In vol.IV, p. 352, he says: "The next day thegentlemen of the Mission proposed a ride to what they term 'the Mill,' distant about nine miles, in a southeast direction.... We reached 'the Mill' by noon, which consists of a small grist and saw mill on the borders of an extensive prairie. They are both under the same roof, and are worked by a horizontal wheel.... From the number of persons about the premises, this little spot had the air and stir of a new secular settlement; and I understood that it is intended to be the permanent location of the Mission, being considered more healthy than the bank of the Willamette. The missionaries, as they told me, have made individual selections of lands to the amount of one thousand acres each, in prospect of the whole country falling under our laws."
On page 355 of the same volume he says: "I am aware that the missionaries come out to this country to colonize, and with the Christian religion as their guide and law, to give the necessary instruction, and hold out inducements to the Indians to quit their wandering habits, settle, and become cultivators of the soil. This object has not been yet attained in any degree, as was admitted by the missionaries themselves; and how it is to be effected without having constantly around them large numbers, and without exertions and strenuous efforts, I am at a loss to conceive. I cannot but believe, that the same labour and money which have been expended here, would have been much more appropriately and usefully spent among the tribes about the Straits of Juan de Fuca, who are numerous, and fit objects for instruction." And onpage 356 Commander Wilkes says: "Three years since, O'Neill came to the valley with only a shirt to his back, as he expressed it; he began by working part of this farm, and obtained the loan of cattle and other articles from Dr. M'Loughlin, all of which he has, from the natural increase of his stock and out of his crops, since repaid. He has bought the farm, has two hundred head of stock, horses to ride on, and a good suit of clothes, all earned by his own industry; and he says it is only necessary for him to work one month in the year to make a living; the rest of the time he may amuse himself. He spoke in the highest terms of Dr. M'Loughlin, and the generous aid he had afforded him in the beginning."
The Peacock, one of the vessels of the squadron, was wrecked July 18, 1841, on a spit near Cape Disappointment on the north side of the entrance to the Columbia River, ever since known as Peacock Spit. The vessel was a total loss. Commander Wilkes says that the crew of the Peacock were supplied with clothing through the kindness of Dr. McLoughlin and the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company. Wilkes further says that "every facility has been at all times extended [by Dr. McLoughlin] to newcomers and settlers; it is sufficient that they are of good character, and the use of cattle, horses, farming utensils, and supplies, is invariably extended to facilitate their operations, until such time as they are able to provide for themselves." At the time of the wreck of the Peacock, there was lying at Astoria the American brig Thomas H. Perkins. She was under charterto the Hudson's Bay Company. Dr. McLoughlin readily agreed to surrender the charter party for a small consideration, if the goods he had on board were delivered at Fort Vancouver. This Wilkes agreed to and purchased the brig. He changed her name to the "Oregon." In August, 1841, the Oregon was taken to Fort Vancouver to be repaired and outfitted. In the meantime Wilkes proceeded slowly up the Columbia River in the naval gun-brig Porpoise, of two hundred and thirty tons, making a survey of the river. The Porpoise arrived at Fort Vancouver August 28, and remained there until September 14, 1841. The expedition was treated with kindness and courtesy while at Fort Vancouver.
Fresh beef seems to have been scarce even in 1841. Wilkes in his narrative says that on September 27, 1841, the Porpoise was at Puget's Island, near Cathlamet. Here he was joined by Michel La Framboise, in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, "who brought a supply of fresh beef for the crew, which they were much in need of." On leaving the Columbia River, Wilkes addressed a letter from Baker's Bay, dated October 5, 1841, to Dr. McLoughlin and James Douglas as Chief Factors of the Hudson's Bay Company, giving thanks "for the important aid and facilities which you have afforded the Expedition on all occasions, for carrying out the object of our visit to this part of the world;" and saying, "be assured it will prove a very pleasing part of my duty to make a due representation of it to my government." And also saying: "Your personal kindnessand friendly attention to myself and officers, from our first arrival, and also to Captain Hudson and his officers after the wreck of the Peacock, have laid me under many obligations which I trust it may be at some future day in our power to return." (Vol.V, p. 147).
DOCUMENT G
Letter from Henry Brallier to Frederick V. Holman of October 27, 1905.
Since I delivered my address on McLoughlin Day, I have received the following letter. The persons referred to are probably a small party, who came to Oregon prior to 1840. There were several small parties of immigrants to Oregon, who came prior to 1842. Robert Shortess came overland in 1839 and 1840 to Oregon with one of these parties.
"Seaside, Oct. 27, 1905."
"Mr. Frederick V. Holman,
"Portland, Oregon.
"Dear Sir: In the SundayOregonianof the 15th of this month I see an interesting account of Dr. McLoughlin, but one act of his that showed his human kindness, I have never seen in print. This a man by the name of Marechell told me. He was an old Hudson's Bay man who died here in his eighty-sixth year. He could not recollect the exact year, but it was a year or two after Wyeth came, the emigrants got lost in the head waters of Snake River, and would have all perished but the Indians brought word from one tribe to anotherabout them being there, until it reached Fort Vancouver. When the Doctor heard it, he rushed around like one wild and called, 'Where is Marechell! Where is La Framboise.' He started them with a lot of provisions in their canoes, with some others to help to the Cascades, there to pack them over, then get them in their canoes again, take them to The Dalles, and there they got ponies to pack them on their journey to the emigrants, a weary trip. And after some two weeks' trip, they found the emigrants encamped in a small valley, there still to live a short time and then starve to death. He said if ever it tried a man's soul, then it did his. The poor women came running to him, fell on their knees, hugging them and crying. Men crying and blessing them and the Doctor for sending them. I often think if there is an upper seat around the throne of God, that the Doctor and some of those men that were so kind to others, are there now.
"This man Marechell came with the Hudson's Bay Company, when he was 12 years of age, with his father. As near as he could tell he was about 22 years of age when he took the trip to find the emigrants.
"I came to the Coast in early '52; to Oregon in '58; to Astoria in '63, and to Seaside soon after. So I knew Marechell well, and did see La Framboise a number of times. So what Marechell told me I believe is true.
"Beg pardon if this intrudes on your time and patience.
"Respectfully,
"Henry Brallier,
"Seaside, Oregon."
DOCUMENT H
Shortess Petition; excerpts from Gray's "History of Oregon" relating to Shortess Petition; and excerpt from speech of Samuel R. Thurston in Congress, December 26, 1850, as to author of Shortess Petition.
