Chapter 10

[87]For Powder River see our volume xxi, p. 268, note 68. The mountains seen were the Blue; see a brief description inibid., p. 273, note 71.—Ed.[88]Pronounced Kiwaw or Kioose.—Palmer.Comment by Ed.For the Cayuse see our volume vii, p. 137, note 37.[89]For the valley of Grande Ronde see our volume xxi, p. 271, note 69. Consult on camas,ibid., p. 247, note 61.—Ed.[90]This northern valley is the lower portion of the Grande Ronde. Frémont says: "We passed out of the Grand Rond by a fine road along the creek, which, for a short distance, runs in a kind of rocky chasm. Crossing a low point, which was a little rocky, the trail conducted into the open valley of the stream—a handsome place for farms." (op. cit.in note 30, p. 179.) This is now the most flourishing settlement in eastern Oregon with a railway running through the valley to Elgin.—Ed.[91]Probably this was the Cayuse chief Tiloukaikt, who had early come under Dr. Whitman's influence, but nevertheless was treacherous, and unstable in his professions of Christianity. In 1841 he had insulted Dr. Whitman because of the punishment of one of his nephews by a missionary teacher. In 1843 he entered into the treaty with some reluctance, and in 1847 was one of the principals concerned in the Whitman massacre. The following year he was one of the five chiefs who gave themselves up to the civil authorities, and he paid the penalty of his murderous instincts upon the scaffold.—Ed.[92]For the Nez Percés see Franchère'sNarrativein our volume vi, p. 340, note 145.—Ed.[93]For Whitman and Spaulding see our volume xxi, p. 352, note 125.—Ed.[94]On the crossing of Blue Mountains compare our volume xxviii, p. 328, note 206.—Ed.[95]For the location of these peaks see our volume vi, pp. 246, 248, notes 50 and 54 respectively. Lee's encampment was the place upon which Henry A. G. Lee had waited for the immigrants of 1844. Lee, who was a member of the train of 1843, was commissioned by Dr. Elijah White as Indian sub-agent to encounter the party of 1844 among the Cayuse and assist in the trading between Indians and immigrants, and thus protect both parties. The policy did not prove successful; see Lee's own letter on the subject inOregon Historical Quarterly, v, p. 300. Lee emigrated from the southwestern states, and immediately became a leader in Oregon politics. He was elected to the legislature of 1845, and was an officer in the Cayuse War of 1847-48, during which he was appointed Indian agent to succeed General Joel Palmer. The following year he resigned his office, and soon thereafter left for the California gold mines. He returned to Oregon to enter the mercantile business; but died on a voyage to New York in 1850.—Ed.[96]For the Umatilla River see our volume vi, p. 338, note 141.The Indian village was probably that of Five Crows, who in 1843 was elected head-chief of the Cayuse. His baptismal name was Hezekiah, and he took no active part in the Whitman massacre (1847); nevertheless he did nothing to prevent its occurrence and secured the person of some of the prisoners, notably a Miss Bewley, whom he took as a wife. Five Crows afterwards was active in the Cayuse War (1878), in which he was severely wounded.—Ed.[97]For Mrs. Whitman see our volume xxi, p. 355, note 128.—Ed.[98]Mary Ann Bridger and Helen Mar Meek, half-breed children of James Bridger and Joseph Meek, were brought to the Whitmans before 1842; also a half-breed Spanish boy, David Malin. The migration of 1843 left with Mrs. Whitman two motherless English girls, Ann and Emma Hobson; while in 1844 seven children of the Sager family, both of whose parents had died en route across the plains, were adopted by the Whitmans. Of these children the two eldest Sager boys were killed during the massacre; the half-breed girls and one of the Sager girls died a few days later, from exposure and fright.—Ed.[99]For the Wallawalla Indians see our volume vii, p. 137, note 37.—Ed.[100]Probably Willow Creek, which drains Morrow County and affords water for stock-raising and sheep-pasturage. Late in the year, when Palmer passed, the stream was dry. The sandy margin along the Columbia from the mouth of Umatilla River to the Dalles, has always been an annoyance to traffic. Sand frequently drifts over the railway track in this region.—Ed.[101]For a brief note on John Day River see our volume xxi, p. 357, note 129.—Ed.[102]For this river see our volume vii, p. 133, note 32; also our volume xxviii, p. 354, note 222.—Ed.[103]For the Dalles and the mission there located, consult our volumes xxi, p. 285, note 77; xxviii, pp. 355, 357, notes 223, 226.—Ed.[104]Samuel Kimborough Barlow was of Scotch descent, the son of a Kentucky pioneer. Born (1795) in Nicholas County, in that state, he removed to Indiana (1818), where he married Susanna Lee of South Carolina. A further move to Fulton County, Illinois, paved the way for emigration to Oregon in 1845. Arrived in Oregon City, Christmas of that year, Barlow kept a hotel there until 1848, when he bought land in Clackamas County of Thomas McKay. Later (1852), he removed to Canemah, just above Oregon City, where he died in 1867. He was public-spirited and active in the affairs of the new commonwealth. For an account of the road constructed over the trail made in 1845, see Mary S. Barlow, "History of the Barlow Road," inOregon Historical Quarterly, iii, pp. 71-81.H. M. Knighton was second marshal of Oregon under the provisional government, and sergeant-at-arms of the house of representatives of 1846. He lived at Oregon City, where he kept an inn. In 1848 he was settled at St. Helens.—Ed.[105]Moses Harris, usually called Black Harris, was a well-known scout and trapper who came to Oregon with the emigrant train of 1844. See an amusing story concerning Harris, related by Peter H. Burnett in his "Recollections," inOregon Historical Quarterly, iii, p. 152. While in Oregon Harris joined several exploring expeditions, notably that of Dr. Elijah White (1845) and that of Levi Scott (1846) in the attempt to find a shorter route from Lewis River to the Willamette valley. In 1846 Harris again went to the rescue of the emigrants who were trying a new route into Oregon; the following year, however, he returned to the states, dying at Independence, Missouri.—Ed.[106]For other brief descriptions of the experiences of Meek's party, see H. H. Bancroft,History of Oregon, i, pp. 512-516, this latter being founded upon manuscript accounts, notably that of Samuel Hancock, a transcript of which is in the possession of Professor Joseph Schafer of the University of Oregon, who has kindly loaned it to the present Editor. Consult also Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1877, pp. 50-53; 1895, p. 101.—Ed.[107]There had been an Indian trail through the Cascades up the fork of the Santiam River, and over what is now known as the Minto Pass. Stephen Meek, who had trapped on the headwaters of John Day River, and there met Indians from the Willamette, thought that he could find this trail; but as a matter of fact it was not discovered by whites until 1873. Dr. White (1845) and Cornelius Gilliam (1846) made essays to open a road through the eastern barrier of the valley. See John Minto, "History of the Minto Pass," inOregon Historical Quarterly, iv, pp. 241-250.—Ed.[108]This was Tygh Creek, a western affluent of Deschutes River, about thirty-five miles above its mouth.—Ed.[109]Marked on the United States land commissioner's map of Oregon (1897) as an affluent of White River, a branch of the Tygh.—Ed.[110]See an account of this party of cattle drivers and their adventures in "Occasional Address," by Hon. Stephen Staats, in Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1877, pp. 51, 52. Staats was one of the party who reached Oregon City in thirteen days from the Dalles.—Ed.[111]The Little Deschutes, rising on the slopes of Mount Hood. See reminiscences of William Barlow, son of the leader of this party, inOregon Historical Quarterly, iii, pp. 71-81. He speaks of the lack of good tools for opening the road, rusty saws and axes being the only implements available to the builders. They frequently reverted to firing the underbrush ahead of them.—Ed.[112]The opinion heretofore entertained, that this peak could not be ascended to its summit, I found to be erroneous. I, however, did not arrive at the highest peak, but went sufficiently near to prove its practicability. I judge the diameter of this peak, at the point where the snow remains the year round, to be about three miles. At the head of many of the ravines, are perpendicular cliffs of rocks, apparently several thousand feet high; and in some places those cliffs rise so precipitately to the summit, that a passage around is impracticable. I think the southern side affords the easiest ascent. The dark strips observable from a distance, are occasioned by blackish rock, so precipitous as not to admit of the snow lying upon it. The upper strata are of gray sandstone, and seem to be of original formation. There is no doubt, but any of the snow peaks upon this range can be ascended to the summit.—Palmer.[113]This should read Big Sandy or Quicksand River. Lewis and Clark gave it the latter name. It is usually known as the Sandy, and in many branches drains the western slope of Mount Hood, flowing northwest into the Columbia, in Multinoma County.—Ed.[114]For Clackamas River see our volume xxi, p. 320, note 105.—Ed.[115]William H. Rector settled at Champoeg, which district he represented in the legislature of 1847. During the gold excitement the following year, he went to California, but returned to Oregon, where in 1857 he was instrumental in starting the pioneer woolen mill at Salem, of which for some time he was superintendent. In 1861 he was commissioner of Indian affairs, with headquarters at Portland. In later life, Rector was interested in railway enterprises. Popular with Oregon settlers, he was quite commonly known as "Uncle Billy."—Ed.[116]William Gilbert Buffum was born in Vermont in 1804. When eleven years of age his family removed to Ashtabula County, Ohio. In 1825 Buffum went to Illinois to work in the mines, later settling in Fulton County, and removing to Missouri in 1841. His wife, Caroline Thurman, was born in Ohio in 1814. After their long journey to Oregon, the Buffums settled in Yamhill County, near Amity, where they afterwards resided, with the exception of a year spent in the California gold fields. Buffum was still living in Amity in 1898. See his reminiscences in Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1889, pp. 42-44.Mrs. Miriam A. Thompson (néeRobinson) was born in Illinois (1826) and married the year before the migration to Oregon. After reaching the Willamette she settled in Yamhill County, thence removing to Clatsop Plains, where in 1848 her husband left her for California. There he was murdered, and in 1850 his widow married Jeremiah H. Tuller, after 1880 living in Douglas County. For her own account of her adventures, and especially this trip across the Cascade Mountains, see Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1895, pp. 87-90.