s subjects he would send a force to punish them.” Mr. Hines says his Umpqua party “returned in triumph to Vancouver.” And well they might, for they had made the best season’s hunt they ever made, in getting those furs and the property of Smith, which paid them well for the expedition, as there was no market for Smith, except London, through the hypocritical kindness of Mr. Simpson. By this time, Mr. Smith had learned all he wished to of this company. He preferred giving them his furs at their ownprice to being under any further obligations to them, Mr. Sublet, Mr. Smith’s partner, did not speak as though he felt under much obligation to Mr. Simpson or the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1836, which was not long after the transaction referred to.
I do not know how the company regard these statements of Mr. Hines, yet I regard them as true so far as Mr. Hines is concerned, but utterly false as regards the company. As old Toupin says Mr. Parker told the Indians, “It is their fashion” of taking credit to themselves for doing all they could against the Americans occupying the country in any way.
According to the testimony given in the case of The Hudson’s Bay Companyv.United States, the amount of furs seized by the company at that time was forty packs, worth at the time $1,000 each, besides the animals and equipments belonging to the party, a large portion of which was given to the Indians, to compensate them for their services rendered to the company, in destroying Smith’s expedition and killing his men, corresponding with transactions of recent date, as stated in an article found in the San FranciscoBulletin:—
“Hudson’s Bay Company and the Indians.—A gentleman from Victoria gives us the following facts concerning the Indian outrages on the northern coast, and their allies, the Hudson’s Bay Company: Captain D. Warren said to M. A. Foster and William McCurdy, that, on returning to Victoria and reporting the circumstances of the attack of the Indians upon his sloop,Thornton, to the first lieutenant of the shipZealous, he was the next day arrested and put under $2,000 bonds. TheSparrowhawkwas to leave last Wednesday, but had not yet gone to inquire into the matter. It is known that the same Indians murdered Captain Jack Knight and partner but a short time before. The same crowd or band of Indians robbed theNanaimopacket. Since thus attacked, Captain Warren, the captain of theOcean Queen, informed them that a friendly Indian chief told him to leave; the Indians were hostile; they were preparing for war with the neighboring tribes.“From a statement found in theChronicle, of the 27th of June, we learn that Captain Mowatt, of the Hudson’s Bay Company, is in charge of Fort Rupert. We also learn that Captain Mowatt’s prejudices and feelings are peculiarly hostile to all American fur traders, and not any too friendly to those claiming to be English. The facts indicate a strong Hudson’s Bay Company Indian war influence against American or other traders in behalf of that company. It is evident from the statement of the two gentlemen above named that her Majesty’s naval officers are inclined, and more than probably instructed, to protect the Hudson’s Bay Company’s people in encouraging the Indian hostility and murder of all outside venturers upon their trading localities, as they are prompt to insinuate and affirm that the whites are the aggressors, and to arrest them for punishment.”
“Hudson’s Bay Company and the Indians.—A gentleman from Victoria gives us the following facts concerning the Indian outrages on the northern coast, and their allies, the Hudson’s Bay Company: Captain D. Warren said to M. A. Foster and William McCurdy, that, on returning to Victoria and reporting the circumstances of the attack of the Indians upon his sloop,Thornton, to the first lieutenant of the shipZealous, he was the next day arrested and put under $2,000 bonds. TheSparrowhawkwas to leave last Wednesday, but had not yet gone to inquire into the matter. It is known that the same Indians murdered Captain Jack Knight and partner but a short time before. The same crowd or band of Indians robbed theNanaimopacket. Since thus attacked, Captain Warren, the captain of theOcean Queen, informed them that a friendly Indian chief told him to leave; the Indians were hostile; they were preparing for war with the neighboring tribes.
“From a statement found in theChronicle, of the 27th of June, we learn that Captain Mowatt, of the Hudson’s Bay Company, is in charge of Fort Rupert. We also learn that Captain Mowatt’s prejudices and feelings are peculiarly hostile to all American fur traders, and not any too friendly to those claiming to be English. The facts indicate a strong Hudson’s Bay Company Indian war influence against American or other traders in behalf of that company. It is evident from the statement of the two gentlemen above named that her Majesty’s naval officers are inclined, and more than probably instructed, to protect the Hudson’s Bay Company’s people in encouraging the Indian hostility and murder of all outside venturers upon their trading localities, as they are prompt to insinuate and affirm that the whites are the aggressors, and to arrest them for punishment.”
It is difficult to understand why our American government is so tolerant and generous to a foreign monopoly that has invariably sought and accomplished the destruction of its fur trade on its western borders, and used its entire influence against American institutions and citizens; not hesitating to incite the Indians to the most inhuman and brutal murders.