"To the honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled:
"We, the undersigned, settlers south of the Columbia river, beg leave respectfully to represent to your honorable body:
"As has been before represented to your honorable body, we consider ourselves citizens of the United States, and acknowledge the right of the United States to extend its jurisdiction over us; and the object of the present memorial is to ask that the protection of the United States Government may be extended to us as soon as possible. Hitherto, our numbers have been small, and the few difficulties that arose in the settlement were speedily and satisfactorily settled. But as our settlement increases in numbers, so our difficulties increase in number and importance; and unless we can have laws to govern us that will be respected and obeyed, our situation will be a deplorable one. Where the highest court of appeal is the rifle, safety in life and property cannot be depended on.
"The state of the country, its climate, resources, soil, productions, &c., has already been laid beforeyour honorable body, in Captain Wyeth's memoir and in former memorials from the inhabitants of this place.
"Laws are made to protect the weak against the mighty; and we feel the necessity of them in the steps that are constantly taken by the honorable Hudson Bay Company, in their opposition to the improvement and enterprise of American citizens. You have been apprized already of their opposition to Captains Wyeth, Bonneville, and others; and we find that the same spirit dwells with them at the present day. Some years ago, when the Hudson Bay Company owned all the cattle in Oregon, they would not sell on any conditions; but they would lend their cows to the settler—he returning to the company the cows loaned, with all the increase; and, in case of the death of a cow, he then had the privilege of paying for it. But, after the settlers, at great risk and expense, went to California, and purchased cattle for themselves, and there was a fair prospect of the settlement being supplied, then the Hudson Bay Company were willing to sell, and at lower rates than the settler could sell.
"In the year 1841, feeling the necessity of having mills erected that could supply the settlement with flour and lumber, a number of the inhabitants formed themselves into a joint stock company, for the purpose of supplying the growing wants of the community. [Many of the farmers were obliged to leave their farms on the Willamette, and go six miles above Vancouver, on the Columbia River—making the whole distanceabout sixty miles—to get their wheat ground, at a great loss of time and expense.] The company was formed, and proceeded to select a site. They selected an island at the falls of the Willamette, and concluded to commence their operations. After commencing, they are informed by Dr. McLoughlin, who is at the head of the Hudson Bay Company's affairs west of the Rocky Mountains, that the island is his, and that he (although a chief factor of the Hudson Bay Company) claims all the lands at the east side of the Willamette, embracing the falls down to the Klakamus river, a distance of about two miles. He had no idea, we presume, that the company would succeed. However, he erected a shed on the island, after the stuff was on the island to build a house, and then gave them permission to build under certain restrictions. They took the paper he wrote them, containing his conditions; but did not obligate themselves to comply with the conditions, as they did not think his claim just or reasonable.
"Many projects had been started by the inhabitants, but, for want of means and encouragement, failed. This fate was predicted for the Milling Company. But, after much labor and difficulty, they succeeded in getting a saw mill erected, and ready to run; and entered into a contract to have a grist mill erected forthwith. And now, as they have succeeded, where is the Hudson Bay Company? Dr. McLoughlin employs hands to get out a frame for a saw mill, and erect it at the Willamette falls; and we find, as soon as the frame is up, the gearing which has been made at Vancouver isbrought up in boats; and that which caused a feeble company of American citizens months of toil and embarrassment is accomplished by the chief factor of the Hudson Bay Company in a few weeks; (he has men and means); and it is said by him, that in two weeks his mill will be sawing. And what will be the consequences? Why, if the Milling Company sell for $15 per thousand, he can sell for $12; if they reduce the price to $10, he can come to $8, or $5, or $2 per thousand. He says he will have a grist mill started as soon as he gets the saw mill in operation.
"All the wheat raised in Oregon they are anxious to get, as they ship it to the Russians on the Northwest coast. In the first place, they measured the wheat in a half bushel, called by them imperial measure, much larger than the standard measure of the United States; this not answering, they next proceeded to kick the half bushel with the foot, to settle the wheat; then they brought up a measure larger than the former one; and now they fill this measure, then strike it three times with a stout club, and then fill it up, and call it fair measure. Against such proceedings we need law that will be respected and obeyed.
"About twelve or fourteen years ago the Hudson Bay Company blasted a canal a few feet to conduct water to a mill they were going to build, the timber for which is now lying at the falls rotting. They, however, abandoned the thing altogether, and built their mills on the Columbia, about six miles above Fort Vancouver, on the north side of the river.
"In the year 1838, agreeably to orders left by Mr. Slacum, a house was erected at the falls, to secure the claim for him.
"In 1840, the Methodist mission erected buildings at the falls, and stationed two families there, and made a claim to sufficient land for their buildings, not interfering with any others who might wish to build. A short time previous to this, Dr. McLoughlin had a storehouse erected for the company, not occupied, however, further than to store wheat and other articles in, and as a trading house during the salmon season.
"After this, in 1841, a shantee was erected, and a man kept at the falls, whose business it was to trade with the Indians for furs and salmon, and look out for the Doctor's claim, he said, and to forbid persons building at the falls, as some had built, and others were about building. This man was, and still is, a servant of the Hudson Bay Company.
"During the years 1841 and 1842, several families settled at the falls, when Dr. McLoughlin, who still resides at Fort Vancouver, comes on the ground, and says the land is his, and any person building without his permission is held as a trespasser. Without reference to any person's right or claim, he employs a surveyor to lay out the plat; and as a bill was before the Senate of the United States to grant to every white male inhabitant a mile square, he has a mile run out to suit his views, and lays out a town plat at the falls, and calls it Oregon City. And although some, for peace sake, asked him for the lots they had already in possession,and which he appeared very willing to grant, the Doctor now felt himself secure, and posted up the annexed paper, (marked A) which is the original; and all who had lots were required to pay Mr. Hastings five dollars for a deed of land which they knew very well the grantor did not own, and which we hope he never will own, but that Congress will pass a special act granting to each man his lot and improvements. Those that applied received (if they had a house on the lot) a deed, a copy of which is annexed, (marked B); if they had no house, a bond was given for five dollars, a copy of which is annexed, (marked C). To those that applied and paid their five dollars, all was right with the Doctor; while those who considered his title to the land not good, and that therefore he had no right to direct who should build and who should not, had their lots sold to others. In one case the purchaser came to the original claimant, and ordered him to stop digging the ground which he was preparing for a garden, and commanded him to remove his fences, as he had Dr. McLoughlin's bond in his pocket for the lots; and if he did not move his fence he would, and take forcible possession. Those who desired to have no difficulty, and did not apply for a deed, have lost their lots, the Doctor's promise, and all. And Mr. Hastings (the Doctor's agent) is now offering for sale the lots on which part of the mission buildings stand; and if he succeeds in finding a purchaser, they must either contend or lose their buildings.