—Ed.[117]Jacob C. Caplinger was born in Virginia in 1815, of German descent. In 1837 he removed to Illinois, in 1841 marrying Jane Woodsides. After reaching the settlements, the Caplingers remained at Oregon City until 1847, when they purchased a farm near Salem, where they were living in 1892.—Ed.[118]Matthew (not N.) Gilmore came out in 1843, settling on the Tualatin Plains, where he was chosen delegate to the provisional legislature of 1844. Gilmore was a farmer, not prominent in public life.Charles Gilmore appears to have been of the migration of 1844.Peter G. Stewart came with the Applegate party of 1843, and was one of the executive committee of three, chosen in 1844. He was a man of calm, dispassionate temper, who had been a jeweler in the states. In 1853 he was port surveyor at Pacific City.—Ed.[119]According to H. H. Bancroft,History of Oregon, i, pp. 525, 526, these were the families of Andrew Hood and Sharp C. Senters. Rev. Theophilus Powell was born in Kentucky, left for Oregon from Missouri, and died in Marion County, Oregon, in 1861.—Ed.[120]Several members of the party of 1845 bore the name of Smith; probably this was Simeon, born in Ohio in 1823, removed to Missouri in 1838, and settled in Marion County, finally making his home in Salem, where he died in 1878. See reference in Stephen Staats's address, in Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1877, p. 55; alsoibid., 1878, pp. 92, 93.—Ed.[121]Colonel James Taylor was born in Pennsylvania (1809), of Scotch-Irish ancestry. In 1823 he removed to Ohio, where he was active in the state militia and connected with the Indian trade. His wife was Esther d'Armon, who came with him to Oregon. See her biography in Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1897, pp. 103-105, wherein is recounted her experience in crossing the Cascades. Colonel Taylor removed in 1846 to Clatsop Plains, but at the outbreak of the Cayuse War (1847) carried his family back to Oregon City, while he served in the extempore army as assistant commissary to General Palmer. In 1849-51 Taylor was chosen first territorial treasurer. About 1850 the Taylors returned to Clatsop, removing to Astoria about 1855, where they passed the remainder of their lives, both dying in 1893.—Ed.[122]Samuel McSwain, of the emigration of 1844.—Ed.[123]Peter H. Hatch, who came to Oregon by sea in 1843.—Ed.[124]The Clackamas Indians were a branch of the Upper Chinook, which had long inhabited the river valley called by their name. Lewis and Clark reported (1806) that there were eleven villages of this tribe, with a population of eight hundred. See Thwaites,Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition(New York, 1905), iv, p. 255; vi, p. 118. The Indian agent for 1851 estimated their number at eighty-eight. The village where Palmer tarried was the one visited in 1841 by members of the Wilkes exploring expedition. A conflict for influence over this tribe was in progress at the time, between the Catholic and Methodist missionaries stationed at the Falls of the Willamette. Captain William Clark thus describes their huts: "they build their houses in the same form with those of the Columbian vally of wide split boa[r]ds and covered with the bark of the white cedar which is the entire length of one side of the roof and jut over at the eve about 18 inches."—Ed.[125]For the founding of Oregon City see De Smet'sOregon Missions, in our volume xxix, p. 180, note 76.—Ed.[126]For a sketch of Dr. John McLoughlin see our volume xxi, p. 296, note 81.—Ed.[127]De Smet describes the building of the Catholic church in hisOregon Missions, our volume xxix, p. 167.—Ed.[128]In 1842 the Wallamet Milling Company was organized and proceeded to erect both flour and grist mills on an island near the falls, in order to accommodate the settlers, who before their erection had been dependent upon the Hudson's Bay Company's mills near Vancouver. The founders of this enterprise were members of the Methodist mission.Governor George Abernethy of New York (born in 1807) came to Oregon as steward of the party of reinforcement arriving in the "Lausanne" (1840). His business capacity was appreciated by the members of the mission, and he was soon established as a merchant at Oregon City. Here he took prominent part in the organization of the provisional government, of which he was elected governor in 1845. Re-elected the following year, Abernethy continued in this office until the arrival of Governor Joseph Lane (1849), sent out as first territorial governor by the United States. During the troubles incident to the Whitman massacre, Governor Abernethy acted with discretion and promptness, and retained the good will of Oregonians during his entire term of office. After retiring from public service he continued in mercantile pursuits, dying at Portland in 1877. See his portrait in H. S. Lyman,History of Oregon, iii, p. 286. For Alanson Beers see Farnham'sTravelsin our volume xxix, p. 21, note 14.—Ed.[129]In 1844 the Oregon Printing Association was formed, and George Abernethy sent to New York for a press upon which was printed the first number of theOregon Spectator, February 6, 1846. Its first editor was Colonel William G. T'Vault, a pioneer of 1845; he was succeeded by Henry A. G. Lee, George L. Curry, Aaron E. Wait, and Rev. Wilson Blain, successively. Although several times suspended for brief periods, theSpectatorwas published until 1855. For an account see George H. Himes, "The History of the Press of Oregon, 1839-1850," inOregon Historical Quarterly, iii, pp. 327-370.—Ed.[130]See descriptions of this game inOriginal Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, iv, p. 37; and in Ross'sOregon Settlers, our volume vii, pp. 291-293.—Ed.[131]William Engle, of German descent, was born near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1789, and served as a volunteer in the War of 1812-15. Having lived for some years in St. Clair County, Illinois, he went out with the train of 1845 for Oregon, settling first at Oregon City. The following year he took up donation land in Clackamas County, where he resided until 1866, being chosen member of the legislature of 1847, and for two years serving as county judge. Having sold his farm in Clackamas, he removed to Marion County, where he died in 1868. Engle was by trade a carpenter; his experiment as a foundryman does not appear to have been successful.—Ed.[132]Lewis F. Linn was born in 1796 near Louisville, where he studied medicine and afterwards volunteered for the War of 1812-15. At its close he removed to Ste. Geneviève, Missouri, where he began active practice. In 1827 he was elected to the state senate, and in 1833 was appointed to the United States senate to fill out the term of a deceased senator. Thrice elected thereto by the Missouri legislature, he served until his own death in 1843, being known in the senate as a champion of Oregon interests.The town opposite Oregon City was known as Linn City. It consisted in December, 1844, of two log buildings and many tents, wherein the emigrants of 1844 made their headquarters. In 1861 all the buildings were swept away by a flood. It has now no separate existence.—Ed.[133]Robert Moore was born in Pennsylvania in 1781, served in the War of 1812-15, and in 1822 emigrated to Ste. Geneviève, Missouri, whence he was sent to the state legislature. In 1835 he removed to Illinois, where in 1839 he joined the Peoria party for emigration to Oregon. See preface to Farnham'sTravels, in our volume xxviii. Moore was one of the seceders who went off from Bent's Fort to Fort St. Vrain, where he spent the winter of 1839-40. Arrived in Oregon he purchased land of the Indians on the west side of the Willamette, naming his place the "Robin's Nest," being visited there by Commodore Wilkes in 1841. Moore served on a committee of the provisional government, and held a commission as justice of the peace. He died in Oregon September 1, 1857.—Ed.[134]Hugh Burns was a blacksmith who came to Oregon in 1842, in the party of Medorem Crawford. The same year he was made a magistrate, and concerned himself with public affairs until his return to Missouri in 1846.For the Multinoma Indians see our volume vi, p. 247, note 53.—Ed.[135]The right to establish public ferries was granted by the provisional legislature of 1844 to Robert Moore and Hugh Burns.—Ed.[136]The site of Portland was unoccupied until November, 1843, when William Overton, from Tennessee, and Asa L. Lovejoy staked off claims of three hundred and twenty acres each. In 1844 Overton sold out to F. W. Pettygrove of Maine for $50, and the first log cabin was built. In 1845 the place was named and a town platted; the growth was slow, however, and by 1849 there were only about a hundred inhabitants. Two years later the town was incorporated, at that time claiming a population of a thousand. After that the growth became more rapid. In 1873 Portland suffered a disastrous conflagration. The city's success is due to its position at the head of tidewater navigation for the Columbia and Willamette valleys, and as being the terminus of eastern and southern trunk railways.—Ed.[137]The Willamette is navigable in high water for small steamers as far as Eugene, a hundred and thirty-eight miles above Portland. The first steamers on the upper Willamette were the "Hoosier" and "Yamhill," built in 1851. Since railways have followed both banks of the stream, river navigation has been of minor importance.—Ed.[138]The mountains of the Coast range extend at the highest from four thousand to five thousand feet above sea level, with lower levels half as great. Several passes run through from the Pacific, notably that afforded by the Yaquina and Mary's rivers, through which runs the Oregon Central Railway.—Ed.