The only persons who were not cordially received by Dr. McLoughlin were Ewing Young and Hall J. Kelley, who came to Fort Vancouver in October, 1834, from California. Gov. Figueroa,the Governor of California, had written Dr. McLoughlin that Young and Kelley had stolen horses from settlers in California. Dr. McLoughlin told them of the charges, and that he would have nothing to do with them until the information was shown to be false. This was not done until long afterwards, when it was shown that neither Young nor Kelley was guilty, but that some of their party, with which they started to Oregon, were guilty, and were disreputable characters, which Young and Kelley knew. The stand taken by Dr. McLoughlin was the only proper one. He had official information from California. Fort Vancouver was not an asylum for horse thieves. Nevertheless, as Kelley was sick, Dr. McLoughlin provided Kelley with a house, such as was occupied by the servants of the Company, outside the fort, furnished him with an attendant, and supplied him with medical aid and all necessary comforts until March, 1835, when Dr. McLoughlin gave Kelley free passage to the Hawaiian Islands on the Hudson's Bay Company's vessel, the Dryad, and also presented Kelley with a draft for seven pounds sterling, payable at the Hawaiian Islands. On his return home, Kelley, instead of being grateful, most vigorously attacked the Hudson's Bay Company for its alleged abuses of American citizens, and abused Dr. McLoughlin and falsely stated that Dr. McLoughlin had been so alarmed with the dread that Kelley would destroy the Hudson's Bay Company's trade that Dr. McLoughlin had kept a constant watch over Kelley.
Kelley was a Boston school teacher who became an Oregon enthusiast. From the year 1815, when he was twenty-six years of age, for many years, he wrote and published pamphlets and also a few books on Oregon and its advantages as a country to live in. He originated a scheme to send a colony to Oregon; to build a city on the east side of the Willamette River, at its junction with the Columbia River; and to build another city on the north side of the Columbia River, nearly opposite Tongue Point. His efforts resulted in immediate failures. He died a disappointed man. Young was a type of a man who was often successful in the Far West. He was forceful and self-reliant, but often reckless, and sometimes careless of appearances. He was so accustomed to meet emergencies successfully that he did not always consider what others might think of him and of the methods he sometimes felt compelled to adopt. He had been robbed in California of a large amount of furs and had not been fairly treated by the representatives of the Mexican Government in California. While Young was an adventurer, he was a man of ability and became a leading resident of early Oregon. The relations of Dr. McLoughlin and Ewing Young finally became quite amicable, for Dr. McLoughlin learned of and respected Young's good and manly qualities.
Presbyterian Missionaries.
For convenience I shall first mention the Presbyterian missionaries, although they came two years later than the first Methodist missionaries.Rev. Samuel Parker was the first Presbyterian minister to arrive in Oregon. He came in 1835. He started to Oregon with Doctor Marcus Whitman, but Whitman returned East from Green River to obtain more associates for the Mission. These came out with Dr. Whitman in 1836. Parker returned home by sea, reaching his home in 1837. Parker published a book called, "Journal of an Exploring Tour beyond the Rocky Mountains." The first edition was published in Ithaca, New York, in 1838. On page 138 of his book he says: "At two in the afternoon, arrived at Fort Vancouver, and never did I feel more joyful to set my feet on shore, where I expected to find a hospitable people and the comforts of life. Doct. J. McLoughlin, a chief factor and superintendent of this fort and of the business of the Company west of the Rocky Mountains, received me with many expressions of kindness, and invited me to make his residence my home for the Winter, and as long as it would suit my convenience. Never could such an invitation be more thankfully received." On page 158 he says: "Here, [Fort Vancouver] by the kind invitation of Dr. McLoughlin, and welcomed by the other gentlemen of the Hudson Bay Company, I took up my residence for the winter." And on page 263 he says: "Monday, 11th April [1836]. Having made arrangements to leave this place on the 14th, I called upon the chief clerk for my bill. He said the Company had made no bill against me, but felt a pleasure in gratuitously conferring all they have done for the benefit of the object in which I am engaged. In justice to my own feelings,and in gratitude to the Honorable Company, I would bear testimony to their consistent politeness and generosity; and while I do this, I would express my anxiety for their salvation, and that they may be rewarded in spiritual blessings. In addition to the civilities I had received as a guest, I had drawn upon their store for clothing, for goods to pay my Indians, whom I had employed to convey me in canoes, in my various journeyings, hundreds of miles; to pay my guides and interpreters; and have drawn upon their provision store for the support of these men while in my employ."
In 1836 Dr. Marcus Whitman came to Oregon. With him came his wife, Rev. Henry H. Spalding and wife, and W. H. Gray, a layman. They arrived at Fort Vancouver September 1, 1836. Here they were most hospitably entertained by Dr. McLoughlin and the other gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company, and all necessary and convenient assistance to these missionaries was freely given. When these missionaries arrived at Vancouver, they had hardly more than the clothes they had on. They concluded to locate one mission near Waiilatpu, near the present city of Walla Walla, Washington; and another at Lapwai, near the present city of Lewiston, Idaho. Mrs. Whitman and Mrs. Spalding remained at Fort Vancouver for several months, while their husbands and Gray were erecting the necessary houses at the Missions.
Methodist Missions and Missionaries.
With Wyeth's second expedition, in 1834, came the first Methodist missionaries: Rev. Jason Lee,Rev. Daniel Lee, his nephew, and the following laymen: Cyrus Shepard, a teacher; P. L. Edwards, a teacher; and a man named Walker. They arrived at Fort Vancouver September 17, 1834. They were also hospitably received by Dr. McLoughlin, and treated with every consideration and kindness. On Dr. McLoughlin's invitation Jason Lee preached at Fort Vancouver. Boats and men were furnished by Dr. McLoughlin to the missionaries to explore the country and select a proper place for the establishment of their Mission. In the McLoughlin Document, he says: "In 1834, Messrs. Jason and Daniel Lee, and Messrs. Walker and P. L. Edwards came with Mr. Wyeth to establish a Mission in the Flat-head country. I observed to them that it was too dangerous for them to establish a Mission [there]; that to do good to the Indians, they must establish themselves where they could collect them around them; teach them first to cultivate the ground and live more comfortably than they do by hunting, and as they do this, teach them religion; that the Willamette afforded them a fine field, and that they ought to go there, and they would get the same assistance as the settlers. They followed my advice and went to the Willamette."
Rev. Dr. H. K. Hines published a book in 1899 entitled, "Missionary History of the Pacific Northwest." While, as is to be expected, Dr. Hines' book is biased in favor of the Methodist missionaries, and Jason Lee is his hero, nevertheless, he has endeavored to be fair and just to all. In this "Missionary History," page 92, Dr. Hinessays: "It was no accident, nor, yet, was it any influence that Dr. McLoughlin or any other man or men had over him [Jason Lee] that determined his choice [of a site for the Mission]. It was his own clear and comprehensive statesmanship. Mr. Lee was not a man of hasty impulse.... This nature did not play him false in the selection of the site of his Mission." And on pages 452, 453, he says: "Some writers have believed, or affected to believe, that the advice of Dr. McLoughlin both to Mr. Lee in 1834, and to the missionaries of the American Board in 1836, was for the purpose of pushing them to one side, and putting them out of the way of the Hudson's Bay Company, so that they could not interfere with its purposes, nor put any obstacle in the way of the ultimate British occupancy of Oregon. Such writers give little credit to the astuteness of Dr. McLoughlin, or to the intelligence and independence of the missionaries of the American Board. Had such been the purpose of Dr. McLoughlin, or had he been a man capable of devising a course of action so adverse to the purposes for which his guests were in the country, he certainly would not have advised them to establish their work in the very centers of the great region open to their choice. This he did, as we believe, honestly and honorably."