Missionaries leaving.—Hudson’s Bay Company’s Gold Exchange.—Population in 1842.—Whitman and Lovejoy start for the States.—The Red River emigration.—American merchants.—Settlers not dependent on the Hudson’s Bay Company.—Milling Company.—The Oregon Institute.—Dr. Elijah White.—Proceedings and resolutions of a public meeting at Wallamet.—Correspondence with the War Department.
Missionaries leaving.—Hudson’s Bay Company’s Gold Exchange.—Population in 1842.—Whitman and Lovejoy start for the States.—The Red River emigration.—American merchants.—Settlers not dependent on the Hudson’s Bay Company.—Milling Company.—The Oregon Institute.—Dr. Elijah White.—Proceedings and resolutions of a public meeting at Wallamet.—Correspondence with the War Department.
Rev. A. B. Smith and wife, Cornelius Rogers, and W. H. Gray and wife had left the mission of the American Board, on account of difficulties they had become fully satisfied would ultimately destroy the mission or drive it from the country. Mr. Spalding, it will be remembered, was a man of peculiar temperament, ambitious and selfish. He could not endure an associate of superior talent, or admit himself to be inferior in understanding the native language. From the time the Jesuits arrived (in 1838), some of his own pet Indians had turned Catholics and commenced a quarrel with him. These facts seemed to annoy and lead him to adopt a course opposed by Smith, Gray, and Rogers. Still he found it pleased the Indians as a whole, and was assented to by the balance of the mission. Smith and wife left for the Sandwich Islands; Rogers for the Wallamet in 1841; Gray and wife in 1842.
During the exploration of the country by Commodore Wilkes’ exploring squadron, Mr. Cornelius Rogers was found a very useful man. His knowledge of Indian languages (which he was remarkably quick to acquire) and of Indian character generally enabled him to become a reliable and useful interpreter. The officers soon became aware of the fact, and employed him at once to assist and interpret for them. He was paid for his services in gold coin, which amounted to something over five hundred dollars. Not wishing to carry his coin about, he offered to deposit it with the Hudson’s Bay Company. “Certainly, Mr. Rogers, we will receive your coin, and credit you upon our books twenty per cent. less, as the coin is not so valuable to us as our goods, at beaver prices.” Mr. R. allowed them to take his coin and credit him with four hundred dollars in beaver currency. In a short time a party of the squadron were to go by land to California. Mr. R. concluded he would go with them, and that his coin would be more convenient than beaver orders on the company. He therefore requested them to return to him the coin. “Certainly, Mr. Rogers,” and handedhim back four hundred dollars less twenty per cent.,—three hundred and twenty dollars. “How is this?” says Mr. R.; “I supposed from the statement you made on depositing this money with you, that that money was a drug to you, and now you wish me to pay you twenty per cent. for money I have left in your care, after deducting twenty per cent. for leaving it with you. You may consider this a fair and an honorable transaction; I do not.” He was told, “Such is our manner of doing business,” and that was all the satisfaction he could get. He finally left his money and drew his goods, at what was called beaver prices, of the company.
Nothing further of note occurred in 1841, except the loss of thePeacock, in which no lives were lost, and the extra efforts of the company to show to the officers of the expedition their good deeds and kind treatment to all Americans, and to prove to them that the whole country was of little value to any one. “It would scarcely support the few Indians, much less a large population of settlers.”
1842.—Our population, all told, in the beginning of this year, is twenty-one Protestant ministers, three Roman or Jesuit priests, fifteen lay members of churches, thirty-four white women, thirty-two white children, and thirty-five American settlers—twenty-five of them with native wives. Total, one hundred and thirty-seven Americans. At the close of the year we had an emigration from the States of one hundred and eleven persons,—some forty-two families,—with two lawyers, A. L. Lovejoy and A. M. Hastings. The latter became the lawyer of Dr. McLaughlin and relieved the settlement in the spring of 1843 of a number of not very valuable settlers, by assisting them to get credit of the Hudson’s Bay Company in procuring their outfits, giving their notes, payable in California; white settlers who remained could get no credit or supplies of the company, especially such as had asked protection of the American government. A. L. Lovejoy started from Whitman’s station to return to the States with Dr. Whitman. He reached Bent’s Fort with him, but stopped for the winter, while Whitman proceeded on to Washington in time to save the country from being given up to British rule. For an account of that trip, which we give in another chapter, we are indebted to the Honorable A. L. Lovejoy.