[139]By this paragraph, Palmer intends to describe Tualatin River and plains. The name is derived from a local Indian word said to signify "smooth and slowly-flowing stream." The land known to the early settlers as Tualatin Plains is now embraced in Washington County—a famous fruit-and wheat-raising region. The plains are encircled by hills, giving the appearance of a large amphitheatre. The earliest settlers in this region were three independent missionaries, Harvey Clark, Alvin T. Smith, and P. B. Littlejohn, who crossed the continent in 1840, and the following spring settled at Tualatin. About the same time, several mountain men, such as Joseph L. Meek and Robert Newell, made their homes in the region. The Red River settlers who had come under the auspices of the Puget Sound Agricultural Association in 1841, being dissatisfied with lands north of the Columbia, gradually drifted south, a number settling at Dairy Creek, in the Tualatin country.For the Tualatin River see Farnham'sTravelsin our volume xxix, p. 16, note 5.—Ed.[140]This stream is usually known as the Chehalem, the significance of the name being unknown. Among the earliest settlers in this fertile valley were Ewing Young (see our volume xx, p. 23, note 2), and Sidney Smith (for whom see our volume xxviii, p. 91, note 41). Several mountain men also had farms in the region, as well as Archibald McKinley, a member of the Hudson's Bay Company.—Ed.[141]Yamhill is said to be a corruption of Cheamhill, a name signifying "bald hills." Among the earliest settlers were Francis Fletcher and Amos Cook, of the Peoria party of 1839. Medorem Crawford (1842) settled near what is now Dayton for the first years of his Oregon life. General Palmer himself chose this valley for his future home, and in 1850 founded therein the town of Dayton. See preface to the present volume.—Ed.[142]Rickerall (commonly Rickreall) is a corruption of La Creole, the name now usually applied to this stream, which drains Polk County and though not navigable has many mill sites and waters a fertile region.—Ed.[143]Known as Polk County Hills, forming a charming background for the western view from Salem.—Ed.[144]Jesse, Charles, and Lindsey Applegate were natives of Kentucky who emigrated to Oregon in 1843, and became leaders in its development. The eldest, Jesse, was a man of marked peculiarities, but accredited with much wisdom and indomitable perseverance, and a natural leader of men. His influence was considerable in forming the provisional government. In 1846 he explored for a southern route into Willamette valley, and thence led emigrants south of Klamath Lake. About 1849 he settled in the Umpqua country, near the site whence he obtained his title as "sage of Yoncalla." A disastrous business venture sent him for a time to the mountains of northern California. During the Rogue River and Modoc Indian wars his knowledge of the character of the aborigines was valuable, and several times he served as special Indian agent, dying in Douglas County in 1888.Charles Applegate was born in 1806, removed to St. Louis about 1820, migrated to Oregon in 1843, and accompanied his brother Jesse to Douglas County, where he died in 1879.Lindsey Applegate accompanied General W. H. Ashley on his Arikara campaign of 1823 (see our volume xxiii, p. 224, note 177), wherein he was taken ill. After returning to St. Louis he worked in the Illinois lead mines, and saw service in the Black Hawk War (1832). After his migration to Oregon (1843), he became only second to his eldest brother in services to the young commonwealth. He made his home in the southern part of the state, near Ashland, in Jackson County, where he was living in 1885.—Ed.[145]This name should be Hembree, that of a pioneer family from Tennessee, who came out in 1843. Absalom J. Hembree was a member of the legislature from 1846 to 1855. In the latter year he raised a company for the Yakima War, in which he was killed. Many descendants of this family live near Lafayette and other Yamhill County towns.—Ed.[146]These were members of the immigration of 1844, of which Cornelius Gilliam was chosen leader. He had served in both the Black Hawk and Seminole wars, and had been sheriff and member of the legislature in Missouri. His command of the emigrant train did not last through the entire trip, the party breaking into smaller companies, two of which were commanded by William Shaw and Nathaniel Ford. Gilliam was colonel of the regiment raised to avenge the Whitman massacre, and was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun.William Shaw was born (1795) near Raleigh, North Carolina. When a boy he emigrated to Tennessee and took part in Jackson's campaign before New Orleans (1814-15). About 1819 he removed to Missouri, where he married a sister of Colonel Gilliam. He was captain in the Cayuse War of 1848, and member of the territorial legislature from Marion County, ten miles above Salem, where he made his permanent home.Nathaniel Ford was a native of Virginia (1795), but was reared in Kentucky, and after coming out to Oregon settled in Polk County, where he died in 1870.—Ed.[147]George Gay was an English sailor. Born in Gloucestershire (1810), he served as ship's apprentice when eleven years of age. In 1832 he reached California on the "Kitty," and there joined Ewing Young's trapping party to the mountains of northern California, returning without entering Oregon. In 1835 he formed one of a party of eight men under the leadership of John Turner, who coming overland to Oregon were attacked by the Rogue River Indians, all being wounded and two killed. Gay reached the settlements after a trip filled with great hardships, and thenceforth made Oregon his home, taking an Indian wife and settling high up on the Willamette, near the southern boundary of Yamhill County. Here he built the first brick house in the territory, and with unbounded hospitality opened it to new emigrants. Wilkes (1841) describes him as a dashing, gay "vaquero," half-Indian in his characteristics, but very useful to the new community. At one time he had considerable wealth in horses and cattle, but died poor in 1882.Daniel Matheny, of the emigration of 1843, was born in Virginia in 1793. Successive removals carried him to Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, where he served in the War of 1812-15, and that of Black Hawk (1832). Having settled near Gay in 1844, he afterwards kept a public ferry, dying on his farm in 1872. Several of his family accompanied him to Oregon.—Ed.[148]Luckiamute is the modern spelling of this name of Indian origin, derived from a branch of the Kalapuya tribe that formerly inhabited this valley. In 1851, federal commissioners made a treaty with this tribe whereby they ceded their lands, and retired soon afterwards to the Grande Ronde reservation. By Mouse River Palmer means the stream now known as Mary's River—a name given by J. C. Avery, the founder of Corvallis, in honor of his wife.—Ed.[149]Mount Jefferson, Hayrick Mountain, Mount Washington, and the Three Sisters, with neighboring peaks.—Ed.[150]Our author here intends the Coast (not the Cascade) range, of which Mary's Peak, between the two forks of Mary's (Mouse) River is the highest, rising about five thousand feet above sea level.—Ed.[151]The Alsea, in Lincoln County, flows into a bay of that name, where small coasting steamers enter and ascend the stream some eighteen or twenty miles. The name is derived from an Indian tribe—one of the Kalapuya stock.—Ed.[152]In the early days of Oregon settlement more frequently spelled Longtonguebuff (properly Lungtumler), from a branch of the Kalapuya tribe that inhabited its banks. The stream is now known simply as Long Tom River, rising in Lane County and flowing nearly north into Benton County, entering the Willamette not far above Peoria.—Ed.[153]Palmer here refers to Molala River, a stream of southwestern Clackamas County, that took its name from a tribe of Indians once roaming upon its banks. Governor Lane in 1850 refers to this tribe as Mole Alley; and the liquid letters "m" and "p" being nearly interchangeable in the Indian dialect, Palmer gave it the form Pole Alley. The Molala tribe was an offshoot of the Cayuse, that had its home west of the Cascades. The early settlers testified to their superior physique and stronger qualities, compared with the degraded Chinook by whom they were surrounded. In 1851 their tribal lands were purchased, when their number was reported at 123. The remnant removed to Douglas County, and in 1888 a few calling themselves Molala were found on the Grande Ronde reservation.—Ed.[154]The aboriginal name of this stream was Hanteuc. Two differing accounts are given of the origin of the present name. Elijah White (Ten Years in Oregon, p. 70) says a party of Hudson's Bay trappers lost their way upon this stream and were forced to kill their horses for sustenance, making pudding of the blood. Others give the derivation as "Put in"—the stream that puts in just below the early French settlement, thence degenerated to Pudding. The river rises in the foothills near the centre of Marion County, and flows nearly north, a sluggish, crooked stream from eighty to a hundred feet in width.—Ed.[155]The Butte was a landmark on the upper Willamette, a high escarpment prominent from the river. Here was formerly a landing for the settlers of French Prairie, whose farms lay south and east of this point. The town of Butteville was laid out by merchants of Oregon City—Abernethy and Beers—to facilitate the commerce in wheat. F. X. Matthieu took up land here as early as 1846, and in 1850 kept a store. He still lives at Butteville, which in 1900 had a population of 483.—Ed.[156]For Champoeg see De Smet'sOregon Missionsin our volume xxix, p. 179, note 75. The early meetings of the provisional government were held at this place, which was the centre for the old Canadian-French inhabitants of the country.Dr. Robert Newell was born in 1807 at Zanesville, Ohio. His fur-trapping experiences were under the auspices of the American Fur Company (not the Hudson's Bay Company), as companion of Joseph L. Meek. See F. T. Victor,River of the West(Hartford, 1870). His first settlement (1840) after the migration to Oregon, was at Tualatin Plains; but before 1842 he removed to Champoeg, where by his influence over the settlers he became the political as well as social leader. Possibly also Newell laid out a town at this place, but he was by no means the founder of the village. Newell represented Champoeg in the provisional government for several years, and in 1846 was speaker of the lower house of the state legislature. After the Whitman massacre (1847) he was chosen one of the commissioners, with Palmer, to treat with the Indians. He also raised a company for the Indian war of 1856. In later life he was connected with railway projects and died at Lewiston, Idaho, in 1869.—Ed.