"Dr. McLoughlin had held claims in other places south of the Columbia river—at the Tualatinplains and Klakamus plains he had huts erected, to prevent others from building; and such is the power of Dr. McLoughlin, that many persons are actually afraid to make their situation known, thinking, if he hears of it, he will stop their supplies. Letters were received here from Messrs. Ladd & Co., of the Sandwich Islands, in answer to a letter written by the late Mr. Ewing Young, for a few supplies, that orders were received, forbidding the company's vessels carrying any goods for the settlers of Oregon. Every means will be made use of by them to break down everything that will draw trade to this country, or enable persons to get goods at any other place than their store.
"One other item, and we are done. When any United States Government officers of distinction arrive, Vancouver is thrown open, and every facility afforded them. They were even more condescending to the settlers during the time the exploring squadron was in the Columbia; nothing was left undone to give the officers a high opinion of the honorable Hudson Bay Company. Our Indian agent is entirely dependent on them for supplies and funds to carry on his operations.
"And now your memorialists pray your honorable body, that immediate action of Congress be taken in regard to this country, and good and wholesome laws be enacted for our Territory, as may, in your wisdom, be thought best for the good of the American citizens residing here.
"And your memorialists will ever pray.
"Robert Shortess, A. E. Wilson, William C.Remick, Jeffrey Brown, E. N. Coombs, Reuben Lewis, George Davis, V. Bennet, J. Rekener, T. J. Hubbard, James A. O'Neil, Jer. Horregon, William McKarty, Charles Compo, John Howard, his + mark, R. Williams, G. Brown, John Turner, Theodore Pancott, A. F. Waller, John Hofstatter, G. W. Bellamy, William Brown, A. Beers, J. L. Parrish, William H. Gray, A. D. Smith, J. C. Bridges, Aaron Cook, A. Copeland, S. W. Moss, Gustavus Hines, George W. LeBreton, J. R. Robb, J. L. Morrison, M. Crawford, John Anderson, James M. Bates, L. H. Judson, Joel Turnham, Richard H. Ekin, H. Campbell, James Force, W. H. Willson, Felix Hathaway, J. Lawson, Thomas J. Shadden, Joseph Gibbs, his + mark, S. Lewis, Jr., Charles Roy, William Brum, S. Davis, Joseph Yatten, Daniel Girtman, C. T. Arrendrill, A. Tonner, David Carter, J. J. Campbell, W. Johnson, John Edmunds, W. Hauxhurst, W. A. Pfeiffer, J. Holman, H. B. Brewer, William C. Sutton.
"Willamette, Oregon Territory, March 25, 1843."
A.
NOTICE
"Notice is hereby given to all whom it may concern, that those who have obtained grants of lots in Oregon City will be expected to call upon L. W. Hastings, my authorized agent at Oregon City, and obtain a bond for a deed or deeds, as the case may be. Those who hold claims to any lot, andwho comply with the above requisite on or before the first day of February next, will be entitled to their lot or lots; otherwise, the lots upon which they hold a claim will thereafter be subject to any disposition which the undersigned may think proper to make of them.
"John McLoughlin."
"January 18, 1843."
"Oregon City, March 27, 1843."
"We, the undersigned, do hereby certify that the within [above] notice of John McLoughlin was posted up in the most public place in this town.
"R. Shortess."A. E. Wilson."
B.
DEED—JOHN McLOUGHLIN TO WALTER POMEROY
"Know all men by these presents, that I, John McLoughlin, of Fort Vancouver, in the Territory of Oregon, for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar, to me in hand paid by Walter Pomeroy, of Oregon City, of the Territory aforesaid, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have this day, and do by these presents, remit, release, and forever quit claim, unto the said Pomeroy, his heirs and assigns, all and singular the following piece, parcel, and lot of land, bounded and described as follows, to wit: commencing at the northeast corner, running thence southerly sixty-six (66) feet to a stake; thence westerly one hundred (100) feet to a stake; thence northerly sixty-six(66) feet to a stake; thence easterly one hundred (100) feet to a stake at the place of beginning—being lot number four, (4,) in block number three, (3,) in the town of Oregon City, in the Territory of Oregon, which will more fully appear from a reference to the map and plan of said town:
"To have and to hold the same, together with all and singular the privileges and appurtenances thereunto in any wise appertaining or belonging, unto the said Pomeroy, his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, forever.
"And I, the said McLoughlin, for myself, do avouch and declare, that I am the true and proper claimant of and to the said premises and lot of land, and that I have in myself full power, good right, and sufficient authority, to remit, release, and quit by claim, to all and singular my right, title, interest, and claim, in and to said lot and premises, in manner and form aforesaid.
"And I, the said McLoughlin, do hereby covenant and agree to warrant and defend the said premises, together with the privileges and appurtenances thereunto appertaining or belonging, to the said Pomeroy, his heirs and assigns, against all lawful claims of all persons whomsoever, the claims of the Government only excepted.
"In testimony whereof, I, the said McLoughlin, have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, this the 2d day of March, A. D. 1843.
"John McLoughlin, (L. S.)"
"PerL. W. Hastings, his Agent."
"We, the undersigned, do hereby acknowledge thatthe above is a true and correct copy of the original.
"R. Shortess.""A. E. Wilson."
C.
BOND—JOHN McLOUGHLIN TO ALBERT E. WILSON
"Know all men by these presents, that I, John McLoughlin, of Fort Vancouver, in the Territory of Oregon, am held and firmly bound unto Albert E. Wilson, of Oregon City, in the Territory aforesaid, in the full sum of five hundred, federal money; for the punctual payment of which, well and truly to be made, I bind myself, my heirs, executors, or administrators, firmly by these presents.
"In testimony whereof, I have hereunto, below, set my hand and affixed my seal, this the 26th day of December, A. D. 1842.
"Now, know ye, that the condition of the above obligation is such, that whereas the said Wilson hath this day, and doth by these presents, purchase of the said McLoughlin all and singular the following pieces, parcels, tracts, and lots of land, namely: lots No. four (4) and five (5) in block No. two, (2), in the town of Oregon City, in the Territory of Oregon, as is more fully shown by the map and plan of the said town; and hath, and by these presents doth, agree to build upon and improve each of the said lots within the term of one year from the date of these presents. In considerationof which, the said McLoughlin hath and doth by these presents covenant and agree to make to the said Wilson a good and sufficient quit claim deed for and to all and singular the above-mentioned pieces, parcels, tracts, and lots of land, whenever he, the said Wilson, shall have complied with the above conditions on his part. Now, if the said McLoughlin shall well and truly make, or cause to be made, the said deed to the said Wilson, upon the said Wilson's complying on his part with the above condition, then and in such case the within obligation shall become entirely void and of no effect; otherwise, to be and remain of full force and virtue.
"John McLoughlin, (L. S.)"
"PerL. W. Hastings, his Agent."