Jason Lee selected, as the original site of the Methodist Mission, a place on French Prairie, about ten miles north of the present city of Salem. When he and his party were ready to leave for their new home, Dr. McLoughlin placed at their disposal a boat and crew to transport the missiongoods from the May Dacre, Wyeth's vessel, on which their goods had come, to the new Mission. He loaned them seven oxen, one bull, and seven cows with their calves. The moving of these goods and cattle to the Mission required several days. He also provided and manned a boat to convey the missionaries, personally. In his diary, Jason Lee says: "After dinner embarked in one of the Company's boats, kindly manned for us by Dr. McLoughlin, who has treated us with the utmost attention, politeness and liberality."[11]
March 1, 1836, Dr. McLoughlin and the other officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, all British subjects, sent to Jason Lee, for the benefit of the Methodist Mission, a voluntary gift of one hundred and thirty dollars, accompanied by the following letter:
"Fort Vancouver, 1st March, 1836.
"The Rev.Jason Lee,"Dear Sir:
"I do myself the pleasure to hand you the enclosed subscription, which the gentlemen who have signed it request you will do them the favor to accept for the use of the Mission; and they pray our Heavenly Father, without whose assistance we can do nothing, that of his infinite mercy he will vouchsafe to bless and prosper your pious endeavors, and believe me to be, with esteem and regard, your sincere well-wisher and humble servant.
"John McLoughlin."[12]
From its beginning, and for several years after, the successful maintenance of the Methodist Mission in Oregon was due to the friendly attitude and assistance of Dr. McLoughlin and of the other officers of the Hudson's Bay Company in Oregon. Without these the Mission must have ceased to exist. This applies also to the successful maintenance of all other missions in the Oregon Country in the same period of time.[13]
In May, 1837, an addition to the Methodist Mission arrived at Vancouver. It consisted of eight adults and three children. Of these three were men, one of whom was Dr. Elijah White, the Mission physician; five were women, one of whom was Anna Maria Pittman, whom Jason Lee soon married. In September, 1837, the ship Sumatra arrived at Fort Vancouver loaded with goods for the Methodist Mission. The Sumatra also brought four more missionaries, two men, two women, and three children. Rev. David Leslie and wife were two of these missionaries. All these missionaries were entertained by Dr. McLoughlin, and provided with comfortable quarters at Fort Vancouver.
In March, 1838, Rev. Jason Lee left for the Eastern States, overland, on business for the Mission. His wife died June 26, 1838, three weeks after the birth and death of their son. Immediately on her death Dr. McLoughlin sent an express to overtake and tell Jason Lee of these sad events. The express reached Jason Lee about September 1, 1838, at Pawnee Mission, near Westport, Missouri.[14]From this act alone could anyonedoubt that Dr. McLoughlin was a sympathetic, kind, thoughtful, and considerate man? Or think that Jason Lee would ever forget? Later, in 1838 Dr. McLoughlin made a trip to London, returning to Fort Vancouver in 1839.
While Jason Lee was on this trip to the Eastern States, the Missionary Board was induced to raise $42,000 to provide for sending thirty-six adults, and sixteen children, and a cargo of goods and supplies, on the ship Lausanne, to Oregon for the Methodist Mission. Among these new missionaries were Rev. Alvan F. Waller, Rev. Gustavus Hines, and George Abernethy, a lay member, who was to be steward of the Mission and to have charge of all its secular affairs. This party of missionaries, who came on the Lausanne, are often referred to as "The great re-inforcement." The Lausanne, with its precious and valuable cargoes, arrived at Fort Vancouver June 1, 1840. As soon as Dr. McLoughlin knew of her arrival in the Columbia River, he sent fresh bread, butter, milk, and vegetables for the passengers and crew. At Fort Vancouver he supplied rooms and provisions for the whole missionary party, about fifty-three people. This party remained as his guests, accepting his hospitality, for about two weeks.[15]Shortly after some of this missionary party were endeavoring to take for themselves Dr. McLoughlin's land claim at Oregon City. The Lausanne was the last missionary vessel to come to Oregon.
Why this large addition to the Oregon Mission,and these quantities of supplies, were sent, and this great expense incurred, has never been satisfactorily explained. It seems to have been the result of unusual, but ill-directed, religious fervor and zeal. The Methodist Oregon Mission was then, so far as converting the Indians, a failure. It was not the fault of the early missionaries. Until 1840 they labored hard and zealously. The Indians would not be converted, or, if converted, stay converted. Their numbers had been greatly reduced by the epidemics of 1829-32, and the numbers were still being rapidly reduced. And why the necessity of such secular business as a part of a mission to convert Indians to Christianity?[16]The failure to convert the Indians was because they were Indians. Their language was simple and related almost wholly to material things. They had no ethical, no spiritual words. They had no need for such. They had no religion of their own, worthy of the name, to be substituted for a better or a higher one. They had no religious instincts, no religious tendencies, no religious traditions. The male Indians would not perform manual labor—that was for women and slaves. The religion of Christ and the religion of Work go hand in hand.
Rev. Dr. H. K. Hines, in hisMissionary History, after setting forth certain traits of the Indians and the failures of the Methodist missionaries to convert them, says (p. 402): "So on the Northwest Coast. The course and growth of a history whose beginnings cannot be discovered hadended only in the production of the degraded tribes among whom the most consecrated and ablest missionary apostleship the Church of Christ had sent out for centuries made almost superhuman efforts to plant the seed of the 'eternal life.' As a people they gave no fruitful response." And, on page 476, he says: "Indeed, after Dr. Whitman rehabilitated his mission in the autumn of 1843, the work of that station lost much of its character as an Indian mission. It became rather a resting place and trading post, where the successive immigrations of 1844-'45-'46 and '47 halted for a little recuperation after their long and weary journey, before they passed forward to the Willamette. This was inevitable." And on page 478 Dr. Hines says that Dr. McLoughlin "advised Dr. Whitman to remove from among the Cayuses, as he believed not only that he could no longer be useful to them, but that his life was in danger if he remained among them."
J. Quinn Thornton in his "History of the Provisional Government of Oregon,"[17]says: "In the autumn of 1840 there were in Oregon thirty-six American male settlers, twenty-five of whom had taken native women for their wives. There were also thirty-three American women, thirty-two children, thirteen lay members of the Protestant Missions, thirteen Methodist ministers, six Congregational ministers, three Jesuit priests, and sixty Canadian-French, making an aggregate of one hundred and thirty-six Americans, and sixty-three Canadian-French [including the priests in the latterclass] having no connection as employées of the Hudson's Bay Company. [This estimate includes the missionaries who arrived on the Lausanne.] I have said that the population outside of the Hudson's Bay Company increased slowly. How much so, will be seen by the fact that up to the beginning of the year 1842, there were in Oregon no more than twenty-one Protestant ministers, three Jesuit priests, fifteen lay members of Protestant churches, thirty-four white women, thirty-two white children, thirty-four American settlers, twenty-five of whom had native wives. The total American population will thus be seen to have been no more than one hundred and thirty-nine." (This was prior to the arrival of the immigration of 1842.)