[87]For Powder River see our volume xxi, p. 268, note 68. The mountains seen were the Blue; see a brief description inibid., p. 273, note 71.—Ed.

[88]Pronounced Kiwaw or Kioose.—Palmer.Comment by Ed.For the Cayuse see our volume vii, p. 137, note 37.

[88]Pronounced Kiwaw or Kioose.—Palmer.

Comment by Ed.For the Cayuse see our volume vii, p. 137, note 37.

[89]For the valley of Grande Ronde see our volume xxi, p. 271, note 69. Consult on camas,ibid., p. 247, note 61.—Ed.

[90]This northern valley is the lower portion of the Grande Ronde. Frémont says: "We passed out of the Grand Rond by a fine road along the creek, which, for a short distance, runs in a kind of rocky chasm. Crossing a low point, which was a little rocky, the trail conducted into the open valley of the stream—a handsome place for farms." (op. cit.in note 30, p. 179.) This is now the most flourishing settlement in eastern Oregon with a railway running through the valley to Elgin.—Ed.

[91]Probably this was the Cayuse chief Tiloukaikt, who had early come under Dr. Whitman's influence, but nevertheless was treacherous, and unstable in his professions of Christianity. In 1841 he had insulted Dr. Whitman because of the punishment of one of his nephews by a missionary teacher. In 1843 he entered into the treaty with some reluctance, and in 1847 was one of the principals concerned in the Whitman massacre. The following year he was one of the five chiefs who gave themselves up to the civil authorities, and he paid the penalty of his murderous instincts upon the scaffold.—Ed.

[92]For the Nez Percés see Franchère'sNarrativein our volume vi, p. 340, note 145.—Ed.

[93]For Whitman and Spaulding see our volume xxi, p. 352, note 125.—Ed.

[94]On the crossing of Blue Mountains compare our volume xxviii, p. 328, note 206.—Ed.

[95]For the location of these peaks see our volume vi, pp. 246, 248, notes 50 and 54 respectively. Lee's encampment was the place upon which Henry A. G. Lee had waited for the immigrants of 1844. Lee, who was a member of the train of 1843, was commissioned by Dr. Elijah White as Indian sub-agent to encounter the party of 1844 among the Cayuse and assist in the trading between Indians and immigrants, and thus protect both parties. The policy did not prove successful; see Lee's own letter on the subject inOregon Historical Quarterly, v, p. 300. Lee emigrated from the southwestern states, and immediately became a leader in Oregon politics. He was elected to the legislature of 1845, and was an officer in the Cayuse War of 1847-48, during which he was appointed Indian agent to succeed General Joel Palmer. The following year he resigned his office, and soon thereafter left for the California gold mines. He returned to Oregon to enter the mercantile business; but died on a voyage to New York in 1850.—Ed.