"We, the undersigned, do hereby acknowledge the above to be a true and correct copy of the original.
"R. Shortess.""A. E. Wilson."[61]
W. H. Gray was one of the signers of the Shortess petition. In hisHistory of Oregon, pp. 296, 297, he says, in relation to certain persons who did not sign the Shortess petition:
"Mr. George Abernethy declined to sign thispetition through fear of injuring the Methodist Mission in its secular or business relations with the Hudson's Bay Company.
"Hugh Burns would not sign it because he did not wish Congress to be asked to confirm his title to lots and improvements.
"Jason Lee, though he thought it right to petition Congress for protection, yet on account of his position as Superintendent of the Methodist Mission, and the influence of the [Hudson's Bay] Company against them should he sign it, thought it best not to give his name.
"Dr. I. L. Babcock refused, because, by signing he would lose his influence with the [Hudson's Bay] company.
"Walter Pomeroy, ditto.
"Dr. Bailey did not wish any protection from the Congress of the United States.
"Rev. H. K. W. Perkins wasashamedof the petition. 'What does Congress care about measuring wheat? or a contest between two milling companies?'
"George Gay did not care anything about it. Congress might do as it pleased; he did not want its protection.
"The people in Tualatin Plains did not have an opportunity to sign or refuse for want of time to circulate it in that section. The bearer of it, William C. Sutton, was on his way to the States across the Rocky Mountains."
Thurston in his speech in Congress December 26, 1850, said, as to the author of the Shortess petition: "I know the gentleman who wrote the original,whom to know is to respect, to listen to to believe. He is a gentleman of the highest standing in Oregon, of some twelve or fourteen years residence and who would be universally believed on any subject on which he would presume to speak."[62]Thurston certainly did not refer to Shortess. The latter, while a man of ability and some education, was of an ascetic disposition, intense in his dislikes and given to sarcasm. He was not a popular man.
That the Shortess petition was written by George Abernethy is shown in a foot-note on page 207 of volume 1,History of Oregon, Bancroft's Works, where it is said that "such is the statement of Shortess made to Elwood Evans by letter in 1867," quoting from a manuscript history of Oregon written by Evans for Bancroft. Subsequently Evans wrote an elaborate history of Oregon and Washington, entitled "History of the Pacific Northwest," which was published in 1889. On page 243 of volume 1 of this history Evans says that September 1, 1867, Shortess wrote an autograph letter to Evans that Shortess originally drew up notes or a summary of the subjects he intended to embrace in the petition. That Shortess requested Abernethy "to write it in proper form, which he did, but refused to sign it or allow it to be circulated in his handwriting, fearing it might injure the mission. I had it copied by A. E. Wilson. It was circulated and, through his assistance, sent to Washington."
Shortess arrived in the Willamette Valley inApril, 1840. He afterwards took up a land claim near Upper Astoria. He sold his claim and became a recluse. He died in 1877. Some time after he signed the Shortess petition he appears to have changed his opinions of the Hudson's Bay Company, and especially of the Methodist missionaries. He wrote a document about his trip to Oregon which he gave to Mr. William Chance. The latter gave this document to the Oregon Pioneer Association. It is published in full in theTransactionsof the Oregon Pioneer Association for 1896, pp. 92-107. It is a very interesting document. In it he refers to the Methodist missionaries in terms which, at least, are not complimentary.
DOCUMENT I
Ricord's Proclamation; letters of A. Lawrence Lovejoy and Rev. A. F. Waller of March 20, 1844; Ricord's Caveat; invalidity of Waller's claim to Dr. McLoughlin's land; and excerpts from letters of Rev. Jason Lee to Rev. A. F. Waller and Rev. Gustavus Hines, written in 1844.
The following is a copy of a proclamation dated December 20, 1843, and issued by John Ricord, as attorney for Rev. Alvin F. Waller. The original of this document in the handwriting of Ricord, and signed by him, pasted on cloth, is in the possession of the Oregon Historical Society. Said original was publicly posted at Oregon City by Waller after Ricord left for the Hawaiian Islands.It shows weather stains, but is perfectly legible.
"To The People of Oregon.
"Fellow Citizens,
"Having been Retained professionally to establish the Claim of Mr. Alvin F. Waller to the Tract of Land on the East Bank of the Wallammette River, sometimes called the Wallammette Falls Settlement and sometimes Oregon City, I consider it a duty to my Client and the public, to state briefly and concisely the several circumstances of his case, as they really exist, in order that his motives may not be impugned and his intentions misunderstood and misrepresented.
"The public are already aware that my client commenced the Occupancy of his Farm, in the spring of A. D. 1840, when no one resided at the falls; and that, in the course of that Summer, he built his Home, moved his family into it, and cleared and fenced a good portion of the Land, from which, in the ensuing years A. D. 1841 & 1842 he raised successive crops of corn, Potatoes and other vegetables usually cultivated by Farmers. That he remained thus occupying undisturbed, until the month of December A. D. 1842, about two years and six months, when Doctor McLoughlin caused his Farm to be surveyed, for the purpose of selling it in subdivisions to American Citizens. It has since been currently reported and quite generally believed, that my client had renounced his right in favor of Doctor McLoughlin. This I am authorized to contradict, having perused the letter written by Mr. Waller, whichnot only contains no renunciation, but on the contrary, is replete with modest and firm assertions of his rights in the premises: offering at the same time to relinquish his claim, if the Doctor would comply with certain very reasonable and just conditions. Upon this offer, the parties had come to no final conclusion, until my arrival in the Colony, when Doctor McLoughlin attempted to employ me to establish his claim, disregarding the rights of all other persons—which, I declined doing. Mr. Waller thereupon engaged me to submit the conditions a second time to the Doctor, for his acceptance or rejection; which I did in the following words:
"1st. That your preemptive line be so run as to exclude the Island upon which a private Company of Citizens have already erected a Grist Mill—conceding to them so much water as may be necessary for the use of said Mill.
"2d. That Mr. Waller be secured in the ultimate Title to the two city Lots now in his possession and other lots not exceeding in superficial area five Acres, to be chosen by him from among the unsold lots of your present Survey.
"3d. That the Rev. Mr. Lee on behalf of the Methodist Episcopal Mission, be in like manner secured in the lots claimed for the use of said Mission. They consist of Church and Parsonage lots and are well known to the public.
"I received a letter from Dr. McLoughlin dated 10th Novr. 1843, in answer to mine, in which he declines complying with the above Conditions, and thus puts an end to the offer of my Client to relinquish his right of Preemption. Under thesecircumstances Mr. Waller has now applied to the Supreme Court of the United States, which, under the Constitution has original jurisdiction of 'all cases in Law & Equity, arising under Treaties,' to grant him a Commission for perpetuating the testimony of the facts in his case,de bene esse, in order that, whenever Congress shall hereafter see fit to prescribe by law the conditions and Considerations, he may be enabled to demand of the United States, a Patent; also praying the Court to grant him such other relief in the premises as may be consonant with Equity and good conscience.