The Red River emigration, consisting of some forty families of English, Scotch, and Canadian-French half-breeds, had been ordered from the Red River, or Selkirk settlement, to locate in the Puget Sound district, by the Hudson’s Bay Company’s governor, Simpson. This company started across the plains with most of their property and families in carts, in the spring of 1842, directed, protected, and guided by the company, and expected to become settlers, subject to it, in PugetSound. This was in fact a part of the original plan of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, and these families were brought on to aid in securing and holding the country for the British government and the use of the company,—a plan and arrangement exactly similar to that adopted by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1811-12, to cut off the trade of the French Northwest Fur Company, by establishing the Selkirk settlement directly in the line of their trade.
This Red River colony was a part of the company’s scheme to control and outnumber the American settlement of Oregon; it being connected with the Puget Sound concern, and under the control of the Hudson’s Bay Company,—which, by the decision of the commissioners, has won the company $200,000 from our national treasury. A more infamous claim could not well be trumped up, and the men who awarded it should be held responsible, and handed down to posterity as unjust rewarders of unscrupulous monopolies. Not for this alone, but for paying to the parent monopoly the sum of $450,000, for their malicious misrepresentations of the country, their murders, and their perjury respecting their claims to it.
As soon as the Red River colony reached the country, they found that the Hudson’s Bay Company on the west side of the Rocky Mountains was a different institution from that of the Selkirk settlement; consequently a large number of the more intelligent among them refused to remain in the Puget Sound district, and found their way into the Wallamet and Tualatin districts, and were received and treated as Oregonians, or citizens of the provisional government. This had the effect to embitter the feelings of the ruling spirits of the company, and caused them to change their policy. They commenced fortifying Fort Vancouver, and had a war-ship, theModeste, stationed in the Columbia River, while the fort was being prepared for defensive or offensive measures. This only increased the anxiety and hastened the effort to organize for self-defense on the part of the American settlers.
In the mean time, Hon. Caleb Cushing, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, had sent to the country a ship with supplies. A. E. Wilson had established himself, or was about to, at Wallamet Falls as a trader, and some families were on their way by water from the States,—F. W. Pettygrove, Peter Foster, and Peter H. Hatch. Pettygrove arrived with a small stock of goods. The same ship brought a supply for the Methodist Mission.
The settlers were not dependent upon the Hudson’s Bay Company for supplies as much as has been asserted. I am certain that many of them never received a dollar’s worth of the company’s goods, except it might have been through the stores of Pettygrove, Wilson, or Abernethy. I know many of them were willing and did pay higher prices to their American merchants than they could get the same article for from the company’s store, which was about this time established at Oregon City. Soon after, a trading-post and warehouse were established at Champoeg, and Mr. Roberts sent up with orders tokick, change, and beat the half-bushel with a clubin order to get more wheat at sixty cents per imperial bushel in payment for all debts due the company for the goods furnished to them at one hundred per cent. or more on London prices.
During this year the Wallamet Milling Company was formed, and commenced to build a saw-mill on the island above the falls. Dr. McLaughlin also commenced active opposition to American enterprise.
The Oregon Institute was commenced this year, under the direction of the Methodist missionaries. They carefully guarded against all outside patronage or influence getting control of their institution, by requiring a certain number of trustees to be members of their church in good standing. It was during the discussions in the organizing of that institution that the disposition on the part of that mission to control not only the religious, but literary and political interests of the settlement, was manifested. The leading members took strong ground, yet hesitated when it was found they would be compelled to ask for outside patronage. However, they were able to commence operations with the Institute, and succeeded in getting up a building deemed suitable by the building committee.
Dr. Elijah White returned to the country, as he supposed and frequently asserted, with unlimited discretionary powers from the President of the United States to arrange all matters between the Hudson’s Bay Company, Indians, and settlers, and “although his commission did not specify in so many words, yet, in short, he was the governing power of the United States west of the Rocky Mountains.” He entered at once upon the duties of his office, and such a muss as he kicked up all over the country it would require the pens of a Squibob and a Junius combined to describe. Rev. Mr. Hines has given to the world many useful notices of this notorious blockhead, and from his descriptions of his proceedings one would infer that he was a most important character in promoting the peace and harmony of the settlement and keeping the Indians quiet. I have always been at a loss to understand Mr. Hines, whether he is speaking of Dr. White’s proceedings in sober earnest or serious burlesque. Either he was woefully ignorant of the character of Dr. White, or he was cajoled and flattered and made to believe the doctor possessed power and influence at Washington that no document he could show gave any evidence of. Be that as it may, Dr. Whitearrived in the fall of 1842, in advance of the emigration. He pretended to have all power necessary for all cases, civil and criminal. He appointed temporary magistrates to try all cases as they might occur; and such as related to Indians and whites, or half-breeds and whites, he tried himself, and gave decisions to suit his own ideas of justice. Usually, in the case of two settlers, where he had appointed a justice to try the case, he would argue the case for one of the parties, and generally win it for his client or favorite. We attended two of the doctor’s trials, one in Tualatin Plains, the other at the saw-mill near Salem. In both of these cases the conclusion of those not interested was, that if such was the justice to which we as settlers were reduced, our own energy and arms must protect us.