[96]For the Umatilla River see our volume vi, p. 338, note 141.The Indian village was probably that of Five Crows, who in 1843 was elected head-chief of the Cayuse. His baptismal name was Hezekiah, and he took no active part in the Whitman massacre (1847); nevertheless he did nothing to prevent its occurrence and secured the person of some of the prisoners, notably a Miss Bewley, whom he took as a wife. Five Crows afterwards was active in the Cayuse War (1878), in which he was severely wounded.—Ed.

[96]For the Umatilla River see our volume vi, p. 338, note 141.

The Indian village was probably that of Five Crows, who in 1843 was elected head-chief of the Cayuse. His baptismal name was Hezekiah, and he took no active part in the Whitman massacre (1847); nevertheless he did nothing to prevent its occurrence and secured the person of some of the prisoners, notably a Miss Bewley, whom he took as a wife. Five Crows afterwards was active in the Cayuse War (1878), in which he was severely wounded.—Ed.

[97]For Mrs. Whitman see our volume xxi, p. 355, note 128.—Ed.

[98]Mary Ann Bridger and Helen Mar Meek, half-breed children of James Bridger and Joseph Meek, were brought to the Whitmans before 1842; also a half-breed Spanish boy, David Malin. The migration of 1843 left with Mrs. Whitman two motherless English girls, Ann and Emma Hobson; while in 1844 seven children of the Sager family, both of whose parents had died en route across the plains, were adopted by the Whitmans. Of these children the two eldest Sager boys were killed during the massacre; the half-breed girls and one of the Sager girls died a few days later, from exposure and fright.—Ed.

[99]For the Wallawalla Indians see our volume vii, p. 137, note 37.—Ed.

[100]Probably Willow Creek, which drains Morrow County and affords water for stock-raising and sheep-pasturage. Late in the year, when Palmer passed, the stream was dry. The sandy margin along the Columbia from the mouth of Umatilla River to the Dalles, has always been an annoyance to traffic. Sand frequently drifts over the railway track in this region.—Ed.

[101]For a brief note on John Day River see our volume xxi, p. 357, note 129.—Ed.

[102]For this river see our volume vii, p. 133, note 32; also our volume xxviii, p. 354, note 222.—Ed.

[103]For the Dalles and the mission there located, consult our volumes xxi, p. 285, note 77; xxviii, pp. 355, 357, notes 223, 226.—Ed.

[104]Samuel Kimborough Barlow was of Scotch descent, the son of a Kentucky pioneer. Born (1795) in Nicholas County, in that state, he removed to Indiana (1818), where he married Susanna Lee of South Carolina. A further move to Fulton County, Illinois, paved the way for emigration to Oregon in 1845. Arrived in Oregon City, Christmas of that year, Barlow kept a hotel there until 1848, when he bought land in Clackamas County of Thomas McKay. Later (1852), he removed to Canemah, just above Oregon City, where he died in 1867. He was public-spirited and active in the affairs of the new commonwealth. For an account of the road constructed over the trail made in 1845, see Mary S. Barlow, "History of the Barlow Road," inOregon Historical Quarterly, iii, pp. 71-81.H. M. Knighton was second marshal of Oregon under the provisional government, and sergeant-at-arms of the house of representatives of 1846. He lived at Oregon City, where he kept an inn. In 1848 he was settled at St. Helens.—Ed.

H. M. Knighton was second marshal of Oregon under the provisional government, and sergeant-at-arms of the house of representatives of 1846. He lived at Oregon City, where he kept an inn. In 1848 he was settled at St. Helens.—Ed.

[105]Moses Harris, usually called Black Harris, was a well-known scout and trapper who came to Oregon with the emigrant train of 1844. See an amusing story concerning Harris, related by Peter H. Burnett in his "Recollections," inOregon Historical Quarterly, iii, p. 152. While in Oregon Harris joined several exploring expeditions, notably that of Dr. Elijah White (1845) and that of Levi Scott (1846) in the attempt to find a shorter route from Lewis River to the Willamette valley. In 1846 Harris again went to the rescue of the emigrants who were trying a new route into Oregon; the following year, however, he returned to the states, dying at Independence, Missouri.—Ed.

[106]For other brief descriptions of the experiences of Meek's party, see H. H. Bancroft,History of Oregon, i, pp. 512-516, this latter being founded upon manuscript accounts, notably that of Samuel Hancock, a transcript of which is in the possession of Professor Joseph Schafer of the University of Oregon, who has kindly loaned it to the present Editor. Consult also Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1877, pp. 50-53; 1895, p. 101.—Ed.

[107]There had been an Indian trail through the Cascades up the fork of the Santiam River, and over what is now known as the Minto Pass. Stephen Meek, who had trapped on the headwaters of John Day River, and there met Indians from the Willamette, thought that he could find this trail; but as a matter of fact it was not discovered by whites until 1873. Dr. White (1845) and Cornelius Gilliam (1846) made essays to open a road through the eastern barrier of the valley. See John Minto, "History of the Minto Pass," inOregon Historical Quarterly, iv, pp. 241-250.—Ed.

[108]This was Tygh Creek, a western affluent of Deschutes River, about thirty-five miles above its mouth.—Ed.

[109]Marked on the United States land commissioner's map of Oregon (1897) as an affluent of White River, a branch of the Tygh.—Ed.

[110]See an account of this party of cattle drivers and their adventures in "Occasional Address," by Hon. Stephen Staats, in Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1877, pp. 51, 52. Staats was one of the party who reached Oregon City in thirteen days from the Dalles.—Ed.

[111]The Little Deschutes, rising on the slopes of Mount Hood. See reminiscences of William Barlow, son of the leader of this party, inOregon Historical Quarterly, iii, pp. 71-81. He speaks of the lack of good tools for opening the road, rusty saws and axes being the only implements available to the builders. They frequently reverted to firing the underbrush ahead of them.—Ed.

[112]The opinion heretofore entertained, that this peak could not be ascended to its summit, I found to be erroneous. I, however, did not arrive at the highest peak, but went sufficiently near to prove its practicability. I judge the diameter of this peak, at the point where the snow remains the year round, to be about three miles. At the head of many of the ravines, are perpendicular cliffs of rocks, apparently several thousand feet high; and in some places those cliffs rise so precipitately to the summit, that a passage around is impracticable. I think the southern side affords the easiest ascent. The dark strips observable from a distance, are occasioned by blackish rock, so precipitous as not to admit of the snow lying upon it. The upper strata are of gray sandstone, and seem to be of original formation. There is no doubt, but any of the snow peaks upon this range can be ascended to the summit.—Palmer.

[113]This should read Big Sandy or Quicksand River. Lewis and Clark gave it the latter name. It is usually known as the Sandy, and in many branches drains the western slope of Mount Hood, flowing northwest into the Columbia, in Multinoma County.—Ed.

[114]For Clackamas River see our volume xxi, p. 320, note 105.—Ed.

[115]William H. Rector settled at Champoeg, which district he represented in the legislature of 1847. During the gold excitement the following year, he went to California, but returned to Oregon, where in 1857 he was instrumental in starting the pioneer woolen mill at Salem, of which for some time he was superintendent. In 1861 he was commissioner of Indian affairs, with headquarters at Portland. In later life, Rector was interested in railway enterprises. Popular with Oregon settlers, he was quite commonly known as "Uncle Billy."—Ed.