"The Legality of Mr. Waller's claim rests upon the following Grounds:—
"1st. He was a citizen of the United States of full age and possessed of a family when he first came to reside on the premises. 2d. He built a House upon them and moved his family into it; thus becoming in Fact and in Law a Householder on the land. 3d. He cleared, fenced and cultivated a portion of it during two years and six months, before he was disturbed in his actual possession. And 4th. That he is not at this moment continuing the cultivation of his Farm, is not his fault since it was wrested from him.
"The Illegality of Doctor McLoughlin's Claim rests upon the following Grounds:—
"1st. He is a British Subject, owing allegiance to a Foreign Power, and has so continued to be ever since the Spring of A. D. 1840. For this reason alone he could not acquire preemption to lands in the United States.
"2d. He is the Chief Officer of a Foreign CorporateMonopoly. For this reason alone he could not acquire preemption to lands in the United States.
"3d. He does not now and never did reside on the land in question, but on the contrary, he resides and has always continued to reside on the North side of the Columbia River, the Section of country actually in dispute between the two Governments, about Twenty miles from the land claimed by Mr. Waller, and there he is obliged to remain, so long as he continues to be Chief Factor.
"4th. He is not in fact the Claimant. The Hudson's Bay Company, a Foreign Corporation, is in fact the Claimant while Doctor McLoughlin only lends his name; well knowing, that a Corporation even though it be an American one, can not acquire a preemption. This is evinced by the employment of men to be his Agents and to sell lots for him, who are at the same time partners in and receiving dividends and Salaries from the Company.
"5th. The pretentions of Doctor McLoughlin arose, if at all, two years and six months after the actual Settlement of Mr. Waller; and therefore they are in direct violation of the Treaty of A. D. 1827: Converting the mutual and joint occupancy into an exclusive occupancy by British subjects.
"6th. The Treaty of joint occupancy [1827] does not and was never intended on the part of the United States, to confer any rights of citizenship upon Foreigners. The Power to confer suchrights is by the Constitution reserved to Congress. And the right to acquire title by preemption is peculiar to citizens.
"Those fellow citizens are the Facts and some of the Points of Law in my client's case. Upon the same principle contended for by Dr. McLoughlin, any of you may incur the risk of being ousted from your Farms in this Colony, by the next rich foreigner who chooses to take a fancy so to do, unless in the first instance, you come unanimously forward and resist these usurpations. It is not my client's intention to wrong any who have purchased Lots of the Doctor, and to guard against the injury which might result to individuals in this respect, I have carefully drawn up the Form of a Bond for a Warantee Deed, which Mr. Waller is at all times ready, without any further consideration, to execute to any person who has, in good faith, bought of the Doctor, prior to the date of this notice, by being applied to at his residence. Mr. Waller does not require one cent of money to be paid to him as a Consideration for his Bonds—the trouble, expense and outlays they have already incurred, with the desire to save all such persons harmless from pecuniary loss, is a good and sufficient Consideration in Law to bind him in the proposed penalty of One Thousand Dollars. See Comyns. Digest, Assumpsit B.
"I am of opinion that Mr. Waller has rights in the premises, which neither Doctor McLoughlin nor even Congress by any retrospective legislation can take away from him;—and therefore, fellowcitizens, in sincere friendship, I would counsel you to lose no time in applying to him for your new Bonds.
"John Ricord,"
"Counsellor in the Supreme Court ofthe United States and Attorneyfor Alvin F. Waller."
"Dated 20th December, 1843."
The following two letters from A. L. Lovejoy to A. F. Waller and from Waller to Lovejoy, each dated March 20, 1844, are in reference to the foregoing proclamation by Ricord as attorney for Waller. These letters are in the handwriting of Lovejoy and Waller, respectively. The letter of Waller is shown by the line below Waller's signature to be a copy which he made and kept to show what he had written. These letters are in the possession of the Oregon Historical Society. They were among Waller's private papers at the time of his death.
"Wallamette Falls 20 Mar. 1844."
"To the"Revd. A. F. Waller—
"I have been directed by Dr. McLoughlin to make some enquiries of you in relation to a letter which appears to have been written by yourself to him relative to his claim. Dr. McLoughlin observes in your notice to the People of Oregon words like the following:
"'It has since been currently reported and quite generally believed that my client had renounced his right in favor of Dr. McLoughlin. This I am authorized to contradict having perused the letterwritten by Mr. Waller which not only contains no renunciation but on the contrary is replete with modest and firm assertions of his rights in the premises.'
"Please have the kindness to say whether you wrote such a letter as there referred to and if so. As Dr. McLoughlin has never received anything of the kind allow him through me to solicit a copy thereof and much oblige.
"I am Revd. Sir,"Your humble and obt. servant,"A. Lawrence Lovejoy."
"Willamette Falls, 20 Mar. 1844."
"Mr. Lovejoy."Dear Sir:
"The letter referred to in the Notice was one written to Rev. J. Lee in answer to one he wrote me. I think I have never written a line to Dr. McLoughlin on any subject. Mr. Lee I presume has the letter with him.
"I am yours truly,"A. F. Waller."
"Copy of a reply to the within."
The following copy and statement of John Ricord's caveat or notice as attorney for Rev. Alvin F. Waller to Dr. McLoughlin is taken from Mrs. Frances Fuller Victor's volume,The River of the West, page 358: "'You will please to take notice that my client, Mr. A. F. Waller, has taken formal measures at Washington to substantiate his claim as a preemptor and actual settler upon the tract of land, sometimes called the Wallamet Falls settlement and sometimes Oregon City, comprisingsix hundred and forty acres; and being aware that, although a foreigner, you claim to exercise acts of ownership over said land, this notice is given to apprise you that all sales you may make of lots or other subdivisions of said farm, after the receipt hereof, will be regarded by my client, and by the government, as absolutely fraudulent, and will be made at your peril.'"
Then followed the grounds upon which the Doctor's claim was denied. "First, that he was an alien; Secondly, that he was the chief of a foreign corporate monopoly; Thirdly, that he had not resided upon the land in question for a year previous; Fourthly, that he did not hold the land for himself but the Company; Fifthly, that his claim, if he had any, arose two years subsequent to Mr. Waller's settlement thereon. This flattering document closed with Mr. Ricord's regrets that he had 'failed to make an amicable compromise' of the matter between the Doctor and his client, and also that his 'client had been driven to the vexatious proceedings of the law, in order to establish his rights as an American citizen.'" This caveat or notice was served on Dr. McLoughlin in 1844 prior to April 4, after Ricord left Oregon for the Sandwich Islands.