At the meeting called to receive him, a committee, being appointed, retired, and, after a short absence, reported the following resolutions:—
Resolved, That we, the citizens of the Wallamet Valley, are exceedingly happy in the consideration that the government of the United States have manifested their intentions through their agent, Dr. E. White, of extending their jurisdiction and protection over this country.
Resolved, That, in view of the claims which the aborigines of this country have upon the sympathies of the white man, we are gratified at the appointment of an agent by the United States government to regulate and guard their interests.
Resolved, That we highly approve of the appointment of Dr. E. White to the above office, and that we will cordially co-operate with him in carrying out the measures of government in reference to this country.
Resolved, That we feel grateful to the United States government for their intended liberality toward the settlers of this country, and for their intention to support education and literature among us.
Resolved, That it will give us the highest pleasure to be brought, so soon as it maybe practicable, under the jurisdiction of our mother country.
On motion, it was
Resolved, That the report of the committee be adopted.
Resolved unanimously, That the doings of this meeting be transmitted to the government of the United States by Dr. E. White, in order that our views and wishes in relation to this country may be known.
The following communication shows the shrewdness of Dr. White, and the influence he was enabled to hold over Mr. Hines, who seems to have ignored all the doctor’s conduct while a missionary, and considers him a suitable person to deal with the complicated relations then culminating on our western coast. It is given entire, to place Mr. Hinesin his true character in the history of the country, though Dr. White does not deign to mention his name in his report to the department. We also give an extract from the report of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs, November 28, 1843, as found on fifth and sixth pages of Dr. White’s report, Mr. Hines’ letter is as follows:—
Wallamet, April 3, 1843.To the Honorable Secretary of War:Sir,—I have the honor of addressing you a brief communication expressive of my views of the course pursued by Dr. E. White, sub-agent of Indian Affairs west of the Rocky Mountains.I am not extensively acquainted with what properly belongs to the business of an Indian agent, but so far as I understand the subject, this agency requires the performance of duties which are of anonerousandcomplicatedcharacter.The country is quite extensive, and an intercourse is carried on between the whites and Indians in almost every part of it. The principal settlements are on the Wallamet River and Taulatin Plains, but there are whites at the mouth of the Columbia River, the Falls, and among the Wallawalla, Cayuse, Nez Percé, and Snake Indians. Immediately after the arrival of your agent in this country, he received the most urgent calls from several of these places, if possible to come immediately and enter into such measures as would secure both the safety of the whites and welfare of the Indians.He entered upon his business with diffidence, though with great energy and decision, and his indefatigable efforts to promote the interests of this country, with his untiring industry in the performance of his duties, entitle him to the warmest respect of the members of this infant and helpless colony, and to the confidence of the honorable department which has committed to him so important a trust. Although he has been with us but a short time in his official capacity, yet it is generally believed that the measures he has adopted to regulate the intercourse between the whites and Indians, particularly in the Cayuse, Nez Percé, and Wallawalla tribes, are wisely calculated to secure the protection of the former against the aggressions of the savages, and to secure to the latter the blessings of harmony, peace, and civilization.Some time in November last news reached us from these formidable tribes that they were laying a plot for the destruction of this colony, upon which your agent, with characteristic decision, determined to proceed at once to the scene of this conspiracy, and, if possible, not only to frustrate the present designs of the Indians, but to prevent any future attempts of the same character.
Wallamet, April 3, 1843.
To the Honorable Secretary of War:
Sir,—I have the honor of addressing you a brief communication expressive of my views of the course pursued by Dr. E. White, sub-agent of Indian Affairs west of the Rocky Mountains.
I am not extensively acquainted with what properly belongs to the business of an Indian agent, but so far as I understand the subject, this agency requires the performance of duties which are of anonerousandcomplicatedcharacter.
The country is quite extensive, and an intercourse is carried on between the whites and Indians in almost every part of it. The principal settlements are on the Wallamet River and Taulatin Plains, but there are whites at the mouth of the Columbia River, the Falls, and among the Wallawalla, Cayuse, Nez Percé, and Snake Indians. Immediately after the arrival of your agent in this country, he received the most urgent calls from several of these places, if possible to come immediately and enter into such measures as would secure both the safety of the whites and welfare of the Indians.