Dr. John McLoughlin
Dr. John McLoughlin
Taken from a miniature of Dr. John McLoughlin painted on ivory. This miniature was probably painted in 1838 or 1839, when he was in London. The original miniature belongs to the widow of James W. McL. Harvey, now living at Mirabel, California. Her husband was a grandson of Dr. McLoughlin.
In hisMissionary HistoryRev. Dr. Hines says (page 249) that in 1841 and 1842, prior to the arrival of the immigration of 1842, the Oregon Methodist Mission "comprised nearly all the American citizens of the country." And on page 239 he says: "Up to 1840 it [the Methodist Mission] had been entirely an Indian Mission. After that date it began to take on the character of an American colony, though it did not lay aside its missionary character or purpose." He also says that in 1840 there were only nine Methodist ministers in the Oregon mission. Some of the lay members, of which J. L. Parrish was one, became ministers, which probably accounts for the difference in the estimates of Thornton and of Dr. Hines. In the summer of 1843 Rev. Jason Lee was removed, summarily, as Superintendent of the Oregon Methodist Mission by the MissionaryBoard in New York, and Rev. George Gary was appointed in his place, with plenary powers to close the Mission, if he should so elect. He closed the Mission in 1844.
When the Lausanne arrived June 1, 1840, Dr. McLoughlin's power and fortunes were almost at their highest point. During his residence of sixteen years in the Oregon Country he had established the business of his Company beyond all question, and to the entire satisfaction of its board of directors. The Indians were peaceable and were friendly and obedient to him and to his Company. He was respected and liked by all its officers, servants, and employées. With them he was supreme in every way, without jealousy and without insubordination. He had become, for those days, a rich man, his salary was twelve thousand dollars a year, and his expenses were comparatively small. He was then fifty-six years old. He had prepared to end his days in Oregon on his land claim. His children had reached the age of manhood and womanhood. Few men at his age have a pleasanter, or more reasonable expectation of future happiness than he then had.
The half-tone portrait of Dr. McLoughlin, shown facing page 62, was taken from a miniature, painted on ivory, in London, probably when he was in London in 1838-9. It portrays Dr. McLoughlin as he was in his happy days. This miniature now belongs to the widow of James W. McL. Harvey, who was a grandson of Dr. McLoughlin. It was kindly loaned by her so that the half-tone could be made for use in this address.
Provisional Government.
For convenience I shall tell of the Provisional Government of Oregon before I speak concerning Dr. McLoughlin's land claim.
About 1841, owing to the death of Ewing Young, intestate, leaving a valuable estate and no heirs, the residents of the Oregon Country in the Willamette Valley saw the necessity of some form of government until the Oregon Question should be finally settled. As under the Conventions of 1818 and 1827 there was joint-occupancy between the United States and Great Britain, the Oregon Country was without any laws in force. It was commonly understood, at that time, that most of the Americans in Oregon favored a provisional organization—one which would exist until the laws of the United States should be extended over the Oregon Country. It was also commonly understood that the British residents in Oregon opposed a provisional government, as it might interfere with their allegiance to Great Britain. As there was a joint-occupancy, and the British were legally on an equality with the Americans, each had equal rights in the matter. February 17 and 18, 1841, a meeting of the inhabitants was held at the Methodist Mission. Although attempts were then made to form a government, several officers were appointed, and a committee appointed for framing a constitution and a code of laws, the movement failed. The matter lay dormant until the spring of 1843. The immigration of 1842, although small, and although about half of them went to California in the spring of 1843, materially increased the strength of the Americans in Oregon.
After several preliminary meetings had been held, the momentous meeting of May 2, 1843, was held at Champoeg, when, by the vote of 52 in favor and 50 against, the Provisional Government of Oregon was created. Certain officers were elected and a legislative committee of six was appointed, the latter to report July 5, 1843. On the latter day most of the report was adopted, an executive committee of three persons, David Hill, Alanson Beers, and Joseph Gale, was chosen in place of a governor, and Oregon had at least ade factogovernment, which, with some changes, continued until Oregon had a Territorial Government, in 1849. George Abernethy, the steward of the Methodist Mission, was elected Governor in 1845, and by re-election continued to be Governor until the arrival of Gen. Joseph Lane, the first Territorial Governor, in March, 1849. The Mission Party was one of the strongest and most influential political parties in Oregon until the election of Governor Joseph Lane as Delegate to Congress, June 2, 1851.[18]At the time of the formation of the Provisional Government, the residents of Oregon seem to have been divided into three classes, or parties: one favored a provisional government, favorable to the United States; another favored an independent government, which would be neutral as between the United States and Great Britain; the third believed that matters should remainin statu quo. For some reason Jason Lee and George Abernethy, and some others of the Methodist missionaries, seem originally to have belonged to orto have favored the third class.[19]In the "Political History of Oregon" by J. Henry Brown, he says (page 95) that at a meeting of the committee held at Oregon City, in March, 1843, "Rev. Jason Lee and Mr. Abernethy were disposed to ridicule the proposed organization [i.e., the Provisional Government] as foolish and unnecessary, and repeated some anecdotes to illustrate their meaning."
Dr. McLoughlin was not originally in favor of the Provisional Government. It was openly and avowedly advocated as being in favor of the United States, and against Great Britain. Once started, without a trial, no one could know where it would end. Already some of the Americans had denounced the Hudson's Bay Company and Dr. McLoughlin, and had made threats against the property of the Company. His loan of cattle had been misunderstood and denounced. Some of the Americans seemed not to be aware that the Hudson's Bay Company was lawfully in the Oregon Country, under the Conventions for joint-occupancy. To aid or to assist the establishment of a government, owing exclusive allegiance to the United States, would be, or might be disloyalty by Dr. McLoughlin to his Country and be injurious or fatal to his Company in Oregon. By the constitution or compact of the Provisional Government, as established in 1843, each officer was required to take an oath or affirmation "to support the laws of the territory," without qualification. There was, too, his land claim at Oregon City, which the land laws of the Provisional Government, as established,sought to deprive Dr. McLoughlin of, and to give, at least a part of it, to the Methodist Mission. About the status of his land claim I shall presently explain. There was, also, the cry of "54-40 or fight" and the chance of war over the Oregon Country between the United States and Great Britain. Dr. McLoughlin appealed to the directors of his Company for protection to their property, but none came. In June, 1844, he received an answer from his Company that it could not obtain protection from the British Government, and that the Hudson's Bay Company must protect itself the best it could. The fortifications at Fort Vancouver were strengthened. There was threatened trouble in the air. It looked as though there might be war in Oregon.