The attempt of Rev. A. F. Waller to assert any right to, or to procure the land claim of Dr. McLoughlin, or any part of it, at Oregon City, under the law relating to pre-empting lands was absurd as well as invalid. Under the act of Congress of September 4, 1841, then in force, relating to the pre-emption of public lands of the United States, itwas necessary that the lands should be a part of the public lands of the United States. The Conventions of joint-occupancy were then in force and neither Great Britain nor the United States exercised jurisdiction over the lands in the Oregon Country.
In addition to other requisites of the pre-emption law, no person could pre-empt more than one hundred and sixty acres, and the law required the intending pre-emptor "to enter with the Register of the Land-Office for the district in which such land lies, by legal subdivisions, any number of acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a quarter-section of land," etc.
There was no United States land district in Oregon nor any Register of any United States land-office. There had been no public surveys of land in Oregon. No lands could be legally pre-empted which had not been officially surveyed by authority of the United States.[63]
In the case of Lytle v. State of Arkansas, 9Howard(U. S. Supreme Court) 314, it was held, concerning a claim to pre-emption, that "until sanctioned by law, it has no existence as a substantive right." In the case of Brown v. Coursen, 16Oregon, 388, it was held that a pre-emption is a right derived wholly from statute and a substantial compliance with the statute is necessary; and the condition must exist which would enable the pre-emptor to acquire the land under the statute. Inthe case of Stark v. Starrs, 6Wallace(U. S. Supreme Court) 402, it was held that even the act of August 14, 1848, organizing the Territory of Oregon, did not extend over Oregon any portion of the preëmption act of September 4, 1841.
Ricord and Rev. Jason Lee sailed on the same vessel from the Columbia River bound to the Hawaiian Islands. They left Oregon City January 4, but did not cross the Columbia River bar until February 3, 1844. Ricord did not intend to return to Oregon. He made his home at the Hawaiian Islands (then called Sandwich Islands) and died there. Rev. Jason Lee intended merely to make a trip to the Eastern States and return to Oregon. He wished to see the Missionary Board in New York. He also wished to go to Washington to see about land matters, particularly those which the Methodist Mission wished to obtain the title to. When he arrived at Honolulu he first learned that he had been removed as Superintendent of the Oregon Mission, and that Rev. George Gary was on his way to take charge. February 28, 1844, Rev. Jason Lee sailed on a small schooner called the "Hoaikaika" for Mazatlan, Mexico.[64]After his arrival at Mazatlan, Jason Lee crossed Mexico. He arrived in New York May 27, 1844. In June he went to Washington. On his return to New York he appeared before the Missionary Board for several days, beginning with July 1, 1844, and submitted his oral report on the Oregon Mission.
As relating to land claims in Oregon, I make the following excerpts from two letters written byRev. Jason Lee after leaving Oregon. The originals of these letters are in the possession of the Oregon Historical Society. The first of these letters was written on board the schooner Hoaikaika, March 23, 1844, to Rev. A. F. Waller. In this letter Jason Lee says: "I paid Mr. Ricord Two hundred and Fifty dollars for you and shall inclose your order to Bro. Abernethy.... What the result of your land claim will be, of course, I can form no better opinion than when I left. But I have less hopes of effecting anything for the Mission more than to prepare the way for something to be done at the proper stage, that is, whenever the Government shall be prepared to grant title.... I long to hear how you are getting on with Dr. —— &c., and how the good cause is prospering. May the Lord bless all who have embraced his cause and keep them unto 'that day.'"
The second of these letters is to Rev. Gustavus Hines. It is dated at New York July 1, 1844, and written after the return of Rev. Jason Lee from Washington. He wrote: "Met a favorable reception there [Washington] and there is every reason to expect that the land claimed will be cheerfully accorded to us.... Please tell Bro. Waller that his claim is filed in the Office of the Commissioner General of the land office. This will probably secure his claim, though the Supreme Court will probably take no action till an Oregon Bill passes." Waller, however, had "surrendered" all his rights in "his" (the McLoughlin) "land claim" April 4, 1844.[65]
DOCUMENT J
Agreement between Dr. John McLoughlin, Rev. A. F. Waller, and Rev. David Leslie, of April 4, 1844; statement of cause and manner of making said agreement.
The following agreement is in the possession of the Oregon Historical Society. It was among the private papers of Rev. A. F. Waller at the time of his death. This instrument is certified to be a true copy of the original by W. W. Raymond, one of the lay Methodist missionaries. Apparently there was but one original of this instrument, although executed by Dr. McLoughlin, Rev. Alvan F. Waller and Rev. David Leslie, and therefore a copy was made of the same and certified by Raymond for Waller's use.
ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT
"Article of Agreementmade and entered into this fourth day of April A. D. 1844 between John McLoughlin and Alvan F. Waller both of Oregon City in the Territory of Oregon:
"Whereas certain conflicting claims to a tract of land situated at the Falls of the Wallamette River on the east side of said River containing six [hundred] and forty acres and surveyed by Jesse Applegate in the month of December A. D. 1843 have existed between the aforesaid parties and the said parties are now willing and desirous to arrange all differences existing between them in regard to the same;
"It is therefore agreed as follows: The said AlvanF. Waller agrees to surrender make over and forever abandon unto the said John McLoughlin his heirs administrators and assigns and in his favor, all claims rights and pretensions whatsoever which he now has within or to the said above mentioned Tract or survey of land or any part thereof. The said Waller further agrees to withdraw any proceedings which he or his attorney may have commenced in any of the courts of the United States touching the said tract or survey of land and to abstain from at any future time instituting any proceedings to secure to himself the title of the said tract or survey of land in opposition to the said McLoughlin or to his detriment in any way whatsoever, or to sell or otherwise dispose of to any person whatsoever other than the said McLoughlin any claim or right which he the said Waller may have in the same.
"And the said John McLoughlin agrees in consideration of the above mentioned acts and agreements on the part of the said Alvan F. Waller to pay to the said Waller the sum of five hundred dollars and further to convey to the said Waller the premises now occupied by him being lots number two and seven in Blocks number one in Oregon City in said survey—also the entire Blocks numbers fifty four, forty one and eighteen and lots one, two, three, six, seven, and eight in Block number eleven all included in the plot Oregon City aforesaid; and the said John McLoughlin further agrees to give to said Alvan F. Waller his Bond conditioned for a good and sufficient Warrantee Deed to all the above specified premises.
"And the said John McLoughlin further agreesto convey to David Leslie now acting superintendent of the Oregon Methodist Episcopal Mission lots three, four, five and six in Block number one and also lots numbers four and five in Block twenty eight and also the entire Block number twenty nine on the plot of Oregon City aforesaid; and the said John McLoughlin further agrees to give to the said David Leslie his Bond conditioned for a good and sufficient warrantee deed accordingly to all the above specified premises.