[116]William Gilbert Buffum was born in Vermont in 1804. When eleven years of age his family removed to Ashtabula County, Ohio. In 1825 Buffum went to Illinois to work in the mines, later settling in Fulton County, and removing to Missouri in 1841. His wife, Caroline Thurman, was born in Ohio in 1814. After their long journey to Oregon, the Buffums settled in Yamhill County, near Amity, where they afterwards resided, with the exception of a year spent in the California gold fields. Buffum was still living in Amity in 1898. See his reminiscences in Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1889, pp. 42-44.Mrs. Miriam A. Thompson (néeRobinson) was born in Illinois (1826) and married the year before the migration to Oregon. After reaching the Willamette she settled in Yamhill County, thence removing to Clatsop Plains, where in 1848 her husband left her for California. There he was murdered, and in 1850 his widow married Jeremiah H. Tuller, after 1880 living in Douglas County. For her own account of her adventures, and especially this trip across the Cascade Mountains, see Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1895, pp. 87-90.—Ed.

Mrs. Miriam A. Thompson (néeRobinson) was born in Illinois (1826) and married the year before the migration to Oregon. After reaching the Willamette she settled in Yamhill County, thence removing to Clatsop Plains, where in 1848 her husband left her for California. There he was murdered, and in 1850 his widow married Jeremiah H. Tuller, after 1880 living in Douglas County. For her own account of her adventures, and especially this trip across the Cascade Mountains, see Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1895, pp. 87-90.—Ed.

[117]Jacob C. Caplinger was born in Virginia in 1815, of German descent. In 1837 he removed to Illinois, in 1841 marrying Jane Woodsides. After reaching the settlements, the Caplingers remained at Oregon City until 1847, when they purchased a farm near Salem, where they were living in 1892.—Ed.

[118]Matthew (not N.) Gilmore came out in 1843, settling on the Tualatin Plains, where he was chosen delegate to the provisional legislature of 1844. Gilmore was a farmer, not prominent in public life.Charles Gilmore appears to have been of the migration of 1844.Peter G. Stewart came with the Applegate party of 1843, and was one of the executive committee of three, chosen in 1844. He was a man of calm, dispassionate temper, who had been a jeweler in the states. In 1853 he was port surveyor at Pacific City.—Ed.

Charles Gilmore appears to have been of the migration of 1844.

Peter G. Stewart came with the Applegate party of 1843, and was one of the executive committee of three, chosen in 1844. He was a man of calm, dispassionate temper, who had been a jeweler in the states. In 1853 he was port surveyor at Pacific City.—Ed.

[119]According to H. H. Bancroft,History of Oregon, i, pp. 525, 526, these were the families of Andrew Hood and Sharp C. Senters. Rev. Theophilus Powell was born in Kentucky, left for Oregon from Missouri, and died in Marion County, Oregon, in 1861.—Ed.

[120]Several members of the party of 1845 bore the name of Smith; probably this was Simeon, born in Ohio in 1823, removed to Missouri in 1838, and settled in Marion County, finally making his home in Salem, where he died in 1878. See reference in Stephen Staats's address, in Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1877, p. 55; alsoibid., 1878, pp. 92, 93.—Ed.

[121]Colonel James Taylor was born in Pennsylvania (1809), of Scotch-Irish ancestry. In 1823 he removed to Ohio, where he was active in the state militia and connected with the Indian trade. His wife was Esther d'Armon, who came with him to Oregon. See her biography in Oregon Pioneer AssociationTransactions, 1897, pp. 103-105, wherein is recounted her experience in crossing the Cascades. Colonel Taylor removed in 1846 to Clatsop Plains, but at the outbreak of the Cayuse War (1847) carried his family back to Oregon City, while he served in the extempore army as assistant commissary to General Palmer. In 1849-51 Taylor was chosen first territorial treasurer. About 1850 the Taylors returned to Clatsop, removing to Astoria about 1855, where they passed the remainder of their lives, both dying in 1893.—Ed.

[122]Samuel McSwain, of the emigration of 1844.—Ed.

[123]Peter H. Hatch, who came to Oregon by sea in 1843.—Ed.

[124]The Clackamas Indians were a branch of the Upper Chinook, which had long inhabited the river valley called by their name. Lewis and Clark reported (1806) that there were eleven villages of this tribe, with a population of eight hundred. See Thwaites,Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition(New York, 1905), iv, p. 255; vi, p. 118. The Indian agent for 1851 estimated their number at eighty-eight. The village where Palmer tarried was the one visited in 1841 by members of the Wilkes exploring expedition. A conflict for influence over this tribe was in progress at the time, between the Catholic and Methodist missionaries stationed at the Falls of the Willamette. Captain William Clark thus describes their huts: "they build their houses in the same form with those of the Columbian vally of wide split boa[r]ds and covered with the bark of the white cedar which is the entire length of one side of the roof and jut over at the eve about 18 inches."—Ed.

[125]For the founding of Oregon City see De Smet'sOregon Missions, in our volume xxix, p. 180, note 76.—Ed.

[126]For a sketch of Dr. John McLoughlin see our volume xxi, p. 296, note 81.—Ed.

[127]De Smet describes the building of the Catholic church in hisOregon Missions, our volume xxix, p. 167.—Ed.

[128]In 1842 the Wallamet Milling Company was organized and proceeded to erect both flour and grist mills on an island near the falls, in order to accommodate the settlers, who before their erection had been dependent upon the Hudson's Bay Company's mills near Vancouver. The founders of this enterprise were members of the Methodist mission.Governor George Abernethy of New York (born in 1807) came to Oregon as steward of the party of reinforcement arriving in the "Lausanne" (1840). His business capacity was appreciated by the members of the mission, and he was soon established as a merchant at Oregon City. Here he took prominent part in the organization of the provisional government, of which he was elected governor in 1845. Re-elected the following year, Abernethy continued in this office until the arrival of Governor Joseph Lane (1849), sent out as first territorial governor by the United States. During the troubles incident to the Whitman massacre, Governor Abernethy acted with discretion and promptness, and retained the good will of Oregonians during his entire term of office. After retiring from public service he continued in mercantile pursuits, dying at Portland in 1877. See his portrait in H. S. Lyman,History of Oregon, iii, p. 286. For Alanson Beers see Farnham'sTravelsin our volume xxix, p. 21, note 14.—Ed.

Governor George Abernethy of New York (born in 1807) came to Oregon as steward of the party of reinforcement arriving in the "Lausanne" (1840). His business capacity was appreciated by the members of the mission, and he was soon established as a merchant at Oregon City. Here he took prominent part in the organization of the provisional government, of which he was elected governor in 1845. Re-elected the following year, Abernethy continued in this office until the arrival of Governor Joseph Lane (1849), sent out as first territorial governor by the United States. During the troubles incident to the Whitman massacre, Governor Abernethy acted with discretion and promptness, and retained the good will of Oregonians during his entire term of office. After retiring from public service he continued in mercantile pursuits, dying at Portland in 1877. See his portrait in H. S. Lyman,History of Oregon, iii, p. 286. For Alanson Beers see Farnham'sTravelsin our volume xxix, p. 21, note 14.—Ed.

[129]In 1844 the Oregon Printing Association was formed, and George Abernethy sent to New York for a press upon which was printed the first number of theOregon Spectator, February 6, 1846. Its first editor was Colonel William G. T'Vault, a pioneer of 1845; he was succeeded by Henry A. G. Lee, George L. Curry, Aaron E. Wait, and Rev. Wilson Blain, successively. Although several times suspended for brief periods, theSpectatorwas published until 1855. For an account see George H. Himes, "The History of the Press of Oregon, 1839-1850," inOregon Historical Quarterly, iii, pp. 327-370.—Ed.

[130]See descriptions of this game inOriginal Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, iv, p. 37; and in Ross'sOregon Settlers, our volume vii, pp. 291-293.—Ed.

[131]William Engle, of German descent, was born near Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1789, and served as a volunteer in the War of 1812-15. Having lived for some years in St. Clair County, Illinois, he went out with the train of 1845 for Oregon, settling first at Oregon City. The following year he took up donation land in Clackamas County, where he resided until 1866, being chosen member of the legislature of 1847, and for two years serving as county judge. Having sold his farm in Clackamas, he removed to Marion County, where he died in 1868. Engle was by trade a carpenter; his experiment as a foundryman does not appear to have been successful.—Ed.