In 1845 the Provisional Government attempted to extend its jurisdiction north of the Columbia River. It became a question of acquiescence or actual opposition by the Hudson's Bay Company. Jesse Applegate, one of the best and noblest of Oregon's pioneers, who was a member of the Provisional Legislature and one of a committee, privately interviewed Dr. McLoughlin. After consulting with James Douglas, his chief assistant, a compromise was finally agreed to by which the Hudson's Bay Company would be taxed only on goods sold to the settlers. August 15, 1845, the Hudson's Bay Company, with all the British residents, became parties to the Oregon Provisional Government. The oath of office as provided by the compact of 1843 had been changed by what is called the "Organic Act" of the Provisional Government,adopted by the people, by popular vote, July 26, 1845. As so amended the oath of office required each officer to swear that he would "support the organic laws of the Provisional Government of Oregon, so far as said organic laws are consistent with my duties as a citizen of the United States, or a subject of Great Britain." The land law of 1843 was also changed by said vote of the people, July 26, 1845, by which the objectionable features, so far as Dr. McLoughlin's land claim at Oregon City was concerned, were largely eliminated. Under the circumstances joining the Provisional Government was a good and wise move on the part of Dr. McLoughlin. But he was severely criticized therefore by his Company. Unknown to Dr. McLoughlin, there was then a large British fleet of war in the Pacific Ocean.
A few days after Dr. McLoughlin, for himself and his Company, had thus joined the Provisional Government, he was surprised by the arrival from Puget Sound of Lieut. Wm. Peel, son of Sir Robert Peel, and Captain Park of the Royal Marines, with a letter from Captain Gordon, commanding the British 50-gun ship-of-war America, then in Puget Sound, and also a letter from Admiral Seymour, commanding the British fleet, that "firm protection" would be given British subjects in Oregon. Subsequently the British war sloop, Modeste, 18 guns, arrived at Fort Vancouver, where she remained until the boundary treaty of 1846 was entered into.[20]
Immigration of 1842.
In 1842 came the immigration of that year, which is now counted the first real immigration of American settlers to Oregon. I believe, however, that the immigration of 1843 should be called the first immigration of Oregon home-builders. But that question is not material in this address. The number of the immigrants of 1842 has been variously estimated, but, after a somewhat careful examination of the matter, I believe there were all told about one hundred and twenty-five. Of this number about fifty-five were men over eighteen years of age. These immigrants left their wagons at Fort Hall and used pack horses. They came from The Dalles to Oregon City, overland, by the Indian trail which passed near Mt. Hood.[21]
Many of the immigrants of 1842 were disappointed in Oregon. The country was then very new, and they became discontented. Dr. McLoughlin engaged many to labor at fair wages, and furnished goods on credit to those who could not make immediate payment. Some of them were of a roving or adventurous class, ever seeking new places. In the spring of 1843 nearly half of them went to California, leaving on their journey May 30, from Champoeg. Dr. McLoughlin furnished these emigrants to California with supplies, upon their promise to pay for the same to W. G. Rae, the Hudson's Bay Company's agent at Yerba Buena (now San Francisco). Most of them did not pay, and Dr. McLoughlin personally assumed the payment of this indebtedness.
Immigration of 1843.
In 1843 came the first great immigration to Oregon. As if by a common impulse, and without preconcert, the immigrants met at Independence, Missouri, leaving there for Oregon, May 20, 1843. Peter H. Burnett, afterwards a Chief Justice of the Oregon Provisional Government, and the first Governor of the State of California, was the first Captain. J. W. Nesmith, afterwards United States Senator from Oregon, was Orderly Sergeant. About eight hundred and seventy-five men, women, and children composed this immigration. Of these there were two hundred and ninety-five men, over the age of sixteen years. In this immigration were my grandfather, John Holman, and his son, Daniel S. Holman, then nearly twenty-one years old.
After first arriving at the Columbia River, they straggled and struggled along the Columbia River to Fort Vancouver—a few driving cattle, going overland by the Indian trail from near The Dalles to Oregon City. There was not then any way to take wagons by land from The Dalles to the Willamette Valley. A few of the immigrants went down the Columbia River to The Dalles in boats. In one of these parties three persons were drowned by the capsizing of boats. The rest of the immigrants went to The Dalles overland with their wagons. From The Dalles to the Cascades some of them went by boats, others went on rafts, which they constructed. There was great difficulty in going from the Upper Cascades to the Lower Cascades. The rafts could not be taken over the rapids.It took about two weeks to cut a trail around the Cascades. The rains set in. The position of the immigrants was desperate. Some did not arrive at Fort Vancouver until about Christmas. They had not anticipated such hardships and privations as they were then suffering. Few had sufficient food or raiment, many were absolutely destitute. Dr. McLoughlin sent supplies to be sold to those who were able, and to those who could not buy, the supplies were furnished on credit, or given to them. He furnished boats to carry them from the Cascades to Fort Vancouver. He caused the sick to be attended to, and nursed at the Company's hospital at Fort Vancouver. He furnished them every assistance as long as they required it. Time will not permit me to go into the details.
When the immigrants of 1843 were thus coming along the Columbia River, some helpless and almost hopeless, there was a plot by the Indians to massacre these Americans. It was prevented by Dr. McLoughlin. The effect of such a massacre would have been tremendous. It would have, probably, prevented the further settlement of Oregon for years. Had the United States sent troops to punish the Indians in the disputed Oregon Country, it would have almost certainly precipitated a war with Great Britain.
In presenting the McLoughlin Document to the Oregon Pioneer Society, in 1880, Col. J. W. Nesmith said: "I had intended reading it to you as a part of my address, but, having already trespassed too long upon your patience, I shall hand the document to the secretary of the Society, withmy endorsement of the truth of all its statements that came within my own knowledge.... I desire to say, what I believe all old pioneers will agree to, that the statements of this paper furnished a ... complete vindication of Dr. McLoughlin's acts and conduct, and that the integrity of his narrative cannot be impeached by any honest testimony." In the McLoughlin Document Dr. McLoughlin says: "In 1843, about 800 immigrants arrived from the States. I saw by the looks of the Indians that they were excited, and I watched them. As the first stragglers were arriving at Vancouver in canoes, and I was standing on the bank, nearer the water there was a group of ten or twelve Indians. One of them bawled out to his companions, 'It is good for us to kill these Bostons [Americans].' Struck with the excitement I had seen in the countenances of the Indians since they had heard the report of the immigration coming, I felt certain they were inclined to mischief, and that he spoke thus loud as a feeler to sound me, and take their measures accordingly. I immediately rushed on them with my cane, calling out at the same time, 'Who is the dog that says it is a good thing to kill the Bostons?' The fellow, trembling, excused himself, 'I spoke without meaning harm, but The Dalles Indians say so.' 'Well,' said I, 'The Dalles Indians are dogs for saying so, and you also,' and left him, as, if I had remained longer it would have had a bad effect. I had done enough to convince them I would not allow them to do wrong to the immigrants with impunity. From this Indian saying,in the way he did, that The Dalles Indians said it was good to kill the Bostons, I felt it my duty to do all I could to avert so horrid a deed.
"Mr. P. L. Edwards, whom I mentioned, came in 1834, with the Messrs. Lee, and left in 1838, and sent me a letter by Gen. McCarver, stating he had given a letter of introduction to me to P. H. Burnett, Esq. I immediately formed my plan and kept my knowledge of the horrid design of the Indians secret, as I felt certain that if the Americans knew it, these men acting independently of each other, would be at once for fighting, which would lead to their total destruction, and I sent two (2) boats with provisions to meet them; sent provisions to Mr. Burnett, and a large quantity of provisions for sale to those who would purchase, and to be given to those who had not the means, being confident that the fright I had given (as I already stated) the Indians who said it was a good thing to kill the Bostons was known at The Dalles before our boats were there, and that the presence of the Hudson's Bay Company people, and the assistance they afforded the immigrants, would deter the Indians from doing them any wrong, and I am happy to be able to say that I entirely succeeded."