"Signed with our names and sealed with our seals this day and year first above mentioned.
"Witnesses"
"True Copy of the original.
"Attest:W. W. Raymond.
"Wallamette Falls July 24, 1844."
A copy of the bond, dated April 4, 1844, given by Dr. John McLoughlin to Rev. A. F. Waller, as provided in said Articles of Agreement of the same date, is in the possession of the Oregon Historical Society. It is also certified to be a true copy by said W. W. Raymond. This certified copy was, also, among the private papers of Rev. A. F. Waller at the time of his death.
Frances Fuller Victor, who had access to originaldocuments, says that the reasons why the agreement set forth in this Document J, came to be entered into are as follows: In April, 1844, Dr. Elijah White suggested that the differences between Dr. McLoughlin and A. F. Waller about the Oregon City land claim might be settled by arbitration. Dr. McLoughlin finally consented to this plan. The arbitrators chosen were Dr. Elijah White, Major Gilpin, and James Douglas, on the side of Dr. McLoughlin, and Revs. David Leslie and A. F. Waller on the side of Waller and the Methodist Mission. All the arbitrators, except Douglas, were citizens of the United States. Major Gilpin had attended West Point and had been an officer in the regular army of the United States. He came to Oregon with Fremont's expedition. Rev. David Leslie was then the acting Superintendent of the Methodist Mission.
Waller insisted that he should receive five hundred dollars and five acres for himself and the Methodist Mission should receive fourteen lots. White and Gilpin considered this exorbitant and opposed it. They were finally persuaded by Douglas to agree to Waller's terms. Douglas said to Dr. McLoughlin, "I thought it best to give you one fever and have done with it. I have acceded to the terms and signed the papers."[66]
While Dr. McLoughlin signed these agreements and executed these bonds and carried them out as far as he was able to, he was not pleased with being compelled to accede to these demands,which he considered unjust. If Waller, either for himself alone or for himself and the Methodist Mission, were entitled to the 640 acres of Dr. McLoughlin's land claim, Waller and it should have insisted on having the whole claim. The proposition of Waller to accept $500 and five acres of land and for Dr. McLoughlin to give the Mission fourteen lots shows that in the minds of Waller and the Mission his and its claims were, to say the least, very dubious ones. Dr. McLoughlin could but consider that he had been forced to comply with these demands, not as a question of right, but as a question of expediency and to get rid of these false claims.
DOCUMENT K
Statement of the career in Oregon of Judge W. P. Bryant.
I have been unable to learn much about Judge W. P. Bryant, except his actions in connection with Abernethy Island and against Dr. McLoughlin. To hisBiennial Reportof 1899 (page 190) Hon. H. R. Kincaid, as Secretary of State for Oregon, added an Appendix giving short biographies of the Chief Justices of Oregon and of other Oregon officials. Of Judge Bryant the Secretary of State said only: "There are no official records in the Department of State to show when Mr. Bryant assumed the duties of his office nor for what period he served. The decisions of the Supreme Court at the time when he served were not reported. Mr. Bryant was appointed by the Presidentfrom some eastern state and only served here a short time when he again returned east."
In theHistory of Oregonin Bancroft's Works, it is said: That Judge Bryant's home was in Indiana; that he was appointed Chief Justice of Oregon in August, 1848, and arrived in Oregon April 9, 1849; that he resigned as Chief Justice January 1, 1851, having spent but five months in Oregon; that upon his resignation he returned to Indiana, where he soon died.
DOCUMENT L
Letter of Dr. John McLoughlin, published in the "Oregon Spectator," Thursday, September 12, 1850.
"Mr. Editor:
"In the Congressional Globe of May 30th, 1850, is the following language of Mr. Thurston, the Delegate from Oregon, to which I wish to invite the attention of the public.
"'And as to the humbug about the Hudson's Bay Company, mentioned by the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Bowlin], I have to say that I know of no humbug about it; this Company has been warring against our Government for these forty years. Dr. McLoughlin has been the chief fugleman, first to cheat our Government, out of the whole country, and next to prevent its settlement. He has driven men from their claims, and from the country, to stifle its efforts at settlement. In 1845 he sent an express to Fort Hall, eight hundred miles,to warn the emigrants, if they attempted to come to the Willamette, they would all be cut off; they went and none were cut off. How, sir, would you reward Benedict Arnold, were he living; he fought the battles of the country, yet, by one act of treason, forfeited the respect of that country. A bill for his relief would fail, I am sure; yet this Bill proposes to reward those who are now, have been, and ever will be, more hostile to our country, because more Jesuitical.'
"What Mr. Thurston means by 'warring against our government for these forty years,' I know not. I am certain, however, that the H. B. Co. had a right to carry on trade under the treaty of joint occupation of the country—even were we to look no farther for another foundation of the right. I am sure, moreover, that the business of the Company was so managed as to bear the strictest scrutiny, and to be in all respects subservient to the best interests of the country, and the duties of religion and humanity. The government and policy of the Company were such as to render traveling safe, and the Indians were friendly to whites. When the Hudson's Bay Company first began to trade with these Indians they were so hostile to the whites that they had to mount guard day and night at the establishment, have sentinels at the gates to prevent any Indian entering, unless to trade, and when they entered, to take their arms from them. The Columbia could not be traveled in parties of less than sixty well armed men; but, by the management of the Company, they were brought to that friendly disposition thattwomen,for several years back, can travel insafetybetween this and Fort Hall.