He entered upon his business with diffidence, though with great energy and decision, and his indefatigable efforts to promote the interests of this country, with his untiring industry in the performance of his duties, entitle him to the warmest respect of the members of this infant and helpless colony, and to the confidence of the honorable department which has committed to him so important a trust. Although he has been with us but a short time in his official capacity, yet it is generally believed that the measures he has adopted to regulate the intercourse between the whites and Indians, particularly in the Cayuse, Nez Percé, and Wallawalla tribes, are wisely calculated to secure the protection of the former against the aggressions of the savages, and to secure to the latter the blessings of harmony, peace, and civilization.
Some time in November last news reached us from these formidable tribes that they were laying a plot for the destruction of this colony, upon which your agent, with characteristic decision, determined to proceed at once to the scene of this conspiracy, and, if possible, not only to frustrate the present designs of the Indians, but to prevent any future attempts of the same character.
This laborious journey was undertaken, and, accordingly, he set out on this perilous enterprise in the dead of winter, being accompanied by six men, and though the distance to be traveled by land and water was little less than one thousand miles, and the whole journey was one of excessive labor and much suffering, yet perseverance surmounted every difficulty, and the undertaking was brought to a most happy issue. In the fitting out and execution of such an expedition much expense must necessarily be incurred, but I am fully of the opinion the funds appropriated by your agent, for the purpose of accomplishing the object of his appointment, have been judiciously applied.Not knowing the views I entertained in reference to the propriety of his course, Dr. White requested me to write to the honorable Secretary of War, definitely expressing my opinion. Considering this a sufficient apology for intruding myself upon your patience in this communication, allow me, dear sir, to subscribe myself most respectfully.Your humble servant,Gustavus Hines,Missionary to the Wallamet Settlement.
This laborious journey was undertaken, and, accordingly, he set out on this perilous enterprise in the dead of winter, being accompanied by six men, and though the distance to be traveled by land and water was little less than one thousand miles, and the whole journey was one of excessive labor and much suffering, yet perseverance surmounted every difficulty, and the undertaking was brought to a most happy issue. In the fitting out and execution of such an expedition much expense must necessarily be incurred, but I am fully of the opinion the funds appropriated by your agent, for the purpose of accomplishing the object of his appointment, have been judiciously applied.
Not knowing the views I entertained in reference to the propriety of his course, Dr. White requested me to write to the honorable Secretary of War, definitely expressing my opinion. Considering this a sufficient apology for intruding myself upon your patience in this communication, allow me, dear sir, to subscribe myself most respectfully.
Your humble servant,Gustavus Hines,Missionary to the Wallamet Settlement.
}Department of War,Office of Indian Affairs, Nov. 23, 1843.I submit a report from the sub-agent west of the Rocky Mountains, received on the 9th of August last. It furnishes some deeply-interesting and curious details respecting certain of the Indian tribes in that remote part of our Territories. The Nez Percés are represented to be “more noble, industrious, sensible, and better disposed toward the whites,” than the others. Their conduct on the occasion of an important meeting between Dr. White and their leading men impresses one most agreeably. The school established for their benefit is very numerously attended, while it is gratifying to learn that this is not the only establishment for Indian instruction which has been made and conducted with success.There will also be found in this paper some particulars as to the soil, water-courses, etc, of the Territory of Oregon, which may be interesting at this time, when public attention is so much directed to the region beyond the Rocky Mountains.Respectfully submitted,T. Hartley Crawford.Hon.J. M. Porter, Secretary of War.
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Department of War,Office of Indian Affairs, Nov. 23, 1843.
I submit a report from the sub-agent west of the Rocky Mountains, received on the 9th of August last. It furnishes some deeply-interesting and curious details respecting certain of the Indian tribes in that remote part of our Territories. The Nez Percés are represented to be “more noble, industrious, sensible, and better disposed toward the whites,” than the others. Their conduct on the occasion of an important meeting between Dr. White and their leading men impresses one most agreeably. The school established for their benefit is very numerously attended, while it is gratifying to learn that this is not the only establishment for Indian instruction which has been made and conducted with success.
There will also be found in this paper some particulars as to the soil, water-courses, etc, of the Territory of Oregon, which may be interesting at this time, when public attention is so much directed to the region beyond the Rocky Mountains.
Respectfully submitted,T. Hartley Crawford.
Hon.J. M. Porter, Secretary of War.