Dr. McLoughlin then says, in this Document, that about a month after this incident he told Dr. Marcus Whitman what had occurred. Dr. McLoughlin thought the trouble might have been started by some Iroquois Indian in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, and Dr. McLoughlin was anxious "to find that rascal out to punish himas an example to deter others." Dr. Whitman then said that he had known of this trouble among the Indians for about two years, although he had said nothing to Dr. McLoughlin about it, and that the trouble was caused by a Shawnee Indian named Tom Hill, who is said to have been educated at Dartmouth College. He had urged the Indians to allow no Americans to settle on their lands, as the Americans had driven out the Shawnees, and that the Indians about Walla Walla said the Cayuses were inclined to follow the advice by killing the immigrants who first came. It will be remembered that the Cayuses were the Indians who caused the Whitman massacre in 1847. Dr. McLoughlin, in this Document, then says that he believes the Indians would have killed these immigrants of 1843 but for the decided and cautious manner in which he acted. Dr. McLoughlin continues: "And the reason the Indian made use of the expression he did was because I punished the murderers of the Smith party; and, before acting, they wanted to know how I would treat them. And most certainly if I had not been most anxious for the safety of the immigrants, and to discharge to them the duties of a Christian, my ear would not have caught so quickly the words, 'it is a good thing to kill these Bostons,' and acted as I did."
Then there was the question how these immigrants of 1843 should be provided for during the winter and until the next harvest. They had no implements, no seed. There was a crisis impending. Without waiting to be asked, Dr. McLoughlin gave credit, furnishing these immigrants withfood and clothing for the present, and also farm implements and seed-wheat to begin their farming. He exacted no collateral, he gave time without interest. All this was against the rules of the Hudson's Bay Company. He made himself personally liable for all these debts. He also loaned these immigrants cattle, including cows, and also hogs.
Col. J. W. Nesmith, one of the immigrants of 1843, in his address before the Oregon Pioneer Association in 1876 said: "Dr. John McLoughlin, then at the head of the Hudson's Bay Company, from his own private resources, rendered the new settlers much valuable aid by furnishing the destitute with food, clothing, and seed, waiting for his pay until they had a surplus to dispose of." Peter H. Burnett, of whom I have already spoken, was one of the immigrants of 1843. He started a town and called it Linnton, which was situated where the present town of Linnton is situated—eight miles north of Portland on the Willamette River, and about half way between Portland and Vancouver by water. He kept a journal of his travels, which was published, in part, in theNew York Heraldin 1844. Part II of theHistory of Oregonby George Wilkes, published in 1845, is largely taken from this journal.[22]In this journal Burnett says:[23]"On my arrival I was received with great kindness by Doctor McLoughlin and Mr. James Douglass, the second in command. They both tendered me the hospitalities of the fort, which offer, it is scarcely necessary to say,I accepted willingly and with pleasure.... His hospitality is unbounded, and I will sum up all his qualities, by saying that he is beloved by all who know him.... The kindness of Dr. McLoughlin to this emigration has been very great. He furnished them with goods and provisions on credit, and such as were sick were sent to the Hospital free of expense, where they had the strict and careful attendance of Dr. Barclay, a skillful physician, and an excellent and humane man. The Chief Factor [Dr. McLoughlin] likewise lent the emigrants the Company's boats, to bring down such of the families and baggage as had been left at the Cascades by the advance guard of the expedition, which had preceded me; and he also furnished them with the facilities for crossing the river with their cattle, at Vancouver. Had it not been for the kindness of this excellent man, many of us would have suffered greatly.... It is certain that the Doctor himself has uniformly aided settlers, by supplying them with farming implements, and with seed-grain, as a loan, to be returned out of the succeeding crop. He even went so far as to lend them hogs, to be returned two or three years afterward, by their issue of the same age; to furnish oxen to break their ground, and cows to supply milk to their families. This certainly appears to me to be a very poor way to retard the settlement of the region, and to discourage adventurers who arrive in it."
In 1880 Mr. Burnett, then ex-Governor of California, wrote a book called "Recollections andOpinions of an Old Pioneer," so that we have his opinion of Dr. McLoughlin in 1843 contemporaneous with the events I speak of, and also his mature reflections thirty-seven years after that. On page 142 of this book Mr. Burnett says: "When we arrived in Oregon we were poor, and our teams were so much reduced as to be unfit for service until the next spring. Those of us who came by water from Walla Walla left our cattle there for the winter; and those who came by water from The Dalles left their cattle for the winter at that point. Even if our teams had been fit for use when we arrived, they would have been of no benefit to us, as we could not bring them to the Willamette Valley until the spring of 1844. Pork was ten, and flour four cents a pound, and other provisions in proportion. These were high prices considering our scanty means and extra appetites. Had it not been for the generous kindness of the gentlemen in charge of the business of the Hudson's Bay Company, we should have suffered much greater privations. The Company furnished many of our immigrants with provisions, clothing, seed, and other necessaries on credit. This was done, in many instances, where the purchasers were known to be of doubtful credit. Many of our immigrants were unworthy of the favors they received, and only returned abuse for generosity."
Captain J. C. Fremont, afterwards Major-General, in the United States Army, was at Fort Vancouver when the immigrants of 1843 were arriving. On page 191 of the Report of his Second Exploring Expedition, he says: "I found manyAmerican emigrants at the fort; others had already crossed the river into their land of promise—the Walahmette Valley. Others were daily arriving; and all of them had been furnished with shelter, so far as it could be afforded by the buildings connected with the establishment. Necessary clothing and provisions [the latter to be afterwards returned in kind from the produce of their labor] were also furnished. This friendly assistance was of very great value to the emigrants, whose families were otherwise exposed to much suffering in the winter rains which had now commenced, at the same time that they were in want of all the common necessaries of life."
Immigration of 1844.
The immigration of 1844 was composed of about fourteen hundred persons. They suffered many hardships and many lost all, or a part of, their cattle, clothing, and goods. Most of these immigrants arrived late in the season. Snow began to fall before all arrived at their destinations. Boats were supplied free, and provisions, cattle, and seed-wheat were furnished them on credit by Dr. McLoughlin, as he had the immigrants of 1843. The supplies in Oregon had been nearly exhausted by the immigration of 1843, although Dr. McLoughlin had urged the raising of grain and other supplies in anticipation of the coming of the immigration of 1844. The available supply of clothing at Fort Vancouver had been practically exhausted before the arrival of the immigration of 1844.
John Minto, who is still living in Oregon, was one of the immigrants of 1844. In his address presenting to the State of Oregon the portrait of Dr. John McLoughlin, which now hangs in the Senate Chamber, he said: "To the assistance given to the Immigrants of 1843, as described by Col. Nesmith, I can add as an eyewitness, that those of 1844 received the loan of boats in which to descend the Columbia River from The Dalles (there being no road across the Cascades [mountains]); the hungry were fed, the sick cared for and nursed, and, not the least, was the fact that many of the employées of the Hudson's Bay Company followed the good Doctor in their treatment of the Americans. Especially was this the case in the settlement of retired Canadians who almost worshipped him."