"Mr. Thurston is pleased to describe me as 'chief fugleman to the Hudson's Bay Company.' This is a term which he probably gathered from the vocabulary in which he found the word 'gumption,' with which he recently garnished another dish, and which he seems to have prepared for appetites similar to his own. By the use of this, and such like epithets it will at once be seen that he has a field of literature which he is likely to occupy without a rival, and the exclusive possession of which no one will deny him. Neither my principles nor my tastes lead me in that direction. But I am described as a 'fugleman' of the Hudson's Bay Company; first to cheat our Government out of the whole country, and next to prevent its settlement. I am an old man, and my head is very white with the frost of many winters, but I have never before been accused as a cheat. I was born a British subject—I have had for twenty years the superintendence of the Hudson's Bay Company's trade, in Oregon, and on the North West Coast; and may be said to have been the representative of British interests in this country; but I have never descended to court popularity, by pandering to prejudice, and doing wrong to anyone. I have, on the other hand, afforded every assistance to all who required it, and which religion and humanity dictated; and this community can say if I did so or not. My language to all who spoke to me on the subject of politics, was that situated as we were we ought to say nothing about the boundary question,as that was an affair of the Government; but to live as Christians in peace and concord, and in acting as I did I consider that I have rendered services to the British and American Governments. But if I had acted differently, the Government would have had difficulties, and this community would perhaps not have enjoyed the peace it has, nor be in so prosperous a condition as it is, and certainly there is not a man in it who will say that I have sought to prevent its settlement. There are, in this Valley, very many persons, and especially among the earliest immigrants, of the first years of the settlement of the country, who are sufficiently honest to admit that the country could never have been colonized as easily as it was, but for the timely, ample, and continuous assistance rendered by me, to them, with the means of the Hudson's Bay Company under my charge. Provisions were sent to meet the immigrants—boats were dispatched to convey them down the Columbia,—when arrived on their claims, cattle were loaned them—they were supplied with clothing, food, farming utensils, and wheat for seed. Very many of these men honorably paid, as soon as they could; others, though able to pay, and though their notes have been standing for many years, testify their sense of the number and magnitude of my favors by signing asecretMemorial to the Congress of the United States, to take from me my property, and to leave me in the decline of life, and in the decrepitude of old age, to the companionship of adders, who—when they were benumbed with frost, I gathered from the hedges and warmedinto life, to feel, when alas! too late, the stings of their ingratitude.
"For additional proof, in repelling these calumnies, I could refer to many sources: Wilkes' Journal, Fremont's Narrative, to American travelers and writers, and to letters from many and many an immigrant to this country, and now residents in this valley, stating to their friends in the States the kindness I had shewn them, and who, I am sure, would acknowledge it, and are as much surprised at the charge brought against me as I am myself. But, moreover, it is well known that the fact of my having aided in the settlement of this country has been a subject of serious complaints, and grave charges made against me, by subjects of Her Britannic Majesty, during the pending of the boundary question—who seem to have been imbued with the same kind disposition toward their fellow men as Mr. Thurston.
"Mr. Thurston says, 'In 1845 he [Dr. McLoughlin] sent an express to Fort Hall, eight hundred miles, to warn the immigration that if they attempted to come to the Willamette, they would be all cut off.' This is a calumny as gratuitous as it is unprovoked; but it is with mingled emotions of astonishment and indignation that I have accidentally become acquainted with the contents of another document, entitled a 'Letter of the Delegate from Oregon to the members of the House of Representatives, in behalf of his constituents touching the Oregon Land Bill.' On the back of the only copy sent, is written in the handwriting of Mr. Thurston—'Keep this still till nextmail, when I shall send them generally. The debate on the California Bill closes next Tuesday, when I hope to get it and passed—my land bill; keep dark till next mail.
"'Thurston.'"
"'June 9, 1850.'"
"In the paragraph already quoted from the Globe of June 30, Mr. Thurston affirms that I am a more dangerous man than Benedict Arnold was; because, as he states, I am more 'Jesuitical.' Webster, the celebrated American Lexicographer, defines Jesuitism thus: 'Cunning, deceit, prevarication, deceptive practices'—yet this same man, Mr. Thurston, who bestows epithets upon me without stint and beyond measure; who accuses me of being 'Jesuitical,' and who occupies the situation of a grave legislator, admits that his measures will not bear the light of truth, and he requires his friend to keep still, until he shall complete the perpetration of a deed of wickedness. Is this not the cunning of the fox? who prowls around in the darkness, that he may rob the hen-roost of the farmer while he is sleeping, without a suspicion of a meditated evil. Is not the sending of such a document, with the request written upon it to keep 'dark,' a deceptive practice, within the very letter and meaning of Webster's definition of Jesuitism? Mr. Thurston, it appears, was afraid of the light of facts, which he did not desire to have communicated to the Government at Washington, before he completed an act of contemplated wrong doing.
"In the letter referred to, speaking of Oregon City, he says, 'The Methodist Mission first took theclaim with the view of establishing here their Mills and Mission—they were forced to leave it under the fear of having the savages of Oregon let loose upon them.' This charge is likewise without a fraction of truth, as a few facts will demonstrate. In 1829, I commenced making preparations at the falls of the Willamette, for building a sawmill. I had a party residing there during the winter of 1829 and 1830. This party, in my employment, and paid with my money, built three houses, and prepared the timber for the erection of a mill. Circumstances rendered the suspension of the mill for a while necessary. In the spring of 1830 I commenced cultivating the ground at the Falls. In the year 1832 I had a mill race blasted out of the rocks, from near the head of the island which Mr. Thurston calls Abernethy Island—but Mr. Thurston found it convenient to conceal from the United States Government that Mr. Abernethy and others purchased the island from F. Hathaway, who jumped the island in the first instance, and that Judge Bryant and Gov. Lane finally purchased whatever right Mr. Abernethy had acquired. The Indians having burnt in 1829 the timber which during that same year had been prepared for the erection of the mill, I had, in the summer of 1838, another house built at the Falls; during the same year I had squared timber prepared and hauled to the place at which I had originally proposed to erect a mill; the erection of the mill was again postponed. In 1840 the Rev. Jason Lee, superintendent of the Methodist Mission in Oregon, applied to me for the loan of someof the above mentioned timber, for the purpose of erecting a Mission building. To this request I assented, and at the same time sent Dr. F. W. Tolmie to point out to the Rev. Mr. Lee the spot upon which he might build. Up to this time, it should be observed that no effort had been made to interfere with my claim, and no one called in question my perfect right to make it. It should be borne in mind, too, that I commenced improving in 1829, and that the missionaries did not come here till 1834. To prevent, however, any future misunderstanding, growing out of any occupancy of sufferance, I handed Mr. Lee a letter, dated Vancouver, 21st July, 1840, in which I described the extent of my claim, as embracing 'the upper end of the Falls, across to the Clackamas Falls, in the Willamette, including the whole point of landand the small Island in the falls, on which the portage is made and which I intend to claim when the boundary line is drawn.' The words italicised are not so in the original. I now do this to call attention to them. Up to this time no one but myself claimed the island. Mr. Lee promised to return the timber he procured to erect the building, with the wood thus loaned Mr. Waller and family, who were placed in it by Mr. Lee. I gave Mr. Lee permission to occupy, as a mission store room, a house I had got erected for myself. Up to 1841 my claim to the island had never been interfered with; in this year Mr. Felix Hathaway put some logs on the island. I gave him notice of my claim, and erected a small house upon the island. Hathaway finally proceeded with his building. I didnot forcibly eject him because I wished to preserve the peace of the country. In the autumn of 1842, I first heard that the Rev. Mr. Waller, as I was informed, set up a claim in conflict with mine, (not for the Mission, but in his own name.) I subsequently bought off Mr. Waller, in the same anxious desire to preserve the peace.