[132]Lewis F. Linn was born in 1796 near Louisville, where he studied medicine and afterwards volunteered for the War of 1812-15. At its close he removed to Ste. Geneviève, Missouri, where he began active practice. In 1827 he was elected to the state senate, and in 1833 was appointed to the United States senate to fill out the term of a deceased senator. Thrice elected thereto by the Missouri legislature, he served until his own death in 1843, being known in the senate as a champion of Oregon interests.The town opposite Oregon City was known as Linn City. It consisted in December, 1844, of two log buildings and many tents, wherein the emigrants of 1844 made their headquarters. In 1861 all the buildings were swept away by a flood. It has now no separate existence.—Ed.

The town opposite Oregon City was known as Linn City. It consisted in December, 1844, of two log buildings and many tents, wherein the emigrants of 1844 made their headquarters. In 1861 all the buildings were swept away by a flood. It has now no separate existence.—Ed.

[133]Robert Moore was born in Pennsylvania in 1781, served in the War of 1812-15, and in 1822 emigrated to Ste. Geneviève, Missouri, whence he was sent to the state legislature. In 1835 he removed to Illinois, where in 1839 he joined the Peoria party for emigration to Oregon. See preface to Farnham'sTravels, in our volume xxviii. Moore was one of the seceders who went off from Bent's Fort to Fort St. Vrain, where he spent the winter of 1839-40. Arrived in Oregon he purchased land of the Indians on the west side of the Willamette, naming his place the "Robin's Nest," being visited there by Commodore Wilkes in 1841. Moore served on a committee of the provisional government, and held a commission as justice of the peace. He died in Oregon September 1, 1857.—Ed.

[134]Hugh Burns was a blacksmith who came to Oregon in 1842, in the party of Medorem Crawford. The same year he was made a magistrate, and concerned himself with public affairs until his return to Missouri in 1846.For the Multinoma Indians see our volume vi, p. 247, note 53.—Ed.

For the Multinoma Indians see our volume vi, p. 247, note 53.—Ed.

[135]The right to establish public ferries was granted by the provisional legislature of 1844 to Robert Moore and Hugh Burns.—Ed.

[136]The site of Portland was unoccupied until November, 1843, when William Overton, from Tennessee, and Asa L. Lovejoy staked off claims of three hundred and twenty acres each. In 1844 Overton sold out to F. W. Pettygrove of Maine for $50, and the first log cabin was built. In 1845 the place was named and a town platted; the growth was slow, however, and by 1849 there were only about a hundred inhabitants. Two years later the town was incorporated, at that time claiming a population of a thousand. After that the growth became more rapid. In 1873 Portland suffered a disastrous conflagration. The city's success is due to its position at the head of tidewater navigation for the Columbia and Willamette valleys, and as being the terminus of eastern and southern trunk railways.—Ed.

[137]The Willamette is navigable in high water for small steamers as far as Eugene, a hundred and thirty-eight miles above Portland. The first steamers on the upper Willamette were the "Hoosier" and "Yamhill," built in 1851. Since railways have followed both banks of the stream, river navigation has been of minor importance.—Ed.

[138]The mountains of the Coast range extend at the highest from four thousand to five thousand feet above sea level, with lower levels half as great. Several passes run through from the Pacific, notably that afforded by the Yaquina and Mary's rivers, through which runs the Oregon Central Railway.—Ed.

[139]By this paragraph, Palmer intends to describe Tualatin River and plains. The name is derived from a local Indian word said to signify "smooth and slowly-flowing stream." The land known to the early settlers as Tualatin Plains is now embraced in Washington County—a famous fruit-and wheat-raising region. The plains are encircled by hills, giving the appearance of a large amphitheatre. The earliest settlers in this region were three independent missionaries, Harvey Clark, Alvin T. Smith, and P. B. Littlejohn, who crossed the continent in 1840, and the following spring settled at Tualatin. About the same time, several mountain men, such as Joseph L. Meek and Robert Newell, made their homes in the region. The Red River settlers who had come under the auspices of the Puget Sound Agricultural Association in 1841, being dissatisfied with lands north of the Columbia, gradually drifted south, a number settling at Dairy Creek, in the Tualatin country.For the Tualatin River see Farnham'sTravelsin our volume xxix, p. 16, note 5.—Ed.

For the Tualatin River see Farnham'sTravelsin our volume xxix, p. 16, note 5.—Ed.

[140]This stream is usually known as the Chehalem, the significance of the name being unknown. Among the earliest settlers in this fertile valley were Ewing Young (see our volume xx, p. 23, note 2), and Sidney Smith (for whom see our volume xxviii, p. 91, note 41). Several mountain men also had farms in the region, as well as Archibald McKinley, a member of the Hudson's Bay Company.—Ed.

[141]Yamhill is said to be a corruption of Cheamhill, a name signifying "bald hills." Among the earliest settlers were Francis Fletcher and Amos Cook, of the Peoria party of 1839. Medorem Crawford (1842) settled near what is now Dayton for the first years of his Oregon life. General Palmer himself chose this valley for his future home, and in 1850 founded therein the town of Dayton. See preface to the present volume.—Ed.

[142]Rickerall (commonly Rickreall) is a corruption of La Creole, the name now usually applied to this stream, which drains Polk County and though not navigable has many mill sites and waters a fertile region.—Ed.

[143]Known as Polk County Hills, forming a charming background for the western view from Salem.—Ed.

[144]Jesse, Charles, and Lindsey Applegate were natives of Kentucky who emigrated to Oregon in 1843, and became leaders in its development. The eldest, Jesse, was a man of marked peculiarities, but accredited with much wisdom and indomitable perseverance, and a natural leader of men. His influence was considerable in forming the provisional government. In 1846 he explored for a southern route into Willamette valley, and thence led emigrants south of Klamath Lake. About 1849 he settled in the Umpqua country, near the site whence he obtained his title as "sage of Yoncalla." A disastrous business venture sent him for a time to the mountains of northern California. During the Rogue River and Modoc Indian wars his knowledge of the character of the aborigines was valuable, and several times he served as special Indian agent, dying in Douglas County in 1888.Charles Applegate was born in 1806, removed to St. Louis about 1820, migrated to Oregon in 1843, and accompanied his brother Jesse to Douglas County, where he died in 1879.Lindsey Applegate accompanied General W. H. Ashley on his Arikara campaign of 1823 (see our volume xxiii, p. 224, note 177), wherein he was taken ill. After returning to St. Louis he worked in the Illinois lead mines, and saw service in the Black Hawk War (1832). After his migration to Oregon (1843), he became only second to his eldest brother in services to the young commonwealth. He made his home in the southern part of the state, near Ashland, in Jackson County, where he was living in 1885.—Ed.

Charles Applegate was born in 1806, removed to St. Louis about 1820, migrated to Oregon in 1843, and accompanied his brother Jesse to Douglas County, where he died in 1879.

Lindsey Applegate accompanied General W. H. Ashley on his Arikara campaign of 1823 (see our volume xxiii, p. 224, note 177), wherein he was taken ill. After returning to St. Louis he worked in the Illinois lead mines, and saw service in the Black Hawk War (1832). After his migration to Oregon (1843), he became only second to his eldest brother in services to the young commonwealth. He made his home in the southern part of the state, near Ashland, in Jackson County, where he was living in 1885.—Ed.

[145]This name should be Hembree, that of a pioneer family from Tennessee, who came out in 1843. Absalom J. Hembree was a member of the legislature from 1846 to 1855. In the latter year he raised a company for the Yakima War, in which he was killed. Many descendants of this family live near Lafayette and other Yamhill County towns.—Ed.