Joseph Watt, the well-known enterprising pioneer of 1844, who largely assisted in starting the first woolen mill in Oregon, in 1857, in his "Recollections of Dr. John McLoughlin," published in theTransactionsof the Oregon Pioneer Association of 1886 said (pages 24 and 25): "On the 13th of November, 1844, a company of immigrants landed at Fort Vancouver, brought there on a bateau commanded by Joseph Hess, an immigrant of '43. The boat belonged to the Hudson's Bay Company. Mr. Hess was entrusted with the boat for the purpose of bringing immigrants down the river. We had eaten the last of our provisions at our last camp, and were told by Hess that we could get plenty at the fort, with or without money;—that the old Doctor never turned people awayhungry. This made us feel quite comfortable, for there was not a dollar among us. As near as I can remember the company consisted of sixteen men, five women and four children.... We were the first to arrive.... We soon found the Doctor in a small room he called his office.... He spoke of our being so late, and feared there would be considerable suffering before they could all be taken down the river, but should do all in his power until they reached their destination.
"We then made known to him our wants. We were all out of provisions. There was a small table in one corner of the room, at which he took a seat, and directed us to stand in a line—(there being so many of us the line reached nearly around the room)—and then told us the year before, and in fact previous years, he had furnished the people with all the provisions and clothing they wanted, but lately had established a trading house at Oregon City, where we could get supplies; but for immediate necessity he would supply provisions at the fort. Several of our party broke in, saying: 'Doctor, I have no money to pay you, and I don't know when or how I can pay you.' 'Tut, tut, never mind that; you can't suffer,' said the Doctor. He then commenced at the head man saying, 'Your name, if you please; how many in the family, and what do you desire?' Upon receiving an answer, the Doctor wrote an order, directing him where to go to have it filled; then called up the next man, and so on until we were all supplied. He told us the account of each man would be sent to Oregon City, and when we took a claim, and raised wheat,we could settle the account by delivering wheat at that place. Some few who came after us got clothing. Such was the case with every boat load, and all those who came by land down the trail. If he had said 'We have these supplies to sell for cash down,' I think we would have suffered.... When we started to Oregon, we were all prejudiced against the Hudson's Bay Company, and Dr. McLoughlin, being Chief Factor of the Company for Oregon, came in for a double share of that feeling. I think a great deal of this was caused by the reports of missionaries and adverse traders, imbuing us with a feeling that it was our mission to bring this country under the jurisdiction of the stars and stripes. But when we found him anxious to assist us, nervous at our situation in being so late, and doing so much without charge,—letting us have of his store, and waiting without interest, until we could make a farm and pay him from the surplus products of such farm, the prejudice heretofore existing began to be rapidly allayed. We did not know that every dollar's worth of provisions, etc., he gave us, all advice and assistance in every shape was against the positive orders of the Hudson's Bay Company.... In this connection I am sorry to say that thousands of dollars virtually loaned by him to settlers at different times in those early days, was never paid, as an examination of his books and papers will amply testify."
Immigration of 1845.
The immigration of 1845 numbered about threethousand persons. Many of them suffered more than the preceding immigrations. They also were assisted by Dr. McLoughlin as he had the immigrants of 1843 and 1844. For this he was charged with disloyalty by one of the British spies then at Vancouver. Stephen Staats was one of the immigrants of 1845. In his address before the Oregon Pioneer Association, in 1877, he said: "We reached Oregon City in thirteen days (overland) from The Dalles (two of which we were without food), and on our arrival, those of us in advance were kindly and hospitably received by old Dr. McLoughlin. He immediately furnished us with provisions, without money and without price, and extended to us favors which we were ever ready to reciprocate. I am not one of those who wish to cast reflections on the character of Dr. McLoughlin, or wish to impute to him anything wanting in the kindest feeling towards the immigrants of 1845. For well do I know, that but for him, many would have been more embarrassed in making provision for the coming winter's necessities than they were. And I have yet to see the immigrant of 1845, who, when speaking of the 'Old Man Doctor,' does not speak in high commendation of his actions towards the immigrants of that year." The wise, humane, and paternal foresight of Dr. McLoughlin was of great assistance to the immigrants of 1845. In the McLoughlin Document he says: "When the immigration of 1842 came, we had enough of breadstuffs in the country for one year, but as the immigrants reported that next season there would be a great immigration, it was evident,if there was not a proportionate increase of seed sown in 1843 and 1844, there would be a famine in the country in 1845, which would lead to trouble, as those that had families, to save them from starvation, would be obliged to have recourse to violence to get food for them. To avert this I freely supplied the immigrants of 1843 and 1844 with the necessary articles to open farms, and by these means avoided the evils. In short I afforded every assistance to the immigrants so long as they required it, and by management I kept peace in the country, and in some cases had to put up with a great deal."
The Quality of the Early Immigrants.
The early immigrants to Oregon were not mendicants nor tramps. It is true some of them were of a roving disposition; probably a few were of the improvident class. Most of them were forceful, strong men and women, physically and mentally; strong also in their Americanism, and filled with the racial instinct to follow the western course of Empire. They came to Oregon as home-builders. Many of them had their lineage from the pioneers who first settled the Atlantic Coast, particularly the southern part of it. Descendants of these pioneers had crossed the mountains and were the hardy and courageous pioneers of Kentucky and Tennessee in the early, perilous, and heroic days of Daniel Boone, John Sevier, George Rogers Clark, and James Robertson. The ancestors of some of these Oregon immigrants had taken part in the great war of the American Revolution on the AtlanticCoast, and had then assisted in upbuilding civilization in the Middle West. These forefathers had won the Middle West. These immigrants came to win Oregon. The grandfathers and fathers of some of them had taken part in the war of 1812, and in the later Indian wars. A few of these immigrants were veterans of the war of 1812 and of these Indian wars. There were immigrants who had taken active part in the troubles with the Mormons and had assisted in driving them out of Western Missouri. It was of this stock that parts of Missouri, and especially the western part of that state, had been then largely peopled, and many of these Oregon immigrants had settled there temporarily before coming to Oregon. A great majority of the immigrants to Oregon from 1843 to 1846, inclusive, and of some of the later immigrants, were from the Southern States. They, and their ancestors for many generations, had been born and brought up in the South. Most of them had the good qualities and were of the high type of American citizenship characteristic of the white people of the South. They were mostly plain people, but they and their ancestry were of good class. Theirs was an inheritance of indomitable will, high courage, and noble purposes. Their ancestors had conquered, settled, and upbuilded the country from the seaboards of Virginia and the Carolinas to the Mississippi River.[24]Oregon was another land to conquer, to settle, and to upbuild. There were also in these early immigrations a number of men and women, descendants ofthe sturdy peoples who settled in New England, and in other Northern States. There were a few men who were attracted to Oregon by the love of adventure incident to the journey and to the settlement of a new country. There were also a few men, born outside of the United States, who allied themselves with the Americans, and became identified with the Americans in Oregon, and subsequently were admitted as citizens of the United States.
The places these immigrants left to come to Oregon, although some of these places were comparatively new, were mostly over-supplied with unsold agricultural products—unsalable for want of markets. The early books and pamphlets on Oregon and the stirring speeches of Oregon enthusiasts, who had never been to Oregon, pictured Oregon as the traditional land of plenty and of "milk and honey." There was, too, an abiding faith in the future, a certain improvidence born of strong manhood and womanhood. They were filled with confidence in their ability to conquer all troubles and overcome all difficulties. They did not think of failure—they intended to succeed. Then, too, the journey was longer and more arduous than they had anticipated. Their greatest dangers and troubles were after they had entered the Oregon Country and reached the Columbia River. All east of that river, with its hardships, was comfortable compared with the troubles and dangers to come. They did not come seeking, nor did they seek charity or alms. The true, honest, brave-hearted immigrants wished to pay for what they obtained, and did as soon as they were ableto do so. They were met by conditions which they could not, or did not, foresee. Dr. John McLoughlin, with his great, manly prescience, appreciated all this. He sold provisions and clothing to those who could pay; equally, he sold on credit, to those who could not, without references, without collaterals. He understood the quality of most of these pioneers—he was unfortunately in error as to some of them. It was not charity on the part of Dr. McLoughlin, it was the exercise of that great quality, which he possessed in an extraordinary degree—humanity.
I regret to say that a few of these early immigrants, at times, without cause, were rude to Dr. McLoughlin and abusive of his Company, and of his Country. Some of these did not care—others had been prejudiced by false information, which they had read or heard before they left their homes, or on the way to Oregon. Some, I still more regret to say, accepted the credit extended to them by Dr. McLoughlin, and never paid. But the payment to the Hudson's Bay Company of these bad debts was assumed by Dr. McLoughlin. The aggregate amount is not definitely known, for Dr. McLoughlin suffered, in many ways, in silence. But it was a very large sum. Those who paid in full could not requite his kindness to them.
The real Oregon pioneers are these overland immigrants who came to Oregon prior to 1847. The immigrants of 1846 were a long way on their journey to Oregon when the Boundary Treaty was made. They left on their journey early in May, 1846. This treaty was signed at Washington, June15, 1846. The proclamation by the President of the Treaty and of its ratification by the two countries is dated August 5, 1846. The immigrants of 1846 did not know that the Treaty had been made, signed, or confirmed until after their arrival in Oregon. The news that the Treaty had been signed came by a sailing vessel, and did not reach Oregon until November, 1846.[25]The distance traveled by the immigrants to Oregon, from the rendezvous at Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, was about two thousand miles. The usual time in making this journey was between five and six months. Ox-teams were used almost exclusively. It was thought that the use of horses for teams was impracticable. It was feared there would be insufficient food for such horses, on the way, as the numbers would be large. It would be necessary to keep these horses shod for pulling the heavily loaded wagons. Many horses were brought which were used for riding, rounding-up cattle, and in hunting. There were practical difficulties in caring for, and feeding horses at night. Horses had to be "staked" at night, cattle would graze at large. Horses were liable to be stampeded and be lost or be stolen by the Indians. Oxen were much cheaper than horses. It would require at least four horses to a wagon. It was desirable to have cows to furnish milk on the way, especially for the children. Good cattle were scarce in Oregon and it was desirable to take cows and bulls for breeding purposes, and other cattle for beef. Many of these immigrants brought cattlewith them in addition to their ox-teams. These cattle and ox-teams could not travel as fast as horses and the speed of the latter necessarily would be kept to that of the ox-teams. Should oxen be lost or die, their places could be taken by cattle or even by cows. This was not infrequently done.
These early immigrants all came to, or started for Oregon, overland, in the time of joint-occupancy. They were not encouraged, helped, nor protected by the Government in coming to Oregon. There were no United States troops in the Oregon Country, or near the immigrant trail prior to 1849. The Cayuse Indian war of 1847-8 was carried on by the Oregon Provisional Government alone, without assistance from the United States Government. This war was fought wholly by volunteers from the Willamette Valley. The coming of these early immigrants assisted to hold Oregon for the United States, and greatly contributed to the settlement of the Oregon Question. They relied on themselves but they believed that their Country would protect its own in Oregon. Their rights and courage could not be ignored. There was no one man who saved Oregon. If any persons saved Oregon, they were these immigrants from 1843 to and including 1846. There is not a true American who does not take pride in the daring of these pioneers and in what they accomplished in coming to Oregon. Whatever some of them may have lacked, in certain qualities, and in spite of the bad treatment, by some of them, of Dr. McLoughlin, the patriotism and courage of most of them were ofthe highest types. This great movement of immigrants to Oregon from 1843 to 1846, inclusive, may not, even now, be thoroughly understood nor explained but it is fully appreciated. With all its dangers and hardships, with all its mystery and simplicity, and its commonplaces, it stands today one of the most daring colonizing movements for, and the most remarkable, interesting, and romantic story of the settlement and upbuilding of any part of the continents of the two Americas.
It must be borne in mind that all these aids by Dr. McLoughlin to the immigrants of 1843, and succeeding years, were after some of the Methodist missionaries had attempted to take his land claim, and succeeded in part. The history of these transactions I shall presently relate. And did the secular department of the Methodist Mission assist these early pioneers in any way similar to what was done by Dr. McLoughlin? If so, I have found no trace nor record of it. Undoubtedly Methodist missionaries, individually, did many kindly acts to destitute immigrants. Had Dr. McLoughlin acted with the supineness of the Methodist Mission toward the immigrants of 1843, 1844, and 1845, and especially that of 1843, the consequences would have been terrible. Leaving out the probability of massacres by the Indians, many immigrants would have died from starvation, exposure and lack of clothing along the Columbia River, or after their arrival in the Willamette Valley. It is true Fort Vancouver might have been captured and destroyed. That would have given no permanent relief. That would probably have been thebeginning of a war between the United States and Great Britain. Even without a war the settlement of Oregon would have been delayed for many years. And all of the Oregon Country north of the Columbia River might have been lost to the United States.
Sir George Simpson, the Governor in Chief of the Hudson's Bay Company, severely criticized Dr. McLoughlin for his assistance to the immigrants. There was an acrimonious correspondence between them on the subject. As I am informed, it was in this correspondence, which I have not seen, that Dr. McLoughlin had written the Hudson's Bay Company that he had furnished these supplies to the immigrants, saying that, as a man of common humanity, it was not possible for him to do otherwise than as he did; that he had only done what anyone truly a man would have done. That it was then insisted by Governor Simpson that Dr. McLoughlin should no longer assist any needy immigrants, or help any other immigrants. To this Dr. McLoughlin made the noble reply, "Gentlemen, if such is your order, I will serve you no longer." This reply was made by Dr. McLoughlin—the only question is as to the exact time and place it was made.
The Resignation of Dr. John McLoughlin.
In 1845 Dr. McLoughlin sent in his resignation to the Hudson's Bay Company. Its rules required one year's notice before an officer could resign. His resignation took effect before the immigration of 1846 arrived. As this address relates toDr. McLoughlin, and only incidentally to the Oregon Pioneers, I shall not go into details about the immigrations succeeding that of 1845. Dr. McLoughlin kept a store and lived at Oregon City after his resignation. To the immigrants of 1846 and after, and to others, as long as he was in business there, he continued, as far as he was able, the same hospitality and the same good and humane treatment he had exercised when Chief Factor at Fort Vancouver. The Barlow road was built in 1846 and the immigrants of that year and succeeding years could bring their wagons by that road from The Dalles, over the Cascade Mountains, to Oregon City. By common consent of all good, honest pioneers, he had been named "The Good Doctor," and "The Good Old Doctor," and he was known by these names to the time of his death. They also came to call him the "Father of Oregon." Dr. McLoughlin's resignation from the Hudson's Bay Company became necessary to maintain his self-respect.