[146]These were members of the immigration of 1844, of which Cornelius Gilliam was chosen leader. He had served in both the Black Hawk and Seminole wars, and had been sheriff and member of the legislature in Missouri. His command of the emigrant train did not last through the entire trip, the party breaking into smaller companies, two of which were commanded by William Shaw and Nathaniel Ford. Gilliam was colonel of the regiment raised to avenge the Whitman massacre, and was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun.William Shaw was born (1795) near Raleigh, North Carolina. When a boy he emigrated to Tennessee and took part in Jackson's campaign before New Orleans (1814-15). About 1819 he removed to Missouri, where he married a sister of Colonel Gilliam. He was captain in the Cayuse War of 1848, and member of the territorial legislature from Marion County, ten miles above Salem, where he made his permanent home.Nathaniel Ford was a native of Virginia (1795), but was reared in Kentucky, and after coming out to Oregon settled in Polk County, where he died in 1870.—Ed.

William Shaw was born (1795) near Raleigh, North Carolina. When a boy he emigrated to Tennessee and took part in Jackson's campaign before New Orleans (1814-15). About 1819 he removed to Missouri, where he married a sister of Colonel Gilliam. He was captain in the Cayuse War of 1848, and member of the territorial legislature from Marion County, ten miles above Salem, where he made his permanent home.

Nathaniel Ford was a native of Virginia (1795), but was reared in Kentucky, and after coming out to Oregon settled in Polk County, where he died in 1870.—Ed.

[147]George Gay was an English sailor. Born in Gloucestershire (1810), he served as ship's apprentice when eleven years of age. In 1832 he reached California on the "Kitty," and there joined Ewing Young's trapping party to the mountains of northern California, returning without entering Oregon. In 1835 he formed one of a party of eight men under the leadership of John Turner, who coming overland to Oregon were attacked by the Rogue River Indians, all being wounded and two killed. Gay reached the settlements after a trip filled with great hardships, and thenceforth made Oregon his home, taking an Indian wife and settling high up on the Willamette, near the southern boundary of Yamhill County. Here he built the first brick house in the territory, and with unbounded hospitality opened it to new emigrants. Wilkes (1841) describes him as a dashing, gay "vaquero," half-Indian in his characteristics, but very useful to the new community. At one time he had considerable wealth in horses and cattle, but died poor in 1882.Daniel Matheny, of the emigration of 1843, was born in Virginia in 1793. Successive removals carried him to Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, where he served in the War of 1812-15, and that of Black Hawk (1832). Having settled near Gay in 1844, he afterwards kept a public ferry, dying on his farm in 1872. Several of his family accompanied him to Oregon.—Ed.

Daniel Matheny, of the emigration of 1843, was born in Virginia in 1793. Successive removals carried him to Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, where he served in the War of 1812-15, and that of Black Hawk (1832). Having settled near Gay in 1844, he afterwards kept a public ferry, dying on his farm in 1872. Several of his family accompanied him to Oregon.—Ed.

[148]Luckiamute is the modern spelling of this name of Indian origin, derived from a branch of the Kalapuya tribe that formerly inhabited this valley. In 1851, federal commissioners made a treaty with this tribe whereby they ceded their lands, and retired soon afterwards to the Grande Ronde reservation. By Mouse River Palmer means the stream now known as Mary's River—a name given by J. C. Avery, the founder of Corvallis, in honor of his wife.—Ed.

[149]Mount Jefferson, Hayrick Mountain, Mount Washington, and the Three Sisters, with neighboring peaks.—Ed.

[150]Our author here intends the Coast (not the Cascade) range, of which Mary's Peak, between the two forks of Mary's (Mouse) River is the highest, rising about five thousand feet above sea level.—Ed.

[151]The Alsea, in Lincoln County, flows into a bay of that name, where small coasting steamers enter and ascend the stream some eighteen or twenty miles. The name is derived from an Indian tribe—one of the Kalapuya stock.—Ed.

[152]In the early days of Oregon settlement more frequently spelled Longtonguebuff (properly Lungtumler), from a branch of the Kalapuya tribe that inhabited its banks. The stream is now known simply as Long Tom River, rising in Lane County and flowing nearly north into Benton County, entering the Willamette not far above Peoria.—Ed.

[153]Palmer here refers to Molala River, a stream of southwestern Clackamas County, that took its name from a tribe of Indians once roaming upon its banks. Governor Lane in 1850 refers to this tribe as Mole Alley; and the liquid letters "m" and "p" being nearly interchangeable in the Indian dialect, Palmer gave it the form Pole Alley. The Molala tribe was an offshoot of the Cayuse, that had its home west of the Cascades. The early settlers testified to their superior physique and stronger qualities, compared with the degraded Chinook by whom they were surrounded. In 1851 their tribal lands were purchased, when their number was reported at 123. The remnant removed to Douglas County, and in 1888 a few calling themselves Molala were found on the Grande Ronde reservation.—Ed.

[154]The aboriginal name of this stream was Hanteuc. Two differing accounts are given of the origin of the present name. Elijah White (Ten Years in Oregon, p. 70) says a party of Hudson's Bay trappers lost their way upon this stream and were forced to kill their horses for sustenance, making pudding of the blood. Others give the derivation as "Put in"—the stream that puts in just below the early French settlement, thence degenerated to Pudding. The river rises in the foothills near the centre of Marion County, and flows nearly north, a sluggish, crooked stream from eighty to a hundred feet in width.—Ed.

[155]The Butte was a landmark on the upper Willamette, a high escarpment prominent from the river. Here was formerly a landing for the settlers of French Prairie, whose farms lay south and east of this point. The town of Butteville was laid out by merchants of Oregon City—Abernethy and Beers—to facilitate the commerce in wheat. F. X. Matthieu took up land here as early as 1846, and in 1850 kept a store. He still lives at Butteville, which in 1900 had a population of 483.—Ed.

[156]For Champoeg see De Smet'sOregon Missionsin our volume xxix, p. 179, note 75. The early meetings of the provisional government were held at this place, which was the centre for the old Canadian-French inhabitants of the country.Dr. Robert Newell was born in 1807 at Zanesville, Ohio. His fur-trapping experiences were under the auspices of the American Fur Company (not the Hudson's Bay Company), as companion of Joseph L. Meek. See F. T. Victor,River of the West(Hartford, 1870). His first settlement (1840) after the migration to Oregon, was at Tualatin Plains; but before 1842 he removed to Champoeg, where by his influence over the settlers he became the political as well as social leader. Possibly also Newell laid out a town at this place, but he was by no means the founder of the village. Newell represented Champoeg in the provisional government for several years, and in 1846 was speaker of the lower house of the state legislature. After the Whitman massacre (1847) he was chosen one of the commissioners, with Palmer, to treat with the Indians. He also raised a company for the Indian war of 1856. In later life he was connected with railway projects and died at Lewiston, Idaho, in 1869.—Ed.

Dr. Robert Newell was born in 1807 at Zanesville, Ohio. His fur-trapping experiences were under the auspices of the American Fur Company (not the Hudson's Bay Company), as companion of Joseph L. Meek. See F. T. Victor,River of the West(Hartford, 1870). His first settlement (1840) after the migration to Oregon, was at Tualatin Plains; but before 1842 he removed to Champoeg, where by his influence over the settlers he became the political as well as social leader. Possibly also Newell laid out a town at this place, but he was by no means the founder of the village. Newell represented Champoeg in the provisional government for several years, and in 1846 was speaker of the lower house of the state legislature. After the Whitman massacre (1847) he was chosen one of the commissioners, with Palmer, to treat with the Indians. He also raised a company for the Indian war of 1856. In later life he was connected with railway projects and died at Lewiston, Idaho, in 1869.—Ed.

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