I have spoken of Capt. Park and Lieut. Peel, British officers, who brought the letters of Admiral Seymour and Captain Gordon to Dr. McLoughlin in 1845. They were also sent as spies. They were succeeded by two more spies, Capt. Warre and Lieut. Vavasour, both of the British army. The two latter stayed at Fort Vancouver and elsewhere in Oregon for some time. In their report Warre and Vavasour charged, mainly, that the policy pursued by Dr. McLoughlin and the Hudson's Bay Company, at the different forts in the Oregon Country, had tended to the introduction of Americansettlers into the country until they outnumbered the British. To prove this position, they instanced the assistance rendered the different immigrations, one of which (1845) was arriving while they were at Vancouver. They charged that goods had been sold to the American settlers at cheaper rates than to British subjects; that Dr. McLoughlin and the Company had suffered themselves to join the Provisional Government "without any reserve except the mere form of the oath;" that their lands had been invaded, and themselves insulted, until they required the protection of the British government "against the very people to the introduction of whom they had been more than accessory." There was more in this report of like import.
As was to be expected Dr. McLoughlin's answer was dignified, forceful, and sufficient. I give only a few of his points.[26]In his answer Dr. McLoughlin said, concerning his treatment of the missionaries: "What would you have? Would you have me turn the cold shoulder to the men of God, who came to do that for the Indians which this Company has neglected to do?" He said he had tried to prevent the American settlers remaining idle, becoming destitute, and dangerous to the Company's servants. Drive them away he could not, having neither the right nor the power. That these settlers had not come expecting a cordial reception from him, but quite the contrary; that while he had done some things for humanity's sake, he hadintended to, and had averted evil to the Company by using kindness and courtesy towards the American immigrants. As to joining the Provisional Government he showed the necessity and wisdom of his actions under the circumstances. To the accusation that the Company had submitted to insult, he said: "They were not to consider themselves insulted because an ignorant man thought he had a better right than they had." As to the British government, it had not afforded protection in time, and that it was not the duty of the Hudson's Bay Company to defend Great Britain's right to territory. The obligation of the Company's officers, whatever their feelings might be, was to do their duty to the Company. He admitted helping the immigrants of 1843, 1844, and 1845, and saving the lives and property of the destitute and sick. He also admitted to assisting the immigrants of 1843 to raise a crop for their own support and of saving the Company from the necessity of feeding the next immigration. And he said: "If we had not done this, Vancouver would have been destroyed and the world would have judged us treated as our inhuman conduct deserved; every officer of the Company, from the Governor down, would have been covered with obloquy, the Company's business in this department would have been ruined, and the trouble which would have arisen in consequence would have probably involved the British and American nations in war. If I have been the means, by my measures, of arresting any of these evils, I shall be amply repaid by the approbation of my conscience. It is true that I haveheard some say they would have done differently; and, if my memory does not deceive me, I think I heard Mr. Vavasour say this; but as explanation might give publicity to my apprehension and object, and destroy my measures, I was silent, in the full reliance that some day justice would be done me."[27]
The Governor and the directors of the Hudson's Bay Company apparently neither understood nor appreciated the conditions in Oregon in 1843, and in the immediate succeeding years, or Dr. McLoughlin's motives and humanity in assisting the immigrants. While the Governor in Chief and these directors were probably men of high character, and, individually, men of humanity, as representatives of this great trading company, they seemed to have considered Dr. McLoughlin's actions in assisting the American immigrants to settle in parts of the disputed Oregon Country by relieving their distresses, and saving them from suffering and starvation, as amounting almost to treason to his Country and as being untrue and false to the Hudson's Bay Company and its interests. They believed that he had failed to carry out its policies, if not its express instructions, which they felt he should have followed, as the chief of its enterprises west of the Rocky Mountains, no matter what the circumstances were or what the consequences might be. They did not seem to understand that, if the early immigrants had not been assisted, helped, and rescued, as they were, by Dr. McLoughlin, it might have been fatal toFort Vancouver and precipitated a war between the United States and Great Britain. As has been already said the Hudson's Bay Company, under royal grant, had an absolute monopoly in trading with the Indians in what was called British America, that is, northward and westward of the United States, excepting the British Provinces and also excepting the Oregon Country. In the latter the Company had the exclusive right, under said grant, to trade with the Indians, but on the condition that it should not be to the prejudice nor exclusion of citizens of the United States, who had the right to be in the Oregon Country under the convention of joint-occupancy.[28]Undoubtedly the Governor in Chief and directors of the Hudson's Bay Company had a feeling that the Company and its trade should not be interfered with in the Oregon Country. For more than thirty years it and the Northwest Company, with which it had coalesced in 1821, had had almost absolute control of trade with the Indians in nearly all of the Oregon Country. Its practical monopoly there had been almost as complete as its actual monopoly in British America. The exercise of absolute power usually begets a feeling of a right to continue the exercise of such power. The head-officers of the Company resented the actions of Dr. McLoughlin which tended to weaken the power of the Hudson's Bay Company and to interfere with its control of the fur trade in the Oregon Country.
An Indian trading company is much more likely to be mercenary than humane. The headquartersof the Hudson's Bay Company were at London. Oregon was a long distance from London. Under the conditions it may not be surprising that greed of gain and selfish interests outweighed humanity in the minds of these officers in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company. It is true none of them were in Oregon when these immigrants came. None of these officers had ever been in the Oregon Country, excepting Sir George Simpson, the Governor in Chief. These officers did not see the distresses, the sufferings, or the perils of these immigrants. Their information came largely from others, who were not friends of Dr. McLoughlin, and who did not approve his actions. Dr. McLoughlin had been for so long a time a Chief Factor of the Company; he had been, up to the arrival of the immigration of 1843, so faithful to its policies and interests; he had so increased its trade, and added so largely to its revenues, that he could not be summarily dismissed. But he was a man of pride and of high quality, and he could be forced to resign. This the Governor in Chief and the directors of the Hudson's Bay Company accomplished. In thus acting unjustly to Dr. McLoughlin, they were unconsciously assisting to make him the eternal hero of Oregon. In resigning Dr. McLoughlin gave up a salary of twelve thousand dollars a year. He made his home at Oregon City, where he expected to pass the rest of his life, with the intention of becoming an American citizen as soon as possible. He invested his wealth at Oregon City in various enterprises in an attempt to assist in upbuilding Oregon.His resignation marks the beginning of his tribulations which ended only with his death. The details I shall presently set forth. In assisting the immigrants Dr. McLoughlin did not count the cost nor fear the consequences. His humanity was greater than his liking for wealth or position. He had no greed for gain, no selfishness. Had he anticipated the consequences I believe that he would not have hesitated nor acted otherwise than he did. Frances Fuller Victor wrote of Dr. McLoughlin and his tribulations:[29]"Aristocrat, as he was considered by the colonists [American settlers] and autocrat as he really was, for twenty years throughout the country west of the Rocky Mountains, he still bravely returned the assaults of his enemies in the language of a republican. He defended the American character from the slurs of government spies, saying, 'they have the same right to come that I have to be here,' touching lightly upon the ingratitude of those who forgot to pay him their just debts, and the rudeness of those, whom White mentions as making him blush for American honor. But whether he favored the Company's interests against the British, or British interests against the Company's, or maintained both against the American interests, or favored the American interests against either, or labored to preserve harmony between all, the suspicions of both conflicting parties fell upon him, and being forced to maintain silence he had the bad fortune to be pulled to pieces between them."